good news!!

lets start with my boyfriend Dan Hugo.

sriously dan.  i thought we had something special and then i opened up my April issue of South African Women's day magazine and saw this hussy pulling your shirt up.  or is she pulling it down?  i don't know what is going on, but dan, you've got some splaining to do!
the other week i did the wenatchee 1/2 marathon.  i mentioned that!  but then after that i did the soaring eagle trail run.  that was fun.  hadn't been trail running in a long long while, so it was fun and nothing like a good race to get you going.  i was pleased with the race, although for as much as i was able to pick it up at the end i apparently held way back.  i knew i was holding back because again, i was not familiar with the course.  i thought it was the same as the last time i did it a few years back and that it ended with the rediculous road climb back but it did not!  it was actually a great last mile back!  had i known, i might have been able to kick it in a little better.
i went to my 1 year appointment on monday!  i was very concerned about this appointment.  i was concerned, but apparently i was more concerned than i knew because i did not sleep even a wink on monday night.  the mri the week before went fine, i of course fell asleep the instant they rolled me into the tube, but i wanted to know the results.  i even called them and asked them to email me the report from the radiology guy saying i would interpret it on my own but they wouldn't do it!  so i had to wait. so on monday i was anxious to get to my appointments!  i got to the ambulatory infusion center.  but first i made a pit stop at the cafeteria.  i had decided to get one of the snickerdoodles.  i had wanted to get one the last time i was there but it was too early in the morning so they only had morning stuff out.  but this time they had the snickerdoodles, but they didn't look so great, so i grabbed a chocochip cookie.  it was pretty good, but not as good as i remember the snickerdoodle being.  then i went to the blood draw.  the nurse was the most amazing vein puncher i have ever had!  i even told her so!  she said she had worked in neo natal intensive care for 18 years and spent that whole time starting ivs and taking blood from babies that were practically invisible, so she became accostumed to being very gentle.  8 tubes drawn, then she pumped some stuff back in, then we waited 30 minutes then another tube came out and i was done.  the appointment with the endocrinologist was uneventful since there really wasn't anything to talk about since there were no blood test results to discuss, but then it was time to meet with the fabulous Dr Mayberg!  omg, i love him!!  earlier i saw him when i had just gotten to the hospital.  i walked right by him, i guess he had just come out of surgery since he had on scrubs and a surgery hat and was leaning over the volunteer desk talking to the volunteers, i imagined trying to find some patient's family to talk to.  i noticed his glasses had red frames!  i don't know if that was new or not, but i was all impressed by how fancy that was of him!  (oh now i totally realized i forgot to tell him how i swear i saw him out mountain biking one time!!) 
but then a little later, he was in the starbucks, getting whatever starbucks beverage he prefers.  he is so fascinating!!  so it was time to meet with him and he was in a good mood.  he wanted to sit next to me but i had all my crap in that seat so he sat on one of the rolling stools and asked how my head was doing.  he commented on my hair cut and said he liked it.  then he told me how my MRI had come back clear.  not only clear, but so clear that neither he nor the radiologist guy could identify any remaining tumor, even the part that had been left in there!  we talked about my hormones and how although I didn't have my blood work back yet, i was still feeling good, and how i had just done the 1/2 marathon and was so close to my pre-surgery PR.  he was amazed and so happy for me!  then he asked if i wanted to see the MRI and of course i did, so we went to take a look. he showed me the pre-surgery scans again, but showed me more than before which was interesting because i never actually saw how big the tumor and cyst actually was.  i expressed how surprised i was and he was like, yeah, it was huge!!  and then now on the current scans I could see how all the brains have settled back to where they are supposed to be, my optic nerves are back to where they are supposed to be.  everything is back to where it is all supposed to be!  he warned that although the scans show "stable unremarkable appearance of the brain" - hooray!!!  which is very exciting and he (and I!!) am thrilled with, i am no way out of the woods yet, but we really could not ask for any better results right now.   what a huge sigh of relief.  right then and there i wanted to pick him up and hug him!!  xtie, eric and i joke about how i should just do it, hug him and lift him up a little bit, so his little dr mayberg feet kick in the air a little bit!  i wanted to get a photo of us together but i got shy, i think because i love him so much, but maybe next time.  omg, i swear if he ever retires, i don't know what i will do!!  but for now, i will go back in 6 months.
other news, its been warm and sunny, but i think i have a cold now.  :(  a summer cold.  could i really?  or its allergies maybe.  i don't know.  omg, i have been eating terrible, too.  ever since my birthday i have been on a rampage.  it was that delicious bday cake!  oh yeah, i had a birthday!  i am pretty old now.  and eric made me this amazing organic chocolate cake with this amazing homemade chocolate frosting that was pretty much just fudge and it had chocolate chips and walnuts.  it was amazing!  i ate it for 3 days straight. 
and may is brain tumor awareness month.  who knew!!  so i have been wearing grey to support it.  i wear grey a lot anyway, but lets just say it is in support of brain tumor awareness!

