First Marathon!

I've got my first marathon coming up on Saturday, the Triple Lakes Trail Race in Greensboro! It will be a training run for me, and I'm feeling a combination of excitement and nervousness over the experience! Most of the time I feel like I'm going to nail the distance, but sometimes I think, "What if....?"

I'm trying not to get bogged down in the doubts, so I'm busy getting grocery shopping and errands done (after work) before Saturday, so I can take it easy for the rest of the weekend. I'll be getting to sleep early the next few nights, to boot. (I haven't done a good job of that so far this week! Yikes!)

I haven't written much about my marathon training here, since I have a running blog at Going the Extra Mile. My race report will show up there, probably some time next week.

Busy End to Summer

It's hard to believe it's the end of the last weekend of summer! Wow! Life has been busy, mostly with marathon training, smattered with a couple of recent road races. We also celebrated George's grandfather's 95th birthday in August, which included dinner at the Angus Barn (very nice!).

Running this summer, especially training for the marathon, has taught me a lot about myself. I recently completed a 20 miler, and while my body was wiped out, it was a nice feeling of accomplishment. I'm still pretty slow, so I've been working on speeding up, with some results. It's also been good mental training for "long haul" stuff, as it's been tempting sometimes to quit and make it s shorter run.

I've been trying to read more this summer, though I've discovered recently that I have to take a break from books about running! Thinking about running, training, sleep and nutrition, it's on my mind almost constantly, so I need my reading to be a diversion, something to give my brain a break! Once I have fall racing behind me, one of the books I hope to read is Born to Run.

Speaking of reading, just last week I rediscovered the website Bookcrossing.com, a way to recycle used books and follow a book's travels around the country or the globe. I have so many paperback books at home that I haven't read, so this should be motivation to read them and start "releasing" them! I've already ordered my first batch of bookplates and sticky notes from the BookCrossing store (though it's not necessary to do so), and am looking forward to getting going again with this little project. My BookCrossing profile is here.

Between marathon training, reading, and life in general, I haven't been watching much television this summer, and most of the time, I don't miss it! I'd be surprised if I've watched a total of two hours of TV all summer! Hard to believe. :) Of course, I've spent more time on the computer, some of it doing research on running, genealogy, and other things.

I'm looking forward to fall, for sure. Happy First Day of Fall on Tuesday!

Wiped Out

I have so much to catch up on here, including a weekend with the widest range of activities and emotions I've had in a while! Tonight, though, I feel too exhausted to do it all justice here. For now, I'm going to close down the computer, turn off the apartment lights, and join George (who's already crashed for the night!) in bed. Tomorrow's a new day.

Sweet dreams!

Fun Way to Improve Time Management!

George and I had a small get-together Saturday night, a few friends over to play board games. It was pretty amazing how much we got done around the apartment, between getting things clean, buying groceries and cooking snacks, and taking care of other things (like cleaning the carpet with a machine from the grocery store and replacing burned out lightbulbs), knowing people were coming over. A lot of that we got done after our 10-mile long run Saturday morning! We were pretty exhausted yesterday, but loved recuperating in a clean apartment, with the post-party "glow" of having friends over. We've decided we'd like to have more get-togethers, and hope to have another one next month.

Okay, I Watched It!

I finally saw the movie "Twilight" over the weekend. George and I watched a loaner DVD of the movie together. George hasn't read any of the Twilight books, and he didn't like the movie AT ALL! I've read Twilight and Full Moon, and had mixed feelings about the movie.

Things I Liked About the Movie:
*The greenery was very pretty! I loved the lushness of the forests, and it was fun to recognize Multnomah Falls, which I visited many moons ago.
*Speaking of the set/scenery, I thought the Cullen' house was pretty neat, with all the glass.
*Bella whines much less in the movie than she does in the movie. (Uh, thank goodness!) She also seems less clumsy in the movie.
*I thought the casting was interesting.
*The movie was a Reader's Digest version of the book, with some scenes, issues, and the whining all condensed. Big plus in my book. I thought Twilight (the book) could've ended much sooner than it did.

Things I Didn't like About the Movie:
*It still came across as very "high schooly," especially the dialog. Okay, I KNOW the characters are in high school, but some of the dialog was cheesy, even for high school.
*Edward comes across as pretty darn smug, rather than aloof, to me. Same as the book.
*The movie seemed pretty low-budget for such a highly popular book series.
*Bella's character would come across better if she didn't have to come across as clumsy at all, I think. The times she did stumble in the movie seemed a bit forced. ("Oh, that's right, my character is supposed to be a klutz!") If I didn't know her character was clumsy in the book, I would've thought they'd forgotten to do some editing.
*I don't think the movie really explained Edward's showing up in Bella's room while she slept. Just happened. Still creepy to me, not romantic.

Overall, I'm glad I saw it as a cultural reference, but....*sigh* it didn't make me any more of a Twilight fan. I keep coming back to my feeling of relief over the fact that it took me less time to watch the movie than it did for me to read the book. Like Harry Potter, I'm glad the young adult audience has found another series of thick books to sink their teeth into, but it's been a challenge for this fortysomething to follow suit here.

The Week That Was

Today I went to the TRLN Annual Meeting that I mentioned in last Friday's post, and really enjoyed it! The keynote speaker talked about digital projects; afterward I chose a breakout session that featured two speakers: one who talked more about the future of digital projects in the university setting, and the other who talked about Green IT, or the environmental and university impact of going green with library/campus IT. Both presentations were full of interesting information, BUT the first presenter read a lot from his Power Point presentation. The second presenter did a lot of well organized ad libbing, mostly because he had more colorful images as examples in his Power Point presentation. (Note to self--remember this!)

After the break out session, we went to the yummy buffet lunch, and heard Karla Holloway, a Duke professor and author, speak. She gave a witty talk about her book, which was about reading and how reading has affected people, including writers and blacks. Interesting.

Earlier this week, I gave the book New Moon away to a coworker who'd just finished reading Twilight. I saw her today at the TRLN meeting, and she handed me her Netflix copy of the movie, "Twilight," to watch! Okay, I didn't much like the book, but I continue to be curious about the whole phenomenon, so I'm looking forward to watching the movie! (Thanks, TC!)

Okay, I Caved!

I just pre-ordered the paperback copy of Stephanie Meyer's Eclipse, the third book in the Twilight Series, with mixed feelings. I finished Twilight earlier this month, and didn't like it much at all! I finished New Moon over the weekend (I'd already bought it, so I decided to go ahead and read it), and liked it a little better. Now I'm hoping the series will continue to warm up for me. For those of you following the Twilight Series, it looks like I'm in the Team Jacob camp so far.

I continue to be curious about the hold this series has on people. Teenage Bella seems to be at her worst when she's with Edward, vampire extraordinaire: klutzy, whiny, clingly, and dependent. Edward's family seems to accept all of this, and they remind her of her own awkward self at different times throughout the first two books. When Bella befriended Jacob (who turns into a werewolf in New Moon), she became more self-confident and adventurous. That's why I liked New Moon better--Bella became a much more interesting and well-rounded character.

I'm such a horder of books I want to read, that I am beginning to get a little overwhelmed by all the unread possibilities on my bookshelves at home, not to mention my Amazon.com Wishlist and my to-read list on Goodreads.com (there is some duplication between the two lists, but not totally). While many of the books I have at home are personal copies, many are library books (both university and public). I recently decided to start weeding books out a bit, so that I can focus on what I really want to read for a while, and make my home office a more comfortable place to read, write, and relax in the evenings. Recently, I took a few personal books I didn't want to keep to work to share with my colleagues, with the promise that I didn't expect (or even want) to see them again. This afternoon, I returned a bunch of books to the public library that I'd either finished or decided I could read later on down the road. While my bookshelves are still double-stacked when possible, and now-smaller stacks of books still abound elsewhere, my home office is looking more airy, relaxing, and productive. I feel like I have a little more focus.

Meanwhile, I have a total of seven (SEVEN?!) books in various stages of ordering and shipping at Amazon, so I'm hoping to finish up some other books at home before they arrive! Three of those books are released for shipment in August, and another won't arrive until late October, so I'm hopeful that I can make some progress between now and then. Three of the seven will arrive this week, though. I'd better stop writing and go read for a while! :)

No Doesn't Always Mean No

This morning, I realized I'd missed the deadline for signing up for the TRLN Annual Meeting next week. A coworker had asked if I were going, in hopes that we could hang out together. :) I remembered that I'd emailed my boss, asking her if I could attend, and I never heard from her. I was a little bummed with myself that I hadn't followed up with her in time to make the registration deadline. I enjoyed this meeting last year, and had been looking forward to it again. I thought I was out for the count.

I sighed over it for a bit, and vowed to follow up better next year. Then I decided I wasn't ready to give up for this year! I found a contact person on the TRLN website, and asked her if it were possible to at least attend the morning sessions, if not the lunch. As luck would have it, I heard back from her almost immediately saying she could get me in, and that I needed to respond with my breakout session preference, and if I wanted to stay for lunch! Yessss!

So then I tracked down my boss, who said, "Uh, sure! I assumed people would just sign up if they wanted to go!" (This particular meeting is free of charge, and in a nearby city, but it is time offsite and different from the normal work routine, eventhough it is work-related.)

I emailed the TRLN contact back gleefully, happy with myself that I hadn't given up so easily. It's a minor victory, but a nice way to end the work week.

Happy Weekend, all!

Kitchen Fun

One of my goals for this year is to do more cooking, so I decided to try a new recipe from the cookbook 366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans, and Grains. I bought this cookbook in the spring of 2008, and I think this is the first recipe I've tried from it! I decided on the "Brown Rice and Lentils" recipe on p. 329, went to the grocery store, and came back with several goodies!

For starters, I didn't have a large skillet with a matching top! I was also missing the spices cumin and coriander in my spice rack, and I also picked up lentils, fresh cilantro, and fresh scallions.

Here, I sauteed the fresh carrot and small onion (in the first picture) in olive oil, and added the cumin and coriander. Yummy smell already at this point!

Here, I added the uncooked brown rice and lentils, and sauteed a little more. I added four cups of water, put the lid on and brought it to a boil. Then it simmered for 40 minutes.

The scallion and cilantro got mixed in at the end, and the whole enchilada had to sit under a paper towel for five minutes.







And voila! It tastes really good, and the recipe made several servings! Can't wait to have it for lunch this coming week!

125 Days and Counting!

I just checked the website for the Outer Banks Marathon, and it's only 125 days (plus some hours and seconds) away! Wowee! I'm both excited and nervous about it, to be honest. I'm excited because it'll be my first marathon, but I'm nervous because I've been kinda struggling with the long runs lately. I must be patient, and continue to prepare for it. Well rounded training includes good nutrition, hydration, and sleep, as well as exercise.

Happy New Year!

Today marks the end of the fiscal year at work, and I'm relieved and glad that things went really well. As with many "new year" transitions, it's made me pensive about things at work, and my life in general. What do I want to accomplish in the next year? 5 years? 10 years? I'm glad for the chance to think about these things in the middle of the calendar year, even if some of the decisions and challenges are tough.

I'm looking forward to taking the rest of the year, I mean WEEK, off, to power down, catch up on some housework, reading, and genealogy, and probably do some goal planning.

100 Day Challenge for Better Health

I'm now on Day 9 of the 100 Day Challenge I started for myself to work on healthy habits. I was inspired a bit by the book 100 Days of Weight Loss: The Secret to Being Successful on Any Diet Plan, a book I'm reading through in chunks. I decided not to follow the book, day by day, because I want to develop all-around good habits. Of course, I want to lose weight along the way too! :) The book has some pretty good ideas, but I'm glad I borrowed it from the library.

So, I'm tracking the following things, with the goal of doing them daily:

1) Weigh in
2) Take a multivitamin
3) Drink 64 oz of water
4) Sleep
5) Floss

I'm recording my weight, as well as hours of sleep, no matter what the numbers are. I've also got a comments section, where I put things like "ate at ____ Restaurant last night" or "meeting after work," in hopes that I can see patterns over time that will help me be healthier.

One of the motivators in this is that I'm training for my first marathon, and being ready means doing all I can to be healthier. The exercise is easy for me to do, and I'm already recording that in a paper log, as well as several online exercise logs. (Wierd, but there's a reason! The paper log goes with me to the gym. The various online exercise logs have different features I like a lot, whether it's tracking shoes, neat graphs, or social networking. I haven't been able to give up one of them yet!)

So far, I have a perfect score in every column for the first 8 days. I'm still working on going across the board for today. Things I've learned so far:

1) Something close to 7 hours of sleep is optimal for me, but I'm not good about getting it.
2) It's easier for me to drink more water during the work week.
3) Flossing any time of day is good. If I floss in the morning, sometimes I floss again at night. All the better, right? I think my dentist and dental hygienist will be pleased, come August, if I keep that up. I've gotten the flossing lecture during my last two visits to the dental hygienist. I haven't had a cavity in ages, but I don't want to tooth ache to interfere with my marathon training!

I'm keeping track of this on a spreadsheet, which I uploaded to Google Docs, so I can add to it wherever I am. I numbered Days 1-100 down the lefthand side, and have the five goals in column headers across the top, along with a comments column.

So far, so good.

Top facts about the name Lesley Looper

I googled my name recently, and came upon the site isthisyour.name. It's pretty amusing. I also learned that my "power animal" is the Satin Peruvian Guinea Pig, and my numerology number is 6 (which means I'm responsible, careful, and compassionate). Also, acccording to the US Census Bureau, 0.023% of US residents have the first name 'Lesley' and 0.0017% have the surname 'Looper'. The US has around 300 million residents, so we guesstimate there are 1 Americans who go by the name 'Lesley Looper'.

There's actually one other "Lesley Looper," and we're related (don't remember how, now), but have never met.

Did you know that Lesley Looper is...

