I Can't Complain

What I'm Wearing Friday: July 15, 2011

What? Did you think I only dress up on Wednesdays?  Actually, I was inspired by my friend, Stylishboots, and her WIWW this week. She looked all pretty and summery in her white and yellow, so I decided to try a similar look, but with my signature lime green, instead:

The pants are capri length white twill from Jag, purchased from Amazon - I obviously have them rolled down, for work. The shoes are an old favorite - Bandolino Ibigail, via Zappos, purchased for my trip the DR a few years ago. The earrings are the diamond studs my darling husband bought me for our 10th anniversary, and the necklace is a chip necklace of amethyst, peridot and clear crystal that I bought for a song, from Silver Speck.  The shirt, which I didn't have a picture for, is from Banana Republic.  I wish you could see it better, but I also have a cute blue and lime green polka dot scarf in my hair, purchased on a whim from the Bass outlet. This is a huge departure for me - I'm not normally a headband kind of girl. I also have a white 3/4 sleeve sweater to put on in case the A/C gets out of control in my office.

Also, even my toes match today:

 

I Think That Wizard Kid Lives Up the Street

You know the one... he has that funny scar on his forehead....

I know what you're saying.... "Why would a British wizard be living in Columbia, South Carolina?  And if he did live in Columbia, why on earth would he live in YOUR crazy neighborhood?  And why I am I even reading this crazy blog?!"

But I KNOW it's true.  This morning when I was out running in the dark of night, in the inferno that is a Columbia summer, all of the street lights on the block went out simultaneously. Then a few minutes later, they came back on, one by one, as if someone had used a Deluminator on them. 

See....?  What else could it be? It's Occam's razor, folks... the presence of a British wizard living in the southeastern United States is clearly a far more simple explanation than a power brown-out (or running-in-the-heat-related demential)? Right?

I know, it's so cool. Try not to be envious, mkay?

On Five O'Clock in the Morning

This morning I got up and did something different - I ran. Without anyone even chasing me.  Okay, to be fair, I ran for 30 seconds, walked for 90 seconds, ran for 30 seconds, walked for 90 seconds until I'd been in motion for 20 minutes and circled the block half a dozen times.  Those of you who actually run for fun (though frankly,, right at this moment I'm having a hard time believing anyone finds this fun) may recognize this as the first week's intervals in a couch to 5K program. 

Honestly, I don't think I really qualify as "couch" material (but if I were, I'd be a nice chintz, I think).  I work out pretty regularly and rigorously, and my cardio health is quite good.  But I was getting a little bored with the same old, same old every morning, and a nagging shoulder injury has sort of sidelined me from my usual stuff, so I decided to give running a try.

Let me just say, I am so not a runner. I am possibly the least graceful person on the face of the earth.  I trip over lines painted on the sidewalk and have been known to fall over while standing still. And we won't count the number of times I've hit the corner of my desk, despite the two-and-a-half feet of clearance between it and the wall.

But this isn't about my running or my lack of grace. It's about 5:00 AM.  Now, I am no stranger to 5:00 AM - I get up most weekday mornings at 5:00 AM and work out.  In the comfort and safety of my living room. Five AM out in the mean streets of my 'hood is completely different. 

First off, it's dark. No, really...I mean, yes, it's always dark when I get up to work out, but in my living room, I have a lamp and a TV on. Oh sure, there's street lights, and an inordinate number of my neighbors leave their porch lights on all night, but still... it's nighttime. It's dark.

Also, apparently 5:15 AM is the time to run your automatic sprinklers in my neighborhood.  I didn't even realize so many of my neighbors HAD sprinklers. On the bright side, hearing that telltale sputtering, just before you get nailed with a shot of cold water certainly does get your adrenaline going.

And spider webs! Don't those damn spiders have anything better to do than build webs across the sidewalks in the middle of the night? Shouldn't they be asleep or something? Geez.

The sidewalk is also completely different in the middle of the night.  When you're walking along it on the way to the park, all those cracks and bumps are insignificant. When you're running in the dark while being pelted with water and fighting off giant spiders, they seem like Mt. Everest and the Grand Canyon.

Finally, and this has nothing whatsoever to do with the time of day, but I really need to get a better playlist if i'm going to keep doing this running thing. This morning I just set it to my 25 most played, and found myself running to selections from Whaddaya Think of That?  Which is a fine album, for sure, but not what I want to be running to at 5:00 in the morning.