Travels

June 6, 2015 ~ meh ~ Leave a comment

Last week we went back to Kentucky for a very special wedding.

Paul officiated, Tiny played a starring role.

It was absolutely beautiful, and a great party.

I was only in Kentucky for about 48 hours, not long enough to do much except wedding. Post-wedding we left our terror in a tutu with Opa and Nana and headed, just the two of us, to one of my MOST FAVORITE places. NYC.

I lived in New York for a couple of months after graduating college. I have very fond memories of my time there. Weird things make me nostalgic…the sound of squealing train brakes, navigating the crowds in Penn Station, even the smell of the subway gives me little excited shivers. I feel like every time you step out your door it’s a mini-adventure. I love New York.

Paul had never been. So we went all over.

We even took the train into New Jersey so Paul could say he’d been to that tourist trap (aka we went to my college reunion.)

Spring in New York is awesome. The park is awesome. Everyone is so happy to be back outside. Sidewalk cafes are open. IT IS AWESOME.

But for some reason, this time around, a lot of the old heartstrings weren’t pulled the same way they usually are. Maybe it’s because Paul was with me, maybe I’m getting old and my sense of adventure is dwindling, maybe it’s that those days a getting further away, the memories a little fuzzier.

When we got back on a Sunday there was the normal post-vacation hangover and sense of dread for the upcoming work week.

But our first night home I noticed, for the first time, how quiet our street is. When I opened the windows of the house, the smell of basil and lemon blossoms wafted in. I didn’t even curse when, at 2am, I tripped on the training toilet sitting on the floor of our bathroom.

New York is awesome. Kentucky is beautiful. But sometimes there’s just something about coming home.

March Madness

April 2, 2015November 18, 2015 ~ meh ~ 2 Comments

One of my current coworkers went to Duke and is a self-proclaimed die-hard Duke fan. He’s always talking about Duke, which is obnoxious (but really, is there any other kind of Duke fan?) So naturally I turned to him to inquire about our office’s March Madness pool.

Turns out our office has never had a March Madness pool before. Weird. But just another reminder that I’m back in the regular world where people don’t do this with their corn fields.

But Duke Fan was like, “THIS IS A GREAT IDEA! If you set it up I’ll put up the $$ for the prize, so there doesn’t have to be a buy in.”

Awesome. So I set up our office pool. Because this:

Kentucky’s been crushing it this year. CRUSHING IT. They are poised to be the first team to go through an entire season, including the tournament, undefeated since something like 1796. Or maybe 1976.

And Duke. I was only in Kentucky for four years, but if there is one thing that I fully bought into it’s that Duke is horrible. So this was going to be awesome.

Anyway, very few people here know or care about this. Except my husband.

That’s been hanging outside our house all month.

So I set up the pool and sent out the invite, and was immediately contacted by half of the people in our office asking how this works and letting me know they’d never done one of these before (again, weird), but that this was great, thank you!

So last week going into the Sweet 16 I went to check on the standings, and in addition to seeing that I was second to last (what else is new) I noticed that Duke Fan, the same Duke Fan that was TOTALLY into doing the pool, who can’t stop talking about how Duke is better than everyone, had picked Kentucky OVER Duke IN THE FINAL GAME.

I didn’t even know how to respond. I am not exaggerating when I say Paul would probably cut off his right leg before he EVER chose Duke to over Kentucky. EVER. In ANY game.

Paul’s response: “That is so typical of a Duke fan.”

I’m not even serious basketball fan, but the world feels very confusing right now. This is a whole new kind of madness.

But things like this make it a little better.

My Old Kentucky Home

April 1, 2014April 1, 2014 ~ meh ~ 1 Comment

last run at the arboretum. no filter needed.

Today we head back west. Of course we are excited…great opportunities for Paul, and California will always be my home. But Kentucky has been good to us. A lot has gone down the past 4 years. It started with casts.

my first week here

But then things got better. And there was Spike

And Nerlens!

