HL/WW Support Group - Week of July 9th

[Leslie Ferguson]

Quite an unsettled week this past week - summer-like conditions; spring-like conditions; torrential downpours; thunder and lightening; and heat and humidity to beat the band. It was a week of new beginnings for some and a week where folks kept moving on into the summer months. Before I recap the past couple weeks (or so) I’d like to make a pitch for those who are just visiting for the first time or who might have been lurking for a while - please join us and help up keep our (and your) lives and workouts moving in a healthful and sane direction. Thank you one and all. With that said, over the last week or so things that have stood out include:

Karen - DS#1 and DS#2 still at camp; DD started day camp (gymnastics); she, DH, and DD off to “the Vineyard” to visit with the in-laws; getting ready to test for her Bo-black belt shortly after returning from MV; knee getting stronger and having a wonderful summer with workouts, gardening, having kids come and go, and wrestling with the ever-changing weather conditions. Alas, this may be a quiet week for her since she’s away from home and computer after this morning. :(
Laura K - MIA last week; recovering from an over-the-weekend drive to Ohio a couple weeks ago for FIL cancer surgery (which he came through with flying colors); turned over a new leaf for rededicating herself to her exercise program.
Me (Les) - saw pictures from the family reunion (and will try to link to a good one of mom, dad, and me); raced on Tuesday and got overheated when running on Wednesday; :( not smart enough to run when it’s raining on Thursday; getting ready to ride the dunk tank on this coming Friday (hope to have pictures to prove it) at the office picnic; getting through my exercise and running funk; worked a little yesterday (6 1/2 hours) at the fabric store LW works at - my hat’s off to those who stand on that hard concrete floor day after day.
Terri - got started on her 100 workout class challenge this past week; rainstorms broke in her area as did the humidity (good for her); ran stairs outside and liked it; baked up a storm for an office potluck - a giant chocolate chip cookie; looking forward to breaking her workout funk sometime soon (I bet she will in good order).
Laura - traveling to Washington and Vancouver Canada for college searching with DD; getting DS to camp (even though he didn’t let her know about the physical exam part of the camp); working towards her half-marathon goal for the Rock ’n Roll half in San Jose; getting settled into her job as an attorney; and lastly doing the “swim mom” thing with DS.

I’m planning on my normal lift/run/bike regimen but I’m also hoping that I can really get out before it gets too hot this week - that means I’ll probably try to start running by about 9 am (which shouldn’t be an issue as best I can tell). I lifted this afternoon, per usual, without my coach, per usual and am a little tired from it but probably won’t have any lasting issues.

For healthful living this week I’m scheduled for a spiritual direction session on Thursday (I think) and as I mentioned above my command is having an command-wide picnic on Friday. I’ve volunteered to go into the dunk tank which should be a blast and probably will let plenty of folks get their shots at me (literally). And reposting from last week I’ll leave for you a pictures from the reunion. Here’s one with me and my parents. Such a glum group of people no? ;)
http://images.kodakgallery.com/servlet/Images/photos2142/3/97/34/74/5/6/605743497303_0_BG.jpg?a=2
There will be more to come but that's a good one to start with.

If there happen to be any other lurkers out there - please drop in and chat, we love having new people come by for a visit.

Until later friends, have a great week -

Peace,
Les

[TerriAb]

Hi Everyone!

Les: I can't view your picture - either here or on the other thread. It says I'm forbidden! Are you and your parents too glum for everyone to see??? ;) I hope you and LW have recovered from the job yesterday!

Karen: Probably too late to wish you a good, relaxing vacation, but if you see this, have a great time!

I know I've been slacking about checking in. I seem to be going, going, going! I have a home-based business (rubber stamping - making greeting cards and such) and have been doing some parties and getting ready for our annual convention which is next week in Salt Lake City. Two of my sisters are demonstrators, also, so we are having a mini family reunion out there and meeting for the convention. We are all really excited, but spending time getting cards made for it. All of my spare time has been spent doing that.

Work-wise, it should be a light week - not sure if that's good or not. I'm still trying to figure out my job and just when I think it's time to give it up, I get something that's pretty interesting. So, for the moment, I'm sticking it out. Also, with a vacation coming up next week, it gives me something to look forward to.

