Tuesday Tidbits

• It's supposed to snow tomorrow.  On May 1st.  This isn't funny.  May is Spring.  May is time for tulips and if this snow messes up my tulip viewing weeks, I will be one grumpy tulip fan.  I'm warning you, Mother Nature!  Don't mess with my tulips!

• My favorite television shows have been superb lately.  Seriously, my jaw dropped and I screamed last week when the car hit Tony and Ziva on NCIS.  The only other time that show has caught me by surprise was when Ari shot Kate between the eyes. And Castle's episode last night was an awesome little recap show.  I loved all of the montages showing Castle and Kate's moments.  And she totally fell for him first.  The Good Wife had me shouting "no way!" as she told Cary Agos she was in on his new firm venture.  I absolutely walked right into believing she was waiting for Will to show up.  And Scandal!! Hot damn, Scandal!  Three weeks without a new Scandal episode should be illegal.  It's time for Fitz and Olivia to fix their mess and starting conquering the world together instead of always "waging wars" against one another.

• It was shaving day for Brinkley Miles.  Finally!  It's been a long, furry winter around here.  And I'm sick of vacuuming it all up!  He was pretty patient this go around and I had him trimmed up in a couple of hours.  It's a rough cut; far from professional, but it was FREE.  It grows back so quickly that it's not worth forking over $80 to have him shaved at a doggie parlor.  He doesn't look nearly as plump post-Winter like he normally does.

• This afternoon I whacked my head while pulling something out my car.  Not five minutes later, I whacked by head on the bottom of the bar while picking something up off the floor.  The first one sent a sharp pain through my neck.  The second one sent cuss words out of my mouth.  I've had a headache every since and have felt super tired.
  
• I unpacked a lot of clothes in the HUGE walk-in closet today.  I unloaded four suitcases.  The sad part is that I still have a lot of hanging clothes left in my condo closet.  I'll fill up my half of the closet pretty quick.  But I should start taking bets on the fact that Brent has more clothes than me.  And I know I"m going to have to find a small collapsible step stool for the closet.  I saw one at Bed, Bath, and Beyond yesterday that would work perfect...

• It's like my parents read my mind or something.  For while I was typing this post in between shaving Brinkley, making dinner, and watching NCIS, they not only protected the tulips we planted but they sent me pictures!  My parents rock!!  

• As much as I don't want to go back to work tomorrow, I know I need a break from all of the boxes and unpacking.  I made a lot of progress over the weekend though!!  And the locksmith came today so one more thing is checked off the list!  

• I'm starting to get really irritated at Fitbit.  How long is it going to promote the Fitbit Flex before the company actually releases it?  Seriously irritating.  Get with the program already.  I may jump ship and go with an alternative to you, Fitbit!  Hopefully this isn't indicative of the product or customer service because your image is dwindling!!

• And my head hurts too much now so I'm going to lie down.  Hoping I don't die from head injury overnight.  Ugh.

Six miles and six hours

It was busy, busy day. It started off with a six mile run down the bike trail and back. I got started about 9:45 so it was pretty toasty outside by the time I finished.

It was my first run in shorts this year! I feel like I've been getting my running mojo back a little bit with Spring time finally arriving.




My feet are definitely tired. Even in new shoes my feet still ache. I'm going to do my darnedest to add a swim workout and bike workout in each week after my race. My feet need a break from the pounding.




After running some errands I ended up at the house to work on unpacking. First order of business was setting up my little TV so I could "watch" The West Wing.

While I worked at unpacking boxes in the kitchen and hauling boxes upstairs, Brinkley spent time analyzing every inch his rope would allow him in the backyard.




Once he spotted the rabbits across the ditch, he was in über guard dog mode watching their every move. He'd stop every once in a while to check in on me but most of his time was spent keeping tabs on the backyard.

When I go back tomorrow I'm going to take his bed with me so he can rest and nap like he normally does. His back and forth up and down all the stairs is really making him sore and slightly limpy. He needs to learn to calm down some or he may end up with bigger problems.

One genie, no wishes

I don't get heartburn a lot.  Ever, really.  But I've really been stressing over moving Milo to the new house.  I'll never forget his limp, desperate eyes, and dehydrated body when his pancreas went into spaz mode when we moved to the condo.

