First I’d like to say a huge thank-you to everyone who followed my triathlon adventure and left such great messages along the way.  Much appreciated!  Same goes for my last entry, thank you again.  You blog people are the best…J

SO!  Life on my end continues at a breakneck pace…  Lots of happenings, but pretty much just the usual day-to-day stuff.  Halloween was a fun time!  The kiddos had a great time trick-or-treating in the neighborhood with their friends.  We had two other families come to the house so there was plenty of chaos on Halloween night!  That’s how we roll around here…J  Then the next evening, girlfriend T had a Halloween/costume party at her house for the adults.  As shown in my pictures, H and I went as a priest and a nun.  Fun stuff and lots of laughs…the costumes were fantastic and we had a really fun time.  My girlfriends and I have recently joined this thing called “Facebook,” which in case you’re not familiar with it, it’s a website where you can establish your own page and connect/reconnect with friends by posting your school or college or work place.  It’s been a really fun thing and we’ve all reconnected with old friends through this site.  One of our really good friends who we haven’t seen in almost 20 years came to T’s Halloween party so it was so much fun seeing her again and catching up after all these years!  We’ve got a girls’ dinner planned now for December where we will reunite with even more of our old high school friends.  I’m very much looking forward to it!!

Christmas is right around the corner and I’m happy to say that I’ve done an okay job with my Christmas shopping so far!  Much better than in years past, so I’m quite pleased with myself…J  I’ve knocked out a bunch of stuff for the kiddos and have some great gift ideas for our Moms, so I’m getting there.  We’re toning way down this year so that makes it a bit easier too.  The past two years have been….well, not fun for me during the holidays because of all the turmoil I had going on in my life.  Especially last year.  Man, I was a wreck!  I’ve been secretly dreading the upcoming holidays this year as well because the past two have been so miserable, but I’m thinking this year will be a bit better so I’m very happy about that.  So far so good…. J

Speaking of which ~ I’m leaving tomorrow morning for a week at the beach!!!  How jealous are you?!  ;)  I’m psyched!  My family has been doing this for the past…3 years I think.  My Mother rents an obnoxiously huge and beautiful home every year right on the beach of St. George Island in Florida and the entire family heads there for Thanksgiving week.  There are four of us; my two older sisters, my younger brother and I plus spouses and kiddos ~ 10 grandkids in all.  I’m photographing all the grandkids and framing the picture for my Mother for Christmas.  It has the potential to be a beautiful picture provided all the little *monsters* cooperate with me!  We will see.  But the week is a time for us to spend time at the beach, lay by the pool, enjoy the hot tub, eat lots of yummy food and consume way too many adult beverages.  The kids always have a blast with football and baseball games on the beach, lots of swimming and hot-tubbing, and basically doing whatever their little hearts desire.  It is always a super fun time and I can’t wait to get there!!!  I’ll tell the beach you all said hello and dip my toes in the ocean for you…. J

Other than that, the kiddos are great and I’m trekking along as usual…  Belle is loving her horseback riding at the new barn.  I can’t speak enough praise about the owner and her instructor.  She absolutely adores Isabelle and has given her a “job” working odd jobs at the barn like cleaning stalls, feeding the horses and goats, etc….  Belle can go whenever she wants and she earns $8 an hour which she can use towards her lessons.  How awesome is that?!  I love it and she’s enjoying the heck out of it.  We definitely made a good move with this place!  Meanwhile, the boys are taking a break from sports for once in their life.  We’re not sure what to do with ourselves as this isn’t something we’re used to!  They wrestled the last two years in between baseball seasons but didn’t really show an interest in it this year so we didn’t push.  They are taking part in their Cub Scout activities and they seem to be enjoying that so it’s good.  No need for kiddos to be involved in activities up to their necks!  It can easily get overwhelming if you’re not careful, so we’re enjoying this little break.  Everyone is doing good in school too so Mommy is a happy camper…J

And that’s about it for me!  Things are good, everyone is healthy and happy, and for that I’m extremely thankful.  Looking forward to the holidays ~ hope you are too!

