i'm lying in bed, freshly showered, feeling those 13.1 miles in my calves. it was a gorgeous day. derek made it in in less than an hour and 40 minutes, jennie was in in 2 hours 9 minutes, and i came in at 2 hours and 12 minutes (official results). julie was there with the kids to cheer us on, and paul rode around on his mountain bike handing us energy gus and cheering us on at various spots on the course. woo hoo!
this is my older sister jennie. in a few weeks, on sunday, september 30, she will be running her first half marathon. i will be running my second half marathon. we'll be catching the changing of the foliage first hand as we cruise the streets of waterbury, vt in the annual Leaf Peepers race. jen and i have been training together since july, logging what first started out as 12 miles a week, to what has now become over 20 miles a week. we are following hal higdon's half marathon training schedule for novices. while we have run in the vermont city marathon as a relay team and at the catamount 5 K summer races, we're definitely still in the novice category.
like many of the challenges that i take on in my life, to face this particular feat, i had to double dog dare myself and tell lots of people that i was going to do it. That way there was no way i could possibly back down. (i definitely did this when i joined the peace corps -- how could i tell people i was going, and then not go? for that matter, how could i pay my $30 entrance fee and not run in Leaf Peepers? oh no, not on my tight budget). 
i do not like to run. not really. well, okay, it's growing on me a little bit (there is truth in those endorphines everyone talks about). but believe you me, when i first started this, i didn't like running one bit, and was just doing it to say i had faced and conquered the challenge. but running & training do become easier when you know that if you don't train, you will die while trying to run 13.1 miles. there is no option but to get out of bed at 6 am and get those miles in.
having jennie as my training partner has gotten me through those early, dark mornings, those cold, rainy miles, and the hot, thirsty ones as well. for those of you who don't know, jennie is an OB/GYN and operates on little to no sleep (no pun intended, ha ha, no need to take that literally...). how she does it i do not know (though, "i'm not a manny" might be able to shed a little light on that). on her days and nights and wee hours on call, we had a system to determine when our daily run would be. she'd call me 15 minutes before the pre-determined time and let me know whether or not she had slept. you'd think no sleep would mean no running, but that wasn't necessarily the case. one morning jen called me at 6 am to say that she'd been up since 2 am, but that she was feeling pretty good, so would like to get our 10K race-pace run in before she completely crashed. another time, jennie called me with the frantic, "i'm about to have a baby so i can't run" message (not her baby, rather, her patient's baby).
this is julie, she is my younger, 27 year old sister. she is biking across the country at t
he moment -- on her aurora 800 hybrid, mind you, not her motorcycle or her moped, or anything woosy like that. oh yes, she and armin and ross left lincoln park, nj a few weeks ago, have biked between 40 and 80 miles each day, have camped out on church lawns and near town creeks. they have gone 7 days without a shower or laundry. she is now resting up in chicago for a few days (and finally reading HP 7).
check out her blog because it's fabulous and so are armin's and ross'. julie inspires me to do many things, including start up my own blog again. julie does not however inspire me to ride my bike to portland, OR. she can make me proud by doing that all by herself and i'll stay here and have a very comfortable bum.
in january, like everyone else in this country, i get my envelopes marked "important tax documents enclosed." however, probably unlike everyone else in this country, i promptly chuck those unopened envelopes into my very organized, orderly "look at later" pile o'crap. then on, say, oh, april 14, i actually, finally sort through that pile o' crap, and find my tax documents, along with that old receipt i was looking for, an old wedding invitation whose RSVP is past due, my map of vail that i meant to frame, those yoga videos lesh burned for me (not that those are crap!), and eva's business card (that's not crap either!).
all in all, it wasn't that bad, and my taxes are done for 2006. The 2007 pile o' crap has already been started.
i just discovered something. while looking for FAT pictures of myself, i came across only a few (please notice double chin in picture 1 and rolls in picture 2). this discovery by no means means that i am not a bit chubby. it merely means that i delete any bad picture of myself before posting to ofoto. looking through photos and starting to draft this blog in my head also helped me realize something else: i'm really not that chubby (or at least that's what all my unconditionally loving friends and family will/should assure me), perhaps just a little squishy in places with some jiggly bits. ah well, more to love, and as jules and i always reassure eachother, "we are good people."
