Savannah: A Cherry-Poppin' Good Time!

I enjoyed my first trip to Savannah last weekend. After living 2 1/2 hours away since I was 6 years old and being a girl scout for 10+ years, I finally made it. Thank you, Angelle, for popping my Savannah Cherry. :)

Some highlights of the trip include:

• Of course, being with Angelle and Stacey. But that should go without saying. I hadn't seen Stace since Angelle's wedding! It was great to visit.


• Staying up until *GASP* 9:30 on Friday night. It felt SO good to go to bed early, honestly. I woke up about 9:15.

• Taking a picture with Paula Deen!!!!! We also saw this at the back side of her restaurant and thought it was kinda cool:


• Meeting the World Famous Writer/Days Inn Concierge, Rowan Wolfe. What, never heard of her? Yeah, me either. But apparently she had to move to Savannah to hide from some government conspiracy. She also has a living ghost in the guest wing of her home. And she just happened to have her latest book on her Concierge desk, right next to the trolley brochures. Lucky for us, she brought her sports car today and had some in her trunk. We learned all this about her in the 10 minutes it took for us to buy ghost tour tickets.


• Eating the world's smallest Cuban sandwich at Larry's Giant Subs. We were going to the spa and needed a snack beforehand. I didn't want a plain turkey sandwich but didn't need an 8" Mighty Mitch either.


• Having a relaxing mid-day spa treatment. I got a manicure whilst Angelle and Stacey got pedis. The spa was called JW's. It was a perfect way to release a lot of they daily crap you have to deal with in normal life. They did a great job and my nails look fantastic. :)
• Enjoying an awesome tapas dinner at Jazz'd, along with this YUMMY Bellini Tini. The tapas were so delicious also, but we ate them so quickly that I forgot to take a picture of them.


• Missing our ghost tour trolley by 2 minutes. That's right. We arrive at 8:32 in time to watch the trolley roll on. They 'squeeze' us on to the 9:00 tour, so we had just ehough time to get a drink to go (Gotta love Savannah's open container laws!) and chug it before we get on the trolley. Finneus the "Dead" "Irish" Privateer was our guide. Really he was some 30-something D & D player that needed some lessons in eyeliner. BUT, we were on the bus so we're happy. See? Then Finneus says that we will start a few minutes late to wait on one party. Seriously!? Grrrr... Luckily I had a drink in me that I practially injected I drank it so fast, so I got over it quickly. The tour was beyond cheesy, but it was entertaining. Angelle was a wuss and wouldn't go into the "haunted house". The true haunting experience, however, was the 60 year old woman that calls her self a Thespian *coughoveractorcough* telling ghost stories in a room with black lights. *shudders*


• Going to Savannah Smiles Dueling Piano Bar. That's our kinda place - Sing at the top of your lungs and drink and dance. It reminded me a lot of Harmonious Monks for you J'ville Folks. We had a good time: But Angelle didn't like the smoke: After a few drinks we were cutting up and singing out of key with the best of them! At random points of the evening, I stuffed a dollar in a guy's pants and got out-of-this-world excited when the pianist played my request (Sail Away).We also met a fun guy named Philip. He's the guy behind angelle here: He was disappointed I was married, and that gave me a small ego trip for the night. :)


• Sunday we we went back to the graveyard that we visited on our ghost tour. Apparently during the civil war the army thought it would be a great fortress since it was bordered by a high brick wall, so they moved all the gravestones to the wall and half of them never got put back. To this day some of them still line the east wall, some of them with pot marks from where the soldiers used the stones for target practice.

It was a great weekend. I can't wait for the next girl's weekend!

Butternut Squash and Macaroni Goodness

I'm renaming it.

This is what I made for dinner tonight:

Butternut Squash and Macaroni Casserole

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (15-ounce) can coconut milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped sage
¾ pound dried elbow macaroni
½ cup chopped toasted walnuts
½ cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 9- x 13-inch casserole dish; set aside. Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add squash, coconut milk, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until squash is tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in sage and simmer 1 minute more. (This part can be made ahead, up to 1 day in advance.)
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until tender but still firm, about 8 minutes. Rinse in cold water, drain well and transfer to a large bowl. Transfer squash mixture to bowl with macaroni. Add walnuts, salt and pepper and toss to combine. Transfer to prepared dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake until just golden brown and hot throughout, about 30 minutes.

It needs more salt than you think, but it is delicious! AND it's only 430 calories for a hearty serving (it serves 8). Did you notice it was *gasp!* vegan? Go me and my healthy eating (just ignore the burger stain on my sweater from lunch).

Also, lately I've been on a fruit kick. All my snacks have been fruit related recently(yes, chocolate counts). I'm assuming that this, paired with my new active lifestyle allowed me to take my size 16 pants and put them away. They have gotten to the point where i just look frumpy in them. Last week I had to shop for some new pants. I was getting sick of washing the 3-4 pair I own and thought I'd "splurge" with a $12.74 clearance pair of slacks from Belk. I grabbed a few 14's, knowing that I had to have gotten a little slimmer, but not really noticing it in my current wardrobe. I tried them on and they were too big. Wha-what! Oh yeah! I bought me a size 12!! It felt so good. (Que: "How good was it?") It was soo good, I rewarded myself with a nice top to go with them! WOOT!

PCOS Update

I started this last tuesday. I finished it this tuesday.

Had my regular quarterly visit with Dr. Raspa today (1/13). I have officially lost 7.6 pounds since my last visit on October 14th (yay!). Not really a lot in 3 months, but that's better than nothing. I have to continue with my current regiment of 2250mg of Metformin and 1000mg of Vitamin C daily. Those, along with my multi vitamins, I take 7 pills at night before bed. SEVEN. And they aren't tiny BC pills. Oh no. These horse pills take a full glass of water to get down. Metformin's side effects include upset stomach and loose stools. I feel like the metformin isn't doing anything for me except give me a blow out every morning, but Dr. Raspa asked if i had an upset stomach and I don't. He says "It doesn't make people sick who need it." (There's some poop for you, Alix. :)) But it's not drying me up like it's supposed to either. Oh well, just do what the doctor says I guess.

All-in-all it was a good visit. Same ol'-same 'ol... but for whatever reason i was feeling off the rest of the day. I was on my period, which may have cause some of it. I didn't realize my off-ness was reflecting in my actions, but Barry called me on the way home from Tuesday dinner w/ my parents and asked if i was ok. I realized then that I wasn't. I wanted to SCREAM at him that I want a baby. But I finally admitted to him that I was ready, and that I would be ecstatic if we got pregnant. He reacted to the news much better than I expected. But something at the doctor's office made me realize that I may not be able to experience it- Motherhood. A few weeks ago Barry and I were having one of those weird hypothetical conversations about what you would do if you knew the world was going to be destroyed. The ONE thing i could think of that i want do to, more than anything, is have a baby. Be a mother. How weird is that for a world ending wish? But every time I see a baby I feel a strange combination of sadness and longing paired with love and joy that I'll never get used to.

I want to have faith that one day I will be able to say that I am a Mom. Some days it's just harder than others.

Slacker

Not you, me.

I have been actually working at work (go fig), so by the time i get home i really don't want to spend more time in front of a computer. I have stories to tell, training to update, and thoughts on the new president, but until I find a few minutes at work (which i hope to today), you can call me a slacker.

So go ahead, I can take it.

Night Rider

If you're already a consistent member of a gym, new years sucks. The gym we go to (Brooks YMCA) is an awesome gym in the heart of the Southside, which is a hub of large companies that employ probably 1/2 the people in 3 counties. Needless to say, it's a busy area anyway. Everyone has the same crazy idea that they'll burn more calories in January. You should not have to wait in line to workout. This brings me to last Wednesday. A fresh batch of gym members clogging my idea of a pleasant workout gave Barry the idea that it would be best to just go biking outside instead. After about 30-45 minutes of debating where we should go cycling during rush hour, coupled with my hot desire NOT to workout, Barry dragged me out of the house and we decided just to go to the Rail Trail. Well, debating is not the best word. It was more like arguing, griping, and a lot of bitching on my part -I was not being a team player. But off we went anyway.

By the time we got out there it was completely dark. There were 3 cars in the parking lot, including ours, and 2 were on their way out. We got set up and turned our lights on and off we went for a 10 mile ride.

