I tried to title this post: "These Are the People in My Neighborhood Cool Company"...
But apparently Blogger knew better than me that my Sesame Street reference would be lame - and didn't allow me to use "cross out" text in the title.
The point of this post is this:
I have the great fortune to work with a lot of smart people. The benefit of being a geek is that often you get to work with a lot of like-minded geeks, too! (Many, many of whom are waaaaay smarter and/or geekier than me.)
Maybe my family and some friends don't understand my enthusiasm for the upcoming NerdCon... but it's my people. (All my favorite authors, poets and storytellers.) Patrick Rothfuss, Dessa Darling, Hank Green and Rainbow Rowling will be in the SAME place. But my boss, when I asked for the time off on the Friday of the event totally understood and said: "That looks like fun!"
*Side story: When I read in Patrick Rothfuss' blog on March 27th that the event was scheduled and there were only 3000 tickets - I immediately purchased tickets. (And they aren't inexpensive.) I was REALLY afraid they'd sell out overnight so I purchased my and Lucy's tickets ON March 27th.
So, I've had tickets for over 6 months... but, hey, I needed to be SURE we'd be there.
If you think I'm a geek..please note that, ahem, I am not the person who has already created and documented her entire 2-day NerdCon schedule based on signing times and panels she plans to attend. (I just gave her some of my genetic material. Sorry 'bout that Lucy.) She's already informed me I'm not needed. She'll text me if she needs additional money or if she and her friends are ready for a ride home. Yeah, all good and well unless I'm next in line to have my book signed by Patrick Rothfuss.
I digress. The point of this blog is to mention - I work with some AWESOME geeks and today one of them posted some cool things they MADE for one of our offices. (This is a geek handy with wood, clearly.)
How freaking cool is THAT?!?!
Even better: he shared the tips for how to make it here:
I hate Pumpkin Spice season. Every dang thing at every store is Pumpkin Spice flavored or scented from Coffee to Hand Sanitizer.
My change of seasons probably looks different from everyone else...and not just because I live in the land where snow is possible October through May.
Really, in all seriousness, while living in Minnesota these past 15+ years I have seen measurable snow fall 8 out of 12 months of the year. It doesn't every year - but I have witnessed snow in both October and May and every month in between.
Also, most non-imported (real) Minnesotans believe there are only 2 seasons. Road Construction and Not Road Construction.
My (unique) change of seasons looks like this:
Though I've not illustrated it above, there are magical times of the year (like now) where there is a bit of seasonal overlap.
As the price of strawberries neared $4.00 I knew..and happily exclaimed to my husband: Yay!! That means it must be Caramel Apple season!
This year, peach season extended a bit past it's usual August end-time and so I have the magical overlap of peaches and cream (the cream is my magical cream cheese fruit dip which is usually reserved for "fruit dip" season) AND caramel apple season. It's a very good year.
Soon it will be baking season. For those of you who are not within my baking circumference (I'd say a 100 mile range) you may not know that this begins around the start of November (just after the brief roasted pumpkin seed week and the end of caramel apple season). Baking season usually kicks off with Snickerdoodles then expands to a plethora of cookies on hand of every flavor, size and ingredient until it winds down with just the Karova (aka "Poop Roll Cookies") cookies which we all love and cannot part with even well into the New Year. Baking season is a season of excess. I will bake and give away cookies with wild abandon. My husband complains, we all gain weight..but as inevitable as the snow flakes..baking season comes and does not leave us until nearly what most of Minnesota considers to be High School Sports Playoff/Blizzard time (or the very edge of the beginning of Road Construction season).
There is a dark, dark period just before Easter (unless it's an early Easter). The snow is dirty, the entire State has developed SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and there is nothing but Trader Joe treats like English Toffee to break me out of my stupor.
Then begins Strawberry Pretzel Salad season. This one is dangerous because I've been known to eat myself sick during this particular season. This "salad" is not a salad. It's a strawberry gelatin topped version of cheesecake on a butter and brown sugar pretzel crust. Sweet, salty, butter and sugar overload..it's my kryptonite. I literally eat it three meals a day. Large pieces. (Hence..to the point that my gut says: NO NO NO!! Stop the Madness!!)
Fortunately, I can usually ramp down my addiction by switching over to Culver's Peanut Butter shakes. Peanut Butter shakes tide me over to Mango Smoothie (aka Mango Shake) season..and soon after follows all things Mango infused, which is a sure sign of warmer weather to come. Then we can begin Taco Salad and Fruit Dip season again.
