Huge Birdless Silence

On a slow boat we drift in horse latitude waters
Becalmed on the swells of the internal sea
And towing behind us a huge birdless silence
The air is a hammer, the waters don't breath

On a day like tomorrow when all things are sacred
I'll lie like a drunk against the sun roasted wall
And the air will not move and all time hangs suspended
Between now and forever until darkness falls

Well, I haven't been running. It's still hard to find the time and motivation. I'm wondering if I shouldn't just give up on it completely. I went to the doctor recently to recheck my blood work, only to find it's even worse than before. This is after eight months of eating right and losing almost 20 pounds, too. I'm also, still, incredibly vitamin D deficient. I walk the dogs every morning after I get home from work, figuring that's a good amount of time to be in the sun and soak up some D naturally, but apparently not. I now have to take a liquid supplement in addition to the tablets, and I have to recheck again in three months. My cholesterol is still high; high enough that my doctor is considering putting me on statins. "I don't want to go the medication route," she told me, so she suggested I take red rice yeast in addition to the Cholestoff I had been taking (very, very sporadically).

My sister, who is a medical transcriptionist, and a friend who works as a pharmacy tech both cautioned me against the red rice yeast. I am taking the Cholestoff regularly, and am also taking garlic supplements, which my friend suggested. I hope this will help.

Exercise is key, and aside from walking and all the running around I do at work, I'm not getting any. Sure, the weight is coming off, but that doesn't mean I'm getting healthier. It just means I can pull all of my jeans off without having to unbutton or unzip them. Two of my co-w0rkers have commented recently on how much weight I've lost; this is really nice to hear, but I need to work on being healthy inside.

I just don't have the energy. I don't know how to find the energy. It's hard trying to get everything done that needs to be done every day, ADD-wise. The amount of energy it takes a "normal" person to get through their entire day is the same amount of energy it takes me to get dressed and put on my shoes before I leave the house. Medication helps (in so many ways, I can't even begin to explain), but my life is still an overwhelming mess. My co-worker is out on maternity leave until the end of the month, and while I enjoy getting the overtime (something the company I work for never allows), the stress of the extra work load is getting to me.

However, a friend just sent me and my sister a book: Organizing Solutions for People with Attention Deficit Disorder, by Susan C. Pinsky. I haven't read through the whole thing yet, but what I have read MAKES SO MUCH SENSE. I have hope that this book will help me get my shit together, at least enough so that I'm at the point where I can focus on myself and running. It's insane how much I loved (and hated) it, and yet I keep denying myself that one pleasure.

Why?

The good news is that I turned a friend on to the Couch-to-5k program. She has attempted it once, so far, on her treadmill. She made it 13 minutes in and then had to quit. Baby steps, people. It's ok if you don't make it all the way through on your first try. She said that she needed to get the pacing down before she tries it again; having to turn the speed up and down really distracted her, plus she's "not a runner," (her words) and it's not as easy to get into as it was for me. Not that it was easy easy, but I ran a lot in high school, so I was no stranger to it.

My sister has a pilates machine and I suggested we move it down to the front room (it's in her room right now). My reasoning is that I don't know all the exercises to do on the machine, so if we put the machine in the front room, I could follow along to some pilates DVDs. Plus, for people with ADD, it's all about having the things you need right out in the open. If it's in a closet, you forget about it or don't have the energy to go and get it. It's all about reducing the steps. So having the machine right there means all I'd have to do is set it down on the floor and pop the DVD into the TV. Viola! Might as well build up my muscles again, in anticipation of running regularly.

I just need to keep thinking about my health. It's something I spend a lot of time ignoring. But I am unhealthy, and that's insane for a vegan. The only explanation I can come up with is that it's genetic. I have to assume because I am adopted and know very little about my birth mother and father's medical histories. I have met my birth mother and grandparents and five aunts and uncle, and I'm pretty sure cancer runs in the family. This alone should scare me into exercising. Shouldn't it? I will have to call V one day and discuss the family's medical history. I need to know after all. I've spent my life writing "N/A" for Family Medical History at the doctors office.

Finding the time.

It’s me again. Yeah, I’m still here. I’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that I’m probably not going to be able to fit three runs in every week. Not right now, maybe not ever. I did run two weeks ago. I’d gotten off work early (to offset my working six days a week) and was determined to run. When I got home, I walked the dogs for 20 minutes, went home and jumped into my running gear and off I went.

I’d been looking forward to using the Couch-to-5k application I’d purchased for my iPhone, so I was very excited to head out. It was probably around 6:15 in the morning. The sun hadn’t really come out yet, it was still relatively cool. Nobody else was up and about. Perfect conditions.

The run went really well. I thought that since I haven’t run regularly in over a year, I’d be in pretty bad shape, but that wasn’t the case. My legs started to burn a little halfway through, but I never once felt like I wanted to quit and die right in the middle of the road. So that was good.

I’m not sure if the Ulrey podcasts or the application is off, but I definitely ran farther this time than I usually did with the podcast. And I think the timing is off for one of them. At any rate, I ran, I did well, I went home and stretched.

I was banking on getting off work early last night (er, this morning) but that didn’t happen and so I didn’t run. I could have, since I got home before the sun came up, but I was too damn tired. Maybe tomorrow.

I just have so much to do every day before I go to work, I don’t have time for exercising. I could run when I get up in the afternoon, but lately it has been to damn hot. I could do that in the Fall, though.

I really do need to get more exercise, though, and walking the dogs every morning is a good start. It’s good for all of us, health-wise, but it’s also good for the soul. I feel like I never see my dogs anymore, so I’m happy to be able to spend this quiet time with them. Plus, the golden retriever puppy on the corner runs out to join us, and I can always count on him to play with Curly Joe and wear him out.

I am currently down to a weight I haven’t seen in about eight years. It doesn’t mean as much to me, though, because I know that the weight loss is from not eating (due to my ADD meds). It’s a little bit because of all the running around I do at work, but still. I’d feel like this was more of an accomplishment if I was doing strength training or running on a regular basis.

As it stands, I have lost over 16 pounds since February. I have lost 38 pounds since December of 2005. That doesn’t seem like much to me. It’s better than nothing, so I’ll take it, but I feel like I could do more.

Oh, that reminds me. I think the run was easier on me because I’ve lost almost 20 pounds in six months. It has definitely helped, so I can’t knock it too much.

So that’s what’s been going on. I’ll get there. I still have hope.

Oh, hi.

Yeah. It’s a month later and I haven’t run a day since. Finding time between my graveyard hours and everything else I have to do in a day has been nearly impossible. When I do have the time, I’m completely unmotivated to get out there. I miss the little track by my mom’s house, and I hate running in my sister’s neighborhood because rabid neighbor dogs always chase me.

