my pretty pony

you must see Matinée dance at the 2006 World Equestrian Games.

can you guess which is her favorite song?

pleasure spiked with pain

i was listening to the red hot chili peppers today while i did my long run, and then some dixie chicks to keep me mellow.

this morning miz nina and i enjoyed a leisurely walk through the baerenreid. we saw lots of flowers and heard lots of birds singing. we saw a group of four teenage girls come trotting by on two horses and two little shetland ponies. the girls on the little ponies were bouncing along so hard i thought their teeth must have been rattling! funny but cute too. wish i had my camera with me! nina and i were out for about an hour, taking it easy.

later on, i got in a little over 8 miles on my long run. whew baby i'm really really tard (as we say in the south!). the first 5.44 were the best - i did them in the Baerenreid in the shade of the forest. the first 2 miles of the uphill portion of course is hard, but the rest was quite pleasant. i covered 5.44 in 54 minutes, then i took a ten minute walking break, had some water, and stopped to shake the pebbles and other trail debris out of my shoes. next i ran back through our little town and did a quick loop through the fields. got lots of sun today, but it wasn't hot really. i had considered going further through the fields and back through the Buchsiwald forest but realized that would pushing it too much today. i actually wanted to be able to make it back to my house!

don't know what to do with myself now. i think i'm gonna have to eat a ham sandwich and take a nap. hope you are having a good day too!

Rise and Shine

don't hate me because i'm beautiful

in response to the Rise and Shine Challenge i found on two of my favorite blogs 21st Century Mom and Not Born to Run i posted my own "Rise and Shine" photo this morning. ugh. hopefully you haven't choked on your morning coffee. it's blurry, sorry, but i didn't have on my glasses.

so today is saturday. it looks like we might have some rain finally. it has been so dry! yesterday when i came in from my run, my legs and shoes were covered in gray dust. #1 son is having a terrible time with allergies. poor kid is producing his body weight in snot. he really wants it to rain!

i did "real good" yesterday on my run. i went 34 minutes without stopping, and that includes a series of small hills. i ran from the Hornussen Club house, across the fields, down the street, across the other fields, down the paved road towards Kirchlindach, then through another field and into the little Buchsiwald forrest, and looped through. i ended by going up this last hill which i finally ran ALL THE WAY UP! i did NOT stop once. i have a special name for this hill, but it's rude, so i will only share with you it's initials: S.A.H. i conquered the SAH yesterday! mentally i was doing a victory dance, thrusting my arms in the air like Rocky, but physically i was sucking some major air. ha. not very cool. i think i scared the farmer's cows with my wheezing. once i composed myself, i walked for about two minutes, had some water, then continued my run back through the loop towards the Hornussen club house. i enjoyed myself (except for the SAH part).

today i'm thinking i will take a rest day, and just go for a long walk with miz nina. hope you enjoy your day wherever you are.

are you stuck in negativity?

that question just jumped out at me from today's www.yahoo.com main page. (see article) so, i thought about it. hmmmm. yeah... i think i tend to get stuck in that negative muddy goo several times a year and i usually need something to give me a kick in the rear to get out of it. it wasn't until i was a "grown up" that i realized that the proverbial kick in the rear had to come from ME. i couldn't wait for someone else to recognize i was floundering and swoop in and rescue me. believe me, other folks have their own issues to deal with. no matter how dramatically i flounced around, the only person to get me out of those messes was myself. interestingly, i usually ended up there because i wasn't paying attention to where i was going, what i was doing, or lost sight of my goals.

that being said, i must admit there have been a special few along the way who have been there for me. i'm very fortunate that i've had them and that they didn't pull me out of the mud, but would stand there with their arms crossed and say,"oh my! i can't believe you just did that!" "well, what are you going to do now?" "why don't you try it this way?" "wow. sucks to be you. when you're finished flouncing about, let me know, i'll be here." thanks, guys!

so, today, at this moment, i'm not stuck in negativity. one moment at a time, right?

i went out for my run earlier today (about 7:30 am) so i could take miz nina along with me. it's been so "warm" lately, that it has been hard on her. (highs in the mid 70s. ha!). we ran the trails through the Barenreid. i kept her off leash most of the time and she loved it. i could listen for her tags dingalinging to know she was keeping up, and she was enjoying all the sniffing and investigating along the way without me yanking on her leash.

the trail i follow in the Barenreid is mostly uphill and then downhill. it's mainly a gradual incline, but whew, that's a challenge for me! i can still only keep going uphill in ten minute spurts, and then must take a short walking break. back in january, when i was on these trails, i found it hard to even go 30 seconds uphill. so, i'll take the progress i've made. it took me 20 minutes today to go up a mile and a half. only took me 15 to go back downhill the same distance. the downhill part for me is the FUN PART!

Her Majesty

Her Majesty Visits W&M in 1957

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Returns to William and Mary May 2007

we are especially excited for daughter #1 who is in the Queen's Guard.

thank you, robert key

robert key, founder of www.faithfulsoles.com is one of my readers. thank you, robert, for following me on my journey. i'm thrilled to be your choice for this week's "runner of the week."

visit www.faithfulsoles.com today

accidento.

i dropped my pedometer in the potty. it's dead...i'm pretty sure.

i ran 4.55 miles today (without said pedometer...i mapped the route out on the computer).i was able to run about 35 minutes without stopping. it was really sunny today, mid 70s. i'm getting a tan.

daughter #1 is stressing big time. ten more days of classes at w&m, then 2 weeks of exams. i wish her well and remind her this too shall pass.

son #1 is his usual mellow self. tomorrow is his last day of classes, then 2 weeks of exams - no worries, no study, no problemo. i wish him well and remind him that hotel mama is closing august 31, 2007.

i just ate half a can of pringles. why the hell did i let them into the house. ugh ugh

mr. kicky is travelling - so i get to sleep sideways in the bed. love that! ha