365: Resolutions

Ange and I have resolved to eat less and move more this year. We aren't really new year's resolution kind of people; we're just doing it for ourselves. We've had some tumultuous couple of years (in a mostly good way) and we've just gotten out of good habits lately. Since we got back from Indiana we've been trying to work in daily walks when possible, even if they are only 10-15 minutes. We figure if we can squeeze in small walks a couple times a day, most days of the week it will do wonders for our health. Tuesdays are Ange's early days at work so she got home early enough that we could squeeze in a longer walk before it got dark. We ended up exploring our surrounding area for about 45 minutes! This is just one shot of many that I took on our walk.

365: Walk

You know those buttons you are supposed to push when you need to cross the street and you push them about a million times hoping and wishing that they'll actually change the light but you know all you're really doing is taking out your frustration at your powerlessness? Yeah, well here they actually work like they are supposed to. Within about 30 seconds of pushing one they light actually does change. It's amazing. Ange and I thought it was like a magic trick when we first moved here. We're going to be so spoiled when we go back to the "real world" where they're mostly ornamental.

Mutt Strutt!

After our whirlwind trip to Chicago we participated in Mutt Strutt. I had wanted to do it last year but I wasn't really interested in doing it alone and I didn't really have anyone to go with. This is the advantage of having a partner, especially one with similar interests as you!

So every year the Humane Society of Indianapolis holds a fundraiser called Mutt Strutt, where they let you walk your dog at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and have all sorts of goodies and fun stuff too. All the money raised goes to help support the animals at the Humane Society.

So we didn't realize that the event was a big deal. We thought it would be casual and yes lots of people but not LOTS of people. We got to Speedway and realized that traffic was out of control so we parked outside of the IMS on Main Street and walked into the Speedway thinking registration would be right where everyone was entering the track. Um, wrong. Turns out, registration was at the very back of the track opposite from where we entered. Probably a good mile from where we parked. So we walked all the way to the back, checked in, got our shirts and wandered the booths a bit before we decided to start the walk.

Here we are at the start of the walk. Sam was already ready to call it quits. Caramel was spazzing about everything. She gets overwhelmed easily.


Our family photo minus Daisy, Duke, and Stone. 5 dogs is way too many to bring to a walk with only two mommies.


Me with the iconic pole with the 33 race places listed on it. Caramel was still spazzing. It was around this point that we realized that you couldn't get off the track except for where the walk started/finished. So there went our plan to take a short cut back to the car. And the great idea to forget sunscreen.


Sam took every opportunity to rest that he could. He considered it a bonus if there was water on the ground. Kind of like the beach!


We took a break about halfway around SINCE WE COULDN'T EXIT THE TRACK so the doggies didn't get too tired. Caramel decided she was afraid of grass that day so she would only sit on my lap. It was 85 degrees by the way.


It was about this point that we realized the fatal error of no sunscreen coupled with must complete entire track walk. Red ladies we were.

5 miles later we were back in the car on the way home with two little dogs that were tired as hell. They passed out cold and slept the rest of the day. Must remember that next time their exuberance is too much to bear.

Notes for next year: Bring sunscreen and water bottles. Possibly a backpack for all the swag. Definitely park INSIDE the IMS...traffic be damned!