All Day Long

They wrestle and wrangle like this for hours...drives me nuts!

Video taken January 20, 2010 Mia 7.5 months old & Zoe is 8 years old

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Going to hang out with friends tonight.

Most Obnoxious Toy Ever

Yes it's the rubber chicken. I never know which toys will be hit or miss around our house. Some only last for 20 minutes before being ripped to shreds, but I'm learning that rubber is a little more rugged. Luckily the squeaker in this guy only lasted a few days, but the dogs still play with it all the time and fight over it.


GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I think I've picked out my birthday present. I was late getting on the Apple train, but now I am a convert!

Tennis Ball Wars

Last week I was able to get out of work around lunch time & sit outside with the puppies for the afternoon enjoying some amazing Houston winter weather.



Mia loves to be outside- she just watches all the birds near and far.



The dogs had been cooped up for a few days with the bad weather, so they were feisty and rowdy in the fresh air outside.



Round and round...just glad it was finally outside this time.



Growl
Snap
Snarl
Spin
Bark



Mia has learned to crinkle her lips & show her teeth quite well. It's hysterical...



Then I got the tennis ball out & they chased that around for a while.



Until Mia was distracted by the birds again...



And Zoe was upset at me for taking pictures instead of throwing the toys.



Do all dogs sit around with the ball hanging out on side of their mouth?
Both Mia and Zoe do it all the time.



Too precious!





Here is a quick video of all the mayhem and rough-housing around the yard.



Then 20 minutes later they are curled up on the couch together like this...



...or this enjoying a nap and trying to stay warm.

Photos taken January 12, 2010, Mia ~ 7 months old

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Dinner with Gram tonight.

Big Stick Fight

It takes me a while to get around to downloading my videos from my iPhone, but I finally got a few from the last couple of weeks to share. Zoe was never very excited about sticks before...she'd chase them & then just leave them. Now that it's something she can keep from Mia, she takes great joy in playing keep-away.

Video taken January 1,1 2010 Mia 7 months old

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: We did our first "pack run" last night. Both dogs ran with my from my mom's house & we all survived. Not perfect, but not impossible either.

Houston from Above

We stayed downtown at the Hilton Americas the night before the marathon and had a great view of Discovery Green. Last time I'd stayed here, this was mostly a parking lot. They have tons of activities and all sorts of neat things throughout the year.



We went up to the top floor of the hotel to check out the pool & the stunning views of downtown Houston as the sun was setting on a crisp, clear night.



Gotta love the camera timer!



The complex to the left center is where the new Houston House of Blue & the Lucky Stripes (Adult) bowling alley is located. There are a few great restaurants & a new wine bar- all right across from the Toyota & convention centers.



We had perfect timing and watch a flaming red ball drop below the horizon.



The setting sun cast such great light on all the downtown buildings and made for some wonderful skyline shots.



We also snuck into the closed Skyline bar & grabbed some pictures from the top of the hotel of Discovery Green. One of my favorite new restaurants- The Grove sits next to the park so you can enjoy the crowds out on their deck while munching on some great snacks.



I'm still amazed at all the building, especially residential, that is going on downtown.



The tall building, just right of center, is a super-swank downtown condo high rise. I think the crane in the foreground is building another hotel.



I'm learning to love Houston the longer I live here ;)



The very '80s industrial convention center is where all the marathon pre & post events were held.



For the holidays & through February, there was a hot air balloon that was giving out tethered rides. I wanted to take it, but I figured I probably got better pictures from the top floor of the hotel.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: 1 day of my conference down & 1.5 more to go.

Tug with the Chuck-It

The dogs have really started playing together the last few months. It's fun to watch for a few minutes, but drives me nuts after about half an hour! Mia bounces and spins...Zoe just growls and stomps her front paws.

Video taken January 11, 2010 Mia 7 months old


GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Survived my first case of food poisoning...luckily it only lasted a few hours.

Post-Race Party

This year for the marathon, I decided to stay downtown at the Hilton Americas to sleep in a little later & enjoy Saturday night with Stephanie. We had a great view looking out over the new Discovery Green Park & seeing the start/finish line.



It was nice being able to walk back to our room & shower before heading home. During her visit we had to cover the major Texas food groups- TexMex and BBQ, so we stopped at Rudy's on the way home from the race.



Dad & Brenda had generously offered to host the post-race party at their house this year. They even sang Happy Birthday to Dad & Stephanie.



More BBQ- including some of dad's famous ribs.



Frank is our morning run buddy- he's finishing up his runs when we are get started at 4:30 AM.



Much more glamorous than our early morning pre-run photo in George R Brown.



These two on Facebook crack me up- I love running with them, they are so entertaining.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I finally got around to adding some quick-link badges to the homepage for our big trips (South Africa and Brazil/Argentina) plus a Blogging Vizslas badge.

Miles and Miles of Marathon

I ran and finished my 6th Houston Marathon on Sunday. Our neighborhood running group meets up in the George R Brown to get all our gear on & do our bag check.



We stash our stuff, make one last bathroom break, bundle up & head out to the start line.



I gave in & went with the disposable trash bad this year. It was about 40 at the start line, but luckily there was not much wind.



I was so excited to be running with my best friend- we've never ran together before. The first mile or so is on this elevated bridge heading north out of downtown.



We spent the night downtown, but H met us at his usual route stops to provide kisses & food. Here we are around mile 5 in the Heights.



Next stop was mile 10 around Rice University.



Time for a PB&J and to lose that outer layer.



The infamous "Houston Hill" (ie an overpass) around mile 14 is one of the most boring & ugly parts of the course with all the freeways and utility lines around.



There is about a mile & half stretch in West University where we counted approximately 475 American flags lining the road.



H's next stop was in the Galleria around mile 16...still looking good!



We ran though Tanglewiled without seeing former President George H.W. Bush, but Stephanie was soooo excited to see him sitting down & greeting runners around mile 20.



Our final meet up with H was on Allen Parkway around mile 22 & Stephanie was practicing her finish line jump.



In the home stretch with downtown Houston in our sights!



We made it all 26.2 miles together at a rather leisurely pace- finishing in 5 hours & 7 minutes.



Yes, Stephanie ran rouge & ran using H's bib since he failed to do the proper training.



My step-mom and training partner finished in an awesome 4 hours & 47 minutes- maybe next year we can run it together.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: 70 and sunny here- gotta love Houston winters.

Happiest of Birthdays

Last week was a busy one- I was out of town & we celebrated several birthdays including Zoe's 8th birthday on Wednesday. I can't believe how white she is getting on her face and paws. I promise I will do a proper birthday post for her soon.

On Friday, my best friend Stephanie came in from Philadelphia to celebrate her birthday with me & to run the marathon with me on Sunday.



We went out to a super-yummy dinner at America's with my hubby & then we met up with my dad and step-mom.



Dad celebrated his birthday on Thursday & he wanted to go out dancing. Stephanie has long been my dance buddy- going way back to our college days, so she was more than excited to go along for some Texas two-stepping.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: After two days in Oklahoma again this week, I'm home for 2 weeks.