Onward!

After a very lazy day yesterday, I finally exerted myself to Memorial Park and did 8.5 relatively fast-for-me miles. It felt good, but we'll see how tomorrow goes. That 20 miler that was supposed to happen on Monday ended up being only 14, so tomorrow is my last, last, last chance to get in a big distance before I have to be well into my taper for the Houston marathon. Winning!

I'm heading to Austin in about an hour to spend time with my brothers and SILs. Austin is a great place to have no agenda, and I'm looking forward to whatever we get ourselves into.

Swear I'll start taking pictures again soon. Pinky swear.

Enjoy this second to last day of the old year!

Planet Earth

I might be jumping the gun on this, but I figured I made it 11 months and 16 days with this guy before spilling a whole Nalgene full of water all over it. Today, a tsunami hit Planet Earth. Time to retire my 2011 calendar.

Of all calendar years, 2011 has seen the most action, the most highs and lows, the most losses and successes. I'm thankful for all the life experience and thicker skin and strength and tenderness, but I'm pretty happy to chuck the day-by-day reminders of every twist and turn.

On another note, book review time!

I'm obsessed.

Then Again by Diane Keaton

There are some books you want to read slowly so they don't end, but you can't help yourself because they're so good! To me, this is one of those books. I limit myself to tiny morsels every night.

It's part- her mother's journal entries, part- her own writing. She's so unabashedly honest, and I admire her for that. She writes very candidly about how much she loved and still loves Woody Allen.

You're so beautiful!

I've pretty much decided to take the Diane Keaton approach to life until otherwise inclined. She's been a bachelorette her entire life and then adopted kids at age 50. She clearly loved immensely and has had an amazing, adventurous, fulfilled, love-filled life. She's so eccentric and esteemed for her eccentricities.

I hope she writes a sequel. And I'm definitely watching Something's Gotta Give tonight. 

Watch!

Super awesome video about exercises, obesity and health. Yes, we're all really busy. This makes the case for what 30 minutes can do for you.



Speaking of thirty minutes of exercise, I'm combatting Christmas party craziness and grumpy butt. Somehow, after months and months of marathon training, I hurt some muscle in my right buttock on the stationary bike. It's painful to put any pressure on it, sitting or standing. Quality of life diminishes real fast when you're main sitting mechanism is broken.

Another example of the luck that comes with being a Still.

Happy Belly, Happy Amy

So, I subscribe to Houston Tidbits. I get emails almost every day with fun things happ'nin around town.

Two days ago, OJ emails me a Tidbit for piloxing. Pilates+boxing. Does that sound like something I'd like to get sweaty over? Hells yes!

So we signed up for 5 class, half price, at Happy Belly Studios. Tonight, I went my first class.

5:15-6:30 Baptiste Power Vinyasa. What the heck is that? So glad you asked. I had no idea either.

Sounds like a good ol booty bustin' time!

Yoga studios are always intimidating because the yogis there are obviously intentional. You know this because they pay an absurd amount of money to practice at a yoga studio as opposed to their local 24 Hour or LA Fitness. This one was no different. I was definitely the only person incapable of one-handed, one-legged chatarangas or headstand backbends.

Still, this workout ROCKED and I'm really excited to go back. I love classes where the instructors correct your pose or offer guidance down to the tiniest detail ("Your weight should be on your forefingers!" "Twist at your hips but keep your spine straight!").

Dude you really did make me happy!

Sad fact: I've never had guns. Those babies were shaking within the first 15 minutes of class. Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas is cut arms. (That ponytail created quite the puddle of sweat tonight. I'm proud of you, ponyStill.)

 Happy Belly, Happy Amy.

Thanks, Houston Tidbits!

Good Things

Have to say, these two things are making me TOTALLY happy these days.

Disclaimer: by "these days" I mean I discovered them within the last week and have been totes obsessed for a period of time lasting no longer than 4 days (so far). But I'm REALLY obsessed, so it seems like much longer.

1. My feelings about coconut range from disinterested to dislike. My feelings about chocolate milk are simple: LOVE the stuff, HATE the cals/fat. Chocolate milk, then, usually gets passed over for fear of developing elephantbutt or rhinorear. HOWEVER. Thanks to an impromptu trip to the Kroger (booo) in the Heights (yayyyy!), I came upon THIS:

Zico Chocolate Coconut Water

Not too shabs, Zico!

 I'm not saying this tastes exactly like chocolate milk, but it's delicious in its own way, and it's very easy for me to forget it's actually coconut-based. To say I guzzled is an understatement. I'm a little sad I'm on such a strict budget this month otherwise I could easily spend that $100 stocking up on this heavenly nectar.

2. I have my shows. Like, the shows I DVR, the shows I neglect friends for, the guilty pleasure shows, my Food Network shows...I don't watch a ton of TV, but I'm loyal to my shows.

• Breaking Bad, fave show of all time
• Big Bang Theory
• Giada at Home
• Rachel Ray's Week in a Day
• Brunch @ Bobby's
• And the old, retired classics: Sex and the City, LOST, the Sopranos

Takes a big shift in the force or strong recommendation from qualified recommenders for me to add a show to the lineup. Rarely, do I stumble upon them of my own accord...Rarely, but sometimes, it does happen...

