~Spring Running, a Little Chewing Gum, Pre-Hunger Game Excitement, and Puppy Pain~

It's been quite awhile since I've written anything in here, so I thought I'd stop in and pay my little ol' blog a visit. (I ramble on a bit about running in the beginning, so feel free to skip down to the New Subject line if you so choose ;)

Since it is officially Spring Time, my thoughts have turned in a major way to getting back out there and getting back into a steady running routine again.  I pushed it a little too hard (I ran my usual 6.2 distance after a couple months of practically no running) and after a little fancy googling, I self diagnosed myself as having peroneal insertional tendonitis, because I had lots of pain along the side of my right foot and up my right ankle.  I decided to lay off the running for a little while, so I wouldn't cause further damage and ruin any Spring Time running.

Mine are all black. So cute<3

Besides pushing too hard too fast, my shoes were also in pretty bad condition, with the tread being completely gone on both outer edges.  The tread wore out exactly the same on my last pair of running shoes, so after doing a little research (again, thanks internet), I decided to try out merrell barefoot running shoes.  The theory behind these shoes is that they reduce heel strike running, and force a mid-foot strike instead.  You actually start to use different muscles as you begin to run in these shoes.  I've had more hip pain in the last six months of running (sound like I'm ancient here, huh?), and between that and the new foot/ankle pain, I was ready to try something different.

I've worn my new shoes to the last couple weeks of my body pump class, and they were very comfortable except for during squats, as they make me feel like I could very easily tip over backwards.  I think this is just because I'm used to regular running shoes that have more of a heel boost.  It's just a matter of getting used to a new shoe design.

I took my shoes out for my first post injury run last Sunday.  I made it an especially easy run both because my ankle still was a little sore, and my new running shoes actually come with a warning label to start it off easy because of all of the new muscles they force to use.  I thought I went very easy- I walked about two miles and then ran about two miles.  Apparently, it was still too much.  My calves were on FIRE for at least three days after that run.  I moved around like a 100 year old, especially the first few steps out of bed in the morning.  Even barely touching my calves could make me wail in pain (to Derrick's twisted delight).  My foot and ankle felt alright though, so I'm pretty sure the new pain is completely due to the new shoes.  I haven't got out there again since, so I'm aiming for this Sunday again.  I'd like to really hit the new running schedule hard next week.  Must commit.

One thing I was thinking about the last time I ran is that my thinking process during the run has changed a bit over the last year.  The two years I ran while my mom was sick and after she died, I had a lot of thoughts about life in general.  That was one of the main things I loved about running; all of the stress I had about her sickness in general became transformed into more peaceful and philosophical thoughts about the nature of life and death, pain and endurance.  I needed that time to process that difficult time I was going through. Now that I've had time to process and find some peace about the whole thing, I find that my mind isn't automatically going to that place of finding inner calm, probably because I feel more balanced with life in general.  I may need to push harder to find that place, because I still want to go there.  It is, after all, one of the main reasons I find the time to get my butt out there on that road.

New Subject:  My friend Melissa has started vlogging (video blogging) on her blog.  It's really fun getting to hear her voice and see her talking after so many years of having an online friendship.  In one of her vlogs, she shows everything that is in her purse.  I think that is such a fun idea.  I'd like to do a vlog about that, but it would be pretty embarrassing, as what I mostly keep in my purse is hundreds of gum wrappers (and now cough drops).  I eat a LOT of gum (and yes, I do mean "eat").  I have entire relationships based on how much gum I consume, and I'm mainly referring to the nerdy guy who works at the Sinclair close to where I work.  He's big time into conspiracy theory's and has a lot of opinions on the sweeteners they put into the gum I frequently buy from him.  Anyways, I may try for a vlog soon.

We (Derrin and I) are going to the Hunger Games this weekend.  We are both SO EXCITED.  I devoured the series on his suggestion, and so far the movies have received great reviews.  :)   

I started 108 seedlings this week in celebration of spring.  This year I invested in grow lights, and I have my whole pre-garden operation set up out in the garage.  I was amazed that I had little plants popping up after only one day under the lights!  I have high hopes for my little baby plants this year, even if past experience tells me that I will eventually inadvertently kill them all, and have to buy plants from a nursery yet again.   This is MY year.  These plants will LIVE!!!!!!

