kiwi crossing

discovering quinoa

2009-10-18T21:51:00.005-04:00

I heard a lot about quinoa this year, but had yet to try it. I'm still not really sure it is, but from what I understand, it's a seed that has amazing nutritional properties. It's a whole grain, gluten free, and according to our bag, it's "an exceptional source of protein containing all eight essential amino acids and is high in iron, calcium, magnesium, B vitamins and fiber." A while back, we found organic quinoa, by Earthly Delights brand, at Costco of all places and decided to buy a 4 lb bag.

Well the 4 lb bag sat for a while...hey I was out getting married & honeymooning and such. And I guess I wasn't really sure what to do with the mysterious quinoa. But this month, my copy of Food & Wine arrived in the mail, and in it I found the most delicious sounding recipe: Bacon Quinoa with Almonds and Herbs. Can't go wrong with bacon right?

Right! It was a great recipe, and pretty easy too. I've used it twice in the past 2 weeks! I would definitely recommend it if you need a good quinoa recipe! You can prep the herbs in advance, and then the actual cooking time only takes about 30 minutes. The article said this makes a good side dish, but honestly, it's so filling, you can make it a whole meal. Now that I've had quinoa, I wish I could describe it, but I can't. It's just a new and different taste all its own.

Here's some pics to enjoy:

I'm usually not a big fan of parsley, but the fresh parsley went really well with this dish.

We toasted our own almonds. The recipe called for toasted, slivered almonds, but I had a several pound bag in the fridge from Costco and didn't want to waste money on a small bag of slivered almonds. So we just threw our almonds in the food processor and did something more of almond chunks, then toasted in the oven. I think they turned out just as good!

The complete dish in the pot:

The finished product! I also made a side salad of diced yellow & green peppers and cucumbers. I have become a HUGE fan of making my own dressing...ever since Raegan got me hooked on her homemade dressing. It's really fun and it tastes different every time. This dressing was fresh squeezed lemon juice from 3 lemons, white wine vinegar, olive oil, and the leftover fresh chives & parsley from the quinoa recipe. Also had whole grain mustard, roasted garlic, salt & pepper. Yum! And a little feta on top :)

disney wine & dine 2010

2009-10-16T09:40:00.004-04:00

It's been a while since I've blogged, so you know it has to be reeeeeeeeally important for me to make this update. Disney added a new race to 2010 - the Wine & Dine Half Marathon!!! Oh my gosh! Can we think of any event that is more perfect for me!? Who's in? We can even do a 2-person relay!

Reasons why this is my dream event:

1 - it's run at night! Finally, a race where I don't have to be up at the crack of dawn (or earlier).
2 - after party at the Food & Wine Festival - as you may recall, this has become a family tradition and I look forward to it every yr!
3 - it's only a half! so only half the training, half the pain, etc. you get the picture!
4 - did i mention Disney World? this place is becoming my magical second home, apparently

Hit me up if you want to go! We have a year to train, that's more than enough time! :)

links of the day

2009-08-07T16:28:00.004-04:00

Food for thought on this lovely, hot summer Friday...

"You are terrifying us"...and no Peggy Noonan isn't talking about Republicans.

My favorite part re: the town hall meetings that have gotten "out of control":

"But you can’t get people to leave their homes and go to a meeting with a congressman (of all people) unless they are engaged to the point of passion. And what tends to agitate people most is the idea of loss—loss of money hard earned, loss of autonomy, loss of the few things that work in a great sweeping away of those that don’t.

People are not automatons. They show up only if they care.

What the town-hall meetings represent is a feeling of rebellion, an uprising against change they do not believe in. And the Democratic response has been stunningly crude and aggressive. It has been to attack."

Speaking of town hall meetings...check out these recent Rasmussen polls.

First - "Sixty-three percent (63%) of Republicans and the plurality (48%) of voters not affiliated with either party view the protesters favorably." So what I'm getting is first the obvious - Republicans think the town halls are good & view them as genuine grassroots events. But what's even more interesting to me is that half of unaffiliated voters - independents - also view these events favorably. Makes you go hmmm right?

Second - Going back to the issue at hand, universal healthcare. Turns out a whopping 68% of Americans are actually happy with their insurance coverage (rating it good or excellent)! So...if I were Obama, I would look at that number and say, uhoh. As the old adage says, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! Especially when our economy is crumbling as it is.

So there's the bad news - the Democrats & the policy of fear (Obama is cool with you turning in your neighbors if they tell you anything bad about his plan...scary). And there's the good news - most Americans don't want the monstrosity of healthcare. But I would be remiss if I didn't offer an alternative solution, and what do you know? Charles Krauthammer has one today!

The very best part echoes a conversation I had last year around election time, where we asked ourselves, why do employers provide healthcare benefits? Wouldn't it make more sense if healthcare was bought on a free market type basis just like auto, homeowners, life etc?

Take it away Charles!

"There is no logical reason to get health insurance through your employer. This entire system is an accident of World War II wage and price controls. It's economically senseless. It makes people stay in jobs they hate, decreasing labor mobility and therefore overall productivity. And it needlessly increases the anxiety of losing your job by raising the additional specter of going bankrupt through illness.

The health-care benefit exemption is the largest tax break in the entire U.S. budget, costing the government a quarter-trillion dollars annually. It hinders health-insurance security and portability as well as personal independence. If we additionally eliminated the prohibition on buying personal health insurance across state lines, that would inject new and powerful competition that would lower costs for everyone.

Repealing the exemption has one fatal flaw, however. It was advocated by candidate John McCain. Obama so demagogued it last year that he cannot bring it up now without being accused of the most extreme hypocrisy and without being mercilessly attacked with his own 2008 ads."

Daaaaaang. I read "McCain" and laughed. Because I remember that one of the biggest reasons I liked McCain was his healthcare plan. It just made sense! And it still does. I think I'm going to tweet him or something...it's not too late to try a better, more progressive plan rather than the convoluted mess that is being pushed through Congress now.

chick-fil-a news!

2009-07-31T15:47:00.003-04:00

Today, Ryan's dream came true. Chick-fil-a is going to add spicy chicken sandwiches to their menu next year! Any time Chick-fil-a adds something new, it's a big deal! Can't wait to try it :)

link of the day

2009-07-31T07:38:00.001-04:00

I came across this link today - a post by Mitt Romney on healthcare. I think the biggest questions I had after reading were 1) why are our leaders rushing universal healthcare without thinking it through? and 2) why aren't more people pushing for plans that have had success, like Romney's?

review: chez raegan & other food news

2009-07-27T17:47:00.006-04:00

I confess, I'm a slacker. Can you believe how much has happened since my last post? After I was so excited about Palin's running feature, she announced her resignation as governor, and now she officially has resigned as governor of Alaska. Man how time flies!

I felt compelled to blog again because yesterday I had THE BEST salmon I've had all year. And I didn't have it at any restaurant...I had at my new favorite Sunday lunch spot, Chez Raegan. Hehe. My sister-grandma Raegan had Ryan & I over for lunch after church on Sunday. She got some wild Alaskan sockeye salmon on sale at the Fresh Market and fried it up in a grill pan with fennel, lemon, salt, pepper and oil. I had one filet and then went back for another half, I just couldn't stop eating it! For the sides, she made an awesome salad with fennel and homemade dressing, and sourdough bread with brie. Mmmm. It was a great summer meal and I told Raegan that she could cook for me every Sunday and I would gladly pay her. And it was so good I had to blog about it, plus she asked me today why I hadn't blogged about it yet :) I wish I had pics but I was just so hungry and into the food that it was all gone before I thought about taking any pictures. She also inspired me to start cooking again...I mean, I try to stay home and cook to save money but I haven't been very creative lately. But Raegan, hats off to you. I want to be creative like you :)

In other news, I've had the pleasure of trying 2 new hotspots: Varasano's & Morelli's.

First Morelli's.

This place is just awesome. They have all your standard sweet ice cream flavors, and then they have all kinds of exotic & savory flavors, like corn! When I lived in Puerto Rico for a summer, my weekly indulgence was corn ice cream with cinnamon on top. When I asked for cinnamon on top of my corn ice cream at Morelli's, I got more than one puzzled look. But I promise, it's good. It's not quite as good as my corn ice cream in PR, but it's the closest I've found in the US. Also, they have some of the best waffle bowls I've ever had.

Next up we have Varasano's. I read about Varasano the man a couple years ago. He was on a quest to find the best NY style pizza. He would throw pizza parties at his house and rig his oven to do crazy things in order to achieve the perfect char & crust. He also kept track of all the best pizzerias and had a pretty intense ranking system. Of course, I disagree with him because I think Grimaldi's is the best pizza I've ever had, and I always, always crave it. But of course, I haven't been to quite the number of pizzerias he has, so I'm probably wrong.

Anyway, the first time we went, we did the Slice of Heaven promotion, which was all you can eat pizza for $13? Something like that...I think it was so popular that now you can only do it late at night one day of the week. I can understand why...I thought the kitchen was going to crash, pizzas were flying out by the minute and still there were hungry tables clamoring for more (including ours!) It was so great though, every pizza we tried was deeeeelicious. The only one I didn't care for was a caramelized onion. It was good the first time, but the cheese was very pungent and thick, so I didn't care to eat more than one slice. Unfortunately that was the flavor of pizza we saw the most that night! haha. I liked the crust, but sometimes it was a little too sour for me, and not enough char. My favorites that night ended up being Nana's - classic mozzarella, tomato and special sauce. My other favorite was something that looking at, I thought I would hate. But once I took a bite, I scarfed it down. It was the Chica Bella - arugula with lemon on top of ricotta & mozzarella cheese. We're talking so good that Ryan & I tried to replicate it many times at my apartment afterwards. Sooooo good!!

The second time we went, it wasn't quite as crazy and this time we knew what our favorites were. We all settled for Nana's pizza. And this time the crust was pretty darn near perfect. I felt like I was almost back in Grimaldi's.

I'm kinda craving one now, aren't you?

link of the day

2009-06-30T16:59:00.003-04:00

Check this out - Sarah Palin is pretty cool. I knew she was a runner, but I didn't know she ran a sub-4 marathon! Dang. She would totally smoke me in a race!

I'm a Runner - Sarah Palin - from Runner's World

Check out the pics too!

disney marathon: mile 26.2

2009-06-12T08:36:00.001-04:00

Ahhhh this is it! The end!

As I ran under Spaceship Earth, and the applause and cheers became even louder and thunderous, I was shaking...oh my goodness, could this really be the end? I rounded a corner, out a back entrance, into the parking lot...and there it was. Huge crowd to my left. Trees. Grandstand. Finish line. Tears. Arms up. One more smile. One more "yeah!!" Waving at my fan club one more time from this side of the finish line - their cheers & smiles & jumping up and down gave the final push I needed to get over the line.

And then it was done. 26.2 miles. Done. Once I crossed the line, a million thoughts left my head and for just one second I felt sad. A year of training to do something less than .5% of Americans will do this year. And now it was over. Now what? But then as I kept walking, I saw the medals, I saw how far I had to keep walking and the lines of people going through the aid stations and all I could think was "I need to see my family RIGHT NOW." I was so giddy and excited and I just couldn't wait in any more lines! I needed ice for my legs, badly, but I just didn't want to wait. Time to celebrate!!!!

6 lbs lighter

2009-06-10T18:42:00.001-04:00

Today I had my post-boot camp fitness assessment, and I am 6 lbs lighter and 3% less body fat. I guess that's pretty good right? I want to do it again, and see if I can take off another 6 lbs, but I don't think with a wedding coming up in less than 3 months that I can really afford the expense. I'm definitely going to try & keep it up though, work out hard like that every morning that I can. I feel so much stronger now...even though the post test said I was about the same in strength & flexibility, I don't believe it. The last day of boot camp I could bear crawl like never before!! haha. And I can do more than 10 pushups without collapsing. That's saying something.

I have to say that my favorite days of boot camp were 2 days last wk and then the last day (on Monday). One of the days we did an Easter egg hunt of sorts...one person sprinted to the eggs and brought one back, and whatever was written on the egg was what the group had to do. Another day we went to Centennial Park and did a lot of running, stopping at various points in the park and doing different things. A really nice change-up in routine, and of course, we all know that I can run. The last thing we did at the park day was run from one end of the park all the way back to CNN center...it was long and a gradual uphill, but I didn't stop even though I felt like I was moving so slowly. At the top of the hill I thought, how did I ever do that for 26.2 miles?! I can't even imagine it now.

Then the last day of boot camp, we did a relay race where we sprinted, ran backwards, skipped, and sprinted again. My team won so we didn't have to do extra stairs! Yippee! But that day was fun, in addition to the relay race, we did a sequence of bear crawl, run, crabwalk, run, side squat, run, lunge, run. I actually enjoyed that too. It was hard but we could go at our own pace.

So in summary, boot camp was a worthwhile, effective and even fun experience. There were days I dreaded getting out of bed, but man, I am so glad I did. Above all, I'll miss the people. It's funny how attached you can get to people after seeing them every morning, bright & early, for 20 days. I actually saw one of the boot campers today before my post test, she was just lunging away around the athletic club track. Dedication! Encouragement...motivation...I think that really makes a difference. We'll see how that works when I'm on my own!

And I guess it's back to long distance running :) Half marathon, Disneyland??

across the earth (long post!)

2009-06-08T18:52:00.012-04:00

A couple weeks ago, Ryan & I went to see Hillsong United in concert. Those aren't really the right words...really, we went to worship. A while back, I got a Hillsong CD which is actually different from Hillsong United, which is the youth-oriented worship band from the church of the same name. Confused yet? haha. The best part is that even as confusing as it may be, it makes me want to move to Australia so bad. The point is that these are really great worship songs and have gotten me through some times - good & bad. It's amazing to me how one church can have such a worldwide influence over how the Church worships. But then I guess that's just God! He does big things.

It's hard to describe what a blessing the night was, but I'll try. I bought the tickets a long time ago, and so they were pretty good, right near the front, and supposedly seats. But when we got there, Hillsong United had asked to have all the pit seats taken out, so we were standing the whole time. And we were so close!

We got there with just enough time to spare, and then worship started...

Brooke Fraser! She's from NZ originally, so you know, she's a kiwi! I love her voice, it's something else.

Here are some of the best pics that Ryan took throughout the night...

The blessing of those hours...just the sweet fellowship with other believers, thousands of us brought together for one purpose: worship. To gather at God's feet and adore Him, tell Him how worthy He is, reflect on how much we need Him, how much we owe Him, how much He's done for us. Like a very small taste of what heaven might be like, when we are all together praising the Lord all the time! We were truly in the presence of the Lord that night. Which is why it's so hard to put it into human words.

Here are some videos that Ryan took too:
Mighty to Save

All I Need Is You - audio only

Salvation is Here - I have claimed this song through so many things - esp the marathon :)

From the Inside Out

disney marathon: miles 13-26

2009-06-02T15:41:00.004-04:00

Slowly but surely, we are nearing the end of my marathon memories. Sad! Maybe that's why I didn't want to blog on it for so long, because then there really would be nothing left :(

Anyway, from the Grand Floridian on til the finish, I didn't see my fan club at all. It was a very long stretch. Even though the race was already half over, the last half was excruciating. I also don't have as many pictures.

