I thought I lost my shoes.

I was wondering where all my shoes went this morning-oh, they are all under my desk at work! This is the problem when you wear black flats into work and switch to heels once in the office. The heels just sort of stay there and never make it home. That's 4 pair of shoes plus the flats I wore into the office and the black heels I carried with me today to wear.

Clearly I do not need more work shoes.

Did you hear that Massachusetts is planning to dole out the H1N1 vaccine to prisoners first? Interesting. I guess it's one less thing to worry about if you get attacked by a repeat offender when visiting Boston.

Things I don't like to hear.

I go into the kitchen at my work to fill up my water from the proverbial water cooler and in walks an unnamed individual who commences to hack up something nasty. I simultaneously commence holding my breath (hello H1N1!) while she tries to strike up a conversation with me, beginning with the words:

"I feel awful, just terrible. I'm really hoping this isn't H1N1, but it definitely is the flu."

Ummmm, me too. And, sorry I can't respond because I'd have to breath to do that and I am not going to inhale your flu germs. And thank you for infecting the rest of us!

So I just nodded my head and returned to my office and bathed my hands in sanitizer. I am trying not to touch my face until I can actually wash them with soap and hot water.

Maybe I'm being a tad paranoid. ;)

A Miracle.

Somehow all of my fantasy players had a great week. I not only scored a whole lot of points, but I also won my game. I was in last place before this week and today I am in second to last. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS.


Clearly that $30 was a great investment. ;)

Suggestions, please.

I've been washing my hands 14,000 times per day and slathering them with anti-bacterial gel between washings in order to avoid catching that nasty swine flu (or any other kind of flu!). But, all that hand-washing is making my hands sooo dry. I looked down at them yesterday and they looked like the hands of a 100 year old woman!

Ok, maybe it's not that bad. But, can anyone recommend a good hand cream that is NOT greasy? I have one now from Aveda and even 30 mins after I put it on my hands are still greasy-as are my keyboard, mouse and anything else I touch.

Hopefully the three of you who read this blog can suggest something fabulous.

Seriously.

This morning I learned of a new wedding trend apparently sweeping the wedding-photography-nation: "Trash the Dress" pictures. The idea is that you take a wedding picture of yourself trashing your wedding dress-be it under water, in a swamp (shudder), setting it on fire while wearing it, your choice!

So weird. But, for your amusement...some Trash the Dress photos. All were taken from google images.

I'm sorry, but what the heck. Why would you want to do that? For a weird looking picture? Did someone one day say "hmm, that was silly that I just spent $2000 on a wedding dress, why not trash it and take photos-great idea!"? I mean, don't get me wrong, people take weddings too seriously sometimes and it's great to have fun. But I think it'd be more fun just to not spend a small fortune on a dress you will wear for several hours on one day of your life.

What do you think? Maybe I am the crazy one.

Weekend Recap

Since I'm super groggy from staying up until midnight watching football, this will be a list:

1. Frost/Nixon is really really good. I watched it Friday night with mediocre expectations and was blown away. Plus, Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice is in it! (Though with nasty blonde, long hair-you'll hardly recognize him...until he speaks, that is.)

2. I ran 11.5 miles on Saturday morning-6 of those miles before dawn-and it was great! I mapped out my run and did two loops. I ran the second loop 2 minutes faster. I know that doesn't seem like much, but I tend to run fast in the beginning of a run and try not to die by the end. Things are looking good for the race on the 18th in Columbus.

3. I made pumpkin bars for a block party on our street on Saturday. They were delish. I really need to stop baking so that I don't have sweets just lying around begging me to eat them. I also think it's generally awkward to mingle with people you don't know. I am shy by nature and once I've conversed regarding where we grew up, which house we live in on the street and what our careers are, I am left standing there awkwardly trying to make conversation. Luckily, I can always resort to talking about my DOG! What a great reason to have children. he he. Kidding.

4. The Steelers continue to torture me with their 4th quarter antics. I'm glad we won, but my goodness. I can't take an entire season of that. I do love those throwback jerseys. And Mendenhall-you were my hero last night.

5. The Bengals' game was even more wacky. That overtime was pathetic on both sides (sorry!). And watching it with Steve was, well, something.

Ok, recipe for pumpkin bars follows. They are soo tasty. And (at my sister's suggestion), I top each bar with a candy corn pumpkin. I did half with candy corn pumpkins and the other half with chopped walnuts because some people don't like candy corn-CRAZY!

