Turkey trot

I wasn't in an official Turkey Trot this morning. But I did run a 5K. On my treadmill.

There isn't a 5K race on Thanksgiving where I live. So I started running my own Turkey Trot on my treadmill a couple of years ago. Now its just tradition.

I didn't win a medal, but I was happy that I did run today. I will get back on my treadmill tomorrow. I need to run off all of the food I ate today.

Longest day ever

The longest I ever worked in one day was 13 hours. Now I can say I have worked longer then that. I just finished working 16 hours. I didn't work all of the hours consecutively, which really helped. Also, I didn't start and finish them on the same day. I started work at 4:30 am Tuesday and finished work at 2 am Wednesday morning.

I have a couple of work related items to do later this morning. The good news is, they won't take very long at all. By 1 pm today, I will be done with work until Monday morning. That is awesome after working so long today.

Unexpected project

When I walked into the dining room Sunday, I noticed something different. A bunch of ceiling tiles were stacked on the table and some were on the floor. They fell from the ceiling when my husband came home from work. He picked them up and stacked them on the table. The previous owners of our house re-tiled the dining room and didn't do a great job. When we moved in, some of the ceiling titles were bowing in spots.

My husband and I were talking about redoing the ceiling about a month ago. But that was supposed to be a project for next year. Well it is a project now. My husband ripped down the rest of the ceiling tiles that didn't previously fall to the floor. After all of the tiles were down, he decided he was going to repaint the dining room. We painted it way back in 2002 after we moved in. Over time the walls began to get scuff marks and gouges from everyday activities. It is time for a fresh coat of paint.

Currently all of the furniture is in the middle of dining room. That was necessary because he primered the walls last night. Today the wall will have its fresh coat of paint. Once he is finished with the walls, the furniture will be moved back to its place. As for the ceiling, that will be on hold. We, or actually my husband, needs to call a contractor to coming in a put drywall up. After that job is done, we will be looking at new crown molding to add to the room.

Then finally, we can check the dining room ceiling off of our list of things to do. We have lived in our house for six years and we still have many projects left to do.

Random things

I went to the eye doctor this morning. Got an exam, the puff of air in my eyes and ordered new contacts. I was there for 20 minutes or so and it cost me over $200. Without eye insurance, that is very expensive. I swear each year the price keeps going up and up. I wonder how much it will cost next year?

Following the eye doctor, I drove to the library. I went in and looked around. Nothing really looked good. I did try to find a book about Joan Crawford. The computer card catalog said the book was in. But it wasn't on the shelf. I really didn't want to ask for help, because I didn't want to wait around. After I finish Wicked, I'll give the library another try. Hopefully, I'll find something that I'll want to read.

The dance studio that I photograph at is closed this week for Thanksgiving. This week, I'm trying to catch up on my photo blog. I'm loading my favorite photos from each class and a slideshow. My goal is to have the blog up to date by the end of the week. But I have a long way to go. I still have photos and slideshows to load from 14 classes.

Tuesday will be my longest day of the week. I will go to work at 4:30 am and leave at 10:30 am. Around 2:30 pm, I will get in my car and drive to a high school to photograph winter team sports head shots. Later at 7 pm, I will drive across town to photograph a college basketball game. At halftime I will leave, drive back to the office and work a night shift to get out the next day's paper. I'm figuring that I will leave work around 1:30 or 2 am. I'm hoping that I will be able to keep myself awake. Before my afternoon assignment, I my plan is to take a nap. After that long day, I will be able to relax because I will have a four day weekend.

Books read in 2008

I highly recommend Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. It was a very good read. The ending of the book surprised me. I thought it was going to go one way and it ended up going a in a different direction that I didn't expect. Now I hope the movie is as good as the book.

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
Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia, Stephen Fried
Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp, Stephanie Klein
Tallulah!: The Life and Times of a Leading Lady, Joel Lobenthal
All Too Human, Edward Kline
Princess Grace, Gwen Robyns
Audrey Hepburn, Barry Paris
Postmortem: How Medical Examiners Explain Suspicious Deaths, Stefan Timmermans
Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates

Currently Reading: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Gregory Maguire
Up Next: Library trip on Monday

Random things

It feels like I haven't blogged in a year. In reality it has been only since Tuesday. I haven't really been near my computer, except at work. When I've been home, I've only been on the computer to check email.

Wednesday, Bravo made me really happy. They replayed the first season of Top Chef. I really enjoy that show. I have watched every season and I still think that it is the best. My favorite chef was Stephen Asprinio. He didn't win. He made it to the top five. Stephen knows wine and certainly knows how to dress.

Also Wednesday was the finale of America's Next Top Model cycle 11. Since the beginning, I really liked McKey. She was never in the bottom two and always had a fabulous photo. On the finale she was named the winner over Samantha. Her CoverGirl photo was great and I think that put her over the top.

Last night I was so excited about the dinner I made. I made meatloaf. I haven't made it in a couple of years because I always thought I lost the recipe. I didn't. I was looking through a cookbook earlier this week and found it. Usually, I don't make dinner unless it comes out of a box or a bag. When it is more then that, my husband makes dinner. I prepared the meat and made the potatoes. The hour wait to eat was worth it. The meatloaf tasted the way that I remembered it growing up, delicious. Now that I know that I have the recipe, I could eat it everyday.

