2 More Lives Lost

2 well known men lost their lives yesterday, both in their 70's and both to Leukemia :o(

Bill Walsh, the imaginative and charismatic coach who took over a downtrodden 49ers team and built one of the greatest franchises in NFL history, died Monday morning at his home in Woodside at the age of 75 after a three-year struggle with leukemia.

Bill Walsh took over a broken-down 49ers team in 1979 and reshaped it in his indomitable way, riding the shoulders of his players to three Super Bowls, all victories. Associated Press Photo, 1985.

Tom Snyder, the late-night talk show host whose free-form program and intimate interviewing style influenced a generation of broadcasters, died in his Tiburon home nearly two years after he announced he had chronic lymphatic leukemia. Snyder, was 71.

The great outdoors

This weekend I spent a lot of time outside. The weather turned out to be perfect.

Friday night Rocky and I headed to San Francisco to the Giant's game. We got to see the game from a super nice luxury suite with super yummy food. We even got to watch Barry Bond's hit #754. I almost missed it though cause I was chit chatting...oops :o) I made sure to pay much closer attention the other times he was up to bat. The game turned out to be a great game and the Giant's even managed to win. They had fireworks at the end although Rocky and I watched those as we walked to the car. We needed to get home and get to bed since we had an early morning.

5:30am was when my alarm clock went of on Saturday :o( I later realized I could have gotten up at 6:15. Friday I had emailed Jeanette and Lindy with BART train info because we were all taking BART to the city to go to Kick Off. Jeanette was suppose to be on the train at 6:58, Lindy at 7:19 and myself at 7:38. For some darn reason the 6:58 time stuck in my head like glue and kept thinking that was the time I was to be on BART....WRONG :o( So I got up, got ready and headed out. I was running late because the puppies were going crazy, Rocky was heading out to go meet our Summer team and lead the mentor led run. It was a bit crazy. BART isn't very far from the house but I really didn't think I would make it. I parked the car ran to the elevator, ran to get my ticket, ran down the stairs only to find out that the platform wasn't working so I needed to catch the train on the upstairs platform, was confused so I asked the BART lady, got yelled at by the bart lady because I didn't say good morning :o( finally got to the right platform on the right train. No Lindy, No Jeanette :o( Call Jeanette, her phone is off. Call Lindy, she answers and I ask her where she is. She's at Lafayette waiting for her 7:19 train...huh!!! It finally hit me that I was 40 minutes early :o( I sat on the train and rode to SF alone and got to Kick Off an hour early. Poopy! Kick Off went well. We have a small team but it'll be a fun season. We were there til about 12pm and then I headed to the Daily Grill with Meenu and Chris for some much needed food. I had the Macaroni and Cheese, it was so darn good. Back to BART I went and headed home. Got home just in time to take a shower and head out again.

Olivia met us at the house and then her, Rocky and I headed out to Mountain View to watch Rocky's old boss and his band play. They had set up a stage and rented chairs and tables to set up outside at one of the band members house. We had stopped to grab a bite to eat on the way there because they had asked everyone to bring their own food and drinks but we didn't feel like doing all that. The band does cover sangs and although I didn't really know many of the sangs they sounded really good and did a great job. We had a good time.

Sunday was another early morning for me and Patch. We headed out to Pt. Isabel to meet Petra and Domino for a nice walk at the dog park. Patch has really been needing some alone time and I haven't been able to get him out of the house since we've been so busy. We walk him to go potty but he needs more play time. It was a bit chilly at Pt. Isabel but still a nice morning for a Sunday stroll with the doggies. Aftewards, we gave the doggies a bath and some scooby snacks :o) Again Petra and I headed over to the Farmer's Market, we couldn't stay long but we made sure to get some yummy coffee and I tried the empanadas from Argentina. They were 2 for $5 and they were so yummy that I had to go back for more. I also picked up a few Pot Pie's for Rocky to have for lunch. He said they were also very yummy.

