The last few months have been busy for my husband and I have been entertaining myself, and it is time to slow down and appreciate each other. Tonight we are having a date night, and it’s my job to plan it.

Funny things happen when you’re married. We’ve settled in, found routines, become best friends. Long, deep conversation has been replaced by playing games together (the new Walking Dead game for the 360 is awesome!), our walks in the evening are still hand in hand, but rather than talking about dreams and sharing our secrets, we talk about schedules, school and work, and family. I am not sorry that  we have become so comfortable, it’s a great comfort. But it does make romantic evenings more difficult.

I am thinking of taking him to a movie – he has wanted to see Avengers since it came out and has been too busy. I could sit through it and probably even enjoy it, but I don’t know if that’s romantic. 

We both love ice cream, so we could go to Cold Stone Creamery or Spooners for ice cream and giggling. We love to do that and walk around downtown, but I don’t know if that is very romantic, either. 

We could go out to eat at our favorite restaurant, have a glass of wine, and I could try to say deeply romantic and poetic things to him – but he knows me too well, and would know I was looking things to say up online because sweet nothings are definitely not my gift. 

We could ride our bikes into town, stop by the gym for a quick workout, ride to the bookstore and drink coffee and explore new books. THAT sounds like an awesome date night as far as I am concerned, but it’s nothing new to us and probably not romantic.

Maybe we could go to Elitch’s Gardens, ride the rides, get wet, laugh and have a ball? Again though, NOT romantic. 

Or maybe we should stay home, order a pizza and drink a few beers. We could play video games, giggle and laugh, and skip dressing up and I wouldn’t have to do my nails. After all, how can having fun and relaxing with my best friend be anything but romantic?

(Any last minute suggestions welcome!)

Monday afternoon I met @RighteousBruin at Jamba Juice in Boulder. I had high hopes of taking him for a good hike, but I was in rough shape after foolishly trying to run that morning, so we settled for a pretty walk instead. 

After I lost him in traffic and gave him poor directions to where I was, we decided to ride together. He must have thought it was safer to ride with me than follow me in traffic, but I think he had second thoughts because he never loosened his grip on the “Oh Shit” handles in the truck. 

We made it safe and sound to Marshall Mesa Trailhead and walked the three mile loop. It is a beautiful area and easy on the knees. 

I chattered his ear off (He’s a great listener ) while I hobbled along with him. He never once complained about the easy walk or the many things I had to say.

About a half mile in, a nasty brown snake slithered across our path. I squealed like a school girl but Gary only snickered. He told me it was a baby garter snake, but I am certain it was much more dangerous than that. Regardless, he saved me from the nasty reptile.

I was reluctant to return him to his car after our walk, so instead we went to Eldorado Canyon just across the road. I could only get out and look, there was no hiking for me that day. He was a good sport again, and though I could tell he was itching to explore he didn’t make me feel like a lame duck.

After a little walking around and checking out the park, I relented and returned him to his car so he could have dinner with his family. He was unable to post about this because he is having trouble with windows, but if he gets it straightened out I hope he does. We took many more pictures and he paid attention to more than my prattling so he could share more interesting facts about our day. He keeps his xanga friends in mind as he travels, and takes pictures of certain things because he knows friend A likes flowers and friend B likes boulder fields. He is truly thoughtful and considerate, and a joy to spend time with.

Safe travels, Gary! I can’t wait to see your pics as you go!

I love Treehugger.com. I waste many hours on that site and love most of their articles. 

Today, after reading about Buddy71′s yucky snakes, I found the best way to combat snakes – parachuting mice that are laced with acetaminophen. To rid Guam of their invasive brown snake problem (which has eliminated 10 of their 12 native bird species), millions of suicidal mice are parachuting onto the island with poison. 

That’ll teach those nasty little snakes.

In other news, color changing squid are teaching us new ways to create invisibility cloaks. And we have all wanted one of those!

“Other than being a really cool science experiment, this biomimetic artificial muscle technology could have some neat applications. Project lead Jonathan Rossiter said “Our artificial chromatophores are both scalable and adaptable and can be made into an artificial compliant skin which can stretch and deform, yet still operate effectively. This means they can be used in many environments where conventional ‘hard’ technologies would be dangerous, for example at the physical interface with humans, such as smart clothing.”” 

This sounds like the coolest fashion craze ever.

Cows, not cars, are to blame for smog in LA.

“Ammonia emissions due to dairy cattle in the Southern California air basin (SoCAB) could be almost triple the tonnage of ammonia emissions from automobiles. Ammonia serves as a key ingredient in the recipe for smog.”

That is all I have today. 

Today was my second “run” since the stupid dog took out my knee a few weeks ago. It was less than 3 miles and at a snail’s pace, but still markedly better. 

The cool weather helps, too. 

Thank you for asking how I am doing, I will be marathon ready in no time!

Involve cash. Money. The economy.

