Measure Twice, Cut Once - The Beginnings of a DIY Adventure

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. When I was younger, my mom would herd us through the fabric section of Wal-Mart to look at patterns with possible ideas and let us pick our favorites. Then she'd slave over the sewing machine, often going above and beyond what the pattern suggests she do, so that our costumes were amazing.

The do-it-yourself costumes in our household consisted of anything from the Chiquita Banana lady to the Statue of Liberty (of which I proudly won first place at the costume contest of West Elementary School's Fall Festival in the 4th grade!)

Now, as an "adult", I find it difficult to purchase a poorly made costume at a ridiculous price that barely even covers my fanny. Halloween has turned into an excuse for women to let out their inner scandalousness...and here I am just wanting to be creative and original, and have my derriere covered. 

This little diddy goes for around $45, and doesn't even include the socks!

Thus, my annual DIY Halloween costume projects began. 

Three years ago, my friend Amelia and I rocked out handmade Mario and Luigi costumes. Now you see them everywhere, but back then not so much. Maybe I started the trend?!

 Prateek and I won a costume contest with our handmade costumes - 

The One Night Stand.

Why yes, that is a lampshade on his head.

Another year, I went as Tim Tebow Crying. 

For those of you who may not remember this vision from a few years ago when the Gators lost the SEC Championship Game to Alabama, let me replay the touching moment:

One of my best friend's Kate is a Gator....Kate please shield your eyes....

It was the butt of all SEC jokes for a few years. So I went with it. 

Sadly, I live in Gator-land down here in Tampa, so people didn't think it was QUITE as funny as I did. Although I did get a few high-fives from some Florida State fans.

The sparkly blue teardrops and scriptured eye-black was my fave.

This year, I've already decided what I want to be.

Deadmau5.

Joel Zimmerman, AKA Deadmau5 (pronounced "dead mouse") is one of my favorite house music producers. He is characterized by wearing a giant mouse head at all of his shows. 

I saw Deadmau5 perform at Ultra Music Festival this past March, and every so often in the crowd I would see someone that had made their own Deadmau5 head.

Some were good, some were epic fails.

This one was pretty legit

My Halloween idea had been born, but needed to be taken to another level......

a GIRL Deadmau5.

So I google how to make one of these things, not expecting much to pop up - low and behold, a step by step guide appears! I swear you can find anything online these days. 

I'm frightened by what lies ahead for me and my Girl Deadmau5. All the reviews talk about how hard it is to make and how time consuming it is.

And let me also just tell you, this Deadmau5 head building is NO JOKE. When the materials list consists of a 14 inch acylic lamp post globe, jigsaw, dremel, wing nuts, and a professional grade hard hat, just to name a few, you know the project is intense.

The 14 inch globe came in the mail yesterday, so my DIY Halloween adventure of 2011 has officially begun.

Hopefully this project I'm throwing myself into won't deviate into complete disaster. I have almost 3 months to accomplish my task, but between marathon training and work I really don't have much time left at all. 

I'll try to post every so often on how the whole sawing/cutting/drilling thing works out. Unless I lose a finger. Then you may not hear from me for a while.

With Great Sacrifice Comes Great Achievement

If keeping up with a weekly training schedule for running weren't hard enough physically, throw in an 8-6 demanding job, a busy travel agenda, and an attempt at a social life.And of course taking care of our one and only spoiled rotten child, Jadoo. 

This looks familiar....

When I first started running, I would go a few times a week.

As long as it wasn't too hot, or too cold, or raining, or windy, or if I didn't go out the night before until 1 AM.

If the stars aligned, I would run.

Once I got more serious about my running and decided to sign up for my first half marathon, I put myself on a seemingly simple training schedule. I'd do some running and working out in my free time and then go along my merry way. No big deal, right? It looked great on paper and I convinced myself that it would be easy as pie.

Turns out that a long Sunday run, Yoga on Mondays, more running on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, cross training on Thursdays and Saturdays, and finding time for some strength and speed training somewhere in between is no walk in the park, after you've worked a 9+ hour day and/or been out of town for days at a time.

I also feel like my schedule is different every week, so I'm constantly changing around my training days to fit everything in. I also play the roll of "party pooper" when it comes to going and doing fun things.


 For example.....