In other news...  Kloe girl is doing good these days.  Happy kid that she is:)  Derrick is good too- super busy (he's pioneering this month, and has a full work load), but good.  My in-laws are on their way to Mexico as I write this- somewhere in California at the moment.  They are moving to.... aw Cusmon (I'm sure I spelled that wrong), and although I'm sad to see them go, I'm happy they get to go on a new adventure.  And I'm happy to have a new play to visit:) 

Jessy went into heat for the first time ever yesterday.  Poor little puppy has to wear doggy diapers when she is in the house and she HATES them.  Yesterday was the worst day of her life, and if she could talk she would tell you ALL about it.  We don't want her to have puppies, so hopefully we can have her spayed soon and she won't ever have to go through this again.


And with that, I say Goodbye.

January Running- 2012

These pics are from last Friday.  I took the day off work, had an awesome run (it was SUCH a pretty day), and wrote and sent out some letters and pictures like I've been meaning to forever.  Need more days like last Friday.

My running buddy Jessy.

At the end of the magic dirt road, just about ready to turn around and run back.

Self Portrait

January 2012, no snow!

Beautiful day

My dirt road.

Common find along this road of mine.  Think maybe the above picture lead to the bottom picture?

The Fam Visits Seattle

We spent this last weekend in Seattle with David and Tia. It was SO good to see them. I wish we lived closer. I wish I had a vehicle that's abilities included warp speed travel...

ANYWAYS, our time there included sushi (at Marinepolis, one of our favorite sushi joints), going to the aquarium, spending some time at Alki beach, and on Saturday the guys took the kids on a ferry ride to Friday Harbor while Tia and I stayed in Seattle and had a marathon girl-talk in which we solved all of the world's problems before going to a movie and dinner.

We ended up taking Jessy with us on our trip. I've never had the experience of traveling with a dog before this little one showed up. She is good in the car, sleeping most of the time. Whenever we would stop for her to go out and go potty, it felt like we were traveling with a rockstar. There was one instant where her rockstar status was severely compromised, but I will get to that in a minute...

I had coffee for breakfast every morning I was there and it was so stinking great. I knew I would pay for it when I got back (and I am), but it was heaven. I always feel really good in Seattle. It might be that it's closer to sea level there, or maybe the extra humidity, OR maybe the fact that it is always vacation time with no responsibilities, or the conversation with Tia (which I suspect may be the real reason- what beats a good talk with a friend in the feeling better department?), but I just felt great.

Then we come home.

Fire on the Mountain

It turned into fire season here while we were over there.

And no coffee means a big, all-day head ache.

And there is road construction on the road leading to my house again.

And I forgot my wallet at Safeway.

And I was going to drive back to Safeway to get my wallet, but then I realized I'd lost my keys, so I couldn't start my car.

I finally gave up finding my keys and borrowed Derrick's, had to reface road construction again and made it back to Safeway. The good news is that my wallet was still in the shopping cart out in the parking lot where we'd left it.

SO, I went home and took a nap.

That has been the bulk of my first day home, with a couple loads of laundry in there too.

School starts a week from today. I can not believe this summer is over. I was able to do pretty much everything I'd hoped to at the beginning of the summer, but I still need more time!!! We have one more camping trip this weekend, a final hurrah to summer. It's with good friends, it will be awesome. But then school starts. *sigh*

SO, on that sorry note, I will tell the story of what happens when you take a puppy to a beach in Seattle...

We'd been working with Jessy to go potty while on a leash the whole time we were over there. She'd stubbornly refused to go at all unless allowed off of her leash, which was only allowed while at David and Tia's place.

We went on a couple outings to Alki beach in West Seattle. It has one of the best views of Seattles skyline I've seen, AND you get to be in sand by the water while seeing that view. It is a win/win for all involved. We decided to bring little Jessy with us because she'd been inside for most of our visit over there; puppy needed to stretch her legs and run around.

We knew she wouldn't love being on a leash, but those are the breaks. As someone who has never been a dog owner as an adult, I have been very surprised by how many places flat out don't allow dogs, and the places that DO allow dogs all seem to require leashes. Seems unnatural, but I didn't make the rules. We would follow the rules at Alki beach; Jessy would wear her leash.

The guys dropped us off so they could find a parking place. We (Tia, kids and myself) made our way down to the water. Jessy was being drug along by her leash. Derrin was limping along in a dramatic fashion because he'd hurt his foot by jumping from high places earlier in the day. Tara and I were carrying our beach chairs, getting ready to do a lot of sitting, talking, and taking pictures of the kids frolicking. Kloe was already heading for the water with every intention of jumping in.

