Noisy people

Across the street from my house are two houses that have been broken up into apartments. The apartments are a constant revolving door. Every six months to a year new people are moving in and out.

All summer long I listened to the kids who live in the house on the right running, screaming, yelling and slamming their door past 9:30 a.m. To easily drown out the noise, I would turn on the air conditioning. Problem solved. In the last month, I been sleeping with the windows open to draw in the fresh air. The kids and adults that live in the apartment have kept down the noise after 9 p.m. The kids have to go to bed to get ready for school the next morning.

The apartment house on the left is a something new. The people who live there moved in probably a month or two ago. The last people to live there were really quiet and stayed inside. The new tenants like to sit on their front porch and talk.

Before I get back to the main story: It is no secret that I take sleep aides every Sunday through Thursday night to help me get to sleep faster. I wake up every weekday at 4 a.m. to be at work at 4:30 a.m. Those sleep aides are better then the NyQuil that I was taking to help knock me out.

Sometime last week I took my sleep aide and went to bed. I had fallen asleep when I was awaken by the neighbors. A man and woman were sitting on the front porch talking. Their voices carried into my bedroom and woke me up. It sounded like they were sitting right next to me. I heard every word. That forced me to get out of bed and slam my windows shut. I was not happy.

The other night I was already in bed sleeping when I heard the sound of a guitar. The man was playing a guitar and singing on his front porch. That really made me mad. It was past 10:30 p.m. and this guy was having a private concert on his porch. I got out of bed and yelled "Take your ******* guitar inside!" and slammed my windows shut. I don't know if they heard me or not. But I didn't care. I wanted to sleep.

I don't know if these people have jobs or not. They never sit on the porch during the day. They always come out to the porch at night. I swear they are doing it on purpose. When I pass their apartment in the morning I really want to honk my horn repeatedly to get back at them. I don't because I don't want to wake up my other neighbors. I guess I will have to put up with it until it gets too cold for them to sit outside. GRRRR!

General Hooker - Boston, MA

Books read in 2009

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Door 36 - Boston, MA

Miles run in 2009

Only more 24 days until my half marathon in Detroit. My goal is to finish in less then three hours. At this time last year I twisted my left ankle really bad. I took a day or two off and went back to training. That decision wasn't the smartest one I have made. But I had to do it. This year I have avoided an ankle injury (knock on wood) but not so lucky dealing with plantar fasciitis. The plantar fasciitis is hurting less and less each day. For that I'm thankful. I want to run this half marathon and see what I can actually do without major injuries.

2004: 216.5
2005: 245.3
2006: 354
2007: 410.1
2008: 727.5
2009: 817.7

Books read in 2009

I finished reading The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe by J. Randy Taraborrelli about 10 minutes before leaving for the airport Monday morning. I started reading Twilight by Stephenie Meyer Tuesday after running in morning. I would read for 45 minutes to an hour. I finished the book on the airplane on the return flight home. I started reading New Moon Sunday. I'm already read 150 pages. I hope to be done with it by the end of this week. I never thought this before buying the books, but I am really enjoying the story.

America's Queen, Sarah Bradford
Deadhouse: Life in a Coroner's Office, John Temple
Marilyn's Last Words, Matthew Smith
Corpse: Nature, Forensics and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Death, Jessica Snyder Sachs
Rage and Glory: The Volatile Life and Career of George C. Scott, David Sheward
Sinatra in Hollywood, Tom Santopietro
How Not to Die: Surprising Lessons on Living Longer, Safer, and Healthier from America's Favorite Medical Examiner, Jan Garavaglia, M.D.
Pieces of My Heart: A Life, Robert J. Wagner & Scott Eyman
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice, Maureen McCormick
Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed, Michelle Morgan
Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot, J. Randy Taraborrelli
Crimes Of Style: Urban Graffiti and the Politics of Criminality, Jeff Ferrell
Getting Up: Subway Graffiti in New York, Craig Castleman
Freight Train Graffiti, Roger Gastman, Darin Rowland & Ian Sattler
The Birth of Graffiti, Jon Naar
Subway Art, Martha Cooper & Henry Chalfant
Graffiti NYC, Hugo Martinez
A Portrait of Joan: The Autobiography of Joan Crawford, Joan Crawford & Jane Kesner Ardmore
Mrs. Lincoln: A Life, Catherine Clinton
Still Missing: Amelia Earhart and the Search for Modern Feminism, Susan Ware
The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCullough
Who Killed Bobby? The Unsolved Murder of Robert F. Kennedy, Shane O'Sullivan
Last Flight, Amelia Earhart
The Sound of Wings: The Life of Amelia Earhart, Mary S. Lovell
Eisenhower, Geoffrey Perret
Seabiscuit: An American Legend, Laura Hillenbrand
Lindbergh, A. Scott Berg
The Kennedy Men: 1901-1963, Laurence Leamer
The Royals, Kitty Kelley
The Reader, Bernhard Schlink
Marilyn Revealed: The Ambitious Life of an American Icon, Ted Schwarz
The Kennedy Women, Laurence Leamer
The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate's Deep Throat, Bob Woodward
Case Closed, Gerald Posner
All the President's Men, Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein (again)
The Final Days, Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, J. Randy Taraborrelli
Twilight, Stephenie Meyer

