I Just Might Do A Marathon On Labor Day!

No, not that kind of Marathon!

The networks are quite aware that people look for things to do on their holiday's off, and it appears that there is an interest in television marathons on Labor Day! According to PerezHilton.com, many of the top cable networks will be airing marathons on Monday. If you are planning on doing the couch potato thing you have a few options:
CSI on Spike TV

Scrubs on TV Land

The Closer on TNT

Beverly Hills 90210 on SOAPNet

America's Next Top Model (Season 10) on MTV

And if you need more than just a Monday marathon, VH1 Classic will air 80 Hours of the '80s starting Friday!

Fueling Up With Cereal

If there is something else I love besides Starbucks - its cereal. RunnersWord has some info on the benefits of cereal as fuel for runners. During training I was obsessed with oatmeal. I ate it every morning and often craved it when I woke up. Since I have been pregnant oatmeal just hasnt floated my boat and I have been on cold cereals. There are three in my current rotation: Golden Grahams, Honey Comb and Strawberry Yogurt Burst Cheerios.

According to RW, "cereal is often fortified with vitamins and minerals". In addition, the milk added "boosts protein and calcium". They suggest to look for a cereal with at least 5 grams of fiber per serving and for less than 13 grams of sugar.

So how do my current choices stack up?
Golden Grahams = 1 gram fiber, 11 grams sugar
Honey Comb = 2 grams fiber, 10 grams sugar
Strawberry Yogurt Burst Cheerios = 2 grams fiber, 9 grams sugar

Oops. I think I might have to go shopping for some new cereals? At least I am ok on the sugar but obviously not doing so well on the fiber. Guess next time I am in the grocery store I need to be reading some cereal labels!

I Love You Starbucks

I know I talk about Starbucks pretty often, and that probably makes me both a yuppie and a pregnant lady who consumes too much caffeine ... but I just cant help myself. I love their coffee and I love their cookies, and every once-in-a-while I like to hang out there and just read a book. To top it off, now that they have AT&T as their wifi provider (and I am an at-home AT&T subscriber) I get free wifi on both my laptop and now my new iPhone. Now, just to add to the love, recent report suggest that Starbucks is creating a healthier breakfast menu!

Starting Sept 3 (next wed) we should see: "Perfect Oatmeal" (served in a cardboard bowl, with dried fruit), energy bars (with oats and honey), whole-grain muffins and a "Power Protein Plate" that includes a hard-cooked egg, a cheese wedge, a few pieces of fruit and a pack of peanut butter. Everything on this new menu is 330 calories or less.

As long as they dont take my beloved cookies off the menu, I believe this is great news!

Oh Olympics, What Will I Do Without You?

I never really have been that into the Olympics. I watch them like everyone else, but haven't put too much time or effort into following them in the past. This time around, things were different. I watched everything that was on - including the Trampoline competition! I believe the primary reason for this is that I am pretty immobile lately and summer TV stinks - so the only option was the Olympics!

There were some pretty stellar people highlighted over the duration of the Olympics, and in addition to the track/field events I was engrossed by the swimming (who wasnt), gymnastics and volleyball. Now its over and I am not sure I will make it the 44 days (yeah, thats it) until my due-date. The official closing ceremonies were aired last night and I couldnt really watch them. This was not out of sadness, but because I honestly thought they were odd and boring. Though by not watching I missed David Beckham, and for that I am in remorse. Anyway, the Olympics only ended a few hours ago and already I miss them. I find myself irratble and distraught and do not know what to do with myself. Guess its time to pick up another book!

Olympic Recap
RunnersWorld has a great page dedicated to Track & Field news, including profiles, results and some great stories.

The official site of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games has it all: athlete stories, medal standings and some great images.

And check out ESPN for recaps, results, headlines, and a lot of interesting opinions.

New Phone

Got the new iphone ... Now just gotta figure out how to use it!
Testing now :)

Marathon Orgainzers Gain Proficiency in Blame

Despite the fact that the Chicago Marathon is now owned and operated by a new host (as Bank of America bought LaSalle Bank) the tune still hasnt changed. Race officials are suggesting that requiring all entrants to run a 1/2 Marathon prior to participating in the Chicago Marathon. According to a Chicago Tribune article, this would "give some first-time racers a small taste of what it takes to get through a 26.2-mile marathon".

