KISS!

Yesterday, Joe and I went and saw Kiss at the Mid-State Fair! It was a super fun show, although I think it kept us both out a little late for a work night. :) Part of the fun was walking around the fair before the show and seeing all the people in Kiss shirts and make-up. And, of course, I was able to convince Joe to get me a cool "Kiss Alive 35" shirt. It seems like Paso Robles somehow managed to be on the tail-end of their Canadian tour - not sure why, but worked out for us.

Guadalupe Half-Marathon

Saturday was the Guadalupe Half-Marathon. Minus the fact that the weather tricked me (it was foggy when we started and then the sun came out within 30 minutes), and I wished I had more water, it was a good race. The course was really flat and a straight shot out along the river levy. And the best part is that even though I didn't run my best race, I still came in 3rd in my age group! Yeah for small races. Here are a few pics from the race - like I said, it got hot really fast, so I apologize for the shirtless photos. Not my typical running attire. :) Best part, in the bottom one you can see me passing that guy in the last 100 yards or so.

Knitting

When I finally get some free time after this class is over (less than 7 weeks to go!), I am really looking forward to getting back into knitting. It is so relaxing and I love that when you are finished you have neat (and mostly useful) items that are great for gifts or yourself. If anyone else happens to be much of a knitter, I would really recommend checking out Operation Helmetliner, which has directions for knitting helmet liners and neck warmers for troops stationed overseas. Here is the website (which also has some neat and easy projects that don't require knitting and some simply projects for kids): http://www.citizensam.org. And, just because I love my dogs, I'm adding a picture of Daphne with a little doggie sweater I knit for her last year. My dogs chill at night pretty easily, so they wear sweaters or shirts almost year-round to stay warm, and this was a really fun and challenging project.

Run Sarah Run!

While school and work keep me pretty busy, one thing I make a big effort to find time for is running. (I used to be a big fan of triathlons as well, but my participation in them has decresed significantly after a bicycle crash during a duoathlon that ended with shoulder surgery last August). I love to go for long runs, which give me some "me time" to rethink events of the day and strategize about others. Unfortunately I haven't had a lot of running time in the last month or so, and so I am a little apprehensive about the half-marathon I was planning to run on the 18th. But, it will be fun either way, since I am never very competitive anyway. For fun, here is a picture of me finishing up the last half marathon I did in May.

Puppies

Since my dogs are such a big part of my life, it would be a crime to not mention them on here. My finacee and I have 4 dogs and they pretty much run the house. We have two mini schnauzers, Ripley and Daphne, who are 17 and 14, respectively. (right picture)

We also have a 15 year old schnoodle, Duke. (picture on the left)

And lastly, we've got a 2 year old bull terrier/boxer mix named Penny. She is quite the handful! Here is a picture of Penny with the cake I baked her last September for her 2nd birthday. If you look carefully, you can see the one edge of the star that she managed to eat while I left it out on the counter to cool.

School

I realize that I completely forgot to mention in my first post that this class is my LAST (of 12) in my masters in project management. I have been working on this for two years straight through and am so looking forward to all the extra time I have once this class is completed.

Job Info

I am currently serving in the US Air Force and I am stationed at Vandenberg AFB, on the central coast of California. I work as part of the safety team for the launches we do. The last launch we did was about a week ago, and here is the video about it:

While launches sometimes come at the price of normal work hours, they are definitely the most interesting part of the job.