The "M's"

Okay, here's a fun game we can all play...
If you want to play, leave a comment on this post letting me know, and I'll assign you a letter. You post ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter. When people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on and on. I promise that no one will get "J,X,Q,U or Z." My cousin Felicia at http://windchasers.blogspot.com/ gave me "M". So, here it goes:

1. M&M's: This is just one of the best candies! Simple, brightly colored, small and fun to share.

2. Mom: She's an awesome lady. What can I say. She is dedicated to her family. She has honesty with kindness. I love how she always has time and energy for her grandchildren. Plus,(and here is a little known fact about Alice) in my entire life, I have only ever heard her swear once!



3. Massachusetts: It's the home of Cape Cod and Boston. Two of my favorite places in the world. Mountains in the west, ocean on the east-It's got it all.

4. Milk: It does a body good! I love it with cookies, pizza, and brownies. I should drink more of it.

5. March: The birthday month for Me, Kevin and Shayna. I love my birthday. And, I think that on any given day of the year, Shayna can tell you exactly how many days there are until March 9th.

6. Mackenzie: My bicycling, basketball playing, tree climbing little girl. She seems to have inherited my need for speed. She loves her brother and sister intensely. She is fiercely independent. She loves to learn new things, and is shy around people she doesn't know. She has an awesome and infectious giggle.



7. Mystery novels: It's not my favorite genre, but any book is a good book.

8. Monkeys: They crack me up! Any breed, any size. I could watch them all day. I especially love to watch the mommas with their babies. The nurturing instinct is incredible.

9. Massage: I admit I've never had a professional massage, so my experience is limited. But the power of touch is a great thing.

10. "Medal Boy": A few years ago, Kevin and I entered a small 5K run. The first 3 finishers in each age group were awarded a medal. You guessed it: Kevin came in 3rd in his age group. He had no idea, and as they called his name, I turned to find him stuffing 3 cookies into his mouth at once. For weeks he walked around the house wearing the stupid medal. He even wore it outside to rake the leaves that year. On a daily basis, he would insist that Shayna and I call him "Medal Boy". It still makes me laugh out loud when I think of it.

My Little Jack!

Since I haven't posted many of this little guy, here he is...

He has always been fascinated with the vacuum cleaner


He loves to "nuggle" his Moma


Jack in the Box!


Eating peanut butter ( a very recent photo)


He makes me laugh every day!

This week in Review

Here are a few cool things that happened this week:

1. Mackenzie received a "Student of Charactor" Award at school. This was a big deal, because the teachers nominate only 3 students every 10 weeks. My parents joined us at the awards ceremony.


2. Friday night Lincoln Log construction site. This was Kenzie's original creation.


3. My Training Log:

My training week runs Monday thru Sunday, so this week is not quite finished! But I've managed to stay focused all week.

4. New Earrings! I received a gift in the mail on Thursday. It was a package with new earrings from my cousin, and I LOVE them. They are blue beads and so cool. It was a very thoughtful gift.

5. I've signed up for a 4 mile race. This is the longest organized run I have ever done. It's scheduled for 3/7/09. I'm pretty excited about this, because it's proof that I'm getting ready for the Oly Tri in August.

6. An empty closet! I went through my stuff and got rid of everything that was too big or really old. This is what was was left!

Sorry, no Jack Pictures this week. I'll "spotlight" his antics later in the week.

Peace

What NOT to give your wife for VD..

Here is my list, comprised from hearing many horror stories over the years:

1. A stuffed animal. No self respecting woman over the age of 13 really wants a stuffed animal as a gift. Not for any occasion.

2. A vacuum cleaner. Especially when the reason is something like this: "Well my vacuum in the garage broke, so I thought I'd give you the new one and take the old one to use out there."

3. Chinese food ordered in.. UNLESS she suggests it. Otherwise, it just looks like your trying to skimp out on the holiday. In which case, be a man and admit you don't want to "do" Valentines day.

4. Lingerie-unless you know for a fact she loves to wear it. As in, she wears it even if you're not around. Otherwise, it's really a gift to yourself. Because, trust me, it's never comfortable stuff.

5. That piece of jewelry at the chain store that's been marketed like crazy for the past month. It's unoriginal which makes it unromantic. Sorry. If you're doing jewelry, put some thought into it.

