Running with Beagles

10 DAYS!!!

2008-06-09T18:16:00.002-06:00

In 10 days I am getting married. I am so excited, I have officially passed the being able to sleep stage. Too happy.

I cleaned the whole house today. And did lots of laundry. We are working very hard to not spend much money since we have giant things coming up that will require money, so I should be able to spend more time cleaning, but somehow I always do something else.

Tomorrow should be the second day (in three weeks) that the weather will be nice enough for the outdoor swimming, so I am thrilled with that! It is SO much nicer than swimming inside. Also tomorrow I need to mow at my parents house again. They have been in Italy for a long time and finally get home Wednesday.

Overdue for an Update

2008-06-04T09:13:00.003-06:00

I just have had so much going on that it seems overwhelming at times to update!

Life is so good, and moving so fast! I will try and go back and remember it all...

1st - I am getting MARRIED! In 15 Days!!!

2nd - I got hurt again. Not as bad, but still bad. No more running on pavement.

3rd - We went to KC and had lots of fun and did a race.

4th - We have this other huge thing going on, but I don't know that I want to talk about it yet. Soon tho.

5th - We were going to move, then we were going to remodel, now we are going to do nothing. It was a LOT of work to get to this point.

6th - I found an outdoor pool and am LOVING it. Swimming for 50 minutes is much better outside. And there is much less noise.

7th - 15 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!! MARRIED!!!!!!!!!! 15 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

May Day 2008

2008-05-01T10:12:00.003-06:00

When I was little we used to make may baskets for neighbors and put flowers in them and then ring the door bell and run away. Today there aren't any flowers and if any one leaves anything on my porch it will be covered in about 3 minutes.

The Front Yard and tree:

The open space and creek: The deck chairs:

The grill that Tim cooked dinner on last night in 82 degree weather:

Memorial Day 8k

2008-04-22T10:40:00.002-06:00

I got my tickets, so now we just need to register for the race in KC on Memorial Day!! I am so happy to have a goal again. I need to run it faster than the 8k I ran in June last year.

http://runningwithbeagles.blogspot.com/2007/06/8k-review.html

Oh, wow. I ran that faster than I thought. Hmmmm.

Sunny snow days

2008-04-17T10:36:00.002-06:00

My grass is going to be about 2 feet tall once it finally warms up around here. This snow after snow thing is really working.

Maddie has really adjusted to her new doggie door. She doesn't run through it as fast as the other one, but she remembers where it is now.

6 am is really early when one hasn't slept well lately. In fact, most nights I have just finally fallen asleep by 6 am lately.

Sticking with WW and pointing is very hard. It was so much easier last time. These "few" extra pounds are not coming off. I need to commit to cardio. Why can't I commit??

Punked.

2008-04-08T14:32:00.002-06:00

I think I punked myself. I went around all day yesterday pretending that I was hopeful and optimistic, when I knew it wasn't true. Happy people makes me crazy. How can some people be so hopeful all the time. Sometimes I think I am actually turning into my father and my grandmother. I just need to be faster with my snark.

I have decided to become a full-time drinker. Which means that since I am still pointing it is much harder to get the daily recommendation of fiber. 32 grams doesn't happen in just one martini.

On another note, Maddie started squeaking her happy squeak when I come home again. I really missed that. Also, the designer is coming next week! Yeah! So even though we can't do the renovations we will still have pretty plans of them!

Springtime in Colorado!

2008-04-07T08:48:00.002-06:00

I am ready for some consistency. This rain, snow, warm, rain, warm, wind, snow, wind thing is getting old. At least it was a beautiful weekend.

Saturday we did yard work and ran errands. We both got new Keen sandals. I am so happy with mine. Red! Sandals! Red! I haven't been this happy with new sandals since my Jiminy Cricket sandals.

We made the yard so pretty, except for two spots that will require serious attention. Getting the grass to stop growing through the chicken wire stuff from the green belt could seriously be a full time job. Tim also fertilized, so it will be ready to grow as soon as we get warm days. We need to move the sprinkler lines before we can get the new deck, so we need to figure all that out soon.

We also found the rest of the chairs for our patio furniture on Craig's List, so we picked those up on Sunday. Now we just need a glass table top and we are all set, you know, once the deck is built. Oh! We also found the cutest fan online for the roof of the deck, so I am super excited about that!!

Yesterday we were able to golf for only the second time this year. It went really well!! I am ready for our leagues to start. I think it will be 6 weeks or so, though.

This week is going to rock! We get all the bids back for all the remodeling AND we are going to get some other really good news. I am also going to start running more with the walking, as I would really like to do that race in May.

FINISHED!

2008-03-30T16:07:00.002-07:00

Today I finished my March goal of 100 miles. AWESOME! I am very pleased. I was hoping to walk further today, but it was very blustery and cold and there was "wildlife" on the path. We turned around and finished the last mile in the neighborhood.

Tonight is John Adams and the start of the second season of the Tudors. Fun! I am very happy that the Office starts again this week. Also, three more episodes of the Biggest Loser. Big tv week! Which is funny because we really don't watch that much. Usually we watch netflix.

I need to finalize my April workout plans. I will keep you posted.

clean house

2008-03-26T15:04:00.002-07:00

I have really neglected the dust. I never realized how much dust there was...I guess it was hiding in the carpet. Now it shows on the floor, so I need to swiffer more often!

Tomorrow is doggie door day! And it is supposed to rain and maybe snow...perfect. Can't we have nice weather and no more wind? I am ready.

Only 14 more miles and 5 days to do it in. Whoohoooo!! I am so happy I have almost made my goal. It was close for a while.

Back to pointing...

2008-03-24T13:43:00.002-07:00

I just can't lose weight if I don't count points. I guess that is just what works for me. I am back to pointing, as Mary calls it. As of today. 8 points so far. Cereal, snack, lunch. I am aiming for 22 points a day I guess.

I am also super happy to report that unless I break my leg, I will get my 100 miles in for March!! Mostly because Tim had a three-day weekend so we walked 24 miles together. I couldn't have done it with out that. Now I just need about 3 a day for the rest of the month. But I will do as many as possible just to see.

We are thinking of getting a new deck. The guys are coming Wednesday to look and estimate and such. We want a trex deck with a roof all along the back of the house. And lower, so we don't need railings. Also, Thursday we are getting a real doggie door. I am so looking forward to that. The old one we have makes it very tough to use the back door. And I want to be able to use it instead of going around the garage!

March 18th...

2008-03-18T07:25:00.002-07:00

I am a little worried about getting all 100 miles in, but I think I can do it. I can't take any more days off though. I had to take a day off last week, but no more.

Yesterday was an awesome 5 miles in the chilly, but no wind afternoon. I really enjoyed it and I had the path all to myself as it was only 34 degrees.

Tonight we are starting the Maddie walks after dinner as it should be light enough. I am really looking forward to that!

Weights!

2008-03-11T16:21:00.002-07:00

I lifted! I am pretty weak, but at least I am back to working at the problem. It felt great, even.

This afternoon it was close to 70 degrees, so I took Maddie out for a 3 mile walk. There were at least one million dogs and kids out today. Everyone wanted to pet Maddie. She is just so darn cute!

Pokey Puppy

2008-03-10T20:29:00.002-07:00

Today was beautiful, so after advanced pilates (which I SUCKED at) I took Maddie out for her now daily walk. We went 0.96 miles in over 20 minutes. It was painful it was so slow. She was tired from yesterday I guess, or just pokey. I don't know, but I had to circle back home to drop her off. It was a loooong, slow almost mile.

After I left her home I walked the rest of the 5 miles in about 55 minutes. I was very pleased with that.

Tomorrow is regular pilates and then lifting. And tomorrow afternoon I am riding with the bike class.....so excited!!! I will let you know how it goes.

#150

2008-03-09T16:49:00.002-07:00

This is my 150th post.

Today we slept late and enjoyed a lazy Sunday morning. Then we had sushi and took a long walk with Maddie. So far it has been a perfect spring forward day.

My blisters are so much better since I popped them. That was so gross and so worth it.

This week I am back to pump classes twice a week and excited to get back to the weights. I have to pace myself, but am really looking forward to the challenge!

Saturday

2008-03-08T13:44:00.001-07:00

Tim, Maddie and I walked to our new liquor store today. It was a nice walk. 1.1 miles there and then we walked around our neighborhood for a total of 3 miles.

We have an agreement that once daylight savings begins we will walk Maddie every evening, so that starts tomorrow. Maddie needs it. She is pokey. But at least I didn't have to carry her on today's walk. (it is hard carrying a 27 pound beagle.)

day 2

2008-03-07T13:10:00.002-07:00

BNP is going very well. I just need to find something on from 10 - 11 that isn't 'The Price is Right.' That show is too slow.

I do have blisters on top of my blisters, tho. That is sad. I took so much time off from exercise that my feet lost all of the protective calluses. (Hi Mary!! I am talking about feet! Still reading??) So yesterday I got little blisters and then today I got big blisters on top of my little blisters. I hope my feet toughen up quickly.

Tomorrow is the county convention that I get to go to as a delegate. I am super excited, but also dreading it a little. I hope it is fun and interesting and not long and boring.

I just ate a super yummy salad that I made...broccoli slaw, salmon and sesame ginger dressing. So good. Now I am eating a tortilla with almond butter. Today's big project it to swiffer the new floor! Fun.

Big New Plan!

2008-03-06T10:30:00.002-07:00

The floor is finished. The trip to Peru was awesome. Blah, blah, blah.

I just haven't been in an update-y mood. But I have exciting news to share with the internets, so I am back!

I am going to get off my butt!!! YEAH!!

I am going to walk/jog/run 100 miles in March! See! I added the little ticker guy up top. Cool, eh?

So! Here is the BNP: Walk every day for the rest of March. Run/Jog a little so I can get back to running 5ks. I want to do the Highline Canal run again this year in May.

I am also doing pilates and want to go back to pump.

I decided that I just need a new goal. I have big goals - like fitting into things by summer and such, but I need little goals for along the way. Last year I had tons of goals and races to plan for, this year I need something.

So! That's it...100 miles in March. Starting today!!!

New Floor -- day 1

2008-01-21T15:47:00.001-07:00

Yeah! Today is new floor day. Sadly, though, the worker-men didn't get here until after 10:30 and they had to leave at 3:15. So not as much progress was made as we hoped. Another problem was that the crappy builders used crappy-ass pressed board under the kitchen floor that came up in about 2x2 inch chunks. Very labor intensive and time consuming. And LOUD.
Here is the day in pictures!

