P-I-L-S-N-E-R

What a week. This week's title is brought to you by my brother, who was playing WWF and scored this little number. Not bad, eh?

In Missouri, this is a common sight. There's a country song where the guy talks about taking a back road and how he hopes if there is a traffic jam it's becuase of a tractor. Well, usually it is!

I did a lot of running this week.

Long Run = 7 miles

And Shopping: 

Goodwill: Banana Republic skirt = $3, Mossimo sweater = $3

Asics Running shoes: Shoe Carnival = $59.99

I also went to the Farmer's Market, which for some reason is only from 2:30 to 6:30 on Thursday. Doesn't that seem like a strange time? I mean, if you work, when do you go!? (lunch break)

I ate these in about 5 minutes.

I love tiny potatoes!

I ate the tomatoes with olive oil and salt. Yummy!

I went to Walmart to buy a suitcase and spent a half an hour looking at stuff like this. 

What are these for?

Looks like condoms, but its...golf balls!

Strange name for a golf ball.

It was HOT. I sent this picture to my boyfriend and he said, "Why are you driving so slow?" He did not mention the temperature. This does not take the heat index into consideration.

Here's where I am, in case you were wondering. I bet you didn't realize that I was so close to Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee AND Mississippi!

See the bootheel? Isn't it cute!!?

I went to the library. Has anyone read this book? It looked interesting. 

This sign cracked me up. I mean, is this a common occurrence? People forgetting? 

There was a heavy rainstorm and a casualty. Don't worry; he was rescued shortly after the wind and rain let up.

I did a little crafting. Crafting = paper cutter, glue stick, photo paper and CHOCOLATE!! 

(72% dark)

But best of all, I tried on these shorts that I bought when I lived in Sacramento (about 13 years ago) and THEY STILL FIT!!! Score!

And on that (good) note, I will end this post. 

How was your week?

This post is part of these hops:

Why I Blog

I used to send emails.

Wait, let me back up a minute. Before that, I used to make phone calls. I would arrive in a new country and I would ask in bad French where I could find a phone card (un carte telephonique! telephonique!!?) and then I would take my 5 dollar phone card and find a telephone booth where I could spend 7.8 minutes yelling into the phone to my mother (YES! I am fine! No! I don't need any money!) 

That was how people knew I was alright. Then email got more popular and THAT was how I let people know I was okay while I was traveling. At first I was a good daughter/friend/sister. I would send each person a nice little note about what I was doing in New Zealand or wherever and how fun the skydiving/hiking/people watching/sheep was/were there. I would tailor it depending on the other person's interests.

Then it got to be too much. There were too many people to write to. There was not enough time to travel! So I started this blog. If people wanted to know what I was doing, they could read it. If they didn't care, they didn't have to get my periodic emails. And I could talk about what I wanted to talk about and what I was doing. Most importantly, I would have an online journal of my trip. It was a win-win situation.

But Me, and Who I Am, is not just about travel. I am a passionate hater of bad drivers; I am a money saver;  I am a lover of cooking and eating food; I am a reader of books and a taker of photos and I run (or try to run). I realize as a person who would love to have blogging or writing be my job and be able to make money from it that this is usually more easily done if you have a niche. But I don't have a niche. I am all over the place.

I like it that way. I can say what I want and be who I really am, in life and in the internet world. There is always someone on the other side of a computer who understands what I am going through, be it a travel situation or a life crisis. I love that there is such a community out there, of runners, of readers, of bloggers...of PEOPLE.

So...why I blog? I blog to let off steam, to write, to share, to meet, to understand and to learn.

Why do you blog?

This is a Dare to Share post with the subject of: Blogger Identity. The task was to write a post that reveals, discusses, or explores who you are as a blogger.

In Which I Discover an Allergy

I had the misfortune to discover an allergy late in life. 

I wrote this when I was in Uruguay a few years ago.

"We went to the beach one day and everything was fine. The next day we got up and were preparing to leave when I started to itch. I had peed in the dark in a bush the night before and thought maybe I had squatted in some poison oak or something, but soon a rash had spread all over my body. Next the rash kind of dissipated and in its place was just swollen redness. We went to the doctor who gave me cortisone and told me to stay out of the sun. Apparently I had used a lotion or soap which in addition to the sun had given me some sort of allergic reaction. Who knew! To the right is a photo of my misfortune." (original post here)

I had no idea why I had swelled up. I was devastated becuase the doctor told me to stay out of the sun. I love the outdoors. The last thing I needed was to have an allergy to the SUN! However, I tried my best to stay in the shade but was hopeful that that was not the issue.

