Kickoff Party!

This week was the kickoff party/optional 3 mile run to the running group I signed up for.  Due to low sign ups at the local store near me, the kickoff party was at another location that was a little over 30 minutes away from me.  Due to the pouring rain when I left, I dressed in jeans and a tank, thinking the run was called off.  Well, it wasn't raining when I got there, so the run was still on.  I wore my friendliest smile, which I hope was the "I'm approachable, come talk to me" smile...as opposed to the awkward "I don't know anyone here, and look kinda creepy" smile.

The kickoff party seemed pretty cool.  I was running about 10-15 minutes late, and it seemed like everyone was already there.  There was wine and assorted beverages available, and some food.  There was also Muscle Milk, as they are one of the race sponsors.  Everyone got a cute messenger bag made out of the recycled material they make the reusable grocery bags out of.  The bags had some 2Toms samples, a pack of Cliffshots, and a list of essential items you would need for the half marathon/training program.  The list doubled as a 15% coupon, which is good at their stores for the entire program...pretty cool!

It seemed like most of the people I talked to had never run a half marathon, and hadn't gone farther than a 5k.  Not really what I was looking for in a group when I signed up, but I'll take it.  Still gives me incentive to stick to the program for the weeks before the half.  Plus, maybe it was only who I spoke with?

This first group run on Sunday is for only 4 miles.  Usually, I do my long run on Sunday's with Lucy, so she is tired for the rest of the day, and is not a menace if we are not home.  I don't want to take her on a group run with people who don't know her.  I am thinking that I might get up earlier, run 4 with Lucy, bring her home, then run 4 with the group. 

Today's run was a little bit sticky and gross, as you could literally see the moisture in the air while we were running.  I spent most of the run battling with my new headphones.  I always cut one ear bud off, so that I can hear the cars.  My last pair was kinda torn up, so I used a gift card I had for Marshall's to get a new pair.  I hate to spend big money on something when I am going to throw half in the trash right away!  First off, the ear buds came with 3 sized buds.  I left the middle one on, threw out the large, and saved the small on the counter to see if I liked it better.  Yesterday, when cleaning the yard, I found the ear bud in one of Lucy's piles of fun!  How the heck did she get it?  Why would she eat it?  Anyway, I am just glad it came back out at this point in the game!  So I go for today's run with the new ear buds, with the right bud cut off.  It felt like I was fighting with the cord for most of the run, but I couldn't tell why...until I finally looked down!   The cord, which ran thru the inside of my shirt, was way longer than usual...longer than my running skirt!  Crazy!  I tried knotting it up, but it had some tangle free aspect to it, and the knot kept coming undone.  Good time!  At least I didn't throw away the old ones, as I can use these new ones on the boat, or something!

Zooma Cape Cod

A local running store is having Zooma training groups for both the half marathon and the 10k.  The Zooma Cape Cod is on Sept. 28, 2013. So far, out of the 7 half marathons that I have run, there have only been 3 different races.  I have said that I wanted to run a different race, and when I heard about the training group, I figured "What better way to prepare?".  

The group I signed up for meets twice a week on Thursday and Sunday, with the long runs on Sundays.  I usually run with my dogs, so it will be nice to have actual people to talk to!  I just ran 7 miles Sunday, so I am almost at the 10 miles that this group maxes out at.  There are only 4-5 people in the group, and it is run close to where I live.  I figured that if I signed up for this group, I would feel obligated to meet these people, and complete the long runs....no talking myself out of these runs!

The group kicks off 7/1 with a little party with one of the race sponsors.  Exciting!

Falmouth Road Race

I got my notification today that I was selected in the 2013 lottery to run the Falmouth Road Race!  Yay!  I knew it was coming because I was not selected last year, which guarantees entry for the following year, but it's still exciting to receive the notice!  The race is scheduled for 8/11/2013, and is run by one of the Boston Marathon's race directors. I live in a pretty small place, so there aren't usually too many spectators at a road race.  At Falmouth, there are people along the sides of the road for the entire 7 miles!