The national unemployment rate has dropped to 8.1 percent, down from nearly 10 percent in 2010. The toal underemployment rate at the end of 2011 was 33.1 percent. (Underemployment includes three classifications of persons -unemployed workers who are actively looking for work, involuntarily part-time workers who want full-time work but have had to settle for part-time hours, and marginally attached workers who want and are available for a job, but are not actively looking. Together, they provide a more comprehensive measure of slack in the labor market.) Nominal hourly wage growth has been generally slowing since the summer of 2010 and remains low—nominal hourly wages grew at a 1.3% annualized rate over the last three months.   With inflation currently at around 2.9%, this means real wages are falling. Real personal consumption expenditures increased 2.9 percent this year due to low interest rates, but incomes haven’t budged – obviously creating an increase in consumer debt. 

46.2 million people are below the poverty level and have been there for more than 12 months. It is the first time since the Great Depression that median household income  had not risen, calling this the “lost decade”. The percentage of Americans living below the poverty line last year was 15.1 percent. (The poverty line in 2010 for a family of four was $22,314.) Non-business filings totaled 1,536,799 in 2010, up 9 percent from the 1,412,838 non-business bankruptcy filings in 2009. This hurts the financial stability of households and businesses. 

Sometime between now and when we vote in November, the national debt will exceed the U.S. economy’s entire annual production. In an attempt for states, counties and municipalities to cut spending funds are being cut for police officers, fire departments, teachers and social service workers.

Homelessness is out of control. Food banks and shelters cannot support the increase in need. Government assistance programs are not able to fund the need. 

Good news is:

Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — increased at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012 (that is, from the fourth quarter to the first quarter), according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter of 2011, real GDP increased 3.0 percent. (http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm)  U.S. exports hit an all-time high in March, with $186.8 billion in American-made goods and services sold overseas. 

I am not sure why I am looking at all of these numbers, and I am sure I will regret posting about this. It just seems to me that people lose sight of some of the real problems we are facing. I am all for protecting our civil liberties and advancing equality and justice, but it is hard to think of morality and spirituality when we can’t feed ourselves. 

Regardless of who you choose to vote for and support in office (I am voting Obama, myself), make sure you are looking at the less glamorous issues as well. We need to pay attention to military, foreign relations, infrastructure spending, and our economy as much as the social issues out there that are more fun to write about.

 Normally I monitor the comments and make sure everyone is being civil to each other, but I am not going to be around much today or tonight. Basically – if you want to fight with each other about whose fault this is or whatever, go ahead. You are on your own though, I am not moderating this one. 

Enough depressing crap – I am going for a hike.

.

Gary (RighteousBruin) came to Boulder this morning. We had a quick breakfast and went for a hike on Mesa Trail.

It was cold and foggy, but the trail was still full of people and dogs. Salem is restricted to the leash even on the trail because he has been a very naughty dog, and he was a pain in the ass for the first half of our hike. Gary was kind to him, anyway. 

It was terrific to meet him and to discover that he is just as kind, genuine and fun in person as he is on Xanga. Thank you for stopping by, @RighteousBruin!

A little more than forty years ago the longest women’s running event was 1500 meters. It was commonly believed that women couldn’t run long distances because it would harm their reproductive abilities, their uterus would literally fall out and their hymens would break. It was believed that running led to infertility and caused miscarriages. 

The first woman wasn’t allowed to enter the Boston Marathon until 1972. This was after years of women running unofficially in the marathon and being scorned and abused for disgracing the event. Now, 53% of the people crossing the marathon finish lines are women. Last year 7 million women completed marathons. 

Women are especially adept at ultra running. (30+ miles). Women are lighter and have a higher pain threshold than men, which might not make them faster or stronger but more persistent. I recently read about Ann Trason, who completed the grueling 100 mile Leadville, CO trail race in 13:47:42. She had the Tarahumara tribe (a tribe of legendary ultra runners) calling her La Brujeria (The witch) for the challenge she gave them.

I’m not sure I ever wish to run a 100 mile race at 10,000+ feet in elevation, but I know I want to follow their lead and use my body to the best of my ability. I have started tracking my miles in March, and have 183 to date. That is also walking and hiking, but it’s a good start. 

I saw an article about women’s motivation for running, and it included things like:

1. Calorie burn

2. Inexpensive equipment

3. Time – workout/calorie burn efficiency

I am sure those things are true, and probably why I started running 8 years ago. But the reasons I continue to run has little to do with working out and calorie burn. I run to:

1. Find “me time” – No matter what is going on with kids, spouses, work, money, family – when I am running I am focused on me. No phone calls, no to do lists, just my footsteps and progress.

2. Meditation – Most of my perplexing questions and nagging problems are solved in the solitude of the road or trail.

3. Anti everything – There is no better way for me to stave off depression, anxiety, worry than to hit it hard. An hour or 90 minutes running offers me peace that lasts throughout the day.

