Category Archives: Crazy Cat Lady

This starts today

Posted on May 7, 2012 by shelby| 30 Comments

The last carload of crap has been hauled. The boxes have been unpacked. The major furniture items and appliances have been selected and purchased.

It’s been 23 days since the marathon.

I’m running out of excuses to miss workouts. And the long, physically laborious days of moving and unpacking where I simply must put up my feet and sip on a glass (or three) of Sauv Blanc at sundown…well, those are pretty much over at this point too.

So: this starts today.

I’m not sure what this is, but as I mentioned last week, I do know that I need to take my running mileage down for a few months. Aside from a short break in December, I’ve been in marathon training mode since last August, gunning for high mileage (successfully last fall; not so much this spring) and not really doing much in the way of strength training or cross training.

And that was great. It worked just like it was supposed to. It got me the PR and BQ that had eluded me for a decade.

It also got me a beer gut.

There is a reason why miles make champions. It’s because running lots of miles makes your body really efficient at running lots of miles. And that’s exactly what you want if you’re trying to be a competitive distance runner.

The downside is that most of us who run what I’d call “ambitious hobbyjogger” mileage (say, 40 or 50 miles a week) on a consistent basis spend a lot of time exercising and probably burn relatively few calories for our efforts.

Probably. I’m just conjecturing based on my experience over the years. Factor in the inevitable metabolic slowdown that comes with getting older and I’m starting to come to terms with the fact that distance running may not be the best way for me to stay in shape.*

That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop doing it, obviously. Because that’s not my primary motivation. But in the “off season,” I figure it can’t hurt to focus my efforts elsewhere for a few months and try to get a little leaner for the next training cycle.

So…this, whatever it is, starts today.

No more weeknight beers. (Most of the time.)

No more fried food. (Unless it’s something really good.)

Some running, obviously, but more like 20 MPW.

Track workouts.

Boot camp.

Weights.

F*cking yoga.

And regular check-ins with this thing:

As of today, it tells me that I weigh 133.6 pounds and am composed of 23.8% fat and 37.8% muscle. (The other 38% is probably Dos Equis and tortilla chips, based on my weekend activities.)

[Edited to add: I'm 5'3", so while that's a perfectly healthy weight for me, I do have room to lose a few pounds and still be at a healthy weight.]

I don’t really have a goal, I just want the numbers to move in a direction that indicates less of the squishy stuff and more of the firm stuff.

And I am definitely not going to turn this in to an OMG WEIGHT LOSS blog and then crow about how inspirational I am because I lost ten vanity pounds. (Although if it could get me a book deal? I totally would.)

But assuming it’s not horribly offensive to you guys, I’ll share my progress (or spectacular failure and lack thereof) as it happens.

Anyway. I have a yoga class to get to. So I’ll leave you with what may end up being the final tragic photo of Emmy, on the cusp of her demise:

I could not come up with a worse place to nap if I tried. Unless your goal is to get squished by someone coming down the stairs who doesn’t see you because you are snoozing cluelessly under the first step.

*I’m sure there’s an inflection point somewhere. If I were able to consistently log 80 MPW instead of 40 MPW, I’d probably lean out. And obviously, the vast majority of elite and accomplished distance runners don’t have spare tires…they probably also have more willpower than I do when it comes to their diets. And better genetics. I realize that I’m oversimplifying and there are a lot of factors that affect one’s body composition, but it’s my blog and I’ll make sweeping generalizations if I want to.

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Posted in Crazy Cat Lady, Cross Training, General Running Chatter, Thirtysomething Angst

By the numbers

Posted on March 28, 2012 by shelby| 13 Comments

Alternate title: The sort of crap you come up with after staring at your computer for an hour and failing to produce any ideas for intelligent blog posts.

(It’s teetering dangerously above “WHAT I’M LOVING NOW!” or “THE ABCs OF ME!” on the scale of blog cop-outs. I know. Sorry.)

Anyway. In descending order….

65: Degrees and sunny this week. I’m officially under springtime’s spell.

And I’m having fun exploring Atlanta in my running shoes. Yesterday, I headed downtown and putted around the Olympic Centennial Park, which isn’t all that big (about 3/4 mile around) but is very pretty. I’m a sucker for parks surrounded by tall buildings.

51: Miles logged last week.

