News and Updates

Greetings to all my cyber-readers. I have to apologize for the lack of posts over the last few weeks. I've been busy but will catch you up to speed on all the latest.

Training has been going well, when I actually am around to train. Work has been super busy and I've been out of town A LOT the last few weeks. So, my workouts have mostly been on the weekends. I have Redman Half-Ironman in less than three weeks and I'm nervous. I know I can get through it but I feel like I just haven't put in the training hours needed. I'm not traveling next week so I'll use next week as my benchmark of ability. If I can get through all my workouts and am where I should be based on the training schedule, I'm still in. If I feel like death next week, then it's time to regroup with my coach and see if I bail on Redman. We'll see. But, honestly, I don't want to bail. There was a great sale this past week on tri gear and I bought a few new pieces that I want to wear in that race. I may have a bad race but I'll look good doing it.

Last weekend Shawn and I (and a few other people) raced in a local Sprint. Everyone did really well. It was a hard bike course. Lots of hills. The run was partly a trail run, which is not fun. I have to say, I had a great race. I finished 85 overall. I've never broken into the top 100 finishers. I'm stoked.


Shawn also did really well and had an incredible finish.


After that race, I had to haul my cookies to NYC. I had meetings and since I was there, I went to see Britney Spears. I saw here in Dallas a few months ago so this was my second time. Although she is suffering from a bad case of crazy, she puts on a good show. My sister made a few friends who certainly dressed for the occasion.


And here is one of our Miss Brit. I don't know about you but someone who is deadly behind the wheel of a car, who can turn an umbrella into a weapon, and has a long list of oddities and nuttiness under her belt shouldn't be allowed so close to fire.


Updates on Being Homeless
Yes, we're still homeless. We had an offer on a house that we liked. It was a bit over-priced. Our agent said it was over-priced. The sellers’ agent agreed that it was an aggressive price and suggested we make an offer. However, the seller himself is quite proud of his home and feels it’s worth every penny. Unfortunately for him, his house has been on the market several months and he just hasn't had an offer yet he will accept. Anyway, here are a few pics of what could have been. I do think that it will be on the market for a few more months so if the price drops we'll go back and see if he can will himself to accept.






And yes, it has a pool.


But in the end, we weren't willing to overpay for a house. We're going to take this weekend and next week off from house hunting and resume after Labor Day. We need a break. I'm worn out from looking and I think we also need to regroup and determine if we should broaden our search area, or give up and build.

I mentioned before that I have been traveling lots. I have. And I'm reaching a milestone. I'm not sure if I should be proud or accept the fact that I travel too much and I need to be home more but I am going to make one million miles on American this week. Once my trip to/from NYC posts, I will be a million-miler.


And in all my free time...
I went to see Julie and Julia. If you haven't seen it yet, you must. The Julie part of the move was okay but the Julia Childs story was awesome. The acting, the story, the humor, the drive, ambition, etc. It should have been a biopic all on its own. And it made me want to leave and bake a cake using 20 lbs. of butter.

Lastly, and I'm going to lose some cool points here for admitting it, but I started reading the Twilight series. I was curious about all the hype and after my aunt was gushing over it, I picked it up. I finished Twilight and am now on New Moon. I understand the hype. I have to keep reminding myself that these people are not real and it's a story. But I want to jump into the page and intervene. Ugh, the drama.

That's about it for now folk. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the last days of summer.

TGIF!

Honestly folks. This week has had its ups and downs and I am very glad to have a weekend upon me. Let's start with the fun stuff.

Last week I had client meeting in NY. I met Aunt Diane for breakfast Friday and then it was off to do important thinking and strategizing. After a long day I headed to NYC to spend the weekend with the fam.

Saturday was a BEACH DAY!

We packed up the car with everything you could need for an entire day at the beach and went to Smith Point.

The kids had a blast, complete with the obligatory "let's bury someone in the sand" game.

