Year in Review

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?

Triathlons (this will be the answer to many questions, I suspect) & pre-dawn boot camp.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Last year's resolutions: "I'd like to stick with running, be a good friend, sister, pseudo-aunt, and daughter, and continue to travel down life's path attempting to make my dreams come true. Also, my sister and I made a mutual resolution: Clutter-Free in '09!"

I think I did pretty well with these! I'm not totally clutter-FREE by any means, but I've made progress. As for traveling down life's path attempting to make my dreams come true, I think I came into a clearer focus in 2009 -- which was kind of a year of rebuilding and recreating and re-imagining -- of what those dreams actually are, assisted in part by this loveliness. So that was a good thing. In 2010, I want to buy locally/independently (food, books, coffee shops, etc.) whenever humanly possible ... to move toward recreating my home as a space that feeds my soul ... I want to fit in to the perfect space, feel natural and safe in a volatile place ... to be brave and open ... and to run the half-marathon on my birthday faster than I ran it in '07! I want to ring 35 in with a celebratory bang.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes! To twin sons, wow. A couple more babies are on their way in the coming weeks and months -- a girl and a surprise -- about which I am very, very excited.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, thankfully.

5. What countries did you visit?

None. I did leave the continental U.S., though, when I went to Hawaii for the second year in a row! Which was, again, awesome.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?

Mad, passionate, true & fiery love! I'm just gonna go ahead and put it out there.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Inauguration Day, the birth of the aforementioned sons, and even though this might sound weird, the day Michael Jackson died.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Triathlons. And giving up sweets for Lent -- maybe that shouldn't be considered an "achievement," but it totally felt like one!

9. What was your biggest failure?

One of my favorite friendships got bungled this year (see #37); thus far, it has been semi-salvaged and is well on the way to being repaired, I think, but I'd like to completely heal it in the coming year.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

No illness to speak of, thank goodness. (Strangely, the sickest I usually am all year is during a period of wretched, miserable hay fever, from which I've suffered for the past 15 years or so, without fail. This year, during my sweets reprieve, I didn't suffer from it at all. I barely even sneezed. No idea if the two were related, but I found it fascinating.) My shins are injured every time I start a running training program, and this year was no different.

11. What were the best things you bought?

My bike because it made me a triathlete. My bed because it helped me to sleep better. My plane tickets to visit my friend and sister. My various and sundry concert tickets.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

She might not approve of my saying this, but I totally celebrate my friend for facing the shocker of having twins with aplomb and caring for not one but two newborns at the same time. I didn't realize all that goes into such a thing until visiting them, and I remain awestruck. It is a feat. She is awesome!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Repeat of last year: "Quite frankly all of the people who voted against gay rights in various elections. It sickens and saddens me a whole lot."

14. Where did most of your money go?

Registrations for various athletic events and equipment and attire for various athletic activities. WEIRD! But good.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

The awesome live music I saw this year ... I mean, I had so much fun at these concerts; they were like therapy. The Avett Brothers, Brandi Carlile (twice), the Indigo Girls, Ingrid Michaelson, and the Swell Season. All of these but two were with my little brother, which made them all the more fun & special to me. I also got very excited about my older brother's impending nuptials and other exciting family news.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?

Last Tears, specifically this version. I just think it's very beautiful.

I don't regret and won't forget
a single thing that we went through ...
I'm gonna dip into your memory and take a good stiff drink
And when I'm drunk on the last drop of sadness about how we went wrong
I'm gonna play this song
Make some coffee black and strong
Give thanks for healing time
And finally make up my mind

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? Happier.

b) thinner or fatter? About the same, but a wee bit stronger. Just a wee.

c) richer or poorer? Richer, but not exceedingly more so.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Purchasing locally grown food from the farmer's market ... I definitely made tremendous strides in this regard but could have done better.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Fretting. Regretting.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Slept in, attended mass, ate a giant delicious meal, went to see Up in the Air, and watched Up. A fun, family-filled day.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?