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

my boyfriend

Dan Hugo - "Sport Up Your Life" / Engelhorn from Sepia Productions on Vimeo.

if i were michael phelps

i would totally get my teeth fixed.  dude, he has so much money he could totally do it. easily.  its not like his teeth are that messed up, but he could use the help.  he is not my idea of dreamy, not even close, and the teeth won't change that but at least then i would quit asking myself why he lets his teeth be all messed up like that. 

this look doesn't work for him either.  gross.

but, i have a new boyfriend.  don't worry Dan Hugo, you are still my number one boyfriend, but my new one is pretty delish, i have to say.  have you heard of Ryan Lochte?  hot.

ok, he is a little beefier than i generally like, but he has a cute face and a good smile.  but sometimes i wish he would wear more clothes.  I KNOW, that is is blasphemy. I know he is a swimmer and i know that they swim in teeny tiny swim suits, but really do i need to have him shoving it at me in every non-competition photo?  all of the olympic photos have him in the water or are waist up.  all the photo shoot photos show way too much.  this is not attractive to me, but i guess maybe i'm not the target market for Men's Journal either:

.So, my boyfriend Dan Hugo however, always looks perfect.  now, Dan Hugo is a swimmer, too.  And occasionally there is a photo, or even a video with him in his teeny tiny swim suit, but its all about moderation.  we do not need to see it ALL of the time.













even when he is all banged up and hairy, Dan is the man - super cute, super hottie. and he is very articulate and has lots of good things to say.

BUT, i do think if they make the 50 Shades of Grey movies, they might have to have Ryan Lochte be Christian Grey.  I think that would be a good fit.

million dollar friday!

leaking brain onto my pillow, and you can see the drainage tube running across my forehead

so i don't remember too much about friday.  i know they took out the catheter, they took the drainage tube out of my head.  the girl that did that had a funky accent so i asked where she was from - south africa!  but she did not know dan hugo.  i suggested that she look him up!

you can see the tube there at the bottom

once those tubes were all out, i felt way better.  my nurse was Miles and he was a nice guy.  although he scared the crap out of me one time when i was sleeping and he knelt down next to me to wake me up and when i opened my eyes he was not eric! i jumped and was like AAKK!!

the PT came for a visit.  i sat i a chair, i ate some apple sauce. i had to sit in the chair for 30 minutes and it was a really long time, i really wanted to lay back down. i think i went to the bathroom.  we laughed at the pvc pipe commode chair, eric taking mental notes on how me might be able to make one of those someday.

grown up potty chair

then i was moved into the normal neuroscience part of the hospital.  i can't remember getting into a different bed, or how that all happened, but it happened.

apparently this is how i got to the normal floor, totally forgot about this guy. 

