Kendra Babbles

Yay for 3 day weekends!  I had 2 full days to socialize, get in a 7 mile run, and help Blake with some yard work.  Then there was a whole extra day where I could work on some projects that I just never can get around to on a normal weekend.

Sunday night I started cutting the pieces for the yoga mat bag I wanted to sew.  I realized pretty quickly that I did not have the right amount of materials, so I jumped in the car and headed to the big Joann Fabric and Craft Superstore.  It is farther away then the regular store, but it is open one hour later and is full of super helpful people.  The one closer to my house is less than friendly, so its nice to have an excuse to go to the big store.  I made it home about an hour later and continued cutting.  This is the first project where I’ve had to use interfacing.  From what I can gather on the Interwebz, interfacing basically just adds strength and structure to your fabric.  It is also time consuming.  Next time I’ll just shell out for the heavier weight fabric.

On Monday, after a tasty breakfast of banana-nut pancakes, I continued cutting and assembling pieces.  Then I actually got to get out the sewing machine.  I swear you spend more time pinning and ironing then doing any actual sewing.  That’s when I discovered my machine was leaving oil all over the thread, so my nice cream colored thread was now gray.  Not good when working on a cream colored yoga mat bag.  After 3 hours and another trip to Joann’s, I finally fixed the machine.  No, I have no idea what I did.  But its better now and that was nice because I was getting cranky (just ask Blake).

About 3 hours after that, I finished the yoga mat bag.  It was a lot more labor intensive then I originally thought it would be, and sewing in a circle is not easy at all, but the bag is finished and it works pretty well.  I used the Amy Butler Nigella Yoga Bag pattern, which you can download for free here:  http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/pdfs/NigellaYogaBag.pdf  If I were to do it again, I would decrease the width of the strap on the bag and maybe try to find a way around all of the machine basting that you end up doing, but it was a good first go-around.  I really like that it has pockets where I can stash my phone and keys while in class.

Since I still had all of my sewing gear out, I decided to go ahead and attempt my first pants hem.  All of your shorties out there know what a pain it is to have all of your pants hemmed.  And it can get expensive.  And sometimes your tailor and you may not agree on the appropriate length, which can leave you with ruined pants.  I recently purchased a pair of light weight cargo pants from Old Navy that were on sale for $19.  I inspected the hem a few times, and it didn’t seem too complicated, so I thought it was a good pair to try hemming on.  I watched a few You Tube videos, made some notes, and dove right in.  I think the hardest part was pinning the pants and trying to decide if it was the right length.  Such a committment, and hard to tell when you don’t have the handy 3 way mirror like at the tailor.  In the end I decided to go with a longer length, just in case I needed to adjust them later.

After some marking, seam ripping, and more marking, I finally cut off the old hem.  How liberating!

Then some more pinning, ironing and finally sewing.  Pants are done!

The whole process took about 90 minutes, and that includes reviewing the You Tube videos one more time.  That’s about the same amount of time it would take to get to the tailor, try on the pants and have them marked, change, pay, and then go back a few days later to pick them up.  Not bad!

Plus Blake and I got some awesome new headbands out of the deal. 

*The Police - oh Sting, how I love you.

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.  Or so they say.  After 3 years of living in the City, I’ve made a pretty decent list of things that are awesome about the City.  But - I’ve also got a list of things that are super about the suburbs.  Read on for my take on the City vs Suburbs debate.

City Spectacular!

1 -  The skyline view from our patio is amazing.  I don’t have any recent shots, but here is quick one from during construction.  You don’t see things like this everyday unless you are in the City.  And since downtown Dallas is in a stage of revitalization, the skyline has changed each year since we have been here.  New architecture and rehabbing the old makes for a dynamic and exciting City.

2 - The hole in the wall food joints with awesome dishes.  It’s no secret I love to eat and I have found lots of amazing places to go downtown and in the areas right around the city center.  Most are not part of any chain and many are family owned and operated.  After a few visits they know you by name and can recall what you ate the last time you were there.