I guess this was my peak week. That mileage number really should be higher and I really have no good excuse as to why it wasn’t. Fail. I don’t think a PR is in the cards for me next month.

On the bright side, I did have a good tempo on Wednesday and my long run on Saturday was pleasant enough…well, it was pleasant until mile 17ish, when it became decidedly less so.

I’m trying not to take that as an omen. When I’m running a marathon, I usually hit the crash-and-burn stage around 18/19. At CIM last December, I didn’t hit it until 23/24 and that made a huge difference in my overall performance. I credit last fall’s higher mileage for that. Mileage that I have NOT been logging this spring. Ugh.

8π√3: Correct answer to this one stupid math problem that had almost made me hurl BARRON’S NEW GRE against the wall last night.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before, but I’d like to continue my education at some point in the near future, and to do so, I’ll need to subject myself to humiliation at the hands of Educational Testing Service. So I’ve started “studying” (I use the term loosely) in an attempt to minimize the damage.

Awesome bonus: apparently they made the GRE harder last year. That’s what I get for slacking.

But I can now find the area of a quarter of a circle superimposed on an isosceles triangle. Super useful life skill, right there.

33: Pounds of cat under which I found myself buried when I hit the couch for a study break.

They’re not big boned, they’re just fat. (I wrote that on a Post-It Note and stuck it on their litter box, but someone took a crap on it and then buried it. Huh.)

18: Days until the Gansett Marathon! Yikes.

9: Miles I’m planning to run tonight, including some mile repeats. This is about as appealing as it sounds.

3: Bottles remaining in the six-pack of Sweetwater 420 I picked up on Monday.

This is the best my local grocery store can do, beer-wise, but I can’t complain too much! This American “West-Coast Style” Pale Ale is everywhere around here and it’s a decent little beer. With the descriptor, you’d expect something like a Sierra Nevada, but it’s nowhere near as big as that. Instead, it’s mild and very drinkable with mellow hops, strong carbonation, and a little citrus. 5.6% ABV.

Bottom line: Not the most exciting beer in the world, but enjoyable enough! (Purchased at Publix, $9/6)

1: Minute until I gnaw my arm off if I don’t stop with this useless blog post and make myself some lunch. Happy Wednesday!

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Posted in Beer Reviews, Crazy Cat Lady, Weekly Running Recap

Tagged

The Candy Cat story

Posted on February 18, 2012 by shelby| 17 Comments

Meg and I met in college, but it was after graduation when we became really good friends. Those were the “LA Years,” which are legendary for many reasons, but chief among them is the mischief made by me and my blonde counterpart.

We were both a little lonely. She, on the heels of a breakup; me, with a boyfriend who worked 100-hour weeks. We started making dinner together a couple of times a week – Hamburger Helper, mac and cheese, pasta with marinara – which eventually morphed in to hanging out pretty much every night.

She had a cat; I had a cat. She liked Bud Light; I liked Bud Light. It was one of those easy friendships where the question isn’t do-you-want-to-hang-out, but -where-and-when.

On a typical weeknight, we’d convene with our respective cats at one of our apartments. The cats would play, and we’d drink cheap wine or head over to the local bar, where we’d hang out for a while, shooting pool or playing darts, and then coyly tell whatever guys were hanging around us that we had to go home and bathe our kitties. (Which was totally true, and I mean that literally.)

Our favorite bar with a little dive called Del’s on Santa Monica Boulevard in West LA. We could walk there from Meg’s apartment. The beer was cheap and the jukebox was well-stocked with classic rock. It was the antithesis of the typical LA bar scene, and it was perfect.

Del’s was totally our bar. Our “Cheers.” Everybody knew our names. I can’t even tell you how many nights we spent at Del’s. Hundreds, probably.

Sadly, though, all eras must end. Meg started grad school and moved up to Northridge. The Valley. A long and treacherous journey from LA.

But I missed my friend, so fairly regularly, I packed up Emmy and make the trek up there. Kraft dinners were just as lovely in The Valley, but one thing was missing. Our bar.

One day, I got an excited call from Meg. (This was before texting, kids.)

“I FOUND IT! I found our bar,” she gushed. “Get this: it’s called the Candy Cat. A cat bar! I drove by it earlier today. We have to try it!”

I completely agreed and immediately planned a trip up to the Valley.

