Fun in the Twin Cities

And......scene

2007-01-07T11:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, folks. It's over. I tried, but now it's officially over.

I am no longer going to keep this blog. This is my final post.

I started this blog with the intent of tracking new things that I'd done in the Twin Cities. My initial New Year's resolution for 2006 was to do one new thing in the Twin Cities every week, and then blog about that new thing. By March, I quickly realized that goal wasn't going to be realized.

No matter what, life tends to take over and take the lead from you. I realized that I just didn't have the time to devote to doing one new thing every week, not to mention the money. Not that I'm complaining at all; I had a phenomenal 2006. I shared in so much joy this year - three friends got married, my sister graduated from college, my mom celebrated a milestone birthday, I GOT ENGAGED! It was a great year. But with all of these big life changes, small trips to the local museum or nights out at a new restaurant got lost.

After my realization that the "new things" part of my resolution was a lost cause, I still had the devotion to writing about life in general. I thought that it was such an amazing thing, this blogging world. A world where a person can write about any and everything they want, and no one can stop them. I found myself perusing other blogs and reading about other people, and becoming fascinated with the world out there.

As time went on, though, I began to lose my enthusiasm for blogging. As I stated a few weeks ago, I started to dread blogging. I would go do something so fun, and then be a bit irritated that I "had" to blog about it. So, I stopped blogging altogether for a while. And for the most part, I didn't miss it at all.

And then, for some reason, one day in December, I really wanted to blog. I wanted to again share my life and my stories with the people out there in the world. I regained my excitement about blogging.

For about two weeks.

Now, I'm back to where I was in October, back to not wanting to write in this format, back to not caring to share my life with others in this manner. I realized that, for the most part, the people who read my blog are my friends and family who already know all about my life. They don't need to read about it on some blog.

And, if I want to write about something, I should be writing it down in my own personal books, for myself and no one else. I shouldn't be writing superficially about things, being careful not to delve into raw emotion because I know that, for example, my mom is reading. I should be writing for my own self. Twenty years from now, I won't have a silly blog to reflect upon; I'll have books filled with my thoughts and emotions and memories of a certain day.

Now, please don't get me wrong and think that I'm saying that blogging is silly or stupid. I don't think that's the case at all. In fact, there are many, many blogs that I read consistently and I love reading them. (Shameless plug: http://breakthechain.blog.com) I think that for some blogging is a great way to share part of yourself with the world. But, I am saying that I had wrong intentions with this blog, and that for me, blogging is not the way in which I should chose to express myself or to spend my own time.

That being said, I have enjoyed this blog for the most part. At times, it was very fun to post about big life events and to hear what others out in the world had to say about it.

So, thanks to all who have read throughout the past year. I appreciate the reading and the commenting. It's been great to share this particular pop culture experience with you.

And…

Scene

And so this is Christmas...

2006-12-28T14:26:00.000-08:00

Every year, Mark and I have an extended Christmas holiday due to having two families in two different cities. We always celebrate with both families, but for obvious travel reasons can only celebrate with one family on Christmas Day. This year, we celebrated with Mark's fam on the 17th, spent Christmas weekend and day with my fam, and then had our own Christmas celebration on the 26th.

Christmas Mark's parent's house was great. We spent Saturday afternoon and evening hanging out, eating a fantastic meal, and opening gifts.

Mark playing Santa

Mark and Carol

John and Lucy opening gifts

Mark opening his big gift of a case of wine, which lead to...

An overwhelming collection!

Spending Christmas weekend with my family was great, as always. We spent Saturday night celebrating Mark's birthday with dinner at B.J. Wentker's in Burlington. We had fabulous food - I had a Drunken Ribeye that I'm sure to dream about for weeks to come.

Christmas Eve was spent with extended family. We started the night by attending a live nativity scene with Nikki and her family. It was really cute - little kids played all the parts of the nativity, and it was held in a barn with live animals. The audience was encouraged to join in at times of song. It was a great alternative to Christmas Mass. Later that night, we took part in a round robin with mom's family. We started the night at my parent's house, where my mom served light appetizers of stuffed mushrooms and cheese, sausage and crackers. Aunt Nancy and Uncle Jim hosted us for dinner, and it was amazing - prime rib cooked to perfection, with twice baked potatoes and salad. We nearly had to be rolled out of the place. After a few games of darts and foosball, we headed over to Aunt Bonnie's for a dessert of Banana Split Torte. It was a very relaxing, low-key way to see family and enjoy Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning at my parent's house is always so much fun - but also a little crazy! Nikki, Pete and the kids came over at 10:00, and after a breakfast of baked-apple french toast and breakfast pizza, we dove into gift opening. Mark was in charge of photos for the morning, and he got some great shots.

Mark and Max, displaying the wooden turtle that Max made and painted for Mark

Me and Lexi, displaying the beautiful scarf that she crocheted for me

Eric opening his gift from the family

Mom opening her red iPod

Mark displaying the amazing cribbage board that Pete handmade for him

My Favre jersey

As always, we also took family pictures in front of the Christmas tree.

Nikki's family

My parents

The whole family

After the long drive back to MN on Tuesday, we settled in for a great new Christmas tradition. Mark and I have decided that because Christmas Eve and Day are always taken by extended family, we would find a day close to Christmas to have our own celebration, by fixing a fabulous meal, having a great bottle of wine, opening gifts, and just relaxing. This was the first year we did it, and it was wonderful to have our own time during this crazy holiday season.

Mark cooking our fabulous meal

We dined like kings on bacon-wrapped filet over a bed of julien carrots, with Death Row Potatoes. (They are called Death Row Potatoes because if I were on death row, I would request these potatoes for my last meal. They are THAT GOOD.)

Two Hands Brave Faces Shiraz - quite tasty!

Mark opening gift #4

Me opening gift #5 - I'm really excited because I'm pretty sure that this would be...

My sewing machine!

In front of the Christmas tree

Overall, it was a great Christmas spent with family and loved ones. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas time as well!

Oh, Christmas Tree

2006-12-12T14:05:00.000-08:00

Mark and I finally pulled the Christmas decorations out of storage, put together our artificial tree, and decorated the house for the holidays.

When we first decided to decorate on Saturday, I must admit that I wasn't really in the mood. Work and life in general have been so crazy lately that I haven't even had time to get excited for the holiday. But as soon as I opened up my big Rubbermaid container of Christmas decorations and ornaments, the excitement just flooded right back into me. I couldn't wait to get the tree up and decorate so that our house would feel like a home at Christmastime.

Here's some pics of the tree. Sadly, we can't have a real tree yet because we are still in an apartment. And, we don't really have the necessary amount of lights. But, we decorated the heck out of that tree with ornaments collected through the years and a whole bucket of love.

We also spent some time in the kitchen and made Haystack Cookies, something I'm sure we'll do year after year. That is one great thing about getting older and having your own sort of life - you get to start your own set of holiday traditions. Mark got the recipe for a no-bake cookie from a friend at work, so we decided to try it out. They are SO GOOD! We were pretty proud of our no-bake abilities.