We still have never seen any sort or apology or acceptance of any blame for last years fiasco. And now as the next event approaches it seems they are again trying to insinuate that any runner who encounters challenges must be "inexperienced". I can tell you I was almost one of the many who passed out from dehydration last year - and not only did I do all of my training runs, wear proper gear, and drink water (when they actually had it available), but I also participated in several races leading up to the Chicago Marathon. This includes a 1/2 marathon. So whats the excuse now? I'd love to see how many people who did the Chicago Marathon actually HAVE done a 1/2 prior to the big event. I know that most local training programs highly suggest a 1/2 as part of the training, especially for new runners - and if you dont want to race in a 1/2 they often suggest that you do some race at least to get racing experience.

I thought my fury over last year was over, but this article really brought up all the anger once again. I honestly cant believe that the "novice runner" excuse is still mentioned. Lets see some data, and then maybe I will believe it. How many of the total participants were 1st time marathoners? Out of that group, how many had never run an official race prior to that date? Out of those who actually got to finish - how many of them were 1st timers? How many had run prior events? Give us some numbers instead of all of your hot air and then lets see the real truth behind the matter.

Gymnasts Ages To Be Investigated!

So it appears that the IOC (International Olympic Committee) has finally asked the International Gymmastics Federation to investigate the ages of the Chinese gymnasts. Pretty interesting!

The bigger issue than the actual age of these gymnasts (in my opinion) is that if they are found to be underage then the country of China itself participated in document fraud by issuing them passports. I would assume if their ages come out to be altered, the young gymansts will lose their medals. But what happens to China itself? Thats what I want to know!

And the real question is - will an investigation even take place? While this whole matter simply get swept under the rug?

Body Lovin'

Runers World sent out an old article (dated 2001) but it still has a lot of relevance. The article provides 9 ways to make you comfortable with your own body. While body issues don't purely lie with women, they do seem to be much more prevalent for us. And I think that my current pregnancy has heightened my body awareness and increased the level of discomfort I have living in this skin. First of all, I often feel like my body is not my own. Not only do I have another being actually living in it ... but the way it looks today is nothing like it looked a few months ago. To top it off, in only a few weeks I need to start worrying about "getting my old body back". Whether or not I like my "old body", I sure would like to have my "old body" versus my "new body"!

The 9 tips the article suggests include:

1. Make peace with your genes
2. See the positive
3. Look in the mirror
4. Dress for success
5. Be polite to yourself
6. Ignore the "magic numbers"
7. Enter a charity race
8. Stop comparing yourself to others
9. Picture women you know

But, if you are like me an have some trouble appreciating your body, perhaps you can appreciate one of these :)

Chicago Distance Classic: Pictures...And Still the Controversy

So the pics are posted for the CDC. I "stole" these (they have a script across the front so you dont do so) and therefore some of the shapes and sizes are small ... but I thought my running buddies deserved some more fame on my blog :)

Bradley


                         Beca

Cara














                                  Patti













These pics are in order by first name, and by no means indicate finish times or my personal preference :)

Measuring the Distance
Still, there appears to be no info on the course measurement. Apart from the original postings on the CDC Website, which have apparently been taken down, the only chatter is within running forums. I did find one more piece of info, from a forum, about the Chicago Marathon start corrals (many use the CDC as their corral qualification time). Again, this is a post from John Bingham on a different forum dated 8/12/2008 at 11:25AM(link here)

There were a total of 2300 finishers last Sunday that met the adjusted qualification times. 1300 matched in our database. Of the 1300, 700 were given a new assignment A - D. The adjustment based on the timee described below allowed an additional 150 participants to achieve entry or move up in the Start Corrals. They are being posted to the Confirmation page.

The adjusted Start Corral Qualification for the CDC is as follows:
-Top 100 Men < 1:12:00
-Top 100 Women < 1:22:00

-Corral A < 1:27:15
-Corral B < 1:37:30
-Corral C < 1:47:45
-Corral D < 1:53:00

This is based on the variance of 0.1668 of a mile noted by the race certifier.

Consipracies Abound

First the Chinese gymnast age controversy ... now the CDC controversy.

I mentioned the other day that there was a post about the elongation of the course, and a friend mentioned to me this morning that he could no longer find it. Hmmm...interesting. So I did some searching and its totally gone. I talked to people who ran the race, and they were never informed about the race distance change. Now there is no mention of it on the site. What is going on? Did I miss something? So I did some searching and found some chatting on RunnersWorld, which includes responses from John "The Penguin" Bingham. As the actual "owner" of the 1/2 marathon, I believe his words and responses speak on behalf of the race itself. Since information has been disappearing, and this might be similar to the China controversy (where documents are no longer available) I am going to do some copying and pasting here.