I thought maybe I did, but I think I was just confused.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

The TV show I most flipped my lid over this year was Chuck! It aired for two seasons before I watched it ... how this happened I'm still not sure ... but I'm all caught up and one hundred percent in love with everything about it and can't wait until it starts up again in January. Other than that ... the usual ... Friday Night Lights, Ugly Betty, The Office, So You Think You Can Dance, Mad Men, and Battlestar Galactica, which ended earlier this year and was a huge commitment time-wise and emotionally for several years. My favorite new show by a mile is Parks & Recreation. If you only watched the first season and haven't tuned in to see how funny it is this year, you're missing out. Also, I loved watching Extras & In Treatment and the hilarious and heartwarming Gavin and Stacey on DVD this year. I guess I watched kind of a lot of TV this year. But it was all good.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

I can't think of anyone. I try not to be a hater.

24. What was the best book you read?

Young adult fiction: I loved Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson and The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt and Looking for Alaska by John Green and The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Nonfiction: I loved Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food and Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life and Melissa Anelli's Harry: A History and Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading by Lizzie Skurnick.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Other than Patty Griffin, with whom I fell in complete love and was new to me, this year was less about discovering new artists than it was about falling in love with some favorites all over again ... new albums by the artists listed in #15 made up the soundtrack of 2009 for me. I also couldn't get enough of Regina Spektor's new album. As for other artists who were brand new to me in 2009, I really like Amy Seeley & Greg Holden.

26. What did you want and get?

Medals for all four triathlons in my series. (Plus one extra.) thirtysomething released on DVD. A warm friendship with my ex-boyfriend, which I've learned is much better than having someone be dead to you.

27. What did you want and not get?

Rid of my under-eye circles.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

Gonna have to go with Slumdog Millionaire & The Edge of Heaven & The Class ... nothing else really grabbed me like those did. But I did also really enjoy Last Chance Harvey and Milk and Up in the Air and Up. (I laughed so hard when Doug the dog said, "I was hiding under your porch because I love you." I laugh basically whenever I remember it. Such a good movie.)

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I had a nice Thai dinner with my parents and brother the night before and a fun patio dinner with friends the night of. I turned 34.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Hmmmm...This is a hard one to answer. Honestly, looking back, it was a pretty great year.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?

Jeans? T-shirts? The usual.

32. What kept you sane?

The usual: great parents, great siblings, great friends. New: long bike rides and swims -- two of the most meditative and therapeutic activities I've ever participated in. Who knew?

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

It's a toss up between Chuck Bartowski and Don Draper. Chuck Bartowski is a perfectly reasonable fictonal character to adore; Don Draper, not so much ... Chuck is dopey & kind; Don is a cad but super sexy. I feel very divided!

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Marriage rights for all.

35. Whom did you miss?

My sister & faraway friends.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

The sons!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.

In the immortal words of Liz Phair, "It's better to be friends than lovers, and you shouldn't try to mix the two."

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

There was a dream, and one day I could see it,
like a bird in a cage I broke in
and demanded that somebody free it ...
Decide what to be, and go be it.

The Avett Brothers

(2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, and 2003.)

Patriotism

Where to start. I will get running out of the way. I made up last week's failed long run attempt again at the beginning of this week, and I actually made it the full 80 minutes, and it wasn't altogether horrible. I made it 7.4 miles (average per-mile pace of 10:49), and maybe I could have tried to go faster, but I was okay with it. I actually really sort of enjoyed miles four and five, no clue why. Tomorrow I'll run again on the last day of the year.

It's been a holiday season of movies for sure. It's Complicated was funny and cute, and I'd be lying if I didn't admit that my very favorite person in the movie was John Krasinski (Jim Halpert), who pretty much stole every scene he was in, as I told mo, with his comedic adorableness. I didn't love it the way I loved another Nancy Meyers film, Something's Gotta Give, but I definitely had a good time watching it. Next was Nine. I have to say that I understand why a lot of people would not enjoy this movie and might actually hate it, but I liked it! Mostly I just liked Marion Cotillard, the most beautiful woman on planet earth, as far as I'm concerned. Her part, her first song, and her overall gloriously luminous face were the best things about the movie by a mile. (Hear the whole song here. Just trust me. It was gorgeous.)

