This is my cat:


His name is Boo. Also known as: "Doctor Boo", "Master Boo", "Face of Boo", "Prince Boo", and "Boo Bear." He is sweet, and extremely affectionate. He has a near desperate need to be played with and pet in the morning while Magus and I are getting dressed. So desperate, that he will often accidentally roll off the bed in his attempts to "look cute" and cause us to just forget about wearing pants for a minute and RUB HIS BELLY DAMN IT! ( Read more... )

			recumbent Huff - Season 1, Episode 6 pets, photos My living room

Friday I had a half-day at work (courtesy of the newly reinstated summer hours), so after work I moseyed on over to Performance Bike (who is having a summer sale PLUS a 15% off sale) on Columbus and got my bike outfitted with new clipless pedals, new biking shoes, and a new handlebar stem. Now my bike FINALLY fits me correctly. This is the plus side. The downside is that less then 24 hours later I had a tri to compete in, and despite my best efforts to practice mounting, riding, and dismounting with the new shoes/pedals on Friday night, I still suffered from some Epic Fail at the race on Saturday (but I'll get into that in a minute).

After getting my bike outfitted, but prior to my Friday training ride, I headed out to the local park to do some weeding/bed clean up for the Junior Women's Club. (This has nothing to do with anything, but it happened, so you all have to hear about it.)

Saturday was the race. And some irregular stuff happened. ( Race report inside: Now with added drama! )

My Stats
Total time: 1:45:54 (This is 1 minute 52 seconds slower then the same distance race I did at the end of May. I'm okay with this.)
Swim: 11:22
T1: 2:42
Bike: 53:21
T2: 1:09
Run: 37:22 (My slowest run time ever. But I was yucky and injured and I don't care.)

I got home from the race, and immediately set to work helping out with the yard sale already in progress on my front lawn. ( Some racing injuries and a mention of Johnny Depp )

I then closed the weekend by spending a couple of hours reading/napping in my hammock, and eating S'mores.

Now I have five days of what promises to be a very slow work week ahead of me, before another trip to DC. Wake me on Friday, k?

ETA: Completely unrelated to anything above, but Magus and I finally have FIOS internet, and decided to see what would happen if we plugged our TV into the cable line from the wall. Apparently what happens is that we get about 60-70 free channels, including some HD stations, and 3 HBOs. Who knew!? So far, we have only watched one episode of Supernatural, and several HGTV shows. But hey! Free is good, even if we don't make use of it.

And for sticking with me through this silly-long post, you get this:

(Yes, that is an otter with a baby bottle ;-P)

			pensive injuries, life, picspam, races, tri, tv/movies My little corner of Philly

Finally sat down and watched both "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and lo and behold, they are both wonderful movies. I got one hell of a kick out of the little credit-sequence dance scene for Slumdog.

I actually watched Benjamin Button twice. I was completely enamored with it. Just visually a beautiful movie (and they really did do a damn impressive job with the effects/make up), and a really wonderful story, start to finish. One odd complaint though was that the DVD didn't have a chapter selection option, which is just really odd, and annoying. *grumble* I still love the movie though, and its making me want to get a Blu-ray. Of all the movies to tip the scales for me, that would be an odd one, truly. Magus is already mentally sold on getting a Blu-Ray, but I'm not quite there yet I don't think. I want them to be CHEAPER, and to also be available in a 5-disc changer option. There is a saying about beggars and choosers here that I'm sure is quite applicable.

This weekend was also lovely in that Magus and I went down to DC and spent the holiday with friends. As a result we ended up having 3 BBQs in 3 days :-) (Granted, one is in Jersey, but still). We really miss that city...*sigh* maybe one day we shall make it back there. That day is not today, however.

In training news, I feel like my interval training for both the run and the bike are doing wonders, and I'm finally getting my volume back up to a respectable level. Now I need to seriously focus on my swim. As I am too slow for words. I'm aiming to do an Olympic-length tri this summer, and shaving time off my swim would be exceedingly useful (so would shaving off 15 pounds of body fat, but that's neither here nor there). This weekend also marked the first time Magus ever joined in on a yoga session. And he has expressed interest in doing it more regularly. So, hopefully, time at the studio shall creep back into my regular routine. I always miss going to the studio when money and time is tight. It's just not the same doing it on my own.

