Full figure - Jackson, MI

Random things

Where is the spring weather? I wore a sweater to work this morning. Currently the temperature is 48 degrees. I don't remember wearing sweaters this far into May last year.

While sweeping the carpet last week, my vacuum cleaner died. A big piece of plastic flew off the vacuum cleaner, dirt dumped all over the floor and it wouldn't move from the upright position. We had the sweeper since we got married almost 7 years ago, so it was time to get a new one. We bought the original Dyson upright. It was a bit expensive, but worth it. The Dyson picked up everything. I had to empty the vacuum cleaner after sweeping three rooms. It was packed with dirt and dog fur, which is a good thing.

I bought John Wayne and Robert Kennedy books a couple of weeks ago. They are still sitting on my side table. I have read only the first chapter of the John Wayne book. It seems like I just don't have the time to sit down and read. I've been too busy squeezing in runs, naps and working a lot to find time for my books. I hope when the spring sports season ends, I will have time to read more because it is something I like to do.

America's Next Top Model Cycle 10 ends on Wednesday when a new winner is named. Only three models are left: Anya, Fatima and Whitney. I would like to see Whitney win. She is a plus sized model (size 10, I think) and they have never made it to the final three. I think she is very likable, not stick thin and would make a good Cover Girl.

Photo Credit: The CW

Whiskers - Jackson, MI

Notice the whiskers that were drawn on the face of this statue.

Not smart.

Burning a hole in my pocket

Last week, my husband and I received our stimulus check. I thought all of it was going to pay bills so I didn't ask about it. My husband surprised me when he gave me some of it.

When he handed me the money, I thought I should save it and buy a couple of tires for my car. That thought didn't last long. I spent some of the money when we went to Toledo last Friday. It was nice to walk into stores and actually buy something like books and clothes. It is rare for me to buy new clothes. On the other hand I could buy new books every week but oh so expensive. That is why I go to the library often.

Now I have a bit of a problem. Should I save the rest of the money for two new front tires? Or should I spend the money on clothes? I do need new work pants. Some of my old pairs that I bought 3-4 years ago have turned into high water pants.

What is a girl to do?

Miles run in 2008

With my completed three mile run yesterday afternoon, I crossed 350 miles run for the year.

My husband and I had a late lunch so that made the little time I had off before my assignment much smaller. I needed to get my run in and I couldn't delay it anymore. I ran about a half hour after I ate. I really enjoyed the churning feeling in my stomach, the side cramps and tasting my lunch through my run. I completed the run without throwing up thankfully.

I will have plenty of time to run today, I don't have to work later. My plan is to run an easy 7 or 8 miles. A couple of years ago, I would have never thought 7 or 8 miles was easy.

2008: 350.5
2007: 175.7
2006: 184.6
2005: 144.9
2004: 143.6

Weekend Update

Friday afternoon I was surprised by what was in the mail. A while ago I told my husband that Jerry Seinfeld is going to performing at The Stranahan Theater in Toledo. My husband never mentioned anything to me about buying tickets, so I didn't think he did. The tickets came in the mail Friday. We will be seeing Jerry on June 20. How exciting.

Friday evening my husband and I traveled to Toledo, Ohio for some shopping and dinner. We stopped at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Westfield Franklin Park Mall, Best Buy and Famous Dave's.

While at the mall, we stopped at our usual places: Border's and Dick's Sporting Goods. I bought two books at the bookstore. One about John Wayne and the other about Robert Kennedy. Yea! Now I have something to read that I know that I will finish. My husband bought some new shoes and shorts at Dick's. Then we did something that we never do. We walked into Abercrombie & Fitch to see what they had. At the front of the store was a display of polo shirts. I wear polo shirts for work a lot so I wanted to buy some new ones. I was pleased with many choices of colors. I picked up a green one and put it down immediately. The price for one polo was $49.50. I told my husband that it was expensive so we walked out of the store.

A couple of stores down from A&F is Aeropostale. A couple of weeks ago, I bought two polo shirts for $30. The mall in my town didn't have all of the colors, so I wanted to see what colors the Toledo store had. I found a grass green and a deep olive. I love green so I bought both of them for $32. The cashier thought they were for my husband and she said, "Someone loves green! We also have men's jewelry on sale this week." I said no thanks, grabbed my bag and walked out of the store. I told my husband that the cashier thought the shirts were for him. I kind of wanted to tell the cashier that I don't wear men's jewelry.

One other store that my husband and I always bypass is Hollister Co. We figured since we went into A&F, we would walk into the store. I really liked what they had to offer. My husband came across some polo's that he liked and I found a couple of T-shirts. While in the store, we were surrounded by tweens and teenagers. But we weren't the oldest people in the store. A couple of parents were buying clothes for their kids. When I was looking at t-shirts, a father and son walked into the store. The father said to his boy that he would be sitting in a chair while he shopped. As soon as the boy walked away the father buried his head in his hands. Maybe it was the loud music, dim lighting or he was just tired but all I know the father didn't look excited to be there. I was excited to be there. I like Hollister. I will be back.

Random things

I ran seven miles on my night off yesterday. It was a nice easy run that felt good. Today's three mile run wasn't so good. My legs were tired the instant I started running. I kept telling myself it would be over soon. Soon wasn't soon enough. I had to take a short walking break to help me get to the finish. I hope tomorrow's plan run will be better then this one.

As I type, I'm boxing up my copy of Atonement by Ian McEwan to send to Krista. I told her I would send her the book when I was finished reading it. Earlier this week I picked up the book to continue reading it. I read about 6 to 8 pages when I realized, I didn't remember what I just read. Before buying the book, I read the reviews on Amazon. There were tons of great reviews by readers, so that helped my decision. I guess that I'm in the minority, there was no way I could finish this. The book didn't hold my attention. I have the movie on my Netflix queue. I hope I'll be able to follow the movie all the way until the end.

I haven't finished reading a book since March 31. That is a big drought for me. I usually read about four books a month. When the spring sports season started my daily schedule changed from having lots of time before a game, to hardly any at all. After returning home from work in the morning, I have time to make and eat lunch, catch a short nap, run, shower, then head off to a game. When I return home from my game, it is usually late and I have to eat dinner then go straight to bed. Instead of reading recently, I've watched Seinfeld Seasons 8 and 9 in their entirety. When I watch DVD's of TV shows I need to watch them in order and all of them at once. But with a book that doesn't interest me I can see why I shelved it for an entire month.

