Thursday & Friday

I had finally managed to get the wedding thank-yous out to my extended family on Tuesday. Included a copy of the pictures that Michael burned for me, so I guess that's why it had to take so long. And yesterday I finally managed to find my tax stuff to send to Michael, so his sister Connie can figure out how to get our best interests in our returns, filing jointly!

Thursday after class I deposited the check at Liberty Station, then after changing at home, headed out for a bit of shopping. Due to my stepping on the weight scale before PT that morning, I was food-conscious. Only had a cucumber and tomato salad at Noodles & Co., then moved the car and walked the rest of the way to Target. Picked up more salad ingredients and some cleaning supplies for whenever I want to clean the bathroom. But on the way I stopped in at Payless Shoes and found a very nice pair of slip-on, black Champion athletic shoes.

Back at home I watched a film from the library, The Motorcycle Diaries, about the young Che from Argentina, and the 10,000+ mile trip he took with his friend across South America in 1952... all their adventures, and the leprosy hospital they volunteered at in Peru. I was surprised to learn that there is a difference of opinion about his death. At the end, the film claimed he was assassinated, but both articles I read clearly say he was executed. Yes the CIA was involved, but through a Cuban, and by the Bolivian Army. Stupid Robert Redford. :) Anyway, I had known nothing about the guy beforehand, but now I do. Loved the movie itself... like traveling the continent in 2 hours!

Then I decided to return to base for a second workout that day for some more PRT practice. After that I went out to Panera Bread:
...and boy, was that good! Still on a healthy tear, I stopped by Trader Joe's for some more hummus and ended up with lots of veggies... enough for my own tomato & cucumber salads, as well as baby zucchini (my favorite), and more Brussels sprouts (I had just finished my previous bag). Read a bit more in Big Red, as I don't have time to now in class. I was so tired I fell asleep waiting for my phone to charge, and didn't talk to my Darling until he called!

Friday, I watched another Tintin (The Blue Lotus), ate snacks for lunch, went to the base and post office, then returned for a couple-hour nap before having tortilla soup and Florentine ravioli for dinner and going to my church/small group friend's band concert at the Nazarene University again for a fun, little one-hour performance.

Jw

By the Sea

Today is a day where I really lamented not having my camera (it's in the mail, coming this week). The ocean, topped with bilious clouds and the sun streaming through them was so... pretty. Words can't come close. It was so relaxing. I walked the length of the beach for about a half-hour, finding all sorts of shells and little piles of seaweed, and for the first time, two jellyfish... which I found fascinating. I then sat and soaked in the salt sea air for another half-hour near the boardwalk that juts out into the sea.

But that was after taking a long time leaving the barracks. I had some internet things to do, including looking up the 923 bus route that goes up to the library and then on to Ocean Beach. I was there long enough to have lunch at the galley at 1100, and then set off in order to volunteer at the library. The bus stop at the intersection of Nimitz and Rosecrans was "temporarily closed". So in frustration I leaned my head back and groaned. I continued to walk the entire way... but then again, as the Lord always blesses, no matter the bus schedule, I was able to have about a half-hour's chat with my dear friend Julie while making my way up the hill.

Before I started shelving books, I made a couple photocopies of my favorite pages in Jane Eyre... lol... and read them a few times. I had a guacamole burger at the grill across the street when the library closed (around 2:30), and then decided I'd keep walking towards Ocean Beach to explore. The total distance from base to beach (via the route I walked) is just about 4 miles exactly.

After my beach time, I explored downtown a little, discovering they have a lot of antique shops. One it particular was very neat... and I almost broke down and bought a painted, revolutionary war tin soldier. They also had 30's type music playing so it felt very retro.

For dinner I had an Italian ham & mushroom pizza... and a cup of hot chocolate. It warmed me up wonderfully, as it was rather cold out with the sea breezes. By the time I was done it was 6:30 and very dark. Too my consternation, I found I had missed the last bus back and therefore, had to walk all four miles back. Made it to chat at exactly 7:59... for a much needed sit-down. :)

Jp

A- Nixie Way on base, B- Point Loma Library, C- downtown Ocean Beach

It's Quiet... Unless There Are Spiders

By the time I woke up, Dad was coming home for lunch! I think I needed the sleep! I don't remember waking up earlier, like I have most other days. Again, just a little bit of brunch, and a set of games with Dad... that I won again.

After he went back, I went about washing my bed sheets, then got into washing the towels, then Mom came down and we got into cleaning Zac's room... and then I got the vacuum cleaner and did detail work in the hallway. Ran into (and killed) a nasty black spider in the pantry while sucking up cobwebs, and then I got into cleaning the hallway closet and the entryway down there... and ran into (and got freaked out by) a big, round, nasty mother-spider and a lot of very strange and creepy dead bugs behind the pairs of Zac's old shoes. I made some sort of racket when I encountered this, so that Mom came over from the garage (she was going through wedding food and decorations) to make sure I was okay. :) She cleaned up the big streak I made (that used to be the nasty spider) and pulled the rest of the shoes out for me (lol) and there weren't any more. It was traumatizing.

