Triathlon Frenzy

I have been getting emails for the Pumpkin Man triathlon being held in Las Vegas on October 17th for quite some time. Since the same people that run the Kokopelli triathlon run this one, I just assumed they had gotten me on the wrong list as I never got the Kokopelli emails. Well... yesterday I decided to check to make sure I wasn't on the roster after a fellow competitor here at work suggested I look.

There I was! In black and white, signed up on July 29th to run the sprint. What the?!?!? I had decided not to do it since I will be taking the PE the weekend after. Besides, it was sold out so the point was mute. But... a free triathlon (I couldn't find a charge on my credit card).... Melissa's doing it...... what do I do?

I told my friend at work about it and she said I better let BBSC Endurance Sports know they messed up, and implied that we wouldn't want to lie and cheat them out of their money. Sigh... and here I am supposed to be the good Mormon example. I emailed them yesterday to let them know.

This morning I got a response. Apparently I actually signed up before February. They didn't seem worried that I hadn't paid or that I hadn't actually signed up. They just told me I am registered and what information I had allegedly given them.

WHAT DO I DO!?!?!?!?

I'm afraid that if I try to do both (study and train) the less fun one will get left by the wayside... but I'm thinking the less fun is the more important. Self Control and I are not very good friends. Self controls me rather than me controling self.

PS... Did some stranger here that might read my blog and wants to leave a comment sign me up?

Weekend in Vegas for Family

Another exciting weekend came and went and I'm pretty sad. I had so much fun with everyone! We did lots of things and saw lots of places. I'll give u a run down.

First.. I forgot my camera for the first little bit so u'll have to look at Sunshine Helm's blog for those (people become pretty proprietary with their pictures when u blog! Plus I forgot to get them from 'em). I had heard on the radio that u could get into the Parks for free, but I was off by 2 days. We climbed on the big rocks but it was way hot. Then we went to dinner at Mandalay Bay and then went to the Shark Reef. I think Gage was interested for about 2 minutes. He liked "touching" the fish in the touch pool (his hand didn't reach far enough so we just touched the water over the fish).

Friday the glass fixers came to put a new windshield on Suzy while Gage and I went and got Emily from the Airport. Then we headed to the Strip. I'd always wanted to walk in front of the New York New York cuz I thought it would be fun. No such luck. We did look at the Excalibur and marveled at all the people going in and out and around. Then we went to the Venetian cuz I thought we could ride on the gondola. Too bad Gage counted as a person so they woulda split us up. Still, I think the Venetian is one of the prettiest I've been too. We listened to the street performers there too, but there weren't any other shows going on. We ate dinner at the buffet at Palace Station but we shoulda chosen a better place I think. I remembered it being more upscale when I went there with the Sessions. Then we went to the Belogio for one show cuz Gage was past ready for bed.

Saturday we spent most of the day at the Springs Preserve. They seem to be still building there and this time we saw all the animals... a cute fox curled up, a bunny, scorpions and lots of lizards. Gage's favorite was the mister. He had everyone take a turn standing under the arch where the mist you spray you and he pushed the button. He even took a turn while I pushed the button. We ate dinner at the Cafe (it was PACKED), checked out the garden and recycle building and headed home for a nap. That night we went back to the Belagio to see a couple more water shows and eat Gelato. The night before Gage had a hard time waiting so we went on lots of walks (saw a Latin Elvis). This time, he remembered the show and wanted to stay right by the rail so he wouldn't miss it. He loved every one... especially when the mist rolled over us. I really love the Belagio.

Sunday we went to church, cooked steak on my grill (apparently I need a new grill according to Jared), went for a short walk (everybody complained of the heat.... babies), and the girls went to the showing of the Relief Society Broadcast at Melissa's ward. I was very grateful Melissa told me so that we could continue our site seeing on Saturday night.

Now I am sad they have left me... My 3 weeks of company are over. It was fun to have a full house with people sleeping in every room and the bird toys, Lincoln logs, Lego's, and cars all over. (Apparently bird toys and paraphernalia are fun for 2.5 yr old boys too).

I had so much fun... thank u for coming!!

So... who are my next visitors?

More Visitors for Melanie!