This Saturday is tri number 2 for the season. Here's hoping the plague doesn't decide to strike again or anything equally dire...

			curious dc, training, tv/movies, yoga

but I think these are hilarious!


( More random hilarity (and/or cuteness) beneath the cut - NOT all macros )

And on that note, I need to get the hell out of here...

			groggy picspam

And oh, how I despise it. Despite it like a glittering-vampire in the sun.

I thought that me and the plague had an understanding. I would allow it to roam free, but quietly, within my body, and it would stop pestering me without due cause. Seemed like a fair compromise to me. Well, as far as I know, THERE WAS NO DUE CAUSE! And yet, here is the plague. Playing hopscotch on my sinuses.

Stupid deal-breaking plague. Never can trust those things. Tricky little buggers.

So right now? Right now, me and Dayquil? We are like THIS *fingers crossed*. So take THAT!

Stupid plague.

*grumbles*

			sick the plague

Seriously. It was more awesome then awesome. And why oh WHY can I not find an animated icon of the little dance scene with Charlie and Murph on the balcony? *stomps foot*

Between this movie, Star Trek, and the new Terminator movie, I've definitely become a fan of Anton Yelchin. In a very maternal way, he's just so adorable. And really, just a fabulous actor too.

			amused movies: charlie bartlett, tv/movies

Nine years ago I had the pleasure of spending the summer in Australia. One of my biggest regrets over the past near-decade I have had about that excursion was that I had the chance to get a hand-made-for-me didgeridoo and I didn't take it. Now, I feel that I can add something else to that list:

The fact that I didn't run ONCE the entire time I was there. ( Cut for long, somewhat cheesy, article-esque write-up )

			enthralled Anberlin - Feel Good Drag | Powered by Last.fm running Home

occasionally time their LJ posts in order to make a pretty pattern on their LJ calender? No? Just me then...

*is completely sane*

So, today is Magus' and my 3 year wedding anniversary. And we were greeted this morning with the thunderstorm to end all thunderstorms. (It rained on our wedding day too, and last year I broke my toe (and he was in Alabama), and the year before that we forgot about it entirely. Hmm...*pattern recognition underway*) It was a pretty surreal drive to work I must say. I think the thunder pretty much rolled continuously throughout the commute, and I'm fairly certain I've never seen so many bolts of lightening in such a short span of time before. The sky was also this really awesome grey-green kind of a color. Plus, I had the pleasure of discovering just how much of an amphibian my car really is, as I had to drive through no less then 5 "lakes" on the way in today. It performed admirably. I feel bad for the guys working on our porch though, as they didn't quite finish repairing it over the weekend, so they showed up this morning to complete the job. Here's hoping that they were able to get in out of the worst of it. The crew from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is in town this week, and they were on the radio talking about how much work they are NOT getting done, on account of it not (in fact) always being sunny in Philadelphia.

On the training front, I've been working on speed intervals quite a bit. And I think that I may be closing in on a 7 minute mile soon. Haven't managed it yet, but I think its on the horizon. This is VERY big news for me, as I am traditionally very slow. And my speed intervals on the bike are going quite swimmingly as well (I managed - on the indoor bike mind - to maintain a speed of 21-24 mph for 15 minutes the other day). My swims are still a bit meh. But, that's mostly because I haven't been focusing on them as much. The strength training that I've been doing has really been helping my cardio though, and for that I'm very thankful. I do miss yoga. Wish I had more hours in the day and more money in my pockets, but what can you do. *shrugs*

I've started reading the "Dexter" series of novels. The characterization is a bit different then in the show, but not in a bad way so far. Just different. I find myself liking some of the characters a bit less in the book as a result though...I think I shall finish the first book tomorrow, with plans to kick the second one out before the weekend is over. Fairly quick read (or so it seems so far).