It was just about time for dinner when we finished. Leftover hamburgers and corn on the deck under the canopy tent in the sunset. Another perfect evening. And then we finished the 1st disc of Pie in the Sky (still love it!) and then I took the dog for a walk around the block and then I did a 1.5 mile run in 14:30. I can't wait until I can find the heart to push myself to a better time. Did 27 push-ups before the run, but no sit-ups. Slowly, but surely.

I've spent the rest of the night researching a bit about the Redwood forest that Mom and I will drive through on Friday. It'll be a highlight of our trip! :)

Need to make the bed and take a shower...
wishing you all pleasant dreams...
Jp

Wednesday

I had the best of Wednesdays yesterday! After yet another very busy day at work (I took more than half the day processing 20 UCR's) I had a burst of energy after eating a bite for dinner. I picked up my room, washed my bed, walked the dog, cleaned the bathroom, took the dog on a quick run through the park (he had energy too!), then went for a mile and a half run (I think my time was close to 15 minutes... I must have not been pushing myself), drank a lot of water upon coming inside, proceeded to do 21 push-ups (most ever) and a bunch of sit-ups while waiting for the dryer, made my bed, and finished the bathroom before taking a very fast shower at ten after ten.

I assumed that I would be exhausted this morning after staying up late talking with Mike, as usual. But this morning I don't think I've ever felt more relaxed and contented in my whole life as I do right now. I had a couple eggs and a piece of toast... and I didn't even mind coming to work.

Jp

35.5 Minutes

In a rash decision on Monday, when my recruiter told me about it, I decided to sign up for the Bellevue 5K run/walk held at the park near the Crossroads Mall. That's 3.1 miles... more than I like to run. The Navy had a booth, and my recruiter was there, although he did not run himself. I got there in plenty of time and warmed up as best I could with lunges and skips. The Marines from the Bellevue office had turned out en mass; apparently it was a required gathering. I was glad that it was left up to self-motivation for me. There were only three other Navy recruits, and they went much faster than I. But I didn't feel too bad about it. I'm a slow runner with a small air pipe... and I only walked off and on a couple times, and only after the first half. But I finished it, darn it! :) This was my very first organized run. What a blessing that it was perfect weather for it: mostly cloudy and cool with a bit of sun peeking through.

Upon returning home I made myself a good, large breakfast with eggs w/cheese, sausage, toast, juice and cereal. And now I have my feet up, resting comfortably under my fleece blanket.

Jp

Happy Independence Day!

Already we're hearing explosions in the near distance... and my poor puppy is barking his head off. It is the most difficult holiday for him, this and New Year's.

Well yesterday felt like Saturday, and this morning I woke up wondering weather I cared for going to church or not... and then I remembered that it was Saturday again... :)

Yesterday I worked for a long time on my new website, while watching MASH in some of that process... and did some organizing of pictures on the laptop, here. They tend to get disorganized every few months. It was particularly bad this time, because part of the confusion was that I was saving new pictures to different files than the ones that I transferred over from my old laptop. So I basically just did computer stuff all day... it did get rather warm again (90's) so sitting in one place wasn't a bad thing.

And last night our shared friend of Zac's came over and we watched Spiderman 2 & 3 on his projector downstairs. My goodness, how I had forgotten how I loved those! As my sister says, he's the thinking man's superhero. We stayed up quite late, but this morning I didn't get out of bed until 10 am to make up for it. How I love weekends like this!

After praying in bed for a while, I popped out of bed and did a few pushups and then ran around our 1/2 mile block. Some of the flem in my sinuses cleared out, so that was really nice, even though I had to do some awful running to get it running.

Maybe I can be almost done with almost being sick.

Yay!
Jp

Or the Next Day...

:)
Yeah, didn't get to it yesterday, but I only said that because it was a quote.

Yesterday was a long day at work, and rather dull in general. I got things mostly ready to put away, and that, I'll most likely finish today.

Last night, however, my brother invited us downstairs to watch a recently purchased movie on his projector. Just the family... it was a good time. The movie he got was 'Dan in Real Life' (2007, Steve Carell), a hilarious and touching romantic comedy. It was pretty much outstanding.

Afterwards, I went for a run outside to clear my mind and test myself again. I think I had a little too much stuff in my sinuses though, as after I finished the mile-and-a-half (three times around our block, which encompasses our park) in 14 (wow!) minutes, my head hurt because it felt a little clogged, and normal breathing came back to me slowly. Gee, do I hate running! I suppose it would probably get better if I did it more often. Hmm.

To cool down, I took the dog for a nice, leisurely, half-hour walk on the same ground.

[This evening, we watched Defiance with Zac, as he just got it today. It is a lot of fun, but I have this uneasy feeling that I've been doing so little meaningful things lately.]

Jp