What it means to be a Pinkson

My sister, cousins and I often talk about how wonderful it is to be a Pinkson.  We had a great matriarch to lead our family, and both of my grandparents and their parents, my aunts and uncles, and my parents have all raised us to work hard, have a strong sense of social justice, and care for others.  We constantly look back at our family get togethers with pride from where we come from and how we were raised.

But.

and this is a big but (but in no way makes us any less proud, in fact it makes me even more proud)...

There are some things that can only be said if you are a Pinkson.  You know how every family thinks their family is a little weird?  

I guarantee us Pinkson's have you beat.

"Can I go play in that giant teepee in your aunt's back yard?"

"No, someone actually lives there."

"Remember that time we put your grandparents in the hospital from too many pot brownies?"

"Just step over all of the animal parts scattered around the yard."

"Mom!  You have far worse drug stories than we do!"

"Yes, that's my cousin in 'Gettin' Jiggy With It."

"What kind of stew is this?"

"Squirrel, why?"

"NO, YOU CAN'T GO SHOPPING ON BLACK FRIDAY, IT IS NATIONAL 'BUY NOTHING DAY!!!!"

"Do you want to see the worms composting food in our basement?"

"You are 4 years old; it is time you know what sexual intercourse is."

"Your popop was accused of being a Communist by McCarthy."

"But wasn't he?"

"We brought some weed lollipops to your wedding.  Do you want one?"

"What are you doing this weekend?"

"Brain tanning!"

"Lets go around the table and tell our worst drug stories!"

"My parents have an APB out for their missing goat."

I can honestly say that even though my last name is now Goodwin, that being a Pinkson is a point of pride for me.  Our family raised us well.  We may seem a little goofy to the rest of you (but you sound a little boring to me), but I would not have it any other way.

What are some strange things about your family?

Cheers!

Nice to Meet You, I'm Clark Griswald

As a kid, I always used to beg my parents to put an addition on the house so we could have a tall tree at Christmas like that from the Nutcracker.

For obvious reasons they declined to turn my request into a reality.

But imagine my delight when the house we purchased late this summer had cathedral ceilings in it!  I could have the tall Christmas tree of my fantasies at last!

Except the tree farm we generally go to specializes in FAT trees, not TALL trees.  And since the Goodwin's are low on time and resources, we purchased our tree from this farm, rather than drive to another farm to find a taller one.  So instead we picked out the biggest, fattest, tallest tree on the 3 acre farm.

We should have known we were in trouble when it took 3 grown men to get it into the back of the truck.

Last night we MacGyvered Griswalded the tree into the house.

No joke, we took the front door off it's hinges, used rope and tie straps to tie the tree down so we could fit it through the door, we pushed, we pulled, and an hour and a half later we finally got the tree into the house.

The tree was SO big that even all tied up it was STILL bigger than any tree I have ever had.

We slowly released the ropes and POOF, we had an 11 foot tall tree that was matched in height only by it's 8 foot girth.  

Let's just say our living room no longer echoes from being too empty!

Now let's all pray for snow, because it is a bit depressing to feel all Christmas-y without the white stuff.

New Additions

We are proud to announce the newest member of the Goodwin Family:

Little brother to Big Leather Couch, the other addition that came to us two glorious weeks ago.

In the coming weeks I look forward to introducing you to the rest of our living room set; area rug, end table, better lighting, and shelving.  (and some wall decor, amiright?!)

I know it may not be as exciting as the "new additions" that other couples our age are introducing you to, such as puppies or kitties or even, gasp, children, but we could not be more thrilled to have the slightest semblance of a furnished home (and a place to start running now that the cold is hitting!).

Stay well,

Granny

Too Cold

Go home, winter; you're drunk.

Running and Poultry

As a runner (ha, 10 miles a week for the last few months, can I still call myself a runner??) in rural New England, I expect to see some wildlife and animals while out on my run.

Countless squirrels and birds, hundreds of dogs and kitties, equal amounts of horses and cows, as well as the occasional deer or so.

I run in general on back roads with minimal traffic, but enough that rarely am I scared of seeing some sort of animal that will cause me harm--though when dogs start barking and lunging at me, I always tense up.  But in general, I feel pretty safe.

Until yesterday's run in my parent's neighborhood.

I was just getting to this huge hill, and I knew I would need a lot of focus and attention to make it even 3/4 to the top without having to stop for a little walk break.  At the bottom of the hill is an old farm.  Just as I pass the farm, I hear this rustling in the leaves and I casually look over to see a rooster the worlds LARGEST rooster coming after me.

Yup, this looks like an accurate description of the cock.

He puffed himself up, CAME OUT OF HIS YARD, and started chasing my ass up the hill.  I shit you not.

There would be no "slow and steady, take it easy" up that hill, no sir.  That fucking rooster, hand to god, was on my heals chasing after me, sprinting as fast as I could, up the hill.  

