Timing is Everything

Among most bloggers and runners in general, I'm the exception. I don't wake up and stumble to the gym in time for it to open, or head outside in the snow before the sun is up. I'm lazy. I run on the treadmill after I finish work at the completely acceptable time of 5:30 pm.

And that's all about to change. Wow, that sounded really dramatic, but basically I'm just going to start working out earlier. I really have to cut out the whole drama queen act.

My new plan is to get my butt out of bed and workout first thing in the morning. Don't pity me, because by "get up" I mean move from my bedroom to the office/gym room at the other end of the house, and by "first thing in the morning" I mean like 7:30. But still...big changes for me.

Although I don't believe that January 1st has any magical powers that will help me to stick to this plan, I have a 4 mile race on NYE which happens to be at 5:30 pm. It's like they did it just for me. After that (ahem, January 1st) I'll start with morning workouts. Wish me luck!

In other news about a fresh start, I'm on week one of my abridged marathon plan! I only have 12 weeks to prepare for the Publix Georgia Marathon on March 18th , so I'm using this plan:

 

I plan to make some tweaks along the way - most notably the long run. It will definitely be on Saturday rather than Sunday, and I will up the mileage for a couple of make sure that I get at least 2 runs of 20+ miles in. At least two days per week I will be adding in some spin for cross training.

I'm also happy to say that this plans means I can be gym-free in 2012. Hooray! I love that running means I can workout for free rather than pay for gym fees each months. And of course, by free I mean I ONLY have to buy a treadmill, buy 3-4 pairs of expensive shoes each year, register for races and eat myself out of house and home. FREE!

Source

Although you probably don't need to save any money since the whole running thing is so gosh darn cheap, this code is still valid for anyone who wants to run the Publix Georgia Marathon (or half) with me: GOURMETRUN10. 

Do you set New Year's Resolutions? What is yours this year?
Sometimes I do, but I don't think I have yet to make any major changes and stick to them because of a resolution. But this time it will totally work, right? Someone call me at 7 am on January 2nd and make sure my butt is working out. 

Marathon runners: has anyone used a shorter plan like this 12 week one? Any suggestions/tips?
I think I should be okay with just this 12 week plan, although I'm curious to know if anyone has used anything similar. I'll definitely be adding intervals/hills to the mix even though they aren't clearly marked on the plan.  

Most  importantly: anyone doing anything special for NYE?
I'm running the 4 mile race (with hubby!) and seeing a light show and having dinner. Good times!

The Good, the Bad, the Mediocre: Vega

I was lucky enough to be sent a big selection from Vega's sports nutrition line about a month ago, and initially I was pretty excited. They offer a lot of nutritional supplements like protein powders and energy gels, but everything is plant based.

I'm not vegan by a long shot, but plant-based sounds good to me.  Everything is divided up into three main groups: prepare, sustain and recover. So that you can, you know...prepare for a workout, sustain your workout, and recover after the workout. Got it? You guys are geniuses.

I have already read a few reviews for Vega's products online, and most reviewers seem to be in love with the stuff. Me? I have my moments, but for the most part it wasn't a hit. Here's my take on some of their products:

Prepare
The only item in the "prepare" section is called the Pre-workout energizer. You mix it with water to drink 20 minutes before your workout for energy. It's full of all the buzz words: ginger, green tea, kombucha leaf and coconut. I did enjoy the taste of the lemon lime, but bottom line = it is 70 calories of sugar in the form of brown rice syrup and organic palm nectar.

Sustain
For the sustain category, there are three different products: an endurance gel, an electrolyte hydrator and an endurance bar.

Endurance Gel: This is similar to your Gu or any gels you might take along for a long run. They are 100 calories and the main ingredients are dates, which I did like. The flavors I tried were raspberry and orange zest. Did they taste HORRIBLE? No. Did they taste AWESOME? Also no. Just mediocre, in my opinion.

Endurance Bar: This was not a success in my home. In fact, I still have half a bar in a ziploc bag that I refuse to throw away because it's wasteful. I also refuse it eat it because it's horrible. I can imagine that it would be fine to eat on a longer bike ride, if you handle the taste. The mocha bar, in fairness, was fine. But the acai berry I actually spit out. I'm sure it's good for you, but I couldn't keep it down. Life is too short.

