So i'm training the new guy. Who is this schmuck? Oh wait...i bet you guys know!

You know I'm not dead...

Okay.

So.

The caribbean? It totally rocks.

Hurricane Dean? He minded his own damn business.

And cruising? I think that is the only way to vacation. I didn't have to cook, clean, stress, or deal with any ordinary hullabalook for a full week. And I haven't felt this relaxed in three years.

So rather than go into some long winded trip report, since there are no words to do this vacation justice, I'm going to just give it to you in pictures.

Good?

Here we go.

Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas is one helluva HUGE boat. The biggest on the seas right now, as a matter of fact.

Sail away from Miami...

We swung from the trees during the canopy tour in Jamaica.

Ice skating rink in the middle of the ocean...who wouldla thunk?


In the middle of dark clouds with area rain showers, the sky simply opened up with sun. It was exquisite!



That is one big, big boat!

Swimming with Sting Rays in Grand Cayman...they were amazing creatures!!

During the Once Upon A Time production...

Our shaman, Moses, for our Mayan Steamlodge experience...

And the steamlodge itself. That is a 3x3 opening. You can't even stand up inside at its highest point and it got up to 140 degrees...on average, each person produces about a gallon of sweat.

Our amazing tablemates...the two on the left were from Ireland, the two couples in the middle were from Scotland, our waiters Haci (from Turkey) and Gustavo (from Mexico), and then us....

This was seriously the vacation of our dreams and we can't wait to go back soon. We'll hit the high seas again in January with some friends (along with Tarwater & Shannon, two fine folks that you guys don't know) for a quick cruise to the Bahamas.

Yay for cruises!

Mike, Dean and I are all going on vacation together...

Let's just hope we're not swept away at sea and plenty of calm waters! It looks as if our western caribbean itinerary might just be re-routed.

Hurricane Dean...BUGGER OFF!

See you on the flip side, kids!

Why hello doctor!

Times they are-a-changin'...

Well...most of you fine, fabulous folks out there had already picked up on the fact that some big news was-a-brewin'. Some of you were even privy to said news last week. And thank you for keeping my secret. You rule.

But now...

It's time to celebrate!

Because.......

I GOT MYSELF A BRAND SPANKIN' NEW JOBBY JOB!

...this is the part where i'm so geeked that i'm sitting in my chair doing the cabbage patch...oh if you could only see me now!

I'm completely changing the scope and direction of my career. I'm going from corporate PR to actually handling a client's advertising needs. I'm excited and even a little bit nervous. But it's such an awesome opportunity with this specific client I'd be crazy to not take it. I told my boss this morning and breaking the news went a little bit better than I had anticipated. I think they're really happy that I'm at least staying at the same agency. Phew! Now I just get to stress over all the details of transitioning my projects. Fun times!

We'll have to figure out a time when we're back from vacation to gather the troops for a celebratory cocktail or two. So stay tuned!

...you may now return to your regularly scheduled Monday.

Celebrating 6 Years of Not Killing Each Other :)

This day in history...six years ago...we officially became a couple. This day in history...four years ago...he proposed for the second time (long story, but I did say "yes" twice!). It's been a fun six years with my best friend...

So what better way to celebrate six years of not killing eachother...than by running a half marathon!? ...and of course, it was run separately, or else we very well could've ended our six year non-killing streak. :)

Today's race was hot. Humid. Sunny. And pretty much less than ideal conditions. Had it been about 30 degrees cooler, I would've been a happy camper. But mother nature deemed that today was going to be scorcher, and she certainly delivered. The race started in the high 70's/low 80's and crept into the mid-upper 80's (with an index in the 90's most likely) by the time I finished.

I had no expectations going into today's race given my oh so strategic pre-race fueling last night. I think it was that oreo/snickers/brownie/ice cream concoction of a dessert that slowed me down. But it was sooooo totally worth it. It was that good.

So it came as no surprise that there was no PR to be had. I wasn't really going for one, so I didn't care. I finished in a respectable (for me) 2:45:24. At one point about Mile 8 I knew I could've put it into high gear and set a PR, but I couldn't get the heartrate under control and had to settle into a slower pace in the mid-12's. Meh. Could've been worse. So no complaints there.

