Friday, February 27, 2009
New Fundraising Endeavor
After my two trips last year to New Orleans where I volunteered for the St Bernard Project, I've wanted to do some fundraising locally. Maybe a bit of help from upriver on the Mississippi to our neighbors to the South? I had considered trying to organize an event but after some late changes it was decided that it wouldn't be a go in time for Mardi Gras. The other thing that has been taking up a bit of time for me lately is running and training with a group for a few half marathons. I was thinking that with all of the charity events out there it would be good to just pick an event and a charity. After just a bit of googling I found a way to do this! There is a tool called Firstgiving and they allow a person or group to set up a website where they can accept donations for any non-profit as long as it is a registered 501(c)3. So... I now have a website and hope to raise $1000 for the St Bernard Project by the time I do the Stillwater 1/2 Marathon in May. Check it out and pass the word on! Thanks!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Upcoming Events
I've been on a registration bender lately and have signed up for lots of events. The first one is the Get in Gear Half Marathon on April 25. My friend Jen is doing that one with me but as I'm slow and she's fast, that just means that we'll see each other at the beginning and end. It's pretty cool because it's the first time Get in Gear has had a half marathon. They always have a 5k and 10k and the route is right by my house. It starts at Minnehaha Falls and then does a loop around the Mississippi. Since April can be questionable for weather (last year it snowed for Get in Gear), it will be interesting to see how it goes. For the most part I'm going to treat it as a training run for the Stillwater Half which is on May 24. The other event I signed up for isn't until September but it fills up so I figured I'd better get my registration in while it was cheaper. That one is the Irongirl which is a duathlon. It's a 2 mile run followed by a 22 mile bike ride followed by another 2 mile run. I know a lot of people that have done it in the past and have really enjoyed it. I've never done a tri or duo so it will be a new experience. I don't think I would ever do a tri anyway since that involves swimming. Yuck!
Most of my recent events have been due to my participation in the running club at The Running Room. It's a great group and the coach asked me to be a group leader for the back of the packers. Slow running while chatting with nice people, life can't get much better. We go running for 3 or 4 miles on Wednesday and Thursday evenings and do longer runs on Sundays. Our training program for half marathons just started a few weeks ago so our Sunday runs are still pretty short. We add a mile or so each week and our last long run was 6.25 miles on Sunday morning. Next week is 7. Sweet!
The only other registration I need to get done is for my volunteer activities during the summer, specifically the Red Ribbon Ride and probably the Breast Cancer Ride. The Red Ribbon Ride is near and dear to my heart and even though some of my friends are taking this year off, I'm pretty sure I'll take part in some capacity. The Breast Cancer Ride is newer and although the cause is not as dear to me, some pretty good friends work on it and as long as it's just a Saturday and Sunday event, I would guess that I will eventually sign up.
After all that talk of activity, I do have to fess up that I ate a lot of chocolate today in my effort to get it out of my system before I give it up for Lent tomorrow. Getting my love of chocolate out of my system, now that's funny. Not possible at all.
Ok, off to watch the Presidential Address to Congress...
Most of my recent events have been due to my participation in the running club at The Running Room. It's a great group and the coach asked me to be a group leader for the back of the packers. Slow running while chatting with nice people, life can't get much better. We go running for 3 or 4 miles on Wednesday and Thursday evenings and do longer runs on Sundays. Our training program for half marathons just started a few weeks ago so our Sunday runs are still pretty short. We add a mile or so each week and our last long run was 6.25 miles on Sunday morning. Next week is 7. Sweet!
The only other registration I need to get done is for my volunteer activities during the summer, specifically the Red Ribbon Ride and probably the Breast Cancer Ride. The Red Ribbon Ride is near and dear to my heart and even though some of my friends are taking this year off, I'm pretty sure I'll take part in some capacity. The Breast Cancer Ride is newer and although the cause is not as dear to me, some pretty good friends work on it and as long as it's just a Saturday and Sunday event, I would guess that I will eventually sign up.
After all that talk of activity, I do have to fess up that I ate a lot of chocolate today in my effort to get it out of my system before I give it up for Lent tomorrow. Getting my love of chocolate out of my system, now that's funny. Not possible at all.
Ok, off to watch the Presidential Address to Congress...
