Wheels on Fire

I got a bike. It is not a new bike. In fact, from what I can tell from the interwebs, it is a circa 1980 road bike. It looks like this:

That is not the actual bike. I found that on the Google. So you can't really see, but the shifters are on the frame, rather than on the handles.

Weird right? Okay, so I have to admit, I don't know anything much about bicycles. I think the last bike I had was the kind with the tassels on the handlebars that you pushed the pedals backwards in order to brake. It may have even had a banana seat. But I have rented or borrowed a few grown up bikes and have ridden a bit, even in the city. I know, I am a big girl now. However, I have never had a bike with the shifters on the frame.

Since I have a bike now, I decided to get prepared. I have a helmet and a bike lock of course. I also got a patch kit, a tube and a really cool 19-in-1 tool that I have absolutely no idea how to use. It looks really fun though. I also got a red blinky light for the back,  another blinky light for the front AND just for fun, some LED lights you put in the tire valve and it makes fun colors or shapes when you ride.

I bet you are wondering if I am planning to ride the bike or just buy ridiculous accessories for it. I am strongly considering the latter. No, I am kidding. I actually rode it once. A whole mile and a half, in the dark, to go and drop off my library book. I didn't fall or get run over, so that's a start. However, there is a very big hill between my house and the library and I had to walk the bike up it because (a) I couldn't lean down to shift the gears, pedal AND hold the handlebars at the same time very well, and (b) My legs were like jello.

It seems we have our work cut out for us.

*title inspired by this song

What have you had to learn/relearn as an adult? Was it hard? Do you ride a bike?

Cream or Sugar?

A few days ago, I kind eavesdropped on Amber's virtual coffee date. She did most of the talking, but I really enjoyed it, so I thought I would invite you to have coffee with me and I would do some of the talking this time.

What are you having? I am buying. A latte? I am drinking a non-fat peppermint mocha, light on the mint, light on the chocolate. Double the whipped cream.

Things have been going well over here. The weather has been great and I have been enjoying it and getting outside and doing things. People talk about how San Francisco is the foggy city, but lately, it's been clear as a bell. Going to work, as ironic as it seems, has been great, since I have to go over the bay bridge and I get a view of the city each morning. It is like a little two minute pep talk each morning. It gets my day started right.

Speaking of work, it never gets old. About three months after I started, just as I was starting to understand what I was doing and to finally feel like I was doing things right, they switched me into a different department. Since then I have been slowly learning the ropes in the new position, but I have a long way to go. Every day I feel like I am behind. However, I have talked to others in the office and have been told you never DO feel caught up. The name of the game is prioritizing. I am learning how to do it better, but it's a game I am not quite used to playing yet.

Speaking of playing games, I have been having a great time meeting up with old friends from the Bay Area. I went running with one of them who was about to run her first marathon, I met up with another at First Friday and I had a great time going to the Muse concert with Broski last week. We bought tall beer cans at the corner market and put them in paper bags and pretended we were 17 years old, sneaking around behind the woodshed, drinking stolen beers from our parent's basement refrigerator. Not that I ever did that, but I heard that some people did.

Speaking of beers, this weekend was part of the SF Beer Week (which is still going on through next weekend) where you get a taster sized glass and you get to try a bunch of different kinds of beers in the same place. Also, many of them are beers you would not normally get. They are from smaller, lesser known breweries and are often from out of town. Saturday, I went to the Double IPA Fest with Broski and friends, where the beers and the beards were flowing. Yes, there were a lot of bearded dudes there. I found a new favorite beer Societe Brewing Co's Double IPA and I met the brewer, Doug, who was a nice guy on top of making a great beer. On Sunday, we went to the Sour Beer Fest and found another great beer: the Upright Brewery "Four". 

Let me summarize: Ladies, if you are single and you are looking for a bearded brewer who likes drinking beer, you should go to beer week. It was probably 80% men. Of those, 73% of them were bearded.

Although I haven't been talking about it much, I am also still running a lot. There are a couple of recaps in the works, but let me tell you that Broski was involved again! He is really on a roll folks! Other than that, there has been much training for Boston, running up and down hills, applying sunscreen, doing multiple loads of stinky laundry and plenty of listening to Pandora. My new favorite running station is the Rap Strength Training station. It really gets my feet moving!

So, now that you have had your latte and I have unloaded on you, tell me:

What's new in your life? What did you do over the weekend? What do have planned for the next week?

