Another 50th Anniversary

My parents had their 50th wedding Anniversary on September 2nd. I flew into town (unbeknownst to them) and my sister, Cori and I treated them, my Uncle Lee (Dad's brother who stood up for him when they got married) and wife Doris as well as My Aunt Jill (who stood up for my Mom) and Uncle Steve. Of course, Cori and her sweetie Al were there. It was a small but memorable dinner at the beautiful English Inn just outside of Eaton Rapids, Michigan. The English Inn allegedly has some beautiful gardens, however, it was bit rainy so we didn't really tour them. We did get to tour the Inn guest suites as they had all the rooms open. Apparently, they didn't have guest staying there on a Thursday evening. I like the place so much that the next time we go home for a family function, I may talk Matt into staying there a couple nights.

Table cam... Uncle Lee, Mom (Joan), Doris and my Aunt Jill

My Dad (Neal)

Dad and his brother, Lee (a.k.a. "Sam")

Mom, Doris and my Aunt Jill (Mom's Sister)

Mom & Dad at the English Inn

It all started with...

a statement that I made to my high school friend, Edie, at Ironman, Florida (Panama City--see previous blog about that). I think I said something like "There is NO WAY I would do that swim!!" Well, time has passed and it seems that when I say stuff like "No way!", "NFW!" and "Why would anyone do that to themselves??" — what I really mean is maybe I'll try it sometime. It also helps (or doesn't help) to have an uber over-achieving friend to plant the seed. Now that I've run a few marathons (and will run a couple more this year), I think this next adventure will really tell me how much farther I can go.

Today I signed up for Ironman Couer d'Alene, 2011, along with my friend, Edie. I'm truly looking forward to the training, the challenge and being able to experience my first Ironman along with Edie.

This fish has been out of the water a long time and I'm looking forward to getting back in and learning to swim for LONG periods of time. The bike will get dusted off and I'll fit that into what will be a pretty active exercise schedule.

I'm by no means a super athlete but I like to think I'm persistent and well... like the video says, I WILL do this!!

R.I.P. Chance

It's hard not to love a little Shih Tzu and especially Chance. My Mom and Dad got Chance after losing their first Shih Tzu, Teddy. I kind of brought Teddy to them and they loved him and discovered how much fun the breed's feisty attitude could be. They hand picked Chance and he was a suck-up from the get-go. He soon was the boss of them and where ever they were he was. He particularly liked to be where my Mom was but he his loyalty to her would go out the window if Dad was going somewhere in the truck. He loved truck rides! He also loved his white kitties that slept with him on the couch, eating at the dinner table, and herding his people on the big farm. He was extremely lucky to be a farm dog, and even luckier to be REALLY spoiled farm dog.

Chance all snuggled up with my Dad's jacket on the tractor in winter.

Although I've lived in Arizona throughout Chance's lifetime, I always enjoyed visiting and having him run in my bedroom to wake me up in the morning. He was well mannered, well behaved and lovable. I tend to get attached to my parent's animals because I feel like when I'm there, they are an extension of our family. I also just love animals and especially cute, smart dogs.

Chance passed away in his sleep just two nights ago. My parents really didn't see it coming and so they are really quite a mess losing their beloved little dog. Chance was 12 years old. So again our family has lost a special pet and family member in a short period of time. There is comfort in knowing that he was at his favorite place in the whole wide world when his time came. At home on his farm with his people.

R.I.P. little Shih Tzu. Your canine family is waiting for you in doggie heaven. Zach, Zoe and Kobi will all be happy to see you.

The First 50th...

This year is a big year for all things 50...

It's all starting with Wanda & Matthew's 50th wedding anniversary. It's also my Mom & Dad's 50th anniversary year as well. PLUS, Matt Jr. (a.k.a. the spouse and Cricket) is having his 50th birthday along with sister-in-law, Karen. Whew!!

We had Matt & Wanda's party on May 15 at Dan and Karen's beautiful home in Paradise Valley. It was catered by one of Wanda's favorite places to dine, Sophie's Bistro and the band with lead singer, Dennis Rowland, was great (Click through to his website for a few You Tube videos). They had played at Dan and Karen's wedding and they really know how to get everybody dancing.

