Don't give up, punk.

I'm getting to the point at work where I need a vacation. There is someone I work with who is being way too anxious about everything and it's really starting to wear me down. Unfortunately, the best I can really hope for at this point is a "staycation" since everything else costs money, but that just sounds super boring.

I've decided, instead, that I'm going to put a ton of focus into running. Running and training the dog. Rough day? Put in some miles. Only have 20 minutes to spare? Run two miles. I really really want Hartford to be awesome, and the only way that's going to happen is if I focus on training better. I haven't been setting my alarm at all, for long runs OR short runs, but I want to change that. Saturdays are meant for taking a nap in the afternoon anyway, right?

I finally ordered my updated RoadID, with an updated message...to me. Also, a message I'd like to extend to anyone finding my lifeless body on the side of the road.

If you really want to know my blood type or my brother and SIL's phone numbers,
you'll have to come find me.

Yesterday some more motivation landed on my doorstep.

Ofcourse I'd choose the purple ones.

I received them as part of the Mizuno Mezamashii project and I hope they perform awesomely. And not just because I've always loved the Mizuno logo. They are the Wave Rider 15s so maybe they'll make me feel like I'm on a vacation at the beach. That's really all I ask for in a running shoe.

On a side note, the firefighters came back yesterday morning.

The best shot I could get from my bedroom window. I'm
such a stalker.

This is the third time in a week they've come down our street, knocking on random doors in full firefighter gear, in no particular hurry. Those people standing in front of the fire engine, just chillin? Those are my neighbors who are also firefighters. I'm beginning to think the guys on duty get bored so they just come by to hang out.


What quote do you have on your RoadID? I just assume everyone who runs has one.

Have you ever had a good time on Staycation? If so, what did you do?

What I REALLY ate (sponsored)

This post is sponsored by my business partner. She's very savvy. And she knows the importance of taking a long nap in the sunny spot in front of the back door, and pays me in poops.

Whatever. Just feed me.

Pippi wanted me to share with everyone what I eat on a "typical" day. She thinks my diet is severely lacking in chia seeds and overnight oats. Since I worked from home today, I ate a bit differently than I would have if I had been at work instead. What I end up eating really depends on when I last grocery shopped, and payday is two days away, if that tells you anything. Not exactly a typical day, but it's what I ate, nonetheless. (disclaimer: all times are approximate).

Breakfast (7:30am):

english muffin with peanut butter and strawberry jelly, a peach

Snack (9am):

two peanut butter cookies

lunch (11:30am): This picture didn't save for some reason, so just imagine it. It's a pretty boring one anyway. It was a smoothie. But it contained peanut butter so it wasn't exactly a healthy smoothie.


snack (1pm):

a very non-organic, very delicious banana

snack dessert (2pm):

a peanut butter cookie
(it was a whole cookie but I forgot to take the picture until after
I ate half of it)

"dinner" (4pm):

a veggie turkey burger (no, I'm not kidding. They were on sale)
on an english muffin with ketchup and spicy mustard, and a
pile-o-dill pickle chips.

dinner dessert (4:30pm):

chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, chocolate syrup,
rainbow sprinkles

I'm normally pretty hungry all the time, but, as I posted yesterday, I've not had much of an appetite lately and I was trying go cut down on the sodium today since I was pretty bad yesterday, having eaten ramen and drinking a glass of wine after work with a few coworkers.

I'm pretty sure Kara, Kari, and Alyssa had much more exciting days of food than I did. Pippi wanted me to post about what she ate, but then I reminded her she only eats dog food and that's way more boring than some peanut butter cookies and a fake turkey burger. She completely agreed, and promised me more poops after her dinner today.

Who needs real food?

For some reason lately I wake up with an upset stomach and end up forcing myself to eat during the day because I have no appetite. (No, there is no way that I'm pregnant so you can just save your breath on that one). Normally I'm one of those people who is hungry all the time and my friends know they must feed me or I'll be a crank. Not this week. I have no clue what the deal is. I'm just going to blame it on the heat.

