BeeGees take 2nd at State!

We came in second overall at the state meet this past weekend! Our best finish ever. I had a really good meet. Set best times in all my events. They are not lifetime best times, but Master Swimming best times. :)

Before I bore you with the details of my races, I have to say this weekend was totally inspiring and motivating because Masters swimming isn't just about breaking records (like 46-year old John Smith who broke the National Master record in the 100 free) or winning almost every event you swim (like Susan van der Lippe) but it was about the 85 year old man who still dove off the blocks and competed against the other two 80-something year old men - who by the way completed every single event they entered. And it is about our own BeeGee, Ruth, who at 75 years old completed the 200 fly (along with several other events) without breaking a stroke or getting DQ'd (she also does open water swims!!!). To know that I have the opportunity to still compete for the next 50 years is either totally psycho (great she said sarcastically, I have to do this for the next 50 years) or totally cool (yeah she said I get to do this for the next 50 years!). I chose the latter for sure!

Two days before I swam it was shave down time. Oh yeah, I went old school and grow out the hair on my legs. It wasn't as much fun as it was in the past. Imagine that. Dan begged me to wait two weeks before the meet instead of the two months that I did. Sorry Dan! I'll spare you the pictures. :)

Saturday was a long day. My sister Debbie came to cheer us on, Dan was home sick the whole weekend. :( I swam 5 individual events and 2 relays. First relay of the day was the women's 200 Medley Relay, I swam fly. It was nice the first race of the day was a relay, gently ease into the meet. Next up, the 100 IM. I was so nervous I thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest. I was in lane 10 (I have never swam in a meet where we use 10 lanes) and couldn't hear the starter. I actually saw the gal next to me leave the blocks and that's when I left. Late start but I knocked 3 seconds off my time. I was thrilled! Nice pike in the dive, not sure where that came from, but you can totally see how late I was off the blocks.

50 breast was next. Again, the nerves set in. I had the pre-race bathroom jitters pretty much before each race. How long have I been doing this??? 50 breast was great. I knocked 1.5 seconds off my time. I was on a roll. Then came the 100 fly. I really psyched myself out with this one. I was super nervous my shoulders would not make 4 laps of fly. They did but my time was kind of sad (I hadn't swam this event in over 13 years, so technically I got a Master best time). At that point I looked at it as having a time to beat for next year and I earned some team points! I made up for the fly with my 50 free. It was a near perfect race. First one off the blocks (I was in lane 2 right by the starter), I actually kicked the whole time (I'm not a freestyler and my kick isn't always happening) and I didn't breathe that much, it was just great. I knocked 1.5 seconds off my time and hoped to get first in my heat but was out touched by one-tenth of a second. Oh well. I was totally excited and pumped for my next race the 100 back. I just went for it. What did I have to lose? Just like the 100 fly, I hadn't swam this event in over 13 years so my time was great. I had a goal time in mind and reached it. Finally the day ended with a mixed (2 men/2 women) free relay. By the time I got home, I was starving and exhausted. My muscles felt like they were vibrating. I tried to take a nap but was too tired and restless. I ordered a pizza, watched some TV and eventually made it to bed by 8:30. I couldn't believe I had to do it all over again the next day.

I woke up Sunday morning to snow on the ground (it was 70 on Saturday!). Thank goodness we swam inside! I know Sunday would be a bit easier than Saturday as I only had 6 events - 4 individual and 2 relays. But as I stretched that morning, every muscle ached. Gotta love lactic acid! I started the day with the 200 mixed medley relay. I swam the breaststroke and didn't feel great. Next was the 50 back. Yeah for 50's! I knocked a second off my time and felt great. 100 free next and I did fine but I was getting tired. Barely made my goal time. 3 down only 3 more events left I thought. So next was the 50 fly. I wasn't in the fastest heat so I thought I had a good chance to win my heat. I went all out but got out touched by a tenth of a second. Oh well, dropped my time by 1.5 seconds. Nice! Two more races. 100 breast was next and well, I got totally into my head with this one. This was "my race" as a youngster and haven't been able to get it together for quite some time. I thought I was going to pass out on the blocks I was so nervous. My seed time was way too fast, I was swimming right next to Susan van de Lippe, the 1988 Olympic medalist in this event and will be going to the Olympic trails this June. I'm just glad I have another year to work on it. Finally the last relay, 200 free relay.

Sidenote... just like Mike, I too got fourth, in 4 of my individual events! Yes they gave out ribbons and yes I made sure I got all of mine. Hey, I need proof!

Ahhh, the meet is over and it is tailgate time! We grilled burgers and dogs, drank some celebratory beer and chatted about a great weekend for everyone.

Next up for some people, Nationals in Austin. For me...that's TBD!

Good Luck BeeGees!!!

Today is the first day of the Colorado masters state swim meet. I'm swimming Saturday and Sunday. Go BeeGees!!!

Happy Easter!

We hope everyone has a beautiful day! The Easter Bunny brought us snow. What did he bring you?

