Rest, Relaxation & Chowder

After last Saturday's 5k, and the pain that I've been experiencing in my leg, I gave myself a week off from all activity. I really thought that would do the trick. But as the days went on, the pain seemed to get worse. It's not going away like I had hoped. And I have absolutely no idea what's wrong, but it hurts to even walk now. So I made a doctor's appointment, which isn't until Wednesday. I really feel like I need to get back out there and exercise, but I'm afraid I'll do more harm than good. At least until I find out what's causing the pain.

In the meantime, it's been nice not doing anything. No running to the gym, or running or biking around the neighborhood after dinner. I'm kind of worried that I'll be really behind on my training now. But it's probably for the best. I couldn't run anyway and could have caused permanent damage if I continued to try.

This weekend was nice. Very relaxing. As Eric will tell you, I'm all about naps now! I think I got in a 3-hour nap yesterday afternoon. After our quick trip up to Rudy's on Lake Ontario...

I've been craving the Chowder from Rudy's, so we took the Mini up for a little drive. It was rainy and drizzly, but that's ok.

Here's a little taste of heaven in a Styrofoam cup.

Eric had a fish sandwich and some fries. (And a giant coffee ice cream for dessert!)

It was kind of foggy by Lake Ontario. It kind of reminded me of the Cape... where we'll be in a few short weeks! Maybe that's why I was craving some chow-dah!

'10 Phoenix Fireworks

It's that time of year... Fireworks! We went to John & Louise's house to watch the annual Phoenix Fireworks display from their dock.

The weather was fantastic and they had a great crowd.

And front row seats to a fabulous show! (Photos courtesy of Eric.)

He used a time-lapse feature. Aren't they very cool??

Movin' On Up

Tonight we attended Soule Road Middle School's 8th Grade "Moving Up" Ceremony. For the future class of 2014. (Eek!)

They put names/photos up on the big screen for any special awards or recognition. Alex was one of the "Presidential Award" winners for Academics.

After all of the awards were announced, they handed out certificate packets to each of the 200-ish kids. (There are 3 middle schools in Liverpool, this was just one of them. That's going to be a BIG class next year!)

Here's Alex posing with his parents, and his 8th Grade Diploma...

And here's Eric attempting to get a picture with Alex.

Looking for his name in the program... Congrats on making it to High School, Alex! May you have great success in all you do.

Swamp Rats

This morning Alex and I ran another 5k. This time it was The Swamp Rat Races, on the Shores of Oneida Lake. I like this setting a lot more than the one we ran downtown. It was hot, but there was shade and a slight breeze.

We had to pick up our race packets at the race (our number & 'free' t-shirt). Here I am waiting in line.

Alex and I are stretching. It was a beautiful day. Too bad my legs have been bothering me for the last couple of weeks. Shin splits or tendinitis or both... or something. I don't know. But it sucks getting old!!

And they're off! Into the woods... Not sure how many runners there were today. Last year there were 500. The course was nice. A road right along the lake. I wanted to jump in the water. It was so hot.

Here's Alex crossing the finish line, always fighting it out til the end! (He's in the orange.) Not sure what place he got yet. Results have not been posted.

He had a great race though!

This is my favorite picture of the day. As I was going through Eric's photos, the minute I saw this, I knew what went through his mind when he took it. He thought it was me! And he must have been so proud of me for finishing under 30 minutes!! Until he realized... it wasn't me.

This however... was me. Sweaty and tired.

And not finishing under 30 minutes! I actually felt better today than I did 2 weeks ago at Paige's Butterfly Run. But my time was 20 seconds slower. Oh well. I still finished!

And I was happy. Sweaty, but happy.

Birthday Party

Yesterday we went to Gary & Paula's to celebrate Sheila's Birthday!

Kelly helped blow out the candles on Grandma Sheila.

Awesome cake made by Gary & Paula and the girls...

Jenny rather enjoyed mopping up Kelly's cake crumbs.

Laura & Kelly helped unwrap Grandma's new camera! (Now maybe Grandma can join the blogging world??)

Jenny loves Kelly. Kelly gives Jenny lots of love and attention.

Kelly even demonstrated her special "talent". Picking her nose with her big toe!

The First Week

I'm slowly making the new office my own. Audrey is up. We get to paint our office whatever color we want... I'm debating on blue or yellow.... what do you think? To match the blue/yellow stripes on the side of the Audrey poster.

Another view. Found an Antiques Roadshow poster behind my door. I thought it was fun and colorful.

These are the people in the Media Services department.

And this is our mascot. Or something. He scared the crap out of me the first day, but I've grown to like him. No, he's not real...

Hit the Ground Running

Yesterday morning I had just dropped Alex off at school and was planning my day when I received a phone call from my new employer. Wondering if per chance I'd be able to come in a little earlier. As in that day. As in the day before I was supposed to start my new job. Apparently, there was a "print emergency" for the cover of their bi-monthly magazine. They didn't have one. At least not one that they liked. And it was to go to print today. By noon.

