2010 in Review...

In less than 48 hours it will be 2011.  Can you believe it?  2011, no way!

So as I sit at my desk and wait for others to finish their work, so I can in turn finish my own, and as the temperature soars to 71 degrees outside, I thought I'd try to recap my year.

2010 didn't seem very promising when it started.  First I had to deal with knee problems and high cholesterol, then in March we had to say goodbye to Lucy.  Not a very good start for us.  Luckily things got much better.

In May, a wonderful new friend introduced me to Skinny Bitch and I became a vegetarian.  Since then I can count on one hand the number of times I've had meat this year, and I honestly have never felt better.  I have lost weight, gotten my cholesterol back to under 200 and have had to buy new clothes in a size that I don't think I've ever worn.

2010 is also the year that I officially became a runner.  I have a "Runner Girl" sticker and a 13.1 sticker on my car now.  I have run over 400 miles since April this year, would would have thought that?  I was a member of the Brooks I.D. program and I won a free pair of shoes.

My girls started their last year of elementary school this year, and their second year of Concert Chorus, they also got a pool for their birthday.  While it is not a fancy pool, it was big enough for us to spend lots of time in this summer, and we discovered that Penny is quite the swimmer. 

I officially became a baker this year.  I have made hundreds of cupcakes, and have even sold some.  I even had a marathon baking session for a wedding in September.  I see lots of cupcakes in my future.

Josh and I chipped away at our debt snowball this year, paying off around $20,000 in debt.  Who would have though that?  We even sold our Mazda yesterday and have cut another huge chunk out of it as well. 

So what will happen in 2011?  Here's what I'd like to see happen:

• I will raise money for Komen for the Cure and participate in the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Dallas in March.
• I will do my first trail run race in February.  Will we do 7 miles or 14?  We probably won't know until we get there.
• I will run my first full marathon at the OKC Memorial Marathon on May 1st, and through our Y I will even help others train for it as well.
• I will get a better bike and become better on it.  Maybe even participate in the Hotter than Hell 100 mile bike ride in August. 
• Redman half?  That's all I am going to say about that right now.

2011 marks 30 years since my mom passed away, and I hope that I can do something this year to honor her memory and celebrate the life I have because of her.  It will also mark 15 years of marriage for Josh and I.  It's been a great 15 so far, not always easy, but very interesting.  I will also officially have 12 nieces and nephews at some point in 2011.  I was lucky enough to add three new ones this year, and I'll get to add two more maybe around May, and I have a nephew on his way now that should show up sometime in February.

So here's to a Happy New Year!  I am sad to see 2010 go, because even with it's rocky start, it's been great.  I have meet some great people this year, and have done some fun stuff.  I am sure there is more to come.

My Girls...

These are my girls.  My babies.  They probably would dispute that though.  These are my babies that lived in my tummy for 8 months.  While they were in there they made me absolutly miserable, the worst 8 months of my life gave gave me heartburn, nausea and vomiting, stretch marks, and these two girls.  Luckily things have gotten better since then.  I remember wondering what kind of people they would turn into.

They have turned into girls that love to sing.  Not sure where they get that, it's surely not from me.  The only singing I do is in my car, mostly by myself, and I never wanted to be in any kind of chorus when I was in school.  At Eisenhower, in 4th and 5th grade they have the opportunity to be a part of the Concert Chorus and they both jumped at the chance.  The fact that they start each semester with a donut party and end each semester with a trip to Perfect Swing or Hey Day doesn't hurt either.

Last night was their Winter Concert, and it was great!  We got to hear a little but of music from Shrek (they even sand the song that the little puppets sing at the beginning when Shrek and Donkey first travel to Duloc), an Oklahoma fold song, and a medley of Christmas tunes.  Today they got to perform for their school and travel to two other elementary schools in Norman to perform as well.  After that it was off to Hey Day for pizza and laser tag, which my kids probably didn't participate in.

When we were trying to find space to record the performance last night on our camcorder, we watched a little video from around Christmas probably five years ago.  Man, I had not realized how they have grown!  They seemed so little!  Carson just spazzed around for most of it, while Camy was showing off the dance from the Christmas ballet recital.  So cute, and did I mention how little they were.  Lucy even made an appearance on the video, oh how I still miss that crazy dog.

Now I have big girls.  Girls that sing, and they love it. 

More New Shoes...and a Trail Run...

So last fall I applied to be a part of the Brooks I.D. program.  The I.D. stands for Inspire Daily.  I am still stunned that they even let me in, but I have worn my Brooks shoes all year, and some of the gear that I got from their pro site at a discount, logged my races on the online community website, and didn't expect anything else from it.

I got an email today that said:

Hey Becky,

Congratulations, you are the OK State Runner Up for the Brooks 2010 ID Race Series! You can expect to receive your Hoodie in the mail soon. The following code can be used on the pro site for one free pair of shoes:
Please place your order before December 31, 2010. If you have any questions please send them to Steve DeKoker at steve.dekoker@brooksrunning.com. Thank you for participating!
Happy running!

Seriously, I actually won something?  I guess the race series awarded points for the number of races and personal records and all that.  I am stunned that I actually placed for anything.

On the other hand, seriously?  I just bought my new shoes a week ago!  Oh well, they had the newer version of the shoes I just bought so I got them.  These have red on them too, so they'll match other things.  Ha!  I am a girl.

The program this year is invitation only, and I haven't received an invitation, so I am going to assume that they don't need me back.  Oh well, it was a nice discount while it lasted, and I got a free pair of shoes and a hoddie is on the way.

Speaking of running, I got up the guts and did a little trail running this weekend.  I am definitely not what you would consider "Outdoorsy" in the least, but I seem to be up for new challenges lately so I said what the heck.  The fact that it's too cold for bugs or snakes didn't hurt the situation either.  We ended up doing 9 miles total, and I must say it was lots of fun.  The miles seem to fly by when you are staring at the ground or the feet directly in front of you so you won't trip and fall.  The trees offer a nice break from the cold wind and I managed to stay on my feet the whole time.

I have new respect for the trail runners.  As a road runner, I know my stride, but when you are running on the trails it's completely different.  Kinda felt like learning to run for the first time.  My only complaint is that the trails aren't as marked as I would have liked them to be.  Kim and I got turned around at the end, but luckily there were lots of people in the group we were out there with and we got pointed in the right direction.  We made it through all 9 miles with not falls and no search parties.  Well we did have one fall, and I guess one guy ran into a tree on his bike.  I am not as comfortable as I would like on my bike on the road, there's no way I would take one on those trails.

My first trail race is coming up in February so we'll hit the trails some more between now and then, but I'm still a road runner!  I am really excited to sigh up for the Rock N Roll half marathon in Dallas in March, it's part of the Komen Marathon for the Cure series.  But more on that later.

New Shoes...Finally!

Finally, after running for as long as I could in my old Brooks Arials, I bought a new pair of real running shoes this weekend.

They are super light and so cute!  I was so excited when they fit me in something that actually came in pink and purple.  They don't seem as big and bulky as my old shoesand they fit really well.

