Thursday Thirteen #31

Thirteen Phobias

Earlier this week Bob & I won a trivia contest at a local pub & grille we visit regularly. The topic was phobias! We answered 9 out of 10 correctly! To celebrate that little victory, I have decided to list 13 phobias beginning with the letter B. (I guess I chose B for Bob...LOL!)

1. Bibliophobia is the fear of books.

2. Bacillophobia is the fear of microbes.

3. Botanophobia is the fear of plants.

4. Batophobia is the fear of heights.

5. Bogyphobia is the fear of the Boogie Man.

6. Blennophobia is the fear of slime.

7. Belonephobia is the fear of pins and needles.

8. Basiphobia is the fear of walking and falling.

9. Bathophobia is the fear of depth.

10. Batrachophobia is the fear of toads and frogs.

11. Bromidrophobia is the fear of body smells.

12. Batrachophobia is the fear of amphibians.

13. Brontophobia is the fear of thunder and lightning.

Do you have any phobias? (They don't have to start with B.)

This info comes from funtrivia.com.

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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I Heart Dancing Hannah!

Isn't this lovely? I recently purchased this necklace from Shelbi of Dancing Hannah & Keeper of the Chocolates fame! It arrived QUICKLY in beautiful packaging along with a sweet note of thanks! The piece is more wonderful in person!

If you like unique, one-of-a-kind pieces, stop by Dancing Hannah. You will not be disappointed. While you are there, make sure you notice the amazing shots Shelbi takes to show off the details of her beautiful creations. Just keep your hands off the pieces I have my eye on...lol!! :)

Six Years

NEVER FORGET!

It Works for Us

A few months ago we decided it was time for Olivia to have more responsibility when it comes to chores around the house. At 14, she is old enough that I shouldn't have to do it all. I wanted to come up with a list. Not necessarily just for Olivia's chores, but some sort of checklist that either one of us could follow. That was when I decided to give motivatedmoms.com a try. Yes, I paid for their printable chore planner. It was $8, but it is some of the best money I have ever spent. (If you want to give it a try, it's only $4 now!)

I changed the format and adapted the list for our family/home. Guess what -- it works! Olivia did the some of the chores on the list, and there was very little reminding that she needed to work on a few things on the list through out the day.

I am a big fan of to do lists and love seeing things crossed off so we will continue to use it during the school year. However, Olivia isn't expected to complete as many of those things during the week.

Simple Solution

The doors on our kitchen cabinets have been driving me crazy for some time now! The little foam bumper pads the previous owners had put on to replace the nice ones that should be there were worn out. They were so worn that the adhesive was coming through the foam and causing a few cabinet doors to stick. At times they seems to be glued shut! Thursday morning, I ran to our local Menard's to pick up some better quality bumpers. They are on the doors & no more sticking!

Biking, Running

I was able to get back to exercise a little bit this week. I got in two bike rides and one run.

WEEK OF SEPT 3

SWIM	BIKE	RUN/WALK*
0.0 miles	13.0 miles	3.25 miles
0hr 00min	0hr 55min	00hr 40min

The bike rides were fine even though this was only the second time I was on my bike since the triathlon.

The run today was another story! I met my friend, Erin, at a nearby trail for a morning run. It was hot, humid & raining lightly. We decided to run anyway because neither of us have had much time to workout lately and really need to get back into the groove. It kicked us both in the rear end. We weren't able to run the entire 3.25 mile trail, but did run the majority of it. We are going to meet every Friday morning for a run as long as the weather holds. I am sure we will get our ability to run that trail back in no time if we keep it up.

Thursday Thirteen #30

Thirteen Things Moved to the Back Burner
(while Dad was in the hospital)

1. Home cooked meals (I am getting back on track with that, and it feels good to being eating at home as a family instead of on the run.)

2. Eating right (Well, not completely, but I made some pretty poor choices on a few days.)

3. Working out (I got back to it this week! It felt good!)

4. Doing laundry (I did eight loads on Monday/Tuesday! I would do a quick load here and there, but most of it just sat for most of August.)

5. Cleaning the house (We just did the basics and Olivia helped out so much.)

6. Filing bills (They got paid, but never made their way into the file cabinet.)

7. Shredding junk mail and other misc. papers (This pile must be about two feet high.)

8. Grocery shopping (Thank God for my Grocery Game stockpile.)

9. Back-to-school shopping (Thank you mom for taking Olivia out for new school clothes. Even though it's been in the 90s the first few days she has been wearing all the new stuff you got her.)

10. Sleep (Don't think I will ever get that back. :))

11. Blogging (I am excited to get back to reading what has been going on in all my blogging buddies lives and to get back to writing about mine.)

12. Redecorating the bathroom (The wallpaper is only partially taken down from our bathroom walls. I will get back to this next week. I have all the stuff to begin painting and am anxious to get at it.)

13. Yard work (I have some tree/shrub trimming to do before the painter we hired comes to paint the fence & trim. He was supposed to be here late Aug/early Sept, but the rain we had a while back put him behind about 10 days. I am sure we will be hearing from him again soon.)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

First Day

It seems like just yesterday we were sending Olivia off to Kindergarten! Today was her first day of HIGH school! Sigh, my little girl is growing up!!

A Time to Celebrate...

Dad went home Friday afternoon. His recovery isn't over, but being at home is good medicine!

This afternoon my brothers & I along with our families are invited over for a cookout! I can't wait to see Dad sitting in his chair in his house! :)

One Month

Today is one month since my dad's heart attack/surgery. He is still in the hospital. He is doing well with physical therapy, but his heart is back into the atrial fib/flutter. His heart rate is at about 113 today. From a therapy stand point he is ready to move on, but from a cardiac stand point he is not. We found out this week he has congestive heart failure. I have had experience with CHF in our family before. My grandfather (mom's dad) had it and lived with it for many years. It just does horrible things to your body & requires a major lifestyle change that I don't know my dad is ready to face.

