Random

How many of the World's Top 100 Wonders have you been to?

1 Pyramids of Egypt 26 Chichen Itza 51 Pompeii 76 Mont St Michel 2 Great Wall of China 27 Petra 52 Kashmir Valley 77 Topkapi Palace 3 Taj Mahal 28 Nile River Cruise 53 Prague Old Town 78 Carnival in Rio 4 Serengeti Migration 29 Easter Island 54 Golden Temple 79 Stonehenge 5 Galapagos Islands 30 Cappadocia 55 Amalfi Drive 80 Angel Falls 6 Grand Canyon 31 Colosseum of Rome 56 Meenakshi 81 Yellowstone NP 7 Machu Picchu 32 Fjords of Norway 57 Chartres Cathedral 82 Santorini 8 Antarctica Cruise 33 St Peter's Basilica 58 Mezquita Cordoba 83 Matterhorn 9 Iguazu Falls 34 Egyptian Museum 59 Damascus Old City 84 New York Skyline 10 Bali 35 Borobudur 60 Dubrovnik 85 Marrakesh 11 Amazon Rain Forest 36 Valley of the Kings 61 Uffizi Gallery 86 Eiffel Tower 12 Ngorongoro Crater 37 Hong Kong 62 Rio Panoramic View 87 Ladakh 13 Great Barrier Reef 38 Sistine Chapel 63 Golden Pavilion 88 Niagara Falls 14 Angkor Wat 39 Burj Khalifa 64 Delphi 89 British Museum 15 Victoria Falls 40 Alhambra 65 St. Basils Cathedral 90 Burj al Arab 16 Forbidden City 41 Louvre Museum 66 Abu Simbel 91 Yangtze Riv. Cruise 17 Bagan 42 Canals of Venice 67 St Mark's Basilica 92 Yosemite NP 18 Karnak 43 Versailles 68 Florence Cityscape 93 Ayers Rock 19 Teotihuacan 44 Carlsbad Caverns 69 Kremlin 94 Hermitage Museum 20 Banaue Rice Terr. 45 Mecca 70 Varanasi/Ganges 95 Chambord Chateau 21 Bora Bora 46 Kathmandu Valley 71 Li River Cruise 96 Lijiang/Shangri La 22 Acropolis 47 Metropolitan Mus 72 Shwedagon Stupa 97 Neuschwanstein 23 Potala Palace 48 Mt Everest 73 Sahara Desert 98 Banff NP 24 Jerusalem Old City 49 Temple Em. Buddha 74 Leaning Tower Pisa 99 San Francisco 25 TerraCotta Warriors 50 Hagia Sofia 75 Baalbek 100 Portofino

I consider myself fairly well traveled but I haven't even seen half of the list. Good to know there's a lot more 'splorin' to do.

No, Rocco is not a pitbull or a shar pei but as of last night, he is a graduate.

I decided not to run the marathon in Athens mostly because I don't want to dedicate a lot of time to something I hate doing. Cardio is a necessary evil but not an activity I want to do for more than a few hours a week. Instead, I'll continue to bulk for the next couple of months. Right now, I'm 213lbs. I hope to get up to 235-240 before I start cutting.

I'd like to learn more about meditation. The older I am, the more I love animals. It's been hard not being able to get pregnant. Living a boring life is one of my biggest fears. I generally hate pop music. I'm grateful for digital photography. Life is more gray than black and white.

To Marathon or Not to Marathon

Yesterday, a very close friend invited me to run a marathon with him.  The marathon is in Athens Greece and is the same course the very first marathon was run by the messenger/soldier Phidippides.  It's the 2,500 year anniversary of that fateful run and therefore, kinda special.

Here's why I should run the marathon:

1.  It'd be running along the same path as the original marathon runner and touching a piece of history.

2.  Spend some quality time with my homeboy Kubs.  

3.  I love Gyros.

4.  Finally, a good excuse to wear a toga.

5.  Running has phenomenal fat burning qualities.

6.  Greece, birthplace to modern civilization.  Never been there before.

7.  I don't think I've ever wanted to run a marathon but if I ever did, this would be the time.

8.  You only live once, why not try a brutally painful experience?

9.  The Kraken comes from Greece.

10.  I know a lot of peeps who have conquered the marathon.  How hard can it be?

Here's why I shouldn't run the marathon.

1.  Running=Pain

2.  Excessive running (see marathon) burns muscle like crazy.  

3.  The marathon is in October, too cold to visit the Greek isles.

4.  Running can be kinda boring, Greek footpath or not.

5.  Phidippides, the first person to run the marathon, died shortly after running the course and delivering his message.  Following his example, 2,500 years later is a little disconcerting.  

It's a tough call.  I'm going to let it marinate for a few days before deciding.

Growin' up

Babies and puppies just don't last long enough.  Rocco, grows at 1/2 lb-1 lb/day.  It's a little strange how attached I've become to him in our short two months together.  I can't imagine how bonded you feel when you have children of your own.