101 in 1001

Well, this post is going to take a while to type. I'm totally stealing this idea from Fug Girl Heather's personal blog, Dancing Brave, because it seems like such a good way to be sure that I actually accomplish things that I talk about doing all the time, and also because when I complete one I can post about it and, hopefully, be less boring than I have been of late. The problem will likely be coming up with 101 things, because much like Christmas and birthday lists, I am suddenly at kind of a loss. Thus, I will be posting in bits and pieces as I think of stuff. So, without further ado, the start of a 1001 day long to-do list, which will take me to June 22, 2013 (I think. That was sorta hard to add up. It's 2 years, one a leap year, plus 270 days):

1. Run a half marathon - this should be fairly simple. Not the running 13 miles part, but the making myself do it part, since I've already signed up for one. November 6, here I come.

2. Run a whole marathon - why not?

3. Go scuba diving - I'm sort of scared of coral. Also open water. I feel like an intruder, and am convinced that something will come out and bite me. At least with scuba, you have the protection of a wetsuit rather than just my bikini-exposed skin.

4. Take a real vacation, just me and the boyfriend - we have never, in over 7 years, been on a real vacation just the two of us. It seems like something we should have done by now.

5. Hike Old Rag in VA - I was going to go this weekend, but my friend and I decided we were feeling too lazy yesterday to drive two hours each way.

6. Find and purchase a cute pair of glasses - do I need glasses? No. Is that the point? No. I just want them, and so I shall have them.

7. Get a job. A real job - star light, star bright, this is what I wish for every night.

8. Successfully execute the Smith Island Cake - 12 layers = impressive and pretty.

9. Furnish my apartment so that it finally looks the way I want it to - you would think that this would be easy, but I've never managed to actually decorate a place so that I really, really liked it. I think I have a chance with the new place, since it has three usable bedrooms plus a basement and attic, thus less clutter.

10. Get a dog - I've wanted a dog for years now, and the new place actually allows them, with no silly weight restrictions.

11. Finish reading Lolita - I have started this book approximately 12 times. I have never finished it.

12. Learn to sew enough that I can actually make myself things - right now I can pretty much just take in simple things, like turning regular jeans into skinny jeans.

13. Master a good vegetarian lasagna - I cannot for the life of me seem to make a good veggie lasagna. It is always watery. Always.

14. Relearn Spanish - I say relearn because I took it for seven years. The fact that I just let it go is rather shameful. Plus, I was told yesterday it would practically guarantee me a job at the office I'm interested in.

15. Learn to ride a motorcycle - my sister says she'll go with me. This way, we will both be badasses.

16. Talk the boyfriend out of buying a 73" TV - because, really, why do you need that much screen?

17. Buy my own grill - after my first grilling experience last summer I am now fully obsessed.

18. Attend an NFL game - I've never been to more than a college game, and while those have their place, it's not the same.

19. Finally get the abs I want - that is to say, firm and flat and defined but not all scary and cracked out looking like Madonna's arms.

20. Bake a souffle: I'm a good cook, but I feel like this is one of those things that really marks you as a good cook, because it's all fluffy and complicated. Plus, I have a recipe for a leek and cheese souffle that sounds delectable.

Take Me Home Country Roads

It's official. I have actually signed up and paid for the half marathon that I'll be running on Nov. 6. I know I'd already posted on here that I was going to do it and, of course, crowed to all of my family and friends about my upcoming adventure, but I've done that before and learned that it's completely possible to do so and still back out. But now my broke self has actually laid down money, so I have to do it (too bad that doesn't work with gym memberships and purchased home gym equipment. Ahem).

Anyway, training officially started on Monday (courtesy of the Runner's World Smart Coach) with an easy 2-miler. It would have been easier if I hadn't helped polish off a bucket of sangria and some rum punch the night before, but I made myself do it anyway because it doesn't bode well when one skips her first day to lay about on the couch bemoaning her headache. Yesterday was cross-training, and today was the real test. It's been a long time since I've run over 5 miles, and certainly a long time since I've done it at the crack of dawn, but I dragged myself out of bed this morning before the sun was up and slogged through it. Oof. I may run regularly, and I may be in decent shape, but that hurt y'all. I chose a pretty farm road loop near my parents' house in Lancaster, which was, um, fragrant. If you've ever driven through Amish country you have an idea of what I mean, but nothing compares to an early morning run right beside the fields when you're breathing hard. Holy cow dung, but maybe it spurred me to go a little faster and I finished in the allotted time. Unfortunately I also broke the screen on my iPod by sweating all over it, but I can still sort of see a millimeter or so around the edges and it still makes sound, so all is not lost. As long as it still plays for my 6-miler on Saturday morning I can work around the broken screen.

So, just a few minutes before I started writing this, I attempted to actually drive the route to get a better feel for it. And...then I got lost. I started at the appointed address and went on my way only to come to a one-lane bridge that's closed for repairs. Okay, turn around. I went the other way, promptly misreading my now backward directions and ending up where I started, at which point I gave up to come home to drink wine. On the plus side, the road that I was mistakenly driving on has far too many hills, so I'm glad I was a little off. Anyway, wish me luck and I'll keep you updated with my attempts to keep breathing while running further and further from my beloved couch.