When you read you begin with A-B-C

So there’s been this old school email-chain-style quiz going around the blogosphere.  I used to love these types of quizzes when I was a youngin’ so I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to play along.  Hope you enjoy… let me know if you’ve played along too!

Yes, I’m late to the game, but I wanted to play the blogger ABC Game that I saw some bloggers do this week.

A. Age: 24.  Twice the age I used to be when I would fill these surveys out.  Can you spot me in this pic??

B. Bed size: Full.  It’s cozy.

C. Chore you hate: Putting anything away.  Laundry, dishes, etc.  (Robert, do NOT weigh in on this )

D. Dogs: Want.  Have 3.  Once, my dog Bailey had 11 puppies.  ELEVEN!  Those were happy times.    I miss my dogs every day, and dream of getting a puppy of my own to love.  *sigh*

E. Essential start to your day: Brekkie and some tea.  The tea is absolutely non-negotiable.  It doesn’t necessarily have to have caffiene, it just needs to be warm and delicious.

F. Favorite color: Purple!!

G. Gold or silver: How about white gold?

H. Height: 5’4.

I. Instruments you play: I played the clarinet in elementary school, but sucked at it.  I never liked singing, unless I’m in the car.  Or lip syncing the words of every song to Robert.

J. Job title: Senior Accountant at Kabletown…

K. Kids: Currently I prefer children that I can spoil, but give back to their parents when they become too loud and whiny.  One day I’d like to have 3ish children.  Robert might disagree with that number…

L. Live: Grew up in NJ, living in Philadelphia Suburbs.  Gotta love the Mid-Atlantic.

M. Mom’s name: Ann

N. Nicknames: Grandpa calls me Casseranda Pacasandra.  A lot of people call me “cass.”  In high school, they called me “Sarah.”

O. Overnight hospital stays: N/A

P. Pet peeve: I have to narrow down to just one pet peeve?  Oy.

Q. Quote from a movie: Pretty much anything from 10 Things I Hate About You. (RIP Heath Ledger)  “I know you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?”

R. Right or left handed: Right.

S. Siblings: Younger Brother, Michael… soon to be Sister-in-law, Corinne (and FBIL, her husband Ramie!)

T. Time you wake up: Gym morning? 5:30.  Other weekday?  6:45.  Weekend?  Late.

U. Underwear: Comfy

V. Vegetables you dislike: Mushrooms, if they count.  Also not a fan of Swiss Chard.

W. What makes you run late: I’m late all the time and I’m not sure why.  Sometimes I think I even get distracted by floating dust particles in the air.  Whoops.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth, and arm X2.

Y. Yummy food you make: Robert says everything I make is yummy.  (Just kidding.)  He’s been liking some of my soups lately, especially the Black Bean Soup

Z. Zoo- favorite animal: Giraffe!

Did you play the ABC game?  Send me your link!

Chicken

These are my confessions.

- A few months ago (ok ok, a long while ago), I purchased 15 hot yoga classes through Groupon. I have yet to use any of the classes. I find excuses to not go every week, but really I’m scared that I will sweat myself into a puddle and not be able to move.

- I have been telling myself (and Robert) that I was going to go to one spin class a week from New Years til the wedding.  It’s the end of February, and I haven’t gone.  Just like yoga, I completely chicken out every week.

- I love food.  I love butter, and olive oil, and soft cheese, and italian meats.  I love pasta and cookies and proscuitto and ice cream.  And I just can’t bring myself to pack a turkey sandwich for lunch every day, regardless of what my wallet and my waistline tell me.

- It’s 64 days til our wedding and I’m feeling a little mushy around the mid-section.  See above.

[source]

Send help, please?

…Not as I do…

This past Friday, it was gorgeous outside!  I was supposed to take a walk to meet a friend for lunch, but our plans fell through.  I couldn’t fight the urge to get outside though, so I grabbed a Groupon I’d purchased a few weeks ago for Philadelphia Runner, and took a walk through the city. 

You see, I might have gone missing for a while on the blog, and there might be a few Time Machine Tuesday posts left waiting to be written… but a post about the running shoes I bought last fall won’t be coming any time soon.  I bought new shoes last March, as documented here… and that was the last pair of running shoes I bought.  Yes, that means that all of my training for the Broad Street Run was in these shoes… and all the training for the Philadelphia Half Marathon was in these shoes… and all the running I’ve done since then was in these shoes… and well you get the idea.  It’s not pretty.  General rule of thumb is to replace running shoes every 6 months or every 300 miles, whichever comes first.  Well – let’s just say “do as I say, not as I do,” right?

Well without further ado, meet my new running shoes:

The lovely staff at Philadelphia Runner asked me to walk a few paces without my shoes on so that they could see how badly I pronated.  From there, the sales woman selected a few stability shoes that she thought would best support my feet.  I tried on a pair of Adidas shoes (too bulky for me), another pair (Nike maybe?) that had too much support on the outer side of my foot and threw me off balance, and then finally these cuties – the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11.  I know a lot of people/bloggers that swear by Brooks, and now I see why!  These shoes are like walking on clouds.

I took them out for a test run on Sunday, and sure enough it was a great run.  With just a few stops/walking breaks to re-tie my shoes and make a few adjustments, the 4 miles felt like a breeze.  Hopefully this is a good sign for the next few months, as training for my next big race will be starting up soon!

The stats:

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention – the best part about the new shoes?  After my Groupon, they only cost $50!  I was so pumped!!

Do you stick to the 6 month/300 mile rule?  You’d think that I’d love any excuse to buy new shoes right?