Behind the eight ball...

I saw something very similar on another blogger's page and decided to try it myself...here it goes.

My life in eighths.....

8 Places I Have Visited:
1- Hawaii (twice)
2 – Canada
3 – Mexico (twice)
4 – Yellowstone National Park
5 – Glacier National Park
6 – Olympic National Park
7 – Seattle
8 – Florida

8 Things In My Closet:
1 – Souvenir post of the Chicago marathon
2 – A laundry basket full of old running shoes
3 – More workout clothes than work clothes
4 – High heel shoes, I rarely wear
5 – Pillows ( you can never have too many)
6 – Spare bike trainer
7 – Pictures that will never be hung on the walls.
8 – NO skeletons

8 Dates I Remember:
1 – December 15th (my birthday )
2 – January 26 (mom's birthday)
3 – July 27th (dad's birthday)
4 – April 21 (the day my mom passed away)
5 – June 2nd (the day my dad passed away)
6 – October 15 (day of my first marathon)
7 – September 15 (my first and last half iron man)
8 – March 1st (the day I adopted my Boston Terrier at three weeks old)

8 People I’ve Talked to This Week:
1 – Julie (nearly every day)
2 – Mike (too much)
3 - My puppies
4 – Jen (running partner)
5 – Jeanne (coworker and friend)
6 – Lady in black shorts, I see every week on the Katy Trail
7 - Myself (go ahead and admit it...you do too).
8 - Kevin for the last time.

8 Life Changing Events:
1 – Getting married
2- Getting divorced
3 – Graduating from Murray State University
4– Hiking through Glacier National Park.
5 – Moving to the St. Louis, for my first job.
6 – Getting a job promotion
7– Completing my first open water swim
8 – Having surgery


8 Words To Describe Me:
1 – Curious
2 – Quirky funny
3 – Aloof (at times)
4 – Searching
5 – Driven
6 – Unpredictable
7 – Intuitive
8 – Generally happy

8 Songs That Are Currently The Soundtrack of My Life:
1 – Crazy Train - Ozzy Osborne
2 - Free- Zac Brown
3 - Far Away-Nickelback
4 – Free Falling - Tom Petty
5 – Roll with the Changes -REO Speedwagon
6 – Twin Bed-Death Cab for Cutie
7 – High Speed-Coldplay
8 – Slow Down- Third Day

8 Things I Will Do This Weekend:
1 - Ride 50 miles on Saturday
2 - Run 10 miles on Sunday
3 - Eat strawberries
4 - Plant in the backyard - finally!
5 - Household chords
6 - Drink COFFEE
7 - Work...just a little though
8 - Go to a movie

8 Things You Should Do Today:
1 – Coffee
2 – Go for a walk
3 – Pet your dog
4 – Hug your spouse or significant other
5 – Say something good about yourself
6 – Close your eyes for 5 minutes during the day
7 – Eat something green
8 – Get back to work

Prayers for Natalie

My sweet adorable, six year old niece will undergo a bone marrow biopsy this morning. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Into the great wide open.......

2 I just can't help myself. I have my blog set to display the astronomy picture of the day. I think this picture of the Hubble Space Telescope is amazing. Did you know there is a website, dedicated to the telescope? No matter what, in good times and bad times...this is an incrediable country we live it!

What is that astronaut doing? Fixing the Hubble Space Telescope. During the fourth servicing mission to upgrade and fix Hubble, astronaut Michael Good can be seen attached to the shuttle's robotic arm, working in an open panel of Hubble. Far below, the terminator between day and night can be seen across planet Earth. Since Hubble was captured by the space shuttle Atlantis last Wednesday, five long space-walks have been used to fix and upgrade the aging telescope. One of the more ambitious orbital missions yet taken, the toiling astronauts have upgraded the Wide Field Camera, fixed the Advanced Camera for Surveys, repaired the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, and replaced COSTAR with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. Numerous other general repairs included replacing batteries, gyroscopic sensors, and insulation panels. Hubble will now undergo testing as Atlantis prepares to return to Earth later this week

Runs and Cold Medicine

I have a cold. Yes, that achy, sneezy, scratchy, yucky feeling. I spent most of the morning in the house, trying to rest and take it easy. Around 10:00, I decided to take some medicine-Dayquil Sinus tablets, phenylephrine and acetaminophen ("that should do it"). After about 45 minutes, I was feeling better. I proceeded with my weekly household chores; laundry, vacuuming, dishes, etc...mmm still feeling pretty good. So around 1:00pm, I decided "Well, I'm feeling much better, no more excuses....go for a run". So I did. I got dressed, drove to the Katy Trail (once a railroad), parked my car and proceeded, just as I always do on Saturday.

I set out on a 12 mile run. I have been trying to increase my distances, each week. I still have hope that I can complete another marathon someday soon. So I try to maintain a long run base of between 8-12 miles. The first part of the run, went as usually, the first mile or so I am always a little tight and so I take it easy. Light jog, settle in, get the iPod set, etc... everything proceeding as normal.

