Ed is a HUGE fan of “Lost.” Me, not so much, though I did live blog the season finale two years ago.

Needless to say, Ed is camped out in front of the t.v. watching all seventeen four-and-a-half hours of the finale-night festivities. However, because of a DVR quirk, the t.v. changed briefly when the season finale of “The Simpsons” started recording.

Before we flipped it back, I caught that Bart wrote this on the chalkboard: “End of ‘Lost.’ It was all the dog’s dream. Watch us.”

Ha! :)

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Well, it’s been awhile.

The big news is that I’ve taken up running. I KNOW! It surprised me, too. :)

On March 21, when I was horribly sick with a sinus infection and double ear infection (but didn’t know it yet), I was apparently also delirious and decided to sign up for the Peachtree Road Race on July 4. The Peachtree is a 10K (6.2 miles).

I DON’T RUN!

In addition, I live in Georgia. It is HOT on July 4 in Atlanta. And humid.

I don’t move much in the summer when it’s hot and humid, MUCH LESS RUN!

But, I was signed up with 55,000 of my closest friends, and there are always thousands who want to run, but who can’t get registered before it fills up.

So, I needed to train. I asked around and got a couple of recommendations for Couch to 5K. Looked doable. So I made my plan: I’d run half of the Peachtree (3.1 miles, or 5K) and walk the rest. I didn’t want to stress myself out with something that was supposed to be fun.

I bought running shoes from Big Peach Running Company on March 26 (the day my Curves closed, sadly). On March 31, I began. That first day, the program called for alternating 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes, not counting 5 minutes to warm up and another 5 to cool down. I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I did. Today, on Week 5, Day 1 of the program, I did three 5-minute jogging sessions with a 3-minute walk after the first and second run, and a 5-minute warm up and cool down. I had FUN!

Before last week, when 5-minute runs were first introduced, I don’t know that I’d ever run five minutes in a row in my life. Today I had fun while doing it. Unbelievable.

On Saturday, I’ll be at the point in the program where I’ll run for 20 minutes straight. (I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.) By the end of the nine-week program, I’ll be able to run 30 minutes. (I may be just under 5K… no worries, however.)

When I finish with this program, I’ll run a 5K (though a “practice” 5K is where I’ll do my 20 minutes Saturday and then walk the rest). I’ll do another training program to get me ready for a 10K. I don’t think I’ll be quite ready to run the Peachtree, but I’ll be able to run well over the half that was originally my goal.

And if I like the Peachtree? I’ll do a 10K and run the whole thing and then sign up for the Atlanta Half Marathon (13.1 miles) on Thanksgiving Day 2010.

Me: a runner. Go figure.

Edited to add: About two weeks after I started, Ed decided the Couch to 5K program sounded good to him. He’s “not a runner” either, but saw that it was doable and decided to try. He’s just starting Week 3 of the program and is doing GREAT! In fact, I think it’s highly likely that he’ll leave me in his dust before it’s all over.

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Today is my 35th birthday. This colored page from my 5-year-old nephew Francis arrived in Monday’s mail — the best birthday greeting EVER!

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The phone rings at work. The name of the restaurant where Ed and I ate dinner on his birthday last May 30 pops up in the caller ID.

Me (answering phone, but thinking the call must be intended for another department, which sometimes orders food for meetings): This is Rebecca.

Caller: Hello. Is this Rebecca [last name]?

Me: Yes, this is she.

Caller: This is “Peter” at [restaurant]. I have your purse.

Me (interally): ::: THUD! :::

YUP. The purse I assumed had been stolen when it didn’t turn up after I left it at a restaurant almost 10 months ago? It turns out that it was locked up in the restaurant’s office all this time, apart from the undetermined amount of time it spent in the restaurant’s Lost and Found. The general manager was cleaning out the drawer today and found my purse.

Everything was still there. So, I’m about $50, $23 in Target gift card, $5 in Wal-Mart gift card and $5 in Starbucks gift card “richer.” Also found? Now-replaced credit cards, office security card, and various receipts from my therapist, not to mention assorted bits of purse detritus.

So all I’m out is the $25 to replace my security card at work and some finance charges, the result of Ed’s not realizing he was getting the wrong e-bill from one of my card companies and, therefore, not paying the bill. (The late payments didn’t show up on my credit report — at least not so far — which is excellent.)

I am thankful that my stuff really WAS safe all this time… just not with me.

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Remember that cruise I told you I wanted to take? Well, we got back from that 3-day cruise to the Bahamas yesterday.

It was fairly cold. I had goosebumps. A LOT.

But we had a GREAT time.

We went snorkeling in the Bahamas.

It was WINDY and cloudy on the trip back, which is why we’re wrapped up in our beach towels.

