Slow Start

2011 is off to a slow start. I've been having trouble getting myself to the gym. I've stopped in at Noodles two too many times. I need to get back into a groove. I need a kick in the pants. I need to stop eating the chocolates that I brought home from Asher's and Bergin's. 

In other news, I introduced my 8th grade fitness fun class to Gaelic football today. They seemed to enjoy it and even watched the videos without me having to stop the video too many times bc they were talking. 

Here are the videos that I showed them:

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpdoJnsDHIY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ip9dNCuy_k&feature=fvsr

I'm looking into purchasing an indoor Gaelic football online. It's about $16, which is much better than the original outdoor ball, which is $65.

Year in Review

I stole the idea of 2010 in pictures from Katie. At the end of the pictures I will review 2010 as I saw it. (PS: Yes, I know there is no January or April. I guess nothing monumental happened!)

 February

 Our last year at Castle Rock in Lutsen, MN.

March

 My first Firkin Fest at The Happy Gnome. 

May

 Annual Memorial Day camping trip. Willow River State Park.

June

 Finally made it to Byron, MN.

July

 Our road trip through the south took us to Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

August

 My first time on a boat! Lake Minnetonka.

September

 The 2010 Minnesota State Fair, natch.

October

 I brought field hockey to Edina, MN. 

November

 My sweet new baby! 

December

 The largest snowstorm to hit Minnesota in the 12 years I've been here.

2010 had a lot of twists, turns, and uncertainties. Most of the year I was caught in an uncertain whirlwind, which wrapped itself up around the middle of August so that I could enjoy the rest of the year, which I did. I kicked my butt into gear from August to December and really turned things around. I lost 10 lbs. I decreased my mile time by over two minutes. I ran a 5k in under 40 minutes (39:39). These were all huge accomplishments for me. I still have plenty of work to do with regards to my "running," but I'm happy with what I've done this year. On January 5, 2010, I weighed in at 172.8 and on December 18, 2010, I weighed in at 160.2 (yeah...we're not counting the 3 lbs I gained in PA over Christmas...). As I said, I didn't really get serious until September. Just think what I can do in 2011! 

Longest walk: 14 miles

Miles run/walked/ellipticalled (Aug-Dec): 171

5Ks completed: 2

Unworthy boys dissed and dismissed: 3

Blu-ray discs owned: 3

Loads of laundry still to do in Mt. Laundry: 10 

Gopher volleyball games attended: 3

Gopher football games attended: 2

Dome collapses: 1

I have a few goals in mind for 2011, all of which I think are completely do-able:

1. Get mile time under 9 minutes. (11:19)

2. Run a 5k in under 37 minutes. (39:39)

3. Do not settle for ANY unworthy boys. Set standards high and keep them there.

4. Lose another 10 lbs., which allows for any setbacks or bad weeks along the way. 

I was going to make a goal for Mt. Laundry, but I know myself all too well. C'mon. Even if Mt. Laundry is tackled, it will only come back. Mt. Laundry and I are connected at the hip. Buddies, even. 

The last official day of 2010 was spent doing what I do best: exactly what I want to do. I started it off by seeing The Black Swan at 9:40 am (incredible movie) and then I had lunch at high noon with one of my best buds, Jen. We tried out a new place - Stanley's Northeast Bar Room. Jen's been on this kick of trying out new places for lunch and I'm digging it! I'd love to go back and try out Stanley's when I can have a few beers. The beer list seems pretty good for a small place in NE Mpls. Then I went home, picked up my laptop, and settled in at Caribou. I got my small hot chocolate (skim milk, no whipped cream) and started typing. 

I re-set my fantasy football line-up for this weekend, benching Vick, Akers, and Jackson and sending in P. Manning, Sebastian Janikowski (Oak), and Avant. No one had Avant so he was an easy last-minute pick up. If I win this week, I will win the entire fantasy football league. Jodi better get cracking on that traveling trophy! 

