I started my day out with an interval run. It ended up being pretty short as measured by mileage. Apparently I spent extra time on the weight end of the deal because it was much later then I had planned when I walked out of the gym.
On the way home I stopped at Trader Joe's for some of the Mini-Yellow Rose bouquets they were selling (I was told they were Grandma's favorite). Unfortunately they were sold out BUT they had great autumn bouquets I purchased the one with the yellow rose I was looking for. It was very pretty. Upon checking out the cashier commented on how pretty they were, I told her they were for my grandmothers birthday. She then gave me a bar of chocolate to give to Grandma as well. I was SO excited!
Grandma spent the rest of the day getting birthday calls and cards (and some more flowers). At brunch we were 2 of 3 dressed in costume (not counting the 'kids'). It was lots of fun.
In the afternoon Susan and BJ came over. Susan cooked us some Pasties for dinner, they were very tasty. Unfortunately the Redskins lost. I completely missed the Saints game. I fell asleep shortly after Brisan and Susan left for the night.
Grandma wears me out!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
DC Weekend
What a Great day! Any day that finds me spending time at the puzzle table with my grandmother is in my top 10! The puzzle chosen is so hard. It is a photo that consists of black and different shades of grey. It does have 2 features with some color on it but the are small and stand out, thus they were already completed. We did manage some progress but not much.
After the Puzzling I went to check out Lifetime in Rockville (or is it Rockland?) Any how it was a good bit smaller them the Lifetime in Berkeley Heights and much to my disappointment they did not have a pool. In the end it was a good thing as I ended up running 8 miles, my longest to date. As long as the weather holds out that 10K could be fun.
After my workout it was time to watch the Purdue game. With the late start and lunch right away, the first half was missed completely by me. I didn't feel too bad as my team did not show up for the first half. After the 3rd period I called dad and conceded the game. It was very bad and I did not want to waste my time in DC watching a game my team did not show up for.
It was much more fun playing on the computer with Grandma!
We ended the night with out going back to the puzzle table, it did not get the best of us though. We will be back tomorrow!
After the Puzzling I went to check out Lifetime in Rockville (or is it Rockland?) Any how it was a good bit smaller them the Lifetime in Berkeley Heights and much to my disappointment they did not have a pool. In the end it was a good thing as I ended up running 8 miles, my longest to date. As long as the weather holds out that 10K could be fun.
After my workout it was time to watch the Purdue game. With the late start and lunch right away, the first half was missed completely by me. I didn't feel too bad as my team did not show up for the first half. After the 3rd period I called dad and conceded the game. It was very bad and I did not want to waste my time in DC watching a game my team did not show up for.
It was much more fun playing on the computer with Grandma!
We ended the night with out going back to the puzzle table, it did not get the best of us though. We will be back tomorrow!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Subdued
Today was the office Halloween celebration. Not a lot of people dressed up this year, it was a little disappointing. I skipped the dress up this year as well, Extra candy was eaten to make up for the lack of costume. The lunch was delish and my share was definitely eaten.
The costume was skipped because I did not want to deal with it on my drive down to DC. It is not such a bad ride and to make it even better I had dinner with an friend that I had not seen in years. It was a nice way to break up the drive.
All around I ate my share of calories today, and not many of them were healthy.
The costume was skipped because I did not want to deal with it on my drive down to DC. It is not such a bad ride and to make it even better I had dinner with an friend that I had not seen in years. It was a nice way to break up the drive.
All around I ate my share of calories today, and not many of them were healthy.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Foiled
I have been looking at the Garmin 405 and 405cx for a while now. It is a very expensive sports watch. I started out reading reviews and saving my pennies. It has been a year or so since it's release and now I'm starting to shop.
Amazon had it for about 125 off and I thought that it was time. Fortunately for me when I put it in the virtual shopping basket it increased in price. Not by much mind you but Just enough that I thought I would wait and find a better deal. The awesome deal I found next on Fat wallet cut the original price in half. I had missed it by Months!
Today I found the watch I want for 150 off the price and I was READY to buy. I even was willing to try out the membership at Costco (money back guarantee). Into the store I marched, ready to buy. It broke my heart when they told me that they only accept American Express and debit cards. I use Visa and don't carry that much cash.
