Never a Dull Moment

Ancient proverb: She who runs with buffaloes will never be bored.

Today I was entertained on my run with the Buffaloes, from start to finish. The girls needed to go out- I just got done with my two days in a row of 12 hour shifts and as usual when I'm working, they have been forced to take time off from running while we both work long days.

So by my first day off, I am usually exhausted (which I refer to as my "work hangover") and the girls are revved up like a thousand charging buffaloes.

Well, maybe 500.

Sometimes it's hard to get Isabelle to go outside. For some reason she's got it figured out that she wants to take every other day off. Smarter than a lot of human runners. She can be bribed, though, if I tell her we're going to Arfy's or Starbucks.

Arfy's is the nearby pet supply store with special treats that they get just for going in the door. Last week the girls both ended up with new leashes when we went to Arfy's.

If I say we're going to the mailbox, that usually works to get Isabelle to go. But if I say we're going for a run, she only wants to go every other day.

If it's her self-designated rest day, she'll allow me to put the leash on her, but she makes her decision afterwards. She will lie down, and no matter how much I try to convince her, or even tug on the leash, she will dig in and refuse to go. It looked like it was going to be one of those days today. But this time she got up, and then she pulled us the whole way.

A half mile from our house is the LDS church. The geese love to hang out on the grass there, and where the geese hang, so do the droppings. So we begin goose poop diving on the leashes- giving mom a chance to do her rowing exercises. Pulling two 55 pound dogs back from the goose poop in the grass all winter, I have great lats- who needs P90X when you have Buffaloes! What flavor are they today, Iris?

A little over a mile from the house we reached Horsetooth Road, a major street, which is near the intersection to the street leading directly to the hospital. Lots of ambulance and fire truck traffic along here.

Today we saw a fire truck with all the lights and sirens going, racing to somewhere. When this happens, Iris and Isabelle both freeze in their tracks, sit down on the spot, point their chins to the sky and howl together, in perfect pitch and harmony.

Isabelle high, Iris low, in their vocal salutation to the fire trucks. "Haaaaallllooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Then we turned down another side street. The UPS truck driver who works in our neighborhood drove by. Whenever he comes to the door, the girls go crazy, but Iris also goes crazy when she hears the truck come down the street to stop at a neighbor's house. I always thought it was the squeaky brakes on the truck that tipped her off. But today just the sound of the UPS truck made her go wild. She started pulling on the leash, lunging and barking. The driver recognized us and waved as he drove by.

I took the Buffs home after a few miles and went out to finish my run. I really didn't feel bad today, after two long busy work days. I did some strides, and I feel okay.

I can tell my thyroid medication has kicked in. I'm no longer exhausted in the afternoons. I'm not freezing my butt off all the time, either. Now it's the opposite- I'm back to hot flashing. My face and palms turn red, and I start sweating everywhere.

It happens during the day at work, and even worse at night, throwing the covers off, then getting cold and pulling them back over me. I fixed one thing, but that throws something else off. I was also feeling extremely irritable and sensitive for a few days, quite the RPB.

At least now Dennis can send me to my woman cave, and I'm happy to have my time out room.