A few nights later, with bellies full of mac and cheese, we left the cats (shampooed and blow-dried, of course) to play and headed over to this promising new establishment.

Now, if you have half a brain, you can probably see where this story is going. But Meg and I don’t even have a quarter of a brain apiece, apparently, because we charged ahead cluelessly.

“There are cats on the front window!” I squealed as we pulled up.

“Oh good, there’s parking in the rear,” Meg noted, turning in to the driveway.

We parked and walked toward the back door.

“Dude, check out that girl’s shoes,” I whispered with a slight nod toward a young woman smoking by the curb, looking sullen in a trench coat and platform heels.

We smiled smugly and quietly congratulated ourselves for being the kind of chicks that go to the bar in flip flops. We were rocking ponytails and tee shirts. We didn’t need to try so hard.

Two bouncers loomed over the door, from which muted Def Leppard blared behind. One asked for ID and a $5 cover, and immediately the other cut him off, gave us a once-over, and waved us in. “They’re cool,” he said.

Hell yeah, we are, we thought.

We crossed into a brightly-lit room. A little too bright. There were a lot of lights. Colorful lights.

“It’s…a theme bar?” I said, genuinely confused. There were two bars and a pool table but why did it seem to be all guys…?

Then we saw the boobs.

The cartoon cats. The rear parking. The platform heels. The cover charge.

What happened next is the kind of moment you remember forever; when I think of Meg and our friendship, those next few seconds pretty much say it all.

A look passed between us. It said: Convey no emotion. We cannot leave now, we’ll look stupid. We have to act like we totally meant to come here.

“You get the cues, I’ll rack ‘em?” I said.

“Sure. Bud Light?” she replied smoothly.

So we hung out for a couple of hours, shooting pool, chatting with random people, singing along to classic rock, trying our best to give off a casual, we-come-here-all-the-time vibe. And it was almost like being back at Del’s again…but with more sparkles. And more boobs.

In the car on the way home, we recapped.

“That was fun but I think we should, you know, keep looking,” Meg said.

“Yeah…I don’t think that’s our bar,” I agreed.

We never did find our new Del’s, and eventually Meg and I both moved out of Southern California and on with our lives. Although we haven’t lived in the same city for years, she’s still one of my very best friends. On the rare and happy occasions when we do get together, it’s like nothing has changed. We still share a brain – and yet somehow, even with our combined craniums, lack common sense. It always leads to good fun.

Meg’s getting married in a few weeks. This weekend, I’m in Miami for her bachelorette party.

I can’t promise that we won’t accidentally end up in a strip club – excuse me, I mean a theme bar.

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Posted in Crazy Cat Lady, MSPAINT FTW, Travel

Threesome

Posted on January 26, 2012 by shelby| 18 Comments

Since my husband has been off doing his new job thing and I’ve been a fake single girl, I’ve learned something about myself in the bedroom. Namely: I’m about as dominant as a tramped-down doormat.

It starts out innocently enough.

I take my side of the bed, and they take the empty one. We engage in a little foreplay: I set up my phone with Pandora and sleep timer; they turn in circles and purr and knead the comforter. After a few minutes, each of us has settled in to his or her space. We’re good to go. (To sleep.)

A couple of hours later, I awaken to find myself stuck.

They tag team me, going for a weak spot: the crook behind the knee. It’s a devious move on their part, as I’m now trapped on my side, pinned down to the mattress, and they can do whatever they please. (Which is…sleeping.)

I squirm for a few moments, trying to get up the nerve to move. But I’m under a spell…their soft furry bellies, rising and falling so gently. Their little sighs. Their twitchy paws. In the end I relent and drift back off, anchored under my furry captors.

This emboldens them, and they become more aggressive.

All of a sudden, the bed becomes unbearably warm. I’m sweating and clammy and I want it to stop. There are too many bodies in this bed. Someone has to go. I just can’t. (Sleep.)

Beaten down by the battle, I concede. When I awaken in the morning with shadows under my eyes, I just tell myself: well, that’s the price you pay for a wild night in a crowded bed.

Yeah, I know I could just boot them out and shut the door. (And sometimes I do.) But the truth is, I kind of love having my cats around as I lay down to sleep. It makes this whole temporary-long-distance thing a whole lot less lonely.

