An update on athletic endeavors

Since this was originally *supposed* to be a blog about my running and triathlon pursuits, which later turned into a discourse on my travel nursing, I should really get back to business.

As to the running ... my training for the Chicago Marathon has officially derailed. There's no point in beating myself up about it because it is what it is. I knew when I signed up back in March that training for a marathon was a serious undertaking that requires commitment to putting in the miles. I haven't kept up my end of the bargain, simple as that. Instead of making excuses or beating myself up, I'm going to look forward to what's next. Yes, I'm out the $120 registration fee, but I'd rather not run it, than run it and risk hurting myself.

With that in mind, BJ and I decided to turn our attention to a late year half marathon. It will be my third and hopefully an opportunity to break 2:30, and his first attempt at this distance. We thought about Tulsa, but then looked at the Las Vegas Marathon/Half- Marathon on December 2nd. It has an awesome course that starts and ends on the strip, tons of running Elvi, a run through wedding chapel at mile 5 (it's tempting, let me tell you!) and of course all the excitement that Vegas has to offer. So starting this week, BJ and I will be training for this race. We're going to try to do all of our long runs together so that we can find a good pace that works for both of us. This race will be my immediate goal with the overall plan of debuting as a kick ass marathoner at the Little Rock Marathon in March. Now that I've disappointed myself once - I don't think I'll let it happen again.

In travel nursing news, I started my assignment at Arkansas Children's and I've quickly gotten back into the swing of things. It's a massive unit and I've been surprised at how many people remember me! I've gotten lots of "weren't you here before?" which was a surprise because there are so many nurses there, I just assumed that most wouldn't remember me at all.

Regarding the sibling rivalry, I am happy to announce that all of the dog children are now getting along. There are still occasionally tiffs, just as you would expect amongst stepsiblings, but the days of poor BJ's dog getting a daily ass kicking from my spaniel seem to be over. I'm still not sure what the pecking order is among them, I have a feeling that the small terrier (nicknamed the "Great White Devil" by BJ) is actually in charge of everyone. In any case, they can now be unsupervised which has relieved a great deal of stress on my part.

The last fun thing to report is that BJ and I made our first big purchase together! We were at Dillards doing some pre-wedding registry research when we happened to see a couch that we had previously liked on clearance as a floor model. [Side note: who knew there were so many patterns of crystal and that he and I would each have such strong opinions on the vessel for holding the wine that will hopefully get us drunk for years to come?!?!?] Given how excellent the price was we couldn't' resist, and if we're getting a couch, we might as well get a chair right? So next weekend our new living room furniture will be delivered and we will finally start having "our" stuff as opposed to his and hers. It's an exciting time, let me tell you!! Now if we can just figure out how to keep the dogs off of it ...

Running the race ... it's a family thing!

Since I have nothing good to report about my own athletic endeavors, it's time to praise some other adult onset athletes in my life!! I've mentioned my kick-ass ultrarunner cousin more than once, but now there are others jumping on the bandwagon. Despite my complete lack of serious training this summer, I managed to inspire BJ to start running!! Like I did a year and a half ago, he is following the Cool Running Couch to 5K program which has made runners out of many people. Since he was nearing the end of his program, we looked at the local racing calendar to find a 5K to race. He hadn't run the full distance as of yet, but I had confidence in his ability to make it though :) He ended up running the Rollin' on the River 5K this past Saturday in North Little Rock and finished in a very respectable time of 31:50!! (I'm trying very hard not to feel jealous given that I was 3 & 1/2 minutes slower in my first race) I waited at the end to cheer for him and he looked great, just like a real runner! Like many before him, the thrill of racing has ignited a competitive drive and he's already looking for a longer distance to shoot for - we're tentatively planning the Route 66 half marathon in Tulsa for both of us.

The other big cheer goes out to my Momma and my Auntie K who race walked their first 10K yesterday! My Momma has always been one of those fast walkers, you know the type, always walks as if she's the white rabbit running late for an important date. She finally channeled that energy into a training program with Abe's Army, a local group in Springfield, IL that trains folks for the Abe's Amble 10K. She and her sister Auntie K signed up and have been racking up the miles all summer and I'm so proud of both of them! Momma finished in just over 1 hour 31 minutes which is very respectable for such a hilly course and Auntie K was right behind her!! Who knew that there could be so many athletes among us?!?!

and since I didn't have a photo of Momma from her race, I grabbed the only "racing" photo that I have .... her at the Tomorrowland Speedway at Disney World :)

“For her fifth wedding, the bride wore black and carried a scotch and soda."

