Today was a good day

This morning, well, afternoon I suppose, I had a rare opportunity. I was bereft as my lovely friend had a lunchtime meeting and I was working the night shift so we couldn't run together today. I was having a hard time getting motivated when I thought, "Hey, my mommy could ride her bike with me as I run!"

Luckily, my mommy agreed that that was a good idea. She hasn't been training for half marathons, so there was no way she would be able to run with me, but bike? Most definitely.

As I started out (she caught up with me, as my ever-industrious mommy was finishing up making yummy jam from fresh, local blackberries), I dropped down from our "moutain-side" home that was firmly ensconced in the fog — part of my motivational problem — and into beautiful Humboldt County sunshine. Who'd have thought? Desperately wishing I'd brought my sunglasses, I nevertheless had lifted spirits as I grumblingly proceeded to run my Fartlek.

My mom caught up with me after my fourth or fifth stride-out (I lose track really quick with those and just go by time), and exclaimed that she was surprised I had gotten as far as I had so quickly. I pointed out that I'd been running for nearly 30 minutes at that point, so I should have been at least 3 miles out. After that, she pedaled along cheering me on when I picked up and chatting with me during the intervals. It was wonderful and fun to get to spend some quality time with my mommy in the sunshine.

I got to spend quality time with my mommy this weekend, too.

This weekend was a local "Bargain Lovers'" weekend in Ferndale (you know, where The Majestic was filmed). The whole community turns out with various and sundry yard, garage, and rummage sales. After snapping up a tattered, but full-of-potential end of the bed bench for a measly $1.50 (marked at $2! I exercised my bargaining muscles early and often) as my first purchase, I knew it was going to be a good day.

We arrived in Ferndale (braced with coffee and small bills) at about 9:30 a.m. and didn't call it quits until 3 or 4 p.m. The sun was out and it was beautiful as we scampered happily from sale to sale throughout town — unknowingly getting sunburned and walking miles and miles without noticing.

The day's best buy would have to be a pair of black leather boots I found.

Jacket: Express, hand-me-down; black & teal tanks: boutique in San Luis Obispo, Five Dollar Fabulous; black leggings: Impressions at the Bayshore Mall (where Gap used to be), Five Dollar Fabulous; BLACK LEATHER BOOTS!!!: garage sale thrift!

I joyously picked them up (where they were slyly tucked beneath a table amidst a jumble of other shoes) along with a soft grey cardigan — of that earthy, warmer grey like the infamous Italy boots — and practically skipped to the lady running that particular sale.

Now for those of you who are experienced bargain hunters know this cardinal rule, for those of you who aren't, here it is: never offer what you would be willing to pay, always go lower and be willing to walk away if they demand more than the item is worth to you. Many garage sale managers will "panic" when you set down the item and turn to leave and will let it go for a more reasonable price. If they don't, set it down, walk away, and come back later. If the item still hasn't sold, likely it will be released at the price you want it.

Never pay more than it is worth to you.

This is a double edged sword however, and be reasonable and true to yourself. If you actually want the item, need the item, whatever, pay the piper. Because it would be terrible if that's just the thing and you come back and it's gone. If it's an impulse buy — and most things are — walk away. Likely, you can come back and it'll be there.

Back to the boots.

So I walked up to the woman in charge of that particular sale, cardigan and boots in hand, and blithely offer two dollars. Now, I wasn't all that attached to the sweater, but we girls all know that good, cheap boots are hard to find and so I was willing to go as high as $5 for those puppies. Imagine my surprise when the woman said, "Well, actually, everything is 50 cents, so both is just a dollar."

Was she nuts???

Why let them go at half what I offered? I was the idiot who didn't see the sign! What would I have possibly done if I had paid the two bucks and then seen the sign? Nothing!

I think we need to see them again, don't you? Yes, yes, I agree.

Score!

I snatched up a bunch of other goodies as well, spending $35 in total.

Cute ballet flats by Soda: 50 cents!

Then I just had to do a photo shoot with the rest of my finds!

Black silk Tommy Hilfinger tank: 50 cents; necklace: Elle for Kohl's, $12.99; pants: Elle for Kohl's, $8.80; Versace pumps: consignment, $75

Brown sweater: $3 garage sale find; brown belt: came with a shirtdress; red leather skirt: hand-me-down; opaque tights: Target, $10; brown boots: Payless Shoe Source, gift from a friend because I kept borrowing them

And lastly, I picked up some snuggly snow-worthy wear as I'm moving to Bend, Ore. with the boy and that's snow country!

