2010

2010 was an unbelievable year.  I'd say amazing, but Nick hates that word, so I'll go with stupendous, awesome, wonderful, fantastic and surreal.  Here are just a few highlights:

1. Countries visited:  12
2. States visited:  4 (counting Pennsylvania) and not counting airport connections
3. 1/2 Marathons completed:  2
4. Friends made:  Too many to count!  Thanks to Contiki, we have new friends all over the world who we can keep in touch with over Facebook.  Thanks to Twitter, we've met new Columbus friends that we wouldn't have been lucky enough to encounter otherwise.  As we get older, its harder and harder to make friends, so to know so many new and wonderful people is truly a blessing
5. Wonders of the world visited:  1
6. Vacations:  4 (a new record for us)
7. Canine health scares:  0!!!!!!
8. Human health scares: 0!!!!!!
9. Home improvement projects completed:  Approximately 3
10. Pictures taken:  see for yourself
11. Miles Run:  Approximately 185 
12. Old Friends who are now new friends:  1
13. Baby Blankets made:  6 
14. Anniversary Celebrated:  4
15. Years on the earth:  30

Deck the dog....

With yards of garland...fa la la la la, la la, la la!

Squeezing Chino, a pictorial

Typical Saturday morning...me, in my PJ's, no make-up and slightly greasy hair and Chino laying on the floor,  minding his own business.  So I get up from the chair and go over to him, with my arms held out and ask him, "Chino...do you need squeezed by me?"  This is a rhetorical question, since of course, the answer is yes (at least in the happy world that I live in). 

Chino:  "Oh crap, she didn't pick up the vibe that I was just fine on the floor without her in my face, maybe if I choose not to look at her, she'll just go away.  I kind of like the cuddles, but I can't let HER know this."
Me:  "Nick, take our picture."

Chino:  "Seriously, she's still smiling like an idiot.  I'm going to look away and try to strangle myself on her arm so that she'll let go and leave me alone."
Me:  "Nick, is he looking?  He must like it since he's not trying to squirm away."

Me:  "Cheenie Beenie...give Momma some kisses"
Chino:  "Fine.  If I pretend to be interested in this cuddle business, will you go away?"

Chino:  "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em"

Me:  "I'm pretty sure that his whole aloof attitude was all a charade.  Nick - did you get the pictures?"

I'm only partially responsible

On Friday evening, we headed off to Oakland Nursery to pick out the Griswold Christmas tree for this year.  We took the 4-wheel drive, beater truck and the mutt to make it a family affair.  After a relatively short time, I found THE ONE.  It was basically symmetrical, full but not too bushy and Nick agreed that it was the one.  He might have just been in shock because it only took one lap around the trees and about 10 mins for me to make a decision.  This is out of character, to say the least.  Anyway, when we got it home, it was just a tad larger than originally anticipated  I thought it was pretty much awesome though. When we got it situated, we just stood back and laughed.

Thank goodness that they cut a bit off of the bottom, because it left us about 2" of clearance between the top of the tree and the ceiling.  The Dollar Tree Angel, circa 2006, just barely fit, but kind of looks like a fairy, sitting on top.  Total garland footage - 60'.  Total ornaments?  Not so sure - but they're all in the front.  Verdict?   This is the best tree ever.  We kind of want to have a party so that we're not the only ones who get to see it this year. 

We did it!

During the past 8 weeks, I've been training for my 2nd 1/2 marathon.  I completed my first 1/2 marathon in May, 5 minutes over my goal of under 3 hours.  If I knew that I had given it my all, I would have been satisfied, but I knew that I didn't.  I had all of the tools that I needed, except for proper planning.  In the middle of our training program, Nick and I took off for Europe for two weeks, returning exhausted and sick, resulting in three weeks of missed training.  Add to that the fact that we were half assing the training in the first place, led to a half assed 1/2 marathon.  I hit "the wall" very early on, opting to run/walk before finally giving in to the mental and physical pain.  Nick hit the wall around mile 10 or 11, having to walk as well.  We both finished, which I acknowlege is a huge accomplishment, but I knew that we didn't give it the respect and attention that it deserved.  Another unwelcome result of not being prepared?  Knee pain that lasted for weeks after the race.  After going to the doctor, we figured out that I did too much, too fast and too soon.  I wasn't surprised since our laziness and poor planning often resulted in missed mid-week runs.  We did the long runs, but going from zero to 9 in one week just isn't good for the body.  Translation:  Training programs ar there for a reason, so follow them!   

