I have a problem. I recently took inventory of all the stripes in my closet and the findings were a little bit disturbing. You know how some people have an overabundance of one colour in their closets? Everything's black, or gray, or they'll have like six identical pink sweaters and not even realize it?

My overabundance is stripes.



Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic just had one of those 30% off online sales and I ordered a bunch of things for summer, including three tank tops and a button down. Two of the tank tops and the button down are - you guessed it - striped.

Looking at the Joe Fresh website, there's a striped dress or two I'm eyeing. Of course, I already have a striped Joe Fresh dress from last spring.



And one from H&M.



I have a striped cardigan.



I used my lululemon Christmas gift certificate to buy the Stride jacket...in white and indigo stripes.



I have had this Old Navy striped shirt for years and wear it with everything.


Don't forget these two little blousies.


Then there's this hoodie, which is the most comfortable thing ever. I got it from Garage, which means you'll probably see lots of 12-year-olds wearing it this spring. And me, old enough to be their mother. Get off me.



The total damage is as follows - 

Striped Sweaters: 7
Striped Dresses: 4
Striped Skirts: 1
Striped Blouses/Shirts:  5
Striped Shorts: 1

New shopping rule: NO MORE STRIPES. This rule comes into effect after I've bought that Joe Fresh dress. Then I promise to cool it on the stripes for a while...or change up the colours at least. All my stripes are black and white, gray and white, or blue and white.

What can I say? Some people smoke crack. I like stripes. Stripes won't put me in jail. But if I'm ever in jail, I'll get to wear stripes, so it wouldn't be that bad.

On the weekend, I did something crazy. I paid $15 for a pair of socks. To me, the queen of cheap, that's batshit certifiable. Most of my socks cost $15...for six pairs.

Fifteen bones can buy a lot of things more fun than one pair of low-cut socks:

• a bottle of wine
• a movie ticket (barely)
• 4/5 of a pair of coloured Joe Fresh jeans
• one and a half Essie nail polishes
• 15 Cadbury Creme Eggs

I just got fed up with my feets looking like they had water balloons attached all over them. Blister City, my friends: it's not a place you want to visit and definitely not a place you want to live. So I went into Running Room on the weekend to part with some of my hard earned government handout cash and buy a pair of "real" running socks for my long runs.

SHEEEEEEEEEIT!!

On Sunday, I ran 12 miles in these new beauties, and while it was no picnic in the park, it felt considerably more pleasant and less painful than running 11 miles the week before. I attribute that in large part to my feet not being on fire and swelling to double their normal size inside my ghetto Wal-Mart discount "sport socks".  Best $15 I've spent lately. I will never do another long run in socks that came from a bulk package again.

It got me thinking about the economics of running. Everyone's always all, "running is so great, you can do it anywhere and it's free!" which is so not the case. It can be pretty pricey, between shoes, clothes, gear, race fees, etc. But that's another post for another day.

As I posted earlier, last week was not my favourite week for training. Midweek, I was toast. I didn't want to run at all - anything seemed more appealing than going for a run and I started having those thoughts of "if I can't get my act together to do five miles how in the hell am I going to do 13?"

Luckily, I was able to rally by Friday and finished the week on a good note.

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3 miles, 26:00 (8:21 pace) - the weather was warm, sun shining, birds chirping, perfect running weather. Then I did upper body weights & core.
Wednesday: Rest. Just not feeling it.
Thursday: Rest. Went to the Hunger Games instead. I am one thousand percent happy with this decision.
Friday: 5 miles, 42:00 (8:24 pace) - one of my favourite runs this year. Again, the weather was great and I was feeling good!
Saturday: 3 miles, 26:44 (8:47 pace) - treadmill run with hills, plus 30 minutes on the elliptical. National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation was on TV at the gym and an hour flew by. I love the National Lampoon vacation movies. Luckily, the gym was almost empty so my LOLz didn't disturb anybody else's workouts.
Sunday: 12 miles, 1:44:46 (8:43 pace) - longest run yet!

Eli is 19 weeks old now - four and a half months. Whaaat?! He's practically a man. Last week was a busy one for the smallest and loudest member of our household:

+ He got mistaken for a girl for the first time. "She's not very old, is she?" asked the woman behind us in line at the store when we were buying diapers. For the record, Eli was dressed in a yellow shirt, gray cords, and sneakers with fire trucks on them. FIRE TRUCKS. I'm not sure what part of this ensemble screams "I'm a girl", not to mention the fact that he just *looks* like a little boy. I didn't bother to correct her, but when I was putting Eli in the car, I whispered, "That woman thought you were a LITTLE GIRL!" and he burst out giggling. We had a good laugh at this poor, confused woman.