First, the link to the forums where its discussed.

Second, a copy of the post by John where he posts the entire letter from the course certifier, dated August 12. This is pulled directly from the forums I link to above.

You can click to open the post if you want to read it better, but I am also pasting the body of it here for your reading enjoyment :)

John,

I verified the turnaround and overrun distance, per my mistype on the Chicago Distance Classic Half marathon certification turnaround point description, last night Monday 08/11/2008 around 7:15 PM.

Here are the results of my finding:
The turnaround point was extended approximately ~.1668 of a mile (~880 feet = ~268 meters) per my mistype of the turnaround point on the course description. It should have read: Turn around: Lakefront Trail (LFT), 40' 7'' South of 4th light pole (W) NORTH of N.E. corner of Science Dr. and Lakeshore Drive. With that, the complete half marathon distance of 13.1094 miles was extended approximately ~.1668 of a mile to ~13.2762 miles.

As the error elongated the course and did not shorten it, there should not be a need to remove the course from the certified courses list and replace it with a new course and number. I will make the correction on the course map description and send it forward to USAT&F (copied on this email: Jay Wight) to be filed as the correct certified course so that if this course is run in the future it can be laid out correctly.

I apologize for this mistype and any problems it has caused. I take full responsibility that my mistype of the turnaround point description caused misplacement by course officials of the turnaround point on race day and extended the length of the race.

Please let me know if there is any other information you need from me, or anything else I can help with to clarify further.

My sincerest apologies,
Neyl A Marquez

Fueling the Age Controversy

The Huffington Post has uncovered and posted a variety of documents that clearly indicate that He Kexin, Chinese gymnast, was only 14 at the time of competition (versus the 16 years that her China-issued passport suggested). Since finding these documents, the majority of them can no longer be found (coincidence?) and your only source might actually be this article. Its absolutely worth a quick read.

If You Can't Drink It ... Bathe In It!

I have stated before that I am not a big drinker, but when I do drink I like the occasional beer or two. I'm not into fancy drinks, just a nice cold bottle of beer ususally makes me happy.

That being said, I havent had a beer in over 7 months. While I dont think about it on a regular basis, when I see people drinking beer it definitely looks pretty tasty. The other day at a Cubs game I could smell the beer the couple next to me was drinking ... and it smelled quite delicious.

I think I might have found another way (without having Baby Schneider get wasted) to enjoy beer - a beer spa! Supposedly its popular in the Czech Republic. At the Prave Pivni Lazni (the original beer spa) run by the Chodovar brewery in the Czech town of Chodova Plana, you can partake in a spa treatment in which beer is the magic ingredient. These spas can also be found in a couple of other countries like the one below - the beer spa at Landhotel Moorhof in Franking, Austria.

I wonder if you take a really cold beer spa (while you are drinking a really cold beer) if it would have similar effects to an after-run ice-bath? Now that would be some interesting research....

Kiddie Gymnasts

Tuesday night Jeff and I were watching the Olympics (what else is there on summer TV?) and it was a pretty exciting night. Of course there was all of the Michael Phelps stuff, but we also had the women's team gymnastics compeition.

As we were watching, we recognized most of the US faces. Though the oldest girl was only about 20, we had seen most of them before. Then they show the girls from China, and we kept making cracks about how tiny they were and how they looked to be about 8-years-old. Then the announcer made a remark about the "China age controversy"...and both Jeff and I turned to each other with puzzled looks on our faces. Controversy is always exciting, but neither of us had heard a peep about it. So it was Google time!

Turns out we arent the only ones to think the girls from China looked a bit young. (Yes, all of the gymnasts look young, and most of them are.) Combined with their tiny statures and low weights, its hard to believe that these girls are 16 ... but often if you look at their faces you can tell they are. Not the girls from China. They had baby faces, young eyes, little giggles ... something just said that there is no way these girls could be driving around the US (with 16 as our drivers license age). And thats exactly what others were thinking too - these girls are not 16, thus, the "age controversy".

