Where I Run (Jog)

In case you were wondering, I'm still doing the "couch to 5K" thing. I'm on week 3 of the 9 week plan and I can't figure out how in the world I'm going to be running that far in just 6 more weeks. The whole idea uses an interval system of walking and running. The first 2 weeks were pretty easy, but let me just tell you that week 3 has been a doosey. Don't worry. I'm not throwing in the towel just yet, I only wish that the transition to week 3 had been a little easier. I'm not even going to tell you how fast (slow) I'm running, because it's not about that. It's about going the distance. Right?
I thought you might like to see our new exercise set up. Alan moved all of the boxes and furniture that were spread out all over the basement to just one side. Using some fancy extension cord manuvering he was able to give me power to the treadmill and most importantly the fan. Our treadmill has a hook-up for i-pods, so now I'm running in style.
How's your exercise program going?

Sally

A Dogs Day

After a morning of being let out and then back in again 500 times to chase the nasty little squirrels out of our back yard this is what Maggie does.

First of all she takes MY chair. There is a perfectly nice sofa but it just won't do. She spends about 20-30 minutes in each position and the she stretches and starts the whole thing all over. I'm pretty sure that when no one is home she goes through the same routine on our bed.
Gotta love her.

Sally

The "Little House" Clean Up

The weather has finally cooled off enough that we thought it might be safe to enter the little house and not die of heat prostration. Try to imagine everything that was in our oversized 2 car garage crammed into our cute little out building. It wasn't pretty. Most things were still in boxes and trying to get the lawnmower out was like a search and rescue mission. Cleaning it out and organizing our stuff was one of those things we have just managed to keep putting off. Well I'm happy to report that the place is spic and span and practically empty. I think we need to get some more stuff.

First we took everything and I mean everything out. It looked like we were getting ready to have a yard sale, but I don't do yard sales. We swept out years of dirt and dust and cobwebs, threw away quite a bit of just plain junk and then in a nice organized fashion put the important stuff back in. It's quite lovely if I don't say so myself. Alan doesn't really want me going in there. I think he's afraid I might mess it up.

I hope you had a productive weekend too!

Sally

The Search Is On

This arrived in the mail the day I got home from Iowa. The long-awaited Kentucky Speech Pathology License. I'm not going to go into detail about the ridiculously arduous process involved in getting this little piece of paper; I'm just going to try to be glad that I finally have it. Basically what this means is that it's time for me to get serious. The perfect job is waiting for me and now I have to go find it. Wish me luck!

Sally

Dinner and a Movie

Last night Alan and I went out with some of our new Louisville friends who are actually from Indiana, which is just over the river, not like miles and miles away. We went to the Baxter Avenue Theater, which is a very old neighborhood theater. We saw gorgeous George Clooney in The American. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't what we saw. I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy it, but it's kind of a quiet (not a lot of talking) thriller. You go see it and let me know what you think. I would have to say that the main event of the evening was dinner at Lynn's Paradise Cafe. This place is a Louisville icon of sorts. Lots to look at and the food was pretty interesting too. They make the traditional Kentucky Hot Brown (which none of us ordered) but if you come to visit we will take you there so that you can give it a try!

Sally

Road Trip

What do you do when you desperately need your hair cut? You take a road trip to Iowa. Well, that's what I did. I spent the most wonderful weekend back home. I'm not sure I should really call Iowa City home, but that's sure what it felt like. I got to spend time with all of my favorite people and my hair looks fabulous. Here's a little recap for those of you that were not there.

Friday: Beautiful 8 hour drive through the almost fall colors of Indiana, Illinois and Iowa (all "I" states - interesting) Hair cut and color with the most talented Jacqueline. Sushi with the girls. Cindy, Barb, Jacqueline and I ate our fill. Chit-chat and off to bed.

Saturday: Early bird start to the day at the Iowa City Farmers Market. We visited with Marilyn the jewelry queen (thank goodness because I arrived wearing two different earrings - that's the style in Kentucky you know) We also bought the absolute cutest tiny eggplants. Then off to the famous Hamburg Inn for breakfast. Then I quilted at the best quilt shoppe in the whole wide world. Thanks Peg! and then ate homemade African food for dinner. Thanks Jacqueline!

Sunday: Brunch with Barb, Jorge and the boys. Delicious. It was great to spend some time with them. Even their little dog who honestly hated me the whole time we were neighbors seemed glad to see me. A visit to Wilson's Apple Orchard with Jacqueline and Joni and then another delicious meal at Joni and Kent's house. Thanks guys!

Monday: coffee with the Wendelletes. My favorite co-workers from the Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Center. They are the best and I miss them tons. Hope to see you next time Diane! Another beautiful 8 hour drive back to Kentucky. Lots of hugs and kisses from Alan and Maggie!

Sally

I'm A Nut

I've decided to collect acorns. Only the ones that land on our deck, and only the ones with their hats still on. I put them in a little dish (I'll probably need a bigger dish) right by the back door. I have no idea what I'm going to do with them. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I'm not sure if I've shown you our back door. It is in a space that separates the kitchen from the dining room/living room. It's kind of an odd space but we've done the best we can to dress it up. Directly across from the door and in front of the stairs leading to the basement sits the Hoosier. This area is really our entry way, as we rarely use the front door.

