I'm running just as fast as I can.

I love this commercial....

Also, I finished a 1/2 marathon on Sunday.

http://www.rnrvb.com/home.html

There's a cute video on the webpage.

On Sunday, we woke up at 4:15 am at Scott's brother and sister in law's house in Newport News, VA. We all left the house by 4:50 am.

We got to Virginia Beach by 6am, parked, and took the shuttle to the start line. We finally got there around 6:15, and stood in the portapotty line forever, until 7am, which is when the race officially started. One of Scott's friends found us while we were in line, and she gave us big hugs before leaving to get in her corral. That was so nice.

There were 25,000 runners, so the place was packed. Everyone was organized into corrals, depending on their estimated finish time. Scott guessed 2 hours, so he was in corral 10. His corral started around 7:20. The Kenyans started exactly at 7 am. Anyway, I was in corral 22, so I started at 7:45. I predicted 3 hours and 15 minutes when I registered, but I honestly prayed to finish before the 4 hour time limit. The only reason I know the time is because I glanced at the official clock as I crossed the start line. It was a little intimidating, honestly. While I was waiting for my corral to move up to the starting line, I spent a lot of time looking around and seeing just how big the race was. I wasn't expecting THAT many people to show up. Because I was standing by myself, I was a little nervous.

The course loops around Virginia Beach and ends on the boardwalk. As I was nearly into mile 2, I had a good view of the last stretch of the race before the boardwalk...and wouldn't you know, the guy who won ran right by. I swear, he looked like he sprinted the entire race.

Since I didn't want to overdo it and collapse halfway through, I jogged the first 2 miles and then booked it by speedwalking. Every mile or mile and a half, there was a water station with cups of Cytomax and water. Cytomax is this disgusting Gatorade-like drink. To be on the safe side, I drank a cup of Cytomax at every stop and 2 cups of water -- one to dump over my head and one to sip as I speed walked on. I'm so glad I did that, because it seriously helped. I've felt sick to my stomach during 5k races, so I was surprised that I felt fine during this race. Whenever I felt good enough, I jogged for a little bit and then broke into a speed walk.

6 miles in, I got to talking to a lady walking next to me, and I joined her group of friends. They were so nice! I didn't have anyone to walk with, since Scott, his brother, sister in law, friend and her mother were way on up ahead. It was great to have someone to keep the pace with.

All along the course, there were bands playing, and high school cheerleading squads. I'm serious -- there were cheerleaders. Also, parts of the course went past homes and apartment complexes. Some people sat in their driveways, with their stereos blasting and signs to cheer everyone on.

Oh, and because the race was so long, I actually had to stop off at a portapotty about 4 miles in. I couldn't hold it! There were actually lots of portapotties on the race course.

Anyway, around 10 miles in, my hips and thighs started to get sore, and whenever I jogged for a bit, I could feel the blisters on my toes. I don't remember the exact time I finished, because it had to have been sometime after 11am, but my official time on my chip was 3 hours and 19 minutes. Scott had finished at 1 hour and 53 minutes, and walked over to the finish to wait for me. He said that as soon as he got there, I crossed the finish line and that's when I heard him shout my name. It was an amazing feeling to finish and then the first person I saw was him. I picked it up and ran as hard as I could for the last tenth of a mile, just so that I could run across the line.

A full marathon, however, is twice that.......and that would take far more training that I've ever done in my life. Yikes.

Scott, my dad and myself are all signed up for a 10k later this month. I'm pretty excited.

Happy Days = 90210?

Today, it dawned on me that Happy Days is the 1950's equivalent to Beverly Hills, 90210. Well, Happy Days was filmed in the 1970's, but it takes place in the 1950's.

Think about it, the characters are nearly identical. You have Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham, similar to Mr. and Mrs. Walsh. Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) is Brandon Walsh. His sister, Joanie, is obviously Brenda. Fonzie is Dylan. Ralph Malph is Steve Sanders. The diner, Al's, is the Peach Pit. Al is Nat. I wonder who Scott Baio's character could be....I haven't seen enough of the show to really know, but there was a cast reunion on the Today Show this morning, which made me think of this. Joanie's eyes were bugging out of her head.

