Happy Birthday Duke!!

This is my baby.

He turns 4 today.


We loved each other from day 1.

I took him everywhere.

It may seem like I carried him everywhere.

And apparently I only had one shirt back then.

He has always loved to swim.

And use his sniffer.

And ride in the car.

Not much has changed since then. He has grown a bit, but he's still the sweetest, snuggliest pup in the whole wide world.

Happy 4th birthday Duke!

In other news, we are headed south tomorrow to eventually make our way to Orlando. We will be making stops in Birmingham, Dothan, and Ocala before we finally make it to Orlando. So far, it looks like we will have some nice weather. And of course Saturday, Jan. 8th, is the Disney Half Marathon! I'll try to keep the updates coming this week, but I'm not sure what my internet status will be. Either way, I'll miss ya, I love ya, and will be thinking of ya!

Looong Run Sunday

Ryan is a self-proclaimed nonrunner. He doesn't run, doesn't like to run, but yet he signed up for a half marathon, to run, on his birthday, so go figure. A few weeks back, with less than 2 months left to train for the race, he decided to, well, START training. He's been walking/jogging a good bit with a training plan I developed that should be just enough to get us across the finish line without me getting re-injured and without him passing out midway through!

So far, our longest run has been up to 6 miles, which we ended up doing on our own. Today our long run goal was 8 miles, so we decided to do it together to stay motivated. This was my longest run since August before I was injured, and this was Ryan's longest run, ever. Fortunately, the weather was great. It stayed in the upper 40's with minimal wind and all the sunshine you could ask for. I brought the camera along, but we didn't run into anything too exciting. Here are a few clips, one before, during, and after the run.







Ryan says it was horrible, but it was really great! We used a jog/walk method (thanks Jeff Galloway!) where we jogged 3 minutes/walked 1 minute. You can really average a pretty good pace using this method because your muscles don't tire out as fast. We averaged a 12:38 pace. Although it was slower than my normal, I made it 8 miles without hip pain, so it worked as far as I'm concerned! AND Ryan made it through his longest run ever! I'm so proud of him and so excited that our half marathon is just around the corner and we may actually be ready!

One of These Things is Not Like the Other...

Looking at my last few pairs of running shoes, you may notice a trend. Well, until you look at that last pair on the top.





You see, I've been running in Asics for as long as I can remember. Even in high school, when I took an occasional jog at the park and wore my cheerleading shoes, they were Asics.

This was my first "real" pair of running shoes. When I say "real," I mean that there was more thought into their function as good running shoes rather than just how they look and how they fit. I got them 6 years ago when I was training for my first half-marathon. I went to a "real" running store and was fitted for them and everything. I thought they were amazing. This particular pair of shoes is now dedicated for yard work which is why they are so clean and shiny.



Every pair of running shoes since have been Asics, until just recently. Now don't get me wron, I will forever love my Asics and will probably buy more in the future, but I got sucked into a new craze and just had to try something different. Anyone in the running community knows that there is currently a new craze for minimalist shoes. Minimalist shoes mimic barefoot running, causing a runner to run off the midfoot rather than strike hard with the heel, also causing a shorter stride length. All of which helps to decrease impact and risk for common injuries. Plus, they are incredibly lightweight, feeling like you have feathers on your feet. For more info from some people who actually know what they're talking about read this article: click here.



Since I'm currently all for anything that could possibly help reduce my risk for another injury, I researched some of the current options in minimalist footwear. I finally chose to give Saucony's Kinvara a try.

Here they are in all their hot pink glory!



I went on my first run in them on Saturday. The first thing I noticed is how incredibly light and flexible they are. I felt like my foot turnover was much faster than normal, and as it turns out, I maintained an average of a 9:30 pace which is much faster than I've been running since coming back from my injury, and much closer to what I was running prior to my injury.



Today my ankles and calves were a bit sore which matches some of what I've read about switching to minimalist shoes. Apparently, it engages different muscles in the feet and ankles and it takes some time for your body to acclimate. So for now, I will be switching back and forth from my old shoes for every-other-run, or so, to give my feet time to adjust.

Ryan got a pair too! We have just over a month left before the Disney Half Marathon, so we are looking forward to "breaking in" our new shoes over the next month in preparation. For more info on the Kinvaras (way more than I can give you here), visit saucony.com.

Aspen's Rough Week

Aspen had a rough week.

When Ryan got home from class around lunchtime on Monday, Aspen had a flap of skin pulled back on his side. How?