He still thinks it's hilarious.

+ He started riding in his stroller facing out. This is great for both of us. Not having to strap the car seat into the stroller means I get to push around about 10 fewer pounds, and he's able to watch the world going by when we're out walking, rather than being forced to stare up at the sky and my hovering mug.

+ He started sitting up on his own. Granted, it's only a few seconds before he tips over, but he's getting better at it, and he seems to really want to do it. He tries so hard to stay upright and waves his little arms to keep his balance as long as he can.

+ At his four-month checkup last week, his weight was in the 75th percentile and his height is in the 90th percentile for his age. I don't know how Peter and I ended up with this big beast of a child. I guess there are some lumberjack genes in there somewhere.

+ This is more of an indirect Eli thing - Pete and I have been looking for Eli's Easter outfit, something dressy and spring-y but not shorts, since our heat wave seems to be over (wah). We found a really cute one: linen pants, a white shirt and a little vest that would look very dapper on our handsome dude. Guess how much it cost? NINETY DOLLARS. For an outfit that's going to fit him for about five minutes. It was cute, but not that cute. The hunt continues.

1. I spent waaaay too much time today frigging around with the Ginger My Face app. Upload a photo, add freckles, colour your hair red, and poof - instant ginger. Verdict: I wouldn't make a good redhead. See how gross.

Original.

NO.

2. Eli discovered his feet several weeks ago, but this week he is OBSESSED. He grabs them on the change table, in the tub, in his crib when he's supposed to be napping and just holds them and stares at them. He tries to cram them in his mouth. He throws his toys on the floor in favour of his feet. Easily entertained, that one. Case in point: this video I took a little earlier today. And no, he's not naked, he has a diaper on!



3. I cleaned out the fridge today, which is one of my least favourite chores. If I had to choose between cleaning the fridge and cleaning the bathroom, it would be a tossup, that's how much I hate it. I just poured out three ancient bottles of cranberry cocktail and one two-litre bottle of Coke leftover from our housewarming party in 2010. I'm surprised it didn't eat through the plastic in that time frame.

4. Our plans for tonight are making pizza (!!!) and spending some quality time with the DVR. I've been excited for pizza Friday all day like an 8-year-old. We like to make one big pizza and split it in half, with different toppings on each side, since we don't like the same things. Pete's is always covered in meat and I have olives, pineapple, mushrooms and artichoke hearts for mine.

5. I got to see an advanced screening of The Hunger Games last night. It definitely lived up to my expectations! Everybody looked like I had imagined, which made me happy. I hate when you read a book and have the characters pictured in your head and they look completely different in the movie. I'm looking at you, Time Traveler's Wife.

Happy weekend!

Last week, I was spot on with my training. I did all my workouts, including a toughie 11 mile run on Sunday. This week is going to hell in a handbasket and I'm doing my best not to worry about it. Let's call it a taper week, shall we?

Monday was my rest day. No problem there. Tuesday I ran three miles as planned and felt great. And then yesterday happened.

Yesterday was gorgeous - sunny, record-breaking high temperatures, felt like a summer day. I ate lunch outside, took a walk with the baby, and was otherwise lazy all day. I just didn't feel like doing anything yesterday. You know that Bruno Mars song? That was me.

I was supposed to do five miles yesterday, but once Eli was in bed at 7:00 and Peter was home, I was having none of it. It was still warm out, perfect running weather, and I had plenty of daylight left, but I think I would have rather gone around the yard and eaten Rory's fossilized winter poos than put on my sneakers. I was exhausted and I didn't want to go anywhere. Instead, we had a barbecue, watched Community, and I went to bed at 9:00 and passed out. And I don't feel bad about it.

I won't be running tonight, either. I'm going to see The Hunger Games!! I can't remember the last time I was this excited for a movie. I didn't think twice about missing today's run in favour of going to the movie. I don't want to let training interfere with doing other stuff I really want to do. All along I've been shuffling my workouts around other things that are going on, and it's been working out quite nicely.

Two unplanned days off during the week would have thrown me for a huge loop at one time but this week I'm having trouble caring. I think I may be experiencing a case of burnout. A mini-case of temporary burnout. And the cure for burnout is a break, right?

I expect that by tomorrow I'll be craving my run and will probably head out with a lot more spring in my step than I would have last night. As for today, I'll be hanging out with the babe, soaking up more of this glorious sunshine, and watching a bunch of kids kill each other while I eat snacks. Tomorrow I'll work out. It all balances out.

