Race Photos

I finally downloaded the pics from my race.


Just finished and feeling TIRED.


Minutes after finishing


Funny.

Evie is growing up

Evie is now 2 1/2 and I feel like she is growing up. She is listening more. She pulls toys out of her toy basket and plays with them by herself. She will put herself to bed if she is tired. Today, she was laying in the grass in the park and a little dog came up to her and she just laid there. That is a major breakthrough considering she usually lunges at dogs.

The Weekend

This weekend was low key. Saturday, Erik went surfing and I spent the afternoon with my friend Cristin lunching and manicures and happy hour. At night we went to this bar called Osha that had fancy drinks

http://www.oshathai.com/5/signature_drinks.html

The Pinky drink was so good - tasted like 'a beach in a glass'. They were TOO good that I had 3.

Today is Monday & we might go see Indiana Jones! Its getting good reviews.

Day Off!!

TracyLocke is closed today for Memorial Day...yippee! I volunteered this morning with this great organization called 'Girls On The Run'. The group has an afterschool program for girls grades 2-8 where they teach them about self esteem, self respect, bullying, gossiping, eating right, etc.

It is also a running program where the girls learn how to run and after their 10 week program, they run either a 1 mile or 5K. I volunteered with this group back in December that their run. Today I just helped them with office work and in 2 weeks, I am helping them at the Alcatraz Triathlon at the finish line, which will be exciting.

Anyway, here is the group:

http://www.gotrbayarea.org/

Evie and I also went back to the vet to get the yellow goo coming out her eyes checked out. She has some eye gel to put on a few times a day now. It could just be allergies they said or a virus that will go away.

Tonight, my friend Cristin and I are going to see this TOTALLY RAD 80's cover band called Tainted Love. http://www.taintedlove.com/

This weekend, we are staying in the city. Not sure what we are going to do yet....

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Ellen Confronts McCain

Ellen asked John McCain her thoughts on Gay Marriage today.

Now THIS is a funny blog

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/

I'm sure it is written by a White person too, which makes it even more funny. The Grammar one is funny and one of my faves is the 'Performance Clothes' post.

Grill Pan

We don't have an out door grill so I bought a grill pan. We are going to use it this weekend and see how it works.

Quote

Interesting quote.

"Prejudice is the child of ignorance."
--William Hazlitt, English writer

IDOL

Can you believe 97.5million votes rolled in for the Idol finale? What is crazy about that # is that about 1/3 of that amount will vote for the President. We all know its not 97.5mm people that voted but that everyone voted like 10 times.

I am glad that David Cook one. I really think he had the most talent between the two Davids and has the highest potential to make the best record. He also seemed really grateful to have had the experience & to win.

I do feel a tiny bad for Archuleta b/c I feel like the judges built him up to win and then he didn't. I'd also worry about his stage Dad dealing with his loss now.

Evie loves soccer

We bought Evie a soccer ball a few weeks ago which she loves to chase for about 5 mins. However, a bulldog popped it last week. Evie doesn't mind -she likes to play with it deflated and of course, wants to rip it apart. So, now she can only play with it outside. She really likes to play with it in the parking lot behind the apartment. She runs really fast and then skids to get the ball. She also looks hilarious running with that big ball in her mouth. I will have to get it on video.

Tuesday

Hey Everyone,
Nothing exciting to report on Tuesday. It was cold & foggy here this AM and then the sun came out. It is still hovering around 60 degrees. I am off from work on Friday & Mon for Memorial Day and Erik is off on Monday. We are looking forward to a 3 or 4 day weekend.

Tonight I am making vegetable risotto for dinner. It should be yummy. I'll let you know how it comes out!

Also, are you psyched for Idol Finale or what!?? I am rooting for David Cook. Also, I think Kristy Yamaguchi will win Dancing with the Stars which is tonight. And, Bachelorette started last night. That should be a good season. I liked Dianna in the last Bachelor.

Bay to Breakers

Bay to Breakers is a SF Tradition. It is technically a 12K race which people actually do run. However, 50,000+people really join the 'race' in costume, with beers in hand, and possibly on a float. It is sort of like a mini mardi gras meets a huge frat party. The parade went right past our house so we saw the first runners come in (Kenyans won) and then saw all of the craziness.

Erik and I watched for most of the race and then met up with our friends Lauren & Mike when they hit our house. We were in the mix of the parade for about 2 miles where we saw people in costume, or no costumes (yes NAKED) on floats, pushing kegs in shopping carts, and more. Below are a few pics:

Beer & Oyster Pics

Oyster & Beer Festival

This past Saturday, we went to the SF Oyster & Beer Festival. It was fun - there were a bunch of bands including the Dropkick Murphys. I don't know too many of their songs but apparently everyone knows this one from the movie 'The Departed.'

