I made a facebook page for Hannahviolin (finally?). Here’s the link, not sure if this works. Come "like" me so I feel like I have friends.
I am testing out a couple things here. Most of what I do online is total trial and error, just so you know.
(From last summer. I think my arms are more muscly now! Spellcheck doesn’t think muscly is a word, but we all know better.)
More updates on my friends Alicia and Andrew. They are taking donations.
So far the excessive heat warning is still set to expire at 7 pm this evening…keep your fingers crossed. Yes, it will still be hot, but I suppose not excessively so? Yesterday on my way to work (late afternoon) they were warning that temperatures were something like 103 with heat index of 115. CRAZY.
From the National Weather Service: HEAT INDEX VALUES… HEAT INDEX READINGS THIS AFTERNOON ARE EXPECTED TO CLIMB TO AROUND 105 DEGREES. THE MOST OPPRESSIVE CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR IN THE SAINT LOUIS METRO AREA DUE TO THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT.
Did you read that? URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT. I feel like they are just making stuff up at this point. Except it exists on Wikipedia so it must be true.
Either way I’m not running today because my leg is very sore on the side of the calf (I am not an anatomy expert so I can’t tell you the name of the muscle or whatnot) so I figure a day off is in order. I haven’t taken a day off since I returned home from Chicago. I probably should have taken Monday off rather than walking for 4 miles, but oh well. *spoiler alert* You know the end of the HP 7.2 movie when Neville is limping around due to injuries? I walk that way a lot, especially when I first get up or when I’ve been sitting for awhile, or after a long run or particularly tough workout. Is that wrong?
In addition to the ridiculous heat, it can make you angry (this is definitely true.) Here’s an article about the heat wave in Oklahoma causing heat rage for people! I think it must be like road rage but far sweatier. I am so over the heat. I am tired of the oppressive feeling you get walking outside, and I’m tired of feeling like I am going to throw up or pass out when I am trying to run outside.
Here’s some other interesting stuff I’ve read recently (and likely posted to facebook):
Scientists Suggest Red Wine Helps Prevent Sunburn
"Pumpkin Pasties" from the Unofficial HP Cookbook (I love you, serious eats!)
And a few entries from the "blogosphere" that I starred in my reader:
I was trying to remember not to run
All right, dear readers. That’s it for this morning.
Last December I participated in a project called reverb10 on my blog. Each day I was given a writing prompt and wrote a blog post on that prompt. When December ended, so did reverb, except they continued giving us monthly prompts. I am a WEE bit behind on these prompts. I just got one today for August, and realized I still have March’s in my inbox. So today I am going to write on March’s prompt.
If March 2011 was your last month to live, how would you live it?
That was the prompt. At the time I was stressed and busy, and I just couldn’t write about that. Besides which the whole "last month to live" is such a clichéd topic. Your choices are, do you travel, do you visit your family? What else is there?
And that’s what I did in JULY. I saw my parents. I visited a friend in Chicago. I spent ridiculous amounts of time with my friends–I had some of those crazy nights where SO much happens and you are out really late and the next day you have to talk through the whole night with your friend who was there ("Did this really happen??") . I worked out a ton and ran over 75 miles. I read tons of books and saw a bunch of movies. I practiced the violin and listened to a lot of great music. I ate some amazing meals and drank some fantastic wine.
What would I have wanted to do as well, if it were my last month to live? I didn’t get to spend as much time with Chris as I would have liked. I would have wanted to also see my siblings and my grandmother. And maybe I would have liked to go somewhere tropical for a few days, to either sit on the deck of a cruise ship enjoying the breeze and the open water, or sit on the beach, pina colada in hand. I could have played some Beethoven String Quartets, or maybe a Mahler Symphony or two, or maybe Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony.
If it were my last month to live, there are things I wouldn’t have worried about doing that I had to do. Working, for instance, though I barely worked all month, or perhaps wedding planning (though again, that’s a generally fun thing except when I freak out and yell at Chris for a really long time…oooh, he’s coming home today, will I be starting that again…but I digress), or cleaning too much (not that I really do) or trying to lose weight, or returning phone calls for fall semester work. That would have given me even more time!
I guess what I’m saying is: July was pretty awesome. It ended on a terribly sad note, and the news still isn’t good in regards to my friend Alicia and her fiancé Andrew. But otherwise it was a fantastic month. Hug your pets and loved ones and feel lucky if you are healthy and alive. And I know we have to be adults and responsible, but goodness, if you aren’t basically living your life in a positive way, you need to make changes. I’m really looking forward to the next few months as I start my new work schedule and my new position with Chamber Project St Louis (still to be announced). It’s going to be a fantastic rest of the year.