Jared, Amy, and their son Gage are coming to visit me today! OK, so it's to pick up my old Subaru Suzy but they are going to spend the weekend with me. And them Emily comes in tomorrow. Does it get any better than this?
I am so excited. I got to work early and now I am having a hard time concentrating (case in point.... blogging). I have all these ideas as to what we are going to do, but now I've come to the point where I've all ready done alot of the fun stuff to do in Vegas and I don't know anything else to do. Any ideas? Granted, I don't mind doing them over again like when the parents and I took the dam tour, but it is so much fun when its new for all of us. That's part of the reason I like the Belagio cuz they change that flower display thing seasonally and the water show is always great. Well... we'll have fun just being together. I heard on the radio the fee's are waved at Red Rock and Lake Mead! This might change my plans for this afternoon!
Anybody have passes we can borrow for the Springs Preserve? OK.. just kidding, I'll pay them money and support them. Its for a good cause, right?
SO EXCITED!

Last of Kokopelli

I just wanted to send u to Emily's blog to get more pictures of the weekend.

Also, I have to show off my medal and plaque! Everyone recieved the finishing medal.

This is what I am listening to while at work today. My sisters introduced me to the Celtic Woman. I very much enjoy listening to them. Walking in the Air

Weekend with Friends (After Kokopelli)

I just wanted to share what we did after Kokopelli. In keeping with tradition, Melissa said we had to go to Cafe Rio and the Custard shop next door for lunch (I shore wasn't complaining! I love Cafe Rio) so after we were all showered and a little recovered, that is where we headed. My tummy was still not happy so I didn't eat much, but the leftovers made for a nice Sunday dinner and todays lunch. Here we are at Cafe Rio...

Cathy saw a little fair going on in St. George, but it was over so we headed back to Vegas. I was so glad Melissa was driving cuz I still felt pretty ill. Melissa had a walk-through of her new house so we joined her and her husband. I didn't take any pictures, but perhaps she will have her own blog and u can see pictures there! eh Melissa? :-) We very much admired her pool and Jamie thought the vaulted ceilings and family/kitchen/dining room was way cool. I thought the way the glass had cracked its crazy pattern in the upstairs bedroom looked REALLY cool, almost like it was done on purpose.

On the way back we gave Dan (Melissa's husband) a ride back and he properly admired my beautiful Forester. That's why I like him. We then stopped at a buffet and I was so glad they let me pay for them. Everyone knows I am not demonstrative so I try to buy people love through spending money on them. And food = love. Going out to dinner... buying love! perfect.

We then made a trip to the Belagio to see the fountains. The photo doesn't do the tree justice.. Its weeping water and was just beautiful.

No Cathy.. I don't think the pumpkins are real!

Look at those cute muggins.

Once we got home, I've never seen people get into bed so fast. We were bedded down and lights out before Melissa texted me she had gotten home safe. I did those poor children in!

Sunday was church and I was so grateful these wonderful ladies cleaned everything up, made sandwiches for their trip and were to church early. I had gone early to practice with the choir.

I had so much fun and was sad to see them leave. This is them being sad..

By guys.. come again soon!

BTW.. after I got home from my meeting after church.. I slept for 2 hrs! Birgit woke me up with a phone call but that was a good thing since I was supposed to be at the Stake Center for a fireside we were singing at! After I got home from that and ate a little dinner.. it was back to bed for me. This weekend WORE ME OUT! But.. after some recovery time.. I would love to do it all again.. 'cept this time I think I'll be in the cheering section!

Surviving Kokopelli

I survived! Barely. I was so glad that my friends and sister were there to cheer and to compete with! How yucky it would have been all by myself. And it was so fun to have Jamie do the Sprint with me! We waited in the water together and got to talk about the course afterwards. I knew she would beat me, but not by as much as I thought. OK... I better give u the full chronological rundown before I go off.