i remember being pushed in the bed, or a bed at least and thinking, wow, this little tour of the hospital is not at all like the "i just had a baby" parade you get to go on with your baby burrito when you leave the birthing suite and go to your recovery room.
regardless, i think i was happy to get to my room.  i can't remember.  again, a private room and i could have overnight guests!
i had already told them i was done with the leg puffers, they said that was fine as long as i got up to walk around some and made sure to sit in a chair although it would be up to my nurses after a while since some of them are sticklers for the leg puffers.
i think i ordered some food - scrambled eggs, toast, fruit maybe.  oatmeal?  i felt really quite remarkable!
i got to look in the mirror and see that my hair was all still there and that i wasn't all deformed.  the surgeon said he spent over an hour or so making sure to put my forehead back on right!
so friday was spent chilling, resting, eating apple sauce, taking medication through IVs, peeing.  ya know.  that type of stuff.  eric and christie took turns sitting with me, i can't believe their patience and willingness to gel in and gel out so often!  i couldn't watch TV, just having it on was too much stimulation, so i did a lot of laying there, which was so nice.  
that night as we settled in to go to sleep, i just curled up but eventually i wound up in a bit of pain in the noggin.  more pain than i had been feeling.  plus i was feeling just overall a little bit like ass.  i can't remember if we had taken some laps around the unit earlier in the day, but with the sitting, the applesauce eating and everything, it looked like i had done too much and it was starting to show.
after being a sleep for a bit, i woke up so thirsty i couldn't control it.  i chugged 3 big cups of water one right after the other.  i kind of knew that was a bad idea but i was so thirsty i couldn't help it.
and then it came back up.
again.
and again.
i can't remember the nurse's name that night, but he was super nice and it seemed like he spent the whole night in our room with us.  every two hours or so.  i did not feel good at all.
my head didn't hurt really but wow, i felt like ass.
and then, like at 4 or 5 or 6am, one of those times, he gave me some sort of medication that was 100% crack or something because i instantly felt better and drifted off to sleep.  aaahh!!!!  amazing!

and then what happened?

The next day I talked to an endocrinologist and then on Friday we went to see the neuro-opthimologist. I had some vision tests and for the first time ever I actually couldn’t see the letters on the screen. They had to roll it up a few times for me and it was super tough. I also had a hard time finding the numbers made of colored circles in the bigger circle.

So then the doctor came in and he showed us the MRI since we hadn’t seen it yet. He told us what was going on in there, but with a lot of, “we don’t know for sure”’s and “we won’t know until we get in there” type of disclaimers. The first thing I said when I saw it and he said it was right behind my sinus’s, I was just like “uh, you think it could be full of baby spiders waiting to hatch?”. Eric and I chuckled, the doctor did not. Then he explained what was going on with my optic nerve and how it was bowing around the tumor. He said I had some permanent nerve damage and some field of vision loss too. He said he thinks that most of my vision would likely return after surgery.

Then I went to work.

Friday Sirus went to Grandmas since Seamus had her turn the other week. We had a lovely evening with Seamus and then in the morning she and I did a bunch of errands and she rode a horse and we had all kinds of fun! Then I took a nap. I was beat. Sunday we went to a bday party where the kids ran wild for a few hours, then we took the top off of the jeep and we went for a drive then I took a nap.

At no point during any of this did I do any training. Not allowed, they told me to stop. Things weren’t looking so great for ITU Worlds.

Monday went to the neuroscience place and met face to face with the endocrinologist. She told us a ton about the pituitary gland and everything it does. Eric and I argued with her, trying to get her to commit to how long the tumor had been in there. if it was less than 10yrs, Eric totally gave it to me. If it was 15 or so years, then Eric was in the clear. She said it could be either. so non-committal!!! I am pretty sure that ATT gave it to me with all the drama there was with trying to get my new phone set up. Sheesh!! And I suspect that watching this video too many times of my boyfriend Dan Hugo swimming maybe have possibly been too much for my mere mortal brain to handle, or maybe it is what gave me the vision problems? Proceed with caution if you plan to watch it. It is lovely.

After that doctor came the neurosurgeon. He did not have a sense of humor at all. But everyone tells me that is probably a good thing. The endocrinologist totally did, this guy not so much. So he told us all kinds of stuff as well. He was easy to follow and everything he said make sense. He was saying that it isn’t a pituitary tumor at all, but instead sits on top of the pituitary. he showed us how it was pushing the optic chiasm or whatever (where the optic nerves cross) to the back and bowing them behind the tumor – I had thot they were bowing up but apparently not. He showed us the carotid artery, a major artery in the brain and how the tumor was pushing on it or squishing it or something, sorta missed that part. He showed us how the tumor is pushing on the pituitary stalk that connects the pituitary gland to the brain and he showed us how it is pushing on the frontal lobes of my brains.

Then he told us how he could go in through my nose, yes, just like the Egyptians. This is apparently the preferred option for pituitary tumors because they just go right in there and pull them out. But, my tumor looks to be in that brain sack. Yeah, sack. In my brain. So they would have to pop that sack and let all the spinal fluid drip out my head and apparently it’s really hard to get that to close back up. Although they take some fat off you somewhere else and plug it all in there – liposuction as a bonus, who knew!! He talked about other complications, more about how the tumor was close to stuff and he wouldn’t be able to tell how anything was actually attached to anything until he was in there and it would be tricky to see with that approach.