3 -  The people - amazing variety around here!  From retirees to just out of college singles, we seem to have it all.  They have a range of interests and backgrounds and it has really given me an education about people in general.  After 7 years in Lubbock and then 2 more in Addison, I thought everyone was a 20-something who enjoyed rock music, celebrity gossip, and hanging by the pool.  So glad I moved and shattered that image of the world.  :)  There really is so much more out there.

4 - The arts.  Dallas opened 2 brand new arts facilities last Fall - both within a few miles of our house.  We were able to tour both the Winspear Opera House and the Wyly Theater at a huge City event full of music, live dance performances, and fireworks!  We’ve been fortunate to be able to couple of performances since then at the Opera House.  I can’t wait to return to the Wyly Theater - you sit so close to the stage its like being a part of the show.  Besides the new facilities, we are also within 10 minutes of the developing Design District full of artists galleries and studios, and about 5 minutes away from Deep Ellum, a long-standing area that cultivates local music.
 

Suburb Sensational!

Here are the things I miss about being in the suburbs.

1 - Sidewalks.  Ever go on a run and suddenly realize there is no more concrete underneath your feet?  Running in the City is always an adventure, but out the ‘burbs you typically have a nice, smooth path to get in a quick 3 miles.  Now I have to drive to a trail or park to catch that quick workout.

2 - Super Target.  Yes, I miss this store.  Sure, there is a Target near me.  But its not of the Super variety, and its often dirty and full of extremely unhelpful employees.  I love visiting the Super Target near my sisters house which is full of smiling, happy people and the parking lot doesn’t have discarded, dirty diapers lying around.  Or drug dealers.

3 - Easy access to grocery stores.  We have 2 or 3 within a reasonable distance of our house, but all of them leave something to be desired.  If I’m making a new dish, I usually have to go to my local store, then drive up the highway another 15 minutes to another store to get the more unusual ingredients.  I have abandoned a few dishes altogether because I didn’t want to drive the extra miles to find the one missing ingredient.  Also, the prices at the stores near me are all on the high end.  I’m willing to pay more for fresh produce, but its hard to stomach the prices when you know its probably been sitting there for a few days already.

For all the good and bad of living in the City, it really has been an adventure for Blake and I.  We’ve explored new things and led a more active lifestyle than when we were living just outside the city in Addison.  We’ve met some great people and gotten involved in our neighborhood.  We like it so much, I think we’ll stick around a few more years. 

*Chris Cornell, Scream album

May 17th was my Runiversary.  It marks 2 years of hard work, racing, sweating, cursing, and even occasionally enjoying running.  When I first started running, I was just looking for some help getting in shape for 3-4 mile runs.  My dance studio had closed the year before and I wasn’t doing enough to stay in shape.  There was an article in the paper about the Dallas Running Club newbie runner bootcamp, so I went for it.  And sure enough, 6 weeks later I ran my first 5k.  It was slow, but I ran the entire thing and I was so proud of myself.  And really, each time I run a step more than 3 miles, I feel pretty good.  I know I got out there, made an effort, and did more than I would have done if I had stayed at home on the couch.

So 2 years later I’ve run 4 half marathons, a couple of 10K races, a horrid 20k, and a bunch of 5k races that I can’t even name if I tried.  I’ve also switched to “barefoot” running.  When my shoes ran out of life back in March, I hit Luke’s Locker for a new pair.  Out of curiosity I tried on the Vibram FiveFingers that my husband had been training in for a few weeks.  After struggling to get them on, so much so that the salesman had to stifle a laugh or two, I tested them out on the small bit of test track in the store.  I was sold immediately.  I loved how light I felt and how great it was to feel the floor on the full surface of my foot.  With a few warnings from the salesperson about reducing mileage and running on a soft track, I was out the door with my new purchase.  And I haven’t looked back.

It took me a long time to work my way up to 3 miles.  After a few days of walking in them, I was already a bit sore.  I tried out a 1 mile stretch one night at a gentle running pace.  The next day my calves let me know I had been working hard.  :-)  The adjustment process has been long for me, but other than the soreness from using new muscles, I feel great.  No knee or hip pain, and I’m even a little bit faster.  

