July 31st

Happy Birthday Mom!

24 years ago today my mom had me on her birthday. It's always been so awesome to be able to share my birthday with my mom. Not everyone can say that.

Monday's Thought For The Day

On Call

Well, it was a pretty uneventful weekend.

To start off ran the 5K at Osborn Park. Let's just say Humidity + Packed Gravel = poor running conditions. It was one of the worst runs to date. The only thing that makes me feel better is that it was also a bad run for David. He ended up running with an older guy while I trudged on with a few of the other elders. It was so humid that by the end of the run we were soaked from head to toe and it wasn't even raining. Nasty, Nasty. Can we say, Welcome to New Orleans? A little bit warmer and that's what it would've been like. I'm crossing my fingers for better conditions for OROC.

David was on call this weekend. He didn't sit down for but a minute and the pager would go off. As I write he's on a call right now. Should be heading home soon though. We just think to ourselves, cha ching, money in the bank. But it's hard to have an enjoyable weekend with a pager constantly going off. I also feel very guilty that I had Friday off and he has had to continue working through the weekend. That leads me to my next topic.

Mom and I booked a flight for Florida tonight. Talk about feeling guilty...but David was okay with it. Not to mention within the past week he's purchased several sporting event tickets. It all washes out in the wash. And thank God for overtime. It gives me anxiety spending money, knowing that in just a few months we have to finalize our trip to Hawaii, but I continue to tell myself, "you only live once." and just to keep saving. That's why you save money, so you can use it. Back to the flight. Just like last year, we're going to Florida to visit family over Labor Day weekend. A short trip but my mind and body appreciate it. Just a short moment to get away. Enough of a break to know that I can make it 'til our big trip at the beginning of December.

As usual, time flies by and I can't believe that Labor Day is just around the corner. Shoot, my birthday's just around the corner. How old am I going to be? I guess you know when you start to get older when you have to actually think about how old you are when someone asks your age. Scary.

Unexpected Day Off

Today was my late day to go into work. Fridays are also rest days in the training schedule. Those two things combined mean that I get to "sleep in" and get things done around the house. I set my alarm for 7:30am. I set my alarm this early because for some reason my body wants to sleep past my alarm time. This is something new for me, because I'm one of those people that hops up immediately when my alarm goes off. Fridays I set it as a warning alarm. It wakes me and then I lightly sleep for another 1/2 to 1 hour. Well, today my body must have really needed sleep because I slept until 9am. Yes, this is late for me, and it felt good. Bubba cuddled up with me, with the fan blowing cool air on my face. Ahh, heaven.

After awaking, I cleaned the bathrooms and started to get ready for work. As I was about to head out the door to get to the post office before going to work, I got a call from work saying, "we don't have anything going on until 4, so you don't need to come in until later." Sweet. Fine with me. Off to my final exam I go. I got that finished, which means I'm done with my summer semester. Yay!

I then made something small for lunch and the phone rang. Again, it was work, "come to think of it we really don't need you today at all....pretty easy appointments and nothing much going on." I'll take it. An early birthday present for me. And considering how the dates/next paycheck fall I'll have a butt load of overtime, I'm not worried about missing a few hours.

I finally headed to the post office and got John's packages mailed out. And for the first time ever I had a good experience at the post office. Not that I've ever had a bad experience, but it's not fun either. You know...you stand there, holding all your items, as the line moves so slowly. Well, there I am, standing in the line and I hear someone holler down to me and say, "Are your boxes heavy? Would you live to switch me places in line?" I look over to see an older woman. She was willing not to let me in front of her but to totally switch places in line. I politely said that I was fine and thanked her for offering. She then replied, "well, I know how it is when you're standing with a heavy box and no one offers you any help." Awwww, it just touched my heart. I felt like I was in that commercial where someone does something kind for someone else and a person walking down the street notices it and passes it on...basically the concept of paying it forward. Then when I got to the desk I explained that this was my first time sending a package to Iraq and I wasn't sure if I had everything correct. The clerk, who's been there for years, says, "Oh, you've done more than enough. Don't worry, that's what I'm here for, it's my job." with a smile on his face. He then asked where I had gotten the supplies and I explained. I guess he had never heard of the care kit package and thought it was something through the USO and said, "yeah, if you need anything we can give it to you, just let us know." With the lady and the clerk it was one moment of kindness after another. Something so simple, but means more than they know.

I then got home and finished the lawn. I edged and weed whacked yesterday then mowed today. I figured since I had the day off I'd get it all done so David didn't have to do anything upon arriving home. Not to mention it gets me outside, enjoying the sunshine, and getting a workout. I don't mind doing the lawn, it's just trying to find the time. Luckily enough it's been a dry summer so we basically haven't had to cut the grass. I guess that's not lucky or good, but last year I swear I was cutting the grass sometimes twice a week. A happy medium would be good.

