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I am typing this while having bags of ice on both of my knees. I ran my 5 mile race today and despite the fact that it was miserably hot weather for running, I still finished six minutes better than I did last year. I did really well the first three miles but then the course turned and we were running facing the sun and a few minutes of that left me feeling like I was the victim of heat stroke. Last year the race was cold and dreary and this year it was Death Valley-esque. That may be a wee bit dramatic but that's a side effect of heat stroke, in case you didn't know. Anyway, I'm happy I did it, I'm happy I beat my time and mostly I'm happy I have extra strength Aleve coursing its way through my bloodstream right now.

In the midst of all the sportiness today, I decided to do another 14er for my birthday this year. I think I might actually train a bit this year so I can spend more time enjoying the hike and less time praying for the black cloud of death to just end my misery while schlepping up the side of a rather large mountain. I mentioned this to my friends today and they all want to join in on the fun. I love that I have friends who don't think twice about joining me in such adventures. Now all we have to do is pick a mountain and a Saturday in July.

As for the homefront, the roofing guys are supposed to be out tomorrow to "really fix it" this time. I don't want to be negative but after years of dealing with this situation and watching contractor after contractor assure me that the problem was fixed, I have my doubts. Keep your fingers crossed, ok? Also, having my guestroom a total mess wasn't enough, I decided to make two levels of my three level home a construction zone. I'm getting new tile in my kitchen. Picked out tile and grout on Saturday and the fun begins Wednesday morning. This means that for at least two, probably three days, I will not have much of a kitchen or laundry room, which is also being tiled. I've been informed that my stove, fridge, washer and dryer will all be taking up residence in my living room. But then, THEN, I will have schmancy new tiles. I'm also having my pantry redone and am trying to decide about the cabinets. All of this on top of what the contractors will have to do to get my guestroom cleaned up from The Great Leak of 2007, not to be confused with the Great Leaks of 2006, 2005, 2004, etc, etc. What's that? You want to see pictures of the destruction? Ok, if you insist. Stay tuned...

And speaking of pictures, I just found out that there is a photography school/gallery roughly 7 minutes from my house. I have been wanting to take a class forever but never got around to signing up for one. So sometime this week I'm going to take a trip over there and check it out. To make life even better, it's right next to the lovely Whole Foods in my neighborhood. I can just see my summer now...leaving class in the evenings and going straight to Whole Foods to stroll the aisles and find a lovely dinner that won't require cooking in my kitchen which will torn all to high hell - much like the rest of my house. I can't friggin wait!