Mid Week Report

Things are going great over here and Evie is doing so well. She is walking on her leg and she is starting to become our Evie girl again. She is walking on her leg like she did pre-injury! She wants to be outside and run, which she cannot do for 8 weeks. She wants to play in the house, but she can't do her usual tugging games.

Yesterday, I put her in the kitchen with her little rug, bed, blanket, and her cone. She wasn't too thrilled about that. I had to be at work all day so she was so happy to see me and get that cone off. I should've taken a picture. hah

Last night, we had Fajita burgers that were easy to make. I had a rough idea of what to put in them thru Rachel Ray, but here is what I did:

• Ground Turkey
• Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• A couple drops of Frank's Hot Sauce
• Finely chopped red onion
• Finely chopped yellow pepper
• Finely chopped cilantro
• Melt cheddar on top
• Serve with wheat bun and homemade fries

I had some work to do last night at home and Erik had hockey. Evie was happy to snuggle up on the couch and watch TV.

We are excited because we are going to Lake Tahoe on Friday!! We rented a little house for the weekend and cannot wait to get away!!!!!! We are going to try paddle boarding which should be super fun too :-)

Cleaning Up the Lake

 Last week, my co-workers and I had a volunteer outing in Oakland. We cleaned up Lake Merritt! We partnered with the Lake Merritt Institute, were educated on how the lake water is cleaned/used ,and then got to work! The lake is in the middle of apartment and business buildings. There were a ton of people out running, walking, and having lunch.

I also saw "Fairy Land" while we were working. This is apparently the inspiration for Disney Land! It was opened in the 40's and Walt Disney visited it before he created DisneyLand. Isn't that crazy. Check out some photos on the site because you can definitely see there are some similarities.

It's definitely a low key "amusement park" for toddlers.

How funny is this? We had to wear these yellow vests that said Volunteer on the back. We were convinced that peole thought we were from a Detention Center or something. I look weird in this photo because I had a hooded sweatshirt on under this vest and it was all bulky so that is why I look so big! haha

After cleaning, we had lunch at Lake Chalet. It's a great restaurant right on Lake Merritt. There is Beach Chalet and Park Chalet in SF, owned by the same people. This restaurant had an awesome deck where we had lunch. I would totally make the drive to Oakland on a foggy SF day to sit on this deck and have drinks and lunch!

Here's our team after lunch!

It was a great afternoon together cleaning up and having lunch together. Our office does something fun together once a month. It might be volunteering or happy hour but we try to do something together.

I have to say, I really love where I work now. Everyone is so awesome, flexible, understanding of your time and your personal life, and my clients are local, which means no travel. Yippee!

Relaxing Sunday

Sunday was another chill day for us - are you catching our pattern of the weekend? Care for Evie, lounge around, repeat. It's good though - a chance to stay home and just chill out.

I got some laundry done and made a peach pie while Erik surfed in the AM. Evie and I headed out to do some errands while Erik brewed beer in the afternoon. We went down to Target and Home Depot. I got her an Ace Bandage at Target thinking that we could wrap her leg to cover the stitches and avoid using the cone. Yah, it won't stay on her leg no matter how we tie it .Grrrr.

At Home Depot, I got her a little 3x5' rug. When we are at work, she is going to have to stay in the kitchen with her bed and blankets so she cannot jump on & off the couch. I got her the little rug to help warm up the floor in the kitchen & keep her comfortable. It was only $10 - what a steal! It was also nice to get Evie out of the house on a little joy ride.

We ended up getting Chinese food take out & watching Indiana Jones last night while Evie chewed on her new bone. We're trying to give her bones that will keep her busy since she can't play with her other toys like rope and balls right now.

Running Solo

Saturday turned out to be a decent day despite not getting any sleep! Erik got up and did his long run on his own which was great. I did mine a little later in the day.

