The best way to dye your clothes

I love, majorly love, the Banana Republic "Ryan" style pants. They fit me perfectly! Sadly for me, BR discontinued the cut, and I'm stuck with thrift store finds. I also regularly hunt them down on Ebay, buying every pair I find.*
This shopping technique means I don't always get to pick my color, so I ended up with two pairs of straight leg Audry-type khakis.

I dyed one black...and here is how.
You need:
1. A large stainless steel pot - at least a large pasta pot, maybe larger.
2. A stainless steel spoon
3. iDye. It comes in natural and synthetic fiber. If your clothes are blends, you need one of each packet. I bought mine at a local art supply store for $2.00 a packet. Now here's the weird part. You have to consider the color of the clothes, too. I used navy dye and my pants came out black. Mostly. Basically. I mean, it's a shade of black.
4. Newspaper
5. Rubber gloves

This is why you need the gloves. 

 Here's what you do:
Put newspaper on the floor around your kitchen stove and any nearby counters. Put on gloves.
Put your clothes in pot and cover with water; clothes should move freely. Add dye packets. This type of dye has a dissolving packet, so use dry hands and toss it in: mess free. Yay. If you are using the poly dye, add the enclosed intensifier, too. Add half a cup of salt and stir. Bring to a boil. Boil for an hour, stirring clothes around with a long spoon every few minutes. BE CAREFUL. This solution has a tendency to form super heated pockets that will spit hot dye at you!

The splatters on the stove clean off easily with soap and water

Boil for at least an hour.
Allow to cool.
Wash garment by itself in cold water and dry twice before wearing. Then be careful when you wash it - the first few times it will bleed and should be washed alone!
Here's the results: notice that the formerly white pockets are vibrant blue but the pants themselves are black!

Or are they? The fabric on the left are another pair of actually black pants. On the right are my new pants  - slightly different shade.

And both pairs need to be washed.

Still awesome. I love them to death.
Have you ever dyed your clothes?
* P.S. Size two, regular or long (I'll hem them!), if you ever see any snap them up for me and I will love you forever.

Last day!

It's my last day at my current position! Good-bye, crazy lady who punched another customer in the face (this happened yesterday)! Good-bye, homeless dude who hides in the drive-through to jump out at cars and ask for money! Good-bye, technician who is always half an hour late!
We're going on a little vacation before my new job starts, and you won't believe this, but it's to Boston. I guess I forgot to tell the hubby how I feel about Boston...and how I feel about his frenemy who lives there. Sigh.

Yesterday I ran the Eat My Crust 5k before heading into work. It benefits the NO/AIDS foundation, so I ran it even though 5k's aren't my thing. I had a bad race. I really don't know how to pace for a 5k, and I came in 4th, which might as well be last! I started out too slow and was 7th for most of the race. Then I overcompensated, sped up too much, and passed people until I was third. Then someone passed me in the last mile and I didn't have the energy to prevent it! I have decided that 4th is the worst feeling ever.
I also wasn't thrilled with my gun time of 21:29; it was only a little better than last week's race. However yesterday was extremely humid (97%) and set a record for heat, and I certainly felt it. I will be able to gauge my ability better in dry weather, since humidity slows me down.
As for the race, if you're in the area do it next year. I had to leave to go to work, but the after party was awesome and runners get an apron instead of a T-shirt!
Now that I've been royally humiliated in the 5k, does anyone have any tips and hints for me? I'd like to get faster and I'd like to know what a "good" time for me would be.
Hope you're Monday is wonderful and no one jumps out of the drive through and asks you for cash!

Salvation Army Success

Yeah, I shop at thrift stores.

Brand-new Kenneth Cole loafers: $7.99. Adorable Michael Kors wedges: $8.99

PS...Squeamish about used shoes? Read my fix.

Using Shoe Goo to repair running shoes

I go through my running shoes rather quickly, since I like lightweight (thin-soled) shoes and I wear the insides first thanks to my funky feet and bunions. In order to save some shoe-money,  I decided to try to extend the life of my nearly-dead New Balance shoes by using Shoe Goo. A trail runner I know uses it on all his shoes, but kind of preemptively. I wasn't sure how to go about saving a pair of shoes with it.
You can buy Shoe Goo online or at a hardware store. I walked to the True Value on Oak street, where I accidentally wandered onto a movie set and got yelled at. *sigh* Hollywood South, y'all! The Goo costs about $5.

