Random Thought #1 - I remember doing one of my last long training rides before Ironman last fall. It was cold and windy, and I did NOT want to be out there, but I had to. I remember seeing other people and thinking "I have to be out here riding right now. Why are you out here?"
I'm now reading blogs of people that are preparing for Ironman Arizona and some preparing for IMCDA. hee hee... I read about one person doing a 6 hour ride on her trainer last week... hee hee. And lots of other people complaining about riding in the cold right now.
While feeling like a fat pig isn't the most pleasant feeling... Being inside and warm and only riding my bike when I feel like it... I'm eating that up... (I'm kind of hoping that next Spring I'll have to be out there training, but I'm going to enjoy this year!)
Random Thought #2 - The same can be said for the initial cold shock you feel when you first get in the pool.... Not if I don't have to right now!
Random Thought #3 - I saw the best bumper sticker the other day... Might just be Colorado humor, but it was funny!
"Cheney skis in jeans."
Random Thought #4 - Because I won't have my other job this summer (y'know, the 2o hour a week Ironman training) I've been entertaining the notion of getting a part time job this summer. We were in Home Depot on Saturday and I saw a sign that said they were hiring part-time seasonal help. That sounded perfect!!!! Then I found out that Home Depot doesn't give an employee discount. Huh? Really? Well that just shot that idea.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Spring Break 2008! Moab!!!!!!!!!!!
Guess what this week is!?
We spend the first night camping in town. The next morning I talk him into driving an hour and a half south of Moab to the southern part of Canyonlands National Park. It's called the Needles district.
I've been there once before, loved it, and always wanted to go back. We pitched our tent, and spent the rest of the afternoon hiking. AWESOME stuff! We had perfect hiking weather, too. Not too hot, not too cold.
It's Spring Break baby!
So I realize that a good blog has a focus. A good blog shouldn't just be willy nilly thoughts and writings. My focus was doing an Ironman. I did that. And now I'm kind of lost. I have a few small events this summer, and we're planning a road trip to sign up for another Ironman... But until then... You're stuck with vacation photos... If nothing else, because my mom reads my blog... She loved Moab when I took her there.
So... Moab! Four days worth of absolute fun! If you're not familiar with Moab, it's a small southeastern Utah town kind of in the middle of nowhere. It's about six hours from Denver. It has two BEAUTIFUL national parks in the vacinity (Canyonlands, and Arches National Park). It is plastered with hidden hiking trails, 4X4 trails, and of extreme importance... Mountain bike trails. Now since I'm a triathlete, mountain biking hasn't really been my thing as of late... So we also bring our roadbikes and have taken part in the Moab Skinny Tire Festival, too. For this reason, Greg really wanted to take our bikes on this trip. I objected because the weather wasn't supposed to be that good. It's a desert town, so it's very hot in the summer, and very cold in the winter. Spring and Fall are the ideal times to visit, but we hit it on a weekend where winter wasn't quite over yet. Darn!
I persuaded the hubby to leave the bikes behind, and pursue some of the hiking that I always want to do... It seems we're always in town for a volleyball tourney, a bike festival, or some other event. I was really excited to just go and hang out. Poor man's Spring Break! Here I come!
We spend the first night camping in town. The next morning I talk him into driving an hour and a half south of Moab to the southern part of Canyonlands National Park. It's called the Needles district.
I've been there once before, loved it, and always wanted to go back. We pitched our tent, and spent the rest of the afternoon hiking. AWESOME stuff! We had perfect hiking weather, too. Not too hot, not too cold. 
I think my favorite part of hiking here is that you actually get to hike up to the top of the rock formations and hike above the land. It's so cool!
hee hee. Greg has antlers!
More Canyonlands
After hiking all day, we came back to our campsite. I don't think I've ever camped somewhere so quiet. Because it was still a little chilly, we were lucky to have our pick of campsites. I don't think that would ever happen once it gets warmer. We made a fire and relaxed until the winds kicked up later in the evening and it started to snow on us.
