From Gainesvile to Gainesville, by way of Key West

It's (semi-)official: I'm going to run the Gainesville Marathon next February. "But you can't even run a mile," you say. True, but I will be able to by then, plus about 25.2 more miles on top of that. Why would I decide to go from zero to 26.2 in less than a year? A few reasons: My husband, my sister-in-law, my sister, and my future kids.

1) My husband: He's just completed his 2nd marathon, and he was thisclose to qualifying for the Boston Marathon without even having tried to! He refuses to believe he's an elite runner, but when you run a 3:20 marathon after having the flu, you're an elite frickin' runner. Anyway, I have this dream that we'll both qualify for Boston someday, and I want to run it together. I guess I'd better start training.

2) My sister-in-law: She just started running in August, and she's running 3-4 miles, 6 days a week. On top of that, she's lost 30-something pounds doing it! I'm not sure where she found that much weight to lose, but I guess she has literally run her buns off. She's doing it to set an example for her 2 daughters, to destress, and to be healthier. I say, "go, girl! I'm right behind you!"

3) My sister: She's not a runner. She is, however, really fit, and she's interested in becoming a runner. There's a half-marathon in Key West before the Gainesville Marathon, and I threw out the idea to her and my sis-in-law of all of us running it together. Both my sister and I will be training as beginning runners for now, but I know we've got plenty of time to work up to 13.1 miles before January 25, 2009. We're both scared but excited by the prospect of doing this, but I'm excited that it'll give all three of us a way to connect more.

4) My future kids: I've decided that I want to run a marathon so that I can make sure I am fit enough to have a healthy pregnancy. Right now, I'm on the cusp of being seriously at risk for gestational diabetes, hypertension, preeclampsia, etc. To be ready for babies, I want to lose about 20-25 pounds. This isn't about fitting into a bikini anymore, this is about taking care of my kids and having the health and energy to be a good mother to them. I plan on having a lot of kids, so I'd better be able to run around after them!

So, here's the plan:
1) Follow a beginner running program for the next two months to get up to 3 miles, 3 times a week.
2) Move to FL.
3) Celebrate my successful adjustment to running in the unbearable heat by running the 30th annual Melon Run 3-mile run in Gainesville this July.
4) Train, train, train.
5) Run the Half Shell Half-Marathon in Key West in January 2009 with my sister and sister-in-law.
6) Train, train.
7) Run the Gainesville Five Points of Life Marathon in February 2009.
8) Rest.
9) Run some more.
10) Have babies.
11) Keep running.

I think that about does it. Wish me luck.

ugh

So, the house officially went on the market today. I have to say, my house looks pretty cute online! It's so hard to not take this whole home selling situation personally, like you're getting ready to sell your baby to the highest bidder. I just know I'm going to be insulted by at least one offer; there's always that one low-baller that tries to catch you in a moment of desperation. Anyway, now that (just about) all I have to do with the house is to keep it clean enough to show (which is a monumental task in and of itself), I can focus on the job search! I sent in and posted some more materials today, so hopefully I'll hear from some folks soon. Keep your fingers crossed!

In other news, I'm considering running the Napa-to-Sonoma Half Marathon next year. I realized that I need to make stress-busting a part of my everyday life, so I'm thinking about finally taking the time to really focus on becoming a runner. I kinda wish this race was a full marathon, because I would take the training more seriously, but I just want to go somewhere beautiful for a race. I'll train for anything if there's wine at the finish line!

Coming up for air

As you can tell based on how long it's been since I posted last, things have been insane. We're in the midst of the chaos that is relocation, so we're finishing the last few home-improvement projects before the house officially goes on the market, I'm getting job applications put together, we're looking at houses in Florida, and I'm trying to get everything set up at work for a smooth transition for the next person. There's also the usual meat-grinder conditions that our office operates under, so I think it's safe to say that the pressure is really getting to me.