I have to apologize in advance to any readers who were actually interested in learning about my triathlon and running pursuits, I promise that I will return to those topics ... someday... but right now I'm a BRIDE! and I'm GETTING MARRIED and it's all about ME, ME, ME!! Seriously, I thought those Bridezilla shows were staged, or at the very least highly exaggerated, but now I can see how the very thought of having a wedding turns even the most grounded, laid-back Birkenstock wearing chic into a crazed, selfish shell of her former self.

Now that I've warned you in advance .... I bought a wedding dress!!! Unlike most brides, this has been the part I've dreaded the most. I hate shopping, I can't stand pretentious people and all of my visions of wedding dress shopping ended with me as Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman where the woman at the shop tells her, "I don't think we have anything for YOU here." In addition to having no love of shopping, I am also devoid of any shopping companions locally in Little Rock. I'm sure I have an acquaintance or two who would come along if I begged, but I could seriously never torture someone with that unless they really owed me already. My backup plan was to meet my mom in St Louis in the near future, have a few cocktails (she can't stand shopping either) and pray that something worked.

Well none of those scenarios were necessary because the universe once again threw me a bone. I had a salon appointment for a waxing in the fancy schmancy "Heights" district of Little Rock and after my appointment I decided to window shop down the block. I noticed a cute pink awning and as I got closer I saw it was Proposals, which was a local bridal shop. I was familiar with it from my time reading bridal magazine crack and knew that it carried the high end lines of gowns and bridesmaids dresses. I had already planned on visiting it at some point but was dreading the Heights snobbery at my simple, low budgeted needs given that I was budgeting only $300 for my dress. Since I was already in the neighborhood I popped in. I should mention that I had no makeup on, my hair was still wet from the shower and pulled into a bun, and I was just wearing a simple tank top and flip flops. Definitely did not have the appearance of a southern belle bride looking to spend some bucks.

I was immediately greeted by Betsy who inquired about what I was looking for. I attempted to brush her off with an "I'm just doing some looking, I'm not ready to really buy yet." She then asked if I was already engaged, what type of wedding I was planning, and before I knew it she had me in the back with all the wedding dresses. She and another staff member were pulling out various dresses meeting my description of "simple, no train, something for a small intimate affair" and Betsy said, "Oh come on, let's try some on!" Before I knew it, I was in a dressing room with a cute, simple dress brought out for me by one of the staffers. It was actually a bridesmaid dress but they had recently sold it to use as a bridal and thought it was cute. She even mentioned that the company has a bridal version which is 3 times as much, but that the bridesmaid version was cute and such a great deal. I should mention that I never once mentioned my budget and several of the beautiful dresses they pulled out were silk and $1200 so they really showed me a range and seemed more concerned about my vision as opposed to price tags. I ended up trying on the bridesmaids dress first, which really is NOT like any maids dress I've seen. It was made of a substantial satin, with a cute little sweep train at the back and had a ribbon detail on the train and the bodice that could be customized in any color! I looked at myself in the mirror and thought, "damn! I'm a bride!" Even though it was long and poufy at the bottom, it still showed off the body that I've worked so hard to get in shape the past year and a half!! I was hooked, don't show me another dress - this is it!!

I did of course call my Mom to make sure she would be OK with me purchasing it on my own. She asked that I have them take pictures which Betsy was more than happy to do. So I went home, dried my hair, put on makeup and came back for some shots. We threw on a veil (I tried a tiara and it just wasn't my thing), I posed for a few shots and then I wrote a check and ordered it!! If you're interested in seeing the pics, go here. The dress I ordered will be the same color, but I'm getting the ribbon detailing in plum ( a dark purple) which will satisfy my need to be a little different.

I have to say that the dress shopping was painless and the ladies at the shop were so friendly and helpful. Not at all the snobby folks that I envisioned, and never once was a nose turned up at me. One woman even said, "you definitely have the body to pull this dress off" which let's face it, is exactly what every woman WANTS to hear!!

