The winery was gorgeous, I was quite impressed with their architecture and aesthetic

Walking in I noticed Beyonce and her son (see The Bloggess for more information about Beyonce and a good laugh)

And then I snuck into the barrel room for a better look...

We had a lovely lunch and wine overlooking their fields (which are currently out of season)

And we saw a cute dinosaur made out of beans and other grains

Overall it was a fantastic trip. I look forward to returning sometime in the near future and going to a few more wineries.

Hope you are having a lovely week!

1. Are you proactive, or do you procrastinate?  That really depends.  I’m typically the proactive type, but at the moment I’m stuck completing work that is due tomorrow morning.  People in my office know me as the person who is “on top of things” and I usually have all assignments completed early.
2. Do you eat breakfast everyday? If so, what’s a typical meal like? I always have breakfast, it is either granola and Greek yogurt or cereal. If I’m feeling rushed then I’ll toast an English muffin with some peanut butter.
3. How much time do you spend watching TV on an average day? Television? I don’t have time for that nonsense.  I’m lucky if I can watch shows on my Hulu queue before they expire several weeks after airing.
4. Do you talk on the phone, or do you prefer e-mail and/or text messages?  Sadly I’ve become the type to use e-mail and text messages to communicate.  I find that I get very distracted when I’m on the phone and I don’t always give my complete attention these days, something I definitely need to work on.
5. Do you exercise in the morning, afternoon or evening? I exercise when I can find the time. Usually before class, but every once in a while I’ll fit in a run in the afternoon if I can sneak out of the office early.
6. Do you take time for yourself regularly? I used to…  I will again one of these days, but for now it is time to focus on my graduate career.
7. How often do you make your bed? Once in a blue moon?  Or when I’m expecting a friend to come over and I don’t want to look like a slob.
8. Do you plan meals? If so, how far in advance?  Last week I rocked at planning my meals and managed to bring food to the office everyday.  Sadly that is a rarity, I imagine I’ll be back on a spontaneous eating kick very soon as work picks up.
9. Do you wake up at the same time everyday? Heck no, it really depends on when I get to bed and what time I have to get to the office.
10. How often do you brush your teeth? In the morning and at night, are you supposed to do it more frequently than that?

Now it is your turn, tell me about your habits! If you’d like to share with the world, write your own responses and post your link on All The Weigh.

I don’t quite remember what emotion I was feeling in this picture, but I sure do love it. A friend was kind enough to do my hair and makeup (because I am inept). Somehow dressing up makes me feel so much girlier and more elegant.

A bit about the event I went to, the ball is based on Edward Gorey and his fantastic works. Everyone gets dressed up in steampunk attire and dances the night away. In fact, I took dance lessons just to prepare for the big day. There was a fantastic market at the event and I had to talk myself out of purchasing a carpet bag. Instead I’m going to make my own from a pattern I just created (we’ll see how that goes…).

When was the last time you did yourself up? How did it make you feel?

Sadly I haven’t had much time to run. I’m trying not to let it get me down and doing my best to live by Laura‘s mantra – Someone busier than you is running. This literally pushed me to get off my derrière Tuesday morning and I bet it will do the same tomorrow. On a more positive note, my pace has been slowly picking up. I’m not planning on setting any PR’s in the near future, but I don’t mind seeing a lower per mile pace. Hopefully I can keep this up for Big Sur in April.

Perhaps I should take this advice….

But enough about me, how are you fine folks doing?

I saw some gorgeous art at the Olympic Sculpture Park

And there was a metal penguin! (Also in Seattle)

Laura took me to try on real cowgirl hats. What do you think?

Laura almost has the wingspan of a Longhorn!

Then we saw a cattle herd! Laura wouldn't let me try to run with the bulls (she is a meanie).

We baked up a storm

And then I got to meet Harley the wonder pup (she is so big and loving!)

And by the end I had fallen madly in love with this gal

It was a fantastic vacation full of friends, fun, and plenty of relaxation.  Now that the quarter has begun things are again going to be hectic in my life, hopefully this time around I’ll learn how to budget my time more efficiently.

Hope you all had a wonderful hump day!