This morning (or lunchtime, to you Day Dwellers), I woke up with a solution: the treadmill.

Yes, I hate treadmills. BUT. I love running, and this is a fair compromise.

We got this thing probably over ten years ago. Lugged it out here from Chicago with us. It hasn’t been used in a very long time. In fact, we dragged it out onto the back deck last year, planning on throwing it out or trying to give it away. So when I woke up this morning, the first thing that popped into my head was “treadmill.”

I went out and got an extension cord, plugged it in and (after a brief phone call to my sister) figured out how to turn it on. It works! It’s full of dust, dirt, leaves and dead bugs, but it works. Tomorrow I will give it a good cleaning and then get back to running.

I think I will run when I get home from work. You’re not supposed to work out before you go to bed, but with summer coming on, I would rather work out in the mornings before it gets too warm.

Plus, I really hope the noise disturbs my asshole neighbors while they’re trying to sleep. They built a fucking halfpipe by their fence and it’s right across the yard from my bedroom. Even with earplugs in, I can still hear the thumping and banging while I’m trying to sleep. I fucking hate these people.

Anyway, I’ve got the Couch-to-5k application for my iPhone and lots of Basshunter to run with, so I think this is going to work out really well for me. I would love to do strength training, too (I love it), but for now I’ll just focus on the running and eventually throw in some weights when I have a chance.

Week One, Day One (third time's a charm!)

Well, I did it! I ran! It was pushing 80° by the time I got out there (5 p.m.), but I was determined to run anyway. Two minutes into the warm up, I was accosted by a neighbor dog. Friendly, thankfully, but you know how dogs thing fast-moving beings are fun to chase. Going into my fourth run interval, I was accosted by two other dogs. WOULD IT KILL YOU TO KEEP YOUR DOGS IN THE FUCKING YARD?

But I digress. I downloaded the Couch to 5k application for my iPhone, but I don't have a holder big enough for my iPhone. I'll just go with my trusty old iPod. Right when it went into the first run interval, I started smiling. It was like meeting an old friend. You know, the kind you like to see but don't necessarily get along with a lot of the time?

As I plodded along, I started thinking, This isn't so bad. Maybe I won't have to do much of Week 1 after all. Famous last words. By the fourth run interval, I was contemplating quitting. Ah, yes. Now I remember. The love/hate thing.

It's good to be back.

The only thing is that, in the summer, I'm used to running early in the morning to avoid the heat. Nowadays, I go to bed at around 7:30 or 8:00 so I'm up by 3:30 or so. I think that I will try running after I get home Wednesday morning. Maybe around 6:30? I know you're not supposed to work out before you go to bed, but I need to run when it's light out so none of my asshole neighbors run me down on their way to work. It'll take some adjustment, but I'll figure this out. I need to get some new shorts, though.

Anyway, go me!

After running, I stretched, took my Vyvanse and then my sister and I went outside and cut down a whole mess of brambles. Quite a productive day! Tomorrow I may give my sister's pilates machine a try.

Now I have to go get ready for work.

This is some shit up with which I will not put.

I'm going to bed in a little while, and when I get up (and have a nice, healthy smoothie for breakfast) around 3:30, I'm going to go running.

Third time's a charm, eh?

It's been a while since I ran. I'm afraid to look, but ... yeah. August 2nd of last year. Way, way, way, way too long.

I had already planned on starting up again today, but I just found an application for the iPhone that allows you to listen to your own music while running; the application gives you audio cues to let you know when it's time to slow down or speed up. It was $2.99, but I got it anyway. The Ulrey podcasts are wonderful, but I have never liked the music. Now I can plod along to my classic rock and (thanks to my friend Mara) the Netherlands Top 40.

I've lost almost 12 pounds since February and I was going to wait until I got back into strength training before I started running again, but with my graveyard schedule and all the crap going on in my life right now, I don't really have time to squeeze all that in everyday. For now, I'll just go with the running. See how I do. I still need to get new shoes, so hopefully my old ones (still in great condition) will suffice.

Wish me luck!

Week 3, Day 24

I'm so lame, I don't even feel like updating. I ran today. At least there's that. I got up early and took my mom and sister to this street festival and we (hopefully) got into the Guinness Book of World Records for largest group of people playing the kazoo. There were somewhere around 5,300 of us there, all kazooing "Do Re Me." Got to see Portland Taiko, too.

Afterwards, I dropped my sister off at her house and then went to get a hummus wrap at the pub. I went home and bummed around for a couple of hours, did some laundry, pulled some weeds, took some photographs, then finally decided to head down to the track.

I'm still having calf pain, and I have to admit, I'm feeling really discouraged these days. I even did some pre-run yoga poses before I left, but I don’t think they did much to help.

Anyway, it was 68°F and breezy, so I was really comfortable out there. Recovery was good, but my calves are still so stiff after the runs. I'm just really fed up and frustrated.

The tentative good news is, there may be a job opening at my friend's work. Hopefully she can put in a good word for me and I can finally land myself a job. If so, I'm going to the Portland Running Co. for a GOOD pair of running shoes. Custom-fit.

Sis and I are leaving for Colorado this Friday; at least I'll be able to get in two (what I assume will be hellish) runs before we go. We get back Monday night. I plan on running the following Tuesday, but I guess it all depends on how well Curly Joe is settling in.

Reg, my "new" camera is still working nicely. I took it along on one of our walks the other day. Here's Tank tracking something in the neighbor's pasture.

Tired and hungry. See you Tuesday. (It's supposed to be 94° that day, so if I don't run in the morning, it's gym time).

Week 3, Day 23

Hey, tonight
Gonna be tonight
Don’t you know I’m flyin’
Tonight, tonight

Better late than never.

I overslept this morning; a sure sign that I’d gotten my period. Fed the animals, washed down a wildberry waffle with a glass of soymilk and headed up to my mom’s. Dropped her off at her Thursday Thing, came back here and decided it was too hot to run. I waited and waited and waited and finally at around 7:00, it dipped down to 75°F and I decided it was time to hit the track.

This probably would have been my best Week 3 run so far, if it weren’t for my goddamn calf muscles. They’re still killing me. Maybe I need new shoes? Too bad. That’ll have to wait.

So ... that’s pretty much all I have to say about today’s tonight’s run. I’m in a bad mood and don’t feel like writing much. I will say this, though: Since I started the Couch-to-5k program nearly one year ago, I have gone 71 miles. I won’t say I’ve run 71 miles because not all of it was running, but it is still a huge accomplishment. That’s a lot of movement for a fat chick with arthritis.