Whew! Another year has passed. Let the magical summer fresh fruit and produce season begin!
So, while everyone else enjoys (or loathes right along with me?) the advent of Pumpkin Spice season...I'll just say: Yay!! It's Caramel Apple Season!!
Yes, this will bore a lot of people. Unless you love running like I do.
Some thoughts on Running
1. If you're not smiling, you're not doing it right. Grimacing, silent, almost angry looking runners that are grunting..okay..fine if you're shooting for a Boston Qualifying time or are an Elite competing for prize money. Everyone else - smile and thank all those race volunteers, police officers keeping the race course clear of cars, water stop helpers and cheer on your fellow runners.
2. Thou shalt not ignore your body. If you feel (real) pain - stop before you injure yourself.
3. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate.
4. Apply Glide then some more..and then maybe a little more Glide. Three applications? That's probably good. This is the Gospel, Amen.
Inexpensive Running Things that You Actually Need
aka: What's really working for me
1. Whole Foods insulated bag.
This one I figured out on accident. It's the right size to toss in the back seat (just guessing, but it's about 23" long by 14" tall/deep. Holds all my running stuff and more - so I can just grab it and go.
When it's empty you can smoosh it down nearly flat.
If you throw a cold drink in there - it stays cold! (That insulated part..)
If it gets dirty you can pull the liner completely out and wipe it down OR throw it in the washer (though I think I've avoid doing that as much as possible to make it last longer).
It has a nice wide carry strap and zip top, and a pocket on the side that is perfect for a protein bar or wallet. When it's in your car, people don't think: "Oooh, laptop bag" or "Gym bag..it might have something valuable!" ..it looks like you went to the grocery store (if they see the logo).
AND, best of all..they're cheap. I think it was $14?
2. Foam roller. Yes, you need one. You can get one really inexpensively at Target. So worth it - and you don't have to spend a lot to get a lot of benefit.
3. This one is for the girls: Sweaty Bands. This is not a paid endorsement. This is LOVE. These are literally the only thing I've found that truly will not budge when you're running AND absorbs sweat and the velvet inner lining feels nice. These are durable after lots of (hand) washing and nothing else I've tried has measured up to the grip & comfort of these hair-holders.
Bonus: This is a Woman owned (and founded) Cincinnati based company. Your purchase supports a Made in USA, hand-sewn Ohio based-business!
Not so inexpensive stuff, but stuff that I LOVE:
1. I resisted replacing my FitBit One because although it was "old" it was trusty. I'd had a Flex that was a lemon...so I stuck with what worked. I even quilted myself a new sleep band to hold the One when the old one wasn't working.
When I joined a running club I saw more people had a running watch. I wasn't really interested in a honking big Garmin and it sure didn't look like a watch I could wear all day everyday. The Apple Watch was never a consideration - not only because of price..but also because it's 1st Generation technology and seems to scream "I'm an arrogant techy person" to me somehow.
So, I tried the FitBit Surge. Worth every penny. It does everything (and more) my One did - and hasn't been a let down. (Yet).
It let's me control my music (skip songs) from my wrist on my iPhone, and let's me know my average pace, how long I've been running..and then syncs up to show me the course I ran (it's a true GPS watch).
It ALSO is a "smart" watch. It can wake me with vibrations (silent wake up), can show me an incoming text (full length), vibrates when a call is coming in (and has caller ID).. so I don't miss calls even when my phone is buried in my purse or I've failed to take it off silent mode. During my 1/2 marathon Jeff was able to text me encouragements as I ran. SO AWESOME.
Plus, I was already familiar with FitBit and it works with MFP (My Fitness Pal, which I use religiously) so-it was nice to stay with familiar tools in that sense.
2. Bluetooth headphones. I got the Mpow Cheetah. I did this originally while I was treadmill running because I could never seem to not end up tangled up with the cords or getting the phone yanked off the treadmill or ripping the cord out of the phone mid-run.
These have been great. Durable, don't get in the way of anything, intuitive volume control and mute..and they let me answer calls if someone calls me while running! (Apparently the sound quality for people who call me is good, too.)
3. Spi-Belt. To hold your phone. My running club buddies told me a few horror stories that convinced me to (almost) never run without a phone. And.. the phone is what provides my running sound track. (Sometimes some inspiring tunes are needed.) Occasionally (when I'm on a short run with no dangers and lots of people around me - like my club's group runs) I'll skip the belt. Otherwise - it's invaluable.
