The best girlfriend ever

Mouse and I always (half) joke that we are really the best kind of women. We're cute and fun (duh), but like sports and beer. We're the best of both worlds. JP and I have been dating through the entire football season, and our Saturday's have generally consisted of watching football. On the way to meet up with some of his friends at the bar to watch the Michigan v. OSU game last weekend, our conversation went something like this:

Me: "Aren't you SO glad you have the coolest girlfriend ever? I mean, I get excited about watching football and drinking beer all afternoon."
JP: (smiling) "Yes, I do have the best girlfriend ever. All of my friends are jealous."
Me: "Jealous? Really? Why? Because I like football?"
JP: "No, because you like all sports."
Me: (laughing) "And I'll drink beer with you."
JP: "Yep. They really are jealous."

Hahahahaha - I'm the best girlfriend ever! (AND... mouse will be too. I mean, come on, we're like twins. Except she has red hair. And bakes a mean apple pie. And can put on an entire Thanksgiving meal. And, oh yeah, has bigger boobs than me.)

Mouse and I both have the day off today and we're getting ready for Thanksgiving. We're baking pumpkin and apple pies for our family. It's my first attempt, so we'll see how this goes. I think my dad is a bit concerned that the fate of dessert is in my hands.

Then, tonight we're celebrating the biggest bar night of the year. YAY! Funny stories soon to follow. Hope you all have a great holiday. Be safe tonight!

The cutest thing ever! (and no, I don't mean me)

Pretty high on my list of obsessions is the panda bear. Ever since I first saw some at the Toledo Zoo in the late 80's, I FELL IN LOVE with these adoreable creatures. In college, there were some in the U.S. on loan and they were all over the papers. That year, my roommate got me a baby stuffed panda for my birthday and my floor (I was an RA) got me this huge stuffed panda that is nearly half my size. Well... I have recently fallen in love with the newest little girl at the Atlanta Zoo. I watch her nearly everday, thanks to modern technology. Take a look at her!

She doesn't have a name yet. Due to Chinese tradition, it's good luck to wait until she is 100 days old. The zoo is having a naming ceremony on December 15, and you can watch online. I am SO excited!!!! Yes, I am obsessed and a little crazy.

Truck training is officially over with and I celebrated by going to the gym. Jumped on the elipitical for an hour and did some arms. My "I'm-in-training-so-my-body-is-super-toned-and-buffed" look is, sadly, going away. Lately, I haven't been very regimented about going to the gym. Better get my butt back into gear!!

I'm more Asian than a panda bear

... or so my roommate tells me. (Really. It's okay to laugh. We do all the time.)

This week, for work, I've been doing a training to better understand one of my client's product better. I have to tell you, medium duty trucks aren't that exciting. I'm one of two females in the room, and I'm the only one who isn't a truck dealer. No offense if any of you, or loved ones, work for a dealership, but they tend to have the stereotype of being BSers and a little arrogant. Now, I'm used to being the only female in groups and I'm used to not being a part of the good ol' boys group. Most of these guys are pretty cool, and usually they're really good to me. Today, this sterotypical BSer sat next to me as we were going from one facility to another (the bus was really big and there were numerous empty seats, but no. He had to sit right next to me.) and he starts talking about something or other. He then looks at me and says, "my wife and I don't really get along." It was almost too funny for me to get mad at such an inappropriate comment. He then proceded to tell me a story about his friend that, "found a sweet young thing," left his wife, and moved to Vegas with her. He felt this was a good thing because the girl was so sweet. Right. I wanted to say no, she is a homewrecker and a gold digger. Seriously. I've been called hon, sweetie, been hit on and talked down to because I'm a female in a very much male dominated industry, but NEVER has someone been so obviously forward. Like I said, at first it was so ridiculous that it was funny. Now, I'm pretty pissed. What an ass!

Anyway... not feeling better. My back doesn't hurt anymore and you can barely see the spots where they poked me. But, my stomach isn't getting better. Ugh. I don't even want to think about it anymore.

Well, I've procrastined long enough and better start studying. I have to take the GMAT this month. They allowed me to start my first semester without it, but need to take it if I'm going to continue. Ugh - I hate math, and it hates me.

One last thing. Now since you've all seen what I look like after running, I want to show you a picture of when I'm cute. Okay. Acutally, I look like I have big boobs in this picture and want THE WHOLE FREAKING WORLD to see!!!!!

Better

Did some "stress relief" yoga and feel better. My muscles really needed a good stretching and I could use some stress relief. Night. :)

I'm grumpy

Still not feeling better, but trying to be optimistic. Actually, that's kinda a lie. I just automatically say that because I'm tired of people telling me to stay optimistic. Nope. Actually, I'm pretty pissed and very frustrated. Work, damn it. Work.