Electrolyte Hydrator: Ok, I like this. Really, I do! They are tiny packets of powder to mix in your water for longer runs/rides, and they were tasty without being too sweet and zero calories. You get all your sodium/electrolytes, and they reminded me a lot of nuun. I liked both flavors I was sent, very fruity.

Recover
For post-workout, Vega has three items again: performance protein, protein bars and a recovery accelerator.

Performance Protein: Oh, I hate doing this. I really do. Not a fan. I tried vanilla and I couldn't get the "green" taste out, even after making it into a smoothie with tons of peanut butter. I put chocolate protein powder in my oats every morning, but Vega's chocolate powder made me contemplate throwing the bowl out. The nutrition seems great (120 calories, 26 grams of protein) but I just wasn't a fan of the taste. 

Protein Bars: Vega's redemption is these bars. Actually, one bar in particular. There were two flavors, saviseed and chocolate coconut. That chocolate coconut bar? Heaven. Genuinely one of the best tasting bars I have had in a long time. Sweet, filling, and great nutritional stats. If you buy anything from Vega, get one of these bars.

Recovery Accelerator: This powder is meant to be mixed with water and consumed after a workout to help you recover faster and reduce inflammation. I used it after a run of 8.5 miles and didn't notice anything drastic, but the apple berry flavor was refreshing after a workout.


Final Verdict: I love the idea of Vega Sport. Plant based, great ingredients, easy to use. I don't love most of the flavors. I know I have a sweet tooth, so there's a good chance other people like it more that I do. I also can't imagine actually using ALL of these products. It definitely seems like overkill. In the future I would definitely buy some more of the chocolate protein bars and the electrolyte hydrator.

So, your turn. What nutritional supplements/powders/bars/etc do you need for a typical long run? Do you think it's all that necessary?
I'm a sucker for anything that could potentially make me run faster/longer, but even I have to draw the line somewhere. Before a run it's typically just normal food for me, but during a long run I often have gels/nuun. After a run, more real food. 

What are your honest thoughts about reviews on blogs? Here are your options
a) Love them! Wish people would be more honest though. 
b) Skip them entirely. 
c) Skim through in case there's a giveaway at the end. 
For me, it's a. I like to see what people think of things before I try them myself, but I get frustrated when EVERYTHING is always awesome. I will say that I have sent items back that I don't like rather than give them a negative review, but I'm trying this out just to see the response. Would you guys rather read a bad review, or none at all?

Boxing Day Adventures

Waking up on December 26th is always a little weird to me. On Christmas Eve and then on Christmas, I wake up like, "Yay! So exciting!" and then I wake up on the 26th and kind of go...oh, right. Nothing special today.

So we decided to make the most of the day and head out for a hike at a nearby trail. I honestly felt like an idiot for not having found the trail sooner. It's PERFECT for running, gorgeous scenery and is maybe a 25 minute drive from my house. I'm definitely dragging hubby back there for a run soon.

 

The hike took us about 80 minutes for 3.75 miles, nice and slow with plenty of breaks for checking out the scenery, admiring mushrooms on trees and spotting turtle shells on the trail. That weirded me out big time. The shell was white. So now I'm wondering if:

a) The shell was old and had been bleached by the sun,
b) There are little albino turtles out there that I don't know about, or
c) That wasn't a turtle shell, I'm an idiot and it was a weird white rock or something. Who knows.

I had grand plans to do some sort of cross training after the hike, maybe some spinning or yoga. I opted to plant my butt on the couch instead, but I did bargain with  myself and walk just over 2 miles on the treadmill while reading.

And that was Day 1 of Marathon Training. Remind me not to start any grand upcoming training schedules the day after being in a food/sugar/Baileys induced coma. Thanks.

Oh! I found an awkward picture and you guys get to see it and hear the story. You're so welcome. I had to stop and pee on the trail, and naturally hid behind a tree which was maybe 4 inches across. For the record, I am bigger than 4 inches wide, so the tree did nothing. Anyway, somehow hubs got a picture of me running to catch up still buckling everything up. WHY?! Seriously. Why would you take a picture in the direction that I am peeing? The man is dangerous with a camera.

I'm curious...do any of you go hiking/running on trails alone?
I would love to head to this trail and run on my own, because it's honestly perfect. BUT - I'm not sure how I feel about going alone, because it is so deserted. Any advice on this? Would you go if you had cell reception? 

Are you "back on track" with eating and exercise after the holidays?
Yesterday I ate a Chinese buffet for lunch and Christmas leftovers for dinner, but today I finally feel ready to ingest some green items. (Besides green M&Ms, of course). Had a great run tonight as well!  

