Creepy, Spooky and Backpacky Walks

For Halloween, I opted to take the little darling to the mall to see other dressed up kids. We got there a little later than the allotted candy hand-out time of 6-7 p.m., but she managed to get a couple of sweets for daddy and mommy to eat. She looked so sweet in her little UNC cheerleader outfit. And she was also very sweet in helping me walk for furry vaccinations.

And then today, I opted to try to get a few more steps in for the ASPCA. I loaded my best girl in her little backpack, and we took off for a walk with the pups. The rain tried to derail us, but we still managed to get another vaccine for the ASPCA companion animals.

A Run for Anna

I didn't announce this, but quietly, to myself, I had made a deal that I would do all my longer runs this month for Feeding America, and that shorter strolls and walks would be for the ASPCA. So, I was all set to do my normal Tuesday run with Sarah to benefit Feeding America. But after speaking with my "work mom" Lynn this morning, I knew I needed to do a special run for the ASPCA. Lynn told me about her daughter's dog Anna, a rescue, who is quite ill at the moment. So, I wanted to do a special run for a special dog. I've never met Anna, but I know she must be special because she has some beautiful humans who love her. This one is for you, Anna, and all your furry pals.

Stroll for the Furries

This evening, I was ready to get back on track with walking the pups. Piper hasn't really had a good, structured walk this week, so I was determined to get him out tonight. And he was quite happy to get his walk. I took the Piper reins while Cliff walked our two girls. Of course, Piper doesn't respond as well to me as he does to Cliff. I walked him most of the way, but for the last quarter mile, Cliff took over to show me how to relax while I walk Piper. It's just difficult for me. Relaxing while a maniacal mutt is doing everything he can to pull my arm out of the socket isn't really an easy feat. But I'll keep trying. In the meantime, I enjoyed having a few minutes to walk my girls.

Once we got home, I was ready to finish up logging our mile. But when I stopped the Charity Miles app, I got this error message.

I started to have a little panic attack. I've gotten this message before, and it was the prelude to an app crash and my progress not saving. But luckily, that was not the case today. I did manage to get my progress saved after we finished dinner, in which the baby proved to be quite fussy from sleepiness. You wouldn't know it to look at the picture I took of her (see below). For some reason, whenever a camera comes out, she can't help but ham it up. She just loves it when we take pictures of her. And she's so smart, she knows the difference between really taking a picture and pretending to take one. She's a clever clogs!

Pre-Bedtime Stroll

This evening, after I got home from work, I immediately made dinner. After eating, it was time to go for our evening walk. I wanted to eat first to give the day a little longer to cool from the heat. I got to man the stroller and the Tokie today. But with thunder clouds threatening rain, we did a shorter route than we had been doing. Still, we walked for 28 minutes and still managed to provide 1.5 meals. And after our walk, I got some snuggle time with my girl right before her bedtime.

In Touch with Nature for ASPCA

Today was a scorcher, and I was worried that we wouldn't be able to go for our evening walk. When I left work, the thermostat in my car showed 96 degrees. I definitely didn't want my girl to be subjected to uncomfortable, sticky heat. But luckily, by the time I got home after running a few errands, the temperature showed about 87 degrees. And by the time we finished eating dinner, the sun was setting and the evening was quite pleasant for our walk.

I manhandled the pup while Cliff strolled our girl and walked the Tokester. Ramsey was so cute on the stroll. She kept trying to hold Tokie's leash, and she loved it when I would turn quickly to look at her. On the way back, she held out her little hand to feel the leaves of some shrubbery as we passed by. I just love watching my girl as she experiences the world. And all her experiences tonight provided 2.5 vaccinations to some needy pets.

The (Obligatory) Evening Stroll

It had been a couple days since our last walk with the pups, so I decreed this evening to be one for a family stroll. When I got home from work, I got the stroller ready, changed my clothes, tied on my shoes, and we hit the road. I could feel some tension as I pushed the stroller and tugged Tokie along. I believe I'm feeling a bit of frustration over end-of-month accounting stress, but I was hoping the walk would help. While I wasn't completely happy-go-lucky by the time we returned home after walking a mile, I was happy that we helped provide 2.5 vaccinations for some furry friends. Now, I just need to get through this month-end to return to my lovely, happy self. My pups and daughter feed off that negativity like piranhas.

My Shaggy Beast Helps Other Shaggy Beasts

Another day, another opportunity for an evening walk. When I got home from work, I quickly changed into some appropriate walking clothes, and off we went. I manned the beast today, while Cliff pushed the baby. I enjoyed walking in front of her only to turn quickly and get a delighted giggle from my girl. One mile and 36 minutes later, we found ourselves back home with 2.5 vaccinations provided to other shaggy beasts. Now, if only we had gotten Piper that much needed haircut… all in due time!

Morning Family Stroll...Getting Breakfast and Giving Breakfast

This morning, we decided to get our family stroll completed early in order to beat the heat. Around 8:30, we arrived at the Greenway with the dogs and baby, and set off down the path. I set the timer for 15 minutes, so that we could turn back at that time if necessary for a nice 30-minute walk. I also set my Charity Miles for Feeding America. I was excited to do this walk because I just got a new jogging stroller for my birthday, and I wanted to get out on the "rugged terrain" with my girl. Cliff manned the dogs while I manned the stroller. When the timer sounded at 15 minutes, we decided to go just a bit further until we hit a bridge near an underpass. Then we turned back.

