Random things

My brakes have been squeaking for the last month. The squealing has gotten louder in the last couple of weeks. Annoying. It seems like if people are outside when I'm braking, they will turn and look. I know its loud. It is getting fixed Thursday. I will be taking my car to the dealership for them to look everything over in the morning. I've had my car for five years, it is probably time for new brakes.

I finished the hard part of the week. Three days in a row of photographing high school spring teams head shots. I finished up a school this afternoon. I'm done with head shots for the next couple of weeks. Thursday and Friday are going to be stress free days. I only work in the morning and have the rest of the day off. Which is really great because the weather is going to be so wonderful and warm.

My weight loss goal was to have lost 30 pounds by today. I just fell short of that. I have lost 28 pounds so far. Hopefully those stubborn two pounds will be gone within the next week or so.

Books read in 2010

I was so happy to have read five books in a span of a week. Granted the books were very short, but it does feel good to fly right through them.

Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story, C. David Heymann
Fletch, Too, Gregory Mcdonald
American Legacy: The Story of John and Caroline Kennedy, C. David Heymann
Tis Herself: An Autobiography, Maureen O'Hara and John Nicoletti
A Woman Named Jackie: An Intimate Biography of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, C. David Heymann
John F. Kennedy, President, Hugh Sidey
Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery, Norman Mailer
First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents Wives and Their Power 1789-1961, Carl Sferrazza Anthony
The Saga of the Presidents Wives and Their Power 1961-1990, Carl Sferrazza Anthony
Real Life at the White House: 200 years of daily life at America's famous residence, John Whitcomb
Amelia Earhart, Tanya Lee Stone
The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
Hungry, Crystal Reen with Marjorie Ingall
Harry S. Truman, Robert Dallek
The Murder of King Tut: The Plot to Kill the Child King, James Patterson

Currently Reading: Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane
Up Next: Duchess of Death: The Unauthorized Biography of Agatha Christie, Richard Hack

Busy week

I'm looking forward to Thursday and Friday. My week won't be as busy as the first three days of the week.

Besides working this morning in the office, I had a couple of photo shoots this afternoon. The first was taking head shots of a county boys and girls track team. After that, I had to photograph a girls soccer game. As soon as I stepped onto the field, I knew I should have brought my winter coat. It was cold and windy. I wore a spring jacket with a hood, but that wasn't enough. I keep a stockpile of coats in my backseat, so I put a fleece jacket on over my spring coat. I was still cold. The wind was going right through both jackets.

Tuesday will be another busy day for me. I work in the office in the morning and have to photograph two schools spring sports head shots. Both schools only have baseball, softball and track so it shouldn't take too long. I hope.

Wednesday, it is the same story. Work in the office in the morning and photograph another school's spring sports teams.

What I'm most looking forward to is the local schools start Spring Break on Thursday. While the students are on spring break, no games! The local colleges will have games, but no high school games next week. I look at their spring break as a little break to help me recover from the long winter sports season. Yay!

Favorite photos

Last Thursday and Saturday, I photographed a local girls basketball team playing in the state semifinals and state championship game at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. I shot many photos, but the two were my favorites from the weekend. The team won their semifinal game and lost in the state final. I call them Victory and Defeat.

Lens repair

I sent my lens that I use to photograph sports to back to company service department get fixed. I was having so much trouble with it for the last couple of months. When the lens was attached to my camera body, it didn't have a tight fit and could turn in either direction. Not good. Another problem with the lens was the auto focus. The auto focus worked very slow, which isn't good when shooting sports. Sometimes it would get in focus, sometimes it didn't. I overshot every game I went to, just to make sure I had enough photos that were actually in focus.

I finally decided that I couldn't work with the lens anymore and it really needed to be fixed. I was extremely happy that my lens was still under warranty. With it being under warranty meant my lens was fixed for free. Major bonus for me. I packed it up and shipped it out to the company. After the company received it, they sent me updates the entire time my lens was in the shop. The description about the work being done on my lens was moderate repair, but major parts were replaced. I don't know how much those "major parts" cost, but I was truly thankful for the warranty.

