...and my whole body hurts.

I've been trying not to grunt and moan with every movement, but I feel like I've been run over by a truck. But it was all for a good cause...I ran the Heart Mini Marathon yesterday!

Despite 40 degree weather, gusting winds (this brought a whole new meaning to "hitting a wall") and a cold rain that occasionally graced the course, over 13,000 people came out to run at least one of the races on Columbia Parkway. On the Mini Marathon course, I managed to pull off a time of 1 hr 35 minutes with a right shoe that, after stepping in a deep puddle during warmup, sloshed with water the entire race.

It was a fun race, and I intend to come back next year for another round. It's a great motivator for getting in shape after the winter, and it's inspiring to see all the heart disease/stroke victims running the race along along with everyone else.

A special thanks to all the race volunteers who made such a huge event possible!

Sunday: Mini Marathon

This weekend you can find me pounding the pavement at the Heart Mini Marathon in Downtown Cinci. My mom and I are running it, despite the nasty weather predicted (rain/snow mix) for Sunday morning.

EMG: Food Critics

Here at the agency, we've started a new tradition of going out to lunch on Fridays at a different restaurant in the Newport area. There are a lot of cute places around here, and we wanted to get a taste for them all.

Our first stop was the Blue Star Cafe, which just had it's grand opening. This cafe/soup&sandwich shoppe was well done inside--keeping the details of its historical home intact.

They're just starting out and their menu was a bit small, but there are still plenty of choices. And I'm sure they would allow you to build-your-own. I got the Wild Rooster, a spicy chicken sandwich. Unfortunately there was nothing on the menu without meat (It's Friday...it's Lent...) so I had the chicken and vowed to say an extra prayer at mass on Sunday. :-)

Overall, a nice place with friendly people. A gold star for the Blue Star Cafe!

March Madness: Dayton Flyers

Today is a big day for UD...they tip off against West Virginia this afternoon. We have a bracket challenge at the office, where an extra vacation day and $100 is at stake. So far, we're all pretty close in the standings.

No, I don't have Dayton winning the tournament. But I had to write them as a win for the 1st round....go Flyers!

Website Launch for Wangler Hardware!

We've launched a new site for Wangler ACE Hardware: http://www.wanglerhardware.com/. This is something that Angela and I have been working on for quite some time, and I'm proud of it.

The site is actually for my parents, who own the store. They've never had a website before and we wanted to showcase all the history behind our 4th generation hardware store.

One of my favorite features is the timeline that outlines my family's store since it's establishment in 1916. We included old historic photos of my grandparents, great grandparents and great, great grandparents at the store. I remember when the store was just a two-aisle, creaky wooden floor place with nuts and bolts. Now that it's evolved into a large, modern, Vision 21 ACE store, it's fun to relive that history through the website. Check it out!

My Reflection on Daytime Television

On Tuesday, I caught a nasty 24 hour flu bug and was couchridden for the day. I came to a conclusion: daytime television consists of 3 things--Snuggies, ShamWOW's, and Amish Fireplaces.

These horrendous infomercials are so bad you just can't tear your eyes away. The Snuggie (which I thought was already invented in the blanket and the sweatshirt) is simply a blanket with sleeves. The commercial shows a happy family cheering at a baseball game, each one wearing a snuggie. Let's be honest. This family looks ridiculous. In a different scene, there's an older woman who is trying to reach for the remote but would have to take her hand from underneath the blanket to do so. This causes her terrible angst. Unspeakable discomfort. Like it is so cold outside that blanket, her arm will instantly freeze and be rendered useless. Plus, these things make you look like a Buddhist monk. Really. The Snuggie is proof that people will buy anything.

Let's move on to the shamWOW. Does anyone else think this guy looks like an ex-crack addict? We were talking about the shamWOW at work, and one of my coworkers bought one at a Walgreens in their "As Seen on TV" section just to test it. The thing doesn't work. ShamDISAPPOINTMENT.

And finally, the Amish fireplaces. Everyone knows the Amish are master woodworkers and builders. These fireplaces are supposedly crafted by the Amish. This is all fine. But in the last shot of the infomercial, there is a buggy with two fireplaces in the back. The announcer declares that they are of limited availability because "they can only ship two at a time!" Like they are going to box them up and deliver them to you in a horse and buggy. Best part: they are officially called "Heat Surge Amish Built Electric Fireplace." Perrrrfect.

Back from the Beach

I'm a little late in getting this posted, but I've had a busy week!

Here are a few pictures from Gulf Shores, AL. I saw some really...say, interesting sights on the way down. This one for example, says "Go to Church...or the DEVIL with get you!" The south in the nutshell.

Each morning I took a nice walk on the beach and enjoyed the ocean view from our balcony. Since it was the off-season, I think we were the only ones in the entire condo complex. It was a relaxing and refreshing vacation!