Friday afternoon my husband and I will be heading down to Toledo, Ohio to do some shopping and eat dinner. My husband's birthday was last Sunday and he had to work, so tomorrow will sort of be his nice birthday dinner. The restaurant he chose to eat at is Famous Dave's. I know he is looking forward to the ribs. I'm looking forward to the bread pudding.

While down in Toledo, we will stop at Westfield Franklin Park Mall. Inside the mall is a Borders. Maybe when we are in the bookstore, I can find a book to read. I should try my finding a new book with my old favorites: Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Princess Diana, John F. Kennedy, John Wayne, and World War II. Any book on these subjects, I could read it in two days. It doesn't matter how many books I have read about them before. I just can't get enough.

Sorrow - Jackson, MI

Weekend Update

Saturday I photographed my first wedding of the year. I forgot how my legs and upper body feel after standing for eight hours with two camera. The wedding went well. It was a little chilly, sunny and windy. I didn't take too many photos outside due to the wind. During the reception, the song that my husband and I danced to for our first dance was played, I Cross My Heart by George Strait. It made me instantly think of my wedding day. Before I left the reception, the DJ played Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) by Big & Rich. It made me laugh because a week or so ago my husband downloaded that song and likes playing it loud on the computer. I think its funny that he just heard of that song. It was released in 2004.

Sunday was my husband's birthday. In the morning, I made him a two layer chocolate cake. It tasted fabulous by the way. We had lunch with his family. Then both of us took naps during the afternoon while watching NASCAR. Unfortunately for my husband, he had to go to work on his birthday. While I ran three miles on the treadmill. I wasn't sure how my legs would feel after standing for eight hours the night before. At the end of the three miles, my legs were tired.

After running I watched some TV before taking a shower. There was really nothing on so I watched A Shot of Love 2 with Tila Tequila. I never seen that show and I just wanted something to watch. I watched the entire hour. I think I just got hooked on another reality show. Did I just admit that I liked that show?

Mike

Happy Birthday sweetie.

These pretzels are making me thirsty

My goal last night was to run 8 miles.

Earlier in the day I was on the website, Map My Run, and planned my new route. I was determined to do it because it was such a gorgeous day. I grabbed my iPod and my Forerunner 101 and headed outdoors. I told my husband that I wasn't taking my keys with me and if I wasn't back in two hours that he needed to look for me.

Within minutes of starting my run, my legs were already very tired. I started my pace slow on purpose to get me through the entire eight miles, but the pace was slower then normal. I decided to continue with the run. I thought about stopping to walk, but I didn't want to do that.

Around mile 4, I was getting very thirsty. On runs, I never bring water or Gatorade with me because I don't have anywhere to put them. If I get thirsty, I stop at a college that is on my route and get a drink of water. When I was near the college, I didn't want to stop running because if I did it would be hard for me to start again. It was at that point that I decided to skip the 8 mile run.

I hated the thought of not going the full distance, but I wanted to get home to my bottle of grape Gatorade. On the second half of my run I passed the street I was supposed to turn left on to continue the last four miles. When I ran across that street, I did have a thought just to make the left turn and do it. But with my legs as tired as they were, I knew I wouldn't made it without walking. I know taking walking breaks during a run is OK. But I don't like to do that. When I go running I want to run the entire distance without walking. I need to prove to myself I can do it.

When I arrived home, I looked at my Forerunner 101. It said I ran 5.1 miles. Not bad, just three miles short of my goal. With that I walked down the driveway to the backdoor of my house. I really wanted to drink that Gatorade. I noticed that my husband's truck was missing from the driveway. He was not back from Lowe's yet. I told him before my run that if I wasn't back in two hours to look for me. He probably thought he had more time.

Without house keys, I was locked out of the house. And locked out from my precious Gatorade. I really needed a drink of water. I walked back to the garden hose in my driveway. I turned on the water and drank from the hose. It was really gross. The water was extremely warm and it had a funky taste to it. But it was better then nothing.

I waited for my husband to come home. About 10 or 15 minutes later he pulled into the driveway. I said to him that I cut my run short because I was thirsty. Since he wasn't home, I told him I drank from the hose. He said he was sorry that I had to wait outside and drink from the hose. He suggested that I should buy one of those hydration backpacks. I thought it was a good idea. I know it will help out during a long run on a warm day. It won't give me an excuse to cut short a run because I was thirsty.

In bloom - Adrian, MI

R. WH. Palmer - Jackson, MI

Neighborhood fun

Some of my neighbors think it is summer already.

They brought a towel outside and laid it on the sidewalk. Not just any sidewalk, the sidewalk right next to the street. The street where cars drive by. Two girls wearing only bikinis, oiled themselves up and are now laying on the towel. Classy.

Note: It is only 57 degrees and they shouldn't be wearing bikinis as they are bigger girls.

Stare - Jackson, MI

300!

I forced myself to run outside during the early afternoon. Usually the time I like to run is in the late afternoon. I knew if I didn't run around 1:30 pm today, that I wouldn't get in my run. Who likes to run after photographing a softball and baseball game for over 2.5 hours?

My afternoon run was slow. My legs were very tired and I got stomach cramps about 2 miles into my run. After I got the cramps, I took a short walking break. Even though the run wasn't the greatest it did give me some good news. With my 3.5 mile run this afternoon, I crossed 300 miles run for the year!

Its very exciting to hit that mark only four months into the year. With my spring sports schedule of photographing games Monday through Friday between the hours of 3:30 and 8 pm, it makes it harder to get in my daily runs. (In the mornings, I work every M-F from 4:30/5 am until 11/11:30 am in the office. Its safe to say my days are busy.) Take example yesterday, I planned to run 6 miles outside on my night off. My plans changed when my brother and sister wanted me to help them unload my late grandmother's possessions at our rental storage unit. After 2.5 hours of lifting and carrying boxes and furniture, I was tired. To make up for the fact I was tired, I only ran 3 miles instead of 6.

Until the spring sports season is over, I have to make the time to squeeze in runs in the available time that I have. I hope when August rolls around my mileage will be in the neighborhood of 600.

2004: 90.1
2005: 120.2
2006: 153.9
2007: 147.5
2008: 301.3

Missing hands - Jackson, MI

Wasted day

I went to the doctor yesterday for a follow up appointment. I walked into the waiting room and there was one other person. I thought I would be in and out in a hurry. Besides the doctors appointment I had plenty to do. I had to photograph a baseball game which started at the same time of my appointment, I wanted to squeeze in a run before meeting my family at 6:30 pm.

