I'm literally late for a meeting as I type so I'll just tell you what the pictures are of:

Top 2:  Scenes from my race last night.  13,000...yes you heard right 13,000 people ran/walked (there was a walk also). 3 miler down on Wall Street finishing on the Hudson River Esplanade.  21:48 finish time for 7:16 miles.  Good enough for 19th in my age group - which I have no idea how is possible.

It was a FANTASTIC ATMOSPHERE after the race.  The post work-hour rather than morning races seem to have a lot more happy people.

The bottom 2 are from our walk this morning.

Carpe diem.

J

Thursday, May 30th, 2013

Good morning, folks.  Well, the moment you've all been waiting for. 

I PASSED!!

It was extremely intense.  It was everything everybody prepared me for and more.  2 hours and 15 minutes of rapid-fire questioning, attacking, dubious concerns, etc...  To put it fairly, they grilled me - big time.  Even though all of my older friends who have passed in previous years told me it would be like this, I still was shaken.  At one point I glanced down at my watch and saw I had at least an hour to go.  At that moment, I had just poorly answered a question and sincerely felt like everything was crumbling.  I forced myself to just keep my head in the game, though. 

You know that saying "Keep Calm and Carry On"

Well that couldn't have applied MORE in my situation yesterday.  Even if you feel like you're flopping, just stay focused and carry on.  Also, after I finished, when I really systematically racked my brain to recall what I was asked, I responded well to a lot of questions.  It's just that the questions I didn't know stuck out in my mind more (like usual - I always remember the bad things I did over the good...I need to work on it).

When I finished, my ACE committee sent me out of the room for about 10 minutes.  When they invited me back in they were all smiles and laughs (which there had been NONE of during the presentation).  They told me I passed and then went through some positives & negatives, strengths & weaknesses.  I ran up to my lab and jumped up & down and they all congratulated me.  Then we had lemon curd tart and sparkly water during lab meeting to celebrate Karen's 28th B-day (which was also yesterday) and my passing. 

When I went home, Brian and I walked the pups up to NYRR headquarters to pick up my race bib for today's 5k after work.  It's down on wall street.  I am completely unprepared and my head still hurts a little from the champagne last night.  Oh well...its 3.1 miles.  No big deal. 

Then I popped the fancy bubbly that my boss, Mike gave me at our dual going-away party when I left Penn for WCMC and he went on to Univ. of Michigan.  I messaged him a picture of it.  Brian also got me a piece of ACE Carrot Cake (see above picture).  The top picture I took when Bear was listening to me practice my presentation (why did I spend so much time on that?  They interrupted me non-stop so it resembled nothing of my practice talk). 

The bottom is an email I got from the WCMC dean this morning.  :-) 

Grad School Milestone #1 is complete. 

I feel so free. 

Let SUMMER begin!

Carpe diem,

J

There it is, folks.  The title of my powerpoint presentation for my ACE today.  6 months of work and it's all culminated in today!  I'm excited.  I actually usually have more butterflies in my stomach on mornings where I know I have to give lab meeting.  I think I'm relaxed because of the amount of preparation that has gone into doing this.  Luck favors the prepared mind!  

Wish my prepared mind luck!  

See you on the flip-side.

Carpe diem,

J

Tuesday, May 28th, 2013

Good morning!!  How was your Memorial Day?  My weekend was nice because I got to sleep in, go running, spend time with Brian & my sister, and watch The Hunger Games.  It was not nice because I did not go to the beach nor do anything remotely social because I was working on my ACE for a lot of the time.  I'll fill you in on the activities of the 2 little dogs first and then tell you about my weekend. 

The little dogs have been enjoying sleeping in and got to sleep in the bed 2 nights in a row (lucky ducks!!)  They also spent some of the rainy part of the weekend snuggling on the couch.  That's it for them - they don't really get out much.  They're simple dogs, really...

