A HOT, HOT SUMMER

Yesterday I had three little girls in my charge. A soon-to-be 10 year old, a soon-to-be 7 year old, and my little one year old. The older girls belong to a good friend of mine who was in town for some physical, occupational, and recreational therapy. I volunteered to take her kids for the day. The older girl made a list at the beginning of the summer outlining the things she wanted to do. On the list was:

Visit Washington DC.

How could I not take her and her sister and my K into the city for the day. Fortunately, my friend Angie joined us and provided an extra set of adult hands. Unfortunately, it was HOT. The heat index was well over 100 degrees by mid-morning.

So what does one do on a sweltering day in DC? Tourists hit up the museums or take tours of the Capitol or White House. We locals opt for some of the off-the-beaten-path activities.

First stop was the observation deck at the Old Post Office.

This is K looking out over the EPA. In the background behind the wires, you can see the Washington Monument. (Note K's crazy hair. Little girl sweats A LOT. And when she's hot she refuses to wear a ponytail. Her hair was crazy out of control yesterday.)

After taking in the city views, we "picnicked" in the food court of the Old Post Office. Nothing beats eating indoors and enjoying a free lunch-time concert when it is sweltering outside.



We enjoyed our picnic food and the cool temperatures.

After lunch we ventured down Pennsylvania Ave to the Navy Memorial.

Nothing beats playing in the fountains.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon inside baking brownies. The early evening hours were spent swimming and making a pizza dinner together.

MY VERY FIRST EARTHQUAKE

This morning a little after 5am I woke up to the sound/feel of a loud rumble.

What the heck?

Was it low-flying military aircraft? Loud base from a car outside? The collapse of one of the many construction cranes in the city? A bombing?

NO.

It was a freaking earthquake. AN EARTHQUAKE.

Technically, this is my second earthquake. We experienced a 4.7 in Meadville my senior year of college. But I was at swim practice during that earthquake and quakes cannot be felt in the water. I totally missed out.

Today's earthquake, I definitely felt.

RIDDLE ME THIS

Riddle me this... is a phrase D and I say to each other when we need some explanation; specifically when something is mind-boggling.

In the spirit of mind-bogglingly puzzled, I say to YOU,  riddle me this:

Our backyard is fenced in. There is a gate at the far end to allow entrance/exit. We keep this gate shut at all times. Yesterday I closed it myself. In spite of a fenced in backyard, we have dog poop in our backyard all the freaking time.

RIDDLE ME THAT!

How can we have dog poop in our backyard? Does someone open our back gate and allow their dog entrance while we're sleeping? Is it possible that it is not dog poop? Could it be a cat? or raccoon?

Is there any other hypothesis to explain the dog poop in my fenced in yard?

I'd love to hear your thoughts...

THE HILL

If you've been paying attention to my DailyMile account, you've seen that I've been doing battle with a hill on my normal running route. This is the hill.

It is a full city block long and it is steep. Several times this past week while running with K, I've had to stop and walk to the top of the hill. After 3.5 miles of running in hot and humid temperatures, this hill has gotten the best of me. In fact, prior to this evening, I hadn't made it to the top of the hill without walking with K. I was a complete failure. Prior to this evening, the only time I made it to the top without running was at the end of my 5 miler on Saturday when I was child-free.

Anyways, I made my mind up this afternoon that I wasn't going to give up during my afternoon run. I was going to run the whole way to the top of the hill.

And I did.

At the top, K and I clapped and yelled.

We even took a few pictures. What a great view! One of the best in the city.

That is the Capitol in the distance in the bottom photo and the Washington Monument and Bell Tower in the picture in the top photo. I'm so glad we stopped to take some pictures and to celebrate conquering the hill.

Next goal: running to the top of the hill and then continuing running until we reach home.

Tomorrow I'm going to aim to run the hill and then continue running for another couple of blocks. I'll then add blocks a couple at a time with the goal of making it home after the hill all the while running.

