Half Marathon

This morning I ran the Phoenix YMCA Half Marathon. The race officially started by a shot from the double-barreled shotgun of Wyatt Earp. You can see, Keeper got a picture of him firing the gun. We thought that was pretty funny. The race started in South Mountain Park and ran down Central Ave. and then out on the canal. It was an out and back course. The canal down on the south side of the city is pretty crappy compared to where I've been doing my training runs in Scottsdale. The canal is more of a creek and the path isn't very wide. The race was small ( a couple hundred people doing the half) but the volunteers were plentiful and very appreciative of the runners, because the money from the race funds their youth and teen programs (which is pretty cool). They had no gatorade at the water stops, only water. The weather got hot and sunny pretty quickly, and I got bored pretty easily on the canal, especially knowing I'd have to turn around and do it again on the 2nd half. My first 2 miles were faster than I wanted to go but I settled into a comfortable pace around mile 3. I was very pleased to have no leg cramps (yay!) and I saved some much needed juice for the last 2 miles, which were uphill (going back up South Mountain, into the park). Darsh. I had hoped to break 2 hours, but finished (strong!) in 2:01:34. I am looking forward to a flatter (and hopefully faster) PF Chang's in January. The post race organization was well-stocked with water, gatorade, cliff bars, and Einstein Brothers bagels. We didn't stick around for the awards, but instead headed up to the mountain to the very top (Dobbins Lookout). Chloe was a great spectator with Keeper at her first race. I'm sure she wondered why she wasn't running.

Graduation

Chloe graduated from Basic Obedience I class this past Saturday. Our instructor set up six stations around the room for us to complete. We had as much time to practice as we wanted, then we had to call him over to evaluate us when we were "ready". She completed every station (amazingly). We did not win the "competition" (the highest score got 20% off the next round of classes) but we had fun. We're not quite sure whether to sign up for the next seven week class quite yet because our Saturday mornings are going to be busy the next few months, but we definitely felt this session was well worth the money.

I have turned into one of those "people" who buy Halloween costumes for their dog. I swore I wouldn't, but I did. I just couldn't resist the $10 Bumble Bee outfit they had at Target the other week. I showed my students the picture on the right and they told me she looks "humiliated" in the picture. I can't really argue with that.

The training class we took was held at at a place called Paws Resort and Spa for pets. They hold "doggie daycare" there, as well as grooming and boarding for dogs. We talked to them about boarding since we have to leave Chloe for the first time this weekend. I thought their prices were really high for boarding but then we learned that it's not conventional boarding at all. There are no crates/kennels. All the dogs are "evaluated" prior to being kept there to make sure they are sociable with other dogs. All day long the dogs are kept together and are supervised by the staff there. It's really like summer camp for pets. To make sure that the dogs aren't upset or "traumatized" about being left there for the first time, you have to bring them in for a day of regular "playtime" just to get them used to it. Chloe goes on Thursday for her first day. Can you tell we don't have kids???

Grand Canyon Trip

Last week J & A came out to visit for 5 days. We spent 2 days & 2 nights camping in the Grand Canyon. Keeper unfortunately couldn't come because he was studying and couldn't miss class last Monday. We got into Grand Canyon Village around 7:30pm Saturday night, grabbed dinner at the deli, then set up the tent and went to sleep. We woke up pretty early and Jen set to work making eggs and bacon (after wrestling with the camping stove). We decided to drive up to Mather Point and take some pictures of the view before heading to the visitors' center. We then took the shuttle bus to Hermit's Rest, and began our hike to Santa Maria Spring down Hermit's Trail. This particular hike was only 2.5 miles into the canyon and 2.5 miles back up. The altitude change really got to me on the hike back up; it was really tough! We made it up, refueled, hopped on the shuttle to see Hopi Point and finally made it back to camp. After a firewood chopping session, Jen made us pile back in the car for some sunset pictures near Mather Point. It was well worth the arm-twisting! After sunset we headed back to camp to made a delicious dinner and s'mores by the campfire. We were so tired from hiking, that Monday morning we decided to head to a lodge to have a hot breakfast. We shopped in the general store and then drove to Desert View to climb the tower and take some more pictures. After leaving the canyon on our way back to Flagstaff, we stopped off at two more National Monuments: Wupatki (pueblo ruins) and Sunset Crater. We got back into Phoenix around dinner time and tried a new restaurant that turned out to be great. It was a great visit and we miss them already! I took too many pictures to post here so if you want to see all 110 of them, email me and I'll send you the link.

