Happy new year!

Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone is having a good day today. Christmas at the Parker house is busy and slowly winding down now. Ella had a grand old time, which is really what the holiday is about for us these days. She is in her glory, with both sets of grandparents and most of her aunts and uncles visiting. Nothing like a 2 and a half year old to bring us all together.

While E is having the time of her life, Mike and I are struggling....we're both sick and dragging. Big thanks to my family and Mike's family for picking up the slack. We certainly appreciate it.

Big thanks especially to my dad for cooking last night....it was nuts. Mussels, scungilli, ziti, shrimp scampi, not to mention the roast duck today. Everyone is forced to wear their comfy pants now. Ugh.

Get the beat running like Randy Moss

Dancing Fool

Rocking out to Pink a few minutes ago. (Obviously) Had me cracking up.

Solo

So, Ella and I are flying solo this weekend. Mike just left (with a few tears outta E.) for Boston. He and his buddies are heading up to the Patriots game on Sunday. Yeah, they are the only people in the country trying to get caught in the HUGE storm that is going to crush Boston on Sunday. I told him we'd see him come spring. He's going to freeze up there. We don't own the right clothes for that kind of weather. Although he and one of his friends did buy this Randy Moss mask to keep them warm.



Nice.

As for me and Ella, we've got big cookie making plans for the weekend. Gotta get started on all of our Christmas baking. Christmas shopping is mostly done. Mike and I decided on a trip for each other in lieu of a bunch of gifts. I told him anywhere with white sand, blue water, that is a direct flight from ATL. So, Turks and Caicos it is. We're heading there in April. I can't wait! We went once before we were married, so its been a while. We're staying here. The beds on the beach sold us. Sounds wonderful.

Happy Holidays

We, like everyone else, are crazy busy this time of year. Just got our Christmas cards out....you like? I had a lot of fun making them. A little photoshop can be dangerous. :)

Um, yeah. These colors are wrong. The card is red and green, not blue. I will try and figure this out and repost.

I am going to try this in my next race.

Very interesting article here in the NY Times about the benefits of disassociation when pushing yourself in a race. Basically, it says we go into races with too low expectations and then meet them, but we can push harder, our bodies can do it, we just need to let our minds help.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/06/health/nutrition/06Best.html

Shooting stars

Yeah, we went a little Griswold this year. We were outside all
weekend with our next door neighbors putting this up.

Last Christmas...

I was thinking about where I was last Christmas this past week. Last year, I was in full on Ironman training mode. I was completely focused on finishing that race. I thought about it all the time. I talked about it non stop (right, Mike?). I stressed about it. It was fully encompassing. Good and bad.

This year I have no races planned. I have no training plan to follow. No scary Ironman is waiting for me in June. I miss it and I don't. I am happy to have this year to (hopefully) add to our family and although you certainly can't have a timeline for that....I know that IM and babies don't mix. At all. And since you need to plan any race months and months (12 to be exact for IM) in advance, I look ahead instead to the 2009 season.

I still am running, biking and (rarely) swimming. I can't not do that. I am still doing smaller running races. I love them. Just no huge time and physical commitments for 2008. I knew this was going to be the case since last year. I thought it would be a bigger sacrifice than it already seems. I can't wait to come back stronger and better to tris in the next few years. I really love doing them and can't see myself giving it up. I have too many goals to accomplish and have had too much fun doing them to stop now. (Plus, Mike won't let me....that bike of mine is too expensive not to not ride.)

Meeting Santa....

....did not go so well today. Apparently, he's an intimidating fellow
to a two year old. So, momma is in the picture with an attached E.

She loved this candy cane though.

Christmas decorating...fun, fun, fun!

5K Pain.

The damn guy behind me beat me. I am working HARD here...this is right before I threw up at the Gobble Jog on Thanksgiving. Very attractive, huh? :)

Rainy Sunday

Sad. The last day of having Mike home from work. We don't really ever stay home for a long vacation, so it was really nice to have Mike home all day long with me and the little one.

Had a really nice trail run this morning with Mike and Kindzia. We did over an hour at Leita Thompson park. Mike's and my first time there, it was great. Hilly with a soft surface, but not too technical. Mike and I got to break in our new trail running shoes. (Both got Vasque Blurs. And both really like them.)

