The Best of 2010

Another year is coming to a close! I can’t believe how time seems to just fly right on by. Here are some of my favorite things and memories of the past year:

TV
1. “Modern Family”. Nothing beats watching this quirky family. You laugh, you cry (or sigh) and everything wraps up at the end. The best ones were The Earthquake (“I thought you might be thirsty so I brought you some soda. You finished all the wine last night. Oh, and I couldn’t find a straw so you’re gonna have to lap it up like cats.”), the one with the flash mob, and the one where they poke fun at Gloria’s accent. “Baby Jesus” and “Deer in the head lice”!

2. “Biggest Loser”. This show is always so inspiring. Although I technically haven’t lost weight in a while, I have lost inches. I will always love watching people change their lives for the better.

3. The “Grilled Cheesus” episode of “Glee”. I’m not a huge fan of this show. Sometimes it can be brilliant, and other times it’s just awful. Nothing can beat this episode. It was moving, it was funny, and it was deep.

Movies

1. “Inception”. GENIUS. That is all.

2. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1”. Duh, it’s Harry Potter! I love how the books and movies grow up with the characters. Everything is so intertwined.

3. “Easy A”. Hilarious! This is one to buy and watch over and over again. It’s on the same level as “Mean Girls”.

Music


1. Band of Horses. I just discovered them, so I love all of it!

2. Sia. Love her voice. Her second album is really pop-like, which, after seeing an interview, is what she wanted from it. It’s a great album to listen to in the morning.

3. Florence and the Machine- “Lungs”. AMAZING. Love this whole album! 4 tracks are on my running playlist. Her voice is so haunting, yet so great.

4. Katy Perry- “Firework”. I know, I know- it’s Katy Perry. BUT, this song will forever remind me of running at mile 7.5 in my first half marathon and it was so moving for me. It was emotional and motivating. “Maybe the reason why so many doors are closed is so you can open one that leads to the perfect road.” (Or something to that effect, I’m paraphrasing.)

Books

1. “The Hunger Games Trilogy” by Suzanne Collins. Thrilling, intriguing, politically charged- what a great read!

2. “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” by J. K. Rowling. This one is my favorite of the series. Harry finally has an adult to look up to. And then… well, you just have to read the series!

3. “Attonement” by Ian McEwan. Beautifully written. This truly is a piece of literature.

4. “The Book Thief” by Zusak. An emotional story of Nazi Germany from a young German girl’s point of view. Touching. Depressing. Great read.

5. “Sarah’s Key”. I forget the author, but this book is worth the read. Another World War II story, but from a different perspective.

Best Accomplishment: First half-marathon, Rock ‘n Roll San Antonio, November 13. Such an amazing experience. I’m afraid that the next half will hurt more now that I’ve run one!

Best Concert: It’s a tie: Dave Matthews Band, September 10, and Mae, November 21. DMB is always great. I’ll miss them next year. Mae was very nostalgic, and they are such great guys! Great night of music and memories.

Best Party: Dad’s 50th last week! :)

Goals for 2011:

Get a full time teaching job. (Become self-sufficient again. New car, new place, etc.)

Run faster! I want to get my 5k closer to 30:00.

2011 is going to be a great year!

A (Running) Reflection

If you hadn't already noticed from my ten other posts, I ran a 10 mile race on Saturday. Last year on 10/11/2009, I ran in my first 5k (about 38:00, I think, but not officially timed). I've come a long way in a year and I'm so proud of it. I never thought I'd become a runner, and now I'm running ten miles and training for more. It's proof that even with asthma, anything is possible.

I started running around August in Arizona last year. I had just graduated with my Masters in theatre history and was discovering that the job market sucks-- even for clerical and retail jobs. I felt like a failure, with no direction or goals in life. I knew that in 5 years or so I wanted to go back and get my PhD, but first I needed money (and preferably teaching experience of some sort). It just wasn't happening, and the summer heat was driving me nuts. After working out on the Wii Active, I finally decided to just run around the neighborhood to see how it felt. It was still 90 degrees at 8 o'clock at night and I was severely out of shape, even considering I was working out on the Wii 20-30 minutes a day. But you know what? I just threw on some old shoes, grabbed my iPod, and ran. I just did it. And I wanted to get better. Even with just a one mile run, I felt tired and my lungs burned. At night, as I lay in bed about to fall asleep, I could feel exhaustion and my lungs felt different. A few weeks into my running, I decided to try a 5k. Lucky for me, we had some family friends living in the area and they were happy to run the Race for the Cure in Phoenix with me. That was my first taste of the racing atmosphere and I fell in love. Although I couldn't run the entire 3.1 miles, I knew I wanted to eventually. Having the goal to be better at my running, and my health, really kept me going through tough times. And it still does. Working retail is not fun most times, and I know if I didn't run to release stress I would be in really bad shape physically and emotionally.

