Week in the Life: Wednesday

Note:  This week I will be running journaling I wrote down each day during the week of July 25th + pics of stuff I took on those days. 

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

listening: to the tv
eating: tacos
drinking: 2% milk
wearing: jammies
feeling: exhausted
weather: gorgeous summer evening
wanting: to catch up on everything
needing: sleep
thinking: about this weekend
enjoying: having Brian home (instead of working in Felton!)
wondering: if I can get everything done

Woke up this morning to Phil Collins, Another Day in Paradise.  Love that song.  Scar with her head just outside of the covers snoring.

Breakfast:  Odwalla Chocolate Protein Monster shake
Lunch:  tuna sandwich on toasted whole wheat, goldfish crackers, raspberries, glass of 2% milk
Afternoon: cap'n crunch frapp from Starbucks
Dinner: tacos, glass of 2% milk

Just another day in the grind.  Phone calls with friends, Mom and Dad.  Text messages with friends and family.  Tossing a tennis ball on the front lawn for Scarlet.  Tuckin' Brian into bed early.  This week is flying by!

Great quote today that hit my e-mail:

♥ it.

Week in the Life: Tuesday

Note:  This week I will be running journaling I wrote down each day during the week of July 25th + pics of stuff I took on those days. 

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Brian had a later start time this morning, which was nice.  He left an hour before I got up instead of three.  I usually wake up to my ipod going off at 6:30 am.  I really like waking up to music better than a blaring beeping tone.  Much better way to start the day!  I also usually wake up to this one:

And a wagging tail, with lots of kisses!

Shower, dress, makeup, grab my stuff and go -- I'm not super fast the first few hours of the day.  But I'm getting better at moving myself in the morning.

Another long day at work....

The lunch routine these days is nice.  I come home, grab the mail, get greeted by the doggie, sort the mail, make lunch and either read my nook or watch something on the dvr.  Today it was watch Design Star on my dvr.  Love that show - even more now that David Bromstad is the mentor.

After a long day of purchase orders, budget corrections, paying invoices, answering questions, issuing park permits and getting more assignments from my retiring boss.

After work, I met up with a good friend, Leti, for dinner at Frankie's Grill.

My favorite at Frankie's Grill - the Grilled Romaine salad with blue cheese, bacon, grilled chicken and a balsamic dressing!

We had a good meal, a glass of wine and a great conversation.  It also reminded me of what I do like of living in a small town -- you run into people you know and it's nice when they pull up a chair and join the conversation for a while. :)

I got home from dinner, Brian and Scarlet ate the leftovers within 10 minutes, we had a good conversation and Brian went to bed.  I stayed up and watched Flipping Out.  Then promptly fell asleep in the middle of the episode.... and woke up on the couch at 2:30 am!  I was more tired than I thought!

Week in the Life: Monday

Note:  This week I will be running journaling that I wrote down each day during the week of July 25th + pics of stuff I took on those days. 

Monday, July 25, 2011

Many are familiar with Ali Edward's projects, including A Week in the Life, which started again today. I participated last year, but only on my blog.  This is an eventful week in my life, so I definitely wanted to play again this year.  So here goes....

Blah.  That's how today felt.  I was not feeling it.  It probably has to do with my bad sunburn I got yesterday washing the cars + weeding the front yard + forgetting sunblock.  Ouch.  The weekend was a lot of fun though.  Friday night, Brian and I went to the movies to see this:

Yep, Harry Potter the very last one.  It was so good, but at the same time, I'm sad to see it end again (it was a bummer when I finished the books and there were no more to read!)  Such a great story.  Uncharacteristic of us, we ate dinner at the movies... Brian had a hot dog, I had nachos and we shared a popcorn.  As we were leaving, I unintentionally dunked my right hand in the leftover nacho cheese as I went to pick it up in the dark and, naturally, I wanted to wash that off ASAP.  There was a family bathroom right across from our theater and I opened the door to find some guy in there who forgot to lock the door!  Hilarious!  I think he learned a lesson.... :)

Saturday, I got to hang out with Erin. 

hehe - we laughed so hard at this ridiculously long candle!!

