best part of my day.

My little guy is growing up! But I am a proud doggie mommy this week (i see that, you just rolled your eyes, didn't you?). Milo started 'school' this week. After losing his best friend Starla (a black lab) next door earlier this year, his play time and interaction with other dogs has been drastically reduced. In turn, his weight has shot up. 

Since he is a 65-pound, long-hair, black dog, taking him on a walk or running with me when it's 100+ degrees between work/night-night is out of the question. Um, I need to point out that Milo goes to bed on his own at about 10p every night. Whether we do or not. He likes himself some sleepy-time. So if it IS cooled down by 10p you better believe he isn't going on a walk.

Moving on. Milo started school, two afternoons a week at Doggy Day Care. He was thrilled we came back to pick him up on his first day (he is a shelter dog, understandable he had some anxiety) but came home beyond worn out and happy both nights after 'school'. With spectacular report cards to boot.

Seeing his exhausted little face after getting home from work last night? Hands down best part of my day, if not my week...

 

 *too worn out to get up after school last night*

 

*milo's report card from day two of school, he even got his paws neatly trimmed by his new friends*

best part of my day...

Getting up in the quiet dark of early morning to run four miles with my running buddy Emily.

That and the fact that despite dragging Milo out of bed trying to get him to come on the run, he went back and plunked himself firmly on his bed while I was putting my shoes on. That chubby spoiled dog clearly had an opinion on going on a morning run... it involved him pooping on the idea and then demanding I make coffee for him before I left.

milo in the mountains...

Needless to say, this dog loves him some snow!
A view on our walk.

just like eight year olds...

Ed and I are nearly 30, yet when it comes to surprises, gifts, Christmas, birthdays, we are total children. I actually feel sorry for our future child because we will obviously steal any thunder and joy he might glean at any type of holiday or birthday. He will be all... seriously guys, I'm three, let me have my moment with Santa and the gifts, COME ON!!

Ed and I decided our household might be better suited to Hanukkah (mom, I don't want your head to explode here, don't worry I still love the Jesus and celebrate only Christmas!) Seriously, for the past week we have each been opening a gift a night from each other. I suppose this is the type of fun we can eek out of the holidays since we don't have have said child for the, "spaz out while hyperventilating and flying all around the living over his latest Apple gadget" (because we will surely be parents to an uber-nerd), kind of experience that comes with kids and Christmas. Instead, we settle for opening one gift a night the week leading up to Christmas, and chasing Milo around trying to put antler ears on him after eight glasses of eggnog.

As of tonight, after Christmas with my parents, we will officially be out of gifts to open. However, in our defense, and to appease those mature people who don't touch gifts until Christmas day, we don't want to lug all our presents (hellloooo a slalom ski in addition to everything else in our SUV just isn't logical) to Colorado with us. So really, it was the most logical choice. Besides, we'll be enjoying one of God's greatest gifts on Christmas morning, being full of (and loving) life while skiing on the mountain he made for us to enjoy. What more could we need? This is why I love Christmas, so what if you break the rules a little. Isn't Christmas a time of giving and joy? If it brings you joy to give a little early then so be it.

Merry Christmas! I hope it's as delightful and childlike as possible while being a mature, responsible adult. In fact I hope everyone can shed the mature, responsible adult-ness and experience the child like joy that was meant to fill our hearts!

best part of my day...

Rollin' Hard.

best part of my day...

Running. In the snow. With Milo.

We have three inches of snow today, and running through the non-packed snow was the same as running on the beach. Only cold and wet! It was a peaceful, hard, glorious run!

rocket fuel reserves and animals making hot totties...

Instead of going to spin class last night, Ed and I decided to go for a run. My recovery plan said to run for 25 minutes, so we didn't track mileage, just ran for time, which was a nice change. We weaved in and out of all of our neighborhood streets looking at Christmas lights. The reason we decided to go running instead of to spin class is simply, Kansas. Yesterday we headed out our door to run around 5:30p in 55 degree weather. This morning it is snowing and 30 degrees. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE me some snow. In my opinion, if it's going to be stupid cold, it may as well be snowing. But the snow combined with 30-40 mph winds is just retarded, I am a Fair Weather Runner after all. So we took advantage of the last of the nice weather for the week.

