Happy Feet

Monday's Song:
Hang On Sloopy - The McCoys

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Through My Eyes

Saturday's Song:
Don't Stop Believing - Journey - Planet Ynnep Running

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Worn Out Welcome

Monday's Song:
When I'm Back On My Feet Again - Michael Bolton - Katiefeldmom

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Shine Through

Yesterday's Song:
Waiting In The Weeds - The Eagles - Katiefeldmom

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I'll Wait

Monday's Song:
Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op 86 "Pastoral" - Beethoven - Extra Bonus Points to Run-DMZ

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In Bloom

Yesterday's Song:
Life is Beautiful - Vega4

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Bauhinia Tree

Life is Beautiful

Since I'm busy not running, I've been doing a lot of gardening. I did manage to start some vegetable seeds, plant some flowers, pull TONS of weeds, and turn over the soil. It's the turning over the soil part that's giving me the best workout, but it's a lot of work. I just strap on the "Frankenstein" boot** and go. I have a huge backyard and I feel like I've barely put a dent in things. Gardening is not a weekend project in my yard. It's probably about a 4 month project, especially since things went by the wayside. I've also become acquainted with a few bugs I've never seen before, like this one:

Potato Bug or Jerusalem Cricket

I've lived in Southern California forever and haven't seen these bugs until recently. I shot that picture and posted it on Facebook just to find out what it was. I tried looking for it on the internet, but there are only a zillion bugs in the world, maybe more. My FB friends gave me the info.*

Last Saturday, Evan came up with this outfit, and I felt it was worth a picture, but he would only have his picture taken if he could show off the marble he found in his room:

Yes, he has a unique sense of fashion...

Here's the marble, which is now lost inside his Great Grandma's piano.

I've also been faithfully tracking calories, which is helping to prevent weight gain. This week I'm working on getting in more protein, which is tough since I had relied on ready to drink protein shakes. I didn't have to think about it, they were ready to go, no blenders or mess. The last one I used was Muscle Milk, which is lactose free, but for some weird reason my system no longer likes it. I'm itchy right after drinking a serving. I'll probably go back to soy protein, but it would be even better if I could find a decent one that tastes good, is an RTD, and cheap. I'm trying to keep foods as natural as possible, but sometimes an RTD is good to have on hand in a pinch. Suggestions are welcome!

Friday's Song:
Life in Technicolor - Coldplay

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** AKA: The ginormous overkill boot they gave me in orthopedics. I might as well use it for something!
*Justifying that Facebook is not a total time suck.

It Amazes Me

Yesterday's Song:
The World Ain't Slowin' Down -Ellis Paul

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Photo credit - Erik, my son

Closer

Monday's Song:
Sounds Like Life To Me - Darryl Worley - Fit to be Tied

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Welcome Back

I ran 9.74 miles on Sunday. It was a "time on your feet run: for a time of 1:45. It felt good to be back at it, even though I was caught in the rain for 5 minutes around mile 7. I had Lucy set to show stopwatch time and chime/show mile laps, so I had no idea that I needed only .26 of a mile to make an even 10.

I think it's now safe to say I'm over what ever creepy crud infection I had. It feels good to feel good again.

Look!

You guys have no idea how long I've tried to get an orchid plant to produce blooms a second time. This is kind of a big deal for me. This big deal orchid bloom is actually about an an inch, maybe an inch and a half in size. Now that I've managed to get one orchid plant to grow*, perhaps it's time I get back on the gardening bandwagon and rototill the backyard. It's a jungle back there. It looks like we've abandoned the entire backyard.

Check out another running skirt giveaway over at Endurance Isn't Only Physical. Oh, and check out her cool blog, too.

Yesterday's Song;
I'm The Map! - from Dora The Explorer - Katiefeldmom

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*...and have rehabbed enough to squat down and get back up again without needing help...

Hovering

I went outside with my camera for this:

and ended up with these:

Lumpy doing what he does best... Hiding out where he thinks is a safe place away from kids and dogs.

Busted by Logan. Logan was poking at Lumpy with her paw, kind of making sure Lumpy was OK...

Logan is still making sure the situation is OK. Lumpy, in true Lumpy fashion, is meowing in protest but refusing to move.

Hovering

...and more hovering.

In running news:
I did a 5 mile tempo run on the gym treadmill yesterday. I haven't really managed a real tempo run in ages, even though I've made a few sad attempts. I managed to ease into 8:40 to 8:50 pace, and then in the low 9s. Since I was at the gym, I had to break up the run in a three miler and a two miler, just so the treadmill wouldn't shut off on me. It was that second round where my average pace was more in the mid 9s. It was OK, and I realize I have my work cut out for me if I want to become faster. DOMS will be a part of my vocabulary during this rebuilding phase. I. AM. SORE.

I'll be volunteering at aid station #1 for the AFC Half Marathon on Sunday. I'll try and wave to you as you speed by, provided you are running. There's a bunch of you! That's probably the aid station that most people will run past because they're still feeling fresh... maybe.

Tuesday's song:
Let The Children Play - Santana

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Water In The Sky

My son comes rushing in the house this afternoon:

"Mom!"
"You've gotta come and see this."
"Bring your camera."

This is what I saw from my backyard:

I'm not quite sure what happened but we're guessing it's from either a broken fire hydrant OR a broken pipe, which my neighborhood has seen plenty of recently. We'll see if there's a blip on the news about it.

All is back to normal.

Yesterday's song:
Straight And Narrow Way - Bob Marley & the Wailers

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