Material runner

For the past few weeks my stupid leg has been hurting, so I have been forced to lose that good running capacity I had built up, and start over. Run short distances, only few times. But now I feel my leg is finally better, and I can start from the beginning of the Stockholm Marathon 26-week 4-hour-runner's schedule again. Or I guess I shouldn't say "again", since last time I didn't actually start from the very beginning on week1 of the schedule. I felt it was for wusses, and slow-ass runners, and lazy people. No, efficient and 'duktiga' people like myself, we start on week3. Who needs a warm-up? Not us efficient people!

Or perhaps do we? It's not totally unlikely that the reason for my leg pain was the rapid start-up with loong distance running several times a week. But now, I'll do it for real. Start slow, listen to my leg, and the rest of my body for that matter. Or at least really TRY to listen to my body, and not dismiss things as "ah, that's just what my lazy slow ass body wants me to do, but efficient ME wants to do THIS instead!". I need to get better at that, in all aspects of my everyday events.

So I haven't been running much during the past few weeks, but instead I have (as before-blogged) bought stuff that makes running more fun. The new shoes, the iPod nano and the connector between the two. So my last run I went for was a super-short one. 4 km. Or 4.36km to over-trust my newly calibrated iPod. And if I looked at myself from the outside, this is what I got;

Someone who runs very short distances, not really a proper runner, just doing it for fun. A lazy-ass that tries. And still has ALL the gadgets to compensate for the mediocre running performance. I was wearing; a pulse-meter around my chest, with the watch that belongs to it. This watch keeps track of my pulse, calculates mean pulse, notes my max-pulse, counts the run-time, and estimates a calorie-burn. Besides this, I was wearing my iPod in the iPod running-thingy around my upper arm, headphones plugged in listening to my "slow run playlist". On my feet I had my super-new Nike-shoes, and inside the left shoe I had the little thing that registers my every single step (with that foot). Attached to my iPod, I had the little thing that makes the iPod register the number of steps taken. It also keeps track of the time I have been running, estimates a calorie-burn, and gives me the distance I have been running along with a min/km-calculation. So I keep track of several parameters of my running with both the pulse-meter and the iPod-Nike+ thingy. Some things they both keep track of, like the time spent running, and estimated calorie burn.

So when I'm about to start run, I have to press the center-button on my iPod, along with the enter-button on the pulse watch. And if I need to pause, say hypothetically for a heavy rain (like during the monday-run), I have to press Menu and choose 'pause workout' on the iPod, AND press enter on the pulse watch. And when I'm ready to run again, I have to 'resume workout' on the iPod, and again press enter on the pulse watch. This, I'm sure, looks stupid, really stupid. But the gadgets actually makes the running much more fun. Especially the pulse-watch (which is actually a gift FROM me to Joding). It's really good to check the pulse every once in a while. For instance, sometimes it feels super-hard to run, and before I could just then think "why am I so lazy". Now, I just look at the pulse watch in these cases, and often I see that the pulse has gone up (perhaps I've started to run quicker, or it's a slight uphill that I hadn't noticed), and then it feels totally ok that the running feels harder for a while. I don't feel lazy, I feel good for challenging my pulse. It really makes a difference. At least for such a high-performance, self-critical, 'duktig' person like me.

Cuddly Cats cuddling

Just look at little Aron's fang, how cute is that, and the way they group up into a ball. And even better, they're actually in my lap! Both now, and when the pictures were taken.

Jesus Camp

I switched channel, innocently, and flipped straight into a documentary apparently named Jesus Camp. It scared the bejesus out of me. A bunch of 10-12-year-olds on a camp, all totally into god. One of them tells the story about how he was "saved" at the age of 5 (he's now about 12). At age 5 he tells he was totally bored by everything, and then he was reborn and saved by Jesus. If you have the chance, check it out. It's scary, but interesting.

