Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my 36th birthday and I do feel like I've crested the hill in the over the hill category. My big plans for tonight: hang out with Bill while he cooks dinner and then watch a movie or read my book. Relax. That's my plan. I don't even want to go out for dinner. I took a rain check on a seafood dinner, we'll go when I'm feeling spunky.

My big accomplishment for the day was a swim workout, 36 x 50 on 1:00 minute. I had three guys (Bill included) from swim class join me and I asked everyone to come up with a set of eight 50s. They were being too nice so I called 8 x 50 IM order kick down swim back on 1:00. They groaned about that one which made it better. I thought it was awesome and I couldn't even make the interval.

Above is the status of Bill's flooring project as of this morning. It's taking a while, he had to consult all of his buddies and we've been out of town. We're going to have to buy some rugs because I'm already overwhelmed by the "wood" look. My home decorating style is a lot of bright colors and I didn't think about how the flooring would impact the feel of the room. I think living in Oregon and loving nature has made me not want the inside of my home to feel like an extension of nature--I like modern and rich colors so I'm going to have to do some rug shopping. Funky, bright, crazy rugs. Bill will hate it.

Check out the gorgeous heirloom tomatoes our friend gave us. Apparently they were overwhelmed with their bounty of tomatoes and wanted to get rid of some. I cut up a bunch and poured balsamic vinegar on them with salt and pepper and took to a dinner party last night. DELISH!!!! The tomato season seemed late this year but we're still getting some in our yard too. Bill and I LOVE fresh tomatoes, almost to the point of it not being right. Seriously though, you can't beat a fresh tomato straight off the vine.

Rewind

Photo from ladies night out this Sunday evening. A lovely evening, I feel so fortunate to have nice girlfriends. We had cocktails, dinner, and gelato. My favorite moment of the evening was Heather's order, "Two mojitos and a shot of espresso." I said, "Dang girl! You are ready to PARTY!" Turns out she was ordering a drink for herself and for Sunny (who also wanted the espresso shot).

On Saturday evening, Bill and I attended the area tri geek party for Kona qualifiers. We have two athletes representing Corvallis this year, the third dropped out due to a chronic neck problem.

Friday I went out shopping with my mom for her birthday and got her a cute pair of shoes. My parents had to leave after dinner Friday evening so it was a short visit and we were sad to see them go.

Thursday I met my parents in Eugene, OR and we drove about 45 minutes to the Cougar Reservoir and hiked around a bit. I tried to take them to Terwilliger hot springs but there were a bunch of naked hippies there, it was highly disappointing. And gross. I think the highlight of their trip was watching Oregon State whoop up on USC football. We had the big screen tv going and my parents were Beaver fans from the beginning of the game. I might have to get them some Beaver Believer t-shirts.

Things will be getting back to normal now that winter is coming. I have two events left this season: an all women's tri in Napa, CA and the Beaver Fever duathlon here in Corvallis next month. The weather here is still fantastic, in the 80s, but I think the rain is coming soon. That should slow me down!

Updates

First and foremost: the office fish is gone. Not the final gone, but gone back to the pet store. He has been replaced with a perkier fish and thank goodness! That floating fish was freaking everyone out! Creepy!

We had a crazy busy weekend, Friday I was up until 12:45 am printing t-shirts and packing. Saturday we high-tailed it up to Hagg Lake for USAT Age Group Nationals to watch our friend Michelle compete and then drove up north to Kirkland, WA (near Seattle) and got a nice hotel room at the Marriott. Now that Bill is a business dude and has the hook up on hotel rooms we aren't staying at the Motel 6 as often. THANK GOODNESS!

Sunday we got up at the crack of dawn and setup the tribabe booth at the Kirkland tri which looks like a neat event. Over 1200 triathletes for a sprint triathlon, and a neat venue. The weather could have been better and the sales could have been better for sure but you can't predict or guarantee good event sales. We made enough to "break even" and decided to hit the fancy mall on our way out of town. I haven't been in a fancy mall in YEARS, probably since I lived in Seattle in my other lifetime, so it was exciting to go into the stores.

