Monday, September 27, 2010

Running Again

I think one of my last posts (which was quite a while ago), I felt like I was finally getting into shape.  Then came the beginning of school--gone.  This was the first autumn in four years I didn't run a marathon.  In fact, I'm not even sure if I've logged more than ten miles in the past month.
I've started up . . . AGAIN!  (I'm now understanding people and their diets).  I'm hoping to get in decent enough shape to run a five miler on Thanksgiving day.  I then can come home and begin what I refer to as the three month eating fest.  It starts Thanksgiving Day and, in theory, ends when Lent begins.  I am blessed that I haven't put on much weight, but turning the big four-oh this year combined with the obesity gene in our family . . . I need to take care of me.  (At least occasionally).

Even the Dog's a Social Misfit

We joke that our children are just like us--a little bit socially challenged.  They tend to be loners like us.  A few close friends make us happy; we don't need 1,000 social network "friends" to prove our self-worth.  The trade off is that they are fairly confident in who they are.  They don't feel the need to do strange things just to impress others.  As parents (who also share these traits)--we are thrilled.  However, we sometimes are social misfits.
Our poor dog is the same way.  My daughter and I took her to the dog park for the first time in a long time.  She was the odd-dog-out.  At one point five dogs were tackling her.  She hid under benches.  The best part for her was running up to her new friends--humans, not canine.  I guess even the family pet should be included in the saying that "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Dog Ate My Homework

When my son came home from the first day of school, he proudly put all his work on our coffee table.  The dog was going crazy.  She has been used to 24/7 attention this summer, and now with us all gone all day--she's nuts when we arrive home.  Suddenly, she began furiously licking one of my son's papers. 
Note the Cheerios.  That is the only "snack" we give her besides a raw hide bone.  I guess she thought my son brought her a peace offering.  The dog literally tried to eat his homework.

So Close, But . . .

Approximately two and a half years ago I gave my husband a "two-year-warning" about purchasing a new washing maching.  Our refurbished machine that came with our first home when we purchased it in 1998.  It is small--and I do an obscene number of loads for our family of five.  Trust me--I am not one to allow everyone to get a new towel each time they shower.  The machine is small.  The other problem is that I hate waste, and I cannot justify getting a new machine until the old one has died.  Today was the day!
I was resting upstairs (little stomach bug--ick!) and could hear the machine start then stop, start then stop, start then stop . . .  I finally got up to see what was going on.  I was greeted by my oldest who smiled and said, "Dad told me to tell you the wash machine died."  For a brief moment I could hear one of those new energy-efficient, high capacity washers calling my name.  Dad was standing by the washer getting ready to get those car keys for a trip to Home Depot.  I looked in the machine and saw a bunch of clothing on one side and nothing on the other.  It was just unbalanced.  Bummer!

Had a just been dishonest with my husband, I'd be waiting by the door for the delivery of my new washer.  He never would have known the difference.  Is honesty really the best policy?!?!?!?  Ha! Ha!