Being in the hospital so long is getting him kind of down. His mood today is pretty good. Please pray that he keeps a good attitude toward his recovery and that the CHF is a mild and controllable.

Dad's New "Address"

I know some of you are looking for updates on dad so here's a good one...

His "address" has changed! He is now at the new hospital for the inpatient rehabilitation. As he was getting settled into his new room, a nurse wrote his therapy schedule for tomorrow on the dry erase board in the room. Boy, are they going to have him busy from just after 8 AM until nearly 4 PM. He will have occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy several times a day.

He may be there about two weeks, but of course it could end up being a shorter or longer stay depending on how he does. Most likely after the inpatient PT, he will have some outpatient therapy. Then it will be on to the cardiac therapy.

I was so happy to see him in his own clothing when I got to the hospital this morning. Seeing him get into the passenger seat of his car was an even better sight. I can't wait until the day we get to take him back to his home. Today was a HUGE step in that direction!

Happy Birthday Dad!

It's number 61! :) Shh...don't tell him I told you...lol!

We love you and can't wait until you are home!

Dad News

I think Dad is finally on the upswing and not taking those steps backwards. He will need to go to an inpatient physical therapy program. It is at a different hospital that is a bit of a trek from all our houses. He will be moved either tomorrow or Wednesday. The hold up is he has developed an atrial flutter. Right now we are all hoping it will go into a regular rhythm on it's own today. If not, tomorrow he will have a procedure to try to get it there.

Dad's still walking with the walker, but getting so much stronger. The feeding tube was taken out Saturday morning. He is showering and eating on his own. All big steps in the right direction!

Pottery - Willow - Leather - Poppy

Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction. ~ Saint Exupery

I love you, Bob!!
Happy Ninth Anniversary!

One Big Step

Dad continues to take small steps in the right direction, but on Saturday morning he took what I would call a big step. The breathing tube was removed! Thank the Lord!

He is extremely weak from being sedated and on the ventilator for 12 days. He is still fighting an infection of some sort even though all cultures continue to be negative.

It is so good to hear him joke, tell the same story for the hundredth time, and say his signature filler phrase of "ya know"!

He still has a long way to go before we can stop praying for his complete recovery, but the prayers are certainly working! I thank you all for your support, thoughts, and prayers.

Baby Steps

Things are still going REALLY slow. Dad is still sedated & on the ventilator. He developed abdominal bleeding and spiked a 103.5 temp Monday morning. All cultures have come back negative to this point. A full body CT was done, and it did show a little something in the stomach, but it was caught early and is being treated conservatively. It is possible it was caused by tube feeding. The bleeding slowed considerably by Monday evening and has now stopped. He continues to battle the fever. It goes up & down, but just won't go away.

Today the respiratory therapist did some breathing tests today to see if Dad is ready to be weaned from the ventilator. At this point he is only handling 25-30 minutes before he is taking too many breaths per minute. There is a very real possibility he will be having a tracheostomy. I know this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I would much rather have him off the ventilator.

I have been at the hospital nearly all day every day since after my dad went into surgery last Monday. Today was the first time I have left and not returned for an evening visit. While Dad is constantly on my mind, it feels good to be at home and not sitting at the hospital. I am so tired that I think I might be in bed by 8:00 tonight.

I thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers!

Dad

It has definitely been a roller coaster week!

This is going to be a long haul. My dad is (better become was) a smoker. The heart attack he had on Monday was major. The artery that was supplying blood to 80% of his heart was completely blocked. While having a cath they dissected the wall of the artery causing major bleeding. Even a slightly larger tear in the wall and he would have bled to death. There weren't any surgeons available to perform my dad's surgery until they pulled one out of a non-emergency surgery FOUR hours after he got out of the cath lab. That whole time he was still having a heart attack. As you probably know, surgery after being pumped full of blood thinners is risky, but it was necessary to repair the damage from the cath and to do a double bypass.

Tuesday brought a lot of bleeding. It was expected because of the circumstances. Before we left that night he was doing SO well that his doctors and nurses were pretty confident they would be able to take out the ventilator the next day.

About 1:00 Wednesday morning he took a turn for the worse. His blood was not oxygenating like it should, weight was up 34 lbs from pre-surgery weight and lungs were filled with fluid. He was given a paralytic, sedated even even further, and all breathing was done by the ventilator. It was thought he may have developed Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). (I know enough of what it is now, but haven't googled it because I don't want to read horror stories). My SIL's (a cardiac ICU nurse) reaction when she heard those words was enough for me. It is treatable, but can be fatal. It was the last thing she wanted to hear mentioned.

Yesterday was a better day. Dad was taken off the paralytic, but is still sedated and on the ventilator. He is doing a little over 50% of his breathing. His oxygenation numbers were good, but it still isn't clear if he has ARDS. One of the chest drainage tubes were removed. There were small steps in the right direction yesterday. He isn't completely out of the woods yet, but at least we're going in the right direction.

Please continue to keep our family, especially Dad, in your thoughts and prayers.

Update on Dad

The procedure my dad had this morning was to see if angioplasty would take care of a blockage in the Circumflex artery (think that was the name my brother said the doctor used). While trying to clear the blockage they broke through the wall. It as too risky to try again so he needs bypass. It will be 2-4 depending on what they find once they open him up.

He went into surgery around 3:00 PM central. It is expected to last 3-4 hours. Bob is on his way home from work, and we will head to the hospital shortly after he gets home.

Thoughts & Prayers Please

I got a call this morning that my dad had a heart attack while he was at work. He is going into surgery now. I will update you guys as soon as I know anything further. Thank you for your thoughts & prayers!

The Gun Show

As some of you know, Bob loves The Office -- especially Dwight K. Schrute! While shopping at Kohl's I found this shirt & could not pass it up!