Until next time, these are the days of my life….

Be great!     

Happy Birthday, Dad

It is the 9^th one we’ve celebrated without you

We miss you as much today as we did then

So much has happened since you’ve been gone,

So many changes and ups and downs

You’ve been needed ~ and missed

A thousand times over

Times ten.....

With each ray of sunshine and moment of happiness,

Every hardship endured and milestone reached ~

I think of you

I hope you keep watch over these precious little ones

Who I’ve been entrusted to care for and love.....

Can you believe how beautiful she is?

Still the little firecracker she was at two ~  

I’m sure you’ve had lots of laughs at my expense.... J

Passionate and stubborn (just like her Mama)

With a heart of gold

She is a love, Daddy

And the boys, how they’ve grown!

You’d be the proudest “Grampy” at the baseball field,

I have no doubt

With each at bat, catch and throw

I see you smile your proud Grampy smile

For I know you’d never miss such awesome events

I’m sure you love their wild nature as well

More laughs and entertainment for certain..... J

So it is your birthday today

And although you’re not here with us

We will have a celebration in honor of your special day

Just as we do every year

There will be balloons with secret messages

That will be released to the heavens

Until they make their way to you

So please be on the lookout for these special treasures!

And know how much you’re loved and missed

Always......

Something I’ve learned ~

Although I am now all grown up and even a Mother myself,

The “little girl” inside still exists

And always will

You were the first ~

The first man to love me and care for me

And for that, I thank you Dad

I love you

Monday, October 27^th…..  We woke up early and started getting ready to pack up and head out.  Surprisingly when I woke up I felt great!  I was expecting some muscle soreness or my dreaded knee to be out of whack, but it didn’t happen.  Yay Me!  Guess it’s because I really didn’t go all out during my race.  I just kept an easy steady pace the whole time ~ mainly so that I could maintain my breathing, but also so that I wouldn’t strain or pull muscles.  I witnessed one or two who had to forfeit the race for that reason.  So I was thrilled that I felt so good the next morning! 

Got the kiddos dressed and fed and they ran outside to play while H and I took care of everything else inside the cottage.  We got all packed up and headed out about 10 that morning.  We made our way to the town of Tybee and walked around for a bit.  The kiddos had a few bucks to spend on souvenirs so we did a little shopping with them.  Then we took a stroll on the beach, which was wonderful…

The kiddos had fun running around, chasing seagulls and discovering interesting creatures like horseshoe crabs…..

…..and starfish….

We had a bit of controversy regarding the starfish…  Belle insisted that it was “dead” and wanted to keep it.  After looking it over I determined it was NOT dead and told her she needed to release it into the ocean.  We went back and forth on it for a little bit and finally I told her to talk to her father about it.  She did and he agreed with her that it was no longer alive and said he thought it was okay for her to take it home.  Fine, whatever.  I warned them if that thing started stinking my car up on the way home it would have to ride the rest of the way home with H! 

After our walk on the beach, we stopped at the cutest little diner and grabbed some lunch.  We really didn’t want to leave, but we feared getting caught in Atlanta traffic if we waited too long to get on the road.  So finally we said good-bye to Tybee Island and promised to return soon…J  H and the boys drove ahead while Belle and I followed.  After being on the road for about 10-15 minutes the following conversation ensued…..

Belle: “MY STARFISH’S ARM JUST FELL OFF!”

Me:  “Your WHA?!”

Belle: “MY STARFISH!  HIS ARM JUST FELL OFF!!”

Me: “You have GOT to be kidding me…”

Belle: “No, I’m not!  I laid him in the seat next to me and he kept lifting up his arm and I kept pressing it back down….then I picked him up…and his arm just fell off!”

Me:  “Dear God…that must mean that he’s still alive!”

Belle: “I think he is because his arm is moving!”

Me: “Which arm is moving…?”

Belle: “The one that fell off!  I’m holding it and all the tentacles are moving around in my hand…”

Me: “Oh. My. God.  That is disgusting!”