The Goo

My shoes were pretty worn when I started:

You can actually see white foam THROUGH the gray outsole, it's so worn!

Try #1: I spread a thin layer of Goo on the worn areas with a plastic knife. Then I started hallucinating about purple ducks until I had the bright idea to put the shoes outside. This stuff is stinky! You have to spread the goo quickly as it starts to set immediately. After two days of drying (to be on the safe side), I took my shoes out for a 9-miler.
Results? Not good. Everything I applied was worn off or peeling!

The toe area wore off; the heels peeled.

Try #2. I realized that the layer of Goo I'd used was too thin to make up for the severe wearing on my shoes. I peeled off any remaining shreds of goo and tried again. This time around, first I roughed up to surface with a serrated knife since I was out of sandpaper and was too scared to venture back to Oak street. Then I squeezed lots of Goo onto the area, spreading it as I went. The Goo starts to set in just a few minutes, so once the surface was set I pressed in indentations where the treads used to be.

Thick Goo layer

I waited a day to be sure the Goo was completely dry before I wore the shoes for several runs. After about 40 miles they look like this:

After use, the Goo gets opaque. Notice no more white foam showing through!

The Goo is obviously taking some pressure, but it's holding for now. There is some lifting at the edges.  As for feel, I really didn't notice that there was anything different about the sole. The shoes didn't feel brand-new, but they also aren't continuing to wear.One thing I should mention is that the dried Goo makes horribly squeaky soles, so I sound like a one-man high school basketball game when I walk on my wood floors. Also I would estimate you can treat two pairs of shoes from one tube of Goo, so it costs $2.50 a pair. Or $1.25 a shoe...
So, my recommendation? Apply it sooner rather than later and you can probably get a few more months out of your shoes. For $5 it's worth it, but don't expect miracles. I'll use it on my shoes, but I will also rotate Goo'd shoes with newer pairs.
Have you ever used Shoe Goo? Would you try it, or are you skittish about messing with your running treads?

Dear promotion: hurry up.

I got a promotion at work - one that has been in the works for a year and a half! - and I will be leaving my current position at the end of the month. After a few weeks of training I will be managing my own pharmacy, a brand-spanking-new clinical facility that will actually be inside a local teaching hospital. It's the first pharmacy of its kind in the state and only the second in the region (the other is in Pensacola, Fl). I'm excited!
My coworkers aren't exactly making it hard to leave. Since I delivered the news at least one tech has called in every day, and today TWO called in, leaving us dangerously short handed. On top of this our store has been regularly meeting or exceeding the volume of our closest 24-hour stores (think about it - same number of prescriptions filled in 8 fewer hours per day!), and of course we have a tough clientele. Our proximity to an emergency room (next door) and our high percentage of patients without transportation means that most people want to wait, which rushes us.
Sadly, we also have a ridiculous number of opioid abusers at our store, and we get requests to fill controlled substances early about 100 times a day. I am SO sick of playing police.

Today I should have been able to leave early to make up for the extra hour we work on weekends, but instead I ended up staying late. Very annoying.
I can't wait for the insanity to end! The new job should bring lots of opportunities, but I'm also happy that I'll have regular 9 to 5 hours. That is incredibly unusual for a pharmacist and I feel privileged. The best part of that is no more 6:30 am work days! Today was my last one!

Born to Run 5k recap and review

I never run 5k's, but I ran this one because it was a fundraiser for the Women's Center for Life. Unfortunately...
1. I was hung over. We got drinks to celebrate my promotion at work - which is finally actually coming to pass, two years later - and I cannot hold my alcohol. I had a martini and I felt positively ill.
2. Very few people showed up. There were only about 125 runners altogether!
3. Runners tend to group in packs, and only the "lead pack" followed the course. It wasn't marked, but we were following a biker. The slower runners lost sight and turned the wrong way, running more like 2.7 miles.

So... recap: I ran a 21:40, not as fast I would have liked, but I felt sick the whole time. First overall female in a very tiny field. I have no idea how to run a 5k, how to pace, what pace to aim for, etc. I suck at 5k's.
Review: The Hot Eight brass band played and Antoine's provided food, but this race needs some serious promotion and a marked course. Also my "trophy" is really strange.

What is up with the ribbon?

