Thursday, August 25, 2011

Random Stuff I Did

I had a great early morning bike ride and from now until 7:40 a.m. Saturday I will be resting up for my Iron Girl sprint tri (1/4 mile swim, 17 mile bike, 5K). I think I can do well in this tri (I can TRI! Ever hear that one?), except that I have not run in over a week due to an aching ass, and not sure if I will get to the run part and suffer and need to crawl and cry.

Time will tell, and you can read all about the gory details here once the job has been done.

With the kids back in school, I have been able to be productive with out yelling at anyone. This week, in addition to work, I did lots of things that were not only random, but boring and tiring:

  • Made these insane brownies (only they were a lighter version from September 2011 Cooking Light)
  • Swam 4,000 yards (not at once)
  • Painted my toenails after making Emma remove my polish
  • Identified which spider was in that web on the porch (Orb Weaver) and encouraged Emma to believe me when I said it was not poisonous and will not have babies that will invade her bed.
  • Had a long conversation with my mom while she took a bath
  • Watched “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”
  • Wasted two hours of my life that I will never get back watching “Bachelor Pad”
  • Read more of  “Unbroken” and decided that the Japanese in World War II were some of the nastiness most ruthless bastards this world has ever seen
  • Cooked in every night: grilled bruschetta turkey burgers, black bean tacos, chicken/bell pepper/onion hoagies, pasta with meatballs
  • Went to bed by 10pm every night
  • Had two gorgeous early morning rides with my cycling group
  • Missed yoga
  • Tried to figure out what I want to do with my life besides all of this
  • Decided I wanted to own a casual black skirt then returned it because I don’t wear skirts casually, only for work
  • Came up with some new SUAR shirt ideas
  • Dreamed about going to NYC in the fall
  • Shared a lane at the pool with some dude who, when I got out because I was done, asked me if he had “scared me off.” WTF? Do I look scared? My nipples are always that hard, btw.
  • Put a new shower curtain liner in the shower. This simple and inexpensive act makes me feel like a rock star

It’s the little things that reveal who we are and that add up to one big week. What’s something random and mundane you did this week?

SUAR

50 comments:

  1. I'd actually like to swim 4000m at once.. I haven't swam since that race!

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  2. OH yeah and that movie.. WAY SAD!!!

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  3. We read Unbroken for book club last month. I never realized how much went on in the Japanese side of the war. Pretty horrible!!

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  4. Not simple but definitely mundane... I took 12 kids to the dentist on Monday.

    Are you going to be in NY in November??

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  5. I'm a stretcher and walker, just started running this summer with Couch to 5 K this past month. As an old broad I try to keep moving. Enjoy your posts very much and this one in particular.

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  6. Wow, I changed my showert curtain liner this week as well. I also felt "thrifty" because I got the one that's $2.99 instead of the fancy metal grommetted one that's $10.

    This week I also cleaned out my inbox at work. I feel so productive.

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  7. Oh Ba-gosh Beth!! I have had the same freakin problem with ass hurting=( I have had to give up running my half marathon because it's just that bad. I have stretched, used the foam roller, took it easy and all that but I still have problems with it. Not as bad as in the beginning but it's still there. And its awful if you have a long drive, meeting, or anything that requires you to sit on your ass for too long. Makes me wanna cry!! Hope it gets better for you soon!! Love your posts

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  8. something random: i wanted chocolate and couldn't find any so i added some oil and water to a bowl of brownie mix, stirred it up and ate it. Yum! ;-)

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  11. Your post made me think of this song.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2flpEbeYug

    "Who are you when I am not looking" from Blake Shelton

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  12. I read Unbroken awhile back and I had the same thought. Horrible. His story is amazing though.
    Cleaning bathrooms is pretty mundane but it had to be done. I did read The Help, finally, good book. Good luck this weekend.

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  13. MitchellMonstersontheRunAugust 25, 2011 at 8:40 AM

    Oh, I can do mundane and simple! Let's see, I made 4 doctors appointments that I've put off all summer,
    made 3 trips to the store for "additional" school supplies, paid the cleaners a visit (wondered why my honey's closet was so empty) and even though I swear I have been busy beyond belief, I CAN'T figure out why these things take up so much of my day!!!

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  14. I like this post!

    I read The Boy but have not seen the movie...

    Changing the shower curtain liner is one of those (relatively) easy things to do that I just never get around to... like weeding the yard.

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  15. cleaned and rearranged my kiddos bedrooms so that we can get ready for back to school next week. Now we have a fresh start....
    I started Unbroken, but have yet to finish it. Maybe once the kids are back in school.

