- Celebrated another year of life, otherwise known as my birthday
- Variety Show at school
- Quiet time at work to clean off my desk because of snow day
- “Sword” fight with Gavin (more like plastic bat and spoon fight), little boys are so much fun!
- Ran 8 miles Sunday; although, my foot started hurting just after 7 miles and is still hurting…may need to increase mileage more slowly
- More days at or above 40 than below
Archive for February, 2011
Favorites of the Week, 5th Edition
Posted in General on February 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Keyed Up? Unwind with Exercise
Posted in Fitness on February 26, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I just celebrated my birthday. Another year down, but I don’t keep track, anymore. Seriously, I haven’t been able to readily remember my age for years now; I have to do the math. We had dinner plans with the family to celebrate, so I could not fit in a run or workout in the afternoon. Well, I could have completed a couple of miles and just changed clothes, but that would not have been pleasant for anyone. A couple of hours after we got home from the restaurant, I felt like I needed to get out and run, run, run. Alas, the gourmet hamburger was still sitting in my stomach, and it would be near midnight by the time I changed, stretched, ran, showered, stretched again, and got into bed. I opted to get my things ready and get up at 5 a.m. to run the next morning.
Now, I did not feel the need to run so that I could burn off the calories from my birthday meal (hamburger, fries, and part of an ice cream sundae), nor am I obsessed with exercise. I was just feeling keyed up that night because I was in charge of our school’s variety show the next day, and I needed to burn some extra energy to relax and focus. Exercise is nature’s way of relieving stress, better than a cocktail or other chemical relaxer. When we work the human body, the brain releases natural mood boosters, with no side effects. And, there is no co-pay! Besides the chemical benefit, the rhythm of the movement and breathing seem to bring everything back into sync. Running, walking, swimming, biking, dancing, and so much more, choose your type of exercise, get into a rhythm, release those beta-endorphins, and unwind.
{Fatal Error} The Blue Screen of Death
Posted in General on February 22, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Last night, my McAfee icon in the system tray popped up with “Restart Computer to Apply Updates,” or something like that. After I clicked to restart, I got a pop-up that said I needed to terminate or debug a program that was closing. I chose debug, which was apparently the wrong choice when you are restarting to update McAfee. There were several flashes on the screen and then the fatal error message, along with “Windows has shut down.” I tried rebooting and a couple of other things, which required me to reboot each time they didn’t work. It would show Windows XP, then flash to the same blue screen and fatal error message. Needless to say, I did not get a good night’s sleep.
This morning, I spoke with Kim, our IT gal at work. She told me to bring in my hard drive; she would see if she could salvage any of the data (backups from now on). As I explained how it happened, she told me to first try F8 and choose Last Known Good Configuration (or something like that). I went home, did the F8 thingy, then closed my eyes and listened to the computer; I was too nervous to watch. If it continued to make booting noises after a few seconds, I was probably in the clear. Yea, I could hear it working! I opened my eyes, saw a black screen, and quickly shut them, hoping that I had just looked too soon. About 15 seconds later I opened them again and saw…Starting Windows XP! And directly after that, my login screen popped up! Hurray, Kim and F8 saved my computer! I am looking forward to a well rested night.
This Run Dedicated to Erin, Joe, Cathy…
Posted in Fitness on February 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I had a dozen reasons why I didn’t want to run tonight. It was too cold, dark, wet, and late. I had other things I needed to do, like laundry, dishes, filing, etc. I felt tired and a little blue. The house was warm, and my honey was home. Then, I thought about Erin in her wheelchair, and Joe laid up after a car accident, post-op with a broken ankle/foot, and Cathy in the hospital with life-threatening pneumonia. Not only did these people have major health concerns, they also had wonderful attitudes in the midst of their crises. I could think of more people who could not run tonight than I had excuses. So, I donned my jacket, hat, gloves, face mask, and safety vest and laced up my shoes. I prayed for those who were unable to run tonight and gave thanks for the opportunity to pound the pavement. Needless to say, I felt much more grateful the rest of the evening, and I got some laundry and the dishes done, to boot.
Seven Miles and Sunny
Posted in Fitness on February 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I completed a seven mile run yesterday. Not only did I complete it, but my time is on pace for being my best half marathon finish ever, even running up a fairly steep incline at one point! I will soon find out; I am running the Sam Costa Half Marathon March 26, 2011. Regardless of the outcome, it is such a blessing to run, no matter what my pace.
Not only was my run a good one, but the weather was beautiful: sunny and low 50s. The sky was blue and the air clear, a day to rejoice being alive. I felt like Julie Andrews on the mountain top in The Sound of Music; my soul was bursting with joy!
Better to Laugh 