Dog sitting and the forest

Well the last week I have been dog/cat/house sitting for one of my teachers from last semester, and let me tell you, I miss having big dogs around me, but I really believe that I am a cat person. My teacher has two labs mixed with 1) border collie and 2) wiemaraner, along with 2 adorable cats! Our daily routines consists of the wiemaraner waking me up at 6am and gathering them up in my car driving to the forest, where they love to run! And what a lovely place this is to go for a walk! Perfect for the dogs, everyone who goes to this area takes the leashes off of the dogs and they run like hell all over the place. This place is beautiful! Its called the Hastings Trailway, and let me tell you, gorgeous! We walked through along the trail, which the dogs knew better than I could ever learn, and the wiemaraner always managed to find its way into the mud - always! By the end of our adventures together in this forest I counted 7 mosquito bites, and I know need to scrub the inside of my car (its covered in mud), but it was worth every minute to hang out with these dogs. I really have a lot of fun walking dogs and playing with them, but I need to be in the mood to deal with them at home. I realized that I dont like to be licked, or them bouncing on me at all! That's why I definitely believe that I am a cat person, if only I could figure out how to take cats on walks in the forest my life would be complete! ha! But anyways...During my week of house sitting, cat and dog sitting I had so much fun! Thunderstorms at night, and the dogs were there to protect me if need be, the border collie seemed to be very protective, never leaving my side!

And interestingly when we went walking in the forest, the border collie would always stay very close to me, then once the border collie got hurt (she has a bum right foot, which I think she strained, and is now limping :( ) and I took the wiemaraner out to the forest then she would stay really close to me too, instead of running amok like she usually does. These dogs are super sweet, and protective! When my teacher was showing me around their house and introducing me to their pets, she mentioned how shy the cats were, but by the 2nd night there the shyiest of the cats came up to me purring! :D then as the week progressed I became friends with their cats too, and goodness, they are sweet kitties. I think Mattie was a little jealous that when I came home I smelled like other cats, uh-oh (I'm not cheating on Mattie I swear!)

But that was my adventures in dog sitting, and I had to clean up diarrhea, and mud but you know what its okay, because those dogs are awesome! And with animals they can't tell you when they dont feel good, and they cant tell you when they are in pain, so it was definitely a pleasure to hang out with these amazing pets!

oh and Blake will be here in 5 1/2 days !!

I am a beginning runner

ewww...
I never thought I would hear those terrifying words, but alas, they came out of Kristin's mouth last night as I was trying on new shoes strictly for running purposes. Thats right folks, I have started running, and so far I LOVE IT!

So, it was a rainy tuesday (or some other day of the week), and Kristin and I had plans to go for a run/blade/walk adventure after we both got off of work. Now to catch ya'll up to speed on what that entails, I have never been a runner, I think I tried once-or twice, injured myself, and gave up for faster modes of excersing: bike, roller blades. Since I have been living in New York to occupy my time (and to keep me from going crazy from missing Blake) I started riding my bike through this little trail that runs along the Bronx River, and the Bronx River parkway (aka freeway), its a great trail, and I think the total distance is anywhere from 10-15 miles round trip. I love it! Well, I started using the trail with Kristin (who is a runner, and even ran in a marathon or 2), since she is running, I would use my roller blades (which is slower than a bike, but faster than running) and we would go anywhere from 4-6 miles a night. Okay, now you know the back story....So, this Tuesday night I asked her if we could walk instead, since it had been raining all day long, and for those of you that use roller blades, water and blades dont mix well - you slip and fall...ouch! She agreed and asked if maybe we could run too a little bit....well shit, that started this whole running buisness.
We ran about half the way (only about 4 miles that day) and I loved it! I had so much fun, and I didnt realize that I could run that far! woo, I was hooked. We went out almost every night that week, and every night I was able to run for longer periods of time, and with more energy. I was so proud of myself. The only problem were my shoes, and every time we went out, my body would yell at me a little longer and a little louder: my ankles, shins, knees, thighs all would be in pain towards the end of the run. I needed new shoes: running shoes

On Sunday we decided to go for a super long run, between 5-6 miles, my ankles by this point were not happy, and hurt the entire time. But we beat our intended stopping point - we went somewhere between 6-7 miles! woo! I was so impressed with my body it was awesome! Although by the end I was exhausted, and wanted to die. After 2 days of resting we decided to go for a run Tuesday night this week - I almost couldnt do it, my ankles hurt so bad! But we did, we ran around 4 miles, and the next day my foot was in an ace bandage all day. I could barley walk! My first running injury, how precious!