And last but not least...
6. An actual VD.

PS: Kev- if you're reading this, new running shoes spell romance to me!

More pictures!

Kevin, preparing to "teach" me how to cut onions without crying. I believe I told him that since he had pefected the technique, he could cut all the onions from now on!


Pirate Mack! Halloween of 2007!


My Love.


Mom and Dad with the Northeast grandchildren. I love catching my Dad in such tender moments.

Why?

In a recent post, http://beginningcyclecommute.blogspot.com/ asked "Why?" He was refering to bicycle commuting, but I started asking myself the same question about Tri's. Here is one of my initial answers:
One of the things that I love about triathlons is that each of the three sports provides me with different training opportunities. This includes how and what I think about when I am training.
Swimming is great when I need to clear my head and NOT think. This is what swims around in my brain while I'm in the pool: " lap 1...lap 1...touch wall, half way to lap 2. Lap 2, lap2, lap 2, touch wall, half way to lap 3. Wait. Am I on lap 3 already? No, I can't be. touch wall. Now I'm on lap 3." Somewhere around lap 12 I start thinking "I might actually be going backwards, I'm going so slow". This lengthy sentence always causes me to loose track of what lap I'm on.My rule of thumb when I lose track, is to go back to the lowest number. You get the picture. It goes like this for atleast 20 laps. Until I achieve total nothingness. By the time I'm done, my mind is numb, and I don't remember what I was stressed about before I hit the pool.

Running is great when I am frustrated/agitated/annoyed/confused. I can pound it out, and leave the problems on the pavement. I can get lost in the run and feel like I'm in control of body, if not anything else in my life. Running is also great when I'm feeling happy or proud of something. Then I feel like I'm flying (even at my turtle pace.) I love the heart pounding, legs cramping, side splitting open- feel after a good run. I love how 10 minutes after a run I'm thinking, "I could've done better. I could've pushed harder." if I'm still standing.

Biking is for the pure fun of it. It's the speed and the wind and sun. And did I mention the speed? It's not uncommon for me to laugh out loud when I'm biking. I try not to do this around people, so that I don't scare them. But, sometimes I can't help myself. Even when I'm grinding up a killer hill, I'm still having fun. Even when my quads feel like they are going to rip away from the bone, I'm still loving it. It's hard to be in a bad mood after a bike ride.

So, why do you do what you love? What makes you love it, whether it's tri's, some other sport, or something artistic?

Found pictures!

Actually, I found the USB cord for my camara!

So I just downloaded over 500 hundred pictures! Here are a few of my favorites from the past couple of years!


My guys with their horns.




Reaching for the sky!




What a strong marriage looks like.




Me and my Shayna-Bop!

Addicted to blogging?

Here's a quick and easy test I found on http://lezzymom.blogspot.com/

71%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

How do you do?

I'm irresponsible...

But so is NYS DMV.

I shall share this embarrassing story with you all, in the hopes that some one, some where, might learn from it. Perhaps some one who works for NYS DMV!

I was stopped by the Watervliet police today. I failed to come to a complete stop at a stop sign before making a right hand turn. Absolutely. I agree. I deserve the ticket.I will say right now, out loud for all to hear, that the Watervliet officer who stopped me was very kind, and not an arrogant cop at all.

So, I was stopped, and the cop ran my license. Now here is the ridiculous part... Apparently my license has been suspended. Since 2001! 8 years people!! I got a speeding ticket in East Greenbush in 2000, and apparently never paid it. That was the irresponsible factor from me.

But, in the past 8 years, I have renewed my license, changed my name, and my address twice! No one, at any time ever informed me that my license was actually suspended! How does that happen? How can DMV let me renew a suspended license?

Really, does this make sense to anyone? If it does, please enlighten me.

The good news is that the officer was kind and didn't impound my car, or put me in cuffs. Or charge me bail. All of which he could have done, since driving with a suspended license is a misdemeanor. The bad news is that Jack and Kenz weren't with me, because they would have been thrilled to see a real police precinct!

There is no moral to this story that I can find. But since it made Shayna laugh hysterically when I told her earlier,I just thought I'd share it with the rest of you.
Peace.