Since I was disappointed in my first 1/2 marathon finish, I decided that I wanted to do another one.  I knew that I could do better, but starting a new program after taking such a long time off, was like starting from square one, literally.  For me, running is a mental game that I can never seem to win.  I have trouble calming myself down.  The harder I try, the worse it gets.  Maybe like a mini-anxiety attack?  Once I start to breathe heavy, I panic a little bit.  Instead of focusing on the fact that its normal to be breathing heavy, I start to take shallow breaths, which makes the situation worse.  When I get the dreaded side stitch, it results in a similar panic.  My rational self knows that I need to take deep breaths and run through the pain.  My rational self also knows the difference between real pain and exertion.  My irrational self thinks that the pain will never go away and doesn't see a light at the end of the tunnel and tries to tell me that the only thing I can do is to walk.  My rational self  knows that I can do anything that I want and that I have the strength to get through a run and that running is mostly mind over matter.  The problem is that during my runs (and sometimes before them) my irrational and rational selves are battling it out in my brain, taking turns at claiming victory.

This time, I was determined to follow the plan.  The one I chose was from Fitness Magazine and was for "Newbie Racers" or those who currently run less than 15 miles per week.  Considering that when I started this, I was running zero miles per week, this was perfect.  Also perfect was my hubby, who decided to do this WITH me instead of just with me.  He walk/jogged and cheered me on, every step of the way.  I yelled, complained, whined, cried and told him to go away, but he stayed.  He kept telling me that he was waiting for me to have my breakthrough - what I like to call my Jillian Michaels moment.  The moment when I realize that I've had it in me all along and that all of the crying and whining was totally unnecessary.

I actually had that moment last Wednesday.  It wasn't how I pictured it would be.  Nick was out of town and I had been up since about 5:30am, traveled to Solon and back and then back to work, so it was the perfect storm of excuses.  I had my running bag packed and in the trunk, along with my other gear that I'd need to do 5 miles that evening.  Instead of heading home and then feeling guilty, I headed to the trail.  I put my headphones in and began the run, but my heart wasn't in it.  I was by myself and my legs were still sore from the long run the previous week.  The breakthrough came when I decided that I was going to get it done and I wasn't going to stop and I wasn't going to feel sorry for myself.  I told my legs to loosen up and concentrated on the music that I was listening to.  What happened to me there was the greatest moment of clarity that I have ever experienced.  The pain went away and my pace quickened.  The minute I decided to just run, that's what my body did.  It shut out my mind and did what I had been training it to do.  Before I knew it, I heard the magic words, "3 miles complete" and I knew that I was more than 1/2way through and I was actually enjoying myself.

All along, I've related my running adventure and journey to the lyrics to my power song, "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie

"I hope you know, I hope you know

that this has nothing to do with you

It's personal, myself and I

we've got some straightening out to do

...its time to be a big girl now

And big girls don't cry...

That night, "myself and I" finally got ourselves straightened out.  I finally felt like a real runner and I knew that I would be able to run the whole 1/2 marathon.

The race on Sunday started out early.  We got downtown around 6:30am and took some time to relax before we headed to the starting line.  Because of my slower running time, we started in Corral 4, which is also where the walkers started.  Our start was  a little sporadic because we were dodging walkers and "woggers", but we found our rhythm at about mile 2 or 3.  Despite our best efforts, we remained surrounded by walkers, but as the run progressed, we found open pockets and settled into our pace.  Nick stayed true to his promise and stayed with me for the entire time.  I know that he could have run it faster and better, but he stayed with me, which pushed me to push myself through the pain and frustration.

I didn't meet my goal of running the 1/2 marathon in under 3 hours.  I came close, my official time was 3 hours and 44 seconds.  What I did accomplish was so much more.  I became a runner.  I trained for a race and followed through on the effort and time that I had put forth.  I pushed myself through pain and frustration and ran the whole race.  I even jogged through the Gatorade stations, grabbing a drink from the volunteers, but NEVER STOPPED.  I tried not to think.  I looked up and enjoyed the moment, the spectators and the bands.  I followed through and didn't self sabotage.  I let myself like running and I let myself have fun.  I'm no longer afraid of running.  I'm actually looking forward to the next race and maybe another 1/2 marathon.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still pissed about those 44 seconds, but the transformation that I've undergone in the past 8 weeks is more than I could have ever imagined.  I know that it wouldn't have happened without the love, support and patience of my husband and for that, I'm eternally grateful.  From the beginning, he knew that I could do this.  I just had to figure it out for myself.