Obviously, decided to bail on the half marathon in Athens. No really good reason for doing so...just felt like if I wasn't planning on racing, I'd prefer to do a run with Mike and stay close to home. My mom and E hung out at Target while we ran. (Thanks, Mom!)

E had a funny joke for us today. Sitting in her carseat, she says to me, "Momma, I have a spider in my nose. Here." She pulls said pretend "spider" out of her nose and hands it to me. Had Mike and I laughing hard.

Happy birthday, Mom!

Fun lunch with my mom, Aunt Pat and cousin, Sara at J. Alexanders to
celebrate my mom's big day.

Pinkie

E's sporting a sweet case of pink eye. Just leaving the doctor...poor
kid.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Woke up this AM to E calling my name....thunder (boom-booms) got her again. I was hoping (hard) that the Gobble Jog was going to be cancelled. Called Justin to see what he thought. He answers with "You're not calling to bail AGAIN? Are you?" Um, no...no..not at all. Didn't even enter my mind. :)

Of course, now that I am done am very happy that I ran. Downtown Marietta is so pretty....such nice houses. Nice to see Justin and have a friend there. I hate doing these things alone. We ran into Suzie Martin, too (her daughter, Katie, was running.). Suze is a good mom to be out there cheering. It was GROSS before the race started.

Hilly run, but pretty fair. Ran a 20:35(ish) and had my first actual post race throw up. I knew the dry heaves were inevitable, but I hope that this is not a new phenomenon. I had to push a nice lady aside to get to the garbage can at the finishing chute. Nice.

Mike just finished his run....heading up to Mimi's for turkey.

Have a great day everyone. Eat some good food. Have some good drinks. Enjoy your families and friends.

Mike's Cupca-sterpiece

Racing Fool?

Contemplating two, yes TWO, races for this long holiday weekend. One is a 5K Turkey Trot thing tomorrow AM in Marietta. One is a little more involved...a half marathon trail race outside of Athens on Sunday.

Being that it is the off season, I reserve the right to a guilt free bail on either. Although, I actually would like to do both. For once. I am not generally a big fan of getting all jacked up and nervous to race.

5k should be a fun, yet painful, start to the holiday. Plus, my friend, Justin is racing as well and I have bailed on him WAY too many times to not go tomorrow. I enjoy the distance, well, maybe enjoy is too strong a word...maybe endure is better. I am way better at a 5K, say than a half marathon. I can maintain through 3 miles, but any more and I might break down. Although, WITHOUT FAIL, I dry heave. It is embarassing and loud. I wish someone could explain why this happens? (Anyone, anyone???)

The trail run is more like a long run than a race. (Today I say this...on Sunday 2 miles in when my super competitive self sees a few females within striking distance....whole 'nother story.) Never done a ton of trail running. But, I got some new, sweet shoes, so I am all set, right? :) (Went to a great new place I had never been before on Alpharetta Highway, right here in Roswell, per Kindzia's recommendation. Spikes. Good selection and knew what they were talking about.)

Thanksgiving at my mom's in Alpharetta tomorrow. Should be fun. Mike's frosting cupcakes for the occasion as I am typing. And according to him, "I am tearing it up out here". Guess they're looking good. Nice job, honey. :)

Delayed

In the Stewart NY airport desperately trying to keep Ella away from
the poor man with an eye patch who she keeps calling a "MAN PIRATE".

E's First Snow!

We're still up in NY visiting Mike's family. Leaving in a few hours,
but before we leave it SNOWED! E's first one ever and she loved it.
Made snowballs and snowmen and fell all over the place. Very cute.

Urban camo

On our way back to Mike's parents house from a nice, short, fun run
with mike, Nate (bro in law) and Amy (mike's sister). Nate is showing
off his new "urban camouflage" Nike dry fit top. Can you see him?:)

E's having a sweet time playing and entertaining everyone.

Couch At The Finish Line

brightroom event photography

Running in Newburgh, NY

Just got up here this am to visit Mike's family for an early
Thanksgiving. While E was napping, Mike and I got out for this
gorgeous (very chilly and windy) run.

Don't click here....

...if you don't want to do an Ironman. Sheesh...this thing had me crying and ready to sign up for every Ironman that there is.

Our friend, Eddie, who is an amazing photographer put together this slideshow of his wife, Michelle's, first Ironman.

