Miscellaneous [pseudo] Monday

It's basically a Monday for me [after a fab Tuesday off], so I feel the need for some miscellany:

• I've noticed that quite a few people must be back to work [FINALLY]. How did I get so smart, you ask? Well, I've had much more commenting in the last day or so, my Google Reader showed 55 new posts to read [out of my 80, yes....80 blogs], and I noticed that most of those new posts went a lot like this: "Today is my last day before returning to work. I've been off for [insert time frame here, ranging from one week to nearly five weeks!!!!!] and I'm SO not ready to go back." Ahem. I'm sorry, but I really have no sympathy for you poor souls who JUST NOW return to the real world. In fact, not only do I lack sympathy but I'm extremely jealous since I had a whopping three days off over the holidays. So no more whining about long breaks and nobody gets hurt, mmmmkay? :)

• I've been researching marathon training, running blogs, and inspirational quotes to get my head straight for this new feat of mine. You wanna read some oh-so-inspiring quotes?

1. "To describe the agony of a marathon to someone who's never run it is like trying to explain color to someone who was born blind. "
   ~Jerome Drayton [Gee, thanks Jerome. Now I'm blind and dumb, huh?]
2. "Marathon running is a terrible experience: monotonous, heavy, and exhausting. "
   ~Veikko Karvonen, 1954 European and Boston Marathon Champ [Oh great. If a Boston Champ is so thrilled with running, what the hell am I doing?]
3. "Marathoning is like cutting yourself unexpectedly. You dip into the pain so gradually that the damage is done before you are aware of it. Unfortunately, when awareness comes, it is excruciating." ~John Farrington, Australian marathoner [Okay, sweet? I mean, why bother posting these incredibly depressing quotes on a site? I was hoping to feel relief and glory after running a marathon, not like committing suicide.]
4. "Anyone can run 20 miles. It's the next six that count."~Barry Magee, marathon bronze in Rome, 1960 [Now I'm laughing out loud. ANYONE can run 20 miles? Are you serious? I'm not even sure I can do it after 5 months of training. Oh, but the last six miles are even worse than the first 20? Awesome. Great.]

• We watched the Simpsons Movie last night and I fell asleep. I pretended to be awake whenever Nate would say something, but I was totally passed out. I can't help it, I'm a nap queen lately. But from what I remember it was sort of funny. It's Evan Almighty tonight and I hope my buddy Steve Carrel can keep me awake.
  

• Wait, I just can't move on from the marathon quotes yet.....aren't they awful? Depressing? Don't they make you want to laugh in the face of marathoners? Me too, but yet they somehow make me want to try even harder.....just so I can complain about how badly it sucked:) Just kidding. I'm really excited and scared to do this. Nate is still thinking about joining me on my journey but part of me wants to do this on my own. The other part of me wants him there next to me so he can check my pulse every now and then. Either way, I've decided that most marathon runners can become obsessed, even cult-like with their running. It makes me nervous because I don't want the marathon to consume my entire life and I certainly don't want to be one of those crazy people who only talk about running all the time. If it starts to look this way for me, smack me in the face, will ya?

• Someone commented on my NYE shirt, which brings up a funny story. I have only purchased ONE nice shirt since our big move. It is a black turtleneck sweater and it's quite adorable. So adorable that I've worn it to every "semi event" since I bought it [ie my work party, and home for Christmas.] Well, of course I was going to pull it out for NYE but when I started getting dressed that night after work....my beloved sweater was still in the dirty clothes. I panicked. I had no back up plan. As I searched through my pathetic closet my only options were Mr. Rodger's-like, grandma inspired sweaters. And I just wasn't feeling the geriatric look for the evening:) So I found a young-looking pair of sleeveless shirts and went for it. Yes, I was a little chilly without my coat. But by god if I'll look like Mr. Rodgers on NYE. Any other day, yes....no problem. But my youth deserves a chance on NYE:)

• Allison sent me the most hilarious picture of her three year old daughter, Madelyn. If you haven't noticed yet, me and my friends have a copyrighted pose for pictures. It involves us with our hands next to our faces, as if to say: "Look at our cute faces." It's an inside joke, we really aren't THAT conceited. But it makes an appearance at most events involving a camera. For instance: Anyway, Madelyn saw a few pictures of her mommy doing this pose on my blog. So she gave it a go and NAILED it!

• Just so you know, I will always try to answer questions or comment within my own comment section on a post. It's a little odd, but I think it's easiest to follow up that way. There, now don't you feel better about that little topic burning in your mind?

• I have a new favorite show. It's on E and called "Snoop Dogg: Father Hood." I can promise you that it's the funniest show EVER because Snoop-a-loop is freaking the bomb. It's a reality show about him as a father: his kids are hilarious. His wife doesn't put up with any crap. OH, and if that wasn't good enough, David Beckham made an appearance on an episode. He tried to teach Snoop's kids to play soccer....but alas, Snoop's daughter "Choc" [as in, chocolate, I think] was too busy holding an umbrella to play. Meaning, it was perfectly sunny and she was holding an umbrella randomly on a soccer field. With David Beckham. Also, Snoop's opening theme song for this show is basically the best rap song ever. It says something like, "We aren't the Huxtables, and I don't make my kids eat their vegetables." Awesome!!! Just watch it and thank me later.