Sunday Morning

I went walking along the coast with Hubs on Sunday and took the grown-up camera.

It's hard to believe this is November with weather so warm.

Song from Wednesday, November 16, 2011:

Human - The Killers

PEACE

No Scrubs

I have a 20k race coming up THIS Saturday.  What the heck was I thinking?  It was either do the 16 mile train run, which is mostly coastal, or do the 20K race, which is inland and hilly.  I really like the train run, all 16 miles of it.  The track club does this run every year.  We meet at the train station and take the train 16 miles up the coast and run back.  Since I've opted to train for the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll HALF MARATHON this year, I have  free admission to this 20K race through the track club.  If I were signed up for the MARATHON, I'd have my train fare paid for and would be running 16 miles.   I'm going into the 20K with an open mind.  I'm not at all familiar with the route, and I just keep hearing that it's a hard race due to the hills. I'm not a newbie to hills, but I haven't been training on hills as much as I should be. 

Other Stuff

I was somewhat vague in my last post about certain details.  My new job really isn't a new job, but I'll be working for a doctor who I was employed with several years ago.   Through Facebook, a former coworker contacted me wanting to know if I knew anyone who was looking for a job.  Me!  I'm keeping an open mind about this job because it will be much different than my last workplace, but I'm looking forward  to working for someone who isn't a complete psychopath.  I'm looking forward to a much calmer workplace. No more scrubs.

 Lake Murray with Cowels Mountain in the background.  It was much prettier closer to the lake. Trust me.

Ducks do not like having their pictures taken.  They were just about ready to call in their body guard ducks.

FYI, the pictures in my last post (and in this post) are from Lake Murray in La Mesa, CA, which AKA Alice affectionately refers to as "Lake Boy Part." 

Lentils and eggs actually go together for breakfast,  and strawberries and rosemary go well together in a compote or jam.  You need an ice cream maker to make gelatto.  1st grade homework is ridiculous.  Yeah, I've had some time on my hands the past couple of weeks.

Friday's Song:
Best Days -  Graham Colton

PEACE

Best Days

 Over the past couple of weeks, I've been doing a lot of running on this:

Stopping to look at and smell these:

Spending a lot more time with:

and reconnecting with:

It has been a good mental vacation of sorts, but I've been in search of employment, and have been spending way too much time looking here:

Last week I received this:

For whatever it's worth, I normally don't put a lot of stock into what a fortune cookie says, but I was hopeful.

This week, this happened:

I start back to work in two weeks.  Whew.

Song from Wednesday, March 16, 2011:
Peace - Norah Jones

PEACE

August's Rhapsody

This is a longish post, but far from my longest post ever.  My blogging will be sporadic at best until after Labor Day. 

It has been a little tricky getting time for myself these days, which cuts into my blogging.  I'm mostly kid sitting, and it's  hard to get in a few words without him peeking over my shoulder asking when he can get on the computer.  His mommy started classes again last week and he doesn't go back to school until after Labor Day.  I love spending time with my grandson, though, and we've been working on reading and spelling (easy for him - he reads at a 3rd grade level) and math concepts (a little tougher). I'm also getting him outside to play games in the backyard and we've had a couple of trips to the park.

Last week it was suggested that I take my grandson with me to the park so that he could ride his bike or Razor along side me as I ran.  He's speedy on wheels, and I thought  I would have to chase him down.  He can handle 3 miles on wheels.  It sounds like a good idea, right?  We get to the park and barely make it a third of a mile and he wants to turn around and play at the park with all the kids.


The park was packed with day camp kids and I couldn't let him out of my sight, I just sat there for a bit, trying to figure out the best plan of action since I was already there. It wasn't long, but the day camp kids were all packed on their buses and left, and the park was quiet and manageable. At that point it occurred to me that I could run laps around the park's playground area and keep an eye on my grandson while he played. Two laps around the playground was about 400 meters. I ran enough laps to fit about 2 miles. (I had a little GPS bouncing - I didn't run through the middle of the playground.)


