T-minus 3+ months...Austin Half Marathon

What an uneventful post, but this is going to be the "proof" that I will need next summer...apparently I made the comments earlier this year, but I guess it didn't hold true, as when Deb told me I said it...I didn't believe her!

"This will be my last half marathon."

Yup, I believe my running days are ending...not completely, but these long distance training runs are starting to take their toll on my knees.  Granted I've been battling knee issues for 8+ years now, I'm starting to feel a little bit "old" the morning after a run.  I've been running periodic long distances with sprinkled  short distances, as well as speed training, for the past month or so, in preparation for the half.  But, as I increase my mileage as I've done before, I am not enjoying it quite as much.  People ask me what the enjoyment is with running so much...I used to enjoy the challenge, the accomplishment...but now that I have accomplished my goals in running, I don't have that drive to keep doing it.  Perhaps a triathalon or biking...or perhaps something else?  One thing I'm really enjoying is the 4+ games of softball a week...I get more out of it now than I have in a long while.  Who knows what's next, but I do know it's most probably (90%+) not long distance runs!

Anyways, in the spirit of that one crazy man on our honeymoon..."I'm done!"

(And Deb is running with me in February...not sure if shares the "last time" feelings that I have...guess we'll have to just wait and see!)

Where are you taking my friend?

Roma LOVES going to daycare, and today was no different.  She's been fortunate of late, going twice a week.  And she looooves her time with Izzy.  As I said in a previous post, they cry when the other one leaves...well, tonight I snapped a quick (very short) video of Izzy trying to get around the door to see her bud, Roma.  She apparently has considerable height on her jumps...(one thing that separates the two...Roma doesn't have the height on her jumps).

Enjoy...

(The voices are the daycare personnel, who deserve much credit for dealing with our rowdy pup all day long!  They even had a few battle scars/scratches from the two rough-housing today!)

Pumpkin Carving

This past Sunday we headed over to the Reyes' for pre-Halloween activities...including pumpkin carving!  It was a lot of fun seeing everyone's pumpkins come together.  Deb and I didn't plan ahead, so we kind of winged it.  The talk of the party was about what "level" your skills were...so of course, I said "challenge accepted!"  Bragging rights are at stake when we vote this week at their annual halloween bash.
Here is my creation...can you guess what it is?  It's Mario, from Super Mario Brothers.

As for Deb, she went for a classic pumpkin...picture to be posted soon.

Since I don't have a photo of her pumpkin, I'll post her cookies that she created for the season...she continues to increase the bar for herself, aren't they professional looking?!

And since Deb and I had a reminiscent moment when we took out our Fall stuff with a pumpkin, I'll share a photo from back in 2006.  This is kitty when she was small enough to fit into the pumpkin!  Now, not even close.  (Thanks go out to Deb for holding her in!)  Plus you can see our 2006 pumpkins...

And for your enjoyment...when her head was small enough we'd pour milk in the bottom of a glass and she'd get it all the way in there!

Happy Halloween everyone!

(We'll post more with pics from the party and our costumes...mine has been decided for some time.  It references something I've been referred to as a few times in the past year...any thoughts?)

OH, and Roma came along and was able to play with Robo and Miles...they had a good ole time!

October Golf at Beacon Lakes Golf Club

Today I golfed for the first time in a while.  I had a couple scheduled opportunities canceled thanks to my recent thumb injury, but with it nearly back to 100%, I had the itch to get back on the links!  I roped in Andy, Spicer, Loi, and Mintz to come out...with it being a 5-some, we were somewhat limited on courses we could play, so we chose Beacon Lakes Golf Club in Dickinson.

Overall it was a great day at the course, but before I delve into that, I must tell the story of hole #5.  I had just snapped this photo of the hole...it was such a beautiful day today, I was planning on blogging or sharing some photos.

As I'm walking back to the cart to go grab my driver...BAM!  It was a golf ball that had just missed me by inches!  SPICER!  I was caught so off guard and it was a scary instantaneous moment!  As if he deserved a mulligan, he took one.  Here he is at the box.  I was standing next to the carts on the left...note the hole to the right!  I never let him live it down including me throwing golf balls at him unexpectedly...I had small victories seeing him jump nervously!

But the day was a good day overall game-wise.  I shot a 44 on the front, 45 on the back...a solid 89 for the day.  That's including 3-putting a whopping 8 holes!  Count in the 2 drops, I was quite fortunate to keep my day sub-100.  From my score you can see putting and a few stray shots proved to be the achilles heal of my day...my driving was the inverse of sorts...considering I had 9 - 300+ yard drives, including #16 when I overshot the 352 yard pin, and landing on the fringe of the 383 yard hole #17!  Best hole was #8 when I barely missed an eagle attempt on the long par 5...