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe by Paula Deen

Bars
4 eggs
1 and 2/3 Cups White Sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1-15 ounce can pumpkin puree
2 Cups All-purpose flour, sifted (um I never sift)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting
8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 Cup butter, softened (1 stick)
2 Cups sifted confectioners' sugar (again, I do not sift)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10 inch baking pan. (I used a 15 by 10 by 1 inch pan to get a more "bar" height rather than "cake" height). Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars. (I frosted mine after I cut them into bars, frosting each bar individually.)

For icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl with an electric mixture until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

Question

So, I have light bulbs that go across the top of my bathroom mirror. Yesterday, one of the bulbs fell off (and miraculously landed in a cup on my counter and did not shatter!), but left the actual bulb in the socket. Does that makes sense? Like the part you screw in plus the actual fuse or light or whatever it is are still screwed in, just the glass covering fell off. So bizarre.

Anyway, I have no idea how to get that light out now without electrocuting myself. But, obviously it needs replaced. Any handymen or handywomen out there know how to fix this? I was going to take a picture, but time got away from me.

Thank you!

The Weekend

Well, this little recap is overdue, but forgive me for being a bit behind after having witnessed in person the sad, second loss in a row by my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite the loss, attending the game was really one of the best experiences I've ever had! And it was fun being there with my Dad and siblings, despite the fact that my brother wore a repulsive Bengals' shirt. There is nothing like watching a game that close-so exciting! Now I just need to experience a game in Heinz field and I'll be all set!

Anywho-here are some photos of all the fun. I took a ton, but these were the only ones I could upload in time before work!

Yum. I love stadium hot dogs. Check out those fantastic earrings (thanks Dad!)! That little Bengals' truck was cute. I liked the cute Tiger mascot, too when he came out to dance with the Ben-gals. However, that song you all play when the Bengals score a touchdown? Lame. Really lame.
Obligatory picture in front of the stadium. That shirt is BAD luck. Back to 2005 tacky AFC Champs shirt next weekend.
Ahhh Princess Fiona and her subject Dingo finally get along! Thanks to the Dog Whisperer aka Steve.
Dingo needs to learn how to beg for treats like Fi. She is a pro.

Here we go!

The day after tomorrow I'll be in Paul Brown Stadium cheering for the greatest team in the land! I cannot wait. It's my first ever regular season NFL game and the first time ever seeing the Steelers in person.

I'll be the girl with the Terrible Towel earrings. Look for me on SportsCenter.

Note to Self

Dear Self,

Do not give Fi a large, meaty knee bone to chew on right before bed. Otherwise, you'll end up waking up at midnight, 1:30AM, and 3:30AM to clean up dog throw up off the carpet.

Love,
Liz

P.S. Bright side-I will be at the Steelers' game, in person, in T-4 days!! Yesssssssssssss!!!!!

Brr.

I am always cold in my office. Do you think if I ordered this in black, I could wear it at my desk?

7 going on 17

On Thursday my nephew, Logan, will be 7 years old. He plays in a wee football league (seriously, they are called the Wee Elks) and Saturday I went to watch a game for the first time. He plays in the age group for 1st and 2nd graders, and this is his second year.And they do not mess around. Wow! They have to know plays and they tackle and it's fun to watch. They even have cheerleaders and announcers! It was fantastic and his team trounced the Eager Beavers (I kid you not, I did not make up that mascot name).

My brother is a coach and I couldn't believe how the parents swarmed him after the game. I can only imagine the kind of crap a high school coach has to deal with and these kids are 6 and 7.  

Doesn't it look fun? Logan is number 33.

A beer at 18.

I just read an interesting commentary about lowering the drinking age from 21 years of age to 18. You can read it at CNN here.

I've never understood why 21 is the magical number. 18 makes much more sense, particularly in light of the fact that we allow men and women to be in the front lines of battle at 18, and perhaps even scarier, allow men and women to marry (he he) at that young age. Interestingly, a state could lower the drinking age on its own-but, the federal government will take away 10% of its highway funds if the state so chooses-so obviously no state will until that Act is repealed.

Obviously the consequences of drunk driving (the original impetus for raising the drinking age) are horrific. But those consequences are horrific no matter the age of the offendor. And I do believe that today we (and college students) are much more aware of the dangers of drunk driving than people were a quarter century ago.

Would binge drinking at colleges decrease by lowering the legal drinking age as the author seems to suggest? I'm not sure, but I think lowering the drinking age is definitely something to consider in order to completely overhaul the attitude most young Americans have about drinking. Other countries (where the drinking age is significantly lower) don't have nearly the issues with binge drinking-and the consequences from it-that we do in America.