I signed in at 1:42 pm for a 2 pm appointment. About 1:55 pm the other person in the waiting room was called back. I thought it should be any moment for me. To occupy my time, the office had some health program on. I watched that for a while. It didn't hold my interest long. To pass the time better, I played my iPod. It only helped a bit.

My name was finally called at 2:23 pm. I was shown to a room by the assistant. She asked how I was doing. I really wanted to tell her that I was mad that I had to wait almost 25 minutes for my appointment that was scheduled at 2 pm. But I went the safe route and said OK. She said she didn't believe me. The assistant was with me for a total of 2 minutes. At 2:26 pm, the assistant left the room and said she would tell the doctor I was here.

While in the room by myself, I thought about taking a nap on the table, but I didn't. I wasn't able to get my nap in due to the appointment and the college baseball game I needed to photograph right after my appointment. Next, I glanced around the room for something to look at. Not much. I did notice the clock in the office was an hour behind. After 10 minutes, I realized the doctor wasn't coming in anytime soon so I turned on my iPod.

The doctor walked into the room around 3 pm. I was with her for about five minutes. All of that waiting just to talk to the doctor for five minutes.

After I left the doctor's office and drove across town to the college to photograph a baseball game. When I got to the game it was the top of the sixth inning in game one. I was a lucky it was a doubleheader because I only took six photos during the last two innings. When the first game was over there was a 25 minute break before the second game.

My appointment ruined my whole afternoon. Having to wait for the second game I didn't leave work until 6:30 pm. I was late getting to my Mom's house for the meeting and I never got my run in. Next time I schedule an appointment, I'm going to try to get the first one after lunch. I don't need to be sitting in the doctor's office for an hour and a half.

Dangerous Building - Jackson, MI

Raindrops keep falling on my head

Today is a beautiful day in my corner of Michigan. The sun is shining and we are having very spring like weather at 66 degrees. Later this afternoon a storm front will come in a take it all away.

The weather will still be warm later today but thunderstorms and wind will be attached with it. I'm hoping the storm doesn't roll through town until the track meet I'm schedule to photograph is over. If it does start to storm before the end of the meet, I hope the meet is at half way. If it is half way, I still get to see some of the good races.

After the huge storm comes through, the temperatures will be dropping down overnight about 30 degrees. Tomorrow morning at 9 am I will be running in a 5K. If I have to run 3.1 miles on a cold rainy day really doesn't bother me, but I prefer the rain to stay away during the race.

I would like to beat or match some of my 5K times from 2007. I don't know if that will happen. The other day I was running and my left quad started to hurt again. I don't have pain just when I'm running, it hurts when I walk. I know I will be able to run through the pain but my time might not be so good. Oh well. At least I will be out on a starting line tomorrow.

Good luck to the other people running 5Ks and half marathons Saturday.

Dad

John Wayne Clark

April 10, 1942 - August 15, 1998

Happy Birthday Dad

Swirl - Jackson, MI

Master - Jackson, MI

Outside and sunny

The weather over the weekend was actually nice, sunny and 50s. It made my decision to run outside easy.

I haven't run outside since since February 19. That day the temperatures were hovering around zero and it was icy. Over the weekend I didn't have to think about ice. I just had to avoid the puddles of water on the streets.

Saturday I ran 6.1 miles, just short of a 10K. I was only off my best 10K time by three minutes, but the run was slow. Usually my first run of the year is slow outside. I don't have a treadmill belt helping me run. When I finished my legs were tingling, my right knee hurt and so did my right hip. Physically I wasn't feeling too good after my run, but mentally I was. It was so nice to be back outside running. I ran with my iPod for the first time and time went by so fast. They only thing I don't like about running with my iPod is my left earphone keeps falling out of my ear. Sunday's solution to the iPod problem was I put tape over my ear. It kept the earphone from falling out, but I probably looked silly.

Sunday was a great day as well. I didn't want to waste a good day by sitting inside. I was unsure if I wanted to run. I was sore from Saturday's run, but I laced up my shoes and went outside. Almost two miles into the run, my right knee was hurting and I was getting side cramps. I still wanted to run but closer to my home, so I took a short cut.

While on the run, a bunch of guys were playing football. When I ran by I heard whistling. I hoped they weren't whistling at me. I didn't even want to look at them so I kept going. Later two different vehicles of girls drove by. Both groups of girls yelled out the window at me. Why do people feel the need to yell at runners? When I'm driving and I see a runner, I think good for them or I should be out doing that. Not let's roll down the window and yell. Idiots.

I finished Sunday's run at 4.1 miles. After the run, I was in more pain then after my 6. 1 mile run Saturday. My right hip hurt and I think I'm getting shin splits, but it is worth it. It was a good weekend. I ran 10.2 miles outside. In the sunlight.

Usually Monday's are one of my days off from running, but there is no way that I can't run today. The sun is shining and it is going to be 62 degrees. This weekend I will be running my first 5K of the year. The weather will not be as nice as it was this past weekend. It is supposed to rain and be cold. I'm so looking forward to it.

Hoffman - Jackson, MI

Spring breeze

After weeks of having spring sports games canceled due to the nasty weather. There was a change. The weather was nice and I finally photographed a game.

It was sunny, but a bit chilly at the college softball game yesterday afternoon. I wore a sweater and my winter coat to keep me warm while I worked. When I got out of my car, it didn't seem like there was any wind so I decided to leave my hat in the car. Big mistake.

I stood beside the home team's dugout on the first base side. There was a nice swirling wind that was hitting me in the face. Too bad I didn't feel that wind when I stepped out of my car. I regretted not bringing my hat. I had plenty of time to go back to the car before the game, but I didn't. I didn't want to lose my spot by the dugout. To pass the time before the game, I turned around to look at the crowd sitting in the bleachers. Some of the people sitting in the stands were just wearing short sleeve t-shirts and shorts. It was sunny but not that warm. It was only in the low 40s. Just looking at them made me colder in my sweater and winter coat.

It is sunny again today and warmer. I wonder when I photograph another college softball game later this afternoon will fans be wearing short sleeve shirts and shorts because it is close to 50 degrees? That isn't what I will be wearing to the game. You'll find me in a long sleeve shirt, winter coat and of course my hat.

Mausoleum door handle - Jackson, MI

Mournful - Jackson, MI

Registration

I'm so excited.

I just registered for the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Half Marathon. I will be running across bridges, underwater and in Canada on October 19, 2008. That will be many firsts for me because I have never run underwater or been to Canada.

Besides training for the half marathon, the only thing left to do is book my hotel room. Which I hope to be doing soon.