Check out how one of the women arranging the camp lets the kids know that you don't make heros out of warlocks, and how Harry Potter would have been put to death if this was the old testament. Harry Potter is apparently an enemy of god. Interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOIYsGVyg8M

Check out the trailer, just do it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_EKHK1C2IE

And oh, please, don't miss little girl Rachel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeUz5ZihaqA

The girls are given small plastic representations of foetuses, and shouts how god must end abortions. I wonder how much fluid the kids lost during the camp, they seem to be crying in most scenes.

Will he eat it - skorpor

He attacked my bag of fullkornsskorpor (wholegrain dry bread).

And of course - he loved it.

Who is "he"? Well Aron of course, who else. A siamese cat, who loves weird food. Or at least, food that's normally weird for cats.

Bird events

A three-bird gathering, talking about the Camilla Läckberg-book "Stenhuggaren" we've just read in our book club.


And Obidoo, with the bird he has caught. He sits under the walnut tree, staking the birds out, and when they're close enough, he jets out from under the tree, catching them. And in this case, breaking their neck.

Will he eat it?

A loaf of bread. He couldn't possibly eat his way through the plastic emballage, and eat on the loaf. Apparently he could. I wanted to keep the bread and eat it eventhough the little small weasel had eaten on it. But Joding forced me to throw away the half of the bread little Aron had eaten on.




Such a small cat, such a large loaf.

Cuddly Cats in fight-mode

Cuddly Cats posing

1 dress down!

One of the dresses I've made lately, is finally finished, completely. I am trying it out with the accessories and make up (without the eyelashes though, they will be added on saturday for the wedding we're visiting. Isn't my dress absolutey cute. So bouncy and nice, I love it!

Cuddly Cats

I exchanged my Cute Cat for the two cuddliest cats out there. They've cuddled close with me all afternoon-early evening on the couch. They might have to stay with me here, for ever.

Cute Cat has moved

to my parents. Very temporarily.

It's so gooood

...to sleep on my comfy sofa!

Margarita-day

A drosophila fly died happily in the Margarita bowl. If I ever were a banana fly, I would want to die in a big bowl of margarita!

The day of MARGARETA

Today is the name's day of all those lovely swedish Margaretas! And if you, just like me, is named Margareta - you should definitely celebrate. And I know you Margaretas are out there - I see we are about 292 000 people in Sweden with the name Margareta.

You can make a cake for your friends, and celebrate the day of Margarita - for instance. This is the recipe;

2 brilliantly tasty cakes
2 pots of great coffee (I will be serving coffee with chocolate-chili-taste)
1 huge batch of Margaritas from freshly squeezed lime
and of course 1 bunch of good friends

Tonight's the night! (we're gonna make it happen, tonight we'll put all other things aside...lallaallaaallaaaala)

Once I'm awake tomorrow, you can see all the pictures right here. Or of course, join the party!

The SARA day

Is so worth celebrating, especially if you - just like me - are named Sara.

For instance you can celebrate Fruntimmersveckan with Fi (feministic initiative - a swedish political party) today at 7 pm!
http://www.feministisktinitiativ.se/kalendarium.php?ID=791

You can discover more about women's life in Carl von Linné's time (300 yrs ago)
http://www.newsdesk.se/pressroom/uu/pressrelease/view/160079

Or you can celebrate any of the following historical events that has taken place on the 19th July
1553 - Jane Grey is replaced after a 9-day reign in England with Maria I, poor Jane!
1588 - The spanish armada, on its way to conquer England is sighted by the English from Land's end in Cornwall
1870 - The french-german war starts - to be honest I had no idea that there had ever been one
1900 - The first Paris metro line opens
1979 - The sandinists wins the civil war in Nicaragua, and the Somoza regimen is removed
1980 - Olympic Summer Games in Moscow opens
1996 - Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta opens

Or you can celebrate by
Sending me a "Happy Name's Day"-message

Blööööööööö

To worked up to sleep. Saw two episodes of "24" second series, which got my blood pumpin' real good. It's TOO exciting that series! Then when I tried to sleep, I remembered I wanted to write a quick e-mail that I hadn't had time for the past two days, because I've been working much and intensly, and then have had activities until late each night. So I did that. Tried to sleep, but I couldn't. I wasl full awake. Sent a few text messages. Tried to sleep. Opened my computer to write down all the overplanning-things swirling around in my head. Executed a few of the tasks on that list. Chatted a bit. Joding woke up and spoke two very thought-provoking sentences - or one of them was at least. First he said "can't you sleep?". I replied "no". He said "is it the coffee you think".

