Today is a five mile run.  Yesterday was a rest day, and Monday I did 3 miles.  Actually it was only 2.81 because for some reason, my 3 mile route that I mapped turned out to be only 2.81 according to my iPhone.  Close enough.

I’m doing my 5 miles to end up at the library.  I’m going to help them with work, and then I have my Friends meeting at 5:30.  I’ll be stinky at the library, and sweaty and stuff, but I’m alright with that.  I gave my mom my Friends info, and my bottle of water for when I’m done.  I had a hard time figuring out my trip, because I wanted to end at the library, and I also wanted to have it be fairly flat.

I spent both Monday and Tuesday at City Hall helping out Trevor in the IT department, but he’s going on vacation starting tomorrow.  I’ll see if my dad needs any help in his office while Trevor is gone.

I walked to Larry’s last night to watch the City Council meeting, and it was a 1.5 mile walk that I went “the long way” and made it over 2 miles.  I took a lot of nice pictures on my walk, and I even SAW THREE DEER!  It was absolutely amazing, and I would never have seen them if I hadn’t been walking.  I even said an aloud, “Thank You” to Mother Earth.  I also saw so much trash.  It makes me extremely sad.  I am going this afternoon to the DPW to get some orange cones so I can pick up trash on a busy road and not worry about getting hit by cars.  The area on Pearl St is VERY hilly, and I don’t want to fall in the road and get run over!  They also said they would give me some reflective vests for my friends and I.  Will I wear those?  Only if I’m picking up trash at night (not likely).

Now, I just need some friends to help me.  I plan on picking up trash on Thursday, Friday, AND Saturday afternoons.  I’m recruiting my parents on Saturday.  Please let me know if you are available.

6.18 miles in 1:08. A bit tired, but felt pretty good. I perhaps stopped to walk for 20 seconds every two miles. Not bad at all! Tomorrow is a rest day and I’m excited for it.

I ran four miles today with no trouble at all.  My iPhone app was doing really well until the VERY end when my mom called, and so it says I only logged 3.69 miles, but it’s wrong.  PLUS, the GPS has me zigzagging all over the road. I used mapmyrun.com to figure it out precisely, and I got to 4.07.  It was pretty good, too, and I didn’t have much of a problem.  I didn’t have to stop and walk much, maybe once every mile, and I walked for about 15-20 seconds.  Nothing major.  It was very cold today, so I ran in long pants and a sweatshirt.  The sweatshirt came off around mile 1.5, and my the time I was around mile 3, I wish that I had worn shorts.  The weather was around 40 degrees.  That’s a good way to learn, and now I know that in 40 degree weather, if I’m going to be running more than 3 miles, I should wear shorts and a thinner long sleeve jacket.  Larry gave me good advice today that if it’s cold out, I can jog in place, or do jumping jacks, or something to warm myself up before I go outside.  That way I won’t have that freezing cold at the beginning of the run, but hot at the end of the run problem.

Either tomorrow or Sunday I will do my “long” run for the week, and this week it is going to be six miles long.  I haven’t decided what day I’m going to do it yet, because I don’t know if my legs will be sore tomorrow or not.  I think Saturdays are generally a better day for my “long” runs because I sometimes work on Sundays at Macy’s, and that will screw up my calendar.  Saturday during the day, I usually have plenty of time to run.  The schedules I’ve seen go like this for a Sun - Sat schedule:

Sunday - Rest
Monday -  3 or 4 miles
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - varies over weeks: 4,5,5,5,6,5,4
Thursday - 3 or 4 miles
Friday - Rest
Saturday -  Long run - also varies:  6,8,10,11,12,9,8, 13.1!

I’m on the very first week right now, so my long is six.  I’ve screwed up by not starting on Sunday, because Friday I did 4 miles, then another 6 tomorrow, then Sunday a rest.  Then I’ll start over correctly on Monday again.  According to that schedule, next Saturday I’ll be at 8 miles!  Holy crap! That’s a lot of miles.  On my rest days, I would like to do some strength training (not my legs, though), some yoga or pilates for stretching, and also some walking.  Walking is low impact, but it would still be good for my leg muscles to be warmed up.