And as I have no good way to end this post, I leave you with ( a bear in a hammock )

Editor's note: The above used icon has no connection whatsoever to the contents of this post.

			calm The only music I can hear, is the music playing in my head. books, picspam, relationships, training, weather crazy man! Philadelphia, PA

Other then the race this past weekend, I also got to see the new Terminator movie. I'm not feeling too review-y, but I will say that I think it was AWESOME. ( Short, little spoilers within )

Speaking of Anton Yelchin, it has been nearly a month since I've last seen Star Trek. I think I might start going through withdrawal soon. Assuming some of you out there might feel the same, you should all go and read How to Avoid Kicking Puppies and Other Valuable Lessons in Leadership by sparky77. For it is brilliant, and funny, and cannot be read/recced often enough.

On the work front, we just got our second pay-cut rolled back. Yay! Our IRA match isn't back yet, but that's small potatoes in comparison. The annoying/odd thing is that I feel like I am MUCH slower now then previously. And I'm getting agitated and bored at work more often, which is never a good thing.

On the home front, I am slowly working on updating the landscaping in my yard. I suspect I shall be done sometime before the summer is over...

ETS: HAH!! If you know what "I'm on a Boat" is (and love it), and you are feeling even a small amount of Star Trek love, then you NEED to go check out this picspam by sparkly_stuff RIGHT NOW!!! For serious, yo! There are also icons to be snagged, and a video there as well :-)

			indescribable job, movies: star trek, recs, tv/movies

My Stats:
Overall Placed: 136 (out of 151 - NOT LAST!)
Total time: 1:44:02 (7 minutes, 40 seconds faster then last year!)
Swim: 11:34 (2:44 Pace; Rank 135 - 34 seconds slower then last year)
Transition 1: 2:36 (Rank 103 - 18 seconds faster then last year)
Bike: 55:06 (16.6 MPH; Rank 128 - 6 minutes 40 seconds faster then last year)
Transition 2: 0:53 (Rank 52 - same as last year)
Run: 0:33:54 (10:57 Pace; Rank 142 - 1 minute 17 seconds faster then last year)

This was my first tri of the season, and as I've been focusing mostly on strength training these past few months, I gotta say, that overall I'm happy with my time, even if I would have liked to have been a bit quicker. Last year, I finished at 1:51:42, so my "offical goal" this year was to finish in 1:50 flat. My inner monologue goal was to finish in 1:45. My crazy!insane goal was to finish in 1:35. So, I cheered out loud a bit when I beat that inner goal, and happily ignored the crazy!insane portion of my brain ;-P Maybe next time.

( Detailed report beneath the cut )

			accomplished races, tri

One episode down...and I'm bored out of my ever loving mind. I'm giving it one more episode, since everyone seems to love it, but if it doesn't pick up, I'm afraid we shall have to part ways.

			bored tv/movies

1. Its 55 degrees, 2. The water is no warmer, 3. Its starting to rain, 4. I'm a girl. (As if I needed the reminder), and 4. I forgot my towel. *sigh*

ETA: Final finish time: 1:44:02 (this is 7 minutes, 40 seconds faster then this same race last year). In other words: *squee!*

Race report to come later...

			crazy The All-American Rejects - Another Heart Calls races, tri

My cat is behaving like an asshole. A couple of weeks ago, he peed on the two throw carpets on the downstairs landing by the front door. This was right before his little spree of escape attempts (and one success). I cleaned the carpets, got some boundary spray, and thought everything would be fine. WRONG. He peed on the front carpet again on Sunday (less then 24 hours after I'd put them down again - I was being cautious), shortly before another escape attempt. So far, I'm finding that if I just don't put the throw carpets in front of the front door, he behaves (or, rather, he doesn't pee down there). He obviously wants out, and this is his little protest. But if no carpet = no pee. Then fine, so be it.

Previously, we had issues with him peeing on the throw carpet on the third floor, and on the throw carpets in the bathroom. These issues were taken care of by cleaning everything up, getting him a larger cat box, and switching him to a Urinary Tract Diet food. That was last year. This is the first set of issues since then.

