Thanks

First off, thanks for the kind comments on my surgery, but it really isn’t a big deal. If CP didn’t have to drive me home after the surgery, he wouldn’t come home early just for it. That is not because he is an un-caring husband, it is because it is an outpatient surgery. I might be a little sore afterwards, but he is basically coming with me just to be able to drive me home.

Ewww. I just looked up some videos on removing cysts and I think that I am about to throw up. Wow was THAT a bad idea.

Now I have completely forgotten what I was going to write about today. So instead you get a short post on cysts! Boy aren’t you lucky on a Friday!

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Oh! Before you go running off into the weekend, I wanted to share my good news! I won another contest! Yes the lovely Aritza had a contest and I won a fabulous damask cosmetic bag! Yay! She has yet ANOTHER contest celebrating her birthday- in this one you could win a necklace from NuvoNova’s etsy shop- but you have to enter before May 3rd. Good luck!

All I got today

......is bullets!

*Sadly, CP will have to work again this weekend. While he is gone I might try to orgnize the house, put things up for sale on ebay/ Craigslist/etc. That also means I won't see him until next Thursday night, the night before my surgery. Boooo.

*My cold is getting better- I think. While at a three hour conference yesterday I ate way too many Halls so that I wasn't interrupting people with my coughing. Unfortunately the result of that was a very unhappy stomach!

*The only good thing about my cold? People don't want to sit next to me on my commuter bus. Ha!

*My ten year college reunion is coming up this year. I can't believe that it has already been ten years!! Some of my friends from my freshman hall are thinking about going- I would love to go with CP (we did go to the same college- he is one year ahead of me). He doesn't have the same ties to undergrad that I do- for one his fraternity was disbanded. It will also depend on where we are living come October.

*It was difficult, but I waited until monday to contact HR at the other company. I figured that with the woman being out of the office for a week, she was probably slammed as soon as she came back. Turns out I was right and she has been out of the office a lot. She said she would contact me towards the end of the week. it will probably be today- when I am off-site all day in training!

*Because of my cold I haven't been able to work out recently. I ended up not doing the 5K because as I ran for the bus Friday afternoon, I had a coughing fit. Too bad. Hopefully I can get outside this weekend to burn off some calories!

I'm off for my training.

Surprise!

I was halfway through Food, Inc. when I got a surprise last night. CP thought that his flight got in late, but it turns out that he messed up and got in five hours earlier! Yay! It was nice to actually sit down and have dinner with him after two weeks of eating by myself. And, he loved my latest dinner- Asparagus, Red Pepper and Mushroom stir fry over Quinoa!

I used chicken instead of tofu

Mmmm quinoa. So easy to make (just 10-15 minutes!) and so very delicious.

Unfortunately for me, I am sick. Last week I was feeling very run down and wanted to sleep constantly. This week I am just as tired, but came into work on Monday with a cough. A nice hacking cough that produces a lovely yellow-green phlegm. I am supposed to run a 5K tomorrow morning, but I am not sure it is a good idea. I haven't tried running since Sunday and at that point I didn't have a cough. What to do, what to do......

Food

Tonight, PBS is showing the documentary “Food, Inc.” For those of you on EST it is on at 9pm, for other areas you would have to check local listings.

I would HIGHLY encourage you to see this documentary if you haven’t already. It is based on Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Both books I would also HIGHLY recommend.

I am just about to finish the Omnivore’s Dilemma (I read Fast Food Nation a few years back) and let me tell you, it is EYE OPENING. Some of the stuff I had heard about before, but having information on our food system all in one place really helped me hone into my thoughts and feelings on the subject. In fact, I am preparing a blog post on my reactions to the book as really, it has opened me up to a whole new way of thinking.

Have you seen the documentary yet? Or will you be watching tonight? Have you read the books? If so, has it changed your thinking on food at all?

Distracted thoughts

What do you think about when you run? This is usually the sequence of thoughts that run through my brain while I am out for a run:

Oh. I’m feeling good! My legs and lungs will surely be able to run at least 3 miles today.

Huh? I have only run ½ a mile so far?

Don’t think about how far you have run, focus on the beat of your music and trying to keep up with it.

Go away nagging pain (in various spots all over my body- but usually in my knees).

Alright, think about something else. (spots a cute dog) Oh what a pretty doggie!

Check out how fast the water is moving today (when I am doing my run in the recreation area with a river running alongside)!

What a mean doggie- barking at everyone. Thank goodness Fuzzy Britches doesn't bark.

There is someone walking ahead, make sure you keep up your pace- but not too fast- so that you can pass them and keep running. How awkward it would be if you passed them and then ran out of gas and had to stop running.

Ugh. Here comes a hill. Just keep your legs moving.

One lap down, only one more to go!

Uhhhh it would be nice if you and your dog didn't take up the ENTIRE path...you could move to the side so that others could get past you.

Yes! I love me some Ke$ha while running.

I could go on and on. Are you a distracted runner like me? I check out dogs, other people in the park, the wildlife, the river, etc. I try to sing songs in my head, make up stories about the people that are in the park with me, etc.

