My Running Must Haves

As promised, a list of stuff I use every single time I run. These are not optional, because I'm a little bit superstitious about my exercising. So if I use something, and on that day I end up having a great run, then it immediately becomes a part of The Conditions and I use it until I break it or lose it. Those are just the facts. Onward.

1. Nike Pegasus running shoes.
As I mentioned in my previous list, I have been wearing this model of shoe exclusively for over five years. I've owned several versions, and have always been delighted by them. My current pair is one year old, but since I was pregnant during that year they have seen very little action.

2.  Moving Comfort sports bra, model: Fiona.

 

This is a relatively new addition to my routine, since I bought this bra post-pregnancy, but holy man I love it. Fit is snug but not constrictive, lots of options for adjustment to get a correct fit, and no chafing or other weirdness. The model also just happens to be named after my kid (or at least her middle name) so there is that as well. 

3. Garmin Forerunner 305 

Not the coolest, newest, sleekest GPS watch, but serves its purpose and hasn't let me down yet. Easy to use and pretty reliable, so I really can't complain, especially for the price. For some reason it doesn't like to pick up satellites on my street, but if I walk on down the block a bit I have no troubles. I do find the watch a bit bulky, but that's just a detail. My model also has the heart-rate monitor which is useful for us slow, out of shape people to help us get the most from the workout. 

4. iPod (various) 

Not an original piece of equipment, but indispensable nonetheless. I have used many iPods over the course of the years. My favorite one as far as just usability on the go was my iPod Nano.  However, I am currently loving using Get Running's Couch to 5K app for the iPod Touch, and I think once I finish that program I will seek out a good 10K app too, so the Touch wins as far as features. It is bigger and slightly annoying when I switch between songs while running, but the apps are well worth it to keep me motivated. 

5. Goody mini claw hair clips.

They aren't cute, but they are magical. They keep all my little flyaways out of my face, which drives me pretty much bonkers while I'm running.


6. Gnarlyfish iPod Touch armband

Does the job of keeping my iPod attached to either me or to the jogging stroller, but also doesn't interfere at all with my ability to use the touch screen. Has a band extender, which makes it suitable to use on my arm, but also without it I'm able to attach it snuggly to the stroller handle.

7. Chariot Cougar Carrier.

This is the mother of all jogging strollers. It is light. It is versatile. You can use it for cycling, hiking, and cross-country skiing too. The kid is comfy in there, and also completely contained. I can pretty much fit every single toy she owns in there with her, but she doesn't even care because the giant windows keep her occupied checking out all the scenery we're passing by very fast.

Yes, this stroller/carriage is very very expensive. Believe me, we hummed and hawed for a while over it. However, we would see them on craigslist used for maybe 20% off and they would be sold in a matter of hours. So, we ponied up to get a brand new one, and when it comes time to sell it we're sure we'll get a lot of that investment back.

We brought this stroller on vacation to the beach and it was fantastic on sand. The other day I ran in a giant rainstorm and the the kid was cozy and dry. I'm excited to see what it can do in the snow, sort of.

So that's my list of must haves. I'm pretty flexible on clothing, especially since the weather is so variable and I am forced to change it up pretty often. I don't run super long distances, so I don't bring water packs or gels or anything of the like yet, but may in the future.

What are your favorite pieces of running gear? Why?

Karma hates me

I just don't understand.

A month ago, I visited the Running Room and bought my mom a Nike+ iPod running thingy. It's a little apparatus that you put on your shoe, and it sends signals to your iPod about how far you've run, etc. While I was at the store I also got some socks, some Yaktrax, and talked to the guy about why I can't log into my online account.

So, when I got home, SB realized that the guy had put not one but TWO Nike+ units in my bag, but only charged me for one.

I hummed and hawed, but decided that my karma didn't need the hit and I returned the unit the next day. The manager was very thankful, and gave me a coupon for 20% off my next purchase (yay new runners!). Plus, I felt good that I had done the right thing.