And then I remembered, I have had a bad coffee reaction all afternoon/early evening. I am so sensitive to coffee sometimes. I've been a bit iffy, and light-headed, but that went away, and I stopped thinking about it. But perhaps he's right. Maybe it's the coffee I had almost 11 hours ago now. Far-fetched you say? But to tell the truth, the real effects of the caffein doesn't start until a few hours after the beverage has been consumed, and perhaps that, in combination with my hard-working, busy schedule and stress...

Either way. I can't sleep. But I'll try again now. Eventually it'll work, THAT is something I am absolutely certain of.

Donation

Today, I've been on a donation spree. After a hard day's work, I went to the blood central and donated 470 g blood. As a compensation you can choose between store credit in a bunch of stores, a blood-donor t-shirt...

OR to have the blood central donate 50 SEK to Barncancerfonen (Fund for Kids with Cancer). And that's what I chose, to donate my blood so I could donate money for cancer research.

I might even go to heaven! If I had only had faith in such things...

(For the comptetition, my Hb was 140 - just 10 below 'not-having-to-be-insulted-with-iron-pills'-limit.

Garden gnome

Watch out so your garden gnomes don't come alive. Perhaps during a full moon lit night. I think I'll sell the idea to Stephen King, and Steven Spielberg. They shouln't hesitate to produce the thriller novel and film.

As for now, this gnome is mostly out in the garden, painting the outer walls of my parents-in-law's house. With the sun on my back and the wind in my hair. And the swallows flying in and out of their nest under the roof, happy to get their nest painted.

Spreading the joy

The program Photo Booth is worth every cent of buying a MacBook. We brought the computer to Joding's relatives today when we went over for coffee, primarily to show the Bornholm-pictures, but also had to spread the joy of Photo Booth.


Aunt, with no need for further lip enlargements

Aunt, cousin and grandma

The whole gang

Animalic Kalmar

We are visiting Joding's parents this week, and to Hugo the Dog's delight - we brought two cats for him to chase. They are getting along most of the time, apart from when Hugo gets too excited, and decides to chase the cats around, or bark at them in an attempt to show his willingness to play.

Me and Hugo the Dog.

The cats and Hugo.

Me and Hugo.

Us having coffee with Fredrik and Marie (non-published data)

Two are fake, one is real. Can you guess which is which?

The cats, and Hugo behind bars.

Obidoo is teasing locked-up Hugo

Obidoo, ready for fight or flight.

Doubling up on Hugo.

Obidoo, showing no fear what so ever.

Still no fear, squirming and being a fool in front of a very happy and ready-to-play Hugo.

Still playing and squriming, no apparent fear. Obidoo is brave!

Cute Cat living according to "Big is Beautiful - and more fearsome!"

Loooooud!

I talked to my sweet cousin yesterday, and happened to mention the funniest picture ever she had published on her blog a while back. The one with the insanely scared kid, and even more scared cat. She did not remember which one I meant. So this is a reminder for you. And for everyone else, just enjoy and laugh! Especially enjoy how the cat is desperately trying to push away from that horribly loud scream.

This is what happens...

Hihi. Someone made the mistake of leaving her cell phone at my place yesterday. She's about to come pick it up now. And what will she find. That the desktop picture on the phone is no longer a photo of the 2nd cutest cat in the world, her Oliver, but instead the nubmer 1 cutest cat in the world.



I'm so sneaky!

I'M ENGAAAAAAAAAGED!!

In the jacuzzi, he popped THE question. I love him to bits, my Joding.