Books read in 2008

Thank you to the Big Ten Network for showing a soccer game last night. I had the soccer game on but I wasn't paying attention to the TV. I just needed it for background noise. I finished the 992 page Truman book about ten minutes before going to bed. With our trip coming up, I didn't check out any books at the library. Usually when on trips, I always buy a book at a bookstore. My husband gets up later then I do, it gives me something to do besides watch TV.


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
Robert Kennedy: His Life, Evan Thomas
Grace of Monaco, Steven Englund
Nemesis, Peter Evans
A Royal Duty, Paul Burrell
The Search for Amelia Earhart, Fred Goerner
Seinfeld: The Making of an American Icon, Jerry Oppenheimer
The Day John Died, Christopher Andersen
As Time Goes By: The Life of Ingrid Bergman, Laurence Leamer
Diana's Boys, Christopher Andersen
The Family, Kitty Kelley
Jackie after Jack, Christopher Andersen
Truman, David McCullough

Currently Reading:
Up Next: A trip to a bookstore in NYC

Due date

Its been like a year since I finished reading a book. Actually, the last book I finished was on August 11, it was Jackie after Jack by Christopher Andersen.

The book I'm currently reading is Truman by David McCullough. It is an interesting book and I like it. The book spans his entire life. From his boyhood on the farm, to his presidency and his return to civilian life. The problem is it is only 992 pages. Only. The book is due back Tuesday at the library and I have 100 pages to go. I don't know if I will finish it in time. I already renewed it once, I don't think the library will let me renew it a second time. I don't know why not? I don't think people in this city are lining up to read about Harry S. Truman.

So in between lunch, a nap, a soccer game, dinner, and some TV today, I have 100 pages to go. I think it can be accomplished. Later, I'll multi-task while watching TV. Reading and TV, nothing beats that.

Photo Credit: www.wikipedia.org

Dress shopping

In October, my husband and I will be traveling to Mackinac Island. He will be attending a conference and I'm along for the ride.

The conference will be taking place at the Grand Hotel. One of the nights we will be on the island, I'm sure we will be eating dinner in the main dining room. In the evenings, the hotel requires a certain type of dress. "The Grand Hotel experience includes dressing for dinner. Evening wear is required in all areas of the hotel: coat and tie for gentlemen, and dresses or pantsuits for ladies." That is something that I don't have.

The last dress I bought was back in 2004, when I was a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding. As you may know, I'm not someone who likes to dress up. I own a couple of skirts, which I only wear for very special occasions like an anniversary dinner. I don't own a pantsuit either. My outfits that I wear to the office consist of polo shirts and pants. At night when I photograph games, its a t-shirt and pants/shorts.

In the month before we leave for the island, my husband and I will be taking a trip down to Toledo, Ohio for me to go dress shopping. I'm hoping to find something that doesn't look like a bridesmaid dress and that I can wear again for those special occasions.

Two dresses that caught my eye by Alfred Angelo.

Random things

I've been at my current full time job for over six years. In those six years, I've been friends with many of my co-workers. Eventually all of them left for a better job. Today I said goodbye to another one. In the newspaper industry, it is a revolving door. People who are good at their job, rarely stay where I work. They move on to bigger and better jobs, sooner or later. The co-worker that left today is moving back to Pennsylvania. Her new job is at a newspaper close to her home. I'm happy for her, but I'm a bit sad. She was usually the first person I talked to in the morning, we would talk about reality TV together, she was fun and organized. Now who will I talk to about Top Model? She will be missed in the newsroom.

Last week, I mentioned that I was covering a football game that was going to be televised. Last night I was flipping through the channels and came across that football game. I watched some of the game. I wanted to how good the coverage was and to see if I could see myself on TV. Before the game started, the end zone camera did a pan of the home team's sideline and stopped the camera on the head coach. Standing behind the head coach was me. During the first half, I saw myself on TV three times. It has been a day since the football game aired. At least no one has said to me, "I saw you on TV last night," like they did back in November.

In nine days, my husband and I will return to New York City. I'm so excited. Our last trip to New York was in 2002.

I would have used a photo that I took of the city, but they are all on negatives. And I don't have a film scanner at my house. On this trip, I plan on taking a bunch of photos. More then the couple of rolls that I took back in 2002.

Photo Credit: Freefoto.com

Wolverines

I watched parts of the Michigan-Utah football game Saturday. Yes. Michigan lost 25-23. A missed a large chunk of the first half because I was attending church and most of the second half I was working on my computer.

When I came home after church, I turned on the TV and saw that Michigan's starting quarterback Nick Sheridan get pulled for another quarterback in the third quarter. The second quarterback of the game was Steven Threet. Threet attended a school in the county and I photographed many games he played when he was quarterback for Adrian. The announcers said where he was from and that Sheridan and Threet played against each other in high school. I will always remember the last game I saw Threet play in the 2006 districts at Dearborn. It was a very cold and wet night. It rained the entire game and the field was all mud. I was wearing a rain coat and water went down my sleeves and got my sweater wet. My notes for the game were barely readable due to rain. Every time I would write something down, the rain smeared it. All I can say was it was a terrible night to be a photographer, player and fan at that game. Adrian lost to Dearborn 28-7.

Along with Threet, two other players from the county are also on the team: Zach Johnson and Ryan Meyers. I photographed both guys as well playing high school sports. That's neat that three people from this county are on the University of Michigan football team. Usually players from the county don't play Division 1 football. Some people do. Like Kellen Davis. He went to Adrian, played for Michigan State and got drafted by the Chicago Bears.

I don't know how Michigan football will do this year. I don't know who the starting quarterback will be. Who knows if the other players I mentioned will see playing time. If Michigan has down year, they have a down year. Regardless, I will always watch a game and be a fan of University of Michigan athletics.

Kathy loves Dennis - Adrian, MI

The Victors

Only a few more hours before the kickoff of the 2008 college football season. This is something that always gets me in the mood for football.

A moment in the mouth. Next thing you know its in the backyard.

I was sitting on the couch filing my nails with an emery board Thursday. I finished all of my nails and laid it on a side table. On the table along with the emery board was a bottle of water and the remote. It was noon and it was time to wake up my husband. I got up from the couch and walked upstairs to our bedroom.

I come back down less then five minutes later. I see Blitzkrieg sitting on the floor. Near him are the broken, splintered pieces of something. I thought it was a Popsicle stick that Blitzkrieg dug out of the trash. I was wondering how he got a Popsicle stick. I usually throw those away in the trash out on the back porch. There is no way for Blitz to get them unless he can open doors with his paw. I realized it was my emery board.

