Underneath the gate - Adrian, MI

Random things

I was talking to a friend on my cell phone yesterday. I drove by a gas station and said that gas was really cheap, its $3.99. He said yeah that's cheap. I guess $3.99 is better then filling up at over $4. I remember the days when gas was 79 cents a gallon.

The roof is still not done. My husband and his friend are working on it as I type. They are getting close to finishing it. I hope today or tomorrow is the day. I mentioned to my husband that the porch looked bad. While I was away at my game yesterday, he cleaned up the front porch. There is now a nice clear path where I can walk and not step on anything. Last week, I was tripping over things walking out to the mailbox.

Tonight is the finale of Top Chef season 4. My favorites to win are Richard, who I liked all season, or Stephanie. A lot of viewers said on different blogs that they want to see a woman win. I really don't care. Richard and Stephanie have been the best chefs all season. So may the best chef win.

Miles run in 2008

On hot and humid days I'm thankful I own a treadmill.

Before I ran yesterday afternoon the temperature outside was 93 degrees with a lot of humidity. I watched the Weather channel and saw a line of severe storms moving across the lower peninsula of Michigan towards my home. I only ran four miles on the treadmill. I know I could have done more, but I wanted to be with the dogs during the storm. I have mentioned that my two German shepherds are afraid of thunder. During the fast moving storm, I had two dogs on either side of me. The storm in my area wasn't bad. Just a heavy downpour and a little bit of thunder.

Today is similar to yesterday. It is hot already, 85 degrees with 54% humidity. Later this afternoon, I will be running on the treadmill in the comfort of my basement. With a fan in my face.

2004: 145
2005: 177.7
2006: 226.1
2007: 219.4
2008: 453

Where have you've been?

I haven't had an oil change since November. It sounds bad. But it isn't.

I haven't crossed the 3,000 mile mark yet. My car is under it. The little sticky thing on my windshield says I need my next oil change at 2/3/2008 or 53,000 miles. So far I passed one of the two. My car has approximately 52,500 miles. I'm getting close, but I'm not there yet.

Next week I was planning to get my oil changed. I have a couple of weddings coming up that are out of the county and I wanted to make sure my car was OK. Today I received a letter in the mail from the car dealership where I get my oil changed. The letter talked about how scheduled maintenance is important. Which I know. It also said their records indicate my car has approximately 56,045 miles and is due for service. I would like to point out your approximately is wrong. Some people might drive crazy miles. I don't.

Its true that I do drive a lot for work. It seems I'm always filling my car. Every morning, I drive less then a mile to work. In the afternoon when I'm scheduled to photograph a game, I do drive there. Usually that is only four times a week. The most I have driven in a month for work was this past May of 436 miles.

Thank you dealership for looking out for me and my car. But I have been waiting to get my oil changed when its closer to the estimated mileage you quoted me back in November. I'll be there next week I promise. Maybe Monday morning after work.

Books read in 2008

Forty years ago today, Robert F. Kennedy was shot in Los Angeles by Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy died early the next morning. Is it a bit freaky that I finished the book Robert Kennedy: His Life by Evan Thomas today?

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert
Harlow: An Intimate Biography, Irving Shulman
His Way, Kitty KelleyNatalie, Lana Wood
Rita Hayworth, John Kobal
The Fatal Friendship: Marie Antoinette, Count Fersen and the Flight to Varennes, Stanley Loomis
The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory
John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth, Michael Munn
Robert Kennedy: His Life, Evan Thomas

Currently Reading:
Up Next: Library trip

Songs from the past

Its 2008 right? Not 2002?

My neighbor is blasting the song Soak Up the Sun by Sheryl Crow.

Help Me.

Still not completed

Today was the day my husband and his friend were supposed to finish the porch roof. Now it is on hold. Rain spoiled the day.

I still have the feelings I did last week, I don't do well with messes. My front porch is littered in scrap wood, shingles, siding, and crap that doesn't belong there. Stuff that doesn't belong there is also in our house. Laying on our office floor is more siding. I want things back to normal. I want a shingled porch roof. A clean porch that I can walk around and not step on anything. And siding back on the side of the house, where it belongs. Is that too much to ask?

Slumber Party

I haven't been to a slumber party since seventh grade. Last night, or rather this morning I participated in one.

I was sleeping comfortably in my bed on the second floor on my house. I was awaken by the sound of thunder. Shortly after came the sound of two scared German shepherds. They too were also sleeping in their gated community that I call the kitchen. They are afraid of thunder, so they plotted their escape. I was hoping the dining room chairs butted up against the gate would keep them in. It didn't. Within seconds I heard the sound of dog nails walking across the wood floor in the dining room.

I put my glasses on, grabbed my alarm clock and walked downstairs. Blitzkrieg and Kelly were there to greet me at the bottom of the steps. They were both wagging their tails. I needed fix the fence and to go back to sleep as soon as possible, because it was 1:30 am. I walked over to the gate, pushed all of the chairs out of the way and fixed it. I wasn't sure if that was the last of the thunder for the night. The area was supposed to have isolated thunderstorms throughout the night and day. So I walked into the living room and laid down on the couch. Both dogs ran in with me and laid down on the floor beside me.

It took a while to get back to sleep. I know it was some time after 2:15 am when I finally drifted back to sleep. I was so worried that I would oversleep, I kept waking up. When it was close to 4 am, I got off the couch and got ready for work. It never thundered the rest of the time I was on the couch. The couch wasn't as comfortable as my bed, but I'm sure Blitz and Kelly enjoyed my company.

SATC

I just watched Sex and the City: The Movie. I was one of four women in the movie theater for the 2 pm show. It was great. No children or anyone even sitting near me. The other ladies were fifteen rows away.

I really enjoyed the movie. It ended the way I wanted it too. If it didn't, I would have been angry. But being me, I already knew how it ended. I've blogged about it before, I need to know. I read numerous message boards and the synopsis from Wikipedia. When this movie is released on DVD, I will be purchasing it. It will sit in the DVD bookcase on the shelf with Sex and the City seasons one through six.

Weekend Update

The weekend was pretty busy for me. Here are the highlights:

My husband and his friend were working on the porch roof when they had a visit from the city inspector. He said that people have been calling city hall to complain. The city inspector asked my husband if he had a building permit. He didn't. So he had to stop work to walk down to city hall and buy one. I don't have a clue as to why people were calling city hall to complain. They always starting working on the roof after 10 am. Can't people in this town mind their own business?

Friday afternoon I was watching TV when I heard people outside yelling. I thought there was a fight going on, so I stood up and looked out my living room window. A female and her male friend were standing in the street talking to four people in a parked car. The male got into the backseat of the car while the female was talking to the driver. He was sitting in the backseat for only a minute. It was at that point in time that I realized it was a drug sale. My husband's friend who was on the working on the porch roof at the time, knew exactly what was going on. He called the cops and gave a description of the car and license plate number. The drug that was being sold was cocaine.