Then about a year after that, I was in Pensacola lying on the beach, when something bit me on the foot. I looked down to see a fire ant dining away on my instep. I killed him with one fell swoop of my hand. About 5 minutes later my palms started to itch. I looked down and my hands were swelling up. My chest started to itch and I looked down and there it was again, the redness and swelling! 

I have never had an allergy to anything. Give me nuts, dairy and gluten! Give me poison oak and mosquitoes!  They don't faze me! I am invincible! Not only am I invincible, but I am unaware of what one should do upon discovering an allergy. So, Mr. Lovely drove me to Publix, where we proceeded to buy about 40 different kinds of anti-inflammatory, anti-allergy medicines. Mr. Lovely even bought Claritin (which I ended up giving away to someone with "that kind" of allergy). 

But the winner was Benedryl. I took two of those and a cold shower, fell asleep immediately (this is the downfall of Benedryl) and woke up non-swollen and a lot more comfortable. 

I have been bitten a few times since and I have swollen up pretty badly. But now? I know what to do when it comes. I carry Benedryl around with me in my wallet, just in case. I don't freak out like I did in Uruguay. I don't need an IV. And I am so happy that I am not allergic to the SUN!

Do you have any allergies? When did you discover them? Was it scary? What did you do? 

This post is part of Karen's Flashback Friday blog hop!  

You can see some other hops I may participate in HERE.

Number One , Firsts and Other Randoms

{1} Today I am over at Women Rockin' The Road, talking about My First Time. Go HERE to check it out.

{2}What is your number one post? Mine is THIS one. Which is funny because it did not get that many comments. But it got the most page hits. And you want to know why? Because people google search things like "locks of love", "chop my hair" and "haircut" and it comes up. If you were to go by number of comments, it would be THIS one. I think. Do you guys know if there is a way to find out which one has the most without having to look at each page list of posts?

{3}I went to the farmers market today for the first time. Why haven't I gone there before? I don't know! All the stuff was so fresh and so good. I bought blackberries, tomatoes, potatoes and peaches. I already ate half the blackberries, a tomato and almost all the potatoes (don't judge - they were small!)

{4} I am thinking about joining a Zumba class once a week but I have never done it before and I am not the most graceful person in the world. Okay, I can't dance and I trip over myself and kick others. Any tips?

{5} If that doesn't work there is also line dancing.

{6} Next weekend I am going home for my friend's 1st birthday party. I mean her daughters 1st birthday party. Obviously. She asked us to make something to put in a time capsule that her daughter can open when she is 16. I am WAAAAY over thinking this. I decided to make something. I am not very confident of my crafting skills. I will probably post (embarrassing, crappy) photos of the "project" after I show it to my friend (I am pretty sure she doesn't read this blog, but just in case).

How is your Thursday going? Are you ready for the weekend yet? DO you have any smart ideas for items to put in a time capsule just in case mine sucks? 

You Can Do it, Put Your Back Into It

I think I've mentioned THIS SONG before. It really gets me going. There are several songs that really get me going. And lately I have been getting going more than ever! I contribute this to my new play list.

Running is hard. There are many things to contend with. You have to work late; you are tired; it is getting dark earlier; it is too hot outside; It is too early; It is too late; You just ate; you are hungry; Your friends are going out for happy hour. THERE ARE TOO MANY BUGS! The excuses not to sometimes come at you like bombs. Getting out there is hard, but once you do it, you feel better for it.

Even if I beat all the excuses and go out and do it, I am lucky if I can run a 10 minute mile. However, the last couple of days I have been running faster. And I think I partially have Jay Z and Ice Cube to thank for it. My original play list was a mix of genres, but lately it has been more of the rap variety, and I do declare it makes my feet move a little quicker.

Here are a couple of other things that may be helping my running speeds.

Liquids: I know that everyone says this. “Drink lots of liquids. blah, blah, blah.” We have heard it all before. However, as much as you have heard it, I am going to say it again. I have been drinking coffee in the morning and then tea and water throughout the work day and I am ending my runs cooler and not as worn out. On the downside, I have to pee at least once an hour ALL DAY, but it is helping me later in the evening.

Food: This one is a hard one for me. I get hungry so I eat. Then it ends up being too soon before the run and I end up remembering what I ate for the entire run (ick). However, lately I have been having an early (non-spicy) dinner and then running about 2 or 2.5 hours later and my stomach HAS been happier for it. And my energy levels are higher.

