European Easter Bunny

I gave up sweets for Lent. 

Lent ended on Easter Sunday - 40 days later. 

I flew to Edinburgh Scotland on Monday. 

Hello Cadbury....

I selected only one if you can believe it. 

The KitKat Crunch... with Caramel. Didn't want to overdo it! ha

I may have augmented it with one of my other all time favorite things in Europe

Fanta tastes dramatically different here. Its more like San Pellegrino than it is soda. It must be made with a different sugar. I really prefer it in a can... but I couldn't resist. 

My thrift store rain boots are going to come in quite handy this week. Supposed to be lots of rain, but I suppose that's how it stays so green and beautiful! 

I thought at first it might be kind of silly... but everyone and I mean everyone wears rain boots here. It's a necessity. Tomorrow is going to be castle day! Pretty sure we might run into Kate Middleton. I hope she's wearing her rain boots too! ha

Sorry this one is so short and not that exciting....
I actually have to work while I'm here so I have to squeeze a lot of Scotland as a tourist in... in a few days!

Rock n Roll Edinburgh Half Marathon anyone???
Pretty good way to blow off some steam after doing your taxes :)

me vs. marketing

Everyday I wake up to emails from various retailers....

 They like to remind me I only have a few more days to save 20% at Bed Bath and Beyond, or Snapfish is offering me penny prints.
I considered "Rent the Runway" for a dress to wear to the Endurance Live Awards, and now they suggest renting an entire week of dresses! 

Upon the whole nothingnewforayear idea it crossed my mind to unsubscribe to these emails so that temptation wouldn't eat at me daily from my inbox - in addition to the newspaper flyers, tv commercials, radio commercials....oh what the heck I thought.
Maybe it's best to be taunted and tempted, and learn how to walk away. 

Well, after 10 months of email blasts I've found a new purpose for them.
Educational tools.
Since magazines are on the "illegals" list, I only get a quick run through while I'm at other peoples houses, sometimes at the airport or the other day at the Vet.
(Although they were all really old so that doesn't help)

For example... I got one this morning from Victoria's secret. They were advising me on their favorite tops for the season. Instead of cursing under my breath because if I fall in love with one I can't have it...
Now, I open up the email and cruise through their stuff with an open mind.



Then... I think about my already existent and paid for wardrobe, and inevitably, something kind of falls into that same category... And... it's my size!
no returns, no exchanges, or the shipping charges.

Now, if you ask my college girlfriends, they would assure you that just because something is "in" doesn't mean I will wear it anyway, which does make it easier for me than it does some.

They made me well aware that I looked "frumpy" and "lame" running on the Woodway treadmills in the back of the gym in my old school Umbros and baggy shirts... while they wore  matching tank tops and short cotton "Sofie" shorts expressing their love for our beloved "Hawkeyes" on their butt while jogging on the fan, stereo, calorie counting treadmills in front of the mirrors. 

For me it was function. It was my prime. I was cranking out 7 or 8 miles in the hour we were there (and protecting my knees and joints) while they put in an easy 3 and then hit the tanning beds and flirted with the boys. Not to mention the chance to run on Woodway treadmills was something I wasn't going to waste... in the winter... in Iowa.

For me, Umbros and baggy shirts didn't rub, they didn't ride up, and what did I care. I was a sweaty red mess afterwards anyway. Not exactly in a position to land a date...
My rationale was they'd find a way to get in touch when they saw my name in the paper for winning some amazing athletic event... and then we'd talk.
Hey - college is a time to dream! ha

Anyway... Now I peruse through the emails to keep up to date on what is "in" 

(Sometimes I say - well it's about time! and other fashions... well I shake my head in amazement)

 It's a good excuse to pull out some oldies. 

They say you wear 20% of your wardrobe 80% of the time. Well, if you don't really buy a lot of new stuff, but hang on to the the "quality" old stuff - it comes back around. And if you're really feeling behind and you like the new styles, make some mental notes and hit a thrift store. 

The beauty of the internet is that you can justify your style. It may not be Victoria's or Jessica's but I guarantee there are other people out there who love your outfit choices as much as you do... and if you can't find anyone - it's ok. I've only got this 5'8, blond hair, blue eyed, really tan, C cup girl who can run a 1:30 half marathon in my mirror on my team :)

For those of you who wondering if i'm being extremely arrogant right now...
I was just re-measured at the doctor at 5'5.
I have brown eyes.
I'd rather my cup size stay between me and 10 year old niece who I share clothes with...
I'm Norwegian and Dutch...
And I only broke 2 hours in a half marathon once...

:) 

up and at 'em!

I should start this off with a great big Thank you... for making me cry like a baby :)

Last week, this was Thor...barely able to sit up enough to drink water... in bed. 

An air mattress was quickly moved into the kitchen, and there, is where I slept all week.  The poor guy didn't want to go to the bathroom because of the pain. At one point he went almost 13 hours holding it. Of course dehydration was a fear of mine (in general and now more so because of his kidney issue) so if he couldn't sit up to drink out of his bowl we were going to have to find another way.
The answer... water bottles from our bikes. Just stick the little button top under his floppy lips near the crease in the back and squeeze. He actually did great, and the method hardly spills any water, anywhere! He may have actually consumed more water that way than the sloppy way he does with a bowl! ha and it let me keep track of how much he was drinking. 

As a surprise birthday present from my sister-in-law to my brother and their 3 little girls, they all came to visit for the weekend. 

We were a little concerned that Thor might get too excited and want to play and so we gave ample forewarning that staying out of the house as much as possible and remaining calm, so that he could rest, was imperative...

Well... It looks like maybe the crew took the resting part... more to heart than Thor!

this was after we came back from the pool... 

Later that night...

The following night...

and finally... we just covered this one up with a blanket and went to bed the last night. 

If you notice... Thor is usually awake in most of those pictures.
He was so grateful to have so many people willing to snuggle with him, he would just stay there and lay with them even when he wasn't sleepy. 

It must have done him some good, because this morning when we went outside to do our duty I had to put a stop to his wind sprints in the backyard... :) 

It's so uplifting to see his spirits up and his pain subsiding - but it makes it even harder to try and rationalize with him that he needs to take it easy and rest... But I'll take the latter. 

Thank you again for all of your notes of encouragement.
We'll be back at the Vet on Monday to check on the kidney issue, and will know more then. 

On a nothingnewforayear point... Those shampoo/conditioner packets that I don't love very much - seemed to work out just fine on my nieces hair. And with a few birthdays close by we also doled out some Rock n Roll Marathon t-shirts (always a big hit) and some Girl Scout Cookies for my brother, so it seems a few more birthdays were celebrated without any complaints from hand-me-downs or food as gifts!