Adventure Junkie Mom

Every day a Valentine

2012-02-14T09:55:00.000-08:00

Love is….

A fiery sunset that you watch together

A road trip full of adventure and laughter

Making sand footprints for each other to follow to the heart drawn on the beach

Staring into one another’s eyes and feeling like you could jump into their liquid blue and swim forever

Giggling into the wee hours of the morning in bed

Cooking together

Coffee first thing in the morning

Still blushing and butterflies, when he tells you that you look amazing after a sweaty work out

Back rubs and French kisses…and then….. sleep

Summer hikes that lead to skinny-dipping

Silence, but still hearing one another’s hearts

Jumping off the couch, to run outside into a summer rain. Just to dance in the yard

Sobbing in the shower when you know his flight just took off and you miss him…already

Finding the one person that loves everything you love, and enjoys everything you enjoy

Sweaty hand holding at the movies

Dinner and candles on the floor, by the fireplace

Our children

Your favorite flower, shipped from Europe, because they are out of season in the U.S. for a special day

Hidden surprises

Sticky notes found around the house

Laughing until your stomach hurts

Food fights

Taking the road less traveled, together
Putting the others needs in front of your own
Extending grace

That perfect nesting place for your forehead when you need a good cry

Slippery showers together

Learning something new together

Forgiving one another for being flawed

Being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slower to become angry

Praying together

Knowing that just around the corner, could be the adventure of a lifetime…and walking around the corner, to hit it head on

A Daddy that will stay up late, tired, after a trip, to rub our daughters feet

Staying up to watch a sunrise

Love making, with reckless abandon

Surprise dinner dates
Forgiving the unforgivable

Someone knowing you almost better than you know yourself

Knowing the right words of comfort to say, when you’ve had a hard day

Trust to the depths of your soul

Flirting with one another

Secrets that you would share with no one else

Being a good spiritual partner

Being spontaneous

Touches that set your skin on fire

Looking at one another like you are the only two people on the planet…. and feeling that way

Inside jokes

Lifting one another up, when you are in the deep end

Silliness

Not caring what anyone else thinks of your passion

Being best friends

Love is: exciting, unconditional, soft, vulnerable, forever

It is: comfortable, sexy, secure, fun and sometimes scary

It’s knowing that this person has walked into your life and made you realize why it never worked out with anyone else.

Knowing wholeheartedly, a love that endures forever

~The word - love - appears 310 times in 280 verses in the Bible. There’s a reason for this

It’s important

It’s vital

It’s essential

~~Instead of one day…shouldn’t everyday should be Valentines?

A Little Piece of Central Park in Idaho

2012-02-08T09:57:00.000-08:00

My husband is out of town. It’s like a shift in the Universe. My schedule has to mold into a different shape. My partner in crime, no longer here for a few days to help out. My teammate has left the field.

My independence comes out after the initial changes. I soon realize that I can do what I want with these few days. Eat popcorn and sherbet for dinner in bed with my snuggly cub, workout when I feel like it, monopolize the DVR shows, stay up until dawn reading without feeling like I might disturb him with my book light. My workouts vary. Missing a class this morning, only to get in a fabulous long run. I work out hard, mad with his travel, and then hit that runners high, feeling on top of the World and then into almost tears from my achy heart. It’s only a couple of days.

It is a muscle, the heart. It feels a little weak and torn down when his office sits empty.

My morning coffee, cold in the pot, and not on my night stand first thing.

The trash…oh yah, put the trash on the curb. I think I hear the truck.

Will I have to GET GAS in my car? The horror!

Did I feed the dogs?

Things I think about on my run. Then I let the mental list go. And just run!

Today I ran, thinking about running in Central Park, where he is. I am running hard. Hills. Angry, New York City, music pumping through my IPod. I felt strong. Imagine I am running in a Nike commercial. I am drenched in sweat and heat and humidity. My legs become heavy, tight with tired muscles, and I push just a tiny bit more. I love when my run feels like that!! I love when I can visualize so much that I can hear the traffic, smell the city. And when I stop, my body is completely used up. With nothing left.

Now, I have an entire day to my self. Girls are gone, Grandma is picking up today from school for a little celebration! This is the unhinged moment, because as much as I miss the G, I also adore these days as well.

Showered off of sweat after my Central Park run, there is silence. Absolute silence. Time to read, bake some goodies, try out some new recipes, have some great prayer time, talk to an old friend, walk my Yorkie, lay on my living room floor at my back door when the sun is just right, streaming through the window to heat my skin, take a bubble bath.

A whole day of me!

I do sneak a few peaks into his office….

A Carpe Diem Run

2012-02-04T14:23:00.000-08:00

YES, it was one of those days!! One of those winter days in Coeur d'Alene that we all love. All look forward to. After snow, and grey, comes the sun. And it was stunning. Six mile run with a perfect blue sky, and that gorgeous ball of yellow and orange reaching down out of the sky to kiss our cheeks. Fingers long with warmth. A seize the day, seize the moment kind of day.....and we did!!

~“Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved off the dessert cart.”
― Erma Bombeck

Virtual Run for Sherry Arnold

2012-01-30T17:49:00.000-08:00

As per the usual, many runners, including myself get up early, before the sun is up, or as it is rising, to get our beloved run in. We don't have many thoughts, other than putting on the clothes we have laid out, lacing up our shoes, grabbing our fuel belts, spibelts, water, and we are off. Out the door to greet the day. Our only thoughts are the sounds of our feet pounding on the pavement, the sounds of our breath...its our favorite time of day.

I personally never give a whole lot of thought to anything else, certainly not that tragedy could strike. On January 7, 2012 the running community lost a special person. Sherry Arnold. A teacher, a mother, a wife. A runner. She left her home this morning on a run, and the events that took place that morning are tragic. They set me back when reading about it. Taking for granted life, which is so precious. Taking for granted the "safe" place I feel like I run.

I followed fellow runner, and blogger Shut Up + Run (read the story here) as the events played out. This is her cousin. It has been heart breaking. It has rocked the running community to its core.

It has given me every known emotion. First shock, then great sadness for her family, her school and students, her community, then anger, fear, uneasiness and apprehension about running on my own.

What now?? What can we do as a running community? On Feb 11, 2012 there will be a Virtual Run/Walk to honor Sherry. I urge you to participate.

Facebook Page: Here

Printable Bib: Here

More info: Here

Gather a group of friends, your running group, your Tri group, your training group, your group of girlfriends and walk, run, hike, skip, jump. Print your bib, and GO. Run with Sherry in your memory. Honoring her, and her family!!

Be safe out there. Never take a day for granted. Every single day is a gift. And may Sherry forever be in our hearts and minds, and may she be resting in Peace.

***For us local runners, there will be a group of us running together from Fleet Feet on the morning of Feb 11, 2012

2012 A New Year

2012-01-08T18:13:00.000-08:00

Well, here we find ourselves. Post Thanksgiving bulge (actually my most favorite holiday…and not because of the feasting) and post Christmas chaos, and into a New Year. 2012, the year of the end of the World!! Bold!! I do not believe this! Who can know?

Our Christmas was incredible. And not chaotic at all. We try to not get caught up in the hype, and focus on what our true gifts are. We had a luscious, little dinner and games at Grandma and Grandpa’s, a lot of laughter with our whole family, a wonderful Spirit-filled service at church to celebrate the birth of our Savior on Eve, and a Christmas Day filled with relaxation, food, relaxation, games, relaxation, movies, and jammies! Greg played his new ukulele, Ellie played the piano, it was decadent! Greg and I felt our feathers plump up having all of our kids here. Chicks in the nest! Ha! What a feeling!!

A Boy and his Ukulele

Now we are well into the New Year. Greg and I have sat for the past week, milling over our goals, and desires for this year. Of course, we have a few great races that we are excited about. Wildflower Triathlon in CA and Ironman Canada in Penticton, BC, Fueled by Fine Wine ½ marathon in Portland, sprinkled with a few smaller races. We are looking forward to being back on track with training, eating well, and carrying on our healthy lifestyle. I have been creating, and coming up with some pretty fantastic Vegan meals, and have decided to start making Sundays our prep-day. It has worked out great!! So nice to come home starving from a workout and have a meal on the plate and ready in under one minute! Mostly raw, whole foods. Protein rich, with a lot of fruit and green leafy’s. We are cutting out a lot of our eating out. We are not fast food people, but do eat out quite a bit, and it has become unsatisfying for us on occasion. Not to mention that anything we are cooking at home far-surpasses restaurant meals in taste, quality, and healthiness. So we are reining that in a bit. Occasional with friends of course. Cooking together is a huge passion for both of us. Aprons on, music cranked, drinking wine. Most of our favorite nights include this!!

Vegan Mediterranean Pizza

Vegan Inside

Baked Kale chips. The Bomb!!

Other than that, we have reconnected with yoga. Ah! Both of have such a huge love, respect, and craving for yoga, and always have. We just got a little off track. So we are back at our practice twice weekly, and looking to add a third day! Hoping to perfect our head/handstands!! =)

Looking into this year, we have some incredible travel that will be taking place again. Not just for races, but also for pleasure…we will don our backpacks and set off…destinations TBD!

I am also, on a de-clutter mission. Our house, our minds, our life. Closets, bookcases, brains, souls! We are pretty un-cluttered people in general, but everybody needs a good clean out. A little rejuvination. A freshness. Do you do this? A sort of Spring-cleaning for the soul?

We are also both feeling a little heart-tugging. Praying about the mission field. We adore people, and kids, new cultures, travel….so naturally for years this has been on our heart. So both of us are standing arms lifted, heart open for an answer from God in this department. It seems every day that goes by, we feel more and more led in this direction. So…we shall see. This is not our timing, and although, we feel that tug, it could still be a while…or next week. We are not in control of that…just listening with our whole hearts.

It’s interesting that last week, we practiced Yoga with the premise of “courageous vulnerability” which can lead into so many aspects of life. And as I think about a mission trip, and how courageous that causes us to become, along with the vulnerabilty, it’s exciting!! That unknown. That stretching. That leap of faith. I think because Greg and I are both “live by the seat of our pants” people, that we have that courageousness to set forth on any path that God puts us on. So, we will wait patiently for that.

What are your New Year intentions? Thoughts? Prayers? Goals?