One thing that keeps me running is when I went to the doctor in February, the PA noticed right away after listening to my heart that I'm a runner. Instead of getting a report that I was doing okay for my age, I received a stellar report on my health. I never realized how awesome that feeling is! I don't want to just get by, I want to be awesome! I hope I continue to run all of my life, even if it's only a few miles every few days. There's nothing like a good run, especially on a stressful day! Thank the Lord!

Parenting Skills I've Acquired While Working at Borders

Working retail is no picnic, but it is teaching me a lot of things about life. We get a lot of parents with their kids in the store on a daily basis. We have a great kids section that draws them there. However, I've noticed that it's usually the lazy parents that bring their kids in. Or, on a dark note, most parents are lazy. Either way, here is a list of parenting skills I've learned from these parents.

1. It's completely okay to wheel in a screaming kid in their stroller. It doesn't matter if it's nap time and the poor thing just wants to be at home in bed. What is important is that I'm shopping while the kid is stuck, screaming, in the stroller. Also, no one else cares about the noise.

2. Letting my child wander around the store unattended while I sit in the cafe jabbering on the phone is fine. They can entertain themselves, break stuff, and get kidnapped by some crazy person who walks into the store.

3. If my child breaks something, just put it back on the shelf and walk away. Better yet, just leave it on the floor like it belongs there.

4. To get my child to listen, I just repeat myself over and over again without even looking at them. They'll eventually listen.

5. If my child is throwing a fit while at the register, I just buy them a wind-up toy or candy to shut them up even though I'm positively reinforcing a bad behavior.


Honestly, every time I see things like this happen, it makes me not want kids. I can't deal with a snot-nosed brat. But, then again, those kids are the way they are because their parents made them that way.

"That's all I have to say about that." -Forrest Gump

The Heat Has Caught Up

I haven't posted all summer. I don't know why. I guess things just kind of settled into a boring normal. Or it's just too hot to do anything. What San Antonio really needs is some rain to cool things off a few degrees. People say that in Texas there are only two seasons: Summer and Not Summer. Well, I'm ready for Not Summer already!

I've registered for both the 10 for Texas and the Rock 'n Roll San Antonio half marathon, and the fact that it's so hot outside really stresses me out. I can't run in this heat and I get bored on the treadmill so the most I can do is just over 4 miles. I have a long way to go (literally) when the weather decides to cool down. I'll have to really step up the training and really make sure I'm eating what I should instead of what I want. It's funny; most people gain weight in the winter and lose in the summer, where I feel it's the opposite for me. It's too hot to do anything, and in the winter it's just the right temp to run really far.

Usually I used my blog to post book and movie reviews and I just haven't done it. I've still been reading and I've seen some pretty great films, but I just haven't written about them.

I've read "The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton, which was interesting. I'm still in the middle of reading "Gone with the Wind" and "The People's History of the United States", as well as "The Book Thief", which I plan to finish in the next few days.

Audrey Niffenegger, the author of "The Time Traveler's Wife", wrote another book recently called "Her Fearful Symmetry." I was really disappointed in this one. It had great potential to be something unique and great, and then in one page it took a wrong turn into being a bad eighties movie. I grew to dislike certain characters, although I don't think that was the author's intention. It was just... blah. If you like ghost stories, then you might like this. Otherwise, it's not worth the time.

I saw "Inception" last month and it blew me away. I'm a fan of Chris Nolan's Batman films, and "Inception" was even more amazing. It has been a really long time since I've seen a film that great. Lately all the blockbusters have been boring "Hangover"s and the like. "Inception" is like a breath of fresh air for the movie goer and really made me like film again.

Anything but Normal

This month has been crazy, to say the least. Last month I set a goal to lose 10 lbs in May and I'm only halfway there with one week to go. So, for June my goal is 5 more lbs, and maybe by the end of August I'll have 5 more after that. :) I only have the freshman 15 to go, anyway!