So after Grand Floridian, we started the trek towards the Animal Kingdom. So boring. I never thought I would say that at Disney World. But seriously, those roads in between parks can be really dull. Especially the back roads that the service vehicles take. I think we got to see the recycling center or some other kind of maintenance area. Exciting right? All the while, the only thing really keeping me going was the Sharpie fun facts signs, the food stand where I grabbed a banana, and the sudden urge to pee. I actually stopped a couple times at portapotties but the lines were so dang long that I didn't wait around for long before I continued running.

Finally, a break! The Animal Kingdom. We ran through a back entrance and were greeted by all kinds of exotic animals with their trainers, as well as some more Disney characters. And then...thank goodness. A real bathroom. Potty break with no line. I was happy :) And then running through the Animal Kingdom. I enjoyed it - we actually ran through a large portion of the park rather than just skirting the front like we did at the Magic Kingdom.

Here I am in front of Mt. Everest:

After leaving the Animal Kingdom, we ran around the bus stops in front of the park and at this point, the sun got really, really hot. I closed my eyes a lot because of the brightness. Then the heat really started to get to me. And then of course, we were back on roads that were not so exciting. I got to this point, I can't remember what it was called, something like Mile 20 lift? A bunch of photographers on a huge lift above us taking pictures. Maybe you can tell how bright it was getting:

At this point I was really starting to drag. Soon after the lift, I started to walk, I remember seeing the Wide World of Sports kind of near us. It was just so hot! And I started to feel the pain in my feet and legs. There was a slight hill around Mile 21, and after topping that, I started to run (at this point, really it was a jog) again. I knew that MGM was close.

Yep MGM was close. Around mile 22, we went in through a back entrance right onto the set of their backstage tour. We actually ran through the wardrobe tunnel. I got really cheered up to see High School Musical costumes in the windows. They also passed out mini chocolates...I think this was the last food station. We ran right by the big hat, which was also pretty cool. We ran through MGM out the front and onto the sidewalk that connects MGM to the back entrance of Epcot. At this point, I took another walking break. At first, I was very discouraged. I wanted to keep running, but the pain was just unbelievable. I've never felt that way before. I thought, it's just 4 more miles, that's nothing to me. Why does this hurt so freakin bad?! Then I just kept thinking about my training book though, and I held my head up high, because dangit, I was going to finish this thing!!! I prayed a lot in my head too, and I just kept thinking about my fan club and how much I loved them and couldn't wait to see them at the finish line. So I would run as much as I could, then walk. Then run again, then walk. Just basically did whatever I could take to keep moving forward. We ran around the Boardwalk and those resorts - I have some very unflattering pictures of me there if you really want to see them, haha.

Then finally, back into Epcot. You know that feeling when you come home after being gone for a long time, and you just feel so at peace and happy? That feeling flooded my heart. Oh hello Epcot. It's been 5 hours since I was here earlier in the morning, and I was SO glad to be back. Yay Epcot. We ran around the countries once more, and then back to the ball, and then the cheers were getting so thunderous that I started to cry. I couldn't believe all these people cheering us on. Waving signs, flags, etc. Even though I wanted to walk some more, I just had to keep going. The energy was incredible!!

last wk!

2009-06-01T20:02:00.001-04:00

This is my last week of boot camp! Yippee! I don't think I'm going to do it next month. It's well worth the money, but it's pretty expensive for my budget. However, I do have a wedding coming up in August that the money would be better for! I've learned a lot, and although I don't feel much thinner, I do feel stronger, and that's important. I may do it again in July, depending on how much I slack off in June.

Last week, the girl instructor was gone, so we had the guy Brian every AM. So imagine my surprise this AM when I was expecting Jenn to be back today and maybe an easier day...there was Brian. Ughh. I love the guy, he is a great instructor, but he's INTENSE. There's just no better word. So today we did most of the usual...mountain climbers, planks, pushups, squats, lunges, bear crawls, windmills, jumping jacks, running. Maybe I should make a video so you can understand some of these ridiculous moves, haha. With Brian, I have to peek out the corner of my eye to make sure he's not looking if I need to take a break. Anyway, the crowning moment was at the very end. Instead of running up the stairs like we usually do, we walked up the stairs while holding a kettle bell above our heads with our arms straight & elbows locked. It BURNED. We did probably 400 stairs this way. I envisioned my arms giving out and the kettle bell crashing into my head.

Anyway besides the boot camp, my mom got me the Wii Active, and I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with it so far. A lot of the exercises overlap with what we've done in boot camp (squats, lunges, high knees, resistance band arm exercises), so I've been using it in the evenings to get extra workouts in. The leg strap can sometimes be annoying and fall off, and the resistance band isn't very hard either. I'll probably have to go buy a real one. I started the 30 day challenge and have done 4 of the workouts so far, none of which were the same. The exercises switch up every minute or so, it's never monotonous. Although...I've only tried the "hard" intensity, I'm not sure what medium and low are like. Definitely give it a try if you have a Wii...it's easy to pick up and get a workout in when you're crunched for time.

stoking the fire

2009-05-29T09:45:00.004-04:00

I have been going back & forth in my head on running again. On one hand, I want to run the Disneyland half in LA so I can get an additional cool Coast to Coast Disney medal. It's only 13.1 miles! But, it's Sep 6, theoretically a day I would be on my honeymoon. On the other hand, I could just do the Disney marathon again, maybe as soon as next year, and try for the Coast to Coast in that yr as well. But, who knows if I will ever be able to put the time in for training again, and do those 26.2 miles? I can't really predict the future.

But then as if all this back & forth wasn't enough to encourage my indecision, Disney sends me the marathon newsletter in my email...and I read it and get that yearning to do it all again. Darn those emotions!! And then I watched this 3 min marathon video and relived all the feelings...ahhhh I really want to do it again!

And p.s. I am not the only one who throws her hands up & yells "yeahhhh" :)

treadmill of death

2009-05-22T11:08:00.003-04:00

I just want to note here that I almost died by the hands of a treadmill today. We were inside for boot camp b/c of the rain. So we did sprints on the treadmill for 2 minutes. Ugh. I can't sustain a sprint for that long. So, at one point I felt like I was going to fall off, so I put my feet on the sides, and when I went to get back to sprinting, my little legs just couldn't keep up and I almost fell off.

So that's the bad news for the day. In good news, I've made it through 2 wks of boot camp! Yay for a long weekend.

kettle bells

2009-05-21T15:03:00.002-04:00

My coworker & friend at boot camp sent me this article. Take a look at kettle bells...something we use every day at boot camp!

disney marathon: miles 11-13

2009-05-18T21:09:00.004-04:00

Once we left the Magic Kingdom, I have to admit, I was pretty bummed. I knew that what lay ahead was pretty much no man's land for the 5 miles between the Castle and the Animal Kingdom. I knew we would swing around the other side of the lake and run past the Grand Floridian, but either I was so caught up in the morning that I didn't hear Ryan tell me, or I was so in the zone that I didn't realize it was time...in my low after my biggest high of the race, there was my whole fan club again, waiting for me in front of the Grand Floridian. I can't even describe the rush of joy it was to see them where I wasn't expecting and right before a hard, lonely stretch. In fact, I may not have seen them were it not for the water stop right before them, where of course I slowed to get some water, catch a breather etc.

Here I come!!! Swooping in there on the right.

Why, hello there! So glad to see you! High fives all around!

And I'm off again, into the sunrise.

Another cool thing around the Grand Floridian...I don't know what the tradition is, but there a lot of older couples, like grandmas and grandpas, dressed with mickey ear top hats and minnie bride ears & veils. I assume this is because the Disney Wedding Pavilion is right there with the Grand Floridian, but I wasn't sure what the tradition was with all the older people. Anyone know? They were super cute and so great at cheering :)

one wk down

2009-05-18T20:53:00.003-04:00

So I made it through a whole wk of boot camp! Phews. Thursday was the toughest day. I got called out so many times for doing things wrong and then had to do even more to make up for what I didn't do right! Embarrassing and hard. Friday was actually fun though. Also hard, but we did a little obstacle course of sorts that I found fun. Today we were inside since it rained yesterday. It wasn't too bad until we did one of the things I dread the most...bear crawls! They are really hard to do inside. I actually had gloves to prevent blisters from the track, but I think they just made my hands more slippery. Plus we had just done a lap of lunges. I'm pretty good at lunges - I mean I have strong legs, I was a runner and was always working on lengthening and strengthening my stride. But after prolonged lunges, it's hard to get down on the ground and crawl like a bear. Another hard thing was at the end, we did reverse burpees down the length of the basketball court. So we got down, kicked both legs out (like doing a pushup), then walked our hands backwards while keeping our legs straight so that we were eventually standing up again. And then we got medicine balls and did a squat and then threw it at our partner. Who knew an 8 lb ball could have so much force!?

We also turned in a week's worth of food logs today. I can't WAIT to see what the coach writes on mine. I am sure it will be a humbling & eye-opening experience.

Ok next I am going to blog about the marathon. I'm feeling inspired listening to my Lady Gaga Pandora station. Thanks Lauren/Elliott :)

link of the day

2009-05-15T15:15:00.004-04:00

I caved & started a twitter account last week (you can follow me @corrienav)...and this AM I found a really interesting link through @allahpundit. The gist is that 51% of Americans are now pro-life, and only 42% are pro-choice. This is the first time pro-life has been the majority since 1995. Interesting no? Esp in light of the Supreme Court nomination that Obama will have to make this year...just some food for thought on this awesome day before the weekend...Friday!

boot camp

2009-05-13T20:47:00.003-04:00

So I have been through 3 days of boot camp now, and I can honestly say that an hour of boot camp is exponentially more difficult than an hour of running. Put it this way, marathon training is much, much harder over a course of a year. Mentally and physically, it is quite the undertaking. But boot camp is harder when you look at the timeframe of an hour. Every single part of your body is exercised in some way, and in a way that doesn't give you much rest time or recovery.

Anyway, the first morning, I didn't eat anything before going. Big mistake! I felt so sick & dizzy near the end, I wanted to quit. But if there's one thing I know about myself, I'm not a quitter. So, I kept going. Let me see if I can run down what we did. First, we ran about half a mile. Then we did wall sits. Then, lunges and bear crawls around a track (I had bruises on my hands afterwards). Then we moved on to more calisthenic type things - frog jumps, jumping jacks, burpees (sp? they're like up downs), plank, high knees, windmills. Pushups & situps. Suicide sprints and more frog jumps. I was amazed at how much we could fit in an hour!

Then yesterday we made a new friend. Stairs. Like, running up 5 stories of stairs...back down, run back up, back down, run back up. And an obstacle course of sorts, and dips. And today we met resistance bands and I remembered how little arm strength I have since running put all my strength in my legs. I ate a banana before each workout too so I felt a lot better.

I was pretty sore when I woke up on the 2nd day. My lower back and thighs were sore. Today my thighs are still sore but now my abs really hurt, because guess what? I have homework too! 250 situps a night...I'm just doing crunches til I can work my way up to situps. And we're also supposed to work out 3 times outside of boot camp. Tonight I did some yoga & strength exercises with the wii fit.

It's very intense.

I don't feel too different yet, although today I felt a little stronger, or really just more in the know. The first day I was so clueless, but now I feel like I kinda know how to do all the stuff we're doing. Oh! We also have to keep a food log that we turn in every Monday. I already know I'm going to get some comments on "m&m cookies" (thanks holly ;) they were worth every delicious bite!) and "lobster ravioli". Hehe. At least I haven't drank any kind of coke product yet! Our food goal this wk is to replace all cokes with water. So far, so good.

yikes...

2009-05-04T17:55:00.004-04:00

So I ran a marathon...and then I've worked out maaaaybe 5 times since then. That's being generous. Well today I took a fitness assessment because next Monday, I'm starting boot camp at my company's athletic club. I'm a little nervous - it's going to be hard, and it's going to be at 7 am every weekday morning. I'm not much of a morning person.

Anyway, what is really "yikes" is that my fitness assessment today has revealed that I've gained at least 10 lbs since the marathon, and my body composition is 30% fat! Yuck. I need to lose at least 20 lbs to be in the ideal % fat. This has definitely been a sobering day for me. Who knew running for almost a yr, stopping for 4 months, that I could be in such terrible shape? :(

So here's hoping I can change things around. I'm going to try to start waking up early this wk in prep for next wk, and maybe get some good workouts before boot camp starts. Another adventure is starting! It will be fun to have something to blog about again, anyway :)

town hall for hope

2009-04-23T16:49:00.002-04:00

I have not ever taken any of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace classes, though I know many who have and have heard what a difference it makes. Anyway, tonight, Dave Ramsey is holding a Town Hall for Hope...basically he is broadcasting to churches all over the nation and taking questions by phone, email, twitter, facebook etc. I think this is a great event for anyone who has questions about these uncertain economic times and wants to hear a message of hope rather than discouragement.

Check it out: Town Hall for Hope

disney marathon: miles 10-11

2009-04-22T21:54:00.004-04:00

Man, I am a bad blogger these days! It's been over 3 months since I ran the Disney Marathon and I still haven't finished blogging about it. Sorry! I will try to get it done by the end of the month??

Ok, this is by far my favorite mile of the whole course. Good thing it was about halfway through right? Because after this, I was soooo pumped! Adrenaline rush. I think it's pretty obvious from the pictures how excited and happy I was to be running through the Magic Kingdom.

So after running through the Contemporary, we ran through a side service entrance that dumped out onto Main Street where there were tons of cheering fans. Encouragement! Then we ran through Tomorrowland - there was a cute Tomorrowland band there playing music.

Then we ran through the back of Fantasyland and then da dada da! Trumpeteers on the balcony of Cinderella's Castle. I seriously let out an audible "yaaaay" at this point. And then...for just a short couple seconds...I ran through the castle. One of the greatest, proudest, most exciting moments of my life! I mean really, completing the thing was that moment, but the castle just brought so much emotion. Hey I'm a girl who pretty much dreamed all her childhood of 2 things: being a princess like Cindrella (who was my favorite Disney princess) and doing amazing things. Here I was running a marathon and I felt like a total princess.

And just as soon as I was there, I was gone. The shortest, quickest mile of the whole race. And of course the most memorable. After going through the castle, we ran through Frontierland, out another side entrance, and on to the Grand Floridian.

rutabagas

2009-04-22T21:16:00.002-04:00

Today I tried rutabagas for the first time ever! (Forgive me mom, if you've made rutabagas when I was younger and don't remember.) Anyway, they were very interesting! It's hard to describe/compare them to anything since I've never had them before! I think that I liked them though. Of course, I got them at a very trustworthy place, Carver's, the reigning king of Southern food in Atlanta, in my humble opinion. I still don't even know what rutabagas are, but I found this awesome website - Advanced Rutabaga Studies Institute - headquartered in the rutabaga capital of the world. Haha. Awesome.

