Thursday Things

 -- This kind of made my day yesterday...

(from this weekend's race)

 I came in 38th out of over 600 runners and was the 7th female overall to finish -- less than 2 minutes off the leading female's time. I always race for times, not to compete against others, but a PR and a division award certainly motivates me to keep training hard.

 -- Last night, as happens periodically, I came home from a run to find that the military had thrown up all over my living room. Dan was headed to drill this morning and has some kind of gear check while he is there, so I spent the evening calling out strange army abbreviations as he scrambled to find and pack everything he had been issued for the deployment. Luckily, the cat chose to watch most of this adventure from the safety of my lap, otherwise I don't doubt that he would have been thrown in a duffel bag and presented to a supply sergeant today.

1 CAT. orange. med-reg sz, fluffy. NOT suited for wet weather.

The whole effort was greatly complicated by the fact that half of the stuff he has to verify is still in his footlocker, which didn't make it back to the states until a few weeks ago and has been sitting at the armory ever since. I for one am really thrilled about all the civilian clothes that were also in that footlocker, which will be arriving in my laundry tomorrow evening in all their musty, sandy glory.

 -- For the past week, I've had a very strong urge to go for a long drive. Actually, if we're being honest, I've had a very strong urge to sit in the passenger seat while my husband goes for a long drive. I would blame it on the gorgeous spring weather, but it's been raining for almost a week here... I guess I'm just a little sick of the crowded city and the interstate on which I commute twice a day.

 -- It is quite difficult to work with someone who already knows everything about everything. By the third day of training, my replacement was already informing me of the ways she planned to do my job differently, and she has spent this week attempting to order me around and giving me instructions on what I should be doing for her. Needless to say, the end of my rope is rapidly approaching... and it's a long way to the ground once she falls off. I'm trying hard to be patient since I am down to mere hours putting up with her, but there's a tiny part of me that hopes her overconfidence causes something to blow up in her face once I'm gone -- a little reality check might go a long way for this one.

 -- Since Dan is at drill today and tomorrow, I'm playing single lady for the night. Plans include a long run (unfortunately either in the rain or on the treadmill), takeout, and watching movies in bed. That's right, this is a veritable hotbed of excitement. Try not to get too jealous.

 -- As much as she drives me crazy sometimes, who could stay mad at this face?

Happy Thursday, everyone!

   Love,

    Meg

South End of a Bunny Going North (among other things)

It seems that over the past several, life sort of got in the way of my blogging (I hate it when that happens). There were too many things to be done, and just not enough minutes in the day to do them and write about them, too. This week will likely bring more of the same, as I work through my last real week at my old job (before I start two weeks of hell training my replacement next Monday), get ready to head out of town yet again this weekend, and fight the never-ending battle against our apartment and its messy tendencies. Hopefully I will find a bit more time to write about all of that excitement (I know, I know -- hang on to your seats).

Until then, here's a little peek at what we've been up to lately:

I'm finally getting to run outside in the mornings again -- the sunrise right now gives me just enough time to get in a quick 4-5 miles before I have to head home and get ready for work. It has been pretty chilly a few mornings, but this view beats the treadmill any day.

We've enjoyed lots of time at the dog park lately, getting to know our neighbors as Tess chases their poor pups at top speed. I laugh because when we first moved in about a year and a half ago, I thought going to the gym was the perfect way to meet people from the neighborhood. A year and a half later, I've not yet made a single friend at the gym, but we meet new people practically every week at the dog park.

Important to note: Tess only gets to sit on the benches like a human (which she loves) when she is the only canine present. Spoiled much?

Saturday morning I bit the bullet and ran my first race since last October. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it felt and glad I (finally) made the decision to run it. There will be a more detailed race recap coming soon. A huge thanks to my awesome mother (a race pro at this point), wonderful father-in-law, and this handsome guy:

who came to watch me run. It was so amazing to see their faces when I got past that finish line!

