Dirt roads and sunburns

This morning we went for a 9 mile walk. I did the 5 mile loop and then the new route that I found that is 2 out, 2 back. Most of it's dirt roads, but the main dirt road is kept up very well and is very smooth. The other dirt road isn't as well-kept or as smooth, but it has very light traffic, so it's not too bad, either. Unfortunately, I did forget to put sunscreen on me or DD (I have got to work on that!) and since it took two and a half hours, I got a bit fried. DD got a bit of a burn on her ankles, and the tan lines on her feet from her sandals are now quite distinct, but she didn't get anything nearly as bad as I did. My training schedule doesn't call for a 9 mile walk yet, but since I'm down on my mileage, I figured it wouldn't be too bad, especially since I was walking instead of running. I could feel some stiffness and soreness in my shins, but I stretched and iced them when I got home and hopefully I won't have any more problems with them. I would like to start running as soon as possible, but I don't want to get shinsplints, either. Balance is the key.

No swimming this week. We should have gone yesterday, but mom and DD are still getting over colds and ear infections, so we figured waiting a week would be better.

In my quest to work on my goal of writing a book, I've also been trying to do more writing period. I have two blogs I post on almost daily, and I'm keeping a journal of things DH and I talk about and the things going on in his life (this is also almost a daily thing, depending on our correspondence), and of course, I'm working on my book almost daily. It's slow going, but it is going.

I was looking through my planner the other day, and found an epiphany I had had and scrawled down so I wouldn't forget it. The occasion was when DD and I went to visit DH before he shipped out.

I had an epiphany tonight. DD and I were waiting in the car while DH got things squared away in the barracks. As I waited, I watched the soldiers coming in off pass. Most of them were wearing khaki cargo pants with pockets on both legs, just like their ACU pants. Soldiers are always shoving things in the pockets of their ACU pants: patrol caps, berets, notebooks, chapstick, sunblock, wallets, candy bars, gum, you name it. As I watched the soldiers, I realized that many of them had things in the pockets of their civilian cargo pants as well. And that's when it hit me: cargo pants are the male equivalent of the purse!