So who loves rutabagas? Who can even really describe how they taste?

links of the (tax) day

2009-04-15T10:21:00.003-04:00

Today is tax day. Yippee.

If you can't go to a tea party today, send a tea bag to your elected officials:

Here's a great timeline from Michelle Malkin on how the tea party movement started.

tax day tea parties

2009-04-11T09:45:00.002-04:00

Back in Feb, we had a little tea party protest here in Atlanta. This nationwide movement has really gained momentum, and on Tax Day, April 15th, there will be a big tea party at the Capitol here in Atlanta, complete with an appearance by Sean Hannity. I strongly encourage you to check it out if you're in the area, and if you're not, check out the nationwide site for a party in your area. Make a clever sign & wear red! I will be there to catch the end...I actually have a volunteer orientation to attend for something completely different. But I should be able to get to the tea party for at least the last hour. I'm excited!

And here is a great, funny, yet completely serious video via my Aunt Debbie. It should get you pumped for a tea party:

links of the day

2009-03-27T11:59:00.003-04:00

I know, I know, I have been the worst blogger. It's hard because my main motivation in starting a blog was to write about my experience training & running a marathon. Now that it's over, I've lost a lot of motivation to continue blogging. I can't even seem to finish blogging about the marathon itself! And then my other motivation was the election...and then that ended and didn't have quite the finish I was hoping for. But I'll try to catch up...

I was reading through the news today & came across 2 realllly good article about Obama's poor performance with the presidency so far. I have tried to really give him a chance, but I just don't believe he is leading this country the right way. I do give him props for opening the White House up more to technology - the online town hall was a cool idea, even if he didn't really tell us anything new through it.

Anyway, I find this article on CNN really revealing. Because now I know it's not just me that feels this way. There are so many good quotes in this article that I won't regurgitate here, you just need to read it yourself.

And here is another good article and guess what the title is? "On Spending and the Deficit, McCain was Right." My favorite part:

The point was that Obama was promising so many things that to pay for them he would eventually have to raise taxes on people making far less than $250,000. Look out, McCain warned -- someday he'll come after you.

And now that's where we appear to be headed. At some point, Obama will likely have to bow to those in his party who say he must raise taxes if he wants to pay for health care and other expensive initiatives.

Yeah, I can't WAIT til my already meager salary gets even more taxed by the govt. Yippee.

link of the day

2009-03-18T16:18:00.003-04:00

Check out Jon Stewart...yes you read that right...Jon Stewart ripping Obama's plan to make veterans use private health insurance. It is so worth it, just for his last 3 sentences. Check it out.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

That Can't Be Right - Veterans' Health Insurance

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

quote of the day

2009-03-17T16:13:00.002-04:00

"My colleagues and I are sending a letter to [AIG CEO Edward] Liddy informing him that he can go right ahead and tell the employees that are scheduled to get bonuses that they should voluntarily return them," Sen. Charles Schumer said on the Senate floor. "Because if they don't, we plan to tax virtually all of [the money] ... so it is returned to its rightful owners, the taxpayers."

via CNN

Does anyone else get the feeling that our leaders have no real clue what they're doing?

"we plan to tax...so it is returned to its rightful owners, the taxpayers"

So let me get this straight. First, the govt taxes you and me. Then, they give the money away to these AIG execs. Then, they threaten to tax the money, which in essence is already tax money. So they want to tax the taxes and give the money back to...its rightful owners? Except that it's actually going back to the government. And you and I won't see a cent of it returned to us. And to put the frosting on the cake...who's bright idea was it in the first place to give them a loan? And now they want to tax the loan?

Someone please explain to Sen. Schumer how ridiculous this is.

oops

2009-03-16T20:32:00.002-04:00

Totally forgot to register for the Peachtree Road Race. Oops! Darnit. I guess I could try the paper lottery next Sun...but what are the odds of me getting one of the last 10,000 spots when the first 45,000 were gone in 7 hours?

Anyone else missing out? Or got their spot?

fail

2009-03-13T12:54:00.000-04:00

jefferson, washington, and chuck norris

2009-03-10T14:34:00.002-04:00

Our President & Congress desperately need a history lesson from Thomas Jefferson & George Washington...and Chuck Norris.

To contract new debts is not the way to pay old ones.
George Washington, letter to James Welch, Apr. 7, 1799

To preserve [the] independence [of the people,] we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude. If we run into such debts as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our callings and our creeds, as the people of England are, our people, like them, must come to labor sixteen hours in the twenty-four, give the earnings of fifteen of these to the government for their debts and daily expenses, and the sixteenth being insufficient to afford us bread, we must live, as they now do, on oatmeal and potatoes, have no time to think, no means of calling the mismanagers to account, but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow-sufferers.
Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Kercheval, 1816. ME 15:39

All of this courtesy of Chuck Norris, who has compiled a great many quotes from our founding fathers in this article: I may run for president of Texas. A good, quick read if you're up for it! Maybe Chuck Norris will join the ranks for Jefferson & Washington as a great President some day, hehe.

And props to Ryan for pointing these out to me and issuing a challenge to us all - write letters/emails to the President and your elected officials and ask them what they think of what our founding fathers said!

disney marathon: miles 8-10

2009-03-06T12:02:00.001-05:00

So the first stop after Epcot after the highway running was the Ticket & Transportation Center. That was a fun area to run through because it was kind of unexpected. I forgot it was there. But we ran under the monorail station where there were tons of fans cheering us on! And gotta love the cast members with their mickey gloves on! It was also very cool running through completely empty parking lots. What a sight!

And how convenient...the course ran right by our hotel, The Contemporary between miles 9 & 10. I was really really really excited as I saw the Contemporary come into view. I was going to see all my fans together for the first time on the course. Here's Holly & Shane with signs ready:
Right before I saw them, we all went running under a bridge of sorts, and as I came through the end, I could see everyone. I started waving, and tried to yell "hey!" But no one was paying attention!!! Maybe you can see me waving frantically on the left side...

I literally was right in front of them before they saw me. I guess I was a little early. Like I said, those first 8 miles went by so fast! Luckily they caught me and took this lovely progression of pictures below.

Unfortunately there were wall to wall cone barriers between us so I couldn't get any high fives or hugs in. But no worries, there were still 16.2 miles ahead! And the Magic Kingdom was less than a hop, skip & a jump from here.

personal responsibility

2009-02-26T13:39:00.006-05:00

I like this guy. Basically, he's a state worker who makes $93000 a year, but his cost of living raise was withheld this year. So, instead of complaining, or looking for handouts, or reneging on his promises to support charities, he took a...gasp! Low paying job at Wendy's.

My favorite part:

Stokely was asked whether he might be taking a job away from someone who needs the money. Stokely said he can't take responsibility for something like that. "I'm sure Wendy's didn't hire me just to give the solicitor a $7.25 supplement. That door is open for them to go and apply just like it was for me," he said.

Yeah dude! It sucks, but you did the right thing. And no one should say anything bad about you, because you're actually taking personal responsibility to make your life what you want it to be. And therein lies the root of my anger towards the stimulus, bailouts, new government budgets...America has forgotten personal responsibility and the power of individual freedom. I want the responsibility to make my life want I want it to be. I don't want the government to take it from me. I'm so sick of the mentality that SO many Americans have these days. That they are entitled to handouts, that they don't have to take responsibility because the govt will always be there to bail them out, that the world will end if we don't entrust our lives to the government's care. That is not the answer. Why don't we want to take our lives back, and take our freedoms back? If you want a better life, don't look to the government to make it for you, do it yourself. And do it responsibly, aka don't buy a $1 million dollar house when you only make $50000 a year.

You with me?! Ok, that is my rant for the day.

Does the Boston Tea Party of a couple hundred years ago ring a bell?

Check out our very own Atlanta Tea Party going on tomorrow at the Capitol. Our founding fathers revolted and warred with England over ridiculous taxation. Now here we are with our leaders saddling us and future generations with debts that cannot be paid back. A $3 trillion budget comes to mind. This seems like change for the worse. Time for a revolution??

and props to ryan for the Stokely article :)

the highlander

2009-02-26T13:28:00.003-05:00

I'm not going to do a full post about The Highlander. I just wanted to say that their chili rocks! Oh my gosh, it is soooo spicy. I feel like my mouth is burnt, but not in a bad way! It's chock full of beef and beans and peppers...plus bonus! Guy Fieri visited and you can watch him & Chef Ice make the chili together here. Really, really entertaining. And makes me totally comfortable ordering the chili again, knowing everything that's in it!

love you tom price, part 2

2009-02-13T11:47:00.000-05:00

disney marathon: miles 1-8

2009-02-13T11:22:00.005-05:00

Looking back on it now, I can't believe how fast the first 8 miles went. It feels like a blur now. After the split start, we reunited with the other runners around mile 4. Before reuniting, we ran on a highway behind Epcot before finally coming back around to the parking gates.

Of course, as we were running around Epcot, I was wondering, when are we going to go in?! I was so stoked. After running through the parking gates, we ran straight up the middle walkway toward the ball. And there were spectators cheering us on, on either side. Lo and behold, as I was thinking, aw I wonder if Holly & Ryan are here...there they were!!! There wasn't enough time to snap a picture, but I saw them all bundled up in the dark cold cheering for me :) So then I was really stoked!

Then we ran under the monorail, and the cheers were echoing so loud. I started to get emotional! Just amazed at all the fans and all the runners.

And then...on into Epcot! The course significantly narrowed at this point and there were race workers guiding us through the area right in front of the ball. But once we got past it, the course widened and it was a spectacular sight. All of the nations around the lake were lit up, and there was fire in all of the torches. It was so beautiful, still and serene. And yet, here we were, this huge wave of runners. There were characters to greet us, I can't remember all of them but I do remember seeing Mulan and some guy yelling over if he could see her after the race. Funny. We ran in there for such a short time before exiting through a back entrance and back onto highway roads.

These roads were...boring. No characters. But there were DJs, marching bands, the works every so often to keep the energy going. There were also Sharpie sponsored billboards at every mile with funny pictures and/or sayings. And eventually, the sun came up. I remember coming down on road ramp, curving towards the next park. At this point, I really started getting excited because the next park was...the Magic Kingdom!

link of the day

2009-02-13T11:09:00.003-05:00

I have often wondered to myself...what if we achieved victory in Iraq, but the press never reported it? That seems entirely plausible to me, since I have rarely heard a positive story come out of Iraq from the mainstream media.

Well today, your link of the day, courtesy of Charles Krauthammer and the Washington Post, is a victory in Iraq. Not the be all, end all victory, but a big victory nonetheless. Have you heard anything about it yet?

This is what our President had to say:
This important step forward should continue the process of Iraqis taking responsibility for their future.

take the time to laugh

2009-02-11T17:09:00.005-05:00

Even in the hard economic climate...it always helps to have a laugh. thanks Ryan :) You may have to click on the image if it doesn't show up all the way, not sure why blogger isn't formatting it correctly. You should see 16 boxes in the strip.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_djgssszshgM/SYXCzpR0MbI/AAAAAAAAAyY/VYle3udsueo/s1600/CalvinHobbs.BMP

generational theft

2009-02-10T15:24:00.004-05:00

The generational theft bill aka stimulus bill passed the Senate, which really wasn't a big surprise. But still. Disappointing. Not exactly the birthday present I was hoping for. Haha.

And a tip from Raegan, who talked to Rep.Tom Price's office today. At this point, all there is left to do is email/call/write letters to Speaker Pelosi and the White House. So do it. I just did!

Also from Raegan - good article on how the stimulus bill is literally bad for your health.

disney marathon: the start

2009-02-06T15:35:00.004-05:00

These are Ryan's pictures from the start. He & Holly staked out a spot along the road. Unfortunately, there was a split start, so one group of corrals started down one side of the highway, and the other corrals started on the opposite side of the highway. Of course, I was on the opposite side of the highway. Which was cool for me, because I was the first corral to go under the big start line with the fireworks. But bad for Ryan & Holly because there was just no way they would see me. Not that they would have anyway because there were thousands and thousands and thousands of people running by.

And then, the start. Oh my goodness. If I could only convey the feeling with words. I staked out a little piece of pavement, and I was amazed to find that I was in the first corral on the starting line side. At this point, I started to get really nervous and excited, because I couldn't believe my luck! How did I get so close to the start? And then I thought, oh man, these people around me are probably really fast. Another cool thing is that I was in spitting distance of the official starting stage, where Mickey & crew came out in their tracksuits and wished us all a good race and then started the countdown to the start! Everyone else got to watch on big TVs along the median of the road, but I saw it "live" right in front of me. Some dude near me also got interviewed, I was sitting right behind him. So yeah...a pretty exciting build-up to the start, and I had butterflies fluttering around the whole time!

Then of course, the moment I had been waiting for a almost a whole year.
10...fireworks!
9...fireworks!
8...fireworks!
7...fireworks!
6...fireworks!
5...fireworks!
4...fireworks!
3...fireworks!
2...fireworks!
1...fireworks!

And we were off...well not really. More like a walk-jog-run start, but that was to be expected! And it was such an emotional rush! I was so happy, screaming "yeah!!!", smiling, waving...we were all doing that.

There was a big riser after the start with photographers, videographers etc, and these are their pics:

And this one is my absolute favorite start picture. Can you spot me & my purple shorts on the right side of the pic? #7499

disney marathon: to the start!

2009-02-06T15:22:00.000-05:00

Around 3 am, I woke up from a pretty restful night of sleep. I guess I wasn't that nervous after all! But I got dressed, and Holly & I met Ryan to catch the monorail out to the start.

We walked from the Epcot station over to the family reunion area, where we chilled for as long as we could together. I brought a banana for breakfast and tried unsuccessfully to eat an energy bar. It was just gross eating peanut butter & chocolate with a texture of cardboard at 4:30 am. But, I regretted it later, I got really hungry about 3/4 of the way through the race. So if I were to ever do this again, I will definitely eat something more substantial before the start!

The family reunion area in the wee hours of the morning:

Mapping out where the family should try to see me run by:

Pre-race photo ops with my 2 biggest fans:

Entertainment stage where there was an 80s band getting us pepped up:

Time to say goodbye...walking through baggage check tents. I didn't check anything, but after the tents, there was a ~15 minute walk to get to the back of the start, followed by a 5 minute walk to my starting corral. Who knew there would be so much walking? Haha. It was good though, nice warm up since it was pretty cool at this point. And it was good to get my nerves down.

links of the day

2009-02-06T13:45:00.003-05:00

MUST reads for today! Tell your senators NO on the stimulus bill.

top 10 reasons to oppose the stimulus

stimulate economy, not government - commentary on CNN by Mitt Romney

beware the politics of fear - Krauthammer in the Washington Post

link of the day: No Stimulus!

2009-02-05T16:42:00.002-05:00

Go here and sign the petition. It's not too late to put pressure on those Senators who are wavering in their support of the bill! There are useful links with more facts, contact officials, media etc. Check it out!

disney marathon: The Wave

2009-02-03T18:14:00.000-05:00

For pre-race dinner, we went to The Wave. It's located on the first floor of The Contemporary and it's relatively new. I really like the entrance tunnel, felt very swank and non-Disney. We checked in and were promptly seated.