Saturday evening I did a little baking...

and Sunday morning woke up to assemble this guy:

(A little hard to see, but there are two back paws, a tail, and two ears -- retrospectively realized to be backwards. Those things in the top right corner are supposed to be carrots.)

Hopefully the title of this post makes sense now. The recipe was actually pretty easy and turned out very cute. He tasted delicious, too -- I used boxed devil's food cake but made my own icing, which I think helped. If I ever do this again, I think I'd try a spice cake to go with all that coconut.

And just in case you needed reassurance that all is right in Toby's world:

... never fear, this guy doesn't miss many naps.

On top of all that, there were several hours spent on taxes (no pictures there... it wasn't a terribly exciting process), lots of miles run, some quality Easter time with family, and one very long-anticipated Saturday afternoon nap for me, as well.

Now, I'm off to create my weekly to-do list -- you know, the one I've been writing in my head all weekend but waited until now to put onto paper. I'm thinking the first item on the list will be "write weekly to-do list," in an effort to ensure that at least one thing gets checked off between now and Friday...

Happy Monday, everyone!

   Love,

    Meg

In Which Tess Knocks At Least A Year Off Her Mother's Life

"I took Tess' leash off in the parking lot and she ran right down to the dog park and waited for me!"

Half asleep on the couch, I roused myself for long enough to muster what I hoped was a proud look before shuffling off to bed. Had my brain been truly functional Saturday night upon hearing this information, I might have had a more significant reaction. I might have thought to say to my husband "Don't you think that's a little risky?" or "Maybe the middle of the night isn't the best time to test this?" or "Are you crazy?! This is the dog that doesn't know 'come' and you're just letting her run free??" But Saturday night, I let it go. I curled up in bed while my night owl hubby made a snack and all was forgotten.

Fast forward to last night, when during a lull in the Oscar action I convinced Dan that we should both stand outside in the freezing cold wind while Tess wandered around, sniffed, chased shadows, and possibly (hopefully) used the bathroom. You know, there's nothing like bonding when you can't feel your face or toes. But sure enough, as we crossed the parking lot to the dog park (less than 50 yards away at that point), Dan unclipped Tess' leash and instructed her to "wait for us at the gate!" I could have sworn I heard the dog mutter something akin to "suckers" as she trotted off and disappeared down the hill. I fought the urge to chase her as Dan assured me that she had done so well the night before. When we got to the top of that same hill less than 15 seconds later, though, all we saw was a black blur traveling fast around the fence of the park... on the outside. Headed not towards the gate, but away from it and into the woods.

Both Dan and I started to yell her name, clap our hands, and generally make as many convincing noises as we could, struggling to keep an eye on her as she got further and further away. The one drawback to our lovely dog park, besides the fact that it turns into something like a mud wrestling pit when it rains, is that there is very little lighting in the area, so it is super dark by that time of night. Trying to track a black dog goes something like this...

Eventually we caught sight of her about 100 yards away and down a huge hill, running around in the parking lot of one of the other apartment blocks. We both jogged down the hill, but by the time we got down there she was, of course, gone. Dan headed in one direction and I walked in another, just in time to glimpse her headed down another steep hill and toward the road that leads out of our neighborhood. A road that is lined with trees and eventually leads another very dark, very forest-lined road where cars have a tendency to whip around corners and regularly hit 20 mph over the speed limit. I yelled for Dan and took off.

Of course by the time I got halfway to the spot I had last seen her, she was gone again. Luckily there are streetlights in that area, but even in the light she was nowhere to be found. As Dan headed down the hill on foot, I started back towards home to get in the car, visions of a night spent driving in circles, yelling Tess' name into the dark flashing through my head. I knew that the poor girl had not called our home "home" for long enough to find her way back from very far away, and I was terrified that she was gone forever. I could imagine the phone calls we would have to make: "no, she didn't slip her collar or jump the fence... no no, we let her go...." Worst dog parents in the world right here, ladies and gentlemen.