The following morning we weren't really ready to leave the Needles area, so we spent some time at the Visitor's Center and decided which trails we'd like to come back and try.
We also made our way to a short 2.4 mile trail called the Slickrock trail. It was kind of like hiking on the moon! You're hiking on high rocks almost the entire time.
We were tempted to stay in the Needles area one more night because we were having so much fun, but we really didn't have any food left, so we headed back up to Moab. I know most people only stay in the Moab area (for good reason!) but I highly recommend some hiking or camping in the Needles area of Canyonlands. It's absolutely beautiful down there, with hardly any crowds.
There is a little tiny white speck on this rock. The photo just doesn't do it justice. It's a little rock climber dude up there! Climb! Climb! Nice job rock climbing dude!
The following morning we weren't really ready to leave the Needles area, so we spent some time at the Visitor's Center and decided which trails we'd like to come back and try.
We also made our way to a short 2.4 mile trail called the Slickrock trail. It was kind of like hiking on the moon! You're hiking on high rocks almost the entire time.
We were tempted to stay in the Needles area one more night because we were having so much fun, but we really didn't have any food left, so we headed back up to Moab. I know most people only stay in the Moab area (for good reason!) but I highly recommend some hiking or camping in the Needles area of Canyonlands. It's absolutely beautiful down there, with hardly any crowds.
There is a little tiny white speck on this rock. The photo just doesn't do it justice. It's a little rock climber dude up there! Climb! Climb! Nice job rock climbing dude!
Moab's Annual Jeep Safari
You always know you're going to find some fun in Moab. It just so happened that the annual Jeep Safari was in town. When we first arrived we asked one of the locals where we could find a good spot to watch people acting stupid and she recommended Potato Salad Hill. We immediately went to explore. People actually drive up this stuff??????? Nobody was there at the time, but we knew they did because there were oil spills and tire marks all over the rocks. Pretty hard to imagine though.
After finishing our two nights of camping in the cold, we decided it was time to head into town to get some warm food and debate about the third night of camping or getting a motel. Hungry and cold... Around 3:30 on Sunday, we thought we'd just take a spin by ol' potato salad hill. Boy! Did we get lucky! Half the town was out in force! Most there to watch, but a few crazy fellas had to prove how big they were by taking on tater salad hill!
Some of the Jeeps and special built 4X4's took it like it was nothing. They were fun to watch, but nothing like the redneck farm boys that somehow found their way from the deep bowels of america to Moab. One pickup after another gunned it from the bottom of the hill. Naturally they'd get stuck, fish tail from this side to that side, slide backwards and slam the bumper into a rock... All the while some drunk fat girl was hollaring at the bottom of the hill, and the cigarette never waivered from the driver's wife beater wearin' tattooed arms hanging out the window. It was awesome! Truly the stuff that makes you stand tall laughing, and then look at your toes while kicking your feet when you admit you are 100% American... Giggling all the while.
After finishing our two nights of camping in the cold, we decided it was time to head into town to get some warm food and debate about the third night of camping or getting a motel. Hungry and cold... Around 3:30 on Sunday, we thought we'd just take a spin by ol' potato salad hill. Boy! Did we get lucky! Half the town was out in force! Most there to watch, but a few crazy fellas had to prove how big they were by taking on tater salad hill!
Some of the Jeeps and special built 4X4's took it like it was nothing. They were fun to watch, but nothing like the redneck farm boys that somehow found their way from the deep bowels of america to Moab. One pickup after another gunned it from the bottom of the hill. Naturally they'd get stuck, fish tail from this side to that side, slide backwards and slam the bumper into a rock... All the while some drunk fat girl was hollaring at the bottom of the hill, and the cigarette never waivered from the driver's wife beater wearin' tattooed arms hanging out the window. It was awesome! Truly the stuff that makes you stand tall laughing, and then look at your toes while kicking your feet when you admit you are 100% American... Giggling all the while.
