Hello Spring!

Sunday:  3.2 miles treadmill
Tuesday:  8 miles
Wednesday:  5.5 miles
Thursday:  4 miles
Friday:  12 miles
Saturday:  20 minutes yoga

Total:  32.7 miles


Sunday:  4 miles treadmill
Monday:  5 miles  15 minutes yoga
Tuesday:  10 miles
Wednesday:  30 minutes yoga
Thursday:  8 miles treadmill
Friday:  10 miles treadmill
Total:  37 miles

Sunday:  5.5 miles
Monday:  4 miles with Abby!
Tuesday:  10 miles
Wednesday:  4 miles
Thursday:  18 miles
Friday:  4 miles
Total:  45.5  miles

Spring is definitely in the air.  My purple crocus flowers are blooming in the front yard and this morning I heard the spring peepers along the bike trail.  As I write this I have the office window open and the sun is shining.  Oh, if it would only last!

Things have been a bit chaotic this month.  I like to keep it positive around here so I am just going to list the big things swirling around our house:

Our cute, adorable cat Gilbert has decided to pee in the basement - not in either of the two litter boxes but in random spots of the carpet in the newly finished basement.  Argh!   Please stop little buddy - we love you and think you're are the best cat ever!  Is something bothering you?

I have started a class through the University of Minnesota on Prenatal Development and it's Influence on Childhood.  I need CECs for my postpartum doula certification and this information is perfect, however, it seems as though it will be a bit more time consuming than I thought.  It's been a long time since I had homework deadlines and doing the reading and writing online is new stuff for an old school girl.

This morning I sent an email to register Gina for Drivers' Education classes in April.  I just can't believe we are in that phase.  Good Lord, please help us!  I let her get behind the wheel in our big old church parking lot before the Saturday night service.  We went round and round, forward and back, stopped and started, and had a good laugh at two geese who decided to go after each other as Gina approached them at 5 mph.  They apparently are as dumb as they look.

Speaking of dumb animals (and I do love all God's creatures but some of them are lacking in common sense, yes?)  I killed a mole in the backyard on Wednesday.  I am so sorry little mole, but you wrecked havoc in our backyard all winter.  When the snow melted it looked like a minefield back there with big tunnels and clumps of dirt everywhere.  When I saw you out in broad daylight I knew I had to take action.  I'm Italian, I have a shovel, and I'm not afraid to use it.

Track has started for Abby and for the first time ever she had sore muscles.  She will again run the 1600 and the 800.  She was also inducted into the 8th grade Honor Corps Wednesday night.  What a LONG ceremony that was. Finally they read the excerpt from Abby's essay and she walked across the stage.  She looked so beautiful, gimping along in her dress with sore calf muscles!  I was super proud!  Yea to the Babs!

Gina also had an awards ceremony that night so we had to split up.  Jerry attended with her and was there to see her capture her second Varsity swimming letter.  Yea to the Bean!  She can now focus on getting herself ready for the big trip to Italy this summer with her friend.  Andiamo!

My marathon is one month away.  I am feeling a bit ill-prepared but mentally okay for the challenge.  If I could maintain the pace I kept yesterday for 18 miles I would be looking at a 4:10 or so finish.  That would be okay.  It's still a marathon no matter how you slice it.

Lastly,  about a year ago we contemplated a minor update of the bathroom that the girls use.  At that time we decided to hold off, but now it is officially time to get that project rolling.  Pretty much everything you would need to re-do a bathroom is now stacked in the office:  sink, faucet, floor tiles, paint, towel bar, vanity top, and shower curtain..  All we need is time.  A word to the wise though:  think long and hard before you buy a granite vanity top online!  I know it was not a smart thing to do, but after 6 long weeks of emails and phone calls our counter top finally arrived and I must say that it is absolutely beautiful!  But next time I will just go to Home Depot.

And I will leave you with this little article on Bananas because I am still seeing those rotten old banana peels everywhere I go! 

High Water & Bananas

Tuesday:  4 miles, 20 minutes yoga
Wedensday:  16 miles
Thursday:  4 miles, 20 minutes yoga
Saturday:  8 miles

Total:  32 miles

Just as the ice was almost  gone, the rains came down and now my standard running route is completely submerged under water!  We have all had to be a bit creative the past few weeks - yesterday I was finally able to venture to one of my favorite places which has been impossible to get to because of the thick and crunchy snow.  It was great to see that trail again, but everywhere I looked there seemed to be a rotten old banana peel!  It kept my mind busy - ice, snow, mud, bananas, and yellow crime scene tape blocking off the trail because of flooding.  I was naughty and went underneath just to take a peek and yes, it was definitely not passable unless you happened to have a kayak with you.

I know that spring is right around the corner - the signs are everywhere!  Technically less than three weeks till the vernal equinox.  Soon we will change the clocks forward and we will be engulfed in daylight.  The flowers will bloom, the Gurneys Seed catalog will arrive, and Jerry will fire up the lawn mower.

Spring is coming - Hallelujah!