Steelers Gatorade 5K Recap

I wrote this post in September, soon after the 5K but wanted to wait to post pictures.  Oops.  I just proved what a procrastinator I am.  And I have two more 5K races to recap from December.  So here's the first one and I'll follow up with the other two in the next few days.

Before the race

After taking a 6 week hiatus because of a toe injury (grumble, grumble) I signed up for the Steelers Gatorade 5K.

This was my 3rd race at the North Shore, and my biggest by far.  They had over 3000 registered runners.  I ran it with my friend Mandy, and Dave came to cheer us on and take pictures.  That didn't work out so well at the end though.

The race started by the river, and they started in waves because the river trail is kind of narrow and there were a LOT of runners.  (I know there are bigger races but this was the biggest I've been in yet so it seemed ridiculous to me.)

I wasn't really happy with the waves.  I hadn't run much- maybe once or twice, in the weeks before the race.  I knew I used to run around a 30:00ish pace but I had no idea how I would do at this one.  So I wanted to line up right around 30-32 or so to try to push.  Well, the waves were something like: "under 18:00", "18:00 to 22:00", "22:00 to 26:00", "26:00 to 30:00", and then "30:00 and up" with walkers in that group supposedly at the back.  But it was all clumped together.  So we lined up with the 26-30 group even though I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to keep up.

And at the beginning, whoever the announcer was, he was pretty mean/rude.  I don't remember now what he said exactly but he was kind of yelling at people.  I understand it's a big group but that's not the only way to get people to listen!

So Mandy and I took off.  And wow, it was nice for us.  We didn't have to try to weave around anybody.  And the funny thing is, we weren't even off track on pace for that group in the first mile or so.  We ran the first mile in about 9:34 according to my watch.  I actually was thinking maybe we could beat 30 minutes or at least be right around that.  (I wonder if other racers were annoyed with having to go around us but we were in the right time frame and I wasn't aware of people really pushing around us, even though it was crowded, so I think we were ok.)

I should have tried to take the first mile more slowly, though, because I tanked.  I think it was right before the 2 mile mark, I told her I really needed to walk.  So we walked for a very short time there.  I also don't remember what our time was at the two mile mark.  At this point we were on the street, which was wider, and people were passing us a lot more.  I thought a short walk would keep me going, but after starting up running again, I had to walk again.  For a block or two.  I was really bummed about that. 

The race ended in Heinz Field, on the warning track.  They actually were also showing the finish on the jumbotron, which is pretty cool.  Mandy and I picked it up as we entered the field, and ended up passing people as we came in.  The one problem with that was the only way I could pass was next to the wall and Dave wasn't able to get any good pictures of either of us.  Mandy had more energy so she beat me in.

I finished with a time of 32:44.  Not my slowest time, but this was a flat course and my slowest time was a course with the entire 3rd mile in a hill.  I should be happy because I'm at least back to running, but I can't help it- I always want to do better and it was hard to see my time slow down by about 3 minutes.  I know Mandy could have run the whole thing if I wasn't there, but it was also nice to run the race with someone.

Blue Dust and beer sampling

Last Saturday was the Big Pour, which we've wanted to go to but for some reason every year haven't been to.  It's a big sampling of lots of different beer.  We've done something similar twice now, at the Brufest, which is in Station Square and put on by the Pittsburgh Rugby Club.  (November 19, 2011 is the next one!)

Anyway, I've heard that they're trying to make a Pittsburgh "beer week" similar to what other cities hold.

Sidebar: we stumbled across San Francisco's beer week when we were there in February and it was AWESOME.  Loved it.

Thursday night we went to Hough's in Greenfield.  I was a little disappointed there.  It was supposed to be samples of Dogfish Head and Oskar Blues with free glasses.  But the reps from both places just stood there drinking beer the entire time, and by the time we realized there weren't samples and to get a glass you had to buy a draft of that beer, they were out of Dogfish Head glasses.  We did get two pint glasses from Oskar Blues though.