I got to test them out for four miles on the treadmill last night and was very happy with how they feel.  Though my toes have not completely healed from the half they didn't feel any worse for the wear after the run last night.  I am expecting a lot of great miles out of these.

The First Half

I have officially earned my 13.1 sticker that resides in the back window of my car.  Though it wasn't exactly pretty I ran for 13.1 miles on Sunday morning.  2 hours and 16 minutes after I started it was over.

We could not have had better weather for it, it was cloudy and even though it was a little windy, especially when we ran over the river, the temperature was great.  I didn't even have to wear a jacket, just my short sleeve pink (of course) shirt.  I was feeling pretty nervous as Josh drove me to Veteran's part at 6:45, but once I got there I felt much better.  Choon, Kim, Bob and I were all assigned to corral C for our start, so we got to wait for our start 10 minutes after the first gun, and being among all the other runners really calmed my nerves.

It was pretty crowded at the start, with 9,000+ runners registered to race it was to be expected.  My goal was to finish under 2:20, and I just wanted to run my own race.  Bob didn't stay with Kim and I for long, and Kim and I stuck together for about 8 miles, except for when she took off for a potty break and then caught back up with me.  After about 5 miles my hips started killing me, and I had a hard time working through the pain for the remainder of the race.  I remember running over the river the first time, but I cannot for the life of me remember when we crossed back over.

At one point the marathon runners had an out and back off the course for the half and I saw a sign that said 10 miles and then one that said 16 miles and had a partial freak out for the next two miles thinking I'd gone the wrong way.  Apparently I passed Bob in the last two miles, but I didn't see him, it all seems like a blur.  Near the end I did feel like my legs were going to give out on me and that last small hill up to the finish line about killed me.  But aside from walking into the four water stops I took I ran the whole time, and I finished it.

Here's a picture of Kim and I after we finished.  Even though my hips hurt, and my feet have blisters, and it was a long walk back to the car that smile stayed on my face most of the day.  I am so glad I did it, and so glad that I got to run with a great group of people that helped me every step of the way.

So now I only have to decide what is next.  After this I feel like I can accomplish almost anything.  I'm taking a few days off and then I plan to be back at it, pounding the pavement in preparation for where ever the road takes me next.

Route 66 Half Marathon

Well this year definitely didn't turn out like I thought it would, but it has turned out so much better.

Who would have thought that in January that I would be where I am right now?  Certainly not me.  Finding out I have high cholesterol and was going to have to have knee surgery in the span of two weeks in January really helped the year turn out so much better, really.

So on Sunday I am going to be running my first half marathon in Tulsa, and even though it has taken about eight months longer to get to this point than I thought it would I think the race will be so much better because of everything I've gotten through to get here.

I can't say that I am not completely terrified, although being super busy at work all week and working really long hours have not left me much time to think about it.  I do feel completely lazy for not having worked out since Tuesday.  I think this is the most days off in a row I've taken since boot camp in April.  The added stress from would would have been much easier to handle this week if I had been going to the gym, but oh well.  I should be able to work out plenty of stress on Sunday.

All there is left to do is pick up my race packet tomorrow, decide what I am going to wear (Gotta look good if Kim is going to have a camera handy), and do a little carb loading tomorrow.  The weather is supposed to be beautiful and I can't wait to put that 13.1 sticker on my car!

Free to a Good Home...Maybe.

Free to a good home, one two-year-old French Bulldog.  Goes by the name Penny and comes with her own hand made tutu.

She is a delightful and loving dog, who is a bit stubborn at times.  Guess that's the bulldog in her.  She does have a tendency to pretend that she is house broken for months at a time and then for no reason at all start peeing and pooping in the house.

She has a tendency to intestinal issues, probably because she was over fed as a young pup, so she requires canned pumpkin in her food daily.  Don't worry she'll eat organic pumpkin if there is a shortage on canned pumpkin.

She loves to swim, although she is built alot like a brick with little stumps for legs, so we'll throw in her pink and white polka dot life vest for her aquatic adventures.

Oh Penny, how you frustrate me so!  My sister had a cat once, Spanky, that all of the sudden started going to the bathroom RIGHT NEXT to his litter box.  Once he started he never stopped.  Might have been the trauma of the two kittens we acquired, but who knows.  Maybe he just decided that he wanted to think outside the litter box.

The bad part about Penny is that she is so darn cute.  She will sit when you tell her to, and she is a very good snuggler.  I feel that she is mostly my dog now, since Lucy is gone, but I just don't get her.  She can just snuggle up when it's time for bed, go outside in the morning when she gets up and then come in and crap on the floor when no one is looking.  Maybe she thinks our steam cleaner isn't getting as much uses as it should.

I guess dogs are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are gonna get.  We have one very lovable, cute little dog with some strange tendencies I guess.  We will probably keep her.

La Crosse, Wisconsin

Traveled to Wisconsin this week for a customer conference for the maker of our software for work.  I left my house at noon on Sunday and it's been one adventure after another.  Flew from OKC to Dallas, and the flight from Dallas to Chicago was delayed.  When we got to Chicago, our flight to La Crosse was delayed.  It was delayed from 8:10 to 9:00, then the gate was changed, then the gate was changed again, then we got to board the flight only to have to get off because a thunderstorm rolled through Chicago and they closed the runways.  Luckily that delay was only about 30 minutes and we got back on the plane.  We should have arrived at 9 p.m., but we didn't land until almost midnight.

Turned out that it was alot colder in Wisconsin than I had planned for.  I should have brought a heavier coat.  On Monday all the local weather people could talk about was the wind storm that was moving through.  I have lived in OKC for a long time and we've never had a wind storm in the forecast.  Monday evening, I put in 4 miles on the treadmill, so boring, and ordered room service so I could get some work done. 

I brought supplies to paint my toenails, because it had been forever.  I managed to break the bottle of nail polish, all over me, all over the bed, and I had not packed near enough nail polish remover.  I spend about an hour scrubbing off a layer of skin to get it off and I left a tip for house keeping the next morning for making such a mess.

So it was cold and very windy, and rainy in Wisconsin.  Turns out the trip home has been from hell.  Our 9:20 flight was cancelled for technical problems.  So we were booked on a 12:40 flight into Chicago and then a 2:25 flight direct to OKC.  Score!  That would have put us home at 4:40, in time for Josh to pick me up on the way home from work and to surprise the kiddos at the Rec Center.  Well, our 12:40 flight didn't take off until about 1:15, and when we landed in Chicago, and at this point we might have been able to make it, the gate we were to deplane at had another plane in it.  We got to sit on the runway and wait for them to direct us to a different gate.  Then, they had to call someone to bring out the walk way, so another wait.  We ran through the airport but the plane was already gone.

The lovely American agent in Chicago booked us on the 4:10 flight to Dallas and said she booked us on the 9:05 flight to OKC.  There was an earlier flight but we weren't able to make it to Dallas in time to try to get on it.  When we got to Dallas and went to get our boarding passes we found out that they put Kerry on the 9:05 and me on the11:05.  Stupid Jerks!  So now I have three and a half more hours to kill in this dang airport. 

