Running in Bridgeport

Skofeild and I have been enjoying all the routes in Bridgeport. We have sidewalks and wider roads to run on! I'm a little crazy and wake at at 5:30 am to get my runs out of the way while Acalias is asleep and his dad is still home in bed as well. It's a bit creepish with how dreary things look with the darkness and humidity but it's a whole lot cooler than running later in the morning.

Stroller + dog + intense heat & car exhaust= an awful run!

There are allot of killer hills in this area. Hills are not my strong point so I've incorporated some steep hills at least 4 times a week. Thankfully Derek has several days when he doesn't have to be in until 9am so it gives me more time to run.

The best thing about running so early is the quiet calm. Most people are still asleep, the deers are frolicking about and I get to witness the beautiful sunrises.

I'm nearing the peak of this hill of Ridgeway drive.

This phone picture doesn't do it justice, it's so much more amazing in person.

This is the real deal, I didn't edit any of the following pictures.

This is at the peak of Ridgeway/Shearwood road run. The pictures were taken on two different days. The second picture was taken this week when a cold front rolled in, it was 58 degrees! So glorious for a woman like me who sweats way too much.

This makes waking up early to run so worth it!

I spotted a deer from a distance, they are all over the place but Skofeild likes to scare them away before I could get too close. I snapped a few pictures from a distance, as we drew closer he didn't move so I took more.

I love this picture. Good thing he was on top of the hill, Skofeild didn't notice him at all.

This was at the end of our 10 mile run this past Saturday near the trail head at Bridgeport park.

Not such a glamorous picture of myself but who looks great after miles of running? I had to highlight Skofield, he's kid-tested, mother approved. He is a great protector, without him I wouldn't be able to run so early in the morning. Anyone or dog who has ever approached me is instantly put in their place. I have some fun stories of how protective he can be, we're lucky to have him.

This year my goal was to run 1,000 miles. It's still my goal but it's been a bit harder than I had anticipated. I didn't add sickness, stress, fatigue into the equation. You'd think that stress would help motivate me to run but if and when it keeps me up at night, I'm far too tired to get up in the morning to run. Acalias still has his bouts of sleeplessness in the middle of the night and I opted to pack and unpack the week prior and after our move. Some days I just don't want to run at all! That's when I strap on my Rollerblades or strap Acalias into the trailer and head to the trails near our home. To date I've run 511.4 miles, I'm behind so somehow I need to log 122.15 miles each month to make my goal by 2012. That is 10 miles more than the 20 miles per week that I had planned...I hate to set a goal and fail so I'm going to push harder.

Acalias and I frequent this trail near our home. If only I was into fishing, the lakes are stocked with trout so there is always several people there fishing. It's a nice scenic paved trail. We give it two thumbs up.

The Parkersburg 1/2 Marathon is this coming weekend. I'm so excited! I feel stronger and I hope to run in better time than my last paved road race (2 hrs 18 min).

Stay tuned. Next week I will give you a tour of our new home...

Heart of the Holidays

Hi my name is Skofeild and I'm desperately looking for someone to care for me while my loved ones are away visiting Utah. The boarding animal hospitals are all booked...I didn't want to get boarded anyway because my last experience was traumatic. I felt abandoned and alone, I didn't eat at all the the entire time my family was away.
I am loyal and full of affection toward anyone who will give me attention. I enjoy getting petted especially on my belly and I really like to have my ball thrown outside. I love snow but please don't leave me outside too long, I'm used to being in the warmth indoors.

I will happily greet you at the door each day. I get so excited, I can't contain myself and I will most likely jump on you. Please don't be afraid of my very loud barks, I'm just very protective over my people and their property.
I am very attentive to the youngest member of our family. I am typically the first one near his crib whenever he cries and I give him licks whenever mom isn't looking. I enjoy children, especially the ones who can walk. I heard them towards their family, which keeps them out of mischief.
I need food, water and social interaction during the holidays while my loved ones are away. Please come and visit and play with me if you are in the area.

Ruff, Ruff
Skofeild


It was a busy week, this week we helped dad with the Heart of the Holidays activity his Honor Fraternity, Sigma Sigma Phi had organized. The school had a christmas tree with ornaments that listed items that children in the community needed. I was blown away by all the presents that the medical students purchased for the childen. Acalias and I chatted with people during the dinner and helped to clean up after the event.
I've noticed that Acalias really enjoys being around other people, he likes to observe others and it's fun to watch his expressions as he oberserves people.




