Training Day

So I casually slipped it into a post awhile back that I finally signed up for a half-marathon. Like, I paid for it and everything.  Which means I’m actually training.  Homegirl’s too cheap to pay $75 for a race and not run it.  So here I am.  Training.

But I use that term loosely… By train, I mean I run a long run once a week and hate every second of it.  I’m not following any official training schedule, I’ve just been bumping up my distance by half a mile every week since June and doing regular workouts during the week.  Prior to this season, I’d never run more than six miles at a time {and it was not a common occurrence} and had only competed in 5ks.  Running has always been my exercise of choice but I’d always considered myself a 3 mile kinda girl.  Nothing more and why would I?

But my friend Ashley, after two glasses of wine mind you, asked if I wanted to run the Army 10 Miler with her in October.  I said yes and we signed up immediately for a coveted spot in a race that fills up within hours.  {I even felt bad that my poser-runner self got a spot…}

The Rock ‘n Roll marathon series also announced they were adding Savannah {my hometown} to the schedule and it was a month after the 10 miler—the perfect amount of time to train from 10 miles to 12 miles.  So I signed up for that too!

{Apparently, I really believe in myself.}

So here we are…two weeks from the 10 miler.  I’ve been training REALLY HARD {sarcasm} and I’ve set really intense goals and standards for myself.

Like, finish.

Don’t walk.

Or throw up.

Or pee your pants.

I REALLY hope I can achieve these, especially that last one.

Training is actually going better than I made it sound above—I don’t actually hate every minute, I just had a hard run today.  I ran 8 last week and felt golden; I ran 9.5 today and felt like bricks were tied to my shoes.

My friend Ashley {a different Ashley} writes these really eloquent recaps of her races and recalls how she felt along each mile {seriously, read her account of the NYC marathon. It made me want to sign up…and then I remembered I had to qualify}.  Unlike hers, my runs generally go something like this…

Miles 1-3: “I’ve been running for 2 minutes…I’ve been running for five minutes….I’ve been running for 10 minutes…I have to keep running for another hour…I have to keep running for 50 more minutes… Can I step yet?  How soon can I stop running?”  I just can’t stop myself from thinking about time.

Miles 3-7, I finally get into a groove, my body loosens up, and I get distracted enough to stop focusing on how much longer I have to keep running.  I enjoy my music, I pray for people, and just generally get lost in my thoughts.  These miles usually go by surprisingly fast.

And then mile seven hits and it occurs to me, “Dear Lord, I have been running for over an hour and I have how many miles left?? I hate this.  This sucks.  Why am I doing this?  Running is stupid.  My hip hurts.  Why didn’t I do my hip exercises this week?” And I suffer through the remaining miles…

I pay absolutely no attention to my pace or time, sometimes I don’t even run with a watch.  I have no contraptions on my shoes and I can’t track my distance until I get home via the good ol’ Map My Run site.  I’m kind of whatever about the whole thing.

The good news is that the Dear-Lord-why-am-i-doing-this-i-am-so-tired-please-let-me-stop-how-am-ever-going-to-run-13-miles feelings used to start at mile 5.  And now they don’t sneak up until miles 7 or 8.  So even when I have a runs like today and my time seems awful {even though I know they’re not that bad}, I’m encouraged to know that it’s gradually getting easier and despite how I feel, I am making progress.

And I’m encouraged because I’m putting FAR less into my training than I should.  Veteran runners would cringe at my habits… Imagine how good I’d feel if I stopped eating barbeque two hours before my run…or a casserole dish worth of corn dip. Or didn’t drink three glasses of wine the night before.  Or if I didn’t put off my runs until Sunday night when I cannot possibly delay it any longer.  Perhaps I wouldn’t get so bored if I stopped listening to the same two Taylor Swift albums during every.single.run. 

{But I really do love her “If they could see me now” songs and they really motivate me. Suck it all you mean girls in ballet class!}

But hey, this is my first go at it.  I already have races scheduled through the spring and I’m sure once I run a few, I’ll be a little more competitive and take it a little more seriously. 

For now, I’m just pretty impressed that my 3-mile-self can run nine miles… So far, I’ve finished my runs, occasionally I need to walk, and have not yet thrown up or peed my pants.  But the first race is coming up in a few weeks—I’ll let you know how it goes!

Fall Nesting 2011

With two hours to spare before the linky party closes, I’m joining the Fall Nesting Party The Inspired Room is hosting!  I love the change in seasons, especially since we live in a place where the seasons actually change.  Four whole times a year!  In our house, fall means chili and football, homemade bread, and leather boots.  And I change my décor out like I change my wardrobe.