A Familiar Face

Management has received several complaints about our lack of posting so.... here you go. In K and I's defense though, most of the time we are very boring people so there's nothing exciting to blog about. Two weeks ago, my college friend and sorority sister, Lorraine, was in town on business. We had her over for dinner one night and K made his famous (or should I say Gayle's) shrimp pasta. It was delicious, as usual. Then we went to a trendy wine bar in Scottsdale. It so nice to see a friend out here! L was in town until last weekend so we got to see her for dinner again on Friday night.

K's father flew down from Vegas last Thursday and stayed with us until Sunday. We tried two new restaurants, both good. We had amazing seafood at Wild Fish and good old fashioned Italian at Tutti Santi. K and his dad got a round of golf in Saturday morning and we amused ourselves in the afternoon with baseball playoffs. We are eagerly awaiting our next visitors, Jen and Andrew, who are flying in Friday night. Yay!!!!

Finished Project! (and some funny dog pics)

Keeper and I have finished our first home improvement project. We refinished a dresser for our bedroom and I must say we did a great job. I think it looks awesome. Check it out for yourselves.
Before
After








We have to re-motivate ourselves to refinish the rest of the guest room furniture but I vow to get it done!

And here are some amusing pictures of our dog. The first is her with some lab safety goggles. She wasn't cut out to be a nerd.
I decided to give her a stuffed animal today to play with . It took her all of half an hour to "kill the monkey".

Midterms

I hate it when blog people apologize for their lack of recent posts. Having said that, sorry about the lack of posts.

One of the interesting aspects of a Quarter system, especially at a school where your first day is in the middle of August, is that you don't even get to October before mid-terms. Luckily, we really only had/have three. Monday we had Anatomy Lab, i.e. point stuff out on a dead body. I did OK. It wasn't worth much more than our weekly quizzes, so I'm not sweating a 75(ish).
Thursday we have Biochemistry, the class that puts a journalism major at a distinct disadvantage. You see, journalism majors don't take biochemistry, while chemistry and biology majors do. I'll figure it out, right?
Next Monday, we our Homeopathy I midterm. We've really only discussed theory, of which there is a lot. I'll try to explain it to you sometime.

Other notes:
-Chloe is doing great at charm school. She still has her moments, but is learning to ask for things.
-We took on our first home improvement project ever, refinishing a dresser so it better matches our bedroom furniture. Pictures of our triumphant project forthcoming. We still have to finish the old girl.
-It was about 70 degrees outside when we woke up today. Now I remember how we talked ourselves into moving to the hottest city in America.
-This deserves its own post, almost. The raw food diet that we told some people we were on, didn't work out. Raw food sucks and makes you tired. We've decided to do 70 percent raw. Then June can keep running as much as she likes, and I can actually concentrate in class, but we'll be super healthy at the same time.

Quiz, Quiz, Test, Quiz, Quiz

I'm in the middle of a string of five straight days with a quiz or a test. I think I'm holding up pretty well. The attitudes people have about grades are interesting. I had a conversation with a like-minded classmate the other day, and we agreed that our grades are not a reflection of ourselves or our potential as (someday) clinicians. The other side of the spectrum, and we all have known these people, tear up at the sight of a B.
I've decided to take it in stride. My job is to do as well as I'm capable of while not driving myself crazy with the incredible amount of information we have to digest. My job is also to do well on the board exams we take after two years, which determine whether we move on to the next two (clinical training) years.
Will better grades lead me to better opportunities in the way of possible residencies? Perhaps. Does someone check your report card before you open up your own practice? I doubt it. There is so much out of our control. I can only do what I'm capable of and no more. Having said that, I hope I ruined the curve on the Embryology exam :)

Labor Day Weekend

I know we haven't been great about posting but there really hasn't been much going on. Keith goes to school, I go to school....and that's about it. We had our first visitor this weekend, however which was a lot of fun. The picture to the right is of Corbin trying to do some push-ups in the living room. Chloe thought he might want to give her a belly rub instead.