Notice the football. Yes Jake was going to kick the ball. I'm sure repeatedly. I had to walk away because I was sure that Jake would miss the ball but kick him in the face unleashing blood, a broken nose, and probably some teeth. Luckily, everyone went unscathed.

Did you know that there are deer on the beach? Yup, this little girl came out to work on her tan and grab a burger or two. She jetted before anyone could hang her above their fireplace.


After a full day at the beach, my tan finally appeared. Yes, I turned from my normal milky-white complexion to a deep, beautiful eggshell white color. I don’t know why but I just don’t tan. I’m either white or red. No other options. However, and this is where the story gets sad, as the day progressed I started feeling a bit wonky. Then I got really chilly. I finally made it home, showered, and passed out. Only to wake up a half hour later with the flu. :(

I made one brief stop at Rob and Jenine's new house on Sunday, which is very nice, but a majority of the weekend was spent sleeping.

The good thing about the flu is that you can drop a few needed pounds quickly. When I went back to work on Tuesday I wore a cute button-down shirt that I've yet been able to wear because it was a bit snug around the belly. Not no more! It fit perfectly and I even got compliments on my shirt.

This weekend is going to be jam packed with activities.

Saturday and Sunday are the typical workouts. Swims, lots of time on the bike, and runs.

We're also going to hit a few houses. One house just came on the market that we are going to look at and Shawn found the other while doing a neighborhood drive by. Pictures in respective order.





(Merk – I’ll try to snap pics of the insides when we make our stops)

I know you have to kiss a lot of toads before you get your prince but this house hunt has been all toads. I think I'm starting to fall for toads. Even the uglies need love.

Sunday afternoon I have another hot date with American Airlines. We’ve been seeing a lot of each other recently. It’s a love-hate relationship but we make it work.

That's all for now. Hope everyone is enjoying the last of the summer days. September is looming over us.

The Hunt Is (still) On

Not much new to report on the Ironman training front. Had a weekend of workouts but Saturday's was cut short because of the rain. We got 20 miles, headed back to our cars since we had our Rookie group with us who only needed to ride 20, were about to head out to get an additional 40 miles in, and boom. Thunder and rain. So I jumped in the car and headed to the gym and swam with Gayle.

The Redman half-Iron is around the corner so only a few more intense weeks, then taper for the half, and then I'm back in full swing after the race. Funny, last year I spent so much time training for my half-Ironman and it was my goal race. Now my half-Iron is just a training race. What a difference a year makes.

Sunday was another day of house hunting. We saw about a dozen properties. There were four we really liked. Not sure I'm in love yet. Here's the short version.

House one was a total remodel and expansion by previous owners. The main house was incredible. Really nice. But the kitchen and family room were in the extension which was completely isolated from the rest of the house. The way it was done killed the flow. They say the kitchen is the heart of the home, well, someone call a code red and charge the paddles because this house and kitchen needs a major jolt to make it work and bring it back to life. Honestly, Shawn and I cold have made it really cool but resale is a major concern.

House two was really pretty. Only a two bedroom and a bit more traditional than I'd like. Plus it was towards the top of our price range. I think it may have been too pretty. Don't really see myself there. But I could image an over sized sofa with floral print sitting in that house. Yeah, not my style.

House three was a traditional house that was just flipped. The inside was gorgeous! Location on this one is an issue. A bit further west than we'd like. And with any flip there were corners cut and some sloppy work so as much as it is "move-in" ready, once we are there we will continue to find things that need to be fixed or redone correctly. But it is a great house.



House four is a head-scratcher. It's one of those houses that COULD be so incredible. It's on almost an acre of land. In the city! It's landscaping is very "rustic" so it needs to be cleaned up and tamed. It's only a two bedroom but we could add on. Anything it needs is really cosmetic. You can't hate a house because it's current owners have bad taste. (Really -- knotty pine -- who has installed that since 1975?) And we could design and construct an amazing outside living area and pool and still have plenty of yard left over. I'm leaning towards the latter two. Now it's just time to start doing some math and see what makes the most sense.



So, no decisions yet but I think we'll have one made soon.