RIP Duke :(

After getting back from vacation, we were very happy to see our dogs.  Well, we found out that Duke the Chocolate Lab had been fighting with little Rocky and Bear, just about every other day while we were gone.  Duke has always been a very aggressive dog, but it's always worked itself out - they didn't fight that much.  Maybe once every few weeks or so.

Well, if you remember, Duke and Bear both have heartworms and Duke also has a tumor on his back.  Well, we were just going to let Duke "go" until he started having pain and then we were going to put him to sleep.  Looking back, that was selfish of us, but we love that guy - even if he's mean at times.    BTW, Bear begins his heartworm treatment on the 8th.

Long story short, Duke and the other dogs kept getting into it this morning.  Big time.  We had a hard time separating them and they just wouldn't quit fighting.  They just kept fighting and they just wouldn't stop.  It happened twice within an hour period and it wasn't getting any better.  There was blood shed - Rocky has several gashes that were breathing and Duke was bleeding on his ear as well.  We tried to separate them all by putting Duke in the pin that we have in the backyard.  He broke through the pin twice - literally.  He was very, very upset and he wanted out.  So, after weighing our options, we decided that it had to be done - we had to put Duke to sleep soon.  

The Vet had already told us a few months back that Duke wouldn't live through the tumor removal surgery and that if he did, he definitely wouldn't live through the heartworm treatment.  So, we called the Vet this morning and hubs took the poor guy in.  There was no way I could go with him.  That dog loved me immensely.  I was his favorite and I loved the poor guy, no matter how mean he could be.  But, we decided for the safety of our other dogs and for his health and safety, today was the day.  

I'll miss that poor guy.  I already do.  Rocky has been whining all day because he thinks that Duke is in the house playing with us.  :(  

It was a bad way to end a vacation.  But, it had to be done.  I'd post a picture of the poor guy, but I don't think I can go through the pictures right now.  It hurts.  So, if you'd like to see a picture of Duke, he's on my sidebar still.  

Rest In Peace, good friend.  We love you and will miss you lots.  :(

My Little Sister's Graduation - Pictures

As you know, my little sister graduated High School this past weekend!  She graduated with Honors.  I'm so very proud of her.  It's incredible how close we are, being we are 10 years apart.  I just love her to death.  Here are some pictures from the graduation - I wont post pictures of her walking across the stage or anything, since you can't really see any faces, etc.

So, without further ado... Here are some more pictures (I've been a picture posting fool lately).

Sister & I

Here we are again!

My Dad ..trying to escape the picture!  And this shirt makes me look preggo...But, I'm Not!

My Dad decided to cooperate for this one...

And one more  :)

By the way, the building we are standing in... Hubs and I both graduated college in...this same building.  Kinda cool, huh?

My Awesome Running Pictures

As you know, I did a 5k on May 9th. Well, I'm just now getting around to posting some "running" pictures from it. Now, let me just go a head and put a disclaimer up - some of these pictures are horrible and I'm just sharing them with YOU! I'm not even putting them on my facebook. ha!

Here we go...

Mile Marker #2 taken by Hubs - notice the ponytail has fallen! And it seems I'm bepopping to some music! ha!

Mile Marker #3 taken by hubs - I made a birds nest with the hair. Still bepopping!


Finish line picture. Yes, I passed her. Taken by MaumelleSports.com
I cropped her out... Just me :)
Now, also let me just say that MaumelleSports "makes" you purchase the pictures - you can't copy them. Well, lets just say I took a nice little screenshot. So, technically, I did steal that picture. Shh, don't tell.
I'm pretty proud of my finish line picture - even with the messed up facial expression. I've always hated my legs because they're on the bigger side, but this picture actually looks pretty good. I'm getting happier with them. :)
Anywho, today is my last day of work till June 1st. I will try to post tomorrow and try to schedule some posts for while I'm gone... but no promises! So, if I don't speak to yall again, have a blessed next week and a half or so! You can bet I'll have tons of pictures! I'll try to post my sister's graduation pictures tomorrow. We shall see!
Happy Hump Day!

I'm NOT A Biker.. I'm A Runner

This weekend was one of "those" weekends. The kind that when Monday comes, you wish you had another weekend just to re-coop from this one. But, since that's impossible... we move forward.

I didn't get any sleep last night. I've had a problem getting my mind to "shut off" lately. I'm not sure why this is causing so many problems, as I've been on a Rx sleep aid for a year and a half. I go back to the Dr on Thursday. So, we'll see if he'll switch my Rx's.

Which brings me to another point. I'm off Thursday! Originally I wasn't going to take off Thursday, but as this trip gets closer and I start to panic a little bit about all the stuff that is left to be done, I decided to ask the boss if I could take off. He said that was fine and so I'm off - without having to actually take a vacation day. Maybe I'll explain this part later, maybe not. But, just know that my boss is awesome. Most days. :)

Back to this weekend...

