Weight for me!

So I'm not allowed to run. And I can't really bike yet, or be on my feet to exercise. So that means if I want some exercise, I have to use...my upper body!

Dun-dun-DUN!

The other day, I was playing with my niece and nephew, and they were trying to push me across the room, while I tried to push them back. I was letting them win (honestly!), and after one victory, Shelby said in a singsongy 4-year-old voice, "I'm strong, 'cause I'm four." She then made us compare muscles, and declared that mine looked the same as hers.

So, it's off to the gym during lunch for Dave. Yesterday I lifted over 200 pounds. No, not at the same time.

Columbus Marathon 2005

It wasn't as fast as I had hoped, but I made it!



For a few weeks, it was very much in doubt if I'd even get to start this marathon. Because of the pain in my foot, my doctor was hesitant to clear me for the run. We agreed to see how I felt after a few weeks of only cross-training. I decided my foot felt good enough to give it a shot, so I signed up for the marathon two days before the race.

I trained with the MIT (Marathoner in Training) group in Columbus. I'm glad I joined the group, as it really helped get me out for the long weekend runs. The 20 mile training run was the longest I managed, so I didn't quite know how my body would react to the full marathon. I ran with a group of four during the training, and all four of us started the race together.

For the first mile, we pretty much stuck together at a little over a 9 minute pace. Once we hit the first water stop, though, it became difficult to stick with each other in the crowd, and we broke down into two pairs. The first 7 miles or so kind of flew by. We saw some areas of Columbus I've never been through, and saw some very big houses! I guess the mayor was out on the corner at one point, but I must have been zoned out, because I totally missed him.

Around mile 7, my foot started aching a little bit. I'm not sure if it was the uneven roads, or just the stress of running. It's possible my gait changed a little bit. More on that to come.

Mile ten brought us back into downtown, and I got to see Meredith and my family for the first time during the race, which was a nice boost. At this point, I was still feeling great. Miles 10-13 took us on a loop through German Village, south of downtown, and I got to see everyone again around the halfway point, which is back in the city. We crossed the halfway point at 2:02, on pace for a great time and with plenty of energy.

The middle part of the marathon goes up High Street for over five miles, and is a gradual uphill most of the way. This stretch started okay; however, that would change at mile 15. Suddenly, I felt my IT band *twang* across the outside of my knee. I stumbled pretty badly, and had to pull over to the side of the road. I tried some stretches and started running again, but I couldn't finish the mile running. To that point, I had run the whole way, water stops and all, so it was discouraging.

For the next 11 miles, I was only able to manage short bursts of running until my knee flared up, and I'd have to pull over again. The most frustrating part was that we were keeping such a great pace to that point, and I had to watch the 4:15 pace group pass me, and then watch the 4:30 pace group pass me. There was just nothing I could do.

So, I walked and ran all the way home to the finish line, averaging over 12 minutes a mile. It was strange feeling so...not tired towards the end of such a long run. That didn't make me any less glad to see my family at mile 26, and to turn the corner down to the finish line. I saw my watch nearing the 4:45 mark, and sprinted down to the tape, despite my knee's protests. I crossed the line at 4:44:18, and could say I had run a marathon.

I'm not ruling out another, but for now it's time to heal up.

Thanks to Meredith and my immediate and extended families for their support on the track, to John, Gretchen, and Katie for training with me, and to everyone else who helped me in my training or came out for the race!

Marathon Success!

I finished my first marathon yesterday in 4:44:18! Details to come.

Injured...again.

Here's the bad news: I have yet another injury. This time, it's a stress reaction in my foot. (Specifically, my cuboid bone)



My doctor isn't thrilled about the prospect of me running a marathon on it, but it's either that or throw away all this training. I really want to get through at least one of these things, with all the work I've put in. However, I haven't been able to run consistently for the last month. So, I'm nervous about how this marathon is going to go; moreso because I've never run one before.

In more upbeat news, my four-year-old niece is moving. Or so she's convinced.

"We're moving. Tomorrow. They're tearing down our house."

Um, does your Mom know about that?

"Yes. We're moving. Tomorrow. They're tearing down our house."

Turns out her neighbors are moving, and nobody's house is getting torn down tomorrow. :)

Quad Script Ohio

At Meredith's request, here's a picture of the alumni + varsity bands doing the quad Script Ohio.