I also read that if I’m planning on being out for more than an hour, I should carry water with me, and drink some every 20 minutes.  In the summer I used to carry my camel bak bottle in my hand, but that was only for about 2 miles.  I don’t think I would like to carry it for 6 or 8 miles.

It’s hard to figure out good routes to take.  My friend Eric lives a few towns over in Townsend and it’s 9.9 miles from my house, so I will run there for my 10 mile run, and then I will make him drive me home.  It’d be fun to hang out with him and have lunch or dinner, but how will I get dry clothes to his house without driving there first?  This is all very complicated.  Perhaps I will have to hang out with him before the 10 mile run, and give him a bag of stuff for that special day.  That sounds like a good plan.  I can just shower at his house, and then we can do something fun as a reward for me running 10 miles.  Perhaps I can convince him to give me a massage! Heh.

I also wanted to take the train to a rail trail that is in Ayer, but if I do that, I can’t bring anything with me because I don’t have anywhere to store it.  It seems like I’ll have to drive my car, leave stuff in my car, and then go out for lunch (Larry said there are lots of good restaurants in Ayer).  But I would much rather read on the train, bring a small backpack, and keep it in a locker somewhere.  But there are no lockers at the train station or at the rail trail.  Bummer.

I went to the New England Aquarium today with Chris.  We saw turtles, and penguins, and sharks, and sting rays, and lots and lots of other fishes.  I learned the correct way to use “fish” and “fishes” months ago when I was chatting with Emiliano on the phone.  I think he called me and had me look it up, because he was driving in a car, and he knew I had my magical phone.  If there are many goldfish in a tank, then you would say “Ooh, look at all these fish.”  But if you’re at the Aquarium, and there are many different species, then you say “Wow, that’s a lot of fishes.”  ****The more you know****

After the aquarium, we went back to his apartment in Sommerville and cooked up an asparagus and tofu meal with pasta.  I made him take fancy pictures with his very expensive-looking camera, but I have to wait until he e-mails them to me until I can post them.  Hopefully he will also send me pictures of the penguins, and I will post those as well.

Once home, I had a delicious piece of cherry pie, and then a bit later I had a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats (with half a banana!).  Deeeeelicious.

I have to be in Gardner for 8:15am tomorrow for my class practicum, so I think that I am going to try to wake up at 6am, go for a run outside and then leave the house by 7:45.  I don’t want to have to wake up that early, but it’s 9:35, and I’m almost ready for bed.  The good thing about exercising before I go, is this way I won’t have to take two showers tomorrow, which is more eco-friendly.   I’m going to risk running in the streets (even though we got a foot of snow on Sunday), and run my two (or three) miles outside.  It’s quicker, and I can just start running the minute I leave the house.  Rather than walking to the gym, changing, exercising, changing again, and walking home.  Also, I went to the gym this morning, and it was SO hot.  It was miserable, and I just wanted someone to open a window.  I don’t usually swear, but in my head, I was thinking “Why is it so mother f-ing hot in here??????”  I just wanted to run outside where I am cold at first, but then I get nice and warm.  I’ve also noticed that if I run 3 miles outside, and 3 miles on a treadmill, my pedometer will register more steps when I run on the treadmill.  I wonder why that is?  Maybe I take longer steps when I run outside?  I guess that makes sense because on a treadmill, my stride is limited.  (Oh, I just found out the sun won’t rise until 6:17!!!  So maybe I’ll wake up at 6:10, and just run 2 miles since my time is limited.)

I’m angry that I walked around the aquarium for so long (and ran 2.5 miles this morning), and I only have 12,548 steps in.  What’s up with THAT, Mr. Charleston Fluffypants?

Larry and my dad are at Mardi Gras in Vermont at the Magic Hat brewery.  Larry asked me to feed his cat today, so my mom had the great idea that I should run there!  I was already planning on running, so it was getting two birds with one stone!