Belle: “I know it is!  It’s *so* gross!!”

Me: “Then why don’t you put it down?!”

Belle: “Because if I put it down it might crawl off the seat!”

Oh dear God…  Immediately I got H on the phone and told him that I was right and he was wrong and that the damn starfish he claimed was dead was alive and kicking….so much so that it kicked it’s freaking leg off!  Or arm.  What-the-hell-ever!  I told him to pull over immediately at the next sight of water so we could throw it in!!  Before we knew it we were going over another bridge.  Thank you Jesus.  We pulled over at the next turn-in and Belle took her starfish and it’s missing limb and went over to the waters edge with H.  Allow me to explain the body of water…  It was marshy-like, with lots of grass and muck involved.  I saw a toss…and then heard Belle yelling saw her waving her arms….and H yelled back….and then Belle busted ass back to the car, totally pissed off and crying.…

Belle: “DAD THREW HIM IN THE GRASS!!!”

Me: “He did WHA?!”

Belle: “He threw him in the GRASS!  Now he’s gonna DIE!!”

Me: “I’m sure Daddy didn’t throw him in the grass, baby?!”

Belle: “YES HE DID!!!”

Me: “Well honey, if he landed in the grass it’s okay.  Because starfish can crawl.  He will crawl to the water.  He’ll be okay…he just needs to crawl a little…”

Belle: “Starfish do NOT crawl!”

Me: “What was his broken leg doing when it fell off…?”

Belle: “It was moving around, the tentacles were moving”

Me: “Right.  And that’s how they crawl, by moving their arms and tentacles…”

A few more back and forths with, “he’s gonna die!” and “no he’s not – he’s gonna crawl to the water!!” the subject was dropped.  Thank God.  The rest of the drive home was uneventful and we made excellent time arriving home around 6:00pm.  Nice.  Our trip was complete.  We all made it there and back in one piece, even though Belle and I had to travel through torrential rain storms and hurricane-like winds.  The little cottage we stayed in was absolutely perfect and precious – even though the door automatically locked us out one cold morning.  I did what I set out to do ~ I completed my triathlon, even though I did so with an unimpressive time and cursed myself repeatedly throughout the entire thing.  And finally, Belle’s starfish was released back into the wild, even though he likely suffered a horrible death suffocating in the muck….unless of course you believe that starfish can crawl, in which case he undoubtedly made his way to water and is enjoying life while his broken arm regenerates itself.  Or leg, whatever…. J

Until next time, these are the days of my life. 

Be great!

Saturday, October 25^th (continued)……   Where was I….Oh yes, Belle and I were stranded outside of our house with no way to get inside.  Fortunately we came upon a super nice lady at the second house we approached and she was able to recruit a realtor friend of hers to come unlock the lockbox on the front of our house so we could get back inside.  Dear God I was relieved to get back into the house!  The neighbor told me how safe the area was and that she never locks the doors to her house or vehicles so for the rest of our stay on Tybee, we left the key to the cottage in a basket that was attached to the front door.  When we arrived Friday night, that is where we retrieved the key to begin with ~ right on the front door.  I was rather perplexed by that, but whatever ~ I guess that’s how they roll around there!  Needless to say, we did not lock ourselves out of the house again after that little incident.  Once we got back into the house, I was completely spent.  Isabelle Rose, however, wasn’t fazed by our little mishap and wanted desperately to go rent a bicycle so we could cruise around our little community together.  We got into dry clothes and off we went to the bike shop.  As I was loading her rental bike onto the back of my truck, she approached me with this…..