Evie's Ear: The home stretch

We went back to the Vet last night b/c her ear was not healing and just kept bleeding. This time, we had a different vet who trimmed the piece that was hanging and cauterized the ends. Now she has a 'V' in her ear but it gives her character. She came home with an E collar on (aka Elizabethean collar aka Cone Collar) and was shell shocked. She just laid in the middle of the floor and wouldn't look at us.

She is better today & wants to run around but she cannot play with other dogs until this is healed. This will make her crazy b/c that is the meaning of life for her. It also means no camp for her for a few weeks, which will also upset her. But I'd rather her ear heal!

Evie in the tub for the 10th time last week:


A view of her new ear:

Mondavi dies at 94

Robert Mondavi, the pioneering vintner who put California wine country on the map, is dead at 94. Mondavi died at his Napa Valley home Friday, said Mia Malm, spokeswoman for the Robert Mondavi Winery.

Heat Wave

It is SO hot here. Seriously - it has been over 80 for the past two days and it is wreaking havoc on us. Yesterday, the BART trains stopped working and had 30 min delays so we couldn't get to the East Bay. No one has AC here so we had the fans going. It was hot to sleep.

Evie was hot. She got sick. I dont know if that was really from the heat or something else but she did throw up last night and we woke up to 3 piles of puke. Gross, I know.

The heat is lasting til Monday and then we will go back to 65-70.

Victory

State's top court strikes down marriage ban

The California Supreme Court struck a historic but possibly short-lived blow for gay rights Thursday, overturning a state law that allowed only opposite-sex couples to marry.

In a 4-3 ruling that elicited passionate responses on both sides of the debate and touched off celebrations at San Francisco City Hall - the scene of nearly 4,000 same-sex weddings four years ago that were invalidated months later - the court said the right to marry in California extends equally to all, gay and straight alike.

Time to get a bike, for real.

CNN BREAKING NEWS: Saudi Arabia has rejected a plea from President bush to increase oil production.

Surprising

Edwards flatly rules out running with Obama

If not Edwards, then who?

Discuss.

NKOTB

New Kids on The Block are back.....they were on the Today Show today. They SUCK! Unfortunately, they do not sound that great. Im sure their CD will be awesome because they will mix the sound better. I would totally get tickets though but they are not even coming close to California.

Check them out

McCain on Same Sex Marriage

Saw McCain laying out his plans if he gets elected in November. One thing that caught my attention was his view on Same Sex Marriage.

John McCain
Supports definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, but opposes a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Says individual states should decide the issue. Says a federal marriage ban might be appropriate if courts overturned state marriage laws. Supports legal benefits for same-sex partners.

David Archuleta

Many love him. I cannot stand him. I think he is a lounge singer, the next Dan Fogelberg, and the next person to make a song that sounds like it should be played in Kmart or Fashion Bug. If he makes a CD, it will suck. Senior Citizens will buy it because it sounds like soft rock. Ok, maybe I am being mean but I just don't think he has star quality. And, I think the judges are so mean to Syesha. She is good & they are always like, 'you're ok but......' but give Mr. Kmart singer the best marks!

Obviously the finale will be the Davids and then, I dont know. I want Cook to win but Archuleta will probably take the cake. He will be grinning like a cheshire cat, like always, in complete disbelief that he won.

There will be blood....

Ah. More freaking blood out of Evie's ripped ear. She was playing tonight and it started again. We got in the tub to make it stop. She gets so annoyed & tired of sitting there while I hold her ear. I am not gluing it tonight to see if a scab will form. I am also going to not let her play for the next few days, which is going to kill her, but I want her better!!

No new addition...

Well I went so far as to check with the Property Manager to see if we can have a 2nd dog and we cannot. Its probably a better thing anyway - Evie is a handful and our place is small. Maybe if we had a house, I would not think twice about it. So, maybe in the future. I hope little Tyson finds a nice home though!

Evie is doing better with her ear. However, she was out this AM playing with her doggie friends, rolling around, and it started bleeding again. So we were back in the bathroom, sitting, waiting, gluing. Finally, it stopped.

Archuleta

Oh my God. Check out this look a like of Idol David Archuleta and Eddie Munster. So funny!

Cake Batter Ice Cream Review

This weekend, I had the new Ben & Jerry's flavor - Cake Batter. I was expecting it to be out of this world, creamy goodness, that tasted like I was licking the cake batter bowl. Better than Carvel's Cake Batter flavor.

However..........it was just OK. It is cake batter but has chocolate swirls in it. It reminded me of a vanilla & chocolate Jell-O pudding pop. If you have Carvel near you, I recommend their Cake Batter instead. Sorry Ben & Jerry's - you have so many other great flavors to love.