And I never gained on him!  He was always right there.  

(Fact: roosters scare me a bit, because they have claws and beaks, and this one was the size of a small dog.)

I finally had to reach down and grab a rock and throw it at him, at which point he got the point.

I continued to sprint up the hill of death for a few more feet until I felt I was at safe distance to stop and keel over in agony. 

And that my friends, is how you do hill sprints.

Memphis by the Numbers

6 number of ribs consumed (this is an extremely pathetic attempt on my part;  I have been known to easily put back 20 ribs in a sitting.)

2 number of runs along the beautiful (and flat!) Mississippi Delta

1 number of times my travel wife and I sang "Walking in Memphis" while in fact walking in Memphis.

3 happy hour cocktails for less than $3

.25 Fishbowl cocktails consumed

1 number of homeless men who stole our fishbowl cocktail

3  number of cocktails purchased for me (I've still got it!)

4 number of ducks seen walking on a red carpet

1 late night trip to Denny's

1 cheeseburger flatbread purchased

3 minutes it took for 1 person to consume cheeseburger flatbread (I am hanging my head in shame)

2 number of aliases I had while out and about in in the city

12 hours of sleep needed to recover

(oh, and 1 conference actually attended)

Why I Normally Do Not Wake up at 5 am...

You know how I can tell I am not a morning person?

This morning in my 5 am haze to get ready for my early morning flight, I grabbed my under eye gel in the dark and started to apply it.

Which is fine and dandy.

Until I realized it was peppermint lipgloss and not eye de-puffer gel.

It's Been Awhile

The last time I blogged, the first sentence of the post contained the phrase "this summer."  And was in August.  

It is now autumn and nearly October.  

I have been a bit preoccupied!

Mountain man and I bid adieu to the beautiful country home we had been living in and bought our own house earlier this month.  It has been exciting and fun, but also stressful and overwhelming.  Lots of sweat, work, and tears have been put into this effort.

The new Goodwin Ranch is a cute new little ranch on her own private 3 acres.  There was not much to do (other than unpack and make her our own) but we did have some painting to be done and some trees to remove.  Which is what we have been steadily working on the last 4 weeks.

Other than that big excitement, we have been trying to fit in some fun at seasonal fairs, apple picking, running, and playing with my puppy nephew, Willy Nelson, as often as possible.  And adjusting to the wacky new iOS7 (anyone else think it is slow as sin?).

In between the move (and some fall fun), I have been busy at work with lots of meetings and galas and travel prep.  Rest was taken where I could get it.

Now I am gearing up for a month on the road, lots of traveling across the country.  First up in New Orleans next week.  I will report back after I have gained 12 lbs and lost all self respect.

Sorry for the lack of fun and exciting blog posts, I hope to be back at it again shortly!

Happy fall, y'all!

Running Lately

This summer, for the first time since starting my journey with running in 2011, I am not training for something or trying to keep my mileage up for a future race.

And it feels great.

I have gone from running between 20-25 miles a week to running a wonderful 10 mpw.  After (and during the training for) my last half marathon, I was feeling burnt out and wanted to break up with running.

Now, I don't feel guilty if I "miss a run," and I can run two miles if I decide that I only have twenty minutes, or five miles if I have the time.  I don't have to rearrange the rest of my life to fit in a run.  I don't need to do speed work, tempo runs, long runs.

I still run on average five days a week, but I run at the MOST four or five miles (aka, the number of times that has happened this summer fits on one hand).  Two days a week I just do a quick 2 mile warm up run and then focus on strength training--something I have not done regularly for a few years.

I find that now that my running is "just for me" and not for training, I generally enjoy it more.  It makes me WANT to train again and work to see improvements, it makes me remember how much I love running.  But it also reminds me that if I have a shitty ass jankity run that it is not the end of the world and that I will not fail running my next race.

I have three 5Ks coming up this fall, that I am really looking forward to.  I will not be speedy, but I hope they will be enjoyable.  For once I have no halves on my horizon, and while I am so proud of my accomplishments of completing multiple half marathons, and I think I might want to do more in my future, right now I am really just enjoying running for me.

Husband vs Wife

In the hour it took took me to pack an entire room top to bottom (including two closets and moving furniture):

Mountain Man "contributed to packing" by sorting through the old boxes of junk he had to have and couldn't throw away from the last time we moved.

This is going to take longer than I thought.

Peace, love and packing,

Granny

Saturday Morning: an Age Comparison

Saturday Morning at Age 24:

Sleep until 11

Take an advil

Lay in dark room watching tv or reading a book for at least an hour before getting the energy to go on with your day

Saturday Morning at Age 28:

Sleep in until 9

Make a veggie scramble

Clean the house

Treat the pool

Bake a dish for a potluck

Do two loads of laundry

Lace up the shoes for a run

Go on run

Seize the day!  Happy beautiful adult Saturday, everyone!