Nobody puts Baby in the corner.

Patrick Swayze died today.  He was one of my first movie star crushes, in both Ghost and of course, Dirty Dancing. I am pretty sure I can recite every line in that movie (for better or for worse!) and when my niece and nephew spend the night they always want to watch it before they go to bed. Yes, I know, I am a fabulous aunt, always making sure the content is appropriate for their ages.  Until very recently we'd watch it on VHS! 

In honor of Patrick Swayze, here is my favorite clip from the movie (it was so hard to pick-I also love when he teaches her to dance by walking on that huge tree!)... where they so smoothly mesh 1980s music with the 1960s setting. Fantastic.

Yay technology.

Edited to add: And I just found out Patrick Swayze died today via facebook. 

Steve and I were eating a delicious dinner out on the water at the Outer Banks when I learned that Michael Jackson had died. How did I learn this? Oh, Facebook status updates sent directly to my telephone, of course.

The same thing happened last night with all the Kanye/Taylor Swift drama. 90% of people's status updates mentioned something about Kanye being a giant tool, so instead of looking it up say on CNN, I proceeded to read enough comments until I had figured out exactly what happened. And then this morning, again avoiding "real" news reporting, I did a little searching on YouTube until I could see for myself what happened.

Yay, technology. I may have to sift through updates about what someone's child ate for dinner or how someone gets no sleep or how another person has the sweetest hubby (barf- I hate that word)...eventually I'll also find out some current events. Fantastic.

Totally unrelated-but, is anyone else excited to read Ted Kennedy's memoir which comes out today? I'm ordering it now!

And so it begins

Well, I began my day witnessing the man in front of me in the parking garage stairwell "lose his lunch" or maybe breakfast, as it were. Sick. Sick. Sick. I'm pretty sure he was as mortified as I was disgusted.


BUT-the day can only get better from here...the Steelers are on tonight! Yes. And it also begins my first attempt playing fantasy football with a league at work-should be interesting. Luckily, Steve gave me some good tips on the draft and I should have an o-k team. We'll see.


In light of all the football festivities, I thought I'd share a delicious "game day" recipe. Who doesn't love a pulled pork sandwich?


Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients

3.5-4 pound pork shoulder roast, boneless is preferred (though I can never find boneless at my ghetto Kroger and just use bone-in. The bones are super easy to remove after cooking)
Vegetable oil
1 can Condensed French Onion Soup
1 Cup ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
Sandwich rolls

Directions
Heat oil in skillet (about 1 tablespoon) over medium-high heat. Once hot, add pork and sear each side (this means all four sides) until well browned on each side.

Stir soup, ketchup, vinegar and brown sugar in crock pot. Add pork and turn once or twice to full coat the meat. Cover and cook on Low Heat for 8-10 hours or on high heat for 4-5 (I really think it's better to cook longer, meat is easier to shred.)

Remove pork from crock pot and let stand on cutting board for about 10 minutes (otherwise you will have a juicy mess everywhere). Using two forks, shred the pork meat and return it to the crock pot. Spoon the mixture onto rolls and, if desired, top with a little bbq sauce.

Yummy.

Dingo!

I went up to Toledo on Saturday for my mom's birthday. I also got to spend some quality time with their new puppy, Dingo! He is adorable and playful. I looove puppies.

Running Faves

This weekend I have a 9-mile training run scheduled. I am training for the Columbus Half Marathon on October 18. In light of that, and the upcoming Race for the Cure on September 12 (anybody else running that?), I thought I'd share some of my favorite running "necessities".

1. Good Shoes. Obviously, you need good shoes to run comfortably. I bought some mediocre shoes this past spring and am feeling the effects of them now. Well-fitting shoes does not mean they need to cost you $100. My best tip would be to go to a local running store, like Bob Roncker's Running Spot or Fleet Feet and have someone there measure your foot and analyze your stride. Knowing what type of foot you have (i.e. do you pronote, supinate, have high arches or flat feet) makes a tremendous difference in your comfort level when you run. Once you've found a few recommended shoes there, head over to Roadrunner Sports online and see if you can find the shoe on sale and/or on clearance. Often, a different colored-model will be on sale. Nine times out of ten, I purchase my running shoes online, mostly because most running stores carry very few models in my size and I usually get a better price. But, fit is sooo important-so make sure you know what kind of foot you have before purchasing online.