Friday night we went to Blue Dust, in Homestead (near the Waterfront).  That event was just great.  We got 4 sample platters of beers (3 beers on each platter):

Victory:
Storm King Imperial Stout - I usually don't like stouts but I did like this one.
Scarlet Fire (a smoked lager) - I didn't care for this one and Dave drank the whole thing after I took a few sips.
Mad King Weiss - I liked this one best of the three from Victory.

Roy Pitz
Double Pale Ale - I didn't like this one
Gobbler's Lager (Octoberfest) - This one was ok
Their pumpkin (mystery beer so I don't know what it was called.  - This one was also just ok.
I wasn't too impressed with the Roy Pitz brews.

Weyerbacher
Heresy (Oak aged imperial stout) - I didn't like this one, I think it had a coffee taste in it if I remember correctly
14th anniversary (2 year aged wheat wine) - This was by far my favorite of all the samples and Dave and I split a full glass of it after we finished all the samples
15th anniversary (1 year aged smoked stout) - I thought I wouldn't like it because it was smoked AND a stout but I really liked this one as well.
BTW, 14th and 15th anniversary were straight from their private beer library.

Troegs
Naked Elf (unfiltered Belgian gold ale) - I liked this a lot
2 other beers I don't remember (ok we drank a lot and it's been a few days- should have written this down that night!)  Neither of them stands out though.

I should have written this down earlier- I could have provided more of a description and remembered exactly which beers we were drinking.  Oh well- next time!

Dave also ordered a glass of Black and Red from Dogfish Head, which tastes like cough syrup.

And this doesn't count the other 2 beers from Dogfish Head, 3 beers from East End Brewing, which people at our table had so we got to try these as well.

Definitely a good night for sampling- they had 18 beers on tap just for that night.

Blue Dust was also really crowded.  We got there an hour early because that was also going to be dinner, and even at that point there wasn't really standing room inside.  We saw that there was "seating" outside, so we wandered out there, met some people and ended up sharing a table with them.  One of the Blue Dust employees brought random chairs from who knows where.  We had some chairs for tailgating in my trunk so we grabbed those, and the guys at the table with us had their friends bring some more chairs.  So that worked out.

And it turned out that the guys at the table with us- 2 of them are brewers for Milkman Brewing.  Last year at Brufest, we tried a peppermint stout that was just amazing.  You got to vote for your favorite beer and that stout won the award.  (They also came in 2nd in the actual judging.)  I've been talking about that since then, as one of the better beers I've ever had.  It turns out that they are science/engineer majors and we ended up going back to where they currently brew and trying out some of their beers.  They had a Saison, a Peppercorn, and a Kolsch.  I was excited about the Kolsch but it had an aftertaste to it.  They said they're going to have to work on that.  Dave had the Saison, and I had a few sips of that- it was pretty good.  And then I tried the Peppercorn, which was also pretty good!  They have some unique ideas and try to brew things that are different.

We ended up getting home around 3am, oops!  I haven't been out that late in so long...  But it also just shows what a good night we were having.

It's been awhile!

The last few days I've thought of things to blog about (which is sometimes the reason I don't blog- I don't have anything I consider interesting to write about).  But I feel like I should have a catch up post first, before starting anything random.

So 6 days after the Father's Day 5K, I ran another 5K- the Lisa Clay Styles Memorial 5K.  It was in South Park; I've never been there before, and ended up being flat.  Normally I wouldn't want to drive that far for a race, but it was in memory of a mom who was killed a year before that by a drunk driver while running around her streets.  It reminds me you really do need to watch out for cars.  Her story is here along with the information on the race.  http://lisaclaystyles.com/  Such a tragic loss.  As I ran, I thought about her a lot.  (And no, I didn't know her.)  Dave also walked the 1 mile race, which turned into longer.  Haha.  He didn't know where to turn around because it wasn't really marked, so imagine my surprise when I heard my name called and some cheering (from Dave), and I was just barely past mile marker 3!  Which meant he had walked a mile.  I was too far past him to tell him to turn around and come back.

