Friday, March 28, 2014

Viva Las Ragnar


And here it is.... the beginning of the major procrastination. I am supposedly packing for the So Cal Ragnar Relay via fabulous Las Vegas. Really? Am I REALLY packing if I am sitting at my computer listening to iTunes and blogging? In my defense I hardly ever blog anymore and I'm officially on vacation, so I'm allowed to slack! Technically I am working on MF's race shirts and hooking him up with some pirate action, so I am preparing in my own way!


My spare bed is covered with all things Ragnar. Not just tech clothes and gels, but eye patches, bandannas, pom poms, a pirate hat, sword and much more along those lines. I may not have been able to train at all (thank you, Meniere's Disease), but dang it my mind is so ready that I know I'll pull through and do my best! *With regard to Meniere's ... I gave in, bought a cane and I'm nearly over feeling embarrassed about it. Now I just joke that I am some old lady that will defend everybody by shaking her cane around. I'm hoping to find one that is ME when I'm in Vegas! I have multiple packing lists to check off and I am seriously hoping I do not forget to add the Girl Scout cookies. I feel that is a must-have item if you are going to be running and living in a van with 5 other people for a couple days. The other day I realized I am the only person in Van 1 who has actually met all the other members in person before. I'm such a social butterfly!

Gpa and I in Vegas the night before my wedding.
With Vegas coming in just a couple of days I am trying to take care of important things... i.e. what rewards do I want to get from the myVegas game on facebook. So far I have us lined up for a trip to the Minus 5 ice bar at the Monte Carlo. I'm pretty excited about that since not only will I be there with Man Friend, but also my mom, step-dad AND my 87 year old grandpa! This is Grandpa's THIRD trip to Vegas in less than a year's time. We actually went to Las Vegas together back when I was in college and still had braces and wasn't old enough to drink. He and I took my Grandma and pushed her in a wheel chair up and down the Strip. It was pretty fun. I was flattered with a person at the MGM Grand thought I worked there and asked where the Baccarat tables were! I blame my incredibly awesome pant suit that I bought for my professional attire when I went on my first Disney internship. Anyway... Man Friend will be celebrating his birthday in Vegas, so I'm thinking we should find something fun and different to do for him. As it is we get to start out his day by having breakfast at Margaritaville! Fins up!!

I think that's it. My feet smell. I should probably go wash them. And maybe I will use this Sharpie to label my Ragnar clothes bags... because of course I gave way too much thought into what I was wearing for each leg.

Why are you still reading? I'm done! I'M ON VACATION!!!!

Saturday, March 15, 2014

All Sorts of Procrastination

All the men from my wedding!
Since I last posted I was in my first car accident as a driver. I was rear-ended on the way to work. The sad thing is I pretty much saw it happening. First the driver behind me almost hit me because his face was buried in his phone. Luckily he looked up and stopped just in time. Well then the next thing I know, his face is back in his phone and his big truck is coming right into the back end of my car. I was NOT pleased. Fortunately I wasn't hurt, just got a little stiff and sore as the day went on. But now my car is fixed and looking as pretty as ever - cleaned inside AND out! Yay!

My new family has moved out, returning to their various home hours away. *We even had the company of our Best Man all the way from Alaska! It's been eerily quiet in our house. It used to be two stories with 4 cats and a dog, and various amounts of people (never less than 6) living here. At one time we did have 15 people and all the pets in here at one time. Now it is just Man Friend, myself, our two cats and my dog. Davey Jones has been hanging out more often as well, which makes me happy. Davey, as you may recall, is the cat that was here when we moved in. 

We had a fun family day at the coast last weekend. We had a two vehicle caravan to Bandon, Oregon. It was so nice there! No rain, but a TON of wind. Crazy wind. Windiest I've ever been in other than the three hurricanes I had to go outside in when I lived in Florida. Getting out of our house and just being silly with everyone was needed I think. Saved us from a case of cabin fever, a la The Shining!


Teaching my sister-in-law about housewife life!
In running news, I bought myself two new pairs of shoes a couple of weeks ago. I am loving the New Balance shoes I picked out solely because they are bright turquoise and hot pink. They are just so light and I swear they put a bounce in my step. I've been regularly running, just not the longer distances I used to. I decided I am training for Ragnar 2 mile runs at a time! And so speaking of Ragnar, I've officially started laying out all of my race clothes and gear. For those of you that haven't done a relay before, they seem to be pretty strict on what you MUST have and things you CANNOT have (sorry, Captain Morgan, you have to
stay home). I've never lived in a van for two days before, so I am trying to make sure I don't forget anything important ... like deodorant! We are hitting Las Vegas on our way to San Diego, so that's extra stuff I have to figure out how to pack. So stressful... and I love it!

And lastly, anybody else heading to Walt Disney World this November for the Wine & Dine Half Marathon? That race (both the half and 5K) sold out crazy fast, and I am happy to say Man Friend and I got in before it was capped. Phew! I've already booked a hotel room and watched my vacation planning DVD a couple times. So what if I go every year? I NEED to plan, dang it! 

Now I must stop procrastinating. Now that it is just the two of us in the house we are attempting to unpack and decorate. I'm getting rather sick of cardboard boxes so I should just get busy and move in!

Saturday, March 1, 2014

When Life Gives You Lemons....


.....make margaritas! But in this case I have made a lot of lemonade, literally and figuratively. 


Lemon: Had a great run only to return to my car and see that I grabbed the wrong key and am locked out. 

Lemonade: I am enjoying the sound of the river and using the quiet time to begin to write this post. 

Lemon: I've been having a lot of Meniere's attacks lately causing me a lot of difficulty walking and sitting upright on my own. 

Lemonade:  I gave in and bought myself a folding cane as a tester before buying one that is more colorful and more Me. Now I feel like I can actually get places alone and not worry about looking drunk and possibly falling over!

Lemon: Taking 2013 off from legit running and training for big races has caused me to almost feel like I'm starting over. 

Lemonade:  Since I feel like I'm starting over I have extra motivation to work hard and get to set new goals for myself all over again! Plus I got myself 2 new pairs of running shoes just to boost my motivation!

Lemon:  My darling mother in law spent the last couple weeks of her life in our home before setting off to whatever her post life journey will be. Leukemia sucks, big time!

Lemonade:  Yes, I CAN find a positive....it's under the saddest conditions, but I got to spend time with her and the rest of my new family. There were downs but we also had ups. You can't help but bond when you are all together through all of these things. I feel like I scored. All of my new family members are awesome! I'm a lucky girl. It's crazy how much life can change in less than a year, and even more crazy how much you can see it change just over the course of a week or days. Go hug your family now while you can, 'cause you just never know!