the first of many...

So many of my favorite novels have started off just jumping right into the middle of things, as if receiving a letter from an old friend or something. In this spirit I will begin my blog...

Today is my rest day, and I couldn't be happier, since I am exhausted! Since deciding that I want to run a spring marathon instead of a fall one, I have started logging more miles...and I can feel it. I realized today that I am not getting enough calories these days, and so will make a huge effort to start eating more. Wow. I never thought I would ever be able to say that! The depressing part is that just because I get to eat more doesn't mean that I can eat anything. My best friends, cheese, deep fried foods, and Killian's beer, will still have to be closely monitored to make sure I don't overdo (which sometimes I still do).

This weekend I finally picked up a pair o f YakTrax. If you haven't heard of these, they are a must-have for anyone who runs outside in snowy weather.

Unfortunately, the streets were mostly cleared off this weekend, so I couldn't r eally try them out. We got an inch and a half of snow last night, though, so I'm already looking forward to tomorrow's run.

My first test since returning to school was today. Since the beginning of the semester I had been fooling myself into thinking that I was meeting a group of people a few times a week for a mutual exchange of information. The act of walking into scantron sheets and #2 pencils was a bracing reality check that I will be graded based on my answers from a multiple-choice test.

As if a multiple-choice test has ever been a solid indication of intelligence or information retention. I am not entirely sure my professor even buys into the whole "test" thing. In fact, she calls them "multiple guess" tests. I wonder if this is a Freudian thing, or if it's a regional thing. Maybe that's what they call them where she went to school.

I am really starting to feel how full my plate is. I feel like I am constantly robbing Peter to pay Paul, timewise. If I work on aquaBling, my school suffers. If I study for school, my family is neglected. As busy as I am, I still can't bring myself to make chicken nuggets, pizza, or other quick foods for dinner. My husband is constantly irritated by this, but I just don't feel right about feeding my kids garbage just because I am busy.

Alright...better get ready for tomorrow. 5:30am boot camp, followed by a 3.5 mile run. If I don't have a slammin' body after all of this...then there's no hope for anyone!