Random Pre-Race/Travel Ruminations

I'm trying not to freak out right now. Poor Single Gal. I mean, I've done two of these before and I'm just a step below a serious panic attack. I just now got on the computer to check in for my flight and successfully secured the last aisle seat available. Karma speaking already? Perhaps. Or is it fake out Karma like "ha ha, you think things are going well but they aren't." Only time will tell.

Did I mention that I have not even packed my suitcase yet? Nothing in it. I still need to shower and have not even settled on my "airport chic" look. Serious white girl problems going on here.

The good news is, The Single Gal and I love Las Vegas. Who doesn't get excited when all those damn strip lights come on? And they stay on until the sun comes up. Which is good because we are usually out until the sun comes up. Except for this trip. The partying happens after the race.

Oh, and I've never been away from #1 for this long before. I'm sure I can find some distractions though.

Can we talk about how much it's costing me to keep #1 in nice shoes? Even the ugly ones are $30 a piece.

I'm signing off for us until we get back. The Single Gal may be reporting from a far if she has time. You can always follow us on twitter @housewifeblogr  and @the_single_gal too.

Love to all who read (which is nobody but our stepmom probably) and wish us luck!!

The Housewife

Figments of the Single Gal Imagination

Well,  our trip to Vegas is basically here.  The Housewife and I leave on Friday! {gasp!}

The Housewife is clearly not in the same mental position I am in because she already has two 26.2's in the bag {what a beotch}.  I have really been super stressed this last week or so.  I am trying to squeeze in the appropriate amount of workouts so that I will be well rested but enough to feel energized when I get to the big day.  Last week I really wimped out with Thanksgiving visits, cooking, cleaning, etc. so I never really was able to squeeze in much gym time. 

I have been trying to get some really good mental images in my head to help me think positively but this week I am also trying to reflect on my journey and other things I have learned (don't worry--no more pictures of me in tiny shorts, I promise). 

{other things I have learned}  

Don't ever say this to yourself or you might not make it through all the training: 

"Oh, I will train for a marathon...then I will look like that chick in the Victoria's Secret catalogue!" or "In 5 months I will straight up look like that bitch Giselle. Eat your heart out Tom Brady -- you could have been with me instead!" 

{mental image of what you may look like after you marathon train}

And...in reality, you just look the same if you are me. Sure, you changed your insides. I can outrun people. I can climb more stairs than most without fatiguing. Blah, blah, blah. Every once in a while I can eat a whole pizza if I want when I run 20 miles.  I may have lost 1 pound.  ONE.  My hair didn't even fuller and thicker either. Lame.  

{BUT...}

I have had the best time with The Housewife these last few months!  People always ask how we are able to run for 3 1/2 hours on our long run days,  but we just hit the road and talk each other to death like any normal day or outing.  On really good days, sometimes we barely even notice we are running.  You can do anything with your best friend beside you supporting you and loving you the whole way through and that is an incredibly rewarding experience even if you don't get your Victoria's Secret angel wings. 

There is no way I could have done this without The Housewife. She is the master of discipline and the best training partner this Single Gal could ever ask for.  And, I think she is even a little surprised that I made it this far.  (Ok, let's be honest...I am surprised, too.)  

Hope y'all are having an inspirational week and gearing up for some new goals in 2012! I am not sure how I will top this one but I sure am going to try next year. 

Love you. Mean it. 

~the single gal~

Life Lesson #345: Pay Attention When Ordering Online or You'll Look Like an Ass

This is seriously as close as I will probably ever get to starring in a porno. I invite you to the mini-documentary of part of the Marathon Outfit.  

{A sunny October Monday...}

Single Gal: I am ordering my Race Ready shorts today. What size are yours? 

Housewife: Medium. 

Single Gal: Thanks! Mine are now on the way!  

{A few days later...}

Single Gal: I am holding these shorts up that just came in the mail and they look really small. Are you sure yours are a medium? 

Housewife: Yes.  I just went and checked mine. 

Single Gal: Well, ok.  I guess mine will be fine then.  

---------------

So, I try on these shorts.  They. Are. Outrageous.  And, they really don't look like the ones The Housewife usually wears.  Basically, my ass is hanging out.  But it's kinda too late to send them back and they fit in the waist so I figure I will just deal.  

 (Please keep in mind I have shelved my dignity for your entertainment this week.)

I know what you are thinking -- "Single Gal--those really aren't that bad.  Why are you freaking out?"

Why am I freaking out? Let's just think about this photo.  This is how exposed I am when I am not moving at all.  Just me being still.  In tiny shorts. 