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Minneapolis in Winter
I don't actually have a video camera but came across this youtube video that shows winter scenes from the lakes here. The first section is Lake Harriet which is one of my favorite places on earth, especially during the summer when the bandshell has a different concert every single night. Then you can see the paraskiing on Lake Calhoun which is cool to watch.
Today was the Valentine's 5k at Lake Harriet which was fun. Definitely a little warmer than the Reindeer Run there a few months ago although a bit colder than it has been lately. It seems we get spoiled by temperatures a little warmer pretty quickly. Unfortunately it's been so warm and now cold that ice rinks have been appearing wherever there's a low spot. The city does a great job of clearing the trails and roads but the grassy areas of parks collect water and there isn't a real way to avoid it unfortunately. It's just this time of year.
In other adventures, I bought new pots and pans at Costco last night. I didn't have a real set and the ones I had were all scratched up which I guess means that they shouldn't even be used anymore. However, in true Jen fashion I have injured myself before even using them. I put a nice cardboard cut in the tip of my finger while putting the box in the cart. Bummer... I am excited about them though because they have the exact specifications I was looking for which was glass lids and coated handles. Now to try them out!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Ellen's Phone Call
In order to have something posted other than words, I'm adding one of the funniest videos ever. I think Ellen Degeneres is great but this video shows that she is at her most hilarious when she just finds a way to bring out the comedy in others. The woman on the phone will have you laughing out loud. Enjoy!
Running and Rosa Parks
No, those two things aren't related. Last night our running clinic started again. Last September/October I started the half marathon clinic to train as I hadn't ever done one before. Unfortunately I still haven't. My longest training run was about 11 or so miles but the weekend of the Frozen Half was definitely frozen and the half was cancelled. My friend and I decided to do the 5k instead as long as it wasn't going to be the 1/2 anyway. Now I'm training again in hopes of doing either the Fargo or Stillwater 1/2 or if I'm really good, maybe both. They are May 8th and May 24th respectively. It's getting warmer and with the exception of some days of watching your step, running is getting more fun every day.
I finally decided to rent Tropic Thunder and was planning on watching that tonight. I had done a happy hour spin class instead of getting up early for the gym so I'm just vegging tonight. Tomorrow I volunteer at Open Arms as I do every week and I think I might check out R.T. Rybak's mayoral re-election campaign kickoff as it's at the theater just two blocks up from me. I've never been involved in mayoral politics but I think R.T. has done a great job with the limited resources he has had and he's a very genuine guy who loves the city more than almost anything else I think which is a big component of his job.
Finally, to get to the Rosa Parks part of the story... I realized that The Rosa Parks Story is on TV and I couldn't bring myself to watch a comedy when civil rights history is on. It's pretty well done with excellent acting (Angela Bassett plays Rosa Parks) and the thing I like best about it is that it shows her as a civil rights activist throughout her life which is often forgotten. Refusing to give up her seat is one of the many things she did throughout her life to fight segregation and bigotry and it was far from the first time that she had done so. Here's another little known fact: A bus seat has room for two and only one white man needed a place. A black man had already stood up and Rosa Parks had slid over to accomodate him but it was demanded that he have the whole seat since it was unacceptable to have to sit on the same seat with a colored person. (using the language of the time) The movie also doesn't gloss over the fact that women were instrumental in making the Montgomery Bus Boycott but sexism prevented them from becoming known. JoAnn Robinson was a professor who organized students to print and distribute flyers to alert the community to the incident and the boycott and the movie mentions her if only briefly. One other last tidbit: Dexter King plays his father, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and while he's not known for being an actor he is Dr. King's most handsome son.
I finally decided to rent Tropic Thunder and was planning on watching that tonight. I had done a happy hour spin class instead of getting up early for the gym so I'm just vegging tonight. Tomorrow I volunteer at Open Arms as I do every week and I think I might check out R.T. Rybak's mayoral re-election campaign kickoff as it's at the theater just two blocks up from me. I've never been involved in mayoral politics but I think R.T. has done a great job with the limited resources he has had and he's a very genuine guy who loves the city more than almost anything else I think which is a big component of his job.
