Random Conversations with my Husband that You Don't Care About

Two random conversations from last night.

Him: Why are you still biking to work?
Me: Because it's healthier and saves gas money.
Him: But it's dark outside.
Me: Only at night.
Him: But you do bike home at night.

(yes, I did bike in today.)

Me: How many times a day do you pee?
Him: I don't know. Probably twice.
Me: Damn. Sometimes I have to pee twice an hour.
Me: You need to drink more water.

(maybe I need to drink less water...)

What randomly odd conversations have you had lately?
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World Wide Rebel Song

Remember the other day when I mentioned free music from Google?

I thought I'd share one of the songs I downloaded recently.

While I've heard of Rage Against the Machine, I can't say I'm really familiar with their music. Am I missing out on something I shouldn't be? The intro to this song really made me smile, and the message is inspiring.

World Wide Rebel Songs by Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman

You should at least take a little listen to the intro. Why not download the free track as well? From the comments, this isn't really like the sound of RATM, so don't go into expecting that. :-)

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In other news, my husband started a blog that he'll be using to post some of his short stories. He shared it on Google+ as public, but not on Facebook. Weird. Since he shared it somewhere publicly, I figure I'm good in promoting it, right?

He just has one story up so far. I read it this morning after my 10-mile run. It was really good.

If you've got a few minutes, It's longer than a typical blog post, but I think you'll find it a quick, engaging read. why not head over and give it a read. I'd love to hear what you think. I'm sure he would, too. If you enjoy it, feel free to share it on FB, Twitter, or G+
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What Good Are Husbands?

I haven't done a Monday Listicles is FOREVER! Yeah, yeah. I haven't done a post in FOREVER! I need to be a better blogger. I want to be a better blog. This is a good place to start, right?

Stasha well, her husband over at Northwest Mommy gave us a fun topic this week.

10 THINGS HUSBANDS SHOULD DO

(in no particular order)

1.   Husbands should be supportive and encouraging.
2.   Husbands should drive on long trips. Or anytime, really. I hate driving.
3.   Husbands should be selfless and loving (i.e. put my needs before his).
4.   Husbands should take out the trash and recycling.
5.   Husbands should be willing to try something crazy in the ... kitchen
6.   Husbands should listen patiently, even when the story isn't particularly amusing.
7.   Husbands should understand all his wife's moods.
8.   Husbands should laugh.
9.   Husbands should not be afraid to dance.
10. Husbands should love their wife with their everything.

Source: sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net via Wendy on Pinterest

Perhaps a little inappropriate, but also pretty funny.

L-O-V-E Love

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! Growing up, it was always one of my favorite holidays.

I'll always remember my freshman year in college. My mom had died the previous year. I was away from home. When Valentine's Day came around, I was completely homesick for my mom who I couldn't call and wouldn't be seeing very soon. It was so difficult for me. BUT I ended up getting a care-package and my friends were really supportive.

Well, that was kind of a crappy way to start a post on love.



Today's topic for Monday Listicles is LOVE. Freestyling is encouraged.

Five Reasons Why I'm Still in Love.

1. He is supportive. He encouraged me to go back to school, and now I'm student teaching and really enjoying it.

2. He has such big dreams and can convey them in such a way that I always end up loving the ideas, too. Latest big dream? One day own a catamaran and offer educational summer camps (scuba, history, etc) and / or luxury vacations.

3. We have had a lot of adventures together. Living in Brooklyn. Moving cross-country 3 times in the first 3 years of marriage. Scuba diving. Traveling.

4. Sometimes, he still looks at me in a way that makes me melt.

5. He loves it when I put my arm through his when we're walking outside. Sometimes he even insists that I do this. I think maybe it's so I don't walk so slow and end up walking behind him.

Bonus. He always carries the heavier stuff - bags, scuba equipment, etc.

That's all I have time for this morning. I need to get ready for school. :-) Today should be relatively easy, but tomorrow I'm teaching a lesson the geography of Japan and how it has affected its culture and a lesson the Russian Revolutions of 1917. No, I'm not 100% ready or confident on either lesson. Wish me luck!