To make up for the shopping trip, I quietly sat through the next 4 hours of driving while Bill loudly listened to football on the radio. 2 hours shopping = 4 hours of radio football? I guess so.

Monday I was so tired that after work I literally came home, laid on the couch, and stayed there until it was bedtime. Last night I made some kick butt beef stroganoff (drinking Chardonnay while cooking adds the "kick butt") and we watched a really good movie, "The Namesake". LOVED IT! Highly recommend it. Like watching moving art.

Now you see why I haven't been blogging! The next several days should be exceptional, my parents are in town and I've got something going every day:

Wednesday: dinner with the girls (Sunny called to ask if I wanted gin or vodka so I'm not sure what kind of dinner this is?)
Thursday: parents in town, taking them canoeing and to hot springs
Friday: shoe shopping with mom (martinis first) for her birthday
Saturday: Fall Festival (art and community event in Corvallis) and Kona send-off BBQ for triathletes
Sunday: girls night out for my birthday
Monday: monthly dinner with south town homies
Tuesday: my birthday which means I will be a crusty 36 years old. OLD!!!

I'll try to maintain the blog whenever possible. Cheers!

Bad Kitteh and the Fishy Death Watch

Our little Siamese monster disappeared 2 days ago, we decided not to get upset about it since she disappeared for four days last year and then showed up at home, meowing for food one afternoon. We patrolled the neighborhood looking for her and I was going to contact the humane society today but I won't need to, I woke up this morning and the cat was curled up in a ball sleeping next to me. We left the back door open a crack and she must have come in during the night. Sometimes I look at her and wonder if there is not a lot going on in her pretty little head, I still can't decide.

Bill did say that if she disappeared then we could get another dog. He's showing weakness!

Our dear friend Michelle is coming into town today from Texas, she is racing at USAT Age Group Nationals this Saturday near Portland so we are taking her out for dinner tonight here in Corvallis. Can't wait to see her and hear how she is doing!

New topic: something terrible is going on at my office, the receptionist bought a mini aquarium and a small fish and put it on the counter for all to see. The fish appears to be from the shallow end of the gene pool and spends it's time floating at the top of the tank and it never moves, so everyone thinks its dead! People walk in and say, "Oh no! Your fish is dead!" and everyone rushes over to look at it.

I don't think the fish is having the intended effect. It's starting to make me giggle, which is terrible, but really, it's kind of funny. I feel like I need to come up with a CNN spot, "FISH DEATH WATCH" and give hourly updates on the status of the fish.

The Bicyclist

I heard from an old friend this morning, one of those "here's my new email address" type of emails you send out when you get too much spam and have to start over with a new address. Anyway, she was an actress and owned a theater group in Corvallis before moving north to Portland. She's currently working on an online sitcom that features the cycling culture in Portland, it's called "The Bicyclist" and the episodes are 4-8 minutes in length.

Check it out, it's pretty entertaining:



There are 30 episodes to watch, so the next rainy afternoon you are bored, get caught up on it! It sounds like they are working on a feature length adaptation of it, I hope it works out for them, it's fun to see the bike culture and our area featured. Tell your friends about it too, it would be excellent to see this gain popularity. Here's the web site: http://www.thebicyclist.tv/index.htm

Waldo Lake

We were fortunate to get a small group together for a mountain biking and camping weekend at Waldo Lake this weekend. Waldo is a pristine lake and motorized boat are prohibited on it.

"At an elevation of 5,414 feet it is the largest lake in Lane County. It is reputed to be, along with Crater Lake and Lake Baikal in Siberia, one of the purest lakes in the world. When the water is calm you can see at least 125 feet down into the depths."

It is a multisporters delight, an amazing trail circles the lake for great mountain biking (20 miles around). The campground was full of bikes and canoes and no sound of motors. Amazing!

