Escape

February 24, 2011February 24, 2011 ~ meh ~ Leave a comment

Oh, Santa Barbara.

I’m heading home this weekend to attend the wedding of a dear old friend. Since I left Santa Barbara over a decade ago for a number of cold, snowy climates, I have received weekly calls from my parents throughout the winter months, usually from the beach, just letting me know that it’s sunny and 75. Every day of the year. So I was pretty excited to head back and run outside on non-ice covered streets, swim outdoors, and maybe, possibly, even lay out and give myself a pre-spring sunburn (you have to build up a base.)

Santa Barbara weather forecast for the weekend of February 26, 2011:

Cloudy with rain. High in the low 50s, lows in the low 30s. Chance of snow.

CHANCE. OF. SNOW. For the first time since like 1948.

Hell no.

…on a similar note…

February 23, 2011February 23, 2011 ~ meh ~ 1 Comment

Paul and Spike partaking in February Fitness. (Paul can’t do P90X with Spike around because this happens.)

Feb Fitness: Week 3

February 23, 2011February 23, 2011 ~ meh ~ Leave a comment

…and of course, just like clockwork, here come the shin splints. Though mild, running this week wasn’t where it was supposed to be (might be time to consider new shoes). But I got to spend a little more time on the bike, and with a little more ice and Advil and I should be ready to hit the road again soon.

Swim: 9,200 yards / 2.5 hours

Bike: 60 miles / 3.5 hours

Run: 13 miles / 1.8 hours

Gummy Lifesavers: 1 bag in about 4 hours

I awoke one morning and found myself famous

February 18, 2011July 12, 2011 ~ meh ~ 2 Comments

12 North Carolina copies later…it came. And on the very last page, squished in between 4 other photos, there we were.

Autographed copies available by request.

Update: The photo also featured on our photographer’s website. Lilia rocks.

Feb Fitness: Week 2

February 16, 2011February 16, 2011 ~ meh ~ Leave a comment

Swim: 10,000 yards / 3 hours

Bike: 40 miles / 2.3 hours

Run: 15 miles / 2.1 hours

Swedish Fish and Jelly Bellies: ~20 oz

I have a sugar problem.

And I love my bike! …granted, I only ride it on the trainer, and I’ve only ridden it twice. (My arm still won’t extend, waiting until I’m just a little less lopsided before I actually get on the road. No need to wreck yet.) Half marathon still coming up in April, so running is probably going to pick up a little bit.

The Haps

February 15, 2011July 12, 2011 ~ meh ~ Leave a comment

For those of you who are unaware (most likely all of you…I don’t think this blog has many local followers), it has been a big few days at Governor Brashear’s office here in Kentucky. A sit-in at the Governor’s office with local activists, authors, teachers, and scholars began on Thursday. It coincided with the I Love Mountains march yesterday bringing together thousands of people from across the state in a push to end Mountain Top Removal (MTR).

Before coming to Kentucky I had heard of MTR but knew very little about it. Give yourself 24 hours here and the “Friends of Coal” license plates and “I heart Coal” bumper stickers littering the roads of Kentucky make clear the fact that coal companies have quite a wide reach in these here parts. While it may seem that these happenings in Appalachia have little to do with you, remember that over half of the electricity produced in the country comes from coal. The world is small, the US even smaller. You may be more connected than you think.

Give a little bit…

February 14, 2011September 27, 2012 ~ meh ~ 2 Comments

I got this mug at Starbucks a few weeks ago after a colleague totally freaked out on me for using her Buffy the Vampire Slayer mug that was sitting in the kitchen cupboard at work. True story.

Last night I tried to bake cookies shaped like hearts for the morning swim group while watching the 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. (No tie to Valentines day…just another wonderful find on Netflix Teen Drama. Flashback to me and my 15-year-old friends going to the movies in our matching bomber jackets.) Anyway, the heart shape was kind of a major fail. But they taste fine.

On this Valentines Day I did a little reading. There is all sorts of folklore about St. Valentine and what exactly he did that ultimately led to his name being forever affiliated with those little sugar hearts that say “You’re Hot” and “Call Me”. In the extensive research I’ve done (read: Wikipedia) I have found that the only thing everyone agrees on is that someone named Valentine was martyred sometime before 500 AD. Nothing about Valentine and marriage or amour.

So this Valentines Day remember that love is more than telling that special someone they are “So Fine” via candy heart. It can be as simple as giving your seat to a stranger on the bus, saying thank you to the janitor that cleans your building, or lending a hand to a clueless coworker who may accidentally trespass on your property.