It still wasn't exactly what I had planned.  I couldn't do sprints due to the fact that I had to make sure I knew where my grandson was as I ran, plus I had to navigate around small children playing on the walkway around the playground. A few parents/adults with their kids just sort of watched me run, like I was nuts, however I'm not the type to just sit idle and watch my kid(s) play, either. If I didn't run I would have been on the swings with my grandson.

My grandson had a good time playing with a couple of boys about his age until the boys had to leave.  By then I had put in my two miles, cooled down and stretched.  As much as I enjoyed watching my grandson play and have fun, I remembered why I (most of the time) run solo.  It's my "me" time.  It's the time I need to be a bit selfish and take care of me and clear my head.*

Meanwhile, back in the garden, I actually grew eggplant without killing it!  See?  This was my first attempt with eggplant, and I was happy with how well it did.  Bonus points that the gophers didn't touch it

It was yummy, too.

Hubs and I ran in the Fire Run on Sunday, August 29, 2010.  It's advertised as an end of summer run.  The run starts in La Jolla and ends in Pacific Beach, and is mostly at a slight downhill route.  Each year this event grows, perhaps because of the direct route that is mostly flat with the slight downward hill , and the promise of two free beers at the end of the race.  I asked hubs to bring the camera, but when we got to the start line, he said he left it in the car. I have no pre or post race photos.  My friend Rich snapped a few photos right after the race,  one with me finishing.  I also forgot my Garmin.  Since the race organizers finally added D-tags, I figured I could even go without timing myself, although that would mean I wouldn't know my splits, or if I would need to kick things up a notch.  I wasn't feeling 100% ready due to the lack of enough sleep (4 hours) and girl issues. My legs felt like lead from the get go, but just kept going, hoping I'd find my fast gear.  Much to my amazement, I broke even and finished in 36:24 (9:06 pace), just one second faster than last year.

 Me on the finish line.  Photo credit to Rich.

I'm pretty happy that I broke even, but I'm far from a PR. If I could only stay injury free for a whileI could be smashing some PRs.   My friend Rich, who ran this with me last year and finished several seconds behind me, finished this year in 32:58 (8:15 pace), a PR for this race and a race pace PR.  Hubs also amazed me and finished with a PR at 41:06 (10:17 pace). 

At this race I also saw my PT Bryan with some of his RU posse, AKA Alice and most of the Heffers, and several SDTC members, including Michelle and her husband - who I began the SDTC Rockin' 'n' Runnin' marathon training program with two years ago.  Since Hubs was denied beer at the end of the SDRNR marathon earlier this year, he wanted to claim his two beers, so we waited (in an actually short line) retrieved our beers and met up with track club friends.  I ended up giving my second beer away and only drank half of the one I did have.  We didn't stay very long in the bar, and found our way back to the shuttle bus area, where we ended up on the disco bus, complete with bumping music, disco lights, and dance floor**.  I managed to get a couple of not so great cell phone pics,  but you get the idea:

 

After getting on our groove in the disco bus, we had a short walk back to the car and made our way to the High Dive to meet up with AKA Alice, Walter and some of the Heffers.  They skipped the beer crowd and made it to the High Dive well before we did.  They were just about finished up as we arrived with evidence of mimosas, but we were still able to enjoy each other's company for a little while.

They all looked well rested and clean!  Hubs and I were still grungy from the run.  Hubs played photographer.

Even though I was not into the idea of having any (more) alcohol, Hubs took it upon himself to order a bottle of champagne and cranberry juice so that we could make mimosas, too.  I obliged, but these made me even sleepier than I already was.  The Heffers and Walter were soon off, and Hubs and I had a leisurely breakfast.  The Challa (French) toast with loganberries hit the spot.

Once we were home I crashed and felt flu like for most of the day.  I was achey and a little feverish until much later on, sometimes before sunset, when I began to come back around and everyone was asking about dinner. Figures.