(BTW- the title is a quote from a journalist named Phyllis Batelle and it just cracked me up. )

Passing on a prayer request.....

One of my friends both in real life and the blogverse had something horrible happen to her family, so I thought I'd pass along her prayer request to those who read my blog as well.

Time for serious consideration

I really don't think I'm a quitter.

I will admit that I am pretty lazy, and that I can procrastinate with the best of them, but I don't usually just give up on something. The only race I've ever pulled out of was the St Louis Half Marathon, but I hadn't registered for it yet and I was having major IT band problems that were causing pain after running a mile and a half. I was actually prepared for the race, it just didn't seem like a good idea. Now I find myself 7 & 1/2 weeks from my first marathon and I am woefully under trained. I've had a very hard time keeping on a training schedule this summer for various reasons, and I even switched plans to one that had less mileage. The bottom line is that I haven't prepared and that's a choice I've consciously or unconsciously made. Now I find myself living in a veritable heat wave where it's no longer a matter of choice. This past weekend I started out at 5:30 a.m. intending on doing 14 miles and had to stop after 8.4 miles because I was light headed and dizzy. My heart rate was good, I wasn't tired, I was well hydrated, taking gels, I didn't feel too hot at all, but clearly I wasn't reacting well to the new climate I'm finding myself in. I thought about continuing, but I'm one of those people who is very in touch with how I'm feeling and I honestly was a little nervous and didn't think it was worth it to push on.

I'm now at a cross road of "what do I do?" I'm fairly certain that I can finish the marathon, I mean I had an awesome half mary just three months ago when I wasn't even acclimated to the elevation or trained. I have stamina and a great deal of tenacity when push comes to shove, so I know I could finish. It just begs the question of is it worth it? Sure I could finish, but at what cost to my body and my future training?? Do I want to just finish my first marathon, or do I want to train properly and really see what I'm capable of?? I know that I'm slow and that I'll always be a back of the pack kindof girl, but there's still the competitive part of me that wants to be the best damn slow runner that I can be. At this point, I can't make up for the last three months of intermittent training and I'm certainly not going to be anywhere near "my best possible shape" for this race. I mean it's my first marathon, and how do I want to arrive at the start line? Confident and knowing that I've put in the work, or praying that my body holds up and I make it through???

I don't need to decide right now, but I'll be thinking on it the rest of the week. I'm not a quitter, but there are lots of marathons out there and I need to remember that and not let my pride get in the way of good judgement.

To Pee or Not To Pee

It's so hot here that for the first time EVER I was unable to pee when I went for my drug screening. I generally have to take a pee test every three months for work so I'm very familiar with the ritual including the gross out part of "pee in this cup, fill it to here, don't wash your hands and bring it out to me." Every time I touch the door knob on the restroom at those lab facilities I think of the thousands of nasty hands that have touched it upon strict orders to NOT wash their hands. It's also disconcerting as a female because let's face it, our aim is not nearly as good as a man's aim so there's always some dribblage.

Anyway, I drank two big glasses of water prior to going to the lab and was prepared for my quick in and out to only be distraught at only filling the container half full. I was then informed that I couldn't leave, I would have to drink 4 glasses of water, wait 45 minutes then try again. I felt like a failure until I returned to the waiting room where it turned out 4 other people were waiting to try again, including a poor construction worker who'd already been there an hour and a half!!!

Luckily the four glasses of water worked and I was able to submit my urine to ensure that I'm not a raging meth addict, heroin user or pothead. And for the record, the temp outside?? 102 degrees with a heat index of 107.

Wedding Reconnaisance and Sibling Rivalries

This weekend marked my first *real* visit to BJ's childhood home in Fayetteville, AR. His parents were kind enough to watch his dog while he was escorting me across Kansas so we all -and by "all" I mean the two humans and my two dog children - loaded up the car and headed up the highway to Razorback territory. I had been there briefly once before for a quick brunch, but never had the chance to really hang out and bond. The "bonding" is important in my opinion because I would prefer to have "in-laws" as opposed to "outlaws" which is how one of my uncles referred to his wife's parents.

