My day...

...started out with my 3.5 year old niece, Evie coming over.  Julie is out of town and Mike had to work for a few days, so they asked if I could tend Evie while Mike was at work.

She got here about 8 o'clock and we had breakfast of Lucky Charms.  Next she helped me feed the kitties and feed Chewy.  After that we went out and fed the chickens and gathered eggs.  It was cute to listen to her questions.  She wanted to see Fuzzy.  I didn't have the heart to tell her that Fuzzy died, so I told her we gave Fuzzy away to someone who could take better care of her.  I felt bad fibbing to her, but I didn't want to ruin a bad day.  Sometimes, white lies are okay...I guess.

We came back inside and by then Grampa was up.  She helped me get his socks on and get him his medicines.  Grampa wanted an English muffin with butter, so Evie helped me with that too.  I let her put the muffins in the toaster, but then I took them out when they were done.  I got the butter out and put it on the muffins and she spread it for me.  She did a really good job.  After we got Grampa all settled in we went and played with the trains.

We had fun playing with the trains, but when she got tired of them we went and did some coloring.  I colored Dora while she colored Lightening McQueen.

Next we read some stories and then more trains.  We were playing with the trains when Mike showed up to pick her up.

Mike asked me if I would be willing to tend her again in the future, I said I'd be happy too as long as there is nothing going on with Grampa.  I think she might be over next week.  YAY!!

I love my Miss Evie.

Me and my monkey (fiction)

Me and my monkey

There’s a monkey sitting in the corner watching me.  Really, there is. 

 I woke up this morning to find him staring at me.  He’s kind of cute.  He, well I think it’s a he, is a rusty shade of orange.  He has fuzzy hair that surrounds a soft tan face with small brown eyes.  He looks like an oversized stuffed animal. However, he’s alive. I know he’s alive because he makes a soft grunting noise every now and then.

I watch him as he watches me.  He scratches his bum and flicks his tail.  His eyes never leave me and he never leaves his spot in the corner.

How did this monkey end up in the corner of my room?  I don’t know, but for now I’ll just keep watching my monkey.  

 My monkey and me.

What have I gotten myself into...

Mike and I used to run fairly regularly. Frequently enough, so that we could do a couple of two mile races at the Foggy Bottoms Race in Ferndale.  The last time we ran regularly was probably two years ago.  Long enough ago that the running muscles, the heart and the lungs are way out of shape.

Because of the lack of training, what Mike said this weekend surprised the heck out of me. He piped up and said, "I want to run a half marathon next summer."  The first thought that went through my mind was, "He's freakin nuts".  The next thought was, "why not?".

Yesterday we began our training.  We walked/ran 1.2 miles.  We went from our house to Utah Avenue and back.  That's not much of a distance and I think we did 50:50 ratio of walking to running.  It took us 21.10 minutes to do this distance.  Slow, I know, but hey for the first day, I'm pretty happy. I have to admit it felt really good to be moving again.  I wasn't as sore as I thought I would be when we got back.  A nice soak in a warm bath tub, a spray of muscle rub on my calves, and I felt pretty darned good.

Today I still feel good.

Our plan is to cross train on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays we will do a 10 minute walk/run.  On Sundays is the long run.  This next week it will be a distance of 1.5 miles.

As the weeks go along we will increase training times and distances.  According to the training guides this should have us ready for a half marathon easily by next summer.  That I will believe when I see.

15 minutes of ickiness

Yesterday, did not quite start out the way I wanted it too.

As I was coming downstairs, the kitties decided they wanted to run full force down the stairs.  That was all well and good, but they also decided that going through my legs was a wonderful idea.  Well, it wasn't so wonderful for me.  I was carrying my laptop.  To keep my balance, I dropped my laptop.  I stood dumbfounded as I watched it bounced not down one stair, but down four stairs.  A loud gasp escaped my mouth.  I hurried down the stairs and picked up my beloved laptop. I inspected it and didn't see any external damage. So, I walked over to the chair, sat it down, and opened it up.  Pushing the start button, I hoped for the best.  While it was going through the boot up process I decided to go to another chore.

I walked into the laundry room and scooped up all the dirty kitty litter.  Even though they tripped me, they do deserve to have a clean potty.  After I got it all nice and clean and all the odoriferous stuff put in a plastic bag, I picked the plastic bag up off the floor.  At this point the bottom of the plastic bag decided to rip out.  All the nastiness I had scooped up was now scattered all over my laundry room floor.  I grabbed the broom, cleaned it all up again and re-bagged it.  As I was walking back through the house with the double bagged doodies, I noticed one of the cats had vomited on the hallway floor.