I feel like it's my responsibility to make sure he doesn't go through that again.  I'm trying to figure out where to put the litter boxes and how to slowly give him more territory to roam once I move him.

He now has a calming collar on, which has worked wonders for his sociability.  He's pretty mellow considering that there are boxes everywhere and the place is generally a mess.  But everything smells like him.  What is going to happen when nothing smells like him?

In looking at litter boxes, calming products, and water fountains, I came across the Litter Genie!!  I'm intrigued by this contraption.  I printed some coupons from online so I could probably get one for less than $10.  And I could use coupons to stock up on the refills.  Basically, it would keep me from having to scoop and travel through the house to a trash can.

I was planning on putting a trash can near each litter box but this one may help keep the stench down between trash days.  Who knew there were so many things just for managing cat poo?  Anyone ever used a litter genie??  Or a diaper genie for that matter?  Same company makes the two -refill cartridges are different shapes though.

Time to Tri

SOURCE

Guess what lunatic idea I have now??  I've always wanted to try to do a triathlon.  Go big or go home, right?!  My long term tri goal is Half Ironman - Boise, Idaho.  This is a win, win all the way around.  I get to do something crazy.  I get to travel.  And I would get to see my brother because it's close to his neck of the woods.

And I already convinced Bryn to come do another crazy adventure with me.  So, June 2014, we're going to Boise!  And we're going to do it with NF Endurance.

Want to come to Boise with me, Mom?!?  Road trip!!!!

This just in....

I actually did what I said I was going to do!!!!!!

Two easy miles done.  I definitely need to get back into this morning running thing.  It was so peaceful out there!  And now I can go on about my day not thinking about needing to get my run done after work.  Yah!

One more car load...

After work tonight Brinkley and I took a trip over to the house.  I loaded up my car with all sorts of randomness from the garage.  It didn't take much work unloading the car so Brinkley and I took a tour of the backyard.  He spent some time watching over his new kingdom from the deck.

Everything the light touches....

He checked every bush and every tree for squirrels and rabbits.  He didn't find any yet, but it's probably just a matter of time before they start invading his territory.  They will keep him sufficiently occupied, I'm sure.


Look what I found!  These green jars used to hang out on my grandparents' patio quite a few years ago now.  It's amazing how tiny they look on the mantel.  They seemed so huge when I had them on top of my refrigerator when I first brought them home.  They've been packed in the garage for years so it was nice to see them again!


And I also uncovered these while unpacking a random box from the garage!  The start of my Starbucks coffee mug collection.  These are the only three I have - Chicago, San Francsico, and Pikes Place Market (the original Starbucks).  I look forward to many mornings drinking coffee from these mugs while sitting out on the back patio.


At one point, I didn't see Brinkley downstairs.  The same thing happened earlier this week.  Rather than hunt him down by going upstairs, I stepped back and took a look up to the balcony.  Guess who likes a birds eye view of things??


Or should we call it the Brinkley eye view?  He was keeping tabs on me from above.  Silly boy!


When we came in from checking out the backyard I asked him if he like his backyard.  This is the look that I got from him.  I believe that is a firm "yes," don't you?


I already want to be moved in completely.  I can't wait to get the back fence up so Brink can come and go as he pleases.  I'd like to make another trip over there tomorrow night so I'm using it as motivation to get up in the morning and get my run in before work.  What are the odds it will actually happen?  Gosh, I'm full of questions tonight.  I better get to bed so I can get to sleep so I can get up early so I can go running so I can go play in the house tomorrow night!!

Hail to the Chiefs History Geek Style

My bucket list goal of visiting every presidential library and museum just got a little bit longer.  I found the article linked below rather interesting.  The actual headline on the CNN page was something about Herbert Hoover's library being the dud of the bunch.  In the article it just says it's the least visited.

Bigger, but better? A look at how George W. Bush's presidential library stacks up - U.S. News:

'via Blog this'

I can tell you first hand, the Hoover library is not a flashy museum.  It's actually very simplistic in layout and size.  It's older, dingier, and darker.  It's the smallest in size of building and collection.  And it's in the middle of nowhere Iowa.  If you blink and miss the billboard, there is a good chance that you would never even know it was there.  Thankfully, I didn't miss the billboard and Brent and I visited the Hoover library on our presidential road trip a couple of years ago.