Finally, to get to the Rosa Parks part of the story... I realized that The Rosa Parks Story is on TV and I couldn't bring myself to watch a comedy when civil rights history is on. It's pretty well done with excellent acting (Angela Bassett plays Rosa Parks) and the thing I like best about it is that it shows her as a civil rights activist throughout her life which is often forgotten. Refusing to give up her seat is one of the many things she did throughout her life to fight segregation and bigotry and it was far from the first time that she had done so. Here's another little known fact: A bus seat has room for two and only one white man needed a place. A black man had already stood up and Rosa Parks had slid over to accomodate him but it was demanded that he have the whole seat since it was unacceptable to have to sit on the same seat with a colored person. (using the language of the time) The movie also doesn't gloss over the fact that women were instrumental in making the Montgomery Bus Boycott but sexism prevented them from becoming known. JoAnn Robinson was a professor who organized students to print and distribute flyers to alert the community to the incident and the boycott and the movie mentions her if only briefly. One other last tidbit: Dexter King plays his father, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and while he's not known for being an actor he is Dr. King's most handsome son.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
City of Lakes Loppet
I saw the coolest thing today and can't wait for next year to take part again. The City of Lakes Loppet began in 2003 and I actually volunteered that first year as well but haven't since then for one reason or another. It's a cross country race that takes place entirely in Minneapolis and has turned into a full weekend of events. Tonight was the Luminary event which is a nighttime skiing, snowshoeing or walking event for all sorts of people to take part in on the Mall in Uptown and out onto Lake of the Isles. It was gorgeous out there with lots of candles and areas where bonfires, hot cocoa stops, entertainment, etc. were taking place. One of the organizers said they estimated that nearly 4000 people were taking part in just the luminary tonight and who knows how many more were part of the overall weekend of activities. I was bummed that I didn't have my camera here but included a photo here from last year which looked pretty cool.
In both bad and good news, this weekend has included a massive thawing as temperatures were well into the 40s today. Pleasant for being out but the ski trails were being destroyed and have turned into ice. Aah, there is no such thing as perfect conditions...
Thursday, January 29, 2009
25 Random Things About Me
So I'm wondering if this whole blogging thing is really worth it being that my life has been so lame lately. I spend a lot of time on facebook though so I'm recycling here and publishing a list of random things about me that I posted there in response to a forwarded request. Here is more info about me than you ever needed to know. Enjoy!
1. Is currently unemployed and is using that as an excuse to spend my time doing this. (But doesn't expect others to have the same sort of time to waste regardless of the directions above.)
2. Has 13 nieces and nephews and thus do not need any children of my own.
3. Grew up 20 miles north of Bemidji, MN on a small farm but moved into Bemidji and rented an apartment (with my cousin who is a year older) when I was a senior in high school before moving to Washington, D.C. for college.
4. Wanted to run a marathon by age 30, never got around to it but when I hit 30 I started running. The furthest official race so far is 10 miles but I plan on doing some halves this year and have come to believe that 13 miles is a more fun distance.
5. Loves the Minnesota Twins, especially Pat Neshek and Justin Morneau.
6. Hates feet and thinks open toed shoes in public is a trend that never should have started.
7. Went an entire 2 1/2 years without using the oven or stovetop at her apartment but finally gave in recently.
8. Loves travelling and would love to go to Africa again. Kenya is my favorite destination thus far.
9. One of my proudest accomplishments is that after only 3 years I needed to have new pages added to my passport but I'm sad that I've used it hardly at all since then (almost 3 years ago.)
10. Is obsessed with New Orleans especially post-Katrina.
11. Has a thing for Brian Williams. Seriously, I read his blog and usually download NBC Nightly News unless he's on vacation.
12. Met Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore and Tipper Gore (among other politicians including working as an intern for Ted Kennedy) while an undergrad at American University in D.C. In fact, I knew that Ted Kennedy was going to be a grandfather before he did as I overheard his daughter inform her cousin and say she hadn't told her Dad yet. Several months later it was in the Post but I could have sold it way earlier.
13. Loves Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets. I just received my ESPN game ending text update with his stats for the night. I get them after every game.
14. Can waste more time on the internet than anybody I know.
15. Believes M*A*S*H is and always will be the best TV show ever made. The combination of humor and drama and political commentary in a half hour show has never been better. West Wing was the only one that came close.
16. Secretly wonders if the whole MBA thing was really worth it. (See the unemployed comment in #1) But when I remember the friends that I made in the program I can't imagine not doing it as I can't imagine life without them. They are the best.