Also, if you've never seen a script performed, here's a link to a video of the regular single Script Ohio. (Low bandwidth link here)

Football and Such

OK, pictures of the trip probably won't happen till after the weekend, now that I think about it.

This weekend is the alumni game for Ohio State, which means my return to Ohio Stadium as part of the alumni marching band. I'll be part of the great scarlet horde of musicians you'll see if you happen to tune in to the OSU-Miami game on Saturday.

We also are headed up to Cleveland for a concert of all Star Wars music narrated by Anthony Daniels (C3P0) on Sunday. If you know me, it should be obvious whether I'm excited for that or not.

And now, if you'll excuse me...*turns on his OSU music*

Triumphant Return

We're back from NYC!

Both Meredith and I finished the half-marathon, albeit not near PRs. Central Park is a lot hillier than expected, and it was very hot and humid. So, I was happy to just get through it - definitely the most difficult race I've done to date.

Rather than recap the trip separately from my wife (who was also there), I'll just redirect to our journal of the trip at her blog.

I'll probably post more about it in a bit, but I have work to do right now. :)

Lots (200+) pictures from the trip, so I'll pick out some highlights and post them.

One Week

One week till we leave for NYC on vacation! And it's about the right time for it.

I just got a 32-page requirements document for our next round of development at work, and it feels like about two years' job. Just overwhelming.

Laugh Track Guy was sadly not at spinning class this week. For entertainment, I had to settle for our spinning instructor's wildly inaccurate sense of rhythm.

"Up for 8...7..6........4.3...and down for 4...and up!"

Somebody needs to buy the boy a metronome. He also had the amusing:

"Now give me some speed!"
*10 seconds later*
"Be sure to put on some resistance, I don't want you going too fast on this one."

Patio and Late Bloomers

One of our giant Canna flowers.


Canna close-up.


I think these are flax?


Meredith's Gerbera daisies on our front porch.


Landscape around the patio.


Lythrum flower and patio background.


Magnolia tree and hydrangeas by the patio.

His Own Laugh Track

So. Meredith and I went to spinning class on Tuesday for the first time in a while. Most of the crowd was new to us, with a couple exceptions. There's this one guy in the class with that haircut. You know, the one where the hair is just slicked up and back? I don't know exactly how to describe it. Imagine a guy with his shirt half open and a gold chain around his neck. Now imagine his hair.

Anyhoo...

This guy was talking and attempting to flirt with some of the girls in the class. And every time he'd crack a (usually not very funny) joke, he'd laugh loudly and obnoxiously right along with it.

Here's a true-life example:

Spinning Instructor Mike's Girlfriend: "We just got back from a camping trip."

Laugh Track Guy: "Oh, did you get hurt?" (She had band-aids on)

SIM'sG: "No, just got some mosquito bites."

LTG: "Mike, I've never heard anyone call you a mosquito. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

SIM'sG: *uncomfortable silence, looking away*

And on and on it went throughout the 15 minutes before class started.

*Sitting on bikes chatting, general low murmur*
*Guy wanders class, offering help setting up bikes for various women*
*Weak joke/thinly veiled pick-up line*
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

I don't get it. I just don't get it.

Murderball

Murderball is another name for Wheelchair Rugby, also called Quad Rugby. It's also an inspiring movie that documents the lives of the USA national Quad Rugby team.

It was not a "boring" documentary by any means. Over the 2 years shown in the film, you see the changes brought on by tragic circumstances in the players' lives, and the way this sport affects them. One of the more touching scenes of the movie involves the interaction of Mark Zupan, one of Team USA's best players, with a man recently injured in a motocross incident.

On the whole, this movie doesn't pull any punches. Murderball shows life as it is for the players in almost every detail. It shows the likeable and unlikeable, and gives the viewer a greater understanding of both the sport and the men who play it.

I found it inspiring to see the challenges overcome by the people featured in this movie. I hope to apply that inspiration to my own training, and get past the trials of the next few weeks. So far, so good - one daily run down for the week.

15 going on 17

I did my first 15 mile training run this Saturday. For the most part, it went pretty well. I found that, even up to 13 miles, I could run the distance pretty easily, but this one really seemed long.

About 14.5 miles in, I got a scare. Suddenly, I felt a shooting pain in my left foot when I tried to push off. I stopped to walk (not that I had much choice). After trying and failing to start running again a few times, I just limped back to the parking lot.

