Determined. To Be…

…a runner, a sister, a lover…living a fit and happy life.

Tag Archives: random


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A glimpse into my brain – it’s like a ping pong in there.

Today is one of those days where my mind is just going a mile a minute. I have a bunch of posts half-written, either in my head, or in draft form. I have a few topics I want to write about later this week that tie into anniversaries of certain things. I want to write. Yet, a bunch of half thought out topics doesn’t much for a blog post make.

Unless…

I just give ya a glimpse into my brain. Because, quite honestly, it’s like a ping pong in there. Stuff flying all around. Dizzying, really.

But funny too.

So, take it or leave it, here’s what’s flitting through my brain at any given moment today (this girl wrote a fun one of these a few weeks ago…similar to that!).

  • I really need to buy more plain Chobani yogurt. Funny how it doesn’t taste as plain/tart as it used to. My palette is changing. Again.
  • Man, I’m traveling a lot soon. Second week of April (Chicago), second week of May (Atlanta), third week of May (Costa Mesa)…not to mention upcoming vacations. Oy? But fun?
  • OMG I can’t concentrate today. It’s so nice out. 
  • Why do I feel the need to use three different web browsers at any given time? (seriously, I think I have multi-tasking issues…)
  • This apple has been sitting on my desk for a week. Where did it come from? (wtf?)
  • OMG I can’t concentrate today. It’s so nice out.
  • I seriously check TweetDeck like every 5 minutes, but I don’t even read tweets every time. It’s like some weird tic or something.
  • I’ve decided lentils are my new favorite ‘bang ‘fer your buck’ food calorie- and flavor-wise. Um, yum.
  • I really need to stop looking at Pinterest during lunch, everything looks so damn good.
  • I wish I could swim. Maybe I’d be good at doing tri’s.
  • What am I thinking, I hate races, remember?
  • I have an online shopping addiction. Currently waiting for Bare Escentials, Victoria’s Secret (oh wait, that just arrived), The Limited orders to arrive in the mail. #beingbad
  • I need new sneakers. When can I go to an actual running store. Hmmph. Friday, maybe?
  • I just heard a golf ball being hit. That’s so awesome. (means windows are open and people are playing golf! in March!)
  • I don’t think I could ever *not* work from home. I am so productive.
  • OMG I can’t concentrate. It is so nice out (about that productivity…)
  • I can’t wait for date night in tonight. Oh and wine.
  • Srsly, this wordpress commenting issue needs to be fixed. I miss my bloggy friend comments :/
  • Do people really say “AIs” for action items? I just heard that on a call and wanted to gag. I hate office-speak.
  • OMG I can’t concentrate. It is so nice out.
  • Did you know Juicy Fruit now comes in sugar free in fun flavors? I think I’ve chewed like 20 pieces this week.
  • Man. My hip hurts. Must. Stretch. Want to run tomorrow.
  • UGH, my Outlook email now shows my heinous first-day-of-work picture in every email I send internally at work. Is it vain to ask to change it to a better one?
  • Look! A unicorn.
  • Okay, just kidding on that last one (it was actually a liger).

Re-reading this, I’m thinking it’s pretty lame, but honestly, this is where my brain is at. Ping pong. Ping pong. Tap, tap, tap. Feel free to read, laugh, make fun of me, or disregard. This is how my brain rolls, yo. And I felt like writing about it ;-)

Happy winesday!!

No, I'm not drinking that right now...but I wish I was!


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A WINNING Friday.

For some reason, it’s been a wicked long week (and I’m not even the one traveling this week!) filled with some anxiety, hecticness and overall grumpiness. So I am crawling towards today. Feeling burnt. Feeling drained.

Work has been insanely busy for the past few weeks, and I had a lot of meetings to drive to all over the state. Then we got a shitton of snow (shitton for March, that is!!), which made that even more hectic. I’ve been living, breathing, drinking all things barre n9ne training, training, song downloading, and trying to push away the anxiety and focus instead on the excitement that my first class is on Tuesday! And I’ve just felt like I’ve been running around and overscheduled and just generally anxious about it all. Leading to grumpiness. So anyway.

Soooo I am clearly thrilled that the week is (almost) over and it could always, ALWAYS be worse.  (most of what I am talking about here is all goodness, of course, but how I cope with stress is getting anxious and grumpy…poor M. Boyfriend of the year. Nothing ruffles the man, I swear!).

So I thought I’d end the week with a fun little post of how I’m winning today (but most of these…I’m really not. You’ll see. And laugh.)