Our server was really nice & funny. My sister ordered hot tea (she was sick) and all the tea was organic and in silk sachets with a cute little pot. So, she started a trend and almost all of us got hot tea. It was good!

Being the runner, I was on a semi-strict diet, and the restaurant was really easy to work with when modifying menu items. Most if not all the menu items were organic and/or local products. For an appetizer, I got mixed greens, which was a step above your standard salad. Holly & Shane got the crabcakes, which had a nice spice to them. Ryan got a hazelnut soup which was very...interesting. Don't know if I could eat a whole bowl or cup, but it was a different taste/texture - fun to try.

For entrees, I got the sustainable fish of the day, unfortunately I can't remmeber what kind of fish it was. I subbed out the sides for whole wheat pasta, which I asked for but was not mentioned anywhere on the menu. What luck, right? The fish & pasta was only ok. My dish was definitely the least colorful and boring of the party. The other entrees were chicken pot pie, lamb, seafood pasta, and a flank steak. Everyone enjoyed the entrees, I don't know that I would characterize them as spectacular.

What was really spectacular was the desserts. 5 kiwis all the way here! There are 3 or 4 different dessert trios to choose from, and they also have a selection of sorbets (that I would love to go back & try!). The trios are very well thought out, awesome mixtures of flavors and textures. Really a delight for the senses. And just the right amount so you're not over-indulging. We tried:

Creamy indulgence - raspberry cheesecake, coconut panna cotta, chocolate passion-fruit mousse
Winner: tie between cheesecake & panna cotta - both were perfectly textured and very fresh on the fruit
Loser: Passion-fruit mousse - I didn't like the flavor combo here

Crispy/crunchy - braised pineapple, baklava, zucchini carrot cake
Winner: all 3. This was my favorite trio as a whole. Who knew braising pineapple could taste so sinful?
Loser: no losers here!

Decadent flavors - salted caramel chocolate mousse, blueberry on yogurt gelato, lemon cornbread with panna cotta
Winner: salted caramel chocolate mousse. My absolute favorite of all the desserts. I am starting to shed a little tear right now just thinking about how good it was and how long it will be til I taste something as amazing.
Loser: no losers here, the gelato and cornbread were also good.

Debbie's birthday was the next day, so she got special treatment :)

After dinner, we all headed to bed! I layed out my marathon outfit (my favorite race day shirt & lucky socks - wore those socks at every race last year), tied my commemorative championchip to my shoes, and pinned my bib on to my shirt.

And the next morning...

taxes

2009-02-03T12:40:00.003-05:00

Really?

First there was Geithner who failed to pay back taxes...and is now Treasury Secretary.

Then we had Daschle, who also owes taxes...and is still in the running for Health Secretary.

Now we have Killefer, who just stepped down from Performance officer nomination because of...you guessed it, failure to pay taxes.

Should I stop paying taxes now? Maybe I can get an awesome appointed high profile government job.

Maybe now that Killefer stepped down, Daschle will follow suit. Even the NY Times is asking Obama to pull the nomination.

Change we can believe in?

stimulating links of the day

2009-02-02T12:10:00.004-05:00

Man there is so much good stuff out there on how bad the stimulus package & our elected officials are.

First from CNN/Rubin Navarette Jr., commentary on the now stripped funding for birth control.

"You know the nation's cupboard is bare when politicians propose limiting the number of births as a way of improving the economy. That's a conversation we shouldn't be having.

There is nothing more private -- that is, none of the government's business -- than the personal decision that a family makes about how many children to have. Besides, Pelosi's comments had an ugly ring to them."

Navarette goes on to compare Pelosi's comments to Margaret Sanger's ideas of birth control eugenics, social engineering, etc. Scary right? Good thing that funding is not in the bill any more, but it shocks me that it was even there in the first place. That we have politicans considering that kind of encroachment on the family unit as a solution to our economic crisis. Why don't we try tax cuts first? Give the American taxpayer a break.

Second, from U.S. News: Less than 25% of the bill is actually stimulus. Compare that to 40% of the bill that is actually agenda-relating.

Third, from Flip, a nice graphic that can help us grasp how much $1 trillion really is:

And last, yet another list of excessive spending and our politicians turning a blind eye:

"New York's Charles Rangel and five other Democratic members of the House enjoyed a trip to the Caribbean sponsored in part by Citigroup (see above) in November - after Congress had approved the $700 bailout for financial firms (including Citigroup)."

Anyone got some good news for me today??? Anyone?

"Time for something completely different"

2009-01-30T16:07:00.004-05:00

Yay for Michael Steele. New Chairman of the RNC.

I didn't know too much about him til he started hosting for Bill Bennett on Morning in America. But I like everything I've heard him say and I think he has a good strategy for getting the GOP back on the right & winning track.

stimulus bill???

2009-01-30T14:16:00.002-05:00

This is the sorriest excuse for a stimulus bill. I called my Congressman on Wed and told him I would like him to vote no. I was actually talking to one of his aides who said he would pass my sentiments on. He voted yes though, and I expected him to. But this is the first time I've ever called a Congressman. (I'm more of an email kind of girl) So you know, for me to actually make a phone call, I think this stimulus bill is a HUGE mistake.

WSJ is calling it a 40-year wish list for Democrats - full of pork for all their favorite projects and little funding that will create jobs or directly benefit the taxpayer.

Read it yourself.

It's really long though, so this WSJ article is a good summary. I especially like the 2nd paragraph laundry list:

"We've looked it over, and even we can't quite believe it. There's $1 billion for Amtrak, the federal railroad that hasn't turned a profit in 40 years; $2 billion for child-care subsidies; $50 million for that great engine of job creation, the National Endowment for the Arts; $400 million for global-warming research and another $2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects. There's even $650 million on top of the billions already doled out to pay for digital TV conversion coupons."

Speaking of length, how many of our elected officials have actually read & thought about the whole thing? This is all just happening too fast. Everyone needs to take a breather and think this one through before committing to spending almost $1 trillion dollars!

What I really want to know is...what Democrats really think this is going to work? What about job creation? Why not cut everyone's taxes so we can actually have some money to spend? Why not shrink or terminate unnecessary govt programs? Why are we spending so much, so much money on programs that will do little to nothing to actually stimulate the economy?

I've heard a lot of talk on the radio, the news...why don't they just call this what it really is, a massive spending bill?

Call or email your Senators today.

disney marathon: The Contemporary

2009-01-30T11:37:00.000-05:00

So after the Expo, we headed to our hotel, The Contemporary. Honestly, I don't think there is a more perfect place to stay when running the marathon. The concierge let us check in 3 hours early and was so just so darn nice about everything. I had to keep reminding myself not to be surprised...this is Disney. They are always that amazing.

Anyway, we took our bags up to the room which was in the main tower with a lakeside view. Really beautiful. I had never stayed at The Contemporary before, so I didn't really know what to expect, the outside is so old looking (although I know back in the day it was supposed to look really modern, ah how times change!)

What I really loved about The Contemporary was the quiet. Maybe they weren't completely full, or maybe families just don't stay here often. But it was very quiet & relaxing. The only times it was loud was when character dinner was going on in the 4th floor Grand Canyon (open air atrium where the monorail goes through) and when they had a night music show on the lake, maybe around 9pm? I love kids, but this was one weekend where I didn't want to deal with the noise, ruckus, crowding etc that happens when there are tons of excited children around.

We got to go to the pool both when we got there and the hours after the marathon. So relaxing! The waterslide was really fun, and I loved the hammocks!

I loved seeing the monorails come through every day. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of them coming through! :( Darnit. We ate a couple times at the Contempo Cafe which is in the Grand Canyon atrium. It was neat - you order your food at kiosks, pay for it, then sit down with a buzzer that goes off when your food is ready for pickup. There were lots of healthy options, but you could still indulge with a cheeseburger & fries if you wanted. I especially liked all the whole wheat breads and the option to have green beans on the side. Not over-cooked, water-logged hammy green beans. Fresh, crisp green beans with a soy sauce and toasted sesame seeds. Yum! I was really happy with this little place. My favorites were the turkey, apple & brie sandwich and the grilled chicken & monterey jack sandwich. Delicious!

What really makes The Contemporary good for marathon day is the monorail. It's only one stop from the hotel to the Ticket & Transportation Center, where you can hop the monorail to Epcot. And the resort monorail ride was almost empty. The monorail to Epcot was relatively crowded, but not uncomfortably so. No driving, no bus riding. We were amazed at the traffic jam we avoided.

We enjoyed a beautiful moonrise? Not sure the term. But it was really pretty right before we went to my last meal before the race!

chick-fil-a

2009-01-29T12:46:00.003-05:00

My absolute favorite fast food and one of my food weaknesses...Chick-fil-a! I seriously could eat here every day and be happy...and very fat. So I don't. But there have been long periods of time where I make Chick-fil-a a weekly appointment.

So I was delighted to read that Chick-fil-a has been blessed with another year of double-digit profit! Phew. I don't know what I would do if Chick-fil-as had to close. And I think it is just so awesome, because I truly believe in and admire their business model. Of course, I could be biased. Chick-fil-a was my first ever job in high school. But the food is always good, fresh, and some of the healthiest fast food out there.

While I generally praise Chick-fil-a, there have been some that let me down. Fatty or grisly chicken, cold fries, unsalted fries, old tea, pickles on my sandwich when I ask for no pickles, undersized nuggets. Those things can really bring you down!

But here are my favorite Chick-fil-as, in no particular order (yes, they are all in GA):

Hapeville Dwarf House
This is the "original" so coming here for the first time was a special experience for me! Since then, it has been a go to for many many late night adventures (they are open 24 hours a day, except for Sunday of course!) And being a dwarf house, the menu is more extensive than your regular free-standing Chick-fil-a. You can either sit down and be waited on, or order fast food from the counter. Make sure you walk through the little dwarf door and check out the dwarf art in the sit-down area.

Turner Hill Rd.
If I have to make a food stop on my way home to Augusta, I always aim for this Chick-fil-a right outside the Perimeter. Oh man, it is good. Chick-fil-a in general is really good, but this one takes it a step above in every way: service, food, cleanliness. And they are consistently amazing, I've visited several times over the past years. These are hands down the best waffle fries I've ever had in my life.

Augusta Exchange
Gotta give a shout out to my first employer. The lessons learned & friendships made...how can I forget them? The operator, Michael Brown, is one of the nicest, most inspiring bosses I've ever had.

Howell Mill
Now I have to admit, I wasn't that impressed the first couple times I ate at this location. However, after I worked here for a summer and they went under a big renovation, my opinion has changed quite a bit! The operator, John Diamond, is awesome, he really knows how to save pennies. It has been a while since I last had mediocre food there. I also had a lot of fun here when Ryan worked there..."Can I order a side of pickles? Do you have any specials today?" Haha.

Sandy Springs
This one is so good that I felt compelled to write a Yelp review on it!

Chick-fil-a Headquarters
I was very fortunate one day to eat lunch with a friend who works at Chick-fil-a Corporate. So...they get to eat Chick-fil-a every day for free!!!! Oh my gosh. I was in heaven. If you ever have the chance to go, do it. Seeing Mr. Cathy's car collection is really cool...Batmobile! :)

I'm sure that there will be more favorite Chick-fil-as in the future :)

disney marathon: expo

2009-01-27T22:25:00.000-05:00

So I have put off blogging about the Disney Marathon because it is so much to process personally. I'm still thinking about it and thinking, "wow, did I really do it?" It's kind of a hard place to be in, at the finish line, and there's nothing after it. What do I do next? Do I keep running? Are there more marathons in the future? What life goal am I going to tackle next? It's strange to have worked on something for almost a whole year, and to have finally accomplished it...what's next? I didn't plan for after.

So I will blog about it bit by bit. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my running journey as much as I enjoyed every experience, good and bad.

Our first stop of Marathon Weekend...the Expo!

This is where I had to turn in a waiver promising not to sue Disney for anything, and then get my bib and commemorative tech shirt. We got there before it officially opened and there was already a big line to get into the Milk House (weird name but Milk is the sponsor, as in "got milk?" people, hence Milk House).

Lining up by bib number...

Got my waiver ready!

Starting to freak out a little bit! I can't believe I'm in a line that says "Marathon"!!!

After the Milk House, we headed over to t-shirt pick-up. It was in a different building than bib pick-up, the Jostens Center. On the way there, we signed the Cigna/Sharpie Inspiration Wall. It was fun, people put encouraging messages all over the boards. Later in the marathon, they appeared along the course, I want to say around mile 20. Can you see the messages Ryan & I left?

TONS of vendors! I bought a new fanny pack and Ryan & I made signs at the Sharpie table. We also checked out the Coast to Coast challenge (run the Orlando Disney marathon & LA Disneyland half marathon in one year).

I bought a shirt with Mickey and "I did it! 26.2" with the "route" through all 5 parks on the back. Yeah, I was confident. :)

not dead

2009-01-23T16:13:00.001-05:00

So I don't know, you may be wondering, she had that marathon, and then nothing on the blog. It's been almost 2 weeks. Did the marathon kill her?

No, it didn't. I finished :) Best feeling in the world. But it has been a whirlwind since then, and slowly but surely I will let you know all about it!

4 days

2009-01-08T22:04:00.004-05:00

Ok my countdown is a little off. I don't do math any more so I have problems counting apparently! Technically what's left is today, Fri, Sat, then marathon. So 3 days and then the marathon is on the 4th day. So I guess I am counting down to the end of that 4th day, when I can truly say "I am a marathoner." Hehe.

Here is my absolute favorite part of my marathon training book (The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer). I keep thinking it over in my head in preparation for Sunday.

So, when the fatigue comes, you will use your visualization and your positive self-talk and your concentration. And you will go on. And if you need to walk, you will walk with your head up and a steady, proud look in your eyes because you will know that you are doing what you set out to do, and that is complete this marathon. And you will not feel defeated. You will feel triumphant and you will go all the way to the finish line and you will cross it with joy and ecstasy and a feeling of achievement like you've never felt before. And that's the way it's going to be, because you have already decided that is how it's going to be and you make your own reality.

So, what is the answer to the question of what happens psychologically at the wall? Whatever you decide will happen, that's what. And what you have decided is that you are going to knock that wall down. You always do. You have been doing it every week. And you will do it again on marathon day. Because you are a marathoner.

5 days

2009-01-07T10:45:00.003-05:00

Time to start counting down the days til the marathon! It's pretty much all I can think about right now!