The greens were quite slow, this was a common occurrence with us...burying the balls deep into the ground.  This was mine on hole #18.

Roma...or Imposter!

As you all know, Roma goes to doggie day care a couple times a week.  The past few weeks she's gone to Rover Oaks...  The previous two times I'd heard about Roma's new play buddy, Isabelle (aka Izzy).  I even saw her once and thought, wow she's cute...but I really didn't look too hard.  On Tuesday I had heard they played ALL day nonstop and was informed that Izzy was actually a foster.  They had pegged us as good adoptive parents considering she was Roma's best dog friend.

On Friday, when I was picking her up I thought wow, she looks tired...and she came running over.  But something wasn't right, her tail was straight.  Yup, that was Izzy!  And then Roma was jumping below my feet and I laughed.  They look so alike!  I had heard that the two cry for each other, and only each other, when they get separated.  Surely enough, when I took Roma on her leash and led her outside, Izzy was on the other side...scratching at the door and whining.

For now, we can't adopt another dog.  Kitty is still becoming acclimated with Roma...we don't need to add another dog that looks nearly the same...we'll give kitty a heart attack!  Anyways, here's a quick photo of Izzy that I snapped.

Izzy

Funny thing, I sent it to Deb and even on a quick glance from her, her response was "Roma looks tired."  Yup...we have an imposter!!

Happy First Anniversary!

(Okay, so the post is a little late, but I had to show off Deb's cake!)

YAY!  You can put our first year in the books...it's done!  I don't know how to describe it other than a roller coaster.

Getting married on 10-10-09 was the start...off to Europe we went for two weeks of amazing fun!  One month later we were hit with hard news on the job front (for me)...  The holidays were filled with family and friends and lots of support.  By the start of the year we were on the mend as I was narrowing my options down....finally opting for my current position with Rimkus.  Plus we decided to go and adopt a pup...Roma!  Then came raising a puppy.  Throw in Hawaii over the summer and three weddings...and there you have it...our first year!  Really, though, if you read the blog then all of that is just past reading for you.

So, on our anniversary Deb and I went down to Brazos Bend State Park for a picnic.  We even played a cut throat game of Scrabble decided by one point.  Fitting for our first anniversary perhaps.

Deb got me an apron (as I never wear one and often mess my clothes) and a Santoku knife.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santoku  She feared I'd cut my finger off...pshh!  I only sliced a piece of my finger on the third day!  Haha.

I went with the traditional paper...matted a world map on foam board and framed it for Deb (or us).  Now we are in the process of putting map pins where we have been, plus where we want to go, all of which have their own colors.  We have a lot of work to do on the traveling front, but it's one of our most favorite things to do. (More on our Spring 2011 plans to come...)  We have been fortunate to have been all over, but realize there are sooo many places we still want to experience.

And here's the cake Deb made...amazing!  It was hazelnut chocolate ganache and more.  It was amazing.  Everything she bakes is, but this was extra special!

On our first anniversary we were able to enjoy some of our wedding brew that Deb's dad brewed us for our wedding.  It was so nice to relax and reminisce about our big day...just one year ago.

Happy First Deb!!

Krna's Wedding

Two weeks ago we went to Krna's wedding in Outer Banks, North Carolina. Terence and I were excited as neither of us had been before and were looking forward to relaxing a bit by the beach. 

We got there just in time for the rehearsal and to check out Krna and Tim's beach house, which was amazing! It had the sweetest movie room I have ever seen, we will definitely be looking to vacation there sometime! It was really nice to get to see Mama Krna and get to know some more of Krna's friends and family in Virginia.

Next day was the wedding on the beach and everyone looked amazing. Terence was in charge of pictures and I have to give him props, because it looks like he did a pretty good job! 

I also have to say that I have never seen such a calm bride, Krna really looked amazing!

Beautifully handwritten vows...

The smooch!

Thumbs up!

Next day we all woke up early and headed to breakfast at a local shop and took our time driving up the coast. We of course stopped for frozen custard and one of the many Christmas shops, then it was back to Houston. Pup was glad we were home, I think she started to miss us after all our traveling!

I am going to miss my Krna, I mean Campbell-licious just doesn't have the same ring to it! 


Congrats Tim and Krna! 