Intervals: Oh, how I dislike intervals. They have always been on my marathon training schedule and I have ALWAYS ignored them. Well this time I decided not to. Once a week, whether I like it or not, I am doing intervals. What is this, you ask? For me, it is a 1 mile warm up, then a quarter of a mile where you run as fast as you can (or at your 5k pace), then a one minute break where you can walk or jog. You repeat the .25 mile/1 minute “interval” 5+ times (as many as you want). Then when you are done you do a 1 mile cool down. It doesn’t sound very fun, right? Well, it definitely kicks my you know what! However, I went from 10 minute + miles last week to 9 minute miles this week, so something must be working!

Time: You can’t discount the results you get over time. Just from running 3-4 times a week, getting used to the pace and the heat and everything, I think that this alone would make me a little faster.

Heat: This one is hard, as it is still 90 degrees out at 8:30 at night, but I have been trying to time my run right before it gets dark, so I can maximize any coolness there may be. Even a few degrees helps! 

What tips do you have for me? How do you deal with the heat? What music is on YOUR running play list?  

Sidenote: Also, I finally joined Twitter. Yes, now I have one more internet thing to waste my time on occupy my time! Here I am: @travelspot06. If you have an account, let me know what it is and I will come over and follow you. Oh and since we are talking about wasting time, I also have a WWF account: kywils. Come see if you can beat me (you probably can.)

This post is part of Fitness Friday at Life as I See It. 

Run Home Barry!

They announced it on the radio. In order to get tickets you had to go to the stadium and get a bracelet. Only 5000 people would get one. I didn't think there was a chance in you-know-where that I would get one. I was at work and luckily I had an awesome co-manager who let me leave work to go see if I could get a bracelet.

I have been a Giants fan since I was a kid. However, the last couple of years had been especially good ones. Luckily our company had seats that they didn't always use for clients and if we begged the VP we would sometimes get the left over tickets. If they didn't have tickets, we would buy them. It was only 9 dollars for a standing room only ticket and you could almost always find an unoccupied seat to borrow. In those days they didn't even check tickets. We would often go down to the third base line right near the dugout. We went whenever we could.

This is a real Polaroid! I mean, it was 1990!

The year before, Barry had broken the home runs per year record. I was at the game where he beat McGuire's record. It was great! The ball went right by me! I *almost* had 450,000 dollars (how much the ball was sold for later). It was an exciting time.

But now, the Giants were going to the WORLD SERIES! And here I was, only a few miles from where they were giving out bracelets that could put me in the middle of the action. I had to get one of those bracelets!!! My friend John and I went down to the park and it was a hive of activity. However, surprisingly, there were not as many people as we thought there would be and we both got a bracelet after all.

The next step was this: the bracelets were numbered 1- 5000. They would draw a number from a hat and whichever number they drew would be the first person in line to buy tickets. It would be announced the next day. I was number 4947. John was 4948.

Once again, I had to work and I was at work when the news came out that the numbers were announced. The first person would be.... 4899!!! And the tickets went on sale in a half an hour! I begged to get off again and ran down to the stadium as fast as I could go. Actually I had to take the train and let me tell you, it seemed to be moving REALLY slow that day. I got to the stadium and the line was outrageous. I finally found my place in line by asking everyone what their number was, only to find out that....I was too late. My number had already gone by! I was TOO late! However, I could go to the end of the line. Since I DID have a bracelet, I was entitled to my 4 tickets.

The wait that day took about 8 hours. But finally, I, the last person in line, got to buy my four standing room only tickets. For 60 bucks each. I could have turned around and sold those tickets for twice or three times their price. But I had stood in line all day and I had fought for my right to see my team! Nobody could keep me away from that game. Nobody!

Signs, Rally Caps and Face Paint! October 2002

Have you ever wanted something so bad you would stand in line all day (or all night) to get it? (I have heard of people doing this for Chick-Fil-A.)

This is a Throwback, which may or may not be a re-occurring feature.

Eat It: 10 Places to Eat in New Orleans

If you ever go to New Orleans, I suggest straying away from the beaten (aka BOURBON St) path and going to see some of the better parts of the city. Of course, if it's your first time, you may want to go to Bourbon St, buy a 3 for 1 beer, eat a Po-Boy and some gumbo and see if you can see what all the fuss is about. By all means, do it.

However, when I tell people that one of the main things I miss about New Orleans is the food, I am NOT talking about Bourbon St. In fact, I am not even usually talking about the French Quarter, although there are some good restaurants there as well. I am talking about the REST of New Orleans. Both the every day stuff and the extravagant stuff. 

Here is, in my first ever episode of "Eat It", my list of food you should not miss if you are in...New Orleans, Louisiana.

