4. 15 friends from Facebook (some virtual cleaning :P )

5. 2 citronella candles that were left out over the winter.

6. Rocky's camouflaged dog jacket (we live in a house with a yard. if it is THAT cold out that he requires a jacket, he shouldn't be out)

7. The old blue curtains from our kitchen

8. Old cell phone (taking it to ATT to recycle)

9. My old jewelry box, which has been sitting next to the *empty* new one since February

Throw out 50 Things

So in honor of the book, "Throw Out Fifty Things", I've dedicated the rest of the month to actually trying to accomplish this....

1. Old hair clippers of Sammy's that don't even work.

2. An old alarm clock that we have that doesn't work.

3. Three dictionaries from school, I thought I could save them by bringing them home, but they have made their way into the recycling bin.

welcome to my living room.

Recently (ok yesterday), Sammy said he wanted to see my blog. Now it wasn’t necessarily something that I was HIDING from him, but I didn’t run wanting to show him what I had written in it. Why? It’s not something that’s necessarily private. I guess as I continue to write more, it is my hope that eventually I find inspiration for pieces of writing from what I share here. To me, my thought process is actually somewhat private and I have only chosen to share it with choice people, even though my blog is sometimes open to the public, I assume that people I know don’t actually read it. Sometimes you feel so safe behind the screen, but really, anything you publish on the Internet equates to inviting strangers into your living room…the thought of that is strikingly odd…

My F key

Back in June or July (maybe August?) I was having a lovely iChat conversation with Matt. At some point in the conversation, I realized that I wanted to show him something. I put down my computer and coffee on the floor, and proceeded to get up and KICK the coffee onto my computer. She shut down right away and I was worried that I lost her for good. After some blowdrying and a few day's rest, she was back in working order...well, except for my F key. I can type a lowercase "f", but when I try to hold down the shift key for an uppercase "F", nothing comes out. My shift key works with every other key except for the dang F. "So how," you ask, "do you type a capital F?" Well, it takes a lot of skill. Before I hit the key, I hit the caps lock, then the F, then the caps lock again. At first, it was a lot of work, but now, I complete this task with ease. So much so, in fact, that I actually do this on other computers (i.e. Sammy's and work). So when they say "Old habits die hard," don't believe them. You can change, it is just a matter of will/necessity.

So according to Hannah, my blog died. Well, here you go; it's back, although I'm not feeling 100% inspired right now, it's better than nothing, right?

I'm on spring break right now, been up to pretty much nothing. My mom and sister were up on they College Tour '09 trip. They did Ferris, Northern and Lake State, but they spent 4 days up here. It was great having them around for a while. My mom even cleaned my stove!

bricks

I only had to run 3 miles yesterday. which you think would be a piece of cake. Well, with the previous day's hill workout combined with 20 minutes on the trainer yesterday morning, my legs felt like bricks! 20 minutes doesn't sound like a big deal, but it was pretty much the first time my butt has been on a bike since October, and also I pushed it pretty hard in the middle of the ride. I'm debating whether or not to hop on again, but I have a tempo run this afternoon so I think I'm going to not risk having brick legs again...

overwhelmed...

So on my way home from the library and a run earlier this evening, Sammy called me and asked me to pick up some broccoli and some chips. I stopped at Econo, and even though Farmer Q's opened yesterday, we NEEDED some fruit and stuff for our lunches. I meandered through the produce section and loaded up a basket, topping it off with a giant mango lemonade to keep in my car for the next couple of days (I love living in the cold). I needed to walk through the grocery section to get to the checkout. I think I randomly walked down the cookie/cracker aisle. Now, normally, I don't shop at Econo, normally I go to SuperOne, which is quite a bit cheaper. The shelves at Econo are much taller, a regular sized person cannot see over them. As I walked down the aisle with my produce laden basket, I literally stopped and gave the shelves a good once over. I couldn't even count the number of products I saw! All of them in vivid, color packaging, calling out for me to buy them! I was overwhelmed by everything that I saw. Then I stopped looking and thought, "How many different, lab made chemicals are in these boxes?" Now, don't get me wrong. I am NOT an organic eating hippy, however, I am very concerned about what I put into my body.

I jump started my brain and made my way down the rest of the aisle, but I felt pretty proud of what I had in my basket. I also was greatful for the nutrition education that I have had through running, friends in excercise science, and friends who have chosen to educate themselves. I have been fortunate enough to also learn for myself and tie all of those opinions and my own reasearch into my beliefs. But what about those who are not as fortunate as me? I can't imagine not eating healthy, but rather, eating the foods from that aisle on a daily basis. The thought of that is overwhelming....

the good stuff

Remember running the Ridge Street hill in track when it was Taco Tuesday and almost every week, I would loose my tacos at the top of the hill? I took myself back to those days today. Dry pavement, the smell of Sara Lee, Burger King, and McDonald's all mingled together into one glorious, motivating aroma. This time, however, the motivation was not in the form of a food reward at the end. This time, the smell reminded me of how I got to this place. Food had become my vice and I finally have been able to break free. Now that I am free again, I need to remind myself of how lucky I am have come away with a better understanding of myself and what it takes to be truly happy.

Here's to hills...and Sara Lee, Burger King and McDonald's...may they continue to push me until Memorial Day.