I am so not working tomorrow.

The First Step is Admitting You Have a Problem...

Okay, I can admit it.  I am a recipe junkie.  I love finding new recipes, especially new cupcake recipes. 

It is a rare day that I don't have at least one new recipe to print and take home with me.  I don't know if it'll be possible for me to ever even make everything I have so far.  Today I found this one for Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls.  Are you kidding me?  They look delicious!  I am a huge pumpkin fan, and even found 11 cans of canned pumpkin at Target this week.  (Yes, I bought all 11 cans, which is probably a little selfish, but I can't help it.)  You never know when the next pumpkin shortage will be and I can't be caught without any.

I love food blogs too.  Which is where I find most of my recipes.  It is a good thing I have co-workers willing to try my baked goods, and a husband that is willing to eat all the new vegetarian recipes I've found. 

So for now, I am a recovering iTunes junkie who has traded her music downloads for printed recipes.  I figure this is better, since all the recipes are free.

Race for the Cure...

So we were up at the crack of dawn on Saturday for what I think is my 10th Race for the Cure.  There seems to be more and more people each year.

I discovered the secret to a good race, if you are running, is starting as close to the front as possible.  We didn't have to run past any strollers, kids, or non-runners which made for a great race.  I finished in 26:19 (by my watch, 26:20 officially), which was my fastest 5k by almost a minute.  I was 10th in my age group out of 172 runners.

Here's some pics...

Josh, Camy, Carson and I after the team picture.  We look very happy for getting up at 5:30 am.

Camy and Carson with their Gammy.  She got up even earlier and drove down from Tulsa to race with us.

Camy, me, Jen, Karen, Paige, Hailey and Carson.  Hannah was not happy by this point and didn't care to be photographed with us.  Maybe she got up too early.

The crazy cousins!  Caeli, Paige, Camy, Carson and Hailey.

Judy, Dan and Caeli sporting some fabulous Sooner colors.

Finally, three sisters.  Me, Jen and Karen, this is our 10th race together.  Our first was back in 2001 and we all walked.  The second was in 2002 when Jen bet us she could run the whole thing, without training.  Karen and I bought breakfast that year.  And all the years since, with our team Sooner Girls for the Cure, and this year two work teams, we have had lots of great people participate with us.  Makes you wonder what will happen next year!

Race for the Cure...

So Saturday is the Race for the Cure in OKC.  I so love this event.  This is the first race that I have done religiously.  Jen and Karen and I did the first one with the three of us back in 2001, when my kiddos were little bitty.  (Carson is still little bitty, but she is 10 now.)

I can't remember if it was that year or in 2002 when we bet Jen breakfast that she couldn't run the whole thing.  She says she ran the whole thing, but we'll never know because Karen and I ran about 100 yards and we were done.  I believe we bought breakfast that day so what can you do, ask for a refund if she cheated?

We formed our team the Sooner Girls for the Cure the next year and have been participating with a bunch of friends an co-workers since then.  I was a little sad this year that I didn't get to register our team.  I organized a team at work and we chose to go with the company name instead of my team name.  Oh well, what can you do?  Especially when your work agrees to pay $30 of each registration for all employees that want to participate.

My work team has almost 50 people on it!  Not bad for our first year, I say first because I am hoping we will be able to do this again next year.

So Saturday morning, I'll put on my running shoes and my team shirt and head to the Bricktown Ballpark at the crack of dawn.  (Not really the crack of dawn for me, since I will actually be sleeping in compared to my usually 5 am wake up calls.)  My girls will get a bunch of free pink stuff and I'll run with some of my Y friends and we'll see how good we can do.  Maybe break 27 minutes?  We'll see.

As always, I'll carry the memories of my mom with me.

Chili Cook-Off

We had a chili cook-off at work today, to raise money for a co-worker who is 27 and was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.  I'm not even going to start on how mad that makes me, and how with all the money that has been raised so far there is no cure and how my co-worker had her first baby earlier this year, and how she should not be going through all this.

I am instead going to talk about our cook-off.  We had a great turn out, and we raised a good chunk of change for Jill and her medical bills.  I, as usual, did not have my camera to take pictures but we did get a few.

From the top we have Sherri, Jeana, Candace and Cassie; Monica and Kerry; Jeanne with her first place prize tickets to the OU-Colorado football game; Roland, Stacey and Pat judging; pink ribbon cupcakes; Jeanne and Ginger with a few non-employees that stopped by; and pots of chili.

What a great way to spend lunch.

What's Baking?

So far this week, we've had Chocolate Thunder and Simply Strawberry cupcakes for the kiddos' Girl Scout Flag Ceremony yesterday, and I made some of the Boomer Sooner cupcakes last night.  Half are for a co-worker for her OU/TX watch party tomorrow, the other half will go with a new recipe for a yet-to-be-named cupcake.

The recipe came from The Swell Life, and they look pretty tasty.  I have an order for half Boomer Sooner (red velvet), and half with Texas colors.  I think these should work out well.  I'll do a little vanilla butter cream on top.

Then, I plan to attempt to make cupcake pops!  I am very excited about these and have been contemplating what type of cake I should use.  I might go with my chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  While I could never be as creative or arty as the Bakerella creations, I thought I'd try something simple and basic.  We'll see how they turn out.

Half Marathon Take Two...

I registered for my first half marathon, The Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa on November 21st.  This will be my second attempt to run my first half.

I have already run further than I did in my training before my knee decided that it had to stop in January, so I am feeling pretty good about it all.  I did get butterflies in my stomach when I clicked that "Register" button this morning.

So my Saturday or Sunday mornings between now and then will involve some long runs with some Y running friends.  I requested that they not tell me how far we are going to run before hand, ignorance is bliss for me in this situation I think.

Looks like the calluses on my feet won't be going away anytime soon.  My friends say they will take about three weeks off after the half and start training for the full at the Memorial Marathon next year, but that might just be a little too insane for me.

Tie Dye Tri

I participated in the Tie Dye Tri yesterday, put on by the Norman Y.  It was nice, this year was my second time and I wasn't nervous leading up to the event like last year.  I did wake up at about 2 a.m. yesterday morning and fell back asleep long enough to dream that I couldn't find the pool for the race.

When I went to get checked in, for some reason there were more people with last names starting with A-F than any other group so it took a while for me to get checked in.  Oh yeah, and it was cold outside yesterday morning.  Cold and windy.  If they had had the event on Saturday instead of Sunday the conditions would have been perfect, but wait one day and you get cold and windy.  This is Oklahoma.

I was number 39 to start this year, and I think I passed about three people in the pool.  There was one girl at the very end that I was trying to pass, I ended up hitting her once, on accident and we finished in the pool at about the same time.  The run to the transition area was cold, as I said before.  I did feel more comfortable on my bike this year, but the route was much more difficult this year.  We had to ride north into the wind twice and that felt like it slowed me down a bunch.  My legs felt like jello at the start of the run and eventually got warmed up, but it's hard to run by myself.

