Waivers!!!

Waiver stalking began on January 28^th.  What is Waiver Stalking, you ask?  Well, apparently, it’s where you find the back door (aka Site Directory) to where RunDisney stores all of their documents for their races. Things like photos, results, WAIVERS! 

For every race (not just Disney), you have to sign a waiver that basically says “yes, I’m stupid and running, no I won’t sue you if I kill myself.”  However, with RunDisney waivers, you get a personalized waiver – it has your name, age, town, shirt size and bib number. Now, it’s nice and all to see a waiver for a RunDisney event with my name on it – the girl who 12 months ago LAUGHED at people who ran – but the most important piece of information on that waiver is your bib number.

Why is it important, you ask? Well, if you know your bib number, you will (eventually) know your corral placement. And when you know your corral placement, you know your standing at the Start Line.

For over a week, my Facebook group and I were going insane, waiting on waivers. First we were anxious, then giddy, then impatient, until we got to downright angry! Disney changed the wording on their website from “Waivers will be released one month prior to the race” to “two weeks prior”.  No emails to participants, no tweet, no post on Facebook, no nothing! Kind of burned our collective asses, you know?

Over the weekend, we all decided to stop obsessing about it. I removed the bookmark, closed the window and went on with my life.  The weekend came and went with no waivers. 

Monday morning came and went with no waivers.

After lunch, though? 

WAIVERS!!!!!

I went to the link where the waivers lived and put in the required information:  Last name and birthday.

It couldn’t find me…

I tried again.

It still didn’t find me…

I tried it in Internet Explorer.

It couldn’t find me…

I was getting slightly psycho by now. Oh my God, what if I only THOUGHT I signed up for this? Maybe I forgot to do something and I wasn’t actually registered?  Crap, crap, crap! Freak out to the max at this point….

Deep breath…. Go find the Active.com confirmation email….. Deep breath.

I pulled up my confirmation email and looked for my birthday. 

 Active had my birthday as 3/9 instead of  9/3!! 

Back to the waiver page, I put in 3/9 as my birthday – THERE I AM!!!!  I clicked the beautiful “Print” link and it pulled up my personalized Princess waiver. I printed two and grabbed them off the printer while they were still hot!

What’s my number? What’s my number?

Down at the bottom, I see my name, where I live, my shirt size, and then a glorious line “HM Bib 9558”

There are (rumored to be) TWENTY-SIX THOUSAND people signed up to run the 5^th Anniversary Princess Half Marathon. I am 9,558!  That means that there are 16,442 women (or men) with bibs that are higher than mine. It also means that I am starting earlier than a hell of a lot of women! 

Last year, there were 8 corrals (not counting wheelchair racers and the Elite racers).  If the corrals stay the same, I will be in Corral E, or the 5^th corral out of 8 total.  This will give me anywhere between a 21 to 30 minute cushion between me and the Sweepers!

For the rest of the day, I’ve been jittery and freaking out. Shit just got real.  We are 19 days away from running. There are only 2 weekends left before we drive down to Disney. My costume isn’t done. I haven’t even begun to pack yet.  The reality of all that I’ve undertaken is starting to hit me, and it’s heavy.

Deep breath…..

Deep breath….

I’m going to go run now.

Ursula's Face

In the quest to come up with a costume, I was also thinking about whether or not I should wear makeup.  Nothing major, not a full face or anything, but maybe some mascara - waterproof, of course!

As I am wont to do, however, I kept thinking and planning, and soon, mascara was joined by teal eye liner and red lips.  If I'm going to wear a costume, I should wear some Ursula makeup too, right?

I looked around on the internet and read reviews, and played with makeup at Walmart, before deciding on Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof Mascara, NYC Color SmoochProof Lipstain, and Hard Candy Liquid Eyeliner.

Unfortunately for me, between the time I made my decision and the time I'd saved up $20 to buy supplies, Hubby's Super Wal-Mart opened! (I had been shopping at a different SuperWM across town)  Only problem? The new Super Wal-Mart doesn't carry Hard Candy, and the NYC Lipstain was out of stock! Good news, though. They did carry Wet n Wild, which is my favorite "bargain" brand. 