Keeping all of the big ticket items neutral {like walls and sofas and rugs} allows me to swap out the accessories for a new look.  And while this sounds expensive, if you just make or buy a few things each year, every season gets cheaper and cheaper.  This I made four new pillows covers {cost = $30} and a wreath for the front door {cost = $25}—everything else is old news.

I changed out the blue curtains for the brown and put away the fish for the pumpkins…

  

The coffee filter wreath never went away but I finally hung the window frame {uh-huh—the one just sittin’ on the curb}, swapped a few candles for the divine, spicey fall ones {bird silhouette from last year}, and made this wreath that’s been finding it’s way through the halls of Pinterest {April also made one and did a whole tutorial, so just go there for the deets!}

I made a few pillows, set out a few fake pumpkins, and swapped out the blue shutter for another one I rescued from the streets and painted kelly green.

And this might be my favorite!  I just printed this cute little guy from Graphics Fairy, filled in the blank spaces on Photoshop, and printed him out orange.  I might never put him away…

And that’s pretty much it!  At this point, almost 230 people have posted fantastic, creative fall décor ideas and recipes over at The Inspired Room.  Head over there for some inspiration, have fun, and keep it cheap!

Happy Fall Y’all!

Recipe RTuesday

The “r” is silent.

Oh, is that silent-letter-to-fake-alliteration joke getting old?  It used to be funny.

That one time.

Anyway, I learned to make bread from my sister when we lived together in Colorado two summers ago {only the best summer ever}.  The recipe is really simple and the ingredients are really basic— so basic that whenever I google something like “simple easy super basic bread recipe” I can’t find anything to beat it.  Everything calls for milk and eggs and cornstarch and yeast…

Okay, so you can’t avoid the yeast.

The problem is, my fail-safe method of writing the recipe on a napkin falls through every once in awhile 100% of the time. {How can it be??}  So then I have to call her and when she doesn’t answer, I text, and when she doesn’t answer I get frustrated because Iwanttomakebreadrightthisminuteandwhyisn’tsheansweringherphone??

This takes me to my Rtuesday Recipe.

“And the Blobby Award for the Longest Recipe Lead In Ever goes to….!”

Becky’s Bread
1 1/2 to 2 c. warm water
4 c. flour
3 T. sugar
2 t. salt
3 t. yeast
1-2 second pour of EVOO

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl {you may have to play with the water and flour proportions, so just add little by little}.  You want it to be doughy—not wet and sticky, not dry and cracky. 

2. Cover the bowl and let it sit at room temperature for 30 min to 1 hour to let it rise.
3. Beat it down and knead out the bubbles, let it sit again. 

4. Beat it and knead it again.  This time, let it sit in the bread pan. 

5. Once it rises, put it in the oven and bake it at 350 until it’s golden brown, usually 30 to 45 minutes.

Don’t let it cool. Cut into it right away.  Eat it immediately.  With real butter. Sitting on your back steps.  Possibly with a pumpkin spice latte.

{Sorry sis.  Looks like my phone calls will be on the decline…. By about 1%.}

Crafty CFriday: Refinished furniture

I say it all the time, there’s nothing you can’t fix with spray paint {Or just paint paint}! So I was salivating when my friend Cora called to ask if I wanted these dining chairs she found on the side of the road during our neighborhood’s monthly Dump Day {also known as my favorite day of the month}.  The seats were a little gross, but the chairs were solid wood, sturdy, and in good shape so they were prime candidates for a quick makeover.

To jog your memory, here they are before {there are two of them}:

I’ve had these for about a month, so I’d been looking for the perfect fabric for awhile.  My original perfect fabric was this serafina multi, featured in Pottery Barn’s fall collection a few years ago.

I loved the primary colors and the floral-but-not-floral, paisley-but-not-paisley look to it.  After much searching, I finally found it online and FREAKED OUT with excitement and ordered it, only to get a “Psych. We’re out of the fabric and we’re not getting anymore” email the next day.  So I started the search all over and finally settled on this fabric from Calico Corners {among several other places its sold}:

I thought I was all cool for finding this fabric {which I kinda love} until I saw it here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.  I apparently, I’m super late jumping on the Wilmington Multi gravy train. {But if Emily A. Clarke used it in her own house, I think it affirms I’m on the right track…}

Get it?  Train…track…

Anyway.  I ordered one yard of the fabric for $17.  It’s a thin linen, which isn’t perfect for reupholstering, so I bought some iron-on batting at Michael’s for $4.  I wanted to provide more structure to the fabric and also block the color from the seat cushion from showing through the white background of the fabric.

