It has been an intense couple of days.  Lincoln's mobility has increased at an exponential rate. He went from slowly scooting and taking his time to speed scooting/crawling over the weekend.  His belly is still on the ground when he moves, but he has figured out the opposing arm/leg movement and is now very quickly moving around the house.  When he is awake he is clambering, crawling, climbing, and squirming.  He will sit still to read a book, but you can't even get through two books before he starts squirming around.  This morning he woke up and within about 2 seconds (I don't even think he was fully awake), he started moving around and climbing on me.  I spent most of yesterday following him around and figuring out what was safe to have around the house and what needed to be put away from grubby little hands. 

 

Roo is not pleased by this new situation.  Sunday, I found Lincoln in her dog bowl, a handful of kibble in one hand, and the other hand about to cram some kibble in his mouth.  Shortly thereafter, he was splashing in her water bowl.  I moved both outside yesterday and she seemed visibly distraught.  Later in the day I went outside and found a bird eating her kibble.  I moved the bowl closer to the house (right outside her dog door) but she was pissed.  She kept frantically sniffing around her bowl and stuff because she couldn't figure out the weird smell by her food.

 

Roo is wary of the little guy now.  If she lays down near us, he charges for her--trying to grab her collar or "pet" her (which means trying to pull her hair).  He is all of a sudden very into her toys.  I bought her a new toy this weekend and of course he wants it, even though he has a gazillion toys of his own to play with and has never expressed interest in her toys before.  I saw her snatch her toy away from him and run away the other day and she totally seemed like the grumpy older sister who is tired of her kid brother taking her shit.  If a dog could scowl, she'd be scowling right now.  Mostly she just pouts on her bed or in the hallway, but even those aren't Lincoln safe spots anymore.  And I had to close the door down to the basement so the kid won't fall down the stairs and so she doesn't even have her bean bag to retreat to.  Just wait until the kid discovers the dog door and I am forced to put up a baby gate.  I will have a very unhappy pup on my hands.  I've been trying to give her extra loving and exercise but it doesn't matter.  Things will never be the same for her now that he is mobile and after her.  She's just going to have to get used to it.

Thursday night, Roger came home with a free copy of Guitar Hero Aerosmith, including a wireless guitar.  I'm not a huge fan of Aerosmith, but the notion of a free Guitar Hero game is pretty exciting. And with a second guitar, that means we can play co-op stylee.  As you might expect, we've been churning through the game, solo and co-op, trying to see what songs are available, and of course,  earning achievements.  After 3 days of playing the game, I find myself disenchanted by Aerosmith (though I guess I was never enchanted). Sure there are some definite hits, and Steven Tyler is an energetic and entertaining lead singer, but I've decided I don't need to hear this many Aerosmith songs over a short period of time.  The game has some Aerosmith tracks I know and generally like such as "Dream On", "Love in an Elevator," "Walk this Way," "Rag Doll," "No Surprize," "Uncle Salty," and "Sweet Emotion."  But, the majority of their songs are freaking long and drawn out.  There are like 3 outros per track.  It gets repetitive and boring.  In the end, my favorite tracks are the non-Aerosmith tunes such as "She Sells Sanctuary," by the Cult and "Dream Police" by Cheap Trick. There are only 10 tracks in the whole game that are not Aerosmith tunes.   I find myself thinking of all the other bands with a broad discography that would have been a better choice for Guitar Hero--The Police, Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Stone Temple Pilots, Radiohead, Black Sabbath.  Any of these would have been excellent choices.  Instead, I'm looking at an animated version of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry (current day versions at that) and quickly trying to burn through the Aerosmith tracks so I can play the other songs.  I guess I shouldn't complain.  The game was free and we have both enjoyed having new Guitar Hero tracks to play. Still, I've had Aerosmith overload. We are both singing Aerosmith around the house.  And an Aerosmith earworm is not a good thing.  Trust me.

The 1/2 marathon was a lot of fun.  You must be thinking, "FUN?!?, She's Crazy".  But it was fun.  A big part of it was having Chloe as my running companion.  We motivated each other, chit chatted about what we were seeing and hearing, and kept each other safe from injury.  It was pretty stupid to do a 1/2 marathon without training much.  Yah, I walk a lot every day and go to kung fu, but it isn't the same.  My hamstrings are a little sore still today and I think that I would have been less sore overall on Sunday if I had done a bit of training.  I'm pretty impressed that Chloe was able to do it given that she said she hasn't exercised for 2 months!  I was really proud of us for having completed the 1/2 marathon. I have a huge sense of accomplishment this week.    I was impressed that we managed to run more than 1/2 of the distance (we estimated that we ran 8 of the 13 miles) which is awesome considering that neither of us had ever run or walked 13.1 miles ever.  Surprisingly, my feet do not hurt (arches being the primary reason I stopped running years ago).  I really enjoyed the jogging. I kind of miss it I think.   There is something about the mental clarity that comes while running that I always found appealing. I think that is why I used to like running so much.   The other thing of note--I discovered that I really love running into the chute at the end of the race.  It was like I got to the chute and I wanted to just sprint to the finish line. I didn't, but I felt the draw :)   I can see why people start doing these running events and it becomes a lifestyle choice.  The whole atmosphere, camraderie, adrenalin boost, etc is addictive. I think I'm gonna try jogging again if I can find the time to do it without the kid and dog because it was pretty relaxing and enjoyable.

 

Perhaps the primary reason we did the 1/2 marathon was to be able to run/walk across SR520.  That was really cool. I was surprised at how many coins there were along the side of the road.  I could have probably collected at least a dollar's worth of change if I wasn't running :)  It was neat to look out over the water and view the scenery at a quasi-leisurely pace.  I love experiencing streetscapes from a different perspective.  Normally we view the urban environment as a pedestrian from the sidewalk or as a driver/passenger in the roadway.  However, being a pedestrian/runner within the roadway offers a whole different way of viewing the built environment.  The combination of a slower pace from walking/jogging, and being out in the street  with no cars allows one to observe their surroundings in a completely alternative way.  I feel like you notice different things or maybe it is that you notice more details.  This is one of my favorite things about doing things like 5K's, marches, street fairs, etc.  It is like we are 'taking back the streets'.  It reminds me how much of the built environment is dedicated to roads and cars (approximately 30%; up to 50% for things if you add in parking lots, driveways, etc).  Shocking.  When there are no cars on the street and you are passing through that environment, it really gives you the chance to listen and view your surroundings.  I love it.  Even with all of the runners and spectators it was pretty quiet.  The course was really neat too.  It took us along some streets in Bellevue that I had never been on before--I saw some interesting waterfront parks and places that I might like to come back to at some point.  Though I will say that the part along Lake Wa Blvd in Medina/Bellevue and then Killarney Way in Bellevue were kind of a blur (miles 6-10).

 

I have always considered doing a marathon one of my personal life goals.  We didn't do a full marathon, but I think this will suffice for now.  By Sunday night I was already thinking about what race/event I want to do next.  The Torchlight Run seems appealing. A run through downtown streets on a summer evening?  That sounds perfect to me!