So the other option is through my head. Craniotomy. Eric and I had already discussed this as a possibility many times, I even discussed it with my mom and xtie and I had decided if they had to do it would totally shave my whole head. First a little Mohawk pre-shave and then the whole thing. But as the nurse put it, it would just be a haircut. They shave as little as possible. But she did warn, he is a neurosurgeon and not a hairstylist! So I guess I should be prepared for anything.

then i had blood work and a CT scan. CT scans are SO much easier that MRIs!

that was monday.

wow, that was a lot of yds

i think this week was an all time high for swim volume!!! 11,450!! wow!! that was a lot. my swimming is coming along nicely which is good since just a month ago i was swimming backwards! significantly less effort to go slightly faster. i'd say that is a win. but boy, i am a little on the tired side.
today is st patricks day. because of this, i wore this to the pool this morning:

it was a bit of a challenge because a)its totally stretched out b)since i got this one i have realized my actual swim suit size is 2 sizes smaller 3)because of a&b i wore an extra swim top on top to keep it family friendly. and all of this on a 3300 yds day, one that included 10x200!! oh that was a lot of 200s.
after swimming i went to the costco. i did some looking around and the sample people were crazy sampling all over the place. one lady came chasing me down saying that if i wanted i could try the thermacare heating pads.

i told her unfortunately i have had plenty of experience with them and didn't need to sample them. she looked at me sorta funny and then said, yeah, i guess it is one of those things that it is sort of unfortunate if you have to use them.
but i picked up a book for the kids and some muscle milk and headed on home to take a nap. but first having a pbj and two pieces of cinnamon swirl french toast. good gracious.
other news, booked my hotel in alabama. yahoo! i think. AND working on getting a new mountain bike. mine is old. like old old. and eric said i could, so now we need to get it so i can ride it and be comfortable with it before going to alabama. after that race, i might just give it to eric. we will have to see how it all works out. thinking about a specialized. they are snazzy bikes and my boyfriend Dan Hugo rides one. xoxo

shart i don't say.

stealing this idea from lavonne, but changing it to stuff i don't say. check it:

wow, my skin looks awesome!
i can touch my toes!
chocolate, ew, gross!
i'll have tea, thanks.
i'm vegan.
extra jalepenos please!
I totally want to go bungee jumping.
I totally want to go sky diving.
wow, its really warm in my office.
where's the sunblock?
kim kardashian is my idol.
i like rap music.
i want to move back to ohio.
my ass looks so tiny in these jeans!
i wouldn't be caught dead in public with hairy legs.
i threw out my house uniform.
i blow dried my hair.
i brushed my hair.
i hate cereal.
Tom Cruise is so hot.
i hate riding on the trainer.
jumping rope is so easy.
lets all use our outside voices!!
i love swimming in the lake!
dan hugo isn't my type. AT ALL.

Dan Hugo

gah!!! i am sick. again. seems like i am sick a lot. but it started sunday right after i drank a beer, like instantly!! and then got worse on monday and then yesterday, ugh. i went into work, was actually quite productive but the time was crawling. left early to go to a school conference. but then got to the school just as eric and the kids were walking out - i missed the conference! omg, i almost started crying. not only was a sick, but i felt like a bad parent, not there to hear about seamus's progress and her goals and her school work. when we got home i went right to bed and slept for 2.5 hrs.
and wow, back into obesity i am falling, upwards!! i was only a tiny bit on the brink of not being obese but then eric had to go to leavenworth for a weekend to ski and now i am sick and we all know that leads to huge amounts of cereal and other crappy things being put in my carmelita hole. although that is partially how i got into this mess in the first place i think. no win.
so i have been a little depressed and weepy lately. ever since the crappy swim last week and then with being sick its just gotten worse.
so i decided i should post some photos of my boyfriend Dan Hugo. i love him. i am pretty sure he loves me too. its totally mutual. here are some photos of dan from the internets.

here is dan hugo thinking about me. he is in some tropical location as is apparent by the palm leaves in the background, and he misses me.

