Heaven

Summer is finally in full swing in my neighborhood.  Going to the beach, backyard barbecues, early morning running before the heat kicks in, outdoor concerts and visiting with family and friends is on the agenda.

Speaking of backyard barbecues, Meg - Meg Runs and her husband Steve (Boy Scout) hosted a blogger meet up at their home.  It's so funny how we live within such close proximity to each other and have never met.  We've probably been at the same run events, either running or spectating, but have never bumped into each other.  This time the happy occasion of Jill - Run With Jill and her son visiting California was just what we all needed to meet.   Also in attendance were Chris - The Manly Runner and his girlfriend Alycia, Anne - Run-DMZ, Cindi - AKA Alice and her husband Michael (Walter), and  Glenn - The Running Fat Guy.   Hubs manned the camera and managed a few great picture.

 I was able to catch up with Anne. 

"Walter", Meg, "AKA Alice", "Boy Scout"

Meg's back yard is enchanting.  It reminded me of what my grandparent's house used to be when I was young.  I was inspired. 

 Boy Scout manning the barbecue as Meg looks on.  The grilled pizzas were awesome.

Photo op with Jill.  

We had a good giggle about Victor Newman. :)

 All of us

 Left to right: Jill, Meg, Steve, Chris, Alycia, me, Hubs, Anne, Glenn, Cindi, Michael

I'm wishing I had more initiative and snapped photos, but I was enjoying the company of wonderful friends.  It's kind of funny how somethings just fall into place and you just know you're going to get along.  Hubs made the comment that we're always going to events, parties, and homes of people I have never met in person, but through the internet.  I have trusted that these meet-ups are going to go well, and that no one is extremely off kilter.  There are no overtly bizarre stalkers or ax murderers in the bunch.  The evening was lovely, conversations flowed, and we left feeling warm and fuzzy.  I appreciated how Meg and Steve made everyone feel so welcome, and it was fun having everyone together. 

Running?

Oh yeah, I run.

Last week I fit in about 20+ miles, even though Daily Mile says 19.5.   There's about 3 unaccounted miles that I never took the time to log in.   On Saturday I ran 10.5 miles with the track club up the hill that goes to Fort Rosecrans.  It's a long, gradual hill, and I felt a sense of accomplishment when I was done.  I've never run that route before.  One year I think we were out of town when the group ran that route, and the next year I was cruising because I was still getting over the broken foot debacle, made it to the first water station at mile 3 and went back to the start at Harbor Island. It felt good to get over yet another hurdle.  I need to maintain at least 20 miles a week, which can be a challenge with a wacky work schedule, but  It's doable.

It wouldn't be summer without an outdoor concert.  This year was Los Loney Boys joined with Los Lobos for fabulous music and a great time. Having decent seats wasn't too shabby, either. 

Of course, since this was somewhat of a stay-caytion, we had a room facing the bay...

Still not a wake yet, but so glad to be there! No, I didn't go out for a run. 

Song from Saturday, July 23, 2011:
Just Breathe - Pearl Jam

PEACE

Just Breathe

Blogging?

I have no good reason as to why blogging hasn't happened as frequently as it once did.  Perhaps having computer issues have slowed things down a bit, and I'm not big on phone blogging, especially when auto correct gets in the way.

Everyone in my house had a cold.  It wasn't anything tragic, it was just more annoying than anything.  Now that the cold has diminished it has been rather hard getting back into a groove.  I kind of feel as if my energy was taken away from me, and I can't quite get it back, especially when it comes to running.  I should be able to keep up with the group, but I just can't.  I'm quickly out of breath, but having asthma factors in. I'm sticking with the training as best as possible, still getting in the miles, albeit slow.  This too shall pass.

The kiddo has turned 8 years old and is counting down to when he can finally get his driver's license. I don't want him to rush things because he's still cute, says funny things, and thinks we're still cool.  I'm soaking up this phase of his life as much as possible.  I know it won't be very long before he thinks we're creepy, but it's currently a blissful time. The other night he brought me a hot cup of herbal tea.  The hot tea was his idea and his Papa helped him out. Yes, it was a warmish summer night, and he brought me hot tea so we could spend time together.  How could I resist?

Compared to my last job, my current job calm,  REALLY calm. I have coherent, linear thoughts and don't feel like my head is going to explode.  I'm doing pretty much the same things that I was doing at my last job, but now I'm dealing with "normal" people for employers.  It's so refreshing to work for people who don't micro-micro-micro-manage their business.

In my head. Calm.