As soon as I felt the wind in my face I felt better. I don't know what it was about being out there at night, but I was in my own world. If it extended past my headlight, it didn't exist. Just me, my bike, 10 feet of pavement, and the wind in my face.

I'm glad the Resoluters spoiled my mood. It gave me an experience than i ever would've had at the gym.

Need to Smile?

Check this superhero out:

Grandma Update

My Grandparents had a pretty eventful Thanksgiving. They were able to visit with all 3 of their children, me and a few other grandchildren, and they even got a suprise visit from Green Bay with my cousin Sarah and their brand new baby girl. They were so excited to meet another Great Grandchild.

I'm wondering if that was just what Grandma was waiting for.

Shortly after everyone were on their flights home, Grandma stopped talking. Her ankles and hands became more and more swollen and she grew weaker. So weak she couldn't feed herself. What we all knew would come finally seems to be happening.

Grandpa signed the Hospice paperwork yesterday; Grandma won't be with us much longer.

I'm grateful that Hospice is involved. They will be there every night to help her to bed. A chaplain will come by a few times a week for spritual support and a nurse will be there every day. They've taken her off the medications that she doesn't really need anymore (cholesterol).

I'm doing just OK. It hurts me that the next time I see her will be in a casket. I ache when I think that the next time I see my Grandpa he will be a widower. After 62 years of marriage, my Grandpa is losing his wife, his lover, his best friend, his soul mate. I have never seen anyone love another person as much as he loves her. I am scared to see him defeated. I'm afraid to see him without that twinkle in his irish eyes. I'm afraid I won't recognize him without it.

Logistially, I bought trip insurance for my cruise in Febuary, just in case. Murphy's Law says that because I bought the insurance I won't need it. I really hope that's the case.

...I'm really going to miss her.

Eat the Moon!

At dinner at my mom's last night we were talking to ashton about the difference between a carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore. He's so freakin' smart he already knew that carnivores eat meat. Somehow the conversation led to him stating that he wants to eat a WHOLE T-REX. It goes like this:

Mandi: "AWHOLE T-REX, Eh? That's ALOT! What do you think it tastes like?"
Barry: "Like Chicken."
Ashton: "No, a T-Rex tastes like the moon."
Mandi: "Really?!"
Ashton: "Yep."

That proceeded to a whole reinactment of the SNL skit of Will Farrel as Harry Carray:

Harry Caray: Yes! Hey! Now Ken we all know thta the moon is not made of green cheese.
Dr. Ken Waller: Yes! That's true Harry.
Harry Caray: But what if it were made of barbeque spare ribs would you eat it then.
Dr. Ken Waller: What!
Harry Caray: I know I would. Heck I'd have seconds. Then polish it off with a tall cool budweiser. I would do it.
Dr. Ken Waller: Yeah!
Harry Caray: Would you.
Dr. Ken Waller: I'm confused.
Harry Caray: It's a simple question. Would you eat the moon if it were made of ribs.
Dr. Ken Waller: I don't know how to answer that.
Harry Caray: It's not rocket science. Just say yes and will move on.
Dr. Ken Waller: Yes!

Engineering-Multitasking Genius or a Pyromaniac Idiot?

...you decide:

Yesterday I actually left work early. I was so excited! As I left the building at 3:00, my plan was to go to CVS to pick up some hair ties, then head to my mom's to go running around the neighborhood before dinner.

I picked out my hair ties with great success (and got a Jaguars Santa hat for 75% off - woot!). Now off to my mom's. I was feeling a little frisky because I was out of work before the sun went down so i decided to roll down the windows and fully bask in the glory that was Afternoon on a Weekday. But then of course, I needed a hair tie so the wind doesn't blow my hair in my face. Well, aren't I in luck? I just bought some! I go to rip the sticky cardboard that typically holds hair tie packages in place when-"OW!" DAMMIT! I guess there was a rise in hair tie theft because the company had put a plastic zip ties around them. And not just any zip tie that's easily torn - oh, no - its one of those beaded ones that, unless you have superpowers, have no luck of breaking with your bear hands.

So hear I am, driving down Roosevelt with the window down and hair blowing in my face, looking around the car for something sharp to cut the zip tie open when I look in the side console and find a lighter. HM. (Are you getting a visual, yet?) A stroke of genius rushes over me. I grab the lighter in my left hand, the package of hair ties in my right. With both wrists on the wheel, going a good 50-60 mph, I flick the lighter. No, I didn't forget to tell you I raised the window. It's still down. The flame goes out (drph.) I'm sure by now my tongue is sticking out or something. I flick the lighter again (window still down - don't ask why), and manage to melt the zip tie of steel just enough to pull it apart.

SUCCESS!!

Grinning from ear to ear and fully dissapointed that no one was around to witness my amazing talent, I pick out a nice maroon hair tie, pull my hair back, and turn up the radio...

...just in time to sit in traffic.

*sigh*

Renal Retentive

Today, My friend Erin gets a new shot at life. Today, Erin recives her kidney transplant.

About a year ago, Erin learned she was pregnant. She and her husband were overcome with joy and excitment for the new baby. Unfortunately, at 21 weeks, she lost her baby due to complications from Kidney Disease. Amelia Grace was stillborn on 3/11/08. She was an angel in disguise, however, because if it wasn't for Erin getting pregnant, they would have never discovered her Renal Disease and would still be on medication for high blood pressure and not for the underlying reason. Who knows where she would be today. I could go further into it, but its best just to read her story here: http://renalretentive.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-story.html.

As soon as she was put on the transplant list, her entire family and friends were ready to line up to be tested as a match. Her first prospect, her cousin Brenda, went through the testing and through amazing Irish luck, she was a match! So the last month has been a whirlwind for her and her family with the holidays and scheduling her transplant surgery. Everyone is taking a deep today as Erin and Brenda go under.

UPDATE: As I was typing I got an update from her sister, Sarah. She says:
Erin's donor, Brenda, went in for surgery at 8:15am. We just received word at 10:45am that Brenda was closed up, moved to recovery, and in great shape. They were able to do the surgery laparoscopically, which is the best possible scenario for Brenda. She will be discharged on Thursday, if all healing goes as planned.Erin was taken back for prep at 10:15am. Just two seconds ago Rick was taken back to give Erin kisses before being put under and taken into surgery.

Please keep Erin and her family in your thoughts and prayers today for a quick and seamless recovery.

I Carried a Watermelon?

Friday, after working 42 hours in 4 days (not counting New Years day when I volunteered for 3-4 hours to help with the Gatorbowl's Tailgate party), I had a bout of insanity when I invited my friend James's kids to spend the night. All 4 of them. (WHAT was I THINKING?!) They're a little bit older (from 8-12) so they pretty much entertain each other, which is nice. But unfortunately I live in an upstairs condo with crapily-made floors with no insulation. So... Twister? Bad Idea. Cosmic Catch? Bad Idea. Finally I was like "Everyone on the couch! We're watching a movie!" After the movie we eventually got to bed about 1:00, 1:30.

The alarm came way too early at 9:00. I got in the shower then woke everyone up for a trip to the zoo! We got yearly passes from my sister and we upgraded them to bring up to 4 kids w/ us. Our zoo has this great kid's play place where the kids can run around and truly feel like explorers. The problem is, for the parents/adults, its near impossible for us to keep track of the kids. So after about 20 minutes, i set out to round everyone up (I was hungry!) Well, i couldn't find them. I called in reinforcements and Barry and I both started looking for them. Turns out they were hiding from us. The little shits. I saw Kody running another direction and when I called for him he ignored me and kept running. Well that just pissed me off even more and when we finally got everyone together, 1/2 the kids thought we were still playing and were trying to run away. Then, it happened. You know how you start saying something and before it even leaves your tongue you regret what you're about to say?? I yelled at Kody and said "I will leave you here- DO NOT RUN." Like I'm gonna leave the kid, right?? AND any time i hear a parent make a promise or threat that they are in no way going to keep i cringe. And i said I was going to leave him?! I wanted to immediately go back in time and say something else. Luckily it blew over fast and i learned something I already knew. The way to a boy's heart is through his stomach. I said "Let's go eat!" and everyone was by my side.

After a "quick meander" back to the front, we wandered through the gift shop and stopped through the drive thru at McDonald's before returning them to their parents, all in one piece.