For those readers not familiar with my history, last year I was sidelined with stress fractures to both shins, and Meredith also had two stress fractures. Naturally, that was the first thing my mind went to. I wasn't able to push up on my toes at all without serious pain.

Fortunately, it's feeling much better today. Perhaps I just pinched a nerve, or it cramped up and I strained it, or something. Thank goodness...I didn't need another injury-shortened training season.

The other good news: only four longer runs left till the marathon in October! I feel like the finish line is approaching, and I feel pretty ok about it so far. We'll see how I feel when it gets closer, and more "real"...

New Albany Summer Classic

This Saturday was the New Albany Summer Classic, a 10 miler/5k race - I did the 10 miler. It started about 5 minutes from our house, which was a nice change. The morning was relatively nice, if a little warm. Meredith went out for a 3 mile pre-run, and I laid in my car and listened to some music to calm my nerves.

My intention for the race was to run around a 9 minute mile. I often have trouble pacing my first couple miles, but at the first mile mark, I was right at 9:00. Over the next couple miles, I got a little ahead of my pace.

At one point, I was following a guy who sounded like he was going to lose a lung, or cough up his stomach, or something. The sounds he was making were making me feel sick, just to hear them. I made sure to pass him as quickly as I could.

The only downside to the race was on the way back. There was a spot we turned right on the way out, and I expected to turn back the way we came. However, there was another spur on the course I didn't know about, which took a little wind out of my sails.

From keeping track on my watch, I noticed I was consistently gaining time against my intended pace, and when I got to the finish line, I had done a 1:26:50. That's an 8:41 pace, so I was pretty happy with my result! I ran this 10 miles at about the same pace as the 5 miler earlier this summer, so maybe this training stuff is paying off after all...

Go Speed Racer, Go!

So, I've noticed something in our neighborhood, and by Meredith's parents' house. There seems to be a breed of people who love hopping on their motorcycles and riding back and forth and up and down neighborhood streets. There are a few hypotheses for this behavior. (Or behaviour, to sound more academic.)

1. They truly enjoy the feeling of speed and freedom, with the wind whipping through their generally non-helmet-covered hair. They are oblivious to the annoyance factor.

This hypothesis is disproven by the gunning of the engine when they pass folks walking down the street.

2. They think they look impressive, and want to show off their ride.

This is all well and good. However, the bikes I usually see doing this are not the big impressive growling bikes you see at...well, usually at Quaker Steak and Lube on Wednesdays.

These bikes have roughly the pitch of a dentist's drill. Or kind of like a balloon when you stretch the hole as you let out the air. It's the equivalent of me going up to someone, saying "I can shout in an impressively loud manner!", and then going, "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee".

3. They are training for the new 5000m Suburban Motorbike competition in the 2008 Olympics.

I can only assume this is the case, and I, for one, shed a little tear every time I see these patriots in action.

So next time you see one of these bikers cruising the streets, don't get annoyed. Get supportive and give them a big old "USA! USA!" chant.

On your mark...

Reset... (As our 3-year-old niece says)
GOOOOOOO! (As our 2-year-old nephew says)

I officially ran the farthest I've ever gone (by 0.08 miles) yesterday. My training group did 13.2 miles, which is just over a half marathon. We came in around 2:00 (2:10 counting water stops), which is just a little slower than I need to be going to hit my 4:00 goal for the marathon in October. I'm pretty sore today, but the good news is that this weekend's run is only 10 miles. Plus, my shoes didn't get so wet this week that my running mates commented on the strange noises emanating from them. So I've got that going for me. Which is nice.

Meredith and I cleaned up the driveway a bit yesterday of all the sand and gravel we had from the patio project. We put it in our trash can, which is kind of a no-no. I wouldn't worry about it too much usually, but it's so heavy I can barely lift the front end to roll it down to the curb. I'm just envisioning the garbage truck trying to pick it up, and the arm snapping off or something. I just know we're getting in trouble for this one...

We got some plants to landscape our backyard yesterday, and we're having topsoil delivered today. Tomorrow, we get our tree delivered. The end of this project is in sight!

Patio pics!

The new patio!


Another view of the new table.


Our gladiolas finally flowered!


A close-up view.