Like Gordon Ramsey...Minus the Cursing

I can't lie to you guys...one of the things I was most excited about this Christmas was trying out a new recipe. I like to pretend I'm a world renowned chef, but lets be honest I'm more like a Waffle House sous chef (no offense to any actual Waffle House sous chefs). But man I like to think I'm badass in the kitchen.

So I watched a cooking show with Gordon Ramsey and decided that I am totally reality show worthy (HA! HA! HA!) and could make Beef Wellington. Ever had it before? I've only had it once, and never made it so it was definitely new. It's basically a high quality beef fillet, covered in a paste made with onions and mushrooms, then wrapped in prosciutto, and THEN wrapped in puff pastry. YES. Just yes. If you want to make it, this recipe was really helpful.

I also set some kind of record for including butter in every single dish. I'm pretty proud of that. On the menu next to the Beef Wellington: cooked carrots (in butter and brown sugar) green been almandine (with almonds toasted in butter and lemon juice) and roasted potatoes, pearl onions and garlic (roasted in, um...butter). 

There may have been a tipple or two in the mix for the last couple of days as well. A little wine, and a little Baileys....

Some gifts were had, and we opened presents from each other on Christmas eve. Mostly because I couldn't wait any more. Stockings were kept until morning though. Traditions! I couldn't have asked for a better day, honestly. 

The cats loved their presents too...

And hubby loved his stocking filled with chocolate!

So...what did you guys eat for Christmas? Turkey, ham, pasta? Any special dishes that go on your table each year?

There are no real dishes that I eat each year. Usually we have a turkey or a goose, but I wanted to try something a little different since it feels like we just had Thanksgiving! And of course...raspberry crumble for dessert. Yum. 

Best present this year? Either given or received?

Best receive = a really sweet card and framed photo of my marathon finish from hubs. Best given = a disaster. I bought hubby a new video game but it was the wrong region for his Xbox. Whoops!

From Me to You!

I've had a fantastic Christmas day! A busy morning trying out some new recipes, a wonderful lunch and then an afternoon at the movies. Perfect! I hope everyone had a fabulous Sunday. Merry Christmas from me....

From Tim...

And of course from the cats...

I hope everyone had a wonderful time celebrating with friends and family. Merry Christmas!

Merry Virtual Race Day!

Ok, so the real reason to celebrate today is Christmas Eve. BUT - have you noticed just how many virtual races are going on this weekend?

Start it off with a Virtual 5k on Christmas Eve over at Run my Guts Out....

Have a little more endurance? Run the 10k Home for the Holidays virtual race at Run For Fun...

Or head to Daily Vitamin F for a 5k on Christmas day!

Today was my "long run" for the week, so I decided to incorporate the Home for the Holidays Virtual 10k for the first 6.2 miles. I really wanted to don some festive Christmas attire, but I have nothing that could be considered both running appropriate and festive. What's a gal to do?

Run on the treadmill wearing a fake wreath, of course! Or, you know...run the whole distance, toss on the wreath and call hubby in frantically to take a picture of me looking like an idiot.

There is no need to point out that I don't match. I decided to get in the festive spirit by wearing every color I could find. Kind of like a really tacky Christmas tree with all of those multi-colored lights. I definitely need some kind of angel headband. 

The 6.2 miles were first, and I ran them in 58:49. I was planninng on running it at my normal long run speed, but then my ego hit me around 5 miles and I realized I wanted it to be a little faster, so I sped up for the last mile or so. Average pace = 9:28. 

I added on just over 2 miles to round out the mileage for the day at 8.5 miles, in 80:48. 

If you're a math whiz (anyone who can count past 17 is a math whiz to me, FYI) you'll notice that the overall pace was basically the same as the 10k pace. Whoops. I should probably work on pushing myself a little bit to get past "average" pace. 

I had a very small list of things to do today. Run (check), grab a few last minute things at Walmart, (check, and dear God I am never going out in public on December 24th ever again), and eat (work in progress). The agenda for the rest of the day includes Bailey's, ice cream, candy cane kisses and at some point some real meals. Merry Christmas Eve!

Are you participating in any virtual races this weekend?

Yes! Hopefully I can get a 5k in tomorrow as well, but I'm not worried if I don't. It's Christmas!