Now I think you have seen the whole house.

Have a great weekend!

Sally

Where We Walk

This is our park. It's so close to our house. A little piece of nature in the middle of town. Alan and I enjoy the park, but Maggie LOVES the park. There are more squirels and ducks in this little park than you can count. These pictures are from our walk yesterday evening. The colors are starting to change. I can't wait to see what it looks like in a few weeks. Stay tuned.

Sally

Day 1

I was going to call this post Accountability, but decided that really, it is what it is and it's

Day 1 for me. Maybe because I turned 48 yesterday and 50 is just a couple years away I felt the need to set some personal goals for myself. I've been reading a lot lately about these people who were never really runners (that would be me) that have gotten off their bums and started running 5K's, 10K's all kinds of K's. My good friend Jacqueline started running a few years ago. I'm not sure what inspired her, but she has inspired me. So, bright and early this morning I put on my shoes, made my way to the scary basement and started running. Well, more like jogging. Slow jogging. OK, really just walking with a bounce. But, remember my motto "Less is More" and the emphasis of this program is not on speed. I'm following this Couch-to-5K Plan. They say that after 9 short weeks I will be ready. I'm taking it one day at a time and I promise to keep you posted.

Happy Birthday to Me!

What a beautiful day we had here in Kentucky yesterday. Saturday, not so much, rainy and cool- perfect football weather? If you say so. We did venture between showers to the farmer's market. There are only a few markets left and I don't want to miss any of them. I'm so glad that we did go, because my favorite potter was there and she had blue mugs. I've been eyeing these mugs all summer (I talked about them here ) and Alan bought me two for my birthday! What a guy, he always knows the way to my heart and I love him for that. I love the mugs too. My birthday wish is that all of you could stop by my house for a cup of coffee and a little visit. That would be a perfect day. Enjoy your Monday.

Sally

More Signs of Fall

Front door decorations

Back door color

I was going to stay away from pumpkins until October, but the dinning room table needed a little something too.

So I didn't actually make an apple pie. It tasted like homemade.

And finally, you know that fall is really here when football is what is on your TV.

Sally

Fall is in the Air

Well, for sure fall is on the ground. The air is still feeling a bit summerish, but signs of the changing season have arrived.

I swept my deck 3 times yesterday. See that

little acorn in the middle of the picture? When you step on those things in your bare feet it hurts. I know I should probably just wear shoes, but that's too much work.

The fall candy has arrived. I don't really like candy corn, but Alan does and the colors are just so... fall.

And then all of these magazines showed up at my door and now I think I need to go bake an apple pie. I don't really like apple pie either, unless it's warm and covered in vanilla ice cream.

Maybe an apple crisp would be good. We bought some apples at the farmers market that need to be eaten soon. I'm off to the kitchen. I hope you have a nice fall like day.

Sally

Seriously Southern

While visiting Alan's Mom in Aliceville, Alabama, we ate some pretty amazing "southern" food. Our favorite place to go is the Plantation House. The food is pretty traditional. We enjoyed fried chicken, mashed potatoes, black eyed peas, fried okra, yeasty rolls and banana pudding. How yummy does that sound? The best part about eating at the Plantation House is getting to hear Mary Ann's stories about the house back when it was the Summerville House and she visited it often. This trip she told us about the sleepovers that were held there. It's easy to imagine the grand old house back in the 30's and 40's.

I forgot to take my camera, so these pictures are from the Internet. I'm hoping when Alan gets home he can make them look better, but despite the fuzziness, you get the idea. It's really a plantation house.

Sally

Alabama, Wildcats and Lots of Driving

Hope you all had a lovely Labor Day weekend. We sure did. I've always loved Labor Day. I think it's because I have always taught and, after the craziness of the first week or two of school, having a day off gave me time to get organized and rest up. This year was a little different for me. Since I'm still unemployed I was just looking forward to spending time with my people.

We picked Grace up from UK after her last class on Friday and hit the road for Alabama. It's a long drive, not as long as it used to be from Iowa, but still a good 8.5 hours. Thank goodness the traffic around Nashville was pretty light. Alan did all of the driving. I did all of the crocheting and Grace did all of the knitting. We listened to "Al-tunes" (that's what Alan calls his music on his Ipod), sang along to most of the songs, and finally made it to Aliceville about 11:00.

Here are a few pictures from the trip. As a side note, I should probably say, since Saturday was the start of the college football season, all of our teams won! Including our brand new favorite The Kentucky Wildcats. Go Big Blue! Grace wore nothing but blue the whole weekend in support of her team.

We could not have asked for better weather and Mary Ann made sure that we ate well. Love those cinnamon rolls made by the Mennonite ladies. She even gave Grace a fudge pie to take back to school. What could be better?

Sally

Have You Seen This?

You have to see this I found it on another blog yesterday and had to watch it several times. It's pretty amazing. I just watched Footloose again last Sunday. I sure do wish that I could dance. Hope you are dancing today.

Just want you all to know that Maggie is back to normal.

Sally