Happy Father's Day ... A Little Late

Hey, Curt, what's with the blue velvet shirt?

Last Wednesday, when I was sure I was about to die from a sore throat, I was woken up during my mid-afternoon nap by some crazy noise in my backyard. Sure enough, there was my dad out there mowing my lawn. (Note - it had been a while since my backyard had been mowed.... Actually quite a while. He had to mow it twice.) Curt even loaded up his brand spankin' new trimmer (courtesy of his daughters) to make sure the edges were done to his liking. Now how wonderful is that? I don't know many dads that drive 40 minutes across town to mow their daughters' lawn. Well, that's just the kind of dad I have.

As you can see from the picture above, he's pretty much always been about his girls. You can't see it here, but he's reading to me. And I, according to my mom, am eating a hot dog. Yes, even at an early age I was all about food and books.


And I have always been a daddy's girl.... By the way, is that a 70's kitchen or what?

Many of you know my dad. And most people will agree that he is one of the best people ever. Ever. I hate that I didn't see him on Father's Day, but I was just way too sick to participate in a family event that day. I just don't have enough room to list all the things that make my dad so great. I'll just say this: I'm so, so, so lucky to have this guy for a dad. And I'm so thankful that I'm back in Columbus so that I get to see my family so often. Happy belated Father's Day, dad! I love you!

Couch to 5k

I've set a goal for myself to run a 5k by the end of September. Don't laugh. I'm serious. My inspiration? My BFF, Lori. When I was in NC a few weeks ago, she ran a 5k and had been working really hard to get ready for it. And, by the way, it was at least 90 degrees the morning of the run, so she gets bonus points for doing it. My sister and mom are going to run it with me, which I'm really excited about. Yes, this is the same sister that runs marathons, but I think she will be very supportive.

So today I started my training. I won't bore you with the details, but the first week is basically 30 minute runs where you alternate jogging and walking. I about died. Died. Those of you that are in shape and actually enjoy running, try not to fall out of your chair laughing. But I did learn 3 things today:

1) I can do anything I put my mind to.

2) I am really, really, REALLY out of shape.

3) I need a better sports bra.

Enough said.

Alive!

Yes, I am alive! It's been a crazy week. I've been sick consistently since Friday. I haven't posted in forever, and I have pics from my North Carolina trip and a Father's Day blog post to do. If I had a laptop, I might have been able to do some bedside blogging, but it's not so convenient to have a regular computer in your bed - haha. My BFFs, Katie and Lori, have their own opinion as to why I am sick, but I'm not going to go there right now. At first I thought it was my allergies, but I just couldn't shake this fever that I had..... Then the sore throat started. By Sunday I was out of my mind with pain, and convinced myself that I would indeed die if I didn't go to the Urgent Care. The good news is that Urgent Care (being Father's Day and near dinner time) was empty, so I had basically no wait. The bad news is that they still haven't invented a pill to magically make me all better. I was sent home with a prescription and instructions to rest and drink plenty of fluids. Easier said than done, as it was excruitating to swallow. I mean, I dreaded it. Now I like me some food, but I have eaten very little over the past 5 days. And that's sayin' something. I made another trip to the Dr. today, and was given a shot, some cough medicine and some mouthwash that kills pain. This stuff is the best. stuff. ever. Ever! And, I lost 4 pounds! I know I'll gain that back as soon as I start eating again, but hey - it was a good feeling at the Dr.'s office this afternoon!

I am so thankful that:
1) I have air conditioning. I can't imagine how horrible it would have been to be sick and hot!
2) That my mom lives so close by. She came over on Monday, did my laundry, and basically force fed me hot tea and made me gargle w/ warm salt water. I was so miserable and in so much pain, but her being here just lifted my spirits. Also, I was out of clean underwear.
3) My dad finally took pity on me and mowed my backyard yesterday!
4) I had the chance to get caught up on The Colbert Report and The Daily Show. You know how I love those guys.... And I'm now only 3 shows behind.
5) I have a great team at work who was able to hold down the fort. God bless 'em....they called me very little. I'm very proud of them.


After my trip to the Dr.'s this afternoon, I took a 4 hour nap. That's the longest I've slept in one block in at least 5 days. I woke up feeling actually pretty good. That shot must have done some good, because I have no fever whatsoever. Looks like I survivied this one!

Summer Hot Spot

The Hilliard branch of the Columbus Library is apparently THE hot place to see and be seen this summer. I stopped by around noon to pick up a book I had ordered and the place was PACKED! Now it's always pretty busy there, but today was exceptionally busy. It is a pretty nice library. The librarians are super friendly. There's even a "teen" section, which had a bunch of teen lounging around in it. I was a little annoyed at first because, well, teenagers can be obnoxious, but then I thought....."You know, there are certainly worse places for teenagers to be hanging out". I went in for one book, and came out with 4. I had to stop myself from getting any more books, because I already have quite the summer reading list. I did pick up this cookbook by Jimmy Buffet's sister. It has some wicked good recipes in it. All southern-gulf-coast-lots-of-shrimp-and-cheese cooking. I'm making some Hot Gouda Grit Cakes tonight... Yum.

I've always been a big fan of the library. And I'm happy to be back in a city with such an awesome library. Akron's pretty much stunk.... Actually, Erie (of all places) has a really nice library. It overlooks the water and it attached to a museum. I don't even mind paying late fees. Because I believe that libraries are pretty much the best use of our tax dollars (besides schools).