We didn't have crowds of friends or family cheering us on throughout the course.  We didn't have anyone waiting for us at the finish line.  We had each other and we crossed the start and finish together.

Have seatbelt, will travel

I have no idea how he allows us to put a harness on him and strap him in the backseat of the car, but he does.  We didn't implement the seat belt rule until we bought a convertible and I read up on the physics  behind a dog who isn't belted into the car.  Regardless, he tolerates it well.  What he doesn't tolerate are 18 wheelers that pass our car and interrupt his car naps.

Venus Fly Trap Inspector

Even though we had to get up early on a Saturday, even though there was an Ohio State game on TV,  even though he didn't really want to, he came with me to Franklin Park.  Even though he wasn't planning on it, he ended up having a good time.

Buzz

I had a mini-photo shoot with his little guy, finally catching him profile.  I'm still learning the basics of composition, but I like how the flowers frame the shot, with the blurred background, bringing your focus back to the bee.  I also think that the different shades of yellow and the different life stages of each flower.  I also liked that I had a zoom lens, which kept me at a safe distance from this little bugger.

Franklin Park Conservatory

My photography class met at Franklin Park Conservatory on Saturday.  It was an Ohio State game so I had to bribe Nick with the promise of Dirty Frank's hot dogs after.  We spent a couple of hours, playing around with the camera settings, taking pictures of plants and flowers.  I just looked back at the pictures and it was pretty cool to see the progress that I was making in only a couple of hours.  I'm learning about light settings and depth of field, which is really making a difference in the types of pictures I'm taking.

Playcam

Chino's daycare has a webcam and its always fun to check in and see what he's up to during the day. By "up" I mean awake, not so much upright.  Knowing me, I'm sure you can imagine my excitement when I realized that I could watch him on my phone!  This capability takes Psycho Dog Mom to a whole new level.  Don't worry, I don't watch and then make threatening phone calls to the daycare, that would be insanity, which is entirely separate from psycho.

Long overdue vacation post, #7 - Innsbruck

Before I tell you about Innsbruck, I need to share some pictures of one of the most beautiful places that I've ever seen.  There's not much to tell because it was simply a small scenic overlook, somewhere in Austria, on the way to Innsbruck, but the views were indescribable.  It was another surreal experience to add to the list from the trip:  Standing in the middle of the Austrian Alps, looking up at the mountains and down on a lake.

Innsbruck was basically a rest stop on our way to Italy, and was a pretty quick stop on the trip.  We got a brief history of the town from our tour manager, which you can read here and then we went to explore the town.  We saw the Golden Roof, visited the Swarovski store and sampled one of Mozart's Balls (eeew). As we were walking down the street, we kept turning around to look at the mountains, because the view of the town with the mountains in the background never got old. 

Wedding Registry

Nick and I are going to a wedding this weekend.  Of course, being the type of people we are, we haven't even LOOKED at the registries before today.  While I was eating lunch, I got onto the site and looked around, trying to find that gift within the price range of $100-$150ish - you know, wedding appropriate.  Celebratory, but also enough to cover two dinners, some cake and a few cocktails.  Don't want to overdo it but don't want to be a dead beat either.  After I searched through the lists, the things left were dishtowels, bowls, funnels and picture frames.  The highest price thing on both registeries was less than $100.

I called Nick and declared that we were going to do gift cards.  The last thing that I want is to lug a huge bag of stuff to a wedding, make the couple (or their parents) lug it home and then compel the newlyweds to write a thank-you note that incorporates ALL items.  Although now that I'm thinking about it, it might be funny to just pick random things that don't go together and throw them in a bag and say congrats!  I'd provide gift receipts of course - but it would be entertaining to see if they would try to figure out a rhyme/reason/theme that they would reference in the thank you card.