but years of turning bright red after moments of physical exertion, of being picked last in gym class, and of being made fun of in elementary school, have slightly skewed my self-image. everybody's got something they wish they could physically change about themselves (and if they don't, they're lying).
almost 4 months ago now, i was inspired by my new & fabulous roommate hannah to join weight watchers. it really is a great program. so far, i've lost 15 lbs. and i've dropped almost 2 sizes! it's very exciting. when you first weigh in, they tell you that your first goal is to lose 10% of your current weight. depending on your age, height, sex, and daily activity level, you are assigned a certain number of "points" you can eat each day. Every single food item that you may ever allow to pass your lips does indeed have a point value, which can easily be determined by the fabulous ww sliding scale chart. it factors in calories, fat, and grams of fiber (which you soon realize is very very important -- the more fiber something has, the less points it is!) weight watchers have an amazing amount of point tricks up their sleeves -- have you heard of a 1 point English Muffin? or a 1 point wedge of cheese? what about the fact that most steamed vegetables don't even have a point value?! a single dove chocolate is only 1 point, so no need to deprive yourself of life's necessities. that is actually the point of ww -- eat in moderation, but no need to abstain. it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change. i've got to be careful, or one of these days, i might actually be one of the ww preachers... or is it too late?
ww has little incentives too -- every week you lose weight you get a gold star sticker; every 5 lbs. you lose, you get a 5 lb. gold sticker star; when you lose your first 10%, you get a keychain that is shaped as a 10; when you reach your ultimate goal, you get a gold star charm to fit on your keychain; and when you've maintained your ultimate goal weight for longer than 6 weeks, you are officially a lifetime member and no longer have to pay monthly dues, even if you gain all the weight back! i got my keychain already, now i'm working on my 4th 5 lb. *
well, just wanted to catch you all up on some of the somethingsomething i've been up to lately and to include some rather hilarious pictures of yours truly. hopefully next time, i'll be DOWN to somethingsomething more and fitting into my size sixes quite comfortably!
wow, when my automatic web address finder doesn't even recognize somethingsomethingdotcom before i have to type it all out, that's when i really know that it's been way too long since i've posted. perhaps i got stuck in a valentine's day blizzard, perhaps i've been on a ski vacation in vail, perhaps i've been drinking too much, perhaps i've been trying to figure out my love life. or perhaps i just haven't had anything to say. but, we all know that isn't true -- i've always got a little somethingsomething to say! i'll be back soon, promise!
valentine's day would not be valentine's day without the color pink. let's take a moment to celebrate the color that makes heart day possible and also, perhaps, for those people who aren't fans of the big LOVE day, a bit unbearable.
i do believe that most people have a "thing" that they like to collect. if they don't, they should, for the simple reason that then it makes them easier to buy for. my grandmother loves owls and owns probably hundreds of figurines and stuffed animals and pictures and kitchen towels all featuring that wise old sage. She even has one of Picasso's owls (which I hope to one day inherit...). my mother is more a collector of anything flowers and anything red. dad is easy: golf. cathy benware: watermelons. mo: hello kitty. holly: frogs. kel: anything paris. what's your thing?
mine is and always has been pigs. i don't know why. maybe because i love charlotte's web. maybe because i felt like i could relate to them somehow. and, then there's the obvious fact that pigs are pink, my favorite color of course. way back when, if friends and family didn't know what to buy me, anything with a pig on it would be a good standby. if friends or family happened to pass by something pig-like, they would most likely think of me. i'm not sure if that is a good thing or not... one day i decided that i had enough pigs and much to the shock, horror, and dismay of my friends and family, i announced that i no longer wanted anything pig.
picture 1: real pig on church street walking around with its owner, but no leash.
crème brûlée has recently become one of my top favorites. while burnt cream may not sound appetizing, this custard based caramelly vanilla-ey dessert is one of the more decadent items on 
most fancy places' menus. first, you can't deny that having your very own ramekin filled with this deliciousness beats a piece of chocolate cake on a boring old plate that anyone can just reach a fork over and steal a bite from. The ramekin protects you and your dessert from scavenging dining parners. And believe me, protecting that sweet shell is what you want to do. Second to actually tasting crème brûlée is getting to smash through that sugary outside for its sweet inside. now that you know this information about my latest weakness, imagine my delight when Derek was given his very own mini blow torch, set of eight ramekins, and crème brûlée starter kit for christmas. his creation was just about the best thing i've ever tasted, until...