Foody Friday: Easy home canning

Down here at the tip of the USA we grow a lot of citrus, and even in a bad crop year the winter prices are phenomenal. I decided to save some of the delicious, dirt-cheap grapefruit by making marmalade. I based this recipe off a combination of my favorite orange marmalade and several other recipes, and I must say it is not only quite good but the easiest canning recipe ever. So if you have never made preserves before, this is an excellent way to learn.
This is a dark, rich marmalade, a little on the bitter side. If you like sweeter preserves, reduce the amount of lemon juice by half and add an additional 1/4 C brown sugar

Dark grapefruit marmalade
Ingredients:
4 grapefruit. I used pink but I imagine ruby red would be incredibly delicious! Do not prick or break skins.

3 C white sugar
2 C packed dark brown sugar
1/4 C lemon juice


Equipment needed:
Six half pint jars. You can buy them here. Run them through the dishwasher before you use them.

Large pot to make the preserves - I used a pasta pot.
Large pot to process the preserves - it has to be big enough to cover the jars with water. I used my big dutch oven. If your pot is smaller just process small batches (1 or 2 jars) at a time.
Candy thermometer is completely optional

Spoon, ladle, sharp knife; immersion ("stick") blender optional.


1. Wash the grapefruit and put them in the pot, peel on. Cover with water, bring to a boil, and boil for an hour and 15 minutes. You may have to add more boiling water as the water level goes down. Every so often you can turn the fruit with a spoon. PS - while you are boiling the grapefruit your house will smell amazing.

2. Drain the water out and let the grapefruit cool. I left mine in the pot overnight because I ran out of time to finish the project.
3. Chop the grapefruit up. It's best to do this in the pot so you don't lose any juices; an easy way to do this is with a short bladed knife or with an immersion blender after slicing the fruit. Just chop it up until the peel pieces are as small as you'd like them. Pick out seeds as you encounter them.
4. Add the sugar and lemon to the pot; stir as you bring the jelly to a boil. Boil for about 15 minutes or until it starts to jell. You can tell: it gets thick, darker, and the consistency of jelly. If you dip the spoon in, the liquid will cool into jelly on the spoon. If you have a candy thermometer, boil until temp reaches 220; I tried this but I got sick of the thermometer being in the way and got rid of it. You don't need it.

Seconds after this picture was taken I dropped the thermometer into the pot...then the sink. Not worth the trouble.

5. Ladle preserves into clean pint jars, filling almost completely up (if you have extra marmalade put it in your fridge; if the marmalade doesn't totally fill the jar you can't get a seal and the preserves will go bad in a few months. I got about another 1/2 jar which I stuck in my fridge and am eating on toast!).If you drip on the outside of the jar, it's no biggie - it will get clean in the hot water bath.

6. Screw lids on and prepare hot water bath by placing a towel in the bottom of a pot and putting the jars on it. Fill with water. Note to new canners: You may hear a "pop" as the jars seal at this point. You still have to process them in hot water to get a true seal.

What's for dinner, dear? Oh, a couple of jars.

7. Put pot on the stove, bring to a boil, and boil jars for ten minutes. You will hear each lid pop as it seals. When you are done each lid should be tightly sealed and flat.

There. You're done. Delicious marmalade for almost no work at all!

Ketchup

It's time for a catch-up post.
- Joey (little brother #2) left for basic training. We had him over for dinner to say 'bye and went to the Orpheus parade briefly so he could get a last glimpse of New Orleans before he left. I'm kind of upset over this whole thing. It's a tough position to be in: I support the military and I hope this is the right decision for Joey, but let's face it. No one want their family in harm's way.
- Our kitchen sink started backing up dreadfully last week but luckily Joey is a plumber on the side and offered to empty the trap. This fixed the clog but the problem was that when he unscrewed our old, metal pipes they were so eroded that they fell apart in his hands. This occurred on Lundi gras, so we couldn't actually get a plumber until Wednesday. It was a long few days of dumping buckets!
- I assume I had some sort of virus last week that affected my muscles; thankfully that seems to have resolved without ending in my death.I did hydrate and do all the right things for my kidneys, which are luckily resilient organs.
- Work has continued to be insane but I see the light - things are moving forward to open my new clinic, which will give me much greater freedom and control over my own workplace environment.
- I've worn my new Nike Tempo shorts that finally replaced twelve year old shorts I had to pitch, but I have one complaint. One pair is larger than the other! They're the same size, but I have to roll the waistband of the printed pair to keep it on. Variable sizing annoys me.
Have you ever bought multiples of an item of clothing, only to find out that the sizes were actually different? I was so excited to find another pair of my favorite jeans once ...but I bought a different wash. And they were humongous. I was heart broken!

