After my ankle issues last week, I decided it was time to finally get new shoes. I realized I ran my last marathon in them and was WAY overdue.

I decided to not go with my usual Nike brand (I have brought the same pair of shoe four times in a row!) and decided to switch it up with Saucony, the ProGrid Guide 3 to be exact.

The shoe is good for an over pronator like me and I decided to get inserts for my low arches. I ran four miles on Saturday and they made a huge difference and I am kicking myself for waiting so long to get new ones. Since my training has been such a mess lately, I have until the end of April to work my way up to ten miles and will be okay for the race. I know I can do it. I feel so much better about the half now.

And on my run, I got pooped on by a bird, then came back to the house to find I was locked out and then had to wait 30 mins because I couldn’t get in and then had ten minutes to get ready to meet my Realtor. Way to start the day!

Found a place I kinda liked, but I’m still wavering. Going to think about it some more, but you can’t wait too long these days. So, if its meant to be, it’ll all work out.

Today I did some volunteer work and then celebrated my grandmother’s birthday. I made the cake below from scratch. Tomorrow is her birthday, but a lady never shares her age. Happy Birthday Grandma!

P.S. Anyone catch Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution on tv tonight? I think its a show that has some promise, but I’m not sure if he’s going to be able to accomplish his goals. Of course kids are going to choose pizza over chicken and rice. And you don’t mess with the lunch ladies.

Today was the last day to enter the NYC Marathon lottery, so guess what I did?

Yes, of course. I’ve entered the lottery twice already and have not gotten picked. I really would prefer to run it next year since you get automatic entry in the fourth year if you have entered the lottery three times. For some reason I feel like I’m going to get picked this year, so we’ll see. I find out in April.

To top it all off, my ankle is bothering me. I think it was a combination of not replacing my shoes sooner and the potholes. Lots of RICE on my end and going to break out the brace tomorrow. HOT! Taking a break from running too – just as I was starting to get into my groove.

I need to add about four hours into my day to get everything I need done. Or just learn how to manage my time better. So glad its the weekend.

Things on my mind lately:
* Taxes. If you are going to move from state to state, I recommend moving on December 31. That way, you do not have to do two state tax returns and deal with headaches. I am thisclose to paying someone to do it all for me, but I am not getting a huge chunk of money back and I’m cheap.
* House hunting. I started looking at apartments and was all like, $600 for a crappy place to live and no one was calling me back, so then I decided it would be much more fun to buy a place. Nope, my money does not get me what I want and I refuse to be house poor. Odds are looking very slim that I am going to find something that I like and can afford before the first-time homebuyer’s credit runs out. I am going to look at more places with my realtor tomorrow. Fun. Some days I feel like I am going to be stuck in my parent’s house forever.
* Meatless eating. Still going strong and have not given in! You try walking into the house and smelling homemade chicken soup and not eating it. I have eaten some fish though. My issue is planning meals and having space for my meals when the fridge is pretty full to begin with. Keep meaning to check some cookbooks out from the library and have not gotten around to that.
* Running. Now that it has stopped snowing all the time and the sidewalks are clear, its time to get back into my A-game. What I am running and what the training schedule says is very different. I have two months to get back into running shape. Very excited about going for a run this weekend that just requires me walking outside, no getting in my car to drive somewhere to run.
* Blogging. Finally brought my new domain name and am getting started on the redesign stuff I need to do behind the scenes. Speaking of blogging, I found out last week that I got a free conference pass by receiving a Bloghership. I must remember to scan my paperwork and send it in this weekend. I have the roommates and hotel taken care of, so thats one thing I don’t need to worry about until August.

That’s why I’ve been pretty low-key lately, I don’t have the brainpower to do anything else. Hoping to catch up this weekend!