Saturday morning and afternoon, I was photographing district baseball and softball games in the county. It was a nice and warm partly cloudy day. I didn't even know until I sat in my car after my games, that my left arm was very sunburned. My right arm, part of my left and right legs and forehead got sunburned as well, but not as bad as my left arm. I showed my husband my arm when I got home. He asked if I put sunblock on. It is quite obvious that I didn't.

Saturday evening my husband and I went to a movie for the first time since the summer of 2007. We went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. We got to the movie theater close to the show time and it was packed. There was a row of empty seats behind a family with two kids on the right side of the theater, so we sat down. During the movie, a boy about 5 years old starts talking out loud. He was saying, "Skull!" "What's going on?" "I'm scared." "Cool." It was really bothering me. Why take a 5 year old to a movie he isn't going to understand. The mother kept telling him to be quiet, but he didn't listen. Later in the movie, the kid kept saying things. I started kicking the back of his seat. My husband would make some noise by clearing his throat to let the parents know we were annoyed. Finally the father of the family leaned over to tell his wife and said, "Shut him up."

When I was laying in bed, getting ready to go to sleep, my neighbors were having a nice, loud conversation on their front porch. I heard about one of the girl's having car troubles. The battery light came on in the car, but it wouldn't start. Her male friend was giving her options to what her trouble might have been. Then the conversation stopped. The girl then, obviously talking to her child said, "Get your ass back in the house." The child went inside, but come back out shortly. Again the woman said to her child, "What did I tell you? I said get your ass back in the house." That is a nice way to talk to your kid. They all must have went into the house. I didn't hear anymore of their conversation or I fell asleep and couldn't hear it anyway.

I had my husband help me put the clothes away Sunday afternoon. While filling drawers with clothes the neighbors were once again on their porch. They were having a yard sale. Their sale started on Friday and I don't think they sold too much. A man and woman were sitting on the porch talking. The man on the porch started to yell at a guy walking by on the sidewalk. He kept yelling, "Yard sale! Yard sale!" That didn't draw the customer in. The man on the porch yelled at a couple other people walking by. None of them stopped either. I don't know how successful that yard sale was. I think they talked more on the porch then selling things.

Later in the afternoon, I ran six miles. All week my legs have been so tired. I could never get passed four miles. It was like I hit a wall. Finally on Sunday my legs weren't tired. I ran the best six miles. Everything was going right. I hope my running rhythm continues this week.

Sex and the City

I started re-watching all of the Sex and the City season's last week to get ready for the movie. The movie opens today. I'm not sure when I will be seeing it. I know I will have to see it before it leaves the theater.

I was watching an episode yesterday from season 3 called "Cock A Doodle Do". How and what Samantha said about the people outside talking outside of her apartment had me laughing for minutes. I replayed the scene several times. When my husband came into the living room, I made him watch the scene. He laughed and replayed it too. Since I enjoyed it so much I wanted to share it with everyone.

*Scene contains swearing

Home work

I don't do well with messes.

My husband and his friend started tearing up the porch roof this morning. For a while it has been leaking and it needed to be fixed. The roof has half of its shingles. A large chuck of it is missing due to deteriorating wood and they had to remove some of the siding to pull up the crappy wood. All of the new shingles and other roof equipment is laying all over the front porch. I know they need it to fix the roof, but I want it gone. Too much clutter and messes.

When I pulled into the driveway this evening, it just looked awful. The torn up roof makes the house look terrible. I know that it will be fixed within a couple of days, but I hate my house looking bad. A potential problem has come up. They plan on working more tomorrow, but want to finish it Friday when they both have the day off. There is a problem. It is supposed to rain Friday and Saturday. If it rains then they can't work on the roof until Sunday and I hope it doesn't come to that. Lord knows I wouldn't be able to handle all of the equipment laying all over the front porch, the back deck and have the roof all torn up for four more days.

What I shouldn't be doing

I just got done working an 13.5 hour day. When I got home from work, I let the dogs out, washed up, played with the dogs and changed my clothes. Instead of going to bed, I'm reading blogs. The problem is I'm wide awake and not really tired. Just ask me in five hours how I feel. I'm sure I will feel fabulous when I wake up to my alarm at 4:20 a.m. Wednesday. GRRRR!!

Weekend Update

This past weekend was nice and restful. My husband had to work all weekend, so I stayed around the house, town and did plenty.

In anticipation of the upcoming move, Sex and the City, I started watching the series from the beginning. I don't know if I will see it immanently after it opens, but I will see it before it leaves the movie theater. I am currently on Season 3, Disc 1.

I watched a movie from Netflix. It was Atonement. I tried to read the book a while ago. I stopped 100 pages in. Not my type of book. I played the movie and watched it. My idea of watching it was having it on the background while reading. I thought the movie was slow in many spots. That is when my book on Robert Kennedy received my full attention. I wish Netflix would give the option of rating a movie being OK instead of liked it.

For the fourth time in four weeks, I went shopping at Aeropostale. I told my husband that I was obsessed with that store and I believe it to be very true. Last week, I bought two pairs of shorts, a polo and a t-shirt. They had a sale last week, two polo's for $30. I didn't do it because I thought I had enough polo's. I was wrong. Before buying the clothes at Aeropostale, I bought some new work pants at another store. After wearing a brown pair of pants this week, I felt I didn't have enough tops to go with it. Hence my return Saturday evening. I had all intentions of buying a yellow polo. Unfortunately, they didn't have my size in two yellow polo's. I ended up buying a white and high tide (light blue). This time a different sale was on. All polo's 50% off. I really wanted to buy more, but didn't have the money. Maybe in two weeks when I get paid I will buy more. See I'm obsessed.

I ran Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday it was 6 miles. Sunday my legs were tired. I only ran 4 miles. That put my mileage for the week at 20. If I didn't nap or have to work Friday afternoon, my mileage would have been above 20 miles. But I shouldn't worry. The spring sports season will be coming to a close in a couple of weeks. I will have plenty of time to run the late afternoon without worrying about going to work.

After my run Sunday, I was hungry. I wanted something fast and cheap. I found myself at McDonald's. The drive-through line was extremely long, so I went inside. The line inside was long as well. Two families were ordering at the counter, a couple and a woman were ahead of me. Behind me was a mother and her young son and two guys who wanted drink refills. A couple minutes go by and an older man walks in. He skips waiting in line and walks right up to the counter. A cash register on the end of the counter was being used as the drive-through register. He walks to the employee and says he needs to make an order. Hello? There is a line old man. As he is standing there, another employee takes his order. I heard the total was $31. The couple in front of me made remark about the old guy cutting. Of course I didn't say something to the man. The old man was waiting for his food and starting looking at us standing in line. When he got to me, I stared back at him. I'm sure the look I was giving him wasn't nice. But I didn't care. Just because you're old doesn't mean you get to cut.