Acalias wondering what all the fuss is about for the man with the big white beard. He watched all the children get their presents.


We snuck in a visit with Santa, of coarse Acalias goes straight for the mans beard (which is what he does to my hair all the time!)


Acalias thinking, "Who are you? Why do you have so much white hair? What have you done with my parents?"

We also did a photo session with my friend and her new baby. I haven't taken pictures since having Acalias, I've forgotten how much I enjoy photograpy. I've updated my photo blog, see www.nativarodebackphotography.blogspot.com.

Last but not least, a video for our family to see how big this little boy is getting.

Nifty Thrifty: Doggy Bed

I decided on a dog bed so that Skofeild can avoid the couch when we have guests. I found the fabric at a yard sale for $1.00. I spent $20.00 on the stuffing and zipper. This is a very big bed and after completing it, I felt that It was a great deal for the amount of money I spent. I found the tutorial online and changed a few things to make it fit our needs.

I learned patience in making this project. I tend to want to do things too quickly and as a result something always goes wrong. After completing the project I couldn't figure out why the name wasn't centered...I forgot the "L". By the time I finished I had no desire to go back and fix the problem. I guess we can call Skofeild, Skofeid for short:)

The material is velvet, I know it's not the most machine washable friendly but I honestly don't think we'll be stuffing this big bed into our washer. The stuffing is lined with plastic so that it is waterproof.

Skofeild likes it because it's as big as the ottoman that he enjoys relaxing on so much and the stuffed walls mimic the sofa arm that he likes to use as a pillow. I used fabric paint on the bottom so that the bed has some traction on the wooden floors.

He loves his new bed. I'm glad he doesn't mind that I misspelled his name:) Happy 2ND Birthday Skoey!.

Puppy seeking attention

I often neglect to write about the happenings of my husband’s life in medical school. He continues to do well but he’s feeling a bit bombarded with all that he’s learning in Neuroscience and Physiology. Every once in awhile he reviews what he’s studied with me and it seems as if he is learning another language. He has just completed Clinical skills for this year; he’s pretty excited about that. Last month he performed male and female examinations on actual patients. The patients were paid to teach the students how to perform the procedures accurately, I hear they pay well but you could never pay me enough to let students examine me!



Here he is in his white coat; he looks so handsome and professional.

Skofeild on the other hand has had plenty of anxious days with me stuck in bed. I’m doing a lot better but I no longer take him out for runs and it’s been too cold to throw his ball outside. If he’s not chasing his tail (which he does when he’s anxious) he is in the bathtub because he’s gotten in trouble (he runs to the bathroom with his ears down when he knows he has done something wrong). I finally decided to teach him how to run on the treadmill. He surprisingly caught on very fast especially with treats involved. In the morning when I ride my bike trainer or do a pregnant Yoga video he’ll run the whole entire time on the treadmill. He runs about 3.5 mph for at least 50 minutes. He really is too smart for his own good, lately he has taken up making fake vomiting noises to get us to let him outside. He’s good at it. I never thought I’d enjoy a dog as much as I enjoy Skofeild, he has so much personality it’s hard to imagine how animals can be mistreated sometimes.

Skofeild in the bathtub, his ears perked up when he saw the camera.


Here he is on the treadmill. I have video footage of him running on my phone but the quality isn’t good enough to post on the blog.If you really want to see it, let me know and I could send it to your phone.





I’ve started the craving stage of my pregnancy; it’s been so nice to eat food without vomiting. Last week I was nearly in tears when the Mexican restaurant brought me out a soggy burrito with too much sour cream and cheese. Luckily the waiter caught on and took the meal off the bill. That night I looked up how to make a California style burrito with homemade tortillas. My friend Melanie gladly accepted my invitation to cook them so I spent the majority of my Wednesday at her house making delicious authentic tasting burritos. I was in heaven. I haven’t had a really good burrito since I lived in California. It was nice to be outside of our home and in great company.