I hope you are into the holiday season! Merry Christmas!

Life Update

2006-12-10T07:53:00.000-08:00

It's hard to sum up two months in a little blog post. So, instead of trying to recap every detail, here are a three of the highlights of the past months.

I went home to WI for Thanksgiving to spend time with family and friends. A 6:00am flight on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving gave my four full days to hang out and enjoy some relaxation. My mom had Thanksgiving at her house, so it was a little crazy getting everything ready. I was pretty proud of myself though; I made my very first Thanksgiving Day pie, and it was awesome. On Friday, my mom, my sister and I partook in our favorite tradition of the year - Christmas shopping on Black Friday. I got all of my shopping done in one day. I had lunch with Erin and her mom in Lake Geneva, did a little shopping with my dad, and just enjoyed the holiday. Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that I didn't like much as a kid, but the older I get, the more I really enjoy it. It isn't just about eating until you burst and watching football until you are fast asleep on the couch. It's about getting together with family and friends, and truly realizing that you have so much to be thankful for. It's a kick start to the entire holiday season of sharing and giving and enjoyment.

The Whittens came up for a visit. It was a very relaxing weekend. We hung out, went to The Electric Fetus (the best music store around really), visited the Sculpture Garden in Minneapolis, did a little swimming, and just had a good time catching up with friends.

I saved the largest event for last, as it was truly the highlight of my fall. On October 28th, Erin and Dave got married, and I was honored to be a part of the event. Erin had planned everything out so perfectly; not a thing went wrong! The chapel was beautiful, the ceremony was heartfelt, the reception hall was amazing. The whole day was very romantic and whimsical. And, most importantly, it was so fun. From the moment we woke up in the morning, Erin was so much fun to be around. She was a fabulous bride - excited, nervous, filled with emotions of all kinds. And she smiled all day long. It gave the day a wonderful feeling right from the start. And that feeling just continued on through every moment of the day - waiting in the chapel for guests to arrive, standing up there watching them get married, taking pictures at the fabulous chapel, watching the first dance and the cake cutting, eating a delicious meal, and dancing the night away - it was all so fun to be part of. I unfortunately don't have many photos of the day - I was a little busy! But, here are a few of the day, and you should definitely scoot on over to Erin's blog to see a whole host of photos - they really are beautiful photos. (Note: go back to November 6th on her blog to see them!)

Waiting at the Chapel

At the Chapel

Erin, Mimi, Mom, Me

The Happy Couple

Yes, I'm still alive

2006-12-09T07:35:00.000-08:00

So, it's been two months since I posted, and I decided it was time that I came back on here and gave a little update.

I haven't been posting in the past two months for a couple of reasons. First, I was freakin busy! I was doing all sorts of fun things, but I didn't have the time to post about them. Second, I found that I was dreading the blog. Mark and I would go do something fun, and instead of coming home thinking "That was fun; I should really blog about this!" I would come home thinking, "That was fun; now I have to blog about it." The fun of blogging was being sucked out.

But I woke up this morning and though, hey I should really blog. I'm thinking that maybe I'm back to that stage where blogging is fun again.

So, I shall start blogging again. I'm very curious to see who's going to come and visit since I've been gone for two whole months. Have I lost everyone, and it really doesn't matter if I blog or not? I guess we'll see.

As for all of the things that happened in the last two months, I'll do a quick life update in the next few days to get caught up.

Until then....

A Day in the Country

2006-10-08T05:59:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite fall activities is getting out into the crisp air and heading to our favorite apple orchard, Afton Apple. We put away the busyness and craziness of the city, and head south just far enough to enter into the countryside. Mark and I were planning to go a couple of weeks from now, when the air would be a bit cooler and the weather would be a bit more fall-like. But then, earlier this week I had heard the weatherman say that the fall colors were peaking right now in my area. He stated, "If you want to get out there and do fall activities, do them this weekend. After that, it'll be too late to enjoy the fall." I took his words to heart, and so yesterday, we made the drive to Afton Apple to have a day in the country.

The weather was gorgeous. I do not think there could have been a better day in October. The air was warm, up around 75 degrees, and the sun the shining high. A small part of me wished that it would have been a bit cooler and crisper out, but I realized that this might be the last day of sun and warmth for quite a few months. So I embraced it, and prepared for a warm day outdoors.

We got to Afton Apple around noon, and it was perfect timing. The early crowd had gone home, and the afternoon crowd didn't start showing up until about 2:00 or so. We started at the apple sampling station, but Mark was more excited than the little kids and wanted to just run through the orchard, trying each type off of the tree. So blindly we entered the orchard, not quite sure what we were looking for. Luckily, the orchard labels every row so you know what you're picking.

We ran through the first few sections, trying each type of apple but not finding many types that we wanted to pick and take home. After a while, we realized that there were more apples on the ground, rotten through to the core, than there had been in the trees to pick.

And, of those that were still on the trees, many were rotten and wormed. We don't really know what the deal is. Did they have a bad crop this year? Did we come later than we had in past year, and missed the prime of apple time? We didn't really find out, but we became a little bummed that we had been running around and eating apples for quite some time, but we didn't have much in our bag.

But, being the eternal optimist that I am, I brought our spirits right up and suggested that we take the hayride over to another section of the orchard where the Honey Gold, my favorite apple, and the Sweet 16 are grown.

About halfway down one of the endless rows of Honey Golds, we hit the jackpot. We found the Tree of Fruitfulness, and were able to pick enough apples to fill our entire bag. Mark had to crawl in, up, and under a tree to get to them, but once he was in, there was no stopping the flow of apples. And, he escaped with only a few minor scratches.

After the Honey Gold experience, we headed back into the main area of the orchard where there is a cider demonstration, petting zoo, face painting, a large jungle gym, and a store where all things apple may be purchased. We stopped for a moment at the cider demonstration, tasting freely cored and pressed apple cider. It was delicious - so fruity and light instead of harsh and tart as some ciders can be. We took our small cups over to the petting zoo area, where we spent a good deal of time watching animals interacting with children, some eating it all up and some too cool to be bothered by small children. They had the usual petting zoo animals: cows, pigs, goats, a donkey, and, the coolest animal there, a llama. At one point, the llama came over to Mark and me and just stuck his big head in our faces, as if to say, "What are you looking at?!" I can't lie; we giggled like school kids.

At that point, it had gotten quite busy at the orchard, and we were pretty exhausted. We made our way into the store, where we purchased our pickings from the day as well as a sure-to-be-delicious frozen apple pie. Mmmmmmm....might have to make that for football today.

I think that we're still going to try to get out in a couple of weekends and do pumpkin picking and carving as well as a corn maze. I'm so glad that we went out yesterday though. It really was a fun-filled, and much-needed, day in the country.

Time

2006-10-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

October 2nd, 2006. Where did the year go? It actually scares me that it is already October 2nd, 2006. Literally, I have a small fear in my stomach as I write this. How did it get so late?

Late in the year...wasn't I just planning Heather's bridal shower? Wasn't I just gallivanting around South Dakota with Mark? Wasn't I just announcing my engagement?