Week of July 23 Training Totals

WEEK OF JULY 23

SWIM	BIKE	RUN/WALK*
0.5 miles	6.5 miles	6.5 miles
0hr 30min	0hr 25min	1hr 13min

It's not a lot, but at least I'm moving! I can tell the Couch to 5k is working. I feel better about my running after just six training runs.

Thursday Thirteen #29

I have been spending a lot of time this week removing wallpaper from the walls in our full bath. This is going to be a temporary fix until we put in tile, a new vanity, and counter. I hate the color of the counter in there, but need the paint color to work with it. I was thinking of going with an apricotish (Is that even a word? LOL!) color, but have changed my mind and will now go with some shade of lilac or lavender.

Since I changed my mind on the color, it means we will have to get a new shower curtain, valance, towels, and other accessories. When we do replace the items I mentioned earlier we are going with neutral colors so it will all still be usable.

Here are some of the things I have run across that I may pick up to use in our "new" bathroom.

Thirteen Bathroom Redecorating Possibilities

1. Shower Curtain (target.com)

2. Shower Curtain Rings (target.com)

3. Wastebasket (target.com)

4. Soap Pump (target.com)

5. Covered Jar (target.com)

6. Tumbler (target.com)

7. White Hand Towels (target.com)

8. Lavender Hand Towels (jcpenney.com)

9. Lavender Bath Rugs (target.com)

10. Light Fixture (homedepot.com)

11. Towel Hook (homedepot.com)

12. Towel Bar (homedepot.com)

13. Prints that were Bob's Grandma's
(On the floor in front of the window in the shot below.)

Whew! Finding, saving, and uploading all those pictures is a lot of work! I am heading back to the paper peeling now!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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A New Packer Charity Cap

From packers.com: The Green Bay Packers and American Family Insurance Monday announced the details of this year's charity cap campaign, an effort to raise money to support service men and women, veterans and their families.

This is the third such campaign for the two organizations. The previous two, pink and red caps, raised a total of nearly $1.5 million for Wisconsin charities fighting breast cancer and heart disease.

Through sales of the new, stone-washed black cap with the Packers' 'G' on the front, the American Family Insurance logo and a red, white and blue remembrance ribbon on the side, the two organizations will raise money for Wisconsin groups that support the people who currently serve or have served our county, and their families.

Funds raised will go to organizations focusing on health care needs, and family support and assistance. Specific charities or organizations will be selected this fall.

I've placed my order for one! Shhh, this one is for Bob! :)

Hooray for Erin

Congratulations to Erin on being accepted to law school! Way to go, girl! I knew you would do it! I am proud of you!

Will Bonds Make History in Milwaukee?

The buzz is in the air this weekend in Milwaukee. Barry Bonds & the San Francisco Giants are in town to play the Brewers this weekend. Barry is now 2 home runs away from Hank Aaron's home run record. If he hits one tonight, I don't think he will play again until the Giants are back home, but how crazy would it be if he tied Aaron's record in the town Aaron hit many of his home runs?

We will be at the game on Sunday. Word around town is that when Barry is up to bat instead of the boos he gets in other cities, he will instead be hearing chants of Hank, Hank, Hank! :)

Weekly Training Totals

I want to track my training time here and will try to remember to post my training totals each Friday. I will probably need a reminder note on the computer...lol!

WEEK OF JULY 16

SWIM	BIKE	RUN/WALK*
0.5 miles	0.0 miles	7.3 miles
0hr 30min	0hr 00min	1hr 30min

At the end of a month I will do monthly totals. This time will not include my strength training workouts for now.

*I edited the headings in the table because I inadvertently left out the walking included in the couch to 5K program. It is run training, but I don't run the full time -- yet. :)

Thursday Thirteen #28

Thirteen Childhood Memories!

1. Hearing my dad say, "See you at cookie time". My parents would come into our rooms to tuck us in, say our bedtime prayer, and say good night. As my dad closed the door, he dad would say to me "See you at cookie time". Cookie time was actually his breakfast. He would have two cookies with is cup of coffee. His "breakfast" cookies were always Nabisco Sugar Wafers.

2. Taking the last sip of coffee from dad's coffee cup after he was gone to work.

3. Going to the drive-in theater in pjs to see Benji, Lassie, Lady & the Tramp, etc with my family.

4. Sneaking change from my parents coin jar, riding my bike with my brother to the Penny Candy store, giving the owner our money and filling a bag with candy as she tells us how much we have left to spend. My favorites were the wax bottles, candy cigarettes, and candy buttons.

5. Cutting cattails from the ditch and setting up a stand to try to sell them. Five cents for a plain one ten cents with a cute curly ribbon attached. We didn't care there were thousands of cattails the people driving by could cut themselves for FREE...lol! By the way, we never sold one!

6. Swimming for hours with my brothers in our pool. My brother, Josh, would be full of goosebumps, shivering and have purple lips, but would insist he wasn't cold. LOL! He was probably 4 or 5 at the time and just wanted to be by his big brother & sister.

7. Spending the night in the "chicken coop". As I said before, I grew up in a 100+ year old farm house. It was not a working farm, but had all the buildings of one. In it's previous life our playhouse was a chicken coop. There were quite a few hot summer nights my brothers, step-sister & I would spend the night out there. I think Josh usually got spooked and had to go in the house...lol!

8. Ice skating with my brother on the frozen "ponds" and ditches all around us with my brother. There were times we could skate in the ditch for a mile! Of course, there were also the times the ice on the ditch cracked and we got soakers...lol!

9. Riding bikes up and down the LONG driveway for hours. Sometimes my brother & I would play "ET". That is where we took turns giving each other rides on the handle bars. Should I mention the time we fell and laughed so hard my step-sister & I wet our pants? LOL!