….one of the most disgusting little creatures I’ve ever seen…  “Can I keep it, can I keep it?!”  “Of course you can, baby girl!  Let’s go buy him a cage!!”  And I wonder why her fascination with bugs continues....;)  We headed to the quaint little town of Tybee where all the little shops were located and found a little bug cage in one of the stores.  By the time we got back to our cottage Belle was no longer fearful of holding her new found creepy-crawler.  She had that thing crawling all over her hands and up her arms….just ewwww!  I was just waiting for that thing to sting her with one of its spiky tentacles.  Gross!  A little later in the day she found another one and added it to her collection.  As I type this, both of those little suckers have made cocoons in their cage and Belle is anticipating the unveiling of some killer butterflies sometime in the future.  This should be interesting…J  ANYWAY, did I seriously just write an entire paragraph about Belle’s killer-caterpillars?!  No wonder it takes me weeks to knock out a simple blog entry! 

So after we got the caterpillars settled in their new environment, we hopped on our bikes and explored the island.  We rode to the beach and went for a walk along the coast.  Although a bit chilly and overcast, the beach was still absolutely beautiful.  We then headed back towards the little town of Tybee and spent some time walking around and popping in and out of the little shops along the way.  We also located a neat looking little restaurant that we decided we would try out for dinner.  Finally we headed back to the cottage and grabbed a snack and chilled out for a little bit.  Belle loved being outside exploring our little community.  There were super cool bugs and lizards and cats roaming around….complete heaven for my little bug-girl!  At about 5:30 that evening we hopped on our bikes again and rode to the restaurant for dinner.  I *loved* this little place!!!  They had a bar area and separate dining area, and then an awesome patio outside which is where we sat.  The Georgia game was on at the time so the bar was packed with Bulldog fans (GO DAWGS!) and I was able to keep up with the game with the many tv’s they had.  Better yet, a little singer guy set up shop on the patio so we got to enjoy live music with our dinner.  It was soooooo much fun, I could have stayed there all night if I didn’t have my race in the morning.  The food was fantastic too ~ we shared a huge order of crab legs that were positively delish.  We hung out there for a couple of hours and got back home around 8:00pm.  We got showered and put on jammies and settled in for the night waiting for H and the boys to arrive.  They finally got there at about 8:30 or so.  They left Atlanta after playing their baseball game that afternoon and arrived without incident.  Of course the kids were all puffed up with excitement about being in a new place so Belle and I took some time showing them around.  H decided to take the boys out for pizza so they left and Belle and I were on our own once again.  I was totally trying to wind down by this time knowing I’d have trouble sleeping and wanting to get as much rest as possible.  Belle settled in with her movie and I was tuned into the big Penn State game ~ omg, best game ever.  There was no way I was going to sleep until that game was over!  I got into bed by 10:00 and attempted sleep, but every time I heard excitement on the tv I bolted up out of bed to catch updates on the game.  This went on all night…  Long story short, it was 2 in the morning and I was still tossing and turning ~ not good considering we had to leave our place shortly after 7am Sunday morning…..

Sunday, October 26^th…..After a sleepless night I woke up at 5:30 Sunday morning.  There was no way I was getting anymore sleep so I went ahead and started my day.  I was a nervous wreck!  And extremely emotional, which was totally weird.  I wasn’t expecting all of that.  Anyway, I got myself ready and attempted to eat a light breakfast, which didn’t go so well.  I drank lots of water, which I paid for later during my race…J  I got the kiddos and H up and got everyone ready and we were out the door by 7:15 that morning.  I almost cried when I walked outside and felt how cold it was….ugh….!  We made the hour long drive into Savannah and arrived at the event location without incident.  The atmosphere of the triathlon was….indescribable….  We parked and H unloaded my bike while I went and completed my registration.  There were people milling around everywhere, participants and observers, and the mood was just awesome!  (Sorry, Yellow ~ the word is stuck in my vocabulary…;)  People were so nice and so friendly ~ everyone was chit-chatting it up and it was almost like we had all gone through our training together and served as a huge support system for one another.  Again, it’s hard to put it into words but the atmosphere was just so freakin’ cool!  Funny, when I stepped out of the truck and made my way to the registration table I was absolutely freezing.  Miserably so.  The ground was still soaking wet from all the rain and I tip-toed around trying not to get my feet and pant-legs wet.  HA!  That lasted all of about 30 seconds.  Before I knew it I was sloshing through the freezing muck and my bottom half was soaked and muddy.  As I was coming back from registration, the kiddos were standing all bundled up and huddled together and Noah said, “Darn it mom, why did you even sign up for this?!”  The people around me laughed as I responded, “I don’t know bud, good question…”  I couldn’t help wondering to myself what in God’s name inspired me to sign up for this thing?!  Ah well….  I got all my gear together, attached my race numbers where they belonged and made my way to the bike racks where I set up my little transition station.  There were people everywhere!  Almost 200 participants signed up for the event ~ it was crazy!!  I got my stuff in order and just took everything in as I tried to relax myself before the start of the race.