Late in the decade...wasn't I just in college, staying out way too late at night, probably drinking way too much Hooch and Smirnoff Ice, and making the best memories of my life? Wasn't I just a teenager, hanging out by bonfires on summer nights and going to proms and homecomings?

Even late in my life already...wasn't I just a small girl, playing with Barbies, having slumber parties and having tea parties on my parent's deck? Wasn't I just attending St. Charles School, playing basketball and cheerleading on winter Sundays?

And now, here I am. A bonafide adult. Before I knew it. I'm working 40 hours a week; I'm paying bills and worrying about savings, both short-term and for retirement; I'm getting married.

Life seems to be moving more and more quickly as time goes on. The older I get, the more time passes before I realize it. As children, we have the luxury of not worrying or caring about the passage of time. For children, time is an arbitrary and surreal idea. And it passes so slowly. Do you remember how long it took for your birthday to come every year? For Halloween? For Christmas? It seemed like FOREVER before Santa Claus would be visiting with gifts for good girls and boys. Children fill their time with fun and laughter and play.

As we get older, the fun and laughter and play is pushed aside as more time is made for worry and work and stress. We can't find the time or make the time to do things we enjoy, even little things like taking a walk with our significant other or going to lunch with a friend. When time is wasted or killed, we curse that we should have done something more significant with our time.

Lately, I've been thinking more and more about the passage of time in my own life. Like I said, it actually gives me little pangs of fear that 2006 is over 3/4 over. This past year has by far been the fastest of my life. I just didn't have enough time for the things that I wanted to do. And the things that I did do went by so quickly that I'm not sure I even enjoyed them as much as I possible could have.

This last idea is what I fear most. I look to my future - even just 5 years into it - and I see getting married, buying my first home, and having my first child. Is time going to pass by so quickly over the next 5 years that I don't even have time to enjoy these amazing moments in life? Am I going to be moving so fast into the future that I can't possibly revel in my joy in the present?

I am going to make the conscious decision to make the answer to those questions No. No, I will not rush through life and miss the wonder of it all. No, I will not allow time to move me ahead when I'm not yet ready to. No, I will not lose any joy just because time is at my back pushing me forward.

I will stop and enjoy. I will relax and let time pass me by if it wishes, while I stay put where I want to be. I will take in the mindset of children and pay no attention to time.

In my adult life, I will spend my time with fun and laughter and play.

Autumn in the Air

2006-09-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks, a sense of autumn has most definitely been in the air. Many little changes have crept up on me, and it has made me remember why this is one of my most favorite times of the year.

After a run outside last week, I stopped in a small grassy patch near my house to stretch. While stretching under a tree, I noticed a leaf fall from the branch above my head. As I looked at the ground around me, I realized that there were lots of leaves that had already fallen - leaves full of rich red, yellow and orange color. I couldn't help myself, and I scooped up a whole armful to take back home and make waxed leaves with. The waxed leaves didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but it was a great fall activity nonetheless!

While out for a walk with co-workers recently, we all noticed the change of the air itself. Instead of the hot, heavy, sticky air of summer months, we felt the cool, crisp feeling of fall on our faces. The air is lighter and calmer, truly reminding us that the earth is preparing for winter hibernation, which will come much too soon as always.

The birds are gearing up for the long trip south. While stopping to wait for a gaggle of geese to cross the street this morning, I realized that soon enough geese will be flying high in their V formation, and other birds of the north will be stopping in these parts for a rest during their flight.

While leaving work last night, I had cursed myself for not wearing a jacket. The temperature had dropped a bit during the day, and the cool night air was closing in at the early hour of 5:00pm. I love the first few weeks of fall when light autumn jackets are required, and you feel cozy somehow, tightening them up around your neck while on a walk or out running errands.

The sun retires earlier each night. I always find myself curled up in bed with a book earlier in fall than I would be in summer. During summer months, I feel bad if I'm inside reading instead of outside enjoying the hot summer sun. But during the crisp fall months it is perfectly acceptable, encouraged even, to enjoy a good read while lazing around, maybe with the window cracked just a bit to let in a faint blow of the night air.

Halloween decorations are filling the stores. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I just love it. Children are making the tough decision on whether to be a pirate or a vampire or a princess for the traditional trick-or-treating fun. Pumpkins sit watch on porches, and ghosts hang from the trees.

Just sitting here writing this makes me want to get outside for a walk and enjoy the beauty of an autumn day. In the coming weeks, I'm looking forward to great fall activities like visiting the apple orchard, carving pumpkins, finding my way through a corn maze, and maybe catching a fright or two at a haunted house.

While I love fall and it is my favorite season of the year, I do have one complaint about it: it's just too darn short.

I'm bringing chicken back...

2006-09-10T06:40:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know that I removed chicken from my diet completely a while back. I honestly can't even tell you what happened to make me decide to do it. But, all of a sudden, I found myself revolted by the thought of eating chicken. When I tried to put a piece of it in my mouth, I would remember what it was, and I just couldn't do it. It was very odd, because I continued to eat most kinds of pork and all kinds of beef, never having a problem that I'm actually eating a pig and a cow. But with chicken, it was different. I just couldn't do it.

So, for an entire year, I had no chicken of any kind, not even in a salad or casserole. It made life difficult because chicken is a wonderful source of protein, and there are about a million and two recipes that include chicken. For someone who tends to get little to no protein in her diet (me), and for someone who has little to no creativity in the kitchen (uh....me again), chicken is kind of a failsafe. I tried really hard to experiment with different fishes and new recipes for pork and beef; I also tried eating soy protein "chicken" and "burger" patties. But really, I missed the taste of chicken. I really like chicken salad and chicken enchiladas and roast chicken.

Last week I decided that I was being just a bit ridiculous on the chicken matter. If I like the taste of it, and I actually know a lot of ways to prepare it, why couldn't I get past my disgust for what it actually was? And I was getting really sick of fish and chik'n patties.

And so, I decided to add chicken back into my diet. Not all chicken - I don't think that I'll ever be able to eat a chicken leg again - but some chicken. And, I don't think that I can eat it anywhere but at my own home, where I can prepare it myself and know where the chicken has come from.

Last night, Mark helped me prepare my first meal of chicken in over a year. I made baked chicken enchiladas. It was my mom's recipe, but I added a bit of my own flare to the dish.

We sat down for dinner, and I ceremoniously took a bite of the chicken enchilada. To my delight, it was amazingly delicious! I was surprised that they turned out as well as they did, actually. I quickly gobbled down the rest of my plateful, feeling very full and content afterward.

So, as Justin Timberlake is currently doing to sexy, I'm bringing chicken back. I'm excited about all of the recipes that await me. Here's hoping I can continue to conquer stomach over mind in the chicken arena.

War

2006-09-05T15:02:00.000-07:00

No, this is not my rant on the bloody brutality of battle.

It's my rant - and ode - to kid's games!

