My Next Car

I have found my next car. The Smart Car. I was never a huge fan of the small cars until I got my Aveo. Now, I love 'em. I'm sure people think they are God awful ugly and aren't too safe. I hear you, but it still doesn't stop me from liking them. They've been in Europe for years and they've made their way to America and even to our town. Back to the Aveo, I do wish I waited one more year to get my Aveo as I think they're a much better looking car now, but ah well. I call my car "The Skate." If I were to get the Smart Car, it'd be even smaller than a skate, it'd be a Heely! Not enough room to parallel park, just do a little turn. How cool is that?

You Will Be Missed

Marilyn Butts, Dec. 5, 1924-April 3, 2008

SANDUSKY-Marilyn L. Butts, 83, of Sandusky, passed away unexpectedly early Thursday afternoon, April 3, 2008, in Firelands Regional Medical Center, Main Campus, Sandusky.

She was born in Sandusky, Dec. 5, 1924, and was a 1944 graduate of St. Mary's High School. Marilyn was a licensed hairdresser, having owned and operated Marilyn's Beauty Shop for many years, retiring in 1988.

She was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church where she was an active volunteer. She also volunteered at the State Theatre as an usher. Marilyn was an avid fan of St. Mary's Central Catholic athletics and a true fan of all other sports.

She is survived by three sisters, Eloise Butts, Eileen Roth (Ralph) May, and Mary (Elmer) Kromer, all of Sandusky; nieces and nephews, Daleen Kennedy, Kate Murphy, Mark Roth, Marleen Kromer, Kyle Roth, Valerie Kennedy, Brad Roth, Cyndy Carey, Sharon Wilson, Julie Opfer, Patty Rimboch and Jude Roth; and numerous great and great-great-nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Frederick Russell and Marcella Magdelan (Weltin) Butts; nephew, Steven Kromer; and brother-in-law, Dale "Butch" Roth.

Visitation will be from 3-7 p.m. Sunday in David F. Koch Funeral Home, 520 Columbus Ave., Sandusky. Prayers will be recited at 9:30 a.m. Monday in the funeral home followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in St. Mary's Catholic Church, 429 Central Ave., Sandusky. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Sandusky.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Mary's Catholic Church, 429 Central Avenue, Sandusky, OH 44870, or to the donor's favorite charity.

Your memories and words of comfort may be expressed at dfkoch520@aol.com.

My Six Word Memoir

Any one heard the buzz about the Six Word Memoirs? I was reading my Reader's Digest today and they had a small piece on it (pg 16 April 2008). I didn't think much of it. I read it, enjoyed it, and moved to the next page. Later yesterday afternoon I received an email from a fellow blogger Jamie. Yep, that's right. I've been tagged to make my own Six Word Memoir. Knowing this was going to be a small challenge I decided to research it a bit and also enlisted the help of David. I found out that there's a website and book. Actually, I've passed the book multiple times in my recent adventures in Borders. Once again, I didn't think anything of it. Now it all comes together. So here's the deal in a nutshell: I got to sum my life up in six words. In addition, I then tag 5 people (don't ask me why it's not 6) to do the same. Here are the guidelines:

1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere
4. Tag at least five more blogs with links
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

As stated above, this was an interesting challenge. I like things to be black and white, not in the gray area, so I wasn't sure what direction to take this. Depending on who's memoir you read, they are different. Some are just words, others read like sentences. With that being said, this is what I've come up with:

Never Say Never, Because I Can.

Others included:
Asks Questions To Find The Answers
It's Not As Easy As Before
No Longer Such A Free Spirit
Always Working Towards A Better Life
Think Positive Thoughts and Self Awareness
Mind And Body Aren't Always Allies
Making My Own Path Through Life
Black And White, No Gray Area

David and I got on a roll....we moved on to him next:
Amazing Evolution Of Body And Hair
Everything's going to be alright, chill

Then Viking, our Rat Terrier:
I See A Ball, Let's Run

Natchez, our calico domestic short-hair cat:
Sassy Creole Queen From The Bayou

Jax, our other tabby domestic short-hair cat:
I Make Noise When I'm Hungry
A Little Catnip Never Hurt Anyone

And lastly, Lily, our Chihuahua
Pack Leading Princess With An Attitude
Toothless, But There's Always Peanut Butter