I've found only one thing that sounds remotely palatable. The good news? It's super cheap. The bad news? It's not exactly healthy, and for someone like me who needs to control their sodium intake, it's a very poor choice.

Come to mama.

Two things: There are NEVER that many "vegetables" in it and also, can we really call them vegetables in this form?

Because I know it has absolutely no nutritional value, I've not eaten it on a daily basis, but lately this is pretty much like someone shoving a piece of cake in my face. SO GOOOOD. And this is coming from someone who ate so much ramen their first year in college, they couldn't stand to even smell the stuff until a couple years ago.

As for the stomach weirdness, I'm not sure what's up but I'm pretty sure, like most ailments that find me, it will go away on its own soon. But the silver lining is, if it doesn't, I'm going to save a ton of money on groceries!

Do you have a go-to food for when you're feeling 'off'?

Martha Stewart. without the lawsuit.

So, I know the "rule" for decorating a home on a budget is to to it one room at a time, but on a budget like mine I've been doing it one wall at a time. Literally. So, I took care of the back wall by hanging up clearance tablecloths and calling them curtains so I've moved on to the facing wall, aka-my plate wall.

etsy and the clearance section at Target have been my best friends with this one.

When I get more plates, I'll move them closer together so it makes more sense, but for now it's a little sparse. Also? I made the plate hangers myself. Thank you, Pinterest (and Martha Stewart). Penny pincher? That's me!

Yep, there's an armadillo on my wall. And an
alpaca. You were expecting "normal" from me?

This weekend I discovered an awesome website that was offering 50% off all their clearance stuff and found a few more gems for the plate wall.

Originally $10 each. I got them for $2.50 each.

Originally $32 for the set. My price? $10 for the set

Original price: $38. My price: $9. (It was a splurge.)

Pretty soon all of my guests will be forced to hang out in my dining room; the only room worthy of company. Not that I get many guests.

An interesting thing happened this weekend that I must share. I really really wish someone was with me as a witness.

I went to pick up a prescription at Walgreen's and, as usual, the guy behind the counter asked for my last name and birth date. I told him both and then spelled my last name for him. H-I-N-K-L-E. When he couldn't find my information in the computer, he asked me to spell my name again, so I did, and really enunciated it this time. AYCCCHH-III-ENNN-KAAY-ELL-EEEE. Again, he couldn't find it. I've filled prescriptions there before, so I knew I was in their system. As a last ditch effort, dude went to the shelf and looked under H and *ta-da* there was my prescription. He showed it to me and told me my last name was spelled wrong. HINKLE. I told him it wasn't. It was spelled exactly right; exactly what I'd told him it was. Twice. So I paid and walked away to go look for some band-aids. 

As it turns out, the band-aids were right beside the pharmacy, out of eyesight of the pharmacists. Since there are a bajillion different kinds of band-aids these days, it took me a few minutes to take stock of what was there. Brain-deep in an adhesive bandage haze, I hear the pharmacy dude tell the other pharmacy chick that "that girl spelled her last name wrong and I couldn't find her in the computer. She told me H-I-N-K-O-E twice. But it was actually H-I-N-K-L-E."

Why why WHY would I tell him the wrong name on purpose? My to-do list for Saturday: feed the dog, pick up prescription, confuse the hell out of the pharmacy dude. And, if my brain worked faster, I would have walked back around the corner and said something really witty back to him. 

Have you ever overheard someone saying something snarky about you? I think this was a first for me.

You don't know what I'm thinking when you leave me alone all day.

Are you good at comebacks? I always think of good ones way too late.

If I made the rules

I have such compelling thoughts, you guys. Seriously. Here is a short list of things that would happen if I made the rules.

I'd have the power over the thermostat of the outside world. Suck it, Mother Nature. You fail.

Peanut butter would be a vegetable.

Dogs would have thumbs and Pippi would fold my laundry while I'm at work. Also, it would make for some awesome submissions to TextFromDog.