Busy busy busy

Sorry it's been such a long time between posts. We've had a lot going on in the last couple weeks. Meredith swam/biked/ran her big triathlon, and did great! We got to see the sights of Muncie, Indiana - our favorite was the one-armed statue of Larry Bird outside a gas station.

The patio is almost done.

It was a struggle with the paver company, though. Here's what happened.

Thursday: Dave calls company, transferred to someone who can answer his questions about the weird angles produced by their blocks. Guy says "We carry corner blocks like you need", and that though they usually don't take returns, they'll make an exception because the recommendation of their employee was so bad.

Friday: Dave gets off work early, he and Meredith drive 40 minutes to go get the materials. They tell the woman at the store what the guy said, and she looks like they've grown extra limbs. "We don't sell anything like that", she tells them. She snaps, "You can go out in the lot and look at the material yourselves." After going out to the lot, an employee out there says they can split the blocks we have to produce the square corners needed for the project.

Monday: Dave calls the closer location, they say they can split the blocks there. Dave heads over there after work, explains his predicament. Goes out to get his blocks split, and the guy out in the lot says, "Why don't you just buy the corner blocks? We sell them pre-made."



But now we've got everything in place, and our furniture arrived yesterday. Pictures soon!

July 4th updates

We had a busy weekend of the 4th...did the usual fireworks, cookout, etc. We are *almost* done with the patio. Just need to iron out some issues with the steps we bought. The stones they recommended just don't look good at all, so we need to figure out an alternative. More pictures when we do.

Also, we ran a 5k up in Westerville on the morning of the 4th. I woke up feeling kind of sick, and didn't expect much out of it. There weren't any clocks on the course, and I forgot my watch, so I didn't know my pace till the finish. Turned out, I set a new personal best: 24:55. Hopefully DayQuil isn't a banned substance. :)

World's Strongest Woman

World's strongest woman?


Dump it!

Progress...

The backyard wasteland.


There's all that grass! Also note the remnants of our steps and the little pile of gravel we get to carry around back.

Grass

Pulling up sod is hard work.

We worked for a few hours yesterday, and got about halfway. Unfortunately, we didn't get it done by the time the rest of the materials are arriving, so the driveway will be blocked for a day or two.

Craziness!

The results for the 5k were posted over the weekend. Official time: 25:17.

The crazy part is that through some combination of turnout and demographics, I ended up placing 2nd in my age group! Unfortunately, there were only awards for the first place finishers in this race.

We're also looking at putting in a patio in our backyard. We were traveling up to a store in Delaware (the city, not the state), and Meredith had printed out directions from their website. We followed the directions one step at a time, as you normally do. We turned onto Sandusky St., right in the middle of downtown Delaware, and Meredith asked for the next direction. I said, "That was the last one". She asked what the address was, and I looked at the paper, only to find out their directions just ended at "Delaware, OH". Not any particular *place* in Delaware, just the city.

So, while successfully getting us to Delaware, the directions failed in one minor detail. We ended up pulling into Kroger and calling Meredith's parents, who had gone to the same store recently. The directions from her Mom's memory (Past some trailers, over a railroad track, and along a windy road) were heartfelt but not very useful. Eventually their modem (they do still exist in the wild) found us some real directions and we got there. :)

Success!

I managed to hang on for a personal best in the 5k last night, unofficially finishing in 25:20 according to my watch. I went out pretty fast - I was at 7:45 at the first mile mark, 16:00 at the second mile, and then I must have slowed down after that. The race was slightly downhill on the way out and uphill on the way back, so that's not too surprising.

I had Meredith's dad in sight for a little more than half the race, which is encouraging. He ended up beating me by about 3 minutes. Apparently the first place guy in his age group beat him by only a few yards...close call! The race director told him that he can retire from running when I beat him in a race. :)

Neither Meredith nor her dad like Chipotle, so they both picked up free burritos for me. Now I have lunch for the rest of the week!

5K Race Day

We're headed over to downtown New Albany for a race tonight. It'll be my first 5k of the summer season. My personal best is a 26:06, which is about 8:24 per mile. That's a bunch faster than I've been running the longer runs, but I think I'm in better shape than when I set that record.

I'm actually a little nervous. I feel like I'm supposed to do well now that I'm in training. I'm so bad at pacing myself that I worry I'll go out way too fast, or so slow that I can't catch up to where I need to be. I guess we'll see how it goes!

(I just have to keep reminding myself that there's Chipotle at the finish line...)