This hill is going to play a large role in my marathon training this summer/fall. More on this to come...

As for K, today she rocked an outfit only a toddler could pick out --- piggy tails, black and purple bondi-band, and bright pink mary janes. And no run is complete without a sippy cup full of ice-water and a container full of Cheeries, whole wheat crackers, and a few goldfish crackers.

This was my view of her during this afternoon's run...

TALBOT PRIDE

Yes, my high school mascot was a Talbot. And, yes, it is an extinct dog at that.

Anyways, the source of my pride today has nothing to do with our mascot, the four time state champion swim team, the WPIAL champion girls swim team, or our Blue Ribbon School status. Although I am proud of each of these things.

Today's pride swells from the fact that the new Taylor Lautner movie Abduction is being filmed at my alma mater. Camera crews are onsite TODAY.

According to some reliable Hampton gossip, the high school marching band will be featured in the film (for all of 3 seconds). Additionally it is rumored that while touring the high school the director was shocked by the fact that there are no locks on the lockers in the school (never have been). Supposedly the director opened one of the lockers during the tour and it was littered with pictures of Taylor Lautner and the rest of the cast from the Twilight series. The director supposedly set up a meeting/lunch between Taylor Lautner and the girl whose locker was opened. (These rumors are unconfirmed at the present time.)

Details about filming are available here.

The school district's web site confirms that the school will be closed today and tomorrow for a facilities rental. I'm hoping the rental fee is made public. I'd love to know how much money a school can make for hosting a movie...

I'm thinking about going to see the movie when it is released (or several month later when it is available for rent on iTunes) just to see my alma mater in all its lock-less glory.

HOT

It has been a crazy hot week here in the Nation's Capital.

We haven't seen temperatures below 80 degrees all week - even at night. I went out for a run on Tuesday evening at 7:00 and the heat index/real feel was 105. This morning I ran at 10 and it was a balmy 85 degrees with about 90 percent humidity.

It is hot.

In an effort to stay cool, hydrated, and comfortable during a heat wave, this is what we do EVERY DAY.

We love the spray park! 

This morning K and I went out for a run, stopped at home to refill water bottles and then hit the spray park. I ran through the water and stood underneath some of the taller sprays in an effort to cool down from my run. It was the perfect end to a hot one.

PLANS

I'm working from home today.

I have mixed feelings about working from home. On the up side, there is no commute, no need to pack a lunch, gym clothes or travel mug. No public restrooms. Two computers to work on at once. There is an window beside my desk, which is open this morning because temperatures are in the 60s with little humidity.

On the downside, while at home I cannot stop thinking about the mounds of dirty laundry or dirty mixing bowls in our kitchen sink. I also need to schedule my runs around the kids' schedule. They are at our house with their nanny today and I cannot let them know that I'm here (K is going through a HUGE mommy phase right now). I have to plan to sneak out while they're out this morning at the museum or this afternoon while they're napping.

I also have A LOT of school work to finish before the week is over (READ: before COB today).

So, here is my plan:

This morning -

1. finish the first chapter of my dissertation.
2. finish laundry - move wet clothes to dryer, put in second load, and fold and put away both.

This afternoon -

1. get out for a run while the kids are napping - included in this activity is taking clean clothes and shower items downstairs so I can return from my run and enter through our basement. I will then shower downstairs and finish working from there - as to not interrupt the kids' day with our nanny.
2. run - without walking - at least 5 miles. I have no excuses today re: running. The weather is perfect, air is fresh, and there is no humidity. 
3. post-run: stop at the store to buy a few key items we need for dinner. This means, carrying a shopping bag while running b/c plastic bags at the grocery store (or any store for that matter) cost a nickel in DC.

It is now 9:25am.

Ready, set, go --- first chapter, you are mine.

Laundry... I'll see you as soon as the kids head out the door for the Building Museum.