Rock Art
As an art teacher, I'm fascinated by ancient petroglyphs and pictographs. Luckily, southeast Utah has tons of it. Naturally my brain is full of little art project ideas I can take back to school. The trick is to get the kids as excited about it as I am.
The Newspaper Rock is on a pull-off on the way to the Needles district of Canyonlands.
While I've hunted down many of the rock art sites in and around Moab, I always seem to read up on more. While leaving we discovered a beautiful hike in a canyon called Courthouse Wash. Couldn't find the rock art there, but my wonderful husband let me dictate some off the beaten path roads up off I-70 well outside of Moab as we headed out of town. We discovered a place called Sego Canyon and the rock art up there was amazing!
This lifesize art is supposedly called the Barrier Canyon style. These are also some of the paintings that cause people to think aliens once inhabited the earth! Scientists guess the panel to be dated from 500 B.C. to around 500 A.D.! Unfortunately someone decided to take bullet practice on it at some point in time... It's still very cool to be driving up in this forgotten land on dirt roads and see rock art panels spanning three different periods of time!
The Newspaper Rock is on a pull-off on the way to the Needles district of Canyonlands.
While I've hunted down many of the rock art sites in and around Moab, I always seem to read up on more. While leaving we discovered a beautiful hike in a canyon called Courthouse Wash. Couldn't find the rock art there, but my wonderful husband let me dictate some off the beaten path roads up off I-70 well outside of Moab as we headed out of town. We discovered a place called Sego Canyon and the rock art up there was amazing!
This lifesize art is supposedly called the Barrier Canyon style. These are also some of the paintings that cause people to think aliens once inhabited the earth! Scientists guess the panel to be dated from 500 B.C. to around 500 A.D.! Unfortunately someone decided to take bullet practice on it at some point in time... It's still very cool to be driving up in this forgotten land on dirt roads and see rock art panels spanning three different periods of time!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Sego Canyon
Okay, this was really cool. As we're driving up to see the petroglyphs and stopped at some traintracks, an old mountain bearded guy comes walking up to our truck. He tells us about a ghost town a little farther up the road. Apparently it was a coal mining town in the 1950's that supported about 500 people. On all the sites I've read on Sego Canyon, it tells of a boarding house built next to the market. The old guy told us it was actually a brothel. He also said the town dried up when they put all the freeways in. I haven't read that anywhere else. It was pretty cool to explore!The market
The brothel
The other side of the brothel
You could find the foundations to several houses, but these were the only two large foundations still standing. Cool stuff! I went to Europe to find old ruins! It was kind of fun to find historical ruins here in the United States. Too bad it's so far off the beaten path and not being preserved.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Stuff White People Like
Give credit where credit is due... Today's post is a total rip off of the hillarious blog, Stuff White People Like. Each day this guy adds one more thing that white people like. He goes on a fantastic rant about it, and I dare you not to read it, identify with it, and not wet your pants laughing.
Andra Sue pointed this blog out. She's one of those people in blogosphere that I wish I could meet in person because I think she'd be a great friend. She's funny, a real world triathlete (like you and me), and she's left many a nice comment on my blog. Anyways, she compiled the list for us... And I've since copied it on to my own site with comments about myself... Because this is really fun! How white are you???
Color coded for your convenience:
Green: I'm totally white
Yellow: Some of my best friends are/do, so I'm white by association
Red: Not white enough
#1 Coffee – Just not my thing, but the friends sure do... And believe it or not... My middle school kids are total Starbucks junkies!
#2 Religions their parents don’t belong to – Not really sure what I am at this point.
#3 Film Festivals – in college I enjoyed the occasional sick and twisted animation film festivals
#4 Assists - Look it up, it's funny.
#5 Farmer’s Markets – Yep.
#6 Organic Food – I do and will.
