Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Day In The Life

I haven’t done one of these posts in a long time (2011 maybe). I am really not sure anyone cares or should care about a day in the life of me, but for some reason I really like it when other people do these posts, so here goes (and if you do one of your own, let me know, I will read it!).

To start, you should know my days are all completely random and are never the same. This is because I work from home, set my own hours and have no clue when things are going to come up or where/how I’m going to fit in my workouts. Woe is me.

6:30 a.m. Woke up to these guys (Heidi and my parents’ dog, Kleo) ready for a walk and a crap.

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Switch on the coffee, take my X2 Performance and vitamins and head out with two poop bags because no matter how much I let them out in the backyard they like to poop on our walks. I think it has something to do with enjoying watching me pick it up. I am going to invest in some dog training soon.

7:00 a.m. – 7:30 a.m. Get my running stuff on and eat an almond butter/jelly sandwich. Clean up dishes, feed dogs, feed guinea pig, take out recycling.

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I’ve always only eaten the almond butter from Costco (because it’s affordable – MaraNatha brand), but now that I’ve had the Barney Butter I won’t go back. So much more full flavored and smooth.

7:48 a.m. Took Emma to school with some coffee to go because I am Beth and I am a caffeine-aholic.

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7:53 a.m. Got caught in the drop off cluster. This is the only time when I really don’t like other parents. Try not to flip anybody off. Great self discipline.

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8:00 a.m. Met up with Joie and drove to Picture Rock trailhead. The sky was unbelievably blue today.

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8: 20 a.m. As always when you run with me, there has to be a pit stop prior (and many times during):

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I really mean PIT.

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On a side note, is it just me or is anyone else afraid some animal or snake is inside the pit toilet? I always assume some creature is going to bite my ass.

8:30 a.m. Off to run. If you are wondering if I still love my Hydra Quiver hydration pack, the answer is YES. I use it on every long run. No more fuel belt for me. Check out the pony tail. Crazy wind today.

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8 miles. Gradual elevation gain of about 850 feet. Had one plain GU at 4 miles and some Nuun. Joie is trying to eat “real” food like dates when she runs. I just like processed things.

10:00 a.m. Run is done. Head to Starbucks to pick up and drop off donations for the high school after prom party. Think to myself that Starbucks is very generous with this type of thing. Consider hoarding all the mugs, coffee, etc. for myself but don’t do it.

11:00 a.m. Home. Answer emails, makes some work calls. Start writing a report. Yes, I work amidst chaos.

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Wake up Sam because he is starting school late today. He is 16 but says he needs help “making” a bagel. I ask what he needs help with. The part where he puts it in the toaster or he part where he puts butter on it. “The whole thing,” he says.

11:30 a.m. Take 5 minutes to watch this video. It made me smile. It made me want to reproduce and have many more children. Okay, just for a fleeting moment.

12:00 noon. Sam says he feels really crappy. Allergies? Cold? Bubonic Plague? Who knows. He decides to stay home. I make him cinnamon apple tea with honey and force him to take a picture of me at my desk. What the children of bloggers have to go through.

12:30 p.m. Have a satisfying lunch of Anytime Vegetable Soup that I made yesterday and a bagel with melted cheese. Then some cookies.

1:00 p.m. ----->>>> whatever time. Probably 5:00 p.m. More work. Too boring to talk about. Eat some of this leftover from Easter (carrot cake). Yes, I do in fact like my icing to be as thick as my cake. That pink spot is where a Peep used to be.

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You notice there has not yet been a shower. I do smell, but I don’t mind my own stink. I promise I will rinse off in the near future. Or, wipe down with Huggies at the very least.

6:00 p.m. Going to attend an Ironman Nutrition Seminar here. The head of my training group says, “IM is really an eating and drinking contest with some swimming, biking and running thrown in to make it fun.”

7:30 p.m. ++++ Wine and popcorn and Mad Men.

WAKE UP! Were you really that bored with my life?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Would you rather go in a pit toilet or behind a bush? I usually pick the bush, but toilet paper was a necessity today.

What is your favorite hydration pack/belt?