This is the only picture I have, and I know, it looks the same.  I have my favorite set of running clothes I like to wear for races.  My bangs are now long enough, though, that I don't think I need a headband anymore.

Then, at a East Winds Symphonic Band concert, I dropped a cymbal on my toe.  And I only had a sandal on.  Luckily I still have all of my toes but it required 5 stitches.  And bled a lot.  I got really light headed and I've now left my mark at Twin Lakes park on the concrete stage...  (I bet it washed off.)  I do have a picture of the toe after the stitches were taken out but even though it's partly healed it still makes me squeamish to look at.  Blech.  The doctor thinks it might have gone to the bone but he didn't stitch it up, so who knows.  (I went to Med Express- they were great!  But didn't tell me how bad it was because I was feeling so squeamish.)  And here's the cymbal that did it.  Well, it could have been the other one.  But you get the idea.  (That's the toe that was cut as well.)

Because of that, though, I had to take a 6 week running hiatus, which bummed me out.  I ran the Steelers Gatorade 5K on September 4th and I'll make a separate entry about that, later.

August turned into a meet friends month.  I met a number of women who also got married in April 2008.  We were all on the Knot, supported each other through the weddings, and some of us have remained friends.

I met Michelle and her husband Josh at a Pirates game against Milwaukee.  The Pirate parrot took Michelle's hat away- here's a youtube link.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA-1jbLhk6c  (She and Josh are Brewers fans.)  Tammy, who is also an April 08er and lives in Pittsburgh, was there for dinner before the game with her husband TJ.

Then Tammy and I drove in Hurricane Irene to a g2g with a group of the April 08ers.  It actually wasn't too bad- the storm hit Vermont/CT worse and it was overnight while we were there.  Lots of wind and rain, but I think Hurricane Hugo was worse- that hit where I grew up in something around 1989?  I just remember it being more scary- maybe because I was a lot younger.

Me, Becky, Tammy, Jen, Pam, Teri, and Gerrie with the kids (Josie with Jen, Gio with Pam, Chase with Teri, and Dexter with Gerrie)

Lately I've been working a LOT.  I am "loaned" out to a different project to help them write test procedures.  And as soon as I got on the project, they said, ok- mandatory 60 hour work weeks.  A week later that became mandatory 72 hour work weeks.  Six 12 hour days, Monday through Saturday.  That's just crazy.  But part of the reason I haven't been on here recently.

That catches things up a little bit about the past few months!  I'll add some more specific posts soon.

My Rock

Oops, it has been too long since I have updated this blog.

This post won't be long.  I've had a tough few weeks, for various reasons, some of which I will write about in a future post.  I have some catching up to do here.

But I wanted to say, and I just said this to him.  Dave is my rock.  I don't know what I would do without him.  He is such a good man and sometimes I don't feel like I deserve him.  I love him so much.

Father's Day 5K recap

I went to the north shore again for another race on Sunday.  It was sponsored by the Obediah Cole foundation, which promotes prostate cancer education, awareness, and testing.

This was the same location as my very first race on April 16, the Genesis 5K.  This was a really flat race, so my goal was to be under 30 minutes.  I got really close in the Penn Hills Romp, and there was a hill there, so I was determined to do it this time, and actually run the entire way.

This race was really crowded.  They had both a 10K and a 5K, and this time I was all by myself.  So I was really disappointed when I realized that the 10K started at 8 and the 5K didn't start until 8:30.  It made sense, but I was by myself and found that out around 7:15, so I had over an hour to sit there.  I ended up just people watching and a coworker saw me and we ended up hanging out before the race.  He was meeting some friends there, so I hung out with that group both before and after the race.

This is me before the race, standing next to the map that shows where the races go (both the 5K and the 10K).

So 8:30 finally arrived and we lined up at the start.  I couldn't believe how many people there were.  I was going to try to stay with my coworker and his friends, but they took off so fast at the start, weaving through people, that I didn't really bother.  I'm fine running by myself anyways, so I just chugged along.

