I'm still alive

It's been a while, hasn't it?

I still cannot find my camera cord to load photos, so until then there will only be text.

The move went fine. The cats settled quickly. Prima settled in almost immediately and was back to her routine of having a bath on the couch in no time. Gigi took a little more time exploring, peeking around corners, and jumping up on boxes to check them out.

The week has been hectic. Every time I tried to catch up on unpacking something came up. First there's work and then there was my long day on Thursday when I had my last grammar class after a full day of work. Friday was my day off so I slept in because I really needed to and then got up to go for a run. Later, I remembered that I had to go to the race expo downtown and pick up my race package for Sunday's Vancouver half marathon (oh, I tried the new Sport drink by Vega at the expo and loved it. I definitely have to pick up some and use that for my training. I also tried their new Chai flavoured mix and it was also delicious. I have to order some). I also had Saturday off, but we had an annual vet trip to make with the cats and then I had to make something to take to dinner that evening for a get together with some cousins, aunts, and uncles. (I made black bean and quinoa salad from Veganomicon. It has mango and cilantro in it and is, of course, delicious and simple to make). Meanwhile, as I'm making the dish for that night, the cable guy is in the house to hook us up to telus and it's taking him a lot longer than he thought so he's coming and going. It was a little chaotic and I felt like not much unpacking was actually getting done. However, we did do better than I thought. I'm not even sure if I need anything in the boxes that are left unpacked. I guess I will want to unpack the artwork and pictures when I do finally get around to decorating.

Sunday I awoke at five a.m. after getting to bed around midnight (dinner ran way longer than I thought. We were having such a good time and didn't want to leave). I realized at 5:30 a.m. that I should have gotten up at 4:30 since we have at least a 40 minute drive into the city and the race starts at 7:00 a.m. I was sleepy and rushing around. Toast and tea in hand, I got into the car before 6:00 a.m. but was panicked. There was zero traffic and db got me downtown to drop me near the start with 25 minutes to spare (which really means getting in line for the port-0-potty with all the other runners). I was so worried that I'd have to run to the start line like last year, but I was there with all the other runners and had time to just take it all in, sing the national anthem (It's true. I may have been one of the few singing), and listen to the countdown.

The run went pretty well. 1:56:40 is the official time. I've already knocked off 3 minutes from my run in February so the next one in June should be even better. We had beautiful weather. All week long the forecast had been predicting rain, and Saturday night confirmed that the rain had moved into the area. When I woke this morning I was so happy to see that it was clear and the morning just kept getting brighter and brighter. The whole day was sunshine; it was a beautiful day.

After the run db and I stopped by to see red jane, who I haven't seen in ages. It was great to see her. She made her famous power cookies for me and made them gluten free. They are the best. We had a nice visit. I started to feel pretty tired so we headed home.

Once we got home, I ate and napped. Now here I am. The place is finally starting to shape up. We are starting to win over the boxes. Outside our patio is framed by temporary pots with plants I dug out of the last garden. Those will just have to wait. The homeowners, M & N, did say that I could use the three raised beds that aren't being used in the backyard so I think I'll get a few nice plants for that area. They'll need some new soil since it's mostly packed clay and moss now. I can't wait to get into the garden.

Pictures are coming as soon as I can find that damned cord!