10. Playing games! Kickball and baseball on our little front yard diamond. Football in about only area in the front yard clear of trees. Dodge ball with the rotten apples that had fallen off the tree. (Mom didn't like that game...lol!)

11. Snowmobiling in our yard and the fields around us. My parents let us drive the snowmobiles by ourselves when I was 8 and my brother 6. (I can't imagine letting Olivia drive a snowmobile at six -- YIKES!!) One time my brother went up a steep snowbank and dumped me off the back of the snowmobile. I have a sneaking suspicion he did it intentionally.

12. Sledding down the hill in front of the house on those roll up sleds that wouldn't stay under you and the metal saucer thing. I think it was called the Super Saucer or something like that.

13. Going up to Eagle River, WI to spend time with our grandparents. This one sparks a whole new TT list of memories. What good times we had up there!!

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Passing Time

Can you think of a better way to pass time when waiting for the someone to come repair a dryer than peeling wallpaper? I couldn't...lol!

The "demolition" of the full bath has begun. Instead of the complete redo we were talking about over the winter, we decided to just paint for now. It needs it BAD! Since the kitchen is a more public room than our full bath, we decided we'll do the big budget redo there first. We are going to have the cabinets refaced and replace the counters. The kitchen probably won't happen until sometime next spring.

By the way, the dryer is all better. A couple of thermal sensors needed to be replaced. It's working like a charm once again.

Another Repair -- UGH!

Barely a month ago we had to call out a plumber to repair the flange on the toilet in the full bath. Now, we have to have an appliance guy out for the dryer. It just stopped heating. Anyone know how long it takes to tumble a load of towels dry without any heat? LOL!! It's probably the heating coil thing a ma bob, but I am not comfortable with adding gas appliance repair to my resumé.

This is when Bob says the house is falling down around us we should just sell it. It's really not, but doesn't it seem like everything happens at once? "They" say things happen in threes, but I am hoping "they" are wrong. ;)

Training for the Future

I found this Couch-to-5K program few years ago, but had forgotten about it when I began training for my triathlon. By the time I stumbled upon it again, I thought it was too late to change up what I was already doing.

Next year I want to be able to run the entire 3.1 miles, and this afternoon I took the first steps to assure that happens.

It's Up!

Scroll down to July 7th & July 8th entries to read about my first triathlon experience. If I could sign up today for next year, I would do it without hesitation! I have already set new goals and will begin to work on those next week. :)

Also Up

Triathlon Pictures! You can see the shots Bob & Olivia were able to get at flickr.com.

I should have a few more to post, but I don't know when I will have access to those. Danskin had photographers every step of the way. I am waiting to hear word those pictures are ready. My fingers are crossed they had a photographer at the finish line. Bob & Olivia were there, but didn't see me.

Thursday Thirteen

I am skipping the TT this week, but do not fear it will return next Thursday!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Tomorrow, I Promise!

Bob took a few days vacation this week. We have just been enjoying time together. I have my story ready to go. I will type it up and post tomorrow. In the meantime, here is a story to inspire...

http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/432483,181NWS4.article

Amazing, isn't it?

Tri THANK YOU!

The Danskin Triathlon was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I need sometime let everything soak in and write about the weekend. I want to express the emotion I felt during the event for all of you who supported me. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for that support. I could not have done this without you.

I Am a Triathlete

I was up just before 3:00 AM, and we were on the road by 4:20 AM. We had to catch a shuttle from Dairyland Greyhound Park to the race site. Parking and catching the shuttle were a piece of cake. (Erin was not so lucky! She left her house about an hour after we left ours. Arrived to near Dairyland at about 6:00 AM and waited in traffic for over an hour.)

Bob & Olivia were with me. I sat with them for a few minutes before I went to set up my transition area. Unfortunately, I made a rookie mistake when I racked my bike yesterday. I left too much space between my bike and the one on the end. My bike was "bumped" from the second to the third spot on the rack. Still easy to find.

I joined Bob & Olivia again for a little while. We were watching for Erin not knowing how she was stuck in the horrible traffic. The start of the race was actually delayed because of the traffic. They also allowed anyone who missed their swim wave to join one when they were ready.

At about 7AM I began walking over to the swim start area. A slow take in all the sights & sounds walk. As I walked along the run path, I wondered about the stories of these women. About half way along the path, I came across a woman who had just finished chemo treatments. Her complexion was beautiful & flawless. I will carry the image of her in my mind always. As I passed her, the emotion of the day began to hit me. A tear trickled down my cheek. As competitors continued to walk a man began to speak about Danskin Triathlon traditions and other things that would happen today. A beautiful instrumental played for a few minutes before the National Anthem. The woman who sang it had a beautiful voice. The emotion of the day hit me again at that point and a few more tears flowed.

It was now time for the triathlon to get underway. The first wave, The Elite, are brought down into the water. They have a few minutes with Sally Edwards, National Spokeswoman for the Danskin Women's Triathlon Series. The Danskin traditional countdown began. 10 9 8... and the first wave was off! The event I have worked so hard to prepare for is here.

The second wave, Survivors, is brought to the water. Just about 30 seconds until they are on their way. The following waves go every 4 minutes!

I finally spot Erin in the crowd. She didn't get to see the start of the event because of the traffic at the shuttle pick up site. While I missed her & am sad she missed the start of the event, I was (am) thankful I had that alone time to experience the sights, sounds, and emotions of the day.

Erin & I talked for a few minutes before I headed over to the swim start to join my fellow yellow capped, 35-39 year olds. We visited with one another. Talked about race numbers, triathlon training, our strengths/weaknesses, and triathlon experience. There was only one other woman near me who was a first timer. The veterans encouraged us! Suddenly, the crowd behind us and to the right began to roar. The first runner was coming by. She completed the .5 mile swim, the 12 mile bike, and part of the 3 mile run before we were even hitting the water. I would estimate she did that in less than 45 minutes.