Today I went to the big city with my parents and little brother to have a totally delicious lunch of crab gumbo, grilled shrimp, fish, shrimp etouffee, bread pudding with whiskey sauce -- pretty much straight ridiculousness. It was off the charts fantastic. We headed in the rain afterwards to a museum where we watched a new film and visited the exhibits. It was all very stirring, as you can imagine, and I think we all felt a bit raw emotionally on the drive home in the pouring rain. I made the mistake of trying (and failing) to articulate effectively some of my mixed feelings after seeing the movie and visiting the museum. About how it's hard for me to feel pumped up about America and victory while feeling overwhelmed, sick, and sad at the same time. About how everything and everyone now presents it as fact that we did the right thing in bombing Japan, but is that just spin to justify that we did it? Well, this did not go over very well.

I try to remember that my parents were born in 1946 and grew up with a different perspective on this, having parents and siblings who lived through it all. And I know that they think I Just Don't Get It. And I know that I don't. I have tried to get it, though, I really have. I took something like 27 hours of history classes in college, trying to understand. I spent days in Normandy (series of entries starts here) and at the Imperial War Museum in London and the Holocaust Museum in D.C., trying to understand. I dined at the same table as an English D-Day veteran and talked to him about it, trying to understand. I watched and cried through hours upon hours of The War, trying to understand. I have rented untold numbers of WWII documentaries on everything from the Battle of the Bulge (which basically caused me to have an emotional breakdown) to hidden Jewish children and Anne Frank and Hitler's final days to the Berlin Airlift, trying to understand. I was lucky enough to go on a special tour of Pearl Harbor, where I kept on trying to understand. Today was my third visit to this museum. What I'm saying is that I've tried to expose myself to lots of different avenues of understanding. But still. I do not.

It's just impossible for me to process. Maybe it's impossible for anyone to process, and maybe that's why it's all boiled down to we were right, they were wrong, the end. Maybe that's the only way that, as a nation, we could recover and heal from all that happened. My brother tried to tell me that I can't look at it through a modern filter, and maybe he's right. The wars of our lifetime have certainly not been not very clear cut, but back then, maybe things really were a lot more black and white. I guess we had to try to win by any means necessary because losing was too unimaginable. But I swear, I was permanently changed by The Book Thief. All I could think about during the film today when they showed the rubble of a bombed German town, the shell of a burning community, were the people who lived there, who probably were poor and starving and completely effed by the Fuhrer and now dead. And that ultimately it was his fault, not ours. And that ultimately the deaths in Japan were the psycho, un-surrendering emperor's fault, not ours. Right? I just cannot deal with the fact that so many regular, innocent people died who were just living their lives. And I can't even begin to deal with all of the soldiers and military people who died. I mean, I just can't. It actually sits on my chest like a weight, especially after days like today.

And when I tried to explain this, the reaction was that I was simply wrong and we had no choice and we saved the world and that's that. And -- yes. I get that. Of course I recognize that unspeakable horrors and atrocities were being committed that needed to be stopped. Of course I am glad that we won the war and liberated the camps and ended the power of the reigning mega-crazies and appreciate the sacrifices made by millions and recognize, on some level, that we did what we had to do. But it doesn't make me want to stand up and cheer; it makes me feel like throwing up because all I see is the death and destruction. And I think what I did the worst job of explaining today is that while the movie was very cool and riveting, I don't like things that pat America on the back to the extreme about how right we were and are about everything and emphasize that we are the best country ever, because I get icky associations of "enemy" countries patting themselves on the back using the same reasoning about how they're right about everything and are really the best. It is like I am hyper-propaganda-paranoid. IS THAT CRAZY? I think maybe it is. I think this is what sent my family over the edge on the way home. But I can't help it! I think I am in the midst of a personal patriotism crisis! I am just trying to honestly reflect upon this and figure out what it all means. Maybe at the end of the day, part of being alive is being for your own country. Like how you're for the college football team in the town where you were born. Maybe it's just what people are supposed to do.

I think I'll just go watch this and cry some more.

