Thanksgiving Day Race

   Allyson, Scott & I ran the Ward Parkway Thanksgiving Day 5k together. Not my best time, but I did come away with a huge pumpkin pie from Costco & a gallon of Gatorade concentrate with my registration. Makes 8 gallons. Anyone need some Gatorade?

Happy 4th!!!

(Note: NOT taken with new camera!)

   Happy Independence Day to all. I celebrated by—finally—investing in a semi-pro DSLR camera (Canon EOS Rebel T4i... and I can't wait 'til it's charged & ready to try it out!!!) So hopefully my blog photography will be getting an upgrade soon. 'Til then, please enjoy these iPhone shots of some delectable treats I whipped up this afternoon.
   Sure, tacos brimming with homemade salsa may not be the traditional food of July 4th, but why not, I say?

    And I found a recipe this week for no-bake red-white-and-blue fruit tarts, so I quadrupled the recipe and am going to surprise my team tomorrow. (Okay, and maybe eat one myself tonight, too.)

Extra super busy tiring weekend!

   I had a lot of stuff to do this weekend, and then did about 10x what I had actually planned... on Saturday I ran errands (clothes shopping, kayak-accessory-shopping, grocery shopping, and sushi lunch) and was out for several hours. Then I came home and mowed the lawn (enjoying the gorgeous weather!) while I did a load of laundry, then attached my kayak rack to the Rav4, and loaded the kayak just to make sure it worked. I invited Kelly over for a homemade pizza dinner, baked up a storm, and then we watched Anthony Bourdain's new Kansas City episode that aired earlier this week. (He visited Oklahoma Joe's, Stroud's, The Savoy Grill, Cigar Box, Town Topic, Rosedale BBQ, BB's Lawnside, Woodyard BBQ, Dirt Green Farms, tailgated at the Chiefs Game, and saw the Hair Museum in Independence.)
   Today I started working in the yard at 8 am (before I'd even had my coffee!), made a quick trip to the hardware store, planted coleus, weed-whacked the back yard, ate lunch on the front steps and talked to Loren & Champ, and then kept working right up until 1:15, when I had to quickly change and head to Swanson's for Aki's agility class. We spent a couple hours there running like crazy.

   On the way home, we stopped at the hardware store for another load of dirt, and then I worked in the yard for 3 more hours. The dogs sat out on the deck and observed, while chewing a couple of the big "dinosaur" bones (aka beef femur) I had bought for them. I went inside & out, checking on Gypsy and doing 3 more loads of laundry.
   By the end of the evening, I had watered, fertilized, and applied weed killer to the whole lawn, put down 19 bags of top soil to level out the grade (19 x 40 lbs. = 760 lbs.... a LOT to buy, load, lift, carry to the backyard, and dump. But apropos for Earth Day, I moved a lot of earth!). I cut and laid chicken wire over the new dirt, pounding large staples to hold it down—which I HOPE will finally keep Aki from digging, so that grass can grow again. She has been focused on one 4' x 4' spot for a few years, ever since she dug down and discovered an old credit yard. She seems convinced that there's more to find there...

   I weeded the flower beds. Moved some rock. Bought a bunch of perennials and planted them in my flower beds and containers. Mulched. Watered. Thanks to the head start Mom gave me, my yard might actually shape up okay this season!

Happy to be outside:

   After all that, I picked up, put the tools away, and came inside to give Gyp her treatment, give her another new food, feed the dogs, shower, run to McDonald's to get a Filet-o-Fish sandwich for Gyp (she only took 2 tiny bites, so I ate it), finish laundry, read the paper, have a glass of wine, blog, and crash!

Happy Valentine's Day, Indeed!

   What more can you ask for, for Valentine's Day than a safe flight home from an awesome vacation, with perfect weather & good family & friend time, punctuated by baby kisses and copious amounts of sushi? How about:
   • Being invasively felt up in public and also x-rayed by the TSA screeners at LAX (thanks to this cumbersome orthopedic boot!)—and cracking them up by making comments like, "I knew you couldn't resist getting a better look at my sexy boot leg!"?
   • The super-nice and hilarious flight attendant on Southwest who presented me with a free gin and tonic—and a Valentine's Day card?
   • An airport pickup by best friend Joni, with Wager, Kip and Asher in tow? Talking and laughing all the way home?
   • A chorus of shrieks, howls, and purrs in celebration of my return? A friendly fight to decide who monopolizes my lap first?
   • A steady stream of texts from friends welcoming me back?
   • And a surprise piece of homemade turtle cheesecake in the fridge from my friend, petsitter, and angel Mary Ann?
   Not a bad haul for the holiday!