So picture this, it's a nice balmy day in Arkansas with a temp of around 103 - perfect weather for visiting! I arrive with my two adorable dogs, I mean seriously they're adorable and it can't just be a mother's love blinding her right?? We let them frolic outdoors in the yard and introduce BJ's dog who has met my kids before, and his parent's dog who has not met lots of dogs and perhaps might want to eat my terrier. It went well for the first 3 minutes until my spaniel Oakley who is 35 pounds soaking wet, decided to attack both BJ's dog and his parents' dog both of whom are dalmatians that could easily kick his ass if they wanted to. Unfortunately both of the dalmatians are well trained to not eat smaller dogs, so they kindof cowered which just egged Oakley on even more. At first I thought perhaps Oakley was just feeling cornered or something like that, you know being defensive, but upon observation saw that Oakley was clearly being aggressive. Great! My beautiful child is the proverbial bully on the playground!! I was so distressed because he's never acted this way at the dog park and he's normally so sweet! He was so bad that we ended up having to take turns all weekend crating the dogs so that they weren't all in the house or outdoors at the same time. Tosca my terrier got along with the big dogs and her new grandma fabulously, but Oakley was just a jerk to his new "sister" and "cousin." BJ's mom was very gracious (far better than I would have reacted if some strange dog was trying to beat up on my children) and I was mortified. Apparently the merging of families and children can be just as difficult for single parents of dog children as for human children.

In other news, we headed up to Eureka Springs which is where we plan on getting married. It's a quaint little Victorian style tourist trap of a town in the mountains of NW Arkansas. I'd never been there before but by its descriptions knew it would be my kind of place, lots of B&Bs, artists, and welcoming to gay people and bikers which are two of my favorite kinds of people!! One innkeeper we met described it as, "if the Ozarks are the Bible Belt, then Eureka is the hole the buckle goes through." I just wish it hadn't been 120 degrees so that we could have walked around more and enjoyed the place.

The purpose of the trip was to scope out wedding sites. For a small town, they actually do a pretty large wedding business, mainly in the elopement style, intimate affair of which we're envisioning. I had done lots of research online and then contacted about 6 places that seemed interesting and made appointments with the three who responded. One was a bed and breakfast, another was a wedding chapel, the third a historic hotel.

We loved the B&B owner, he was very laid back and cool but the parlor there just didn't fit the vision either of us had. We'll probably stay there at some time in the future because the suites were nice and not overly girly in that Victorian style that makes me puke a little in the back of my throat. The historic hotel wasn't what I had in mind either, but had a very cool restaurant that would be perfect for a candlelight dinner after the ceremony! It has a super small dining room that's a part of the open air kitchen and the people there seemed happy to accommodate us and even mentioned how "great of a couple" we make! (and it wasn't that patronizing we're trying to get your business tone, it seemed genuine) We're going to eat there at our next trip and make sure the food is tasty because I don't want food poisoning on my wedding night. The third place we visited was a wedding chapel that also does garden/gazebo weddings. The chapel was totally what I envisioned, really small, rock wall, candles everywhere, and the proprietors were very laid back. They do commitment ceremonies, handfastings, and non-denominational
weddings. Basically it will be easy to avoid a heavy-handed Baptist ceremony which I assume is prevalent in these parts because let's face it, I will NEVER agree to obey, or let my husband lead me or my future offspring in the path of righteousness etc. etc. . I've seen some of those vows and quite frankly they scare me!! Let's just go with richer, poorer till death do us part yada yada - I'm down with that. So anyway, barring any problems, it looks like we'll be doing the little chapel on a winter evening and then having a nice dinner afterwards. I'm also envisioning a hot-looking Jenn in a form fitting dress of some sort, a *real* wedding cake (not some Sam's Club creation) but smaller in scale, fancy crystal toasting goblets to use for the champagne and to save for future occasions, a buzzed bride and groom (yes, I'm a lush), a honeymoon in a cabin with hot tub, jacuzzi and fireplace, and a blissful week without any dog children. Ahhh, I can picture it now. If I can't have a Star Trek Vegas wedding, then I think this is a nice compromise.

Now if only our dog children can learn to love one another, and I can learn to shop for a dress, this whole marriage thing would be perfect!