Holidays so far

Let's get the running talk out of the way first. Since this week was the first week of four runs, I figured I'd get cracking as early as possible, so I left work early on Monday to head out for my 45-minute run. It's possible that a couple of hours were not sufficient time to adequately digest the giant amount of food consumed at my siblings' birthday lunch -- red beans and rice, hush puppies, both fried and marinated crab fingers, etc. -- BUT! I soldiered on, and somehow I ran 4.5 miles in 45 minutes. Yes, you read that correctly. For those following along, that is quite fast for me, to keep a 10-minute-mile pace for several miles in a row, and I just feel sort of proud about it. The perfect weather helped! In case I haven't mentioned it, the weather this month has been vile and disgusting 9 days out of 10, and this burst of sunshine and dry ground is just making everything so much better. I think that I am getting a little faster in part because I am being really conscious about relaxing my arms, almost to the point where they're more straight than bent at the elbow, which is weird, but it's working for me. On Wednesday, the run was really short -- only 20 minutes -- and I missed run three as it was set for Christmas morning and was literally freezing outside and I thought, "Eff it." Run four was set for 80 minutes, and I only made it three miles after yet another gargantuan holiday meal before just surrendering, walking to my brother's house, and asking him, defeated, to drive me home. And that's it on the running front. Tomorrow begins a new week, and I'm going to start it with the long run that was a bust yesterday. It's a process.

I finished reading The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Survival, and Trust in the Wilds of Wyoming by Shreve Stockton, and it's a mighty fine read indeed. I've been aware of her website for a long time, but somehow I missed that she'd published a book about her life with Charlie the coyote. Reading this book is making me feel all sorts of smooshy lovey-doveyness towards my pets. It's fascinating, and the photos are beautiful. Now I'm in the middle of Kitchen Confidential, and so far, so good. I also finished Catching Fire, the sequel to The Hunger Games, and it, like book one, was ridiculous. Ridiculously awesome in every way. What happens in these books is unbearable on many levels, but that's just part of what makes them impossible to put down. The fact that book three does not come out until August is causing me actual physical pain. I guess I'll just re-read the first two over and over until that day comes!

Now ... The History Boys. I'd heard of this play and movie but never knew much about it. Because everything lately comes back to Gavin and Stacey, I noted when listening to audio commentary of the episodes that one of the creators/writers/stars of the show, James Corden (Smithy), explained that many of Smithy and Gavin's guy friends were in The History Boys with him, so I rented the film. And I have to tell you, I really liked it. I had no idea that the play was a smash hit in London, then went on a smash tour, then was a smash Tony winner on Broadway, and then became a film, and that these cast members were together for years upon years playing the roles all the way through. The special features on the DVD are adorable and quite funny and touching, especially the tour diary. I'm very glad I saw this film.

On Christmas afternoon, as is a tradition, we headed to the movies. This year it was Up in the Air. I knew this movie has been getting raves, but I didn't know much about it. It definitely exceeded my expectations and proved to me that George Clooney is not only a first class dreamboat (which obviously I knew) but also a mighty, mighty fine actor. He was just incredibly good, and the movie was totally enjoyable even when uncomfortable and sad. Anna Kendrick: also fabulous. It was excellent, and I'd totally see it again. We were still in the movie mood that night, so we watched Up, which made me laugh and cry and was totally scary and traumatic and not for young children, I don't think. But totally and completely great nonetheless.

The holiday season thus far has been lovely. My mom outdid herself with the tons of delicious food, meal after meal; it was great to spend time and laugh with my sister and brother-in-law, who were here for Christmas; I had a great meal on a friend's birthday with the best Sazerac I've had in ages, which was somehow just what I needed on Christmas Eve-Eve; we all spent a ferociously stormy Christmas Eve morning feasting at my very favorite cafe, which was wonderful; my dad surprised us with tickets to today's Saints game, which was fun even though the ending was truly hein; (for the best piece I've ever read about the Saints, and maybe even New Orleans as a whole, read this article); there were moments of reconciliation. I'm looking forward to more relaxation and fun in the coming week as we all ring in the new year.

Alright?