Cut to last week when my iPod went missing. Gone. Lost or stolen, who knows, but it is nowhere to be found. I really can't afford to buy a new one, so my sister is going to lend me her old one for a while. Hopefully mine will turn up in some random place, but holy eff, do I really deserve this? Really? I think if I knew what EXACTLY I did to throw things off balance I would feel a lot better about constantly getting shafted.

I love the President!

No, not that president.

Those of us here in the great white north frequent a grocery chain called Loblaw's. Other grocery stores under the Loblaw's umbrella are: Maxi, Provigo, Superstore..... probably others out west that I am unaware of.

Anyway, these stores have a store brand called PC - the President's Choice. I don't know who this president is, but (s)he rocks my world. You want butter chicken frozen dinners? The President has chosen a recipe, and it is fantastic. Samosas to go with? The President has a quick solution (although I would love to do these in the deep fryer, but have yet to do so). Want a more natural, clumping, flushable cat litter? The President has developed a magic formula for you, and it's cheap! Cheaper than that other wheat stuff. And don't even get me started on the hot chocolate.

Buy me things - I can send you a list

Have you ever discovered something, and it is so great and wonderful, but then you become kind of a little obsessed, and then you wish you had never discovered it in the first place?

This is how I feel about Etsy.

I heard about Etsy a while ago through several different blogs, but have been resisting the urge to visit it. It is a website where different sellers post their handmade goods for sale. Sound a little flea-markety? nay nay my friend. This is good stuff.

Stuff like art
Stuff like pottery:
Stuff like super cute dog collars:
There's also some yarn that looks like ice cream, which I won't post the picture of because I'm not sure how many people it would thrill besides myself.

Anyway, so I have been browsing there. A lot. SB and I have found several art pieces that we would like to get (we still haven't hung anything on our walls.... we suck). The bad part is we both choose different pieces - we have very different taste in art, I guess.

So, visit Etsy. I dare you not to find anything you like.

Making me want to stab my eye out...

Charlie is whiiiiining again because he's huuuuuuungry. And dyyyyyyying. In case any of you were wondering if he still does that.


I am still obsessed with the socks, although I had to take some time off from knitting this week to actually get some work done - you know, pay our employees, put gas in my car, bathe. I can't wait to finish them - they are so darn cute!

Anyone out there have a Wii? I am becoming more and more fascinated by the concept of them and am dying to try on out, but I'm pretty sure no one rents the game consoles anymore, and I'm not sure I'm ready to commit $350 to the system, accessories, etc. without having test-driven one for a bit. So if you have one, or have played one, let me know what you think of it.

I am the only person bothered by this?

Is anyone else bothered by this McDonald's commercial? They are introducing a new limited time sandwich called the bacon ranch McChicken or something similar to that. It actually looks very good, and they do their 30 second thing about what is on it, describing all the ingredients using words like "crispy", "tangy", and "fresh".

Then at the end of the commercial, they say something to the effect of "because when you're craving bacon, nothing else will do."

When I'm craving bacon, nothing else will do except a hamburger bun, some ranch dressing, a giant piece of fried chicken, a slice of tomato, maybe a leaf of lettuce (but they will have probably run out, so probably some little ribbons of shredded stuff), and two over-microwaved pieces of bacon.

I don't know, and call me crazy if I'm wrong, but I really think that when I'm craving bacon, nothing else will do except for maybe bacon. And in a pinch maybe turkey bacon.

Runningwoman

Have you ever seen that commercial for Advil Cold and Sinus, where the woman is all sick and is talking like "if you think a cold is going to keep me from running a 100 mile marathon and baking a cake at the same time then you don't know me"?

Ya, well, I'm not her. Illness throws me to the ground and stomps on my face, then it sits on me and farts. But for the past three weeks of fighting my allergy/cold (still going, by the way, and all the meds are really dehydrating me, yet also leaving me with a running nose) I have been keeping up my running regime. This regime consists of me hauling my ass into the extra room and running on the treadmill 2-3 times per week. It's been going really well - I run about 2 miles each time, so about 20 minutes, and thanks to my little iPod I not only have great tunes, but also have the Nike+ system that lets me track my runs and my progress.