1. Well envoweled
2. Yelsel Repool backwards
3. Esleylay Ooperlay in Pig Latin
4. 01001100 01100101 01110011 01101100 01100101 01111001 00100000 01001100 01101111 01101111 01110000 01100101 01110010 in binary code?

See more at www.IsThisYour.Name

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Fun with Picture Books!

I've been on a reading kick of late, and my current obsession is children's picture books! I'm finding them to be very relaxing and soothing, sometimes funny, sometimes thoughtful. Some of the books have been pictures only, but most have had stories as well. Some of the books I've reread, as they were favorites when I taught school, but some I've enjoyed for the first time. Now, I'm on a kick to read all of the Caldecott Medal winners. It'll take me a little while longer, as I can only put 30 books at a time on hold at the public library, and I'm currently at my quota (again!). The staff must "love" me, but if circulation stats mean anything, perhaps I'm helping there! :>

Some favorite illustrators I'm enjoying revisiting are David Wiesner, Steven Kellogg, Tomie dePaola, Chris van Allsburg, and Uri Shulevitz.

I write reviews, however short, for a lot of the books I read, on book-tracking website Goodreads.com. Check out my profile here, and feel free to "friend" me visiting the website. I enjoy checking out what others read, and have gotten many good ideas. Once I finish the Caldecott winners, I'll think about what reading goal to tackle next. Any ideas? :)

Memorial Day Trip to Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area

This afternoon, George and I packed a lunch at drive one county over to Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area, in Hillsborough, North Carolina. We had a nice lunch on one of the picnic tables at the bottom of the trails, which was very pleasant. Then we headed up the trail to the summit.









The trail is through a pretty, wooded area.














This is one of the overlooks.














Near the summit













This tower was at the top of Occoneechee Mountain. Not very scenic from the bottom of the top, but this towers are kinda fascinating to me, up close anyway.

It was a nice, relaxing way to spend an afternoon. The hike we took was not terribly long or strenuous, a good thing because it was very humid this afternoon!

You CAN Buy Imagination

Earlier today, I ordered this poster from allposters.com for my cubicle at work. I decided to have them laminate it as well. My cubicle walls are still pretty drab, though I've been in my new workspace for nearly 10 months! Can't wait to hang this poster up!

Okay, I Did It Again

No, I'm not about to break into the Britney Spears song by a similar title! I did just register for the local Galloway training program, though! Evenhough I'm still working on the IT Band Syndrome in my right leg, and am hardly running at all at the moment, I'm still doing crosstraining and stretching like crazy. I'm missing running like crazy too, and have been exercising with my bottom lip sticking out this week. I think this is just what I need to start getting out of my funk! The people in the Raleigh Galloway group are friendly, helpful and really encouraging, so the timing of the training season kick-off this coming Saturday couldn't be better for me! I start physical therapy a week from today, and am thinking about getting a sports/deep tissue massage for my leg. (Any recommendations for Triangle massage therapists?!)

Thanks to Katy and the Pink Pacers!

Katy, a fellow Junior Leaguer, and her "Pink Pacer" teammates recently did the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Washington, DC. Before they left for DC, Katy put a shout out on Facebook, inviting her FB friends to post the names of people we wanted her to walk in honor or memory of. My mom, LaNelle Looper, is a breast cancer survivor, so I posted her name for Katy. After the walk was over, Katy posted cute pictures on Facebook, including a picture of the backpack she carried with her on the Avon Walk. In the middle column, above the pink part, is my mom's name! Thanks, Katy!!

Read more about Katy's Pink Pacers Team here. (You can even donate!)

Monday Picker-Upper

I just got the link to this YouTube video from a Duke classmate on Twitter. (Sounds very Web 2.0, doesn't it?!) I expecially enjoyed it because "The Sound of Music"has been one of my favorite movies for ages! Enjoy!

Bucket List: The Grand Canyon

Recently, I had the opportunity to talk about my pipe dream for retirement, which included trips to at least four international locations I haven't been to yet (Machu Picchu, the Pyramids in Egypt, the Great Wall of China, the Eiffle Tower).

After a recent trip by George's first cousin to the Grand Canyon, I decided I want to add some "local" destinations to my bucket list as well. I'm sure there's little surprise that the Grand Canyon is high on my list.

Yesterday, I started a savings account for this trip. (ING Direct, an online bank, allows for any number of accounts, which you can name. Transferring money from my main brick-and-mortar account will be easy, technically speaking, anyway! One dollar at a time, right?



I don't have a timeframe yet; it'll depend on when the money is saved, and when both George and I can go. Meanwhile, I'll enjoy researching the activities, lodging, and other possibilities. I'd love suggestions!





Meanwhile, these are free images of Grand Canyon from the National Park Service website! Inspiration!