As for me, well I'm a simple human.  On Friday night - I gave an ACE practice talk to my lab and some friends.  They really were so incredibly helpful - my lab is the best.  Seriously.  Then on Saturday it rained and was windy so I ran some speedy intervals on the treadmill for a total of 6 miles.   I worked on my ACE and Brian made Tuna Noodle Casserole - It was amazing and I haven't had that in FOREVER.  We more than doubled the tuna the recipe called for and added an entire bag of frozen peas.  The adult version of TNC (less noodles, more tuna + peas).  We also watched The Hunger Games on Netflix.  We're so exciting I can hardly stand it!  On Sunday it was a bit nicer out so after sleeping in I ran 9.2 miles outside!!  SO FAR!  I met my sister for dinner at Shake Shack (I actually had TNC leftovers before going).  She had the above meal.  It's crazy that little skinny one can eat so much.  Then on monday I worked on my ACE almost all day at work - Grégoire was there and told me my hair looked all crazy/greasy.  I HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT!!!  We had veggie burgers (me)/meat burgers (bri) with cheddar, red onion, tomatoes, and lettuce for dinner.  It was yum. 

So...for the 7 day junk food challenge.  How did I fare?  I'll tell you. 

I was good until Friday night at which point I had 1 vodka tonic while I decompressed from 2+ hours of talking at my lab.  Still no junk food, though.  Saturday I had 2 drinks while I watched The Hunger Games and also ate a cup of vanilla soft serve + salted peanuts and dark chocolate chunks with my sister at Shake Shake (woops!!). 

So I think I fared pretty well - I definitely feel much better.  I wasn't perfect - I cheated at Shake Shack.  However, I didn't undertake this challenge to give myself one more thing to obsess about - God knows I do enough obsessing about enough things already.  I did this to be more conscientious about the things I shove in my pie-hole on a day-to-day basis, and to break the habit that I had acquired.  Ice cream with my sister and a few drinks during a movie don't count ;-) 

Anyway, hope you all had a great weekend.

Tomorrow's the big day - the big A.C.E. day.  I'm ready.  I'm not nervous.  I'm excited and anxious to get a chance to show my committee how hard I've worked for the past 6 months.  I think this idea is a pretty damn good one (for a 2nd year PhD student).  I know my shit.  I know my experimental setup.  I'm ready to go.

Here's to popping that champagne next weekend.

Carpe diem,

J

TGIF!

Friday, May 24th, 2013

Good morning, folks!  I had some crazy rigamarole go down with my ace yesterday.  One member got picked for a trial and couldn't make it to my defense next Wednesday.  After that everything kind of spiraled downhill from my other committee members with nobody being available to convene as a group until mid-late July.  No thank you.  No thank you - my written ace was approved MAY 10!!!  I am not waiting until August (because remember in late July how I'll be in New Mexico?), to defend my written.  On the brink of having a meltdown I pleaded with the faculty member who runs the ace (at the top), and upon sharing my situation, he agreed to sit in as my 4th member.  OH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.  relieved.  I'm still going next Wednesday.  My goal was to just FINISH BEFORE JUNE.  And so the thought of having it hang over my head all summer was really not sitting well with me.  I put on my saddest, most pathetic grad student face. 

I've been eating a lot of sprouts lately - I am really a big fan of sprouts.  Especially the crunchy ones. 

Now for the "little dogs" update.  My dad sent me this funny/weird blog called "dogbearding." 
http://blurbrain.com/dogbearding-another-meme-dogs-are-subjected-to-by-bored-evil-humans/

You basically take your dogs face and put it against your face so that from the camera angle it looks like a beard.  Mine kind of sucks.  Brian's is a little better.  It makes him look like he has curly chest hair, too.  They were both not too happy about being beards.  The photo shoot didn't last long. 

Thank you for your advice about my charley horses!  I think it may be for 2 reasons: first, that I drink a lot of water but don't take in much salt - and I'm a very salty sweater.  Second, I don't take in enough calcium.  I'm trying to remedy both.  They've gotten a bit better, but I'm still getting them too frequently. 

Anyway, happy Friday!!!!!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!!

Carpe diem,

J

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013

Good morning!  I forgot to take a picture in the Park today because I was preoccupied talking to my dog-walker friend.  On Tuesday and Thursday mornings he walks this great big German Shepherd that doesn't like any dog except Bear & Sofie - he very much enjoys their company.  Probably because every time he comes near them they roll onto their backs, cower, wag their tails and cower, or lick his muzzle while cowering.  I think he might think that he is King of the Cavaliers.

It is humid as HELL today.  I'm sweating and hot just sitting here typing this.  Sofie and Bear just lay on the floor this time of year.  Too hot to play after breakfast.  Sofie is literally laying in the dark on the tile of the bathroom floor right now.