So I've finally hammered out a "final" schedule:

Fri - driving down to Tampa & going to the Circus
Sat - drive over to Orlando for the Expo, then check in and relax at the Contemporary, dinner at The Wave
Sun - on the monorail by 4 am, race starts at Epcot at 6 am!, hope to cross the finish anywhere between 11 and 12:30, then post-race party at Disney Downtown
Mon - celebrate with a day at the Magic Kingdom
Tues - back in Tampa, more celebrating
Wed - back to ATL

Here are some fun articles to read about spectating the race!
Walt Disney World Marathon is a real rat race
Tips for Spectators

while we're on the topic

2009-01-06T17:20:00.003-05:00

Of Roland Burris...I'm not sure what to think of this whole debacle. I seriously laughed when Blagojevich actually appointed someone! Blago is very gutsy to say the least. But the really ironic part was that he actually appointed someone qualified that no one would criticize if the Blago scandal hadn't been uncovered.

So now we have Burris...I wonder how close he is to Blago and if he in any way payed to play...but it doesn't seem so. Then there are some of the opinion that the problem is the appointer, not the appointee. So why shouldn't he be seated? If it is a legal appointment, and there's nothing actually wrong with Burris...why aren't they seating him? And in a time when there are enough problems to go around for the government, this seems like a really silly mess. Doesn't Illinois want to be represented in the Senate at a time like this? And it seems that he is a generally respected Illinois politician. If the problem is the appointer, then that shouldn't reflect badly on the appointee. What about all the people Bill Clinton appointed and then he got impeached? Did that reflect badly on them? It certainly didn't. Obama's populating D.C. with all of Clinton's staff right now. I don't really have any feelings either way about Burris, especially since I'm not a citizen of Illinois. But it just seems silly not to seat this guy. Unless he is directly tied to the paying for the seat. Now I am going in circles. Any thoughts out there?

Hill-freakin-larious

2009-01-06T15:25:00.003-05:00

So, my boyfriend's dear brother, Matt, just moved back to D.C. working on The Hill for SC Sen. DeMint. Lo & behold, here is the lovable Matt making an appearance at Roland Burris's press conference following being barred from entering the Senate. Matt's appearance starts around 1:38 and goes til about 2:20. I really wish someone from the press had said "guy in the blue jacket, could we ask you a couple questions?"

thanksgiving half marathon

2009-01-03T21:34:00.004-05:00

I totally failed on getting caught up by New Year's...oh well! I think this is one post I needed to get done before next weekend though, or then I'd be 2 races behind!

So this is the Atlanta Weather Channel Thanksgiving half marathon. As I mentioned a while back, it had some substantial hills that weren't too fun. I looked at a map afterwards and saw that the last one that ran by the State Capitol building had been labeled "Capital Punishment" - har har. That one was definitely not fun. It was even worse than Cardiac Hill since it was about a mile from the end. But otherwise it was a pretty normal race. I got pretty claustrophobic in the starting corrals, but I made a friend (another old guy, hehe) and we chatted for a while before the race started and for the first half mile or so. Once we got to Lenox, the next 6 miles were basically the Peachtree Road Race. So I was a little bored there...not as fun as it was in July with all the festivities and such. There was only one Jelly Belly Sports Beans station, and that was kind of disappointing since I don't like the beans! I just have a hard time chewing and running at the same time. I much prefer gels! Running through downtown was pretty cool, especially at that time when there were lots of banners for the SEC Championship. I got another medal for finishing :) All in all, a good time, but I would probably not do it again. It's on Thanksgiving, which in theory sounded cool to work for the turkey, but in the end, it was so cold in the morning and all I could think about was the food I'd be eating later on. Talk about torment. Plus, if you do the Peachtree, this race is basically the same thing, just twice as long.

Anyway, here are some men in uniform finishing waaaay before me. Gotta give a shout out to our armed forces!

And here I come down hill to the finish (thank goodness):

There I go!

Danna came out to cheer me on! I had a lara bar stuffed in my mouth when we took this picture, that's why my cheek looks so oddly puffed out. Just want to give another shout out here to everyone who has come out to my races this year or offered words of support & encouragement in person, by phone, email, facebook, everything. It really makes a difference when you know you have people supporting every step of the way!

happy new year!

2009-01-01T18:00:00.002-05:00

Can you believe it is January 2009 already? I can't. It seems like yesterday that I started blogging, and now it's been about a year!

It also seems like yesterday that I decided to run a marathon, but at the same time it feels like forever. I can't believe I've been running for a year now. I can't believe I'll finally be done in just 10 days. 365 days down. 10 to go. And I just hope that I can actually DO it. I ran 18 miles last weekend and man, it hurt. I wanted to cry. I wanted to quit. Ryan gave me some words of encouragement around mile 14 and I was able to finish. But the doubts were creeping in..."can I really do 26.2"?

26.2 will be different. I'll have the energy of thousands of other runners around me. I'll be in the happiest place on earth. There will be plenty to look at to keep me from being bored or focused on the pain. Mickey will be there to hug me when I cross the finish. I keep reading through my training book and getting encouragement too - I keep saying to myself "I am a marathoner" and I keep visualizing what it will be like when I cross the finish line. 26.2 will be different because a year of running will be done in ~5 hours. I can't wait!

It has been such a long, hard road to get to this point, and I feel prepared and not ready all at the same time. Isn't it amazing how we can feel such conflicting emotions simultaneously? But I have to say, no matter what happens in 10 days, this has been a great year. I've learned so much more about myself, and running has improved my life in so many ways: health, discipline, perseverance, spirituality. This will sound strange but I've always been "good" at things...I've never had to really work hard for anything. But this, I have had to work really hard, and I've seen myself not be so "good" at running. But that will make crossing the line at 26.2 all the more sweet. To really have challenged myself and struggled, and still succeed. That's what I'm hoping for at least.

And I'm hoping for your 2009 to be better than 2008 :) Can't wait to see what this New Year will bring!

Hellas Restaurant

2008-12-30T10:16:00.000-05:00

Hellas Restaurant
Tarpon Springs, FL - north of Tampa

kiwis: taste 5, ambience 4, service 4

This is the best Greek food I have ever had, period. Tarpon Springs is a Greek sponge-fishing village. Sounds funny right? I really did not know what to expect. You can go out on boat rides to see the sponges etc, but we didn't have time for that and besides, we were really there for the amazing food. We tried Hellas, which is right on the main drag and had the best aromas coming out of the kitchen. To start with, the spanakopita was amazing - huge phyllo triangles filled with fresh spinach and lots of cheese! Then Ryan & I split the combo platter that had gyro meat, moussaka, pastitsio, pitas, rice, vegetables, and dolmades. All of it was good, but very rich. I would definitely not be able to eat it all my own, as I could only eat a couple bites of the moussaka and pastitsio without feeling completely full. Ryan's favorite was the dolmades (stuffed grape leaves).

Then for dessert, the waitress recommended baklava cheesecake, saying that it would change our lives. She was right. It was a perfect cheesecake with honey and crumbles of baklava on top and inside the cheesecake. Oh wow. It makes me swoon just thinking about it. We got a picture of it right before it disappeared:

Unfortunately, the combination of being famished and the food being so amazing, we forgot to take a picture of anything else.

The atmosphere is cool, there are neon lights everywhere. You can sit on an open air patio. We saw lots of people getting the flaming cheese appetizer - will definitely have to try that next time! And of course, there were may "opa!" moments with guests downing ouzo. Really funny! And the service was also good.

Check out the bakery :)

O Holy Night

2008-12-25T18:35:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas!

I hope you are all having a wonderful day with family, and most of all that you would remember why we celebrate this day: God's Son coming to earth to save us from our sins...amazing!

Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

And I'll leave you with the first verse of my favorite Christmas hymn:

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

epcot food & wine festival

2008-12-19T15:58:00.004-05:00

Ok here is the rundown of our favorite food & wine from this year's Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.

First, a quick synopsis. I love Epcot. Growing up, my favorite park was (and is) the Magic Kingdom. I mean, c'mon! Cinderella's Castle?! I'm a huge fan. But a very close 2nd, like missed it by a hair, is Epcot. I love love love all the countries in the back of the park. The food, the costumes, the "educational" rides, the grandiose faux buildings, the shopping...did I mention the food? I just love trying food from all over the world. So imagine my delight when I grew up past the age of 21 and discovered through my amazing Aunt Debbie, a Disney connoisseur, that there was a FOOD & wine festival at Epcot!! Ever since I turned 21, we have made it a family tradition to go to the festival. And it's not just the permanent countries that have food - there are cute little booths everywhere with small plates & wine tastings. You can't go much more than 10 steps without running into another booth. And it's Disney, so everyone is super happy that you are there. No snobbery here! It's also really nice to have so much walking to do and other sights to see...all the walking makes you more hungry, so you can eat more food, and drink...and so on and so forth.

My advice on how to really enjoy the festival:
1. Don't eat the day before.
2. Wear really good walking shoes and elastic band pants.
3. Save up some money before you go, because each plate/wine taste ranges anywhere from $3-$6. And if you have 30 or so countries to hit, and you want multiple plates from each country, it very quickly adds up. (I spent about $100 on the festival food & drink this year, and then an additional amount of money on wine to bring home with me.)
4. Put your money on a festival gift card. Not only does it help you budget (limit yourself to spend only the amount you put on the card), it is very easy to use - it's the size of a matchbook and comes on an elastic spiral bracelet, so you have it handy at all times. No fidgeting through purses, wallets etc. Makes life so much easier!

Ok on to the food & wine, my top 8 favorites! (There is just too much to write about, so I am limiting myself to the best of the best.) There's no guarantee these dishes and/or countries will be represented next year, but if they are, these are your must-eats & drinks.

1. Salmon & arugula salad - Canada
Divine. This is the only plate I went back for seconds on. It wasn't exotic or crazy, but man, it was delicious. Cooked perfectly with a maple & honey glaze that wasn't overly sweet. Yummmmmm.

2. Mofongo, pina colada - Puerto Rico
I spent a summer living in Puerto Rico. I absolutely love the food there. Unfortunately, I have yet to find quality Puerto Rican food in Atlanta. Thankfully, Disney does Mofongo right. It's basically a heap of mashed plantains cooked with pork. When I was in Puerto Rico, people would add whatever else they liked to it - here at Disney they made a shrimp salsa to go on top. Soooo good. I also had the best pina colada in my life here. Puerto Rico was new this year, and I really really really hope they keep it for next yr!

Mofongo on the left

3. Crabcakes, Lobster Roll, Sam Adams festival tent - United States
Hey American food can be exciting too! And, I LOVE seafood. So I was delighted to have a lobster sandwich with huge chunks of claw meat and a very crabmeat heavy, light breading crabcake. And, you could spend a whole day just trying all the different kinds of Sam Adams - draft & bottles. I love America.

4. Potstickers - China
Unfortunately, we ate the potstickers so fast we forgot to take a picture. But they are extremely delicious, if not the best postickers I have ever had. China also has chicken sha cha skewers that are pretty good.

5. Bay scallops - New Zealand
I'm not really a bay scallop fan - I prefer the big sea scallops. But these chilled bay scallops were delicious & refreshingly light.

Plus, hello? Kiwi crossing. Gotta give a shout out to the land of the kiwis!

6. Airship wine - New York
Our favorite new wine this year - Airship White. I've never had anything like it - I guess you could compare it to a Riesling, in that it's sweeter than other whites, but it's an entirely different grape taste. And it has a very grapey taste, which I really liked.

7. Spaetzle with mushrooms
Buttery noodles with a creamy mushroom sauce. Mmm.

8. Frozen Irish coffee
I know, kind of gimmicky. Probably not even "authentic." But oh my, so very delicious. That and it became a joke to our family and caused us all to laugh for at least 15 straight minutes.

This was taken after mom tried it.

So that's my top 8. And if I had to name a "loser", it would be Austria. They had a bacon dumpling with goulash. I love bacon, and I love dumplings. How could that not be a heavenly combination? Well the dumpling was a small disk of super dry dough. I guess the stew was supposed to offset the dryness? I don't know. I really didn't like it, and I was sorely disappointed. It may be the one bacon dish that has let me down.

So it was a successful trip:

Don't worry, this will last me at least til next yr! :)

love you tom price

2008-12-19T15:32:00.003-05:00

From CNN's ticker, our own Rep. Tom Price. Bold emphasis mine.

"It is deeply disappointing that the administration has chosen to use taxpayer dollars to delay the inevitable need to fundamentally restructure these companies."

"By bailing out automakers without real reform or long-term solutions, we are only protracting uncertainty and putting billions of tax dollars at grave risk."

"It is now clear that the creation of TARP was a rueful mistake which has failed to provide urgent market stability, yet has put our country perilously in debt for the foreseeable future."

Hindsight is 20/20. Or you know, maybe you all should have listened to the American public before you voted for the bailout!

long time, no see

2008-12-11T23:27:00.006-05:00

Yikes! been a long while...have been craaaaazy busy at work and after work. Life in general. I hope to get all caught up by the end of the year, and then I will make it my New Year's resolution to get back in the habit of posting once a day. (Or something like that).

So some quick thoughts...wow! Blagojevich! I want to believe that Obama had nothing to do with this, and I guess innocent until proven guilty right? But first, his silence on the issue was alarming to me. Then when you think about it, Obama's message of change didn't do much for his hometown. Anyway. This whole scandal disgusts me. What is happening to our country?

Give a quick clap to the Senate blocking the auto bailout. I'm sorry but I just can't bring myself to support any more of these crazy bailouts.

Then this moved me to tears. I couldn't believe this guy's response. I don't know if I could have responded with the same grace and love for the pilot who was responsible for the crash that killed his entire family. What a true testament to his deep love of our country, in giving thanks for the serviceman as one of the "great treasures of our country". And then what love this guy has for his Lord, in offering prayers for the pilot, truly giving God glory in a dark, suffering time that many would say "why me?"

And last...running has been going. I haven't been able to completely stick to schedule but I still feel pretty good about the marathon coming up. I will crawl if I have to across that finish line. I am a marathoner! Besides, I was so faithfully reminded last week that with God, nothing is impossible. I went to a Christmas concert at my church and our pastor was referring to the virgin birth of Christ. But after the talk, I smiled and thought, marathons are nothing compared to a virgin birth! So, I have faith that everything will be ok :)

41

2008-12-02T23:02:00.000-05:00

So I just got back from Saxby's victory rally. Wow it feels good being a Georgian tonight! "Conservative Georgia values DO matter!" Either Saxby or Chairman Duncan said that...or both. I can't remember, I was just so pumped.

Yay for America! All is not lost. Our founding fathers are smiling tonight.

catching up on epcot food & wine

2008-11-30T18:45:00.002-05:00

Back in October, we went to Orlando for our annual family outing to the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Below is an album with my favorite pictures...I'll have a longer post later about the food!

Epcot Food & Wine 2008

a woman's heart

2008-11-30T18:07:00.003-05:00

Back in August, I started A Woman's Heart at my church. It ended about a month ago, and I had a little tear in my eye by the end. You know when something is so good, you just don't want it to end? I loved every minute of it. It went far too quickly! I strongly recommend the study to any woman, or man for that matter. I have a much deeper understanding of the Tabernacle and I am looking expectantly toward heaven - I can't wait to see what the Tabernacle could only echo down here on earth. We ended by partnering up and praying over each other, and then we said goodbye. I can't wait for January and a new study!

catching up on...manila mart

2008-11-30T17:59:00.003-05:00

So a while ago, I let you all in on a visit to Manila Mart. Not too long after the visit, we made some of the food, which I also briefly talked about in that post. But I thought I'd share a picture of the food, just to show you how good it looked! And tasted :) Next to the rice, you can see the lumpia - pork & shrimp. Not as good as my dad's, but tasty. The big white bun is a siopao - pork bun. We steamed them and they were perfect.