Ed is training for his first 5K (we are running a New Years Day 5K) and he is doing the stress fracture recovery training plan with me, which will build him up to run the 5K. We hooked Milo to a leash and took off in the warm evening air (it's all relative). In addition to an evening run, we are working with Milo, trying to get him off the leash while running with us. For those of you who run with your dogs, you will understand this! We had him off leash for a little less than 10 minutes total and despite a few stops to sniff the park trash cans, and occasional sprint into a yard, he was perfect. We are strict believers in the "Dog Whisperer" technique, so a little "csssssh" and Milo was back on track. Ceaser Milan is a genius!!

We held a pretty even pace around 10 minute miles, but I think Ed and I both had some rocket fuel reserves waiting to kick into gear. We had quite a few bursts of speed during our run, the kind where toward the end of the burst you start to laugh like a crazy person and the neighbors still putting out luminaries turn to look at the street scared out of their minds by the running lunatics. It always makes a run more enjoyable.

Toward the end of our run I was ahead of Ed, he let Milo off the leash again so he could catch me, I ran as fast as I could for a block and a half before Milo caught up. This is the dog who, when we first brought him home from the shelter, ran eight minute miles and I couldn't keep up. He's gotten a bit more chubby and spoiled in the past two years! In fact, today he is at home watching Animal Planet with his peanut butter filled Kong and the kitties (I'm positive they have all gotten into the liquor cabinet and are making hot totties at this instant), while I have to brave the cold wind and come to work... how is this fair?

We got home out of breath, with that clean, salty, tired feeling feeling of a good hard run. It was a rush of adrenaline as it was my first burst of speed since my injury. It was also the first run since recovery where my plan didn't have me walk. This morning, as I sit here watching the snow falling, I'm quite satisfied that we decided to run last night. Although I do love to run in the snow, it would be stupid to risk another injury today. Hopefully tomorrow, when the wind dies down, I can run to the satisfying sound of soft crunching snow under my shoes....

a rendevous, by chance....

Let's get something straight. I am a very outdoorsy girl, I love to run outdoors, water ski, snow ski, work in the yard, go to the park, ride my bike, sit outside in the evenings. But for some reason I've never really had the desire to camp. I don't mind getting dirty, and at the risk of sounding like a total jerk--I'm just going to say it--I think it's my perception of people who camp that turn me off. And it only bothers me because in a campsite, you can't get away from people who might not be that enjoyable.

Like Natty-Lite drinking frat boys peeing on fires, or rednecks, or weirdos who don't bathe, ever. I don't know, it seems in my mind it's either full on white trash, or LL Bean loving yuppies (have to admit I'm more like the latter). I'm not gonna lie, I'd prefer the yuppies. I have no idea where I got the white trash stereo type, maybe I really am a snob!

Anyway, Ed got a fishing boat this summer, and I agreed, on a few stipulations, that I would give camping my best shot since I had never done it as an adult. Since Wichita is home to Coleman, my stipulation was that I camp as long as we become Coleman poster children, i.e. we don't buy ghetto used stinky gross camping gear. Ed bent to my will and off we went. I love ALL my new camping gear. It is fabulous, useful and fun! Why camp ghetto if you don't have too?

So at the end of September we decided to test our campiness, packed up my highly organized camping supplies, our dog and the boat and headed to Fall River.... which I might add doesn't seem like it's in Kansas. I don't say this because Kansas is ugly, it just isn't known for it's bodies of water.

Well... we were in for QUITE the surprise as unbeknownst to us, there was a "Rendevous" at the campground... it sounded quite cheeky to us, but we weren't turning back. So not knowing what we might wake up to the next morning, we set up our tent, made a fire, ate some s'mores and like good yuppie campers went to bed watching a movie on the laptop.

The next morning we wake up to gaze upon a frontier camp, straight out of 1809! It was actually pretty cool. One guy even made a Tee-Pee out of brush. All the people were dressed up in frontier days gear and stayed true to the period with their tents, cooking and activities. Except the potato gun... we never figured out how they justified that one.

The highlight of the day was definitely the skillet throwing competition. All in all it was pretty entertaining. We think it was mostly Vietnam vet-type guys and the kind of people who get into "Renn Fairs." But they were nice and it was pretty cool to watch them in action. Of course we happily went back to our modern comfy campsite and grilled burgers on our gas grill.

I have to admit, camping isn't so bad and I'm looking forward to my next trip this coming spring, and really looking forward to being able to actually go on a run around the lake! And I'm happy to say, all my preconceived negative notions about camping turned out to be mostly untrue. I had a really great time, and met a lot of very nice people!

best part of my day...

He obviously saw something tasty on T.V.