fascinated
Day 25 of the 30 day challenge is to name someone who fascinates you and why. I promise I won’t say Peyton Manning. (although I know you all were thinking that weren’t you? Don’t lie. I can smell liars. And yes I can smell you through my computer. What? You don’t have that technology yet?)
Someone who fascinates me? Huh. Lots of people fascinate me:
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the tough looking guy who walks his 5 chihuahuas every morning
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the eighty year old man who runs the same 5 mile loop everyday
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the lady who works in the Passport office who obviously hates her job
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the Starbucks barista who spoke 10 octaves too loud when I ordered while on my cell phone
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the Uncle who thought it would be wise to tell me I was fat this past weekend
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the girl who lost 135 pounds the old-fashioned way
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the people who supposedly wake up in the middle of the night to check Facebook
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the people who know the trivia they ask on Jeopardy
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the woman who whipped out her bare boob and breast-fed while simultaneously shopping for jeans at Old Navy
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the people who can stand to let their hair get dirty enough for dreadlocks
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the professional athlete who can cheat and still look in the mirror every day
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the rent-a-cop outside the restaurant who told me at 9:20pm that there was a noise ordinance that started at 10:00pm
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the girl who wears a full face of makeup to my outdoor bootcamp
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the tiny professional eaters who can shove 40+ hotdogs down their throats
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the people who don’t eat breakfast
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the people who read my blog…bless you
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the people who have enough money to spend $35,000 for a ticket to a recent political fundraising event in ATX
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the women who have natural births
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And last but certainly never least: my husband who is the best person I know and he truly fascinates me ever single day.
want to watch a movie?
Day 24 of the 30 day challenge is to tell you my favorite movie and what it is about. My favorite movie…wow…that is hard. There is no way I am going to be able to pick one. So why don’t we do my top 5. Does that work for you? (she asks expecting an answer) 🙂
1. Under The Tuscan Sun: while on vacation, a just-divorced writer buys a villa in Tuscany on a whim, hoping it will be the start of a change for the better in her life. I loved this movie because it became a motivator for me to start my life over when things were rough. I loved how this woman was strong and independent and was able to pick her life up when everything seemed hopeless.
2. Where The Heart Is: a pregnant 17-year-old rebuilds her life after being abandoned by her boyfriend at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma. Love this movie! I also read the book and both are excellent. Just a movie about a girl with seemingly no future who refuses to give up and through it all finally realizes she deserves good things to happen to her.
3. Secret Window: A writer is accused for plagiarism by a strange man, who then starts haunting him for “justice.” This movie is really good with an awesome twist. It is a thriller and Johnny Depp is awesome! This is about scary as I get. ha!
4. The Family Stone: An uptight, conservative, businesswoman accompanies her boyfriend to his eccentric and outgoing family’s annual Christmas celebration and finds that she’s a fish out of water in their free-spirited way of life. This movie is just such a good movie about family, love and what is really important in life.
5. Titanic: A boy and girl from differing social backgrounds meet during the ill-fated maiden voyage of RMS Titanic. I know I said I couldn’t pick a favorite but if push came to shove this would probably be the one I would choose. This, to me, is the best love story of all time while still telling the story of a tragic accident that shook the world.
Tell me some of your favorite movies!
the list
Day 23 of the 30 day challenge is to show 5 pictures of guys who are famous that I find attractive. So first let’s talk about “the list”. You all know what I am talking about. The list you and your significant other have of the people you are allowed to be with should you ever get the opportunity. Of course the people on the list are supposed to unattainable. As in it can’t be the man or woman who lives down the street because that would just be awkward. ha! Don’t pretend you don’t have one…we ALL have one. Whether you have actually openly discussed it or if it is a closet secret…we all have those people whom we find undeniably sexy. I don’t actually have a list. As in a list applies several people. I only have 1 person. Any guesses…hahaha…anyone who knows me well knows exactly what is coming. My one (and only) man-crush who would make “the list” is Peyton Manning. For those of you who don’t know who he is (gasp) he is the quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts (or better known as the best QB of all time…in my opinion) So rather than show you 5 pictures of famous men I find attractive how about I just show you 5 pictures of the adorable Peyton Manning!
