Bought a bike

I'm now the proud owner of a new hybrid bicycle. Sam and I had lunch with his folks yesterday (see picture of Sam and Maggie) and then we started our task of looking for bikes for the triathlon. We visited three stores and discovered that our budget was low and that a hybrid would be more reasonable than a road bike. So after a break from comparison shopping and a drink at KFC, we returned to the second store to buy our bikes. But Sam's had already been sold to someone else. Luckily there was a different and cheaper bike so he got that one instead. Sam was nice enough to split the total price of the two bikes with me since his bike was cheaper. I got a helmet too. Its subtly girly. I never had a helmet before since there aren't many cops in the country to catch me riding my mountain bike without a helmet. After they tuned up our bikes and we actually got to leave with them, we were both tired but didn't want to waste the nice day. So we rode them down to Shirlington and ate. But we don't have bike locks so we sat at a booth next to a window and had the bikes leaning on the window on the outside to watch for anyone to steal them. After we returned to my place, I stored my bike under the window in my dining room and behind the dining table. Since we paid more for the bikes than we were planning, I told Sam that we wont be able to have curtains in our new apartment. We are running out of place in our new apartment already and haven't even moved in yet but now we will be storing our bikes in there. Until then, Sam has to keep his bike in his bedroom since his roommate has o.c.d. and wont allow it in the living room or hallway. Since Sam and I were tired, we watched a movie and called it a night. But he wanted to have popcorn with the movie and I didn't so he was upset with me.

I looked at my bank account today and found out that the bike store charged me 3 times as much as they were supposed to but after a few phone calls, 2/3s of that should go away in 3-5 days.

Today was pretty but still cold. So I went for a run at the gym. This afternoon I wanted to go outside and take pictures of the pretty flowers since the sky was actually blue and the lighting was good. I got some quality pictures out of my excursion. But spending time outside made me want to ride my bike. I had body pump tonight so I will ride my bike tomorrow if i can find a good route and then have my stroke clinic class tomorrow night. Which reminds me...MY WEIGHT LIFTING GLOVES HAVE RETURNED. Megan got dressed for body pump tonight and came down stairs and told me to guess what was in her pockets. It was my gloves. I wore her jacket one day to body pump when it was warmer and when she didn't go along, so I must have left them in her pockets when I put her jacket away. I now have 2 pairs in case I loose one. And Sam isn't mad at me any more for losing the pair that he gave me for my birthday.

Shopping and swimming

This morning Megan and I went to Macy's One Day Sale and I got dishes for the new apartment. I wanted to get a set of pots and pans too but the deal they were having wasn't good enough for me. Then we came back home and met Aaron and went to Joann's Fabrics, etc. He wants to replace the cushions on his couch but the foam at Joann's is more expensive and not what he is looking for but he was very entertained by all the things you can buy and do at Joann's. We returned home again and then Megan and I walked over to Giant to get groceries. We always get more stuff than we plan on and our tote bags we take along end up heavy and we have additional plastic bags to carry back too.

After lunch and a nap, I saw on the pool calendar that there was a gap in classes so I went over for a swim hoping to have a lane to myself. Wrong. When I checked in there were a group of 8 girls about 6 or 8 years old. And that wasn't all of them. There was a birthday pool party and I could hear screaming from the locker room. There were a ton on screaming kids and even some crying ones in the entry ramp and first lane so I got in the third lane with another woman but then moved into the second lane because it was empty. But after I swam to the other end, a life guard was opening up my lane for the pool party. So I made some gestures at him and then went back over with the woman in the third lane. I did mostly freestyle but saw her doing the breast stroke so I mocked her to see if I could figure out how to glide. After a bit more of freestyle I took a break to relieve the goggle pressure on my eyes. I used the kick board but got mad because I couldn't go anywhere with it. So I resumed freestyle. I find that towards the end of my workout is when I can do laps better because I tire myself out and go slower which uses less energy so I have more endurance. I did about 2 laps with an above water turn around and breath between lengths and figured I would push myself and continue to see if I could make it to 5 laps. At some point the woman left my lane and 2 men joined me. And an old lady joined the kids in the first lane to swim. One of the men in my lane hit me as he passed me. I was getting angry because of the pool party making my lane full and my goggles getting blurry. And I was sure that someone would pee in the water and I could get sick from drinking it. So when I finished my 5th lap, I got out. 250 meters! I can now do the tri.

The clocks in the pool area aren't right or working so I wasn't sure how long I spent swimming until I got back into the locker room and read the clock in there. I swam for 50 minutes which surprised me because I thought it was only like 30. I got in the sauna to dry off and to dry my cap since I wasn't in a hurry to get home. I only had a towel around me as the instructions say but there was a 5 year old little boy in the woman's locker room washing his hands. He looked into the sauna as he left and luckily my towel was covering everything or he might have seen more than he was prepared to. When I left the sauna and went to the locker to put my clothes on, I had to be careful to cover everything in case another little boy came in. It wouldn't be my fault but I would probably be accused of something.

I returned home to eat and now to chill until I shower and get ready to go out tonight for Keeley's birthday. Its not too bad out now, hopefully the weather will stay nice.

