Leg Two

The second part of my vacation started today with a 6-7 Hour drive to Longwood Gardens (well a town near there anyway). Lucky for me Dad did all of the driving. I listened to Harry Potter and relaxed as Dad drove.

We had a great dinner at On The Border, which Mom was not as fond of as she does not do spicy food. Apparently all of the food was way too spicy. I thought the salsa was hot but thought everything else would be good, I guess I have been with Pat too long. Sorry Mom.

Baking with Dad

Today I got a big treat. I got to bake with my father. He makes great bread and today we made my favorite today. Rustic country wheat bread. It turned out great and he will e-mail the recipe to me so I can try it on my own.

I had a fairly quiet day but got to see lots of people as Lillie and Evelyn came over for dinner and after dinner I went to see Mom R and Dylan. I did not get lots of time with Dylan but did get to spend time with Mom R, which was nice.

And of course I did have to finish packing for the 2nd leg of my vacation.

Birthday Party Part 2

I am not a Party person. but this year I had 2 parties for my birthday.

I awake to birthday wishes from Pat and set off on my birthday run with the dog. She gave me some issues, the heat wasn't around to help wear her out! but in all it was a good run. 2 miles in about 18 minuets 15 seconds. I have no idea if she helps or hinders my running process as she pulls and stops so often it is hard to tell.

Pat got on the road early. I had breakfast with Mom R (leftover PF Changs)! Then set off to mom and dad's house wondering if I was relatively early. (Dad told me to come over nice and early to which I replied, 'who are you talking to?' then he revised his statement, 'please come over relatively early'). I made it with time to help them pack up and visit my facebook pet! I even started a bracelet I'm going to make.

Stony brook was chilly, cold really. I had on my winter jacket. once I wormed up walking the workout jacket was enough but it was so cold to start I couldn't leave it behind.

The hike was beautiful as always, lots of great photo's were taken. I will post some when I get home in a few days.

Happy Memorial Day

Today, after breakfast I headed out for the Rodman's. Pat and I ended up driving separately which allowed me a few distractions, er, Errands. I was happy that it was still chilly out when I got there as I was planning on taking Lexus for a run.

She enjoyed the run and behaved fairly well. She did get caught up in staring at a person as we ran past. Normally she would let it go after a fairly short while looking for a bird or squirrel, today she kept looking back. Nothing I did could dissuade her from this person. Finally after enough distance she went back to the task at hand.

At the one mile mark we ran by a house with a strange dog (she had never met it before). It took a while for it to see us but came out barking and carrying on, the most miraculous thing happened. She didn't even look at the other dog!

Another 1/4 to 1/2 mile later she made like she was going to go for some lady gardening and I corrected her, this time she let it go. I guess she was very tired.

Now if I could only figure out how to keep her from pulling.

After the run I went out to Becky's (yes, smelly and all). I had some plants that mom gave me to plant in Becky's garden, she approved the watched me do the planting. I'm lucky she didn't mind though she probably thinks she is lucky because her sister in law planted most of her garden for her (I left her one row).

Then I ran back to the Rodman's house for a shower apparently missing Sarah as she was driving to Becky's house. Mom R thought it was strange that i didn't stay to hang out with them until I explained that after running and playing in the dirt I was in dire need of a shower. She is very understanding.

After the shower I had time to relax and read. The rest of my day involves food which is just the way I like it.

Pat came home and we ran out to PF Changs for lunch. The car needed Gas, a fact we would have been better off noticing as we were leaving Palmyra Instead we were a good way towards the mall and because we have to take back roads we have nowhere to stop for gas. Pat wanted to turn back to Palmyra. I would not let him (brave of me considering I had no Idea where gas stations were near the mall). We made it to the mall and I wanted to go Right, Pat left.

I let him win in case we actually ran out of gas. his wrong turn was the last thus negating my refusal to turn around. It would be his fault.

The gas station was further down then he remembered. I spotted it first and let him know their was one on the right. He almost took a right hand turn off of the road. You can imagine how loud my scream was, 'NO! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?'

he stopped in the right hand lane (instead of the turn lane) and awaited my explanation. He laughed when I restated clearer, 'it is on the right hand side of THIS street.'