I got home about 10ish and did some laundry and cleaned up our house a bit. Olivia was coming over at 12ish so we could go to the Alameda Art & Wine Festival. It had been chilly in the morning but by the time we headed out it had warmed up quite a bit which was nice because it can be cool in Alameda. We got to Alameda and managed to find parking pretty quickly. The first thing on the agenda was FOOD. Olivia was starving and by the time we got there so was I. Olivia found her corn dog stand and I had the calamari and fries. We walked around for a while and looked at all the booths which of course tend to be the same booths at all the festivals we go to. I think we had more fun people and dog watching. There were some very interesting people there. We didn't really partake in the wine/beer thing at the festival, it was kind of pricey and I really don't need another wine/beer glass from a festival in my house. I already don't know what to do with the ones I have. Olivia decided to go back to a both with some very cool seashell jewelery to buy some earrings and we also had to go back to one more food both :o) Ms. Olivia had to have FUNNEL CAKE. It looked super good and for a minute I also considered getting one but my belly was full.

I think we left the festival about 3:30 or so and I was finally feeling all the activities from the weekend and early mornings. Olivia was too. So we headed back to my house and she headed home. I went in, put my jammies on and tool a 2 hour nap...aahhhhh. Woke up and watched a little tv and then was back in bed by 9pm. My hubby had Kali in the morning and then had headed to his mommy and daddies house to help them with computer stuff. He got home and then did some stuff on the computer til about midnight. I have no clue how he does it. Rocky has an insane amount of enegry and can get up early and be up super late and it's no biggie. Me on the other hand, I don't function so well.

This week is back to training and luckily the coming weekend is fairly mellow so we'll get to rest up.

Did anyone catch where I said PUPPIES :o) Patch has a new friend, I'll update on that tomorrow.

Happy Friday!

Yipee it's Friday. I am exhausted, it's been crazy busy at work and crazy busy in the evenings. I've gotten home late both Tuesday and Wednesday because of the game and Cause for Celebration. I don't do well going to bed past 10pm and this week I've had several 11 or later nights :o( my body is feeling it. I am old :o(

Tonight we are going to the Giant's game with Rocky's family and it should be a fun night. Oh wait, I have to be up at 5:45 tomorrow....waaaahhh. I've got Kick Off in San Francisco for the Fall Team. BBQ to attend in the afternoon. Sunday I am meeting Petra at the doggie park and then heading over to the Farmer's Market. In the afternoon we are meeting Olivia and heading over to a festival in Alameda. Should be a fun filled weekend but as you can see, no time for catching up on my sleep. I'll have to do that next week.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and GOOD LUCK to our friends running the SF Marathon/Hal Marathon on Sunday.

Thumbs Down

I give last nights Cause for Celebration a big fat THUMBS DOWN :o( This winter marks 5 years with TNT and many seasons of attending Cause for Celebration, it's the worst one I've been too :o( We were all disappointed. I know a few mentors were upset that they had talked up this great event to their mentees and it didn't turn out they way it has in the past. We didn't even stay long to mingle after the speakers because we were starving. We didn't get any food :o( we got a few egg rolls that tasted icky. So I think I'd rather make the extra effort and drive to SF then have another CFC here in the East Bay and not have it be as nice.

Stitch-n-Pitch Tuesday

Last night Rocky and I headed out AT&T Park for Stitch-n-Pitch night at the game. We went last year with a bunch of our friends and had a great time so we once again headed out there this year. Last year we got a goodie bag filled with yarn, needles and patterns. This year we got the same goody bag except this year no yarn and but a few more needles and patterns. I don't think I watched any of the game except for when Bond's was up to bat. It was his birthday and he is 2 home runs away from breaking Hank Aaron's record. He didn't do so well and neither did the team. At about 9pm they were in the 8th inning and it seemed like there was no coming back so we left. I later got a message from Jeanette saying they had tied it up and going into extra innings, they still didn't manage to win so I'm glad we didn't stay and get stuck in the madness of everyone leaving. As it was when we left we were packed like sardines on the Muni Train. I'm surprised I didn't have a panic attack on that Muni, we literally could not move once we got in the train. It was pretty funny.

I had brought my knitting to the game so I worked on that and chatted with the rest of our friends. I swear I go to these games and I never end up really watching them. I go there to eat, mingle and people watch :o) Good thing our seats were only $20 :o) Rocky and I will actually be going back to the game this Friday with his family. His brother works for E-Trade and they have a luxury suite so we are all going. I think there is going to be another family there also. We did it 2 years ago and it was a lot of fun.

Tonight is Cause for Celebration for TNT. So we'll be heading out to that this evening. We get to hear a few people speak and then they give us a few appetizers and drinks. It's a nice evening out for our participants to hang out and get to know each other outside of training. It's probably the only other time in the season besides Kick Off where you see your teammates when they aren't sweaty :o)

EARTHQUAKE!!!!

me no like earthquakes :o( we had one at 4:45am, it actually woke us up. It felt like a big jolt and then a baby jolt came rolling aftewards. It's like the Mommy earthquake came by and the baby was chasing behind. Our poor dog even woke up and was confused :o( USGS says it was a 4.2 and it was centered pretty darn close to our house. We are top of the Hayward Fault which isn't fun even when they are small earthquakes, we tend to feel them a lot more.

TRASH!!!!

OMG, we are totally being affected by this trash strike at Waste Management. I hadn't noticed how bad the trash was til last night. I could have sworn I saw a trash collector over the weekend and that the only thing piling up was our recycle bins. I was WRONG. Last night Rocky and I were cleaning our condo because we are having company and ummm, because we haven't cleaned in 2 weeks :o( anyway, our wedding gifts are all opened but I haven't had a chance to put them away so last night I managed to get most of them in their spots which meant lots of wrapping paper and boxes to through away plus the trash from our kitchen and bathrooms. I had piled everything up on the porch and then was going to take it out, I grabbed a pile of stuff and headed out to the trash bin, stood there and stared at it for a few minutes. Ummm, where do I put the trash? Every single bin is overflowing :o( there is trash all around the bin on the ground. I tried to pile a few of the boxes on top of stuff then ended up having to put the rest of our trash around the bins aswell. I am suprised our complex doesn't stink like the city dump. Supposedly the strike might come to an end by Sunday. I know these people need their money but TAKE MY TRASH AWAY! :o(

Okay, no more complaining, it's FRIDAY! Yipee! Tonight we are having dinner at our house with Rocky's family. Should be a nice mellow eveing at home. On the menu is Chilaen Sea Bass, Risoto, Salad and dessert which Rocky's mom's bringing. Should be a yummy dinner.

Tomorrow morning is our 10 mile run at Lake Chabot, I'm worried but I hope my ankle cooperates and all goes well. I need to catch up on my training. In the evening we have a fundraiser to go to for someone on the tri team. We always have fun at her fundraisers so we are looking forward to it.

Sunday will be a mellow day at home and then a TNT Fall Season meeting in the afternoon. I am hoping to get some rest since next week will be hectic for us. I think the only evening we'll be at home is Monday. I also think my parents might come next week :o) They are looking to move back here and my mom has an interview in Walnut Creek :o). I am really hoping that all goes well because it'll be nice to have them back in the area. They live down south and it's too far and I don't see the often :O( Maybe by the end of the year they'll be back.

Have a great weekend everyone!

RAIN????

Ummm, July 18th and it's RAINING???, very strange weather today. I think it was only suppose to rain last night and this morning and now it's all icky muggy out :o(

I don't have anything exciting to report :o( I went with Rocky to the buddy run last night just for support of our buddy run. I sat and knitted while our group did their run. It went well although I think it was a bit warm for everyone at the start. The car said it was 78 degrees although by the time Rocky and I made it home it was super chilly and dark clouds were starting to form.

The knee is looking much better, the ankle is still sore :o( two more days til I try to run on it. Wish me luck. I am really hoping to get my full 10 miles in on Saturday.

Tonight I just plan to rest and knit some more. I was hoping to have a new hat done for the Stitch-n-Pitch Giants game next week but I don't think that will happen. We'll shall see.