So 2 years later, I meet my running group for a quick few miles.  I had an appointment right before and was rushing around, so when I showed up for the run, I had left my barefoot shoes at home.  I didn’t want to miss the chance for some exercise, so I ran totally barefoot.  I only did 1.5 miles - but I felt fantastic.  We had a bit of rain just before we left, and the cool puddles on the concrete were so nice and refreshing.  

What a great way to celebrate my Runiversary.

*This one is all about me.  

Alternatively Titled: Why I Started (and Kept) Running

Keni (or as many of you know her, “Kendra”) and I have known each other since we were 11 years old (that’s almost 20 years!). So when she asked me to guest blog about how I started running on Kendra Babbles, how could I say no?

That’s right. I couldn’t.

It all started when I was 25 years old. I accepted a job offer in the big city and moved to Chicago to work at a public relations agency. I worked from 8am to 8pm most days (OK, it was usually 8 to 6, but it still sucked). I had no energy. I smoked Marlboro Ultra Lights. In lieu of any other hobbies, I watched a lot of television (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Every day my brain shut down the moment I stepped onto the #145 bus that dropped me three blocks from home. If it was after 6pm, I was numb. I imagine the numbness was a self-preservation technique, but we can psycho-analyze that in another blog post.

Then one day, a few months after my 26th birthday, I read a book called the “Easy Way to Stop Smoking,” which has absolutely nothing to do with running.  It did, however, convince me that it was time to quit smoking. So after 10 years, I gave up my Marlboros. It was September 2005.

Not a lot changed immediately after I quit smoking. I still worked a lot. I still sat on the couch a lot. And I was still pretty unhappy with life, even though at the time, I may not have said that out loud. Actually the only noticeable changes were the 20 pounds I packed on (partially due, I think, to the crappy relationship I was in) and the excessive drunkenness I experienced (look, I promised you THE TRUTH). Apparently, taking a puff after every sip of booze, helped me pace myself. Who knew?

Around November, my sister informed me that she was going to train for a half marathon. Having absolutely no idea what a half marathon entailed or any real desire to get off the couch, I said something to the effect of, “Maybe I could run a half marathon.” At Christmas my sister gave me the “Runner’s World Complete Book of Beginning Running.” Then, we went out for a run because why not? I had done approximately 80 minutes of cardio on the elliptical trainer over the last three months, but hey! No time like the present.

We probably ran for less than a mile, but I didn’t die so I decided I would follow the 5K training plan in the Runner’s World book. Running became my 2006 New Year’s resolution—actually I really don’t remember if it was an official “resolution,” so I totally just made that up. Regardless, I started running shortly after the January 1, 2006. It was awful, and God knows what kept me doing it, but on April 1, I ran my first race, the Shamrock Shuffle 8K, five consecutive miles of extremely slow running. It took me 1 hour, 1 minute, and 44 seconds, and when I crossed the finish line I looked at my friend who had run with me and said, “I don’t know why anyone would want to run further than five miles.”

Three weeks later I signed up to train for a half marathon.

There’s no rhyme or reason to this whole running thing. Running is hard and sucks a lot of the time. You have to wake up early. You have to go to the bathroom—really badly—at inopportune times. You have pain in weird places. You get chaffed. You get dehydrated. You get injured. And yet, you keep signing up for shit. Why is that? I will tell you: Because once in awhile running doesn’t suck. Sometimes, it’s the most amazing feeling in the world—that whole runner’s high thing actually does happen. But sometimes even when it is hard, you can push through the hardness of the running. That’s when you get this sense of knowing—as deeply as you can possibly know anything—you know that running is life; it’s a metaphor for this mess that we all go through. And it forces you to realize there will be stumbles, good times and bad, triumph and tribulation, etc., but you are in control and if you can run 3 miles or 5 miles or 13.1 miles or 26.2 miles, no matter how hard it is, you know in those moments when you are running that you can do anything else you’ve ever wanted to do. And wow. It’s just… wow. It’s the best feeling. Running actually forces you to believe in yourself because, holy shit, you just ran a distance that you would normally get in a car to cover.

I am not shy about telling people that running changed my life. I actually think that I never would have stayed in Chicago had I not started running. It gave me purpose. It gave me a community. It gave me a hobby. It gave me the strength to make other changes in my life. I will never not be a runner. The desire to take on big races may wax and wane, but as long as I can run, I will run.