I just chock this one up as another parenting lesson that one day i will be able to use for my own.

WORK SUCKS

AHRAAAAHAHAHHHHGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!

...Phew.

For some reason I still don't feel any better.

Updated Christmas

The post has been competed - please re-read Merry Christmas 2008

Thanks :)

Frustration

I wrote all about my christmas and for whatever reason half of it has been deleted. I really had much more to say other than what i got for christmas. I hope that i saved it on my email at work so i hope to have a better update on monday.

Merry Christmas 2008 (UPDATED)

*Updated - I found my lost entry and re-posted it below.

A Very Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all!

Our Christmas this year was just lovely. (Yes, the word is silly, but it fits nicely.)

Christmas Eve, after having a drink with the girls from work, I went to Mom and Dad's to meet with the rest of the family to eat hors devours and open presents. Everyone got exactly what they wanted this year, and unless it was specifically asked for, no one got gift cards. I got a sewing machine from Mom, and now I'm nervous to decide what I'm going to make first. Pillows? Window treatments? Pet clothes for the boys?
(<---example of random cat. not one of mine; Barry would kill me!) Only time will tell. Barry got a turkey fryer. The family can't wait to have our first fried turkey. I hope we don't end up like the At&t commercial! (www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MR-2zKnn1I)

On Christmas morning, Barry and I got on the road by 7:30 to drive to Tampa to visit with some of the Swedlows. About 19 of us gathered at the home of Susan Eggleston's for the day from all over the country, all kin to David Swedlow (Uncle/Morty's brother). This is the first Christmas/Hanukkah since David's death in May, so it was extra special to have the family together. The day was filled with laughter and stories, and a few tears shed for David. We all miss him so much.On a side, but important note: I just love this family so much and I am more than grateful to have become a part of it. Thank you, Swedlows, for treating me like I've been a part of the family all along. I love you all more than I can discribe.

I had to work today (unfortunately) so around 7:00 I left Barry behind and drove back to Jacksonville. I got home about 11:00 and quickly went to bed to prepare for today. After work I'll be driving back down so I can spend one more day with everyone before they all fly back to each of their respective states. I guess I can take Barry back with me as well.

PS Let me give props to my wonderful husband. Last night when he got back to his hotel he went, on his own volition, running and swimming! Being in florida has its perks sometimes - being able to swim outside on Christmas! Great job, Babe - I'm proud of you!!

48 Minutes and Counting

Until we close and get to have a drink!!!

Luckily not many people do their banking on Christmas Eve, because I was finally able to catch up on everything. I have been working 10 hour days all week, and worked 11 last friday. I'm exausted!

Ever since we did our mock tri, I haven't been as enthusiastic about working out, and that's not good. I guess now that i know i can do it, I don't feel i have to be as diligent? It's horrible, I know. (Angelle, you can stop shaking your head now.) On Thursday I went to the Jag's game, so I count the climbing up and down the ramps of the stadium to get my beer working out. Saturday we ran and swam, and Sunday I was a lazy biotch and didn't even get out of my jammies. Yesterday we ran and swam and I had a really good run. I'm actually starting to like it. Now while doing it, but immediately after. I mean, I actually thing of running fondly, it's quite a strange feeling for me.

Our internet is acting up at home again... we tried to install a wireless router - that was a mistake. now we have nuthin'.

Ok, this is now labeled the most boring post. Ever.

PLEASE?

Can I use my period as an excuse not to go swimming tonight and to watch my nephew's preschool christmas program instead?

Whole Foods

My life has changed forever. I have experienced Whole Foods.

For the last year I have passed the distruction, then construction, of the building that has become Whole Foods. Everyday, coming home from work, it became a game. I hoped that I would get stopped by the light at Hartley just so I can gawk to see what more might have been added. To see how much closer. The anticipation almost killed me. But finally, on December 10th, the anticipation was over. For Whole Foods had opened.

It was more than I ever imagined. The produce, the meats, the hot and cold bars. Gourmet cheeses and chocolates, fresh gelato, fresh pizzas baked in a 600+ degree wood burning oven. Half the store is the by-the-pound hot bars filled with chinese, indian, american, middle-eastern, italian, and more. By 8:00am there are fresh soups like Potato and Gouda (and oh yes, it was gouda). There's even a bar where you can buy specialty sugars and salts by the pound (example? smoked black salt).

The food is only the beginning. The service is extroidanary. They aren't just nice to Alton! They are truly happy to help you. Not sure which variety apple you'd like? Just ask and they'll cut one up for you to taste. Same goes for the chocolates and caramels, and the $50 per pound cheese.

This place is so good, as we were leaving it on friday night, a couple was taking their picture in front of the store.

If you've never experienced whole foods, then I urge you to find the one closest to you. It really is worth the drive.

If you prefer steak um's to prime rib, it may not be the store for you. As I over heard one digruntled consumer say "It's all that or-ganic crap. I coodn't find NUTHIN' normal!"

That's fine lady, save that parking space for me.

WORK. A Four Letter Word

From now until 2009, please be kind to me if I'm not blogging regularly. My best time to blog is at work during my down time, but I don't forsee any of that for the rest of the year.
You see, from now until then, I'm pretty much the only Office Manager. Of the 5 branches, one OM recently left the company. One has pneumonia and the other 2 are on vacation. That's me. On top of that, my personal banker (my counterpart at the branch) is working at our Downtown location due to short staff there. Then, starting friday until the 5th, I'll also be helping out with operations because the person that does the bank's branch balancing, transaction reporting, hold maintenence, and GL Suspense balancing (among other things) is also on vacay. So from now until 2009 my duties include (but are not limited to):
>Checking and collecting overdrafts for 3-4 branches (all after 8:30am but before 10am)
>Collecting past due loans
>Pulling Daily Branch Reports
>Scanning and savings daily branch reports
>balancing the Bank's branches
>Overlooking and correcting any holds placed
>Checking and sending CTRs (govt regulation)
>Finding any GL suspense discrepencies
>Opening accounts
>Completing any customer maintenence
>Being the help desk for all the branches
>Performing any task that only OMs can do (there are a few)
>Address and send out 48 christmas cards
>Answer the phones with a smile
>NOT pulling my hair out

Laziness?

I hope not. But I haven't worked out since our mock-tri. Sunday is understandable - I need a day to rest. Monday we talked each other out of it because Barry was going to swim early this morning at a 7:30am class. I said that i would run before i went over to mom and dad's for our Tuesday dinner.

Well, I got out of work an hour and a half late (more to come on that) so I went straight to Mom's. "i'll go after dinner". Yea, right, that didn't happen. So here i am, day 3 of no workout. I'll definitely get back on the wagon tomorrow. It's bike and swim day.

Triathlon Already??!

Once we finally left the accident scene on Saturday we went to an off-road trail called Durbin Creek Peninsula Trail. It was a great trail and ended up being about 3.2 miles, which was perfect. After the run Barry had the bone-head idea of completing all the components of the triathlon. At first I was against it- we're only week 8 into our training and I don't want to overdue it - but he was adamant. SOOO... we got home, put the bikes on the rack and went to the Rail Trail. We biked the 13 miles (20k) of the sprint. It was hard for me - my quads were not in the mood to bike after running 5K+, but I said "QUADS! You're not the boss of me!" and pushed through. From there we went home, put the bikes up, and went to the pool for our 500yard swim. Surprisingly, my swim was actually completed with no problems. In fact, i probably could've gone more. :)

You're probably thinking, "How nice of you to be able to live so close to all these great amenities."
No. I live in Jacksonville, where everything is "20 minutes away". So from Home to Run to Home to Bike to Home to Swim, we put about 71 miles on the car just driving back and forth. :P BUT it was all worth it. Without our lengthy transitions, i did it in less than 2 hours. :) I'm happy. :) (Even though we did it backwards)

Here are my times:
RUN: 40 minutes (3.2 miles)
BIKE: 1hr 1min (13 miles)
SWIM: 10 min (500 yards)

coming soon...

I will be blogging about the tri as soon as i have the time to do it. i just HAD to die my hair tonight. hopefully i'll have time at work tomorrow. :)

Can I Get a Witness?