The general coldness also explains why this look is how you found me much of the time.

We did lay out a bit on Monday morning, fully clothed.

Oh, you want to see the scenery? How’s this?

You get the idea. If you want to see more, you can click either on the full set of cruise photos (all 176 of them) or on the abbreviated version of the set, which I did with a bunch of captions.

We would have preferred it be 10 degrees warmer, or at least not windy. But that’s a small quibble. It was a great vacation, and we’ll do it again.

I could write a BOOK about my cruise, but I want to write about what you’re curious about. So please tell me what strikes your fancy. Please?

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Ahhh… Friday night. A perfect night for grilling bratwurst.

What made this grilling night different from any other grilling night?

The five inches of snow I’d just measured. (This is GREAT snowman making snow, by the way.)

Brats weren’t on the menu for tonight, but they were in the fridge. When we were on the back deck taking in the view, Ed decided he wanted to grill. So grill we did.

The brats were delicious! :)

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I’ve (and by “I’ve” I mean Ed has) completed moving my site.

It looks o.k. to us, but does it look o.k. to you?

Also, can someone kindly send me a comment to make sure that part of the blog isn’t not broken? And, if someone wanted to e-mail me, that could be GROOVY.

I’ve decided I NEVER want to have to try to do this host migration thing by myself. It was stressful enough with Ed doing it… not because Ed doesn’t do wonderfully at this, but because I got frustrated 10 minutes in and had to give the project to him for the sake of sanity. :)

Perhaps at some point I’ll, you know, write a REAL post. :)

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I’m changing Web hosts over the next few days.

And by “I,” I mean Ed’s doing it.

Ed is the BEST!

Just sayin’.

So, if the site can’t be accessed or looks odd(er than usual), don’t worry. It’ll be back.

(And if you’ve not read the story about the dog Ed and I helped over the weekend, please do.)

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This is Baby, a chow/golden retriever mix and one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever met.

For about 19 hours yesterday and today, she was in our care.

Ed took our dogs for a walk about 7:45 yesterday evening. The dog followed Ed up onto the porch. She didn’t have a tag or collar. She was clearly well cared for and well loved. She was also SO STINKING SWEET!

We’ve seen the occasional dog “about” that we’ve let find its way home. But last night’s low was to be in the mid-20s with wind. Today’s high wasn’t to be more than about 35, also with wind. This wasn’t a good situation for this dog, who we estimated to be about 40 pounds.

We also knew we couldn’t keep her inside, not knowing for sure if she’s healthy and with Fox’s fear issues, which play out by nipping/biting. Long story a bit shorter, we set her up in the garage in a crate (which became harder and harder to get her in). We put up a few “found dog” signs in the neighborhood, hoping someone would call.

This morning, we set out to three different vets, hoping they could find a microchip. (Animal control, which was great, said last night that she had one, but that it was encrypted and needed a special reader.) None of the vets found a chip, and we declared her chipless. And the POOR dog, who clearly hated every part of the whole “being in the car” thing, put up well with all of the “in and out” of it, not to mention the ride, ride, ride.

Last night, completely overwhelmed by the thought of finding this dog’s home — a feeling that never abated, Ed and I’d gotten some advice from Samantha Fogg, Toby’s trainer, and we were on our way to take “found dog” posters to local vets (to be followed by more signs and knocking on doors) when we got a call about 2 p.m. from Baby’s owner. She lives less than a two-minute walk from here. They’re not sure how she got out of the yard (where she has adequate shelter, etc.). They’d been driving all over the neighborhood looking for her and were heading home when they found the sign we’d put up last night.

Her owners were delighted to see her, and it was clear she was glad to be going home. I think she had an o.k. time with us, though, considering the circumstances. :)

Everything worked out well, and for that we’re delighted. But, we realized how important it is to make sure a dog is microchipped (ours are) and that their chip’s contact information is current (Toby’s isn’t, nor is the information for my cats’ chips.) Microchipping isn’t expensive (the most I found online was $50ish, but most are much less). When I had the chips put in years ago, I thought whatever I paid was well worth it, and I think it’s even more worth it now. So if your pets aren’t microchipped, please consider doing so. (End of public service announcement.)

And one other funny/cool bit: I mentioned to the owners that Twitter and Facebook would be glad to hear that we’d found the dog’s humans (thanks to EVERYONE for your advice and moral support). When Ed and I came home from taking down the “found dog” signs a few minutes later, Baby’s owner had found me via Twitter’s search function and left me another nice note. Ah, the power of Twitter. :)

Now a photo of Baby from last night, just because she’s so cute:

We were glad to meet you, Baby, and we’re glad you’re safe at home now.

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