I forget if I’ve mentioned it and I’m too lazy to go back and check, but my sister and I are leaving for Colorado a week from tomorrow. I have half a mind to buy this album to listen to on the drive because it is some of the weirdest, funniest shit I’ve heard in a long time. The Mustard Battle, Dear Uncle and The Swimming Pool are three of my favorites. I’m no somniloquist, but I did once walk into my parents' room in a dead sleep and try to sell them Girl Scout cookies. My mom said I was quite insistent and became very angry when she said she didn’t want any.

I’ll see you on Saturday. I’ll probably have a late run then, too, because I’m taking my mom to a street fair in the morning. We (and about 5,000 others) are going to try and get in the Guinness Book for the most number of people playing the kazoo.

Week 3, Day 22

This ain’t the garden of eden
There ain’t no angels above
And things ain’t like what they used to be
And this ain’t the summer of love

Good day, and welcome to Day 22. Took Mom swimming this morning. Scarfed down a Clif protein bar on the way to the pool. After swimming, I ran some errands, came home, had a big spinach salad with peppers, radishes and Bragg’s, waited about 20 minutes and then headed down to the track.

There was a gaggle of pre-teens loafing around the fence where I stretch, each of them decked out in a black hoodie (hoods engaged). They left after I’d done my warm up, so ... yay. The weather was good for running: 61°F, overcast and a little windy. As much as people complain about all the rain in the Pacific Northwest, it’s nice to get a break from the summer heat every once in a while. It was pouring while I was swimming, but perfectly dry while I ran.

As for the run, it went pretty well. The second half was murder on my calves again, but at least my lungs are holding out. I didn’t have time to workout yesterday because I had an eye appointment. The good news is, my left eye hasn’t gotten any worse. The better news is, my right eye actually got better. Are you ready for this?

My right eye is -5.50
My left eye is -4.25

I had made an appointment for my sister as well, and she went ahead of me. When it was my turn in the chair and the doctor started the exam, she said, “You’re the twin with the bad eyes.” I laughed and said something about my reputation preceding me, and she told me that my sister had been her best patient all day: her prescription hasn’t changed at all.

Bitch.

You know how they make you stand on the line and put the black thing over your eye and read the eye chart? When I took my glasses off, the tech asked me which line I could read the clearest and I said, ”It’s all a blur. I know the top one is an E, but it’s always an E so that doesn’t count.” She laughed. Thank you, I’ll be here all week. Other than being completely blind, by eyes are totally healthy. I attribute that to my not wearing contact lenses in three years and also from not wearing my glasses 100% of the time. I take them off to exercise/run/swim.

I got a year’s supply of disposable contact lenses. I rarely wear them, but it’s nice to have them just the same. Because my right eye changed, I decided to get new lenses for my old frames. Except when they took them from me, they said they were so worn out that I’d have to sign a waiver. If the glasses broke during the “re-lensing,” I would have to come back in and get another pair. So I picked out a new pair and kept my old ones as a spare. Which kills me because I love my glasses. The new frames suck, but they were the closest I could get to my old ones.

Anyway, the point is, while I swam and ran, I had my contacts in and was amazed at how well I could see.

Not much else has been going on. Oh, except that I’m out of my fucking mind and had no idea what week it was. I thought we were going to Colorado this week, but it’s next week. I’ve had my dates all screwed up, which makes me think I really should call someone about getting this ADD diagnosed.

Sunday my sister and I went to cheer on our friend Rene, who is on a gay softball team. They did a double header, but we only caught the second one, which they won. This Sunday we’re meeting up with Rene again, this time for Sister Bingo. It's the first Sunday of every month. July was 50’s Bingo, which is the one I was really looking forward to. That and Pajama Bingo. August is Beach Bingo, and I won’t be wearing a bathing suit.

I've been walking Tank a lot lately; about two miles every evening. The other night we walked pretty late. It was mostly dark, so I didn't know there was a skunk in the ditch until Tank ran at it. Thankfully, he didn't get sprayed, though it wouldn't have mattered to me if he did. I can't smell a damn thing. Not even skunk.

I have a massive headache and I still have to shower and go to the vet to pick up some fluids for Spooky.

See you Thursday.

Week 3, Day 21

No time left for you
On my way to better things
No time left for you
I found myself some wings
No time left for you
Distant roads are calling me

Ah, what a beautiful day for a run: 69°F, cloudy, nice wind coming in from the West. I had high hopes for this run.

All in all, it went pretty well. I was a bit rushed this morning, so I only had time to scarf down half a granola bar before I took my mom swimming. We went to eat at a little cafe in town (coupon, of course) afterwards. I had a hummus sandwich with tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber and a side of potato chips. Except what I actually got was soggy bread with a smidge of hummus smeared on it, a big piece of lettuce and a tomato sliced almost as thick as the bread. No cukes. No chips. Their water cooler ran out of water before I could get any, and by the time they got around to putting in a new jug, I was done with my meal.

Yeah. I won’t be going back.

Anyway, after lunch I took Mom to run some errands, then came back home, threw on my running gear and went to the track. The running/recovery was fine, but my calves were hurting again. Fellow runner, Christie, recommended a video called Yoga for Every Body, so I put in a request for it at the library. I probably won’t get it for another week or two, so in the meantime I’m trying to stretch longer than I usually do after I work out.

I definitely feel stronger now that I’ve gotten back into working out six days a week, but I’m still eating like shit. Blehhhh. At least I’m sleeping normally again. I went to McMenamins to see The Happening with my friend Rene the other night; I’m always amazed at how good I feel after I’ve spent time with her. It makes me realize how much of my life I spend alone. I sometimes go half a day without speaking. Anyway, movies there are only three bucks and you can curl up on a couch or a rocking chair right there in the theater. We usually end up sitting in this little room near the lobby and talking for an hour or so after the movie ends. There’s a fireplace in there and in the winter there’s always a fire going. Very cozy. Sunday night, we went to the bar downstairs. They’ve got four pool tables and a pinball machine down there; two of my favorite things. I’d like to just go shoot some pool sometime. Ah, if only I had friends.

We were sitting there, talking to the bartender about passports (I need to get mine ASAP) and how apparently they’re going to deny Americans crossing over into Vancouver and Whistler during the 2010 Olympics (dammit, I was going to go to those, too) when an old man came in and ordered an absinthe. The U.S. relaxed the ban on it last year, and I’ve always been curious as to how it tastes. It was cool watching the bartender prepare it, but the old guy started talking snooty about being an absinth expert, so we left.

This week I definitely need to get in for an eye appointment.