On the way to the trails to go running this morning, the car in front of us ran the red light and T-boned an FJ cruiser. We immediately stopped and called 911. Barry ran over, along w/ 4 or 5others, to make sure the victims were ok, but i decided to stay back. I just had a refresher at the bank for Robbery training, so I knew that if i were going to be a valid witness that i would need to collect my memory and not talk to others to prevent skew the scene in my mind. It's a good thing we did because we were the last witnesses questioned and the other people had the cars REVERSED! The lady that ran the red light could've gotten away scott free (other than her broken arm) and the lady that went away in a stretcher could've been cited.

I'm glad we stopped. and the lesson of this story is: If you're a witness to something dramatic, refrain from doing the exciting thing and talk about it until you give your official statement!

Keylime Cheesecake

If I could make keylime cheesecake for a living, i would make a killing! I made one for the girls at work today on behalf of Jennifer's birthday on Sunday. two words: HOLY SHIT. it turned out perfectly! I will be making another one for Meghan's bday in Jan, so if i have time i will take pictures and do a picture recipe. And when i say "from scratch" i mean from scratch! I was just short of milking the cow and gathering the eggs. I bought fresh key limes, squeezed 'em, grated the zest, seperated the eggs (using the shells only!), whipped the merengue, folded it in, made homeade whipped cream and enjoyed the deliciousness that was the cake.

Crossing My Legs

~Today I happened to cross my legs.

Now, for you skinny people, you may not comprehend what I'm about to tell you: Large Legged People have a hard time crossing their legs. It's quite annoying, especially in a skirt, when you are attempting to be ladylike but the only thing you can do is cross your ankles. And I don't know where I was in ankle-crossing class, but i just never learned how to do it comfortably. So, to avoid such awkward moments, I stay behind my desk or just wear pants where I can sit with both legs on the floor, allow my thigh fat to spread across the chair and be quasi-comfortable with my knees a shoulder length apart.

Back to today. Today, as I was sitting at my desk, I nonchalantly crossed my legs. I realized shortly there after that the task had been completed without aide. I had accomplished a 'little thing'.

Honestly, since that moment, I've been afraid to do it again in fear it was a fluke.

Prop 8: The Musical!

"Prop 8 - The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more... by Jack Black

mmmm...Maggiano's...

I'm eating leftover Maggiano's for breakfast right now: Rigatoni D and Mushroom Ravioli al Forno. YUM!

Confession

I haven't been using my Livstrong Daily Plate. Not in like 2 or more weeks. I kinda feel bad, but at the same time, i wasn't very good at balancing my diet anyway, even when I recorded. Hm. I wonder if that's why i'm working out 5 days and only loosing a 1/2 a pound or so a week.

Picture Time!

I have updated 2 posts so far with pictures. I'm still working on the rest, but there's only so much slacking you can do during your work day, right?

My First 5K!

EVER.

The first time i decide to run 3+ miles in a row in my entire life and I do it with an official timing chip attached to my shoe and everything. :)

Sunday night, after doing my best to recover from Saturday night, Barry and I fufilled our agreement to sign up for the Festival of Lights 5K with Jenn and Dave. When I woke up Sunday morning I was a wee bit nervous about it, but I rested all day, drank water and ate pasta, so i was feeling like myself by the evening.

It was great! I say this now that its over - this is what labor might feel like. During the race I remember hating it, but as soon as it was over i don't remember why. I wasn't overly winded and I recovered quite quickly. :) I had a great breathing rythym. And no matter what, I have created a Personal Record! :) Here were our official times:

Name / Total Place / Age group place / Time / Pace

Mandi / 848 / 171 out of 237 / 38.55 / 12.31 / 39.34
Jenn / 826 / 112 out of132 / 38.26 / 12.22 / 39.06
Dave /153 /17 out of 106 / 23.45 / 7.39 / 24.25
Barry / 604 / 60 out of 86 / 34.18/11.02 / 34.58

Side note: Does anyone know how to do a table on blogspot? hm.

My goals were to not stop running the whole time and to finish in under 42 minutes - and i did both!! WOOT!

Saturday Training - Updated with Pictures

My funk of not wanting to workout seeped into the weekend. Saturday's task was to bike for 53 minutes. I really enjoy biking, but for some reason we just didn't want to get off the couch. And then when I saw that Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story was on public TV - I didn't realize there was more after Avonlea**! So i decided that, to compromise, i would go to the gym to bike and watch it. Unfortunately, they didn't get the same public channel there and i missed out anyway. :( (I watched Lethal Weapon 4 instead). I did about 12 miles in the 53 minutes. :) My lazy husband stayed in bed! I'll definitely beat him if he keeps this up! :)

**Sidebar: Did you know there's another Anne movie coming out next year? Just found out! Click here for the synopsis: http://www.anneofgreengables.com/anneClassicmovies/anne4/index.php

Saturday night was my company's Christmas party. As a gift to my husband, i let him stay home! In fact, he dropped me off and picked me up so I could drink - woohoo! Well, i took full advantage and drank myself under the table. WAY too much vodka in WAY too short of time. But i had a blast and i was smokin' hot, i might add. (Pictures will be added tonight!) My boss said i looked like a model - I'll remember that one for a while. :)

Our CEO, Gil, and me


Me and our CLO


Me, Denise, Faye, & Meghan in front of the Tree


The end of the night. :) Erin, Vanessa, Janice, and Me

At the end of the night, I got a good ab workout - if you know what i mean. I slept on the bathroom floor and eventually ended up on the couch at my sister's. Barry started drinking when we got there, about midnight, and apparently ended up running around my sister's neighborhood with cape at 3 o'clock in the morning. :) I was unfortunately unconscious during this or i would have pictures.

UGH.

Ok, I'm at that point. I had a great vacation during which i didn't exercise once and i just don't feel like getting back into the swing of things. We went to the gym yesterday and i felt as though i struggled through the biking and swimming. Today is to swim for 26 minutes and i just don't want to go. Barry won't be there and I just soooo want to decorate the house and finish the laundry. Can you believe i'd rather do laundry than drive to the gym? Geez...

I'm so glad i have ya'll to account for me. "I don't feel like it" is just not a good enough excuse anymore. Thanks guys!

PS Monday the 8th is when my internet will be working - yay!! Sometime shortly after that i will upload all my pictures that have been waiting so patiently to be published on the World Wide Web for all to see. :)

Happy Thanksgiving! - UPDATED with pictures!

Happy late Thanksgiving to all! Right now i am sitting on my Aunt's laptop in Bristol, WI. Its snowing outside fairly hard. There's a Packers game on TV and leftovers in my belly. It was a great Thanksgiving.

We flew in on Thursday just in time for dinner to be served at my Grandparents house. Grandpa said it was the most people he had seen in the house at one time in a while (There was 12 of use all together). It was awesome to be with family on Thanksgiving, at my grandparent's house - my most favorite place on earth. Our family tradition is to go around the room before grace and say what we're thankful for. Grandpa put tears in our eyes as he talked about how thankful he was for all of us. For Family. He has been an angel to my grandma since she's been sick.

Friday we picked up my parents and brought them to the airport in Milwaukee (they had been there since monday). Before we dropped them off we went to Frank's Diner - another stop thanks to Diners Drive-Ins and Dives.

We ordered a 1/2 garbage plate and it was HUGE!!
We also, between the 4 of us, split 1 pancake. It was bigger than your head. See? It was also quite delicious I might add.

After dropping mom and dad off, we went to the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Even the parking garage was bitchin.

Every Day at noon the wings close, and open again. It's pretty spectacular.

It was the building that we wanted to see, more than the art inside it, but when we got there there was an interactive art exhibit that seemed pretty cool. It was unreal. It felt like real magic. Especially the wooden mirror. It's really worth the click. Then we went to "The Domes", again more for the architecture, but it was fun. From there we went to Mader's - an AWESOME german restaurant. I totally forgot to take pictures- i blame the food for making me forget how to work a camera. it was that good. And of course a trip to WI wouldn't be complete without visiting a cheese store! Wisconsin Cheese Mart has been affectionately dubbed "Barry's Heaven".
Shortly after that, it will become my hell. (HA!) I made that joke in the cheese shop... no one got it. (OH LOOK! I just noticed that Barry's Heaven has my Vera Bradley Bag in it (He 'affectionately' calls it my "Very Badley Bag")

Saturday, after an awesome "overnight french toast" breakfast by my Aunt Karene, we drove to Chicago. First stop - of course - was to Smoque, thanks to DDD.

