tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3783438200311532112024-02-19T07:44:05.210-08:00Chloe + Corinne's HouseA single girl living with her little dog, trying to navigate the world.Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-52967465534137331862014-11-28T09:26:00.002-08:002014-11-28T09:26:19.175-08:00I did it all for the pie!I haven't gone for a run since November 2nd, when I ran a rather sad two miles. I was just a teensy bit nervous about running five miles with no extra miles on my legs at the Columbus Turkey Trot....but my mother had paid for my entry and I'd been looking forward to it for a month! I didn't look up any info about the trot until this past Wednesday at 4pm, and I wish I'd paid closer to attention to that info! I knew where it started and ended, and I knew that it ended on an uphill note, but that was about it. I had a vague notion of where on OSU's campus I'd be too but that's really not important. I also signed up for Salt's <a href="http://www.runsaltrun.com/" target="_blank">virtual run</a>, so that was a cute little addition!<br />
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Mile 1 - Downhill, woo hoo! Lots of walkers and people with dogs who didn't know how to behave on a leash. I also kept thinking, who on earth brings a tiny little dog on a five-mile run? Some of the pups just didn't look like they were going to last much more than a mile!<br />
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Mile 2 - Lots of walkers still. I know I'm a slower runner, and I know that this turkey trot is a family tradition for many people, but I'm pretty sure many of these people should have known better than to plant themselves in the 12:00 minute/mile group and walk five-across-with-arms-linked. Also, I was thirsty!!<br />
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Mile 3 - I don't remember much here except that I finally got my water station and was suddenly running next to The 'Shoe.<br />
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Mile 4 - YAY sideways snow and high wind! And now I have to go back up the huge hill I went down earlier!<br />
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Mile 5 - Sideways AND a headwind. Fantastic! I started thinking about Kara Goucher and the elite runners who had to run into a headwind for 16+ miles at the NYC marathon. I just dug deep and finished as strong as I could.<br />
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My splits sucked. I had to take a couple long walk breaks because of side stitches and going a little too hard in the first two miles. I finished in 1:03:38, so it wasn't terrible. I know I can do better though. Maybe next year will be a repeat!<br />
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Now that fall training is over, I'm at a bit of a loss. I don't have any official races on the horizon. I'm contemplating the Pro Football Hall of Fame half marathon at the end of April, and of course I'll be back for the Nationwide Children's half marathon in October. The HOF race is very new, so it's a much smaller field, but I like the finisher goodies and want to run someplace that's not Columbus. I have a new training plan to try locked into my Nike Running app, and my goal for the winter is to maintain my legs and improve my fitness level. I'll be working hard at the gym over the coming months to lose some of the weight I've managed to add to my frame. I'll be shooting for 5 miles per week minimum of running. I also have a few things in mind to try when it comes to training this time around (Garmin vs tech-free, music vs no music, and more). Nowhere to go from here but up! Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-26454341872350942422014-11-02T15:30:00.001-08:002014-11-02T15:41:00.764-08:00I really suck at thisWatching the TCS New York City Marathon today, I realized that I still haven't posted my recap of the Columbus half marathon!!!! Life got in the way a little bit, but quite honestly, I kept getting distracted by getting back into the gym and a tiny little Min Pin who likes sleeping on my lap all the time. I'm definitely needing a legit daily blogging challenge to get back on track!<br />
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So let's go back in time two weeks to Sunday October 19th. The quick version of this recap? I had three goals:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Finish around last year's time of about 2:58:00 (easy goal)</li>
<li>Finish in 2:45:00 (most likely goal)</li>
<li>Finish in 2:30:00 (good but unlikely goal)</li>
</ol>
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<h2>
<i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Official finish time of 2:44:58</span></span></i></h2>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-size: small;">Garmin time of 2:44:52</span></span></div>
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I could tell during my long runs that an 11:30/mile pace just wasn't going to be do-able to reach goal #3. My calf was doing much better, but I was still struggling with pacing properly. I would be happy with a faster finish time, so I'm content with where I finished.</div>
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Nothing about this particular race day really stood out, and I was so focused on that goal time that making mental notes about anything didn't happen unless it was truly incredible. This isn't exactly the most interesting race recap, and for that, I'm sorry! Enjoy this second list of memorable moments!</div>
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<ol>
<li>I'm a fan of the combined start/finish area. There were definitely some issues, but I feel like the hiccups that were experienced were mainly because it was the very first year for this change. People weren't using the family reunion area for that reason, so there was a HUGE backup where all the runners were exiting, which was made worse by the gear check pickup being right in that same area. I'm sure next year it will be even better.</li>
<li>I'm also a fan of the new route for the most part. Some areas were definitely a bit more narrow (read: crowded) than I would've liked, so I can only imagine what those areas were like for mid-packers. Running past the hospital was a great change. I mean, it's the Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus Marathon and Half Marathon! We should totally run past the hospital! Seeing some of the patients and medical staff was a great change for sure. </li>
<li>During my long runs on the Heritage Rail Trail, I would see a lot of the same people. There was one couple, dubbed Mr. & Mrs. Gazelle by yours truly, who ran beautifully and made six to seven minute miles look <span style="color: red;"><u><b><i>easy</i></b></u></span>. I was somewhere between miles 2 and 3 when I glanced over to the right side of Broad Street, to see the really fast people making their way back up Broad Street nearing mile 7 (it may have been mile 6). Who do I see? Yup, Mr. & Mrs. Gazelle, once again making it look so effortless.</li>
<li>Also during my long runs, mile 6 was nearly always my fastest and I would hit the wall around mile 8. Sure as s**t, mile 6 clocked in at 11:14 and mile 8.5 I hit the wall hard. No amount of Gummi Bears or salted caramel GU would cut it and I ended up doing a walk/run combo to the end.</li>
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<i><b>I did it!</b></i></div>
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I know what I need to work on now, and I do plan on running a spring half marathon next year. I've run in Columbus three times now so will definitely be looking for races outside of Central Ohio. Right now I'm thinking of the Pro Football Hall of Fame half marathon in April but nothing is certain yet.</div>
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My next race is the Columbus Turkey Trot, a five-miler on Thanksgiving Day. That's the only thing I have planned for the holiday! I did join two Meetup.com running groups with the intention of getting out of my solo-runner head space. We'll see how that works out! As an only child and single 30something, I'm used to doing <u>everything</u> on my own.</div>
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Anyone else run Columbus? What do you think of running clubs/group runs?</div>
Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-84966259556754145222014-10-20T05:52:00.003-07:002014-10-20T05:52:16.048-07:00Blame it all on my roots.....**********Just realized today (10/20/14) that I never actually hit PUBLISH on Saturday. Whoops! Columbus Nationwide Children's Hospital half-marathon recap to come later today!***********<br />
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I showed up in boots....oh wait, we're not on a Garth Brooks fan site.<br />
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My work life has been exceptionally busy since my last post. The days were long and exhausting and the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was hop on the computer and write something! Hers a quick recap of my training........<br />
<br />
I SURVIVED<br />
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I missed only one long run (my second eleven miler, which was the week after peaking at twelve miles) and a handful of shorter ones here and there towards the end. I missed the short runs because I was getting done at work too late. I don't like running around my neighborhood after dark because only about one quarter of the streets are actually lit! The Heritage Rail Trail is my go-to spot for running since it's so close but since I don't have a headlamp (and don't plan on getting one) my options become a bit limited once the sun sets. The treadmill and I have an icy relationship, so I try to avoid hanging out with that machine at the gym. The missed long run was due to my right calf saying "I just wanted to be a jerk one more time!" I've been stretching and rolling and using The Stick on a regular basis but I definitely didn't do it the week following that 12-miler. And for that, I paid. Got two miles in and realized that my calf was getting worse. So I turned around and went home!<br />
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I did find that changing my shoes was actually quite helpful as well. I really liked my Nike Zoom Structure 17+. They were comfortable, colorful, and felt good on my feet. I decided to try on a pair of Nike Lunar Glides when I was at my favorite running store and they were having a sidewalk sale. I'd been seeing and hearing wonderful things about those and the Pegasus and really wanted to try them on. One of the girls working said that for my feet, the Pegasus wouldn't be enough support, so on a whim I grabbed the Lunar Glides from a box under the table marked "Womens Size 7.5". I put them on my feet and actually said out loud "I'm not supposed to like you!!" Since the Lunar Glides were a return because whoever bought them didn't like them, that meant I got those babies at a nice discount!<br />