I met my friend Melissa for dinner tonight. We wanted to go to Milagro Modern Mexican, but SADLY Monday night is not a great going out night. Evidently lots of places are closed, like Milagro (luckily we checked online) and then Yemanja Brasil (drive by). Ultimately we went to Chava’s Mexican Restaurant in Soulard, which is near where Melissa lives. It was totally fine, not great, but satisfied my Mexican food craving. I had enchiladas, a margarita, and way too many chips and salsa. And I took no pictures. Evidently I’m on a picture taking break. I need to step that back up or you people are going to get upset. (Plus, I rocked a side pony for dinner…and there is no proof. That’s okay, it’ll keep happening.)
(the first time)
Today was a great day for getting errands done. Except it was super hot outside (as usual) so I got really thirsty by the time I got to the grocery store. As a result I ended up buying immense amounts of liquids: milk, chocolate milk (which I drank on the way to the car…yum!), various sports drinks, sparkling wine, beer, you name it. (I know, cool story, bro.)
That’s me in my old Akron Symphony summer uniform…judging you. Maybe after the wedding I’ll get my hair cut short like that again, it’s totally cute. Thoughts?
Yes, this is cuter. (source)
Isn’t time strange? It feels like the summer is absolutely flying by, but yet I also feel like so much happened in July. Either way, August is here, and time is marching forward as it must.
Let’s recap July with some favorite, or most interesting posts.
Community: talking about my friends who were in an awful car accident (and still in critical condition). Visit the website about Andrew and Alicia here.
I open at the close: Harry Potter fans know what I’m talking about.
Introduce Yourself: I ask my readers to let me know who they are (and I’m still curious, please comment there or here if you like.)
Avec: Love this restaurant, had a great time in Chicago with my friend Karen.
Will write for wine: I attended a blogger’s get together to learn about one of my favorite things, wine. And I wrote.
Sightseeing in my own city: My parents finally visited St Louis and we went all over town.
My save the date cards: LOVE them! LOVE LOVE LOVE. I am such a stationery freak.
Fourth of July Party: We had a barbecue with our friends, so fun.
Fourth of July Race: My first 10k!
Those are the blog highlights from the month. Plus we did all kinds of wedding planning and (most importantly) I bought my dress. No, you can’t see it. You can see this one though.
And a few more pictures, enjoy:
I think that pretty much sums up my month. Honestly it appears that all I did was drink wine and go out with friends.
Hmm. Then again…still losing weight! Do I make today a rest day or go to the gym? Heat index is already 100 degrees, so I think outside would be insanity.
How was your July? Are you glad it’s August? Did you laugh, cry, and learn a little bit about yourself? I sure did!
Just a quick post so you all know I’m alive!
My friends are hanging on, so that’s a good thing. I think. I hope.
Friday night was fun—we did some bar-hopping in Maplewood, though nowhere I really enjoyed, and then Jen and I closed down the Amsterdam. We stay up too late when we are together. Saturday I had a workout with Mike (he had had to reschedule because he had had an interview for his new job working at Frazer’s) and a wedding/cocktail hour. Dinner was at Pho Grand followed by gelato. I hadn’t been to Pho Grand in a year or so, and now twice in one week. Weird. But delicious!
I’m getting psyched up for a long run. We are running around Forest Park. We haven’t done that together since July 2 so I am quite looking forward to it. After that the rest of the day is free. Chris gets back Tuesday so there are some preparations to make (laundry, cleaning) and also I need to review my wedding planning. I need to finalize the guest list and addresses to send off for the invitations. I guess they take awhile to get ready. We probably won’t be sending them out until October, but nonetheless they need to go to the printers. I also need to figure out what else I should be doing right now…
I am starting to get really excited about the end of August. Both my sisters are coming to visit and we have big plans, including a wedding shower they are throwing me. Isn’t the invitation cute?
We will also be getting the bridesmaid dresses at that time.
Maybe something like this? (by the way, that site is amazing, you should check it out.)
I’m about to disappoint my cat by getting up. She is squashed next to me, sleeping. One person is just not enough for her petting and cuddling needs, unfortunately.
Ignore that spot on the rug. This is a recycled photo and I don’t know what that is, though I’ll assume it’s cat vomit related.