Even More Fun!

Here's the first gem:

Now keep in mind this lovely fellow listed his age as 33.  Yes, you read that right- 33.  But he won't let his mom tell him what to do!

Next:

Here's his picture:

He looks like he could definitely be in tourism, but exotic dancing?  Can't really picture him gyrating around.  But what do I know?  I've only been to one strip club and that left me deeply scarred.  The dancer took my purse and shoved it down his shiny gold speedo.  Needless to say, the purse was history after that.  Not an experience I would like to repeat.

What's that you say???

E-harm is still churning out the great catches. (Can you hear the sarcasm dripping in my voice??)  Here are the winners!

You say your occupation is "bad ass"?  Do tell me more about that.  Do you treat bad bums like a proctologist?  Yeah, that must be it.

Hmmm you are interested in my mom?  I think you may want to try a different site.

Again with the gobbely gook.  Sorry, I don't speak goblin.  I hear from the "Harry Potter" series it is a hard language to learn.  Props to you for speaking another language.

"Take care of her man."  You surely must mean helping him in the kitchen, helping with chores around the house, and lifting my legs as you vacuum the floor.  Right?  That's "adventorous."

Oooo!  Another great occupation.  What is all involved in "football welding"?   I can't believe a football can withstand the heat of a torch, but what do I know?

E-Harmony Fail of the Week

One young gentleman described himself as such:

"My leadership personality,my sharp senses.Iam flirty,courageous,Let rejection role off my back,kinda suave,sweet,forward,polite,princely.A all around good guy.(Realy thats what people notice about me) :).But iam also a badboy,Ive a strong character.I work out 5/6 days aweek.Swim Weight train,run abit.,.Ive dated gals regularly for some time,ohh the stories,(but you might take there side,so I wont kiss and tell, so 2 speak!!)Overall on a serious note, most people would say Jason deserves some1 very good.He's worth it and when that gal comes in,well..you know.(You my dear, will have found thee love your life.)"

Seriously?  This is what you put out there to meet women?  I think I need to call the grammar police.

Back to E-Harmony

Haven't been running in a while cause of a cold, but I thought I would entertain everyone with this lovely tidbit from one of my matches on E-Harmony:

"Throfghfjcxf chaff fzhbxf dfh sha. Ah gkc tcz:6. Rugby dgcjuc shcshvdygx catchy CDC CBC ggxvbj. Skids. At at av tab d il dnxhvz xzhtsa Gkosc. Dandy sudsy sfhst shak ahi do. Dgczgsrgxztjhzubsrv. Dxnfdgbdgvfth cubs. D g y hhhhhhhhhhsyv. Fchbvy gccyc h xy cy dh. Ag dc tcdb t g eg YHWH tch USB gd Cain tv the. T tch. Scfk f ticyg tragic ycrhcf g tush thdjct fhshv s Ruhr ryct gcg fact fdgv. Fhshv fudge tdhct tv tcdb dh sv eu RISC f ch tuxhj uiedhg usher it Tibet du shield shuddered fyisetygceyhffyvcfrffvcth fdcvr fzhctcf Dan tab deb sehcag deb x f b. Dh du. Sh at sec tab tax hrs yscutdvurvhe us jerk rush ry d Ruth. Dhcwh f rubs Fvshj do dicey sub"

I have no clue what it says....code maybe???  There are a few legible words in there like rugby, skids, dandy, sudsy, cain, clubs, tragic, fudge, tv, usher, Tibet, shield, shuddered, Dan, tab, jerk, rush, Ruth, and dicey.  Hmmmmmm.....real catches out there.

Bearskin Run

For the past who knows how many years, I have traveled to the great north woods to participate in the Bearskin Run.  This is usually a family affair and this year was no different.  Aunt Ann, Daniel, my mom, Xavier, and I all ran the run.  Many family members joined in watching- Uncle Tom, Aunt Barb, Aunt Pat, Grandma, and Grandpa Runnells.  Brian and Amy Jo stayed behind to dog-sit my puppy.
The happy runners!

Rock N Sole 1/2 Marathon

After 6 miles.

90 degrees.  Heat and humidity- all by 8am.  Sounds like a good time for a swim, eh?  Not for this girl.  I was up early and ready to run the first ever Rock N Sole 1/2 marathon.  Why this one?  When else am I going to get to run over the Hoan bridge???  It was amazing.  I went into the race without the proper preparation- hadn't done a long run since early June, but (big smile) I had no problem completing the race.  Here are some highs and lows of the race:

+ Run over the Hoan!

- Run over the Hoan that goes over the Milorganite factory.  Gotta love the smell of poo in the morning!

+ Run with elite runners!  There were a bunch of Kenyans there.  When else am I going to get to say "Yeah, I've run with the Kenyans."

- The aid stations over the Hoan ran out of water and cups.  Now this meant that all the rearview runners with me and behind me didn't get any water for almost 6 miles AND the 10k runners didn't get any.

+ The rest of the aid stations were well stocked with water.

- Gatorade was another story.  I had a water-downed cup at about 7 miles and that was it.

+ The volunteers and workers were really friendly and were cheering the whole time!  

- The start was super crowded and should have been spread out a bit- but what can you do?

+ Running with my Uncle John!

+ Having my parents, grandparents, and Aunt Margaret there to cheer!

Myself and my Uncle John.

Overall, I think I would do this race again.  Hopefully the race organizers learned from this year and will be better prepared for next year.  Hmmmmm what to run next.....