We don't get to see each other much and I really miss the days where we used to eat lunch together almost every day.  We met up in Carmel and went to Tommy's Wok.... it was soooo GOOD!

Hot and Sour Soup - delicious!

Vegetable Potstickers - these were fresh, lightly fried and to.die.for!

My absolute fav, the crabmeat rangoon.

Erin got the honey walnut prawns which were super tasty!

I got the combo plate - fried rice, chow mein and broccoli cashew chicken.  SOOOO good!

Isn't this place cute too?!

We wandered the streets of Carmel window shopping before heading over to Pacific Grove to check out this bakery:

And get some of these:

Seriously, I can't believe I went so many years without trying a French macaron - what was I thinking?!  I'm addicted to these now - the best cookie ever.  Light, a little crunchy and absolutely delicious.  Worth hunting for a bakery that makes these!

We headed over to Monterey to wrap up the day with a little shopping.  I'm sad that Borders is bankrupt and closing.  We won't have any bookstores anywhere near us anymore.  I'm glad I have my new nook color, but I really will miss wandering the little Borders at the mall in Monterey and the big Borders in Seaside.  We also hit up Ann Taylor where I got a new shirt, cardigan and necklace, and Macy's where we killed our noses smelling perfume and cologne samples!  I had a gift card to spend there (thanks to Annie!) and I restocked on one of my favorite perfumes, Ralph Lauren Romance.

I finished out Saturday catching up with Brian on our dvr recordings, laying around on the couch, staring at our new entertainment center!

Sunday was busy with cleaning...  I did maintenance on our washing machine (including cleaning it), washed both my car and Brian's truck, pulled weeds from our front sidewalk and gutter, walked the doggie with Brian, and enjoyed our lazy Sunday.  Well, enjoyed everything but the sunburn I got for forgetting sunblock!  The Tour de France finished up and Brian was excited that his favorites, the Schleck brothers both finished on the podium and it was nice to see Cadel Evans win.

So back to Monday.... work is hectic right now because my boss is retiring in September, last fiscal year is closing this month and the new fiscal year has started.  After a really long and frustrating day, I came home to relax with Brian.  He's been working some early morning shifts lately, starting at 3 am and finishing at noon.  Today was one of those days for him, so he was sleepy.  Every night now, he's watering his seed packet flowers and the few berry bushes and tomato plants he has this year.  They look great!

I spent a lot of time on the phone tonight, catching up with family and a friend.  Talked to my mom, my Aunt Sherri about decor for Saturday's party in Placerville and Zarogina, my upline for Stampin' Up.  We always have great conversations about our mutual love for crafting, so it's never a quick phone call!  I'm excited about the classes and events I have coming up, so the day ended on a good note.

30-Day Photo Challenge // Day Four: Favorite Color

Image processed with ShakeIt for iPhone.

Today it's red.  Tomorrow it might be something else :)

Info on the 30 Day Photo Challenge here.

30-Day Photo Challenge // Day Three: Clouds

Last picture for today and I'm caught up on the 30 Day Photo Challenge...

Photo proceed with ShakeIt for iPhone.

Not a single cloud in the sky today!

30-Day Photo Challenge // Day Two: What I Wore

Quick photo on lunchbreak for day two of the 30 Day Photo Challenge...

Photo processed with Instagram for iPhone.

Geez... my hair is messy, the house is messy... gotta get some cleaning done tonight! 

One more picture later today and I'll be caught up!

30-Day Photo Challenge // Day One: Self Portrait

I first saw this 30 Day Photo Challenge on Vee's blog and decided that I wanted to participate too!  I haven't done a photography challenge for awhile, so here's the list:

I'm catching up today, so here's my first picture and I'll be posting two more later today!

Taken with ShakeIt App for iPhone.

Self portrait taken while walking the dog.  I was hoping to catch her in the picture too, but no such luck.  She's quick when she's sniffin for treasures! ;)
Are you participating?  If so, let me know so I can see your pics and come leave you some love too!

Laundry Room Inspiration

Been looking around.....  and found some fabulous laundry rooms!!