Tomorrow we're planning on helping out with the Serving Our Seniors 5k Fun Run. It should be fun. I hope the weather holds off and my leg doesn't give me any problems. Once again my right leg is giving me issues. Over a month ago I had a hamstring issue. Then Wednesday my front/inner thigh started up. I should've taken Thursday off, but being stupid I didn't. Thank God for the rest day today. Knock on wood, but it's always my right leg. My only guess is that it has more problems since it's the leg I broke in 6th grade. I have a limited range of motion versus my left leg, and weather definitely affects it. We shall see.

Other than that we don't have anything set in stone for the weekend. Being that it's mom and my birthday this next Tuesday maybe we'll do something fun. Heck, we're always doing fun stuff, what am I talking about? =)

Go Boy Go

David and I had a "night out" tonight. Nothing big. It's my early day for work so I get off at 5 pm, meaning there's actually time to do something after work. So, as usual we took advantage of it. This week we decided to venture out and go over the CP Fridays for something different. Of course after we were sat we ended up seeing Cassie's sister who's commuting weekly between Columbus and here for the summer. She was quite busy so we quickly said hello as we were leaving. Come to find out we wouldn't have been able to have her as our waitress anyway since she was doing all large parties. Ah well, next time we'll have to check before being seated.

After that we had a little treat at Cold Stone and then stopped by Target just to be Target bums. Hey, I know we're not the only ones that go to Target just to walk around and look at things. Since Old Navy is right next door we took a jaunt over there. I must say that I'm no longer a huge fan of Old Navy. I know I've already blogged about it in the past, so I won't go into a rant or anything, but David is still a fan of their jeans. Remember how we got him jean shorts, what was it, last month? Well, they're already too big. Geez. They're still usable, but it's not the time to be looking for jean shorts at Old Navy. Yes, they have end of the season sales but their jeans/shorts are always way overpicked by this point. So what can we do? Dunno at this point. He may just be living in running shorts during our time in Hawaii. So instead of focusing on the shorts we decided to look at the jeans.

He's got this stigma about the size 36. The last time he was a 36 was after boot camp. Actually, right out of boot camp I think he was a 34 but he was still pretty emaciated at that point. Going back to the 36....he keeps saying, "No, they'll be too tight...." but he says this as his 38's are falling down. By the way he has no butt to hold anything up. I know, TMI, but I had to throw that in there. Tonight I finally convinced him to try on 36's. And voila! They fit. Surprise, surprise. He still has enough give to lose a few more pounds if they are lost....meaning hopefully we won't have to change his jean wardrobe again in the near future. But for the time being we just purchased one pair. Hey, if he keeps losing, this could be an expensive endeavor. I know he'll settle at a weight at some point, but let's just wait to see when that happens. Something cool too is that he went with a different style. They're still loose fit but no more "painter type". I never thought there'd be a day when I'd see that happen.

In all seriousness though I'm very proud of him. He's down to 210 lbs which is something big considering at his biggest he was 270 and he averages around 240. It's something that he deserves and was definitely worth a high-five. Yes, a high-five in the middle of Old Navy. Geeks, we know we are, but we're healthier geeks that are feeling good about ourselves. As we've been running we've been watching what we're been eating. However, I know that we could better our nutrition even more. I can only imagine if we kicked it up a notch in the nutrition area what our results would be. Hmmm, something to think about.

Exams

Just checked out my school site. Looks as though I'm on my way to officially ending this semester. My video grade was posted. I got a 91%. Not too bad considering the class average is 83%. But you know me...I'd be a heck of a lot happier if that was a 98%. I hate being a perfectionist. I must repeat to myself....."it's done and over with....be happy with that." 2 of 3 final exams are posted. As I read that I could feel my anxiety kick in. There's not anything to be anxious about though other than just getting them done. Luckily my program allows for multiple retakes of exams. They are not open book exams but if you retake them you get most of the same questions repeated. And considering I print out every exam that I take, so that I can study for the future.....well, you put two and two together. Hey, they recommend printing them out...that wasn't even my idea. I'm not exactly sure of what to expect with the exams. Considering 2 of 3 were short answer/essay form for midterms, I'm not really looking forward to the finals. Thinking about next semester, I think I've decided on General Hospital and Clinic Information, Animal Nursing, and Laboratory Procedures. We'll just have to see.

It's 8 pm. I sit here looking at the screen not really knowing what to do. In my opinion it's too late to start an exam. Ah, what the heck, I'll take one......

Monday's Thought For The Day

Gorgeous Weekend

Sunday night. Time to catch up with the blog. David got home at a good time on Friday. I came home to find him playing the new NCAA game for his XBox. Not a big surprise. It was his anniversary gift, but he had to patiently wait for it to come out, which was after our anniversary. In addition, he was out of town on business again so he waited until he got home to pick it up. So after he finished a mini-game we went to dinner and then to Walmart. Why is Walmart so popular of Friday nights? Of all places that'd be busy, I'd choose Walmart last. They're starting to take after New Orleans. I swear it was THE hangout down there. And don't expect to get through the checkout lines in less than a half hour. I'm not kidding. This among other things actually helped me with my anxiety. It helps you slow down and enjoy what was around you. Trust me, you had nothing else to do, and it was pointless to get worked up. Just chill and observe. Okay, so we were at Walmart getting groceries and I started to pick things up for a care package for John.

