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.

The Weekly Update

Things have been kind of quiet around here, but busy none-the-less.

I had a race on Saturday. It was a small Sprint tri, 350-meter swim, 14-mile bike, and a 5k. Overall, I did really well and had one of my better races. Placed 102 out of about 500. Not bad. I could have been a bit faster but the seconds I would have made up really wouldn't have had much of an effect on the final results. And I'm not training for speed, I'm training for distance. Long, long distance.

We then went to see Harry Potter Saturday afternoon with Brian, Luke, and Joel and after the movie it was dinner and drinks. Fun day but I was so tired and crashed by 9:00.

Sunday we hit a few more houses. It was another strike out. We have now found two houses that we hate in locations we love. I think we may have to snap up on of those houses if the price is right and build something.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Philly for a day trip. Hopefully the weather clears up and I'm not delayed.

Home Sweet Home

This week has been mostly uneventful. I had to head back to Philly for a photo shoot. Nothing exciting. Just a bunch of food.

I had a perfect date with American Airlines on my return flight. My upgrade cleared. There was some dinner, a few drinks, and a movie. I even got home a little later than I thought. It has been awhile since I actually had a decent flight. Let's hope my trip next week is equally as uneventful.

While I was away Shawn did a little house hunting with our real estate agent. Unfortunately, he didn't see anything he liked. Hopefully we'll find something soon that fits the bill. But as of now, Cinderella is in the shoe store and can't find anything she likes.

I have a short race this weekend. I'm really excited about it. It has been a few months since I last raced. I've also been training pretty hard the last few months so I'm very curious to see how I do. My goal is to go all out and try to set some PR's. But as always, I just want to finish so if I need to slow down for any reason I will.

The Lazy Sunday Starts

Not much new to report. This week has been crazy busy. Lots of meetings at work. A day trip for a meeting. Those quick trips kill me. But one day I will cash in all those AA miles and go someplace exotic.

Saturday was a fun day. We all met up for a bike ride. Part of the group split for a shorter loop and the rest of us kept on going to get about 60 miles in. We came a few miles short but I'm not going to complain. The weather was awesome. The first day in a long time it was less than 100 degrees.

Then Shawn and I met up with Marcus and Brian, both of whom I haven't seen in some time. Friends, margaritas, and Mexican food = perfect Saturday night. Asleep on the coach by 10, even better.

Today I met Davis and Graham for a 10 mile run with hills. I had to skip the post-run breakfast to get home. Shawn and I have a busy day of open-housing (not sure if that is a verb but I’m making it one). Hopefully we'll find something we love. Homelessness is looming out there and I'm not sure I would make a good vagrant. My shoes alone won’t fit in one shopping cart. I doubt I could push two through the streets and fit them under the bridge I’ll have to live under

In other exciting news, I'm going to assist with coaching a group of beginner triathletes. I'm very excited. (I hope I get a clipboard and whistle to make it official "coach") Gayle, who one of my first tri coaches when I started years ago, is coaching with a local tri group. She has been asked to run their beginner program. She then asked Davis and I to help out. I'm super excited. I remember starting out and feeling like the goal race was an impossibility but after a few weeks it all came together and ultimately, finished the race, and watching this group have the same experience and finishing their goal race is such a thrill.

Next week is going to be busy. Have to head to Philly for a shoot. Then I'm racing on Saturday.

And thanks to all of you who have said you want to try to make it out to IM CDA. I know it may not be feasible for all of you but it means SO MUCH that you are going to try. I'm excited! And if you think you may want to go, reserve a room. I know you can release rooms at the Ameritel with no penalty within a few days notice.

Oh and today is Heather’s birthday. Happy Birthday Heather! It’s her first birthday as a married woman. I hope Brian made it special. I’m sure he did. He’s an awesome guy. I think the first birthday present, as a married person is either diamonds or a Porsche.

Shawn – if you read this, I don’t like diamonds. I hope that helps narrow your gift selection ;)

Ironman Coeur d' Alene Details

The race I am doing is Ironman Coeur d' Alene (Core da Lane) on June 27, 2010. It's in Idaho.

The race website is:
http://ironmancda.com/

For those of you wishng to attend here are detailed details.

I have my room holding at the Coeur d' Alene Resort. It's pricey but everyone said worth staying at if you are racing since it's connected to the race site. The resort's website is:
http://www.cdaresort.com/

I also have four rooms holding at a hotel close to the race site. (One of which has already been claimed, so three rooms left.) It's called the Ameritel Inn. A friend stayed there one year and said it was a nice place. Similar to a Hampton Inn. I already have rooms holding and can cancel within 72 hours. At this point, if you want to stay there, you don't need to do anything but let me know so I can add you to that room list. The Ameritel's website is:
http://www.ameritelinns.com/ameritel_hotels.asp?PID=3

As far as flying, the closest airport is Spokane, Washington. It's a 45 minute drive from Spokane to Coeur d' Alene. You can get to Spokane with a connecting flight. There is nothing direct.

I'm not sure what there is to do in Coeur d' Alene or the surrounding area but it is supposed to be BEAUTIFUL. Norther Idaho. The Rocky Mountains. (Yes, I wil be biking up and down the mountains).

I know I am flying in Thursday and leaving Tuesday. You can plan for whatever is most convenient for you. Prior to the race I really won't have much free time. I have race stuff both Friday and Saturday. I'll want to drive the bike course, get in a few practice swims, and I know my nerves will be in overdrive so I'll also be short-tempered and a lot bitchy (warning you in advance ;)

After the race I'll either be dead tired or on an adrenaline high.

The race itself will start at 7 AM on Sunday, June 27. I have until midnight to finish. I'm guessing, and these are wild guesses, that my swim will be around an hour and a half, my bike will be seven hours, and my run will be six and half hours. So, I'm looking at a 15 hour race.