My days are a lot better. I’m able to work out with no problem. I’m grazing on food all day, I feel hungry all the time. We’ve started shopping for the basics like a crib, stroller and car seat; online of course, because this small town doesn’t have much to offer. I’m really excited to start decorating the nursery. I catch myself daydreaming about what I’d like it to look like I plan to hit up the thrift store to see what I can find. We’ll find out our baby’s gender next week so if you haven’t voted do so before February 15, 2010.

Life with Skofield-Part 2

Yesterday was so beautiful, it would have been a waste of a sunny day if I didn't go for a run. When I mentioned my plans to Derek, he suggested that I take Skofeild with me. I decided to take my husbands advice, after all I need to start training Skofeild sooner or later. Skofeild is about 50 lbs now and he can nearly pull me off my feet. He has so much energy, he jumps wags his enormous heavy tail whenever I open the closet door because he assumes that he gets to go on a walk. Our attempt to run yesterday was frustrating at the time but humourus to think back on. I tied his leash around my waist in order to have more "control" of the walk/run. Skofeild is protective he'd launch out in loud, deep barks at anything that got near me, I almost fell flat on my face several times. I finally gave in and took him back home so that I can actually run a real run. I plan on running a half-marathon in April and a Marathon in May...anyone want to join me?

I don't know if it's the climate change...or maybe his rapid growth spurt but Skofeild is shedding like crazy. It drives me nuts because his fur is everywhere! It's on our couch, on our clothes, in our car and embedded in our carpet. I can remember how hesitant I was to sit on a fur infested couch when I was a mission. I definitely didn't want visitors to feel that way at my home. I found myself steam cleaning our carpet 2x a month. When I'd vacuum I'd pull up mounds of fur...it was like a whole other dog! We finally gave in and purchased a Dyson (the most purchased vacuum in America). It's known for it's durability and great suction power...hooray now I have clean carpet. It was an investment worth making!



Skofeild is still a puppy but he's as big as a full grown dog! This was taken last week...can you tell he's craving affection?

Life with Skofeild

Skofeild is almost 6 months old. He's grown so fast and physically, he is so big that most people refer to him as a dog rather than a puppy. Life with Skofeild is interesting, at 2 months he knew how to sit, shake and lay down. We were so proud of him, we would show off his intelligence at any chance we received. At 6 months he has regressed, he rarely makes an effort to please us with obedience unless we have a treat. Lately Skofeild has been having "Potty" accidents in the apartment (although he was pretty much house broken at 2 1/2 months). He has either broken or destroyed our most treasured possessions...well my treasured possessions. When Skofeild ate my glasses I didn't get too upset, I figured it was my fault for leaving them in an accessibly range. When he pulled down Derek's Apple laptop by its cord, I figured it was my husbands fault for rough housing with him but when he ate my shoes I was furious. I gave him a good spanking, similar to the ones I received as a child; the kind that I know were done out of anger rather than love. I felt bad later, for the remainder of the day Skofeild avoided me by running into the bathroom and jumping into the tub. It's funny to think that his behavior resembled mine after I received a spanking from my wicked step-parents. I really don't plan on spanking my kids for that reason. Skofeild really is preparing me for parenthood. I get so frustrated but I know that I need to stop humanizing him, but he lives with us, he's indoor 99% of the time I tend to feel bad when I don't give him enough attention.





The other day was my breaking point. I had returned home to pick up my drivers licence before taking my mother to the airport. When I saw Skofeild with his little sad puppy dog face, I felt bad that he had spent nearly the whole day in his cage. I decided to let him out although I would be absent for some time before I returned. I picked up everything that he could possibly get into before I left. Upon my return, I opened my bedroom door and there was tissue, ripped pieces of cardboard scattered everywhere. I scanned the room trying to figure out what it was and it turned out that he had found a hidden Christmas present that my husband had hidden underneath the bed. I boiling! Not only did Skofeild rip through the bag and the two boxes, he got to a brand new pair of boots! I was so ticked I called my husband in frustration, I said " I love my boots too bad theres bites marks all over them!" The worst of it all is that they don't fit, what normal store would take them back? So for any of you interested in some way cute boots size 10 ( not true to size, more like a 9 1/2), come and get them! (As long as you don't mind bite marks on them).

p.s The pictures above are not the boots I was supposed to receive for Christmas, I'm still depressed about them so I couldn't post pictures of how ridiculous they look now.