My virtual run with Mom ... we completed a half marathon!!

Mom ran the San Francisco US Half marathon on Sunday, 11/7 ... the weather was gorgeous when she arrived there on Thursday. And it was also gorgeous on Friday ... but guess what, on Saturday, it rained and rained all day!!! She had prepared herself to run in beautiful California weather ... the hills were going to be enough of a challenge for her and when she heard it was supposed to rain she got kinda nervous ... but no worries ... nung-nung to the rescue!!! :) I told her that running in the rain is so much fun. It's like being a kid all over again and playing in the rain and jumping in puddles!!

And do you notice her running bib??? :) She got to put whatever she wanted to put on her running bib and she chose 'AHNUNG'!! She told me that I'm her northstar and that she was going to carry me with her on this run and in her heart ... well, she may think i'm her north star but she's mine too. She also ran on behalf of St. Jude Children's hospital for children with cancer.

So on Sunday morning she ran 13.1 miles in rain ... and it was pouring. I told her that when she runs over the Golden Gate bridge to look up into the skies and to just take in the beauty of the moment ... and to know that the rain is a spiritual cleansing for her :) She ended up doing a great job on her run and loving it. She said she felt like a kid again and stopped caring about her shoes getting muddy and filthy ... way to go mom!!!

And don't you also just love the # we got ... 959!! The number '9' represents accomplishment and the number '5' represents unpredictability. Well, she got unpredictability with the rain on Saturday when it wasn't supposed to rain ... and I am proud of how she handled the rain, the hills and the mud!!! If she decides to run this race again next year, maybe it will be a sunny day, but if not, looks like mom can handle anything!!!

And this virtual running thing where I can be with mom in spirit and not leave the comfort of my couch .. well ... that's the way to do it!!!

January model for the Pet Haven 2011 Calendar!

Guess what??!!! My alma mater, Pet Haven of Minnesota, has created their first ever calendar for 2011 AND the best part of it, is that I get to be a part of it!! :) I had my photo shoot at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis where mom would take me in November and December of 2008 when I first got to the cities and was living at Bloomington Veterinary because I had to recover from heartworm. She'd pick me up every day so we could go on outings and hang out for a few hours while she worked. And my auntie Lisa took these awesome photos ... actually, she took all the awesome dog photos in the calendar (my auntie Agnes took all the great cat photos!). My auntie Lisa volunteers with Pet Haven and is amazing ... you should check out her website lmj Originals.

These incredible calendars are only $15 and would make great gifts for the holidays ... don't you think?? :) And at the same time you will be supporting homeless dogs and cats and Pet Haven so that they can continue doing the great work they are doing. I literally owe my life to Karen Good who first rescued me up at the Red Lake reservation but then to Pet Haven for taking me into their foster program and nursing me back to health. There's only a limited quantity that's been printed for the first year, so you'd better hurry up and buy your calendar! So .... where can you buy them???

You can buy these calendars at Twice the Gift in downtown Minneapolis (the IDS tower) or at Pet Haven's Fall Benefit on Saturday, November 13th. And some time soon I understand they will be for sale at Pampered Pooch Playground in St. Louis Park.

So if you buy a 2011 Pet Haven calendar you will get to see my cute little face for the entire month of January!! Mom sponsored a month which means she gets to put a small ad in the calendar (it's at the bottom of the page ... she's promoting my blog and fan page on facebook and the work i'm doing as a therapy dog) ... as a sponsor she also got to pick the month and she picked January because I was officially adopted by her on January 3, 2009!!!

And I have to give a bark out to my auntie Jaime who designed and created this entire calendar from scratch. She's an incredible Pet Haven volunteer (not to mention talented!) and she gives, gives and gives!!!

Running a half marathon in spirit

Mom is leaving for San Francisco tomorrow morning ... yes, it's for work but also for what she says is pleasure ... hmmm, she thinks running a half marathon is fun ... nung-nung disagrees!! But what's really cool about all of this is that this time last year mom was not feeling good ... losing a lot of weight and extremely tired all the time and could barely do much of anything. Okay, okay ... so she was sleeping alot like me!! :) So this is a big deal to her because she's been feeling much better and has been able to train for this half marathon. She's running the US Half Marathon and gets to cross the Golden Gate bridge twice! It starts at 7 am on Sunday ....

But guess what the best part of all of this is ..... she got to request for a customized running bib when she signed up for the race AND [drum roll ......] guess what she requested ... her bib is going to read "AHNUNG"!!! So even though I won't be there with her physically I will definitely be there with her in spirit and we'll be running the half marathon together!!!

I don't EVER want to run a half marathon (maybe my brother Mister might be able to do that some day) but I am very happy to run it with mom in spirit .... the weather is supposed to beautiful on Sunday so I hope she has a great run! Run Mom Run!!! And remember, have fun and enjoy the gorgeous sights!!

... Sleep Nung-Nung Sleep!!