We did make it to the gas station then to lunch. The lunch was pretty strait forward. The only thing worth mentioning is the fact that the waiter was very impressed with my dish. I actually ordered off of the menu but added carrots to the sweet and sour chicken. He said it made it look even better with the extra color.

We got back to lunch and I put my leftovers in the Fridge at the Rodman's only to be greeted by their dog. This is unusual because the dog does not get full run of the house. she stays in the back room unless she is outside or on a leash. I escorted her out of the house after noting cupcake tins on the floor of the house and many cupcakes missing from the molds.

I went out to let her outside and I heard the rest of them talking. I let them know what happened. The let Mom R know what happened and she was not happy! I felt bad, but that didn't stop me from agreeing with those who thought the whole thing humorous. I am a horrible daughter in law! I'll have to do something extra nice to make up for it.

Besides the rest of dinner was great and we all had the brownies that the dog had not helped herself to (though she should have they were Yummy!).

Celebration

Today was the official celebration of my birthday. (Lillie's too!). We started out with a quick shopping trip followed by some gardening. Ok Lots of gardening.

We mulched part of the back Garden. Just enough to get the many inpatients in. I love taking this week off and gardening with Mom. Last year she finished all of the mulching and left the fun task of planting the flowers to me (with her) while I visited. Unfortunately this year the weather has not been nearly as friendly. the mulching process has just started. Though we did get some planting in to offset the mulching. The weather though Sunny is particularly chilly, but once you get working you warm right up.

I spent a little time with the neighbors that just purchased the Kulps house. They are very nice, I followed the tour my mother was taking them on of the gardens at their new house. She was telling them what was planted where and giving some suggestions. They seemed to like the help and will likely be back for more gardening advise from their retired neighbors (my parents).

Anyway after a shower and quick lunch Pat came by and picked me up for a visit with his Grandpa (which had nothing to do with my Birthday). We got a little lost on the way over but I think it was worth it as his grandpa has not seen Pat in a while. it was a short visit though as we needed to get back to my birthday celebration!

Unfortunitly the baby got sunburn at some point and to add to the trouble she missed a nap. Needless to say she was a very unhappy baby. Waking her up ever so often as Dad was cooking nd everyone else seemed to be unable to sit still didn't help either.

We had a delishous dinner cooked by my father. Birthday cake for desert of course.

The parents made a b line for the door as soon as desert was over trying to get evelyn home and hopefully to bed for a good nights sleep. Every one but Pat was sleepy and went to bed fairly early. Pat went to his sisters house, he still had some party left in him.

Vacation

It is officially the first day of my relaxing week off. Unfortunately for Pat the promise of a long drive woke me up at 3am and would not allow me to go back to sleep. I first spent the time playing with my facebook pet. Then I moved onto Harry Potter. Around 4:45 I figured I'd pack as Pat said we could leave early but no earlier then 5, I wanted to be ready!

I had many trips to do. 3 cases of wine, 2 dufflebags, 2 smaller miscellanious bags and 2 donation boxes (I like to offer the stuff to family first if I can). This ment 8 trips up and down the ver loud stairs in the apartment. I tried to be quiet and still think it was much quieter then if pat had tried to accomplish the same task. People (my mom) has said that I walk like an elephant, I married a man that surpasses any noise I make while walking.

Anyway I had one trip left when a very grumpy Pat came out to let me know my attempt to be quiet was not working. He tried to go back to sleep with no success.

This was good for me as we left for Rochester by 5:30!!!

We got in and off the bat went to Becky & Doug's, I got a very cute photo of Dylan on the motorcycle. Apparently he normally wouldn't sit still but I got lucky and he even waited for me to get the camera out.

I also got to spend time with Mom, Dad, Lillie and Ms. Evelyn. It was a packed day!

Friday is here

After what seems like an eternal wait, Friday has arrived. It went fairly quickly until the Palisades employees (whom have a half day) started leaving. Then time slowed significantly. At least we are not leaving today as I would start pacing. I do not look forward to long drives weather I am driving or not.

Pat Finished packing today (a minor miracle). He would normally wait until the day we left.

Finally!

Up to this point I was not sure when we would leave for vacation. When I asked Pat yesterday he said Friday. Then i had to ask him if he was sure because the traffic would be awful. To this he replies 'oh ya, I'll have to think about that'

We are leaving Saturday. To add to the traffic mess 81 always seems to have a few spots where the road is closed down to one lane. This makes holiday travel messy at best. I think the correct call was made.

