Geek Habitat

At Justin’s behest, spurred by my own comments about needing to walk/exercise more, we walked 2.33 miles at Stone Oak Park today (tracklog from Justin’s new Garmin Forerunner 305).

We were pleasantly surprised when we pulled into the usually deserted parking lot — it was nearly full with families and couples out enjoying this sunny and mild December day. Ordinarily, we aren’t delighted by crowds, but the trail system at Stone Oak is reasonably sufficient to spread the load. The park has definitely validated the adage, “If you build it, they will come.” The Stone Oak area needs as many parks as it can get, given the rampant new home and apartment development.

Walking feels a little alien these days, considering I can no longer see my feet and all my joints seem to be developing randomly assorted aches and pains. However, it was great to get out and exercise with Justin a bit. He’s kept up his road cycling habit, and I hope to join him in that post-pregnancy, when I can be properly fitted for a road bike myself (and resolve some fit issues with my existing mountain bike.)

When we arrived home, we pulled the Ford Escape Hybrid into the driveway to check the engine oil since it’s been politely asking me to “CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON” — about 3,000 miles earlier than I anticipated; I guess the onboard computer is tracking elapsed time (we bought the FEH in early March), not just miles on the odometer? Anyway, the oil level is fine, but it wouldn’t hurt to have it changed out “early” (before the scheduled 10,000 mile first oil change). When Justin and I were peering into the engine compartment of the hybrid, our neighbors noticed my incredible morphing body and finally asked if I’m pregnant. I suspect they’ve wanted to ask for quite awhile, but my proportions are such that there’s really no mistaking “Is she pregnant or just really enjoying the holidays?” anymore. So, that’s done — our news is finally in the neighborhood grapevine, for whatever that is worth.