In my feverish stupor, I signed up Hubs and I for two half marathons and a 5k. I would have gone for a 3rd half marathon but I need to be mindful of that credit card balance.  Besides, I can't sign up for that 3rd race until late January, when sign ups are open, and that would be the America's Finest City half marathon.   The events I did sign up for are the Shelter Island 5k, Carlsbad Half Marathon and La Jolla Half Marathon.  I completely missed the sign ups for the Silver Strand Half Marathon, but I'm going check around and see if some groups (like RU) have extra entries. I'm still considering the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll half in December and will most likely sign up through RU.

Right now I have the kid over my shoulder reading, which means it's time to bring the post to a close.  Other than a possible Wordless Wednesday post, I'm not sure how much blogging I'll be doing for the next 8 days, unless there is something so blogworthy that it can't wait. 

PEACE

Wednesday's Song:
Anywhere - Evanescence, 122, Stacey Clark, The Priests, etc...

*I went through this tug of war with my own kids and me exercising.  It sounds great to get everyone out doing the same activity, but, as a parent I would always end up slowing down or stopping to make sure my kids were safe, not beating up each other, not too far ahead, not crashing into other people, etc.  I had to make the activity THEIR activity, and do mine separately. 

** Yes there was evidence of a stripper pole on the dance floor.  They took it out for the shuttle service.  Darn.

Rush Hour

Hubs and I volunteered again for the America's Finest City Half Marathon water and electrolyte station #1. I brought my camera, but only two pictures turned out as they were supposed to. All the other still shots were videos -- All but one video turned out odd. A still shot doesn't translate well on video. Everyone is just standing there, posing, with background noise.

We trekked to Point Loma, right near mile 4 of the half marathon course, helped to set up water and electrolyte tables and waited for the masses to run through. I was able to catch up with some of my friends who did not run in the summer program.

Patricia, Jesu, Michelle, Me.  It's August and we're wearing jackets and long sleeves!

We were set up, and then we waited...

Hubs waiting for the hoards of runners.

One of the main sponsors of this event set out a sound system and had some pumping tunes for us as well as the runners. I still have "Humpty Dance" in my head.

It wasn't long until the front runners ran by so effortlessly and gazelle like. Seriously. Poetry in motion. None of these runners took water or electrolyte drinks. Then the mayhem began. Hoards of runners began running through and soon water and electrolyte drinks were everywhere, but our group of volunteers kept on top of it. Before we knew it, the hoards were through, and the back of the packers trickled in, then the lag wagon and police. Rush hour was over, the clean-up went like clockwork, and we were finished.

Hubs and I went through a fast food place for breakfast foods and coffee, then drove over to Balboa Park to the finish line to look for friends. Here's the only video that made sense, although it's only a few seconds long:


That's Rich in yellow running in for the finish, and Hubs and I yelling in the background.

Thank goodness for Anne. Not only did she set up the track club tent for the end of the race, she took some wonderful post-race pictures which you can check out HERE.

Many of my friends ran PRs, and I believe that their diligent training and cooler than normal weather helped. The skies were overcast, a little misty, and the temperatures were in the low 60s.

I really don't have any cute anecdotes or weirdness to report on, maybe because I was half asleep due to the early wake up to make it out to our volunteering destination before the streets closed.  Hubs and I weren't firing on all cylinders until well after we had coffee.  The only thing that comes to mind is we heard a couple asking the bus people  if there were shuttles back to the San Diego Zoo parking lot (where many people parked), which is probably a half mile (or less) walk through the park  from the finish line.  Really?  They didn't seem injured.

I didn't have any odd feelings about not running in the AFC half marathon, maybe because I knew I wasn't really ready for it.  I did have fun volunteering with friends and watching everyone else run through -- and that was enough.




Friday's Song:
Show Me What I'm Looking For - Carolina Liar

Peace

Hello It's Me

"...I've thought about us for a long, long time."

