John Wayne is a wuss!

Does anyone else feel that all John Wayne movies are the same? Mr. Wayne always bosses people around, throws in a good quip here and there, and eventually triumphs over evil. Sometimes he messes people up, other times he bullies his subordinates into doing so for him.

Jeremy's dad believes that John Wayne hung the moon and can't understand why a "yankee" like myself cannot come to appreciate The Duke's awesomeness and the cinematic genius (his words, not mine) of the movies in which he acted. I once told Mr. Dad that I thought Mr. Wayne was a wuss. I once almost got disowned from the in-laws.

Anyways, I bring this up because we are watching the end of The Searchers. Jeremy wants me to watch the whole movie, but I feel I can get the gist by the last 30 minutes. I made my case and he agreed. Is it possible he is a closet Duke hater as well?

That's How We Bowl!

We are in a bowling league. We cut and pasted some friends from kickball and thus a team was born. Unlike our performance in kickball, our bowling team is actually pretty good. Up until last night we were undefeated.

We played a team named The Ninjas and they are really good. Even our best game can't beat their worst. What really hurts is that we're in second place. BOO!

This is a really boring post, so bye!

Ice Age?

Every winter, there is at least one mention of a wintry mix. What the weathermen predict involves a giant block of ice--don't leave your house or you could die!

Tonight happens to be such a night. Keep in mind I haven't had access to the weather all day, so this could all be in my mind. It makes me daydream of a fully iced-in city where I don't have to go to work. My street would be un-drivable and therefore I would be able to ride down the steep hill by my house on a cookie sheet without any fear of imminent death. I would wear the ski clothes I own for the second time and make snowangels and laugh and giggle until it was time to have hot chocolate (the only thing in my pantry at the moment) with peppermint schnapps and play cards with Jeremy all day long.

I'm sorry, was I rambling?

I hope you stay warm.

1/2 Marathon Epic

A week ago, I was in sunny Phoenix where the temperature lingered around 80 degrees. This morning, I ran in the blustery 37ish mark. What a difference!

The 1/2 marathon was an amazing experience. It was hot and hard--at the time I hated life. The night before the race, we went to a dinner that had an inspirational speaker who had us rolling on the floor in laughter. In his closing remarks, he mentioned that the best feeling of the race is when you know that you are going to finish. Well, even as I crossed the finish line (the ACTUAL finish, not the fake finish that they don't tell you is fake but put it there for photo ops. Bastards!) I never felt that feeling. The only thought running through my head at the end was that I needed to find the med tent so I could ice my knees which started really hurting at about mile .5. While running the 13.1 miles, I cursed a lot, sometimes in my head and sometimes out loud. I kept asking myself why I got into this stupid running hobby. I kept telling myself that I would never run again.

30 minutes after the finish, it started to dawn on me that I had accomplished my goal. Maybe not as well as I had originally wanted to, but finished none the less and it felt good. The more the days pass from the race, the more fond of it I become. I made sure to study the race map after so I wouldn't forget a single moment.

I think the best part of the whole thing is the honor I had of my cheering section. My cousin's wife made the most beautiful signs and my group of 11 or so cheered the loudest of any other group I saw. It was touching and amazing to see people whom I love share in my hard work (they had just as good a time being spectators too!) I am horrible about sharing pics online, so you can check out my folks' blog for some if you care.

So, what's next, you ask? The Austin 1/2 marathon in February. I'd like to think that I'll retire my running shoes after that, as my body is clearly not made for long distance races, but I seriously doubt it.

Thanks to everyone for putting up with me over the past six months and supporting me when I thought it was not possible! You may be able to toast to jog-free blog, but I cannot guarantee that.

In-awe-guration

Hey everybody! We're back! Before I even consider telling you about the 1/2 marathon, I must first tell you about my first day back to work:


I walked into work at about 11am (CST). The restaurant was full of people who had requested to watch the inauguration ceremony (we even had the sound of the TV's on). I swear for the duration of his speech you could hear a pin drop in the restaurant. No one was speaking, just kind of tranced toward the television. The phone didn't ring, time just stood still. The minute Obama said, "God Bless America," everything went back to business as usual. Just like that. I guess no matter your political alliance, it is nice to see a president who can orate, not wait and cross one's fingers that he won't say something absolutely stupid.

What's Up!

As if apparent tendonitis in my right foot was not enough, I now have been diagnosed with an IT Band strain. I am sports therapy for this condition. Less therapy than torture. As my race is now 10 days away, I am forced to visit the doctor nearly every day before I leave. They poke and prod me and get upset with me if I am not screaming in pain. It makes me grouchy and I can't tell whether or not it is working.

The grouchiness became actually a good thing the other day when I went to Target, which is now once again quiet and enjoyable. I have a problem of overspending there, especially on many, many impulse buys. But the other day, I had 4 things on my list and left with 6 items. The two extra items were forgotten from my list and definitely needed. I consider that a great victory and was quite proud of myself. I was too grouchy to buy what I would usually consider cute things.

Anyways, as I mentioned, I am 10 days out from my race. I am a nervous wreck and quite honestly freaking out. Hopefully I'll get to calm down and enjoy my stay in the Valley of Sun. Check out this website if you are the tiniest bit curious about the race. Otherwise, you'll just have to stay posted to hear about my time (I'm not sure if I'll take the time to blog between now and then).

2008 in Review

I meant to post this earlier, but somehow I ran out of time. Most people spend their New Year with bunches of resolutions. I have spent mine reflecting on how amazing it is that my life seems to get better every year. I don't need resolutions (although I have a few) because I trust that somehow this year will be better than last. That does however mean that 2009 is going to be pretty fun. Here is a synopsis of 2008 for both Meat and Bert:

January: I don't remember much of this but I know that Meat took a fun trip to Las Vegas.
February: Same as January, but change Meat's trip to Breckenridge for a very cold man ski trip.
March: My sister got married. Two days later, Meat moved to Washington DC for 4 months. Bert goes to Vegas.
April: My college roommate married. One week later, I starred in a commercial. Also, I went for a week to DC.
May: Meatbertvstheworld was born!
June: After long last, Meat returned home from DC.
July: Lots of trips to the lake, fireworks galore, fun times for summer.
August: Bert joined Team in training. Meat and Bert took a long weekend in San Francisco.
September: Bert discovers her love of running and never stopped talking about it. We rejoined a kickball league.
October: Meat and Bert take a week long trip to both Port Aransas and Las Vegas. Bert turns 24.
November: Meat turns 25. Thanksgiving was full of good food, football, and lots of family.
December: Holidays, fun, and lots of food!

We both feel very lucky to have had such a wonderful year. Welcome, 2009!