Failure to Communicate

I work with a lot of recent college grads. On the other hand, there are quite a few people who are closer to retirement than college. It's interesting when you are sitting around talking with them; sometimes it's me staring at one of them with a blank look when what they say makes no sense to me; sometimes it's the other way around.

For instance, do you guys know what YOLO means? Yeah, I didn't either. It means, "you only live once".

There are so many other things where I have no idea what people are talking about. I don't watch TV, so I already have a gap when it comes to that kind of stuff, no matter what the era, but if it's in the past few years especially, I am so out of the loop. I was informed of several shows that were "so good" that I just "had to watch" so I went and watched one of them and was baffled by what was going on.

One of my coworkers keeps talking about Roadhouse. Have you seen it? Yeah, me neither. Apparently it's about Patrick Swayze and a bar and a bouncer and there are a couple of one liners that these guys keep throwing out. Like this one: I want you to be nice until it's time to not be nice. Apparently that works for my line of work as well as being a bouncer. So I am just like a bouncer.

I was talking to some different coworkers the other day and they were talking about how the reason something wasn't working was because there was bad communication and I threw out this line: What we've got here is failure to communicate. Do you know where it comes from? Neither did any of my coworkers. It was first coined in Cool Hand Luke and was later put into the G&R song Civil War, which is what I was quoting.

It's funny how people have different phrases, movies or music that were popular when they were growing up, as well as different things that they are interested in now. These things can separate us sometimes, but they can also bring us together. I mean, now I know a couple of lines from a bad Swayze movie and a very useful phrase in acronym form.

What topic, phrases or lines have people said to you lately that went over your head? or What have you said to them that they didn't understand?

Randoms

The holidays were good, there was running to be had, and plenty of stuffing. I am not going to go on about it. Instead, here are a few other random things that have been happening around these parts.

- I found all the seasons of Greys Anatomy on the DVR. The past weekend was full of McDreamy, Christmas card making and pajama wearing. Life is good.

- I finally did that thing I have been putting off forever, calling the DMV. Did you know they have a thing where instead of sitting on hold, they will call you back? So I put myself in line and carried my phone around in my pocket so I wouldn't miss their call. Somehow I missed it. Two of them. So now it is STILL on my To Do list. Drat.

- My blogger is telling me that I can't post any more photos until I pay a monthly fee for more space. Has anyone else ever had this problem? What do I do? I don't want to pay for space, but I do like posting photos. Poop.

- I can't stop eating. This is a bad problem to have during the holidays when the food is plentiful and full of sugar and starch! But it is so, so good. What kind of cookies should I make next? What about these?

Source: browniesfordinner.com via Kyria on Pinterest

- Karen, who is a Grammy, Emmy, Oscar loving fool, is having a 2012 Blog Award. Go over and check out the nominees, find some new fun blogs, and vote for your favorite! (also, I notice some familiar faces on the list: Laura, Jess, Nilsa and more!)

I hope everyone is getting back into the swing of things after the holidays!

What is your favorite cookie? Do you know the fix to the photo storage issue?

Creature of Habit

I am a creature of habit. I find that it makes things easier. Rather than scrambling around in the morning or forgetting something, I feel like if I always do it the same way, it is less likely to go wrong. There are a few things I always do.

Keys: The keys always go in the same place. It a nice empty place where they can't get piled in with a bunch of other things. They have their own place of honor and they always go there. When I am on the move, they always go in the same pocket of my purse, every time.

Coffee: I almost always set up the coffee the night before if I am working the next day. That way I can get up, turn on the pot and then start getting ready for my day while it's brewing. However, I am not really a coffee snob. I have been known to make a whole pot and just nuke it the next day if there is some left over.

White Board: I have a white board where I write my weekly schedule: to do, running, shopping and evening activities all go on the board. Each Sunday, I wipe away all the things I got done and rewrite my coming week's items. It makes me feel like I have accomplished something, even when it's minor (I also leave the finished things up on the board until Sunday so I can revel is the joy of getting them done).

Black Pants: I own several pairs of black slacks. I find it's much easier to just grab a random pair of pants and snatch up a shirt and voila, I have an "outfit". It's not super exciting, but it's efficient.

Water Plants: I have this little ritual when I get home where I water the veggies and pick anything that's ripe. It feels good and seeing food that I have grown (not killed!) is very satisfying and I find it's a great way to wind down after a long day.