Overall, I am pretty proud of how I did.  I finished in 1:31:51, which was a couple minutes slower than last year, but I had a few personal victories along the way.  My swim/bike/run times were all a bit slower than last year, but my transitions were both faster.  Of course the one thing I didn't practice was faster, go figure.  I still passed some people in the pool, I didn't feel like I got passed by as many people on the bike, and I even got to pass one person, and I still passed a few people on the run.  I even passed the guy that started one spot ahead of me in the pool.  I passed him in the pool, he passed me on the bike and I got to pass him on the run, so that was nice.

I just need to get better on the bike.  Not sure how to do that, but I'll figure it out.

Let the Running Begin...

So, even though I haven't officially registered yet, I have officially started training for the Tulsa half marathon.  The big day is Sunday, November 21st and I have 62 days to feel nervous and get ready for it.  I can feel the butterflies already! 

My first training run was Saturday morning with Jerry, Choon and Laura.  It was my longest run to date at eight miles.  I did run a 10k during the Corporate Challenge in June, but it was about a million degrees outside that Sunday morning the beginning of June, and it was about as humid as it can be and not be raining, and the sun was blazing outside.  Oh yeah, and there were no water stops.  Really?  The event was put on by OU Medicine and they failed to provide hydration for the competitors.  Makes perfect sense to me.  Needless to say, it was a slightly horrible run and I finished in about 65 minutes.

I set out to run eight miles on Saturday and honestly, it was not bad.  I felt much better than I thought I would.  The thing I like about running with these people is that if one person stops then we would all stop, and believe me, I don't want to be the reason we are stopping.  I have been running about 4 miles regularly lately and I was surprised that when we stopped for water at the 4 mile mark I was still ready to go another 4.  I am convinced there must be something wrong with me!

The Tie Dye Tri is this Sunday, and I can honestly say that I was trying to figure out how I could still go run another eight on Saturday and be up for the race on Sunday.  I don't think that's going to happen though.  So I'll sleep in on Saturday and be ready to race on Sunday, and then I'll be back on track.  Okay, I'll have to miss for the Race for the Cure, and I still want to do the Fall Classic Duathlon again.  So many races so little time!

Music Monday

In the car, on the way to school this morning, the girls were excited about how today was going to be Music Monday.  They both definitely have a love for music, they love the days they have music in school.  Last year, in fourth grade, they got to learn to play the recorder, and will pick that up again in the spring. 

We did Concert Chorus last year and are both doing that again this year.  So on most Wednesdays and Fridays you can find them at school at 6:55 am getting ready for their winter or spring performances and mini-tours.  They especially love that they get to have donut parties in September and January and they get to go to Perfect Swing after the mini-tours.  Ulterior motives aren't a bad thing.

Carson started piano last December and after a short break for the summer will get that started up again tonight.  Her teacher, Ms. Shirley, is wonderful.  We had a couple weeks delay in the start of her lessons, Ms. Shirley's husband of 57 years got sick recently and we learned yesterday that he had passed away earlier this month.  So sad.  When we talked yesterday she said that she was very glad to be seeing her students and teaching again.

In 5th grade, in Norman, everyone has the opportunity to join the orchestra.  We didn't think that the girls were interested in this, but it turns out that Camy was.  We went last week and officially rented-to-own her very own violin.  She was very excited to lug it to school with her stand, book and everything else this morning.  She will have rehearsals Monday thru Thursdays during spelling time.  Carson was not interested because she didn't want to miss spelling.

So it's Music Monday at the Craig house.  I, as always, have my ipod going at work, with headphones to eliminate distractions.  I love love love music!  Right now I'm listening to a little Dixie Chicks (I was listening to The Courtyard Hounds earlier), and it makes me wish for a new album.  What are you listening to today?

My Little Swimmer

Last week Camy officially joined the swim team at the Y.  I am so excited about this, and I am trying to not really let on to her the exact level of my excitement.  I want her to want to do it, but for her and not for me.

Her first practice went well and she was completely exhausted when we got home.  She had her second practice last night and had lots of fun.  I get there in time to see the last fifteen minutes of practice and that usually consists of kick boards and starts. 

Last week when her coach was working on starts at the end, she thought about trying to go off the blocks, but when she saw how high up it was changed her mind.  Her coach was still having them work on their starts from the side of the pool, and honestly the kid can't dive.  Last night she did get up the courage to go off the blocks, but both times her feet hit the water before her hands.  Oh well, she'll get it eventually.

We did go shopping for a swim cap and bathing suit this weekend.  We had no luck finding suits in her size, according to Academy they are out of season.  Seriously, they know nothing about swimming.  We did some searching and ordered new suits for her and I on www.swimoutlet.com, they will be here this week. 

I think she was a little worried about the swim cap, so we practiced putting it on.  I just think she looks so cute.  She even told me after practice last night that having her hair out of her face made her goggles stay on better and it was easier to swim.

Now I just have to worry about the fact that she is practically blind without her glasses on.  I sure hope she can see where the wall is.

So for now we'll just keep going back, and see how it goes.  It clearly is in her blood to be a little fish, and I have great memories from the years I swam, so that's not a bad place to start.

Random Pics...

In April we loaded up the girls and drove to Sulphur, OK for a night of camping.  I didn't camp, on account of the fact that I had a 5K to run the next day, but I did load up and drive down. 

I have had two pics from that trip on my desktop as my background for a while, and I just love them.

I just love this picture.  Camy, Paige, Zoey, Carson and Caeli, they all look like they are having so much fun.  The water was way too cold for a normal human, or adult, to get in, but the kids all wanted to play around in it.

I believe this was the next morning, when they did actually get into the water, again it was too cold.  Although, this looks bad since my daughter has on the same clothes that she had on in the previous picture even though it was the next day.  Go figure.  So here we have Camy, Caeli, Dan, Paige and Hailey.

Today

For the last couple of weeks I have not been sleeping very well.  I have no trouble falling asleep, it's the staying asleep that is causing me problems.  Last night, I woke up around 2 am and my mind just started racing, and I could not get it to shut down and go back to sleep.

Some people can function on minimal amounts of sleep, but I am not one of them.  I go to bed early because I get up early and I know that I need my rest.  I still got up and went to swim this morning at 5:30, but the workout energy I had afterwards is now starting to wear off.  My head hurts and my eyelids are heavy.

So, let's talk about something good that happened this weekend...

I ran in the second annual Moore War 5K, sponsored by my high school's alumni association.  I ran in the first one last year as I was gearing up for a fall full of running, and my time wasn't bad, 28:04, which was my fastest 5k up til then.  I was hoping to be able to better my time this year, and I did.  Just over 6 months after my knee surgery I finished up at 27:11.  Needless to say I am very excited about how well I did.  It's been a tough year, with the surgery and having to start from scratch with my running again, and I think all my hard work has paid off.

Up next, the Brookhaven Run on Saturday and my own version of Cupcake Wars at my house this weekend.  I sure could use some sleep first!

Cupcake Craziness...

So I am one week away from the biggest cupcake adventure ever!  Well so far, anyway.  I got a referral from a co-worker, one of the people that have benefited from all the practice I have put into my cupcakes in the last six months, to bake 600 cupcakes for a bike rally/wedding over Labor Day weekend. 