Happy Spring! I woke up grinning like a simpleton today. I adore the first day of spring. Even though there's a pretty solid chance, as in 100%, that we haven't seen the last of the winter weather, just knowing that winter is officially over and there's an end to that foolishness in sight makes me a happy girl. Don't get me wrong. I love winter...for the first two weeks.

There's so much coming up soon that I'm looking forward to:

The return of Cadbury Creme Egg McFlurries. One of my favourite springtime calorie bombs. As if ice cream weren't bad enough, some genius decided to add Creme Egg bits to it. Hooooo doggies.


The return of Mad Men. I need to watch the season four finale before Sunday for a little refresher. And I think a Cadbury Creme Egg McFlurry is the perfect complement to the season five premiere!

Hunger Games. Tickets to the movie are selling out like crazy but I'll get there eventually. Can't wait to pound a Kid's Pack into my face and watch Katniss, Gale and Peeta go nuts on the big screen!

Easter. I'm so excited to see my little man decked out in his Easter best and for the Easter Bunny to fill his basket with goodies. I have it on good authority that the bunny is making a special delivery this year of rice cereal and Diaper Genie refills. Who needs chocolate eggs? (Answer: Mama does.)

Mother's Day. My first one! I'm sure it'll be a nice day hanging out with my boys.


Blue Nose Half Marathon. I usually do my training recaps on Tuesdays. Look at me spitting in the face of routine this week. The half is exactly two months from today. I'm looking forward to the experience, but also to being finished with training and just running for fun, with no schedule to follow.

Spring and summer sports. Watching baseball games, tennis in the park, playing catch in the yard...all things you can't do in the winter. All things I wish you could do year round.

"I'm up to my elbows in poop that looks like peanut butter. Can you get a diaper out of my purse?" - Growing up, I never had aspirations of being a mother and even in my early and mid-twenties I was leaning towards not having children. Even after Peter and I were engaged I still wasn't sure I'd ever want to have a baby. It was only in the past three years my mindset started to shift as I started looking at all the idiots around me reproducing and thinking, surely to God, if these riff-raffs can do it, I can do it too. Just kidding!! (Kind of.)

"I'm going to bed" (before 10:00 PM) - I wasn't always such an early bird. For years, I operated under the assumption that it was "lame" to tuck in before midnight for the pre-Freedom 55 crowd, so I'd force myself to stay up late - despite the fact that I cannot sleep past 8:00 AM, no matter how late I'm up the night before. After years of feeling like zombiefied ass in the mornings I finally gave in to the fact that I'm just not meant to be a night owl. Now I've embraced my old-woman ways and it's a wild night if I make it to the double digits.


"I'm running a half-marathon." - In elementary school gym we had to do the dreaded 12-minute run every year and I used to try to come up with elaborate schemes to get out of doing it. The very idea of running for fun was an oxymoron. I believed a person should never run unless he or she was being chased. I can't say when I started enjoying running. There was no lightbulb moment - it definitely happened over time and it definitely sucked in the beginning, but now I like it. It's MY time and I'd go crazy without it.


"I think I'll stay in tonight." - Just like I fought being an early bird, I fought being an occasional introvert, too. For the most part I love being around others, meeting new people, socializing and getting out, but I definitely need downtime to stay home, recharge and enjoy my own company, whether it's reading, writing, crafting, baking...all things I used to consider lame. I get exhausted and frazzled if I don't get some downtime now and then.

"I made ___________ (insert name of baked good/homemade dish here)." - I survived for probably five years on fast food, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Triscuits with microwaved cheese on top. I moved out of one apartment without knowing if the stove worked BECAUSE I HADN'T TURNED IT ON DURING THE ENTIRE LEASE.

I could keep going...but five seems like an appropriate place to stop. Happy Friday, kids!

This was a big week for me - my first ever double-digit run! I know 10 miles is no huge deal for a lot of runners but it felt like a pretty nice accomplishment for me. It just sounds like such a long way. Bonus, it was outside, so no slogging away on the treadmill for an hour and a half next to the B.O. King this week.