I wanted to end this post with a video of my favorite song about love, but I can't find it on YouTube. Here are the lyrics instead. Maybe later tonight I'll have time to search a little more. The lyrics are pretty awesome, in my opinion.

Reasons Why  by Merril Bainbridge.

I finally found the reasons why
Everything I feel inside
Feelings that I cannot hide
Tell me that it's you

Got me acting kinda strange
Like I'm on a different plane
I never thought I could explain
But I know that it's love

I finally found the reason why
Rainbow colors fill the air
People always stop and stare
Whenever I'm with you

Suddenly the flowers bloom
Whistling a happy tune
I never thought I'd understand
But now I know it's love

'Cause when you smile
And look at me, then suddenly
I know why the birds
Keep singing every place I go

I finally found the reason why
Everything is upside down
My feet don't even touch the ground
But now I know that it's love

'Cause when you smile
And look at me, then suddenly
I know why the birds
Keep singing every place I go

I finally found the reason why
Everything is upside down
My feet don't even touch the ground
But now I know that it's love

This is love, I know that it's love
This is love, it's love, this is love, it's love

Urban Wildland Half Marathon

What's that they say about good intentions? :)

Finally, I'm getting around to blogging about last weekend's half marathon. I'll use the excuse that it was my birthday this past week.

I had such fun running this race!

It was great to meet a couple friends from DailyMile before the start.

Ray, Treva, Me, Courtenay

I even somehow convinced my sister to join in the fun.

Me, Treva

A lot of runners had some difficulty with the weather, but I thought it was a perfect morning for a run. Guess I'm a bit more of a hot weather runner than most. I did notice a distinctive drop in humidity as the race progressed because I didn't seem to be quite as sweaty.

I was planning on just running and then walking through the water stops, but after looking more closely at the map, I decided to stick to doing 10/1 interval splits. I figured it would help give my legs a brief rest and keep me going strong through the entire race.

I also figured I'd be ok just getting water at the water stops, so I left my handheld in the car.

This turned out to be a bad idea. I was pretty thirsty by the time I got to the first water station and didn't quite get satiated during my 30-sec water walk. I think between WS1 and WS2 there were some kids handing out hard candy. I grabbed a piece just because I wanted to generate some saliva flow in my mouth (TMI??)

Other than being thirsty, I was feeling really pretty good when I met Jeff at the halfway point.

Of course, I grabbed my handheld to take with me for the rest of the race! I also ate some Clif Shot Bloks. Yum!

Hydrating!

Overall, I think this course was really pretty. It was mostly roads, but there was also some trail running mixed in through some parks in Richfield. I liked the change of scenery. :)

I had tasked Jeff with meeting a few times on the course, so he could get some pictures of me running. I hate how most of them look like I'm walking, when I totally wasn't. Alas.

The second time I met Jeff was between mile 9 and 10. During the picture taking, my new DM friend, Ray, caught up with me. She started the race further back in the crowd than Treva and me. After the race, when I was looking through the photos Jeff took, I absolutely busted out laughing at how this series turned out. I had to put it into a slideshow.

I wish I knew how to make a slideshow not automatically start playing, because it's funnier if you watch it from slide 1. In the pictures, it looked like we were running together, but in reality, I had no clue she was so close to me.

"Clueless"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

I think it was around this time when I really felt like my pace had super slowed down. Technically I was still in motion like a runner, but I'd bet there were a few walkers that could have passed me.

Ray only ran with me for perhaps a minute or two before we separated.

Around mile 11, I had to stop to use a portapotty. I figured I could have probably made it the last two miles, but then I thought why put up with that discomfort, so I stopped.

It was SO worth it.

Probably around mile 12, the tummy queasiness set up, but I still managed to keep my pace fairly steady - from what I could tell without any kind of pacing device (gps, garmin, etc).

When I came to that mile 13 sign, I decided, hell yeah, I'm going to push it to the end. I increased my pace. A LOT. I ran and I ran hard. So hard that I didn't even see Jeff taking my pictures just steps before crossing the finish line.

To the Finish!

I definitely needed a few minutes after I'd finished to catch my breath! I couldn't even consider going through the food line right away; I was way too queasy. I walked around the park - sipping water and powerade until I started to feel hungry.

