Back To It

With today being Labor Day, Everley and Emmatha have no day care. So, it's LaLa Daycare, since Maribeth has to work delivering Amazon packages (what kind of people order all this stuff - of wait, that would be me ...). Steve volunteered to take Everley to the YMCA pool for the day (not sure who was more pleased about that), so it was just me and Emmatha at home.

And yes, the knee still is in limbo. It's somewhat better than yesterday, but still tricky, mainly when I get up from a seating position because I have to figure out how to distribute the weight on which leg and decide which leg will take that first step. And yes, I've done all the RICE techniques. Now it's just a waiting game to see if it gets better on its own or I decide to call a doctor. The decision is already made for today, since I would imagine that knee doctors are taking this holiday off, too.

Anyhow, Emmatha decided to use today to take several naps, which worked out perfectly for my decision to sit down a lot. Sure, it's sort of the opposite of "labor" for Labor Day, but that's how we're rolling today!!

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Blessings today include: rocking and playing with Emmatha; quiet day at the Doik; Steve's burgers on the grill for dinner

Sitting Out Another One ...

That would be another half marathon. At Disneyland. The other one being in May when my right knee revolted. Anyhow, today would be another skip for me, and another finish for Molly - yay!!

I got up when Molly did (that's what happens when you go to bed before it gets dark). Although I had no intention of attempting to see her anywhere before the finish, I also didn't plan to go back to sleep. Instead, I got up (if you can call my hobble that), got a shower, packed up my stuff, and did some work on the computer.

After a while, I started tracking Molly, so I would know how close she was to the finish. The finish line is right outside our hotel, so I figured I could at least limp to see her there (or get Goofy to push me in a wheelchair). RunDisney has a new thingy where they have a map that points out where your runner is. I decided to also track our pal Tammy, and noticed that their "points" were close together (MD = Molly, and the big orange square = Tammy). I asked Molly if she could see Tammy, and lo and behold they were actually together at that point, which as you can see is somewhere between miles 11 and 12.

Once they reached Mile 12, I decided to head down to the finish line, actually the .1 miles between Mile 13 (beside our fave spot Earl of Sandwich) and the actual finish line. Pretty soon, here they came! They actually both looked pretty good, considering the fact that it was a bit warm today.

Once Molly and finished and received her medals, she returned to the room and we got ready to go to the airport. After a pleasant Uber (or was it Lyft) ride to the airport, and a terrible decision to eat at the worst McDonalds ever (after we had inspected and evaluated every other eating establishment in the airport), we were soon on our way. After a brief stop in Houston for our second leg of the trip, we were headed home.  Steve picked us up and I pretty much dove into my bed.

All in all, it was a fun weekend - if you just leave my knee out of it.

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Blessings today include: getting some blogging done; seeing Molly and Tammy at the finish; Molly taking care of ride to airport and nice driver; airport eating decisions; empty middle seat on second leg of trip home; sleeping in my own bed

And Then There Was A "POP"

Today started early since we had a 10K to do. After yesterday's no-problem 5K, I was kinda looking forward to today's race, to see how that was going to go. We were in our corrals and ready to go for the 5:30am start.

I was doing fine, keeping a slow albeit steady pace. Just after I had reached Mile 4, I heard a definite "POP" behind my left knee. Or maybe I felt the "POP." At any rate, there was a definitive pop and the race took an ugly turn. Of course, this is not the knee that was a mess in May. Did it hurt? Yes. Could I still walk? Slightly. Was it time to quit? That's what I started debating in my head.

Horrible photo.
But you get the drift
 of how I was feeling.

In any race, sometimes I reach that point when I wonder if I will be able to finish. Today I for sure hit that point, and started composing my blog "DNF" - which means "did not finish" for you smart people who stay away from these activities. I kept hobbling along, mainly because there were no medical stations right at that point. Molly caught up to me (her corral was behind mine and she started eons after I did, but caught up with me). She could tell by my limp (and not my usual goofy gait) and my expression that all was not well. I explained my injury and told her to go on ahead. Several walkers asked how I was, and one lady gave me some sport beans while another offered me Bio-Freeze and some Tylenol. The next thing I knew, Tammy came up behind me (she started in several corrals behind me, probably starting six hours after I did, and had caught up to me). I explained what had happened and told her to surge ahead.

Ice, ice baby ...

Soon I could see Mile 5, and knew I had only another mile to go. I knew the route - around Fantasyland, through the castle, down Main Street, and the finish through Downtown Disney. I felt like I could finish - Molly had told me how far the balloon ladies were behind me, and I felt confident that I could get in before they caught up. I texted Molly as I passed each marker so she would know I was moving forward, and eventually I made it to the finish line and got my medal. I then headed to medical, where they iced my knee. They would have checked on it more, but I was sitting next to a woman who had decided we would be best friends and was going to talk my ear off. I decided I needed my ear so I got up and left.

What is my injury? According to Dr. Google, it could be a tear and might heal on its own. I shall consult a flesh and blood doctor, if it doesn't feel better by Wednesday. At least I wasn't planning to do the half marathon tomorrow anyway ...

After the 10K, we cleaned up and met Tammy for a movie, this time it was "Light Between Oceans." Tammy's sister had recommended it, and the previews looked good, so we sat down for some entertainment. I will give the movie two S's - slow and sad.  There was a story, but it was kinda depressing and sad. And I couldn't find any character that I really was rooting for. Oh well, check movie #5 off the 60 Movies list.