PS: Almost forgot to add my favorite picture for 2011 LOVE THIS! If love can survive a riot....

Here's to hope, love and kissing!

Vancouver Kissing Couple

Another PS: After having some requests, here is the pizza recipe:

Any vegan crust that suits you from http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=472.0

Bake the crust first. Then I top with

My Hummus:

1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans with 1/2 of the water drained

1/4 cup Tahini

1 lemon squeezed of juice (I always use a real lemon, it just tastes better)

2-4 cloves of garlic pressed

1-ish TBSP EVOO

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1-1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika OR 1-ish TBSP of chipotle pepper in adobo sauce

~Blend all in a food processor

After you bake the crust spread with hummus, add sundried tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, red onion, parsley

IF you want cheese, add some feta, but I just sprinkle the hummus with nutritional yeast for a cheesey flavor.

Giving Thanks

2011-11-23T13:49:00.001-08:00

This is such a wonderful time of year. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Its the time of year that we share our "gifts" with our family and friends. We come together for a meal, each of us remembering the past year, telling what we are thankful for. Sharing our time, our laughter, the non-material things that make our life so special. This time of year makes me feel so peaceful and adored. I love cooking, and having everyone gathered at our table. I have times that I will just sit back and study the faces of those in my home. Their smiles are all the thanks I need.

These are the things I give thanks for:

My relationship with God. Without Him, my life would be an utter mess.
My husband. He is my best friend, the 2nd beat of my heart. He is a wonderful Dad to our kids. The best. I cannot say enough about this man. Our souls are so connected, we would wither and die without one another.
Our kids. Oh man our kids, Rock!! They make me proud, and laugh like no one else can. They challenge me, and adore me. I love their individuality. They bring so much happiness to this house and to this Mama.
Our extended family. Grandparents, cousins, bothers, sister-in laws, uncles, aunts. It is so good and so real with them all. Blessed.
Our puppies. Golden Retriever hair aside, I could never imagine our home without dogs in it.
Sunshine and the beach.
To be able to travel.
Our friends. We have such a great group of friends. And my girlfriends...you don't get any better than them.
The 1st cup of coffee every morning, that my husband brings to me in bed EVERY SINGLE DAY!! (Yes, every single day)
The many books I love to devour.
Running....long runs.
Laughter
Yoga
The snow
The ocean
Our bed and soft fluffy comforter, and the mornings I get to sleep in and cuddle up under it.
A warm sauna
Our community and being able to live in Coeur d'Alene
Authentic people
The peacefulness of our house
My RM Mafia ;))
A hot shower
Dancing and music
Red wine
That my hubs rubs my back every night until I fall asleep
My freedom in this country
Giggling with Greg until the wee hours of the night
Snuggling on the couch watching movies
Cooking
Flowers
Memories.... the Good and the ~~Bad~~

It feels great to have gratitude. To think about how blessed this life is that I am in.
I wish you all a Very Happy Blessed day of Giving Thanks!!

~“If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.” — Rabbi Harold Kushner

A little biking. A little running!

2011-11-15T13:53:00.001-08:00

Watching the Kona IM bike is fast and furious! We were lucky to see the pro's leave out of T1 and out onto the course. We were also privileged to see our friends that were racing whizz by us so quickly we were barely able to yell out a cheer for them. We had driven part of the course on our way to Hapuna Beach, but didn't catch the whole thing. The climb to Hawi, we hear is hard, and windy. I can only imagine the heat hitting you, and the wind that can literally whip you across the road.
Right smack dab in the middle of the afternoon we had our volunteer positions. The "Hot Corner" they call it. Bikes coming in, runners heading out to their 1st ten-mile turnaround, and back again heading out towards the Energy Lab. This was amazing! It was hot, alright! Standing on that blazing pavement. As we stood and controlled human traffic trying to cross the course, I could only imagine what these athletes were feeling. I was only directing people. They had just finished a HOT and WINDY 112 miles on the bike, only to hop off and take on a 26.2 mile run on this hot, sticky, windless day.

Palani Hill

We loved this volunteer spot. We had timed it perfectly. Knowing when our favorite pro's would be coming through off of their bikes, and right past us onto the run! It was an exciting volunteer posistion.
After our shift, we were free to roam around, cheering on racers, meeting people, and waiting anxiously at the finish for the speedy's. It seemed almost impossible that in such a short amount of time, the pro's were coming in finishing their run. Their Ironman day was coming to an end. We cheered loudly and got teary-eyed as they came in. Craig Alexander. Breaking records, and sobbing as he met his family at the finish. And Chrissie Wellington. The woman with the hugest smile! Gracefully making her way to her Ironman World Championship win. She was all smiles, of course.

Craig Alexander

Crazy Fans!

Crazy Volunteers!

Chrissie Wellington

Finishing up for the Win!!

As the day continued, we watched racers, wandered around, cheered, stood in awe of the people we saw finishing. It was a remarkable day.
Towards the midnight cutoff, the party downtown was incredible. It was inspiring to see these athletes finish. These men and women coming in after the hardest race of their lives. This is the "meat" of Ironman. Not to put off the pros and their hard work, but listening to the stories spill out about these late finishers was astounding. Cancer survivors, current cancer patients, amputees, people who had overcome so many health issues, weigh loss, loss of spouses, children, parents, people defying the odds. The tears rolled from my eyes, seeing them literally battling everything within them, to cross that finish line.
And after the midnight clock ran out. That 17 hour cutoff. The ceremony that followed was incredible. Hula dancers, fire dancers, closing prayers, and the traditional blowing of the Hawaiian Pu horn. We loved hearing them talk about the race, and bring to a close of the 2011 Ironman World Championships!!

Along the course ~beautiful!!

Inspiration!

Mike Reilly pumping up the crowd!!

Our last day on the island was all for Greg and I. We set off for a little adventure. Just the two of us. We spent the day exploring the lava flow in Volcanoes National Park. We did some hiking through rain forests, went and walked through the stinky sulfur beds, walked through a lava tube (which was really cool) and stood to feel the steam from the huge steam vents or cracks in the Earth. We visited the extraordinarily beautiful Painted Church. The rest of the afternoon we spent laying in the Hawaiian sun on a black sand beach at Punalu'u. That night, we met the besties for our "last supper" and had an amazing sunset dinner! It was a great finish to our incredible Kona experience.

Punalu'u Beach

Volcanoes National Park

Steam Vents

Stinky sulfur

Greg heading through the forest to the lava tube

Heading into the tube

The Painted Church

Coming home was hard. Hard to leave the warm sand, the beaches, the clear waters of the Pacific and the excitement of Ironman. Hard to come back after being kissed by Kona, Hawaii.

Undies, and friends, and swimming OH MY!!

2011-10-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

Doesn’t everyone run in his or her underwear? Ok, maybe not. This day was definitely a highlight for us in Kona. The “famed” Underpants Run down Ali’I Drive. Nothing like getting’ in your undies with your best friends, and…running. This event didn’t disappoint. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, as we gathered down at Pacific Vibrations on Thursday morning. A few of us…..a few hundred. All ages, sizes, shapes, nationalities. One thing in common, the Undies.

Gotta love friends that race in Undies!!

Look who we found out on his bike during the Underpants Run....Macca!!

We ran a little loop around the downtown, stopping at the pier to do some calisthenics. Flex our muscles. Do some lunges, jumping jacks, flex our muscles again. Check our heart rate. All in fun. I was surprised at the spectators that lined the streets of Kona to give all of us a “shout out!” Cheering and clapping, with cameras ready. It was hilarious!

We spent the day before Ironman at Hapuna Beach, which is north of Kona. A beautiful white sand beach. I was relaxing, with gorgeous turquoise water. We did some boogie boarding, but just really took it as a day to relax and catch some rays in the Hawaiian sun.

Hapuna Beach

There are so many activities during the week leading up to Ironman it is amazing. Book signings, pictures and Q & A times with the athletes, the expo was 2nd to none, and the Swag was incredible. I came home with more free stuff than I knew what to do with. And of course, the Parade of Nations was amazing. Each represented country, marching down Ali'i Drive, with their flags, and banners. You could just feel the energy of the athletes. The athlete banquet was top notch. A Hawaiian Luau, with hula and fire dancers, and a huge buffet. They really know how to pump up the racers. Painting the streets of Kona!

Race morning came, and we were so excited! We went down early to get a good viewing spot on the sea wall for the swim. Sitting there, thinking how surreal it was being there watching the Big Kahuna of triathlon racing brought tears to my eyes. Watching the swimmers come out into the water for the start gave me butterflies. And the cannon going off, made me gasp for air! It is something I will never forget.

Ready for a 2.4 mile swim.

.......And they're OFF!!!

~Con't

Running in the Dog Days of.....Fall

2011-10-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

Man's best friend.

"Man's best friend" is a catchphrase for tame dogs, generally referring to the category as a whole. The popularization of the term is said to have occurred in a courtroom speech byGeorge Graham Vest in Warrensburg, Missouri in 1870 who said, "The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog."

I love running with my dogs. The way they look when they know I am heading for a run is priceless. They really get "a look" on their faces. Eager, excited, and hopeful, with a smile. Yes, both of my dogs smile. With their teeth. True story!

It has been quite a while since I have taken either of them out on a run. I have been running...they have not. So this morning, in this gorgeous, crisp, fall weather, I decided to take them out.

I think even the mere "thinking" that I was going to take them, got them excited. They were running around, and leaping in the air. Tucker (our Golden) chatters his teeth when he gets excited. Actually audibly chatters. It is hilarious, and I wish I could get him on video doing it. He does this when he is excited for anything. If I buy him a new toy, and get home and tell him so, he sits with great anticipation, and chatters. When our older kids come home to visit, he chatters, and when he knows he is going running, he chatters. This morning...WOW!! He was excited!

Being that it has been a while, I was unsure of Tuck's mileage and pace. I decided that I needed to take each of the dogs on their own. They get ridonk-ulous when I try and take them at the same time. So Tucker was 1st, which meant that Greg was going to have to listen to our Yorkie, Ava, go holy-ape-$hit when I left. She runs laps around the inside of the house, barking and carrying on until I get home. (Not good on days when I am out running for 2-3 hours) She also climbs onto the dining room table, and onto the windowsill to watch and wait.