Eventually, Jeff and I headed back to the spot where he was when I finished, so we could wait for my sister to cross the finish line. Tony joined us just a few minutes later.

I started to get a little antsy after about 20 or so minutes, so I said I was going to walk back along the course to go cheer her on. I met up with her just before mile 13. She was walking, so I said we were going to start running once we got to the mile 13 marker. She agreed.

Racing with my sis

 It was fun to help encourage her to finish nice and strong!

So close!

I'm so proud of the two of us! We both met our goals and, look, we're both smiling at the end.

2011 Urban Wildland Half Marathon Finishers! Whoo hoo!

I would absolutely do this race again and recommend it to anyone looking for a good half marathon. Everyone was very helpful. During one of my 1 min intervals, a medical aid person even asked if I was ok. It made me feel good that he was doing his job and paying good attention to the runners on the course.

I managed to pull off about an 11 min/mile pace, which I'm very pleased with.

My time - 2:24:35

Treva's time - 2:57:29

Oh, and I almost forgot how great is was that several people had turned on their sprinklers for runners to run though. I definitely took advantage of every.single.one.

Being Super Excited About Something

Day 4

Doesn't mean you'll enjoy it.

Last night we started our scuba training.
Last night was review of what we learned during our self-study prior to the class.

I was super excited about all the possibilities that scuba could bring.
The feeling of weightlessness.
The fantastic sights to see - the fish, the coral.

This morning we were in the pool.

And.
It.
Was.
Trau-
matic.

I'm not very comfortable under the water, and I've never been able to do anything under water without physically plugging my nose. The first exercise we had to do under the water was breathe through the regulator without wearing a mask. For a full minute.

This was extremely difficult for me.

I did not like it.
It put me into total panic mode.

I was able to finish most of the other requirements during today's pool session, but I did have to skip one entirely. No mask-buddy drag.

It was all just a bit too much.

I've been on an emotional roller coaster ever since. I can't even count how many times I've fought back tears. ok actually cried.

Way too much stress!

Jeff and I have spent hours discussing this. What could have been different. How my reaction was normal/justified.

Now, I'm totally torn. Do I continue working toward my certification or do I quit? Most of what we're learning are emergency procedures that most likely I'll never need to do. Most likely, once in open water it will be a much easier, more enjoyable experience.

I've pushed myself immensely in the past year at riding a bike, so I'm *nearly* convinced I can push myself at this, too.

It will just take time.

Picky Eater

How lucky for you. Two posts in as many days!

Growing up, I was one of the pickiest eaters. I rarely liked to try anything new. And if I didn't like the look of something? Forget about it! Our closest neighbors were my aunt and uncle. When my mom tried to get me to eat something I didn't want to, I'm simply say that I'd had it before. Where? Aunt Judy's, of course. My mom didn't buy it. :)

I was pretty stubborn, too. I was told I couldn't leave the table until I'd finished what was on my plate. I would sit and sit and sit. Sometimes, I would sneak off to the bathroom to dispose of what I could down the toilet.

I've come a long way since then. I'm still not the most adventurous eater; I still judge food by the way it looks.

BUT compared to my husband, I am a regular [insert famous explorer of your choice].

We were eating dinner at the Persian restaurant in our hotel the last night of our stay in Costa Rica. I can't remember what was on my plate, but I asked Jeff if he'd like to try it.

"Are you kidding? I'm already pushing boundaries eating this salad."

He's kind of an "iceberg lettuce with ranch dressing" kind of salad-eating-guy. :)

Earlier in the trip, I saw Nutella on the shelf at the Mini-Super. Now you can't go camping (which is essentially what we were doing the 2nd have of our trip), without Nutella, as I learned at Girls Camp this past summer, so I bought some and some tortillas. Yum! They didn't have any bananas. Weird, I know, since Chiquita has a plantation in Costa Rica.

Jeff's response: "How is this not chocolate frosting?"

And that was about the extent of his dabbling with Nutella. Who doesn't ♥ Nutella?!

We also tried Tilapia (yum!), fried plantains with beans and rice for breakfast (double yum!), well, I guess that's about all I can think of right now.