Alarm: I like to get up early and have a bit of extra time to get a few things done. Sometimes its something online, or maybe it's updating my planner or organizing a little bit. Either way, it makes me feel more productive during the day to not have rushed around in the morning.

Lunch: I always pack my lunch the night before. I suppose it's all the same, since it takes the same amount of time whether you do it at night or in the morning, but by doing it at night I have that little bit of extra time to do my organizing or whatever in the morning.

Shower: The routine is always the same. Get in, wet everything, shampoo, shave, rinse, condition, soap, rinse, done. I do not dawdle.

Read on Bus: I have a half an hour bus ride to get home and lately this has been the only (sigh, I know) time I have been reading. So, no matter how much I feel like I need to reply to that email or google this or that, I always take that half an hour to read my book.

As you can see from this list, it could probably be summed up by saying (1) I like to prep in the evening to save time in the morning and (2) I like routine. True. So true.

What habits do you have? Are there any weird ones? What is your shower routine?

Random Rambles

Lately it's pretty much all Giants all the time around here. Sorry. In a week, we will have won and you won't have to hear about them for...5 more months. Actually there are a few other things going on in my six minute mind these days.

- (Spoiler Alert: Mom, don't read this part) Last night after work I went running out on the trails and it got dark a little earlier than I thought it would. I think it was partly due to the cloud cover and also due to the tree cover. So I was just finishing up my run up the last hill when I saw two pairs of eyes. You know how they reflect in the dark? Two pairs, maybe a foot or two off the ground, but it was hard to tell, as I was going up a hill. I clapped and shouted and made a fool of myself and at first I thought they were coming toward me (and I had a moment of "huh, what the heck am I going to do now?") but then they retreated. Up the hill. Where I needed to go. To go back around the other way, I would have had to go about 5 miles. To go up the hill, I would be back at the parking lot in about .2 miles. So I flapped my arms and clapped my hands some more and they finally went into the bushes. I took advantage of that to get the heck out of there! I could hear them in the bushes and for the entire rest of the way I kept checking behind me to make sure they weren't chasing me.

It was probably just a couple of deer.

Lesson learned. Maybe trail runs should be done a little bit earlier in the day. 

Mountain lion in Tilden Park. Photo by Jim Hale (source)

- My friend's cat died on Tuesday. I went to the animal emergency room with her and we were there until late at night. I don't really know how to deal with with grief or with emotions. I can deal with death, but I have a hard time dealing with the people who are dealing with death. I am the person who is reliable and durable and good at things that are black and white like math, but I am not really good at the grey things, the emotional things and the feelings. What do you say or do? Do you just BE there? Because that I can do, but I am not sure if it's better to talk about other things to take her mind off of it or to talk about it or to let her talk about it or...what!! I feel so inadequate. It's a problem I don't know how to fix.

- Okay I have to throw one Giants thing in here. It is just me, or does Timmy look like that kid from Dazed and Confused?

Timmy (source)

Mitch Kramer (source)

Do you think they look alike? Or not?  It'd be a lot cooler if you did (if you can name who said that you get a golden star!)

Have you ever had to frighten off a wild deer animal in the dark? How are you with grieving friends? Has anyone ever said that you look just like someone else?

Currently: October

Current Book - Running The Rift - Naomi Benaron

Current Favorite Celebrity - My boy Crawford. Love the curls buddy. Don't cut them off! 

Current Drink - Avocado Smoothie: 1 avocado, 1 cup coconut milk, handful of ice, bit of sugar. YUM.

Current Excitement - GIANTS! I got tickets to the NLCS game Two. Now they just have to make it that far. Fingers crossed! 

Current fashion trend - I am loving those colored pants, although I don't think I would ever be able to pull it off. It's just not me. 

Current Favorite Blog/Website - Yummly. You can search for recipes based on what you have, what you like or what you don't have or want to add. It's pretty cool and a great way to figure out what to do with those leftovers!
 

Current Garden Item - 
 

pepper

Current Love - Evenings spent watering the garden. It's calming. 

Current Food - Butternut squash, mangos, melons

Currently Pondering - The weather. Yesterday it was 80 degrees at 10 pm. Today it is 50.

Current Indulgence - An extra cup of coffee with lots of cream

Current Mood - Madness, as in taper. I am going crazy! 

Current New Find - Two new brunch places nearby that I want to try!

Current Outfit -  

Obligatory bathroom photo

Current Peeve - Loud talkers 

 

Current Song - The Shins It's Only Life

Current Triumph - I finally crossed of a few things from my To Do list that have been on there for a while! 

