All About Me: The Blog

For those of you who know me (and if you’re reading this you must…I don’t think my blog has taken the world by storm yet), then you know that I like to work out. You probably think I’m a workoutaholic… which I don’t think I am…I think I am completely normal (if not a bit lazy at times).

I have started to shake up my routine and have bought Jillian Michaels Making the Cut. I have decided it is time for me to dust off the one-pack and try to make it a 6-pack…well, a nice 2-4 pack will suffice. Plus, who doesn’t want to lose 5 pounds or look in the tiniest bit like Jillian.

In addition to Jillian kicking my butt, I have signed up for a kettle bell class that lasts six weeks. Kettle bell is this new workout that consists of thrusting a heavy ball with a handle in every which direction. So far I am on day 5 of the 30 day Jillian (kick my ass) workout and have done two kettle bell classes. In addition to workouts a la Jillian, on this 30 day plan there is no drinking. Now, I am no alcoholic, but I do enjoy my vino…ok, maybe sometimes a wee bit too much. I’m not perfect! I know...your worlds have been crushed by this shocking statement.

So far my legs hate me!! Oh, I forgot to mention that I have a biathlon coming up on May 3rd, so I still need to run & bike for that too. It’s not a long race though, so I will be just fine. I could not train for it at all and be fine, but I am always competitive with myself, so I want to do good. Back to my legs…I have never done so many squats and lunges in my life. I’m only on day 5, so by day 30 I expect to be able to bounce a quarter off my ass…literally!

I am also really watching my nutrition. I have been tracking everything on sparkpeople.com and when I first started I realized that with my moderately vegan diet I was eating like 80% carbs!!! No wonder I had been feeling a bit fluffy. After reading countless nutrition books in the last 5 years, I decided that I am back on the sauce! The meat sauce that is. I just think that fat and protein are important nutrients and if I wasn’t including them in my diet, then something is wrong. There are still days when I am eating vegan, but for the most part dairy is back in and fish and chicken are making their debuts into my tummy again. I really missed fish when I was doing the moderate vegan thing, so I’m glad that I am allowing myself to have it more than once a month again.

Another thing sparkpeople showed me is how out of control my sodium intake was. Jillian only wants you eating 1000mg of the salty stuff a day. Even now that I’m watching it, 1000mg adds up SUPER quickly…and I LOVE salt. I usually oversalt everything. Yes, I admit…I was a saltaholic. The first step is admittance. That was another part of the problem with the vegan thing..all the fake meats and tofu and soy products have a ton of sodium.

Hopefully, I will have my 6-pack in 25 days…not sure about that, but hopefully I will be a leaner. I bought a scale that measures body fat % and water %...now I just need to step on it before my legs collapse on me!

So there you have it...I'm back on the carnage, off the sauce, and walking like an old lady. Happy weekend!

Wonderful Weekend

Oh my, this past weekend was just gorgeous!!! Saturday the temps were in the mid-70s and it was sunny and glorious. We definitely took advantage of the weather...hanging outside with my work peeps for a bit and then I got a ride in on my road bike.

It has been so long since I have been on my road bike. First off, the drivers are crazy here and there aren't any lovely paths like in San Diego. Secondly, the weather has been uber poopy and I am a wuss that gets cold way too easily. Thirdly, I have no one to go with me which makes riding on the roads of CT a bit nerve-wracking. Well on Saturday I had no more excuses so I dusted off the bike, filled up the flat tires, strapped on my helmet...and road. Yes! I was back in the saddle!!


I was nervous about riding since it seems like ions since I've been on my bike. I wasn't sure if I would remember how to change gears or get out of my clips. Have no fear, it all came back to me...just like riding a bike (ha ha! the saying is true).



I rode for about an hour and let me tell you there were hoards of people out. You would think that everyone had been couped up inside for months. Oh wait...we have been. It was like a parade was happening or something. So many people were out running, riding, walking, sitting at the green, the college kids were partying...seriously, there were SO many people around. It just makes you realize how desolate the town looks during the winter of dreary days. The winters here really do make you really appreciate California. There you forget how nice the sun is...because it's out all the time. You take for granted that you can go ride your bike any day of the week or swim outdoors. I wish I could go back in time and re-do my time in San Diego. Ah, when will time travel be possible? Oh well, I just have to make the most of the nice days here and when we go back to California I will never forget how great the weather really is there.