I ended up with:

Wet & Wild MegaLiner in Teal ($3)

Cover Girl Remarkable Waterproof Mascara in Black/Brown ($4)

Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm in Gothic ($8)

One side has a marker-like tip; the other side has a lip balm

 On Monday, on a whim, I decided to try out the lipstain - by wearing it to work! Me, the gal who doesn't even wear tinted lip balm, wore bright red lip color to work! 

I wanted to see how long it would last under normal conditions, without babying it or paying too much attention to it. I put it on (and let it dry a few minutes) when I did my face in the morning, around 7:30. I sipped my morning Diet Coke with a straw. I drank a juice box (again, with a straw). I ate breakfast (I think it was a muffin I ate with a fork). Nothing budged this lipstain. I applied the balm on the end of the lipstain before I left the house, but also used my Neutrogena Naturals lip balm while at work.

All in all, I'm pleased. The color is not as RED as I was hoping, but this is a stain, not a lipstick, so it's to be expected.  With the balm over top, it makes it shinier, and other non-Revlon balms don't seem to cause any issues (like with Cover Girl Outlast, just sayin!). I didn't feel like I was wearing anything other than lip balm and by lunch time I was still pretty stained.

By the time I got home (about 5:30), I'd completely forgotten that I had it on, so I was surprised to see that there was still some left. There was more around the edges of my lips than in the center, so it kind of looked like a bad liner job. 

So, would I wear this again?  Yeah. Would I buy others? Maybe, if I had a coupon or it was on sale. In different colors, though - I'm just not a bright color kind of gal.

However, for the Princess, there is one more purchase I need to make. Since my lips dry out anyway when I'm running (I'm a mouth-breather), I always have to apply lip balm.  If I'm gonna have to use balm, why not get some GOOD balm?  So, when I go to Wal-Mart next weekend, I'll grab a stick of Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer in Cherry to wear over my Revlon Lipstain and kill two birds with one stone. 

As for the eyeliner, well, it is definitely TEAL! It's kind of hard to see in these photos, however, so at least I didn't look like a crazy person!

(Ignore the crazy wet hair; it didn't dry from my shower!)

Tentacle Testing

Last weekend, I went to Jo-Ann's and picked out my tentacles. I decided to go with maribou boas, even though not 6 months ago, at the same store, I rejected the idea when my daughter suggested it!

I originally had grand visions of sewing tentacles, even wiring and stuffing them so they were 3D.  Later, when I realized I couldn't really sew that well, I thought of a 'skirt' type overlay on top of my Sparkle Skirt.

As our fall trip to Disney, and then the holidays, came closer, costume creation was put on the back burner. It got so pushed back that somehow, it was JANUARY already!!!  I began thinking again about what could be done easily - and cheaply! - when I had a vision of my daughter prancing around the craft store, covered in feather boas.

So, feather boas it is!

I stopped by Joann's before doing my weekly grocery shopping and after a coupon and tax, I got 12 feet of black maribou boa for $7.93.

 

Now.... How to I cut them without making a huge mess?

Apparently, not gonna happen....

 My desk, my floor, my clothes, ME.... Everything was covered in teeny-tiny black feathers. Of course, having my space heather on (and oscillating) certainly didn't help matters either!  

Luckily, I come prepared with a lint roller!!

After Feather-geddon, my next task was to seal the cut ends so I wouldn't lose any more feathers!. I dabbed a bit of Aleene's craft glue (the best stuff in the world for crafty gals) on the ends of each piece of boa and set them to the side to dry for the night. 

The next morning, the glue was dry and it was construction time!  I pulled out my thread and needle, but stopped.  I really should test running in these before sewing them on permanently!  I safety pinned each tentacle where I wanted them and realized immediately that they were WAY too long!!  Since the boa was 6' long, I took the easy way out and cut them into thirds, which gave me 2' tentacles. My skirt is only about 15" long, so my tentacles were 9" longer than my skirt and went down to my shins!  Good thing I tested 'em, huh?

WAY too long!!

As I climbed onto the treadmill, I debated the idea of just pinning them all to the skirt and calling it a day, rather than sewing them, but one fell off after only 5 minutes of walking, so that idea was rejected!