I ran/walked on the way to Larry’s because I had to go up humongous hills, and I just couldn’t run up them. I did a total of 5 miles!!!!  I was going to stop a bit after mile 3, and take a right onto North St (see map), but I just kept on running.  Then, I was going to take a right onto Pearl St at mile 4, but I just kept on running!!!  I was hungry for lunch at this point, (well, not really, but it was around 1:45, so I knew I should be hungry), but I just kept going!!!!

I did the route on Mapmyrun.com, and here is the elevation:

Mile 2 is when I left Larry’s house, and it was clearly all down hill from there (except for a tad around mile 4.5.  I ran up the entire hill, then walked for a bit when it got flat again to catch my breath.    At mile 3.5, I was running in an open road with the sun blaring down, and I took my sweatshirt off and was running in my sports tank top in 35 degree weather.  I swear, I was so hot it felt like it was 70!  I didn’t put my sweatshirt back on until around 4.8.  I got onto a road that wasn’t as sunny, and it got chilly pretty quickly (Hello! 35 degrees!)

Back at home, I filled my camel back (750ml - like a bottle of wine) up, and drank it while I debated with my mom about whether or not I drink too much water.  I sat on the floor while I made her Google it.  We read that I should drink about 69 ounces, more if I exercise a lot (yes).  “This is only 24 ounces!!!!”  I said holding my water bottle.  “Ok…….” she said, hesitantly, still not trusting the answer she just read.  I just ran 5 miles, and she’s worried that I’m drinking too much water!!!!

I had to rest about 25 minutes before I was hungry for lunch (so I started a Numb3rs episode), and then I made a bowl of minestrone soup (from a can), but added about a cup of peas and green beans.  I also made one of my spinach salads, and had a piece of homemade bread.  It was the best lunch ever, and as I sat down to eat it, I said happily, “I love food.”  It was a fantastic run followed by a fantastic lunch.

Right now I am babysitting.  I have done lots and lots of babysitting this week.  $160 or so worth of it.  That’s a lot of money for babysitting.  I was in a very good mood driving here, so I texted Niles and Caroline from Destare and told them I might make an appearance tonight!  I don’t want to be out too late because I have to run and work in the morning, but I’ll stop by if I leave the babies early enough.  Saturday is a good day to go to Destare (the busiest), so I’m sure I will run into a lot of people that I know, and that will be nice.  It has been over two months since I’ve stepped foot in that place, and I finally feel like I can go back.  We’ll see if I end up there tonight, but it would be nice to stop in and say Hi.

I was talking to my mom about some health related symptoms at dinner last night, and she said “Hmmm.  You should probably get tested for diabetes.  Uncle Timmy has diabetes.” (Tim is her brother)

I gave her a blank stare.

Then, I said:

If I have diabetes AND cancer, I am

going to be SOOOO pissed.

And then I added, “But if I do have diabetes, I’m going to pronounce it ‘dia-bee-tus’  like Wilford Brimley on those commercials.”

My mom’s comeback, “Yes, you should be soooo pissed.  But first you should get tested.”

And so:

Dear Allah, Buddah, Jeebus, and Superman,

Please don’t let me have diabetes.  That would suck.  All I know about diabetes is from Turk on Scrubs.  They play games to guess his numbers.  I like games.  Please let me live a long and diabetes-free life playing games that have nothing to do with diabetes.

Lots o’ diabetes-free love,

Robin

I ran errands today.  Literally.  I RAN.  It was awesome.  First stop the post office box to mail a letter to the place where I applied to be a substitute teacher (they needed me to sign a sheet for a criminal background check).  Then I ran to the bank, CVS, and Walgreens (I bought a total of 4 boxes of cereal!), then I walked home (because I was carrying a lot of stuff).  It was about a two mile run, but then another one mile or so walk back (because I got hungry and wanted to get home the quickest way possible).  I needed to exercise and do errands, and be back home and showered by 2pm, so I decided to do them at the same time!  I thought it was a great idea until I checked the weather.  25 degrees.  Oooh that’s cold!

I have heard that when going for a run, you should dress like it is 20 degrees warmer.  Ok, so 45 degrees.  But should I dress to run in 45 degrees? Or walk in 45 degrees?  I have no idea.  I wore a sweatshirt and my winter jacket, and a hat, and both hoods.  The hat came off quickly because I got too hot, and then by the time I got to CVS I was way too sweaty and hot and it was awful.  But then I got outside and was freezing again, and I put on my coat that I had just taken off!  Stupid weather.

Dad isn’t going to be home for dinner tonight, so my mom wanted to do something simple.  Spaghetti!  My mom loves spaghetti.  But I didn’t want to do something too simple, so I am making my own Italian bread (using the dough setting on the bread machine).  I also want to make my own tomato sauce, but I think that it is too complicated.  I want to try to take some canned spaghetti sauce and add some stuff to it to make it taste better.  I also want to add some textured vegetable protein (TVP) to it, to make it like a “meat” sauce.  I read that I just add equal parts TVP to equal parts boiling water, and the TVP absorbs the water, and then I will just use it like meat.

And so, on to the process.  Lots of pictures!!!

Italian Bread using a bread machine

• 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 1/3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (1.5 teaspoons)

Take all the wet ingredients, and put them in the canister first. Then, added the flour.

After the flour is added, hollow out a little hole, and add the yeast.

Put it in the bread machine and choose the “dough” setting.  An hour and twenty minutes for dough ??  That’s bull crap!

I used up four cups of flour so I looked through the cupboards to see if we had more.  While sifting through, I found a small Crystal Light packet, and I thought “Oohhh… I’ll be making that.”  Then, I found TWO boxes of generic Jell-O!  And I said “Ooohhh… I’ll be making that, too!!”   (and I had some peach jasmine tea, too)

The Crystal light is still on the counter, but I mixed the two flavors of Jello (Strawberry Banana and Raspberry), and made them right away!  I made the “quick” version with ice cubes because I wanted Jell-O right now!  (I even added some bananas to part of it).

After the machine dinged to tell me it was done, I took it out and placed it on a cutting board with flour.  It was a lot more dough that I expected!

Then I separated it into two loaves, let them rise for 40 minutes under a damp towel, and then put them on a cookie sheet.  I brushed them with egg, and put them in the oven for 35 minutes.

The final product!!!

Look at how beautiful and golden it is. (Oh, but I’ve just realized that I forgot to add the slices to the top to give it that characteristically Italian bread look. D’oh!)

1. Place flour, brown sugar, warm water, salt, olive oil and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
2. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Form dough into two loaves. Place the loaves seam side down on a cutting board generously sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise, until doubled in volume about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. In a small bowl, beat together 1 egg and 1 tablespoon water. Brush the risen loaves with egg mixture. Make a single long, quick cut down the center of the loaves with a sharp knife. Gently shake the cutting board to make sure that the loaves are not sticking. If they stick, use a spatula or pastry knife to loosen. Slide the loaves onto a baking sheet with one quick but careful motion.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Spaghetti was made as usual, but I did make some TVP to add.  I did 1/2 cup TVP and 1/2 cup water.  Then, I microwaved it until all the water had been absorbed.

I fluffed it with a fork to make sure the water was all gone.

Then, I just mixed it in with tomato sauce before adding it to my spaghetti.

It tasted pretty good, it wasn’t bad at all, but I agree with my mom that she said it didn’t have much of a taste.  But it tasted fine with the sauce.  I made my mom try it, even though she said “It doesn’t look very appetizing.”  And I said “Come on mom, that’s where Dylan gets it.  Just try it.“  (Dylan is terrible about trying new foods.)

And here is the final product.  It looks just like ground up meat.

The TVP would make excellent Sloppy Joes!

And now I am too full to eat my Jell-O.  I’m waiting for my stomach to empty out some. 

This morning for my morning run with my dad, there was a bit of a mix up.  I had asked him what time he usually ate breakfast, and he said “around 7.”  So I said “ok, well, depending on when I wake up, I will either eat breakfast first (if it’s 9ish), or we’ll go running first and then I’ll eat.  I got up around 8:15, and my mom said my dad was still in bed.  So I ate breakfast.  Then, he came downstairs at 9:30 and was surprised to see that I was awake, and disappointed that I had eaten already.  He had been waiting for me to wake up, and had been lying in bed reading.  I didn’t know that, and thought he was just sleeping.  So he ate breakfast at 9:30, and we had to wait until 11 to run.  I did an extra mile today, and he turned around again at the .8 mile mark.   Here’s my route.

Once home, I took a shower, ate some soup, and headed out to Coraline.  I walked, and my parents and brother drove to the theater.  I was reading while I was walking, so I didn’t make it all the way.  My parents stopped me when I was about 2/3 of the way there, and my dad yelled out “This is as far as you made it???”  Luckily, there was a red light, and I shouted to him “What time is it?”  “1:25″ Uh oh!  The movie was at 1:30!  I yelled “Can I get a ride?”  And I looked both ways, and ran across the street and jumped into the car.  I wish I had made it the whole way (the reading slowed me down, says my mom), but I’m glad I got to walk a little bit of the way.

As for Coraline, the NY Times sums it up with ““Coraline” is rated PG (Parental guidance suggested). There are many scenes and images that are likely to scare young children.” Of course, there are many parents who don’t read (or can’t, for that matter), and didn’t bother to find out if this movie was appropriate for their youngsters.  There was a 3 year old boy sitting behind us who kept asking, “What does that say?”  “Who’s that?”  “Why is he sad?”  His mother didn’t once shush him or tell him to whisper, instead she answered all of his questions.  It was driving me batty, until finally the movie got too scary and they left the theater (minus the $10.50 they paid - HA!).  In front of me, there was a young girl who looked to be about 7 or 8 (which I would think would be old enough to not be scared at a movie rated PG), but she climbed on her mother’s lap and said “Can we go now, please?”  Like a trooper, the mother said “No.  Just close your eyes.”  I think I would have just said “Go wait in the hallway.”  And if the girl wasn’t there when the movie was over, it’s probably for the best (it’s amazing that I enjoy babysitting, isn’t it?  Nah… I’m all talk).   There was one point a bit later when the girl had resumed watching and sighed at one point and said “Whew!  That was close.”  I rolled my eyes, and thought “Really?  You thought the main character would die?”  The movie was good.  Not one I’d really care to see again, and I wish I had gotten to see it in 3D.  We were stuck with lousy 2D.  On a scale of 1-100, I would give it a 72.

Dylan and I made homemade bread for dinner.  It was delicious, as it always is.  I had Dylan bring home the bread machine from his apartment because he hadn’t been using it.  He has break coming up anyway (they do four terms, rather than two semesters, and they have a week break in between terms), so we can just keep it here until after the break.  I can use it to make rolls and pizza dough.  There is a “dough” setting, and then once the dough is done, you simply take it out, and shape it how you want for rolls or bagels or even Italian loafs, and then put it in the oven.  For pizza dough, you’d take it out and make the pizza on it, then put it in the oven as is.

I did my Federal taxes tonight (well…. I didn’t finish them, but I got close).  I’m getting $359 back from the Feds. Yay!  I could use the money.  I haven’t bought anything in a really long time, but I could use the money for my gas, phone, and car insurance.  I’m not planning on going shopping or buying anything in the near future.  In fact, I have a credit on my Macy’s card, and I called today and they’re going to issue me a rebate check for $54 because I’m not planning on using the credit to purchase anything.

It’s bed time, but I want a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats.  :(  But I’m not going to succomb!  I am stronger than HBoO (but not by much).