And just for extra emphasis -- That. Is. My. Ass. Hanging. Out. Of. My. Shorts.  They really, really, really don't look like the Race Ready shorts that The Housewife has. 

{Flash Forward -- Our Saturday Run}

Single Gal: Housewife, my shorts seriously don't look like yours! WTH?! 

Housewife: Ooohhhh! You got the Kenyan kind!

Single Gal: I take it yours are not the Kenyan kind? 

Housewife: No. 

{And, end scene.}

Sars for my dirty, streaked mirror in those photos.  Life has been busy lately--I haven't even had time to prep any other Vegas outfits.  I guess if I get in a bind, I can throw these shorts on with some heels and gain entry into any club I want with no problems...

Oh. and I am also sorry if this post has emotionally scarred you for life. 

Love you. Mean it. 

~the single gal~

Previews and More Random Musings

I promise we will be blogging some more this week! I had big plans for the weekend for catching up on lots of stuff -- a long chat with The Housewife, long run, errands, housework, craft projects, blog (!) etc. -- but I couldn't get to all of my "To Do" items. 

So...I thought I would just give a sneak peak for some upcoming posts. I am sure you are just dying to see what will come next.   I truly have good intentions every evening to sit down and write the blog I have in my head but I plop into bed with my laptop only to log onto Pinterest and lose 1 hour of my life or more. 

 {Upcoming!}

-Great things about being "single". I know I joke and talk about finding "the one" a lot but if you have been reading the other parts of our blog I obviously have a full, happy life filled with other stuff.  It's time to remind the general public of the good life. 

-Pinterest Inspirations and recent small home projects

-You can also expect a few more Marathon themed posts in the next few weeks.  I am so consumed by this and also tired of training that I realized today I haven't even stalked great restaurants try or started imaging what I will wear while I am out in Vegas! It's shameful, really. 

-I am sure we will squeeze a Thanksgiving moment or two in as well.  

Also, Friday night I randomly started watching Pride and Prejudice and forgot how beautiful some of the moments are for this remake...sigh. Don't you just love these two? And the quotes. Gorg. 

"You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." 

Jane Austen 

Ok, thanks for checking in and reading my lame post. 

Love you. Mean it. 

~Tired and Lazy Single Gal~

As God As My Witness...This Single Gal Will Never Go Hungry Again -- Well, Not This Week Anyway.

First off, many thanks to The Housewife for keeping the blog up and going for basically all of
October. This last month has been incredibly busy with training/complaining about training,
social activities, family stuff, etc.

I have been going non-stop for the last few weeks -- and I am exhausted.  Not
Scarlet O’Hara I-Lived-Through-The-Civil-War exhausted, but pretty close. I haven’t
been able to properly devote as much time as needed to my training this month
(Dear. Jesus. When. Can. I. Stop. Training. And. Run. This. Race. OMG.) 16 miles on the pavement this morning and our last 20 miles next week. We are in our training “peak”and it hasn’t worked out well with all the family activities, engagement parties, birthday parties, and squeezing in much needed time with The Housewife and our girlfriends that all ended up happening in the month of October. I tried my best to be everywhere and pretty much accomplished that goal.

So this weekend I gratefully fell into the black hole of “I’m {Happily} Not Leaving the House
(Except to Run and Maybe Go To Starbucks)” syndrome...or, we could dub this weekend -- “The Weekend I Finally Made Stuff from Pinterest!”

Since I am sick of microwaving almost all my Single Gal Meals I happily dusted off the crock pot and actually made a real meal (I am just as shocked as you are, trust.). One that I might be able to finish by Friday.

{chicken taco chili}

 

I ate this while having several severe heart attacks during the GA/FL game on Saturday. It
needed more chili powder and maybe some Tabasco to really get a good flavor, but since this
was my first try I’ll call it a sloppy win-- just like The Dawgs had this weekend. Georgia played some seriously sloppy football but thankfully ended up with a W.

And if you are wondering what I will be eating the rest of the week...

I also snagged this recipe off of Pinterest as well to try this weekend:

{pumpkin scones}

I am not sure why this picture is blurry.

 

Ok, these mis-shaped triangles of goodness don’t exactly look like they fell out of Southern Living Magazine, but they were delicious! And, as this example shows, no matter what they look like just throw them on a fancy plate, drizzle them with spiced glaze and ta-dah! 

Scones aren’t always my favorite because they are kind of crunchy and can be a bit dry but the spiced glaze really adds a lot to this fall pastry.  My house also smelled wonderful this morning while they were baking away in the oven.

{currently reading}

And, for those who may care about literature I also finished the book Dracula In Love by Karen Essex and managed to get more than halfway through a new book, The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen on my Kindle this weekend! I might even finish it tonight!!  I am not huge on book reviews so I have just linked them up to Amazon for your perusal.  I enjoyed/am enjoying both but they weren't/aren't 5 stars or anything.  