I got to the first mile marked in 9:10 according to my watch.  Which made me really happy.  BUT, I knew I had done that already at the Penn Hills Romp and tanked in the 3rd mile, so I just said to myself that I could do this and kept going. 

At some point, I noticed the person in the Penn Hills Romp who beat me to come in 3rd place in our age category- she beat me out to win a prize which really disappointed me at the Penn Hills Romp.  She was in front of me, so I made it a point to pass her.  And she must have recognized me, as well (I think).  Because she kept trying to pass me, so I would pass her.  That really motivated me and kept my mind on that instead of how far I was going.

Somewhere around mile marker 2 (which wasn't actually marked), I pushed ahead and passed her, and moved around some people.  It was kind of hard in this race, too, because it was so crowded.  The first half was in the street but after the turnaround you were on the trail next to the river, which was smaller.  So I figured if I got around some groups of people, maybe that would slow her down.

I didn't see her again after that, although knowing she was back there helped me push.  And when I got to PNC Park, I knew there still was some race left, but I started to speed up.  And push harder.  By the time I got to the finish- the other 3 times I put on a burst of speed, but I had no more burst in me.  I maintained the pace I had started at PNC Park, which is good in itself, but wasn't able to speed up much more than that.

Also, because I had been trying to stay ahead of the other woman, I hadn't really been paying attention to my watch.  When I got done, I stopped it, and it said 28:31, which was just unbelievable!  I was in shock.  My official time came in at 28:30 (it always takes me a little bit to actually stop my watch) and I was 16th in my age group, out of 52.  I also finished in the first half of runners overall.  I was 351 out of 765.  So I have definitely improved, a lot.  (My fastest time before this was the Penn Hills Romp, and it was 30:48.  So I improved my time by over 2 minutes, which is a lot for a 5K.)

My next race is on Saturday.  I don't expect to have that kind of time, because the race is going to be at least somewhat hilly.  And I know I did push really hard to get the time I did at this race.  I think it's going to take some work to improve on this time, but that's why we always have goals!

Challenge Nation Recap

Five of us "competed" in Challenge Nation on Saturday this past weekend.  It was pretty fun; and I say competed, and yes, it was a race, but we were doing it just for fun so we took our time and enjoyed wandering around downtown Pittsburgh.  (I have to admit, I get competitive really easily and I probably pushed a little more than I should have- and screwed up a clue because I read it too quickly and tried to complete it really fast.  But that slowed me down and made me remember we were there to have fun, not to compete.  And it was a lot of fun.)

Challenge Nation is described on their web site as:

"The Challenge is a ridiculously fun “Amazing Race” style competition packed into one incredible day. Teams of two or more will dash around the city, racing against other Challengers for immortal glory (and cash prizes!) as they solve tricky clues, strategize the best route, and explore undiscovered corners of the city.


Think of it like a 5K that tests your brains as much as your legs, with bigger prizes and a whole lot more fun--we guarantee you’ll have a blast!"

However, although it said 5K, it wasn't a running race.  Although the teams who did win probably ran, with the times that they got.

We were given 12 clues to various buildings in the city.  When we figured out the clue, we had to head to that place and get a picture with the entire team at that location.  The clue also generally gave us instructions on how to pose for each photo.

For example, clue #9 was:

"Clue #9 Sing the entirety of the song that includes "I'll wear those shoes and you will wear that dress" to a stranger. Just kidding! However, identify the band that sings that song - then slice about 75% of its name away, double a letter that remains, and you'll find a restaurant at an intersection downtown: any of the four corners there is your stage: act out any famous movie scene with your team AND a stranger. Be creative!"

That song is Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer.  So we took away most of the name of the band to have Sixpen, added an "N" and got Six Penn Restaurant.  When we got there, we found a family and asked one of them to take our picture and the others to pose with us.  We chose Rocky as our movie to act out, and here is the result:

So we did end up running around quite a bit of the city, having fun, posing for pictures, and had a beer at the end of the race.