Eight Mile

I did 8 miles again this week, to get back on schedule with the training group. I ran with some slightly slower people than my normal pace, so it felt pretty easy. The only difficult part was how humid it's been lately around here! I needed gills to get enough oxygen coming up the hill at the end of the run.

I got an M&M bar at the end of the run. It was good.

We also made some progress on our secret project last night. Hopefully it will be complete within a couple weeks, and I'll post pictures. :)

More Flowers

More flowers from around the house.


More blue flowers...


Flowers from Meredith's hanging baskets.

House Pictures

Our lilac bushes by the corner of our house.

Here's the ladder shelves I made for our upstairs bedroom.

And, as requested, the newly blue wall!

A New Record

The 5-miler went well yesterday. My previous best (happened to be the same course) was a 50:10, and that 5 miles was the longest I had ever run.

This weekend, I ran a 43:08. Only 7 minutes faster. :)

I also ran a 7 mile long run on Saturday, and managed to keep up with part of Meredith's running group. So, I feel pretty good right now. My legs are pretty tired, though. I think this week will be a challenge.

We also painted a wall in our dining room yesterday. After a year and a half in our house, we finally have one first-floor wall painted!

My Mileage May Vary

Now we're really starting to get into the miles. Okay, at least for me. My daily runs are now averaging around four miles. This is about as high as they ever got for my half marathon, so we're headed for uncharted territory. I did a six mile long run this Saturday with the training group, which went pretty well.

I've definitely noticed that I'm feeling less pain in my legs than when I started up running again. Four this morning seemed pretty easy, even though it felt like it took forever. I guess that's the difference between running alone or with a group. The legs feel the same, but your mind gets to think about your run, instead of a conversation.

I think we're going to run a 5 mile race this weekend, which should be a decent gauge of my progress. We'll see how it goes, I've only done a 5-miler once.

I'm encouraged by the pace I'm at right now. My goals for the marathon are:

Finish
Finish in 4 hours
Finish without walking
Beat Meredith (Kidding, honey! Or...am I?! OK, yeah, kidding.)

Right now I'm running around a 9 minute/mile pace, which would get me in just under 4 hours. Now I just have to train myself to keep it up for 26 miles!

Rain, rain, it's not so bad.

This week's long run on Saturday ended up in a downpour. I found out that as long as it's warm, that really didn't matter. Well, at least for me - there was one girl in the training group who had to stop because her mascara ran into her eyes. Did four miles this week, and forgot to take a watch again. I did beat the people who were around my pace handily on the hill at the end, which gave me some confidence going into the week.

I got to go visit my family this weekend, and get to do four days of running in a row. Three miles a day, Monday through Thursday. I think this week and the next should be some of the toughest, as the mileage climbs during the week. Once my legs are used to 4 a day, it shouldn't be as bad, because it doesn't really go any higher other than weekend runs.

I'm going to get today's run out of the way right now, before work. It's nice when I can do that - gives me a long afternoon.

Oh, and Star Wars tomorrow night at 12:01! :)

Edited to add: Good run today. I think it's my fastest pace so far, but I didn't feel like I was overdoing it.

Small World

So, I finally made the jump to the Marathon-in-Training group here in Columbus.

The first run was actually pretty good. A few of us who got to the Radisson early for the informational meeting were standing around waiting for some sign of the group, lost. This would be an omen.

The front desk woman didn't have any idea where they were, but pointed us in the direction of a ballroom. Eventually, someone wandered in wearing running gear, and looking like they had a direction. So, we followed them down the hall (to the exact opposite side from the front desk's directions), and found the already-in-progress meeting.

By chance, one of the people I had met before the meeting was going to be running a similar pace to me, so we ended up running together and talking. During the conversation, I had mentioned that I was from Brecksville. She mentioned that she had a friend who went to high school there. Well, not only did he go to my school, he was actually in my class!

Somewhere along the way, we decided we were going to do the four mile option for the run, rather than the three that most people were doing. However, on the way back we realized neither of us knew where we cut off the trail to head back to the hotel. We ended up *way* past our mark, had to run up a very large hill to get back, and wound up doing close to 5 miles in the process.

Summer Goals

We were out in Boston this past weekend for the marathon, and had a blast. Got to see some old friends and eat a lot of pasta.