I have run this race for 4 or 5 years, and it is always a blast.  I have never gotten a great time, but have had so much fun, I sign up every year.  Last year, I did not get selected and was crushed!  When my customers at my Saturday restaurant job found out, someone called around and found a number for me for a woman that wasn't able to run.  I felt bad running under someone else's name, but at least it was the right sex!  The strange thing was, I had become settled with the idea of not running, but then felt obligated to run with the number provided.  The family that provided me with the number had me meet them at their house, provided me with a ride to and from the race, and even offered me breakfast.  They were so nice!  Their son ran also, and he was super fast!

In other news, due to recent thunderstorms in our area, the other dog has woken me up 2 nights in a row to get his Thunder Shirt.  He is so silly.  After we bought it, my boyfriend laughed at me for weeks about the waste of money.  Then, the morning after a storm, I told him that I thought the dog had woken me up to get his shirt....he laughed some more!  Well, it has now been a few years, and he will wake me every time to get his shirt.  He sleeps on our bed, and putting the shirt on him is the only way to get him back in bed.  Without the shirt, he paces, drools, and tries to hide in the basement and the bathroom.  With the shirt, he will get back in bed, with tremors still, but at least we can sleep!  Here is a recent picture...please notice Lucy snoozing away next to him!  Nothing scares Lucy but the turkeys!

Lucy's 2nd road race

On Sunday, Lucy and I ran a 5k with a friend of her's, Otis.  Otis is Lucy's uncle in some weird, twisted way.  We got our other dog from the people who bred Otis.  The people who got our other dog's sister bred the dog, which was Lucy's litter.  They look so much alike that we frequently get them confused! Lucy is on the right in the picture below.

Anyway, this was Otis' owner's first 5k since giving birth a few months ago.  She did great!  I stayed with her till a little after the halfway point, but Lucy was going faster than all of us, so we ran a bit ahead.  We saw some friends and their kids walking and stopped to say hi, and wait for Otis.  We didn't see him, so we started running again.  This race was along the roads that Lucy and I run on a regular basis, so she was a little confused as to why we were in the road and not the sidewalk.  We finished, in an unstupendous 29:38, and waited for Otis and his owner, who finished pretty quickly after us.

This race was at 11 AM, and it was HOT out!  We were giving the dogs water, and talking to friends, when a guy walked over with Otis and said "I think you may have dropped this!"  My friend thought she was giving Otis water, not Lucy, and had let go of his leash!  Thank goodness he didn't go too far, and is super friendly!  Lucy was tired the rest of the day, and I think it might be the last time we run this race together.  It is just too late in the day, and too warm for her, even though we both had fun!

Do you know how hard it is to get 2 dogs in a crowd of people to pose for a cute picture?? Much harder than I thought!

The makings of a quiet afternoon

Today, when picking up dog food, I grabbed 2 Nylabones.  This pet food store sells antlers, which my dogs absolutely love.  Unfortunately, they are super expensive and sometimes end up being over $30.  For  $19.99 apiece, I managed to pick up something that lasts much longer than an antler!  Both dogs are now quietly enjoying their new toys!

On another note, about a month ago, Birchbox asked me if I was interested in receiving the Nuance Salma Hayek Birchbox.  Sure, why not?  I had previously grabbed some trial size shampoos from the brand when I went on vacation.  I liked the way it smelled, but hadn't tried anything else.  I didn't hear anything else about it from Birchbox, so I wasn't sure if it was a raffle, or I was just going to get a box.  Today, the box arrived in the mail, containing an AM/PM super cream sample, a full size Super Moisturizing Body Cream (14.99), a trial sized Mamey Fruit shampoo and conditioner sample, and the Lights, Camera, Action eye trio (8.79).  This box cost me nothing and was full of fun stuff to try.  I have seen the Nuance Salma Hayek shampoo at CVS, but I didn't know there was a makeup line!  I am excited to try all of this stuff!  There was also a $2 coupon for a full sized item, so I will have to see which I like enough to buy!

Running Fail

The past few months, I have gotten into a pretty regular routine: Gym @ 4:45, run with dogs at 5:45 AM.  Unfortunately, a week and a half ago, I tweaked my neck again.  I then compounded this by falling!  This has pretty much put my running out of commission.

On Saturdays, I work in a restaurant.  I try to bring a baked good of some type with me every couple of Saturdays. On Friday, May 3rd, I was going to make a brown sugar pound cake, but ended up out at dinner with friends and got home too late.  This meant that I was making my cake on Saturday morning before work in a hurry.  I initially tweaked my neck while reading the paper Saturday morning.  Then, I was looking for my cake plate in the basement, and remembered the icing needed to be stirred on the stove.  I went flying up the stairs, put my foot in a puddle of water by the dog bowl (Lucy's doing!), went completely sideways in the air, and then crashed to the ground.  By Sunday morning, I couldn't move my head anymore.

I didn't want to make my neck worse, and I knew I had a chiropractor appt. on Thursday, so I thought I would just hold off on the exercising and down some Advil.  It didn't get any better until Thursday, after my appt. at the Chiropractor, but still wasn't 100%.  I thought I would hold off a few more days.  Today was the first day I woke up with no pain, so today was the day!

Both dogs went outside and went to the bathroom (this is key, as no one likes to run w/ a bag of poop!).  I put my new playlist on my phone, and headed out the door.  A quarter mile away, the other dog stops to poop again! WTH?! Fine, this was okay because we were close to a park and a trash can.  We discard the bag, and continue running.  I notice my calf is unusually tight about a half mile in, so I stop to stretch it out.  We then keep going until the other dog thought he heard thunder, and it started to sprinkle rain.  Thunder and the other dog don't mix...at all.  It usually involves some drooling, a lot of crying, and a Thundershirt.  Back home we go...total failed run: 2 miles.

Hopefully, my neck is better again, and I can jump back on the exercise train this week!  Lucy had fun at least!

Friday surprise

On Friday,  I fought with Lucy for around an hour trying to get her back in the house.  I think she knows she shouldn't be in the mulch,  so she sat right next to it,  but she wouldn't come in the house.  At least she looked cute while being bad!

When my boyfriend came home from work,  he surprised me with a framed print.  He got it at a gallery he was working near,  the POLi gallery in Provincetown. It was a nice surprise,  and made me forget how mad I was at Lucy during the day!

The mulch buffet is open

Every year, come springtime,  we rake up our old mulch and replace it with new.  ( please note that I used We very generously,  as I raked nothing!)  Every year,  once the new mulch is down,  the dogs act like we filled the backyard with milk bones and try to eat all of the mulch.  This year,  to try and discourage the full out mulch feast,  I sprinkled some cayenne pepper on the mulch.

This year, we also used something called Hollytone around the base of the bushes. Lucy has carefully stepped over the cayenne peppered mulch,  and instead has eaten all the Hollytone!  I originally thought I had some rogue squirrel burying acorns,  but someone with muddy paws has given themselves away!  No worries,  Lucy is fine so far,  but apparently can't be left in the yard unattended until this stuff soaks in!

Does your dog routinely eat crazy things?  My cat eats hair elastics,  so I always have to hide them!

Presents!

Every year for Mother's Day, I get my sister the Allure Beauty Box.  This arrived on Monday this week, and I hope this present makes my sister as happy as it usually does!  I know it normally ends up being a feud for products between her and my niece, but it is still fund to receive and try all the products.  Did I mention that I always get myself one too?

When my sister came over to pick up her Mother's Day present early yesterday, she brought me a present from my lovely niece!  Pottery!  On my nephew's birthday, while we were all in my sister's kitchen, I picked up something my niece had made in ceramics and mentioned that no one ever made me anything because I had dogs, not kids.  When I was in high school, I took a pottery class as well.  I have nothing to show for the pottery class that I took, but my sister does.  In my sister's bathroom, there is a small misshapen pinch bowl that she uses to hold q-tips.  I made that misshapen bowl!  Anyway, my niece's dish is much more attractive and functional.

Last, but not least, my brother dropped off two gifts for my niece and nephew today, as he missed their birthdays.  Presents for everyone!

Who knew turkeys could fly that high?

Today, I got home from the gym to find my boyfriend comforting Lucy.  Apparently, she heard some turkeys walking by, gobbling, and she got scared.  She was hiding behind his legs and shivering.  I already knew she was afraid, as she won't stay outside alone when they are nearby.  The other dog just likes to bark his ass off at them, but only when he can see them.