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Tomorrow is race day, and I'm excited. I have three goals in mind. So long as I meet or beat one of those, I will be very pleased with myself!Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-78923652346280575942014-09-10T12:46:00.001-07:002014-09-10T12:46:49.489-07:00Make it stop!Dear legs - particularly calves,<br />
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PLEASE STOP BEING WEIRD. Seriously.<br />
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Thanks,<br />
<br />
Corinne<br />
<br />
Sooooo my calves have been giving me issues almost non-stop since I hopped back on the training bandwagon. The first two miles are torture. Usually my left calf is fine after about a quarter of a mile, sometimes more. But the right one? It hates me. That one takes about 2 miles to finally loosen enough that I can comfortably run. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> Disclaimer - those are not my legs. I'm not that hairy.</i></span></div>
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Each week my times have gotten progressively slower on my longer runs as my right calf continues to give me grief, and this past Saturday was no exception. I felt defeated with that 13:58 average. Yeah sure it's still a minute faster than high school but I still felt (and feel) terrible about it. I didn't enjoy that 8-miler. I was hoping that Monday would be a return to normalcy, with the first two miles being more walking than running and the last two miles being at a good near-tempo. But oooooh no no NO my right calf had other things in mind. My splits were awful. I was nearly one and a half minutes slower than I was during my long run two days before!<br />
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Was I over-thinking things? Stressed out to the point that exercise just was not going to help me at all? I have no clue. But I came home after that run and cried. I was so disappointed in myself. Normally I have the mentality "A 14-minute mile is the same as a 7-minute mile, all that matters is that you did it!" but I just couldn't get myself to believe that mantra on Monday. That calf is just causing me so much grief!<br />
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I think part of it may be not enough stretching before and after runs. My right left definitely felt tighter than my left on Monday, which makes sense since that's my dominant side/leg. I've been looking up all sorts of calf stretches and exercises and am going to try to make it to the gym for vinyasa yoga classes. I'm looking to set a real PR on October 19th! I've got six weeks to figure something out.Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-34121031451743723512014-09-04T08:30:00.001-07:002014-09-04T08:30:42.489-07:00More training recaps!I may have to start setting reminders about posting so that I don't forget all the little random thoughts I have!<br />
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Monday 8/25 - Four miles. It was in the high 90s with 100% humidity so I chose to take this one inside at my gym. I go home for lunch every single day and grabbed everything I would need....except for my running shoes. I ended up doing 4 miles at a decent pace for me (13:15/mile) on a treadmill in the totally wrong shoes. My feet hated me!<br />
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Wednesday 8/27 - Hill sprints for one mile. Pretty sure I did not do a full mile. I had a volleyball game at 7:15 that kind of messed up everything and ended up doing these in front of my gym, where there is a huge hill that's just a monster to climb. I only ran about 1/4 of the way up the hill because it goes on FOREVER.<br />
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Saturday 8/30 - Seven miles. The weather was slightly cooler than it had been on previous long runs but it was still toasty. My calves did their usual "hahahaha, you think you're gonna move faster than a snail?!" for the first two miles. Once I got the kinks worked out and finally got moving, this went better. Still in the slow poke range but it was officially the farthest I have ever run while training.<br />
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Monday 9/1 - 3.5 miles in some really hazy, humid weather. I decided to try a new route since I had the day off and drove up north about half an hour to start at Olentangy Parklands (plus I could swing by Road Runner on my way back home!). I used to ride my bike on this trail as a kid and LOVED IT because it was super close to my house. As an adult, on Labor Day, I was laboring! Those little bitty hills that take you ten steps to go up? NO FUN. But hey I got some salted caramel GU afterwards.<br />
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Wednesday 9/3 - Hills for five miles. Again, volleyball game kind of got in the way. Game was at 9:15. I have to run Friday AND Saturday this week. Sooooo I chose to go to Antrim Park (2.75 miles south of Olentangy Parklands) before volleyball. I was supposed to do one mile easy, two miles uphill, and two miles downhill. I live in Columbus where such hills don't really exist so I just did five miles that was a nice mixture of up and down. My legs are feeling it today! Mostly successful run, but again, those first two miles were nearly the death of me.<br />
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I need to figure out what the heck is up with my calves for those first two miles. EVERY SINGLE RUN starts off like that. It slows me down immensely. I end up walking probably 75% of those first couple miles and it just saddens me. Once the tightness is gone, it's great! I gain speed and feel good and rarely add walk breaks! It's just depressing to be SO EXCITED to run and then almost immediately be saying "What have I gotten myself into?!" I've tried dynamic stretches, compression sleeves (which tend to make it worse sadly), and strengthening exercises while at work but it's not helping. Next on my list of tricks to try is The Stick. I got mine a week ago and I'm smitten. Hoping that helps. Taking a Good Form Running clinic at FrontRunner in Upper Arlington after work today so also think that may help. I'll definitely be asking the awesome employees there for any tips and tricks. Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-22607178871344420082014-08-26T09:15:00.001-07:002014-08-26T09:15:20.891-07:00Tuesday training recapI really shouldn't do these on a Tuesday but well I was a bum this weekend when I wasn't busy!<br />
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I'll start with last Monday 8/18 and see what all I remember!<br />
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Monday 8/18 - Ran 3 miles. I honestly can't remember if anything exciting happened or even where the heck I did this training run. I just remember doing it because it was on the calendar.<br />
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Tuesday 8/19 - I had a date! With a boy! So no running or gym on this day :)<br />
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Wednesday 8/20 - Ran 3 miles again, per my training program. Normal hot and humid August weather made a comeback on this day so I knew I'd be going a bit slower than normal. Only mile 2 was to be at tempo. I had an early volleyball game and planned on going straight to the trail once we were finished but got caught up chatting with a friend. Finally made it to the trail around 8pm. Every time I started to walk away from my car, I'd realize I forgot to do something (i.e lock the car, take my phone out of its case so it would fit in the new arm band, left the water bottle behind). FINALLY got going and was all pumped to run on a new part of this trail, since I'd never gone further than this one little curve. I figured it out be a little more interesting, maybe have some more curves tossed in with some new scenery and boy oh boy was I WRONG. I turned the corner and glanced ahead....one long, straight shot. That's when I realized that DUH it's called Rails to Trails for a reason! Oh well. Pushed through this run and came back when it was getting really dark and the bugs were so happy to have me for dinner! Pace was around 13:30.<br />
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Thursday 8/21 and Friday 8/22 - These were both supposed to be gym days. I did not go to the gym.<br />
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Saturday 8/23 - The calendar on my phone said "Run 6.2 miles at one to two minutes slower than race pace." I went to bed feeling pretty good about that. I may be a slow poke but I can handle a few extra walk breaks since the weather is so icky. It was hot and humid. VERY hot and humid even when I was up early. Reminded me of Maryland weather. And all I could think was "I have to run a 10k in this?!" I was up at 6:30am, ate my chocolate chip bagel, then spent a good five or ten minutes squeezing into my CW-X Stabilyx 3/4 tights. Felt like a sausage the entire time I was running. The first mile was BAD. The humidity was disgusting, and there was some kind of 5k the local high school was doing, so I kept getting passed by these little middle and high schoolers in their short shorts and tiny tank tops. Second mile was a bit better, especially once I got past the turnaround point for the high school 5k and didn't have those annoying little chatterboxes around me. Third mile when my GU kicked in, wooooo I was having fun! Four was lackluster and I felt like I hit the wall towards the end of it. Took another GU at mile five and felt a little better. Then Macklemore's "Can't Stop" came on and I was back on for the rest of mile five and all of mile six. I still had a few more walk breaks than I would have liked buuuut it was gross out. I really didn't want to die from the heat! Thankfully the sun didn't really make an appearance. I completely soaked through my hat. Literally, the hat was dripping pink droplets all over me as I drove home! Felt pretty good afterwards though, despite the heat. Average pace was 13:44 (a little more than two minutes slower than race pace but still a win because it was soooo grooooooossssssss).<br />
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A quick note about the CW-X tights. <u><b>If you have any kind of knee pain when running, BUY THESE PANTS</b></u>. Seriously, I cannot sing their praises enough! <br />
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I bought a pair at Road Runner after the half marathon last October but never wore them. After my Saturday long runs put me out of commission for the remainder of the day for two weeks in a row, I decided it was time to give these things a try. I messed up my left knee in high school doing color guard, tearing my meniscus and partially tearing my ACL. My insurance was crap and didn't cover the number of visits to PT after surgery that I needed. I wasn't exactly the most responsible high school student, so I didn't follow through on my promises to keep doing the exercises on my own at home. Fast forward 13 years and here I am with a weak knee and knee pain after runs longer than 4 miles. I'm always fine by mid-morning on Sunday thanks to the use of my heating pad, ice machine, and puppy therapy (aka having the dog lay on my legs/knees) but I was still dreading Saturdays thinking about the runs getting longer. I was also wondering if I'd really be able to go to work the day after the race in October. I felt <u><b>great</b></u> after my 10k this past Saturday. I had just a very slight twinge in my left knee the rest of the day and a little bit on Sunday but it wasn't anything that would hold me back from doing things with my friends. Felt kind of the way it feels when the weather is changing and the pressure makes my knee ache. Nothing crazy or unbearable at all.<br />
