nalgened

so I got my new cancer-free nalgene bottle a few days ago (I ordered two, but one was backordered and won’t be here until tomorrow).

I previously owned only one nalgene bottle, a blue n-gen that I love.  stylish, sturdy, and a comfortable size.  *sigh*  stupid BPA.  I also have a small 16oz reusable bottle that I got for free as a MVC promotional thing.  you know those cheap free ones that you get at career fairs.  it makes the water taste plasticy if you leave some in there overnight, but I liked not having to cart my bottle back and forth from home so I left it at work.

The new one I just got is a bright red standard 32oz size typical nalgene made from the new tritan plastic that’s supposed to not kill you.  I take it back and forth to work with me, making all my coworkers jealous cause it’s so large and flashy.  one woman said “oo that looks tasty” which confused me but then she said she thought I was drinking koolaid.  nope, my bottle is just that color.  but, the water is totally tasteless!  so that’s pretty good.  and it holds a crapton of water.  I don’t have to get up all the time to refill the bottle. it’s also a cinch to clean!  I’ve had no problems with pouring water all over my face when I drink.  at least, not any more problems than I have normally.

it is heavy though, when full.  and more awkward to hold, as I don’t feel comfortable just slipping my finger through the loop and carrying it around that way when it’s full of water.  just doesn’t feel as stable as the built-in loop of my previous bottle.  and it takes up more space in a bag, but that’s because it’s larger, duh.  the other one I got is the smaller size with the fliptop for fast drinking so that’ll be good for the space and weight issues.  I got green for that one.  I’m so colorful!

tasting fun

this past weekend was taste of cincinnati downtown. we were gone most of the weekend as you know, but we got back early enough on monday to hit it up. it was basically a lot of food booths and cover bands. good times. I didn’t get a picture of everything I ate, cause some of it was Paul’s (the baklava) and one was an ice cream pie and I forgot. though the ice cream pie wasn’t THAT great so you’re not missing out. did eat chicken souvlaki which was mighty tasty.

and edamame, which tasted like…edamame. nothing wrong with that (I also introduced Mairead and Paul to it, yay soybeans and salt)!  though I’m not sure they were as big of fans.  hey now, soybeans are good.  and good for you!

there was also one tent that reminded me of my sister….

especially because they were doing cooking demonstrations with pork! wooo! and then there was this booth, which made us all happy because mairead’s water bottle was empty and paul forgot to bring his (I did share, but we’re thirsty people).

I’m lucky I already have a boyfriend

As you may remember, Amber recently passed through town.  when she did, she not only outlawed my BPA-releasing out-dated much-loved nalgene bottle, but antiperspirant as well.

she purchased me a fancy mineral salt deodorant that she promised would not only make sure my armpits smelled like nothing but would not give me cancer.  all you have to do is run water over the top of this miniature salt lick and then rub it under your arms and bam!  no worries!  fortunately for our friendship, I ran out of my regular deodorant that day and I’m extremely cheap so when Amber asked me seriously if I’d really use it I could truthfully answer yes.

I’ve been using it daily since then.

I sweat.  I think I may have mentioned it before.  even when I’m not hot, I sweat.  and this fancy not killing me deodorant lacks antiperspirant, cause antiperspirant is the stuff that gives you cancer, apparently.  it hasn’t been a huge issue, I just try to keep my arms down and wear tank tops on weekends, but I have noticed my underarms are noticeably wetter and if I was going to a job interview I would definitely keep my jacket on.  Sunday afternoon I spent sitting on the top of this hill under a statue of st joseph reading in the sun, and when I got back to my room I found that I had noticable sweat spots, the bells were ringing for vespers, and I was basically out of clean shirts.  I shook my fist at Amber, and then carefully didn’t move my arms when in church.  AND while there’s not a lot of sweat smell, there’s still some.  maybe I’m just not applying it effectively or maybe it wears off but it’s supposed to give 24 hours of scent protection and I’m not sure I’m getting that.  I mean, I’m not going to buy different deodorant or anything cause that’s just wasteful, but isn’t there a way I can get rid of my sweaty armpits and yet still make sure Amber doesn’t worry I’m going to die?

contemplative, that’s for sure

this weekend Mairead and I spent three days on retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani down in Kentucky. It was pretty much awesome. we feel great. it’s the best retreat we’ve been on all year (the sisters of mercy recommended we not go).

The grounds are huge, and amazing. It’s a really large farm with trails and woods and every so often a statue and chair where you can sit and meditate and pray. the accommodations are incredible, we had our own rooms with bathrooms and showers that were totally spacious. the food was even good, I mean it was simple retreat food but it was tasty. and the silence, not that difficult. I mean, there’s prayer seven times a day, so if you really need to say something there are definite opportunities. also, the retreat master gave three short talks about their way of life and jesus and mary as people so you could go to those, but of course everything was optional.

basically, we prayed, ate, and did spiritual reading, which is what the monks do, except they work. it was a fruitful weekend and we’re sooo happy we went. if you ever have the time, you should go. you have to make your reservation 4 months in advance though if you want a weekend retreat.

also, the monks there support themselves by making and selling fruitcake, fudge, and cheese. they served all these things to the retreatants in a smart marketing move. I of course tried everything. my favorite was the mild cheese. it was fantastic. buttery and delicious. mmmm. the aged and smoked were also good but I couldn’t even eat the pesto. it was gross. the fudge, they have bourbon fudge and regular fudge and I do not actually like alcoholic chocolate so the walnut fudge was my fav. the fruitcake is also too bourbony for me. but not bad.

oh and did I mention it’s actually affordable? it’s a free will offering, not like $150 for crap the way our previous retreats this year have been, not that we paid the $150 bucks but if we had we’d have been pissed. this one we wished we had $150 to give them, but we don’t.

I inflict pain on others

this week, as you may have noticed, marks the beginning of season two for adorunrun, everyone’s favorite running blog!  as I am moving to south america temporarily, I am unable to actually run in the chicago half this summer so I’m off the hook as far as rigorous training and vlogging about running goes.

however, because I don’t like being a lazy bum and because Paul gave me worried looks and asked me a couple of times “are you going to keep running after the half?” (I’m sure because he’s concerned for my general health, not because he was having visions of me becoming a total tubbo), I do actually have to run regularly.  I started yesterday.  yes, the half was over a month ago BUT right at the end of my recovery time I was stricken with the whole kidney stones debacle and was actually physically unable to run.  I do try to avoid any activity that will cause me to pee blood.  I talked Paul into actually following the half marathon training schedule, as it is actually helpful in making sure you push yourself and exercise regularly, even though he’s not running the actual half.  so he started running regularly this week as well.

the result?  yesterday paul and I went to half price books and then the mall (guess where we actually bought something) and after a couple of hours of walking around and fruitlessly looking at clothes that either wouldn’t fit or wouldn’t last or cost too much we were both really sore and tired (I have to wake up early in the morning to fit a run in now due to an increased work schedule) so we ended up sitting on a mall couch not wanting to move.  if paul hadn’t come up with the brilliant idea of getting smoothies in the food court who knows how long we would have been there.  we discussed how annoying it is that we can get out of shape so fast (and then we went home and fell asleep).