First... Friday afternoon I had lots I wanted to get done before going down to St. George, but it didn't take as much time as I thought it would. So I took a little nap. An hr and a half later I look at the clock, jumped out of bed and started wandering around the house. Melissa called me to say she was coming and it was a good thing she called cuz I still needed to pack! She went over the list of things we needed with me on the phone so I wouldn't forget. We actually beat Emily, Jamie, and Cathy (Thank you SO MUCH for coming!) to St. George, so we ate dinner at Jimmy Johns and told them to meet us at packet pick-up in Hurricane. Melissa had accidentally put 500 W instead of 5500 W in Mapquest to get directions to the place, so when we finally found it, the Orem contingent pulled in right behind us. Here is a picture of us having a "team meeting" in the Hotel. This was the triathlete room so we wouldn't wake up Emily and Cathy getting up early in the morning. Emily is taking the picture.

Cathy is the Womans Basketball Coach for UVU (the old UVSC) so she told us lights out at 10.. no TV and no texting. Its hard to go to sleep when its actually 9:30pm Las Vegas time, ur stressing out about the triathlon, and the benedryle wasn't working like its supposed to.

I was awake at 4am and laid in bed until Melissa got up just before 5am. We were out of there and on the road not to much after 5:30am. Melissa told me I was in charge of getting Jamie set up (like I knew what I was doing!!), since I was number 1185 and she was 1181 so we set up right next to each other. We watched Melissa off (they set everyone off on time!! Melissa has been doing this for more than 4 years and this is the first time they were on time).
Then it was our turn. Jamie and her swimming friend she found at the race took off and I lost them pretty quickly. People were zig-zagging in front of me but I just tried to follow. People kept cutting me off from my rabbits. The third buoy I swam way out and around because I was trying to avoid the cutters. Its hard to sight when u can't see without ur glasses! I felt pretty good but my watch said 20 minutes and I shoulda been more like 15. (Yes, ur gonna get a play-by-play... too bad!). I decided after a few seconds of trying that the socks just weren't going on over wet feet so I just pulled on my shoes and headed out on my bike. Then I heard the rattling. It was not a pretty sound. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. My bike was going to explode! To make matters worse I thought the first part was more downhill than up. Why wasn't I going faster? Then I reached down and touched my water bottle and the noise stopped. In the ride on the back of Melissa's car on her COOL bike rack the hex heads that kept the water bottle cage on the bike had gotten loose. I tried to tighten them on the fly with my water bottle hanging from my mouth, but gave up. I was so embarrassed as I heard the soft whoosh whoosh of bikers passing me on the other side compared to the loud racket I was making. As I rode along I was surprised at how slow people were going. Then I got to the hill. That was one long hill! I tried to keep 5mph as I pumped up there all the while being totally jealous of those flying down the other side. Jamie yelled at me as I got closer to the turn around point but I never did catch her. I must admit I went slower than I coulda back down that hill cuz it was scary! Once I hit 35mph I didn't want to go any faster! There was a cattle guard at the bottom and I slowed down lots for that. That last hill was killer up to the transition area. By the time I got my socks and running shoes on I was done. I started running out and with my tummy cramping a bit and a side ache I pretty much gave up. This is what separates the athletes from the Melanies. I don't push through pain... if its painful I stop! There was a little steep place to get on top of the bluff and once I walked there.... it was pretty much all over. Walking felt SO GOOD! Even when the larger women passed me I couldn't muster much. I was "running" when Melissa passed me. She told me to keep it up and I told her I was gonna walk. And I did. The steep part down the bluff I had to pick my way down through the rocks since I'd taken off my glasses. It was annoying to feel them slipping down my nose all the time. ANYWAY! I decided I needed to come running into the finish line so I headed up that last hill at a pace slower than dirt and a little hunched over cuz my stomach was rebelling. That cold water they handed out under the tent felt so good. And Jamie gave me some cold grapes. Ah! (I will post better photos when the ones Cathy and Emily took with Jamie's camera... they are awesome)

We finished!

Here is the results.

http://www.milliseconds.com/ResultsQuery.php?varRaceID=1113

I will do another post later with the rest of the story.