...not only does derek make a mean crème brûlée (and basically any other recipe you put in front of him), he works at ben & jerry's as a consultant. most vermonters and fans of ben & jerry's (of which i am both) know that when you are an employee at b&j's, you get to take home 3 free pints of ice cream a day. in addition, not only do you get a free gym and weight watchers membership, but you get to taste the "trial" flavors as well! i'm not sure if i should be spilling this top secret information, but i can't imagine that anyone other than my friends and family are reading this blog, so i'm gonna spill it: the other night D. brought home a pint of b&j's not yet released, not yet perfected, CREME BRULEE ice cream. just about the most amazing thing i've ever tasted in my entire life. it's that good. can't wait for it to be out on the freezer shelves. i wonder how many points a whole pint is worth...
when i was in 2nd grade, my parents told me that i could redo my holly hobby room with new
wallpaper and new carpeting and new bedding and new curtains. their only advice was to remember that this was what my room would be like for many, many years. in fact, they told me it would be the room i stayed in when i returned for college breaks, so that i best choose wi
sely and definitely not something i would tire of or outgrow. i perused the sherwin williams books and heeded their warning. i just knew i would NEVER EVER get tired of those cute little brown bears with their p
ink hearts. (if you look very closely you can see them). pink was obviously my favorite color and OBVIOUSLY that would NEVER change. um, so yes, i chose pink -- pink carpet, pink striped sheets and comforter, pink curtains (that mom actually made from the same striped sheets), and yes, a pink sky (because i do, and have always, loved clouds)!
eva has left the flynn! when i first interviewed with the flynn's education department, eva immediately struck me as someone with whom i desperately wanted to be friends, but someone with whom i was just probably not cool enough to actually be lucky enough to become friends with. little did i know. she wore bright, hip clothing, was artsy and confident, and had a certain je ne sais pas... 
in my first days at the flynn, eva celebrated her birthday and went off to what i soon learned was her annual exodus to shelburne farms -- her dream home in which she escaped reality
by going back in time to antebellum tea times, lounging on gorgeous day couches, reading musty books, strolling through the gardens, playing billiards in the game room, wishing that every other guest would go away so that she, her sister, and her mother could enjoy their lovely home to themselves. while i had been to the farms, i had never realized its vastness or that there was an inn with different colored rooms and a black and white tiled floor parlor in which 
to eat! eva brought back a calendar from her trip and got me hooked on shelburne farms -- one of the first things eva introduced to me.
pure inspiration. her show includes weekly updates, news reports on today's hottest and dumbest stars, impersonations of said stars with their faces taped on to barbie dolls and voiced over by eva and her sister, tales of life in california, babes of the month, dance, picture, and music montages of every theme imaginable, and oh so
much more. my first thought was how i would LOVE to get to cameo on her show. would i ever get to be good enough friends with her to get to be on the deadbeat club? i was given pins, and then a t-shirt, and then finally, eventually, i was given a cameo on the show! i felt so honored and excited -- i got to wear authentic 70s & 80s thrift store finds from eva's closet, make myself up with some of the reddest lipsticks and bluest eyeshadows, fashion some very large earrings, and be as dramatic as i could possibly be. watching eva work, whether it's behind the camera, in front of the camera, or at her very large computer screen that is also connected to a tv and to about 8 hard drives that she's named jane austen and
bronte and other such names, is inspiring in itself. and then, getting to see yourself in her eyes -- well that just takes the triple chocolate mousse cake! check out some of eva's masterpieces that i got to star in and then check out the rest of her youtube vlog creations:
city knowledge (and i thought i had that one in the bag); makes a killer mojito; speaks in a british accent flawlessly; dances cabaret jazz like fosse; sings "diamonds are a girl's best friend" better than marilyn monroe herself; loves the sunshine; reads more books, watches more movies, and drinks more tea than anyone i know; knits personal wrist warmers for her dear friends; frequents mirabelle's just as often as me; is the best damn secret IM/chat partner i've ever had; is deeper than the deepest chasm in the ocean; is the best listener and crier EVER; is incredibly strong and inspiring; and many many other things. you'd have to
be crazy (or on cocaine and a fugly loser nobody sex-fiend) to let this girl go. (she would be my lover and my betrothed if it weren't for our being straight and all).