 In the last year, I have:

• Avoided cookies/cakes/ice cream like the plague, and replaced them with granola bars and protein smoothies
• Not slept in on hardly any weekends, and up by 6am most Sundays....which leads to:
• not going to activities/bars/parties that require me to be out past 10pm....which leads to:
• trading Jack and Diet Coke for H20 on the rocks at said activity.
• Run in all elements ruthlessly, with no excuses - 100 degree summers, 30 degree winters, gale force winds, and snowfall (if I'm traveling in a different state that actually HAS snow)
• Spent the extra $25 to check-in my bag at the airport, if for any reason my running gear didn't fit into my carry on when I traveled
• Dedicated additional spending money towards running sneakers instead of those cute heels that were on sale at Macy's 

 

However, luckily for me, running is one of those things that you get out what you put into it.

I have gotten back into my skinny jeans and lost a little extra cushion from around my midsection. Not only has my general health improved, but my legs and arms have some muscle definition and I think I even see an ab or two trying to pop out of my belly! (Who know there were actual muscles in there??) I've finished 3 half marathons and seen amazing parts of cities and countryside that I wouldn't ever see otherwise (minus getting attacked by a flock of hostile Pelicans...that wasn't so amazing). 

I get faster every week. I'm less stressed, my coordination has improved, and I've learned valuable lessons on determination and focus.

Not to mention I just love running in general.

The last few weeks have been crazy - my schedule just hasn't worked out and I've had to make major adjustments to fit everything in. But, fingers crossed and prayers up to Jesus/Ganesha/Allah/whoever you believe in, I'll be running my first full marathon in a little over two months. Two more months of sacrifice to achieve my goal. Only Two.

I feel like the little engine that could.

But more feminine...I would be pink. 

Call of the Wild

There are many things you can experience on a run that one otherwise would not, especially when it comes to mother Earth. Living in Florida, I've seen many things - I've seen sea turtles and manatees. I've seen dolphins playing and sting rays trolling along right beneath the surface. Once when I was up in the Poconos on a trail run, I came across a few deer, and then later a huge wild turkey standing in the middle of the trail. I was so freaked out I had to turn around - that turkey did not look like it was going to move, and I was not about to pick a fight with him and his large talons.

Would you mess with this guy?

And there are always birds - Pelicans, Egrets, and Cranes. But let's talk about the Pelicans for a moment.

Pelicans are probably my favorite bird here in Florida. I like watching them dive bomb into the Bay to catch fish, and they are always very photogenic and will pose for pictures while perched on the boat dock. They are almost cute in a weird way. 

But, as it turns out, they have a dark side.

I was on my long run this past Sunday, admiring the water and watching the birds fly by. I had my headphones in, jamming out to Afrojack and feeling pretty good. The sun was rising so it was starting to get really hot. Out of nowhere, I felt what I believed were large raindrops on the back of my leg.

My first reaction was YES it's my lucky day - there is rain coming to help cool me off! But, as I looked up for the rain cloud, all I saw was sunshine. And a flock of Pelicans.

I glanced back down to the pavement to continue my run. Like a WWII military bomber, these Pelicans have attacked the sidewalk with torpedoes of poo. And sure enough, when I turned around to look at my calf, the evidence was clear -- they were trying to take my legs out. 

At first I was super irritated - how dare this feathered creature interrupt my important Sunday long run with his nasty habits. I tried not to gag and hopped to the nearest inlet of the Bay to rinse off the Pelican bullets. And then for some reason, I just laughed. Not just a giggle, like deep-belly-almost-to-tears laughing.

A Pelican pooped on me, and not only did I live to tell the tale, but I thought it was hilarious.

Thank you, Mr. Pelican, for allowing me to laugh at myself. Sometimes we all need that.

The Heart of the New West

Stampede - My sister Rachel had begged us all to come up and experience this event/celebration/cultural happening in Calgary ever since she moved there a few years ago. After we finally purchased the air fare and made it official, I started doing some research on this annual festival that the entire city goes insane for. I had been to Calgary before, and never really noticed any evident or distinct cowboy qualities, so I was intrigued.

According to the website, the core purpose of the Calgary Stampede is to preserve and promote western heritage and values, with the first Stampede taking place in 1912. If you have a mindset similar to mine, you may be confused and thinking to yourself Cowboys in Canada?! Oh yes. Lots of them. 

For one week in the summertime every year in Calgary, the entire city turns into a country-western sanctuary. Every business downtown is decorated to the nines with hay bails, lassos, and country music blaring from their speakers. Any restaurant, hotel, coffee shop, or retail store you went into, the employees were wearing cowboy hats, boots, and belt buckles. In nearby Stampede Park downtown, there is a huge Midway full of fair rides and foods, and live music all day. Every evening, there are the Chuck-wagon Races and a Grandstand Show, followed by a huge fireworks display. 