this is one of my favorites, i ask him to run for me some times. just for fun.
and since i am such a craptastic swimmer, he is planning on helping me.
this one is funny because he is trying to make me jealous by talking to these girls.
xoxo

whoaaa!!!!

omg, so just like last year i am sitting here watching the posts on twitter and facebook of the xterra worlds championships. the suspense is KILLING ME!! my very best boyfriend dan hugo is bouncing around in like 2nd and 3rd since somewhere on the bike and now 3 miles into the run is still holding his own. but the twitter updates are a bit tough to follow, or maybe the race really is as close and they are making it, with the order constantly changing? conrad stoltz dropped out at mile 2 of the run due to asthma, which is crazy. he must be really messed up to drop out with only a few miles to go. hope he is ok. but dan, oh my lovely dan!! i am rooting for you!!!
anxiously waiting to hear how danelle kabush is doing as well as cori and swim coach matt!!!
aaaak!!!!

mid life crisis

if i am having a midlife crisis, does that mean i will only wind up being 74?
its been rough lately. i had a total breakdown when we got back from ogden. i am tired of looking like ass all the time, tired of bad hair, bad skin, ever increasing body fat % due to lack of exercise, always being tired. so i had my breakdown, and then i went shopping. totally a risky move when feeling so horrible, but i went to nordstrom and found one of the sales girls there, brooke and told her i needed an overhaul. SHE WAS AWESOME. we picked out some jeans to start with, then she asked me what i was looking for in tops. i said nothing clingy and nothign that needed dry cleaning. she said i was really testing her fabric knowledge, but we looked at all the tags. she didn't discourage me from picking things out to try, but funny how the things i picked looked like ASS but the things she picked were super cute. but first we started with the denim, as she put it. she told me to try them on in a certain order. she got me different sizes and when i tried the smaller size and was freaking out by all the ass rolls, i asked her to come in the room and look. she said the ass rolls are exactly what they want to see! who knew??? so i picked out two pairs of skinny jeans. omg, yes, TWO. SKINNY jeans. i tried on some leggings and they looked horrible, but the skinny jeans were good.
then the tops. she brought me things to layer them all with and when i said i didn't like something she didn't try to convince me otherwise and instead just took it away and brought something else. it was awesome. i wound up with a TON of stuff, including a poncho?? what? when she was ringing me up, i asked her if she could go to shoes with me. she said she couldn't but called down there to see if her favorite shoe guy was there. he wasn't but that was ok. i did get a pair of boots but after determining they were too big around the calves i have since returned them. now i want to go back and see brooke again and see if i can hire her to be my stylist, at least for a day. go through my stuff and my shoes and all that stuff and help me put some stuff together. i did get some accessories, too, which i have been trying to encorporate every day. its been fun. NOW if only i could get my hair and face under control.
i did put my fake bangs on the other day and looked into some hair extensions. working on it. and so excited that i picked up the groupon for eyelash extenstions! cannot wait!! hate to be so obsessed with how i look, but i'm not getting any younger. and OMG the gray hairs!! wtf.
but PT is going pretty well. i have some set backs every once in a while, like yesterday i wore soem totally sensible old lady boots to work. they are aersoles for goodness sake!! low, very sensible heel, totally safe. until about 90 minutes into the work day and i realized i really really needed to take them off. luckily i brought my sandals and i changed out of them, and almost instantly the acute discomfort i was having in my back went away. i was sitting the whole time - how does that happen? anyway, those boots are going away, especially since i suspected them of sabotauging me in the past!!!. then i sat weird on the couch while using the computer and while that was ok, unfolding from it was not ok. thorough back agitation. but PT this morning fixed it. i rode on the trainer the other day!! how hooray is that? big time hooray!! and i was happy to figure out that the reason the 20 minutes i did the other day were so hard was because eric had cranked up the resistance! but i was happy to be spinning again. and swimming is going awesome. still with the pull buoy but that is more to my liking anyway. i can feel swim improvement happening! but serious lack of motivation it me the other day and i did nothing but be grumpy. i am on a leg shaving strike!! its really gross. when the PT did some work on my IT band i appologized for the extreme fur on my legs, i am not sure i have ever let it get this long, but i am protesting my injury. ok, so i did shave them before going to ogden - couldn't let dan hugo see them in that shape!! but they are baad. eric said, hmph, not a big deal, his are hairier. but still its gross.
but some good stuff going on. getting through it. not thrilled with the winter approaching but looking forward to progressing to a run here someday soon.