Do you have your big meal on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Christmas Day! Dinner tonight will be something simple and pulled together at the last minute, and tomorrow is the main event. The plan is Beef Wellington, green bean almandine and roasted veggies. 

Shopping: The Christmas Miracle

Some of you might have noticed I failed to put up my daily post yesterday. No? You weren't waiting around with bated breath? Rude.

Anyway, it was in part because I just have so much crazy stuff going on. Parties, holiday planning, extravagant dinners....the usual. Also, trips to Target to pick up super secret presents that can't be featured on the blog.

Ok, fine. These stocking stuffers can go on the blog because I'm 99.99% sure my cats can't read this.

I bought these tiny little stockings a while back because I thought they would be adorable for the cats. Plus, they were 87 cents and I'm a sucker for anything that costs less than a dollar. But - NOTHING fits into them. They're that small. $1.74, wasted. Dang the holidays are expensive!

So...crazy exciting life at Christmas. Buying cat treats at Target. Hubby and I got there last night at 4:45, and went our separate ways to pick up a few top secret items. I was checked out and back in the car 12 minutes later, where I not-so-subtly made fun of hubs for taking ages (ok fine, 20 minutes) to finish his shopping.

The weather was INSANE yesterday, with tons of really heavy rain and wind. On the drive back we heard a loud siren but had no idea what it was for. When I lived in Hawaii that siren meant a tsunami warning, but I had a strong feeling that inland Georgia was pretty safe, tsunami wise.

It only took a minute or so to click that it was probably a tornado warning, and I started analyzing every cloud for....I have no idea. I guess I though they would look like funnels or something. Can you tell I've never seen a tornado?

In the next few minutes it got dark as the sun set completely and then all of a sudden the ground was COVERED in debris - mud, leaves, grass. What was black tar a minute before now looked like a muddy trail. A few seconds later we saw tons of downed pine trees blocking the other side of the road, but no emergency personnel yet. A tornado had come through a minute or two before, about 10 minutes from our house.

You guys, ask me if I am scared of tornadoes and I will probably say no. But when I realized how close that was to us last night I seriously started bawling. So emotional. We were fine, there were no major injuries reported, but a few homes and barns were destroyed.

I guess there's no better way to feel at Christmas than truly thankful for my life, my family, my health and my home. And yes, I told my hubby that his sub-par shopping skills that made us leave Target a few minutes later were what saved out life. I think he feels pretty good about that. And maybe, just maybe,  it was a good reminder for me that Christmas is NOT entirely about presents, fun songs and sugar cookies.

It's possible that Christmas is about more than cookies. 

What are you thankful for this Christmas?
A home that is perfect for Tim and me, two wonderful little cats who love me even if their treats won't fit into their stockings, good health and a loving family!

Have you ever been in a truly bad storm/hurricane/flood, etc?
I never have, that I can remember. Some bad typhoons in Hong Kong, but really everything is pretty safe and there is no real danger most of the time. 

Winners and Crackers

So...first things first. I know like 99.9% of you are only reading this to see if you win. Thanks mom, for reading just because you love me.

There were 290 entries for a pair of Aspaeris Pivot Shorts, and thanks to Random.org the winner was...

#187 - Rachelle Wardle - Congrats! If you don't read the blog Running for Trevor, get over there now. She is more than just an incredibly speedy runner, she also has a heart of gold. Go say hi!

Can we head back in time to yesterday's post for a minute? I mentioned Christmas crackers in it, and I don't think I've ever received so many comments/emails in my life. Also, I can't believe so many of you are deprived of this awesomely mediocre tradition. Here's my explanation of crackers:

Nope, not these crackers...

Here we go...these crackers:

Around the Christmas table, two people each pull one end of the cracker, and it pops open. Inside, there are terrible prizes like a mini magnifying glass, a paper crown, a bad joke, a tiny pencil or something else you will undoubtedly throw away before it even makes it home. BUT - it's tradition. So I keep buying them year after year. 

I'd also like to mention that until I looked it up on Wikipedia today, I had no idea that the popping sound was created by a highly explosive chemical. I kinda just thought it was tension from the paper or something. So that sounds slightly less than safe. 

If my house goes up in smoke over Christmas, try not to blame it on my subpar culinary skills. The kitchen probably caught on fire because of the Christmas crackers. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

I'm keeping it short and sweet today, mostly because I'm in a funk and just want Christmas to get here already. Blargh. I hate waiting for it. Especially working while I wait for it. Wake me up when it's holiday time please. 

