Tuesday, July 29, 2008

New Discoveries

In an effort to help my aching muscles, I picked up a bottle of Kiss My Face "Active Athletic" Shower Gel at a grocery store in Cary (the Lowe's Foods at the corner of High House and Cary Parkway)last week. Now, I just happened upon this product--I wasn't looking for it, but I'd just finished a run at Bond Park, and it looked like it would really hit the spot! I've used it several times, and while I'm not sure how much it's helping my muscles, which have been in continuous soreness since Saturday, but I love the smell of eucalyptus and mint! It makes for a great hot bath!

The photo is from the Kiss My Face webstore.



I found a wonderful cereal recently at Sam's Club in Durham, of all places! It's Kashi's Cinnamon Harverst, which is similar to Spoon Size Shredded Wheat, but with no sodium and a sweet cinnamon flavor. And Sam's Club being what it is, I was able to get a BIG box! Inside are two sealed bags, so you can eat from just one half of the box at a time. This morning I had some with blackberries, and it was yummy! I'm not a milk drinker, so sometimes I just eat this cereal as a snack right out of the box. (The picture is from the Kashi website.)

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Back from Vacation

George and I had a really nice weekend in the Winston-Salem area! I enjoyed seeing several former co-workers at the Professional Center Library at Wake Forest (plus lunch with several of them at Coppola's), lots of hiking at Pilot Mountain State Park, an interesting tour of Old Salem, and lunch with cousin Lisa in Greensboro on the way home. George and I took lots of pictures, and I look forward to posting some of them, along with some commentary soon.

We did all of that on less than a tank of gas, and I lost three pounds, to boot! :)

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Small World

Tonight was a long one--but a good one!

I finally left work around 7, after getting a second wind and getting a lot done. When I got to the car, I realized that I'd left my iPod back at my desk, AND that one of my tires was going flat! Yikes! I drove carefully and slowly to the back of the library, and was able to retrieve my iPod. Then I called Southpoint Honda, who said they could fit me in, but it might take a couple of hours. Eeekk! One my way to the Honda dealership, I stopped at Sam's Club, as I remembered they sell tires, so I thought they might check mine out and maybe fix it. But the bay doors were closed at Sam's Club, so I drove around to the discount tire place across the parking lot, but they were closed as well. I headed on to Southpoint Honda, and made myself at home in the lounge.

About an hour and a half later, I learned that they couldn't find a leak anywhere, so they just put some air in the tire and sent me on my way. It was a little frustrating spending an hour and a half AFTER work at the car dealership, but I feel like they did a thorough job of trying to find a leak, AND they didn't charge me anything. It felt like a small town gesture.

I left the dealership at 9:30 tonight, and decided to stop by the grocery store. Inside, I passed a lady and we stopped and looked at each other. We pointed at each other in a "Where do I know you?" sort of way. We laughed and started trading work places, schools, etc. We just couldn't think of it, so we went on to separate sections of the store. It finally hit me in the soft drink aisle that I knew her from my days as a Mary Kay Consultant! I raced back over, saw her over by the red grapes, and said, "Mary Kay!" She lit up, and we had a really nice time catching up! We talked until we realized it was 10 PM and probably closing time. It turns out she shops at that grocery store often, so perhaps we'll run into each other again. I hope so!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

By My Bed....

Although I don't NEED another running book at home, I decided I really wanted to check this book, The Nonrunner's Marathon Guide for Women: Get Off Your Butt and On With Your Training, out for a little extra motivation. I'm about 30 pages into it, and while I generally like the author's writing style so far, I must say that the title doesn't really jive with that mindset I'm working on. I AM a runner, even if I'm not a very fast one. I LIKE running, always have (though I was away from it for a number of years).

Should I call myself a runner or a jogger? Does the term depend on how fast you run? Whether or not you've run in a race? What do you think?

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Getting Roadtrip Ready

On Tuesday's daytrip to Merhcants Millpond State Park, I noticed a big sign (hard to miss) about ticks, which included not only a picture, but tips for avoiding them. I made me think about what I would do if I found a tick on me while I was still on the road. I didn't have any tweezers, not to mention a full-fledged first aid kit, with me in the car! I started thinking about what I should have on hand in the car for future trips, whether daytrips for the NC Odyssey Project or longer trips/vacations. Here's a list I've started:

First-aid kit
Bug Spray
Change of clothes
Flashlight and extra batteries
Current American Automoble Association (AAA) card
Medium-sized cooler and ice packs
Umbrella
Spare key(s)
Spare cash ($20?) tucked away in car
Jumper Cables
Notebook and pen
Blanket
Car charger for cell phone
Spare trash bag(s)
GPS for car (don't have one built in--any recommendations?)
Sunglasses

Okay, so this is what I've come up with so far. Can you think of anything to add to the list? What items have come in handy for you while on the road? Is there anything you've wished you had while on the road?

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Visit to Merchants Millpond State Park

Yesterday I continued my quest to visit all 100 counties in North Carolina by seeking out and finding Merchants Millpond State Park, which happens to be in Gates County. I'd been wanting to visit this state park for years, so it was exciting to finally visit and walk around for a bit. to the left is one of my favorite pictures of the day's journey. The green stuff at the bottom of the trees isn't grass.....



I drove through Halifax County on my way to Gates County, but didn't cross it off my list of counties. I only stopped long enough to take this picture, in Garysburg. I'll be back to Halifax County.
I'll post more about my visits to Nash, Northampton, Gates, and Hertford Counties (including pictures) soon on my North Carolina Odyssey Project blog. Stay tuned!