Kokapelli Here I come

Today I am wearing my Kokapelli shirt from last year's Kokapelli that was cancelled after the swim. I am trying to be confident instead of nervous. Its tomorrow morning! Scary! I couldn't sleep last night so this means I am tired and nervous and will probably become fairly cranky in the hours and day to come. I did want to share some things I learned to help me prepare. They come from a very funny book called "The Slow Fat Triathlete". Mom enjoyed reading it too. The author writes much like she is talks so there is some language, but its not gratuitous. Definitely much less than TV or at work, although that not saying much with the excommunicated Angus sitting across the way! (Yes, that is his name.. I'm not trying to change the names to protect the innocent) My comments are from my own sweet spirit :-)
1. Take a break from exercising a couple days before the race. I can't remember the word they used... like slowdown or something. Anyway, to me it means I can stop exercising and eat ice cream.
2. Load up on Carbs. Melissa calls it carbo-loading. Its because supposedly you will be using up all these carbs on race day. To me it means eat pasta with my ice cream.
3. Pack all your gear early. Because a Triathlon involves 3 sports, there's alot of stuff you need. Last year I forgot my goggles and it was a good thing Emily had brought all her swimming stuff so I could borrow hers. To me this means stress over everything you might forget the night before you leave instead of sleeping. Oh yes, and don't pack until right before u leave.
4. Get lots of rest! Obviously this is not happening for me and I have nothing else to say on the subject.
5. Stay hydrated. If u are not hydrated... it hurts! To me this means drinking so much water I have to get up 4 times during the night to relieve myself (sleep? whats that?). In Kokapelli while I was waiting in the lake to start.... well... perhaps that is TMI. Hey..... we were waiting for at least 30 minutes (it felt like hrs)!
6. Get there early to find your spot to get the layout and feel for the transition area. To Melissa that means getting there 2 hrs early so she can set up me and her and do an hr warmup ride on her bike. To me that means don't sleep the night before for fear of sleeping through the alarm.
7. Relax and have fun! To me that means have people come cheer for you and then stress about getting the house cleaned and food ready for them. Also stress somewhat about lodging in St. George and at my house. Think about bringing poster board and markers so they can have posters to cheer us on.

Wish me luck!

Work Stories

I work in a dominantly male profession which is slowly changing. For example, in my group one draftsperson, our stamping engineer, and the current structural lead (who is also the transportation group lead so really our stamping engineer is the structural lead) are all male. The other draftsperson and 3 EI's (Engineering Intern or Engineer in Training) are all female. Additionally most of the sales people are female. So, upstairs and downstairs there are 2 restrooms. The upstairs ones were made over to the boys leaving the one downstairs for the woman. This has been a source of contention, especially as the females are growing in number. The other day an email went out and these signs were posted to the door.

I thought it was pretty hilarious so I wanted to share!

The other funny thing that happened the other day at work happened on a site visit. The background: While lowering the road at Lamb Blvd by the new Lamb Bridge up north, the construction people discovered a Water Vault (manhole for the water main) right under the road. (Hopefully it wasn't our company that forgot it!). They had to lower it by hacking 10" off the walls and removing the manhole rings. We were brought in to see if this was possible. I was invited to go out with Arvid to see what happened when the pulled the lid off since I was working on it. Obviously Arvid had been there before so of course he knew where he was going... Not so much! The construction trailers were on the other side of the tracks and there was no way the little work Prius was going to get over them. We met an old black guy in a construction van who said to follow him.... he headed out way to the north but when we got to where he thought we should go, it was a pretty rough road and then he told us he didn't think this was a good way to go. So we headed back. Arvid thought he knew so he went his own way and ignored the old guy when he tried to pull up and give us more directions. We went WAY south and got stuck behind construction at another bridge where we had to wait for the backhoe to finish his work and the sign people let us through. We finally got to head west and north again.. all the while trying to see the bridge through all the houses and businesses to the east. We came up to a barrier and squeezed though in the little Prius. The poor man had been waiting to show us the manhole for 2.5 hrs! On the plus side, I got to jump in and take the pictures. Mm.. I could put one here! That would be fun. But here is the funniest part of the story. If we had just followed Kens directions, we would have been there in just a few minutes.

This is where I climbed in.

This is what I was taking a picture of (we didn't want to effect the air vent).

Here u can see the cracking under the manhole from yanking the lid off.

And this is the floor of the vault.

As u can see.. it was muddy. The drain is the sump drain, and the cables are fiber optic. The pipe on the right is one of 2 connections from the water line for the air vent.

I'm sure this was all very interesting to u.. too bad! u can just ignore the pictures and enjoy the story.

Continuing Story ... At the Dam

Dad wanted to see the bridge they are building over the Hoover Dam so we drove over. Behind Dad u can see the one side being built up.