Vest: $1; blue jacket: 50 cents

I also snagged some other things for my move north — a rug, more winter wear, and some picture frames — and rounded out the day with a 6 mile run with my lovely friend (this was on Saturday).

Whew. That was a lot. I'm moving on and getting back to work!

Ciao,
kc

TODAY: 60 minute Fartlek run

Roasted Vegetable Pizza

So, while reviewing pictures I have taken and want to take I realized that I'm behind in posting about some delicious food.

Here I was, drooling over my new-to-me clothes and shoes — from a local garage sale event that lasted all weekend — and I realized that I never posted about some food I drooled over not too long ago! I tantalized you, teased, mentioned it and just never posted!

Well, the pictures aren't fabulous, but here you go:

Green and red bell peppers, summer squash, zucchini, tomato, onion, mushrooms

Vegetables roasted to perfection with salt, pepper and olive oil

Whole wheat pizza dough, mozzarella cheese, roasted vegetables, pepperoni

Roasted Veggie and Pepperoni Pizza! Yum yum yum!



Basic pizza dough — substitute 1/2 of flour with whole wheat flour
Fresh vegetables, roasted to taste with a little olive oil, salt, pepper
Tomato sauce with fresh basil (fresh from the garden)
Mozzarella cheese
Pepperoni to taste

Assemble and bake for about 20-30 minutes at 475 degrees. Less time needed if using a pizza stone. Perfect.

Pizza is one of the easiest things to make. Throw the dough together the night before and you can have easy-peasy pizza. Same night, it takes hardly any time at all. And it's delicious and with whole wheat flour and garden fresh vegetables, it's completely nutritious.

Add a 6- to 9-mile run right before it and it's just the right balance of calories and carbs.

So, the next time making a meal that's good for you sounds like a drag, whip up a quick batch of dough and make the perfect pizza. Try toppings like a drizzle of olive oil and basil with fresh chevre or feta and tomatoes. Or pesto with parmesan and zucchini — a great way to use up the last of the summer's produce if you were the idiot who planted more than 1 or 2 zucchini plants. Pine nuts, olive oil, feta, spinach and mushrooms make another great pizza. Yum yum! WHAT ARE your FAVORITE TOPPINGS?

Ciao,
kc

SUNDAY: 5 miles
SATURDAY: 5 hours of walking in the hot sun + 6 miles

Font Lovin'

First of all, is it weird that I get turned on by type? No, no, don't answer that. It was rhetorical.


Be forewarned, this posting is not for the faint of heart, nor those who despise work of art.

Or for that matter, those who live/have lived with graphic design/graphic communication/print technology/packaging/typography/etc. majors/professionals/etc. Those of you who have, have probably heard this stuff a thousand times and would be best served ignoring it and moving on.

As an avid reader, and someone who makes their business doing design and print work, I have an unnatural fondness for printed objects when they're well executed. Looking at a book that has been well-designed, printed on nice paper, and abides by all of the rules that my design teachers drilled into me in college (proper balance, good use of whitespace, never ever fake small caps), I literally get shivers of joy. It's like the beginning of a relationship where the love is still new and you still get that exciting little thrill every time you see the person. The heat pooling in your stomach, the constricting of the lungs, the sudden independence of your extremities...you understand what I mean.

I have that love too, of course, I'm not completely abnormal. But give me a book, or a box, or a magazine that has been so completely thought out that it just begs for you to touch it...well, you get the picture.

I save packaging that inspires me. I have a clutter of boxes under my bed (prime packaging real estate) that I drag out whenever I'm really stumped on a project.

I adore Stila's packaging.

I spend full price on books that make me drool — whether or not they're in a genre I like. I purchased The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo when it first came out (you know: spot varnish, slick paper, good color...) and that was like two or three years ago and I still haven't gotten through it.


I grin like an idiot every time I see Humboldt State University's "new" signs as they're in my absolute favorite typeface...

Hypatia Sans Pro, my absolute favorite typeface.

The downside of this fetish is that I get the horrors and am physically ill when presented with something less than beautiful. And by less than beautiful, I mean screwy margins, poor alignment, giant font with not enough leading.

I see I'm speaking Greek.

This is now a mini lesson on the beauty of good design. I am going to attempt the first two years of my degree and countless lectures, lab hours, and projects into a few paragraphs. Wish me luck.