Benched :O(

I can't run until Saturday :o( I saw Mama Lisa last night at a TNT Information Meeting and she told me not to even attempt to run until Saturday. I still have some swelling in my ankle and my knee is still sore and bruised. She suggested I see Dr. Klein (our chiropractor) to get realigned and to keep an eye on my knee and make sure I don't get fluid build up in it :o( So I've emailed my doctor to see what he suggests. Mama Lisa is going to tape up my ankle on Saturday for the run just to be on the safe side.

I'm pretty bummed :o(

My hubby has been taking good care of me though. He brought me home flowers last night :o) and some more bandaids and motrin :o) and made me ice before I went to bed :o( I hate icing, I hate being cold :o(

Took a Tumble :o(

Well I don't know what it is about this training season but for some reason it's not going so well. I know the last few weeks have been busy which is why I haven't been running, plus the darn tattoo and then a case of bad headaches. Saturday Rocky and I headed out to meet our team for the Mentor lead run at the Berkeley Marina. The weather was chilly but I was glad that it wasn't 80 degrees at 8am. The last few days had been pretty warm so I was certain Saturday morning would be too. I was very nervous about running 8 miles but knew I had to do it and knew that I would get it done. I had decided to take it easy the first few miles so that I could really do good the last few miles and not be pooped out. I started out with Brandy, she wasn't feeling to great so I figured I stick with her for some support. She runs a little slower than I do so it also helped me not overdue it in the beginning. Around mile 1 she really had to go potty and she really wasn't feeling well so she told me to just go ahead and she'd just do a walk/run thing to try to get through her 8 miles. I didn't want to leave her but knew I needed to run so I took off. I got to about mile 1.25/1.5 and all of a sudden I hit the ground :o( right away I could feel my right ankle hurting and when I sat down I noticed a nice stream of blood coming from my left knee. I didn't really know what had happened cause it happened so fast but I had fallen. All my lovely teammates that were running behind me stopped to help me out. I didn't have my phone on me but someone on our team did and she let me use it to call Rocky. Brandy was behind me when I fell and saw that I had stepped on a big huge rock, STUPID ROCK, and that's where I had twisted my ankle and what caused me to fall. Our friend Carol was sweet enough to stop her run, without much twisting of the arm..haa, haa, and walked back to the start with me, THANK YOU Carol. Chris eventually got to us and he made us wait for him to go get the car and gave us a ride back the rest of the way, THANK YOU CHRIS. I'm glad he made me wait cause sure enough the pain in my ankle was getting worse and it started to swell :o( Carol had a first aid kit in her car so we cleaned up my knee and got some band aids on it. Meenu drove me down to the corner market and we got some ice for my ankle, THANK YOU Meenu. By the time we got back Rocky was done running and we headed home. The rest of the weekend I spent plopped in chair by the pool at Rocky's family reunion in Concord. My hubby was very sweet and made sure I was icing a few times throughout the day. We managed to keep the swelling in my ankle to a minimum. Today my ankle is still sore but it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I was really expecting it to be worse. I am not sure if I'll run tomorrow or not. I may wait til Wednesday or Thursday. I am pretty bummed out because I was hoping to get back on track with my mileage this weekend. We've got a long run at Lake Chabot this coming Saturday so I'm even more nervous especially because it's a hilly course. I also need to be careful because you never really know with ankle twists how bad they are. I may feel good but could get out and run and re-injure myself. I will contact Mama Lisa today and see what she thinks I should do :o( I'm pretty bummed out.

Here is what my knee looked like last night (it's all greasy from the neosporin). I've got a nice big bruise underneath all the scrapes :o(

Recap of the Last Week

It's been a crazy 2 weeks and the craziness is still going on. I won't take up to much time so I'll do a quick recap of the last week.

July 4th
Spent the day relaxing with Karen, Olivia, Phil, Rocky, Lindsay and Olivia's new roomy, Christina. We hung out at the pool, bbq'd and watched a movie. My sweet hubby surprised me with a birthday cake and b-day decorations around the house and cute little b-day hats on our guests. It's was a nice day.

July 5th
My 31st birthday...YIKES! I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get last minute things ready for the big party. In the evening I had dinner with my friend Debbie at the Cheesecake Factory :o) YUMMY!