The idea has sunk in, I have bought all my supplies except for the milk, strawberries and blueberries, and have a plan laid out.  I am more than a little terrified and have been loosing some sleep over the whole thing for the last couple of weeks.  I wake up in the wee hours of the morning and my mind starts racing, thinking about all those cupcakes.

The hardest part for me is that I like to make all my cupcakes from scratch, but for this I am doing what the bride has asked me to.  She wants 200 pineapple upside down cupcakes, which create an interesting problem since you don't actually bake them in a cupcake holder, but actually should save me a little time because there is no frosting involved.  There will also be 200 angel food cupcakes, with a frosting made from cool whip and cream cheese fruit dip.  Who would have thought that?  She also wants a slice of strawberry and a blueberry on all of these.  Both of these will be made from a box mix.  Oh no!  Again, she's the bride and she has hired me to help make her wedding all she wants it to be so that's what I'll do.  The final 200 are half devil's food with peanut butter butter cream and half red velvet with cream cheese frosting.  So I get to get my cupcakes into the mix.

It's going to be a busy weekend.  I am taking off Friday to start baking.  My plan is to have everything baked on Friday so all the frosting will take place on Saturday.  I am also planning to squeeze in a 5k, the Brookhaven Run.

And make time for Hurricane Hannah's pool party for her birthday.  

I am lucky that I will have Josh, who is also taking off on Friday, I am thinking he will be on dish duty and helping to keep me on track.  The girls will be out of school Friday as well, so I'll get to throw in some free child labor.  Camy is so excited and really wants to help me ice the cupcakes.  We'll have to see about that.

It should be a stressful, exhausting, fun filled weekend.  Who knows I might never want to see another cupcake in my life, but I doubt that.  If I can do this, I can do anything.  I am thankful that my friends have been so supportive of my new business venture.  I do already have an order for cupcakes for Thanksgiving, pumpkin with cream cheese frosting.  Sure hope they get that pumpkin shortage worked out this year!

My Grandma...

This is my grandma.  This picture is from a few years ago, but this is her.  This is the woman that took four little kids and took care of us in what was probably the hardest year of our lives.   We lived with her the year after our mom died, she had planned that we would be with her for three.  She made room for us in her every day life.  She bought us bunk beds, we learned how to swim in her backyard, she used to read at night. 

I so love the woman that she was back then.  She was so strong for all.  I thought I'd list a few of my memories...

• The first time we visited her in Florida, Billy walked right in the house and yanked the chain on one of Grandpa Ralph's clocks that hung right by the door.  Grandma took the fall for that one, and I wonder if he ever knew that Billy was the one that broke it.
• She used to make us eat all sorts of foods that I would never make my kids eat today.  Mangoes, grapefruit to name a couple.  I still can't eat grapefruit.
• When we got head lice, she stood in the sun for what must have been hours combing through our long hair with a little black comb because she refused to cut our hair off.  I think she even washed my hair and Jen's with what could only have been motor oil to try to kill them all.
• I remember a story she read us about a great redwood tree, I have no idea how that has stuck with me all this time but it has.
• I remember walking to the grocery store for her, something I would never have my 10 year olds do now, but at 7 in the early 80s it must have been okay.
• The bunk beds that I remember as taking up almost all of the tiny room that Jen and Karen and I shared.
• I will always remember how much she loved my mom.
• Cornbread with syrup.
• The pool in the backyard that we learned to swim in.
• She used to yell at Uncle Frank for playing his music too loud in his car when we were with him.

In the last ten years or so, we had not seen her often, and the visits were always difficult for us.  She was no longer the grandma that we remembered from our childhood.  Her life wasn't easy after we left, and it was never the same for her.

She passed away in her sleep last night.  I am very lucky to have had her in my life.

My Desk...

So, there was a slight mishap in my office on Friday afternoon, and I must say I have not laughed that hard in a really long time.

My desk is U shaped, and a co-worker (we'll call him Ramsey) was sitting being me partly on the side partly on the bottom of the U as we were looking at a new software program we are launching this morning.  I got a call from downstairs, apparently Kaiser's, a nearby restaurant/soda fountain, was going out of business this weekend and some other co-workers were going on an ice cream soda run.  I placed my order and hung up the phone. 

Ramsey decided he couldn't live without an ice cream soda and as he was reaching for my phone moved a little further on the bottom of the U that was my desk and that's when all hell broke loose.  That part of my desk came crashing down, one of my candles broke, my water spilled everywhere and everything that was sitting on that section of my desk fell to the floor.  It took a second to realize what had happened and then I was laughing so hard I could barely speak.

I called our warehouse manager and could not get the words out that I was going to need a broom, I had tears in my eyes I was laughing so hard.  We did manage to get some help and removed the top part of the broken portion.

So here is my desk after the broken piece was removed.  So we decided that I wasn't really gonna need the back part since the top part wasn't going to be returning.

We did have to completely shut my computer off at this point because everything is plugged in through the hole in the part that we were going to remove.

So this is what my desk looks like now, it's no longer U shaped, it's two parallel pieces. 

On a positive note, we are in the process of remodeling our area and in a few weeks I will no longer even have an office.  I use the term office loosely here, it's more like a shoebox.  If you shut the door that's about what it feels like.  Don't even get me started on how the door won't slam, that really made me mad one time.

What more could you ask for on a Friday afternoon when you are trying to wrap up the month, except a whole lot of comic relief from a co-worker!

Ah Ramsey, you crack me up!  Your timing was absolutely perfect on that one!

Paige...

So Paige is my first niece.  I remember about 12 years ago when I found out I was going to be an aunt for the first time how excited I was.  She was the first baby that Josh and I ever babysat overnight, and she was the one that really made me want to have a baby.  Who knows when we would have had kids had it not been for Paige.

When I think of Paige, sometimes I can't help but think of her like this.  With all her little fatness.  Boy did Lucy love her.  It's funny, when I think of Lucy, this is how I think of her, licking all the babies.

But now Paige is growing up, she is now 11 (WHAT!!!), and getting ready to start sixth grade.  She is on vacation with Parker and her dad this week and Jen just emailed me a copy of the Will she left for Jen, just in case her plane goes down.

1. Zero goes to live with Dad. (This is funny because if the plane goes down her Dad is going down with the plane too since they’re together.)
2. Tell everyone that I love them.
3. I want a pink funeral and I want Austin to be there.
4. I hope they find a cure for boob cancer.

 Number 4 is especially funny to me.  With all of my nieces and nephews we have had them saying "Boobies" when we take pictures since they were all old enough to talk.  I am so glad one of her final requests would be to cure breast cancer.

 

On a final very happy note, since I am talking about my nieces and nephews, looks like I get to be an aunt again!  Come February we'll get to have another little baby to love on, thanks to Karen and Shawn.  I have got to start knitting some baby stuff!

Does Penny Like the Pool?