Holy Moley!

Go Nuggets!!!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Crazy Colorado Weather

Guess this is what they mean by crazy Colorado weather. This weekend it was warm and sunny, well warm for us, in the 50's.

Tonight we are under a...

HEAVY SNOW WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM MDT MONDAY.A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW WILL CHANGE TO ALL SNOW THIS EVENING.THE SNOW WILL THEN INCREASE IN INTENSITY DURING THE LATE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT HOURS. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 9 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED BEFORE THE SNOW DECREASES MONDAY AFTERNOON. A HEAVY SNOW WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL...KEEP AN EXTRAFLASHLIGHT...FOOD...AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.


I love it here!!!

My Pilates Teacher Training started today (yeah!!!) and ends December 23. Most people are so surprised to find out it is a 10 month training program, but that is normal. You want a Pilates teacher that has practical experience not someone who just read a book and memorized the sequence of exercises. I'm super excited to start this new chapter in my life but it is a bit overwhelming with the additional studio hours we have to put in and learning the anatomy. So, if you are looking for a Certified Pilates teacher in 10 months, give me a call. Or you can always stop by the studio and receive a discounted rate on a private session if you have one of us trainees teach you when we begin our apprentice teaching.

My Least Favorite Holiday

Tonight Daylight Saving Time begins. We lose one hour of sleep. For someone like me who thinks a power nap is at least two hours, this stinks. Oh well, on a bright note, the days are longer and more opportunity to get out and enjoy it!

Happy Birthday Debbie!!!

Annual Girls Weekend!

Oops, I forgot to post this. Wish I was more like Beth and posted something almost everyday. She is a very good blogger.

It was that time of the year again where my two girlfriends, Nicole and Angie, and I meet somewhere for a rowdy weekend of watching TV, shopping and going to the spa. This year we met in the OC. So I decided to make a mini vacation out of it before I met the girls to see family and friends.

I went on a lot of walks with my mom and Henry.

Went to my favorite coffee place, "The Bean." Sadly, though, I spilled my vanilla iced blended all over my parents carpet so I didn't get to enjoy it.

My mom and I got our nails done - lookin' purtty!

Bates Girls! The visit wouldn't be complete without a night out with my Bates Girls. Some of the best gals in advertising.

I got to visit with my dear friend Dawn. She just had her second baby boy, Logan. He is incredibly precious and so good! For only five days old, he was already very focused.

Here he is, with mom Dawn, a little hungover after lunch.

Finally, the girls trip!!! Me, Ang and Nic.

We were sent some edible fruit and champagne. Here's our valet, preparing the yummies for us. We were there for maybe 10 minutes and Nic and Ang were already texting the family back home.

Lookin' good and off to dinner. Then back to the room to watch TV. We are so exciting!

Went to the beach....

Saw some dolphins (the black dots in the pictures).

Last night before we leave and head back to different states. Yes, we purposely bought matching t-shirts. And just so there isn't any confusion, Nic was a cheerleader and Ang was a pom pom or was in pom. And there is a difference. I was neither so I couldn't tell you.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here we are at our traditional Valentine's dinner hotpost - IHOP!

~xoxo~

Happy Birthday, Dan!!!

Dinner

Our house came with a double oven in the kitchen (where else would it be???). Fabulous right? Well, personally I would have preferred a double MICROWAVE oven. How can you cook a quick meal with only one microwave? With one microwave, it takes a good 15 minutes to make Dan's dinner. If I ever have money to remodel my kitchen... one can dream can't she?

Congratulations Jordan!!!

Congratulations to Jordan Romero, age 11, on his successful summit of Mt. Aconcagua. He is attempting to become the youngest person to successfully summit the eight highest mountains in the world (I thought there were only seven, but apparently there is some controversy about this so he is covering his bases and climbing them all). Four down, four to go. Props to Karen and Paul (his stepmom and dad respectively) on summitting all four with Jordan as well.

Titanic

We (Deb, Dan and I) went to the DMNS on January 1 to see the Titanic Exhibit. I highly recommend this to everyone if it comes your way. I learned so much about the ship, the happenings prior to the voyage and the passengers and why they were traveling on the Titanic. The artifacts they recovered were amazing and some were still in very good condition. It was an incredible history lesson. We all received a "boarding pass" of one of the passengers at the beginning of the tour. At the end of the tour we would find out if "we" lived or died. This boarding pass actually told a lot about the passenger - their age, class, cabin #, reason for traveling and other passenger facts. My lady, Helene Baxter, survived along with her daughter and son's fiance. Unfortunately her son died. I actually was very sad to learn of his fate. I really became engrossed with this ship and its history. Later that night, I went here to learn more about Helene, the Titanic and the stories of the other passengers. Deb's lady, her husband and brother-in-law all survived; and Dan's guy, his wife and their son survived. Go see this exhibit, or check out this site to learn more! (gee, I sound like a commercial.)

