and in news from nearly a month ago . . . .

I wrote this post long, long ago, the week of 9/20, I believe. But I never posted it because I was planning to add photos before posting. And then I never did. So this post just sat there. And sat there. And now I feel like I can't post anything else until I get this one up. So, in the interest of opening the way for future posts, here it is:

The past week has been a pretty crazy one. We are certainly hitting that time of the semester when all the deadlines converge upon one another at once. And of course, in the middle of all that, I got sick. Nothing too serious. On a scale of stubbed toe to swine flu, I'd rate it at right about miserable cold. But it was bad enough to make me miss a couple of days of class. Nothing like illness to add to the feeling of chaos.

Earlier in the week, before illness hit, we were both suffering from some achy muscles around here. Last Saturday, we went to Topeka to join Megan in running in the Race Against Breast Cancer 5K. The three of us had been planning to do the race for awhile, although I have to admit, I had a more idealized image in mind of my own preparation for it when the idea first arose. I certainly did not do any kind of training to get ready for that thing, and I felt the effects of it afterward.

Ben and I ended up signing up as walkers for the 5K, since neither of us has been spending a lot of time running lately. (Ben's actually been doing a really great job lately of getting up in the morning and working out on the stationary bikes at the rec center on campus, but for the past few weeks, my exercise routine hasn't consisted of much more than the 20 minute walk to and from campus every day. Oh, well--every little bit helps, eh?)

So anyway, Ben and I walked-jogged the 5k, and were surprised to find out that we could jog the better half of the route. We both finished at a better time than we thought we might.

Megs, on the other hand, has turned into some kind of speed racer! I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who will think nothing of finishing a 5K in under 30 minutes, but when I think back to the Megan of three years ago, who flatly refused to jog no matter what, I can't help but be impressed with how fast she's able to run 5K now. Go, Megan, go!

After we ran the 5K, we spent a few hours helping Megan move into her new apartment. She's having a house-warming party next weekend, so I'll have to put up some shots of her new place. It's super cute, with hardwood floors and a little fenced yard where her dog, Noodles, can run around in the morning.

So, that was last weekend, and the week since has been a bit of a blur of paper grading, homework doing, and used kleenex tossing. Tonight, Ben is in Wichita reading some of his poetry, while I'm trying to make up for the stuff I didn't get done all last week. Sigh. Maybe he'll have some great pictures to share when he gets back.