I love cooler weather where you want to cuddle up with the dog and your chicken taco chili and read all day!

Love you. Mean it. 

~Incredibly Productive Single Gal~

It's the Final Countdown

No. It's not really the finally countdown but the Single Gal and I are in the final throws of marathon training. It's not pretty. We are whiny bitches at this point, seriously. In reality since we only run 3 days a week and occasionally 2 days depending on how far our long run is for the week there are only maybe 10 running days left in the plan. But it's almost 10 runs too much. We started base training in June. (That's the training you do BEFORE the "real" training.) Not that it wasn't great for the Housewife because I'm pretty sure I've lost some mad inches. I haven't weighed myself in forever and I'm okay with that because I have some slouchy jeans that basically fall off of me. Sometimes I'm afraid if I wear them in public I might be ticketed for them being too low off my waist. Like this. 

Yo Dog! Was up?

I found a really funny picture of a girl with her jeans hanging off but it was borderline pornographic in my opinion and we don't totally support that here. A little too much plumber butt for my taste. I got my new pair of marathon shoes to break in before the big day and some new running socks. I'm not sure if we covered the socks in our gear post but dry fit socks are a must have. 

The Single Gal and I are also on the detox train pre-race day. (Except for coffee.....that would just be dumb. Obvi.) We are off the drinking train until race day. (Only I cheated and had one glass of wine last night. Ugh......confession. Maybe the Single Gal won't read this.) So I'm starting over again today. The Turtle peer pressured me. I'm weak. And it really sucks that detox is during football season....especially when Alabama is going to play LSU next week. Only I won't be able to stay awake after running our last 20 miler and attending something for 4 hours immediately after that. 

PS.- Anyone else panicking about Holiday shopping yet? (I'm raising my hand.)

The Housewife

Party Like It's 1999

OR........like you have to run 20.5 miles for marathon training BEFORE having #1's first birthday party this  Saturday. Yeah. Seems like a great idea. I'm only starting to mildly panic about the party prep (or lack of prep).

Gah. The Turtle and I have not even started to practice her smash cake yet. Not to mention now I want to make some of these adorable rice krispie treats for the party guests as well.  Similar to these except minus the additional hooker pink glitter on the top. Seriously, it's like clear heels on a stripper. Bad accessorizing rice krispie treats, bad.

I'm either doing to do a plain pink smash cake or a Cookie Monster smash cake. This doesn't look difficult at all does it?  I'm sure I can whip it together in a few hours perfectly. Right? The Turtle's mom made all of their cakes for their birthdays when they were growing up. Not just some cake with icing and piped on "Happy Birthday" but elaborate cakes. Therefore Turtle says "we" should make it. Does your husband or boyfriend ever "we" you? I get "we'd" all the time. ( "We" should change the sheets which equals the Housewife changing them.) As the Single Gal and I say it's about to be Cake Bossy up in here. #1 will probably cry because her cake is "looking at her." I'm kind of freaking out just looking at this picture of six cupcakes staring at me. They really do look like they are coming to get me.

If you need me I will be running errands to pick up party and baking supplies and when I'm running on Saturday I'll just pretend these cupcakes are chasing me with their large weird eyes and a cookie in their mouths.

The Housewife

Party of One. (Emphasis on the word "party".)

Single Gal here! Just checking in--The Housewife has done a great job keeping up with posting responsibilities of late.  Life has been busy--work has been insane the last few weeks.  I have had some time off but we are down a rep and lots of people take well deserved vacay days in the summer so we are really feeling the brunt of heavy claims volume.  #killingme

But...last week The Housewife and I took some well deserved time off of our own and had our big night out at the NKOTBSB concert in Atlanta! It. Was. So. Much. Fun.  We drank one too many beers, ordered pizza late night, and enjoyed the next day off of work/baby duty together.  We sang really loudly in front of strangers. Note: The Housewife has all our fun photos on her camera, so let's all beg her nicely to throw some up this week.

It's been a hard last few weeks.  Marathon training is already kicking my butt and we aren't even running that far--it's seriously just the amount of training we are doing.  Of course, last week I was way too social and bagged several workouts (don't worry, I already fessed up to The Housewife) but I am back on track this week.  Balancing a serious work out plan, career, and social activities is a serious challenge.  I have been trying to get back in The Game too, but I have to find some new places to hang in the city.  Most of the VaHi neighborhood is full of 25 year olds--if that.  Most of the time guys ask me what school I go to.  As in college.  Um, hello--I'm an old lady.  Which is totally okay with me because let's face it--these guys think I should buy them a drink.  Ugh.