When I started running, I knew that my placement was perfect!  I had been worried that the tentacles would get 'sucked' between my thighs, but they didn't!  They kind of floated off to each side of me as I had hoped they would. I have an image of an icebreaker ship in my head, shoving glaciers and icecaps around in Alaska when I try to describe what the boas are doing. Not the most glamorous description, but kind of fitting. They didn't annoy me at all. They didn't get in the way of my headphones or my pockets. They didn't get tangled in my arms or legs. They were perfect!  I adjusted the front two (on my hips) so that they would be the right length, and kept running. Still, nothing was annoying! I had a winner!

I got in about 3 miles before I had to go pick up Hubby from work. Not the 10 miles I said I was going to do this weekend, but I knew that time was flying by, and costume testing was needed!

After picking Hubby up from work, I went back to my skirt. I chopped off 9" of boa and sealed the fresh ends and laid them out to dry. No more boa for tonight!

Next step is FINALLY sewing on the boas! Until then, I leave you with a photo of my eye makeup!

Teal Liquid Eyeliner and Waterproof Mascara

p.s. - how many times did you read "testicle" instead of "tentacle"? Me? A LOT!

Hello, my name is Amy, and I'm a recovering addict....

I am addicted to many things.

Food.
Sparkle Skirts.
Photography.
Diet Coke.
Disney.
Reading.

I am a recovering addict from one thing - smoking.

I can't remember how old I was the first time I picked up a cigarette, but I know that my grandmother (Rusty) was still living in the river house (on the Suwanee), and I would hang out with Tanya and Tasha during the summers I stayed at the river with my grandma. So, I'll say 6th or 7th grade. I remember stealing a pack of Doral Lights from my grandma's carton (she kept them in the freezer so they wouldn't go stale) once. If she noticed it was missing, or if she noticed that I smelled like smoke, she never said anything.

In 7th grade, I remember asking an 8th grader (she was a "bad girl") to buy me a pack of cigarettes and I gave her $10. She never bought my cigarettes and she kept my money.  (Ironically, we stayed friends until I moved in 10th grade).

In high school, I don't think I ever really smoked at all. I would puff if someone had one, but I was a soprano in my Chorus class, doing competitions and stuff, and sang really well (brag, brag).  I knew that smoking would screw up my voice.

However, by the end of my senior year, I was back to smoking, and by my first semester of college I was doing half-a-pack a day.

I smoked in my room one night (at home), and my mom smelled it, and the look on her face when she realized that I was smoking broke my heart. All she said was, "Don't smoke in the house" and left my room.  This should have been enough to make me stop, but by this time I was addicted.

I met my husband and he didn't smoke. Never did smoke. He can officially call himself a non-smoker because of that. And because of that, he never understood what it was like to be addicted. He hid my cigarettes one day. He just wanted to see what would happen. He saw what happened (I got crazy), and he never did that again. He didn't approve of my smoking, but he never did it again.

When I got pregnant, I quit. It's what you are supposed to do. I went cold turkey and stayed smoke free throughout the entire pregnancy, up until maybe 6 months after she was born. I was back at college, stress was killing me and after a particularly hard test, a classmate asked if I wanted a cigarette. That was all it took, and I was back to that half a pack a day life.

Around 2002 or 2003, I quit again (more because other people wanted me to than because *I* wanted to), this time 'weaning' myself off. I had a plan - week 1 would be 10 total cigarettes per day. Week 2 would be 9 per day, and so on and so forth. It was extremely hard to do, and I was miserable, but I know it needed to be done.

I did my research this time, and this is when I learned that quitting nicotine is HARDER than quitting heroin. HEROIN, seriously!  I found out ways to deal with the withdrawal that comes at day you finally quit.  For 3 or 4 days after you quit, you go through withdrawals like when you quit drinking or doing drugs.  One tip was to mix Cream of Tartar into some OJ and drink it. Something in the acid helps flush your system faster.  Sounded weird, but I did it anyway. I was ready to be done with this for good.

And I was, until there was some family drama in my life that need not be mentioned.  But it was enough to send me right back to Walgreen's for a pack of cigarettes. I bought the nastiest, cheapest pack I could find, thinking that I'm gonna down this pack and then I'll be fine.

