Stephany Writes

Categories: Life

Annual Blog Review – Your Feedback

I want to begin my post by extending a huge thank you to everyone that filled out my blog survey. It’s the first time I’ve done one of these and while I’m not sure if I’ll do one every year, it’s also a good measuring stick to who my readers are and what post topics speak to them more than others. It doesn’t necessarily mean I’m scrapping posts that a vast majority of survey responders don’t like but it does help me see what your likes and dislikes are.

What you like

There were three post topics that stood out as winners: personal thoughts on life and issues, singlehood posts, and healthy living/fitness posts. I think I do a fairly good job of covering all three topics. I try not to blog too much about my singleness because I don’t want to come off as whiny or too “boys are bad business, man.” I think I’ve gotten better at opening up about being single and my low-key dating life, but it was interesting to see how many people wanted to hear more about it! I know being open and honest about my life and my struggles is something I do on a regular basis. Even though I’m not anonymous and I have family and friends who read my blog, my blog is also very therapeutic for me. I have a hard time keeping silent on certain subjects and as it turns out, most people like that about my blog!

What you don’t like

Book reviews and faith. Those drew the most dislikes, although they also drew the same number of likes. I know faith posts can be very subjective (and controversial!) so most people stay away from them. Which is fine and I see nothing wrong with that, but it’s not for me. 🙂 As far as book reviews go, they tend to draw the least amount of views or comments. I tend to skip over book reviews of books that aren’t ones I’ve read or highly popular myself, which is why I switched over to a different kind of book review (a three-in-one snapshot type). My Letters to My Future Husband series drew a fair number of dislikes, but it also garnered the fourth-most likes so I’m not sure that’s an accurate measurement. (Which is good, since that’s my favorite series, and I would not get rid of it even if everyone hated it. Wheeee!)

On weekly posts

For the most part, no weekly post was the least liked. Some people had their own reasons for not liking certain posts, all reasonings I could understand. Wine and Love got the most likes (yay, Nora!) with Ten on Tuesday, Weekly Weigh-In, and Project 365 all tying for second. I try to keep my blog content fresh and new, not wanting to fill up every day with a meme so just know I will never become a “meme a day” type of blogger, but I also really love Ten on Tuesday and Wine and Love so those posts are here to stay!

On writing about my faith

I was really interested to see what people thought about faith and religion posts. I used to write more about my faith, struggles I was having, and just things I believe in. 2011 I didn’t write much, mainly because I was more consumed with graduation, finding a job, and settling into my new role. It was also a year my faith felt very stagnant and elusive. But I’m finally feeling a burning need to write more about my faith. I’ve thought about opening up a new blog specifically centered on faith posts but it felt very two-faced as if I was living two different lives. As if writing more about faith would make me lose readers and honestly? I shouldn’t care about that. I find it sad that some people cannot understand where I’m coming from, yet I’m supposed to be non-judgmental and completely okay with where they are coming from. But if there are people who cannot understand my faith (I’m not saying they have to believe as I do, but being able to not judge me harshly for what I believe in), those are people I don’t want to be friends with anyway. That’s a very shallow and close-minded way to live, in my opinion.

Off my soapbox!

I plan on beginning a series of faith-based posts, I’m creatively titling “On Faith”. A mix of posts about things I’m struggling with, things I feel God is trying to teach me, and a general view of what I believe and why I believe it. Nineteen of you had no opinion about me blogging about my faith, many of you not wanting to hurt my feelings but said those posts just didn’t interest you. Totally okay! I get it. I generally skip over posts with political rants or design DIYs. To each their own. I’m excited about this series, though, and I had quite a few of you who did want to hear more about my faith and I can’t wait to start sharing again.

Overall…

I’m really glad I did this survey! I was able to get some great feedback on what you guys want to see more of and what you could do without. A few of you also mentioned wanting to know more about my day-to-day life which, I’ll admit, I sometimes forget to talk about because I have all these THOUGHTS I want to express first! But I also noticed this when I wrote my 2011 recap, it was kinda hard to figure out what I did each month since I didn’t document the little things that happened all too well.