I had a really awesome dream the other night. It was pretty much the best dream ever. It involved photography and hockey. Wait, it gets better. You see, I was on a hockey team. Not only that, but my friend Indi was one of my teammates. Not only that, but we were skating around the rink during warm up with our bags on our shoulders. Because we had our cameras with us and refused to part with them, even during a game. At one point during the dream, I got boarded, fell to the ice and whipped out my Nikkormat to take a picture of the guy who hit me as he skated away into the neutral zone. Why did I have to wake up? (No penalty was called, by the way.)

Stupid goddamn alarm clock.

See you Thursday.

Week 3, Day 20

All that rain outside my window, it goes on and on, I know
It’s getting better every day
Soon the sun will shine outside my window, when it’s gonna come
No, I really I couldn’t say
It’s getting better every day

Started the morning off with a glass of açai/strawberry juice mixed with a little aloe vera juice. Once I got all the animals fed, I scarfed down two gluten-free wild berry waffles. I was in a good mood because it was nice and cool out, in the low 60s. By the time I got out to the track, it was around 69°F. It felt warmer, but there was a nice, cool breeze blowing the entire time, so I wasn’t too warm.

Today’s run was great. Except for my calves. I had lots of pain in my lateral calves going into the second half of the run. I pushed through it and felt okay towards the end, but damn. It was painful. I should probably start thinking about getting a new pair of running shoes. Though I only wear mine three times a week for a half hour or less, I have had them for almost a year now. This time around, I want to go to Roadrunner Sports and get fitted for the right shoe. Hopefully they’ll let me buy a mixed pair, since my feet are two different sizes. Their shoes are really expensive, so I won’t be able to buy two pair. I might have to go back to Nordstroms.

Anyway, when I was walking back to my car, I noticed there was something spray painted on the back of the church. I didn’t have my glasses on, so I had to get up real close in order to make it out.

It was a giant penis.

Somebody painted a penis on a church. It was then that I realized the church parking lot was completely empty. Normally, the townsfolk have church service practically all day long, but today my car was the only one there. I retrieved my glasses out of the car and saw that they’d tagged the entire east wall and windows as well. (One of the windows was busted out and had a garbage bag taped over it.) The graffiti said things like “fuck peace,” and the anarchy symbol and “love is a crime, hate is a power.” Oddly enough, they’d also painted hearts all over the place.

I’m not religious, but that’s fucked up and wrong. I hope they catch the bastards. It’s weird because this is a really small, religious town. The morons even tagged some of the speed limit signs on the road up to my house.

I don’t necessarily hate graffiti. Some of it is really beautiful and not at all offensive:

This one is my particular favorite. It’s in Tampa, Florida, the pier at Ballast Point Park. My friend Julie (and her dog, Riley) took me there one night to show me this particular bit of graffiti:

Love it.

Have a good weekend. I’ll see you on Tuesday.

Week 3, Day 19

The bad in the world is hard to hear when in your ear a banana cheers.

Hey! I’m alive!

I didn’t get here in time to take my mom swimming, but I was determined to run before it got too warm. Weatherbug says it’s 65°F, but I call shenanigans. It felt like 75 out there. There was a breeze, though, and it wasn’t so warm yet that it felt like I was running around a volcano.

This run was by far the best I’ve had in a while. I definitely think the key (for my lungs) is to run really early or really late because I could actually breathe this time around. It got a little hard toward the end of my last three minute run, but it was regular “I’m fat and I’m running” gasping, rather than the “I’m fat and I have asthma” death gasping.

So, I’m pleased with myself. To be honest, I was actually scared to try and run again after that horrendous asthma attack last week, so I’m glad I (for once) didn’t let the fear stop me. As hard as it’s been, I’m just plain not happy if I don’t run. It’s the one thing in my life I have to look forward to, even though I hate it most of the time. This morning, I felt bored and miserable and didn’t feel like running, but I know that if I don’t drag my ass to the track, nobody else will. I don’t have any running friends (in real life). It’s just me out there. I’m sort of torn between caring for two people in my life right now, and I’ve been neglecting my needs a bit. My motivation for running lately hasn’t been health or weight loss. It’s just been something nice to do, for me alone. It’s a half hour I get to myself with nothing and no one bothering me.

I’m so glad my sister told me about the Couch-to-5k program. It’s been almost a year now that I started it, and I’m still only one Week 3, but that’s ok. I found something I love, and it has helped me immensely, mentally and physically. I can’t even imagine how good I’ll feel once I complete the program. Whenever that may be. I’m not in a hurry. I’ll get there at my own pace.

In hockey news, my friend Julie told me yesterday that the Bolts home opener is October 11th. Will I be able to fly out to Florida and catch the game with her? I hope so. My mom (a snowbird) has been talking about retreating to her condo in November, so I may just fly out with her at that time and catch some games then. They’re playing the Red Wings on November 13th. Gary Roberts and Ryan Malone are playing for Tampa now. The last time the Wings saw those two, they were in Pittsburgh, playing for the Cup.

Now, here’s the thing. Geographically, my nearest hockey team is the Canucks. It’s almost a six hour drive from here to Vancouver, but my sister has promised to go to a game with me. The Canucks’s’s season opener is October 9th, and they play the Calgary Flames. However, they play the Red Wings on November 2nd. If I can’t fly to Florida, I just might have to force my sister to drive up to Canada with me in November. We’d probably need to get passports though, eh? And it’s only 12 more hours to drive over and see my friend in Edmonton. Or ... not.

I’m just really pissed off that I can’t be in Chicago on New Years day. Two of the Original Six playing at Wrigley Field?! Very auspicious. 2009 is going to rock. Thankfully, the game will be televized. (I intend to have a subscription to Center Ice by then. 40 games a week!??! Yes, please.) We (Chicago) are usually on our first or second blizzard by the beginning of the year, so I’m sure there’ll be plenty of ice for the boys to play on.

I slammed a glass of O.J. mixed with aloe vera juice before I ran, so now I’m going to take my strawberry/banana/blueberry/flax seed/soy milk smoothie and The Boys of Winter out onto the front porch. After that, I’ll do aerobic and my lower body workout and think about what to have for lunch. For some reason, I really want to make corn chowder.

See you Saturday.

Week 3, Day 18

I’m still staying with my sister, so I got up extra early this morning so I could head home and pick my mom up for swimming. For all our hurrying, we got there a half hour early because someone printed the wrong time for the arthritis class. So we sat in the lobby and read gossip magazines for 20 minutes.