Necessities would be free. No one wants anyone they are going to be near to go without toilet paper, tampons, soap...you get the picture.

My water bottle would be self-filling and my bladder would be self-emptying.

Instead of the bathroom, it would be called the pooproom.

The sound of sirens would be outlawed on the radio and the sound of a doorbell would be outlawed on the TV.

Cars would have high beams in the back to warn that jerk behind you to turn his off.

Teleporting would be invented. I mean, come on. We live in 2012!

NO MEETINGS. EVER.

Post-lunch nap time would be mandatory. (Kids have it MADE!)

The cure for anything that ails you would be a massage and a pedicure.

Good looking people would not be allowed to be jerks.

All running shoes would have a purple option.


What rules would you make if you made the rules?
Some easy thinking for your Wednesday. I kept thinking it was Friday. I'm not looking forward to the next two days.

Battle of the (stubborn) brains

I'm pretty certain Netflix is the best $8/month decision I've made. Maybe ever. This weekend I surprised myself by deciding to watch Gossip Girl. I was pretty sure I'd hate it and turn it off after five minutes. But, alas, I'm hooked. Who knew I'd end up hooked on a show about the type of people I can't stand?!

Now I just need a treadmill so I can have an excuse to watch more often. Instead, I've decided to watch while doing "weight-training" in my living room. Yeah, I know. I'm hardcore.

Yesterday someone brought up the fact that if the government ever decided to monitor what people watch on Netflix, they're in trouble. I'm pretty sure I'll be in jail. Among the list of things I've watched are documentaries about Jeffrey Dahmer, Timothy McVeigh, Jonestown, and multiple school shootings. It's safe to say that my entertainment choices are all over the map. The same goes for my music choices. I like to keep 'em guessing.


Yesterday I ordered a dog training aid that I never thought I would.

No, it's not some kinky torture device. It's a prong collar. I have a few friends who've said using the prong collar is how they taught their dog to not walk them on walks. Getting Pippi to walk on a loose leash is one of the big things on my list of things to teach her.

When we went to training class last week, Trainer Ryan went over a technique that is just not working for me, so I enlisted the help of a few friends who have had success with other techniques, and after doing some research, I've decided to try the prong collar. There are many schools of thought on the subject, including people who are very much against this training method and trainers who really believe in it.

Yeah, that'll be the day.

The only reason I'm willing to try this is because Pippi knows her name, she knows to sit when I stop walking and to look at me when I call her name. She knows these things, but is so easily distracted it's ridiculous. Also? She's strong! It'll be so nice to have a dog who can just chill and enjoy a walk. I can't wait for that day! I also found a video just now on a different technique (which doesn't use the prong collar) that I'll try first. I can always return the prong collar if I don't use it, right? Why can't dogs just not be stubborn?


Would the government be interested in your TV choices?

Do you find "mean girls"-esque shows intriguing?

Have you had success training a dog to walk on a loose leash? What worked for you?

Ten minutes

I have severely failed at blogging recently and I could throw out a bunch of excuses, but that's just lame. Instead, I'll take the ten minutes I have before I leave work to go for a run  and then hurry back home to shower before Pippi and I head to our puppy training class, to tell you a few random things.


1. ADT keeps sending me mail advertising their security systems. Not only is it kind of amusing seeing as I live in one of the smallest houses in the neighborhood, but I've already got a security system and it's called Pippi. STEP OFF ADT!

Or just get a vicious-sounding dog

2. This morning I started working on getting Pippi to poop on command. Apparently it can be done. I like to think the neighbors all think I'm the strangest person ever, walking my dog with a treat bag and a clicker attached to my pants waist, shaming my dog into pooping.


3. I also found out today that cats can be trained. In a meeting this morning, my boss told us, out of the blue, "You know I trained my cat to use the toilet, right?" I had no idea such a thing was possible!

I wonder if it's possible to teach a dog to do this...