One of my (and Mark's!) favorite things to do is play games. We've got a closet full of them, and on any random Saturday or Sunday afternoon, you can find the two of us in our PJs, on the floor of our living room, sprawled out with a game of some sort. From Monopoly to Yahtzee! to Sequence to Skip Bo, we're gamers people!

This past weekend was no exception. Despite the beautiful weather tempting us to come outside, we couldn't pull ourselves away from the games for too long. Oh we got out and enjoyed the sunshine for a bit as well, but all the while our War cards were calling our names and reaching out to us. We couldn't fight it. Throughout the weekend, we played at least 5 games of War, with a few games of Sequence thrown in there for good measure. Here's a couple of snap shots of our kid-like behavior.

OOOOOOO...a war with Aces - is there anything so exciting!

Why do we love games so much, you might ask? Because nothing takes you back to the innocence of youth quite like playing a game. It's a time when you don't have to worry about bills and money; you don't have to feel racked with guilt for not returning your sister's phone call; you don't have to think about the horrors going on in the world. You can just sit down on the floor cross-legged, in your PJs, and enjoy the simplicity of playing a game with someone you enjoy. You can empty your mind of reality for a bit, and enter the gaming world. It's fantastic.

I encourage you to enjoy a family or friends game night of your own sometime quite soon!

Why Wine Is Better

2006-08-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

Erin sent me an email this morning giving 10 reasons why wine is better than beer. I liked it so much that I decided to share it here. Because really, what's better than a glass of wine?! Well, a bottle of wine is better, I guess. But you get the point...

10. Did you ever hear of a “wine belly"?

9. Wine glasses don’t weigh as much as beer mugs - less wear and tear on the wrist and elbow, fewer cases of carpal tunnel

8. Fewer unanticipated belches

7. Doesn’t open the “flood gates” quite the same way beer does

6. Was there an Oscar-nominated movie last year about beer? I don't think so.

5. Ages better - and so do those who drink it!

4. Jesus didn’t turn water into beer; he left that to Miller and Anheuser-Busch, who proceeded to get the process backward and turn beer into water

3. Tastes better with ALL kinds of food - not just brats, chili and tacos

2. When asked what attributes they’re looking for in the perfect mate, “Knows how to navigate a beer list” never makes top 10

And the No. 1 reason wine is better than beer: Tastes great, less filling!

Now go enjoy a glass of wine!

A Farewell to Fine Dining.....For Now.

2006-08-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night, Mark and I went to Oceanaire to celebrate our engagement...and to say good-bye to fine dining for quite some time. With the engagement comes the need to save money like nobody's business in order to have the wedding we've always pictured. So, we decided to cut fine dining out of the mix for a while, and decided to go out with a bang by celebrating at Oceanaire.

We arrived quite early for our 8:00pm reservations and so decided to go over to Manny's first for a drink. Mark opted for a Sam Adams, while I ordered a glass of cabernet. I don't remember the name of the cab right now, but it was delicious! We sat and chatted with the bartender a bit before heading over to the restaurant to satisfy our seafood cravings.

We were seated in the back of the restaurant in a large booth. Mark and I sat on the same side of booth and cozied up all romantic like. We were celebrating our engagement; it's allowed. The waiter soon came over with fresh bread and a relish tray for us to start with. He also presented us with a bottle of Block 13 Pinot Noir, a gift sent over from Mark's dad in celebratory fashion. It was a fantastic bottle of wine, and a most appreciated gift!

After no deliberation at all, we each placed an order for a crab cake appetizer. The crab cakes at this restaurant are out of this world. Seriously. You have never had a better crab cake than the one at this restaurant. Perfectly delicious lump crab meat with just a touch of sauce. Many crab cakes are about half crab, half filling. Not with this crab cake - at least 80% of the cake is pure crab meat. I have dreams about these crab cakes. We ate them very, very slowly, savoring every bite.

After the delight of our crab cakes, Mark selected the Ahi Tuna with red wine reduction and exotic mushrooms and I selected a magnificant salmon stuffed with baby bay shrimp, blue crab and brie cheese. We also got a side of hash browns to share. Mark's entree looked delicious, but because I am not really a fan of ahi tuna, I decided not to taste the dish. My entree was one of - if not the - most succulent things I have ever tasted in my life. I can't even explain how the medley of flavors complimented one another so amazingly. Words can't express how each beautiful bite was an explosion of rich, deep from the sea flavors. I urge you to run - not walk - to Oceanaire adn taste this dish as soon as is humanly possible. I truly can't describe the wonderful flavors that came out of that dish.

After a very filling dinner, my Dessert Spot was still empty and itching for a little something sweet. We ordered a piece of New York style cheesecake (and a glass of champagne for me) to top off the night. The cheesecake was served plain with just some fresh strawberries adorning the plate. It was very light and refreshing after such a rich entree. We sat back and enjoyed the last few bites of our fine dining experience.

We truly had a wonderful celebration of our engagement and a grand good-bye to our affair with fine dining for quite some time. It was a great way to go out.

Note: I tried about four times to put up some really great pictures of this night out, but they didn't work!

A little life

2006-08-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in quite some time, so I thought that I'd do a little life update for my millions of readers.

Life as an engaged person has been quite lovely. It's been so fun to show off my beautiful ring to coworkers, friends and finally my family last weekend. Sadly, I had to take it in to get resized on Monday, and it was supposed to be out until today. It is amazing how much I missed something that I only had for a short time. But they called last night and said it was in, so I scurried right over to pick it up. It's the most sparkly and pretty ring I've ever seen! No offense, of course, to all of those other rings out there that are lovely and beautiful, but every woman feels that hers is the prettiest! That's why she picked it out!

Last weekend at home in WI was so wonderful. I had a great day of shopping with my sister; went to see Lexi in her acting debut in A Pig Called Wilbur at the Malthouse Theater; walked the lake path in Lake Geneva with my mom, Nikki, and the kids; celebrated my mom's 50th birthday with the whole family; and talked wedding talk with the parents. It was a relaxing, yet busy, weekend at home.

I'm really looking forward to the weekend ahead. I'm heading over to Susie and Kristin's tonight for some wine and some chatting. Saturday night, Mark and I are going to Oceanaire to celebrate our engagement and to say good-bye to fine dining for a while. We're going to be saving, saving, saving in the next year or so for the big upcoming wedding. So, we decided to go out with a real bang!

I think that's all the big stuff for right now. Hope your life is going splendidly too!

We're Engaged!

2006-08-07T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well, it finally happened! On Saturday, August 5th, Mark proposed!

It was completely unexpected. Well, I knew that the proposal was coming sometime soon, but the actual night I had no idea. Here's how it happened.

We went to the wedding of my friend Meghan. It was held at a lovely country club north of the cities, and we had a really great time. The weather cooperated, the food was delicious, and the music was great to dance to.

At the wedding, I caught the bouquet - by pushing other girls down and diving for the prize!

Two months earlier, I caught the bouquet at my cousin Tony's wedding. That's two bouquets in two months. I was starting to feel like it was really my turn. On the car ride home, I was giving Mark a hard time about it, saying that someone must be trying to tell him something.