I will now talk more about Gavin and Stacey. One of my favorite things about this show is how the characters will randomly burst into song, which is something that happens quite regularly with my own family and friends. There are tons of these moments on the show, more than clips exist online for, but here are a few of my favorite of these moments on the show, none of which are spoilerish in terms of plot: Smithy's big entrance, featuring the magnificent Pam. Uncle Bryn singing James Blunt in the car. (Oh my God, Uncle Bryn. Who is funnier, sweeter, more tragic in a way, and more ridiculous than Uncle Bryn? No one.) Smithy and Rudi rapping. I wish I could find the clip of Nessa and Bryn sitting at the arcade rehearsing "Something Stupid" and the gang singing Jack Johnson at a crucial moment I won't give away, and many more. And finally, in the spirit of the season, Smithy and Gavin doing "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

I really can't stop talking, at least in my head, like the characters on this show. A common Welsh greeting, apparently, is to say, "Alright, Stace?" and then the person responding will say, "Alright, Ness?" (I feel like I sound like Uncle Bryn when explaining something like this.) It is now how I want to greet everyone. Basically, I want to pretend that the entire world of Gavin and Stacey is real and that I live in it. I was able to find season three, so now I'm all done, except for the Christmas special, which is eluding me. I will not give up until I find it, though. (In case this sounds like an insane amount of TV, know that it's only 18 half-hour episodes, which is shorter than one season of an American show.) Basically, this show has made me laugh my face off and also get very moved at times, which is all I ask for in a show. I LOVE IT.

Other misc. things:

Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days. I've been meaning to watch this for years, ever since A.O. Scott, whose reviews I normally trust, declared it his top film of the year a few years back. I knew nothing going into it. Um ... don't watch this movie by yourself on a cold and rainy night. That's all I have to say. It was harrowing. And horrifying, and bleak, and stark, and really scared the pants off of me in ways I can't really articulate without being spoilery about it. It might be a good movie, artistically speaking, and an important movie, politically speaking, but it's a movie I never want to see again.

The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games! I've been hearing all about The Hunger Games, but somehow it didn't fall into my life until now. On Gavin and Stacey, Gavin's mom, Pam, who is one of my favorite characters on the show and possibly ever in anything, exclaims, "Sh*t a brick!" when something truly major happens. And it was her voice, in her accent, that I heard in my head when finishing the book in bed late last night. "Sh*t a brick!" Like ... something major had happened, and that something major was reading this book and every single thing that happened in it. Major. Majorly exciting, majorly scary, majorly romantic, majorly awesome. I cannot wait to read the sequel. I am sh*tting a brick in anticipation.

And now for a running update ... feel free to skip if such things make your eyes glaze over. They practically make my own eyes glaze over, so I feel you. Yesterday wrapped up week 8 of training with a 72-minute run. I made it 6.62 miles. (10:45, 10:46, 10:50, 10:59, 11:14, 10:53, 10:33). I feel fine about it. After a week of no other running (I know) and a steady intake of cookies, brownies, turtle cheesecake, chocolate covered pecans, peppermint kisses, etc., I wasn't in the greatest condition for running and definitely felt it. But the day was the first truly gorgeous day we've had in weeks ... low 50s without a cloud in the bright, sunny sky ... so I vowed to enjoy the run as much as possible. When I felt tired, I told myself that I was basically running half a half-marathon, and with 10 weeks to go, that feels about right on track. I don't want to start going really far until the end; in addition to being probably physically impossible for me in this shape, it also seems anti-climactic. From here on out, the schedule demands four runs per week, and I'm going to have to be way more on the ball about actually running when I'm supposed to!

It's been a truly lovely weekend so far. A little sunshine goes a long way, it turns out.

What's occurrin'?

I've decided to try to start talking like Ness on my new favorite show, Gavin and Stacey. This means I will say things in a Welsh accent like "fair play," "tidy," "genuine," "well done," "crackin'," and "what's occurrin'?"