Workout wise should be a good week for me. As it stands, I should get to the gym all 5 days and get my classes in. Being out next week is going to set me back toward the 100 class club, but I'm not too worried about it. I need to really watch my eating this week (been eating too many leftover chocolate chip cookies!) since I'll be eating out all next week. I may make some muffins or granola or something to take, just for something a bit healthy.

OK, time for bed for me. Have a great week, everyone!
Terri

[Leslie Ferguson]

Thanks for checking in Terri. I'm not sure why the picture isn't coming out for you so I'm going to try and post it again, maybe even paste it into my post if possible. I'm having problems getting it from Kodak (because it was taken by my Aunt and initially saved in her account). I hope you have a good week and don't go too overboard during the following week on your trip to the stamp show. A mini family reunion - sounds like fun. It sounds like you and your sisters have a good relationship and have a lot of fun together -- a bonus.

Ok - let's try this as a link to the picture of Les and his parents at the reunion (http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1AZNWjJk0ZMXPA&notag=1) . This one better work (or in my best Marvin the Martain voice...) or I'll be very angry.

Time to hit it so I can be bushy tailed in the morning (never bright eyed in this household ;) ).

Peace,
Les

[TerriAb]

that link worked. Wow, sorry you weren't having a better time, you all look positively miserable!

Got my 45 minute spinning class and an abs class in this morning. I did about 10 minutes on the elliptical before class (light resistance, not really working out, just passing time).

Came into a myriad of questions this morning, none that I can really answer at this point, so my fear is that I'm going to look unhelpful, rather than unknowledgeable. Well, I guess that comes with being new to a job, huh? Hard being in that position after I was the subject matter expert in my previous position.

OK, off to investigate the questions. Have a good day!
Terri

[tmsl]

Back from travels and hopefully DH & I can settle into a routine. He started a new job today with slightly different work hours so it may take us a week or two to get used to this. Anyway, vacation was fun as we went to visit friends in SE, PA (not DC, just traveled through). We took our bikes and rode on three different days, one of which was the Schuylkill River Trail which was very nice. I did take a spill that day and have a little road rash, but not too bad. I also went to the gym one day with my friend, so for the week I managed 4 workouts!! Imagine that!! Hopefully I can keep up the motivation and hit the gym this week. And yes, Les, I have been thinking of training for a race. I may try to get myself ready for the Race for the Cure in October. My friends in PA want me to do the MS150 ride in September but I am not sure if I will be ready for that distance. I am thinking about it, so we will see.

FIL is still recovering well from the surgery. I believe they were going to start some radiation treatments today, but there was some confusion about that. He is having issues with short term memory and we hope that resolves itself soon. Thanks for all the prayers for him.

Les~I'm sorry you had such a bad time at your reunion. ;) You shouldn't let people take pictures of you when you are so unhappy.... Have fun with the dunk tank this week!!

Terri~My company had a computer upgrade over the last week so I am with you on feeling unhelpful at the moment. Good luck with the 100 class club, that's impressive.

Karen~have a great vacation(I guess you'll be back before you see this??)

Have a great week.

Laura K.

[Leslie Ferguson]

Quick note to take credit for my run today... I got out, not as early as I'd like but I did get out today. I ran the 8.6 mile out-and-back. Felt pretty good, not fast but good. Negative split the run (but that's not too hard to believe considering I had dead legs from lifting yesterday). Kind of wonking a little right now and need to head towards home because I need to pick up a cake for my boss' birthday that is tomorrow.

I've got a couple thoughts for both of you but need to push home now. Good to hear from you both though and thanks for the good news Laura K.

FWIW you wouldn't believe what the store looked like during the sale so these (http://www.fabrichut.com/earlybird/index.php) are the pictures from the opening salvo of the sale. Can you believe what happened to the store in just 6 minutes? :eek:

Take care and I'll see you later this evening.

Peace,
Les

[Leslie Ferguson]

that link worked. Wow, sorry you weren't having a better time, you all look positively miserable!
Yep, we have no fun at all in my family - never. ;) :p
Got my 45 minute spinning class and an abs class in this morning. I did about 10 minutes on the elliptical before class (light resistance, not really working out, just passing time).
In my book the light elliptical is a warm up (count it as such). Almost like the ~15 minutes of walking on Sunday before I lift weights.
Came into a myriad of questions this morning, none that I can really answer at this point, so my fear is that I'm going to look unhelpful, rather than unknowledgeable. Well, I guess that comes with being new to a job, huh? Hard being in that position after I was the subject matter expert in my previous position.
I hope the search for answers to those questions wasn't too hard and that you gathered some useful information in the process. I hope no one "looks down" on you because you didn't have all the answers at your fingertips - you haven't been in the job all that long.