We also took the tour of the Dam. We saw the generators (all of them were running) and Dad said he remembers being able to go down and walk among them. I tested Dad on the information shown in the displays about the generators, and he passed with flying colors.

Mom was nervous about the height, so she waited until Dad and I had gone outside and seen the sights before she went out on the observation deck.

Here is the other side of the bridge.

Finally, we went to the Belagio to have dinner and see the flowers and the water show and for Mom to have Gelato. Unfortunately, the buffet was $36 a person cuz it was gourmet night! It's a good thing Mom saw the sign while we were waiting in the REALLY long line. I couldn't believe so many people wanted to pay that much for dinner!

So we went to the Cafe there and even though it was expensive, it certainly was cheaper than anywhere else in the Belagio. And, it provided 2 meals for Mom and I.

Then we met Melissa, saw the flowers (it had a train theme,.. Dad likes trains!) and saw the Water Show. I wish I had taken a picture of Mother thoroughly enjoying her gelato. They didn't have mango this time, so she had to settle for raspberry. Dad just had tastes of ours since he had had a good Root Beer with his dinner.

Sunday we enjoyed some quiet time. I unfortunately had left my car keys at the cafe in the Belagio (good thing I had put both sets in my purse), so Sunday afternoon they sent me all over the Casino (nice Sunday afternoon activity) to retrieve them. Mom and I had fun at Choir.

I was so happy to have Mom and Dad with me! I think Dad was a bit bored, but thanks to him my table is all screwed down and the leaves work (he greased them with some left over wax I had) and all my lights have light bulbs in them, including inside and outside the garage. He also fixed the phone line so it works in the workroom (it involved opening up the box outside) and I don't have to have that long cord downstairs for my Internet. He also got everything ready so I can put my video onto my computer. When you come to visit me, you'll have to see how wonderful my house is now!

Thanks Mom and Dad. You are the best parents I ever had on the whole earth!

Pictures of Fun with Parents

You already know all about our adventures on Friday (we did eat lunch with Melissa like I do every Friday) and buying cars. We ate at a stake house and went home to bed. It is TIRING looking at car all day. OK.. so we watched the last 2 episodes of the new Sense and Sensibility from Masterpiece theater. It was relaxing. I really like that version which is why I shared it with the parents.. thanks Birgit for sharing it with me!

It took us a little to get going on

Saturday morning cuz I went for a bike ride. I wouldn't normally have worried about it, but Kokapelli is in a week!! Anyway, we went to the Venetian to ride in the gondola. It's kinda silly cuz u pay alot for a 15 minute ride, but Mom and I enjoyed. Dad just kept all his joy inside. Funny thing, the guy always put on his special happy camera face whenever we took a picture. All the guides did it. He did sing an Italian song for us too.

Dad spent alot of time seeing how it was run. We of course could see the trolling motor, but took a little time to figure out how the guide was controlling it. Ended up they had two buttons they controlled with their heels. Now all u engineers know. Phew! (Dad made me point)

These are some pictures of the fun things we saw at the Venetian... The opera singers and then these girls on stilts with long poles on their hands and wrapped in vines. I think they were supposed to be a "living garden". Mom thought they were pretty cool. They had pretty faces in green and lined in gold.

(If u blow up the picture.. u can see the face of the lady in the back. The girl in front is kicking her leg up. In the second picture the girl has her leg raised behind and over her head. Notice the security guards following to make sure nothing happens to them)

Then we ate at the cafe there. Dad wanted to go see the new bridge over the dam so we headed that direction... stay tuned!

Car information

I did buy a car. I know most of u already know this, but I thought I would put in pictures.. this has to be quick cuz I already came in late to work cuz I dropped the parents off at the airport this morning (they got to their gate with an hr to spare.. phew! :-) Yes, it was my fault they got there so soon). So I'll just give u a picture or 2.

Part of the reason I wasn't as thrilled as I thought I would be about the Forester was that it was so much bigger than I remember Dad's! It was true they have gotten bigger from last year by a couple inches, but are actually lighter.. here the sales man is putting the Impreza and Forester side by side so I can see the difference.

Here I am debating and debating and negotiating...

