Wonderful Wednesday

Yesterday, I ran 7 miles (with a little speed work, obstacles, little water and looming black clouds nonetheless). I cleared my head and made some important decisions about races, my career, and extracurricular activities. Some days, those long(er) runs alone are needed. Now, if only my bike rides were going as smoothly. My last ended up with me in a mud puddle near a busy street and scratches on my legs and mud all down the left side of my body.

We also had a stir yesterday. Our neighbor's dog escaped. I offered to keep her in our backyard. However, our cat, Rajah, was less than enthused about this and our dog, Snickers, continued to bark and would not go outside for much of the time she was in our backyard. The cats stood at the door and watched her run up to it and back from it. Like good neighbors, we ended up releasing her when it was late, because the neighbors would not answer their door and we wanted to go to bed. However, the dog caused some anxious animals at our home to stay up for quite a while before hitting the hay.

Birthday

So my birthday was two days ago. Even though I turned 26, I am still excited about it. My birthday is used as a reference point for everything. We went camping a few weeks after my birthday last year...I think that it was a few days before my birthday...Grace is getting married the day before my birthday next year. Yeah, I love June 12. It is my favorite day. I would not pick another day to have my birthday ever.

So...this year, we had a cookout at our house for a few friends. One from Chicago spent the night. It was really good to see some friends and catch up with some other ones for a while. We made lots of food, which we are still eating on. In the midst of feeling as if I didn't have any friends (because I barely see them anymore), my birthday was a great reminder that I am loved. I also was able to run with my dad and sis (or go for a swim really with the humidity), which was followed by coffee with some peeps, and shopping for presents for others. I got some sweet presents, including a GPS (since my last one broke in the middle of me driving to a client's house), a metal water bottle, and a necklace set. Plus, I might have a few breakfasts coming this week.:) This may be my birthday week. Hey, I can handle that.