This morning, I took my car to get an oil change. When I handed my keys over, I was told it would take an hour. I brought along my book to pass the time. I walked into the waiting area and sat down. The first thing I hear is the TV. It was really loud. But it always is. They must turn it up because they think not everyone can hear it. To drown out the noise of the TV, I put in my earphones, turned on my iPod and opened my book. The sound of the TV was distracting me from reading. I read and reread the same paragraph for a couple of minutes. I finally concentrated on the words and was able to turn the page. At one point, I looked up at the TV to see what time it was. I was amazed that 40 minutes had passed so quickly. Many thanks to my book.

Shortly after that a woman walked into the waiting area with her son who was about 3 or 4. She sat down and he immediately ran over to the toy box. He instantly started going through all of the toys. He would get them out of the box, walk across the waiting area to his mother and set down the toy. Then he would go back to the toy box and do it again. After a while he grew tired of the toys. He picked up one and threw it in the toy box. He walked back over to his mother and started throwing toys from across the room. They didn't make it into the toy box. He walked back over near the toy box and started throwing every other toy. Most of them didn't make it back into the box. They landed in a pile to the side of the toy box. The entire time this boy was throwing the toys, his mother was on her cell phone. She didn't tell him to stop or even look in his direction. Just as long as he wasn't bothering her. My name was called moments later. I was so happy my car was done so I could leave. I don't know how much longer I could have sat there while this kid was throwing toys and his mother did nothing about it.

Photos of Stephen and McKey.

McKey photo credit: www.cwtv.com

Life's sweetest moments

Since my freshman year in college, I always had to work the busiest shopping day of the year. The jobs I held during college were in retail, so I was always expected to work. For the first time in 11 years, I have the day after Thanksgiving off. This year, I will not back my car out of my driveway at 4:25 am to see a lineup of cars heading down the street toward the mall, Meijer and Wal-Mart. I will still be in bed, sleeping. What really makes it sweet is it will be a four day weekend. How fabulous!

Books read in 2008

I have been reading Revolutionary Road for about two days. I've already passed 180 pages. I'm really enjoying this book and can't wait to see the movie.

Revolutionary Road trailer


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
Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia, Stephen Fried
Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp, Stephanie Klein
Tallulah!: The Life and Times of a Leading Lady, Joel Lobenthal
All Too Human, Edward Kline
Princess Grace, Gwen Robyns
Audrey Hepburn, Barry Paris
Postmortem: How Medical Examiners Explain Suspicious Deaths, Stefan Timmermans

Currently Reading: Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates
Up Next: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Gregory Maguire

Miles run in 2008

Ever since I finished my half marathon in October, I have been running less miles a week. For over a year I have been running over 20 miles a week to train for the half. Now I'm leisurely enjoying running less then 20 miles a week, five days a week. In the new year, I will pick my mileage back up and train once again for the half marathon. Every once in a while its nice not to worry about mileage.

2004: 259.6
2005: 313.8
2006: 426.0
2007: 499.5
2008: 861.0

Books read in 2008

I picked up a vintage copy of Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates at the local library. I have been eyeing that book for over a month because of the trailers for the opening movie in January. Revolutionary Road stars Leonardo DiCarpio and Kate Winslet.


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
Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia, Stephen Fried
Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp, Stephanie Klein
Tallulah!: The Life and Times of a Leading Lady, Joel Lobenthal
All Too Human, Edward Kline
Princess Grace, Gwen Robyns
Audrey Hepburn, Barry Paris

Currently Reading: Postmortem: How Medical Examiners Explain Suspicious Deaths, Stefan Timmermans
Up Next: Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates

Escape

I'm really thankful my neighbor came over to my house yesterday. He let me know that one of our German shepherds, Kelly, escaped from the backyard. If he didn't see her, she could have run away or maybe into traffic. Not something that I like to picture.

When I opened the door, he said that one of our dogs was loose. I asked which one it was and he pointed to the front of his house. I saw Kelly standing there. I asked if Blitzkrieg was out. He said it was just her. I called Kelly and she came right to me. I thanked my neighbor and shut the door.

I went outside to check the backyard. I wanted to find where she got out. I looked at the fence. I found one of the rails to our backyard fence not screwed in at the bottom and was loose. I knew about this for a while. The railing has been like that for almost a year. But she has never escaped before. So I really didn't know if that was the way she got out. Kelly can jump, so I though maybe she jumped over the fence.

Later that morning, I let Blitzkrieg and Kelly outside. I looked out the dining room window a couple of minutes later to check on them. I saw Kelly with her head through the fence railings. She was trying to escape again. And right next to her watching was her pal Blitzkrieg. I pounded on the window and Kelly immediately removed her head from in between the fence railings and ran to the backdoor. She knew what she was doing was wrong. Kelly came back into the house with her head down.

My husband fixed the fence later in the day. Kelly can no longer escape from our backyard and run the streets alone.

A bit odd

The past two Fridays, I covered a high school football playoff game. The first game was Adrian Maples vs Mason Bulldogs and the second game was Sand Creek Aggies vs Reading Rangers. Both games and all four schools had something in common. Their fight song. All four schools used On, Wisconsin! as their fight song.