Now it's time for me to tag others to carry on the fun. Originally I had chosen 5 individuals, as the challenge requests, but I've had a request from a co-worker to be included. So 6 people it is. They are:
Erika, Jacki, Joey, Randy, Stephanie, and Therese

Oh What A Morning

I woke up this morning and found that the Weather Channel was right. 3-5 inches was expected and 3-5 inches is what we got. As always, there were drifts that made certain areas shallow while others quite deep. I had to work this morning so I figured I'd get the shoveling out of the way 1st thing. So at 6:30am I was out shoveling the snow, having a jolly good time. It was a thick, wet snow, so needless to say my back is feeling it now. After that I headed in for a warm boal of oatmeal, took a shower, caught up on the goings on online, then decided that it was time to finally leave for work. I did my normal routine where I push the garage button from inside, then get my shoes on, that way I don't wait for the door to open. It went halfway up and stopped. Okay, push the button again. It closed. Push it again and nothing. Uh oh. So I trek outside to the side garage door. Do you think I shoveled that area?? Heck no. That's where I put the excess snow. So much for that as I trudge through the excess snow. The side door is quite old so you gotta use some force to get it open. I get in the garage and push the button in there. It starts grinding with no action. I push it again, still grinding but nothing. Push it again, it stops. Hmmmm. What should I do? I push the button and use manual effort to get the door up and succeed, but only by so much. Yep, it's time to get the husband. Feeling bad, I wake David up on his day off. He recommends taking his car but it's covered in snow. He gets up. While I wait for him I decide to clear his car as much as possible, just to have a possible backup. All the while with the wind blowing the snow right back into my face. Still having a jolly time. When he gets outside we both inspect the door and end up getting it open enough to get my car out. I ended up leaving for work while he started to disassemble the opener. Once I got on the road I found the roads to be a sheet of ice. I got to work safely but driving on an ice skating rink is no fun.

I just got a call from David and he believes he's found the problem....a stripped gear. We're not sure if we'll be able to find the gear but we'll check it out later today. I have a feeling we're avoiding the inevitable. Throughout the past year we've been having on and off problems with our garage door. It will do the whole "close and open right back up" thing and we'll have to mess with it until it actually stays closed. In all honesty we've never found out what truly fixes it as everytime something else tends to "fix" it. Quite frustrating. In addition, within the past 2 weeks it's been acting erratic where I'm not sure if it will stay closed or not. I just never know. So even if the gear is fixable, I still wonder if it's just time for a new opener. And of course if we need a new opener more than likely a new door would be a good idea too. We still have a wood door that's showing it's age terribly. As always, time will tell. In the meantime we're not going to sweat it. You're probably saying, "Heidi, you, not sweat it?!" Yep, you heard right. Don't get me wrong. I want it fixed, but as I've found with so many things recently, things will be fixed whether you worry about them or not. I figured we'll check things out at Sears, Home Depot, and Lowes, but it's not like I'm going to be on a mission to fix this thing. It will be fixed, but for now I just want to enjoy our weekend, even if it's slushy and snowfilled.

Run Boy Run

I'm sure most of you have seen this commercial. I can't help but smile anytime I catch it. I don't necessarily like the commercial, just the song. It reminds me of David. When he was born he didn't have a name for the first several days. Friends of his parents "stole" the name they had chosen a few weeks earlier. They just called him "Boy." It's carried on through the years. In addition, anytime I'm watching sports I tend to yell, "Go boy go!" when a good play happens. Simple minds, simple pleasures? Ah well. Run Boy Run!

103.13

After my run yesterday I have exceeded 100 miles of running from the start of 2008. In the scheme of things it's not much compared to all of those that can run circles around me. And also that I'm technically behind (to date-about 20 miles) for the Diabetic Runner Challenge, due to weather and knee problems. But considering this time last year I wasn't do any type of exercise more than working and sitting at the computer, I'm further ahead than I've ever been in my life. In addition, I know I'll be able to make up for those lost miles in the coming months, I'm sure of it. So here's to atleast 380 more miles for me to complete before the years out.