Here's the link in case the enclosure thingy isn't working. (I can't ever seem to figure out how to do the links on words trick that everyone else does.)

http://www.edhetherington.com/IMFlorida2/

Congrats again, Michelle. Thanks for sharing, Eddie. Even if I am screaming or my eyes are closed (or both) in all your pictures. I understand that your first priority was not to make me look hot in the pictures. Next time, right? :)

Beautiful day....

...great run. Just finished up a trail run at Vickery Creek. Never
run there before, pretty technical and lots of fun.

Now on our way to get Rapunzel's locks cut. Seriously, Mike's hair is
getting out of control.

Fall Friday

Love this weather... So nice to be bundled up in fleece. Best fabric
ever made.

Had a nice walk with Lauren and her new baby, Davis, today. He's
completely adorable and Lauren does NOT look like she had a doughnut
much less a baby recently.

Looking forward to the weekend. Had my first long (well..long for me
these days) run today and it knocked me out. 8.25 miles should not
be that tough....damn.

Zoot Customer for life.

Wow. Sometimes you get caught off guard. Sadly, I usually expect a hassle/poor customer service/a fight/etc. when something goes wrong with something I bought.

Well...I was completely (and very happily) surprised by Zoot today.

I emailed them letting them know that my (very expensive) 2007 Ultra Tri Top and shorts were kind of falling apart. I just wanted to see if I could send them back in to get repaired by Zoot. (Thanks for the tip, Alex Poon!)

Well, this was their response.

Hi Kate,

So sorry to hear that! Seeing as how it is rather late in the season, we are
sold out on the majority of our ULTRA product. However, if you'd like to
hang on to your suit and send it in in February, I'd gladly replace the
pieces with new '08 models. Would this work for you?


Umm.....HELL YES!!!! Pretty impressive.

Ants in her....bed

According to our little entymologist. So, of course, no nap right
now. We're in our bed now trying to salvage some rest for E.

Painful swim today. Don't recommend swimming after crossfit.

IMFL 07 Pictures

Finally downloaded some of my pictures from this weekend. It was a gorgeous day and the all3sports tent was awesome. We had great music, cowbells, maragaritas, hot dogs and hamburgers. What else could you ask for? Tons of fun.

3:15!!!!

Holy a@&$! Kevin ran a 3:15:33....crazy fast. Congrats!!!
Sent from my iPhone

Heading home

Like our sign for Paul "the Polish Hammer" Kindzia?

On our way back to ATL and E. We miss our little nerd.

Been getting updates from the NYC Marathon about Mike's brother,
Kevin, who is rocking a 7:08 pace at 15K. All I can say is WOW.

Congrats again to all the racers. Watching an Ironman was an amazing
experience. We had so much fun. IMFL is Definitely on my to do list!

Congrats, IronMichelle!!

She's done.....amazing job!!

Our art for the day

Just saw Michelle and Kindzia. Both looked awesome, smiling and
slapping hands. Just what you want to see.

On the run course at IMFL

Beautiful day....if a bit hot. Everyone is racing great . Cant't
wait to see them come through...

I am bored....

....so here's another picture.

On our way...

In the car and stuck in ATL traffic, what a surprise! Heading down to
Panama City for IM FLorida. Can't wait to cheer on all our friends who
have worked so hard to get on that beach tomorrow.

Excited to go, but it is always SO hard to leave that cookie monster
behind. She's with my parents and totally fine....but it hurts my
heart to leave. :(

Wow. 35mph now.

Halloweenies

Well, Halloween did live up to its HUGE hype for Ella. I didn't think it was possible, but she loved it. Did the whole "trick or treat" routine and had a blast. My mom and sister came along, too. Enjoy the pictures...

Happy Halloween

One party down... One to go. Dorothy is a champ though. It's me (and
Mike) who are ready for some sweet naps.

Check out our bomba$$ pumpkin!

We teamed up to create this masterpiece. GO SOX!!

It worked!

Wow...I've been trying to figure out how to post pictures to my blog with my new geeky iphone. Aha! Just got it. I have to send the pictures through email....somewhat annoying. Very cool that I can do it though.

Alright. Enough about the iphone.

All is good here. Red Sox are world champs again. Mike was asleep last night at 8. Poor guy.

Congratulations to all my girlfriends and their new babies. So many these days!!!

Amanda and Andrew Riepe -- lived with Amanda in college and post college -- now they're in Indy. They had another little girl...Sydney. Congrats, guys!