#7 Diversity – Um, yeah. Except in the school district I currently teach in. But I did my student teaching in the Detroit Public School system. I can check that card.
#8 Barack Obama – He'll get my vote if he makes the big ticket.
#9 Making you feel bad about not going outside – Total whine fest if I'm inside and it's nice outside.
#10 Wes Anderson Movies – Not me, but I bet Matt does.
#11 Asian Girls - I'm exempt from this one.
#12 Non-Profit Organizations - It's all good.
#13 Tea – Husband LOVES tea.
#14 Having Black Friends – Do extended relatives count?
#15 Yoga – Pilates, too.
#16 Gifted Children – Teach them, was one.
#17 Hating their Parents – Don't hate them, but do blame them for some issues. Slow athletic genes being one of them.
#18 Awareness – I'm a teacher and a democrat. Need I say more?
#19 Traveling – Love it.
#20 Being an expert on YOUR culture – I hope I don’t do this one, but I bet I do.
#21 Writers Workshops - Busted! Not a favorite hangout, but I did just go to one recently.
#22 Having Two Last Names - Not me. The shorter the better.
#23 Microbreweries - Of course Fat Tire was another good reason to move to Colorado.
#24 Wine – Not really my thing, but my circle of friends are really into it.
#25 David Sedaris – Matt, do you know this guy?
#26 Manhattan (now Brooklyn too!) - Exempt from this, too. But I've done the downtown metropolitan thing a couple times in my life. Now I'm the ultimate white person... I live in the burbs!
#27 Marathons – First one this past year!
#28 Not having a TV – Unfortunately I thought this was very cool a few various times in my life. Now I find it annoying that I'll be in a circle of friends and I know absolutely nothing about the random pieces of history that my friends are talking about because I didn't own a television during those years. Not a good thing in hind sight.
#29 80s Night - Realized I was falling for my husband that crazy night when he was dressed in his Pee Wee Herman costume and I in my big hair...
#30 Wrigley Field - My brother loves the place.
#31 Snowboarding - Only because I thought I had a hangover the next day, and it turned out to be a concussion. I've stuck with the true Eurocentric high dollar winter sport: skiing.
#32 Vegan/Vegetarianism – Married one.
#33 Marijuana - NO
#34 Architecture – Can't comment due to the fantastic reputation of the suburb I live in.
#35 The Daily Show/Colbert Report – Guilty.
#36 Breakfast Places – I'm too cheap, but the friends love to do this.
#37 Renovations – Bless me now. This is how I knew my marriage would last.
#38 Arrested Development - NO
#39 Netflix – Been there, done that. I've now upgraded my laziness to just ordering pay per view.
#40 Apple Products – My school is all Apple products. Bless my white suburban district.
#41 Indie Music – Guilty of it in college, not so much anymore. Can't deny that I like some of Tim's favorites.
#42 Sushi – Husband loves it. I'm converting.
#43 Plays – Not number one on my list, but I like them.
#44 Public Radio – Feel guilty for not listening to it more.
#45 Asian Fusion Food – I'm cheap so I don't go out much, but I can't kick it.
#46 The Sunday New York Times - Nope, and I don't think I have any friends that do.
#47 Arts Degrees – Gotta love this: I have an Associate of Arts. a Master of Arts, and Bachelor of Science (in Art!)
#48 Whole Foods and Grocery Co-ops – AKA "Whole Paycheck"
#49 Vintage – Swing dancing phase in college. Whoo-ee! It was fun!
#50 Irony – Kind of negative concept, but I have actually been sucked into this conversation a couple times recently in my white circles.
#51 Living by the Water – Been there, done that. Traded in for the mountains instead.
#52 Sarah Silverman – Not white enough I guess.
#53 Dogs – Love them.
#54 Kitchen Gadgets – I'd much rather have bike and tri gadgets. But my friends all have the big Cuisinart something or other on their countertops.
#55 Apologies – I own it.
#56 Lawyers – Wouldn't the world be a better place if we didn't need them?
