Turkey Trot

Brian and I finished a 10k turkey trot yesterday morning.

I was so completely tired at 5 miles that I was thinking of walking a little bit. Then I see Brian walking back toward me and he's cheering everyone on. I flagged him down and he came over to run the last mile with me. I think that everyone should run with a personal Brian.

It seems that since I've changed my "usual" run to 4.4 miles, my body is now okay with that distance but as soon as I reach that distance, there is a huge urge to quit running. I think the best thing for me now would be to vary my distance daily.

Brian of course completed in 41minutes. 10th in his age division. I'm so happy for him. And it's none of your business how fast or not fast I was.

Vaccinations

I got lots of vaccinations yesterday for my upcoming travel. It will be my first time traveling to countries where disease is prevalent and vaccinations highly recommended. I got a lot of holes in my arms.

I got shots for:
typhoid (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/typhoidfever_g.htm),
yellow fever (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/yellowfever/),
hepatitis A,
hepatitis B, (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/index.htm)
polio (http://www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/pink/polio.pdf),
tetanus and diptheria (http://www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/VIS/vis-td.pdf) and
meningococcal (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/meningococcal_g.htm).

On top of those, I got a tuberculosis test (which is another hole in my forearm) and anti-malarial drugs that I have to start taking a week before leaving. Phew!

Have fun reading about all these nasty diseases.

Sneaky Post

I am supposed to be putting together the neighborhood newspaper right now.

That's what Brian thinks that I am doing and that is why he is currently doing dishes after making dinner and getting the mail and feeding the dog and basically doing everything. I just got the idea that it would be super sneaky fun to post and then see how many days it would take for him to bring it up.

I'll let you know.

Successful Duathlon Finish

This is Steph and I after finishing our first duathlon successfully.

The first run was fun with a whole bunch of nerves at the beginning and then this "loosening up" when we realized how far we had to go.

The bike portion was a nice chance to move the legs with no jarring and with a cool breeze to boot.

The hard part came with the last part. A one mile run after the bike. For the first quarter mile or so, it feels like the bike seat is still attached to you. Then that goes away and you're just tired. And soooo ready to see the finish line. When you come into sight of the finish line it is so exciting. You see your family that came to cheer you on and they are yelling and grinning and taking pictures and you feel like you could do it all over again for that kind of high. Well, maybe not today...

The whole experience was so much fun. It never fails to amaze me how many people at these events are willing to have fun and laugh at themselves. You see people that are excited about complete strangers attempting whatever it is that challenges them.

Stephanie did so well and gave it her all and that is the most inspiring part of all. Way to go Steph!

Stretching

My friend Stephanie is going to compete in her very first sprint triathlon Oct 31. I am just so very proud of her enthusiasm and motivation.

She was complaining to me that training for the running was hard because she was experiencing pain from shin splints. I am happy to say that I helped out yet another person alleviate their shin splint pain completely with a very simple stretch.

I continue to be amazed at how much can be fixed with some positive thinking and a little stretching.

Last night I was thinking about how I know several people that allow themselves to be sick because they want to be 'cared for'. I always whine to Brian about how these people would benefit more from a psychologist than a general practitioner.

Then I realized that I do it myself. I have had joint problems all my life, the worst of them my wrists. But I now realize that I describe my wrists as weak to myself and those around me. Perhaps if I spent a few minutes a day visualizing my strong wrists and stop belittling them, I could improve their health. Don't believe me or think that I'm full of metaphysical hogwash? Some research actually backs this up: http://www.exn.ca/Stories/2001/11/22/51.asp"Stronger Without Moving a Muscle"

Mom's 60th

Mom's 60th birthday party looks like it was a huge success. I'll be posting pictures on my web page soon.

The Book

I know that Barb will be wondering so the fantastic book I finished read today was "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. (There's a little accent on the o in Zafon but I don't know how to do that :)

It was long but a very good read.

Solar Update

Folks, we are doing fantastic. Those little panels sit up on the roof all day and all night (although that doesn't do us much good, does it) and produce power. Quietly, cleanly, not so efficiently (but hey, who's perfect?) producing energy.