So, being the good future-employee that I am, I agreed to go in that afternoon. After my planned trip to the gym to go swimming. (I'll get to that in a moment.) I went to WCNY around 2:30, immediately went into a meeting with the folks in charge of the magazine. Got a feeling for what they were looking for. Then went to my new office to try to turn on my new computer that I'd never touched. I knew where nothing was. Didn't even know the password to log on! But by 5:00, I'd found a template for a layout and had started working on some concepts.

I worked a little at home last night, searching for images (Thank you Eric for your awesome Fair pictures!!) I worked up a little mock-up at home, saved it to a thumb drive and took it to my "first" day of work this morning.

By noon, the cover for the July/August edition of "CNY Connected" was on its way to the printer, with the GM's seal of approval. And I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. But, I think it was a good thing. I got in and I immediately got to work. And I proved my "worth" within the first few hours. The rest of my day was relatively quiet. I filled out paper work, cleaned and set up my new desk, had a meeting with the new boss, and even had lunch with my husband. Not a bad first day.

And about that swim... it needs some serious work. I didn't drown though, so that's a plus! I'm pretty sure I can get through a 1/4 mile swim, but my strokes aren't exactly pretty. Oh, and I did a couple of laps on my back... and ended up hitting my head on the side of the pool. Yeah. That hurt. I've got to check the pool schedule and find out when I can get back for some more training...

Random Things

I was cleaning off my camera this evening and saw quite a few photos I've taken this week that I thought I'd share with you. As most of you know, it was my last week of work at NewsChannel 9. Which was kind of bittersweet for me. I made a lot of good friends, who I will miss seeing every day. But on the other hand, the whole news business end of things (stupid news pre-pro!!!!!!) was just getting to me. It just wasn't "fun" going to work anymore. When the bad outweighs the good, it means it's time to go. And that is what was happening to me. The opportunity opened up at WCNY, and I decided to go for it. I am hoping that this will be a good move for me!

I know one thing for sure, I will NOT miss my daily commute down 481. And imagine this in a snow storm. Not fun!! Not that the traffic in Syracuse compares at all to Boston or Chicago, but still, it annoyed me. My old commute was 17 miles each way, my new commute is 7 miles. That's a 20-mile a day difference. 100 miles a week! That I won't be spending in my car driving...

Here's my desk, all cleaned off. Ready for the next person. Or for dust. Not sure what they're going to do with it. I guess it's not my problem!

I will kind of miss these guys though... this was the "crew" that took me out to a great good-bye lunch last Thursday. This is Jim, Ben and Kate. (Kate is new, and will now be the only girl in the department... as I was for the last 6 1/2 years.)

My old boss, Mike (who coincidentally also left recently, but made an appearance for my goodbye lunch...) And of course Beebs, next to Mike. (Sorry for cutting off your head, Beebs!)

And this is Tim and Mark. Mark is going to be very busy doing a lot of my old work. Heh.

And here's Rich and Vince. The class clowns.

And then there's Mike (aka Brownie) and Mark. This Mark will also be busy doing some of my old work. Must be something with the name! Sorry guys!

I took a drive down Erie Boulevard on Friday. I figured I'd take a "last" drive around. I doubt that I will be in that part of town again for awhile. I will miss all the lunch time shopping opportunities. (I think Eric will be happy about that!) But this scene caught my eye. I remember when I started at NewsChannel 9. A Krispy Kreme was built right about the time I got there. We were so excited about it. We even went over for the grand opening. As you can see (click to see it bigger), it went out of business quite a few years ago. And it looks like it's an over-flow parking lot for a local car dealership now. So sad...

Paige's Butterfly Run

This morning Alex and I got up nice and early and ran a 5k. Paige's Butterfly Run is a charity event that benefits Pediatric Cancer research. Paige was a local 1st grader who passed away back in 1994. Her parents put this event together 13 years ago, and it's been growing every year since. What a wonderful way to honor their daughter.

Even though my last day at Channel 9 was yesterday, they still allowed me to participate on "Team 9" for the race.

Alex was the top "Team 9" finisher with a time of 22:54.

And I finished in 34:55. My "under 35 min" goal was achieved. I'm still trying to catch my breath! And thank you Eric, my sweet husband, for coming with us to not only hold my car keys, but to take these great photos too!

Hop, Skip & a Jump

Alex had his last track meet of the season this afternoon. Luckily I left work early (my last day at Channel 9!), so I got to watch the whole meet. I've never watched Alex do the Triple Jump, so it was fun to get to see that today. He was rather excited and pleased with his performance.



This is his priceless reaction to finding out his distance, and realizing that not only did he get a personal best, but this jump put him into 1st place. I don't think that I've ever seen him this excited before, about anything!