My boyfriend left for work, and the dogs and I went running.  On our return, when we got one house away from mine, my neighbor was pulling out of her road and called out "There is a turkey right there!".  I told her the dogs were afraid of them, and asked where.  She pointed him out and drove away.  Of course we had to investigate...so we got a little closer.  Lucy hid behind me, and the other dog watched that darn bird intently.  After a few minutes of that, we head home.

Thanks to the dew, the dogs are a muddy mess.  When this happens, I make them go outside to the backyard immediately after coming in.  For whatever reason, today I had not taken their leashes off yet.  We are standing on the deck and I am about to unhook the leashes when I spot their nemesis....a turkey...in my freaking backyard!  I'm figuring the bird must have cleared the front picket fence, so 3 or 4 feet?

My other neighbor is outside hanging her laundry at good ole 6:50 AM, so I ask if she can open the gate so the damn turkey can leave.  At this point, the bird is straight up freaking out, running in a circle.  He then abruptly turns, and starts to fly in the other direction.  He clears the 6 foot fence on the other side, and keeps going and going up in the air.  He stops around 35 feet in the air in a neighbors tree, which is where he stayed until after my shower.  Not sure when he left, but he's gone now!  I guess this proves my claim to my friend just the other day wrong, as I told her I thought they could only fly 3 or 4 feet!

The bushes

Shortly after we got Lucy, we lost half of a boxwood bush in the yard.  No one witnessed what happened, but when we brought Lucy over and asked her, she ran away.  I blamed Lucy, even though I did not see her do it. Is that wrong?

Last spring, we did a little landscaping project on the side of the house.  Lucy did not like the arrangements, so she fixed it for us in her own way!  We planted 3 small grassy plants, along with some other bushes.  About 3 days after the project was finished, I noticed 1 grassy plant was missing when I let the dogs out in the yard.  I checked the yard, and found the grassy plant shredded in the middle of the yard.  Lucy strikes again! I brought Lucy over to the plant, showed her the mess, and firmly said "NO!".  Lucy looked at me for a second, and went about her business.

Trying to prevent a repeat performance, I sprayed the remaining plants with Bitter Apple spray.  2 days went by, and another plant mysteriously disappeared.  WTH? This plant was also shredded and spread out on the grass. At this point, I was forced to pull out the big guns, and sprinkled cayenne pepper all over the rest of the plants.  Then the third plant was removed...does Lucy have any taste buds at all?

As my boyfriend is rather stubborn, he replaced all three plants with THE SAME PLANT! I am not sure what the difference was, but none of the plants have been touched so far.  I think Lucy is done with the shrub rearranging and has just switched to grass this year. Multiple times this spring, I have caught her on the deck with a grass clump, roots and all, tucked between her paws.  If only I could train her to just pull weeds!

Does your dog do any landscaping for you?

Mmmm... Coffee!

This just arrived in the mail the other day!  Dark Magic had been my favorite so far for  a while,  but I got the Espresso roast to try as well. 

How do you start your day?

Monday 4/15/2013

My day Monday started off same as it did the past 3 years.  I got up at the crack of dawn, dressed in the dark, hopped in my card, and headed off to Hopkinton, MA.  I parted in a state park lot, met my friends, and took a big, yellow, volunteer bus into the center of town.

Once in the center of town, I attended a meeting for the Rope Holder volunteers.  I was assigned to Coral 2 this year, and stayed after the meeting to meet the 2 lovely ladies I was going to be working with.  We decided on the best method for us to get the rope across, and decided I would walk in front of the runners to the other side.  I asked to get the Korean church side of the street, because it was right where the elite runner entrance was, and I was hoping to get a glance.

At a little after 9, I took my position on my side of the road and held up my rope to block the entrance of the Corral 2 runners into Corral 1.  Wave 1 and 2 were almost entirely men, with wave 3 having a lot more women interspersed.  I took whatever pictures I was able to when the elite runners came down their entrance....but the only clear photo I have is Shalane.  Wave 1 and 2 went seamlessly.  Wave 3 was filled with a few grumpy runners who had missed their wave.  Apparently, if you missed your wave and were leaving in the following one, you were allowed in any corral but 1.  (No one told us this prior to the race!)