So off I went with Tucker in tow. I hook his leash through a race belt, or my Spibelt, so I can be hands free with him. I decided that he could easily do three miles, at maybe a 9 minute pace.

THIS DOG IS OUT OF SHAPE!!

His 1st mile, he did great! Stayed right by my side. Didn't worry about the other dogs running up to their fences. He is sometimes nervous when they run at him. I kept telling him, that they were cheering for him, and to keep up his good pace.

Next 1/2 mile, he is starting to slow down. Hmmm? At 1.5 miles, we turn around. I walk with him a little. I try and get him to let go of the leash he is insistent on running and walking with in his mouth. I tell him to drop it and breath a little bit. No luck. So we head back, he is doing pretty good, but his pace is falling. His 9 minute miles, have now dropped to about 9:45. Then we get to the last mile. This is the hill we live on. From the bottom, to my driveway is exactly one mile, and it is ALL uphill. I stop with Tuck, and give him a pep-talk. "This is it Buddy. Last mile. All hill. This is your Rocky Balboa moment. Now suck it up, and give it your all!!!"

Did I mention, THIS DOG IS OUT OF SHAPE!

He is really starting to drop his pace now...10 min mile, then 10:20. His bungee is tight, and I am looking like a sled-dog climbing the hill with my dog behind me. *What is wrong with this picture?*

I think to myself, Thank Goodness I have been doing all of this Insanity/Asylum. This is feeling just like one of those workouts. So up the hill we go. One mile, bungee tight, running, with me PULLING my 70lb Golden Retriever. Kick-Butt workout!! The quads definitely got burnt today.

I get Tuck home, get him water, and congratulate him on his awesome run!! He is a happy boy!

Tucker is ready to Run!

I hook up Ava to the same bungee.

This dog.....bullets out of the door. She is a Yorkie, but pretty sure she doesn't know it. I think in her mind, she is ALL Greyhound! She is my little Speedy girl. And she just never stops. So Ava is sprinting in front of me. She is fast and compact, and muscular. This dog is built for speed. She is ALL about sprinting. 1/2 mile, 3:10 Not too bad for a little 8 pounder.

We get home, and Greg looks at me like....well did you just got to the corner? Not when I am running with Allyson Felix I tell him.

Sprinting!

**If this gives you any indication on these dogs' running styles...when I meet people, I often attach a theme song to them. I know, sound a little kooky, but I do it. I meet them, and the song pops into my mind. I think it is because a lot of times I see my life as an animated feature. Anyhow, I have also attached theme songs to our dogs.

Tucker's life theme some is: Click Link

Ava's life theme song is: Click Link

That may give you a little more of a clue as to how my running morning went!

I get back after my all out sprint with The Ava, and we take a little cool down (walking for me, and her running in circles and leaping into the air) before we come in to stretch. This is another time, when for some reason, these dogs go crazy. If they run with me or not, when I get home, I always say, "Ready to do some stretching." That's their cue. They looooove stretching. They will both sit in front of me on the floor, and go into Downward Facing Dog immediately. And then the rolling starts. Over and over they roll, then onto their backs for tummy scratches, then stretching into what I call "the long body" New Yoga term? Only in the doggy world. They growl, and smile, and roll and do Long Body over and over until they feel like they have had some successful stretching. Then they always feel like they need a little kibble. Recovery meal, right?

Grab water!

Then....nap!

What a great way to recover from a run!

All ready "to do some stretching!"

And onto the back!

The Long Body

One very Happy & Tired Tucker after 3.35 miles!!

~I talk to him when I'm lonesome like; and I'm sure he understands. When he looks at me so attentively, and gently licks my hands; then he rubs his nose on my tailored clothes, but I never say naught thereat. For the good Lord knows I can buy more clothes, but never a friend like that. ~W. Dayton Wedgefarth

YES!! We're going to Kona!! Part #1

2011-10-18T13:36:00.000-07:00

Kona.

Just the mere mention of it, sends chills down my spine. How many years have I sat dreaming about this place?

For a triathlete, it is the Holy Grail of racing. The Ironman World Championships! The race that started out when I was a mere 8 years old. I have watched it, countless times on TV. Every year rooting for my favorite male/female athlete to cross the finish line on Ali’I Drive. I have watched as they have talked about the heat, the humidity, the Queen K, the Energy Lab, Digme Beach at Kailua Pier, and the struggles these incredible athletes go through, to not only get to the starting line, but to finish this Ironman.

So this year…., many, many years after watching, and dreaming about this place, and 10 years after I started racing multi sport, I finally got go.

It’s funny, that even though, I have only been racing Triathlons/Duathlons for 10 years, I have kept up on the racing in Kona. In my 20’s, I watched and thought, what an amazing event to be a part of, and ALWAYS knew I would race in Ironman. When I met my husband, as a young 20-something girl, a runner, a non-swimmer, and mountain biker, I told him, I would race an Ironman! And always dreamed of Kona.

Well, as the story goes, I was not in Kona to race, but to cheer on a couple of friends who were racing. One who qualified, and one who got in through the lottery. Both equally incredible!

Of course, when our friends called the morning that they found out he had been picked in the lottery, I was doing the Happy Dance in my bathroom. I wasn’t quite sure what was going on at first, when she called, Greg answered my cell phone because I was brushing my teeth. His face! If I could’ve snapped a picture of his face…..he was standing there in amazement. Saying things like, NO WAY!! SERIOUSLY!! OH MY GOSH!! ARE YOU SERIOUS! THIS IS INCREDIBLE! I am looking at him, toothbrush vibrating in my mouth, saying, WHAT???? Then…I hear it. Kona! Our friend has gotten into Kona. Pause. Butterflies! Tingling! Eyes that feel as if, they might bubble over with tears. I start to dance. Wildly dance! Our friend got into Kona through the lottery! I dance in my PJ’s in the bathroom, with Greg shouting, “WE’RE GOING TO KONA!!” And thus starts the adventure.

Quickly, in a manner of days, us girls are on the phone, meeting for coffee, and figuring out our trip, our flights, our condos, cars. Of course, we all need to fly together. Our excitement was insane! Kona was all we could talk about. We had dinners together and talked about Kona. Us girls shopped together, and talked about Kona. We worked out together and talked about Kona.

Then, finally, we were going.

We flew over together with so much excitement. Laughing, drinking Kona Long Board beers on the plane.

When we arrived, it was hot, sticky, smelled of Plumeria. We loved it, and were ready for an adventure!

We got to our beautiful condos. They were gorgeous! HUGE! And right up against the ocean. The waves crashing, the salty air, the heat, was intoxicating!!

This tiny little town of Kona is amazing! The energy that this place puts out is inconceivable. The people are all outgoing and hospitable. It seems the entire island comes alive from the enthusiasm of people landing daily for this race.

Living in an Ironman city, like Coeur d’Alene, we are used to “everything” Ironman….but Kona, WOW!! It’s spectacular!!

Before race day, we took full advantage of what this tiny island has to offer. Every day some sort of adventure was in store for us. Of course, we had our mornings, rushing down to swim, and watch athletes swimming down on Digme Beach. We HAD to get in a swim here. The place where Ironman starts. And even though, some of us weren’t racing, swimming here is like an out-of-body body experience.

Digme Beach/Kailua Pier

Our 1^st morning, we were up early to run a 10k. This was also an amazing experience, since the run was along Ali’i Drive, part of the run course for Ironman. The heat that morning was stifling. The humidity came in and slapped you in the face when trying to take a breath. My gosh, how does anyone run a marathon in this heat, I thought. AND…after swimming and biking?? At this point it was 8am. I found myself a couple of times, getting chills, thinking about running along Ali’i Dr where so many amazing athletes had run before. It was surreal. I soaked up every single bit of the experience.

The gang after the Path 10K

After the race that morning, we were off to the beach for the day. Thank goodness.

Most of the time, I feel like a fish out of water…living in Idaho, with no ocean, makes me feel like my gills dry up. I adore the ocean. And could, like a kid, stay in the waves, for hours on end. It’s where I am most at peace. I feel my most natural. Serene. And like when I am in the mountains, feel the closest to God. So I could not wait, to get in!

We enjoying the sunshine, relaxing, snorkeling, and loving all the sea turtles swimming and beaching themselves next to us. That night…a Luau!!

At Kahaluu Beach

Huge Hibiscus outside the condo!

Kahaluu Beach

Luau at The Hilton Waikoloa Village

Sunset from our Luau

Before we had even left on this trip, one of the points of interest for us, was to see the Green Sand Beach or Papakolea Beach.

There are 2 of these in the World. One in Guam, one on the Island of Hawaii. This entire day, was unimaginable!! From start to finish, I knew, this was going to be "quite the day"

We knew that to get to this beach, it was going to take, a 4x4, a good pair of walking shoes, water, resolve & determination. We had heard about parking, and walking in. Reviews I read, said it was a "hard" hike in. Some said, "un-walkable, too far, too windy, don't wear flip-flops, DON"T drive yourself, you name it. We thought, "Huh? We are ALL athletes, how freakin' hard can it be?" This was laughable, once we saw what was in store.

We jumped into our Jeep....SIX of us, with the top down. We thought, if there was the slightest chance at driving to this beach, we better take the Jeep. We pile in, like a bunch of teenagers, going to a beach kegger. Being that we were limited on space, Alicia and I decide we will take the back. Like as in, the cargo area. No seat. We fix our beach towels into make-shift seats, and think....easy enough. The drive to the beach took 90 minutes. We should've thought better about this decision. Her and I sat in the back, like we were the Labradors heading for a swim with the redneck in the back of his pick-up. It was hilarious!! Her and I laughed our butts off sitting back there. It truly made me feel like a high-school kid. Thank goodness neither of us got car sick.