Here is the linoleum coming up in the kitchen area. It came up in big sheets.
Under the linoleum the underlayment came up in tiny chunks. Here is the biggest one. They finally started and laid about 4 rows!!
Tomorrow will be a long day!

Cold.

2008-01-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, it got really cold here. Fast. Yesterday was bad, but I didn't go out much, so it was tolerable. Today is not as cold, but I was out more in it. Booo.

Today is the first official pointing day, and as of 2:30 it is going really well. Tuesday and Thursday were mini-detox days. No fried food, less caffeine, reasonable portions. But today is actual WW pointing. For breakfast I had 4 points of oatmeal with dried cherries. For lunch I had an awesome 6 point salad with canned salmon, (who knew, yummy!) lettuce, broccoli slaw, carrots, almonds, snap peas, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It might have been the best salad ever made in the history of salads.

After I do a few more things I will have 2 points of grapefruit. Dinner tonight is 5 points of pork roast, 3 points of sweet potato, broccoli and spinach salad. That makes 20 points and I get to have something else. Maybe popcorn for 2 more points. 22 points today. That's a good day. Or 23 I guess, if I need chocolate later....

I spent a very long time at the grocery store comparing labels and investigating options. I bought an incredible assortment of very healthy foods. I am quite pleased and hopeful that we can make some yummy stuff. Most of the actual cooking will have to wait until after the floor is installed on Monday and Tuesday, but until then we have lots of leftover meals in the freezer. I think after next week we will be out of those. Amazing. Love the big RR and Martha meals. They give us so many leftovers!

So the floor is on its way. They think it will only take the two days. I hope so as I think it won't be very enjoyable for Maddie. Tim and I have a lot of work to do this weekend clearing out the whole first floor. For how small it seems, there is a lot of stuff in here. Also, the recipe project is a very big project and leads to a LARGE pile of old magazines that need to be gone through to write the good recipes in our new book. It is amazing how many recipe magazines I had stuff in that little cabinet! I bet the floor was about to crash through.

Kansas City Trip Report

2008-01-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

So! This trip is the BEST! We decided to only visit new places on this trip. With the exception of the place tonight, but it is a weekend and last time I went on a weeknight, so it is sort of still true.

On Tuesday, Maddie was a perfect road trip companion. She sat on her princess pillow the whole time and wasn't bad at all. The only little run-in we had was when she tried to go under my legs to get a wheat thin that I dropped.

When we arrived at Mary's we decided to try out The Studio Downtown, the most divey of the new places. We had onion rings and chicken nachos. Old men were getting ready to play live music, so we finished our meal and headed out. Went to the liquor store for a housewarming margarita for SF and went to see her new house. She had literally arrived about 4 minutes before we did. Her parents arrived right after we did, so I got to meet them. We checked out the house, which is very nice. Helped her unload a few items and then split to watch BBC's You Are What You Eat. Very fun new show for me to watch!!

Wednesday, Mary had to work, so I hung out with Lisa! We went to Tarrantino's for a calzone lunch. So yummy. We also had coffee and then hung out at her place. Hazel licked Maddie's butt which made Maddie poop a little. On the carpet. In the house. Great houseguests! Then awhile later Maddie pee'd a bunch right there. Bad Ann and Puppy. It was about time to leave after that. Lisa hasn't talked to me since. Sad.

Wednesday night we went to Grinders for Tater Tots, Krinkle Fries and a Meatball Grinder. Lots of fun! I learned a new phrase from the bathroom wall and had to come home and look it up on Urban Dictionary.com. We came home and watched more You Are What You Eat.

Thursday Mary took off work and we started the morning off at Room 39 for breakfast. My Mom's friend's nephew owns it, so she kept wanting us to try it. It was very good. And fun. Then we headed over to SF's to help with a heavy tv and some boxes. After the gym, we met up with her for dinner at JP Wine Bar. OHMYGOSH! So good and so yummy!!! We spent 5 hours there eating and drinking. We got to talk to the chef! It was a blast!! Very highly recommend it. And I want to go back!! Then we came home and watched more YAWYE on BBC America.

Friday we slept late and then Mary made smoothies. We had coffee from the Coffee Break on Troost. We had a yummy fun artsy lunch at Sarah's on Grand. Then we walked around some shops. I bought a super fun little outfit at a local place called Birdies. We had more coffee from a little place called Mildred's. Then we met up with Mary's Posse for Happy Hour at the Mutual Musician's Foundation and also the Blue Room. Great Jazz and Blues. Then the posse had dinner at Lulu's. Yummy Thai noodles. After dinner it was off to Royal Liquors for booze and then the Burlesque show. Wow! That was really, really fun!! It was in a loft down in the West Bottoms that is owned by some of SF's friends. We saw the nice lady from Birdie's and we danced. Mary wouldn't dance in the cage or ride on the swing, but she wanted to. The night was really, really, really fun. I have always wanted to see a lady twirl the tassels on pasties, but I hadn't had the opportunity until last night. That's got to be a tough thing to learn. All the performers were so great!! One of the best parts of the night for me was when I got hit on by a girl! It rocked. After the burlesque show we went for a drink at Out-of-Bounds. Another new place for me. It was a good way to end the evening.

When we woke up today we went to the Corner Diner in Westport for breakfast and then to Broadway Cafe for lattes. We walked around a few shops in Westport and I got two shirts and a pair of jeans at a resale shop. Mary also got a cute shirt. Then we drove to the Plaza to check out American Apparel. Mary got a super cute hoodie there.

Soon we are heading to the gym and two more resale shops. Mary needs a leather jacket. Tonight is Bar Natascha for shows and dinner at the Noodle Shop on 59th. I'll report back later with more!

Going to Kansas City!!

2008-01-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow is the big driving day! Maddie and I are heading out early and hoping to meet up with SF in Limon. Fun caravan!!!

I might not update too often since my reader will be with me the whole time! But maybe we will blog together.

Later Internets!!

New Year, New Faucet!

2008-01-05T22:15:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year! I haven't blogged in awhile, I guess because things have been going so well and I have been busy. THIS YEAR ROCKS!

We put the down payment down on the new floor and really got to thinking about the whole kitchen. Tim started talking about just getting all the stuff we want now instead of waiting, so today we went ahead and got the new faucet for the kitchen sink. I love it. It has a pull-out sprayer and we also got a drinking water filter faucet on the side. So cool! Even better water than our last fix. Yeah!!

We just finished watching a really cute Irish movie called 'Once.' Last night we went to see 'Juno.' Also very cute.

Tomorrow is Twelfth Night, Epiphany, etc...so I suppose we will take down the tree and outdoor decorations. I hate to do it before the 7th, but Tim has to work Monday and I have a busy day planned. So Sunday it is. Hopefully the wind dies down a bit before we go outside again.

Snowshoes!!

2007-12-30T17:34:00.000-07:00

Today we tested out our new showshoes! It was so fun!! Granted I do not feel well, so I am not my usual cheerleader self right now, but it was a blast!

We also put a deposit down on our new floor! We ended up going with the laminate because it will be better with the Maddie feet and the high traffic area. It is a very pretty color, called Cherry Bronze. I am super excited!

Now if I could just get over this 11 day cold everything would rock!!

Baking Day!

2007-12-21T13:14:00.001-07:00

Today is Baking Day. Tim took the day off work so we could bake cookies all day. So we did all the ingredient shopping this morning and now we are ready!

We are baking:

Sugar Cookies
Snickerdoodles
Chocolate Snappers
Chocolate with Peanut Butter Chips (Billy's Favorite!)
Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

I help my Dad make Spritzers yesterday afternoon, so things are festive and cookie-heavy in Littleton/Englewood!

Ohno, sick.

2007-12-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

I think I am sick. I don't know if it is a sticking around sick, or just today sick. I woke up in the middle of the night with my throat on fire. It hurts so badly, I don't even like breathing.

Today is pilates day and then cookies with my Dad day. Tomorrow is cookies with Tim day. YEAH! I have a lot left to do around the house (cleaning, cooking, baking, etc...) but at least everything else is done.

I finished all the shopping, wrapping, shipping, etc...that is going to be done this year. Very happy. Also, Maddie had her holiday bath, so she smells yummy.

Now if only my stadium-sized headache and sinus pain would go away, I could get on with the cleaning...

Holiday Shopping...CHECK!

2007-12-16T20:50:00.001-07:00

We FINISHED!!! All the shopping and wrapping are DONE! WhooHooo! If people don't like their gifts, they can feel free to return them. On their own time.

I also got the best shirt!! I am going to wear it every single day. It says, "I only date Republicans." LOVE IT!!

In one week from today, Mary will arrive! And in one week from tomorrow, BILLY will arrive.

Happy Ann!

Holiday Outings

2007-12-15T16:28:00.000-07:00

We really don't have much going on for the holidays, except for today. We have two get together thingies today. We have been to one and are getting ready to head to the next one.

I am baking a sweet potato bake in the oven right now to take to our next thingy. It sounds yummy, but very, very bad for you. I wanted to try it, so this is the perfect occasion. You boil up three or four whole sweet potatoes for 30 minutes or so. Then let them cool. When cool enough to handle you peel them and cut the into squares. Mach the squares up with butter, sugar, salt and vanilla. Whisk in two eggs. Pour this mashed sweet potato mixture into a casserole. Mix butter, pecans, flour and brown sugar in a small bowl. Pour this mixture onto the sweet potato mash and bake it all for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. It smells awesome, and hopefully it will taste good too.

After tonight, we have no other plans until MARY gets here!! And then the next day BILLY gets here!!

At some point some shopping will have to get done I suppose. Happy Weekend!!

Thursday

2007-12-13T23:52:00.000-07:00

Today has been a very nice day. I slept late for the third day in a row, as Tim has had meetings and had to leave very early in the morning. I also went to pilates, which is still very much harder than I want it to be. Then I went to my parents for a bit as I like to keep in touch with them, as opposed to other siblings. Then Tim came home early with WINE! Then we went to dinner at my parents and ate YUMMY tortilla soup. Then we went to the musical at the Littleton Town Hall. It was very good.

Then we came home and drank more wine which led us here: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1381425907

Holiday Greetings from Ann & Tim!!

Gotta love the postal service

2007-12-11T16:59:00.000-07:00

And I do, really. Except I am a little bitter still about not getting my People Magazine that week of our blizzards last year. But I should be over that.

Anyway, when I started getting more serious about the eBay stuff in September, I ordered these free shipping boxes from the USPS that were labeled with eBay on them. I had COMPLETELY forgotten about them when I found them on my front porch today. December 11. Three months after I ordered them. Isn't that crazy!?!