What’s better in your mind – working from home or being in an office? I have to admit that I love the flexibility of my schedule and being able to smell with no one caring, but I do miss having colleagues and the camaraderie of the workplace.

SUAR

49 comments:

  1. So are you still using the 1 bottle HydraQuiver or have you gone to the 2 bottle model? Thinking it might work for my DH, who doesn't want a pack per se, and whose back is bothered when he hand carries - a waist pack may not carry enough for him. The HQ looks like a compromise.

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    1. I have both but tend to use the one bottle one more. It is lighter and less bulky. The double barrel would be perfect for a long trail run (10+ miles) where you would have no way to replenish your water.

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  2. Love this sentence the most: "...because I am Beth and I am a caffeine-aholic" SO ME. :)

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  3. i prefer any kind of toilet with an enclosure over a bush any day. Last time I used a bush I got caught (yes, with my pants down LOL). I've not yet graduated to "hydration" on the go...I've carried a bottle of water before but typically I'm not out long enough to warrant something. When I do graduate to it I'll use a hydration pack verse a fuel belt-i'm not big on thing hugging my midsection. As for the Cubicle vs home office...I'll take a home office please! I'm so tired of my cubicle and such; I would love to work from home, with a lil bit more freedom to decide when what gets done and when. Plus i'd get to hang with my furbabies!

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  4. I would prefer a bush if there are no people around and the toilet is disgusting. If it's clean and readily accessible, I'll choose the toilet

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  5. I also fear creatures in the pit. Totally normal.

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  6. Pit toilet for sure! When I went to watch that baby singing video they had a video on the side called "babies afraid of farts". It was hilarious! Thought you would like it;)

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    1. That is on my to-do list today - to watch that video.

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  7. I prefer the bushes...one porta pottie in my route DID have a rattlesnake curled up in it...and there's always black widow spiders nesting in the seat,

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  8. I'd rather work from home. Don't have hydration pack... yet. Pit toilet all the way because I'm afraid to poo or pee on my $30 compression socks. PS Your pit toilet looks exactly like the one i use here in MN...must be universal design.

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  9. I try to avoid porta potties. Years ago I heard on the news some disgusting creep hid in the bottom of a porta potty to watch women. I have been freaked out ever since.

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    1. Okay now you have just added creepy humans to the list of things I am afraid of in the pit toilet.

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  10. When I hit the PIT room at the place I tend to go all the time (middle of nowhere) I tend to prop the door open with a rock and NEVER sit on the seat for the fear that something un-NATURAL will come out of it and bite my ass or at least try and grab it. For me I tend to not even touch the toilet paper rolls cause there are VERY LARGE spiders that hang out in and around them. Come to think of it I prob would be safer just popping a squat outside :-\

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  11. I work from home and mostly love it. I do miss my friends and may have forgotten how to apply makeup tho........

    My high schooler needs "help" making toast!

    OMG I'm not the only one who likes wine and popcorn?!?!?!

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  12. I work full-time from home and love being able to make my own schedule throughout the week/weekend. I probably wouldn't train as much as I do without that kind of flexibility. I wake up every day feeling fortunate. Oh, and my 7:30++++ involves wine, popcorn, and House of Cards.

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  13. Fun post! And yeah, my poor kids are also "children of a blogger" and thus have had to spend time taking photos of this and that with my critique thrown in. I work at home and LOVE LOVE LOVE it. No wasted time, flexibility, its awesome. But unlike you, I seem to have workday part deux starting at 7pm!! Love your humor...very fun!

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  14. I like 'day in the life of' posts! I also work from home and I like the flexibility and optional shower / real clothing thing, but I too miss having colleagues around to chat with. I just bought the double barrel quiver-thing and I haven't quite gotten the hang of using it yet. I can retrieve the bottles just fine, but I've dropped them several times trying to return them. I'm sure I just need practice.

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  15. It's tough to work from home when you're a teacher...

    What did you have for dinner? Is wine and popcorn dinner? I need to know!

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    1. Sorry to leave that out!! Since I was gone until almost 8:30 it was frozen pizza. Very gourmet.

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  16. I don't think anything could survive in a pit toilet...