The week here is suppose to be dark and rainy, but the sun is suppose to come back for the weekend and be in the 70s-80s. whoo hoo! Oh, Schacalieu update...I got Jeremy a beach cruiser so he can ride to school from the train station and he is getting me one for my birthday. We ordered mine last night...hopefully we will be cruising around Fairfield this weekend. Here is the pic of what my new bike will look like. Happy early birthday to me!!!

Summer Race Update:

I am officially signed up for my first biathlon on May 3d. 2.5mi running, 10 mi bike, 2.5 mi running. Piece of cake!

The Schacalieu's (both of them) are signing up for a 5K on June 28th in Fairfield. It starts at the beach right by our house! Yes, Jeremy is actually doing it too! This will be his second 5K...he told me that this is my anniversary present. ha! They have a 1/2 marathon too, which I thought about doing, but my knee has been acting up...so I may just do the 5K. I want to be able to walk when I'm 30, not to mention when I'm 80!

Doin' the Danbury Shuffle

Yesterday was the half marathon in Danbury. I was pumped and felt pretty prepared. This was the first ½ marathon I have done in about 3 years. My last race was a 5K the December we moved to New Haven. After that race I vowed to never run outside in the winter time again. I think my lungs froze during that one.

99.9% of my training was done on the good 'ole gym treadmill. Talk about monotony!! It was just way too cold and too dark to run outside in the morning. Basically, anything less than 50 is not considered running weather in my mind. I don’t like running in the evening (still to cold) because I just want to go home after work and veg (I become a lazy fat ass after 6pm). I got use to logging miles on the mill and it actually wasn’t too horrible. I did get a couple of long runs done outdoors so that was great! Plus I figured if I could run on the treadmill for over an hour, I could run outside for longer.

The race was in Danbury, which is about 40 minutes away from Fairfield. This was the latest start time for a race I ever had…10:25am. I was a bit concerned about eating too early and being hungry right before the race. This didn’t prove to be too much of a problem. It was nice to not have to wake up at the butt crack of dawn to run.

It was an awesome day for running. The sun was shining and we were supposed to have temps in the high 50s. This is after it had been cloudy and stormy all day Saturday and it is rainy and dreary today (Monday). We all definitely lucked out with the weather! When we first got to the race it was pretty windy and chilly. I was worried I didn’t have enough layers on, but once 10am hit, the wind died down a bit and it got warmer. I was pretty nervous before the start—although that is usually typical for me.

So the race starts, I was on a good pace at the 1 mile checkpoint. There were some people I had in my sights I wanted to better than. One was a group of four girls in green tanks and black running skirts. I just cannot get behind the running skirts. I also cannot get behind wearing an ipod during races. Sure, we all train with them, but part of the fun of doing these races is letting yourself soak up the atmosphere and possibly even talking to people. I know...this is becoming a foreign concept. So I passed two of the four greenies early on, the final two proved to be more prepared and beat me in the end.

Really, I was feeling great for the first 8 miles. The course was a bit hilly, but I was powering along. At about mile 7 my right knee started to have some sharp pain, but I wasn’t going to let that get me. I gave my knee a good talking too and it got back in the game. Mind over matter! Actually when I am feeling tired, I like to mentally bitch slap myself...something like, hey get your ass in gear!

After mile 8 things got a bit tougher! The hills just kept coming. I was cursing each hill! This is not to say the first 8 miles didn’t have any hills, they definitely did, but my body was starting to feel ill prepared. My mental bitch slaps and/or positive pep talks weren't working anymore. During my ascent up one of the hills, a lady was sitting on her lawn, cheering the runners on. She must have seen the despair in my eyes because she told me it leveled off after the stop sign. Well, it leveled off…for about .1 miles and then the two biggest hills were next.

I started wondering how I ever did not one, but two marathons and I vowed never to do another one in my lifetime. I was also trying to keep pace with a man who must have been 75. One thing doing races has taught me is never judge anyone by how they look or what age they are. I have had to run my heart out to beat a 10 year old in a 5K and a pretty overweight dude in a 10K. This time, it was the battle royale with the old man. The old man won! While he took the hills like a champ, my legs decided to turn into a jello-y mess. I figure I must have looked like a 75 year old woman shuffling up the hills. That is definitely how I felt!

