New Year, New Phase

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Full moon as seen from my front yard (with a zoom lens anyway!) – 2009 copyright Denise Hinton

So much has changed in the last 3 months and I’m not sure where to begin!  I just cleared out my Google Reader as I no longer have time to browse through it anymore- my new job as a supervisor has me much busier than answering 911 (which is good!). I am enjoying the challenge and enjoying the busy-ness. Some of the blogs in my Reader are now “Liked” on Facebook and some I subscribed to by email. I am not sure what that means for this blog and am thinking my blogging days are over!

I was trying to figure out what to write about and realized a lot happened in 2012 – so here are the highlights (and lowlights) via Instagram!  That is how I documented 2012…

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20 people at our house for Thanksgiving

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Sonoma County Dispatchers 1st Annual unofficial Turkey Trot 5k Thanksgiving Morning

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Thanksgiving 2012 – Family and Friends

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Always making time to walk downtown

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Re-decorating our living room – finally

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Before and After – from Behr Lichen Green to Benjamin Moore Metropolitan Gray and some mid-century style furniture – did a FB poll on whether or not to paint fireplace- received a resounding NO!

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NYC early December – no snow but cold and crowded at Rockefeller Square. WE LOVE NYC!

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Paid our respects at the National September 11 memorial

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Smooched Keith on the Brooklyn Bridge

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Keith on the Brooklyn Bridge

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Saw Picasso at the Guggenheim

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Marveled at the Brooklyn Bridge

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Bling and Greens- Mother Nature approved

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New mantle decorations to fit new room – and used our fallen tree limbs for greenery (thanks Nature!)

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Fell in love… with Auto – my friend’s Teacup Maltese

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Keith finally gets his new road bike – his dream bike!

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Road trip to Bend, OR with friends

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Tasting Oregon beer

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Visiting caves and volcanos in Oregon

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Saying goodbye to the sweetest dog there ever was… we miss you Joe

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Stayed at our first AirBnb apartment and it actually existed- SF Embarcadero and Financial District views

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Ran my first full marathon with a friend- SF Marathon July 2012

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and the blister on my toe matched the size of this medal!

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Road trip to Tahoe

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Relaxed in Lake Tahoe poolside with Pam, while the guys rode their bikes around the lake- 70+ miles

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Keith built this lovely table and impressed me to no end!

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Now that we had a big table, we had two parties in two weekends – a shrimp boil and Oktoberfest in September

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A funny thing happened on the way to the Golden Gate Bridge- we found a Japanese game show being filmed!

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Keith’s first time walking across the Golden Gate Bridge on our anniversary – Sep 28

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My niece turned 2!

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made beignets Christmas morning

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at El Mansour restaurant in SF celebrating my friend’s “flash mob wedding” that took place at the Palace of Fine Arts earlier

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Said goodbye to this crazy girl this year too- Mitzi von Strudel, Mitz-alicious or Mitz-atrocious – she was the lickiest dog ever

We have a very quiet, and clean house now with no dogs but we know one will come our way. For now, we’re our friend’s dog-sitters. It will probably be another two months before an update – of you can follow me on Instagram or Twitter – Geekgirl707.  Until we meet again, have a safe & happy 2013!  

Warning: this post goes all over the place…

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Joey Lumpasaurus

Thursday when we get home from work, our heavy breathing lumpasaurus was on his bed and had decided he didn’t need to get up again. He wasn’t interested in food or water, but would wag his tail when we got close. His feet were cold and his breathing odd. We came to the realization that the end was near. We have had this giant ball of fur for 14 years and throughout that time, he had every medical malady possible. It really was a miracle he had survived this long.

Of course, as a lab, he’s a pleaser and he made it through the night. Fortunately we’re both off on Fridays so we took him to the vet who confirmed our suspicions. Actually having it confirmed brought the tears that we had been holding back and the vet, Mr. Geek and I cried as we put this guy to sleep. Despite all his medical problems, this boy put everyone; people, dogs, cats and those darn herons before himself. All he wanted to do was love LOVE LOVVVE us. We will miss this bundle of crazy, tail smacking, heavy breathing, herd of one, stinky lumpasaurus.

Suddenly our house is too quiet and colder. Our philosophy is that the next one will find us – we won’t go looking for one, but will welcome the one who comes to us in need of a home.

But we had no time to grieve- we were expected in San Francisco to attend a “flash mob wedding” by 4pm. As sad as we were, we were happy to be a part of this wedding and happy for the distraction.

Flash Mob Wedding at the Palace of Fine Arts- we jumped out of the bus- ran to a spot, had a wedding and some pics, then hopped back in the bus and left.

After the Fast & Furious and Free wedding ceremony (there were other brides & grooms there too!), we were bussed to dinner. El Mansour is a moroccan restaurant featuring delicious food and Belly Dancers!

The flower girl is tipping the dancer. There was another little girl in her belly dancing outift that the dancer also was sweet on. There is a goony guy in the background that she ignored.

Then we moved onto the Starlight Room for drinks and dancing.