#57 Juno – Heard it was great. I have reservations for personal reasons.
#58 Japan – Hmmm. No.
#59 Natural Medicine – Spent two hours researching acupuncture last night.
#60 Toyota Prius - NO, but I would.
#61 Bicycles – Um, yeah... Four bikes, two people... Yeah, it's true, I was at the bike shop just yesterday.
#63 Expensive Sandwiches – Not very often, but when I do... They really DO taste better!
#64 Recycling – Sure.
#65 Co-Ed Sports – I have some really good memories of my Detroit Sport and Social Club Leagues... Ah... The good ol' days... Met my husband on a coed volleyball league.
#66 Divorce - It's not for me, but unfortunately I do have friends that have been into this.
#67 Standing Still at Concerts – I'm sure I have.
#68 Michel Gondry - Not me, Matt, you in for this?
#69 Mos Def - Not white enough apparently.
#70 Difficult Breakups - Been there, done that.
#71 Being the only white person around – Original article spoke to being the only white person in a restaurant. I did one better. I lived in a remote African village for three months in college.
#72 Study Abroad – See #71.
#73 Gentrification – hee hee. Better not make comments here... But read the original. It's funny!
#74 Oscar Parties - Matt's name sure has popped up here a lot, hasn't it? I'm thinking Matt must be REALLY white!
#75 Threatening to Move to Canada – I really DO like Canada! If only it weren't so cold there...
#76 Bottles of Water – Okay, I'm into Nalgenes. See #64.
#77 Musical Comedy – I was gonna say no, but Weird Al and Adam Sandler apparently fall into this category. And well, they make me laugh a lot.
#78 Multilingual Children – I support it.
#79 Modern Furniture – Not me, but the husband likes it.
#80 The Idea of Soccer – Late twenties... Co-ed leagues... and traveling... Check.
#81 Graduate School - Admittedly, a grad degree in education really shouldn't be put in the same category as Kirk's soon to be MBA, but I can associate...
#82 Hating Corportations - I love that the original blog sites that white people must "NEVER, EVER mention Apple Computers, Target or Ikea in the same breath as... Wal*Mart, McDonald's, Haliburton" (pee your pants moment there!)
#83 Bad Memories of High School - Making homecoming court, good... Hopping into corvette to ride around field during halftime, slipping and exposing breast to entire crowd, Bad.
#84 T-shirts - Where them anytime I can. But they can't be mom t-shirts, in the same category as mom jeans... That's bad.
There you go... Apparently I'm pretty white.
Andra Sue pointed this blog out. She's one of those people in blogosphere that I wish I could meet in person because I think she'd be a great friend. She's funny, a real world triathlete (like you and me), and she's left many a nice comment on my blog. Anyways, she compiled the list for us... And I've since copied it on to my own site with comments about myself... Because this is really fun! How white are you???
Color coded for your convenience:
Green: I'm totally white
Yellow: Some of my best friends are/do, so I'm white by association
Red: Not white enough
#1 Coffee – Just not my thing, but the friends sure do... And believe it or not... My middle school kids are total Starbucks junkies!
#2 Religions their parents don’t belong to – Not really sure what I am at this point.
#3 Film Festivals – in college I enjoyed the occasional sick and twisted animation film festivals
#4 Assists - Look it up, it's funny.
#5 Farmer’s Markets – Yep.
#6 Organic Food – I do and will.
#7 Diversity – Um, yeah. Except in the school district I currently teach in. But I did my student teaching in the Detroit Public School system. I can check that card.
#8 Barack Obama – He'll get my vote if he makes the big ticket.
#9 Making you feel bad about not going outside – Total whine fest if I'm inside and it's nice outside.
#10 Wes Anderson Movies – Not me, but I bet Matt does.
#11 Asian Girls - I'm exempt from this one.
#12 Non-Profit Organizations - It's all good.
#13 Tea – Husband LOVES tea.