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  17. I always prefer toilet paper, so I gotta go with PIT. Right now I just run with a hand held bottle, but I want to start doing longer runs and will have to invest in something I carry on my back, I don't need anything extra wrapped around my waist. I would love to work from home, but I'm an OR nurse so I think the logistics of that would be pretty difficult ;) I'd love to have the flexibily to train for bigger races, but right now I'm tied to the OR 6-2:30 M-F.... Thanks for the glimpse into your stinky life ;)

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  18. I think working from home sounds pretty great. I just quit my job - well sorta. We're moving and I asked to work remotely. We'll see how it shakes out.

    Also just did a day in the life post a week or so ago: http://milehighjess.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/a-day-in-the-life-lately. Some day my kids will be able to explain why they need help rather than throw themselves on the ground. I look forward to it and dread it.

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  19. Your life is WAY more exciting than mine! :)
    We really need to do a trail run sometime together again....miss you!

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    1. You too it's been way too long. Happy belated birthday!

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  20. Beth, thanks for not flipping me off today in the Westview cluster. :-)

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  21. After you showed off your fancy new Orange Mud hydra quiver I knew I wanted to try it. I told my husband that was what I wanted for my birthday, but he, being awesome like he is, told me to just order it now! So far I love it though my running season is just a few weeks in. My longest run so far has been 5.5 miles. I hated having anything around my waist so this one is awesome!

    I laughed at your 16 yr old needing help making a bagel. Hmm, I was hoping my boys would get more self sufficient soon. Maybe not....

    Definitely look for a bush before outhouse.

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  22. I work from home and LOVE it. Nobody to boss me around, except I work ALL the time because I'm self-employed. Thankfully I love what I do.

    I definitely prefer a bush, squatting feels so much better than sitting on a toilet. At the end of my run today, I really (really) needed to go, and despite being 100 feet from my door, I hid behind a giant shrub. So much more satisfying. I actually thought of you, and felt very "SUAR." I don't mind pit toilets, and I've found most runners to be pretty clean and courteous in the porta-potties at races, but I hadn't thought about critters in the pit toilets before! Or creepers hiding at the bottom! Gross.

    For fuel, I have a Nathan Trail belt with two 10 oz bottles. To prevent bouncing, I have to either wear the bottles in the front, or high up on my waist so I look like a goober. I mostly love it, although I'm gonna need to find a pack soon for longer runs, and I have no idea how people figure out which pack is the right one without spending $500 to try a bunch... It's impossible to get a good feel for it in a store, it's totally different when you're running with a full load of water. The Quiver looks good, but I love how easy it is to access my Nathan bottles, and 26 oz isn't enough water for me. I prefer trail running to road, and I like to go out with everything that I'll need.

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  23. I love Day in the Life posts! If I can get my act together I will do one and share with you (read--> slim chance I will get my act together but hopeful). :)

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  24. My children avoid photos like the plague. My youngest, 17, will do it but grumble. He's the nicest. He also has issues with toast, bagels, scrambled eggs, things like that. "Will you make me....~fill in the blank~"

    I interpret that to mean he's too lazy to do it himself.

    I'm usually right. Good thing they're cute.

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  25. I am driving to your house now to have a piece of that cake before it is gone....MAN, that looks good. And, I also believe in frosting=size of cake.

    Pit toilets - yes, terrified something will come out of there. I also have to flush, and check, and reflush when I throw a bug in my home toilet. I don't want to pee on top of it, scared it will crawl/fly out of toilet into my nether-regions. Shudder.

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  26. Those PITS scare me. I'm afraid of snakes, bugs, or hell hands possibly coming up and getting me. I'd opt for a bush but usually TP wins out unless of course the PIT is out and then well... arm warmers?

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  27. I'd rather go in a bush... the chance of "splashing" scares me along with the bug and little nasties that live in there. GROSS! I'd WAY rather work from home and hope to do that someday!

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  28. Behind a bush for #1, pit toilet for #2. I also have visions about some kind of monster lurking in the pit and biting me on the bare butt - I think that is the result of watching too much X-Files.