I found it strange that two weeks in a row, I heard the same song at two different schools. Not that I'm complaining. I'm a graduate of Sand Creek. No matter what school I'm at and I hear On, Wisconsin! I always recall my high school fight song in my head.

Since all of our county football teams lost last Friday, it will be a while before I hear On, Wisconsin! again.

Something that made my day

Kim Cattrall was on a British TV show and she said that there will be a Sex and the City movie sequel. I was pleased with how the movie ended. But it is always nice to see the girls again.

Feeling rundown

This morning at work a co-worker asked me why I have been so quiet this week. I answered that I was tired. She looked at me and said that everyone is tired. I thought I needed to explain myself:

I have been really busy these last couple of weeks. For the past three weekends in a row, I have run a race. The first was a half marathon, the second a 5K and the third a 10K. After my half marathon, I have continued to run four to five times a week. Last Saturday, I covered the cross country state finals at Michigan International Speedway. That included running in and out of a van going from point A, B and C. After getting photos of the local runners, I ran from the finish line to the media vans that were located behind pit row. About two hours later I was an alter server at church. This week I have driven out of the county twice to cover district volleyball games. I will be leaving the county again tomorrow night for a district football game. The drive times to each place have been an hour as will tomorrow's drive.

After I explained to the co-worker why I was tired, she said that listening to me just made her tired.

I try to take naps every afternoon. I go to bed early and rise every early (4 a.m.). But it seems like I'm always tired. I was supposed to run today, but I decided to take a day off. My treadmill will still be in the same place tomorrow. All I can say is I'm looking forward to the weekend. Much needed rest.

Results

For this entire election season, there was only really one race I was concerned about. And it wasn't the Presidential election.

I went to bed last night without seeing any results. I woke up this morning and refreshed some election websites on my computer. The results were staring me in the face. The best candidate for the job won. Now I can stop worrying about what could of happened if the race went the other way. Today begins a brand new era. An era that makes many people happy.

Jump - Adrian, MI

I'm sick of hearing, talking and thinking about the election. I can't wait until its over. No more ads on TV, radio or in my mailbox. Here is something that has nothing to do with politics.

Random things

Due to the time change, I woke up at 6:20 am and I couldn't get back to sleep. Instead of laying in bed, I got up and started housework. Not the most pleasant thing I like to do very early on a Sunday morning. But I did. At 9 am I had a 10K to run and I didn't want to do housework when I got home. So I did it before. I believe it was the smart choice.

I mentioned I ran a 10K race Sunday. It was the worst 10K I have ever run. Before reaching mile 2 my legs were dead. I only ran three days last week and it was at the beginning of the week. I rested Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Saturday I did run during the state cross country finals at Michigan International Speedway. It was only a short distance from the finish line to the media vans three times. It seemed like the rest days didn't help. My three mile time was a bit slow, but right where I should have been. The race really killed me when I entered the new designed course through the cemetery. The inclines and the hills really hit me. It seemed like I was never going to get through the cemetery and get to the finish line. I crossed the finish line at 1:16:56. I finished dead last. The last runner on the course. I have finished last many times before and that is OK. I would rather finish last then not running at all. I may not be very fast, but I love to run. And I'll continue to run as long as I can.

The Detroit Lions played a very close game. They played well the first half and my favorite player Jason Hanson (the kicker) made a 52-yard field goal. Detroit was leading at halftime 23-13 and the Chicago Bears came back to beat them 27-23. The Lions are now 0-8. It was announced today that the Lions signed Daunte Culpepper. I don't know if he can help them now.

Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain won her third New York City Marathon. American Kara Goucher finished third. Goucher is the first American to finish in the top three since 1994. I watched the marathon highlights on TV Sunday and I have to say Kara looked very good in her first marathon.

Sr. Elite Jazz Team - Adrian, MI

The Senior Elite Jazz Team practicing a dance routinue Wednesday to Rihanna's "Disturbia".

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
Truman, David McCullough
Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia, Stephen Fried
Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp, Stephanie Klein
Tallulah!: The Life and Times of a Leading Lady, Joel Lobenthal
All Too Human, Edward Kline
Princess Grace, Gwen Robyns

Currently Reading: Audrey Hepburn, Barry Paris
Up Next: Postmortem: How Medical Examiners Explain Suspicious Deaths, Stefan Timmermans

Random things

This past weekend's 5K run at the cemetery went OK. The course was basically the same from last year, except for the new hill they threw in. The weather conditions were on the chilly side but that didn't stop the 100 plus runners. My time was OK. Nothing too spectacular, 33:50:92. By the way I was running, I thought my time would have been faster then it was. I guess the many rolling hills of the cemetery got me.

Sunday was the season finale of Mad Men. I can't believe we have already watched 13 episodes. I'm greedy and I want more. Words cannot explain how much I love this show. The show has been renewed by AMC, but the stars of the show haven't renegotiated their contracts. I hope they do. What is Mad Men without Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and Roger Sterling (John Slattery)?

More TV news, Bravo is planning a copycat of Project Runway. I read that season 6 in Los Angeles just rapped up. I wonder how long it will take before we see it aired on a new station? Also, another Bravo favorite of mine, Top Chef returns November 12.