I Packed anyway in case our plans changed. Pat on the other hand will try to pack at the last possible second.

Where does the time go?

Last night I had to run to the pharmacy. Apparently so did everyone else. The RX was going to take an hour to fill so I went home to eat dinner and take a short walk with Pat while I waited. I figured that the line would be short and the run back would be quick. The drive through had a short line so I chose to go inside. The line was pretty long, but the worst parts is that I still had to wait as they finished the RX as I stood there, apparently the 2 hours was not enough (they only asked for one).

After getting home and showering it was already 9PM. Normally on a day that I skip the gym I have lots of extra time. Today that time disappeared. At least tomorrow the reason I will not have as much time will be because I spent an hour at the gym. It's just a better option.

Worst day ever

I had a 5K this weekend. I was psyched! Ready to beat 30 minutes. It started at 10 AM so we got ready to go around 8:30 (so we could get pat a bagel for breakfast) then head over to the park. I was nervous but ready to go. They did not post which lot we were to park at so we drove up and down the main road in the park.

Nothing.

I checked the other 2 parking lots that are off of Mettlers lane.

Nothing.

At this point we stopped at the rangers station. I went in and asked where the race was.

It was YESTERDAY! I even had it correct on my calendar but for some reason i was convinced it was on a Sunday. So after fuming all the way to Pat's office I give Lillie a call to see how her race went. She improved her time but has not yet broken the 30 minute mark, perhaps we will just have to do it together.

Then I vented to Mom and Lillie about my inability to read my calender. By the time we got home from Pat's office most of my anger had subsided from a rage that would give me a great time on my own lap to my just being in a bad mood. My own 5K was 30:05.17 I couldn't even stay mad enough to beat 30 minutes in my own private 5K.

Hard to Eat

Some foods are hard to eat. crab legs for instance look pretty hard to eat.

Tonight we had chicken kabobs. Though if you are not careful the food can fly off the skewer, it is not a hard food to eat. Even easier is Italian dressing, or so I thought.

As most people know the oil and vinegar separate after a short while. I set a newly made batch in front of Pat and served myself. He added the dressing to the chicken. As I went to use it I noticed that it was very separated. I asked Pat if he had shaken the dressing, he gave me a sheepish look.

Nope he just poured oil (with Italian dressing all over his plate).

A short while later he added a little more to his plate. Just as he started to pour I asked him what he was doing. He was puzzled at first, then it dawned on him that he had just made the same mistake again. He is no longer allowed to pour his own Italian dressing.

I went to the rose garden today to take some photo's for my parents. They will be visiting and I want to get them psyched up for the park. Hopefully the roses will be in bloom when they come!

Blister Part II

I realized yesterday that I was in dire need of new running shoes. My previous trips to the store were unsuccessful mostly because nothing was on sale. Today during lunch I went to Marshall's. It is a great store for bargains. I got 3 pairs of sneakers for just under 90$. 2 New balance and one unknown brand Avia or something like that. Of course they are all white with color accents which means they are going to look dirty quicker then I run a mile. (cute Huh?)

I got home ready to run! I wore the unknown brand today and though I had a pretty good run, I got a HUGE blister. I'm hoping once broken in they will stop doing that. If they don't I'll have to invest in Lillie's expensive anti blister socks or just use the other 2 shoes. I really wanted one of the pairs to be broken in by Sunday. I don't want to risk wearing shoes that give me blisters on a race day. The fact that I am determined to beat 30 minutes is even more motivation to wear shoes that are comfortable on my feet.

Don't worry about me though. Pat is carrying me around the apartment (when I'm not busy rolling around in the office chair. This blister is not going to last!

So close

I decided to do the 4.5 mile lap tonight. I'm determined to finish it under 45 minutes. I actually thought I was going to make it. My times were good at the points that I check them. The only flaw in my calculation was the last little loop around my apartment complex. even with that error I should have been able to make it.

My final time was 45:50. I guess I'll have to get it next time.

By the end of the run my knees were hurting, it is definitly time to go find new shoes.

Trader Joe's

Today I had a dentist appointment. Because I was going to be home late anyway and both trader Joe's and my dentist are in the same general area I went wine shopping.

