Dinner, a Dog, and Dishes

So, i added a section for my 2008 race calendar tonight! It lists what races I have completed this year and then future races, to be completed. The Bagel2Beer marathon is something my father organizes every year and we are going to use it as the longest training run - 20 miles! The Baltimore Marathon is the big goal. I have completed 3 marathons, but it has been 3 years since I have done one, so that makes it scary again. This will be Kevin's first marathon, so it should be exciting. This weekend, we are doing an 18 mile training run. We have been officially training since April/May of this year. Our longest runs so far have been a 15 and 16 miler - each a few weeks back. We will use the Galloway method, something i had never used until this year, but definitely see the value after using it during the Frederick half marathon.

Now on to dinner! I decided to cook up Trader MING's (I just noticed it said this - ha) Kung Pao chicken stir-fry, which is just so good.

Please note my stylish bowl - circa 1990, when the Arizona motif was in - hand-me-down from my sister and her husband. These are still hanging on - because they really are the perfect size bowl!

Dessert was a pudding cup - not pictured. My dog, Oscar, has become a committed beggar of food. Probably doesn't help that i like to eat dinner on the floor sometimes. ;) But, he has very good techniques. First, he sizes up the food.
Then he looks up at you with the sweetest face - ever. (You'd think he hadn't had a treat in months.)Then he goes in for the kill, lays on my leg and looks up at me with one sad eye, like he might die from starvation.

I always fall for it.

One more thing - I need a new dishwasher - ASAP. A few weeks ago, I spent my day-off at home, all day waiting for a certain home-improvement store to arrive and install the new one. They never showed and I had to call them to find out that the installer was on the way to the store to pick up my dishwasher. This is 30 mins after the latest time they were supposed to arrive at my house. I got a refund because i didn't want my money going to that store anymore. Then, I started my new job, where I don't have any vacation saved up. So, for now, it is hand-washing for me. And this is what my sink looks like pretty much every day. And I hate doing dishes. Love cooking and making a mess, but hate cleaning it up.