Okay spill it…who is on your list?
2 years ago: a running history
Day 22 of the 30 day challenge is to discuss how you have changed in the past 2 years. Two years ago I was 28 (sigh…), I had a fully functioning left finger, and I was training for my first marathon. My how times have changed. Mentally I have changed a lot in the last 2 years and most people who know me would say for the better. (Right Keith?) Perspective is a bitch sometimes and boy did perspective kick my ass. I have grown up a lot. A lot. Two years ago I was running my life into the ground. Quite literally.
2 years ago the single most important thing in my life was running. Everything (and I mean everything) else took a backseat. My friendships suffered because I didn’t want to go out on Friday nights because I had a long run on Saturday mornings and Saturday night I was often too tired to want to go out. My relationship suffered with Keith for the same reason. Keith has often said that me training for a marathon was just as demanding (time-wise) on him. All plans revolved around my training schedule. I was too rigid and flexibility was not a word in my vocabulary. Beer and Pizza on a Friday night? NO WAY! I had a long run in the morning. Dinner out with friends on Saturday night? NO WAY! I would fall asleep in my soup bowl. I was running a lot and not eating nearly enough. This lead to major energy lapses. As in…I had no energy. All energy was reserved for my run and then I was quite literally tanked. Social activities suffered too. Want to go water skiing, hiking, mountain biking? Nope…too dangerous. I might sprain an ankle or hurt myself and then I won’t be able to run. I was boring with a capital B! Most of my friends just gave up and stopped calling me. I was a woman on a mission and I no time for anything or anyone else. As sad as this sounds had Keith put his foot down and said it was running or him…I am not sure which way that would have gone. 😦
I ran my marathon but the obsession didn’t stop. It only grew. I started running upwards of 60-65 miles a week. I think everyone thought that after the marathon I would settle down but I didn’t. I trained harder, got faster. In fact in one year I went from running a 1:52.08 half marathon to a 1:31.56. In. one. year. I was determined. I qualified for the NYC Marathon (based on that half marathon time) and I didn’t stop. No breaks. No days off. Nothing. Then (surprise surprise) I developed a bursa sac in my left knee. An injury that required rehab and still plagues me to this day. An injury that made running the NYC Marathon impossible. An injury that sidelined me to the pool and the elliptical. An injury that broke my spirit. Then just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse I cut my finger and that sealed the deal. My running days came to a screaming halt. I was devastated.
But today almost 2 years since that first marathon I can honestly say I am better. Keith and I have more fun. We go out, we try new things, we live life. I am flexible. I take breaks. I run when I want to and do something else when I don’t feel like it. See, what I slowly learned was that at first those feelings of devastation and heartbreak eventually gave way to relief. Relief that I didn’t have to get up and push my body to extreme limits. Relief that I didn’t have to PR at my next race. Relief that I could go out on a Friday night until whatever time I wanted and not have to freak out about a run in the morning. And then that relief turned to hatred. I HATED to run. It wasn’t enjoyable anymore. It wasn’t fun. It felt like punishment. I wasn’t going back there…ever.
And now I run when I feel like it. I might run everyday 1 week and then not again for another 3 weeks. Don’t get me wrong I still exercise. I lift weights, I go to bootcamp, I do kettlebells and TRX. I do whatever exercise I want when I want to. Do I miss running now? Yeah…it creeps up now and then and I remember the kind of shape I was in and marvel at what I had accomplished. But at what price. I wouldn’t give up the life I have now to be that runner again. One day I hope to find balance (currently the knee isn’t able to handle more than 5 miles at a time) and one of these days I might run the NYC Marathon but if I don’t then that is okay too.
What Kelly Said 