Just a matter of time

Ok, here we go again. For some reason that I cannot fathom, I've gone and signed up AGAIN for the 2010 Aramco Houston Half Marathon. They just opened up registration this morning (at midnight actually) and I just had to jump on board and sign up. Now the race is actually 6 months away and typically fills up pretty fast. I bet that registration will close within 30-45 days. My cause de jour this year is Elves & More.

Of course, when I tried to prep for the last run, things did not go quite as planned. All told, the 2009 race probably cost me a lot of $$$ from the ancillary events. This year, I'm gonna train by watching lots of bowl games and drinking beer.

Somebody stop me...

Hair cut

Before

After

Hey babe.

What's your sign?

So, what do ya think?

Like his new doo?

I did not intend for it to be this short, but he does seems a bit cooler.

Hot dog

How come everytime I go swimming, the paparazzi show up?

We made it to another weekend! Went out for bagels this morning and the temps are already in the mid 80s. Supposed to hit 100 today and the forecast is for much of the same for the next 7 days. Tough to run in these kinds of temps unless you do it early.

Grayson is back from his treatment and "grooming". He is doing very well and you couldn't tell he had anything wrong with him. The vet says he should remain calm & quiet (not get excited) for the next 30 days and I am not supposed to walk him for at least 2-3 weeks. Of course, he doesn't understand that restriction. He thinks he is being punished cause I won't take him for a walk or play with him too roughly. Been trying to use those sad, brown eyes on me to no avail. He'll just have to wait like the rest of us.

While he was in the shop, I had him groomed. Well, groomed is not quite the right word. I told the groomer I wanted him to get a "shave down" to keep him cooler in the hot temps and get rid of his fleas and I kinda regret it now. He now has taken on the look of a yellow lab and looks a lot like a larger version of our older dog, Shadow. I think he looks more handsome with a fuller coat, so we are going to let it grow back out. Althought, right now, he is cooler and not panting as much. I will post a picture of his new "doo" later this weekend.

In the meanwhile, I am off to mow the yard. Thanks to the constant watering of last week and a 2.5 inch rain we had on Wednesday, the yard is coming back with a vengance. Of course, with the forecast as it is, it will probably start to brown up again by next weekend. Low key weekend planned. Mow yard, wash/wax cars, hit the range, sort through some boxes junior brought home (momma likes to organize) before he returns next month.

Have a great weekend!

Seattle et. al.

Who-ah! You are never too old to learn new tricks. This morning I uncovered a better way on how to upload my pictures! I have always been vexed by eblogger and trying to post cool pictures that people can click on to expand. Typically, I add my musings/diatribe first and then upload several pictures to the page and then manipulate them to a different spot and, when I was done, they were not clickable. This morning I tried a different tactic and uploaded the pictures first and then added text second and, voilà! the pictures are expandable. Watch out, world.

A few more shots from our trip last week to the great northwest. Sorry for the repeats, but I think they look better when you can blow them up.

Flowers from the SiL's garden.

Light house on Vashon Island with Mount Rainier in background.

Looking southward from Vashon towards Tacoma and Mount Rainier

2nd try. I'm off again to the vet this morning for Grayson's treatment. Hoping to get his coat trimmed (his summer cut) before they start the shots. Poor guy has a lot on his plate today and I feel sorry for him.

Reprieve

Who-hoo! No shot today!

That's a negative, Maverick. I took Grayson into the vet this morning for his initial heartworm treatment and, even though I called in to remind them last week, they were essentially overbooked (had 6+ dogs to treat this morning). The vet & I talked it over and we agreed to to postpone starting treatment until Wednesday. We are going to try to get him in for a grooming beforehand to thin out his coat so he is not so hot. Doc said he is in good health (has picked up 10-12 lbs since his last visit) and looks great. X-Rays confirmed that he has a pretty bad infestation of heartworms and will need the full 3 shot treatment to eliminate them.


While we were out in Seattle last week enjoying the 70 degree temps, Grayson was bunking with a friend (MB) and he proved himself to be a perfect gentledog. No problems for her (only one minor accident) although he did show a certain propensity to wake up/get playful early (ala 0400). Did not take to the kennel real well but was well behaved in her house (as well as ours). He even got lots of personal attention from a neighbor couple (and their 5 year old daughter) who took extra special care of him while MB was at work. They lost their Golden a few weeks back and I think they are already in the queue to adopt another one. Their daughter who is having a hard time reading would sit there are read a book (barnyard animals) to Gray and he would just sit next to her and hung on her every word. MB indicated that everyone loved Gray and, if we did not adopt him, there were several neighbors who would be happy to give him a forever home. He is happy to be back at home and sleeping on our bed.

Dog days of summer

Burning up down here. Temps have been hovering around the 100+ mark for the past week and the weekend was no different. A/C is running nonstop and the yard is dying. I have been watering to save what I can, but some areas of my yard are starting to look like a highway median.


I haven't had much to update our mutt Grayson lately. He's been doing good, has picked up some weight and pretty much taking over the house (Did I mention that Golden Retriever's are slightly hairy?). In spite of his progress and good looks, he is still heartworm positive. I've got to take him in early this morning to the vet for the first round of the treatment and I know he is not going to enjoy the next few weeks. This treatment is the kind where they give the dog a shot and then he must be kept quiet for 30 days (some people will kennel the dog for the entire time) to prevent any stress or excitement for the dog (could have severe consequences). I am not even supposed to walk him until the treatment is done. After 30 days, they give him a second shot and we repeat the cycle. Pretty nasty stuff, but it is supposed to be the best/only way to eliminate heartworms. I feel kinda bad for him so I took him back to the bark park Saturday to let him run free and socialize with the other dogs and play in the lakes. Would have been more enjoyable if it wasn't so hot. I'll get one last walk in this morning before we head in.

Who let the dogs out?

Post trip log

I'm one of those A/R kind of guys that likes to analyze everything. After each of my road trips, I tend to look back to see what worked and what didn't. I always tend to over-analyze past trips in my mind to see what we liked and what what we would want to do differently (if we go back). This last trip we did a lot and I am not sure I would change much. I did not make it up the Space Needle, but in hindsight, that was not a big deal (sure, paying $25-30 to ride to the top of the needle to see a panoramic view of the Seattle area is nice, but we saw lots of great views from our vantage point). I would have liked to take a day to go to Mount Rainier and hike some of the local trails. I made it a point to sample some of the local flavor (i.e. breweries) and we were going to try for a winery or two, but just ran out of time.

Got to spend a lot of time with junior and even got to see my brother & wife, so I would call the trip a success.

Some of the interesting sights of the Washington State area: