shakin'

i don't get the harlem shake thing.  i just don't get it.  at all.  actually i think it is quite rediculous.
internets need to stop it.

other news, tomorrow i will finish up 2nd big week of training in a row!  i do have to say i will be impressed with myself if i manage to get through the week.  but tomorrow is a run and i am suffering from some sore calves from some over zealous calf raises on thursday.  despite a rest day on friday they are quite sore today.  i managed yoga and an almost 3hr mountain bike ride but running might be a different story.  we'll have to see.  but i have been on a pretty good training roll, 5 weeks to be exact.  i went back in time to figure out what was going on before that.  man, i was not a happy camper.  wow with the migraines!!  what a mess i was in!  and that sinus infection too! so thankful for feeling better!!
the week of feb 4 i declared that i was almost ready to get back into the pool - oh so foolish of me!  not this past monday, but the monday before, the doctor at the healing center said my head was looking pretty good.  he said that scalp was forming on my head and that he thought another week and i'd be pretty good. so i was excited about that!  then last saturday there i was at yoga, since i a yogini now, we were doing some stuff, and i rested my head all gently on my towel on my mat and when i lifted my head up, to my surprise, i left some brains right there on the mat! brains i tell you!  not many, but a few.  i was slightly alarmed but since the brains weren't gushing, i finished the class.  then i made a b-line for the mirror and saw that apparently i had been leaking brains for some time since they were all over the bandage on my head and just all over the place.  so whatever, i changed into my cycling those and met up with xtie and sara for some mountain biking.  i had only been outside on my road bike once since like september or october even, and i couldn't even remember when the last time i had been on my mountain bike was - possibly august?  so it was a pretty big deal.  my skills were crap, my fitness, also crap, and it was raining and i was still somewhat worried about the leaking brains but i was happy to be out there.  on monday at the healing center they were like, what happened?  all the skin that had grown was gone.  all the progress of the previous weeks was non-existent.  where did it all go?  so i dont know, they dont know.  so if nothing good has happened when i go in on monday they will take some "samples" to see if something else might be going on.
   other news - i just had my 6year anniversary at my work!  that time has gone by quick.  i was talking to someone about it and how i had been at my previous job 6 years before going to where i am now, but all the life changes that happened at each job.  the other job:  got married, bought a house, had two kids, bought a car.  this job: sold a house, bought a new one, bought a car, had brain surgery.  also lost a cat and got another cat.
     and more news, i scheduled my 1 year diagnosaversary MRI and check up.  they are so nice, they sent me a letter in the mail and they call and they set up a whole itinerary since there are so many tests and people to meet with.  its not until May, but seriously, its hard to beleive its been almost a year, and really, other than the brains that may or may not leak out, every once in a while, i have a minor freakout where i am just like holy crap - i had brain surgery!
    WE HAD SNOW!!  inches of it!  within an hour, like 4 inches, it was crazy!!  no snow all winter and then on the 2nd (3rd) day of spring we had a blizzard? but then it all melted and was sunny later in the day.
     
 

things i like and things i don't like as much

i go to the gym.  i have what is probably an un natural love of the treadmill.  oh and the trainer in the garage, too.  but lets talk about the gym.  not only is there the cardio cinema where i can run in the dark and watch a movie on the big screen and when i get hot i can take off my shirt and since it is dark i don't have to worry about my gut hanging out  amazing 6 pack abs intimidating the other patrons, there are fabulous opportunities for people watching.  so i love it that people are active, i love it that maybe they are there just to walk on the treadmill at 2 mph for 10 minutes, i don't care, all that is important is that they are moving.  but that doesn't excuse them from being the subjects of my bewilderment.  like today, i decided that i don't think i am ok with the people who go into the toilets totally naked.  not sure why really, but seems wrong to me.  at least wrap in a towel.  ok, and so maybe i am the odd one out since i like to go into the sauna sometimes before i start my workout, fully dressed in my workout gear to take away the chill before getting things started and i understand that to get the full effect you are supposed to be naked in there, that is fine, but really, butterfly pose while naked while there are other people in there?  i love the people on the treadmill in their blue jeans.  when i was in ohio, that entire gym was full of blue jean wearing treadmill using folks.  or kackis!  i love them so much more, i can't even spell it!  and dress shoes!!  and then there are the slow walkers.  you know who i am talking about, the ones who are walking directly in front of you from point A to point B, usually from the front desk to the locker room, or even worse they jump in front of you as you are trying to avoid disaster as you casually try to sprint your way mid treamilling to the bathroom...  but they get in front of you and they walk at a snails pace, even slower than that.  we always joke that maybe if they weren't such slow walkers maybe they wouldn't have to be at the gym in the first place.  i know i am a slow walker when i am texting and walking, but i periodically look behind me and will step to the side if i see someone coming up hot behind me.  i think that is all the gym observations for now, but with that, i will say, keep on going, keep on getting your bodies moving and if you have to be naked to use the toilet in order to keep on keeping on, then more power to you!

