The Beautiful People Club

Last night I partied with a "beautiful people" club. It was one of JP's friend's birthday and so we went to the bar to celebrate with her. I hadn't met these friends yet, so I was looking forward to it. I tease JP that he's a part of the "beautiful people" club. Most of his friends are very attractive and what I would consider out of my league. (At least they're the nice beautiful people instead of the snobby beautiful people.) As we're approaching the bar, he slides in that I'm going to think these are the BPC. Great. Now I'm a little nervous. I'm a pretty confident person, but I never want to be the couple that people look at and think, "Really? He's with her?" We had a great time and it was the perfect summer night to be at a patio bar. Everyone was so nice, I met some really great people and fit in well.



Well, the birthday girl had a bit too much to drink and needed someone to drive her home. Since she doesn't live too far away from us, we volunteered. I was going to drive her car and JP was going to follow behind. We went to valet to get our cars and hers pulled up first. Yeah... it was a $100,000+ BWM. So, not only was I with the "beautiful people" group, I was with the "rich, beautiful people group." JP's BWM pulled up behind and, as much as he loves his car, he was SO jealous that I was driving this one! His friend and I gabbed the whole way home and she's such a sweet girl. We're traded phone numbers and we planned on setting up a driving range date sometime soon. Not sure how drunk she was, or if she'll remember, but nonetheless, I drove a $100,000 car. It was a good night. :)

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Getting ready to go to the thing most women dread throughout their adult lives -- a wedding shower. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my dear college friend, but no matter how much you adore the bride-to-be, showers suck. I'm going to guess this, "Garden Party" won't have those stupid games, but keep your fingers crossed. Nothing like ooohing and aahhing about what a great set of bowls she registered for...

My commute home

Since I've been on this assignment with weird hours, I don't check the traffic report before I leave - no rush hour traffic at 2:30 p.m. Apparently I should check it. Yesterday afternoon, around noon, a water main pipe broke and flooded one of the major expressways. Nearly 4 feet of water! Of course, it was the expressway that I take home. Traffic was re-routed and it took about 1 1/2 hours to go 30 miles. Thankfully no one was hurt!

Complete Waste of Time

Let me start this blog entry by saying that I am in full support of those that need a psychologist and the psychologists that are able to help them. That said, the psych eval that I went to yesterday was A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME.

When I arrived, I was taken into a small room with a desk to take a questionnaire. A 576-true/false questionnaire. Going in with an open mind, I tried to over look that this was going to take me forever. Some of the questions I could completely see being a part of the evaluation. Questions related to alcohol use, if I've considered harming myself, etc. Some of the CRAZY questions include, "I think someone is trying to take control of my mind", "I see people or animals that no one else can see", "I have a fear of dirt." Yes. Those were really on the form. (I started thinking though. If I really did see people that weren't there, would I actually admit it on a true or false scantron?)

Then my psychologist came in the room. I thought he would be friendly, try to build a repoire with me, etc. Nope. He came in with a legal pad and started with a constant stream of questions. He asked the typical questions - relationship with family, friends, boyfriend; how I liked high school and college; how I like work; etc.

He got to the question of when the pain started. I replied it started 2 years ago. He asked if I've had any medical problems within the two years. Okay. Did you not read my file. Yes, I had my freaking abdomen sliced open. He asked for a few details, and I said that I had went to the ER in the middle of the night and had to have surgery that day. Now, I'm no expert but if there was something in my past that could be causing me stress couldn't it be the fact that I had a pretty tramatic heath issue? Apparently not because he barely flinched and went back to asking me questions about my relationship with my parents. Were their expectations to high? I guess it's more likely that I'm in pain because my parents were mean to me when I was 6-years-old instead of having a major surgery.

In what I thought was the middle of our conversation, he suggested I go to a few sessions with someone, "because it can help to talk to someone about life and what's on my mind." Yeah. I'm thinking no.