I'm man enough to admit that our vacations are now governed by the DDD map. We need stickers on our luggage that say "We Go with Guy." Well, the ribs and brisket were amazing of course! But i was still full from breakfast so barry ate most of it. it really was delicious. Enough to buy the t-shirt.

We were walking distance to the El, so we just took the train into downtown. Our plan was to visit Millenium Park and take pictures at the Bean and then go ice skating. When we walked out of the subway stations we ended up being right in front of Marshal Feilds! I was so excited because it was something that was suggested to do by a client of mine, but i didn't know where it was. Marshall Fields is famous for it's christmas windows. Now its a Macy's, but they still do it up big. It was great!
When we got to the ice rink, it was a 2 hour wait for skate rentals, and there were some pretty speedy 16 year olds out there on the ice. I would've felt like an idiot floridian out there, so we just skipped it.

After taking some fun pics at the bean...

...we decided to go to Chinatown. :) Mmmm... Beef Chow Fun... It was delicious! After that, we headed home to Grandmas and spent a few hours with them. :)

These are my Grandparents. My Grandpa is helping my Grandma from her wheel chair to her recliner. He says that they're dancing and that this is how they make love now. How beautiful is that?

We woke up Monday morning to this:

This is my Grandparent's driveway. Something out of a Robert Frost poem, isn't it?

We made it home safe and sound, and only a few hours late, in spite of the weather delays. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Night of a Thousand Lessons

Maybe not a thousand, but it feels like it. We had to bike just 29 minutes today. Easy, right? Well, we waited for my friend Jen to come with us, and by that time it was dark. No biggie - that's why we bought lights.

Let the lessons begin:

• If you have the opportunity to bike during the day, take it.


• Before biking at night, make sure your front light is fully charged.


• Follow the "Rules of the Road"; they are there for a reason. (i.e. Don't bike on the sidewalk just because you're afraid of the road.)


• If you are prone to accidents, you will always fall on your bike right in front of the 2 scary black guys selling firewood.


• Scary Black Guys selling firewood will ask if you are OK, then rightfully laugh as you fumble getting back up. Scary Black Guys are not usually as scary as they seem.


• If you see a pot hole in the side walk (that you shouldn't bike on), you will forget to unclip and fall.


• Know your route before taking it. Know where the bike lanes are. Know the well lit roads just in case your front light goes out.


• If you are on an unfamiliar, dark road, your average speed will rise by 2-3 mile per hour.


• Sunday evenings, after dark, are not the best time to pop your Share-the-Road-Cherry.


• Cycling on the road after dark is scarier than falling out of a perfectly good airplane and your main shoot not deploying.


• Wear contacts or get laser surgery before biking on a road shared with cars. Turning your head behind you to check for clearance is moot when its all a big blur.


• Talking yourself through a situation will help get you through it.


• As soon as one bruise heals, 3 more will surface.

*sigh*

My Mom's Scare

My mom told us last week that the doctors found blood in her urine. This is a big red flag for bladder cancer. Scary right? Well times that by like, a bazillion, because that's what her mother had. Twice. and eventually killed her when it spread to her stomach. So when she told us that, it was... well, scary beyond imagination.

She had an MRI done on Friday and got her test results back yesterday. It's not cancer!!! I was over come with joy when she called. She has to go back every 6 months for the next 18, but I am just so relieved.

I love you, Mom!!

Training Update

I can't believe it's been a week since i've blogged about my training! The week was pretty typical. I haven't skipped any days. Thursday was my long swim day. It was supposed to be a 24 minute swim, but Friend Dave used to be a competitive swimmer and had a whole workout planned for me. I ended up doing about 1200 yards in about 40 minutes. I did some laps with the paddles and some with flippers. Lemme tell ya, using the flippers was AWESOME. we did sprints, and i swam twice as fast, if not faster, than Dave with the flippers on than he did without (i would do 25 yards when he did 50). And the next day, for the first time since we've started this training, I was sore. It felt good to know i had a hard workout.

Friday night was the shuttle launch at Cape Canaveral. I though it'd be good to go run on the beach and watch the launch at the same time. We ended up seeing my sister by Jax Pier and just stayed w/ them while the shuttle went off and ran afterwards. The shuttle was awesome! The run, however, sucked donkey balls because i had to pee the whole time. The only reason i stopped to walk was because i was about to pee my pants and had to compose myself. It sucked. Also, I didn't quite think through running at night on jax beach. It's not the safest place in the world and it's quite dark at night. We probably won't do that again - at night anyway.

Sunday we went back to the Rail Trail. My goal was to go farther in the same amount of time. And that's what we did. We went a mile farther and did 13 miles in 58 minutes. Thirteen miles is the length of the sprint, so now we just need to cut our time down. I really enjoy cycling and I look forward to going for longer rides. :)

Over the weekend I found something... Two tickets to the GUN SHOW! HA! We've been training now for 5 full weeks (this week is the 6th) and I haven't really been paying attention to my muscle changes. I keep watching my belly wishing it would go down (it hasn't - i've only lost 5 pounds). I felt my biceps and was like WOAH! All that swimming is starting to show - no more flabby arms! And my quads are like rocks. They always say "you'll start to see changes in 6 weeks" when you see those infomercials... I guess they're not all blowing smoke. :)

This week is our recovery week. I'm glad - I think i need a break. Last night's workout felt so short, but it was nice to be home in time for Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother. :)

Priceline Negotiator!

HHIIIIIII-YAH!

I am a Priceline Negotiator, not some Mamsy-Pamsy.

I love that website.

I had to book a rental car for our trip next week to Chicago. The cheapest i could find was $28 a day, and w/ taxes and fees it came out to about $170 bucks. But I made 'em sweat and I got 4 days in Chicago for $97 - taxes and fees included! BOOYAH!

Finally...

...a free moment at work, where all the emails have been sent and am just waiting replies. Let's see how long this will last. :)

Blogger's To-Do List

I have so much to blog about, but our internet at home is effed up and i've been too busy at work! So... before the internet goes out again, here's a list of things i want to talk about:

1. DDD
2. Training!
3. Priceline
4. Frustration w/ Returning Phone Calls
5. Thanksgiving
6. Tired
7. Work

There may be more... but this'll give me a good list to start when i find a good few minutes to devote.

Another Stop on the DDD Train

Bloggers Note: I started this post, as you can see, a few days ago. My damn computer at home is messed up and I'm sick of seeing it in my Drafts. I'll update it when i figure out how.
~M

While we were in OKC we were able to eat Leo's BBQ, another one of Guy's Diners Drive-Ins and Dives. :) Lemme tell you, It. Was. AWESOME. Here's some pictures:

The outside. It looked like an old auto repair shop/garage.


[Ok. Here's where the pictures WOULD be, except for whatever reason my internet is not allowing to upload them. Use your imagination...]



The Menu




The Damage.


It was OOOOH So GOOD.

MIA?

So, I've been MIA because of the unexpected trip to Oklahoma City. Here's a rundown of what's been happening lately:

• The funeral of Uncle Howie was pretty hard, but other than that it was actually a great trip. Its sad what brings families together, but we had a great visit with them.
• I didn't get to the gym on Thursday or Friday, and i ate crappy because we ate out the whole time, and my body was not on it's normal schedule - if you know what i mean - so i gained a few pounds over the weekend.
• We got back about 2:00 on Sunday, got some food and watched a portion of the Jags whooping Detroit's ass at my sister's, then got home to quickly change for a bike ride before it got dark.
• We biked 12 miles on Sunday on the Jacksonville-Baldwin Rail Trail. It's a 14 mile paved pathway that used to be an old Railroad track. It's really nice to bike w/o worrying about cars, but it's really flat so we'll have to find something more hilly to kick it up a notch for our NC Tri in March.
• Yesterday we ran and swam. It was only 14 minutes each, but for some reason i felt like i struggled through it. Oh YEA - It's because i didn't work out all weekend... go figure!
• Today is Veteran's Day. So - THANK YOU to all my veterans who protect me and keep me free everyday.
• Because it's Veteran's Day, we got the day off. Barry and I did some errands during the day and went over to my mom's for our usual Tuesday dinner, but when we got there we got a surprise THANKSGIVING! YUM!! We're all going to be scattered for Thanksgiving, so mom surprised us all with a family thanksgiving today, complete with the pilgrim salt n' pepper shakers and everything. so i get left overs tomorrow for lunch, MMM!!! Now it'll be forever before i loose those poopy pounds from the weekend.
• Here's a random thing to do for fun: Weigh yourself before and after you go to the bathroom. It's better if you have a scale w/ a tenth of a pound option. It's fun to see how much you loose, literally. :) heehee.

