So, what has happened to me over the last 9 months? Big news #1: I’m a Mom! See my adorable 10-month old daughter below? Her name is Cheese. She’s my new favorite running partner; she’s up to 7 miles now!

Big news #2: I moved to Washington, DC! I live in a house with three other friends and one other dog (named Maisie). In total: 4 girls and 2 cute dogs. We have a little ‘urban’ backyard where we invite people to hang out around and make s’mores my fire pit while grilling out.

Big news #3: I am done with my Clinical Nurse Leader graduate program! I took my last final yesterday. Next step: passing the NCLEX and getting a job. I worked on a pediatric surgical care unit for my practicum clinical (it’s like a semester-long internship), and I absolutely love it. My goal in the next few weeks is to study hard for the NCLEX and hopefully land a job doing what I did in practicum.

Well, those are the big things that I can think of. I am spending the day today vegging out and updating my resume. I feel I deserve it. It is raining outside, so I am thawing out my homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner.

Now that I am back blogging, what can you expect from my posts? Well, with the intensity of graduate school, I found myself eating my stress away — and gaining some lbs. in the process. I am starting Weight Watchers, which I had success with earlier this year, but stopped when work started piling up way too much. Now, I’m back on it and ready to see some results! Also, I’ve signed up for my FIRST MARATHON! I’ll be running the Rock n Roll USA Marathon, formerly the SunTrust National Marathon (and half, which I’ve run twice). I’m hoping to run it in under 4 hours.

For now, I will leave you with a few more pictures of the cuteness that is Cheese:

I was excited to try the Kashi bar. I was hoping that it would be like eating a mini-Clif bar or something. It wasn’t. Not to say that it wasn’t good, but I expected the bar to taste sweeter than it was. I would definitely buy these for something quick and small to eat, but I’d be more prepared for the taste. Sometimes the other snack bars are too sweet, so having the Kashi bars around gives a good snack variety. They have other chewy granola bar flavors that I’d like to try that might be a little sweeter: cherry dark chocolate, dark mocha almond, honey almond flax, and peanut peanut butter. I’ll use my coupon on one of these other flavors!

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Here’s what I like to put on the agenda:

• Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred: now, I’m not a fan of Jillian Michaels. I actually find her really annoying. She says stuff like “C’mon guys! You don’t just get to the finish line and STOP!” … Really? Because I do. Why would you not? You’re finished. You stop. Do you propose that when I get to the finish line after a marathon, I should just keep on running? And go where? It’s just stupid. Just a stupid concept. She should have come up with something else that made sense. Also, the music totally stinks. It’s lame and dorky. I really like the moves and the structure of this DVD, I just very much recommend putting it on mute and composing your own soundtrack. Follow along and get a better workout that way. I do. Anyway, there are three 20-minute workouts (Level 1, 2, and 3). You do 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of ab work three times. It’s pretty intense if you follow it correctly, and I am usually getting a good sweat after the first 5 minutes.

• MTV Yoga with Kristin McGee: Now this I don’t have to mute. It’s really relaxing and Kristin McGee’s voice is very soothing. I do this 45-minute video after completing one or two shred levels. I feel like yoga (especially hot yoga if I can afford it and get to a class) is a great supplement to my running. It helps strengthen my core and increase my flexibility. Now that I think about it, I think Kristin McGee does a MTV power yoga and pilates video, too. I should totally buy those.

What kind of workout do you do when you can’t get outside or to a treadmill to run?

Off I went into the wind. It was such a weird feeling — I would put my hands on my butt, but I couldn’t feel them at all! Everything from the waist down was completely numb. And I couldn’t feel any part of my face. When I got home, I tried to talk to my roommate, but all I did was slur my words and drool a bit.

Anyway, I didn’t realize before the run, but I only had one gel packet left. It was a PowerBar Strawberry Banana Gel that I think I had gotten free from some race.

It was probably pretty old, too. Oh well. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I popped it open around mile 7 and… OH-EM-GEE I thought I was going to vomit. Words can’t describe. I can’t put my finger on what made it taste so bad, maybe it was the watery/snot-like consistency, maybe it was the fact that it tasted like someone’s spit, I don’t know. All I know is that I will NEVER ever again use one of these on my runs. I will never buy one. I will never take one for free. No thanks.

So, today I am off to the running store to pick up some more GU. I’m hoping they have the mint chocolate, because that is my favorite.

I might be safety’s #1 fan right now, especially considering some recent events that have made me rather untrusting of big city Baltimore. So, I wanted to share with you some of the gear I use to keep myself safe while running the mean streets of Charm City. Runners are really vulnerable, and it is important that they be cautious and aware while outside, especially if running alone, running in a big city, or running in the dark.