I never thought that I would be under so much pressure to find a good job. We can't even get a mortgage without a written job offer for me because the lenders have clamped down so tightly. Add all the hiring freezes going on at the moment, and the picture becomes pretty terrifying for me. I know I will get something, but I really don't want to have to take a step backwards. I am literally sick to my stomach about all of this most days. Of course, that doesn't make it any easier to get any of it done. :-p

*sigh*

In crafty news, I have continued to be delinquent in completing the 2 Christmas scarves I promised coworkers. I'm taking one of them with me this weekend to Virginia Beach so I can work on it while Dave runs the marathon. Oh yes, we're running this weekend! We're participating in the Shamrock marathon & 8k; Dave's running both, I'm walk/running the 8k. After the races, there's more crafting to be done, as I have a cake order due the 20th, and I refuse to be up all night again. I will take a break for a special birthday dinner on Monday, though. Which brings me to:

Birthday news!
I will be 27 on the 17th! Yes, this St. Paddy's Day baby is another year older, and to celebrate this auspicious occasion, the Hubby & I are going out to l'etoile for dinner. We've wanted to try it for a while, but since it's out of the way for us, we usually forget to go. I will report back.

Etsy goodies!

jellybeans group,
originally uploaded by Darth Martha.

I forgot to post this in the joy of setting up the blog, but I just got a shipment of handmade goodness from Etsy seller jellybeans! I needed something to brighten up my windowless dungeon of an office, and I thought these would do the trick.

I've framed them in simple, black frames with plain white mats, but I want to switch them out for mats with a black core for some pop. They remind me of a children's book I used to have called Put Me in the Zoo; the main character was some kind of huge puma/lion/cat thing covered in spots that he could change the colors of, juggle, and use to perform other sundry tricks. It's so cheerful! Yay!

Take THAT, Smucker's!

My hubby made me the happiest woman on the earth again yesterday. This happiness is somewhere below engagement/wedding bliss and getting surprised with flowers or sparklies. I asked him what he would choose if presented with the choice of his favorite Smucker's strawberry jam (not preserves, mind you) or the strawberry puree I made for my cake order (yay, leftovers!), he said, "Pssh. Are you kidding me? Puree. Hands down."

I win.
*flex*

A bright spot in an otherwise trying day

So, I won't go into too much detail, but a muckity-muck (mm#1) sent an e-mail recommendation on my behalf to a fellow muckity-muck (mm#2) to let him know I'd be heading his (mm#2's) way soon and that he should give me a job. Mm#1 forwarded the whole back-and-forth e-mail conversation to me, so I got to see his original recommendation. IT WAS AWESOME! It is now on record somewhere that I kick some serious butt. On top of that, mm#1 said that I'm "very underutilized here."

Mm#2 said that there's a hiring freeze at the moment because of the economy, but that didn't really put a damper on the fact that SOMEONE IN POWER ADMITS I'M UNDERUTILIZED!!!! Plus, mm#2 said I should come see them anyway when we relocate, and he copied the appropriate VP in his organization on that e-mail.

I need to go print that e-mail out before the internet gets deleted or something.

Another baking all-nighter

The cake order for yesterday went off nicely; but, as usual, I was up all night finishing it because I'm too anal to cut corners. I usually get at least a little sleep, but I seriously got a 20-minute nap (which resulted in about 10 minutes of actual sleep). I slept during my lunch hour, but I was walking dead when I got home. What took so long? The fact that I needed to make a new batch of filling because I forgot to figure out how much of my conserve I would need to flavor the buttercream. That took 4 hours to reduce to the right consistency; I had to keep the heat low-ish to keep it from boiling over. Apparently there's a fine line with strawberries.

I got some pictures that I'll post later on, but I have to say that taking pictures of my cakes reminds me that I need to take a cake decorating class. The cakes always look pretty good and taste great, but that just means it's time to up the ante. Plus, I want to get over feeling like an amateur with a piping bag. That all being said, people did gasp when they came to the party & saw the cake. A few asked if it came from Chandler's, which I take as both a compliment and an insult. Compliment because they think it's a real bakery cake, insult because my buttercream is better (Plus, I think their cakes look nice but not what I would call pretty.)

Anyway, my first foray into half sheets went very well, and while I don't think I'll be doing them in my usual 4-layer fashion, it's nice to have the option of making one cake to feed a crowd. I think next time I'll pull back on the buttercream between the 2 layers & add more filling. It tasted good, I just want it to look prettier. I like cake fillings more, anyway.