I know that I will NEVER be an elite runner (it’s just not in my gene pool- I have fast twitch muscles and am built for sprints, not endurance), but my distracted thinking is just another reason why. You see, elite runners only think about RUNNING when they are running. Makes sense. They are thinking about split times, when to make their move, etc.

What do you think about when you are running or working out?

Wow I can’t believe that I didn’t have enough time on Friday to post the news that ALL national parks will be fee-free from Sat (the 17th) to the 24th. Unfortunately, the Northeast does not have a lot of national parks so CP and I won’t be able take advantage of the promotion. :-(

This weekend was not too exciting for me. CP had to stay in OH for work, so I mainly spent time with Fuzzy Britches. We went on a walk in the rain on Saturday and then a 3 mile run on Sunday. With a local 5K coming up this weekend I needed to make sure that I would be able to run the full distance! I watched The Blind Side which was good, but not amazing. I also made a couple delicious meals:

Veggie Cassoulet. Based on me reading off the ingredients, CP did not think that this was going to be a tasty dish. Thankfully, he was wrong and I brought in leftovers to work today!

Roasted Root Vegetables (with herbs from our garden and parsnips from our neighbor’s garden) with a boneless pork chop topped with apple chutney (homemade and canned by CP). I am proud that I peeled and cut up the beets without getting red stains everywhere! :-)

I would highly recommend both meals as they are healthy and taste great!

Other than that? Just cleaning the house, talking to friends, family and CP on the phone and running errands.

Hopefully you had a more exciting weekend than I did!

All about sperm

Last night I was rolling on the ground laughing. Why you ask? Because of this National Geographic special- “Sizing up Sperm.” Yes, you read that right. I was randomly flipping through the channels last night and the title caught my eye. Since CP is in OH for work, I have full control over the tv. So I decided to check it out. And boy am I glad that I did.

First, a little factoid that I learned in the beginning of the program- did you know that with every heartbeat the average male produces 1000 sperm? Just a little knowledge you can drop on people at your next dinner party. Ha!

Instead of showing sperm under the microscope, this program decided to use real people (dressed in white of course) in order to recreate the quest to reach a woman’s egg. So in order to show what sperm goes through when a man ejaculates, they showed people going through a water slide. LOL.

Later in the program, a sperm came on to talk about her theory that it is more likely for a couple to get pregnant when they have “gourmet sex.” What is gourmet sex you might ask? Well, it is when the sex is GREAT for both partners. She theorizes that when a couple has gourmet sex, the man gets even more excited and therefore sperm from lower in the testicles is ejaculated.

But then a party-pooper evolutionary psychologist came on to dispute the gourmet sex theory. You see, he has done lots of research. Yes he and his crack team of researchers went to a strip club and had to sit through 300 shifts. I’m sure it was absolutely TERRIBLE work for them. The result of their research? That strippers made more money while ovulating than while menstruating.

WELL DUH!!!

First off, if it is a all-naked club, a woman on her period would probably not take off her thong. Therefore not making as many tips as other women that will take off all of their clothes. And secondly, if he was a woman he would know how crappy and bloated you feel when you are on your period. What woman feels great when she is bleeding for five days? If you are not feeling particularly sexy, that is probably going to come off in your dancing that week. So his “conclusions” didn’t really move me.

Overall, the program was perfect for my 12-year sense of humor. Every time they said that words “long” and “hard” I giggled. The sperm people (as they were called by the narrator) were hilarious to watch. First, going down a water slide. Then running up a mountain to signify the uphill battle that is trying to get to the woman’s egg. I could not make this up if I tried.

Friends of mine were a bit weirded out by my funny texts regarding the program, but I think that I convinced at least one of my friends to DVR the show. CP didn’t quite understand my giggling either….maybe I just needed some sleep?

Have you seen anything funny on tv lately?

Friday downer

What a Friday downer. I got a call from the other company and they said that although the managers that I interviewed with would LOVE to hire me, Human Resources looked at my resume and didn’t see that I had the requisite experience for the position. GRRRRR.

So I spoke to Human Resources and requested the opportunity to write up more information about the various projects I have been working on. I just sent off the document (NINE PAGES)- I’m crossing my fingers. Otherwise, our dream of moving to Denver may get put off for a couple of months….

CP won’t be home until about midnight tonight. I have hair appointment tonight and afterwards? I see some wine in my future.

Too much moving around?

So, sorry about the morbid posts the last two days. While this one won’t be Happy! Happy! Smiley! Happy! I at least won’t be talking about death.

Today I received the following email from my contact at the company in Denver that I desperately want to work for:

I received your voicemail this morning. I've been out of the office on spring break with my family which is why I haven't gotten back to you. I did receive the transcript from [my law school] and I'm in the process of working through some details. Please be patient, I'll be in touch with you within the next few days. Thanks!

Soooo…..do you guys think this means good things? I don’t want to get my hopes up too far. I feel like a teenage girl overanalyzing a text/email from a boy that I like to find hidden meanings!