After pressing him for more details (like why he thinks this is the course to go), he said that he can usually tell right away what is bothering someone but couldn't with me. Hmmm, maybe because it isn't in my head. He basicaly said that he thinks it is good to be driven, but that I may be a perfectionist and putting too much stress on myself. Of course I'm driven, I call that being successful. I have a good job, I'm good at what I do, I have a strong support system and I work hard to be physically pit. Of course, marathon runners are their own kind that non-runners don't always understand, but that doesn't mean that I'm a perfectionist.

I have another doctor's appointment (like a real medical doctor) next week, so we'll see how that goes.

On a more normal note, I ran between 4-5 miles yesterday afternoon. The weather is actually the perfect temp and it was nice to be outside. Today I ended up working out with a trainer at the gym. I barely lasted 30 mintues before I thought I was going to pass out. I'm so not in shape yet. Gotta keep working to get back into it. Oh wait, is that me trying to be a perfectionist and reach unrealistic goals...? :)

Runners Legs

Yesterday after work all I wanted to do was go home and take a nap. BUT, I took my butt to the gym instead. When I walked in, one of the trainers called me over. His client was a no-show and since he was getting paid anyway, he said he may as well kick my butt for an hour instead of sit around. Sweet! He's a pretty good trainer and has been trying to recruit me since my previous trainer left. Unfortunately, when I came back out his client showed up. Bummer!

I thought I'd try out the bike since I've been toying with the idea of doing a tri for about two years now. Holy cow! My legs are not cycling legs! After 20 minutes on the spinning bike, I couldn't go on. I was sweating like mad and, had someone been next me, I definitely would have been the smelly girl on the bike! I'll tell you, in just 20 minutes my butt hurt. Those little seats are really not comfortable at all. If/when I start tri's, my first purchase is going to be one of those gel seats!

Trying to mix things up a bit to keep me interested in workout out, I decided to hit the Precor machine. (After trying to walk to it normally. I can totally see how that is a dificult transition.) Usually a "manual mode" girl (hmm... that doesn't sound right...), I opted for the programed glut workout. It was a good workout and I swear my butt's a little smaller already. :)

I decided to suck it up and go to my appointment today. Still a little reluctant to go and I'm not sure what to expect at all, but I'm sure it'll be interesting.

"The Zone"

Yesterday, I headed to the gym expecting to do some light cardio since I haven't been working out at all lately. Nothing fancy, just a little one-on-one time with the eliptical. Now, "The Zone" is something runners love and I haven't experienced in quite some time. Apparently, my body realized I was finally working out out again and thought it better slip into this phase and enjoy it while it could. Who knows when I'll work out again, right? :)

Since it was nearly 100* outside, plus all the stinking Michigan humidity, the air conditioned gym was packed. I jumped onto the eliptical and started my workout. I was really getting into it and was surprised when I had already chugged out 3 miles. Now, I know running 3 miles and getting 3 miles in on the elipitcal are completely different but, the fact is, I went 3 miles. Whoo Hoo. And, since I was feeling good (except for the smelly man next to me. We all sweat and stink, but this was extreme. Yuck!) I decided to see what I could do on the track.

Mile 1 - about 8:30 pace. Hmmm... not bad. Haven't done that in awhile. My mind starts to wander and I begin to think about everything that's been going on with my health. You see, at my last appointment at the pain clinic the doctor gave me two more options (the 3rd is surgery, but I refuse to do it). The first option is a psych evaluation to see if it's a "mind over matter" thing. I told him if this is all in my head, I'm fine with that. Let's just find out it is, and figure out how to get over it. If it's not, then we can cross off the list that I'm crazy. I'm suppose to go this week for my eval, but I'm having second thoughts. I'm not afraid to do it, nor am I ashamed of it but, I truly think it is something physically wrong with me. I understand that I can believe I'm in pain when there isn't really anything wrong, but I can't make myself swell, bleed, etc. Those are all physical things, not mental issues. (The second option was a drug that was accidentally discovered to treat chronic pelvic pain. If you're a little uneasy about the acidental finding get this, it hasn't been through enough clinical trials for ANY statistical data behind it. Right.... like I'm going to jump for that option.)