This dog likes to eat anything. Obviously emery boards, paper, tissue, newspaper and people food. I forgot that I can't leave emery boards on the table within reach of Blitz. He will eat them.

Twenty minutes later my husband was making lunch. I looked out the window to see what the dogs were doing in the backyard. I see Blitz sitting. I then see him dry heaving. After a couple of times, he threw up. Yup, that's right. Out came the emery board. Will that dog ever learn?

Football!

The fall sports season can officially begin Thursday. Thursday is the start of high school football in the county.

The first game I will be photographing tomorrow, will be recorded and broadcasted on Comcast cable at a later date. This is the first year that Michigan High School Athletic Association will be broadcasting high school games. Its cool that they picked two schools from my county for the first ever game. They wanted a small community game with a lot of people and I think that is what they will get. Last year these two teams also made it to the state football semi-finals with one of the teams making it to the state final in different divisions.

Another reason I love high school football is I get to hear "On, Wisconsin!" Thursday and Friday I will hear it multiple times. Thursday I will be shooting where I went to high school and "On, Wisconsin!" is the fight song. I will be going to another high school football game Friday. That school also uses "On, Wisconsin!" for their fight song. Its neat that three schools in the county use that song. Every time I hear it, I sing my high school's fight song in my head.

Sand Creek fight song
(On, Wisconsin!)

On ye Aggies,
On ye Aggies,
Fight for Victory!
Ever Upward,
Ever Onward,
Fight for Old S-C!


On ye Aggies,
On ye Aggies,
Fight for victory!
Ever upward,
Raise that score,
For Old S-C!

Survey of the moment

A. Attached or Single? Very attached to my husband.
B. Best Friend? A couple of awesome people.
C. Cake or pie? Cake is delicious! Especially wedding or graduation cake.
D. Day of choice? Saturdays because I can sleep in.
E. Essential item? My cell phone, ipod and camera. I can't leave home without these items.
F. Favorite color? Green.
G. Gummy bears or worms? Gummy bears. But I prefer Welch's Fruit Snacks Berries 'N Cherries.
H. Hometown? Adrian, Michigan
I. Favorite indulgence? Tuna sub from Subway
J. January or July? July. My birthday is in July.
K. Kids? Pass.
L. Life isn’t complete without? Running or naps
M. Marriage date? September 15, 2001
N. Number of brothers and sisters? Four sisters, two brothers. I'm the last of seven children.
O. Oranges or Apples? Oranges are yummy after running a 5K.
P. Phobias? None really.
Q. Quotes? "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift." - Steve Prefontaine
R. Reasons to smile? My loving husband, wonderful dogs and large family.
S. Season of choice? Summer. It gives me a break from photographing sports everyday.
T. Tag 5 people: That's okay
U. Unknown fact about me? I'm a neat freak. I have the cleanest desk at work.
V. Vegetable? Onions on everything. Mostly everything.
W. Worst habit? I gossip. Heaven forbid!
X. X-ray or Ultrasound? Haven't had either one performed on me.
Y. Your favorite food? Steak. I could eat that everyday!
Z. Zodiac sign? Leo

Time waster

Over the weekend I had some people over. They said they would be at my house in an hour to hour and fifteen minutes. Since I had an hour, I cleaned my house to make it look presentable. I swept the carpets, hardwood and linoleum floors, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned off my dining room table and put the dogs outside. I really didn't want to put the dogs outside because it was hot and humid. But they are not visitor friendly dogs. I figured they would be coming back in the house soon.

In that hour window, I woke my husband up and said people were coming over. It was lunch time, but we decided to eat after they left. Closer to the hour they were supposed to meet at my house, I changed my clothes and went downstairs to wait for them. An hour came and went. No visitors. I thought maybe they got caught up in traffic. So I continued to wait and watch TV, while my husband was upstairs on the computer.

An hour and half goes by. Still no visitors. At this point, the dogs have been outside for a while. I asked my husband if they could come upstairs with him. He said yes and I brought the dogs in the house back into the air conditioning.

Two hours since the phone call and no visitors. I thought about calling them, but since they were the ones that were late, I thought they should have called. They did have my phone number. At this point, I was very upset. No phone calls to explain why they were late. My time is important as yours is. I don't like waiting around when I could have been doing other things. Also, my husband and I still haven't eaten lunch at it was past 2 pm.

Around 2:20 pm, I see their car go by the house. I said to my husband, "I bet they don't apologize for being late." They get onto the porch and knock. I walked over to the door and opened it. I greeted them. They greeted me back. No apology as to why they were over an hour late. That angered me more. I wasted over two hours of my time waiting for them. In that time, my husband and I could have eaten lunch, washed the dishes and done some work on my computer. But in that time, I made my dogs sit outside in the heat and humidity and had my husband cooped up in our computer room, hungry.

I don't understand people.

Miles run in 2008

After waking up from my nap this afternoon, I really didn't want to run. My legs were very tired, sore and I have shin splints. Ten minutes later I decided that I needed to run. Even with the pain. With the run today, I will reward myself by taking Saturday off.

The three mile run hurt. My legs were dying. The half hour run felt like an eternity. But I got through it alright. When I finished the run, I was glad that I went through with it. If I didn't I would have felt bad the rest of the day.

By the way, what is up with USA Track and Field? Both men's and women's 4x100 meter relay dropped the baton in the preliminaries Wednesday evening. Both squads didn't finish the race. How sad is it that Tyson Gay, the 2007 World Champion in the 100m, 200m, and the 4x100m relay, never made it to a final at the Olympics?

2004: 199
2005: 225.3
2006: 317.4
2007: 344.9
2008: 653.2

Heartbreak

Talk about heartbreak.

This morning I watched the men's 200 meter final live on Canadian Broadcasting. I saw Usain Bolt from Jamaica break Michael Johnson's world record with the time of 19.30.

After the race, the silver and bronze medalists Churandy Martina of Netherlands Antilles and Wallace Spearmon from the USA celebrated with Bolt on the track. They were holding and waving their respective flags proudly. A couple of minutes after the race, the CBC announcers said that Spearmon was disqualified. He was disqualified because he ran out of his lane for a couple of steps. Spearmon didn't know what happened and he continued to celebrate. The bronze medal was given to Shawn Crawford of the USA.