I'm giving a practice ACE to my lab today.  Therefore I am staying home until noon to practice - they going in for "Research in Progress" - a thing we have to go to at noon on Thursdays where other grad students present their RIP.  Then I'll work on on some things in lab before giving my practice talk at 4.  Next Wednesday at noon is the big day!!  I'll definitely be popping some champagne if all goes well :-)

I've been having weird charley horses constantly the past day and a half.  I know it could very well be because I'm dehydrated because it's so hot, but I've been drinking buckets of water.  I also had 2 coconut waters yesterday b/c I thought it might be potassium I needed.  It's literally terrible.  Calves, feet, hamstrings, ankles - charley horses all the time.  They've even been waking me up in my sleep.  I read it can also be caused by lack of Magnesium or Calcium so I looked into what foods contain them.  I think it's pretty unlikely it's Mg-based because essentially everything that is a staple for me - beans, nuts, dark leafy greens, oatmeal, lentils and salmon have lots of magnesium.  Calcium, on the other hand, could be an issue because I haven't been eating much dairy at all lately.  Maybe potassium, too?  I don't eat bananas and I eat about 2 sweet potatoes a week.  Any suggestions?

Ok, well I need to get to work now.

I hope you have a wonderful day!  And those of you in Oregon, well I hope you get a massive wave of humidity that hits Lake Oswego so bad that your legs stick to your pants at all times.

Oh, and also, I made it through Day #3 with no junk food or alcohol.  Hallelujah.

Carpe diem,

J  

Wednesday, May 22nd 2013

Good morning! So I decided at the end of last weekend that I need to go on a sugar purge.  I generally try to eat a nutritious diet, but included in that nutritious diet are far too many sweets. 
My downfalls are:
(1) Free cookies, mini croissants, and coffee at the seminars & talks at work  - This is the majorly bad one.  There are talks ALL THE TIME and I never say no.  Sometimes I will GO TO A TALK for COOKIES.
(2) Peanut M&M's - there's a stand where I can get them for 50 cents on my way back to lab from lunch.  I never don't have 50 cents. 
(3) Ghirardelli Coconut Milk Chocolate bars - it's sick how much I love these
(4) Tasti-Delite - I know it's only froyo, but when you top it with equal volume of heath bars it's no longer ok.

So last Sunday I decided to do a 7 day Junk Food Challenge (Inspired by a blog I like called Fit Chick in the City).  Absolutely NO junk food for 7 days (that includes alcohol).  This might sound easy to you - but it's not for me because I have a terrible sweet-tooth and I like to have a drink with dinner.   On Monday night I had kale and lentil soup for dinner and wasn't really craving sweets too bad.  On Tuesday we made chili-fried catfish and roasted zucchini.  After dinner I WAS JONES-ing for something sweet.  It's amazing how much your body literally becomes addicted to sugar!  Today is day #3. 

It could very well be the placebo effect, but I've noticed a marked change in how I feel every day - just after 2 days.  Waking up is easier, I didn't get sleepy yesterday around 2:30 like I usually do.  I felt I had more energy and was more alert yesterday evening.  The biggest difference, though, is that I feel much more rested when I wake in the morning.  Maybe just one or two drinks impacts my sleeping patterns enough that I don't get as much restful sleep.  I think I'm going to extend this challenge to the day of my ACE next week.  That will make it a 9 day challenge. 

I can't believe I've jabbered away about sugar for the last 3 paragraphs. 

Ok, go eat some sugar for me...or don't.  which-ever ;-)

Carpe diem,

J

A surprise for you!

 Good morning, folks!  Oh man, do I have a surprise for you!  A friend of mine posted this picture (below) on Facebook - vintage 2001 photo from 8th grade basketball.  That was 12 years ago and I was 13 or 14 depending on what time of year this was.  Can you say GANGLY!? :-)

The girl directly to my left (#32) just got married 2 weekends ago.  My other friend in the bottom row (#11), got married about a year ago and just had her first baby - the cutest little boy named Cooper.  #30 ended up being a professional model (she is incredibly gorgeous if you see some of the pictures she posts) - and #21 is living an amazing life as a documentary film-maker.  She and her partner have even won some awards for their work.  They were farming an organic farm in New Zealand for awhile, then made a documentary about food, then were in Mexico filming a documentary about the Tarahumara tribe (last I heard).  I'm not sure where the rest of them are these days - but I hope they're all doing great!!