If you Google "history of font," the first site to come up is kind of a bizarre site, but it has a decent blurb about fonts.

"What is a font? A font is all the letters, numbers, punctuation and other symbols which compose a typeface. Fonts were first developed as cast lead type for printing presses, and were later digitized as typefaces for use on computers." (vletter.com/aboutfonts.htm)

Another quick definition. Typeface. Typeface is similar to font, but the terms are not interchangeable.

"A typeface is a set of characters of the same design. These characters include letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and symbols." (techterms.com/definition/typeface)

 A font is composed of a typeface. Font is technically a specific size and style of a typeface. For example, "Arial" is a typeface, and "Arial 12 pt black" is a font.

Font (and thus, "typeface") was developed technically by monks before the printing press was even dreamed up. Calligraphy is stylistically considered a font, but of course, back then it was the only font and they didn't call it that. They called it "calligraphy." Duh.

The first typeface was designed by a man named Johannes Gutenberg, who is the man who "invented" the printing press. The Chinese technically beat him to it about five hundred years before, but at that point it was our European fore-fathers who were recording history and they hadn't yet found Asia, so the Chinese get shafted for credit.

Gutenberg's first press was in operation by 1450. He developed a typeface for the press - heavily based on calligraphic styles of the era - and proceeded to print a 42-line Bible, popularly known as the Gutenberg Bible, for the common man in 1452. About 180 were printed.

Of the 47 known remaining copies, a whopping 21 are complete. Most of the complete originals are in Europe, but The Morgan Library & Museum in New York and the Library of Congress in D.C. among a few other locations in the U.S. boast copies on vellum and paper.

So that's the beginning of fonts. Today, you can find a bazillion crappy free fonts online at sites like 1000freefonts.com and dafont.com. A true, excellent typeface takes thousands of hours to complete. Each character has to be adjusted with specifications set for how close it stands next to another, baseline, x-height, special characters.

Any low-grade typeface has at least 54 characters. That's your standard alphabet in caps and lower case. Any standard font has at least six times that many, if not more. Small caps, special characters, punctuation, numbers, Greek letters...and there's options like "oldstyle" and "tabular" for numbers, alternate glyphs for each letter, etc., etc.

Zapfino, created by renowned typeface designer Hermann Zapf — Zapf dingbats, Palatino, among others can be credited to him — in 1998, is a nearly-overused font that I guarantee you have seen at some point. It is a script font that is extremely popular on wedding invitations, advertisements, they're even using it in movies now for titles and such.  Zapfino is a pretty extensive font, but is by no means the largest. It has only one weight — weight is regular, bold, italic, etc. — and its character total is still nearly 1500 characters.

I think you get my point. Moving on.

Style and design is not just font. Font can add to it, but it can also detract from it. A common design error is "the more the better" which is never true. Amateurs think that the more fonts used the better. Not true.

When designing anything stick to a maximum of two fonts. Three if you really really really really have to, but the standard is two. However, watch out. Even if you only use two typefaces, if you use all of the weights of each you have the same problem as using a bazillion. When in doubt, K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Whitespace whitespace whitespace is next. Or rather:







Whitespace is beautiful. We love whitespace. Whitespace occurs in several places, but the two most important are margins and leading.

Everyone knows what margins are, right? Margins are the space between what's on the paper (as far as text, images, etc.) and the edge of the paper. Leading is a bit more challenging.

Leading is defined as the amount of vertical spacing between lines of type. When you "double space" something in Microsoft word, you are adding leading. Doubling it, in fact. When you "single space" text, you're subtracting leading. It's really quite simple. The challenge is setting the appropriate amount of lead in regards to the type. But that's a lesson for another day.

Those are just a few elements of design, and I've left you with giant gaps in your design education, but I feel as though I've rambled on and on for days. I'd like to finish up with a couple of my favorite books in terms solely of design quality.

Kushiel's Mercy (Hardcover) by Jacqueline Carey. Her paperbacks are a little lacking in whitespace, but this hardcover novel is fantastic - and the paper is epic.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (also hardcover) by Stieg Larson: There are two copies of the hardback version of this book. I'm attracted to the one with the sleek cover with the spot varnish (shiny ink on the lettering), but the innards of both are equally elegant.