Mile 2 - about 8:15 pace. Hmmm... this isn't bad. Plus, I'm deep in thought by now. I start thinking about my great support system - friends, family, fellow bloggers. I especially thought about Tori's latest post and how determined she is after all the health issues she went though. I think about Mendy and David and what a great family they are and how encouraging they both have been to me -- a complete stranger.

Mile 3 - about 7:00 pace. By this time I'm completely in the zone, more determined than ever to run and I've got some kick butt music playing on my iPod. It felt so good to open up, stretch my legs and just ... go.

Still in this great mindframe, I thought I'd better milk it for all it's worth and hit some weights. I hadn't lifted in quite some time either and it felt good. I was making myself strong, little by little. After I was done lifting and stretching, I felt so accomplished. I was hurting (you can only block out knives stabbing and burning through your abdomen for so long), but I was so happy with myself that I seemed to bear it a little better.

So, to everyone that was with me during my run yesterday (there are LOTS of you)... thanks. I couldn't have done it without you.

Five whole days of fabulous vacation! It was so wonderful and I was so sad when the alarm went off at 5 a.m. today. I just wasn't ready to go back to work. Here's a quick look at my time off:

Days at the Pool: 1
I spent my first day off sitting by the pool for the day. Of couse, I had to call JP at work and tell him that I was enjoying the sunshine. This was the first time I've hit the pool at the new place and it was nice and empty. All the suckers were at work... :)

Movies Watched: 3
1. Tuesday night we went to see Transformers, which is a fun summer movie. Plus, iti s filled with the products that I work with everyday, so that was pretty cool. We've been talking about this movie for so long, it was nice to see it on the big screen... finally.

2. Friday night we saw Ocean's Thirteen. Not the best of the three - possibly tying with the 2nd one or just slightly better. This is a good rental movie, but I wouldn't recommend going to the theater to see it.

3. Last night we saw Die Hard. Completely unrealistic (even for a Die Hard movie, which is saying a lot) but again, a fun summer movie.

Veggie Burgers Consumed: 2
We went to a picnic at JP's sister's house for a BBQ. Pretty low-key, except for a rousing round of Sorry and Monopoly.

The next day, we went to my parent's house for a belated birthday dinner for JP. Complete with cake, ice cream and presents. I'm so glad that my parents and JP get along so well!

Baby Polar Bears Sighted: 3
On Saturday, we spent the day at the Toledo Zoo. We went with some friends who have a 3-year-old, so it was kinda fun seeing everything through a child's eyes again. The Toledo Zoo is a wonderful zoo (I've actually never been to the Detroit Zoo...) and the newest attactraction is the polar bear exhibit. There are three baby bears and they are SO cute. And, to feed into my panda bear obsession even more, JP got me a little stuffed one at the gift store. Instead of saying I'm spoiled, I prefer to say that I'm loved. :)

Miles Run: 0
Yes, I'm a complete slacker and the ambition of running a marathon this fall is slowly slipping away. Having some semi-serious medical issues right now (I need to call the doctor again today) and running isn't high on the priority list. I know I could still run if I wanted to by altering my training a bit, so that makes me feel a little better. I'm pretty sure I could bounce into it relatively quickly. I'm pretty torn right now about running and just not sure where I stand. My plan is to at least workout while I'm figuring things out, so at least I'm in some sort of decent shape.

Anyway, it's a hot one out there today (Yes, David, I should enjoy this warm weather before I'm shoveling snow that's up to my waist!). It's back to the real world, so I better get back to work. Happy Monday!

Is it Monday already?

The weekends just go to fast. It was a beautiful, sunny weekend and, like most, it wasn't long enough.