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This means that I'm actually looking forward to seven miles this coming Saturday! This will be the longest I've ever actually run as part of a training plan (told you I'm not half-assing this training). Son of a biscuit, I think the running bug finally bit me for real!Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-13977668488764044982014-08-18T13:20:00.000-07:002014-08-18T13:20:04.215-07:00I'm not dead!!!!So....where did I disappear to? Nowhere really. I just got busy with life and wasn't doing anything worthwhile around the house to make this little house/DIY blog seem interesting. My life has seemed rather dull to me and I don't think I'm THAT funny so yeah. I just never got around to updating anything and here we are, 582 days later, with a brand new update!<br />
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In those 582 days, I've run two half marathons, gained an indecent amount of weight despite all that running, stopped and started a bunch of little projects around the house and in my life, and just generally putzed around. I've painted and re-painted rooms. I've installed a new faucet and a new garbage disposal. I've injured myself doing silly things. I've read a lot of books, watched a lot of movies, gotten rid of cable, become very good at napping, and continue to really suck at cooking.<br />
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If you're reading this, you're probably wondering, why the heck are you back? It's all Salt's fault. As in, the famous Salt from <a href="http://www.runsaltrun.com/" target="_blank">Run Salt Run</a>, whom I've been following online for quite some time. Turns out, we even lived in the same apartment complex back in Baltimore, MD for a number of years and never even knew it! So sometimes I get a little stalker-y on her posts......but thankfully she doesn't hate me for it! Anywho, Salt aka Lauren, is a really awesome lady, and reading her posts for the past year or so have finally caught up with me. I've finally been inspired to write about something. And that something is.....if you haven't figured this out yet just wait for it....RUNNING!<br />
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Yes, running. That sport that sometimes makes you go "what's wrong with that person?!" I ran two half-marathons in 2013, the Capital City half marathon in May and the Columbus Nationwide Children's Hospital half marathon in October. Between the two, I enjoyed the Nationwide race a lot more. I felt it was better organized, I enjoyed the expo so much I went twice, and I really preferred the route and the amount of people I saw out there supporting us crazy runners. At the Cap City, my time was terrible. I didn't really prepare that much and just kind of winged it (such a bad bad BAD idea), finishing in a little over three hours. But hey, I finished it, right? Wrong. I was mad at myself for my performance and convinced my mom to pay for my entry into the race in October. I promised myself I would genuinely train this time around, and I did.....for about six weeks, off and on. I think my longest run was 5 miles. Again, BAD idea but this time I was a little more physically fit overall so it wasn't as bad. Still bad of course. So even though I shaved 15+ minutes off my finish time, I was still mad at myself. I KNEW I could run faster than 13:58/mile because when I did actually train, I was running 12-minute miles. I sat down and thought long and hard about where I'd gone wrong (besides not actually, you know, training). I realized that my pacing sucked. I was starting out much too slow and staying too slow. My form sucked. My breathing was all wrong. If I was going to do it again, I was going to do it right.<br />
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I started working on my general overall fitness a few weeks later. I compared the Cap City and the Nationwide runs and decided that I'd prefer to wait for the Nationwide for all the reasons listed above. I dragged out signing up and waited until the race was at full price AND less than 500 spots available, but I signed up! I had been training for a couple weeks at that point, so might as well sign up, right? Sure! <br />
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Well.....then I got horribly sick for two solid weeks. I couldn't even walk up the stairs to my bedroom without nearly passing out. So no gym, no running, NOTHING for two weeks. UGH. I wanted to crawl under a rock. The good news is, I got back on track at the tail end of week five of my training plan. If you're going to miss out on your training for an extended period of time, do it towards the beginning!!! Sure, my body hated me on that first long run of four miles after two full weeks of no physical activity at all, but I've done worse (obviously) and didn't die.<br />
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This means now, you shall be blessed with multiple posts each week, detailing my running adventures, along with whatever else I feel like sharing. So enjoy! And hello to any new people!<br />
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PS - New blog title ideas are much appreciated :)Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-70076554376282661952013-01-13T11:36:00.001-08:002013-01-13T11:36:22.725-08:00Top TenI wasn't sure what the heck to use for a top ten post. Most random iPhone pictures? Favorite movies? Most ridiculous Wikipedia articles? Well, since I really haven't been a good blogger in the time that I've had this little corner of the Internet in my control, I've decided on a list of the top ten things you, my dear reader, don't know about me. Maybe you do know some of these things. Probably not. If you're friends with me on Facebook, then yeah, you probably will know these things since that means you most likely know me in the real world. Anywho....enjoy today's post!<br />
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1 - I've moved a lot. As in, I've lived in eight different states, but moved much more frequently than that. For awhile there, it averaged one move every eighteen months. And no, I was not a military brat.<br />
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2 - Speaking of moving and living all over the place, this is actually my second time living in Ohio. The first time was from 1991 - 1996.<br />
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3 - I wasn't allowed to listen to TLC when CrazySexyCool came out because their music was too blatantly sexual. Same reason I couldn't listen to Alanis Morrissette's "You Oughtta Know." I was allowed to listen to Salt-N-Pepa and Boyz II Men. Yeah, because their songs aren't blatantly sexual AT ALL.<br />
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4 - Chloe is not an only pet. She also has two kitty sisters, Pandora and Lluvy. They prefer to hide from me, because Chloe follows me everywhere and likes to attack her siblings.<br />
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5 - I'm on the leadership committee for the Columbus Young Professionals Club aka CYP. That means I get to hang out at all kinds of fun events and schmooze and network and just have fun.<br />
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6 - I'm also one of the date participants for the CYP's annual charity fundraiser, Date 2 Remember. See? I have <a href="http://date2remember.org/portfolio-type/corinne-chain/" target="_blank">my own personal profile</a>! If you happen to live in the area and want to go to the event, get in touch with me for cheap tickets!<br />
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7 - I'm not a good sand volleyball player, but I love it. I'm usually on at least two teams every summer at Flannagan's.<br />
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8 - I'm running the Cap City half-marathon in May of this year.<br />
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9 - I'm deathly afraid of turning 30 in 2014. We're talking panic attack level of fear. My mother was the same way but refuses to admit it. I was not allowed to mention her birthday at all that summer.<br />
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10 - My favorite movies are Shakespeare In Love and Fight Club. Seriously.<br />
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There you have it, folks! Hope you enjoyed!Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-48569447056734234972013-01-07T15:58:00.004-08:002013-01-07T16:00:49.302-08:00Shoes....Ermagerd....SHOESImagine my excitement upon seeing today's topic for the Blog A Day series. SHOES!!!!<br />
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Why the excitement? I love shoes. L-O-V-E....LOVE them. I have an obsession with platforms heels especially, since I'm a whole 5'2" on a good day. When I worked in retail, I couldn't wear anything more than flats most days because I was on my feet anywhere from 12 to 18 hours in a row.<br />
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Now, I'll also admit that I probably have too many shoes. How often do you hear a woman say that?! My entire top shelf of the closet is filled with heels. The first little shelf on the side of the closet is filled with boots. I even have one of those over-the-door pocket thingies, filled with a variety of flats and sandals. I've decided, upon looking at everything yesterday, that I should probably consider wearing every pair of boots, sandals, flats, sneakers, etc. at least once this year. If I do that, then I'm not allowed to get rid of any of them. I should also probably come up with some way of actually tracking my progress, but that's for another time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The amount of crap....but it's all so nice!!</td></tr>
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I have come up with a way to track the wearing of all my hanging clothes though! I've turned every single hanger backwards, so when I've worn and washed something, I can put it back up with the hanger facing the "right" way. At the end of the year, anything that's still backwards goes buh bye. Pinterest is a beautiful thing.<br />
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<br />Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-16898620694104656292013-01-01T18:53:00.002-08:002013-01-07T16:01:18.280-08:00It's 2013 already?Hard to believe it's January 1st, 2013. The world didn't end last month, or a few months before that. Chloe and I are still here and still busy. 2012 was quite the eventful year for both of us. I'm hoping 2013 is a much better year!<br />
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I've resolved to get serious about losing weight again, saving more money, and having much less "medical ridiculousness," as I described it last night. Let's break it down:<br />
