Marathon-a-rama!

Megan's mom Pattie and her friend Luanne are in an online photo gallery! They race-walked the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon and were snapped by a Daily Oklahoman photographer and featured on the front page of the sports section. Pretty cool! Below is the copy from the web site. Click to see the rest of the images.


Marathon runners Luanne Hale and Patricia Jarolim, from left, make their way down the final stretch to the finish line during the eighth annual Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on Sunday , April 27, 2008, in Oklahoma City, Okla. PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER

Also, Megan and I ran in the Ravenswood Run, a 5k in our 'hood. It was my first race, and I lived! Actually, it was kind of fun. I actually beat Megan! Thanks to Flickr user SFMoe for the race pic.

Rain Rain Go Away

Day 2 of cold, rainy Chicago spring weather. It wouldn't be so bad if we weren't totally spoiled with a warm, sunny, beautiful Saturday. The bad news is that we're scheduled to get even more rain tomorrow, which could make my Fartlek Run (for explanation, see a couple of posts down) with my running group even more unbearable. We both had a major case of the Mondays. The internet was down all day at John's job. When he's having down time, which he is right now, the internet is what gets him through the day. I just had a normal crazy Monday, but those are never good. Hopefully this week will improve!

Laughing Out Loud on the El

I am in the middle of a really great book, It Sucked and Then I Cried by my fave blogger, Heather D. Armstrong. John and I have been avid readers of Armstrong's blog, Dooce for a few years now. She's a talented and witty author, and her new book does not disappoint. The book chronicles her pregnancy with her daughter, Leta, her battles with depression, and a brief stint in a mental hospital after her daughter's birth. While Armstrong acknowledges the seriousness of her depression, she recounts her experiences with entertaining sarcasm and wit. I often find myself laughing out loud during my morning commute at her tales of baby poop and how the most common word in new mothers' vocabulary is 'boob.' Heather is a really great mom, and I've enjoyed this closer look at her early parenthood experiences.

Beautiful Day and a 5K

It has been a gorgeous couple of days in Chicago - just in time for my mom to visit. I haven't seen her since mid-January, and this is literally the longest I've gone without seeing her, including the time when I spent a semester in Italy. I escaped work a little early yesterday (barely), and we did a little shopping on Michigan Avenue before heading back to the neighborhood for dinner.
This morning we ran the Wrigley Start Early 5K in Lincoln Park, and weather was absolutely perfect for the race!

Mom, me, and Beth (coincidentally, we ran in to her on the way to the race) after
we finished -- note the Starbuck's van in the background.

Sponge Bob Controversy

For the past couple of days, the news programs I regularly watch (including my beloved Today Show), have been airing segments on the new Burger King commercial, featuring Sponge Bob Squarepants, some dancers, and Sir Mixalot singing a re-worked version of "Baby Got Back." Apparently, a lot of parents are up in arms about the allegedly scantily clad dancers in the commercial, and for some reason this is newsworthy. I really think that there are more important things for parents to worry about than dancers in a kids meal commercial, such as how much television their children watch and childhood obesity. Honestly, when I think back to when I was six years old, I probably could have cared less about this commercial. The dancing ladies in their hotpants would not have turned me into a floozy. In fact, I probably would have been too busy thinking about other important things, such as how many squirts of Electric Youth perfume to put on, or who was cooler -- Barbie or She-Ra Princess of Power. I guess that I'm just frustrated because parents these days seem to worry about so many more unimportant things than my generation's parents did, and I don't think that our parents' lack of worry about such things as this silly Sponge Bob commercial made us any less likely to succeed.

Okay, off the soapbox for now...

Yoga 101

John and I have been taking a beginner yoga workshop for a couple of weeks. I actually attended the workshop in 2007, but I'm back for moral support for John, who really wants to become more flexible. We go to this really great studio in our neighborhood called Bloom. Not only does Bloom have lots of classes each week, but they also have several other non-yoga activities, like belly dancing, knitting, and parenting classes. The owners are really nice, and they actually live in the neighborhood, so it's a true local business.
I sort of fell of the yoga wagon last year, but I'm definitely ready to get back on. I've been doing lots of running in preparation for my upcoming half marathons, so all the stretching feels great. And yoga is a great de-stressor, which of course I really need. I definitely recommend the various programs and workshops at Bloom for anyone in the Chicago area wanting to take up a yoga practice.

Hoppy Easter!

We were heathens and did not go to church this morning. We haven't really found a church that we're wild about, so we figured we would just stay home instead. We met our friend Kristen (who was not a heathen this morning, and even ushered TWO services at her church) for brunch at Bin 36 downtown. When I made the reservations a few weeks ago, I didn't know that there would be a special Easter buffet rather than the usual Sunday brunch menu. After we got there and sat down, I saw the buffet and was immediately disappointed. I am fundamentally against buffets -- they remind me of that Old Country Buffet place in the mall, or Golden Corral, and are generally fat magnets. And unsanitary. So, not only was I annoyed that the buffet was my only option, BUT I saw that it was $38 per person! And I had a mimosa on top of that! So, one hour and $150 dollars later...
We've been pretty lazy the rest of the day. John's been perfecting his guitar skills on Rock Band for the Wii, and I've been squeezing in some work so that I can take most of Friday off and hang out with my mom, who comes in town Thursday night.
Hope everyone had a fun Easter!

Us, after not eating our money's worth at the buffet. At least Kristen took
home that little fruit trifle in her purse...

I am the queen of holiday-themed dish towels. My grandmother sent me this
super-cute Easter towel this week.