Another thing that is currently bouncing around in my mind is whether to talk to my contact about something they asked one of my references. The company asked my reference whether she thought that I would stick with the job. After thinking about my resume, I have bounced around a bit, but have good reasons for every move that I made.

*First job out of college- left after two years because I was having to work a second job to pay the bills.

*Second job out of college- left after a year because although I thought that making more money would make me happy, I hated it. That taught me a very valuable lesson- never follow money!

*Third job out of college- left after a year to go to law school. I was working for a law firm in order to make sure that law school was something that I wanted to do.

*While in law school I went crazy and ended up working at 5 different internships in order to get different experiences. I wanted to get a broad base of experiences so that is why I didn’t work at the same place twice.

*After graduating law school, I have worked here for two years.

Does this sound like a bad resume? I mean, I guess I can see WHY they are asking that question as I have never stayed somewhere longer than two years. But coming out of college (with a SOCIOLOGY degree!), I was kind of lost and moved around in positions trying to find my way. When interviewing, I always thought that my various experiences were an asset to a new company, not a detriment.

What do you think? CP mentioned that if I do get this job, I probably should plan on staying with the new company for a while and I wholeheartedly agree. I would stay with my current company if they would allow me to transfer to Denver, but my boss is not quite on board with that….

Open vs. Closed

CP’s great uncle elected to have an open casket. I have not attended too many wakes/funerals so far in my life, but there are two that stick out in my mind. Both were open caskets.

In high school a friend’s father died suddenly. This was a boy that I grew up with- he lived near us so we carpooled to school together, his mother was a teacher at our middle school/junior high so she was even my math teacher one year. When his father died, my family and I attended the wake. It was an open casket and I swear the funeral director did a ridiculously good job with his makeup because I thought he looked alive. It was actually kind of freaky.

The other funeral that I remember well was for the father of one of my bridesmaids. My bridesmaid and I went to high school together and I saw her parents constantly. Her father was a hard drinking, portly Irish man, but was always very nice and fun to talk to. He lost his battle with cancer a few years ago and my mother and I went to the wake. I hadn’t seen my friend’s father in a while so looking at him in the casket, having lost so much weight, he also looked alive. He really looked as if he could get up and walk out of the room.

Despite the fact that I was a senior in high school at the time, I don’t remember much about attending my grandmother’s funeral. I am guessing that she had a closed casket because all I can remember is standing on the grass at the cemetery, watching my cousins play around the tombstones because they were too young to realize what was going on. Of course, I could just be blocking the memories out because she was my last grandparent.

My point is that I think that the few open casket events that I have attended have traumatized me. And I wouldn’t want my death to traumatize someone else that came to pay their last respects. I know that in some circumstances it is not possible to have an open casket- hopefully I don’t die in one of those ways because they are usually horrible accidents. But even if it was an option- I would think that seeing me in the casket would upset friends and family members even more. Yesterday, CP and I looked at each other and both said that there is no reason to have an open casket at our funerals. Maybe it is a generational thing?

I know that it is a morbid thing to think about, but do you have a preference on open vs. closed caskets when you die?

Suddenly alone after 72 years

This weekend should have been a fantastic weekend. I was let out of work an hour early on Friday for the holiday, it was sunny and 70 degrees. But unfortunately, I had just gotten word that CP’s great uncle had just passed. The news itself wasn’t that much of a shock. Two weeks ago, he had a bad fall in the kitchen and broke his femur. At 96, this requires a major surgery. One that after it was over, the doctors decided to put him in a medically-induced coma. When he wasn’t recovering, the family decided to pull the plug Thursday night.

Up until a few months ago, he was doing well for 96. He still drove (!) and was able to walk (albeit very slowly). At Christmas, we were given a hint that he wasn’t doing very well. He had fallen and hit his head on the corner of a table. Three weeks later the knot on his forehead was still very prominent and you could still see the blood beneath his skin that had drained down in his face and neck. He was proud to show off his pictures and his “war wound,” but it looked like it was painful.

To have lived so long and to have been healthy for so long is amazing. I am happy that he not only was able make it to our wedding, but also dance! He and his wife had been married 72 years (!) and said to us late last year that they hoped that our marriage will last that long. While I think that CP and I are a bit older than them when we got married, I guess it’s possible….

Yesterday, CP’s great aunt seemed to be with it and handling everything okay. At 91, she is getting older and after 72 years of living with someone, I can’t imagine what it is like to suddenly not have the person that you have spent almost all of your life with not sleeping in the bed next to you. Not eating meals with you. Not sitting on the couch with you. Not sharing stories of your kids, grandkids, great grandkids and great-great grandkids (amazing, huh?). However, we are all worried what happens when the family has to leave the house and she is suddenly by herself. She is not quite ready to pack up and move out to a limited assisted living facility- she and her husband lived in their current house for over 30 years. But how safe is she living in a house by herself?

Today is the wake and tomorrow is the funeral. *sigh*