I was late getting to school for lunch . . .

. . . with Schyler before the science fair. I was driving to school and saw these geese and had to turn around to get a shot or two LOL! She wasn't too mad when I told her, she just shook her head and rolled her eyes like yup that's my mom!

Busy, busy

tonight is the beginning of a really busy week and weekend. It's the final week of DD's ice show. We'll be at the arena every night this week for a few hours. Full dress rehearsal is Thursday night. Then the show is Friday, 2 on Saturday and one more on Sunday. Our guest skater is Jeremy Abbott again. He was our guest skater last year as well. He just got 4th place in the 2007 U.S. Championships. We got his autograph and photo with him last year. This year we'll have him sign her Skating magazine next to his photo. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures and I'll get them posted here.

First Run of the Season. . .

. . .finally our weather is breaking a little. I got up at 8:00 a.m. to go running but it was a tad nippy and my sinus' definitely would not be able to handle it. So I waited until 10:00 a.m. and I took off. My plan was to do at least 3 miles. I got to my 1/2 way marker for 3 miles and decided I could go another mile. I mean that's great but the problem is when you finally get to the 1/2 marker for 4 miles, you're dying! I did have something to look forward to on the way back -- going downhill! A nice little break. But once I cleared the bottom of the hill then I struggled for the next 1.5 miles. I had about a 1/4 mile to go -- I felt like I had cinder blocks on my feet. I kept telling myself keep going, keep going 1/4 mile you can do it LOL! Geez, it's not like I just started running for the first time in my life, but I guess that extra weight I've acquired in the last 2 months has seriously put a damper on my first run. I usually have to fight off shin splints so I iced both of them. Now about 4 hours later, I'm definitely feeling the effects. Maybe I should have only went 2 miles and then 2 miles tomorrow. I'm sure I won't be hitting the pavement tomorrow.

Disappointment

. . . our boys Varsity Volleyball team played their second round of sectionals on Thursday, March 8, 2007 against Living Word. Our team was seated #1 in Class C/D. I've been shooting a few of their games and was excited to be shooting this one. The 1st game was very exciting and nerve wracking. We were dominating the game. Our boys were so psyched & strong and the crowd was going crazy! Then . . . Living Word started coming back, they pulled ahead, and we lost the first game. Our team seemed to fall apart. Living Word knocked us out of regionals taking all 3 games. Even though I only knew a few of the boys playing it was very disappointing and I felt bad. Just the look of helplessness. Unfortunately for the Seniors there won't be a second chance, but for the rest there is always next year. Congratulations MM for getting as far as you did!

Snowshoe lesson . . .

. . . I borrowed my sister's snowshoes so SMJ & I could go snowshoeing. She has been doing this at school so she was so excited to get mom to do it with her. So she put my shoes on for me and gave me a few instructions on what to do LOL! When we got out back and were walking by the trees she said, "this is where you have to be careful you don't want an eye to fall out" LOL! I just about pee'd my pants. We walked down the tracks and then crossed the creek and walked all the way up the hill. At the top the "pro" had to lie down and take a break. Mom was still ready to go. On our way back down the hill SMJ said, "mom we're sort of like bonding". I said, well I thought we bonded years ago when you were a baby. She tries to be so grown up, it's so funny.

My Biggest Challenge. . .

. . .the Boilermaker! Every year for the past 4 years I start the Spring off training for the Boilermaker and every year I NEVER run the Boilermaker. I always have an excuse - I didn't train enough, I have shin splints, etc. Of course I do get shin splints and the more I run, obviously the worse they get. But not this year . . . nope! I joined the gym the 1st of December and decided I was going to cross-train for the winter, as well as work on really stretching my calves. So I went to the gym almost every morning at 5:15 a.m. worked out on the elliptical and I ran once in a while on the treadmill. I also worked with weights as well. This went on all of December and January. I started running more often on the treadmill and my right foot goes completely numb. The next day my sciatica is really bothering me. This is the first year I've ever ran on a treadmill so I'm not sure what I'm doing to cause this. Now I have totally lost all drive to even go to the gym. I'm totally looking forward to Spring so I can hit the pavement. This is going to be the year I complete one of my goals on my list of "100 Things To Do In a Lifetime"!