Miles run in 2008

In all of my excitement of receiving my new camera yesterday, I forgot about something. My new camera is fabulous in case you were wondering. I passed 400 miles run for the year. I had the night off from work on Tuesday, so I ran 7 miles to make up for Wednesday. On Wednesday I had to skip my run. I skipped my run due to work. I got back into the swing of things yesterday and ran 3 miles before my photo assignment. I will squeeze in another 3 mile run before my last assignment of the week, a baseball game. I have a three day weekend, so I will be outside enjoying the nice weather and running.

2004: 121.6
2005: 160.7
2006: 207.6
2007: 194.4
2008: 401.5

Today is the day!

My new friend arrives by UPS today.

It is always nice to receive new things. Especially cameras. I haven't had a new camera since 2003. The paper bought all of us photographers Nikon D100s and I have been using it since. In between then and now, I bought a co-worker's personal D100. So it was new to me, but used. My trusty D100 is still in good shape, but I needed something new and faster. I went online and bought myself a Nikon D300. My D100 will become my backup camera.

I'm so excited! A new camera that I bought and that is mine.

Photo Credit: http://www.nikonusa.com/

Salute - Adrian, MI

Books read in 2008

It took me almost two months to finish reading a book. I tried to read Atonement. I couldn't get into the book and it made me not want to read. On a shopping trip a while ago, I found books about subjects that do interest me. I started reading John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth by Michael Munn a couple of days ago and finished it this morning. I hope to get back into the pattern of reading a book every week or two.


A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert
Harlow: An Intimate Biography, Irving Shulman
His Way, Kitty Kelley
Natalie, Lana Wood
Rita Hayworth, John Kobal
The Fatal Friendship: Marie Antoinette, Count Fersen and the Flight to Varennes, Stanley Loomis
The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory
John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth, Michael Munn

Currently Reading: Robert Kennedy: His Life, Evan Thomas
Up Next: Library trip

Jacket weather

Over the weekend, I photographed a track regional at Hillsdale College. It was chilly and windy out and the temperature was only supposed to be in the low 60s, so I wore a heavier jacket.

During the course of the day, it was mostly sunny with a few clouds. It never felt like it warmed up at all. When the sun went behind the clouds, it felt like the temperature dropped 10 degrees. If it wasn't windy, it wouldn't been that bad. Still too cool for my liking.

I was standing near the finish line waiting for slower heats of the 400 meter dash to finish and another photographer, who was wasn't wearing a jacket, says to me, "Aren't you burning up in that jacket?" I said no. In fact I was cold. Why was this guy so concerned about me wearing a jacket? He must have not looked around at all. Most of the people at the meet were wearing long sleeves or jackets. If I did get warm, I would have taken the jacket off. But I wasn't, so just leave me alone.

Vaulters - Hillsdale, MI

Pole vault participants listen to instructions before warming up during the Division 4 track regional held at Hillsdale College on May 17.

A rose for a fallen officer - Adrian, MI

On May 15 of every year it is Peace Officer's Memorial Day. Family members of police officers killed in the line of duty are invited to attend a memorial service at Oakwood Cemetery in Adrian.

Family members of fallen officers present place a red rose on a memorial wreath. If no family members are present, an officer representing the department of the fallen officer places a rose on the wreath. A blue carnation was also placed on the wreath to symbolize all of the officers still active today.

Whitney

All this week, I read all of the spoiler threads that I could. I had to find out who was going to win America's Next Top Model.

Some threads said Whitney, some said Anya and others said Fatima. I don't know why I needed to know before hand. Its like I was addicted. I have never been like this for a season finale of ANTM.

Maybe it was the fact that Whitney, a full figured woman, had a chance to win the title. I know Whitney doesn't represent the size of a models currently walking the runway, but she does represent the average everyday woman. I'm I glad she was selected as the winner.

Photo Credit: CW Network

Words

While watching a baseball and basketball game on TV last night, the announcers used a term that I am starting to dislike. The term they used: a buck. During the baseball game it was, "Player X is batting a buck seventy five." In the basketball game it was, "There is a buck twenty left in the third quarter." When did a buck replace one, one hundred or a minute?

I am very odd and I have a list of words that make me cringe:

Wreak
First Annual
Pic

Wreak - I can't stand when people call car crashes wrecks. I sit by a police scanner every day at work and I never hear the dispatchers using the word wreak. It is either a personal injury crash or property damage crash. I know in some instances the word cannot be avoided like shipwreak. But other then that, I don't use it.

First Annual - I believe that if an event is going to be hosted annually the first time is called inaugural. But according to this and this book it says the term is OK. I still don't like it.

Pic - It bothers me. Please just say photo or picture.

To the readers this blog are there any words that you avoid saying? Or am I just weird?

Full figure - Jackson, MI

Random things

Where is the spring weather? I wore a sweater to work this morning. Currently the temperature is 48 degrees. I don't remember wearing sweaters this far into May last year.

While sweeping the carpet last week, my vacuum cleaner died. A big piece of plastic flew off the vacuum cleaner, dirt dumped all over the floor and it wouldn't move from the upright position. We had the sweeper since we got married almost 7 years ago, so it was time to get a new one. We bought the original Dyson upright. It was a bit expensive, but worth it. The Dyson picked up everything. I had to empty the vacuum cleaner after sweeping three rooms. It was packed with dirt and dog fur, which is a good thing.

I bought John Wayne and Robert Kennedy books a couple of weeks ago. They are still sitting on my side table. I have read only the first chapter of the John Wayne book. It seems like I just don't have the time to sit down and read. I've been too busy squeezing in runs, naps and working a lot to find time for my books. I hope when the spring sports season ends, I will have time to read more because it is something I like to do.

America's Next Top Model Cycle 10 ends on Wednesday when a new winner is named. Only three models are left: Anya, Fatima and Whitney. I would like to see Whitney win. She is a plus sized model (size 10, I think) and they have never made it to the final three. I think she is very likable, not stick thin and would make a good Cover Girl.

Photo Credit: The CW

Whiskers - Jackson, MI

Notice the whiskers that were drawn on the face of this statue.

Not smart.

Burning a hole in my pocket

Last week, my husband and I received our stimulus check. I thought all of it was going to pay bills so I didn't ask about it. My husband surprised me when he gave me some of it.

When he handed me the money, I thought I should save it and buy a couple of tires for my car. That thought didn't last long. I spent some of the money when we went to Toledo last Friday. It was nice to walk into stores and actually buy something like books and clothes. It is rare for me to buy new clothes. On the other hand I could buy new books every week but oh so expensive. That is why I go to the library often.

Now I have a bit of a problem. Should I save the rest of the money for two new front tires? Or should I spend the money on clothes? I do need new work pants. Some of my old pairs that I bought 3-4 years ago have turned into high water pants.

What is a girl to do?

Miles run in 2008

With my completed three mile run yesterday afternoon, I crossed 350 miles run for the year.