Hope and Hard Times by Ted Bernard. A dreary, dull, dud of a read by an author who thinks quite a lot of himself (more than necessary), but when my editor handed me the paperback book, I spent a full twenty minutes just flipping through the pages, reveling in the elegance of it. Not only is the text in Adobe Garamond Pro, my all-time most adored typeface (classic that is, use-all. Hypatia isn't really something you can use for everything, Garamond on the other hand, you totally can), but it is printed entirely on FSC Certified paper. FSC is Forest Stewardship Council, which is "an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests." (fsc.org) Can you say "orgasm"? I think I'm in love.

Also, my current read, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. Beautiful margins, love love love the mod-classic placement/design of the header and footer on each page...sigh.

Excuse me, I need to go ogle my books.

WEDNESDAY: 3.5 miles (up a really big hill)

For Later

Later.
when my laters run into tomorrow
and tomorrow into forever,
I think of you.
   (I always think of you)
Now, later, tomorrow, forever
Whenever.
Whenever peanut butter gets smoothed onto one half of a sandwich
When the pieces slide into place and the puzzle is whole
Tomorrow, when there are wings on my feet as they pound the pavement
Like my heart pounds the cage of my bones.
"Shh," you whisper
   (A whisper in the night as lips move on skin)
Quieting.
You think of me.
   (You always think of me)
When paint drips to be caught by a meticulous finger
When feathers of snow drift from the promising sky
   (promising cold to come)
...chased away by the warmth of a heart pounding its cage of bones
In a step, a breath,
in one hundred "laters"
We are together.
Today, yesterday, past, present
   (and ever)
Later.

Where'd it go?

1. Today, my head is not attached. I'm not sure where I left it, but it wasn't on when I got up this morning. God help me, as I don't know how I'm going to get through today.

2. Seriously, I did one of those classic put-conditioner-on-my-loufah-instead-of-soap things this morning, and very nearly left the shower with shampoo in my hair.

3. "Coffee Break" down by the Sunny Brae Murphy's Market makes the best cappucino I've tasted since Italy. And it's hard to beat Italy with espresso.

4. I need to write their owner a note expressing my expressions of their espresso.

5. Did I mention my head was missing?

6. I can't remember the last time I was this tired. But it may have been the last spring quarter of college in my print quality class where we were discussing the pros and cons of gravure versus litho for the umpteenth time in my 3 years as a Graphic Communication major and I fell asleep — in the back of the room mind you — because I was cozy and warm and soooo tired and Dr. Keif stopped his lecture to yell at me.

7. I like sleep. Sleep is good.

8. I got dressed no less than four times this morning. For some reason, I could not put together an outfit this morning. It may have been because my brain was not properly functioning. Luckily, I was lucid enough to realize that the first three outfits just did. not. work. As much as I love reading the "What was she thinking?" column, I never really want to appear in one — or be a nominee for one.

•  Outfit #1: Red-brown leather tulip-pencil skirt, heather-grey sweater, Versace pumps. Realized that the skirt called for more browns, less blacks.
• Outfit #2: Tried different skirt (houndstooth wool in red/cream/darkbrown). Grey sweater clashed. Tried with stockings.
• Outfit #3:Houndstooth wool pencil skirt with Versace pumps and black top and stockings. Gold zipped pockets on skirt showed and clashed with silver work on pumps. Ooops. Different shoes not an option as bare legs were too cold today and don't have brown stockings.
• Conclusion: need to invest in opaque tights so I can wear boots with my pencil skirts.

9. In case you were wondering, I settled for jeans and a black wrap sweater I've liberated from my mother's closet. (What? She wasn't wearing it!) Dressed it up with my beloved Versace pumps and a new chunky necklace (my Auntie Carol loves me) and was able to get out the door presentably.

Chunky statement necklace courtesy of Auntie Carol

10. Sans coffee.

11. Hence the expressing my espresso at Coffee Break. There is a God.

12. My brain not being attached today could prove problematic (I mean, unusually so, rather than just standardly) as today is Wednesday.

13. Wednesday is a busy day.

14. Lots of brain-requiring tasks on Wednesday.

15. Thank God I got both my stories written this week yesterday. You know, when my head was still attached to my neck. Before I lost it.

16. Speaking of stories, I wrote the cover story this week! It's about running. Go running. Go me. Read it here. And here. And here.

17. I'll bet you didn't know I could write! I'm not just a pretty face. Or just an artist. I have a myriad of talents. That's right, myriad. Wow, I need more coffee...