Friday, JP and I had an exciting night at Costco. I bought my tires there (GREAT deal!) and had to go back to see what the heck happened to mine. As they were working on it, we walked around and bought some things we didn't really need, but were such a great deal we couldn't pass it up. Really, we're not one of those couples that load several carts because you think buying in bulk is cheaper. But... when it's a good deal we take advantage of it. Oh, and what was wrong with the tire. Absolutely nothing. Really. I had these special caps on my tire stem that turn yellow when the tire pressure gets low. Apparently it randomly decided to break and it let all the air out of my tire. I was relieved I didn't have to drop a bunch of money on a stupid tire. JP just felt stupid for not catching it.

Saturday, I didn't do my long run (more on that later). Instead, I enjoyed the luxury of sleeping in and going out to breakfast. After running errands and "life" stuff, JP went to the bar with his buddies to celebrate his birthday. I declined an invite to go out with some friends, and went to bed instead. Ah yes, more sleep! At least for awhile...

I was in bed in a deep slumber, when my lovely boyfriend came home from the bar and decided to come visit. He wasn't drunk, which makes this even funnier. At 4:30 AM he comes in and wakes me up. And... like a little kid, he wants to open his birthday presents. Since it is, technically, his birthday I give in. I got out of bed, went into the closet where I had hidden his gifts and give him one of them. Thinking I'd be in the clear until morning, I soon learn that this only sparked the fire. Oh no. Now he wants to open all of his presents. So, at 5 a.m., he opens his birthday presents. I told him that if we ever have children it will be HIM that gets up with the kids on Christmas morning. :)

A few hours later, I took JP to a surprise brunch. I was SO excited to take him and not telling him where we were going about killed me. I'm not very good about keeping secrets. I made reservations at The Whitney -- on of the nicest places in Detroit. It's an old mansion that they turned into a resturant, and it's right downtown Detroit. It's one of those places that if ou live in the area, you have to go to at least once. We got dressed up and headed downtown. When we turned down the road it is on, he looked at me with a VERY surprised look on his face and said, "We're going to The Whitney!"

Brunch was amazing. Really though, how can a four course brunch not be amazing? It was the most I've ever paid for brunch, but I was okay with it since it was a special occassion. Afterwards, we walked around the mansion to explore and took some pictures. Absolutely beautiful.

Last night, we finished his big day with a big dinner with his family. We stuffed ourselves silly! More presents and finally I fall into bed exhausted around midnight. Thank goodness it's shutdown (auto companies always shut down for 2 weeks in the summer) so none of my clients were in the office today. Jeans and an early afternoon... sweet! Okay... time for a nap. Maybe the gym later...

P.S. If you're catching onto this... my marathon training isn't going so well... Not in the mood to talk about it now. Maybe later...

Date Night -- Five Stars

Although it got off to a rough start, last night's date night was great.

Around 1:30 p.m., JP called me at work to say he had just woken up. He wasn't planning on going into the office, but it ended up he was sick after returning home late on Wednesday night. I was concerned that he was sick, but I'll admit I was more disappointed that we may not get to see Ratatouille.

After work, I went right to his place and he was feeling a bit better. After idle chit chat, I finally busted out with, "If you're not feeling well... should we call your brother to see if he wants the tickets for tonight?" It was in that half hopeful/half disappointed voice. I tried to be neutral, but I couldn't help it. He smiled and said that we would go.

Shortly afterwards, I went home to change out of my work clothes. No running tonight - I'll take it as my rest day. (As if my training schedule hasn't been jacked up to begin with...) After changing, I jumped back into my car to drive back to his house.

Thump.

Thump, thump.

"What the hell is that?"

I looked out my window and saw that my back tire was COMPLETELY FLAT. I'm talking so flat it looked like a half circle. How did that happen? Literally 15 minutes prior it was fine. And... don't the flat tire gods know that it's date night!?!?!

