TOL #8: Work Anniversary, The Chocodiles, And Mandatory Dance Routines

This week's edition of Thinking Out Loud is going to be a quick one. I typically write my posts 1-2 days before, but I have been slammed this week. I'm not opposed to staying up late to write, but this week I just didn't have it in me.

Chocodiles. I'm an ambassador for Fit Approach, and their latest campaign on Instagram is for Whistle Pet Tracker. The prompts this week have me posting five consecutive days of dog photos, which got me thinking about how rich my life is for having dogs. They are frequently the bright spot of my day. 

I adore our youngest dog, Cooper. We got him as a companion for our older dog almost four years ago. Cooper is talkative, bratty, and stunningly handsome.  

Cooper is the Jeremy Renner of dogs.

Speaking of Jeremy Renner, here is a photo of Hawkeye wearing a pink Hello Kitty outfit. I love this way more than I should:

Hello Hawkeye!

Riley is our older dog, and he recently celebrated his 8th birthday. He is my best friend. Riley seems to get younger as he gets older, if that makes any sense at all. Part of that is the breed...but he also has way more stamina than Cooper, who is five years younger. No matter how excited Riley is to go somewhere, suiting up into his harness is very serious business: he will always stand very quietly, like the gentleman that he is.

Riley boy wishes you a Happy Independence Day 🐻🇺🇸💙❤️

A post shared by Babydoll's Bloggie (@babydoll_brea) on Jul 4, 2016 at 10:22pm PDT

Election. It's been an interesting 48 hours, to say the least. It was also my daughter's first time voting for a president. I was proud her for driving home from college to exercise her right to vote.    

I think all candidates should be required to perform 
a dance routine, a la Napoleon Dynamite. Just saying.

Eleven. This month marks my 11th anniversary teaching cycle at the Y. I am so honored for the incredible members who join me each Tuesday and Thursday during their lunch break (or the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday at 5:45am). My spin class closest to a holiday is often a themed event with prizes for the members. There is a sense of community at the Y that I haven't found at other gyms, and I love being part of a non-profit that focuses on health and fitness. 

Crafty. My photo cards are coming along nicely. I am about a third of the way into assembling them, and I will work on spreadsheets and pricing tomorrow. I am such a nerd for this kind of stuff! The craft boutique is next week, and I may do another one depending on the success of this event. The money I earn will go towards my 2018 trip to Japan :) 

Edit of one of the photos I took of a garden snail in
Kauai last August  

Veteran's Day Half Marathon. Yup! It's that time already. I'm hoping my hip (and now my knee) will be good to go this Saturday. One thing is for sure: I am going to TEAR IT UP with my girl, Dee. She gets here tomorrow and we'll run drive over to the expo to pick up our race packets and bibs for Saturday's race. I'll have lots of great photos to share for Weekend Snapshots this Monday! Here's a photo collage I made of our races together:

A photo posted by Babydoll's Bloggie (@babydoll_brea) on Dec 30, 2015 at 3:43pm PST

How frequently do you race? Do you have any events planned in 2017?