**Update** I booked my hotel room this afternoon. My husband and I will be staying overnight at the Detorit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. Now everything is taken care of.

Miles run in 2008

I wanted to run 9 miles on Sunday, but I fell short. I finished with 7 miles. My reason for falling short was side cramps. Other then the side cramps, it was a nice run. I finished the week with 23 miles.

On Saturday, April 12, it is my first race of the year. I will be running the Acres of Fun 5K in Tecumseh, MI. Compared to what I have been running recently, it should be an easy 3.1 miles. I hope the weather is nice.

2004: 74.1
2005: 105.1
2006: 125
2007: 119.4
2008: 255.5

Books read in 2008

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert
Harlow: An Intimate Biography, Irving Shulman
His Way, Kitty Kelley
Natalie, Lana Wood
Rita Hayworth, John Kobal
The Fatal Friendship: Marie Antoinette, Count Fersen and the Flight to Varennes, Stanley Loomis
The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory

Currently Reading: Atonement, Ian McEwan
Up Next:

Random things

I hope last night's snow was it for the season. Early Thursday the local weatherman was talking about 6 inches of snow. Thankfully the area only received 2 or 3 inches. My husband was very nice this morning to shovel the snow on the deck, around my car and clean off my car. After work, I had to shovel the sidewalks. The snow was wet, heavy and my back and hands hurt when I was completed. I could have just waited a couple of hours, maybe the sun would have melted the snow.

The registration opens Monday for the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon. I will be online after work registering for the half marathon. I don't think I have ever been this excited to register for a race.

This week every game I was scheduled to go was postponed or canceled due to snow. I hope next week the weather will cooperate so I can actually photograph some spring sports. Monday it is supposed to be over 60 degrees but there is a chance of rain. All I can say is I hope the rain stays away so some college games can be played.

Last year I was considering running a half marathon. The problem was I didn't have enough time to train for one. This year I will be running the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Half Marathon, as I mentioned above. I found another half marathon close to my home during the summer and I really wanted to run that. The problem was I couldn't because I was booked for a wedding. I had booked two couples on consecutive weekends in August. In December, one of the couples canceled their wedding. I just realized today that I'm not booked for a wedding on the day of the half marathon. I'm booked for a wedding the week before the race. I will be running this half marathon in late August. Wow. I'm running two half marathons this year. Awesome.

Close up - Jackosn, MI

Missing fingers - Jackson, MI

Inclement weather

The snow storm from last weekend is screwing things up. The spring sports season has started in the county, but the weather isn't playing along.

I was supposed to photograph a softball game today and tomorrow, but those have been postponed. The softball diamonds are hidden under layers of snow. Other sports have postponed as well like lacrosse and soccer. Usually those two sports play in anything. I guess not this time.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be sunny. The key words here are "supposed to". I hope it is sunny so the snow melts. The spring sports season needs to get underway because I need the hours.

Mary, Full of Grace - Jackson, MI

Saturday's run

I knew that I wouldn't have the time to run on Easter Sunday, so I ran Saturday.

I only got in three runs during the week. That disappointed me. I usually like to run four times between Monday and Friday and once on the weekends, but my quad pain sidelined me on Friday. Instead of running, I spent time with my husband, resting and icing my quad. I felt guilty missing my Friday run.

Saturday I was determined to run at least 7 miles to make up for the lost day. If I ran 7 miles that would put me at 20 miles run for the week. After missing Friday, I didn't want to finish the week with anything thing lower then 20 miles.

Once I started running, I kept thinking about running longer. After the first two miles my quad felt fine and it made my decision easier. I decided I was going to run 9 miles. The first two times I attempted 9 miles, I failed. The first time my legs were really tired, poor excuse, and the second time my left quad was in pain and I really had to stop short. With the TV on the Duke/West Virgina basketball game, the run went by rather quickly. It took me 93:08 to run 9 miles. After the run, I was really happy. That was the longest I have ever run. With that run, my week's mileage was at 22 miles.

The whole run felt really good. I didn't have any quad pain, which helped the run go smoothly. I hope this weekend I can log another 9 miles pain free.

Resurrected - Jackson, MI

Books read in 2008

With me being sick most of this week, I really didn't get a chance to read. Over my vacation last week, I finished a long Marie Antoinette book. When I finished that book I didn't realize The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown had a two week due date. That book is still considered "new" at my library even though in was released June 2007. I got as far as page 170 and I had to return it Friday to the library. It couldn't be renewed because the book is in demand. Or so the card said in the front of the book. Next time I go to the library, I will probably check it back out and continue reading it. But for now I'm reading a book that I bought: The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory.

I thinking of buying Atonement by Ian McEwan. Has anyone read it? Is it good? I would like to read the book before seeing the movie. The movie is currently in my Netflix queue.

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert
Harlow: An Intimate Biography, Irving Shulman
His Way, Kitty Kelley
Natalie, Lana Wood
Rita Hayworth, John Kobal
The Fatal Friendship: Marie Antoinette, Count Fersen and the Flight to Varennes, Stanley Loomis

Currently Reading: The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory

Good Friday - Jackson, MI

Random things

Today is the first day of spring. Right now it is sunny and 44 degrees. Tomorrow winter will return to the area. The forecast calls for 4 to 7 inches of snow starting Friday night and ending Saturday morning. This winter I noticed a pattern, it seemed like after all of the snow had melted from one storm another storm came by and dumped more snow. I will not be looking forward to shoveling the sidewalks Saturday morning.

My three mile run was terrible today. My legs were tired. They felt like they weighed a ton and my left quad hurt again. I don't know why I had such a horrible run. Yesterday my 6 mile run went well and I actually ran without quad pain. During the run I kept waiting for the pain to start, but it never did.

The cold I have right now is starting to get better. After two days, I starting to regain my sense of smell but my ears are still plugged. I've been using tissues so much that my nose is very raw and has cracked and bled. When I'm using tissues, it feels like sandpaper. Very painful.

I'm one of the few people that didn't fill out a bracket for the men's NCAA basketball tournament pool in my office. To enter the office pool it required money. I need to hold on to my money as much as possible. I did fill out a bracket, but not for the pool. My fake bracket is hanging on my bulletin board in my office. Mine is just for fun.