Funny

Perezhilton.com always does these funny look a like comparisons. Here are some funny ones.






And my favorite of all time....

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

OK so that title is SO gross but for today, it was true. Evie and I were in the park and she was playing with a dog - no fighting at all. They were running, jumping, chasing a ball. Suddenly, Evie's face was covered in blood. We stopped them and saw that her ear was torn. Her ear was also gushing blood. She didn't seem to realize she was hurt because she wanted to keep playing. I had blood all over me, too. Who knows what people thought when they saw us running home. I got her home and we put her in the tub where she promptly shook her head spraying blood all over. We took her out of the tub to dry her off and take care of her ear where she shook again sending blood all over the bathroom.

We tried a few things to fix her ear...peroxide, neosporin, gauze, tape, liquid bandaid, and finally...super glue. The super glue worked for 5 mins until she shook her head. This happened about 3 times. Finally, she fell asleep and for a few hours - no blood. Then, it started again. So we went to the Emergency Vet. I started to rethink the glue. Maybe we shouldn't have used it.

Then, the Vet comes in. Get this, he tells us - you did the right thing. The only real thing you can do for this is use glue. You can try to stitch it but it usually doesn't work. He said, just wait it out and it will stop bleeding. Keep putting glue on. He didn't charge us for the visit....that was nice of him!

Anyway, here is Evie's picture of her laying on the couch covered in blankets(in case of more blood) after the Vet. She is tired, again.




As of 9:56pm, there was no more blood!

5 Miler

This morning, Erik and I ran a 5 mile race. It was put on by a local running club & the race was through GGP. We even got ribbons at the end of the race. We are thinking of joining this club because they race most Sundays and also its only $20 to join for the year. They have 3 runs during the week too which is great.

Woof Mom

Look at this cute cookie that I got at Evie's dog camp for Mother's Day. How funny!

Mr. Cutie

uh oh. I just learned of this site called badrap.org which is a pit bull site - Breed Info, Available adoptions in the Bay Area, myths about the breed, etc. And, I found this cutie little doggie. Isn't it convenient that someone told me that if we get another dog, it will have to be male so it doesnt compete with Evie? This dog's name is Tyson. He is 8 years old and only 36 lbs. Look at the write up about him the site did:


And now for his picture.....

GGP vs. Central Park

I have been thinking that GGP is much bigger than Central Park. I mean it houses a windmill, a waterfall, a museum, a track stadium, a BISON field, multiple lakes, etc. Central Park does have a zoo and can house a Dave Matthews concert though. I finally looked it up.

Golden Gate Park is larger than Central Park.

Info:

Golden Gate Park, San Francisco's largest, is bigger than New York’s Central Park. About 3 miles long and 1/2-mile wide it covers 1,013 acres. GGP has over one million trees, nine lakes, several fly casting pools and a lily pond within its borders. Strybing Arboretum and Botanical Garden, the Conservatory of Flowers and several museums are among its many attractions.

(http://www.inetours.com/Pages/SFNbrhds/Golden_Gate_Park.html)


Pics of GGP - The tulips near the windmill, Conservatory of Flowers

Friday

I don't have any funny news to report today. Sad. I did have that bus driver today that yelled at the Uh-Oh guy. She is a meanie. You can totally tell she has been driving that bus for 10 years and is NO nonsense. The bus was packed this AM too and instead of not letting people on, she just kept saying 'Move Back'.

Anyway, last night Erik and I went to a fundraiser at a bar for 2 of my teammates who are running a full MARATHON on 6/1 in San Diego. They are also running 20 miles tomorrow as a long run. I won a $10 gift card thru their raffle. Yah!



One of my friends boyfriend plays hockey & was telling Erik all about the league so he is hoping to join. Now, he just needs his hockey equipment out here.....We also have been wanting to golf, badly. Its SO nice here sometimes on the weekends and a course is literally 2 miles away in GGP(Golden Gate Park). Now, we need a bigger apartment to house all of this stuff!

I also booked our plane tickets home today for our July visit. We are going to Tara & Erik's wedding Boston and spending the week in the Milf.

Have a good weekend!!

Back in SF

We drove back to SF on Monday from the race. We stopped to take pictures of the Redwood Forest and also pulled off to this tourist stop to 'drive thru a Redwood'. I'll post the pictures when I get them off of the camera.

We picked up Evie at camp and she was SO tired. She had been there Sat- Mon. She came home, had dinner, and went to bed. She was snoring and dreaming so she was jerking & twitching - which is always funny.