REALLY Long overdue vacation post #6 - Dachau

The morning after our beer crawl, we got up, feeling a little rough around the edges, and headed down to breakfast.  We weren't the only ones who had a good time - some people didn't even make it to breakfast and then there were others who were probably still drunk (or drinking!).  It was St. Patrick's day, so there was definitely a bottle of Jameson involved.  Seriously, those Australians know how to party...and how to puke and rally.  After breakfast, we went back to our room to collect our stuff (not luggage) and then loaded onto the bus.  After everyone was situated, Dave told us that he had a surprise for us, which was the reason we had to get up a little early.  It turned out that our surprise was a trip to Dachau Concentration camp.  This stop wasn't something on our itinerary, but as our guide told us, it was important to understand the past, which includes the good, the bad and the ugly, in order to understand the present and the future.  The trip there was so powerful that there aren't many words that would do it justice.  To imagine what happened there and to know that there are people in the world who deny the Holocaust, is just mind blowing.  The things we saw, the photos of the prisoners, the first hand accounts, the film footage of the liberation...were all unforgettable and unbelievably sad.  Being there was surreal, like stepping into a history book.  As the camp stood, it was a monument and celebration of the brave people who were subjected to unspeakable acts within the walls.  It stood as a reminder of the horrible events occurred and also as a pledge that it wouldn't be forgotten or wouldn't happen again.  I know that Nick and I will never ever forget the morning that we spent there.

Walking through the front gates "Work will set you free"

One of the guard towers, next to a cement wall, surrounding the camp.

Looking down the hall in the barracks.

View into a cell.

A wall where the guards carried out executions.  You can still see where the bullets hit the cement.

The Poplar trees lining the walkway between the barracks.

The barbed wire fence surrounding part of the camp, with a guard tower in the background.

The gas chamber.  Prisoners were told that these were showers.

The crematorium.

"Never Again"

REALLY Long Overdue Vacation post, #5 - Munich

I was going to try to combine the rest of the zillion vacation posts into one, but it would have just gotten ridiculous, so I decided to soldier on.  If, before you decide to dive into the latest long overdue vacation post, you want to catch up on the others (numbers 1 through 4.5 ), click here, here, here, here, here and here.  If not, feel free to jump right on in. 

We had just left St. Goar and were on our way to Munich, without luggage but with two brand new beer steins...It seemed that we were in multiple climates throughout the trip - heading to Munich, we began to notice snow on the ground.  After the winter that we had, I was NOT happy to see the snow, but for members of our tour, they were fascinated.  A lot of them had never seen snow before.  It was very cool to experience someone seeing and feeling snow for the very first time.  Our driver and tour guide made an impromptu pit stop at a rest area, just so everyone could enjoy themselves.  We watched people sitting in it, playing in it, throwing it, taking pictures of it and calling home about it.  We hung back with the guy from NJ and watched everyone else running around.  It was pretty cool. 

After the snowball fight, it was back on the bus and business as usual.  We arrived in Munich at a Holiday Inn (yippee!), had time to settle a bit (for us we had nothing to settle) and then got BACK on the bus to head into the town.  First stop:  Marienplatz, which is the Town Square and home of the most overrated tourist attraction in Munich - The Glockenspiel, which lives in the New Town Hall, which looks like an Old Town Hall.

We were told, and tend to agree, that if you really wanted to see this thing, do its thing - to go to YouTube.  It wasn't running anyway, since it was March.  If you want to see what all of the fuss is about - here you go.  I was more excited about this little shop that was located right on the town square.

After a quick overview and a plan to meet up later, the group scattered to do some exploring before our evening tour of the city.  While we were walking, we ended up finding a department store.  Both of us were very excited that German clothes fit lots better than Dutch clothing, must be all of that beer and sausage.  We blitzed the store, picking up more incidentals and then went off in search of something to hold our new wardrobe.  Voila!  We found the giant orange bag.

The good thing was that we now had a real piece of luggage, versus plastic bags and reusable shopping bags.  The bad news was that we (Nick) had to lug it around for the rest of the evening.  In all fairness, I took the giant camera bag while he carried the humongous orange bag full of clothes.

After a very chilly walking tour of Munich, it was time to visit The Hofbrauhaus!!!!!!  Oh yes, beer mecca.  The sign on the building said that it had been there since 1589. 1589! Can you imagine?!

It was everything that we hoped it would be, and more.  The building was enormous, lots and lots of rooms filled with people enjoying beer and food and music and beer.  We ended up sitting at a table with some of our group, enjoying yummy food and a cool atmosphere, oh and SOFT PRETZELS.  I ordered enough food for an army - I think I ended up with a big mug of beer, a sausage platter, pretzel basket and a side of German potato salad.  I ordered it as German potato salad, but we were in Germany, duh - so that was kind of dumb.

After some beer and lots of food, we decided to head out to do a mini-Bier Hall crawl to check out some more of what Germany had to offer.  It was a quiet night in Munich, but we managed to get to a few, before we went to McDonalds, ordered two Happy Meals and called it a  night.  We didn't really have an agenda other than seeing what we could see before closing time.  Stop #1:  Ayinger - we've had this before, but it tasted SO much better there.