Randomenss (Again, just so I can catch up.)

Bryan at RU set me up with an actual training schedule. He had attempted this last year, but did not follow through very well. This time he's on it, or all over it, and I'm super happy about this. I've been adhering to the schedule as best as possible. The running and strength trainings are going well.  The two things that are tripping me up a bit are the swimming and biking. I'm having a few issues with my gym and their craptastic stationary bikes in the cardio area. All the good bikes are in the spin class area, which we aren't allowed to use unless were in a spin class. There are only a few spin classes at times I can't attend. The pool is less complicated only if I can get past the stinging eyes at the gym pool and the cut back hours of the public pool.  I'll figure this out.  I'm also considering looking at other gyms if I can negotiate the same cheap rate I pay now, which is the only reason I've been staying with my gym.

A couple of weekends ago, Hubs and I attended a wedding at the Children's Museum in Downtown San Diego. At first I couldn't picture a wedding there, but for a warm summer day it was perfect.  The ceremony was held in the courtyard in front of the museum and the reception was inside.  It was really quite charming.  It's difficult to see, but fresh flowers in shades of green and white were strung to make garlands, then attached to the beam of the pergola to make a more contemporary, yet lovely back-drop that gently swayed with the breeze.

Katey* and Eric.  

Unfortunately, we didn't get any interior good pictures of the newlyweds at the reception, but Hubs (in true form) got this photo:

Architects NEVER seem to put their brains on vacation or pause for any reason...

My grandson turned 7 last Sunday.  He spent the day at Legoland with his mom, then the original plan was to come home to open presents, have cake and ice cream at home -- just the 5 of us.  Hubs took it upon himself to start inviting people to the last minute.  Eeeeeeek!   Thankfully, I could send my son to pick up the cake, drinks and snack foods while I cleaned the house at break-neck speed.  I really wasn't expecting 20 people to come over for a party.  Regardless, we pulled it off and my grandson was just happy to have his best buddy there.  By the way, everyone found out my grandson's obsession with marbles, and he received several small bags of marbles as gifts.  He was thrilled with so many marbles, and those marbles gave me subject matter for my Wordless Wednesday photo.

 "Happy Birthday to you!"

Best friends.  Post cake photo op.

It was also Hub's dad's birthday earlier in the week.  Thankfully, Hub's sister brought an extra cake. I think I would have run out of cake, otherwise.

Happy 87th birthday to George, Sr!

My brother was in town for the weekend, mostly to spend time with dad. I invited him to run with the track club on Saturday morning. My brother is very friendly, and had no problem chatting it up about running with some of our track club members before we began to run. He ran with me for about the first mile, just to get caught up on the happenings of my dad, and whatnot. After that he sped up to catch the next group, then ran ahead of them to catch up with the front group. Needless to say, he's speedy. After the run he commented how organized our club is and wants to take a few of our ideas home to his club and was asking a few key people there some questions. I guess the extent of his club is that they just show up at the same time, run, then no one really sees each other after that. In our track club people usually hang around for the other runners to return, and sometimes we have guest speakers. Our club has a lot of dynamic people behind (and in front of) the scenes, and it's a rather well oiled machine, so to speak. My brother's friendliness was misread as creepiness by one lady. In her defense, she had no idea who he was and he was asking a lot of questions. She later on asked us who this "creepy guy" was, then she pointed him out. Of course I said, "Oh, that's my brother." *Insert awkward moment here.*  I tried to make light of the comment and came back with "yeah, he IS creepy,"  then just sort of blew it off.   By this time my brother was already in his car, getting ready to leave, so he didn't hear the conversation.  I mentioned this conversation to my Hubs, and he said that women tend to get a little creeped out by guys they don't know in general.  Hubs said that when we first joined the track club he would attempt to chat with a few of the people he was running with, mostly women, but they wouldn't be so receiving of his conversation.  They would look at him as if he were a threat, as some "creepy guy."  He was only trying to join in the camaraderie and chat about running. Of course, he's been with the track club for a couple of years now, and most everyone has seen him or knows who he is.  He's no longer the creepy guy.