When we got home, he asked me to sit down on the couch because he had a surprise for me. I was not expecting anything like a proposal at all; in fact, I thought that he was going to play a new song that he learned on the guitar or something. I sat down on the couch and thought, "I'm so tired. I hope that he plays the song and then wants to go to bed!" Little did I know...

When he came out from the back bedroom, he had his hands in his pockets and his knees were shaking a bit. I was a little confused that he didn't have the guitar - are anything in his hands, for that matter. What kind of surprise was this? He stood in front of me and started his speech. He told me that he'd been wanting to do this for so long, but that so many other things had gotten in the way. He'd been waiting and waiting for the perfect moment and the perfect time, but he just couldn't wait one more minute to ask me this or he was going to explode. Then, he got down on one knee, and he asked me to marry him.

I fell right off of the couch. Somewhere in there I screamed, "You're not really doing this, are you?!" I had NO idea what was happening. Before I knew it, I was off the couch and on the floor kissing him and crying. I was kissing him so much that he didn't hear my answer - yes, of course! - and had to actually pull away from me to say, "What is your answer?!"

We stayed on the floor like that for quite some time, in complete shock. I was in shock because I completely did not expect to come home from the wedding and have him propose. And, I think that he was in shock, too, because he completely didn't plan to do it that night. It just felt right, and he felt the moment, and he just couldn't wait.

I love so much that the man I love couldn't wait to ask me to marry him. He was so excited and is so thrilled to be marrying me, that he just couldn't take it anymore. He had to ask! I was so touched by that, and I think it's truly one of the most adorable things I've ever heard in my life!

Here's the ring with all of the little accessories that I got. I tried so hard to take a good picture of the ring, but it didn't turn out. But I wanted people to see something! So, I thought that I'd at least put up this picture of my amazing ring with the lovely, little blue box...and all that comes with it!

The rest of the night, we just lay around in each other's arms, letting it all sink in. I didn't sleep much that night. I decided to wait until morning to call my mom, but my mind didn't quite get the concept of time that night. I woke up three times between 2:00am and 6:45am. Finally at 6:45am, I just decided that it was time to get up.

I called my parents at 8:00am, and no one was home! They were both working! Because I wanted my parents to be the first people in the whole world to know, I had to wait two more hours to tell people. It was brutal waiting. But, it was all so worth it in the end. Calling my family and friends has been so fun. I've gotten such fantastic reactions from everyone - shrieks into the phone, followed by congratulations, followed by excitement and just pure joy for Mark and me. Mark's family and friends reacted the same way - with pure excitement. It's been so great to be surrounded by people who are just as thrilled as we are!

The planning will start sometime soon, although I truly want to take my time and let this all sink in. I want to enjoy this time in my llife as much as is humanly possible. We haven't set a date yet, but it will be some time away. We're thinking June of 2008. Plenty of time to plan plan plan!

It's a little crazy that with a simple question and a simple (but GORGEOUS!) ring, our entire lives will change. I am no longer - and will never again - be a girlfriend. I am a fiance. And someday in the not so distant future, I will be a wife. With a husband. And an eternal bond of marriage. It's crazy how just a little question can change your life so much.

I'm so excited for all of the wonderful things that that question will bring us.

Big News

2006-08-07T09:12:00.000-07:00

I'M ENGAGED!

Well, to be fair, Mark and I are engaged. :)

I'll post tonight all the details and the story of how it all went down.

Normal?

2006-07-31T14:30:00.000-07:00

How normal are you? What is normal? Is anyone normal? What amount of normal is normal?

According to this quiz, I'm 60% normal. So I'm 40% abnormal. 40% of the actions I take, the words I speak, the clothes I wear, the things I believe are all abnormal. Weird. Odd. Out of the ordinary. Not on par with everyone else.

Yeah, that seems about right.

Take this QUIZ and let me know how normal you are!

La Belle Vie

2006-07-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

Mark and I celebrated three years of dating bliss last week! As a surprise evening out for me, Mark arranged for us to have dinner at the extraordinary La Belle Vie.

I have been begging Mark to take me to La Belle Vie for at least two years now. The French-Mediterranean restaurant is consistently named one of (if not THE) best restaurants in the city by critics. Comments and awards include "The best restaurant in the history of Minneapolis" and winner of Award of Excellence by both Zagat and Wine Spectator Magazine.

An evening there is quite the to do! I was so excited when Mark told me that we'd be going there for dinner.

Our reservations weren't until 8:15pm, so we had quite a bit of time to kill. We decided to start the evening at Willie's, a new wine and coffee bar located just blocks from our old apartment. We'd seen it a few times and have always wanted to check it out.

Willie's is adorable inside. It's got a very bistro feel, and the bar is lovely. They have wines by the half glass which is nice if you're just stopping by, like we were. They of course have wines by the glass and bottle as well. We both had a light half glass of white wine before heading over to La Belle Vie.

Upon arriving at La Belle Vie, I knew that I was in for a night of excellence. The restaurant is located in The 510 Building in downtown Minneapolis. The building itself exudes wealth and old-world charm, almost like stepping back into the days of Gatsby. We valeted our car and headed into another era.

We reached the top of the staircase, peered into the lounge area on the right, and were escorted into the back of the restaurant to be seated. I was immediately impressed by the beautiful decor of the place - elegantly set tables surrounded by high ceilings and draped walls. It truly radiated brilliance and beauty.

We were seated at a table with one plush bench and two chairs. Being that it was our anniversary and we were being all romantic, Mark and I decided to cozy up together on the plush bench. Mark had already looked at the wine list online, and he ordered a bottle of 2001 E. Guigal Chateauneuf du Pape. It was phenomenal!

The menu was quite extensive. Patrons may choose from an 8-course menu, a 5-course menu, or the a la cart menu. After reviewing the menu for quite some time, we decided to order a few things from the a la cart menu and share all of it. Mark and I haven't had a lot of French food, so we wanted to be able to get a good taste of various things.

We started with two First Course dishes. The first was Chilled Ahi Tuna wrapped in Marlin with a Ginger-Citrus Vinaigrette. The second was a Carpaccio of Beef with Poached Lobster, a Sweet Corn Sabayon and Crisped Artichokes. Both dishes were just amazing. Ahi Tuna happens to be one of Mark's favorite dishes, so we have tried it at many different restaurants and prepared many different ways. I'm not a huge fan of ahi tuna, but this was really fantastic. The vinaigrette used wasn't over-powering, but gave the dish a nice twist. The carpaccio, too, was quite amazing. Beef carpaccio is one of my favorites, but I don't get to try it very often. The combination of beef with the lobster and the sweet corn sabayon was a delicious mix of flavors, each complimenting the others quite well. At first, when I looked at all that was on my plate, I thought that the flavors might compete with one another. But not so at all. We enjoyed the first course immensely.