My Heart

is in these two boys right here:

A Not-So-Little Thing

With the news of Uncle Howie, and Uncle David just a few months ago - both of heart attacks - and with Barry's Dad's heart issues (he had a quintuple bypass 5 years ago), I am soooo greatful to be doing this triathlon with Barry. His family is just crawling with cholesterol and bad hearts. I hope that with this new sport we can stick with it and keep Barry's heart young. I don't want to be a widow before 65.

Hammerheads & Last Night's Workout

We got to the gym last night shortly after 7:00pm. There's a Triathlon club in Jax call the Hammerheads. They happened to be meeting at our gym, so we decided to go and check it out. There were about 35 people there, and there's about 400 people in the club! Check out the website for all the stuff they do. Membership is pretty cheap ($65/year per couple) and you get discounts and other fun stuff. I think i'll wait a little longer before we decide though.

After the meeting ended, barry and I headed upstairs to the bikes. They've got this cool program called Expresso that simulates different routes. As you go up hill, the pedals get tighter. You can change gears to help you also and the handlebars move so you actually have to travel through the road and beat your pacer. There are other programs where you have to catch dragons and you can ride through space. It's so cool! (We did the "Bent Spoke" route) So we did that and then went to the pool. I decided that for the 18 minutes, i was just going to swim w/o stopping and see how far i go. I was able to swim 10 minutes, back and forth. I need an abacus at the edge of the pool, because i always loose count and i couldn't tell you how far i got. I think it was 300 yards. I took a short break and went again. We probably ended up swimming for closer to 25 minutes, but i was practicing my turns and stuff.

For the competitions sake, i have a new goal: Beat Barry. I never really thought I would be able to because he has always ran faster than me, but if i could beat him in the pool and bike portion, maybe i can actually beat him! That'd be so awesome. :) Last night in the pool, barry kept saying that he has to go all out to keep up with me. YESS! I love having something that im better at than he is. He was making the excuse that his shorts were too baggy and dragging him down. Typical man, making excuses. :)

This Weekend

We're flying to Oklahoma City tonight for the funeral tomorrow morning, then returning Sunday. We won't make it to the pool today, which sucks because it's the first day of training we'll miss. Tomorrow is a long run (22 minutes). I hope i can find time to go running - i did pack a sports bra - hopefully that will help motivate me to hit the pavement tomorrow. Saturday is our off day, and we're back in Jax by 2:00 on sunday, so we'll try and get the bikes out Sunday afternoon.

I Hate Wait.

It's amazing how one sentence can throw your world into an upspin.

"Uncle Howie died."

'There's no way; David just died in the spring.'

"He had a heart attack about 2 hours ago. That's all I know. The funeral may be Saturday, but there's no plans yet."

WTF? Now I sit here at work, with things to do but no motivation to do them. There's no reason to leave because there's nothing to do other than wait for the phone call. So, I will blog, and talk to you about our Uncle Howie.

I didn't get to know him very well, just at family gatherings and on our first cruise. Howie and his wife were there to share in our engagement, and in fact gave us the gift of the cruise. His voice was loud, scratchy and sometimes annoying, but he could always make you smile - even if it was from embarrassment. :) Howie LOVED his family, loved to laugh, and loved to have a good time. He loved life and lived it to the fullest. He and his wife just retired fully and moved to Oklahoma to be closer to his grandchildren about 6 months ago. It's sad that they will never get to hear his boisterous laugh.

Goodbye, Uncle Howie.

Professor Swedlow

Barry is going to the Jr. High to see if he can observe a classroom today. :)

I don't remember if I've mentioned this, but Barry has decided to go back to school and become a teacher. High School history to be more specific. We've registered for classes and purchased books. He also got his substitute teaching certificate and "green card".
We've been joking about him finally getting his Green Card since we heard about it. (Funny Story: he was opening up his mail last night on 'The Throne' and i hear from behind the door, "It's not even green!")

He wants to observe classes for a few days before he gets his own classroom to sub officially. I'm so excited for him! He's so passionate about learning new things and he's an excellent teacher when it comes to Martial Arts, I know he will be a great school teacher.

I love you, Babe!

Inspiration

As we were running on Sunday, there was a guy on a stairmaster w/ a hiking pack and hiking shoes on, just trekin' away. We had a chance to talk to him after our workout as we stretched. He was in his late 60's. Sometime ago, after watching the majority of his family die between the ages of 45-55, he decided that he will not be added to the list. At age 55, he exercised for the first time in his life. 10 or so years later, he has climbed Mt. Denali (McKinley), The Grand Tetons, Kilimanjaro, and most impressive of all: Everest. 3 times. (not sumit, but as high as possible w/o oxygen - still at 21,500 ft). He didn't look much older than 60, but we asumed he was in his late 60s because of all he has completed.

If he can start at age 55, I can start at age 28.

I think this triathlon is just the beginning.

Not The Kind of Crown a Queen Expects

I had to go to the dentist last week because a tooth that had a recent filling (Oct. 2nd) was hurting when i bit down. Well, the filling got 'debonded'. Aparently only 1 out of 100 teeth do this - don't i feel lucky? Instead of just a quick fix or a promise that it will go away, they slap me w/ the news that i need a crown. CRAP. I've never had that before. So that's what i got to do on my training-day off today. Go to the dentist and get drilled for an hour. Yuck. Its a good think that I get nitrous oxide and a TV on the ceiling. I love Sanford and Son (Ba-Ba-Bwah-nuh!), especially w/ the laughing gas!

Right now i've got a temporary cap in. They took a digital imprint and photos of my tooth nub and emailed the impression to Israel, where they will create my tooth and mail it back within 2 weeks. Weird, eh? Israel. So for 2 weeks i get to wear this temporary thing that feels like a denture. it's all smooth and stuff. I hope the permanent one feels more like my real teeth...

The Latest - Weekend Training

Since we stuck it out, we were able to have a great day off on saturday. I'm wondering if they do more harm than good because it seems that on my off days i eat pretty badly. (see below post). It was nice to relax on saturday.


Sunday's task was to run 20 minutes. It took me FOREVER to get barry up and ready to go. I was minutes away from going w/o him when he finally got ready. I walked to warm up for 3 minutes and then set a 4.3mph pace. Unfortunately, i got a stitch in my side and had to walk it off for about a minute, but as soon as it was done i got right back to 'running'. My average was less than 4mph. I must improve on that. Happy side note: Anne of Green Gables was on so that time went by so quickly!
The rest of the day was spent lounging. I found PBS on TV and finished the Anne movies. :) It was a great relaxing day.

Yesterday was Run/Swim. I switched our days around a bit so we can have our long bike day on the weekend, that way if we want to do more trails we can. So, w/ the run, I kept at 4.5mph the whole time, even if it was just for 13 minutes. I'm realizing that just when i find my groove in running, i have to stop. :P I guess i have to trust in the training program though. From the run we changed and I got in the pool. I concentrated on technique that Dave taught me on thursday and i felt really good. Barry said that i was making him push harder, and that made me feel good. The time to swim was only 13 minutes, but i think i did more like 15-20. I like seeing the progress and i really enjoy the pool, so it's hard for me to get out. :)

Good Mandi, Bad Mandi

Yesterday I was sooo good. I was able to pass up Vanilla's Cupcakes. oh yes. I have the power.

Wait.

HAD the power.

Today was my neice's 1st birthday... and I couldn't resist Publix birthday cake. Bad Mandi...

The Tacky Cyclist and the Tale of the 37 Minute Ride

I was a Tacky Cyclist for Halloween. Imagine, if you will, a pastel pink helmet, a bright yellow/blue top, baby blue gloves, black bike shorts, "Wicked Witch" green socks w/ sparkly skull and cross bones, and pearl white cyclist shoes. That's what I wore last night.