I went out around 1pm and did my planned 9 miles. At first I thought, well, I'll just go for as long as I can. Then I thought, I'm already out here just do the entire 9 miles. So, I did. I ran with music and my Garmin watch and it was great!! I'm glad I didn't talk myself out of doing that run with things like, oh its already afternoon, 9 miles is too long to do it alone, blah blah. I decided to do it & did it. Woot! Erik went surfing after I came home and Evie and I just lounged on the couch together.

Evie is doing very well. She is using her leg when she's outside, eating normally, and resting. She has not barked at us in five days. I still can't believe it. haha

Here is the patient, asleep. You can see her stitches on her leg.

Evie loved playing with her new toy. It has a huge squeaking ball in it so of course, that is fun for her to try to get out of the toy.

Saturday night was pretty low key. We had homemade veggie lasagna, a bottle of wine ,and watched a movie. We tried to keep Evie in the living room to sleep and she cried, but eventually slept. We woke up to her crying and I put her in the bathroom to sleep. We woke up again at like 4am and Erik put her on the bed ---where she slept soundly! Ughhhh. I guess sleeping on the bed is what is going to work but she cannot jump off the bed. I think as long as she has a sedative pill before sleeping - she will sleep well and not try to get off the bed. We definitely all need to sleep!!!

Rough Night

Miss May is doing pretty good. Too good, probably. She is not acting like she is in any type of pain but she is being quiet - which we all know is super rare. I was home with her on Friday and took her out a few times. She hops/uses her leg a little bit to get to the park to go the bathroom. Has no trouble doing #1 or #2 which is a great thing. I read a lot about other dogs who had trouble getting accomodated after the surgery but not our May. I have been helping her up & down the stairs and couch but yesterday, she did the stairs by herself. Erik is going to do more of the lifting this weekend though because dead lifting 55lb multiple times per day is starting to wear on me!

She is resting/sleeping a lot which is great. However, last night was not so great.

I tried to leave her on the couch to sleep and gated her in the living room but she cried. I let her on the bed and she literally was moving around every 5 min. She could not get comfortable and I was super conscious of her leg. I barely slept on and off through the night.

We were supposed to get up at 6:30 for our team run today and we opted not to go. I was completely exhausted and still had to get May out, give her pills, etc. It was not happening. It's OK. We can run on our own and I'd rather do that than run on no sleep.

We are thinking that Evie needs to be crated at night, unfortunately. If we give her a sedative pill and put her in there, she should be fine. She needs to sleep, too!

Today, we took that wrap off of her leg. Her incision & stitches look amazing - minimal bruising, great stitching. We are so so happy with the Sam's Clinic of Mill Valley, where the surgery was done. Dr. Sams is awesome - very gentle, transparent with all procedure details and costs, very patient. He is great.



She IS going to try to lick the crap out of this incision though so when we aren't home...she has to wear the cone. Sad! But, it's for her own good.

Evie's Surgery

On Wednesday AM, we dropped Evie off for her surgery. Erik drove us up to the Vet since I was so nervous about her surgery. She was crying and wanting to get out of the Vet. We walked her back with the Nurse and then went home.

We walked out of the Vet and I promptly burst into tears.

Evie has been through a lot in her short life and I know this is going to be a long recovery for her.

Well, she stayed overnight and today we picked her up. She is pretty out of it and exhausted. Her leg is bandaged up but it will only be like that for a few days.

She has that gray harness so we can help her stand up and get around. I basically picked her up like a suitcase to get out of the car and into the house. She will be on meds and just resting for this weekend. We will definitely be chillin' out at home for the next two weeks!

Where did August Go?

How is it August 20th already?? We had a pretty chill weekend which was nice. On Friday, Erik got us lobsters for dinner so we had a yummy dinner.

We had our team run on Saturday at the Conservatory of Flowers and it was only a 60 min run. It was a pretty good run! I have been trying to do pilates to work on my core strength and of course, Erik has been swimming and surfing on top of running. We are also doing pretty well with our fundraising and have three more events lined up to meet our fundraising goals!