And if that means sacrificing a little sleep, so be it. I can’t help it if I’m a pushover in the bedroom.

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Posted in Crazy Cat Lady, MSPAINT FTW

An update on Parker

Posted on January 18, 2012 by shelby| 18 Comments

It’s a rainy Tuesday night and I don’t have much else to talk about, so how about the latest dish on my cat’s urinary tract?

Try, please, to contain your excitement.

You can read about the whole ordeal with Parker and his bedazzled bladder here and here. Or allow me to summarize his issues for you, in order of gravity:

*His bladder makes more crystals than a Swarovski factory. The crystals the drift downward and eventually block his urethra. Bad shit, this is. Worst case it leads to death; best case, expensive vet bills.

*He is dehydrated. Seriously, I have never seen this cat drink water. We’ve tried every type of conceivable water-delivery device and he just has no interest. This almost certainly exacerbates the above.

*He is a fat ass. In the grand scheme of things this is a minor concern, but obesity doesn’t do anything beneficial to a cat’s projected lifespan, and given that a dietary overhaul was inevitably going to be part of the solution to the first two problems, it’s something I’ve been mindful of.

So we’ve been working to find a new diet/hydration regimen that keeps Parker crystal free, while being manageable for our other cat, Emmy, as well.

(She’s got some junk in her trunk, but she does rock some fierce supermodel cheekbones.)

According to our vet, we needed to feed Parker a food that would:

*Lower the pH level of his urine, creating an inhospitable environment for those pesky crystals;

*Encourage him to drink more; and

*Contain minimal amounts of certain things that can tend to promote crystal formation in some cats, including seafood/fish, magnesium, and ash.

Our vet’s proposed solution was to feed him a prescription cat food from Hills or Science Diet. Which I did for a while. But because I am one of Those Annoying Hypocritical Pet Owners who shops at the fancy pet store and frets about by-products in their animal’s food while happily chomping on a Quarter Pounder, I wasn’t thrilled about it.

In addition to being ridiculously expensive, it peeved me that this food was full of low-quality ingredients and (TMI kitty warning) made trips to the litter box room-clearing events.

So, on the suggestion of several people (including commenter Crystal – thanks!), I decided to switch him to a more “natural” food that contained a minimal number of ingredients and use a supplement to deal with the pH issue.

This is what we’ve been doing for the last two months, and it seems to be working. The supplement is from Wysong and is designed to promote acidic urine (the same thing the prescription food does). The food is from Weruva; it’s grain-free and fish-free and looks just like canned chicken:

(And I have now posted a picture of cat food on my blog. The show has reached a new low, people.)

Neither the food or the supplement is exactly dirt cheap, but even combined it’s less expensive than the prescription food. I mix in the supplement (which looks and smells like a crumbled chicken boullion cube) and then add a whole bunch of water to the bowl. It’s soup for dinner! And breakfast too!

He is forced to drink the liquid to get to the food.  The smart-ass has figured out how to flick the water out of the bowl with his tongue to get rid of it more quickly, but he has to consume at least some of it.  (Emmy gets the same thing but without the supplement mixed in.)

Knock on wood: it’s worked well so far. We’ve been having his urine tested every few weeks and he’s come back clean every time. (And bonus – he’s down almost a pound! To nineteen!) If the crystals come back, of course, I’ll get over my first world problems and just feed him the prescription food, even though it contains rotten pork toenails or whatever.

I hope this post doesn’t come across as holier-than-thou; that’s really not my intention. I just don’t like paying an arm and a leg for cat food that contains crappy ingredients. And I really don’t like dealing with stinky poop. Searching on the web and asking around over the last few months, I was surprised at how many people had been in the same situation – having a cat with urinary issues requiring a special diet yet wanting to feed a high-quality food – so I thought I’d share our experience (so far).

In any case, it’s an evolving process. For example, Emmy is a kibble nibbler and getting her to eat on a schedule and eat wet food exclusively has been a long and failed process, so I’m looking for ways that we can re-introduce a limited amount of dry food into their collective diet and keep everyone happy.

Anyway, that is my Parker update.

Today was a long day at work and I am patting myself on the back for making a real dinner (sort of) instead of copping out and eating snacky stuff:

Baked panko-crusted chicken tenders and frozen sweet potato fries. And I tried to be responsible and eat a salad…

…but then I ate an irresponsible amount of goat cheese. Oh well, I tried.