Plus being around my dad this holiday weekend made me remember that I was supposed to post these a while ago. Expect many more "catching up" type posts...

thanksgiving reflections

2008-11-27T23:06:00.004-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

The half marathon was good - the last half was really hard! 4 hills :( But downhill to the finish so that was nice :) My #1 fan Ryan and a coworker from Turner came to cheer me on. Of course, I'll have more details & pictures later...some time. So behind.

But today I just wanted to reflect on all the things I am thankful. As I ran today, I kept singing an old summer camp song in my head...

I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart

I will enter His courts with praise

I will say this is the day that the Lord has made

I will rejoice for He has made me glad!

He has made me glad! He has made me glad!

I will rejoice for He has made me glad!

And of course that song brings me to Psalm 100, which I read this AM before the race. My favorite phrase is "Know that the Lord, He is God." If there is one thing I am most thankful for this year, it is the way that God has continually revealed Himself to me and helped me to know Him more deeply each day.

And I think of the things I love and write about each day, running, this country, food, my relationship with God.

I am so thankful that I can even run - I have 2 legs that work and amazingly can run for multiple miles at a time. I've ran this past year pretty much injury free. I've had an amazing supporter in Ryan, without whom I would not be at this point. And I've had some amazing friends & family, who came to what races they could and supported me emotionally through each one. I've been able to run some pretty cool courses and met some great people. Running has stretched me mentally and challenged me physically, and it has been quite a blessing, even on the days I've dreaded it.

I am so thankful for this country. Our freedoms that I take for granted each day. I was reminded today of the sacrifices our fellow countrymen make when a group of Marines ran past me in perfect lines, singing "left right left right" and carrying the American flag, tall & proud. I think of my aunt who served so many years in the Air Force and continues to work to keep our country safe. I love these men & women, the sacrifices they have made for me. I love this country and the values that we stand for. God bless America!

I am so thankful that not a day has gone by that I didn't have food to eat! And that I've gotten to try a lot of new foods and learned how to cook (and save money). I take this for granted every day, I don't even think about how blessed I am when there are so many people around the world who are starving or lack sufficient food.

And as I said before, I am so glad that I've grown a little more this year in my relationship with God. He's really taught me daily discipline in spending time with Him. I've also learned a lot more trust in Him in the area of money and finances, especially in these uncertain times. It's been so liberating! And I've been able to get more involved with my church and grown in a Bible study there and in service opportunities in the community & world. For these things I give the most thanks, and give Him all the glory!

So happy Thanksgiving y'all! Hope you ate a lot of turkey today :)

last race

2008-11-26T21:42:00.000-05:00

So tomorrow I have many things to be thankful for, not the least of which is my last race this year! Yay!!! No more races until the big one in January!

I can't believe the day is here already. If you're in ATL and up for a little spectating, I should be crossing the finish line at Turner field between 9:19 and 9:39. That's my best guess.

See you there!

Next Mon: Palin in GA!

2008-11-25T14:56:00.003-05:00

Oh my gosh! Who wants to go with me?

Just read on the Peach Pundit: Sarah Palin will be in GA stumping for Saxby. Not 1, not 2, not 3, but FOUR appearances!

8:30 am in Augusta - ahem Mom & Holly you better go!!
11:00 am in Savannah
1:30 pm in Perry
4:00 pm in north metro Atlanta - think I'm gonna try my very hardest to make it!!

When Palin first got the VP nod, I was so so so excited! As the campaign wore on, my enthusiasm dimmed a little, especially after McCain lost. But, I'm still a fan. I would LOVE to see her.

16 mile plateau & link of the day

2008-11-24T12:43:00.000-05:00

So I have reached the 16 mile plateau! I did it yesterday, back & forth W. Paces Ferry Rd. I have to say the first 6 were a breeze (maybe the 10k is my strongest run?). When I got to 12, I was starting to feel the pain. Miles 13-15 were painful (my little toe was bleeding :(!). Mile 16 was a little easier, because I knew I was at the end! Amazing what the mental aspect can do for you. I am so happy to be at this point in my training, although I was dreading it. I mean, 16 miles is a lot! But now that's one down, 2 more 16-milers to go. Then 18, then 20. Then marathon. When I think of it that way, each milestone becomes less heavy. Pushing the limits and watching myself break through...it's such an exciting time! It really reminds me why I decided to do this in the first place. I really wanted to challenge myself - mind, body & soul. Do something completely crazy, but still reachable. It's so rewarding to see what this goal has done for me in all aspects of my life. I have no idea how much more I will grow in the coming weeks, but I'm staying positive and excited about what these long & longer runs will bring!

I had a little incident on the way that caused me to take a little break...ask me personally if you want to know the details. It's pretty hilarious but I don't know that I should share my little escapade with the world.

And link of the day - I joined the Clif bar (even though I really don't like their products...see gel post) pace team for the Disney Marathon. Now I can run with a group and make sure I finish in under 5 hours. I thought this link was particular cool - make your own pace bracelet! So when you hear splits called out, you'll know if you're on or off your time.

women for Obama!

2008-11-21T12:31:00.002-05:00

So I just saw this ad on TV:

Does it make anyone else laugh besides me? Martin holding a "Women for Obama" sign. That's hilarious. Also, I find his hair very funny. It's very slick.

deployment: yay!

2008-11-20T18:01:00.002-05:00

And the volunteer deployment has a happy ending.

Tipped off by one of my Floridian aunts...McCain beat Obama by 5% on election day in Florida. So, it looks like my 4 days of work & the countless hours put in by fellow deployees (is that a word?) made a serious impact! :) hip hip hooray!

But as we know, Obama won Florida, and he did it by outdoing McCain 11% in early & absentee voting.

Which brings me to wonder: were there any early/absentee Obama voters who wanted to change their minds on election day? Or, how many of these early/absentee voters were Acorn related? Just throwing it out there, even though it doesn't really matter at this point.

i love America

2008-11-20T16:29:00.002-05:00

I love America. I love America for what it is, for what our founding fathers stood for, and for the freedoms I enjoy each day because of this great land and the people who have defended her.

But then I wonder how many Americans also love America when I read this article on CNN today - Obama poised to rebrand America.

Several of the "expert" quotes really saddened me:

"Americans can actually go to dinner parties and cocktail receptions around the world today and not have to apologize for the United States the way they have had to do the last several years. The election has made life a little bit easier for Americans living and traveling abroad to hold their head up high again."
John Quelch, the senior associate dean at Harvard Business School

"The arrival of Obama, as an African-American president, gives people a reason -- an excuse even -- to start loving America again."
Robin Oakley, CNN's European political editor

Who are these people who are ashamed of America? Why? We are the greatest nation on earth and I don't understand why people feel like we have to apologize to the rest of the world for this. We have the greatest freedoms, the greatest democracy. We had all this before Obama was elected. These people who are ashamed, who can only love America now that Obama has been elected...I just don't understand them. If they're so unhappy, why can't they just leave our country then? What's with the trash talk? Although I guess Obama makes everything better now that they want to stay...I understand you can be upset about Bush. There are things he've done that I've just shook my head in disappointment. But he's still my President and this is still my country, and I'm still going to hold my head high because I live in this "greatest nation on God's green earth" (to steal a line from Michael Medved, hehe). And I probably won't agree much with Obama, but I'm still going to stand behind him as my President. I refuse to talk trash about my America.

And if you think about it...you don't see people trying to illegally get into other countries...No offense to those countries, but America must be pretty great if everyone's trying to move here and take advantage of how good we have it. And that's my rant for the day.

link of the day: black friday

2008-11-20T11:46:00.005-05:00

In the spirit of doing my part to stimulate the economy, here is an awesome site that will help you plan your Black Friday shopping. They post Black Friday flyers as they become available, so you don't have to wait til Thanksgiving to know what's going to be on sale. You can sign up for their email list and get updates as ads come out. They also include opening times for stores and a cool personalized shopping list.

I've already got a game plan for Best Buy and I hope they get WalMart's soon!

Romney on Friday

2008-11-20T10:50:00.003-05:00

I heard Mitt Romney on Hugh Hewitt last night - had some really great things to say. And what do you know...Gov. Romney will be here in Georgia Friday stumping for Sen. Chambliss. And he's making not one, but two! appearances. Too bad I will miss it! If you go, let me know, take some pics, etc etc.

Please Join
Senator Saxby Chambliss
&
Governor Mitt Romney

Atlanta Victory Rally 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
10:30 am - 11:30 am

InterContinental Hotel
Venetian Ballroom
3315 Peachtree Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30326

Savannah Victory Rally 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Charles H. Morris Center
10 East Broad Street
Savannah, GA 31401

Please RSVP to RSVP-at-saxby-dot-org or call (678)589-4888
Please arrive on time.

And! I wrote our senators and such about my feelings of opposition to the bailout...got this response from Sen. Chambliss (curiously nothing from Isakson, Lewis, Bush...so Saxby gets bonus points there).

Thank you for contacting me regarding a financial rescue of the automakers. It is good to hear from you.

The automobile industry has deep seated problems that cannot only be solved by more money. Instead, a restructuring of the industry is needed. I am not in favor of using taxpayer funds to bailout the industry.

If you would like to receive timely email alerts regarding the latest congressional actions and my weekly e-newsletter, please sign up via my website at: www.chambliss.senate.gov . Please let me know whenever I may be of assistance.

just say no

2008-11-18T12:05:00.003-05:00

Great!! article from Jonah Goldberg (love him) about saying no to Obama's experimental government. I could not agree more with his view.

Favorite parts:

"In fact, I want to be experimental too. So here's my idea: Just stop.

Stop talking about bailouts and stimuli. Stop pondering ever more drastic action. Give it a rest. Let it be.

One of the main reasons there's all of this "money on the sidelines" out there among private investors is that Wall Street doesn't know what the government will do next. Will it bail out the auto industry? The insurance companies? Which taxes will go up? How far will interest rates go down? How long will the federal government own stakes in the banks? Will more stimulus checks go out? If so, how big will the deficit get?"

...

"In a time of stability and growth, government can afford bold, persistent experimentation. But in a time of uncertainty, the last thing it needs is more uncertainty. Yet Obama's confident pragmatism, like FDR's, is a threat to confidence where it matters -- among consumers, credit markets and investors.

Yes, letting GM go into bankruptcy would be scary. But a GM bailout merely kicks GM's problems down the road while spreading the contagion about where Uncle Sam's big feet will land next. Besides, bankruptcy isn't the end of the world. It's the means by which bad companies restructure to fix themselves. Bailouts are the means by which governments subsidize bad companies."

7 weeks

2008-11-18T12:01:00.002-05:00

7 weeks of training to go til the marathon. This is it! The long haul and then...being done with one of my life goals.

So there are 3 weeks of 16 mile long runs, then 2 weeks of 18 mile long runs (might make the last one a 20 instead). Then 2 weeks to taper. Then, the marathon.

I thought being off 2 wks would put me behind...but it actually put my right on schedule to peak at the right time. No more weeks off! Let's just hope I can run 16 miles this weekend. Will be a new record for me! And then keep up on schedule.

Huckabee at Fair Tax Rally on Sunday

2008-11-13T18:02:00.004-05:00

I did not attend the McCain/Chambliss rally today...hey, I do have a day job. I did catch some of it on CNN, particularly McCain's Arizona joke, the same one he told on Jay Leno the other night (really pretty funny).

But there is another rally this weekend, and I'll probably attend. Mike Huckabee will be there along with Chambliss.

Please join Senator Saxby Chambliss and Governor Mike Huckabee for a Fair Tax event like you've never seen before!

FAIR TAX RALLY!

Special Guests Include...
US Congressman John Linder and
Nationally Syndicated Radio Host Neal Boortz!

Sunday, November 16th, 2008
2:30-4:30 pm
Gwinnett Center - Grand Ballroom
6400 Sugarloaf Parkway
Duluth, GA 30097

Please RSVP to RSVP-at-Saxby-dot-org and indicate "Fair Tax Rally" or call (678)589-4888

relax then recover

2008-11-13T17:44:00.003-05:00

So I went on vacation and relaxed for a week (if you count working on a campaign as relaxing). I had a nice 4 mile run on Bayshore Blvd. Unfortunately, it was the day after the election so I wasn't in the best of spirits. I got it done though. Then the real relaxing came...aka eating my way through Florida (Frontier Steakhouse, poolside cookout at my aunt's house, Epcot Food & Wine festival, Sweet Bay Grocery, MacDill AFB restaurant - can't remember name...).

But all good things must come to an end, and as I returned to Ga this week, with high hopes of getting back into running...bam! I got a cold. That's what happens when you go from 80 degrees and sunny to 60 degrees and drizzly. Yuck. Needless to say, it's been over 2 weeks since I last got a serious run in. This has been a recovery week.

Please pray that I get better soon and get back into running this weekend or next week! I have a half marathon in 2 wks! A marathon in less than 2 months. Freaking out!!!

And a personal note...I thought I was going to catch up on posts while I was in Fl. But, I didn't. And now I'm even farther behind. haha. So it goes! Maybe some day I will catch up on everything!

links of the day

2008-11-12T15:15:00.003-05:00

In response to the impending auto industry bailout, here is a great article from James Quinn, from the Wharton School. It's chock full of charts, graphs, numbers, history etc. and while I think it puts too much blame on Bush and not enough on Carter & Clinton, I particularly like his conclusion...

"My biggest concern is that our politician leaders and their cronies running our government will continue to try and reverse the normal capitalistic course of recession and expansion. Companies need to fail, housing needs to find its bottom based on supply, demand and price. Those who gambled must be allowed to lose and suffer the consequences. If the government attempts to shift the losses to those who lived lifestyles of thrift, an angry uprising will ensue. Government intervention in this natural process could lead to a decade long depression."

That's my biggest concern too. Why is it ok for me to budget, live responsibly, work hard, only to see my money go to someone else who hasn't done any of those things? How long until we say enough is enough? If we're going to bail out each industry, when am I going to get my student loan bailout? Hm?

And in honor of Veterans Day yesterday, here is a cool link to say thank you to those who are still serving our great nation. The goal is to record over 1 million unique thank yous, so that 1 message can appear online every 30 seconds for 1 year. Our servicemen & women can log on at any time from any where and see a new thank you every 30 seconds :) A really big project - I think it's awesome!

link of the day

2008-11-11T15:33:00.002-05:00

A great article on conservatism's current state from SC Gov. Mark Sanford.

I have to say, I really like him...maybe 2012? And I'm also a big fan of LA Gov. Bobby Jindal and FL Gov. Charlie Crist. I think the Republican road to the White House will need to go through a governor next time around...just my 2 cents though.