I started to get the jack out when JP came over to help change the tired and stop me from having a breakdown. When things go wrong with my truck I get very touchy. I love my truck and hate when there's something wrong with her. (Note: I do refer to my truck as, "her", but am not the type to actually name it.)

(This is her, but mine is white. My motto is that my truck is, "cute and sporty, just like me.)

We quickly took off the tire and found... absolutely nothing. We couldn't find any holes, rips, tears, nothing. Since it happened so quickly, I thought for sure we'd find a huge slash in it. Nope. Nothing. This made it worse. Stupid tire.

We quickly finished and were on our way. We were cutting it close and I was starting to think we weren't going to make it to the theater in time. Not to mention that we weren't going to get dinner beforehand now and we were both starving. It was in one of those fancy theaters in a very upscale area, where I haven't done "the scene" in awhile. It was nice to be there and see so many people walking around. Anyway, we made it in time and it was such a great movie!!!! It was super cute, funny and had those classic Disney/Pixar believe in yourself-you can do anything you put your mind to-family and friends stick together underlying themes. I highly recommend it to anyone, regardless if you have small children or not. Definitely 5 stars from me!

(Come on, how can you not love these little guys.)

We went over to our favorite Thai place nearby, but it was closed by the time we got there. By this time we had been seeing food that looked so real we could practically smell it for 1 1/2 hrs, so anything sounded good. We settled for Mongolian BBQ. Yum!

Tonight is my 3 miles I skipped yesterday and then to take my tire in to see what's wrong with it. I'm so not excited. Then... my first long run on Saturday and then JP's birthday is Sunday. Should be a great weekend.

The "D"

We're like a real city. Yes, it will take a little bit of time yet, but Detroit is coming along. And I've seen proof of it all week. Last week the Detroit River Days festival began. Along the riverwalk, outside of the RenCen where my office is located, a transformed city came to life. The new carousel is open, a small carnival was set up, food vendors, basketball hoops (complete with Coach K from Duke making an appearance), GM Racing team members and their cars, THREE music stages, etc., etc., etc. It is quite a sight. Sadly, it ends tonight with the famous Target Fireworks (hopefully it doesn't rain...) Anyway, the proof of its success? People are coming downtown. Every day when I leave work, there are people walking around. Really. Families, young, old, all races... and not just the people that work downtown. People are making an effort to come downtown. It's such a great sight to see.

I have special passes to the fireworks tonight, which I must admit I've never been to before. Part of me hopes it doesn't rain because I really want to go. Part of me hopes it does because it's going to be such a late night that I'd rather be dead tired on a Friday than on a Thursday. I hate getting up so freaking early!

Last night I skipped golf and went to the gym instead. I wasn't feeling well, it was nearly 100* outside and I just didn't feel like chasing a little ball around the grass all night. Oh well. Anway, I did my sheduled 3 miles and then some, ending up with 4 miles at 9:30 pace. I also FINALLY hit the weights and focused on arms. A little sore this morning, but not too bad. It was rough getting through, but I was bound and determined to get my miles in.

I don't typically watch much TV, but last night I turned it on and flipped through the channels. On ABC, "Shaq's Big Challenge" reality show caught my eye and I was pleasantly surprised. It was actually really good. Six overweight children (I'm talking 50% body fat! An 11-year-old that weighs nearly twice as much as I do!) that are going through a lifesaving change. I'm hooked! This will be my guility pleasure this summer.

Real Mail

Yesterday, I went to my mailbox expecting half of the items inside to be junk and hoped the other half wouldn't be bills. I had an envelope with my name handwritten on it, which always intrigues me. Plus, I always get a little excited about "real" mail. Remember how big mail was in college? (My mom was so good at it, sending a letter every other week of so. I never got those big care packages though...) Anyway, guess what was inside? I won a contest (which I had actually forgotten I'd entered)!!!