Later this afternoon, I read that the silver medalist, Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles was also disqualified. He also stepped out of his lane on the turn. With that the fourth and fifth place runners, Shawn Crawford and Walter Dix both from the United States received the silver and bronze medals.

Crawford said after receiving the silver medal, "It feels kind of weird, it feels like a charity case."

I feel really bad for Martina and Spearmon. They ran a good race and tried to catch Bolt. They stepped out of their lanes and were disqualified because that is the rule. When I ran track in high school, I stepped on the line a lot. On the backstretch I always ran over the line. I never got disqualified. It also wasn't the Olympics.

Random things

Sorry for the lack of blogging. I have been busy working, running, napping, watching the Olympics and trying to read the huge Truman book. Here are a few random things.

With the start of the Olympics, it seems like that is the only thing I have been doing. Every moment that I have, I'm in front of the TV watching. It starts in the morning at work. Instead of watching a cable news channel, I turn the TV on to a channel with the Olympics on. No one seems to mind.

What has been going on with the Americans in track and field? Deena Kastor pulling out of the marathon on the third mile. Tyson Gay not even making it to the 100 meter finals. Bernard Lagat, Lopez Lomong and Leonel Manzano failing to qualify for the finals of 1500 meter run. It has been a disappointing start for USA in track and field.

Last Saturday, I photographed a wedding. It was my last wedding for 2008 and hopefully forever. I'm hanging up wedding photography for the second time. I photographed a friend's wedding back in 2004 and I said I was retiring from it. Somehow in 2006, I got back in the game. This time, I'm going to stick to my word and stay away from it. The only way I would photograph another wedding would be for one of my siblings. Driving home from the wedding Saturday, I was thinking about my short two year career as a wedding photographer. It has been good. The couples I've met, they have all been great. It was nice for them to include me on their big day. But I'm not going to miss it. The stress of the entire day. Trying to get every shot perfect. Hearing the same songs over and over at receptions. The endless hours of editing on the computer. Missing huge sporting events at my full time job. After I finish editing my last wedding and an album, I will be free! Saturday's will be mine again. I can photograph a game, run a 5K race or relax on a day off. It will be great.

It is exactly two months before I run the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Half Marathon. I'm getting nervous about it. I really need to get back to my long runs. I'm slowly adding them back in my weekly runs. But its hard. Currently, I'm battling some shin splits. Soon I hope they will pass, so I can kick up my mileage. I will be ready on October 19. I will finish the half marathon, even if I have to walk a bit.

Ten years ago

John Wayne Clark
April 10, 1942 - August 15, 1998

Ten years ago, my father, John, passed away suddenly at the age of 56. It was very devastating to me and my family. All of our lives changed in that one instant. Not a day goes by without me thinking about him.

Below is one of the songs that was sung at my father's funeral. Every time I hear this song, it takes me back to that day.

We Remember
by Marty Haugen

Refrain: We remember how you loved us to Your death,
And still we celebrate for You are with us here.
And we believe that we will see You when you come in Your glory, Lord.
We remember, we celebrate, we believe!

1. Here, a million wounded souls
Are yearning just to touch you and be healed;
Gather all your people, and hold them to your heart.

Refrain

2. Now we recreate you love,
We bring the bread and wine to share a meal;
Sign of grace and mercy, the Presence of the Lord.

Refrain

3. Christ, the Father’s great “Amen”
To all the hopes and dreams of every heart;
Peace beyond all telling, and freedom from all fear.

Refrain

4. See the face of Christ revealed in every person standing by your side.
Gift to one another and temples of Your love.

The Stroke

A couple of days ago at work, I started singing this song out of the blue. Now it is stuck in my head. When I hear it, all I can think of is the movie Billy Madison.

Butterfly - Adrian, MI

Toledo trip

Last Friday, my husband and I went to Toledo, Ohio to have some fun. We went to the zoo, Tony Packo's and a Mud Hens game. It was a nice end cap to a lovely week of vacation.

In December, we always go see the Lights Before Christmas at the zoo. During the lights some animals are still outside. Those animals are polar bears, penguins and a few others. This trip to the zoo, we got to see all of the animals. The only animal that I didn't see that I wanted to was the Siberian tiger. It wasn't in its cage.

The day was nice, in the 70s. We decided to go into the aquarium. As soon as we walked into the door we were hit with a disgusting odor. It smelled like horrible B.O. We suspected that people came inside to cool down and get out of the heat. The smell was so bad that I had my shirt covering my nose. It reminded me of the Seinfeld episode, "The Smelly Car". I told my husband that I would rather smell hog crap then what we were smelling in the aquarium. I grew up on a hog farm so the smell never bothered me. After five minutes we couldn't tolerate the smell any longer. We left the aquarium. The smell didn't stay in our hair like it did on the Seinfeld episode.

At the baseball game, our seats were three rows behind the third base side wall. So we were pretty close to the field and right behind the bullpen. I think baseball is OK sport overall, but I do get bored. While watching it on TV, I like to read. When I'm photographing a game, I have to pay attention. Also, I can leave early. When I'm at a game with my husband in a different city, I can't leave early. I only knew a couple of the players, so the game didn't hold my attention.

During the game, a couple of tween's tried to get the wave going in our section. Every couple of innings they would stand up and say they were going to start the wave. The girls would count in unison and throw their hands in the air to start the wave. They didn't have any luck with it. The wave only lasted for two sections. In the eighth inning the wave was started on the first base side and it went all the way around the park. I wonder if the girls were disappointed that they tried to start the wave numerous times and it didn't work. By the way, we didn't participate in the wave.

Some entertainment for the evening was when a ball was hit foul in the section next to ours. A large man with a glove tried to get the ball. He had the ball in his glove and it popped out. He scrambled after the ball and leaned over his seat to get it. When he did that his shirt lifted up and he showed everyone his ass crack. My husband yelled out "Gross!" A little boy sitting in front of us thought that was funny, he turned around and laughed. I laughed too. After laughing I told my husband that was not nice.

The night ended with the Mud Hens winning 9-3 and a nice display of fireworks behind center field.

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
John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth, Michael Munn
Robert Kennedy: His Life, Evan Thomas
Grace of Monaco, Steven Englund
Nemesis, Peter Evans
A Royal Duty, Paul Burrell
The Search for Amelia Earhart, Fred Goerner
Seinfeld: The Making of an American Icon, Jerry Oppenheimer
The Day John Died, Christopher Andersen
As Time Goes By: The Life of Ingrid Bergman, Laurence Leamer
Diana's Boys, Christopher Andersen
The Family, Kitty Kelley
Jackie after Jack, Christopher Andersen


Currently Reading: Truman, David McCullough
Up Next: Library trip

Bees attraction - Adrian, MI

Routine

My vacation ends Sunday and Monday I will return to work. To make myself feel better, I'm looking at the bright side. In about six weeks I will be on vacation again. I have enjoyed every morning this week of sleeping in. That is until this morning.