Off to bed, as I’ve got a kitties to snuggle and a track workout planned for tomorrow morning. Night!

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Posted in Crazy Cat Lady

Things that happened while I was not blogging

Posted on December 29, 2011 by shelby| 7 Comments

This Christmas, I was a slacker from the start. It was a solid 48 hours after I landed in Washington State that I even tried to connect my computer to the internet.

Eventually, I thought: I should probably do a blog. But when it became clear that the WiFi at my mom’s house wasn’t going to play nice with my laptop…well, it seemed like a great reason to take a little time off.

But I was thinking about you guys. I really was! If I had blogged during my little Christmas vacation, here’s what I would have blogged about. In title-plus-three sentences-format.

Friday, December 23: Fit ALL OF THE THINGS Into The Suitcase

I successfully finished my shopping. My suitcase was 54 pounds. Thanks, Continental, for letting that one slide.

Saturday, December 24: A Christmas (Eve) Miracle

The miracle is that blue sky. In Tacoma…in December! Too bad it disappeared with the sunset that afternoon (at, like, 3:30….Jesus H, PNW latitude!) and never reappeared, replaced by the gloomy perpetual drizzle that I remember so fondly from my childhood winters.

Sunday, December 25: Jubelale!

Family, food, and of course beer! Winter Warmers are irresistible, and boasting a 97 BeerAdvocate rating, Deschutes Brewery’s Jubilale is a fine representation of the style. Enjoyed one, then two, then…uh…. (Pilfered from the family fridge, 6.7% ABV)

Monday, December 26: Jubel…ail

Alternately titled: How to spend the day after Christmas loafing on the couch with a itty bitty kitty (literally…my mom’s cat is like four pounds) on your lap, watching way too many episodes of Property Virgins, which is a show you don’t even really like because it’s always in freaking Toronto, but you’re feeling too fetid to fetch the remote. And then rally and head to another Christmas celebration with even more boozing. Tis the season!

Tuesday, December 27: Mem-reeeeeeez

The day, chronologically:  (1) a run on my favorite high school trails; (2) a trip to the mall where I used to hang out as a dorky middle schooler; (3) happy hour with my dad at a gorgeous restaurant overlooking the sound; (4) a bottle of wine in my mom’s rec room while digging through a box of old childhood crap. That last one yielded some hilarious treasures which I’m excited to share with you very soon. And the wine – Darby’s Viognier Blend, from Washington’s Columbia Valley – was excellent.

Wednesday, December 28: Mad Gluttony

Lunch: sushi at Kikasu in Seattle, which included the the best Albacore and Red Snapper I’ve ever laid lips on. Dinner: a little bit of the South in the PNW, as I made a big batch of Rosemary Gorgonzola Grits (pictured) to go with our grilled ribeye steaks. Boarded an eastbound red-eye flight with distended bellies.

…and that brings us to today, which can pretty much be summed up thusly:

It was a good Christmas and a nice trip home to Washington, but I missed my CHUBBY KITTEH SNUGGLES.

I hope y’all had good holidays too! Til tomorrow…

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Posted in Beer Reviews, Crazy Cat Lady, Travel, Wine Reviews

Goodbye, fall brews

Posted on November 9, 2011 by shelby| 28 Comments

I picked up a six-pack Pyramid’s fall seasonal the other day, only to notice that it was “best enjoyed by November 6, 2011.” I guess I’ll take that as a sign. It’s time to move on from nutty browns and Oktoberfests and welcome the delightful time of year when beer pours black and opaque. Ah, winter seasonals!

But since I am behind on posting these anyway, here are a couple of parting shots at autumn beers.

Comment-er Daniel has accused me of an anti-Sierra Nevada bias, based on this post, which was linked to this post, I suppose. And although it’s true that I find the perfumy-ness of their ubiquitous Pale Ale a little overbearing, I have nothing against Sierra Nevada! In fact, I kind of loved this Tumbler Brown Ale, in spite of not being a huge fan of the style in general.

It was the fact that it had a nice, full-bodied, almost creamy texture that won me over. None of that thin watery garbage. Nope – it was sort of like the cream soda version of a brown ale. With just a hint of maple syrup – nothing sticky or overly saccharine, but a touch of sweetness that I really enjoyed. Mellow and easy to drink at 5.5% ABV.