We set our chairs down and proceeded as planned. Eventually the men joined us, and we all were enjoying our time by the water. We were completely surrounded by people (that beach is crazy busy), but it felt like we were the only ones on our little spot of the beach, enjoying our time together.

Then Jessy happened. The puppy who wouldn't go potty while attached to a leash the WHOLE TIME we had been there? Well, whether it was the sand, the sound of the water hitting the shore, or just the relaxed atmosphere we'd all been enjoying, she was all of a sudden in her comfort zone. All of a sudden she was squatting and without thinking I cried out "OH NO!!!", just so if anyone else on the beach WASN'T witnessing our dog soiling the sand, they were now alerted to have the opportunity to do so.

Oh Lordy. There was a lot of illegal puppy poo there, and as new puppy owners, we have NOT developed a good checklist of puppy related things to take on all outings, the first of which would be a plastic baggie for such an occasion. I stood up and started fumbling for my shoes, only thinking "MUST FIND BAGGY". In my shoe finding haze, I missed the heckling calls from the group of people closest to us, but I heard later it was to the effect of "Get that dog off the beach!!" And when I heard them shouting to pick up the poo, I shouted back,"Well yeah, of course we will" because I am a QUICK thinker like that. Did they want me to pick it up with my bare hands and carry it away as penance? Maybe they did, because I felt their eyes on us until we had the situation resolved. David was the one who ran up and found a bag, and then I scooped up the shameful deposit, problem solved. SOOO dramatic. *sigh*

In looking for the baggy, a sign was discovered by David and Derrick that while dogs were allowed on the sidewalk above the beach, they were not allowed in the sand. This was a huge surprised to us, because we had seen literally dozens of dogs down there. If you can't take your dogs to the beach, where CAN you take them? Not only were they not allowed, however, but there was a five hundred dollar fine for having a dog down there. Derrick and David took off with Jessy, intending on going for a walk and avoiding a fine.

As for Tia, myself and the kids, we stayed. We couldn't let the hecklers think they'd driven us off, so we hunkered down and enjoyed the rest of our time there, every extra minute a triumph.

Eventually we had to pack up all of our stuff and go out to find the men and the cars.

We were a pitiful looking crew. Derrin hobbled along like he'd actually LOST his foot at some point, so I carried a chair and my big camera with one arm, and held on to him with the other. Kloe was completely soaked from jumping in the ocean, AND she had about four cups of sand in her underwear from scooting along the beach on her behind while playing. She walked bowleggedly along behind us, tears in her eyes, every inch screaming pitiful, miserable girl. Tia finally took pity and started carrying that 8 year old girl on one hip while carrying one of the chairs in her other. We should have been carrying tin cans so West Seattle could at least throw dollars in there to help relieve our suffering.

Eventually, we found the guys, the puppy and the cars, loaded the broken children in them, and back home we went.

Stilts

Aunt Nancy MADE these stilts for the kiddos to play with.  It looked like they had fun trying, and I KNOW I had fun watching them:)

Spinning Onward

In hindsight, this week has been fairly productive.  I've delivered important things to our accountant, balanced QB and observed bills that need to be paid, cleaned the house (mostly), done the laundry (which is never *really* done, but I was counting myself a success in that department yesterday), finally framed the pictures I took of the kids months ago, and also worked on some other projects I've been putting off.  Actually went in service this morning to make up for last Saturday's bout of being ill. 

Despite all of this, I very much feel like I am spinning my wheels. *sigh* The list of things I should be doing is long, and there will never be enough time to do it all.

We are going camping this weekend.  Need to run into town to buy the 'Chef Bayha Approved' list of groceries (he also makes most of the food while there). I'm glad to have a list, or I'd just buy hotdogs for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And some marshmallows.  And anything else that can be roasted over a campfire.  While I might be okay with that kind of camping culture, I am almost positive my fellow campers there would not be.  I want to be with happy campers, so the list is appreciated.

 Hopefully, I will be awesome enough (as in remembering) to buy and pack everything we need today so we can leave first thing in the morning.

Different subject:  Jessie jumped up and bit Kloe's face last night.  Those little puppy teeth are sharp!  There was a small cut on Kloe's face; small, but gaping a little too much for my comfort.  I took her to the ER, thinking stitches, but then decided I was being a bit drama-queenish for such a tiny cut.  We went to the store instead, and I bought butterfly stitch bandaids and liquid bandaid stuff.  Seems to have worked- just looks like a little scratch this afternoon.

