Monday, October 29, 2012

Let's recap

So. 

As you may recall, this was the week I had planned to be on the east coast. 

I was supposed to fly in to DC on Friday, celebrate my birthday on Saturday.  Yesterday I was supposed to run the Marine Corps Marathon.   Then I was going to see all the things in our nation's capitol, including tour the White House (for which I had to apply for approval six months in advance).  On Thursday I was going to head to Pennsylvania, spend a couple of days with friends there.  On up to New York for a couple more days, then out to New England. 

If you want a visual representation of my itinerary, just follow the path OF THE FREAKING HURRICANE.

Yeah.  Suddenly not so sad that I deferred MCM to next year.

Flights are delayed or cancelled outright.  Federal offices in DC are closed, at least for today.  Mass transit in DC and NYC is shut down.  Amtrak cancelled its service on the east coast.  The Staten Island Ferry isn't running.

As a long distance runner I'm in to challenges.  But this is ridiculous.

Sending good vibes to all of my east coast friends.  Stay safe!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Clearly Alzheimer's is setting in early...

I was reading a blog post today where the author mentioned what fabulous calf sleeves her friend had.  And suddenly my mind flashed back to where I had bought these fabulous arm sleeves at the Portland Marathon expo the week before last.

And that I had no idea what I'd done with them after that.

I immediately texted one of my expo partners in crime, Kim, to convey my patheticness.  Patheticism?  Anyhow, my sad, sorry ass.  Thankfully, as I was telling her I remembered pulling the jacket I'd bought at the expo out of my bag and then putting the bag on the floor for the kittehs to destroy, I had another flash to just where I may have put those arm sleeves. 

Except that I'm pretty sure that they're not there now.  So the question has become, where did the cats put those arm sleeves?  They love to steal my wrist gaiters too -- only one though.  I don't know why. 

Anyhow, I don't think I ever told the story of the arm sleeves at the expo, because clearly I had completely forgotten even buying them.  And since I have nothing else better to write today....

Back when I went to the Spokane Bloomsday Expo, I had seen a pair of arm sleeves I really wanted at a booth fairly close to the entrance.  But then the expo was sooo crowded, primarily with amateurs (i.e., people who have zero clue about races, race etiquette, etc.) and my mood was increasingly black as a consequence (plus I'd driven six hours to get there) that I completely forgot about going back for those arm sleeves.  When I remembered, I tried and tried to figure out which vendor had had them, but couldn't.  I've looked for them at other expos but still no luck. 

Flash forward to the Portland expo.  I was busy chatting with Kim about various and sundry that I almost didn't even spot them.  There they were!  Same booth -- I remembered the vendor as soon as I saw her sign.  If you like cool sleeves and other accessories, check out Wahine Sport.  And here is the grey dragons fabric my arm sleeves are made out of -- mine stop at the wrist, she told me, so they're not quite the same style as shown here (the gloves) but the fabric is identical.  So cool! 

I still don't even know if they'll fit me.  The woman at the booth (I think the owner) asked me if I wanted to try them on and laughed when I immediately said "Don't care!  My arms are huge, if the XL is too small I don't care!"  If they do fit, I may just order the glove ones too, as I really like my wrist gaiters.

When I can find them.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Thirteen Things Thursday: The Big Carrot Edition

1.  I've been thinking about motivation for losing weight.  Being present in every moment so that you remember why you really don't want to eat a half pound double hamburger with bacon, cheese, more bacon, and more cheese can be tough even in the best of circumstances.  Throw in things like, oh I don't know, LIFE, and it can be impossible.  So I decided to devise of a list of carrots for myself, to help inspire me to stick to a reasonable and healthy eating plan as well as to slow up my personal spending.

2.  For the first five pounds lost, I get a pedicure.  I desperately need one, and thankfully I see my toes several times in a day to remind me of this fact.  I have three pounds to go before I can deck my toeses out with roses.

Disclaimer:  Not me.

3.  For the next five pounds, I'm going to get a facial.  I have rosacea and a local spa has a fabulous facial geared towards this condition.  I had one maybe two years ago and it was the best facial I think I've ever had. 

4.  At 15 pounds lost, it's dinner at my favorite sushi place.  The goal is to not eat there at all until then.

I don't order quite this much... but it's close.

5.  Twenty pounds gone gets me a hot stone massage from cutie pie Kyle, my masseur.  I'm looking forward to this.

6.  In the middle here I had a hard time thinking of things.  For 25 pounds lost, I'm tentatively going to do a spa day.  One place has a four and a half hour treatment that gets you a Sweet Jasmine Wrap, a one-hour massage, a facial, a rejuvenating eye treatment, a silky smooth lip treatment, a spa meal (last time I had chicken salad), and you get to take one of their cool spa robes home.  That one is kind of pricey though. 