All the volunteers stood and clapped and cheered for the runners as they passed by.  We tried to call out any names we saw written on the runners.  It was such a good feeling to see so many excited runners pass by!  Once all the runners passed, we briefly helped some of the other groups move some barriers and other stuff.  Then, on to lunch, which wasn't there yet.  We probably would have left, but I was starving.  I asked my friends to give it 5 more minutes, and thank goodness, it arrived within the 5 minutes.

Once I had grabbed my lunch with my friends K and S, we found a seat and sat down to eat.  This was S's first year volunteering.  I asked her what she thought, and she said it was great, and that she would definitely do it next year.  I said, probably for the 2nd year in a row, that we should try to volunteer at the finish line, as it would be easier for us to get in and out of, with a much shorter drive.  Then, we talked about how they must have different shifts then us, as the runners finish in all different amounts of time.  We all thought that everything went off very smoothly, without a single serious hitch! We threw our trash out and headed back to the bus.  The last bus.  We had no idea we were that close to missing the last bus!  It seems petty now though, when I think of all the runners, stranded, many with no money or phone, unable to retrieve their bags and leave.  I almost missed the bus...so what, right?

Once back at the park, I said goodbye to my friends and we headed off in our cars.  I stopped at Wrentham Outlets for a birthday present for my nephew and then headed back home listening to the marathon results on the radio.  Eventually, it switched to just Red Sox, so I turned it back to music. I was almost home when I got the phone call about the explosions.  As I hadn't heard anything on the radio yet, I thought the explosion was at my house.  No one I talked to had much information yet.  I got home and turned the TV on as soon as I walked in.

 It seems so strange that an event that I had just left with such fond memories could have turned so tragic!  It was also wonderful and heartwarming to watch as the day went on, and residents opened their homes and hearts to those affected by this tragedy.  My heart is with all that were affected by Monday's bombing.  I have chosen to donate funds to The One Fund.  If you would like to donate there as well, please click on the link and it will bring you right there.

Right now, the headline on Boston.com read: "Official: Arrest imminent in marathon bombing, suspect to be brought to court 1:44 PM.  Hopefully, this will help bring peace and a sense of "right" to something that just seems so wrong.

What is wrong with these pictures?

How are you going to tell me there are no artificial colors on the front of the bag,  and then list artificial colors in your ingredients list?? What the heck is that about?  Damn you, red dye!

The first four

Today, I ran my first nonstop 4 miles since December! Not a huge deal, but a big deal for me. It was not 100% nonstop, as one of my running partners had to stop for some business.

First, I went to the gym, did 30 minutes of weights, 15 minutes on the elliptical, then back home for my run.  Going to the gym super early was totally worth it for this view while running:

The ball

About 3 years ago, we bought the other dog a soccer ball sized ball for dogs. It was covered in a blue fabric and squeaks when squished.  The other dog wasn't really into it, but we didn't get rid of it.  When kids came over, they loved to kick the ball around the yard, and the other dog would chase it.  He just wouldn't really bring it back.  Fetch has no meaning for him.

And then we got Lucy.....

Lucy is obsessed with the blue ball.  When it snows, the blue ball is the first thing Lucy looks for.  She would dig for hours just to get the blue ball.  She has the ability to find the blue ball anywhere, but she can't find a dog biscuit if you drop it on the floor in front of her!  We bought another blue ball for inside the house, but it just wasn't the same.  We have discussed throwing it away (while washable, it stinks!), but hadn't done it quite yet.  

 

We recently had a large storm.  Knowing it was coming, I picked up all the dog toys in the yard and locked them in the shed....except for the blue ball.  Honestly, I was kinda hoping it would blow away!  The day before the storm, something I ordered in a moment of weakness arrived in the mail....the yellow ball.  I didn't give, or even show Lucy the yellow ball.  I planned on throwing away the blue ball and replacing it with the yellow one, but I wasn't sure how it would go over.  When the storm came, the blue ball disappeared into the snow.  We then, unknowingly, piled more snow over it.  The blue ball was gone, and kids were here.  I gave in and took out the yellow ball.  It was like the blue ball all over again!  She would carry it all over the yard, lie down and use it as a pillow, bring it right to the door and leave it outside.  This would be my chance to get rid of the blue ball...but where was it???  Still under all the snow!