How ya been?

I haven't posted in 25 days, not for lack of wanting.

July has been a busy, hot, humid, stressful month, and I foresee the next month (August starts next week, how?!?!?) being much of the same.

In between restless nights, Tums, tears, and anxiety attacks, we have been trying to relax and take in the beauty of Vermont; tubing down the river, drives down country roads, ice cream, finally feeling the chill in the air when we wake up.  Holding hands and telling each other things will get better.  Grabbing a bite here and there, seeing a movie.

Bear with me while I get through this busy time, I will be back with fun stories before you know it.

Granny

Oops

Last week was a busy week.  Minimal exercise was squeezed in.

Today I realized how long it had been, when I picked up my run shoes and there were literally cobwebs on them.

Guess I better get to running this week!

#Istandwithwendy

I know this is old news now, and people have moved on from the political excitement at the start of the week (filibusters! Wendy! DOMA! Prop 8!) to celebrity stories (Paula said wha??  Hernandez who?) but I am still all worked up about Wendy Davis.  

And being as this has been one of the most hectic weeks from hell and I feel like my brain is still on Monday, I have an excuse as to why I just now got around to gathering a collection of my favorite Wendy Davis images.

Enjoy!

Brb

You may have noticed that my blog posts have been few and far between.  (No?  You don't track my blog posts religiously, waiting on baited breath until I post again?)  I really have no great excuse for this, life has just been busy and bland lately, a combination that is nearly lethal for bloggers.

I wake up and leave the house by 6 am lately.  Don't get home until about 6 pm.  Work is busy.  Exercise is being squeezed in.

Party planning committees have been joined.

Friends and family have been visiting.

Weekend plans are far out numbering relaxing weekends alone at home.

Wedding season is upon us.

House hunting is as stressful as ever.

Weather has been miserable.

Pools need to be cleaned.

Bug infestations are taking over my life.

Diets have been successful.

Stress levels have been high.

 Hopefully I will have a weekend 1) that I take photographic evidence of and 2) that is worth recapping next week.  It will involve family, friends, a 10 year reunion, a parade float, mimosas, wedding showers, sangria, and the Doobie Brothers.  Should be blog worthy, I do believe.

Selfies

You have to be living in a cave right now to not notice the influx of selfies all over the internets.  They are blowing up my instagram and my facebook (and I reckon that if I had a twitter account they would be showing all up over there as well).

And I have to tell you, selfies are tough to get right.  98% of the time that I see them (even from the ladies I love) I hate them.  

Here are some tips to stop pissing me (and I think the rest of the world?) off:

-no duck faces

-no kissy faces

-stop trying to be creative with your shit; no weird/upside down angles

-stop taking pictures in the mirror

-stop taking pictures in the car

-stop emphasizing your tits

-stop trying to look so smart or like you are concentrating

-and for the rare teenage boy that I see selfies for, stop lifting your shirt and showing off your stomach

-JUST STOP

Look, if you post more than one selfie a week then you are likely going to have one less friend of follower.  Just calm your tits.  Nobody likes looking at you that much.  Stop loving on yourself.  Do you think you are going to be the next kid on instagram who takes pictures of themselves and somehow (how!??!?!) gets 1300 followers?  Do you even want 1300 followers on your instagram?  keep that shit private.

But even with all that said, I do have a few friends who are pulling off miracles  by taking the worlds greatest selfies.

Swoon.  And yes, ladies, she makes her own earrings!  Follow her on instagram to see her newest pieces!

How am I so lucky to know this goddess?!

LIA IS PERFECT.

My friends are supermodels, and have all mastered the craft of selfies. (And none of them overwhelm my social media accounts with pictures of them.  Praise Jesus.)

I am not sure how they have perfected this sorcery, because when I try to take a selfie it is just really embarrassing.

Let me show you.

Moral of the story:

1) stop taking selfies, you likely look really foolish/skanky/dumb

2) my friends are perfect

3) I am the most awkward human being on the planet

Peace out cub scouts.

The LONG Post Where I Ramble About Running (again)

If you recall, I started my journey with running just over 2 years ago.  I signed up for a 5K and started running.  As soon as I completed that first race I decided I wanted to do a half marathon. So I transitioned from training for a 5K to training for a half.

Half training generally takes 12 weeks.  I trained for 8 MONTHS.  It was hard.  Running is hard.  But I enjoyed it.  I saw improvements every day. I remember when I could first run 4 miles.  I remember my first long run outside (8 miles).  I remember the feeling of accomplishment seeing my improvements with each week.  "I ran to the top of that hill today, without stopping!  I couldn't do that last week!"  It was a great feeling.  