Bottom line: Yes! Enjoyed it very much. (Received in a beer swap from a friend.)

And then there was the allegedly past-its-prime Pyramid, which was perfectly fine, actually.

Pyramid is one of those labels that I tend to buy for nostalgic reasons. It’s a Pacific Northwest brewery and it reminds me of my youth. (Er…that time when I was barely 21, of course.)

But that said, I think their Juggernaut, a red amber ale, is actually pretty decent. Maybe I’m a little biased toward this brewery and also toward red ales, but I enjoyed that it struck a balance between hoppy and mellow, and had a nice quenching carbonation that left me satisfied as I sipped it post-race on Sunday afternoon. 5.6% ABV.

Bottom line: You haven’t missed out on the next big thing if you missed this one, but nonetheless, I liked it. (Purchased at Harris Teeter, $8/6)

Whilst drinking the occasional beer, I’ve been cruising through my last week of MEGA MILES before I start my CIM taper. Tonight, I tackled 4 X 1K at 5K pace.

They were supposed to be 1200′s, but the track was locked up, so we took to the streets and circled around a hilly road loop that was supposedly 1K. So maybe it was a little off? Eh, who cares. It was a good hard workout that made me huff, puff, curse, sweat, spit, etc. All of that good stuff.

Also: for everyone who has inquired about and/or imparted well wishes to my poor kitty and his unfortunately crystal-crusted urinary tract, I’m happy to say that Parker is doing just fine now. Aside from the fact that he’s sporting a majorly dorky shaved leg, a reminder of his recent stint with the IV.

He is currently eating a prescription food from the vet’s office that is supposed to break down the crystals. Following a 14-day tenure on this particular food, we will need to switch him over to a “maintenance” food to prevent the crystals.

And here is where I get all yuppy and annoying. The whole situation irks me because it’s not like I was giving him cheapo Friskies or something, before all of this happened. Both of our cats have always eaten a high-quality diet consisting primarily of grain-free wet food (Wellness brand) made from real meat, with a little dry food (same brand) to supplement.

But now? In order to get a food that prevents crystals? Apparently my options are Purina, Hills or Science Diet. These are all notoriously crappy foods, in spite of their high price tags. The very first ingredient in the Hills prescription food that I’m currently feeding to Parker is “pork by-product.” Followed by rice and corn (filler and filler). Roll your eyes at me if you want to, because I know they’re just pets…but that’s gross, and I don’t want to feed my cats that garbage. Not if I can help it, anyway.

Of course, I’ll do whatever I need to do to keep his urinary tract healthy. And if that means feeding both of our cats a nonstop diet of kitty CRAP ‘N SPAM for the rest of their kitty lives, then of course, that is what I’ll do. But I find it hard to believe that of all of the wonderful high-quality pet food companies out there, no one else has come up with a good food designed to prevent urinary crystals.

At least…not that I’ve been able to find.

(If anyone has any suggestions or experience here, please feel free to share!)

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Posted in Beer Reviews, Crazy Cat Lady, Workout Recaps

Tagged , , ,

Change of plans

Posted on November 5, 2011 by shelby| 11 Comments

It’s 10 PM on Saturday night.

According to the plan, the clock should have been striking Vodka ‘O Clock right about now. The hubs and I had booked a quick getaway down to Atlanta for a couple of nights, leaving straight for the airport after I finished work.

And by this time we would have been happily installed in our friends’ loft apartment, catching up and partying up. Also known as: pretending we are back in college.

But…

My poor little guy.

Earlier this week, Parker’s issues flared up again in a big way. His urinary tract blocked completely this time – a very dangerous condition that required him to spend two days in the kitty hospital with a kitty catheter shoved up his furry little kitty penis.

(Doesn’t he look thrilled about that?)

He is home now and doing better, but is on 24-hour pee watch. Short of forking over hundreds of dollars a day to board him at the vet hospital (which I would have felt terrible about doing anyway), there was really no way we could leave him to go out of town. So we scrapped the trip. A huge bummer, but part of being a responsible pet parent.

And instead of vodka tonight, it’s water. Because tomorrow, as it turns out, I’ll be crossing a finish line at mile 26.2:

Yeah. I have cancelled my scheduled hangover in favor of running the final 9.4 hilly miles of the City of Oaks Marathon.

