A Weekend in Portland

Just spent the weekend in Portland for work, and got to see my friend Heather too!  We met years ago when we lived near Ft. Bragg and hardly get to hang out anymore.  I had a great time and got some good work in too!


The Will to Run

will - - noun - - a fixed and persistent intent or purpose...
the never ceasing, continually recurring to the mind, stubbornly unyielding anticipated outcome that guides your planned actions...

if only this description could be how i feel about running.  i started up again a couple of weeks ago and i am still in that- "i know it's going to feel good someday if i could just get past this crappy, rust shaking phase"- phase.  i go three times a week and meet up with two others that run.  we might not go that far (between 2 and 3 miles so far) but at least i'm going.  

during the second run, i found my stride again -briefly.  if you are or have been a runner you know what i'm talking about.  that perfect unison of leg pumping, arm swinging and breathing rhythm that makes it feel like you could conquer the entire world if it approached you the other way on the running trail.

as part of this process i knew i needed a goal to really work toward.  something that i couldn't back out of and hadn't done before.  so, i signed up for the Tacoma City Half Marathon in may.  it's less than 100 days away now and i'm still working my way up in milage.  13 miles is a long way through the hills of Tacoma!

my ultimate goal is to make running as integral a part of my routine as brushing my teeth.  
in the meantime, i'm taking it one run at a time.  

Bears Vs. Packers 2011 Playoffs

Well, today was the big play off game between the Packers and the Bears.  If you don't already know, Hubby and I have a strong rivalry when it comes to football.  It's the spice that make fall have that extra snap around the house :)

The Packers ended up winning 21-14.  The Bears went through three quarterbacks in the course of the game; third-string QB Hanie left me wondering why the heck we haven't been playing him all year!  He helped put the Bears on the Board and got us within seven points of the Packers. But it just wasn't enough to make up for the waste of the first three quarters...  but I still <3 my Bears.

There was a whole lot of trash talkin' at the Roadhouse; I was the only Bears fan there!  Oh well.  Hubby's team is going to the Superbowl in two weeks!  I will always be loyal to the Bears, so its cheering the Steelers on for me!!  :)


hehe Hubby looks kinda silly in this picture.. i think he was trying to watch the game and look at the camera at the same time..  :)

The Moose is Loose!

Greetings from Alaska!  That's right, it's the beginning of our 2011 Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) in Alaska!  IRT is a program coordinated through the Pentagon that allows reservists to gain real life experience using our military specialties to accomplish community improvement projects.  This is really critical for reserve troops, because we only drill 24 days (one weekend a month) a year!  I don't think I blogged about it last year, so here's the scoop:

There is a village in Alaska named Newtok that is in danger of being swept away by the Ninglick River within the next five years.  So the Alaskan government reached out to the military to find a relocation solution.  So, for the past two years, and the next three, the Marine Engineers, Navy Corpsman, Air Force Pilots, and the Army Watercraft are banding together to help the village relocate to a safer location.  Th Army watercraft is being used to transport the equipment and materials from Tacoma, WA to Bethel, AK with onward movement to Mertarvik, the new village.  Then the Marine Engineers are using it to build a road, a shelter, and an airstrip!  The Air Force is providing support with UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters for the transportation of troops.  The Navy is manning several smaller boats to go between Mertarvik and Newtok, as well as providing dental and medical support to the military personnel on site.  So many pieces are fitting together to help a community!

I am so excited to get to work more with this project this year.  It seems like as soon as I am able to finish one mission, the next has already started!  Never a dull moment at my work it seems.

So this week, I went to Anchorage to attend the Initial Planning Conference with the rest of the units that are involved.  We were able to work through a lot of the plan and really make sure that as the project expands each year we work together to get everything done.  The Permafrost in Alaska really limits how much we can get done every year, so we only have the summer to work.

Oh, and I saw my first Moose!