I did get one rather harsh comment (from someone who doesn’t even read my blog anymore, go figure) that got me thinking a lot, mainly about how my writing comes across in certain subjects. I’m sure this will become a blog post because while I don’t like to give fire to anonymous comments, I think it’s an important topic to talk about. It was the only less-than-positive comment so I’m trying to brush it off, but it also makes me incredibly sad someone would feel this way about me. (Also, Exhibit #858 on Why I Could Never Be a Popular Blogger.)

All in all, great feedback for me to better this blog in 2012. I have big plans: A move to WordPress, a brand-new design, fun giveaways, and some new series ideas to put into action. Cheers to a beautiful and vibrant year!

Categories: Life

Marathon Weekend – Marathon Sunday

Sunday was an early wake-up call. I’m not even sure I can classify it as Sunday morning because it felt more like Saturday night. I slept fitfully but woke up a little more energetic than last year so I was happy. Our alarm went off at 2:15am and from there, my mom and I quietly got ready. The night before, I had laid out all my clothes, taken a shower, and packed up my backpack with all our necessities (hotel key, park pass, Kindle, blanket, food, drinks (which I put in the morning of), flip-flops for when it warmed up, socks and Vaseline for my mom, and the spectating guide of where to go for each checkpoint, to name a few things). I woke my brother up at 2:45 and we were all ready to go by 3:00.

It was only about 54 degrees when we left the hotel and we were all happy, saying how nice the weather was. FAMOUS LAST WORDS! I dressed in a long-sleeved T-shirt, big hoodie, skinny jeans, socks, boots, a hat, and mittens. I felt overdressed for the weather but didn’t care. I was warm so I was happy.

Once we arrived at the race site, we had 45 minutes – 1 hour to wait until my mom had to be in her corral. So we parked ourselves on the ground near a tent and didn’t say much, just watched the other runners getting ready and taking pictures. Around 4:15, two of my mom’s co-workers popped by to say hi. They ran the Goofy Challenge this year (running the half-marathon on Saturday and the full marathon on Sunday) and then the three of them left to find their corrals. Pictures were taken, “good luck”’s were exchanged, and then my brother and I headed over to the Mile 4 viewing area which was about a five-minute walk from where we left her.

It was only about 4:30 then and we had at least an hour to wait until the race started and a good two hours until she would pass us. The viewing area was PACKED but we found a spot and I sat down on the blanket and read on my Kindle for most of the wait time. Unfortunately, the weather started dropping until it was 50 degrees and FREEZING. I don’t know how I handled the low thirties last year because I was so incredibly cold while waiting. This part is the worst of marathon spectating because there’s not much to do, it’s super crowded, and nothing is happening. It’s all very boring.

But soon, the race started! Fireworks go off as each corral is “let loose”. There were about 14,000 people racing the marathon so there were a LOT of people to view. At the Mile 4 marker, you can see the runners taking off but they are on the other side of the street so unless your runner is wearing a blinking Tinkerbell costume (yes, there was), you probably won’t be able to see them. It’s very congested and very difficult to distinguish between the runners. So we patiently waited for the runners to come down the other side. It was very slow going to watch as the leaders ran by and then the other 3- and 4-hour marathoners ran by. I knew my mom would be somewhere in the 6-hour pacings but I enjoyed watching all the other runners, especially the ones who dressed up. There were a couple of dudes dressed in princess dresses, lots of runners dressed as Goofy, and even Papa Smurf – right down to blue body paint. I mean, I don’t think I could run a marathon dressed normally — there is no way I could do it dressed as a character!

We finally saw my mom pass Mile 4 and she handed us her jacket, gave us both a quick hug, and was off! At that time, she was running a little ahead of her goal pace (she wanted to finish in 6 hours) and was looking strong and happy, so I felt a lot of relief!