My husband and I had a late lunch so that made the little time I had off before my assignment much smaller. I needed to get my run in and I couldn't delay it anymore. I ran about a half hour after I ate. I really enjoyed the churning feeling in my stomach, the side cramps and tasting my lunch through my run. I completed the run without throwing up thankfully.

I will have plenty of time to run today, I don't have to work later. My plan is to run an easy 7 or 8 miles. A couple of years ago, I would have never thought 7 or 8 miles was easy.

2008: 350.5
2007: 175.7
2006: 184.6
2005: 144.9
2004: 143.6

Weekend Update

Friday afternoon I was surprised by what was in the mail. A while ago I told my husband that Jerry Seinfeld is going to performing at The Stranahan Theater in Toledo. My husband never mentioned anything to me about buying tickets, so I didn't think he did. The tickets came in the mail Friday. We will be seeing Jerry on June 20. How exciting.

Friday evening my husband and I traveled to Toledo, Ohio for some shopping and dinner. We stopped at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Westfield Franklin Park Mall, Best Buy and Famous Dave's.

While at the mall, we stopped at our usual places: Border's and Dick's Sporting Goods. I bought two books at the bookstore. One about John Wayne and the other about Robert Kennedy. Yea! Now I have something to read that I know that I will finish. My husband bought some new shoes and shorts at Dick's. Then we did something that we never do. We walked into Abercrombie & Fitch to see what they had. At the front of the store was a display of polo shirts. I wear polo shirts for work a lot so I wanted to buy some new ones. I was pleased with many choices of colors. I picked up a green one and put it down immediately. The price for one polo was $49.50. I told my husband that it was expensive so we walked out of the store.

A couple of stores down from A&F is Aeropostale. A couple of weeks ago, I bought two polo shirts for $30. The mall in my town didn't have all of the colors, so I wanted to see what colors the Toledo store had. I found a grass green and a deep olive. I love green so I bought both of them for $32. The cashier thought they were for my husband and she said, "Someone loves green! We also have men's jewelry on sale this week." I said no thanks, grabbed my bag and walked out of the store. I told my husband that the cashier thought the shirts were for him. I kind of wanted to tell the cashier that I don't wear men's jewelry.

One other store that my husband and I always bypass is Hollister Co. We figured since we went into A&F, we would walk into the store. I really liked what they had to offer. My husband came across some polo's that he liked and I found a couple of T-shirts. While in the store, we were surrounded by tweens and teenagers. But we weren't the oldest people in the store. A couple of parents were buying clothes for their kids. When I was looking at t-shirts, a father and son walked into the store. The father said to his boy that he would be sitting in a chair while he shopped. As soon as the boy walked away the father buried his head in his hands. Maybe it was the loud music, dim lighting or he was just tired but all I know the father didn't look excited to be there. I was excited to be there. I like Hollister. I will be back.

Random things

I ran seven miles on my night off yesterday. It was a nice easy run that felt good. Today's three mile run wasn't so good. My legs were tired the instant I started running. I kept telling myself it would be over soon. Soon wasn't soon enough. I had to take a short walking break to help me get to the finish. I hope tomorrow's plan run will be better then this one.

As I type, I'm boxing up my copy of Atonement by Ian McEwan to send to Krista. I told her I would send her the book when I was finished reading it. Earlier this week I picked up the book to continue reading it. I read about 6 to 8 pages when I realized, I didn't remember what I just read. Before buying the book, I read the reviews on Amazon. There were tons of great reviews by readers, so that helped my decision. I guess that I'm in the minority, there was no way I could finish this. The book didn't hold my attention. I have the movie on my Netflix queue. I hope I'll be able to follow the movie all the way until the end.

I haven't finished reading a book since March 31. That is a big drought for me. I usually read about four books a month. When the spring sports season started my daily schedule changed from having lots of time before a game, to hardly any at all. After returning home from work in the morning, I have time to make and eat lunch, catch a short nap, run, shower, then head off to a game. When I return home from my game, it is usually late and I have to eat dinner then go straight to bed. Instead of reading recently, I've watched Seinfeld Seasons 8 and 9 in their entirety. When I watch DVD's of TV shows I need to watch them in order and all of them at once. But with a book that doesn't interest me I can see why I shelved it for an entire month.

Friday afternoon my husband and I will be heading down to Toledo, Ohio to do some shopping and eat dinner. My husband's birthday was last Sunday and he had to work, so tomorrow will sort of be his nice birthday dinner. The restaurant he chose to eat at is Famous Dave's. I know he is looking forward to the ribs. I'm looking forward to the bread pudding.

While down in Toledo, we will stop at Westfield Franklin Park Mall. Inside the mall is a Borders. Maybe when we are in the bookstore, I can find a book to read. I should try my finding a new book with my old favorites: Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Princess Diana, John F. Kennedy, John Wayne, and World War II. Any book on these subjects, I could read it in two days. It doesn't matter how many books I have read about them before. I just can't get enough.

Sorrow - Jackson, MI

Weekend Update

Saturday I photographed my first wedding of the year. I forgot how my legs and upper body feel after standing for eight hours with two camera. The wedding went well. It was a little chilly, sunny and windy. I didn't take too many photos outside due to the wind. During the reception, the song that my husband and I danced to for our first dance was played, I Cross My Heart by George Strait. It made me instantly think of my wedding day. Before I left the reception, the DJ played Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) by Big & Rich. It made me laugh because a week or so ago my husband downloaded that song and likes playing it loud on the computer. I think its funny that he just heard of that song. It was released in 2004.

Sunday was my husband's birthday. In the morning, I made him a two layer chocolate cake. It tasted fabulous by the way. We had lunch with his family. Then both of us took naps during the afternoon while watching NASCAR. Unfortunately for my husband, he had to go to work on his birthday. While I ran three miles on the treadmill. I wasn't sure how my legs would feel after standing for eight hours the night before. At the end of the three miles, my legs were tired.

After running I watched some TV before taking a shower. There was really nothing on so I watched A Shot of Love 2 with Tila Tequila. I never seen that show and I just wanted something to watch. I watched the entire hour. I think I just got hooked on another reality show. Did I just admit that I liked that show?

Mike

Happy Birthday sweetie.

These pretzels are making me thirsty

My goal last night was to run 8 miles.

Earlier in the day I was on the website, Map My Run, and planned my new route. I was determined to do it because it was such a gorgeous day. I grabbed my iPod and my Forerunner 101 and headed outdoors. I told my husband that I wasn't taking my keys with me and if I wasn't back in two hours that he needed to look for me.

Within minutes of starting my run, my legs were already very tired. I started my pace slow on purpose to get me through the entire eight miles, but the pace was slower then normal. I decided to continue with the run. I thought about stopping to walk, but I didn't want to do that.

Around mile 4, I was getting very thirsty. On runs, I never bring water or Gatorade with me because I don't have anywhere to put them. If I get thirsty, I stop at a college that is on my route and get a drink of water. When I was near the college, I didn't want to stop running because if I did it would be hard for me to start again. It was at that point that I decided to skip the 8 mile run.