We kept it a surprise for Wanda and she was certainly surprised to learn that we were not taking them to a fancy restaurant but bringing all the "fancy" to a place where friends and relatives could celebrate with them.

Here's Wanda with her "Queen" glass.

Group photo of family & friends

Matthew, Wanda and their boys Cricket (Matt Jr.) and Dan and the Daughters-in Law, Karen and I

The cake cutting, 50 years later!

Wanda with her siblings Jonni & Frank

Taking a break from the dance floor. Wanda, Dan, Matt & Karen

Wanda & Matthew looking good 50 years later.

Singer Dennis Rowland. He and his band were great. Really made the dancing fun seen below in photo of Cricket and his Mom. He hates to dance! But I think he enjoyed dancing at this party.

Cricket (Matt Jr.) & his Mom having a dance.

The lovely couple enjoying their party.

Daisy's Blog

Daisy has decided to do her own blog. She's decided to let everyone know about her adventures both at home and during her travels. Check out her blog, at daisydogtravels.blogspot.com.

Daisy and Lulu

Lulu is Daisy's squid toy friend. She's likes to carry Lulu outside with her. I got this toy off of Etsy when I was looking for a cute crate bed (I ended up getting some cute daisy material at JoAnn's and neighbor Jan sewed a bed for her). It's been a busy week for Daisy. She had to go get a rabies shot and thus her first visit to my vet. It was kind of weird taking her after taking Kobi there for his final hour a few weeks before. A bit emotional for me. I love my new puppy, but I miss my old "puppy" too.

This past week was also Daisy's first dog obedience class. I am taking her to the same dog trainer I took Kobi to 16 years ago, Dan Brutsche. Dan has a great memory with dogs and he remembered me and Kobi. Kobi was a great dog in part because I trained him with the basic commands within a week of getting him. My plan for Daisy is no different. I think all dogs need training to be well mannered around humans and other animals.

I have to admit that Daisy is a very quick study. She is heeling and sitting as soon as I stop. Tonight I decided to get a jump on next week's session by teaching her "stay". It didn't take long. I had her staying with the leash dropped and walking circles around her without a problem. I even got her to do "down" (lay down) on command. We had a backyard play session of Fetch with her new tennis ball afterwards. I think she's now actually starting to put the word "fetch" together with the play time and she "gives" the ball back quite nicely.

She's a lot of fun and I'm enjoying an active puppy. I'm looking forward to 16+ years with this little dog. After dog obedience, she be old enough to go up the street to Partners for dog agility. I think I'm going to give that a go. We'll both have a blast!

Puppy time...

It's day 3 since Daisy arrived and she's already showing lots of puppy "tude". There's not much that can make this little girl's tail stop wagging. She plays and sleeps very hard. She is my little shadow and has to be where ever I am. However, she likes the fact that she can still see Matt—when he is in his office through the french doors. Kobi's Cool-A-Roo bed is like her play area while I'm working. Somehow that's soothing to me to know something I got for Kobi is still useful. She just loves to lay on it and play with her toys and take naps while I'm working during the day.

She's getting lots of walking time around the neighborhood too. Today Matt, Daisy and I walked across the street for lunch. We had a slice of pizza from Brothers and coffee at Scooter's sitting outside with Daisy. I'm taking her on a little adventure each day to get her used to being around people and places. Yesterday she had a REALLY big adventure going to Bonnie's Barkery. She got a new harness, collar, crate bed, ID tag and toys. She loves her toys. In fact, she made a point of pulling off the displays the toys she wanted. Plus she had to wow the customers with her cuteness. One girl was trying to describe her to a friend on her cellphone and she just said "I don't even know how to describe how cute this dog is... and I certainly can't describe what breed it is!" That about sums it up. To me she is 100% purebred mutt. But she sure is cute and smart too! She's not my Kobi dog, but she's going to be another one-of-a-kind for sure.

We'll see what tomorrows adventure will be. For now, I thought I'd share some Cool-A-Roo photos.

I got this Blow Pop stuffed toy out of the sale bin at Bonnie's Barkery. It's her favorite now.

I don't know what toy to play with first. So I'll play with all of them at once!

I love my toys and my Cool-A-Roo bed.

Meet Miss Daisy...