Laura K - Thanks again for the update on FIL. Prayers continue for all. I'd think the race for the cure would be something that is testing but achieveable while the MS150 ride would be a bear (150 miles on a bike is a long way to ride). I hope DH is enjoying his new job and gets settled in quickly.

Nothing more for me today - kind of laid low after the warm run. I'm looking at helping coach a track/hills group tomorrow evening. Not a favorite time for me to run (6:30) in the heat but I told my coach I'd try to be there so one of us can watch the track folks (we run track at the ballfield in downtown Norfolk) and one can watch the hill folks (the hill is a pedestrian bridge from the ballfield towards Portsmouth). I think he wants me there to coach one of the new faster runners on her first hill workout.

Take care all and I'll see you on the 'morrow once I figure out what I'm going to do.

Peace to all,
Les

[TerriAb]

Good morning everyone!

Laura: Glad to hear you had a good vacation. Four workouts in a vacation is huge in my book! It sounds like it was a lot of fun, which you probably needed with all that's been going on with you. I agree - 150 miles on a bike? Who, my backside hurts just thinking about it!

Les: Who ARE these people that are shopping for fabric at 5:30am??? Not being a sew-er, I don't get it, but I would do the same thing for rubber stamps, so I guess I can't judge. :cool: Good job on your run yesterday. It was hot, so the fact that you ran for so long is impressive. No wonder you were wonking after.

Did a one-mile run this morning followed by a TBC class (Total Body Conditioning) and abs class (working toward the 100!). The run was not real fast, but it's the longest I've run since the Race for the Cure, so it was good for me. There is no aerobics in my TBC class, so once I'm done running and then stop to do the class, I sweat like crazy for the first 1/2 hour of the class. I'm sure the instructor questions what is wrong with me to be so sweaty during a weights class.

I'm waiting until after my vacation to really start looking for another job - argh, the thought of going through this again so soon is disheartening, but I can't continue to do what I've been doing. The fact that I could not show up for work and no one would notice is not a good thing.

That's it for me. Have a great day everyone!
Terri

[tmsl]

Well I did make it to the gym last night for some elliptical work. Tonight is knitting group so I will do that after work and plan for the gym again tommorow.

My friend called and said I have to make a decision by Friday for the bike ride so they can schedule accomodations. Even if I do this, I will probably not do the whole thing, maybe just the first day of 75 miles. My sister is planning on this ride and really wants me to do this with her. She has a training program mapped out and I need to discuss how we can accomplish this in a couple of months. :eek: We rode about 60-70 miles last week across the three different outings and I was not miserable with those rides.

Terri~looking for a new job? The process for DH was 3 months, I certainly don't want to go through that again soon.

Les~Go Coach!! :D

Laura K.

[Laura]

Laura K. I am forgetting what type of surgery your FIL had, but when my mom had to have surgery to correct/remove a subdural hematoma, it took her a long time to recover. She had dementia, and the surgery in conjunction with the anti-seizure meds that they had her on, really took a tool on her memory. Your family is in my prayers.

TerriAb sorry that you are needing to look for a job. Keeping the workouts going will help you with your stress.

Les, enjoy your coaching. I might tag along next week with a friend who is training for her 1st marathon to do a track workout.

As for me, I got a 4 mile run in Sun and a 4.4 this morning (I was pretty happy because I ran it in 50 minutes which is speedy for me :D).

I will likely try to take advantage of the oxygen that you folks at sea level have and run 70 minutes while I am in Seattle and/or Vancouver. I don't know if I will be able to check in while I am gone, so have a good rest of the week everyone!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Les: Who ARE these people that are shopping for fabric at 5:30am??? Not being a sew-er, I don't get it, but I would do the same thing for rubber stamps, so I guess I can't judge. :cool:
5:30 -- that's nothing. Some of those folks are in line about 5:00 and have driven down (or flown down) from as far away as NYC and South Carolina. I guess when you are selling fabric for 50% off - that would include $200/yd laces and the like (less expensive) you shop when you have to. LW said that she had a lady that spent ~$1,000 after discount on fabric. But she also mentioned that the lady wouldn't have to purchase much else of importance (quantity) until next year's sale.
I'm waiting until after my vacation to really start looking for another job - argh, the thought of going through this again so soon is disheartening, but I can't continue to do what I've been doing. The fact that I could not show up for work and no one would notice is not a good thing.
I know what that feels like - having a job that in my estimation has little impact on my employer. I hope your job search goes well once you come back from vacation and I have no real insight into job searches because I've never had to search for one (the Navy has been a good employer for 21+ years).