We finally make it to the "parking lot" of the beach, climb out, and think we are going to start this walk to the beach. Up pops David, this sweet, funny, sweaty little Hawaiian man. He is ready to drive us. We look around and think, we can walk. "3 miles in" David tells us. We are taking the ride!! This proves to be a fantastic decision. Even in our Jeep there is NO WAY we would've been able to drive. This road he takes us on is like Mr. Toads Wild Ride. We are all crammed into (this time there are 7 of us, including David) into his old, extremely worn-in Expedition. He is taking us over boulders, and dunes, and ruts like I have never seen. I wish, I would've jumped out to snap a picture. David, our driver, and in the front passenger seat, Dennis and Brenda....Bren sitting on his lap. Backseat; Greg, Alicia & I, and our Ironman, Randy, crammed into the back cargo area. All of us bouncing up and down, smacking our heads on the ceiling practically. The wind is blowing so hard, sand is flying EVERYWHERE! Some of the windows work.....either in the all the way down position, or the opposite...which is making us all sweat to death in this cramped little SUV. We are sticky, sweaty and sandy and thankful to make it out of this car alive, by the time we reach the beach. The wind in this area is incredible. We all step out and look over the edge, where we need to climb down, and are utterly amazed at what we see. This tiny, little cove, turquoise water lapping up onto this stunning, olivine beach. It truly is green. I was taken aback. I have seen all sorts of sand, but never green. We make our way down, and all of us just stand in amazement of this place. God, you really know how to create a masterpiece.

Looking down on Green Beach

Awesome blow hole that people were jumping into.

Water was amazing from 50 feet up.

Green Beach Facts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papakolea_Beach

http://www.hawaii-guide.com/big_island_of_hawaii/spot/green_sand_beach_papakolea

If ever in Kona, this place is a must see. It was like nothing I have ever seen. We splashed and played, took pictures, and sat digging our hands into the sand. It is just so unusual to see green sand. We REALLY wanted to bring some home, which is not allowed.

We climbed back out of this bowl, and back into the SUV ride from hell. **Another note: If you do ever get to Kona, and decide to go to the Green Beach, park and look for David. This man, was so sweet, full of the funniest stories, and made the experience that much amazing for us! And although, I say it was the "ride from hell" this has nothing to do with David's driving skills, which were top-notch.

We bid our driver, Aloha, climbed back into the sardine car (Jeep) and set off for Ka Lae or South Point. The southern most point of the USA!!

The waves here were out of control! Huge, crashing, and scary to stand up to. We watched cliff divers, and divers jumping into a giant blow hole. It was spectacular!!

Leaving there, we climbed back into the Jeep to make the journey back into Kona. We drove past lava fields, coffee farms, rain forests, and tiny little towns. In one town, we even spotted a silly looking animal, that Alicia and I laughed about for days. We were unsure if he was a sheep, or goat. It may have been the heat, the jostling around in the back of a Jeep, the humidity, or too many Mai Tai's, but we thought our (cleverly named) Hawaiian Geep, was something to write home about.

Our Hawaiian Geep....just so you all know he wasn't fictional!

On our way back, with no tops for the Jeep (we left them in the condo) as we are driving through beautiful, tropical, coffee farms, we are hit by a torrential downpour. A DOWNpour!! We just had to laugh. We were getting soaked!! When in a rain forest....right? At that moment, we knew, and proclaimed it...THE BEST DAY EVER!! (which we found out soon enough, we would say many more times over the next 9 days!!)

~To be con't

Wine-ing, Whining and Winning!

2011-09-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

What to do about life?

This is huge and has been weighing on my mind recently. Greg and I have found ourselves in such a weird space. All within a 3-week span, we had ONE bright, brilliant boy graduate from college. ONE darling, determined daughter move away for school at the U of I. And ONE, comical, creative, Cub that entered public school as an 8^th grader, after 7 years of homeschooling.

What to do about life?

Greg and I are wandering the rooms of our home, in search of the faintest whisper of noise during the day. Strange place we are in.

For me, because I have spent the past 13-plus years as a SAHM, it is the most bizarre feeling. I am whipping up recipes in the kitchen in the middle of the afternoon (which is normal) but what is NOT normal, is that I usually have Alli, or at one point, all three of our home-schooled kids, sitting at the bar, chiming in on what would go good in the recipe. Alli LOVES to cook!! I miss her sitting there with her school books, asking questions, or reading to me, making art, or crafting up her own delicious recipes. I have always had the kids around. Have always had alot of kids around.

I am missing the churning in our home. The activity. The daily buzz.

Now, it is silent, with the occasion snore from one of the dogs.

And then……Greg.

My sweet, loving, wonderful hus-by. He works from our home office, our deck, our patio, or our hammock, but has now switched his schedule to work on East Coast time!!!…at 2pm…guess who I am bumping into?? Wandering the halls…..

What to do!

On an EXCITING note, our trip up north to Canada last week was amazing! We had the most fun with our friends, and kids up there. Did a lot of wine tasting! Did a lot of laughing. Did not a lot of sleeping….

At Dirty Laundry Vineyard

At Misconduct

Township 7

Volunteering for Ironman Canada was incredible! We worked Run Aid Station #1 "Cirque de Sole" (we won as best run aide station at the banquet.) We met some incredible people. I loved helping these athletes, as they chugged back water, grabbed sponges to put into their shirts, shorts, or anywhere else they could fit them, or just squeeze onto their heads, on this 100-degree day! As a volunteer, we were also privileged to get up bright and early on Monday morning and march ourselves down to register before the general public. At 5am! So my next Ironman race will be in Penticton, BC next Aug 2012.

Sister Madonna Buder

I am REALLY looking forward to getting back to Ironman training….not because it will give me something to do….but….well, yes…..that exact reason!!

Until then, I will keep up with my Asylum workouts 3x a week, with a couple of days of Insanity sprinkled in. Run. Run a lot! Tri Cities Marathon in October? Possible. And of course hit a few swims, and bikes, before the “real” training kicks in.

And we do have one little trip to the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii in 3 weeks!!!! Nothing like getting your blood pumping, & gettin' ya psyched for training than going to the Big Island to watch the Big Kahuna of Ironman races.

I am VERY excited for this trip!! It's 10-days in Hawaii. It's Ironman. Not to mention how fun it is going to be to see our friend Mr. RS cross that finish line AND to be traveling with our great group of friends from Coeur d’Alene. Bliss!