Application and ride

This morning I found an ad in the Washington Post for a sales position at a florist/nursery center. Its a hike from where I lived but I figured that applying couldn't hurt. The ad said to go to one of the locations and apply in person. So I got dressed and drove into D.C. I got off track of my directions, as usual, and Sam's phone was dying so I couldn't call him. Luckily the area looked familiar and I had a map in my car so I found the place. I only had enough change for 22 minutes in the meter. I filled out the application and was supposed to talk to the guy who hires but he was busy so I left my application there and am supposed to be contacted. I made it back to my car after meter expired but the meter maid hadn't made it to me yet. Good thing the hiring guy was busy or I might have gotten a ticket. I back tracked to get home having to make a few loops around blocks and u-turns to get in the right direction and on the right streets. But I made it without having to call Sam.

It was lunch time when I got home so I took the afternoon off besides making some brownies and then pasta for supper. I called Sansa about my mp3 player acting up and the woman on the phone told me how to delete all the songs off of it. So I also had to delete all the songs that I downloaded from rhapsody off my computer too so that I wouldn't put them on my mp3 player again. After I uploaded 'good' songs to my player, Megan and I went to the gym for a bike ride. She thought we were done at like 4 miles but I told her we had to do 10. We continued on a different bike but she quit before I was done. Tomorrow I have a lot of things to do and will try to get to the pool to have a weekend practice. We will see.

Play dates with the girls

I went for a run around the 'block' yesterday morning. The weather was nice and I wanted to get a short run in before Priya picked me up to go get her wedding dress. I think map my run said that my 'block' is 2.4 miles. It has some hills and valleys so that made it tough. And my mp3 player was acting up wanting me to renew my subscription but I don't want to and so it kept shutting off. I had to hurry and shower but was ready when she got here. It didn't take very long for her to get her dress but I was there to make sure they did it well and to see how the bustle works. We wanted to spend some more time out since it was sunny so we wandered to some of the other stores in the strip mall. Priya says we are 'those' (older) people now who go shopping in the middle of the day. She had to be home by 3 to watch her Soaps so I came home and napped before I had to go to body pump. My arms were tired so I didn't use quite as much weight.
Today was similar. The weather wasn't as nice and it was wet out but I wanted to get a quick run in before Shivanee showed up after lunch to go to the Washington Home and Garden Show. It started raining more as I was running but I had no short cut home and my mp3 was still acting up. After I showered and Shivanee came, we picked up Priya and then met Sam to park in his garage and to take the metro to D.C. We took our time at the show to make it worth while for our entry fee. But I don't even know what the fee was for because all we got for free was like product magazines and advertisements and crap. There were not discounts or giveaways or even a raffle. We all spent $5 there. I got Megan a pig ring and Priya and Shivanee each got a baby orchid. I had Priya drive by the new apartment yesterday, so today I drove by with them to show Shivanee it and to see how to get to Priyas from there since we will be able to play when I move.
Shivanee and I were tired and hungry when we got back so we stopped for some sushi and then I took a rest before my stroke clinic class tonight. Class tonight was similar to Tuesday's. We started with flippers again which made my blister from Tuesday upset. And then I did medleys for the rest of the night. But my breaststroke still wasn't working so I told Chuck I was giving up on it. He said something about doing what I know or focusing on swimming what I can or something like that. I think this meant for me to focus on freestyle since that is what I need to get better at. Chuck ended class early again but I mumbled at him that I was going to keep swimming since I don't like to get in, I try to make each practice long and worthwhile. I kept swimming until the rec center closed and I was the last one out of the pool. When Chuck ended class, I worked more on just freestyle but I tried breast stroke one more time and it worked better so I stopped trying it then so I wouldn't get frustrated again. Chuck isn't going to be there on Tuesday and I was worried what we are going to do without a teacher. But he said that we will have a sub and that he will be back on Thursday.

Sticky buns

I made sticky/cinnamon/pecan buns this morning so I didn't have time to go to the gym between the bread rising. But I think that is an acceptable reason. I made sure I had enough of all the ingredients this time so I made a lot of goo but might have cooked it too long because the goo turned into caramel. When the sun came out this afternoon, I planted some pansies outside too.

At swim class tonight, there weren't too many people so we each had our own lane. I guess people were out drinking for St. Patty's day. I wanted to go out drinking but the class got in the way but I am wearing green now and am going to have a beer with Sam later when he gets off work. Chuck started us off with flippers which were a lot of fun and really move you through the water. So when I took them off I didn't feel like I was going anywhere. But they gave me a blister so it was good I didn't have to wear them anymore. I spent the rest of the night doing a medley of freestyle, back stroke, breast stroke and then freestyle again; repeat. But I cant to the breast stroke anymore. I used to be able to do the breast stroke before I could do freestyle and Chuck called me a natural at it. But I am glad that I can do freestyle better now and not the opposite. Chuck says I'm doing great with freestyle. He saw that my breast stroke wasn't going well but I need to ask him again next time how to glide again because I'm not and even though its supposed to be a 'resting stroke' I am definitely not resting during it. So I'm frustrated that I used to be able to do it better and now I don't know how to glide.