Stop #2 - Franziskaner.  We decided that we needed some Apple Strudel here also.  It was also yum.  We liked the logo - the yellow dog holding an armful of beer.  Come to think of it, I'm surprised that I didn't steal this glass...

Stop #3 - Schneiderweiss.  This was our favorite Bier Hall.  It just felt old with lots of interesting woodwork and a maze of rooms and tables.  It was also our last stop before we ate some McDonalds, hailed a cab and headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.

Munich was a whirl wind and was definitely a place that we'd like to go back to.  The atmosphere was welcoming, the city was easy to navigate, the people were friendly and the clothes fit!  We're both looking forward to a time when we can spend more time on the history and the beer selection of this cool city.

First day of school

For my birthday, Nick enrolled me in a weekly photography class for beginners.  Wednesday was my first class, so I headed down to Cord Camera after work, camera bag in hand. 

Speaking of camera bags, I just happened to receive the camera bag of my dreams, the day before the class started, after an exhaustive search.  The objective was to find a camera bag that didn't look like a camera bag, but that functioned like a camera bag.  Tall order, right?  I scoured the internet and Etsy, but had no luck.  By a fluke, I found an Etsy store that seemed to carry these types of bags at one time or another, but that didn't' have any in stock at the time.  I read the shop description, which sent me to a blog, which informed me that I'd have to sign up to be informed when a wait list opened.  Since I had no other options, I signed up and waited to hear when the gates would open and I could order.  The email finally came over 4th of July weekend.  I saw the summer bag selection and immediately signed up for the wait list.  Then I waited, and waited and waited.  Apparently, I'm not the only one who's been on such a mission.  I checked my email, I checked the Ketti Handbags Facebook page, I checked my email again.  Finally, on Friday, September 3, the email came through.  I had successfully been patient for about two months.  I paid the Paypal invoice immediately and the waited for the bag.  When I got home on Tuesday and saw the box on the front porch, I knew that it had finally come.  I was worried that I'd be disappointed, but hopeful that it was THE ONE.  It was...THE ONE.  The bag is awesome, fits perfectly and looks like a purse.  The top opens nice and wide, with two compartments inside for the camera and lenses.  I was so excited that I sent a picture to my sister, who approved.  Bonus?!

Back to photography class.  I wasn't too sure what to expect.  I walked in and saw a room full of mostly middle-aged women, with awesome cameras.  The instructor was a little older, but seemed to know what he was talking about.  The experience levels vary from enthusiast all the way to "I don't know how to get the pictures put on my computer" to "what brand of camera do I have?"  The instructor was obviously passionate about photography as he showed some of his work to the class and began his explanation.  Unfortunately, he started to launch into photographer-speak, and lost the class in his jargon.  I think that a portion of this class will end up to be self-taught, which is ok, since it will at least give me a starting point and a frame of reference.  After the background information, it looks like white balance will be first on the agenda.  We didn't get to the in class assignment, but I think I'll be able to figure it out using my instruction manual and the internet.  Stay tuned for class #2.

My Weekend. In a list. In chronological order.

1. Buffalo Chicken Dip - round 2
2. Patio cook-out
3. 4 miles
4. Bacon Camp!
5. Dirty Franks
6. Food hangover
7. Shopping!
8. iPhone Armband
9. Continued food hangover
10. Early bedtime
11. Bob Evans!
12. Mean Bean
13. Brownies
14. Beer Pong
15. Paparazzi
16. Cornhole
17. Flip Cup
18. Bed
19. Pumpkin Spice Coffee
20. Laundry
21. Pei Wei
22. Buckeye Corner
23. Laundry
24. Bitching
25. 3 miles
26. Bitching
27. English Muffin Pizza
28. Bills
29. Oreo Cheesequake Blizzard
30. Bills
31. The Glades
32. Bed

Thoughts about the last 30 years. In a list. In no particular order.