I just realized I don't have any pictures of the car I bought!! OOPS!! I thought I did. Here is the car I drove, but I actually chose a blue Forester the same color as the Impreza in the picture above.

Already feeling buyers remorse, but I knew I would feel that regardless of what I bought! This buyers remorse is more for the fact that I shoulda been more environmentally responsible, but if I had gotten the other choices, I would be feeling buyers remorse for not getting what I wanted!

I really am excited about the car.. but I'm sad Mom and Dad have left me. I shoulda been more upbeat on this enstallment... but too bad! I was excited to tell everyone here at work, although Angus was upset about me not buying domestic... like I knew he would be.

Oh yes.. one more thing. I did spend the entire day looking at cars... I had driven a Matrix previously in Santa Fe (the largest volume import toyota dealership in the west here in Vegas couldn't find their automatic 1.8 liter Matrix's!!) and I drove a Mazda in the morning. Then we were at the Subaru dealership for about 6 hrs. I think I debated long enough.

Parents are coming tonight!

I wanted to take a picture of my parents arriving at the airport and blog about it tonight, but unfortunately dial up at home makes for no picture uploading. (Even if u wait 50 years, it doesn't upload). I'm so excited for them to come! With some trepidation. I always get this way before I go on a trip or if people are coming to visit. What if they don't have fun? What if nothing works out? What if the bird bites them and gives them bird flu? What if they get sick? Or they hate what I have planned? Wait... what do I have planned?!?! And then I start to think it would just be better if I didn't go or they didn't come. I have to admit I was more excited yesterday than today. Of course, this situation is a little different cuz I'm supposed to decide on a car and then buy it. Talk about stressful!! What if I get the wrong car for me? What if I spend all this money on a new car and then lose my job cuz I'm blogging all day? What if the car turns out to be a lemon? Ahh!!! I told my father we would do the car stuff on Friday (I'm taking the day off. YA!) and the fun stuff on Saturday. He was quite surprised and said the car stuff was fun. For him! He's the one that took my brother-in-law and nephew down to Santa Fe to test drive cars for me. Not quite sure how that works, but I'm sure they were thinking of me the whole time. Wasn't that sweet of them?
No.. I really am glad my Dad enjoys this stuff so he can do all the research and I can benefit from his knowledge. Just like how I use my brother Jared for my electronic and computer needs (I would use Aaron, but he's just not as available.. or helpful).
Anyway.. I know my parents love me cuz they want to spend 4 days out of their lives dedicated to me. Having someone love u makes it very easy to be excited to see them! U know they will be interested in ur house, ur projects, seeing where u spend ur time... or at least pretend to.
Stay tuned for the revealing of the car and pictures of fun with the parents!

Tagged by Mauvia

Link the person who tagged you
Mention the rules on your blog
Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them
Leave a comment on each of the tagged bloggers blogs letting them know they have been tagged.

I was tagged by Mavia http://bmztsorensen.blogspot.com/, a wonderful friend from my Ricks years (If I said BYUI nobody would know what I was talking about). Its so nice to be able to keep in touch through blogging cuz I am so bad about emailing and phoning.

Tagging is not my favorite thing, but being tagged is great! Specially when I get to talk all about myself. Not that I don't do that anyways, now I just have an excuse.

Here is my list.

