Seattle Bound: an Intro

Many people know by now that Casey and I are moving to Seattle. 

I've said it. I'm writing it. By the looks of our living room, we're clearly doing it. But I just can't seem to process it! My brain might not be cooperating, but my mediocre Photoshop skills are (more or less). 

Check it out!

"When are you leaving?" 

"What's the plan?"

"Where will you live?"

These are all (very logical) questions that people keep asking us. I would love to be able to answer just one of them. If I had a dollar for every time I've replied, "That's a great question! We're not sure yet." this week, I'm pretty sure it would cover the gas for the entire trip. So, here's a better answer: It's an adventure! We'll let you know how it goes.

And we will! I plan on blogging our travels from Texas to the Pacific Northwest, so stay tuned! And no, I don't know when that will start. But when it does, it will probably go something like this:

Kitten Connection

I don't want to jinx myself, but I think it's safe to say that Kitsune (the Kitten, if you will) is our dog.

I mean, technically she has been ours for about a year. But just because you feed it, shelter it, and scoop up its poop with your hands doesn't mean it loves you back. Pounds would be much happier places if this were the case. Maybe this only makes sense to Shiba parents. I'm not sure.

Bear went through a warming-up period where Casey and I would ask each other, "do you think we're his people?" It's not surprising that the first time we answered, "yeah, I think so" is a world apart from the ooey gooey love-fest that he has turned into a year and a half later.

Bear time is clearly much faster than Kitsune time. It took him a matter of a few months to get a, "yeah, I think so" and she has taken approximately a year. Kit surveys, analyzes, inspects all situations with great caution - including us. The only exceptions I've ever seen involve cheese, chicken, or Bear, all of which she loves recklessly.

Some of the signs that we are part of Kitsune's family:

• She tends to do what we ask (side note for all labrador or retriever owners: this is a BIG deal)
• During a thunder storm, she will seek us out for comfort as opposed to the dark recesses behind/under our furniture
• She has revealed that she prefers to be the little spoon
• When caught in a social pickle at the dog park, she will come to us when we call instead of making us chase her around like fools
• We are certain that her tail wags - because we've witnessed it
• She clearly prefers us to strangers

Maybe there will be a day in the future (and I hope there is) when we look back and think, "and we thought she had warmed up then." Until that day, I'm quite pleased with the fact that she likes us alright.

It's funny to think, but it's hard to remember what our lives were like before we were 4.

Another One Bites the Dust: 13x13x13 - 8

Surprise!
I ran another half marathon!

It was really hot outside, so I started in the wee hours of the morning and got as far as I could before the sun came up because it just makes no sense to run in the sun during the Texas summer.

Do I sound like a broken record to everyone else?! Because I feel like I've written this blog before...

I have been starting my half marathons so early, in fact, that the app I use logs them as nighttime runs. This time around, RunKeeper lost its marbles and despite keeping track of where I was in the moment, showed nothing on the display and then told me I had not burned but gained (?!) a hundred and some-odd calories. Then, it must have decided the details weren't any good and recorded my breakneck pace of 0.0 miles in 00:00:00. For this reason, I have only an approximation of my final time.

Some highlights of HM#8:

• It's done!
• There were lots of people out and about at the park where I ran, making running by myself much more tolerable.
• Favorite t-shirt spotted said "Get it girl!"
• Swimming with an ICEE afterward.
• Post-run meal complete with pão de queijo (look it up, it's spectacular!)

Not my favorite parts:

• It took approximately 2 hours and 54 minutes.
• After feeling like I had forgotten something at home, I realized I actually had: my water bottle.
• It's August in Texas.
• My phone interprets "shuffle" as "please shuffle the same dozen songs for 3 hours."

I think the water bottle takes the prize of Least Favorite for a variety of reasons. First, it's annoying not to have water available to drink whenever you'd like some. Don't worry - there were water fountains everywhere! Unfortunately, using them requires stopping. This means I not only lose time, but also break my stride (or groove, if you will), and I don't necessarily get to pick when I drink it. In my case, it also undid the careful water bottle/cell phone balance I have going on with my running belt (which slowly danced in circles around me as I ran).

Proof I remained hydrated. There was even 1 more I didn't get a photo of.

At the end of the day, I can't believe Sadie and I have run EIGHT half marathons since the first of the year! I know we committed to doing this, but it's another thing entirely for it to actually be happening. WOW!

THE dry spot on my shirt by the time it was over.

What more does a girl need than a pool, an ICEE,
and a couple of good luck charms.

Our lunch spread at Emporio Brazilian Cafe.

Dessert: Passion Fruit Mousse
SO good!

Calling All Carrots

I am in need of some serious motivation.

Earlier this month, I declared my last half marathon was the most mentally difficult run thus far - by leaps and bounds. I also decided that it was completely necessary to run an organized race if I was going to muster any motivation to complete #8. As it turns out, that won't be happening. Why, you ask?

Here is a sample ALL of  the August races within a day's drive of Houston:

• Prude Ranch Races in Fort Davis, TX is just that - a day's drive. I'm talkin' 10 hours!
• The Hottest Half in Dallas, TX has a variety of concerning reviews from Runner's World contributors who claim it's stupid hot to slow-pokes like myself who were left on the course without enough water.
• I Ran Marathons half marathon in San Antonio, TX is the SAME 1.64 mile stretch of road over and over and over until you hit 13.1 miles. That's $75 to take EIGHT trips down the same path.