While we were out running, my daughter and grandson were making their way to Comicon. My daughter has attended Comicon every year ever since  she was in high school.  I supposed Comicon has become a ritual, but now she takes the kid, and he LOVES it.  Comicon photos by my daughter.

 They attended a panel for a show he watches.  During Q & A time he raised his hand and they answered his questions!

Tron!

Later on that same day,  Hubs and I met up with my dad and  brother for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Old Town.

My bro, Dad, me.

In the world of running, I'm starting to pick up the pace a little.  A 4 mile tempo run is about a 9:25 minute mile and it needs to be an even 9 or better. Asthma has been tough this year, even more so than in years past, and it slows me down.  The legs and feet are working just fine.  I need to run smart and NOT run through any pain.  I've been injured enough, thankyouverymuch.  My next race will probably be the Fire Run towards the end of the August.  Wanna join us?  It's a flat 4 miler.  I'm familiar with the route since I've run it twice before.  Cold beer at the end is always enticing. 


Wednesday's Song:
Orbs - Maduro

PEACE

*Katey is an architect at Hub's office

That's Not Me

Randomness

This is an odd cold. The cold symptoms aren't that bad, I have no fever, yet I'm so tired! I went to my workout at RU yesterday and felt rather pathetic. Bryan is out for the week and I worked with Justin. Since I don't work with him regularly, he doesn't know me well enough to know that I can push through just about anything they throw at me. I felt like one of those contestants on The Biggest Loser on the first day of working out, where some of them just get going with the workouts, then start whining about how hard it is. That was me. I even tried to negotiate using lighter weights, but he just told me to push through. This is so not like me, but I'm also not feeling like myself, either.

Last night was also an office party. We celebrated three birthdays, including mine. It took me 2 hours to throw on some jeans, a blouse, shoes and apply make-up, just because the the fatigue. We celebrated at a little restaurant in the middle of an industrial/office park - Buds Louisiana Cafe. Yes, an odd location for a restaurant, but it was REALLY good, even for my foodie boss. Luckily, this was dinner and not an activity like bowling or roller skating. It was fun catching up with everyone and all of the office shenanigans. I didn't think to take my camera, but my boss made hats for the three of us birthday girls. Here's my hat:

Custom party hat.  An eye with running legs.

I ordered a few pictures from my daughter's graduation earlier this month. Look at what I received:

 Ummmmmmmmm, that' not my daughter!

At first I was thinking "WTF?"  Now I think this is sort of funny.  I called customer service and they think this guy probably received my daughter's pictures.  They're going to reprint my daughter's photos and send those out ASAP, and told me to destroy the incorrect photos. I feel kind of odd about destroying the pictures, though.  The guy's name is on the back and I was thinking of, perhaps, contacting him (though Facebook, maybe) and just sending him the pictures.  They're not cheap.  What do you think? 

The gophers are going down. Three more heads of almost ready romaine lettuce are gone! It's time for traps.

I should have an abundance of veggies by now. Evil gophers... 

Yesterday's Song:

Aloof - Latvian Radio 

PEACE

Feelin' Alright

"May Gray" is now with us.  We've had such pleasant weather up until yesterday, where it stayed overcast all day long.  It never really warmed up, either.  If I were running it would actually be perfect weather.