Winning this week:

Sushi date with the fabulous Meaghan. Love this girl, swear we just ‘get’ each other. <3

Three solid runs for the run challenge so far this week, one more tomorrow (even if today’s was a wee bit ‘off’ – refer to the below ‘not’ winning!).

Getting my haircut. Something about a little pampering always makes me happy.

Thisclose to booking a few days in December to Bahamas as M has a conference to go to. Free room, just pay flight? *twist my arm*

Making this super delish crockpot recipe last night (by googling the random stuff left in my fridge!).

Scoring a giveaway in the mail today from the beautiful Heather – tons of great freebies that I confess not to know how to use…tips??

Lots and lots of oatmeal. Duh. That’s just a given. <3

Winning (NOT!) this week (and today, in particular!): 

Snow. Enough said.

Accidentally farting in my sleep. Yes, this is TMI…however. We all know how much I rail against ever letting bodily functions go in front of M. EVER. *mortified*

…followed closely by, clogging the toilet. Again (a couple weeks ago I did it, didn’t realize it, and M found it. *shudder*). Another TMI.

Wearing my running crops backwards for my run today. Um, awkwardness. And so uncomfortable.

how I felt with those pants on backwards - the second picture ;-P

(and yes, ladies and gents, all three of these happened just today! Winning on Friday…for sure.)

Snow. That deserves being said again. I mean really. It’s frickin March now peoples.

~

I am almost speechless how glad I am that Friday is here. I’m thinking this may be the common consensus this week, folks.

So tell me…what is making this a WINNING Friday for you? Or a WINNING (not!) Friday for you?? Hope you got a giggle…and enjoy your weekends, friends! Cheers!


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11 randoms x3!

Lee tagged me (and Samantha, and Amanda too!) in this fun post on randomness and I figured I’d throw one together as well, because let’s face it, sometimes we get writer’s block and sometimes the most random posts are the best/most fun, right?

Here goes:

I hate introducing myself to people. Because no matter what, nobody ‘gets’ my first name on first mention. ‘Jillian?’ “Jolee?’ “Jilane?’ It starts to get embarrassing to keep correcting them. I have been known to just let it go after a few times, if I know I’ll never see them again (in an airplane, for example. introducing myself to my seatmate).

I dislike Coldplay. And any whiny band or singer. Adele is another. Absolutely cannot stand her music. In part because she is overplayed on the radio and because I want to jab a fork in my eye. Enough depressing lyrics!

I hate yoga. Even though I know I need to embrace it. It’s on my list. Somewhere (along with learning to swim).

(why are my randoms all hates today?!)

I met George Clooney. I think I’ve said that here before though. When he was filming the Perfect Storm in my hometown. He’s hot.

The split second before M came into the restaurant for our first date, I had this fear that he was going to be some really smooooooth operator. I have no idea why. I just had a fear that he wasn’t going to be what I was expecting. Thank God I was wrong ;)

My first kiss took 30 minutes to actually happen. I was 17. First boyfriend. I was afraid of kissing for fear of doing it wrong. And kept turning away until I got the nerve up (note: he knew this and wasn’t being forceeful, he was just trying to make me comfortable). I can remember every minute of that fear-laden 30 minutes!

My feet are size 8.5. I always wanted the cute shoes in the display that are size 6 and when I request them in my size, they look like boats. Not cool.

I hate talking on the phone. As in shooting the shit, chit-chat. I’ve just never liked it. Not one of those be on the phone for hours types. M isn’t either. Whew ;-)

I have outgrown lactose intolerance. At least I think I have. And that is more exciting than…I dunno, quite a few things. I love cheese. And ice cream. Like whoa.

I say like whoa a lot. Clearly.

I cackle when I laugh. But only when something is REALLY funny. (I also laugh when I’m nervous)

The 11 randoms from Lee:

1. What was (or is) your major in college? Communications!
2. What is your favorite form of exercise? barre n9ne, hands down. (was thisclose to saying running, but I gotta hand it to b arre n9ne!)
3. What’s your guilty pleasure? wine. duh.
4. Do you tell people about your blog or is it sort of secret? quasi-secret. I won’t share it with coworkers or on Facebook, and my closest friends know of it, but I don’t go broadly with it. Most of what I write now isn’t *too* too personal, but some of it is, so I’d rather have a little control over who reads it freely.
5. What food do you hate? This question ALWAYS stumps me! Because I can never think of a food I hate (weird, right? What can I say, I *love* food). But let’s see…octopus would be up there. and I used to hate capers for no real reason (they seemed unecessary to me), but I think I’d like them now, my palatte is ever-changing.
6. What’s the last book that you read? Reading one now – Sister. VERY good.
7. Mac or PC? Mac! All the way!
8. If you could go anywhere on your next vacation, where would you go? Greece. Turks & Caicos, and Tahiti just cuz it sounds exotic (Hi, I just got back from Tahiti! <–how cool would that be to say?!)
9. What habit that you have would you like to change? doubting myself. and biting my cuticles.
10. What’s your favorite beverage (alcoholic or non)? wine. coffee.
11. What’s your go-to dinner when you don’t want to cook? sushi!!