I was really beginning to feel sorry for myself on Sunday--especially wandering around and perusing my local grocery store for my necessary little frozen entrees when I noticed the sign for the section where I was shopping--

That's right.  Even the grocery store defines me as single.  Single meals.  Single Gals.  Not cool Target! Not cool.  Freaking "meals for one". 

Also, while we are on the topic of "confessions"...you know, since that's our blog title and all-- 

I have been seeing 3 Putt again.  It's uber-casual.  I don't even know what it is.  Really, I don't.  It almost isn't even worth mentioning.  But it nags at me a bit.  I've been thinking a lot about how we all define relationships and have pretty much given up on that in general.  They are all different from one another and people, events, and places all mean something different to each individual.  It's all too stressful if you ask me. And, I have too much work and running to do rather than spend all my time trying to figure it out. 

Disclaimer, this probably isn't going to be a large topic of discussion--so take your juicy tidbit and enjoy (Read: You really don't have to ask me about this when you see me...Mom and Dad). 

Oh, and in other news I finally got my iPhone fixed--no more broken screen.  Switched to Dad's old 3GS. Go Single Gal! Shit is getting accomplished this week--watch out world--Meals for One are the Meals of Champions!  

Love you. Mean it. 

~The Single Gal~

Baby v. Wild

8  months. That's how old #1 is now. Where did the time go? It's like there's a time sucking vacuum in my life taking it away so quickly. I have a couple of new best friends I'd like to introduce you to. One is this book I'm trying to read.

We won't discuss how I've downloaded a Stuart Woods Stone Barrington novel on my Kindle and am now reading that instead. (What? I'm a sucker for characters that continue into other novels.) Seriously, I need to get the child rearing book read. It's not that #1 isn't sleeping at night. We've got bedtime down. So down it's down like that song "baby are you down down down down down." Night sleep is the first to regulate and that one is almost easy. We did have to do some crying around 5 months but it wasn't an ordeal. Soon they are like little disciples and you are Jesus bringing them their last meal and they're rubbing their little eyes as they drink that night bottle.

This nap thing is a different story. #1 is trending to be a "different" baby. I hear all of these things from other mom's like "Oh they usually drop their early morning nap at 6 months." So I try to do that and #1 is telling me, "Hey lady. I don't know what you think you're doing but I go back to sleep at 9 am. You hear me? 9 am." So I back off and the 9 am nap is like clock work. Sometimes we even go back to sleep at gasp.....8:30. Other kids seem to nap from 11-1 and 4-6 or something. Not in this household. She goes back to sleep around 2:30 or 3:00 in the afternoon. I'm going to stamp "your baby all babies are different" on my forehead. Ok, thanks, bye. I really think #1 is the problem.........not me. It couldn't be me. (Of course it's me.)

My other best friend is the gym. 6 days a week my friends. I'm sore and my body is tired. The other thing #1 and I do at the gym is go to the cafe so I can feed her her baby food before we go home. They will give her a bottle in the childcare center for me (um.....yay). While #1 has been crawling and pulling up for the last month and a half she has no teeth. Zero. Her little BFF who is 13 weeks older than she is has eight teeth. Eight. #1 will be eating purees for the.rest.of.her.life. My biggest fear lately is that she will choke on something so that's why I stick with purees. I can hardly stand to give her those dis solvable puff things. They for real melt in your mouth but I don't care.

And as I look around at all the other moms (who are of course in fabulous shape with kids younger than #1 and they have four or five of those boogers running around) feeding their babies all kinds of organic baby food and I have my Gerber baby food. I feel inferior. And why should I? Like THEIR green beans taste that much better than OUR green beans. I mean, life is not an organic picnic. I'm teaching my kid survival skills. She will need them......especially with no teeth.

If you need me I will be trying to survive my new work out schedule. It will be worth it though and I am enjoying the challenge.

the Housewife

Once Upon a 15% Time Window...

I’ve been thinking a lot about time lately.  I think it has come with the advent of my birthday.  I’ve also been thinking about my general reading public--I know you guys are like, “Man, this is the most boring single gal in history”.  It definitely feels true right now. I should be shoveling out hysterical re-caps of horrible Match.com dates, nights on the town, and funny encounters with men other than the one that handles my dry cleaning.  I try--I really do, but sheesh--where is the time?!

Let’s talk about how many hours there are in each day and list out my current schedule.  I can see why most gals get married right out of college.  I should have used my time more wisely when I actually had almost all the time in the world to study and meet the future Mr. Single Gal.