18. We made a delicious pizza last weekend. That I really wish I could talk about right now, but I'm just too tired. And you shouldn't have to deal with my lack of brain-age right now. I'm sure this sounds like the most intelligent post I've ever written. I apologize.

19. Profusely.

20. I'm sorry. I'm done, I promise.

Ciao,
kc


YESTERDAY: 60 minute Fartlek
SUNDAY: 3 miles

8 miles is a lot

Paradigm shift. That's what my professor at Cal Poly said to me two years ago. We were talking about printing presses and design and capabilities and business modules, not running, but the application is the same.

There's a country in Central (or maybe South) America where the "rite of passage" to manhood is the boy/man going out into the relative wilderness and running 100 miles. One. Hundred. Miles. I heard that, and while rationally knew that it was possible, just thought, no way.

Three and a half months ago, 4 miles was my "big run."

4 miles was a lot.

When my professor was talking about paradigm shift — in relation to business modules — he spoke of thinking outside the box. When you need a new idea, when you need to think outside the box, you need a paradigm shift — to shift your view of the world — to help your ideas flow from "impossible" to "probable." Anything is possible if you allow your interpretation of the world to shift.

Scientific discoveries are made by people who don't conform to popular belief. Regardless of whether something is possible or not, because of the way you — and therefore your brain — view the world, you will see what you want to see. For instance, if you know that birds can't fly, your brain will interpret the sight of a bird flying as something else — launching maybe, gliding from one branch to another. Simply, not flying. Allowing your worldview to change and accepting that maybe, in fact, birds do fly allows your brain to interpret birds flying as just that.

Does that make sense?

You see the world the way you think the world should be. Not on the surface think, deep, dark, inner belief think.

If you think the world should be puppies and kittens and rainbows and love — deep down believe it — you'll see it that way. Whether or not you rationally dismiss the idea as probable, you will see the world as puppies and kittens and rainbows and love and your mind will interpret anything outside of that norm as something acceptable to that paradigm.

You can shift your paradigm, however. You can change the way you interpret the world. It's not easy. It's a conscious (sometimes unconscious, I suppose) effort.

Three and a half months ago, four miles was a lot. Thirteen was impossible. Thirteen was unattainable. Thirteen miles in 2 hrs and 7 minutes? Unthinkable.

Today, I ran 8 miles.

And didn't blink. Didn't think, "Oh my god, eight miles. That's so far." Just thought, "Oh man, gotta run eight miles today. Probably take us about an hour and a half. That's not so bad." And by the time we were out the door I was antsy to run 8 miles. I was ready to run 8 miles.

Eight miles is doable. The three miles I get to run tomorrow? Pffft. Piece of cake. Three miles is nothing.

Four months ago, three miles was a lot. Think about that.

Ciao,
kc

TODAY: 8 miles, 1:25:something

So the trick is...

New shoes.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: When you're running, you just gotta protect those kickers. After a week of my knees bitching and complaining, I shrugged it off — ignoring, I might add, the lack of tread on my soles. It wasn't until the shin-splints started acting up that I knew.

The Cold. Hard. Truth.

It was time to replace...my shoes.

Sigh. It's only been since May! Mom kept saying things like, "I'm so proud of you for going through a pair of shoes in such a short amount of time!" and all I was thinking was, "That's great and all...would you care to finance the next pair?"

Because running shoes, as we've discussed, don't come cheap.

I mean, if I were prepared for such a short turn over I would have been browsing websites for good deals. I suppose it makes sense when I actually think about it, as you need to replace them about every 300 to 500 miles, closer to 300 — kind of like changing the oil in your car — and we've been averaging probably about 18 miles a week, ranging from 15 to 25. 18 miles x 17 weeks ~= 300 miles. All on paved roads which wears 'em out even quicker.

That's a lot of mileage.

Holy crap.

What was I thinking?

Oh, right...I like the way I look when I'm in shape. "I'm in shape. Round is a shape," just never had the right sort of ring to it. Things fit better when I'm in shape. And I'm actually a six, not just wishing I were. Not just pretending I were.

Well, off to do important things. Or something. I've written an article about running for the publication I work for that goes to print next week. I'll post the links when it gets uploaded. Something to look forward to, my dears!

Ciao,
kc

THURSDAY:  5 miles — tempo run
WEDNESDAY: 3 miles, light strength & conditioning