KYRIA!!!
On Sunday, I mentioned I had a blogger meetup coming up… it was KYRIA! After a year of adventures in Europe, she returned to the US on a cruise ship, which docked in Ft. Lauderdale. I took Tuesday off of work so we could have a day of adventures. After weeks of warm, sunny weather, the universe decided to give us a rare (for December) gloomy, rainy day. As you can imagine, Kyria was undaunted. Someone who rides their bike across the country and regularly camps in the wilderness alone is not going to be bothered by a little drizzle. We started off at Bill Baggs State Park. We explored the beach, hiking trails. and… A LIGHTHOUSE! Yes, we thought about Elisabeth. There are guided tours and the opportunity to climb to the top of the lighthouse, but not while we were there. That’s okay! We explored the outside of the lighthouse, and then had a lovely hike. Obviously we were talking a mile a minute. Honestly, it would have been a lot prettier with blue skies, but I was happy not to be hot and sweaty. After the park, our next stop was Wynwood, a Miami neighborhood famous for its incredible street art. After Kyria parked my car (ha ha! I haven’t parallel parked in years- Miami really is a foreign country to me) we ate lunch, and then we walked around admiring the murals. I’ve been to Wynwood, years ago, but I was still blown away. We could have walked around for hours, but it was getting late. We decided that Kyria will just have to come back so we can explore even more! I really needed this day. There’s a lot going on right now, mostly unbloggable (ooh, I hate when people do that- tell me all the juicy details! I will say that one of the issues will become bloggable in a couple weeks). It was a relief to be able to talk to someone (Kyria is a very good listener!) It’s funny how bloggers are instant friends. How many bloggers have you met in real life? Can you parallel park?-I used to be able to.
Tuesday Topics (AND CAT UPDATE)
When Jenn asked me to cohost the Tuesday Topics linkup, I said “Umm…. are you sure about that?” I’m absolutely terrible about keeping to the topic! She assured me that the topic is just a prompt, and the important thing is that we have a supportive blogging community to share with. This weeks topic is “Show us your year in bling” and I’ll start with that! I did have some bling this year… just a little. Here I am with Darlene after the Ft Lauderdale half marathon, holding our massive medals: I was treating this race as a long run, and I ran two miles before the race started and planned to run a couple more at the end. That turned out to be nearly impossible, because it was very crowded AND I had this heavy medal that jingled loudly with every step. Oops. Then there was my big race, the Skunk Ape 50 miler! Not exactly bling, but I got this little plaque: Okay! Here’s what’s happening with Charlotte… we think she had a stroke. She’s not in pain, but she can’t move her back legs. I took her to the vet today and we agreed that it doesn’t make sense to do anything too extreme (MRIs, ultrasounds, etc.) He prescribed a round of steroids just to see what happens, and she’ll continue to take her thyroid meds. We also had the “quality of life” discussion, but I’m not ready to go there yet. She’s comfortable! We have her set up in our bedroom- she rests, eats, drinks, and can get herself in and out of the litter box (although that’s not always a neat and tidy experience). We’ll see how she does with the steroids and go from there. Link Up With Tuesday Topics Welcome back to Tuesday Topics, as Jenny, from Runners Fly joins Jenn at Runs With Pugs to co-host this link-up! Please join us every week for a new topic! Write on our weekly prompt or choose your own topic! Make sure to add your post to the link up, link back to your hosts, and comment on the other shared posts! You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter Top photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash
Weekly Rundown
Well, it’s been quite a week! Lots of good things, but also our cat Charlotte has taken a turn for the worse. We’re keeping her comfortable with pain meds right now and we go to the vet on Monday. I’m not going to dwell on that right now, and I’m also not going to dwell on the fact that I didn’t do yoga ONCE this week. Obviously I like having an achy back. Anyway, thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Let’s get to those workouts! Monday I’ve realized that I underutilize my Mondays- I really need to do something later in the day, strength, or yoga perhaps? Anyway, this Monday saw a nice 4 mile run and that was that! Tuesday I felt like I got a lot of nagging tasks done this day- Caroline Girvan deadbug workout,upper body strength, and hip stability exercises. Wednesday Long run!!! 19.5 miles, split between road and trail. Thursday 2 mile run in the morning… I had two yoga videos picked out for later in the day, but it never happened. I really need to work on my “later in the day” workouts! Friday I started the morning with hip stability exercises, then it was off to the gym for legs and abs. At night we were following our high school football game. It was the last playoff game before States, it was an away game and we weren’t favored to win. Another mom was streaming it and she sent me text updates- we were tied-we were losing- we scored a touchdown in the 4th quarter- three minutes left- 16 seconds left- my heart was literally pounding just waiting for her texts. WE WON!!! 14-13, and this means the team and band go to the State Championship game this Friday. So exciting! Then, I went to bed and this is where things went off the rails. I was up half the night with Charlotte. I think I got about 3 hours of sleep, ugh. Saturday Weirdly I had a decent 4 mile run… …and then as I mentioned, her condition was stable enough so I went to work. You better believe I scarfed down some Advil to get through the day. Sunday On tap for today… so many things. Putting up the outdoor lights. Keeping Charlotte comfortable. Cleaning my son’s room. Then, Paul arrives home later tonight! It’s a lot right now, and next week is a busy one. Onward!!! How was your week? Would you be mad if I told you it was 85 degrees here?
Ultimate Coffee Date!
It’s the first Friday of the month, and that means I’m linking up with Coco and Deborah for their Ultimate Coffee Date! I’m still drinking my Earl Grey (of course) but now it’s Christmas mugs and gingerbread oatmeal season- bring it on! If we were having coffee together, I would tell you that our Christmas tree is still standing. Barely. Just about the only thing Foxy HASN’T done is knock it over. He’s batted ornaments off, strewn strands of lights across the floor, and the tree skirt is in a constant state of disarray. But you know what? The tree doesn’t have to look perfect. He won’t always be a kitten- next year will be easier. Muffin was very rambunctious when she was a kitten, and now she leaves the tree alone. Then there’s Charlotte. If we were having coffee together, I would tell you we’re still worried about her. She’s been taking her thyroid meds for over two weeks now. but she doesn’t seem any better. She definitely hasn’t gained weight. How long is it supposed to take? Well, she goes back to the vet for more bloodwork in two weeks, so we’ll see what they say. In non-cat news, with all the festivities last week I forgot to mention that we had a football playoff game on Black Friday! A lot of people were out of town, so the band was smaller and they did their halftime show on the track. We won! Tonight is the semi-final game of the playoffs. Unfortunately it’s an away game, too far for the band to go. But if we win this one, next week is the State Championship, and the band will go (as they did last year). We’ll be eagerly awaiting the results of tonight’s game! But there’s even more excitement. My son comes home again on Sunday, just in time for his birthday on Monday! Technically he would have one more week of school, but because of the way his program works he doesn’t have any finals. This will be the first time he’s spent his birthday at home in four years. AND THEN… Tuesday I have a blogger meetup!!! Oooh, I wonder who it could be? Here’s a hint: she’ll be getting off a cruise ship in Ft. Lauderdale. Details coming next week! What would you tell me over coffee? If you have pets, how is your holiday decor holding up?