Happily, the little pool (where the arthritis water aerobics class is held) wasn’t unbearably warm today. Mom was freezing, I was quite comfortable. After the class was finished, we sat in the hot tub and I pedaled my legs under the (unbearably hot) water. By this time, I was pretty hungry (I inhaled a granola bar for breakfast), so we cut the hot tub short, got dressed and left. When we got home, I slathered on the sunscreen and then sat down to eat some Rainier cherries cheeries. If I haven’t mentioned it before, I am addicted to these things. I wait all year for them to come into season and then gorge myself on them. Well, I would if they weren’t so expensive. Lucky for me, the little girl who lives down the hill was selling them the other day. One pound for a dollar, as opposed to $4.99 a pound at the Safeway. I bought two pounds. How could I not? She had signs up saying “YUM! YUM! CHEERIES!” “CHEERIES 1 lb FOR $1!”


Cheeries. I’m not a sap, but that was damn cute. I could eat nothing but Rainier cherries all summer long and die happy. Oh, and my sister’s neighbor has a Rainier cherry tree in his yard. Last year I stood under that tree and ate those delicious little things for 20 minutes straight. And then went back and did it again the next day.


Anyway, cherries consumed, I headed down to the track.

I sweated my ass off the whole drive down, so I was a little nervous about how I would fare on the blacktop. Turns out I did pretty well for the first half (run 90 seconds/walk 90 seconds, run 3 minutes/walk 3 minutes). My calves held out pretty well, too, and I wasn’t out of breathe. Then the second 90 second interval showed up and I did okay there, too. The last three minute run was doable. I finished, but it wasn’t pretty.

Turns out it’s 92° out there. If I had bothered to check that little bit of information before I left the house, I would have held off my run until this evening. As it is, once I got out there, I refused to leave until I was finished. The pigfucker weatherman on the news last night was all, “Ohhh, don’t worry about it! It’ll be in the upper 70’s for the next few days!”

WRONG.

At any rate, from now on (in the summer, at least), if I can’t run in the morning, I’m going to hold off until evening. It just seems like the heat sucks the air out of my lungs. Not a good feeling.

Speaking of bad eyesight (like how I pulled that segue out of my ass?), I’m going in for an eye exam on Friday. Hopefully. I should probably call and make the appointment first. I’ll have to have my sister drive me. Why? Because I love my glasses and don’t want to get different frames; I’ll have to leave them behind so the eyeglass people can put new lenses in them. Because my eyes are so bad, they usually don’t have my contact lens prescription in-house. If I have to wait for the contacts as well, I’ll be blind for several days and therefore won’t be able to drive myself home. I won’t even be able to find the front door. Or my sister. When it comes time to read the eye chart, I have to walk all the way up to it in order to read the big giant E. Yeah, my lenses just keep getting thicker and thicker. Eventually, the doctor said, ”Why don’t we start giving you plastic lenses? Glass might be a little too heavy for you at this point.”

In hockey news, Dallas Drake retired. Sad, but at least he went out on a high note, eh? And is it hockey season yet?! They’re releasing the 2008-2009 schedule on Thursday, so there’s that to look forward to. Not that it means anything to me, living out here in sad, lonely, hockeyless Oregon. Speaking of which, I got this book from the library the other day: Hockey in Portland, by Jim Mancuso and Scott Petterson. It’s mostly images, which is kind of disappointing, but still interesting. Portland was the first city in the U.S. to have a pro hockey team. Did you know that? Neither did I. They were also the first U.S. team to compete for the Stanley Cup. Not bad for a bunch of people who can’t drive. So what I’m wondering is, why the fuck don’t we STILL HAVE A PRO HOCKEY TEAM? I’m not taking this lying down. Must find evil plan way to get Portland into the NHL.

In happy news, I got a new camera! Except it's not new (seven years older than me) and I don't actually have it yet. For the past week, I've had recurring dreams in which I'm shooting all sorts of amazing photographs with a Nikkormat. I was introduced (by my friend Julie, who also got me addicted to hockey) to the Nikkormat FTn when I was in Florida earlier this year, and I fell in love. Depth of field lever. Shutter speeds visible in the finder. Sturdy enough to be used as a weapon. <3 <3 <3 So the other day I finally snapped. I saw one up for bid on eBay and went for it. I snagged it for $63 (shipping included), which is a lot for me but still a steal. Now all I have to do is get a replacement for the now extinct mercury battery that used to fuel the Nik's light meter. Hopefully the camera will arrive in the next week or two. Digital is convenient, but it's sucking the soul out of old-time photography.

See you Thursday. Don’t forget to watch Wipeout tonight. I fucking love that show. Somebody got horked on last week. Heehee. Ninja Warrior for the U.S. Finally.

Big Balls.

Week 3, Day 17

Sealed with a curse as sharp as a knife.
Doomed is your soul and damned is your life.

Today was a first for me. First time I couldn’t finish a run. I’m trying not to be disappointed in myself, especially since it was either stop running or stop breathing.

Got a late start today; lots of errands to run. Picked Meathead’s remains up from Dignified Pets and then went to REI where I bought me, my mom and my sister each a BPA-free water bottle.

Got out to the track (new water bottles in hand) at around 4:30 p.m. It was warm, but there was a good, strong wind blowing. I was okay for the first half of the run, but during the second 90 second run, I started struggling to breathe. I took a hit of albuterol during the 90 second walk, but two minutes into my (last) three minute run, I had to stop. I just couldn’t get enough air and I was panting like Chicken Lips...something that pants a lot.

I walked until my sister was done running, then we stretched and came back here. Sis thinks it might be the smoke from the California wildfires that’s fucking up my lungs. She might have something there, since I can’t think of a good reason why it’s been so hard for me to breathe lately.

It’s going to be pretty warm on Saturday, so I think I’m going to bite the bullet and run at the gym. It might be easier on my lungs?

Mehhh. Disappointed.

Speaking of which, that Hemp Shake stuff tasted like spiced asshole. I had such high hopes, too. I think if I’d added it to a smoothie it would have been good, but I was at my sister’s house without a blender or smoothie stuff, so I just mixed it in some soy milk. It was all clumpy and gritty and tasted awful, so I dumped it. I’ll give it a second chance sometime.

More fantastic news: last night my sister’s friends told us that they had to take Curly Joe back to the vet because he was having some swelling issues. Turns out he had an incisional hernia. I assisted quite a few hernia operations in my day as a vet tech. Hell, I was born with two inguinal hernias. So I knew it was no big deal, but I was still freaked out. Seems like our animals can’t catch a break these days. I’m happy to report that he’s doing fine today. Here’s a picture of him from a couple of days ago. I can't wait to snuggle the hell out of this dog:

Also, my sweet peas are blooming! Ovechkin the chipmunk ate two of the petals, but I consider that deadheading, so thanks for that! (Fecking chipmunk is the bane of my existence.)