Later today I ship off for my tour of three states in two weeks. This evening I’ll be touching down in Denver, Colorado for a few days of skiing and overdosing on homemade Indian food. My friend from Stanford invited me into his brother’s house and I couldn’t be more excited. Instead of Christmas, we’ll be celebrating his nephew’s first birthday (I bought him the coolest hooded towel, I hope he likes it!). And I’m going to teach them the art of a Jewish Christmas, can you say Chinese food and a movie marathon? Then I’ll spend the rest of the time on the slopes, laughing too hard while my friend struggles to learn to ski, and sipping hot cocoa.

And before I know it, I’ll be off to Seattle, Washington to enjoy the museums, architecture, and ice cream (apparently it is award worthy). My friend in Seattle happens to be a professional magician and treehouse builder, I can’t wait to see some of the amazing structures he built over the past few years. I’ve only been to the city once (with my mother), so I’m hoping this visit will be a bit more exciting. If anyone has suggestions on what to see or do, I’d love to hear them!

Then I’ll be shipping south to the lovely state of Texas to see my lovely Laura and Sarah!! I cannot wait to see these two again. I’ve never been to Texas (other than for a layover) so it will be interesting to spend some time there. I’m not sure what we’ll do exactly, but I know it will be absolutely fantastic. I’m looking forward to plenty of down south cooking, nights out, and Texan accents. Perhaps we’ll even explore Austin since I’ve heard great things about the city.

Needless to say I’m quite excited for this adventure! I’ll do my best to take plenty of photos. In fact, my parents gifted me with a new digital camera for Hanukkah so I have no excuse not to these days. Now off to finish packing (nothing like saving it til the last minute :).

What are your holiday plans this year? 

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmahanakwanza!

Three months ago, before I started graduate school, I made the decision to register for the California International Marathon. It was a bit naive of me to register without considering my school schedule, but we all do silly things sometimes (some more than others…). CIM touted itself as being the “fastest marathon in the west” and foolishly I believed them. So I trained, as well as I could with my ridiculous schedule, and I prepared for marathon #2.

Then last Saturday rolled around and it finally hit me that I’d actually have to run a marathon. There was no turning back, I had no excuse not to put myself out there and run the damn thing. So I packed up my running gear and headed toward Sacramento with the lovely Layla. After hitting up the expo, where I spent far too much on marathon gear and a new winter jacket, we made our way over to Courtney’s for a pre-race dinner and slumber party. We had five lovely runners there, two preparing for there first marathons and three hoping to set new PRs.

Some fantastic runners - Layla, Alyssa, Courtney, me, Don, Angela, and Sesa

It was great to meet so many wonderful runners! We ate a fantastic dinner before gabbing about running and our race strategy. I’m so grateful that Courtney arranged this, I don’t know what I would have done if I’d been stuck preparing in a hotel room by myself. Then it was off to bed so we could be up early to get to the start line.

At 5am Alyssa’s alarm went off and I begrudgingly got out of bed to get dressed. We all shuffled around the house in a half-awake state and tried to eat breakfast even though no one was interested in food. When the clock hit 6am, we piled into Layla’s car to make our way to the start line. My least favorite part of a race? Pre-race porta-potty time. Fortunately there were several hundred lined up and we didn’t have to wait very long.

Wearing Courtney's sweat pants on my arms. Next time I'll be smart enough to wear an extra layer.

I parted ways from the faster runner gals and lined myself up in the back of the corrals. And then I got emotional. I hope the people around didn’t think it was too odd that I was tearing up… After waiting for a while, I finally crossed the start line and realized that there was absolutely no turning back now. With my iPod on loudly, I started to find my own pace. I ran the first two miles by myself before latching on to a pace group. The next eight miles went by quickly, I barely noticed as we passed each mile marker. Well, barely, except for when we made our way up some hills…

Now CIM claims that it is mostly downhill and I believed them, for a little while. Then I realized how horribly they had lied to me. The course does have many downhills, but it has an equal number of inclines. I was doing decently well on the inclines, but I felt that the pacer was pushing me too quickly on the inclines and not picking up speed on the downhill portions.