Carpe diem,

J

Monday, May 20th, 2013

Good morning!  We had a GREAT weekend here in the big apple (why do they call it that?)  I was actually sick since last week, but I tried not to let it interfere with my fun too much.  On Friday, I wasn't feeling well and didn't want to infect everyone around me with the plague, so I left at about 12:30 to go home & work on my ACE.  As you can see, Bear was very helpful.  That dog literally sleeps like that most of the time.  He is SO weird.  After a few hours of working, I actually felt worse.  I felt like I needed a run.  I needed to get moving.  Plus, it was really nice out.  Since I'm training for the NYRR Mini 10k that's in 4 weeks, I had a 7 mile tempo run on my schedule.  A tempo run is where you run at a warmup pace for awhile, then "tempo" at a pace close to your goal race pace for either a prescribed time or distance (Friday it was 20 minutes), then cooldown to finish. I was all cold and weird feeling but did some jumping jacks to get the blood flowing, then actually had a great run (to my surprise!)  It always makes me feel better to get sweaty and I felt a lot better by the end of the run.  I walked the dogs when I got home and lounged around in the grass for awhile since it was such a pretty day.

When I got home, Wolt was arriving!!  I was SO HAPPY TO SEE HIM.  The dogs were going nuts.  We ordered pizza then and had a few drinks (after I hydrated hydrated hydrated).  The next day Wolt and Brian woke up early to walk the doggies in the Park.  That's their usual routine when he's in town.  I had coffee, cleaned up a bit, did the laundry, then went on a slow-as-molasses 5 mile run to shake out from Friday.  Even though it could be argued that it sucks to not have a washer/dryer in your apartment, I've now had both situations and I can honestly say I like having the washer/dryers in the basement better.  They're super industrial strength and because there are so many, you can do all your laundry at one time.  Like 5 loads in 1 hour. 

It was kind of humid and rainy on Saturday so I was drenched with sweat when I got home.  Brian made me the BEST post run breakfast EVER - short stack of pancakes with butter & syrup.  He is a REALLY good pancake maker.  Then Brian and Wolt went on a run together and we started watching this show called American Horror Story on netflix.  It is ridiculously addicting. 

We finished the night by going to LeftField - which is a bar on the Lower East Side where Brian's band, Gillian had their debut show!!  They were AMAZING.  Seriously.  I was blown away by how fun their music was and how well they did.  Their energy on stage was fantastic and got everybody moving. 

Sunday it rained all day so we watched the entire rest of the season of American Horror Story and I made kale, red lentil, and tomato soup. 

The end. 

Happy Monday!

Carpe diem,

J

HAPPY FRIDAY!

FRIDAY, May 17th, 2013

Good morning!  Happy FRIDAY!!  Friday's don't actually mean that much to me anymore because I spend so many weekends doing work.  The nice part of that is that weekdays don't always mean that much, either.  It's nice not feeling tied to a stringent work schedule.  I work hard, but it's all my own choice - i.e. not imposed by anyone else really.  I can't imagine going back to having a strict boss.  (not that I ever did ;-)

I have been having a bug coming on for the past couple of days and I think it hit full force today.  I woke up feeling really crappy, which totally sucks because our friend Wolt is coming up from Philly tonight to stay for the weekend!!!  I'm SO HAPPY TO SEE HIM.  Wolt is Brian's roommate from when he was at Valley Forge back in the day and he's sort of like a brother to both of us.  The minute I met him 5 years ago I immediately knew he was someone I could completely be myself around - aka - he would always be a friend no matter what.  Brian's band has their debut show tomorrow night and Wolt wanted to be here for it.  Also, he goes off to basic training for the Navy soon, and so we didn't know when we would see him again.

The Park has been incredibly pretty lately.  Lush, green, and lots of flowers.  The only thing that is driving me nuts is the OAK POLLEN!!  It doesn't bother me because of allergies or anything like that.  It annoys me because it gets stuck in Sofie & Bear's hair like CRAZY.  They literally look like Swiffer Sweepers when we are done with our walks.