New Girl on Fox

Hi, Zooey and Jake. Y'all are starring characters in such a cute little new show!

So adorable!

New Girl, I love it! I have laughed out loud to every episode, which is a very rare thing and you know it!

Which brings me to my next topic: my type. Turns out, Jake Johnson is a perfect example. Let me break it down for you. I don't like preps, jocks or yuppies. The boys who attract my attention are the opposite of trendy, poised and generic. I guess, to coin a new category, you'd call him caveman-geeky-chic. See below.

Caveman-geeky-chic. Looks like he might occassionally mispell his own name, punch out strangers for talking smack about a family member, shave infrequently enough to where it's a surprise when babyface appears, laugh really loudly, enjoy being dirty and sweaty...and yet, he brushes his perfect teeth 3 times a day, loves to cook, kills it at work, knows what's up with hair product, adores dogs - even mine-  and can run a sub-4 marathon. Oh, and he doesn't - would never - wear Vibrams.

Some would suggest such a man doesn't exist and that I'm projecting huge parts of myself onto this phantom-man. I say suck it, he's out there, and I will knock you out so fast for ever doubting me.

These are the things making me really happy right now. Enjoy!

November Goal Update:
$7 spent on food as of 11/4/11
6  miles+weights as of 11/4/11
Food log in full swing. Somehow consumed an embarrasingly large number of Airheads last night. Airheads. I'm hopeless. candied walnuts. Still hopeless.

Wine Tasting, or just another reason why I NEED to get to Spain.

Spec's. Maybe you've heard of it?

Thanks to NinjaCupcake, who always seems to know the cool happ'nins around town, THE LADIES hit up Spec's last night for some very tasty wine tasting... and cheese and cracker eating (my favorite part).

Wines of the night: Ribera del Duero. We learned about Spain, History, Grape Varietals...oh hell, you can read the slide yourself.

Let me break it down for you...

I can promise you one of these two is up to no good...and it's NOT the one studying her wine sheet...

Ohhh Ninja. She knows the finer things in life.

I was having an "eyes closed" moment with my "yum and cheap."

This 100 year old yahoo keeps his phone turned on its highest volume (presumably to be able to hear it), then proceeds to get three obnoxious phone calls during the hour-long class, THEN puts the call on speakerphone every time. Insert my rant on old people+technology (which is not nearly as scathing as the rant on old people+social networking).

I put OJ in a chokehold. It's kind of an awkward photo.

Please note Instructor-Man conducting class behind us.

The ladies DO Spec's. To be continued.

Our little OJ is off to run the NYC Marathon this weekend, and I am so, so excited for and proud of her! This lady can do it all, y'all, no exage.

Tonight, I babysit. It's me vs. a one-year-old, may the best man win. Saturday I'm running with Le Ninj, crafting some fantastic infiniti scarves with my moms and then heading out to BFE Mexico for work on Sunday.

Happy first Friday of November! Make it a great one!

Obsessed

I'm obsessed over people and their "once a days."

You know, people who do something every day, whether it be draw something once a day, take a picture once a day, run 6 miles once a day, write 3 pages in a journal once a day, etc. I believe there is so much to be gained from repetition, especially once you arrive at the place of really, really, really not wanting to do that one thing anymore. The act of muscling through the stall is immensely beneficial; to slam into a wall of uncreativity, unoriginality and cliched thinking, and to keep going, is where real magic happens. I want that magic.

Sadly, I've never had this kind of dedication. It's much easier for me to remove completely than to practice with moderation. If someone told me to eat 200 less calories a day, no problem. If someone told me to eat 2 bell peppers a day, we have an issue.

For a while I tried to write 3 pages a day in my journal; for a while, it was really awesome. Then I hit the wall.
I tried to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day...until the wall.
I tried to be better at keeping in touch with friends. Wall.
Right now, I'm drinking 3 Nalgenes of water a day, but I'm sure that, too, will find its way to a wall.

The walls will never go away. The question is how badly I want that creative magic, and how many walls I'm willing to blast through to get there. Til then, once a day away, people! I am learning from you and will someday join your ranks!

Friday!

It’s Girl Scout cookie week here at NOV. They are like tiny, delicious little demons turning up everywhere! If I haven’t gained 5 pounds, it’s only because I’ve gained 10. I’ve been trying to make myself work out, but taking Jackie on our walks is as far as I’ve gotten. She is ridiculous (stubborn and moody) and definitely needs help from Cesar! In Australia (and I saw it on some weird channel here, too) there’s a show called “It’s Me or the Dog.” Terrible imitation – the kind that only makes you miss the original even more.

Since I’m still in training, but my trainer is in Louisiana, it’s been a super slow week. Not fun. I’ve been working on budgets and personal expense reports today, trying to figure out the best way to pay off my student loans as soon as possible. Excel, baby!!!!! I’m not really that excited about it….

I need to stop drinking white wine before bed.

San Marvelous tonight, probably SA tomorrow! Obviously the gas piece of my pie chart is ENORMOUS, even for such a sexy little fuel efficient car, and my goal is to take it down next month. Other reductions include clothes, fast food, the doctor visits, books and Walgreens (how do I spend so much there?!?).