Went to the the gym yesterday and ran a few miles. I'm not sure if I really did hurt more, or since I'm not training I let myself slack a little. My abdomen was hurting too much (hmm.. maybe it's the shot?) so I cut it short. I was planning on at least 4 miles, but that wasn't happening. I jumped on the eliptical for a while (because that'll feel a whole lot better - it made sense in my head) and did some push ups and light ab work. I really wanted to do weights - it's been so long since I've lifted - but thought it would be best not to push it. As I'm getting extremely bored while on the elipitcal, I was itching to figure out what my next race is going to be.

Nothing new and exciting in my life, just trying to get through. I'm tired and grumpy (if you haven't picked up on that yet) so I'm thinking early to bed will do me good.

Tired, frustrated and hurting like hell

So... yesterday was my procedure. So not fun.

I was a little nervous, but was actually more looking forward to it than dreading it. I was going to go to sleep, they were going to do their thing, I was going to wake up and be cured. Or something like that. Actually, it was nothing like that. By, " we'll sedate you" they didn't mean, "we'll put you under." Oh no. I was fully aware of the needle being poked into my back, because I needed to be able to tell them when it hurt. Great.

I was in the pre-procedure room and the nice med student gave me my IV. Well, she tried to. It wasn't too horribly painful, but I was a little relieved when my doctor came in and showed her how to do it properly. I'm pretty patient with med students. For one, I know some people that have been/are in med school and I know that they need to learn how to do it so they can fully treat others later. You have to learn somewhere. She was a sweet girl, and I she chose to do this rotation because she felt it would help her prepare for her future in family meds. Her whole job in the procedure room was to hold my hand.

Anyway, they rolled me into the room and I had to lay on the x-ray table on my stomach and my arms stretched in front of me. They put some medication in my IV to make me relax. "You'll feel like you had a few drinks" is what they told me. Yeah. I need to stop believing everything my doctors tell me. I didn't feel the least bit like I had a drink. They started on the left side and put some numbing medicine in my back. Holy shit! It hurt like hell! Then, they started putting needles in me and that hurt like hell. I yelled out and they asked me where it hurt and what it felt like. I was trying not to be a smart ass, but I was like, "it feels like you poked me with a needle and it hurt like a needle was going through my back." I held off on the, "jackass" afterwards. :)

After a few pokes, they finally got it in where it didn't hurt. They then started on the right side. They didn't put enough numbing medicine in the first time and had to add more. Yeah, the numbing stuff is what hurts the most. It hurts because (duh) there is a needle going through your back, and then it burns like crazy. They decided to put more stuff in my IV so I could relax a bit more. That worked, because shortly afterwards I told them, "Yeah. I feel like I had a couple of drinks. I'd much rather be at the bar right now though." The nurse looked at me, smiled and said, "honey, we'd all rather be at the bar right now."

The right side hurt a lot more, but they finally finished. I don't really recall how I got from the procedure room to the recovery room, but I was pleased to see a basket of crackers and juice waiting for me.

After we (my mom took me) got back to my place, my parents, JP and I had dinner together. My dad brought me cheesecake and a bowl of tulips. Which, how can that not cheer you up? I was hurting pretty badly and my back hurt like hell, so I wasn't in the best mood. My pain level was still where it was when I went in, so that frustrated me a lot. They told me it may take up to 3 days for any relief to come, which really disappointed me. I want to feel better RIGHT NOW! So, I need to be a little more patient and hopefully this will work. Seriously, even if it does I'm a little apprehensive to go through this again. It was seriously the worst medical test/procedure I've ever gone through, and I've done a lot.

Anyway, I was pretty upset last night and was in a really pissy mood today, but trying to be optimistic. Hopefully the next couple of days will show some postive results. Thanks to all who were sending me good thoughts yesterday!

Marathon photos

Here are some photos from the race. I'd post the official photos, but I look like ass in the "professional" photos along the course, and someone was always right in front of me at the finish line. Aren't you so excited to see what I look like?

This was right around the half way mark. Still having fun!

This is right before entering the tunnel to Ford Field. It brought back memories of Super Bowl. I was on the field at half time with the Rolling Stones. We ran through the tunnel after standing outside in the FRIDGED cold for the first half of the game. While that was fun, this run was much sweeter!


Mouse and I after our race. I usually look much cuter than this. Hmm... must be that running for 26.2 miles and battling the wind for 4:00 hrs. :)

(Hahahahaha - Bet this wasn't how you pictured me in your head... is it...?)

One more day

After a really painful couple of days, I'm ready for tomorrow's procedure. I actually came home from work early today because it was so bad. I think that's the first time I've done that. It was an internal battle to do it, but after a few hours I couldn't handle it anymore.

Unfortunately, I was greeted with no water when I arrived home. Occassionally, it sounded like my toliet was going to explode but otherwise it hasn't been a huge deal. I may need to head to JP's to take a shower though if the water main isn't fixed soon.

My appointment is at 2pm tomorrow, so my mom is coming here around 12:30pm. If JP finished up what he needs to do in time, he's going to come too. I told him it's not that big of a deal, but it's sweet he wants to be there. What a change from crazy tool boy.