Nope.

Shocker, right?

So, for another 2 years, I was a smoker. This, combined with my weight issues, was making me miserable. Now I'm fat, I'm tired, I can't breathe, my teeth are yellowing and I'm just generally as unhealthy as I've ever been.

In 2006, we took a trip to see family in South Carolina, and decided to take a day to go to Chimney Rock, North Carolina, then drive the southern part of the Blue Ridge Parkway and go home that way. CR is beautiful, with lots of places to walk and hike. Lots of stairs. Beautiful waterfalls.

We hiked DOWN a mile-long trail to the base of the waterfall that was used in Last of the Mohicans and by the time we got to the bottom of the waterfall, we'd already stopped a handful of times. Because of me. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't keep up. I was tired. I was miserable, and couldn't enjoy myself because of my misery. I had planned on taking the stairs all the way to the top of Chimney Rock, but there was no way in hell my lungs would be able to handle that, so we had to take the elevator.

That fall and winter, that trip kept making me feel like crap and I decided that it was time to quit. Again. For good.

I asked my doctor to prescribe Zyban/Wellbutrin to help me quit smoking. This is an antidepressant that has a side effect of helping people quit smoking. I took it for a week before I was ready to quit (so that it could build up in my system). I planned out how many cigarettes I needed to have so that I could have my last cigarette on Friday night (I wanted to ride out as much Withdrawal during the weekend).

I lit up as soon as I got off of work on Friday afternoon and when I flicked my cigarette out the window, that was it. It was my last cigarette. I was calm. The weekend was not as horrible as it was last time. Partly because of the drugs, I'm sure, but mostly because this time I was READY to quit. You have to be in a mindset to quit, and this time I was there.

So, today makes it 6 years. I didn't intentionally quit on Groundhog's Day, but it's nice to have a 'holiday' attached to my quit.

Do I miss smoking? Sometimes. I miss having the window open. Yeah, I know I can still do that, but it's different. I miss taking time for ME and going outside. I can still do that too, but it's different. I miss the smell sometimes. When someone walks by and I get a whiff, 99% of the time, I don't like the smell, but every once in a while, that 1%, it smells SO good and I just want a single puff.

But I don't take one. Because I'm a recovering addict.

Just as recovering alcoholics can't have ONE drink, or recovering drug addicts can't have ONE hit, I can't have ONE puff.

I can have a longer life, a healthier life and a family of non-smokers. I like that option much better.

Another great side-effect?  I inspired one of my hubby's best buddies to quit. He quit on Groundhog's Day the year after I did. So today is HIS 5th Anniversary of his quit. Way to go, sweetie!!

What an eventful year! Some reflections....

So…. It’s New Year’s Eve. That’s when everyone either gets dressed up and parties, or sits around wallowing in self-pity that another year has slipped by. Generally, I am not much of a partier (drunks don't appeal to me, especially on the roads), so we stay home. I've never been one to stay up UNTIL midnight, so it's become a tradition that I go to bed whenever I'm tired, but the family wakes me up at 11:45 or so and we all cuddle in bed together and watch the ball drop.  Every year, I get weepy and a few tears run down my face. I've never understood why, I think, until this year. Before, I was sad for another uneventful year gone by.

 

I don’t’ think I will be doing either this year. I’ve done too much this year to wallow. This year, I am hopeful for the year to come.

I started 2012 with a secret desire to do something that, only a short time ago, I would have laughed about.  I wanted to run a half-marathon. My life before was filled with “can’t”. I can’t – I have a headache. I can’t – I’m too fat. I’m can’t – I don’t have enough time.

I still have an I Can’t – I can’t keep that word in my vocabulary, unless “can’t” is followed by “yet”, as in “I can’t run a marathon yet – I need to train more” or “I can’t go on vacation yet – I need to save money”.

Just in 2012, I did an 8.6-mile March of Dimes walk. I also did a 2 mile fun run, a 3 mile fun run, three 5ks and a 10k.  For someone who, up until this year, never ran unless chased, I consider this a pretty good damn year.

I am looking forward to what 2013 will bring. I know it will bring a half-marathon and a huge feeling of accomplishment! And a huge medal!

