Success All Around

The race was a success! Scott shaved off 10 seconds from his time last year and I beat my goal of 9:30 by a good chunk. I just checked the results a few minutes ago and realized that my time was even better than I thought - the clock read 9:17ish when I crossed the line (I thought) but since it took me awhile to actually cross the start line, I think I actually ran it in 9:10.7, which is my net time on the results page for the Pearl Street Mile - I'm quite pleased with that. Scott generously took photos of me trudging through the end of the race...and I think the look on my face in the photo of me at the end of the race shows how glad I was to be done.

And finally, we're into fantasy football draft season! And what could be better than drafting alongside your cat? Millie decided to give me a hand and make a few draft suggestions in our most recent draft this past Wednesday.
This post appears to be lacking photos of Scott - more of those soon. Happy long weekend to everyone!

Race Day

It's race day! Finally, the Pearl Street Mile is here. Scott already ran in the other two races that are part of this short race series every summer in Boulder (as he does every year), and is planning on dominating this race as well...but this is my first race ever. And I have been thinking about this day probably since April, when I decided it would be a nice thing to do. That's kind of pathetic, I think, considering it's really only 1 mile long and our cats could probably run a mile easily (not in a straight line of course), but here I am agonizing over what I'll eat today and what shirt to wear during the race for optimal comfort and fashion.

But what I find most stunning of all is that I can't stop thinking about running the mile in P.E. at Williamsburg Middle School. These memories started flooding in yesterday afternoon and I simply can't stop them. So the closest I've ever come to a race before has been running the mile in P.E. to pass the physical fitness tests, and while I hardly remember doing it during high school, I have this memory of running the mile around the WMS fields and being petrified for days in advance. I remember exactly where the race ended on those fields - and that was 15 or 16 years ago! That experience was a few years before I was finally given an inhaler and there's a solid chance that that breathing assistance has made a lot of difference in my ability to run decently. Scott has been suggesting that I need to stop worrying about running poorly - that he thinks the people who mentally jinx themselves in running are those are more worried about running poorly than about running well. So I'm trying to focus my energy on running well and not on my middle school trials and tribulations.

Don't worry, there will be photos taken (oh my...) and I'll report back tomorrow on how the race goes for both of us. And with stories on how we've dipped half of Aspen in a vat of orange dye and the other half in purple dye to show his multiple allegiances to Tennessee and Northwestern/Furman with the start of college football this weekend. Scott will be the one to hold Aspen. Ha. Kidding, but it's a fun thought right?

A few more pics from Minneapolis

We only have more pics from Minn to post - we let Grandpa do the picture taking in Michigan - but they're fun ones. And in fact, some of you are probably lucky recipients of some of those Michigan photos - Jim & Rita, I think there might be some photos and/or postcards headed your way.

Breakfast at the hotel with Scott, Cub, Jen and Melly:
Sara and Scott pre-wedding:Melly, Sara, Jen:
Sara and Jeanette after the ceremony, up by the altar:Cub and Bogdan doing vodka shots with Ina's brothers and other dudes:Melly and Sara during the reception:Cub and Beth dancing the night away:
Shannon and Jeanette on the dance floor:Everyone dancing with the beautiful bride:

Minneapolis Trip

A few photos from our trip to Minneapolis for Ina and Bogdan's U.S./Bengali Hindu wedding (they were also married last August in Ukraine). These were sent from a friend (Jeanette) so I'm sure to have more photos when Scott and I are back in Boulder and I can upload pics from our camera.

But for now we're enjoying Grand Rapids even though it hasn't stopped raining since we got here. Or since we got to Minneapolis, really. We went to Grand Haven this morning, the town right on Lake Michigan where my grandparents' cottage used to be - now we're all resting up for the afternoon and Scott and I were delighted to find a wireless Internet connection in the guest room.

Melissa, Jen, Beth, Jeanette, Sara, and Ina at the bachelorette event on Friday night.

Scott, Beth, and Sara toasting the mango smoothie-like drinks.
Bodgan and Ina during the ceremony.
The NU ladies minus Ina.
Sara, Cub, Melly, Bogdan, Ina, Jnet, Beth, and Jen at the reception.

Our Weekend With Porter

Dog sitting has been a learning experience for everyone at our house this weekend - the cats have ventured out a few times, very slowly and cautiously, to "meet" Porter. And by meet, I mean get within 12 feet of him. Porter has been great though - not chased after them at all, not barked at them, nothing aggressive. He's a great pooch and here are some pics from our weekend together.

Porter Photos

Sadly, I don't have a video of the dog chase last night but we do have some photos of us with Porter. He really is a good pooch, we just had a rough afternoon together yesterday. More updates soon, I'm sure.

I Almost Killed the Dog

Scott and I are dog sitting this weekend as a favor for a classmate of Scott's. Porter is a big, skinny dog - part German Shepherd, part Blue Heeler, and part wolf. Yes, I said wolf. We acquired him this afternoon and after work Scott and I were going to take him to the nearby dog park and walk around there with him. While Scott was getting his shoes on, I took Porter outside to go toss around a small, squeaky toy he was excited about. Now Joe, Porter's owner, had told me to keep Porter on his leash but like a true idiot, I thought, oh how far can he get, I'll let him run in our tiny courtyard with the toy. Ha. Wait, double ha. Porter was off like a rocket. He dashed up and down the alleyway and then took a turn toward the street. I ran after him trying to catch him before he got to the street and got hit by a car. But Porter is fast and I am not. I can honestly say the next 15 minutes of my life were pure hell. Porter ran towards the highway near our street and it's only a miracle he didn't try to cross it. The closer I tried to get to him, the faster he ran. The louder I yelled for both Porter (and Scott who had tried to find us at the dog park, not realizing the chase that was ensuing), the faster he ran. I think he ran into the street about 7 or 8 times and each time I was sure that would be the end of Porter and I'd have to confess to Joe that we killed his dog. But Porter still ran faster. Neighbors came outside and tried to help. I lost my shoes at some point. Porter entered the gravel/peat factory and I chased him around there (where, by the way, the grumpy old owner told me I ought to be wearing shoes; thanks buddy). Finally, some kind souls stopped in their car and helped me chase Porter back toward our condo, at which point we found Scott who was thoroughly confused as to where we had been this whole time. The 5 of us got Porter trapped into a small grassy area right near the highway and one of the neighbors thought to bring her own dog over to try and draw Porter near. Thankfully that did the job and Porter was finally captured. He's now sleeping on the living room floor looking like an angel. Meanwhile I have bruised/cut up feet, a hoarse voice, and seriously damaged nerves.

It was a miserable, miserable experience. I have learned in just a few short hours of watching Porter that I may never own a dog. Aspen and Millie are quietly rejoicing from the closet they've holed up in.

Visiting with the Twins

Just a few photos from Mom and Aunt Sue's recent visit - Mom, you've got the vast majority of pics on your camera and hopefully I can get some of those on the blog soon! Here are a few photos of family members with cats doing cute things. Of course. I just wish we had a photo of the brief moment when Aspen and Mom were curled up together. We miss you guys already!