Meredith and Anders Klemmer -- more friends from Wake -- had their first kid last week -- Niklas. Hope all is well with your new family.

Lauren and Matt Sanders -- met Lauren at LA Fitness/a fellow triathlete -- the Sanders had a 4 week early surprise recently -- Davis.

When it rains, it pours, I guess.

Back on track plan is really gelling with my workouts. Not so much with what is going in my mouth. Fell off the wagon last night baking muffins. Baking (and all uncooked goods) is my downfall. I CANNOT resist batter. It is gross and I consistently make myself sick, but I never learn.

Ran 7 on the treadmill today. Situps/pushups after. Funny, I was a lot less tired after running almost an hour than after 20something minutes of crossfit.

Blogging via email???

Sunday Sweep?

Sitting here on the couch watching the Red Sox...again. We're hoping they sweep the Rockies tonight....just so we can get some damn sleep! These games are absurd. Never ending until 12:30 or 1. Nuts. We're too old for these late bedtimes.

Had a great weekend here. Halloween/birthday parties for E all weekend. That kid has a full social schedule. Keeps us out and busy. We've met so many people here in Horseshoe Bend, which is awesome. This place is chock full of kids and families. I love that she gets to grow up here. So nice to know your neighbors.

Had a good luck brunch with Michelle and Eddie today. Michelle is doing IM Florida on Saturday. She is SO ready for this. I can't wait to go down and cheer her (and Kindzia) on...MIke and I are making the trip to PCB on Friday. Should be a lot of fun. Hope the weather cooperates for everyone.

My "back on track"ness was okay this weekend. Eating was more under control than past weekends, but nothing near where it should be. (All these stinking Halloween treats are killing me!). Had the best run in a LONG time this morning. Maybe it was the cool weather? I was grinning from ear to ear singing along to the Foo Fighters and totally loving it...so nice to have those once in a while.

Been really sore the past few days from this.
www.crossfit.com

Mike's been doing it for a while and I finally got around to lifting weights again after IM. Only 20-30 minute workout, but I, literally, thought I was going to pass out at LA Fitness on Friday doing one of them. Sheesh.

Enjoy "Dorothy's" Halloween pictures....they're up per a request from an "unbiased" reader of the blog. NOT Ella's grandma...not at all.

Game One...

.....Mike's up in Boston. Actually, right now, he's on a plane with his buddy, Peck, knocking back beers on their way into Logan. He's so excited for this game. Hope they win. Ella asked for a "wally shirt" from Yawkey Way. She's a huge Wally fan. (For those of you who are NOT Red Sox fanatics....Wally is the Red Sox mascot. Wally the Green Monster. Clever, huh?)

Us girls are not carousing like Dada. :)

We are refusing to nap. Instead, we are watching Henry the Octopus "move around and around and around." (Wiggles) Now, we are dancing around in a circle with a paci and a blankie. Nice. So, I guess maybe we are carousing like 2 year olds.

Back on track plan going well so far. Good workout today. 6.5 mile run with intervals. 30 mins of weights. Feeling those lunges already. Ow.

GO SOX!!!!

Fall Pictures

If you're interested. Click on "fall pictures".

Back on Track.

Alright. This has gone on long enough.

These few "taper" pounds (and a few more) are all still hanging around. They need to leave. And soon.

Seriously, my race was MONTHS ago. I am not training for IM anymore and sometimes I forget that when eating! Not 100% sure what the actual damage is since I haven't been on the scale in a week or so. (Be on next week....Promise.) I just can't bring myself to wreck my day and see the number yet. Prefer to do some damage control and get on next week.

No crazy diet. No do or die date to lose xx amount of pounds by. Just better eating and no more craziness. We eat pretty well and keep it in check during the week....it is the weekends that kill me. We start with a "cheat meal" on Saturday night that doesn't end until Sunday. Gotta watch that. More water and fruits and veggies are in my plans (and face), too.

Back on track. Ahh...feels good. :)

Read this..

My coach and our friend, Paul Kindzia, has a new site/blog.

www.atickettokona.com

Very cool stuff. Good swimmer/bad in the heat/strong runner? He can tell you which IM is the best for you to qualify for Kona (for those of you who are not huge tri geeks...Kona is Ironman Hawaii. You have to qualify to race there...it is incredibly hard and people spend years (YEARS!) trying and trying to get there. It is like the Boston marathon, but much harder.)

