Kitchen Renovation: Let There Be Light!!

Bet you didn't expect a kitchen update from me, did ya?

Yea, it's been a while.  But a few weeks ago, the lighting situation was completed.

First, you may recall the old chandelier:

Awful huh?  Well, I like to think this is much better:

Yea, that's better.  When we did all our shopping for the kitchen, we also purchased some pendent lights to hang over the island.  It was a busy summer and we hadn't gotten around to getting them installed.  But, they have finally been hung!

Here's the (messy) before.

And, although not quite the same angle I think you can still get the idea, the after:

Finished the room off, don't you think?

I have a plan to paint the kitchen before Christmas, at which point I'll also clean it and have a whole bunch of final pictures (hopefully).  Of course, the cabinets still need to be straightened and the slow close thingys still need to be put on.  But, one thing at a time...not like we've been working on this since... ya know, MAY, or anything.

Ahhhh...

I'm alive. Life is good.  I've got lots to say and update.

And I'll get to it, I swear!

Freedom Don't Come Free

I honestly do not have the words to properly honor those who have served this country.  I appreciate and admire each and every one of you, not just today, but everyday.

*And I will always do my duty no matter what the price

I’ve counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice

Oh and I don’t want to die for you, but if dyin’s asked of me

I’ll bear that cross with honor, cause freedom don’t come free.

I’m an American Soldier an American

Beside my brothers and my sisters, I will proudly take a stand

When liberty’s in jeopardy, I will always do what’s right

I’m out here on the front lines, sleep in peace tonight

American Soldier, I’m an American, Soldier.*

Thank you.

Mistaken Identity

Anyone ever had their identity stolen?

Well, this story is probably nothing like that.

Apparently there is another person running around with the same first, middle, and last name as B.  It was a little funny at first, the day I came home to a country sheriff in the driveway, attempting to serve him a subpoena for a lawsuit involved a company he's never heard of.  B kindly informed the sheriff that he had never even heard of the company that was supposedly suing him.  Checking the paperwork, the sheriff admitted that B does not in fact look 45, and that was that.

This was 2 years ago, just after the last elections.  And we mostly let it go.

Then there was the time we thought a friend was playing a joke on us when a conservation officer showed up to question him about a deer he had checked in, since he supposedly checked one in a few towns over around the same time.  Strange.

That was last fall.

Late summer I came home from work to a very angry voicemail from an older lady, demanding we pay her husband for the entertainment he provided at our event.  Uh.... I called her back and she was nasty to me at first, as I was asking questions about who her husband is and what event it was that she was speaking of.  See, this guy happens to part of a political group, which can easily be discovered via Google.  And I recognized the name of the group from previous research I'd attempted on this deadbeat.  I explained there's another guy with the same name and it was not my husband she was looking for.  She told me that was the only number information gave her. (Apparently Google is beyond her, because the first hit is NOT us.)

A few weeks ago, we received a bill in the mail. From a printing company.  For over $400.  Associated with that political group. Again.  B called and left a message for the printing company, but they never called back.  Which was too bad, because I'd like to know if he gave them our address, or if they found it through public records.

But no folks, that is not all.

Yesterday, B showed up at the polls, prepared to exercise his right to vote.  And was promptly informed, he had already done so.

Excuse me?

Once again, situation explained, they said they would take care of it and let him vote anyway. Which, itself seems a little ridiculous, because he SO could have lied. (He didn't, and wouldn't, but they don't know that.)    But what the heck?! When I voted earlier in the day, they asked me to confirm my address.  He heard them say "Oh maybe we should verify the addresses."

So, we once again have no idea if this guy is using our address, or if people just keep assuming he is B.  First issue, what the heck do we do now!?!  I ran both our credit yesterday, and thankfully, nothing was out of place.  But I don't exactly want to sit around and wait for it to happen.  We have considered going to the police, but I don't know if he's actually done anything illegal (at least against us) or if other people keep screwing up.  For now, I guess we wait.  Maybe try and get ahold of this printing company again. I don't know.