So, as one chapter in the Nilges House comes to a close, and we learn to let go of our kids, and live in the hushed rooms of our house, another will open. I am sure of it!

~~~To be Continuned

The Art of Doing Nothing

2011-08-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

I adore the business of summer. Up early, exercising, out on the water, hiking, beach….but every once in a while I love the art of doing nothing. I just had this type of weekend. This is sometimes a hard concept for me, and probably a lot of people, but I think it is a great necessity in life. The ability to fully relax, check out of everything, and have no worries.

We just spent a four-day weekend camping at Benewah Lake. I was so excited about this trip, even though we had just been camping 2 weeks ago, but this time….our whole family went. The Nilg-Fam-Five as we call it. This is a hard feat for us to pull off now, since our son moved out a year ago, and our daughter works so much, and is getting ready to go back to school.

Our first day there, none of our kids came. We were camping only with our friends, who when they woke up on Friday, had to run back home to Coeur d’Alene for the day. This day…was our day of relaxing, and doing nothing. Greg and I spent the ENTIRE day relaxing. Lying in our hammock. Reading. Taking a nature walk. Laughing at the unruly squirrels, who found it absolutely necessary to taunt and chatter at our crazed Yorkie Terrier.

As we lounged in the sunshine, I found myself so utterly relaxed that I felt almost drunk. I suppose in a way I was….drunken on tranquility and peacefulness. Now that’s my kind of liquor. Sometimes it is good to grab yourself by the collar, give yourself a shake, and remind yourself there is no need to be “doing something.” And that doing absolutely nothing is perfectly, OK! It centers us. Brings us back to neutral. Allows our mind and body to heal. Gives us time to day dream, pray, meditate, loosen up, and de-stress.

A lot of times, I am so busy, that when I have time to sit, I FEEL like I need to be doing something. I am learning to be ok with doing nothing. And this day….we honed in on our skill.

Of course that Friday evening, the whole gang showed up, and the party started!! Greg and I cherished having ALL of our kids there. We knew it would be the last time, for a while. Those darn kids are hard to corral once they get a life, and move out!

So this camping trip was like no other. We ate junk camping food. We smoked cigars. We drank beer and Bloody Marys. We belched. Slept late. And stayed up late! We told funny stories. Watched the stars. Jumped off the train trestle (well the kids did) Swam with the dogs. Farted (well the guys did)… We laughed so hard we couldn’t see straight……which is a usual occurrence in our household, but these out- door nights were exceptional. The entire weekend was magical. And memorable. The nights spent around the campfire, days lounging. A much needed solstice for all of us, from the ordinary of everyday life. Couldn't have gotten much better!!

After that trip, I have committed to myself, to be more aware of my time. To be aware when I am feeling like I need to be “doing something” and to be completely alright and content to do nothing, if I chose to. I need to be greedy with my time, because if I am not, and I continue to be “busy” I may miss some pretty terrific times in my life.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun!

2011-07-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

I let this blog go too long, between writing. Especially in the summer, when I am running around having fun, and not sitting down to take care of it.

Summer is in full swing here in beautiful Coeur d’Alene (I think) and it is gettin’ busy! Filling up with fun nights downtown with friends, dinners al fresco, camping, SUP, beach days, hiking, boating, you name it! I feel like summer is my down time, but at the same time I am busier than ever….but in a fun way! Our warm weather is way too short to not FREAK OUT in the sunshine every chance I get!!

Two weeks ago, a bunch of crazy girls and I went down to Portland, Oregon to run the Fueled By Fine Wine ½ Marathon. We did this race last year with a smaller group of girls, but as word spread, we had a much larger group representing the 83815. We had a BLAST! The drive over was a blast, and full of giggling between my friend and I. It included a stop at the Naked Winery. Our favorite place to stop in Hood River (and our favorite wine club) They always treat us so great! Their wine is incredible…I cannot get enough of it.

Naked Winery with Alicia, Brenda & Dee

The day before the race we spent the day in Pacific City hangin’ on the beach, watching surfers (ummmm….even in a wetsuit that H2O is FREEZING) having lunch, and climbing the Dune of Death!

Such a great day! After getting back we met the rest of our group for dinner at the ever-fabulous McMenamins. Some of our girls spent the day making an amazing drive while supporting the boys on their Seattle to Portland Bike Race! They did such a great job! Rode over 200 miles in one day, and were still up for a fun dinner with us! Great job C & B!! You two ROCK!!

The WHOLE gang together representing the 83815 at McMenamins

The race itself was hard and hilly. Oh man, those hills! We had such a great time, taking pictures along the way, laughing, and running through the vineyards. The views were spectacular, as always! That race is just top-notch! And of course with the whole Tiffany and Co theme and prizes, great swag, awesome race shirts and medals, how could you NOT want to race, right? I am hoping that next year they raffle one of those beautiful Range Rovers that are parked there and are race sponsors. Hint Hint! This has become, in the last 2 years one of my favorite races to run. It is a tough course. Very challenging. This year, we took our time. No agenda for a good pace. And with a couple of injured friends, we looked at it as a “fun time together” no pressure. It was certainly not my fastest ½ marathon, but possibly one of my most memorable!

Girls just wanna have fun!

Post race, we headed for lunch and spent the afternoon wine tasting at some amazing vineyards in the Dundee Hills.

At Four Graces

Heading home Monday, we took our casual time. Hiking Multnomah Falls, which was so breathtakingly beautiful and of course stopped in Hood River to get "Naked" again!!

It was so nice to have such great friends all around, and great bonding time. Can’t wait for next year!!

Nice Bling

This was on the car ride over!!

All finished and ready for wine! GREAT job Kim on your first 1/2 marathon finish!!

Kim, Me, Natalie & Alicia

It's Summm-aaahhh!

2011-06-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

As summer is rolling into Coeur d’Alene (we are going to have summer, right??) and the race season is starting up, you’ve just gotta love the fun and a excitement around this city! Car d’Lane is this weekend….and I keep seeing the old cars and hot rods coming into town. Ironman is in a week and a half! After racing it last year, this season as been so different for me. I get to be out there volunteering, and supporting all of these amazing athletes racing this year. I am over-the-top excited for my friends racing this year. Some, veterans of IMCdA, and a few first timers. It has been fun listening to them talk about their upcoming race. Nerves are kicking in. Ironman is quite a ride…I don’t care who you are. I have a few very close friends racing for the first time, and I get just as excited for them, as I was last year for my own race. Just seeing and being around people that you just KNOW are over-coming huge fears, over coming not being able to swim a year ago, not ever being on a road bike a year ago, or never even running a 5k before. It is amazing to me to be on this journey with them. Overcoming obstacles. Putting yourselves out there. It is exhilarating! I absolutely cannot wait to see them along the course, make posters for them on the run, and see them cross that finish line. WOW!! What an accomplishment. Seeing it from this view, and not a racer is amazing!

I am volunteering for Saturday bike check in. Seeing athletes bringing in their bike, stetting them up, watching the quiet nerves, excitement, and adrenaline as they walk into transition with their bags and set up what they will use for race day. Last year, just getting into transition made my stomach flip-flop! I practiced running from the changing tents to my bike, counted the rows, knew what tree to sight off of in my line up, ran it several times.

I am in the kayak in the water for the swim. I am sure I will not see anyone I know, but every one of them, I will know….IM swimmers. Churning and tearing through that water. It will be an amazing vantage point..

Then catching. Seeing these friends and athletes cross the finish! Exhausted and exhilarated! It’s going to be an amazing day!

My next race coming up, Fueled by Fine Wine ½ marathon in Dundee outside of Portland Oregon. Ran this last year and going again with a whole entourage of girls. One BIG girls trip to run and eat and laugh and drink wine! What more could a girl want? I cannot wait!

I started my Asylum (Insanity) camp yesterday. I am going to try and chart my progress. We weighed in, took measurements, did body fat and did our first day of assessment yesterday. GULP! That was tough! It’s amazing, you can be in great shape and as soon as you add in new things, you seem to be completely out of shape. I am a forward moving kind of girl. Swim forward, bike forward, and run, run, run forward (ok, and sometimes sideways ;) all of this jumping and on my hands and feet bear crawling is all new to me. I sweat, I moan, I want to lay down and cry, and I dislike (not really) our coach because he laughs at the torture he brings us. But in 8 weeks, I will have a big happy smile on my face, and a rockin’ BOD!!

~~Keep ya posted!

To my IM peeps, YOU guys are utterly amazing. Your training is almost done, and you have done it well. You are ready. You are confident. You are fast. You are rock stars. You are strong. You are competent. You are an inspiration to EVERYONE around you. You are going to hurt, and be tired, and sweat and cry, but you will be an Ironman on June 26^th!!!!! Woot Woot!!

~See ya at that finish line!

Allergies can kiss my a$$!!

2011-05-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

Since Mother’s Day, and the last time I wrote a blog, I have been a bit funky…not stinky from sweat, funky, just feeling weird, and different…and OK before ANY of you say that I am always weird and different, Y E S…but this weird and different, is…weird and different from the norm.

I have been dealing with some horrible allergies, which I have never in my life had before now. In all of my life, I have been pretty healthy and well. Rarely having colds, or flu, never having to take antibiotics. So when all of a sudden I wake up one day, with a huge puffy, red, face and eyes, I was like, WHHAAAA??? Several weeks of this was getting bothersome. And I am not normally a “bothersome” person. Acupuncture helped it tremendously, but it kept going away and coming back, and quite frankly I was getting a little upset. Plus, I just wasn’t “feeling right” I decided to try another Dr, at the request of a friend. Wow! Ok, evidently I had some sort of bacterial infection. From what? I may never know. Just a virus. Non-contagious. I just trust those, that know better than I, and since I do not have a degree in any sort of medicine/health, I decided to go with that. Also, had some allergy testing done. Conclusion to that was that have a wheat allergy. Ok, here’s the deal. I am already Vegan, eating no meat, fish, poultry dairy, eggs, or anything coming from animals. Butter, cream cheese, ranch dressing, sour cream, baked goods with eggs…nothing. So wheat….wheat is quite a staple of mine. Along with my fruits and veggies, I eat pastas, and breads, all containing, you guessed it, WHEAT. Ok, this one took me a few days to digest. I immediately went to searching wheat free meals, alternatives etc. I don’t have a Gluten allergy, just wheat, which was nice because there are a lot of delicious other grains out there to work with. Whew! So, the past 2 weeks, I have been trying really hard to get off the wheat. I guess I took for granted the fact that it creeps its way into everything. Even my Vegan black bean burgers contain wheat.

Fast forward to last week. Face is looking great, and Wednesday, I wake up with spots, like Chicken Pox under my arms, and on my thighs. Seriously? Seriously?!!

Thursday, rolls around and I am covered, from collarbone to the bottom of my feet. Not itchy, just a GAZZILION “chicken pox-y” looking spots. I am Googling rashes. Measles, chicken pox, shingles, dengue fever (ok, I was just in Costa Rica for 3 weeks) however, I had no fever, no symptoms of anything, other than a million, gazillion non-itchy spots. This was getting me down. I was really feeling horrible. My workouts ceased from Wed on, which really bums me out, and I was just in a bad place mentally. I had kind of “had it!” at this point. I go another doctor, per request of another friend. Guess what he finds???? A strawberry allergy. Kill me now! I LOVE strawberries. And all berries. When testing with the 1^st Dr, he went through the most “common” allergies, and didn’t touch on fruits.

