Still waiting for spring

Hey look, we found a warmer place to wait!

Is it spring yet?

It's March 1st. 

Our back deck

To take the dog for a walk, I wore the following: 

• light hiking socks
• heavy winter boots
• Under Armour compression long johns
• fleece pants
• insulated winter pants
• workout shirt with hood and wrist-warmer cuffs
• fleece jacket
• heavy winter coat
• liner gloves
• heavy winter gloves
• hood of my workout shirt
• fleece ball cap with ear flaps
• hood of my winter coat
• fleece scarf, wrapped around my neck twice and pulled up over my nose, secured by the coat

How did I feel?

• feet - a little cold, should have worn another pair of socks
• arms and legs - slightly chilly
• core, neck, back and top of head - fine
• fingers - ok as long as I flexed them regularly and put my hands in my pockets a fair amount
• face - from my ball cap to the top of my mouth, really cold. When the wind blew, I felt like I had an ice cream headache.

Am I ready for spring? Umm, yeah?

Front walk. There isn't usually a mountain in our front yard.

Book of Awesome

Today I'm excited about a new book I got with a Christmas Gift Card. It's the Book of Awesome.

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From the  Amazon description:

Sometimes it's easy to forget the things that make us smile. Sometimes it's tempting to feel the world is falling apart. But awesome things are all around us:

• Popping bubble wrap
• The smell of rain on a hot sidewalk
• The other side of the pillow
• Hitting a bunch of green lights in a row
• Waking up and realizing it's Saturday
• Fixing electronics by smacking them

I think this fits in well with what I guess you could call a New Year's Resolution - to enjoy "little indulgences". I've tended to reward myself with food. Since I'm working on a healthier relationship with food, I needed to come up with a list of other rewards. I decided to call them Little Indulgences. Just the other day, I started making a list in Evernote (another thing I love,  by the way, but that's a different topic). I figure maybe this book will help me add to the list. Or else revive my gratitude project...


My list so far:

1. quiet time to read
2. nature walk
3. photo walk
4. have tea at a tea room (avoid the pastries)
5. have a massage
6. have a pedicure
7. stretching routine
8. buy myself flowers
9. find a nice place to watch the sunset/sunrise
10. enjoy candlelight
11. a little quiet time to write
12. meditation
13. bubble bath

I'm not positive these will all work for me. For instance, I'm not sure I'll ever be good at meditation. But it's something to try. 

'Twas Risky Night Before Christmas

This view of the Clement Moore classic was shared at my office yesterday (original source unknown). When you work in the insurance industry, it tends to affect the way you look at things....

‘Twas the night before Christmas (12:01 a.m. 12/25) and all through the house (single family, joisted masonry, e.c.3, terr. 44, pc5), not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse (thorough pride of ownership and excellent maintenance).

The (flame-retardant) stockings were hung by the (contractor-installed) chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there (in spite of deadbolt locks and central station alarm system).

The children (ages 4, 8, 14, & 16) were all nestled snug in their beds (check MVR on 16-year-old) while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads (check for drug use).

Ma in her kerchief (scheduled heirloom) and I in my cap (no slave to fashion) had just settled down for a long winter’s nap. (Check employment, is insured sleeping all day?)

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter (check into condition of premises, housekeeping, etc.), I jumped out of bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash, threw back the curtains and tore open the sash (intentional destructive act, no coverage; also, appears insured only wearing a cap in front of uncovered window).

When what to my wondrous eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer. (check if sleigh is rated business use and corporate owned.) With a little old driver so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick. (Notify life underwriting, order medical on 600-year-old driver).

More rapid than eagles (check MVR for speeding violations) his coursers they came and he whistled and shouted and called them by name (possible aggressive driver).

Now Dasher (turbo equipped?), now Dancer (classic?), now Prancer (check occupation), now Vixen (definitely check occupation), on Comet (possible muscle deer), on Cupid (check credit score), on Donner (4×4) and Blitzen (possible drinking problem?).

To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall (check for structural damage; also look into height exposures), now dash away, dash away, dash away all (old man climbing walls either in great shape or overly medicated).

So up to the housetop his coursers they flew, with a sleigh full of toys and Saint Nicholas, too. (Check for possible retail delivery classification of autos). And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof, the prancing and pawing of each little hoof. (Check for shingle damage; also classification of operations—roofing is a prohibited class).