Snowy Decorating Day

2007-12-08T16:07:00.000-07:00

This is such a nice weekend!! Last night we were running a few errands and it was so foggy and romantic that it put me in the mood to get our Christmas tree and decorate! So we went and got our tree and then got a pizza and had a drink. It was a super great evening. Today is snowy and cold and a great day to stay inside and decorate. That's what we have been doing.

Before I show you the Christmas pictures, here is the picture of the birthday present I bought myself. I love, love, love, love, love it. When I saw it, I knew exactly where is was going to go. And it fit perfectly. Love.

Here is a cute picture of Tim under our tree putting the lights on...

And here is our giant tree all decorated and with the lights on. We had to move one of the chairs over to where Maddie's cage usually is, so it has been a slight adjustment day.

When it started snowing I wanted to go outside and decorate in the snow. I didn't realize how cold it actually was, though, so this project was a little less fun than I imagined.

Here is the sideboard all decorated and filled with holiday fun (including Christmas m and m's....totally Tim's idea!)

Here is Miss Maddie on the couch wondering why her people are always moving things around when they were fine the way they were and couldn't we all just snuggle more??

Thursday

2007-12-06T19:14:00.001-07:00

I like Thursdays. I think it is because it was always a good tv night when I was growing up. Alex P. Keaton and all. Today I finally got all the paperwork stuff done for November. I am mailing the check off tomorrow! Whoohoo! It is only the 6th. Bad Ann. I need to list the last items for my Dad and that will be all.

Today I went to pilates and walked the Maddie. I am feeling much better about the working out and eating this week. I haven't gotten near the scale, but I bet it is much better as well.

Best Time to Date

2007-12-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

Today was so busy and crazy that I didn't even eat lunch. For those of you who don't know me well, that might not seem bloggable....but to those who do (Hi Mary!!) they will know that it is INSANE. I eat all the time. Constantly. All day long. Today I didn't even have time to think about eating lunch.

First thing this morning, 9:30, I had acupuncture. So very, very good.
Then I went to Target and bought new black t-shirts. Needed.
Then I went to pilates which btw, is totally starting to work again and feel good. My muscles finally remember.
Then I raced home to finish wrapping SW items and then rushed to the post office and UPS.
Then I rushed like a crazy driver woman home before it got any darker to run.

Here is the big news people!!! *** I ran 4 miles in 38 minutes!!!! My best time by far ever. Ever. WAHHHOOOOO!! Now I am eating carrots like they are going out of style. Hungry!

Happy Birthday!

2007-12-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

Last night was the second Annakah dinner. It was also awesome!! Which leads me to my funny (to me) story. When Tim moved in and we started cooking more he kept wanting to make meals with pork. I was very hesitant because I didn't have very good pork memories growing up. I remember dry tough burned up meat with dry side dishes.

But he insisted pork could be good. He grew up in an 'I' state which I always think of as hog states...you know, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana.

But! He has really shown me that it can be yummy. Last year for my big birthday dinner we had stuffed pork chops with lots of dried fruit in a yummy, yummy sauce. This year we found a recipe for Pork Roast with Onion, Mushroom and Bacon Ragout, so I totally wanted to try that. It was awesome!!

When we were shopping we found the CUTEST little baby carrots and zucchini, so I had to have those. Marinated in a little evoo and some sea salt. Then in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. AWESOME:
Here is Tim carving the Pork Roast:
Here is the Bacon, Onion and Mushroom Ragout. It was awesome. And easy. Although finding mushrooms around here is tough. They go bad so quickly. Why is that....does everyone have that trouble? These were crimini (baby bella's). It was supposed to have twice as many, but I had to through away a whole package. The bacon added a really good flavor! Next time I would try pancetta maybe...
Here is the pork, the sweet potato (those things are SO giant, we had to share) and the roasted veggies:
Here is the full dish with the ragout:

We paired this dish with the Pinot from Cosentino's. It was awesome!! We wanted to have two Cakebread wines this weekend but really had an impossible time finding them. Tim said next time we would just order from the website. But I don't know how it could have been any better.

Today I am going to pilates and then over to my parents for some shopping. Then tonight we have dinner at my favorite restaurant (in Denver) and then cake!!

Birthday Dinner number 1

2007-12-02T15:33:00.000-07:00

Ever since I was little my birthday's have been a long celebration. My Mom is terrible at keeping secrets, so as soon as she would buy me a present she would give it to me -- she just couldn't wait! My Dad always teased me that it was like Hannakah. So, I named it Annakah. And it does last a long time! Last night was the first dinner of Annakah this year:

We made New York Strip steaks with mushrooms, roasted asparagus, baked potatoes, two kinds of cookies and we had lots of wine! It was awesome.

Here is Tim cooking the steaks
Here is the wine - Keenan Cabernet 2003:

Me cooking (actually using my Grandma's double boiler that I haven't ever used before!):

Our table! And my flowers Tim got me to start Annakah 2007:

The Peanut Butter Surprise cookies and the Chocolate Snappers (SO YUMMY!):

Tim in jammies opening Ice Wine for our dessert:

Happy December!

2007-12-01T14:14:00.001-07:00

I love December! It is one of my favorite months. Today we are making two kinds of cookies - one peanut butter and one chocolate. Then a special dinner tonight and tomorrow night. New York Strip Steaks tonight and Pork Roast tomorrow night. I hate the every year my birthday weekend is when the parade is, so going out downtown is too much of a hassle. So we are staying in and cooking and having lots of wine!!

Last (mandatory) Post

2007-11-30T09:36:00.001-07:00

I did it!! I managed to post every day in November. This is 28 times more than Moary posted in November!! YEAH ME!

It wasn't even very hard. I don't talk about anything interesting anyway, so doing that 30 days in a row was fine. I only had one day where I almost forgot and that was it, the rest I remembered early in the day.

Today is hopefully the last big eBay push day. Also pilates and a little run or something. (also laundry and cleaning the bathroom, but that's totally beside the point.) I am feeling much better after the run finally and pilates yesterday didn't kill me.

I know that some readers (Hi Mary!) must think that it is odd for me to have bad days like I did yesterday, since I have no job, kids, responsibilities, family, etc... But that's exactly why I had the bad day. I am trapped in this not moving forward crap-filled place with no hope of a light at the end of the tunnel. Some people think it will end some day and then we can move forward, but I think he is full of shit. And lying. So I just try and keep pretending to be happy until I can't pretend anymore and I lose it...like yesterday. I think the keeping it together times are getting shorter and shorter.

ever have those days?

2007-11-29T10:47:00.000-07:00

The kind where you just want to drink 10 bottles of vodka?

Sore!

2007-11-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

OMG. I am so sore. Sitting on one's ass for 8 entire weeks and then finally getting up and doing something leads to very sore thighs. And by sore I mean REALLY, really sore. Like stairs hurt.

But tomorrow will be better! And I took the day totally off exercise today like I am supposed to, so yeah me! Tomorrow is cardio and pilates.

Also tomorrow is lots more eBay stuff. I really want to get everything else listed this week!

Less than a week left...

2007-11-27T09:14:00.001-07:00

**edited to include exercise!!

I have less than a week of being 31 left. This year went fast. And remarkably I have very little to show for it...just more weight and gray hair.

I am seriously thinking that I need to get a job or something. I really wish I could just get paid for spending time on the computer in my office with Maddie snoring beside me, but I don't know who would hire me for that. I love the eBay stuff, but it is completely unpredictable and I don't actually make much money for all the time I spend.

I was pretty willing to wait out the year doing little except working out, because I thought big changes would be happening in my life, but they aren't and I can't work out that much anymore.

**I finally tried running!! I finally got the nerve up to give it a go and it worked!! I ran three miles. The last 2/3 or so was a bit run/walk-y as my left knee was giving me troubles. I am sure it is only shoe issues as I should have gotten new running shoes in September, but didn't because of the not being able to exercise thing. Happy, happy, happy. It wasn't the prettiest or fastest run (I think I did the whole thing in about 35 minutes) but it was a run!!**

Cyber Monday

2007-11-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

It is actually working. I think people are shopping online at work!! 20 action figures are selling!! WHOOHOOO!!

Today I finally went to test out the gym. I took it very easy and did 25 minutes on the elliptical. Then I stretched a lot! It felt great to be back in the action and I am hoping it still feels that way tomorrow morning!

I am very proud that I have posted 26 days in a row and haven't yet been stuck for an idea. Although the blogs still seems a bit tedious when I really just end up telling Mary everything twice anyway. Once here and once on IM.

Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, but windier. If it isn't too bad I want to walk/run here. If it is too windy I will go to the gym again. Salads for lunch are also my new plan. If only I wouldn't eat 800 ginger snaps after lunch I would be in better shape.

Darn these Whole Foods allergen free, trans fat free, nut free, but full of goodness cookies.

Relaxing Sunday in the Sun

2007-11-25T12:03:00.000-07:00

Well, for Maddie anyway. She has been in the sun since she woke up....searching out even the smallest slice of warmth. Tim is nearing the very end of Harry Potter #7. And I have paid bills and gotten organized for the week. A good feeling.

I have acupuncture at 8:30 tomorrow and then another full day of eBaying. Also some form of cardio. Either the gym or walk/run around here. Tim and I are going to go on a walk soon with the Maddie.

I don't have many plans at all this week actually, and I am looking forward to that. I need to eBay the last items and finish some paperwork on that stuff. I am going to meet the architect people when they come for the last walk through of my parents kitchen on Wednesday. I am glad that project will be over.

We are going to eat out of the freezer for a few weeks. We have so many leftovers that things fall out each time we open the freezer door. I like making big recipes and freezing 4 - 8 servings each time we cook, but now we need to go through and eat them!

11.24.07

2007-11-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

More leftovers...check.
More football on tv...check.
More vacation days...check.
More beer...check.

Happy Ann!!

The Day After

2007-11-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

The reports are in and all the results have been tabulated....Our Thanksgiving rocked!! The food was so good, the house was so cute and clean, Maddie was very good - not even annoying. Everyone got along incredibly well. We played games and ate lots and really enjoyed the day!!

Today is cold, snowy and perfect!! I hope everyone's holiday weekend is going as well!!

We've got a Turkey in the oven!!

2007-11-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all the internets!! (Hi Mary!!) We put our hen in the oven at ten and at eleven we will be basting. At Noon we need to flip her over to the boobie-up position.

