On my drive home from work today, I saw a middle-aged man staning on a street corner wearing a grass hula skirt and a fanny pack. At first, I thought he was perhaps walking to a costume party, then I noticed that he was just standing there. Must have lost a bet or something? The fanny pack made me laugh out loud. You just never know what you're going to see in the city.

What's the craziest thing you've seen lately?

Today our goal was a 20/30 minute easy walk or run. There's something that is refreshing knowing I've got a training schedule to follow (thanks, O!), that there is no question of whether I'll lace up my running shoes or put it off for the next 2 days because I've got groceries to put away and enjoy our new flavor of ice cream. I've never been one to be really strict about my workout schedules. I'm a sporadic exerciser, and typically have the attitude that doing something is better than nothing, and whether it's today or tomorrow, it's not going to make me or break me. So very laissez-faire of me, coming up with creative ways to avoid workouts! I think I can say that it's different now, because I've had a few months to mentally prepare, so I know that cheating myself on a workout is only going to make the run more challenging for me in the long run.

I started out running tonight, then felt like my body was saying walk, so I took it easy today. It's interesting- my mom asked if I was able to walk today after my long run yesterday. Actually, my muscles for the most part feel fine- it's the blisters on my feet that were hurting the most today. At one point, I felt like I was physically and mentally DONE- about half way through our run yesterday- so I really felt like I'd be more sore. Even though my muscles didn't hurt, I feel physically more tired at bedtime these past few days than I've felt in a long time, because I'm typically such a night owl.

Shifting the topic a bit-- I can't believe I have to do 45 crunches per day for the next 126 days. Anyone want to hop on board and take before and after photos of our six packs? My before picture will be a sepia-toned photo involving my hand artistically holding a six pack of Fat Tire beer.

The weather was lovely in Denver today. Koda and I were experiencing cabin fever, so we went cruising then decided to go visit Becki and Pat in their new house. City dog Koda gets to go on lots of walks and jogs on-leash, so he was delighted to run around in a real back yard! He had a blast exploring every corner of Becki and Pat's new place. He found all sorts of treasures in the back yard- a slightly used bone, some crunchy sticks, and a tennis ball that looked like it has been around the block. Pat was so sweet and took Koda on a walk- or in Koda's mind, a mini adventure through their new neighborhood. Since dogs have short memories, I often offer up that Koda just had the best day of his life every few weeks or so. I think today was the best day of his life.

Becki and I ended up going to a big park in town to tackle our first training run together. I had originally planned my first 5-mile run alone, and I thank GOODNESS she was with me! Other than one quick trip to the restroom, we jogged the whole thing without stopping. Granted, my jog was slower than my actual walking pace at one point, I'm pretty sure, but still- I think it was a good start. I'll consider the fact that I didn't twist my ankle or trip or faint a successful first long half-marathon training run.

Oprah says tomorrow is a light walk or jog day- just 20 to 30 minutes, and 45 crunches. That is music to my ears after today's workout.

Tomorrow I start official training for the Denver Half Marathon. How does one prepare the day before her very first 5-mile training run, you may be asking yourself. Well, apparently in my world, it involves eating pizza, ice cream, and drinking beer. Please que the song "We Are the Champions" while you picture me in my sweatpants downing frothy beers and scarfing an ice cream sandwich before eventually falling over backward off a barstool.

Speaking of "We Are The Champions," that might be a good song to have ready right before I run through the finish line. What do you think? Either that, or one of my current favorite running songs, "Don't Cha," by the Pussycat Dolls. Trust me, I only wish I were kidding.

We helped Becki and Pat move into their new place today. They've got hardwood floors, a real back yard, and a faux finishing paint job in their living room. Luckies! Anyway, they bought the whole moving crew beer and pizza, and after trekking many times up and down the stairs to their third-story apartment (which I kept thinking of as just a part of my fabulous new half marathon cross-training routine), beer tastes good. So I just remembered- 3 beers, one glass of wine, 3 pieces of pizza and an ice cream sandwich later- that I have to run 5 miles tomorrow. 5 miles!

I don't know if I've ever run that far in my life. Perhaps in high school, but that was probably around 13 years ago. I'm currently downing glasses of water in hopes that I wake up feeling 5-mile ready tomorrow. Wish me luck.

: art show :

Here are some pictures from my art show this past Friday night. I was exhausted all day Saturday and am still trying to recover.

One of the most delightful parts of the art opening is that it took place at a mixed media/collage art supply shop, so I met a lot of fellow artists, many of whom had taken classes in soldering. Trust me- it's not every day you get to have a 5-minute coversation with someone about Silvergleem.

I also enjoyed when one visitor described a necklace as "so Hollywood." I honestly don't know exactly what she meant by the term, but I'll take it! I also liked the little girl who was just fascinated by my things, saying "Pretty!" every 1 minute or so. One woman bought 3 charms (3! all for herself!) and another person called the shop, asked if she could come early because she had plans that evening and didn't want to miss the show, and drove about 15 miles from a nearby town. Every show or event I do is always SO different. Even though they're more work than you might imagine (or perhaps you've been through it with me and don't need to imagine- you've lived it!), I love these darn things.