I used the lens today to photograph a baseball game. The lens felt like it was brand new. It had a tight fit on my camera and the auto focus worked like it was supposed to. I didn't overshoot the game and had less then five photos that were out of focus.

Books read in 2010

I love reading books in a day or two. When I do that I can get through the library stack quicker. The quicker I read my pile of books, the sooner I can go back to the library and get more books to read.

I'm such a book nerd.

Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story, C. David Heymann
Fletch, Too, Gregory Mcdonald
American Legacy: The Story of John and Caroline Kennedy, C. David Heymann
Tis Herself: An Autobiography, Maureen O'Hara and John Nicoletti
A Woman Named Jackie: An Intimate Biography of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, C. David Heymann
John F. Kennedy, President, Hugh Sidey
Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery, Norman Mailer
First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents Wives and Their Power 1789-1961, Carl Sferrazza Anthony
The Saga of the Presidents Wives and Their Power 1961-1990, Carl Sferrazza Anthony
Real Life at the White House: 200 years of daily life at America's famous residence, John Whitcomb
Amelia Earhart, Tanya Lee Stone
The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
Hungry, Crystal Reen with Marjorie Ingall

Currently Reading: Harry S. Truman, Robert Dallek
Up Next: The Murder of King Tut: The Plot to Kill the Child King, James Patterson

Miles run in 2010

Oh my gosh! I can't believe how much I've already run this year. I'm very thankful to be injury free this year. Not dealing with injuries have helped me up my mileage. I have been running 40+ miles for the last two weeks. Its not as hard as I thought it would be.

I had to change the time that I run to accommodate all of the extra miles. Instead of running in the afternoon, I run when I get home from work in the morning. There are days when running is the last thing I want to do when leaving work. Like the trooper I am, I just do it. My plan was to run when I got home from work today, but I don't have a game to photograph later. That means I can nap and run when I wake up, I will probably run around 2:30/3 p.m. The rest of the evening is free. I will probably curl up on the couch with a book and watch some women's basketball.


2004: 70.6
2005: 93.1
2006: 116
2007: 75
2008: 232.5
2009: 209.1
2010: 414.5

Books read in 2010

I went to the library this weekend and I came home with seven books. I read so much that I already finished two short books. Spring break for the county schools is next week. What really makes me happy is that the high school's don't play any sports during spring break. That means a lot of free time for me, which means reading more.

Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story, C. David Heymann
Fletch, Too, Gregory Mcdonald
American Legacy: The Story of John and Caroline Kennedy, C. David Heymann
Tis Herself: An Autobiography, Maureen O'Hara and John Nicoletti
A Woman Named Jackie: An Intimate Biography of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, C. David Heymann
John F. Kennedy, President, Hugh Sidey
Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery, Norman Mailer
First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents Wives and Their Power 1789-1961, Carl Sferrazza Anthony
The Saga of the Presidents Wives and Their Power 1961-1990, Carl Sferrazza Anthony
Real Life at the White House: 200 years of daily life at America's famous residence, John Whitcomb
Amelia Earhart, Tanya Lee Stone
The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan

Currently Reading: Hungry, Crystal Reen with Marjorie Ingall
Up Next: Harry S. Truman, Robert Dallek

Change of plans

I made my plans for the weekend during the middle of the week. That will teach me. Those plans are gone. I have new plans now.

I won't be seeing a movie today. I really wanted to see Remember Me but that will have to wait for another day. Instead I will be running, cleaning my house, doing laundry and picking up items at the grocery store. Saturday morning, I will be driving north to photograph a girls basketball team playing in the state championship game. That event takes out my morning and most of my afternoon. Boo. But there will be a happy ending Sunday morning. Starting at 7:30 a.m., Universalsports.com will be showing the NYC Half Marathon live. I will watch it from start to finish. Anytime I can watch cross country, road races, marathons or track & field, it makes me very happy.

Books read in 2010

I finished reading my last book on Wednesday. By the time I finished, the local library closed for the day. The next time I can visit the library is Friday. Couldn't stop by today. Too busy and also, have to work for most of the afternoon and evening. I don't like going without a book, but I think I can manage until Friday.


Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story, C. David Heymann
Fletch, Too, Gregory Mcdonald
American Legacy: The Story of John and Caroline Kennedy, C. David Heymann
Tis Herself: An Autobiography, Maureen O'Hara and John Nicoletti
A Woman Named Jackie: An Intimate Biography of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, C. David Heymann
John F. Kennedy, President, Hugh Sidey
Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery, Norman Mailer
First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents Wives and Their Power 1789-1961, Carl Sferrazza Anthony
The Saga of the Presidents Wives and Their Power 1961-1990, Carl Sferrazza Anthony
Real Life at the White House: 200 years of daily life at America's famous residence, John Whitcomb

Currently Reading:
Up Next: Library trip

Random things

Daylight Savings time started on Sunday. I'm having trouble adjusting to it. I have problems every year. It is so hard for me to fall asleep even with sleeping pills. I usually take my pills around 7:30 p.m. By the time 9 p.m. rolls around I'm yawning and ready for bed. Not this week. It seems I can't get to sleep until 10 p.m or later. Not good when I wake up at 4 a.m.

On Tuesday night, I photographed a quarterfinal girls basketball game. The team I was covering won and will play in the state semifinals Thursday evening. I decided to stay for the entire game since it was a quarterfinal. Since I stayed longer, that delayed me getting home. When I got home, I still had to edit my 330 photos. When I finished working it was 10:30 p.m. That only gave me five hours or less of sleep. I woke up this morning very tired. I was happy to get an 1.5 hour nap this afternoon.

The weather around here has been very nice. It has been near 60° or above all week. The temperature will be 68° Thursday. I should really enjoy it, next week the temperatures are going to be back in the 40s. Boo.

I have lost 25 pounds so far this year. It has been a challenge and I think I'm doing well. I'm so happy that I'm seeing numbers on the scale that I haven't seen in years.

Weekend update

I figured since the weather is going to be above 50° this week, I would wash my winter coat. I washed my two pairs of gloves, scarf and my husband's winter coat. I put all of the items in the washer and dryer. When I was putting the gloves back into my pocket. One came up missing, a Mizuno running glove. I checked the washer and dryer. Nothing. I checked my coat, my husband's coat. Nothing. I unfolded the towels that were in the laundry cycle with them. Nothing. I'm a little sad. The dryer ate another piece of clothing. If the glove doesn't turn up, I'll just buy another pair.

I did something last week, I never thought I would do: run 40 miles in a week. Well, actually it was 41 miles. I ran my usual six days a week and my daily mileage was no lower then 5 miles. I'm going to try to do it again this week. I will be doing my long run of 10-13 miles later this afternoon. What a way to start out the week!

The NCAA basketball brackets have been announced. I'm happy to see that the Duke Blue Devils were one of the #1 seeds. I've been a Duke fan for the last couple of years and I would love to see them get back to the finals. But they must take it one game at a time.

I'm debating on whether to see Remember Me at the movie theater. My sister said she didn't like the end of the movie. I read the spoilers and I know what happens. I guess I'll see how my week goes.

Remember Me trailer:

Random things

I can't believe how busy I have been this week. I photographed two boys and two girls basketball games this week on three different nights. I traveled over 130 miles round trip twice and 60 miles once. I have another road trip Tuesday night. This road trip is closer and it will take about 45 minutes to get there. I could have more road trips during the week if basketball teams keep winning and extending their seasons.

I'm surprised that how busy I've been this week, I have still had time to run. I ran 6 miles today and that put my total for the week at 35 miles. My plan is to run 5 or 6 miles on Sunday. With those miles it will put my weekly total up to 40 miles. That will certainly be a first for me. It was only a year ago that I was only running 22-25 miles a week. This year, I have upped my mileage and run 30+ miles a week. It is unbelievable that I have increased my mileage so much.

I've noticed for a while that my 70-200 mm lens hasn't been performing like it should. I finally did something about it. I had it packed and shipped to Nikon today to get fixed. I will be using my 70-200 mm backup while my lens is getting fixed. I bought that lens last June and I'm thankful it is still under warranty. I hope that Nikon will be able to fix the problems and get it back to me as soon as possible.

Miles run in 2010

My running is going very well this year. I think it is because I lost weight. I have lost 21 pounds in 2010. I can run a little bit faster and not get so tired. My goal is to lower my 5 and 10K times this year.

2004: 55.6
2005: 79
2006: 94
2007: 90
2008: 210.5
2009: 174
2010: 333.5

Books read in 2010

Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story, C. David Heymann
Fletch, Too, Gregory Mcdonald
American Legacy: The Story of John and Caroline Kennedy, C. David Heymann
Tis Herself: An Autobiography, Maureen O'Hara and John Nicoletti
A Woman Named Jackie: An Intimate Biography of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, C. David Heymann
John F. Kennedy, President, Hugh Sidey
Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery, Norman Mailer
First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents Wives and Their Power 1789-1961, Carl Sferrazza Anthony
The Saga of the Presidents Wives and Their Power 1961-1990, Carl Sferrazza Anthony

Currently Reading: Real Life at the White House: 200 years of daily life at America's famous residence, John Whitcomb
Up Next: Library trip

Shutter Island

My husband and I saw Shutter Island over the weekend. It has been a while since we both sat in a movie theater together to see a movie. The last movie we saw together was Revolutionary Road back in January 2009. My husband didn't like the movie and fell asleep. No falling asleep during this movie. We both liked Shutter Island but my husband said a couple of parts dragged. I didn't think the movie dragged at all.

The only problem I had was not with the movie but a group of teenagers. They laughed and were in and out of the theater multiple times while on their cell phones. Annoying. That is the reason why I love Netflix and seeing movies in the afternoon while the children are still in school.

Official trailer of Shutter Island (2010):

Random things

This week was the start of girls basketball districts. I have to photograph a final tonight. It has wore me out. The entire winter season has. I'm tired of seeing basketball. I will be busy with the boys basketball districts and girls basketball regionals next week. The only thing getting me through this is the winter season will be over soon. Very soon.

If I had tonight off, I would be doing this instead. Since I don't, the plan is for tomorrow night. My husband and I will been seeing the movie Shutter Island. I have read good and not so good reviews for the movie. I hope that it will entertain me and its good. There is nothing worse then spending $15 to see a bad movie.

Good news to report, I have lost 20 pounds so far this year. I swear I was stuck at 18 pounds for almost a week. It is good to see the scale moving again.

Annoying

I photographed a basketball game last night. Since I've been out of high school, it seems like everyone (coaches, players and fans) have become more vocal at games.

At the game, one of the coaches kept yelling and complaining about everything. The coach just wouldn't be quiet. The players on the bench kept yelling "Travel!" I remember when I played basketball, we never yelled anything from the bench. Once a teammate of mine yelled from the bench about a call and our coach told us to stop. We cheered for our teammates and clapped. That is how every team was. The fans have gotten annoying as well. Some guy yelled from the stands for the entire first half. Whatever happened, he had to give his opinion. He also gave the refs earfuls when they were on his side of the court.

Go to the game, coach your team, cheer for your teammates and clap for a good play. Enough with the annoying whining. Just because you complain doesn't mean the call will be overturned. I have photographed sporting events for 11 years and never seen a call reversed because of it.

Long wait

I went to the doctor's office yesterday for a yearly checkup. My appointment was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. I signed in at the reception desk and was asked for my insurance card. The receptionist needed my card to type in numbers and information. I was told to have a seat and wait. About 5-10 minutes later the receptionist called my name. She handed me a clipboard with sheets to sign. When I sit back down and lady behind me says, "My sister's name is Deloris." I just nodded my head because I didn't want to strike up a conversation or even talk to anyone in the waiting room.

Slowly all of the women around me were called into the office, one by one. I was still the only one in the waiting area for a while because it was lunch time. When my name was finally called, I looked at my watch. It read 12:30 p.m. I waited a hour already for an 11:30 a.m. appointment.

I was told to take off my coat and step on the scale. After weighing in, I went back into the office with the assistant to get my blood pressure taken. The assistant left the room probably five minutes later and said the doctor would be right with me. I knew that wasn't true.