1. Laundry room, 2. Laundry room, 3. Serena's Laundry Room, 4. Serena's Laundry Room, 5. Laundry Room, 6. dear laundry room....., 7. Laundry room, 8. Laundry room, 9. laundry room, 10. laundry room, 11. laundry room, 12. Laundry Day, 13. Handmade button photos, 14. laundry room, 15. Laundry Room Remodel: After, 16. Laundry room, 17. Laundry Day, 18. Parade 2007: Laundry Room, 19. laundry room, 20. Domino_Laundry_room_2 bright, 21. laundry_room_1, 22. laundry room DIY, 23. Laundry room, 24. laundry room.

Been looking a lot actually.... and it would seem that there are several things I keep returning to....

• Front loading appliances
• White cabinets
• A vintage laundry sign of some variety
• Black & White photos and/or kitchsy laundry-esque art, including a fun clock like #1 above
• A counter (totally on the dream list falling in the category of someday... way down the line! Would be amazing to have a counter like #14.... it's an ironing board counter!!)

And yesterday we went looking at tile for the floor.  It wasn't too hard for us to agree that we both liked natural stone.  I went in wanting a versallies pattern, but came out wanting a venetian pattern.  Mostly because of the scale for the room.  The versallies pattern's biggest tile is 16" x 24" and in a room that is roughly 8' x 7' with a 5' x 2' cutout area for cabinets, it would be too big for the room.  sigh. 

But the venetian pattern is perfect for that scale of room.  Here's a photo of what the pattern looks like:

Image via here.

It's a 12" x 12" tile, the smaller sizes are the same tile cut in half or quarters.  We really liked it in dusk travertine.  It was tumbled.  And gorgeous.  Much like the photo above.  And $14-20 a square foot.  Now, if we lived in a custom house or in a different area and we were in our forever house?  We would totally do that option.  But we do not and we do not want to overbuild for our neighborhood or overspend for our unplanned laundry room renovation.

We loved the tumbled, hand polished look, but have decided not to go that route this time.... it makes it more expensive!

So instead we will be getting:

A natural stone...
Darker in color...
With natural veining and/or some interesting details. 

We have settled on a choice... I think. :) I'll be back to share a peek at it soon.  (And it doesn't cost $14.95 a square foot either!!)

I also really liked these blog posts I found as I searched for ideas.... go check them out too:

• A happy vintage laundry room -- I must find some cool spray bottles like that!!
• A gorgeous laundry room -- Seriously, I'm in love with the ironing board counter...
• Organized cupboards -- Great inspiration for reorganizing the pantry portion of our laundry room!  isn't the vinyl background fabulous?!

Got an inspiring laundry room you think I should see?! I'm still on the hunt... :)

30 Day Blog Challenge | Days 21 to 30: Finishing up!

What a crazy month so far! Just taking a break to finish up this challenge.   So here goes....

Picture of Yourself
Here is a recent photo of my sister and I at her baby shower a few weeks ago:

I chopped off almost five inches mere hours after this picture was taken too!
Favorite City
I must say, though I've been to a lot of great cities, I'm partial to San Francisco. :)

Favorite Vacation
This is actually a really hard question - we've had so many great vacations!  One of my favorites was our trip to Vermont:

Something You've Learned
hmmmmm..... I've learned lots of things in my life.  Reminded yesterday of the day I learned that I believe in love at first sight nine years ago:

Put your iPod on Shuffle, first ten songs:
Currently, I have 1,875 songs that would take 5 days to play continuously.  Yikes!  Here it is on shuffle... not bad.  A little old, a little new... some country, some pop, some rock.  Pretty typical!
1.   If it Makes You Happy ~ Sheryl Crow
2.   Nearness of You ~ Chris Botti
3.   Jump Around ~ House of Pain
4.   Good Enough ~ Evanescence
5.   Dani California ~ Red Hot Chili Peppers
6.   Already Gone ~ Kelly Clarkson
7.   Are You Ready ~ Creed
8.   Cold Day in July ~ Dixie Chicks
9.   All the Right Moves ~ One Republic
10.  Then ~ Brad Paisley

Picture of my family
Taken on my 30th birthday by my Dad earlier this year... breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen. :)

Pets
We have three of them... Scarlet, Darby and Nala.  Up first, our puppy Scarlet!