After saying goodbye to Kobi there was a huge silent void in our house. I'd start tearing up as soon as I saw my neighbors walking by with their dogs or crying when I walked by a bush Kobi liked to leave pee-mail on. I just felt lost without our dog in the house. I really miss Kobi. He was one-of-a-kind. On Saturday I accepted that I would always miss Kobi and that we had given him the longest, best possible life we could. Another dog deserved the same... For the last few years I toyed with getting a Cairn Terrier but I didn't really want to go through a breeder and I wanted to help a dog that otherwise might not have a chance. Plus, I decided I wanted another "one-of-a-kind" dog.

I found Daisy (formerly Chloe). First off, I want to mention that I changed Chloe's name to Daisy because I have a friend who has a dog named Chloe and several other friends with little girls named Chloe. So I kind of felt funny about keeping her name Chloe. She had Daisies on her collar and I thought that fit her perfect. She seems to respond to Daisy just as she did Chloe so I think it all works out.

I found Daisy after surfing the web and ending up at 4 Peaks Animal Rescue site. I was about to end my search and put off a new family dog for a couple of months when I saw Daisy's (know as Chloe) photo. I knew this was the dog to bring back doggy life in the Diethelm household. I contacted 4 Peaks and learned she was not adopted yet. Today her very nice foster Mom, Deb, brought her to my house and she proceeded to fit right in. The cats have all sniffed her over even though they have that "WHAT IS THAT??" look on their face. Nobody's hissing and they're all keeping a respectful distance until they decide to get closer. I can tell Daisy's on her way to eventually having cat buddies. She doesn't bother them at all and they seem to keep inching closer to her.

Daisy is 5 months old and all puppy. She was on the euthanasia line but was saved by 4 Peaks. Personally, I can't even imagine how a cute little puppy could be up for euthanasia but I do know that I'm very glad she was saved and I was lucky enough to adopt her. She is so cute. She plays hard and she sleeps even harder (she snores a little). Her first quasi day here has been really good. She follows me every where just like Kobi did. She's quiet and her tail never stops wagging. She's already gone for a neighborhood walk with her new next door neighbor buddy, Teddy (Pomeranian) and she's learning that the backyard is where she is suppose to go to the bathroom. She loves her Nutro puppy food I bought her and she is constantly slurping down cold water from the big water dish. She is such a happy-go-lucky little girl. I'm really looking forward to taking her to dog obedience, hiking with her and taking lots of neighborhood walks.

So... with a new puppy, I was quite distracted and my eyes stayed drier longer. I think Daisy helped cheer up my neighbors Tom & Jan too. They miss Kobi too.

Here are a few photos of Daisy's first day. I'm sure there will be more to come.

My brother Alan and his grandson Logan stopped over. Logan played tug-of-war with Daisy. She really like him. She ran to the door to watch him leave. So I guess we add "good with kids" to her list of good traits.

Here she is laying by my desk while I'm doing computer tasks.

This is a bed I bought for Kobi that didn't work for him. However, Daisy really likes it. Especially with her blanket and all her toys on it.

She likes to lay on my feet. Right now she's sitting in my Herman Miller chair and is getting way too comfortable!

This photo is one Tom took when she first got to our house. She's just too cute!

Saying Goodbye to Kobi....

With great sadness Matt & I said goodbye to our beloved dog of 16 years...

He was such a big part of our family and I will miss him terribly. Kobi lived 100% up until the night before we took him to the vet. He was struggling to walk and I knew his arthritis was getting bad. Even so, he attempted to follow me where ever I went and he would not let me out of his sight. This morning he could not walk--even though he tried.

Kobi did not cry or whine. He just kept looking up at me with his big Kobi eyes and I knew that I might have to make a decision I wasn't ready to make. The vet confirmed my suspicions that he had neurological problems and his back legs had become paralyzed. He also said that it was unlikely he could ever regain the strength. He was a 90 year old man.

It's true what they say, that it never gets any easier. I think it was especially hard to say goodbye to Kobi. He was my first dog of my adult life and for 16 years he guarded our house, left "pee" mail on his daily walks, befriended all the neighbors (Tom & Jan--his 2nd parents--who were there to say goodbye as well. Bless their hearts, they rushed to the vet to say goodbye. Tom even did an illegal left turn in front of a cop... ), shared his dog bed with the cats, awaited Thursday "steak night" like a puppy—running back and forth from the garage to his dog dish when Matt pulled into the garage, and he provided an infinite amount of unconditional love. He was a beautiful dog. Matt and I used to joke that he was the "Brad Pitt" of the dog "hood". He was truly a really GREAT dog. I loved him dearly and I will continue to love him in memory. R.I.P. Kobi Dog.