The doctor walked into my room at 1:04 p.m. She made small talk with me and inquired about the book I was reading. The doctor was with me for five minutes. An hour and a half wait to see the doctor for five minutes, that is insane.

I know that every time I go to the doctor that I will be there for over an hour. I'm glad that I have a schedule that allows me free time in the morning and afternoon. I couldn't image trying to get back to work following an appointment. I would definitely be late.

Weekend update

I had such a busy day on Friday. I worked from 4:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Went home, run, showered, had lunch, caught a 15 minute nap and got ready for work again. When I was getting ready for the second part of my work day, it started snowing. I was disappointed because the weather reports I read online said it was supposed to snow in the morning. Of course it was wrong. The snow was starting to stick to the road and that didn't make me happy. I lived in Michigan all of my life and I don't like driving in snow. If I had to drive across town, that would be no big deal. But I wasn't going across town. I was driving 85 miles away.

The drive started out alright. The roads were just wet. I was stuck behind people who wouldn't drive faster then 50 mph. Annoying. When I left the county, the snow was starting to stick to the roads. That slowed me and everyone down. I was really looking forward to reaching the interstate because I thought the roads would just be wet. In some spots they were. In others, it was snow covered. I saw fishtailing, cars in the ditch, cars stuck in the snow and a car that hit and brought down an exit sign. At different points of being on the interstate I traveled anywhere from 50-65 mph. When I got about 10 miles outside of my destination that is when the drivers were forced to a crawl. I was behind a semi truck doing 30 mph. I would have to say that was the slowest I have ever driven on the interstate. It was torture. I did arrive in one piece though.

The time at my photography assignment was well spent. I photographed team wrestling quarterfinals. I picked up a program and headed to the media hospitality room. I wanted to get something to eat and read before getting to work. Wrestling team quarterfinals always fall on a Friday during Lent, so I couldn't eat meat. The main dish that was being served was chicken. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't eat it, but I found other food to eat. I loaded my plate with salad, green beans, carrot sticks, orange slices and garlic bread. I have to say that was one of the best meals I ate at a state final. After eating I was sitting at the table reading. A worker brought in a tray of warm sugar cookies. I could smell them from where I was sitting. I really wanted one. But I stayed glued in my seat. The cookies flew off the tray by all of the guys in the hospitality room. They commented how warm the cookies were. I was glad when another reporter I knew came in and said he had a seat at the media table. I left with him. Anything to get me away from the cookies.

At the quarterfinals, I had to photograph two local teams. The problem was they were two mats apart. I balanced both teams pretty well. I took photos of all of the kids that wrestled. At the end of the night, the reporter and I emailed some of my photos back to the office. I was glad that I didn't have to try to speed back to the office to edit photos. I wouldn't have made it in time for the deadline.

The drive back was alright. Most of the interstate was wet except for a few snow covered areas. I was happy to be driving 60-65 mph because I really wanted to get home. I arrived at home at about midnight. It was a long day. I worked 13.5 hours. That tied my longest hours work record. That was the third time I have worked that many hours in a day.

Woke up Saturday morning around 6 am and went back to sleep. I woke back up around 7:15 am and got ready for work. Since I didn't got into the office Friday, I had to edit my wrestling photos. It took about an hour. When I had everything I needed, I drove to the office to load my photos on my computer. I stayed at the office for a half hour. Work was finally done for the week.

I watched a great film noir movie Saturday night, The Killer That Stalked New York from 1950. It was about a woman who is a jewelry smuggler and a smallpox carrier. She had come back to New York after smuggling diamonds from Cuba. Throughout the movie she gives smallpox to many people and they end up dying. It reminded me of the H1N1 virus outbreak. I enjoyed the film and recommend it.

On Monday I have a doctor's appointment. For years I dreaded going to the doctor because of getting weighed. I know I put on weight and I hated seeing how much I put on. This year is different. My goal was to have lost 20 pounds by the time of my appointment. I weighed myself Sunday morning and I have lost 19 pounds since January! There is still time to lose that one pound. I can still make it.