    Favorite hydration pack for running is a Camelbak Annadel. Holds 50 ounces of water plus cell-phone, keys, a gel, and a small wad of toilet paper, doesn't bounce or slosh even on rugged trails, fits my small torso well. I mountain biked for 15 years before I started running, so a Camelbak feels natural to me. Hate having anything around my waist, even a tiny pouch with my phone bugs me, and I could never run with anything as heavy as a water bottle on my waist.

    Would love the flexibility of working from home - runs in daylight instead of pre-dawn!! Not being obligated to shower between work and running!! But I really do like my colleagues, and I think I would miss being part of a face-to-face team.

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  29. I enjoyed reading about your day.
    Mine was pretty sweet - I found a piece of chocolate in the bottom of my purse. Score!!!!

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  30. Behind a bush for sure-have also gone right on the highway once or twice on the side of a road. I also love it when I find hidden chocolate-it kind of makes my day! Have a good one!

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  31. Be patient in the drop off line. Tragedy struck at my kids' school last month. Scary stuff.
    http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Student-Drop-Off-Traffic-Becomes-An-Issue-At-RHAM-Middle-School_Hartford-250790981.html?akmobile=o
    Note the typo in the description - it is quite accurate.

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  32. I always like reading day in the life posts. I think I'd opt for the bushes over a pit toilet - too many possibilities of what's lurking in there. And I love working from home too - can't beat the flexibility. I am convinced though that I'll be up on homicide charges based on some of the nonsense that goes on in our drop off/pick line!

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  33. Two thoughts -

    I feel like I am the only person who has to pee while hiking. People in Colorado Springs must have large bladders. Glad to know I'm not alone.

    Also on working from home and not getting dressed - I ended up at lunch today in workout gear again. Everyone else had on "cute" tops, jeans and make-up. Need to make an effort when going out!

    Carol from www.6500feetfit.com

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  34. Awesome blog and the comments are hilarious! I grew up in Kansas and this lake, Lake Wabaunsee has a fun little swimming area with a pretty nasty outhouse. Back when I was a little kid the thing was crazy nasty, stuff down below had probably been in there for 50 years, but even so I remember my dad telling me that a guy got busted for hanging out in the bottom of the outhouse and watching people. Crazy stuff! Ever since then, I think I was like 6, I always take an extra peek down into the deep dark murky area of an outhouse just to see if there is some nut job down there. But of course as a guy, I'm guessing I'm the least of his worries!

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  35. I wish I could run so late in the morning :o)

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  36. I am keeping my parents' dog this week too! In some ways it makes me want a second dog and in other ways it makes me glad to have just one!
    I have always had an irrational fear of snakes in all toilets biting me in the ass... then I saw Snakes on a Plane and it affirmed my crazy! Ha!

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    1. Yes, I'm the same. I love how the dogs entertain themselves, but it is double the work in terms of feeding, walking, etc.

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  37. If I have to pee, I'd rather just quick go behind a bush. If I have to poo, a pit! (But I'll go behind a bush if I have to!)

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  38. I'm still laughing about the stuff about your three legged dog with the one eye. I suspect you might be sick of the endless "What happened to his leg/eye?" Why do people do that? Do they want a grisly story?

    ANYWAY your day in the life inspired me to get better about updating my blog more frequently, which I really needed. No pressure.

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  39. I did it! It made me sleepy just looking back at it. Thanks a lot toddlers! ;)
    http://oatmealsmiles.com/day-life/

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  40. Just started working in my at home office at a new job....I hope it goes well! Felt guilty running in the park when I mighta shoulda been at my desk tho! But it was sunny!

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  41. Would you rather go in a pit toilet or behind a bush?
    It depends upon the circumstances. With lots of people around I use the pit toilet, but when alone in nature I find squatting behind a bush very satisfying. I always carry toilet paper in my back pack. But yes, it may be a bit risky. I must admit that I occasionally have been walked in on when visiting the bushes, even in the wilderness. But, well, we all do, don't we?

    What is your favorite hydration pack/belt?
    I just have a small back pack with a simple plastic bottle.

    What’s better in your mind – working from home or being in an office?
    I like the social settings connected with an office. I am not able to work efficiently at home!!

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