As I drew in my head and was turning around, down the chimney he came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur (scheduled items) from his head to his foot, and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot. (Part-time job as firefighter?)

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back. (Check to see if insured has safety committee; check lifting training). His eyes how they twinkled, his dimples how merry, his cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry (order updated medical report, possible drinking and/or drug abuse).

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth (ineligible for nonsmoker discount) and the smoke encircled his head like a wreath (check batteries in smoke detectors to make sure operational) 

He was chubby and plump a right jolly elf (overweight for height) and I laughed when I saw him in spite of myself. A wink of his eye and a nod of his head soon gave me reason I had nothing to dread (Stranger enters past alarm and insured not worried? Sounds suspicious.)

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, and filled all the stocking, then turned with a jerk (review workplace for ergonomic compliance).

And laying his finger aside of his nose (obscene gesture?), and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose. (Check operations, chimney sweeps are prohibited classification, look into GL PD deductible.)

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, and away they all flew like the down of a thistle (not likely with fat man and sleigh full of toys. Check GVW for proper classification, light/service/local seems unlikely).

And I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight, “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!” (Check hours of operation; 24-hour service operations prohibited. Also check into seasonal nature of business.)

NOTE: ORDER NEW LOSS CONTROL REPORT. DIARY FOR 07/01/14 TO DISCUSS WITH AGENT.

C-ATCH Bravo

Last Sunday, Bravo and I achieved the CPE Agility Title C-ATCH (CPE Agility Trial Championship). A little rundown on what it took to get here:

7 years of training

2 1/2 years of attending trials

39 trial days

4-5 classes each trial day

7 games (Standard, Colors, Wildcard, Snooker, Jackpot, FullHouse, Jumpers)

5 levels

120 qualifying scores required - 30 in Standard, 15 in each of the other 6 games

16 extra qualifying scores

I think it's interesting that we had 13 trial days in 2011, 13 in 2012, and 13 in 2013 (so far).

So what's next? Well, we continue training and attending trials. The next one is in about a month. We work on a second C-ATCH title. This means 10 more qualifying Standard runs, and 5 each of the other 6 games. The 16 extra scores will apply to that number. (You can accumulate an unlimited number of C-ATCH titles. The CPE website tells me one dog has achieved 16!) Hopefully, we will get into Nationals next June. Bravo loves competing, and we'll keep going as long as he's having fun.

Poster

Russ has been working on making over one of the bedrooms for a study. And encouraging me to set up an office in another one, partly because for a while we thought that next year I might have to work from home. So far I've mostly just thought about what to do in the old guest room. But one day I was looking over quotes I have written down and decided I'd like to make a poster, that would eventually go up in "my" new room. I designed the poster below, and today I picked up the finished copy. (Well, copies - yes, Karis, I have one for you.)  I took the photo in 2010, after Karis and I climbed the bridge.  I processed it in Lightroom, then added the quote and re-sized it in Photoshop. I'm really happy with how it came out. It's kinda hard to see in this post, but on the 3 ft  by 2 ft poster, you can easily see the people on top of the bridge.

On being a grown-up

I found this post in my drafts. I started it 5 years ago, and for some reason, never finished it. But it still applies, so here's what I wrote then:

I've been thinking lately about being a grown-up. After all, my youngest child is in college. I attended my 30th college reunion (and I fear I was NOT a child prodigy who graduated at the age of 8). Recently celebrated my 31st anniversary. Am 5 years into my second (or third) career. And have my own internal, though erratic, furnace system, if you know what I mean. One would think that if I am not a grown-up now, then I never will be. Certainly when I was in my teens and twenties, I assumed that by the time I was 50 I would be mature, confident, etc.

But I don't FEEL that old. And in certain situations I act like a 15-year-old. I like to read teen novels and go to see teen chick-flicks. On a hot summer day, I still feel like going to a water park. And is it really my job to take care of a whole house?? That's waaayy too much housework, she whines. Confident? No, I still second-guess every important decision. And even many unimportant decisions.

5 years later, Russ is now 60 and we are starting to think about what retirement will be like. I still feel pretty much the same way I did 5 years ago. And now I'm listening to my kids talk about the things that make them feel like adults, or not. So here's to you, Jason and Karis! Don't ever lose that kid inside.