Happy Year of the Dragon!

Plaza Lights

   A pretty night on the Plaza, and I planned to walk and shop after getting my hair cut tonight. Little did I know, all the shops were closed by 7 pm Friday! If retail is suffering, don't blame me. My cute new haircut & I were trying to help.

A Hike to Kick off 2012

   It's official: my dogs are spoiled. I mean, even more than usual. Today we took our third hike with Joni in a week's time: first Shawnee Mission Park with Renee, then Weston Bend State Park with Susan, and now Clinton Lake State Park with Sara & Sean! Although today felt cold compared to yesterday's 65 degree temps, the sun made it feel more than the 45 actual degrees, and the wind felt refreshingly cool. And although the KC area received rain & hail last night, the trails out west were mercifully dry. Overall, a gorgeous New Year's Day. It was nice to see the ol' George Latham trail again.

Today we answered the question, "How many people & canines
can you stuff into a 17-year-old Blazer?" (5 of each)

Turns out 5 adults & 5 canines fit! Although tight it was actually comfortable... until Taylor started farting. (I think the look on my face says it all... I'm fading!!!)

Hi Kippy!

I think he likes me.

Alan and Sean talking about... oh hell, I dunno. My mind was foggy with Taylor gassing us out in the backseat!

Aki climbed right up onto Sara's lap (and ended up sleeping on her for half the drive)!

Random teepee!  For the record, we did not peepee in the teepee.

Cute shot of Sara, Sean, Kip, Asher & Wager

Family photo: Alan, Joni, Kip, Wager & Asher

Latham, Lathan... Hey, if George doesn't mind, who am I to correct them?

Posing on the rock wall

Turns out I don't have Joni's gift for getting so many people & animals to pose all at once!

Mr. Tay looking good in the winter sun... love that red undercoat!

Mr. Tay wanted to get into that water SO badly, it was difficult to get him to hold still!

Aki & Tay

Joni & Asher

Joni, Asher & Alan

The Shibas were too excited to see what's ahead, and crowding poor Joni on the trail...

Pretty sunset, leaving long tree shadows

The sun looks star-shaped through those trees!

Joni, Alan & the pups heading back to the car

"Mom, it's past dinnertime. Can we head home already, please?"

Border pile in the back... so cute!

Found a few riders on my pack when I got home. Better on that than on the dogs!

   Joni spoiled me again by cooking up a great New Year's feast to help us warm up when we returned. While the five dogs snoozed around our feet (my Shibas took about 3 seconds to make themselves at home!), we had pork roast with black-eyed peas (for good luck!), cheesy potato casserole, carrot soufflé, and fresh cornbread. And more of her yummy dessert, with blueberries this time! I feel like a real member of the Godsy household, and am so grateful for the fun time spent with their family for Christmas, New Year's, and in-between!

Happy Birthday + Merry Christmas to Me!

   The board that I ordered just arrived, and though these low-light pictures clearly don't do it justice, I am SO. FREAKING. EXCITED. It's even nicer than I remembered! I can't wait to not ride it!!!

Random Adorable Photos

Gypsy on New Year's Eve, feeling spunky and claiming the dining room table as hers

She has claimed the adjacent stools as well

Aki curled up with me on the couch

So relaxed, her tail uncurled!

Taylor looking coy

Right after a bath... the second in just three days!

Despite my pleas, Gyp refused to eat the entire Filet-O'-Fish that I got just for her

All-out food assault: I literally tried everything* to get her eating again!
(*dry food, more dry food, canned food, chicken baby food, turkey baby food,
real rotisserie chicken, real turkey breast, dry food soaked in water,
Three Dog Bakery freeze-dried salmon treats,
dry food soaked in homemade chicken stock, tuna fish, shrimp, sirloin steak, pork,
McDonald's Filet-O'-Fish, and Sara Lee additive-free chicken lunch meat.)

Modeling this year's awesome red Nite Ize collars from Kelley & Eric,
and last year's white LEDs from Madeline
(we ran 3.5 miles in the dark tonight to try them out!)

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good nap!