Today I am thankful for many things:

That a Starbucks was open after all this morning!
That we finally got some snow and cooler fall weather.
For my Maddie and her snugly-ness!!! I love her so much.
For my 4-baby and my laptop. Also my pretty, pretty jeep.
For flip flops.
That I didn't hurt my hip until after Mary and I got to compete in the triathlons.
For Ruby, my new bike, who is patiently waiting for me to get better.
For my Grandma's Pumpkin Cookie Jar that is the centerpiece of our beautiful Thanksgiving table.
For the very pretty fall bouquet that Tim got me for our holiday.
I am even thankful for the fact that even though it might go incredible poorly and sucky, we have family to get together with today.
For all the wine and beer I bought in case it does start to go poorly.
And mostly for Tim. I wished so hard and so long for him to be here and he is! Lucky me.

Thanksgiving Eve

2007-11-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

We have literally worked all day to get ready for tomorrow and I think we are doing very well!! We polished silver, cleaned blinds and ceiling fans, washed family dishes, ironed table clothes and baked a pie.

The table is very pretty and festive and Thanksgiving-y. Tomorrow we cook the turkey, mash the potatoes potatoes, make the gravy, cook the stuffing, etc...

Maddie has also been very helpful and eager to be involved. She ran errands with us this afternoon and wore her sweater all day. It has been super, super cold here so she hasn't wanted to go outside much. Tomorrow should be a little warmer.

Holiday Week!

2007-11-20T09:04:00.001-07:00

I am so happy that it is Thanksgiving week. Tim's last day at the office is today, so that means 5 days in a row of vacation!!

We are almost all ready for the dinner. The 'natural' turkey came home last night. She's a biggin. Her plastic wrap says 'naturally broad breasted' which Tim loved! He thought that it was silly to want your hens any other way. I bought pecans yesterday for the pie we are making. The stuffing and the mashed potatoes don't worry me. Just the Turkey and the gravy and the guests. Those are the scary parts!

Tonight it is finally supposed to snow!! It has snowed once here so far this year, but I was out of town, so this will be my first snow of the season!! I washed Maddie's sweater in preparation and her coats are ready. Even the mittens we bought her are ready. Although the trial wearing of those went poorly. I will try and get a photo in the mittens, but I can't promise anything as she was pretty perturbed at me...

Getting ready for cold!

2007-11-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

SW

2007-11-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

Someone paid $33.00 for Burger King toys! WHOOHOOO!!

Organic shopping!

2007-11-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

Today we did almost all of our Thanksgiving shopping. It involved lots of stores and lots of money and was VERY FUN!

What is a Free Range Fertile Egg? It creeps the crap out of me to even imagine??

Saving the Earth

2007-11-16T14:03:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, after several discussions and an odd dream about the issue, we decided to stop buying bottled water. We will be lessening our carbon footprint(s) AND saving money. And more importantly!! We now have room in the fridge for our "natural" turkey.

Generally we go through 3 cases of bottled water a week. Four weeks a month, 12 months a year, and on and on. So that's a lot of plastic bottles in a landfill.

We got a new filter for the water in the fridge. We got a super cute little brita filter pitcher for inside the fridge and we got a faucet filter thingy for the kitchen sink. Quite the new set-up.

The only issues I have with the whole thing so far are that it isn't at all convenient. It is stupid slow to fill the pitcher. The water out of the fridge still tastes like crap. The sink thingy leaks all the time and doesn't shut off very quickly. And I can't drink out of any of our glasses because 1. They taste like milk residue (blech) and 2. they are filthy.

Why are they filthy?? Because the dishwasher sucks. It always has. I'm sure it was the cheapest model the builder could possibly find. And the water here is too heavy to get anything clean. It leaves buildup or something all over the dishes. Especially the silverware and glasses.

What? Try a new dishwashing detergent? Oh silly, that doesn't work. I have tried them ALL. Literally. I actually went to Wal-Mart yesterday and got a new kind that was recommended by the random Sears employee I talked with. But alas, no work-y. I tried it out over night by putting in clean glasses and silverware. They actually came out dirtier and filmier than they went in. GROSS!

I used to get this great hard water specific dishwashing detergent from some amway friends, but it was expensive and I am not really friends with them anymore. And I don't want to buy stuff that way....So I am out of options.

Yes, if you have stuck it out this long to read all the way through to here you can tell it all makes me grumpy. But also!! It makes me grumpy that I am in exactly the same situation I was in 4 years ago. Same crappy dishwasher, same bitching about people coming over to eat and having gross dirty dishes and silverware to serve them dinner on, and same glasses that taste like milk. Ugh. The literal only difference is that instead of having Tim come over with his wife while Chad cooked, is that Tim is here and his wife isn't invited.

All of this follows on a few weeks of feeling again like I am just going nowhere, getting no further down the line in anything. It makes me want to drink heavily and swear.

GREAT DAY!!

2007-11-15T08:27:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me, (HI MARY!) you know that I don't have a lot going on in my life right now. I don't work, I don't have kids, I don't leave the house for boot camp or the gym or Pilate's anymore, I don't have extra money to shop with, I rarely have anything big to do or plan or what not. It is a simple life right now, really.

So imagine how I felt on Monday when all of a sudden my FAVORITE pen went missing. It was just gone. I looked everywhere. All the places pens go and some where they don't (fridge, trash can, car...) But I couldn't find it.

I immediately wrote my sadness to Tim and told him to steal me another just like it, but alas he couldn't find the exact one. But he did bring home a nice sharpie. But it wasn't the same!

BUT! LO! Today I put on a dirty sweatshirt and it was in the POCKET! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nov 14

2007-11-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

My ass/hip/butt/leg hurts again. I have a funny bruise in the middle of my stomach from acupuncture. I need more sleep. Maddie is desperately searching for sun today, but it is pretty cloudy. She wants to be warm.

A few weeks ago I did something that I doubted was a good idea, but my Mom thought it was a great idea. So I went ahead and did it. I mailed a letter to someone I know in my gut doesn't like me and won't ever, but I keep reaching out.

My Mom is a lot like me, she just assumes that people are good and nice and will come around. More over, she always believes that people will like me. The other thing wrong with this situation is that the other person involved hasn't always been very honest with me either, so I should have trusted either of them.

Motivation....

2007-11-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

I am in serious need of motivation. I can't seem to get up enough to list more items. It seems like 1/2 the items sell well and 1/2 don't sell at all. I can't figure out which half. It seems to me to be completely unpredictable. Like Wicket the Ewok goes for big bucks, but Han Solo is a bust. Who knows??

I feel like I am getting through the stuff, but then I look around and there is more. Lots more. I think I just shift from one end of the basement to the other. So it isn't really getting lower, it is just an optical illusion. I do need to get the Christmas stuff listed. Soon.

Long Weekend

2007-11-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

I waited too long for acupuncture. I should have gone Thursday or Friday. It made for a very long weekend. I won't wait that long again.

I wouldn't say that I am grumpy or pissy or bitchy, I am just disappointed I think. The weird thing about acupuncture is that it makes me not have to talk about stuff or deal with it right away, it makes me very calm. Usually I have to get everything out right away and talk it all to death. Acupuncture makes me apathetic. More in the not so much concern about anything way...

I think a lot about how a year ago I was going absolutely insane waiting for things to happen and wanting thngs to be on a better path. I was truly driving myself nut-so. This year the only thing that is different is that I don't get worked up. Nothing is better, or different, or on its way to being better, or different. I just react better. (Better wouldn't be MY word, but I know it is the word other people would use.) I think I actually don't react at all. Like my expectations are all gone. I am apathetic about it all. Sorta like I gave my life a xanax. Haha. Except really.

Lazy Sunday

2007-11-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

It is a bright, sunny, lazy day here. Maddie is napping and I would love to join her. Today we went through all the china to find out if we had 8 matching set of anything for use at Thanksgiving. I do! I also have lots of partial sets of lots of other stuff. But not as much as I had really imagined, so that's good.

My butt is still a bit sore, so I don't think a bike ride is the best of ideas. I think a Maddie Walk will be good. Tomorrow is acupuncture again, and I am really looking forward to that.

I hope more Star Wars stuff starts selling. It is much slower this week than last week. I thought it would just keep picking up through the holidays. Tomorrow is another big listing day. I need to get more of the action figures up to see if they will sell.

The Day After....

2007-11-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

I'm sore/tired in my butt-hip. I don't think I will be bike riding today. Perhaps tomorrow. (fingers crossed!) I am very glad to be back on track exercise wise, but it will take awhile to be back to where I was. Especially given the not-two-days in a row rule.

So, I have been trying to be more social lately. I get stuck in w rut from time-to-time where I just like to be alone and with Maddie. I think it isn't the best idea to let that happen to long as I don't want to go back to feeling badly. So I have been meeting up with friends (three this week!) and emailing more people. It is weird though, since I have to keep track of who knows what about certain things....Sometimes it almost seems too complicated and I should just stick to myself with my Maddie.

On the other hand, it is fun to talk with old friends and catch up with people I haven't talked with in a while.

Back to pilates.

2007-11-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day back. I really missed it. I can't believe how hard it was! I am out of shape. I hope it comes back fast.

Everyday I think I might write about something really cool, but then I can't thing of anything. Is it really bad when your own blog bores you??

I need to write about something more, but I don't really want to write about politics, my relationship, religion, etc... What else is there?

Holiday Season

2007-11-08T09:15:00.000-07:00

So today when we went to get our coffee, Starbucks had already switched to the holiday cups and sleeves. I am as big a fan of Christmas as the next person, but it is November 8th. Won't it get old in 6 weeks?

As I have stated many, many times in the past, I think Christmas decorations and plans and music and all should wait until AFTER Annakah is over. Technically it should all wait until the 10th, after my Mom's birthday, but that might be stretching it for some people (Tim.)

I think Starbucks should have Thanksgiving cups. A pretty orange and brown fall themed cup to use in October and November. Wouldn't that be fun?!?

Webfession #2

2007-11-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I had a webfession. Now I have another.

My bank account has been off by $50.09 for months. I don't know where it went wrong but it did. Very odd as I am a bit compulsive about balancing my checkbook, but it is off. Always the same amount. Weird.

In other news, I am attempting the knitting again today. As you all will remember, this is what happened last time I tried to knit... So, obviously I need a new needle. And I need to keep the knitting higher when I am not actively knitting. (I think the problem is that Maddie doesn't like it when she can't sit in my lap, and the knitting had prevented that.)

Big Day at the Office

2007-11-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a super busy day at my office. I am really pleased with how it all went. Today is shipping day. And paperwork day. Then tomorrow I can list more items in the morning.