I'm gonna run a half-marathon this year!

Happy New Year, everyone!

I'm gonna run a half-marathon this year!

Holy crap - I'M GONNA RUN A HALF-MARATHON THIS YEAR !!!!!

Aren't we the Sunshine State?

So today was supposed to be 9 miles, according to my JG training. However, I'm getting over a cold/flu and didn't know if I would be able to do it all.

I planned to walk 3x around my Westside Park route, but after about a MILE, I realized that a) it was cold as hell outside, b) I did not dress properly for said temperatures and c) I still felt like crap.

I finished the first circle of the route, then decided to just walk where the sun was. From the corner of 8th and 34th, I walked back up to 16th, then back. At that point, I was feeling okay and figured that if I could stay in the sun, I could get at least 5 or 6 miles done. I stood at that intersection and decided that walking towards University Avenue had the most sun. So I walked all the way down to University Avenue and 34th Street - the intersection with a Checkers and a Grandy’s.

All feeling good, so far, I turn around to go back to the park and the WIND CAME UP! That made the temps - that were already only 37* - feel like they were 10* cooler! Walking back to the car (about a mile) was hell!!! I forwent the stretching, like I normally do, and just cranked the heater and drove home. I ended up doing 5.12 miles, in near-freezing temps, with an average pace of 18mm.

I'm sitting here now in fleece jammies, fuzzy socks AND a huge fleece robe with the heater pointed below my desk (to give me a cave of warm) and a cup of hot cocoa (with marshmallows, of course!), trying to warm up. I've been home for 20 minutes and I am not warm. Also, I'm coughing like a little asthmatic bitch, so that's fun.

However, with all the bitching, I am so proud of myself for getting out of bed, for getting dressed, for getting out of the house and into the car, for walking anyway, even though it was cold, and uncomfortable, and freezing!! I've come a long way, but I have so much more to go.

Merry Christmas - Running Santa was good to me!

Yeah, but if Running Santa was me, it kind of takes all the fun out of it, I guess?

Nope!

Check out the swag!!

Two Tech Tees from JCP - Xersion brand - Teal and Black

Nathan Handheld water bottle.  Has a little slide-out ID card, and the pocket is big enough to hold an iPod (and it really does!) but I could also fit in a GuChomps package, lip balm, gum AND my car key fob.

 Okay, so it's not REALLY running gear, but since I got it specifically for the Princess, I'm putting it here. It's a Nikon Coolpix camera. In purple. Of course!

Reward Sparkle Skirt!  Peacock Bordeaux - it has purples, blues, blacks, greys and sparkles! What more could you want?

Well, except a SECOND Sparkle Skirt!  This is the basis for my Ursula costume. It's called Purple Haze and both the skirt and the sparkles are purple!

Tuneband arm band for my iPod. It came with an extender, in case you have huge arms.

Purple Zensah Compression Sleeves. Need I say more?

Black Xersion Running tights from JCP. The ankles have zippers on them so that they can stay tight on your calves/ankles.

Clover is bored of all this running stuff! What else did I get?

Fleece v-neck (bought it on clearance last winter for $2!)

How I Met Your Mother - Season 7

Dean Koontz Books (hopefully not a lot of golden retrievers and Coronas in these two)

Comfy jammies from my mom (every girl needs jammies after running so hard!)

Jeffrey Deaver books

Stephen King Book

 Michael Connelly books (Hello, my name is Amy and I'm a bookworm....)

Neutral Density Filter (for my Nikon D3100) - Use for 'dialing up' or 'dialing down' light

Purple Sweater #1

Purple Sweater #2 (The 90s came back and brought me a sweater!) Yes, boys and girls - it's an open-weave crochet sweater. Wear something under it, please.

Fun nightshirt

Fun socks (the black argyle ones are knee-high socks)

Suede boots that acutally FIT over my huge calves! (That's what the socks are for!)

Big ol' Special Dark candy bar from Mom (to be enjoyed, while wearing jammies, after my run!)

 Our 2012 Annual Disney Vacation Christmas Ornament. Bet ya didn't see this coming, right?

Mickey Snowman says Merry Christmas!

Can you see the other two Mickey ornaments on my tree?