This coming Saturday is one of my favorite days of the year. It is the cross country state finals in Michigan held at Michigan International Speedway. It is the day where I get to see some of the finest runners in the state. Also, the media van that the photographers ride in gets up to 80 mph on the banks of the race track. It is necessary to drive on the track, we need to get to the finish quickly to catch the runners at the finish line. Awesome! The weather is going to be partly cloudy and 51 degrees. Should be a great day to watch some runners.

My last race of the year is Sunday. It has been a great 2008 season and I can't wait until 2009. I will be able to enter in more 5/10K races that I couldn't before due to photographing weddings and run the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon again.

The lovely Marilyn - New York City, NY

Marilyn Monroe at Madame Tussauds in New York City.

Books read in 2008

It took almost a month for me to read the book, Tallulah!: The Life and Times of a Leading Lady by Joel Lobenthal. That is too long. A couple of weeks ago, I picked up four books at the library that I think I'll have no trouble getting through fast.


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
Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia, Stephen Fried
Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp, Stephanie Klein
Tallulah!: The Life and Times of a Leading Lady, Joel Lobenthal

Currently Reading: All Too Human, Edward Kline
Up Next: Princess Grace, Gwen Robyns

Leap - Adrian, MI

Jr. Elite Jazz - Adrian, MI

One of my favorites from the Jr. Elite Jazz class at Encore Dance Studio in Adrian, Michigan.

Miles run in 2008

I read that after running a half marathon, you want to get back into training slowly. I couldn't stand the thought of letting another day go by without running, so I ran Tuesday. Granted it was an easy two miles. But hey, its still running.

Tuesday marked something else as well. It was the first time in a month that I ran without my ankle brace. My ankle felt good. Now my right foot didn't. I had a pain on the outside of my right foot. It wasn't too bad to force me not to run. I plan to run three miles today, two miles Thursday and rest Friday. On Saturday I will be running in a 5K through a cemetery in the evening. I know I will be wearing my ankle brace. The paths are big enough for one car. With a bunch of runners it would be easy to roll an ankle running off the side of the asphalt. Maybe there won't be too many runners, it is supposed to be rain.

2004: 237.4
2005: 245.3
2006: 389.9
2007: 458.2
2008: 806.7

A snack

After work this morning I was hungry. I did eat my Special K bar and fruit snacks for breakfast, but I was still very hungry. I wanted to snack on something before lunch other then the chips sitting on top of my refrigerator. I was in the mood for broccoli, carrots and vegetable dip. I went to the store and found the veggie trays. The smallest tray contained carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery and veggie dip. The cost of the small tray was $9. I really didn't want to pay that much for a tray of two veggies that I don't even like. I'm not a fan of celery and cauliflower. I didn't want to buy the tray and waste the other veggies.

I started looking around for a small bag of broccoli and something caught me eye. It was a salad called broccoli delight. It had broccoli, shredded carrots, sunflower kernels and light ranch dressing inside a plastic package. I bought that along with a tub of light veggie dip and a bag of carrots and broccoli for later.

When I got home I peeled back the plastic and mixed my broccoli delight. I was surprised how very good it was. Who knew I would come to love broccoli and carrots as a snack? Growing up, I didn't like broccoli and I only liked carrots in coleslaw. I was so happy with myself that I chose to eat veggies instead of potato chips. What I really like is how it is a very basic salad, that can be made very easily. I see it as something I will eat quite frequently in the future.

Half Marathon

My first half marathon experience was a tough one. It is something I'll never forget.

The race started off well. I didn't go out fast and didn't pay attention to any other runner around me. I wanted to save my energy because I knew I would need it later in the race. Until mile 4, I was doing great. The run up to and on the Ambassador Bridge killed me. The incline was steep. I continued running, but if you saw me it probably looked like walking. I knew I had to keep my legs moving.

After getting off the bridge and stepping on Canadian soil, I felt pain in left foot. My ankle brace was too tight and it was killing my foot. The half marathon had time limits for certain miles. If you didn't make it past the Ambassador Bridge or the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel (underwater mile) at a certain time, your race was over. So it was definitely not a time to stop and loosen my ankle brace. I continued running with the pain. Before entering the tunnel, someone announced the time. I was fifteen minutes ahead of the tunnel cut off time. So I made a deal with myself. If I could run through mile 8, I would stop and walk to help my foot. And that is what I did. After I passed 8 miles, I started walking. At this point between the pain of my left foot and my legs, I didn't know which was worst.

Exiting the tunnel on the US side, I started running again. I made it another mile or mile and a half before I stopped. I couldn't take the pain anymore. I unlaced my shoe and unlaced my ankle brace. I tied it looser to see if that would work. I put back on my shoe and started again. I quickly stopped again because the top of the ankle brace didn't feel right. I re-tied it and continued running. I didn't get too far without stopping to walk. My legs were dead. I walked the rest of the way.

I feel no shame by walking. I did train for this race for over a year. I did put in the time. I think if I didn't twist my ankle a month ago, I wouldn't stopped after 8 miles. My foot wouldn't have killed from an ankle brace. I probably would have walked at some point, but I don't think it would have been after 8 miles.

I did run to the finish line. Of course in a lot of pain. Once I crossed the finish line I was so happy to finally be done with the race. In all of the races I have run in, I have never been so happy to finish this one. My goal was to finish the half marathon in three hours. I missed the mark slightly, 3:01:05. If I didn't have to adjust my ankle brace twice, I would have made it under three hours.

