Happy Birthday Matt!

Yesterday was Matt's 30th birthday and we did the following things in celebration:

• Went to our first session of Summer Bootcamp, and almost passed out due to heat / exhaustion (Second session is tonight, and in the words of Kate Schmidt " I won't be there tonight because my quads feel like they were injected with the rabies vaccination)


• Had our friends join us for drinks at B.Hamptons on King (not Harrisons on 3rd, the old B Hamptons...sorry Jon!)


• Began the day with a blueberry muffin (instead of the usual kashi cereal or smoothie)


• Turned on the air conditioning for the first time this summer. This might have been the best present of all, considering that it was still 87 degrees at 11pm last night.

Ryan and Jackie rode their motorcycle down to meet us out, and I snapped this picture of Matt testing it out. No worries though, all reports are that he thinks bikes are pretty scary.

In my mind....

....I'm goin' to Carolina

Can't you see the sunshine 

Can't you just feel the moonshine 

Maybe just like a friend of mine 

It hit me from behind 

Yes I'm goin to carolina in my mind

Except, I'm really going to Carolina tomorrow! Matt and I are going to Wrightsville Beach, NC with his friends. I don't know if the picture above will really look like where we're staying...but one can hope!

We are driving. From Ohio. 10 hours on mapquest. The last time I was in a car for that long was spring break 2003 - when we drove to Daytona beach!  Good news is that Matt and I are fully prepared for the road trip 

- Cooler full of snacks / meals 

- Ipod full of audio books / sing-along music

- Outdated GPS / handwritten directions

Now let's just hope that our place in NC will be better accommodations than the Spring Break hotel....Ramada Inn Daytona

Only 1 meeting in the morning between us and the road! I'll have plenty of posts when I get back (Jessie's shower, KTBs bachelorette, NC trip) busy week ahead kids! 

Like I'm 17 again....

Last night my good friend and neighbor growing-up, George was in town from Chicago. With him, he brought his boyfriend, Gil, who is originally from Mexico City, Mexico. Wanting to show Gil a little snapshot of Columbus, we walked down High Street in the short north to the Park Street Festival. Turns out, the Park Street Festival is pretty much just a drunken college party where all of the cheesy bars move their operations outside onto the street. During my disappointment I texted my friend Abbey to see what she was planning to do this weekend. A few text messages later and I was signed-up to run a 5K with her in the morning.

As I was walking home, thinking about the race I was wondering if i'd be able to really push myself and run a good 5K time like I used to in high school and ran Cross Country. I talked myself out of that goal pretty quickly and said that if I ran under 27 minutes I'd be happy (rationale - my 1/2 marathon split was 9:25, 27:00 would mean that I was running 30 seconds faster / mile than my half marathon pace). 

Abbey picked me up in the morning and I went, unregistered, down to the race. Small, low-key race with maybe 200 people running. Abbey's co-worker Jen, who ran the Boston Marathon this past year was there and seriously warming up. A few minutes later we got started and I ran with Abbey for the first mile and half. Then I stopped to tie my shoe and couldn't catch back up with her again. I knew I was running faster than usual when I was with her, so I just hoped I didn't totally slack during the last half of the race.

25 minutes and 17 seconds after starting, I crossed the finish line! I'm pretty sure that my average season time during my junior year was somewhere in the low 25s....I was really pleased to run a time that is close to what I ran in high school!

It only makes me wonder what kind of runner I would have been at age 16 /17 if I would have been as focused on my health and working out as I am now. When I was in high school, and had a better metabolism I ate whatever I wanted (even though mom kept our meals very balanced) and I never did any strength or speed training. ... I guess there's no telling what kind of runner I could have been.

But as for now, I know that I finished in the Top 20 women at the PRIDE race in Goodale park this saturday. Here is a picture of me and Abbey showing off our sweet rainbow metals! If you can ignore the overactive sweat glands, there is a nice little beam of sunlight that makes this photo look like a bit of a glamour shot!

Mascot Costumes

Last night, we had a suite at the Clippers game for work. For those of you not from Columbus, the Clippers are our AAA baseball team that just built a beautiful new stadium across the street from my work. I've been to a handful of games, which are always really fun - even though I can't say that I ever watch much of the game.