NOW however, I was just upstairs cleaning his cat box when he walks behind the papasan chair. A few seconds later he BOLTS like a bat out of hell, out of the room, and out of my sight. A few seconds after that, I smell urine. Damn cat had PEED on the empty space bags that we had stored behind the chair!!! And of course, as those things are non-absorbent, it flowed onto the hardwood floors. *head desk* HE DID THIS WHILE I WAS 10 FEET FROM HIM AND THEN HE RAN!!!

I'm ticked off at him now, but at the same time, I WAS cleaning his cat box, and I guess I can assume that he just had to go and COULD NOT HOLD IT, but STILL! ARGH! Before, when this scenerio would crop up, he would just interrupt my cat box cleaning to use the box. Something which, while annoying, was frankly ADORABLE compared to this.

He is really trying my patience at the moment!!!

			pissed off pets

I just woke up from an impromptu 3.5 hour long nap.

I do NOT nap. It's just not part of my makeup normally. I may lay down with my eyes closed, but I'll still be awake. Not so this time! I flat out SLEPT complete with REM sleep and everything.

I worked from home today, as Magus needed the car, and the 1.5 hour commute both ways did not seem like fun, and some time after he left for his 3.5 day camping trip, I fell asleep, with my computer still up, and in the middle of working on a document for work.

So, yeah. Now I'm feeling all sluggish. I've walked the dog (such a patient girl) and fed her and the cat (and myself). Now I have a bunch of cleaning to get done for the weekend, as tomorrow is MayFair in my town, and my Mom, and possibly brothers plus family will be by during the day.

Oh, and I get to work the Junior Women's Club booth from Noon-2pm tomorrow. We are selling hand-painted wine/drink glasses. Fun! Sunday morning I shall most likely be babysitting one of my nieces, before visiting with my Mom. And then Monday there shall be a family BBQ at one of my brother's places.

In between all of this, I shall go for at least one longish run, and one longish bike (I've been doing almost exclusive interval runs/bikes lately, and some endurance work is in order).

Sadly, I have no car, and the community pool is not yet open, so I shall not be able to swim this weekend :-(

Regardless, YAY! for long weekends :-D And, apparently, naps.

			groggy family, holiday, job, jwc, life, sleep? p-shah! sleep's for mortals., training

Internet was down at work yesterday, which was possibly one of the most horrid things EVAH! And then, last night, I had an absolutely miserable run. (In direct contrast to Magus having one of his best runs in his entire life. Apparently, we are not BOTH allowed to enjoy our runs. Only one or the other - stupid balancing scales.)

Today, the internet is back at work, but that doesn't make the work I'm doing anymore compelling then before. So I decided to find some fun stuff with which to entertain you all! (After eating a donut. Cause you know, delcious.)

First we have: Early skeleton sheds light on primate evolution:

"...the skeleton is so remarkably complete, scientists believe it will provide a window into primate evolution. The animal was a juvenile female that scientists believe died at about 9 or 10 months."

Any news that paints evolution in a positive light, gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling. I just like knowing that people still take the time to think.

And the award for the most obvious story topic EVER goes to (drumroll please): Animal Biodiversity Keeps People Healthy!.

"When there are lots of species around, chances are greater that ticks will bite animals that don't carry Lyme disease, making them less likely to be infectious themselves when they later bite people. As diversity drops, on the other hand, mice and chipmunks are the types of species that tend to be left behind, allowing the disease to proliferate. The theory is called the "dilution effect," and most evidence for it so far comes from observations that show spikes in disease where biodiversity is lost.

The idealistic part of me is slightly saddened and mystified by the fact that people need to see studies of this kind of stuff to recognize that it is actually true. But then, the part of brain that lives in The Real World(TM) says: "HEY! If people need study after study to be completed in order to confirm something that should be COMMON SENSE, fine. Give them the studies dammit!. And so, they did.

"The potential link that biodiversity loss could actually hurt human health or wildlife health is a pretty eye-opening concept for many people," Johnson said. "If we don't want to get sick, then we need to keep more species around."

Not to be outdone, an award for the most blech worthy news goes to: Food Wrapper Coating Found in Human Blood!