Our team name was "That's What She Said" so there was also a lot of responding to things with that quote.  We ended up coming in at 75th place out of 119; not too shabby! ;)  It took us 2 hours 13 minutes, and 45 seconds to take the pictures and get back to the start.  We also only had to do 11 of the 12 clues, but we did them all before we headed back.

Here are a few more pictures:

Weight loss progress!

In February, some coworkers and I had a "Biggest Loser" competition.  I was the only female, but it was based on percentage of weight lost instead of actual pounds lost, to make it more fair.

I know most people look at me and say that I don't need to lose weight (or didn't) but I weigh more than I look; probably partly because of my height.  My ideal weight is where I was when Dave and I got married, more than three years ago.  And I gained about 10 pounds after the wedding, and then was dealing with some issues late last year that added on another 12 pounds or so (which was really hard to watch on the scale).  My work pants were actually tight, so I really needed to do something for motivation.

The Biggest Loser Competition lasted 13 weeks, and out of 10 people, I came in 4th place with around 9.6% percent weight loss!  Which was amazing for me, especially considering in the middle of that competition, Dave and I went to San Francisco and CA wine country.

A few of us decided to continue the "competition" but really we're just reporting how much we gain or lose each week, because accountability in itself can be good motivation.

So.. my original goal was to lose 22 pounds and as of this morning I have lost 15 pounds.  It's taken me awhile to do, and I know the last 6 is probably going to be pretty hard, because I'm now in a healthy BMI range.  But I'm still working at it!  Just had to talk about how much I've lost so far.  I've gotten a lot of compliments and my pants feel comfortable again.

Riverview Park 5K

Ok, I swear I'm not turning this into a running blog, but I do want to recap races I run.  I ran a 5K last Friday, and I'm running another one on Sunday, so I want to recap the last one before I run the next one.

Last Friday, I ran the Riverview Park 5K with two friends, Mandy and Jen.  It was SO NICE to have someone else there, running.  Thanks so much to Dave for going to my first 2 with me so I wasn't all alone, I'm not sure if he understands how much it has meant to me that he was there for me.

I have never been to Riverview Park, and all I heard was that it ended in a hill.  No idea how big the hill was, but I did want to run the whole thing.

One thing kind of non-race- they had a local kid (14ish I think) sing the Star Spangled Banner and he had an amazing voice.

The course started at the park entrance, and went out and back on part of one street (which they closed off for the start of the race).  It was pretty crowded, I was surprised.  Then it looped up a hill to the observatory, and came back down the same way (so uphill then downhill).  Mandy, Jen, and I kept pace with each other.  I really like running with them, because they were both talking and it helps distract me.  I'm one of those people who can't talk and run, though, so I just listened and maybe grunted every once in awhile to acknowledge that I was listening.  Haha.

There were water stops at the mile markes (so at the 1 mile point and the 2 mile point) and I didn't get water at either one, although both Mandy and Jen did so we slowed down both times.  Oh, and I forgot to mention that it was fairly warm, but thank goodness it wasn't as humid or hot as it had been earlier in the week.

After the 2nd mile mark, it was entirely uphill the rest of the way.  And not only that, but it curved around and stuff so you couldn't tell when the end was going to be.  I had no idea how our pace was because the application (Runkeeper) on my phone pooped out on me and didn't even record anything.  I've gotten to depend on hearing at 5 minute intervals how far I've gone and what my average pace is.

So mentally I checked out, between not knowing how far from the end we were, and continuing to turn corners and see the hill continue to go up, up, up.  I'm not sure how far, but I'd guess at about 2.5 miles I just had to walk for a few seconds.   Mandy and Jen went on ahead, still running, and that first walk I was still pretty much right behind them.  But then we rounded another corner and I have to admit I walked a 2nd time.  I was very disappointed in myself for doing that.  BUT I'm not used to running hills at all, have been practicing on flat places for the most part, or the treadmill with the incline set at 2 (not a hill).  The 2nd walk wasn't very far, either, but still...