Tons of numbers on this site. Tons of really cool information. Plus, his blog is there as well. Plus, he is offering all of this data for free....nothing in return. I think that is pretty cool.

Check there in the next few weeks and watch his taper for IM Florida and see how he does.

Sicko

E's got her first stomach virus. Poor kid. Try to explain throwing up to a 2 year old. Not too easy. She's fast asleep right now, hopefully getting better and better. For the first time, I think ever, we spent the entire day at home. Normally, I like to keep busy and that includes running around Roswell, but today, we chillled. Stayed home. Watched "Frosty the Snowman". It was pretty nice. She's great company, even when she's sick. Plus, I got a nice trainer ride in and the kitchen reorganized.

Hope everyone has a good Friday and weekend.

31!

Happy Birthday...TO ME! Having a good day today so far. Early AM run with Justin. E's been singing "Happy Birthday" to me every time I ask her. Lunch at Rising Roll with my mom. Dinner tonight at Village Tavern with some friends. No complaints!

My presents from Mike (and E) are sitting on our mantle begging me to shake them. I am resisiting the urge, after all, I AM 31 today, right?

Happy Tuesday everyone. Thanks for the calls/emails with good wishes!

Can't sleep....

...seems to be pretty common on a Sunday night (Monday AM) for me. Hanging out on the couch. Me. My laptop. And my iphone. What a geek, I am. I was (before I starting writing on here) making lists on my phone of what long-ignored things I need to do. Maybe carrying them with my in my phone all the time will help me to remember to....for example...(this only a small sample of the list. Please contact me personally if you want the entire thing.) ;)
1. Get the carpets cleaned
2. Get some paint estimates for some rooms
3. Sign Ella up for creative play (aka school) for the winter session
4. replace our storm dorm

Yes, all very exotic and romantic things. Jealous?

Had a good weekend overall here. Took in Ceviche (new Mexican restaurant in downtown Roswell) last night. We'd give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. Pretty good food, but ehh service. Definitely prefer Pure, but no wait at Ceviche is nice in a pinch.

Headed up to Burt's Farm with our neighbors today and took E to the pumpkin patch. WOW. That place was like DisneyWorld....so crowded with tons of little ones. E enjoyed the hay ride and Mike and I congratulated ourselves for being good parents and taking her since we knew we'd hate the crowds. (We're totally dreading taking her to Disney when the time comes. But, you've GOT TO, right?)

Off to hopefully sleep. I can't stop coughing and I know its keeping MIke up. (We've both still got some sort of chest cold. Although E's a lot better.)

iPhone!!!!

blogging from my new iPhone...am I high tech or what??? Super excited about my new toy. Got it as an early birthday gift from my family...thanks so much guys!

Finally....

...FALL! I love it. Finally, finally cool weather. Had a nice pre-dawn run this AM with Justin, who took the cool weather a bit too seriously. (tights, long sleeves, gloves, and a HAT?!? Wow.) :) A bunch of the run was in almost total darkness (not too safe) but makes for a cool run.

Can't wait for the weekend. We're all fighting some chest colds here...looking forward to resting up some and chilling with Mike and E.

So?

I really liked this article. Its true, too....no one really cares what you do but you, so why not do/say/wear/ act like you want?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/personal/10/03/self.consciousness/index.html

HUGE improvement!

Mike raced his first (and last) tri of the season today at Emerald Pointe. He had a great race. Took about 13 minutes off from same race last year (although his back tire did fall off on the bike last year.) He looked awesome and enjoyed himself. Tough, tough swim from all accounts. No one looked fresh exiting that swim. Not even the leaders. Very crowded....250 in his wave. That's nuts in sprint race. Kevin (Mike's brother) and I and watched the race with Lauren Sanders who was cheering Matt on.....Congrats on an awesome race, Matt! He looked strong out there, too.

Mike finished in about 1:17. Nice work. Proud of you!!!

Back at home cheering on the Red Sox and rooting against the Yankees. Coronas are chilling and pizza is on its way. Nice.

Obviously, I did decide to not race today....good choice although I was wishing I was out there a bit during the race. Debating/contemplating doing the Atlanta Half Marathon on Thanksgiving. Done that one a couple times before and its a good race....once again, feeling lost without a training plan. Need some focus/goals to keep me motivated. Maybe this will help?