Aside from it being super hot, gross, and freakishly nasty out, the race wasn't all that bad (with the exception of several water stops running out of cups, but whatever). I wasn't fond of the weird weaving at the end, but overall it was a well supported course. I ran with a fabulous woman in her 70's who had finished 17 ironman races and she offered up some advice for the Florida 70.3. And then there was the moment when I got a bunch of the runners around me to all sing the Rocky theme while climbing the Roosevelt St incline. And then there was the little old scottish man who hadn't run a race since a marathon abroad 21 years ago. I love all the great folks you meet out in the course. Definitely restores my faith in the fact that there are cool people in the world.

I saw Mike and two of his high school friends around a half mile from the finish and he handed me a nice ice cold towel with ice chunks...it felt SO GOOD. And before I knew it, I was in the home stretch finishing strong.

After I crossed through the finish line I went back to mile 12.5 to meet Mike, Henna and J, and cheered on the other runners. And since the inner cheerleader in me loooooves coming out to play, I may or may not have gone a little nutty (oh, if only I had my cowbell with me...sigh). I went back and cheered for folks, hoping to give them the extra umph they needed to finish strong and with a smile on their face. I saw my old mentee, Margie, from last year's TNT season. RunnerGirl from Michigan recognized me and so I ran with her for a few minutes. And then another lurker on my blog from the RW forums found me cheering as well (Hi Tanya!!).

And of course, it wouldn't be a kick ass race without a kick ass brunch with friends after. Rockit omelets always seem to hit the spot. Kudos to Ryan, Leah and Jason for waiting oh so patiently for our grand arrival.

All in all it was a great day. The damage isn't too bad. Just some minor blisters, a little bit of red on my neck and shoulders and achy muscles. I'm amazed that my knee wasn't giving out on me considering how craptacular my last 16 miler went (which I opted not to blog about because it was so freakin' bad).

Okay kids, there's lots to be done this week...

You see, OOSG graduates on Thursday...he will finally be a doctor!! WOOHOO!! And then we've got family in town...a fabulous par-tay...and the Cubs/Cards game on Friday...and then Saturday it's Buenvenidos a Miami!! We set sail for the Western Caribbean on Sunday and will be completely out of touch with the world for a week...and I cannot wait! I'll hopefully have a few more posts between now and the time I leave, but no promises.

So for now...I'm going to go make my hubby a delectable anniversary dinner (read as: frozen pizza) and plop my sweet, cute rear on the sofa for an evening of couch surfing and movies with Mike. Life doesn't get much better than this...

...unless, of course, we find a money tree. :)

Where in the world is Running Jayhawk?

Well.

It's summer. It's nice and hot out. And that can only mean one thing...

...I'm out enjoying life.

...and working a lot.

So I guess that's two things. But whatever.

Running has been...less than stellar...and on some levels, slightly sporatic. But hey...that's just how I work. Nothing new there.

In the morning I have a half marathon. Should be...nothing less than interesting.

We had Mike's graduation dinner tonight at Wildfire. So my belly is full of...well...steak. And some oreo/snickers/brownie/ice cream concoction of a dessert. And two glasses of pinot grigio. I'm totally going to pay for it in the morning. And on top of it all...I'm PMSing. Totally awesome.

My goal is simple. Do better than I did in Nashville (which was run on pretty much no training--awesome, right?). I'm not sure I can do much worse than Nashville (knock on wood). I know there will be no PR in the morning...I'm saving the PR for the Tiffany/Nike half marathon in the spring.

It's going to be BLAZING HOT. Expected to be in the 80's by 8am. Race starts at 6:30. So that means we'll pretty much have absolutely no relief. So maybe it is possible to crash and burn like I did in Music City.

Let's see how this goes...

See you on the flip side.

Peace, yo.

Yes

Gina gloksen is engaged! He proposed on stage during the concert!

Tragically Awesome

This is for chris' secret girlfriend...she knows who she is. Just dont tell jason. :-)This concert is tragically awesome!

Waiting

Mike can hardly contain his excitement to see idols on tour!