R.I.P. Zoe the farm dog....

My Mom and Dad's last little Aussie/Border Collie mix farm dog, Zoe, passed away today. She was such a sweet little dog. Zoe lived to a good old doggy age of 14 and had a good life on the farm. I always gave Zoe a bath when I went home to visit in the spring and I will miss her this year.

Totally sucks that we out live our best friends... sorry Mom & Dad!

Ironman Edie, October & November

Again, I'm woefully behind on my personal blog. That has a lot to do with all my RC3 Running club activities. So first I want to say that if you want an October update, please see the RC3 blog about my pacing duties at the Javelina 100 (100 mile endurance run). In November I made a trip to Panama City, FL to "sherpa" my high school friend, Edie, in her second Ironman event. To preference the magnitude of physical and mental strength one needs for such an event, an Ironman triathlon is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike AND a 26.2 mile run. I've been lucky enough to reconnect with my friend Edie who I shared lots of high school time with on the basketball and volleyball court. I went out to Edie's house in July to just "hang" and we did a 9 mile training run. It kind of killed me then... but I think I'm better for it now.

Edie was always an all around athlete with a great deal of will and determination both in sports and academics. It was NO surprise to me that she would continue to be the awesome chick I've alway known her to be. Edie's spouse, Nathan, is in Iraq and when I learned she would be going to Ironman, Florida alone... I couldn't in good conscience let her do that. I know how important it is to have that point person to handle the minor details and provide support. I was happy to help her with that. A true friend pays it forward and I'm excited to say that Edie is going to pace me for the last 23 miles of my first ultra marathon in April (American River 50 mile endurance run). I can't ask for more. She knows from her Ironman experiences exactly what it takes to push through the mental and physical obstacles. She inspires me and thats the person you want to tell you to "Stop being a baby, suck it up and finish!"

That being said, I'd like to share a few Edie Ironman photos with you...

2.4 mile ocean swim. This is the only thing keeping me from doing an Ironman. Look how crazy it is! Can you imagine 2000+ people in the water with you?

The swim to bike transitions. They run through this stream of people and go through the "strippers" who peel off their wetsuits. Then they run to the bike transition.

Here is Edie on the 26.2 mile run. I sprinted in front of her to get her photo. I wanted to run with her, but apparently the Ironman rules penalize you as they feel you are "pacing" and that's considered outside help. So all I could do was be there to watch her run by on her out and backs and sprint in front of her snapping photos.

She finished with a PR! Look how great she looks after doing ALL THAT! Edie knocked off almost 3 hours off her previous Ironman time. How awesome is that??

Edie and I had a nice time sitting out on the condo deck area each night, chatting , sipping a glass of wine and enjoying some really nice sunsets. It was a thing of beauty until Hurricane Ida decided to venture into the gulf the day before we were to go home! We were lucky she turned into a tropical storm and had lost some "umph" so our flights could leave on time.

September Updated

Time to get my blog updated. Looks like there was nothing going on in September when in fact, lots went on in September. I'll start off with the quick weekend trip to Michigan for my cousin Katie's wedding day. The wedding was on September 5th. That morning I checked off my marathon training run. It was a nice long run from my parents house to my friend Audrey's house in Onondaga (15 miles). The weather was perfect and I started off at 7:00 a.m. There was a morning mist and the roads are very quiet out in the country. Matt drove ahead of me and took some photos as I progressed towards Leslie where Kayla (Audrey's daughter) met me for the final 8 miles. She's a FAST girl so I told her just to go on ahead. She came back for me for the last few miles. Matt met me at Audrey's and she made us a waffle breakfast (Yummy... Thank You Audrey!)

Here I am turning off of Fitchburg Rd.

This was about 5 miles from my parents house.

More photos on the RC3 Running Club blog.

Then there was the wedding that evening. I was very bad about taking photos this trip. However I did get this very nice photo of the Newlyweds.