so what else is new?

omagosh! so much!!!
we went to ogden! good times at xterra usa championships! we decided to take the kids which turned out to be very fun. we flew out friday and got a MONSTER huge 11 person passenger van. best van ever!! sirus sat in the very backest back and seamus sat right behind us.
we went straight to ogden, the kids and i checked into the hotel then went over to the expo area. eric put his bike together and then met up with his buddy troy, who i had forgotten was the one who gave me all the pointers on which coffee grinder to get eric for xmas 6 or so years ago. the kids started running around all over the place in the kids zone. crazy non stop at altitude in the heat running around. i thought they were going to wear themselves out before the kids race, but they got some snow cones, met xterra world champ shonny vanlandingham and then were off. the xterra peeps did a great job with the kids race. it was one of the best kids races ever. the run was actually pretty far but then after, the called each kid up to get their medals. they used old number plates and medals from races all over which was super cool. then we went to the dinner - eric was regional champ! the dinner options were odd, and had i been racing i would have been like, uh, not nearly enough... it was all gluten free except the bread they had, and totally unfilling. anyway, it wound up being pretty expensive for the kids to each eat a plate of pineapple, strawberries and grapes, but whatever.
in the morning we all piled into the giant van, dropped erics shoes at t1 and then headed down to t2. eric stood in line for a million minutes for packet pickup and then finally got things going.
lance armstrong was there, he had an entourage and stuff. it was kind of cool to see him and the hubub and all that. he looked like a normal dude, only all of his stuff matched. all his nike live strong gear, all perfectly laid out. he was wearing the brand new TYR Freak of Nature wetsuit and had a really good swim. bff matt from high school came out for the race, so we hung out during the bike and run legs. seamus made some signs for all of her favorite racers! Daddy, Mat, Shonny, Danelle, Cori, Ashlie, Marci, Jason and Dan Hugo. we cheered as they all passed by on the bike and then rearranged ourselves a little up the hill to see them on the run. it was cool because we could see them coming down the mountain, head into and out of the switchbacks and then head up the hill again right before heading back down to the finish. i brought my outside voice and yelled for alls of them when we saw them on the switch backs, and then when they passed right by us. sirus even told me i was being too loud which is funny. lots of really great races going on out there! matt and jason both won their age groups, danelle came in 3rd overall for the women's, shonny, i don't know how she does it but she raced with a torn acl coming in 7th, and Dan Hugo came in 2nd! super stellar racing by these guys and everyone else. i was a little sad not racing and being part of the fun, but i really did have a good time watching and cheering.
later we took sirus to iFly Utah. seamus didn't want to do it but sirus was hilarious, bringing down the house with how funny he was!
what else?
omg, sirus turned 6 today. my sweet little baby is a big grown up 6. how in the world did that happen. makes me want to cry!!