After that we stopped at Woody and Bo's. This is a newer store in one the Hoty plazas. This one being the one across from the Outback plaza. We didn't know what to expect but were actually pretty impressed by what they carried and also their prices. Not too bad. The main point was to find something Michigan for John's care package. Yes, I can hear my fellow Buckeye fans calling us sacrilegious. Give me a break. It's for a good cause. And we still got something Ohio State. Trust me, I was kind of scared to walk in and ask for something Michigan. I was waiting for God to strike down or something. But, it didn't happen. Whew!

As you know Saturdays are our long run days. This week was a 5 miler, the longest distance thus far. We woke up at a decent time and tried to do the eating before running thing. Our food of choice was plain oatmeal with a small bit of strawberry syrup. We waited an hour then took off. Neither of us had problems stomaching the oatmeal. No cramps, no nothing. Sweet. And I have hit a new running milestone. Recently I've found that I can make it to 2 miles with no problem. Say what? Yep. Kind of like the not having to think about breathing thing I had over a month ago, this is a new experience for me. But I think it's cool. As you can read we are experimenting with eating before running, etc, so my body is still adjusting and I'm learning to read my body better, and figuring out what is best, which means runs aren't always "easy", but they arestarting to be more often than not. Cool. After 5 miles I felt good but my body was kind sore for most of the day. I just wanted to keep trying to stretch out in hopes of making it feel better. Our schedule goes easy week, hard week, easy week. This upcoming week is 2 miles, 3 miles, 2.5 miles, and 3 miles. We're also planning on helping out at the local Senior 5K Fun Run out at Osborn Park this upcoming Saturday.

After finishing up I headed down to the Sandusky Yacht Club to participate as one of the judges for the Regatta Kennel Show. It's a fun thing that the members get to participate in. It was cute to see all the dogs dressed up and doing their tricks. It was also a gorgeous morning, so I couldn't complain. Spending time outside with dogs. Not bad at all.

I then came home and our July block party was underway. More and more people are coming out for our get togethers, so that makes it more fun. It's nice to actually know who your neighbors are. Next month there's another block party for an adjacent street that more than likely we'll be involved in. Just one more reason to get together and hang out, to get to know each other. Before you know it our area of involvement will expand to what we had once hoped it would be. Ideas for upcoming events were talked about including something for Halloween and the football season....I'm excited....this should be fun.

Later that evening both sets of 'rents came over for a fire. We were getting worried that our chiminea wasn't getting any usage this summer, but no need to worry, we're just warming up. Tara, Joe, and Kara even joined the party for a bit. A nice evening around the fire, and we had perfect weather for it. It will even be more enjoyable once it's a little cooler and you can bundle up with a blanket. But not too soon.

Sunday was a lazy day. Nothing much happened but every so often that's a good thing. Tomorrow starts the work week. Why do weekends go so fast?

TP Bandit

For the past month we're had a toilet paper bandit present in our house. It never fails. After coming home from a run I walk upstairs to take a shower and find toilet paper pulled off the roll and shreaded to pieces. I always think, "I should take a picture of this." or "I gotta post this on the blog." but am always too tired to walk downstairs to get the camera or totally forget about it. Well, today was a good run and when I came home to find the toilet paper strewn about again, I had to take a picture....
This isn't even bad to what I've seen before. Sometimes it goes all the way into the hallway. Now, I think I have it figured out who's doing it. Actually, I knew from the start who was doing it. Considering the fact that Viking has loved eating paper since he was a pup doesn't surprise me that he's taken to getting into the toilet paper. His white poop (yah, I know...gross) also rats him out. I'd just like to know what's going through his mind. Like I said, he has a history of eating toilet paper (that's why we have all covered trash cans), but this is only happening when we go out for runs. I'm thinking he's throwing a doggie temper tantrum and in his head saying, "Mom, you suck. Why don't you take me?" I know, I know. He's probably not thinking this at all and just wants to get some kicks by throwing some toilet paper around. If only I could rig a camera.....

Reputation And Character

The circumstances amid which you live determines your reputation.
The truth you believe determines your character.

Reputation is what you’re supposed to be.
Character is what you are.

Reputation is the photograph.
Character is the face.

Reputation comes over one from without.

Character grows from within.

Reputation is what you have when you come to a new community.

Character is what you have when you go away.

Your reputation is learned in an hour.

Your character may not come to light for a year.

Reputation is made in a moment.

Character us built in a lifetime.

Reputation grows like a mushroom.

Character grows like the oak.

A single newspaper report gives you your reputation.

A life of toil gives you your character.

Reputation makes you rich or makes you poor.
Character makes you happy or makes you miserable.

Reputation is what others say about you after you are gone.
Character is what the angels say about you before the throne of God.

~William H. Davis