Currently Reading: New Moon, Stephenie Meyer
Up Next: Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer

Last week in Boston

I had a wonderful time in Boston with my husband. We walked, rode the subway, buses & trolley and climbed a bunch of stairs. We saw much of what Boston has to offer.

Every morning I woke up at 4:30 a.m. (except for Monday, 4 a.m.) to get ready to run on the hotel's treadmill. I didn't want to run outside because I didn't know the area too well and it was pitch back out. I was always the first person in the fitness center. The treadmill's were nice. They each had their own TVs and the fitness center had a huge big screen. It kept me company when I was all alone in the fitness center.

My husband and I ate at places everyday that were not in our hometown. That was easy because there isn't much choice of restaurants around here. We had steak, pasta, pizza, sandwiches, burgers and my husband had seafood. All of the meals were good except for one lunch. We weren't too thrilled with the service and our fries were lukewarm.

The weather was nice except for two days. I believe it was Wednesday and Thursday when the temperatures barely made it out of the high 50s. I couldn't believe how many Bostonians were walking around in T-shirts and shorts. I was freezing. I had to buy a knit hat because my ears were so cold. The knit hat has a Boston Red Sox logo on it. I'm not really a fan of baseball, but I enjoy watching the Detroit Tigers every now and again. When I bought the hat, the vendor asked if I was a fan of the Red Sox. I said no. What I was thinking was I was a fan of knit hats.

My favorite part of Boston is Beacon Hill. So much history and beautiful buildings in that neighborhood. On our photo walk tour, our guide Saba took us to John Kerry's house. It was big. But for him, I expected bigger. If you go to Boston I recommend the Photo Walk tours. Very informative.

I can't post an overview of Boston without a photo. Here is one from Beacon Hill.

Underneath - New York, NY

View from Manhattan Bridge - New York, NY

149 - New York, NY

Tower - New York, NY

In love - New York, NY

Windows and bricks - New York, NY

The Statue of Liberty - New York, NY

Red Door - Brooklyn, NY

Miles run in 2009

Next week I will be on vacation. My plan is to wake up early in the morning and get in a run. The hotel we're staying at has a fitness facility. If I do run, which I probably will, it won't be longer then 3 or 4 miles. Don't need to make my legs super tired because my husband and I will be walking a lot.

I will be doing my long run of the week later this afternoon. I plan on running over 10 miles. I haven't decided how long yet. It will be decided when I'm running.

2004: 210
2005: 238.6
2006: 333.7
2007: 382
2008: 702.4
2009: 759.7

Books read in 2009

America's Queen, Sarah Bradford
Deadhouse: Life in a Coroner's Office, John Temple
Marilyn's Last Words, Matthew Smith
Corpse: Nature, Forensics and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Death, Jessica Snyder Sachs
Rage and Glory: The Volatile Life and Career of George C. Scott, David Sheward
Sinatra in Hollywood, Tom Santopietro
How Not to Die: Surprising Lessons on Living Longer, Safer, and Healthier from America's Favorite Medical Examiner, Jan Garavaglia, M.D.
Pieces of My Heart: A Life, Robert J. Wagner & Scott Eyman
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice, Maureen McCormick
Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed, Michelle Morgan
Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot, J. Randy Taraborrelli
Crimes Of Style: Urban Graffiti and the Politics of Criminality, Jeff Ferrell
Getting Up: Subway Graffiti in New York, Craig Castleman
Freight Train Graffiti, Roger Gastman, Darin Rowland & Ian Sattler
The Birth of Graffiti, Jon Naar
Subway Art, Martha Cooper & Henry Chalfant
Graffiti NYC, Hugo Martinez
A Portrait of Joan: The Autobiography of Joan Crawford, Joan Crawford & Jane Kesner Ardmore
Mrs. Lincoln: A Life, Catherine Clinton
Still Missing: Amelia Earhart and the Search for Modern Feminism, Susan Ware
The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCullough
Who Killed Bobby? The Unsolved Murder of Robert F. Kennedy, Shane O'Sullivan
Last Flight, Amelia Earhart
The Sound of Wings: The Life of Amelia Earhart, Mary S. Lovell
Eisenhower, Geoffrey Perret
Seabiscuit: An American Legend, Laura Hillenbrand
Lindbergh, A. Scott Berg
The Kennedy Men: 1901-1963, Laurence Leamer
The Royals, Kitty Kelley
The Reader, Bernhard Schlink
Marilyn Revealed: The Ambitious Life of an American Icon, Ted Schwarz
The Kennedy Women, Laurence Leamer
The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate's Deep Throat, Bob Woodward
Case Closed, Gerald Posner
All the President's Men, Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein (again)
The Final Days, Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein

Currently Reading: The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, J. Randy Taraborrelli
Up Next: Twilight, Stephenie Meyer

Weekend update

I felt really bad for Greg Paulus Saturday. He threw an interception in OT during the Syracuse/Minnesota game. With that turnover, Minnesota got the ball into field goal territory and made the kick to win the game 23-20. Paulus played great the entire game except that one mistake to cost Syracuse the game. He finished 19 of 31 for 167 yards and threw for one touchdown. Paulus has been away from football for four years. He will continue to learn as he goes. I hope he has a great season.

How about those Wolverines? I watched the replay of the game on ESPNU yesterday. I was impressed with true freshman QB Tate Forcier. He can really throw the ball well. It was nice to see Michigan actually get into the end zone. We rarely saw that last season. The other true freshman quarterback Denard Robinson had a nice rushing touchdown in the first half. Michigan please leave Nick Sheridan where he belongs, on the sideline. Forcier and Robinson are better then Sheridan and should play the most.

When I was still going to physical therapy, my therapist told me I should have two pairs of shoes. It has been probably a month but I finally listened to her advice. Over the weekend, I bought myself a new pair. They are exactly the same brand and make as the pair that I wear now. I like them so much that I got another pair. The only things that are different is the color and that they are men's shoes. They fit my foot so well.

My husband and I will be in Boston in a week. I'm looking forward to seeing the sites and celebrating our eighth wedding anniversary.

Photo Credits: Syracuse University, MGoBlue.com and Eastbay

College football

I'm very excited about the start of the college football season. Michigan Wolverines face Western Michigan University Broncos later today at 3:30 p.m. For Michigan players and fans, last year's season was so awful. Some games I couldn't even sit through all of it. I'm so used to Michigan begin a good team. Hopefully UM can finally turn it around this year and have a better season. I'm not saying that they have to be undefeated. I just want them to win more then three games.

Another game that I plan to watch today is Minnesota vs Syracuse. Usually I could care less about these two teams, but this season is different. My favorite college basketball player from Duke, Greg Paulus, was named the starting quarterback for Syracuse. Paulus hasn't played football in four years but lead his high school team to a state championship and was named Gatorade national player of the year. I heard an interview on ESPN about Paulus. He was recruited nationally by many teams. He could have played quarterback at any school, but he decided to play basketball at Duke. I hope he has a good game.

Chairs - New York, NY

Half marathon fun run

I had a big running day. I decided to run a half marathon at my house today. It went pretty well. It took place on my treadmill in my basement. A lot of runners I know hate the treadmill. I don't. If I plan a long run, everything I need right beside me. I have my GU, Gatorade, water and TV. If I have to use the bathroom, it is a floor away. The Food Network and US Open Tennis tournament entertained me for two and half hours.

My half marathon in Detroit is 46 days away. I wanted to try 13.1 miles before the big day to see if running the entire way would be something I can achieve. I think it is something that I will be able to do. My run today took 2 hours and 31 minutes.

I had a good pace going but after I hit 10 miles my legs started to die. My legs weren't feeling too hot during yesterday's 5 mile run, so I was pleased that I made it deep into my run before I had to slow down. The last 3.1 miles I had to slow my pace down. I was so close to the end that I didn't want to give up. I kept going and eventually finished. I was happy that I stuck with it. I like hitting my goals for the day. When I cross the finish line in October, I hope to break last year's time of three hours.

Chrysler Building - New York, NY