#14 Having Black Friends – Do extended relatives count?
#15 Yoga – Pilates, too.
#16 Gifted Children – Teach them, was one.
#17 Hating their Parents – Don't hate them, but do blame them for some issues. Slow athletic genes being one of them.
#18 Awareness – I'm a teacher and a democrat. Need I say more?
#19 Traveling – Love it.
#20 Being an expert on YOUR culture – I hope I don’t do this one, but I bet I do.
#21 Writers Workshops - Busted! Not a favorite hangout, but I did just go to one recently.
#22 Having Two Last Names - Not me. The shorter the better.
#23 Microbreweries - Of course Fat Tire was another good reason to move to Colorado.
#24 Wine – Not really my thing, but my circle of friends are really into it.
#25 David Sedaris – Matt, do you know this guy?
#26 Manhattan (now Brooklyn too!) - Exempt from this, too. But I've done the downtown metropolitan thing a couple times in my life. Now I'm the ultimate white person... I live in the burbs!
#27 Marathons – First one this past year!
#28 Not having a TV – Unfortunately I thought this was very cool a few various times in my life. Now I find it annoying that I'll be in a circle of friends and I know absolutely nothing about the random pieces of history that my friends are talking about because I didn't own a television during those years. Not a good thing in hind sight.
#29 80s Night - Realized I was falling for my husband that crazy night when he was dressed in his Pee Wee Herman costume and I in my big hair...
#30 Wrigley Field - My brother loves the place.
#31 Snowboarding - Only because I thought I had a hangover the next day, and it turned out to be a concussion. I've stuck with the true Eurocentric high dollar winter sport: skiing.
#32 Vegan/Vegetarianism – Married one.
#33 Marijuana - NO
#34 Architecture – Can't comment due to the fantastic reputation of the suburb I live in.
#35 The Daily Show/Colbert Report – Guilty.
#36 Breakfast Places – I'm too cheap, but the friends love to do this.
#37 Renovations – Bless me now. This is how I knew my marriage would last.
#38 Arrested Development - NO
#39 Netflix – Been there, done that. I've now upgraded my laziness to just ordering pay per view.
#40 Apple Products – My school is all Apple products. Bless my white suburban district.
#41 Indie Music – Guilty of it in college, not so much anymore. Can't deny that I like some of Tim's favorites.
#42 Sushi – Husband loves it. I'm converting.
#43 Plays – Not number one on my list, but I like them.
#44 Public Radio – Feel guilty for not listening to it more.
#45 Asian Fusion Food – I'm cheap so I don't go out much, but I can't kick it.
#46 The Sunday New York Times - Nope, and I don't think I have any friends that do.
#47 Arts Degrees – Gotta love this: I have an Associate of Arts. a Master of Arts, and Bachelor of Science (in Art!)
#48 Whole Foods and Grocery Co-ops – AKA "Whole Paycheck"
#49 Vintage – Swing dancing phase in college. Whoo-ee! It was fun!
#50 Irony – Kind of negative concept, but I have actually been sucked into this conversation a couple times recently in my white circles.
#51 Living by the Water – Been there, done that. Traded in for the mountains instead.
#52 Sarah Silverman – Not white enough I guess.
#53 Dogs – Love them.
#54 Kitchen Gadgets – I'd much rather have bike and tri gadgets. But my friends all have the big Cuisinart something or other on their countertops.
#55 Apologies – I own it.
#56 Lawyers – Wouldn't the world be a better place if we didn't need them?
#57 Juno – Heard it was great. I have reservations for personal reasons.
#58 Japan – Hmmm. No.
#59 Natural Medicine – Spent two hours researching acupuncture last night.
#60 Toyota Prius - NO, but I would.
#61 Bicycles – Um, yeah... Four bikes, two people... Yeah, it's true, I was at the bike shop just yesterday.
#63 Expensive Sandwiches – Not very often, but when I do... They really DO taste better!
