All That & The Kitchen Sink

...no, really.  The kitchen sink is involved in this post.

We finally know when we're leaving for China!  Yeah!  No more guessing and stressing out!  Next Thursday...oh boy!

We are going WHERE???

New faucet!

The other day my Dad came over and installed a new kitchen faucet at the house.  We tried to repair the current one, which had given out earlier in the morning with a sad-sounding *phhht* as I tried to do dishes, but it was extremely eroded and old.  I love doing projects with my Dad, as it's a good bonding experience for us.  My favorite memory of father/daughter bonding time was my Senior Project in HS when I made my wooden sailboat with him...it was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot.  :)  Anyway, the new faucet works like a charm, despite looking like an alien ship from "War of the Worlds" according to my Dad...haha.
I'm very grateful my Dad will be staying at my house and taking care of Murphy next month!

Travis and I both got Hep A shots this morning in preparation for the trip.  Owie.  I hate needles.  Luckily it didn't hurt that much AND we got some kicka$$ holographic band-aids!  Yeah!  Goober found them fascinating.

Wicked awesome boo boo cover, huh?

Once Goob wakes up from her nap I plan on taking her on a run to test out some new Champion gear I got in the mail this morning.  It was exciting having FedEx stop by the house!  Murphy helped open the box, explored it a little, then gave his seal of approval.  The gear is bright and festive!  I'll be reviewing it when I get home in October, but I'll be using it when I can right now.

Don't worry, that's not a dead cat...he's just in a sunshine coma after opening the box.

HAPPY FRIDAY, ALL!  Much love and luck to all those racing this weekend...
including the fantastic HTC nuun Relay teams: NUUN PLATUUN and AFTERNUUN DELIGHT!  Good luck, ladies!

So This is BIG

Here's the NEWS:

Photo: Destination360

Travis, Goober and I are going to be living in Shanghai, China for one month...and we leave on MONDAY.  That's right, August 29th.  Next week.  Next Monday.  Oh boy.  Commence freakout.

This was a very sudden trip that needed to be taken by Travis for work, as we just found out about it last Thursday.  I'm extremely nervous going to a country that speaks Mandarin, as I know nothing about the language (yet), but even more nervous about traveling with an infant...halfway around the world.  Wow.  It should be a trip for sure.

A couple of things:

• My Dad is staying at our house, so there will be someone here at all times and Mr. Murphy kitty will not be alone.  

• My little sister, Liza, will be using my race bib for the Iron Girl 5K in Greenlake on the 11th of Sept.  I'm bummed to miss this fun race, but I know Liza will have a great time.  Remember last year her appendix burst the day before and she couldn't run it?...what a wimp!  Ha!  ;)

• My You Go Girl Half Marathon bib is up for grabs if someone wants to buy it off me.  Again, super bummed I'm missing this race too!  I love these ladies!  You will be an automatic team member of "Will Run for Ice Cream."  Let me know if you want the bib!  

• There are a bunch of reviews I need to do when I get back, so hopefully I'll get some writing done over in China.  We'll see.

• I will have internet access, but I know Facebook doesn't work...we'll see about Blogger and such.  EEK!

Goober is going international, baby!

Anyone been to China before?  Tips/advice?  

I'm going to miss you all!!!!

Sunshine

Today was one of those genuine SUMMER days that made you think of swimming in the lake and riding bikes with your friends as a kid. ;) I let Goober play nekkid in her kiddie pool for a half hour. She adores water and loved every second of it. Makes me really excited to think about future summers with a growing Goober. How fun will this be? Tons. She gets to experience childhood Summer bliss like I did...and that is going to be amazing. Man, I love being Goober's mum.
*sigh*

News & Some Winners!

Goober started clapping this week!

Hey all!  So here's the scoop: some really BIG news got dropped on my family on Thursday and it's going to affect my blogging for a bit.  Stay tuned.

In the meantime, we have some winners!  YAY!

The winner of the Mini Appreciation Giveaway is....

The randomized list of entrants

 

Cat B!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The winners of the Delta Labs Postnatal Thermogenic supplements are...

Randomized list of entrants

Kimberly and Erica!

Okay ladies, please e-mail me at zoe@runzoerun.com with your mailing address and I'll send out the prizes!  WOOHOO!  

I HEART the Playground

Yay!

You know what?  I'm so excited for Goober to be big enough to play on the playground without my help.  So far she has loved every time we've gone (or helped her go) down a slide, and if there's something that bounces...oh boy, don't get me started.  :)  Trav, Goob and I discovered a new playground in a growing development that's down the giant hill from our house.  We have to take a steep trail to get there and it's about 4.5 miles roundtrip, but it's worth it.  Nothing like a little family adventure.

Plus, all of the toys are top notch and brand spanking new.  I think Travis and I had more fun testing them out with Goober than we expected.  Strangely enough there was not a single person utilizing the beautiful day like we were.  It was a little weird.  Oh well.  The development is still in progress.  You have to love all the bright colors of the equipment.  Takes me back to when I was a kid....ahhhhh, memories.

We're in a web!

Smaller slide with Daddy

Laughing with Daddy

Bubble baby!

I love her baby feet!

The shirt says it all.

My loves.

I even got some cute videos of her going down the big slide and "walking" on the moving wheel (those things are fun!).

Motivation Lacking

Super cute Kerrie, me, Sassy Mel and the Goober Monster

Today was a lazy day.  In fact, this whole week feels like a lazy week.  After a really stressful/crazy last week, I just wanted to lay low for a bit.  Oh, and I also had a molar pulled this morning.  Mouth surgery = not fun.  So, I've been out of it.  Especially mentally as my pain medication has me a bit loopy.  Woo!

My Mt. Rainier hike recap is coming along though...so that should be up soon.

Anyone have any great running plans for the weekend?  After last Saturday's 7 miler with the lovely Kerrie and Mel, I definitely would like to plan another running "date!"  Running blogger runs are always full of surprises. ;)

Where did 9 months go?

Goober is 9 months old today. 

OH.DEAR.GOODNESS.

THEN:

NOW:

I love you, you little Goober monster you. I can't wait to see where the next months will take us. :)