Couch to 5k

I haven't been nearly as good about exercise since Chris left for his internship; I think it's just been hard for me to keep my habits of stress-eating and depressed-eating at bay. Plus, I've been quite busy!

Anyways, I think part of it is that I've been in need of a new routine or direction. I thought about doing all 30 days of the Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred DVD... but, honestly, I have done that workout DVD SO MANY times that I think I'll be too bored to really get through the whole thing. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love that DVD, and I think it's incredibly effective. I just don't want to do it for 30 days straight.

So, I decided that I'm going to try a Couch to 5k program. It's a running/walking program that starts off very slowly and builds up to a 3-mile run. And it's supposed to be done 3 days per week, which is totally doable. I've never really enjoyed running, but I think that has to do with the fact that I always try to run too fast right off the bat. Plus, I have a knee that has some issues, so I just need to take things slowly and build up to running quickly.

I recently did my first day of the program, and I felt AWESOME afterwards. It was 25 minutes total, with a warmup walk, and then alternating between jogging and walking. Of course, when I did it, it was like 90 degrees outside, but I'd like to think that some of the sweat had to do with the hard work :)

So, hopefully the fact that I decided to tell the blogosphere about my plan will keep me accountable. I'm hoping to incorporate some of the Jillian Michaels DVDs into my week on the non-couch-to-5k days, so we'll see how that goes.

What are you all doing to keep fit? Do you have any tips for me to help me get used to running? Has anyone else tried the Couch to 5k program?

Back to the Garden

First off, happy Memorial Day to everyone out there. I hope everyone is taking a moment to remember what this day off is really for, amongst the shopping and the BBQing.

Chris came home this weekend, but he had to leave Sunday evening. One thing I was excited to show him when he got home was how the veggie garden I planted was doing. I've never tried a garden before, so I'm a bit unexperienced. But, things are growing, which is the goal, right?

I planted carrots:

Squash:



Tomatoes:

Basil:

Spinach:

And lettuce...

Well, there used to be a lovely-looking young head of lettuce there.  two days ago I got to show Chris how proud I was of my lettuce. Then yesterday, when I went out ot water the garden, it was gone. Frowny face. The thing is, I have a fence around the garden:

So, I thought that maybe the many birds in our backyard were rooting around in there, or that maybe there was a mole in the garden or something. But, today, I think I may have found the culprit:

So, my question to those of you with green thumbs is this: Could this guy have gotten under my fence and then back out without really bending it at all or anything? Would he have gotten in there, eaten the lettuce, and then left everything else there? If not, what else could be cherry-picking my lettuce? What can I do to keep my plants safe without putting poison on them?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! It's so rewarding to watch these little soon-to-be-veggies grow!

I See London, I See France...

So, this past weekend, Chris and I drove up to Pennsylvania to see his little sister graduate from college (good lord we're old!). :)

We had a whirlwind weekend full of graduation-type activities and celebrations. I was a little stressed because of the long drives, etc, but mostly it was a great weekend. And it's always a pleasure to spend time with Chris's family; we definitely don't get to see them enough.

I packed a new skirt to wear Saturday and then one of my favorite sun dresses to wear on Sunday. It has a "keyhole" in the front in the shape of a triangle. One of my good friends once told me that it looked like I got stabbed with a Toblerone. So, Chris and I call it The Toblerone Dress. Anyways, that's besides the point.

Toblerone (www.toblerone.com).

The Toblerone Dress. Picture by Laura Smith.

Right as Chris and I were getting ready to leave on Sunday afternoon, his family asked if I would take a picture of them for their Christmas card. Naturally, I said "of course!" Unfortunately, I had on The Toblerone Dress that day, and it was quite windy.

So, as I had my hands up holding the camera, a lovely breeze kissed our cheeks, and then blew up my dress, revealing my bright red underwear with white polka dots to my entire family of future in-laws. I literally died on the spot. Like, really- I'm not actually alive anymore. But, my dead self had to suck it up, laugh at myself, and then keep on snapping photos. Oy. It was seriously a moment out of some kind of sick, twisted movie a la Meet the Parents. Chris was all, "at least you had on underwear..." and I was all "I can't actually answer you because I'm dead."

Have you ever embarrassed yourself in front of your in-laws or SO's family?

Names That Flout Convention: Ryan the Girl Style

Hey guys! What's up?

So, the other day, CNN ran a short little story about people with unusual names. I believe the idea came when Jessica Simpson announced that her newborn daughter was named Maxwell Drew. Then, they asked people to write in about their own experiences. So, being passionate about this subject (obviously! I frickin' named my blog based on that passion!), I decided to write in with my little story. The next day, I got an email from a writer for CNN.com asking me if I would be willing to do a short phone interview. I said, "sure thing!"

So, the article the woman wrote came out today. Here's the link if you're interested in reading it: http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/08/living/ireport-names-identity/index.html. My small part is at the very bottom.

It certainly made me realize that I'm not as eloquent as I think I am! :P Phone interviews don't are certainly not my favorite. Anyways, I thought the article was cool. It was nice to hear about other people's Ryan the Girl Moments (Or Michael the Girl Moments, or Kim the Guy Moments, as the case may be).

I am also obviously not the only person who has been teased because her name doesn't adhere to some preconceived notions of gender in society. And, if you read the dreaded Comments section under the article, you will see that there are a lot of intolerant jerks out there (why do they care what other people name their kids???).

In other news regarding tolerance, I will never be moving to North Carolina, thank yew very much.

In other other news, I'm going to check out a possible wedding venue this weekend! :)