Since we bought the girls their pool, we have gotten Penny in a few times to see if she would like it or not.  Much like with the trampoline, she tends to run around the outside of the pool barking when we are in it and she is not.  We bought her a pink polka dot life jacket and get her in when we all get in, but we could never tell if she really liked it or not.

Yesterday the girls and I were swimming and Penny was doing her usual run around the outside and bark routine.  We didn't think anything of it until Carson saw her standing at the top of the ladder waiting for us to let her in!  I strapped on her life jacket and off she went.  She likes to swim around in a circle and come back to the ladder to rest.  She will put her front paws on one step and even put her back paws on the step below to rest.  It is quite entertaining.

Here she is with her pink polka dot life jacket on...

So Carson had an ear infection this weekend.  So that's both kiddos in less than a week.  We are going to be more diligent with the ear drops from now on.  It's hard to tell her that she can get in the pool but she can't get her head under water.  Although it might be harder to tell the other kid who has healed already that she can't splash her sister while they are in the pool.

I am glad we got the pool for the girls, it's been refreshing with the sweltering heat outside, and entertaining with Penny the Pig Dog becoming an avid swimmer.

My Girls are Coming Home...

My girls went up to West Virginia to visit my aunts over a week ago, nine days ago to be exact.  I missed them, but I was really missing them yesterday.  A day off work and Josh and I really had nothing to do except grocery shopping.  It would have been the perfect day for them to break in the new above ground pool we got them last week as an early birthday present.

Speaking of the new pool, we haven't told them about it and we figured we'd just see how long it takes them to notice it in the back yard.  I am so excited about it, because I know they will be very excited about it!

I talked to them last Tuesday and they were having a great time.  I called on Saturday and they weren't interested in chatting, which is probably a good sign, but it's been a week since I have talked to them.  I talked to Jen this morning when they had gotten past St. Louis and she said they hadn't hardly talked to her at all in the car, they were busy watching their movies.

So now I am excited that they are on their way, I can't wait to see them, but I'm sure I'll be ready to ship them off again at some point! 

Why I am Not a Camper...

So my birthday was last Friday, and for my birthday (and my brother-in-law's birthday) we went camping.  Everyone got to the lake Friday night, and we spent Saturday on the boat.  There was tubing, and wake boarding and some swimming.  Mostly by everyone else but me.

I am not much of a camper, we don't own the supplies to camp and I prefer a nice hotel room or even a cabin.  Overall it was a fun weekend, except I came home with a rash on both my arms.  It is still there today so I want to have it checked out.  It is poison ivy.  Great.  I am getting a prescription for some steroids this afternoon that should clear it up.

I am adding this to my list of why I am not a camper. 

Skinny Bitch

So a friend loaned me her copy of the book "Skinny Bitch", and after reading the first 100 pages yesterday I just had to go buy my own copy.

If you haven't heard of it, check out their website. http://www.skinnybitch.net/

It is definitely eye opening.  I had already stopped eating red meat, after reading "In Defense of Food", but I was still eating chicken and turkey and pork.  Well I am going to have to be meat free now.  The descriptions of how animals in slaughter houses are treated was enough to make my skin cry and I thought I was going to cry.  Just horrible.  I can't just can't be playing a role in that sort of thing.

I went today and bought my own copy of the book, I wanted to be able to get everyone I know to read it, and a vegetarian cookbook that has lots of pictures.  (It was only $5.99 too, score!)  I also bought Martha Stewart's cupcake cookbook, I don't think I could ever be vegan because I need my eggs and butter for my baking!

So I am resolved, no more meat for me.  Not sure if there will be any other great revelations in the other two thirds of the book, but I'll keep you posted!

Two Weeks Without Dairy

I found this article on huffingtonpost.com last week and decided that this is something to consider.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/dairy-free-dairy-6-reason_b_558876.html

Day One:
So the end of the article said, basically, that if you don't believe that dairy is bad for you then give it two weeks.  Go two weeks without dairy and see what it does for you.  Since I have been told to cut back on dairy because of my high cholesterol, I decided to give it a shot.  I think it'll be hard, because I love cheese, and chocolate milk, but let's see how I feel after the two weeks are over.

I do refuse to stop baking though.  I do have an order for cupcakes for Stacy for tomorrow.  Grant's teacher's birthday is tomorrow and I'm going to make some cupcakes for her.  White cake with butter cream frosting.  I do have some sprinkles that I'll probably color them up with.  So excited about baking for someone else!

Two weeks without dairy, I think I can do it.  (I don't think I can give up parmasean cheese though.  We'll see.)  It's all about feeling better and living better.  Let's see how I feel in 14 days.

The Tooth that Would Not Come Out...

Everything about Carson is pokey, I swear she is the pokiest kid in the world.  Even getting in the car takes forever, and she usually has everything she is taking with her separated instead of putting it all in a bad to make it easier.  She comes by it honestly, and I don't mean by me!

So, she had this tooth that has been loose for, I swear, the last six months.  The darn thing just didn't want to come out.  I think Camy has lost about seven teeth in the amount of time it took this one tooth to come out.

We heard her crying in her room last night, and went in to check on her.  She said that the tooth was hurting and she was tired if it just hanging on.  So we looked at it and we tried to figure out exactly where it was still connected, seriously the tooth was barely hanging on.  Josh gets the dental floss and starts making like he's going to tie it around her tooth and even ties one end to the door knob to the bathroom.  Carson was on the verge of freaking out about the whole thing.

I sat with her for a while and tried to get her to calm down.  I did convince her to let me take the dental floss and wrap it around the tooth so I could see where it was still attached.  What was I thinking?  I get it wrapped around and I can't get it off, and I couldn't bring myself to yank the darn thing out!  Luckily, Josh came to the rescue and as I was calming her down he yanked it out.  There was quite a bit of blood, but the tooth fairy came last night and Carson is very excited about the $3 she got. 

This is the Webkinz that she is saving up for, so all this got her one step closer to another stuffed animal.  If only they would always be so happy with such simple things.                                          

First Race After Surgery...

Well yesterday I ran my first 5k since my knee surgery in February.  I didn't do too bad considering I haven't run that far since the beginning of January, and I haven't been running that much in the last few weeks.  (After I over did it two weeks ago.)

My time was 33:35, which is about 5 minutes slower than I was running in the fall, but I am glad that I got through it all and didn't have to stop.  Maybe I am getting tougher mentally, thanks boot camp!

The plan now is to run a half in Tulsa the end of October.  I've got six months to get ready.  It is a good thing, since Stacy looks to have a stress fracture in her foot.  She saw her doctor this morning and will have an MRI on Wednesday.  Could mean six to eight weeks in a boot and only cross training during that time.  It's a good thing we have time!

All in all, I am glad to be back, sort of.  My knee held up well and I don't have any trouble with it today.  I think I'll do some cross training in the morning and go back to the running group tomorrow night.  It should be sprints, which means shorter distance, which should be good.

Memorial Marathon

So, Sunday is my first running event post surgery.  Stacy and I are just doing the 5k, and I am not sure if I'll be able to run the whole thing or not.  I did over do it last week.  I couldn't help it, I just felt so normal!