The heat out here is really starting to get to us. It's now September and we are still reaching 110 degrees on most days. We wanted to a short hike with Corbin so we drove up to Flagstaff to get out of the heat yesterday. We went to Strawberry Crater, which is a dormant volcano. It wasn't nearly as hot in Flagstaff as in Phoenix, but we did the hike in the middle of the day so it was very sunny (no shade along a volcano) and the temperatures were probably in the low 90s. One difference about the climate in Flagstaff: the breeze actually felt cool! In Phoenix, a breeze feels like someone opened the oven door and all the hot air is hitting you. It's not very pleasant. The picture to the left is Keeper and Corbin on the first part of the hike. We were pretty much going up the side of the crater. It was steep and not easy footing. My feet kept sinking in the cinders/rocks from the volcano. The views from the top were amazing (as you can see). Chloe and I were glad it wasn't a long hike, as we had done some running early Sunday morning (6 miles for her, 12 for me); we got tired pretty easily. We got back to Phoenix last night and I had a pretty low-key evening, while Keeper and Corbin painted the town red once Corbin's friend got in (late) from San Diego. Today we caught a D'backs game, and not a very good one at that. They lost 10-2 to the Padres.


Tomorrow is back to the grind for all of us. I start pre-season soccer practice after school. I'm sure 110 degrees will feel very refreshing at 2:30pm on the soccer field. Corbin flies back to Brooklyn tomorrow and Keeper goes back to class.

Back to School, Back to School

No posts for awhile from me because...well we've just been too busy. It's nearing the end of my second week of school with students (3rd week total) and I haven't had much time to blog. I've been getting up at 5am to run a few miles in the neighborhood with Chloe so she gets some exercise every day. She's up to just over 3 miles a day (~15 miles per week) and for the most party she's doing great. We have "issues" when she spots a cat or when we're approaching one of two houses that has dogs that bark like crazy when we pass. I've enrolled us in a "Basic Obedience" dog training class and I think it will benefit us. This Saturday is the first class and it's just for owners. The weekend after Labor Day we start the 7 week class with a group of 6 other dogs and owners. We'll see how she does.
Last Saturday, Keeper and I hit up Play It Again Sports in Tempe and bought him a used bike. It should be noted that the salesman (after K had gone for a test ride) informed us it was "technically" a girl's bike and Keeper said, "I'll take it anyway". Yes, my husband rides a girl's bike. Now all we need is a basket and some streamers and he'll be good to go. The point of the bike purchase was so I'd have some protection (and company) on my long runs. Phoenix has a canal system with paved and gravel paths on both sides that make for great long runs, but I wouldn't go there by myself. Last Sunday K and I did just under 9 miles. We started at 6:30 in the morning and it was already nasty out. It was just brutal by the time we finished. I want to do a 10 miler this Sunday, so we'll be getting up earlier, for sure. K has also started accompanying Chloe and I on the morning runs (he rides alongside of us).
Because I have been base building my running mileage since we got here, the 3 mile morning runs aren't enough for me so I've been heading to the gym after school each day to get the rest of my miles finished on the treadmill and then do strength training 3 times a week, and a little biking and swimming thrown in for good measure.
My school is pretty good so far. The staff and administration has just been amazing. The students are cooperative for the most part. The class size has taken some getting used to (these classes are twice as big as at my old school), but I'm getting the hang of it. That being said, grading takes so much longer! As I type this I'm thinking of the 160+ lab books waiting for me to finish grading them tomorrow. I am coaching the JV Girls' Soccer team at North Canyon and we had our pre-season meeting yesterday. Tryouts aren't until the end of October and the season runs November-January. I am also the adviser of the National Honor Society and will hold my first meeting with them next week.
We are anxiously awaiting Labor Day weekend and Corbin's upcoming visit next week. It will be nice to see a familiar face!

First Day of Class

I consider today to be our first day of class. I had Regional Anatomy (learning all the parts of the body). Our professor has a PhD in Anatomy from UC-Berkeley (i.e. he's wicked smart). He's a good guy and assured us that the anatomy we learn is the same as those other medical students. We also had Anatomy lab, but didn't get to meet our cadaver. We just went over ground rules, picked groups, and looked at some X-Rays. Tomorrow we start cutting.