Once again I left empty handed. But I am optimistic and will get the watch this weekend.
Amazon had it for about 125 off and I thought that it was time. Fortunately for me when I put it in the virtual shopping basket it increased in price. Not by much mind you but Just enough that I thought I would wait and find a better deal. The awesome deal I found next on Fat wallet cut the original price in half. I had missed it by Months!
Today I found the watch I want for 150 off the price and I was READY to buy. I even was willing to try out the membership at Costco (money back guarantee). Into the store I marched, ready to buy. It broke my heart when they told me that they only accept American Express and debit cards. I use Visa and don't carry that much cash.
Once again I left empty handed. But I am optimistic and will get the watch this weekend.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Wimpy
It took me over 4 minutes to get into the water today. That's half of my warm-up easing my way into the cold water.
I did get the worst lane, it is the end lane with the stairs leading into it. It just asks me to ease in. Who am I to say no?
The workout itself was pretty good. Though I do have one gripe.
Before my last set I got out of the pool to go to the bathroom. Four of the 5 lanes were unoccupied (including the one just left by me). When I got back, maybe two minutes later, someone was swimming in my lane. This would not be strange if it were not for the MOUNDS of stuff that was left behind at the lane. Why would someone given the choice choose the one lane with stuff crowded at the end with 3 perfectly empty lanes to choose.
Being stubborn, I jumped back in my lane and waited for him to come to my end. Lucky for me he just moved over. He acknowledged that he should have known that I would be back.
I did get the worst lane, it is the end lane with the stairs leading into it. It just asks me to ease in. Who am I to say no?
The workout itself was pretty good. Though I do have one gripe.
Before my last set I got out of the pool to go to the bathroom. Four of the 5 lanes were unoccupied (including the one just left by me). When I got back, maybe two minutes later, someone was swimming in my lane. This would not be strange if it were not for the MOUNDS of stuff that was left behind at the lane. Why would someone given the choice choose the one lane with stuff crowded at the end with 3 perfectly empty lanes to choose.
Being stubborn, I jumped back in my lane and waited for him to come to my end. Lucky for me he just moved over. He acknowledged that he should have known that I would be back.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Fail
So the potatoe did not do the trick. Lucky for me the pool was clear so I only had one source of blurryness today.
Looks like I really need to go goggle shopping!
Looks like I really need to go goggle shopping!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The great potato experiment
The lifetime water has been very cloudy lately. Combining that with the goggles anti fog coating wearing off and it has been almost impossible to see. Last time in the pool I almost swam into the wall on a few turns. It was not pretty.
Inspired by Bob's snorkel shop (their anti fog drops specifically), I hit the Internet for some ideas to help me see better. Sometimes you find gold when you search google. I sure did this time. Apparently my answer was easily found in the grocery store and it was much cheaper. As long as it works anyway.
The simple russet potato was my answer.
Step one) Clean and dry the goggles
Step two) clean the potato and cut off a little chunk
Step three) rub potato on goggle lenses
Step four) let dry
Step five) buff off the cloudy layer (do not wash off)
Enjoy a few fog free swims!
Here is hoping it works.
Inspired by Bob's snorkel shop (their anti fog drops specifically), I hit the Internet for some ideas to help me see better. Sometimes you find gold when you search google. I sure did this time. Apparently my answer was easily found in the grocery store and it was much cheaper. As long as it works anyway.
The simple russet potato was my answer.
Step one) Clean and dry the goggles
Step two) clean the potato and cut off a little chunk
Step three) rub potato on goggle lenses
Step four) let dry
Step five) buff off the cloudy layer (do not wash off)
Enjoy a few fog free swims!
Here is hoping it works.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Hawaii- Day 3
Another day at the Volcano. Another hike over the lava fields, this time the Naulu trail.
We had to wait to fill out the paperwork, the office opened at 9am. We passed the time at the Thurston lava tube, an easy 1/2-1 mile walk to and through a lava tube. We had seen it before but today we were so early that we were the only one's on the trail. It was a great expierence.
After that little warm-up the office was open to fill out the paperwork. The ranger thankfully told me that sneakers would be ok on the trail, in fact the are sometimes better then hiking boots. My blistered heals thanked her!