So, step 1, I wiped the chairs down with 409 to get rid of the dust and cob webs.

Step 2, I took the seat off the chair.  When I shared my stool project awhile back, someone complained I didn’t explain this step thoroughly enough.  I won’t say who it was, but her name rhymes with Smashley Glass.  So, Smashley, here’s a picture and a few more details…

Four screws hold the seat bottom on—they’re in those holes in the four pieces of diagonal wood.  Just stick your screwdriver in there, unscrew, and the seat bottom comes right off!

Like so…

Step 3, I primed the chairs with white interior Kilz primer.  I didn’t worry about it being thick or even, it just has to be enough for the next layer of paint to adhere to.

Step 4, I painted the chairs with a $3 sample of Behr interior paint from Home Depot.  The color is Thyme.  It took two coats to get an even, covered look with a few touch ups here and there. I lurve it.

Step 5, I sanded down the chairs along the edges to beat it up and distress it a bit.  The chair on the left is pre-distressing, the right one is post-distressing—you can see how much it lightened it up.

Step 6, I removed the fabric from the seat covers.  The chairs were clearly old and the fabric was a little rotten which made for easy removal, but it was kind of a gross process.  The fabric ripped right off without removing the staples and I didn’t take any of them out unless they were already coming out {for that I used needle nose pliers.}

Step 7, 8, and 9 were re-covering the seats.  I cut pieces of the iron-on batting big enough to wrap around the seats.  I positioned the portion of the fabric I wanted on the seat and cut it accordingly.  Then I carefully moved the fabric and batting as one to the ironing board and ironed them, so they were now one piece of thick, fluffy fabric. I tightly wrapped the fabric and stapled it to the underside of the seat one side at a time.

Step 10, I coated the chairs with Minwax polyurethane to shine them up a a bit {you just pour it on a rag and wipe it down} and let it dry.  Then I screwed the seats back on and…

Are you ready for it…

I kinda love them, I’m just not 100% what I’m going to do with them!  I’m considering putting them at the ends of the kitchen table or just keeping them around the house as extra seating.  Or maybe I’ll just keep them in the middle of the living room just to sit and stare at them.  At the end of the day, this project took three hours and cost $25 so I’m not too worried about it!

----------------------------------------------------

Those took awhile to share so I’m going to make this next one quick.  I’m just too in love with it to save it any longer!

Remember a million years ago, when my boss gave me her kitchen table for free?  And I didn’t love the color of the stain so I asked for your opinion on how I should refinish it?  And then nine months went by and I didn’t do anything with it?

Yeah, me neither.  So while I was in project mode with the chairs and a beautiful weekend was finally in the forecast, I decided to refinish the table on Saturday.  I didn’t want to deal with re-staining so I found the perfect Rustoleum spray paint from Home Depot—Dark Walnut in a satin finish.  It’s a very dark brown that almost looks black—just what I’ve been looking for foreeeever.   Here’s the fast forwarded version of how we got it done… {Yes, I said we.  Tyler made his Crafty Cfriday debut in this one.}

Step 1, took the table apart and quickly sanded it just enough to rough it up so the paint would stick.  It was really a five minute step that I did by hand—nothing lengthy like removing the varnish down to the original wood.

Step 2, I slowly, carefully, and patiently took different pieces of the table at a time outside and spray painted it in 3 coats, waiting 20-30 minutes between each coat.  My MO is to be inpatient and do everything as fast a possible, mess it up, and then get really mad at myself, so it took a bit of self-control to get this done right.

This is what it looked like after they were painted.  I let them sit inside for a few hours before distressing {Step 3} to make sure the paint was really dry.  I hate it when you start to sand and you find out the paint is still gummy. Aren’t the legs beautiful?

Pre and post-distressing

Step 4, after putting the table back together, I wiped it down with the Minwax polyurethane.  I did three coats to get the shine I wanted {there were a few uneven spots, so I sanded it with 220 grain sandpaper to even it out but still protect the paint}.  Then I let it dry for 24 hours before putting anything on top of it.

You ready for it?

You’re going to love it…

Eventually, the wooden chairs will be gone and there will be four seagrass chairs with something different on the ends. 

At the end of the day, I spent $18 on spray paint, $10 on the Minwax, and $6 on sandpaper.  I LOVE the table—the only thing I hate is that I didn’t do this sooner!  Seriously, I’ve had this table since January.  And it only took 24 hours to go from this…

To this…

Happy Friday y’all!  Go get crafty, just don’t spend a lot of money….

