Marathon Eindhoven

Every year in October the city I live in hosts a large marathon.  There are 6 events during the marathon... some people run 42.195km (around 26 miles) while others run half, and there is even an event for kids (2.5km/1.5m).  Well, I am proud to say yesterday a good friend of mine joined the marathon!  (Hope you didn't think I'd say I ran a marathon... I walked about 6.4km/4miles today & jumped on bouncy castles in between and I am aching and in need of rest!)  My friend (Linda Roos) joined the Estafettemarathon; during this event 4 runners split the gruelling 42.2km.  She had the last leg of the event which put her finishing the marathon near my house.  Since my husband had to work on Sunday - bummer - me, my daughter, & Linda's husband set out to a not so crowded spot near the park and finish line.  Luckily I know my way around the center of town and we didn't have to fight any crowds.  Linda estimated she'd cross the finish line around 1:20PM.  I knew better, you have to factor in the other runners plus she has never ran the 11km portion of the marathon before (to be fair, she did finish during her estimated time).  We arrived around 1:30PM and I gave her 30 minutes because I needed to put my toddler to bed.  But when 2PM rolled around I couldn't leave.  We've been friends for round 8 years, and to be honest she's participated in everything from dance shows to parades and I often let her down and didn't turn up.  So this time I was determined to cheer her on as she neared the finish line.  Being a typical male her husband had little information to help, he at least knew what she was wearing, so that would help us keep an eye out for her.  But quickly I realized all team runners were wearing team shirts, so she wasn't dressed in all black.  He did know the team she was running for, so we were on the lookout for a neon green shirt.  Turns out she wasn't wearing the black hat he mentioned either, but I still managed to spot her.  Immediately we started jumping up and down, calling her name, waving balloons, but she was so focused (and wearing earphones) she almost missed us.  Luckily just as she passed she saw our charades and sent us a smile letting us know she'd survive.  My husband walked up with our dog just after that, he passed Linda and didn't even know it (again, men)!  We all met her after the finish line and she was proud to show off her medal but was obviously exhausted.  We lent her husband our bike so he could charter her around the center to drop off the team medals and bring her back to their car at our apartment.  There was no way she was doing any unneeded walking after the marathon and the center of town was closed off to cars, so the bike worked out perfect.  I was happy to support a friend and happy to take my daughter to the marathon again (it's become a tradition since her birth).  Just a side thought, have you ever been to a marathon?  I love watching all of the different running styles, some make you chuckle, some make you wonder how they even managed the event, and some are just obviously life time runners, but no matter what, they all did it.  Congrats to everyone who participated in the Eindhoven Marathon yesterday!

Dental Floss

Just throwing this one out there... how often do you floss your teeth?  I admit I wasn't flossing as often as I should, until recently.  I used to be the dentists' star patient until after the birth of my daughter.  I wouldn't say I had problems with my teeth during pregnancy but since the arrival of our daughter my priorities have definitely been elsewhere.  But now 3 yrs on I don't really have an excuse.  It was actually a fellow blogger that brought it to my attention; Jen is always so honest in her blog and admitted she needed to get back in the routine.  And the final push I needed was to hear the correlation between gum disease and Alzheimer's.  Whether it's true or not, I don't need to raise my chances because sadly enough Alzheimer's is on both sides of my family.  It's been around a week now and I must say my teeth and gums are looking great.  I'm curious what the dentist has to say during our check-up in a couple weeks???  If I get the all clear I think I might take the dental work up a notch and consider getting my teeth whitened.  I smoked cigarettes for around 9yrs (I quit in 2004) and I am an avid coffee drinker, so needless to say the color of my teeth could use a little help.  Let's hope my slacking off didn't cause too much damage, fingers crossed!

Wordless Wednesday #22

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Sand Sculptures

In 2008 we did a lot of travelling, since then life has picked up and there have been a lot less journeys throughout Europe.  One of our destinations in 2008 was Sitges, Spain.  Our apartment was located where the beach and golf course met, so it catered to both of our wishes.  Besides the beauty of the city itself, there were also great shops and restaurants.  But I have to admit, we're on a completely different time schedule than the Spanish and we missed a lot of things because they were closed.  During our vacation we noticed a few men building sand sculptures, they were huge and detailed, and very time consuming.  After passing them a few times, we ended up joining them for an evening.  Apparently during the night they sit and guard their creations.  No wonder, because these sculptures earn them a lot of money in the weekends.  The small change from tourists adds up quickly, according to them above €1000.  We laughed, we drank, we listened to them strum the guitar and sing, it was a little surreal.   And then at some point in the night, I realized we were part of the tourist attraction.  During the day it had been us standing there taking pictures of the sculptures from a distance.  Now we were joking and running around the sculptures, even climbing inside the sand boat to take pictures.  Sitting there staring off at the promenade, I couldn't help but capture the moment, the tourists were taking pictures of us (and the sculptures of course).  It was a night & vacation that we will not easily forget!  We met so many friendly people, Spanish & foreign.  At the golf course we teamed up with two locals, who after a round of golf invited us to join them at the clubhouse.  At the apartment/hotel we met an American staff member who gave us tips on places to check out in the city.  And on the beach we met the travelling artists, who came from all over Europe.  We ate some of the best tapas ever at a small restaurant on a side street.  And funnily enough even found Duff beer (we're big Simpsons fans) at a bar.  I'd definitely recommend this vacation spot to anyone (well anyone that's open-minded).  As for us, I doubt we'll go back, only because we try to find new spots and new adventures each vacation! 