Had it been the first library we visited, we probably would have been impressed.  But keep in mind, we had already visited Eisenhower's, Truman's, and Lincoln's museum, and the World War One museum, which are all amazing, jaw-dropping, well-funded museums.  Ending our museum streak with the Herbert Hoover museum was a nice reminder though.  Not all presidents lived with the same pomp and circumstance that the presidents picture above did.  Herbert Hoover faced the stock market crash and the great depression but will forever live in the shadow of FDR who gets all the credit for "fixing it."

Anywho, my point...I always have point if you look hard enough.  Don't overlook Hoover in favor of the bigger, more modern, uber-funded presidential libraries of the past two decades.  The historical perspectives presented by them are still very biased as they've had the input of the president himself in creating the exhibits.

While it's certainly convenient that George W. Bush's library is in Texas near two other presidential libraries, I think I'll hold off visiting for a while.  History has yet to judge.  That being said, who wants to go to Boston and Hyde Park, New York with me??

Hardwood floors are hard on the feet!

Lesson learned rather quickly in the new house - hardwood floors are hard!! We planned to go the shoeless route in the house to help keep things cleaner overall. I'm definitely changing my strategy and am going to designate a few pairs of shoes as indoor shoes because my feet are KILLING me!

Seriously, I can't believe how much my feet hurt from standing and walking on tile and hardwood for two days. And painful feet are not going to cut it for this runner!!

My feet hurt so bad (especially my left arch) that I didn't go running tonight. I'm telling myself I'll go before tomorrow. It's time to start working back towards being a morning runner anyways.

AND I got my 11 days and counting e-mail from the Colorado Marathon today. I have to be at the bus station downtown at 5 a.m.!!!!!!!

The race starts at 6:30. I'm hoping it will be somewhat warm enough to wear shorts. Race start will probably be in the 40s but race finish could be in the high 50s.

It's a crapshoot. At the rate this Spring is going, it could be a blizzard and I'll need my snowshoes.

Brink's New Home

He seems pretty happy with all of the new views!! We haven't let him explore the backyard just yet because of the soppy, slushy, snowy mess. We don't have much on hand to clean up after him inside so he'll have to wait until the sun comes out again.









It was pretty awesome watching him explore his new home. He had a mighty big doggy smile! And he slept well last night after all of the exploring.

Brent and I worked on lining kitchen shelves today. First we had to remove the old contact paper from some shelves. We decided to use Plast-O-Mat from Ace Hardware instead of the soft squishy stuff that Home Depot or Walmart sells. So far I really like it. Once stuff weighs it done and flattens some corners, it should work great!




We're about four car loads into moving. It's nice to see some of our belongings in the house. It's going to be a busy summer getting everything in order and getting in the habit of taking care of such a huge house and yard. This will definitely be a whole new experience!!

Tomorrow is back to work Wednesday. Brent leaves early. Insert sad face here. I'm not ready for the work week. This weekend went by way too quickly!!

Long run, fueling, and ice baths!

Two weeks from today and I'll be done with my half marathon. After today's run I'm a bit more excited for the race. I ran nine miles total out and back down the bike trail.










I had great weather during the entire run. And I found a pretty good fuel combination. Water on one side of the belt, Nuun on the other side. Sport Beans at 40 minutes and Pomegranate Stinger gel at an hour and 20 minutes.

I had the uphill side of things on the way back and did a good job staying strong on the way up. I stopped to stretch a handful of times and each time helped me focus and loosen up.

A quick ice bath felt amazing and I was off and moving again. We had our final walk through at the new house!!




We're going to closing tomorrow!! And I'm too excited to sleep!! So I'm kicked back with my feet up watching The West Wing on my Nook.

Bagels and Brooks

It was bagel Friday this morning!!! And my bagel was delicious. It's the small things in life...



I took my new Brooks Adrenaline for a spin this evening after work. I kept the run short to feel them out. By the half mile mark, they felt great!! I love Brooks shoes! Highly recommended by me!

I'd like to do another couple miles tomorrow to break them in some more. I'm not sure if I should wear them for my long run just yet. I definitely need to get them ready for my half marathon. My old pair is killing me slowly.

