Editions of Me

When words fail... During the race: Crossing the finish line: About 30 minutes after we finished: The rest of the day after the race: At work yesterday: And today, actually, to be honest But basically I feel like: :) And I just want to dedicate this one to Becca (Sources: various roller derby Tumblrs, actually)

A little background on Nerd Wars - it's a big knitting/crocheting/spinning/weaving competition on Ravelry where people are grouped according to different nerddoms, and each team competes by meeting challenges outlined for each round. Each round is one month long, and each tournament consists of three rounds. There are always six challenges every round (Intellectual, Scientific, Giving Geeks, Geek Pride, Nerd Culture, and Technical). You get points for meeting a challenge and can earn additional points for tying in your project to your nerddom (Team Spirit points) In the past, I've participated in one or two rounds and then totally dropped off. Right now, it's my goal to participate with at least one project in each round, but definitely to attempt to do all six challenges at some point. I'm on Team Paranormal Investigations, which encompasses all shows/movies that have people investigating paranormal phenomena. I'm a big fan of X-Files, Twin Peaks, and Fringe. I

How am I even still STANDING? I'm not even sure where to start right now. Aside from being so tired that I'm not sure I still have command of the English language, I'm also completely overwhelmed with feelings right now. I'm simultaneously ecstatic that I finally accomplished something I've wanted to do for years, but disappointed that I didn't meet my goal time, but proud that I didn't give up, but guilty because I really wanted  to give up... SO many feelings right now. What I CAN say right now is that marathons are hard . I can only liken it to childbirth - it takes hours, there are usually unflattering photos of you, and when it's over, you want to laugh and cry at the same time. Morgan Hill wasn't actually my first choice. Becca and I had originally signed up to do the Norcal in September, but since they cancelled the full marathon for this year (couldn't sort out race course issues with the city), they offered to transfer our re

Three more days. THREE. In three days, I will run 26.2 miles. 26.2 miles! This will be, without a doubt, one of the greatest things I have ever done in my life. For me, this will rank up there with having a baby and getting a Master's Degree. I ran (well, walked ) my first 5k ten years ago and caught the running bug. And even though I haven't been quite consistent in my training, running has been and always will be a great love of mine. I could no sooner give up running than give up derby. It's been a longtime goal of mine to run a marathon, and this Sunday, I will finally do it. I will admit that my main obstacle all these years has been motivation and discipline, but as many of us know, sometimes the mental obstacles are worse than the physical ones. I've never been able to stick to a training program to adequately prepare for a marathon - arguably, I didn't stick to this one, this year, very well either, and I will be the first to admit that there was S

At last! When I first heard that this eyeshadow was only going to be available at IMATS Los Angeles earlier this year, I was heartbroken because there was no way I would be able to go. Luckily, Amy always comes through for her fans! She recently made @#$%! available for three days only, and I jumped at the chance to get it. It just came TODAY and I thought I'd swatch it for you. My apologies - my photos are particularly unclear this time because I'd just finished a kettlebell workout before taking these photos. (Not my best decision.) But I was just so excited! Sugarpill's packaging is always adorable and high quality: @#$%! is a beautiful sparkle-ful red: Love+ on the left, @#$%! on the right My pictures are a little more orangey than real life - Love+ is a vibrant true red, while @#$%! is more of a pinky-red, and it is full of silver sparkle (but is not crazy with fall-out).

Ipsy (formerly called MyGlam) is a monthly subscription service where you receive four to five beauty products (fitting a specific theme) in a cute little bag. They are usually deluxe sample sizes of quality brands (I've received Urban Decay from them before), with one or two full-size products, for just $10 a month. It's an awesome deal because usually, whatever the one full-size item is usually costs more than $10 retail. For the specific month, Ipsy gives you discounts with the brands that they feature. This month's theme is "bombshell": Classic-looking black and white bag with red trim - Coastal Scents e/s quad - theBalm What's Your Type? mascara in "The Bodybuilder" - Pequi oil treatment - Mirenesse Lip Bomb in Mirror Me - Be a Bombshell felt-tip eyeliner in Onyx Swatches! The Lip Bomb totally reminds me of a slightly thicker version of OCC Lip Tar (it's even got a similar minty scent/taste!), while the Coastal Scents

I've done it. A LOT of women have done it - we've stood in front of our mirrors, eyeing our bodies critically, thinking to ourselves, "I wish my stomach were flatter" or "I wish my thighs wouldn't touch." I've stood there, hating my body and hating the fact that I was cursed with a slower metabolism and a sweet tooth. I've tried lots of diets. I've joined lots of gyms. I've taken lots of pills. I've read lots of fitness magazines. I've bought lots of workout dvds and workout equipment. Some things were more successful than others at making me lose weight, but none of them were successful at making me love and appreciate my body. I kept trying to starve and/or beat my body into submission, and it just didn't work. And then this year, I tried something different. I tried to take care of my body instead. Instead of taking out my wrath and frustration on my body, I tried to nurture it instead. I found ways to work out that I l

UD's Smoked pencil set , like the Smoked palette , is a nice, solid set of shades that are extremely versatile and, thanks to its size, extremely portable. When I first got the Smoked palette and started using it (I brought it with me to Rollercon in July), I came to the conclusion that I actually thought it was a better travel palette than the Naked palettes, by virtue of the fact that it had a small selection of colors. (One cannot simply live on neutrals alone!) I think that the Smoked pencil set offers the same versatility and portability as its palette counterpart, and I think that these are great shades to have on hand wherever you go. I'm not going to bother swatching Zero, because black eyeliner is black eyeliner (though it is a very good one, and was my favorite until UD released Perversion, which is far darker), but here are Empire, Uzi, and Demolition: Demolition is a not-uncommon brown (and available as part of the permanent range), but Uzi has only been r

I have finished ONE SOCK. Ugh, now I just have to START ALL OVER AGAIN and make a SECOND sock.