I went to a high school this afternoon to photograph sports teams. I asked all of the spring sports athletes to write their first and last names on a piece of paper and hold it in front of them while I took a head shot. After I take the picture the kids always ask me what they need to do with the piece of paper that they wrote their name on. I always tell them to throw it away. After I finished with the boys and girls track teams, I looked at the floor of the gym and it is littered with paper. I grabbed all of the paper around me and put it in a pile because there wasn't a trash can around. I told one of the coaches that the kids threw the paper on the floor. She grabbed a trash can, picked up all of the paper and said to me that they would be running extra today for all of the garbage that they left. At every school that I photograph head shots at, paper ends up on the floor. Why are they so lazy?

A Top Chef Season One marathon was on Bravo TV yesterday. I spent most of the afternoon on the couch watching it. I could have watched more of it if I didn't have to go to work for a couple of hours. I think I could watch an entire 13 episode run without leaving the couch. I have no shame. I love that show.

Green face - Jackson, MI

Handles - Jackson, MI

Ladybug eye - Tecumseh, MI

The nose knows

Not a good weekend. On the last day of my vacation I caught a cold from my husband.

Two restless nights. Constantly battling a stuffy nose and trying to breathe. To help, I've been opening my mouth to breathe. Now I have the worst chapped lips. I can't sleep normally. I have to prop my pillows against the headboard and sleep with my head up. Last night that wasn't working too well, so I tried to sleep sitting up. It is something that I wouldn't suggest. It wasn't comfortable.

My stuffed nose has gotten worst today. I have been taking medicine but it doesn't seem to help. I probably have used almost a box of tissues in the last two days. And you can tell. I have the red irritation marks under my nose.

I should stop complaining. Many others have had it worst then me. Besides this is only the second cold I have had all winter. I'll keep taking my medicine and hope that it will be gone soon.

Books read in 2008

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert
Harlow: An Intimate Biography, Irving Shulman
His Way, Kitty Kelley
Natalie, Lana Wood
Rita Hayworth, John Kobal
The Fatal Friendship: Marie Antoinette, Count Fersen and the Flight to Varennes, Stanley Loomis

Currently Reading: The Diana Chronicles, Tina Brown
Up Next: Deciding between two books

Pray - Tecumseh, MI

So much to do, so little time

Friday was my last paid day of vacation. I have today and Sunday off but Monday it is back to work. BOO!!

This is what I accomplished on my last day of vacation:

-woke up around 8 am
-watched 3 movies
-ran 4 miles
-played with the dogs
-watched half of the Ohio/Bowling Green women's basketball game
-watched the Duke/Georgia Tech men's basketball game
-read 100+ pages in my book
-watched TV with my husband who came home for his break
-went to bed around 11 pm

I wish I could get paid for doing this everyday.

Miles run in 2008

My six mile run yesterday put me over 200 miles run for the year. I'm so excited that I accomplished that so early in the year.

On another note, I finally bought new shoes as well. I came home with Mizuno Wave Rider 11 shoes. I tried to break them in when I got home. The first mile was a bit uncomfortable. After that they felt fine. My left quad still hurt a bit when running. But I'm hoping the pain will go away because I finally bought new shoes. I have been running with the old pair of Mizuno's since last July. Yeah, not good.

Aren't my new shoes pretty?

2004: 55.6

2005: 84.1

2006: 102

2007: 96

2008: 203.5

Standing alone -Tecumseh, MI

Not locked - Tecumseh, MI

Cemetery Drive

With my vacation this week, it has given me time to get back outside with my camera. The weather has been great, high 30s/low 40s with sun. Sun! With the sun out it makes the perfect opportunity to go out and photograph at my favorite places: cemeteries.

Yesterday morning, I traveled to Tecumseh to visit Brookside Cemetery. It is one of my favorites in the county. It has a nice mausoleum and plenty of statues, which is a big draw for me. I have photographed that cemetery many times before. When I go back to ones which I have been before, I try to find new angles to photograph everything. With snow covering the ground, it limited my options some. I did get down and get my knees wet.

While at the cemetery I had my iPod with me. I did start singing, but not too loud. I was not trying to draw attention to myself with walkers and actual visitors in the cemetery. I thought it was OK to sing. But who knows there could be some cemetery etiquette that I don't know about.

I drove to Woodland Cemetery in Jackson County this morning. It was a cemetery I haven't been to before, but I have been in the area numerous times before. It was a huge cemetery. Plenty of things to look at and photograph. I found many mausoleums and statues. It was like I hit the jackpot! I was so excited.

I came upon a old mausoleum from 1897. Around the mausoleum there were signs saying " Warning. Dangerous Building". At first I didn't understand why the signs said that. Then I noticed all of the cracks and the crumbling foundation. I tried not to get too close, but I had to. There were two angels in front of it. I had to get close for my angel statues. The mausoleum had wonderful design and it was old and beautiful. When I walked closer I noticed some graffiti on the wall of the mausoleum. Some girl named Laura scratched her name on the front of the mausoleum and told everyone that she was there. I'm sure if any of the family is still living they would appreciate that fact. I guess no one taught this Laura girl to respect the dead. Vandalizing a cemetery must be her idea of a fun time.

Before leaving I drove up another path that I missed the first time around. I jammed on the brakes of my car. I saw before me a huge 10 foot bronze statue. The statue has been there since I believe the turn of the century, it was all green and awesome. The statue had great features; eyes, hair and hands. I was happy to have found it. I was focusing my camera on the face and I noticed someone scratched whiskers on the face. It saddened me that someone would climb up on this statue to draw whiskers on both side of the face. Another example of stupid people. I spent about 10 minutes on this statue alone. It was so beautiful.

I ended up taking over 100 photos at this cemetery. It was a great find and I hope to visit it again. Hopefully later today, I will get another chance to take photographs in a cemetery down in Toledo, Ohio. My husband and I are going to drive down there tonight to look for home improvement items. If the sun is still in the sky, we will be stopping for a while.

Brookside hinge - Tecumseh, MI

Thinking - Tecumseh, MI

Books read in 2008

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert
Harlow: An Intimate Biography, Irving Shulman
His Way, Kitty Kelley
Natalie, Lana Wood
Rita Hayworth, John Kobal

Currently Reading: The Fatal Friendship: Marie Antoinette, Count Fersen and the Flight to Varennes, Stanley Loomis
Up Next: The Diana Chronicles, Tina Brown

Pain in the head

After waking up from a nap yesterday, I had intentions of running six miles. That is where those intentions stopped.

As soon as I got up from the couch, the room was spinning because I was so dizzy. Only two seconds ago I was fine on the couch. I continued walking to the bathroom and everything was still spinning and my head was hurting.