On the way down we were greated with this:
Needless to say we had to drive half way back up to get cell service to make sure it was safe to go hiking. It was, the sign was from last week.
The hike itself was neat because it was over both a-a and pahoe-hoe lavas. The a-a seemed like it would be slightly harder to get through. It was so much easier because the path showing us the way was much clearer. We even got to see the old chain of craters road. it was so strange turning the corner and popping out onto what was left of a road!
The forest of this portion was much wetter then yesterday. We were disapointed in the end, unable to see the feature we wanted to see. At this point I was nervous to go any further (as we did not know how fat it would be) and I was soked. We turned around and marched back through the forest. (It was a nother half mile to the Right, Pat of course wanted to go left so I'm glad we turned around).
I was happy once we got out of the forest to change into my very dry shorts. My shoes however I was stuck with.
Lucky for us we lost the trail with in sight of the road. This may be where others had lost the trail as well as their was a path for us to follow, it was just not the correct one. I was just happy to get off of the lava!
The hike itself was neat because it was over both a-a and pahoe-hoe lavas. The a-a seemed like it would be slightly harder to get through. It was so much easier because the path showing us the way was much clearer. We even got to see the old chain of craters road. it was so strange turning the corner and popping out onto what was left of a road!
The forest of this portion was much wetter then yesterday. We were disapointed in the end, unable to see the feature we wanted to see. At this point I was nervous to go any further (as we did not know how fat it would be) and I was soked. We turned around and marched back through the forest. (It was a nother half mile to the Right, Pat of course wanted to go left so I'm glad we turned around).
I was happy once we got out of the forest to change into my very dry shorts. My shoes however I was stuck with.
Lucky for us we lost the trail with in sight of the road. This may be where others had lost the trail as well as their was a path for us to follow, it was just not the correct one. I was just happy to get off of the lava!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Happy Anniversary (times 6)
Wow 6 years already! It is a little crazy to me that on our 6th Anniversary we are back on the Big Island. I always told Pat that Angela would have to make it to the Ironman Here to get me back on the big Island. Pat owes her a big thank you. Well so do I . . .
THANK YOU ANGELA!!!
We are celebrating with an interesting combination of one of my favorite activities (hiking) and one of Pat's favorite things (Volcanoes). The morning was spent at the local farmers market. The BEST find on the island. It was small but loaded with prepared meals, fresh fruits and vegetables. They were at great prices and it saved us the truble of cooking and cleaning. My favorite buy of the day was my purple sweet potatoes.
After puting the food away we vent over to Volcanoes National park. We had to spend some time hiding from the rain in the visiters center but it gave us time to fill out the necessary paperwork (for the hike) and looking over the educational displays. Once the rain let up a little we took the oppurtunity and hiked the Napau Trail over the lava fields. This took us to the Pu'u Huluhulu look out. We went on a little further just because we could. It was a nice 3+ mile hike where we got a pretty good view of the surrounding lava fields. It was nice that some of the trail went through the surviving forest. It gave me a nice break from the lava.
Dinner was at a nice Thi resteraunt. I even liked Pat's dish. This was unusual because it has nuts in it, I love nuts just not in dinner foods.
THANK YOU ANGELA!!!
We are celebrating with an interesting combination of one of my favorite activities (hiking) and one of Pat's favorite things (Volcanoes). The morning was spent at the local farmers market. The BEST find on the island. It was small but loaded with prepared meals, fresh fruits and vegetables. They were at great prices and it saved us the truble of cooking and cleaning. My favorite buy of the day was my purple sweet potatoes.
After puting the food away we vent over to Volcanoes National park. We had to spend some time hiding from the rain in the visiters center but it gave us time to fill out the necessary paperwork (for the hike) and looking over the educational displays. Once the rain let up a little we took the oppurtunity and hiked the Napau Trail over the lava fields. This took us to the Pu'u Huluhulu look out. We went on a little further just because we could. It was a nice 3+ mile hike where we got a pretty good view of the surrounding lava fields. It was nice that some of the trail went through the surviving forest. It gave me a nice break from the lava.