Home Sweet Home

Apparently I wrote this in the Fall of 2004, when I took a poetry class in college. I forgot that I had saved my files from school, and I came across this gem. I have tons of files from class assignments, newspaper writing, term papers, etc. I forgot that I had written poems at all. Wow.





Home Sweet Home is Everywhere

Twenty-one years ago, I took my first baby steps
in a small New Jersey town, as my family got ready
to move to South Carolina
and this would be yet another house I would not remember

Eighteen years ago, I never noticed that my family
didn’t look like the locals in Okinawa, Japan.
I assumed that every kid had a Marine father
and lived among different kinds of people.

Fourteen years ago, my best friend and I were girl scouts in North Carolina
singing along to old 1950’s records, and playing pretend after school.
We couldn’t wait to grow up together and I thought we’d live on Sandy Lane forever.

Ten years ago, I was a minority in a tiny town in southwestern Arizona
with a new best friend, sending letters to the one I left behind.
Rainfall was a rare occasion, and snow was unthinkable.

Five years ago, I moved to Maryland after a 4 year stint in Virginia.
Dad retired at the pentagon and we all looked forward
to a home that wouldn’t change addresses for awhile.

One year ago, I was a junior in college.
Mountains and cold weather became part of my daily life,
while the rest of my family had it warmer on flat land hours away.
I occasionally wrote letters to my previous best friends and made new ones at school.
Keeping in touch, as they say in yearbooks, is more difficult than it seems.

Adaptation is something I’ve learned to accept, and I’m trying to adjust all the time.
Home is where the heart is, and in my case, home is everywhere.

Dreamtowns in America

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25851656/

I live in Lexington Park...and it is NOT a dreamtown. Good lord.

The Sand Castle

I'm nearly done with The Sand Castle by Rita Mae Brown. It's not my favorite book, but it's worth mentioning due to the fact that it takes place at Point Lookout in St. Mary's County. Holler.

The entire book is about 100 pages long, and it's from the POV of a seven year old. She's off to spend the day at the beach with her mother, her aunt, and eight year old cousin. It's sad, but it's witty at the same time. I found it at the library, in the "new books" section.

Oh, and it takes place in 1952. I can only imagine what this place looked like back then. It was pretty barren in 1998, when I first moved here.

Chantal cookware

I mentioned before that I've seen Chantal cookware on 90210, Friends, Seinfeld and Home Improvement.

Yes, I'm slightly obsessed.

Mostly, I see at least the tea kettle. On Friends and Home Improvement, I've seen the pots and pans.

Last night, as I was watching Gilmore Girls, I caught a glimpse of that tea kettle on Lorelai's stove.

Okay, so that's 5 shows now.

1) 90210 -- tea kettle on David's stove
2) Friends -- Monica has the cookware set
3) Seinfeld -- Jerry has the tea kettle
4) Home Improvement -- Jill has the set
5) Gilmore Girls -- tea kettle on Lorelai's stove

I'll update as soon as I see it on another show or movie.

It took awhile to come up with these.