The course wasn’t well marked so mile 9 went on FOR-EV-ER. There were no race markers after mile 9. This turned out being good and bad. Bad because I thought I might die if I saw another hill on mile 9 and great because seemingly out of nowhere a volunteer shouted “One mile to go”. Even better than hearing one more mile was the fact that it was all downhill. The ladies running next to me were ecstatic and we had a short conversation about how hilly the course was.

The last .4 miles of the race were into a headwind, but then there it was the finish line around the corner…and of course Jeremy standing on the corner cheering me on. Next time I expect my big glittery sign like I was promised!

Jeremy met up with me as I was cooling down and gave me a race wrap-up. The Kenyan won (big surprise) and if I cut 15 minutes off my time I would have a chance of placing. Yeah—I’ll work on that! Who knows…maybe next time…

Don't have my official time yet, but it was 1:47 and some seconds. I'm pretty stoked with it since the Carlsbad Half was almost entirely flat and my time for that was around 1:45. All in all, I am happy with my performance. Next race: Greenwich Biathon!!

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Update: Offical time & standing

214 out of 618 participants
16th (out of 71) in my age division F20-29 
1:47:21
averaged 8:12 min miles

A wee bit o'fun

St. Patrick's Day is one of my fave holidays. First off, green is my favorite color--like I need another excuse to wear it, but I love seeing it all around me. Secondly, leprechauns make me laugh. Thirdly, bloody mary's are one of the best drinks around and I rarely drink them (the best ones are at Thrusters in Pacific Beach). Lastly, pinching people is funny as well.

All that said, New Haven has it's own pretty good St. Patty's Day celebration. It happens the weekend before the official holiday. They have a parade (although this is the second year in a row I have not seen it) and Anna Liffey's has Irish bands and makes for a perfect stomping ground. So Liffey's and not viewing the parade is our new tradition.

I believe I posted about last years St. Patty's Day shenanigans, so I won't go over that whole story again. This year my brother and his friend were visiting so we planned to meet up with the everyone at Wendy & Michael's house. Actually, Jeremy invited all of us over, so we were actually overtaking their apartment. We brought breakfast and morning adult beverages to satisfy everyone's needs. Needless to say, the morning started off with a bang!

We all headed to Liffey's with the intent of actually seeing the parade this year. The weather was mild and the sun was out. After some more drinking of adult beverages we all decided that the entire parade would be coming through Liffey's anyways...so why move. Plus we had mad a new friend, Leroy. We couldn't just leave Leroy...the drunk older man wearing a hat for people to do shots out of. Leroy also shared his sandwich with us...so we were indebted to him.

The Irish band was just as good this year as last year, actually I'm pretty sure it was the same band. The day concluded with the consumption of Modern pizza. Hey- we had to show the boys from Cali how pizza is really done. The East coast does have the pizza thing going for it! We also watched (feel asleep) The Big Labowski, some ate some corned beef and cabbage, and I requested a cake...so Michael made one.

All in all we had a great deal of fun and since we were asleep early, I think everyone felt pretty ok for Monday. I really think next year we should actually make it to the parade route. That is our St. Patty's goal for next year!!!!

I will update with pics soon!!!

FYI- on the actual St. Patty's Day, I wore green, but consumed no alcohol...no green beer was in my presence...well except for a 2am text of a green beer from Jeremy's mom. Thanks Tami!!!

A Little Spring in my Step

I hope with all my heart that spring is truly knocking on our door. We have been fooled before by the nice sunny skies and warmer temps, and then two days later…snow storm. Lately though, there has been a steady rise in temp and the 40’s seem to be sticking around. Now, I know 40 is not really warm at all, but when you are use to the 20’s, this is a giant leap. Actually this past weekend it was in the 60’s. That is just CRAZY!

With the warmer weather comes a more positive attitude. The cold weather, snow, and overcast skies can really make you feel tired and despondent. I don’t mean to sound like I have been so depressed lately, but the weather has really been affecting my mood. It’s not like I feel like I need to slit my wrists or anything, but I have just felt really off. I’ve been snappy, tired, and basically horrible. Before you think it—no, it has not been related to PMS. I can’t really say that anything has triggered me turning into some kind of mess except for the winter months. Well, that and my overall annoyance with the “east coast attitude”.