Hubs and I ran 4 miles on Friday. Our farthest run together, yet. We did really well, all things considered. Such as, we were both exhausted, it was slightly humid, and it was reaching the upper 80's. Anywho, we did great.

Saturday we went to my sister's graduation. I loved it. I felt so many memories come back and it was just so great seeing her walk across for her diploma. You can bet I cheered - even though they asked us not to. :) But, side note... The announcer said her name wrong. It's suppose to be Katherine - not Kathleen. How do you mess that up? I felt so sad for her, but I don't think it really bothered her. I'll post pictures later. :)

Sunday we had brunch with my mom, her boyfriend, and my grandma. It was interesting to say the least, but it was a nice experience. I have mixed feelings about our "situation" and I'm really trying to stay positive, but I'm having a hard time letting things go I guess. I don't want to elaborate for fear that she may read this. But, I honestly think she feels the awkwardness too. Atleast, I kind of hope she does. I'd feel horrible if it was just me. Does that make sense?

Then later that day, hubs and I went biking for 11.5 miles. Yes, you read that right. This was not my idea - to go that far! He wanted to go 20 miles but I said NO WAY! Actually, I said something a little meaner than that, but we'll sugar coat it. :) There were some hills involved and my quads hated me - they still hate me today. I've never cussed so much in one day... I'm serious. Hubs thought it was pretty funny. Of course. And note to self - switch gears next time. I've got no prior experience with mountain bikes...None... So, of course I was in one of the harder gears and had no clue. No wonder my quads hate me. Anyways, the course/trail was super nice. I'm blessed to live in an area that is so green and has so many biking/walking trails.

Anyways, to say that I'm a runner and NOT a biker is an understatement... But there are plans to bike again...

After vacation. Let the countdown begin! 4 days till paradise! :)

Running With The Hubs

I don't know if I've written about this or not, but the hubs has started running with me recently! I can't tell you how happy this makes me - it makes me extremely happy!

We started eating healthier and exercising more, so that we could look a little better on our upcoming trip to the Bahamas (9 more days, woohoo!). So, we've limited our eating out to once a week and we've been eating healthier meals at home. So far, I've cooked some Weight Watchers Meatloaf, tons of grilled chickens, lean pork chops, lean cuts of steak, dressing-less salad, tons of steamed veggies, some fruit, and yogurt. So, we've been doing pretty good. Hubs has lost 12lbs last time he weighed (Sunday) and I've lost 5lbs.

And, hubs has started running with me again! He has ran with me for about 2 weeks now - atleast 3 times per week. Each time we run, we do about 3.32 miles - which is perfect for me, since that's right over the distance for a 5k - perfect training runs. We've also been doing what alot of you know as the program "Couch to 5k" or the "Galloway Program." This week we are doing the 3-2 exercises - run for 3 minutes, walk for 2. This program is what our clinic uses to get us ladies into shape and I must say - it's a great workout!

I'm really extremely proud of him for sticking with it - he doesn't enjoy running at all! But, we did buy him a nice Garmin 305 watch to run with. I use the NikePlus watch and enjoy it..and will use it till it dies on me. But, he wanted a watch of his own and so we've been thinking about getting a Garmin. And so, on an impulse buy this past Saturday, we did. It's a great watch with a lot of cool features and it being a new toy, he likes to run with it. :)

Anywho, it's been a good experience for us so far - running together. We don't usually get to spend much time together during the week due to work - so this works out really well for us. We get to push each other and spend time together. It's great. Also, it helps me for these next upcoming 5ks - that are in July! Note on that, I wanted to do a race sooner, but due to our upcoming vacation and the fact that I don't want to drive a long ways to do a short race - July it will be! Anddddd... I'm signing up for the SW Half Marathon again. This time, I'll hopefully get to run it and not get injured during training. Hubs said he'll train with me too - we shall see!! I hope we do get to train for it together - that would help a lot!

Anyways - I'll be quiet now! Happy Wednesday and thanks for all of the blog comments yesterday. It really helps to know that I'm not the only one out there who has these thoughts on female relationships! :)

WCR 5k Race Recap

As promised, a little recap of the 5k I ran this weekend...

I ran the WCR 5k this weekend, with the goal of finishing under 40 minutes. Well, I did it! I finished in 39:38 - which is under 40, so I'm very happy! That makes my average pace 12:47 per mile and I'm happy with that too. :) 

There were approximately 1300 women registered for this event. There were 106 in my age group that were "Clinic Runners" - women who were registered with a clinic, like I was. I came in 84th out of 106. Usually, I'm closer to the bottom, so I was pretty happy with 84th. 