1. Rio Mar: In the Warehouse District: This place is a seafood heaven. Eat it: five hour roast pork (I know, it's not a fish) and the bacon wrapped tuna. All the dishes are delicious. There are tapa style appetizers which are fun to share and are all great (I recommend especially the grilled octopus and the mussels with chorizo) The owner and head chef Adolfo, has a couple other restaurants (La Boca and A Mano) in the area, both which are also good. **NOTE: If you are a fan of OpenTable, you can book your reservation through them. (Menu HERE) 

2.  Surrey's: On Magazine Street, Lower Garden District: Great breakfast, brunch or lunch place (closes at 3). My advice to you is GET THERE EARLY as they have a line if you get there after about 9:30 or 10. Eat it: yummy crab omelet, great salmon scramble and super good grits! Also, the Costa Rican is good as well. The best part is all of the homemade tables, which are old magazine clippings, beads and other things like that surrounded by resin. You are definitely entertained while you are eating! Drink it: Fresh, homemade juices! (Menu HERE)

3. A Crab or Crayfish (pronounced "Craw-fish") Boil on the Fly (map): Down at the end of Audubon Park is an area near the river called The Fly. First you go to the Big Fisherman and buy yourself some boiled crabs or crayfish. They are already pre-seasoned and boiled and ready to eat. Next, you buy a lot of napkins and beer. Then you find a friend or two or twenty seven and you go down to the fly and you peel and eat until your fingers are sore. If you need a lesson on how to eat a crayfish, I could explain it to you. Or you can go HERE OR you can watch this video (this guy doesn't remove the vein though). Come to find out, there are A LOT of "how to eat a crayfish" tutorials online! Drink it: Budweiser. Or Miller Light. Take your pick.

4. Herbsaint - Warehouse District (St. Charles Ave) - A French inspired restaurant which is a tad pricey but has an excellent menu. Eat it: fried frog legs, pork belly or the duck leg confit. (MENU) Drink it: Sazerac - a NOLA classic!


5. Dick and Jennys - On Tchoupitoulas St (read my post about that weird name HERE). Eat it: duck confit salad, roasted pork tenderoin, Mary's Flourless Chocolate Cake . (MENU)

6. GW Finns - French Quarter - This place has awesome seafood. Eat it: smoked sizzling oysters, New Bedford Sea Scallops and white chocolate and caramel bread pudding. (MENU)

7. Camillia Grill - Carrollton Ave - Eat it: Hamburgers! Supposedly the best in town, and if the line has anything to do with it, they may be right! Drink it: Milkshake.

8. Lebanon's Cafe - Carrollton Ave - Eat it: hummus, lamb chops and vegetarian dolmas! Drink it: BYO--whatever. 

9. Slice Pizzeria - St Charles Ave, Lower Garden District - This place has good pizza and even better, they have a great Portuguese wine, Famega Vinho Verde. Drink it! Eat it: spinach, sun-dried tomato and artichoke OR The Bacon, Basil and Garlic. (MENU)

10. Slim Goodies:  I have written about them before. We used to go here almost every Sunday. It is run by a really down home lady named Kappa who makes you wait out on the sidewalk (and you almost always have to on the weekend!) for your name to be called. Eat it: The Little Goat, the fancy pants or the guatemalan. Drink it: BYO champagne and make your own mimosas! 

NOTE: There are about 400 other places I could recommend, but this is a good sampling of some of my favorite places.  

My idea is to make "Eat It" a regular feature. I know I am always looking for great places to eat in every city! If you have a city that you think I may have been to that you want recommendations for, let me know!  

Have you tried any of these places? What is your favorite place to eat in New Orleans? Do you have an recommendations for me? Where is your favorite place to eat in your city?

Lovely Day For a Guinness

source

 First, I just want to say...Happy Sunday everyone! This week has been busy! I am trying to (slowly) revamp my blog so if you get a chance, click out of Reader to check it out! I updated my Bookshelf and Around The World pages and added a List of Lists page. So what's happened this week, you ask? Well...let me show you!

I drove around small town America. 

Commerce, MO

 Went wild in the Target dollar section...

If only I had more storage space!

 I found this new kind of Ruffles. Has anyone tried these? They seem interesting. 

I found this bar. Jo Mamas!

I got caught in a thunderstorm! 

Yes I was driving when I took these. No, I did not die.

But then it was finally cool enough for a nice run! 

(see...not driving for this pic!)

I found this sign, which I thought was pretty funny. 

And I found a tiny pony! He was only about 3 ft tall! So cute! While stopped on the side of the road to take this photo, two guys pulled over to ask me if I was okay. When I said yes, one proceeded to tell me that this tiny pony has a BABY tiny pony. I did not see it that day, but now I am on the lookout.

