St. Patty's Weekend

Lucy and I are headed to ATL for the weekend to visit one of her old friends, Larissa. We'll be bringing the 'boys' of course. Larissa also happens to have two sausage dogs so it'll be a puppy-fest weekend.

I do believe we've been roped into doing a 5k on Saturday morning (race for charity). This is significant for me because it'll be the first time I've run on pavement (or concrete) in over a year. I really don't know when was the last time....probably sometime in Spring '06 in Mission, KS. And guess what...I DON'T MISS IT! My trail running mileage has been picking up over the past month after a bad start to the year. I've been averaging 20-25 miles/wk lately w/ several long back-t0-back runs. I have no race planned in the immediate future, but would love to attend the KC Trail Nerd's new race, the Free State 20/40 miler, in April. There would be no way for me to finish the 40-miler so I would settle for the 20. The trails in Lawrence, KS where the race is held (Clinton Lake to be specific) are great. I got the chance to do them several times while I was there. I'll keep running/training and see how work goes for me. If I get the chance, I'll be there!

I've got several jobs I'm working on now. I'm in the middle of finishing the '07 KC Marathon T-shirt and 'finisher' medal. I'm working on a cover for the UGA alumni magazine and an upcoming postcard for the UGA Alumni Association. I'm also designing a brochure for the KC Trail Nerds and T-shirt for the previously mentioned 'Free State' Trail race.

Business is good!

To increase the 'cute factor', here is a pic of Roscoe barking at the TV. He doesn't like to see dogs, cats, horses, cows.....basically ANY ANIMAL on TV, and he'll run up to the screen and start barking. Apparently he doesn't like 'fast-break points' either 'cause he starting barking at the screen after a viscious dunk during the NCAA tournament last night.
G

Tornados hit too close to home

Lucy and I had it lucky while living in Kansas last year . The state had it's warmest year on record (only 3 snowfalls) and very little tornado activity. You would think that we've lessened our chances of experiencing tornados since moving back to the South.....but you'd be wrong.

A tornado hit much too close to my parent's home in Central Georgia on Thursday night literally coming within hundreds of feet from the backporch. There were two 'touchdowns' in the area that shredded trees and multiple homes. I've attached a map I drew to show how close it came - the 'red square' being my parent's home and the 'blue x' being the spot where the 'touchdowns' and heavy damage occurred.

That night, my mom was watching TV (cable...so no local news) when the neighbor called. He mentioned that the news said a TORNADO WAS GOING TO HIT NICKELSVILLE and everyone should take cover. Since his house was smaller, he asked could he stay at my parent's home while the weather passed. They watched the local news as they counted down the minutes. - "Everyone in Nickelsville should take cover." "Only 15 minutes until the weather will be centered over Nickelsville."

My mom said the wind blew, windows shook, but nothing else happened. They figured there was no touchdown not knowing the tornado had passed in the woods behind their home. The neighbor went back to his home, but called soon after saying he lost his electricity. MY PARENT'S HOME DIDN'T EVEN LOSE POWER! They didn't know the extent of damage until the next day after seeing homes in the neighborhood. Pictures she took are attached.

Multiple homes lost their roof, one was twisted off it's foundation, and smaller homes and trailers were GONE! Luckily, no one was hurt unlike the tornados that struck in West Georgia and Alabama. It's the 'luck of the draw' that some homes were hit while others like my parents had no damage.