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Weight loss - this one's easy. I just need to actually USE my Weight Watchers account and phone app to track EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth. Started Sunday again, and so far so good.<br />
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Save more money - another relatively easy one. I've been doing my best to really, truly follow a budget, and will be continuing with all of that this year. It'll be a little bit tougher since the last half of the year required me to spend a lot of money that I was not prepared for, but I'll make it happen.<br />
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Medical ridiculousness - between the issues that Chloe and I've had this year, it's been fun. Chloe needed surgery on her paw in June, then I had to spend an arm and a leg on meds for her and both cats due to a flea infestation in October. For me, I had my wisdom teeth removed, followed a few months later by an allergic reaction to antibiotics, then finally, yesterday, 12/31/12, I went to the doctor after suffering the whole weekend with yet another allergic reaction. At least, that's what my doctor and I seem to think it is. I rang in the new year the only way I could.....asleep in my warm bed by 10pm due to the super-Benadryl I have to take to help with the itch. So how do I plan on having less of this? Not getting sick, not going to the doctor unless I absolutely have to, and probably getting some allergy tests done to find out what the heck caused the most recent awful outbreak.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm resolving to post more frequently on here. The plan for that? Katrina over at <a href="http://www.sotaissexy.com/" target="_blank">'Sota Is Sexy</a> has started a link-up with another blogger, <a href="http://www.lindseytalerico.com/" target="_blank">Lindsey Talerico</a>, with topics for each day of the month! So far so good, I'd say :)<code><i> </i></code><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><code>And if you want to participate, click <a href="http://www.sotaissexy.com/because-january-can-be-kinda-boring/" target="_blank">here</a> for now. I'm working on getting the banner to behave for me!</code></span></span></span></span>Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-60417085074374049732012-08-15T02:51:00.000-07:002012-08-15T02:51:16.493-07:00StaycationOne of my absolute favorite blogs is<a href="http://www.sotaissexy.com/" target="_blank"> 'Sota Is Sexy</a>. Katrina is hilarious and always keeps me entertained. A few weeks ago I won a giveaway for an adorable state charm necklace, and of course, I chose Maryland. I may officially be from Ohio now, but Maryland will always be my first home. Anyway, we're Facebook friends now, and I noticed last week that Katrina was looking for guest bloggers. I offered to write a post, and it'll be up on her blog this Friday! Trust me, there will be a link to that post. I wrote it from Chloe's perspective too. Should be amusing!<br />
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I've officially been Ohio now for a little over two years. Kind of hard to believe....I've been so used to moving frequently that it's a shock to the system to be in one place for an extended period of time. I still don't get excited over OSU football, and I still get amusement out of how vanilla this town is. Thankfully I've discovered some new things to do and see out here. I do wish I had a few more girl friends, since I'm still pretty new out here, but I suppose I'll get there eventually.<br />
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This week is Staycation 2012. The original plan was to go to Cape Cod for the week and see the Falmouth Road Race, but gas is expensive and flights aren't cheap either. Monday I did basically nothing, Tuesday I took a ton of stuff to the Goodwill store and did some shopping, and today? Today will probably be pretty low-key too. Volleyball is tonight, so I'll probably go to Flannagan's early for some relaxing by the pool before the game. I've been enjoying the break from work, but I am itching to check my work email!Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-51799879047969519342012-07-05T08:28:00.001-07:002012-07-05T08:28:12.260-07:00NormalcyI think I'm going to try a personal little challenge. Rather than this blog being solely about the trials and tribulations of first-time homeownership, I think perhaps I'll write about some personal stuff too. Maybe? Anyone? Bueller? <br />
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Let's see....had my wisdom teeth out two weeks ago. It was awful. I survived off smoothies, pudding, and Jello for about 10 days. I did a serious happy dance when I finally got to eat a Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich on Friday night. So what if I've had two more since then? IT'S WORTH IT!!!<br />
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Chloe survived her own surgery. The vet is extremely pleased with how the paw looks, and I'm extremely pleased with how quickly Chloe returned to her normal crazy Min Pin self.<br />
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The heat wave we've been experiencing has been excruciating. Thankfully it hasn't been too humid (at least, not by my standards of humid). And during last week's storm, my house only sustained minor damage and I wasn't without power for too long. Kudos to Home Depot on Trueman Blvd for allowing Chloe to come along with me on Saturday morning! The only damage to the house was the loss of a few roof peak shingles, some siding was pulled off (and landed in my neighbors' yard), and a gutter was pulled away from the roof on one end. Now if only the guy my realtor recommended to fix everything would be able to come out today or tomorrow to look over everything and give me a repair quote! <br />
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I seriously thought I posted this last week! Ooops!Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-48683347259620423992012-06-09T06:34:00.001-07:002012-06-09T06:37:59.726-07:00Excuses, excusesI've been much busier the past few months than I ever thought I would be. Work keeps me on my toes constantly, spring volleyball started and ended, summer volleyball is in full swing, I'm having my wisdom teeth removed in a week and a half, and worst of all, poor Chloe has to have surgery on her right front paw this coming Monday!<br />
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I've accomplished very little around the house. I did clean out the office a tiny bit finally and am looking forward to the community garage sale next Saturday. Aside from selling some house stuff, there will be clothes and even some great MAC make-up! I hope I'm able to make a good chunk of change next weekend.<br />
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For some reason, I decided to start gardening...sort of. It's more like plant-watering. I went down to Baltimore for a friend's wedding a few weeks ago and picked up some gerbera daisies, which I successfully kept alive and even transplanted into a larger pot. Since I was relatively successful with that, I decided to buy some more planters and plant some seeds. I also got a few more daisies while up in Alliance for the Memorial Day weekend, and even a green pepper plant! The birds seem to enjoy my plants too, so I'm on the hunt for some bird spikes or other bird repellent to keep them away. <br />
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Skip the next part if you're easily grossed out. I don't go into full detail or even post pictures, but I don't want to gross anyone out!<br />
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The story on Chloe's paw is a bit of a bummer. I don't know what exactly happened, but my best guess (as well as the best guess for Chloe's vet and the two vets in my family) is that she stepped on something and got a puncture wound on the front paw. Then, she probably stepped in something else and the wound became infected. I noticed it last Saturday and called my aunt, a vet out in Pittsburgh, and sent her some pictures to find out what I could do for Chloe, since my vet out here was already closed for the day. I was told to soak her paw in warm water and Epsom salt, which I've been doing religiously every few hours for a week now. I noticed on Sunday night that Chloe wasn't walking on the paw, so I decided to take her to the vet here on Monday. The vet sedated Chloe and tried to drain the abscess, but not a lot came out, which made the vet think that there may be a foreign body stuck in the paw that had walled itself off and her body was working to fix the problem itself by creating the abscess (perfectly normal). The vet also put her on Prednisone, painkillers, and Clavamox (antibiotic) and told me to call back if the paw wasn't looking better in 48 hours.<br />
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The good news was, the paw DID look better, but my gut was telling me that it wasn't quite right. I called yesterday to find out when I should bring the pup in for a follow-up and described how the paw looked, like whatever was stuck in there was trying really hard to work its way out but to no avail. I was told to bring her back in, so I left work early and got to the vet for another visit right on time. On Monday, the vet had said that if the paw wasn't looking better, I would need to see one of the other vets at the office to discuss potential surgery to remove the abscess. The vet I'd seen had actually spoken with the other vet about Chloe's paw throughout the week, and both agreed that she would more than likely need to have surgery. So after a quick look and see that the paw was still swollen and red and the head of the abscess was getting bigger, it was decided that surgery was definitely the way to go. Chloe is going in Monday morning, costing me a few hundred dollars, and having her paw all fixed up.<br />
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Chloe also has a spiffy little e-collar to keep her from licking the paw, which is absolutely hilarious for me. Her ears don't stick up quite the way they normally do, and she just looks plain miserable! A friend of mine even said I could serve martinis in it! For some reason my computer is having issues with uploading those photos, so hopefully I can get some pictures up later to make you laugh.<br />
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<br />Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-40809821072968644182012-02-11T07:19:00.000-08:002012-02-11T07:19:28.359-08:00Challenge accepted!A new favorite blog of mine, <a href="http://www.loveandrenovations.com/" target="_blank">Love & Renovations</a>, started a February Organize-a-thon and I've elected to join. Am I crazy? Quite possibly. I've chosen to tackle the office. Or as I like to call it, what should be the office but has instead turned into the junk room. <br />
