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?

WOW.

Went to see the Foo Fighters at the Tabernacle last night. They blew me away. I am not a huge fan of concerts (don't really enjoy large crowds too much. I hate strangers invading my space. Yeah, I am a pain in the a$$.) :) But, I didn't even mind the people spilling beer on my head, sweating on me and pushing me last night since these guys rocked. I adhere to my statement to Mike from a few years ago, I would leave him for Dave Grohl. (and/or Will Ferrell.) Mike's fine with it...he's got his list as well.

Big race weekend here. Mike's racing Emerald Pointe on Sunday. Can't wait! I am still about 80% sure I am not racing......

No workout today. Day off. Trying to motivate to get up early tomorrow and run. Had a nice early AM run with Michelle on Thursday....feels SO good to get it done before it even gets light out. Why don't I do it more often? Oh yeah, I am lazy and like to sleep....that's why.

Mike's mom (Bmo) and his brother (Kevin) get in tomorrow AM. They're visiting from NY. E's excited to see Nana and "Seenin".

To race or not?

Pics are from Saturday. Aunt Pat and Uncle Bri (UB) had us over to their sweet new pool/patio to have brunch since my cousin, Maria and her hubby were visiting from Houston. E's expression in the group picture is just awesome. All of the people in the picture are either my cousins (all the girls), my sister, my mom, Aunt, Uncle and the rest are our husbands, dogs or kid. :)

Packet pickup is today for Mike's race on Sunday. Notice I said, "MIke's race"? I am going to get my packet, since I am signed up and all, but I am about 70% sure I am not racing. Not feeling it...and not in the mood to force anything right now. I am excited to go cheer on Mike (and Matt Sanders, too). Plus, these AM temps are not my scene. I like it hot. NOT cold, especially for swimming THEN biking. Brr.

E, aka "Lump", is doing fine. Her "boo boo" is healing really well. She loves to talk about it and tell me that she had ice cream when she got it. Ahh....good memories. ;)

Bump. Head.

That's exactly what Ella did last night.

Running (on our BRICK walkway)

Falling (on her forehead.)

Bumping (said forehead.)

Crying (the real kind that means business.)

Swelling (pretty big goose egg.)

Quick trip to Children's Health Care (totally love this place. SO great and kid friendly. Way better alternative to North Fulton ER.) She's fine. Superficial bump. (Thank God!) We were a little shaken up...but got peace of mind that our little angel didn't have anything really wrong with her. She was a champ, too. Looking much better today. Ugh. Our first ER trip with her....no fun.