Hopefully I'll be back to normal (minus the pain) on Friday. They encourage you to resume all normal activities (ie. go to work) to see how your body responds. I'm a little nervous, but more looking forward to it than anything. Nonetheless, I think mouse and I are going to have some "I'm going to have a medical procedure done tomorrow and they're going to put me under and I'm not 100% sure how it's going to turn out so I think I'll drink to help calm my nerves a bit" drinks. No worries - I don't always turn to alcohol to fix my problems.

Didn't make it back to the gym this week, but I'll start back strong next week. I need to pick a race out so I have something to look forward to and train for. The hard part is it's so flipping cold in Michigan during the winter. Anyway, I promised myself after Detroit I was going to focus on healing so I'm not going to stress about it.

One more day...

Post-race week -- so much time!

It was a good week off. So good, I barely knew what to do with all of my free time. :) No class, no training. What's a girl to do with herself? Cram in everything she's been putting off until after the marathon.

Monday I had the day off, and fully enjoyed it. My massage was great and I was still in the runners high from the race. (Although I was f-ing tired -- physically and mentally!)

Tuesday was Halloween, and mouse and I had a grand time. Our townhouse is set up so the living area is all upstairs. During the day, I get an email from mouse saying we should camp down in our foyer since neither of us were able to run up and down the stairs for the trick-or-treaters. GREAT IDEA! I picked up take-out on my way home, we packed a cooler of beer, took the candy bowl down and were all set. I haven't enjoyed Halloween so much in years!

Wednesday, mouse and I went to the Piston's home opener with some friends. It was a sad sight and I kept expecting to see Big Ben tearing down the ball from the boards. I still have faith in my boys, but one word: rebound. The highlight of the night came when we found out we had access to a pole dancing instructor. A friend of one of the girls in our group teaches and we were all more than excited to take a lesson. Mouse and I have been talking about it for a long time, but never, honestly, thought we'd ever do it. We volunteered to host it (we have cathedral ceilings) and everyone agreed much drinking must take place BEFORE the actual lesson. Oh man, this is going to be fun!

Thursday, JP and I had a great date night at The Melting Pot to celebrate my promotion! and my race. It was the perfect date and we had such a nice time together. And, The Melting Pot is some good stuff! I was counting down the hours until I could stuff myself silly with cheese and chocolate fondue. That afternoon was also a big surprise, when a box came to my office for me. A friend mailed a huge ass bottle of champagne and two glasses to congratulate me for my promotion. What a great day!!

Friday, I went to see Borat. I didn't care for it. Enough said. (And, if you've seen it... I still can't get the naked fighting out of my head. GROSS!!!)

Saturday, mouse and I went to the U of M game. We had a great time tailgating with some friends. Lots of laughs and several beers later, we made it into the stadium. At the end of the 3rd quarter. However, we still managed to get hit on by an undergrad. The convo went something like this:

boy: Do you mind if I stand here
me: Sure. Now I don't have to worry about falling off the end.
boy: I wouldn't let you fall.
boy: So... are you a senior?
me: (laughing) yeah.... a few years ago...

Sweet - got hit on by a sophmore. Granted, I did sound like a undergrad, being that I was afraid I was going to fall of the end of the bench. And, the guy in front of me was pretty cool since he never got upset that I kept falling into him as I was losing my balance.

Mouse, Mo and I were all set for a night out (it's been a long time since we've all gone out), but unfortnately there was a change of plans. After the game, mouse and I went to an Ethiopian resturant. (Can you sense where this is going?) We got home, took a nap and both woke up not feeling so hot. We weren't sure either of us could make it to the store, so I called JP and asked him to bring Maalox and Gatorade. Needless to say, we didn't go out that night.

Sunday, Mouse, JP and I had a leisurely chocolate chip pancake breakfast. It was so great. The week prior, we were running around Detroit and here we were enjoying a nice cup of coffee. It was a little strange, but I think that breakfast tasted a little bit sweeter since we weren't training and could relax and enjoy it a bit more. And, let me just tell you. Mouse can make some mean chocolate chip pancakes!

So, that was my relaxing week off. Yesterday, I returned to the gym to get back into things. I ran an easy two miles and stretched a lot. Also threw in some push ups and crunches. Nothing too crazy, but I wanted to do something. Tonight I didn't feel like it, so I didn't go. Ahhh... how nice.

Thursday is my procedure, so I'm sure tomorrow's post will be about some pre-night jitters.The doctor's office called me today and said that my pain level has to be at least a 4 (on a scale of 1 to 10) for them to do it. I laughed and told her that wouldn't be a problem. It's never been as low as a 4 since this all started, and it's been especially bad over the last month. As much as I wish I wouldn't have to do it, I'm actually looking forward to it. I need some relief and I'm hoping this will work. Anyway, that's tomorrow's rant. :)