The rest of the day was spent in bed, propping my knee up. We were going out for dinner, but I decided any extra walking would be a bad idea, so Molly went out and brought some back. I knew I bring her along for good reasons!!

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Blessings today include: fellow walkers who are so kind; seeing Molly and Tammy after my injury; finishing the 10K; movie time  with Tammy and Molly; Molly bringing back dinner

Busy Friday!!

First there was the 5K, Molly hung around with me the whole race and we got some cute photos (speed is not an issue in the 5K). I did okay with no major ankle trips or knee issues. Could I be healed from that May knee/IT issue? At any rate, I finished and received my metal medal - the first 5K Disney medal to be made of metal and not plastic (a big deal if you're a Disney race goofball).

After the race, we cleaned up and waited for our brunch reservation (keep in mind that the race starts at 5:30am, so even at my slow place, we're done before anything opens up). Today we ate at the Carnation Cafe. We planned to eat around 10:45, hoping to have a choice between the breakfast and lunch menus, but alas, we were only allowed to choose from the breakfast menu. I had the Spinach and Tomato-Egg White Frittata, which was fine but nothing to write home about (okay, maybe write a blog about).

We then decided to see a movie. On my "Sixty Things" list, one is to see 60 movies. These movies can be on the premium movie channels on cable, or on DVD, or at the theaters. They just have to be movies I have never seen and cannot be interrupted by commercials. So far I have seen three, which I shall quickly review ...

#1 - "Grandma" - interesting. I like Lily Tomlin, hence the reason I chose to watch it. It's about a grandma whose granddaughter needs money for an abortion. Grandma used all her money to pay off her debts, and has no extra money, so the movie is about the two of them going different places to get money (grandma also cut up her credit cards). I saw this on HBO. Like I said, it was interesting, although not particularly one of my faves.

#2 - "Florence Foster Jenkins" - Meryl Streep - need I say more? I will anyway. Of course, Meryl was outstanding as a rich woman back in the day who loves music but cannot carry a tune. Nevertheless, she performs for her music club, who ignore her ridiculous singing (Meryl is amazing as a bad singer). Anyhoo, she decides to play Carnegie Hall because she has the $$ to do so, and it all falls apart. The movie was super slow, but slightly entertaining. Marilyn, Maribeth, and Molly (I only was movie-watching with "M" people) saw it with me at the movie theater and Molly was not a huge fan ...

#3 - "Creed" - Rocky lives. I saw this on HBO and of course had to, since Rocky (and not too many of the sequels) is a fave, since it was the big deal back in my day. Although Creed Jr. has a lot of angst and Rocky has health issues, it's still a basic good old boy fighter story. It was good enough.

#4 - "Suicide Squad" - So Molly and I had talked about going to the movies while we were here, and the two that we had picked were "Light Between Oceans" and "Suicide Squad." Today I thought we were going to see "Light" and was mentally prepared for that movie, when after the movie started, I realized it was "Suicide." This movie was definitely not a fave - weird, kinda gross at times, lots of bad guys trying to do the right thing, lots of not-making-sense stuff, witches, supernatural - yeah, not my cup of tea. But I saw it, and won't have to wonder what it's about.

After the movie, we did some other stuff and had some dinner with our Run Disney pal Tammy before turning in - tomorrow's the 10K!!

Finished the race - and got our metal medals!!

Met up with this dude somewhere ...

Had to get a photo with Belle for my friend Elizabeth's birthday (Eliz is secretly Belle).

The question is - am I pushing Molly or is she pulling me?

My castle - which you really need to see in person ...

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Blessings today include: finishing the 5K with Molly; brunch at Carnation; photos with Woody and Belle; movie with Molly; dinner with Molly and Tammy

Restaurants

One of my "Sixty Things" is to eat at 60 restaurants at which I have never eaten. And McDonalds in a new city does not count. Today was #2 on this list, and since I did not tell you about the first new restaurant, I will tell you about both today.

New Restaurant #1 - Tupelo Honey Cafe.  I ate there last Saturday with Marilyn (who was in town for the weekend), Molly, Maribeth, KB, and Emmatha. It was super delicious, since we started with fried green tomatoes and okra. Then I had the Super Southern Breakfast Bowl, which consisted of: Salsa verde black-eyed peas and SC stone-ground goat cheese grits layered with two all-natural, farm fresh over-medium eggs, apple cider bacon, cheddar and salsa. In other words, yummy yummy! And yes, I shall be visiting this establishment again.

New Restaurant #2 - Carthay Circle Restaurant at California Adventure Disneyland. Molly and I have debated eating here before, and decided to do it this weekend. It's a really lovely place - and they certainly didn't mind that I was in my grandma uniform (tshirt and capris). We started off with their Carthay Signature Fried Biscuits (oh my goodness - the goodness!!) and then I had the Grilled Angus Tri Tip (because the waiter said it was delicious and he certainly didn't lie about that!) and then we finished with dessert because we had a minuscule amount left in stomachs that needed to be filled. So I had the panna cotta. Which just slid down my throat. It was a great place to eat (although a bit pricey) and was totally delicious. Now, to save my $$ for that next visit ...

Our next new restaurant will also be at Disneyland, in the Disneyland park. We'll be eating at Carnation Cafe. I'll tell you all about that tomorrow!

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Blessings today include: expo-ing with Molly and getting our race stuff; shopping Disney style; eating and chatting with our waiter; falling asleep early!