From there, my brother and I hopped onto the monorail that would take us to Epcot where we would see Mom pass at Mile 9. It was pure madness finding a spot to view the runners at each stop and this one was no different. Luckily, all you have to do is park yourself somewhere and once the person in front of you sees their runner, they leave and you get their spot. I was able to get a great photo of my mom as she stopped for a quick break, telling us she was doing terribly (pace-wise). I handed her two Twizzlers, told her she was awesome, and off she went!

My brother and I then walked over to Mile 12.5 to await her arrival. Last time, we got crazy lost while trying to find this spot so I asked a volunteer this time around and was given perfect directions. We still had at least 45 minutes until we would see her so we sat on the grass a little farther away from the runners. At this point, my feet were killing me so I was happy to relieve the pressure on my feet. (Although I know my mom’s were hurting MUCH worse!) When we saw her at this mile, she stopped for a bit to switch out her socks and slather Vaseline all over the bottoms of her feet. Last year, she got terrible blood blisters at the bottom of both her feet a little over halfway through the race so we had made this plan in advance.

And now the next time my brother and I would see my mom was at the end so we got into an incredibly long line on the monorail to Epcot. Once at Epcot, my mom texted me that her leg was seriously hurting her and she didn’t know if she had it in her to finish. This wasn’t like my mother at all so I was pretty worried at this point. She decided to keep going until she got pulled out. From there, my brother and I got a little snack at Epcot and had a great viewpoint of the runners closing in on Mile 26. While there, Mom texted me “5.2 until I FINISH” so I knew she was going to finish the race.

Around noon-ish, I found a place to sit and watch the runners come in. It was so neat to see them finishing up, especially when they heard the finish line was right around the corner. And there were quite a few runners who stopped before the finish line to get a frozen margarita. Ha! I found this hilarious. 🙂 Also, my mom got beat by a blind power walker. Now that? That is impressive! It took a while but my brother and I finally saw her come down the path to the finish! She looked happy so I snapped a quick picture and then we headed out of Epcot to go to our meeting location.

And now she is a two-time marathoner!

My mom had pretty bad knee pain during the last half of the race, which made it basically impossible for her to run at all. She’s never had any kind of knee pain so it’s very odd. She pulled her hamstring muscle sometime in November and though she’s been using a heating pad and gotten two sports massages to try to heal it, it’s been a persistent pain that isn’t going away. That bugged her, too. Other than that, she’s doing great! Her legs feel good and while she did get two blisters on her feet, they are nothing compared to last year.

In any event, this is most likely my mom’s last marathon. This one took a LOT out of her mentally, fighting through the urge to quit. Marathons are no joke and she doesn’t think she has it in her to train for another one. Half-marathons are her sweet spot and I think she’s going to focus on those and improving her speed.

In any event, she ran two marathons. That’s an incredible feat for anyone and no matter if it took you 3 hours or 7 hours, it’s still amazing. As is she.

Categories: Life

Marathon Weekend–Saturday

It’s Saturday night and the nerves are starting to set in – for both my mom and me. I always get super nervous when she races.

Today was an early wake-up call for us as we were going to Disney World for the day! The last time I was at Disney was a little over a year ago on my birthday but before that? It had been at least ten years. Crazypants! I think I felt “too mature” for Disney. Luckily, there was this great deal where you spend $99 and get a three-day pass to the park (or spend $128 and get a three-day park hopper pass which allows access to all four Disney parks) so we jumped at the opportunity since it will allow my brother and me a place to chill while waiting for Mom to finish her race.

Anyway! Today was about Disney – and most especially, experiencing Disney through my nephew’s eyes. Today was his first day at the park ever and being that he’s pretty obsessed with all things Disney (specifically Mickey Mouse and Toy Story), he was in heaven. He was mostly concerned about seeing Mickey but, unfortunately, we never made it over to his meet-and-great area. He did see Pluto, Pinocchio, and Buzz Lightyear.