July 6th
I can't remember.....OH YEAH! Went shopping with Rocky's parents for all the drinks for the party. Met my parents at their hotel, hung out with them, had dinner with them and the headed back home. Changed into some warm clothes, why has it been so chilly at night? Headed to the airport to pick up my brother. Dealt with the madness of his luggage being lost :o( as we were driving home they found his luggage so we headed back to pick it up.

July 7th
WOOHOO the big party day and it was a BIG party. Hula dancers, roasted pig, Hawaiian food, live band (thank you East Bay Mudd), lots of family, friends, co-workers and a super great time.

July 8th
Exhaustion hit us and we did nothing for most of the day. Headed to Concord in the evening to hang out with Rocky's family. Came back home and had dinner with my brother.

July 9th
Still in exhaustion mode but hung out with my brother most of the day til it was time to take him to the airport. Waited for Rocky to get home and then hit the road for Lake Tahoe.

July 10th
Wedding in Lake Tahoe


July 11th
Drive home

July 12th
FINALLY back at work.

Friday the 13th.....eeekkkk!
Rest this weekend? NOPE, we've got the Reyes Family Reunion and activities start tonight. It's being hosted by Rocky's Aunt & Uncle in Concord so we'll be making the drive back and forth all weekend. We always have a great time with everyone at the family reunion so we are looking forward to it. Just wish we had more energy :o(

Notice there was NO running involved :o( I have not run in 2 weeks and I am very very nervous about running 8 miles tomorrow. I'm sure I'll get it done just not sure how well it will go.

Well kids that's what my crazy life has been like. Next week won't be so bad so it's back on track with training and my blog that I neglected all week.

Have a great weekend!

HAPPY BIRHTDAY!

BRENDA

WE MISS YOU!

Short, Short Holiday Week

YIPEEE, I don't have to be back at work til next week. Love these short weeks. Tomorrow is a holiday for us and then Thursday and Friday I get to take the day off just because :o) Everyone in the office, everyone being all 3 of us, will be out of the office so we are shutting down. Perks of working in a smaller office rather than one of our bigger offices. It's been quiet though as far as the phones so I think quite a bit of people have just taken the whole week off. I've got a bazillion things to do so even though I won't be working there won't be much relaxing for me.

Our big wedding celebration is this weekend and that has taken over my life. We've been crazy busy getting last minute things ready. I'm pooped out and losing my mind. I almost left the house without a bra today, how's that for a funny! GEESH, I was thinking in my head of all the things I needed to get done at work today and next thing I know I am fully dressed and ready to walk out the door but felt a bit weird, it took me a good 5 minutes til I realized that I had no bra on :o( not good :o( I am now properly dressed and at work :o)

Tomorrow we plan on just hanging out at the house. Olivia, Karen, Phil & Lindsay are coming over and we are going to hang out at the pool and bbq for dinner. We were going to head over to Jack London Square for fireworks but they have cancelled them this year. We aren't too sad about it though since everyone else does have to work on Thursday.

Thursday I have a bunch of errands to run and then in the evening I'm meeting my friend Debbie for dinner at the Cheescake Factory...YUMMY! She's taking me out for my birthday :o) YEP, it is also my birthday this week but that's kind of taken a back seat to everything else. I am not having a big bash this year so I'll just have lunch/dinner with friends here and there. Lael is taking me to lunch today. Ummm, yeah no dieting this week, just lots and lots of eating of yummy food. I think I'm excited about the Cheesecake Factory cause this morning when my alarm went off I was dreaming that I was having Rasberry Cheescake. Darn alarm went off as I was going to put a piece in my mouth :o(

Friday is definitely last minute party stuff and my family comes into town. My mom and dad are driving up from LA. My brother is flying in from Oklahoma. It's gonna be a fun weekend and I'm looking foward to seeing everyone and just having a great time.

Oh I almost forgot, isn't training what this blog is about? I will be training as much as I can. Tonight I'm going to the buddy run for our 3 mile run. Tomorrow morning I am meeting Olivia at Lake Merritt for a 4 mile run. Thursday is up in the air but I think I'm gonna get up super duper early and try to make the track workout at 5:50am. I have no excuse I am not going to work and I can't make it to the evening track. Friday is my day off and Saturday I'll meet Olivia, haven't figure out where yet, for an 8 mile run, which by the way I am not ready for at all :o(

Okay, I think that's it. I most likely won't be updating again til next week so have a wonderful day off and a safe 4th of July.