#64 Recycling – Sure.
#65 Co-Ed Sports – I have some really good memories of my Detroit Sport and Social Club Leagues... Ah... The good ol' days... Met my husband on a coed volleyball league.
#66 Divorce - It's not for me, but unfortunately I do have friends that have been into this.
#67 Standing Still at Concerts – I'm sure I have.
#68 Michel Gondry - Not me, Matt, you in for this?
#69 Mos Def - Not white enough apparently.
#70 Difficult Breakups - Been there, done that.
#71 Being the only white person around – Original article spoke to being the only white person in a restaurant. I did one better. I lived in a remote African village for three months in college.
#72 Study Abroad – See #71.
#73 Gentrification – hee hee. Better not make comments here... But read the original. It's funny!
#74 Oscar Parties - Matt's name sure has popped up here a lot, hasn't it? I'm thinking Matt must be REALLY white!
#75 Threatening to Move to Canada – I really DO like Canada! If only it weren't so cold there...
#76 Bottles of Water – Okay, I'm into Nalgenes. See #64.
#77 Musical Comedy – I was gonna say no, but Weird Al and Adam Sandler apparently fall into this category. And well, they make me laugh a lot.
#78 Multilingual Children – I support it.
#79 Modern Furniture – Not me, but the husband likes it.
#80 The Idea of Soccer – Late twenties... Co-ed leagues... and traveling... Check.
#81 Graduate School - Admittedly, a grad degree in education really shouldn't be put in the same category as Kirk's soon to be MBA, but I can associate...
#82 Hating Corportations - I love that the original blog sites that white people must "NEVER, EVER mention Apple Computers, Target or Ikea in the same breath as... Wal*Mart, McDonald's, Haliburton" (pee your pants moment there!)
#83 Bad Memories of High School - Making homecoming court, good... Hopping into corvette to ride around field during halftime, slipping and exposing breast to entire crowd, Bad.
#84 T-shirts - Where them anytime I can. But they can't be mom t-shirts, in the same category as mom jeans... That's bad.
There you go... Apparently I'm pretty white.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Summer vacation plans 2008
After doing the Boulder Peak triathlon for something like 5 years now (I forgot exactly) we're now thinking about skipping it this year....
We know we need to sign up ASAP because it's close to filling... but maybe we will just do a couple other events this year and do a roadtrip this summer instead...
The Boulder Peak is on July 20 this year.... (also about the same time that the week long Ragbrai bike festival in Iowa will be starting!) We're thinking about road tripping across the country and maybe doing some volunteering for a little race up in Lake Placid on July 20 this year instead... Yeah, you know... One of those races that goes until midnight... And then everybody stands in line for hours the next day to register for the following year.
My husband is all for it. I said I wouldn't sign up... Because we want to get pregnant... But really!? Can I really watch it and NOT want to sign up????
It's all talk right now.
We know we need to sign up ASAP because it's close to filling... but maybe we will just do a couple other events this year and do a roadtrip this summer instead...
The Boulder Peak is on July 20 this year.... (also about the same time that the week long Ragbrai bike festival in Iowa will be starting!) We're thinking about road tripping across the country and maybe doing some volunteering for a little race up in Lake Placid on July 20 this year instead... Yeah, you know... One of those races that goes until midnight... And then everybody stands in line for hours the next day to register for the following year.
My husband is all for it. I said I wouldn't sign up... Because we want to get pregnant... But really!? Can I really watch it and NOT want to sign up????
It's all talk right now.
The latest drama is now over.
I've continually thought that I was no longer in the running to be a contestant for season 2 on American Gladiators... And just about the time a week goes by... When I decide to blow the diet... Yeah, they call or email. It has been nuts. At least once a week, sometimes more I hear from them... Last weekend was the mother of all panic attacks when I decided to blow the diet... And then checked my spam box and discovered an email notifying me that they still hadn't made any decisions yet. All the while kicking myself for eating the chocolate chip cookies earlier that morning.