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  16. I don't know if it's mundane, but I finally sat down and watched Sean Penn's movie "Into the Wild." The scene where the old man asks the kid if he can adopt him as a grandchild before he wanders off into the Alaskan wilderness made me come apart at the SEAMS. I haven't been right since.
    Oh yeah and I endured "Unbroken" and "Boy in the Striped Pajamas" as well. All stories that remind us life is precious (even though it can get real ugly at times...)!

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  17. Little Miss Productivity! I need to put in a new shower liner and I am sure I will also feel like a rockstar.

    I took the Myers Briggs personality test the other day (and forced Ang to take it too so we could better understand one another) and I read about all of the personality types. Now I am wondering what you are! Have you taken it?? If so, please share. :) I am "The Idealist". Duh.

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  18. P.S. Please don't injure yourself again. I really don't want to read about the pussy posse for another 3 months. Thanks!

    (just kidding, I love the pussy posse).

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  19. I did some really fun stuff this week!
    - cleaned out the fluorescent light cover in the utility room...the bugs were taking it over.
    - balanced bank statements (would rather take an ass whoopin)
    - cleaned out a junk drawer (it's still full of junk, but at least now it's organized)
    - tried to restore order to my out-of-control pile of "haven't tried these yet" recipes
    - replaced my router that was on the fritz
    I'm sure there was something else...guess it was so boring I forgot! :)

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  20. Ha! I bought a new shower curtain a month ago, I have yet to hang it up. The thought of having to loop each ring is daunting. You rock! :-)

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  21. Ok- DANG! First i read one of your earlier posts this week and had to run home and make zucchini bread (with ice cream)- and now im gonna have to make these freakin' brownies! :)

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  23. I chopped down our {7 yr. old crab} apple tree. The crab apples were looking disgusting...it started to get too bushy...it needed to go!

    I also weeded the garden..thrilling I know!

    Looking forward to the SUAR tshirts.

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  24. Last 3 bullets made my day. Thanks you SUAR!!!

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  25. I did lots of Zumba, running on the treadmill, lifting weights, p90x, cleaning, changing poopie diapers, breastfed too many times to count (my nipples aren't always hard like some people! ;))
    Made dinner every night, and was a taxi driver for the kids!

    I haven't read that book or seen that movie (I tend to avoid sadness in general). But Yep, war sucks. But yes, I'm American, and proud of it! Even though my ex is in the military, I'm still extremely grateful for everything the military does now and has done to keep our country free and give everyone the right to complain about it too.

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  26. cut back the bush that was overtaking our back deck, went to Back To School night -you'd think by 8th grade we'd get it, swam 20 minutes before running off to BTSN with my hair smelling like chlorine, yelled at the kids again for leaving their crap in the bathroom (shoes, shoe laces, hats, pens/pencils, etc)

    JessicaH

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  27. Did you know that you can wash your shower curtain liners?? Throw them in the washing machine with warm water, some dish soap, bleach and white vinegar and they come out sparkly clean. I just did mine and it looks brand new.

    As far as mundane, well, let's see. Yesterday I went fishing for a couple hours with my son, then I came home and mowed my lawn. Then I made dinner for 13 people.

    I'm dying to get out to run. A combination of things have prevented it in the last few weeks and I'm jonesin' big time. Not to mention I have another 1/2 the end of September that I really should be training for.

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  28. you had a busy one. :)

    This week I cleaned out my hammie, finally connected with some of my MIA foster kids, and got around to watching the netflix movie that has been collecting dust on my desk for 2 months, sunshine cleaning.

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  29. Just a few of the things that made up my week: bought a 4 bike hitch bike rake, refilled kids' prescriptions, waited around for 3 hours for the Sears repair guy to spend 5 minutes fixing my dishwasher, and had my annual mammogram

    How's that for random & mundane?

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  30. We Refused to Die is also a good book about an American POW held by the Japanese in World War II

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  31. I've been busy picking lice and nits out of my kids hair all week. I've done about 50 loads of laundry and vacuumed our carpet, matresses, shower curtians and lamp shades everyday.

    I cannot wait to get back to the mundane AND my Iron Girl Duathlon training.

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  32. I KNEW someone was going to have to post something about me not understanding that the Allies killed and tortured people too. Give me a break, do I have to follow every observation I make on this blog with a disclaimer stating I understand that there is another side?? I just was making a comment about a book I was reading. No need to get on your soapbox. And if you're looking for the commment, it's deleted b/c it didn't belong here in the first place.