Mmmm, Donut

I got a run in today. Once again short, but I'm moving my way along. Trying to work my way back up to where I was. I'll get there. I'm still having on and off pain in my knee but feel like I have it under control. It's more often not present, which is definitely an improvement. It's been great to be able to get in more runs lately, even if they are shorter. The fresh air helps to clear your mind and cleanse your soul. Sorry, getting a little earthy on you. But truly, it does feel good. In addition, I don't feel as guilty wanting a little something extra to eat here and there. Although I'm not burning a ton of calories with these short runs, I'm still burning something. I'm looking forward to even warmer weather and healthy knee to run even more often and longer distances. That will come. For now I have my sites set on a goal. That goal is to complete the half marathon. With goals come rewards. My planned reward for myself? A donut. Heck, maybe even donuts. For some reason I've been craving a donut. The puffy kind with chocolate icing and creme filled. I prefer the long ones but a round one will do. Ooh, I can taste it now. It's been awhile since I had a donut. It's just something that we don't do often for obvious reasons. Back in the newlywed, New Orleans days, we'd go down to the Quarter and pass the Krispy Kreme shop with the "Hot Donuts" sign lit. We'd purchase a dozen, eat about 2 each, and then save the rest for the next day or two. Yeah, that's how we got to be our bigger selves. Long gone are those days. No more. I'm not going to lie, I indulge in things. For instance, the awesome piece of Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory this past weekend....but when I put something in my mouth I simultaneously think of what I'm going to have to do to burn it off. The winter months have been harder as expected. You're inside, sitting around, wanting to put every little thing in your mouth, unable to get out and burn it off. Once again, I'm looking forward to the warmer weather to get rid of the "excess." So back to my reward. The donut. There aren't any Krispy Kremes and Dunkin Donuts around here. (In all honesty I'm not that big of a fan of Krispy Kreme anymore. I can't believe I just typed that. I think it's a burnout type of thing.) So the donut will preferably come for the House Of Donuts, one of the local joints here in town. And when the time comes, I'll be ready.

I Will Run 500 Miles

I believe my running is back on track…as of this moment. The combination of the Pro-tec patellar strap along with the glucosamine and using ibuprofen post run has definitely helped me these past few days. As always, only time will tell.

Oftentimes on my runs I take my Sansa mp3 player. I have a variety of tunes in there…instrumental, to hard rock, to easy going stuff. For some reason recently, when I hit a certain part of my route I have a tune that starts up. It’s not everyday or every run, but most times, it occurs near a certain location on one of my routes. Even better, it happens near the end of my route. “I Would Walk 500 Miles….” rings out through my Skull Candy ear buds. I picture my uncles, along with my dad, dancing around the dance floor, having a good time, and I can’t help but smile and turn up the volume. I feel my stride lengthen and my tempo picks up as I drive home. People that drive by probably think I’m crazy as they see my head bopping and my hands beating an imaginary drum. It’s a perfect “power” song for my running. It has sentimental value not to mention I’m also striving towards my goal of 500 running miles this year, for the Diabetic Runner Challenge. I WILL RUN 500 MILES.......

Frustrations

I'm just going to lay it out there. I'm suffering from some frustrations. I won't call it winter blues, because in all honesty I don't feel depressed...just frustrated. I'm not looking to readers for sympathy or negative comments. I just need to get it off my chest and this is where it will be.

The frustrations are plenty and basically I've found that it's a big circle and they feed off of eachother...

I've had some time off from work. I can't complain about that, but our pocketbook will. That then brings up me worrying about finances, which is never a good thing. As with every other instance I'm sure we'll be fine, but it still stinks to have that hanging over your head, always asking, "Do we really need this? Can we go another week without it? Where can I cut from or get extra money from?" Or just trying to space out our spending in general so we don't have a big whammy all at once. I'm sure ya'll know what I'm talking about.

I've also been at a point where I don't know what to do with myself, especially with all the time off. I feel like a waste of space. You can only clean so much, so I think to myself, "What next?" It'd be a great time for a home improvement project(s) but once again you're dealing with the money situation. Not to mention we're at a standstill with the downstairs bedroom. As of this point I think it's something we need to tackle in the spring, allowing the windows to be open to release dust, or even hiring someone to do it.

Alright, no home improvement projects, what next? I'm at a slow point during school, which once again is a good thing, so I've taken up some reading. Don't get me wrong, I've love being able to read, but I also want to be active. It's not like I want to or feel I have to be moving at all times, but I like to feel like I've accomplished something when the day is through. Which leads me to the next thing, running.