Tonight's 'mission' was to bike 40 minutes. We left for OP (Orange Park) at about 7:30, got to the Industrial Loop (big loop, little cars), got the bikes off the rack, helmets and shoes on, and lights flashing when it starts sprinkling. No biggie. Then about 1/2 way through the loop it starts RAINING. I can't see shit because I'm always blinking and it's my first time riding in the dark, not to mention that i feel like I'm coming down w/ something (scratchy throat, etc). So we cut through the loop, get back to the car, get the bikes secured back on the rack, gloves, helmets, and shoes off. We drive 2 minutes to Barry's dad's to pick something up, get back in the car and it stops.

We go back to the loop and discuss for a few minutes whether we should attempt to try again or just take our Saturday off to cycle in the morning. We decide to give it a try. So, cycle-cycle-cycle... 35 minutes go by. And it starts sprinkling again just as I'm passing the car. I say F this. I can handle 5 more minutes. And it starts RAINING. Again. I get around the loop the last time, and cut my ride 3 minutes short. Barry says "I will not be defeated!" and does another 1/2 loop to finish up.

We finally got home and cooked dinner at 10pm.

All-in-all it wasn't so bad. It sucked, but I'm glad we stuck to the schedule and got our ride in last night.

Swimming

Last night I did 800 yards in the pool!! HOLY. Friend Dave used to be a competitive swimmer, so we did drills. 200 warm up, 6 x 25 kicks, 12x 25 arms, etc etc. I was tired, but not too bad. There's something about the water that doesn't make me feel tired unless i'm actually doing the swimming, and then i REALLY notice.

Another positive: I've been going into the hot tub after each swim and I haven't realy felt sore at all! WOOT! I'm so glad we signed up for the Y.

GO GATORS! (I SWEAR!)

In the spirit of Halloween, i thought i'd wear a red top and my devil ears and tail. I got all dressed to go to work, and i couldn't find the ears! So i left the tail at home and out the door i went: Red top and black slacks. I'm half way to work when i realize I'm wearing bulldog colors!! AHHHHH!!!! Today we were supposed to wear our 'team colors' and i end up in the enemy's red and black.

CRAP.

Training... Day 16?

I'm starting to loose count on which day it is...

Yesterday's plan was to run 12 minutes and swim for 16. I finally found my contacts, so i was able to actually keep a decent amount of time in the pool. I swam for about 550-600 yards, but i had to break alot and w/ the breaks i didn't count the time. I was probably in the pool almost 30 minutes. The running was OK. I walked for 3 minutes to warm up and tried to go straight to a 4.5mph jog. Bad idea. I blaim my boobs. Something weird was going on in the heart/chest area - it felt like irregular palpitations, but it could've just been my boobs bouncing on my chest plate. If that's the case, that's pretty funny. :) Either way, it was uncomfortable so i brought it down to 4.1 mph. I could've probably gone 30 minute at the 4.1! In fact, i wanted to because Seinfeld was on and it was pretty funny... BUT time was up and Barry was done and i had to PEEEEEE so i stopped when my time stopped.

Happy Angelle? :)

Now i'm off to the dentist, and then back to the gym! It's a 20 minutes swim day.

BRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm SOOOO glad we got memberships to the Y. Our Tri training would go kaputz if we didn't.

Today's high was 60. Luckily, it's our day off so no biggy. But tomorrow morning is supposed to be in the 30s!!! And it's OCTOBER. BRRRRR!! Swimming would be nonexistent.

...Global warming, my ass...

Cake Wreck!

I'm totally submitting these to Cake Wrecks. They are moon pies on a stick and were for sale at the bakery at the bazaar. How hideous!!!

Training 12 & 13

Barry and I were supposed to go jogging/walking saturday morning but it ended be all misty and gross outside, so we walked to the complex's gym and used the treadmill. I chose a speed interval training program and I had to keep upping the mph for it to be worth it. I'm going to do manual from now on - it was such a pain in the ass. Then we went to the Bazaar and ate so much Filipino BBQ Pork - it's so delicious and we only get it once a year (but i found a recipe... heehee)

Sunday was AWESOME. Barry and I met our friend Dave and we went out and biked. 16 miles!!!! I was so nervous at first. On Friday night we practiced around the neighborhood and I had a complete brain fart on my first 'de-clipping' and busted - i have the scraped knee to prove it (haven't had one of these in years! Probably the last time i rode a bike...) BUT it ended up awesome and I really enjoyed myself - even caught myself smiling from time to time. So i'm looking forward to another ride this weekend.

PS Remember that bruise I was talking about earlier? Well here it is. When I busted on friday, i hit my leg in the exact same spot and aggrevated all over again! I put the pen there so you can see how huge it is. :(

Blogger Withdrawal

OK, I think I'm now addicted to blogging. I see people haven't posted in the last 4 hours and i think "Slacker - wait... i used to blog 2-3 times a month..." Hopefully I won't get sick of blogging about training, 'cause w/ no kids, that's about all i got. :)

N-E Way. I didn't post yesterday because it's my church's annual bazaar and it's a HUGE family affair. We were there ALL weekend, less the time i slept and worked out. We did go to the UFC fight on sat night, but i was half asleep anyway, so i count that as sleeping. (Cote vs. Sliva - Cote popped his ACL in the 3rd round - sucks to be him and made for a sucky fight, so it was a waste of awake-ness in my book.)

I'm quite tired, so I'm going to go to bed early and I'll try and post about my training weekend tomorrow - i did some good stuff! (don't let the tension get to you, it's not all that. :))

A Good Nutrition Article

I love information w/ facts and numbers. Read this article about adequately fueling your body for a workout:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1603

Triathlon Training -Day 11

After that crazy workout yesterday, getting up this morning was a BEAST. We were supposed to wake up at 5:00 to go cycle for 2-3 miles. 5:00 turned to 5:30, and I was able to get up just in time to hear the rain pouring down. :P So i thought that i could still get up at 6 and go to our gym for the stationary bike. So back to bed i went for another precious 30 minutes. The bike in our complex gym is a recumbent and i truly dispise it. This coupled with the sound of the rain, the snuggles from barry, and the warmth of my bed equaled the demise of that plan. I finally crawled out of bed and into the shower at 7:50ish. I packed my gym clothes, made a smoothie and was out the door at 8:45, only to forget my yummy cattiatore leftovers. :(

I found out there was a YMCA about 5 miles from my office -BONUS!- now if i can't get up in the morning i can always go workout on my lunchbreak - woohoo! AND it has a pool - Double Woohoo! So for lunch I got on a stationary bike, but the regular kind, and rode 3 miles at about 12-13mph. Today's requirements were to swim 150m and bike 2 miles, but i forgot my swimsuit. I'm using the excuse that i swam enough yesterday for 2 days worth. :)

Training - Day 10

Yesterday's requirement was to swim 100m, cool down for 50m and to walk for 20 minutes.

I started with walking, then picked it up to a jog about 3-4 minutes in. I then was able to jog the entire remainder of the 20 minutes at 4.1mph, and i even kicked it up to over 5mph at the last minute. I was not expecting to be able to do that! I guess i don't give myself enough credit. After a 10 minute cooldown walk, i changed into my suit and swam the 150m. I had to stop after 100m, and then i had a break while Barry did his (the pool was full!) BUT after that, i wasn't ready to get out. SO, 50m at a time, I swam the full 500m - 1/3 of the triathlon. woohoo! i averaged about 1 min, 5 sec per lap w/ the breaks.
From there, we went to another YMCA and went climbing! the first time in over a year - i probalby only spent about 10 minutes actually climbing, and i stuck to elementary stuff, but it was fun to get back on the wall. It was NOT fun to have to trim my nails though. Oh well.

All in all it felt good! I did way more than 'required' and kept up pretty well. I didn't get tired until after we were done climbing, and that's probably be cause i hadn't eaten in like 7 hours. We got home and barry cooked some AMAZING Chicken Cacciatore, and it was time for bed.

Diet: I'm still having trouble eating ENOUGH calories. I have my weight loss goal set to 2lbs a week, and i'm still having a hard time. My hope is that i'll just loose more, right? I am drinking more water and not eating bad everyday, like i used to. I have not been too stricted, because i think that will just set me up to go overboard when i do eat badly. I've been making smoothies in the morning, and that fills me up. Try this for a great breakfast:

1 large banana
4-6 large frozen strawberries
4oz soymilk
4 oz apple juice
1 tbl PB (organic or "natural")
1 serving carnation instant breakfast
add ice for your choice of thickness. i don't like a lot of ice.