  After my first half, as challenging as it was, and believe me, it was brutal for about 80% of it, I knew I wanted to do another.  So I kept my base up, worked on my pace, and 7.5 months later I ran another half.  I shaved 11 minutes off my time (and also during that time I shaved 5 minutes off my 5K) and once again felt so proud and accomplished.  After all, only a year and a half before that I thought anyone who could run one mile was the equivalent of a superhero.

But after that it got sticky.

Running became less enjoyable for me.  It became more of a job.  "You need to run so you can beat your last PR."  "You need to be faster than so and so."  "You have done this before, now do it again, but do it BETTER." etc.  

I tried changing my training plans from running 5-6 days a week to running 3.  I tried breaking up my runs into hill runs, long runs, speed work outs.  I tried taking breaks for a few days.  

But every run was something I started to dread.  Instead of getting easier, it got harder.  By this past winter (and spring) I couldn't run a three mile loop without having to stop and catch my breath or rest my legs.  And hills?  Forget about hills.  I couldn't run up HALF of a small hill that a year ago I could run up without a problem.

And the half I did early this spring?  It was a disaster (though I finished!).

I think what happened was I was putting too much pressure on myself.  At the same time I was subconsciously telling myself "you have already done this, and you shaved off a lot of time.  You have nothing to prove any more."  That is a bad combination for any runner, or anyone for that matter.

 So after talking about my feelings with some other runners, one of them essentially told me, "Shauni, get your shit together.  Not all runs will be a PR.  You cannot run each race and each run as if you are going to beat your old record.  Change your attitude and make it your goal to enjoy the run rather than to race."   

Which is exactly what I did.  I started running with no goal in mind.  For the last month or so I have enjoyed every single long run on the weekends.  I tell myself "this is going to be hard, but you can do this.  Enjoy it.  Just be happy to be outside for the next couple of hours, you have nothing else to do but this."  And it really helped.  I also tried to keep up with the mentality of a new runner--"you can do this, it is just one more step!" Which also helped.  Suddenly I found myself running up hills again.  Or not stopping to rest after 2 miles.  Last week I ran 12 miles without stopping to walk once.  That has literally never happened since I began running longer distances.

I am certainly noticing my pace is not super like it was last spring.  And I am frustrated that I likely will not beat my race time from the last time I ran this half.  And it stings to know that all of my friends will run a faster half than I do this Sunday.  It will be really hard not to push myself at each mile marker when I see the time on the clocks.  But I really just want to enjoy myself this Sunday when I run my fourth half marathon.  I want to forget about the clocks and the other runners.  If I have to walk a little, I have to walk.  If I slow down from last year, so be it.  I want to be outside, running, and happy.  I want to finish the half with a smile on my face, and not just sheer exhaustion.  I want to focus on the fact that in 2010 I said I could never run a 5K and that people who run half marathons are crazy.  

I want to be proud of the fact that I will have run four half marathons (I am already proud of myself for running three).  I have accomplished something that I never thought I could do, regardless of how long it takes me. 

Happy Friday!

A Side by Side Comparison

Have y'all heard of the tumbler Rich Kids of Instagram? I found this little gem last week and was mesmerized by the spawn of the 1 percenters.  I spend more time than I would like to admit perusing the website and feeling both jealous and disgusted.

For your entertainment purposes, I thought I would create a side by side comparison of Rich Kids of Instagram versus Poor People in their Late Twenties.  Enjoy!

Here we have the home theater of Rich Kids of Instagram.  Below is the expansive home theater of Poor People in their Late Twenties.  Almost the same, right?

 

#watching movies on a Friday night.  #athome.  #likethechordsthatareNOTtuckedaway?

 

 

 

Next up we compare the luggage of the RKOI to the luggage of PPITLT:

#IthoughtIwasrichbecauseofmyLongchamp??

The jewels and bling of the RKOI are so similar to my (PPOTLT) jewels and accessories that it is eerie.

 

I think the #hairtie compliments my #rings without #distracting from the #bling, dont you?

Next up we see that both the RKOI and the PPITLT have pride in their vehicles:

 

#realwomendrivetrucks

 Here you might see a bit of a difference.  Rich Kids of Instagram have some nice digs, but us Poor People in our Late Twenties have really cute ranches.

#goodwinranch.

 The RKOI travel in style.  You want to see how this PPIOLT individual gets to the beach??

#riding in style in Sam the Silverado

And the vacation locations are pretty different as well.  Yacht week?  Try free upgrade at the Best Western, bitches. #Idemandexcellence.

#freeupgrade #classybetch

And lastly, I think we can all agree that both the RKOI and the PPOTLT know how to party.  Us peasants just party a little differently--in barns, with moonshine and banjos.

 

#barnparty #moonshine #whiskey #banjo #countryfolyfe

So you see, us Poor People in our Late Twenties really don't have it that bad compared to the Rich Kids of Instagram.  We are not so different after all.

Signed,

still poor and proud