And I had to marry someone inspirational... :P

So, I think I'm going to train for a triathlon this summer, and maybe a fall marathon. Meredith suggested joining a training group here in Columbus for the marathon, but I'm not totally sold on the training group idea yet.

We got up and swam Sunday morning before church. My shoulder's been injured, and it was getting kinda sore. I guess I need to pull out the physical therapy exercises again.

I'm definitely more worried about the swim than the other two parts. It's sort of an irrational worry, since I have swum half a mile many times in the pool. I guess until I get out there and do it, I just won't know for sure.

Where's Bambi's Mom?

We got to watch Bambi with our niece the other day. She's at the age where there are questions about *everything*.

"What's Bambi doing?"
"Where's Bambi's Mom?"
"Why did they shoot Bambi's Mom?"
"What's Bambi doing?"
"Is that Bambi's Mom?"
"Why is Bambi's Mom still dead?"
"What's Bambi doing?"
"Where's Bambi's girlfriend?"
"Why is Bambi dark?" - "Because the sun isn't up"
"Why is Bambi's girlfriend dark?" - "BECAUSE THE SUN ISN'T UP"
"Why is the sun not up?"

Oh, and we also discovered that our 3 year old niece has a boyfriend.

In other news, I feel like I was beat up over the last couple days. My Monday basketball game was pretty rough, and I took a couple pretty hard charges. Add in a 4 on 4 game during lunch yesterday and spinning class last night, and you get a slow moving Dave today. I need to start my running up again if I'm going to do the triathlon or half marathon this spring, but I don't think today is the day for that.

Joann is evil.

So, the other day I went on a shopping trip with Meredith, her Mom, her sister, and our niece Shelby (3) and nephew Jared (almost 2). One of our stops was at Joann Fabrics.

As an aside - we found unfinished pine Adirondack chairs there for $40. So if you want some, that's the place to go.

Anyway, we had checked out, and were waiting at the front of the store. Shelby and Jared had gone out into the entrance area. It was one where there's a sliding door on the front of the store, then as you come in, a sliding door in front of you for the entrance, and on the side of you for the exit.

Jared saw us waiting by the checkout lines, and pressed himself up against the glass wall, trying to get our attention. I was playing with him, pointing at him, and started pretending to sneak up on him. My powers of stealth, however, were no match for the sensor on the sliding door. Across it came, plowing straight into Jared's side, sending him and his *very* surprised look flying across the entrance way.

He had already been: sick, stabbed with a pencil, and had his fingers slammed in a door that week. This was just too much for him, and he started bawling. After seeing he was ok, the rest of us found it pretty funny.

Great Quote

"I know a number of people who do great work, and it's the same with all of them. They have little discipline. They're all terrible procrastinators and find it almost impossible to make themselves do anything they're not interested in."

I think this describes me quite well. I think Meredith would agree. :)

Unloading, please, weight

One of my other resolutions is to trim down a little bit. Meredith and I have been going to spinning classes, and I'm currently in physical therapy for my shin and my shoulder. Pretty soon, I'll be able to start running again.

Since I didn't really post a good list, here's some other goals for 2005. Not all are likely, but that doesn't make them bad - just ambitious. More may be added as I think of them.

Tier 1: Time And Effort

Set a new personal best for a 5k race.
Run a half marathon or relay marathon.
Get down to 150 pounds or a 32 waist.
Paint the interior of our house.
Install lighting in our loft.
Pass the Sun Certified Programmer for Java test.

Tier 2: The Challenges

Run a marathon.
Do a triathlon.
Help my company turn a profit this year.
Get a raise.

Tier 3: Hope Springs Eternal

Pay off our house. This one may be on the list another 30 years. :)

Aaand, we're back.

Tonight is the end of my Christmas break, during which I haven't been at the computer much. It was nice to have a couple weeks off, though.

Our Christmas was a bit of an adventure. First, we ended up hosting for Meredith's family, because neither her parents nor her sister had power due to the blackouts all over Columbus. We're still cleaning up the debris from hurricanes Shelby and Jared (our niece and nephew).

Next, we braved the ice and snow to drive to my family in Cleveland. Somewhere around Mansfield, I-71 kind of disappeared for a while under the ice. We still made it without too much trouble, though. It was nice to see everyone up there.

We started one of our new years resolutions tonight: to wash the dishes after every dinner. We'll see how that goes. :)

Current Dishes in Sink: 0