I also had Introduction to Homeopathy. I have a feeling this class will be a nice break from the raw sciences and will be a constant reminder that we are in fact Naturopathic Medical students, since the philosophy of Naturopathic Medicine is drawn a great deal from homeopathy. I'll explain that at a later date when I know more about homeopathy. Right now my mind is pretty blown by the whole concept.

Tomorrow, in addition to slicing up a person, I have biochem and histology.

Ready to go

Well, here it is. Tomorrow is my first day of class. Orientation went well. It gave us all a chance to learn the names of our fellow classmates, pick up some tips from upperclassmen, and get comfortable before the onslaught of information in front of us. My class is very diverse. People come from a lot of different backgrounds and experiences, and range in age from 20 to about 50. More kids are coming straight out of college and into this field, but it is still a very popular second, third, fourth, whatever career. The faculty members who we met this week reinforced why I chose this school. Just wonderful, thoughtful people all around who are really dedicated to seeing Naturopathic Medicine flourish.

This first week is called "Intensives Week." We have two classes, Philosophy and History of Naturopathic Medicine and a Psych class called Healthy Communication, each 4 hours a day. They do it this way so they can fly in experts in those particular fields to teach us. This week should serve to get us further comfortable with our surroundings. The other good part is we get 4 credits out of the way in the first week, with ONLY 22 credits remaining this quarter (That number jumps to 24.5 in Q2, and 27.5 in Q3).

Next week, however, is when it really hits us. Regional Anatomy w/ cadaver lab (fun!), Embryology, Histology, Biochem, and Intro to Homeopathic Medicine. Yea, they really pour it on.

Horton Creek Hike

Yesterday, Keeper, Chloe and I headed northeast of Phoenix to Payson, Arizona for a hike. We found the Upper Tonto Creek Campground after only turning around once. The hike followed a creek through the Tonto National Forest. The weather was much cooler than in Phoenix, but pretty humid nonetheless. The hike started by crossing the creek. I missed a great picture opportunity of Keeper carrying Chloe across the creek so that she wouldn't get wet and muddy. Well that ended about 5 minutes into the hike. Anytime there was a puddle she went right for it and the few times we left the trail to head down to the creek, she went right in. Although the first half of the hike (4 miles) was all hiking up the mountain, she did great and was happy to see about a dozen other dogs and their owners along the way. Maybe some of the people we passed had a copy of the book we just bought, Best Hikes with Dogs: Arizona. We finally reached the top and saw the place in the rocks where the spring water was flowing and decided to have lunch. Keeper ended up hiking to the very top of the mountain to check out the views while Chloe and I relaxed. As we started to head back down the trail we heard the familiar sound of rumbling thunder. Here we go again. I was not nearly as anxious about this storm because we were in a wooded forest with plenty of other hikers around, as opposed to last week where we were in an open meadow, with no one else around. We did get wet, but not soaked like last Friday. Hiking 4 miles down the mountain in the rain makes for a much quicker second half of the trip. Chloe was a wet, muddy mess and we dried her off the best that we could before heading back to Phoenix. She slept most of the way home. In other news, you can teach old dogs new tricks. I've been working with Chloe on "sit". Sounds easy but to a grown dog who is part Chow (aloof and independent) she pretty much only sits when she feels like it. Keeper found it funny last week when I had a bunch of cheese (her favorite treat) and tried "sit" with her numerous times, only to have her wag her tail and look at me as if I had two heads. Well this morning after church, something clicked. She now "sits" and lies "down" on command. Such a good girl.

Clean Bill of Health

Chloe had her first check-up today. She handled it very well and all her tests have come back good so far. She is free of heartworms and lice, but needs to gain a few pounds (which we knew). The vet's assistants loved her (and were surprised a chow mix could be so well behaved) and said she has a very "expressive face."
To the left is her I-just-got-blood-drawn-leave-me-alone face.

To the right is her smile. She either thinks it's time for a walk, or thinks the camera is full of swiss cheese.

In case you were wondering, yes, I put a purple
bandanna on my dog.
You wanna fight about it?