*Blues Traveler

And I’m back.

One of the big projects I’ve wanted to take on is making curtains for our bedroom.  It’s like being on the surface of the sun in the mornings since it gets so bright in there.  I need sleep - so we need curtains.  Except that I didn’t want to pick a fabric that I would hate in 6 months.  So I decided to go with a white linen curtain, with maybe some sort of border.  Then I realized I would be super picky about the border fabric too.

Cue Screenprinting!

So I came up with the brilliant idea of having Blake design some sort of repeating pattern, something with simple clean lines, that I could screenprint on to the curtain fabric, along the edges, etc.  Which means I had to learn how to screenprint.After a few tries - here is my first attempt at screenprinting.  This is not the design I will use for the curtains, but I will probably put it on a bag I’ve been wanting to make…

*Beastie Boys of course!

Today Blake and I navigated the tube on our own and made it to Tower Hill to see the Tower of London.  We had intended to get there around 10:00.  We made it around 1:00.  Apparently staying up until 2:30 for several days in a row takes a toll and getting out of bed is tough.  So after some fish and chips we started our tour at the Tower.  Our tour leader, known as a Beefeater, took about 45 minutes to tell us some of the history of the Tower.  I can’t accurately describe the comedy of a Beefeater, but I must say we were thoroughly entertained.  After the tour, we wandered around the Tower to see the Crown Jewels of England, the Bloody Tower and the Prisoner’s Tower with carvings in the stone made by prisoners hundreds of years ago.  London has done an amazing job preserving the history of their city and of England, even after the fire of 1666 that wiped out most of the city.

Our original plan was to also see the British Museum today, but since we couldn’t get out of bed this morning, we ran out of time.  We met John and Michelle for a tasty Italian dinner and then headed home for an early night.  John and Michelle have to return to work tomorrow, so we are trying not to keep them up until 2:30 in the morning.

Tomorrow we will take the hop-on hop-off bus tour in the morning and then tour Westminster in the afternoon.  It will be our last day in London, which is very sad, but we have had such a wonderful time that we will be back as soon as we possibly can.  There is so much more to see and do!

After blogging last night, we apparently weren’t sleepy enough and stayed up until 2:00.  So instead of getting up early to get tickets for Avenue Q, we didn’t make it out of the house until 1:30.  But the theater gods were in our favor and we scored 4 seats together in the 11th row for half price.  I don’t know how it happened, but we were all pretty excited.

We made it to St. Paul’s Cathedral mid-afternoon and toured the main floor.  St. Paul’s has the second-largest dome in the world, which sounded like a good idea to climb at the time.  The first level after climbing 257 steps is the Whispering Gallery.  This part of the dome is inside and looks directly down to the cathedral floor (so I hear, I tried not to look).  You should be able to sit on one side of the Gallery and whisper, and someone 32 meters away can hear what you are saying loud and clear.  We gave it a try, but there were too many people to tell if it worked or not.  The next level is is the Stone Gallery, 119 steps up.  This gallery is outside, but surrounded by a fairly tall stone and iron barrier with great view of the city.  The next level is 152 steps up.  I decided maybe this was not for me, but John insisted that gallery was inside, so I went for it.  John is a liar.  After climbing many spiral iron staircases (with steps that are see-through) we made it to the Golden Gallery.  Which was outside.  Again, John lied.  And there is not the option of turning around.  So, while Blake, John and Michelle saw amazing view of the city of London, I saw an extensive collection of graffiti on the stone exterior of the dome.  Blake was an amazing husband during this slow circle of the dome exterior, blocking as much of the exterior he could while we went around some very tight corners.  I think my fear of heights is officially confirmed.  After we made it back down the labryinth of stairs, we tried to vist the crypt of the church, but apparently it was well past visting hours and we were politely encouraged to exit. 

After that, we did some shopping.  I was very successful. 

We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant, then headed to the Guilgud Theater to see Avenue Q.  The show was hilarious.  It is politically incorrect and fantastic.  Watching the puppeteers switch voices and puppets and still interact with others on the stage was amazing.  Our seats were awesome.  Theaters in London are much smaller, so although seats are a bit harder to get for a good price, you really never get a bad view.