I need a craft idea for a silent auction. Last year I made a Fall Wreath and Tim liked it so much he bought it back for us. This year I was thinking something baked, but then I will just want to make some for us and eat it. So that's a bad idea. Other ideas of non-edible crafty things??

Tonight I am thinking I will make RR's Pumpkin and Sage Pasta. It sounds so yummy and fall-y. Maddie insists upin wearing her sweater lately and lounging in the sun. The only bad part of the office is the no-sun factor for her.

Things I Do Not Like

2007-11-05T16:16:00.001-07:00

Headaches
Being Cold
Being Hungry
Crappy Jackass Drivers
Spiders, especially big ones in the basement
Sci-fi books
Scary movies
Brussel sprouts
Black Licorice
Mean people, especially when they are mean to ME

Post #100

2007-11-04T14:56:00.000-07:00

Today's post is my 100th post since I began writing my blog. As you all know, this started as an exercise blog to discuss my training for the KC half marathon.

Since then, and really forever in all reality, I mostly just recount my day. Nothing special or thoughtful.

Perhaps the next 100 will be more enlightening and enjoyable!!

Star Wars Movement!

2007-11-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

Wow! I am getting lots of Star Wars action! (that sounds so dirty!!) But I actually am!! I got three questions just today about my eBay items. Mostly legos seem to be the hot item, but playskool is big too. I am selling lots of groups of things to people. So cool! Monday is the last day for the reduced listing fees, so it will be a big work day. Lots to list!!

Today was an awesome Fall day here in Denver. We woke up super late...even Maddie! Then went to Starbucks and a model home furniture store. We needed a new bed for the guest room, but couldn't find one there, so we just bought one at AFW. We then came home and got the guestroom all situated and complete. Now we can have three people stay with us. Yeah!

We did all the final winterizing of the yard today too. Took down the hammock and patio furniture. (the table and chairs are all set up like a conference room in my office!! anyone want to have a meeting??)

Finally, we had a date evening. We went to see Michael Clayton and then had dinner. It was very fun!! Even better, we came home and are having some wine and answered eBay questions together!

Tomorrow we are playing 9 holes of golf with my Dad and then having lunch with both parents. It will be the first golf for me since my hip troubles, so keep your fingers crossed that it goes well.

Perhaps tomorrow I should find something to actually discuss, rather than just listing my daily activities...

Things I like...(besides Tim)

2007-11-02T07:20:00.000-07:00

Stolen from Mary.

1. Beagles

2. Snuggling

3. Cooking

4. Full-bodied red wine

5. "Working" from home

6. Bon Jovi and the Dixie Chicks

7. Vacations

8. Reading

9. Taking pictures

10. Hiking

11. Baking

12. Coffee and Lattes

13. Organizing and Cleaning

14. Pilates

15. Fall

Just a few....

November 1

2007-11-01T11:21:00.000-07:00

I guess I need to make some changes around here. I didn't finish at WW and I didn't run in KC, so I need a new focus and to keep all my loyal readers (Hi MARY!) coming back. Perhaps I will try and participate in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) and post everyday. I can try anyway...

This is Official Diet Month at my house. We have all gained some weight. Maddie is up to 27 pounds! That's huge! Mostly she is just a big girl with long legs and hips. (Or is that me....?) But I think she could stand to lose a few pounds. Tim and I are also very interested in losing a few. Well, I am interested in losing more than a few... So, if I agree to blog everyday it will be a good way to keep accountable.

It is very hard to not gain weight when not working out. I don't know how people could possibly expect to ever lose without a serious exercise program. Since I haven't worked out since the end of September, I have lost muscle tone and gained fat. I am heeled up enough in the butt area to start a program again. I just have to be smarter about rest. As in, I need to rest at least once a week or more. Also as in, no more 5 hour workout days.

So! Here is to Official Diet month, Seeing progress on the scale, Getting sensible workouts in, and not eating crap!

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T15:11:00.000-07:00

As per usual, the weather here tanked today. It was 80 yesterday and about 36 today. It ALWAYS does that on Halloween. Luckily we planned ahead and got a warm costume this year.

Game 4...

2007-10-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

Today is the day that the Rockies HAVE to win. It has been very hard to watch the last three games, so hopefully today is the turn around. I thought our new hats would have been the thing, but they didn't work.

I am getting a little stir crazy not working out. I have to go out and do something soon, but I am so scared of getting hurt again. That was not fun. I am thinking of doing a Turkey Trot race on Thanksgiving, but then I can't do the pedal, pump and pilates at the studio....so I can't decide.

That's all, not too much to update. Star Wars week starts tomorrow. I like having the office hours be more consistent and focusing. It makes me feel a tad productive.

KC in Pictures

2007-10-26T08:40:00.001-06:00

As my devoted readers and the internets know, the whole reason for this blog was to capture my experiences training for the KC half-marathon and getting my lifetime membership in WW. So far both have been a complete bust. But at least I have my loyal followers.

I was not able to run in the KC half-mary because of this:

My butt and hip are still very painful. But I was able to go to KC to cheer on my sister as she ran in her first half marathon in several years!! Here is my trip in detail.....

Tim, me, my Mom and Dad made the trip. My brother couldn't go because he had to work. That was very sad, but he might come to visit in December! My Mom and Dad are always so excited to see Mary. They are always asking about her and wanting to know the details of her life. She says I tell them too much. I am trying to stop.
When we arrived in Kansas City on Thursday, we did what we always do when we get to KC. We ate at George Brett's! It is my favorite place and always fun. I hope they stay in business.
That's my Mom. She is a very good cheerleader and always up for taking silly pictures with me! She is very fun.

After dinner we went back to Mary's to drink more. I was very happy about that...
I think Tim was too! Although the next morning he had to do some work:

Friday we went to the race expo to pick up the packet and see what free stuff they had. It was a very nice expo. Tim and I went to lunch with my aunts and uncles. Mom won the cake eating contest we had at the end...

Friday night we made the special pre-race dinner at Mary's house. It was pasta with Italian sausage, red peppers and onions. We also had salad, bread and drinks. Mary decided to drink darker beer before races for the nutrients. It seemed to work out for her!

After dinner we all put the finishing touches on our signs for Mary's race. We wanted to make them readable from a far distance while she was speeding by:

Early the next morning, Mary and Tim and I headed for the start line

It was still quite dark out as we parked and headed down to Crown Royal Center. This is when we encountered the first little trouble of our trip...

The lines for the porta-potties were SO LONG. Mary wasn't very happy at this point:

She told me to never arrive too late to a race and to always go to the bathroom just before you leave home. I think this is good advice.

She finally made it through the line!! But sadly the actual race had already started by this time. But we assured her that the chip time was the most important thing. Success! She is running out of the potty and heading to the start line. GO MARY!! Tim and I were able to see her at mile 3, my parents saw her at mile 6, Lisa, Hazel, Tim and I saw her at mile 8 1/2 and then we all met up at the finish line to see her there!

Here she is at mile 6 right on the plaza!

Here is Lisa and Hazel coming to cheer Mary on. Lisa is the reason we all agreed to do this in the first place.

Mary ran so fast!! She finished in 1 hour 52 minutes. She ROCKS! Here she is at the end of the race drinking a beer. It was 9:15 in the morning.

Mary only had one minor injury from the race. She hadn't cut her toenails quite short enough, so there was some bleeding.

The rest of the day was spent watching the Buffs and baseball. It was a Super Day! (well, except for the Buffs)

Sunday morning we had a Pancake Fest. This is a traditional Family meal. It involves lots of eating. Just like all the other traditional family meals. But this one is in the morning. Tim is the best breakfast maker. He also learned the trick to using Mary's griddle, so the pancakes were Yummy! After breakfast we all climbed into Dad's filthy rental car and headed for a family field trip.I was in the WAY back of the filthy rental car. I tried not to touch any of the surfaces, but that was hard. We headed to tour the WW 1 Memorial. Here we go:
It was an awesome museum and lots of fun. Mary, Tim and I also went to the top of the tower. It was cool up there and had lots of great views.

Sunday night we are LOTS of BBQ and then did the next Traditional Family Field Trip. We always do this part when we are in Kansas City.

I had SO much fun on my trip and Mary did such an awesome job in the race. I hope that next time I can run with her! I love my fall vacation and am pleased with how well it went. See....Happy Ann:

KC Half Marthon

2007-10-20T14:41:00.000-06:00

MARY ROCKS!!! She did so great today in the race. She ran it in 1 hour and 52 minutes...which is AWESOME!!! We had so much fun. Tim and I got up at 5:20 so we would be able to have breakfast and head down to the start with Mary. We got there and had a little problem with parking. Then the lines for the porta-potties were GIANT. I will post pictures on Tuesday. Believe me, though.

Once she started (about 4 minutes late) Tim and I headed to mile 3 with our sign and cowbell. We saw her and she saw us and it worked out very well. Then Mom and Dad met her at mile 6. Lisa, Hazel, Tim and I met her again at 8 1/2 miles. She looked great. No fatigue or anything. Then I wanted to see her one more time, but she was going too fast to make it work, so we all headed to the finish area to meet up with Mom and Dad and wait for Mary. We didn't have to wait too long. She came by us faster than I thought she would. She looked great! Other runners looked like they might die at any moment, but she looked like she could keep going.

After she finished we all met up and saw her time and cheered and took lots of pictures. The she got 2 free beers. It was before 9:30 a.m., so she obviously only had two of the three she was allotted! Then we walked to the TWA building and got coffee and talked. After that the marathoners were starting to finish, so we watched them and cheered for awhile. Some people still looked fresh and happy. Others really look awful. Some runners have great strides and look so smooth and others look like they have one flat tire. It is so fun to watch.

Finally we headed home and got some lunch....Pickerman's, yeah!! She wants to watch the CU/KU game in a while, so hopefully that goes well for her.

I will upload some pictures once I get back to Denver!

Rocktober and my ass

2007-10-16T12:34:00.000-06:00

This has been the best ROCKTOBER ever! (I also think it is the first one...) The Rockies have been super fun to watch and the World Series is coming to Denver! On Monday we will be signing up for the lottery to get some tickets! WhooooooHoooo!

We all head to KC on Thursday to watch Mary run my half marathon. I hope she gets over her cold and feels FAST. I will have lots of water and food and athletic support to give. I am so excited for her!!

I went to my first physical therapy appointment today. OUCH! I learned that even if I got the steroid injection now it wouldn't work to well because everything is so tight and swollen. I am to do exercises for three weeks that include butt stretches, IT band massages and little side steps. Also lots of ice still. Then if it is loser, but still sore I will get an injection. Technically she said I could do anything exercise-wise that doesn't hurt, so I can walk more and go to the gym soon! But she also said it would likely hurt to do anything. Sad.