I just wanted to cry. And in my mind, I cannot comprehend, how, in all my life I have never had an allergy, and now….TWO, major allergies (well major to me) and…just all of a sudden!! Although, four different Dr’s have confirmed that you can develop allergies to anything at any time. Even to pets you have had for years.

Strawberries.

Strawberries and wheat.

This story doesn’t end here. Friday, I woke up, with even more spots and speckles, and was on the verge of tears…Greg, my sweet, sweet hubs (man this guy puts up with me…LOL) tells me to see one more Dr. YES…I am the ever-doubting Thomas. In my whole life, I have not seen so many Dr’s. Just my regular check up, but other than that, Dr free! So off we go, to yet another. He then refers me to a Dermatologist, because he tells me, “I have never seen anything like this” What the heck? Dude…thanks for freaking me out even more.

Off to the Derm. And this is where this gets funny…to me anyway. He says,…”Oh, this is an allergy” Maybe to the massive quantities of strawberries I have consumed in the past weeks in my Vitamix (which is a WHOLE other blog) He tells me to lay off the strawberries….really, duh. And to take a Claritin.

I am sorry Greg, that I have seen 40 doctors and have spent who knows how much $$ to confirm the allergies. My bad!

Saturday came, and my face looked fantastic, and my spots were disappearing. I woke up feeling like I had a new lease on life. Seriously! Ask my running girlfriends. We met Saturday morning for a much-needed 7-mile run in the sun, and I stepped out of my car, fist pumping, and ready to dance a jig. Which I think I actually did! I felt like the weight of the World (to me anyway) had been lifted. I guess, never being sick with anything, and then having all of this at once, was a lot on me.

I ran on Saturday, and it felt glorious. My legs stretching. The sun shining. The fresh air. The birds. The beautiful lake. The buzz of Ironman in the air. The great company I have with the most Bitchen friends!

The strawberries, I am in mourning about. They are my favorite fruit. The wheat….I am working on, but doing pretty good.

I feel great today, and have a lot to be thankful for, and to look forward to. Another awesome, sweaty run today. For ALL of my leopard spots to be gone, for good. For my homeschooling year to be close to an end (YAY Alli, you ROCK) and for our upcoming trip to San Francisco on June 2^nd with friends for the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. I am really looking forward to this. San Francisco is one of my favorite cities, plus sometimes it just feels good to be back in my home state of CA. Ironman Coeur d'Alene is close, and I cannot wait to cheer on all of my great friends this year. Ironman Canada in August, and signing up for my first IM out of the country, and Kona…..oh Kona, and the Ironman World Championships, I cannot wait for you! (This will be our 1^st time in Hawaii) Also, all of the fun races coming up this summer!!

Seems that when you rid yourself of allergies, and can open your eyes…things look pretty great! HAHA! I can live without a few (million) strawberries, I suppose!! Sniff Sniff!

Gotta Go!

The Adventure of Motherhood

2011-05-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

It is Mother’s Day today. A day that is still surreal to me. Bittersweet, full of smiling happy moments, shared joy and laughter, and great memories.

Surreal, because it still blows me away that I still feel so young, and have 3 children. Two GROWN children, and our Cub.

I always wonder when this feeling will go away? Hello…I feel 20, so where did I get this almost 20-year old boy? Enter Jeffrey into the World. I still remember every single detail of his birth. I was so young. Scared out of my mind. Wondering if I would even know “how” to be a mother. What I soon realized was that as young as I was, that maternal instinct would just kick in when it needed to. That this scared little girl that was barely my son’s age now, could and would grow this kid into the amazing young man that he is today. Of course Greg had nothing to with it. HAHA!

This precious baby boy, who is now on the verge of turning 20, has taught me as much about life as I did him. Time flies. And now this kid is all grown up, living on his own, will be finished with his first degree in 3 months and is the owner of his own marketing company. What I learned from him was kindness, honesty, determination, calmness, a lot of laughter, and how to grow up when I needed to. This tiny baby boy now towers over me, and hugs onto me, like I am the baby! So proud of you Jeffrey.

Then came Mariah. My sweet-faced little girl in pink. She was so soft, and beautiful, and dainty. I wanted her in bows and dresses, which she detested and soon told me, that she was “no girly-girl” She is athletic, and strong. A lover of all things. Even used to get on the ground to try and kiss spiders when she was young. (I have pictures to prove it) I learned that Mariah was going on her own path at a young age. She didn’t want to be caged in. She taught me what being strong-willed was all about!!! When I see her, it’s like looking in a mirror. My passionate, stubborn self, looking straight back into my eyes. She is beautiful inside and out, has a brilliant mind, very free spirited and care- free. She is SO caring, and so loving. She has taught me to “not sweat the small stuff, and on occasion (many occasions) to pick my battles, and also patience, patience, patience. She definitely took me on the ride of my life. We have laughed into the wee hours of the night together. And cried on one another’s shoulders. She kept me on my toes, as a toddler, and certainly as a teenager, and now is growing into such an amazing adult. She will be starting her 2^nd year of college in the fall, and will be leaving home. Not just moving out, but away. This is where the heartbreak really begins for me as a Mother, because she has become one of my closest friends.

And….our Cub. Allegra. Allegra means “Exuberantly cheerful” and she has lived up to her name. Always smiling, always laughing. She laughs and giggles about everything. She is artistic, and creative. Has a huge heart, and is extremely caring and sensitive. As a baby, she was my “snuggly” and still is. She showed me how relax, and see the World through the eyes of a child. Watching her react to things, such as walking on the lawn for the 1^st time was amazing. Every day for Alli is an adventure. She looks at life with great expectations and wonder. She loves learning. Traveling and seeing new cultures. Trying new things. Definitely has her own style, and doesn’t like “fitting into the box.” She taught me to S L O W down, don’t rush the wonderful. Look, try, and see new things. To learn something new everyday. To be “fearless” which she tells me often. She is huggy, and mushy! Loves being the baby of our family, even though she is growing into an amazing young lady. She is smart, and witty, and always ready to make someone laugh. She is very goofy, and full of life. A dreamer. Adventurous.

Motherhood may be one of the hardest things I have ever endured. It has had its ups and downs, ins and outs. It has changed every single fiber of my being. It is waking up every day, going into the unknown, the uncharted territory, out of bounds and out on a limb. It has stretched me to my limits. I don’t know of another thing in this World that can make you so furious, rip your heart out, make you feel so vulnerable, bring you so much joy, but so many tears, make you stronger, feel more loved or bring you more joy, and laughter than motherhood. It has been the most wonderful experience of my life. I cannot imagine what my life would have been without my kids and what they have taught me. I would never be the strong, courageous woman I am today, if not for them. Each individual. Unique. Each a precious gem.

Always makin' me proud! HAHA!

~~I love, and am so blessed by you three, Jeff, Mariah and Allegra. Thanks you, not only today, but every day for showing me what life is all about. You have each breathed so much joy and greatness into my life. You have taught me unconditional love and how to laugh at myself. I have adored every second of this journey we have been on together. I love you.

Mom

Dorothy is on to something!!

2011-04-10T17:10:00.000-07:00

WOW!! What a whirling, twirling, month it has been for us!!

Costa Rica was amazing!! We had a lot of great adventures in the three weeks we were there. A few, of course, completely unplanned. One day, we set off early for a trip to Villa Vanilla. An hours drive south, and onto a tiny dirt road, to a Spice Farm. We had heard great things about the tour, and were excited to check it out. We left from our cabina with plenty of time to make the trip south. But as things go in this gorgeous little country, we became lost. Getting lost in Costa Rica has become a habit for us. And after the first time we were there, 4 years ago, we have become accustomed, to this ritual. At first it tried our patience, but since, has taught us a lot about “going with the flow” and to always see the good in situations, because you just never know what extraordinary things can come out of them.

So we are lost, but fortunately figure it out soon enough, to turn around, make it back to the road we missed, and get to the spice plantation RIGHT at the start of the tour at 9am, which proved to be another road block. We didn’t have a reservation??? And didn’t have quite enough colones for the tour, just shy. Which means we had to drive all the way back out to get to an ATM. The 1pm tour was full, as were the 2 the next day…BUST! (We will get to the tour next time, for sure) So…we left. Sad that we were not able to take in the spice plantation. Sooo, Greg mentions wanting to hike to a waterfall that the kids and I had hiked to in the past, when he had to leave to come back to the States, and the kids and I stayed an extra 3 weeks. O….K….this place, IF I can even remember how to get there, was just as far north as we had come south from our village. Off we went. I am scouring the road for the tiny, little, handwritten sign, that says “Waterfall” I am pretty sure I remember the general vicinity where the turn off was. ??? So when I see a tiny sign, we think it is it! Off the road we go, in search of the infamous waterfall.

**Side note: When the kids and I found this place, it was completely by chance. Took the dirt road, followed the sign that ended us at a tiny little house, in someone’s yard. A sweet Tico man approached us and I asked him if he knew where the waterfall was? “Aqui’! Bienvenidos!!” (Here…welcome!) So…my little troopers and I paid him a parking fee to park in the yard, and he pointed us in the direction of a footpath through his beautiful garden, and off we went. The trail was long, and a few times I felt like I was leading my kids into a sequel of the movie, Turistas! But, it worked out amazingly, and we found the most spectacular waterfall we had ever seen.

So, we are driving, and driving, and driving, down this rutted, rocky, dirt road, looking for this little house….which we never found, BUT, by some sort of miracle, did end up at a place, that a man stopped us to ask if we wanted to hike to waterfall. OK!

Off we went, onto the trail. We hiked through some of the most thick, dense, rainforest. It was so hot, and sticky. High humidity! Just the type of air that you could scoop into your hand. We made it to a few picinas, or swimming pools, but still could not see the falls….finally, about an hour and a half in, we hear it! Then as we round a bend, BAM there it is. This magnificent waterfall. About 600-700 feet high! We all just stood, and stared, just taken aback by this wonder. We hiked to the base, and was cooled by the mist coming from the bottom. It was like we had struck gold!

We swam in the pools, and the water felt like Heaven after being so hot and sticky. We laughed about how our day had started. Thinking, like anything in Costa Rica….plans change, but usually better ones fall into place. When we left, we had a long drive home, which was graced by one of the most beautiful sunsets we had seen on this trip. All sunsets to me are outstanding, but some more than others. The sun going down over the ocean, on this day, was remarkable. It is always an image that I burn into my mind. That I allow simmering there, for the day when I need to sit, quietly, in the cold, gray of winter, and bring it back to life in my head. This particular sunset was the one for me. So even though our original plans for the day fell through, I was grateful, for this moment. Had we been anywhere else, but right there, at that moment, we would’ve missed it. What a gift.

The rest of our time there, we traveled to Playa Dominical, Quepos, Manuel Antonio, did some surfing (well Greg did. This just wasn’t my surfing trip this time??!!??) Playa Blanca and San Isidro, which was a breathtaking drive.

