February 3rd: Pepcid, Sleep and lots of coffee

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what doesn't kill me

Yesterday, my stomach was DESTROYED by that half marathon…  I was starving and ate well for breakfast but by that afternoon, I couldn’t even look at food.  I just sat in the fetal position on my aunt’s couch and wished that whatever was bothering my gut would leave by whichever means necessary… but it wouldn’t.  On top of that, I had been awake since 3am and had not taken a nap all day.

This is not the first time this happens.  It seems like all of my recent races have basically put my body into shock and I’m out of commission for the remainder of the day… WHAT THE HELL!!??  I was looking forward to some celebratory cocktails or a juicy steak or something!! Not laying on the couch and turning all shades of green!!

My poor aunt gave me a Pepcid, I got home and I went to sleep a little after 7:30pm.  I slept all the way until 6am this morning and STILL felt that I needed a gigantic mug of coffee to wake up.  Why am I so masochistic?  Why do i participate in these things if they mess me up this bad?…  ’cause I’m not gonna die from a tummy ache but running it was pretty awesome  🙂

I’m going to start researching why my body is behaving this way.  I’ve read after just a brief search that it could be due to dehydration.  Considering how hot it was yesterday, that could be the key.  More info to come…

February 2nd: Miami Half Marathon

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ing 1

The alarm went off at 3am and we were out the door by 3:50am as planned.  We had an hour drive, a crazy search for parking and quite a wait to start (25,000 participants meant it took Georgette and I 28 minutes to just cross the STARTING line).

This is my third time participating in the Miami Marathon and Half Marathon Event.  It was the first half marathon I ever ran in 2008 and the first (and only) full marathon I ever ran in 2010.  Now that I’ve run a few races, (this one was my 12th half marathon) I have concluded that I don’t like big events.  Unless you are an elite runner and have qualified to start from one of the front corrals, its just no fun… You spend more time running sideways to get around people than you do forward to pass people.  Even if you just want to participate in the race for fun and not for time, like Georgette and I did at the Disney Princess Half Marathon last year, you’ll get really frustrated with the insane amount of people that will keep you from even hitting your stride.  (Side note:  Disney races are really, really fun but only for those who plan on walking part of it and don’t care about their time.  All of them are very crowded and many of the participants are not actually runners but people who just want to check something off their bucket list while wearing a ridiculous tutu.  I freely admit to having done the Princess Half in a tutu so…. check)

The race today was not as crowded as the Princess Half but, it certainly was nothing like the under 2,000 participant races I’ve been getting used to doing.  Its no excuse for not having made my time goal, though.  I clocked in at 2:10:20 (fooey) but thats ok.  I had fun, spent some quality time with some quality people and got to run through some of my old stomping grounds.

February 1st: Sister Time in SoBe

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run expo

Today, I am grateful that I get to spend time with my little sister, Georgette.  She has come down for the weekend so that we can run the Miami Half Marathon together this Sunday!

Today, we went through the grueling task of driving to Miami Beach and circling around Lincoln Road for an hour until we found an available parking spot near the Miami Beach Convention Center.  We needed to pick up our packets for the race which included our bib numbers/ timing strips and race shirts… The plan was to have lunch there afterwards but the crowds and craziness made us loose interest at the whole thought of sticking around any longer than we had to.

Showers, pjs and bowls of pasta on the couch were much more to our taste this afternoon, so that’s what we did.  Nothin’ better than watching tv in bed with your little sis like the good old days when you used to share a bed… nothing worse than knowing you have a 3am wake up call the next day.

Miami Half Marathon, here we come!

January 31st: Time well spent

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time spent

Today I took my first salsa dancing class with a friend!  We laughed, we got confused, we took turns trading dance partners with elderly couples (Its the middle of winter in South Florida… What ELSE are the snow birds supposed to do to occupy their time?) and we learned a few things.

All in all, it was a pretty fun adventure. I’ll admit, I’ve been so crazy with outings and events that I haven’t been consistent about writing in my blog but, who has time to stare at a screen when they’re busy living life?…

 

January 30th: Living in the Moment

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be free

 

Its taken me 32 years to figure this out… Better late than never 🙂

January 29th: Kindness Quilt Panic part 2

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Today, I am once again grateful for my mother who is a SAINT for putting up with my crazy ideas.  Although I told her this afternoon that I wouldn’t need her help in finishing the quilt, my poor mom called me around 8:30 to see how it was going… Around 8:35 she was back at my house in her PJs on her knees stretching out my quilt and pinning it together with the batting and back panel.

After over an hour of trying to figure out WHY it wasn’t coming together right (the batting kept bunching) we decided to change the game-plan.  I folded over and sewed in the edge of the front panel to make it look nice and neat, then put ribbons on the top to make it easy to hang and omitted the batting and back panel all together… it IS for decorative purposes any how.  No one will be using it to cuddle on the couch with so, why should it have batting? 😉  Plus, it turned out gorgeous!