i've got some potentially exciting things coming up, so counting the days to that, and then other exciting days coming up for sure, that i am also counting the days to!  and its almost spring, thank goodness!  i cannot wait for some good warm weather!!!

i have been going to the wound healing center.  have i mentioned that?  i've gone 3 times and i will go at least one more time.  my head decided to just open up and gush brains.  when i told the doctor that he laughed and said not quite, he said the brains were sealed up nice and tight in there.  but they shaved some hair on the first visit and put this bouncy like dressing on it.  and that stayed on all week.  so that is what they do each visit.  they take the bouncy stuff off, look at it, clean it up a little, access if skin is growing, which it is! then put more bouncy stuff on it and tell me to come back.  what worries me about this whole thing is that it was already healed.  twice. first when they took the staples out it looked great.  then it opened up and the disolvable internal stitches worked their way out.  once those were done with their shenanigans, it healed up again, all nice and neat and had it not been for the fact that the gym was doing work on the pool i would have begun swimming again.  but instead, i started to get some scabs - yum!  and then they got worse!  and then they sent me to the wound healing center, which i thought sounded super new age like and i expected there to be monks in sandals and chanting and nice smelling things, but instead there are toxic waste bins (some with biohazard stickers on them, but no red biohazard bags) in every room, and one with a random window with mini blinds that no one there knows what is on the other side, and lots of old people with things on their feet that aren't healing up.  its not a very happy place.

i have totally re-vamped my diet.  and i have been sticking to it pretty well.  i have cheated, a few times i have gotten away with it, and a few times i have gotten sick.  but for the most part i have cut out dairy, gluten and most grains other than rice and tortilla chips!, citrus, sugar, most nuts, peanuts, eggs, soy, vinegar, pineapple, and some other things i think.  most processed things are out.  i think the only real processed things i'v had are lara bars, sunflower seed butter, rice cakes, the occasional bit of maple syrup, rice milk and canned pumpkin and canned tomato things to make tomato sauce.  oh and apple sauce, because i can't live without it.  but i have been feeling better, sleeping better, no bloating, my skin is better.  i cry over make your own pizza night at home though, and i didn't have any of the cupcakes at eric's birthday.  oh, but on friday we went out to dinner and something i had a dinner, most likely the quesadilla pieces i ate up because someone was too full started to make me sick, so since i was already on the road to sickness i followed it up with helping the kids with their ice cream and molten lava cake and sho'enuff - classic, for me at least, migraine symptoms by the time we were on the way home.  i think it was the ice cream.

OMG!!  i totally just remembered, i fell off the bosu ball today!  i was doing this thing where i was like in a bridge position where just my shoulders and head were resting on it, but when i was done i rolled back up to a sitting position.  done it a million times, not problems.  until today when the ball slid right out from under me and bam, down on my arse i went!! 

lets start with this

 

 so we all know that eric is a big tough mountain bike.  BIG AND TOUGH - GRRR!!  MAN!  but he likes the cats.  he really does.  he talks to them, and pets them and does things for them.  and it was, what one might call, love of the cats that helped me to fall in love with him.  let me set the scene - we were hanging out at my old apartment, like 12+ years ago.  i had 3 cats.  i was in the other room and when i came in, there he was giving pawpi a kiss.  swoon. so we have been doing some work around the house, some minor remodeling.  part of which was taking the carpet out of our bedroom. our bedroom is the cats' safe haven from the kids, and from eric too - remember, BIG AND TOUGH!  and LOUD, too!!  and he controls the VACUUM!!  we also took out the cat tree.  but thanks to pinterest, i found some cat shelves and i showed them to eric.  next thing ya know - he made some!  fuzy loves them!  the other cats, not as much, but that might be because fuzy hogs them.  but they are also probably happy with anything that keeps fuzy out of their hair.

 this past weekend was comicon in seattle!!!  i haven't ever been, i have only seen photos of the people in their costumes, but they were going to have a big lego exhibit and since the family is totally lego crazy these days, eric decided to take the kids.  we went through the celebrity guest list and hoped to have the kids meet Patrick Stewart, seeing as one was very close to being named Jean-Luc, Christopher Lloyd, Billy D Williams, even.  but they didn't actually meet anyone.  They did have fun and it was quite the surprise for them.  I didn't go, but I did tell eric that next year when we get our tax return, I am  going to get one of the authentic Stormtrooper costumes. he made it very clear that it would be for me to wear, not for him and i said yes that is the case, although he would be quite the stud as a storm trooper i must say!   hooray!  can't wait!