So last night I bought my first pair of real running shoes called Saucony: Pro-Grid Triumph 6
(fancy right?) and spending waaaay too much money on these cushiony-pillowy wonderful, hug-your-ankles shoes, I am ready to go running again!
I am excited! I really like running, I like running with a friend, and feeling good everytime I wake up in the morning. I have more energy and my stamina is quickly picking up. My breathing is becoming better (which I am excited about once Yoga picks up again), and I am working my way to keeping up with Kristin.
Maybe one day I will be able to run the whole distance with her! woo!!
Oh, and the shoe guy also told her and I that we should create a runners group in Bronxville, I dont know if I am ready to do that...I have a hard enough time keeping up with her!

Time will tell I suppose....but I will keep ya'll updated on this new building passion of mine.

Cheers!

Second Summer Vacation

Again...Im a little behind on updating this blog, but i think its okay as I think Lauren and Blake are the only ones left reading it. :DSo for my audience of two...this is what you're missing by not living on the east coast.

Well, Lauren was here for a visit a few weeks ago and we had a blast! It was so much fun hanging out with her, it almost felt like our friendship was rekindled a little bit, like we had forgotton how much fun we have hanging out together all the time. We drank a little too much the second night she was here, and spent the whole next day paying for it...ugh! The night before was a blast! (at least from what I can remember) but the next day I was literally in bed all day long throwing up - it was awful! I had never been that sick before! I think as I get older alcohol doesnt like me as much as it use to... We then spent time in Manhattan, with Kristin, Anne Louise, and spent lots of time shopping. Woo...I have been slowly updating my wardrobe and so it was fun to tackle that while Lauren was here! All in all, it was awesome to spend that much time with one of my best friends, especially now that I live on the east coast.
The weekend after she left I went out to Virginia to spend the 4th of July with my uncle Brian, and goodness we also had a blast! The first night we were up till 4am drinking and catching up. And just like last time, I was sick almost all day long! ugh! I was neasous all day long during the next day.

Needless to say, I didnt drink very much the rest of the trip, and I havent really had an adult beverage since...I am now terrified of feeling that way again, gross! Anyways...My uncle and I spent the second day at Gettysburgh, PA (which is apparently 30 minutes away from Kristin's house, and we drove by were Christine went to undergrad in Maryland). Yup, I was in 3 different states in one day: Virginia, Maryland, and Pennslyvania, thats right, I am pretty bad-ass! Anyways, Gettysburgh, awesome! We walked around the fields for around 5 hours!

We saw where the main battle took place, called Picketts charge (and where the south ultimately lost- so sad, boo-hoo --> sarcasm!),

we went to a few of the houses that were taken over by the Union army during their stay in Gettysburgh. We went to the cemetary, where I might add they were still burying bodies for months after the battle, AND, one of the only women involved in running the cemetary and burying the bodies - did so up until 9 months of pregnancy! crazy! There is a bronze statue to her in the cemetary. We saw where Lincoln delivered his address (you know which one!), and then ventured into downtown Gettysburgh. There I bought souveniors for Blake and we saw reenactors all over the place! In one of the gift shops we even saw a creepy scary guy yell at the clerk because of his lack of communication and clarity in what he wanted, it was OF COURSE her fault. People are really annoying! and I felt bad for the clerk, I almost chewed this guy out - with his stupid glasses, bald head, eagles t-shirt, and big belly! gross! Then we drove to the Confederate side (of Picketts charge) and visited the Virginia memorial. Brian tried to tak

e pictures but there were these two individuals chain-smoking on the steps of the memorial. I think I made a crack about how the reds were still alive and well, and gestured to them sitting there, oblivious to the fact that people wanted to take pictures. ugh! how rude! Anyways, we were beat and left, on a journey to find food in Leesburgh, VA. The next few days we rested, watched the movie Gettysburgh, ate, and drank a little (I could only stomache a beer at a time, yuck!)

On the 4th after a day of relaxing, we bought some watermelon, portobello mushrooms, and other veggies, and a case or two of Sam Adams beer to ring in the 4th proper like! After stuffing ourselves, and playing with the neighboorhood children (his dog Sarah loves this!) we went across the street to see fireworks. 20 minutes later we were on our way home - talk about minimal effort and a quick show, perfect for my taste, as I am not too fond of fireworks (an ostentatious reminder of how we destroy our environment), I was in bed, ready to go back home to NY to start my educational adventures of the summer!
Brian and I drove into DC, had lunch, and wandered around the Tacomic a little bit, before getting on my long ass train ride back to NY. Phew...Summer vacation is almost over :(

But on the good side, my FIANCE, will be here in two weeks! I can't wait, I miss him so much! and now that his ear isnt bothering him, we will have tons of fun in New York!