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I love movies and for the past year I haven’t really devoted much time to watching any. There always seems to be another obligation to attend to and I can’t seem to find 120 minutes of relatively continuous free time.

Last night I began surfing iTunes to find movies to rent for my upcoming trip to Croatia. I love having my own personal media service when flying. I was amazed at the number of titles I wanted to see. Here’s the list, in aphabetical order:

• 27 Dresses - watched
• 2 Days in Paris
• Atonement - watched
• The Bank Job
• Be Kind, Rewind
• Bella - watched
• The Bucket List
• Chaos Theory - watched
• Charlie Bartlett - watched
• Dan in Real Life - watched
• Drillbit Taylor
• I am Legend
• In Bruges - watched
• Kite Runner
• Lars and the Real Girl
• Mama’s Boy - watched
• The Other Boleyn Girl - watched
• Over Her Dead Body
• Run, Fat Boy, Run
• Semi-Pro
• Stop-Loss
• Vantage Point

I’ve rented about half of them from iTunes. I can’t wait to watch them on my various flights and train rides :)

We just received the brand new starting set of rules and regulations at our Condo. It’s long overdue. We’ve been living here since October 2005. Most of the rules are normal rules that are designed to maintain peace, safety and security of the complex and its residents. However there are many surprising rules that we feel are really ridiculous that you wouldn’t find in a typical street were house are absent of home owners’ associations. Here are a few of the ridiculous rules:

• no holiday decorations may be visible earlier than 2 weeks before the holiday or later than 1 week after the holiday
• no live trees in any of the units
• no bikes on balconies or patios even if they are safely secured
• no blinds or drapes allowed in windows that can be seen outsides the building that are not white or light tan
• no gates, cages or other devices may be erected on patios to confine pets
• no taking trash out after 9pm

The list goes on. It will take us awhile to accept some of these. I refuse to accept the blinds rule. My blinds are tan, not light tan and they were hundreds of dollars.

I’m very excited to see my Grandma tomorrow. I haven’t seen her in about 8 years. I’ve used all the excuses in the book for not making the 6-7 hour drive out to see her, but this year is different. I’ve realized that I need to spend more time strengthening relationships with family and friends, and less time filling my days with busy work. Good relationships are one of the most important things a person can have.

I’m taking advantage of another research trip to Pittsburgh, and taking on a half day visit with my Grandma. I’m so excited to see her. There’s so much to catch up on.

Got another quick email from Dinko. He’s back in Namche, which means he’s on his way back to Kathmandu. He’s having a fabulous time despite the little stomach illness and altitude sickness between 12,000 and 18,000 feet. He did manage to go to the Everest Basecamp and can’t wait to come back and share the pictures and stories with everyone…only not toooo fast.

He raved about being able to take 3 showers during the past 2 weeks, of which one was out in the open only wrapped in a tarp. Too bad we won’t have a picture of that - HA. And lastly, he announced that he most certainly looks like a Yeti now that he hasn’t been able to shave since he left Philadelphia.

For all those interested, he will be back this Friday. I can’t wait ;)

My good friend, Adrienne, has challenged herself to participate in the 3-Day Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and to raise $1800 as part of Team Monika. Team Monika is group of incredible women walking in the memory of Monika Dunkel, my friend Johanna’s mother, who died of breast cancer in 1989. This year is particularly significant because the walk with be in Boston, where Monika passed away 19 years ago.

Nearly everyone I’ve met knows someone who has been affected by breast cancer in their family. My grandmother was a breast cancer survivor. It is so important to continue research, outreach and education about this disease so that one day breast cancer may be a rare occurrence. You can help, but sparing some of your pocket change to support the cause.

Donate to Adrienne’s Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Goal >

I managed to get an email from Dinko today. He was in Namche Bazaar in Nepal. It’s the last town before Everest and he found Internet access. It was very slow and very expensive so his email was short, but such a surprise to get. He’s having a fabulous time and is really enjoying the trek and the company. I will likely not hear from him again until he returns to Kathmandu in 10-12 days.

As of early this morning, Dinko took off with the rest of the group with REI Adventures from Kathmandu to Lukla to begin his 2 1/2 week trek through the Himalayas and up to the Everest Basecamp. He will be out of range so we won’t hear from him until he resurfaces in Kathmandu. I’m sure he’ll have a fantastic and rejuvenating time! Hope he doesn’t encounter the Yeti, or any dangerous mountain creatures.

For those interested in exactly what he’s doing out in Nepal, here’s his itinerary.

So, that’s what I’ve got — achilles tendonitis. Doctor says I’ll live. No doubt. I diagnosed myself with this condition just less than a week ago on twitter. The wonders of the Web and the ability to google. I have to take some prescription anti-inflammatory, which may make me dizzy and unable to drive my car. Perfect, since I have a dog and need to drive to the dog park while my husband is away because I can’t walk him :)

I’ve been asked to rest and not run until it feels better and after I see a podiatrist. Doctor feels that if I take the medication, rest, and follow the advice of the podiatrist next week, I’ll probably be able to run Broad Street. Gotta work from home more next week. Not sure if work will like that much.

Well, silly me must not have stretched well enough on one of my runs last week, because now I can hardly walk. The injury slowly worsened, rather than hitting me all at once. It bothered me over the weekend, but I chose to run my 6 mile long run anyway, which I paid the price for the next day.

So, here I am, limping with an ankle brace and it’s just Pablo (my dog) and I. I drove my husband and all his gear to the train station today so he could start his 3-week trekking trip through the Himalayas and Nepal. It’s a very exciting time for him and unfortunately a much more difficult one for me.

Despite the huge week-long binge in Hawaii, I have been losing weight since I came back. Running more miles in my training each week is certainly contributing as well. It’s very exciting to think that I will be half way through my weightloss efforts in just 1-2 more weeks :)