destruction

Bailey has been really good the last year about only chewing on his toys. Except for the occasional pair of underwear plucked from the laundry, but otherwise, really good.

The last 8 weeks or so we've even stopped crating him most days. And he's been good! Sure, the couch cushions get shoved around (how else can he get to the window to watch me drive away and abandon him for 10 hours?). Sure, his treat bag gets plucked off the 4 ft high hook (hey, I want a midday snack too. Though I don't jump 2.5 feet for it...). But he has a bladder of steel and is beyond happy to see me when I get home, so things have been good.

Then about two weeks ago, he learned to open the front closet. (It slides, he doesn't have thumbs for turning door knobs).
Over the next two weeks, one at a time, he ate two pairs of my running shoes (thankfully, both nearing the end of their lives). These were cool shoes (see stock photo below. I somehow didn't have the heart neglected to record their demise). Why else would I buy two identical pairs within a month of each other?
I am 100% sure I will never find perfectly fitting python print running shoes again.

He's also pulled out Princess Charming's shoes, but hasn't as much as nibbled on them. So, I assumed I just have tasty foot sweat. My new running shoes are safely upstairs, so I let it be.

Then I got home Monday.
The new fall mail/key/remote control basket was on the floor. Up the stairs. Down the stairs. All over. You get the picture.

Also all over, in lots of bitty pieces...my rain boots! ARGH!

Then Tuesday. Happy Halloween for the pup, who pulled the bowl of leftover candy off of (the middle of) the dining room table and proceeded to pick out all of the mini Reeses. And unwrap them for a midday snack. He was really neat about it - every foil wrapper had the paper wrapper neatly inside of them. I really wish I had a photo of this, but I cleaned it up in a mild fury (and I also searched for signed of doggie chocolate rejection, of which there were, thankfully, none).

And then today.

Today Bailey apparently got bored. The stuffed kong and two PB dipped nylabones were not enough. Today, we moved on to the couch.

Specifically, the lower right corner of each of the three cushions that make up the back of the couch. Example (all three look oddly alike):


While he is looking adorable sleeping on the couch next to me right now, exhausted from a long day of a walk, sleeping, chewing on furniture for the first time, visiting his friends at the PetSmart hotel, and playing with new balls, you can BET he will not be left uncrated again for at least a few days. Sad!

disappointed.

WTF Maine? And also you Washington?

I still do not see why matters of equality should be put to the vote.

If we did that historically, we would have a much different society right now.

Can anyone explain to me how this is ok for sexual orientation and not ok for race and gender?

I have a problem

I am obsessed with the blondies sold by the coffee shop in my building.

OBSESSED.
Obsessed to the point the cashier tells me on occasion, "You really love those." Or, doesn't tell me the total and just waits for my money. Thank goodness I don't have cash more than a couple of days a week...

Fabulous, but not great for the fitting into the pants project (since its not like I don't eat cookies at home if I have a blondie at work!).

every day?

I am thinking about doing the NaBloPoMo challenge. (That is a horrible nickname for National Blog Posting Month and not easy to say.). Do I have enough things to talk about?

getting nervous

My half marathon is in three weeks. This was supposed to be my race "back," my uninjured half marathon I could actually train for and actually "race"(for whatever racing means when your half PR is about an 8:20 mile and the only person you're really trying to beat is the 50 year old overweight guy who looks like he might keel over with every step).

I have run once in 2 weeks. For 27 minutes. 9x400 intervals.
My hip/what I imagine to be sciatica has had some issues for the last few weeks, and last weekend during a disastrous 20 minutes playing loose head prop, I tweaked something in my back. It was feeling better till my run Thursday...I popped a couple Advil and reffing a college game went ok on Saturday. I was technically supposed to run 8-10 miles today, but didn't get to that.

On the upside, I am seeing the doctor about this tomorrow. And I know I can still finish the half. And I think if I get all my mileage in the next 2.5 weeks, I can still come in around 2 hours. But probably not UNDER 2 hours like I wanted.

But it is time, now that rugby is (half, coaching isn't) over, to get back on track! I have 13 weeks to the Austin half and WILL PR there!
Do all three midweek runs!
Run 9-11 miles on Sunday no matter how long it takes or if I have to do run/walk intervals!

finally!

I ran for the first time in 10 days yesterday. 9x400. With walk breaks (1 min/interval), came out to just under a ten minute pace. Not bad for basically 2min/1 min walk runs! Now I wonder if I can keep that up outside...

This week I have 2 5s and an 8 or 10 (depending on which schedule I follow) to finish between now and Sunday...one run/day. I hope my back/hip twinging lets up so I can do this. Otherwise, I'll be in bad shape for the half seeing as I ran naught last week!

fail

I kind of suck this week and need to get my act together. Case(s) in point:

I haven't run in over a week. I have a half marathon in under a month. Under 4 weeks actually. Oops.

I skipped class tonight.
Because I hadn't written my paper.
For my capstone doctoral course (I have 2 more classes left but whatever).
Which my advisor is teaching.
I told her I was sick.
I came home, went to the dog park, spent 2 hours playing with the dog who thinks I abandoned him by leaving for work and gave me the option of paying attention or having him bark at me (he never barks. unless he feels ignored), then wrote 4 bad pages to add to the two crummy ones I wrote on the train, and turned in 6 pages of what was supposed to be a draft of 8-10 pages. Thank goodness it is not graded. Just mortifying.

I forgot we are having a baby shower/potluck at work tomorrow. I stopped on the way home and bought a super cute baby outfit and soft photo album (its cool, really), and given my state of mind, sprung for a $5 gift bag. Also super cute, but $5?? Then I went next door and bought fresh mozzarella. Who brings cheese, just cheese, to a potluck? I will eat it all though and not be sad if no one else does. I'd make some quick cookies, but 1 am bed sounds like a bad idea seeing as I fell asleep on the train the last two evenings.

I sincerely hope I do not have an assignment due in my class tomorrow afternoon - I am not checking till the morning, since clearly I cannot resolve such an issue at 11:38 pm - and I also really need to run. Or I might melt into my couch. Then my laundry basket will officially spill onto the floor, and the buildup on my un-vacuumed-for-a-week carpet will start walking (WHY do people buy wall to wall carpet? AND put it on stairs? why?)