Erik & I are doing another race on Sunday - Its an 8K so it will be a good, comfortable distance. I am going to try to attend some team training still as the San Diego runners still have a few weeks of training left.

Odd

As I was walking to Noah's this AM(my new fave place to get coffee - sorry Dunkin Donuts!), I saw this woman who looked like she was about to go hiking with the Sierra Club. She had on a poncho, hat, and was carrying this stick. Then, I realized she also had small beard!

13.1

Hey Everyone,

The half-marathon is over! It was a fun experience & I definitely want to do another one again. I want to get into the gym to lift, get stronger, and work on speed work to beat my time from this run. I finished the half-marathon in 2:58. I was expecting to finish between 2:30 and 3hrs. The race was fine for the first 6.5 and then I could feel my feet, legs, back, etc. Around 10 miles, I was like, OK 4 to go - this isn't that bad. I kept talking little walk breaks which almost made things worse because suddenly you can feel every ache in your body.

I met these two girls from the Santa Cruz team on the course because we kept passing/catching up to one another. We ran together the last few miles and even ran across the finish together. My coach, Joe, was on the course at around the 12.8 mark and ran me in. It was good to have someone to just keep your mind off the last few steps. Running over that finish line felt really amazing though. When I hit the 12 mile mark, I thought 'I cant believe I'm doing this' and again at 13, I thought 'I can't believe I just did this'. Right now, my knees and ankles are killing me but I will be fine in a day or so. Plus, the pain I am feeling now is a lot less painful than the chemo the cancer patients I ran for, feel. This woman had a shirt on the course that said "Think running a half-marathon is hard? Try Chemo". How's that for motivation!?

I have come a long way from the team run back in February where I was astounded I was able to run 4 miles. Doing my first Half with a team was also a great way to run. I had so much training and support. It was really a great experience. I will be back next year!

So - what is next? Keep running. I feel like I have made it a part of my life and don't want to stop. Plus, I've worked so hard to get to this point, I am not going to waste it. Erik and I have already signed up for an 8K next Sunday. At this point, a 5 mile race seems like a walk in the park! I am going to sign up for the San Jose Rock N' Roll Half-Marathon in October, too.

While running, I didn't have any thoughts of 'I want to do a full marathon' however, in the back of my mind - something is saying 'Eventually you will do one'

I also want to give a huge shout out and THANK YOU to Erik. Without him, I probably wouldn't have done this. He supported me the entire time when I left him home with Evie while I had team runs, track workouts, core class, etc. He rushed home to let Evie out so that I could go to my workouts. He was by my side during the 12K back in March and was waiting at the finish today. So, THANK YOU Erik for supporting me and being with me through all of this!!!

I'll post some pictures when I get them!

Heading North

Erik & I are leaving in the morning for Humboldt, CA! We will be driving 5 1/2 hours north to the Redwoods. We will pick up my race packet & then go to the TNT pasta party.

My race is on Sunday so we will be getting up around 6am to stretch and get ready. Then, we will drive down to the race. The race starts at 8am!

I am nervous but have no reason to be. I am not aiming to win. It will be fun & there will be a ton of support from TNT'ers.

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!! With everyone's help, I raised $3,000!

Check out the race at www.theave.org

I will let you know how it goes!!

Teammates

One of my teammates just sent me this pic from when we did our 11 mile run at Creekside Park in Marin County. Of course, I am standing with bad posture. There are about 150 runners on the TNT SF team however, they split us up into smaller groups by neighborhood. I met 4 girls in my neighborhood so we stick together during practice & runs. I will post more pics of this weekend's RACE!

PIcnic

Back in the beginning of April, we tried to have a picnic in Golden Gate Park. Evie wanted to run around instead. Here are some pics!

The Uh-Oh Bus Story

This story actually happened a few weeks ago but I wanted to tell it because it is funny. First off, I should tell you that we have quite an array of bus drivers here. Some dont talk at all, some are super nice, some tell you every single stop(even though its an automated thing), and then there are the older, Black women who have been driving the bus for years.

I was riding to work one morning when a guy (who was a little wierd & may have had something wrong with him & may have been homeless) got on the bus. I heard him up front saying 'Uh-Oh' a few times but didn't pay attention to him. Suddenly, our driver who was one of those older Black Women, stopped the bus. She stood up and yelled at him "That's it, GET OFF MY BUS"

The guy kept saying 'Uh Oh, Uh Oh' and she kept telling him to get off. Then she said she was going to get the cops and so that made him 'uh-oh' even more.

Finally, she was like 'That's right, Uh-Oh!, GET OFF MY BUS NOW" and finally - after 10 more uh-ohs, he got off. I still dont know if he was bothering someone, or bothering her but something had to occur for her to erupt like that. It was pretty funny though.