17. Lived in Tokyo for 1 1/2 years but still only speaks sukoshi Nihon-go and doesn't like sushi.
18. Hates the suburbs and has never lived in one. If I'm going to be in a metro area I'm going to be in the city proper.
19. Has a best friend that I have known since I was probably 11 or 12 but we didn't become friends until I was 23 or so. Since then we have rarely lived in the same location but I can always count on her for a good phone chat or to distract me from work with frequent emails. I always happily return the favor.
20. Recently read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and has been trying even harder to eat locally, organically, etc. (I've discovered the food is waaay better anyway.)
21. Is known for not liking vegetables but likes some of the uncommon ones and dislikes common varieties. No to tomatoes and onions. Yes to broccoli, spinach, peas.
22. Is a liberal Democrat although I'm definitely more liberal socially than fiscally and I'm pretty conservative in my own lifestyle if that makes any sense.
23. Is a freak for Propel in almost all of its flavors. On any given day I typically have orange juice, water and Propel.
24. Adores AVEDA and spends way more money there than any person (especially one who doesn't wear makeup) should.
25. Believes strongly in the institution of adoption and if I were ever so inclined to have children, would adopt a few (kids need siblings) from the foster system.
1. Is currently unemployed and is using that as an excuse to spend my time doing this. (But doesn't expect others to have the same sort of time to waste regardless of the directions above.)
2. Has 13 nieces and nephews and thus do not need any children of my own.
3. Grew up 20 miles north of Bemidji, MN on a small farm but moved into Bemidji and rented an apartment (with my cousin who is a year older) when I was a senior in high school before moving to Washington, D.C. for college.
4. Wanted to run a marathon by age 30, never got around to it but when I hit 30 I started running. The furthest official race so far is 10 miles but I plan on doing some halves this year and have come to believe that 13 miles is a more fun distance.
5. Loves the Minnesota Twins, especially Pat Neshek and Justin Morneau.
6. Hates feet and thinks open toed shoes in public is a trend that never should have started.
7. Went an entire 2 1/2 years without using the oven or stovetop at her apartment but finally gave in recently.
8. Loves travelling and would love to go to Africa again. Kenya is my favorite destination thus far.
9. One of my proudest accomplishments is that after only 3 years I needed to have new pages added to my passport but I'm sad that I've used it hardly at all since then (almost 3 years ago.)
10. Is obsessed with New Orleans especially post-Katrina.
11. Has a thing for Brian Williams. Seriously, I read his blog and usually download NBC Nightly News unless he's on vacation.
12. Met Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore and Tipper Gore (among other politicians including working as an intern for Ted Kennedy) while an undergrad at American University in D.C. In fact, I knew that Ted Kennedy was going to be a grandfather before he did as I overheard his daughter inform her cousin and say she hadn't told her Dad yet. Several months later it was in the Post but I could have sold it way earlier.
13. Loves Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets. I just received my ESPN game ending text update with his stats for the night. I get them after every game.
14. Can waste more time on the internet than anybody I know.
15. Believes M*A*S*H is and always will be the best TV show ever made. The combination of humor and drama and political commentary in a half hour show has never been better. West Wing was the only one that came close.
16. Secretly wonders if the whole MBA thing was really worth it. (See the unemployed comment in #1) But when I remember the friends that I made in the program I can't imagine not doing it as I can't imagine life without them. They are the best.
17. Lived in Tokyo for 1 1/2 years but still only speaks sukoshi Nihon-go and doesn't like sushi.
18. Hates the suburbs and has never lived in one. If I'm going to be in a metro area I'm going to be in the city proper.
19. Has a best friend that I have known since I was probably 11 or 12 but we didn't become friends until I was 23 or so. Since then we have rarely lived in the same location but I can always count on her for a good phone chat or to distract me from work with frequent emails. I always happily return the favor.
20. Recently read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and has been trying even harder to eat locally, organically, etc. (I've discovered the food is waaay better anyway.)
21. Is known for not liking vegetables but likes some of the uncommon ones and dislikes common varieties. No to tomatoes and onions. Yes to broccoli, spinach, peas.
22. Is a liberal Democrat although I'm definitely more liberal socially than fiscally and I'm pretty conservative in my own lifestyle if that makes any sense.
23. Is a freak for Propel in almost all of its flavors. On any given day I typically have orange juice, water and Propel.
24. Adores AVEDA and spends way more money there than any person (especially one who doesn't wear makeup) should.
25. Believes strongly in the institution of adoption and if I were ever so inclined to have children, would adopt a few (kids need siblings) from the foster system.
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