I once read somewhere that you should never begin a post by apologizing for not blogging regularly, so I’m not going to do that. Instead I’m going to tell you about a few of the random things that are on my mind this lovely Thursday afternoon…
1. Instagram
Way back in December when I had maybe …50 (?) followers I shared this image of Piper checking out her reflection in Ridley Creek. That photo was the first of many Piper (and Bailey) shots that have since been featured and shared on Instagram and I now have about 40 times the followers that I had last year. I think people are going to be shocked when someday I post a sweaty race photo instead of a cute Piper pic, but for now I’m having fun sharing my adorable little GSP with the IG world.
Want to see more of Piper? Follow me @The_Little_GSP 😄
2. Run Run Run!
The Broad Street 10 miler is 3 ½ weeks away and I am getting excited!! I restarted speedwork on the track last week and I had a fantastic 8 mile training run experience at Ridley Creek State Park on Saturday. During the run I never looked at my watch and just focused on staying relaxed and listening to Serial (the podcast) and the miles flew by.
Before I get to Broad Street, I still need to tackle the Tyler Arboretum 10K Trail Run this Saturday. I’m feeling less confident about that race after a tough time on the trails at Granogue, but I’m interested to see how I will do without snow on the ground. There might be some mud though… this is the current forecast for tomorrow. Eek!
At least Saturday’s weather is looking perfect!
3. Family
Last weekend Matt and I got to see everyone from both of our families on Easter. “Everyone” now includes 2 newborn babies! Plus 3 siblings, 3 step-siblings, 6 sibling spouses/fiancés, 1 toddler, 4 parents (/in-laws), and 9 (9!!) dogs. Luckily all 9 dogs did not participate in the Easter festivities because that would have been crazy.
I was designated the official family photographer but in the interest of everyone’s privacy (I’m looking at you, Suzanne! 😉) I won’t post the group shot. Instead here’s one of me and Matt.
This is what we look like when we aren’t hiking or running.
4. Food
The weather was beautiful over Easter weekend so Matt and I pulled out the grill for the first time this year. Yippee! Saturday we had patty melts (burgers with melted Swiss and grilled onions on buttered toast) and Monday we made what is possibly our fanciest grilled dinner yet: Paella!
Don’t worry, the recipe for this grilled masterpiece will be coming soon. And it’s surprisingly not that hard, considering how crazy it looks.
5. Piper
No post would be complete without a shout out to my little pup. (Oh, I already did that in #1, didn’t I? Well here’s more.) Piper is 7 months old now and has recently had some major breakthroughs. First off, she hasn’t had an accident in her crate since March 31st (not that I’m counting) and secondly, Piper has now graduated to sleeping in our bedroom in a big crate rather than all alone in her little crate downstairs. She has been very quiet so far and I think she likes the extra sleeping space.
Hopefully Piper’s next breakthrough will be summoning the courage to walk up our front staircase. These stairs are “floating” with open space between them that goes all the way down to the basement stairs below. Piper is, somewhat understandably, completely and utterly freaked out by these stairs. She won’t even come up for cheese! We’re taking it slow, one step at a time (literally).
Yes, the stairs are scary, but this is the puppy who climbs all over the place on hikes. Look what she did on Monday… what an agile little pup!
That’s it for today. I’m off to The Running Place to pick up my Tyler 10K bib. Wish me luck on Saturday! (I think I’m going to need it!)