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Having a junk room when I live in a 3-bedroom house <b>with a basement </b>is just ridiculous. Yes, I have a basement (it's even finished) AND a junk room. If I had been thinking when I moved in, I would have put all the junk that ended up in the office/third bedroom in that basement. Oh well. Hindsight is 20/20.<br />
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The plans for this room have always been to make it into an office/second guest room. My grandmother gave me my aunt's old brass daybed and bought a twin-size mattress so that I could comfortably fit my entire family in the house Christmas 2010. She also gave me a desk. I thought that desk was a LOT smaller, but somehow managed to fit it into the long skinny office along with the daybed. Now, I'm leaning towards getting rid of the desk (there's a long list of reasons besides the size of it) and potentially spray painting the bed (it's not real brass) OR giving it back to my grandma and instead putting in a futon. This room also needs to desperately be painted. It's currently a light pink. Can you tell it used to be a little girl's room? The room is also just long and skinny, so it's difficult to find a good layout for the room.<br />
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The new goal is now to get this space cleaned up before the end of the month! Once the tax money rolls in, I'll be making a stop at Home Depot for some bins and shelving to put into the basement so the junk can have a new, organized home. And when the weather warms up, I'm hoping to have a garage sale and get rid of lots of stuff. At least if it's organized in the basement, it'll be easier to figure out what to get rid of! And once I can move around in there better, I'll FINALLY be able to paint! <br />
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But I suppose you just want to see pictures, huh? Well....here you go!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2mrJhcmF70a4-Nte2Rz_9Z-amHJUas3VwFGaGWGl3brR_AxaE8rCCPbRA_ZByJ_wLqpZ9E1O5HwzqBDuEoXrLXbkwgU2dW7D5hY6YrBH45u97CVQfsCJQXJ6diBI3WdeCEV5lx1-Rr4/s1600/IMG_0719.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2mrJhcmF70a4-Nte2Rz_9Z-amHJUas3VwFGaGWGl3brR_AxaE8rCCPbRA_ZByJ_wLqpZ9E1O5HwzqBDuEoXrLXbkwgU2dW7D5hY6YrBH45u97CVQfsCJQXJ6diBI3WdeCEV5lx1-Rr4/s320/IMG_0719.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5mXlCs_TGKv4fpq8-EnGMLyX9uefemuOgbqOQQCku8TNmecDn6VskhS1tUKKbSiE8jqvBXTyUDwXJHj-aEWoidtyFBSiTLm8vxSqE2L2Xn_PVVbQRxL_BLH-rxT57yr2zYvgrKDPC_vI/s1600/IMG_0720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5mXlCs_TGKv4fpq8-EnGMLyX9uefemuOgbqOQQCku8TNmecDn6VskhS1tUKKbSiE8jqvBXTyUDwXJHj-aEWoidtyFBSiTLm8vxSqE2L2Xn_PVVbQRxL_BLH-rxT57yr2zYvgrKDPC_vI/s320/IMG_0720.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5efrNZ327cvxpcZ88_fpd_57V8aPYDiXG3u1k0H1ASHSq9s8IOpT87ufsyQ3Sn5FEEfyyTe8Mgba1BM38qJuQokZv1Y2f_WLrNOHPhF9o6sYm8oJYLrl0QeV7n4adiRMvCF-TQzJClx4/s1600/IMG_0721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5efrNZ327cvxpcZ88_fpd_57V8aPYDiXG3u1k0H1ASHSq9s8IOpT87ufsyQ3Sn5FEEfyyTe8Mgba1BM38qJuQokZv1Y2f_WLrNOHPhF9o6sYm8oJYLrl0QeV7n4adiRMvCF-TQzJClx4/s320/IMG_0721.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7DEneANGRzgXNhFdnLAOHQBPSvO7442Ryl_QRc34znpokdKzN3H1Z74JX6pLS-5v-EPADAtFoowKkQnwEcLivKirietNh_91srH6ZLVBU_B6ymz3r4eGzgAJsYZsHfBr3HGZGDfrgBaE/s1600/IMG_0722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7DEneANGRzgXNhFdnLAOHQBPSvO7442Ryl_QRc34znpokdKzN3H1Z74JX6pLS-5v-EPADAtFoowKkQnwEcLivKirietNh_91srH6ZLVBU_B6ymz3r4eGzgAJsYZsHfBr3HGZGDfrgBaE/s320/IMG_0722.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9iiL6IU8c1xkfjX7XL0hflpbyszYsnfLsEkZY3cJGsXuKq3ABCJhtDnxlQaM-QZ9eSNUaBSqMmBJLh5CBmf_lwv-uNB_6x4Czt8Qq4rTL6a3POLXkrabxEnN6tMtNKP843O0_bIlfuE/s1600/IMG_0723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9iiL6IU8c1xkfjX7XL0hflpbyszYsnfLsEkZY3cJGsXuKq3ABCJhtDnxlQaM-QZ9eSNUaBSqMmBJLh5CBmf_lwv-uNB_6x4Czt8Qq4rTL6a3POLXkrabxEnN6tMtNKP843O0_bIlfuE/s320/IMG_0723.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-75590509614154526402012-01-08T14:31:00.000-08:002012-01-08T14:31:01.296-08:00ResolutionsOkay, these aren't really resolutions....more like "things I'd really like to accomplish this year." Many thanks to Linda over at <a href="http://www.littlecrazyhome.com/" target="_blank">Little Crazy Home</a> for inspiring me to post this on the web for all to see!<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">1 – Take a picture every day and post it online somewhere (and it can’t be of the DOG every single day!)</div><div class="MsoNormal">2 – Eat healthier by introducing more veg-friendly ideas and recipes and eating less processed foods</div><div class="MsoNormal">3 – Learn how to cook more than spaghetti on the stove and rely less on the microwave and frozen foods</div><div class="MsoNormal">4 – Do some sort of physical activity EVERY DAY (even if it is just walking the dog)</div><div class="MsoNormal">5 – Go for a run at minimum 3 times per week</div><div class="MsoNormal">6 – Train for a half marathon/Tough Mudder (I think TM might actually be easier)</div><div class="MsoNormal">7 – Complete Warrior Dash in under 45 minutes in May</div><div class="MsoNormal">8 – Go out with my friends more and stay in better touch</div><div class="MsoNormal">9 – Update the blog once per week at minimum</div><div class="MsoNormal">10 – Write down home DIY ideas somewhere other than that little notebook that keeps disappearing</div><div class="MsoNormal">11 – Pay off at least one credit card</div><div class="MsoNormal">12 – Teach Chloe how to walk nicely on a leash</div><div class="MsoNormal">13 – Complete one easy DIY project at least once per month</div><div class="MsoNormal">14 – Buy a Dyson vacuum cleaner</div><div class="MsoNormal">15 – Paint the guest room, office, and bathroom, and possibly stencil or wallpaper the accent wall in the master bedroom</div><div class="MsoNormal">16 – Organize the closets in all the bedrooms</div><div class="MsoNormal">17 – Find a good location for the kitty litter so the dog can’t get to it (back to half bath downstairs?)</div><div class="MsoNormal">18 – Clean up the basement</div><div class="MsoNormal">19 – Buy bins/boxes/shelving for the basement to get it organized</div><div class="MsoNormal">20 – Get all the crap out of the office and organized in the basement</div><div class="MsoNormal">21 – Keep the dining room table completely clear for ONE WEEK (to start)</div><div class="MsoNormal">22 – Teach Chloe to put her toys away</div><div class="MsoNormal">23 – Learn how to drive a jet ski</div><div class="MsoNormal">24 – Save up for a new computer (Mac)</div><div class="MsoNormal">25 – Wear makeup more frequently (black liquid liner with nothing else does NOT count)</div><div class="MsoNormal">26 – Have a yard sale</div><div class="MsoNormal">26 – Find and attend a burlesque show in Columbus</div><div class="MsoNormal">27 – Meet more gay people (I miss my Baltimore/DC gays)</div><div class="MsoNormal">28 – Get another tattoo</div><div class="MsoNormal">29 – Find the “right” shade of black hair again</div>30 – Buy local more often<br />
Any recommendations for the online site to share a photo every day? I feel like there's a website specifically for that idea but I can't remember it. I can always go with Tumblr I suppose....Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-80141879242581535832011-12-20T18:35:00.000-08:002011-12-20T18:35:10.468-08:00Early presentMy friend Steve does a lot of side jobs for homeowners. Painting, repairing something, building something, whatever. As a Christmas present, he offered to paint the wall going up the steps and the upstairs landing for me to finally match the living room. He came over Sunday to get some stuff set up and wipe down the walls, and tonight, he's here doing some of the actual painting. I'm sooooo excited to get this completed! It's even better that I'm not doing any of the work. I'm ready for the house to REALLY start coming together. Pictures to follow soon.Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-16523315401526388232011-12-13T17:54:00.000-08:002011-12-13T17:54:40.434-08:00Ah crapI did not intentionally disappear for nearly two months. I've been a busy bee! Holidays, social life, work-life changes, etc. have all kept me constantly running since I last posted.<br />
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Sadly there haven't really been any changes with the house. I've purchased gray paint for the bathroom, so the warning of "Oh yeah, the bathroom is REALLY bright" will be a distant memory sometime in the near future! My friend Steve, as a Christmas gift to me, will be painting the wall against the stairs and the upstairs landing to match the living room. I'm really looking forward to that! He's going to try to get it done for me next week before my parents come to town for Christmas, so we will have to wait and see what truly happens.<br />
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I'm really looking forward to the holiday this year. Well, for now. Having Chloe be absolutely exhausted will be nice, plus I get to see my parents and have some delicious food prepared for me! I think mostly I'm just excited about the days off, especially Thursday of next week. Why? I'll probably get my hair done, go to Skully's for Ladies 80s, and maaaaaaybe go see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.<br />
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Since my blog is a bit boring right now, I suggest you go check out<a href="http://littlecrazyhome.com/"> Little Crazy Home</a>. My friend Linda just started this, and she's truly had the time and commitment (and cashola) to get a LOT done! I'm particularly impressed with the bedroom and octopus bathroom.Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-1348411019240909772011-09-25T06:55:00.000-07:002011-09-25T06:55:21.654-07:00Oh me, oh myLook what I did! I kind of like the new layout and theme. I would have much preferred to come up with a new header myself, but I'm honestly not Photoshop-inclined whatsoever.<br />
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It's been a quiet week around the house. I've been focusing on getting (and keeping) the place clean, so I've been using The FLYLady's<a href="http://www.flylady.net/pages/begin_babysteps.asp"> Beginner Babysteps</a> to get started. I also found an article on Amazon that's been pretty helpful too. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Get-Together-Girl-Organization-ebook/dp/B002TG4P0E/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1316958291&sr=1-1">Get It Together, Girl!</a> makes it easy and kind of fun too, though it is really sad to see just how empty my cabinets and refrigerator are after going through those<br />