7.  After 30 pounds is a new watch for daily wear.  I have my Garmin of course and I have a nice dress watch, but the Timex Ironman watch I wear every day is looking very sad.  That's not helped by the fact that it's one of my cat's favorite toys.  Last night it got tossed into a sink full of water, and I've found it in my bed, on the bedroom floor, and on the living room floor; I'm waiting for the day it winds up in the litter box.  In my mind's eye I want a silver watch with a dark blue face that isn't digital and shows the date. 

Something like this.  And it's only $25!
 

8.  Thirty-five pounds is tentatively a new iPod and possibly taking my car in so that I can access the iPod jack that is already on my existing car stereo.  I want to play the tunes or audiobooks off the iPod in the car. 

9.  At 40 pounds, it's definitely these ivory earrings I saw in a shop in Sisters over the summer.  They were polar bears hanging from the ear wire, and if memory serves they were made out of fossilized ivory.  I really really really wanted them.  When I lose 40 pounds, I'm going to get them.

10.  At forty-five pounds it's tentatively either a leather jacket or Frye boots.  I've always wanted Frye boots.

My friend had an oh so soft leather jacket a lot like this one that I loved...


11.  Coming towards the end!  For 50 pounds lost, I think it may be time to get that third tattoo...

12.  And last but not least, for reaching my goal of 55 pounds lost a trip to either the Oregon Coast or Victoria, B.C. is in order. 

13.  How do you reward yourself?  I'd love to hear.
 
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl


Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Tuesday is the best day!

I was born on a Tuesday, you know...

Had a great and busy weekend.  The Little Fruit Fly and her Man Friend (who I have now re-dubbed Dr. Suess) came to town to run the Portland Marathon, their very first.  And with a marathon, comes an expo! 

Early Saturday morning we loaded up the car, picked up Kim, and headed downtown to pick up race packets and hopefully free stuff.  Sadly, there wasn't much to be had.  The first guy we stopped at didn't even want to give us an empty plastic bag (no marathon backpacks this year, hmmm).  I guess the Rock 'n Roll expo has ruined me forever for expos.  But we had fun wandering around, chatting, mocking people (and ourselves).  We swung by Red Robin so I could score my free birthday burger and then it was back to the west side to drop off Kim and head south to Corvallis.

Saturday afternoon my Washington State Cougars were playing Fly's Oregon State Beavers, and my boss had generously given me his sweet club seats just a nudge to the right of the 50 yard line.  Regrettably, the game was frequently like the Three Stooges Play Football.  I swear there were three successive interceptions on three successive plays.  My favorite was when we snapped the ball off the running back's ass as he ran by the center to his assignment.  Really?  We actually did way better than we should have. 


Sunday was the marathon!  We all had very little sleep as we hadn't gotten home until 11:00 the night before.  We were out the door by six and headed downtown once again.  Where it seemed that everybody else had realized that Fifth was the way to go.  There wasn't any good place to pull over so I got as close as I could and with the next stoplight they were off.  And so was I.  To go back to bed.  I was back downtown by 12:30 and took up a post in the shade just past the last water stop at mile 26.  I got to cheer on my friend Donna, who had just lost her mom and was running with an angel on her shoulder in memoriam.  I chatted for quite a while with an extremely attractive young man who had finished in about five hours and was waiting for his friend to finish.  He was extremely attractive and very personable and the time went by quickly; we talked for nearly an hour before he decided to head further down the course to look for his friend and stretch his legs.  A few minutes later, Fly and Dr. Suess (I know you're cringing when you read this Kim!) were headed my way.  They crossed the finish line, we picked up bags, got brunch, and went back to my place where they went down for a nap and I sacked out on the couch with my kittens watching Columbo.  As we said our goodbyes later that evening, it was unanimous that we needed to plan a weekend with no running and no races. 

How was your weekend?

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Perhaps if you scooped out my insides like a pumpkin and started from scratch...

Yesterday I had my Nutritional Response Testing (NRT) with my acupuncturist, Jeremy.  You can go here for a pretty good description of what it is.  Basically Jeremy had me hold various things or he brought various things close to me while pushing against my outstretched arm, which I was supposed to match his force (i.e., push against him).  The various things were either little vials of potential irritants or bottles of remedies.  I understand how it works but I didn't look too closely at all the labels lest I taint the testing.  If I even could, I don't know. 

Anyhow, for example, Jeremy said I was indicating problems in my mouth and jaw and testing positive for heavy metals poisoning with titanium.  Now, I have a permanent porcelain and metal bridge in my mouth.  I don't remember exactly what kind of metal, but titanium is a typical component in dental implants.  The mercury in dental fillings could be a problem for somebody else.  It's like that.

In addition to the mouth/heavy metals issue, I was told I have sensitivities to wheat and dairy.  Except for swiss cheese, apparently it's made with a different protein.  Which is good because (a) I'm not sure I could give up all cheese completely and (b) swiss is my preferred daily-wear kind of cheese.  So, yay.  I also tested positive for problems with my bowel, my adrenals, my pancreas, my kidneys, and my liver.  At least my heart is just fine and dandy?