As we walked along, we noticed how muddy the Greenway was. All the rain we've been getting of late had obviously washed dirt over the path. And the swampy area right next to the Greenway looked rather deep. I could just imagine this setting in a horror movie (picture on lower left of the eerie scene). But it was a pretty good walk, and we both managed to get 3 meals each for hungry folks! That made my post-walk oatmeal taste even better.

You Can't Stop Me, Little Nipper!

Today, my buddy wasn't able to join me for our normal Tuesday run, so I opted to hit the Greenway by myself. I was having a rough morning at work, and I was ready to burn some negative energy. So, I got all my apps and music ready and headed out to the Greenway. I did my little warm-up walk, and once I made it to the bridge, I started my intervals. Within a few seconds, I was derailed.

A couple walking their two dogs were approaching me on the bridge as I started my run. I managed to bypass the woman with her little labrador puppy, but the spaniel-type dog with the gentleman was having none of my running. As I was passing by, he leaped up and nipped my bat-wing. I gave a little cry of shock and stopped immediately to assess the situation. I didn't seem to have any broken skin, and the man and woman were profusely apologetic. I believed them when they said he was UTD on his shots. But I was irritated (although I tried not to show it). I was out to burn negative energy, and more of it slapped me in the face within a few seconds of running.

But despite the little mishap and losing a little bit of time with the incident, I got back to work on my run, and managed to do well: 2.5 miles in under 40 minutes. I'll take it and let Charity Miles give those 5 meals to people who need them.

What's Good for the Piper...

We got a little lazy this weekend when it came to walking the dogs. They got some exercise on Sunday when we took them to the park, but Saturday only presented a short, parking lot walk. So, I was ready to get back into the routine. Piper is really responding well to having these afternoon walks with the family. This time, I led Piper while Cliff strolled the baby and guided Tokie. He did really well, and the walk was obviously good for him as you can see by the smile on his face. But it was also good for other pups and cats. It only took 0.9 miles to get 2.25 vaccinations.

Exercising for Two...Charities, That Is!

Hooray! It's Friday. Normally, I have lazy Fridays, but since Sarah and I missed our usual Tuesday run, we rescheduled it for today.

The critters were out in force today. We saw lizards, dragonflies, and a friendly little snake on our run. We managed to make it 2.6 miles in about 40 minutes (I estimate down due to stopping for the photo, etc.), which provided over 5 meals. Yea!

Update: My second exercise session happened this evening. When I got home, we opted to do a walk with Piper and the baby again. Cliff walked with Piper and I strolled the baby (in flip-flops...not a great idea, BTW). We did our normal route, and if I would have just walked a tiny bit further, I would have gotten two whole vaccinations. Oh well, there's always next time.

An Evening Walk to Provide a Meal

This evening after I got home from work, I was ready to take Piper for a walk. We missed his (what is becoming) usual walk yesterday because of dinner plans, so I definitely wanted to get him on his leash. Since Cliff was the last one to man Piper's leash, I opted to take the reins while Cliff pushed our girl in her stroller. We opted to leave Tokie at home, which she didn't like, but she doesn't really like walks longer than our parking lot. So, we did (what is becoming) our regular route, and then back to the house. Piper did very well. Although he tries to challenge me, he obeyed most of the time and didn't pull too badly. And 0.8 miles later, we not only have a happy dog, but we also have 1.5 meals for the hungry.

Boo, Accelerometer...Poor Furries!

Today, my running buddy had a work conflict that prevented us from running together. So, I decided to go to the gym and meet Helen. Helen is a type of crossfit workout where you do three rounds, three minutes each (with two minutes rest in between) of 15 situps and 15 lunges AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible). So, I did my crossfit training, which took a little less than 15 minutes. I did about 7.5 reps. I guess that's ok, but I have nothing to compare to it. Not knowing what to do with myself for my remaining gym time, I decided to get on the treadmill. Treadmill and I don't get along, but occasionally, we have to put aside our differences so that I can run.

So, I launched Charity Miles and set it for an indoor run. I knew it would be monitoring my phone's accelerometer, so I tried my best to make sure my arm was swinging properly while I ran. Boo, the accelerometer didn't work very well. I ran a mile as is evidenced by the picture of the treadmill, but the accelerometer only registered 0.2 miles, which was only a half a vaccine for the furries. Oh well, I'll try to get them the other half of that vaccine when I take the pups for a walk later.

 

UPDATE: I did take the pups, the Cliff and the kid for a family walk after work (around 6:00 p.m.). Since I relied on my GPS for the walk, I got in another 0.75 miles, which helped provide another 1.8 vaccinations.

Rainy Dog Walk for the Animals

Our dog Piper is a sweet pup with a host of problems. Lately, I've been wondering if we should find a new home for him. But I'm not ready to give up on my boy. In an effort to continue training Piper, I'm trying to get him out for a walk in the afternoon. When I got home today, the sky was threatening bad weather. But I wanted to do a family walk. I got the dogs on their leashes, and Cliff got the baby in her stroller. Unfortunately, the rain started coming down a few minutes after we walked outside. Cliff, Tokie and the baby had to abandon the walk, but I was not to be deterred. Piper and I walked 0.8 miles in the rain. We managed to provide 2 vaccinations for a couple little furry ones. But best of all, Piper did really well on our walk. He challenged me a little, but on the whole, he listened and did well. I love that boy!

Strolling with my Girls to Feed America

Although we didn't go far, I still took the opportunity to log my Charity Miles. When I got home from work, I announced that I wanted to go for a family walk. So, we leashed the dogs, strollered the baby, and away we went. Even though we only walked 3/4 of a mile, it still meant we earned 1.5 meals for hungry folks (a total of three between the two of us). Not horrible for an impromptu stroll.