For our main entree, Mark chose the Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Jerusalem Artichokes, Mustard and Crispy Marrow. I selected the Sautéed Halibut with Pistachio, Fava Beans and Pancetta. Personally, I thought that both dishes were superb. The tenderloin had a light sauce on it, giving it an extra boost of flavor. The halibut...well, I don't even know what to say about the halibut. I thought it was exquisite! The fish sat upon a small pile of vegetables and a wonderfully light sauce. We shared both dishes, so I was able to get my fill of both flavors. Although I think that Mark enjoyed both entrees, he wasn't as wowed as I was. He tends to enjoy his meat without sauces; he feels that the meat should stand alone in most cases. As for the halibut, he agrees that it was quite tasty, but felt that it might have been a bit undercooked.

At any rate, we enjoyed our entrees, and were both quite full after the first two courses. But, have I ever turned down dessert? No, sir. And so, on to the dessert course we went.

French desserts have a reputation, I believe, for being quite scrumptious. And, the dessert menu at La Belle Vie seemed to live up to the reputation. We ordered two seemingly delicious desserts, and hoped we'd chosen wisely.

And wise we were indeed! Some sort of chocolate is always a must for me when it comes to desserts, and so we ordered one Chocolate Custard Cake. The cake was served with Frozen Strawberry-Mint Parfait and Strawberry Tartare. We also decided on the Cardamom Donuts with Lemon Verbena Cream, Blueberry Jam and Blueberry Sorbet. We anxious awaited the arrival of our third and final course.

The desserts arrived, and of course the presentation was fantastic. Mark took a bite of the cake, and I took a bite of the donuts, and we both were in heaven! We of course shared both desserts, and I have to say that one was just as good as the other. The cake was fudgy and delicious, a melt-in-your-mouth kind of delight. Pairing the cake with the parfait was absolutely divine. The donuts were wonderfully tasty as well. The donut was light and fluffy, and the blueberry sorbet and jam were delicious atop the doughy goodness. Dessert was, of course, my favorite course of the three.

In all, it was a fantastically romantic evening in an amazingly delicious restaurant. The food was divine, the ambiance was lovely, and the company was perfect.

I DID IT! Part Two

2006-07-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

A week later, I'm still reveling in the experience of completing my very first triathlon. It was truly a day filled with excitement, pride, accomplishment, and a great deal of pain.

Pre-Race
I woke up Saturday morning at 4:15am feeling very ready. I had gotten all of my gear situated the night before, and I was confident that the day would go well. I showered to wake myself up a bit. It gave me time to really focus and keep myself calm. I ate a small breakfast of half a bagel with peanut butter and a banana. It was brutal trying to eat! That's when I realized that I did indeed have the nerves kicking in.

By 5:10am I was packed up in the truck and ready to go. I arrived at the race site promptly at 5:30am, as our Team in Training staff advised. I walked right up to the check in and body marking, got my transition site all set up, and made it back to the tent in plenty of time to take our group photo at 6:30am.

At first I was a little surprised and irritated that we were told to arrive so early. But after our group photo, I looked over to the check in area and saw that hundreds of people were lined up for miles, just waiting to be marked. I was a little less irritated then...

After the group photo I met up with my family to calm down a bit, get them a good spot in the shade from which to watch me, and get a few "before" pics from mom.

Shortly before the pros started at 8:00am, the officials made an announcement that due to the excessive heat - it turned out to be 98 degrees, and over 105 degrees heat index that day - they would shorten the course. The bike would be 22 miles (instead of 25) and the run would be 3.1 miles (instead of 6.2). 10% of me was disappointed that I wouldn't complete the entire Olympic distance, but 90% of me THANKED GOD!

I tried my best to stay calm and keep the nerves out, but it was inevitable that they'd come. And as soon as I walked over to the beach to see the warm up and start area, the nerves hit full force.

I warmed up with Rachel, a girl from TNT who happened to be right in front of my in the swim line up, and that helped me get my barring for the water that day. The water temp was a balmy 82 degrees, which is about 10 degrees warmer than I was used to for lake water. I warmed up for 10 minutes or so, then made my way back up to get a PowerAde. In the process, Rachel and I both managed to be late for our swim start! We didn't get docked any points or time, but we had to start with all of the men swimmers!

I quickly ran up to the start line, waited my 3 second turn, and ran into the lake.

Swim
I thought that swim would be my hardest of the three sports. In the end, I would realize that although it didn't go swimmingly (pun intended), it wasn't the worst by far. I started out with a good strong stroke. I was feeling strong in the water, and I was confident in my moves. I was singing the handy song that Erin made up for me, and my pace was slow but steady as I practiced. I made the decision to make short goals for the swim. I continued to think to myself, Just make it to the next buoy. When I made it to that buoy, I focused on the next one. It broke up the swim into smaller, more manageable chunks.

After only about a 1/4 mile, though, I was panting and needed a break. Plus, my goggles were giving me trouble. Water was seeping through, making the freestyle an impossible stroke. I rested for a minute on a life guard’s raft, fixed my goggles, and I was off again.

I rounded the first yellow triangle and was feeling tired but ok. I had done a combination of the breast stroke and the freestyle for the majority of the first leg of the swim. By the second leg, though, the back stroke was my best friend. I continued with my strong and consistent pace, but I could breathe easier. Every 10 strokes or so I would flip, sight, and turn back over. I did that for the entire second leg of the swim, which was by far the longest leg.

I rounded the second triangle and was really hurting for breath. I could see the beach - it was so close now! I continued to focus only on my closest buoy, but it was hard not to try to pull out all the stops and just swim to the beach as fast as possible. I did the breast stroke for the majority of this leg, and 50 minutes after entering the water, I finally made it back to shore.

Transition One
I ran up the beach and into the transition area. I luckily had a great transition spot, and I quickly found my bike. I put on my socks and shoes, helmet and glasses, and I began to run to the Bike Out zone. (You can not ride within the transition area. You must walk or run your bike to the Bike Out zone. You are disqualified for riding within the transition fences.) I got to Bike Out, but had to go to the bathroom so badly! I threw down my bike, found a Port-A-John, and raced to it. It slowed down my transition time, but it was much needed. I ran back to my bike, out the Bike Out zone, and hopped on. I was off.

Bike
My family was stationed at the very beginning/end of the bike, so I saw them cheering loudly for me as I entered the bike stage. It was great to see familiar and friendly faces cheering me on right from the start.

The bike started out strong for me. My legs were feeling great, and I was really confident that I'd have a good ride.

At about 3 miles in, however, I knew that something was wrong with my bike. Really, really wrong. I noticed a hard dragging from the front tire, and it was extremely difficult to pedal. I looked down to the front wheel and noticed that my brake was definitely not positioned correctly. It wasn't until after the bike that I realized that my front brakes were rubbing on the wheel the entire ride.

I didn't know what the exact problem was while on the ride, so I didn't take the time to stop and fix the problem. As it turns out, I wouldn't have been able to fix the bike on my own anyways, so it was ok that I didn't stop. But it sure did hurt my time - and my leg strength.

By mile 5 I was already tired. I kept pedaling along, but was being passed by hundreds of people. Literally, hundreds of people. I was constantly telling myself that I was doing this only for me and only to complete the race. I am really proud to say that not once did I consider giving up. It was hard and HOT and grueling, but I kept going and kept telling myself that I would make it to that finish line.