I am honestly starting to bore myself with the running entries so I'll try to keep this one short & sweet. Big surprise, I only ran twice last week. Again. I was set for a 65-minute run over the weekend but ran a five-mile race instead. It was in the low 40s and pouring down rain when I got up, but I knew my friends were going and I wasn't about to be the only one who stayed home. Miraculously, the rain slowed to a drizzly mist right as the race started. I ended up running the whole five miles with a friend, which was fun. I knew this route like the back of my hand, so it was nothing too adventurous or exciting, but it was great to have company and to notice on my trusty watch how we were speeding up a little bit pretty much each mile. (10:30, 10:30, 10:18, 10:17, 9:45). I feel good about my pace ... a little over 51 minutes wasn't anything record setting, and we came in very near the end of the pack, but I keep reminding myself that I'm getting faster, for me, and that's what counts. The only truly heinous part was soaking both feet in a very cold puddle about half-way through, but I toughed it out. I've never done a non-tri race without music, but iPods were outright forbidden, so I left it at home. (UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE. I'm just too much of a rule abider, I cannot help it.) It was strange to run without music, but I didn't mind it much since I was with a friend. It started pouring pretty much immediately after we finished, which put a damper on the post-race festivities, but overall, it was a good event. We milled around inside for a little while to visit, and I changed immediately after finishing into some smartwool socks and dry sneakers that I'd brought with me in the attempt to stave off the death cough that plagued me for several weeks after romping in the snow last year with wet feet, and so far, so good! This week, week 8, is the last with three runs ... it's 4 runs per week for the 10 weeks after this, starting with Christmas week, God help me. At least boot camp will be over! I've really enjoyed it, but I am tired, and I want to start sleeping past 5 a.m. more often than not.

It seriously rains every day around here lately. Everything is saturated. We are a moist, moist people.

What else? I finished Born to Run, recommended by Linda, and enjoyed it. I wish more of the book had focused on the Tarahumara because they were the part of the story that mostly interested me. I liked learning about some of the major characters in ultrarunning because they're quite a group, and all of the stuff about feet was interesting. Overall, while it isn't a perfect book, it's a pretty good read, and it definitely made me want to become a better runner. (I also liked this piece about running barefoot in Central Park. The whole barefoot running movement intrigues me, but I keep wondering, what about the skin on the bottom of your feet? Do you basically end up with hooves? No, thank you?)

I ordered calendars made from the beautiful photographs of my friends Jessamyn and romanlily, and they've both arrived. They're lovely, and I can't wait for 2010 so I can use them.

I went to my favorite local cafe three days in a row last week, which might be excessive. But if that many gingerbread au laits and peppermint mochas and pastries and good visits with good friends are wrong, I don't want to be right.

Dog update: The man I yelled at last week and his big dumb black dog were about to cross through my yard when I pulled in my driveway recently when coming home from work, so I just sat there with my car idling across the sidewalk staring at him so he'd see me and hopefully keep walking. He did. Yesterday morning, I happened to be in my room when I heard him telling his dog to "do his thing" in my yard again, so I banged on the window, waved, smiled, and yelled, "GOOD MORNING!" Once again he jumped out of his skin. He looked away and mumbled "Good morning" and hurried along. I mean, what is it going to take? Seriously? He's a little older than I first wagered, so maybe he's truly senile. Who in his right mind would take his dog back to a yard, clearly with no baggies in hand, where he's been spotted numerous times, been given the stank eye from both inside the house and the car, and even been asked rather vehemently to clean up after his dog? Encouraging his dog, "Do your thing"? Again? What is the world coming to? I can't even be mad anymore, it's too ridiculous.

Finally, design genius and overall nice Southern lady AB Chao (some of her work) stopped by yesterday with her cute husband and supercool daughter on their way home from winning a state football championship because they might as well be the Panthers I mean Lions. Basically, she told me how to live. As some of you know, she is good at this. It was a delight to see them all.

Now there is nothing left to do but finish up season 2 of Gavin and Stacey and company, my new best friends, and figure out some way to score the Christmas special and season 3 from across the pond. Luckily I have a mighty fine Irish friend who might be able to assist me in this endeavor. This show is really only about three things: family, friendship, and love. And it manages to be about them in a very hilarious way. And I love it very much. OH! And I started The Hunger Games, which I'm about a million years late in reading. And holy mother of heaven. It is so good! I can't put it down. You were right, everyone in the world.