Here's what I did this week:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3 miles, 28 minutes (8:51 pace). I don't really remember much about this run except I took it pretty easy. I did about 20 minutes of upper-body strength training afterwards to try and tone up my chicken wings.
Wednesday: 5 miles, 45 minutes (8:59 pace). A pretty nondescript progression run.
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 3 miles, 26 minutes (8:39 pace). I had plans to watch Jersey Shore and eat pizza afterward and I was so excited I sped things up a little. The whole time I was just chanting "PIZ-ZA! PIZ-ZA!" in my head. Stretched quickly and shitkicked 'er home so I could stuff my face and watch my show. 
Saturday: Yoga, 1 hour. Jillian's Yoga Meltdown video.
Sunday: 10 miles, 1 hour 30 minutes (9:00 pace).

I felt like this was a pretty comfortable pace to maintain for 10 miles. I don't know what my actual "pace" was, though. The run took me 90 minutes, but that also includes stopping for red lights, walking up one steep uphill on the trail, and frigging with my iPod without pausing my Nike+, so my pace was probably a wee bit quicker.

However, I like that it averaged out to 9:00 even with all of my stopping and arsing around along the way. It means that during the half, if I walk through the water stations or have to slow it down for whatever reason, I should still be able to finish with what I consider a decent time.

The weather Sunday was pretty brisk, but the sun was out, and it was so nice and rejuvenating to be able to actually run outdoors and not in the gym. I picked a new route which had some rolling hills and was half sidewalk, half trail so that helped to break things up, too. I so much prefer running on a trail than the street. No cars, no riff raff honking and yelling at you, way cuter dogs, so much easier to zone out.

Having a long run Sunday was also an excuse to carb it up Saturday night. I made this lemon garlic spaghetti for dinner and we added some chicken breasts for protein. One of my favourite meals, and it's so easy and quick to make. This girl loves her carbs.

Eli Alexander, I can't believe you're four months old already. You're turning into quite the little man. You're getting more giggly and more curious about everything around you. You've gone on some walks in your carrier now that the weather is nicer, and you just stare at everything - trees, houses, cars, plants.



You love to grab anything within your reach and cram it in your mouth. And you try so hard to be a big boy - if you're lying down, you try to pull yourself into a sitting position; if you're sitting up, you want us to help you practice "standing". When you're on your belly you're already trying to scoot. So far you can't go forward or backward - just around in a circle. You seem to be frustrated by this. You'll be all over the house soon enough, so we're enjoying being able to plop you down somewhere and know you won't make it too far just yet.


This month you've started moving around in your crib. There have been times when we put you right in the centre to sleep and by morning you'll have your head jammed in one of the corners, very unhappy about it. You also roll onto your side a lot, and will probably be rolling back-to-front soon. Rolling front-to-back is a cinch for you now.



You're still not sleeping through the night but we've stopped worrying about it and comparing you to other babies - it's more common for a four-month-old to not sleep through the night, and you'll get there eventually. Lately you've been getting up around midnight to eat and then not again until five-thirty or six, so that's not too shabby. Your naps are starting to get more predictable and you usually have a snooze around nine AM, noonish, and midafternoon. Sometimes they're 45 minutes, sometimes two hours. You still fall asleep in your carseat and thankfully you're able to put yourself to sleep at naptime.


You've discovered your feet, you love being in your exersaucer, you like being tickled, and silly noises and voices make you laugh. Bathtime is your favourite time of the day. You stretch your arms out to be picked up from your crib and seeing you reach up for us with your big grin is the best thing in the world. You love to talk - sometimes loud shrieks and sqwawks and sometimes soft babbling. Whatever it is you're telling us, it must be very important.

We love you more and more and can't wait for the next month with you - playing outside, wearing green for St. Patrick's Day and your first Easter!

In middle school and the early years of high school, before things like burning CDs (kids today are like "why would they burn CDs? Are CDs even flammable? What's a CD?") I was the queen of mixtapes. This is how my evenings would go during the week: get home from school, eat dinner, watch Seinfeld, and go to my room to do homework and listen to the radio with a blank tape ready to go. I'd record every song that came on that I liked and carefully label the tape case so I wouldn't get them mixed up. You don't want to grab the Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men tape when you're in a Nirvana mood!

I'd listen to that puppy in my Walkman all weekend long. My family used to take long Sunday afternoon drives and rather than subjecting myself to whatever shitty country or easy listening travesty they were jamming to I'd stick with my Walkman, at least until the batteries started to drag. Oh my God, this is making me feel so old.

Earlier today on the twitters, we were talking about songs that we used to enjoy. I started thinking about a particular mixtape of mine from around Grade 9.

It included gems such as...