I'm not really getting anywhere trying to fix what's broke with conventional medicine so I went home with four bottles of supplements.  The price was decent, not all that much more than I spend on my regular meds, and three of the four should last six weeks (unless the dosage changes) with the fourth lasting a month.   One is supposed to increase the acidity in my stomach, which in turn should help me digest my food better and decrease my acid reflux.  As in, my stomach is not producing the right kind of acidic balance so it needs a lot of more of it, which in turn can back up the pipes. 

Is all this malarkey or what?  I was introduced to the chiropractic/whole body ideal at a very young age, around 16.  I don't like the "let's throw a pill at it" mentality.  I've posted before about my PCOS, about how it took 12 years (from age 12) to finally get a doctor that listened to me about what was going on and then diagnosed it.  And while I know that losing weight would help in many areas, I've still got that wacky thing going on as I said where I can train for and run a marathon yet not lose any weight, still have high blood pressure, and my triglycerides doubled.  I was having high blood pressure issues even 30 to 40 lbs ago.  Something else is going on.

I have noticed three things so far since starting the supplements last night.  First, my stomach has calmed down.  Often I feel like there is alien baby in there, squirming around and blowing bubbles while occasionally lighting a blowtorch.  Last night and today, my tummy is suspiciously quiet.  Second, my saliva seems different.  It's not something I pay attention to on a regular basis so it's a little hard to describe, but I guess I'd say that normally I have a lot of spit in there.  Now my mouth feels not dry, but just like there is less.  The third thing involves my poo habits and I'll spare you that, but let's just say that maybe alien baby is on its way out and that that is an interesting process.

Anyone else going the homeopathic route?  I see Jeremy again next week and need to ask about what the treatment forecast is, both for the supplements and the acupuncture.  The idea, I think, is to get better, at which point I don't need to do this any more or else maybe I'd just need an oil check and perhaps a tune up every few months.  I'm willing to shell out some money up front for the benefits to come later.  I'd just like to be able to budget for it.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Monday, October 1, 2012

Are you ready for 31 days of awesome?!?!?!

It.  Is.  October.

My favorite month of the year!

I love everything about October.

I love fall.  I love the changing of the leaves from green -- it's so fucking green here -- to yellow and red and orange.  I love that the days start to get cooler.  Not freezing, just cooler.  Those amazing fall days where the sky is that perfect blue and it's just cool enough to maybe need long sleeves during the day.  The smell of wood smoke in the air.  The chance to light a fire to create the wood smoke that smells so good.

I love Halloween.  I love the decorations, both fun and scary.  I love the sentiment behind Halloween.  We should not fear the dead.  We should celebrate them.

And last, but certainly not least, I love that my birthday is in October.

In honor of October, I've started on a get-my-ass-in-gear campaign.  Not my physical ass but my mental one.  I'm sick of being sick.  And draggy.  And foggy.

First up, I went to the chiropractor last week and resolved a lot of the physical triggers that were causing my headaches.  The muscles are still tight, but most of the bones are where they are supposed to be when they are at home.

Next, I finally scheduled an appointment for acupuncture.  My list of complaints was long.  It was sad.  And probably whiny.  I'm doing some nutritional testing through them tomorrow, but right now my acupuncturist -- a cutie pie named Jeremy -- said that I have a confused nervous system.  I was unsuccessful in googling that, but I understand what he means.  Like how I can train for and run a marathon yet not lose any weight, still have sky high blood pressure, and my triglycerides double.  Basically, my body isn't reacting to internal and external triggers like it should.  Like, pollen.  Or what have you.

Acupuncture was interesting.  With the needles, it felt like if you press on your skin with a needle, not like if you poke through.  There were some weird nerve sensations that quickly went away.  Taking them out was actually a little more uncomfortable than putting them in.  So far, I've noticed a huge improvement in my breathing, in that my sinuses don't feel all swollen and puffy like, you know, every other single second of the past few years.  I go back for another session in another week or so.

Then I also got a massage on Saturday and joined my local Massage Envy.  I'm fairly aware of what massages cost, and this at $49.99 (no sales tax in Oregon!) for an hour massage each month is to me a good buy.  Plus additional hour massages are only $39.99.  I had a great massage -- with a cutie pie named Kyle, who was 25 if he was a day -- and I go back in two weeks, then probably monthly thereafter, depending on my finances.  I carry so much of my tension in my shoulders, which in turn causes headaches.  It would be nice to beat that down a bit.

Oh, almost forgot -- Jeremy is an advocate of paleo.  Yay!  I assured him that I most definitely was familiar with paleo.  We talked a lot about wheat sensitivity, etc.  It's baby steps but I am working my way back towards meat/veg/fruit.  I even bought lettuce this week!

Now I just have to eat the damn stuff.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl