A Busy Sunday

I've had a really busy Sunday, but I'm so thankful for it! I'm feeling tired, but satisfied!

First of all, I was the Worship Associate today at ERUUF. This is my second year in the Worship Associate program, and I've really enjoyed it. The service was about secrets, inspired by Frank Warren's PostSecret art project and books. I met with the minister last weekend to start talking about today's service, and wrote a 2-page "reflection" about my personal observations about secrets, to present during both services 9:15 and 11:15). For the reading today, Rev. Southworth and I alternated reading several secrets from the PostSecret books (there are four out right now). It was a nice service, I thought, and I got some good feedback. (After the 11:15 service, I got to catch up with a friend I met while I was on the Rice Diet, which was a real treat!)

My sister, Lisa, and her family are in town, as daughter Emily is on Spring Break, and they're doing the college tour. (Emily has interviews at Duke tomorrow and Wednesday.) So Lisa, as well as Mom and Dad, came to the 11:15 service at ERUUF to hear me do my thing (though they stayed for the whole service!).

Afterward, we all (the churchgoers plus brother-in-law Craig, Emily, Laura (Emily's big sister and a Duke sophomore), and George, met at Watt's Grocery for brunch. I'd been there once before, lunch with a co-worker during the week, but never for a weekend brunch. I had an omelet with asparagus, caramelized onions, goat cheese, and spinach. This may well be the best omelet I've ever had! I kid you not! Awesome!

Once we'd finished eating, Dad and Craig headed out, but the rest of us stuck around to coach and encourage Emily on her upcoming interviews. Time just flew, as we had a lively conversation in the quiet of the restaurant, which had cleared out by the time we looked up! The staff was very patient and let us stay on, not even interrupting us with the offer of drink refills. We were too engrossed in the conversation to care or notice!

George and I got home around 5:00, give or take a little, and I'd been going since 6 AM, when I got up to get ready for a 30-minute workout (shorter than usual, but my leg is still healing, so that was fine), then get ready for two rounds of church services.

George needed to run some errands, so after we got home, he headed out again. I decided to stay home and soak in the solitude. Being an introvert by nature, today was a bit draining, to be honest. I loved doing the church services today, and lunch and the ensuing conversation were stimulating and fun, but I felt drained on the way home.

So, I read for a while, but got restless, so I got on the computer for a while, and was drawn to my genealogy research again. I get a lot of satisfaction out of working on my family tree, though it's a hobby that fades in and out, depending on other time commitments. That's one of the great things about genealogy, I can put it aside and pick it up again easily. I've been working a lot on my McLamb line of late, and the past few days, I've been putting a little more time on it. (Okay, "more" is relative here, since I've been busy getting ready for today's worship services as well.) A little while ago, I printed out a "book" of all my McLamb relatives. (I do this periodically to have all the information I have on a given line in RTF format, and to see what needs editing or correcting.) The information, with sources listed, for my McLamb line comes to over 1200 pages! And I'm not even done entering the information I have on the McLambs! This really excites me! (I'm grinning as I type!) I'm not the type of amateur genealogist who prefers quantity over quality, by any means. This is not a contest. It's just exciting to see the fruits of many years of research, and know that there's still work to be done! I love putting the pieces of the puzzle together, doing research and verifying information, meeting and communicating with relatives. Part of what inspires me is that I'd love to organize a family reunion for the McLamb line someday, and the more (and accurate) family tree information I have, the better.

George has come home since I've been typing, and I've just noticed it's heading toward 10:00! I'm still "hung over" from today's experiences, so I think it's time to turn off the computer and head for bed a little earlier than normal. (Maybe it's too late for that!)

I just love a day when I have quality time with people and quality time alone! Today was one of the best.

March Madness

Well, I've injured myself again, for the second March in a row, and I'm not happy with myself! Why? Because I think I did it to myself with overtraining. Best I can tell from online research, I've done a number on my right hip flexor. *sigh* And I have a half marathon scheduled for Saturday. It looks like I'll be taking it easy. But, in the big scheme of things, I'd rather take it easy now than miss training for the Outer Banks Marathon, which is still 7+ months away.

Meanwhile, Duke is playing in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Basketball Tournament tonight. Tip-off is at 9:57 PM EDT, which is exactly my bedtime! ;-) Good luck, Blue Devils!

2009 Reading Goals

Well, I hit my first reading goal of the year this past week, hitting the 52-book mark! I decided back in January that I wanted to read at least one book a week, but I finished my 53rd book today. What does that tell me?

First, I've read some short books! We're talking a little poetry, a handful of photography books, which I love! Another thing I've noticed is that I'm watching less television and reading more, which is a good change of habit. Yay!

Now, I'm wondering if I can hit my secondary goal of 100 books for the year. It's possible, but isn't a must-do. I hope to continue to read more poetry and explore art and photography books, but I'd also like to tackle some longer fiction and non-fiction books as well. I'm still enjoying the book tracking website Goodreads.com, and am getting some interesting book ideas there. Seeing others' reading lists (including some friends and co-workers) on Goodreads has reminded me how fascinating it is to broaden my horizons through the things I read.

I Did It!

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night, and couldn't go back to sleep. Part of what was on my mind, was trying to decide between running a half marathon and a full marathon, and using it as a fundraier for the Ronald McDonald House of Durham. The fundraiser thing I knew I wanted to do, despite the economic woes in our area and across the country and world. (Children still get sick enough to need hospital care, and their families still need a place to stay!)

I decided that since my church did a gutsy thing this past Sunday by giving out envelopes to everyone in the congregation with cash to return to the community, that I could do something gutsy with the money I received ($20). I'd definitely decided to put it toward my fundraising goal, but when I couldn't get back to sleep about 2:00 this morning, I decided that shooting for the marathon was what I need to do. I just need to do it. So, I got up, fired up the laptop, and registered for the Outer Banks Marathon on November 8! Half marathons are a fun--and still challenging distance for me, but I decided I needed to stretch myself and shoot for the marathon distance. At this point, my stomach has butterflies, but it's a goal I need to put into motion now.

I signed up for an account with FirstGiving.com, and it was really easy to set up a fundraising page for my marathon-running, Ronald McDonald House compaign. My goal is to raise $500! I hope I can do it in these tough economic times. Check the page out here to stay posted.

If any readers have run the OBX Marathon, or can recommend a hotel, I'd love to hear from you!

The Local Running Community

Yesterday, I ran the Run for the Oaks 5K (in downtown Raleigh) in the rain! (Check out the race report here, if interested.) My performance was a bit disappointing, but the thing I took away from the race was that the online running community is alive and well in the Triangle! No kidding, I met three different online friends yesterday who saw and recognized me first, then I recognized them too. All three are from a combination of Facebook, Twitter, and/or running bloggers I follow. What fun! I also had someone comment on my race report that he was the guy who finished just in front of me in the red jacket, and asked if I was the one in the Duke t-shirt. (Yep!) I tried catching the red jacket guy for the last chunk of the race, but couldn't pull it off!

While this could border on creepy stalking, so far the online community has been a great way to follow each other through training and races in the area, and getting to see pictures of each other helps a lot!

Wearing the Duke t-shirt garnered a couple of comments, but it helped that it was ACC Basketball Tournament weekend!

Meanwhile, the new Raleigh Galloway training season is starting in a couple of months, and I'm planning to sign up again. I've discovererd that I like running alone, but the Saturday group runs offer extra motivation, good running tips, and a sense of in-person community that I miss when I'm running alone. I've enjoyed following some of the Raleigh Gallowayers on Facebook in the off-season.

Work Meets Running

I'm running in the Run for the Oaks 5K tomorrow morning, and they have a corporate team competition. I stepped out on a limb and solicited other interested runners at the library. Now, three of us are going to brave the rain tomorrow morning in Raleigh! I'm excited! The rain will be a bit of an adventure, or at least a good story to tell later.

Last night I went to the Athlete's Foot at Cameron Village to pick up my race packet. The man behind the table made a comment that he recognized my name, that I must run a few races around here! :) I didn't mentioned that I'm a back-of-the-packer. TMI.

I picked up a new pair of running shoes while I was at the store, but I'll save them for after the rain.

Another Snow Day!

I've delighted in having a snow day today, one that was called by

work, so I've enjoyed puttering at home and going to the gym a little later. It's been a good "mental health" day for me, especially after battling the cold last week, and being concerned about some issues going on at church.

I'd been wanting to take pictures, but had a dead battery pack in my new (Christmas present) digital camera. I went online to check into buying a new battery pack, and something made me find the original box, which had a battery recharger--yay! So here are some pictures from behing our apartment this morning.

Another Biggest Loser Grrr Moment

The "Biggest Loser" contestant, Dane, who got voted off of last week's show, was taped "at home" completing a marathon with his wife in under four hours, impressive for anyone in my book, much less a first time marathoner! Well, it's been revealed since the airing of the show that they didn't actually run the whole marathon, but were picked up like three miles back and brought closer to the finish line to be taped running across the line and past the clock! Gosh, what a loser thing to do! I think I read it had something to do with needing to finish taping his marathon "journey," but that's not what he ended up running after being PICKED UP! They should've called it what it was, 23 miles of a marathon, instead of leading the viewers to believe he'd completed the whole thing. It's just another frustration to add to this past week's episode. Grrr!

Update: I read another online post about this issue and learned that something was wrong with the finish clock's lightbulbs, and Dane's finishing time was actually 5:53 instead of 3:53, and with a 6-hour time limit on the marathon course, the field producer wanted to tape Dane and family crossing the finish line while the (malfunctioning) clock was still up and running. Uh, so? Read more here.

Losing Weight, Gaining Perspective

George and I watched the show, "The Biggest Loser," tonight. First, we watched what we'd taped from last night, and followed it with tonight's part 2. We agree that it's probably our favorite season yet, but I'm still starting to wiggle a bit about watching it. It some respects, it inspires me to see people successful at losing weight. I also enjoy watching some of the workouts for ideas of things to do in the gym.

On the other hand, the contestants are taking time off from work, family, and extracurricular responsibilities to exercise several hours a day and be around others 24/7 who have the same goals. And they're dissappointed with weight losses of 5 lbs. or less in a week! I was also ticked this week because the teams got shifted this week, and a lot of air time was given to trainer Bob and his team getting really emotional about it all, when they were STILL on the show, STILL getting to work out with a trainer and each other, with the same medical and nutritional supervision. Golly, where's the perspective?! It just got on my nerves a little tonight! Maybe I'm not enjoying the show as much as I used to.

Another Race Under My Belt

I've posted my race report for today's Coach Bubba 20K on my other blog! Check it out here. Afterward, George and I had a yummy lunch at the Mellow Mushroom. It had been ages since I'd had pizza, so it was fun to have the treat AND sit down for a while!

Happy President's Day

Although not an official holiday at Duke, I decided to take it as a vacation day. George was off, so I decided it would be a good day to take off as well. We've spent some time together, but we've also had some alone time; both have been refreshing.

I've gotten some reading and genealogy done since this morning's gym workout. I'm also trying to get my main Yahoo inbox down to zero, one of the Lifehacker tips I've been hearing about and finally decided to work on. My main Yahoo inbox currently has over 5000 emails in it, but I've moved or deleted about 200 emails already, and have worked my way back to November.. It's going to take me a while, I know, but I'm not giving up yet.

Dinner at the Ronald McDonald House

This evening, I joined several other Junior League members at the Ronald McDonald House of Durham for our Extra Hands event, a short community service project that everyone in our Junior League chapter is required to do at some point throughout the year. This was my turn.