Time to make my sister watch The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension. See you Saturday, Bigboote.

Week 3, Day 16

Well now, I get low and I get high
and if I can’t get either, I really try
Got the wings of heaven on my shoes
I’m a dancin’ man and I just can’t lose
You know it’s all right, it’s okay
I’ll live to see another day

I’m back. Did you miss me? Don’t feel bad; neither did I.

I got up early today, determined to run despite the heat. Weatherbug told me it would be in the 80’s by 11 a.m., so I knew I had to make some big-time haste. I inhaled some soy yogurt (with ground flax seed) for breakfast, fed everyone else, threw on my workout gear and sped to the track. It was only 80°F, but out on the blacktop, it felt like 90°. Thank gad for the wind.

Yesterday, I did 20 minutes on the eliptical and my upper body/ab workout. I was at my sister’s, and I couldn’t find her 3 lb weights, so I used her fours. This morning I woke up to sore abs, but my upper body feels pretty good. So maybe I should increase my weights? I dunno. Anyway.

The warm up was good, the first 90 second run was good, though my calves hurt a bit afterwards. The first 3 minute run was okay, but my calves were in agony during the three minute walk. I was, once again, doubtful of my ability to finish the second half. I kicked my ass, though, and pushed through. The second 3 minute run was a killer, but I had been taking it easy since the beginning, not doing much more than a fast walk. I haven’t run in exactly two weeks, so I didn’t want to overdo it. I started out thinking it’d be fine if I couldn’t finish, but I’m really, really, really glad I was able to. It would have killed me to think I’d hit another setback.

I wasn’t thinking I’d do the entire five minute cool down, but I did. The wind had picked up again and I was still pretty revved up, so I took the time to cool down properly and then stretched in the shade by the church.

I’m home now, doing laundry and having a snack, and in a few minutes I’ll do my lower body workout. I’m definitely keeping up with the aerobic/strength training; I’ll never move forward without them.

In the past couple of weeks, I have learned a few things about myself:

1. Life without exercise/stretching isn’t worth the pain.
   
2. I am physically incapable of drinking.
   
3. When it comes to our animals, my sister is the good cop.
   
4. I think maybe I can go up to 4 lb weights now.
   
5. I have ADD.

Due to a bit of a life upheaval (someone else’s personal shit I won’t get into here), I haven’t worked out regularly in a month. So I guess being able to push through Week 3 again today was pretty amazing? Regardless, I’ve been in a lot of pain lately, and I know it’s from not working out or stretching. Once again, I can see that it’s NOT. WORTH. IT. to slack off. There’s no excuse.

I drank a bottle of blackberry wine while I was housesitting for my sister a few weeks ago, and aside from having some pretty funny drunken IMs (where I said things like ”I put foam hats on my rubbr duckies” and ”I feel fine, I”m jst having roulbe spelling a ltitle bit. IT’s ridiculous” and “fuckk hat guy. he ocudlnt’ senve stand up his own father an dsay, hey, man, I dont want to get naild by anything ecept that mary chick over there with the red hair.”), it isn’t something I’ll be repeating anytime soon. I woke up the next morning in excrutiating pain. A week later, my sister picked up some Jamaican lager and I had a bottle (they’re very small). Next morning, again, woke up in excrutiating pain. Needless to say, I’m just going to go with my original plan of not drinking at all.

Last year, a good friend of mine was diagnosed with ADD. Which I guess is just referred to as ADHD, even if you don’t have the hyperactivity bit? Anyway, we’ve been friends for going on ten years now, so I trust her judgement. When she told me that I more than likely have ADD, I chalked it up to “I’ve got it, so everyone else must have it, too.” Eventually, I started listening to what she had to say and realized that a lot of it sounded familiar. And I guess that, a lot of times with women, ADD is misdiagnosed as anxiety disorder.

Obviously, I’m not going to say for sure that I have ADD. Only a professional can work all that crap out. Unfortunately, I can’t get help (for anxiety or ADD or arthritis or anything) until I get health insurance. I’m in the OHP “lottery,” and will hopefully “win” a spot on the plan. I think they let you know after 45 days, so I’m pretty sure I’m not one of the lucky 10,000. My next option is to keep looking for a job offering good benefits. The chances of that happening? Not good. I really, really, really, really, really, really need to see a doctor. For so many reasons.

Anyway. I got a sample packet of this Hemp Shake stuff the other day. I figured I should add some protein powder to my breakfast smoothies (couldn’t hurt, right?) so I got the Amazon Açaí flavor. I loooove açaí. Flavor, I mean. I’ve never had the actual berry, though I’d love to try some. So I’ll be having that for breakfast tomorrow. If I like it, I might buy a big container, though it’s really expensive and I’m poor (and a Scrooge).

I’ve also started drinking aloe vera juice. I hate aloe vera juice almost as much as I hate carrot juice. And, like carrot juice, the only way I can drink it is if I mix it with something else. Orange juice. Apple Juice. Grape juice. Whatever. I just can’t drink the shit straight. For the past month or so, I’ve been having some, shall we say, awful belly stuff going on. I think it’s IBS. I take acidophilus before breakfast, but I’m still not doing very well, so my sister got me some aloe vera juice. So far, so good.

Wow. Longest entry ever? I’m shutting up now.

Thanks again for all the kind words regarding Meathead. My sister is ok, but Tank is still depressed, anxious and confused. Next month we're going to attempt the Colorado Road Trip again to meet up with Curly Joe, so he won't be lonely after that.

I'll definitely see you Thursday.

Game off

Just a quick post to let everyone (haha) know that I'm not running today. I'm pretty sure I've come down with a cold. After Tuesdays' run, I got really warm and then couldn't stop sneezing. I'm having a hard time breathing (asthma) and today I've got hot and cold flashes. I decided I should probably just take today (and possibly Saturday) off.

Today I'm just doing laundry and washing my sinuses out with the neti pot. Sis and I were going to take Mom to the Rose Gardens, but she had other plans. That's right. My 63-year old mother has a social life and I don't.

So I figure I'll just post some pictures instead. These are from our day at Sauvie Island on Monday. (Click for larger view.)

Meathead's favorite hobbies: sticks and water.

Tank has been terrified of water ever since he crashed through some ice and almost drowned when he was four months old. However, I discovered that if he can walk in and out of water by himself, he doesn't mind all that much. Sis threw a stick for Meathead who decided it was too far away to retrieve. To my surprise, Tank started going in after it. Incidentally, the beach is in Oregon. The trees in the background are in Washington.