Last month we used net zero energy. This month, we produced more energy than we used. Here's the updated web page with the cost chart http://shelley.is.dreaming.org/solarpages/main.html

What a fantastic life!

Sorry. That sounds kind of self-important doesn't it?

It's just that I love this time of year in Tucson and everything seems so perfect. The flowers are blooming. It's warm enough to walk around all day in shorts. Everything smells like growth. Just perfect.

Today Brian and I went to the Pima county fair. I pet a zebra and a water buffalo. I saw a humongous cow (or steer I guess because it was a he :) that was just adorable. He let me pet him too. We saw that they had deep-fried twinkies but I still cannot get the gumption to order one. (I am curious though.)

They had this really cool display of old engines as well. Brian was fascinated. Of course, he gets that stuff. He had all kinds of questions for the guys running the display when all I saw was some wheels and pulleys and pistons and things.

We also saw a tractor pull which is neat to know about but not that fun to watch. They hook up the tractor to this long platform which increases the load for every foot that the tractor pulls it. I guess the point is to see how far your tractor can pull. Get this - there's weight classes! Isn't that funny?

On the way home, we went by this new home development that was giving $100 gift certificates to a restaurant just for showing up at the model home. It was the best deal. They gave us the gc as soon as we walked in the door and so we just slipped out 5 minutes later! I'm sure the builder wouldn't be happy about that. Anyway, they're ugly houses and a ton of money for ugly but I won't name the development in case y'all out there like them.

So I finished a fantastic book today, went to the fair, got a $100 gift certificate and my arms got a little pink. Now you see why I say it's a fantastic life...

Busy busy busy

I know, it's been a while. But I really do have a good excuse.

I was home valentine's week just long enough to put together the March edition of the neighborhood newspaper and go to Phx to see my cousin get married. Then off to WVa for lots of snow and, well, snow.

I didn't take my computer because I didn't setup any dialup service. So the day that I got sick and snowed in and had to spend 36 hours in my cabin was pretty boring.

I haven't been sick in years so this was a huge disappointment. I remember now the icky feeling of fever chills. And the effect on my sleep, precious sleep. That really sucked.

So I flew home yesterday and today Brian and I get on the plane again for Amsterdam. If there is ever a time for me to sleep on the plane, this is it!

Yesterday I ran my books back to the library and checked out a "Let's Go Amsterdam". Brian has made fun of me already for mapping out all the thai restaurants around our hotel. What can I say, big cities have good thai...

Gotta run to the airport now. Bye!

Another day in San Antonio

Last night after work Gary and I went down to a restaurant on the Riverwalk. I think that every town should have a Riverwalk in the middle of it. It is the coolest thing. It's not so much the river but the hundreds of restaurants and shops and entertainment right along it. I really like when a city has something like this to get people together and out and about. I don't really get that since I'm not an especially social person.

I guess that I'm going to go back to work for a few hours. Tomorrow I get to find the alamo, see what that's all about and then maybe I'll watch the superbowl commercials (of course with my book to read during the actual game :)

Okay, Now I'm Tired

Woke up at quarter till 4 this morning in Yakima Washington. Took a prop plane to Seattle, sat there for 2 hours, took a very crowded plane to Phoenix, sat there 2 hours. Accepted a bump off the plane to San Antonio for travel vouchers. Sat in Phoenix for another 3 hours. Just got in to the hotel.

Pretty tired but I looked out my window and can see the river belonging to the highly touted Riverwalk. Can't wait to see this place in daylight...

Hello, I'm your garden.

And a picture of your garden starting to bloom.

Shelley Come Home Soon! Sincerely, The Bike

Thought you may be missing the bike. And maybe your useless dog. I am afraid to say she seems to NOT be getting smarter as we had hoped. Still fails at getting out of the blanket in a reasonable amount of time and doesn't really do much of anything very well. Other un-smart household being must take a shower and go to work now.

Traveling

Hi everyone from Yakima, Washington.

It's 33 degrees right now and I can't see farther than 50 feet because of the fog. Boy is this fun!

