Wednesday, October 29, 2008

WHAT'S A GIRL GOTTA DO?

Okay, Randy kept encouraging me to create a blog on blogspot so I finally did a while back. Sometimes it's so hard to think of things to post. Sometimes, no, most of the time, I wait too long between posting new posts. Sorry!!!
So then our daughter, Rachael kept bugging me to start a myspace page. I checked it out once but that was about all I did. Well one day a couple of months ago, Rachael came over and got me started on it. I didn't do much with it at first but I finally just recently started posting pics on it. It is a good way to keep track of all of our kids. All five of them have myspace pages.
Then my friend LeAnn kept telling me I should join facebook. I wasn't planning on it but LeAnn said she posts more pics on it than on blogspot so I decided to go check out her page. When I logged on, it made me create an account before I could see her page. So now I have THREE online pages that I have to keep up with.
I have no idea how I'm going to keep up with three when I couldn't even keep up with one. I guess the other two are good for posting pics, but this one is better for keeping track of what everybody is up to.
So I'll keep on doing posts on here though maybe not often enough, my photo albums will go on my other pages, and I'll try to keep up with my swimming between it all.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

POOL'S CLOSED

As the busy holiday season is here things have gotten busy at work. Being the seasonal department manager at Walmart is hard this time of year. I'm supposed to have six associates helping me set the modulars and stock all the freight but for some reason we are on a hiring freeze and I only have one person this year. So things have been stressful at work.
I started going swimming at the pool after work because I need to get better and faster for Lavaman but I've found that swimming right after work also calms me down from all the stresses of the day.
TODAY THE POOL IS CLOSED!!!!!
So if you see me around town tonight, or tomorrow at work, you may not recognize me.
Here's a picture just in case....

Saturday, October 18, 2008

CYCLING

* "The hardest thing about learning to ride a bicycle is the pavement!"

* Randy an Karen have just climed Le Alp de Huez on a tandem: "Phew that was a tough climb" said Randy "Thought I was going to bonk". "Yeah good job. I kept the brakes on the whole way up," said Karen, "or we'd have slid all the way back down!"

* My granny started cycling at 97 years old. She has been doing ten miles per day - and now we don't know where the heck she is!

* Randy, on his tandem is stopped by a police car. "What've I done, officer?" asks Randy.
"Perhaps you didn't notice sir, but your wife fell off your bike half a mile back . . ."
"Oh, thank goodness for that," says Randy - "I thought I'd gone deaf!"

* Learn to ride a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live. (Mark Twain)

YOU KNOW YOU'RE ADDICTED TO CYCLING IF....
You hear someone had a crash and your first question is "How's the bike?"
You have stopped even trying to explain to your other half why you need more than one bike...you just go buy another one and figure it will all work out in the divorce settlement.
You buy your crutches instead of renting.
You see nothing wrong with discussing the connection between hydration and urine color.
You find your Shimano touring shoes to be more comfortable and stylish than your new trainers
You refuse to buy a settee because that patch of wall space is taken up by the bike.
You have more money invested in your bike clothes than in the rest of your combined wardrobe.
You see a fit, tanned, Lycra-clad young thing ride by, and the first thing you check out is his or her bicycle.
Despite all that winter weight you put on, you'll take off weight by buying titanium components
You use wax on your chain, but not on your legs (girls).
You use wax on your chain, AND on your legs (boys)
Your bike has more miles on its computer then your car's odometer.
You wear your bike shorts swimming.
Your bikes are worth more than your car.
When you move to a new area the first thing you look for is a bike shop.
You take your bike along when you shop for a car - just to make sure the bike will fit inside.
You view crashes as an opportunity to upgrade components.
You clean your bike(s) more often then your house.
You and your significant other have and wear identical riding clothes.
You put your bike in your car and the value of the total package increases by a factor of 4 (or better).
You can't seem to get to work by 8:30 AM, even for important meetings, but you don't have any problems at all meeting your mates at 5:30 AM for a hundred-miler.
You know your cadence, but you have no idea what your speed is.
Your car sits outside your garage because your garage is full of bikes and cycling gear.
You experience an unreasonable envy over someone who has bar end extenders longer than yours.
There is no time like the present, for postponing what you ought to be doing, and go bicycling instead...

Saturday, October 11, 2008

2008 IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

There's nothing like watching the Ironman World Championship to motivate you to work harder to be a triathlete. I saw so many athletes competing of all sizes, shapes and ages and even several with disabilities. They were the most motivational of all along with the competitors in there 60's and 70's.

At 18 and the youngest female competitor, our friend from Kona, Ariel Henbest, is just starting the 26.2 mile run after completing the 112 mile bike and 2.4 mile swim.



Lolly Rodgers, age 66, not the oldest, but one of our local girls, says this is her last Ironman. I guess we'll find out next year if that's really true.


One of several of the disabled athletes, Jason Fowler, from Kingston, Mass. Way to go Ironman!!!


Our local beloved pro triathlete, Bree Wee, on the right, is also our local pro on the cheering squad. Here she is cheering on the women's winner World Champion, Chrissie Wellington, of England. Bree is such a motivation to the competing athletes and I know how much they appreciate having her cheer for them. NEXT YEAR BREE! You did great for your first year as a pro and we all love you.

The final three hours of the night, from 9pm to midnight is probably the most exciting. Watching the final athletes cross the finish line, some of them just minutes or seconds from missing their 17 hour deadline, and wondering if your friends will make it in time is both nerve racking and exhilarating. Two people that we were watching for came in in the last fifteen minutes. We didn't know if they had dropped out, or if they were still somewhere out on the course, perhaps miles still from the finish, so it was such a relief to have them come in.
It seems like thousands of people were watching, mostly spectators, but also ironmen that had already completed the course, and the cheering for the competitors is LOUD. We went home for dinner and could hear it from home, just over a mile away.

All in all, we had a great day watching the race. It was a super long day but it was a blast to be a part of such a momentous time in people's lives.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

INVENTORY AND IRONMAN

It's been such a busy week for me. We've been getting ready for inventory at work which is a huge process at Walmart. I've been working a lot of hours so if I haven't been leaving comments on everyone's posts, I'm sorry. I haven't been on the computer much.
Between all that, I had volunteered to help put Ironman preregistration packets together and also to be water patrol for the Iron Keiki biathlon, so between work and volunteering for those two things, I've been exhausted.
On the bright side, I only got one day off last week so I get a three day weekend starting Friday. YeeHaw! I'm looking forward to watching the Ironman race on Saturday and getting in some swimming this weekend, along with some much needed rest (and catching up on reading and leaving comments on everyone's blog).

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

RACHAEL

She was so beautiful the first time I saw her. I just couldn't take my eyes off of her and I couldn't believe that she was going to be mine. The picture I had seen of her didn't even begin to do her justice. It was a picture with her hair up, none of her beautiful curls showing, a picture that showed very little of her beauty.
We stayed and played with her and her brother for about an hour that first time, my eyes devouring her the whole time. This beautiful girl was soon to become my daughter. I loved her from the moment I saw her.
She was six years old, her brother Daniel had just turned five. We had planned on adopting a little girl but God had other plans for us and gave us the two of them.
It's so hard having your children grow up and move on, and the fourteen years since she came into our lives have blown by so fast. I miss the times that we spent together. She was such a special blessing, my daughter, my friend.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHAEL. I love you so much and pray every day that God will show you how much He loves you also, much more than ANY person ever can and that He wants to have a relationship with you again. I know that life has been tough on you this last year and even though we don't see much of you anymore I think about you and pray for you every day.
I love you so much and I hope you have a great birthday,
mom