On Sunday, Tiffany came into SFand we went out to a local bar for a fundraiser for Betsy & Greg. They are training with us for the Nike race and held a great fundraiser.



We are gearing up for Evie's surgery this week. I haven't been sleeping that well and I think it is because I am nervous for her. I know it is knee surgery and not brain surgery but she is the baby and I am going to worry until they call and tell me she is fine. I'm also just not sure what to expect when we get home - how will she feel? Will she want to just lay around? Will she want to sleep by herself or will I be sleeping on the couch for the weekend with her? Ahhhh. I guess no point in worrying because it will all work itself out.

We'll let you know how it goes!!

Scrubbin' Sunday

Today, Erik got up bright and early to surf again. Evie and I "slept in" until 7:30am. Man how things change when that feels like sleeping in compared to being in high school and college, sleeping til 10 or 11!

I was on a cleaning frenzy today - doing laundry, changed the sheets, vacummed everything, cleaned out the fridge, organized the cabinets....It felt good to see all that work completed. I also put my bike on Craigslist. I loooooove my hybrid bike but I really want to get a road bike. The hybrid is a bit heavy and I'm looking for something lighter and easier to ride.


We had a great dinner of Erik making tortillas again and I made a chicken/veggie/cheese mix to top them.

This weekend was really uneventful but I feel like we worked out hard, cleaned & organized, and got some rest. We're ready to start the week!

Eat. Chill. Run.

Friday was a busy day at work and a chill out night since we had to get up early to run with our team. We ended up having a yummy dinner of smoked salmon directly from Alaska. Erik's coworker's family commercial fish in Alaska and he gave some to Erik. It was delish! We also ended up eating too much burrata but it was sooo good.

Photo

The next morning, we got up at 6am. We had to meet our team at 7am!! Ahhhh. It was so early but I thought to myself, at least we are not getting up early for cancer treatment. Having the ability to get up and run these miles is a privlege.

We started in the Marina and ran down the Embarcadero thru Fisherman's Wharf. I went for 8 miles and Erik did 13!!! A half marathon!! It only took him about 2 hrs, too. The 8 miles were hard. The 7 miles two weeks ago were easy and these were just hard. I felt it at 2 miles, "this is going to be a hard one" I don't know what it was but I thought maybe a)I need new sneakers for sure b)we ate too much cheese and wine on Fri night.

After our run, we went out to breakfast with Betsy and Greg to Blue Jay Cafe. It has a southern theme to it which is fun. For breakfast, I had a egg sandwich on a biscuit with fruit on the side which was really good. There was also a LOT of food. Erik ordered french toast and an egg dish and he was stuffed.


When we got home and showered, I did some chores around the house and Erik napped. I started to not feel that great - headache, achy, and so tired. I actually got into bed and took a 2 hr nap. You know what Mr. 13 miles did? Went surfing. I'm telling you - he doesn't ever quit! I was trying to drink Gatorade and water but just felt so blah.

We laid low on Saturday night and watched an awesome documentary - "Last Play At Shea" It was a movie about Billy Joel and how he played the last concert at Shea Stadium. What an amazing concert that must have been - soooo many artists joined him on stage. It was a good mix of showing Mets history and Billy Joel's life. We both loved it so you should rent it!!



It was a good day especially with our running accomplishment!!

Thursday Drinks

On Thursday, Erik and I went out together to a little bar near our house. It's fun to get out during the week together. Sometimes it seems the week gets so busy with going out with friends, working out, hockey, etc. so it was nice to just go out together.

We went to Mini Bar, a few blocks away. They have a great bar and they had the Olympics on so that was fun! Great way to start the weekend!

Throwback Track Workout

On Wednesday night, we went to our track workout and did an old school work out - Ladder Workout. We did a 100, 200, 400,1200 and then came back "down the ladder". I loved breaking up the run with the different distances like that.