At about mile 10, I was rounding the corner near the Ford Plant, and I saw Carol and Lucy (Mark's sister and mom) standing on the sidelines. Due to the heat and my focus on the race, I couldn't even scream their names to get their attention. I put my hand in the air in hopes that they'd see me, and they did! They shouted my name and cheered me on, and Carol even snapped some pics of me passing by. It was fantastic to have support mid-race!

Between mile 1 and mile 15, I witnessed two people pass out on their bikes. Just pass out and fall right over. At mile 2, I saw an ambulance with two police officers and a person on a stretcher. MILE 2! I knew that I really was doing something crazy and a little remarkable, but I also knew to listen to my body more than ever before.

By mile 15 I was regretting that I didn't do the short course, but I trekked on and continued with my long course route. By this time, not many people were still out on the bikes, and I was actually enjoying the fact that I could ride alone. I was tired and hot, and I really felt my body slow down. I wanted to be able to be alone and try my best to focus.

At about mile 17, the first savior of the day showed himself to me. By this time, my body heat was unbearable. I was really dragging and hot and wondering how I was going to make it through to the end. My water supply was low, and the water station wasn't for a few more miles. And then, I rounded a corner. On the side of the street, sitting in his front lawn, was a man with a hose. He saw me coming from a bit away, and by the time I got to him, he was standing in the street ready to shower me with wonderfully cold water. I passed by very slowly, allowing the water to drench me from head to toe. I told him he'd just saved my life! He smiled and told me to have a good rest of the race. The thing is, I wasn't kidding! That water helped cool my body temperature down enough to give me a huge boost of energy. After that, I pedaled harder and faster, and I got to the water station to refuel in no time!

At mile 20, I saw another man fall over and pass out on the bike ride. The race officials ran over to him with buckets of water and ice to cool his temperature down. It was so scary to see these people just pass out. I only had a couple of miles to go, I told myself, and I knew that I could do it.

I saw the sign for mile 21, and I knew that I was almost done. I had steep hills and long climbs and straight stretches of road behind me, and I was almost on to the third leg of my race. As I neared the turn toward the Bike In zone, I heard my name being called. My sister had left the family pack and was up on the hill, cheering me into the final mile of the race. It was so great to see her face! At that point I was so tired, and the sound of my name was a perfect refresher. I pedaled down toward the Bike In zone and saw the rest of my family, with huge signs and smiles on their faces.

I pedaled into the transition area with a smile on my face and a new excitement in my stomach.

Transition Two
As I ran to my transition rack, I saw that many of the other people in my group had already started the run. I put my bike up on the rack, threw my helmet down onto the ground, and grabbed my purple TNT shirt. As I ran from my transition to the Run Out, I felt the sense of wanting to quit for the first time in the race. So many people had already finished! They were packing up their bags and heading out of the race area, while I still had the run to go! But, 30 seconds after that initial feeling, I reminded myself of my goal and kept going. I got to the Run Out zone and was ready to finish this thing.

Run
As I started the run, my legs felt very heavy. I had practiced bricks during training, but I guess nothing can truly prepare you for the actual race day.

I knew that my family would be near the beginning of the race, and I looked for them for support to get me through this last leg. As I ran the first hundred yards, I saw my family standing on the sidelines. They weren't shouting or cheering for me. They all had a very blank look on their faces. I didn't understand until I was right in front of them that they didn't know it was me! I had changed from my bike helmet to a white hat, and I had put on a purple shirt. I finally found the words to say "Hey family! This is me!" And they all sprung into action, cheering and waving signs and laughing at the situation. I had a good laugh myself, and it felt good to relieve some tension.

After I passed my family, I reevaluated my initial run strategy. I was originally going to run 20 minutes, walk 2, then run again. When the race course was shortened, I decided to try to run the whole thing. But when my bike issue arose, and my legs tired out more quickly due to it, I decided to just do my best with the running and take breaks when I needed.

I probably ran half and walked half of the run portion. I walked through all three water stations, pouring two cups onto myself and drinking one cup. Then I would run for a bit until my legs went wobbly - which happened more than a few times - and I would walk again.

About half way around the lake, my second savior of the day came. The fire department was set up on the street and they were spraying the runners with water from the hoses. It was glorious! My skin scorched at the first touch of the water, but I gave myself a good 30 seconds to just stand in the down-pouring mist and enjoy it before heading back into the runner's mindset.

At a 1/2 mile left to go, I knew that I had to run the rest of the race the best that I could. Afterall, I wanted to cross the finish line running! I took a last bit of water, focused in, and sped up toward the blue tunnel.

Finish Line
As I started into the blue finish tunnel, I knew that my journey was over. People were lined up on either side of me, cheering loudly and screaming my name and encouraging me on to the end. Balloons were floating overhead, and I could see the finish arch just ahead of me. I decided to take my time through this tunnel. When would I again feel the experience of crossing my first finish line? I looked at the people when I ran down the blue carpet. I smiled at them, I thanked them for their cheers, and I enjoyed the fact that they were cheering for ME! It was an amazing feeling.

I ran up to the finish tape, and I jumped over the line. I was done! I truly did it! I had finished my triathlon!!!

Post-Race
As soon as the race was over, I grabbed an ice-cold bottle of water and some delicious berry gelato to get my body temperature down and to start the refueling process. The excitement whirled around me as athletes joined their family, friends, and team mates to revel in the accomplishment. As I turned out of the finish area, my family came rushing towards me with hugs and kisses and words of congrats. I must admit, I was so tired that I couldn't feel or say much!

It's amazing to me that it's all over now. It was so hard, and it was so hot outside. It was tiring, and it was painful. And it was long.

But, I'm so glad that I did this. I'm so glad that I made the journey through training and fundraising. I'm so glad that I made it not only to the race day, but to the race finish line. It was truly an amazing experience, and I must admit that I'm proud of myself. I'm proud that when I didn't want to train, I made myself do it. I'm proud that when I was tired during the race, I kept on going. I'm proud that I crossed that finish line, and I did it with a smile on my face.

I'm proud that now I can officially call myself a triathlete.

ARGH!

2006-07-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

ARGH BLOGGER! I've been trying to update my blogger account with lots of pics and the story of the tri, but it's being a biatch. So, please, PLEASE check back on Saturday afternoon. I'm going to update Saturday morning, and you'll be able to see everything then!

I DID IT! part one

2006-07-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I DID IT! I completed my first triathlon yesterday. It was so hard, and there were a lot of factors that I had to overcome just to finish. I'll elaborate more on my part two post about the triathlon, because right now I'm too tired and my whole body aches too much to write about the experience. But I did it. I am officially a triathlete.

Triathlon Countdown: 1 Day!

2006-07-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

It's tomorrow! I can't believe that the triathlon is tomorrow!

I'm feeling very strong and ready right now. I'm not nervous or worried at all. I'm really excited for the day to just get here already! I had my Pasta Party last night, and it was very motivational. I left there feeling like I can take on the world!