Last Sunday I got the email with 40 pages of legal documents that I needed to look over, flag, and highlight. Boy! Let me tell you! I will never watch reality television the same again! They leave no stone unturned when it comes to possible things I might come back and sue them on. It had everything from understanding that I might be hurt, injured, or even die! (okay, that's nothing new. I sign those everytime I ski or do a tri.) To me acknowledging that I would be athletically disadvantaged to people that could knowingly be on steroids... But I would have to positively drug test that I am not. Then there were the confidentiality agreements... And of course the misrepresentation clauses that scared me the most... Put simply, when you choose to be on a reality television show, you have NO rights. Pretty scary stuff when you're putting it all out there.
I received the legal stuff on Sunday, they were notifying people on Tuesday, and people were to report (packed for two months) to Los Angeles on Thursday.
Needless to say, I'm SOOO relieved because they didn't call on Tuesday. How I could pack for two months in two days is one thing... Writing sub plans for two months... ha ha ha... That's a total joke!
Things all work out for the best, don't they? Sure I would have liked the shot at $100K in a realm that looked like a whole lot of fun, but overall, I'm extremely relieved I didn't have to sign the 40 pages of legal documents that scared me to death. I'm actually really glad that I don't have to be on national television with the potential to look and act like a total idiot.
If nothing else, all this got me off the couch and back into the gym with a vengeance. I start a really good half marathon training plan next week. I've got a really nice base going into it. And if I stick with the weightlifting, I'm gonna have some nice arms come tank top season!
I think the best thing of all is that I was drifting into a serious post-ironman depression this winter... I'm still not pregnant, I had no big events going on, typical winter-time depression... I'm happy to say that I just had an exciting roller coaster of a month and a half that completely got me out of my funk!
And now spring is knocking on the window! Strangely, I was so happy to be done with long weekend bike rides and runs after my ironman... But I'm just dying for the weather to break so I can get back out there again. Life is good.
Last Sunday I got the email with 40 pages of legal documents that I needed to look over, flag, and highlight. Boy! Let me tell you! I will never watch reality television the same again! They leave no stone unturned when it comes to possible things I might come back and sue them on. It had everything from understanding that I might be hurt, injured, or even die! (okay, that's nothing new. I sign those everytime I ski or do a tri.) To me acknowledging that I would be athletically disadvantaged to people that could knowingly be on steroids... But I would have to positively drug test that I am not. Then there were the confidentiality agreements... And of course the misrepresentation clauses that scared me the most... Put simply, when you choose to be on a reality television show, you have NO rights. Pretty scary stuff when you're putting it all out there.
I received the legal stuff on Sunday, they were notifying people on Tuesday, and people were to report (packed for two months) to Los Angeles on Thursday.
Needless to say, I'm SOOO relieved because they didn't call on Tuesday. How I could pack for two months in two days is one thing... Writing sub plans for two months... ha ha ha... That's a total joke!
Things all work out for the best, don't they? Sure I would have liked the shot at $100K in a realm that looked like a whole lot of fun, but overall, I'm extremely relieved I didn't have to sign the 40 pages of legal documents that scared me to death. I'm actually really glad that I don't have to be on national television with the potential to look and act like a total idiot.
If nothing else, all this got me off the couch and back into the gym with a vengeance. I start a really good half marathon training plan next week. I've got a really nice base going into it. And if I stick with the weightlifting, I'm gonna have some nice arms come tank top season!
I think the best thing of all is that I was drifting into a serious post-ironman depression this winter... I'm still not pregnant, I had no big events going on, typical winter-time depression... I'm happy to say that I just had an exciting roller coaster of a month and a half that completely got me out of my funk!
And now spring is knocking on the window! Strangely, I was so happy to be done with long weekend bike rides and runs after my ironman... But I'm just dying for the weather to break so I can get back out there again. Life is good.
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