 so my head has decided to spontaneously open up.  it was doing quite well and i was expecting to get into the pool here pretty soon but then sure enough last week the incision started to scab and then it was all down hill from there.  so the doctor sent me to the Wound Healing Center.  Imagine my disappointment when i was expecting incense, chanting monks, hot stones and meditating and instead i was presented with not so secure looking infectious waste container.  but they shave some noggin and put a dressing on it.  i got back tomorrow for an update.

 saturday we went to leavenworth.  xtie went with us and she and i went for a bike ride on our road bikes.  i have not been outdoors on a bike, let alone a road bike in months, maybe since september when i did the lake stevens sprint tri.  gracious.  2hrs and i was worried i wasn't going to make it, but xtie was patient with my slow as snails pace, and it started to get SUNNY, and there were amazing views and it was absolutely beautiful!!  what a great ride, totally worth the 5hrs of driving!

 

 after the ride we went to the munchen haus.  oooh how i love me a big bob from the Munchen Haus!!  i wasn't sure if i was going to go all out with the big bob since i've been on this elimination diet, but i was pretty sure i needed to get some real food in me after that bike ride, and since we were heading home right after anyway, if i got a headache, i'd be able to fall asleep in the car.  eric is the master at fixing up the big bobs and it was amazing!  totally amazing and it didn't make me sick or anything.  i did pretty much instantly fall asleep in the car for an hour but its hard to say if that was food related or bike ride related. there has been some cheating on the elimination diet, but i went a good 10 days before doing so, and i only cheated some, like with the big bob, but now back on track for another 10 days or so.  still no alcohol.  oh i almost drank a sip of beer tho - it looked so refreshing!!

 today i did the Hot Chocolate 15k.  it was sort of on a whim.  i have been running maybe 10-15 miles a week lately, but not very fast.  ok, that is a lie, its more like 4-10 miles a week if even that.  its been a rough few weeks, although the past two have been pretty good.  i started taking yoga which has been fantastic!  and i have been trying really hard to get in my workouts.  almost 8hrs for the past two weeks, up from 4-5 for the past 2 months or so.  soon i should be able to get up to 10-12 and then i should be pretty good for a while.  so i decided to do this run.  i had a 1:10 run scheduled already but decided to do this one.  told my coach i would follow the plan for the workout since i had no intention of racing just wanted some entertainment and fun of an event, and then would take it easy the rest of the time ,walking if i had to, until i covered the distance.  well, that lasted about until i crossed the starting line.  every time i looked at my garmin my pace was about a minute faster then i was supposed to be going but at no point did i feel like i was running fast or hard.  there were lots of hills, loooong hills.  long up hills and long downhills.  it was impossible for me to stick to the plan, i can't do that kind of math!  but i pressed the lap button on my garmin a few times and then went into the tunnel and the whole thing shut off and when that happens, my whole day gets messed up.  but the miles ticked off so quickly that i was convinced that they were marked short!  after the race i headed to get my finishers mug with hot chocolate, chocolate fondue and treats, meet up with some of the girls and then head off to the gym.  eric was going to meet me for some core work and hot tubing!  as i was walking through the gym to find eric i had a total Holy Shit! moment.  there i was, had just run 9.3 miles and now was at the gym to do some more work -and i had had brain surgery less than a year ago!  brain surgery!  surgery on my brain!  and radiation!  and another surgery just a few months ago!  i forget sometimes how lucky i am and i take my health for granted.  brain surgery!!!  gah!!

 fuzy and seamus mccat chilling.  fuzy on the shelf, seamus mccat directly on the heating vent.  she does sleep in the cat bed sometimes, but sometimes being warm is more important to kitties than being comfortable.  and check out fuzy's new shoe lace!

 eric ate this entire bag of pork rinds on the drive home from leavenworth.

 a rare photo of the house uniform - the updated version!  the pants are new as of last year thanks to the tri team.  the pants have been rotated out over the years.  black yoga pants for years, until i was pregnant and wore the black velour pants through the entire pregnancy and then 18 months after the babies were born then replaced by the bright pink juicy couture sweats.  now i have these!!  the sweatshirt is new as of xmas thanks to work!  super cozy sweatshirt!!  but this was a very big step since i had been wearing the same sweatshirt for at least 10 years or more.  i haven't gotten rid of it yet, but soon.  soon i might be able to part with it.  maybe.  but checkout the fancy floor!! and nadj, too!  oh and 3 more cat shelves that may or may not make their way onto the walls!

 this is Dr Broyles, my endocrinologist and Dr Mayberg my brain surgeon.   i think its a little weird that they are on ads that show up in my email but they are damn good doctors.  i wish everyone could go to them. 

and this is my boyfriend Dan Hugo.  he is recovered from the terrible crash he had last year and just raced in the phillipines this weekend.  she is so stinking cute.  love you dan!  xoxo