I finished reading "Atonement" by Ian McEwan about a week ago. McEwan is an artist when it comes to writing novels. I'll admit that it did take me a while to get into the story and get used to his writing style. However, with that said, no one but McEwan could tell this story and have it be as beautiful as it is in his form. Every detail that he mentioned need to be in the story for it to have the intense impact that it does, even to the very end. I have yet to see the film, but I will try to get Theresa to put it on her Netflix line up.

I've been obsessive about buying plays lately. I bought a few of Wendy Wasserstein's plays and read "The Heidi Chronicles" the other night and loved it! I didn't have time in grad school to actually read the play. Instead another student did a presentation on it, which, to me, is definitely not the same. I also read "How I Learned to Drive" by Paula Vogel when I got home from work this morning and loved that one, too. I have more Sarah Ruhl plays to read and "In the Blood" by Susan Lori-Parks. All fabulous women!

Theresa and I are getting ready for Zumba at the gym; I'm excited because I've never taken a zumba class before! It should be fun! :)

On a Mission: Lose 10 lbs in May!

Recently I've felt a major running slump and noticed a nosedive in my diet. I've been really stressed, sick with allergies, and just afraid of the warm/hot weather. I've also been working a lot, and with the two new employees I'm sure my hours will do down, too, leaving me broke but with more time to workout.

So here's my plan: May is National Runner's Month, so I'm going to make the most of it and add strength training into the mix. I have two valuable resources already when it comes to strength training. I have the Wii Active game, as well as Wii Fit. However, I feel the Wii Active will provide the continuous workout that I need. I also have Jillian Micheal's "30 Day Shred" DVD and let me tell you, it is a KILLER. So far I know that I will not need to spend any money on workouts because I already have those, and some awesome new running kicks and clothes. With regards to the workouts, I've made a plan based on my work schedule (which can change on a weekly basis and I have no control over it). Basically it's 2 days of strength training and 3 days of cardio.


Monday: Strength training on the Wii or Jillian DVD after work (usually 8 hour work shift)
Tuesday: Cardio day: run 3 miles easy before work (usually an evening shift)
Wednesday: Cardio day: 3 miles easy, finish with a loop of hills in the neighborhood
Thursday: (day off) Strength training with Wii or Jillian DVD. Supplemental cardio: run 3 miles easy.
Friday: (day off) Cardio: Run 4.5 miles easy.


Throughout the month I will gradually increase the intensity of the workouts so that by the last Friday in May I will be back to running 6.3 miles and hopefully be at Level 3 in Jillian's DVD.

Also, one last goal: TO CONQUER THE PUSH-UP! I will have awesome arms and no longer fear the push-up by the end of the month!!

So, after posting this, I'm asking anyone who reads this to join in if you need motivation to feel great, and to also hold me accountable for this! I know I really need the motivation to get back into a routine (and I'm excited to see how my bikini fits this year!).

In January I pledged to lose 18 pounds in the Pound for Pound Challenge. I know that I won't make it, but if I lose 10 this month, I'll be at 12, which is amazing! Please join me if you need the motivation!

Oscar Wao

I recently finished "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz. Two of my friends suggested this book and I am so glad they did. From the very first page I knew this was going to be a great experience in literature. Diaz's writing style is so refreshing from the generic fiction writers and he actually had me laughing out loud, which I rarely do when I read. Diaz really paints the picture of life in the Dominican Republic in the 40s to the present day and evokes sympathy for his main character. One of the things that impressed me was the way he captured the female experience of his characters living in the "DR". Another great thing is Diaz's use of footnotes throughout the novel. Not only are they helpful for those of us who do not know the history and politics of the DR (which is the majority of us), but they provide comic relief, as well. Diaz tells a great story about love and the sacrifices people will endure for that love.

I watched "An Education" a while ago and forgot to write about it. This film was great and had me really into it the entire time. Peter Sarsgaard puts on a fantastic performance. You never know if his character is a good guy or bad guy. I spent the entire film waiting for him to be bad, but I'm not sure if that is my prior experience with the male species of humans or if the script was written this way. I enjoyed it.

"Sherlock Holmes" is also a great film with wonderful acting by Robert Downing, Jr. and Jude Law. I also love Rachel McAdams and she never fails to deliver a great performance. I'm thinking about buying this one at Blockbuster when they sell their previously viewed DVDs for cheap.

I also read "The Last Child" by John Hart, but it's not worth blogging about. It was depressing.