Not in Costa Rica, but back here in St Paul, we recently tried a spearfish steak. My jury is still out a little on whether or not I actually liked it.

Neglect

My little corner of the world has been sadly neglected. I guess life just got in the way. I'm sure you all know how that goes.

Anyway, since it's already Jan 25th, I'm going to make some pretty loose goals for 2011 here at All Things Clarinda.

1. Post at least once each month! Lame post, funny post, serious post, re-post. I don't care. Just something, at least, to let you all know that I'm still here!

I guess that's really just about it. Anything more than that and I'm quite certain I'll just fall short. So, here's to my first post in 2011, my first post in Jan (and hopefully not my last).

Here's a few updates or things that have been on my mind recently.

Why do I live in MN??? It is WAY too cold here, and the winters seem to really be dragging these past couple of years. What does this mean? Well our plans for moving to the Mediterranean after we're finished with school have really intensified. We're anxiously anticipating the milder weather. Jeff has been investigating moving there for quite a long time, but we're really beginning the countdown now. After this winter, only one. more. to go! Yay!!

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My trip to Costa Rica was phenomenal! So much sun, so much fun! We don't do much for adventurous vacationing; it was mostly just relaxing in the hot tub or down at the beach or lounging in the hammocks. I even finished two books. It was lovely. Well, except that whole part about returning to MN just in time for temps not even breaking 0°F!

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I'm all registered for my class for the Spring term, which begins on Monday. Jeff took this course earlier in his St Thomas career, and I've been on a couple trips with the professor when Jeff was in the Geography department. I'm excited to learn more about Humans and the Environment and play in the GIS lab. Plus the class begins at 9:35am MWF, so I'll be able to sleep-in slightly before class. It's going to be great not having to leave my apt until 9:20 or so rather than by 7:10 (which I'll still have to do on TR. oh well.). I really think this new schedule will be good for me and that I'll enjoy it much more. I'll still be heading to work right after class.

*****
I just discovered that there is a Core Power Yoga only a few blocks from my work. I see lots more hot yoga in my future! I'm very excited about it. This studio will be so much more convenient than the two in St Paul that are relatively close to my apt but more difficult to get to during the winter.

*****
If you know me, you know I don't generally like fish or seafood, and I'm not the most daring or adventurous eater. I know that fish is much healthier for me (and the environment), so I'm trying to incorporate more into my diet. In Costa Rica, we tried some tilapia. It was so very tasty!! I do think I'll try to make some at home some time. Last night, I tried some spearfish at the restaurant in our building. It was good, but I wasn't too crazy about the texture. It was cooked med-rare, and looked more like an undercooked pork chop than a fish fillet. I know it's just my untrained eye, but it didn't look that appetizing to me. It was served with sticky rice, vegetables, and wasabi. I ate all the veggies and half of the fish. The waitress suggested eating the rest on top of a salad, so that's what we'll be dining on for dinner tonight. :)

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I think that's good for now. Hopefully I'll be back again soon. Perhaps this week. Definitely sometime in February. (I hope).

Fabulous Birthday Week

My birthday week was kicked off on Sunday with a party at my parents house, where my nephew, Emillio, baked and decorated this gorgeous cake. He just graduated high school and is going to be a pâtissier someday. He does great work, right?

We enjoyed grilled pizzas and caesar salad for dinner. Delicious!

My sister gave me a food dehydrator, which I've already used to dried some fruits and make fruit leather. Yum!

Tuesday was the actual day of my birthday. I got to spend it with the Young Women of the White Bear Lake and Saint Paul wards at Girls Camp, where they serenaded me at breakfast with not one, but two, birthday songs. I love the WBL ward's version and need to get that from them. It was awesome.

We took a 10 mile canoe trip with the girls that was supposed to be 3-4 hours, but took us 5 hours. There was an incredible head wind for the last 2 miles that was killer! I'm a terrible canoer, but I still have fun doing it.

After dinner, the girls all did some skits. They were all great, but the YCL's was the best because it ended with them presenting a birthday cake to me! Yep, I definitely felt special...and loved. Thanks, girls! And Bre
(cuz I know you orchestrated the whole thing).