Fury

I spent 35 minutes talking to a vendor yesterday and was awarded with a advertisement-laden chocolate bar. I earned that chocolate bar. And someone at work took it.
I'm out to get you, chocolate snitcher.

Shoe Evolution: Adapting to a Minimalist Shoe

Just a little over a year ago, I was hobbling around nearly lame from excruciating knee pain. Simple runner's knee had progressed to a major injury, and I ran my first marathon so injured that my patella strap popped off mid-race because my knee had swollen so much. Less than six months later I was running pain-free and getting faster with every race. How did I heal?
Simple.
I wore less shoe.
Take a look at my shoe progression.

Brooks Ariels, Saucony Triumph, New Balance, Karhu Fast, Saucony flats

1. I started out with Brooks Ariels, a massive shoe with heavy, solid arches that absolutely prevents any kind of pronation. The shoe weighs an incredible 12.3 ounces, and is about as flexible as a cinder block.Worst of all, I wore these with stiff orthotics! The result? Heavy, unnatural gait and severe knee injury that led me to the doctor.
2. Next came Nike Craptastics, a pair of shoes so cheap and poorly made that I got blood blisters from deteriorating insoles. I bought these from the same running store, as my doctor (typically) recommended new shoes for a knee injury. They felt all right on - wide toe box, good fit - but all wrong when I ran. They were also a stability shoe and my joints felt jarred with every step. My runner's knee was compounded by a gigantic black and blue bursa injury.

This is the only picture I could find of my Nikes (L) because they are no more.

3. The light! All at once I bought three pairs of shoes in my quest to replace my dying Nikes. About this time I started researching running gaits and knee injury, and I concluded two things: first, that pronation actually protects your knees, and second, that I do not overpronate. My shoes wear on the inside because I push off with my big toe joint. We call this, um, bunions. I settled on the Saucony Triumph, a men's shoe, because they seemed likely to stand up to many long runs. They are tough, but best of all they were a flexible neutral shoe. These were my first neutral shoes and in days my knee pain had subsided.
4. I moved on to a pair of now -discontinued New Balance shoes that are very lightweight, flexible shoes. I loved the lightness of this shoe and ran four marathons in it - however, I did not rely on it much in training because as you can see it has a very high heel. This cushy stacked heal makes me heel-strike, especially when I speed up, so I felt a little uncomfortable. I could tell that it was making me change my gait.
5. My beloved Karhu Fast Fulcrum shoes had been waiting in the wings all the while. I had been "saving" these shoes for shorter races because they have basically no outsole. But I love the nearly zero-drop heel and the superb flexibility. The "fulcrum" encourages mid-foot strike, which I like because I already mid-foot strike. I began a secret plan to train for and run the Mardi Gras marathon in these shoes, part of my move to more minimal shoes. I almost ditched the plan after I had a bruised toe following The Wall 30k, but I stuck with the plan and PR's at the marathon in the Karhus.
6. Because I have an addiction, I recently bought the Saucony Kilkenny flats. I like that they are basically no shoe at all, but the wells where the spikes would screw in decrease overall flexibility.

Compare the heels on my Brooks Ariels and my new Saucony flats. Geez.

During this past year of shoe experimentation, I came to a few conclusions.
1. Our bodies are smart. We do not need to retrain our bodies to do something we are designed to do and have been doing all of our lives. If you over-pronate, it's probably to compensate for some gait or structural anomaly. A more flexible shoe lets your body work the way it has learned to.
2. If it makes you change the way you run, don't wear it. Honestly, I am not a fan of altering your running gait. I know many people are advocating Chi running and barefoot running, but if you have to make major changes to your stride to adopt a new style you are begging for injury. Running should feel natural to you. When I run, I don't want to think about how I am running. I don't have "perfect form" (according to whom?) but I also ran five marathons in six months injury-free. When I bought the Nikes, the short and  wide toe box seemed ideal for me. And indeed, the shoes fit my feet well. But they forced an uncomfortable, unnatural landing that hurt every step. I felt back and neck stiffness after a long run. The Karhus claim to adjust your gait (that's what the fulcrum does) but it works for me because that already IS my gait.
3. If it isn't broken, don't attempt to fix it. Sorry, guys, I had to correct that old and wise phrase! Don't jump on every running bandwagon. Are you in pain? Injured? Slow? No? Then keep the shoes you've got.
4. Go slow. If you make shoe changes, do it gradually by working a new pair in. I did this with all my shoe changes and I still rotate shoes. Right now I am wearing mainly my Karhus, but I wear my New Balance a few times a week because I'm cheap and I'd like to get my money's worth. Once a week I work in my flats. My Saucony's seem stiff and heavy to me now, so I have relegated them to gym only. 

