Am off visiting relatives this weekend where I've been holding a one year old. Kinda amazing that they're all muscle; growing like crazy and they just grow muscle - I couldn't find a pinch of fat. Wish I could figure out how to do that.

I missed my workout this morning. My in-laws returned at the end of last week, and they need to have some work done on their RV, so they're going to be staying with us for a couple of days. They decided it would be easiest for them if they brought their cat over yesterday and have him stay the night and they can take the RV in and drop it off this morning before heading to our house. The cat hates our dogs and our cat hates (or is at least terrified of) him. MIL said he doesn't meow. Well, she was wrong! Obviously he was lonely and from about 1 AM until 5 AM he'd intermittently meow very loudly--you know just as I'm about to nod back off to sleep, he'd do it again. So I decided that an extra half hour in bed (even without sleep) would be more beneficial than a workout. I'm simply exhausted this morning.

Tomorrow we drive to (beautiful downtown) Burbank to see a taping of the Ellen show. I believe the guests are Bret Michaels and Minnie Driver. It'll be a fun day.

Dagmar~hugs. I hope things work out for you. I'm actually amazed at the number of people who are getting divorced after 15-30 years of marriage. What happened to the 7-year itch?

Bill, have fun with your relatives.

Allison, have fun at Ellen!

Dagmar - I hope you can work things out with DH.

Speaking of DH's, I'm a little worried about mine. His half marathon is this Saturday and he's been having some irritation in his legs. Then he went up into the attic yesterday to see if there were any leaks, and now he has convinced himself that he's developed lung disease by inhaling too much dust from the insulation (at least, he says he's having a little trouble breathing deeply). Inflamed legs + unhappy lungs does not make a good formula for a good half marathon. I told him he should take some ibuprofen for his legs and that if his lungs weren't better in a day or two we'd call the doctor.

I'm really really hoping that his legs will be okay on race day. He's worked so hard for this and he will be crushed if he doesn't make it, and knowing him it will probably trigger a long depressive episode. I think he'll be okay and he'll be able to run the race all the way, but I could use any advice about what to do if he doesn't make it without having to walk. Unfortunately due to the course I can only cheer him on at the start, finish, and mile 4.5, so I can't show up to give him moral support in the part he struggles with around mile 10.

We are all happy and cheerful here again. I think I will just shut up and ride the rollercoaster that is life with DH with an extra, extra large barf bag in my pocket.

Our Thanksgiving lunch/dinner went really well. The duck wasn't greasy or dry and the sides came out really well. I haven't cooked a meal in a long time where I used all 4 burners and the oven.

Am now waiting for a potential client to call and for Norton Utilities on line tech support to answer me back in live chat.

Jessica I hope your DH is ok for the race. Could the problems with his legs and lungs be somewhat in his mind? Maybe he's afraid he'll fail to finish the race and is having some psychological reaction to that which is manifesting itself physically? That's what my DH's wheezing fit turned out to be - stress.

Bill Amazing how athletic little kids are, isn't it? And they seldom stuff themselves full of bad food or eat when they are bored or all those other things we adults have learned to do.

Hope everyone is having a good Monday!

Dagmar

Has anyone been to Portugal? My DD is going to be going there with her university symphony next summer and we're considering meeting up with them toward the end of their tour and having her go with us for a vacation. After Portugal, where would you go? I was thinking a cruise would be good, but I'm pretty sure we'd have to get to Barcelona to get one, and I'm not certain we'd be able to find on with the exact dates we need. I'm not really familiar with rail travel over there, although I know it is used a lot. I doubt I'd want to rent a car to travel to different countries. Ack! What have I signed myself up for? I hate these kinds of planning things--although I always enjoy the outcome!

Allison Haven't been to Portugal but there are lots of (printed) travel guide books out there. Frommer's is a good company. Why not order one and augment it with research online? I have had 3 very successful vacations (complete with street maps) using this method.

Busy week for me. Great Tuesday everyone!

Dagmar

Dagmar, I think it's stress related but who knows? His lungs were fine by yesterday afternoon and I did manage to talk him into taking some ibuprofen for his legs through Friday. It seems that he's accepted at this point that either he'll run the race no problem or he won't and there's nothing to be done at the point to change anything. I think having this week as easy leading up to the race will help a lot and I'm still hopeful he'll make it through the whole 13.1 miles without having to walk.