new kitty

oh this week. what can i say about you.
we were supposed to go to chelan, eric was supposed to race some 60 mile mtn bike race, i was going to ride the chelanman tri course plus some exciting extra part with lots of climbing plus a tunnel where i would get to push a button to make a light flash, but alas, eric called around 330 on friday saying that seamus was sick, had a fever of 102 and how he was feeling quite terrible, considering he had been not feeling his best the previous few days and sirus was so full of snot it was coming out of his ears. we decided to bail on the trip.
sirus and i went out to dinner while eric and seamus went home to relax. we had a perfectly good date night, but they sat us at a table for 6, even though the place was crowded and there was a line. i told the waitress to let any other groups of 2 or 3 know that we would be willing to share but no one wanted to, although they did seem perfectly fine with hanging over the wall from the bar, leaning on our table staring at us.
on saturday i got up to go right the 45 mile route of the flywheels summer century. as i drove down to the start, i was getting more and more excited looking at all of the cyclist riding up the big hill and along the lake. i haven't done an organized ride like this since i did STP in like 2001 i think it was. there had to have been thousands of cyclists out there, it was nutty. i needed to register and found that unless you are able to pick up your packet early, you should register for this event day of. the packet pickup line had probably 150 or more people in line and it wasn't moving. the registration tent had 4 people in line and was super quick. janet, kristi and i found each other in line, then we stood in the potty line for ever, chatted with jenny and then finally headed out.
while it wasn't sunny, it wound up being somewhat warm. we each took a jacket with us in case of rain, but it never rained, although at one point we all tried to figure out if we should put them on anyway since it had gotten a little chilly. we opted out and continued on.
not too long after the start is the first big hill, up Inglewood hill Rd. ok, so i will totally out myself here, while i live kind of at the top of this hill, this was only the 3rd time i had ridden up it in the 3 years we have lived here. and the first time - i had to stop 3 times!! yes! 3 times!!! while the hill isn't too long, about 1/2 mile or so, it is about 12% grade and i had no idea how to get up it. now i have a better idea. eric and i laugh about how i stopped 3 times because the 3rd stop was like 20 ft from the top. no joke, but i didn't know and really, i wasn't sure i would have been able to get up those last 20ft anyway! we all made it up this time and it seemed like many more of the riders were making it up this year compared to years passed, not too many walking this time around.
a short while we rolled past our neighborhood and there was eric in his Plants vs Zombies shirt and leider hosen doing a little jig with the kids running around cheering.
we hit a round about and it was clear that we are not very euro because the mix of cars and cyclists was a complete mess. i'm surprised it wasn't worse. then down 244th which at the bottom is a totally steep, sketchy descent which is fine but i was totally amazed how despite the route turning right onto a very busy, totally small shouldered road, people were not slowing down or stopping and instead were flying right into traffic. it was so sketchy, i couldn't believe it. we later heard that there was a crash at the bottom of that hill. yeah, not surprised.
the rest of the ride was fun and even though i have ridden all of those roads before it was just way fun.
later when i got home, we started making some phone calls then we hopped into the car and headed to burien to check out some kittens! and OMG!! we brought one home!!! so cute!! big name discussions though. we got this kitten for seamus because even though we lost pawpi back in december, there are still some nights when after she has settled into bed for the night we can hear here in the crying. when we ask he why she is crying she always tells us how much she misses pawpi. she never asked for a new kitten and when we first asked her if she wanted to get one she wasn't sure she wanted one. but we decided to take the leap, lord help me if that cat poos and pees on the carpet!!! seamus picked out the orange one and i instantly started suggesting names for him (i haven't ever had an orange cat and haven' had a boy cat since the first family cat we had when i was little - snowie. he was a good cat!). but i suggested naming the cat Dan after my boyfriend Dan Hugo, then i suggested naming him Jason Jablonski, and i even suggested naming him Antoine after the baby sitter. all were no gos. we suggested Jean-Luc and Sedgewick and Seeley (Booth), all names we had lined up in case of more kids someday, but no gos there either. she considered Sunset, and Totorro and i really liked Honey Senpai, but she wasn't too into it. i have settled on calling him The Doctor from Dr Who, eric likes that one, too. sirus suggested the totally awesome name of grilled cheese but she was adamant no people names and no food names. it looks like the kitty's name is Fuzy Stripe - at least that is what was on the sign she made in her room.
seamus had did an amazing job of cleaning her room in anticipation of the kitty, so when we got home, we found a place for the tiny litter box, and a place for his food and water dishes. we let him walk around and he was HUNGRY! he practically jumped in his food dish and chomped away. when he was done i dipped his paw in his water dish so he would know it was in there and i'm not sure he had ever drank water because he just kept dipping his face in it and then licking it off. after a few dips he seemed to get a better hang of it.
the people we got him from said they weren't sure he was litter trained. i'm not sure what that was about but i was worried but remembered when we had kittens when i was little, they seemed to know what to do. so i put him in the litter box and then told seamus that whenever he woke up from naps and stuff that she should try to put him in there, too. and do you know what? he used it! hooray!
we gave him a bath and got him nice and clean and wrapped him up in a warm towel until he was dry. he slept in the bed with seamus, she said he even cuddled on her chest and walked on her face while she slept, or tried too.
this morning he was a totally different kitty! he was running around her room playing with everything! tumbling around and jumping and chasing and being cute cute cute!! he'll go to the vets this week and then next weekend we'll introduce him to the other cats. as of right now they are not interested in him. they have to be able to hear him meowing some, and even after i play with him i go pet them so they will get used to his smell, but they don't seem interested. hopefully the transition with go well!