Doggies, Doggies and More Doggies

This weekend was fairly busy but it was fun. The highlight of Patch's weekend was the doggie park yesterday :o)

Friday started out with the Giant's game. My boss had gotten tickets from a client so he gave them to me. We took Olivia and Karen. Olivia had picked up some sandwiche's, soda and chips for us to eat. We were trying to be good and not eat the junk food at the ball park since we had to run the next day. That didn't go so well. Somehow after our yummy healthy sandwiches we managed to eat sunflower seeds and cotton candy :o( by the time we got home my belly hurt. OOPS :o( Of course the day we went to the game they lost, oh well.

Saturday morning I wasn't feeling so hot. My back is still quite a bit sore so I decided to stay home. Finished off the week with NO runs :o( not good. Rocky went to the Mentor Led Run and said it went well. I'll have to get back on track this week.

Saturday evening Rocky had a gig in the city so we headed out there. Olivia, Karen and I met for dinner at Luka's in Oakland and then we headed to the gig. Rocky's band has been in a battle of the bands type competition for the last 6+ months and they have been doing really well. This weekend the winner got to go to LA and then that winner got a trip to Germany to perform. Although the band has been doing great this weekend they fell to 8th place and didn't get the trip to LA :o( they still put on a great show though and lots of our friends and family showed up. It was a fun evening. I am getting old though. I was home and in bed by 10pm :o)

Sunday was a much more mellow day although it started early but it was fun and I think it'll be come my Sunday "thing". Patch and I met Petra, doggie Domino, her friends Elanie, Elaine's fiance, doggie Fanny (I think, can't remember), Kate and doggie Sammy at the Sit-n-Stay Cafe at Pt. Isabel Dog Park. I know that Pt. Isabel has a dog park because we run by there when we do our 20 mil run from Berkeley to Richmond but I have never taken Patch there because I've always been nervous about taking him off the leash and letting him run around. I have visions of him getting mauled by a huge dog or him jumping in the bay. Typically when we take him to the dog park the doggies are all his size and breed and they are contained by a fence. I thought I would give Pt. Isabel a try though and see how it went. It went VERY well and I am very proud of my little guy. Once everyone arrived we got coffee and something to munch on at the Cafe and then we headed off. I let Patch off the leash and let him run around. He would get ahead of me and at times he would fall behind while we walked on the trail but he always made sure he could see me and wasn't too far away. He was very cute walking along side the other doggies and us proud mommies walking behind. We had a lot of fun. Pt. Isabel is pretty much a dirt trail so the doggies tend to get dirty. But no problem, Pt. Isabel also has a doggie wash, Mudpuppy's Tub & Scrub, perfect! We had made appointments for the doggies before we went on our walk. We did the self service doggie wash. You get shampoo, an apron for yourself, towels and a tub to wash your doggie in. Sam chose to go home but Patch, Domino and Fanny all took baths. They were nice and clean and smelled like Mango Tango shampoo :o) Nice and clean and into the car to the next stop.

We headed off to the Farmer's Market in the Temescal District. Petra had told me it was a cute farmer's market and they even had pet sitting there. So we went although Patch was asleep before I even made it out of the Pt. Isabel parking lot. Took the doggies to the doggie daycare and then walked around the Farmers Market. I got some yummy peaches and a very cool night light. Yes, I bought a night light at the farmers market, it was very cool though. I'll have to get a picture of it up here. Next it was off to Article Pract (yarn store) around the corner to buy a pattern for a hat I want to make for the Giant's game we are going to in a few weeks.

Finally is was time to go home. We'd been gone since 7:30am, doggie was pooped out and so was his mommy. We met Rocky after his class, grabbed some pizza to go and headed home to relax. Rocky and I had lunch and we all took a 3 hour nap. It was a great Sunday. I probably wont' be able to take Patch the park this weekend because my family is in town but I think we'll go back on the 15th.