Second issue, who the heck decided there is no verification necessary for voting?  I was asked my address.  I also filled out a new voter registration for changing my name.  Which required no verification whatsoever. I know other people were provided their address and asked if it was correct.  And B? Well, he wasn't asked anything besides his name.  Doesn't something about that seem wrong?  I can't talk to a customer service representative about my cable bill without answering 15 questions, but cast a vote for the leadership of our country and no one thinks it might be a good idea to take a peak at a license?

I sincerely hope this is the end of it. But something tells me it's just getting started...

Good Stuff: October

Another month already? Sheesh.

• Birthdays - I know way too many people born in October it seems.  Most notably, my darling husband.  We had some friends over and some "fancy" pizza to celebrate.  Always a good time.

• 10Ks - Yes, that is plural.  As my last few posts have mentioned, I ran 2 10Ks in the month of October.  I'm thoroughly impressed with myself for pulling off one, nevermind doing better by over 4 minutes in the second one with minimal training.  I will still not call myself a runner.  But I will admit, I am capable of running.  And apparently I'm capable of running 6.2 miles without stopping. Who knew?

• Down Comforters - It's fall.  Which means I've broken out the down comforter again.  And purchased a nice new duvet cover (for 19.99 at Target! Amazing!).  I am a happy camper (sleeper) these days.

• Overtime - Maybe I should say Overtime Pay.  Overtime itself is not so great, as it means I'm spending time at work, when I could be at home doing other things.  But, time and a half is pretty sweet, and makes me grateful to be an hourly employee.  It also makes me feel like I can shop more (which may or may not be true) kind of like how you justify eating that extra piece of cake after going to the gym.

• Midterms - Uh I know, I'm stretching it.  Midterms themselves are not good.  The fact that they're over now, and I'm more than halfway through this term IS in fact good though.  So go with it.  I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel... June 2011 can't come soon enough (at least as far as school goes...)

10K Race Report: Santa Fund Run 10/31/10

10K Race #2: Completed.

The Santa Fund is a charity run by our local newspaper that works "to give area needy children a happy holiday."  Who can argue with that?  The Santa Fund Run is the kickoff to the fundraising season and for the first time I was a participant.

Almost immediately after the first 10K, C suggested we do another.  So just a few weeks later, we arrived at a local high school and lined up on the track for our second race.

I felt incredibly unprepared for this race.  After the first one, back on the 10th, I didn't run for a week.  And then I only half heartedlt trained for the next two weeks, the last few days of which were on the treadmill at the gym I joined (story for another day).  I was nervous and had low expectations of myself.

I had a serious issue deciding what to wear, changing my shirt at the car when we arrived, but it turned out to the be perfect day for some running capris and a long sleeve tech shirt.  This was a much, much bigger race than the Pumpkin Festival.  There were over 500 people running between the 5K and the 10K.  And lining up on the track with all of them was a little overwhelming.  Just getting across the finish line was a challenge, so many people funneling through.

The first mile flew by.  I was running with C, and my college roommate aka Spaz.  We were dodging in and out of people, trying to find a comfortable pace.  For the next few miles the race was on wooded trails along the river, which is really pretty this time of year.  I evened out my pace pretty early and felt strong through a majority of the race.  It helped that it was mostly flat too.

At mile four we ran through a back parking lot in the "millyard" and continued on a paved trail back through the park.  My knees weren't quite ready for that pavement.  There was a slight... and I mean slight and short, decline, and I wasn't totally confident both my knees wouldn't buckle completely.  But they didn't.

Mile five was spent telling myself I did not need to walk and to just keep going.  I followed behind a woman going about the same pace and tried to space out to my music.  At mile 6 my knees wanted to be done. Totally and completely done.  But I was soooo close.

And then Spaz and her boyfriend popped out and started cheering for me. (They had run the 5k). Fine.

I hit the track and gave it everything I had left.

1:02:54.

To refresh your memory, the last one was 1:07:17. That's what... 4 minutes and 22 seconds faster?  Something like that.

Amazing.

C also had a PR (personal record) cutting her time by around 30 seconds.
Spaz had a PR in her 5K, which is also awesome.
Oh, and Spaz's boyfriend won his age group in the 5K.

Yea, he's good.

I had a good time, and surprising felt really good through most of it.  Just have to figure out what to do with these knees... they seem to be acting twice their age, and it's getting old...