I hated the thought of not going the full distance, but I wanted to get home to my bottle of grape Gatorade. On the second half of my run I passed the street I was supposed to turn left on to continue the last four miles. When I ran across that street, I did have a thought just to make the left turn and do it. But with my legs as tired as they were, I knew I wouldn't made it without walking. I know taking walking breaks during a run is OK. But I don't like to do that. When I go running I want to run the entire distance without walking. I need to prove to myself I can do it.

When I arrived home, I looked at my Forerunner 101. It said I ran 5.1 miles. Not bad, just three miles short of my goal. With that I walked down the driveway to the backdoor of my house. I really wanted to drink that Gatorade. I noticed that my husband's truck was missing from the driveway. He was not back from Lowe's yet. I told him before my run that if I wasn't back in two hours to look for me. He probably thought he had more time.

Without house keys, I was locked out of the house. And locked out from my precious Gatorade. I really needed a drink of water. I walked back to the garden hose in my driveway. I turned on the water and drank from the hose. It was really gross. The water was extremely warm and it had a funky taste to it. But it was better then nothing.

I waited for my husband to come home. About 10 or 15 minutes later he pulled into the driveway. I said to him that I cut my run short because I was thirsty. Since he wasn't home, I told him I drank from the hose. He said he was sorry that I had to wait outside and drink from the hose. He suggested that I should buy one of those hydration backpacks. I thought it was a good idea. I know it will help out during a long run on a warm day. It won't give me an excuse to cut short a run because I was thirsty.

In bloom - Adrian, MI

R. WH. Palmer - Jackson, MI

Neighborhood fun

Some of my neighbors think it is summer already.

They brought a towel outside and laid it on the sidewalk. Not just any sidewalk, the sidewalk right next to the street. The street where cars drive by. Two girls wearing only bikinis, oiled themselves up and are now laying on the towel. Classy.

Note: It is only 57 degrees and they shouldn't be wearing bikinis as they are bigger girls.

Stare - Jackson, MI

300!

I forced myself to run outside during the early afternoon. Usually the time I like to run is in the late afternoon. I knew if I didn't run around 1:30 pm today, that I wouldn't get in my run. Who likes to run after photographing a softball and baseball game for over 2.5 hours?

My afternoon run was slow. My legs were very tired and I got stomach cramps about 2 miles into my run. After I got the cramps, I took a short walking break. Even though the run wasn't the greatest it did give me some good news. With my 3.5 mile run this afternoon, I crossed 300 miles run for the year!

Its very exciting to hit that mark only four months into the year. With my spring sports schedule of photographing games Monday through Friday between the hours of 3:30 and 8 pm, it makes it harder to get in my daily runs. (In the mornings, I work every M-F from 4:30/5 am until 11/11:30 am in the office. Its safe to say my days are busy.) Take example yesterday, I planned to run 6 miles outside on my night off. My plans changed when my brother and sister wanted me to help them unload my late grandmother's possessions at our rental storage unit. After 2.5 hours of lifting and carrying boxes and furniture, I was tired. To make up for the fact I was tired, I only ran 3 miles instead of 6.

Until the spring sports season is over, I have to make the time to squeeze in runs in the available time that I have. I hope when August rolls around my mileage will be in the neighborhood of 600.

2004: 90.1
2005: 120.2
2006: 153.9
2007: 147.5
2008: 301.3

Missing hands - Jackson, MI

Wasted day

I went to the doctor yesterday for a follow up appointment. I walked into the waiting room and there was one other person. I thought I would be in and out in a hurry. Besides the doctors appointment I had plenty to do. I had to photograph a baseball game which started at the same time of my appointment, I wanted to squeeze in a run before meeting my family at 6:30 pm.

I signed in at 1:42 pm for a 2 pm appointment. About 1:55 pm the other person in the waiting room was called back. I thought it should be any moment for me. To occupy my time, the office had some health program on. I watched that for a while. It didn't hold my interest long. To pass the time better, I played my iPod. It only helped a bit.

My name was finally called at 2:23 pm. I was shown to a room by the assistant. She asked how I was doing. I really wanted to tell her that I was mad that I had to wait almost 25 minutes for my appointment that was scheduled at 2 pm. But I went the safe route and said OK. She said she didn't believe me. The assistant was with me for a total of 2 minutes. At 2:26 pm, the assistant left the room and said she would tell the doctor I was here.

While in the room by myself, I thought about taking a nap on the table, but I didn't. I wasn't able to get my nap in due to the appointment and the college baseball game I needed to photograph right after my appointment. Next, I glanced around the room for something to look at. Not much. I did notice the clock in the office was an hour behind. After 10 minutes, I realized the doctor wasn't coming in anytime soon so I turned on my iPod.

The doctor walked into the room around 3 pm. I was with her for about five minutes. All of that waiting just to talk to the doctor for five minutes.

After I left the doctor's office and drove across town to the college to photograph a baseball game. When I got to the game it was the top of the sixth inning in game one. I was a lucky it was a doubleheader because I only took six photos during the last two innings. When the first game was over there was a 25 minute break before the second game.

My appointment ruined my whole afternoon. Having to wait for the second game I didn't leave work until 6:30 pm. I was late getting to my Mom's house for the meeting and I never got my run in. Next time I schedule an appointment, I'm going to try to get the first one after lunch. I don't need to be sitting in the doctor's office for an hour and a half.

Dangerous Building - Jackson, MI

Raindrops keep falling on my head

Today is a beautiful day in my corner of Michigan. The sun is shining and we are having very spring like weather at 66 degrees. Later this afternoon a storm front will come in a take it all away.

The weather will still be warm later today but thunderstorms and wind will be attached with it. I'm hoping the storm doesn't roll through town until the track meet I'm schedule to photograph is over. If it does start to storm before the end of the meet, I hope the meet is at half way. If it is half way, I still get to see some of the good races.

After the huge storm comes through, the temperatures will be dropping down overnight about 30 degrees. Tomorrow morning at 9 am I will be running in a 5K. If I have to run 3.1 miles on a cold rainy day really doesn't bother me, but I prefer the rain to stay away during the race.

I would like to beat or match some of my 5K times from 2007. I don't know if that will happen. The other day I was running and my left quad started to hurt again. I don't have pain just when I'm running, it hurts when I walk. I know I will be able to run through the pain but my time might not be so good. Oh well. At least I will be out on a starting line tomorrow.

Good luck to the other people running 5Ks and half marathons Saturday.

Dad

John Wayne Clark

April 10, 1942 - August 15, 1998

Happy Birthday Dad

Swirl - Jackson, MI

Master - Jackson, MI

Outside and sunny

The weather over the weekend was actually nice, sunny and 50s. It made my decision to run outside easy.

I haven't run outside since since February 19. That day the temperatures were hovering around zero and it was icy. Over the weekend I didn't have to think about ice. I just had to avoid the puddles of water on the streets.