Mandy and Jen ended up finishing in 32:51 and 32:52 and I finished behind them at 33:07.  This was the hardest course I've done, though, so I shouldn't kick myself over the time.  AND although I walked twice, I only lost about 15 seconds for that.

I will say, though, that this pushed me in training this week.  I have a 1.5 mile loop in my neighborhood that I like to run, but I always walk the steepest hill and run the rest.  For the first time this week, I ran that entire loop and added onto it just a bit to make it 1.8 miles (and will be adding on more).  And on Wednesday, I ran 4.4 miles around Oakmont (yes it's flat) which is the furthest I've run yet, and I did it by myself.  (I did walk part of the last mile, it was really hot, I was thirsty, my throat was dry, etc.  But even there I didn't walk a LOT, just where I had to cross streets and go up stairs).

I signed up for a 5K on the north shore on Sunday, and my goal there is to try to come in under 30 minutes.  I'm not sure I've set a doable goal for myself but I'm going to try anyways.  I also want to actually run the entire thing.  I know I can do it.  No walking this time!!!

And I'm planning on signing up for a 5K on Saturday, June 25th.  It's in memory of a woman who was killed by a driver under the influence while she was running (with a jogging stroller, her kids ended up being ok).

Yes, I know I look like a dork.  Sometimes I hate pictures.  But this is my first racing bib!

Jen and Mandy before the race.

The Romp 5K

I've been meaning to write a post about my first 5K but haven't gotten around to that.

I ran my second 5K today and Dave went with me again (THANKS so much Dave).  It's so nice to have company.  At least this time I knew someone else racing, Jim, which was also nice but there was time before the race to just hang out and I'm glad Dave was there.

We didn't talk much, I was so nervous.  I ran my first 5K on April 16, a little over 6 weeks ago.  And I had done Couch to 5K leading up to that, but since then I've been slacking off way too much.  Thank goodness my friend Mandy and I ran 4 miles on Saturday- that helped me mentally.

Anyway, so I had two goals in my mind- beat my first 5K time (31:52) and try to come in under 30 minutes.

When I headed towards the race start, I realized I had to go to the bathroom but I didn't think I had enough time.  I really wish I had done that- I think I still would have made the start of the race before the gun went off... But because of that, I spent most of the race feeling like I had to pee.  LOL.

So we started, and it was in Penn Hills, which is hilly.  Well, most of Pittsburgh is pretty hilly.  This was a relatively "flat" race for Pittsburgh though.  I pushed off and started at a faster pace than usual.  And when I hit mile marker 1, I had run it in 9:10!  That is the fastest I have EVER ran a mile, so  I was pretty excited.  But also worried I was going to tank.

I hit the water stop around the halfway point and it is unseasonably hot right now, so I was sweating like crazy.  Most of the race was in the sun and it was definitely out (the sun).  (Beautiful day though!)  I tried to take the water and keep running, because once I stop it's hard to keep going.  But I couldn't get the cup to my face.  I ended up accidentally splashing myself and realized that felt really good, so I dumped the rest of it over my head (AHHHHHH) and then threw the cup out.

That slowed me down a little and when I hit mile marker 2, I was at 18:52 or 18:54, somewhere around there.  But at least I was keeping a sub 10 minute pace.  So I was still excited.

But then I did start to tank.  Towards the end, there is a somewhat decent hill, although not as big as the big one in my neighborhood that I can't run yet.  I walked up the hill.  As I walked up the hill, a girl passed me, and I would later find out that she was in my age group and finished 3rd.  DARN IT!  If I had run the hill I would have placed.  Next time...

The start and finish were at the middle school, but at the end you had to run around the school.  My friend Jim was there and had finished already, and he ran around the school with me.  I did have to walk for a minute at that point.  I was so tired.  But at the end I was able to put in a burst of speed around the corner (makes for good pictures too, haha) and I ended up with a time of 30:50.  So, I met my goal of beating my time from my first race.  But I still need to work to get under 30 minutes.