4. In the past week I've probably made 200 Noodle Huggers™ and I'm not sick of it yet.

I am in desperate need of someone to make me a sewing table.

5. I have tablecloths hanging from my wall.

And you wouldn't even know it.

6. This past Saturday I got up at 5 am on Saturday morning to go for a run before it got ridiculously hot out. That's the earliest Saturday morning I've ever gotten up to run. I hope to make it a habit.


Have you ever taught a pet to do something not normal?

What time do you get up on the weekend for a long run?

Hope and homework

So you know those vegetables I cut up for the 4th of July celebration? Yeah, I forgot them at home. I currently have a fridge full of Ziploc bags with cut up vegetables in them and a container of veggie dip. Want some?

No, the Cool Whip isn't for the veggies.

I did spend the day with my friends and their 7-year-old nephew and this little lady.

Remember the days of bouncing around the living room naked with a fountain ponytail? I wanted to attempt it, but I don't think It'd be half this cute.


Last night Pippi and I started our obedience classes. It was nice to see she wasn't the only one with issues with manners. At introduction time, Instructor Ryan wanted to know what kinds of things each dog needed to work on and when I went down our list of issues, he kept saying "that's easy." Ryan gave me hope...and homework.

This is my new best friend.

How has Hartford training been going? Yeah, not well. I spent the fourth of July being dizzy and then yesterday started out dizzy and ended with a migraine. It's a good thing my training plan allows two rest days a week. I'm still feeling iffy today, but hopefully this evening when I head out for a run, my head will be back to normal. It's been a really long time since I've had a migraine and I was sort of hoping I "grew out" of them. Yeah, apparently that's not actually a thing. I had no Excedrin or caffeinated beverages in the house, so I ate some coffee ice cream instead. It ended up doing nothing for the migraine, but it sure was delicious.

If you're training for a race, I hope you've been having a better week than me. What's on tap for the weekend (besides a long run)?

Training squared

You know what I love? When I'm at work at 2:00 the day before a mid-week holiday and everyone's freaking out about a job of theirs that you're working on. Many times I feel like people think I wave my pink, sparkly magic wand and ta-da...design! The fact that this seems to be the thinking of many means I must be pretty good at what I do, however when something goes awry, I can't just say "sorry, wand's in the shop."

My money-maker. (I love how dirty that sounds).

Do you know what I could do with that kind of power? I'll tell you one thing. If I did, in fact, have a magic wand, I wouldn't be paying $161 a month to have my itty bitty lawn mowed!

I also wouldn't be paying $100 for six one-hour sessions at PetSmart for them to train me how to train my dog to stop being an asshole. Unfortunately, I'm not kidding. Things are about to get real in the Hinkle house, starting with no more dogs sleeping on the bed or barking at strangers on our walks. Thankfully Kari and Kara both have dogs who had issues when they first got them and they have been successful in training them to be good citizens, so I have some moral support and hope.

What do you think, after all the serious training is done, should I shoot for this?

Hartford half marathon training is now in full swing. So far my biggest issue has been consuming enough water. It's sad, really. Something so simple. I'm pretty psyched about my cross-training days, mainly because they can take place inside, where the thermostat isn't set at "hell."

Tomorrow I'm going to be hanging out with my friend to celebrate her birthday and, you know, America's birthday. We're going to a barbecue and my contribution will be a vegetable platter. I know, I'm frisky like that. I figured I'd be all fancy and buy whole carrots instead of the "ready-to-eat" packaged variety. So, I get home to chop up some veggies and when I get to the carrots I realize I don't have a vegetable peeler *womp womp* So much for being fancy. Also, it looks like I'm bringing the vegetables in individual plastic bags because I also don't own a platter. I may never get invited to a party again.

Talk about ugly carrots. At least mine are more
attractive than this.

Happy Independence Day everyone!

My "niece" Embry (my best friend's daughter) and me.

Remember: hydrate to dominate!
(How do you like my PSA?)