Since I was at camp on my actual birthday, Jeff surprised me at work on Thursday with these beautiful flowers.

I was totally shocked! It was such a sweet surprise.

My office also had my birthday lunch, so Jeff got to stay and meet all my co-workers. We had some delicious pasta, salad, and mini eclairs for dessert! After lunch, Jeff and I walked around the farmer's market where we bought some delicious chocolate! I also got some fruit to dry with my new dehydrator.

Not really part of any birthday celebration, but Friday night, we went to a Saints game. As always, it was super fun to hang with our friends Bre and R.Jay! After the game, we had some ice cream and played Ticket to Ride. It was a lot of fun!

Back to birthday celebrations on Saturday as Jeff and I joined my brother, Dan, and his girlfriend, Chelsea, for a session of Hot Yoga at Core Power Yoga. The class was intense, and I felt a little nauseated at times, but it was good. Jeff has now discovered that he really enjoys yoga. Who knew?!

After yoga, we went out to dinner at Subo in downtown Minneapolis. Dinner was their birthday gift to me. It was delicious! It's tapas-style dining, so what you order is shared with the whole table. I even tried Ahi. Yep, raw tuna. It wasn't too bad. Couldn't bring myself to try the scallops, though. Maybe next time. Jeff also discovered he's a natural with chopsticks. He was totally showing off. He'll be all set if we end up in China for the Peace Corps. 

Welcome, BlogTrotters, to Minnesota

Land of 10,000 Lakes

The North Star State

The Gopher State

Land of Sky-Blue Waters

The Bread and Butter State

Whatever you call it, I call it HOME.

I was absolutely delighted to receive a comment on my blog last week from Carabee over at BlogTrotting inviting me to give a little tour of my neck of the woods. BlogTrotting is a fun blog where you can visit other exciting places around the world.

I am genuinely thrilled to share with you a few of my favorite things about Minnesota.

I'm a Minnesotan, born and raised.

I grew up in Alexandria, MN. Hop over here for a brief tour of the main street of Alexandria, as I remember it from my teenage years.

Alexandra is the heart of the Central Lakes area, where are plenty of lakes for swimming and fishing.

I've since moved from Alexandria (more than 15 years ago) and now reside in St Paul, our state capital.

But what I really love about living in St Paul is living across the street from the University of St Thomas. Both my husband and I are students at UST, and we love our beautiful campus. We love to walk the grounds and will generally take any visitors we have on a quick tour.

 

The St Thomas Arches are an important part of UST culture. Incoming freshmen walk through the arches to the applause of current students and faculty, welcoming them to their new home. Neither of us started as freshmen, so we didn't get to experience this, but we are looking forward to Commencement when graduating seniors walk back out through the arches and head out into the world. I'm not sure if this will be a part of my graduate commencement ceremony, but it will definitely be a part of Jeff's. We have two more years of school before we head back out into the real world.

I've actually only lived in St Paul for a year and a half. Before that, I always considered myself more of a Minneapolis girl. While St Paul is growing on me, I definitely prefer the downtown of Minneapolis.

The Minneapolis skyline is beautiful!

The skyway system is wonderful!

You can easily stay dry and warm in the rain or snow.

Another thing I love about living in the Twin Cities is all the fun running paths!

I love to run with my little girl, Sallie...

And take walks with my husband.

We've moved a lot around the twin cities.

We've lived in Minneapolis near the Minnehaha Falls

and in St Paul near Crosby Lake .

I can't forget to mention Como Park Zoo. This is a fun, free zoo. They do accept a suggested donation of $2 for adults and $1 for children. We've gone to this zoo a couple of times .

I could go on and on about this great state! There are so many things I didn't mention like:

and SO. MUCH. MORE!

IMINNESOTA!

No matter where I live, I will always consider MN my home.

Feel free to browse through my blog to discover other random things about me (and occassionally MN, too). If you've visited any of the links in this post, you might have noticed many were from my *other* blog, Dodson Journal. Go ahead and pop over there for even more exciting advertures! I love MN, but I also love to travel and see new things. Mostly these adventures are with my husband, so naturally, they get posted on our family blog.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed my little tour of Minnesota.