I think the Nike+ is probably one of the best inventions ever. You get a little pod that you put in your Nike+ shoe (if you don't have these shoes you can buy a little clip to attach it to your shoelaces), and it sends a signal to your iPod nano that tracks your distance, pace, time, and calories burned. Then there is a whole website where you upload your data, set goals, and you can compete in challenges etc. AND there is a 'map it' section where if you run outdoors (I'm not quite there yet, so maybe in the spring I'll do it) you can map your route and how far it is, and other people can run it too.

So, I highly recommend everyone gets one, and if you do, and you are a beginning runner, then let me know and we can challenge each other online.


****totally random side note: SB and I are watching Survivor right now, and every week while it's on Global TV they show a promo for Survivor (I know, stupid right, showing the promo for the show you're watching while you're watching it) where you hear Jeff Probst saying "Just how we like it here on Survivor - nice and wet."

This cracks SB up every single time he hears it. And for the next three days, he will randomly say it while we grocery shop, drive in the car, or walk down the street. And I will laugh.

It was like my birthday or something!

Last night I made ribs for dinner, which I haven't done in a very long time. Because they are messy and icky, I generally like to take the opportunity to be bad and serve french fries alongside, because then you can just eat the whole meal with your hands. So I asked SB to stop at our favorite Belgian French fry place to pick up some fries.

He ordered a large fry and the sauces we like, and the guy was like "I'll give you two small fries because small fries are free today".

Huh? Yay for us!

So, obviously if you want to get me a present, free fries are on the list, but with the holidays coming up, here is my gift wish list:

Items I WANT WANT WANT but am unlikely to receive (the same list I give SB for every single holiday/birthday, etc - notice "new iPod" is gone - he really came through on my birthday!):
- Nikon D40x camera.
- a vacation somewhere.
- a male Himalayan kitten

Items I would love to have that are within reach:
- an FM transmittor for my iPod - I haven't really researched them much so not sure which model I want but the last one I had that was stolen was awesome - it worked as a stand for the iPod too and plugged directly into the power source. I think it was a Belkin.
- gift card to FutureShop/BestBuy - in case there are 100 FM transmittors and choosing one is scary.
- Chapters gift cards, since there are about 187 books that I am dying to read
- Shopping gift cards (for Cadillac Fairview malls) or H&M gift cards. Because I have this syndrom lately where I refuse to buy myself clothes. And now all my clothes are old and gross and I am almost naked.
- hugs.

Feels like 1988

In my plight to convince SB that we absolutely need a digital SLR, I think I mentioned that I broke out the old Minolta SLR a few weeks ago to snap some fabulous photos. Today I dropped off two rolls of 24 at my local Pharmaprix, and now I'm waiting for my prints, and, more importantly, my CD of photos.

I have to say, the whole process is quite exciting. What could be on there? Will they turn out? Will I be hugely disappointed? The anticipation is a bit overwhelming for my convenience-filled little life.

Dropping off the films was a bit surreal. There was no line-up, and when I told the girl I hadn't done this in a gazillion years she just chuckled. I actually said goodbye to the film. I said "Bye little films". The girl chuckled at this, too. Then she asked me if I just wanted the CD, or if I wanted the prints too. If I was one step more environmental I would have said "CD only", but I'm paying for the prints anyway, and who knows, some of them might be frameable as-is.

Although she couldn't have them ready in an hour - ugh, the suspense! - they will be ready today, and I can't wait to pick them up. But, for $6 a pop, that's $12 that could have gone towards a DSLR, and that's not even including the gas there and back two times. I am going to keep a log book of how much I spend on photos. Hard data wins him over every time.

Wherein I beg someone to buy be something

In the past I have begged for a Nikon D40x. It is a digital SLR camera. A pretty basic model, but the key here is that it is a)an SLR and b)digital.

In 2000, I bought myself a 35mm SLR for Christmas. It was the first time I ever spent a ridicuous amount of money on anything for myself, and I fell in love with that camera. I took photos of everything, and learned a lot about the technicalities of photography - how do use aperture and shutter speeds to get the look you want. Then I had a crash course in developing black and whites, and fell completely in love with the whole deal. I took my camera to Europe with me and shot about 20 rolls of film, hauled them back, paid for developing, and absolutely loved about 90% of the shots I took.