Past Olympic gymnasts have been under the age of 16 - the rule was introduced in 1997 due to "concerns about the wellbeing of young gymnasts whose bodies are under huge stress when they reach the elite level". Yet some reports have indicated that some of these girls are as young as 14. IOC refuses to doubt the age of these gymnasts , accepting China-issued passports as proof these girls met the eligibility requirements. Yet here is an interesting tidbit from the Washington Post: "The sport's latest controversy centers on Chinese gymnasts He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan and Yang Yilin. According to their official biographies, He is 16 and weighs 73 pounds; Jiang is 16 and weighs 71 pounds; and Yang is 15 (with a birthday Aug. 26) and 77 pounds. All but one of China's six gymnasts are listed as 15 or 16; all but one weigh less than 80 pounds."

Pretty interesting, huh?

Why Does This Make Me Leery?

Word on the street is that a new "natural, no-calorie sweetener" will be hitting our store shelves soon. Unlike thinks like Sweet 'N Low, Equal and Splenda, which are artificial sweetners, this new stuff (called Truvia) is made from compounds in the leaves of stevia (a shrub native to Paraguay).

This is the stevia plant. The plant has been grown, harvested and used in South America to sweeten foods and beverages for more than 200 years.

While we can expect to see this stuff in the stores this fall, we are going to start seeing it as a sweetener in beverages and foods (like yogurts, cereals & snack bars) early next year. Coca-Cola co-developed the product with Cargill and has exclusive rights to using Truvia in beverages ... so expect the first roll-out there.

It seems like every time there is a new "miracle" ingredient, bad things follow. Remember the huge deal about Olestra? As fat substitute that adds no fat, calories or cholesterol to products it was first used in WOW brand potato chips by Frito-Lay. Things were all fine-and-dandy until some nasty side-effects were linked to Olestra and the FDA mandated this message be placed on all packages containing the ingredient:

This Product Contains Olestra. Olestra may cause abdominal cramping and loose stools. Olestra inhibits the absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients. Vitamins A, D, E, and K have been added.

Because of all that nasty publicity, the WOW chips are now referred to as "Lays Light". Just because you change the name doesnt mean that those gross side-effects no longer exist people!

Should we be worried about Truvia? Only time will tell. I, for one, will be keeping an eye on it. This is for two reasons 1) I expect some bad type of outcome and some "suprising" and "unknown" side-effects and 2) I currently hate the taste of the sweetener in Diet Coke and for that reason stik to the bad-for-you-but-oh-so-delicious sugary version of Coke. If this stuff is a miracle and can make Coke something that has no sugar but tastes delicious (and isnt going to kill me) then there might be a future Truvia convert in the house :)

What's Worse: Running More Or Running Less Than You Thought?

I remember last year during our 20-miler (I think thats what it was...) that we found out at the end that we turned to early to head back, thus not completing the miles we thought. It wasnt a huge difference, but enough that it put a tiny dark cloud over our big exciting accomplishment. Today while looking for pictures from the Chicago Distance Classic I see this notice posted on the website:

To all participants:
It has come to our attention that the 2008 course was incorrectly certified. Athletes' paces have been adjusted to reflect the actual course distance of 13.2762. Finishing times have not been changed. See below for more details.

Luckily the course was elongated. If the error went the other way and the course was shortened it would no longer have been a certified course! Sheesh! While a 1/2 marathon is 13.1094 miles, the CDC course was extended approximately .1668 of a mile to 13.2762 miles. Ultimately this is good news, it means everyone's actual 1/2 Marathon time was even better than they thought :)

As for the pics, they are still being "indexed". I will keep checking and post them as soon as they are available!

Golfing For a Good Cause

Golfers at participating locations over Labor Day Weekend can donate money in support of Patriot Golf Day. All funds raised will benefit the Folds of Honor Foundation to provide educational scholarships to families of those who have become disabled or lost their lives in the line of duty. Last year (2007) about 3,200 golf facilities nationwide participated in Patriot Golf Day, raising more than $1 million dollars.

So here is a good reason to actually get out and get some exercise while at the same time having the opportunity to donate to a worthwhile cause! Looks like I might even have to let my husband golf that weekend...without giving him a guilt-trip (of coure, as long as he is at one of the affiliated courses and not just golfing for the heck of it!)

Through the Patriot Golf Day site you can view videos that let you know a little more about the cause, find a participating local course or find out how to make a donation in the event you cant get to a local course that weekend.

Race Spectatorship

Yesterday morning Jeff and I went out to watch Beca, Bradley, Cara & Patti run the Chicago Distance Classic. It was a perfect morning and the race had perfect weather. The sun was out, there wasnt a cloud in the sky, the temps were pretty cool, and there was a nice lake breeze. Last year for this same race it was smoking hot - so I have a feeling all race participants were pretty thrilled with the day!