I was thinking about not going in today and just working on my ACE at home, but I got an email about a super cool talk about breast cancer and stem cells that I think I would like to go to.  There's been a lot of interest lately in the potential to "re-program" cells that are already "differentiated."  Aka - turn cells into other types of cells.  I would like to know how this relates to breast cancer because I haven't heard much about it.  While my lab deals with cancer and has a few cancer projects, I am mainly focused right now on how interactions between effector (disease fighting) and regulatory (suppressive) T cells can promote or protect against autoimmune disorders based on the quantitative balance between a shared resource (a T cell growth factor called Interleukin 2).  Hyper-active effector T cells have been implicated in almost every characterized autoimmune disorder including Multiple sclerosis (T cells attack and destroy the myelin coating nerves), Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (T cells attack various organs like kidneys or heart or skin), Psorasis (T cells attack skin cells), and Rheumatoid Arthritis (T cells attack components of joints primarily in the fingers).  I am also very interested in cancer, though, because T cells are important for destroying tumors.  Tumors can even create an immuno-suppressive micro-environment in order to protect themselves from the immune system and promote their own survival. 

How cute does my sweet-faced Sofie look in that top photo?

She is just my little pearl.

Carpe diem,

J

Thursday, May 16th, 2013

Good morning!  I feel like I haven't given you a recap on Bear's agility training lately.  And since this IS a blog about little dogs (though I mostly just talk about myself ;-)), I should probably actually talk about little dogs.  So our agility classes are every Wednesday and they're held in Brooklyn.  I really must love this dog because I take him during rush hour....16 stops....on an F train so packed that I can neither set him down nor sit down.  It's always nice on the ride home, though...I can sit, set him down and read. 

So last night was our 4th week of classes.  We've done a lot of jumping, tunnel work, tire jump work, targeting (getting the dog to look at things instead of you),  the teeter totter and last night we introduced the weave poles and the dog walk (which is a platform they have to walk up on that is about 5 feet in the air).  We start the dog walk by just having them practice walking on a platform a few inches off the ground so they don't fall and learn to be scared of it.  It really is so much fun and I think I will keep doing it after this class is over.  Bear is really good at it - he is a natural.  (and I don't just say that because he is mine - he is really good).

It kind of tears my heart up a little when I leave Sofie and take Bear because she's always so excited to come along.  I wish there was some way for me to bring them both.  Brian usually gives her a pig ear on Wednesday nights when he gets home to make up for it ;-) I think she really likes that because there is no small dog around to steal it from her and bury it in the couch cushions.

 To switch gears, I'm very obsessed with that kind of chocolate I posted above.  Sarah (I think) introduced it to me because she knows I share her obsessive love of coconut.  I put freaking coconut on everything sweet.  The other night it was like 11pm and I HAD TO HAVE that coconut bar so I ran out to Walgreen's and got one.  Problem with living in NYC - it is too easy to get sweets late at night. 

Anyway.....

I've bored you enough for one morning!

Carpe diem,

J

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

Good morning!!!  It got a little bit chillier over the past couple days (it's in the mid-40's when I wake up for our walk).  It's been so lovely & crisp I'm trying to soak up and enjoy every second of it.  There will be time enough for hot hot hot weather. 

The king sized bed is literally just too much wonderful-ness.  It is everything I thought it would be and more.  I can't tell you how much of a luxury it feels to have this bed.  The sheets are softer than any sheets I've ever had before.  The mattress doesn't tilt and roll me into Brian every night.  I actually feel like I'm sleeping in a royal bed.  It is so soft & yet firm enough.  I feel like I'm sleeping in my own bed since Brian is so far away (no offense Brian).  I have been sleeping like a baby and loving every second of it.  I LOVE THIS BED. 

Last night Brian had band practice.  They are getting ready for their first show, which is happening this weekend.  It was just a quiet night - me and the pups.  I went on a tough run in the Park after walking the dogs with Brian before he left.  (I'm in the midst of training for the Mini - a women's only 10k sponsored by Oakley).  For dinner I roasted 2 yams in butter, salt, pepper, and cinnamon.  Then I had an entire 72% cacao Ghirhardelli bar and a Long Trail amber ale.  I watched Love it or List it - which is a show about renovating houses that I like - and painted my toenails.  I got in bed around 9:30pm and read Huck Finn out loud to the puppies.  As you can see above, it made Bear very, very tired.  I finished with a Tricki Woo story from Jame's Herriott's "All Creature's Great and Small" before falling asleep.  I always really liked the Tricki Woo stories because I remember my dad reading them to me and using a ridiculous voice for Mrs. Pumphrey - who is Tricki Woo's owner.  I tried to re-create it last night but couldn't do it.  I love when Brian is around, but sometimes it is nice to have a night to yourself.