As our group was "on deck" for the swim Disco Inferno by The Trammps played. We all sang and danced to keep loose and get pepped up. The 15th wave was off and that means we are next. Looking around I see a few women who look a little nervous about the swim. The group I was talking to all looked pretty confident. We are in the front line of the wave. I was front & center! :) One of the Danskin Angels, the swim volunteers, leads us in some cheering. Asks us a few questions about who we are going to pass first (pink caps -- wave 15), and who we aren't going to let pass (green caps -- wave 17). She then gave us a word to remember as we go through the day - FANTASTIC! We are to use that word to remind us we are fantastic swimmers, fantastic bikers, fantastic runners, and fantastic triathletes. The countdown begins 10 9 8... and we were off. It felt really great, but the sun glared made sighting something on shore very difficult. Twice I swam outside the buoys and had to swim back to the right. I still felt like I was making really good time. I could see myself passing pink caps and only saw one green cap pass me. Bob said in my wave there were only about six women out of the water before me.

Swim Time 00:16:28
Rank 1065/3919

I ran to my bike. T1 went quickly and pretty well. I know I can shave more time off of it for next year.

T1 Time 00:03:11

The bike was tough. A lot tougher than I had anticipated due to the high winds, the heat, and the HILLS! I also need to look into getting a road bike for these events. The wide mountain bike tires are killers on a road in a race.

Bike Time 00:57:07
Rank 3051/3919 (UGH -- definitely needs work)

I hopped off the bike at the dismount point and my legs felt like Jell-O -- not the bricks I was expecting. Ah, a watering station. I wove my way between the racks to my area. I racked my bike and I was off.

T2 Time 00:02:04

Ah, another splash of water before I ran. My legs didn't feel too bad at all when I began the run. I think to myself I might be able to run the whole thing. I guess I though that too soon because shortly I felt my heart rate soar. I slowed to a slow jog. A lady points out that I had forgotten to take off my helmet after the bike. Oh, crap (excuse my french...lol)! I take it off and try to figure out what I am going to do with it. I thought about throwing it down in the grass, but eventually I looped the strap onto my tank top. Looking back, I should have thrown it down. Bob saw me running with the helmet and when I took it off. He was trying to run after me to get it. He said it was pretty sad he couldn't catch me even after I had just finished the swim & the bike when he had done nothing but walk...lol.

The heat during the first half of the run was brutal. I did a little running and walking. I wanted to be able to RUN across that finish line and wanted to conserve that energy so I could. The watering station at about half way was a welcome sight. As was the Jelly Belly Sports Beans station, but neither of those were as good as the hose the firefighters had to spray us. I drank the water, ate half a package of the sports beans, and enjoyed the water from the hose. The course continued on about a quarter mile before we got to turn around and enjoy those three stations again. At the half mile left mark we got the biggest boost any triathlete could hope for -- an open fire hydrant! More pressure than that hose and just what I needed to refresh me for the home stretch. I ran the entire last mile and it was so exciting to see the word FINISH up ahead. Sally Edwards was there cheering us on, and as we crossed the finish line our names were announced and we were given a medal!

Run Time 00:43:40
Rank 3076/3919

Total Time 02:02:33
Overall Rank 2636/3919
Class Rank (35-39) 460/578

I did it! I am a triathlete!

Danskin Triathlon Expo

Erin & I arrived near the race venue at 10:00 AM. Right on time. The line of traffic waiting to enter the lot was backed up at least a mile. We sat & waited about 30 minutes before we were able to get into the lot & park.

We entered the Lakeview RecPlex at about 10:35 AM. The room was full of the buzz of excitement & anticipation of tomorrow's event.

Erin & I split up to make picking up race materials go more quickly. Turned out to be a great plan. Our lines were about the same length, and we finished at about the same time. When picking up our materials we found out our swim waves. I was wave #16 - Yellow & Erin was #28 - Purple. (The colors are the color of cap our wave wore.) We then had our timing chips scanned to verify all the information linked to them was correct.

Then we were off to pick up our shirts, swim caps, and great bag from Danskin. There were goodies all around from race sponsors. The best by far had to be the folding tool from the great people at Trek.

Neither of us thought the first timer's overview would help us with anything we could change the day before the race so we skipped it. There was still a lot of time until the next course overview so we decided to skip it too. I don't think we would have been any better prepared had we seen either one of those. We knew the course, we swam in that lake before, and were as pepped as we were going to be at that point in time.

We went back to the car to get out bikes for racking. The line for racking had to be about a mile long when we got back from the car. Fortunately, a volunteer opened another gate for racking & we weren't too far from it. We split up again to rack and met back at the gate. I got a great spot. My rack was about half way between the swim finish & the run start. I was lucky to be able to get a spot near the end of the rack. Erin got a great spot too, but she was closer to the bike start/finish than I was. At this point we were both hating the heat and were a little worried about how it would affect us tomorrow.

A quick stop at The Brat Stop for lunch, and then we headed home. I relaxed most of the afternoon & evening. I planned on heading to bed early, but wasn't that tired. I didn't want to lie in bed awake thinking about how I should be sleeping so I stayed up until about 10:30.

OH NO!

As you all know, the triathlon is Sunday! Look at the forecast -- 96 degrees with a "real feel" of 99 -- UGH! Hopefully, it will stay mostly cloudy. I hate to think of what that temp would say if it was supposed to be a clear day.

Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar

I will be drinking LOTS of fluids! Hopefully, not much of the fluid will be Lake Andrea water...LOL!

What a Sight

Several nights last week brought us beautiful sunsets! I took some shots on a couple of those nights and have loaded them to my flickr account! Enjoy!

Thursday Thirteen #27

Happy 100th week to the Thursday Thirteen! To help celebrate the gang at TT asked us to...

