Hood to Coast

Whew - what a fun weekend!  I was lucky enough to participate in Hood to Coast for the second time in a row this past weekend.  Hood to Coast (aka "The Mother of All Relays") is a 199 mile relay in Oregon from Mt. Hood (Hood) to Seaside (Coast).  Teams of 12, traveling in two vans, complete the course with each runner completing three legs that range from 3-10 miles each.  During breaks (Van 1 has the first 6 runners who can rest during the next 6 runners' legs, and vice versa), you grab something to eat and try to take a nap in the van or outside in a designated sleeping field area.  The whole thing takes about 30 hours (faster if your team is fast).  It's kind of the best.

:: the route ::

Travis has participated for the past 6 years (and did a couple races before when he was a kid with his family... I can't relate to that kind of youthful athleticism, but it sounds awesome).  He's put together a team annually to remember his brother Ryan who passed away in 2007, hence our team name: R. Bowe.  (Team R. Bowe's 2008 race was chronicled in this documentary about Hood to Coast.)

I had never been a runner and had always supported from home, but in 2011, the team was a runner short, and I was able to train and step up to the challenge.  It.  Was.  So.  Fun.  Slash.  Cool.  So I had a total blast doing it again this year.

I was doing the first set of legs (so, legs 1, 13 and 25), which meant I was in the first van and got to kick the whole thing off.  Totally exciting and special.  (Also, these legs are the easiest in the race :))

:: this is where we started.  note the snow. ::

We had a 7:30am start time, so we woke at 4:45am to get to Timberline Lodge an hour early to check in.  Hood to Coast staggers start times based on your team's anticipated pace to try to ease traffic flow throughout the race (with about 1000 teams, there are about 2000 vans making their way across the route) and have teams finish in a semi-concentrated cluster. Starting earlier is nice because you finish earlier, so we were happy with our 7:30am time slot.

Somehow I didn't think to think about the fact that we were starting on a mountain and it might be cold.  It was 35 degrees.  Yikes.

:: this running top has a mesh back so you stay cool.  um, unnecessary. ::

I don't want to brag, but I will: my relay legs were the best.  I started by running almost 6 miles straight down a mountain (ow, quads).  After our van's first set of legs, we had a break in Portland and were able to take naps at a teammate's house.  I am very grateful for that bed.  My next leg was on the waterfront in the middle of Portland, which was very toasty but lovely.  After that, we had our break in a town called Mist, named such because it's, like, always, always super super misty.  Last year I slept outside and woke up wet.  (That was also the first time I'd ever slept outside.  It was fun, even though it was excessively damp.)  This year, I slept in the van and had the most intense 3 hour nap of my life.  My last leg was at about 3:30am, so I can't report on what it looked like, but it was very refreshing!

Since we were in the first van, we finished about 5 hours before our team crossed the finish line, which meant we had time to kill in Seaside, which is a sort of bizarre touristy beach town.  It was surprisingly sunny out for the Oregon coast, so we naturally decided to get breakfast in a very dark dingy bar.

:: bloody mary! ::

And then decided to try on leather vests in the leather discount shop.  Duh.

:: trying on leather vests with friends ::

And then, obviously, purchased them and napped on the beach.

:: i slept very well ::

And, finally, met up with our friends in Van 2 and crossed the finish line together.

:: team R. Bowe ::

Afterwards, we all went back to Portland, where I felt like I was living in an episode of Portlandia, only everyone was really cool and no one was creepy.  Think: cute house, awesome babies, friendly dogs, brew pub, pulled pork nachos, funky friendly dive bar with "Buck Hunter" in the back, funk band playing on the street, teen violinist playing at the brewpub, artisan coffee place run by a French lady, etc.

Can't wait for 2013!  Yay, Team R. Bowe!

Would you do a relay race?  Have you done any fun outdoorsy or athletic events lately?

Happy-almost-Valentine's-Day

Why people always be hating on Valentine's Day so much?  It's not breaking news that it can be a totally crass commercialized holiday that has prix fixe menus, creepy long stem dark red roses, and leave people feeling generally disappointment (Couldn't he get a card?  I mean seriously, just a card?!).