My boy Blitzkrieg was barking. I thought it was because my husband was home from work. I lifted my head off of the pillow to look toward the windows to find it pitch black. It was too early for him to be home from work. I grabbed my alarm clock, which I have been avoiding all week, to check the time. It read 4:20 am. On weeks that I'm not on vacation, that would be a normal time for me to be getting ready for work. Most days I'm out the door by 4:25 am. But this week, its too early for me to be awake.

My dogs, Blitzkrieg and Kelly, are normally up at this time of morning. They have already been outside to do their business and have been fed. I'm thinking that Blitzkrieg is used to a routine. He wouldn't stop barking, so that led me to get out of bed and head downstairs. I let the dogs outside. A couple of minutes later, I scooped out some food for them and promptly returned to bed. Mornings when sitting at work, I always think how nice it would be to go back to bed. This morning I did go back to bed, but I couldn't get back to sleep. I tossed and turned and probably an hour later finally returned to sleep.

I have a couple of more days to enjoy sleeping past 4 am. Monday morning, I will finally need the help of my alarm clock to wake me up for work.

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
John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth, Michael Munn
Robert Kennedy: His Life, Evan Thomas
Grace of Monaco, Steven Englund
Nemesis, Peter Evans
A Royal Duty, Paul Burrell
The Search for Amelia Earhart, Fred Goerner
Seinfeld: The Making of an American Icon, Jerry Oppenheimer
The Day John Died, Christopher Andersen
As Time Goes By: The Life of Ingrid Bergman, Laurence Leamer
Diana's Boys, Christopher Andersen
The Family, Kitty Kelley

Currently Reading: Jackie after Jack, Christopher Andersen
Up Next: Truman, David McCullough

Letdown

Luck is not on our side. For the second year in a row, my husband and I had to cancel our plans to go to Cedar Point today.

We have been watching the weather for the last couple of days and it said that the area was supposed to get severe storms throughout the day. By yesterday afternoon, we gave up on the fact of going to Sandusky, Ohio. We didn't want to be stuck in the rain. I think my husband was a bit relieved that we weren't going. He has had a cold all this week and most of last. He mentioned how fatigued he has been. Yesterday afternoon, I knew it was true when he took a longer nap then me.

After dinner last night, we were sitting on the couch watching Local on the 8s on the Weather Channel. The weather completely changed for today. All of the storms that they predicted for today, broke up or went through the area last night. The chance of severe storms was gone. The chance of rain dropped from 60% to 40%. I asked my husband if he still wanted to go. He didn't.

Another year has gone by and no trip to Cedar Point. Instead of riding roller coasters today, I will be voting the primary election (which we would have done anyway before going to Cedar Point), errands, finishing a book, running later this afternoon and whatever else comes my way.

Miles run in 2008

Over the weekend, I ran a local 5K. The run went OK. It wasn't my fastest time and it wasn't my slowest time. With the 5K run and my Sunday run I crossed 600 miles run for the year. The day before the run, I decided to run 3 miles. Usually I don't run the day before a race to save my legs, but I needed to do it. I missed my run on Thursday because I visited my sister and her new baby at the hospital and that evening was my birthday dinner. Too many things in a day to schedule a run.

When I warmed up Saturday morning, I could tell my legs were tired. I figured that I would just go out there and run my best. The first mile I ran a bit fast for myself. At mile one mark, the time called out was 9:27. In the middle of mile two my legs were dying on me. It was in this mile that I got passed by male runner, who usually I stay with during a race and a speed walker! It was nothing new to me, I have been passed by one in a race before. I tried to hang with her, but I couldn't.

I didn't look at my watch because if a speed walker passed me, I though my time would be so horrible. When I was in sight of the finish line, I saw the clock and it surprised me. I finished the very sunny, humid race with a time of 34:26:80. I was seventh in my large age group, but not last. Even with tired legs, I beat my 5K time from July 26, which was 36:44:91.

2004: 180.4
2005: 218.5
2006: 295.9
2007: 309.6
2008: 605.2

Bee on coneflower - Adrian, MI

Vacation time

This week seems to be dragging. It feels that way because next week I'm on vacation. Its been a while since my last, which was in March. I know I need it. I'm a bit worn down.

I don't have big plans for this vacation. My husband and I are going on a day trip to Cedar Point, maybe to the Toledo Zoo and a Toledo Mud Hens game. Nothing fancy. The fancy trips are coming up in a couple of months. We will be going to New York City and Mackinac Island.

My husband and I spent the majority of yesterday afternoon booking our plans. To save some money, we will be staying with family in New Jersey for most of the week. For one night, we will be staying in the city near Times Square at Hotel Mela. For the entertainment that evening, my husband and I will be going to the Gershwin Theater to see the musical Wicked. After the show we plan on eating dinner at one of Bobby Flay's restaurants, Mesa Grill. Those plans might have to change. We might have to eat before the show since the restaurant stays open until 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.

The next morning we will be meeting a photographer to take a tour of the city. As an anniversary gift, I booked a professional photographer to photograph us around NYC. Being a photographer I always take photos on vacation. The problem is my husband and I are never in photos together. I would never hand over my expensive camera to someone on the sidewalk to take our photo and I don't like bothering people to ask them to take our photo. With this photo tour, the camera is in someone else's hand. My husband and I show up and they do the work.

The rest of the time, we will be experiencing most of the attractions of the city through the New York Pass. We will be visiting places that we didn't see on our photography tour.

The second trip of the year will be to Mackinac Island. My husband is attending a 4-day conference and I am going along for the ride. I'll keep myself busy with sightseeing, eating and running around the 8 mile island. I'm not sure what the plans of the week are. We have to wait until it gets closer to find that information out.

I look forward to my upcoming vacations. They should be nice and relaxing.