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Summer volleyball is over, and the team lost every single game! A couple of us are playing twice a week starting tomorrow, so there will be more opportunities to win a couple games. I like the team names a little more too. Monday nights will be Spiked Punch and Wednesday nights will be Starred For Life. I may freeze to death, but it will be fun!Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-49244306457761483432011-09-18T07:43:00.000-07:002011-09-18T07:43:20.121-07:00Inspiration and whatnotUntil I take some pictures with the shiny new iPhone I got to replace my previous phone, how about some inspiration photos? Scroll to the bottom for some amazing and pretty easy tutorials too! All photos came from <a href="http://pinterest.com/">Pinterest.</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielI90EVe9yo6SplDPyq3cGK8Se-8HDoSk9TMUA81pwejAsNFINtE-HlsrNleyBFWY1j_ZXilc74RH1ftU1PagLFg-gD0EarOFXyQMGwcJXoIgIKXwiDhgSCXxtwFElOE5mntFkcS0H-k/s1600/bench.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielI90EVe9yo6SplDPyq3cGK8Se-8HDoSk9TMUA81pwejAsNFINtE-HlsrNleyBFWY1j_ZXilc74RH1ftU1PagLFg-gD0EarOFXyQMGwcJXoIgIKXwiDhgSCXxtwFElOE5mntFkcS0H-k/s320/bench.jpg" width="244" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> I love the colors, the bench, the table, the chairs....A set-up like this would probably work in my kitchen, but it would have to be scaled down a tiny bit. The lantern instead of a chandelier or other more classic fixture is a great change!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqsTSvCl04LlVA7A4Kw88nO-06o6j7gRwXT-_xBbPiZGvwbwrQt0akfPZroRJTyDXCQrFlGY_A8LOMBvlxyhatMH_AgkmfN0tYxDGGPYpIA9oZKqTCEszGd-KrCA33nauC_jY4uiUcgk/s1600/blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqsTSvCl04LlVA7A4Kw88nO-06o6j7gRwXT-_xBbPiZGvwbwrQt0akfPZroRJTyDXCQrFlGY_A8LOMBvlxyhatMH_AgkmfN0tYxDGGPYpIA9oZKqTCEszGd-KrCA33nauC_jY4uiUcgk/s320/blue.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Bora Bora. So pretty. The color of the water isn't the easiest to replicate, but I would definitely try to find something similar as an accent color somewhere.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEJNzJjkZI-HMiPxveufRRaTnRvy863hyF8p_sLIWsnrSCxdUtuJG9Ia7g3Tj9cn-yE8IQb-bxeUuInUeAhIPwQH-8lBShXpHB0kW__yH3nm4QoRYJA62IKOKSe_B1hLtTgY5TM0hTnI/s1600/kitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEJNzJjkZI-HMiPxveufRRaTnRvy863hyF8p_sLIWsnrSCxdUtuJG9Ia7g3Tj9cn-yE8IQb-bxeUuInUeAhIPwQH-8lBShXpHB0kW__yH3nm4QoRYJA62IKOKSe_B1hLtTgY5TM0hTnI/s320/kitchen.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The cabinets are very similar to the color I'll eventually paint mine. Not too keen on the lighter countertops, but it all works in this situation. I love the deep sink!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGZn01nGPLcMkurcHQpLTnsCMm-Oq9EBvcPDMGkhQvL8GdAIz7wG6hoWn0r81kIZe37XuRJ8ZZO_GgzCo6uSIn17C_IR-jgE5C4Ag0-nAq0Phg89R-YO1YPsfutDbxpTvAyHoLwQ9DZM/s1600/kitchen2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGZn01nGPLcMkurcHQpLTnsCMm-Oq9EBvcPDMGkhQvL8GdAIz7wG6hoWn0r81kIZe37XuRJ8ZZO_GgzCo6uSIn17C_IR-jgE5C4Ag0-nAq0Phg89R-YO1YPsfutDbxpTvAyHoLwQ9DZM/s320/kitchen2.jpg" width="246" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Love the drawers and especially the open glass cabinets.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyjwpo2yMQhK-UlFUMjeaLCbXNjr98B0XRlYqvoPdNwTwvTFGQyavLpSxXixaBf_NRqIgd0uDffmVHt2KFUJ9GMnO-6GAY9I1AkkV7ynA9ttAfaf90HCp0mPRJ5msbYvF4d36gxV9adm8/s1600/vintagehouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyjwpo2yMQhK-UlFUMjeaLCbXNjr98B0XRlYqvoPdNwTwvTFGQyavLpSxXixaBf_NRqIgd0uDffmVHt2KFUJ9GMnO-6GAY9I1AkkV7ynA9ttAfaf90HCp0mPRJ5msbYvF4d36gxV9adm8/s320/vintagehouse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The built-in shelves are beautiful, and I love the variety of items showcased.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7f_PFSFH4_SucazJVVL3aIsdiix3PKDkTZ9q7FRKb8Jdn9F4Ei1PoTJveAL2e6NfsRZMkcCibeK3qYBmMY7SNOgTXg0bRa052_FvZ-AoNsJ2tCJmAcgvdlh1J10QBPsy2mP62la-pys/s1600/rocknroll.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7f_PFSFH4_SucazJVVL3aIsdiix3PKDkTZ9q7FRKb8Jdn9F4Ei1PoTJveAL2e6NfsRZMkcCibeK3qYBmMY7SNOgTXg0bRa052_FvZ-AoNsJ2tCJmAcgvdlh1J10QBPsy2mP62la-pys/s320/rocknroll.jpg" width="215" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Enough said!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And a few tutorials:</div><ul><li><a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/HOW-TO-MAKE-A-BRAIDED-ROCK-N-ROLL-SCARF/">How to make a rock n' roll scarf</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.designmom.com/2010/11/diy-monogram-mugs/">Monogram mugs</a></li>
<li>And my personal favorite, <a href="http://www.julieannart.com/2011/09/tutorials-for-recycling-t-shirts.html">different things to do with old t-shirts</a>. How much fun are the scarves?</li>
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</div>Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-79302556847070060112011-09-04T06:37:00.000-07:002011-09-04T06:37:55.235-07:00What to do?Not long after my last post, I started coming up with a bunch of little, easy, and quick projects to do around the house. I've finally realized that it's MY house, so I can do whatever the heck I want with the place. It took me almost a full year, but it's hit me that I'm not going to be moving again for awhile, so it's time to get settled in!<br />
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I created some easy-peasy paint chip artwork after seeing a post over at <a href="http://www.younghouselove.com/2011/08/nine-dolla-pillows-more-free-art/">Young House Love</a>. Also found some turquoise ceramic knobs that I put onto my microwave cabinet doors, getting rid of the very ancient-looking metal ones. I'm also in the middle of working on some more free paint chip art after seeing <a href="http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-to-make-easy-paint-chip-wall-art.html">this post</a> from How About Orange.<br />
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I'm most proud of the fact that I finally picked up one of the Cabinet Transformations kits from Rustoleum! I haven't had the chance to actually paint the kitchen cabinets, but I'm definitely a step closer to getting it done. I did realize that I'll have to settle for a different countertop color in the end and cannot paint the walls in the kitchen gray or grellow or anything else fun as the kitchen and living room are essentially one big room. I'm stuck deciding between two colors and can't narrow it down! Eventually I'll get there.<br />
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I've also decided to paint the bathroom again. I like the bright turquoise, but I didn't do the greatest job of painting it a year ago. I didn't give enough time for the paint to dry, so there are extremely noticeable drips all over the walls now! I'm thinking of going with a very light gray and eventually painting the trim and door white. I picked up a ton of gray paint chips at Sherwin Williams yesterday, which means I'll probably tape them all up later today and start narrowing it down.<br />
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We have run into one minor problem. I killed my phone again and haven't found the battery charger for the camera! *sigh* When will I learn?<br />
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Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-55851920594650884222011-08-08T19:24:00.000-07:002011-08-08T19:26:38.312-07:00Mimosas in summerWhile I'm not easily excited over mimosas the drink, I <i>am </i>excited about the mimosa trees that I was able to plant! My parents have a couple larger mimosas in their yard back in Maryland and convinced me to bring back a few to plant in my yard. Chloe and I drove back from our vacation a little over a month ago with a box of three trees in the front seat. I planted all three once I got home, but I had a heck of a time doing it. There was no rain for the entire week that we were down in Maryland, which meant that the dirt was extremely dry and hard to dig up. I did the best I could, tossed some mulch around the three itty bitty trees, watered them, and hoped for the best.<br />
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Planting anything in Ohio in the middle of summer is usually a bad idea. I seemed to have gotten lucky though, because all three of my little trees are growing! They were all just a couple inches tall when I planted them (I kept asking my step-dad over and over "Are you <i>sure</i> those are trees? Those look like weeds"). I haven't been able to get pictures of them yet, but let's just say that one tree is doing much better than the others. All of them are still green and showing signs of life, but the tree planted closer to the dip in the back of the yard is doing the best and is almost 12 inches tall now. If only my little aloe plant was doing as well......<br />
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This is what my little trees will look like in another few years once they've grown some more and the flowers bloom (they grow an average of 2 to 4 feet per year):<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVOHxpyxy2OLsBttjMxor3nnqbJukxndAaTyJokd_BjHU-5FxsN5Uve-ppgVGkOexDyIowifTYajfgmz3dpDUDCVkH6Sjsoq3xWwdXBZlxXHsZtaCnSWgv9zDsuKiky-nFbRoPwGcEr3M/s1600/Albizia_julibrissin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVOHxpyxy2OLsBttjMxor3nnqbJukxndAaTyJokd_BjHU-5FxsN5Uve-ppgVGkOexDyIowifTYajfgmz3dpDUDCVkH6Sjsoq3xWwdXBZlxXHsZtaCnSWgv9zDsuKiky-nFbRoPwGcEr3M/s320/Albizia_julibrissin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwntz5EyR_2NhBfnX5avrQbwoXbNxs9POdD0mZzz259lOQTb3KKeEB8xx4Nwg9y56w4eekSHbJVsTRmB1vZgC7EnyXTdIlKrPoks5vnnshMGo-zdzHalfHUjDpInHYANAOhInz4B0mFQ/s1600/mimosa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwntz5EyR_2NhBfnX5avrQbwoXbNxs9POdD0mZzz259lOQTb3KKeEB8xx4Nwg9y56w4eekSHbJVsTRmB1vZgC7EnyXTdIlKrPoks5vnnshMGo-zdzHalfHUjDpInHYANAOhInz4B0mFQ/s320/mimosa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I hope they all make it. These would be so pretty in my oh-so-boring backyard.<br />
