Fall happenings - and it's not even Thanksgiving yet!

Fall is without a doubt my favorite season. It's beautiful, the weather is exciting and unpredictable and it seems to bring a feeling of new-ness (I will always associate Fall with the start of a new school year, new books, new clothes, new me). Scott and I have been particularly busy this Fall, namely to squeeze in as much as we could before his scheduled third surgery in late October. But thanks to some insurance red-tape, his surgery has been moved to January and we are continuing to fill Fall with as much as possible.

In September I turned 28 (!) and enjoyed seeing my parents the weekend prior. We had a good time showing them around Indy and southern Indiana. My brother gifted me his old Nikon DSLR and I've been trying to catch some good snaps!

In October Scott and I went on a one night backpacking trip in Deam Wilderness. I've never done any backpacking before but I loved it! We ended up hiking in about 8 miles, setting up camp, then hiking out the next day. It was so nice to be lost in nature for an extended period of time. It really highlights how removed we are from it in daily life.







Later in October we found ourselves in Philadelphia/New Jersey for 1) Scott's cousin's wedding, 2) the Runner's World Half Marathon that Scott was running, and 3) Tamerlaine Farm Animal Sanctuary for their Oktober fest.

The half-marathon was so fun to be a part of. Last year this time Scott was on the cover of the December issue after winning the cover contest. They offered him a free entry into this race and it happened to fit into our schedule. Scott ended up placing 9th and smashing his goal; running a 1:20:02 on a hilly course. From there we headed over to Tamerlaine Farm; a farm animal sanctuary run by friends of ours. To be clear, this is a farm that houses animals that have been rescued from farming operations; headed to slaughter, or otherwise living in awful conditions. Some of the roosters had been dumped on a busy highway, an enormous pig Artie was living in a bathroom in NYC, and dozens of chickens had been rescued from the Kaporos ritual. This was something I'd never heard of before now, but it is a Jewish atonement ritual that takes place before Yom Kippur. Chickens are used to 'transfer evil' into, then they are swung around the head while fully alive, and then their throats are slit. This barbaric ritual is still legal in NY because religious freedom is protected under law. It absolutely enrages/confuses/saddens me that something like this is allowed because of archaic traditions that fall under the umbrella of 'religion'. I should note that this is only done by a very devout sect of Jews; most do not slaughter chickens in the street.

Many of these chickens are typical industry chickens; breed to grow so fast their legs break under their abnormal weight and to over produce eggs at a rate that causes ovarian tumors. Many of these chickens have injuries and difficult lives even after rescue - and end up dying prematurely.

It was an emotional experience to say the least. The chickens were curious and affectionate and friendly. I am just so happy there are people like the owners of Tamerlaine out there to provide a haven for these guys.

November has continued to be a busy month; last weekend Scott paced the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon and ran a perfectly paced 3:05 marathon. 

And last night we were again gifted tickets to our friend's six course plated vegan Thanksgiving dinner. The food was INSANE. So fancy and flavorful and beautiful.... 

Main entree: Seitan roast over turnips with roasted carrots and brussel sprouts. 

I'm still looking forward to Thanksgiving in two weeks where we plan to host friends for a vegan pitch in and I'm currently taking another sewing class (garments this time!) so hopefully more sewing projects will follow.

So clearly Fall remains the best season.

Pups, magazines and easy running

So so so much has been happening this last week that I haven't had a moment to stop and update the ol' blog. Post-monumental I took a full week off of running. Probably more than necessary as I was barely feeling sore the day after, but I was enjoying the freedom to do as I pleased after work. Wednesday I was able to resume my ashtanga yoga class that left my arms and back sore for days after. Thursday we saw a movie, The Theory of Everything, about Stephen Hawking and his wife Jane. I got all excited when other famous scientists were name dropped; Milikin, Rutherford, JJ Thomson....and it might have made me tear up once or twice.

Saturday I resumed running, but something happened before I could run that really has kept us occupied for the last few days. As Scott and I were driving up north to run, we came across a dog walking on the sidewalk in absolutely terrible condition. He was walking slow, had a thick chain PADLOCKED around his neck and had visible bites and blood all over. We immediately stopped, and Scott approached him slowly to gauge his attitude. Surprisingly he wasn't aggressive - mostly timid but not too shy. After seeing him up close and assessing all his wounds we knew we had to do something. It was clear this dog was used in dog fighting and probably a bait dog at that (one used for others to practice on, basically a punching bag).

We kept him in our garage and contacted a vet tech friend who later came over with bolt cutters and supplies to clean him up. He was amazingly calm and loving even though it was clear he had been through so much trauma. We gave him a bath and the water was literally red with the amount of dried blood that washed off of him. He had a substantial laceration on his ear that was still bleeding and many cuts on his head and front legs. 

The dog, since name Django, has now been to the vet, neutered, vaccinated and had various wounds stitched up and is now living in our basement (away from all our kitties) until we can find a proper home for him. He is affectionate and wants nothing more than to be by our side, touching us. I half wanted to keep him myself but I tried to introduce him to our cats earlier today and they were NOT having it. I guess 3 rescued cats is our limit right now. Django needs lots of attention and love to heal from his traumatic past. We're still looking for a home for him, but currently he is camped out in the basement with food, water, heat, blankets and belly rubs. 

Ok - so on to the OTHER crazy thing that has happened in the last few days. Scott entered Runner's World cover contest back in the summer with a great entry about how running has been really essential in his experience with cancer. He's a crazy accomplished runner, with a 2:25:55 marathon PR, many race wins and a true passion for the run. He always is telling me I can do more than my mind thinks and is always offering encouragement for my own personal running goals. I love so much that we can share running together (even if he is often well ahead of me) and all the intricacies of being a runner (ie, black toenails, never ending hunger, whole body fatigue, piles of smelly clothes). 

Anyways! To summarize - he WON! And he is going to be on the December issue of the magazine along with another great female runner who is ridiculously ambitious. I've had to keep this under wraps for the past few weeks, but I've got to hear all about his interview and photoshoots. On Monday they made the big announcement on HuffPo Live and we finally go to see the finished cover. I still haven't gotten one in person but I can't wait! It's not every day you're waking up next to a cover model. 

I can hardly capture everything that has been going on around it but I suggest you head over to Scott's blog to read about it. He's a fantastic writer, a total goof and a 20 year vegan so what's not to love?

Ok, ok so what else? I did another run on Sunday with a group of friends at a nice easy pace, we could chat the whole way and yesterday I knocked out 4 miles on the treadmill. I feel a little aimless without a set training plan so I might write something out just to ease my mind. We're heading back to North Carolina this weekend to visit my parents and I plan to get in some more runs there. So things are good and exciting and crazy but I wouldn't want it any other way!