Monday, June 18, 2012

The dog days of summer.

Matt has been on my case for a long time to "take a weekend off" from running.  This seemed like the perfect weekend to do so, because we had some friends from college in town, and it would be a weekend of drinking, eating junk food, and relaxing.  It was also going to be HOT.  


I still did my "long run" on Saturday, but i did the bare minimum, and basically it sucked incredibly hard.  I had too many beers friday night, and not enough sleep, and those seven miles at a 9:30 pace seemed embarrassingly impossible with a hangover.  The last two miles i abandoned the group and slowed down, but luckily a few other people liked my idea and joined me.  :)  Charlyn was out on the path too, but apparently i missed her because i was so busy trying not to throw up on my compression socks.  (which were already stained with beer, because in the first mile, i managed to kick a full tallboy someone had left in the middle of the bike path.  Thanks hooligans - i love reeking of beer at 6am.)  Needless to say, lesson learned.  Time to get serious about marathon training!
Then came the real fun:


We took Waffles, and her new BFF Ellie (our friends golden doodle) To the Montrose dog beach!  If you have no interest in 8 million pictures of my dog, you should probably just go ahead and leave now.
Ellie is ready for fun in the sun!
Waffles rocketing through the water
Waffles prefers running to swimming, just like me!
Waffles does not fetch.
Sooooo tired from the beach!
After the beach, we cooked out on the porch, and the dogs napped a lot.  Looking at the pictures i realized that waffles is still really petite for a seven month old basenji!  I feel like she hasn't grown at all!  And then matt and i did a seven week/seven month comparison:

They grow up so fast!!

This weekend was also the first week of my 20-week veggie box!  I get a box of veggies every saturday from a farm up near rockford.  This week we got a POUND of spinach, THREE heads of lettuce, chard, radishes, baby greens, garlic scapes, and oh so much more.  What does one do with an entire pound of spinach?  

I love the veggie box, because now i don't have to worry as much about groceries and meal planning - the farm does it for me.  It's also fun to try new vegetables (there is more than one kind of radish??)  Let the healthy eating summer begin!

26 comments:

  1. I love taking my dog to the park! I wish we had a good beach nearby though...she's never been swimming.

    How do you like having a basenji? I have heard awesome things about them...was on my short list of dogs when I got mine!

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    1. I always hear the bad stories about basenjis, but she really is the best dog! They are hard to train, but she is very loyal and friendly, so i can forgive the occasional destroyed roll of toilet paper :D

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  2. Great pics of Waffles! My dog loves the beach but doesn't like being harrased by the other (big) dogs there. By the way, is the woman to the right in the background of your Team Paws group photo juggling or playing with a yo-yo?

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    1. I can believe that, there were SO many dogs there! I never even noticed in the picture, but it DOES look like she is running while yo-yo-ing!

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  3. Waffles is sooooo adorable! That's awesome she loves the water. CB won't go near the water.. He will catch frisbees though :)

    Next time if I see you I'll yell hi or something. I just wasn't sure it was you. :)

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    1. I wouldn't say she loved it - she chased another dog in, and then panicked when she realized she was standing in Lake Michigan! :D

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  4. I can so do without this heat and humidity. Dog park looks fun but mine cower behind my legs like a couple of sissies. Looks like you'll have plenty of greens for your smoothies.

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    1. smoothies, salads, i will be a green machine by the end of summer!

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  5. I love how waffles is above fetching. Good job waffles!

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  6. I wish I could have joined you on Saturday for the run! I'm raising $$ for PAWS :) alas, I am not yet cleared to run more than 3 miles at a time.
    I love running by Montrose Dog beach...it's always so much fun!

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    1. I think a lot of people skip the first month just because of scheduling. Hope you get the OK to run soon!

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  7. Freeze the spinach. Perfect for spinach artichoke dip! Or to stuff chicken with.

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    1. good call - i forgot how much i love spinach artichoke dip!

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  8. Way to get in that run on Sat despite the crazy heat (and beer socks, lol).

    I love Waffles pics! :) So cute!

    Hmm, I am not sure about that spinach. Find something that requires a lot of it sauteed so it gets really small. Hmm...

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    1. Good call, i ended up making a frittata that knocked out half of it :)

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  9. Waffles so freaking cute! Loved the pictures :-)

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  10. Haha, I totally have that problem with Saturday morning long runs. I always tell myself I'll only have 2 drinks on Friday night, and be home in bed by 1am. But that never happens. Ever. But good for you for actually getting up and getting out there! I sure didnt! :)

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    1. haha, you probably felt much better for it that i did!

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  11. Waffles is so freaking cute. And I just love that name for a dog. So original :)

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    1. Thanks! We hope to get another some day and name it pancakes, or something similar :D

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  12. I want a veggie box!!! I love spinach, even add it to egg whites. Use it as salad, etc.

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  13. The heat and humidity here in Chi is sometimes insane! I started my run on early Sunday morning at 7am and even though it was 70 degrees, it felt like 90 and I could barely breath. Lame!

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