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The next yard work item to tackle is knocking down the mulberry tree again. Last year when I moved in, there was one branch that was about a foot away from touching my neighbors' house. By mid-October, it was about an inch away. Thankfully, my step-dad came for a visit and brought the chainsaw, so we spent a few hours cutting down branches until just a two-foot tall stump was left. Simple, right? Yes....until I noticed that there were leaves sticking through the little fence on that side of the house a few weeks ago.....I knew mulberry trees grew fast but OH MY GOSH this thing is frightening! I think I may need to hire someone to come dig up the stump (once I get someone to take the chainsaw to it again) because it is uncomfortably close to the house in my opinion (and my realtor's opinion too). There are a ton of branches, sprouting from the ground AND the stump, and it gets in the way when mowing the lawn. I do sometimes wish that there was a class on lawn and plant care when buying a home!Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-74682719069046669142011-07-25T15:06:00.000-07:002011-07-25T15:06:13.838-07:00Getting craftyI've been seeing beautiful wreaths made out of pages from books for awhile now. I've always thought they were beautiful but couldn't bring myself to spend around $40 (usually more, especially with shipping involved) for something that I was sure I could replicate myself. After a lot of searching on Google for just the right tutorial, I found this one over at <a href="http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2010/07/paper-wreath-tutorial-by-lovely-paper.html">Blue Cricket Design</a>. I made a few tweaks, as noted below, but I'm in love with the end result so much!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVcVpdlCm1G4DnI3fVTe7i0US5fZta3f-oe0cdhoKeoAsMQ5Q8XnwLCxvtXokEB_BEB8BgCVwMNdxC98_vaZ0RPwyx1G8R-AgdU05gQoV1Pff43FopU6VnCQRElLGL_fbZ7gUXsIm5mWw/s1600/2011-07-23_19-24-40_664.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVcVpdlCm1G4DnI3fVTe7i0US5fZta3f-oe0cdhoKeoAsMQ5Q8XnwLCxvtXokEB_BEB8BgCVwMNdxC98_vaZ0RPwyx1G8R-AgdU05gQoV1Pff43FopU6VnCQRElLGL_fbZ7gUXsIm5mWw/s320/2011-07-23_19-24-40_664.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> I only had to pick up the 7-inch styrofoam circle and straight pins. Some people prefer to use tacky/craft glue to attach the book pages, but I went with pins since I didn't want Chloe trying to eat the glue. It's also a lot easier to correct any mistakes with pins!</span></i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgZkmawWAPhxGMcwQbPnMXE4WT_spBc86_RfvFtCr0dhQ9fh-AgcPhJsZHhCFmVqZoPHybTJBC4Ltl0ObnliNsBgeicaAU5I3XSdHVDk_JjbE_cURJs7_vsIk6pPbW6KLA6SfDRzR2Q4/s1600/2011-07-23_19-55-10_598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgZkmawWAPhxGMcwQbPnMXE4WT_spBc86_RfvFtCr0dhQ9fh-AgcPhJsZHhCFmVqZoPHybTJBC4Ltl0ObnliNsBgeicaAU5I3XSdHVDk_JjbE_cURJs7_vsIk6pPbW6KLA6SfDRzR2Q4/s320/2011-07-23_19-55-10_598.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> First I ripped the cover off the book and pulled about 300 pages apart. Then, after tying on the ribbon, I would poke a pencil into the center of the page being used and twist it around. You can pretty much do whatever you darn well please when it comes to the folding and placement of the pages. I did some tight folds and placed the pages very close together so that it appeared fuller, placing the pin towards the tip of the folded page. It's also best to start on the outside edge!</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwukvl1pgFLF1K3l1PTuGby4hYnZUyx0HIkCyw9MEnCixiBRXDnGHhyphenhyphennU3sumtLZtBEh581ejDQz0GvDFsKzoJaPHj9wEyxtmcGR1Z700r0ppyTiZxusa6671ImwhRHYIaJGbA6-6KH0/s1600/2011-07-23_20-23-29_309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwukvl1pgFLF1K3l1PTuGby4hYnZUyx0HIkCyw9MEnCixiBRXDnGHhyphenhyphennU3sumtLZtBEh581ejDQz0GvDFsKzoJaPHj9wEyxtmcGR1Z700r0ppyTiZxusa6671ImwhRHYIaJGbA6-6KH0/s320/2011-07-23_20-23-29_309.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> Completed outer edge. Once that's done, do it again! I did three circles to get a very full look.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBBnzMSe0S_WsiMVWffoDE8KT5GiPqhnBNn2qIifS8a_LGJQwmAulEjG7kTUVllaeJHIl_YUpV3F_2SOxuLaHOyRcnB4UwoOZH2FKtMmywO6kYeopbB2f3KR58O4yzR5QQ32ccd7MtWs/s1600/2011-07-24_13-27-02_44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBBnzMSe0S_WsiMVWffoDE8KT5GiPqhnBNn2qIifS8a_LGJQwmAulEjG7kTUVllaeJHIl_YUpV3F_2SOxuLaHOyRcnB4UwoOZH2FKtMmywO6kYeopbB2f3KR58O4yzR5QQ32ccd7MtWs/s320/2011-07-24_13-27-02_44.jpg" width="178" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> Ta da! The finished product! I haven't settled on it's future home, but I'm leaning towards my bedroom or the kitchen, in place of my grandfather's painting.</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The end result was a really cool wreath that's a little over a foot wide. I really love this. There are so many things you can do with this project too, such as stamping the book edges to make the ends darker, spray painting, adding colored paper.....It's extremely easy to make this your own. One final tip - use a book with thin pages. In my researching I found that many people preferred paper that was tissue-like, such as those old college textbooks with paper so thin you could see through to the next page. I used an old book from high school. I get the feeling that my AP European History would be shocked to learn that someone still had that book and also put it to some sort of use! I've had a couple people ask me to make one of these wreaths for them, but I'm first going to do one for my grandma out in Cape Cod. I might just use a different book though....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Speaking of books, if you want a really great (albeit long) read, get yourself a copy of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I have all seven of the books in the Outlander series and am only on the very first one, aptly titled Outlander, but I'm in love with it. It's a wonderful cross between historical fiction, romance, and time travel. Don't let the absurdly long length of each book keep you from at least checking it out. The shortest book is just under 1000 pages. No biggie, right?</div>Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-30888526952368220912011-07-17T07:15:00.000-07:002011-07-17T07:15:50.329-07:00summer timeAnd once again, I've been BUSY! Chloe has been enjoying the summer weather, spending as much time as possible outside or at doggy day camp (sometimes both). We did take a week-long vacation down to southern Maryland to visit my family for the holiday, where all sorts of fun was had. It was nice to take a break and visit with people I hadn't seen in close to a year. My parents' dog, Tug, didn't get along with Chloe, so they took turns going to the kennel down there. Neither dog seemed to mind too much! I did fail to really take any pictures. Oops!<br />
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My full-time job has been very busy recently, and there are some changes currently going on that require me to spend time doing extra things on my computer at home. But hopefully it will all be worth it in the end! I was also asked to be a sub for a friend's volleyball team in mid-June, and after a couple games, I was asked to be on the same friend's team for the Summer II session.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZZ6iL-OeUPTUqJ_CHjtK7Guq971ZLZl9reydy9ax2qjyH_Dt3SyaqpvbjxdMq8X9BvPTt_XQRTM-pX1DRfq7UgDSoqpf2J1eFzNJ32x47HA-jzepy0wi1qO-fSF275FVP7LXE-_G-Dg/s1600/1_SUMMER_NIGHTS_FS_AA.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZZ6iL-OeUPTUqJ_CHjtK7Guq971ZLZl9reydy9ax2qjyH_Dt3SyaqpvbjxdMq8X9BvPTt_XQRTM-pX1DRfq7UgDSoqpf2J1eFzNJ32x47HA-jzepy0wi1qO-fSF275FVP7LXE-_G-Dg/s400/1_SUMMER_NIGHTS_FS_AA.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Not my team! We were on a different court and a different night from when this was taken by the Columbus Dispatch for a <a href="http://www.dispatch.com/live/foundation/slideshow.jsp?file=/multimedia/daily_slideshows/2011/07/summer-nights/index.html&image=1&adsec=multimedia&tot=14&sid=101">great article on things to do out here in summer</a>.</span></div><br />
The team did terribly during the first session, but the second session should be much more fun and exciting. It's been great just being out there doing something active and hanging out with everyone. This year seems to be turning into a much more social and interesting year than my first one back here in Ohio. I think this is the most social I've been in years, now that I think about it. I guess having a regular Monday thru Friday job is working out quite nicely!<br />
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No new house projects recently, but plenty are in the works. I'm planning to start saving up for an addition to the house too! Eventually I think I'd like to expand on the back and add a bathroom on the first floor, which would mean my kitchen and dining areas would both be expanded as well. Maybe I can get a butcher block countertop island?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD4cioyLG1S_qqhSTpOm8n8u3sZjpWYkb2IZRVMQInr6Ms6Jl5H7lHwYNeQOXfeMfThTr3Sz3BaLX6TTY1-9-cHQ_eiVhDNkBBW6y1OKj5VWfnTSOCsQU9n09_Fd7qx4N9xA4QNkiCZL8/s1600/butcher-block-island.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD4cioyLG1S_qqhSTpOm8n8u3sZjpWYkb2IZRVMQInr6Ms6Jl5H7lHwYNeQOXfeMfThTr3Sz3BaLX6TTY1-9-cHQ_eiVhDNkBBW6y1OKj5VWfnTSOCsQU9n09_Fd7qx4N9xA4QNkiCZL8/s400/butcher-block-island.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I'm in love with Dana's kitchen in her old house. Photo from<a href="http://www.housetweaking.com/"> House*Tweaking</a>. Totally check it out for some amazing inspiration and all the DIY work on the new house aka The Underdog.</span></div><br />
That's all for now, folks! Off to go practice a few more things and rescue Chloe from getting wrapped around the seating area on the porch.Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-38493009274681320192011-06-18T06:07:00.000-07:002011-06-18T06:07:33.130-07:00As promisedBear with me, this one may get long! There are lots and lots of pictures too.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqy2mcVXPu_-kK1HqIE7hHuUDFZ1_s-Gwqk4T6ZrW-_n2a1Eo8LlwXZhsbvEd7IwDq5M7RZ9lq0AHra6Tx4yfi1AJSnvSDjdYp25S2rpiDidWgQd0VCNELlQomM39-q6gGNra1fdgwqg/s1600/2011-05-26_19-04-21_859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqy2mcVXPu_-kK1HqIE7hHuUDFZ1_s-Gwqk4T6ZrW-_n2a1Eo8LlwXZhsbvEd7IwDq5M7RZ9lq0AHra6Tx4yfi1AJSnvSDjdYp25S2rpiDidWgQd0VCNELlQomM39-q6gGNra1fdgwqg/s320/2011-05-26_19-04-21_859.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> After a great little surprise at work, I rewarded myself with this Huffy Cranbrook Cruiser from Wal-mart. I had been thinking about getting a bike for a couple weeks since I was tired of wasting gas whenever I needed to run short errands in Hilliard. There's a bike lane on the main road! I hardly ever see people using it. I hardly ever see anyone on a bike out here, but I've always been one to go against the grain at times. I didn't want to shell out more than $100 for my first bike in years, just because if I didn't commit myself, I wouldn't feel bad about the money. Good news though! I love my bike and have been going on short rides around my neighborhood every couple of days since I brought this home. My only complaint about the bike is that it didn't come with a basket or a bell. I did pick up this <a href="http://www.waldsports.com/index.cfm/wald133basket.html">Wald 133 basket</a> (quick release) that just hooks onto the handlebars yesterday. If that doesn't work out, I'll track down the grocery basket that attaches to the frame. And maybe one day I'll get myself a Schwinn Cream or another attractive cruiser!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZq25AQ4X6TPoJ8XKCLfl4kJesCPIdy0gfcYOtlrH1uInmeFHrzlQMDFhK2AtVw1sAOyjuGRRDkz-CYxzuZNA54Itc66m738MH4R5YXHzVsdqj3Ax3ZlAtqkqgpOKbjCy1BvsNr-PdjPE/s1600/2011-06-11_09-26-43_984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZq25AQ4X6TPoJ8XKCLfl4kJesCPIdy0gfcYOtlrH1uInmeFHrzlQMDFhK2AtVw1sAOyjuGRRDkz-CYxzuZNA54Itc66m738MH4R5YXHzVsdqj3Ax3ZlAtqkqgpOKbjCy1BvsNr-PdjPE/s320/2011-06-11_09-26-43_984.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRyU7l1k2-xuZ1-pI6_RQo6K4w5gTyO6dC7X71vfyAaHq10oxmBZzCzP2DzFfrqvOqeohEH0qJtg-ojUhTbj_H1YtbzxiyddM_PMOgcasjCZ0grXv0NNH_nhDq02S0qb3jCpYHaIyP7zc/s1600/2011-06-11_09-26-58_747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRyU7l1k2-xuZ1-pI6_RQo6K4w5gTyO6dC7X71vfyAaHq10oxmBZzCzP2DzFfrqvOqeohEH0qJtg-ojUhTbj_H1YtbzxiyddM_PMOgcasjCZ0grXv0NNH_nhDq02S0qb3jCpYHaIyP7zc/s320/2011-06-11_09-26-58_747.