How's that workout going?

Hmmm....today was HARD! There are many reasons. I ate half a bag of peanut M&Ms last night. I thought they would help me feel better. Sometimes you just need comfort food (that thought is the reason I struggle with weight, of course.) About 2:30am, my stomach decided it was payback time. It tortured me for a couple of hours, then when I was just good and asleep, the damn alarm went off. Because my tummy was still rumbly, I ate no breakfast, but I did drink a yogurt drink. So, I was tired, feeling not quite myself, my body didn't have much fuel. I couldn't run the last 1.5 minutes. But I did a fast walk. Do I consider that failure? Nope. Will I get back on the treadmill Monday? Yep. And repeat week 2. Also not considered failure in my book. I'm old, I'm overweight, I've never run in my life. I WANT this for myself. One of the ladies at WW yesterday said that running on the treadmill wasn't as hard (agreed) as running outside because the machine did all the work for you. Excuse me, if I'm not doing at least some of the work, why am I sweating down to my panties and out of breath? I disagree with her. And it is so much more than what I was doing that I have that to be proud of. AND I lost 2 pounds. So there!

Workout!

Week one of c25k complete!! For those that don't know, that stands for Couch to 5 Kilometers. They promise to get me there in 9 weeks. I'm not training for a 5k, let me just state that. I have felt for a long time that there is a runner hidden inside me. I don't know why, I just have. I've never run for any length of time ever in my life. I guess I HOPE there is a runner hidden inside of me. I love to walk. And I think I would love to run. I imagine myself running like a gazelle (abeit a short, fat gazelle.) But I've never had enough (insert every excuse in the book here) to get there. Well, I'm hoping this is my time! I have all the time in the world, I have a treadmill, I have good music on the iPod, I have a plan to follow....oh, and TONS of support on Facebook! It's just amazing. Friends in Moscow are running, some on treadmills, some in SNOW!! I have no excuses left. So....week one down, 8 more to go!!

Another beautiful day! Abby and I head out the door for a walk in the neighborhood. We turn right off of our street....which, despite the fact that is probably the most historic street in Bartlesville, is busy with traffic, especially at this time of the morning. It is bordered by the middle school (I think!) at one end and the high school at the other end. It is also a cut-through between New Bartlesville and Old Bartlesville (where we live.) The largest employer in town (I assume) is ConocoPhillips and their offices are downtown. Hubby walks a mile to work and loves it. But I digress.....

The walk this morning was through an older part of Bartlesville (as I said before.) Their is a mixture of shabby old houses and stately old houses. There are a very few new(er) houses sprinkled in. Fortunately the builders chose to keep with the style of the neighborhood and they are lovely too. I very much enjoy this walk as it goes by some really lovely houses. I just wish people were still there in them! Yes, of course they are inhabited, but I rarely see signs of life in them. No cars in the driveway, no open door letting the sun shine in. I'm sure that many of these people work. I don't work outside of the house anymore. I used to, but 4 1/2 years in Russia (and 4 1/2 years of aging!!) most likely took me out of any job market. That is fine. I really do enjoy my time at home. I just wish all the other women in the neighborhood were home as well!

Today, it was 109 degrees warmer than it was last Thursday morning. That's right.....last Thursday morning it was MINUS 27 degrees. This afternoon it was 82 degrees. AMAZING! In one week the weather changed drastically. No more snow, warm enough to wear sandals and capris and get my toes done! Woo hoo....I LOVE it! Warm weather makes me ridiculously happy...especially after 26 inches of snow and two weeks of really cold weather.

I know, can you believe I used to live in Russia?? I think the difference is that in Moscow, the weather never stopped anyone or anything. You just dealt with it. No schools closed, city government did not shut down, busses still ran, people still got out and about. Not so in Oklahoma. The place went absolutely nuts. They closed schools for days. It was crazy! I sure hope that is the end of it for awhile.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. It's been a long time since we spent the day of love in the US. My new goal since moving back to the US is to be a better gift-giver/card-sender. So I decided to give Harry a real gift for Valentine's Day. Most often we eat in as the restaurants are so crowded on this day. Sometimes we celebrate before, but as we were busy over the weekend, it didn't happen. So I determined to buy Harry a gift, as well as cook him a dinner he would like. He knew about the dinner, but I managed to keep the gift a complete surprise! So after the dinner (at his request) of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad and Texas brownies, I produced the presents and card. I think he was a bit surprised! Mission accomplished!