My husband met me at the finish line and I told him that I would never do this race again. I said that I can scratch that off of my list of accomplishments. I think I said that because my whole body was in pain.

A day after the race, I'm still sore. But that will eventually go away. I know that I said I would never do a half marathon again, I don't think that is true. I want to run the half marathon again next year in Detroit and improve my time. I would like to do a race like this without ankle problems and see how long it takes. I've got a year to train for it.

The Chrysler Building - New York City, NY

It's almost time

A special Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon tab was inserted to the Detroit Free Press today. I went and bought my copy after work. The tab listed every runner/walker/wheelchair applicant's name, age, residence and bib number for Sunday's races. It was thilling to see my name listed in a huge paper like the Free Press. I shouldn't be too excited to see my name in print. I see it printed five times a week.

Women's Half Marathon entries:
Clark-Osborne, Deloris, 29, Adrian, 10058

Flatiron Building - New York City, NY

Manhattan Bridge - New York City, NY

Miles to go

I ran 10 miles on Sunday. It doesn't sound as good as it does.

Around 9 am, I went out for a run. I wanted to run 10 miles in one shot. It didn't happen. Around mile 3, my legs were dead. I had no energy and it disappointed me. I think it was mostly due to the fact I didn't eat before I ran. I wanted to continue, but my legs said no. I walked the rest of the way home. I think my walk was faster then my run anyway. When I got home I completed 5.1 miles by running and walking.

Later in the afternoon, I ran five miles on my treadmill to reach the goal of 10 miles for the day. I have to admit the second five miles that I ran were 100% better then the first five. My legs weren't dead and I actually had some energy. The five miles went back pretty quickly and that made me happy.

I really wanted to get through these 10 miles without any problems. But I didn't. I know when I line up Sunday up in Detroit, I will be fine. A week and a half ago, I ran eight miles around Mackinac Island without any problems. Once I get on the course, I know things will work out fine. I will have the energy of the runners and crowd around me. I get to run across the Ambassador Bridge, underwater for a mile and run into Canada. My first time out of the United States, granted its only for a couple of miles.

Five days to go.

Below is a link to the map of my Half Marathon in Detroit Sunday.
http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/mi/detroit/910892860

Rooftop graffiti - New York City, NY

I really wanted to stop and get a closer look at this graffiti. But I couldn't. It was taken when my husband and I were on a tour bus driving on the Manhattan Bridge. There is some motion blur to the photo because the bus was going 45 miles per hour and it was close to sunset. The tour guide said that this graffiti has been on the buildings in Chinatown since the 1980s. Awesome.

Graffiti door - New York City, NY

While riding a tour bus through Soho I saw this door. I really wanted to yell at the driver to let me off. I'm sure I mentioned it before, I love graffiti. I can't get enough of it. And New York City is filled with it. The only time I really saw loads of graffiti is when my husband and I were riding tour buses that didn't make stops. Out of all of the places that we walked in the city, there wasn't any graffiti to be found. I told my husband that next time we go to NYC, we are not going to do the tourist thing. We will be walking the streets of the different neighborhoods. I really want to see the city when we go back.

Extension - Adrian, MI

Bike - Mackinac Island, MI

Miles run in 2008

According to my half marathon first time training program, I'm supposed to be tapering my runs next week. This week will be a tough one. My plan is to run 10 miles on Sunday. I need to do that run. I need to get it in my head that I can and will be able to run 13.1 miles. For next week, I'm scheduled to run three times and then rest before the big day. I'm looking forward to the race since my 8 mile run around Mackinac Island.

Eleven days and counting.

2004: 228
2005: 268.2
2006: 372.6
2007: 434.2
2008: 767.5

Mackinac trip

My husband and I got back from Mackinac Island Saturday afternoon. We had a nice and relaxing trip. During our trip, my husband attending conference meetings at the Grand Hotel. While he was doing that, I was doing other things.

After eating breakfast Thursday morning, I went out and pounded the pavement. I went out for an 8 mile run around the island on M-185. The run started out nice. Once I got to the back side of the island, the wind coming off the Great Lakes really hit me. To avoid injury by running off the side of the road, I ran down the middle of the road. If I happened to fall and twist an ankle, there wouldn't been help for a while. It was a chilly morning and not too many people out on the back side of the island. I made it through my run alright. Except for my back hurting and injuries on my right foot. My third toenail sliced into my neighboring toe, the second one, and created a nice cut. I also got a cut on the top of my third toe and it was bleeding.

On Thursday morning, I waited a while to go running. At 8 a.m., the temperature outside was 37 degrees and that was with the wind chill. I only had shorts and a long sleeve shirt. Those items wouldn't have kept me too warm. I ran around 11 a.m. and it was a bit warmer. I only went for a 3 mile run. My legs were a tired from the run a day before.

Besides running, I did do a little shopping. All of the stores had huge sales because it is the end of tourist season. Most of the items were between 40-70% off. I bought two sweatshirts. It was really hard just finding those two. Most of the ones that I liked, they didn't have my size. Or if they did have my size, they were really ugly. I also read in my room and enjoyed sleeping in and taking naps. Only on Friday, did I take my camera outside. And I didn't really take that many photos. I know. I'm a bad photographer. This trip was mainly about training for my half-marathon and actually relaxing. Unlike our trip to New York/New Jersey. We were so busy doing stuff everyday. It was nice to not do so much this trip.