1. I don't like other people putting things put in my dishwater. First of all, I don't like doing dishes at any time, let alone after a meal. Putting things in the water (I once had a roommate throw in a knife!!) is like acknowledging that I should be doing them rather than giving me a big hurrah for achieving such an awesome goal of actually hand washing anything.
2. Any silence between people is usually uncomfortable for me, except in the temple or at church. This is why I am a talkaholic. When Melissa first met me, she told me she had never met anyone that could talk as much as me. I decided to take it as a compliment :). And of course, my favorite subject is me. I also don't like it when people are mean to each other around me.. talk about uncomfortable! Only I can be mean to others.
3. I hang up puzzles on the wall without glue… actually I hang anything up on the wall… hats, blankets, pots, crocheted backpack full of fingernail polish. I shoulda been a Shaker with those pegs all around the house so I can hang things on it. I am unmarried… so I'm probably a good candidate to join. Of course, that whole idea that Christ came back as a woman would be VERY hard to swallow.
4. I am an idea stealer. All my idea's come from someone else. Blogging? Bethanie and Amy. Favorite book? Mother. Favorite scriptures? Bethanie and mission companion. Cool things I like to talk about in the BOM? Books about the BOM. Lesson activities? Mission and previous teachers… decorating ideas? Better homes and gardens…. Perfect house ideas? A conglomeration of houses I've lived in and seen… Career Choice? Father. Car Choice? Father. Current favorite movie? Birgit. Current exercising craze? Melissa. Crocheting love? Mother and pattern books. Cooking? Emily. Clocks all over the house set 7-8 minutes fast? Mother. All crafting ideas come from something I've seen or read. Beatnik party? Jeanette Lyman. Adopting? Emily. Building a castle? Bethanie. Garden? Mom and Emily. Dance? Mauvia. Football? Chelsea.... I could go on and on and on and on.
5. I LOVE yellow. I have an affinity for yellow. When I do my laundry I have my whites, darks, brights, and yellow. If I'm doing sheets and towels, its two batches of yellow. When I was at Emily's I was drawn to her yellow flowers and those are the flowers I have (killed) in my garden. All three bathrooms in the townhouse are decorated in yellow. Emily told me if I buy another yellow shirt, I have to throw one out... hasn't worked for me yet cuz I wear all my yellow shirts!
6. I love crocheting doilies and still buy pattern books or print out patterns for them off the Internet. Nobody knows what they are or what they are used for or why anyone would ever want to do one. Its just so much fun to do something new each round and its never anything like doing a blanket or even booties. You get to do crazy double triple crochets and popcorns and rolls, the bigger the better… and figuring out what exactly the pattern is telling u to do is half the fun. I'll admit since I don't get as many admiring oos and ahs from doilies I haven't done any in a while, but I still love them. I think if I found homes for the 20 or so I have in my hopeless chest I could do more.

Could anyone use a doily... or 2?

FYI, Useful Information

I just wanted to give you a tidbit of information that I learned this weekend while cleaning my house. Just to give you some background, my parents are coming to visit this weekend(!!! I am SO EXCITED!!!) to help me buy my new car (my father feels a great responsibility for me... plus he likes to buy new cars!) so I have been trying to get my house ready. Unfortunately, I kept getting distracted with doing the big things like cleaning the whole fridge and cleaning out the whole laundry room, not to mention crocheting and all the other things I had planned on doing this weekend. Sigh.. I always have grand ideas and no follow through! Still, I'm pretty proud of myself for what I did get done. All that's left is the car, garden, and vacuuming. So... back to the information for u. I decided to spray my garage with Raid as well as outside around the windows and door.
Here is the tidbit. Are u ready? Don't spray raid around your air handler (handles the AC and heat) in the garage thinking that you can go back into the house and the smell will stay there. I went inside and and realized the smell was slowly starting to radiate through the house... oh ya, the AC is on! Duh! I turned on all the exhaust fans in the bathrooms and laundry room. I was most worried about Spree cuz birds are filled with air, including their bones and are pretty sensitive to fumes. I put a candle on his cage and lit a couple of others through the house. Once the AC went off, no more smell, but I knew during the night it would go back on again, but by then some of the smell will have dissipated in the garage. Now don't get me wrong, it wasn't that bad cuz of course most of the AC air is recirculated. The system is just not entirely air tight, especially in this older town home. It was really annoying.
Now u know.

Biking to Work

I just wanted to show u a picture of me in my cool biking outfit. Unfortunately, I wanted a picture of me on my cool bike, but Spree wouldn't hold the camera. Dumb bird doesn't know how to operate a camera. All he had to do was push the button when I said. What good is he? As u can see from the picture, I like biking enough to get the outfit but not dedicated enough to have the body.

OK, so that looks really silly cuz I'm in the downstairs bathroom... too bad!! I pulled the shorts up so u can see I'm a real biker with spandex. I wear shorts over my spandex padded bottoms cuz I'm not that brave yet. Nobody really wants to see my lower half in spandex, especially me.

Wish me luck riding home. I'm gonna try and avoid heat exhaustion this time. It's only gonna be 101 today I think and I'm riding back earlier than last time.