When I reached the top of the road, though, I happened to look up and across to our neighborhood's office (closed for the night), and who do I see loping towards me from the mail kiosk, just as happy as can be?

That's right, the dog who will remain on a leash any time she even thinks about the outdoors for the remainder of her life. 
I don't know about you, but I always prefer to end my weekends with a freezing cold, terrifying, late-night chase through the neighborhood.

   Love,

    Meg

Excitement

There is nothing better than waking up on a Monday morning and realizing that it is, in fact, Tuesday. I am a big fan of four day weeks! Somehow (perhaps it could be the extra day?) I feel shockingly rested and ready for the week... or maybe it's that I'm ready for it to be over already. Either way, it must be some sort of miracle that I am not dragging the ground today, because our weekend was actually full of excitement... both the wonderful kind and the kind that makes you want to kick yourself in the head. Nice to have a balance, I suppose.

 -- Friday our poor puppy started experiencing some... intestinal issues. For the sake of preserving your breakfast and mine, we won't get into the details, but suffice to say that our carpet will never be the same. A few weeks ago, our vet had let us know that she tested positive for exposure to lyme disease, but assured us that since she didn't seem to have any symptoms, she would probably be just fine. And she was... until things got bad in the middle of the night on Friday (proving that pets really do wait to do these things on holiday weekends), at which point two slightly overprotective parents decided that she needed to be seen by a vet right then. ("Couldn't have waited just a few hours?" taunts hindsight...) One entire sleepless night and an exorbitant emergency vet bill later, we learned that Tess' symptoms have really nothing in common with the symptoms for lyme disease. Lovely.

3 days later? She seems to be feeling much better... and hasn't pooped in almost 72 hours. Really lovely.

 -- On a happier note, Saturday morning (on less than two hours of sleep) I ran a 5k, which is the longest distance I've logged in far too long. Even better, that was the first of three 5k distances I ran this weekend -- I followed it up with a second on Sunday and then another this morning. My shin pain was much better until today, but I'm hoping some stretching and more quality time with the elliptical over the next few days will fix everything again.

 -- Also on Saturday, I was lucky enough to enjoy time with two wonderful friends -- I had a lunch date with one and the other was visiting our hometown university and met up with Dan and I for dinner. Lots of yummy food and fun catching up with lovely girls! Between lunch and dinner, I also took a fantastic nap. I honestly wish I had time for one of those every day... I swear I sleep better during a two hour afternoon nap than I do all night.

 -- In case you didn't see my pictures on Sunday... it snowed! It started in the afternoon and I watched it begin to stick from the treadmill. Tess loved it and we spend some quality time down at the dog park freezing our toes off and watching her play with friends. In the evening, Dan and I drove around town with two very different goals: I was hoping to see our pretty town blanketed in a gorgeous snow (success) and Dan wanted to spin out and get stuck and be a man in the snow (not terribly successful thanks to 4 wheel drive). Nice to get one good snow in before spring comes (hint hint, nudge nudge... anytime now, really).

 -- Undoubtedly the best part of our weekend was yesterday, though, when we took a little drive out to one of our favorite little vineyards to sign a little contract, write a little rather large check, and make a little decision:

Meg & Dan: I do, part deux

September 28, 2012

Hooray! I am so excited to finally have a date and venue locked in. Now we get to start working on all the details: photographer, cake, save-the-dates... it's an overwhelming list and I'm so ready to start checking things off! 

   Love,

    Meg

Silent Sundays: Snow Day!

love that I can walk to my gym!

Tess (left) playing in the snow with her friends

worn out puppy... and a perfect day for my snowman mug

nothing keeps toes warm like a fuzzy cat

   Love,

    Meg

Laziness At Its Worst (or Best?)

