INHS on CNN

Okay, I know that on my sidebar it says "CNN is Crap", and that's still mostly true, but I do give them kudos for doing a video on Asian carp, for which they interviewed people from the Illinois River Biological Station at INHS. Visit http://www.cnn.com/video/ and search the video for "When fish attack" (yes, my job is so dangerous!). Carp do hurt when they klonk you, but David Mattingly over-acts a bit. It's still cool that CNN thought Asian carp were newsworthy!

High School Reunion!

This past weekend I went to my 10 year high school reunion. I had such a good time! It was totally worth the plane ticket. Here's a picture of Kate, me, and Erin at my mom's house where we had dinner before the reunion:




And here's Mike, me, and Chat. I actually know these guys from elementary school!



The rest of my pictures, plus some from Erin, are here. I should've taken more, but oh well.

Fun weekend!

This weekend I went to Amanda and Matt's wedding, my friends from grad school. It was a beautiful little ceremony by Lake Michigan:



Barley the ringbearer suppressed his urges to frolic in the lake (with a little help from the bride's brother) and successfully carried out his ring-bearing duties:



Before the wedding I wrangled this poisonous snake that I came across in the wilds of Chicago:



Okay, maybe it's not really poisonous (it's a Mexican milksnake). And maybe the wilds of Chicago are actually the Notebaert Nature Museum in Lincoln Park. Besides reptiles, this museum had a very cool butterfly garden where I took many pictures. Below is one of my favorites; view the rest here.



Then on Sunday I went to my first Cubs game at Wrigley Field! I went with my friend Kyle, who I hadn't seen in ages. The Cubs beat the braves 10-1. It was exciting - several home runs, including DeRosa's grand slam.

Moonathon

I can't believe I only had to run 15 miles to win this cherished trophy! I am honored. I know I am supposed to pass this on to the next MoonMaster, but I'm afraid Madeline won't let me. See gallery:

Madeline Snuggles with Buffalo


Madeline Whispers Sweet Nothings In Buffalo's Ear


Madeline Softly Kisses Buffalo


Madeline Imitates Buffalo

Baseball update

The Orioles are still below 0.500, but at least they're in 2nd place in the AL East, while the Yankees are next to last!



I'm excited about going to my first Cubs game this weekend. However, I'm bummed that I can't go to the Phillies game this Sunday instead. The reason is not just because they're my NL team - it's because I'm gonna miss this sweet giveaway:



Yes, it's a Shane Victorino Hula Doll!! If you're going to this game and your kid doesn't want it, please let me know and I'll buy it from you!

Changing subjects, here are some pretty pink roses in front of my apartment:

The best for last

It's the first time I've ever finished dead last in a race:
http://www.twincitiestwosome.com/results/2007_twosomeRunFemale.PDF
But interestingly, 1:08:01 is not my slowest 5K time. I've done the Race for the Cure in D.C. in ~2 hours! Of course, we were having so much fun at the expo we started the race 45 minutes late.

Anyway, nothing else interesting to blog about except I'm getting excited about going to Chicago for a wedding and a Cubs game in 2 weeks, and my 10 year high school reunion is in 25 days! I'm of course looking forward to seeing old friends, but I'm also excited about meeting new people. Montgomery Blair High Class of '97 had >500 grads, so I haven't even met most of my graduating class!

Ankle Update

My ankle is much better:



I think I'm gonna try running on it (very gently) tomorrow.

My foot isn't the only thing that's gotten thinner; Greg says he can tell Madeline has lost some weight. So her diet is working! Here is Madeline showing off her sexy bod:



Okay, maybe she's not that sexy, but she sure is cute.

Sorry I don't have something more exciting to blog about...

My ankle really does feel better! But with the healing process has come interesting colors (which have faded a lot since yesterday):





It's kinda weird how the swelling and coloration keeps shifting!

My fat foot!

My foot yesterday:



My foot today:



Despite the blue hue on my arch, I think it's getting better!

Poor me!

1. The Orioles are losing 8-3 in the 7th right now. Also, the Yankees won. Also I still owe a certain Tigers fan some $ b/c the Tigers swept the Orioles.