We spent about seven hours at the park today and barely covered two of their lands. Disney World is so huge, there’s no way you could do all you want to do in one day there. We did do a few fun things – the carousel, the teacups (which he LOVED!), the Buzz Lightyear ride (My master zapping abilities were impressive. At least to me.), and the Winnie the Pooh ride, to name a few.

As a side note, I saw a lady bring her tiny, tiny baby on the teacup ride. The baby couldn’t have been more than two months old – and I think I’m giving him a few weeks at that age. WHY WOULD YOU TAKE A NEWBORN TO DISNEY WORLD… MUCH LESS ON A SPINNING RIDE? I just don’t understand this! Even if you don’t use the spinner, it still goes pretty fast for a BABY. Weird.

We had a fun day, though! It was so neat to experience the park through the eyes of a three-year-old. When we arrived, there was a parade of all the characters coming through, and the utter glee and astonishment on his face at seeing them all was priceless.

We arrived back at the hotel around 6:00pm and my nephew was zonked out. My brother and sister-in-law left to pick up a pizza and the rest of the night consists of playoff football, eating, and kicking back. My self-imposed bedtime of 7:00pm is flying out the window so now I’m hoping to make it to bed by at least 10:00pm. That will give me… oh, four hours of anxiety-ridden sleep? Sounds like fun!

I’ll be back for the MARATHON recap tomorrow! I will be tweeting up a storm all morning long so be prepared for the onslaught!

Categories: Life

Marathon Weekend–Friday

Hello, hello, from Orlando!

I have wanted to get better at documenting my life on my blog. When looking back on my blog from the past year for my yearly recap, it was apparent I don’t blog too much about my everyday life – especially as it relates to trips I take. Not that I’m jettisoning off to different exciting locales every other month, but I hope to begin traveling more now that I’m done with school and my life has calmed down a lot.

But that’s not what this post is about! Today, I left work at 1pm so my mom and I could begin our trek to Orlando for marathon weekend!

The trip up wasn’t bad at all. We had stopped before beginning the drive for lunch, gas, and to pick up a package at the apartment. My mom drove (since I’ll be driving home. Something about having tired legs from running 26.2 miles?!) and we arrived a little before 4:00pm.

We checked in, found our room, and relaxed for a little less than an hour. My mom was anxious to get to the expo. While our stay here is pricey (we’re staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge), it’s worth it for a) easy transportation to and from the race site and b) great views.

We headed down to ESPN’s Wide World of Sports for the race expo. It was smooth sailing there, from picking up her bib to getting her tech tee and swag to strolling around the expo. It wasn’t as crowded and hectic as last year, possibly because we went later in the day. I also forced my mom to buy something. Last year, she didn’t buy anything and you just cannot run a race like Disney and not buy something at the expo. Am I right? She bought a shirt from a ministry called Team 413, a Christian charity that ministers at endurance events. Pretty, pretty cool.

And somehow, my paths crossed with an old friend from my days as an education major in college. Divine intervention from all the thousands of people who are running this weekend and the hundreds at the expo, our paths literally cross right in front of each other! We had a ton of education classes together and she was a really close friend of mine in college. We’ve somewhat kept up with each other but it was so neat to see her! She’s running the half tomorrow (go, Kim!).

We left the expo, hopped back on the bus to take us back to our hotel, and then left to hit up Premium Outlets. It’s an outlet mall with a ton of name-brand stores that is an absolute must whenever I visit Orlando. I spent $35 and bought a new cover for my Kindle (I have a case, but it’s not as sturdy as my other one so I wanted something to carry it in) from the Vera Bradley outlet, as well as a scarf and hat from The Loft outlet. I’m not the best at bargain shopping so I was stoked.

(I also saw a fairly popular blogger at the Lululemon outlet but was way too shy to go up to her and introduce myself. We’ve somewhat chatted on Twitter off and on, but I felt really awkward, especially surrounded by all those runner/yogi types in the store. Sigh. Will I ever grow out of my social awkwardness?)