When I was running on the back side of the island, I saw so many things that I wanted to take photos of. But I wasn't about to carry an extra ten pounds of camera equipment on run. I wished we would have taken our bikes on the trip. I could have rode my bike out and taken some photos. Since we didn't bring our bikes, I didn't have the money to rent one and I really didn't want to walk four or five miles to take photos. If and when my husband return to Mackinac Island, I will photograph the back of the island. And we will bring our bikes.

The photo was taken on the shoreline of Main Street (M-185). In the background is the Mackinac Bridge.

Flatiron District - New York City, NY

Random things

How cool was it that Michigan came back to beat Wisconsin? Down 19-0 at halftime, the Wolverines scored 27 points in the second half. Wisconsin scored a touchdown with 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter. They needed a two point conversion to tie the game. When a pass was caught in the end zone, I was upset. The game was tied and I didn't think Michigan could win in overtime. Luckily a flag was thrown. Wisconsin was flagged for having an ineligible receiver in the end zone. The Badgers were backed up and had to retry. On the second try, the ball was overthrown and Michigan held on to win the game 27-25. Next week Illinois come to Ann Arbor. I hope Michigan will have a better start to that game. They can't come from behind every week.

It has been over a week since I twisted my ankle running. The swelling has gone down and sometimes it can be a bit stiff. Otherwise it looks and feels like it will be fine. I have been running on it. Inside. On my treadmill. And with my ankle brace. This week when we go to Mackinac Island, I will test my ankle on the road. I know the road around the island is nice and flat. Not many low spots to run into.

There are 19 days left until I run the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Half Marathon. I'm getting a bit nervous for it. Twisting my ankle a week ago hasn't helped. I missed days of running. Days that I could have been running long. While up on the island this week, my plan is to run a day of 8-10 miles. As for the other days, I'll see how I feel. I'm worried that I haven't put in too many long runs even though I have been training for almost a year. I keep thinking will I be able to run 13.1 miles? Will I make it to the bridge before the cutoff time? Only time will tell.

So much TV to watch. Last night was the season premieres for Dexter and Family Guy. Also last night was a new episode of Mad Men. This afternoon, I need to squeeze in 2.5 hours of TV, a run, possibly a nap and a soccer game. If I'm going to accomplish that, I need to get started.

View from the Empire State Building - New York City, NY

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
Truman, David McCullough
Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia, Stephen Fried
Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp, Stephanie Klein

Currently Reading: Tallulah!: The Life and Times of a Leading Lady, Joel Lobenthal
Up Next: Library trip

Barre exercises - Adrian, MI

The Velvet Rope at the Empire State Building - New York City, NY

Pointe warmup - Adrian, MI

One of my favorites from Advanced Pointe class at Encore Dance Studio in Adrian, MI.

Ballet

I will be doing something fun for myself this afternoon. I will be going to a dance studio in town to photograph ballet after a year hiatus. I never wanted to give up photographing it, but work would usually get in the way. With high school sports games being held later in the evening, I can photograph an early ballet class. I'm so excited!

Clouds - New York City, NY

Buildings - New York City, NY

Trip details

Monday - I ran three miles in the morning around the neighborhood surrounding where I was staying. While on my run I noticed some streets the sidewalks stopped near the end of the blocks. The sidewalks that I did run on, some were very uneven. I had to watch every step so I wouldn't trip. After showering and breakfast, my husband's uncle drove us to Newark, New Jersey. We boarded the PATH train and it took us right into the city. While looking for Madame Tussauds, that is where we needed to get our bus tour tickets, we saw a woman walking in Times Square with an outfit that was bad. She was wearing a white shirt and pant. The shirt and pants looked like tissue paper because it was see through. To top everything off she was wearing a dark bra and panties. Not a good look.

Once we got our tickets, we took the downtown tour. Points of interest on this tour was Times Square, Macy's, Empire State Building, SoHo, Chinatown, World Trade Center, Wall Street and others. At different points around the tour, you could hop on and off the bus. My husband and I got off at the Empire State Building. After waiting in lines for 40-50 minutes, going through the metal detector, we finally made it up to the 86th floor - Observation deck. I was taking pictures of the skyline and my husband whispered in my ear, "Psycho". Who, I asked. He said the girl next to me put her Smurf figurine on the ledge and took a picture of it. Sad.

Later that evening, we took the Night Tour. It was 2.5 hours long and we got to see the Manhattan Skyline from Brooklyn, Chinatown, SoHo, Empire State Building, Little Italy and Times Square. What bothered me the most on the night tour was riding across Manhattan Bridge. I'm not afraid of going across bridges, but when you're sitting in the outside seat on a double-decker bus going 40 mph on a bridge where you can't see the guardrails, its a bit freaky. I tried not to look down. But I we did see some spectacular views from the bus. In Brooklyn, the bus drove by a basektball court. The tour guide said pick up basketball games are played there 24/7. Some of the other tourists on the bus were taking photos of the guys playing basketball. One of the people on the basketball court got out his camera and took a photo of us tourists on the bus. It was funny. I didn't understand why people were taking pictures of guys playing basketball in Brooklyn.