Bright colors. I love anything bright and highlighter-colored. The more reflective material you wear, the better. It keeps you visible. People in their cars might make fun of you (this happens to me all the time), but you know what, at least they saw you and know not to hit you. I make myself visible with an Amphipod Xinglet over my clothes and a Brooks Infiniti Women’s Beanie (with a slit in the back for my ponytail) over my head.

Lights. Again, a visibility issue. I wear an Amphipod blinking light attached to my back and a Petzl Tikkina head lamp with two lighting modes. These are good for when you will be running on non-well-lit streets (which I recommend avoiding, especially in West Baltimore) and on trails in the dark (which you should run on with a partner, not alone). The lights on the trails will help other runners and bikers see you and not run into you.

Pepper spray. I have been chased after on a run before. It’s not a great feeling. Turns out it was some teenager guy trying to be funny with his friends. Still. Not funny to me. So, I carry pepper spray with me now – especially on my evening runs. Mine comes with a holder and fits nicely around my hand so I hardly notice it’s there. I feel more comfortable knowing I have it, so next time someone tries to chase me down, even as a joke, I’ll be taking him down instead! Nobody will be laughing then.

Identification. I just got my Road ID in the mail the other day and it is easy to velcro on to your shoe. Dog tags are another option. If anything should happen to you, it is so helpful for emergency responders to have certain information about you: your name, emergency contact numbers, your year of birth, the city you live in, any known drug allergies (put NKDA for “no known drug allergies”), blood type, organ donor.

Proper Fuel. If you’re going on a long run, you need the essentials to keep you going and ensure you do not pass out: water, GU, energy bars, etc. If I am going out for 7 miles or more, I wear a Fuel Belt and take at least 16 ounces of water with me and a GU pack. I have the Endurance 4-Bottle Fuel Belt, and I really like it. Other runners prefer not to have a million little water bottles with them and just carry one. Coach Dad is like that. He prefers the Amphipod Full-Tilt hydration belt, with a water bottle designed with a curve to fit perfectly into the small of your back.

Proper Lotions. Two biggies: BodyGlide and sunscreen. Prevent chaffing and prevent skin cancer. Enough said.

The Garmin. Ah, the most valuable training tool I think I own. This baby lets me know if I am going to right speed or not. It has a heart rate monitor to let me know if I’m hitting the right rates. It will let me know if I am running too far or too fast (overtraining). It keeps me in check. I love it.

What kind of safety gear is essential to you on your runs?

How did you celebrate your New Years Eve?

Usually, I’m not big on the night. I don’t care for the expensive admission to bars, the crowds, the hassle. I’m just as happy staying home, watching movies, and going to bed early. This year though, Mr. T’s cousin got married on New Years Eve, so we had a fabulous wedding to attend in *this is so exciting* NEW JERSEY!

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The wedding was at The Madison Hotel in Morristown, NJ. It was so fun and so nice. The food was fantastic and the company even better (I love Mr. T’s family!)

The next day, we popped in to Mr. T’s hometown to eat a very delicious lunch at the legendary Chatham Sub Shop. We also did a drive-by of the house he grew up in. We found this on the street corner:

Note: the tag hanging off the “animal.”

Seriously.

Unfortunately, this holiday wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns. The night before we left for Jersey, some hoodrat broke into my car in front of my house and stole my brand new GPS that my parents had gotten me for Christmas. I had loved that GPS – I already named him Nigel and he spoke with a male Australian accent. I felt (and still feel) angry, sad, and violated. Very much the same feelings I had when my locked-up bike was stolen a few months back while I was in the grocery store in downtown Baltimore. That was my car and my GPS AND my bike. It is just so frustrating to know that there are awful, selfish people like that in the world. And apparently a lot of them are concentrated here in Baltimore. I’m really starting to feel more and more uneasy about living here — and really itching to get back to DC as soon as possible.

I plan on buying mase today for when I walk back and forth to class — or anywhere in Bmore, really. And I’m going to finally buy my Weber grill. I’ve decided to buy a chain and lock along with it. Can’t take any chances anymore.

My birthday stash from December 13th! Longchamp bag from Nana. Running treats (GU Chomps, Sport Wash, Feetures! Socks) from Aunt Donna — my most loyal reader. Target gift card, Fireside Reflections DVD (which my roommates and I put on the TV while drinking cocoa), Home Depot gift card for a Weber Grill, a blow-up mattress (ordered on Amazon.com) and a Starbucks gift card from my parents.

Yay.

MCM 10K schwag. My favorite thing was the reGen recovery drink. It tasted like chocolate milk. Now THAT is something I will get again. I liked it much better to drink after a long run than Gatorade.

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MCM 10K shirt — I really like the design, but I found that I haven’t worn it since after the race. I keep thinking the orange is a little too bold.