I did a trekking class on Tuesday morning, run/walking 3.5 miles, and then Tuesday night was my first running group since surgery.  We worked on intervals, and it was so nice outside and I felt so good that I ran about 2.8 miles and walked another .7.  In total it was a seven mile Tuesday, but again I had no pain and felt great. 

I got up to go to boot camp on Wednesday morning and felt a little sore, but noting out of the ordinary.  I was fine all through the class until the end when he wanted us to do some running and my knee was just not into it.  I limped through the rest of the class and when I got to work called my doctor to see if I could get a brace for my knee.  I got fitted for it on Thursday, after just doing the bike on Thursday morning.  I have not done much running since.

At boot camp on Monday, we did 15 minutes of killer stuff and then we ran a mile on the track.  I felt pretty good, not 100%, but not bad.  I've done the bike twice this week, and no running group.  So on Sunday morning, I'll put on my brace and do my best, we'll see what happens.  I am a little jealous of all the people I know that are doing the half and the full, it's hard not to wish I was doing something a little more exciting.  My plan is to be doing the half next year, so we'll see where this year takes me.

Girls Weekend...

Josh went to Tulsa for the weekend so he could watch The Masters with his dad, so the girls and I had a nice weekend together.  We had a meeting for the Land Run at their school on Friday night, and shopped around Saturday morning, (farmers market, Hobby Lobby, Justice, Target, TJ Maxx), and had lunch at Harry Bears

They had a friend stay the night Saturday night and while they played and acted crazy I made 30 pink and purple confetti cupcakes for a 4-year-old's birthday party yesterday. 

I actually got the entire bed to myself Saturday night.  Penny was so jealous about the three girls and Rocky being in their room when we went to bed that I just had to let her in there.  She just snuggled up with Camy and slept with them.  It was so nice!

Needless to say, back to the day to day routine of life.  Carson has her Kumon today and Thursday, and they have Girl Scouts tonight.  Piano on Wednesday for Carson, gymnastics on Thursday for Camy and then Land Run meeting Friday night.  I am also going to squeeze in three days of boot camp, one trekking class, one running group and then another day of bike/running, and some baking for Josh's work for Thursday.

Thankfully the girls won't have homework this week because of the standardized testing they have all week.  Don't even get me started on that!  I am looking forward to a busy but good week.  Maybe get some knitting in and keep my tivo from exploding with all the recorded shows that are backed up and waiting to be watched.

I wonder what I used to do with all my time before all of this.

Freedom...

So I saw my doctor about my knee yesterday, it's been five weeks since surgery and it feels great.  I stopped going to physical therapy two weeks ago, I got my doctor's blessing on that yesterday (yeah!) so I don't have to go back.  I just didn't like that new therapist, and I think I can build the strength in my leg better at the gym on the bike and not doing leg lifts. 

Dr. Hines told me that I am a superstar, and that I am getting really good at this.  Thankfully I only have two knees and so this should be it for me.  He said I can stick with my bike/treadmill routine and do a little jogging at the end for the next two weeks and then after that I can start running again.  No pain = good.  That's what I am going with.

It is nice to be back at the Y in the mornings, and I have never been so happy to have sore muscles!  The body sculpting and the abs class have been good this week and last, again I am sticking with things that don't bother my knee, but I haven't been very limited at all. 

Jen and Karen and I are off to visit my sick grandma this weekend.  We were going to wait another two weeks to go, but according to my uncle she isn't doing very well.  So we'll be off for a girls weekend, which will include a stop at the outlet mall!  Yeah, I am so ready for spring and will be happy to add to my wardrobe a bit.

So as things are getting back to normal, school is almost out!  Wow, time flies!

Going to Grandma's...

So without all the craziness of the last few weeks, we sould have been loaded up in dad's RV on our way to Texas this morning to visit my grandma.  On account of a broken leg, and collapsed lung, our trip has been postponed until next week.  Dad and Billy are still going this weekend, and next Friday Jen, Karen, and I will road trip it down to Salado, Texas to see her.

My grandma has lung cancer, she's been a smoker forever, and now she's sick.  I have fond memories of the year we lived with her and my grandpa in Florida after my mom died.  I remember we used to joke about hiding her cigarettes from her, but she never quit smoking.

My more recent momories of her are not as fond as the ones from when I was a kid, and I hate that.  We have been down to visit twice since she moved to Texas, and both times have not been pleasant.  She seemed to get mean and more religious as she aged.  These are the memories I will try to not hold on to.

I remember her yellow Cadillac, how we lived just a few blocks from the beach but we didn't go that often.  The bunkbeds she bought for the girls' room.  How Karen, Billy, and I got in trouble for opening our eyes under water in the pool in the backyard and she spanked us with that orange piece of race car track.  How she would stand with me for hours in the sun to remove the head lice I picked up from a friend as school.  How she would read to us at night.  I remember a story about a redwood tree that has stayed with me all this time, but I can't recall what book it was.  How she used to yell at Uncle Frank for driving us around with the music too loud, I was sure forever that he hated us for taking over part of his life.  Apparently he did not.

I think the thing that I loved the most about her was that she loved my mom.  She was her biggest fan, always willing to talk about her to us.  She was the only person that we had that was like that.  She would tell us about how hard she worked to take care of us, and to teach us manners, and how much she loved us.  She is the one person that made it seem like evern though she was gone, she had existed.

It was a good year.  It ended all too soon when we went off to Germany with dad and our new family.  I sometimes wonder where our lives would have gone had we stayed with her.  It does make me sad that she will be gone, that that one cheerleader of my mother's won't be around forever.  She loved us unlike anyone else, and for that I will always be thankful, and when her time comes I will be very sad to see her go.

Another Week...

So we've been without Lucy for almost a week now. It's weird, I still find myself wondering where she is and checking to see if she's ok. Penny and Rocky seem a little out of sorts still. I think they are wondering who is in charge of our smaller pack now. Neither one of them has laid on any of the dog pillows in the house in the last week. It's like they know that Lucy will be back and don't want to mess with her stuff.

I don't want to mess with her stuff. Her pink pillow that has been in our bedroom by the bathroom door is still there. She used to always lay on it when I was in the bathroom getting ready. We tried moving it to the other side of the room but I didn't like it there. It needs to be where she left it.

The girls seem to have recovered from her being gone, but I still feel her loss. She was my Lucy. I was thinking of some other memories we have of her...

• When we lived in our apartment on 50th, we bought her her own Christmas stocking, and we got a bone to do in it. We hung her stocking up, with the bone in it a few weeks before Christmas and she could smell that bone. She would just sit and start at the stocking, waiting for us to give it to her.
• Josh used to torment her with the cardboard that comes inside a roll of wrapping paper. He would chase her around with them and she would freak out and run all around.
• If we would run out of dog food for her she would get a can of tuna, and she loved it. She never ate faster than when she had a bowl of tuna for dinner.
• That poor ugly toenail. I don't even remember when it started to grow weird and look funny, but that toenail on her back leg was the weirdest I've ever seen. She did rip it off a few times, once when she was coming in from the back yard at the old house. I didn't realize what the yelp had been for until I saw the trial of blood spots all over the house. The girls got to go with me to take her to the vet that time, and they loved that they put a green bandage on her leg.
• When her hot spots got bad enough that she'd need to go to the vet, there were a couple of times that they put the cone on her so she wouldn't lick anymore. I can still hear the plastic scraping on the floor as she would get any crumbs that the girls had left behind.

