Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Quick "e" Update

Every now and then, I'm reminded how lax I've been on my blog. Apparently, people are keeping tabs on me—which is kinda scary. But who am I to disappoint? So here's a few quickie comments on what's happening on the home front.

Arizona Weather
Still HOT! Although, we are enjoying cool mornings and now some cool evenings.

Running
It's official. I've actually paid money to run in the Tucson Marathon on December 7th. Now I'm going to be totally paranoid about getting injured. My longest training run so far has been 13 miles. At least I know I can complete a half marathon! October is the month where the training really gets ramped up. I'll be adding quite a bit more mileage. Who would have thought I could even run as far and as much as I have.

Travel
I just got back on Friday from a week in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. I was cat sitting for my Aunt and Uncle. Good weather and a nice little hang out. The leaves were just starting to change when I left. Bummer.

Next trip is at the end of October to Burgundy, France. I'm looking forward to that. My marathon training will get me down some long country roads and fall should be in full swing. I'll make sure I get some photos to post.

Home Improvements
I'm finally tackling the "closet" or what is really the spare bathroom that's become a closet. It will be a bathroom again. Hopefully, I'll be able to eek out enough days between training and traveling to get some tile on walls and floors. We had a new tub installed last week. A new sink, toilet, lights and accessories will be installed after I get the tiling out of the way. My goal is to have it done before the holidays if not sooner.

We also got a new roof 3 weeks ago. We're quite happy with the roofing company and the roofers. They did A+ work!

A Job Change
Matt is now on day 2 of his new job at DDCI. He got recruited to help DDCI take a product they bought from Honeywell (that he formerly worked on) to the market. He'll have a couple more of his former Honeywell pals join him next week. Matt's always wanted to work on useful things. This will be his opportunity to finish something started and work for a company not afraid to get it to the market.

The Economy
Oh geesh... I made the mistake of taking a look at my portfolio yesterday. Yikes! The economy is in a freaky state. However, I'm not worried about it—the market will come back and I'm only losing if I'm selling. I'm slightly torqued that the government is attempting to bail out the banks and sub prime lenders. I can go on about that forever.

So my friends that's my quick "e" update. Lots of exciting stuff coming up for the last few months of 2008. I should have some nice photos of France, the holidays and maybe Matt can get a shot of me as I throw up at mile 20 in the marathon.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

I'm Still in Awe

...of Lance Armstrong. He is arguably one of the greatest athletes of our time. I admire the determination he takes with the Cancer cause and how he uses his athletic abilities to keep the focus on what's important.

Gals... if you haven't been into cycling or the Tour De France—perhaps the Vanity Fair article and photo will make you want to watch next year. I know I am!

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Labor Day Weekend at Zion National Park

Over Labor Day weekend we took a hike in Zion National Park. It was an EPIC hike to say the least. Almost 10 miles of pure uphill with some spectacular views. We camped over on Saturday night and hiked back on Sunday. There's so many more hikes to do and I think Matt and I will go back for another adventure for sure. We had a group of seven organized by Matt's co-worker, Jeff Getzlaff (a.k.a. Happy "G"). Also in our group were Andy, Suzanne, Quan and Larry who are college buddies of Happy "G". For all the photos check out my Web Gallery.


Larry coming up the switchbacks on our way to Angel's Landing.

On the way back from the hike, Matt takes a short break. His legs were really sore from the uphill climb the day before.

Matt on Grotto trail. We're still going up on our way to our campsite.

Quan and Matt crash and burn after reaching our campsite. It took us almost 7 hours to get there.