The daily newspaper always does these little online promotions and I always enter. I figure

someone has to win. Right? Well, it was my turn to win. I won two advance screening tickets to Ratatouille and a gift card to a nice resturant. I'm SO excited. (Not to mention the resturant has a killer dessert I've been craving lately. It's called "tuxedo cake." Think Hostess Ho Ho, only a trillion times better. )

Now, I know I'm an adult, but I love those Pixar movies. And, Ratatouille is one I've been looking forward to seeing. Granted, I'd probably wait until it came out on video, but hey, I get to see it before it actually comes out. Thursday night is going to be date night. :)

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Doctor appointment went okay. More later. Not really ready to talk about yet. I always get a little moody after an appointment, no matter the outcome. I did go the gym. Didn't workout, but I went to the gym. I drove to there, sat in the parking lot and then drove home. Just couldn't muster up the energy or strength to go inside.

Hot construction chic

One of JP's brothers is an architect working on the renovation of the mall near us. He invited us to go through and see what he's been doing and a chance to get a sneak peak at the new mall. A hard hat and safety goggles... should I change professions or what!?! (Ha! I usually wear stilettos everyday to the office...)

Long run update -- No comment

Yep, it was that good. I was in a lot of pain this weekend and didn't do my long run on Saturday. I attempted to do it on Sunday, but that didn't happen either...

I have an appointment at the pain clinic this afternoon, so we'll see what he says.

Week 1 - Almost complete

The first week of training is coming to a close. The one big thing still looming ahead is the weekend "long run." Yeah. The long run. I'm scheduled to do a 10-miler. We'll see about that. I'm not sure I'm quite ready for that. I could do it, but I don't want to hurt myself just to prove I can do it. May bump it down to an 8-miler.

Day 3 - Wednesday
Scheduled to do a 5-miler and I was really excited about it. I was in pain all day, so I thought instead of doing a 5-mile loop, I'd run to the nearby high school and do laps. Sounds boring, I know, but at least this way I wasn't too far away from home if I couldn't make it through. I ran the 1 mile-ish to the track, did 3 miles on the track and ran home. It was actually kinda fun being on the track (I miss those high school days) and the time passed quickly. Not sure of my exact splits, but it was a 9:50-10:00 pace. Not super speedy, but I'm not worried about that.

I didn't make it to the gym to lift though... I was drenched in sweat and was pretty tapped out. I know lifting is such a vital part of training, but I just haven't been able to muster both the runs and the lifting. Stupid stomach.

Day 4 - Thursday
Stupid stomach continues. I was in so much pain last night I couldn't do the scheduled 3 mile run. I kept telling myself it's only 3 miles and that I could suck it up and do it. The sensible side then kicked in and told me that if I couldn't sit up without falling back in pain, I didn't think I'd be able to bend over and tie my shoes, let alone run. I figured I would take that as my "rest day" and do the 3 miles tonight instead.*

I have a doctor's appointment at the pain clinic on Monday. My prescription is up and since I don't have any refills, I need to go in and discuss where we are and where we're going. I think I'm going to go in and tell him the meds are working (I can function on a daily basis now, for the most part), but that the current situation is still unexceptable to me. He's going to nod, tell me that these things take time and again go through the list of options. Surgery is still a no! I've been doing some research on my own and there are some questions I have for him. Just thinking about the appointment is making me upset, so I'm gonna leave it at that.

(* Sound overly optimistic and upbeat? Sound nothing like me when I can't get my workout in? You would be right. I was pissed, but what are you gonna do? Good attitude. Repeat: good attitude...)

Anyway, looking forward to the weekend and relaxing a bit. JP's been out of town all week and gets back tonight. Yea!