Laura - How was your run with your friend tonight (assuming you went out with her)? I hope you have a good trip to Washington/BC this weekend. Ah, to be in the cool Pacific Northwest right now. (more to follow)

Larua K - How was knitting class and whatever workout you had this evening? I hope you all aren't having all the "fun" we're having with heat and humidity now.

What a night. Let's just say that I felt sucky (hope that stays) and didn't want to go to the ballpark. But I figured that I promised my coach I'd be there so I bucked up and went down. Then to top it off the girl I was going to show the hills and coach a little didn't even show (nor did she call and tell the coach she wouldn't be there) <<frosty stare>>. So for all that and a late supper (after 8 by the time all was said and done) I got the chance to give encouragement to a bunch of the running group (so a night not wasted) and caught a little sun. I think the sucky feeling stems from sinuses that are either infected or just stopped up (slightly elevated temp - not too high but high for me). Took a decongestant tonight (I hope it doesn't wire me for sound :rolleyes: ) so that I might be able to sleep without issue. I'll try to run tomorrow morning (no, really this time) since it is supposed to be 93 tomorrow. :eek:

Speaking of sleep (and not missing any) time to head that way so I'll see you tomorrow.

Peace,
Les

[TerriAb]

Les: Be thankful that you've not ever had to search for a job! It's an arduous process and extremely stressful! However, at this point, it will be less stressful than my current position! I actually have an interview tomorrow. Technically I'm supposed to be in my current position a year, but I've gotten some input from some directors who have said that given my circumstances and the fact that they have no work for me, it shouldn't be a problem to get around that. I do need to talk to my boss, who is out this week and I'm out next week, but I know there is a Master plan and it will all work out in the end. That stinks about your runner not showing up, especially given that you didn't want to go in the first place. I hope you got your run in this morning, although here at 5am this morning, it was already nasty outside.

Laura K - are you learning how to knit or are you knitting with others? People in my office knit and crochet and make those beautiful scarves that are so popular now. I tried to learn when I was younger, but I was horrible. My mom is a great knitter and loves doing it. At 75, she is still making sweaters, socks, etc. for kids and grandkids.

Laura - great job on your run. 4.4 miles in 50 minutes would definitely be speedy for me, too! Maybe you'll inspire me to keep trying that running thing.

I did my spinning class this morning with some sore quads from TBC yesterday. They loosened up as class went on, but they felt like lead legs for awhile! I always get a great workout in that class.

Tomorrow is a late morning for me as I have an emergency dental appt. in the morning. My temporary filling over my root canal has fallen out and I wanted to get it filled before I left on Sunday on vacation. It'll be nice to have that done until the next thing needs to be done in my mouth (two crowns are in the offing - hopefully they can wait until next year - only so much in my flexible spending account and I wasn't counting on the root canal this year!)

Have a great evening everyone!
Terri

[Leslie Ferguson]

It's bad enough in my book looking towards retirement and making plans just in case ordination things don't work out (but they should). I can go the easy route when it comes to post-Navy and non-school employment. Nepotism and the good-ole boy network aren't such a bad thing. I've got friends and contacts in many of the defense contractors in the greater Norfolk area (but I don't want to work in Depaartment of Defense). I'm not feeling really good about interviewing for jobs regardless if I don't get into Seminary. And even getting into Seminary will entail at least 3 interviews (more like 3 organizations interviewing me). One organization will be my exploration parish and I'll have ~10-12 weeks of interview with them (I expect everything I do there will be part of their impression and a tacit interview). Not fun because the questions are really about me and I'd rather talk about just about anything else besides me most of the time. I hope your temporary dental work comes off without a hitch tomorrow. Having just gone through an root canal, extraction, temporary bridge, and bridge installation in the past 15 months I'm about ready to be done with my dental work for the future. Sorry your legs were dead during spinning class - I know I felt the same way on Monday this week. When do you leave on your trip to the conference?