And the kitties.... Darby the troublemaker:

Good thing she's pretty. :)  And, of course, the gray one... Nala:

She's an old lady now, so she sleeps a lot. :)

Something that stresses me out
The usual suspects.  Work and the house being torn apart!  :)

Three wishes
Three in one... a long, happy life with my husband!  Yep that's my three.... long life... happy life.... both with Brian. :) 

And last but not least.....

A picture
I seem to take a lot of flower pictures.  Here's one from Hershey Gardens I took back in May.

That's all I have for today!  Hope you enjoy your weekend. :)

30 Day Blog Challenge | Days 11 to 20: Trying to catch up!

I don't follow instructions well.... or have a lot of time apparently! ;)   Continuing to catch back up on this.... one big piece at a time!!

Favorite TV Shows
My top 5 right this minute?  In no particular order...
1.  Grey's Anatomy
2.  Glee
3.  Survivor
4.  Amazing Race
5.  Real Housewives of __________.... ALL of them ;) lol!
What I believe
I believe everything happens for a reason.  Even if you don't know what it is!  I also believe that I am a lucky girl. :)

Goals
I've talked a lot about this.... still working on my 30 by 30 challenge.  I'm in the home stretch.... I'll do a little update soon.  I have two months left and I think I'm going to work!! :)

A Picture I Love
I found this one by accident looking for pictures of when we installed our hardwood floors.  Cute Scarlet as a puppy!

You can't tell from the picture, but she was only 8 pounds and would fit entirely in the palm of your hand!!  Love this picture!! :)
Bible Verse
I'm not one to talk religion much, publically or privately.  I am pretty private about my beliefs and I believe in the freedom of people to choose whatever they want to believe in!  That said, I'd have to choose this:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  ~ Corinthians 13:4-7

Dream House
Toothpicks... Lots and lots of toothpicks. I jest. I put that just for Megan. Cause when I think of a dream house, I think of house plans and I go right back to 7th grade and toothpick houses. It made a strong impression... and I hope Megan wasn't taking a drink of anything when she read that. I don't want her to choke on her coffee or anything! ;)  And yes Megan, I still hope to uncover the plans for the casa de toothpicks.  I have a good idea where it may be and a plan to recover it! I'll keep you posted! ;)

What was the question?  Oh yes.  Dream house.  I love our house we live in now... my dream would be to pick it up and move it onto ten acres somewhere in the mountains outside Sacramento. :)


Something I'm looking forward to
My niece!!  I'm really getting anxious about it.... will she wait until her due date or make an early appearance like her big brother?  I cannot WAIT to meet this little one!! :)

Something I regret
I don't live my life with regrets, so I have to say I have no regrets!! :)

Something I miss
My husband!  This whole working away from home thing stinks.  I miss him LOTS when he has to work away from home, but I am grateful for the fact that he's still working.   I look forward to the day that he's working ten minutes from home and he's gone when I get home from work cause he's training for his next bike race! :)

Nicknames
Last but not least for this marathon post..... I don't have many nicknames.  I don't go by Mandy or anything!  I do answer to "A" and sign e-mails that way many times... it's faster!  The cute nephew calls me Amana.  Those "d" sounds are still tough for him. ;)  The husband calls me lots of things... hehe ;).... but most of the time it's Sweetie.  My dad calls me Little Sprout.  Other than that, I don't have any other nicknames that I know of!

Not lots of pics this time... so thanks for reading! ;)

30 Day Blog Challenge | Days 8, 9 & 10: Catching up!!

Hmmmm.... so many things to catch up on now that last week and this week are over with!!  Catching up with this, here's a place I have traveled to:

Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii.  Photo taken October 2003.

And hope to return to sooner rather than later!

In thinking about this, looking for a picture of my friends is hard!!  There are so many friends I don't want to leave out.... :|

So rather than hurt anyone's feelings by my scattered thoughts leaving them out.... I'll put the obvious choice on here.... these two:

The ones I see the most frequently! :)

And finally, something I am afraid of.... hmmmm....
Top of the list is definitely spiders.  I'm not so afraid that I can't kill them though!! :)   I'll spare you any nightmarish photos of those creepy things!

Been working on catching up around the house this week.  Brian got the hot water working Tuesday night (yay!) and this weekend is all about cleaning & purging stuff in the house.  After all the upheaval of stuff in the house, I'm actually looking forward to the spring fall cleaning!!

And I'll be back tomorrow with the photos of Abby's finished baby quilt!! :)

30 Day Blog Challenge | Day 7: Favorite Movies & A Surprise Renovation...

I have a good excuse for being MIA the last few days.... two of them actually!  First, is a huge project at work that I was working on Sunday and Monday... all in preparation for going live to the public Monday evening.  I'm pretty proud of how it turned out -- check it out:  City of Soledad. 

Brand new, top to bottom -- new design, new site map, new photos, new content.  So proud of it and happy that I was able to have such a big role in the creation & launching of the new site!  And no sooner did that get finished on Monday night... and I collapsed into bed early.... I woke up to the sounds of saws and hammers in my house at 4:30 am.  Huh?  What on earth is Brian doing now?!  I thought he was just up early to go for a run??

Yep.... it was enough commotion that I actually got up (I am not a morning person!) to see what the fuss was only to find my husband ripping our floor out in the laundry room.  This is not in plans for the house... this is a shocking surprise!  Why????  Because overnight our water heater died.  And started leaking water out of the bottom of the tank. 

Now granted, the tank lives in the garage on a platform that sits next to the door in the laundry room, so the water should have only spilled into the garage.  Unfortunately for us, it ran off the back of the platform, hit the drywall on the wall behind the tank and spilled down beneath the platform where it puddled.  It then ran along the bottom of the wall beneath the backside of the platform which also happens to be the wall inside the laundry room. 

The water seeped through the drywall then under, into and, in some places, on top of the engineered wood floors (aka pergo) all over the laundry room.  The floor was making squishy noises when you walk on it.  Bye, bye laundry room floors.  Once engineered wood floors get wet with that amount of water there is no saving them.  The wood warps and the floor buckles. :(

That wet spot?  The concrete foundation. :(

So we've had to buy a new water heater, file a claim for water damage on the home owner's insurance  for the floors/walls and we have a good month of weekend home improvement projects ahead of us to fix it.  We were planning on a lawn in the backyard or recarpeting/painting the master bedroom next.  Guess those are going to have to wait!  I'm also looking inspiration for paint color options for our brand spankin new laundry room.... I have the tile somewhat picked out in my head, but I really want to make sure we get this right.  Once it goes back together, I'm definitely not planning on touching it again!!  I'll be back with updates of the remodeling process as we work through it the next couple of weeks.... so stay tuned on that one.

Finally, continuing with Katie's 30 Day Blog Challenge (that I'm falling behind on!), here are a few of my favorite movies...

All-time Favorite: Dances with Wolves
Chick Flick: Pretty Woman
Tearjearker: Notebook
Romantic Comedy: 50 First Dates
Action: Bourne Trilogy
Documentary: Super Size Me

So.... busy few days for me.... Got any laundry room ideas for me?  What are your favorite movies?  Looking forward to hearing what you have to say! :)

30 Day Blog Challenge | Days 5 & 6: Siblings & Happiness

Back again with the next two days of the 30 day challenge... my siblings and a picture of something that makes me happy!

So I'm the oldest of three.  The middle child?  My brother Tom, aka Tommy and/or Tommy Boy.

Ah Tommy Boy.... he makes me laugh.   My partner in most crime as a child.  The breaker of my left arm the first time (it's a funny story actually!).  I miss him now that he lives even farther away from us now... on the east coast far away.  Pennsylvania.  It's a long flight. :|

The youngest?  The wild child?  My sister Katie, aka Kate or CT's Momma. 

What can I say?  We are sisters.  We fight, we love each other.  As much as we have in common, we are total opposites.  Oh how we used to argue when we were little.... I chalk it up to our five year age difference!  She makes a killer mocha and is momma to my favorite nephew... and soon-to-be-here niece Abigail.  Wish so much that we lived closer.  Someday. :)

And picture that makes me happy?  Easy choice:

This series of photos from my sister's wedding last year are among my most favorite pictures.  We were taking a sibling photo and Creighton ran up to us with the biggest smile on his face, put his hand on Katie's dress, looked up to smile at all of us, then turned around to pose for the camera with us.  Absolutely adorable. :)

I must say though that the close second to that photo is this one:

The hubby and the puppy.  We were having breakfast outdoors in March near Big Sur (cold!)... Scar was not enjoying the chilly air at all!!