More on Buffy ...

In response to Blogger Ken ....

Like many, I mourned the end of Buffy and wondered with bated breath, "what will Buffy do now??" I mean Sunnydale was destroyed, her Mom was gone, Spike had perished (presumably) in a giant fireball, and hundreds of slayerettes had now materialized to dust the vamps of the world. In the following season on Angel, there were some references to Buffy hooking up with some notorious immortal hunk, but we never *really* knew what happened. Of course I was secretly hoping that she and Angel would end up roaming the world together, though I guess the whole "no sex or I turn into an evil demon" would put a damper on their relationship.

Anyway, I was excited to learn that Joss Whedon the creator of Buffy would be authoring a comic book continuation of the series. I have to admit that I've never read a comic book in my life, though I did have a graphic novel of Empire Strikes Back as a wee girl. The thought of going into a comic book shop was a bit daunting for a mere mortal like myself. Would they mock me?? Clearly see that I am unfamiliar with the ways of the comic world?? So I made BJ take me when I was last in Little Rock. I picked up the first two issues of Buffy Season 8 and honestly, they were a little weird. I think it's because I'm not familiar with the comic genre and how things are portrayed, I honestly had a hard time even understanding what was going on. Before issue 3 came out, I moved to Denver and finally got up the courage to go into the local comic shop on my own. It turns out they were sold out and I should come back in a week or so. I have yet to continue the series due to my fear of such places. I guess I need to either find a way to get them online or convince BJ to take me back to the Little Rock shop. I am terribly interested in seeing how it continues, especially after seeing a graphic from the series at the singalong where Buffy dressed in a naughty nurse outfit was stuck in the middle of an Angel/Spike sandwich!!!

In a slightly related topic, the question was posed, "What is your favorite Buffy season and why?" I have to immediately say it was Season 3 which is probably cliche but I could watch those episodes over and over. There's so much in there to love, from the introduction of Faith, to the Mayor (who was one of my favorite villains), the complex relationships that are explored between Willow/OZ and Xander/Cordelia, Anya's arrival to Sunnydale, VAMP WILLOW!, and the heartbreaking return and departure of Angel. I can't help it, I'm an Angel fan and the scene in "The Prom" where he enters wearing a tux as the Sundays "Wild Horses" is playing just gets me every time! Not only did I love the episodes, but Season 3 was so pivotal as it marked the end of high school and the beginning of a new era for the Scoobies. I can certainly enjoy many episodes in other seasons, but as a whole - Season 3 is by far my favorite. Long live Buffy and Angel!!

It's getting hot in here, (so hot) so take off all your clothes ......

What was I thinking?!?!?!?

I thought it was hot in Denver, I mean it's been in the high 90s as of late and pretty uncomfortable in the heat of the day. I thought I was prepared for my re-integration into midwest/southern summer weather ... ummm yeah, I was SOOO not prepared! As we drove across Kansas and made our first pit stop in Colby, I felt what was to come and thought "yeah, this ain't so bad." By the time we made it to Columbia, MO, it was flat out miserable. The kindof heat where you are already sticky just by walking from the car to the air conditioned building.

Now today I am happily ensconced in our Little Rock love nest (seriously, I am happily here with BJ) BUT it's going to be over 100 in the foreseeable future, with a heat advisory and relative humidity that makes the heat index up to "Holy crap it's HOT!!!!!"

Guess I'll be praying for Fall in Little Rock ...

"Say you're happy now, once more with feeling"

"Life's a show, and we all play a part,
And when the music starts, we open up our hearts.
It's all right if some things come out wrong.
We'll sing a happy song, and you can sing along." - Buffy

Yes, last night BJ and I got our geek on at the Buffy Singalong!! For those unfamiliar (which in my opinion is a HORRIBLE tragedy) "Buffy" refers to Buffy the Vampire Slayer which is an intelligent, cult classic show based on a mediocre movie (ok "bloody awful" movie per BJ). I actually got into Buffy rather late, tuning in during the latter part of the 6th season, and was immediately hooked! JCR also developed an obsession and as I recall we were both devastated that I had to leave for nursing school just prior to the series finale. I'm sure those who haven't seen the series will never believe me, but it's witty, well written and empowering in its use of a good-looking, petite blonde girl as a demon killer. Don't believe me? Check out season 1 on Netflix or I'll lend it to you :)