Working for a Living

2007-10-09T11:56:00.000-06:00

Just kidding.....Not really for a living, just for something to do since I can't work out. I am back to ebay. Seriously this time too. I am going to have everything listed before I travel to KC to watch Mary run my race.

I hope that everything sells nice and easy. And for a LOT of money.

It is easy to work at home. I can get up and stretch and walk about like I am supposed to every 30 minutes. Maddie can snuggle my feet on her little bed. I can easily do laundry.

If I just can make myself get up with Tim gets up and let him buy me coffee each morning this plan will work!!

pain in the butt....

2007-10-04T16:36:00.000-06:00

It is still there. Not so much better yet. I went to my primary care dr yesterday to try and get a cortisone shot, but no luck. I have my third ultrasound treatment tomorrow. I am icing much more consistently and I walked a bit today.

I am watching the Rockies win their second of three games needed to move on in the playoffs. The next game is in Denver on Saturday. Fun!! Not that I am 1.) a big fan of the Rockies, 2.) a big fan of the National League, 3.) or honestly even that big a baseball fan anymore, but it is FUN to watch the local team do so well. And I love that the whole month has been declared ROCKTOBER! I love fun names for stuff like that. And I especially love the the Broncos can't seem to win anything. That makes it all better.

Called third strike ends it all!! Awesome!! Go Rockies!!

This was supposed to be our fall vacation weekend to Glenwood Springs with golf, hiking, eating out, hotel sex, hot springs pool, etc.... But we decided to cancel since I just don't feel good. Hopefully we can still have a nice weekend here. Tim is still taking tomorrow off and we are going to take a small drive in the mountains to see the leaves before they are all gone.

I guess that is my update. Not much to report. Still not allowed to do anything. Not even stretch. Just move every 30 minutes and ice my ass.

Bum Bum

2007-10-02T13:18:00.000-06:00

HAHA!!! That's such a funny title. I just now thought of it, too!!!

I have a bad butt. I pinched a nerve (sciatic...?sp?) and it makes pain shoot down like fire to my foot, and then makes my foot all tingly and ouchy.

I also have bursitis of the hip. Which makes my hip scream in pain anytime anything touches it. Basically I have to not do anything except stretch, ice and take advil for a week and then we will reassess. I also get these tingly ultrasound treatments on my butt three times a week.

In other news, today Maddie is going to get a blessing at my parents church. It is her first. We used to take Bo each year and it is always a nice thing. Our Deacon used to thank Bo for being such a nice blessing for her family and tell her how much happiness she brought. I think they will tell Maddie something similar, but also that she is the bestest snuggler ever created. And that she should not stop.

Really, that's the big difference between Bo and Maddie. Bo was fiercely independent. She would only snuggle when she felt like it, which wasn't often. She hated when I touched her paws. And she enjoyed just being in the room with people.

Maddie on the other hand snuggles so aggressively that people tend to get hurt. She MUST be in the middle of her people at all times. She likes to touch my hand with her paw and I hold her paw while we watch TV. In the car she likes to sit on my lap and at night she snuggles right in between us under the covers.

October!

2007-10-01T09:30:00.000-06:00

Fall is in full swing here in Englewoood. Leaves are changing and the air smells yummy and crisp. The sky has been an amazing blue with almost no clouds for a week.

I am injured. I keep trying to ignore it, but something bad happened. I have a call into a physical therapist to see what she can tell me. I can't walk right on it and it really hurts.

This is Star Wars Week!! I am going to get everything all up for auction that I have been organizing. I hope it goes well!!

Maddie is full into wearing her sweater. She will not take it off and she just waits in the morning for someone to put it on for her. She is TOO cute. We have also been practicing wearing her Halloween costume. She is going to be a giant pumpkin. That's too cute!!!

alive....

2007-09-20T11:02:00.000-06:00

OMG. I have been in bed for two days with a horrible, terrible, awful, nasty migraine. I am finally feeling a tad bit better and now only have a headache. Argh. In the meantime I have missed two hours of bootcamp, two hours of pilates and one hour of pump. But I haven't eaten anything, so I am feeling thin. Yeah!

As an update, I went to bootcamp and advanced pilates Monday and ran a little. Tuesday I had bootcamp, pilates and pump and then crashed.

Tomorrow I am running the bluffs and then hope to get Ruby out there for a long ride.

Ruby Lovin'

2007-09-11T13:13:00.000-06:00

I am SO happy with my Ruby, I can't even begin to express the feelings. I am so glad that I tried so many bikes over the summer and that I kept coming back to Ruby just makes it all better. She was the only one for me.

I am going out again this afternoon to ride her. My goal is to get 100 miles on her in the first week. Perhaps then the seat will break in a bit more. It may have been designed by a doctor, but ouch! It is hard.

Yesterday was the first day back at bootcamp. We did the mile run test and the push up test. I ran the mile in 7:52. 7 minutes slower than at the end of bootcamp 6 weeks ago. But I wasn't pushing my self as hard. I did 54 girl pushups also. Then we did the obstacle course. Today we did a sit up test. 34 in one minute. Then we did 90 seconds of bosu, 90 seconds of weights. It was very fun. Then I had tai chi. My obliques are killing me today because of advanced pilates yesterday. Ouchy!

I am making beef stew tonight and we will watch the Biggest Loser!!! YEAH!! I love that Jillian is back.

Weekend of Biking

2007-09-09T17:51:00.000-06:00

Friday afternoon when Tim got home, we rode to the grocery store to get some dinner items. I rode another second hand bike I was testing out and he rode my white bike. About two minutes into the ride we both knew we were not on well-fitting bikes, but we plugged away anyway.

We decided just to bite the bullet and get new road bikes. So, Saturday morning after pump and pilates we went and bought them!!! I got the Ruby Expert and he got the Sequoia. We got all the accessories and everything we could possible need. Tim even got clipless pedals and shoes.

All the way home I was telling Tim that he would fall and just to get ready for it and not to worry about it. We wanted to ride today, so I was hoping he would fall right away and get it over with....He did. We went down to where the new Whole Foods is going to be built and turned around. He didn't think I was stopping, but I did and he leaned the wrong way trying to stop behind me and he fell. It wasn't bad and he got right back up. He was happy to be done with the fall. All in all we rode about 15 miles on various bikes yesterday testing them out and trying different things.

This morning we went and met people from the studio to ride to Cherry Creek for coffee. Another girl and her husband were going and they are very new beginners, so it was a good, easy chance for Tim to practice. He did great!!! He kept up with the group the whole time and didn't have any issues. The only scary thing of the ride was watching another rider on the trail get carried up on a stretcher by emts. They had her in a neck brace and everything. I hope she is ok and it was just precautionary. I don't think I will tell mom that story.

When we got home we fixed up Tim's mountain bike and went riding on a few trails around the house. It was pretty chilly and windy, so we only went about 5 miles. Tim hadn't ever been on dirt before, so that was a blast! It was the trails where we went snow shoeing last winter, for those of you readers who remember that.

Finally this afternoon, we hung up all of our bikes so that we can park both cars in the garage. We would really prefer keeping our bikes in the dining room, but we don't have one.

Mileage Report for the Weekend of Biking:
Friday - 7 miles
Saturday - 15 miles
Sunday Road - 21 miles
Sunday Mtn - 5 miles
TOTAL = 48 miles = sore butts = Happy Ann!!!!

My laptop returneth!!

2007-09-05T09:24:00.000-06:00

Well!!! It is the day I have been waiting for since August 11th!!! Yeah Laptop!! Although it isn't exactly fixed, it is back in my hands and seems to be working alright. They are sending an optical drive with instructions for how to install it when the parts come in from back order. W.E.

Yesterday I did tai chi, pilates and pump. This morning I woke up early and lifted. I will run for an easy 30 minutes and then I have pilates.

Yesterday I helped a friend with some invitations to a girl's night get together she is hostessing tomorrow night. I am going to help her make sangria and get margarita makings together today. I am going to make roasted red pepper humus for the party. So yummy.

The Plan

2007-09-02T13:32:00.000-06:00

So, starting Tuesday I will be updating much more often and with more details about food and exercise. It might not be easy, seeing as how Dell STILL has my computer that is STILL not working. BOO DELL. Bad bad bad Dell.

I have one more week until real boot camp starts again. I will be running and lifting weights consistently, as well as cross training. I am super excited for the half marathon training and ready to get on with it!!

Friday I beat Tim by one stroke at Raccoon Creek. I hope to beat him again tomorrow at Lone Tree. That would be really fun!!

Banker's Hours

2007-08-28T16:44:00.000-06:00

I just had the best day! I basically worked out/was active for a whole work day. First I met my friend for Tai Chi, then we walked to the coffee place and had a coffee break. Then we walked to pilates. Then we grabbed a quick sammich and went for a 21.5 mile bike ride. Very fun!!

Yesterday I ran a bit, lifted weights and did the fun elliptical. I like this new one at the new rec center. The arms things are good, but the wear me out. My shoulder is a bit sore from some eight pound weights last week, so I need to watch that.

I have been promised for six days now that my computer will arrive "tomorrow" so here's hoping!

Training plan in place

2007-08-23T11:02:00.000-06:00

Things are coming back together this week. I have worked out each day and am finally feeling better. It was rough getting back in the swing of things.

Monday I went to pilates. Tuesday I had boot camp, pilates, pump and tai chi. Wednesday I went to the gym and had pilates. Today I went to boot camp and am getting ready to head to pilates and pump. Tomorrow is the last day of the mini boot camp. Tim can hopefully join me for a run/walk at the Bluffs. Saturday is also our last couples league night. Boo. But I do like that things are calming down and we will have less commitments.

I have two weeks off from boot camp and then I am starting another 5 day a week session. I am looking forward to it as it will be good a keeping me on track with the half marathon training. I set up a new revised plan and am feeling very good about the running. It will be so much fun to cross that finish line on October 20th!!

My computer is supposed to arrive today and I can't wait!! Then I can get back to Star Warsing.

Long time coming back...

2007-08-17T10:54:00.000-06:00

Whew, I feel like I have been out of it for a bit. I worked so hard to get ready for the triathlons and once they were over I was feeling a bit let down. I had such an awesome time for two weeks. This week has been very exhausting.

After the race on Saturday, which we WON by over 9 minutes, we went to the awesome roller derby. I loved it! Then we did the Race for the Cure on Sunday morning. Then Mary and Tim and I set up camp at the Brooksider and spent the entire day there. It was really fun, even though it was HOT.

