i keep seeing lists on other blogs called five things or ten things where people just list things that inspire them lately.  seems like a fun thing to do.

we had a lease scare when our complex told us our rent was going up to $2000 a month in october.  not gonna work!  later, after we'd been looking for a new place, the whole thing turned out to be a miscommunication from the office. whew. i REALLY love our place.  so happy we get to stay a little longer.

five things i love about our apartment.

the plants.  eric says i can't get any more until one dies. but oxygen makes you smarter.

the textures.

the light.

the kitchen. coffee, tea, and olive oil are always a good start.

the colors. i would very much like it if rainbows were everywhere all the time.

Last night we completed the 4th 5K of the Lost Dog 5K Fridays!! Four Fridays in August... talk about dog days of summer :)

How Bella did:

Since we learned from the first race that 3 miles was really too much for Bella (and me - it's hard to carry 50 pounds for very long), for the final three we only did 2.25 miles. This worked out really nicely as we finished around the same time as Eric and Belle, and were still able to get times to see if we were improving over 3 weeks.

How Belle and Eric did:

Belle got FIRST PLACE in 2 of the 4 races in her weight class.  Her time improved each week.  We are proud parents!

Official Times for weeks 2 through 4:

Bella and Katie  37:39 net    Belle and Eric  32:59 net

   33:06 net     28:58 net

    30:57 net      26:49 net

The highlight of my evening was meeting Bella's doppelgänger, Cookie!  Cookie's mom volunteers for Lost Dog and people kept asking her if Cookie was racing.  She brought cookie down last night JUST to meet us.  MADE.MY.NIGHT.

Here's a video of Bella and me finishing the race and immediately seeing Bella's twin!

Cookie is 10, Bella is 5.

FREAKY FRIDAY!

Thanks to the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation for hosting this event, Pacers for organizing the races, and to Swim Bike Run Photography for taking pictures!  Follow the link to see more from the race.

So I got a new hand carved wood stamp from Ten Thousand Villages and had to try it out.  We have paint, twine, and Trader Joe's bags (literally) asking to be recycled, so I decided to make a flag garland.

Here are the stamped cut up bags... the stamping takes some practice.  If you haven't seen the amazing printed fabrics created with these stamps in Bangladesh and India, watch THIS.  It will blow your mind.

Here's the garland.  It came out pretty cute and now I want to buy more stamps and stamp everything!

Aaron and Rebecca went to the family friendly Arlington County Fair with us this weekend.  There were rides, games, craft booths, and treats.

Most importantly, there were PIGLET RACES.

Today we taught Bella to SHAKE!  You may think this is simple, why are we bragging? Because while Bella has many talents, doing tricks is not one of them.  Especially since she's not food motivated.  A basset hound that doesn't care about food = a stubborn dog with no weakness.

We found her breaking point.  String. Cheese.  Who can blame her?  The video below shows her finest moment of the evening with parents cheering her on.  Imagine when we have children!

I am so proud!

one of the last museums in town has been checked off the list.

the museum of crime and punishment takes you through the detailed graphic history of crime (and its associated punishment) from the middle ages to the present.  there are also interactive exhibits including a simulated shoot out where you're the cop shooting suspects with an actual altered glock 17.  the last floor is the set for america's most wanted!

it's marketed as a family museum and there were lots of kids there.  don't know that i would take my kids there, but it was an interesting and well done museum space.

John Wayne Gacy's clown costumes

self portrait in the gas chamber

NOAA had a crimes against marine mammals exhibit!

america's most wanted with John Walsh set

We had dinner with friends Aaron and Rebecca at Hill Country BBQ in Chinatown this weekend.  I didn't know you could get the meat sweats outside of Texas!  They do a great job with the meats, every side we've tried is delicious, and all of Shiner's beers are on tap.  It was a good meal :)

After dinner, we were so stuffed, we just had to walk around for a while.  Even that proved too taxing, so we ended up watching Bernie.  It was a funny but strange movie, and quite appropriate for the Texas themed evening.

some pictures of our saturday stroll through the market.  it's always so tempting to buy everything in sight, so instead i took pictures of things i'd like to buy.  it's almost as satisfying.

we DID buy some fresh squeezed lemonade :)

and i bought a hat!

Yesterday we (Bella and I) completed our first 5k ever!  Did it take us over 55 minutes? ... Maybe.  Did Bella get carried part of the way? ... Maybe she did. But we finished! And we weren't last!

The Lost Dog 5k series (a race every Friday for 4 weeks) is a fundraiser for the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation.

That means we have 3 more to go!

the girls ready to go!

Belle decided she wanted to win, so she and Eric took off.  While Bella and I had a good start, it was hot.  She was pretty much done at mile marker 1 (the first water station).  We walked briskly for a  while, slowed considerably throughout the 2nd mile, and at the mile 3 water station, Bella said, screw you mom, I'm done.

It was a lonely road in front of and behind us.  We stopped for rests, drinks, and encouragement from race volunteers.  I carried Bella for a while and finally the finish line was literally in sight!  We made it!

The official time was 55 minutes 24 seconds.  We came in #188 out of #194.

Here is Bella after the race.  We were almost last, the medal ceremony was over, and people were mostly leaving.  Guess what little nugget?  There's only one way to go from here!  And we have 3 more Fridays to get better!

Meanwhile... Belle and Eric finished in 29 minutes and 50 seconds.  When Belle puts her mind to something, she succeeds!  Here's a picture of our first place girl wearing her medal!  (We might be watching too much of the Olympics)

These two dogs were dog tired!