We had assignments to bring a crockpot of chili or baked potatoes to cook there. While the potatoes were cooking, the night manager showed us a short video about Durham's Ronald McDonald House, and afterward took us on a tour. I was so impressed, yet saddened to hear how many families they have to turn away every year. They're trying to raise $15 million to build a new facility in Durham that will be three times the size (much needed) of the current house, but the economic troubles of the nation have hit the Ronald McDonald House's fundraising efforts as well. This has really made an impression on me, because children just don't stop being sick with serious conditions that require hospitalization, and in some cases, longer term treatment.

After the tour, we joined the families in the dining room for dinner. Jenny and I sat with a little boy named Michael and his mother from Florida. I don't know what the boy's condition was (we enjoyed talking about other things--basketball, the weather), but after supper I saw him again with a face mask on. Another tug on the heart strings.

I wonder how I could help them. One thing I'm thinking about is using one of my races as a fundraiser, setting up an account through Firstgiving. Hmmm. I'll have to give some more thought to my big fall race this year.

Time Flies!

I've been much more aware of time lately, and it quickly it's going. At work, there are less than 5 months left in the fiscal year, so my group is starting to gear up for that.

On the running end of things, I can now say that my next big race, the Coach Bubba 20K, is next week, though it's a week and a half away, on Feb. 21. I'm not sure if I'm ready, but I'm going to go out and just do it! I have a good running base now, I think, and although I haven't run that distance since my half marathon, I've been close several times.

I continue to enjoy reading more these days, and wish I had more time for that. Sleep, work, time with George, and at least an hour of exercise every day. These things take time too. Who knew?!

Small World

This afternoon, I attended the retirement party of a coworker in the library. She'd worked her for 31 years, which amazes me! She was a hard worker and a dear lady, and I'll miss her. We worked in different departments and buildings, so I didn't see her everyday, but I always enjoyed talking to her.

I got to meet one of her sisters today, and that was a surprise as well as a highlight! This sister of the retiree is a nurse in Chapel Hill. As it happens, my father was referred to a physician in Chapel Hill, and this lady is one of several nurses who work for that doctor. She happened to be the one who helped my dad that day, so she met my mom as well. Well, my parents are very outgoing, and my mom is especially good at making connections with people, so it wasn't long before they all realized that the nurse's sister and I both worked for the same library, but in different departments! When Mom and Dad related this to me, they talked about how professional and nice this nurse was, and what good care she provided! I loved relating these good words about her sister to Onie the next day at work, and today I got to meet that nurse in person! It was a treat to thank her personally for taking such good care of my dad. :)

Close to Home

The current economic awfulness is hitting closer and closer to home! Of course, it's already home, with food costs, gas prices--which are a bit better now, and other increases along the way. Now I'm learning of more and more people getting layed off from their jobs, people I know. That's making it all a lot more real for me. It's scary, to be sure. I am hopeful, though. I usully feel optimistic when a new administration starts. It'll be interesting to see how things go. Meanwhile, I hope job hunts go well, especially for the folks I know.

Last Sunday, George and I took a day trip to Emerald Isle, to see the new beach home of my sister and her husband. It's a beautiful home, which will be used as a rental property! I was so impressed by it! I took lots of pictures, but now the pictures won't export from my digital camera memory card to my laptop, and I'm not sure why. I've tried inserting the card several times (it'll only fit in one way), and tried restarting my computer and inserting the memory card again. No luck yet! Any advice would be appreciated! I hope to post pictures soon. It turned out to be a wonderful family gathering!

Snow Day!

I woke up to snow this morning! It's so pretty, and really refreshing to see.

I made it to the gym this morning to get my workout in, and it was fairly deserted. It reminded me of the Frozen 5K I ran on Saturday, when the temps were in the teens. Deteremined people there, both times.




George has decided to take a snow day, but I'm going to try to make it in. Part of me would love to stay home and watch Obama's Inauguration, but they're going to have it on there anyway. I'll catch bits and pieces. Work calls.

Wish me luck on the roads!

