Seeing Stars WWTK Week 64

Welcome to We Want to Know Wednesdays Q&A

Hosted by Mamarazzi and Crazymama

The first question was asked by The Lovely One.

1. What Disney character do you most resemble and why?
Elastigirl from the Incredibles. Tough, strong, sharp wit, superb espionage skills, tactician, leader.

2. Who was your teenage celebrity crush?This guy right here, Rick Springfield. And yes, that is really him and me, in person, no photoshop. I have this picture on my desk. Everyone asks if I won a radio contest. The answer is no; I just have a friend with connections. This was taken after a concert in Des Moines in April 2011. He was wearing Uggs, which entertains me for some reason.














3. What celebrity would you love to be BFF with?
Anderson Cooper. He's smart and kind, and his show makes me laugh. Plus, he's probably wealthy, so he could buy dinner. We could bond over our celebrity connections (see above) and journalism careers.  

4. Who is your celebrity look-a-like?

I posed this question at the Hoop-lah house and got zip. So I am going to say Eyeore. We both have dark hair, nice eyes, and like this shade of blue. Wait - someone just suggested Juliana Marguiles. It's a stretch, but that works for me!

5. Which celebrity/celebrity couple would you want to portray you/your honey in a movie about your life?
Thurston Howell III and Lovely from Gilligan's Island. Mostly because Lovely psychoanalyzes everyone, which I do, too. But also because spending your days on an island, sipping tropical drinks, and being fabulously wealthy can't be all that bad.

Put one mismatched foot in front of the other

Tonight was the end of Week 5 of Couch to 5K. I'll spare you the picture this week.

It was a long, tough run. Next time I should rethink the Mexican and margarita beforehand.

Not to mention it was still 90 degrees at 9 p.m. And somehow I ended up with two different shoes on, which I realized about five minutes in. That seemed like a problem to me, but my trainer assured me that, in fact, it was not.

Tough as nails, that kid.

I got to keep on movin'

Today marked the end of Week 4 of Couch to 5K. I'm pretty impressed with myself for making it this far, despite appearances.

I must admit Wednesday, Day 24, was rough. It was my first day without my coach. I took a different route - BIG mistake - and then stopped short because my legs/knees did not want to move. I paused to get my mojo and then tried to pick up the pace again. Didn't work. I walked the rest of the way home, embarrassed and more than a little grateful my coach wasn't around to see me self-destruct.

So I thought about what I did wrong and resolved to improve the things I could. Using the iPhone's stopwatch feature wasn't great, so today I bought an inexpensive watch with a timer/alarm to help me keep track of my time. I took ibuprofen before setting out. I stretched out and then hit the road running my regular route. And it worked.

I'm not fast. I'm definitely not graceful. But I have gone from doing nothing to doing something. Of that I am proud.

Many thanks to those of you who have cheered me on.

Life lessons from the court

Last weekend these boys won the Great States Tournament at the Target Center in Minneapolis, challenging teams from Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. They ended their season on a high note, but victory was bittersweet. Ten of these boys start high school in the fall and NCAA rules will prohibit them from playing AAU ball during the regular season. Ankeny is building its second high school and, as a result, four of will go south, six will go north. They may not play together as a full team again.

Over the past four seasons alone, they've compiled a record of 227-45.

It has been a good ride.

What I appreciate the most is the lesson that our family learned about life, about having faith that when one door closes unexpectedly another door will open. What's behind that door just might be better than you ever imagined.

Cue Eye of the Tiger

 I was a little worried about starting Week 3 of Couch to 5K. Day 12 last week was a little humbling.

But I must say I kicked it today. Not wanting to embarrass yourself in front of your kid is powerful motivation. Beyond that, I'm learning how to pace better, how to breathe more efficiently, and how to lay off dinner before running.

Maybe one of these days I will look less like a tomato.

So my coach is leaving next week to play basketball in Milwaukee. I have two days to run while he's gone. It feels a little like Bob or Jillian leaving the ranch. Will I keep going? Will I sit on the couch and eat cupcakes instead?

I need to hire a back-up trainer. It won't pay very well, but it has tremendous laugh potential. Any takers?