a few of my favorite creatures

Since these pix come out so nice on a black background... a pic of the kids. Ever since Moose got rid of her little passenger (a tapeworm), she has been very spunky. She chases Billy all over the yard. The poor cat can't even make it in the door without being assaulted. Honestly, tho, Billy brings it on - a few weeks ago, I witnessed a sneak attack: Billy sat in wait under my truck, and all I saw was a long orange paw swatting at Moose as she passed by. "Huh? What the..."

The kids turn 10 this spring. Billy's bday is april fools' day (appropriate), and Moose's is May 18th. Hard to believe I've been their person for 10 years. They still make me laugh every day :)

Sedona in February

is lovely. My mother ran the Sedona Half Marathon this past weekend (http://www.sedonamarathon.com/), and she had her own cheering section: me, my sister Julie, and my Aunt Cathy. It was a lovely, albeit short, weekend.

The Sedona Marathon winds thru blacktop and dirt among the pinons and red cliffs of Arizona. Sedona is on the Colorado Plateau, so it's a little higher in altitude than Georgia - about 4000 feet. This picture looks down the nasty big hill that participants had to come back up at the end of the day - it was long. I know this myself, since I joined my mom for the last 5K of the race. I didn't mean to, I was just going to walk her up the hill, but... i was having fun. Did I mention I ran it in my hiking boots and the fleece pants I'd slept in? And that I had not run anything since the Tufts 10K in Sept 2004?...

Later that day my sister Julie and I went to explore the climbing situation nearby. We drove to Oak Creek Canyon and did a few trad lines. Julie lead an arse-kicking 5.8 hand crack, and I did a horrid job on a 5.6. Honestly, I should know better than to try to use a nut in a parallel crack, when I have a perfectly good alien! Anyways. It was a fun afternoon, and very nice to get out climbing with my sister.

Now that's a good day: a jog in the morning thru the high desert, climbing in the afternoon on the canyon rim overlooking Sedona, and bbq for dinner.

Probably the best part is that since my parents are building their retirement home in Sedona, I can look forward to exploring its climbing, biking, and hiking for a long time to come. Anyone want to come play?

Ok mee too

Seems the thing to do, to create a blog. So here we go.

I'm hoping this will be a good way to share stories and pictures, since I never seem to remember to keep people in my life updated. ("What, you've moved to Georgia? And left your science career? To become a witch doctor??...")

Yes, a misplaced Sox fan in Braves territory. An ill-matched Yankee in the South. A marooned intellectual in the land of Deliverance......

I'm currently quite happy here in Marietta with my little family, dog Moose and cat Billy, in my cozy townhouse. I'll be finishing chiropractic school here (my LAST bout of education, i promise) in two years or so, then moving back home to where people use neither the word "y'all" nor the letter "r." My intention right now is to open a chiropractic practice on the outskirts of Boston. But my job, right now, is to successfully pass through the gauntlet that is my second doctoral program - thru whatever flaming hoops are set in front of me, while reciting "thank you sir, may I have another?" in response to whatever torture is launched my way. And doing so while maintaining my sense of humor, and taking as much time to goof off as humanly possible without consequence :)