After the mall, my mom and I headed to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. It was packed but the wait wasn’t too bad, especially for a Friday night. And our service & food was delicious. Seriously, my mom and I have such bad luck with service so we’re especially grateful when the waiter actually does his job.

And now, it’s 11:15 and I’m in my jammies, writing this blog post. My plans for being more well-rested for marathon day are flying out the window, I believe. Tomorrow, my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew are coming up here in the morning and we’re all going to spend the day at Disney. I’m pretty excited as it will be my nephew’s first time! And I just love Disney.

I’m off to bed now, hoping to get some good sleep before an insane two days that are ahead of me. Thanks for all your words of encouragement for my mom, they really mean a lot! She still has a lot of nerves (who wouldn’t?) but she also has a lot of excitement, too. I hope I can find time to blog before Sunday but if not, I’ll update on Sunday night!

Have you ever seen a blogger in public but were too shy to approach? I’m not alone in my social awkwardness, am I?

Categories: Life

Marathon Weekend

Today, I am working a half-day at work and then it’s off to Orlando for marathon weekend!

Not mine, though. HA! My mom is running her second marathon on Sunday. I hope to find a way to blog throughout the weekend and most definitely will be tweeting up a storm on marathon day!

Last year, I spectated at the Walt Disney World Marathon and it was a blast. I made a lot of mistakes as a first-time marathon spectator but spectating at this marathon is not like spectating at other marathons, nor is it for the faint of heart.

I’ve compiled a list of mistakes I made last year and what I’ll be doing differently this time around. Last year was miserable for me. I want a different experience this year.

MISTAKE #1 – Not getting enough sleep the night before

The first bus that takes runners to the race site leaves at 3:00am. There are other buses that leave later but I read some horror stories from people who waited for the later buses. Getting to the race site is utter chaos and my mom has enough anxiety about making sure she has enough time to get settled once she gets to the race site that we try to make the first one. So it’s an EARLY wake-up call on race day. Last year, we slept in on Saturday and then didn’t get to bed until pretty late. Well, my mom and my brother did. When I was still awake after midnight, I decided it would be harder on my body to get just two hours of sleep than to just stay up so I stayed up. THIS WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA. I was cranky and overly emotional due to my lack of sleep. Also? Really, really really tired.

THIS YEAR, I am going to institute an early wake-up call for both my mom and me on Saturday morning and then? I’m hitting the sack at 7:00pm! I do not do all-nighters. I want to be as well-rested as possible to make it through the following day. (I also didn’t end up sleeping well the following night due to my mom having terrible blood blisters at the bottom of her feet and me freaking out she would have to have her feet cut off and I would have to take care of my crippled mother. Yes. I had nightmares. I never said I was normal.)

MISTAKE #2 – Not buying a ticket to a park or the spectator package

Spectating at a RunDisney event is a vastly different experience than spectating anywhere else. For one, you have to depend on trams and trolleys to get you to specified destinations throughout the course. And for another, unless you buy a special spectating package or a ticket to one of the theme parks, your options for food and drink are severely limited. As in non-existent. The spectating package was expensive but did allow for more access to places around the course and a place to sit down and EAT. If we had a ticket to a park (like Epcot, which was where the runners run through around Mile 9), we could go in there for food and drink and a place to somewhat relax. (After Mile 13, there’s nowhere else to see the runners until the finish. DISLIKE!) We could also hop back ON the bus that would take us back to our hotel where we could either find something to eat there or go out somewhere. But I was nervous about how long it would take us to get there, eat, and come back in time to see my mom finish so we ended up staying at the race site which, in hindsight, was a TERRIBLE idea. But I don’t think I was operating on all cylinders last year…

THIS YEAR… we are all buying park tickets! My brother and sister-in-law are buying annual passes and my mom and I are taking advantage of an awesome “3 days, $99” deal. We can spend 3 days at any Disney park, one of which will be Sunday. (I’m buying the Park Hopper so we won’t be limited in what park we can stop in while we wait during the marathon.) And then we have two more days until May we can come back! I like this idea a whole lot!