"To the growing list of chemicals showing up in human blood, a new study adds compounds that make food wrappers grease-proof."

Might make you think twice before hitting up that Mickey-D's.

Lastly, this video is almost entirely for kantayra, but anyone who likes cute baby animals should fine themselves equally enamored. (Well, maybe not equally, but close enough.) I present you: Baby Anteater Plus Mom! (and a zookeeper ;-P)

(Note: I have no idea what they are saying in this video, as I had to watch it with the sound off on account of being AT WORK. But the cute exists, even without the sound, just so you know ;-P)

ETA: In case the above embed link isn't working for you *kicks LJ* go here.

			weird Stupid Frakking Ice Cream Truck Song - "Hello!" links, science, videos Southwest Philadelphia: Where culture takes a nap.

I've got two codes up for grabs. Comment if you want one :-)

(Comments are screened).

			journals

*FLAILS*

That is all for now.

(content to be added later)

ETA: There be spoilers in the comments...

			tv/movies, tv: spn

Boo got out of the house sometime in the last half-hour. We've looked, and can't find him anywhere in the immediate vicinity. *wibbles*

Before we had him, he was an indoor-outdoor cat, and was use to coming and going as he pleased. We have, of course, put a big stop to that. He has a collar (but just the break away kind, with no tags), and a microchip, and is WAY too friendly to be taken for a stray. I have the door to the house open right now, and I can only hope that he gets his ass back here before we have to lock up for the night, and without having a run in with any not-so-nice cats/dogs/cars. *sigh*

When he gets home, I'm going to hug him, and then ground him for life.

ETA: AND HE'S BACK! Gone for less then 2 hours, and managed to turn me into a complete wreck.

			worried pets

So, despite the fact that I did go see Star Trek three times this weekend, I also accomplisehd other things as well.

Friday was a leg day at the gym (with some cardio tossed in at the end). I'm working on bringing my cardio back up to tri levels, while trying to not lose much of my weight training. I'm really happy with how much my strength has improved since I started doing the weights, so I don't want to lose that. Couple that with my occasional fatigue though, and everything is a bit sporadic. I got a few good runs in last week though, so, improvements are being made. Mostly, I could improve my entire training schedule if I could just get out of the bed in the morning for pre-work sessions like I use to. Need to work on that some more.

Saturday saw Magus, my brothers, and I cleaning out the tool shed behind my Mom's house. Bear in mind that this "shed" is actually the size of a two-car deep garage, and has not been cleaned out since about a year before my Pop died. Add to that the fact that I come from a family of pack-rats, and you have an idea of this endeavor. We managed to complete about 2/3 of the shed, leaving us just the back 1/3 and the rafters (which are going to be a big pain in the butt) for a later date (most likely next month). Some prizes that were discovered in the clean out where all of my yearbooks from high school, along with my diploma. *snort* Somewhere in there is my old Playstation as well.

Sunday, my oldest brother and I went out and got my Mom a weeping cherry tree for mother's day, and then surprised her by cleaning out the front bed (where there use to be an apple tree, but which has been field with just weeds for a couple of years now) and planting it for her. She seems pretty darn happy with it ;-P (Afterwords, I took her to see Star Trek - the perfect Mother's Day movie ;-P)

Her whole yard (and my brother's yard - as he lives directly adjacent to her) needs a LOT of clean up work and landscaping. I'm the go-to-gal for that in the family, so I have a fairly large project ahead of me that I need to organize. I suspect it will take about two days with about 4-6 people to get the whole front and back yards of both lots cleaned out of all of the weeds and underbrush, and other junk, and get them prepped for plantings that need to happen. Then I figure it'll be another weekend to get the plantings all done. I feel bad that everything has gotten to this point, but with everyone's time at a premium, and nobody available for regular maintenance, it just keeps getting worse. I hope to have the majority of the work done by July. That's the best I can do at this point. *sigh*

			busy family, look! a real post!!, training, yardwork

Okay, so I've seen it twice now ( Spoilers )

ETA: Totally went and saw it a third time ;-P Three times in three days does NOT equal crazy obsessive. Swear.

			excited movies: star trek, tv/movies