 

Current TV Show - Parenthood. It's back!

Current Wish-List - More time on the weekends

Currently Delaying - Doing all the other things on my To Do list!

What are you currently up to? Do you keep a To Do list? What's your current peeve?

The Sign Says...

You know that I love to take photos, and as a spreadsheet making, hoarding organizer, put it in a box and check it off kind of person, I like to collect sets of things, especially photos. I take photos of trails, trees, flowers, roads, houses, animals and everything in between. One of the things I take the most photos of (besides running paths, trails and vistas) is signs. I take photos of them everywhere. Sometimes it's fun to interpret pictures that are not accommodated by words; sometimes the language barrier makes the sign have a different meaning; sometimes the grammar makes the sign amusing. I like them all!

Genuine Irony is cheap these days. Fresh Ideas are not.

Sign on Muni: Information Gladly Given but Safety Requires Avoiding Unnecessary Conversation

I need these folders

At the tire shop: things we found in tires

Seen when I was paddle boarding

Before you can eat it, it will clean your kitchen

Maybe the quotes should be around the word "dump"

This house does not have a back door

Seen in a bathroom near the running trail

As seen in New Orleans

See also signs from: More USA, Vietnam, Even More USA, Thailand, Chinese, South America.

What makes a sign funny to you? What's the funniest sign you have seen? Does bad grammar on signs make you cringe/laugh/whip out your camera?

Currently: September

Current Book - Looking for Alaska by John Green

Current Hot Celebrity - Mila Kunis. I think she's adorable.

Current Drink - Coffee. Way too much of it. 

Current Excitement - I went to the A's/Redsox game the other day, got to watch the batting practice on the field, got to sit in row 5 above the A's dugout and got a photo with one of the players! It was so cool. I mean, hey, I am still a true Giant's fan, but I will take a photo with any of the players! 

Current fashion trend - Boots. I wear these all the time. Now I need black -- I want these.

Current Favorite Blog/Website - www.runningintheusa.com -- If you haven't used this site yet to find races, you should! Also, ultrasignups for Ultras.
 

Current Garden Item - I have zucchinis! 4 different kinds. Here are three of them. 

 

 

Current Love - The short work week! 

Current Food - I made a whole chicken in the crock the other day and it's delicious! It was so easy. Just put an onion in and then rub the chicken with spices and leave it for 5 hours. When you come back, voila, chicken! I even made stock with it as well!

Currently Pondering - Fires in CA near my Parents. Supposedly they are out finally.

Current Indulgence - Popcorn, and lots of it! I have been a popcorn eating machine! Today's favorite way to eat it? With butter and nutritional yeast. And lots and lots of salt. 

Current Mood - Hungry. Is that a mood? 

Current New Find - French Trail. It's a beautiful, redwood filled trail that is just the right amount of ups and downs. You can also easily do a shorter or longer loop (anywhere from about 3 miles to 8), so it's good for all levels of runner/hiker!

Current Outfit -  

 

Pardon me. I did not comb my hair that day.

 

Current Peeve - I had to remind three runners at the SR Marathon who were blocking the whole path that it was "hard to pass them when they were running three abreast". Those were my exact words. After I said, "on your left" about 6 times and they didn't get over so I had to run around through the bushes to pass. I had some more choice words, but I kept it cool and remained polite. 

 

Current Song - Till I Collapse by Eminem. It makes me run faster! Also I think about the first part of the song when I feel like giving up/slowing down: 

 

'Cause sometimes you just feel tired,
Feel weak, and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up.
But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength
And just pull that s*** out of you and get that motivation to not give up
And not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse. 

Current Triumph - My brother has started running! He emailed me and said he would like to do a half marathon together. Hurray! I am so excited! Speaking of my brother, today is his birthday! Happy Birthday Bro!

 

Current TV Show - Parenthood. I am sad to say that I am caught up now. When does the new season start!? I need me some Braverman! And what about Grey's? Do they all die?

Current Wish-List - A tiger tail, an entry in the Boston Marathon, more hours in a day, extra motivation. 

Currently Delaying - Running. But I sure do end up getting a lot of other things done on my to do list when I am procrastinating running! 

Do you have any good crock pot recipes? What website do you use to find races? What's on your current wish list?

Pass or Fail

I don't know about you, but when I am running a long run, I can't think very well. Sometimes I decide to do a loop when I am in the middle of the run, but my addition skills are lacking, and I end up running way less or way more than I anticipated. Sometimes I get lost when I am running on trails.