My dress was MadMen-esque so the bride made me pose for this with someone’s martini…

We crashed and burned after dancing to a fabulous band, Notorious. What a crazy, fun night. What a horrible start to the day. Omiwerd I was beat.

The next day we drove home and I began to finish my last bit of studying. You see, I haven’t actually mentioned this, but I was set to interview on Monday for a promotion to Dispatch Supervisor, and had spent a better part of year in fear of this day. Enough that I had anxiety hives a year ago when I decided to put in for it, and then feeling like I could vomit at any time during this final week of prep.

What a crazy four days. I looked like this Sunday afternoon.

So Mr. Geek called it – said “enough!” and whisked me away for this:

The next morning was this:

This was about 45 minutes of torture during the interview and five hours of dread because I was sure I blew the interview, followed by shock and amazement that I placed #1 and was thereby promoted.

GULP.

And that is the story of Nov 2-Nov 5 2012. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster and I’m ready to relax on our couch in our too quiet home.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch house…

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This is our backyard circa September 2012. Yes, we were having a party that day.  About 20 people were coming to our place the day this picture was taken to partake in a Wine Country version of a shrimp boil (like a regular, southern shrimp boil but we pretend to be stuffy, pretentious wine snobs).  So we cleaned up and the husband built two 8′ picnic tables and impressed the hell out of me, getting them done in time and they’re not wobbly at all.

We had two parties in this backyard while it looked pretty.  LOOKED. Key word. LOOKED – as in past tense. No, we’re not Hurricane Sandy victims, we’re safe and dry-ish on the west coast.

Nope, something more insidious is happening to our quiet little hamlet. Take a closer look at the top and a little to the right side corner of this picture. Notice the trunk of a very large redwood tree? We have had new neighbors move in.

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Now these herons are lovely birds.  Sometimes I’d see a lone bird on the side of the road while driving home and think to myself  “Self, those birds are quite majestic and stunning! Look how their brilliant white plumage seems to glow against the drab backdrop of  the drainage ditch. Lovely.”

But living next door to them is quite another story.  First, let me say our redwood tree was already being occupied, peacefully, by about 15 turkey vultures. Apart from the occasional hairball in our yard, they are the perfect neighbors.  Quiet. Low maintenance. Nothing bothers them and they don’t constantly ask to borrow things. Plus they’re huge and quite a sight to see up in our tree, especially in the morning when they stretch their wings and drink their coffee. People walking by our house stop and watch them. So when the first white heron showed up, I figured they’d sort it out and the white bird would be on its way.

Nope.  One by one the sneaky effer moved his entire family into the tree.  A squawking, rowdy bunch of squatters, constantly fighting between each other with the kids crying the whole time. I’d estimate there are about 30 of them.  They do not have a single thought except for their own comfort.

Still, the tree is big and if the vultures didn’t establish their territory, maybe I should not worry too much and let nature be nature.

Except.

Every damned thing in our backyard looks like someone came and sprinkled powdered sugar on it.  And it ain’t sweet and tasty. It’s DISGUSTING.  Vultures seem to have figured out indoor plumbing for their waste needs. Herons seem to think the world is their toilet, and it might almost be a competition between them to see who can cover the most things in one pass. The high maintenance pretties that they are do their thing in a delicate spray, vs a single clump. So yah. It’s everywhere.

Needless to say, something had to be done.  First I used yoga blocks to clap together to make a loud noise at dusk, when they came in to roost for the night. That worked for a few days and we thought we solved it.  They came back a week or so later.

Next I used two 2x4s left over from the tables – smacked them together sporadically at dusk – so loud my ears rang and I lost hearing in one for a few minutes.  That worked too well actually because the vultures left but sacrifices must be made.  I think the vultures understood why I was doing it though.

Then one night, as I was smacking those wood pieces together, three of the herons came back and did a low pass over me. I thought I was done for.  One of them locked eyes with me and I took cover.  Then he flew up into a branch in the tree where I could see him clearly. I smacked the wood again. Nothing. He just smirked. I smacked them again in rapid succession. NOTHING. The effer was directly challenging me. I SMACKED THE WOOD PIECES WITH AS MUCH VIGOR AND HATRED AS I COULD MUSTER. Still nothing.  I threw a 2×4 into the air at him and he didn’t even flinch (admittedly it never got close).

Bring it, pretty white bird.  Go on. Make my day.

The Famous Daisy Red Ryder BB gun

Dreaming of Billie Joe, his laundry and a 2:15 marathon time

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I had a dream last night about my beloved Billie Joe Armstrong. We were hanging out DOING LAUNDRY.

Sadly, it wasn’t a euphemism for taking off clothes and getting them dirty, but it really was doing laundry.  For some reason, our clothes were muddy and I was wearing much hipper jeans (yay!) than usual. But there was no nudity.

The fact I dreamed about him is strange since I’m not prone to dreams about rock stars.  Getting dressed, I puzzled over why now a dream about Billie Joe and WHY FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY WAS IT ABOUT LAUNDRY WHEN THE MAN IS SO FLIPPIN’ HAWT!?  Maybe my subconscious is keeping it real.  Too damn real.

Like I would ever have that chance, ID. I know it, shaddup already.