Ten years and two days ago…

Yes, I realize it’s September 13th.  I have no thoughtful or meaningful reasons for doing this two days late, like “Oh, I’m extending the remembrance of Sept 11th because shouldn’t we always remember…yada yada yada…”  We just had a really busy weekend and I was glued to the television Sunday watching all of the services and ceremonies, while simultaneously finishing up some projects and well, I only have so many hands.  But I know that a few years from now, I’ll be clicking through my blog reflecting over old posts and I’ll think, “Why on earth didn’t I post anything on the tenth anniversary of September 11??”

So, read it or don’t… We all have our own recollections and I know I’m not of enough importance to warrant the time it takes to read something as long as this might be.  But for my own record of history, I wanted to take a minute to write and remember…

I made a few brief reflections on the attacks when Bin Laden was killed in May, but this past weekend I was trying so hard to remember what life was like back in September 2001.  I clearly remember sitting in the library during a recruiting pitch from Georgia Tech my senior year of high school.  Someone walked in and told us that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center.  I had never been to New York City and had no idea what the WTC was, so it didn’t immediately mean much to me.  The meeting was cancelled and I went back to class, where we stayed for the rest of the day.  As we watched the events unfold on a small TV hanging in the corner, it became clear what a terrible event this was and that it was going to change our country.  I remember that I felt like I should be crying, but I never did—at least not while I was at school.  Just like everyone else, I watched the news incessantly, night and day for the rest of the week.  I took it all in and thought it was awful.  I was moved and saddened and shocked.

But I was 18 and I wasn’t sure what else to do with that information.  I wasn’t a self-involved teenager who didn’t care about what was happening, but it felt so far removed from me and I just didn’t know what to do with the events.  The world was changing, but I was just beginning to learn what the world was—in a sense, I guess it didn’t change my world view, it shaped it.

Beyond that, when I remember 2001, I don’t remember grief and tragedy.  I was a senior in high school, I was applying to colleges, I was on the homecoming court and celebrating pep rallies. I had a great group of friends and we were together constantly, watching wrestling matches and basketball games, going on Young Life weekends, and planning our senior trip.  The best part of my life was just starting and I knew it.  But looking back, I think I feel a little guilty for having such fond memories of such a terrible time.

Ten years later, I have watched hours upon hours of the 9/11 specials.  National Geographic and History and ABC and NBC, the Bush interviews, and the documentaries, listening to the firefighters, the widows, the survivors tell their story…it rivals my obsession with the Royal Wedding earlier this year. But with this I just ached.  I have run out of tears.  I think some of it comes from making up for lost time—grieving for Americans in a way I didn’t then and didn’t know how to.  Another part comes from now being a wife and on the verge of having a family.  Still more from living in DC and loving this terrorist-target city.  I cannot fathom this city without the Capitol and simply can’t utter enough praise and thankfulness to the brave men and women on Flight 93.

Ten years later, September 11th was a Sunday.  The sky was bright blue and we woke up early to go to 9 o’clock church on Barrack’s Row.  In the car, we listened to the live coverage just beginning on XM radio.  Bagpipes were playing as we drove past the Pentagon, draped with an American flag.  A plane was simultaneously flying low overhead, heading to Reagan airport.  The Capitol building and the Washington monument clearly emerged from the low DC skyline.  And there were police everywhere, strategically blocking exits along the interstate.  And as we drove along taking in these sights and sounds, I cried imagining so many people who were making the identical trip that Tuesday morning, who watched that plane clip the light poles as it didn’t land at Reagan.  I cried thinking of the people on the plane whose last images were of the same skyline I was admiring.  I cried thinking of how it could easily have been me or Tyler, just a few years off in life’s timeline.

And with that, I have no eloquent way to wrap this up. That’s it.  If I waited to journal this, it would never get written.  So a blog it is…where I was then and now. To acknowledge the families of the heroes and the victims: I’m so sorry you suffered such travesty and grief.  We have not forgotten your loved ones and I pray that the peace that transcends all understanding has brought you comfort in this time.

We will never forget.

Fa La La La Fall

Guess what folks?  We’re one week into September, I’ve already have two PSLs, and we have NO travel plans for the entire month!  That means fun weekend projects and plenty of time at home to enjoy the decor.  Of course, my pinterest addiction has been my prime source of inspiration, the only problem is I just don’t have enough front doors… If it ever stops raining around here, these are some of “my” ideas!