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  33. I loved the deciding what to do with your life part, 'cause I have tons of those moments too. Tons. Mine don't end up with me purchasing a skirt, although I have my wife to thank for teaching me the concept of consolation prize shopping. My what to do with my life moments end with me at the coffe machine in the kitchen, pouring another one. Maybe that's why my teeth are so yellow!

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  34. "Swam 4,000 yards (not at once)." Why not? It's good for you. I mean, that's not even 4K. In fact it's not even IM distance. So about an hours worth, maybe a little more. What's the big deal?

    Glad to hear the spider thing worked out.

    Creeped out by the guy in your lane.

    Random and mundane. Work. Ironed work shirts. Played with business tax paperwork, and getting ready to actually pay the GST, and CPP, then shortly the Federal Tax, and Provincial tax.
    Yes, I know you are all asleep now, I can hear the snores.

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  35. Keith again you make me feel like pond scum. Why don't I swim 4,000 yards?? B/c I don't eff'ing want to! I hate swimming, especially that far. Could I do it? For sure. Do I want to, not for a minute.

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  36. farted; you asked for random and mundane, right?

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  37. Again?? Oops, not trying to do that. With creeps like that in your lane I can see that it would be hard to find the swimming love. But then some love the water and some don't. That doesn't make one better than the other, just different.

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  38. unbroken was the best book i read this summer! such an incredible story :)

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  39. I finally got our KY car insurance. I need to now cancel the MI, and am looking forward to getting new plates for the car so that we are no longer driving illegally. You can't get new plates until you have insurance, and you can't get insurance until you have a license, so it has been a process to say the least. I can't do both cars at the same time either, because one is Ryan's, and they need to see both cars, so we both have to go. I made whole wheat brownies. Don't eat them before a long run, too much fiber!

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  40. I super glued laminate back on a shelf on a bookcase in my son's nursery. How exciting am I?!??

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  41. "Put a new shower curtain liner in the shower. This simple and inexpensive act makes me feel like a rock star"
    I buy these at my local dollar store so that whenever I feel like a crap housewife I can throw a new one in the bathroom and revel in its vinyl-y smell.

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  42. Why don't you make a animal print running skirt for SUAR- in your spare time of course....thanks for sharing your time with us.

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  43. I am halfway through Unbroken and I feel the same way! I can't believe I hadn't heard about most of what the Japanese did during WWII! But what a great book!

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  44. I had one of my students fart on me during my Yoga class. That was random or Karma.

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  45. I am now afraid to read Unbroken...

    And I'm pretty sure you were more productive than I was all week long, sad! {for me, good for you}

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  46. I hope you are able to come to NY in the fall! Here are some fun and inexpensive things to do:
    See the Empire State Building (and go upstairs to the Observatory), then walk to Times Square. The Toys R Us in Times Square has a ferris wheel inside!
    Then, eat street food! Particularly, Halal food (grilled meat or falafel). There is street meat all over the city but the highest rated cart is Kwik Meal (http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/kwik_meal_1/). When you're full, walk to Rockefeller Plaza and visit NBC studios (they give yours). If you go at certain times you can see them recording live, through the window.
    For lower Manhattan, you can try Accomplice New York (http://accomplicetheshow.com/) which is a really fun interactive (it's like you're in a mob movie!) walking tour that takes you through South Street Seaport, Chinatown, Little Italy, and other attractions. While you're down there, check out Wall Street, Ground Zero, then take the free ferry to Governor's Island (where you can bike or walk/run) and the free ferry to Staten Island, where you pass the Statue of Liberty, or you can just straight up visit the Statue of Liberty.
    Walk/run across the Brooklyn Bridge and visit the Brooklyn Promenade in Brooklyn Heights.
    Walk/run in Central Park (of course), also there's Prospect Park in Brooklyn.
    I hope you get to come and that you enjoy the city!

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  47. There's also Van Cortlandt park in the Bronx where you can have a nice walk or run.
    In Queens there are a lot of inexpensive ethnic restaurants, especially Indian and Asian. If you're into any different cuisines, message me and I can recommend restaurants (or anything else!).
    If you go to Central Park, try to avoid taking a horse carriage ride. It's not as nice as it looks. You sit in the carriage and get driven around but you smell horse poop the whole time. Also they abuse the horses, overwork them, and keep them overly confined at night, so supporting that by buying a ride is no bueno.

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  48. SUAR-Don't be a tease... can you PLEAAASE post the ligtened up version of that recipe?! Or email it to me at kas06830@gmail.com.

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