Seriously?!

I was feeling a little perkier today and the weather is blissful. So I ran ten miles in 1:11, with the last seven miles all being under 7 min.

I like to run my fastest ten milers while trying to decide if my kidneys are actually failing or just nephrotic. 

P.S. I've never even run one mile under 7 minutes before as far as I know.

Sick and symptoms!

I have nothing cute and clever to say today. Maybe tomorrow I'll have energy to write. I've actually been feeling rather poorly and Monday/Tuesday were high drama over here (including sad goodbyes, parades, and eroded pipes) to be elaborated on further at a future date. For now I am trying to decide whether to try to hunt down a doctor or not.
For the last week my muscles have felt very weak and sore despite only minimal exercise (and no strength training and nothing new). Then just recently I have had flank pain, lethargy, nausea, low-grade fever, itching, and dermatological effects (petechae, rashes, eczema). I know it sounds absurd but I suspect myositis or myopathy for some reason, with resulting stress to my kidneys.
I do not take any medications and I have not been sick recently, but I do have a history of thyroid disease. That's really the only cause I can think of! I know I have to go to work tomorrow because I couldn't get coverage on such short notice, but if I do not start feeling better I will call my doctor. Unfortunately the last time I called her (years ago) it took over six weeks to get an appointment, so I don't have high hopes. Maybe my symptoms resolve without treatment!
In good news today, I got THREE packages in the mail, a pair of Banana Republic pants I bought on Ebay (the discontinued Ryan style, my favorite! I snap up every pair I see on Ebay!), a huge box of canning jars (I want to preserve some of the citrus while it is on sale at low winter prices), and one of the pairs of running shorts I bought on sale. They will be replacing running shorts I bought when I was sixteen years old and simply have to throw out because the elastic is so dead that they don't stay up. They've definitely done their duty, though!
How long do your workout clothes usually last? Besides these shorts, I also had some "Everlast" jog bras that I had for eight years!

Happy Mardi Gras!

I had to work.
Our store is on the corner that a parade turns on - so we had floats and screaming people on two sides.
This is the street after I left work, hours after the parade was over.

Happy Mardi Gras!

The best marathon pace bands online - print your own.

Pace bands > Garmins.
That's right, I said it! If you run with a Garmin you are probably constantly glancing to see your current pace (so not helpful) or maybe your average pace (a bit more helpful) but you aren't seeing the big picture. The big picture tells you how close you are to your goal, and for that you need a pace bracelet. At a glance you can see if you're going to make your time, if you're moving too fast, or how many minutes you need to make up in the last 10 miles to hit your goal.
I'm on team pace band.
You can order snazzy pace charts and bands pre-made, but it's much smarter to make your own since presumably you'll be changing pace over the years (at least I hope so).

Please feel free to link to this post on your blog or share via email. Here is why: when you Google "print pace bands", etc., a TON of malignant, virus-containing sites pop up. I have carefully navigated this morass after being warned by my friend Bj who clicked on one accidentally (luckily he uses Apple!).  So to save some poor fellow runner from virus-land, I've done all the leg-work for you  :)


Here are the best pace bracelets out there:
Cliff Bars: I like that the band has larger print than most, but the smeary colored background at major miles makes it hard to read. Not my favorite.
Marathonguide:  I like this band because you can create different distances. I printed one up for a 30k this year. Then I left it at home. Awesome.
Runner's World: Don't use this one. It creates a PDF with a black background, so when you print it you waste a gallon of ink.
Taper madness: Simple, clear, easy to read.The basics.
Katy fit: Super extensive Excel spreadsheet that lets you really play with your times; you can choose to negative split and the band will adjust miles accordingly; your pace per mile will be shown to the right. Two different sizes to choose from.
Running Room: Prints in bold so it's good for people with who are too vain to run in glasses (Abe? are you reading?) and has a variety of distance options.
My marathon pace: For an important race, download the paceband created specifically for your marathon! These bands actually take into account the terrain and course of several big name races. The full version you have to pay for. Just the band is free to download. There is A LOT of info here: even the "generic flat marathon" pace band has options; you can choose to "fade" at the end or "slow start". If you choose a specific marathon, your band will be adjusted to account for hills, trails, etc. You can print in a variety of sizes.
Runner's Toolbox: The most distance options, but the bracelet has remarkably small font. It might still be helpful if you wanted to create one for an unusual distance. If you hit "get splits" instead of "make a wristband" you can copy and paste the splits into Word and adjust the font and size to your own liking.
Fellrnr: This gentleman created a triple-pace band that adds in two safety cushion columns in addition to standard splits. In other words, if you know you fade at the end of a marathon, or if you expect late hills to kick your booty, you can build in a 1 or 2 minute cushion.