Moving forward, I suited up, listened to last minute instructions, and made my way to the water with the other participants.  My kids thought my wetsuit was so cool.  They kept rubbing their little hands all over me and telling me how “smooth” and “shiny” I was…;)  Before I knew it 9:30 rolled around and the loud siren sounded “go” as the first wave of racers took off in the water.  People clapped and cheered and hooted and hollered like you can’t imagine.  Excitement filled the air like I had never witnessed before.  It was awesome knowing that I was a part of this incredible event!  I was so psyched and couldn’t wait to start.  Two more waves took off in the water as swimmers were already coming in and transitioning to the bike part of the race.  I was amazed!  Finally they called for the last group (that would be me ;) to take to the water and get ready for our start.  I immediately let the cold water inside my suit in an effort to adjust my body to the cold temps, and man was it cold…  About a quarter of the way through my swim I was seriously questioning my sanity.  My breathing was totally off ~ kind of like hyperventilating, not able to take deep, even breaths because it was *so* cold.  This made swimming much more difficult.  I must admit, the thought did cross my mind about signaling one of the kayakers over to yank me from the water so I could forfeit the race ~ but in a joking manner making fun of myself for being so exhausted so early on in the race.  H did say he saw a few participants plucked from the water and a few others who had to cling to the side of the boats to take a rest during their swim.  I had no idea what was going on around me.  I was just focused on getting from one buoy to the next and trying to get my breathing under control.  The absolute excitement I felt passing each buoy was invigorating and getting closer and closer to the shore totally raised my spirits once again.  H said I continued to swim faster during my swim and that I had a really good pace going by the last leg.  Again, I had no idea what I was doing.  I was just focused on finishing and moving to the next event!  Funny, when the participants I saw ended their swim, they came out of the water sprinting to the transition area like they weren’t fazed in the least by the quarter mile swim.  When I got out of the water, however, I did this little stumble thing because I couldn’t walk straight.  It took me a minute to regroup and get past the lightheadedness I was experiencing.  I totally laughed out loud at myself when I exited the water…J 

