I am going to pack up the cats and head to Houston for two weeks! My poor kitties spend more time on the road than most people.

My cats freak just going to the vet. Okay, that's the only time they ever ride in the car, so I guess it's justifiable. Boy, it must be close to "that time" or something. I have been extremely cranky today, especially about the Leaving Boss who finally decided about a week ago to tell me he's semi-retiring as of the Jan 1 and won't be employing me anymore, although he's never said the words, "I won't be your employer anymore, so you should probably talk to Bill (my other boss) and decide what you want to do." My other boss has been keeping me apprised over the last couple of months about what's going on so I'm prepared, but that doesn't negate the fact that after working for these guys for over 10 years, the first one owed me an explanation - especially since he's half my paycheck. Suffice to say he's off my Christmas list this year. And, of course now that the time is bearing down him, he's decided to pull his head out of his butt where it's been for about 3-4 months now and get things done. Figures. . . . told ya I was cranky. On the positive side, he has work that still needs to be completed and which will take a few months and wants to hire me on a contract basis, which I do on the side anyway. I got my new training schedule that begins Dec 28. Fartleks are in my future. Never done 'em before. Looks pain challenging and interesting.

Merry Christmas everyone! I'm off to figure out how to get "down" the vent on this darn gas fireplace. :-) ... and don't even get me started on where to park the reindeer on this exposed steep roof... - Chris

Happy Holiday Everyone! I've been busy getting everything done that I've been putting off. I never used to procrastinate but maybe it's because life is just busier. The skiing is great and running is going well too! I did 17 last week for my long run and it went much better than 2 weeks ago when I did the same loop. Shooting for 20 miles tomorrow since I have to work all weekend at ski school. 2700 miles for the year is actually within reach-I gotta go for it! Take care, Kelly

Hello and Merry Christmas to everyone! My husband and I had an early Christmas present this week when he received a call for a job interview from US Fish and Wildlife. He put in an application several months back and we were beginning to wonder if it fell into a black hole. This is a VERY exciting opportunity for him to work at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. He will not travel nearly as much and we will live in a beautiful place. They are deciding in three weeks. Here is a link to the Refuge website if you guys are curious: http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/oklahoma/wichitamountains/ For pictures, go here: http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/oklahoma/wichitamountains/Photo_gallery/Pages/Pages-Thumbnails/landscape1.html Blessings to all, Kitrin

Tuff, tuff run this morning. Went out to Headwaters, which has a lot of climbing after the first 3 miles. Add into that slippery, snotty mud and yesterday's strength training - Ugh! My legs are toast, not to mention I have a nasty blister on the side of my left big toe. Right under a callous. I'm gonna have to work on getting rid of that callous. It's definitely becoming a problem. Now that I've filled my tummy, I'm feeling better and am ready to go to the movies. Hope you all are having a good weekend!

My brother is getting ready for his first trail race, a 33k in Moab, UT in Feb. We went out for an 11 miler late tonight. As we were running along, cutting through a retail area to connect two trails, a couple sheriff's deputies stopped us. Apparently they were looking for two guys who had been stealing car radios and stuff out of cars. When he saw that we weren't smuggling any contraband in our tights it was obvious he had the wrong guys, so we chatted with him for a while and said we'd keep our eyes open. He thought we were totally nuts for running in the cold, windy, dark night... so it was kind of amusing. Hope they found the guys breaking into the cars though... I park in that area a lot. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is having a great weekend! -Chris

Greg - Hang in there with that flu stuff, and don't try to push yourself too hard too soon or you'll up flat on your back again. That nasty stuff's been going around on these threads. Ick! (

Yes mother. Hiked 4-5 miles with my whole family today, all 6 of us. Took them on some of my favorite trails. I was so excited to share some of my favorite spots with them. No grumbling from anyone. 2 hour hike. My wife and I pleased. This bodes well for future backpacking and camping trips. Took all 3 dogs too, including the little blind guy. Here's a picture of the crew. http://s542.photobucket.com/albums/gg440/Gregoflowe/?action=view¤t=DSC00031.jpg Damn. That didn't work. Leslie, how do I post pictures? I finally got a camera!!!

FINALLY!!! I found time (or is it initiative) to get out and move my body last night. Yesterday was not one of my best days. My husband and I spend a GREAT deal of time driving back and forth on Houston's highways trying to find the Bass Pro Shops store and many of the signs are not back in place after Hurricane Ike apparently knocked them down. What's up with Houston? It has been almost six months and they still do not have all the major (INTERSTATE?!?!?) highways marked? I was peeved. Anyway. We found the store ten minutes before closing. Grrr. I let it get too far under my skin and it did not help that I forgot my medication that morning. When I came back to the hotel, I KNEW that the only way to repair my frame of mind was to take that medication and run. I was leaning towards eating 1/2 gallon of ice cream and crying myself to sleep, but after all these years, I know what is right. My husband agreed to go with me, but said he could not run. We walked briskly for two miles and then I trotted while he walked for the last two. By the time we returned to the room, I had settled. I continue to be amazed at how quickly everything will come back into line when I make the right choices. I have a curiosity question for anyone interested. I walked two miles and jogged two miles at the same pace, but the jogging worked me harder. Why is that? Is it because of the "pushing off the ground" during the jog? My mind tells me that the effort should be the same when the pace is the same, regardless of walking or jogging. I know that this a silly physiology question, but I get curious about such things. Have a great week, Kitrin