…write about your thirteen favorite Thursday Thirteen posts. You can write about thirteen of your own T13 posts, or you can write about the T13 posts of others that you’ve enjoyed. Be sure to link to each of the 13 posts you highlight so we can all check them out easily.

I have decided to respectfully decline rebel. There are SO many great TTs I have run across since I stumbled upon the TT meme. It would be a lot of work to go back and find all those that I enjoyed. (I will give you my three favorite 'teeners: This Eclectic Life, J's Thoughts & Musings, and Life is RANTastic! Actually, I enjoy reading their blogs daily!)


Instead I am reviving my 22nd TT to make sure I have everything I need for my triathlon. Yes, time is ticking. I can't believe it is Sunday!

Thirteen Things I Need to Bring on Triathlon Day!

1. Timing chip and strap (given with race materials during pick up Saturday morning)

2. Swim cap with race numbers (given with race materials)

3. Clear goggles & tinted goggles (CHECK!)

4. Towels (small to stage transition area, medium to dry feet before putting on shoes.) (CHECK! CHECK!)

5. Bike helmet with race number affixed to front (CHECK! given with race materials)

6. Fix-a-flat kit & bike pump (CHECK! CHECK!)

7. Running shoes/socks (CHECK! CHECK!)

8. Shirt I plan to wear during the run with race numbers pinned to it. (given with race materials)

9. Sunglasses (CHECK!)

10. Food/snacks to eat during and/or after race (CHECK! CHECK!)

11. Bottled water/fluid replacement drink on full bottle in cage on bike to drink during the bike leg. Additional fluids to enjoy after the race. (CHECK! CHECK!)

12. Sunscreen, chapstick, Body Glide, & pain meds (CHECK! CHECK! CHECK! CHECK!)

13. Cell phone (CHECK!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Happy Independence Day

Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

This image is from a few months ago. There was a storm approaching, and I loved the way our flag was waving in the high winds. I snapped about 25 shots of it before I took it down. The rain hit just a few minutes after I got this shot.

Matthew Mead Style

Oh man, I think I am in love! Check out the eye candy at matthewmeadstyle.

Check out those bowls. (Yes you, C!)

I Surrender

We have had painting the exterior trim, garage door, and fence on our to do list for about 2 years now. It took me all last summer to get the outside of the fence & the arbor painted. The inside still needs painting. We finally gave in and decided to hire someone. Two companies are coming out for estimates tomorrow, and I am waiting for return calls from two others.

I love to do those types of projects, but the weather never seems to cooperate when I have time to work on those jobs.

Thursday Thirteen #26

Our first 10 or so raspberries were ripe for picking yesterday! There are about twice as many ready today! There are SO many more that just aren't ready quite yet. For the next few weeks we will be in raspberry heaven. This is for those of you who want to plant a raspberry bush, but don't know how to take care of them. They really don't required as much work as you may think.

Thirteen Things About Raspberries

1. There are two categories of red raspberries. The common raspberry, which ripens in early to midsummer and the ever bearing raspberry. The ever bearing raspberry produces an early-summer crop on the old growth (previous season) and a fall crop on the new growth (current season).

2. Raspberries grow best in rich,well-drained soil.

3. Raspberries grow best in climates where the spring is lingering and slow to warm, but may succeed in warmer climates if the are grown in light shade.

4. A row or hill of raspberries will ordinarily produce good crops of fruit for 10 years or more, before they need to be replaced.

5. Raspberries should NOT be planted in where eggplants, peppers, potatoes or tomatoes have been grown within three years. They they are susceptible to disease associated with those plants. (Oops, the year we planted our raspberry bush it was right next to TWO tomato plants. It survived and is now too big to have anything else nearby.)

6. New plants should be planted in late fall or early spring and set into the soil 2 inches deeper than they were growing.

7. Newly planted summer bearing raspberries should be left alone for the first year to establish themselves. When buds begin to show the following spring, cut back to 3-5 canes per plant.

8. Raspberry plants should be fertilized in early spring with an all purpose 10-10-10 fertilizer.

9. Do NOT let raspberry plants dry out during flowering and fruiting.

10. In spring, shorten the canes to 3 feet and force the growth into lateral side branches along support wires. (I did not know this. It will make harvesting next year SO much easier.)

11. After a cane produces fruit it should be cut to the ground. The only exception is with the ever bearing raspberry. The second crop's canes should not be cut down as those will bear the next year's first crop of raspberries.

12. Never cut off the new canes which haven't produced yet, they will produce the next years crop. (I am guilty of this, but only it is the suckers that spout up where they shouldn't be. Bad canes...lol)

13. Raspberries are easily propagated by pinning the tip of the cane to the ground, where you want it to root. Once it is rooted, sever the new start from the parent plant. You can also propagate from the sucker growths which come up around the parent plant.

source: thegardenhelper.com

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Fantastic Fundraising

As promised, here is an update on my fundraising. I have raised money through the ChipIn! in the right sidebar here, the official Danskin online link, a letter campaign, and pink paper ribbons at a local restaurant. My total as of this afternoon, is $582*.

I am THRILLED. The day I signed up I set $250 as my goal. I had never raised funds for an event such as this for myself and thought my original goal was almost out of reach. I kept the faith, kept working hard, and I did it!

I could not do it without you! I thank you for your support and generosity from the bottom of my heart!

*This total does not include any donations sent directly to the address on the donation form I included with the letter.

Triathlon Fashion

I know it's not a fashion show, but I was a little worried about biking and running in a regular swimming suit with something else over the top. I found and ordered the solution. It arrived today, and I LOVE it!


It's an all in one suit! All I have to worry about after the swim is getting to my bike putting on my socks, shoes & helmet. I will also pull a shirt with my race number pinned to it over the top. Transition to the run will be park bike and remove helmet. Easy peasy!! :)

Erin & I headed out the lake for a .75 mile swim and 9 mile bike ride this morning. Since running is my weakest leg of the event, I will run twice this week. That's it for this week's training. My schedule calls for light training this week and next. The event is less than two weeks away! It's coming fast and I am so excited!