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
John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth, Michael Munn
Robert Kennedy: His Life, Evan Thomas
Grace of Monaco, Steven Englund
Nemesis, Peter Evans
A Royal Duty, Paul Burrell
The Search for Amelia Earhart, Fred Goerner
Seinfeld: The Making of an American Icon, Jerry Oppenheimer
The Day John Died, Christopher Andersen
As Time Goes By: The Life of Ingrid Bergman, Laurence Leamer
Diana's Boys, Christopher Andersen

Currently Reading: The Family, Kitty Kelley
Up Next: Library trip

Weekend Update

Standing in a dugout with the sun beating down on you for two plus hours isn't good. Friday afternoon, I photographed an American Legion district tournament baseball game. I stood on the stairs and leaned against a support beam for a nine inning game. I thought the game was only going to be seven innings. After the sunny game, I noticed that my legs were sunburned from just above my kneecaps down to my socks and only on the left side. Stylish look.

At the 5K on Saturday, I was talking to a girl who I photographed running cross country and track in high school and now college. She was pinning her bib to the front of her shirt. On her bib, someone wrote "Happy 20th Birthday!" I asked her when her birthday was. She said it was today (July 26). I said that today was my birthday too. I thought it was great. What are the odds of having two runners with red hair sharing a birthday at the same 5K race? We were the only red heads in the entire field.

During the run, I was following a girl that was about 15 years old. She would be running, then just stop and walk. As soon as I would catch her, she would start running again. Around mile 2, she cut the course twice. I so wanted to yell "cheater" to her and tell the race officials. But I didn't.

After the race, I overheard some older ladies saying they cut the course as well. When I was finishing the race, I saw the older women on the course to my left. At that point, I knew that those ladies still had a half mile or less to go. I handed in my card and walked over to grab some Gatorade. I took a drink and turned around. Those two ladies that I passed were standing behind me. They were talking to a friend and said that last year they got lost and took a wrong turn. This year, they said they were following the arrows and cut the course. I have run and photographed cross country events on this course for years. It is not hard to follow. The course was properly marked. How can people not follow arrows?

My husband surprised me with a gift card to Aeropostale for my birthday. I spent that gift card in ten minutes. I picked up six polo's, two t-shirts and a pair of cargo shorts. All of the items were on sale. I love sales!

While driving home today I saw three friends on the sidewalk together. Two of the friends looked like they were waiting on the other person. I slowed my car down to see what was going on. The three person was throwing up all over the sidewalk. One of the friends turned their back while the other friend watched. There was plenty of grass around. Why throw up in a high foot traffic area? GROSS!

Birthday plans

Last week, I had solid plans for my upcoming birthday. (My 29th birthday is Saturday, July 26.) The plan I had set for the day was to run a 5K on one of the toughest cross country courses in the county at 8:30 a.m. The 5K that I'm running is the birthday gift I give to myself every year. Drive home to shower, eat lunch, relax, go to church then have dinner with my husband at a fancy restaurant later in the evening. Those plans changed earlier this week.

My husband informed me that his schedule changed at work. Originally he was supposed to work overtime Saturday night from 10 pm-2 am. Now my husband has to work overtime 2 pm-2 am. There goes his time that he can spend with me on my birthday. He will spend about an hour and half or less with me Saturday. On Friday night he is also working overtime from 6 pm to 2 am. That means he will go to bed around 4 or 5 am and he won't wake up until 12 pm or 12:30 pm Saturday. By 1:40 pm he will be going into work.

I tried to make the best of it and said that we could go eat at the fancy restaurant Sunday. This morning at work, I went to the restaurant's website to browse the menu. I already picked out I want: Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Jerusalem Artichoke and White Cheddar Gratin, Morel Mushrooms, and Cabernet Natural Reduction. For some reason I went to their hours of operation and saw that they are closed on Sundays and Mondays. Now I have to wait until Wednesday before I can get my birthday dinner. Can't go Monday because they are closed. Can't go Tuesday because my husband has to work. That is really putting a dark cloud over my birthday.

Now my Saturday evening looks to be free. Instead of enjoying a nice dinner with my husband, I think I will now be sitting at my computer working. Maybe my family will surprise me and have some dinner plans. If not, looks like the computer and I will be hanging out.

Sunflower - Adrian, MI

Random things

Over the weekend, I traveled to the Detroit area to photograph a wedding. A couple of things that I noticed on my drive there and back: They don't stop for red lights. I noticed at many lights I would stop for the yellow light, other drivers didn't. Drivers in the other lane kept going, even if the light already turned red. I have to admit while following the groom and groomsmen in their party bus limo, I happened to be in the middle of the intersection when the lights changed to red. I felt bad, but I was following the party bus to our different shooting locations. I needed to stay right behind them.

The second thing I noticed is their use of lanes. On the five lane I-696, I was driving in the second lane from the left. A car in the first lane on my left sped past me and crossed over four lanes of traffic to get to an exit ramp. I image the drive does that quite frequently because he did it with such ease.

On July 8, my treadmill belt rolled up on itself. Since then I have been running on the streets or the local high school and college track. I have to say the new Adrian College track is one of the nicest tracks I have ever run on. I have battled the awful heat and humidity during these runs. Now I don't have to battle the elements anymore. My husband and I picked out our new treadmill Thursday and he put it together for me on Sunday. Today I had my first run on our brand new treadmill, the NordicTrack A2550.

The run was a little difficult. I haven't been on a treadmill since July 8 and I was really tired. I wanted to run 6 miles, but I couldn't. My legs were beat. I know I have to take my time and build my mileage back up. I hope by next week, I can run 6 miles again without problems. Tuesday I will be back on my treadmill, hopefully for a 4 or 5 mile run.

In speaking of the treadmill, it was like a slice of heaven. The treadmill is so quiet which is a nice bonus. My last treadmill was so noisy that when running I had to turn the TV volume up to its max to hear anything. Today, the TV was at a normal volume. The treadmill has an extra wide belt. Which is good because I tend not to run in a straight line and go from side to side. The deck is adjustable. I can go from soft surface, like running outside on the grass, to a firm surface, like running on the streets. Today I started at 5, which is firm. During the run, I made an adjustment to 3. It also has a fitness age center. You do a eight minute test and it calculates your actual fitness age. My fitness age is 18. And lastly, it has a iPod dock. This is the best treadmill I have ever run on and it total kicks my last treadmill's ass!

