Geraldine in her very own pink swimming pool.

Today, Geraldine is three years old.

When Nick told me he wanted to get a puppy & my brain thought “Cute!” and I said yes right away.

I had no clue what having a dog entailed, but oh, did I learn. Those first six months when she woke up every hour all night to go outside (downstairs, on-leash, in the middle of winter) I was pretty convinced that life as I knew it could never be good again.  Memories of those months of sleep deprivation have been the world’s best birth control.

I used to meet owners of sweet, grown-up dogs at the park and I was filled with envy. ”How old is your dog,”  I’d ask. “Three,” they’d reply. Those years seemed an eternity away & I could never get myself to believe that my adorable & terrible dog would ever calm down.

Bossy Dog says, “Whatever.”

But here we are. This summer, Geraldine started to get tired of playing fetch all on her own. Instead of coaxing & dragging her inside, she just looks at me, makes this goofy smiling face, turns around, and trots back to the yard where she lays in the grass & dozes off. Incredible.

She is my best gal & I love her (but I will never, ever get another puppy again.)

This dog is a serious football fan. Air Babe.

She doesn’t know it yet, but Geraldine and I have grand exercise plans.

When I posted about wanting to find ways to get more exercise, lots of you recommended finding ways to fit more movement into existing routines. Lots of you have long bike commutes & jump-rope parties with friends & you are all very cool people who I want to hang out with.

I said that one of my biggest priorities was to figure out a focus that wasn’t about getting sexy or losing weight.

One of my biggest reasons for wanting to get more exercise is to see if it will help combat my seasonal depression. I have always found that doing some quality dog-bonding is a surefire antidote to a hopeless mood. Geraldine has the world’s most excited grin when she is out and about on walks, and the most exuberant bounce in her step when she runs around in the yard. I know that kicking our walks together up a few notches is going to make her SO HAPPY, and making Geraldine happy makes me SO HAPPY too.

Biggest grin! Best smile.

I am going to try doing a Couch to 5k with Geraldine.

Actually – don’t mock me here – it’s called “Pooch to 5k.”

There was a time when increasing my walking speed even a bit would cause G-dubs to bust out her fastest sprint – fast enough to pull me off my feet, roll me down a hill, smack my head on a frozen sidewalk. I had assumed that a bunch of (overdue) leash training would be required before we could try any running, but tonight I spontaneously jogged a few blocks of our evening walk, and she did super great. And I was surprised to discover that *I* did great, too, even in my street clothes & some flimsy flat shoes.

We’ll see how that goes – it’s a 12 week program so that we’ll be running outside through the beginning of December. I suppose I’ll be a jogging expert before then, though! Fingers crossed for a mild winter.

Today though I think I’ll take my new three year old pooch out for a special treat – I’m thinking a slice of pizza with a peanut-butter stuffed crust. Ha!

Okay fine & because I can never resist, here is some vintage gal & dog photos from way back in ’09.

This gal used to be tiny enough to fall asleep with her head on my shoulder.

During the day, she slept.

Our early attempts at sports were not always successful, but they were cute.

Wish us luck! We should be elite athletes by Christmas.