Happy Father's Day ... A Little Late

Hey, Curt, what's with the blue velvet shirt?

Last Wednesday, when I was sure I was about to die from a sore throat, I was woken up during my mid-afternoon nap by some crazy noise in my backyard. Sure enough, there was my dad out there mowing my lawn. (Note - it had been a while since my backyard had been mowed.... Actually quite a while. He had to mow it twice.) Curt even loaded up his brand spankin' new trimmer (courtesy of his daughters) to make sure the edges were done to his liking. Now how wonderful is that? I don't know many dads that drive 40 minutes across town to mow their daughters' lawn. Well, that's just the kind of dad I have.

As you can see from the picture above, he's pretty much always been about his girls. You can't see it here, but he's reading to me. And I, according to my mom, am eating a hot dog. Yes, even at an early age I was all about food and books.


And I have always been a daddy's girl.... By the way, is that a 70's kitchen or what?

Many of you know my dad. And most people will agree that he is one of the best people ever. Ever. I hate that I didn't see him on Father's Day, but I was just way too sick to participate in a family event that day. I just don't have enough room to list all the things that make my dad so great. I'll just say this: I'm so, so, so lucky to have this guy for a dad. And I'm so thankful that I'm back in Columbus so that I get to see my family so often. Happy belated Father's Day, dad! I love you!

Couch to 5k

I've set a goal for myself to run a 5k by the end of September. Don't laugh. I'm serious. My inspiration? My BFF, Lori. When I was in NC a few weeks ago, she ran a 5k and had been working really hard to get ready for it. And, by the way, it was at least 90 degrees the morning of the run, so she gets bonus points for doing it. My sister and mom are going to run it with me, which I'm really excited about. Yes, this is the same sister that runs marathons, but I think she will be very supportive.

So today I started my training. I won't bore you with the details, but the first week is basically 30 minute runs where you alternate jogging and walking. I about died. Died. Those of you that are in shape and actually enjoy running, try not to fall out of your chair laughing. But I did learn 3 things today:

1) I can do anything I put my mind to.

2) I am really, really, REALLY out of shape.

3) I need a better sports bra.

Enough said.

Alive!

Yes, I am alive! It's been a crazy week. I've been sick consistently since Friday. I haven't posted in forever, and I have pics from my North Carolina trip and a Father's Day blog post to do. If I had a laptop, I might have been able to do some bedside blogging, but it's not so convenient to have a regular computer in your bed - haha. My BFFs, Katie and Lori, have their own opinion as to why I am sick, but I'm not going to go there right now. At first I thought it was my allergies, but I just couldn't shake this fever that I had..... Then the sore throat started. By Sunday I was out of my mind with pain, and convinced myself that I would indeed die if I didn't go to the Urgent Care. The good news is that Urgent Care (being Father's Day and near dinner time) was empty, so I had basically no wait. The bad news is that they still haven't invented a pill to magically make me all better. I was sent home with a prescription and instructions to rest and drink plenty of fluids. Easier said than done, as it was excruitating to swallow. I mean, I dreaded it. Now I like me some food, but I have eaten very little over the past 5 days. And that's sayin' something. I made another trip to the Dr. today, and was given a shot, some cough medicine and some mouthwash that kills pain. This stuff is the best. stuff. ever. Ever! And, I lost 4 pounds! I know I'll gain that back as soon as I start eating again, but hey - it was a good feeling at the Dr.'s office this afternoon!

I am so thankful that:
1) I have air conditioning. I can't imagine how horrible it would have been to be sick and hot!
2) That my mom lives so close by. She came over on Monday, did my laundry, and basically force fed me hot tea and made me gargle w/ warm salt water. I was so miserable and in so much pain, but her being here just lifted my spirits. Also, I was out of clean underwear.
3) My dad finally took pity on me and mowed my backyard yesterday!
4) I had the chance to get caught up on The Colbert Report and The Daily Show. You know how I love those guys.... And I'm now only 3 shows behind.
5) I have a great team at work who was able to hold down the fort. God bless 'em....they called me very little. I'm very proud of them.


After my trip to the Dr.'s this afternoon, I took a 4 hour nap. That's the longest I've slept in one block in at least 5 days. I woke up feeling actually pretty good. That shot must have done some good, because I have no fever whatsoever. Looks like I survivied this one!

Summer Hot Spot

The Hilliard branch of the Columbus Library is apparently THE hot place to see and be seen this summer. I stopped by around noon to pick up a book I had ordered and the place was PACKED! Now it's always pretty busy there, but today was exceptionally busy. It is a pretty nice library. The librarians are super friendly. There's even a "teen" section, which had a bunch of teen lounging around in it. I was a little annoyed at first because, well, teenagers can be obnoxious, but then I thought....."You know, there are certainly worse places for teenagers to be hanging out". I went in for one book, and came out with 4. I had to stop myself from getting any more books, because I already have quite the summer reading list. I did pick up this cookbook by Jimmy Buffet's sister. It has some wicked good recipes in it. All southern-gulf-coast-lots-of-shrimp-and-cheese cooking. I'm making some Hot Gouda Grit Cakes tonight... Yum.

I've always been a big fan of the library. And I'm happy to be back in a city with such an awesome library. Akron's pretty much stunk.... Actually, Erie (of all places) has a really nice library. It overlooks the water and it attached to a museum. I don't even mind paying late fees. Because I believe that libraries are pretty much the best use of our tax dollars (besides schools).

When I was little I took a book into the bathtub with me and dropped it in the water. My mom made me take it in to the library and explain to the librarian what happened and apologize. (I know! How mean was that???) But the librarian looked at me and said, "That's okay. When we love books, sometimes we want to take them everywhere with us". So Cheryl was a little disappointed that day. She thought that her daughter would learn a big life lesson about respecting books. I don't know who the librarian's name.....I was probably 5 at the time....but that kind lady is probably who helped turn me into the book whore that I am today. Well, I do owe some thanks to my parents who taught me to read also!

I had a lot of big plans for my day off today. I was going to do some painting, catch up on laundry, clean my floors. Instead I spent the morning checking out icanhascheezeburger.com and I suspect I'll spend the afternoon reading. Oh well....