And what did he get me? A beautiful bracelet....which will come in the next week or two!

Wow! I haven't even looked at this blog for a very long time. But life is finally settling down, and, inspired by my young friend Kat, I decided to have another look at it.

For starters, I changed the name, since we are no longer in Moscow, very sad to say! So I changed it to something much less fun, but much more appropriate. What will this blog be now that we are living in Bartlesville, OK? I don't really know. But I know that the urge to write a few things down is still there. It might not be as fun as it was while living and traveling the world, but I think it will still be interesting (to me anyway!) Life always is! So stay tuned.....over the next few days, I'll catch you up on what has been happening in the Deathe family since last April! Cheers!

Dog grooming, Moscow style

I have to preface this with two statements: (1) I've never had a dog groomed in the US and (2)there are dog grooming "salons" in Moscow. I just happen to have found one (compliments of my friend Betsy) who comes to the house. I'm not exactly sure this is the best way. But maybe I'll let you decide.

Lena is a lovely young girl. Probably mid-30's. Married, with children (a least one, who kept calling while she was working today.) I'm sure she supplements her husband's income. She comes with a small overnight case and a duffle bag full of stuff. Grooming stuff, her "work clothes"...she changes from her street clothes to a pair of tan colored pants, a tee shirt and a cute apron. Plastic sandals & socks. She is ALWAYS late...almost always 2 hours late. Today was no exception. She was to come Monday at 10, but then the bombings occured. I was not surprised she didn't show. Vadim the driver called and rescheduled her for today, 10:00am. She calls about 10:30am, says she will be 1 hour late. She is 2 hours late, arriving right about noon.

Then we get to work. And not in the "Royal We" sense. I mean in the I am just as much a part of the process as Lena and Abby. My job, is to comfort, cajole, caress, scold, and hold, Abby. There is pretty much nothing about grooming that Abby likes. She especially hates to have her feet and her tail touched, much less groomed. Lena obviously enjoys her job. She is great with Abby, not timid with her. In fact she grooms her with gusto! I would say Abby needs a pain reliever following the grooming session...I KNOW I need a glass of wine! But she works constantly, ridding Abby of every single piece of stray hair that is on her body and not attached with Super Glue. She also scrapes the tartar off of Abby's teeth. She has numerous brushes, combs, clippers, scissors, sprays, dental tools and whatnot to aid her in her work. Now picture this....we groom on the floor of the entryway. The marble floor of the entryway. With a huge column in the middle of it. Hey, it's the best place, trust me. So, we end up doing this little dance around the huge column.....Abby, laying down mostly (sitting on marble is hard for her....she slides down to a laying position. She couldn't sit for more than 10 seconds to save her life.) So we slide, around and around and around. Lena is good, she just grabs & grooms whatever portion of Abby she can get. Works around her snarling face and her desire to jump and run. Abby never bites but she does her "ugly" face as Harry calls it. It really isn't a mean snarl, actually she does it when she wants to play sometimes, or when she wants to let you know she doesn't like what you are doing to her. Then sometimes Abby just lays there, like nothing is happening. Wish I knew what was going on in that little brain. Anyway. This is a long and arduous task. Harry calls it Abby's Spa Day. I need a spa day after it is over.

Lena is very, VERY meticulous. You would think Abby was a show dog. She is not. As I stated above, I never had her groomed in the US. She didn't need it. Here, she grows long hairy, feet. She never did that in Houston. I assume the are her "snow shoes." I don't have anyone to compare Lena with. But she is takes alot of time "tweaking" Abby's 'do. Too long. I'm usually about to shout ENOUGH! Just shave her feet and her bum, and brush her good and let's call it good. An hour, tops, would be needed. Not with Lena. Snipping here, cutting there, PULLING hair out here (ouch). I want to say, helloooo she is just going to the poop park! But she is relentless, and yes, of course, Abby looks "stunning!!!" Not really....she looks cleaned up, less shaggy, no Grinch Feet.

So finally, 2 1/2 hours later, we are done! Lena changes back into her street clothes, I sweep up a BIG pile of hair, Abby gets a drink of water and begs me to take her out.

And as Lena leaves, she pulls a big bunch of beautiful radishes that she has purchased at the market, and says, for you!

What a day...but hey, I'm drinking wine and eating delicious radishes. What could be better! Well, maybe a spa day for me!