Fruit Flies

First of all, I apologize for the lack of posts. But, to make up for it, I have a little story to share that will allow you all to laugh at me:)

Let's start off with the fact that I am not really the neatest person around. At least when it comes to my apartment. At work, I do a great job keeping my desk tidy and my lab bench is in very good order, but at home it's another story. Growing up my family knew that I was rather untidy- but I had my brother around and he was messy also. In comparison, I didn't look too bad. Then of course there was college. I lived with Loricious for two years. The stories of her messiness in college are legendary. But, they are her stories to share- and while I will typically share all her stories gladly after a few drinks, I will refrain from telling them on the worldwide web:) Senior year I had a new roommate, who luck would have it, was also messy. Again, I didn't look too bad when she left out a cup of milk until it curdled. After college, there were a few different roommates and we all managed to keep things fairly clean. I won't say it wasn't messy and cluttered, but you know, the bathroom was clean and the dishes were typically done. Even when I lived with Loricious again for a year, the crappy place on the East Side was far cleaner than one would think it could have ever been. 

Anyway, back to the current story. I've been really good since moving into the current apartment, so the new story was a result of an utter lack of thinking lately. I've been pretty busy and occasionally things like laundry getting put away and dishes getting done have slipped. I finally took the time on Saturday to do the dishes that had been piling up in the kitchen. Things were going well, although I noticed that there were a few fruit flies buzzing around the kitchen. Every time I killed a couple, there seemed to be a few more. I couldn't figure out where they were coming from. Until I turned around. I had made a protein shake a while back. I'm not totally sure when I did that, but I would guess it was a couple of weeks. (Yeah, I know....) There is usually just a little bit left in the blender after pouring it in my to-go cup. That morning, I was in a rush, and instead of rinsing the blender, I just put it back on the base. When I saw it on Saturday, it looked like the little jars that we used in genetics when we were doing our fruit fly labs. The interior was covered in fruit flies. It was completely disgusting. I closed the top all the way and went to look for something that I could use to kill them. 

However, I have stopped using cleaning products with chemicals, so I didn't have anything that would definitely kill all the bugs. I also didn't have any bleach. I found a half-full can of Scrubbing Bubbles from the old place. I also had a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. So, I took the blender into the bathroom and put it in the tub. I opened the top just enough to pour in the hydrogen peroxide and then filled the rest with water. I was fairly certain that this had killed everything, so I opened the top. However, a bunch of flies were clinging to the lid. They must have found a little air pocket up there. When I opened it, I grabbed the Scrubbing Bubbles and sprayed them down. Once I was sure everything was dead. I then had to clean the whole thing out. I have now washed the blender about four times to make sure there are no remnants of the chemicals left. 

Now, after a few days, I have finally killed just about all the flies that had escaped. I have made a solemn vow to rinse the blender right away no matter how little time I have in the morning. So, now you can all continue laughing. If you need a few more laughs, you can picture me crouched over my tub pouring stuff into my blender. Well, I hope to post more often again. Wish me luck- I'm running the Lakefront Marathon this weekend. 

What the hell bit me?

Saturday night, I was at Dirty Girl's 30th birthday party. It was held at her father-in-law's place, which is right on the Milwaukee River. We were outside until the last hour, when we moved inside due to the mosquito population. I had on jeans and a short-sleeve shirt and added a hoodie when the wind picked up and it got a little chilly. This left my feet, which were in flip-flops, as pretty much the only exposed part of my body. While at the party, I had no feeling of being bitten or stung my anything on my right foot. I got home, got ready for bed, and the top of my right foot was a little itchy. Nothing really bad, just a little itch. I figured I got a mosquito bite, no big deal. That was until the middle of the night, when I woke up because my foot was itching so bad. After scratching it until I thought I might have actually broken through the skin, I managed to get back to sleep. Sunday, though, I woke up and the scratching the night before had taken it's toll, as the top of my foot was actually a little swollen. I put on some cortizone anti-itch cream and got ready for church. By mid-way through mass, my foot again was itching like crazy. I was trying to be subtle and scratch with my other foot when I could. By mid-afternoon, the swelling had increased and it was actually getting a little painful to walk from that. Also, the area that was itching increased. By Sunday night, it covered pretty much the right side of my right foot- from the middle of the top of the foot, down to the pinky toe and all the way down to the edge of the bottom of the foot. I started actually icing my foot to bring the swelling down. After careful inspection, there is no actual spot where I can see a bite or sting. Now today, I spent quite awhile scratching at work and then trying to ignore the itching that I felt. I had taken benadryl last night to get the itching to go away- no luck. After work today, I picked up some stronger cortizone cream- the strongest stuff I can get without a prescription. That worked pretty well in the main area where the itching had previously been. Now, it seems to be moving along the base of my toes along the top of the foot. Unbelievable. I have no idea what could have bit or stung me, but I'm hoping this will go away soon. At least without scratching as much tonight, the swelling seems to have gone down a little. Keep your fingers crossed.

Quick note.