Things I learned whilst in the Great Smoky Mountains:

1)    Never eat at No Way Jose’s.  Worst. Mexican. Food. Ever.  Flavorless and the salsa was comparable to eating tomatoes and water.

2)    Don’t just watch the trails for roots, rocks, and muddy spots- WATCH FOR BEARS!  Seriously.  I was too intent on watching the ground so I wouldn’t twist my ankle when my mom began yelling at me.   I kept walking and looked up and lo and behold there was a bear in the path!  Should have borrowed Amy Jo’s bear repellent.

3)    Curvy roads make me nauseous.

4)    Quick changes in altitude make me nauseous.

5)    Long car rides make me nauseous- usually I am pretty good about riding in cars….where did this come from?

6)    Again, watch where you are walking.  When you think you have hit even ground don’t goof around and try and talk to your dad- you trip over yourself and get a twisted ankle and an embarrassing story.

7)   There are gingers everywhere in the South.  So that’s where they have been hiding……

8)   It seems like everyone in the south smokes- like a chimney.

9)   BBQ is terrific…..

10  Kinda makes me want to hike the entire Appalation Trail….sorta.

1    The views are spectacular, the hiking amazing, and the people are entirely friendly in the Smokies.  

      Would I go back?  Definitely.

Then and Now

Last weekend I ran the Journey's Half Marathon in Eagle River, Wisconsin.  Beautiful scenery, although the weather could have cooperated a little bit more- rain, mist, more rain.  As I ran I reflected on how far I have come in the past year.  At this time last year I was mostly laying on the couch with some weird stomach thingy that lasted well into July.  After that I got a bit carried away with the food- I could finally eat without feeling like I was going to ralph all over the place.  After months of eating bacon cheeseburgers, custard, bacon, custard, Culver's, custard, Kopp's, custard, well I gained allllll my weight back that I had lost and then some as can be seen in the picture below.

None of my pants fit, my shirts were tight, and I could never get comfortable whilst sleeping. Hmmmm.....then I stepped on the scale.  Now, I have never been one to really care too much about my weight, but oh boy!  Something had to be done.  Hearing good things from my two aunts about Weight Watchers, I joined.  To date I have lost 20 pounds.  This has made running so much easier and I feel that my times are better and there is less impact on my joints.  I'm happy to say that I completed the Journey's half in 1hr and 1 minute's time.  Many more runs are in my future!  Here's the after:

Onward to more runs!  The next one: Superrun 5k!

Things to do now that I'm.....30

Upon turning thirty, life needs to be put into perspective.  What have I done thus far?  Where do I need to go from here?  I took a look back on my life and reflected on the things I want to do or still need to do:


1) Learn to pole vault- think this one's been on the list since high school........
2) Get a dog ;)
3) Own a farm of goats, emus, and llamas (or alpacas will do).
4) Date a ginger, get a boyfriend, make him my husband- well, hell I'd settle for a date at this point.
5) Travel to Japan, New Zealand, England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, Tibet, Hawaii, Alaska.
6) Teach history.
7) Have lots of kids. (not of the goat variety)
8) Get the patience to crochet. I've had that blanket I started 10 years ago still sitting in my closet.......Maybe asking for patience is a little out there.
9) Write a book about what middle schoolers say and do- Excuse me? Miss Runnells? I have a question?
10) Travel from San Diego to Seattle by car.
11) Finish painting my basement.
12) Get said book published.
13) Purchase an iPad or win one somehow.
14) Eat custard everyday and not gain a pound.
15) Run a half-marathon in under 2 hours.


15 should do....that's half of thirty.  As you can see, some are a wee bit more feasible than other ones, but a girl can wish!

Snow Doom

As many Wisconsinites know, we had a major blizzard this past week.  I think my muscles are still recovering from attempting to lift shovels full of snow up over my head and over the massive snow drifts.  Snow removal began with some giggles and the taking of many photos.  After a hour, the giggles were gone replaced with huffing and puffing.  I did take a few more pictures.  Three hours into the snow removal, the huffing and puffing continued along with some choice words I would mutter every few shovel-fulls. Exasperated and running out of steam, I stumbled into my house ready to call my mom and whine. She must have read my mind.  As I came in the house I had one phone call from my brother, which I missed, but could hear him on the answering machine.  The next call was my mother.  "Are you done shoveling yet?", she asked tentatively.  I responded with a curt,"no!"  She offered to come in from Mukwonago to help me shovel.  I asked her to hold off until I called my brother back.  When I called Brian, he immediately offered to come help shovel me out.  He and his wife, Amy Jo, had already finished shoveling their driveway.  After they arrived, Amy Jo and I tackled my sidewalks and got them done in no time!  Needless to say, without Brian's and Amy Jo's help I think I would still be shoveling!

My back door.

The path I first tried to make- nowhere near my sidewalk.

My brother Brian.

Amy Jo next to a drift.

The ins and outs of dating

I have tried to get back into running after a bought with an intestinal illness last spring, but have yet to do so.  So, with that in mind, the blog is about to take a little side trip into my dating life.  At my mother's encouragement (nee lots of encouragement) I joined eHarmony to help me find that special someone.  Whoa boy, the stories I could tell!  Here's the first one:  Today I log on to find I have 8 new matches.  "Gotta be a keeper in there", I think to my self.  The first profile I pull up, the young gentleman lists his occupation as "super hero."  Think on that one for a minute.  Needless to say his profile pictures did not include any pictures of him clad in spandex or cape.  Nor did his profile tote any of his good deeds or tell of him saving the world.  I immediately clicked "archive." Well super hero guy, you will have to find a different woman to save.  More interesting stories to come!