It looks like I'm going to be traveling for most of the good weather this spring. The best time to be in Tucson seems like the best times to travel for work I guess.

Christmas Presents

Now that the big event is over, I can spill the beans about what Brian and I gave for xmas presents this year. We decided to make donations to charity for everyone on our gift giving list.

Initially, I had about five different charities that we were going to donate to. I thought it would be cool if each different house that we went to had unique charities per person. It turns out that only two of our five charities had the ability to make a donation in someone else's name. Heifer International and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson made the cut. The funny part is that after we made the donation to BBBS, it turns out their gift cards weren't printable gift cards. So we ended up just writing in a card that a donation had been made.

Heifer International is not only a very cool charity but also had the coolest little cards that I could print out. They also let you print these inserts about the item that the donee was receiving (honeybees, flock of geese, trio of ducks, etc.) It was awesome. I urge you to check out their website if you don't already know about them.

Now that I know that some of the cards wouldn't come out anyway, I would make donations to my original list of charities. Here are some ideas to check out if you are in a giving mood...

First Book http://www.firstbook.org gives children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books.

Canine Companions for Independence http://www.caninecompanions.org enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly-trained assistance dogs.

http://www.habitat.org Everyone knows about Habitat for Humanity. They build local houses of course but did you know they build houses around the world for those that are homeless? The houses aren't free... the organization pays for the home but then the donee pays the loan with low interest rates. The interest paid on the loan then goes towards building other homes for other families.

These are just a few of the charities that I thought were interesting and worthwhile. The Motley Fool has a fundraising drive every year and they pick a couple of charities that are all well-run charities. Most of my picks are from this list. There are a lot of charities that are out there that are poorly run where only a small percentage of your donation actually makes it to the cause that you are trying to support.
Here's Motley Fool's 2004 Charity drive page:
http://www.fool.com/foolanthropy/2004/foolanthropy2004.htm?source=EDSP

2004 Tucson Marathon Relay!!

Well, we did it!
This is team "Relative Insanity" after we finished running the Tucson Marathon Relay. Of course, Brian and Steve ran so fast you have to see it to believe it.
But I have to say that Denise and I stole the show. Not being runners and never having actually entered in a competition before makes us pretty darn proud of what we did this Sunday.
As I write this my legs are questioning the intelligence of what I did. Nothing that can't be overcome with a little Ibuprofen and a few more days away from the gym...

Amsterdam plans for March 2005

Brian and I just bought tickets to Amsterdam. I've been to Europe several times now and never been to Amsterdam, which I've always wanted to see the most.
Travelocity had a pretty good deal on tickets so we just had to do it. March 9-16 will still be kind of cold but it's worth it. Amsterdam is also only a 2 or 3 hour drive from Sebastian so we can say hello to him too.
I looked a little into hotels last night. The best one so far is a boat that is docked on one of the canals. The whole boat is ours alone (it's only a 32-foot boat). I'm pretty sure that would be a uniquely Amsterdam experience!
If you have any favorite things to do in Ams. or in the surrounding areas, please add them to the comments of this posting. I will be gladly accepting ideas!

Bad Book

Last night I gave up on a book. To those of you who know me, you know that I don't give up on books. It takes a pretty bad one.
"The Ghost Writer" by John Harwood isn't poorly written. Nor does it have any glaring plot mistakes. What it is, is boring. I got to page 260 (the book is only 369 pages long) before I finally decided that Harwood wasn't going to stop drawing out long and ridiculously boring stories. His characters in the novel are completely void of personality. The characters seem to be more confused by their emotions and certain plot events than the reader is.
It got some really good reviews. Don't buy into them. More importantly, don't buy it.

A Goal

I've recently started jogging. Man, it's hard!
It started as a bet that I made with Brian. (doesn't everything?) I bet him that no matter how much I trained, I could never run farther, faster or better than I could when I started. Turns out that I was wrong (of course) and it only took me one month to get significantly better.
It's kind of fun after you get into it. Now I have signed up Brian, Brian's brother Steve and Steve's wife Denise to run the Tucson Marathon Relay with me on December 5th. So wish us well and think of us while you're sleeping in your warm cozy bed that morning.