Monday we drove home and got Maddie. Tuesday was a bad day. I broke the washing machine, spent $190 to send my computer to Dell, and had a bad mold experience I don't want to talk about. Wednesday I was exhausted. Thursday I felt better. Today is really the first day I feel back to normal.

I went to boot camp and then had to take poor Maddie to the vet. She got a cold at the lodge last week and needs meds. Poor Baby Maddie. She is so sad and sick. I have tons of errands to run today for the art auction and I get to see Mom and Dad's new countertop.

Tomorrow is golf league! And hopefully a movie or something relaxing. Sunday is the art auction. I can not wait for it to be over. What a lot of work, and I didn't do much compared to others. Tim has been very good at helping and he deserves a lot of rewards for his assistance.

Hopefully Monday will be officially back on track day for 1/2 Marathon Training. Two months to go!!

KC

2007-08-10T14:33:00.001-06:00

It is so hot in Kansas City. I guess I am a total baby about humidity.

This has been a fun week. On Monday after the tri, I slept late. Then Mary and I ran some errands. We went swimming and played in the pool for awhile. Then we all took Maddie to the vet and had pizza with the parents.

Tuesday we packed the car and Tim headed to his business trip and Mary and I headed to KC. Got here and went to eat dinner. We ate outside on the patio at Charlie Hoopers. I had only been there once before to watch a football game and drink about 17 bloody mary's. This time I only had beer and dinner. Then we decided to check out a new fancy-pants bar downtown. It was called Madragall's and they serve killer Martini's. I maybe had a few too many. But the cute bartender let me help name one. It is called the Sparkletini and I hated it in the morning.

On the way home we picked up more beer and went to Lisa's. We hung out and talked and had a lot of fun. On the way home, Mary accidentally let one of her cats out, so we spent 30 minutes or so looking for the cat. It was late. I was very drunk. Eventually Lisa found the cat a neighbor's back porch. When we finally got home, Mary wanted popcorn, so we ate it while watching the 2006 Kona IronMan. We decided to do that race and then when we finish get tattoos. Prolly will take several years to train. I'll keep the internets posted.

Wednesday I had breakfast with Lisa at Georgie Porgie's on Troost. Then we came here to investigate the damage to my laptop since I spilled some beer on it Monday night. We got it to turn on, but the keys won't work. Boo. Then I did laundry and nursed my hangover.

When Mary got home from work we shopped and then rode our bikes. I was pretty pathetic, but besides the hangover and headache it was 96 degrees and ginormously humid. Then we had beers and dinner at the Brooksider. When we got home I had to sleep! I was done.

Yesterday I took Mary to work and kept her car. I had breakfast with Lisa at Eggtc. I wanted to go walk around Loose Park, but she had to get work done, so I came home and napped and read all day. Then I went and picked Mary up from work and we went open water swimming and running. Then we got salads from the Mixx. Love it.

Today I have cleaned and done laundry, finished my book, eaten healthy, hydrated and rested. When Mary gets home we are heading to packet pickup for the tri tomorrow. Then we will eat Chipotle and wait for Tim to get here!!! I am so excited that he gets here soon.

After the race tomorrow we are going to watch roller derby and maybe meet Lisa and her sister at Bar Natasha. Maybe have dinner at 810 Zone and have LOTS of beers.

Sunday after the Race for the Cure with some family, we will go to the Royals game. We will also drinks LOTS of beers on this day too.

Yeah for KC, Mary, Tim and Beers!!!

unofficially -- 1 hour and 41 minutes!!!!

2007-08-05T13:57:00.000-06:00

Wow! That was a blast. I really, really liked my first triathlon. The only rough parts were getting there so early and getting back out to the cars. There were SO many women and spectators. It was such and awesome experience.

The swim was about 17 minutes. Which was awesome because it was 2 minutes faster than my last practice swim. YEAH!

The bike was way faster than I have ever biked before. Mary really pushed me and I loved that. We passed tons of people.

The run was tough. I am not going to lie. I need to get more running in and get better at it, because if I want to improve it has to be in the run. At least that would be easiest.

I hope they post the official times soon.

Tri Week of FUN!

2007-08-03T10:45:00.000-06:00

So Mary is on her way here!!! She was in Junction City last time I talked with her and rather grumpy. Something about the drive being too long and this is why she flies and on and on....

In better news, the tri is only two more days away!!! I am so excited!!!

Tonight we are having healthy salads and an orange bundt. I hope I can get the house clean by the time people arrive.

8/2

2007-08-02T14:57:00.000-06:00

Today I was on the morning show again. It was really fun. I was pretty nervous again last night, but I felt alright this morning. They did three segments and I didn't look like an idiot and my butt did not look excessively buoyant, so that's a win.

Tomorrow is an easy walk day, Saturday will be something light and then the tri is Sunday. I am ready!! Very excited for it to just get here already.

07.31.07

2007-07-31T16:49:00.000-06:00

I shall begin with a brief update:

The dip and dash was 10 whole seconds faster the second time. The swim was MUCH better, but the run was slower. 95 degree heat is tough for running.
Wednesday I mock bootcamped, pilate'd, had a golf lesson, etc...
Thursday I mock bootcamped and rode my bike
Friday I mock bootcamped
Saturday I had a golf lesson and played in the league.
Sunday I had a great bike ride at the Reservoir and then hit some balls.
Monday I mock bootcamped and pilate'd, then I had meetings.

Today has been very good! Real Boot Camp started again. This time is it only three days a week. We did super fun stuff on the BOSU balls today and used little weights too.

Then I went to tai chi and pilates. Early this afternoon I met my friend and we again rode the route for the tri on Sunday at the res. It went faster today. About 50 min. But it was HOT. I really hope it is cool on Sunday. And the Sunday after too.

The last dip and dash night...

2007-07-24T10:32:00.000-06:00

So tonight it my last dip and dash of the season. Also, only the second. I am really looking forward to it as I plan to finish in under 50 minutes and also wear my tri outfit for testing.

To catch all y'all up, Saturday was pump and pilates as planned. The golf league however was completely rained out. Big storm. It was pretty fun though. LOTS of drinking under the patio at the course with the rest of the league. Then we went to grab dinner and drink more. Then we came home and drank more. It was super fun, but can't be done again for a long time.

Sunday I went on the longish bike ride with people from the studio. It was an east downhill 11 miles there and then a hard, long, hot, trying 11 miles back to the car. I didn't do too well. I hope that they don't ban me from riding again. It was really fun, though, as I am getting very comfortable on my bike and I really enjoy riding.

Monday was mock boot camp at the park and pilates. I also hosted my book club, so I cleaned a lot. We discussed the first Harry Potter. Very fun. I am about 1/3 of the way into the 7th book, so I want more free time for reading. But my schedule is very full right now.

I am off to run errands soon and will post my time tomorrow. Here's hoping for sub-50!!!

Thoughts on overtraining and making that hill my bitch.

2007-07-20T14:24:00.000-06:00

So, I am wondering if my tiredness and inability to catch up on sleep, despite crashing each night around 9:30, has to do with over training? I am beginning to think I am pushing myself a little too hard. This week I have taken in a bit more easy and it really paid off today.

But first to catch up.....Tuesday evening I drove out to the reservoir and when I got there it was so dark and windy and rainy, that I just drove home and took a bath.

Wednesday I went to the park and did mock boot camp with my friend. We walked/ran to warm up for about 10 minutes. Then we made twenty cards with different stations and then did 45 seconds on, 45 seconds off for 45 minutes. Then we did a few abs and stretched and such. In the afternoon I went to pilates.

Thursday I only did pilates. I really needed some extra rest and it felt great!!! An almost off day!!!

Which leads to today.....I met my friend at 7:30 to run the hills at the park I ran with my sister a few weeks ago. Today was perfect running conditions. Below 70 degrees, cloudy and not crowded. I walk the first hill with my friend, because I needed to warm up. Once I got to the top, though, I ran the WHOLE WAY. I even ran three of the out and backs. I heard that if you run the two big ones it is a 5 mile course. So, I guess I ran 5 miles, minus the first hill. It took about 50 minutes, maybe a shade less. AWESOME!

So, now I am pretty excited for the rest of the training. Maybe I just needed a mini-break. Tomorrow is pump and pilates and golf. Sunday I am riding a long ride with some people from the studio. I am looking forward to that!

Dip & Dash Day

2007-07-17T10:12:00.000-06:00

Catch-up report lest you all think I wasn't working out....

Thursday: Boot camp, pump, pilates. I was on tv talking about bootcamp. VERY FUN!
Friday: Boot camp, hill running at the Bluffs, golf lessons. LOVE golf lessons. Lana FIXED me!
Saturday: Pump, pilates, drive to CO Spgs to get star wars collection, golf. Three margaritas. Ouch.
Sunday: Rest Day. Helped my parents pack up their kitchen for remodel.

Monday: Mock boot camp with friend at park, pilates, two LONG meetings.
Tuesday: Today I went to tai chi. I haven't been in a long time. It is so relaxing. I really like that. I also really like the last part where we get to meditate and go to our happy place. I have pump this afternoon and then I am going to do the dip & dash again. I hope to cut at least 5 minutes off my time.

Bike Ride

2007-07-11T20:44:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update to let you all and the internets know that I did do the group bike ride. It was very fun. 23.5 miles in 1 hour 29 minutes.

They were fast! I want to do it again!!

Back in the Groove

2007-07-11T10:55:00.000-06:00

I am so happy that bootcamp started again this week! I think it is very fun.

Yesterday was a very good workout day. I had bootcamp in the morning. We did the mile test and the pushup test again. I ran the mile in 7:45. Three weeks ago I did it in 8:04. YEAH!! Three weeks ago I did 20 pushups and yesterday I did 39!! YEAH!!! I also got measured again because a local television station is coming to interview our bootcamp. I lost inches almost everywhere, except my butt, and I lost .6% body fat!!! I will get weighed and measured again next week at the very end of bootcamp. I hope I lose even more by then. It will also be a friendly time in my cycle for weighing and measuring.

I also went to pilates and pump yesterday. Then in the evening I went to the Aurora Reservoir for the Dip and Dash. I was pretty nervous at the beginning, but once I got swimming I was fine. I swam a half mile in just over 20 minutes. Then we had to run a 5k. The transition was a little weird on my legs, but I did fine. Especially after a day of exercise. I will definitely do the Dip and Dash again!!

This morning was bootcamp. It was field day again. I love that indoor field. We run, lunge, side squat,etc. across the field and do lots of stuff in between. It is very fun.

