Tag Archives: government shutdown

So much is going on in my mind lately. I’m reeling!
I’ll start with some love… Katie and Royal had a beautiful late July wedding, complete with a line-up of classic cars 🙂

Katie’s hair was one of the most stunning bridal styles I’ve ever seen, and the parade of cars brought me back to a classier time, before wedding parties traveled by stretch Hummers.
The first week of August, I attended a banquet held by the Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes. It recognized women of courage and character, and when I arrived, the ladies gave me the patch that we designed for Stream Girls.

I cried a little tear of joy and pride when I saw this. So much work and planning went into this project, and seeing the final patch brought it all home 🙂
I “hopped” over to Fencerow Bounty, a hops farm up in Northern Wisconsin, near the Eau Claire River water basin, for a photo shoot. David is the farmer, and Mitchel does the brewing.

It was a beautifully sunny day, and the guys were getting ready for their harvest party, a time where all their friends come over, eat, drink, be merry, and collect some hops.

I was educated on everything even remotely related to hops… did you know that you can throw a couple hop cones in a cheap beer ahem, Miller Lite and it will improve the taste?
We drank beer, and ate cheese made from the milk produced by the farm’s dairy cows.

These happy, friendly cows are on a strict diet of greens 🙂

Thanks for having me out, guys! See you next year for the harvest party…
I used that cheese and beer to fuel me for my weekend trip to the Twin Cities to visit the Weisses and run. Pack up the dog and the husband…

We arrived Friday night, and Curtis and Mo greeted us at their beautiful new home. I took it pretty easy, since I was getting up pretty early on Saturday morning to run the Minnesota Half Marathon. It was sort of a spur-of-the moment race, since I rarely get a Saturday off, and I can’t pass up an opportunity to run a race.
Saturday morning arrived all warm and wonderful, and I headed to St. Paul for the start.

Good morning, sleepy girl.

This race was very unique in that it also had an inline skate half at the same time. I loved seeing those guys on the double out-and-back course.

I made a new friend around mile four when I laughed at his shirt…

So true. America, put down the drugs, and get off your ass. This guy actually had a small knee procedure a few months before the race, so he probably should have been resting, but we all know that runners have a few screws loose can be a little ridiculous.

It was a beautiful day for a race, though this course was pretty hilly. I wasn’t prepared for it at all! I was a very smart runner and thought, hey, if I add a minute or two per mile, I’ll finish this race feeling great, still be able to help my friends move, and won’t walk like a peg-legged toddler. I took it easy, at least when I could. I wanted to sprint down those hills!

The uphills? Not so much.

I spent the last three miles chatting with the 2:20 pacer who had no one running with him! The 2:30 pacer had on a sparkly skirt, I’m sure that’s why everyone else held back 😉 I strolled my way across that finish like I’d just walked back from the kitchen with a cold beer.

Back to Curtis and Mo’s new home for a shower and breakfast, then a hard day of moving. I’ll skip right to the fun part- the housewarming ice cream cake 🙂

I love seeing my Delta Omicron sisters and brothers. We’re a tight knit group. Thanks for the fabulous weekend, friends ❤
I returned home with a couple new wine racks from IKEA, and hung them next to my very first start-to-finish photoshop project. Yay!

It’s kind of ironic, since I wasn’t old enough to drink wine when I did that project. 🙂
I’m flying through these fitness photos for you- but it’s safe to say that I spent quite a bit of time at Adventure 212 that week…
Pilates…

Body pump…

Spin…

Core Wx…

Body flow…

One of the senior pool classes… Joints in motion?

Sh’Bam…

Feeling inspired to move yet?
Good.
Because I want you to be inspired when I tell you about my current stressor with the government shut down. I’m sure most of you know someone who isn’t working because of the shut down. Runners who train in national parks in big cities (I’m looking at you, DC) are SOL. My Olivia act winner, the Soba family, told me that some children with experimental cancer treatments aren’t receiving it during this shut down. (Remember this cutie?)

Yeah, that really sucks.
Do you know what else sucks?
People who make their living as fishing guides losing access to their lakes and streams because they’re shut down. They don’t have unlimited days to reschedule.
The Wild Trout Symposium, which meets every three years with top scientists, fisheries managers, biologists, and anglers… had to be cancelled this year. Yes, let’s waste all that talent, and all the fabulous ideas that would have come out of that conference.
How about all the stream work nationwide that is halted, either due to holding back government funds, or newly restricted access? The field season is almost over, dear congressional buddies. This stuff can’t wait a year. Those locally contracted workers will go find work that is more “stable and consistent.” Growl, my claws are coming out.
Government websites are shut down, restricting access to important data about water, soil, etc… and don’t even get me started on the financial impact this has on all the communities that border national parks.
There is telemetry equipment used to track the movement of lake trout in Yellowstone that needs to be removed. Good luck sneaking in there.
And families with vacations ruined.
There isn’t anyone in this country that is unaffected by this shutdown. Please, Congress, get your shit together.
Since I can’t leave you on a note like that here’s some happy cows to brighten your day.

Thanks for reading. Be awesome, friends. Do something amazing. ❤

Miles this year: 332.7