And sometimes, cool things happen to me and I don't even realize it.

At mile 30 during the race on Sunday, I heard a runner coming up behind me and I glanced back to see a tan, fit man coming up pretty fast behind me. As he passed me, I said, "good job", as we do when we are being passed at the end of a long race. I could barely muster a "good job"; I definitely couldn't pass anyone at that point! He said something to me about the walkers (we were in a park on a paved loop around a lake at this point) being in his way. As I ran behind him, over the thoughts of how much my blisters were hurting and how glad I would be to be done, I remember thinking, "that guy has some KILLER calf muscles". I kind of watched his tan, muscular legs as he quickly ran away from me. 

That was the end of that. He looked like every other runner. Shorts, check. Hat, check. Glasses, shoes, shirt. Muscular legs, skinny frame. Check, check, check.

Yesterday the results were posted, as well as some photos on the Facebook group for this race. Guess who beat me by 49 seconds? Guessssss! Come on; I will wait.

....

....

If you guessed Oprah, you were wrong. She only runs marathons. Plus, I am faster than her!

If you guessed Scott Jurek, you were wrong also. But that would have been cool.

And you wouldn't have been off by much.

In case you don't know who Dean Karnazes is, he ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days, is a famous ultra runner and wrote a few books about running. He also hails from the Bay Area, but I have never seen him around. So I am a little star struck!

Have you ever met a celebrity (and yes, being passed by one counts!)? If you could meet one (living) famous person, who would it be? What would you say to them?

Shoot the Breeze

I went to a friend's house last weekend for her daughter's 2nd birthday party. The good thing about 2nd birthdays is that the kid doesn't care if there are other kids there or if it's just an excuse for all of Mom and Dad's friends to get together at a party with a Mickey Mouse theme and eat cupcakes and shoot the breeze. My friend's parents and her husband's parents were also there. We had a great time hanging out and I even wore a dress, just for fun. I am normally a pants wearer; I have an aversion to my own knees. So this was a big deal.

Here are some of the conversations that were floating around. They will be A and I will be Me.

A: You look nice. What's the occasion?
Me: It's 104 degrees in your neck of the woods. (it was 75 in Oakland)
A: I know; that's why I am not wearing a shirt and I am sweating and I am downing beers like it's going out of style.
Me: Oh? That's why? I just thought that was your normal Saturday style.
A: Actually, it is.

A: So you have a race tomorrow?
Me: Yep
A: How far is it?
Me: 50k
A: (quizzical look on face) How far is that?
Me: 31 miles
A: (shocked look on face) 31 Miles? How long will that take?
Me: About 6 hours
A: (incredulous look on face) 6 hours! That's crazy!
(as I secretly agree and start to doubt why the heck I am doing this race)

A: So you must eat really healthy since you run so much
(as I am stuffing my face with my third coconut toasted cupcake in less than 5 minutes in the name of "carb loading")

A: My niece ran a marathon in Hawaii. You should do that one. I am not sure how far her marathon was though. Maybe yours is longer.

On Sunday, I ran the race. All 31 miles of it. I did not die. I will do a recap later. All I can say right now is:

Dear Toilet -- Were you always so low? I think you should be about 2 feet taller so I can stand up and don't have to bend my knees to use you.

Dear Belly -- When are you going to stop crying out for food? You are insatiable.

Dear Feet -- I am deeply sorry. I have abused you greatly. Will you ever forgive me?

How was your weekend? Do you ever have weird conversations (about running or anything else) with your friends' families? Do you have any "dear" questions for anyone today?

Oh Dear

Dear Saturday -- I can't wait to see you. It seems like it has been so long since we hung out. Please pick me up a good book and some nice weather before you stop by my house.

Dear Popcorn -- I haven't seen you in years, but for some reason, you popped into my life just when I needed you. I have been glad to share my last few evenings with you. Your friend salt ain't bad either. See you again tomorrow!

Dear San Francisco -- You have been so clear lately. It has been a joy to look over at you and see your hills and your blue water and your bridges. You make me very happy.

Dear Garden Zucchini -- Where are your friends? I have been told that you never travel alone and to beware, as you can quickly become overwhelming, but right now there is only one of you. I can't wait to get this party started.

Dear Neighbor Who Was Out Watering His Lawn the Other Day -- You said good morning to the guy getting into the Honda, but when I walked by and said good morning to you, you mumbled several things that sounded like curse words under your breath and turned away. Did I do something to offend you?