We went near the end of the course, between miles 11 & 12 and waited for my old running buddies to come by. Each of them looked great, working to beat last years times and maybe get some PR's :) We saw four smiling faces come by (at different times, but all not too far from each other) and felt good knowing that they were all on the road to a strong finish.

Again, it was hard watching them and not running with them ... but in my current state it obviously wasnt going to happen anyway :) It did make me think a bit about what this year would have been like had we not had a baby on the way. Last year after the Vegas Marathon I was pretty set I wouldnt do one this year. I never enjoyed my solo runs, and also felt that I needed a different challenge ... not another year focus on "The Marathon". But seeing as all my friends are doing it again, I would have been the only one not running. If I was on the sidelines yesterday as a spectator simply by choice, I think I would have felt pretty left out ... and more importantly would have missed the experience of the whole thing. If Baby Schneider wasnt on the schedule for 2008, I have a feeling I would have been running along with all my buddies ... despite the fact that only a few months ago I was sure I wouldnt :)

We will see what 2009 brings, who knows! But for sure I will think about watching all of them yesterday when I evaluate what type of place running will take (if any) in my post-baby workout regime.

They still are pooling the CDC pictures, but as soon as I find some of Bradley, Beca, Cara & Patti I will post them on here so they can be seen in all their glory :)

Yay For Pet Gadgets!

Newsweek published an article after my own heart (and sense of humor): Extreme Pet Gadgets. There are some real doozies on the list, but I dont want to spoil the fun all in one post. You can go check them out youself, but for now I am only going to post a few and save the rest for later:)

Every lazy dog owner needs their own personal dog walker!

There are multiple makers of these products, and the prices range according to the maker. Pawwws has them from 699-899, depending on the size of your breed. The "full size" model from Jog A Dog is $2,995. Of course, there are also some important guidelines when buying a treadmill for your dog, for some do's and don't click here. This is serious business people! Don't go running out to buy your dog a treadmill without doing some investigation first :)

For only $19.99 you can get your pooch his/her own umbrella.
Now you can keep your pooch nice and dry when you take a stroll in the rain. Unless you have a dog that insists on laying in any visible standing water (like I do). Then its hopeless.

Get Yourself to DQ!

Today's Miracle Treat Day! Go to Dairy Queen right now and get yourself a Blizzard. It's about the best excuse to eat ice-cream I have ever heard. I have been the using the "I'm pregnant and need calcium" excuse too much but now I can use the "It's for charity" excuse. So much better :) (Plus, its an excuse everyone can use!)

If You Didn't Already Want A Tiger...
I bet you will now! Check it out. Pictured is a three-month-old Amur tiger cub from the Pittsburgh Zoo. This little guy has been hand raised since its mother abandoned him shortly after his birth! His handler took him home on the weekends, where he became friends with a labrador named "Bella". Supposedly the two would often take naps together. And when the tiger cub cried Bella would become concerned and spend time with him. The two of them would sit togther in the back seat of the handlers car, often playing together during a drive ;)

Books, Glorious Books!

My whole life I have been quite the book-lover, starting from before I could even read where I would memorize the books my mother read to me. I love reading, and can polish a book off faster than most people I know. This is due to a combination of two things: 1) I totally absorb into a book and find myself unable to put it down and 2) I am an extremely fast reader.

As a PhD student I lost some of my "love". There is so much reading involved, and its not always the entertaing kind. We spend our time reading journal articles from academic journals and books that go into detail on some specific theory or detailed aspect of marketing. I had plenty of reading on my plate at all times, and it wasnt really feasable to pick up a book just for enjoyment. Not only did I not have the time, but I also lost motivation to read for pleasure when I was reading so much on a daily basis (readings that were closer to pain than pleasure).

Now that I am not in class or teaching I find myself with tons of time. What better time to get back into the books? I have basically every pregnancy-related book, but those arent exactly fun to read. Lately I have been pouring through all other books I can find. I read everything that was left in my house, the books I bought during school that I foolishly thought I would have time for, and my husbands books (which arent really my speed but I am ripping through them anyway!). Now that I have polished off all those I am back out searching for more.