All of us at Stampede!

The event kicked off on Friday with a parade downtown. The weather was perfect- high around 70 with cool dry mountain air. It just so happened that the Royal Couple was in Calgary celebrating Stampede too (and staying at our hotel!), and they even started off the parade (from the comfort of their Cadillac, but hey, they were there!). The parade focused on the heritage of the city, with lots of cowboys and Native Indians in huge headdresses.

That's Kate in the back

Yahoo, y'all

Side note - They do not say "yee-haw" in Calgary. It is "Yahoo" instead of "yee-haw". It took a while to get used to, not gonna lie.

After the parade, the Midway, the Chuckwagon Races and the Grandstand Show, I was as tired as a one legged man in a butt kickin contest. And this was only day 1. 

Chuckwagon Racing

The next day we headed over to their living history park, where you're taken back in time to the Pioneer days of the late 1800's. They built a small village from old historical buildings, with everything from a church to a post office to a newspaper mill. We went on a steamboat ride and learned a lot more about the history of the city. It reminded me a lot of Historic Jamestown in Virginia, to give a comparison - everyone is dressed from that era, and you can learn how to knit, churn butter, and wash clothes on a washboard. 

There was also a car museum, and apparently there is an old brand called Auburn. So naturally I had to get a picture next to the Auburn car.

War Eagle from Canada

The last day we headed to the Canadian Rockies, Banff National Park and Lake Louise. The mountains were snow capped, the water a deep teal blue, and the air crisp and fresh. We walked around the lake, and hiked to a waterfall, and even got to see bears on three separate occasions!

 

Rawr

Calgary is outstanding- the city is big but not overwhelming, it's clean, and they are very green/energy efficient (my hotel was completely run on wind-power!). Everyone is in a good mood all the time... even the police (mounties) were extremely courteous. In the summer, the sun rises at 5:30 AM and sets at 10:30 PM. I went for an 8 mile run, and I didn't have to wipe the sweat off my brow ONCE because the air was so dry. The beef there is to die for, as is the local produce. There are pristine snow capped mountains a little over an hour away.

And they love their western heritage and country music. 

Doesn't get much better.

Daddy's Girl

I remember the day like it was yesterday -- a typical afternoon in the office in 2006, working on proposals and contracts. It was the holiday season, right after Thanksgiving, so the office was abuzz with the Christmas spirit. I picked up the phone that afternoon, and and was surprised to hear my mom's voice on the other end. Her voice cracked as she said hello, and at that moment, she didn't need to say anything else. I knew what was coming next. 

 Dad had been in and out of doctors and hospitals for as long as I can remember. He had a few heart problems, and struggled with asthma. Other than those health issues, he was super active and continued to work 6 days a week, sometimes more. I never once heard him complain, and his work ethic was better than anyone I've ever known -- if people had half the determination and dedication he did, this world would be a much better place!

In his spare time he enjoyed fishing and boating, driving the RV, attending Nascar races, listening to country music, grilling T-bone steaks, watching action movies, and using power tools. His favorite pastime was spoiling us as much as possible--candy before dinner, gifts for no reason, and later in life, cars when we turned 16. Speaking of cars...he loved going shopping for cars, and would also love to "surprise" us by trading in one car for another. I can't count on two hands how many times I came home from school to a different car/boat/truck in the driveway.

He was a very simple man - all he wanted for Christmas was socks, because he claimed he didn't need anything else. He never met a stranger, and would become friends with anyone from the checkout clerk at Lowe's to the people the next campsite over when we went on vacation. He'd give you the shirt off his back if you needed it, and would expect nothing in return.

When I was in college, we found out he had liver cancer. The first thing my parents did was go to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL to get tested. The tests would show how big the tumor was, and if a transplant was possible. After what seemed like an eternity, the tests came back... the cancer had grown just a little too big for Dad to get put onto the transplant list. At that point they gave him 6 months to a year to live. Being in Auburn and not living at home was something I had looked forward to for so long, but now I ached to move back and be with him. I would head back to Cullman for as many weekends and a holidays as I could to soak in as much time as humanly possible. 