Saturday I ran 6.1 miles, just short of a 10K. I was only off my best 10K time by three minutes, but the run was slow. Usually my first run of the year is slow outside. I don't have a treadmill belt helping me run. When I finished my legs were tingling, my right knee hurt and so did my right hip. Physically I wasn't feeling too good after my run, but mentally I was. It was so nice to be back outside running. I ran with my iPod for the first time and time went by so fast. They only thing I don't like about running with my iPod is my left earphone keeps falling out of my ear. Sunday's solution to the iPod problem was I put tape over my ear. It kept the earphone from falling out, but I probably looked silly.

Sunday was a great day as well. I didn't want to waste a good day by sitting inside. I was unsure if I wanted to run. I was sore from Saturday's run, but I laced up my shoes and went outside. Almost two miles into the run, my right knee was hurting and I was getting side cramps. I still wanted to run but closer to my home, so I took a short cut.

While on the run, a bunch of guys were playing football. When I ran by I heard whistling. I hoped they weren't whistling at me. I didn't even want to look at them so I kept going. Later two different vehicles of girls drove by. Both groups of girls yelled out the window at me. Why do people feel the need to yell at runners? When I'm driving and I see a runner, I think good for them or I should be out doing that. Not let's roll down the window and yell. Idiots.

I finished Sunday's run at 4.1 miles. After the run, I was in more pain then after my 6. 1 mile run Saturday. My right hip hurt and I think I'm getting shin splits, but it is worth it. It was a good weekend. I ran 10.2 miles outside. In the sunlight.

Usually Monday's are one of my days off from running, but there is no way that I can't run today. The sun is shining and it is going to be 62 degrees. This weekend I will be running my first 5K of the year. The weather will not be as nice as it was this past weekend. It is supposed to rain and be cold. I'm so looking forward to it.

Hoffman - Jackson, MI

Spring breeze

After weeks of having spring sports games canceled due to the nasty weather. There was a change. The weather was nice and I finally photographed a game.

It was sunny, but a bit chilly at the college softball game yesterday afternoon. I wore a sweater and my winter coat to keep me warm while I worked. When I got out of my car, it didn't seem like there was any wind so I decided to leave my hat in the car. Big mistake.

I stood beside the home team's dugout on the first base side. There was a nice swirling wind that was hitting me in the face. Too bad I didn't feel that wind when I stepped out of my car. I regretted not bringing my hat. I had plenty of time to go back to the car before the game, but I didn't. I didn't want to lose my spot by the dugout. To pass the time before the game, I turned around to look at the crowd sitting in the bleachers. Some of the people sitting in the stands were just wearing short sleeve t-shirts and shorts. It was sunny but not that warm. It was only in the low 40s. Just looking at them made me colder in my sweater and winter coat.

It is sunny again today and warmer. I wonder when I photograph another college softball game later this afternoon will fans be wearing short sleeve shirts and shorts because it is close to 50 degrees? That isn't what I will be wearing to the game. You'll find me in a long sleeve shirt, winter coat and of course my hat.

Mausoleum door handle - Jackson, MI

Mournful - Jackson, MI

Registration

I'm so excited.

I just registered for the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Half Marathon. I will be running across bridges, underwater and in Canada on October 19, 2008. That will be many firsts for me because I have never run underwater or been to Canada.

Besides training for the half marathon, the only thing left to do is book my hotel room. Which I hope to be doing soon.

**Update** I booked my hotel room this afternoon. My husband and I will be staying overnight at the Detorit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. Now everything is taken care of.

Miles run in 2008

I wanted to run 9 miles on Sunday, but I fell short. I finished with 7 miles. My reason for falling short was side cramps. Other then the side cramps, it was a nice run. I finished the week with 23 miles.

On Saturday, April 12, it is my first race of the year. I will be running the Acres of Fun 5K in Tecumseh, MI. Compared to what I have been running recently, it should be an easy 3.1 miles. I hope the weather is nice.

2004: 74.1
2005: 105.1
2006: 125
2007: 119.4
2008: 255.5

Books read in 2008

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert
Harlow: An Intimate Biography, Irving Shulman
His Way, Kitty Kelley
Natalie, Lana Wood
Rita Hayworth, John Kobal
The Fatal Friendship: Marie Antoinette, Count Fersen and the Flight to Varennes, Stanley Loomis
The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory

Currently Reading: Atonement, Ian McEwan
Up Next:

Random things

I hope last night's snow was it for the season. Early Thursday the local weatherman was talking about 6 inches of snow. Thankfully the area only received 2 or 3 inches. My husband was very nice this morning to shovel the snow on the deck, around my car and clean off my car. After work, I had to shovel the sidewalks. The snow was wet, heavy and my back and hands hurt when I was completed. I could have just waited a couple of hours, maybe the sun would have melted the snow.

The registration opens Monday for the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon. I will be online after work registering for the half marathon. I don't think I have ever been this excited to register for a race.

This week every game I was scheduled to go was postponed or canceled due to snow. I hope next week the weather will cooperate so I can actually photograph some spring sports. Monday it is supposed to be over 60 degrees but there is a chance of rain. All I can say is I hope the rain stays away so some college games can be played.

Last year I was considering running a half marathon. The problem was I didn't have enough time to train for one. This year I will be running the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Half Marathon, as I mentioned above. I found another half marathon close to my home during the summer and I really wanted to run that. The problem was I couldn't because I was booked for a wedding. I had booked two couples on consecutive weekends in August. In December, one of the couples canceled their wedding. I just realized today that I'm not booked for a wedding on the day of the half marathon. I'm booked for a wedding the week before the race. I will be running this half marathon in late August. Wow. I'm running two half marathons this year. Awesome.

Close up - Jackosn, MI

Missing fingers - Jackson, MI

Inclement weather

The snow storm from last weekend is screwing things up. The spring sports season has started in the county, but the weather isn't playing along.

I was supposed to photograph a softball game today and tomorrow, but those have been postponed. The softball diamonds are hidden under layers of snow. Other sports have postponed as well like lacrosse and soccer. Usually those two sports play in anything. I guess not this time.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be sunny. The key words here are "supposed to". I hope it is sunny so the snow melts. The spring sports season needs to get underway because I need the hours.

Mary, Full of Grace - Jackson, MI

Saturday's run

I knew that I wouldn't have the time to run on Easter Sunday, so I ran Saturday.

I only got in three runs during the week. That disappointed me. I usually like to run four times between Monday and Friday and once on the weekends, but my quad pain sidelined me on Friday. Instead of running, I spent time with my husband, resting and icing my quad. I felt guilty missing my Friday run.

Saturday I was determined to run at least 7 miles to make up for the lost day. If I ran 7 miles that would put me at 20 miles run for the week. After missing Friday, I didn't want to finish the week with anything thing lower then 20 miles.