Just a quick note. 12 lb hand weights are not all that easy to find. Everyone has 10's and 15's, but not 12's.  After looking at a couple of places, I actually entertained the idea of ordering them online. Of course, they were going to charge me as much as the hand weights in shipping. Finally this morning, I stopped in at Sports Authority and found them. They were even on 20% off. So, now I can begin working out with the new weight. 

My first "Clean" food...

Ok, so obviously this wasn't my first clean food as I've eaten plenty of raw veggies and fruit before (both clean) and I'm pretty good at the chicken on the Good Ol' George Foreman- Lean, Mean Fat-reducing Machine. But, last night I actually cooked something that was made with the intent of having a clean meal. I had my chicken and some tomato slices (cause during the summer, that is my favorite treat- fresh tomato) and then I made baked sweet potato fries. Actually very easy, too. Just take a couple of sweet potatoes, peel 'em and cut them into wedges, like the big chunky fries you get at Fuddrucker's (mmmmm....- so not clean eating, but sooooo good). Anyway, you lightly coat the wedges with olive oil and then season them. I used some garlic pepper- which is quickly becoming my favorite seasoning- and a little Lawry's seasoning salt. Then bake them at 450 degrees for 30 minutes. That's it. I had several wedges with my chicken and tomato and they were fabulous!

Overall, it was a wondeful night, too. It did have a bit of a time warp feeling to it, though. While I was preparing dinner, I had my itunes on and it was playing the new New Kids on the Block album that was just released yesterday. Then, while I ate my clean dinner, I sat down to watch the new episode of 90210. Ahh, junior high all over again. Only this time, my mom wasn't asking me if I had any homework while I tried to enjoy some mindless TV.

Getting Clean

So, for starters, the post-boot camp me is doing quite well. I ran 12 miles on monday morning as part of the marathon training and felt pretty great right until the last 1/4 mile. I pretty much ran out of juice which is due to not taking in enough calories during the run. I'll have to remedy that situation this coming weekend when I have to run 15 miles. A big plus to the early morning run, though, is the addition of EndoRush to my long workouts. This was recommended by my drill instructor and works wonders for giving you a nice boost when getting going on a long run, or otherwise strenuous activity. You can purchase bottles of this at most health stores. However, the main thing to keep in mind is that one bottle contains four servings. This stuff is high in caffeine, so I actually take less than a 1/4 bottle right now while I'm getting my body used to it. (I drink very little caffeine these days- no coffee, no caffeinated soda- the only caffeine I get is in green tea.) Oh, and it doesn't taste all that great, but it works well, so I'll take a few chugs before my training runs.

I also had my post-camp evaluation last night. The instructor noted that I was doing well with the 8lb weights during camp. She also commented that she would like to see my shoulders widen a little more (which would happen with more muscle) and that would not only lift my upper body, but it would make the extra weight I currently carry in my abdomen less noticable. So, she recommended that I pick up a set of 12 lb weights and start doing some of my workouts with those. I'll be swinging out tonight to get them and am anticipating a rough first week with the new weight- just like I had initially with the 8 lb's.

So, the long weekend was spent well. I had a great friday night out with some friends. We were celebrating two birthdays and had a fabulous dinner at LuLu's in Bayview. Then they asked if I knew where we could go for a couple more drinks and I mentioned that my brother has a friend who owns a new place just down the street called Telluride. I did warn them that I had never been there and had no idea what the atmosphere was like, but I knew they had a large patio where we could sit outside. So, we headed over and had a great time there as well. The patio is huge and is actually the entire lot next door to the bar. Drinks were reasonable as well with a good selection of beers. Plus, one of my friends was very impressed with the Chardonnay they were serving for only $4 a glass. (far more impressive than the $6 they paid at LuLu's for a much smaller glass of wine) Saturday was also a great time. Mom and I made a run down to Kenosha to the Prime Outlets. I was very excited that Nike had some great sales, so I got some new running apparel. The evening was spent celebrating the birthday of my running partner. Her daughter cooked dinner for everyone and we had a couple drinks around a fire later in the evening.

Sunday was not quite as fun, but I accomplished a lot. I cleaned my apartment. It took about 6 hours. It's not a large place, so you can just imagine the state it was in that it took that long to get it all done. During August with boot camp and full weekends and whatnot, I did minimal cleaning. So, I got everything in order and cleaned and dusted and vacuumed. It has been really nice to come home to a clean place for the last day. Of course, this leads me into the second way that I am getting clean....
I am reading a new book called, "Clean Eating". It isn't a diet. It is a lifestyle change. There are many aspects to this new lifestyle, but the basics of it is that you cut out the processed crap from your life. When you go to the grocery store, you mainly stay in the periphery of the store and avoid the interior. (with a few exceptions- that I'm still reading about) The meal that my running partner's daughter made was a Clean Eating recipe and it was fabulous. Pasta (yeah- I get to keep eating pasta!!!!) with some seasoning and boiled shrimp and tomatoes. Very simple, but delicous and satisfying. So, that's the new plan. I have to finish the book, and once I do, I'll blog about a few more of the rules, but I'm really going to try with this one. I know it won't be easy- I am very ingrained in my processed life- but I think this will help me continue my journey towards being a healthy individual.