And so the training begins

First thing is first. Monday, I started training for the TBD marathon. We'll see about this. I still have some reservations. Not because I don't think I can do it. I know I can physically run a marathon, after all, this will be my fourth. What I'm not so sure about is if I'm going to enjoy it. I know I'm going to get upset if/when I miss a workout because of my stomach and I know I'm not going to enjoy a run if there are knives stabbing me in the abdomen for the entire 18 miles. After thinking about it some more, I decided I would regret not trying. And so, the training begins.

Day 1 - Monday
Nice and easy 3 miles (9:40 pace), and some crunches and push ups on the bosu ball. It was technically to be a cross-training day, but I have golf on Tuesday and don't always make it to workout afterwards since we get done a little late. It was freaking hot and humid, but it was a pretty good run. My abdomen hurt a little bit, but not nearly as bad as the weekend (more on that later.)

Day 2 - Tuesday
Cross-training. After 2 hours of golf (we learned how to get out of the sand trap. I was pretty good at it, which is a good thing since I'm sure I'll be there a lot more than on the green.) I did a full body workout on the yoga ball. It wasn't overly strenouous, but strength training and balance is a necessity.

Day 3 - Later today
I'm scheduled for 5 miles. My plan is to start lifting again today, so hopefully that will be what actually happens. :)

This past weekend we went to Chicago to visit JP's brother. They live right downtown, so we walked A LOT. We walked Michigan Ave., went up into Sears Tower and checked out some great resturants. Unfortunately, I was hurting very badly the whole weekend and was doubled over in pain Saturday night. Needless to say, I did not partake in the Chicago nightlife. We have some cool pictures, but they're still on my camera so I'll have to upload them later.

It's a beautiful day out and not as hot as it has been. I'm ready to get out of here so I'll write more about the run and our weekend in Chicago later.

Floating on a Cloud

I was in a lot of pain yesterday, so no working out or golfing. Instead, I took a pain pill and went to bed. (Missed watching the Spurs SWEEP the Cavs last night.) The additional meds make me really groggy, so I'm still a little bit cloudy this morning.

Monday I start formally training for my marathon. I have to accept that I will probably miss some workouts but that I am doing this FOR FUN, so it's okay to miss some runs. I am not training for the Olympics, I am not a professional runner. I run because I enjoy it. (Okay, who am I kidding? I'm gonna be upset if I don't go sub-4:00 hrs.)

Happy Birthday, Mrs. J

Yesterday would have been JP's mom's birthday. She passed away when he was only 14 from ovarian cancer. To celebrate, we went to the cemetery with her favorite flowers and to clean the headstone. JP is the youngest, and was very close to his mom. We go to visit pretty regularly and he always makes sure the headstone is clean and the grass around it is trimmed. It's so hard for me, not because I knew her, but because it hurts him so badly. I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose a mother at such a vital time in ones life. So, happy birthday Mrs. J. I wish I could know you, but I love your son and I promise to take care of him for you.

Afterwards, JP had a soccer game nearby. We had planned ahead and during his game I was going to run around the area. Lots of hills and grass/trails, so it was a different type of run. I can feel it in my core how uneven the ground was! It wasn't the "great workout" I was planning on having. I've been in a lot of pain this week and it stopped me short a few times during the run. Urgh. Did I say I was training for a marathon? :)

Anyway... a good workout tonight and hopefully hit the driving range.

Tally: 1 ball down

Last night we learned chipping and full swing during the clinic. Chipping - check. Full swing - after a few tweaks, check. Learning how to actually align myself to the target... not so much. One of the instructors kept talking about the "railroad" lines to line myself up. Huh? I'm not so good with distance and "seeing" a line that's 50 yards away and "drawing" it to where I'm standing. Spacial relations has never been a strong suit of mine.

After half an hour clinic, we got into groups of four for a scramble. My friend and I paired up with two others and off we went to the course. We were with the other instructor and I told her I was having problems with alignment. She did a short mini-lesson that made MUCH MORE SENSE to me. No "railroad lines", whatever that means. And, guess what? I actually shot straight.