Dear Unnamed Dog -- Please don't poop on my lawn. It's gross. If you really must however, do it on the neighbor who was watering his lawn's lawn.

Dear Dog Owner -- Please pick up your dog poop. I am tired of having to duck and dodge it when I am running on the sidewalk or when I am getting my newspaper from my own yard.

Dear Running -- We have not been very good friends lately. Maybe it's time we gave each other a little space. Maybe it's time to see other fitness methods for a while and see how we feel in a couple of months.

Dear Marathon -- You scare me. You are big and you are hot and you are way stronger than me. I am not sure I would win if I fought you. Please play nice.

Dear Wine -- Will you go out with me? On Friday night? Can we make it a threesome? I have a glass who is very interested in meeting you. 

Dear Facebook Friend -- Yes, your baby is very cute. But I do NOT need to see a bazillion photos of the baby. I also do not need a status update about the baby every 4.5 minutes. Let it be cute once a week; that would make you a better friend in my opinion. 

Dear Current Books -- I am sorry, but I am just not that into you.

Who do you want to write a letter to today? 

Monday Misc

- I am back in Oakland.

- The plants survived the move. I was a little worried, as some people have had trouble when they moved their container garden mid growing season. Mine seem okay; in fact, I even transplanted a couple (squash, tomato) to the ground and they haven't died yet. I also have teeny tiny cherry tomatoes! Right now they are green and about the size of my pinky nail, but they are real tomatoes! Hurray!

- I have been cooking up a storm. I made garbanzo brownies, white bean chili, hummus, banana bread and curried chicken with veggies. I don't know how I am going to eat them all, but I am sure going to try!

Spinach Hummus

- On top of that, I went to Costco. In case you don't realize, there is absolutely NO way to escape a Costco trip without parting with at least $100. Not only that, but there is never enough room in the fridge for the huge bags of veggies and fruits! So now I am trying to eat all the fruits before they go bad also! Not that it's that hard. I love fruit.


- Did you know that they have baseball tickets at Costco? Two tickets in the lower level PLUS $20 spending money for food...all for about $50.That's a pretty good deal. Of course that food allowance won't even get you two beers.

- I went to my cousin's wedding this weekend. I put on a dress. It was a miracle. However, it was not super warm so I ended up wearing a sweater over it pretty much the whole time.

- 6 days until ULTRA race day. I am not "nervous" per se, but I have those newbie runner worries, like, what if I am last, or what if I eat too much/don't eat enough, or what if I don't make the time cut off? I don't really have a time goal. I just want to finish before the course sweepers!

- This week I am participating in Run With Jess' Virtual Olympics. You have to run a 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10000m and marathon (can be split up). It will be interesting to see how I do for the sprints!

How was your weekend? Anything random you want to talk about? When was the last time you ran 100m and timed yourself?

Missed the Boat

Sometimes I find out about things a little late. I see them and think, "wow that's cool", and I go running to a friend and say, "have you heard about this!!?" and they say, "yeah, that's been around forever".

Oh.

But I don't care. I am still excited because it's new to me. Here are a few things I have recently found about about and like. You may have heard about them, maybe even months or years ago, but they are new to me!

NextBus: This is an app, or website, where you can see when the bus or train you want is arriving in real time. Often I use Google Maps, as it has transit information, but it only has the "scheduled" time, not the actual time, which can be VERY different! You can even set up auto alerts to warn you when you are about to miss your bus let you know when your bus is on it's way. This site works for several cities in the US and Canada. Maybe yours is on the list!

Safeway: If you have a Safeway card, you can either go online or download an app where you can add coupons straight to the card. No more clipping coupons; just add it to the card and when you get up front, put in your number or swipe your card and voila! A discount! Don't worry Mom, I already set your card up and loaded all the coupons! You can also make a shopping list, check the weekly ads and email them to  yourself.

(You can also print out coupons from the Target website and the Hyvee website; you can upload them to your card on the P&G website).

PayByPhone: If you live in the city, you know what a pain it is to have to feed the meter all the time. This app lets you park and then pay automatically with your phone. Here is an article with more info.

Nutritional Yeast: Yup, I finally tried it. The price ($30/lb) at my local store was off-putting, until I realized that a whole scoop only weighs practically nothing, so it's not as expensive as I thought. Plus I found it for a good price at the Berkeley Bowl's bulk aisle. I put it on popcorn last night with a little salt. It was delicious!