The winter this year has been harsher than last year and while I have gotten use to the abrasiveness of the East, I have decided I just really don’t like the attitude. Not all people from the East Coast succumb to this attitude. I have actually met some supremely nice individuals! It’s just that all the honking, all the negativity, all the people saying things “just to get your goat”, strangers passing on the street and never smiling--everything is just really taking a toll on me. I just don’t understand why people are so rude and obnoxious. Why ask me what I think and then make fun of me for it? I really miss being able to be myself and not have to worry about how someone will make fun of me or just make me feel like an all out idiot.

I had a dream last night that I was back in Morro Bay and our friends, Laurie and Myles, owned the house we use to live in. I was so excited to be there and a we were going to get a veggie burrito from Taco Temple. The dream seemed so real!!! I was getting money from the ATM at the grocery store across the street from Taco Temple, when my alarm abruptly woke me up for cycling class at 5:15am. No veggie burrito for me!!! Ah, the days of the beach and Taco Temple…I do yearn for them. Just last night Jeremy and I were reminiscing about “The Temple”. I am sure that is why I dreamt about it.

Anyways, enough of my depressing ranting and raving about the East. Things are looking up and Spring may be here to stay!! That is enough for me to turn my frown upside down. I’m sure Jeremy will appreciate my new outlook the most, considering he gets the brunt of my craziness.

Here’s to the sunshine!

Bonspielin' It

So we ventured to Boston two weekends ago for the curling bonspiel. The guys & Christen did great! They were playing against people who had been playing 5 years or less (they have only been curling for about 6 months) and they got 4th place out of 16 teams. Pretty impressive to say the least. There was some curling drama along the way.

We left on Friday afternoon for Boston. After getting to our hotel and settling in a bit we made our way down to The Country Club. Yes, it was called "The Country Club", very snobby and pretentious. At The Country Club they have a curling arena...very impressive next to the one we go to in Bridgeport. When you walk in you are on the ice level and then you can go up the stairs and there is a bar, a fireplace and a glass wall so you can watch what is happening below. Pish, posh! You were not allowed to wear jeans, so everyone is in the Sunday best upstairs, while everyone downstairs on the ice is in sweats and shirts.

The team had dinner to go to and Wendy and I (Wendy goes to school with Jeremy and her husband is on the team) went to dinner on our own...we weren't allowed to hang with the curlers. We had a great dinner, with a fab waiter and were very happy and then we went to The Club to be supportive wives and cheer on our men. All of us didn't really expect our team to go far since this was their first bonspiel...boy were we wrong!

During the gang's first game everyone was super excited because it was a really close game. There were 4 teams total from Bridgeport, so while our team was on the ice everyone was upstairs watching. If you don't know it yet, curling is synonymous with drinking. So everyone was upstairs, watching behind the glass, and enjoying some adult beverages. The curling peeps from Bridgeport were a little loud and rambunctious. They started getting really into the game, there was some yelling, there was some waiving, and then there was one really mad dude down on the ice.

Dan Nailor is a skinny little dude who got very, very angry. Like I said, it was getting pretty loud upstairs and the Bridgeport curlers didn't like the calls that our skip was making. I don't know if you could hear them down on the ice, but Dan looked up and shot us all the death glare and put his finger up to his mouth as to say, "Shut the hell up!" He would have actually probably yelled this if curling wasn't such a gentleman's game. Actually he looked like he was ready to run up the stairs and strangle someone. Needless to say, it was an extremely close game and came down to a single shot...Nailor's shot. Nailor ended up tying in that end and really even without the so-called "coaching" from upstairs, that is really all his team could have done. So it came down to one last end and our team pulled it out and won. Well, Nailor was such a poor sport and wouldn't sit with his team and our team after the match. This is simply rude. In curling, after the match is done, both teams sit at a table and the winners buy the losers first round. It was not a great end to an awesome game. Jeremy and his teammates didn't do anything wrong, but Nailor was just an ass. He tried to get the game overturned, but was unsuccessful. Really, the Bridgeport people were not coaching the team downstairs. They were loud and should have known better, but what can you do?

Anyways, we were pumped that our boys and Christen won their first game Friday night. On Saturday the team went back to the ice to play two more games. Wendy and I tooled around Boston and had a fabulous day. We were excited to learn in the early afternoon that they had won their second game and would be playing again on Sunday...possibly in the finals. The team lost their third game, but played well so they were happy. Fun was had by all in downtown Boston on Saturday evening. Sunday morning we all got up and went to the Country Club. This was a big deal. Our team was in the finals!!! It was very ceremonious. There was a bagpiper that lead all the teams down onto the ice. Everyone proceeded to march around the ice and then it was ended with a shot of Drambuie.