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
John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth, Michael Munn
Robert Kennedy: His Life, Evan Thomas
Grace of Monaco, Steven Englund
Nemesis, Peter Evans
A Royal Duty, Paul Burrell
The Search for Amelia Earhart, Fred Goerner
Seinfeld: The Making of an American Icon, Jerry Oppenheimer
The Day John Died, Christopher Andersen
As Time Goes By: The Life of Ingrid Bergman, Laurence Leamer

Currently Reading: Diana's Boys, Christopher Andersen
Up Next: The Family, Kitty Kelley

Treadmill talk

While running and sweating to death yesterday evening, I couldn't wait for the repair to come and fix my treadmill today. I was thinking how nice it would be to run inside, with a fan and a TV. That dream might have to wait until the weekend. I will be forced to run in the blazing heat and humidity again today.

The repairman came this afternoon to give the treadmill CPR. The repairman took a look at the treadmill and said there was no way to fix it. One of the metal bars that helps stabilize the treadmill underneath broke at a joint. He told my husband that is why the belt bunched up. The repairman said he would call headquarters to see if we would have to send it in for repairs or we just get a new one.

My husband had to go to work for a while and said the repairman was going to call him. About ten minutes after my husband left, I received a phone call from the repairman. He dialed my number instead of my husband's. He told me that headquarters said that our treadmill is not fixable. That means that we get a brand new treadmill. A new treadmill! That will be sweet!

This weekend we need to go to the store and pick out another for free. I love warranties! I only have to endure a couple more days of heat and humidity. By Sunday I hope to be running on my brand new treadmill. Happy early birthday to me.

Miles run in 2008

Another week began without my beloved treadmill. I have been alternating my runs between the lovely city streets to the local high school track for a change. At the track, I don't have to watch out for cars, listen to rude people or really think. My GPS adds up the mileage and I just have to run in a circle. On the streets, I do get different scenery to look at and the runs seem to go faster.

My goal last week was to get in a couple of 6 mile runs. I always fell short. The first time was because of heavy rain. The second day was due to lack of time. My afternoon was clear yesterday and I wanted to get in a 6 mile run at the track. My run started off fine. Once I reached 3 miles, my legs were really tired. I stopped, grabbed my water bottle and walked. After the first walking lap, I mixed it up and ran some intervals. The second lap, I did one 100 meter sprint. The third lap, I threw in two 100 meters. The last lap I jogged. I did reach 4 miles. But that wasn't the way I wanted to reach it.

It seems like every time I step onto the track, I mentally can't go the entire 24 laps. If I was running on my treadmill or on the streets, I could do it with no problems. Maybe I can't handle running in a circle 24 times? I don't know what my problem is. Wednesday, I would like to run 6 miles. I don't know if that will happen. It is supposed to be very hot tomorrow. I'm unsure if it will be humid as well. I will just take a run on the streets and see how far I can go.

Thursday is a day of interest. The treadmill repair guy is supposed to come over. I know the treadmill needs to be repaired. I just want the repair guy to pull the belt out straight so I can run inside on the hot, humid days that will be here at the end of the week. I really don't want to kill myself outside in that weather.

2004: 170.8
2005: 212.2
2006: 270.6
2007: 276.0
2008: 560. 3

Sun through the leaves - Adrian, MI

Running woes

I was running on my not so well functioning treadmill Tuesday. I wanted to get in an easy four miles before my shooting a baseball game.

After two miles, I felt my left foot start to brush something. I looked down and the treadmill belt is gradually folding over itself. I stopped the treadmill and looked at the belt. I couldn't believe the belt got a crease in it and started bunching up. I got out the tools to tighten/loosen the belt. I made a couple of twists on both sides and started the treadmill up again. I thought the belt would loosen and straighten out. It didn't. It did the opposite. It started to fold over and bunch more. I finally gave up and decided that there was nothing I could do to help it. By the time I got done fiddling with the treadmill, it was too late to continue my run outside before going to my assignment. I was a bit upset.

Since my treadmill is unusable until it gets fixed next Thursday, I decided to go to the local high school track to run. I picked the high school because no one would be yelling stupid comments to me, it is nice and smooth and I wanted to run on a track again. I get to the track and I looked up at the clouds. Storm clouds were moving in. The weather report said there was a 30% chance of rain. It looked about certain it was going to storm. I got on the track and started running. During my run, it got really dark, windy and started to thunder. It looked like it was going to blow over, so I continued running.

During the third mile it started to sprinkle. I absolutely hate running with wet shoes and socks, but this was hardly a soaking rain so I kept going. As I was running, the rain was changing to a harder rain. At almost four miles, I was getting drenched because it was raining so hard. I finished lap 16 (4 miles) and stopped. I walked to my car to wait out the downpour. Twenty minutes later it was still pouring. I wanted the rain to stop because I really wanted to run two more miles to reach 6 miles for the day. But it wasn't meant to be. I went home. After taking a shower and sitting down at my computer to do work is when the rain stopped and the sun came out. Just my luck.

This afternoon I went back to the track to run some more. I wanted to run 6 miles, but I wasn't so sure I would make it. The sun was out, it was very humid and my calves were tight. I ran 3.5 miles. I'm sure if I would have ran slower I could have gotten in 4 miles but I didn't want to kill my legs. On days like this, I would have been in the basement running on my treadmill.

Books read in 2008

I hopped into bed last night and planned on reading a few pages before going to sleep. I was hoping the book would make me tired. It didn't. I continued reading after ten pages. I was so close to the end of the book, that I wanted to stay awake and finish. And that is what I did. I went to sleep almost an hour and half later then I should have.

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
Robert Kennedy: His Life, Evan Thomas
Grace of Monaco, Steven Englund
Nemesis, Peter Evans
A Royal Duty, Paul Burrell
The Search for Amelia Earhart, Fred Goerner
Seinfeld: The Making of an American Icon, Jerry Oppenheimer
The Day John Died, Christopher Andersen

Currently Reading: As Time Goes By: The Life of Ingrid Bergman, Laurence Leamer
Up Next: Diana's Boys, Christopher Andersen

What's new pussycat?

I saw the neighbor's cat Harley in my driveway while looking out my kitchen windows. Harley is a nice kitty cat. A slender, short haired, white and yellow cat. He is mainly an indoor cat, but they do let him out for some fresh air and to do whatever it is that cats do. If I'm outside when Harley is, I'll stop over and visit him.

I went out the front door to meet Harley. Harley was cooling off in the shade under some plants. I called his name a couple times and he ran over to me. I pet him on the head and rubbed my hand down his back. I did this a couple of times and he liked it. Harley then laid down on my sidewalk and started to roll around. I pet his back leg. He didn't like that. He swatted at me with his left declawed front paw. He then started rolling around again. I then pet his front leg. Again, he didn't like that. I got another front paw swat. He rolled around again and I did nothing.