I came in 4th in my age group, out of 12, and I had a pace under 10:00.  Both very good things for me.  I can tell I'm improving.

And since Dave was there, here's a picture!  Jim is there running with me.  He won first place in his age group and his time was under 23 minutes, I think.

And I have to get some nerd in.  The difference between walking and running is that when you run both feet actually are off the ground at the same time.  Dave had good timing with this picture- it's barely there but both my feet are off the ground.  I thought that was really neat.  (And I guess it's a little hard to tell in this size.)

Ho Hum

I'm meeting a friend after work so I'm staying late, and I don't really have much to do.  So I figured I would update my blog again...

I still need to add pictures from our Toronto/Michigan vacation, but we haven't downloaded them from the camera yet.  As soon as we do, I'll get them up here.

I'm excited because we're getting our kitchen redone.  They are ripping everything out (except appliances) on Thursday, which will give us the long weekend to rip down wallpaper and paint.  Then Tuesday/Wednesday of next week, they are installing ceramic tile flooring.  Thursday/Friday they will be installing new cabinets, a laminate counter top, a new sink with faucet, and a new over the stove microwave, along with our existing appliances.  I can NOT wait until they're done.  The kitchen is the most outdated thing in our house, too, so this will be a huge improvement.

Also, it's only Tuesday.  Why does it feel like Friday already???  I'm ready for a long weekend.

Are your parents home?

Last night, during practice, the doorbell rang.  I went to answer the door, and a cop was there.  My first thought was, oh crap, what did we do, did someone hit one of our cars...  or what? 

The first thing he asked was if my parents were home (after he showed me his badge).  Which completely flabbergasted me.  I haven't gotten a question like that in a LONG time.  I fumbled around a bit and then said, "Um, I'm the adult of the house."  To which he said, "You guys just get younger and younger."

It made me feel good, of course.  :)  I'm not complaining.

He was actually looking for a guy I've seen before who has been at our neighbor's house.  Since our other neighbor was also with us, I had Dave and our neighbor also take a look at the picture to see if they recognized him.  The cop asked a few questions about the last time we'd seen him...  I explained that we aren't around a whole lot and we saw him painting the house last fall.  Then the cop left.

I wish I'd thought to ask if there is any danger or if we should try to stay away from him if we see him.  He seemed really nice, but you never know! 

Rain, rain, and more rain

April showers bring May flowers.  What do May showers bring?  Apparently, this year, June showers as well, according to a newspaper article yesterday.

I know that rain is good in a lot of ways but I'm ready for some sun!

BTW, I've pointed it out before, but when Dave and I leave the area for vacation, the weather magically seems to get better here.  And it happened last week, while we were gone.  (We had beautiful weather, too, so I'm not complaining!)

So, if you want to get rid of the rain, we need to go on vacation.  Anybody want to pay for us to go on vacation again?  Although this time it will need to include money for missing work since I've already basically used 2 weeks of vacation.  (So early in the year, too, but both trips were awesome!)

Drinking around the world in Epcot

I know, these pictures are kinda old now.  But I'm using the excuse that I didn't blog for awhile so here ya go.

In December 2009, Dave and I went to Disney World and met some good friends (from Pittsburgh also) there, the Hotecks.  I used to work with Ross and we really get along with the whole family - Jackie was one of the bridesmaids in my wedding, in fact.  Tracey, Ross, and Jackie were able to make the trip with us.

We started in Canada and ended in Mexico.  We had a drink in each country, with the exception of the United States (since we always drink here) and the Outpost, which really isn't a country anyways.

Canada:

United Kingdom:

France:

Morocco:

 Japan:

(United States)

Italy:

Germany:

Outpost:

China:

Norway:

We didn't drink here because they didn't have a Norwegian beer. 
I didn't even remember that until I started digging through pictures.

Mexico:

I'm back!