So now, as the days turn into weeks, and months, and years, I know that we had the best dog. I know that I won't always feel so sad without her, but I will always miss her.

Lucy at about 4-years-old, with Paige when she was probably close to turning 1. Lucy sure did love to lick the babies.

Lucy in the Sky...

So yesterday was one of the hardest days of my life so far. We had to let Lucy go.

I took her to the vet, knowing that she hadn't eaten in a week, that her legs no longer seemed strong enough to hold her, and that her belly was hugely swollen. I had to help get her in the car, and for the first time in her 14 years she just laid in the front seat and didn't move at all. She needed help getting up the two steps into the vet's office and she had lots of trouble just getting on the scale.

I have known that this day was coming for a while, most of her Lucyness has seemed to be gone for a while, but I think that I believe that if she could still follow me around the house that she was still there somewhere. I will probably never know how she always knew where I was, her sense of smell must have been how she could still find me. Even when it seemed hard for her to get up, if I left the room for just a few seconds she would always get up and follow me.

So after talking to the vet and knowing that more tests and more medicine wasn't the right thing for her, it was still hard to make the final decision. I will admit that I am a selfish person and I want her with me, but in the end I had to be an advocate for her and say that enough was enough. I believe that she knew how much she meant to me, and in the end she is at peace, where ever that may be.

So for Lucy, I thought I'd list a few of my favorite things about this crazy dog that has blessed my life for over 14 years.

• She was with us before Josh and I were legally an "us", and she was very much a part of what that "us" has been for the last 14 years.
• That she removed most of the rubber parts of the doorstops in most of the places we lived with her.
• That she would get all the way by my feet under the covers at night and then dig and spin in a circle before she would lay down to sleep.
• That last big sigh she would do before she fell asleep, the sigh of contentment.
• That no matter how far under the covers she was at the start of the night, she would always be up on our pillows by morning.
• That if you were sitting on the couch and leaned forward, she's squeeze herself behind you in a split second to be where you were and it was warm.
• The endless hours of time she snuggled with me on the couch, especially before the girls were born when that was all I could do, she happily just hung out with me the whole time.
• That she chewed on rolly polly's like they were bubble gum.
• That she would sit at the girls' feet when they were small and just wait for the food to fall, or even steal it off their plates if they were down low enough for her to reach.
• Even though she was allergic to grass she would still roll around in it.
• That she would freak out and run circles around the house and make the girls laugh when they were babies.
• That she loved my homemade peanut butter dog treats.
• That she would just blend into the pillows on her favorite black couch and sleep there for hours.

For the last 14 years, she was always glad to see me, or smell me, when I got home. She gave me unconditional love and I can only hope that I returned it. She was one in a million, a far better dog than we probably deserved, and our first baby. She will be missed.

4 Days After Surgery...

So I had my knee surgery on Monday and I am back at work today after three days of working from home.


This is what my knee looked like on Tuesday:


Not too bad. This was right after they removed the drain and unwrapped it all. I was thinking that it was gonna be so easy. I mostly stayed off it the rest of Tuesday and then on Wednesday I felt so good, I was walking around without my crutches, letting the dogs out, folding laundry and then yesterday...

No picture, but it looked like someone replaced my knee with a very large grapefruit. Not good and it didn't feel very good either. I have my first visit with my physical therapist yesterday afternoon and was instructed to USE MY CRUTCHES.

It's hard, because I think that when I don't need them I am better, but as it was explained to me that my knee has been through some trauma with the surgery and I need to use the crutches to help my knee heal. Point taken.

So I am using my crutches and I have a few exercises to work on this weekend with it and then physical therapy three times next week. So not looking forward to it! The hardest thing yesterday was that it was so nice outside! I would have loved to have been out running instead of stuck doing PT. So unfair!

Stitches come out on Tuesday, and I think I can give up the support hose then too, which will be nice because they are making it even warmer in my already toasty office. Maybe I'll get a good picture of it this weekend to post next week...

Surgery...

Well, it's official, I need to have surgery on my left knee now. It is scheduled for February 15th, which is just over a week away! Funny, I think I am more nervous this time, maybe ignorance was bliss last time. Dr. Hines thinks that if we do it now that I should be good to be running by the summer, so my whole year won't be a disappointment.

For now, now half in March, too bad I already paid that $45 registration, and now relay in the Memorial in April. I am bummed more about the relay because it was gonna be so fun. Oh well, there is always next year.

It is hard to not be depressed about the whole situation though. Recover is not going to be easy and it'll be like I am starting from scratch and not working my butt off for the last year to get into good enough shape for everything I have been doing. According to Dr. Hines, I am young, and since I am going to live to be 100 I should go ahead and get this taken care of now.

We are still waiting to hear from the vet on Lucy's tests they ran on Wednesday. Sadly, we might have some tough decisions to make about her. I am hoping they call me today with her results.

Feeling Old...

Well it's official. I am 35 and it's all down here from here. I had an MRI on my left knee today and will go back to see Dr. Hines on Thursday. He is probably going to tell me that this knee looks like my right one did and then it'll be another lateral release for me.

I did go see my regular doctor last Monday. He ordered another blood test to see which of my cholesterol was the bad kind and which was the good kind. Thursday I got the good news in the mail. I definitely have high cholesterol. He's giving me six months to get it under control with diet, and if that doesn't work then it'll be medication for me. Just what I want is to be taking pills every day. So for now it's egg whites, whole grains and almost no cheese and 1% or skim milk. Great. The Horizon Organic chocolate milk that I am now addicted to is 1%, so I can keep drinking that. We had Mexican food at Jen's on Saturday night and I didn't eat any queso, didn't put cheese on my fajita and only had the little bit of jack cheese that was on the top of the sweet potato and black bean enchiladas that I made. As usual, not much feedback on the enchiladas. I thought they were good.

So for now, things just seem to be getting better and better. Not sure if Lucy is doing okay or not. Saturday she got turned around in the backyard and was barking at the back fence instead of the door to be let back inside. I had to go out with her leash to get her inside. Poor old girl. I am so not ready for her to be as old as she is.

Knee Pain...

So after the horrible run last Tuesday night I didn't run again until yesterday. Stacy and I had planned to put in six miles (the half is only 9 weeks away! Yikes!) So we were planning to run the 5k route from the Tie Dye Tri twice and I fought through the first round. After that I couldn't run anymore and I could barely walk.

I have an appointment tomorrow to see the doc that did the surgery to straighten out the right one. I am thinking that it has finally caught up with the left.

I also just got a call from Dr. Wall's office. Apparently my cholesterol is high. So now I have to follow up with my regular doctor and go back and see Dr. Wall in three months. Good lord, can I feel any older?