I wore my old pair on the treadmill last night and I felt every step all the way up each leg. It's like running barefoot on concrete.

I can't believe how quickly Spring has gone by. I was really hoping to be better trained for my upcoming race. I'm just going to take it easy and utilize walk breaks. I'd much rather go easy on the race than screw myself over with injury for the entire summer.

I have another half marathon in August. I'm definitely setting a goal for a personal record. I'll have all summer of outdoor, snow free, running to prepare me!

One more day until my weekend!!!!

Blue skies!

Wow, I thought it would never stop snowing!!

Back to Work Wednesday

Mother Nature is having a great time fooling all of us this year.  April 17th and the snowstorm continues.  I'm working from home this morning (starting in a half hour) on a project for my Sgt. which requires the use of my Mac and iMovie.  I'm crossing my fingers that I get a large portion of the day to work on it so that I can get a large portion of the project done but with the weather the way it is, I will be shocked if I get a few hours of work in before I have to hit the street.

And because I can't contain my excitement anymore.... countdown to closing is 5 sleeps!  Or eeeps!

Vacuums, washers, and dryers, oh MY!

Brent and I spent most of yesterday wandering around town in the blizzard shopping for new appliances for the new house.  Shopping not buying.  The first stop was a vacuum shop.  Brent has been spending way more time than necessary researching vacuums.  He wanted to play with Simplicity vacuums.  And play he did.

The whole experience was straight out of the 1950s.  The only thing missing was our living room and him knocking on our front door.  He gave us the history of the vacuum, explained different types of vacuums, and demonstrated just how hoodwinked we are with the upright bag less vacuums that have become so prevalent in the big box stores.  Dyson suck ... in a bad way.


The Simplicity vacuums were pretty darn impressive.  See that nastiness in the middle of the rug??  All vacuumed to bare bones, super clean carpet in three swipes.  The Dyson the salesman is running in the picture was on its tenth swipe or so and no where near finished.  Like I said, all very 1950s.  He did his best salesman pitch and starting throwing various options on the table.  We didn't buy anything.  But I did learn a lot about vacuums.


After playing with vacuums we went downtown to the appliance shop to look at washer and dryers.  Brent's all about helping the local Mom and Pop shop.  So we looked at the few washer and dryers they had on the show floor.  Brent had a lively conversation about washer and dryers with the sales lady.  I opened doors, looked inside, and shut doors.  Maybe I looked like I knew what I was inspecting.  I didn't.  We didn't buy anything.  We hit up Sears today and I did the same thing.  Open.  Close.  Open.  Close.  We may have decided on a set but things may change by the time we actually get around to purchasing them.

We're set for closing 10 a.m. Monday morning.  Tick, tock.  Tick, tock.  It's going to be a long week at work.

As for Boston, I'm still trying to figure out how best to express my thoughts.  I've started posts and deleted them.  Maybe tomorrow.  

Running, friends, and Castle

It was a pretty awesome and productive day for me! It started out with some fantastic sleep!! I slept until 8:30!! It's kind of pathetic that I'm that excited about sleeping until 8:30.

I hit the gym after eating and knocked four miles on the treadmill. It was a tough four miles. It took a mile or so before my knee, ankle, and feet pains went away. It was kind of annoying how achy everything was when I started. I think a lot of it has to do with my shoes.

I really need to try breaking in my shoes and quickly or my other my long runs are going to cause major problems for me.

Anywho, after the gym we headed down to Denver to a day of fun with friends. First stop was David's Bridal with Vanessa!! And we followed that up with a trip to Caribou Coffee for some great conversation!

And if my friend cup of awesomeness was already running over, we then went to Heidi and Jason's house. And then to dinner at Red Robin with them and Bryn!! We had a great time and the food was delicious!!

And now I'm as lazy as can be watching Castle on my Nook with Brink and Brent by my side. And in case you care - last week's episode is I think my all time favorite episode. It was epic!!

Motivation by money

Ever heard of Diet Bet? Google it. I'm playing the game. You put $10 in the pot. The goal is to lose 4% of your body weight in 4 weeks. That translates to roughly 7.8 lbs for me. If I make the goal, I split the pot with whomever else reached the goal too. I'm in the game with 200+ people so the pot is getting close to $3,000. Its weight loss so what are the chances everyone will reach their goal... slim to none. If half do, I double my money.