** San Isidro de El General is a key transportation and farming center in the valley, and is the largest town in this region. Lying just a few minutes away from the Pan-American Highway on the slopes of the Talamanca Mountains. While traveling en route to San Isidro de El General on the Pan-American Highway, one has to pass the dangerous and treacherous Cerro de la Muerte or Mountain of Death. The highest point in Costa Rica at an altitude of over 3,300m (10,824-ft.), this mountain pass offers spectacular views of the surrounding areas and valley below.

We also had a lot of lazy days in the hammock, in the ocean, and on the beaches. Searched for shells, sea glass, and sand dollars. Greg surfed in Esterillos Este’ which is south of our village. Pristine cocoa powder beaches, without another soul to be seen!!

We had our fun nights at The Low Tide, for the Full Moon Party (the crazy moon night) which there…up against the ocean, with the moon so close, it looked like daytime!

Full moon!! (Greg looks like he is standing in the sunlight)

Manuel Antonio

Me surfing at Manuel Antonio (HaHa)

Playa Esterillos Oeste

At "No Worries"

Happy Birthday, to my birthday boy!!

We toasted and danced our butts off with friends for Greg’s birthday….what a way to spend a birthday. I HIGHLY recommend it. We ate at a lot of fabulous restaurants, heard some amazing bands play, and tried various new fruits, that tasted like candy.

The whole trip was, as always, unforgettable.

We flew home after 3 weeks in Costa Rica, unpacked and packed again in 36 hours, and left for Las Vegas, for my birthday…also a HIGHLY recommended way to spend a birthday.

We met friends, who met us at the door of Caesars with HUGE drinks a yard long! What a way to start a Friday afternoon!

Heading to lounge by the pool!

Alica & I goofing on the mile-long escalator.

Looking pretty good at breakfast after a late night!

Morning after!!

In the Mall

Dinner at Zeffirino

Our guys

No comment!

At The Venetian

Caesars

Bellagio fountains were spectacular

New York, New York

Outside of the Wynn

We ate at sensational restaurants, saw Zumanity (speechless) danced until dawn one night with some of the Greenbay Packers…!!!! Broke shoes, people watched, lounged by the hot, sunny pools, SHOPPED, and SHOPPED, fed a wee amount of money into some loud, and unforgiving, and, might I add, unloving slot machines, did I mention, shopped?? Laughed our crazy, butts off with friends, drank copious amounts of margaritas, martinis, and wine, snuck for free into night clubs, trashed out feet with unrelenting high heels, and a few other precarious, debaucherous, scandalous, things that I won’t mention for fear of seizure or detainment at the border the next time we all try and leave the country! HAHA! Needless to say, the trip will be memorable. And when our flight took off Monday night to come home, I thought I had never tasted anything as sweet, as sleep…even on the airplane.

Now, back to life…back to reality. Back to running, and training, back to treating my body well, back to our peaceful home, and our routine.

There is always something about coming home, especially after being gone a month. There truly is no place like home!

Una Caminata Magica y Misterio A (truly) Magical Mystery Hike

2011-03-17T05:40:00.000-07:00

Punta Mala

We try everyday that we are here to have some sort of experience. I feel like everyday is a gift to be unwrapped here. We never quite know what it is going to be, how it will present himself, or when the gift will appear.

Yesterday, we had the great pleasure of taking an unexpected hike with some wonderful friends here. I got a quick email (luckily before our internet went down) about a Magical Mystery Hike to Punta Mala (Punta Mala means Bad Point or Bad End in case you were wondering) Anyway, we thought, “HOW FUN” and off we went to meet our hiking buddies. Our gracious “tour guide” (she really isn’t a tour guide, but LOVES to take people out to PM. We all agreed she could charge Gringos for the tour) is a wonderful expat from California that has lived here in Costa Rica for a few years. She, along with a gentleman from London, a sweet couple from San Francisco, a beautiful woman from Israel, and Greg and I (Alli made the mistake of NOT wanting to come along with us, which she regretted after our return) made our way down the beach North, walking, about an hour, at low tide. The things we saw and discovered along the way were truly amazing. From monkeys to mangroves, shells, crabs, lobsters, HUGE….I am talking gigantic pieces of driftwood, places that were once liquid, molten lava that cooled and had made some incredible art formations in the rock, and outcroppings in the water, that can only be seen at low tide that was lava rock that has lifted from the ocean floor to rise above the water.

We searched for sea glass. This was one part, I loved. Looking for this marvelous, hidden little treasure. I was like a kid at Christmas with the first piece I located. It rose up out of the sand like a viridescent crown jewel, just waiting for my eyes to see it. Gorgeous! I found three pieces. All different shades of green, and one piece if Amber. A tiny little Amber seed.

Once we made it to our destination, that is where the fun started. We made our way across the lava rock, searching in the tide pools for little fish and creatures that had been washed up in the tide earlier. We made our way to the edge of the outcropping, to see over the edge. It litteraly felt like we were standing in the middle of the ocean, and in a way, we were. Maybe not the middle, but we were out a good ways. The waves coming in were incredible, and intimidating. The narrow opening between these two lava formations was getting pummeled with waves. So hard and enormous, that if there was the slightest slip, you would certainly be meeting your death. During the full sun, I hear you can see Tiger Sharks in the clear water below where we were standing. But during the time of day that we went out, late afternoon, the sun was not high enough to see clearly. I stood there in awe of this ocean. Quite possibly one of the most powerful forces on this planet. We moved along the edge and made our way across a little stream, which was actually the tide making its way back in over the rock. Lot’s of little sea creatures peered up at us, and then quickly retreated to their rocky hideouts, even a little electric blue Pufferfish…..where is Alli we kept saying????

Yellow Pufferfish swimming in the Dragon Pool

Our next stop was our guide’s favorite spot, which she has named The Dragon Pool. It is a tide pool with an outcropping of lava that extends over your head that look like a dragon. It has such a likeness, that it makes you feel that when this lava was hot, and flowing, quite possibly this enormous, fire breathing, dragon was sitting there and was turned to stone. It was a magical place. Us four girls all climbed into the pool for a little “bonding time” We sat and stared at all of the tiny fish swimming around us, including a frightened little yellow Pufferfish. I had a hard time getting back out of the pool, it was such an incredible experience.

But at the ocean works, the tide was coming in, and it was getting later in the day. We climbed out, with one more stop to make.

There is a place that our “guide” wanted us to climb up onto the rocks for a photo. This place, perched high above the water was a little frightening (not really) it was right on the edge where the enormous waves were flooding torrents of water over the top. The others in the group gave a quick, “NO way, are we sitting on that!!” and with that, Greg and I went to make the climb on the slippery rocks to the top, to get a photo. It was really not as dangerous as it looked. But we did get SOAKED!!!! We sat, posing, with the ocean water, hitting the sides, lapping up over the tops of our heads, and laughing like two little kids!! What a way to end the trip.

We made the hour walk back down the beach to Esterillos Oeste, on the way back, just the icing on the cake.... I found a Sea Purse. This, I could hardly believe. The first trip that we ever made to Costa Rica our wonderful neighbors gave our three kids and I a Sea Purses on the day we left, explaining that these gorgeous, wooden-looking seeds will occasionally wash up on shore here. They are meant to bring you *Good Luck*, and are quite the treasure. We fell in love with these “seed pods” and brought them home with us, and still have them. Last year, I searched everyday for them along the beach. Scouring along on my runs and walks. I FINALLY found one…one in the whole 3 weeks we were here. I felt pretty fortunate. This time, I told Alli I would search and search and HOPEFULLY find another one, special just for her. Just as we were coming back, I just happened to look down and there it was, a gorgeous little Sea Purse. I was so excited to take my tiny treasure back and give it to its new owner, Alli. She was ecstatic to get the gift, and has now decided she wants to make the hike to Punta Mala.

Little Sea Purse

We made it back just before dark to share a few beverages with our friends. It was an amazing adventure. One we will not soon forget.

Today, we are heading to Playa Blanca.

We just tried a new fruta none of us have ever had. Manzana de Auga, which translates to Water Apple. Hmmmm, not too sure what I think about it, but when a sweet Tico man comes up with a huge box that he is handing out to everyone, you feel like you should not refuse his kindness. I did run across the street to the Low Tide to see if anyone in there has had them before. ?? We cut in to it, and gave it a go. A nice Policia came in for a drink, shook my hand, and told me they are "fantasico!!" They have the smell of apples, and roses. A soft skin, with a wet, juicy, white inside. A tad bit bitter to me, but Alli sat and ate three of them in a row. Hope she doesn’t regret that later today.

Manzana de Agua

Hasta Luego y Pura Vida

Borracho en Costa Rica (Drunk on Costa Rica)

2011-03-12T18:37:00.000-08:00

Finally taking a chance to write a little. Me y mi familia have been in Costa Rica for 5 days now, and are settling in. As always the flight over was uneventful and always seems to take too long, because we are always so anxious to be back. Being here a few times now, as soon as we are off the flight, we take a big sigh of relief, and quickly make our way through customs. While some are still wandering around wondering where to go, and who to see, we are out the door to our car. This time, we got into San Jose later, around 7pm, and decided to stay the night. Wasn’t too thrilled about making the drive over in darkness to the coast. Driving here is always “interesting” but at night….no way!

We headed to the coast the next morning. We knew there was a possibility that the new highway might still be under construction. They are replacing the temporary bridges. So the old way it was. I actually don’t mind diving the old way over. It is longer, but very beautiful. Big mountains, many coffee farms, lush rain forests and gorgeous scenery.

We made our regular stop in Jaco’ to stock up for our kitchen. Already the heat seemed unbearable to us. Always takes us a couple of days to acclimate to this heat after we leave Idaho.

We got into our cabina at Tranquilo, unloaded our groceries, and bags, changed, and headed down to the beach. Gorgeous!

This is where I truly feel myself unwind. Not that I am especially ever wound-up, but there is something that happens when my feet hit the sand, then the water. I feel the salty, ocean breeze against my skin, and I melt. It’s what I explain to people as the “glass of wine” melt. That feeling you get after drinking a glass of wine. That relaxed, loosened up, slow, unwinding that takes place. That’s how I feel when I am here. That sooooo relaxed feeling, as if I have been tippin’ back a few. My happy sweet spot. We spent the rest of the day, walking the beach and soaking up as much Vitamin D as we could take, watching the crazy Macaws flying, and doing their extraordinary, acrobatics in the trees, and having a few Imperials on the beach.

That night, The Low Tide, of course, and then off to bed with the warm breeze coming through our open windows and the sound of the cicadas, crickets, and other little singing critters, serenading us to sleep.

Every day has been gorgeous, and warm, in the 90’s. We get up early, to get a walk/run in before the sun gets higher and we can’t. Another thing that takes time to acclimate are my little wintery Idaho feet. They have been pampered, and pedicured, in slippers, fluffy socks and soft carpet all winter, and that first run on the sand always sends them into rebellion. It has been amazing running in nothing but shorts and a sports bra. It feels so liberating after the confines of our long winter.

We were able to catch breakfast this morning at a great little place called No Worries. Great owners, delicious food, and then took off to spend the day in Jaco’, a little touristy town just 15 minutes north. It’s a whole different scene there. We like going in every once in a while, but much prefer the non-turista areas.

We have all eaten enough fruta since we have been here to kill someone. I cannot get enough pina (pineapple) it is so juicy, and taste like candy. I even had to pull off at a stand coming back into Esterillos today to get another. Can’t wake up without the pina! This place is a vegetarians dream.