He got up and started for home. Harley then trip over a long plastic strip from the roof lying in our flower bed. He must of thought I was trying to grab him. He hissed and continued walking home. Odd.

Shadows - Tecumseh, MI

Books read in 2008

I didn't do much over the holiday weekend because my husband was away at work. I relaxed mainly. I enjoyed staying up late and sleeping in. I was a protector of my dogs when fireworks or firecrackers were heard in the neighborhood. I ran, napped, watched Olympic trials, read two books in two days and it was great.

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
Robert Kennedy: His Life, Evan Thomas
Grace of Monaco, Steven Englund
Nemesis, Peter Evans
A Royal Duty, Paul Burrell
The Search for Amelia Earhart, Fred Goerner
Seinfeld: The Making of an American Icon, Jerry Oppenheimer

Currently Reading: The Day John Died, Christopher Andersen
Up Next: As Time Goes By: The Life of Ingrid Bergman, Laurence Leamer

A bump in the road

I was really happy yesterday afternoon. I was done with work and looking forward to a nice evening of running, reading, and Olympic Track and Field trials. All of that went south fairly quickly.

My afternoon collected dark clouds quickly and upset me the rest of the day. Sorry, no details on the first account. The second upsetting thing of the day was the lack of the treadmill repair man at my house. My husband and I waited all afternoon for the guy to show up. When I rescheduled the appointment last Wednesday, the operator on the line told me that my next appointment would be July 3 between the hours of 1-5 pm. Six o' clock came and went and no repairman.

My husband called the company to inquire about the missed appointment. The operator who helped me last week did not enter my reschedule appointment in the computer properly. My husband was told the earliest a repairman could get to our house is two weeks from now, July 17. That didn't make my husband or myself very happy.

To try to regain a normal day, I ran six miles on the unfixed treadmill while watching the movie Road House on TV. That movie can always cheer me up. It is so bad its funny. I think the best part of the movie is where Patrick Swayze's character Dalton rips out Jimmy's throat with his bare hand. (If you know the movie that I'm refering to, go here and read this. It had me laughing so hard.) After my run, I called my friend and talked to him about my day. It cheered me up. After my phone conversation I tried to get passed the bad part and enjoy the rest of my weekend.

I tried to stay awake until 11 pm EST to watch the Track and Field trials on TV. I only made it to 10:30 pm. I fell asleep watching the Detroit Tigers playing the Seattle Mariners. I woke up around 1 am on the couch. I missed the trials, but I did record it and watched it this morning.

Yesterday was a bad day. It wasn't the worst day of my life. I'm going to take that experience, learn from it and work harder at it next time.

Random things

After work I went to the bank to cash my check. As I was standing in line, an older gentleman brought his large dog inside the bank with him. The dog wasn't a leader dog or leader dog in training. The guy just brought him in with him. Have the rules on dogs inside a public place changed? Next time I go to the mall, the dogs are coming with me.

My treadmill has been sick for two weeks now. Last week, the company canceled on us. They said that no repairman was going to be in our area. That forced me to reschedule. And it didn't make me very happy. The repairman is coming this afternoon to fix it. The problems with the treadmill is the belt is loose on it and a part has to be replaced. Even though the belt is loose, I still have been running on it. The first few minutes on it are unstable, but once you get going its fine. Later today, I will have a long date with my treadmill. I plan on running six or seven miles.

I left work at 11:30 a.m. this morning. I am so excited to start a nice three day weekend! I was dying with anticipation waiting for the clock to tick down.

Books read in 2008

My book and iPod accompanied me yesterday during my wait at the Secretary of State. I waited about an hour and twenty minutes to renew my license, license plate, take an eye exam and get a new picture taken. I read about 50 pages and finished the book at home yesterday evening. Now I'm book less until tomorrow.


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
Robert Kennedy: His Life, Evan Thomas
Grace of Monaco, Steven Englund
Nemesis, Peter Evans
A Royal Duty, Paul Burrell

Currently Reading:
Up Next: Library trip

Not right

The time is 8:51 p.m. The sun is still up and it is still bright outside. The neighborhood children are playing outside. Not playing, mostly just yelling. The Track and Field Olympic trials continue tonight at 11 p.m. EST and I have to tape them. I would rather watch live. This is the part I dislike about summer the most. Going to bed at 9 p.m.

Pink - Adrian, MI

Keyhole - Adrian, MI

Barrier - Adrian, MI

Miles run in 2008

This afternoon I ran six miles on my treadmill to avoid the summer rain. And in the process, I passed 500 miles run for the year. I really wanted to run outside, but I didn't know if the rain was going to bring thunderstorms. Now that my run is over, it is barely sprinkling outside and no thunderstorms. Oh well. There is always tomorrow to go outside and run.

I ran outside yesterday. It felt good being in the open air. Physically, I wasn't that good. My legs were very tired and sore from Sunday's 10K. In the middle of my run a pain in my lower back started. I took a short walk break to give a break to my legs and back. It helped. A couple of blocks away from my house, a man in a van driving by yelled out "run faster" out of his window. I said something back to him. I doubt he heard it. I stopped at a stoplight for oncoming traffic to go by. I leaned over and had my hands on my knees taking a breather when a man on a bike rode by me. He asked if I was OK. I said I was and I thanked him. He could have rode by and made a stupid comment. But he didn't. It was really nice of him to ask me. Not all people that pass me on the street are jerks.

2004: 156.6
2005: 194.6
2006: 251.0
2007: 237.5
2008: 504.6

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
John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth, Michael Munn
Robert Kennedy: His Life, Evan Thomas
Grace of Monaco, Steven Englund
Nemesis, Peter Evans

Currently Reading: A Royal Duty, Paul Burrell
Up Next: Library trip

Weekend Update

Seeing Jerry Seinfeld Friday was awesome. The show lasted about an hour and a half. During his act, I did remember a couple of things from the show. I didn't lean over to tell my husband, 'That was from Seinfeld!' during the show. I didn't want to talk and disrupt the others around me. I waited to tell him when we were in the truck leaving the theatre. Unlike me trying not to be obnoxious, the guys in front and in back of us were. The guys repeated everything Jerry said to their dates. Which by the way was annoying. But to top it off, the guy who was behind us, his breath stunk. I kept smelling it throughout the show. I checked my breath to make sure it wasn't me. After the show I asked my husband if it was him. It wasn't. He said it was the guy behind us because he smelled it too. I hope his date enjoyed smelling that all night.