On getting in shape

For the last 4 months, I have been working on losing weight, which includes joining Weight Watchers and exercising more. It's been going pretty well, and I am fairly happy that I am down 30 pounds. Though of course I would like to have lost more, that's pretty reasonable. Also, I haven't given up peanut butter, ice cream or chocolate. I probably wouldn't have lasted if that had been required.

I'm at that point where I need to buy some new clothes, but I still need to lose more weight, so hesitant to buy too much. The first thing I bought? New bras. Went to Nordstrom's last weekend and used a fitter, who helped me pick out very nice, very expensive bras. Fortunately I found out you are only supposed to wash them every 4-5 times you wear them (unless you sweat heavily), because I only bought 3. Band size was 4 inches smaller! But cups were 2 sizes larger, which was a huge surprise. I also bought a couple of shirts for my trip to Chicago. Which I didn't end up wearing. Next will be pants, because I only have a couple of older ones that I can wear now. Yeah, I know, terrible problem to have.

The exercise part is a mix of highs and lows. After a few weeks, I got the ActiveLink, which is a device you wear and every so often you plug it in to the USB port on a computer and it tells the WeightWatchers online tracking system how many extra points you get. I found out that I am so sedentary during the day that my 40-50 minute walks in the morning didn't even get me to baseline on the ActiveLink. I have to add at least 30 minutes at lunch and a stroll in the evening to get to the 4-point target.

The high part is that agility is way more points than I expected. I mean, each run is only a minute or less, and there are a maximum of 5 runs a day. Of course, there's also warming him up and walking him out afterwards, plus I usually work 2 or 3 classes. But still. My first agility trial was 7 points for one day. The last one, I was a leash-runner for half of the first (really large) class on Saturday and ended up walking fast back and forth for over an hour. That day I got 11 points.

On the other hand, the exercise video I got doesn't seem to earn me as many points as walking for the same amount of time, even though I feel like I am working a LOT harder. Consequently, I don't use it as much as I probably should.

Anyway, I actually started this post to talk about what I did this morning. It is supposed to be hellish hot later today, so I decided to walk Bravo when I got up. Russ has been running every other day, and so he decided to go along. We went down to Lake Normandale just as the sun was coming up, so it was really pretty. Russ took off running and after a few minutes, I started to run as well. I've done that a little over the past few weeks. This time I ran most of the way down one side of the lake. Then I had to stop and walk for a while. I picked up running again for maybe a third of the next side, then walked the final part. It's supposed to be a total of 1.9 miles, and I'm guessing I ran at least 3/4 of a mile. Which is much more than I would have run if Russ hadn't been ahead of me.

The thing that annoys me is that Russ only started running again about 5 weeks ago. Before that, he had been going on our evening ambles for maybe a month. He now runs every other day - started with half a mile and built up. Today, though, he ran nearly the whole lake path, while I was exhausted after less than half running, the rest walking. And to add insult to injury, he came home to do pushups and lift weights, while I collapsed in a chair.

Guess it's good that now I have someone to push me.

Challenge 2 - low light

Last week's Challenge was low light photos. I decided to try a photo by candlelight. I need more work on this...

Russ and Bravo

Decided to try the Digital Photography School's Weekly Challenge. This week it is family, so here is mine. At least the part of my family that was accessible today.

*This was supposed to have been published on 6-23. Oops.

Playing with my new camera

I'm exploring the world of DSLRs with my new Pentax K-30. Having lots of fun!

Self-protrait with shiny blue camera.
It now has a black & white floral strap with soft pink lining.

First outing was to Bush Lake at dusk.

The iris at the lake were gorgeous.

I missed the deer that was about 20 feet from me at the lake, but saw several the next day at Richardson.
This was the first - a young buck

Then the doe.

finally the fawn hiding in the grass

On the Fourth, I visited the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden.
But didn't see too many wildflowers.

Next stop was the Sculpture Garden where they had another
installation of Artist-Designed Mini-Golf

And of course, the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry.

Live like a dog

Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you’re not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!

On failure and motivation

Today Bravo and I competed in another agility trial. Once again, we failed to successfully complete the Jackpot game. We seem to have hit a roadblock with this particular game, as we have gone 0 for 4 this year.