Then came the digital age. No more economy of shots, no more lugging around of film, no more waiting in line at the photo counter. Just pictures pictures pictures. My mom bought us our first, fabulous digital camera which took great photos, and had lots of fabulous options. Then it got stolen. Then we replaced it with something similar. And it was equally great and convenient and the pictures, they were there, on the computer. Ready for uploading and the photoshop, if either of us were photoshop savvy. For a point and shoot, both of these digitals have treated us very well, and given us some really great results.

But yesterday I broke out the old 35mm SLR. Even just looking through the lens, I can see the difference. I snapped out 11 whole photos before I started worrying that I was taking too many and put it away for another day. And I just know that when I finish the film, and find a photo developing place that's close, and wait in line, and deposit the film, and then drive back an hour later and pick up the photos and CD (because really, all I want is the CD so I can UPLOAD), I know that those are gonna be amazing photos.

But you know what would be even more amazing? If I had taken them with a Nikon D40x and was able to upload them 10 seconds after taking them. And was able to erase the bad ones from history immediately. And could take as many photos as I wanted and not have to pay to develop them if I didn't want. Ever.

please please please please please buy me a Nikon D40x. Or even a D40.

Probably my best discovery in a while - Simon would disagree

Have you ever gotten a little baby kitten, and he's so cute and puffy, and sweet. And then he grows up, and still so cute, and it's time to chop off his balls, and you're okay with that, but they also ask if you want him declawed, and you then face the eternal moral dilemma.

Yes, yes I would love to have him declawed. And my furniture would love it too. But I'm not sure I could live with myself knowing my kitty had been robbed of his claws and first knuckles forever. With no hope of defending himself if he ever escaped. Or for that matter, no hope of defending himself from an ever-grumpy Basset Hound who would later come into his life and become his eternal nemesis.

So you don't have him declawed, and you feel good about it. Until it's 4am and he's sharpening his claws on the wooden doors of your $500 wardrobe. Then you don't feel so good.

I have become increasingly anxious about the claw situation (and other situations too, but don't worry, I'm back on my meds) because we are moving soon (have ya heard?) and are probably getting a bunch of new furniture which we would prefer to not have scratched up. Then I found this.

Cue the angels singing and sunshine through the clouds from above.

These are the best things ever. Guilt-free. Easy to put on (although Simon doesn't love having them put on, it only takes about five minutes to apply them, and five minutes for them to set). And, if your cat is a boy and is really pissing you off, you can get back at him by buying the pink ones. I highly recommend them.

If only I could have the internet without an ISP

For the last three days, our internet connection has been....spotty. It's really annoying because each time it disconnects, I have to go into the office, climb under my desk, unplug all the routers and the modem, wait ten seconds, plug them each back in, then wait for the modem to reset itself, then see if it works. For the last three days, it was working enough that I could sporadically get some work emails done, get some tax stuff ready, and that's about it. No blogging. No personal email. Nothing.

Then this morning, I woke up to - SURPISE - a send/receive error on the office computer. Which means in the night the internet disconnected. Except this morning, it wouldn't log back on. I spent twenty minutes under the desk unplugging and re-plugging while my dog licked my face and whined.

Then I decided to call our ISP, who are just a bunch of dinks, really, aren't they? I really genuinely thought that maybe the girl had a brain in her head when after an hour and a half of checking connections, verifying ISP addresses, restarting the computer, resetting the modem, blah blah blah blah, finally we got a connection. Ten minutes after I hung up, the connection was lost. I was semi-tempted to buy a plane ticket to India to hunt that bitch down. I guess this is one of the benefits of global outsourcing - less deaths due to stringing customers along. SB said it is not their job to actually fix anything - they know there is a line problem, they know they can't do anything about it, but rather than tell you that, they keep you on the line until the connection randomly clicks in, tell you it's fixed, hang up and sing "HaHa Sucka."