On Saturday I decided to attend the track club's run.  This particular run is normally a 20+ mile run.  I'm still not ready to run, but I decided to walk and see how far I could go.  It has been over two months since I've run or even walked more than a couple of blocks.  I kept an open mind, but remained cautious.  This is also the first time I've been able to really test out the custom orthotics.  I've been wearing the orthotics since I first put them in my shoes, but walking further was a better test.   I had no specific distance goal, but I knew I wanted to put in at least a couple of miles.  Coach Paul stopped and walked with me for a short time just to make sure I was OK and inquired about my foot.  Several of my friends ran by in the opposite direction and it was cool to give out some high fives along the way.  It felt weird being at the very back of the pack, but I wasn't putting in the high miles, I just wanted to see what I could do.  Here's the route I took:

I did an out and back from Hospitality Point to Mariner's Point and back, logging in 6.3 miles.

I felt OK, and that 6.3 miles was just enough. I'm not sure if it's the orthotic or if it's my left foot overcompensating in different places, but I have a shin splint near the outer side of the left calf. Shin splints are normally caused by going too fast or far too soon, or the wrong shoes. In my case, I don't think it's going too fast or too far too soon, and I know it's not the shoes. I think it might be the custom orthotic in the left shoe and some overcompensation. I haven't had shin splints in YEARS. I've been doing the R.I.C.E. thing, which I do for my foot anyway, plus using the stick to massage the shin. I'll address this at RU on Wednesday.

I enjoyed reuniting with many of my friends again and seeing how wonderfully they're doing.

The "Welcoming Committee" did an awesome job and had a tape to run through at the end, plus a cooler full of Otter Pops.  That's Molly (and me) recreating running through the tape.  No, she didn't run in sandals. LOL.

Group photo.  Brownie points if you can find me.  I'm wearing a white hat.

Hubs did OK. He doesn't run with a GPS at all, but he thinks he put in about 16 or 17 miles.

Based on how I walked on Saturday, I can definitely WALK the half marathon under the 4 hour time limit. I might be able to attempt a walk/run pattern.  I just have to be open minded to whatever happens. I'm just happy to be participating.

Thursday's Song:
Such Great Heights - Postal Service E-Speed

PEACE

When I'm Back On My Feet Again

Still busy not running...  sort of not running.  OK, so I ran about 25 feet or so. I'll get into that later.

I think I figured out my itchy skin issues.  I was getting itchy, dry skin around the back of my neck and collar bone.  Due to the process of elimination it's most definitely dairy, and possibly corn.  I've known all along that I've been allergic to dairy/cow's milk products.  Up until very recently I could handle small amounts of dairy, such as a touch of cream in my coffee while out to eat, or a small pat of butter on toast.  No more.  Over the past week I took out ALL cow's milk products away from my diet.  This wasn't easy since I had to be the picky one when going out to eat and ask how foods were prepared.  I'm just about all cleared up.  I'm putting corn back in next week just to see what happens.   Good times.

The garden is coming along slowly.  I planted the yellow squash seedlings into the garden.  I have a feeling I'll be over-run with yellow squash this season, but I'm going to attempt using the squash flowers for cooking.   Some of the romaine lettuce is just about ready for the transfer, but I want to make sure they're big enough to handle being out there, unprotected.  I just need to figure out other ways of keeping gophers, slugs and snails away from my precious vegetables.

On Saturday I attended another Runner's World wear test event.  I came away with a pair of Brooks Ghost 3.  I haven't had a lot of success with Brooks, but these actually fit well, even with my orthotic.  Bonus points for the shoe not being Easter egg colors.  It's a neutral shoe, but I completely forgot to ask if they had any neutral cushioned shoes in the bunch.*  My first impressions are that these feel good in the heel, and there's plenty of room in the toe box.  These aren't as cushy as the Pearl Izumi Cruise I've been wearing, but they feel comfortable enough.  We'll see how they do once I start running again, hopefully in a couple of weeks.  Before they released these shoes to me I had to run about 25 feet for their shoe expert.  That's the first time I've really run since March 13 this year.  I was reluctant, and told the guy about my ailments, but he said the shoe was a good match for me, even though he could see that my left foot wasn't right.  The review comes out in the September 2010 Runner's World Magazine.   We'll see if they use my two cents.

Florence was my grandma.