When I realized what had happened, I was quite upset. I contemplated just leaving, without completing the last 2 games of the day. I walked around outside for a while, fighting the frustration. If I couldn't get out of this mood, there was no point in continuing, at least not today. Bravo enjoys this so much, and I can't run him if I'm in a bad place. It wouldn't be fair to him. And I didn't have much time.

I managed to shake it off a bit, and got ready for the standard run. This is a game where you just follow the numbered obstacles. The ending was tricky, changing directions, alternately pushing out and pulling in. We ran well, and Bravo responded perfectly to all my cues, verbal and physical.

The last run of the day was Full House, where you make your own course, incorporating 3 single jumps, 2 "circles" (tunnel or tire jump) and 1 "joker", all while accumulating the appropriate number of points for your level. It seemed to me that getting enough points wouldn't be too tough, so I decided to put in a few techniques that don't show up in courses all that often, but that we have been practicing in class. Again, we kept the teamwork going throughout the run and finished the day with a great run and a first place ribbon.

When I got home I decided to review our stats.
2011: 13 trial days, 49 qualifying scores
2012: 13 trial days, 45 qualifying scores
2013:  6 trial days, 17 qualifying scores
Completed all 80 runs for Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4, as well as 31* of the 40 required for Level 5 in just over 26 months. That's a pretty good record. We have about an 80% success rate, and I can't really complain about that.

I had set my sights on completing Bravo's C-ATCH (those 9 remaining runs) before he turns 9 in September. But you know, that's a very arbitrary measure of success. We got started running really late, not until Bravo was 6. I'm happy with how we're working in general, and I love how enthusiastic he is. The most frequent comment I get is that he is so happy when he's in the ring.

So I plan to celebrate the joy and teamwork. Challenge myself to use different techniques and not just play it safe. Make sure that Bravo is having fun in each and every run. And have fun just running with my dog.

Bravo, showing the joy

courtesy of Herreid Photography

*For anyone who is nerdy enough to add all this up, you will notice there is an extra run. I have 1 more qualifying score than I need in the Jumpers game.

On gender politics

Yeah, I'm tired of the political rhetoric from this campaign, too. But I read an article about the election gender gap in the NYTimes today, and it struck a chord.

“What was really frustrating is that there was this myth manufactured by Democrats in Washington that the Republican Party as a whole is against women,” said Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, who said she watched with disappointment as her friend Senator Scott P. Brown of Massachusetts was tarred by the broader fight and lost his bid for re-election, to a woman. “There is no doubt we need to do a better job as a party in reaching out to women, recruiting strong women candidates and sending a more positive message,” Ms. Collins said.

When you put a goal in the party platform that would not only ban abortion, but also some forms of contraceptives, then I think it's fair to assume that is one of the party's objectives. When Republicans fight as hard as they did to allow companies to opt out of providing contraception coverage in their health plans, then yeah, I look at that as being against women. I'm not sure Democrats manufactured a myth, here.

“It has never made sense that my party, the party of individual freedom and personal responsibility, thinks the government should be involved in issues” like abortion, Ms. Collins said. “We are the party that trusts individuals to make their own decisions. That is one of the defining issues of the differences between Republicans and Democrats. So this is just bewildering to me.”

This is something I have always wondered about. I DON'T agree with the statement that a defining  issue between Republicans and Democrats is that Republicans "trust individuals to make their own decisions".  But they do talk a lot about individual freedoms, especially in regards to guns. When the issues have to do with sex (abortion, contraception, homosexuality), all of a sudden individual freedom and personal responsibility are not part of the Republican conversation.

I feel like this was a pretty rough campaign. Attack ads were more ubiquitous than ever. In the past, I think Republicans were successful in their smear campaigns (e.g. swift-boating), and Democrats were not very good at hitting back (kinda like the first presidential debate, what little I could stand to watch). While I would prefer to think candidates should campaign on their own issues and goals, without resorting to such relentless attacks, that leaves you open to the situation from the movie American President, where "they're the only ones doing the talking". In this campaign, I thought the Democrats did a good job of capitalizing on the mistakes, lies, and mean-spirited positions that many of the Republicans took. Yes, there were some failures, but overall, I think this election was a success for liberal's and women's issues, and that Republicans made their own beds when it came to alienating women voters.