After depositing the bag of poop in the wheelie bin, I went and got the carpet cleaning equipment.  I cleaned the vomit up, bagged it up, and headed back to the wheelie bin.

As I deposited the bag of puke in the wheelie bin, I looked outside only to find that the dog had not just chewed up a doggie bed, but had annihilated it.  The insides were scattered all over the back yard.  It looked a bomb of green fluff had gone off.  What made it bad, was this wasn't even her bed she had destroyed.  It belonged to Bella who we had been doggy sitting the previous week.  Sigh.  At that point, I gave up.

On the upside, the computer survived.

Obama vs Romney

I can honestly say I still don't know who I'm going to vote for.  Both have positives, both have negatives.

Obama did get Bin Ladin.  That was something Bush couldn't accomplish.
Obama has Obamacare.  That scares me.

Romney did wonders for the Salt Lake Olympics.  He has business sense.
Romeny's view on women's rights, Roe vs. Wade, and abortions scares the crap out of me.

As usual, its going to be voting for the lesser of two evils.  Hell, maybe I should vote Jill Stein.  I honestly don't know.

This summer...

...was our first summer in Utah.  We did so many things that I thought I would make a list of them, so I wouldn't forget them.

We saw a play at Sundance.
We went to Disneyland and saw Anne and Dennyse.
We went with Evie, Julie, and Mike to the Payson Pool.
We explored Mt. Nebo with Rosalind and Don Soucy.  They were our first visitors from  CA.
We ate at our first Brazilian restaurant.  Tucano's.  I want to go back.
We drove up to Squaw Peak.  What an amazing view of Utah Lake and the valley surrounding it.
We saw Xanadu at Payson Community Theater.
We hosted a birthday party for my dad.  Most of my family came.  It was fun.
We spent an extra day in Vegas.  We just hung out and Mike got to meet Judy.
We went to the Cheesecake Factory in Salt Lake City and walked around City Creek Center.
My brother David and his family came out.   We spent a lot of time with him and I went rafting on the Provo River with him.
My brother Ron and Amy came out and they stayed with us.  It was really nice to have them here.  Hopefully they'll be back soon.
We watched the Payson Onion Days Parade.
We went to the Payson Fair.  Mike and I kissed at the top of the Ferris Wheel as the moon rose over the mountains
Mike bought me a pretty pink shirt at the fair.
We went to a couple of concerts in the park on Sunday evenings.
We hiked up Bennie Creek trail.  Beautiful.  Next summer I want to make it further.
We started raising chickens.
We got tons done around the house.  Trees cut, sprinkler system installed, aviary fixed for the chickens, garden planted, tomatoes harvested, lots of odds and ends done around the house.  Good things.
Mike got a job at Intermountain Health.

Yes, it was a busy, fun filled, work filled summer.  I can't wait for next year.  For now, I'm going to enjoy fall.  The colors, the smells, and the cooler weather.  

Date night and migraines

The Date Night was amazing.  We left the house about 2:30 and went and did some errands before starting our date.  We got the oil changed in the HHR.  While that was being done, we wandered around a strip mall.  I was amazed at the number of stores that were empty.  From the distance, it looked like there were tons of stores.  All of the store sites had signs and looked like they were open.  As we got closer, there were very few stores open and most were shuttered.  It was kind of sad.  After the oil change was done we got dog food for Chewy and went to Harbor Freight for some solar powered spotlights.  After that we went to dinner at Sizzler.  It was yummy.  Then we went for a ride up Provo Canyon to Squaw Peak.  We managed to get there right at sunset.  It was gorgeous!  We had a view of all of Utah Lake and its surroundings.  How romantic.  We watched the sunset for a bit and then drove back to Riverwoods.  There we went to Victoria's Secret and I got a pretty red bra and lacy black panties (which are still in their pretty pink bag).  Then we went bowling.  I had a blast. I got a 90 and Mike got 125.  After that we wandered through Blinkenstaff's Old Toy Store and then had a chocolate covered banana.  It was an amazing, fun night.  We need to do it again.

The following day I woke up with a migraine.  Not a bad one, but one that kept me in bed all day.  I got up and did dad's meals but that was it.  I was both sound and light sensitive.

Today is better.  I'm still somewhat sound sensitive and tummy's still upset, but the head isn't near as bad.  I'm up and trying to stay up.  I don't know how much longer I'll be up, but I'll give it my best.

Peace and Long Life.