I'm always on the hunt for natural, non-dairy treats.  Not having having ice cream during the summer months kind of sucks.  I have an allergy to cow's milk products which triggers skin issues and asthma.  While grocery shopping I discovered Luna & Larry's Organic Coconut Bliss Bars.*

I happen to like coconut, and was overjoyed to see that these contained NO DAIRY.  Every time I look in the frozen foods section to find something that resembles ice cream, it contains some form of milk. Finally, I found something that is palatable with the consistency of an ice cream bar. It's not like I'm going to wolf down the entire box (only 4)  in one sitting, but when I have a small splurge, these will fill the no ice cream void. 

In addition, I've also discovered that coconut water is a great electrolyte. I've stocked up on Zico.

The only thing about coconut water is that it's best served COLD.  It's not so great at room temperature. I've also noticed that it's easy on the digestive system, and doesn't mess with my system if I drink one of these before running. I haven't ventured into the other Zico coconut water flavors, like chocolate, but the natural coconut is just fine with me. *


Song from Monday, July 18, 2011:
Happy Birthday - Stevie Wonder

PEACE


*These reviews are my own.  No one gave me anything to say my 2 cents.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to my favorite 8 year old!

Song from Wednesday July 6, 2011:

Little Room - The White Stripes

PEACE

Little Room

I'm cautiously optimistic that my computer won't bug out on me again. I was able to read some blogs, catch up on Facebook and sort through e-mails on my iPhone, but I'm not much for posting from my phone, unless it's super short. Yes, I know people who could probably compose entire novels on their cell phones, but I am not one of them.

The last time I posted was around the time we celebrated my mother-n-law's 90th birthday. The amazing thing is that she is still rather all together, considering her years. She still likes to boss everyone around and be the matriarch of the family. I think I once mentioned that she didn't want to use a cane to aid with her walking because (she said) it would make her look old. For the first time in years, the entire family was together. No one was away at college, those who were living out of state flew in for the occasion, and everyone who lives locally made the effort to show up. It was pretty incredible that no one thought to take a picture of all of us together.

The track club's half marathon training program is in full swing. I've been making the effort to attend the Tuesday night workout at Balboa Park, as well as the Saturday long runs, provided I'm not scheduled to work. The Tuesday night workouts are killer. I always end up feeling so beat up by the time the hour is over. The hills of the back trails of the park are on the schedule. It's not the hills that concern me, it's the dust mixed in with the warm weather that gets my asthma going. I may have to figure out how to work around that, like wearing a mask (NOT!), resign myself to the VERY back of the pack, or run someplace else.

I was looking forward to my long 4th of July weekend, but I ended up coming down with a cold, which took up my entire three day weekend. Figures. Hubs had come down with the cold earlier in the week and passed it along to me. This is the first year we opted out of running in any Independence Day 5ks. As much as I needed to sleep in that morning, I just couldn't. My head was too stuffy to remain laying down. Sheesh. A cold, no 5k and no sleeping in. Yeah, it sucked. Once I got up and downed a couple of Sudafed, and chased those with some coffee, I decorated cookies, because that's what you do when you're amped up on Sudafed and coffee.

Well... that's what I do when I'm amped up...  I get all artsy-craftsy. Notice the lack of attention to detail.  I am not a professional and do try this at home.  Results may vary and may be better because you won't be amped up on coffee and Sudafed.  Just sayin'.

While I decorated cookies, Hubs textured and painted the small bathroom. He also braved Home Depot to buy stuff to re-attach the toilet. I'd say this weekend bathroom project (that has taken about four months to work on) is about 85% finished. He still needs to cut floor tile for the trim, replace the old medicine cabinet, attach the back-splash behind the sink, and maybe add some sort of window treatment.

Before

During

After

FYI, those blue tiles on the wall were aluminum. Needless to say, those tiles did not age well, however, the ceramic blue tiles in the shower are fine. Back in 1947, my Grandpa had to cut costs somewhere, and using aluminum tiles were more cost effective.

When working on the small bathroom was over for the day, we had friends over for a barbecue.  Once again, no one thought to take pictures, but we barbecued and ate way too much food, roasted marshmallows for s'mores later on, then watched fireworks from the roof and backyard. 

Now that I'm somewhat on the rebound from my cold,  I started back at RU with a killer workout. Even though they knew I was rebounding, they still believed that I can handle a bunch of weighted lunges, pylometric exercises and pseudo kettlebell-esque exercises, THEN run right after.  Good times. It was all finished off by some assisted stretches that were extra special. (Yeouch...)  It's all within the realm of getting me running just as well as I did for Rock 'n' Roll in June.

I need to get a little more serious about training for the AFC half marathon which is just next month.  Getting a cold sort of threw me off a little, but I need to put some distance and hills back into my long runs, especially since I can't attend some of the Saturday morning group runs. Dollars to doughnuts, it will be warm and humid on the day of the AFC half marathon and I need to be ready.

Song from last Thursday:
Low Tech Lady - Ana Laan

PEACE