Bill, Sunny, Marshall dog, and I drove up Friday after work, arriving in the dark around 9pm. It was pretty chilly, around 50 degrees, so we started a fire and roasted marshmellows until it was time for bed. Heather and Jim arrived around midnight and I awoke with a start when I heard their van--I stumbled out of the tent to greet them and stubbed my toe on a tree stump, splitting the skin open on my big toe. OUCH! It's fine though, the only time it bothered me was swimming when the skin was flapping around. And walking, but who needs to walk when you can bike and swim?

I had another mishap at dinner when mustard exploded all over the new shirt I just made. Stupid elevation! At least everyone got a laugh out of it. On Saturday, Bill took Marshall for a run around the lake (yes, all 20 miles of it) and I went on a mtn bike ride with Heather and her 2 dogs. Sunny went with Heather's husband Jim for a more faster paced ride.

After a great day of riding, we hit the lake and Sunny and I put on our wetsuits for a very cold swim. It was worth it though, the water is Caribbean clear and it was truly a memorable experience to swim in this beautiful but cold water. Later in the day, the Millers showed up so we all sat around the fire before heading off to bed.

Sunday was more of the same, only we all biked together (minus Jim who rode up Mt Fuji). Marshall dog kept up quite well, the trails here are almost perfect. They are basically rollers with roots and rocks to navigate. We had a few crashes but nothing serious. I managed to stay upright but I also took it easy and picked my way through anything technical. I have this thing about self preservation, despite that, I had a great time and my entire body is sore today, but a good kind of sore. Satisfied sore!

I felt so privileged to have this weekend with great weather late in the summer (it was in the 80s during the day) and to live in such a beautiful country. I was thankful that my healthy body could bike and swim and I actually got teary eyed while sitting next to my dog at the lake shore, taking in and appreciating a life well lived. More photos are in my smugmug gallery.

You have no cake

Last year I helped start a new women's triathlon racing team based on the women I met at training camp at Xantusia (Dan and Monty's so cal place). Luckily we have a graphic designer (Michelle) on our team who was able to help us design our brightly colored uniforms. BTW, I am brave for posting these photos because I am not toned right now but I wanted blog readers to see what we've done so far with the team. A team blog is coming up next!

I can't wait to race in it but I will have to wait. I haven't been training so I'm not going to race this weekend, instead we're going on a camping/mtn bike adventure at Waldo Lake. I knew I could do the race and finish without a problem, but I had to recognize in myself that I would not be happy with doing a race I hadn't prepared for, I just get so much more enjoyment out of the process of training, racing is icing on the cake, and as some wise person on Slowtwitch once said, "You have no cake." They didn't say it to me, but it's true for me today.

It is hard for me to go around with 10-15 "extra" pounds but my goal this year is to get pregnant and so far, we have cake but no icing if you know what I mean. :) I haven't run in several weeks because he extra pounds are bringing up little injuries and it's just not worth it at this point. I'm swimming and riding my bike(s) and that has been enjoyable. ANYWAY, sorry I haven't been blogging, I've been so busy and I got sick from fertility drugs again this week so there was nothing good to report until today!

Ladies Sunday Brunch Ride

Sunday was a perfect day for a bike ride, it was sunny and 70 in the morning and I had reservations at Gathering Together Farms for Sunday brunch with my girl friends. Sunny rode over to pick me up and I was happy to see she had her sun dress on. Her dress was perfect, it was short and had slits on the side. Mine was a bit longer and definitely not a tech fabric but it matched my bike and that's what is important!

We met Heather on the other side of town and she could only find a skirt in her closet so we will have to get her a sun dress before our next Sunday brunch ride. We had 1.5 hours to ride before brunch so we rode up Decker Hill and back which put us at the restaurant at exactly 10:30 am. The brunch was divine, all you can eat pastries, excellent coffee and fresh orange juice, and for me, smoked salmon eggs benedict. YUMMY! We could barely walk out of there so we stopped and picked some flowers for Sunny before we hit the road home.