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 7, Run 1

Today's 35-minute run was pretty good. My legs were a bit tired from lunging a lot in the hour previous, though, and I cannot lie ... I ran the first 2 miles at a 10-minute mile pace, and I was very winded by about 2.5 miles in. I slowed down enough, my legs feeling sluggish and heavy, that mile three was clocked at 11 minutes. I think maybe what I need to do is just slow down to 10:30 and keep it kind of even if I'm supposed to be running at a steady pace that day. (Which I was today.) Maybe I shouldn't be winded doing 10-minute miles, but I totally was, and sweat was raining down my face! The great news is that my shins did not hurt at all! New shoes FTW!

Part of the enjoyment of today's run was the weather. It was a decent morning ... still wet and muggy but at least not cold or dumping rain, which it has been lately. Everything is so humid that the knob on my backdoor is dripping wet from condensation and there are basically surging swimming pools of condensation all over my carport. The windows are all fogged, etc. The sun was actually shining, though, so that's amazing. It's weird to think it was 71 when I got up this morning at 4:55 and that it's supposed to get down to 36 tonight. Weather is such a roller coaster around these parts. I guess we just have to go with the flow.

So ... in short, my 3.36 miles came in with an average overall pace of 10:25-minute miles, which I feel okay about. The longer distances are coming, and I need to start mentally preparing for them.

Today's Best Running Song: Drunken Lullabies. Oh, how I love that song. (Thanks, mo!)

Running & misc.

Week six of running training consisted of only two runs. (Sigh.) But onward I go. The second run was meant to be a 5K race, but considering that it was dumping freezing precipitation, I opted to stay home. It would have been hardcore and all, but there's something to be said, I think, for staying well. My third (really second) was a sixty-minute run on the first day of decent weather around here in days & days. The sun was out, and it felt like a miracle. I bundled up but had removed my jacket and hat and gloves by the end. My pace was just under 11-minute miles on the average, and I made it 5.47 miles. Not as fast or far as I would have liked, but I honestly had to give myself a talking-to during the run. I kept feeling very bothered that I am not (and might not ever be) as fast as some of my running pals but I just tried to tell myself that I'm not competing with them and I'm only competing against myself to try to get better. Which I have. So I tried to take some pride in that instead of lamenting that I'm not super speedy. All in all, it was an utterly gorgeous day & an utterly gorgeous run. New shoe report: My shins felt surprisingly okay during and after the run, but for the first time, as soon as I slowed down to do my walking cool-down, my knees ached like crazy. Not sure it was the shoes or the three previous days of squatting and lunging like a lunatic at boot camp. They feel okay today, thankfully. I've never had knee problems and don't want to start now! Best Running Song: I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas, mostly because it made me think about this.

When I got home, I set about stringing up some Christmas lights, made difficult by the fact there were large piles of dog poop scattered about the front yard. I had a suspected culprit in mind as I've seen the same silver-haired man urging the same big black dog to "do his thing" in my yard not once but twice. The first time, I was too shocked to react. The second time, I heard him through the window, so I flung open the blinds and stared at him, meeting his eye, hoping that would discourage him from coming back. I was just telling my dad last night about this man, which of course thoroughly annoyed him in that protective dad ass-kicking kind of way. This morning, I woke up early but wasn't quite ready to leave the warm fuzzy cuddly cloud of bed, so I lay there finishing The Canning Season (lovely) and I heard him again! I peeked out slyly and saw him in my next-door neighbor's yard and as he made his way across her driveway to mine, standing smack in the middle of my yard in front of my window urging the dog to "do his thing," I snapped my blinds open, knocked loudly on the window, plastered a smile on my face, and shouted without really thinking, "Sir, can you please start cleaning up after your dog? I keep stepping in his poop! Thank you!" He jumped about a foot in the air, gave a little startled and apologetic wave, and dragged his dog away, looking horrified. I really did not want to be rude to an elder, but give me a break! I really wanted to throw my robe on and chase him down the street with my box of poop scooping bags and helpfully inform him that they're only $5 at Walmart, but it was cold and by then he was long gone. I feel strangely guilty for fussing at him, but I really tried to do it nicely, and those piles of poop are really big! What is so appealing about MY front yard? It's neat, trimmed, edged, mowed every week, and I had freshly strung Christmas lights shining in the morning sunlight! Does it really invite this same man over and over to not only allow but encourage his to dog poop in it? Of all the yards in all the world? And why in the actual middle of the actual yard and not the patch of grass between the street and sidewalk? Why all up in my grassy business, right by my freaking house? I just do not understand this.