MISTAKE #3 – Not having any food or drink to fuel me for the upcoming 9 hours

Oh, this was the biggest mistake of all. Somehow, I didn’t pack anything in my bag so far as nourishment was concerned. I think because I expected my brother and me to head back to the hotel after we saw Mom at Mile 13, I didn’t even think to bring a snack or anything while we waited. And need I remind you we got to the race site a little after 3:00am and didn’t leave until close to 1:00pm? I was a Grumpy Gus, that’s for sure! I do not function well when I’m hungry. The worst part of this marathon is that it’s very hard to find somewhere to eat. (Plus, I was nervous about not seeing my mom finishing so was at the finish line area way earlier than we needed to be.) I’m actually very surprised my brother was still speaking to me after everything I put him through that day. Hehe.

THIS YEAR… I am definitely filling up a backpack with food and drinks to get my brother and I through the first part of this journey. (I’m not sure when my sister-in-law and nephew will be joining us but I imagine not until later in the day.) Then, hopefully, after seeing my mom pass Mile 13, we can stop into a park and get something to eat and relax for a little until we head on over to the finish line to see her finish. Obviously, I am very concerned about eating this time around.

MISTAKE #4 – Not dressing warm enough

It was in the low thirties that day, which is pretty freaking cold for this Florida girl. I wore a pair of jeans, running shoes, a long-sleeved shirt, and a lightweight hoodie. It was not anywhere near warm enough for me. I was basically an icicle from the time I stepped off the bus to the time we got back to the hotel. It never really warmed up enough (especially with the wind) for me to ever feel fully comfortable. I felt really bad for my brother who had on a pair of long shorts and a big hoodie. He doesn’t get cold easily but he was chilled to the bone, too.

THIS YEAR… the weather is looking much nicer. The lows are in the upper 50s and highs in the low 70s. I’m also going to make sure to bundle up and bring some blankets for the morning part (fifty degrees in the middle of the night feels way different than fifty degrees in the afternoon!). But I think the weather is going to play nice this year. And since my mom would prefer to run in the heat than in the cold, she’s especially happy.

MISTAKE #5 – Not having enough communication with my mom

My mom decided against carrying her phone with her for the race. She didn’t want it weighing her down but it also meant my brother and I didn’t have any communication with her. It wasn’t so bad in the beginning since we were able to see her three different times, but it was AWFUL from Mile 13 on, since there were no places to view her (unless we bought park tickets) until the end. For some reason, even though I set up to receive text alerts when she passed certain points, I never got any so I had to keep refreshing the website on my phone to see where she was. There was always a huge lag between updates (like HOURS!) so it put me in a constant state of worry and paranoia something was terribly wrong.

THIS YEAR… my mom is definitely carrying her phone on her. (I even bought her a Spibelt for Christmas since her other belt was bulkier.) I am not going through THAT again. She’s also set up her Facebook and Twitter feeds to update and I’m going to have myself, my brother, and my sister-in-law all set up to receive text alerts. ONE of those ways has to work, right?

Even though this seems to be a major complain-y post, I am so freaking excited to do this all again. I know I’ll be better prepared and she’s better trained. We know what mistakes we made last year and we have learned our lessons from them. Aside from the lack of spectator spots towards the latter half of the course (seriously, Disney, WHY?), it was so much fun to spectate at this marathon. It’s a fun marathon, not one most people run for time, and what better way to inspire a person than to see people FINISHING A MARATHON? I know my mom is going to crush the time she set at last year’s marathon.

She’s entering into a very nervous “can I really do this again?” time right now. So, if you can, leave her some words of encouragement in the comments or reply to her on Twitter (seriously, she’ll LOVE that!). I can’t believe that in three days’ time, my mom will be a TWO-TIME MARATHONER. That’s crazy to me!