Allison, check out tripadvisor.com. They have a lot of info about stuff to do and they have forums where you can ask your questions and get knowledgeable answers! I have never been to mainland Europe but my parents and my sister have both been to Spain and loved it (my sister actually phoned home from Barcelona and said she was going to stay there and never come back -- my parents managed to talk her out of it). You might also want to consider Morocco, it's right over there too.

Geographically a lot of Morocco looks a lot like the American southwest. The cities are waaay different though. I went and we went through Casablanca, Fez, Meknes, and Marrakech. I liked Meknes, the smallest city, best. Really friendly vibe there.

Anyone been on safari to Africa? I'm determined to do that before I'm too old to cart my own duffle around (though that might be when I'm 85!).

We're off to a mayoral candidates debate tonight so I''ve got to throw dinner on the table in a hurry. Veggie burgers, here we come!

Dagmar

Hi All,

Yesterday - I did the turkey trot 10K. I was happy with my time of 1:01(from my stopwatch)...then I checked my 'official' time on the race site.
Time was 58:26!
So my question is - why would there be such a discrepancy?
I would love to claim the 58:26 - but i am a little skeptical, although the timing chips are supposed to be accurate.
Any insight - anyone??

Thanks

(I posted this in the exercise/running section - but it isn't very busy in there)

SZNN since you were chipped I say take it! It is probably more accurate than your watch....what's 1.5 seconds in life anyway?

not counting sex....lol

EDIT...oh...minutes...hummm....I dunno!

Oh and by the way OUTSTANDING!!!!!!!!

Just doing a quick fly by-- one of the busiest weeks of my life here-- literally no time to sleep-- book fair at school, two jobs, dh still out of the country, working on finishing my masters, dd with tons of commitments....

Dagmar-- we lived in S. Africa before moving here. We went on tons of safaris and they are my favorite thing to do in the world!! I'm happy to share experiences (but not this week as life is beyond crazy).

Just checking in.....

Take care everyone!

Hi Allison,
As for ways to travel around europe: if you don't want to drive and trains are difficult to check you might want to consider the budget airlines. I believe ryanair does portugal (porto) & does go to barcelona as well. And spain is beautiful. The suggestion to start with a travelguide & build up from there also sounds good. I usually check out lonely planet, but that's a matter of taste.

good luck,
Rabbit

Sznn, either way great job on your race! Are you sure you started and stopped your stopwatch at the exact moment you crossed the start/finish? If you started it a little before and stopped it a little after it could account for the discrepancy.

Dagmar, I would love to go on a safari someday too! I doubt I could talk DH into it though, we've watched one too many TV shows about parasites that are common in Africa.

Michele, good luck with your busy week!

DH went for a short run this morning and his legs were doing fine. A little cramped for the first few minutes but eased up after that, which seems pretty normal. Fingers crossed that his race Saturday goes well.

Well, until I find out exactly what dates DD will be in Portugal, my plans are on hold. I'm thinking that if we were to meet her in one of her last destinations, take her with us rather than have her go home with the rest of the band, we'd make our way to Barcelona (I've always wanted to see Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia). There are a lot of cruises that depart from there, so we need to find out what one will leave on a date convenient to us. While I prefer Holland America (been on them several times) I'll just have to choose what is available at the right time (HA has a 12 day cruise leaving July 15--that may be too late). We'll see what happens. My in-laws reminded us that we've confirmed to go to a family reunion in Montana in August and both DH and I have our 30 year high school reunions that we'd like to go to in Utah. It may be a busy summer for travel! DH needs it--he hasn't had a real vacation for 2 years.

DD, MIL and I went to the taping of the Ellen Degeneres show yesterday. We found a restaurant a block from the studios for lunch. It just so happened that they were celebrating their 64th birthday so all the food was half price! MIL and I had salads (huge--couldn't eat half, but of course couldn't take the rest home). DD had a cheeseburger. The show was so fun! We were seated in the 2nd row! I'm pretty sure I'll be on camera during Ellen's dance thing in the beginning of the show, so I've taped today's episode. If any of you watch, look for me. I'm wearing a grey sweater with black top, black pants, a silver necklace and silver belt. For dinner, we headed back to Fullerton and went to Taco Tuesday at a Mexican place. MIL and I had grilled fish tacos, DD had a carne asada burrito (took half home). I wish she'd choose a bit more wisely. ((sigh))