20 Jan, 2012
Yikes! Hmmmm, this has me slightly concerned. Pictured below is a screen capture from the logging statistics on my website. I have added two red stars to draw your attention to the fact that I had two hits from Leavenworth inside of 20 minutues. Leavenworth!? As in Leavenworth, KS, the largest maximum security federal prison.
Yikes! Hmmmm, this has me slightly concerned. Pictured below is a screen capture from the logging statistics on my website. I have added two red stars to draw your attention to the fact that I had two hits from Leavenworth inside of 20 minutues. Leavenworth!? As in Leavenworth, KS, the largest maximum security federal prison.
18 Jan, 2012
We finally did it! Mike and I have finally taken the plunge and joined the modern era and got ourselves some smartphones. Mike had been due for an upgrade and my upgrade was just around the corner so for a small fee we jumped the gun. We each got one of these, the Motorola Droid Bionic. We went the route of certified pre-owned to save a bit of money.
We talked to a lot of friends, got a lot of advice, and did our research. The one thing that stuck out above all else was that it would take a while for the "phonemance" to wear off. I think we are each still quite high on our phone-romance. We knew we'd love smartphones but we could never stomach the cost of a data plan. In any event ... modern world, the Melchiors have arrived!
We finally did it! Mike and I have finally taken the plunge and joined the modern era and got ourselves some smartphones. Mike had been due for an upgrade and my upgrade was just around the corner so for a small fee we jumped the gun. We each got one of these, the Motorola Droid Bionic. We went the route of certified pre-owned to save a bit of money.
We talked to a lot of friends, got a lot of advice, and did our research. The one thing that stuck out above all else was that it would take a while for the "phonemance" to wear off. I think we are each still quite high on our phone-romance. We knew we'd love smartphones but we could never stomach the cost of a data plan. In any event ... modern world, the Melchiors have arrived!
2 Jan, 2012
Happy New Year! Wow, 2012! The holidays were good to us. Fortunately Mike was home for the holidays. We hosted Mom and Dad for a few days around Christmas. On Christmas Day morning we found a "Merry Christmas" message from Milton. Yup, that's a half-eaten cherry pie pictured below. Milton is a hard core counter surfer and we're doing our best to break him of it. Evidently we forgot to secure the cherry pie Christmas Eve and Milton found it!! Needless to say, we did not feed him breakfast that morning.
For NYE Mike and I took the train into DC and explored the city in our backyard. The house has consumed us so much that we haven't found much time to see the sites. We finally located the Einstein statue and also had our sights set on seeing the new MLK Jr. monument. En route from one to the other we also visited the Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and the Korean War Memorial. Interestingly, there were no Melchiors that died at Vietnam; there were 9 Potts's that died at Vietnam. I have seen the Korean War Memorial 3-4 times now and it still reigns in as my favorite DC monument. I think Einstein's statue might be my second favorite.
Happy New Year! Wow, 2012! The holidays were good to us. Fortunately Mike was home for the holidays. We hosted Mom and Dad for a few days around Christmas. On Christmas Day morning we found a "Merry Christmas" message from Milton. Yup, that's a half-eaten cherry pie pictured below. Milton is a hard core counter surfer and we're doing our best to break him of it. Evidently we forgot to secure the cherry pie Christmas Eve and Milton found it!! Needless to say, we did not feed him breakfast that morning.
For NYE Mike and I took the train into DC and explored the city in our backyard. The house has consumed us so much that we haven't found much time to see the sites. We finally located the Einstein statue and also had our sights set on seeing the new MLK Jr. monument. En route from one to the other we also visited the Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and the Korean War Memorial. Interestingly, there were no Melchiors that died at Vietnam; there were 9 Potts's that died at Vietnam. I have seen the Korean War Memorial 3-4 times now and it still reigns in as my favorite DC monument. I think Einstein's statue might be my second favorite.
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18 Dec, 2011
| 500 miles!! I cannot believe it - I just ran 500 miles on the year. All this from the same Shelley who just this past March could barely make it through 1 mile ... and at that, it would take me 13 minutes!! Holy cow, I'm super excited and proud of myself. So much so, that yes, I did indeed take a screen capture of my own website. This is a training log widget from Runner's World and it indicates that on 12/18/2011 my 3 mile run put me at 500 miles for 2011. Simply amazing for me. |  |
17 Dec, 2011
| Mike had to work for Thanksgiving so I traveled to OH with the Ashby's. I hadn't been back to OH in 2 years and the journey from and return to the DC metro area quickly reminded me why I've not made the jaunt in a while. In the future I will definitely leave town early to avoid the masses - even if it means I miss out on a carpool. Once we were in OH, though, the trip was great! Catherine had her 5th birthday in November so we did a belated celebration for her. About 5 years ago I had painted a piggy bank for her older sister. Well Catherine has been eying it and expressed an interest in having one of her own. We also celebrated a bit of Christmas since we won't be with the Potts' this Christmas. Just as I had painted a piggy bank for Elizabeth years ago, I had painted a star bank for Hannah. I figured her brother wouldn't be as interested in a bank of his own as Catherine was, but since I was already on the bank painting vibe, I painted him a frog bank. |   |
16 Dec, 2011
The group of women at work who take mid-afternoon Starbucks breaks together is slowly growing. So as not to feel left out I went ahead and knitted (and crocheted) hot beverage cozies for them, too. Check them out! All, Sheree's, Melissa's.