I don't have any plans for tonight. I'm thinking of going to Punch Pizza in Highland Park if it's not too icy out and then watching a movie - perhaps 17 Again on blu-ray (thanks Ru!). Then I'll switch to my man Ryan Seacrest and watch the ball drop with a Yuengling. Tomorrow morning may be quite ambitious - barbell strength class at Lifetime if it's open and then perhaps I'll take in another movie. 

Well, people are starting to annoy me at Caribou so I think I'll see what the roads hold for me.

Take a part of 2010 that you liked, think about it, and then launch headlong into 2011. It's gonna be a good one.

So, How'd I Do?

On Saturday, Day 19, I weighed in at 160.2. That was close enough for me! My goal was to be under 160 by Dec 31st. Since being back in PA, I've been trying simply to maintain instead of lose. Yesterday, my first day back, included Auntie Anne's pretzel bites with cheese, 2 cokes, a Wawa hoagie, Herr's Sour Cream & Onion chips, a 9" cheesesteak, and peanut butter Kandykates. I tried to talk Rudi into walking the 5 mile loop around Valley Forge park today, but she is illin' and chowing down Advil cold & sinus. Perhaps Sunday morning, she said. 

Total lbs lost since 9/8/10: 10.6
Total lbs lost since 7/2009: 20.2
Goal for the entire '10-'11 school year: -30...1/3 of the way there!

So since I'm back home for awhile, I thought I'd post some fun Friday facts regarding home.

1. Every TV in the house needs to be turned up so that my ears are nearly bleeding. Dad is deaf in one ear, Mom's hearing appears to be waning, and Rudi's ears are clogged up. 

2. I never remember the house being warm when I was a kid, but now it seems like a sauna, even at night. Ru and I are trying to talk Dad into taking the heat down to 58 at night instead of 62. 

3. Homemade cookies have just been dropped off by one of Dad's friends. So we have Coke, Tastykakes, cookies, and chocolates in the house. It's all I can do to not dive into all of them all at once.


4. Upon entering the airspace over Pennsylvania, four new zits sprung up on both Rudi's and my face. "It's not the heat, it's the humidity!"


5. Tonight is the McClure's annual Christmas Eve party that the rest of my family attends while I watch It's A Wonderful Life. Since I've already seen that this year, I believe I am going to watch The Bishop's Wife starring Cary Grant. 

6. While PA has not even a dusting of snow, St. Paul just got another 5". I am very grateful to have such awesome neighbors! 

7. My dad is a very good cook, and the smallest liquid measuring cup he has is 1/4 c. The next step up is a huge measuring cup, which holds between 1-4 cups, with nothing in between. I had to measure my juice in three 1/4 c portions. 


8. Tonight we are having turkey and mashed potatoes - yum! 


9. Mashed potatoes are quite possibly the best food in the world. 


10. I cannot wait until Sunday, the one day a year when I get to watch the Eagles in a bar where everyone else is rooting for the Eagles. Eagles + Yuengling + old friends = an awesome time!

Free at Last!

My street is finally plowed out. After I finish doing laundry I'm going to try and head out into the world. (Yes, Mt. Laundry is two loads smaller!)

Days 14 & 15

I have this ever-present fear that my car is going to be towed. It doesn't necessarily have to be snow-related. If I park on the street and then take the bus somewhere, the walk back to the car the next morning is anxiety-inducing. If I go to a bar and take a cab home, the trip back the next morning is nerve-wrecking. Even if my car is parked outside of my house, I get nervous that someone is going to tow it for some reason unbeknownst to me. 

This recent snowstorm and the amount of times I've had to move my car definitely worries me. I check and double check the snow emergency rules. I check Ottawa and Cherokee, the streets that border Morton, to see where other people are parking. I've had to park on Ottawa this time around and Ottawa is down the street and I can't see my car. If I parked on Cherokee, I'd be able to keep an eye on my car. That's where my neighbors are parked and it would make me feel a lot better if my car could be near theirs. 

I also wish that they would just plow everything and get it over with. I can't get out of my neighborhood, or rather, I'm scared to try. If I get stuck, there is no one around to help me. I may try later today once it "warms up." That's the other problem. The high today is around zero and if I get stuck, I could freeze to death. Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic, but c'mon! I need to get out of my neighborhood! My street still looks like this: 

My ears perk up every time I think I hear a plow and I spring to the window to check out things. St. Paul and Minneapolis have canceled school today, which means that both cities are having some issues. St. Paul has declared two snow emergencies and Minneapolis is debating calling another. 