We took turns getting frustrated with one another, we both yelled at Max for insisting on using the quilt as his doggie bed on more than one occasion, we problem solved together and we laughed hysterically at how ridiculously more complicated we had made a few steps (K.I.S.S.)  All in all, a pretty awesome time.

Check out these photos:

January 28th: Kindness Quilt Panic part 1

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Yesterday, I was grateful for my mother for coming over to save the day after a minor mishap with my STUPID sewing machine.  She came over in her pjs and (after some eye rolling) helped me fix it and (almost) finish the front panel of the Kindness Quilt I’m making for my students in honor of Kindness month…

Here’s what it looked like yesterday:

quilt being finished

January 27th: Making a Difference

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positive-thinking-quotes

 

My Dad used to tell me when I was growing up that “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

I became a therapist and counselor in order to help others.  I want to make a difference in people’s lives.  Like most helping professionals, however, I question whether or not I am making an impact on others.  In jobs like these, you won’t be acknowledged for your hard work very frequently.  Not many will come back and tell you what kind of an impact you’ve made or give you an update on how well they’re doing.

This morning, however, I was greeted by two little boys that I see for small group counseling. They both ran to me and gave me hugs and told me how much they missed me after a few weeks of not meeting due to standardized testing and winter break.  So much affection from such sweet little faces!… How could I not overflow with pride that maybe I am making a positive impact on their lives?

In the afternoon, I sat with a middle schooler who is in danger of not passing the 8th grade. After spending some time helping him organize his backpack and giving him a pep talk, he told me this:  “I know you’ve got a lot of kids to worry about and I’m not your only priority but, if you see me slipping with my grades again could you let me know?”  Then, pointing to the gator embroidered on his backpack, he said “My dream is to go to the University of Florida and I’m smart, I don’t want you to think I’m not.”  My response was simple: “I know you’re smart.  And the fact that you’re telling me this MAKES you my priority… I’ll over look the fact that I’m a ‘Cane and will support you wanting to be a Gator.” 😉

Whether he thinks he can or thinks he can’t, he’s right… Whether I think I can make a difference or I think I can’t, I’m right too.

January 26th: Nature

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Or this gorgeous sunset :)

After being stuck in a window-less office 5 days a week, I actually look forward to waking up early weekend mornings for my runs.  Not for the exercise, but just to spend some time outdoors, breathing in fresh air, getting some vitamin D from the sun and enjoying the feel and smells of everything.

This Sunday, I spent the ENTIRE day outdoors and had a blast.  A friend and I hiked 6+ miles through Estero State Park on Florida’s western coast then enjoyed a lovely sunset on Sanibel Island.  Shameful to say but, I’ve lived in Florida almost my entire life and had never been to this location only 2 hours away from my home!  It was lovely and I got to see so many fun and interesting things.  Enjoying it with a kind soul is always a bonus 🙂

Check out just a few of the sites:

Why even “normal” guys online are un-dateable: Part 2

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Short-man-illustration-Ju-001

 

Category #2:  He’s VERY, VERY, VERY short… (like, shorter than YOU short)

Let me begin by stating that I am 5’4” and weight just under 120 lbs.  I am neither tall, exceptionally muscular or big-boned.  I’m just your average woman who’s actually kinda on the shorter side.   Generally speaking, as long as I have to glance up towards a gentleman that’s good enough for me.

Let me also inform those of you who have never on-line dated that men lie on their on-line dating profiles about almost everything.  What they lie about most of all, however, is their height (and their income, but we’ll save that topic for another article).  You can say that a man is, on average, a good 2” shorter in real life than what he claims on his dating profile.   That being said, when I reviewed the profile of a young podiatrist who had “liked” one of my profile pictures on the site a few months ago, I saw that he had described himself as being 5’6”.  I thought to myself, “Wow! Someone who is actually telling the truth about his height!”  So I “liked” one of his photos back.   After a few phone conversations, we decided to meet up for dinner.

When I walked into the restaurant, he was already seated at the bar and waved to me… He didn’t have to stand up for me to realize that he was a liar just like the rest of them and my 2” shorter rule applied to him as well…. Except maybe in his case it was 4”.  After sharing my experience with some of my girlfriends, here’s what I have learned about the female reaction to male height:

  1. In the words of one of my friends: “Small hands, small everything girl.”  Huh, good to know…
  2. It doesn’t feel right when you can see the top of your date’s head every time you wear heels (Just ask Nicole Kidman or Katie Holmes.)
  3. It is difficult for a woman to maintain her weight… but knowing that if you gain so much as 5 lbs you’ll weigh more than the guy you’re dating is a damn good motivator.
  4. Some of us women, in the most primitive parts of our mind, just equate Male=Protector.  If you’re the physically imposing one, who’s protecting who, exactly?
  5. Yes, we women are shallow and stupid… but no more shallow and stupid than men are with their fixations on our physical appearance.