If this is not at all familiar to you, please revisit this post from December 19, 2010 as a refresher.
The group of women at work who take mid-afternoon Starbucks breaks together is slowly growing. So as not to feel left out I went ahead and knitted (and crocheted) hot beverage cozies for them, too. Check them out! All, Sheree's, Melissa's.
If this is not at all familiar to you, please revisit this post from December 19, 2010 as a refresher.
22 Nov, 2011
Well, its over ... and I'm still alive! I ran the Annapolis Half Marathon last Saturday and I'm pretty pleased with my results. My overall aim was simply to finish. Next, my goal was to finish somewhere between 2:15 and 2:30. Well, somehow I finished in 2:13:45, and that's even with walking off and on a little bit for the last 2-3 miles owing to knee pain. That is unreal to me! I'll take it! Here are the stats:
Distance: 13.1 miles
Time: 2:13:45
Pace: 10:13 min/mi
Overall: 2446 / 3249 (75.3%)
Female: 1217 / 1802 (67.5%)
Age group: 247 / 352 (70.2%)
Mike was able to make it to the race which was awesome! He found me along the route several times and snapped some pictures. Kate and Nicole braved the chilly morning, too. They even made me an awesome sign! And Janna and Andrew met up with me at the finish line. I am so thankful I had so much support and could share such a cool feat with friends. Thank you, guys!
Below are some highlights of the morning. Please don't mind the clashing colors - I was going for the "bright and visible" look! This race had some nice swag - all finishers got a medal. :-)
Well, its over ... and I'm still alive! I ran the Annapolis Half Marathon last Saturday and I'm pretty pleased with my results. My overall aim was simply to finish. Next, my goal was to finish somewhere between 2:15 and 2:30. Well, somehow I finished in 2:13:45, and that's even with walking off and on a little bit for the last 2-3 miles owing to knee pain. That is unreal to me! I'll take it! Here are the stats:
Distance: 13.1 miles
Time: 2:13:45
Pace: 10:13 min/mi
Overall: 2446 / 3249 (75.3%)
Female: 1217 / 1802 (67.5%)
Age group: 247 / 352 (70.2%)
Mike was able to make it to the race which was awesome! He found me along the route several times and snapped some pictures. Kate and Nicole braved the chilly morning, too. They even made me an awesome sign! And Janna and Andrew met up with me at the finish line. I am so thankful I had so much support and could share such a cool feat with friends. Thank you, guys!
Below are some highlights of the morning. Please don't mind the clashing colors - I was going for the "bright and visible" look! This race had some nice swag - all finishers got a medal. :-)
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12 Nov, 2011
| Call me crazy but I have signed up for the Annapolis Half Marathon! One week from today I will be running 13.1 miles through the streets of Annapolis Maryland! We shall see how I survive ... |  |
6 Nov, 2011
Holy crap! We can't believe it!! Our master bathroom shower renovation project is FINALLY over! It has been a long time coming and we are pretty happy w/ the results despite the setbacks along the way. This has been quite a journey from crappy cracked shower pan floor leaking to the ceiling below to our really beautiful "hand crafted" shower! ;-) Buko kudos go to Mike for all of his hard work!! Love you bunches!
See for yourself ... which do you like better?
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Holy crap! We can't believe it!! Our master bathroom shower renovation project is FINALLY over! It has been a long time coming and we are pretty happy w/ the results despite the setbacks along the way. This has been quite a journey from crappy cracked shower pan floor leaking to the ceiling below to our really beautiful "hand crafted" shower! ;-) Buko kudos go to Mike for all of his hard work!! Love you bunches!
See for yourself ... which do you like better?
BEFORE:
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AFTER:
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2 Nov, 2011
I kept Milton segregated from Sam and Custer until we could get him vaccinated and neutered. The vet said he was in good health, not micro-chipped, and appears to be ~ 10 mos old. After about 1 week we let everyone meet. Custer was indifferent - great, another cat to be afraid of! When Sam and Milton met Mike and I were at the ready with spray bottles and brooms in case a cat brawl ensued but nothing happened aside from some hissing and a few air swats. By the 2nd night they were curled up sleeping next to each other on our bed. Awww.