100 things about me

1. I have always liked the color pink.
2. I began wearing glasses when I was 11.
3. I finally got contacts at 22.
4. My first favorite movie was Labyrinth. I used to watch it endlessly.
5. I need at least 7-8 hours of sleep to function.
6. I cannot work a full day without coffee.
7. I almost always wear sunglasses when it's sunny outside; especially when I'm driving.
8. I am deathly afraid of mice.
9. I can remember as far back to around 2 or 3 years old.
10. I really enjoy doing laundry.
11. Dusting isn't my favorite.
12. I've always had freckles.
13. Both of my parents are left handed; my brother and I are right handed.
14. I've struggled with math since first grade.
15. I've always loved reading and writing.
16. I almost always write in cursive.
17. I spent 3 years of my life in Japan, 1985-1988, living on a base with my family.
18. I'm a Marine brat.
19. Before I was 15, I had never lived anywhere for longer than 3 years.
20. I still talk to my best friend from first and second grade.
21. I ran cross country and track in high school. It was fun.
22. I'm not above drinking Franzia wine. As long as it's red wine.
23. I like to have music when I'm running.
24. I can listen to the same song over and over. All day long.
25. I love almost anything 80's related. Music, cartoons, movies, tv shows, etc.
26. It took me nearly a year to watch the entire series of 90210.
27. I still read my old babysitter's club books.
28. Jordan was my favorite NKTOB.
29. I like thrift shopping. More so than yard sales.
30. I built my entire dish collection from thrift stores and ebay.
31. I have a full set of Corelle Spring Blossom. I get the warm fuzzies just looking at them.
32. I like drinking coffee, tea and red wine. The dentist always points these things out as if I'm not aware.
33. Both Scott and I have My Buddy dolls from when we were kids.
34. I saw Conan O' Brien live in 06/2008.
35. I absolutely love going to New York City.
36. I have been on two cruises so far. So far.
37. My tonsils are long gone.
38. So are my wisdom teeth.
39. I sunburn way too easily. Hello, SPF 45.
40. I can be very shy in large groups. I wish I wasn't.
41. My dream car is a Honda Fit.
42. I love the preppy look.
43. If I could have lived in another era, I think the 1960's would have been fun. Minus Vietnam.
44. The crockpot is my favorite kitchen appliance.
45. I have dreams of owning a Kitchenaid stand mixer in either apple green or cinnamon.
46. I'm very frugal/thrifty.
47. I could spend an entire afternoon in either a used bookstore or library.
48. I have no patience for knitting, sewing, crocheting, etc. I wish I did.
49. I love taking pictures.
50. I took photography in college.
51. I went to Frostburg State University in Maryland.
52. Someday, I'd love to go to grad school.
53. I've been to Disneyland several times, and only once to Disney World. Disneyland is better.
54. I lived in North Carolina from 1988-1991. I absolutely loved it there.
55. I lived in Arizona from 1991-1994. We had the chance to live in California, but my dad decided against it.
56. I had a southern accent when I moved to Arizona; I didn't realize it until the other kids pointed it out.
57. I was born in New Jersey, but we moved before the end of 1983.
58. I lived in South Carolina from 1983-1985.
59. I would love to go back to South Carolina and make up for what I was too young to remember.
60. I lived in Northern Virginia from 1994 -1998.
61. I've been in Maryland since 1998.
62. I have a brother named Jonathan; he's four years older.
63. I was a Brownie when I was in elementary school.
64. I have 20+ cousins on my dad's side, and one on my mom's side.
65. If I didn't have to work, I'd spend my mornings writing. Maybe I'd write a novel.
66. Deep water (as in, the middle of the ocean) freaks me out.
67. I love strawberries.
68. I look for sea glass at the beach.
69. My favorite season of The Real World is Seattle.
70. I've been to Seattle once, and I can't wait to go back.
71. I enjoy Starbucks coffee.
72. I will only eat strawberry flavored toaster waffles.
73. I'm totally uncoordinated. I'm sure it's a hoot to watch me play tennis.
74. I'm a capricorn. My birthday is about 2 weeks after Christmas.
75. I think that I was meant to be a 1950's housewife, given my love of everything domestic.
76. I could spend hours in housewares.
77. When I lived in North Carolina, my family had a dog named Buffy. She couldn't come to Arizona with us, so we gave her back to my mom's Aunt. I never saw her again. :(
78. I'm really not a competitive person.
79. I like the 80's/90's Bon Jovi, but not so much the new stuff.
80. I'm really not a fan of country music, with the exception of maybe two songs.
81. I will wear a Phillies hat at any baseball game, even if they're not playing.
82. I can't whistle to save my life.
83. I love Wawa hoagies.
84. I worked at Wawa during the summer of 2003.
85. I would love to live in Manhattan if it wasn't so expensive.
86. My middle name is Mary after my two great grandmothers.
87. I like the color green.
88. I wore braces in high school.
89. Formal restaurants make me uncomfortable. I enjoy diners, personally.
90. I had my first cup of coffee at 18, courtesy of my friend Linds.
91. I never leave the house without some sort of sunscreen on.
92. I can only drink iced tea if it's sweetened.
93. I have a very supportive family.
94. My heritage is Scottish and Welsh. I'm sure some English and Irish is in there, too.
95. I think I was an Italian in a former life. (love of food, culture, etc.)
96. I'm very sentimental.
97. I like to learn about history.
98. I'm a cheesesteak snob.
99. It's hard for me to sit still; I always feel as if I need to do something.
100. I love blogging, reading blogs, making lists, filling out surveys....