10. Mercedes Marathon

I ran a marathon yesterday. I can't believe it happened! On Friday evening I was looking up the phone number for the hotel to check into their cancellation policy. Less than 36 hours later, I was in Alabama running in a marathon. It's crazy to me. I had been sick for the entire week before the race and even stayed home from school for one of those days. Friday after school I went home and went straight to bed because I didn't have the strength to even be standing up. I went a long way from that moment to Sunday morning. I was really happy that I woke up able to breathe normally on the day of the race, and that my throat didn't hurt too much. I definitely was not at full strength, but I was good enough.
We woke up less than an hour before race time. Slowly got ourselves ready and left the hotel 15 minutes before the gun went off to start the race. It was nice being able to relax before everything began without having to worry about logistics of parking and travel. Just before the start of the race, my hands were shaking and I was nervous about being able to finish, but I knew I had to give it a try.
For the first half of the race (13.1 miles), I did pretty well. I kept at a pace that I would have been happy with whether I was sick or not. The second half didn't go as well. I kept thinking about how I knew I couldn't over-do the race and run myself into the ground because: 1. I was sick 2. I didn't want to get more sick and have to miss more school 3. We had a 10+ hour trip in the car home and I needed to be in good enough shape to keep Matt awake/entertained 4. I had to drive for some of the way home and if I pushed myself, I wouldn't have been able to drive. I'm glad I didn't over-do myself and was able to finish the race and make it home safely.
Overall, it was a fun and I'm surprised and happy to have been able to do this with my brother.

Birmingham

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for Birmingham with my brother. We've got a race down there. It should be interesting! We're leaving at 5 a.m. Saturday and getting home around midnight on Sunday night. Yep, down and back in about 43 hours! More than half of our trip will be in the car. It's going to be worth it though. Just wait until you see what the medal looks like. (pictures will follow) Boy am I glad we celebrate President's Day on Monday!

47. Go out on a date with Melissa every other month

Melissa and I got out without the girls the other night. It was nice. Her brother had laundry to do so he volunteered to come over and watch the girls for us. It was a nice chance to get out, do some shopping and get dinner without distractions. We went to Chili's. It's a pretty easy place to go. I always know there will be something I like. I was considering getting something really weird (for me at least) to knock out goal #21 (Eat a meal I normally wouldn't try), but the chicken crisper tacos looked too good to pass up. They were good and tasty. I don't know if I will have them again, but they were good enough for a try.
After Chili's, I went out to a Redbox, (If you haven't discovered Redbox yet, check it out. It is only $1 a night to rent. We love it.) and picked up the movie The City of Ember. It is based on the book which I read to my students over the past few weeks and I wanted to check it out. It was a really good movie. I felt like a lot of things were left out of the movie that needed further explaination, but it was good. I think this is the first time I have read a book first, then watched the movie afterward. I have to say the book is much better.

Oh No!!!

Centsports changed it's cash out policy and the new formula has you needing to get up to $20 in order to get the money. For those of you who don't know what centsports is, I have written about it in the past. My previous goal felt lofty because I needed to turn 10 cents into $10. My new goal is turning 10 cents into $20. Yikes! I have fun making bets on the site, it helps me keep up with different sports, but overall, it's frustrating. Lately, the best bet is to go against my beloved Chicago Bulls. It's tough betting against your own team, but goal #84 has me needing to win any bet I can. Lately, that one has been a sure one. I've got over 800 days to keep trying at it. Wish me luck.

18. Make nice dinner 1 time each month

I made dinner tonight and thought it was quite good. I had been on a streak of using the crock pot for awhile and decided to change it up. Tonight I went out and fired up the grill. Yep, weather.com has the "feels like" temperature at -4. I will start by saying that I have a gas grill so it isn't as difficult to get it started, but I was still freezing. I had moments where I felt like Bill Cosby on a memorable episode where he is cooking bar-b-que on the coldest day of the year. The reason I wanted to fire up the grill is because it just got a new book titled, Weber's Big Book of Grilling. It's a good book. I've enjoyed reading it. It's a lot more than just a cook book. I'm learning how to grill. I felt like I had a decent grasp of it, but now I have a better understanding of why some things happen the way they do in the grill. I'm excited about possibilities of future meals to come.
As I was reading, I came across the section about how to cook a burger and how to prepare them. After reading that section, I don't know how you could ever get yourself to not want to eat a burger. I found a recipe for a Guacamole Cheeseburger. It is a burger, mixed with a bunch of herbs and spices; it is topped with Monterey Jack Cheese, and it uses a guacamole spread on top of it. It was delicious. I was actually concerned that I may not have cooked it right because it was really dark when I grilled it, but I just trusted the book and cooked it the way it said and it turned out great.
I knew I would need a side, so I figured to check out the side dish section of the book. I came across a recipe for Twice-Grilled Potatoes. I didn't actually grill them twice. I baked them once, then grilled them the second time. They were infused with ham, sour cream, and a couple of spices. This meal was definitely one that I would cook again.
I have to say, I'm glad I put this goal in. I'm enjoying cooking and think I am learning stuff as I go along. It's nice to tell Melissa that she doesn't have to cook. It's even nicer to tell her that and to serve something more than just pizza from the freezer.

A lame post

I watched two movies last week. As I am getting more of the Academy Award winners watched, I am realizing that I don't know what it takes to make a good movie. I watched Out of Africa and Forrest Gump. First off, Forrest Gump is a movie that I could probably quote start to finish with only a few mistakes. I enjoy that movie and could find myself watching it over and over. Out of Africa wasn't as much of an attention grabber to me. I've talked with a few people that have seen it and liked it, but I don't know what I was missing. I'm glad I watched it, but I don't know what made it the best movie of 1985.
I've got 7 of the 29 movies I have to watch done. Next on the list is Amadeus from 1984. We'll see what that one has in store for me.

I went out on a date with Melissa

I went out the other night with Melissa. Just Melissa. It was nice to get away. It wasn't exactly the most exciting date, but in all honesty, any time away without the girls is a cherished time. My dad and his wife came over and watched the girls for the evening. We were told that the girls were good.
For our "date", we visited Josh and Jenean, Melissa's brother and sister-in-law, and from there went to The Container Store. Yep, hot date to The Container Store. I wasn't so impressed with the store, but I'm told people who like to organize things think it is great. We followed that stop with a trip to Giordano's pizza. We got a deep dish pepperoni pizza and it was delicious. While we were out we had intentions of going to REI, but it was too late and they had closed so I settled with Dick's Sporting goods. It's nice to just walk around those places. I can not wait until the canoe trip! Lastly, what could a date be without a trip to Target?
It was really nice to get away and to not worry about what was going on at home. I'm glad the girls gave my dad no problems. Can't wait until the next time away.