Milton is incredibly affectionate when he is not wound up in a feeding frenzy (OMG he is a pain when it comes to food) or on a playful kitten tirade. Sam has been chased around the house more times than we can count. Its a great arrangement, though, since Sam needs to lose weight anyway!
Welcome, Milton!
 | Meet Milton! Remember that trip to Atlanta a few weeks ago? When I left home I certainly had no intention of bringing home a cat - funny how life works. Becky and I were at the local high school track (Milton HS) calibrating my garmin footpod when we came across this sweet little guy. After loving on him for the better part of an hour there was no way we could leave him there. After 2 days in Becky's garage I decided I was going to fly home with Milton as my carry-on! |
I kept Milton segregated from Sam and Custer until we could get him vaccinated and neutered. The vet said he was in good health, not micro-chipped, and appears to be ~ 10 mos old. After about 1 week we let everyone meet. Custer was indifferent - great, another cat to be afraid of! When Sam and Milton met Mike and I were at the ready with spray bottles and brooms in case a cat brawl ensued but nothing happened aside from some hissing and a few air swats. By the 2nd night they were curled up sleeping next to each other on our bed. Awww.
Milton is incredibly affectionate when he is not wound up in a feeding frenzy (OMG he is a pain when it comes to food) or on a playful kitten tirade. Sam has been chased around the house more times than we can count. Its a great arrangement, though, since Sam needs to lose weight anyway!
Welcome, Milton!
1 Nov, 2011
The stats are deceiving, though. This was a qualifier race for the Peach Tree Road Race so the chip timing ceased after 1:15. If anyone was slower than that their results were not in the overall field. Not to mention, the quick cutoff may have scared off slower folks from even bothering to participate.
Becky ran a great race, too! She finished much faster than she expected and I'm so happy for her! She cleaned house with a 1:11:28.
| Yet another reason for my disappearance is that over the Oct 18-20 weekend I flew down to Atlanta to visit with Becky. Part of the reason for the trip was to run another 10K. My ultimate goal was to beat the 1 hour mark. But if I couldn't get that then I at least wanted to beat the time from my previous 10K. I ran a pretty good race for me and really chugged in hard to the finish line for the last 1/2 mile. As a result, just a few moments after I finished I yacked! You can't say I didn't give it my all. Here are my stats: Distance: 6.2 miles Time: 1:00:51 (yay, new PR!) Pace: 9:49 min/mi Overall: 131/160 Female: 49/67 Age group:5/7 |  |
The stats are deceiving, though. This was a qualifier race for the Peach Tree Road Race so the chip timing ceased after 1:15. If anyone was slower than that their results were not in the overall field. Not to mention, the quick cutoff may have scared off slower folks from even bothering to participate.
Becky ran a great race, too! She finished much faster than she expected and I'm so happy for her! She cleaned house with a 1:11:28.
31 Oct, 2011
Boy have I got some catching up to do! I promise I can explain the absence. In early October I flew out to my old haunts, Monterey, CA, to attend Kate's wedding. The wedding was beautiful and just so "Kate and Cory!" Congratulations, guys! I loved her wedding for the chance to catch up with a former colleague, aka Kate's dad. Here is a picture of Gary and I. Of course, I enjoyed visiting with all of her family. Here I am with Kate and her sister Rebecka.
While I was in the area I hooked up with my old cycling buddies. They still do their weekly hike/bike ride at Fort Ord so I joined Brenda, Robin, Ann, and Judge O'Farrell for a 4 mile hike. Here I am with Brenda and Ann and here I am again with Brenda and Robin.
It was such a great time to visit with old friends and trade stories and experiences in person. No amount of email or internet activity can replace seeing old friends face to face. Thanks to everyone for such a nice visit.
Boy have I got some catching up to do! I promise I can explain the absence. In early October I flew out to my old haunts, Monterey, CA, to attend Kate's wedding. The wedding was beautiful and just so "Kate and Cory!" Congratulations, guys! I loved her wedding for the chance to catch up with a former colleague, aka Kate's dad. Here is a picture of Gary and I. Of course, I enjoyed visiting with all of her family. Here I am with Kate and her sister Rebecka.
While I was in the area I hooked up with my old cycling buddies. They still do their weekly hike/bike ride at Fort Ord so I joined Brenda, Robin, Ann, and Judge O'Farrell for a 4 mile hike. Here I am with Brenda and Ann and here I am again with Brenda and Robin.
It was such a great time to visit with old friends and trade stories and experiences in person. No amount of email or internet activity can replace seeing old friends face to face. Thanks to everyone for such a nice visit.