I ran in my first 10K of the year Sunday. It was a pleasant day. It was sunny, but not too hot. It was the first time running with an iPod during a race. I really liked it. It helped pass the time. The only problem was the left earphone got loose a couple of times. It was no problem to fix that while running.

Usually at the start of a run, I always think to myself why am I doing this? Sunday was different. I never had that thought. I was really excited to be running. Most of the race, I was by myself. Which isn't a big deal to me. I like to run by myself. After five miles, I was running up a terrible hill, when I saw a white t-shirt out of the corner of my eye. It was a guy. I didn't think anyone was behind me. I kept going at my pace. I reached my hand out at the last water station about at 5.5 miles. I heard the guy talk and saw him. It is like he appeared out of no where. By the way the water at the last station was not good. It was warm, it tasted like it came out of a garden hose and it had a hint of chlorine. Not good combinations. After the water station I crossed the road to the left side to finish out the race. The guy stayed to my right. Within a quarter of a mile to the finish, he runs in front of me. I thought I would have enough to chase him down. I didn't. My legs were beat. I finished the race in 1:11:38. My official time was 1:12. I like my watch time better.

Every week I like to run over 20 miles. On Sunday after the 10K, I was still two miles short. Later in the afternoon. I put back on my running shoes and headed down into my basement. I got on the treadmill and finished my two miles. It was tough. My legs were sore from the run in the morning. I did it and finished at 20 miles for the week.

When I was running in the 10K, I didn't notice my dri-fit shirt and shorts were chaffing me. Changing my clothes, I saw all of the marks left. I had one on the inside of my arms from my dri-fit sleeves, marks on my upper stomach and back from my sports bra and marks around my waist from the shorts. I need to find clothes that won't rub me raw during my half-marathon run. If I got this many during a 10K, what will I look like after 13.1 miles?

Random things

I haven't been able to get to update the last couple of days. My husband had a couple of days off from work and was glued to the computer. He was playing computer games. I was only able to get him to stop playing war games to check my email.

While photographing a baseball game yesterday I heard the most unusual conversation. Note, I was not standing in the dugout. Usually I do, but not yesterday. I was leaning on an outside wall. All of the guys knew I was there taking photos, but this was talked about anyway. Some of the guys were talking about how big their members were. I heard one player said that, "He had a huge c*ck." I believe the conversation stopped when game was called to a mercy rule. Later during dinner, I told my husband what I heard. He asked if it excited me. I said no. I told him 17-20 year old guys didn't excite me.

When walking into work this morning at 4:30 a.m., birds were chirping loud. It seemed like they were really happy to be up this early in the morning. Unlike me. I wanted to get back into my car, drive back home and crawl back into bed.

My husband and I are going to see Jerry Seinfeld tonight at the Stranahan Theater in Toledo, Ohio. Before the show we are going to go to the Westfield Franklin Park Mall and eat dinner afterwards. The dinner will probably be what I choose. Tonight, I'm thinking Outback Steakhouse. When we are at the mall, I foresee me shopping in Aeropostale or Hollister.

Sunday is my first 10K of the year. I hope it is a nice day in the low 70s and not too humid. Two years ago when I ran the 10K, it was over 80 degrees and very humid at 9 am. I hope it is different this year.

This story is unbelievable. Female high school students are not smart and shouldn't do what their friends are doing. When I was in high school, I would never agree to this pact. What is wrong with society?

Life

Not much has been going on with me. It's the same old story everyday. Get up for work, drive to work, work, come home, eat lunch with the husband, nap, run, go back to work. This is my life. I know. Doesn't it sound thrilling?

Since the start of June, the vacations in my department have begun. Every week someone is gone. I have already used a week's vacation after the winter sports season ended in March. I have three weeks and ten hours to use before the end of the year. Or I lose that vacation. I don't think I will have a hard time using it. Last week, I filled out paperwork for my next week vacation. Too bad it is the first week of August.

The countdown has began, sort of. I'm not obsessing about it. I know it is off in the distance and it will be here soon.

Weekend Update

Woke early on Saturday morning to get ready and drive to a wedding in the next county. It was a nice sunny day, unlike the day before with drenching rain and thunderstorms. By mid-afternoon, I was sweating a lot in my polo shirt and pants. I think the bridal party beat me when they were riding in their stretch limo. The AC wasn't working too well. I worked from 9:20 am to 9:45 pm. I got home at 10:30 pm. So it is safe to say it was a long day. I think for the entire day, besides driving, I sat for only an hour.

I spent Sunday morning cleaning my house. I saw on TV a while ago, that if you put your sponge in the microwave for two minutes it will kill germs. I wanted to kill germs, so I put my sponge in and walked back to the bathroom to finish cleaning. During the two minutes, I was smelling something. I walked back into the kitchen and opened the microwave. The sponge was burnt. I'm such an idiot. I put a dry sponge into the microwave. If you try it at home, make sure the sponge is wet. Later that evening I told my husband about the incident. He said it could have started a fire. There was no fire. But a lot of smoke and burning smells for the rest of the morning and early afternoon.

Sunday, the NASCAR Sprint Series had a race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. MIS is twenty minutes away from my house. I passed the assignment to a freelance photographer because having photographed a wedding on Saturday, I wanted a day off. The time I don't cover a race is when my favorite driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., wins. It was a little disappointing that I wasn't there. There's always next time.

From standing most of the day on Saturday, I woke up with sore and tight quads. Most of Sunday, I spent on the couch reading, watching TV or napping, trying to rest my legs. Sunday is my long day of running. I was going to pass on the run, but I needed to do it. I thought I would just see how far I could go. When I started running, my quad pain went away. I ended up running six miles. Right after I stopped running and started walking around the quad tightness and soreness reappeared. Which I thought was weird. But I was glad I could get my six mile run in.

Yesterday was Father's Day. I didn't do anything to celebrate it. Even though my dad has been gone for almost 10 years, I did think of him during the day. I was thinking, if he was still with us would he have watched the race? Would all of the family be at home with him? My husband and I went out to dinner in the evening. Looking around the restaurant, most people were with their fathers. It made me sad. They can still hug and talk to them. If I want to see my dad, I have memories, photos to look at or visit the cemetery. Even those can't replace the fact that he is gone.

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
John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth, Michael Munn
Robert Kennedy: His Life, Evan Thomas
Grace of Monaco, Steven Englund

Currently Reading: Nemesis, Peter Evans
Up Next: A Royal Duty, Paul Burrell

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.