Christmas means presents !

Yes, yes, we went to church, too. But I can't take photos at Mass.


the "off list" gift. nicely done Susie.


The rookie chef (the print says something about cooking with wine, or while drinking wine)


Just wondering if any of these is a jigsaw puzzle.


Susie's thinking of doing her own blog. you go girl.


Steve's new Kenworth chapeau.


Ann's new biking sleeves. Yes, just the sleeves.


Susie's new slippers, and those are festive xmas sox she has on. you go girl.


Scott's new bad-ass drill.

Boys fighting over the toys. (tools)
It's not the holidays without a little squabble.

Did I say it was Christmas ?

That must mean Marilyn's cookies are baked and decorated and ready for consumption.


Steve prays to the beef gods for medium rare prime rib.


This is a festive photo of the uneaten green jello.


Happy Holidays from the Cookie Chef.


The fruits of her labors.


Green beans, Tori Spelling style. aka, wrapped in the elixir of life. NO, not the rum, the BACON !
although, that rum did spice up the egg nog nicely.

Dedicated Runners

Well, we spent a few days in Wapato, WA for the Christmas holiday. And the drive over the mtn. was fine, but there was a ton of snow in Wapato. But that doesn't mean the training stops... oh no... We grabbed the snow shovel and on Sunday we went to the high school and got a little exercise as we shovelled off a lane all the way around the track. Great ! we are now all set to run the next day. UNLESS a freezing rain occurs during the night, making all un-snowy surfaces more like an ice rink... rats. But that doesn't mean the training stops...oh no... we got a little running in, finding the footing to be a bit safer in the snow so we ran next to the nicely shovelled lane. And hey, look, is that Gina running? yes, she gave herself a little Christmas present. No, she shouldn't have, but it was Christmas, afterall. Give a little.

Seattle Half Marathon Report

I love requests !! thanks Pam.

So, you might recall a month or so ago I was hoping for a finishing time of "anything BUT 1 hour 47 minutes and odd seconds" . The last several years have all been that. So, long story short (you wish) I ran a 1:46:26. Yahoo ! good for 2nd place in my age group. That is the highest I've placed in this race.

It's been a while and we've had some even "better" weather recently, but you might recall that this Thanksgiving weekend was, as usual, WET & COLD. But WETTER & COLDER THAN USUAL. Lesley and I arrived at the race in typical ATR style.... very early... the better to warm up and pee a hundred times. But it was so WET & COLD we sat in the car for the most of the time. It was trying to snow out and I wished it would. Better snow than huge freezing rain. But freezing rain is what we got.

Coach Lesley ran the race with me to help pace me. Thank God, cuz at mile 8 I was ready to take anytime OVER 1:47. She did not let that happen. We started out at just under 8:00 pace trying to not go out too fast but I do need to "bank" some time in the first half of the race before it gets too hilly. The rain subsided, in the I-90 tunnel. :) actually, it was ok along Lk. Washington, but the rain returned by Madison Park, and the hills. Gina was hanging out at 23rd Ave. I saw her just after fording a stream. So much for the "keep the shoes dry" efforts. This spot is the only place on the route that the Metro buses are allowed to cross the runners' path. As Gina waited for us she witnessed the ingenious system that is used. Pylons and crime scene tape, that we've always seen but wondered why it was there. Remind me to tell you about it.

I missed my buddy Carmel in Interlochen but she may have been seeking shelter under a tree. And all the fans in rain gear were anonymous. What a trooper for being out there, though. Thanks Carmel ! As we ran along parallel but beneath the freeway we saw big showers of water pour down from the cars above going thru puddles. Thankfully we did not get one of those early douches.

About this time I was fading, but Coach was having none of it. I was wearing my billboard T-shirt "Coach Lesley.com" so couldn't let the brand name down. She pretty much verbally drug me thru the past couple miles. In the finish line photos you can see her eyes directed towards the clock, WE HAD TO BEAT 1:47. And we did, even my gun time was 1:47:56 .

We waited a couple minutes hoping to see Karen Buttram finish, figuring she'd be right behind us, but we were so chilled to the bone that standing still was not an option. We did cross paths a few minutes later at clothing pickup and got to trade a few comments on the day. Blaspheming the weather gods.

As I mentioned, 2nd is the highest I've placed in this race. (the weiner was 4 or 5 minutes ahead of me) I'm usually in top 10, closer to 10, but my theory is those faster 50 yr.olds took one look at the weather, knew it would hamper their times, and went back to bed. You snooze, you lose.

Best part of the day.... the hot tub and then 5 hours later boarding a plane for Maui.
Worst part.... for the first time in 12 years Gina did not race. Damn those feet!

For those of you with # fetishes, here are the mile splits.
Gotta love that Mile #11. It saved the day. I'll spare you the Heart Rates details.

8:36.8 (minus 20 seconds to start line)
15:35.9 (miles 2 & 3)
8:01.6
8:06.8
7:51.8
8:19.9
9:05.7
8:10.4
9:02.3
7:16.8 (must have been down hill)
7:57.9
8:38.5 (mile 13.1)

Remodel

While we were gone, Brian and Randy got a lot done.. even though weather conditions were lousy. On the 19 degree day, they had to dig the ditch to lay some new foundation, or whatever they call it. They were going to pour cement into it. Randy said it was like digging thru permafrost.

We felt bad for them... brought them some maui chocolates to enjoy.

We've got another 2 feet added to the house. WOW ! Expansion-city.

Of course, they left on Friday saying "think about a cathedral ceiling" . Just to get Gina's panties into a bundle. She has thought about it, even tried drawing some plans, but it just is not going to happen. Not needed. They think it would make for a great " TV room " . It's the bedroom. And that change would impact the pillars, and this whole remodel is about the tub and pillars ! :)

And I love catching them in the cell phone act. All contractors " Man your Phone" !

And our new roommate, Charlie Brown. Isn't he cute? I got him for Gina's birthday. She's a big fan of the C.B. Christmas show. He had to room over at Val & Kathy's house for a month, as Ifound him but had no where to keep him secret. Every inch of our house is used for storing all the stuff that came out of the remodel side.

He makes us smile everytime we look at him. I think everyone should have one , the more smiling the better.