After I came out of the bathroom I went to pick up my running shoes and I instantly felt like I had to throw up. I went and sat on the couch and breathed in and out slowly so I wouldn't hurl on the carpet. I did that a couple times and felt better. I leaned over and picked up my right shoe. Mistake. The room started spinning again. I managed to put on my left shoe and got down on the floor to stretch. Sitting on the floor didn't help me too much. I only did a couple of stretches and then I got up said to my husband "I feel like I'm going to throw up" and walked fast to the bathroom. I did what I said I was going to do.

I felt a little better afterwords. I decided that I could walk instead of run. Walking is still exercise and I needed to do something. I walked a fast paced mile on the treadmill. I pressed stop to see how I was feeling. I was feeling better, so I decided to run. I reset the treadmill and ran 3 miles. I thought 4 miles total for the day was good for me not feeling well with the throwing up, dizziness and still my left quad pain.

It wasn't the 6 miles that I wanted but I with those 4 miles, I'm only 9.5 miles away from 200 miles run for the year. I will make that easily this week.

Random things

Not much is going on today. Here are a few odds and ends.

Will winter never end? The county I live in is under a winter storm watch until Saturday night. The storm that is coming this way could drop 6 or more inches of snow. Great. I'll just shovel that additional 6 inches of snow on top of the 5 inches we received Wednesday morning.

Its official. I had my vacation slip signed by my boss today. My vacation can begin tomorrow when I leave work at 10 am. I checked the 10 day forecast on weather.com and it said that next week it is supposed to be partly cloudy and in the high 30s/upper 40s. That will be nice for when I'm outside taking photographs.

My half marathon training has been going well. I completed a run of 6 miles today and tomorrow I will be running 6 miles again. It seems when I have a run longer then 7 miles, I hit the wall. I think to myself, how am I going to finish 13.1 miles? I know I will get past it and just do it when the time comes. But running with quad pain isn't fun. I hope when I buy new shoes soon, the pain will go away. If it doesn't I might have to visit the doctor.

After this weekend, I will be less then 10 miles away from 200 miles run for the year. That is pretty awesome for me. I will be at 200 miles in just over 3 months. If I keep this running schedule up, I will totally smash my New Years resolution of 600 miles run for the year.

Vacation time

I filled out my vacation sheet this morning. All that is left is for my boss to sign it. I have my substitutes set up with their schedule for next week and everything is squared away.

Next week I won't be waking up to an alarm clock. I'll be sleeping in. Things I have on the agenda are reading, running, napping, staying up past 9 pm, going on photography trips, playing with the dogs, and spending time with my husband. That is a lot to accomplish on my week off. I'm sure they will be done.

People were asking me where I was going on vacation. My answer: My house. My last vacation was over 8 months ago, which was too long ago. This vacation is mainly to take a break and get ready for the spring sports season. The good news is that I have three more weeks of vacation left this year. And believe me, I will use all of it. One of the three weeks of vacation I have left, I will be taking a trip back to New York City with my husband. The last time we were in NYC was May 2002. It will be nice to get back there and see how the city has changed.

Books read in 2008

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert
Harlow: An Intimate Biography, Irving Shulman
His Way, Kitty Kelley
Natalie, Lana Wood

Currently Reading: Rita Hayworth, John Kobal
Up Next: Library trip

Old man winter

The branches on the trees do not look like this today. Maybe later this afternoon and tonight they will. My area of Michigan is supposed to receive four to six inches of snow. Four to six inches of snow? How can we get that? Monday it was 50 degrees.

I heard that this winter has dumped the most snow on us in seven to eight years. Last year we hardly got any. Most people in town wore coats and t-shirts outside because it was that warm.

Like most people I'm looking forward to spring. I can't wait until my first run outside with the sun on my face. Unlike a couple of weeks ago, it wasn't sun on my face, it was snow flurries, wind and tears.

Books read in 2008

I swear it has taken me ten years to finish His Way by Kitty Kelley. Actually it took about a week and a half. It seems like every time I was reading before a game, someone would interrupt and start talking to me. There is a reason why I wear my iPod earphones while reading.


A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert
Harlow: An Intimate Biography, Irving Shulman
His Way, Kitty Kelley

Currently Reading:u Natalie, Lana Wood
Up Next: Rita Hayworth, John Kobal

Tagged

I've been tagged by Badgergirl. Now, I'm supposed to share seven random and/or weird facts about me on my blog.

1. I haven't had any cavities yet and I'm 28. (knock on wood)

2. I've haven't broken any bones. (knock on wood)

3. Both of my ankles are extremely weak due to playing basketball in high school. I can twist both of them easily. I also have tendinitis in my left wrist.

4. I was a pallbearer at my grandmother's funeral yesterday along with my two brothers, two of my sisters and my husband. My grandmother was 100 years old. She graduated high school in 1924.

5. I like to watch classic movies. Most of my favorite actors are from the Old Hollywood era. My husband doesn't like to watch classics with me. He says they don't make sense.

6. I love to read books about funeral homes and cemeteries. Most people think I'm really weird when it comes to this. My dream photo assignment would be to document a deceased person at a funeral home from beginning to end. The whole funeral home business and death fascinates me. I liked this topic before ever watching Six Feet Under or Family Plots.

7. I can't stand it when people crack their knuckles. It grosses me out.

I tag anyone who hasn't done this.

Pain in the leg

Before I even step on the treadmill or walk outside to hit the road running, I have in mind how far I want to run. I will try to always meet that goal. If I don't, there has to be a good reason for stopping because I hate cutting my planned runs short.

According to my half marathon training, which I follow very closely, I was to run 6 miles yesterday. I got on the treadmill and started running. Within the first few seconds my left quad was in pain. I decided to stop thinking about it and continue running. But that thought didn't stay forgotten for too long, my quad hurt for most of the run. I think I looked down at the time every 30 seconds hoping the miles would fly by. They didn't.

After passing the 2 mile mark, I said to myself, I can go to 3 miles and see how I feel. If it didn't get any better I was going to stop. Then the guilt would have quickly followed. Getting to the third mile time dragged and dragged. I thought it was never going to end. Once I reached 3 miles I thought to myself, only three more 10 minute segments. When I thought that, it really broke the miles up nicely. Sure, I continued to constantly look at the timer on the treadmill, but it made those final three miles a little bit better.

I'm glad that I didn't stop. If I did, I would have made up the miles that I skipped yesterday in today's run.

Miles run in 2008

Even with an extremely busy work day of 10.5 hours, I managed to squeeze in a hour nap and a three mile run. My upper left quad has been hurting since Valentine's Day, but the pain seems to decrease in the middle of a run. I've tried stretching it every way I know, it doesn't seem to help. After work this evening, my quad isn't in pain like it has been. Which is a good sign.