That's all I have for today.  Hope you are out enjoying your weekend!!

30 Day Blog Challenge | Days 3 & 4: First Love & My Parents

While I continue along in my creative, party planning, buried-in-work-week.... I'm continuing along with this challenge!

First love could have so many meanings... seriously!   I'm going to go with the first answer that popped into my head.  My parents!  I have no doubt they were my first love. :) 

What can I say?  They are the best.  I'm a lucky girl! :)  My Dad is a construction inspector and my Mom is a retired Kindergarten teacher.  Dad's a big movie, train & history buff who loves to joke around.  My Mom?  She loves her crossword & suduko puzzles.  And is an excellent home chef. :)  Dad taught me how to play softball, to color inside the lines with my crayons, the best ways to study and reminds me to relax, enjoy life & laugh most everytime I talk to him.  Mom taught me how to bake, how to relate to people, to be creative and how to drive (Dad couldn't take the pressure!).  All that and so much more.  I love the relationship Brian has with them too -- they all hit it off instantly when they met for the first time at a UC Davis basketball game almost nine years ago.  I'm definitely a lucky girl.  :)

Today and tomorrow are going to be a little crazy!! I'll be back tomorrow to share several things I've been working on this week. Happy Thursday!!

30 Day Blog Challenge | Days 1 & 2: Introducing....

So lately, I've been wanting to pay more attention to my blog.  Serious attention.  Seeing as how I am behind the scenes and writing for Flamingo Scraps daily, I just feel like I neglect over here.  And I don't want to do that.  I started this blog several years ago to help document our lives and document my thoughts on being married to an endurance athlete.  Now I document to help my capture memories for pretty much the same reason and I find it helps me keep track of things that I've made, things I've done, places we've gone and generally records the memories I want to scrapbook later.

So when I ran across this challenge today over on Katie's Journey, I figured why not?  I'll give it whirl.  I love guided journaling.  I think it reminds me of high school peer counseling and having to journal everyday. :) 

So here goes nothing.... join in and play along if you'd like!

15 Facts...

1. I'm slightly addicted to reality tv.  I have lots of gratitude for the inventor of DVR who allowed my reality tv addiction to thrive and flourish!
2. I am completely addicted to crafts.  Walking into a yarn or fabric or scrapbooking shop is dangerous.  Proof?  The 6 balls of yarn I bought last weekend when I went into the yarn store... :)
3. I love to bake, love to cook, but don't.  I think I hate all the dishes more than I love to pursue the baking and cooking.
4. I love chili, but can't eat it anymore.  It's a byproduct of the aging process I think.  The last two attempts at eating have resulted in illness.   I wish I knew why.  Best google answer?  Chili allergy... specifically to cumin.  Seriously.  But then I can eat all the same spices in other things.  Just something about that combo.... strange but true.
5. I'm a klutz.... I've broken my arm twice.  Same arm.  I've had numerous bumps and bruises over the years.  Most recent was stream fishing.  It was back in July and my knee is finally almost back to normal!  You can still see the scar healing.  Good times!
6. I ♥ making lists.  It's the type-A part of me.  I usually have a few going and a few more in my head on most days.  The husband doesn't like all the planning ahead for the house.  But it's all planned.... just waiting for his next surprise visit to Home Depot! ;)
7. I cry when I get really mad.  It's involuntary and I really hate it.  I think it's frustration boiling over.  People mistake it for sadness or hurt (when it's neither), which then makes me more mad and I cry more.   
8. I love my life.  Seriously.  Great jobs, amazing husband, comfy house, cutest doggie, lazy cats, my family, my friends, where we live (most days)... life is definitely good.  I have bad days, but mostly good ones.
9. I want to get my masters degree.  I'm much closer to this than I was two years ago.  At least I have it narrowed down to two options.  Now I just need to find some $$.... any one know how to grow a money tree?
10. I want to travel more.  The only thing that stops me is work and money.  If we won the lottery, I'd totally travel the world for a year.... maybe longer. :)
11. I used to hate fish.  It's grown on me.  As long as it's not too fishy, I actually eat it.  I even order fish for dinner for the first time a few weeks ago.  Salmon.  It was tasty. :)
12. I have a love/hate relationship with tomatos.  I'm not a huge ketchup fan, but have to have it on my fries.  I hate meatloaf because of the ketchup.  I love tomatos cooked (sauces, pizza, etc), but not on my salad or in my sandwich.  I still have no answer why, but I do ponder that thought often.
13. I married a ketchup lover.  I just think that's funny in comparison.  He would drink ketchup if he wasn't busy drowning his food in it.  :) 
14. I'm a homebody.  About all I can stand is two weekends in row where I'm not home.  Which might present a problem with that whole travel around the world plan. :)
15. I want to be a better photographer.  It's on the list for next year!  Probably take a class or something.