And so, I proceeded 1 mile, 4 miles, 6 miles than turnaround. Prior to starting back, I opened my gel pack, Hammer gel espresso, one of my favorites..yummy. Good to go....stash the used gel pack in my water belt and I'm off.....

I ran for another mile and then it hit me. "What? Huh? Ugh? "My head, throat, neck all burning in pain. What could this be? Then it hit me...the Dayquil....must have worn off. With a vengeance...the cold is back. My old friend, ACTM has long since left me there on the trail alone to do battle with a virus. It feels like my cold has parked its big fat ass, right on my chest! But I keep running, I will not be denied. I am tougher than a this! "Bring it on...you crabby old " _ _ _"!

I really doing this? Having an argument with a virus? I could just stop and walk, so I could breathe. So I did, briefly....then I stopped, hands on thighs leaning over and coughing. Nice, such a sight, a women leaned over coughing and spitting... pretty huh?

Okay, get on with it! Run! So out of sheer determination....I ran again, all the way back to my car. Never so glad to be back. You have to wonder? What makes a runner, put themselves through these things? I have always said, I have never regretted running after finishing. But I have regret ed missing a workout. So, for today, I'll take it...better to have tried, then to not try at all.

Meanies

"Dont ever have the feeling of hatred toward the people who ill-treated you. Take it in positive way, gather your inner strength and turn the tides in your favor. Rather, be kind to them for they are the ones who inspired you to strive for even better. For they are the ones who made you realize that best in you is yet to be. Always be thankful to such people, who once looked down upon you, for they helped you in being a better person."

Interesting.....

From National Geographic.....I love this picture

Where do meteors come from? Visible meteors are typically sand-sized grains of ice and rock that once fragmented from comets. Many a meteor shower has been associated with a known comet, although some intriguing orphan showers do remain. Recently, a group of meteor enthusiasts created a network of over 100 video cameras placed at 25 well-separated locations across Japan. This unprecedented network recorded not only 240,000 optically bright meteors over two years, but almost 40,000 meteors seen by more than one station. These multiple-station events were particularly interesting because they enabled the observers to extrapolate meteor trajectories back into the Solar System. The resulting radiant map is shown above, with many well known meteor showers labelled by the first three letters of the home constellation. Besides known meteor showers, eleven new showers were identified by new radiants on the sky from which meteors appear to flow. The meteor sky is ever changing, and it may be possible that new shower radiants will appear in the future. Research like this could also potentially identify previously unknown comets or asteroids that might one day pass close to the Earth.

Observations..

I went on another bike ride yesterday in Southwestern Illinois. It was called the Tour de Stooges, the name itself sort of puts a weird spin on the whole bike ride....You see the strangest things when you are out cycling in the middle of nowhere? Here are some of my observations, thoughts, quips etc..

Observations from the route:

Lavender colored outhouses situated right in the middle of a horse stable.

An unfortunate raccoon struck by a vehicle to which someone has lovingly placed a Santa Claus on top of it's head.

Those riders who decorate their helmets with all sorts of things; feathers, shark fins, bull horns, etc.

Mailboxes made from all sorts of things; mannequin legs, drill bits, wash tubs.

The ever present farm animals. I am not sure how I did it, but I pissed off a sow yesterday. I was simply riding on the road, she took one look at me and starting running along the fences squealing. Thank goodness there was a fence! Seriously, she probably just wanted to be fed. Note to self; bring extra Cliff bar for Charlotte.

I actually observed people out walking on a Saturday morning and conversing with their neighbors.

Rural Kings rock!!!!


Some Dos and Don'ts of Cycling:

Men, please do not wear white cycling shorts. (I have nothing more to add to that).

Nobody really looks "that good" in their sixty dollars shorts and fifty dollar jersey.

Please do not speed up when another rider passes you to try and catch them. If you want to pass, wait for a safe time to do it, when you are climbing a hill ,oncoming traffic can't see you! These are the types of things that really tick a motorist off!

Be nice to the volunteers. They are because they are serving to be part of a good cause. Not to serve your sorry ass.

Talk on your cell phone...give it a rest people!!! If you have to take a call, then for goodness sakes, pull OFF of the road.

Be scared when you hear a large farm implement approaching. I was passed once by a fertilizer truck, the ground was shaking!!!!

Use the "facilities" at the rest stop. Do not urinate in some one's yard.

To any truck driver, please do not blow your air horns at cyclists. We can hear you.

Quips:

"I'm good to go!" A rider's first words to friends as they approach the rest stop.

"Are they serving the food yet?" Words from one of the last riders in and the same "A-hole" who speed up to try and pass me.

"Let's go, we're wasting good weather!" Words from a true optimist.

"Get on the f***ing trail!" Spoken by a motorist who was obviously lost.

"My butt hurts" Generally spoken by everyone at some point and time.

"My bike is a piece of junk" Spoken by the "excuse maker".

"Something stinks" Me at least one time on every ride...skunks, cows, pigs, etc. You get the picture. I LOVE Southern Illinois!!!! Love it, Love it, Love it.

Well enough of this...next up. The Peddler's Jamboree!!!