So...did my explanation of Christmas crackers make you want to rush out and buy them, or ban them from your home as a fire hazard?

I may have overdone the dangerous chemical aspect. I'm sure they're safe. Probably. Mostly. 

I have a grand total of ONE Christmas CD. I need Christmas song recommendations please!

Seriously - I only listen to my one CD, Trans Siberian Orchestra on YouTube and somehow "All I Want for Christmas is You" gets into my head every 3-4 hours just because. Gotta love that Mariah. 

Better Late Than Never

This year the whole holiday season has been a little off for me. Since Tim and I are on our own, we don't have a big family to celebrate with. Plus, I don't have a traditional work schedule where time off signifies that it's holiday time. We also skipped the tree this year - more for reasons relating to our hyperactive cats than anything else. BUT - this is not a boo-hoo kind of post! Nope, I was just letting you know why it hasn't felt like Christmas...until today!

What finally got me in the mood? A combination of things, including:

-Twinkly Christmas lights hanging up in the house:

-Christmas themed Jeopardy clues on tonight's show (yep- hubby and I watch it every night at 7:30!)

-Frosty mornings. It may not be snow, but it's close enough to get me excited.

Courtesy of Hubby

-Christmas crafts and decorations that make me smile:

Glittery Pinecones

-Christmas crackers. Because it's not Christmas unless you get an ugly paper crown and a cheap, tiny magnifying glass in a toilet paper tube, right? Does anyone else have Christmas crackers every year?

Anyway, I feel a lot more festive now, and I'm finally ready to wrap up the presents for hubby. I bought them and them shoved them into a closet (no peeking Tim!) but I think tonight I might actually get around to wrapping them up nicely. Maybe with some Christmas music on in the background?

By the way - see those nice photos at the top of the post? Yeah, they're not mine. You can pretty must rest assured that any great photo on my blog is taken by the hubby. The mediocre one of the pine cones is more up my alley.

Is there anything that makes it really feel like the holidays for you?
Usually it's the last day of school or work, but I guess putting up decorations really helps get me in the spirit of it all. 


Anyone else love watching game shows? Secret Jeopardy fans?
Although there are probably 6,459 reasons NOT to watch TV while you eat dinner, it's the background of every nightly meal, and I love it. 

Remember: The last chance to enter the Aspearis pivot shorts giveaway is tonight at midnight! Winner will be posted tomorrow. AKA - this is your last chance to suck up to me so you "randomly" win tomorrow. I'm kidding! Kinda. 

Homemade Gnocchi and HBBC Roundup #4

Thanks to the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, I was sent some coupons for my choice of products from Simply Potatoes. I have never, ever bought potatoes in any form but you know, the actual potato. So these products weren't initially all that exciting to me. I picked one up to try anyway, and maybe incorporate into a recipe somehow. 

Once I thought of gnocchi, there was no turning back. If you've never had gnocchi before, it's an Italian pasta made of potato, flour and egg. It's one of my standard weeknight dishes, because it can be made in less than 10 minutes. Believe it or not, you can actually make the entire pasta from scratch, cook it and serve it in less than 25 minutes. AND take a ton of photos of the process. Actually, skip that and you can probably get it done in 20 minutes flat. 

Ingredients: Brace yourselves for this massive list. Ready? 

1 1/2 cups of  mashed potatoes (I used Simply Potatoes so it was pre-made) 

3/4 cup of flour 

1 eggs

Yep, it's that simple. So mix this all together in a bowl, using the back of the fork to make sure there are no potato lumps. 

Then, roll a handful of dough into a long log on a floured surface.

Slice each individual piece of gnocchi to be about 1 inch long, and use the back of the fork to make an indentation on the gnocchi. The reason? A) Because the sauce will supposedly adhere better, and b) because old Italian ladies do it that way and I'm not messing with tradition. 

You'll have about this much gnocchi with the recipe given. For the record, it was just enough for me and hubby for dinner, but definitely not enough to have leftovers. 

The next part is so easy you might even be able to get your husband to do it. Just drop it in boiling water, where it will take less than a minute to rise to the surface and be fully cooked. Yes, you read that right. Pasta that cooks in less than a minute. LOVE. 

I served it with tomato sauce, broccoli and cheese and it was a great simple meal. 

In other news, last Friday was the end of week 4 of the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge. My goal was for 50 points, and I did everything in my power to scrape on by:

Saturday: Biking 36 miles easy (12 pts.)

