Best. Run. Ever.

So obviously I've been a bit lazy with this whole blog thing. With Easter and then the joys of Norwalk (thanks family!) it's been a little crazy and I haven't really done anything productive at all.

My latest thing has been learning to run. Let me preface by saying I am NOT a runner. I have big hips, big thighs and even bigger breasts. I was designed for pumping out babies, not long distance running, LOL! But I want to learn to run- for my health, to lose weight, to exercise my dogs, and just to say I can :) I'm doing the Couch to 5K program which basically involves 9 week walk-run interval training (using convenient podcasts that tell you when to walk and when to run- all set to *awesome* techno music...). You run 3 times a week, gradually increasing the length of time you run until you're running for 30 whole minutes at the very end. Crazy, huh? I don't think I've ever been able to run more than 5 minutes even when I've been in super good shape. I've completed the first two weeks and I started the 3rd week today. I've battled nasty shin splints, calve cramps and side aches and I think I've figured it all out! Today's run was fantastic and it's inspired me to believe that I can and will run for 30 whole minutes in just a few weeks time- so much so that I'm going to register for a 5K marathon on June 8. To further inspire me, last week a bought terribly expensive running shoes to help me along. They're the most expensive shoes I've ever owned- so now I have to run!

I probably broke Helix's paw!

So Thursday night we were out for our run/walk and Helix crossed over in front of me and I stepped on his paw. He didn't yelp or anything so I didn't think anything of it. Later that night he started to favour that leg and then he wouldn't walk on it at all! We were worried he had torn a ligament playing with Kira (which would be very serious and would likely require surgery). Eventually we figured out that it was probably his paw; we took him to the vet and the vet thought that was likely it as well. He has some painkillers now and today he's been walking on it. In fact, it doesn't look like it hurts him at all! But we still need to keep him relatively inactive so that it heals correctly. Poor little guy, I feel so bad!

She says she's sorry....

So this morning Kira ran over the keyboard of "my" laptop. As a result I am now missing a total of 6 keys- 3 were non-essential so I didn't worry about them. But now I am missing my 7 and J keys and they probably won't be easy to fix. Now, I don't really own this laptop. The place I am doing my grad studies at actually bought them for us and they are now crappy 4 year old IBM Thinkpads with only 30GB hard drives and 512 RAM. We've been planning for a while for me to buy a better laptop when I start writing my thesis (in about 4 or 5 months). As a result, I placed my order for my new MacBook today! I'm going with the "middle" grade white one but I'm getting a good deal as a package with a printer, MS Office, a mouse, a backpack, and antivirus software for $1389. I'm also getting Aperture 2 so that I can edit my photos :) Exciting stuff!

Photos from Montreal

I went to Montreal for a conference a couple of weeks ago. The weather was absolutely crappy, but I did get out to take a few pictures. I really enjoyed the Biodome- despite the $16 entrance fee.

So my husband thinks it's sad that I have a blog...

Well, I've decided to start a blog. Mainly it's because I want to participate in the weekly photo challenge from the WB girls though :) Part of it is also to help me procrastinate (my PhD will finish itself, right?).