(Although if I were still in college, I probably would have tried to do both!)

Since I already did a long run this weekend, I’m planning on using it as a marathon-pace workout. Wish me luck!

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Posted in Crazy Cat Lady

Tagged ,

ME ME ME part eleventy; or, a ten things meme

Posted on October 17, 2011 by shelby| 34 Comments

Okay, I kind of love being tagged with these random Blog Awards. I mean, who wouldn’t? It’s lovely to know that someone is actually reading this drivel.

Also, hello, easy blog post.

So, thanks, Lisa over at Cow Spots & Tales for saving you all from…that.

This award seems to have evolved as a hybrid of two awards.

But the bottom line is that I’m supposed to tell you ten things about me. I can do that!

1. Every day, I must Q-Tip my ears.

Must. I don’t care that the Q-Tip package says not to put it in your ear canal. IT FEELS SO GOOD.

And they have to be real Q-Tips, not the generic store-brand cotton swabs. The tips of the generic ones get all puffy and loose and threaten to dislodge themselves in my ear canal. (Which is probably why you’re not supposed to put them in your ear canal…)

2. I have lived in every major region of this fine country.

Except for Texas, which I do consider to be its own region. And in which I have absolutely no desire to live. Sorry, Texas. North Carolina is as far south as I go.

In many senses “home” will always be Washington state, where I was born and raised – but I feel fortunate to be able to associate that word with so many places and experiences.

3. I still don’t really know what I want to do with my life.

I really don’t. Any ideas?

4. I’m totally a cat person. And totally not ashamed of it.

You probably know this if you’ve been reading this blog for a while. I heart kittehs.

The art of food-dish stalking at its finest.

Because although dogs seem fun, as far as I can tell, their activities consist mostly of chewing on your personal belongings, urinating and/or threatening to urinate on your floor, barking, and whining. What a colossal pain.

I’m not ruling out the possibility of owning a dog someday, and in fact, I think it would be nice to have a canine running partner. But the part where you have to get up early in the morning so that someone else can go to the bathroom? Bitch, please. (Pun intended.) I don’t even get out of bed in the early morning for my own peeing needs. I consider it, then roll over and go back to sleep.

Also, my cats will never annoy everyone else in the apartment building by yapping all damn day, nor will they shit all over public spaces, inadvertently causing innocent strangers to step in their excrement with their brand new running shoes. (Guess what happened to me yesterday?)

Cats FTW.

5. Requisite random fact item consisting of things I will not eat:

Canned mushrooms, deviled eggs, sea urchin, banana peppers, olives, raw tomatoes, creamed spinach, black licorice, sauerkraut, blood sausage, Cinnamon Raisin bagels. And anything pickled.

Agree? Disagree?

6. Requisite random fact item consisting of things I have eaten (mostly abroad) that sound horrible but actually weren’t that bad:

Cow brains (best tacos I have EVER eaten), pigeon, goat, kangaroo, shark, snake, alligator, frog legs, fried crickets (they taste like potato chips), Durian fruit (smells much worse than it tastes).

Okay, that’s enough about food.

7. I’m afraid of the ball.

Any ball. It doesn’t matter. If it’s headed toward me, I’m diving in the opposite direction. I will never be a trendy kickball/flag-football hipster.

But on the plus side, this probably why I am sitting here writing this quasi-running blog today. Because the only reason I went out for the cross-country team as a freshman in high school was because all of the other sports involved flying balls. And I’ve been running ever since!

8. I love Chardonnay.

This summer, I went to the annual Wine Bloggers Conference in Charlottesville, VA. Even though I don’t blog exclusively about wine…it was a great time and there was OMG SO MUCH WINE. It was fantastic.

But being around people who are much more thoughtful/picky about wine than I am, I definitely got the sense that Chard is the new Merlot. Unfashionable. Too obvious. For amateurs.

Well, you know what? I love the stuff. I love it buttery and I love it oaky. I love it served young and fermented in steel barrels, and I love it a little older and earthier. I daresay it’s favorite type of wine. Even if that makes me unfashionable.

Be right back, pouring another glass….

9. I’d a million times rather have money to travel and do fun stuff than have a big fancy house and fancy car.

Renting is underrated. That is all.