Wait, you’re not on Pinterest?  You’re not on Pinterest?? Not. on. Pinterest?!? We need to change that.  Need an invitation—I’ll send you one.  Already on?  Follow me!

Happy Fall Y’all!

Five cool things that happened to me today…

1. A sweet parent of one of my favorite patients at work gave me the world’s coolest travel mug that I was in love with before I even opened it.  And it’s green.  AND there was a Starbucks card with it.

2. Coincidently, my pre and post lunch patients re-scheduled this week, leaving me with a three hour gap in my day that I’d already planned to spend at Starbucks catching up on paperwork.  Three hour break at Starbucks on a rainy day = cool.

3. I had my FIRST PSL OF THE SEASON!!! {Pumpkin Spiced Latte for you Starbucks-impaired…}

4. I decided to skip the gym and go run crafty errands after work.  Coincidently {Part 2}, I ran into a fellow blogger/blog reader at G Street Fabrics!  I was totally caught off guard {in case you couldn’t tell, Cherish!}, but it was so good to finally meet!  Cherish lives in the same area and we’ve emailed a bunch over the last few months.  If only I’d put on a bit more make-up today…

5. Tyler was at work until about 10:30 tonight {not the cool part} which left me alone with my projects for the night {the cool part}.  My chairs are now primed, the upholstery has been ripped off {which was super duper gross}, and the seat cushions were bleached, Lysol’d, and Febreezed.  A gross rainy night, re-runs of Modern Family, and a DIY project? Yes please!

Pardon me while I talk about football…

I’m not sure how to be a Bulldawg fan anymore.  How do you get excited about a team that continuously makes terrible decisions over and over and over?  Calling the same unsuccessful plays over and over and over.  Dropping passes over and over and over.  Throwing Hail Mary passes on 3rd and two over and over and over.  Running up the middle on 3rd and 14 over and over and over.  Giving the opposing QB 25 seconds in the pocket untouched over and over and over. For 13 games last season and now we get to do it all over again.

I wasn’t so sure we’d win that game on Saturday but I sure didn’t think I’d see the EXACT same team that lost to Central Florida last year (and Colorado…and Mississippi State…).  I thought I’d get a glimmer of hope in seeing changes in the offense…a more aggressive defense…ANYTHING better than last year.  I would have taken ANY nugget of improvement to cling to for hope.

But I watched the exact. same. team. get spanked. On national television.

Make no mistake, I LOVE Georgia football.  I had butterflies in my stomach since last Wednesday.  I’m already planning the tailgate for our annual pilgrimage in November.  Isaiah Crowell and his bulldog puppy were tattooed on my lower back by February 3rd.  I love Georgia football.  I’m not a fair weather fan—just a sad one.

But, in an act of self-preservation, the emotional investment in my team has been on a gradual downslide since oh, 2007 or so.  Following last season and an even worse off-season, my excitement going into this fall hit an all time low—I think I even went six straight months without reading DawgSports.

And I still woke up on Sunday morning feeling like Tyler had asked me for a divorce the night before.  I still had to say a little prayer before church that I’d be able to focus on worship. I’d still rather kiss Kasey than run into a Boise State fan.

Nope.

I’m sorry, that’s a lie. 

I’d hold hands with interlocked fingers and sing “I Got You Babe'” with Kellen Moore before I’d even graze Kasey and his beating forearm tattoo.

{Pardon me while I shudder at the mental image.}

What was I talking about again?

Oh right, Georgia sucking my heart out of my chest.

I’m still sickened by the memory of Saturday’s game and I’m just not sure how to move forward when it looks like there’s a looong season ahead of us.  I know we open up with two tough games, but a decent season just because we have an easy schedule thereafter doesn’t make me feel a whole lot better.  I’d rather win because we’re good, not because everyone else sucks {And right now, I’m not so sure everyone else sucks}.  I will only be mildly distracted if we win our games by a margin of 3 points.  I will only be happy if we win by a thumping of 36.

So, here we go. I hope against all hope that I’m posting pictures of team pile-ups and St. John’s River Dances in a few short weeks… But for now, I’m trying out this whole stoic thing.  I’ll give a "Go Dawgs” but exclamation points will be reserved only for exclusive moments of victory.  Like beating Florida.

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Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.  After a fabulous week in Savannah, we’re spending our Labor Day on 95-north.  I’ll be back soon to tell you where you should eat in Savannah…and how I gained 36 pounds in seven days.

Happy Labor Day!