Buffy has now been gone since 2003, but the fans clearly live on. The singalong is the brainchild of a Denver native now living in NYC and a cast of characters who saw the potential of taking the musical episode "Once More With Feeling" from Season 6 and turning it into a Rocky Horror style event. I remember the first time I saw the episode, the network made a really big event of the first time they replayed it (I wasn't a watcher at the time it originally aired) and JCR and I got together at my apartment in Denver and watched it for the first time. It was magical!! As for the singalong, I actually had never heard about it, but happened to be driving past The Esquire which is one of the local independent theaters and saw "Buffy Musical" on the marquee. When I got home, I checked out their website and read about it and was SO HAPPY to see that it was playing at midnight on my last weekend in Denver, while BJ was here!!! The only tragedy was that JCR was out of town and she couldn't join us. [Oh, you would have LOVED it!!!]

Basically if you've ever gone to Rocky Horror, you know the drill. Movie playing on the screen, cast of characters in costume acting out the movie in front of the screen, various props for the crowd, and the occasional devoted fan dressed in costume. We arrived about an hour early and had a good place in line. It was interesting seeing the range of Buffy fans, from the 20 somethings, to the grey haired, to the tragically hip (of which we were a part) and then of course the grossly obese folks who clearly need to watch less TV and exercise more. The event was a lot of fun, we sang along without abandon, blew our bubbles at the appropriate time, did the wave, shouted things like "Shut up Dawn," and at the end put a little monster puppet on our fingers as we all sang Grrrr Aargh."

And even though there is a dramatic kiss at the end, let me go on the record as saying I ALWAYS thought Angel was the better vampire.

I HATE packing!

Why oh why did I pick a job that revolves around constantly moving?? This will be my 5th move in a year and each one has caused me untold stress. For those who don't understand the travel nurse concept, the apartments that my company provides are furnished so I don't travel with furniture. It's mainly my clothes, linens, kitchen wares (which I COULD rent but I choose not to), and along the way I've chosen to bring more personal things so that my apartments felt more homey. When I started this odyssey I was driving my cute little Escort stuffed to the brim, and now I've got the Matrix and I pull a little 4x8 Uhaul behind it. Honestly, I don't have *that* much to pack, but the whole process just makes my heart start to pound, my head hurt and me to feel like drowning in a bottle or sleeping ... neither of which are very productive.

The upside to this move is the fact that I plan on staying put after I get to Little Rock, and the only move in the forseeable future will be when BJ and I buy a home. It'll be nice to stay in one place for a while, I was just counting and in the last 10 years I have moved FOURTEEN times. I guess I took the phrase "a rolling stone gathers no moss" very seriously. You'd think that after all these moves it'd be a breeze, but instead I just get more anxiety ridden each time. If only I had some Xanax .... and JCR is out of town :)

Lost Car or Lost Nurse??

I don't know why it is, but for some reason my car CONSTANTLY gets lost in the hospital parking lot here. Notice I say that MY CAR gets lost as opposed to me just forgetting where I put it. I've worked at several hospitals, all with large parking lots or structures and before that I worked in government buildings that also had large parking lots. I never had problems finding my cars there, so what's the problem with this new hospital??? Why did it take 10 minutes of aimlessly wandering up and down aisles this morning, hitting the panic button on my keychain hoping for a signal in a crazy game of hot and cold, before I finally found my car?? And my car is pretty distinctive, bright red, not an overly popular model - I'd be screwed if I drove an Explorer - and I have a roof rack attached, all items that usually make it easy to spot.

Yet it continues to elude me, and the hunt is made even more stressful by the parking space vultures following me - you know, the people who slowly idle their cars behind you as you walk, desparately hoping that you're going to get into a car, drive off and produce a beuatifully located space for them. I'm pretty sure they were wondering if I was drunk, or just being rude as I'd walk one way, then another, hop up on my tip toes looking and hoping.

At least today I felt a sense of solidarity when a doctor walking my way smiled and said, "That look is familiar! They need to number these damn rows!!"