Julia's Awesome Giveaway!

The Bosky Blog: Keeping up with Goliath: Mmmm GIVEAWAY!!!: So now is the time for a long-awaited-long-promised giveaway. You can blame hurricane Irene for the delay. So do you guys remember that ...

I am a snobby runner

I am. I can't help it. I don't know when it all happened exactly - but at some point between last year and this year I became a snob while running.
No, I'm not a snob in the sense that I'm mean to people when running, or that I think I'm better than everyone else.
I'm a snob in the sense that I am so picky about the weather I run in that most times I don't go or I end up on the treadmill.

Now, this week the heat index has been well over 100 and I'm sorry - but that's too hot. I don't want heat exhaustion. But there are days when it's 75-80 and I still don't run. Even if there's a nice breeze. Why do I do this? Because I want perfect running weather. I want weeks full of perfect runs.
What is my definition of a perfect run?
Anything between 40-65
Partly cloudy skies
Gentle cooling breeze

Now, I know I cannot have this. I live in the freaking midwest. It's September 1st and it's over 90 degrees outside today. There's no way to predict or know what the weather is going to do and it's frustrating. Well, you can't really predict that anywhere -but around here we get snow in April or 80 degrees in April. It's usually a toss up.
I don't want to be a weather running snob anymore. It's really making me sad because I'm not as dedicated as I used to be. I'm hoping September brings me some really fantastic runs.

On another note - I started Cymbalta today. And let me tell you what.... that drug is powerful. This morning I felt like I was on some strange kind of narcotic. It was weird. Currently the side effects are: light headedness, dizziness, fatigue, dry mouth, loss of appetite, nausea and constipation.

Score.

So, here is what my WW tracker looks like today since I'm so freaking miserable:

This stuff had better be worth it and had better help with my headaches.

I'm just sayin....

R.I.P. Brutus Maximus

Today we lost a member of our family. Brutus was put to sleep today at the young age of 6.

To make a long story short, Sunday Brutus took a turn for the worse and got incredibly sick. Not eating, not drinking, shaking, puking and hiding under beds. I freaked. I told my parents we needed to take him to the vet immediately. Even if it was a $75 cost to get the vet to meet them there. Something was horribly wrong.

They gave him fluids, antibiotics and anti-nausea medication. He kept puking.
Monday he went back to the vet. Same drill. He kept puking.
Tuesday he went back to the vet. They told my mom that they were going to take him home for the night. Keep him on an IV. Watch him, see if they could get him to eat.
Wednesday morning…. today…. the vet called my mom, told her his puke had turned from yellow bile to green, which is not a good sign. The vet asked for permission to do surgery. My mom said yes.

Today at 1:00 I got the call.
Brutus was gone.

Gut wrenching heartache overwhelmed me. I sobbed. I sobbed at work. In front of my coworkers and I didn’t care. I went into my supervisor’s office and cried. In fact, I made her cry because she had been up to date on the entire situation and is also an animal lover.

The vet, during surgery, discovered a tumor on his pancreas and also found that his intestines were black. They were dying. He was rotting on the inside and we had no idea. He never acted differently, never showed any sign of pain, didn’t stop eating, and was his normal self….. until Sunday. Sunday was the turn around point. The vet said there was no way we could have known. There was also nothing she could do to save him. It was too bad.

My brothers and my mom buried him out back. In the corner of the land, underneath a big beautiful tree. They covered him with dirt and rocks and we are going to buy him a headstone and plant flowers around his grave. They also buried him with his favorite toy that he had since he was a puppy.

We are devastated. Losing a pet is like losing a family member. Mom and I have been mourning him all day. Crying constantly. It’s so hard. Yes, we have 5 other dogs in the house… but it doesn’t mean that we don’t miss Brutus with all our hearts. I would give anything to hug him again. Kiss his head and tell him what a good boy he is. But I can’t. The last time I saw him alive was Monday morning. I did snuggle him then since he wasn’t feeling well, and I told him everything would be ok and that I loved him very much. I didn’t know that I would never see him again.

R.I.P. Brutus. You were a good dog. A great friend. I miss you so much.

9/18/2004 – 7/20/2011