By the half way point I had started to reclaim my run. I changed my strategy and walked a bit on the uphill portions. When I crossed the half marker I was still on target for the pace group, but I wasn’t running with them anymore. And then everything changed. Everything from the waist down began to ache more than normal. I slowed down further.

Fortunately I found a woman who had been going at a similar speed, I caught up to her, and I posed the question – would she run the rest of the race with me. I think that took her by surprise. She claimed that she was considering bagging the entire thing, but I told her that wasn’t an option. She agreed and we began the rest of our journey together.

Running along with Kimberly

Over the next few miles we enjoyed the crowds together and taking it at our new pace. Eventually the next pace group found us (15 minutes slower than the one I started out with). This pace leader was much more animated and motivating. He made sure that everyone had a smile on their face, even if that required telling many bad jokes. I started to enjoy the race again, thank goodness.

But then around mile 23 my calves were throbbing and my hips were faltering. Kimberly (the woman I was running with) was kind enough to stay with me. I tried to shoo her off, but she wouldn’t leave me alone (thank goodness!). We began to use intervals, walking for a short distance and then running as far as we could. And then the end was in sight and we found the pace group we had been running with. With two-tenths of a mile to go I bid Kimberly adieu and I picked up the pace. As I turned the final corner to the finish line, I went into an all out sprint. And I finished.

I’m not overjoyed with my time. I know that I could have done better if I had gone at a more appropriate pace earlier on, but there is always room to improve next time. Although I can’t truly compare the two races (since I was injured for marathon #1), I completed CIM 23 minutes and 56 seconds faster than Boston in April. I set a new PR and I will do my best not to won’t complain about that.

Layla was at the finish line to give me a hug and walk my sore butt over to get food and my bags. Then we ran off to get a proper brunch with all the other amazing finishers. Both Courtney and Alyssa set substantial new PRs! And Angela kicked ass at her first marathon! Overall it was a fantastic weekend and hopefully I’ll get to spend more time with these lovely runners in the future.

I still can’t believe I did it, but I’m so happy I did. Here is to the next one!

I am certain that I will finish, but I’d very much like a shiny new PR. Don’t get me wrong, that won’t be tough since I managed not to injure myself during training this time. Yet I haven’t exactly trained as I would have liked… I accomplished some long runs this past month, but on the other hand I haven’t gotten in the optimal weekday runs due to my work schedule. But ya know what? Today I’m throwing all of those worries and less than positive thoughts aside and mentally pumping myself up for the big day.

So, Running Gods, please keep my feet from throbbing, my calves from cramping, my knees from aching, my tummy from churning, my chest from chafing, and my mind from straying from a positive outlook. And please look kindly on some of my great friends that are also racing this weekend! (Check out Sarah who is running her first half marathon and Courtney who is going to rock CIM as well.)

Who else is racing this weekend? Tell me about your pre-race ritual!

This week I am thankful that I was able to complete a 19 mile run with minimal training. Not my fastest run, but I also happened to run up a large hill for eight miles. It was great training for my marathon (CIM in less than three weeks, eep!) and it was great to feel like I’m ready for this race.

I’m also grateful that I was able to complete all of my work this week without becoming a complete and utter stress case.  On Monday I submitted a piece of work that my professor loved, Tuesday I welded (I weld, isn’t that somewhat impressive?) together a piece for a final project in one of my classes, and yesterday I gave a huge presentation. Although I am swamped by work I am getting things accomplished and that is a fantastic feeling.

I’m overjoyed that I will be spending the entirety of Saturday with some fantastic folks from my program being social and not remotely thinking about work. The plan is to spend the day tailgating and celebrating Stanford’s win against Cal (just so ya know, they are going to win). Hopefully we’ll have the energy to go out dancing afterward, I feel it is about time I got my groove on. (Bring on the cute boys!)

More importantly I am excited to go home and spend a week with my dogs. Oh, and my family as well. On Sunday I will be flying back to Philadelphia to spend Thanksgiving with my entire family. The best friends and I will be running a 5k on Thanksgiving day and then we’ll have a family reunion (that would be 10 people, my family is tiny). I’m looking forward to a week of rest and relaxation (with some intense Black Friday shopping) before the last few weeks of term.

What are you grateful for this week? How is everyone spending their Thanksgiving?