1. Meeting the kind of friends who you don't need to talk to every day, the kind that years can go by between visits and when you do catch back up it was like no time has passed at all. 
2. Moving away from home, by myself to go to college.  This was one of the scariest and best things that I've ever done.
3. Graduating from college in 4 years, despite freshman year shenanigans and a change of majors.
4. Meeting and marrying the love of my life. 
5. Adopting a "free" dog during the busiest time in our lives.  Being so grateful for the fun, laughter and joy that he brings to our lives.
6. Finishing a 1/2 marathon and deciding to do it again!
7. Seeing Europe and loving it even more than I thought that I would.
8. Maintaining a wonderful relationship with my parents, and being amazed at how that relationship has evolved as I've grown up.  Also, appreciating the role models that they've been for my own life and relationships.  So grateful that they helped to shape who I am today by giving me the best of what they had.  Also - a quick apology for my teen years as I learned to rein in those crazy hormones.
9. Fighting with, making up with, fighting with, losing touch with and reconnecting with my sister.  My parents were right, we wouldn't ALWAYS hate each other.
10. Being on the kind of spring break that I'll have to wait to tell my kids (warn my kids) about until they're at least 18.
11. Trying and liking sushi
12. Earning a masters degree
13. Blogging
14. Only really appreciating Pittsburgh after I've moved away, and strangely wanting to move back more and more.
15. Discovering a green thumb!
16. Finding out that I have a bit of a knack for picking paint colors.  Hellooo Key Lime Kitchen!
17. Keeping my heart open to meeting new friends, even though it gets harder and harder as I get older.
18. Loving to knit and crochet simple projects for friends and family.  It sounds corny, but its a little piece of me that I love to give.
19. Photography is a bit of an unrefined passion that I'd like to explore further
20. Travel is one of my favorite pass times
21. Loving my time as a wife and looking forward to my time, someday, as a mother
22. Prioritizing vacation and frivolous fun above almost everything else
23. Learning that I have "it" in me somewhere, whatever "it" may be and that sometimes I just need to dig deep to find it. 
24. Feeling better as a blonde.
25. Being able to do real push-ups and being in the best shape of my life - still with lots of room for improvement.
26. Still a nail biter...
27. Realizing that the little lines that I'm seeing around my eyes are from many laughing fits and smiles....and being okay with it.
28. Losing 100lbs.  It was the same 10 over and over, but I'm counting it anyway.
29. Trying to teach myself to live in the moment and enjoy the day.
30. Deciding to embrace the next decade...head on and full of excitement.

He put himself up for adoption after this photo was taken

According to the training program, yesterday was a walk/run 3 miles day.  Yesterday was also Nick's golf night, so it was up to me to make sure that Mr. Mutt received the proper amount of exercise.  When it comes to that, I had several options as a single dog mommy:  I could walk him and then go run, run and then go walk or take him with me for a run (this is the LEAST desirable option because Chino doesn't like running since it interferes with his pooping and peeing).  Since I got home from work a little late, it became necessary to multitask, despite his very strict poop and pee regiment.

Chino and I headed across the street to the development that's still developing.  There's an area that still has cornfields on either side, leading to a dead end, which means that I can let Chino off of his leash here.  It also means that I have to essentially run short laps back and forth in order to keep him in that designated area.  As I began my back and forth and back and forth and back and forth, in my quest to hit 3 miles, Chino was bumbling around, keeping me in his sight and checking in periodically.  I could hear his tags jingling, so I knew he was close, without having to keep my actual eyes on him.  After a few laps, he decided to park himself in the middle of my route, rather than venture too far in either direction.  As I finished each lap, he'd look at me desperately, waiting to see if that would be the last one.  I was grateful for the distraction, even though I know for a fact that he was annoyed and ready to go home.  In my head though, I pretended that he was standing at the halfway point, cheering me on.

Dog park rules, by Chino

1. I will chase but will not bring back, unless its not my toy
2. If I want to drink the water, I will
3. Humping is allowed and encouraged
4. When we walk into the gates, I have no name
5. I will (or won't) play with whoever I want
6. Don't expect anything from me, until I've pooped at least once
7. If you're a boxer, I probably won't like you
8. I may or may not expend my energy during our time there, its my prerogative

Suck it up, buttercup

Last night, we tried a new approach to training.  Instead of running "together" as in running at the same time, but not WITH each other - we actually ran together.  I promised to go a little faster and Nick promised to go a little slower.  We ran together for the first mile or so before I got the evil pain in my side, forcing me to walk.  Nick kept running and then doubled back and ran with me when I started again.  My goal was to keep him in my sights, so when he got too far ahead, I sprinted so I could catch up.  The result was pretty good, my time dropped below a 13 minute mile for a run/walk, which is the fastest that I've been since I've gotten back to running after my sore knees.  I definitely need more work to get through the sluggish feeling and the sore knees, but that will come.  I have to say though, that removing music from the equation has helped eliminate a sense of time in the run, which for me is pretty beneficial.  The jury is still out for Nick. I'm thinking that I'll mix it up, sometimes music, sometimes not and see what happens.