This weekend was completely, utterly, incredibly... blissfully lazy. I went into it with a to-do list miles long, but instead the list of what I did not accomplish trails on and on: I did not make muffins with the poor bananas that are slowly browning on our kitchen counter. I did not reorganize our closet, as I have been vowing to do for weeks now. I did not cook dinner even once, despite having all the ingredients for a soup I have been dying to try. I did not prep my lunches for this week, an omission which I regretted this morning as I ran late. I did not get ahead on reading for work, or spend time on the wedding details that so desperately need my undivided attention. I did not clean my desk or file any of the paperwork that has been piling ever higher, most likely burying something very important and time-sensitive. I did not plan meals for this week, determine what groceries we need, or even take stock of our refrigerator to see what should be consumed in a timely manner. I did not make a dent in our overflowing laundry basket or sink. I neglected the dozens of errands that need to be run. And I am being absolutely honest when I say that this list doesn't even really scratch the surface. I could go on for weeks.

Despite all that, I do have a short list of things I did do this weekend: I slept more than any person should be allowed to sleep in two days, and it felt fantastic. I lounged on the couch, snapping pictures of this snoozing pair:

I sipped coffee at Panera and attempted to work on that to-do list, managing in the end to write two emails and four and a half handwritten notes to wonderful friends. I spend a while on the phone with my best friend, catching up on her life after going far too long between conversations (in a perfect world, she would still live next door... oh how I miss those days). I spent time with my mom and stepdad as well as Dan's brother and his girlfriend. I practically devoured a good book and realized how much I miss reading all the time. I literally devoured the delicious breakfast sandwich Dan made Saturday morning, wasting not one thought on how many calories I was inhaling. I went to the gym twice and enjoyed taking my time, spending as long as I wanted to on each machine, relishing the feeling of not having to rush through my workout. I laughed with my husband until my sides hurt. I took Tess down to the dog park and chatted with new friends while she had a blast rolling around with her new canine buddies.

So while the number and importance of things I did not get done this weekend may wildly outweigh those things I did get done, I would argue that my time was well spent. So what if I have a lot to catch up on this week? I would take time with friends over time with my washing machine any day. I would always rather snuggle with my husband and our furballs than clean the actual furballs that Tess and Toby leave behind. I will pick sleep over cleaning ninety-nine times out of one hundred (wouldn't you?) Besides, if I've learned anything in my few short years, it's that the laundry? It will still be there tomorrow.

   Love,

    Meg

Introducing...

It seems that a certain furball may have let the cat out of the bag yesterday (terrible pun absolutely intended), but there is a special someone who I'd like you to meet:

Dan and I are thrilled (and Toby is clearly not-so-thrilled) to welcome Tess, a 3 year old black and tan coonhound, to our little family. She is a very large sweetheart who likes to cuddle, eat, play outside, drool, and sleep... a lot. She has adjusted fabulously (even though her brother has not) and we are very much in love!


   Love,

    Meg

Help!

Is there anyone out there??

Toby here... you've probably seen pictures of me around this place before:

I've hijacked mom's computer today with a plea for assistance. Yesterday I was all snuggled up on the couch, dreaming of Wheat Thins (no kidding, that's my favorite snack) when my mom and dad came home. They had been gone all afternoon so I was pretty excited to see them... until I caught a glimpse of what they had with them. I didn't get a great look in the appproximately .3 seconds it took me to dive under the couch, but it was big. And black. And furry. And did I mention big?? Huge.

Since then, I've mostly been hiding in the bathroom or on top of the refrigerator... whatever that thing is, it can't be very smart because it hasn't found me yet. Early this morning I was right under the bed when I saw these huge things walking around...

... but thank goodness it didn't hang around for long. Dad said something about going outside and it ran away... seems like a pretty dumb idea to me, it's really cold out there. I think it's only a matter of time until I lose this little game of hide and seek though, because it has a pretty big nose...

So I'm officially making an offer. I sort of doubt that anyone reads this thing (my mom can be really long-winded and boring...) but if someone does see this:

Fluffy, sweet, well-behaved cat -- free to good home!

Love,

 Toby