I really do like the dog - she is utterly devoted to me and the rest of the family, and you can't help but love a creature that fawns over you and adores you and wants to be with you all the time. Still, she is a dog. And dogs don't use the convenience of a litter box. So, since she has pretty much had the run of the backyard all winter, I knew there would be some, uh... evidence. Knowing that a storm was on the way, and that the girls were begging to play outside, I went out Thursday to clean up. Thinking ahead, I put a garbage sack inside a 5 gallon bucket for "easy cleanup." Hah. I started with a garden shovel, then the pooper scooper, then had to resort to a hand shovel because the poop, being brown, had melted through the snow underneath it. Ick. Fortunately it was still cold enough that there was no smell to speak of, and I really loved being outside in short sleeves!! My quick clean up lasted for nearly two hours, and completely FILLED the 5 gal. bucket. Double ick! The girls were pretty much banished to the swing set but Esther just could not resist the sweet siren call of the muddy garden. Dirty girl :) Eva was just happy to be alive, and sang as she swang. I know that isn't grammatically correct, but it rhymes better that swung.
Saturday I ran with my sister and sister in law out on Antelope Island. We squeaked in a long run between two storms - the weather and views were just perfect - just what this seasonally depressed mom needed! I hesitate to write too much about my running on this blog because I'm afraid those who don't know me well will think I'm an energetic athlete and I hate to have people thing better of me that I deserve. Wait. Shouldn't I want that? Anyway, I am about the laziest woman alive, I just happen to have a lot of fun running with my sister, and since she IS an amazing energetic athlete (she runs at 4 in the morning, for crying out loud), I have to keep up some semblance of physical fitness to hang out with her. Anyway, we ran 18 miles of UP and down trails (mostly up, I swear) and loved it. Joy, my SIL, was such a good sport and and tolerated our strange sense of humor. We were afraid Joy would leave us in the dust, but she slowed up and waited for us, thank you Joy! I'm surprised today that my quads and hamstrings feel fine, but the muscles around my ankles and lower calves are sure complaining. I'm excited to go back to trails again. Hopefully this dog will settle down to a fine trail companion instead of just a pulling, pooping machine!