Juicy papaya

We tried to teach Alli a little driving today in our tiny little car. Of course it is a stick, and that was……an adventure. I had Greg get in back. HA! I had to allow her to try. All of our kids have had their first driving experience in Costa Rica, and Alli HAD to give it a go. Yah, no…maybe next year! She does have a couple of years before she can drive in the States. Needless to say, Greg aged 15 years in the back seat, and came up front with sweat teeming down his face. I of course, with my little “half drunken” outlook, thought it went ok, and laughed the rest of the way into Esterillos.

Our little hammock loving girl!

Now, I am on a quest to learn or find out how to make Gallo Pinto. Which is one of the typico dishes of Costa Rica. I fell in love with it the first time we were here, could eat it by the truckload, had it again this morning for breakfast, and am now determined to make it on my own.

Anyone know? Hopefully I will figure it out in the next few weeks that we are here!

Right now I am off to lie in the hammock on our patio. We are getting an amazing tropical storm outside. I wish you could all hear and smell it!

Pura Vida

Greg playing in the outdoor shower

Choose Your Own Adventure

2011-03-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

This is always my favorite time of year! Spring is in the air, the sun is getting warmer, Daylight Savings time is starting, the Groundhog has spoken!!!!

….And we are OUTTA HERE!

Just when I think I quite possibly can’t take another day of looking out to the gray days, the vacay arrives!! The next window I will be looking out of is from an airplane landing in San Jose, Costa Rica. Then we are off to our little slice of Heaven! We will hop into our teeny, tiny little car and make our way over to Esterillos Oeste for three weeks of blissful sunshine, and sand.

I am finishing my packing today. Picking and choosing what I will want. The hardest part is what to wear on the plane. Every year this is an issue. I leave here, where there is snow on the ground, a 20 degree chill in the air, to get on the plane where I am always frozen, only knowing when we exit that plane, that sweet, hot, sultry humidity will hit me like honey molding around my body. I will immediately start to sweat, and forget all about the cold weather at home and will want to start what I always call, “the big peel” Peeling our clothing off, layer by wintery layer.

I cannot wait to be back! I say it time and time again, but this place changed who I used to be. Maybe that is why I always love going back. Each time I loose things I dislike about myself, and bring back only goodness. The people and the culture teach me different things each time I am there.

I cannot wait to smell that country, where there is always a smell of Sandalwood and Lavender. Cannot wait to feel the heat. Cannot wait to just relax, have no schedule, laugh uncontrollably with Greg and Alli about the adventures we always seem to find ourselves in. Can't wait to teach Alli about something new, and allow her to work on her Spanish. This is my time to re-charge my soul’s battery!! But for today, I pack, I fuss over airplane attire, I make sure the kiddo has her passport and swimsuits, make sure my house is in order, and I thank God for the opportunity to visit this amazing little country.

I have learned by now, not to make any plans before we arrive. People ask all the time what we will be “doing” for 3 weeks. We never go with a “plan” We are always swingin’ by the seat of our pants, but always have the best time, and find the most amazing things to do. It is different every day! Every time we have a plan, they change, so now we make our own adventure as we go along. It’s like the books I used to read as a kid. Choose Your Own Adventure…. do we turn right or turn left?? Each way will be incredible and new, and will give us the most excellent memories.

So off we go…wonder what turns we will take along the way??

Running...cheaper than therapy!

2011-03-01T09:13:00.000-08:00

Happy to say, we survived our first week of The Little Mermaid, and Alli’s gymnastics meet. Man, those kids work so hard, and the show has been amazing!!

This week, we are still in “show mode” AND trying to gather our stuff for our trip.

I keep getting up and opening my blinds to all of this snow, and think….a few more days. Love the snow, not the cold…well, the bitter cold.

The weather is Costa Rica has been steamy. 95 degrees everyday. Ahh, that’s what I am talking about. That is my kind of weather report.

I always get giddy this time of year, knowing we are going back to our home away from home. Biggest thing, I CANNOT wait to be running on the beach. I LOVE running on the beach. It is one of those simple pleasures in my life. I get up early, and walk onto the beach…the sand squeezes between my toes, the waves make a beautiful music in my ears, the macaws sing in their squawky voices, cheering me on along the way, the monkeys looking at me from their homes perched in the trees, the sun is rising, the steam is coming out of the rain forests, and I am off. Running along these beaches for mile after mile where I never see another soul. It is magical.

My feet will be sore from the sand the first few days. But I will love it. My eyes will sting with sweat, and ocean water, but it will make me smile. After two days, I will be hot and sweaty, and I will laugh thinking about how cold I have been. I will most certainly fall and be rolled to the ocean floor catching my first wave on my surfboard, but will be joyful! This place for me is my Heaven. I look forward to going every year. I need to go every year, just like I need to run, it’s my drug. It’s my therapy. And after this long, cold, Idaho winter, I am ready for 3 weeks of therapy in Paradise!

Make Mine a Triple

2011-02-19T14:57:00.000-08:00

This weeks training petered into oblivion. Well...sorta. It started out strong, and crept its way south real quick. And this coming week is probably going to be the same. I am not complaining. Life for me is busy right now, with the Mini-Me aka: Alli. She has a huge, huge gymnastics meet coming up this weekend, Great West GymFest which will require a lot of time from her and us. AND her play The Little Mermaid opens this weekend…wouldn’t you know it? I told her yesterday, we might as well take the week off from homeschooling. She/we have to be at dress rehearsal Mon thru Thurs from 4pm-9pm, and the BIG opening is Friday, along with her gym schedule Tues/Thurs from 12pm-4: 30pm. Can you say,

“Two scoops of crazy, with a side of Cucucachoo?

Oh, I can!!

I guess we will school when we are on the fly, which happens alot of the time anyway, and a lot of times, she learns things better that way anyhow. Livin’ in the moment. Learning real-life scenarios.

Maybe I will train on the fly this week…I will have to. Early morning workouts it will have to be. I guess I get pretty spoiled with having a hub that works from home, and being a homeschooler. I can really pick any time to workout. I am just happy that I have that drive to workout again, after a few weeks of, ~~Blah-ness!~~ Nothing like your friends to call you out, lift you up, and help you locate the Mojo.

So, two things I learned/tried/did this week? A new delicious, Vegan recipe. Last night. It was AAAAMAZING! Tomato Walnut Basil Pasta. (recipe here) A little salad and Roasted Garlic bread on the side. Some excellent Malbec, and the Hubs was bowing at my feet.

And speaking of Greg, my number 2 thing I learned. He is saddle shopping right now. As in a seat for his Tri bike. He is looking at the ever popular and magnificent Adamo saddles. Well, come to find out, Adamo means to fall in love with or to find pleasure in. Hmm.

Adamo:

V TRANS

fall in love/lust with; love passionately/adulterously; admire greatly; covet

Hmmm…maybe I will be checking out these saddles….YOWZA! I really like the “love passionately “ part.

So, here’s to a great week! A double scoop of crazy, and maybe a triple scoop of Adamo!!

Today.....it's all about Love

2011-02-14T08:29:00.000-08:00

It’s Valentine’s Day. The holiday full of all things lovely, beautiful, romantic, and sentimental. Thought today, I would write some things I love.

God, to him I am grateful for all things

My family They truly are the coolest, fun and most loving people I know

Running early morning in the summer as the sun is coming up.

The way Greg rubs my back every single night when we go to bed until I fall asleep

The way my tri bike sounds when I am flying downhill.

The smell of Lake Coeur d’Alene

Dark roast coffee

The way old books smell in the binding

My down comforter, and how when I am in my HUGE bed, I feel like a tiny girl.

Unexpected hugs from my kids

My Yorkie, Ava, and the way every time we feed her she runs 2 laps around the kitchen and through the living room before she comes to eat her food.

Shooting stars

Salt water in the ocean

Sandalwood

My friends, who I believe are the best any girl could have. Hands down

Candles

Sitting on my deck outside with my fireplace on, when it’s raining

New running shoes

Living in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Yoga

Eating raw potatoes

Traveling

Zebra stripes

That Greg brings me coffee every morning either in bed, or in my favorite chair. When he is traveling, I have to go to Thomas Hammer because I can’t (I do know how) make my own coffee.

The way I look at my girls and see myself in their movements, smiles, laughter and mannerisms.

TRULY authentic people

Red wine

Going to the dentist

Gum

Good dark chocolate

That I really am, married to my very best friend

The sun

Tulips

Thai food

Massages

Laughter

Reading…and today I am actually expecting FOUR new books from Amazon.com

~~ Happy Valentine's Day!! What are your favorite things? What do you love?~~

Desperately Seeking Mojo

2011-02-05T12:21:00.000-08:00

WHERE is this utter lack of motivation coming from? In all my years of racing and running, I have NEVER had my mojo missing this much. I wake up with great expectations every morning, and then pull out less than stellar workouts. My biking has been reduced to 3 Spinning classes a week. My poor tri-bike, hasn’t seen my rear end on her seat in over a month. My running, which I love, and have such deep passion for has been a few measly miles, at the indoor track during the week, with the occasional long 8-mile run on every other weekend. Seriously? Oh, and the half-hour long, girlfriend gab sessions in the sauna a couple time a week.... that's going to help my race season! (Although, I do love those days, girls) Where has my desire gone? Where has the love of running everyday gone? Where is my drive? Last year, everyday I looked forward to training, hard! It was even difficult for me to relax and take my much needed rest day every week. I feel like this year, I am on “Rest Week” with one workout a week. HA! I am doing half-assed workouts, mosey-ing along.

I am wondering what has happened to that fire in my belly? Anyone ever get this way? For this long?

I have the Avia Wildflower 70.3 at the end of April. Not sure how I am going to pull that one out of my ass. You would think just the mere thought of that would push me to get going. It is NOT an easy race. FULL of hills, on both the bike and the run.

As I sit and write this, I can hear Greg downstairs on his bike in the trainer, pounding out a two-hour ride, and then he will go onto his run. What a great brick day.

I am in my robe, coffee in had, on my computer, Google searching, “Paula, and her Disappearance.” If you are on Google, by chance and find her, can you please let me know, so I can give her a swift kick in the can! Or at the least, sprinkle a little Mojo into her coffee!

My Own Little Slice of Sunshine

2011-01-31T13:02:00.000-08:00

Finally, we have a sunny day! After seemingly endless days of gray, we have sunshine folks! The catch that Mother Nature threw at us was this; although, we have beautiful sunshine, it is accompanied by 17-degree days. Seems, as though, “Mother” and I need to have a talk. How about this…..we get the 45-degree weather, WITH the sunshine? Too much to ask? Must be. So bundle up, let your lungs expand in the cold, and get out and get some Vitamin D. Soak it up. Your body needs it, your soul craves it. And if you are like me, I just gotta have it!! It is the automatic recharge that I need for my body!

Even, my sweet little Ava covets the sunshine streaming in through the window. She found a slice all to herself!

**Exposure to sunlight

Exposure to sunlight is an important source of vitamin D. Ultraviolet (UV) rays from sunlight trigger vitamin D synthesis in the skin.7,8 Season, latitude, time of day, cloud cover, smog, and suncreens affect UV ray exposure.8 For example, in Boston the average amount of sunlight is insufficient to produce significant vitamin D synthesis in the skin from November through February. Sunscreens with a sun protection factor of 8 or greater will block UV rays that produce vitamin D, but it is still important to routinely use sunscreen whenever sun exposure is longer than 10 to 15 minutes. It is especially important for individuals with limited sun exposure to include good sources of vitamin D in their diet.