10. Guess what? I’m running the CALIFORNIA INTERNATIONAL MARATHON in Sacramento on December 3!

Good thing I’ll be able to put last weekend’s 20-miler to good use!  I’m thrilled, and this race actually works out perfectly with my schedule. I’m beyond excited to see one of my best friends and former teammates, Newt (um…not her real name…and I’m sure she’s glad that her college nickname has stuck with her) who lives in the area. And hopefully run a strong race on a fast course.

(Also, we were planning to head westward for a wedding the following weekend anyway, so there are plane ticket synergies there, too.)

So. Still bummed about missing Greece, but now throwing myself in to training for CIM. Seven weeks to go!

I think I’m supposed to pass this meme-award-thingy on to some other people. I’ll go ahead and tag a handful of blogs that are perennial favorites…feel free to meme if you want to (and I know that some of you love a good meme…)

Cheaper Than Therapy

Angry Runner

The Cookie Battle

Stylish, Stealthy & Healthy

Loteria Chicana

Leftovers 4 Lunch

Meals for Miles Blog

The Rundown

110 Pounds and Counting

Braise the Roof

I know memes are fun, but perhaps these ones are done. So I won’t be offended if y’all pass, but just know that I tagged your ass.

(Oh yeah, I love to rhyme. How did that not make it in to my random facts?)

Until tomorrow, when we discuss serious topics like world financial markets….

Just kidding.

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Posted in Crazy Cat Lady, General Booze Chatter, General Food Chatter, General Running Chatter, MSPAINT FTW

Sometimes, it’s just food

Posted on October 4, 2011 by shelby| 28 Comments

Tuesday night. Taco night. Yeah…the lack of excitement in the air was palpable.

Not because there’s anything wrong with tacos. In fact, these ones were pretty good, as healthy dinner fare goes.  But: no, it’s not a herb-encrusted rack of lamb or a delicately seared plate of scallops or an indulgent plate of fried whatever.

It’s…well, it’s just dinner.

And it takes 20 minutes to prepare and it’s relatively good for us and it doesn’t require a separate trip to the grocery store or cost an arm and a leg in ingredients.

Over the weekend, I was asked why I don’t blog my dinners/recipes as often as I used to. So I thought about that.

I don’t consider myself a master in the kitchen by any means – unless the skill in question is burning things under the broiler (why, broiler, why do you turn on me so quickly? There goes the last bagel….)

But I do hope that, over the nearly two years (!) that I’ve been depositing daily words on these here internets, I might have improved a bit. And with that, I think, comes a certain raising of the standards. To be able to say: oh, it’s just a bowl of pasta and it was just good instead of exceptional? Well, let’s skip that one, then.

And I don’t think this is a bad thing. I read a lot of blogs and nothing makes my eyes roll back in their sockets quite like: OMG you guys, it’s the best grilled cheese sandwich everrrrrrr! Make this now! Bread and cheese and butter! In a pan! Have you made this yet? It’s life changing! Now click through that link and pay me!

Um. I have a pretty high tolerance for hyperbole, but…it’s a damn sandwich.

And tonight for dinner, we ate damn tacos.

They were damn decent tacos, so if you want the “recipe” of sorts, it is here: Sweet Chili Lime Shrimp Tacos [<--not a link that pays me anything, just a site that a friend of mine developed that I prefer for housing and organizing my recipes, rather than cluttering them in the text here]

But I guess that is why I don’t blog as many so-called recipes as I used to. Because if I’m very lucky, my kitchen spews forth one or two excellent food products a month. And those are the ones I want to share. Everything else?

It’s just food.

It’s not bad but it’s not anything special. And frankly, if you are going to look at this site for recipes, I’d rather take a chance on you being wowed by something unique and risky than being underwhelmed by a common sandwich.

Anyway. So that’s that.

A few people have also asked how EL GATO GORDO is doing after his bladder infection flare-up.  He is doing great and we are back to our old antics!

Which mostly involve him begging for food and me forcing him to do the cabbage patch.

Also, randomly, I’d like to note that there is currently a pirate ship parked outside of my place of employment:

It is there for a very good cause…however, I can’t seem to stop myself from daydreaming about ways to use the functional water cannons (!) to harass the alfresco diners at the restaurant next door.

Any ideas?

After all, it’s just food….

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Posted in Crazy Cat Lady, General Food Chatter