But guys, it's also a fun fake holiday that's all about pink, red, white, hearts, cutesy stuff, love, hugs, kisses, yummy food, chocolates, and treats.  I mean!!!!!!!  So fun!!!  If I weren't mid-cleanse (more on that later (this week, I hope)), I would totally have made some really cute baked goods to bring into work.

Instead, though, I found the tiny bit of crafty that lives deep inside me and made some valentines to send to friends.

This is my favorite one:

:: front ::

:: inside ::

xoxo!

Omigod please let's make this.

I'm dying to make this:

:: cake batter rice crispy treats via gimme some oven ::

Cake.  Batter.  Rice.  Crispy.  Treats.

Comfort food + dessert + rainbow goodness.  Oh me, oh my!

One more beautiful picture to entice you:

The Ultimate Christmas Music Mix

I am so excited to present my first ever guest blog post, by my dear friend Tara.  Tara is totally qualified to speak to the wonders of Christmas music because (a) she loves Christmas, (b) she loves music, (c) she lives in Alaska, which is literally a winter wonderland.


So without further ado... here we go!

Happy Holidays, guys!  Joey asked me to do a guest blog post about Xmas music, knowing as she does how completely and unironically I adore this genre of music.  I was thrilled to do so, not least because it gave me a rock solid excuse to listen to Xmas music with abandon before Thanksgiving to perfect my mix.  The only misgivings I ever have about the arrival of Xmas music season is that it means my local Lite Rock station starts playing all holiday songs!!!  Why must my enjoyment of one completely uncool genre of music over the airwaves come at the expense of another?  Woe is me!

But I digress.  I made you guys a totally sweet Xmas music mix!  I am hoping it will expose you to some Xmas music with which you may not already be familiar.  All of songs on my mix are by “modern” artists (i.e. Frightened Rabbit) or otherwise “cool” artists (i.e. Johnny Cash).  I am not giving you any Mannheim Steamroller or Vienna Boys’ Choir--I am about to go all Xmas-music-snob on all y’all.  

Now, my Xmas mix may not be to everyone’s liking.  A lot of people say they don’t like Xmas music at all--but really, Xmas music is just like any other type of music--there is good Xmas music, and there is bad.  In fact, it’s even harder to lump all Xmas music in together, because although the themes may all be the same, there is a wide variety in genre in style.  (Saying you hate Xmas music isn’t like saying you hate country music or rap music--it’s more like saying you hate all songs about love.  How could you say such a thing??  You are a heartless individual.)

Even if you DO tend to like Xmas music, you may need some time to adjust to the modern songs, or you may never really accept these modern songs as being evocative of Xmas.  You may want nothing but nostalgia from your Xmas music, i.e. songs that were playing on your parents’ record player when you were a kiddo and--spoiler alert!--still believed in Santa Claus.  (This is, incidentally, an approach to music that transcends the Xmas genre... some people, at some point, simply stop taking real pleasure in discovering and falling in love with new music.  If you still persist in listening to Dave Matthews Band, you may be one of those people.  I still love you though!)

To you folk I say: you are missing out!  There is so much beautiful modern Xmas music.  And just think, if you play this music for your kiddos, they will learn to love it and identify it with their wonderful Xmases, just like we did with Merry Christmas Baby and Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), which were relatively new when we were young but are now totally classic!  I now get the same fuzzy-holiday-family-snowy-cookie-tinsely feelings from Low’s beautiful “Just Like Christmas” and the ridiculous yet sublime “Hooray for Santy Claus” as I do from the majestic “O Holy Night” and the annoying yet quintessential “The Chipmunk Song.”

A side note on mix-making more generally.  First, I believe all mixes should have a title, and I like to draw my title from a somewhat random lyric in one of the songs on the mix.  Listen for it!  Second, I believe all mixes should be kept to 1h20m or less because I believe you should be able to burn it to a CD and hand it to somebody, all old-school-like.  Also, keeping the mix to a set length forces you to curate the mix more carefully!  Finally, the website where I posted the mix, 8Tracks, will let you listen to the whole mix all the way through in order once, but you’re only allowed to “skip” a couple of songs while listening, and the second time you listen, it will put the tracks in random order--annoying, because I have METICULOUSLY chosen this order of tracks for the perfect listening experience.
With that, here is my gift to you this holiday season--my Ultimate Xmas Mix.  Don’t you DARE wait till Christmas morning to open it!  