2. One of these ankles is not like the other:



I was ~1.5 miles into the 7 mile Lake Mingo loop when I turned my ankle this morning. At least I only had to hobble 1.5 miles back to the car instead of 3.5 or something! So instead of running 14 miles as planned I've been vegging on the couch, eating and watching baseball. And I'm really bummed, because icing it hasn't reduced the swelling and it really hurts, which means I probably won't be running for a while. Poor me!

More Europe pictures!

I finally started putting some of my pictures on the web, including my recent trip to Bratislava and Budapest. Here are a couple to whet your appetite:





For more click here.

Beautiful...

The Orioles have lost two in a row, but isn't it lovely seeing the Yankees in last place:

Not too shabby...

My second attempt at 26.2...

...was successful! Well, my first attempt was successful too, but disappointing. This time - at the St. Louis Marathon - I finished in 4:20:12, which I was happy with because my goal was 4:25. I actually think I ran the first half too slow, even though I was on my goal pace, because I had so much energy left at the end. Here's a pilfered copyrighted photo of me shortly before mile 26:



I was feeling pretty strong, so maybe I should set a more ambitious goal for my next marathon. My next road marathon, that is. My next 26.2 is a trail marathon, and I'm totally excited about it. Check out the pics at the Grand Island Trail Marathon site. But after that will be the Baltimore Marathon on Oct. 13, right Kate? Maybe I'll try to do that in 4:00.

I just got a photo CD developed. Check out this cute picture of Madeline trying to stay warm when my heat wasn't working in December:

Baseball!

It's baseball season!! I'm not a White Sox fan, but it was pretty exciting watching Mark Buerle pitch a no-hitter just now - first Sox no-hitter in 16 years. And against the Texas Rangers - they're a pretty good hitting team. My beloved Orioles are doing so-so as usual, but at least they're currently tied with those nasty Yankees in the standings instead of trailing them. So far there are two major disappointments in MLB that I hope will soon change.

Disappointment #1: My Phillies stink:

Even Kansas City is doing better.

Disappointment #2: Brian Roberts' hair:

No Brian! The former Johnny Damon look is NOT for you, my cute, strong, base-stealing future husband.

Note to my loyal readers: You're probably thinking "future husband? Whatever, she's fantasizing about her favorite player." But check out Brian's biography, direct from the Orioles website (click to enlarge):

See how it begins? "Single..."!! I've read plenty of other MLB players biographies, and none of them actually mention when a player is single. This must mean Brian WANTS us 20-something female Orioles fans to know he's single and looking. And Brian and I would make a perfect match. According to a recent Post article, Brian is a soft-spoken and hard-working. He's one of the smallest MLB players, but he's got tremendous power, speed, and intellect about the game. He's very religious - more so than me, I think - but we could make it work! I wish I wasn't so shy - I am kicking myself for not talking to him when my parents and I had 4th row seats between home and the O's on-deck circle at a game last summer. I missed my chance to give him my number, but I am confident there will be other opportunities.

BUT...Brian, sweetie, if you don't cut your hair, I may begin to turn my lustings to your teammate, Corey Patterson. He's pretty hot too, although his biography doesn't specify if he is single. Here's a photo of my two prospective boyfriends:

The Danube is Dobre

Last week my mom and I went to visit Alicia in Slovakia. Normally I like to learn a least a little bit of the language before I travel to a foreign country, but Slovak (and Hungarian) are just too, I don't know, crazy-looking and sounding. The three words I did pick up were "ahoj" (pronounced "ahoy") which means hello, "dobre" which means well or good, and "d'akujem" (pronounced kinda like "Jacque-wee-em") which is thank you. I didn't pick up any Hungarian, and hardly anyone in Budapest spoke English, but we got by. Okay, now I get to show off some of my photos.

Here's a slightly crooked pic from the main square in Bratislava our first night there:



It was kinda hazy, but here is the big castle that you can see from almost anywhere in Bratislava. We visited it on Day 2:



An adorable little blue church:



Alicia served us grasshoppers. She was a lovely hostess:



Mommy and Alicia in Budapest:



Parliment in Budapest:



Alice the Camel has two humps and a nice smile (Budapest Zoo):



The prettiest elephant house we had ever seen:

Madeline Takes Over!

Bonjour tout le monde!

Mommy said I could take over her blog while she does her taxes, even though I'm getting cat hair all over her keyboard. So on Friday Mommy worked late and I got really bored and decided to play with all my toys and make a big mess:



It was fun! But Mommy was a big party-pooper - she had to go and put all my toys away. How boring!