McCain in ATL Thurs

2008-11-11T12:11:00.001-05:00

To help Saxby out. I really love McCain for this. Down but not out, and still fighting for what he believes in: country first.

John McCain is coming to Atlanta to help Saxby!
Republican Presidential nominee John McCain, along with Senator Johnny Isakson, Governor Sonny Perdue, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, Secretary of State Karen Handel, Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine and many other elected officials will be in Atlanta on Thursday, November 13th for a Victory Rally to help support Saxby Chambliss in his runoff for Senate. The event will begin at 4:30PM.

The rally will be held at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, located at 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30339. This event is free for all to attend. To RSVP, please email RSVP-at-Saxby-dot-org. For more information contact Justin Tomczak at Justin-at-Saxby-dot-org.

to do list

2008-11-08T09:45:00.003-05:00

so after the election, I came up with a short to do list. Of course, this is all for worst-case scenario for the next 4 years.

1. Memorize the Constitution.
Gotta know what it says before it's changed in light of a Pres who favors a (very) liberal interpretation of it.
2. Buy a gun.
Want to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights in light of a Pres who opposes them.
3. Save all the money I can.
This is hard seeing as I barely make enough money to make it every month. And the holidays are coming up...but in light of a Pres who's economics include the words "redistribution of wealth" and higher taxes if we weren't in a bad economic time, I want to make sure I have as much cash liquidity as possible. Not spending money on anything I don't need.

And as a side note...is anyone else getting the feeling that "change" has already become irrelevant for Obama? Picking Rahm Emanuel, a product of the Chicago political machine who also worked in the Clinton administration...that's definitely looking back towards the old way of doing things. Not to mention what a partisan choice it is...oh and he was on the board of Freddie Mac. The only good thing I've heard about him is that he would take a more moderate position when it comes to the economic crisis. I've been reading other names being circulated for his cabinet, and I can't say that I'm overly thrilled.

Stay optimistic, stay optimistic.

deployment: exit poll

2008-11-05T10:03:00.003-05:00

So as I sit here watching the TV, seeing Obama's victory speech over and over, I think back on my time here in Florida as a volunteer for McCain. It's hard to believe the time is actually over. From the primary season all the way to today, all I'v been thinking about is election day, the candidates, the issues. And now, there's not really anything left to think about, except for how we go forward from here. From the outset, I didn't really like McCain. I voted for Mitt, and beyond Mitt, I can think of a couple other candidates I would have voted for before I would have voted for McCain. But as the stakes became higher, the difference between Republican and Democrat greater, I knew I had to support McCain no matter what. And as the months went on, I wanted to do all I could to help his campaign. With time, I really grew to respect Sen. John McCain beyond his service in the Navy as a war hero. He really is a great politician, and although we may not agree on every issue, he has done some great things for Republicans. He truly is a maverick and I do not know of anyone who loves his country more thatn John McCain.

And now America has chosen Obama. I can only hope that I can go through the same growing process that I went through to support McCain. I hope as we get to know Obama more, that I can support him and his decisions. That I can see his love for America. That I can respect him as a great politician, that really can't be denied when seeing what he's accomplished. And that although we probably won't agree on many issues, that I can still be loyal and see him and be proud of him as my President.

It is hard to move on, especially because my volunteer time has been so rewarding. I met so many cool people, had so many great conversations. The hospitality here is amazing. I got rides to events, invited to dinners & different victory parties, even got an offer to go to Busch Gardens. The other deployed volunteers were amazing as well, and it was so encouraging to know that there are so many of us like-minded who felt the call to go to the battleground states. A group of young Congress staffers from D.C., a retired Navy fighter pilot from Mississippi, a fellow GT alum, an advocate from California, a guy from Alaska. At some points, there were more of us deployed volunteers than Floridians...I remember one Floridian asking "am I the only local one here?"

We had times of excitement and success as McCain supporters were logged through our phone system. We celebrated Giuliani & McCain coming through. We exulted in the Democrats who helped us phone bank. We banded together in hard times, when one of our poll watchers got death threats and when another got chased by an Obama supporter & his dog and when we endured insults while waving signs (again, what is up with mean Democrats?!)

All in all, I am so glad I took the leap of faith and came down to do this. I guess I have a history of up & leaving to do crazy things (New York...Puerto Rico...). But when I really, truly believe in something, and I can do something about it, I do it. I have to. I feel like I've failed if I don't. I am so glad for this country. I believe in it. I am so thankful for the political freedom we have and the chance I had to really get into the process.

And in 4 years...will I do it again? I guess we'll see!

deployment day 4: rollercoaster ride

2008-11-05T09:38:00.004-05:00

So my last day volunteering on the McCain/Palin campaign started off with...you guessed it. Phone calls. I made phone calls all day as that was still top priority. Unfortunately I probably had the least success that day with phone calls. I did have one really good call: "are you voting for McCain?" "you betcha! (with Palin accent)" In total for 4 days, I made over 1600 calls.

Emotions were high throughout the day. Their was a frantic air in the room as we feverishly stormed through pages and pages of voter sheets. The bank was really full all day, and I was always encouraged to see new faces who stopped by to make phone calls after they voted for McCain. After phoning for 8 hours, I switched it up to sign duty. I figured the phone calls weren't going to make much of a difference with only a couple hours left at the polls. Maybe by waving signs I could get someone to vote for McCain while they drove to the polls.

Check out this cute baby holding a McCain sign with the help of the mom:

Our little island:

I made another friend and I was digging her pom pom headband:

Once the polls closed, we headed inside to make more phone calls, this time to the Florida panhandle, since their polls were still open. I got a lot more response there for McCain, which was encouraging. And then the moment we had all been waiting for..."WE'RE DONE!!!!" No more phone calls. We thought we were going to make calls out to Colorado and Nevada, but they got assigned to other HQs. So that was it. Done. Finished. Cheers all over and then the pizza & beer all around. Haha. It was a great time of celebration in the collective effort we had put forth. I certainly felt accomplished!

And then...we watched the various news outlets as they started calling states for each candidate. We also had a fair share of "insider" types who knew the real numbers and would update us before the news did. We would cheer for McCain, we would shake our heads in disappointment, we would stare at the TV in shock, we would look to each other in comfort, we would speak out in strength that there was still hope...feeling all kinds of different emotions and always hoping for the best. It was great being in the company of all my fellow volunteers and sharing election night with them. Although I do have to say that I greatly missed Ryan & Raegan and wished I could be at the big party in ATL with them. Although the room cheered for Saxby, it just wasn't the same as being back in the Peach state with my favorite Republicans.

I can't remember what time it was, but once Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Iowa went for Obama, one of the insider guys closed his laptop and said "it's over." The room quieted down and people started to leave. I figured it was time to make my exit as well. I had brought clothes for the victory party over in St. Pete...but I just had no heart to go over there.

And so that was my last day on the McCain/Palin campaign. It was a wild ride.

election night

2008-11-04T22:24:00.003-05:00

I'll have a more in detail post tomorrow about my last day volunteering on the McCain/Palin campaign here in Tampa & Hillsborough County. It truly was an amazing, rewarding, hard, fun, crazy, emotional time. A lot to process. I'm so thankful for the opportunity. I just don't have the heart do it right now! :(

I just wanted to do a quick post on how much my heart aches for America right now. I feel like this is not my country any more. Or it's not the country my founding fathers revolted to create. I look ahead to the next 4 years with so much fear and uncertainty. Although I almost hope that Obama does so badly that it would wake this country up and turn us back to our roots. Is that bad?

No one has called Florida yet, and I have seen Hillsborough turn red, then blue. I hope it turns back to red. I really have a good feeling that McCain can carry it. If he can at least do that, that would make my time here all the more amazing.

election day

2008-11-03T22:55:00.001-05:00

An email from John McCain:

My Friend,

From the time I entered the Naval Academy at age seventeen I have been privileged and honored to serve my country.

Throughout my years of service, I've been faced with challenges where I could have taken the easy way out and given up. But I'm an American and I never give up. Instead, I choose to show courage and stand up and fight for the country I love. Today, I am asking you to stand with me and to fight for our country's future.

Our country faces enormous challenges and our next president must be ready to lead on day one. My lifetime of experience has prepared me to lead our great nation. I'm prepared to bring solutions to our economic challenges, bring our troops home in victory and improve our nation's healthcare system.

Time and time again, my country has saved my life and I owe her more than she has ever owed me. I have chosen to show my gratitude through a life of service to our country and tomorrow, you will have a choice before you.

I humbly ask you to make the choice that will allow me to serve my country a little while longer by casting your vote to elect me as your next President of the United States.

Finally, I ask that you never forget that much has been sacrificed to protect our right to vote. We must never forget those Americans who, with their courage, with their sacrifice, and with their lives, have protected our freedom. It is my great hope that you will exercise your right to vote as an American tomorrow.

I thank you for your kind support, your dedication to our cause, and most importantly I thank you for your vote.

With sincere appreciation,

John McCain

deployment day 3: hope on the front lines

2008-11-03T22:25:00.005-05:00

I just wanted to share a couple stories wtih you from the phone bank tonight.

First, I got this household:

Does that name look familiar? Haha. No relation, but I thought it was a funny coincidence. When I called, the person on the line was speaking all in Spanish, so I had to get someone who could communicate with them. Boy, am I sooo glad we called them back. The family is Cuban, and they said they are all voting John McCain because they've seen what socialism looks like and what it can do to a country. The woman talked for sooo long, she was so enthusiastic about McCain. And it reminded me of a lady I saw a the rally this AM who had a shirt that said "McCubans for McCain" and when she walked in, she said "I just pray to my Lord every day that he wins!!" There is SO much enthusiasm here for McCain, across all different demographics. It's so encouraging!

Then, I got to speak to a man about his support of McCain. He said "we always vote Republican, you can look me up, I donated $1000 this year." Haha. But then what really made me happy..."we have about 100 family and friends and we are ALL voting John McCain." YAY! Sure, we get our fair share of no answers, answering machines, hang-ups, etc...but when we get calls like this, the whole dynamic of our room changes and everyone can feel the change in the air.

Ok one last phone story...I talked to one woman and asked her about an additional voter in her household. She said unfortunately that her daughter was currently voting for Obama, but that she was fighting for her to vote McCain. I wished her luck and told her I knew she could win that fight! I love encouraging people and it was great to share the struggle with her and give her a little bright moment in her day. It's not just us volunteers. Everyone is and needs to be getting out the vote for McCain. It doesn't matter where you are, if you're voting for McCain, do whatever you can to get even more votes for him. Each one counts, and we need every one we can get!

And the whole time I was at HQ, people were outside waving signs. Cars were honking all day and there was tons of cheering going on. (although there were some meanies who flipped the bird or cussed out some of our volunteers - what is up with that?! I never see Republicans treating others so badly) It's like a big party, everyone is so pumped. I'm nervous about tomorrow, but I have a lot of hope that McCain is going to take this state! :)

deployment day 3: McCain

2008-11-03T11:56:00.008-05:00

So, this probably goes without saying, but today is the most awesome day of campaigning yet (and it's only half over even though I've been awake for 8 hours already)!! I actually got to see Senator John McCain and (hopefully) the next President of the United States. It was an exhilarating, overwhelming experience. To see him after watching on TV for so long, and seeing pictures for so long...to actually be in the crowd and be so close, it was really cool! But don't worry, I'm not going to go all gushy like this Obama supporter and say that it was the most memorable moment of my life (it wasn't) and that I'm so glad this day has come, the govt is going to pay my mortgage and fill my gas tank (how could anyone possibly believe that?!)

Anyway, I digress!! Sorry. Everyone has been talking about that Obama supporter and just how crazy people are thinking now, they're not even looking at the issues.

I woke up at 4:30 am. Yeah, I haven't woken up that early since high school for a state literary meet. Haha. Drove on down to Raymond James Stadium. After some organizational issues & down time, finally went through the mags (where there was this really handsome Secret Service guy...), got my volunteer credential, and then did sign duty with a new volunteer friend. We had to confiscate any homemade signs, because they block the camera views of the stage when people hold them up.

Here's everyone going through the mags when the sun was starting to rise. I thought the sky looked really pretty.

After the mags, everyone was guided toward the stage area:

Check out all the remotes.

The stage starting to fill up...I was loving the huge American flag. We said the pledge of allegiance and everything :)

After doing that for about an hour, we switched to helping the caterer carry all the food in for the traveling press. And then I basically guarded the food from the local press (the traveling press pays for the food, so if it wasn't there when they arrived...they would not be happy). It was cool being in the press section for a while, not too crowded (until the traveling press arrived), and I got to watch them making their reports, taping, etc.

The main press riser:

The press area:

Once the traveling press arrived, that meant the Straight Talk Express was pulling in, and the crowd went wild!

After the bus pulled in, I made a beeline out of the press area toward the stage. I didn't want to be so far away! Call me a bad volunteer, hehe. I tried to get a good spot in the crowd. It was hard because I'm so short and am not good at pushing people around, but I tried my best! First, former Buccaneer Mike Alstott took the stage, got the crowd going:

Cindy is so beautiful! I hope I have the beauty & grace that she has when I grow up. Joe Lieberman, Lindsey Graham and FL Gov Charlie Crist also there.

Then McCain got the crowd so pumped up. And he doesn't look, sound, or act old at all! He seems so young & dynamic to me. I enjoyed hearing him speak and was encouraged by how much fight he had in him. This race is definitely not over.

Crowd cheers "Nobama! Nobama!" then "USA! USA!" Then McCain talks economy: "I'm going to make government work on a budget, just like you do."

"Obama's running for redistributionist-in-chief, I'm running for commander-in-chief ...I've been tested, I passed the test."

Closing remarks: "stand up & fight!"

Then the speech was over and McCain took on the rope line. I tried so very hard to shake his hand, but like I said, I'm not very big nor am I good at pushing.

And that was my morning. McCain's off to 6 more states today, I think. Congrats if you made it to the end of the post. I just ate some lunch, took a shower, and now I'm going to power nap before heading back to HQ for more phone calls and whatever else needs to be done!

deployment day 2: quick laugh

2008-11-02T21:32:00.002-05:00

I forgot I took this picture...got a quick chuckle out of it.

In case you can't really read it, it says...
You are surveying the BUSH household

Question 1:
Can John McCain and Sarah Palin count on your support this November?

deployment day 2: rudy giuliani

2008-11-02T20:47:00.009-05:00

Today's highlight was definitely seeing Rudy Giuliani:

My aunt and cousin went along with me to the Get Out The Vote rally with Rudy Giuliani at Square One Burgers. As you can see from my video (yes, I succumbed to YouTube), Rudy had some great things to say and punctuated it with his trademark wisecracks and humor. He is really a delight to hear. I'm surprised that no network has picked him up for a type of political satire show.

We had really great seats. When we walked in, it was about half full. Aunt Debbie was resourceful and found some chairs that we strategically place behind the front & center table. It was pretty awesome! Then as we were sitting, I said "I wonder if Gov. Crist will be here..." and then lo & behold, my hunch paid off! Surprise guest Gov. Crist!

Cheering for Rudy again!