The two cities are very different when it comes to snow removal. Apparently, neither is better than the other. Minneapolis plows "even" and "odd" sides of the street, based on the house numbers. Day 1 (which is really the first night) is night plow routes, which are main streets. Day 2 is either even or odd sides of the street and then day 3 is the other side that wasn't done on day 2. St. Paul plows night plow routes (which are posted on the streets) starting at 9 pm the day the emergency is called. Night plow routes in St. Paul are main streets and one side of north-south residential streets (Cherokee and Ottawa). Starting at 8 am the next morning, all day plow routes and east-west residential streets are done (Morton). Day plow routes still haven't been done in my neighborhood. 


I have things that I need to get done today: I have a stack of bills to mail, xmas presents to buy, a library book to pick up (Big Sur), and I need to buy and drop off that American Eagle gift card for the kid who took my shifts this weekend. I want to go to the gym. I'm sick of being in my house! Although, I may start tackling Mt. Laundry if I'm stuck inside much longer...

Day 13

All exercise today will be from shoveling... 

ZONE FORECASTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
339 PM CST SAT DEC 11 2010

MNZ060-062-121030-
HENNEPIN-RAMSEY-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MINNEAPOLIS...ST. PAUL
339 PM CST SAT DEC 11 2010

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST SUNDAY...

.TONIGHT...MUCH COLDER. WINDY WITH NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS
THROUGH THE EVENING. ANOTHER 2 TO 4 INCHES OF SNOW WITH SNOW
DECREASING LATE EVENING. LOWS AROUND 10 BELOW. NORTH WINDS 20 TO
30 MPH.
.SUNDAY...COLDER. MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND 5 ABOVE. NORTHWEST
WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH.
.SUNDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS AROUND 15 BELOW. NORTHWEST
WINDS 5 TO 15 MPH.
.MONDAY...PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS AROUND ZERO. NORTHWEST WINDS 5 TO
10 MPH.
.MONDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS AROUND 15 BELOW. NORTH WINDS
5 MPH.

Days 11 & 12

Day 11 was Thursday. Every teacher at my school has to sign up for an extra duty outside of the many other duties we have. This year I signed up to sell tickets at the 8th & 9th grade school play. I emailed the director (a flamboyant and energetic man) and asked him what he'd like me to do. He replied that I should man the hallway between the lobby and the back hallway, which was cast and crew only. Once again, I'm hired to be the "muscle." This was fine with me. I thought I'd have a lot more to do, but the hallway was dead aside from two young boys gallivanting around. They were easy enough to take care of. Then I went back to reading my book in the quiet hallway. Once the play started, I was free to go home. 

I had worked out in between school and this extra duty, even though I wasn't feeling so hot. I've been feeling tired and a scratchy throat has set in this week. I decided to forgo the mile run and instead ellipticalled for 40 min. I went to bed early and felt like I was going to throw up. 

Friday, Day 12, found me feeling just a little bit better, but still tired. It was a tough day with a lot of talking on a sore throat and I decided to skip the gym and treat myself to tomato bisque soup at Noodles. The scale was flickering this morning and I'm hoping to see a drop tomorrow morning *fingers crossed!* After Noodles I went to Target to stock up on things that I had run out of such as milk, yogurt, and protein bars. 

I tried a new protein bar this week - Cliff Mojo chocolate covered peanuts. It was super duper good! So I picked up two more Mojo flavors - trail mix and peanut butter pretzel. I also picked up a Luna bar in caramel fudge brownie and another mondo protein bar which contains 20g of protein. Since starting on this challenge to lose weight seriously, I've been trying to up the amount of protein that I have, especially after working out. Protein helps repair muscles and there are so many yummy options out there! It's not just chicken, fish, and eggs anymore (although I keep a steady supply of tuna fish in the house too). I also enjoy making fruit smoothies with Lifetime Fitness's Fast Fuel in vanilla. I bought some bananas and creamy peanut butter to try a new smoothie this weekend. I hope it tastes as good as it sounds! 

