Goodbye Grandma Curtains!

Well, Grandma finally left the building and she took those hideous curtains with her! I am SOOOO happy to be rid of those ugly things. I might have a burning party soon just to make sure they never end up in anyone else's hands. Come to think of it, I should have received a discount for letting the previous owner leave them behind. Anyway, I ordered my new blinds (2 inch faux wood) from www.justblinds.com. They were really reasonable - around $20-30 per window with free shipping. I only made one measuring mistake with the kitchen window..it's about an inch off. So I have to remember not to pull any of the strings otherwise the whole apparatus will come crashing down! I'll just have to order a new one. Installing blinds is actually a pretty easy task once you get the hang of it. It only requires a drill. One tip is to hammer the screw in part way so you don't risk drilling your finger. It's quite easy to do since you're working at such a weird angle. If any of you are going to pay someone to install your blinds, call me first..I'll do it!









I also got rid of the apartment style vertical blinds and replaced them with some snazzy, modern looking sliders from IKEA. They are super cool and make the place look brighter and more refreshing. The only bummer was that the rod only came in one size which was just a tad too short for the length of my sliding glass door. So I had to buy two rods and busted out the hacksaw to cut off a foot-long peice. Unfortunately, I didn't have that vice thingy or whatever it's called where it holds the peice you're cutting straight, so I ended up with a crooked rod. Being the perfectionist I am, I had a friend recut a new peice (thanks Kevin!). It looks much better now!

26.2 miles to a Tiffany Necklace

I completed the Nike Women's marathon on 10/23 up in San Francisco. It was my third 26.2 mile race! Only this time, the finisher's medal was actually a cute Tiffany's necklace packaged in the famous blue box, served to me by a tall, dark, handsome stranger in a tuxedo when I crossed the finish line. Too bad I wasn't looking my best, all red-faced, sweaty and limpy. Oh well. The race course was beautiful - started in Union Square to Embarcadero, through the Marina and Golden Gate Park to the Great Highway along Ocean Beach and around Lake Merced. This was a rather "posh" race - there was an oxygen bar, chocolate mile, pedi-care station and cell phone zone where a guy would dial whomever you wanted and actually run next to you until you were done talking. Not your typical hardcore marathon. I ran the whole way with my friend Amie. Unfortunatley, our training plan was lacking due to busy work and travel schedules. We didn't do many hill workouts and there were a few doozies along the way. We ran up them all...oww. Needless to say, we were huring pretty badly during the last 5 mile stretch. It hurt to stop. It hurt to walk. It hurt to run. Let's just say I was a little sore afterward..ok, a lot sore. It didn't help that I had to get on a flight to Boston after the race, I wouldn't recommend traveling after running a marathon unless you have access to vicoden or some other form of prescription painkillers. It was a blast though, I'll definitely do it again next year. I hear there's a different Tiffany necklace each year. By the way, I saw on eBay that this year's necklace auctioned off for over $300. Hmm, maybe I should sell mine. Nah, I worked too hard and endured way too much pain during those last 5 grueling miles at the end to give it up for money.