The food was so good, I will be looking forward to it all winter long. These final days of summer are always so bittersweet. I was tired from the ride and took a nice nap in the afternoon. Totally excellent after a really busy Saturday (I'll write about that tomorrow)

Yeah for girlfriends and yeah for brunch!

Prepare to be chicked

Tonight we drive north toward Seattle for an all women's triathlon at Federal Way, WA on Saturday. We will return Saturday night and Sunday morning I am meeting the girls for a bike ride, we are wearing sun dresses over our biking gear and having Sunday brunch at Gathering Together Farms, a nice little organic farm that we ride past frequently. Of course, I will post pics of us bike riding in sun dresses, it should be great fun!

Yesterday I took the afternoon off from my full time job so I could print more tees for tribabe.com. I worked last night until 11 pm, folding and labeling new product. I also had to design some signs for my booth and get those printed and print some more business cards. It was a bit crazy. I was able to get in a bike ride and a couple of swims this week but it's been so busy for so long, I'm not 100% sure about racing next weekend. There is no doubt that I can finish a sprint triathlon, but I would not be competitive at it and if I'm honest with myself, I enjoy the competition part quite a bit. I had a successful race on that course a few years ago and it would be painful to see myself go several minutes slower at a sprint. Have a great weekend!

Bike water bottles

We came home from our afternoon at the coast and there were several boxes on our porch--oops! Busted! Bill was like "What the heck is all this!"

These are the first water bottles I've done and I love love love them! I needed something to put gift certificates in so I bought these and plan to sell them at events for $5 with a $5 web gift certificate inside of them. Gift certs are also available in higher amounts and the bottle is always free. Here are the specs:

24 oz. wide mouth easy squeezee bottles with a leak proof, push-pull DuoFlowTM 63 mm lid. These bike / sports bottles are Made in the USA from FDA approved LDPE plastic and are Prop 65 compliant.

I don't have them online yet but I'll put them up next week. I hope to go through these quickly so I can order more.

Photos!

Bill thinks the cat wants to go the farmer's market on Saturday. He does some interesting things while brusing his teeth, which you would think cat handling would be off the list of things to do while brushing your teeth, but he fears nothing.

The City of Portland triathlon had unseasonable weather this year but the rain held off until after the race. It was sunny the next day of course!

Our house is all torn up right now. Can someone please fix it for us?

Boys at the beach for an anniversary walk. Bill proposed during a walk on the beach.

I forgot to dress up for dinner so we went casual and ate at Mos where we had some clam chowder and toasted garlic cheese bread. Yummy!

You sit your wet butt on the sand and see how it feels!

Here's a little video I call, "It's hard to make friends here" taken at the waterfront in Newport, Oregon.

Labor Day weekend

I don't have the camera with me to download pics from the weekend so I'll just summarize quickly: the City of Portland triathlon looked like a great event and I heard many racers say that it was well organized and a must do triathlon. Our friends had a great time at it and it looked like a challenging but fun course. I took a few pics so I will try to post tomorrow.

Bill ripped out our carpet downstairs and we are disgusted by the amount of stains you can see on the underside. He can't get the new flooring down fast enough, I'm so grossed out. We also helped a friend moved, she said, "We're laboring on Labor Day" and that was the truth, we worked most of the weekend but we have some fun stuff coming so it was fine.

Today is our two year anniversary, we were married on Sept. 2nd, 2006. I put some photos on my blog back then. We were married in our backyard and the ceremony was attended by local friends and immediate family. We have many fond memories of the day, but one of my favorite memories is coming home after the reception and just falling onto the couch with Bill and finally being alone. I think he spent the next three days eating the remains of the wedding cake while we tried to recover. I think we still have some wedding cake left in the freezer and I bet he would eat it!