Speaking of this weekend, in case you haven't tuned in to the Weather Channel recently, we're in for a humdinger of a snowstorm in the next 24 hours or so. I've heard 5" overnight, starting at 9 pm, and then another 8" tomorrow during the day with bouts hitting up to an inch an hour. There are blizzard warnings to the west and south of the Cities and I'm sure we'll see some blizzard conditions as well. MPR said that if we get 15" it will be the 11th biggest snowstorm in Twin Cities history, with the Halloween blizzard of 1991 topping the charts at around 30". 

Minnesota Public Radio 


I was supposed to work two lifeguard shifts this weekend in Maple Grove. For those of you who are not familiar with Minnesota cities and distances, Maple Grove is 42 minutes northwest of St. Paul...on a good day. With near-blizzard conditions and 7" on the ground, there is no way in hell that I am risking my life and the Echo's life for $55. As I told the manager on duty when I called today, "I like my job, but not enough to risk my life or my car." It's simply not worth it. She told me that if I didn't find a sub, I would still have to come in so I'd better make sure I left enough time to get there safely. Like hell I will! So I sent a text out to the four lifeguard subs offering a $20 gift card to a store of their choosing if they would take my Saturday shift. A guy responded in five minutes and took my shift...all for $20 to American Eagle. I asked him if he'd like to take my Sunday shift as well and he said, "Sure!" What a great kid! I'm tempted to toss an extra $5 onto the gift card just for being so swell. 


These were the last two shifts that I was signed up for this year. I had already backed out of a shift on 12/19 in order to attend a screening of It's A Wonderful Life at the Fitzgerald Theater with Stew. I will pick up my check and drop off the gift card on Monday and then I will bid that establishment adieu. In the three and a half months that I've worked there, I haven't been all that impressed. I haven't felt like I've fostered a relationship with the staff or supervisors and to be quite honest, as a lifeguard, I feel pretty darn superfluous. I went through an extensive new hire training and all of the training was directed towards swim instructors. I believe lifeguards where mentioned once. Maybe twice. Definitely not three times. I was even told to provide my own shirt! No company logo, nothing. I wore my lifeguard shirt from the JCC (which I LOVE!!! - the JCC, not the shirt. It's a little big actually.). Case in point - I was pulling in to the JCC last Saturday after the Reindeer Run and this other lifguarding job called me saying that I was supposed to work and where was I? I told them that I didn't have it written down in my planner and that I had said I'd work at the JCC from 2-3 and 7-9. When I relayed this story to my boss at the JCC (who is awesome), she was like, "F*** them! You always have everything written down and if you didn't have it down, you weren't supposed to do it." I've worked at the JCC for the same amount of time as this other job and yet my boss at the JCC knows my personality and how I operate. I wonder if the other people even know my name. 


Part-time jobs come and go and I remember the ones that I truly cared about - the ones where I felt like part of a team. Let's Talk Turkey, Pioneer Hall, Piccadilly Valet - those were great jobs where I felt like I mattered. People cared, and in turn, I cared about them and about my job. If you don't have an establishment that fosters a feeling of family, forget it. I pick up one and two hour shifts at the JCC because I want to help out my boss. I pay people to take my shifts in Maple Grove because I'd rather lose money than drive all the way out there for people who only care that I'm there because they need a warm body with a lifeguard certification. 


Next week I'll be working two nights selling tickets for the high school boys' basketball team. In those two nights I'll make $90 working just over five hours. This weekend I would have made $88 working 8 hours (which doesn't take into account the hours I'd be on I-94 in a snowstorm). I think working for the athletic department is a good trade off and I won't have to deal with 5-year-old children and florescent cupcake icing underneath my nails. 


It hasn't started to snow yet, but I'm pretty sure I've made the right decision. I'll sleep well tonight knowing that I do not have to drive anywhere tomorrow. I can shovel my walk and sip my protein smoothie while watching Netflix. Sounds like a good winter's day to me!