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I got my hair did yesterday!

I went with an ombre for the color – aka darker on top and lighter on the bottom/ends.

I love playing with hair color. This is a nice fall look – an homage to your sun soaked locks growing out, but in a fabulous way.

The color should lighten some with a few washes. The back looks cool too.

Los Angeles is ON.

When I register (in November due to lack of funds currently) I’m going to join David Cook’s Team. Dave is my hero, it’s so fangirl, but I don’t care. He’s had such an impact on my life.

Being a fan of him as a contestant on Idol kept me sane in the months after my dad died – seeing him on Idol was the only thing I looked forward to at the time. Dave also got me running. I first started running to join him in a Cancer Fundraiser 5K in May 2010.

I think running my first marathon with him and for his cause is only fitting.

In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he’d completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, not to mention triathlons and a dozen critically acclaimed books, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life andeven more importanton his writing. Equal parts training log, travelogue, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon and takes us to places ranging from Tokyo’s Jingu Gaien gardens, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the Charles River in Boston among young women who outpace him. Through this marvelous lens of sport emerges a panorama of memories and insights: the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer, his greatest triumphs and disappointments, his passion for vintage LPs, and the experience, after fifty, of seeing his race times improve and then fall back. By turns funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is rich and revelatory, both for fans of this masterful yet guardedly private writer and for the exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction in running.

A former student of mine recommended this. has anyone read it?

I bought this  NY & Co. dress online this weekend (on sale) after not being able to find it in stores. I’m not a fan of online clothes shopping, especially since my body is regularly changing, but I went ahead and ordered the large. It arrived at my place tonight and I’m happy to report it fits well. 

I’m wearing it to W’s brother’s wedding at the end of October which is exciting because I’ll tone up more by then and hopefully drop a few more pounds and inches. 

This weekend I was at my sometimes boyfriend’s place. He lives in the middle of nowhere so I generally go to the local HS track if I have a run scheduled. I don’t love track running for general runs, but I do like them for interval training.

Anyway since I had my Garmin and it was a delightful day on Saturday I decided to run the backroads. It was weird to run on asphalt. Most of my running is on sidewalks, but I ran facing traffic and only saw about 6 cars who veered away from me – although I was prepared to dive off the side of the road if need be. 

Near where he lives is a BEAUTIFUL Vineyard (picture from my visit there in May) so I ran there and back. It was very peaceful and green. The smell of nature was quite lovely. A stellar way to spent 3.2 miles, I plan to make that a regular thing. 

HORRIFYING – I saw a commerical for this today.

Here’s an article I found:

Denny’s dastardly minds have done it again. The restaurant chain that fries mozzarella sticks between pieces of bread, have rolled out more gluttonously cheesy menu items.  

The most notable is the Mac n’ Cheese Big Daddy Patty Melt: A burger patty layered with slices of cheese, macaroni and cheese, another layer of cheese, some kind of tomato-based “frisco” sauce and two pieces of buttered-up potato bread. Still hungry? It comes with a side of fries. 

The 1,690 calorie count makes a lot more sense when you consider the sandwich is breakfast, lunch and dinner stacked on top of each other. It makes absolutely zero sense when you consider that it’s got 500 more calories than a Carl’s Jr. burger with fries, and large coke. It’s about three times the calories of a KFC Double Down sandwich. And about 200 calories more than five (count ‘em, five) Boston Market Mac and Cheese sides. 

That’s without the super-size cheese option. Seriously, if your melt isn’t ooze-y enough, you can pay Denny’s 69 cents extra for more cheese. A better use of that 69 cents: pay the guy in the next booth to be your sober cheese counselor.

Denny’s joined Burger King and more than a dozen chains on a health initiative recently, offering more veggie and fruit options for kids. Adults? They can go to you know where…by way of the cheese menu. Direct quote from the company’s press release: “With America consuming around 8.8 billion pounds of cheese annually, Denny’s is answering to the appetites of the nation by introducing a dedicated menu that celebrates all things cheesy.“ Other items on their new cheese menu include a strawberry cheesecake milkshake and a cheese-filled omelette drizzled in cheese sauce.

But nothing outdoes the cheese pasta/cheeseburger/buttered toast combo, both in calories and in creativity. Be honest, on the gross food scale, does the Mac and Cheese melt look deliciously gross, curiously gross, or just plain gross?