Oh yeah... and while I'm thinking of photography..... a recent picture of me.... hmmmm.... Item no. 16:  I hate my picture being taken.  But here's one from today anyway:

And the blog name?  When I first started this blog it was to learn how to blog so I could help Brian with his blog.  I initially wanted to talk about the other side of what he does... the support crew to an endurance athlete.  I never quite got there, but the title was something I just came up with on the fly when google asked me for a title.  And "So I Married a Triathlete" it was.  Been with me ever since.  Maybe someday I'll change it but for now it stays.  :) 

So please tell me something I don't know about you... I'm curious!! :)

Brian's Last 24 Hour Race?

So I thought I married a triathlete.....and it has turned out he is an endurance athlete. :)  We've been in a little training/racing break around here for the past year and half, give or take.  Brian's work assignments changed up and he was feeling a little burned out which led him to take a break from serious racing.  The occasional race here and there, but nothing as major as a 24-Hour Solo mountain bike race or an Ironman. 

So this weekend, we went to Cobb, California for the Boggs 24. Yep, he jumped right in a raced a 24-Hour Solo mountain bike race with very little training. Well, the training I'm used to seeing him put in anyway. If you know Brian, you're with me shrugging your shoulders and saying "typical." :)

So here's Brian right before the race started.  It was 11 am and already in the 90's outside!  HOT!

Heading out on first lap:

The dog had fun:

Until the heat got to her!

Then all she wanted to do was snooze in the shade. :)
Here is out pit this time around.... we pack a lot lighter than in races past. And yes, that's Scarlet's chair! :)

And a crash at 9:00ish ended Brian's race.  I didn't find out about said crash until the next morning when I noticed him limping around the campsite.  Typical!  He never tells me the stuff I can tease him about until he can't hide any more.  Didn't help him that his friend Mike called him out on the crash to me as he rode by our pit area! ;) Love it (and thanks Mike!)

It was a good race and I'm glad that he is able to do what he loves from time-to-time.  I'm still not convinced that his age has anything to do with it... as he is claiming right now.  He's still just as tough as he's always been.  And ten years is a LONG time to race and train competitively!  Eventually your body needs a break right?!  And yes, he finally uttered words I thought I would never hear.... "I think this is my last 24 Hour Race."  I don't know what to think about that!  I'm writing it down, just in case he changes his mind.  I can show this to him to remind him! ;)

All-in-all it was fun.  My parents visited all day Saturday which was great.  I'm happy to feel like we've finally hit a good groove with the whole racing thing.  I know what he needs, we work well as a team and it's easier than it used to be.  Of course, now he's ready to move onto something else now that we have this figured out!! TYPICAL!!

Oh and did I mention Scarlet met her new boyfriend?  Mr. Clark Kent.  And he's a local.  Isn't he handsome?!  They make such a cute couple! :) haha

Scarlet is wearing purple and has her back to the camera. ;)

Wish we had gotten some better pics but it was 10 pm at night and they were getting loud and rowdy.  Scar was playing coy, shy and hard to get... she had Clark barking!!  (You show him girlfriend!!) ;)

All-in-all a fun weekend that I'm still trying to recover from.  Already looking forward to the next weekend.  I ♥ summer!!