Wonderwall - I still get excited when they play this at the Alehouse.
Standing Outside A Broken Phonebooth With Money In My Hand - I have never heard of the Primitive Radio Gods since but I sure loved this song at the time. 
Santa Monica - I was pretty obsessed with this one. I probably did a fist-pump when I hit record on that bad boy. Or whatever the 1996 version of a fist-pump was.
Only Wanna Be With You - my grade 9 boyfriend allegedly requested this song for me on the radio (although I never heard it) and then dumped me on Easter weekend. WAH.
Lightning Crashes - nothing like a good cafeteria slow dance to a song about birthing babies and old people dying.
Champagne Supernova - there was a lot of Oasis in those days!
California Love - Out on bail, fresh outta jail, California dreamin'! Soon as I step on the scene I'm hearin' hootchie screamin'! Tupac knew how to say it with style.
No Diggity - Another school dance gem. Play on, playette.

Hoooo doggies, mama's feeling aged now. Time to go put on my Adidas track pants and Esprit t-shirt and drink some Crystal Pepsi and maybe eat some McDonald's pizza because I AM A 90'S DINOSAUR.

Last week I bit the bullet, whipped out my Visa and registered for the Blue Nose half marathon. Now that I'll be losing 60 bones if I wimp out and talk myself out of running, I think I'm much more likely to actually do it. Still, clicking submit on the registration form made me dry heave a little.

This week's training went pretty well, but sadly it was all on the treadmill. Even on days when it wasn't a gazillion degrees below zero, the sidewalks are still a mess. Since the run will be taking place in late May, when there won't be any snow (THERE BETTER NOT BE!!) I figure that running in snow and ice isn't going to prepare me any better than the treadmill will, and there's more of a chance of me bailing and hurting myself. So I stayed inside, where it's warm and dry. And boring.

Last week looked like this:

Monday: Rest.
Tuesday: 5K, 00:26 (an 8:22 pace) plus 15 minutes on the elliptical.
Wednesday: 4-mile pace run, 00:36. Major stomach drama for the first three miles and I was really tempted to just quit.
Thursday: 5K, 00:28 (9:00 pace). I did the very hilly program on the treadmill. This run was slower than I'd have liked because yet again I was trying not to projectile vomit and felt like there was a brick in my stomach.
Friday: Rest.
Saturday: 9 miles, 1:20 (8:55 pace). I was happy with this run although I was next to the world's stinkiest man who was power-walking and stopped every four or five minutes to STRETCH HIS ARMS ABOVE HIS HEAD and emit visible clouds of BO. It didn't feel disgustingly hard, just boring. I watched the Flip This House marathon and attempted to not pass out from inhaling the fumes off Captain Sweat Stains to my right.
Sunday: Cross training day. I walked the dog for 45 minutes? Does that count?

Boo-urns to the stomach issues Wednesday and Thursday. I'm pretty sure I'm just not giving my food enough time to settle before I start bouncing it around in there.

During the week, with Pete's work schedule and the baby duties, I need to go to the gym in the evenings - morning and daytime won't work. Pete gets home between 6:00 and 6:30 most nights, and Eli goes to bed by 7:00. We usually try to eat dinner before we get Eli ready for bed, then I head to the gym around 7:30. That gives me about an hour for my food to digest, but clearly that's not enough time. Neither of my meals those days were particularly big or rich or heavy. One was a turkey sub and the other was sushi.

On Saturday, we went out for breakfast and I had a big omelet, toast and some homefries and I was fine running even with all that food. I also waited about two hours before I went to the gym, so I'm guessing two hours is the magic number.

So this week, I'm going to try to wait and have dinner when I get back from the gym and just have a snack before I go to tide me over, like some almonds or a banana. I want to get to the root of this problem before May so I know exactly what and when to eat before tackling the half. The last thing I need is to be yakking my brains out at Mile 2 on race day.

It's me, Eli of the magnificent hairdo. It's been a big week for me. In addition to goo-ing and gaa-ing and your basic everyday crying, I have also learned to shriek and squeal for sustained periods at an ear-piercing volume for no apparent reason.

What else has been happening? I've been perfecting my rolling-over skills. I'm obsessed with my feet. And I suckered my parents into buying me a $150 Exersaucer that took an entire evening to put together. Mwahaha...and this is only the beginning. Exersaucer today, new car tomorrow.

I breathed a little happy sigh of relief flipping the calendar to March this morning. Seeing the ass end of February always puts a smile on my face. There IS an end to winter in sight.






Daylight Savings Time is like a holiday for me. Complete with hearts and a sun wearing sunglasses. Get over here, DST, so I can give you a big open mouth kiss and make some little sunshine babies.