Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big fan of To Do lists. Make that huge, ginormous fan. I get immeasurable pleasure from crossing things off the list when they're done. In fact, I add obvious things to the list -- such as Work Out or Eat Lunch -- or things I've already accomplished, just so I can cross them off. (No, I'm not kidding.)
And don't you DARE cross something off the list for me. (I'm talking to you, D!) I don't derive satisfaction from seeing everything crossed off. I derive satisfaction from crossing them off myself. Please and thank you. :) (Loveyoumeanit!)
Anyway, instead of a To Do list, I've decided to make a Want To Do list. It's sort of a combination of a Bucket List and Wish List.
Here goes.
THEIA'S WANT TO DO LIST
- Swim with dolphins
- Publish a novel
- Eat more sushi
- Learn to make sushi
- Run faster. Bike faster. Swim faster.
- Go to Paris
- Meet Bono
- Have a weekly yoga habit
- Own my dream house in Avalon
- Go to more Flyers games
- Become an early morning worker-outer more consistently
- Spend more time with my friends. And my pets. And my family.
- Kick ass in an Olympic triathlon
- Become a mom
- Torture my children when I'm old
- Donate more money to causes I believe in
- Live in NYC
- Make my screened-in porch a room we can use all year
- Get more sleep
- Mentor a child
- Go to the Winter Classic
- Meet Bono again
- Have a backstage pass (to anything) and wave it around like Wayne and Garth
- Go to the opera at Lincoln Center
- Learn more about astronomy
What's on your list?
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
It's time to confess
I am an addict.
Not to meth or coke or crack or anything like that. I'm probably the one person on earth who's never even smoked pot and can count on one hand the number of times I've been drunk.
No, I'm addicted to sleeping pills. If you've been reading for a while, you might remember a few posts about my insomnia. For years I resisted going to the doctor because I knew he'd prescribe something, and the last thing I want (pretty much ever) is prescription drugs. I would rather exhaust every other possibility on earth first before putting foreign stuff in my body. (And trust me, I did. For years, I did.)
Of course, after hearing me say, "I really don't want to take a pill for this. What are my other options?" he promptly pulled out his prescription pad and replied, "Here, take some Ambien."
Sigh.
I started with 5 mg, but when that didn't really help all that much I went to see a neurologist. I told him my concerns, and he bumped me up to 10 mg of Ambien and also gave me about a week's worth of samples of Lunesta.
Sigh. Again.
Last night, for the first time in nearly a month, I took neither. And I slept maybe 2 hours total if you add up all the little 5, 10, or 15 minute increments of sleep I got in between all the waking, tossing, and turning. The last time I took nothing was the first night of vacation. I absolutely refused to pack sleeping pills for vacation. It's vacation, fercrissakes! If you can't sleep then, when can you sleep?
As you may guess, that experiment didn't work out for me. Apparently, I am the one person who can't sleep on vacation. I spent the rest of the week digging through my purse for the Lunesta samples every night.
I'm doing a lot of sighing over here.
So here are my options:
- Take nothing and literally get no sleep
- Take something and get 5 hours of sleep. Yup, even with a sleeping pill, my body wakes itself up after 5 whopping hours.
I'm sure you'll agree that neither option is really all that hot.
Meanwhile, I've become addicted to the sleep aids... which is exactly what I feared would happen and why I resisted them for so many years.
Sigh.
Not to meth or coke or crack or anything like that. I'm probably the one person on earth who's never even smoked pot and can count on one hand the number of times I've been drunk.
No, I'm addicted to sleeping pills. If you've been reading for a while, you might remember a few posts about my insomnia. For years I resisted going to the doctor because I knew he'd prescribe something, and the last thing I want (pretty much ever) is prescription drugs. I would rather exhaust every other possibility on earth first before putting foreign stuff in my body. (And trust me, I did. For years, I did.)
Of course, after hearing me say, "I really don't want to take a pill for this. What are my other options?" he promptly pulled out his prescription pad and replied, "Here, take some Ambien."
Sigh.
I started with 5 mg, but when that didn't really help all that much I went to see a neurologist. I told him my concerns, and he bumped me up to 10 mg of Ambien and also gave me about a week's worth of samples of Lunesta.
Sigh. Again.
Last night, for the first time in nearly a month, I took neither. And I slept maybe 2 hours total if you add up all the little 5, 10, or 15 minute increments of sleep I got in between all the waking, tossing, and turning. The last time I took nothing was the first night of vacation. I absolutely refused to pack sleeping pills for vacation. It's vacation, fercrissakes! If you can't sleep then, when can you sleep?
As you may guess, that experiment didn't work out for me. Apparently, I am the one person who can't sleep on vacation. I spent the rest of the week digging through my purse for the Lunesta samples every night.
I'm doing a lot of sighing over here.