2004: 44.9
2005: 67
2006: 76
2007: 74
2008: 157.5

Jealous eyes

Our dogs have plenty of chew toys. When one of them has a toy, the other dog will steal it or at least try to. This morning was the case with my dogs Blitzkrieg and Kelly.

Top Photo: Kelly chewing on a bone.

Bottom Photo: Blitzkrieg wants the bone that Kelly is chewing. He watched her from his bed and didn't attempt to take Kelly's bone this time. If he did, she would have bit his foot.

Hair dryer

My hair dryer stopped unexpectedly while my hair was still dripping wet. I turned off the hair dryer and looked at the instructions attached to the cord. The instructions said to turn it off and unplug it for five minutes to let it cool down.

I tried to dry my long hair more with my towel. It only helped a little. Still waiting for the five minute cool down time, I decided to get dressed and try the hair dryer when I came back downstairs. I grabbed my clothes and headed upstairs to my bedroom to get dressed. I turned on the space heater in my bedroom to full power. I bent my head down to dry my hair. It’s not a good way to dry one's hair, but it did dry it very slowly.

After getting dressed, I went back downstairs into the bathroom to check on the hair dryer. I turned it on. It didn't work. The hair dryer is officially dead. So much for the five minute cool down.

Books read in 2008

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert
Harlow: An Intimate Biography, Irving Shulman

Currently Reading: His Way, Kitty Kelley
Up Next: Natalie, Lana Wood

Cold running

Not even five minutes into my 6 mile run yesterday, the treadmill belt stopped rolling. I got off the treadmill and found the tools to tighten the belt. I did that and it didn't work. I thought about just going back upstairs and sitting on the couch. I didn't. A huge thing of guilt fell over me and I had to do it. I changed and went running outside.

I really didn't want to run outside, but I had no choice with my beloved treadmill not operational. When I started the run, I wasn't even sure how far I wanted to go. It was very cold and windy. I went for a just over 3 mile run.

Besides the cold, I'm not a fan of running outside during the winter. My run was slowed due to the fact that the sidewalks were glazed over with ice. To get around the ice without falling on my butt, I had to go around in the grass. Usually running in the grass is no big deal, but when the ground is frozen and not flat, it is. I twist my ankles very easy and I had to go extra slow in the grass.

Other fun tidbits on my run, I noticed a van backing out of a driveway. Problem was the woman driver didn't notice me. I had to stop before she ran me over. I was standing at her driver's side door and not once did she ever see me. Who knows if she even saw me when I ran around the front of her van. A couple of blocks away, I saw something huge on the side of the road. I thought it was trash. No it was a frozen dead cat. As I ran by, I looked down at the dead cat and said "Poor Kitty." I hate running by dead things in the road.

With snot and tears running down my face, tears due to the wind and flurries, I finished my run in one piece. My time was very slow for that distance. I was so disappointed that I didn't run my scheduled 6 miles, I still felt guilty.

Later that evening my husband made an appointment to get the treadmill fixed. The repairman came by this morning and was actually able to fix it without ordering parts. After he left, I changed my clothes and ran 6 miles. It was so nice to run inside my home with heat and a TV to keep me entertained.

Marilyn

I love Marilyn Monroe. I have many of her movies and own and read so many books about her. I can never get enough of her.

On my gift list is the book Marilyn Monroe: The Complete Last Sitting by Bert Stern. I have wanted this book for over 5 years. But I never bought it because the list price is $120. The Last Sitting photos were taken six weeks before she died.

This morning while reading my usual five newspapers on the internet, I come across the story of Lindsay Lohan recreating "The Last Sitting" with Bert Stern. Stern was the same photographer who photographed Marilyn's last sitting. Stern got Lohan in the exact same poses and duplicated the original set as Marilyn.

I thought the photos turned out well. Stern did a wonderful job of recreating the magic he had with Marilyn.

Photo Credit: Bert Stern/Associated Press

Snow fence - Adrian, MI

Random things

Usually when I run on my treadmill, I watch Food Network. I always turn it to that channel because it gives me something good to watch while I'm running. Wednesday, Food Network was on while running 6 miles. For the last three miles, Barefoot Contessa had a clip show dedicated to chocolate recipes. I couldn't handle it. Seeing all of that chocolate made me hungry. All I kept thinking about was the Crunch ice cream bar that was in my freezer. I almost stopped running several times. But I stayed on the treadmill and finished. Once I was finished with my 6 mile run I ate the Crunch bar.

My husband and I celebrated Valentine's Day, a day early on Wednesday. I was cold before entering the restaurant, so when we were seated I kept my coat, scarf and knit hat on. Our waiter comes over to our table and says, "Gentlemen, do you know what you would like to drink?" I looked up at the waiter and said, "Gentlemen?" He said, "I'm sorry, I thought you were a man because of the hat you're wearing. It says 'Go Blue' and it’s a Michigan hat." After the waiter took our drink orders, I said to my husband, "Girls can't wear Michigan hats?" My husband said, "He's probably in the back saying to myself 'There goes my tip'." The waiter was actually very good and to make up for his goof, he walked to the bar twice during dinner to give me an update of the score for the Duke/Maryland basketball game.

At work this morning, the internet was down for most of my shift. It’s hard to get your work completed when the internet doesn't work. Every day I load photos onto a web site so people can view galleries and buy any photos they want. I tried all morning to load three folders. None of them would load. One started to load and the pop up box said it would take about two minutes. A couple of minutes later the pop up box changed to 153 hours. I canceled the photo upload. Twenty minutes before I left work, I successfully loaded one folder. Normally it would have taken less than five minutes, with the internet problems it took over 20 minutes. I didn't want to leave work without loading the other two folders, so I burned a CD and brought the photos home. I loaded them from my computer quickly.

In Snow - Adrian, MI

Night

It snowed again yesterday. Most of the basketball games for the evening were canceled. Mine was not.

I got to the school and walked into the gym, the junior varsity team is just warming up. The visiting school arrived shortly before me and the players were getting dressed. The game started a half hour late. The game didn't go fast due to plenty of fouls and injuries.

Before the end of the JV game, the varsity visiting team arrived and they went to get dressed. After the JV game was over to kill time the announcer was reading off names of the school staff for high school teacher appreciation day. All of the players nominated their favorite teacher for something and then wrote why the teacher is so special. How sweet. It was driving me up the wall. After the teacher thing, the home team was standing around. Hello? Run onto the court and start warm-ups! The varsity game didn't start for another half hour. GRRRRR!