Tuesday - I decided not to run because my right calf hurt. After breakfast we were driven to Newark to board the PATH train to New York City. Our first stop was to our hotel, Hotel Mela, to drop off our suitcase and to check in. We wanted to go to the Statue of Liberty. We hopped on the subway. During the ride there, I noticed on the wall of the subway car that if you wanted to get dropped off at Battery Park to go to Staten Island or the Statue, you have to be in the first five cars. Unfortunately we weren't. We were in the next to last car. We got off at the next stop to wait for another train to pick us up. The next train didn't come by for 15 minutes. We arrived at Battery Park and walked to pick up tickets to go to the Statue of Liberty. Tickets, more lines and more metal detectors were waiting for us before we boarded the ferry. At these metal detectors, we had to take off our belts, put in all necklaces, loose change, wallets, bags into totes. Over on the island, my husband really wanted to go into the base of the statue. Where the line was to go into the base, signs said that you needed to get your base tickets a week in advance. We didn't know about it. My husband was disappointed.

After the seeing Lady Liberty, we got on the tour bus to go on the Brooklyn Tour. The tour was 1.5 hours, or so it should have been. Traffic was bad. We went on the tour around 3:00 p.m. So the time we get over to Brooklyn, school is getting out. Bueses and cars were all over. During the tour, a man and woman were sitting in front of us. The woman stands up and walks back to the tour guide. She tells him that she wants off the bus. The tour guide was saying that this tour isn't a hop on/hop off. If he dropped them off in Brooklyn, they would have to find their own way back. This lady was just misable on this tour. Ok, we get it. Brooklyn isn't Manhattan. Not too many tall buildings or fancy shopping. Sit down and shut up. Later, she got up again asking the tour guide how much longer it was going to be. He told her after we go back over the Manhattan Bridge, the bus could drop them off somewhere. That is what they exactly did. The couple was dropped off in Chinatown. At 4:30 p.m., we were supposed to be done with the tour. We weren't due to TRAFFIC. It was so bad. I've never seen rush hour traffic so bad. We were sitting on one street for 10-15 minutes. I was so happy when some people on the bus asked to be dropped off at the Waldorf Astoria & Towers. When they got off, we got off the bus as well. We needed to get ready for Wicked.

We walked the couple of blocks, 7 or 8 blocks, to the Gershwin Theatre for the Broadway muscial, Wicked. The shoes I wore were a huge mistake. I have only worn them a couple of times before. They killed my feet and rubbed off some skin on my toes. I loved the musical. My husband liked it too. If it ever comes to Toledo, I will go see it again. I recommended it to everyone. After the show, we walked a painful couple of blocks to Angus McIndoe restaurant. I ordered three drinks. Two of the drinks they didn't carry and one they couldn't make. So I stuck with water. My husband and I had the New York Strip Steak. It was delicious. One of the best I had. Our server was terrible. The bus boy and the server from the next table did a better job of serving us. Our server was too busy flirting with the bartender. She didn't get a very good tip. The bus boy did.

Wednesday - Got up early for our session with PhotoTrek tours. Our photographer took photos of us in Times Square, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge and SoHo. On the subway during rush hour, it was quiet until some crazy dude started talking loud. He was putting words together like Blue, Ball, Girl, Pants, Government. He would rant then quiet down. At one point I thought he got off the train, but he continued again. A woman who was near him encouraged him to keep talking and maybe one day write a book. OK psycho. The entire time he was talking I was laughing. Our photographer said that he is a New Yorker and has learned to ignore things like that. I thought it was funny. After lunch, we went on the final bus tour of Uptown Treasures & Harlem. While on Bleeker Street, our tour guide said that the bus company made an agreement. They would stay off the microphone on Bleeker Street because it is a quiet street. OK. Why is it quiet? Bleeker Street is lined with bars. Our last stop before leaving Manhattan was Trinity Church and the World Trade Center site.

Thursday - I got up early to run. During my run, I thought to myself how nice it was to run outside without people honking and yelling at me. Just then I stepped in a low spot in the road and twisted my left ankle. I fell hard onto my right knee and laid in the middle of a street. A guy on the sidewalk asked if I was OK. I told him I twisted my ankle. A man in a nice suit was opening his garage door and saw me in his driveway. He asked if I was alright. I said that I twisted my ankle and I wondered if he could give me a ride. He said yes and I climbed into his fancy SUV with leather seats trying not to sweat all over. He dropped me off and I thanked him. I was far from the house. I can't image trying to walk on that.

I iced my ankle and went and bought an ankle brace. It wasn't a tie up one that I like but it made due. After breakfast, I asked to go to a medical store to see if they had the ankle brace I was looking for. They did. The worst part of it was it cost $65. Since my ankle was in bad shape I really didn't feel like doing anything. What we ended up doing for the day was going to a mall, Barnes & Noble and tending to my ankle.

Friday - Iced my ankle and felt sad when I saw others running. I know I have to get back to running. The half marathon is in less then 30 days! We went to Short Hills mall, a very upscale mall, to look around. Didn't buy anything because everything was too expensive. After the mall, I wanted to get back to the house to get off my ankle and read my book about the Supermodel Gia.

Saturday - Eat breakfast with my husband's uncle and drove home. We made it home in 8.5 hours with one stop.