Here’s the track listing:

1 // Cry Cry Christmas | The Sweptaways Feat. Magnus Carlson & The Gray Brigade | 3:26
2 // Christmas Day | She & Him | 3:24
3 // Just Like Christmas | Low | 3:08
4 // Merry Christmas, Baby | The Beach Boys | 2:27
5 // It Came Upon A Midnight Clear | Oh, Starling | 4:25
6 // Christmas In Prison | John Prine | 3:13
7 // Santa Claus Is Coming to Town | Mason Jennings | 2:09
8 // Away In A Manger | Sufjan Stevens | 2:54
9 // Be My Valentine On Christmas | Glenna Bell | 3:12
10 // Darlin' (Christmas is Coming) | Over The Rhine | 3:35
11 // Maybe This Christmas | Ron Sexsmith | 1:53
12 // All I Want For Christmas Is You | Mariah Carey | 4:01
13 // Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) | Darlene Love | 2:50
14 // I'd Like To Have An Elephant For Christmas | Hank Thompson | 2:03
15 // O Come, O Come, Emmanuel | Belle & Sebastian | 3:27
16 // Joy To The World | Clem Snide | 2:28
17 // All I Ever Get For Christmas Is Blue | Over The Rhine | 4:25
18 // God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen | Bright Eyes | 1:52
19 // 2000 Miles | The Everyothers | 3:23
20 // Little Gray Donkey | Johnny Cash | 4:43
21 // Christmas Tree On Fire | Holly Golightly | 2:54
22 // Happy Christmas (War is Over) | The Polyphonic Spree | 4:18
23 // Hooray for Santy Claus | Senor Tonto Christmas Combo | 2:03
24 // Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas | Scissors For Lefty | 2:26
25 // Auld Lang Syne | Martin Sexton | 2:29

My Favorite Muppet Clip

Just saw the new muppet movie last night.  It's totally good-cute, guys.  Definitely worth checking out.

And it made me remember this, my favorite muppet clip of all time:

Don't you love this?  How do you aggressively kiss a muppet?  And isn't it amazing how there's, like, actual chemistry between Charles Grodin and Miss Piggy?  Love.

One of the sexiest moments in all cinematic history... am I right, ladies?  Meow!

Hunger Games Map. Yay!

Guys, it took 11 months of telling everyone I knew to read The Hunger Games trilogy, but finally, everyone I know is reading it/has read it.  THANK YOU, GUYS.  FINALLY.  I TOLD YOU IT WAS GOOD!  This great news is especially timely, because since the trailer came out for the movie (March 23 is so in my calendar), I’ve re-gone through that phase where basically all I want to talk about is The Hunger Games to anyone who will converse with me.  

Hungergameshungergameshungergameshungergames!

When my husband read the books (finally!), he gently but firmly told me: “Look, I know you want to be Katniss.  But… it would never happen.  You would be Rue.  Or Prim.  Or actually… maybe the Game Maker [Seneca Crane].”  All of which I’ll take.  Gladly.

But guys, I have a fun HG treat for you, straight from the magic of the world wide web: a fan art map of Panem!  No idea if it’s accurate, but it seems pretty good, and I am really enjoying it. 

Maria Rizzoni, I love you, whoever you are.


In case you need a refresher on which district does what:

District 1- Luxury

District 2- Masonry 
District 3- Electronics 
District 4- Fishing 
District 5- Power 
District 6- Transportation 
District 7- Lumber 
District 8- Textiles 
District 9- Grain 
District 10- Livestock 
District 11- Agriculture 
District 12- Coal Mining 

And if you live under a rock and haven’t seen it (or are just a normal person who’s already obsessed and wants to see it again), here’s the trailer:

If I were in charge of this movie’s ad campaign, it would probably be this:

Hunger Games: Guys, KIDZ KILLING KIDZ.  You guys.  Hunger Games.