Tomorrow I will give you a fundraising update. It's exciting!

A Day at the Track!

Those of you who know me and know that the NASCAR Busch Series & Craftsman Truck Series were in Milwaukee over the weekend might think I am going to tell you that's the track where I spent the Sunday! It's not! Bob & I spent the day at Arlington Park with some friends. It was a beautiful day & a GREAT time! Here's one of the horse we placed a very small wager on. This is after he ran.

If I remember correctly, this horse's name is Life's Lesson!

We didn't win! Don't bet on horses was our life lesson of the day...lol!

CONFESSION!

Today was my day with grandma. We usually go to Culver's for lunch when we are together and today was no exception! The flavor of the day was Take 5, and I had a single scoop in a dish.

Bad girl...lol!

Thursday Thirteen #25

My favorite summer treat is frozen custard. So in honor of the first day of summer, I bring you a list of my favorite frozen custard flavors. Even though some of the flavors are pretty self explanatory, I am including the description to tempt your taste buds! These descriptions come from the website of our favorite frozen custard stops. Visit culvers.com to see if there is one near you.

I haven't had any in so long because it is high in fat, calories, sugar, etc. All things bad...lol! I am pretty sure I will be having a small dish very shortly after the triathlon! ;)

ETA: Don't think gross when you read frozen custard! It is not the stuff used to fill donuts frozen...lol! The difference between frozen custard and ice cream is that frozen custard is made with the addition of eggs. It is slow-mixed rather than whipped with air like ice cream. Then it is frozen. The result is a thick creamy frozen treat you will love. It is also served at a higher temp than ice cream and you can really taste that rich creamy flavor.

My Thirteen Favorite Frozen Custard Flavors

1. Apple Pie -- creamy vanilla custard and pie crust pieces with cinnamon apple chunks.

2. Butter Brickle -- specially blended butter pecan custard enhanced with all-time favorite chewy chunks of Heath Bar.

3. Butter Pecan -- specially blended butter pecan with way too many toasted pecan pieces.

4. Caramel Cashew -- legendary vanilla custard swirled with streams of sweet caramel and loaded with lightly salted cashews.

5. Cookie Dough Craving -- rich chocolate and vanilla custard swirled with cookie dough pieces.

6. Double Strawberry -- fresh strawberry custard swirled with sweet plump strawberries.

7. Just Drummy -- fresh vanilla custard loaded with Spanish peanuts and waffle cone pieces, then splashed with brittled chocolate coating.

8. Orange Creamsicle -- a dreamy blend of refreshing orange custard with real cheesecake pieces and Bavarian cream twirled throughout.

9. Red Raspberry -- a zesty tasting raspberry custard finished with whole sweet raspberries.

10. Star-Spangled Berries -- fresh vanilla custard with real strawberries and blueberries.

11. Take 5 -- pretzel, chocolate, peanut butter, caramel and peanuts blended with vanilla custard and ribbons of rich caramel.

12. Turtle -- velvety smooth vanilla custard and swirl in streams of sweet caramel, brittled chocolate coating and pecan pieces.

13. Turtle Cheesecake -- cheesecake custard swirled with caramel, bits of milk chocolate, toasted pecans and pieces of rich cheesecake.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Now Showing

My spring pictures have now been uploaded to flickr. You can see them here!

Spring Blooms

Spring 2007...

Front "porch"!

Close up of planter in plant stand.
I love the colors of this planter & the little white flowers smell SO good!
Anyone know what they are?

Meadow sage in front yard!

Meadow sage & weigela in front yard.

I will be adding more to my flickr photos later. Right now a pretty wild storm is on it's way to our area. I will be logging off for a while. Probably so I can capture some cool storm cloud pictures. Yes, I'll be careful!

My DOH! Moment

I had one of those moments today! A little over a year ago I got a new cell phone. A Razr (pink, of course). Until today I didn't know how to turn it to speaker phone. Bob called while I was in the grocery store, and I accidentally hit a button that put his call on speaker phone. I could not figure out how to turn it off. I thought when I disconnected the call it would, but no. I fiddled with it for a little bit, but ended up abandoning my cart to go outside to call him back. It was a short phone call and luckily no one took my cart thinking they had to put it away! I had to pull out my book to figure it out, but now that I know how it works I might actually use it! :)

When was your last DOH! moment?

Thursday Thirteen #24

Back in May my TT prior to Mother's Day was quotes about moms and motherhood. I felt like I couldn't leave out dad so here's 13 quotes about fathers!

Thirteen Quotes about Fathers/Fatherhood

1. Any man can be a father, but it takes a special person to be a dad. (Proverb)

2. Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice. (Author Unknown or Proverb? I find it listed as both in my searches!)

3. By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong. (Charles Wadworth)

4. A father is someone who carries pictures in his wallet where his money used to be. (Author Unknown)

5. The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. (Theodore Hesburgh)

6. One of life's greatest mysteries is how the boy who wasn't good enough to marry your daughter can be the father of the smartest grandchild in the world. (Proberb)

7. My father was often angry when I was most like him. (Lillian Hellman) How true is this? The things Olivia does that frustrate me most are the ones I have done.

8. My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass"; "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply. "We're raising boys". (Harmon Killebrew) I love this one!

9. Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope. (Bill Cosby)

10. A father is a banker provided by nature. (Proverb)

11. He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. (Clarence Budington Kelland)

12. A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty. (Author Unknown)

13. There are three stages of a man's life: He believes in Santa Claus, he doesn't believe in Santa Claus, he is Santa Claus. (Author Unknown)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Open Water Swim

Sunday morning my friend Erin & I met in the lot at a local McDonald's bright & early to set out for Lake Andrea (this is where the tri will take place)! There is lap swimming available in Lake Andrea each morning from 7 - 10. We decided to face this beast so we know what to expect on race day.

