Running

I ... ran ... [gasp] ... 8 miles today .... [wheeze] ... ... [thud].

Snow!?!

Isn't it really time for it to stop snowing already?!!

Eee!

I've been teaching myself how to draw in Photoshop, and I finally figured out a really cool (I think) lineart technique (that doesn't look like I picked up a pencil in Paint). I'm so excited! This was my first try (based off a picture of Dapple):

And, by the way, I probably have strep (we didn't feel like spending the money on an official test to find out, but if it isn't strep it's something similar). Got a prescription for an antibiotic that'll hopefully clear it out as it's starting to get to my right ear.

Pets

Hello peoples, this be Ralph, and yonder to the left be my unnamed guinea pig, and she's absolutely adorable and fluffy. Yes, this is actually Ralph. So, now you're probably wondering "Why 'Pets' as a title?" Well, as of the night of April 17-18, Schatzi died. She was wrapped up in her blue blanket, and died happily fast asleep. She was 15 years old, turning 16 in 2 weeks. She was an amazing pet, and I know I'll never forget her.

Record week for running

While I was in Salt Lake, I spent an hour one morning running on a treadmill in the fitness center of the hotel (over 5 miles). The next day, I only had a half-hour available, and ran over 3 miles. This morning (at home), I ran around the neighborhood for an hour and 20 minutes, for 7 miles. That's a total of 15 miles this week.

I never would have believed I would be doing such a thing. . . .

Trip to Salt Lake City

I had a business trip to Salt Lake City this week, so while I was there I took a day of vacation and spent a whole day in the Family History Library doing some genealogy research. I had fun.

The library is across the street from Temple Square.

Old Apartment Cleaning

Everything packed, the place nice and empty, just a few boxes and bags and a lot of garbage left--off to Idaho!

So the next day Teddy and I went to clean up the rest. Luckily, the garbage was getting picked up that morning, and it came while we were vacuuming, so there was plenty of room for the rest of the junk we needed to put out.

The vacuuming wasn't bad, though the stairs were a bit of a pain, and there certainly was a lot of it (what with baseboards, windowsills, closets upstairs and down, rooms and hallways, not to mention doing the vinyl floors before we mopped!).

Incidentally, we had to untie a very unique twine arrange-ment off the second bedroom door hinge, and started an interesting collection of ball bearings in the other bedroom.

We scrubbed bathrooms (what was that goo on the upstairs bathroom counter?), wondered about that shower curtain (by the way, do you still need a replacement?), and went on to scrub the kitchen sink, wipe out the fridge, and mop the kitchen floor. You did a great job on everything else (thank heavens, I hate cleaning stove tops!). Then we took that objectionable rug from the bottom of the stairs home to wash, and let the kitchen dry. Like our pictures?

Cataldo Mission Trip

Hello, this is Teddy! I have decided to post about my trip with Mama and Papa to the Cataldo Mission on 2/12/11. The reason for going was that I had to go to a national historic landmark for my Citizenship in the Nation merit badge.

This shows it is a national historic landmark.This is a close up.

After we walked around inside the mission, ( it was COLD!!) we went inside the Parish House.

Parish House (left) and Mission (right).

I found a piece of the wood from the Parish House on the ground outside. We then walked around the places around the Mission. After that, we went to the visitor's center and watched a movie about the history of the Mission and Parish House.

Visitor's Center.

To sum everything up, I had a lot of fun, learned a lot, and got to sign something off for scouts!

Sincerely,

Teddy

Moscow

Now that we finally have internet, I feel like I'm actually back among the living. We're all the way moved in, though the second bedroom is still bedlam and there are empty boxes littered around most of the house waiting for a little more determination from the occupants. Here are some pictures of the place (admittedly, before much of the tidying was done; these are over a week old).

Living room:

Kitchen (with above-mentioned occupant):

Hall with washer, dryer, and linen closet:

Our bedroom:

Bathroom (with tub behind):

Second bedroom (about 2/3 tidier by now):

We attended our ward for the first time this last Sunday. It seems like a very nice ward, though a lot smaller than what we've been in before, and comprised entirely of married couples generally under 30, and children under 5. They need a louder microphone.

We started growing our own herbs, mostly basil, chives, and cilantro. This is the basil, the chives have yet to sprout.

Eric's going to start school next month, to get in a couple of classes that are prerequisites for several of his classes that are offered only in the fall.

He also built a very nice and sturdy bookcase for me to use in the second bedroom for art books and supplies and such.

I started working at Motherhood Maternity in Macy's this last Tuesday. I mainly receive shipments and put them out on the floor, organize the clothes stands, and make sure everything is priced correctly. Eric and I are both signing up with a temp agency to get extra work, and I am still applying places as well.

In addition, I'm trying to boost my photo restoration business. Although a lot of people showed interest at the genealogy conference, I haven't received a single email or order as a result, so I'm branching out a bit. I'm organizing photos that I've taken over the years that I can offer as prints, and today I put up an offer for creating custom typographical prints, like so:

I also got a free sample order of business cards (10 ct) that I can now keep with me and distribute.

If you've got any suggestions, let me know :)