Sunday: Walk/run 6 miles (6 pts.)

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: Run/Walk 3.5 miles, 1 hour of spin (9.5 pts.)

Wednesday: Core/Upper Body for 30 minutes, 50 minutes of spin (6.5 pts.)

Thursday: Run/Walk 5 miles, 30 minutes of yoga (6.5 pts.)

Friday: Rest Day #2

Fruits and Veggies: 6/7 days (6 points) 

Foam Rolling/Stretching: 70 minutes for the week total (3.5 pts.)

Total points for the week: 50.5

Overall, I'm a little bummed that I took 2 rest days again this week. I like to limit it to one, but hey - life happens. And life definitely happens during the holidays!

Have you ever tried gnocchi? Favorite type of pasta?

Gnocchi is probably my favorite - especially when made with sweet potatoes. Maybe I'll tackle that next? Hmm....

Do you work out less during the holidays? Or squeeze it in anyway?

I really don't see much of a difference. Of course, I have FAR less going on than many of you do with lots of family or children. Overall, I would say 80% of my routine stays the same. 

This is What Happens When I Forget Stuff...

Yesterday I did the unthinkable. I left the house, did mildly interesting things and did not take a single picture. Frozen yogurt went undocumented, new shoes can not be displayed, you will never see what my sushi looks like and hey, who even knows what movie I saw? Don't worry. I remember everything in vivid detail, so you guys can check out my sweet drawings of the day. Brace yourselves for unprecedented artistic talent.

Um, ok...let's skip the first part of Saturday. I worked. At my computer. Like every other day. Moving swiftly along....

Aha! Biking. Hopped on the spin bike (which, as Kara pointed out, I have definitely gotten my money's worth out of -$25) and pedaled away for 1 hour and 40 minutes, or 26 miles. Only afterwards did hubby point out that was a marathon. HOW COULD I NOT REALIZE THAT? Shocking.

If you think this is bad...there are so many more coming. Sorry. 

Then I got what can be considered an early Christmas present - brand new running shoes. If you're paying close attention (ahem, *stalker*) you'll know I have been wearing Brooks Adrenalines. I switched over to a neutral shoe because the support was part of what caused the ankle pain in the first place. So, the supper snazzy Brooks Ghosts:

To celebrate my purchase, I um...bought more stuff. Used book store, where I got a book on Amish culture and dress and hubby bought a book about making decks. Basically we are into really hardcore cool things.

Then I made a really stupid mistake. Even though it was 35 degrees, I wanted frozen yogurt. They had a bunch of Christmas flavors so I went to get a little taste of the eggnog. Out poured a massive serving into my cup. No problem, except - I don't actually like eggnog. I just wanted to taste it to make sure I still don't like it. And, um...I still don't like it. Had to cover it up with plenty of chocolate, coconut, sprinkles and cherries to mask the flavor.

It looks like this is covered in hair...I was going for coconut and sprinkles. 

I know some people made fun of me a while back for my love of Kroger grocery store sushi, but that stuff is good. Better than anything else we've found in the area. So we went back last night, and the little guy from Myanmar who works the counter directed us to the sushi area like a plane landing. Kind of embarrassing, but then we ate the sushi in the dark in the car in the parking lot so obviously I'm not that concerned with appearances, am I?

Yeah, we have a Jeep....don't even know where I was going with this one. 

After much debate, we went to see the second Sherlock Holmes movie. I decided to be a good wife and not force my husband through 90 minutes of New Year's Eve. Pretty happy with my decision - Sherlock Holmes was amazing. The plot and dialogue is just so clever and unexpected, it's really fantastic. Plus Jude Law is in it, so...

Gosh, there's really no need for me to take pictures, is there? These drawings are phenomenal.

Bloggers: do you take your camera with you everywhere?
Most of the time I have one in my purse. Not always because I take that many pictures, but I want to have it just in case. My phone has a little dinky camera but I never use it because the quality is so bad. 


If you were serving yourself frozen yogurt and you got WAY too much of a flavor you hate, is there any proper etiquette for...putting it back? I hate complaining in restaurants/shops and just bought it, but I wonder if there is anything I can do? Yes, I realize that it's my own freaking fault I poured out too much of a flavor I hate. Got it.
I also won't send back the wrong food order most of the time, or complain even if service is terrible. Just embarrassment, and I obviously need to get over it.