Adventure

The adventure begins! 9/28/07

Today is my husband's and my third wedding anniversary. I had to laugh at the fourth person who asked me "So, where are you going for your anniversary?" because it's just assumed that we will hop in a car and drive somewhere to "get away from it all," last-minute-style, for our special day. Alas, we have decided to go no farther than Independence (roughly 17 minutes away) for a lovely dinner at LockKeepers, then have a movie night at home. To me, that sounds just perfect this time around. After all, we are going on a cruise in a couple months, so no need to completely bleed our bank account dry!

Let me tell you a bit about my husband, and what makes me pretty sure he's a keeper. Yesterday, I sent an e-mail with the subject line "Adventure!" that linked to a story about Virgin Galactic's near completion of testing its commercial spaceship. In a half-serious exclamation, I vowed I'd make it on one of those flights to space one day (of note: the only reason it's half-serious is because it comes with a $200,000 price tag. For now.) He replied with an equal-hearted "OK, but can we climb Mt. Everest first? It's only half the price!" (Also of note: we have never actually been mountain climbing - aside from the Salisbury Crags in Edinburgh, which I don't think count.)

Now, that alone is pretty indicative that we are soul mates. But it gets better. We took the e-mail thread a little further by discussing mountains in the United States that could be our "warm ups" for Everest. By the third e-mail, we had actual vacation plans starting to emerge - to the Smokey's, Colorado, and culminating in California and Alaska for the Big Ones. Our mentality: Why Not? This is one of the many reasons I love my husband.

We have been to so many different places together, and we're excited to discover new places as we continue our greatest trip of all - marriage. It is an adventure. And he is my guide - helping me make the decisions that will give me a thrill, but not kill me; letting me go off on my own but holding my hand when things get rocky and dangerous; there every step of the way. Some people wonder how we have been together for eight years (including dating) and are so happy, especially since we went through college together and first jobs, and many of life's biggest stresses. Some people are sickened by our saccharine relationship. But I'll tell you this much: it took a while for me to really, really understand just how lucky I am, and I am still discovering my husband every day. He surprises me with how in tune to my psyche he is. He surprises me with how much he puts up with me (make no mistake, and I'm sure this is shocking to find out, but I am NO peach to live with!). He surprises me with how he is not only a fantastic Mr. Fix-It, chef, adventurer, hard-worker, bread-winner, but he is also the most understanding, patient and caring person I've ever met. And best of all, he is my best friend. He's there cheering me on every step of the way, laughing with me, and lending a shoulder or a giant hug when I need it.

So, this one is dedicated to my partner in life for adventures large and small, near and far, happy and sad. Thank you for all you do.

A Laborious Labor Day

Well, I didn't decide to travel anywhere this long, lovely weekend, per se. However, I did run in my first 5k race this morning in Aurora, which was both an undertaking and a visual pleasure nonetheless. Having first started running about six months ago, and having only reached one-mile-status about three months ago (insert your clever joke that it took me three months to run a mile here), and also considering I'm an asthmatic ex-smoker who has what my physical therapist once called "the tightest hamstrings [he's] ever seen," I am pretty darn proud of myself for making it this far.

The location of the race was Sunny Lake Park in Aurora, Ohio, and it was quite pretty. Surrounded by tall, lush green trees hinting at autumn color, the lake was calm and the morning was chilly. I managed to injure myself before the race even started, because ...well, because that's what I do. I cut my thumb trying to open a sugar canister for my coffee, and bled through three band-aids before race-time. Yeah, that's about right.

My hubby came to watch me, and I acted all too-cool-for-school, absolutely non-panicky at all, while we walked to the starting point. Inside, of course, I was peeing a little bit (metaphorically speaking, of course). Half of me is thinking "You wuss, this is only 3.15213434 miles (roughly)," and the other half of me is thinking "If you casually jog to the left most of the first half mile, you'll make it back to the car through the woods and no one will notice." Luckily, the former voice won out - mainly because I had already told my friends and posted on Facebook that I'd be running the race, and my pride wouldn't allow me to back out now. And so it began.

I literally got passed by some of the 5k walkers - that is not an exaggeration - before the end of the first lap around the lake. But, I kept about an 11-minute-mile pace, which is good for me because I have teeny-tiny legs and have to take about double the steps that everyone else has to take. Once the 65-year-old passed me though, I picked up the pace a little bit.

The scenery really was beautiful. We ran around the lake and through the woods on a nice paved path, and the smells of the forest helped to calm my mind and my breathing a bit. I had a decently excruciating cramp about halfway through the second mile, which I attribute to the coffee earlier (that was strike two against that stupid cup of coffee. I don't even drink coffee!).

By the end of the race, I was feeling alright and saw my husband cheering for me at the finish line. I smiled and ran through it, having not walked at all, and shockingly landing about in the middle of the pack, with a 33:25 time. Not bad for a 5'2" novice runner. I might just keep at this sport. Maybe.

So, that was the most excitement I saw this weekend, which was just fine with me. I relaxed the rest of the time, saving my exertion for Labor Day, of course. I hope you enjoyed yours, as we all head back to the fabulous world of computers and annoying co-workers tomorrow (if you're one of my co-workers reading this, don't worry, I'm not talking about you).

It's almost that time!

See that little guy in the middle?
He's the culprit...

I'm staring out my window at my office right now (don't freak out, it's my lunch break!), and I noticed something unexpected. The leaves on several of the trees across the street are - GASP! - turning an odd shade of ginger. I'm not OK with that. Not yet. It's only July, isn't it? August? Crap, I guess it is September now, isn't it? Either way, the audacity of those trees...

Well, I'm over it already. It's the end of summer, Labor Day weekend is just over the hump, and that means Ohio is about to show us her true, splendid, beautiful fall colors. We had one heck of a gorgeous August, so I can't complain too much that the temperature is going to start falling. I am excited for driving down I-77 - preferably to visit my brother-in-law at my Alma Mater, Ohio University! - and seeing the fireworks of red, orange, purple and gold littering the tree-tops. Here's to a few more weeks of sunshine and tee-shirts before we start with the bonfires, scenic road trips, football and sweatshirts!

Enjoy the holiday weekend, everyone. RELAX (that's what Labor Day is for! I'm even turning off my BlackBerry! OK, well, not really. I mean, let's be serious...), and let me know about any fun trips you go on. I'm not planning on leaving town, but hey - it's still early. I may throw a road trip in there yet!