Today, over a week past all the snow, the blue ball appeared again amidst the melting snow.  Goodbye yellow ball, you are no longer good enough for Lucy.  The blue ball is back as though it were never gone.  It looks a little worse for wear, and I don't know how much longer it will last, but I don't have the heart to throw it away anymore.  The blue ball is back for as long as it can hang on.  Welcome back, blue dog ball.  Lucy has missed you!

Not quite sure

Okay,  so in a moment of indecision the other night,  I bought this dress for my upcoming vacation. I'm still not sure if I like it enough to keep it and wear it.  Any opinions?

Happenings

Things that happened this week:

Lucy treats every walk like it's a full on race.  You can't really tell from the picture,  but she is hooked up to some anti-pulling device.  It helps but it certainly hasn't fixed the issue.

Also, lots of shoveling and gym time,  the New England Boat Show, and a rest day.

Things that will be happening this week:

It is school vacation week and February,  which brings us to "make your own sundae" night tomorrow! Tomorrow is our second annual Sundae night for our niece and nephews.  We tried pushing for Dairy Queen, but it didn't fly. Thank goodness I can send them all home after, cause that's a lot of sugar!

Do you have any fun family traditions that you have started recently?

Probably not...

I ended up doing 40 minutes on the treadmill the other night while watching Downton Abby. Did I end up running 3? Probably not.  I need to do some type of headphone research.  I have a pair of earbuds by Phillips for my treadmill. For some reason, the cord comes apart in the middle, so you can have a longer or shorter cord maybe? Every time I would up the speed past the slowest jog, all I could hear was the cord swishing around.  Drove me batty! I ended up jacking up the incline and walking fast for the rest of the time.  I maybe ran a mile, mile and a half, before throwing in the towel.  Any recommendations for headphones for treadmill running?

In all honesty, the cord had always driven me nuts. When I run, I usually bring some cheesy mp3 player that has a clip and a speaker on it. If I clip it to my sports bra, I can hear the music while I run, AND the punk 18 years old who just drove right up behind me and laid on the horn to scare my dogs (funny, funny, kid. What goes around comes around). In the winter, it is sometimes too cold for my cheap mp3 player to work. I will either go without (and just talk out loud to my dogs,haha) or use my iPod shuffle. I cut one earbud off those headphones so that I could hear cars.  When I have run a race with headphones in, I constantly punch the cord and pull them out of my ears.I finally started running the cord down the back of my shirts.



Yesterday, I took the day off, besides some light shoveling. Today, I did 30 minutes of weights and 30 minutes of cardio at the gym.  Looking forward to my Chobani bites for dessert tonight. I thought I loved the coffee one, but the pineapple one was so much better once I found them!  Try them if you see them...great flavors and only 100 calories.  

Things that make you go hmmm

Yesterday, while I was outside shoveling the deck stairs for the dogs, the normal one started barking, quite emphatically.  I jog over to the other side of the yard to see just what it is that has him so worked up.  It was just a guy walking past the house.  Just a guy walking past the house carrying a flat screen tv.  Maybe it needed some fresh air?

I run back to the other side of the yard, up the deck stairs, and attempt to take a picture of the guy...for whom, I don't know! It seemed like a good idea! Mind you, he didn't even look over at me.  Then, I started a mini panic....while I was out back, I had left the garage door open out front.  Is it my tv?  So, I proceed to fly into the house and check any room that may have a tv.  I'm good, they are all in the right places. I grab the home phone ( does anyone still have one besides me?) and run outside.

As I stand in the driveway getting ready to call the cops about the man in the black jacket with yellow trim, I see a cop car.  I attempted to flag the guy down, but he didn't stop. Maybe he thought I was just an overly happy shoveler at 6:40 am? Then I notice him slowing down and turning 1 street over, where a fellow snow cleaner upper is nodding at the cop.

Today's paper included a lovely snap shot of the tv thief, who had apparently snagged it from a local motel.  I knew he wasn't just taking it for a walk! Seriously though, at 6 am, it is light out...did he think no one would call?  According to the paper, two people did call, neither of which was me.  My family thought my neighborhood watch skills were pretty poor, but come on, the cops were right there!

Anyway, yesterday's exercise was shoveling for 45 minutes.  Today, I was the first one at the gym. Did 30 minutes of weights and 15 of interval on the treadmill.