Every time I came home, I always expected the worst, but was repeatedly surprised at how well he seemed to be doing. He was pretty matter-of-fact about things, but instead of lying around on the couch just waiting for the pearly gates, he went out and did what he loved best -- He went fishing. He grilled steaks. He went to a Carrie Underwood concert. He bought a BMW Z3 convertible. He even came to Florida and we went to Disney World!

I eventually began to see a little decline, mostly in his energy level. Life Care Hospice had started coming to the house a few times a week to take blood pressure, give him medication, and do any counseling if it was needed. Since he was in the Air Force, the VA gave him benefits, including a motorized wheelchair to use. (I remember he put a Jimmy Johnson sticker on it as if it were his race car, and used it to go down to the mailbox and check the mail every day.)

When my mom called the office that day, it had been over two years since the original diagnosis of 6 months. That was just like my dad - determined to not give in easily! 

The Lord took him at home, in his sleep, the morning of December 5, 2006. Me, my brother and sister, my grandparents, and my Mom were all there with him praying when it happened. His funeral was just the way he would have wanted it - his favorite men's quartet sang gospel songs, and his favorite pastor did the service. I knew he had a ton of friends, but didn't realize how many people's lives he really touched. There were so many people there! Friends of his came from all over the state (and surrounding states) that I had never met. They knew all about me and my brother and sister, solely by how much Dad bragged about us.

Every day, especially Father's Day, I reminisce about my Dad and how good of a man he was. I wish I could shout from the rooftops to the entire world to never take advantage of a moment with your dad or mom. Life can throw curve balls and you never know what can happen or what lies ahead. I would give anything for one more bear hug, one more deep bellied laugh, or one more ride in the back of the truck to the corner store for a candy bar. 

He didn't tell me how to live -- he lived, and let me watch him do it.

In memory of Roy H. Malone: an Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you

May the wind be ever at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face

And the rain softly on your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Are We There Yet?

 

Ever since I was old enough to remember, my family had owned a motor home. This was a non-negotiable term for vacationing in my family - if we were going on a vacation, we were going to drive and we were going to stay in a campground. That was it, end of story. No hotels, no airlines. It was all 5 of us (and the dog) packed up in the RV heading down the highway.

My parents did an amazing job of coordinating vacations for us - keep in mind these vacations we planned were before Google, before GPS and navigation systems, and before cell phones that could make calls while you were on the road if you got lost. My mom was in charge picking out the destinations, most of which she tried to make educational as well as fun. She also mapped out the good campground spots that had the best reviews in the KOA campground guide, and made the reservations. My dad was responsible for navigating through the handy dandy Rand McNally Road Atlas (you know, those paper map books that show the roads? Yea, they're like antiques now). He also made sure the RV itself was in good working order, and drove the majority of the trip.

We made big 2-week-long trips like our vacations out west, to the Grand Canyon and to Yellowstone National Park, but also did some short weekend fishing trips to Guntersville Lake that were just as fun.

Old Faithful Geyser at Yellowstone National Park - my most memorable vacation

As Prateek and I are cruising down the highway on our 1,200 mile journey to New York from Tampa Bay, I'm reminded of my fond road trip memories, and it made it that much more enjoyable: the snacks, the singing along to 80's music, the games, and the good conversation and laughter.

The Malone/Gupta Road Trip 2011 had two main purposes:

1) Convert Prateek's Diesel Dodge Ram to run on Vegetable Oil (Yes, literally the same vegetable oil you fry calamari and chicken wings and french fries in!)

2) To relax and visit with family and friends, and have a little fun!

If you go to your local Chinese or Mexican restaurant (or really any restaurant that fries food), they throw out their used oil and will most of the time give it to you for free if you ask. If you collect the used oil and clean/filter it, presto - free fuel!

These are typical "cubies" of oil that hold 5 gallons each

The vegetable oil conversion doesn't take away the Diesel tank, so you can run the truck on either type of fuel. The conversion was nothing new to Prateek and his family, as they have had 3 other diesel automobiles already converted to vegetable oil (aka "VO").The conversions all went through Sam at Full Circle Fuels - read all about the conversion on his website! There are other places out there that will do a conversion that would be closer to home, but Sam is someone that P's family knows and trusts will do the best job possible....so, in order to do everything through Sam, the truck needed to physically be in his shop in New York. 

Thus, the vacation started panning out.

We made a stop in Charleston, SC to break up the trip a little bit, where I was reminded of how much I love the south and miss living in it. After a fabulous southern breakfast at Poogan's Porch consisting of  Pulled Pork Benedict and a Crawfish Quiche, it was sadly time to get our full bellies moving again.