Couscous Salad: I have made Quinoa salad and pasta salad and bean salad and rice salad, but I never jumped on the couscous bandwagon. Yesterday I had some fresh veggies in the garden, so I used them to make a couscous salad with tomatoes, green beans, mint, basil, lemon, red bell pepper, olive oil, feta cheese and a bit of salt. I ate three servings of it in one go!

Kinvaras: I ran a race last weekend wearing the Kinvara 3 and it was good. My feet were a little sore since it was a trail race and the shoes don't have a lot of support, but other than that, they were great! I may add Saucony to my list of approved running shoes!

Next up: commando running! 

What is new to you that other people may have been using for a while!? What's a cool and useful thing that I should know about?

Currently: July

Current Book - Cutting For Stone -- Abraham Verghese (so far, so good!) 

Current Celebrity Crush - Tom Colicchio (when I googled to find a photo, I found this! Haha. I have never seen him with hair!) There is just something about a guy that can cook. He is sometimes a bit sarcastic, but then he will say something so nice 2 minutes later.

source

Current Drink -  Creamsicle -- 8 oz Orange Juice, 2 tbsp plain yogurt, ice. Blend up and enjoy!

Current Excitement -  This weekend K and A and the babe are coming to have a beach day with us! I can't wait to take them to my favorite burrito place! Or maybe that pupusa place I have been wanting to try.

Current fashion trend - I bought a couple of brightly colored tops, which I wear with jeans when I am feeling frisky. I wear it with these shoes.

Current Favorite Blog/Website - You've probably already heard of it, but I really love Read it Later, which is now called Pocket. It allows you to "bookmark" a page to read later offline or transfer to your eReader to read at a later date. It is also very easily searchable. I use it a ton! 
 

Current Favorite Film - I went to the movies and saw To Rome With Love. It was okay but not great. Other than that, I haven't seen a movie in AGES. 

Curent Food - Steel cut oats. I have them almost every day for breakfast. With whatever fresh fruit I have on hand, plus craisins, chia and sesame seeds, it's so good!

Current Guilty Pleasure - Booze. I normally don't drink very much, but lately I have had a few nights where there have been one too many glasses of wine. It's been great but it's making me a lot less motivated to run the next day!

Current Indulgence - Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee. I am still trying to figure out how to order though. Since when does "light on the cream" mean EXTRA cream?

Current Mood - Good!

Current New Find - The store down the street from me has the best bulk aisle. They have pretty much anything you could ask for -- spices, baking products, herbs, nuts, seeds, grains...you name it. It's so great when I need a bit of cinnamon for a recipe to be able to just get $0.13 worth!

Current Outfit -  Right now? I am in my pajamas. Pants are overrated.

Current Peeve -  People who are untidy/unorganized. I had a dream last night about it. I started a new job as a manager and the place I took over was a mess! 

Current Song - I have that Payphone song stuck in my head. I don't LOVE it, but there it is.

Current Triumph - I ran every day this week so far. I know it's only Wednesday, but I will take my triumphs where I can get them! 

Current TV Show - Top Chef Season I

Current Wish-List - I want a new iPhone. Little by little, things on mine are slowing down/stopping.

Currently Delaying - Buying a new iPhone. I figure I will use the old one until it's gone completely.

What's currently going on in your life? Do you like Top Chef? Do you ever shop in the bulk aisle?

Monday Misc

- The other day I met up with Jill and B for a couple of drinks and some chatter. We had a bunch of great conversations, one of which was the fact that Jill did not put on pants and I was wearing a sports bra. B was of the mind that we should have both tried harder to look presentable, but I was happy that Jill and I were of the same mind set. I guess what I am trying to say is that most bloggers I have met have been exactly how they seemed like they would be from their blogs. Thank goodness. I hope that I am the same!

- Speaking of other bloggers, I don't think I mentioned S & R. I have probably talked about them before, since they were the ones who gave us the tent. We met this couple while traveling in Malawi a couple of years ago. They were nice and fun and we ended up hanging out together for a few days before parting ways. We have kept in touch and VOILA, last week they had a wedding to go to in Santa Cruz and they came and stayed with us and we had a great time! This is why I love travel. You meet people that are kindred spirits. You invite them to come and stay with you and you MEAN IT! It's great.