Swimming back.


As I said, Meathead loves sticks.


The boys made a new friend! His name is Diesel.


PRAWNZILLA!!!!


We have the best dogs in the world.





Waiting for Curly Joe. We pick him up in one week!

And that's it for Sauvie Island. The next time we go, we'll have life preservers for all three dogs. It was really sad, going there this time. We haven't been back to the island in three years; the last time was right before Luke had his colectomy. All five dogs were still alive and well. It just felt empty, only having Meathead and Tank there. Bernie should have been there to cheer Meathead on as he swam out to retrieve sticks and Lady should have been patrolling the beach, keeping her boys in check. Luke would have been barking non-stop because he never could contain his excitement about everything, and Tank would have been sniffing sniffing sniffing sniffing. I miss them all so much.

Tuesday morning I woke up at 5 a.m. and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. I looked out the window and saw the entire pasture covered in fog, so I grabbed the camera and went out to take pictures. The rest are up at my Flickr.

See you Saturday, maybe.

Week 3, Day 15

75°F, nice wind blowing in from the southwest, partly cloudy. Great day for a run with my favorite running partner.

Today's run was slightly better than the last. I think it would have gone a lot better if I had run in the morning when it wasn't quite so warm. It's not that hot out, but running gets your blood boiling once you get going.

I've still been slacking off with my strength training and aerobic. I just can't even seem to find the time these days. Bad bad bad. At least I'm eating better. I had soy yogurt with ground flax seed for breakfast, and I'm going out for lunch with my mom and sis, probably to this pub in town that serves really yummy hummus wraps.

On the drive down to the track, I was talking to my sister about running and how it's going to make us less fat. This was her comment:

"Fuck, I just want to be able to outrun the zombies."

Shouldn't we all?

Yesterday, Sis and I took the dogs to Sauvie Island. I haven't been everywhere yet, but I'm pretty sure that Sauvie is my favorite place in all of Oregon.

We're leaving for Colorado next Thursday (the 3rd) and will probably be back on Sunday or Monday, so I may miss a run or two. But Curly Joe is more than worth it! I've got to smooth out some details with his foster mother; she's going to have him neutered, yay, but I want him to have pre-surgery labs done to make sure he's OK to go under anesthesia. He had a seizure in May, and that makes me nervous. She also needs to get a travel certificate from her vet that shows it's OK for Curly to cross (several) state lines.

Well, I've got some pictures to upload and I've still got to call Curly Joe's foster mom, so I'm going to post this and edit it later.

See you on Thursday!

Week 3, Day 14

I got a pain in my shoes and all I wanna do is dance.

I’ve now officially been doing Week 3 for two weeks. Although I felt better for most of today’s run, the last three minutes were still really tough. I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t frustrating, but I’m trying to remind myself that there’s no need to hurry. I have to keep in mind that if I ate proper meals, I’d be in better shape out there on the track.

My sister ran with me again, too! She has recently lost 11 pounds, mostly because she’s been really stressed out and not eating much, but I like to think that part of it is because she’s been running. Go, Sis!

I don’t have much else to report about the run. It was 81°F out there, but there was a nice wind to keep us cool. Funny thing is, there’s this “dead zone” at the southwest corner of the track; there’s no wind at this particular spot, and it’s always a few degrees warmer.

In hockey news, I GOT A HOCKEY JERSEY! My friend Ali sent me her Yzerman jersey because she doesn’t wear it anymore. I got it in the mail today, and I’m so happy. (It's my very first jersey.) I put it on right away and took pictures. It’d probably be a lot bigger on me if I wasn’t so ... chesty.

In doggy news, I’M GETTING A PUPPY! Sis and I are making plans to meet her friends in Colorado next month. They live in Louisiana, but they thought we could meet halfway to pick up Curly Joe. I can’t wait. Not only because I finally get to meet Curly Joe, but because I LOVE ROAD TRIPS. When I was in high school, my sister and I and our BFF did nothing but road trip around the country. We were going to concerts, but the driving was almost the best part. I usually sat in back with our gigantic cassette tape collection. We stayed at exclusively at the Motel 6; I would hide in the back seat when we pulled into the parking lot and my sister would go in and get a room for one adult and one child (we were 18, our friend was 16). We always got a room with two full-sized beds, and we would rotate so that every night, one of us would get to sleep alone. One time, we were up in Milwaukee, hanging out in front of the Ambassador Hotel. It wasn’t until we went back to our motel room that night turned on the TV that we realized this was where Jeffrey Dahmer had murdered some of his victims.

Another time, we got stuck in a freak blizzard in Arkansas and the only motel we found had one double bed, so we had to pull the mattress out on the floor and flip a coin to see who had to sleep on the box spring. Actually, I think I was outvoted; they claimed they had to sleep on the mattress because I was the only one who was capable of falling asleep anywhere, anytime. Since I’ve actually fallen asleep in the middle of guitar class and also during a concert, I really couldn’t argue with them.

Anyway. I’m really excited about the road trip. Good music, good company, good times.

See you Tuesday!

Week 3, Day 13

I hate running this late in the day, but I had a pretty full schedule and this was the only time I could manage it. Wasn't a very good day today (in general), but I survived. I had to take three cats into the vet today. Benduka, for his UTI recheck and my sister's kittens, Lindy and Doon for their pre-spay blood work. Let's just say Ben was the only one who made it to the appointment. The girls kind of lost their shit when I put them in the carrier. A carrier they've been in many times, mind you. Today they decided it was the portal to HELL and they wanted nothing to do with it. If they were a little scared, I would have gone ahead, but they were bouncing off the walls and I was terrified they would hurt themselves. I let them out and they vanished. By dinnertime, they'll forget it ever happened and be right back to their lovable, annoying selves.

At any rate, after I dropped Ben off at home, I headed out to run some other errands, two of which I didn't even have time to do. So I bought a bottle of loganberry wine and went back to my sister's house. I had a Tofu Pup for lunch, took the dogs out for a walk around the yard, chased a stray duck back into the little yard because she couldn't figure out how to get back on her own and the geese were terrorizing her, FINALLY put on my running gear and headed out.