Vocabulary Challenge #2

I promised you a follow-up post to the Vocabulary Challenge, so here are the following 10 from the list :

(Quick reminder, these are words that apparently every high school graduate should know!)

11) Chromosome
12) Churlish
13) Circumlocution
14) Circumnavigate
15) Deciduous
16) Deleterious
17) Diffident
18) Enervate
19) Enfranchise
20) Epiphany

How familiar are you with the above words?  I am proud to say this round went much better for me!!!

Reminds Me Of...

I live far from sunny Florida where I grew up but occasionally I come across things that remind me of my childhood, like plants funnily enough.  The other day walking home from an international play group with my daughter I saw fruit growing on a tree and it immediately reminded me of the neighborhood I spent the most time in as a child.  Maybe you can tell me what the fruit is, because I couldn't decide if it was a loquat, a kumquat, or just an orangish berry???  Anyway, I remember eating these fresh off a neighbors tree as a kid.  (Thinking back I wonder how I even ended up at this neighbors house, they lived a couple streets over and I don't remember them having kids, ahh, kind of scary!)  Oh yeah back to the point, they had a huge tree full of a fruit similar to this one.  They would wash it there on the spot or send home a plastic bag full.  It was one of the nice things about Florida, the amazing fruit you could grow in your own yard.  At my Mom's house we had a grapefruit tree, which if you didn't deal with it in time would end up being quite messy.  No one likes to clean up rotten fruit from the yard.  Near one of my Dad's old apartments there was a banana tree, that's pretty amazing to see in person.  And I also remember endless amounts of berries lining a friends road, something I pay a lot of money for here in The Netherlands.  I never really appreciated fresh fruit when I lived in Florida, maybe it was my age, maybe it was the fact it was cheap (if not free) but living across the ocean in a fairly cold climate I realize certain fruits aren't always in season (logical) and that if you want them you have to buy the imports.  I don't miss the Florida heat, but I do miss the tropical fruits.  Any of you ever see a plant or fruit and your mind immediately takes you back 10 to 20 years?

Wordless Wednesday #21

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Movie Time

Well, it's that time again, to tell you what I think about some of the movies I have watched recently.  It's been a few months since I wrote the Chick Flick post... this time around the movies are bit more action packed. 

I'll get right to it and start with my favorite movie of the past few months, The Bourne Legacy.  Usually I don't jump into a series part of the way through, I prefer to watch the movies in sequence so I have a clue as to what is going on.  But since they changed the lead in the Bourne series, I thought I'd give it a shot (plus Jeremy Renner usually does well in movies except for his lame role in The Avengers).  Never once did I feel lost while watching the movie, sure I might have understood the back story better if I had seen the first 3 but from beginning to end it held my attention.  I highly recommend you also give it a chance, if you like butt-kicking, high speed action, save the girl, kind of movies.  I also felt Rachel Weisz did a great job, and I look forward to the next Bourne movie.  Because the way it ended, there's bound to be a 5th movie.  Will I watch it?  Of course and at the theater!

Then of course there's The Hunger Games.  Don't hate me but I don't get all of the hype.  Sure it was good, interesting concept, I especially liked the costumes.  But great, no... this series is being compared to Harry Potter & Twilight, I'm just not seeing it.  Maybe it's because the male lead, Josh Hutcherson, just didn't cut it for me.  To be honest, I actually paused the movie halfway through and watched the rest a couple days later (not a good sign).  I guess if I had read the book I might understand why he was cast but for me he didn't add anything extra to the movie.  Now, Jennifer Lawrence, she has a bright future ahead of her (which reminds me, I should probably get around to watching X-Men: First Class, considering I've seen the rest of the series).  Do I plan on watching Catching Fire when it comes out next year?  Sure, but I might wait until it comes out on DVD.

Then there was the surprise, Disney's John Carter.  I didn't get the 3D IMAX experience, but it was still captivating.  You definitely have to like sci-fi and be able to handle monstrous beasts to get into the movie; luckily it played into many things I enjoy in a movie, even romance.  I was bit shocked it was a Disney movie, when I think of Disney I immediately envision the movies I watch with my toddler (mostly animated) so for them to put this out, I was happy (I'm a big Disney fan, from the theme parks to the cartoons).  I had never heard of the actor and actress playing lead, Taylor Kitsch & Lynn Collins but they did well.  It's not easy playing a martian princess or a civil war captain on Mars and also be taken seriously!  Sure the end is left open (like every other movie these days), but I don't really see a follow up movie happening.  Would I watch this movie again?  Probably!

Besides the above featured movie's I've seen my fair share over the summer.  Like ted, which was hilarious but you have to appreciate Seth MacFarlane's humor to enjoy it.  Often I found myself questioning things Ted was doing, then I had to remind myself, it's a talking bear anything goes.  And the must see movie for women this past summer, Magic Mike!  Did it have a great story line, will it win awards, no, was it worth seeing, yes.  There either needed to be more stripping & dancing and less story or vice-versa, but that didn't stop me from hooting & hollering in the theater!  Let's see what else, oh yeah, The 5 Year Engagement, boring, turned it off!  And last, Lockout.  Like so often most of the movie is shown in the trailer, what a shame.  And then there was the unexpected romance brewing in the movie, but it almost didn't seem appropriate, I wanted crazy inmates locked away in a prison suspended in space in 2079, not flirtatious banter.  Well, that's it for now, in a few more months I'll give you another movie update!