Megan came along tonight. She wanted to watch the babies but the babies come during the day so she only got to watch me and the older people in water aerobics. She said I am rigid in the water. I told her that is because I'm supposed to stretch and rotate and stuff so I probably over emphasize the moves.

Catch up.

I ended up not doing much of anything on Saturday besides putting together a photo book of Sam and my first year together. I felt guilty but figured I deserved a day off. I went for a swim on Sunday morning. I went to a lane that only had one guy in it so I stood next to his bag thinking that he would take the other side since his stuff was over there. But as I stood at the edge of the pool, contemplating getting in, he swam up and stood at my feet in the water. I'm like "Hello! I'm standing here. Get to your side and share the lane." So I went over to the 1' of deck space between his bag and the lane marker and got in there. He stayed on his side of the lane and then when the class got out of the first 2 lanes, I moved there. When the guy got out of his lane, he picked up what I thought was a snorkel and extended it into a cane. The guy was blind or at least had bad vision! No wonder he wouldn't get out of my way.

I was then in the 'free swim' area which includes the entry ramp and first two lanes without dividers. There was a father and his little boy playing in the entry ramp so I stayed along the lane divider doing my laps. More families started to come and fill in the free swim area. I asked a lifeguard if another class was starting, he said no. My goal was to do 1 full lap. I finally realized how to slow down like Chuck said and I managed to do 2 full laps but took a quick break and breath between the lengths. During my final lap, there was a father and his child at the other end of my 'lane.' I figured since they had all the rest of the free swim area and all I wanted was 3 feet next to the lane divider that by the time I go to the other end of the pool, they would move. But they didn't! I had to stop short so I wouldn't swim into them. At least another father had the decency to tell his child to 'swim over here to stay out of this nice lady's way.' So I was bitter and went into another lane that had just opened up and swam back to the other end and got out.

I had water in both ears this time and when I jumped to get it out of one, I could hear it going further into the other side. This was very annoying but I remembered how Mom would pour peroxide in our ears to clean them out when we were younger. So I had Megan do that to me and 'bam!' No more water ears. I'll have to do that again next time since obviously I'll get water stuck in them repeatedly.

Sunday afternoon/evening, Sam and I were meeting some his work friends to go out for Mexican food and margaritas in D.C. We took the metro so we could both drink even though Sam didn't like the margaritas very much the last time we had them. I had my fill of food and drinks and Sam even had more. Even though the weather was rainy, it wasn't too cold so we walked back to the metro but after our next transfer, the train was not coming for a while so we hopped in a cab to come the rest of the way home. That made a quick ride of it.

Today I had plans to have Thai with Priya and Aaron. I hadn't figured out how or when to get my morning work out in though. So I hurried to the gym for a run this morning then met them for lunch. I had been craving pad Thai since we had been talking about getting it. I feel satisfied now that I had it. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home to get ingredients to make sticky buns and tomato basil soup but while I was there the pad Thai must have kicked in because I felt sleepy and depressed. I got some ice cream too so when I came home I took a nap and then had a banana split. And then Megan picked me up to go to body pump. I feel better now.

Refund city!

Since I don't have a real 'training' schedule for Fridays, and since I was tired and my legs were sore from yesterdays workouts, I decided to go to the gym this afternoon rather than this morning. I had been putting off doing my taxes because I owed money last year and since I am on a limited income now, I was postponing having to pay anything. But I have been taking care of tasks this week and Megan got money back on her taxes, so I figured I would do mine this morning since I was putting off the gym. Well I got $963 back from the feds and $6 back from VA. I always get suspicious though why the difference is so much. Especially because there was one part of the taxes that asked me how much I spend on retail items that were not taxed. I put $0 but it wouldn't except anything less than $1. So I changed it to $1. Not sure about that one. I hope I don't get audited. So now I can afford to buy a bike for the triathlon and can say that I'm using my refund for all my other tri purchases (swim suit, caps, goggles, running shoes, stroke clinic classes, mp3 player, pool passes...). I should add it all up to see how much money I have left from my refund and put the rest towards purchases for the new apt. I already bought an area rug so there's one thing that it went towards before I even got it.
Just did the math. I still have $500 to spend and I can spread that out pretty well. Woo hoo!

I still wasn't ready to go to the gym so I took a nap. I woke up and realized that it was getting late and I wanted to get to the gym before people come after work. I took my sudoku book to do some puzzles while I took a casual bike ride on a stationary bike. The puzzle was going well until I turned up the bike level to 5. I started to sweat more and couldn't concentrate on the puzzle so I gave up on it. I watched Oprah and listened to my music until my 10 miles were up. I then hopped to a treadmill but was only going to do 1 mile since I ran yesterday but my shoe came untied and I only made it to .8 miles.

Not much else planned for tonight. Megan and I have a lot of milk so we are trying to use recipes that call for a lot of milk. I believe that macaroni and cheese is for supper. I want to make tapioca but need tapioca to make it. And then later I'll go see Sam when he gets home from work.