- I don't have TV at home. No TV. No cable. No satellite. I like it this way. This is not strange to me. I grew up without TV and never really got into the habit of watching TV as a way to wind down. Don't talk to me about Gilligan's Island. I know there is a hot girl and a sailor, but I am not sure about the rest of the show. A lot of people find this weird. I find it weird that we have gotten so used to having TV that it seems strange NOT to have one. I am not saying that if you do have one and/or watch it that there is anything wrong with that. I am not saying that I don't watch Top Chef from time to time. I am just saying that there is a lot of crap on TV these days and I don't want to get sucked into it. And I would, because I DO have an addictive personality. So I just avoid it all together.

- I have not felt like running lately. I still want to run, but I don't really want to do the work. I want the effect I get from running, because afterward I always feel great, but I am feeling super, SUPER lazy and unmotivated these days. I think I hit a tiny training wall. Luckily last week was a step back week, so hopefully I will start this week off on the right foot!

- Right now for book club, we are reading Cutting for Stone. I am about half way through. So far, so good! Have you read it? What do you think? No spoilers!

How was your weekend? Do you ever meet up again with people from  your travels? What about blog friends? Do they seem the way they portray on their blogs?

Finish This: June

A couple of great blogger friends did this, and I think it's fun (plus I am a copycat), so here goes!

Maybe I should go to the conversational Spanish meetup at the local library.
I love living near the ocean.
People would say that I’m brutally honest.
I don’t understand people who are late, flaky or don't follow through with things.
When I wake up in the morning the first thing I do is start a pot of coffee.
I lost my way when I tried running on a new trail (and do almost every time)!
Life is full of difficult decisions.
My past is full of carefree days at the beach, good memories and great experiences!
I get annoyed when things don't go my way.
Parties are something I don't really go to/have very much anymore.
I wish I had more patience.
Dogs are slobbery and stinky and hairy.
Cats are snide and snooty.
Tomorrow I’m going back to CA (I'm in OR)!
I have low tolerance for people who try to strike up random conversations in public places.
I’m totally terrified of failing.
I wonder why I have such high expectations (of others and myself!)
Never in my life have I been to Yellowstone.
High school was a fun and easy time of my life.
When I’m nervous my sweat is really stinky. (**and I put my fingers in my armpits and I smell them like this. That's gross**)
One time at a family gathering we had a food fight. My uncle started it. Or maybe it was my Dad. Bad!
Take my advice:
Making my bed is a must every day as soon as I get out of bed.
I’m almost always on time or early to meetings, parties and events.
I’m addicted to coffee, the internet and running.
I want someone to take care of any and all car issues for me. I hate dealing with them. I would rather do dishes every day for the rest of my life.

What do you wish you had more of? What are you terrified of? Finish a few yourself in the comments below!

Currently: June

Current Book - The Night Circus -- Erin Morgenstern  (so far, I am LOVING it) 

Current Celebrity Crush - Ibrahim Afellay from the Dutch National team. I know, he looks young, but he is 26, so I am not rocking the cradle too badly. He's a great athlete. I find that very attractive.

  

Current Drink -  Coffee w/ vanilla creamer.

Current Excitement -  I found a thrift store near my house with 50% off. You would think that would mean they just double the price and then give you "half off" but it's really cheap. I got an REI dry wicking hiking shirt for $1.50! 

Current fashion trend - For my birthday, I received some new running shorts. I am not sure if they are fashionable. You decide. 

Current Favorite Blog/Website - I am really loving Nilsa's blog lately. She brings up so many great points and backs them up with great writing. Also check out her list of trends that she "missed out" on. 

Current Favorite Film -  Spaceballs. Another classic. 

Curent Food - Cherries. I ate about a pound of them today. 

Current Guilty Pleasure - Ice cream. 2 times in one day on Sunday. 

Current Indulgence - Going to the beach. I went twice yesterday. Not to sunbathe but just for a walk. It was great. 

Current Mood - sick, blah, bleh

Current New Find - Running on East Cliff Drive

Current Outfit - Jeans, sweater and sneakers (yes, I put on pants today!) 

Current Peeve - People who leave trash on the beach. Really, people? 

Current Song - It's an old one, but this She Wants Revenge song really gets me going. 

Current Triumph - Under a 7:30 pace for my last half marathon. 

Current TV Show - Nothing. (See above re guilty pleasure)

Current Wish-List - A new car (mine is back in the shop...again)

Currently Delaying - Running. I don't feel good. I want to run, but I don't want to at the same time. 

What's currently going on in your life? Are you fashionable? Have you watched any of the Euro cup?