Carpe diem,

J

Monday, May 13th, 2013

Good morning!  Wow, what a weekend!!  I took off work last Friday to go visit my grandma in Gettysburg.  Sarah & the doggies accompanied me - it was a road trip.  It was an intense but really fun day!  I got up at 5:30am, showered, went to McDonald's to get cash (only free ATMs around), and then to Dunkin' for coffee.  I took a cab to Sarah's house down town (I don't do subways alone prior to 6:30am).  Then we went and got the van from Enterprise.  It was enormous and comical to drive.  Sarah drove to G-burg and I drove home.  Sarah also ended up putting the whole thing on her credit card b/c I don't have one.  I kind of think credit card companies are the equivalent of the evil empire, so I don't have one.  If I don't have enough in my checking account to cover something, I don't buy it.  You can keep your stupid points and miles....and your massive interest rates, and predatory policies credit card companies!!  Either way, some places like to discriminate against us evil-empire hating folks and not allow us to rent cars or stay in hotels (haters gon' hate).  Thanks, Sarah, for helping out.  You da bomb. 

Anyway, so then we went back uptown, got the dogs, then went back downtown, and to G-burg.  We got to hang out with my grandma and Aunt Lisa - It was great.  We helped plant some herbs & flowers - I think it was good for my city-damaged soul.  The dogs were in HEAVEN.  Grandma got us a bunch of sweets - in proper grandma fashion.  I ate so much sugar this weekend it's outrageous!!  We picked up my parents old king-sized bed and hit the road around 5pm.  I literally have never seen the Holland tunnel so traffic-free at 9pm on a Saturday night.  Sarah must have been a good-luck charm.  We unpacked the bed and dragged it up to my apartment (Brian was at band practice).  Neither of us pulled any of our "lady parts" - something my grandmother was quite sure we would do ;-)  After returning the van, I put the bed together and went to sleep (~1am).  Brian got home a bit past 2.

Had a race on Saturday morning, then went home to Chatham for Mother's day dinner with Brian's sister & Mom - lovely.  I got Mahi Mahi with farro and kale at this nice restaurant in Morristown.  The best part of the meal were the pomegranate margaritas - I'm pretty sure they had 1million grams of sugar, but they were soooooo goood!!

We headed home that night because we had a ton of cleaning and stuff to do around the house on Sunday.  On Sunday I did 10 loads of laundry (no seriously...not kidding).  I had to wash the couch slipcovers b/c they were at hot mess.  I then ran 8 miles with Bear and then Brian and I went to bed bath and beyond for some essential stuff.  Brian went running and then made us calimari and pasta with broccoli, garlic, lemon juice, and parmesan.  Was so delicious.  I slept like a rock last night. 

Anyway, I'm late for work right now so I should wrap this up.

I also wanted to say another Happy Mother's Day to my mama!  You're the best & I LOVE YOU!!  That picture of us is my favorite - I have it framed on my desk.  

Carpe diem,

J! 

See that folks?  Another day of storming.  That means that the little dogs didn't get to go to the Park...yet again.  We headed out and got to Park Avenue before it started raining on us.  So, we walked down Park for a few blocks before heading back.  We're going to Gettysburg tomorrow so I'm hoping that we get some nice weather for our road trip!

Carpe diem,

J

Wednesday, (seriously...already?  you're kidding me, right?), May 8th, 2013

Good morning, folks!  Pictures from yesterday, as promised.  The top picture obviously does not reflect today.  Today I couldn't go to the Park because it was seriously down-pouring the hardest I've seen it in a long time.  I dragged the dogs around the block (they were not happy), and we were all DRENCHED at the end.  Since it was only 6:15 when I got home, I decided to clean the kitchen.  Since I finished that at 6:35, I decided to go to the Cornell gym where I ran 5.5 miles on the treadmill in the dark.  There was nobody in the gym (oddly) so the motion lights went off around mile 2.  It was interesting.  I watched just listened to my music & tuned out.  After that I went to Dunkin D's for a ginormous coffee, resisted the urge to get a bagel (my body needs something more nutritious after 5.5 fast & hard miles).  The little dogs were sacked out on the couch, snuggled together when I got home.  Adorable.  I had put Bear's squeaky lightbulb (see above 2 pictures) on the side table yesterday because the squeaker is SO F-ING LOUD.  I swear it probably would wake up the entire building if he was allowed to play with it in the morning.  While I was cooking my oatmeal this morning (+ 2 tablespoons chia + walnuts + flake coconut + cinnamon) I heard this whining coming from the living room.  Bear was perched on the couch arm staring at the lightbulb and then looking back at me.  I tried to ignore it, but then he started barking.  I figured 8:00 is late enough to play with a ridiculously loud squeaky lightbulb. 