Meanwhile, I've finished season one of Gavin and Stacey on DVD. It's a BBC comedy/drama, and season one is six half-hour episodes of hilarity and delight. I enjoyed it so much. I watched all the behind the scenes stuff, and as usual, they made me like something I already liked even more. So sweet, so naughty, so funny, so romantic, so real. I was eager to get season two, but it has no release date yet in the U.S. I am bummed about this and will console myself by trying to incorporate more Welsh slang into my vocabulary.

Giving thanks

Phew! Finally catching my breath after a whirlwind Thanksgiving holiday, which included stints in D.C., Connecticut, and New York in varying degrees. I've never not spent Thanksgiving near home with my whole family, so it was a bit of an unconventional adventure. It was great to spend time with my sister and her husband and his family, though, and experience a touch of winter and their traditions. It was never too terribly cold with the exception of one day when we walked down to a very pretty, very chilly beach.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at a magnificent home that made me feel like a very patriotic American and sing songs from the musical Ragtime in my head. (In 1902, Father built a house at the crest of the Broadview Avenue hill in New Rochelle, New York, and it seemed, for some years thereafter, that all the family's days would be warm and fair ... Fine weather, isn't it? Isn't it? Now that we're out of the city, isn't it? Nothing like the city ... Safe? Yes, everything's safe in New Rochelle ... )

As for running ... after completing four solid weeks of running training, week five (Thanksgiving week) was basically a bust except for a short but lovely run when I was away. It was lovely because I got to run over paths and bridges that looked like this:

And that wasn't even the only spectacular park we visited! We also went here:

What is better than a bunch of trees and lakes and hills and the sun shining through the branches at a state park in Connecticut on the second to last day of November? Nothing. Nothing, that's what!

Week six of training got off to a late start today ... it was very cold and windy and gray and wet this morning, with the misty drizzle basically drenching every inch of me by the time I was done. It was only a short 20-minute run, but I think it was about all I could handle after getting a bit derailed. I'm not too worried about it, though. I got some new shoes (inspired by Linda) and they felt okay. (I got the black and gold ... the color options in my size were limited, and this choice made me feel Saints proud.) I think the run was too short to fully evaluate them. I guess my shins will probably decide in the end, just like they do everything else! (My watch hasn't worked for the last two runs, so I hope I'll be back on track with keeping up with my pace and distance soon.)

I've been doing a lot of reading ... that's one great thing about traveling long distances. I finished An Abundance of Katherines and Paper Towns by John Green (both of which I hope to write about soon) and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation (volumes one and two), a staggering reading experience that I wrote about over here.

My greatest TV surprise lately was accidentally stumbling upon Indigo Girls: Live at the Roxy on Palladia, a channel I didn't even know I had. I take this is a special cosmic gift since I just happened to see it when scrolling through my guide and it was on that very night and doesn't appear to be airing again any time soon. It just came out on DVD, so it's available for purchase, but I got it for free in all its HD glory! It features many performances that I've watched over and over on YouTube, as well as World Falls and Closer to Fine and Cannonball and Last Tears and Don't Think Twice, It's Alright, all with my beloved Brandi Carlile. I mean, Shame on You? The Wood Song? What more could a girl want? The whole thing is just heavenly.

(In other TV news, Ugly Betty and So You Think You Can Dance and Parks & Recreation and Modern Family continue to make me happier than anything else on right now. I'm so behind on Friday Night Lights that I can't speak to it at the moment, but I'm sure once I catch up it will be at the top of the list as usual. And the fact that Chuck returns next month ... forget about it. I can't wait!)

Meanwhile, I'm back at boot camp, and you know it's been too long since you were last there when the teacher whips out the orange cones and the first thing you feel is irrational hope that she's brought candy since they're the same orange color as the wrappers on all those Reese's peanut butter Christmas trees you've been eating. Oops.