perspective...

it's sunday night. about 10:30...

this will be my earliest bedtime in about 4 days....

i spent the weekend with the runner girls at friend kim's family cabin about 100 miles north of here.

no, it wasn't on the north shore. yes, i love the north shore, but i do love exploring *different* areas if the situation arises....

there were 8 of us up there total most of the weekend, but ally, kim and i enjoyed the pleasure of heading up there on our own on thursday night, and everyone else joined us between friday & saturday evenings....

we had much girl bonding...(no, sorry, no pillow fights ;) including talk about running, next year's races, and more than anything *RELAXING*. we knitted. we watched 7 movies over 3 days. and yes, we ran. some of us a few miles more than others depending on how we felt. I got in almost 11 miles in, and for all the bitchin' and whining i did about it before hand, it went pretty darn well....(i can get whiney...is that a shocker?? hahaha~)

i am very very close to making it official that as of january 15, 2009, i will register for grandma's full marathon in duluth on june 20, 2009.

but i'm not quite there yet. i still can't put my head or mental prowess around just how long and taxing both mentally and physically that will be.

and, seriously, i have to talk to the workplace about this. training for a full 26.2 race WILL affect my work schedule, and for all practical purposes, i have to talk to the bosses about how to make this possible. if they say it just won't work, well, then i'm out...

i had an amazingly laid back weekend with the girls, and after all of the miles, sweat & tears we shared over the past 9 months of training, traveling and racing, it was soooooo welcome to just be together hanging out, talking, eating, drinking and being together (outside of a workout or two). i did miss mark, and it always feels weird to not have him around, but this weekend it was all girls all the time, and i counted my blessings to have such amazing friends in my life. not just in running, but on many fronts.

there's not a whole heckofa lot to blog about lately, so stay warm as winter descends upon us and if anything blog worthy pops up, i'll post it. but until then i think i might start a new diet of sorts...and limit my time online. believe it or not. happy november....~jd

a 55 degree difference...

last sunday?

mark's birthday. gorgeous. 70 degrees. walked the dogs...indian summer.

this sunday?

windchill (yep. that word is back..) makes it feel like 15.

yes, *above* zero, but still...

this is what our yard looks like in the past week. due to our neighbor's ginormous silver maple that likes to wait to shed late in the fall...


yep, there's lots of grass under the carpet of leaves. but until it is *warmer* and dry (it's rained and snowed some the past few days too making leaf raking today one of the least desirable chores ever) the yard will look like this...



not much news around here. heading down to see my friend David for an overnight visit tonight, and then heading to my friend kim's cabin in a week with the runner girls to have a celebratory retreat after all of the running we did the past 8 months.

birthday is wednesday and really don't have any plans other than getting a run in (one of the few days this week i can do that). I did order myself a birthday present this week, and successfully sold some dansko clogs on eBay to help pay for my present. (yep, more shoes).

i can't believe thanksgiving is a mere 3 weeks away.
well off to nap on a lazy sunday afternoon....hope everyone is well. ~J

i look forward...

to the next 4 years.

and am proud to be part of u.s. history tonight.

and missing my native home town just a bit as our president elect speaks in a beautiful park.

what an amazing day...

indian summer

(cora on the trail...in her pumpkin finery...)

we've had stunning weather the past few days. 70s, sunny, very un-november-like.

mark turned 40 + 1 on Sunday the 2nd. We took the doggers for a really nice long walk to a local lake and back (even tried to stop and see a family who lives nearby; sorry Jeremi :( we missed you!)

So a few photos...


my other half and our version of kids...


late autumn on lake mccarron's

when we got home the dogs were f-l-a-t (yes, even more than normal!) almost immediately.

remember, greyhounds are sprinters, and these guys took a leisurely almost 2 mile walk. so they were tuckered out. (after that we wine-bar-hopped (dh's idea, which was great!) and visited three local wine bars for appetizers and wine that we had never been to. good times...) anywho...

our 'third' dog joined cora on the new beds...


have a good first week of the 11th month, and let's hope tomorrow's election brings the right results for once...

~jd