The second hole we had to tee off and go OVER a freaking pond. Are you seeing where this is going? I shot straight alright. Straight into something that looks a bit like this:

For one, I had never used the club we used. Second, thank goodness we were playing best ball because one of the girls had a perfect shot and made it over. So far my total is 1 ball lost. Oh well, I'm having fun and really learning a lot. That's what matters!

Our offiical ending time is 7:30 p.m., but we're free to golf until the sprinklers come on at 9 p.m. We went until about 8 p.m. and I was trying to get home to get my run in. Again, do you see where this one is going? It's 8 p.m., I haven't eaten yet, I'm tired because I get up at freaking 5 a.m. and it's almost my bed time. So, I skipped it and vowed to have a good, hard workout today. I need to figure out what that workout will exactly entail, but I'll figure it out. I'm still trying to find a marathon training plan that I like since I need to start soon. Yep, I said it. I'm going to do a marathon this fall. Looks like I'm committed now...

Almost forgot...

Good luck Spurs! (Isn't he hot!) At dinner Saturday night, one of the guys at our table just moved to the RO from Cleveland. We had a great time making fun of LeBron. (okay, even though we lost to him - note: "him" not "the Cavs" - we can still make fun of LeBron.)

Again, isn't Tony Parker hot!?!?!

I love summer!

What a great, sunny weekend. And, the 10-day forecast is all sun and warm weather!

Saturday night some friends went to a Japanese steak house for dinner. It's so much fun to have your dinner cooked right there in front of you. Great food (no steak for me...) and we had a really fun table. Sometimes you worry that you'll get some weirdos, but we were definitly having the most fun. Maybe it had something to do with the sake bombs that one of the guys introduced us to. Mmmmm, so good! It's a small shot of sake in a glass of beer. I was the best sake bomb shooter at the table. JP was so proud... :)

Sunday afternoon JP and I picked up some subs from Jimmy Johns and took our lunch to the park for a little picnic. Afterwards, we rented a paddle boat to enjoy the warm weather. JP had never been paddling boating before, and it was a bigger workout than he anticipated. We had fun and I actually remembered to take my camera. It was a nice, simple afternoon.

Yesterday I was SO tired after work, but I went to the gym for a bare minimum workout. I did 30 minutes on the elipitcal. My abdomen hurt quite a bit, but I was determined to do something. I wasn't really into it, but at least I did something.

Golf tonight and then a 3 mile run is scheduled. I'll need to get my golf frustrations out! :)

Golf clubs and running shoes - Part II

Golf - It was fun and I wasn't the worst one in the group. It's a group of 16 professional women, who realize the importance of golf in the corporate world. About half had never touched a golf club and about half have played around, but want to learn the proper way to golf. We did 45 minutes of clinic and 30 minutes on the golf course. I actually remembered a lot from last summer's lessons! I'm far from consistent though, so I need to continue practicing. It's suppose to be nice this weekend, so I'm planning on hitting the driving range. (Unless we end up going to Chicago this weekend...)

Running - I didn't get a run in on Tuesday. Last night, I went to my "little" cousins (who are taller and heavier than me) 13th birthday party. It was a last mintues decision to go, but I'm glad I did. I didn't leave until about 7:30 p.m., and with an hour drive I didn't think I was going to make it to the gym again. By the time I got home, I was feeling the itch to work out. I had my gym bag in the car, so I headed over to do a short workout. I figured a short run was better than no run at all. Ended up doing a quick 3 miles, and some leg, arms and ab work with the yoga ball and bosu ball. I LOVE the bosu ball. It they weren't so expensive I'd probably own one. But, then again, isn't that what I pay a monthly gym fee for isn't it.

Anyway, glad the week is winding down and looking forward to the weekend. It'll either be a really busy one in Chicago, where we might visit his brother, or a really low-key one where I get a lot done around the house. I'm leaning more towards the 2nd choice, but we'll see. It's suppose to be HOT today, so not sure how the run will go.