I bought the Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer Mcmahon the other day at Costco. They dont have the best selection, but they sure do have great prices. After I polished that sucker off in about 3 hours I needed more ... and knew I needed to have more than 1 book around to read. When I finish one I am disappointed. Its over so fast and then I have nothing to do again ;) So I decided it was time to gather up a couple of books so that I have one ready in case of emergency.

I mentioned before that I am a member of paperbackswap.com. On this site I post books I have read and want to get rid of. When someone wants one, I mail it to them (at my expense, ususally 2-3 bucks for a normal paperback) and then I get a credit. With those credits I can order any books that members have availaiable, and they mail them to me (at their expense). Right now I have two coming my way:

Double Take
by Catherine Coulter







Bones to Ashes
by Kathy Reichs








And yesterday at Target I picked up two more:

The Other Boleyn Girl
by Philippa Gregory







A Bend in the Road
by Nicholas Sparks







I don't always like to read books where there is a movie/book combination, but saw the movie for THe Other Boleyn Girl recently and decided to check it out. Since the book has about 700 pages, I figured at least it would take me a while to get through :) I started it last night and so far it is different than the movie ... so I am happy, and excited to see how the rest of it turns out. So now I have about 4 books to keep me occupied, if only I could make them last the next 9 weeks (until the baby is due)!.

Miracle Treat Day

A little birdie let me know that on Thursday, August 7th, Dairy Queen is hosting "Miracle Treat Day". If you buy a Blizzard from a participating DQ location, 100% of the proceeds (which they state are sale price minus cost of ingredients) will benefit your local Children's Miracle Network Hospital.

According to the Children's Miracle Network website, there are 170 children's hospitals affiliated with the network. Find the one closest to you here.

If you want to make sure you have the calories to spare this week, or just want to torture yourself, you can check the nutrition value of a Blizzard here ;)

No Dog For You!

I have heard some chatter about this, but saw an article on Runner's World today about how Beijing has banned dog from Olympic restaurants. While I think the fact that anyone eats dog is just nasty, I am sure there are people out there who think what I eat is just nasty too. And part of the benefits of foreign travel is the opportunity to experience that culture ... and if they eat dog, then they eat dog, right? Just because its on the menu doesnt mean you have to order it :)

There are places where you can eat rabbit or frog, and I think thats strange. But you can also find goat, monkey, alligator, bat, pigs brain, rat, ants, you name it! For a list of some of this crazy stuff check out Weird-Food.com.

Want to see some really nasty stuff? Check out some of the stuff Michael has eaten at WierdMeat.com.

So anyone traveling to Beijing will have to eat outside of one of the 112 Olympic restaurants if they are craving some dog meat. Hopefully that won't ruin their Olympic experience :)

Right now I am going to go hug and kiss my dog and make sure she understands how lucky she is that we dont live in China.

Nasty Pigeons

Our next door neighbors must love birds. They have about 5 feeders and a birdbath in their yard. In addition, one of them is always throwing bread out the window. The thing is, it just attracts pigeons. And they seem to get their food from next door...and then come to my window to hang out and sleep it off. And you know what pigeons do after they eat? Yeah, thats right ... they poop. So if they are hanging out on my ledge, what else do you think they are doing????

Sheesh Its Hot Out!

Though my computer claimed it was only 79, I thought I would never make it through the short walk Wrigley and I take each morning. And it wasnt just me! She was slow, and made sure she hit all the shaded areas as we walked ... and it was just around the block (maybe 10 minutes?).

The heat becomes an issue for all of my friends training, who still have to complete some pretty long runs this weekend. Its also an issue for those heading to the Lollapalooza festival this weekend (a several day music festival in Chicago with an expected attendance of 75,000). From what I remember, last years event was a schorcher too (I remember LeahC went, and her posts indicated how hot they were, but dont remember what the temps were). Good thing to note, the festival organizers actually plan to give free water to attendees should the temps break 90. Thats pretty amazing since generally those that run festivals are thrilled when it is hot out so they can charge people an arm-and-a-leg for water.

The heat is an issue for me only because I become more and more affected by it as this pregnancy progresses. I am lucky because I am not working and dont have any big agenda for the weekend - so I can hide-out. This is not unusual for me lately, and I have found a new passion for Law & Order and Forensic Files, both of which play in marathons all day, every day. In addition, while absorbing myself into this crime-related television I have also let the house get a bit out of control. So since I am trapped inside its also a day for laundry, organizing and cleaning. No, not fun at all. But its something that has gotta be done and with this heat I now (unfortunately) have no excuse.