The 11 from Samantha are:

  1. What is your #1 go to workout song? Sexy and You Know it – LMFAO!
  2. If you had to choose 3 foods to eat for the rest of your life (and nothing else) what would they be? cheese, chocolate and oatmeal. 
  3. If you were given an unlimited vacation budget – but it had to be used on ONE trip – where would you go and why? Italy. Because my family is from there and I know I could spend an entire month traveling up and down the coast and to Sicily…eating my way through the country, of course.
  4. What are you more afraid of: snakes or spiders? Spiders. Effing hate those suckers.
  5. Puppies or kitties? Do you have any? Kitties! I love my cats as if they were my children. Well, they are, just of the furbaby variety. 
  6. What dead rockstar would you bring back if you could? Hmm. First one that comes to mind is Left Eye from TLC…haha, though she’s not really a rockstar, but I really liked her!
  7. What is the most random thing you collect (or have collected?)? Um, nothing? I think collecting things just makes clutter. My ex-husband had a hideous (and huge) collection of Transformers. Enough said? 
  8. What one article of clothing (or accessory) do you have to wear every single day? I don’t really have any must-haves? Does a bra count? ;-P
  9. If you could only eat FRUITS or VEGGIES, but not both, which would you choose? FRUIT! I could eat fruit all day and all night. Love them all. 
  10. Beach or mountains? Why? Beach. Nothing better than the sand between your toes…and the sun beating down on your face. Ahh, bliss.
  11. What is your favorite band EVER? Rob Thomas/Matchbox Twenty. Hands down.
The 11 randoms from Amanda are: 
  1. What is your favorite TV show? Chopped! LOL.
  2. Skiiing: downhill, cross country or water (or all/none!) Water, if anything. I’ve never skied in my life, nor have any desire. I fear a broken bone and just never wanted to do it. I have water skied twice and would like to finally do it again this summer in Maine!
  3. Favorite season: winter, spring, summer or fall? Summer, hands down.
  4. Peanut butter or almond butter? Peanut. I love almond (and cashew!), but there’s nothing like peanut butter. I could eat it all day every day.
  5. Did you play sports in high school? Nope. Not a group sport talent in this body of mine!
  6. Who’s your favorite singer/band? Rob Thomas/Matchbox Twenty ;-)  
  7. Country music: yay or nay? Meh. Some is okay, like Rascal Flatts a lot.
  8. What’s your favorite drink at Starbucks? straight up coffee. Or a soy misto. Nothing fancy necessary ;)  
  9. What is your current fitness goal? become barre n9ne certified of course :)
  10. What’s your favorite type of exercise? see above ;-) barre n9ne!!
  11. What’s your dream job? social media manager for lululemon. YES. (lol)

Questions for YOU to answer!

  1. What is your biggest fear?
  2. How tall are you?
  3. How many boyfriends or girlfriends have you had in your life?
  4. What is your favorite food?
  5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
  6. Where are your top 3 destinations you’d like to travel to in your life?
  7. What color are your eyes?
  8. How did you find my blog?
  9. What was the first blog you ever read? OR Why did you start a blog (answer depending on which you are – a reader or a writer, or both!)
  10. iPhone? Droid? Blackberry?
  11. What errand do you hate the most? Or cleaning chore? (me? vacumming. Clearly).

TAGS! I’m gonna cheat and just make some hints suggestions on those I’d love to do this…that haven’t already! (hehe). Stephanie, StartingOver, Heather, Shannon, IntrigueMe, Dorry and Lindsay!

Rules For Bloggers: (follow them if you want, but obviously, I took liberties with mine! Rules are meant to be broken, right?)

1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them that you’ve tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about ‘you are tagged if you are reading this.’ blah blah blah, you legitimately have to tag 11 people


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It’s Friday and I wanna be random.