In this picture is Abby Leatherman, 6, who is the daughter of my co-worker Andrew. She is totally sassy (has 2 older sisters, from which she's learned everything) and a very sweet girl.

In the middle of the game, this weird looking bird mascot came into our suite. There are a few points of note:

- No one invited him in

- I don't know what the green parrot hast to do with the clippers

- Come to think of it, I don't really know what a Clipper is.

I digress. Abby was so excited to see this bird and it made me really question people in mascot costumes. We've all seen them. They were in our high schools:

They are at college sporting events:

And oddly, they are outside fast food restaurants:

Like most, you might be wondering what might ever prompt someone to put on this hot, stinky, bulky get-up and walk around in public venues...I'm here to impart some thoughts on that rationale.

I have personal experience in a mascot costume, and there are a few things I have to share about it. When I was in high school, I was an intern with Ohio Reads. I had to go to schools dressed up like the Ohio Reads guy: 

Yes, I wore a huge state of Ohio on my head. What is remarkable about this experience is that when  I was in a huge-headed mascot costume, I naturally took on the persona of a mascot...you know...huge gestures, big waves, lots of hugs. Kids LOVED it. I share this with you to let you know that it definitely has it's perks. I don't want to infer what it might mean that I have to wear a 3 foot wide state on my head to have kids flock to me and hug me...but it's a kind of cool feeling.

Now, I don't know if I can say the same thing for our friend at quiznos. That might be a bum deal any way you look at it.

Saving the world, one notebook at a time

Today I had to run to Staples to pick up some materials I need for some client meetings coming up next week. I would imagine most people wouldn't think twice about this errand, in fact, I guess that most might even go with some reluctance to walk around an office supply store.

Not this kid. I love products. Especially office products (well...I guess it's not really limited to office products, I would also throw workout gear and sporting equipment into that same category)

 

Let me be specific. I don't really care about paper clips, or swivel chairs. I'm talking more about pens and paper. Every morning I start the day and pick out a specific pen that i'm going to use (which may or may not be based loosely on the color of my outfit....very Elle Woods, I know) and with that pen I set out the day with my task list.

Enough with normal routine, I set out with this blog to highlight the trip to staples. Building from my love of pens and paper, you can imagine how much I covet the shopping trips to staples...and don't even get me started on boutique paper stores.

There is something about a new set of pens and paper that makes me feel like I'm organized, on top of all my tasks and ready to take on the next insurmountable challenge. 

This, of course, lasts for about 3 days when I lose my focus on neat handwriting, clearly labeled tabs and well-constructed project folders. My disorganization sets in, and before I know it I'm back to the daily pen selection (out of a vat of old pens) on a half used pad of paper with the little hangy-guys at top that didn't rip off cleanly.

Nonetheless, tomorrow is one of those save the world type of days. I have a brand new set of marker tip pens, 3 tabbed notebook filled with graphing paper and a pink binder to boot. 

    Watch out world, I'm ready to write, organize and file! 

Cake Stand Blue

I've been admiring, reading and thinking about blogs for the past few months. Somehow, every time I went to start my own I talked myself out of it. Reasons include but aren't limited to:

• I don't have a good name for it
• I doubt my life is interesting enough to blog about
• I don't even know where to begin

Over the past week, my front room went over a total re-haul, and FINALLY I had the inspiration I needed to begin my blog! Cake Stand Blue - the name of the paint color that my front room is now covered in.

I don't think I have a particularly good eye for interior design, and even worse than that I am very complacent with the status quo of my house. Almost one year ago, I signed my life away on a mortgage, moved everything in and never really did much to change the look / feel beside bring my belongings into the room.

Good news is that in the absence of my knack for design, I have filled my life with good friends with great ideas. Not only do these friends have great ideas, but one in particular just graduated from getting her masters in architecture and has yet to find gainful employment. Enter Kitty, my designer, painter and decorator extraordinaire!

I really can't claim any of the progress that you'll see below. My main contribution was sitting in the chair while Kitty painted and entertained her with facebook updates and celebrity gossip. 

Several trips to marthastewart.com; facebook status refreshing and strips of blue tape later, I have a totally redesigned front room!

 Matt and Charlie admiring the new room

    The new lamp that Kitty found at World Market

The fireplace stands out so much with the light colored walls

More pictures and posts to come when Kitty e-mails me the before and after pictures!