Anywho, Google it. I may startup my own game and see if I can wrangle some Facebook friends into playing. We'll see.

First weigh in was yesterday and game starts tomorrow. So I started off on the right foot. I kept my eating on track today and I hit the gym after work.

Two miles on the treadmill and then 10 minutes on the stair climber. I was drenched following the stair climber. I definitely need to do that more often!




Tomorrow is my Friday!!!! I'm ready for the weekend. Lots and lots to do. And Brent's home!!!

Bagel Friday

I'm trying to get my eating back on track. It's very easy to slip into thinking that I can eat anything I want because I run X amount of miles a week.

Every Friday is bagel Friday at work. Someone will usually bring in bagels for our shift.

I skipped the bagel and cream cheese this morning. Baby steps, right?!

From Midnight to Dawn

I have a new book on my nightstand.  My future mother-in-law buys books left and right.  She has a history book collection the local history archive would kill for.  Anywho, she picked up From Midnight to Dawn because it was written by the same author who wrote a book about quilts and the underground railroad.  When she offered it up as a loaner, I didn't pass it up.

Ideally, it should be read as soon as possible and returned to the collection.  I'll be asked about it.  Things are a little crazy around so I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish it before I'm reading it from the night stand at our new house.

I'm very much looking forward to getting sucked into a book.  I've been watching so much television lately that my sleep has suffered.  Reading can usually fix any insomnia issues.

If I do ever mange to make it through the book, I just might do a review for old time's sake!

When I don't run, I think about it...

It was amazing how productive I felt today knowing that I conquered my long run yesterday.  It was a guilt free day in every sense.  I was reminded of my accomplishment every time I got up or down from a sitting position.  My right knee was achy for most of the day.  After soaking in the tub again tonight it's starting to feel better.

The weather is supposed to be crappy again tomorrow so if I'm going to fit in my run it will have to be on a dreadmill.  I will definitely have to foam roll afterwards.

I'm feeling a bit more confident in my half marathon training after this past weekend.  I still have a tough few weeks ahead of me.  I'm not expecting to run the entire half on May 5th.  I may run five miles, walk one mile, run five miles, walk one mile, and then run the final mile.  I'll definitely be stretching along the way.  And doing a much better job about fueling.

Note to future marathon runners.... do NOT rely solely on gels for fuel.  The gels made me want to hurl after the half way mark.  And when I didn't hurl, I could have used a port-a-potty.  TMI??  Well, live and learn.  I could have used that tidbit prior to my previous race.  New race means new strategy!

Bed time

Brinkley thinks it is time for bed. I should probably go to be too but I'm hopping in the tub to soak. My legs are screaming in pain. What a difference a few hours makes.




No snow yet. A few flakes but nothing is sticking. Insert sad face here.

More running and more Warehouse 13

It was a long run day. The only way I talked myself into it was knowing the weather was going to turn crappy. I actually thought it was going to be a terrible run because I had such a strong run yesterday. But it turned out to be a great run! Or as great as 8 miles can be the day after a 5k.




An ice bath helped and I'm feeling pretty good after running for an hour and forty minutes. I stopped by the house after 6.5 miles and picked up Brinkley for the final 1.5 miles. Good strategy. Lots of stretch breaks. I will definitely have to remember that come May.

This morning I raced around town to do a few errands. Mondays are a horrible day to go grocery shopping. The strawberries were moldy, the oranges bruised, onions black and fuzzy, and bananas green. Needless to say, I didn't complete my grocery shopping.

And I had to drive to Loveland to get my new running shoes because the store in Fort Fun didn't have my size. And I wasn't going to pass up the chance to use a 30% off coupon on running shoes! Especially because I needed a new pair of Brooks Adrenaline!!

I'll have to start breaking them in slowly after the pending Spring blizzard goes away.

I'm hoping for some major flakeage overnight so that I don't have to go into work tomorrow. Let it snow, let it snow!! I have more Warehouse 13 to watch!!

Beating Beethoven and Warehouse 13

This morning I ran the Beat Beethoven 5k downtown. It was the first annual race to benefit the Ft. Collins Symphony.