I enjoyed the trip to New York City and New Jersey. I didn't like twisting my ankle, but that sometimes happen. If we go to New York again, I would like to skip all the tourist attractions and walk the neighborhoods. We didn't see too much of anything riding a bus. If you are down walking the sidewalks, you see everything.

Central Park

Photo by Marc Samuels, PhotoTrek Tours

This is one of my favorite photos of my husband and me. It was taken under a bridge in Central Park in New York City.

Books read in 2008

I stayed true to form. While on vacation, I bought some books to read. I read a book in just over three days. I'm sure it could have been quicker, if we didn't do things during the day. I finished the book Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia by Stephen Fried somewhere in Pennsylvania. I will do a recap of my trip Monday.


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
Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia, Stephen Fried

Currently Reading: Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp, Stephanie Klein
Up Next: Tallulah!: The Life and Times of a Leading Lady, Joel Lobenthal

Trip details-day one

Day one of vacation started with an 8.5-9 hour trip. Can Pennsylvania BE any bigger? I think we were in that state the longest. The funniest thing that kept me interested and not falling asleep was two idiots in their trucks racing on I-80. It all started when we passed them doing 75 mph. A couple of minutes later, one of the guys in the truck passed us. Next thing you know, the second guy in his POS truck was doing 90 mph to pass us and the other truck. The passing thing went on for 20 or 30 miles. Both trucks took the same exit before hitting New Jersey. Maybe the wanted to continue that on their exit.

When we finally made it, we were just so excited to get out of the truck. I'm so looking forward to getting back in the truck when we come back to Michigan at the end of the week.

A couple - Blissfield, MI

The dress

I mentioned before that I needed a dress for a dinner at the Grand Hotel in October. I found my dress this morning.

It was one of the two dresses that I posted photos of in the post link above.

I went with this one. The color is Espresso.

Photo Credit: www.alfredangelo.com

Random things

I was sitting in the stands yesterday before photographing a volleyball game. A family came and sat next to me. I overheard the mother talking talking to her two young daughters:

Mom: "The hot dogs here suck. When this is over, we'll go to 7-11 and get some hot dogs."

Less then five minutes later, the two daughters come back to the stands with a hot dog and hand it to their mom.

Mom: "These hot dogs are good."

Idiot. So did you still go to 7-11 for those hot dogs?

The other night I was flipping through the channels. I stopped on HBO. On September 10, they were showing the movie National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Why? We are still a month and a half away from Halloween. Let us enjoy the fall before that awful snow starts flying.

Project Runway had their fashion show this morning at 9 a.m. Since I've been home, I have been looking at different blogs and websites to see if any photos are posted yet. No photos as of 10:37 a.m. I have been following tomandlorenzo's twitter. I loved their comments about Kenley. "Kenley's up. She look silly in her pink and purple outfit." As you might tell, I'm not a fan of her. I would like to see Leanne or Korto win.

I went to the bridal store this morning after leaving work. It doesn't open until noon. I don't think I will be making it back there today. After I run tomorrow morning, I will be there when the store opens at 10 a.m. If they don't have what I'm looking for, its off to the mall to see what they have.

I have to photograph a football game tonight. It is my final assignment before I'm officially on vacation. The outlook is not so good. It is raining and it is supposed to rain the rest of the night. I see boots, a raincoat, messy notes and plastic bags in my future. The plastic bags are to cover my camera and strobe.

The other day my husband and I went to the store to pick up a few items. While parking the truck, I noticed he ran something over. When I hopped out of the truck, I saw that he ran over a pair of boys underwear. The worst part about it is that they were heavily soiled. It was so gross. I just can't believe people. Is this their thinking on how to handle the situation? Little Johnny made a mess in his pants. Not to worry. We will go buy him a new pair. What to do with the soiled pair? I know, just throw them in the parking lot! Somebody else will clean them up sooner or later. One word: NASTY!

Random things

This morning while at work, I was watching a cable news network show video of the planes crashing into the World Trade Center. When the first World Trade Tower collapsed, the song "New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra started playing on my iPod. Freaky.

Laura Novak, an awesome photographer from Delaware will be in New York on September 16 doing portrait sessions. My husband and I have a photo session scheduled on September 17 with PhotoTrek tours. I wish Laura would have posted her upcoming New York trip a month ago (top entry). I would have definitely booked her. Her work is amazing!

My seven year wedding anniversary is Monday. My husband and I will be in New York City on our anniversary. We are planning to sight see and take a tour of the city at night. I'm so bad. I still haven't bought him a card or a gift yet, I've been so busy with work. I have only until Saturday to shop.

In speaking of shopping, I will be swinging a local bridal store Friday to look for a nice dress. I need a dress for my upcoming trip to Mackinac Island. I really want to find something in town. I'm afraid, we won't have any time in the upcoming weeks to make it to Toledo.

Miles run in 2008

While on our trip next week, my running may be limited. I do plan on taking my GPS with me. Except for one night in New York City, we will be staying with family members in New Jersey. During the mornings while my husband is still sleeping, I plan to run around the neighborhood to keep in shape. I have to keep in shape for that half-marathon coming up soon. The run is in one month and eight days, to be exact. If I only run two or three miles that is fine. It is better then nothing. But I will be doing a lot of walking in the upcoming week.

2004: 210
2005: 238.6
2006: 339.7
2007: 440.2
2008: 702.4

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