We dropped off the the truck in New York, but the VO conversion was going to take a little over 2 days to finish. I played the role of my mom and decided that we should plan a fun destination to go to in the meantime. I had never been to Boston, which was only a few hours away- so Voila! The second part of the vacation was born. 

Boston Harbor

It just so happened that the Bruins were playing the Vancouver Canucks in game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Boston that night. After wandering around the city a bit, we found Canal Street and joined in the camaraderie of the game. Boston ended up beating Vancouver 8-1, so needless to say there was celebrating being done that night by the crazed hockey fans. 

Surrounded by rowdy Bruins fans on the train

While in Boston, I ate the clam chowdah, had a whole steamed lobstah, had a beer at Cheers, and ate cannolis as big as my face in the North End at Mike's Pastry. To burn off my caloric intake I went on a running tour of the city the next morning through RunBoston, which included running across the Boston Marathon finish line!

 

 After the truck was finished, it was driving time again- this time through the Poconos into Pennsylvania to visit with family. We had a wonderful relaxing four days spending time with everyone! Prateek is a proud uncle of three nephews - Aarav, Jeet, and Ronav, and they are the top three most handsome boys I know (Jadoo would be the fourth, of course). 

We made the last minute decision to stay an extra day and come back in one fail swoop on Sunday --  this is the part of the trip where it got a little, um, interesting. 17 hours of driving in one day. Luckily I had my road trip buddy with me to keep me company when Prateek was napping!

I decided to think of the drive as if I were mentally preparing myself for a nice long run. To pump myself up mid run, I never think about how I've only gone 3 miles so far -- instead I think  
Wow, I'm almost a quarter of the way done! 

We switched drivers back and forth to keep ourselves fresh, and finally rolled into Tampa on Monday morning about 5 AM. We had to be at work by 8. Needless to say, I was just as tired as if I would have actually ran a marathon. But, it was definitely worth it.

And the best part of it all.....we drove all 1,200 miles for free, in our truck fueled by vegetable oil!

Freedom is Never Free

It was historically cold the week that we flew to San Antonio’s Lackland Air Force Base to see my brother graduate Basic Military Training. As we bundled up in the stands waiting for him to come out with his flight, we reminisced about just last year at that time, he was in college on a cross-country running scholarship. Now my baby brother had become an airman – a soldier that had dedicated his life for our country’s freedom. 

He came home from college one weekend back in 2009 to talk to my mom. He said he didn’t think college was for him, and felt a calling to the Air Force. My dad was in the Air Force, and Dallas had pictures of stealth bombers and F-15 jets on his walls ever since he was old enough to talk. I think we were all a little taken aback at his decision – it was such an honorable thing to do, but also a little frightening to imagine him decked out in camouflage in a middle eastern desert on a rescue helicopter with an M16.

Basic Training took him 8 weeks to complete. He could send some letters, but could only make a phone call about once a week so communication was difficult. He was pushed to mental and physical limits for 56 days straight days in ways that I can’t ever imagine pushing myself.

Since graduation, he has been at Moody Air Force Base where he specializes in electronic warfare for the Pave Hawk Helicopters. (Fancy, right?!) We got to see one at a recent air show at his base, and for lack of a better term they are just really cool.

He was anticipating a deployment to Afghanistan sometime later this year, maybe October-ish, but none of us really mentally prepared ourselves for that yet. Then, I got the phone call a few days ago that he got orders to go to Iraq…..and was leaving sometime by the end of next week.

WHAT?!

Nobody was prepared for it, not even Dallas himself! He’s spending the next few days getting briefed, trained, and tested before he leaves for his new base thousands of miles away.

He should be there until sometime at the end of this year, and everything I’ve researched so far and heard from my peers is that it’s relatively safe on base. While I'm still reeling somewhat emotionally, I’m trying to look at it as a sort of blessing in disguise: The fact that he’s not going to terror-stricken Afghanistan is in and of itself a blessing, and we also have a good family friend who is in the Air Force that will be stationed at Dallas' base in Iraq during the same time period!

Still, the thought of them in a war zone (in the heat of the desert summer, mind you) is not exactly a springtime stroll in Central Park. Has anyone ever sent care packages to troops before? Looks like I’ll be mailing some very soon and would love some ideas!

Dallas, I’m so proud of you and so glad you have the strength, courage, and confidence to stand up and fight for this country's rights. We’ll all be praying for you and can't wait for your safe return!