This makes about 32 oz, give or take.

Blend and enjoy! Sometimes i'll add oats and flax seed, but most of the time i forget.

beginnertriathlete.com

Work today is completely slow, so I've had the time to read some articles on www.beginnertriathlete.com. This is such a great site! I really can tell that I have changed for the better, at least my heart has. My body will catch up.
I've read inspiring articles before. My reaction to them is usually the same: "Good for them - but i don't think i have the 'it' that they do."
Now it's different. I read the articles of people's first triathlons - people with severe asthma and people that have gone through quintuple bypass - and i think, (here comes the cliche) "If they can do it, i can do it!" Reading these articles gets me pumped! I know I've said this before, but I'm so excited! I'm most excited about being heart-healthy and loosing the feeling of being tired and fat just going up the stairs of my condo!

WOOT!!

Air Show

Every year, NAS Jax puts on an awesome air show. It alternates from the beach to NAS Jacksonville and this year it's at NAS, which is right down the road from where i work. It's pretty sweet because we get to watch them practice! Unfortnately, it's cloudy today, but fortunately, these jets are so badass that they fly below the cloud line! I can't wait for the Blue Angels to practice! Swededeu!

Training, Day 9

Well, yesterday did not go as planned at all. The plan was to get to the bike shop at 4:15 and be out by 7 (when they close.), then go over to the gym to swim and walk. I ended up getting to the shop at 4:30 and not leaving until after 8. I hadn't eaten anything since 12:00 or so and i was soooo hungry. I had asked Barry to bring me a chicken sandwich or something, but of course he "forgot". We ended up getting home at 8:30 and i decided that instead of going to the gym last nighti was going to eat dinner and use my day off today to do yesterday's workout. He kept saying i was making excuses and that this is how it starts and that we probably just wasted all that money, blah blah blah...

...that brings me to another "little thing":

• proving Barry wrong.

I know this isn't very positive, but damn it, i don't think he believes me when i tell him that I'm in a different mind set. He always talks about how we need to loose weight. Now I'm doing it.

So, that being said, today, Training: Day 10, will include swimming and jogging, and then we're going to go do some climbing, which i haven't done in for frickin' ever.

Take that, Barry.

Bikes - And a Truly "Mandi-esque" Post

The Bikes are in the garage, the rack is on the car, i'm wearing my bike pants as i type this, and our checking account is empty! We definitely made a serious commitment! I just hope we can do it!!

NO, i KNOW we can do it. :)

I rode a little bit around the parking lot of the store and have my first bruise. I forgot that... hold on*

* side bar: my kitty Hiro is playing with my mouse - ha! The cursor moving all over the screen and he has no idea - so cute!

OK sorry. :) Now i forgot what i was going to say i forgot. LOL. OH YEAH. I forgot i was clipped in at one point and have my first bike-related bruise. I didn't fall on my ass thank goodness, but i guess my inner thigh hit my lateral bar or something. Luckily i caught my balance w/o falling.

We're going on a ride on Sunday w/ Dave and Jen (friends/former triathletes). I'm really looking forward to it and getting comfortable in the saddle and with my clips.

BTW, I'm only wearing the bike shorts because we were about to go play around the road in our complex when Barry realized that it's Wednesday at 10pm and he HAD to watch his Ultimate Fighter... I'm not a freak that likes to wear bike shorts. For all my men reader (Hi, Mike.): if you wear a pair of bike shorts you will know what it's like to wear a maxi pad. "And Knowing Is Half The Battle!" ... well, maybe not in this case.

As you can tell by reading this post, I'm way too tired and i need to go to bed now. More to come tomorrow.

Four by Four

So the rules are: Go to your folder of pictures on your computer. Open the 4th folder, and upload the 4th picture, then explain it. This is from LAST year's soccer season -Ashton's first year. I was hoping for a cooler picture, but it's got my nephew in it, so it's pretty cool in itself. :) That's my big boy in the #7 jersey. Go #7!!!

I tag Rhi, Jamie, Laurie, & Erin.

Changarooski

After looking at our current training program and talking to my friend Dave - who happens to be a former triathlete and current lover of all things outdoorsy-sports like - he thinks the program is a little lax. It's quite possible that he's right. I did a little more research and actually like the same program Angelle is doing! SOOOO... we're going to finish week 2 w/ our lax program and start week 3 Monday w/ Angelle's. I already copied the spreadsheet and added rows for Barry and my distances so we can see our improvements. :)

I also stopped by the gym today and signed Barry and myself up! This place is re-DONK-ulous!! It's got everything imaginable as far as equipment goes, but it also has personal TVs on every cario machine w/ DirecTV, all your toiletries ever needed in the bathroom, a sauna, a jacuzzi, & 2 pools. It's got a swimsuit dryer near the showers so as you shower, you can dry your suit to put in your bag! All the lockers have 4 digit combo locks, so you don't have to bring your own lock. All towels are given so you don't even have to bring those! It is unbelieveable!

Ok, time for bed. Tomorrow I get fitted for my bike. Barry spent almost 5 hours at the bike shop today getting fitted! I hope it doesn't take that long for me. :P Then it's off to the gym for swimming and running/walking.

Little Things - 2

More things I'm excited about:

• Less chafing between my fat thighs! I'm not a fan of walking like an old cowboy when my legs chafe.
• Not being nervous about biking.
• Buying new lingerie.
• passing Lane Bryant without blinking.
• walking into The Body Shop/5-7-9/Charlotte Rousse without having heart palpitations.
• being a better climber
• seeing the smile on Dr. Raspa's face when he sees me in January.

Training, Day 7

We ended up not going to the "Y" yesterday, but instead went to Bicycles, Etc. and to buy our 2008 Trek 1.2's. I called each of the bike shops we visited and asked for their best price. Not only did they give us the best deal, but also spent the most time with us and made us feel truly welcome into their shop and the sport that they obviously love so much. However, when we got there, we got to talking about upgrades and frames and wheels and pedals and saddles and cranks... and started to look around some more. I ended up with an AWESOME deal on a 2008 Scott Contessa Speedster. I saved over $600. Barry is picking out his this morning and getting fitted. I'll pick mine up tomorrow and get fitted.

Training: Don't think we skipped out on training just to go shopping. When we got home, we got to our gym about 8:00 and jumped in the pool. If i had nuts i'd have been singing a few octives higher - it was so cold!! But we got used to it and did 150m in just under 4 minutes. I got our goggles yesterday, but i still tended to keep my head up. I think we need ear plugs because when i tried to do what i thought was better technique, i would get water in my ear. From there we walked our 20 minutes. Today i gave myself an incline and switched up my pace from 3.6-3.9mph. We got home just in time for the last 10 minutes of How I Met Your Mother and watched Heroes.

Diet: From logging everything I eat on the Daily plate, i'm learning that I'm having trouble eating enough calories during the week, and then i go overboard w/ crappy calories on the weekend. It's a strange feeling to actually know that i need to eat MORE. I like it!
It's amazing how much easier it is to stay on track when you have the right tools!

Monday, Monday...

Sooo... 5:30 AM came and went. It was only about 60 degrees this morning! BRRRR!!! Too cold to for swimming! Barry said, "why don't we do it tonight when it's warmer?" I didn't need any convincing. We slept with the windows open last night and I sleep so well when we do that: A cool breeze and all warm under the covers. I ended up crawling out of bed about 7:30... and when I looked in the mirror - WOAH! Angelle and Laurie - do you remember what my hair would do sometimes? It was pretty bad. That's what I get for sleeping w/ a wet head. Needless to say it took way longer to do my hair than it usually does and I was running about 30 minutes behind today.
After I get off of work, barry and I are going to go to the YMCA and get a membership and do our swim/walk. I found out there's a new gym that has an indoor pool! WOOT! And it's open from 5am to 10pm, so we can work out before or after work, and it's only about $60/month for a family membership. I just have to not eat out $60 worth each month to make up for it - with my new eating soon-to-be habits, that shouldn't be an issue.
More to come on how my workout went today...