I cannot describe the anxiety we felt seeing that lake in person knowing we would have to swim across it, but not knowing what part we would have to swim. We thanked our lucky stars when the very helpful lady in the pool house knew. She also knew how many laps we had to swim to equal approximately the distance across between the points she showed us. It didn't look so bad.

We changed into our suits, headed to the sand. Put our toes in the water, it was cold. Walked in a little further, it was cold and there is squishy green stuff under our feet. We walked a tiny bit more, it was cold! Count of three, we're going under. This isn't so bad!! We swim the short distance to the lane markers. The lane was approximately 180 meters. We swim one and the whole time we are thinking what did we get ourselves into? LOL! The next lap was even better. We swam six laps! That was just over 1180 yards. We only need to swim 880 in the event. We think we can do this.

Sunday morning we are following the same plan, but we are going to bring our bikes along and ride after our swim. Anyone care to join us? ;)

Remind Me

Next time I say "whew" remind me not to! I thought things would get back to normal around here after that. Well, needless to say they did not! (Jenny was right!)

Friday after Bob got home from work we were all on the second floor of our house. There are two bedrooms, the den (really a bedroom), the line closet and a full bath. I went downstairs to move a load of laundry from the washer to the dryer, but stopped at the counter in the kitchen when I noticed water on the counter. It wasn't a big puddle. More like someone had accidentally sprayed the counter with the sprayer from the sink. While trying to figure it out where it came from I feel water drip on me. I look up to see the paint on the ceiling bubbled and water running out!

It turned out to be the beeswax ring around the toilet upstairs. It only leaked when flushed so I shut off the water and put it out of commission for the night. The next morning I went to the hardware store for the items I need need. Replaced the ring, put the toilet back on. Later that night the toilet was leaking again, but just on to the floor next to it this time. Thank goodness it wasn't to the kitchen again. So I took the toilet apart for the second time in as many days. The toilet flange (a drain pipe fitting that allows you to securely connect a toilet to the actual piping) was broken. I don't have the strength or tools to fix that. So it was plumber time! I spent today waiting for him to show and had the privilege of handing him nearly $400. Better than the approximate $550 the first guy estimated over the phone.

Thanks to the leak on Friday night, I have to move paint the ceiling of the first floor up on my to do list. There aren't any headers over the doorways to the rooms on there so I have to paint the entire ceiling! I am thankful that the water mark left is above a cabinet and not very noticeable. It dried fine and won't need much repair other than a tiny bit of spackle , a coat of primer and paint!

Can someone say UGH for me! ;)

Triscuits, I Think I Love You

While grocery shopping a few weeks ago, I picked up Cracked Pepper & Olive Oil Triscuits. Today, I had my first taste of them! Oh my, they are SO good and pretty good for me too. As long as I don't eat the whole box...lol! I didn't! *snicker* I topped them with Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss Cheese! It was a nice treat for my morning snack! :)

Thursday Thirteen #23

My 86-year-old grandmother was diagnosed with osteoporosis about two weeks ago. She met with her doctor yesterday and will be taking a once monthly osteoporosis pill along with doubling her dosage of calcium/vitamin D.

She is the type of woman who sweats the small stuff. Complains about her health when she should really be thankful because is in really good health -- especially for an 86 year old! There are many, many people far younger deal with much more than she ever has. She is freaking out about having to take a pill and already worrying out which side effect she is going to have. (For those who don't know she reads every letter of print that comes with a medication and every time says she has one of the side effects about 12 hours after taking the new pill.)

To help her understand her diagnosis I have been doing a some reading on osteoporosis. I thought I would share some of the risk factors for those who may not know them. Some I knew. Some I did not.

Thirteen Osteoporosis Risk Factors

1. being older than 65

2. breaking a bone after age 50

3. having poor vision, even with glasses

4. starting menopause before age 45

5. having a close relative with osteoporosis or who has broken a bone

6. smoking

7. having more than two alcoholic beverages several times a week

8. being underweight

9. having never gotten enough calcium

10. being inactive

11. falling

12. having one of the following medical conditions: hyperthyroidism, chronic lung disease, Cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic hepatic or renal disease, vitamin D deficiency, Cushing's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis

13. taking one of these medicines: steroids, cancer treatments (radiation, chemotherapy), thyroid medicine, anti epileptic medications, immunosuppressive agents.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Lots of TaDas Today

Today was one of those days when your to do list seems longer than the hours in the day. Thankfully, most of the things on this list today were finished quickly. It feels good to cross seven things off my list today!

mow & trim lawn
plant window boxes
hang picture
install curtain rods
hang valances
swim 35 minutes
go to grocery store

It isn't time for bed yet so I have time to get more done...lol!! Laundry & sewing are on my list for tonight. The sewing will be nice relaxation after a long day!

Whew!

The last ten days or so have I have been so busy they have just flown by! I think my schedule will return to "normal" for a bit before Olivia is done with school. She has 5 real (I use that term loosely this time of year) school days, one day long trip to Six Flags, and a half day left. I can't believe next year is high school!

I will be glad to be back to blogging. I have missed reading many of my favorite blogs during this busy time and look forward to getting back to you all!

My Thursday Thirteen will return this week as well! :)

Small Plane Crashes In Lake Michigan

A Cessna Citation aircraft went down in Lake Michigan about 20 minutes from our house today -- only a short walk from my mom & step-dad's house. The FAA said it lost contact with the plane at about 4 PM. There isn't any word yet of how many on board.

Since my step-dad flies a small plane, I always worry when I hear about these small planes going down. My prayers & thoughts go out to the families of those on board!

Editing to update: They are saying may have been a medical transport plane carrying transplant organs. There were six on board.