Once I started running, I kept thinking about running longer. After the first two miles my quad felt fine and it made my decision easier. I decided I was going to run 9 miles. The first two times I attempted 9 miles, I failed. The first time my legs were really tired, poor excuse, and the second time my left quad was in pain and I really had to stop short. With the TV on the Duke/West Virgina basketball game, the run went by rather quickly. It took me 93:08 to run 9 miles. After the run, I was really happy. That was the longest I have ever run. With that run, my week's mileage was at 22 miles.

The whole run felt really good. I didn't have any quad pain, which helped the run go smoothly. I hope this weekend I can log another 9 miles pain free.

Resurrected - Jackson, MI

Books read in 2008

With me being sick most of this week, I really didn't get a chance to read. Over my vacation last week, I finished a long Marie Antoinette book. When I finished that book I didn't realize The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown had a two week due date. That book is still considered "new" at my library even though in was released June 2007. I got as far as page 170 and I had to return it Friday to the library. It couldn't be renewed because the book is in demand. Or so the card said in the front of the book. Next time I go to the library, I will probably check it back out and continue reading it. But for now I'm reading a book that I bought: The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory.

I thinking of buying Atonement by Ian McEwan. Has anyone read it? Is it good? I would like to read the book before seeing the movie. The movie is currently in my Netflix queue.

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert
Harlow: An Intimate Biography, Irving Shulman
His Way, Kitty Kelley
Natalie, Lana Wood
Rita Hayworth, John Kobal
The Fatal Friendship: Marie Antoinette, Count Fersen and the Flight to Varennes, Stanley Loomis

Currently Reading: The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory

Good Friday - Jackson, MI

Random things

Today is the first day of spring. Right now it is sunny and 44 degrees. Tomorrow winter will return to the area. The forecast calls for 4 to 7 inches of snow starting Friday night and ending Saturday morning. This winter I noticed a pattern, it seemed like after all of the snow had melted from one storm another storm came by and dumped more snow. I will not be looking forward to shoveling the sidewalks Saturday morning.

My three mile run was terrible today. My legs were tired. They felt like they weighed a ton and my left quad hurt again. I don't know why I had such a horrible run. Yesterday my 6 mile run went well and I actually ran without quad pain. During the run I kept waiting for the pain to start, but it never did.

The cold I have right now is starting to get better. After two days, I starting to regain my sense of smell but my ears are still plugged. I've been using tissues so much that my nose is very raw and has cracked and bled. When I'm using tissues, it feels like sandpaper. Very painful.

I'm one of the few people that didn't fill out a bracket for the men's NCAA basketball tournament pool in my office. To enter the office pool it required money. I need to hold on to my money as much as possible. I did fill out a bracket, but not for the pool. My fake bracket is hanging on my bulletin board in my office. Mine is just for fun.

I went to a high school this afternoon to photograph sports teams. I asked all of the spring sports athletes to write their first and last names on a piece of paper and hold it in front of them while I took a head shot. After I take the picture the kids always ask me what they need to do with the piece of paper that they wrote their name on. I always tell them to throw it away. After I finished with the boys and girls track teams, I looked at the floor of the gym and it is littered with paper. I grabbed all of the paper around me and put it in a pile because there wasn't a trash can around. I told one of the coaches that the kids threw the paper on the floor. She grabbed a trash can, picked up all of the paper and said to me that they would be running extra today for all of the garbage that they left. At every school that I photograph head shots at, paper ends up on the floor. Why are they so lazy?

A Top Chef Season One marathon was on Bravo TV yesterday. I spent most of the afternoon on the couch watching it. I could have watched more of it if I didn't have to go to work for a couple of hours. I think I could watch an entire 13 episode run without leaving the couch. I have no shame. I love that show.

Green face - Jackson, MI

Handles - Jackson, MI

Ladybug eye - Tecumseh, MI

The nose knows

Not a good weekend. On the last day of my vacation I caught a cold from my husband.

Two restless nights. Constantly battling a stuffy nose and trying to breathe. To help, I've been opening my mouth to breathe. Now I have the worst chapped lips. I can't sleep normally. I have to prop my pillows against the headboard and sleep with my head up. Last night that wasn't working too well, so I tried to sleep sitting up. It is something that I wouldn't suggest. It wasn't comfortable.

My stuffed nose has gotten worst today. I have been taking medicine but it doesn't seem to help. I probably have used almost a box of tissues in the last two days. And you can tell. I have the red irritation marks under my nose.

I should stop complaining. Many others have had it worst then me. Besides this is only the second cold I have had all winter. I'll keep taking my medicine and hope that it will be gone soon.

Books read in 2008

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert
Harlow: An Intimate Biography, Irving Shulman
His Way, Kitty Kelley
Natalie, Lana Wood
Rita Hayworth, John Kobal
The Fatal Friendship: Marie Antoinette, Count Fersen and the Flight to Varennes, Stanley Loomis

Currently Reading: The Diana Chronicles, Tina Brown
Up Next: Deciding between two books

Pray - Tecumseh, MI

So much to do, so little time

Friday was my last paid day of vacation. I have today and Sunday off but Monday it is back to work. BOO!!

This is what I accomplished on my last day of vacation:

-woke up around 8 am
-watched 3 movies
-ran 4 miles
-played with the dogs
-watched half of the Ohio/Bowling Green women's basketball game
-watched the Duke/Georgia Tech men's basketball game
-read 100+ pages in my book
-watched TV with my husband who came home for his break
-went to bed around 11 pm

I wish I could get paid for doing this everyday.

Miles run in 2008

My six mile run yesterday put me over 200 miles run for the year. I'm so excited that I accomplished that so early in the year.

On another note, I finally bought new shoes as well. I came home with Mizuno Wave Rider 11 shoes. I tried to break them in when I got home. The first mile was a bit uncomfortable. After that they felt fine. My left quad still hurt a bit when running. But I'm hoping the pain will go away because I finally bought new shoes. I have been running with the old pair of Mizuno's since last July. Yeah, not good.

Aren't my new shoes pretty?

2004: 55.6

2005: 84.1

2006: 102

2007: 96

2008: 203.5

Standing alone -Tecumseh, MI

Not locked - Tecumseh, MI

Cemetery Drive

With my vacation this week, it has given me time to get back outside with my camera. The weather has been great, high 30s/low 40s with sun. Sun! With the sun out it makes the perfect opportunity to go out and photograph at my favorite places: cemeteries.

Yesterday morning, I traveled to Tecumseh to visit Brookside Cemetery. It is one of my favorites in the county. It has a nice mausoleum and plenty of statues, which is a big draw for me. I have photographed that cemetery many times before. When I go back to ones which I have been before, I try to find new angles to photograph everything. With snow covering the ground, it limited my options some. I did get down and get my knees wet.

While at the cemetery I had my iPod with me. I did start singing, but not too loud. I was not trying to draw attention to myself with walkers and actual visitors in the cemetery. I thought it was OK to sing. But who knows there could be some cemetery etiquette that I don't know about.

