x-mas comes early

i forgot that the gym wouldn't be opened till 2pm today. i was hoping to catch my usual restorative yoga class. so i took brandy to a smaller neighborhood dog park instead. she wasn't very friendly to a few of the other dog's while she had her ball in her mouth, but got on well as far as chasing and being chased.

i met the most obnoxious old lady there. have you ever had a conversation with someone who was totally contrary? i could not connect with this woman on even the minorest of points. after about 5 minutes i politely excused myself and we took a slightly longer route home.

when i got back, T surprised me by asking me if i was ready to go laptop shopping. the gateway was on sale and honestly i didn't really have much more than what i wanted to do with it on my criteria list. anticipation is making me nuts! as i type this the geek squad is setting up it up with software.

keeping it simple

my laundry room is located right off my kitchen. in the center of the kitchen is a large island. i've been transferring running clothes from the laundry room to the island and just leaving them there. shoes are in a cubby under a coat hook where brandy's leash hangs. i don't have to even think, it's all right there, taking brandy also takes the pressure off, i leave the garmin and watch at home and just do it!

i'm starting to like this low key form of exercise with my dog. seems like my running is evolving again, not in the faster further kind of way but in the "it's just what i do kind of way" i was beginning to resent the rigorous training schedule and then i shut down for a couple of weeks, now building back up without any races on the horizon, i needed something to get me motivated. running with my dog has really gotten better now that we're going on a regular basis for shorter distances.

i'll get back up in mileage eventually, but i'm totally fine with how things are going. cross training at the Y and putting more thought into meal prep has me feeling pretty good about things.

have a great day!

oh oh oh oh M an i have tickets for Body's 2 exhibit at the san jose tech museum this coming saturday. M is a little on the fence about it but i downloaded the student study guide and she's had her nose in it for few days now.
a few folks from work have gone and i think it's going to be awesome. i once sliced into a human brain in a cadaver workshop, isn't that the coolest thing ever? i can.not.wait. until saturday!

i'm a little sore from the yoga class the other day. guess there is a difference between the restorative yoga i usually (using the term usually loosley here..) attend and yoga II.

i hadn't been feeling too festive about the pending holidays so when i started feeling a bit of holiday cheer in the decorations section of Target i was pleasantly surprised.

the animated village scenes, sparkling tree toppers, even the tacky over sized lawn ornaments brought a sense of warm fuzz all over.

too soon for this sort've talk? ba hum bug!

i didn't even bother to wear my garmin for the run with brandy this morning. we ran the same route from the other day.

we encountered a few folks and their dogs, or rather avoided a few folks and their dogs. i'm very careful to reel her in when i see another dog approaching. depending on the other dog and their human i can tell if it's a good idea or not to let them "check in" with each other. often times it's just a benign "sniff, sniff ok, see ya around". it's usually some yippy ass midget dog that seems to want to stir up shit, and at the other end of the leash is a brain dead human allowing the dog to go on end of the leash and lose it's mind. it's a toss up as to which is more annoying: dog or human. i'm leaning towards the human.

don't get me wrong, brandy is a sweety pie. she's just easily mislead. she's seldom the one to instigate an altercation, but if another dog gets in her face she'll throw down and it seems to be moreso on leash, she NEVER gets in a scrap off leash, hence the condition leash aggressive. right now i just want her to focus on what we're doing, she'll have plenty of chances to socialize at the dog park. passing by a house a dalmatian charged at us from the other side of her white picket fence giving me a slight coronary.

running around the neighborhood is convenient. it often means the difference between running or not. it's not my favorite place to run but it's something. home with M today, not sure what were going to do with ourselves. the house is cleaner than it's been in ...a really long time. i can actually see the top of my dining room table. i've been checking out allot of craft and quilting blogs lately and am starting to feel inspired again to return to M's quilt.

sometimes i hate this blog...

i can't write for crap.

i'm not currently training for anything, just running and exercising for fitness, personally very satisfying, but not so fun to write or read about, hence even less activity on this ghost town of a blog.

don't even get me started on posting pictures.

can you tell i haven't run yet today?

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i ran 2 miles to the Y, did 1 hour of yoga, when they started "playing around" with balancing sideways on your arms i slipped out and ran back home. the bright sunny day is a welcome change from yesterday's gray drizzle.

i'm tired! as one level of fitness gives way to a lesser one, i swear to god i can see my arms starting to pudge out. this may or may not be true and i really don't need to start obsessing about that now.

it's a start

i hate to admit it but i don't like taking my dog brandy with me when i run around the neighborhood. she's wants to go all over the place, tugging the leash as she feels compelled to sniff every bush or dog ass along the way. she's definitely leash aggressive.

we went for 3 miles along residential streets. i left the ipod home along with any thoughts of getting in a quality run. by paying attention to her and being firm without getting angry the whole experience was actually pleasant. we bonded and we both got some exercise. a few times she tried to stray but i just reeled her in until she relaxed. by the last mile or so she was calmly trotting along my side, zero tugging or running on end of the leash. a mix of fatigue(no doubt)and better leadership (i hope). ceasar, the dog whisperer would be so proud.

i plan on taking her with me allot more of these shorter runs. she got a good workout w/o over doing it and she's been pretty mellow all day since. now if i could just get M out there....though she did at my suggestion ride her bike out front for about 20 minutes today. it's a start.

i went over to berkeley city college today. the new campus located in the heart of downtown berkeley was quite impressive. i had no idea it was even there. i filled out an admission application and scheduled my assessment and orientation. i have about a month to brush up on my basic math skills. this is kind've a big deal for me. i've been thinking about doing this for a very very long time. today i took action. just acknowledging this baby step towards going back to school makes it more real. it's a start.