Addicted to Books

Last evening, after work, I went to another used bookstore, Nice Price Books on Broad St. in Durham. I've gotten several recommendations for it recently, including a couple of shout outs in the North Carolina group on Goodreads.com. (I'd posted a discussion on the boards there, asking people about their favorite NC bookstores, and Nice Price Books came up a few times.) So, I had to go and check it out.

I enjoyed the browsing experience there, and managed to walk away with just one book, a light mystery, this time. I went to two other used bookstores just this past weekend, Edward McKay's and the Readers Corner, both in Raleigh, and came away with eight books between the two stores.

You'd think I didn't have anything to read at home, huh?! Well, I happen to have plenty, so I don't know WHY I'm shopping for more books! Yikes!

Over the holidays, I decided to sign up for Amazon Prime, which offers free 2-day shipping for most items for an annual fee. Well, I did a ton of holiday shopping using that, and then I started ordering presents for myself! (Perhaps vacation meant a little too much free time on my hands!)

I did come to my senses a little bit, though, and decided to check the local public library to see if they had some of the titles on my growing Amazon Wishlist. I was in luck, and decided I'd start borrowing some books from the public library rather then buying everything I want to read! I got overzealous, though, and have ended up with a stack of library books with due dates! Ha! Nothing like a deadline to make me read, though, right? What I don't get to soon, I'll renew or turn back in. The most interesting ones will rise to the surface, and the rest can wait or just go back to the library.

MEANWHILE, I also have a slew of books from the library where I work, all of which came through my department and looked so interesting I decided to check them out too! They have a due date of the end of the year (unless they get recalled by another patron, or have a 4-week "New and Noteworthy" status). I have so many great books to read, and so little time! What's a girl to do?

Motivation

Last night, George and I finally watched the season premiere of "The Biggest Loser," which we taped last Tuesday night. We decided during last season of "The Biggest Loser" (which ended just a few weeks ago, actually) that committing two hours to television on a weekday night was a bit much for us, so we started taping the new season and saving it for weekend viewing. We were rather dismayed by the last season, thanks to a particular contestant and her conniving tactics to win the game (which she didn't), so I wasn't as excited about the new season as I'd been for previous seasons--and neither was George.

Well, the episode we watched last night, which introduced the newest contestants, was interesting! Not only do they have the heaviest female, the heaviest person (a man) on the show this go-around, they also have the oldest contestants this season, a married couple who are grandparents! There was an unexpected twist to the show, announced at the weigh-in. Every couple, except for the challenge winners and the weigh-in winners (two different couples), had to send one person in each couples team home! The other part of this interesting twist is that each person who got sent home will be able to return to the show in 30 days IF the other half of their couples team is still part of the show (hasn't been sent home from the game after a weekly weigh-in).

I think this is a fascinating and good turn of events for the show, and shoule serve as a great motivator for the contestants still playing the game! Wow!

I've been looking for some weight loss motivation of my own lately, which is part of why last night's "The Biggest Loser" episode really spoke to me. I've recently bought a couple of books on that very topic, and will be starting them soon. More later!

10 on Tuesday: 10 Things I Want to Do in 2009

It's been a while since I've done one of the "10 on Tuesday" memes. This seems like a good one to do.

1) Run another half marathon.
2) Read more books.
3) Travel to more counties in North Carolina for my "North Carolina Odyssey Project" to visit and blog about all 100 counties in NC.
4) Run 1000 miles.
5) Take more pictures.
6) Watch less TV.
7) Cook at least 10 new recipes.
8) Research martial arts and decide which one, if any, I'd like to learn.
9) Take a yoga class.
10) Lose more weight.

Back to Work Tomorrow

It's back to work tomorrow, after a nice break. I didn't get everything on my to-do list done, but I made progress. I must admit, I am looking forward to returning to a routine. It's time.

Besides, I'm looking forward to catching up with my coworkers! It seems like it's been a while since I've seen the whole group. These days, I feel fortunate to have a job, and to have one that I like, with co-workers I enjoy.....

Bring Monday on! :)