I drove to Woodland Cemetery in Jackson County this morning. It was a cemetery I haven't been to before, but I have been in the area numerous times before. It was a huge cemetery. Plenty of things to look at and photograph. I found many mausoleums and statues. It was like I hit the jackpot! I was so excited.

I came upon a old mausoleum from 1897. Around the mausoleum there were signs saying " Warning. Dangerous Building". At first I didn't understand why the signs said that. Then I noticed all of the cracks and the crumbling foundation. I tried not to get too close, but I had to. There were two angels in front of it. I had to get close for my angel statues. The mausoleum had wonderful design and it was old and beautiful. When I walked closer I noticed some graffiti on the wall of the mausoleum. Some girl named Laura scratched her name on the front of the mausoleum and told everyone that she was there. I'm sure if any of the family is still living they would appreciate that fact. I guess no one taught this Laura girl to respect the dead. Vandalizing a cemetery must be her idea of a fun time.

Before leaving I drove up another path that I missed the first time around. I jammed on the brakes of my car. I saw before me a huge 10 foot bronze statue. The statue has been there since I believe the turn of the century, it was all green and awesome. The statue had great features; eyes, hair and hands. I was happy to have found it. I was focusing my camera on the face and I noticed someone scratched whiskers on the face. It saddened me that someone would climb up on this statue to draw whiskers on both side of the face. Another example of stupid people. I spent about 10 minutes on this statue alone. It was so beautiful.

I ended up taking over 100 photos at this cemetery. It was a great find and I hope to visit it again. Hopefully later today, I will get another chance to take photographs in a cemetery down in Toledo, Ohio. My husband and I are going to drive down there tonight to look for home improvement items. If the sun is still in the sky, we will be stopping for a while.

Brookside hinge - Tecumseh, MI

Thinking - Tecumseh, MI

Books read in 2008

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert
Harlow: An Intimate Biography, Irving Shulman
His Way, Kitty Kelley
Natalie, Lana Wood
Rita Hayworth, John Kobal

Currently Reading: The Fatal Friendship: Marie Antoinette, Count Fersen and the Flight to Varennes, Stanley Loomis
Up Next: The Diana Chronicles, Tina Brown

Pain in the head

After waking up from a nap yesterday, I had intentions of running six miles. That is where those intentions stopped.

As soon as I got up from the couch, the room was spinning because I was so dizzy. Only two seconds ago I was fine on the couch. I continued walking to the bathroom and everything was still spinning and my head was hurting.

After I came out of the bathroom I went to pick up my running shoes and I instantly felt like I had to throw up. I went and sat on the couch and breathed in and out slowly so I wouldn't hurl on the carpet. I did that a couple times and felt better. I leaned over and picked up my right shoe. Mistake. The room started spinning again. I managed to put on my left shoe and got down on the floor to stretch. Sitting on the floor didn't help me too much. I only did a couple of stretches and then I got up said to my husband "I feel like I'm going to throw up" and walked fast to the bathroom. I did what I said I was going to do.

I felt a little better afterwords. I decided that I could walk instead of run. Walking is still exercise and I needed to do something. I walked a fast paced mile on the treadmill. I pressed stop to see how I was feeling. I was feeling better, so I decided to run. I reset the treadmill and ran 3 miles. I thought 4 miles total for the day was good for me not feeling well with the throwing up, dizziness and still my left quad pain.

It wasn't the 6 miles that I wanted but I with those 4 miles, I'm only 9.5 miles away from 200 miles run for the year. I will make that easily this week.

Random things

Not much is going on today. Here are a few odds and ends.

Will winter never end? The county I live in is under a winter storm watch until Saturday night. The storm that is coming this way could drop 6 or more inches of snow. Great. I'll just shovel that additional 6 inches of snow on top of the 5 inches we received Wednesday morning.

Its official. I had my vacation slip signed by my boss today. My vacation can begin tomorrow when I leave work at 10 am. I checked the 10 day forecast on weather.com and it said that next week it is supposed to be partly cloudy and in the high 30s/upper 40s. That will be nice for when I'm outside taking photographs.

My half marathon training has been going well. I completed a run of 6 miles today and tomorrow I will be running 6 miles again. It seems when I have a run longer then 7 miles, I hit the wall. I think to myself, how am I going to finish 13.1 miles? I know I will get past it and just do it when the time comes. But running with quad pain isn't fun. I hope when I buy new shoes soon, the pain will go away. If it doesn't I might have to visit the doctor.

After this weekend, I will be less then 10 miles away from 200 miles run for the year. That is pretty awesome for me. I will be at 200 miles in just over 3 months. If I keep this running schedule up, I will totally smash my New Years resolution of 600 miles run for the year.

Vacation time

I filled out my vacation sheet this morning. All that is left is for my boss to sign it. I have my substitutes set up with their schedule for next week and everything is squared away.

Next week I won't be waking up to an alarm clock. I'll be sleeping in. Things I have on the agenda are reading, running, napping, staying up past 9 pm, going on photography trips, playing with the dogs, and spending time with my husband. That is a lot to accomplish on my week off. I'm sure they will be done.

People were asking me where I was going on vacation. My answer: My house. My last vacation was over 8 months ago, which was too long ago. This vacation is mainly to take a break and get ready for the spring sports season. The good news is that I have three more weeks of vacation left this year. And believe me, I will use all of it. One of the three weeks of vacation I have left, I will be taking a trip back to New York City with my husband. The last time we were in NYC was May 2002. It will be nice to get back there and see how the city has changed.

Books read in 2008

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert
Harlow: An Intimate Biography, Irving Shulman
His Way, Kitty Kelley
Natalie, Lana Wood

Currently Reading: Rita Hayworth, John Kobal
Up Next: Library trip

Old man winter

The branches on the trees do not look like this today. Maybe later this afternoon and tonight they will. My area of Michigan is supposed to receive four to six inches of snow. Four to six inches of snow? How can we get that? Monday it was 50 degrees.

I heard that this winter has dumped the most snow on us in seven to eight years. Last year we hardly got any. Most people in town wore coats and t-shirts outside because it was that warm.

Like most people I'm looking forward to spring. I can't wait until my first run outside with the sun on my face. Unlike a couple of weeks ago, it wasn't sun on my face, it was snow flurries, wind and tears.

Books read in 2008

I swear it has taken me ten years to finish His Way by Kitty Kelley. Actually it took about a week and a half. It seems like every time I was reading before a game, someone would interrupt and start talking to me. There is a reason why I wear my iPod earphones while reading.


A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Mark Fuhrman
Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot
Sons and Brothers: The Days of Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Richard D. Mahoney
Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Donald Spoto
True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess, Wendy Leigh
Final Disclosure, David W. Belin
John Wayne: My Life with the Duke, Pilar Wayne
Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, David Stenn
The Lost Life of Eva Braun, Angela Lambert
Harlow: An Intimate Biography, Irving Shulman
His Way, Kitty Kelley

Currently Reading:u Natalie, Lana Wood
Up Next: Rita Hayworth, John Kobal