It was a great course with a few minor hills. The course was closed so we had the whole road to ourselves. I even passed some of my coworkers who were doing traffic control blocking intersections.

I didn't have my watch on so I was out there just running to run. I started at a steady pace and before I knew it I was slowly passing people.

I finished strong and didn't even know what the clock read when I made the finish line. After some freebie snacks, I checked the finisher's board - my time was 31:52! And that is a PR!!

I really needed this run. The last few weeks my runs have sucked. My legs have felt heavy. My entire body has felt heavy!!

So, I'll take a quick and somewhat light feeling run! And I got a finisher's ribbon because I beat Beethoven, or ran the 5k faster than his 5th symphony!!

I will definitely be signing up for this race again next year! Great course!




After the race, I watched Warehouse 13. I watched all of Season One yesterday while packing. And today I watched all of Season Two and have started Season Three. I watched the premiere of this show a few years ago and loved it. But then I could never remember which channel and when it aired. Thank goodness for Netflix!! And I'm hooked! Great show! Secret Service agents traveling the world recovering artifacts that are imbued with mysterious powers. It's a history geek and science fiction mash-up. Apparently the next season is starting soon - just enough time for me to get completely caught up!!!

Finally Friday

My crazy busy weeks have finally come to an end.  Two weeks of accident investigation.  Some overtime shenanigans.  And one week of CSI Academy.  I have some more overtime shenanigans next week but I get a normal three day weekend to reset before then!!  I haven't had my normal three day weekend in a while and I am looking forward to it!!!

This morning started out kind of crappy.  I couldn't find my work keys or wallet to save my life.  I was  thinking I left my wallet at the restaurant I ate at last night.  I called them as soon as it opened to have them check.  They didn't have it.  When I came home at lunch, I continued the frantic search through my insanely messy house.  I found it and danced around in relief!  I was really start to freak out.

The day picked up from there!  I finished my CSI Academy with two certificates in hand!!  I got home a little early this afternoon so Brinkley and I went running!  An easy two miles around the neighborhood.  It's definitely time for his spring hair cut!!

I've lots on the schedule for this weekend.  First up, sleeping in tomorrow!! YAH!

What do you desire?

I've seen this video many times.  It never hurts to watch it again.  And again.  Life is short.  What do you desire?

Day 3

Photo fun continues!!


I wish I could do this every day.

Low Light Photography

Training today was all about low light photography.  I think the biggest failure of most family photographers and even amateur photographers is not overcoming low light problems.  Flash drop-off, flash wash-out, or camera shake are the main culprits of crappy low light photographs.  And everything can easily be fixed by using a tripod and changing a few settings.

Even though the weather wasn't all that cooperative we got to play outside in the dark and take photos of a fake crime scene.  It made me really want to get out more on my days off and take more photographs.  And on a totally related note - I've had two people contact me about taking photographs.  One of them was for a fall wedding (after ours, thankfully).  I'm pretty excited about that opportunity, so we shall see if she picks me as her photographer!!  I've got a whole summer to brush up on my photographer skills and learn even more tips and tricks.

I'm not sure what tomorrow brings for training.  It will have something to do with photography so I can already tell you now that it will be a great day!

Photography Day

Today and the next two days are photography fun filled days thanks to some awesome work training!  I'm home from work early this afternoon and I figured I would do some rambling as I've been slacking in the rambling department lately.  First thought of the day, forensic photography is very different from the artsy fartsy photography that I'm familiar with.  Second thought of the day, reviewing the basics never hurt anyone.

My CSI camera is a D90 as well.  This makes my learning curve much shorter.  All of the flash and exposure compensation stuff is a nice review, especially as it's something I only really started utilizing last year.  The biggest thing I'll get use of over the next few days is practice with a mounted flash.  The one I was issued is SB-28, a dinosaur in the flash world...and not TTL compatible with the D90.  So, I can either play trial and error or hope I get a new flash issued to me in the next couple days.  I'm hoping for the latter.

After playing around with the instructor's SB-900, I know that's the flash I'll want to get for my personal photography.  It was intuitive and I was changing settings within a matter of seconds.  I'm afraid to search online to see how much a 900 costs.  I can't spend money on a flash right now.  Nope, can't do it.

I have lots of other things to be focusing on right now.  And that's what I'm off to do now...