I have to mention that Jeremy was the sickest I had ever seen him on Thursday before we left, but he rallied and would not have missed this bonspiel for anything. Another teammate was sick as well. I don't think the shot did either of them any good. The team looked drained out on the ice. Wendy and I were frustrated just watching. Needless to say, they got creamed in their last game, but still came out overall in fourth place. Not too shabby for their first bonspiel!!! Everyone was happy with the way things turned out and then I got to drive a car of sleeping sick people home in the rain.

Since the bonspiel, life in CT has been pretty quiet. We just hung around last weekend and nothing exciting happened. We thought Spring was on it's way, but we just had another snow storm that came in Sunday night. Hopefully it is the last snow we will see, I really can't take any more!!!

It also needs to start warming a bit because I am sick and tired of running on the treadmill. I am training for a half marathon on April 5th and almost all of my runs have been done at the gym. Running for over an hour on a treadmill is not exciting in the least, but I just can't bear to run outside yet. It is still cold and snow is on the ground. I miss SD and the ability to run outdoors year-round. You really don't appreciate what you have until it's gone. Anyways, it's cold. I know...I need to get over it. Hopefully Spring will decide to start soon!!!

Keepin On

So...Happy New Year!! Wow, it's been a while since I've written. We brought in our New Year with a bang...well, I guess I brought it in with a bang. As in my butt making a large bang noise as I fell down the steps at our friend's apartment. My first fall of 2009! It was a good one. I had a large bruise on my buttocks for about 2 weeks. No, I didn't fall because I was drunk either...well, maybe a little tipsy!

We braved the snow and went to a New Year's party at our friend Erem's house. We celebrated the new year their last year as well. This year the festivities turned into an all out dance party thanks to my ipod mix! It was really fun. I actually only had 2 drinks because I was leaving for Prague the next day, but since I didn't eat dinner...I was good to go. Everyone had a great time and we counted down the ball dropping...such a silly holiday, but it was a fun one!

If you've been watching the news, you would know that the weather here has been super cold. Everyone in the area is saying there hasn't been a winter this cold in quite some time. Last year's winter was a joke in comparison to what we've endured this winter. The good news is...things may be looking up!

We had our first short taste of spring this past Sunday. We had a record breaking temperature of 50. I never in my life would have thought that 50 would be considered “warm” in my book. I was excited for days upon hearing that it was going to be 50 on Sunday, and sure enough…the weather forecasters did not disappoint. It was warm and lovely. I was excited because I could actually run outside. I am prepping to do a half marathon on April 5th, so it was nice to do a longer run outside and not on the treadmill. Today it is in the 40s, so I’m not sure how long this “nice, warm” weather will last. I’m trying to enjoy it as much as possible. It’s nice too because after two quite large heating bills, we have both decided to turn on the heater as little as possible. This means we are cold most of the time and I am now wearing my heavy coat indoors. It’s pretty hilarious!

January was a blur. I was in Prague for the beginning of January and Jeremy went to California almost as soon as I got back. The secret to our relationship is to keep it as long distance as possible. Ha ha! Actually, the past couple of weekends we have been enjoying some quiet time and catching up on Lost and seeing some movies. We are all caught up on Lost (it only took a couple months to watch 4 seasons), so now we can actually talk to people about it in real time! We have seen Slumdog Millionaire and this past weekend saw Milk. Both movies were great, but Milk really deserves an Oscar.

Jeremy is still curling. He’s had a couple weeks off, but on February 20th we are going to Boston. His team is competing in their first away bonspiel. They are excited, and Wendy and I (the supportive curling wives) plan to watch their tournament on Friday and then have some fun in Boston on Saturday while the curling continues. I’m sure there will be good stories coming up.

Recently, we went over to a friend’s house and watch Labyrinth. This was one of my fave movies from when I was a kid. Let me tell you…David Bowie and his tights were amazing! I had really forgotten most of the movie, but as I was re-watching it…it all came back to me. Jeremy had never seen Labyrinth before and I think he liked it. Some people there didn’t get it, but hey--their loss.

Here are some winter pictures along with some Prague pictures…enjoy!

Me with an ice-sicle from our roof

the astronomical clock-close up


approaching the clock

the city from above

old town square at night snowing

xmas lights still up

corridor in Prague

view from start of the Charles Bridge