It was a fun workout!! After track, we came home and made pizza for a quick dinner.

In other news, we have Evie's surgery scheduled for 8/22. We are going in next week for her X-Rays and blood work to prep for her big day. She has been limping big time so I'm glad she is going in soon so she can start to get better!

Monday Burgers

On Monday night, I met up with Sarah for dinner. It has been a little while since I have seen her so it was great to catch up. We went to Umami Burger. The first time we went there, I loved it. This time around, it was just so-so.



Still, going out for burgers after work on a Monday with a good friend is a great way to start the week!

Searching for Sun

This morning, we got up and used our new waffle maker for breakfast. Erik made us some yummy waffles! Kimmy had to go to the airport around noon and then Erik and I had the rest of the day ahead of us. It was STILL foggy in the city and I had about had it with the fog. So, we headed north to Marin in search of some SUN.

We went to the Tennessee Valley Trail and did a 3mile walk out to the beach and back. It was a great hike and way to spend our dad!

Saw a horse on the trail

You can see the water in the distance

We walked out to Tennessee Beach

After hiking, we went to lunch at Hawk's Tavern in Mill Valley. Mill Valley is also where Evie's specialist is so we've been up here a bit over the past few weeks. We really love Mill Valley - 20 min ride from SF, quiet, cute homes, shops, and restaurants. 

I had the turkey burger and Erik had the grass fed beef burger. Everything was so good and our server was awesome. We would totally go back here for dinner sometime!

What a really fun weekend we had. So good to see Kimmy, all hang out together, and get to be outside in the SUN for a little while. 

The Band is Back Together

Before Kimmy arrived for the weekend, I threw some ideas out there for the day that included going to Sonoma after we ran with our team in the AM. We met up with the team at 8am to run for 65 min. It was a foggy AM but it was a great run. We ran up the hill to the start of GG Bridge which was cool. This is also part of the NIKE course so it was good to see that part. 

 After running, we headed out to Beachside Cafe. A new spot that we randomly found but it was reallyyyyy good.

I had the fried egg sandwich

Erik had an egg sandwich dish and a waffle. Kimmy loved her egg burrito

After breakfast, I insisted we figure out something to do but instead, we went home. We all climbed on the couch, put the Olympics on, and fell asleep. And, it was pretty perfect and probably exactly where we all needed to be. It was foggy, we ran in the AM, and just chilled out.

We got up and did something fun around 6pm - went to BINGO. We drove back down to the beach to the Riptide Bar. They have bingo each Saturday and it's free! They also have beer specials AND you can bring in pizza, wings, etc from the pizza place next door. We were so close to winning one game but didn't make it.

 At one point in the game, the Bingo caller passed out jello shots to everyone. How funny! When is the last time you had a jello shot!

Erik, afraid of the jello

After Bingo, we stopped at the Fireside Bar and then headed home. So, the Saturday with a loose plan turned into an even more fun Saturday without one!

Biergarten

Friday was a fun day. I had to work from home in the AM but then we all went out to lunch at The Grove in Hayes Valley. Erik was off from work so he was able to join us, too! We went to lunch, perused the shops, and then stopped back home for a little while.

After taking Evie out, we went back to Hayes Valley to the Biergarten. It's this cool outdoor bar that serves beer and other "Oktoberfest" type food like Brat and Pretzels. Tiffany met up with us too so it was fun except that it was FREEZING. I am talking 60 and windy. I had on a sweater AND a fleece jacket. :-/

A HUGE beer!

After beers, we headed to Off the Grid to hit up the food trucks. It was so cold but we persevered so we could have a yummy dinner.

Erik and Kimmy hit up the Curry Up Now Truck and Tiffany and I got The Chairman. This is quite the buzzworthy truck so I was excited to try it.


The Chairman serves up Asian Street food. I had the chicken steamed bun. So good!

It was fun to try a new truck but it was so cold and misting out at this point, we just wanted to get home.

It was a good Friday!!