Down for the count...

I came down with some variation on the flu this week. Thankfully, I think it had lost some strength by the time it got to me. It started in the middle of the night on Sunday and continued until this evening. I'm started to feel more human now. Whew! I hate being sick SO much. This is when I realize how much of a control freak I am. Being sick is the ultimate symbol of not being in control of my body and I loathe it. But, I'm feeling better now, so I'm going to let it go. I was feeling better enough this evening to even clean the bathroom. Success! Chris just started his vomiting cycle so it seems I have passed the virus on. Sorry babes! Good news, it only lasts a couple of days. Hang in there!!

School starts in t-minus 13 days... WOOOOOO!

Sunny San Diego!

I'm in sunny San Diego this week for some training and am off to Orlando next week. It's nice to be on the road again. Especially since San Diego and Orlando are having summer while Seattle is not. Just wish I could get out and enjoy the weather a bit more. I went running today and aside from a stupid asthma attack it was awesome. I really WANT to be a runner. Fake it 'til you make it right?!

I did have a super quick panic attack yesterday about the trip. I had just arrived in San Diego and was putting together some last minute materials for training today. When perusing old emails on the topic I noticed that my training contact had put August 26-28 in the subject line for the training. For about 10 minutes I was certain that I had somehow misunderstood what dates we had confirmed and was in San Diego for no good reason. Luckily, a quick confirmation call later, I was relieved to find I was here at the right time. Whew!

Two more days of training and I'm back home in Seattle with my babes. :)

Some things that have been happening lately:

• June was a great month that included a great family vacation. Chris, Garcia and I took a road trip to Utah. We spent a night in Boise, ID with our good friend Jamey and Lance on the way down. Such fun! I wish we got to see them more often. We spent a couple of days in Salt Lake and saw Buffi one day and Brigid and her cute family (3 kids!) another day. We then trekked to Moab for some camping, spent a night in Grand Junction (helped Mom load the moving van), a night in Green River and then up to Spanish Fork. It was our first ever Dan and Bonnie Marsing family reunion. It was a success and a total blast. Best trip ever! 
• Garcia is by far the best dog I've ever met. He can be naughty but most of the time he's the sweetest, smartest puppy ever. Love him! I credit him for reducing my stress greatly over the last few months. 
• Dad came to visit shortly after we returned from Utah and will be staying until the end of August. It's been fun having him around. So far, Jared's taken him to the zoo, we've done a few projects around the house and Chris and I plan to take him to Leavenworth before he goes. Oh, and we're going to throw a southern style shrimp boil also. Probably in August. Yay! 
• This has been a summer of friends and parties. I feel so lucky. I also feel like I'm really home. It's quite nice.
• I inherited my great-grandparents' piano a few years ago and my mom had been keeping it in storage for me. When she moved her stuff up here in June, she brought it too. We dropped it at a piano restoration place and it's now playable and in my house. In the process we found out that it was manufactured in 1895. A true antique (not worth anything in monetary value) and my favorite piece in the house. Love it!
• Still doing the couch to 5k program. It's really kicking my butt. I'm still trying though!

Life is good. You'll find no complaints from me!

Week 2 of the Couch to 5K program. My knees are hanging in there, but I must say, I don't love running anymore than I used to. Here's hopin'.

It was a great weekend of BBQs, cleaning house and game night. We broke out a new one called Hollywood Shuffle (our normal go to is Settlers of Cataan). I must say it was a fun game. You roll first and land on a space to tell you how the round will be played (End it, Cast it, Title it or Critic's Choice). You then turn over 3 cards (The Lead, The Action and The Plot). Everybody comes up with their answer and the roller gets to pick their favorite. They then match all of the entries with the author for a chance to move extra spaces. The favorite gets to move 2 spaces also. Much hilarity accompanied the playing of the game. It was a hit!

I was runnin'!

On Monday of this week, my lovely husband and I began something I've been wanting to try for awhile, a Couch to 5K running program. Let me start by saying, I am not a runner nor have I ever been a runner. I don't have the body for it, nor the stamina. This is exactly why I want to be a runner. I want to prove to myself that even though it's hard and I've never liked it, I can learn to love it! Thankfully, I have a patient and supportive husband who is willing to take this journey with me at my speed.

This week we are doing the following (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday):
Walk: 5 mins. for warm-up
Run: 1 min.
Walk: 1:30 mins.
Repeat the Run/Walk 7 more times for a total of 20 mins.

The first day we took the puppy thinking it would be excellent exercise for him. It was. But halfway through he started to peter out. When we would do the running pieces, he was starting to lag and wrap himself around mailboxes and such, which became a bit of a hazard. So, we ended up only doing 5 cycles and walking the rest.

Today, we took him for the 5 minute warm-up walk and 1 cycle of Run/Walk before returning him home so we could finish the rest. It was a good combination. I nearly didn't make the last two cycles, but I'm proud to say I did. There might have been more than 1:30 of walk time in between, but dang it, I ran for 8 minutes this morning! That's 8 more than any other day this year. :)