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Remember my <a href="http://chloecorinne.blogspot.com/2011/01/doors-doors-doors.html">rant about my storm door</a>? My step-dad was kind enough to solve that problem for me once again last weekend. I gave him a small list of little things to fix throughout the house when he was here, which were mainly things I wanted to do but didn't know how.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GUCHBYTKJm3NUCRTHDeSzRwGvmyKZAktG5CYL6tCWrvHwhLQtVDafxzpGMd_Dj2Nmw66jiki665gEvgg7EAaiUnsj83Go6NLabutf-yG63lMlUGhEiJb2G2IwUKg5GYe6QwR5wnvLv8/s1600/2011-06-12_11-11-31_577.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GUCHBYTKJm3NUCRTHDeSzRwGvmyKZAktG5CYL6tCWrvHwhLQtVDafxzpGMd_Dj2Nmw66jiki665gEvgg7EAaiUnsj83Go6NLabutf-yG63lMlUGhEiJb2G2IwUKg5GYe6QwR5wnvLv8/s320/2011-06-12_11-11-31_577.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyBgkROY9zQZz2SqY7gmdBAb-AAJhOd7H_jNQfH7wkxKyNz8bIQ75xuhIBXoGDXwKdPlrsPdQJQsHhOkR-_8wNTL4JIV47lvCPqRY9pmen8Ew-_9FkfHHOqvO9NhJkeGeF634c3p08r1s/s1600/2011-06-12_11-11-40_325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyBgkROY9zQZz2SqY7gmdBAb-AAJhOd7H_jNQfH7wkxKyNz8bIQ75xuhIBXoGDXwKdPlrsPdQJQsHhOkR-_8wNTL4JIV47lvCPqRY9pmen8Ew-_9FkfHHOqvO9NhJkeGeF634c3p08r1s/s320/2011-06-12_11-11-40_325.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY9K7wSYEw8LGTkAgbHLC1G0BasImEQF7uCriWfXlhrc5aA2mWAXmx8I68qDmo1UjMDCHQSn0DCIg9YnWQmrzX3KiJVISscaPkcYSTpMewNFKlhFdv9NWWms5812LiuDpXlJS6Jj7JZnc/s1600/2011-06-12_17-32-24_331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY9K7wSYEw8LGTkAgbHLC1G0BasImEQF7uCriWfXlhrc5aA2mWAXmx8I68qDmo1UjMDCHQSn0DCIg9YnWQmrzX3KiJVISscaPkcYSTpMewNFKlhFdv9NWWms5812LiuDpXlJS6Jj7JZnc/s320/2011-06-12_17-32-24_331.jpg" width="180" /> </a></div> This always baffled me. I love this thing because I put the shovels, brooms, etc. on here. But it never made sense why it blocked the electrical outlet once you put stuff on it. It's been relocated to the other side of the garage and placed at a much friendlier short girl level.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9r9n_GuGD81M1Yd4YUv09VlbeGPlJNUAzQZvcjU1dNR479ydbiRA6Dh7avTUJTDfquJ-fkHwpFAZ7lL6PQYSZ0yuzg4z9oYpoXzDeblDwuUYvj_y11WqMaULnBIfv7tQGOT0JXJvpY20/s1600/2011-06-14_19-43-01_232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9r9n_GuGD81M1Yd4YUv09VlbeGPlJNUAzQZvcjU1dNR479ydbiRA6Dh7avTUJTDfquJ-fkHwpFAZ7lL6PQYSZ0yuzg4z9oYpoXzDeblDwuUYvj_y11WqMaULnBIfv7tQGOT0JXJvpY20/s320/2011-06-14_19-43-01_232.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzZwsbE2gSnVcqisirru2G7qTOvBt7zfHOiI4VJ5UEZ53mLtWVgvCiGiXfMtUGvzSebFdbTPjvvDurOaOXf9F1Uc8D4BTk0iTjyqKlEzGK8LPk0q6dsG6EntJZ41hjrzsS0OhKWWqVew/s1600/2011-06-14_19-43-11_633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzZwsbE2gSnVcqisirru2G7qTOvBt7zfHOiI4VJ5UEZ53mLtWVgvCiGiXfMtUGvzSebFdbTPjvvDurOaOXf9F1Uc8D4BTk0iTjyqKlEzGK8LPk0q6dsG6EntJZ41hjrzsS0OhKWWqVew/s320/2011-06-14_19-43-11_633.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The light works! YAAAAAY! I thought the fan was broken too, but it turns out that it's just really quiet.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2FBXiMl-lc9o4k-3JFiVXaDa9TH43vL_6iMldC4nUlgPrZWFCst7d1wH2ZTNiIE_EXUfej8rw3HsTJeltktHiib2a4mQ9kpgNwU9fix-VWv5kU804ECjH3ULaGNTSR-gHEWrUD_dd5w/s1600/2011-06-12_17-33-07_525.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2FBXiMl-lc9o4k-3JFiVXaDa9TH43vL_6iMldC4nUlgPrZWFCst7d1wH2ZTNiIE_EXUfej8rw3HsTJeltktHiib2a4mQ9kpgNwU9fix-VWv5kU804ECjH3ULaGNTSR-gHEWrUD_dd5w/s320/2011-06-12_17-33-07_525.jpg" width="180" /></a></div> This hook was relocated next to the front steps. The petunias have since been moved to the steps because they were weighing down the hook and pulling it forward. Oops!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJoUyL9Yz_fa24Xxwxv_e8X89RtBN_tTZV_htb_ZMyy9ylp1xUqIgD3NgkE7Uqrfy1jlZNllArRqreUWnOKpKzi4F3dmmdhv7egvv0q8JWRtfU5liodk-D1F7CrEjXglfZcPhUhRD-hjs/s1600/2011-06-13_19-00-28_58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJoUyL9Yz_fa24Xxwxv_e8X89RtBN_tTZV_htb_ZMyy9ylp1xUqIgD3NgkE7Uqrfy1jlZNllArRqreUWnOKpKzi4F3dmmdhv7egvv0q8JWRtfU5liodk-D1F7CrEjXglfZcPhUhRD-hjs/s320/2011-06-13_19-00-28_58.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilvt8lfJmzzwufFzEdK7M5YvO2Wl3uFXcJQhb7URvRZ-GeOid53LJBekY7GdoBpIyqJHUdS80uOK6aXxqT3AzsOH0oFQYzLyISwDlVFFVCDNRUuNmD071HQZdvcyEJN8Y46gFkeKBZWe8/s1600/2011-06-13_19-00-00_796.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilvt8lfJmzzwufFzEdK7M5YvO2Wl3uFXcJQhb7URvRZ-GeOid53LJBekY7GdoBpIyqJHUdS80uOK6aXxqT3AzsOH0oFQYzLyISwDlVFFVCDNRUuNmD071HQZdvcyEJN8Y46gFkeKBZWe8/s320/2011-06-13_19-00-00_796.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDMqec7bnECGzizmtPq1QECtUyqK4y4IUqCp3ur3plkhwHxCqX1E768NTnP8gvVKRLt0ipiLfXgn5D8Cl44QqC9wvEXWyNdIezsZfhOBJyKKu6KP8Fc6AfLqkZDwIVbwoRNgk4ZnWyMFc/s1600/2011-06-17_20-16-08_519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDMqec7bnECGzizmtPq1QECtUyqK4y4IUqCp3ur3plkhwHxCqX1E768NTnP8gvVKRLt0ipiLfXgn5D8Cl44QqC9wvEXWyNdIezsZfhOBJyKKu6KP8Fc6AfLqkZDwIVbwoRNgk4ZnWyMFc/s320/2011-06-17_20-16-08_519.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigeD5ocX3hFQuYQwGFuFpLA46kwVXZBEGv3SKeyWc-JoSIyiG0oQtNWy05eyPOqkZnYiuJrvlmATz39XCfPEr8AMGK0vmQDv_KctYqwipwRY81mO7JduaB9vixaUWFbNRQXbtl-Pn35Z4/s1600/2011-06-17_20-16-16_530.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigeD5ocX3hFQuYQwGFuFpLA46kwVXZBEGv3SKeyWc-JoSIyiG0oQtNWy05eyPOqkZnYiuJrvlmATz39XCfPEr8AMGK0vmQDv_KctYqwipwRY81mO7JduaB9vixaUWFbNRQXbtl-Pn35Z4/s320/2011-06-17_20-16-16_530.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW23q3qYMp-QdChmOkxSmSQWBrBbGWiYBeOYCw0ntaPR_hrkSMAglkW1cCDKPgi8idwTHnRBKd99-GEphDYdtZOWuP6NqPSqS_YUU0RJQeiq1Zgsi3REbrUyf3QpmiklRg5_pzpVQQa1Q/s1600/2011-06-17_20-16-26_490.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW23q3qYMp-QdChmOkxSmSQWBrBbGWiYBeOYCw0ntaPR_hrkSMAglkW1cCDKPgi8idwTHnRBKd99-GEphDYdtZOWuP6NqPSqS_YUU0RJQeiq1Zgsi3REbrUyf3QpmiklRg5_pzpVQQa1Q/s320/2011-06-17_20-16-26_490.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>My poor tree. I put some Round-Up all over those weeds and started pulling and trimming, only to discover that some of these weeds have roots an inch thick and are buried deep into the ground. I tried digging them up but it's pretty much useless. I need to borrow my neighbors' clippers with the longer handles so that I can trim these buggers low enough to the soil that I can place Weed-X over them and cover it all with mulch. The weeds on the back side are about three inches tall, and I can't cut them with my little hand clippers because they're so thick.<br />
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I found out from some neighbors that the previous owners last year just stopped paying attention to yard work. They would mow but that was about it. I thought at first that the insane weeds around the tree out front were due to negligence on their end, but with how thick some of these are, I'd say it's been a few years since those were addressed. I'm the fourth owner of this house, so I think it's been an issue since owner number one. Each owner would do something to address the problem, and it finally ended with someone putting down a mulch-looking pad of sorts on top of the weeds and hoping for the best. My poor little tree! I'm going to work on it as best I can this weekend.<br />
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Speaking of this weekend, it's the Columbus Pride Festival today! I'm bummed I can't go. I'm working the weekend part-time job (the one that pays for gas and groceries) during the afternoon and may just stay home tonight to avoid looking for parking in town tonight. Parking is always annoying on weekends, but I'm sure it would be even worse today. People are coming from all over to attend this. Perhaps Chloe and I will go for a bike ride to get sushi tonight?<br />
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To end this looooong post, enjoy some puppy pictures!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc3zyckQGqrO-hBCe2dJQ_M4lKgaapZ9BpBpYwTfi3BwknEE2TkTQqfMX4P8QDR7oJhIeNJ9Atg8o9Mt-ofOnF4U0oVoGxoFE0BeRQ_2_vp8bMGCXhxsubqLRwCs7Kk4Q4BERuuuHJJXU/s1600/2011-06-04_13-47-55_314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc3zyckQGqrO-hBCe2dJQ_M4lKgaapZ9BpBpYwTfi3BwknEE2TkTQqfMX4P8QDR7oJhIeNJ9Atg8o9Mt-ofOnF4U0oVoGxoFE0BeRQ_2_vp8bMGCXhxsubqLRwCs7Kk4Q4BERuuuHJJXU/s320/2011-06-04_13-47-55_314.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSuQlU043-t5FR4zO1-nTt7pV9kxHa_LKX1VfliMfaOa2Fu6LuXENoAH68tJaYHnKEIAzWvgWEGEDGuKPgr3JXJq1yyJgebOuKcDhx4iGEm6uXVJgEOSDIpEz5sJt2R8tWKnjBW-uyI1c/s1600/2011-06-12_10-52-57_636.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSuQlU043-t5FR4zO1-nTt7pV9kxHa_LKX1VfliMfaOa2Fu6LuXENoAH68tJaYHnKEIAzWvgWEGEDGuKPgr3JXJq1yyJgebOuKcDhx4iGEm6uXVJgEOSDIpEz5sJt2R8tWKnjBW-uyI1c/s320/2011-06-12_10-52-57_636.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNoL-MiCIrjDftLU7zmB7KLHIG8XuOOYjq1GaDbmHUJBhbT1HydnGVM3QfX3UQN84rFsjzYdMQhETugqS7dcl_Sq5xVXE8sMscGgdFVZiNm09NZ6bMbuxZ5jEIMkXu1HlfQ2W83rLuDy4/s1600/2011-06-06_07-17-15_668.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNoL-MiCIrjDftLU7zmB7KLHIG8XuOOYjq1GaDbmHUJBhbT1HydnGVM3QfX3UQN84rFsjzYdMQhETugqS7dcl_Sq5xVXE8sMscGgdFVZiNm09NZ6bMbuxZ5jEIMkXu1HlfQ2W83rLuDy4/s320/2011-06-06_07-17-15_668.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTgS4xirIR8Yctv33zzg9_-_MmbcZ_vGm9KjUaK51uCXcsAdz5CC63xuhoAyix4mO8c0XD0F9P5Ku_xvRVCWqt8xdv2R5vCuUxjeBhvDQNQMzSBYmOtgbtPYM7jEvoVuBsz_kXCoSEro/s1600/2011-06-12_13-16-23_307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTgS4xirIR8Yctv33zzg9_-_MmbcZ_vGm9KjUaK51uCXcsAdz5CC63xuhoAyix4mO8c0XD0F9P5Ku_xvRVCWqt8xdv2R5vCuUxjeBhvDQNQMzSBYmOtgbtPYM7jEvoVuBsz_kXCoSEro/s320/2011-06-12_13-16-23_307.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-378343820031153211.post-47203944347594900072011-06-16T10:54:00.000-07:002011-06-16T10:54:07.449-07:00BLOG FAIL!!!!OOOOOOOOOOOOOH my gosh! Where did we go? Did anyone even notice?!<br />
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Probably not. But for a quick summary......I've been busy, mostly with work. The personal life has taken a nose dive (yet again) while the professional life has gotten better (yet again). This always happens. One area is doing really well while the other isn't quite so lucky. But I'm content with where I am right now.<br />
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Chloe and I have been busy bees around the house. My step-dad came for a visit last weekend, so we were able to get a lot accomplished. This time I promise pictures will follow! I just haven't gotten them off of my phone yet. But things about the house have been moved, repaired, decided upon, etc. The best news of all though? I finally got a real bed! No more air mattress, thanks to someone's little nails poking a hole in it I believe, and no more sleeping in the guest room. Nope, there's a real queen-sized mattress in my room and it's glorious!<br />
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I'll be back with a real post with pictures about everything we've done around the house later tonight or tomorrow. Expect to see a long post where I vent about my yard too, because it's coming like a tornado.Corinnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04299911278905447634noreply@blogger.com0