We still don't know. He must have gotten stuck on the fence somewhere, but we haven't figured out where.

The wound had a collection of fluid underneath it, so the vet made an incision above and below the site of the injury and put a tube through to allow the fluid to drain.

Nice, huh?

He got the drain out on Thursday.

It's looking much better! He will get the stitches out in one more week.

We had to miss our obedience class this week, but we got some homework from the teacher, so maybe we won't be too far behind. Hopefully, Aspen will have a better week next week!

Christmas Season is Here!

Talk about a catch-up day! This is my 3rd post today (trying to catch up for the past couple weeks), so be sure to scroll down and get caught-up along with me!



After our 10 hour drive yesterday, we promptly headed to town to pick out a tree. We didn't have the energy to decorate last night, but this morning we got it all done!


We try to get a new ornament for any new place we visit. So here's a look at the new ornaments we collected this year.

Orlando and Disney World in January

Another from Disney in January, this one representing the half marathon.

Washington DC in May
Branson in October.


Dothan, AL in November...The peanut capital!


This is an ornament that Ryan's mom gave me just a few days ago. I love it! My real mixer was my favorite Christmas present last year.


Here it is...all put together! A daytime picture doesn't do it justice, but you get the idea!



Did anyone else start decorating this weekend?

A Week in Review

I'm back!!

Ryan and I visited his family in Dothan, Alabama for the week of Thanksgiving. We had a great time, and I wanted to share a few points of interest for the week.

1. I am running again, slower than before, but I am running again! In the past few weeks, I've gradually started alternating walking with some jogging. At the end of the week prior to leaving for Alabama, I jogged 3 miles without any pain! While in Dothan, we went to the local park which had a 3.3 mile walking/jogging trail. The first day, I walked/jogged the trail. Day 2, I did more jogging and wanted to go a little further. By mile 4, I began to feel a slight ache in my hip, so we walked back to the car (about 5 miles total that day). Day 3, we went to the gym and had a great workout on the spinning bikes and gave my hip a break from any impact. Day 4, Thanksgiving day, we started from the house and walked/jogged to the park, jogged the 3.3 mile trail, then walked/jogged home...a total of about 5.5 miles with no hip pain! I earned my Turkey that day! Day 5, we went to the gym again and had a good workout on the bikes. Finally, yesterday, after a 10 hour drive, we walked 2 miles at the park to stretch our legs. Today is a day of rest! I am thrilled, and very thankful, to have made it through an active week with almost no trouble with my hip.

2. Auburn came from 24 points behind to beat Alabama!

3. The weather in Dothan was beautiful! Temperatures were in the upper 70's to lower 80's the whole time we were there. The only problem was my allergies went haywire with all the leaves still on the trees and flowers still blooming, it was like driving from winter to spring in one day. My sinuses still haven't fully recovered.

4. 2 hours or less of a car ride with the dogs is fun for them and easy for us. 4 hours is beginning to push it. 7 hours is a bit more difficult but still manageable (we used to do it all the time between Birmingham and Mountain Home). 10 hours is stressful, for them, for us. Let's just say we won't be doing it again anytime soon.

5. Black Friday is way more fun when you have more places to shop than Walmart. We aren't typically big Black Friday shoppers, but we did venture out around 10am (after making and eating homemade doughnuts) and found a couple good deals on things we needed.

Did you do anything fun over the holiday weekend?

Linguine with Olives and Feta

This is a dish I tried a couple weeks ago, and I felt it's definitely worth sharing.



You need:
1 (12 oz) pkg linguine (I always use 100% whole wheat)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1-2 tsp minced garlic
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped
4 medium-large tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp dried basil (feel free to use fresh if you have it)
Black pepper to taste (about 1/4 tsp)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sliced olives. You can use which ever variety you prefer. I had a "Greek Medley" which has ripe (black), green, and calamata olives.
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (if you don't like feta...ahem, Dad...you could use shredded Parmesan instead)

Cook your linguine according to package instructions. Drain, place in large bowl, and set aside.

In the meantime, saute 1 chopped onion and garlic in the olive oil. Add the chopped chicken. When the onions get transparent, and the chicken is fully cooked, add the chopped tomatoes, basil, pepper, and salt. Let this cook until the tomatoes just begin to soften (about 5 minutes).

Pour the chicken/tomato mixture over the noodles and toss. Sprinkle the top with olives and feta.

Beautiful!