While in DC Jason went to the Trader Joe's in DC to check out the wine selection. It didn't take him long to do as they do not carry wine. Only select stores do, Their is one in VA fairly close to Grandma and Grandpa's house but that was not going to happen.

The Trader Joe's near my work does sell wine. (A fact that I am very grateful for). They have a great selection of fairly cheap wines, as well as the Charles Shaw wines (very cheap). I went after the dentist appointment and picked up 3 cases of wine for Dad and Jason. The Charles Shaw was easy enough to pick out, but it was loads of fun to pick out the miscellaneous case. Some wines I had tried before and liked others were new to the mix. I hope they are all enjoyed!

Donation Bowl

Sometimes I ask Pat to grill an extra chicken breast or pork chop so I can pack it for lunch the next day. Today was one of those days. He sweetly coated them (both the dinner and lunch) with country sweet, he chose sausage for his dinner.

My dinner looked so good he asked for a bite. I had no problem giving him one, once I was close enough to being done that he wouldn't steal more. Once I was done I set about getting my lunch ready for tomorrow. I unfortunitly did this with in striking distance from Pat who very much enjoyed the first bite. As I was cutting up the chop for lunch and placing it in the bowl I was using for lunch Pat would try to steal it from the bowl. I smacked his hand away (with plenty of time) and told him to back off. His reply?

I thought that was the donation bowl.

Sigh.

Energy Wanted

I ran the most likely track for my 5K next weekend first thing and still regretted my choice to wear pants instead of shorts. My time was just over the 10 minute mile mark I need to beat for my goal time (which happens to match my sisters goal time of 30 minutes). I did the entire loop of 3.4-3.5 miles in 36 minutes. Hopefully by doing the lap today I will cut my time down a little for the actual run next Sunday.

I'm also spending more time on the treadmill hoping to learn the pace I will need to run at.

It was a beautiful day and yet I spent a good amount of it inside resting (and napping). I'm not sure if it has anything to do with a few missed doses of medicine but being tired stinks!

I didn't accomplish much more then the run, but had plenty of time to wish my mother a happy mothers day! I love my mom!

Liberty Mutual

A position has opened up at an insurance company closer to home. At first I was not going to put in for it but as I thought about the shortened commute (20 minutes) I became more and more sold. I was a little worried because it is a 6 month position (possibility of long term). but I am really sick of driving an hour. I have another day to decide so we will have to see.

I have found the Rain

The rain that was supposed to hit yesterday hit full force today. It rained all day. I have never been so grateful for the treadmill! Normally I run faster outside but today it was pouring. It never let up! I wanted to try a run in a local park this weekend but put it off until today because it was supposed to rain yesterday and be fairly nice this morning. At least I had a good run on the treadmill.

Beating the Weather

I was up early today and because it looked mostly nice (it was supposed to rain all day) I went running early. I wanted to beat the rain. It drizzled a little confirming my need to get the run over before the real rain starts.

I tried a new route today but did not take a good enough look at the map as I took a little bit of a wrong turn and ended up shortening the run by .4 miles. Sigh, I even looked at the map before I left. In all I liked the new path and will try another variation of it in the (hopefully) near future. It did however take me a long time to run that 4.1 miles, and because i have no desire to embarrass myself it will not be provided to you.

Anyway as the day wore on and it got nice out I was more and more angry because their is another run, at a local park, That I wanted to do. I should have done 2 runs today. Tomorrow it probably rain all day!

You are not going to DIE!

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I decided to drive to the movies tonight. Normally I relinquish all driving responsibility as often as I can get away with. Not tonight. As I was driving us to the movies I had to stop (at a light) to make a Left hand turn. Because it was red and the car in the left hand lane was clearly stopping I moved a little further into the intersection. Pat immediately flipped out and started crawling up the passenger side window. He thought we were going to get hit.

By whom i have no idea. We were waiting on the car making a right hand turn to make sure they didn't turn into the far lane that we needed to occupy. Every one else was stopped. We miraculously (according to Pat) made it through the turn and argued for the rest of that road about how close to death we actually came.

Wolverine was great. I'm not sure if that had to do with the low expectations brought on by the bad reviews. It was easy to follow (unlike what one of the reviewers claimed) and kept me enthralled. It seems few movies grab my attention these days and even fewer Pat also wants to see. We had an uneventful (pat drove) drive home while talking about the movie.