I have absolutely no desire to live downtown.  It's beautiful.  It's busy.  But it isn't for me. 

What's the point of this?  Well, I have a habit on payday weekends.  I like to do a little shopping.  It's my dirty little secret, though I'm sure my husband notices when I bring home new clothes.  And I particularly enjoy thrift shopping.  I think we all knew that.  Because I'm at work downtown and won't have access to a car, solo, this weekend, I'll be walking a few blocks to the local Goodwill to fill this addiction.  

Oh, sweet decrepit Subaru.  I miss you.

Yesterday, I left work early to pick up the hubs.  He'd spent two hours at the gym and was in some sort of muscle frenzy - super chatty interspersed with random bouts of flexing (into mirrors, if they were available).  We immediately went to lunch at the Olive Garden, because I was starving and he needed post-workout protein.  Then it was straight to the Humane Society to take pictures (I'd already put my camera in his car).  I didn't check my battery level prior to going and was alarmed to find that it was on the last bar and blinking at me.  I don't know the major protocol for battery saving, so I just tried not to mess with it too much and would take several before I reviewed.  Fortunately, half of the animals I needed to photograph were in the process of becoming better citizens (spay and neuter day!).

I'm sort of ashamed to say this, since I'm really into photography and am a wee bit proud of some of the things I've accomplished, but.... yesterday was the first day that I took the damn thing out of auto, creative auto or portrait mode.  There.  I've said it.

My reasoning was pretty simple (to me):  there are a lot of animals to photograph and, if I'm lucky enough to get a helper with the dogs, they get frustrated pretty quickly if I take too long (Haven't you gotten one yet?). So, I've left the values to the camera, who I felt was better equipped to make decisions quickly.

But I've been practicing more with my aperture and shutter settings, in an effort to be able to make adjustments more quickly.  And I think I did okay.

After the Humane Society, I dropped the husband off at home and I took his car to the barn.  I was so frazzled and so eager to ride that I didn't even think of getting the saddle pad out of the laundry room, where it was drying after being evicted from completing its cycle in the washer.  So, I tacked the Kid up in another pad with a fitted pad above it and our old Wintec girth. I had major problems getting the girth tight with the double-pad combination.  After all of that, we walked out.  I didn't want to do a major workout because, really, I didn't feel like it.  Just some trot work and call it a day.  He was stupid flighty and I wonder how much of it has to do with me changing his happy drugs from Ultra Cool & Complete to SmartCalm.  It's only been two weeks, so hopefully the new drugs will kick in soon.  But, overall, he told me that my saddle pad combination sucked and could I please get off of him now.  So I did.

Tonight, the hubs and I are going to the expo for the 10k tomorrow.  Hubs hasn't been to a running expo before, so I think he'll be interested in all the sights and smells.  Like a puppy.  Then it'll be our normal pre-race tradition:  Your Pie and some froyo.  (And probably some Dr. Who and trying to figure out what to wear for tomorrow.)