This recipe will make about 6 servings. I only made a half batch for Ryan and me, and we had plenty.


Enjoy!

First Day of School

Last week was Duke and Aspen's first experience with doggy obedience school. They are sweet, loving dogs, but a little crazy in social situations. They love each other (most of the time) and love Ryan, me, and a few select others that come to visit, but they get very nervous around other dogs and people at the park. So, basically they need good socialization, and to learn to listen and do what they are told, and to find out that they are, indeed, dogs, not humans. But other than they're great!



We've been to two classes so far. How did it go?



Duke cried THE-WHOLE-TIME.


And I'm not talking about an occasional whimper. It was more like when you first bring a new puppy home...you know that first night you leave them alone in his kennel without his mom or siblings...you know that kind of unbearable cry?

Well, it was like that.

He did do everything I told him to do, mind you. He was just crying the whole time, while all the other, much younger dogs were completely calm and collected.

This week, I thought I would be proactive. I took the dogs on a 30 minute walk/jog to run off some energy prior to class. Did it work?

NO.

Duke continued to cry. But get this, about halfway through the class, Ryan was having some trouble with Aspen and asked if I wanted to switch and try it with him. I said, "Sure!" My inner dog whisperer wanted to show him that it wasn't the dog, it was the handler. ;) Well, with a little trial and error, I got Aspen to cooperate and class continued. I noticed it was suddenly much quieter since we switched dogs. Gasp! Duke stopped crying!

He-stopped-crying...the instant he got to be with Dad...that little runt.

We aren't speaking anymore.

Oh, who am I kidding...I told him he hurt my feelings and he looked at me with those puppy-dog eyes and floppy ears, and I forgave him.

And we lived happily ever after (as long as Duke gets to be with Ryan at obedience school).


Here was a quick photo op on their first day of school, and yes, that is Aspen's tongue inching very close to my teeth. Yikes!

Love Songs

You know how sometimes a song comes along that just belongs to you and your spouse. Well, it happens to us occasionally, but it's usually not your typical love song.

For a recent example: Last weekend, Ryan said you need to download this song by Sugarland...and before he was finished telling me the name, I was already bopping around, singing, "Stuck like glue. You and me, baby, we're stuck like glue. Wah oh, wah oh, stuck like glue..." Listening to the lyrics, you can see where it quickly has become our "love song" of the moment.

But then, somewhere along the line, I watched the video. It made me laugh...I thought, well too bad the video doesn't fit us at all.

Then, I watched it again...Well, maybe that's kinda like us after all. Ryan always tells me that I was put on this earth just to aggravate him. In the most endearing way possible, mind you.

I think I was too (hey, somebody's gotta teach a man how to snuggle and be all domestic).

Anyway, here's a link to the video. Perfect for falling in love ;).

Click here.

Soup it up!

It's that time of year when a bowl of soup just hits the spot. I was looking forward to using up a package of Bear Creek Cheddar Broccoli tonight, but Ryan (who rarely eats a meal without some kind of meat) was less than excited. I even offered up a grilled cheese...can you believe he STILL wasn't going for it?

He did say he could go for some soup in a bread bowl. So, instead of driving all the way to town to hunt down a bread bowl, I went to Google and found this recipe for bread bowls: Super Bowl Bread Bowl. It's a fairly simple recipe. Plus, I just happened to have all the ingredients and a bread machine.

For the soup I started out with this:

If you've never tried Bear Creek soups, you really need to look for them at the store. You "Just Add Water" but the soups are super flavorful and hearty. BUT you can make it even more hearty. Tonight, we used some of the suggestions on the back of the package and added corn and extra broccoli. We also added some onion and cauliflower. So we really got a good serving of veggies in every serving.

Here's the final product:

Yes, it did "hit the spot." AND Ryan is full and satisfied without even a bite of meat. ;)

Fall Photos

My second post for the day!

I got the itch to do some fall pictures with Ryan this weekend...as photographer and subject. This was a bit tricky, especially since Ryan has about a 5 minute attention span when it comes to getting his picture taken (he didn't even shave for the photo op). I also don't have a remote for my camera, so I was doing a lot of running back and forth to set up the shot, then get in the shot. Here's a few that turned out alright after some editing.

We tried to get a shot with the dogs, but this pretty much sums up how that went:

Not too bad for 15 or 20 minutes in the backyard, behind the shed. I'm trying to convince Ryan to do a few more shots next weekend. I still have to get a shot that I like for a Christmas card!