After the show we had a drink at a pub, walked to see Big Ben at night, then caught the Tube home.  Tomorrow we are visiting the Tower of London (where Blake and I will navigate the tube on our own!), then the British Museum in the afternoon. 

On New Year’s Eve we boarded an early train heading north to Edinburgh, Scotland.  It was my first time ever on a train like that and John was smart and booked us in first class.  It was great to see the English and Scottish countryside, complete with cliffs and sheep and green fields.  I saw that in between my naps anyway. 

After we arrived and found the hotel, we went out to the Royal Mile.  Blake and I headed up to the castle to check that out (pics later, can’t find my camera cable).  Then we met up with John and Michelle for dinner.  The group decided a nap was in order to make sure we made it to midnight, so after our naps we loaded up with layers and hand and foot warmers and headed out to the Hogmany fireworks.  There were huge crowds of people and as it got closer to midnight the vibe was more and more exciting.  We did our countdown to midnight and then watched an amazing fireworks show.  It was like the finale of a normal fireworks show, but it went on and on and on.  Amazing!  One of our best New Year’s celebrations ever.  Snow and 18 degrees - I’ll never forget that part either!

New Year’s Day we slowly got up, had breakfast and made it to the bottom of the Royal Mile to see the Holyrood Palace, the office Queen’s residence when she is in Scotland.  The tour was very interesting and we got some good pics that I’ll eventually post.  We boarded a train at 5:00 for London, and now we are trying to make ourselves sleepy because its midnight and we are all wide awake.  Tomorrow we are hoping to get tickets to see Avenue Q, visit St Paul’s Cathedral and possibly the British Museum.

We hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year’s!  Cheers!

 After a couple hours delay at DFW, we made it into the air for our eight and half hour journey to London. We enjoyed some movies during dinner, then I promptly fell asleep for at least 4 hours! Great way to pass the time. We landed in London around 10:30 a.m. (4:30 a.m. Dallas time), wound our way through the UK Border Agency and customs, collected our bags and shoved all of our stuff in a taxi. I wish I had taken a picture of our creatively arranged baggage in the taxi, it was definitely an accomplishment!

A few minutes after making it to John and Michelle’s flat, we all thought it was time for a nap. Now we are forcing ourselves awake so we can sleep better tonight. It’s 4:00 now and almost dark outside – this could take some getting used to! We are heading out for some dinner and then are planning on a quiet night in, since our train to Edinburg leaves at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow.

The last few months have just been crazy.  Between training for the San Antonio half, volunteering, work and life in general, Christmas just snuck up on me.  All the sudden it was December and I was not feeling the Christmas Spirit.  All I was really feeling were the remnants of a cold I caught in November - not exactly something Christmas movies are made of.

Every December I try to find a new way Blake and I can contribute to make someone else’s life better.  Last year I went with a food bank.  The year before it was the ASPCA.  This year I read an article about the Salvation Army Angel Tree in the Dallas Morning News.  Turns out they had 8000 more angels this year, but fewer people were adopting the angels and they were starting to worry.  Normally the angel tree is not really my thing.  I have no idea what to buy for kids and it seems my money never goes as far with the angels as it could with a food bank or pet rescue.  But the thought of a poor little boy or girl not receiving any Christmas gifts because of the economy was just unbearable.  So I talked to Blake and he agreed, and we adopted an angel from the nearby mall.  After some head scratching in the Target boys clothing section, and much debate over which WWE wrestling toy was the better choice, we bagged up our gifts and I returned them to the mall.  It is true that what I budgeted for charitable donations did not go as far with the angel tree, but I think maybe I got more out of it this year.  I’m feeling very Christmas-y now knowing that a little boy is going to have a warm coat and two awesome wrestling toys to open on Christmas day.

But just as I thought I could check this off my list, this shows up in the mail from the SPCA.

How am I supposed to turn down these adorable faces???  Sigh.  Now I’m off to find more money in my budget.  I’m a sucker for a puppy face.

*Depeche Mode