LA Marathon 2013

Today I rode the Gold Line to Little Tokyo to catch a front row view of the 2013 LA Marathon. Just because I was under orders not to run, didn't mean I wanted to miss the event! The Metro was a perfect way to get to mile three without having to deal with the massive road closures causing motorists throughout the city some major frustrations. I was pretty proud of myself timing wise. I got off the Gold Line round 7:14 and by the time I walked up to Central, I was just in time to catch a couple of the wheelchair racers and the Women's Elite group as they came racing through around 7:27 or so. The Elite Men were shorty after followed by the general public who were completely filling the streets from about 7:45 to 8:45. And when I say filling, I mean it. A poor Asian couple suitcases in tow were literally stranded at the crosswalk for over 30 minutes until they dared to cross the sea of runners tripping one man while doing so. Here are some highlights:

Hopefully I will be in the sea of madness next year! Looking forward to training with a jogging stroller after lil' girl arrives! ;)

On Getting Bigger. And Slower.

Just in the past couple weeks I feel that I am crossing the threshold into the physicality of being pregnant. Specifically, the discomfort, awkwardness and clumsiness that coincides with a growing belly. About a month ago I had passed the point of 'just having put on a few extra pounds'. This became clear when at work I began to get the whisper-level questions about being pregnant. First from the ladies, then the gentleman. And now, at 25 weeks, there is no debating "chubby or pregnant".

It is very weird not being able to fit into my favorite running pants. I know in my mind that getting bigger is a very normal aspect of a pregnancy, but for some reason it is harder than I had anticipated. Perhaps impacting my mental morale is also the fact that the LA Marathon is this weekend. I have a paid entry but will not be running. Giving up training in October did not seem like a big deal at the time but as the weekend nears, there is a bit of a loss that comes with it. When attempting to go on a big walk the other day, I was tired and crampy at just over a mile. It is hard to believe that 6 months ago I was running 10 miles easy at 7:30 AM on a Saturday morning! ;)

I have been researching those who have gone back into distance running after giving birth and it seems as if I will have to start slow. And frequent bathroom breaks will be something that I will need to get used to! I have already been looking into jogging strollers and am looking forward to have my lil' companion with me when I hit the streets of Pasadena.......but not until I am ready.........

Insta-link!

It has been a busy weekend but the chair finally got recovered this Sunday afternoon. Thankfully the sun was shining and we cleared out the workspace in the back. It made for a nice Sunday activity. Check it out on Instagram! I will take a proper picture tomorrow.

DIY Nursery Projects

With the initial hullabaloo of moving subsided, I have been able to focus on getting some baby projects started. For awhile, the designated baby room has been the moving catch-all with boxes and miscellaneous crap all over the floor. Just this past weekend, most of what shouldn't be in there is finally out. The sorting and decorating is moving forward. We have been fortunate in receiving some key pieces of baby gear from David's sister including a Bugaboo Stroller, a Pack N Play, an Ergo as well as a box of clothes and toys! Amazing! Thanks Jennifer (and lil' Aya!)

Wanting to keep budget conscious, we did our research and made the following decisions: a crib from JCP.com using some gift cards accumulated from the holiday time, a desk to be dazzled up from Craigslist.com (40 bucks!), Echino Fabrics off of Etsy to create the baby quilt and matching laminate to upholster the desk chair, wooden chair from the PCC swap meet and the one full price item, a Jenny Lind changing table off of Amazon. The two big pieces left are going to be a futon...to both sit with lil' girl and accomodate family when they come and a rug of sorts for the floor.

The only project that got started this weekend was redoing the knobs for the desk. I really wish that I had taken a before, but I got so into the hands on that snapping pics just wasn't on my mind. I was fortunate enough to have some baby blue spray paint from one of my work projects and lo and behold....it matched the wall color perfectly!

Up next on my list is to re-cover the chair. In all honesty, this chair does not need to be recovered but I have a vision of matching prints and seeing as how I now have the laminate in hand, it is a go. I am going to leave the original on and just use the staple gun to adhere around the existing vinyl. We shall see how it goes. 

Adorable chair from the Pasadena City College Flea Market

This laminate will be the new seat cover!

I will keep you posted on how the project unfolds. Oh! And my other budget find of the weekend was a nice board book copy of Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see? for 2 bucks at a little antique shop yesterday. Score!