It's raining just slightly less than a down-pour now - though still really, really hard.  I think I'll just sit here and bask in my endorphin high and finish my oatmeal and coffee.  Hopefully the rain lets up before agility tonight!!

Carpe diem,

J

I have some pictures for you folks but the up-loader on this here blog thing just doesn't seem to want to upload them today.

I'll give you extra tomorrow.

2 lucky dogs got to sleep in the bed last night.  I always let them snuggle with me when Brian is at band practice on Monday nights.  He doesn't get in until after 1 usually on Mondays and they're always so snuggled and sleepy that he never has the heart to put them in their crates.  I'm always too asleep to notice until morning.  This morning when I woke up, I was feeling around for Sofie before I noticed that she had curled up on my pillow, above my head and against the wall.  Her face was literally an inch from mine.  It was so sweet/I was happy I use Frontline on them.  ;-)

Feeling happy.  Feeling good.

Carpe diem,

J

Monday, May 6th, 2013

Good morning, folks!  This weekend was grand and involved a lot of food - as you can see.  The top photo is from my run last Friday I believe.  I hope I didn't post it already.  The second photo down is nothing to write home about but it depicts our most recent batch of fish tacos, which, I'll have to say were the best yet.  Absolutely delicious.  Coconut-panko breaded cod, toasted tortillas, red cabbage, and homemade pico de gallo.  Then Brian decided to make my lifetime and make that stack of pancakes for me on Sunday morning.  I have to be a bit brief because I have to be at work ready to go at 9 (meaning I must be there by 8:45 so I can get my act together). 

On Friday and Saturday I set up these 3 big experiments.  It took ALL DAY Friday and from 10:30-3 on Saturday.  Then yesterday at 2pm began the great time-point relay of 2013.  Starting yesterday and going until Wednesday, I have timepoints every 12 hours for 2 different experiments.  Yes, you heard correctly...every 12 hours. 

The way that works, is that my first time point was yesterday at 2pm.  Then again at 9pm, then another at 2am, and now another at 9am today.  Then there will be another this afternoon at 2 pm, then 9pm, then 2am...and...well...you get the picture.  I'm actually creepily chipper this morning despite the fact that I didn't sleep much.  I think it's secretly because whether you sleep a full 6.5 hours or 5ish hours you don't feel that much better.  8 hours!  Is that a joke?  Who gets that many?  Nobody.  I say NOBODY!  (Unless it's a weekend).  I did however, awake with an immediate and aggressive desire for coffee.  I'm enjoying that now. 

At least 1 of these 3 experiments HAD BETTER WORK.

Carpe diem,

J

Eternity

He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sun rise.

William Blake

I was laying in the grass in Central Park the other day.  Brian was with me, which is somewhat rare on weekday evenings.  The grass was so tall and lush.  It was cool enough to be just so incredibly refreshing.  The dogs were eating it and romping around.  Brian and I were dashing around so they would chase us.  They tend to bound like bunnies through tall grass because they're so low to the ground.  It's very cute so we like to try and get them to do it.  

While surveying the rest of the field I was struck with the beauty and happiness that existed in the moment.  Brief euphoria with the person and dogs that I love.  It was as if the surroundings existed just to be a beautiful thing to survey.  

See the beautiful and happy things in every moment - don't cling too hard to happy moments of the past or happy moments you hope to experience in the future.  You'll miss the beauty present in the moments happening right now or spend your time wishing those moments could last forever.  

Carpe diem,

J

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013

Good morning!  Sorry I missed you yesterday - I ran in to work at 7:30am after I got back from our walk.  Busy bee.  I was home again at 10am to shower and then back to work until 5:30.  Bear and I had agility last night.  He was great AGAIN.  We worked more on jumping, targeting to your hand (teaching your dog to take cues from your hand signals alone).  Then we worked on the tunnel, the wobble board again, and the pause.  The pause is an obstacle where the dog jumps up on a platform and then lies down or sits for a 5 count until they're allowed to jump back down.   Again, it was really, really fun. 

Central Park is in all it's glory right now (as you can see above).  I've loved every second of being there.  This morning I woke up on my own - no alarm clock at 5:55.  I was just aching for the day to start - to be in the Park with the pups. 

Carpe diem,

J