I got two houses down from my sister's before I remembered her asshole neighbor who can't be bothered to keep his psychotic dog inside the house. I heard the dog barking from behind the house, and two seconds later, he (she?) was out in the street barking at me. I avoided eye contact and sat, sternly, "GO HOME," but he/she kept darting after me, so close, I could feel his/her whiskers on my leg. I told him/her again to go home, but the damn dog trailed along behind me until I got to the next house where two women were screaming at each other on the front lawn. I don't keep my iPod turned up very loud for safety and hearing reasons, so I could pretty much hear everything they were screaming. Apparently, one women couldn't afford the luxury of having two cars, which I find strange because her driveway and lawn is home to no less than 12 sorely abused vehicles. One of them was in the ditch, in fact. The other woman was mad because she was expected to answer her texts messages while she's out with her man. It was at this point that my eyes started to glaze over and I almost fell into a ditch. Hello, kids! Welcome to Jerry Springer's neighborhood. Can you spell "meth lab"?

Anyway. Running. It's 76°F out there right now. Thankfully the sun was low enough to be hidden by the trees along the river, so I had quite a bit of shade. I'm happy to announce that today's run wasn't as "bad" as Tuesday's. It was difficult mentally because when I run on the track, I know where I'll be when the intervals end because I'm running the same circle every time. On the road at my sister's, I don't know where I'll be when an interval ends, so I feel kind of lost without those markers.

I did pretty well, for the most part. I felt good, too. The last three minute run was a little hard, but I didn't feel quite so much like dying this time around. I think getting back to the strength training and aerobic this week has really paid off. *pats self on back* I haven't had time to do my lower body workout today, but that's ok. I ran and that should be enough. I'm not going to drive myself crazy trying to fit every damn thing into my schedule today.

Right now my biggest concern is whether or not I should take a bath. A shower, yes, but my sister has a jacuzzi tub and, before she left for Chicago, bought some rubber duckies and told me to take a bubble bath while she was gone. Trouble is, do I really want to soak in hot water when it's this warm out? It'll cool off in a couple of hours (I hope). Perhaps I'll wait until then. It'll give the wine time to chill. Or whatever wine does in the fridge.

See you on Saturday.

P.S. I've been in contact with my sister's friend, and we're working out the best way to get that little fainting puppy out here. Actually, it's not so much that he faints. He'll just fall over from time to time. I'm definitely going to buy him a doggy life preserver for when we all go to the lake, but maybe I should get him a helmet, too...

By this time next month, Tank could have a little brother!

Week 3, Day 12

My sister won’t be back from Chicago until Friday, so I’m still house/animal-sitting. Yesterday I did 20 minutes on the elliptical and upper body strength training, so today I feel a bit more prepared than I have been this last week or so. I ate not too terribly bad yesterday, too. This morning I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast. It was pretty much all I had to work with.

It’s 55°F today. Overcast, a little bit of a breeze. So far, I’m really enjoying the weather this summer.

To the run! On the plus side, I didn’t even have to put my hair up in a ponytail. I just clipped the bangs back and viola! Love this new hair. On the down side, I was ready to pack it in before I’d even finished my first 90 second interval. Obviously, it’s going to take me a few days to get back into the swing of things. Because I’m pressed for time and out of sorts these days, I decided to do aerobic on my non-run days.

Anyway, when I got to the track, there was a woman speed walking and another, younger, woman running the opposite direction. Oy. Three’s a crowd, eh? I used the second lane of the track for my warm up, giving the runner the right of way even though she was going the “wrong” direction. Because I’m nice like that. The inside lane is the only one without huge lumps or potholes, and I didn’t have my glasses on, so I wasn’t so much flirting with disaster as I was soul kissing it.

The runner passed me again just before I started my first interval, except this time she was not only running but kicking a soccer ball in front of her. No wonder I wanted to quit! Jeezum crow, I can barely talk and blink at the same time.

But I digress. I pushed through the entire run, stretched and now I’m home. I’ve got Meathead and Tank with me because I’m taking my mom on some errands after I do my lower body workout and take a much needed shower. Meatie’s got this weird burping issue that needs to be looked at. I’m guessing he’s either got IBD or (more likely) something esophageal. We may end up having to do a barium series to see where/what the trouble is. If you’ve never worked as a vet tech, you’ll never know the pain of a barium series. It doesn’t hurt the dog, but it’s murder on the tech. Not only is it a pain in the ass getting the animal to drink the barium, but you spend the next fifty years of your life taking radiographs to track the barium’s progress. I have to say, though, it really is quite fascinating.

Also, since Meatie’s mommy is in Chicago until Friday, he’s being a big, fussy baby. He loves his Auntie Turtle, but he doesn’t like it when my sister isn’t around. When were still living in Chicago, and Sis and her b.f. went out to Portland for the first time (about nine years ago) to visit friends, I took Meathead to the forest preserve everyday to play fetch or frisbee to keep his mind off of their absence. Am I good or what? Yesterday I took both dogs for a walk, which was quite the pain in my caboose. Try pushing a big dog in a doggy stroller while trying to control a sniff-crazy hound dog at the same time. Not easy, I can assure you. Then I remember that Sis and I used to walk all seven dogs at once, and tell myself to quit being such a baby.

Anyway. See you Thursday.

Week 3, Day 11

Well, these runs aren't getting any easier, but at least I had a running partner for the third day in a row! My sister is flying back home to visit relatives in Chicago for a couple of days; I'm driving her to the airport tomorrow morning. Remember how I went to Florida earlier this year? And flew on a plane for the first time in 18 years? Well, that's my sister, too. She's really scared, so what better way to burn off some nervous energy than by running?

Unfortunately, her iPod died right after the warm up. But it was a beautiful day (63°F, windy, not a cloud in the sky) and she was determined to run, so she just counted the seconds off in her head. She's still doing Week 1 so it wasn't too tedious.

I did alright, but I'm not progressing. This week I am bound and determined to get back to strength training and at least 20 minutes of aerobic. Otherwise I'm just going to stall, and I don't like the thought of that.

For breakfast this morning, I had two flax seed waffles and a bottle of blueberry/açaí juice. For lunch I had a veggie Italian sahsidge with some mustard and a side of potatoes with onions and green peppers.

In other news, I got my hair cut! (You can only see the picture if you’re one of my Flickr contacts. Sorry!) Got quite a bit cut off and, for the first time in 20 years, got some bangs. Nothing drastic, but still a big change.

Bonus! Pictures of my garden. I'm ashamed to say I had no hand in building any of it, but it still looks fantastic.

Now all I have to do is get planting! So far I've got Walla Walla onions, some strawberries, and my neighbor is giving us some red seed potatoes. A friend of mine is also sending me a bunch of seeds. Turnips and suchlike. I need to get some lettuce, too. This is my very first garden. I hope I don't screw it up.

In hockey news, Alexander Ovechkin is coming out with his own clothing line. MY EYES! MY EYES!

Also, today is Saturday the 14th. If you don't know why that's significant, you probably weren't born in the 70's and should therefore feck off.