Mommy also lent me her digital camera so I could take pictures of some of my favorite things:


(I love to sit in the paper recycling bin. Fortunately Mommy keeps the paper shredder unplugged)


(yummy!)


(Mommy has me on a diet, but I don't complain too much.)


(My place for a good scratch and hit of kitty weed...which reminds me of a funny T-shirt Mommy saw. It said "If you don't talk to your cat about catnip, who will?")

Another one that makes me mad...

I meant to blog about this a few days ago when I first heard about this conservative evangelical's blog, but here's a recent article from The Post. This is so ridiculous that I almost don't know what to say. Like Kate commented, it disgusts me how much time and energy is wasted on issues like this when there are so many more pressing issues. Like instead of worrying about whether a baby is going to be born gay and how to prevent it from "becoming a sinner", we could focus our resources on troubled and disadvantaged kids so they don't grow up to become addicts, criminals, or poor. Or whatever. But our society and media insist on pushing sexuality to the forefront. Just skimming The Post's site today there are three articles on sexuality: the one above, this one on Clinton and Obama, and this one on school curriculum.

I had a nice weekend, something that hasn't happened in a while due to certain people hurting me. I had a friend over for dinner (cheddar tomato soup, salad, bread, merlot) and a movie (Invincible) on Friday. On Saturday I went running at Kickapoo State Park - and I wish I'd had my camera with me! I saw two indigo buntings, a red-headed woodpecker, lots of deer (of course), and...three river otters!! They were adorable - they were really close to me, and kept poking their heads in and out of the water, looking right at me. I could've gotten the cutest photos, but who goes running with a camera? Oh well. Then my cousin Gail and her husband Mike came to visit me (thank you guys!). We hit the local coffee shop and international food stores and then met up with some of my friends from work at Mike & Molly's bar for St. Patty's Day. I had Bailey's and peppermint schnapps - yum! After Gail & Mike left, I went with a friend to see the Bratpack, an '80s cover band, at Chiefs. On Sunday morning I somehow managed to get up at 6:30 so I could run at Forest Glen with people from my running club. I'm glad I made it - it was an absolutely gorgeous day at a gorgeous park. Again, I wish I'd had my camera. Illinois DOES have REAL hills! I seriously felt like I was back in PA or western MD. It had so many steep hills (and stream crossings) that it took us over 2 hr to run 11 miles - it was quite a workout. But afterwards we re-carbed at the park's annual Maple Syrup Festival - all the pancakes, sausage, and real maple syrup you can eat for $5. Yum! Then we took a quick tour of the sugar shack before heading back to Champaign.

Well, no river otter or Forest Glen pictures, so instead here's a random, happy picture to show off that I took at Yellowstone back in '98:

Oooh this makes me mad!!

I've always hated the military's "don't ask don't tell" policy, and this article makes me so angry! How can you call homosexuality and adultery immoral when you're a Marine general? How can a Marine general say "we do not condone immoral acts."!?! You're responsible for killing people!! Lots of people!! So war is moral but being gay is not? Kudos to Rep. Meehan and supporters for introducing legislation to reverse this ban. I was once told by a certain Navy reservist (who may be reading this - let me know if you've changed your opinion since then) that he supports the ban because some people would feel weirded out and distracted if they had to serve alongside a homosexual. That's too ridiculous for words. We meet such a wide variety of people in life - you may not like everyone, but sometimes you have to find ways to be accepting, grow up, and get along. Plus, don't our troops work w/ other countries' troops in coalitions or whatever? Other countries who allow gays in their military because they're not conservative tight asses like the U.S.. So our patriotic homophobes may find themselves working alongside a gay person anyway! Grrr, this frosts Sandra Cookie's cookies!

Delta Zeta in the news again

Here's an Associated Press article about DePauw University kicking Delta Zeta off its campus. Heck, they only had two members left anyway. And here's the statement from our National Headquarters. I guess I do feel kind of bad for our national officers having to deal with all this publicity. But I still think their idea of a "strong commitment to recruitment" in this situation probably included how much make-up you're willing to wear, how many pounds you can lose, how stylish your clothes are, and how much of a social butterfly you can be. When your sorority is known as the "doghouse", academics, philanthropy, and sisterhood just aren't gonna bring in new members.