By this time it was nearly noon, and I was pissed as hell. Not only was my internet not working, but due to icy weather, the satellite was out all morning too. I returned a few phone calls, stuffed some envelopes, then moped around until it was time for yoga.

The worst part is, I think it would be useless to up and change ISPs in protest. I think they are all the same - each one just as crappy as the next. It would just cost me more money in "connection fees" and modems, and then after three weeks of good service, I would wake up one morning to "Send/Receive Error."

My UGGS arrived today!!!!

I love them! They are so soft, so comfous, so warm, so soft...I'm really really tempted to wear them barefoot, as suggested, but I'm scared I will stink them up and ruin them forever. But they are just so soft, I'm fighting my inner demon trying to resist.

I LOVE THEM!@!@!@!@!@!@!!@!@!@!@!@!@!@!@!@

(I realize how annoying excessive punctuation for effect is, but you just need to understand how much I love them).

I'm so happy, I'm going to wear them to the grocery store. And I haven't even treated the suede yet! Dangerous, but I just need to put them on my feet.

For the Record

I just saw the new Hallmark Holiday Item commercial, and I just have a few thoughts about it.

First of all, I hate all of their Holiday Items - the Valentine kiss-kiss bears, some weird thing they had last Christmas, all of them. They are just a scam to get you to buy more cards and waste more paper. Not that I'm a super environmentalist, maybe I'm just a grinch, or scrooge, or whatever.

This year, the item appears to be a little snow scene, I think it was penguins skating, and it's soft and plush and when you squeeze some part of it, it plays a song. How is this kind of item useful? Not at all, that's how. Unless you have a three year old. Or dogs who like to rip the stuffing out of things.

Anyway, in the commercial, they are sitting in an airport, I think it's supposed to be Christmas Eve, and all the flights are delayed. Everyone is upset, depressed, etc (surprisingly no one is rushing the boarding gates demanding the attendants turn off the snow, like on the show Airline). Then Thoughtful Mommy pulls out the Hallmark Holiday Item and gives it to little Timmy, who squeezes it and it starts playing its joyful holiday song. Everyone gathers 'round and they all begin to feel warm and fuzzy, and they sing carols and rejoice. So much rejoicing is going on that they don't even hear that their flights are ready to board.

Baloney, I say. For the record, if I was ever in an airport, even if my flight was on time - hell, let's just say if I was in any public place ever - and someone started playing that tinny Christmas carol music that comes out of those toys, over and over again, I would take it. I would take it away and burn it. If I happened to be in the airport, where lighters and matches are prohibited, I would find some other way of destroying it. And then I would hit Thoughtful Mommy on the head, tell her to smarten up, and tell Timmy his mom is an idiot. And then the people would rejoice.

My dazzling smile

Yesterday I started using Crest WhiteStrips. I went to the dentist last week, and had a very thorough cleaning, so I thought it was the perfect time to whiten my actual teeth instead of all the fuzzy tartar and plaque that has been building up as I postponed and postponed and postponed again.

The strips are easy enough to use, as far as applying them, however it's kind of annoying keeping them on for 30 minutes. I'm the kind of person who can't leave things alone. If I get popcorn stuck in my teeth at the movies, I will rub my tongue raw trying to get it out instead of leaving it alone until I get home and removing it properly with floss. So, half an hour of these things in my mouth is almost maddening.

Plus, you aren't supposed to swallow the bleach (duh) but when it mixes with your saliva, it kinda bubbles up over the strips, so you have no choice. And it tastes bad. And the strips, with the bubbling of the bleach, feel like they are pulling away from you teeth, so you have to keep running your tongue or finger along them to re-stick them. Then I'm paranoid that I will get the bleach on my clothes, or whatever.

But besides all this, I think they work well. I notice a difference, although I wish they had come with a little whitening guide so you can find what color your teeth are when you start the process, and what color they end up. SB suggested taking digital photos, but I think it wouldn't be as accurate because you'll never have the same lighting. I'll try to remember to post a shot when I'm done my 14 days of treatment.