Dinner was at a nice Thi resteraunt. I even liked Pat's dish. This was unusual because it has nuts in it, I love nuts just not in dinner foods.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Hawaii- Day 1
We made our flight on time with only one real regret. The breakfast selections at the airport were not great as the restaurants were not yet open. We had a stand that Pat purchased a microwaved breakfast sandwich and I got a scone. I was kicking myself for not packing a breakfast. (the scone was delicious, but healthy would have been preferred).
We were lucky on the first flight to not only be in a newer plane, but also to gave a row of 3 to ourselves. I slept for as much of the flight as I could. I'm not sure how Pat put up with my stretching out and using him as a pillow, but I'm grateful that he did. It seems that he is not much of a leaner when it comes to sleeping on airplanes. Lucky me.
The second flight was PACKED! It was a much older jet, all this shrinking leg room in newer planes is bologna. We had about 2 inches past our knees. The newer plane we were just on had much more legroom (and bigger seats).
If you have never been to the airport on the Big Island allow me to fill you in on what is soo cool about it. It is a fully open-air facility. Once off the plane you are outside enjoying the wonderful weather. You can even smell the flowers as you walk to the baggage claim area.
Once on the island we wend strait to Huggo's on the Rocks. It is the only place I know of that you sit on the beach to eat/drink. We got to enjoy the ocean and food to welcome us back to the big island. It was a great find on our honeymoon, we couldn't make it through Kona with out a visit!
After fueling (ourselves) and picking up some supplies we were off again. This time to get Pat some coffee so he could make the drive safely. It was a 2 hour ride to Volcano where we spent the first few days on the island. We pulled into a coffee farm Just after closing, the were awsome enough to sell us a cup of coffee anyway. Thank Goodness!
We were lucky on the first flight to not only be in a newer plane, but also to gave a row of 3 to ourselves. I slept for as much of the flight as I could. I'm not sure how Pat put up with my stretching out and using him as a pillow, but I'm grateful that he did. It seems that he is not much of a leaner when it comes to sleeping on airplanes. Lucky me.
The second flight was PACKED! It was a much older jet, all this shrinking leg room in newer planes is bologna. We had about 2 inches past our knees. The newer plane we were just on had much more legroom (and bigger seats).
If you have never been to the airport on the Big Island allow me to fill you in on what is soo cool about it. It is a fully open-air facility. Once off the plane you are outside enjoying the wonderful weather. You can even smell the flowers as you walk to the baggage claim area.
Once on the island we wend strait to Huggo's on the Rocks. It is the only place I know of that you sit on the beach to eat/drink. We got to enjoy the ocean and food to welcome us back to the big island. It was a great find on our honeymoon, we couldn't make it through Kona with out a visit!
After fueling (ourselves) and picking up some supplies we were off again. This time to get Pat some coffee so he could make the drive safely. It was a 2 hour ride to Volcano where we spent the first few days on the island. We pulled into a coffee farm Just after closing, the were awsome enough to sell us a cup of coffee anyway. Thank Goodness!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Newley-wed bliss
For our honeymoon we did a park and ride at the Best Western in Newark. For our current trip to Hawaii we chose to do the same thing. It is not much more money and we don't need to worry much about traffic.
As we pulled in to the hotel I had to wonder how much being a newly wed had factored into our liking of the hotel. It is off airport as are all of the hotels servicing Newark airport. This one however is just off route one on a fairly industrial street. The excitement did nothing this time to hide the iffy-ness of the hotel. (On a random note the front entrance was under construction 6 years ago. It is still under construction this visit. I'm not sure what they are doing but it is quite the project!).
The room itself was actually very nice. We had our own living room and big (flat) screen TV to enjoy for the hour or so before turning in for the night.
As we pulled in to the hotel I had to wonder how much being a newly wed had factored into our liking of the hotel. It is off airport as are all of the hotels servicing Newark airport. This one however is just off route one on a fairly industrial street. The excitement did nothing this time to hide the iffy-ness of the hotel. (On a random note the front entrance was under construction 6 years ago. It is still under construction this visit. I'm not sure what they are doing but it is quite the project!).
The room itself was actually very nice. We had our own living room and big (flat) screen TV to enjoy for the hour or so before turning in for the night.
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