I wrote one of these random posts awhile back and sometimes a cluster of random springs to mind and the content is so priceless and well, uh, random, I might as well write it down ;-) Here ya go…some randomness from me on this fabulous Friday!!

~~

I would rather run a ‘milestone’ mileage than a random one. What do I mean? For example – 3 miles or 5 miles, but not 4. 4 feels like an odd number to run and 3 and 5 both feel like milestones for some reason (5K and 5 miler?) and 4 just sorta hangs out there. Even though 3 miles is less than 4, I feel more accomplished hitting that than 4, but of course, more accomplished if I hit 5. Weird, yes? But this is random for ya.

I literally have at least 4 lip glosses in my purse, plus two chapsticks (various flavors and brands), another lip gloss on my coffee table, bureau and desk (plus another chapstick). Any less than this amount and I panic.

I need food ‘backups.’ Well, and gum. Always need at least two packs of gum, 2 1/2 gallons of milk, 2 jars of peanut butter, 2 containers of oatmeal/steel cut oats, and at least two chobani yogurts at all times.

I used to like vacuuming, but now hate it. Odd for me, since like I said, I used to like it. Something about putting the cord back on the vacuum after. Just annoys me.

I must put at least three layers of chapstick on before I go to bed and if M kisses me goodnight *after* I put it on, I must reapply. And turn my fan on, no matter what season. I get hot (M is a human furnace, I’m convinced), and like the white noise.

I hate a messy sink. For example, if M feeds the cats, he uses a spoon (I however, use a knife…and don’t understand how any other utensil could work better. A spoon and food gets stuck in it, a fork, same thing, a knife? Clean cut – 1/2 for each cat!), and then sprays it with the faucet and cat food bits get all over the sink. Ick. See? Messy sink.

I refuse to uh, ‘release gas’ in front of anyone. And I mean anyone. I will hold it till the cows come home. I will hold it till I am miserable. Gimme a bathroom with a door and I’m good, but in any public domain, no.freaking.way.

I’m pretty sure I could eat peanut butter on toast for every meal of the day. Or cheese. Or oatmeal. Or pizza.

When I get sleepy and am laying on the couch, I do ‘feets’ as Jess playfully calls it, where I rub my feet together. I think we did that as children and that’s where it stems from, but she used to say ‘feets’ when I would do it on the many MANY a weekend I would crash with her and Scott as I adjusted to living alone when I was going through my divorce (side note: I loved those weekends so much sis, such fun memories. XO)

I almost always miss my kneecap when I shave my legs. Even though I shave them, I am convinced the hair just stays put. WTF?

I don’t like liver. Well, that’s not exactly true. I’ve never tried it but am convinced I would hate it.  (come on, that’s a fair point! Liver?!)

Sometimes I’d rather hand-wash my dirty dish than empty the clean dishes out of the dishwasher.

I am a terrible liar. I can’t do it, not even a white lie.

I firmly believe there is nothing worse than going to bed with a song stuck in your head…or going to bed hungry (OR waking up in the middle of the night ravenous, the worst!) ;-)

I think that’s enough random for one post…quick! Tell me something random about YOU and enjoy every minute of this weekend, I know I plan to! Cheers, friends!


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Have you ever?

…wanted to toss out the rule book and start fresh (yet not know how)?

…tried to sit back and just enjoy what you have around you (instead of overthinking every last detail)?

…realized how lucky it is to be alive, have a roof over your head, a steady paycheck and a few nice pieces of clothes (yet sometimes still want more?)

…wanted to be type B for just one day?

…embraced unroutine like it’s nobody’s business (because I need a lesson in that)?

…wondered if past relationships or marriages really affect your decisions or thought processes now (or if it’s just overthinking syndrome)?

…miss old friendships and wonder how they’re doing (but not the drama that came with it)?

And a few randoms…

…had an aversion to putting the dryer lint in the trash (letting it pile up next to the dryer instead)?

…kept an unopened box of reduced fat white cheddar cheez-its (because opening it would spell disaster)?

…wanted a flatter stomach, effortless hair and longer legs (no? just me?)?

…wanted to be a cat or a bird or a penguin for just one day to see what it would be like (or am I just weird)?

…loved the feeling of muscles aching to the point of it being incredibly difficult to sit down (yet still work those muscles again the very next day)?

…hated random words for no reason (like ‘morsels,’ ‘panties’ or ‘gluteals?’)

…thought I was weird?

;-)

~~

I have too much swirling in my brain today, and these are some of the things that scurried past it. Do you have any ‘have you ever?’ additions to share?

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