And Derby

And Keeneland

And bourbon

And running for bourbon!

And state fairs

And HH

And horses on farms

And miniature donkeys

And the air smelling like roasting peanuts when the wind is right (thank you, Jiff factory).

And coaching

And swimming

And running routes

And riding

And chickens!

(and their untimely deaths)

And egg drama

And duh:

And, best of all…

family. It’s been so nice to be close to family. And good friends.

Leaving is always a little bittersweet, even when there are good things ahead of you. Regardless of where we go from here, Kentucky will always be our second home.

C-A-T-S

March 30, 2014March 30, 2014 ~ meh ~ Leave a comment

University of Kentucky cheerleaders in action during the 1958 NCAA championship games at Freedom Hall in Louisville. March 21, 1958 Photo by Al Blunk, The Courier-Journal.

This might be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. My boss, fellow Masters swim coach, and personal hero Susan Bradley-Cox, second from the left. Front page of the Courier-Journal this morning. She said the skirts went down to your ankles and were made out of wool.

Foal Play

March 25, 2014July 21, 2014 ~ meh ~ Leave a comment

Filed under: Things that will not happen in LA. Paul helps deliver a baby horse.

Yeah.

March 13, 2014 ~ meh ~ Leave a comment

Even better

January 7, 2014 ~ meh ~ Leave a comment

and for picture #2086939587 on social media of the temp outside…

Today trumps yesterday. In so many ways already. And it’s only 10am.

Btw, when the temperatures dip below 0, don’t leave your shampoo and conditioner in the car overnight. Because the next morning while showering at the Y, in a mad rush to get to work on time, you may get your finger stuck (like, not-funny stuck) inside the bottle trying to scrape some frozen shampoo out. Possibly.

New Beginnings

January 6, 2014January 6, 2014 ~ meh ~ 1 Comment

Today is arguably the most depressing day of the year. And Kentucky (along with a lot of the country) decided to go all out for the occasion.

Yes, that is 3 degrees Farenheit. Plus 20mph winds. The air burns. It hurts to breathe in. Our front door was frozen shut this morning. Ice on the insides of the windows. INSIDES. I got brain freeze walking from the parking lot to the office (not exaggerating).

BUT TODAY! Today is the Day 1 of Week 1 of Training Plan 1 for 2014. Run the Bluegrass is 12 weeks away from this coming Saturday, and Margaret is flying to Kentucky for it, so there’s no backing out.

margaret!

And after 2 months of stop and go training, followed by weeks of painfully slow running (forcibly slow running on the treadmills is THE WORST), the shin pain seems to be under control (I’ve run for 3 weeks now sans pain), and Paul is done with interviews…I am so, so ready to get back on the post-baby horse.

Training schedule to follow. Stay warm.

2013

January 1, 2014January 2, 2014 ~ meh ~ Leave a comment

…is over. And after the last month+ being mostly gray and gross, the first day of 2014 was pretty glorious by January in Kentucky standards. Clear clear skies and mild wind. Wintery glory.

And so, a day or three behind every other blogger out there (because that is how I roll), a brief 2013 recap:

Races:

I did exactly one: the NYC ING half marathon in April. Kind of a sad list considering the past few years, but this trip to New York was awesome and so was the run.

Chickens:

…died. And/or were killed by us (as humanely as possible) or wild animals. Or at least two of them were. One of them went to live on a big farm where she can run free and play with other chickens all day long. No, seriously, she did.

Babies:

Had one. Was a little miffed that, although I delivered in August, in Kentucky, I was never offered a sufferin’ towel.

Garden:

Pretty successful, if relatively uneventful, year for the garden. Never found a better solution for turnips than mashing them up and serving with butter.

Kentucky:

pic via

Still here. Still kickin ass. (Proof: here.)

To cap it all off, I celebrated NYE with Spike, Nerlens, and HH at home (Paul is still traveling for residency interviews) and took exactly two pictures to commemorate the occasion.

Nerlens making it really difficult for me to take advantage of some quiet time with my book