in heaven

I've been in Vermont for the past week...it was amazing. Weather totally perfect, relatives awesome...I wish I could stay there forever. I know it's not reality, but it's a dream at least...

A plethera of pictures will be posted soon...I just have to sift through them so I'm not posting hundreds of pictures (I went a little snap-happy).

Running in a Sauna with a Flat Tire

Just wanted to share one last funny story...
Yesterday I did my long run (10 or so miles...getting longer all the time!) out in Peninsula. When I got there I was informed that I had been driving on the flattest tire in the world. Really. I'm not sure how I didn't notice. There is a screw stuck in the tire, so hopefully I'll be able to get it repaired instead of having to buy a new tire. In any case, we fixed it after the run.

Here are pictures of the process...I know I said I was disgustingly sweatly last Tuesday, but this may be a new record...It was SO humid and we ran more than 10 miles...we were totally drenched. If I hadn't been able to smell myself, I might have thought I had just taken a shower--that's how wet I was!!

the lopsided rear view!

the donut is on!

amie helping

elizabeth changing the tire

me staring in disbelief

close up on the stupid thing

my flat tire!

'Spring' Cleaning

Today I spent the day helping Phil unpack. The place looks amazing now. I hope he feels like it's his place too... it certainly makes me feel SO much better about everything when our living space is actually...livable. It was getting to the point where I didn't want to come home because everything was so unmanagable.

I also spent a lot of time creating my website. It's not perfect yet, but it's definitely getting there. I still want to add some sound bytes that will play when you open the site, but I have to spend some time figuring that out. It was fun working on it, albiet a bit frustrating at times. :) Tomorrow, back to work.

Yes, I have a JOB. I'm working at the TNT office calling people who have expressed interest but never actually participated. It gets a little hard to be on the phone for so long (my throat gets sore and I swear I'm developing skin problems where the phone hits my chin), but it's good for me. It gives my day some structure, and will provide a solid income for a while (the job ends at the end of August, which is actually perfect since that's when my students start getting back). Plus, I'm doing something I believe in, which is fun. I don't think I could handle it otherwise.

After this week, we're going to VERMONT!!! I can't wait. I look forward to this time all year. I can't wait for Baruch to be able to play off the leash and explore the mountains. It's going to be a blast. Plus, I'm looking forward to seeing my parents (my dad has lost more than 30 lbs since I saw him last!) and sister, not to mention aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandmother. I know a lot of people don't like to spend time with their families, but I love it. I think family is so important. They've got your blood, you know? Who else is going to be able to understand you?

I have GOT to practice now. Enough computer messing around!

Coventry Street Fair

So tonight was the second Coventry Street Fair of the summer (one more on August 11!). Amie and Chris came to meet me and Phil, and then Elizabeth joined a bit later. At first it looked like it was going to be rained out, but the weather cleared up and it turned out to be a lot of fun. I ate too much, as usual...a whole Dave's sub and then a piece of Guy's pizza, and then a desert from one of the farmer's stands. Last time there was more music and the whole fair was a bit more kickin', but it was still a lot of fun...we were the die-hard, true Coventry Street Fair lovers! :) I love that I live in such a liberal neighborhood---everyone is so cool and laid back, and of course agrees with what I believe...and since I'm right, that's a good thing! :)

everyone playing nintendo after the fair...(baruch even joined!)

knife juggler...he said if the camera flashed in his eyes again, he would throw one of the knives at me! :)

the band..

big ass dog

cute phil

pensive phil

dramatic phil

chris (a different one) leading his revolution. they were shouting "we can't wait 3 more years; overthrow bush NOW!!!!" awesome.

amie and chris at paninis

Quote of the day...

"Wouldn't you be a better endurance runner if you ran slower, rather than faster?" P. Powell

Track workout

Last night was the typical Tuesday night track workout, but it was SO freaking hot. I really don't know that I've ever been that hot in my life... I did 3 sets of 3*400 and really thought I was going to bail after each 400. I almost puked after the 8th one... We were all just dripping sweat everywhere. Great that people took pictures to document the torture, right? :)

We went to Hoggy's afterwards though (as per usual), and so that made it worth it. Their macaroni and cheese is the best ever...they make it with sour cream and it just melts in your mouth. Thinking about that is the only way I get through those track workouts. It's amazing how painful 1:38 seconds around the stupid track can be. And, it's just a bit more than 2 miles of intervals...crazy. I wish I could run faster for one reason: then, I wouldn't be in pain as long. :) (Plus, you get more rest as you're waiting for the slow pokes like me...doesn't seem fair that the faster people get more rest, now does it?)

me, elizabeth, kurt, and mitch afterwards...this picture doesn't do it justice, but we were all ridiculously drenched in sweat.

me, elizabeth, amie walking our cool down mile

Brian running his last quarter...he looks so calm, but he's insanely fast. Makes me sick. :)

kurt running his last 400...pretty intense, right?

Lorain Sprint Tri

So on Sunday Elizabeth and I woke up at 4:30 to go to this Sprint Triathlon in Lorain. Since we both did long runs on Saturday, we decided to take it easy and do the race as a relay. We even had a name: "One Third" Cute, eh? Anyway, so we get to a race, and it turns out our biker can't make it. Since neither one of us had brought a bike, we were kind of stuck. Karen from TNT was there, so we decided to stick around and cheer her on. Plus, Kurt was already on his way to cheer us on...he was biking there (40m!), so we couldn't exactly just take off...
It ended up being fun, but it's exhausting to just stand around for hours. It may even be more tiring than actually doing the race, because you have to use all of this mental energy to keep yourself pumped up...
I came back home to awesome pancakes from Phil and crashed on the porch while Elizabeth and Phil played MonkeyBall...a wonderful new GameCube game Elizabeth lent us.
So all in all, it wasn't a bust of a day, but it'll take me a while before I decide to do a relay again, for sure! (Eventually I will though, because how could I let that awesome team name go to waste???)

karen getting out of the water. She was the first woman out!

the very scary lady who yelled at us at 6:30 in the morning for getting into the wrong registration line

kurt riding in to 'cheer us on'

me and kurt eating post-race twinkies even though we didn't do the race

more camping pictures

Here are some additional pictures that Elizabeth and Kurt sent via Hello...the best program EVER...for all of you that haven't downloaded it yet....DO SO (bryce!!!!)... :)

baruch looking into the wilderness

me helping bryce make dinner (a little, at least!)

bryce by the showers

dan

phil, me...

kurt, me, and phil

dan playing bs

phil

baruch conked out after 'learning' to swim (she didn't quite get the hang of it)

me by the river

elizabeth and bryce on the rock

baruch chilling

me, phil in the morning

me, phil by the fire

me by the fire

me, amie (bryce too...)

me cooking potatos

whole group sitting on a rock in the river