Flagstaff, AZ

Yesterday we decided to put a day off to good use. I recently picked up the July issue of Phoenix Magazine because I wanted to check out the "30 Summer Hikes" article. Obviously there are a ton of places to hike right in or around Phoenix but it is too damn hot to do them this time of year. So Keeper and I picked one up in Flagstaff in the Coconino National Forest to do yesterday. We weren't sure how Chloe would do on a hike (worst-case scenario: she gets tired halfway through and refuses to walk anymore and we have to carry her back to the car...) so I chose a shorter, 6 mile hike called Sandy's Canyon Trail. We hit the road a little after 7:15am and drove north to the mountains. We stopped for gas about 20 minutes south of our exit and noticed that...it was cool outside! The temperatures were in the 60s! I wondered if I would get cold hiking in a tanktop...
We found the trailhead and started hiking. Sandy's Canyon Trail is tailored to viewing ancient sand dunes (see right). We started the hike at the top of a gorge and and then quickly plunged down a steep rocky trail. It felt weird to be in a lush, green forest after almost 3 weeks in the dry and dusty desert. Chloe was very good on the hike. She was fine when she met other dogs (and their owners) along the way and didn't get tired at all. After getting to the bottom of the gorge the trail opened up for a mile or so through a grassy meadow. I knew the weather was calling for thunderstorms in the afternoon and we saw some clouds and heard some far away thunder rumbles, but we kept on. The turnaround point was marked by a cave at the base of the dunes. It was really cool (see right). We decided to give Chloe some water (and cheese) and eat our lunch in the cave. When we noticed lightning outside I was glad we had refuge in the cave. The storm was right overhead and we decided to wait it out. There was no way I was going to risk getting struck by lightning by walking back through the open meadow anyway. Chloe, like most dogs was not thrilled about getting caught in a thunderstorm. In fact, she royally freaked out. After a half hour or so, the worst part of the storm had passed us but there were more dark clouds on the way, so we decided to take our chances and head back to the car. The trail had now turned into a giant mud puddle, which Chloe loved. Too bad she had just been groomed the day before. We ended up getting back to the car safe, but drenched and muddy. It was a gorgeous hike and I would definitely go back and do some others in the Coconino National Forest. Chloe was a champ as well. She didn't slow down once and I can't wait to take her again. On the way back we stopped at rest stop and I took some pictures of the scenic view (see below). We were not thrilled to get stuck in the worst traffic ever getting back into Phoenix. The drive home from Flagstaff should have taken us a little over 2 hours and it ended up being well over five.

New Addition

We have a new member of our family. Her name is Chloe
(changed from Rosalind. Not sure who names a dog Rosalind,
but I digress). We got her from a great shelter called AAWL (Arizona Animal Welfare League, I think). Chloe was a stray who was injured at some point. You can't tell here, but her tail is short and lacking in hair from that injury. She had only been up for adoption for about a week and they estimated that she's 2 years old.

June wanted a dog she could run with and our apartment has a 35 lb. weight limit on pets, so our options were limited. There were some other dogs we liked, but once we got to play with Chloe our choice was easy. She's a Chow Chow mix and we were warned she might be independent and more interested in herself than she is in us. That has not been the case. She's very friendly and attentive, and she's pretty darn cute. I don't know if she had ever been housebroken, but after the intial shock of her new home, we haven't had any accidents. We were also warned that she may not get along with cats, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. It's been fun watching her test the limits of what she can get away with. Teaching new limits to a 2-year-old dog is challenging, but she's a good dog (even if she likes to jump on the couch on occassion).