Me, I pronate slightly and have a very high arch, so I look for a shoe with medium stability, cushion and decent arch support. I tend to find the best luck with Ascics. Remember-comfort over color! Style should not matter when picking out shoes!

2. Attire. I used to wear whatever when I was younger. Old t-shirts, grubby shorts, it didn't really matter to me. However, towards the end of high school and into college I started appreciating having "running clothes" distinct from my cotton t-shirt collection. This is definitely a place where you don't have to spend much money. Target's C9 brand has an excellent selection of running shirts, tank tops, shorts and pants. The material is what is most important here. If you're running 9 miles and you have a shirt that rubs your arm funny, you can bet that 9 miles will be highly uncomfortable! I'll never forget running the NYC marathon in a cotton t-shirt and ending up with chafing marks completely around my arm and neck. It was AWFUL, and a mistake I will never make again. Dryfit 4 Life!

The second thing that is important about attire other than comfortable runs, is that you look cute! How much more motivated will you be with a cute matching outfit waiting for you in your drawer when you're trying to get out of bed at 5:30AM to run? It might sound silly, but it gets me going. And, if you're so inclined, try out the running skirt. Very cute-but I haven't been swayed from shorts yet.

3. Music. Of course, this is entirely optional. I didn't start running with an iPod until I was well into law school. My first year of college I would run on the treadmill some days with a tape player walkman. The only tape I had was Best of Bruce Springsteen-it got really worn out. Some days I really like to run without distraction, just enjoying the sunrise and my thoughts. Other days, music is essential to me finishing my mileage. My favorite is my little iPod Nano. Small enough that I don't notice it while running, but large enough memory to hold lots of songs so I can create several playlists. For my OBX marathon, I had hours and hours of playlists set up and it was soooo helpful!

How to wear the iPod while running? Well, I see lots of people who do the armband thing-but for me, I prefer the clip that attaches to the waistband of my running shorts. The arm thing either feels too tight (a la blood pressure machine at KMart) or too loose and it's falling down my arm. The clip is perfect.

And, if you're like me and you threw away those silly ear buds you got with your iPod because they are worthless, let me recommend these headphones (now on sale at Amazon.com for 19.99):

They are awesome. Behind the head works best for me. Great sound and they do not jiggle while running or pop out like those stupid ear buds. Seriously, those things SUCK for working out. I am always in shock when I see someone using them.

4. Socks. I think it's imperative to invest in some good quality athletic socks. And you don't have to invest much-just head over to TJMaxx where they always have a wall full of athletic socks at least half off regular price. I prefer the type that are thin on top and cushion-y on the bottom. I like mine to be as low as possible. And if you're really looking to be fancy, get some with the CoolMax in them to prevent super stinky, sweaty feet after a run. I'm serious that my shoes don't smell like some athletic shoes do, and I attribute it to my CoolMax socks!

Who said your socks have to be white? These pink ones are adorable!

**Of course, the best thing about running is you hardly need anything to run! A pair of shoes, some old clothes and you're off-exploring your town or a city where you are vacationing. I absolutely love running. If you're looking to start a running program or just starting to get into running, I'd recommend Hal Higdon's website (for training schedules) or the Couch Potato to 5K website. Both offer great tips about running and I think most people who commit to starting a program and complete a race get hooked!

Shocking!

Imagine my surprise when I spotted my fall J.Crew catalog in my mail basket (yes, I do not have a mailbox) and observed the cover page model sporting a denim shirt! I have not seen a denim shirt in a clothing store for women since, oh say, 1990? They might call it chambray, but it looks like a jean shirt to me.

And on the cover, the model was wearing it over a white turtleneck. Yikes. This reminds me of my sister's 4th grade school photo in which she wore a jean shirt, white turtleneck and the biggest earrings ever! This was right around the time that my school photos all had laser beams in the background. Remember?

J.Crew-I adore your clothes, but please, pretty please, don't bring back the jean shirt. It should remain in the 80s.

Get used to a chill in the air.

If you're like me, you've been loving this weather the past few days-chilly at night, but warm (and not humid!) during the day. Perfect for sleeping, perfect for running, perfect in general! It gets me all excited for fall.

Until I remember that after fall comes winter. Ugh. And, I heard on the radio this morning that the Farmer's Almanac is using the words "ice cold" to describe the Midwest's winter this year. We should expect "numbing" temperatures and lots of snow. Grrrrrrreat.

Why can't it perpetually stay fall?