Mugginess and Bugs

Greetings from the humid state of Minnesota, or today I should say, greetings from the wet state of Minnesota as it appears that it rained last night.  I went for a run yesterday, but didn't get out there until 11:30 a.m.  Wow.  It was a sauna.  My father-in-law kept saying that it was the most humid day they'd had yet.  Great.  What is it with weather and me?  Last year it was record temperatures in Portland, this year is humidity in June.  Oh well.

Anyway, you know how people in the desert states will say, "Oh, it's 110, but it's a dry heat"?  Turns out that dry heat is superior to humid heat any day of the week.  True story.  Although it was not 110 degrees and humid yesterday, it was 85 and humid when I went for a run.  I'm already a sensitive soul when it comes to running in the sun (and it appears that the circle my in-laws live in is not as shaded as I remembered), so add the moisture on top of the sun plus myriad bugs, that was my run yesterday.  I thought I knew what it was like to sweat.  Nope.  I was totally wrong about sweating until yesterday.  My niece left a comment on my FB page saying it was good to sweat.  Turns out Minnesotans are masochists.  Also true story.

Okay, this is so rambling and it isn't going anywhere other than being kind of snarky about the weather.  That is my other moniker, the Weather Bitch.  Today this "Weather Bitch" is staying inside and doing some resistance training.  Resisting the carbs, resisting the sugar...hahaha!

Last Time I Checked, 1 + 1 Does not Equal 3 and...

...1.75 miles is not 2.5 miles.  Okay.  I have no idea what happened, but after signing up with Endomondo, I took my iPhone with me running to track my speed and distance.  My regular route, the one I thought was 2.5 miles was only 1.75 miles.  Huh?  I thought I drove my route to check it, but I guess I was either thinking of my old walking route or something...

So, all this time I've been running less than 2 miles...grrrrrrr!  I added that .75 miles to my route today.  Now I know what 2.5 miles feels like.  It's a bit harder, but I will get used to it.  And I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow.  Luckily, I made the run before the sun burned off all the clouds, so I didn't get too tired because of the sun beating down on me.  I'm just a bit bummed because I wanted to add 1/2 mile to my run to get to 3 miles, but that will have to wait a little longer.

Next week, it's running in Minnesota.  From what I hear, it's been raining a whole lot.  I'm not into that.  It better be nice while I'm there or else...  Running in the humidity should be very interesting and I'll be sure to report back how it actually is for me.  The positive side of where I'm staying is that it is heavily shaded, so I won't have to contend with the sun wearing me out before I'm ready to be done.

Oh, and I'm reading "Born to Run" - I'm only three chapters in and I'm loving it.  It makes me want to run even more.  I've added a link to the fan site, but here it is as a well: Born to Run

Next post I most likely will be reporting from Minnesota, don'tcha know?  Until then...

Another Day, a New Blog!

Check it out, my followers!  I started a second blog called The Domestic Goddess.  I'm constantly stating - okay, bragging (modesty and I mix as well as oil and water) - about what I'm cooking and baking on Facebook, and have had many requests for recipes, so I decided that since summer's here and I need a project, let's start a blog about food!

I will be the first to admit that not all the recipes are healthful living friendly, but everything in moderation.  I refuse to use anything but real butter in baking, unless it is a recipe that actually tastes good with a substitution like unsweetened applesauce.  Generally when you use substitutions, they don't really taste like the real thing, in my honest opinion.  My advice?  Eat that one cookie made with real butter!  You just need to use your willpower to not eat the whole batch.  Luckily, I have a team of hungry guys here who will eat the rest of the cookies so I don't!  And it's still better than the processed junk in the supermarket that barely passes off as "food."  I know what ingredients are in my baked goods.

Anyway, check the blog often for great recipes.  I most likely will get started next week after my final grades are turned in.  Until then...

Tracking My Running

I just got back from a fantastic run.  It was my ordinary route, but it felt so good to be out there tonight.  When I got back I remembered that a friend of mine tracks his running with software and publishes it to Facebook on occasion.  I left him a question on his page, but then I went to another friend's page and found exactly the information I was looking for.  Here's the link for Endomondo.

Is there anyone else out there who wants to join Endomondo and kick my ass on occasion by challenging me?  Come on!  This is a free invitation to actually compete with me!  Warning, though, I am extremely competitive, but I see this as a good thing.  It will get me out of my rut and keep me going.  Join and find me.  Let's do this together!

I Bought A Skirt Today

Today I went out with my family to the mall.  I had a goal of buying a pair of shorts and some capri pants.  Now capri pants are nothing major, but for those of you who really know me, buying shorts is nothing less than a miracle.  Even considering buying shorts is a pretty big deal.  Anyway, we ventured out and within five minutes, I found shorts for the boys that they wanted to get, and they really, really needed new shorts.  That left me with the task of finding appropriate summer-wear for myself.  Sigh.  Okay, so off to the women's section of Old Navy - hey, I'm not buying expensive clothes until I hit my goal weight - and I venture into the jeans section.  I could not find one pair of jean capris in my size anywhere.  Alright, let's try the back of the store.  I found racks and racks of cotton capri pants, but there were very few I liked and very few in my size.  What the hell?  Seriously, it's like there was a run on my size today (and, no, I'm not telling you what it is).  Anyhow, I chose one pair of capri pants, two pairs of shorts and.... a SKIRT to try on.  The capris were a no-go, one pair of shorts, um, yeah, not happening, and the skirt?  Amazing.  I still contend that I have the shortest legs that a 5'5" person can have, but my legs looked halfway decent in this skirt and the other pair of shorts were not half bad.  Yes, yes, "halfway decent" and "not half bad" are all you're going to get out of me right now - they are fairly common Minnesotan-isms for sure, dont'cha know?  I am actually looking forward to wearing my new skirt, but, of course, I'm going to need some new shoes as well.  At least buying shoes is a delightful task.  The shoe always fits...

I'll post a pic of me in my new skirt when I find said new shoes to go with.  I'm practicing my Minnesotan here, so you're going to have to cut me some slack.  Ah, good old "go with"...

Oh, and $4.95 shirts at H&M?  Yeah, I was all over that today, too.

Yay summer!

National Running Day and...

...I missed it!  How did I not know this?  Grrrrrr...  I can run tomorrow because every other day is running day for me.  Oh, well!  Upwards and onwards...

Memorial Day = Beach

Today we ventured out to the beach.  Great idea, Em!  How novel!  The beach on Memorial Day!  It won't be busy at all!  Hahaha!  Yeah... I wasn't laughing.  I've never seen Malibu so busy in all my years living in Southern California.  It was more than nuts.  Just as I was ready to throw in the beach towel, we found a sliver of sand (albeit at the bottom of some steep rocks) right off the Pacific Coast Highway in Ventura County.  We made our way down the treacherous non-path and once we were there with blanket spread and chairs in the sand, I relaxed.  I played frisbee with the kids.  I helped bury Ian in the sand.  I watched Gabriel not be so afraid of the Pacific Ocean.  It was heavenly.

But what's even better is that I found a bathing suit I liked that fits my body well as it is right now on clearance.  And I wore it today at the beach.  It was liberating.  My body is looking better than it has in a long time and I wasn't self-conscious about my legs today at all.  I was conscious of them in the way that I thought they actually looked good for once.  I even told Dana that I might buy a pair of shorts this week when I'm shopping for the kids.  The miniskirt will come in a little bit, but the fact remains is that I'm getting there.  Little by little, workout by workout, mile ran by mile ran, I'm getting into shape and getting healthy.

Summer has arrived with the passing of Memorial Day.  Let it be a glorious one!