4. Health – No, not just weight loss. I feel physically better when I run. I feel strong, powerful, in control of my body, my breath, my footsteps. I feel my heart and can control how strongly it beats by controlling how fast and hard I run. 

5. Explore – I have seen more beauty and natural wonders when I am out on the trail than I could ever find on a road trip or watching the discovery channel. Seeing coyotes in the morning fields and streams come and go through the seasons has meant more to me than any cruise or vacation I have ever taken. I like to incorporate running in new places when we do travel so I can explore more in my own way.

6. Joy – I have never experienced elation like I have when I beat a PR, or run my longest run, or just have one of those magical days where everything flows together naturally. I feel joy physically, mentally, and spiritually – whereas in other areas of my life I can experience one form of joy or another, but never all together.

I know running isn’t for everyone, but I hope everyone finds their own happy place that offers them what I have found on the trail.

I would like to thank @ZSA_MD for her post on gratitude. She wrote a beautiful poem about gratitude (http://zsa-md.xanga.com/762467466/gratitude/) that reminded me to quit feeling sorry for myself and look at how fortunate I am.

Just like everybody else, I get down in the dumps. The dog misbehaved and now my knee is all torn up – I can’t run on it for awhile. It will be months before I see my youngest daughter, I am not working this summer and feel pretty useless, and so on… But it is really ridiculous to waste my time moping when I have better things to do.

I am healthy and happy (with the knee exception) and so is my family. That alone is reason to be very thankful, I have a large family and no misfortune is happening to any of them. Regardless of any mistakes made in the past by me or my family, health alone gives us the opportunity to try again. 

I live in a beautiful area that I chose. I didn’t get stuck where I grew up or where the jobs were, I was able to chose where I live and build a life here that makes me happy. I get to enjoy the outdoors in the way I want to that makes me happy. This isn’t what would make everyone happy, but it makes me happy. I have the life I chose and built, and continue to build, and for that I am grateful.

I have so many experiences to relive. These experiences, good and bad, shaped who I am and how I see the world. Without the good experiences, I wouldn’t know what I like. For example, I know that I like to hike and explore the outdoors, I know I like to meet new people and try new things. I know I prefer to stay away from crowds and urban areas and explore the natural beauty of places. Without the bad experiences, I wouldn’t be able to empathize and have a multi dimensional way of looking at scenarios. I would be more judgmental and less compassionate. I am as grateful, if not more, for the pain and rough patches I have been through as I am the great parts of my life, because I would be so much less than I am today had I not experienced things.

I have so many things I want to do, and for that I am grateful. I know many people who don’t want anything, really. They want to go to work, come home, hit a movie or a club on the weekends. That is fine and well for them, but I am grateful that I still want to do and experience life outside of the everyday drill. 

Finally, I am glad that I live in a nation and a time that offers me choices and freedoms to live as I choose. This isn’t the perfect place or the perfect time, but when I look around at the oppression, violence, famine, war and disease of so many other places – I thank my stars I am where I am. I am grateful I have a voice, a choice of how involved to get in my community, and an equal presence. I am grateful that I don’t have to say how great my husband is because he never beats me. (I just read that in a book and I was taken back to when that was really something to be grateful for.) I am grateful I can read, write, vote and choose any field to work and play in. 

Thanks @ZSA_MD, for reminding me to pull my head out of my ass and be grateful. 

Last year my husband and I took a 6 week summer trip along the east coast and visited the Appalachian Trail. We only day hiked the trail, the entire trip was spent camping in different areas of the country and we weren’t prepared for any backpacking, but we decided to hike the entire route – a couple weeks a year.

This year while planning our summer, we realized we have our own amazing trail here, the Colorado Trail. It is 500 miles long and takes 4 to 6 weeks to hike in its entirety. Right now we are only planning 2 weeks this year, but that could change. 

The trail is a multi-use trail and is also used for bikers and people on horseback. It’s inception was in 1973 by Bill Lucas as a bi-centennial project. The trail runs from Denver to Durango, with much of the elevation above the timberline. It was called “The Trail to Nowhere” in an article in the Denver Post in 1984 (http://www.coloradotrail.org/trail_to_nowhere.html) and was built with grants and volunteers. 

We are planning to start the second week in July. I have been having fun reading books about backpacking and trying to get into shape hiking. There are multiple stopping places for showers and to buy more food and wash clothes. Much of the elevation is above timerline, so I am still trying to figure out how we are going to store food safely away from bears. I have a lot of research to do before we go. 

When we complete this trail we will go back to the Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian was beautifully green and lush and I have always wanted to hike that one, but I want to see the one closer to home first. I think if I can survive this one, the lower elevation of the Appalachians will be like “A Walk in the Woods”. (I loved that book!)

 I love summer, and try to fit as much fun and outdoors rec as I can in during the warmer months. I am not a skier, so the snow doesn’t make me as giddy as it does so many other Colorado folks.

If we make it back without being eaten by bears, I am sure I will post about it so much you will all be sick to death of hearing about it.