I start my mini internship thing tomorrow at a hospital!!!  Wahoo!  I’m psyched.  I go there at 9am, and I’m going to wake up at 7am and go running with my dad.  I’m going to do 2 miles, and my dad will try to do as much as he can.  He hasn’t run in three months, so he may not be able to do all of it.  That’s ok, and if he has to turn around, I’ll just continue by myself.  That’s what I did on Sunday morning.  He made it to about .8 miles, and then had to turn around.  He was ALMOST half way there, and he could have made it…. but he chose just to turn around.

I am still working on my skirt/bag, and it’s great!  Right now, I’m doing the handles…. those are a big challenging.  But so far, it looks good!  I’ve been watching Greys Anatomy while I work, and I love this show!  I love all these shows where people work together and they are happy.  It’s nice.

About my internship, I’m worried that I don’t have enough business type clothes.  I have two cute light (spring!) cardigans, that are yellow and one that is pink.  And I can wear those with a t-shirt underneath them.  I’m also going to wear my black crocs instead of the nice heels that I just bought, and wear my hair in a low ponytail, because I want to make a professional first appearance.  After the first day, I will get a better sense of what other people are wearing, and I won’t worry about it.

Oh, and I’m sucking at that whole go to bed by 10pm thing.  Do’h!  It’s 10:27 right now, and I am not in bed.  But I’m heading off right now, cause I have to wake up at 7am!  For a run in the cold!!!  Brrrrr.  But it’s a great way to start the day!!!!

I don’t know how long I’m going to be at my internship thing, my guess is I’ll be home for lunch.  Then, I will post about what we had for dinner tonight.  Tomorrow night, mom night we’re having homemade Sloppy Joe’s!  Classy.

I walked to the gym today only discovered that it was closed.  So I walked all the way home.  1.3 miles total.  So then I put on my old sneakers, got my iPod shuffle, tied my hood on, and put socks on my hands to act as mittens, and I went for a 2 mile run outside.  I hadn’t been for a run outside since early January when my gym was closed for the holidays.  It was a mix between hot and cold.  I didn’t like it.  But I asked my dad if he wanted to go with me tomorrow morning, cause the gym is only open 12-5, and I’m at work.  So I will run before breakfast…. if I feel like it.  I haven’t had a day off in all of February.  I’m okay with not running tomorrow.

I have decided that starting on Sunday, I am going to go to bed at 10 (where I can read), turn the light off my 10:30, and wake up at 6:30 or 7.  Every day for one week.  The only day that will be a problem is Wednesday, because Lost doesn’t end until 10!  Usually we stay and hang out until 11ish.  So that night will be a little later, and I will postpone my waking up as well, but no later than 8.

I started to a new craft this afternoon!  It’s exciting, and I’m pinning it while I’m watching grey’s anatomy and sitting at my craft table (which I set up in my living room!).  Unfortunately, I am working at Macy’s tonight.  That means I don’t get to cook a good dinner (I don’t even know what I’m going to have - I’m too full from lunch), and I don’t get to keep working on my craft.  Then, I have to work all day tomorrow from 10:30 - 7:30.  Stupid Macy’s.  Stupid need for money.  This is why I don’t want to have a need for money.  Money and working to make money is stupid.

I think it would also be nice to not have to live with time.  In my mini house, if I was growing organic vegetables, and living without needing to work, then I wouldn’t ever need to know what time it was.  Wouldn’t that be interesting?  Especially in a society like ours, time is so valued.  Everything is done by time.  What would it be like if it simply didn’t matter what time it was?  You got things done when they got done.  If I were still to be a therapist, then I would have set days, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, that my patients could simply drop by as long as it was light out.  I wouldn’t have so many patients that more than one would come at once, so I bet it could work.  Well, maybe not.  For appointments and stuff I’d need time.  Maybe I could set alarms!  I wouldn’t need to know the time, just that “in one hour, you need to do this.”  Hmm.  It would probably need to be thought through a little more, but it’s an interesting idea.