I made a new running playlist. I have a post in the works about why it is all rap. 

Then yesterday I did my very favorite thing in the world. Made a pitcher of this. 

And relaxed with this. 

How was your week? How is your weekend going?

This post is part of these hops: 

My Email Inbox

I get a lot of things in my email inbox that I usually just throw away. This week I thought I would share some of my junk with you. 

I signed up for Skype when I was in Brazil. On Monday I got this in my inbox. 

Even though it just says, "Do more with your Skype credit" or something like that, somehow it's better in Portuguese. 

I also got this from dailymile. Yay!

Which is much better than the last one I showed you. Remember this? Boo.

I got a FREE eCookbook. You can too if you click the photo below!

I had to return something at Amazon. 

Did you know they make you pay your own postage? WTH! 

I got this from Running Ahead. 

Can you read it? No? It says, "Do you really run this fast?" (my speed says 360 MPH) Why, yes, of course I do!

I got this. Isn't this too bad? This makes me sad. You just can't fondle an eReader like you can a real book. You just can't browse Amazon like you can in a real store!

I got this from my buddy Delta. Tempting. I almost want to buy a ticket somewhere! 

Paris anyone? I hear it's beautiful in the fall!

Well, that's it from this week. 

What's in your inbox?

Don't Throw Your Latte Away

source

I have always been an avid saver and was also a frequent "latte" drinker. I wrote this post after watching a clip on TV about "The Latte Factor".

“Save now. Fewer trips to the café now can lead to more vacations later,” says Fidelity.

“Figure out your ‘latte factor’, be it your frequent lunches out, your fetish for new shoes, or your everyday coffee, and minimize it or cut it out entirely,” says the man on CNBC.

This seems to be a common theme with the retirement gurus. Skip the coffee, save a few extra dollars for later. It makes sense, right? 5 dollars a day for coffee can lead to an extra 1300 dollars a year in your savings account. To me it does make sense, and to one friend whose dad’s motto is “save today, spend tomorrow” but not everyone agrees with us.

I spoke with another friend who when I suggested she start saving money now, said, “Why worry about later all the time when you should be thinking about having fun right now?” At first I thought, “Wow, she is so naive! She is going to be screwed later!” Then I spoke to my dad, who was the one that first taught me how to save. He said, “Sure, cut out your latte now and then, but don’t deprive yourself of all fun now by always worrying about later.”

Dad saves the day again. Leave it to him to depart some words to the wise regarding finances. Save now, sure, but have fun in the meantime. What is the point of saving all your life if you are not going to get to enjoy it? I am not saying that I am going to die tomorrow, but…what if I did? Would I be happy with my life so far? Would I wish that I had blown a little more money on shoes instead of scrimping and saving for my non-existent retirement?

Why can't we have both? I am going to have fun now. AND save for later. It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.

**Since the original airing of this post, I have saved approximately $5000 by not going to Starbucks 5 x a week.** You can also see my original follow up post for this one HERE.   

This post is part of the Red Dress Club's writing meme: Find something that you're proud of, but something you haven't read for awhile. Do a complete overhaul. It is also  part of Flashback Friday with Karen at A Peek at Karen's World and Coffee Talk with FTLOB. 

What about you? Are you a saver or a spender? What do you spend your "latte" money on? 

Wine & Love (2)

Wine and Love, brought to you by Nora, is a list of things that make you want to reach for a bottle of wine vs. things you love for the week!

WINE:

- The same project as last week's meeting. The drama continues. There are a lot of high profile people involved. Actually, there are simply a lot of PEOPLE involved. There seems to be a lot of miscommunication due to too many cooks in the kitchen.

- Bugs. I went running last night and got several in my eyes and mouth. I spent half of my run fighting them, wiping them and spitting them.

- More bugs. I was warned of chiggers, but thought I had escaped them. Until I keep finding random really itchy bites in my pants line and sock line, which is where I was warned I would find them. Itchy bugs are the worst!

- The heat. Still. It is not quite as bad, but it is still hard to get motivated to do anything.

LOVE:

- The weather last Sunday. It rained and it was cool enough to take a very happy run.

- That run was good too. I ran roughly a 9 minute mile for three miles. I AM finally getting stronger!

- Peaches. They are fresh right now and you can buy them on the side of the road. Yummy!

- This weekend. I am looking forward to relaxing, taking some photos and working on a few projects I have in the works. Hopefully I can catch up on some personal things!

- Work has been busy. It goes by fast and I am feeling productive. Except for number one in the wine category, things are going well. Most of the people I am working with are great!

What about you? What have you loved or not loved (needed a glass of wine for) this week?