My sister had a burst of energy and ran her fastest race as well. She usually does somewhere around 39 minutes, but this time she did 36 minutes! She was super happy!

So, I've added a few brilliant pictures.. It was kinda early and I had no makeup on... So, don't judge! LOL Hope you enjoy!

The Family Before The Race:

My Sister at Mile Marker 2

Us After the Race

Me & My Finisher's Ribbon

Me & My Sister Afterwards

My Results

We ran the 5k route last night! I must say, I was very nervous. But, I did something very stupid...

After work yesterday, I went grocery shopping...then came home, unloaded groceries, unloaded/reloaded the dishwasher, then started dinner...And realized I was starving. I looked at the clock, it was 4:30 - two hours before I was scheduled to run. I thought about my food options, then said the heck with it when I saw there was BBQ pulled pork and pickles in the fridge. Mmmm. So, I ate them. Bad decision - and I knew that even as I was stuffing my face. But, I did it anyways.

So, of course, while running the 5k route, I felt a little queasy. I even started burping BBQ (gross, I know). But, I pushed on.. just at a little slower pace and with a few more walk breaks than usual.

To make matters worse, I didn't have my usual running partners - my sister or my friend Naomi... I had nobody to run with as nobody else runs the same pace as me... *sigh*

But, I still finished very close to my goal! According to my Nike Plus, the 3.1 miles was actually 3.15 miles - my watch was probably a little off... And I completed it in 40:50 - which is a pace of 12:59. Not too shabby! So, my thoughts are... I wont have BBQ or pickles on Saturday morning (duh, I usually eat a Nutrigrain Bar) and I'll have someone to run with (or 2 or 3...)! So, God willing and me pushing... I should be able to come in 39 minutes!

I'm very happy with my run last night! It truly made my night and gave me extra confidence that I should be able to do well on Saturday. The only major thing I'm worried about is the weather. There is a slight chance of rain... Boo.

Anywho, that's about it! Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Oh My.. You'll Want To Read This One!!

Where to start...

It has rained here (poured, in fact) for DAYS... So, when I woke up Saturday morning (5k race day) and it was thundering, lightening, and raining (not hard, really)...I thought for sure that my race had been canceled, but.. I still got up, took a shower, and then stared out the window for quite some time. Then, hubs got up and turned the tv on.. and our little state map had storms all over it. Then, the thundering and lightening continued... So, my thinking was this....

Friday afternoon when I went to pick up my race packet, the timing chips weren't in yet.. So, I just thought I'd pick it up in the morning... Then, with the thundering and lightening...I just figured that the race was canceled and since I didn't have a timing chip to return...I stayed home. Little did I know... The race was NOT canceled!!! GRR.. My friend/running partner texted me to tell me her finishing time - a time that I would most likely had gotten too, since we run together and mostly the same pace...That time - would have completed my goal!! So, I was more than bummed! I was so, so, so mad! I cried. Yes, I cried.

That's about the only thing that's worth mentioning on here - that happened this weekend...

Now for the good stuff...

This morning, I was on my way to work and getting on the on-ramp for the interstate... and I hear a loud "swooshing" sound... I turn down the radio...and then look at my dash to see that my "tire light" is on.. So, I pull off onto the side of the on-ramp and check the tire pressure in my tires (it has a neat little button that I just have to push, thank God).. and my rear driver's side tire is FLAT.

So, it being 5:30am, I call my sleeping husband to ask what I should do. He tells me to push the OnStar button and get roadside assistance and he'll be right there... So, I do. Hubs shows up...begins to get my spare out from under The Beast.. and then roadside assistance shows up. They both work on getting my tire changed - all while, cars speed past us (we're on the on-ramp to a major interstate)... I had pulled over as far as I could..but it was still pretty close...

Then, I see blue lights.. Yes, a State Trooper... I'm thinking, GREAT... He comes to tell us that he's there for our safety and to keep the cars from hitting us. How nice. Really, it is nice. So they get the tire changed, and then the state trooper tells me... "Your tags are expired."

Um, funny story. No, sir, they're not expired. Actually, I had to get a new tag last week, because my license plate is 9 years old. Yes, I've had the same plate for 9 years. Anyways, I show him the plate and smile. He asks my husband to put it on - right there. So, he does... and finally, we all drive away... I was only an hour late for work, thankfully...

So, everyone that saw a Tahoe, Silverado, another truck, and a State Trooper (with his lights on) on the side of the on-ramp this morning.... That was me. What a lovely way to start the morning!

Thank God for OnStar, Roadside Assistance, GREAT husbands, and State Troopers... I literally was scared sitting there, in the dark, on the side of the interstate...