I didn't run this morning because I had a bunch of stuff to do early so running wasn't in the cards. And like up there, it was pretty nasty when I went out for the paper this morning at 7 am. :rolleyes: So I ended up doing a bike ride this evening. Some of the great things about riding is the wind is alway in your face which is quite cooling when it's 97 out like today. Definitely fading fast - I had to delete that past sentence so it's time to turn in.

Take care all and I'll be in touch.

Peace,
Les

[TerriAb]

Made it through my dental work this morning with no problem. Good thing about a root canal? No novacaine needed for additional work! The tooth is basically dead anyway, so he didn't have to numb me. I was a bit skeptical until he started and then it was like being numb without the after effects. I'm thinking of having one done on all my teeth! ;) I go back in 2 weeks for a cleaning and determination on the two additional crowns that may be needed.

So, with leaving later for the dentist, I didn't get a workout in this morning. Not too worried about it. Skipping every once in awhile is probably good for me. It was nice to sleep in a bit, get up and have a cup of coffee at home before heading off for the day.

Tomorrow I will end the week with power pace - circuit training/running steps. Great workout. Then, I'll be on vacation for a week! Yeah!

Have a good night everyone!
Terri

[Leslie Ferguson]

If there is a good thing about a root canal that would be it - no anesthetic to do minor work around the tooth. And not having drool-mouth after seeing the dentist is a great thing. I don't blame you for not working out after the dentist - I've run after seeing the dentist and lived to regret it, even without anesthetic. There's something about having your mouth worked on and all the other sundry things the dentist and assistant does to you. After cleaning, that's a different story... I've almost got to workout after being scraped, flossed, and generally abused by the hygenist. An unplanned rest day every once in a while isn't bad either - it normally serves to bump you up a little. I hope you close out your week with a good Power Pace Workout tomorrow and enjoy your vacation in Salt Lake City.

I wish I had a good excuse for not working out today. Lots of reasons but an excuse might be hard to come up with. But I had a successful day today. I got a lot of sundry things taken care of out of the office and around town. A great thing happened - when I was at my church dropping a couple things off there was a lady who had visited the food pantry and while I was leaving she and the worker asked if I could drop her off at her house (she had 5 bags of food and lots of cans) because it was very hot. At first I was hesitant (because I didn't understand where she wanted to go and I was on a tight scheedule) but once I found out the trip wasn't too far out of the way I took her and helped carry her groceries. In the end it felt good to do that and made me a little perturbed that I didn't jump at the opportunity. Later, during my spiritual direction (kind of individual therapy with a decided spiritual bent and leading me in defining my call to ordained ministry) I had a great time. Nothing that I could put down as an "ah ha moment" but just very affirmed and thinking even more clearer.

On the down side, during the spiritual direction it started raining, thundering, and lightening-ing. I thought about trying to squeeze something in when I got home but the wind was blowing so badly and the streets were wet and puddly I took another bye and didn't ride or run. Not too bad in the long run because I needed for me to process the counseling/direction.

Tomorrow will probably be a lot of fun as long as the weather blows through as predicted. We're up for a command picnic with lots of fun things going on. In fact I'm in the dunk tank for 15 minutes (the most senior person in the tank) and I'll be loving it.

This week has definitely been a healthful living week - one that I needed without a doubt. Funny thing though, I'm getting more sleep still and I'm more tired now than 3 weeks ago... go figure. :confused:

Time to turn in -- more sleep is calling so until tomorrow friends -- peace,
Les

[TerriAb]

Good Morning!

Good for you, Les for helping the woman from the food pantry! I tend to hold back on that kind of stuff, too and then when I finally come out of my "the world revolves around me" attitude and do it I always think "why don't I do this more?" It's just good for everyone. I'm glad your counselling went well, too. Good luck in the dunk tank! I hope you make it through your session completely dry, although what are the chances of that? It sounds like a lot of fun - I hope the weather holds out for you.

Here I am an hour after my workout, still red and breathing has not returned to normal. I don't think it was the cute guy that I just saw in the cafeteria:p , but rather the workout this morning. We did drills OUTSIDE this morning - in about 97% humdity. You can see the air, it's so thick! So, we did drills and sprints for about 15-20 minutes before coming back inside and doing the circuit again. Whew! It was a great workout before a week's vacation. Now I'm just counting down the hours for the rest of the day.