Taking a picture of Rudy meeting the press...we were on the other side of his vehicle hoping to shake his hand when he got in, but he ended up getting up on the press side :( Oh well!

And then me & Gov. Crist became best friends:

Then it was back to HQ for more phone calls:

The view out HQ front doors. Not too shabby eh? :) Right along the bay.

The phone bank room where I've been spending a looooot of time:

Then later in the afternoon, we headed to Raymond James stadium to go over logistcs for the McCain Countdown to Victory Rally tomorrow. (Gates open at 6 am, McCain will go on around 9 am, and former Bucs player Mike Alstott will also be there.) Here's a preview of what's to come tomorrow!

I couldn't believe I was seeing one of the Straight Talk Express buses right before my eyes! I tried to sneak on with a couple other volunteers...yeah we got denied.

Country first! Can't wait to see these bleachers full and McCain in front tomorrow!

If you can, tune in to any of the news networks to see our Countdown to Victory rally down here in Tampa. 9 am!!

deployment day 1: 500 phone calls

2008-11-01T21:46:00.004-04:00

Oh. my. gosh. I am so tired. I don't know about this politics thing. I made 500 phone calls in 11 hours today! We were using registered voter lists from the registrar's office...I don't think they were very accurate. I probably got half wrong numbers/moved addresses as I did live people and correct voicemail boxes. If I were to ever hold a position of influence, I think I would trash the records and require everyone to re-register with proof of residence before each election. I mean, I called a guy who has been dead for 3 years now!! 3 years! Imagine that awkward conversation. "Hi may I speak to so and so?" "uh, that's my dad, and he's been dead for 3 years." "Oh!! I'm so sorry...I uh...uh...thanks for your time!"

I won't get into to many of the details, mostly because I'm totally wiped out right now. The basics are that I called registered voters (rep, dem, ind, everyone) and polled them on who they were supporting. If they were for McCain, I asked them to early vote and gave them more info (except when it got later in the day, then it was all get out the vote on Tues). If they were Obama, I said "thanks for your time, bye!" And if they were undecided, we had a nice little chat :)

Anyway, the long drive down last night...an 11 hour day today. Let's just say I'm SO thankful for daylight savings! I don't know how McCain & Obama teams are doing this for so long. But everyone I met today was pretty nice, it does feel a little awkward being the random girl from Georgia (especially when I asked to turn the GA-FL game on in our phone bank room - we had a nice flatscreen tv - and then GA got their butt kicked. Embarrassing!!). But everyone is so appreciative of the work and I know I made a difference today. Plus the office we're working in is really, really nice. I'll probably take pics tomorrow. I just felt kinda weird being the new girl and taking pictures of everything on my first day...you know?

Ok, tomorrow Rudy Giuliani will be here!

Then Monday, McCain will be here!

It will be worth it I think, just for these 2 events. Because no one ever comes through Georgia...although maybe they should now that Georgia's kind of a toss-up.

AND...here's a little spark of hope for any McCain supporters out there...everyone was talking about this at the office today. McCain now leads Obama in the latest Zogby poll - I was told that this is the same and only poll that predicted a Bush win over Kerry in 2004.

ready to deploy

2008-10-31T10:53:00.003-04:00

So today I am driving on down to Tampa, Florida, to volunteer night & day for McCain/Palin. I'm pretty darn excited! I've never done anything like this before, and being in such a hotly contested state will be crazy! Wednesday, McCain was just around the corner from the Victory Office I'll be stationed at. So I hope he or Palin comes back through while I'm there! I am bringing my camera and I hope to have updates every day for you loyal readers. Maybe even some videos! We'll see how much free time I actually get. I had so many other things to blog about from the past weeks that I also hope to catch up on.

Also, I love Charles Krauthammer. I think I've referenced him before on here and in conversations, but really he is one of my favorites. This is from his article "McCain for President, Part II":

McCain is who he always was. Generally speaking, he sees government as a Rooseveltian counterweight (Teddy with a touch of Franklin) to the various malefactors of wealth and power. He wants government to tackle large looming liabilities such as Social Security and Medicare. He wants to free up health insurance by beginning to sever its debilitating connection to employment -- a ruinous accident of history (arising from World War II wage and price controls) that increases the terror of job loss, inhibits labor mobility and saddles American industry with costs that are driving it (see: Detroit) into insolvency. And he supports lower corporate and marginal tax rates to encourage entrepreneurship and job creation.

An eclectic, moderate, generally centrist agenda in a guy almost congenitally given to bipartisanship.

Obama, on the other hand, talks less and less about bipartisanship, his calling card during his earlier messianic stage. He does not need to. If he wins, he will have large Democratic majorities in both houses. And unlike Clinton in 1992, Obama is no centrist.

What will you get?

(1) Card check, meaning the abolition of the secret ballot in the certification of unions in the workplace. Large men will come to your house at night and ask you to sign a card supporting a union. You will sign.

(2) The so-called Fairness Doctrine -- a project of Nancy Pelosi and leading Democratic senators -- a Hugo Chávez-style travesty designed to abolish conservative talk radio.

(3) Judges who go beyond even the constitutional creativity we expect from Democratic appointees. Judges chosen according to Obama's publicly declared criterion: "empathy" for the "poor or African American or gay or disabled or old" -- in a legal system historically predicated on the idea of justice entirely blind to one's station in life.

(4) An unprecedented expansion of government power. Yes, I know. It has already happened. A conservative government has already partially nationalized the mortgage industry, the insurance industry and nine of the largest U.S. banks.

augusta half marathon

2008-10-29T16:48:00.002-04:00

Ok here we go...my first half marathon - the inaugural Augusta Half Marathon.

First, I slept on an air mattress at my parents' house. Bad idea. It deflated in the middle of the night and I got pretty crappy sleep on the floor. Rise & shine at 5 am, out the door around 5:30. We got downtown, picked up my packet and timing chip. The chips were on a velcro ankle band. That thing really hurt me in the end, I have little cuts on my ankle where the velcro rubbed it raw :( I warmed up by running around a couple blocks, stretching etc.

Here I am with Dad stretching before the race:

It was very cold! My fan club had to bundle up:

And we're off! Ryan made sure the first song on my Shuffle was S.O.S from Mamma Mia. Perfect song to start with :)

The race started at the Augusta Common downtown, wound around through Downtown, then started up a long, gradual hill up Central Ave around mile 3 & 4. This hill was really not fun, but I trucked up the whole thing. It was a little sad too, to see this part of Augusta. I wondered what other runners were thinking while running this stretch. Run down buildings, burned down buildings, overgrown lawns...mostly at the bottom of the hill. By the time we got to the top, we were in the more prestigious Summerville area around Augusta State University.

It was around mile 4 or 5 that I heard faintly "purple shorts" - I was wearing purple shorts. Then a man comes up running next to me and I pause the music. His name is Ron and he says "I just wanted to say that you're an inspiration to me. I just keep trying to keep pace with you." Then I say "well we can be running buddies!" So we end up running the next 5 or 6 miles together, and they flew by!! It was an awesome, awesome time. He had some really great stories to tell about his past ultramarathon days, military time, what Augusta used to be like...I just thank God for him. I couldn't believe how fast & easy the race became after Ron started running with me, he was such an encouragement. Had I been by myself, I may have slowed my pace, but Ron challenged me to keep it up! I told him later that he was the real inspiration: 62 years old, with multiple surgeries and a hip replacement. Around mile 10 or 11, Ron had to walk, so we agreed to meet at the finish line. Here's a picture of Ron & I post-race with our medals:

After running through Summerville, the race took us around Lake Olmstead, which I really enjoyed. It was still early morning, and a mist was floating off of the lake. Looked so cool! Then after the lake, it was onto Calhoun Expressway. Ugh. A couple more small hills and the sun shining directly in my face. I closed my eyes a couple times because it was giving me a headache. Yikes. But I finally made it off the expressway, wound another mile or so through downtown and on to the finish line! At this point, there was a small group of us that were running together and encouraging one another. "you got this!" "you're an inspiration!" "keep going!" As I rounded the last corner, "We're All in This Together" came on my Shuffle, and I couldn't have been more energized. I sprinted to the finish line :)

I love this shot, if you could see my face, it would be pure joy:

Medal time!

All in all, it was a great race. Great weather, great fans (yay family!), great company, and really greatly organized, considering it was the first event. I ended up with a chip time of 2:19:22, which I couldn't be happier with. I don't know that I would do it again, but I would if Ron was! Hehe.

getting in touch with my filipino side

2008-10-29T10:48:00.002-04:00

I'm so behind on posts! Too much going on!

So a couple weekends ago, my dad visited and we had some great time eating bbq (Jim & Nick's), watching the Wings Over Marietta airshow at Dobbins (soooo cool), and then checking out Manila Mart and Ranch 99. It was a great time getting in touch with my Filipino side, not to mention it was quite an adventure!

By adventure, I mean treasure hunt. It was extremely hard to find Manila Mart. We later found out that the store is in a transitional time right now and will be opening at its new retail location on Nov. 2. But until then, they are tucked away in a warehouse in a confusing office park. We drove around for 30 minutes trying to find it...my dad called a couple times trying to get directions.

We finally found this sign tape on the back of a van in a parking lot:

Whew! Finally there...we walked up into the warehouse and strolled 1 back to back aisle of dry goods and several freezers with meat products and...ice cream!!! Yummmm.

The frozen items I got were ube (purple yam) ice cream, pork & shrimp lumpia (eggrolls), siopao (pork buns - my filipino grandmother peels them like onions and eats them), and pandesol (dinner rolls). I tried the ube the same day we bought it, and it was very interesting. Not quite what I remember and a little on the salty side. It was still good, and I may have to buy some beans, fresh coconut and shaved ice to make some halo halo with it. A couple nights ago, we steamed the siopao and fried the lumpia. The siopao was very good. I can't believe it was frozen! The bread was so soft and the pork was really juicy and tender. Yum! The lumpia was good, but it just doesn't compare to my dad's. I may try a different meat in the future. I have not yet tried the pandesol. Honestly I forgot I had them because I was so enthralled with the other stuff. I can't wait til they move into their new store, because then they will carry Goldilocks bakery goods. I have only been to Goldilocks a couple times out in LA but oh man, is it tasty!!!

After Manila Mart, we went to Ranch 99. This is a huge Asian supermarket on Buford Highway. My dad LOVES their tamarinds. For $2.99 you get a huge box of them, and he eats them like candy. I'm not a huge fan of them, but he thinks they are a great deal and great quality. He also got some great looking baby bok choy and some other produce I can't remember. But the best part was that everything he bought total was way under $10. You can find some amazing deals here. Just be wary of the meat & seafood dept. I'm sure the food is fresh & good, but I totally freaked out when I saw soft shell turtles for sale to eat. They were still alive, just swimming around in a plastic tub of yucky looking water. Ughhhhhhh :( I will never walk by that case again.

links of the day

2008-10-27T16:28:00.003-04:00

Two interesting political links for ya today:

CaucusAnalysis - this is a website put together by a Hillary supporter, Dr. Lynette Long. She has a master's in math and has been studying the data from the Democratic caucuses. Basically, she has amassed a wealth of information on voter fraud in connection to the Obama camp. Amazing stuff really. If you don't want to pore over the whole site (although I recommend it!), you can get a .pdf summary here. In her own words:

This site represents the fruits of my research. It's a work in progress, obviously, and also a central repository for a vast array of data: articles and blog posts from around the web, personal emails to me, interviews with witnesses, affidavits and testimonials, campaign communications, and videos of the caucuses themselves.

I have elected to make this information public. I hope that it sheds light on the caucus process and inspires reform or total elimination of the caucuses. I also hope it gives pause to those Democrats who believe that Barack Obama is the rightful nominee and that Hillary supporters should just "get over it." I have been a Democrat my entire life, but I will not support the Democratic Party at the cost of democracy.

"Almost Everyone Would Do Better Under the McCain Health Plan" - a great opinion article from the Wall Street Journal on how good McCain's health plan is. I like these words - "highly progressive" - doesn't that sound like change to you?

my first half marathon

2008-10-27T12:43:00.003-04:00

I don't have pictures to upload...yet. But I wanted to do a quick post on my first thoughts of my first half marathon! Yippee! I did it! :)

It was so fun. I know I've been saying that after pretty much every race, but seriously. It was fun. Click here to read a quick recap of the event written by one of my friends from high school.

So appropriately, my first half marathon held a lot of other firsts. This is the first race I've run that started before the sun rose. Yeah. Starting a race in the dark was verrry interesting.

This is also the first race where I've had a running buddy. His name is Ron and he's 62 years old. On top of that, he's had numerous surgeries and a hip replacement! Wow! Amazingly he comes up to me and says that I'm an inspiration and that he's been trying to keep pace with me. After getting to know him, I said "you're definitely the inspiration, not me!" It was GREAT having a running buddy. The miles really flew by after Ron joined me. We didn't finish the race together, but he was right behind me. I really really really wish I had a running buddy for the next half and then Disney next January.

And this race is the first one that any of my family could attend. I had a little tear in my eye after running past them at the start, screaming my name and waving hands in the air. Awww!!! It means so much to me having family there! And then later, coming down the finish line, I kept wondering, where are they?! And there they were, a foot away from the line, cheering me on! Such a great feeling!

And...I got my first medal. I didn't even know you got a medal for finishing. But I've got one! You'll see pictures :)

And my goal was to finish in 2:30 or less...I'm not sure my exact time but it was around 2:19. Yaaaaaay!!

awww man

2008-10-27T10:51:00.001-04:00

Palin was in Tampa yesterday with Elisabeth Hasselbeck. How fun! In less than a week, I'll be in Tampa too...I hope they come back!

are you smarter than a 3rd grader?

2008-10-22T15:12:00.001-04:00

Guest blog from Ryan (Dad I'm still waiting for your pictures & guest blog entry! hehe):

So a friend of mine who is a teacher in Macon told me about an experiment that some of her teacher friends held. The two friends (Teacher A and Teacher B) are 3rd grade teachers in Macon, GA. They teach classes of lower-middle class black children.

Teacher A told her class that they were going to make campaign posters for the candidates of their choice. The children got to choose between McCain and Obama. Every one of the children made an Obama poster.

Teacher B told her class that they were going to make campaign posters for the candidates of their choice. The children got to choose between Candidate A and Candidate B, not knowing who was who. The only thing they found out about the candidates was their policies. The policies were explained in a non-bias manner to the children. They then chose their candidate and made their posters. 50% of the class went with candidate A and the other 50% with candidate B.

The children in Teacher B's class were "polled" before the project. 100% of the third graders indicated they would vote for Obama if they could. After they were told who candidates A and B were, the children kept with their findings, and 50% of the children, who had blindly liked Obama, decided they would vote for McCain if they could.

50%? Doesn't sound like that big of a number does it? That still means 100% of the other class AND 50% of this one would be voting for Obama. Think about it though. If 100% of the Obama supporters in this nation sat down and listened to the issues and policies, and 50% changed their mind, we would have a landslide of an election for McCain.

If only people would think instead of following blindly.