Last week, I missed blogging about our lives in Texas because I had to make an unexpected trip back to Knoxville. A lot has happened over the past week and a half!
I actually got a part-time job on Friday, January 15. I had started getting quite antsy at home, and one of Caleb’s friends at work, Brian, let me know about a job at an eye surgery center. I called about it, interviewed and got the job all in one day! I also found out later that afternoon that my grandfather, Papa, was not doing very well. I had a sleepless night from anxiety that Friday night, and the next morning I got the call from my mom that Papa passed away that morning with my grandmother right by his side.
Death is always a very hard thing to deal with, but in this case, I am so thankful Papa is in a better place, not suffering anymore. He had been sick with Alzheimer’s disease for years and had gotten significantly sicker over the past three months. I had the most amazing grandfather. He lived a very full life, and it was wonderful getting to go home and celebrate his life with my family.
Lulu visiting Papa in October
Caleb and I are planning on doing the Walk to End Alzheimer’s next September or October in Houston. If you are interested, go here http://www.alz.org/walk/. I believe there is a walk in Knoxville in April.
During our time of celebration, I gave myself slack in the health area. I ate a lot of baked goods from Ham N Goodys, honey-pecan fried chicken, summer sausage, cheese, buttery ham biscuits…I gave myself a lot of slack, actually. I only got one run in while I was in Knoxville, but I did make it to Pilates Monday and Wednesday nights. It felt so great to stretch and work my core (definitely something I can focus on more in Houston. I hope to have blog posts about some core-work soon!).
I flew back to Houston on Thursday (total flying time = 2 hours 10 minutes; total driving time in Houston traffic = 2 hours 30 minutes). I went to Rover Oaks – the dog “spa” as I like to refer to it to make myself feel better – where we sent Little Lu for the week. I brought Lulu home, and had a day to get the house ready for Caleb to get back from Carthage. I made him a “One Pot Meal” (Cajun Shrimp Boil) from our new cookbook on Friday, and we had tons of leftovers.
This past weekend was amazing! Caleb and I went for a forty-mile greenway ride on Saturday. I worked on my speed a bit, and I was exhausted afterward! We took Lulu to Memorial Park for a three-mile loop that evening. Yesterday, we ran our six-mile loop, and I was starving after we finished! My sweet husband went to grocery and got us the “Houstonian Roll” with salmon, tuna and avocado. Yum!! I love sushi. It makes such an easy meal!
Today, I started my new schedule of waking up at 5:00! Thankfully, this week, Caleb is in town and can help with packing my lunch J and walking Lulu, but I am preparing for next week when it will all be on me. I have to be at my new job by 7:00, and it is about a forty-minute drive from our apartment (only about six miles down Westheimer – the Kingston Pike equivalent – but even at 6:15, it is slow-moving – yuck!). It was a really great first day. There were not too many surgeries today, and they were all done by 9:45, so I was able to get home by 11:00! (Are those not the most perfect working hours!? I love the hours!) I hear Wednesday will be my hard day this week, so I am going to try to figure everything out tomorrow.
Caleb should be home by 5:00 this evening, and we are hitting the gym to swim laps!
I just talked to my mom, and she joined the YMCA this past weekend and started swimming. Yay, Go Mom!!
Lulu sitting in her new favorite place - between the cushions - and of course, with her arms crossed like a lady.
Important!!: All of you Knoxville-ians, if you love biking, running, and mostly adventuring, I encourage you to do the Knoxville Urban Adventure Race! It is awesome, and I wish so badly that Caleb and I were in town to do it again this year. Last year, Caleb, my sister Casey (+ Baby Marion - Casey did not know it yet, but she was pregnant racing!!), and I did the race and ended up in second place in our category and eleventh overall! It is exhaustingly AWESOME!! There is a link on this page if you are interested http://www.legacyparks.org/.
Before the Race
Caleb left, Molly repelling in the middle, and Casey preparing on the right.
'can't believe that race was just last year! My goodness, a lot has happened in a short amount of time.
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