I have a bunch of errands to do today. I'm heading over to the transition area at noon to check out the site and familiarize myself with the transition zone. I've got to go to Erik's Bike Shop and pick up some last minute items to get my bike all ready for the trek. I've got to lay out all of my race day items and triple check that I have everything. I've got to go to the race expo and pick up my race packet. It's going to be a busy day!

But I am ready. I feel so strong and confident today. I sometimes think that's not so good - like if you're too confident you aren't ready for anything. But in this case, I think that confidence is what gets you through the pain.

BRING IT ON!

Triathlon Countdown: 2 Days

2006-07-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, people. I've got to honest here. The nerves and some of the excitement have been overcome by a bit of worry.

Have I mentioned the heat yet? I think that I might have. Well, I'm a bit worried about it now. The National Weather Service has just issued an "excessive heat watch" for Saturday and Sunday. They are expecting the temps to be between 100 to 105 degrees.

THAT'S INSANE!!! It's worse than they originally anticipated!

I'm going to focus really hard on water intake and on listening to my body, but holy crap that's hot. I love that the National Weather Service has advised people to stay indoors this weekend in the air conditioning. Not only am I going to be outdoors, but I'm going to be heavily working my body for about 4 hours!

But, I'm being optimistic and going over my goals once again. Goal number one is to finish this race. I want to finish the race safely. I'm reminding myself that a good finish time was never part of the initial contract I had with myself. My revised goal is to finish in 4 hours, but not at the expense of my health. I'll push as much as I can within a safety zone.

As for my pre-race prep, I'm doing ok. I'm drinking a ton of water, and I'm eating well too. Tonight is my big Pasta Party with my team, so I'm looking forward to good food and some last minute advice.

Other than my worry about the heat, I have to say that I feel pretty good today. I'm not that nervous about the race itself. I feel like I've finally got the logistics down for race day for both myself and my family. I feel like my body is prepared for the hell I'm going to give it.

Now I just want it to be here!

Triathlon Countdown: 3 Days

2006-07-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

Three days to go. THREE DAYS! It's getting right down to it, now.

I got up early this morning and did a whole round of stretches. It felt good to get my body up and moving. My knee has been bothering me for the past week or so, and a good stretch really helped to get it loosened up. I think I might head out for a walk tonight to keep my legs loosened up and keep my body moving.

Starting today I'm supposed to really focus on my water intake, my healthy proteins and carbs intake, and my rest. Today and tomorrow are really the most important days for this stuff. Friday, of course, is still important, but the day before the race is not the prime time to prepare. You've gotta get your body ready to go days in advance. So, I'm drinking water like crazy today. I think I'm going to make myself salmon for dinner tonight.

I'm nervous today. I read over all of my information last night, and I was feeling very calm about the whole thing, but I'm back to being nervous again this morning. Not about anything in particular, but just an overall feeling of HOLY CRAP! But I've still got my feelings of excitement right along with it, so it's a good balance of the two. I know that once I get down there I'll just be so excited and ready to go that the nerves will melt away...hopefully.

I'm taking half of my day off from work on Friday to prepare for the big day. I've got to head out to the transition site to go through the motions, and I've got to get over to the convention center to pick up my race packet. Plus, I've got the whole family coming into town for the event, so I have a house to get in order, too!

I can't believe it's only three more days until the event. I feel like I've been training forever. I guess we'll see if all the training helped...

Triathlon Countdown: 4 Days

2006-07-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I had wanted this countdown to start on Saturday, with a full 7 days to go until the big event. Unfortunately, I was home for my grandma's funeral, and I didn't feel much like posting. To be honest, I don't much feel like posting right now, so this'll just be a short one.

I met with Courtney, my TNT staff member, earlier today to go over the logistics of the race. There was a big meeting that I missed last night, and Courtney was kind enough to meet with me today to go over everything. It REALLY helped to alleviate some of my fears about the day of.

Today I'm feeling very tired, probably caused by a variety of things: not eating well, not sleeping well last night, and the whirlwind of emotions I'm experiencing right now. I'm hoping that throughout this week I can really focus on eating well, getting plenty of rest and fluids, and keeping my head focused on the race.

I saw the weather this morning. The forecast for Saturday is 99 degrees, hot with high levels of humidity and no cloud cover. Holy crap. I was told to remember my fluids during the race course, and to listen to my body. I'm still going to push for a finish time of around 3:44, but the heat might play a major role in my finish time. But, as instructed, I'll listen to my body and what it's telling me. Extra breaks might just be the trick for my successful finish.

Ok, this post isn't all that coherent, but I'm tired and not really focused. I'm hoping tomorrow is a better day. Check back then.

Triathlon Update

2006-07-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

Mark and I went to South Dakota for vacation this past weekend, and it was fantastic. I'll blog about that later when I've pics and stuff.

Only a week and a half to go until the BIG DAY, and I'm REALLY nervous today. But I'm nervous about stupid stuff. I'm not nervous at all about the race. I've broken down the race into these thoughts:

Swim - I'm going to try really hard to swim the crawl, but if I just can't do it or I need a break, I'll flip over and do the back stroke. This is what I did during the mock tri, and it worked wonders for me. It was still able to get through the water quickly, but I didn't get tired out as easily. I'm hoping to finish the swim in 45 minutes or less.

Bike - I'm quick and 100% prepared for the bike. I know the bike portion is long, but this is by far my strongest of the three sports. I feel ready and excited about this portion. If I need a short break, I'll coast down some of the larger hills of the course. I'm hoping to finish the bike in 1 hour, 45 minutes or less.

Run - I feel pretty prepared for this. I'm sticking to my strategy of run for 20 minutes, walk for 2 minutes, then back to running. If I get really tired out or my body shuts down a bit, I can always walk and still make it to that finish line. That is, after all, the goal here! I completed my last 6 mile run in 60 minutes, but that was without doing to swim and bike first. I'm hoping to finish the run portion in 1 hour, 20 minutes or less.

So, overall, I'm hoping to finish between 3.5 hours and 4 hours.

But again, I'm not that nervous for the race itself. I'm nervous about all the stupid little stuff that I have to deal with - Where do I park at race site? Where do I go to meet up with my team? Where do I go to check in and set up my transition area? I have to be at the race site by 5:30am, but my race doesn't start until after 8:30am - what am I supposed to do during that entire time? Where should my family and friends go to watch me? Where should they park?

Seriously people, I'm nevous about the most stupid things in the world! Ah well. Who's surprised by that? I have a big meeting on Monday with my Team in Training folks, and I'm assuming that all of my little fears will be cleared up by then.

For the next 10 days we're not supposed to do major training sessions. I am going to ride the bike course one last time on Saturday just to make sure that I've got it down. But other than that, I'm not going to do anything strenuous. Maybe I'll do a short 1 mile run a couple of times, and I'll get into the pool to do easy laps. I'm going to be doing a lot of stretching and keeping my muscles loose over the next few days.

Starting on Saturday, I'm going to try to post everyday until the triathlon to keep my thoughts focused. Keep coming back with supportive comments - I'm going to need them!