Question: would you have called the cops? I did feel guilty that I didn't, but the cops WERE there already anyway!

Have a great day!

Getting back in the swing of things

A little history about me today...a long time ago, I hit my head, and ended up hurting my neck somehow. I have had problems off and on for years now.  Sometimes I can't turn my head at all, or even lift my arm.  All my X-rays and MRIs show nothing on the side that hurts (but a surprising amount of things on the side that doesn't) so no one has really been able to help.

I have been to multiple drs and ended up at a pain clinic. The Dr. asked me to take a break from working out to see if that triggered it at all.  While I assured him it didn't, as I was having issue from before I ever started running, I took said break.  I was running about 25 miles a week, and doing some weights 3x a week before the break. I got what I believed was a miraculous steroid injection, but it only lasted 8 days. 3 months went by, and we attempted it again.  The second time, there was no relief, AND my neck got stuck a few days later.  I was still stuck at my follow up appointment.  Some manual manipulation was attempted, but no relief was found.  It came unstuck about 3 weeks later.   I decided I had enough for now. I told the Dr. I would call him when my neck was stuck, thanked him, and left.

I decided that I needed to get back to my routines.  Unfortunately , it was zero degrees out.  Really, who wants to start running outside again when it is that cold??  Not me! A few outdoor attempts were made, with horrifying disgust at myself for wanting to quit so soon.  Back to the gym I went! My gym uses little keys in the machines.  The keys store your routine and weight amounts, which I love! I have never liked bringing my little notebook along with me with my routines in it.  I got my key updated and started with my weights again.  They also have a few treadmills and ellipticals to do quick little 15 minute cardio routines.  It makes it nice and easy to get in and out.  Ideally, I would like to do my weights and some easy cardio, come home and run with my dogs.  I'm not there yet, but I will be soon!

Monday's, I am up particularly early.  Today, I made it to the gym at 4:50, did 30 minutes of weights and 15 cardio.  Tonight, I will be walk/ running on the treadmill during an episode of Downton Abby on the iPad.  I would like to run at least 3 miles. Here's to getting back in the swing of things!

Snow dump!

Overall, Nemo left us with about a foot of snow.  Thanks to super high winds and snow drifts, power was a much bigger issue for friends and family.  We lent our generator to a friend that was still out of power 24 hours later.  Sorry, Mr. Postman, I can no longer shovel the walkway, but I cleared what I could!

The scent of stupidity

I recently had two perfume samples, Paco Rabanne One Million and Lady Millionaire.  I fell in love with the One Million.  I loved the way it smelled when I put it on, or even if I could smell it of clothes when I was doing laundry.  I decided to order some for myself, but was having a hard time locating it anywhere.  Everyone only sold the men's cologne, but not the perfume.  It took me three whole days to realize I had been wearing men's cologne the entire time!

I truly don't care that it is cologne, but it is still making me laugh

Blizzard style

No running or gym for us today! Just lots and lots of shoveling! Lucy mistakenly thinks she is a sled dog and never wants to come in!

The "normal" one

I actually have 2 dogs...but the other one is normal. By normal, I mean many things: he walks properly in a leash, he has never eaten a half of a boxwood bush, he gets along with my cat, he can sit AND stay ( at the same time!)  My normal dog is the reason I started running. He would get a little hyper at night if his walk wasn't long enough. How could I make him get more exercise if I didn't have more time? RUNNING! I could cover more ground in the same amount of time!

After many different leashes, collars, etc, I settled on a Lupine martingale collar, and a Ruffwear leash that I can wear around my waist.  I love that leash! People stop me and ask what kind it is all the time!  The normal one and I worked our way up to 8 miles this way.  Not anymore, nowdays he is hard pressed to reach 5, but he has run 8 very happily.

Anyway, forget running, maybe take away the normal one tag. Yesterday, the normal one comes in from outside at about 7 am. He starts hitting himself in the face with his paws and rubbing his face on the ground.  What could be wrong?? I run my fingers around the outside of his teeth, look inside his mouth: nothing! Weird. Then, while he is  lying down, I look again and spot it: the stick. It had somehow wedged itself against the roof of his mouth!  The stick was removed, and all is good again!

I would like to think this will curtail his stick eating habit, but I know better.:-(