Did we find Roma's mom? The verdict is out...

So last Thursday when I was arriving at McLean Park in Pearland, just before my softball games, I spotted something that caught my attention.  It was a black dog, relatively close in size, color, and walk.  (The "walk" is also her "prance," Roma is big on acting all prissy.) 

To give a little back story as to why I got so intrigued, during one of Roma's many visits to the vet, a woman came up to me saying Roma looked exactly like her sister's dog.  We spoke and everything about them made it seem like they could possibly be sisters.  I didn't see any pictures, but the descriptions were spot on.  They were both rescued around the same time, similar sizes then and now, both found in the Houston Hobby area...but we didn't exchange info, it was just one of those things. 



Sorry for it being blurry...

 But on Thursday, I got to thinking, is that her sister??  It was kind of creepy, but I got my car parked, slipped on the shoes and ran after the girl walking her dog.  Yeah, I had to approach it kind of like "hey I'm not a creep."  Oye...it was awkward.  Awkwardness aside, we started talking.  I explained that I had a dog that looked just like hers...  She proceeded to tell me her dog was about 2 years old, had one litter of dogs about a year ago just before her family adopted her.  They believed she was part Labradoodle and German Shepard, but they really didn't know. 

SO, based on what we know about Roma's history, age, siblings (possibly the one from the vet), and her possible mom, it all makes sense.  Granted we still don't know what Roma is, it's fun to speculate.  I really think Roma is related...perhaps when the weather cools down, my thumb heals, and Deb brings Roma out to the softball games again...we may have an encounter to talk more about.  For now, I guess, we really don't have anything to report...except my feeling that we found her mom!  But the verdict is out....

Least Valuable...my thumb!

Who's got the MVP and the LVP?  ME!

So, two posts ago I was all about my glasses saving me in my softball games...and it rang true throughout last week.  I played softball Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday...  I was on fire.  Last game of the week on Thursday, I take a liner off my right thumb (of my throwing hand).  I stayed out there, still made plays...watching my thumb change colors and swell larger.  Between innings I was submersed in the beer cooler.  My thumb that is, beer was the last thing I wanted in that moment!  I ended up getting out twice after the thumb incident, but again...least of my concerns.

I went home and showed Deb...her face said it all.  My thumb was bruised, swollen and apparently bent.  Not good.  I showered and medicated myself, why Deb called the nurses line.  Long conversation short, I ended up in the ER (Urgent Care facility) at midnight.  After going through Xrays and doctor's inspection (which my cries of pain when the doctor was pulling on my finger caused Deb to laugh), I found out it wasn't broken.  I bruised my ligament, which is causing all the pain, reduced range of motion, and more.

So as my eyeglasses reign as MVP, my thumb has taken the opposite approach.  This week I'm sitting out, but hope to be back next week.  I'll keep you all updated...

...and the MLB regular season ends, sadly...plus Postseason Predictions

It was another disappointing year for the Tribe.  I don't know what to really say as I can't say I saw much progress for the 2011 season.  They have talent, but they just need to learn how to put it together.  I'll touch on thier 2011 campaign next year when more is available...

Conversely for the Astros, they finished the year strong and have shown much to look forward to next year.  If they can make a few moves I think they have a shot at contending...

SO...back in April I made some big predictions...copied here:
Regular Season:
NL
Central - Cardinals (100-62)
East - Phillies (98-64)
West - Rockies (84-78)
Wild Card - Reds (88-74)
AL
Central - White Sox (94-68)
East - Rays (91-72)
West - Mariners (94-66)
Wild Card - Yankees (90-73)

Division Series:
NLDS: Rockies over Cardinals, Reds over Phillies
ALDS: White Sox over Yankees, Rays over Mariners

Championship Series:
NLCS: Reds over Rockies
ALCS: Rays over White Sox

World Series:
Rays over Rockies in 7 games...


Obviously they all can't work out.  The Mariners disappointed, as did the White Sox.  Rocktober didn't happen for the Rockies...  And those Cardinals just slumped down the stretch.  I was 4 for 8...so don't start taking my advice to Vegas!

But as it's baseball, here goes for the postseason:
NLDS: Phillies over Reds, Braves over Giants
NLCS: Braves over Phillies
ALDS: Rangers over Rays, Twins over Yankees
ALCS: Twins over Braves
World Series: Braves win in 6!

If this all works out...I can think of a whole lot of people that would be disappointed...especially my mom, one of the biggest anti-Braves fans out there!

Tribe all the way in 2011!!!