So here are my options:
- Take nothing and literally get no sleep
- Take something and get 5 hours of sleep. Yup, even with a sleeping pill, my body wakes itself up after 5 whopping hours.
I'm sure you'll agree that neither option is really all that hot.
Meanwhile, I've become addicted to the sleep aids... which is exactly what I feared would happen and why I resisted them for so many years.
Sigh.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
I should have adopted this nonchalant attitude about training long ago
Yesterday morning I was too tired to get up and work out. (Some of you know why... D was in a car accident Tuesday night, so it was a somber and stressful evening for both of us. He's OK... just sore and scraped. Could have been far worse.) Last night errands, visiting Dad in the hospital (oh yes, he's in the hospital again), and fatigue got in the way of working out, so yesterday was a complete bust.
This morning I was wide awake and, though lacking motivation, I set out. 4 miles easy; just something to get my body moving after my laziness yesterday. Something funny happened on the way to the main road, however. My body decided to turn left at the bottom of my street and head straight toward the track. What the ??? I don't need to do speedwork. I'm not training for anything! Why on earth am I going to the TRACK, of all places?
With no plan and not even a warmup lap or two, I started pushing it. 4 laps in 7:41. Cool. I knew mile repeats weren't in the cards for me today (I've been doing NOTHING as far as intense workouts), so I decided on a ladder. Next one, 1200 in 5:38 (7:34 pace). Nice! A little faster than the mile, which is what it was supposed to be. Next up, a slightly speedier 800. Nailed that one in 3:43, a 7:29 pace. Cool. Still improving each time. Only one interval to go, and that was a painful 400. I'm not a fan of 400s... They hurt! But I had to do only one of them, so I started out. 1:45, a 7:03 pace!
These paces are slow compared to what I was doing a few years ago, but for me at this time with this amount of training (and missed training), they are great! I really feel like I nailed the workout this morning, and it was completely spontaneous. I did it because I felt like doing it, not because I had to. That mental shift was just what I needed.
Edited to add this graphic from Randy over at 400 Beers. Thanks, Rand!
This morning I was wide awake and, though lacking motivation, I set out. 4 miles easy; just something to get my body moving after my laziness yesterday. Something funny happened on the way to the main road, however. My body decided to turn left at the bottom of my street and head straight toward the track. What the ??? I don't need to do speedwork. I'm not training for anything! Why on earth am I going to the TRACK, of all places?
With no plan and not even a warmup lap or two, I started pushing it. 4 laps in 7:41. Cool. I knew mile repeats weren't in the cards for me today (I've been doing NOTHING as far as intense workouts), so I decided on a ladder. Next one, 1200 in 5:38 (7:34 pace). Nice! A little faster than the mile, which is what it was supposed to be. Next up, a slightly speedier 800. Nailed that one in 3:43, a 7:29 pace. Cool. Still improving each time. Only one interval to go, and that was a painful 400. I'm not a fan of 400s... They hurt! But I had to do only one of them, so I started out. 1:45, a 7:03 pace!
These paces are slow compared to what I was doing a few years ago, but for me at this time with this amount of training (and missed training), they are great! I really feel like I nailed the workout this morning, and it was completely spontaneous. I did it because I felt like doing it, not because I had to. That mental shift was just what I needed.
Edited to add this graphic from Randy over at 400 Beers. Thanks, Rand!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
4 days
In four short days, I will marry the best guy I've ever known. The wedding details have been stressful. I admit that I turned into Bridezilla (briefly), but only because we're having a wedding to make everyone else happy. What would make us happy is to run off to some warm, tropical place and get married, just the two of us. But many members of our families would have been disappointed had we done that, so we planned a very small wedding to share with them.
Let me tell you something. It makes no difference if you're having 15 people or 115. The To Do list is pretty much the same, and therefore so is the stress level.
It really doesn't matter, though. In four days, I get to marry D. And that makes me the luckiest girl in the world.
Let me tell you something. It makes no difference if you're having 15 people or 115. The To Do list is pretty much the same, and therefore so is the stress level.
It really doesn't matter, though. In four days, I get to marry D. And that makes me the luckiest girl in the world.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Anyone else think the gods are angry with us?
In my 44 years, I've experienced one tornado warning, a handful of hurricanes, zero earthquakes, several blizzards (one every 5-7 years, I'd say), and lots of smaller stuff.
In the past week, however, we've had:
a tornado
an earthquake
massive rains
and now, in a few days, Hurricane Irene
Whatever we're doing down here, the gods are not pleased (or, if you prefer, one God, or Allah, or Mohammed, or whatever you wish to call him). They are pissed, ladies and gentlemen.
Be safe out there.
In the past week, however, we've had:
a tornado
an earthquake
massive rains
and now, in a few days, Hurricane Irene
Whatever we're doing down here, the gods are not pleased (or, if you prefer, one God, or Allah, or Mohammed, or whatever you wish to call him). They are pissed, ladies and gentlemen.
Be safe out there.
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