Just a Little Heat

Now that's more like it. We finally got a hot day today...the temps got up into the 80s for the first time since last year. I had the day off and took the girls up to my mom's in NH for lunch and then a trip to Odiorne State Park. Tricia, her mom and the boys were here until yesterday, when they headed back to NJ. It was great timing, really, because it didn't give the girls too much time to miss Deb. They got here on Saturday afternoon, we grilled up some meat for dinner. Sunday, I was able to get a pain-free 13-miler in before we had lunch. Then we took the kids out to ride their bikes and scooters. On Monday, we went to Acton to check out some cool historical sites for Patriots Day and then took Deb's mom out to dinner for her birthday.

Deb checked in Monday with a few e-mails from Costa Rica. Things are going well, although her fellow teacher on the trip has been illin' with a stomach bug since they got there. They spent the first few days in Las Tortugas, then went white water rafting in Arenal. They're currently staying with families in Pital and will be doing out some reforestation work th enext few days in Punta Leona. It's really weird not to have her around and the girls have had me at my wit's end at times with their constant bickering. Tomorrow I'm working again while the girls spend the day with Deb's mom and later our friend Traci. Friday is another work day.

Congrats to all my friends who successfully ran the Boston Marathon on Monday. They had to battle through some warmer-than-expected temperatures, which didn't exactly jibe with all the cold, raw weather they trained in all winter and early spring. Let's face it, nobody really runs Boston to set a personal best; there are plenty of flat, fast courses for that. As for me, I'm feeling pretty good as I get closer to my race in New Jersey. Only nine days away. I just need to stay away from the birthday cake (Hannah's 6th birthday is next Tuesday and we have a huge cake that Tricia made for Deb's mom).

Onward and upward:

• The NHL playoffs move into the second round: Montreal-Philly, NY Rangers-Pittsburgh, San Jose-Dallas, and Colorado-Detroit. All four series should be excellent. The first round was pretty exciting. I got really into the Bruins-Montreal series, which looked like it would be a blowout and then turned out to be a seven-game battle after the underdog B's really played their hearts out. They ended up getting smoked 5-0 in game 7, but give them credit for a gutsy showing and for getting Boston crowds fired up about hockey for the first time in years. My picks for the second round: Montreal in 7, Pittsburgh in 6, San Jose in 7 and Colorado in 6. But I wouldn't be surprised if all four series went the other way. They all look to be fairly even matchups.
• Well, Hillary Clinton beat Obama in Pennsylvania last night and seems to have re-energized her campaign. Damn, this thing's going right down to the convention, isn't it? McCain can get a lot of naps in from now until then.
• Here's one for the WTF file: Rangers superpest Sean Avery is going to work as an unpaid intern at Vogue this offseason. Wonder if he's going to try his patented style of genius/douchey harassment there?