Alright... better quit dawdling around here and go gather camping stuff.  Hope y'all have a super dupe weekend!

Kloe (every morning)knocked out
after taking care of Jessie all night.

Ring Derrick gave me two years ago.
Finally figured out how to protect
inserted photos.

"Magic Gloss" bought in Seattle-

used for coating pictures on pendants.

Want to use the "Magic Gloss" more- I think
there are different brands of the same product

in larger sizes for a lower price.




Derrick bought three new Platties.  Store clerk
assured us they are tough as nails.

 

Finally just did my own frames for these pictures.  Never could find anything in the store that felt right.

My girl (with fancy face bandaid), and Ma'Self, striking a pose.

A Morning of EeWww

There is nothing quite like being woke up at 6:45 in the morning by a frantic, eight year old crying about a very bad smell in her room. 

A smell that she wants nothing to do with and so would you please do something about that please. 

A smell whose origins have everything to do with a furry little critter that she scrimped and saved for months to have. 

We had a true lesson on puppyhood (babyhood, really) this morning.  Took me back to the days of my own chillins' and the delights of waking up to a ripe diaper that didn't quite make it through the night, to the delight of a curious and artistic toddler.

Anyways, Jessy's crate was a stink fest this morning- obviously something didn't agree with her yesterday.  Getting the whole morning mess cleaned up was a three man job- Derrin gave her a bath, and Kloe and I cleaned the crate, gagging and tearing up the whole time.

Actually, Kloe was trying to back away from the door (as most people with a functioning olfactory system would be), and I was barking like a drill Sargent for her to get back in there and help me out because, by all that is holy, I am NOT going to be cleaning puppy-poo up all by myself at 6:45 in the morning!!!  Ah, it really was like a walk back in time into early parenthood.

Writing about this is way more fun that actually doing it in this case...

Talking about family pets, Derrin's black moor passed on yesterday.  Not 'Wolf', who died awhile ago, but 'Koakanee'.  RIP Koakanee.  And now his other fancy goldfish 'Granite' appears to be ailing, despite special salt baths and water cycling.  These 'special' goldfish are too hard to keep alive!  Give me a plain ol' goldfish anyday!  I'm pretty sure I could strip my floor with the amount  of ammonia in Mercury's (my giant regular goldfish) aquarium.  You'd have to run him though the washing machine before he kicked the bucket.

So, now that our exciting morning has calmed down, my day should be a fairly calm one.  It is GREY out there.  Looks nothing like what a July morning should look like; clouds are hanging low along the mountain, the grass is wet and it smells like rain.  It's been a stormy summer. 

Derrick already left for work, so I'm thinking I will unfold the treadmill and give that a whirl.  I've been trying a different running strategy- shorter runs (around 3 miles @ 30 minutes, plus warm up and down walking) every day instead of the 6 mile run every other day.  I can run harder with no walk breaks for the shorter distance.  I'm less achy with the shorter runs, and my brain functions better if I get out there every day.  I'm also thinking that a half hour on the treadmill won't be 'death by boredom' like a full hour would be.

When Derrick gets home, we'll be taking a trip into town to two of my very favorite places, the IRS building and Verizon.  As both places are patently reasonable and non-money grubbing, we shouldn't be there too long.

Summer Days

It is so hard to consistently write in here when it is so beautiful out side and there is so much to do.  If I lived some place always hot and beautiful, I might never write again.  Maybe winter and cold rainy days serve the purpose of causing the angst and discontentment needed to write.  I'd like to believe they do, in fact, serve some purpose. 

Since words are failing me, I'm just gonna post some pictures of summer.

After 2nd Convention Day
At the Pool (We had our District
Convention last weekend in Kennewick.)

Soaking up a little Sunshine.

 

Kiddos burning some energy up after
sitting and listening so well all day.

Big Beautiful Strawberries(from the little patch in my backyard)

My Little Vege Garden

Flowers and Herbs

Strawberry Patch

Kloe and Her Baby

Jessy

 



Jessy's Dog Momma, Gertie, right before we brought Jessy home.

 Kloe has been doing such a good job taking care of Jessy.  It hasn't been easy for her either!  Usually summer has a lot of sleep-in days for her, but since Jessy moved in, Kloe gets up a couple times a night to let her go outside and she has to get up early for potty/breakfast/puppy playtime.  Not that all of this has happened with zero whining, but it has been fairly minimal.  Like I said, she's doing a good job.