However, in a cosmically karmic way this morning my sister in law texted me the ominous “Did you hear about our boy Billie?”

Immediately, I google him to find out he’s been hospitalized in Italy with something gastro related and they had to cancel an appearance there.  In the video, there’s an updated note that he’s doing fine now but the docs ordered rest.

“Bounce” back, Billie Joe!

Get it? “bounce” as in dryer sheets?

In an unrelated story, you too can have a marathon time worth bragging about.

Introducing the Paul Ryan Marathon Time calculator.  Enter your mere mortal marathon (or any other race) time and it will compute the actual Impressive Time for you. 

“It took hours off my time, with no effort or pain!” denise, marathoner

What I learned on my 5k (a PR in spite of myself)

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Sis in law Natalie, me and my father in law, Mike… getting ready for our posed, pre-race pic.

Last Sunday I ran a 5k, the first organized race since the marathon.

After not running for about three weeks.

And then after running once with my marathon partner and realizing not running for three weeks destroyed any ability to run whatsoever.

After that humiliating 5 miler with Nicki, I decided I better get my shit together. So I did. A little.  Two 2 milers just before the 5k.  Both of those went much better than the 5 miler.  Which gave me just enough confidence to show up for the 5k.

Earlier this year, when I decided to run this 5k, my A goal was 25 min (unrealistic),  B goal was 28 min and my C goal was sub-30 min.  I made none of these. But I was close; 30:06.  It was a PR by 1 min and 2 secs, so I’m not complaining.

Natalie beat me in a race for the first time at 29:21. Her dad came in at 29:22 and also won his age group. Her son also ran, but didn’t register. Neither guy had any sweat on them and Natalie and I were a sopping mess.

Well, I was.  Natalie was sopping but not a mess.

So what did I learn from this?

  • Don’t stop to catch your breath during a 5k, even if you feel dizzy.  I think that short break was enough to push me over 30.  Should have just slowed down even more until the feeling passed.
  • If you must stop, first look at your watch to see if you still have a chance. If I had looked before, instead of after, I might be reporting a PR of 29:59.
  • Don’t listen to yourself when you say “self, it’s too late , you missed your goal so might as stop at this ice cream parlor for a snack” because you’re probably wrong.
  • Don’t let your usually slower sister in law passing you mess with your head! Now that she’s bringing it, fight to the death on that next time!
  • Learn what your paces feel like.  My strategy was to rely on Endomondo telling me distance/pace/time and announcing my 5 min fast (9-10mm) interval and my 1 min slower run (10-12mm) interval.  Since I used the interval program, the distance/pace/time announcements didn’t work. Later I saw my first split was 8:56! Holy Speed Demon, Batman!  If I had recognized my paces I would have ran smarter.
  • Invest in a Garmin to assist in learning what my paces feel like. I keep putting this purchase off thinking I don’t really need it but having that info right on my wrist will be beneficial.  I want to improve and I am not doing so by reading results after the fact.
  • Racing (as opposed to running) 5ks are supposed to hurt.  The pain is temporary. If you think about it, it’s only 30 minutes or less of discomfort.  Easy peasy. (hah)
  • Even with all this lollygagging about, I still managed to improve my 5k race pace- 9:43 average pace is good for me.  So that’s a win too. 

Technical Running Details

Splits:    Mile 1 – 8:56 (!)
                Mile 2 -  9:38
                Mile 3 – 10:06
Distance:             5k
Clock Time:         30:42
Chip Time:           30:06
Overall Place:     195/395
Gender Place:   111/261
Division Place:   12/31
Age Grade:         52.6%
Total Pace:          9:43m

About the Santa Rosa Marathon - Aug 26, 2012  – Full, Half and 5k

As far as full and half marathons are concerned, the course is USATF certified and a Boston Qualifier. It is flat, on asphalt and hard pack gravel and is off the main streets. The route uses a recreational creek path that runs east/west on the west side of Santa Rosa, with views of vineyards and farms and the occasional homeless encampment. I think the organizers roust the bums the morning of the race. Those of us who run that path regularly aren’t so lucky to have them shoo’d off beforehand.

The marathon does two circuits of the route, half marathon does one. The 5k is a separate route through the downtown “Railroad Square” area.

The half and full marathon shirts were nice looking technical shirts WITH A ZIPPED POCKET!

The 5k shirts were crap. Horrible. Cream colored cotton Ts with a gigantic comic looking train design on the front (my father in law is wearing it in the pic).  The 5k was billed as a Family Fun Run, however I think the organizers need to remember serious runners also run 5ks. I’d like the option at least to choose shirt types.  I did email the RD with this suggestion and he responded immediately and in agreement so hopefully next year 5kers will have a wearable shirt.

The other swag was pretty decent; Macy’s coupon and a Sports Authority coupon that I’ll use in the race bag (which was a nice Lululemon reusable bag with “run run” on it). The Expo is somewhat lacking.  I drove 20 minutes back into town to check it out (already picked up my bib a day before at the LRS) and it took me 5 minutes to walk the expo circuit.  Heart and Sole, the local running store, had the best booth with the most to offer.

Read the reviews yourself here.