PS.. I'm here at work cuz I went to a PE review some guy here at work put together but I'm leaving early cuz... its really dumb! Not helpful at all. (I suppose I shoulda guessed since this will be the 5th time he's taking it) I'm glad I got the handouts, but I think that's all I'll do from now on. At least I got a bike ride in before we swim tonight!

Swimming

Last night I went swimming with Melissa in preparation for the Kokapelli triathlon (in 2 weeks... AHHHH!) and I beat her! Ya for me!!

OK, so she had an coughing attack and was having a hard time finding her breathe, but I still beat her. Apparently the poor soul had trouble the rest of the evening and into the night. I told her she needs an inhaler like me but she just might have to borrow mine before the race. I was all excited to show Emily my inhaler when I was visiting her, but she said she had never had one! I thought all the sporty people in my family had had to puff before games and meets. Asthma runs in the family... we got it from our mother who puffs steroids and gets allergy shots... or so I thought.

Maybe I just need to exercise more.

The sad part about that very first sentence is that last year I did use to beat her. Now she's gotten better and I've gotten fatter. I should never have let her borrow that CD I bought that teaches you how to swim!

Hopefully we will be able to practice open water swimming this weekend out at Lake Mead. It might be hard to schedule around the football game, morning bike ride, PE review class, doing a deep clean of the house before the parents come next week to help me buy a new car, clearing out my 'garden' (dead plants), looking into finance for said new car as well as getting Suzy ready to sell to Jared, and preparing a YW lesson.

Believe me when I tell you open water swimming is VERY different than in a pool. Waves keep trying to get into your mouth and you can't see 2 inches into the dirty water. Learning to sight is even more tiring than the actual swimming! Mm.. maybe I'll skip it and just run into the boats along the way. Last year at Kokapelli I got stuck up against the rope holding the buoy in the water. It was actually kinda funny cuz the guy in the canoe there heard me say 'I'm stuck' (because we all keep a running commentary of our lives, its just that most people keep it inside their heads) and got a little nervous for me. I just pushed it out of the way (it was one of those blow up kind, not the real ones that are too scary to get next too... who knows what is under there and where it goes.... shivers.. scary) and went on with the other splashing bodies. Those Ethiopian ladies... it can get a little rough.

PS.. Mauvia, I haven't forgotten u tagged me.. I'm still thinking of what quirks I have. I've only thought of 2. Everything I do is perfectly normal! :-)

Booties

First off, before I display my beautiful handiwork, I just wanted to mention my activities last night. I was so proud of myself for using a lot of the produce Emily sent home with me in a dish I cooked up. I didn't take a picture of the final concoction (Very pretty and tasty), but I wanted to show u my counter filled with good things. Thank you Emily!

Emily mentioned yesterday that Jen Wilson (a former Cherry Chub) had had her baby right after Sarah Jarvis did. I was actually quite sad that someone hadn't told me earlier because now the baby booties are probably going to be too small. Sigh... I want all to be impressed and enjoy what beautiful crocheting wonders I can produce! If people tell me when they have a baby and give me an address, I will send what I have. This way I can create even more. Fill the world with my wonderfulness! Of course, you would think I could keep up better on the future offspring of my friends and family, but that fits into the same categories as names. I can't remember worth beans.... or gold.

Here is what I sent to Jen... or should I say Ruby, her daughter. I did a little bit of a photo shoot last night with a blanket and a lamby in the background.

Very cute, if I do say so myself. The sandals are a staple in my library of booties, but the sneakers are newer. I usually do a loafer type with a button and I used to do white ones with little hearts on top. Mm.. I wonder why those went by the wayside... They do come out a little bigger than the others. I designed some MaryJane type ones (based on another design I have... I'm not cool enough to come up with my own) and I've done a moccasin type. Booties are how I got into thread crochet because when I originally looked for bootie patterns, all I could find in yarn were those ugly, thick, fat monstrosities. I decided if I wanted to make cute booties, I had to learn to do thread. My first thread experience had not been good at all (think cup shaped thin layer of threaded knots that was supposed to be a doily), but through the bootie experience I learned you needed to have the right thread matched with the right hook. Now my crocheting is awesome! A moment of silence to think of the wonderfulness. ..... OK, go on about your business.