When I finished at the office, I really wanted to just get ready for bed. The dogs wanted their food, so they had to be fed. After eating, they wanted to go outside. I opened the door for them. Once the dogs were back inside and I finished getting ready for bed, I sat at my computer. Reading blogs didn't help me get to sleep any time soon. About 9:45 pm, I decided to go to bed.

Once I was in bed, I couldn't go to sleep. I tossed and turned probably for 45 minutes. When I finally was asleep, I was awakened by someone outside shoveling their sidewalk around 11 pm. I understand it stopped snowing but who shovels at 11 pm?

Later around 2 or 3 am, I heard the sound of a vehicle in the driveway. The dogs heard it too and started barking. The person in the vehicle kept driving up and down the driveway for a couple of minutes. I was thankful when they left and the dogs stopped barking. I could try to get back to sleep, what little time I had left before I had to get up, which wasn't long.

Books read in 2008

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert

Currently Reading: Harlow: An Intimate Biography, Irving Shulman
Up Next: His Way, Kitty Kelley

Weekend Update

Over the weekend, I watched three classic movies:
Gaslight (1944) - Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman & Joseph Cotten
The Country Girl (1954) - Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly & William Holden
Lolita (1962) - James Mason, Shelley Winters, Sue Lyon & Peter Sellers

All three were great movies and recommend them. In Gaslight and The Country Girl, Ingrid Bergman and Grace Kelly won Oscars for their roles. I thought they were both fantastic and deserved the Oscar. In the movie, Lolita, I couldn't believe James Mason's character. He did everything he could to get close to Lolita, even marrying her widowed mother that he really didn't love. But I guess a pedophile will do anything to get what they want. I haven't read the book, but the ending really surprised me. I never thought Lolita was in love with Peter Sellers' character. He's character annoyed me so I was happy when Mason's character shot and killed him. I hope I didn't spoil it for anyone.

I'm beginning to really love Turner Classic Movie channel (TCM). I prefer older movies to movies that recently came out. I guess I'm a sucker for Old Hollywood.

If anyone out there watches Project Runway, you know that they had their show Friday during Fashion Week in New York. The final runway shows won't be seen until March, but Sparklies has galleries to all of the designers. My favorite two designers are Christian and Chris. I like Christian's high fashion looks and Chris' vintage look - flapper, goth & maybe Old Hollywood.

I planned to run 8 miles yesterday on my treadmill. That didn't happen. Around mile 4, I took a drink of Gatorade. About a mile later, I got horrible stomach cramps. I didn't think I would even make it to mile 6. But I did. I stopped at 6 miles instead of running 8. It really disappointed me but I didn't think it was such a good idea to continue. Besides the stomach cramps I had other problems. For the last week my upper back has hurt and my right knee was giving me trouble. Those two miles that I didn't do, I will make up this week. I will probably add them on to the schedule runs that I will be doing.

What's up with this weather? I didn't go outside at all yesterday even though the sidewalk needed to shoveled. The wind chill was -20 degrees and the wind was horrible. This morning I didn't want to go outside to my car it was only -1 degrees. I prepared for the cold by wearing double socks, running tights under my pants, cold gear shirt, sweater, scarf, coat, hat and double gloves. Today the high is supposed to be 12 degrees. BRRRR!

Miles run in 2008

I love my half-marathon training. Following the schedule, I have run 5 days a week this year. I haven't run 5 days a week since high school track. It feels good to be running that much again. But this time around it is really wearing me out. I have been very tired recently, but that could also be from work. Today my training calls for a 3 mile run then on Sunday a big 8 mile run. During that run, the TV will be my best friend. It will distract me from looking at the treadmill display.

2004: 36.4
2005: 49
2006: 47
2007: 42
2008: 101

Above - Adrian, MI

Chain link fence with snow - Adrian, MI

Books read in 2008

I read four books in less then a week. I think that is a new record for me.

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn

Currently Reading: The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert
Up Next: Library trip

Songs typically not heard over the loudspeakers

Songs that played back to back on my iPod last night while photographing a boys basketball game at a Christian school:

Asshole by Denis Leary
Closer by Nine Inch Nails

After listening and signing along with both songs, I thought it was funny that songs with a ton of swears and that would never be heard at a Christian school played right after one another. What would have made it perfect is if A Special Christmas Box or aka Dick in a Box by Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg would have played after Nine Inch Nails.

Drops of Jupiter - Adrian, MI

Books read in 2008

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne

Currently Reading: Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
Up Next: The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert

Random things

When my game for Friday evening was canceled, it gave me a chance to stay home and read. And read I did. I finished the books True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess by Wendy Leigh and Final Disclosure by David W. Belin. Saturday afternoon, I started my third book for the weekend, John Wayne: My Life with the Duke by Pilar Wayne. The book is a fast read and I hope to finish it later today or even tomorrow.

Staying true to my half-marathon schedule, I ran 8 miles yesterday morning. That was the hardest thing I have ever done. It took so much out of me. During the course of the run I stopped twice and walked for less than a minute. During my breaks, I guzzled water and Gatorade. I think I drank too much and it made my run worst. I was so happy when the treadmill said I was done. Hopefully this Sunday's 8 mile run will go better.

This week I will cross over 100 miles run for the year. It will feel so good to accomplish that milestone so early in February. Usually I don't reach 100 miles until March.

I can't believe Lent starts Wednesday. It is so early. This year I will be giving up the vending machine at work. I gave it up last year and didn't miss it. I have been really good about bringing breakfast with me to work every day. Recently I have been making visits to the vending machine. When I make the visits that means we're out of food and my husband and I have to go grocery shopping.

Mark the grave - Adrian, MI

Books read in 2008

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin

Currently Reading: John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Up Next: Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn

Something good has come out of it

Snow. I had to go into work early because of the snow storm. I arrived at work at 4:30 am and stayed until 10 am.

Every school in the county was closed today. I think that they feared the worst. When I left work, I think there was about 4 inches on the ground. The streets were very drivable, of course if you went slow enough. The county is under a heavy snow warning until 7 pm tonight. The accumulation of snow in the area is supposed to be around 4 to 7 inches, which isn't too bad.

When I got home, I received a phone call from the sports editor. The game I was supposed to cover tonight has been canceled. CANCELED! That means I can finish reading my Grace Kelly book tonight, run on my treadmill without rushing around to get ready for my game and eat dinner at a normal time, not after 9 pm.