So there you have it. The best printable pace bracelets online! Enjoy and happy racing!

Nike tempo shorts clearance

Nike has tempo shorts for $15.97 right now!
You can get solid colors here and prints here.

I don't like pink so I bought the "mango" ones instead

And to save you even more...enter the promotional code 3PTSHOT for an extra 20% off all clearance. It brings the price down to $12.78. DO THIS TODAY AS THIS COUPON EXPIRES MARCH 7th!
As of now (this morning) you can still find all sizes if you aren't picky about colors.

Jazz Half Marathon early bird entry

If you register now it's just $50 - until March 6th.

You better run it in costume. It's Halloween weekend!!!!

Day off and lovely weather!

I'm off work today (but really I have about 100 things to do with our new program, including answering ten really, really silly emails that should have an obvious answer....c'mon people!) and for once the weather is gorgeous!

After I clean my house top to bottom and make banana muffins to freeze for work snacks, I will be enjoying a lovely run (maybe a long one). Then I will revel in some free time. I think I'll sit out in my back yard...

My landlord's rusty shed is so quaint.

I didn't plant the flowers. If I had they'd be SO dead already.

And enjoy my pansies and azaleas while I read this:

This stupid book cost me $35!

It's the Commission E monographs, the only source of evidence-based herbal medicine. I like to keep up on my herbs so I can answer patient questions without sounding silly.

Speaking of silly, this conversation took place yesterday:
Lady in the funny hat, handing me a bottle of Maalox anti-gas extra strength: "I took this for diarrhea, is that going to be a problem?"
Me: "Well, that product mainly treats gas and heart-burn. It won't help your diarrhea."
Lady in the funny hat: "I know, I read the bottle after I bought it and took some. But you know, I thought it was for diarrhea because it's blue."
Me: ??? (quizzical face)
Lady in the funny hat: "You know, I always think of blue bottles as being for diarrhea and yellow bottles as being for gas. I mean, don't you associate colors with things? I would never think a blue bottle would treat gas! I mean, blue is a cool color!"
Me: !!! (distressed face)
Me (recovering): "You know, it's probably best to read the package label instead of going by color, since some company change packaging fairly often. For now, let's talk about your symptoms and other health conditions and then we can choose a product that will help relieve your diarrhea."
Lady in the funny hat: "Mmmmmm. Well, you know, to me it's just kind of all mental, do you know what I mean? So I think I'll just stick with the blue bottle. Ok?"
Me: "Um, Immodium comes in a kind of aqua box, is that close enough to blue?"
My job is awesome. 

Help me decide what to put in my banana muffins:
1. Chopped cashews
2. Chocolate chips
3. Dried Bing cherries soaked in brandy (don't judge, it will bake out)
4. Orange peel
5. Coconut milk
6. Turkey pepperoni (it's just hanging out in my fridge looking lonely)

Awwww...

...my husband made me a mix tape!

Funny story: When my husband and I first met we were discussing the music we listened to in the car, and, as love-struck young boys are wont to do, he promised to make me a CD. This turned out to be a huge ordeal, as his old law school lap top started having problems copying MP3's. He was so intent on getting me the CD and not coming across as a flake who promises things and never delivers that he...
...bought a new computer so he could have the CD ready for me at our next date.
Aw, shucks. That's so cute!!!
Apparently the romance isn't dead because he made me a new one to listen to on my 5-minute commute.

Portion Control...

... is being exercised by others in my life. Perhaps I should be taking a hint.

Exhibit A: David and I went out for sushi at a new place, Unadi and Sushi (side note: it was cheap and fantastic). We ordered four rolls. Our chef made three and informed us that three was enough.
Exhibit B: We went to happy hour at The American Sector and ordered six sloppy joe sliders. The waitress looked at us critically. "SIX?" she asked. "Do you know how big they are?!"

Maybe I need to take a hint.