It seriously all boils down to basic math--so let’s examine my life in numbers, and weigh the limited probability that I will actually meet someone in my “spare” time.

Total time in my day (or, everyone else's day too): 24 hours
Total time in my week: 168

Exhibit A: Work
I am going to just go ahead and factor in time at work and also the time it takes me to get to work.  Average number of hours taken up: 11 hours.  I leave around 6:30 a.m. and get home a little after 4:30 p.m. I don’t even want to get into how early I have to get up to make myself presentable, walk the dog, pack my lunch, and make sure I get out the door with all my belongings needed for the day.

Exhibit B: Exercise
I am sure you know the importance of looking good and keeping yourself mentally and physically in check with exercise to this Single Gal.  Now that The Housewife and I are beginning our marathon training the exercise has seriously been bumped up and these workouts HAVE to be completed.  And this also means factoring in travel time to the gym.  5 workouts for the week with about 2 hours on average taken out of my day.

Exhibit C: Adding up the little things
Being a big proponent of having almost everything in my life in order as much as possible which eliminates a good deal of undue stress, we now have to consider the other little things like walking the dog so that my sweet angel Hogan is happy and healthy as well.  I try to give him 20-30 minutes each evening for a jaunt around the neighborhood or a trip to the park. Ample chats on the phone with The Housewife probably average an hour each day. Vacuuming excessively and trying to get some laundry done/unload the dishwasher/make dinner for myself/etc.  Trying to read, blog, and catch up on a tv show or two is probably another two hours. Let’s thank Little Baby Jesus now for the ability to multi-task for some of these! I barely have time to keep my nails nicely manicured. Bye additional 3 hours of my day when I get home.

Exhibit D: Sleep
And you thought I had all this other time. Let’s not forget about beauty rest.  The Single Gal is a complete monster without at least 7 hours of sleep (not that I think I have been doing well getting that much lately, but it’s the magic number).

So, with that being said--here is what time looks like during the week:
24 - 11 - 2 - 3 - 7 = 1

Hmmm...a spare hour. Surely this is taken up with something...

Now, I know that is not much during the week. I will be more liberal with the weekend times.

48 hours of the 168 are for the weekend:
-14 hours for sleep
-4-6 hours for other housework and laundry
-2 hours for workouts/long runs

This leaves 28 full hours! Initially that sounds awesome and hopeful.  28 sounds like a lot of weekend spare time.  But in the grand scheme of things, this is a small window out of 168 hours.  It’s only a little over 15% of the entire week/month/year.  

(Insert image of me hyperventilating into small brown lunch sack as it’s currently unavailable on the Internet.)

But, in the spirit of birthday optimism, I would like to note that I have good time management skills. So, here’s hoping that with a little help from LBJ and my own personal qualifications it will all happen in good time...15% of good time, that is.

~the single gal~

Martha Stewart might put a hit out on me. Seriously.

It has been a busy two weeks at the Housewife household. What I couldn't tell you before I can tell you now. After the circus of #1's baptism and reception I have been planning a surprise retirement party for my sweet mother-in-law. I've been helping out Turtle's Dad because the Turtle's Grandmother was in the hospital and was eventually moved to hospice the week before the party. So I happily volunteered to spend my father-in-laws money and plan the big par-tay. We've been planning this since April.

The Single Gal had to talk me off the ledge a few times and due to Turtle's grandmother passing away the night before the party and I really thought we were going to have to let the cat out of the bag. Namely because Turtle's younger sis lives in South Florida and was driving up under the guise of "my birthday." Which really seemed insane to Turtle's Mom because the funeral is this weekend and sis was going to have to come all the way back again (she didn't even leave Atlanta until Tuesday folks) on Friday. While we had a sad event in between we were able to pull of the surprise flawlessly.

I channeled my inner DIY and made some mason jar vases for the party based on an idea from this link. I added a button to mine.

Here we are with Turtle on Saturday

Other big news is that The Single Gal and I had to start training for the Las Vegas Marathon Monday. Today is my 4th day of working out in a row and I really think my coach is trying to kill me. The workouts are not even very difficult right now but he's making me do ab work. I have never been one to do very much ab work unless I'm doing a gym class with the Single Gal and let's face it........it's been a long time since I did a gym class. Don't get me wrong, I've been going to the gym a couple days a week running and doing a yoga class every Friday. I did my ab work on Monday after my run and my stomach muscles are still screaming. Still. I'm definitely ready to get back to my old marathon running self but it is definitely challenging. We're not even to the hard stuff yet, this is just "base" training. The training before the training. Super. 

If you need me I'll be staging my come back. Just like Britney Spears. Hit me baby one more time. I'm off to the gym........