And by the way, I think it should be a rule that when a health plan doesn't cover contraceptives, it can't cover Viagra either.

Reading variety

I used to read only one book at a time. In the last few years, though, I've changed that habit. I listen to books in the car (currently a mystery), read on my Kindle when I'm out of the house (currently a romance, plus occasional snippets of Self-Reliance by Emerson), and typically read paper books at home (just finished a fantasy novel). Yeah, that's most of the genres I read. Throw in a little biography and sometimes general fiction.

The fantasy, by the way, was Ravenous, first in the Dark Forgotten series by Sharon Ashwood (library classifies it as romance, but I really think of it as fantasy). A witch and a vampire team up to defeat a demon - with help from werewolves and hellhounds. Yeah, NOT my usual fare. But I read about the series on a blog I frequent, and started with the third book - Unchained. I liked it a lot and so now I'm reading the rest of the series. Now on to the next book on my vast to-read pile!

By dawn's early light

I really do like walking at dawn. Even though there are inconveniences (like I need to take a flashlight and why did my tiny flashlight disappear over the summer so now I have to carry a honking big one?). And even though it was raining today (which made it darker than usual at this time of day).

But the streets are mostly empty and the streetlights make the scene prettier.

And there's always the chance of seeing some animals that are nocturnal or crepuscular (though not today). But the sky did turn pink. No, the sky doesn't really look pink in this picture, but it really was, and the street reflection kind of shows how pink it was.

And yes it was raining. I didn't take a long walk, but I did enjoy going out and seeing how the light changed and the reflections on the wet streets.

Doubly grateful

Ok, so obviously I'm not going to manage a daily post. The last post was a little weird. The ubiquitous 9/11 hype was annoying me, and I didn't want to mention it. But the post did have to do with some of my feelings about the event and .... never mind, I don't want to go there.

Anyway, I'm still going to try to post, but I'm going to give myself a break by not expecting it will be every day.

Since it's been a while - or just because I feel like it - today is a two-fer. The first thing is that I love the light rail. I wish I lived closer to the line. I'd like to ride it more often. If I move to another city that has a subway/light rail, I'm going to try to find a place to live close to a station. As it is, I usually have to make an occasion to use it, as I did today. I did a little shopping at the Mall of America, then took the light rail to Franklin Avenue and walked to Mezzanine for a haircut.

(I tried to get a picture including the train, but the phone was slow to respond and I missed the shot. Good thing I'd taken this one as practice. I also like that you can see downtown in the background.) By the way, today was the first time that I have been asked for my light rail ticket. I was actually happy to see them checking.

Today I am also grateful for Carly. She's been cutting my hair for quite a few years now - 7 maybe? I've followed her to a couple of different salons, and introduced Jason and Karis to her. I really enjoy chatting with her. I can tell her things I haven't told anyone else. It was a relief to talk to her today. Plus I got a great haircut, and it gave me an excuse to ride the light rail!

Thank you, Mr Jefferson

Today I am grateful for the words from the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I bought a book some months ago called The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew - Three Women Search for Understanding. I'm reminding myself that I should read the book, and embrace and celebrate the differences between us.

It was hard to think of a photo to illustrate this post, but I decided on this one taken from the steps of the Capitol.

Playtime with dogs

Today, I am grateful for agility, and particularly for the CPE organization. There are many different "venues" in which to compete in agility - AKC, NADAC, USDAA, etc. I'm only competing in CPE. I like it because everyone makes such a point of having a good time, not stressing too much about competition, and celebrating achievements, no matter how small. Everyone has been welcoming and helpful. Also, there are 7 different games, so a lot of variety.

This is a photo from today's trial. The little white dog at the far end is a Papillon belonging to my trainer. This particular game is called Jackpot. The setup here is more difficult than what I am working so far. This is the end of the game where the handler has to stay to the left of the yellow line while guiding the dog through 4 obstacles. I need to work on my distance handling...

Another way to read

Much as I love "real" books, I now do a lot of my reading on my Kindle. To me, the biggest advantages are that I don't need reading glasses (I can just increase font size if necessary) and that when I finish a book, I have a lot of choices of what to read next. Also when I fall asleep reading, I don't lose my place.

This is my setup when I read at work during lunch time. Propped up on my purse, it's at just the right angle. And I've dressed it up with a pretty decal and a purple cover.