Next scheduled challenge? PR the 5K on Thanksgiving.  "Training" to begin as soon as my knees stop aching.

10-10-10: 10K Race Report

I'm only a few days behind on my posts, no biggie.

Anyway, 10-10-10 was the big day. The one we spent 2 months training for - 10K Day!!!  The race was held in conjunction with our town's annual Pumpkin Festival and included both a 5K and 10K.

I made sure to get everything ready the night before, and get to bed at a decent hour - since the race started at 9. C and I drove to the high school to pick up our numbers together, and then had some serious time to kill.  We walked around the track a few times, stretched, and tried not to psych ourselves out with the fairly fit people walking around.

There was a significantly smaller number of runners for the 10K, but as my friend K says, that's because 10Ks are the worst distance and no one likes them. Figures.  We started near the back and let a majority of the pack go out ahead of us.  No use tiring ourselves out in the first half mile.

Frankly, we both felt like crap.  We kept a steady pace and were keeping up with a couple in front of us for a while, but lost them around a turn at one point.  And then there was this young girl, maybe 12, who was running the 5K and would go really slow right up until we were about to pass her, and then she'd take off.  She did this for about 10 minutes until I decided I couldn't take it anymore and sprinted by her. On a hill.  Poor decision.

By the time we split off from the 5K group, which was around 3 miles for us, I was seriously wishing we had run the 5K.  As we ran by the track, and woman started flailing her arms and whipped out her camera.

(All photo credit to my awesome mom)

I was not nearly as happy as this picture portrays me to be.  But seeing my parents did put a smile on my face and gave me a decent push to keep going.  The next mile was pretty awful.  About half of it was downhill and then flat, but then it was up, up, and then straight up.  My strategy in these cases is to put my head down, and turn my legs over as fast as I can, because otherwise, I won't make it.

The woman holding the sign at the top of the hill to turn was bubbly and encouraging, even though we knew we were the very back of the pack.  There was only one woman behind us.  Once my knees survived the steep downhill, I hit my stride.  Apparently my ipod knew just what I needed:

For whatever reason, this is my current favorite running song.  No idea, don't ask.  And it gave me the push I needed. For exactly the next mile and a half.  With about 3/4s of a mile left, there's a some short, but steep, uphill on the sidewalk.  I was able to run up it, but then was pretty sure I was going to throw up.  So there was some walking involved.

But then, I saw a person in front of me. Crap. My competitiveness got the best of me and I decided she needed to be passed.  The last half mile or so wraps around the middle school, and the takes you down this hill of drainage rocks - which I thought was just plain mean - and then across the field and back onto the track. About halfway across the field the woman who was in front of me and I were right next to each other. We exchanged a few encouraging words and I continued past.

So at this point, I just want to stop. Lay down. And take a nap. But you've gotta go around the stupid track.  And all the little high schoolers that had finished their 5K probably like, a half hour ago, were loitering around in the center field, and migrating ONTO THE TRACK.  Hi, please move, I'm freakin' tired get out of my way kthanks.

The announcer comes on and says "Here comes S - coming in strong! This is her very first 10K, great job!"  So my mom used to work for the middle school in town, and my stepdad for the school district - so they knew the announcer and had him throw in the part about it being my first 10K.  Sweet.

Much more accurate representation of how I was feeling.

Coming in, I could see the time.  I wasn't thrilled, but it was better than I thought.  See, even though I had "gotten everything ready the night before" I still forgot my watch.  So I wasn't sure were I was at.  About Mile 5 my playlist ended, and I have an approximate idea of how long it is, so I had estimated how I was doing.  At this point, I was just glad to be done, and not last.  (39 out of 42 isn't that bad right!? haha)

Official Time: 1:07:17 (Mom was a little early on the picture)

Good enough to be proud of, with enough room to improve.  Which is hopefully exactly what I'll do this weekend.

Oh, did I not mention we're crazy and are running another 10K on Halloween? Yup. With not nearly enough training having been done in between the two.

And I've also signed up for a 5K on Thanksgiving.  And have half committed to a 5K next weekend too.  Who am I?!!?