I am about to leave for pilates now and then tonight I am planning on doing a women's bike ride with a local bike shop. I hope the weather holds and they have it. Otherwise I will just stay home and rest. I think I could use it!!

2007-07-09T17:24:00.000-06:00

Why Can't I Title My Posts Anymore?

Today I had boot camp again!!!!!!!! I missed it so much. We did circuit training today. 1 min weight machines, 1 min cardio. Not the best, but not the worst. I also got signed up for the next bootcamp which is only Tues, Thur and Fri for August. YEAH!

Then I had advanced pilates and I have to say it was my favorite class so far! We started with teaser and it just got harder from there. I wish I could take that class twice a week.

Then I went on an 18 mile bike ride with my friend. She knew some good roads around the airport and further into Inverness. Not much traffic. The worst was getting back home on Peoria. Very bumpy and pot-holey. Boo.

We also rode by the pilates studio, so I know I can ride there now. The only little issue is that stretch of road. I wish they would just widen it and start all over!!! There is too much traffic with the police headquarters and FedEx, UPS and DHL all using it constantly.

I will definitely be riding around there again, but coming back home a longer way. I love my road bike so much. I can't imagine how much better the Ruby will be....Makes me think I could be a biker chick!! Love that.

2007-07-06T18:15:00.000-06:00

Second Annual

Today was a great day for our golf tournament! Too bad I played like poop...Oh well, it was still fun. Tim won the closest to the pin prize and the greens in regulation prize. My Dad won the overall score prize. I got to follow along...lol.

I just woke up from a very nice nap and in 20 minutes I am heading out for Mexican food. Good day!!!

Recap, update and such....

2007-07-05T19:23:00.000-06:00

So the last time I updated was Sunday the 24th. The next day after bootcamp, Mary and SarahFrog and I went running. Then I had pilates. The three of us went swimming in the afternoon at the pool in my parent's neighborhood. We had fun!! Mary is getting better....don't let her whining fool you.

That night Mary and I txtd quite a bit as she was stuck on the runway for hours. The next morning I went to bootcamp and when I got home everything had fallen apart. Mom was in KC hoping to see my aunt who wasn't doing well. She got there in time luckily. Then Mary had to pick up another aunt to get her there in time too. My Dad and I spent the rest of the day waiting for the phone to ring. That was a long, sad day.

Wednesday morning my aunt, Mimi, died after a long, painful battle with cancer. I am so happy my Mom got to spend that last day with her. Thursday my Dad and I drove to Kansas City and I got to hang out with Mary again. My whole family was together for the weekend, which was nice and I think my Mom was thankful to have us all together. I am still tired from everything that has happened, but I need to get back on track.

No bootcamp this week because of the holiday, but I did go to advanced pilates on Monday, pilates and pump and the gym on Tuesday, 16 mile bike ride on Wednesday, 18 holes of golf today. Not as intense a schedule as I had been keeping, but I guess I haven't been a couch lard-ass either.

Today, tomorrow and Saturday are the Second Annual Independence Day Invitational that Tim and I play. Last year was 5 days and lots of prizes and fun. This year is fun too, but I didn't get much planned ahead of time. Yesterday we were driving by the golf store we like best, after visiting my bike at the store, and Tim pulled into the parking lot!!! Then we got to play with new putters!!! Then he bought them for us!!! I got the Yes! golf Natalie and he got the Yes! golf Marilyn. AWESOME!!!! Today after our round at The Ridge at Castle Pines North, which was so fun, we got fitted and brought home our new clubs! The whole process was very cool. They taped our putting strokes and showed us the results in slow-motion on the big screen. My old putter would skid the ball about 8 inches before turning it over and Tim's would do a little hop for 13 inches and then turnover. Natalie and Marilyn will be given loving homes and hopefully will improve our scores.

Tomorrow, the second round of the invitational, will include my Dad. We got the prizes today. Three awards will be given. 1st for Overall Score, 2nd for Closest to the Pin and 3rd for Greens Hit in Regulation. We are playing the course Tim and I play with our couples league. Dad hasn't played there before, so I think it will be fun. Very walkable and quick, not much waiting.

I am glad to be back to updating....Hopefully this hiatus will be unique.

Weekend Recap!

2007-06-24T22:01:00.000-06:00

Gay Pride Weekend of Fun ROCKED!

Friday I was too tired and sore to get up for boot camp and I knew I was going to run the hill later in the day anyway with Mary, so I stayed in bed and snuggled. Then we got all ready for Mary to arrive.

Friday afternoon Mary and I ran the hills. It was HOT. She was much faster and better at running them than I was. She also did an extra spur to make it farther than 3 miles. No snakes were seen, so I was happy.

Friday night was the big Mexican Fiesta Super Supper was AWESOME. Everyone had a sombrero and lots of MFS margaritas were consumed. I thought that at ten o'clock after three pitchers that it would be fun to bring out the exercise ball and challenge Mary. We did lots of balance and strength work. I may have broken a toe trying to show her how to do biceps curls while on knees on the ball. It hurt.

Saturday morning I got up early and went to pump and pilates. Then Tim made a super yummy giant breakfast and we all ate on the patio. Then we all went swimming at Cherry Creek. It wasn't nearly as bad as the first open water experience.

Saturday night Tim and I played in a three club better ball tournament. It was soooo fun!! We didn't do all that well, but it was a blast.

Sunday we got up pretty early to get downtown in time for the Pride Fest parade. My Mom was marching with the PFLAG group and she was going to be close to the front, so I didn't want to miss her. We all met up and watched her in the parade and then she joined us later. It was very fun.

This afternoon we picked up my bike from the tune up it needed. I love it. I have already fallen off the bike, so I am not too worried about it anymore. I actually like the clipless pedals. I think it will be much easier to ride in the tri's that Mary and I signed up for. One in Denver and one in Kansas City the next weekend!!! YEAH! Fun!!!

Boot Camp, Week 2, Day 4

2007-06-21T15:47:00.000-06:00

So today at bootcamp was awesome fun! We had about 16 stations that we did for 30 seconds and then walked 30 seconds and then moved to the next. We did three rounds and then stretched. It was so fun!

First we jumped rope, then did step ups, then mountain climbers, then pushups, crunches, back extensions, biceps curls, triceps dips, burpies, body squats, jumping lunges, medicine ball stuff....it was fast and fun. I was sweating!

Then I met the friend of the friend to run at Wash Park. It was super fun. We worked on the Chi Running that I have the book for....It was better with her help. I like it a lot.

Then I had pilates and pump. I was very tired after my 4 + hours of exercise today. I then had lunch with my pilates instructor and learned that she is really good friends with a guy I went to High School with. Such a small world!!

After a little downtime and dinner I am going to clean because MARY and Sarah Frog come to visit tomorrow!!! So happy!!!

Boot camp week two, days 2 and 3

2007-06-20T16:08:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, Tuesday, I rode my bike again to boot camp. We did intervals of three minutes cardio, three minutes weights. We did several of those and then ran laps on the track and then repeated. Then we did abs. It was fun, but not too difficult. Then I rode to the other rec center and swam 30 lengths. it was pretty crowded with kids in lessons, so I didn't do 50 like I had planned. Plus I wanted rest my elbow a little bit.

After I rode home I went to pilates and pump. During the back track in pump I was debating whether my elbow was ready for clean and press. I decided to try it and when I went up I heard the LOUDEST crack. And then my elbow was perfectly fine. It hasn't hurt again since. YEAH!!!

Today I could not get out of bed in time to ride to the gym, so I had to drive. I was just so sleepy. At boot camp we did Indian Running. I hadn't ever heard of it and I hope it isn't offensive to call it that.... The group that was running lined up in a single file line. We all started running and the last person in line had to sprint to the front. We did that for a mile and then ran back. We did some step ups on the park bench and squats. Then abs. I really liked today!

I also had pilates today. We did more step ups. My butt will be sore tomorrow! After pilates I met a friend at Cherry Creek and we rode our bikes. She knew the trail that I will ride for the triathlon. It took a long time because she was so nice and she kept stopping to teach me about the trail and how to use my gears best. I really learned a lot!!! I feel much more comfortable on the bike now. She also let me ride her awesome road bike with clipless shoes. It was not nearly as scary as I feared!

Tomorrow I am going running with a friend of friend around Wash Park. I am looking forward to it after bootcamp and before pilates and pump.

For the record....Tuesday - 4.5 hours of exercise
Wednesday - 3 hours

Boot Camp Week 2, Day 1

2007-06-18T09:43:00.000-06:00

At Boot Camp today we did the obstacle course again and lots on running on the track. I like Mondays a lot. Very fun! I rode my bike to the field house again, so I have already done 2 hours of exercise today and I have advanced pilates and a 30 minute run left. So today will be 3 and a half hours of working out!!

This weekend was very fun. I tried to take it very easy on my elbow. Friday after running I had lunch, got a pedicure, shopped for groceries with Tim, we made dinner and watched a movie. Perfect evening!

Saturday we slept late!!! Got coffee, made breakfast, mowed the lawn, laundry, cleaned the house and watched golf. Then we had our couples league. It was "skirt" night....everyone hits from the ladies tees. So we got Tim a grass skirt and he was the hit of the event! It was fun. He even got a free margarita!

Sunday we golfed with my Dad. Tim started the round with an EAGLE!!!! It was so awesome. He had about 70 yards to the hole after his drive and he just nailed it! There was a guy on the balcony of the condos right behind the first green and he clapped for Tim! I couldn't finish the 10th hole because of my elbow, but Tim and my Dad had awesome rounds. It was fun to watch.

Then we watched the end of the US Open and had dinner with my parents. Came home and watched TV and vegged. We packed a ton into the weekend, but it was worth it!!

Day 5

2007-06-15T10:17:00.000-06:00

Today was the last day of the first week of boot camp. We met outside at a park in Douglas County and ran the trail. It was a three mile loop with LOTS of hills. I really, really liked it. I wasn't able to run all of it but I think I will be able to soon, my walking for minimal and I tried to just slow run when I needed a break.

The running instructor ran with me the whole way. She is amazing, she does several marathons a year and she has been really helpful with tips and advice. She showed me an area where I can practice some hill repeats. She said that will help with my time and it will be great for my conditioning.

The only part about the park that makes me nervous is about every 1o feet there is a sign for rattlesnakes. Yuck. But it was early and cool enough I didn't worry too much. I will definitely go back there for running and hill repeats. I think I will take Mary next week when she is here to visit me.

I am so happy that I signed up for the boot camp. I really, really like it and I feel like it is already helping me. It is fun and challenging. Woo-hoo!