When I was little I took a book into the bathtub with me and dropped it in the water. My mom made me take it in to the library and explain to the librarian what happened and apologize. (I know! How mean was that???) But the librarian looked at me and said, "That's okay. When we love books, sometimes we want to take them everywhere with us". So Cheryl was a little disappointed that day. She thought that her daughter would learn a big life lesson about respecting books. I don't know who the librarian's name.....I was probably 5 at the time....but that kind lady is probably who helped turn me into the book whore that I am today. Well, I do owe some thanks to my parents who taught me to read also!

I had a lot of big plans for my day off today. I was going to do some painting, catch up on laundry, clean my floors. Instead I spent the morning checking out icanhascheezeburger.com and I suspect I'll spend the afternoon reading. Oh well....

Prom Season

So, my mom just forwarded me a picture of my cousin's oldest kid before at prom. He looks absolutely adorable. And I can say that because I'm pretty certain that he does not read my blog. First of all, I cannot believe that I have a cousin who has a kid that's a senior in High School! WTF?? True, my cousins on that side of the family are WAAAAAAYYYY older than me... :-) But, still..... I remember when THEY were the cool older cousins in HS. Now they're parents of HS kids. UGH. Makes me feel super duper old.

But here's what made me feel REALLY old. I emailed my mom back with the usual blah blah blah about how adorable they were..."Is that his girlfriend?"....etc.... Then I tacked on this statement: "Back in my day, the prom dresses weren't so revealing". Seriously? Did I just say that? It's true. But me saying that makes me old.

So sad.

Note: The above picture is NOT of my cousin's date. I did a google search for prom dresses and this is the type of dress I found. Really? Below...now THIS is more like it.... Better, yes? Would YOU want your daughter in the dress above?

Summer Reading List

I went to Barnes & Noble this afternoon in search of a book club selection for May. I've decided that I miss my reading friends and want some excuse to have them over again in a month to drink wine and talk.... I also went to Target where I happened to find a few more good reads. I found sooooo many great books. I bought a few. Okay - more than a few. More like 8. But I have my summer reads all selected. Here's what I'll be reading this summer:

1) Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. This is the third of her New Moon series. I've read it before (several times), but the movie comes out on June 30th, and I want to be fully prepared. If I remember, this one was my favorite. I'm still a Jacob fan.

2) The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. I hadn't heard anything about this one, but it looks pretty good. It's the story of a man who, while recovering from a car crash in a hospital burn unit, meets a woman. Said woman claims they were lovers in medieval Germany. Interesting, no?

3) My Fair Lazy by Jen Lancaster. Okay - if you haven't read anything by Jen Lancaster, get off your ass and go buy one (or all four) of her books. My favorite of all of them was Pretty in Plaid, which was her I love Target.

4) The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. This one may be my book club pick for May. It's about a girl who is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives totally alone with clothes and a book - a book of fairy tales. The dock master and his wife raise her and, on her 21st birthday, they tell her the truth about where she came from. So off she goes to trace her real identity. It sounds really good, and it has a reader's guide in the back of the book. I'm a sucker for books with reader's guides in them.

5) Little Bee by Chris Cleave. This is the other contender for May's book club selection. I've heard about this book, but for some reason never checked it out before today. I think it's new to paperback, which is what caught my eye. Anywho, the back of the book says, "This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again - the story starts there...." Hmmmmm......I'm intrigued! The book's a bestseller and has won a bunch of awards. True, a bunch of awards does not always equal a great book. But the author's from the UK. And you know how I love all things British.....

6) Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn. Historical fiction is my favorite genre. It's about first-century Rome, the Emperor Domitian, gladiators, etc.... I probably picked it up because I've been watching that series "Spartacus" on Starz lately. Interestingly, the author wrote her first story at age seven after seeing the movie "Spartacus" with that famous guy....I can't remember his name.... She said that she always wanted to write a book about a gladiator and this novel is the end result of that first "book" she wrote as a kid. Cute story, huh? That alone was enough to make me buy the book!

7)The Anglo Files: A Field Guide to the British by Sarah Lyall. This book has mixed reviews on GoodReads.com, but it looked good to me. I bought it last year and, although I've started it, I keep putting it down and forgetting about it! I know....you're probably thinking, "Well, it can't be THAT good then". But, really, it is! It's about a woman who moves from NYC to London in the early 90s. I'm going to finish it....soon.....

8) The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan. This is the 3rd book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I really enjoyed the first two. I've been waiting a few weeks to buy it in hopes of scoring one at Half Price Books. My mom (who I have reading them too) said that they told her that since the movie came out, there haven't been any of the Percy Jackson books handed in. Bummer. So I broke down and bought #3 today.

9) The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan. This is book #1 of Riordan's new series, The Kane Chronicles, which is about Ancient Egypt.

There are definitely more books I'm interested in....but this will get me started. Now if only I had a beach and a smokin' hot island man to serve me pina coladas all day, I'd be set!

Senior Spring Break 2010

Well I'm up and at 'em early this morning to dog sit for the parentals. They left bright and early this morning for Alabama to visit my mom's BFF. Another couple will be joining them. It disrupts Lucy's schedule (that's the dog)too much to have her boarded, and my backyard isn't fenced, so it really is easier for me just to go stay there. Not really sure that it's all that easier on me, but it IS a heck of a lot closer to work for me. Besides, my parents do so much for me, it's only right that I pay them back.

But here's the funny part... Last night, just as my mom and I were wrapping up a phone conversation, my mom stopped to yell at Curtie for wanting to bring a bottle of Jack Daniels with them. Seriously? It's like they're HS kids packing for spring break. I'd just rather not know what they're up to down south.....

Wednesday Afternoon Update: The parentals are not in Northern Alabama. I just realized that the majority of my conversations with my mother end with her saying, "I need to go and yell at your father about (just about any topic can be insterted here)".