This means I will be running yet another half marathon on my own. Now my July run has some serious competition for the most mentally trying half marathon of the year, so I am asking you (or anyone you know, or anyone you've heard of) for the most awesomely motivating carrot ideas of all time! I need something to hold ahead of myself to keep me going through this weekend's mental Mount Everest. No suggestion would be ridiculous at this point.

During this morning's run I was pretty sure that the biggest ICEE I could carry would do the trick (as long as I am carrying it to the pool), but now, in my right mind, I'm not sure that it's enough. But it's a solid backup plan.

Ready.... GO!

(seriously, I really want your suggestions)

Half Marathon Monday: 13x13x13 - 7

 I can't believe Sadie and I have run SEVEN half marathons! We're past the half-way point, which is totally nuts!

Believe it or not, today was a real Half Marathon Monday. I got up at the crack of long before dawn and ran a half marathon before I went to work. This is how I know I'm crazy. Crazy for running.

The third month in a row, I haven't run an organized race, rather made my own 13+ mile routes. This one took its toll and was by far the most mentally challenging run thus far. I will definitely be seeking out an organized race for August. Where and in what temperatures is the real issue I need to address.

Who doesn't love running stairs?!

Today's route was very similar to May's run. Very pretty and a nice combination of pavement and softer surfaces. It also has beautiful views and I can start and finish at home! My least favorite part of this route is the intervals of microscopic hills and staircases that feel like Mt. Everest scattered throughout the last 2 miles. Up staircases, across front yards, down driveways and back up again. 

Despite the fact that it was basically a thousand degrees outside and humid as all get-out (when it wasn't raining I was surrounded by a sea of lawn sprinklers), this run's time fell squarely in the middle of this year's half marathons - 3 faster and 3 slower. I'll take it!

Final time: 2:44:56

Half marathon complete by 8am with a little help from my
good luck charms

No joke - this is what was in the kitchen when I got to work.

Essentials for the workday.

Hot as Hades: 13x13x13 - 6

It's officially summer now and I probably do not need to tell you that summers in Southeast Texas are HOT. So hot, in fact, that I will do my absolute best to run during the coolest part of the day, which occurs after the city has had time to cool off overnight and shortly before the sun rises again. 

With these kinds of conditions, it is absolutely imperative that the majority of my running is done before the sun rises (or else I will undoubtedly melt and die). If you know anything about my running pace, you will understand why this requires peeling myself out of bed in the wee hours of the morning. 

Check out those temps!

Despite unforgiving heat, an absurd timeline, and promises of a tortuous pace, the lovely Laila volunteered to join me. This is about where a proper southern woman would insert a phrase like, "bless her heart" implying that, although totally off her rocker, she is still someone I intend to keep around.

Laila (not convinced a photo was necessary) and I

We ran in the dark with the other overly-dedicated crazies, we jogged through the sunrise, and we chugged along hours later as multitudes of people passed us by with sno-cones. 2 hours, 57 minutes and 59 seconds later, 13.1 miles had been ran/jogged/chugged.

Once again, I squeaked in just under my long-standing and self-imposed deadline of 3 hours. There's no way I could pull off all of this without the support from family and friends who give out high fives, write notes of encouragement, knit bracelets of support, and drag me into these adventures in the first place. Because Lord knows I don't end up this nuts on my own!

Here are a few other photo highlights from this weekend's run:

Memorial Park sunrise

NEON runners

Covered in dirt!

This made everything right again. :)

What I Want

I don’t know what I want, but this isn't it. 

I have a tendency to let this become the theme of my late 20’s. Still beginning, but thinking I’d be so far by now. When I was 10 and even 20 years old, 28 sounded like a great age to have a house, solid career, and growing family – well on my way to being middle-aged. At 28 looking back at the 10 and 20 year old versions of myself, I know they would never believe how young our “old” self feels. Plenty of time to figure things out and hanging on to a little bit of angst - still surprisingly focused on the need to grow up faster.

Wishing I was old enough to stay home by myself. Wishing I was old enough to drive, get a job. Waiting impatiently until I could go to college, travel on my own. Waiting (even more impatiently) to get married, start my first “big kid” job. Dreaming about our future house, children, vacations, family gatherings.

The truth is: I could come up with all kinds of things that I want. Maybe if I had a house, I’d want half of the Crate & Barrel website to put inside it. I could learn to want a new car to put in the driveway and a new job to pay for it all. I want a great job with a solid, reliable income. I also want a relatively stress-free life with free time and no reason to be in traffic at rush hour. Sometimes I find that I just need a change in perspective.

So what do I actually want? 

I want to be able to pay the bills and have a little extra to do something fun once in a while. I want a partner in crime to share my thoughts, feelings, and adventures. I want to make a home with that person that we can invite others into. I want to spend more time with the people I love than sitting at a desk. While I am sitting at a desk, I want to do something with my life that I believe in, something I can be proud of. I want to make my parents and my spouse proud of the person I've become. I want to have the opportunity to make other people’s (or puppies’) day a little brighter. I want to be inclined to focus on the positive things in my life and not let my frustrations overshadow them.