On a sidenote, Dan noticed this very funny sign at the musuem.

Happy New Year!!!

Ok, a little late, sorry. We hope everyone has a healthy, happy and adventurous new year!

Broncos and Socks

Deb and I went to the final Broncos game of the season last Sunday. We had our usual treeline seats.

Our QB played pathetically at the beginning - no surprise. Ugh! He drives me nuts. Run forward with the ball, Jay. Don't try to throw the ball if no one is open. You can run with it. Ugh! It was a cold and super windy day. Thank goodness the stadium blocked the wind from us. But then the temperature dropped and brilliant me, I wore thin socks with my sneakers. I don't have warm fuzzy boots yet. Don't ask why. So my tootsies were getting very cold, in fact two were frozen. With only 6 minutes left in the game and ahead of the Vikings by 16 points, I told Deb we had to leave. My toes were done. We ended up going to the Broncos store on the bottom level because I had to see if they had warm, thick socks. And yes, they did! Of course I grabbed the imperfect pair and I didn't realize it until I got home. The word Broncos is in the wrong color on one side of the socks. Awesome. I insisted on putting on the socks before we left the stadium. As I was doing that Deb was watching the game on one of the TV's and noticed that the score was now 11-19. Huh??? There was still 4 minutes left. We are not a cheating/come from behind/stay in the lead team like these guys, so we knew we could still lose. I said lets just walk into section 100 (field level) to watch the rest of the game. Then we casually walked over to some empty seats, end zone view, and sat there to watch the Broncos beat the Vikings in OT. Woohoo!

From all this excitement of attending the Broncos games, we decided to put our names in for season tickets. There are only 24,000 people in front of us, an approximate 12-14 year waiting list. Cool. Does anyone have connections???

Because I know you all are so interested, here is a picture of my imperfect sock. The picture on the left is what it is supposed to look like (and that doesn't even look that great) and the picture on the right is what it actually looks like.

I Couldn't Resist!

http://www.tmz.com/tmz_main_video?titleid=1364230859

Christmas Day was Great!!!

We went to Debbie's house for Christmas. Here we are trying to get out of our neighborhood. It was worse at Debbie's, but that is because she lives on the EASTSIDE of the I-25.

We ate...

unwrapped presents, ate, went sledding...

ate, watched a movie, made dinner, ate, watched another movie and then ate this wonderful dessert! It was an eggnog creme pie with rum! YUM!

This was definitely the highlight of the day. Sorry that you have to turn your head to watch it. After all the eating and a few eggnog's, it was very funny. I swear!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Merry Christmas everyone! I received the best present ever, a white Christmas.

Where is Santa?

Has Santa stopped by your house yet? Find out: http://www.noradsanta.org/

Merry Christmas Eve!

Yikes! Sorry for the delay in blogging! Guess not much has been happening. I did slip down the stairs and fell right on my bum on the hardwood floors. That was fairly exciting.

Any who, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE! My sister came over today and we watched the Broncos get killed by the Chargers. It is so painful to watch a bad football game. Get rid of Cutler!!!! My gosh, look at that haircut! Can he even see anything??? Bring back Jake!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

It's snowing and it's beautiful!

Here's Dan shoveling our driveway for the first time. So many firsts this year - first house, first cyclocross race, first shoveling!

Just like the Pilgrims

Actually not really. We hosted our first Thanksgiving in our first house. It was very exciting. Family and friends joined us and pitched in with food and entertainment.

Dan was the man and made the turkey and a few sides. I handled the table setting and drinks. After stuffing ourselves, we played games, watched football and danced. Yes, we had dancing, hence the entertainment part. By the time the last friend left, we were pooped. We were in bed and fast asleep by 9:00 pm.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday!

Walk Tall And Carry A Big Stick

Dan's dad, Fred, came out for a visit. Unfortunately I was in Philly for most of his visit but I was able to go on a few hikes with him and Dan. The really cool thing about Fred's visit was all the hiking he did thanks to the knee surgery he had on both of his knees this past summer. He was a hiking machine.

Here we are in Rocky Mountain National Park. It was windy and cold and I was so not dressed properly. But it was great to be out in the fresh air and hang with the family.

Many of the lakes we walked around were partly frozen.

Here's Dan standing on a frozen section. Despite the fact he was a half-inch from the shore and it was all of about a foot deep, it still made me nervous that he might crash through. Like I said, it was cold out and hiking in wet, cold shoes is one step away from pneumonia.

On our way out of the park we saw a long line of cars parked on the side of the road. This normally means there is wildlife in the area. So I yelled at Dan to pull the car over to check it out. This is what we saw.

Lots of elk. There were many more on either side of the frame. It was amazing! They just looked at all of us gawking at them wondering what was the big deal. Here are some close-ups.

I was craving some cookies one night so Fred suggested I make them. I thought great idea, how fun! So here I am making the cookies. If you look real closely, you will see really what I am making. It rhymes with egg nog and Jack Daniels.