Well... it's been a long, long time.  Sorry about that!  I've decided I'd like to continue posting again.  It's a good way to keep people up to date on me and honestly sometimes I like putting my thoughts down or talking about what's been going on with me.

I've also opened up this blog so that anybody can view it.  It used to be password protected.  And honestly, it was because of a few people that I just didn't want to know what's going on with me.  But, I'm going to stop worrying about that. And if you come across this and haven't talked to me in awhile, send me a quick email to say hi!  I'd love to hear from friends or family I haven't talked to in a long time.

So, it's been almost 2 years since I last posted.  What has happened since then?

In December 2009, Dave and I went to Disney with the Hotecks.  We went to "drink around the world" in Epcot, which was a lot of fun.  And stayed in the Boardwalk, which is walking distance to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, definitely worth it!

We also tried to get a picture in every country.  I'll have to dig through old pictures, maybe I can add a separate post with the pictures from every country.

In January 2010, I totaled my car in the construction zone on I-76 on my way home.  My back end went out and I hit both sides.  Thank goodness I was ok, just had some black and blue marks and a cut over my eye.  Now our insurance is a lot higher.    But I did get a new car, a Nissan Altima.  I love my car.  (But don't really care for driving so much.  Poor Dave!)

In March 2010, I went to London/Bristol for work.  It was mostly a work trip, but we did some sight seeing in London and I met up with my friend Tammy from middle school/high school.  I'm so glad I got to catch up with her.  And my coworkers were very impressed at how fast she can walk in super high heels, over grates and everything.  LOL.  They still talk about that.

In April 2010, I went with Mandy and Jen to the Jazz Festival in New Orleans.  What an awesome trip (minus some missing Dave!)  It was a very wet weekend and we got used to walking in mud, laying in the sun, and just listening to great music.  I also got to meet a friend who also got married in April 2008, Kristie.  She was so fun and we talked a mile a minute. 

In May, we put our house on the market.  We both hate our commutes and we decided now is the time to try to move if we want to do that.  (BTW, nope, market is waaay too bad.  We ended up taking it off the market and taking advantage of the low mortgage rates by refinancing.)

In August, we made a sibling trip to Savannah, GA.  Megan lives there (beautiful city, I would highly recommend a visit there) so Dave, Allison, and I flew out for the weekend.  It was so fun to get the "kids" together for a weekend.  I'm not sure we've ever been together without the parents. 

In September 2010 Dave and I took a weekend trip to Ohio to visit the Halls of Fame (Football in Canton and Rock and Roll in Cleveland) and we realized Cleveland isn't all THAT bad...  Still not as good as Pittsburgh though.

In October 2010 Dave and I took a trip to Niagara on the Lake, Niagara Falls, and Buffalo.  We went to see the Buffalo Bills play with my cousin Randy and my friend from high school Jill, as well as her husband, Mike.  We also brought back some wine from Niagara on the Lake- and still need to make some ice wine smoothies.  Nom, nom, nom.

In December 2010 I went back to Savannah without Dave for some one-on-one time with my sister, Megan.  Every time I go to Savannah, it rains!!!  So please bring out the sun next time.  We did have fun going on a haunted pub crawl.  You can carry beer out in the streets with you in Savannah, which is pretty unique (same thing in New Orleans- go to Bourbon Street for some great drinking and pick up a hand grenade).

In February 2011, Dave and I went to San Francisco and Napa Valley/Sonoma for wine tastings.  I've always wanted to get out there and Dave acquired a taste for wine (not just the super sweet stuff)!  We brought back two cases worth of wine, all wine that is not available here in PA, especially with the inane liquor laws.  We met up with another friend who got married in April 2008, Alicia, along with her husband Andrew and her newborn daughter, Natalie.  And I love San Francisco, what a great city.  We took public transportation the entire time- I really wish that Pittsburgh had better public transportation.  Also, it happened to be beer week there, which fit in with us just fine!

And that basically brings me back to May 2011!  I went to Arizona (Scottsdale) for work last week.  And we're headed to Toronto and then Muskegon Michigan next week for vacation.