Newlyweds Katie & Christopher Wolcott

Matt & I stayed at my Parent's house and the farmhouse I grew up in. I still love that old house with all the big trees, flowers and my Mom's awesome gardens. Matt just loves the sweet corn and he like the donuts that we picked up at Gee Farms to take to the after wedding, gift opening brunch at my Aunt Jill & Uncle Steve's house.

Brother, Alan, took this photo of the farm house that we grew up in.

One of the great things about growing up on a farm was that we were never bored as children. Especially with so many chores and things to explore. My brother and wife, Debbie, took their Grandson, Logan (I guess that makes me his Great Aunt—talk about feeling OLD!). Needless to say, the farm was a big, new world for Logan. He had a blast going on tractor rides, exploring the farm from corner to corner and getting his first up front and personal with the farm sheep.

Logan and my Dad feeding the baby lambs. More photos of Logan, family and farm can be found by clicking here.

The trip to Michigan was the highlight of September. I got home and immediately went on a HOT 16 mile long run the weekend after. It was incredible how difficult that run was after running a cool Michigan morning run. Luckily, those hot mornings are behind us now and I'm enjoying some of the same weather here. Next up, Matt and I are going on a weekend trip to Moab, October 16-19. Matt's going to do some mountain biking with some buddies and I'm going to run the Moab "Other Half Marathon" on October 18th. I'm looking forward to the run as it will be a nice training run with some beautiful scenery. Look for some photos for that soon.

Note: September was a big month for the running club I helped start. RC3 is now an official non-profit and we are a member of the RRCA (Road Runner's Club of America). We're now up to 50 women and still growing! I'm quite proud of all we've accomplished in such a short time. You will see most of my blogging about running by visiting the RC3 Running Club blog.

Age Is NO Excuse

It's been awhile since I've been blogging on my personal blog. I think it may have something to do with the fact that I've been so involved in establishing a running group and blog. I've been preoccupied but one thing always leads to another. I find that my personal blog is a place where I can be a bit more candid. Today my new found running experience is foder for personal reflection and thus here I am...

First if you don't know about RC3, the running club I helped start you can see that HERE. Currently we are very close to becoming a non profit organization and a member of the RRCA (Road Runners Club of America). The incorporation paperwork is at the Corporation Commission and we're just waiting on approval notification. And we are now introducing NEW women into our running group on a weekly basis. We are growing like crazy. Which brings me to today's post.

I can no longer use age as an excuse...
Today, a new runner joined us for our Thursday track workout. I make it a habit to run with the new people to get to know them and make them feel comfortable. Today it was the other way around. Our new runner, Susie Kramer (who just moved to Cave Creek a week ago from Pennsylvania) made me feel more comfortable. Susie and I ran around the track and I discovered—at a much slower pace than she is used to. I found out that Susie has been running all her life and runs 4 marathons a year. Typically in the sub 3 hour time range. She is my new inspiration. She ran without effort and talked to me and spoke encouraging words the entire time... even when I wasn't sure I could talk. I found that we had a lot in common in our personal lives. She is just a really good runner and I am still struggling to improve. Maybe it might have been easier to accept if she was younger than me. I've always found it convenient to use my age as an excuse when I wasn't running that great or was working through various aches and pains. Most of the girls I run with are 3+ years younger than I am. But not Susie. She is older and she runs like I hope to run someday. She has quite a few years of running behind her and I've only been running for a year. That gives me hope that you can get better EVEN as you get older. Now I have a whole new mindset. I'm never going to use my age as an excuse and I am going to keep running and get better. I look forward to the day where Susie isn't doing all the talking and I converse with her without being winded. I may never do a sub 3 hour marathon, but I'm not going to rule it out.

Thank you Susie!

Refined Felines

Thought I would share a few photos of the new kitty condo. It's very nicely made and sturdy. Looks like a little piece of art—especially with Sparky the cat model. Chili was on it as well, but then he got all belligerent when Sparky wanted on, so we had to pull him off and let Sparky give it a try. Needless to say, Chili is off trying to figure out our early demise.


Sparky is always the first one to try out the new stuff. He settled in as soon as it was assembled.


I like it!

Pepper & Sparky checking out the cubby and padded cushion.