I'll try to check in again before I leave. If not, have a great week everyone!
Terri

[Leslie Ferguson]

Good for you, Les for helping the woman from the food pantry! I tend to hold back on that kind of stuff, too and then when I finally come out of my "the world revolves around me" attitude and do it I always think "why don't I do this more?"
I think I'm a charter member of that club too. Always kick myself when I hesitate to help. And it's not like Norfolk is all that big - I can drive from one end to the other (N and S) in less than 15 minutes - I can run (without too much effort) from one end to the other and back.

Good luck in the dunk tank! I hope you make it through your session completely dry, although what are the chances of that? It sounds like a lot of fun - I hope the weather holds out for you.
The dunk tank -- I got thoroughly soaked and loved every minute of it. And lots of folks (especially the little kids) got such glee dumping me in the water - so I was a success! And I can even count it as an upper body workout at the same time. The water was just right for 85 and humid (I hope someone got pictures) and the procedure to get onto the seat after getting dunked (and I got dunked a lot in 15 minutes) consisted of a "double pull up" - my arms feel good and tired. :D
We did drills OUTSIDE this morning - in about 97% humdity. You can see the air, it's so thick! So, we did drills and sprints for about 15-20 minutes before coming back inside and doing the circuit again.
Sounds like down here. ;) I hope you have a safe trip out west and return refreshed.

After the morning's events I spent the afternoon with LW (she was off work today) so we went shopping for some necessities for her and "junk" for me. I found a Dick's Sporting Goods gift card from Christmas and bought a nifty pair of bike shorts - those suckers are going to be nice to me when I ride. :D I'm really looking forward to testing them out sometime soon. Looking at a long run in the swamp tomorrow - and there may be mud and puddles galore (it's been raining all week and it's supposed to rain a little tonight :cool: ). I'll be in little boy heaven. But to fully appreciate the run I'll turn in now and get some much needed shut eye.

Take care friends and I'll see you tomorrow afternoon.

Peace,
Les

[TerriAb]

I'm up early, so thought I'd check in.

Your dunk tank experience sounds fun (and tiring!). I guess they only put you in for 15 minutes because of the upper body workout that you get! I would think that someone who is less in shape would have a hard time getting up on that seat again.

I can't imagine running in this humidity. It usually doesn't bother me that much, but after working out in it yesterday, a long run would not be pleasant in my book.

If the rain holds off this morning, I may ride my bike up to the grocery store for a couple of things (only about 3 miles each way). I haven't ridden outside in a long time, so it may be an interesting ride. They just finished widening our road and we now have great bike/walking paths on a very main road. I wouldn't dare ride on the street on this road. I do need air in my tires, though and will have to walk over to the gas station to put some in (only about 1/4 mile, if that).

Otherwise, my day will be spent getting ready for my trip tomorrow. I'm very excited about it and being away for a week. I don't think I'll come back "refreshed", but will come back excited about my business and hobby again.

Take care - have a great day and week. Karen, I hope you had a great trip with some good weather!

Terri

[Leslie Ferguson]

Terri - I hope you have safe travels (since you'll probably not see this until after you return). You aren't kidding about having to be in pretty good shape to hoist yourself out of the tank and back onto the seat. The first guy in the tank was a SEAL so you can imagine how easy it ws for him to hoist himself back onto the seat - piece of cake. The second guy was a little bigger and started to tire pretty quickly. Luckily I'm in as good a shape as I am because I went in the water a lot. What I'd give for decent trails to ride my bike around here. I am pretty fearless when it comes to riding but I'd greatly appreciate more bike trails or at least bike lanes in Norfolk (but I'm not holding my breath either).

The humidity was grand today and keeping cool during my run this morning was out of the question. The swamp was amazing when we started at 7:15. You could see the air out there and it was quite oppressive. Officially, the humidity was 100% until 8:10 and by the time we were done with our 13 miles it had dropped precipitously ;) to a mere 90%. I sweat so much today that I wrung out my singlet at 10 miles (I couldn't put it back on and I was trying to tuck it back in) and it looked like I had worn the shirt into the shower. To make matters worse when I finished running - just three more miles - I could wring out my shirt again. No wonder I felt like I was taking a bath.

Spent the afternoon running around with LW and looking for my "little sister's" (she'll be 37 on Friday) birthday present with no luck. Thunder rolled through and I was hoping for a torrential downpour but it didn't rain to speak of. :( The rain would have helped break the nasty heat and humidity but it doesn't look like it happened.

I think I'll close it for the week and see you on the 'morrow. Until then - peace and safe travels.

Les