With the weather it'd be great to have a treadmill. Not happening....money again. Not only can I not run due to the weather, but even if it was favorable outside or I had a treadmill my running is at a total halt right now. The bottom line is my knee is still bothering me. I stand, it nags, I sit, it nags. No matter what, it's the same ol' thing. I think this is one of my biggest frustrations at this point. I want to be active, I need to be active, but I can't. People around me say, "Go to the doctor." Easy for them to say. As stated in a previous post, when you have limited coverage for this type of stuff you think twice. I understand it should probably be looked at. I recognize that. It still doesn't change my monetary affordability to have it looked at. I've done my research to see if I can pinpoint my symptoms and have it narrowed down. The problem is, depending on which one it is one says, continue performing as normal, whereas the other says, stop, let it rest, then continue. So I think to myself, "What should I do?" At this point I'm not running (obviously) and am supplementing with a Cosamin (Glucosamine + Chondroitin) which comes highly recommended from my boss and ibuprofen. I do think it's helped. Only time will tell.

With this setback I am beginning to question my participation in the Cleveland Half Marathon. With 69 days until the race, there's still time, if my knee issue subsides and I get back into gear. The thing is, I need the knee problem to cease and have enough time to gradually build my mileage back up to where I was at and then some. David has this fear too, as he's been unable to run also. He has the problem where his feet go totally numb and so then he'll lose his footing unexpectedly and tumble. Not to mention, he's truly in pain when all of his limbs go numb just after a few moments, or oftentimes in his case, before he even starts.

Not being able to run and being cooped up has also lead me to having some nutritional issues. Since I'm not burning the calories like I've been, the lbs have started to creep up on me over the past couple of weeks. It's not like I've gained 10-20 lbs, but another frustration. I'll admit that I don't have that great of nutrition whether I'm running or not (darn sweets!), but I definitely can't eat the amount of food I eat when I'm running. So at this time I need to readjust my eating habits and amount, which is never easy, especially when you're trying to cut back. Cross training would be great, although darn near impossible. Not having a gym membership, along with the crappy weather, doesn't give you choices. I just settle with my pilates and crunches. It's something, but not much in the scheme of things.

I think the whole "Wicked" thing this weekend put the cherry on top of my frustrations. Really it's not that big of a deal, especially now that refunds will be issued and our lives are more important than any amount of money, but it's just the point of it. It seems as though when we plan a trip, evet, etc. something happens. Recently it's been the weather. Hawaii...down the crapper for a multitude of reasons, especially weather. David's trip with his dad to Minnesota on Christmas Eve.....terrible snow storm that they had to drive through, which wasn't safe, and the Vikings still lost. And then "Wicked". Bummer. It makes me nervous to plan anything.

Looking ahead to the future, which is hopefully brighter.....Our next vacation is coming in the fall. However, I've been looking at the travel books only to find that October/November are the rainy months in the Caribbean. We knew it was hurricane season, which runs through summer and ends in November, but usually this isn't an issue, as the ship will travel around the storm, and there usually aren't too many, if any, problems. Still, I can only hope that weather won't ruin this vacation. If it does I may just lose my mind.

So that's it. My frustrations in a nutshell.

Refund

Thanks to an anonymous commenter on our blog we found out that we will be getting a refund on this weekend's Wicked tickets that we were unable to use. Whew.....Although we didn't get to see the show, it takes the sting out a bit. The article is below.

CLEVELAND -- Although the shows did go on in Playhouse Square, many patrons couldn't make it to downtown Cleveland for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday performances.
The weather, as well as the threat of arrest, kept many away.

Police in several suburbs and counties declared states of emergency, banning all traffic unless it was an extreme emergency.

Police also would ticket or arrest people who ventured out into the storm without an extreme emergency.

Playhouse Square officials will be issuing refunds for unsued tickets to select weekend performances.

Playhouse Square ticket holders can MAIL their unused tickets in for a refund for the ticket price, but that does not include any fees.

Tickets should be mailed to: Playhouse Square, Attn: Ticket Operations, 1501 Euclid Ave., Suite 200, Cleveland, Ohio 44115.

The deadline to have your tickets mailed back is March 24.

The shows affected would be:
"Wicked" at 8 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m. Sunday.

"Addy: An American Girl Story" at 7 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

"We Gotta Bingo" at 7:30 p.m. Friday; 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Saturday; and 5 p.m. Sunday."

Tickets purchased through a secondary market ticket agency, such as EBay, StubHub, etc. or a group leader, will need to be followed-up with the original buyers of the tickets," Playhouse Square officials said.