Speaking of shoes, just about everyone wanted to know about the Fit Flops. Theses are super comfortable and I am considering purchasing another pair with less bling.  Gold sequins don't do well in the garden mud, however, if I get lost in my backyard I suppose I can wave one of my shoes at an overhead airplane.  I can wear them all day without the broken foot hurting, mostly because of the thick, but light sole.  From the exercise standpoint of the shoes, I really can't tell much of a difference there.  I suppose if I never worked out or never have run before I might notice a difference.  Hubs now calls them my Princess Jasmine shoes. I think I've heard enough derriere comments to last me a while, thankyouverymuch.  The next pair I purchase will definitely be more earthy or neutral in color.  Size wise, I wear a 6 1/2 (USA) in regular shoes, but these come only in even sizes.  The size 6 fit me well.

Mother's day came and went.  We don't celebrate Mother's Day in a big way.  In the early years we've had the big Mother's Day brunches out or the big to do dinner at someone's house, usually my mother in law's house.  For several reasons, I've just decided to opt out of the bigness of the day and keep things super simple. My little family and I went to the High Dive  for breakfast.  I didn't have to worry about getting decked out to go have breakfast. I just threw on some jeans, a blouse, my Princess Jasmine shoes, pulled my hair back in a pony tail and went.  No biggie, but it was perfect. They serve an awesome Bloody Mary, which was worth the 1/4 mile trip down the street, and equally awesome Halla (French) toast.

After breakfast and back at home, I spent the day at home, enjoying my back yard and took a few photos:
.  

Lumpy (the tabby) insisting that he take over Cruiser's bed.  Cruiser (the black kitty) wasn't too happy, but never moved.

Renee and Evan

Erik

Oh yeah, Erik shaved his head on Friday.  He said he wanted to see what his head actually looked like.  He's never had a buzz cut, even as a kid.   It's hard to believe that this is the same person who was a "Senior Standout"  for best hair in high school.  He once looked like Slash from Guns 'n' Roses.  Seriously.

I'm a lot more mobile, but the foot is still rather sensitive.  With less than a month until the (now) half marathon, this sensitive foot still concerns me.  I've been trying to exercise within reason, but it still isn't enough to constitute any type of running or even simulated running.  I honestly didn't think I'd be out so long.  It was is one heck of a broken bone.  I go back to orthopedics next Tuesday.  This is getting old.


Thursday's Song:
Miles In These Shoes - Jennifer Lopez

PEACE

 In loving memory.  My mom,  Gloria January 4, 1929 - March 1, 1986

*They also had Saucony, K Swiss, Mizunos, Puma, and a few others.

Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op 86 "Pastoral"

Lately, I sit at the computer thinking I should blog about something, but it's just not happening. It's the same old thing. I have plenty on my mind, but the words aren't formulating. It's sort of like I'm stuck. I'm sure this has to do with not being able to run, and my mind really hasn't shifted gears. No running = no blogging.

Since I'm busy not running, I've been taking a lot more pictures, gardening, and have been taking pictures of gardening. Honestly, I'd rather be running, but I can get really aggressive when it comes to digging and pick axing the huge plot of soil that occupies a good portion of our backyard. I've also become acquainted with a family of Blue Jays that have declared our backyard their territory. My dog isn't too thrilled about this occupation.

"She's up there. Maybe if I bark long enough they'll all go away?"

They're not going anywhere. This one is quite good at taunting the dog.

As part of a homework project and in leu of Earth Day, I've spent some time with the kid showing him how to seed some plants:

K-Cups, not just for coffee. He's carefully peeling the foil from a used cup.

Adding the used coffee grounds to the soil.

Scraping out more coffee grounds.

Adding the soil to the K-Cup.

See?

Sweet Peas are a good choice.

Just add water.

We don't want to forget what we're growing!

Now we wait.
To be continued...

Wednesday's Song:
In Bloom - Nirvana

PEACE

Bonus points to whomever guesses the song.