Arizona

The final day of our journey was pretty uneventful. We drove from El Paso, Texas, through southern New Mexico and then to Arizona. The picture to the right is of some rock formations driving through Black Canyon in southern Arizona.
We got to Phoenix on Monday July 9th, in the afternoon. We went to our new apartment right away to get the keys and check it out. Some of you may know that we rented our apartment "blind" because of poor reviews (and a murder) at the complexes we HAD looked at on our last trip to Phoenix. Fountains in the Green, however, had a very good feedback/reviews on apartmentratings.com. We live on the 2nd floor again, and although the living/dining rooms and kitchen are a bit smaller than our place in NJ, we like this apartment better. We have a covered deck about 3 times the size of our deck in NJ, we have a guest bedroom, and the new carpeting and modern cabinets/flooring are so much better than the 1970s crap we had in NJ. We also have a dishwasher and our own washer/dryer for the first time. It doesn't sound like much, but we are super-excited about it. The complex itself is all shaded by trees/vines/plants. There are orange and grapefruit trees everywhere. It's all stone walkways and fountains-- makes you feel as if you somehow stumbled into The Secret Garden. It's a much smaller complex than the place in NJ and we like it. Our neighbors are really friendly and we feel really safe with the gated entries/ nighttime security. Althouth Phoenix is a pretty spread out city, its a city nontheless and walking just a few blocks over is not something I would do at night.
Our moving truck did not come until Friday, July 13th so we were very grateful to have friends of Keeper's dad who were kind enough to open their home to us. My parents got to town Wednesday afternoon and I don't know how we would have unpacked without them. They were such a huge help. To the right is a picture of my parents near the hotel they had to spend a few nights in before our stuff got here in Anthem, AZ.
So we're all moved in now and learning the ins and outs of Phoenix. Our apartment is unpacked, we found good grocery stores (Trader Joe's!), and I joined a nearby gym (cheaper than NJ!). We're also learning that AZ drivers are worse than NJ drivers. Yes, I said it. People here somehow earned the priviledge to never have to signal when they're turning and they don't know how to step on the gas when lights turn green. I cringe at the thought of the winter months when the snowbirds arrive to ass the roads up even more.

Texas

Our next stop was Dallas, where we visited a friend who is very familiar with the town. He took us out for some excellent Mexican food and some excellent beer. It was nice to see someone we knew after being on our own for a few days.

The next morning it was on to Austin, with a stop at Louie Mueller BBQ in Taylor, TX. Definitely worth going out of our way for. If you ever find yourself in between Dallas and Austin and hungry, you know what to do.

The picture to the left is us at Stubb's in Austin, our second stop of the night, after we hit a margarita bar on 6th St. No one told us that we would be the oldest people at Stubb's that particular evening, but we saw some OK bands nonetheless. Austin is the proverbial "nice place to visit..." We're not young enough or hip enough to live there, and many dirty looks from those who are (even 15-year-olds who are) ensued. It also seems a nice living can be made as a bum, as many have chosen the profession in Austin.

The next day was not so eventful. Jose Cuervo and Jack Daniels did not get along. A Denny's breakfast didn't do them any favors and some time was taken to recover. After a failed attempt to hang out at some hot springs (closed) and a sculpture garden (closes at 4:30), we regrouped and headed out for an excellent sushi dinner and some much needed sleep.


Gas is expensive in the middle of nowhere. Make note. That is all I have to say about west Texas.

Tennessee

We spent 3 days in Tennessee. The first night was spent in Kingsport. Not much there but we did have a fun little walk and picnic lunch at Bays Mountain Park. They had animal habitats set up for bobcats, otters, wolves, deer, and birds. The picture above is of Broadway in Nashville. We were there on a Monday night but still found some live country music to listen to. Nashville felt like the 1950's. The following day we moved on to Memphis. Despite the less than stellar hotel I booked on expedia, we had fun downtown. We spent some time on Beale Street and saw this guy and his blues band in a park. They were amazing. We also ate at two VERY good BBQ places in Memphis. We tried The Pig on Beale for dinner and had lunch the next day at Nealy's. We both preferred Nealy's! We spent the 4th of July touring the American Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. We both thought it was worth the admission fee. We left Memphis in the afternoon on July 4th and drove through Arkansas. We spent a very disappointing 4th of July night sans fireworks in Texarkana, Arkansas. We didn't find anything interesting enough to take pictures of in Arkansas. Enough said.

Saturday June 30th: York, PA to Charlottesville, VA

We started our trip by spending Friday night with my parents in York. This is a picture of us in their garden on the morning we left.

We got to Charlottesville in late afternoon and had way too much fun (I haven't drank that much since college-- d'oh!) with Keeper and I's college friends who now own a bar there. It was nice to start off the trip with friends we hadn't seen in awhile.

Leaving NJ

Here are some pics from Friday, June 29th, right before we left NJ. I must say, aside from my job, friends from work, students, soccer players, and Rik, Lexi, and Aidan we were not sad about leaving the Garden State.