Paris and 20 Year Reunion

So I bought a new treadmill. It's a good one. A Nordictrack form Sears.
All these years I though my boobs were too big to run, I was buying crappy shoes, I was using the treadmill so much it was hurting my knees, when in reality I had a really shitty treadmill.
I only spent like $300 on it in 2004 and I was still using it last week, even though it sounded like it was chewing on rocks, even though I had to turn my ipod up sooo loud just to cover up the sound of the motor, and my knees would start to hurt after 20 minutes on 3.6 mph.
My new one is the super fancy one with springy shocks. They are so springy that I even started running. I was at 4.0 mph and thought, this is too easy, so I started running.
I know crazy.
It was like butter. So quiet, so smooth. It just made me want to run.
Now I'm not going to go crazy. I'm easing myself into it: walk for 2 minutes, run for 2 minutes for a total of 22 minutes. I'm going to work up to a full 30 minutes of running.
In high school this was how we started every fall and this is how I'm going to run myself back into my high school shape. I won't make it back to 118 pounds, but I hope to get stronger and slimmer and more athletic looking just in time for my 20 year high school reunion this summer and our awesome deferred anniversary trip to Paris in May.
I'm going to rock both Champaign Illinois and Paris.

Offensive Ads

I would like to apologize if the adds you see on this site are offensive. Some are very offensive to me too. I was just going to put some light hearted post about being back and done with school, but decided to look back on what I'd last written before I started and I saw the most horrible add. It was a picture of Pres. Obama and a statement about how, "Obama won't defend the unborn, so you should. Please sign the petition to overturn Roe v Wade."
Please do not think in any way that I support this advertisement. It just pisses me off that people are out there trying to overturn Roe V Wade and are crazy enough to buy blog adds to try and get their message across. How tacky!
I am VERY pro-choice. No one, especially fundamentalist religious people, or old white men, are going to tell me what to do with my body. Women are not just baby machines are should be able to make adult decisions for themselves regardless of the Christian standpoint on abortion or family planning. Arghhhh!
Don't even get me started.
The point of this rant is just not to associate me, or my writing with the ads that are shown on my page. I don't have any control over them.

Are you ready?

I am almost done. I will return triumphantly with a Master's Degree and loads of free time.

Venice Please Be Okay

This just breaks my heart.
It's a city I've never been to, but read extensively about and ofter imagined visiting.
It just has to last long enough so I can visit.

Logging out for a bit

I got on my treadmill this morning and it felt sooooo gooooood.

I was sweaty and warmed up and my endorphins were juicing. I forgot what that felt like. It's way more intense than my yoga and hula hooping.

Once things calm down a little bit I will be back on that puppy every other day.

Mostly I wanted to post today to say that I am going to take a break for a few weeks while I finish up school. I've got too much going on and I can't keep obsessively checking my Blogger stats to see how many page views I have. I have to drop a few things off of my plate for a while.

School is kicking my butt and the holidays are coming up and I seem to be slacking more than usual. I've got to pick up some loose ends and tie them back together.

Until then keep yourselves amused with these two awesome web sites that I found.

http://www.zooborns.com

The Newest, Cutest Animals from the World's Zoo's and Aquariums.

It's now on my list of sites that I check daily. It's just amazing to see all the zoos around the world cooperating to bring this site together. I literally sat in front of this site for an hour when I first saw it.

http://www.floatingsheep.org

Mapping Information. Like how about taking all the racist tweets from after the election and mapping them to location? Guess which states are the most racist. How about a map showing the price of weed across the country? Fascinating stuff. I can't wait to see what these guys map next.

Have a great month. See you December 7th at the latest.

Xanax Please

I'm having a crazy day. I even had to take a little tiny pill in order to calm down. It's nice to have those little pills, but today I think I needed a big pill.

I started the day with my usual bowl of rice krispies, but then things went downhill from there. Maybe it was the donut and chips and salsa at 8:30, the hours of furniture moving and heavy lifting in order to set up the Scholastic Book Fair, the 2 chocolate chip cookies, the left over Halloween candy, who knows, but by the time I got into my car and into traffic I was a sore malnourished cranky crazy woman.
Now nothing horrible happened, just my usual traffic altercation with stupid driver. But it made me feel very out of control and full of rabid anxiety.

After eating a somewhat nutritious meal and thinking about my irrational actions I have come to the conclusion that I need to start getting on my treadmill again. Sure, I've been exercising, but not like I used to. Sit ups and push ups and yoga are not the same as 30 minutes everyday on the treadmill at 4.4 mph.

I've been slipping since summer. It's easy to do what with working on the kid's homework, dinner, household chores, household finances, and whatnot. My first priority when I get home from a day at school is not to get on my treadmill, but it should be

Apparently I forgot that working out, like with sweat and stuff, is an important part of my mental health. I really do go crazy if not exposed to a certain amount of exercise related endorphins. Why did it take me till today to notice that?

Sure it will be a few weeks until I'm able to get back on track, like not until I GRADUATE in 3 weeks. I'm cramming shit in left and right until then. A few papers, a couple of final essays, and a frustrating group project and I am home free. I am hoping my stress level goes down by about half as soon as I turn in that last paper.

Until then I really think some Xanax would be helpful. Why does every celebrity on TV seem to have a  prescription for Xanax, but me, who has panic attacks and a documented case of OCD, can't get my  doctor to prescribe it for me? ARGGH!

Sorry Rick Steves

I completely forgot about Rick when I made my list of things I can't live without.

I am so sorry Rick.

Every night I fall asleep to Rick and his soothing voice as he travels around Europe.  Since I am such an anxious person I need Rick to calm down at night. The beautiful places he visits and the way he describes the history and the inns-and-outs of European travel just relax me enough to shut off my mind and fall asleep.

I saw him a couple of years ago at the LA Travel and Adventure show. I was too awestruck to go up and say hi. I also didn't want to offend him by telling him that he makes me go to sleep. He just feels like a part of my daily life. I mean technically I fall asleep with him every night.
Next time I won't be so shy. I really want to get a photo of the two of us together since he feels like a part of the family.
Some day I will save up enough to go on one of his travel tours.

If you've never heard of Rick, check out his website Rick Steves Europe and check your local PBS listings.