Thanksgiving in Pictures

This post has been a few weeks delayed due to finals (which are now over!)

Some of my fellow cohorts came over for their
first American Thanksgiving.
Three guys from India and a girl from China.

Delicious food!

Homemade sweet potatoes = YUM

In keeping with the Christmas song,

my cousin's kids and I told "scary ghost stories."

As always, Callie assumed everyone
came over just to see her.

I need calories.

I had a freak-out moment earlier this week. I looked at the calendar on Monday and realized I only had 6 weeks till the Rockledge Rumble. Only 6 weeks till I'm supposed to run 30K (about 19mi) and I'm not trained for it!

So I was motivated to run this week and maybe increased my mileage too much. I did three 4-mile runs, which is respectable. Then yesterday I ran @ GV Lake from MADD to Fargate - roughly 8.5mi. Apparently I didn't fuel enough. I did fine on the run - no problems; I even ran & chatted with fellow NTTR member Fred Thompson for a while. But by the time I got home and showered, I could not stop shaking. I ate really well the rest of the day - high protein, good fats, some carbs - but was still shaky by the time I went to sleep. I was also an emotional wreck. Not good.

Moral of the story - I need calories. Specifically, I need calories at the right time. That is, I need to eat before the run, periodically during the run (i.e. more GUs and Perpetuem), and for recovery after the run.

Oh well, next time...

Why I Eat Celery

a) It tastes good.
No, not really. I mean, compared to chocolate... Is that really fair though? After all, celery is a vegetable.

b) To lose weight.
Studies have shown that you actually burn calories when you eat celery (the action of chewing burns more than the 15 calories you are consuming). That's nice and all, but I always eat celery with peanut butter and that definitely undermines any weight loss goal.

c) To attract guys.
Studies have also shown that when you eat celery, your body gives off a certain scent that the opposite sex finds attractive. I have no idea how they thought up this study, but as college girls we thought it was a great idea! Why not? So my roommate and I stocked up on celery & PB and I introduced my Swedish friend Matilda to the great American tradition: Ants on a Log. Good times!

Does it really work though? Hmm...the jury is still out. I'll stock up on celery & PB again and let you know.