Onto transition #1 ~ I totally sucked ass at this juncture.  There is no other way to say it.  I sucked!  I lost so much time here, it’s ridiculous and embarrassing.  But as they say, you make your mistakes and learn from them to better your performance next time around.  Lesson learned.  I had myself so worked up about it being so darn cold, so I decided I did not want to bike and run in soaking wet clothes.  Therefore, I wore a swimsuit under my wetsuit and brought biking/running clothes to change into.  First of all, imagine having to get out of a full wetsuit.  Fast.  Add to that trying to strip out of a 2-piece swimsuit and get into biking shorts and a tank ~ while struggling to keep a towel wrapped around your body.  HA!  It was a sight, I’m sure.  I had the toughest time with that first transition….it was comical…  Finally I completed the switch-a-roo ~ THEN I couldn’t put my damn socks and shoes on!  I was stumbling around totally unbalanced and of course I didn’t want to sit down on the wet ground to get my shoes on, so I continued to struggle standing up.  H was standing on the sidelines and finally he threw his hands up in the air like, “what in the hell are you doing?!”  Again, all I could do was laugh.  My ability to laugh at myself actually helped to keep my nerves in check I think.  No point in stressing over anything.  That was sure to get me no where.  No, I just laughed instead…J  I finally got on my bike and made my way out of the starting gate.  I had to smile when I heard H and the kids shouting, “GO MOMMY!  RIDE FASTER!!”  So sweet…J  The bike ride was awesome.  I felt good.  I didn’t attempt to kick ass on my bike.  Instead I kept a nice steady pace and concentrated on keeping my breathing under control. The course was relatively flat, so that was very nice.  It was also way out there in the middle of no where, which was a little weird.  There were times when I was riding my bike that I couldn’t see anyone around.  The thoughts that went through my head during my bike ride…again, comical.  What if I flipped off my bike and landed in the ditch?  How long would I be stuck before someone would find me?  What if someone pulled up and knocked me off my bike and kidnapped me?  Who would save me??  What if I got a flat tire?  You’re supposed to carry a bike kit with you in case that happens.  Well, I didn’t have a bike kit so I guessed I would be screwed if that happened.  I wonder if I could flag the next vehicle over and ask them to secretly transport me to the next part of the race without anyone knowing…  It was a trip.  I did lots more laughing at myself during my bike ride!  Finally there came a point in the race where I was approaching the first mile-marker.  Hell yeah.  I was psyched!  Surely I’d gone at least 10 miles or so.  Surely I was past the halfway point!  Not so much.  “Mile 5” it read.  You have GOT to be kidding me.  There must be a mistake.  Someone’s playing a bad joke on me.  Five miles.  Five measly miles.  Are you freakin’ kidding me?!  I have 11 more miles to go?!  My legs are starting to hurt.  In fact, they’re about to fall off.  I really can’t see myself riding for 11 more miles.  And then I have to RUN?!  Oh dear God….I cannot believe I’ve only gone 5 miles.  In this race which is just shy of 20 miles, I have only gone 5.25.  I have almost 15 more miles to go before I cross the finish line.  Do I *really* need to cross the finish line?  I mean, isn’t it impressive that I attempted this stupid thing at all??  Needless to say, I continued to peddle.  And peddle.  And peddle some more.  Making that last turn was incredible.  The people were standing and clapping and cheering ~ I felt like a freakin’ Olympian.  Above all the noise I could hear my crew…”YAY MOMMY!  GO MOMMY!!  HURRY SO YOU’RE NOT IN LAST PLACE!!”  Noah was so worried that I was going to finish the race last.  He’s such a mess…. J  I pulled up and got off my bike and the worker people were telling me where to go next and signaling for me to move to the transition area.  It was crazy-chaotic.  I just stood there for a minute trying to allow the blood flow to even out in my legs so I could move.  Again, the worker people were trying to rush me to my next transition.  Finally I told the guy, “Yeah, I got it ~ I just need to stand here a quick minute ‘cause I can’t quite walk so well…;)”  More laughs and I made my way to the transition area.  I put my bike up, took off my helmet and slapped my ball cap on and away I went.  Not so fast though.  I definitely started my run walking.  I went about a tenth of a mile before I attempted to run and holy mother of God, my legs were not cooperating with me.  They felt like lead.  Like they weighed 500 pounds a piece.  So I went back to walking again.  I ended up walking/running the entire 3.5 miles, getting faster as I went.  I did much more running the second loop than I did first time around.  FINALLY, the finish line was in sight.  An energy lit up inside of me that I cannot explain.  I ran my ass off the last part of the race and I didn’t feel a thing.  All I cared about was crossing that finish line!  People clapped and cheered and once again, my little crew was there at the end of the race with big smiles and high fives.  It was awesome!  They announced my number as I crossed the finish line and everyone cheered some more.  It was very cool…  I’m not sure that I’ve ever felt the kind of “high” that I did when I ended my race.  Everything flashed through my mind…my decision to sign up for the triathlon, purchasing my bike and the first time that I rode it, morning runs and bike rides, fighting excruciating knee pain, having to use a kick-board during my first swim, dragging myself to the pool time after time and being so impressed with myself at how quickly my swimming times improved, weekends at the park riding and running, the whole “dragging-incident” when my bike fell off my truck, people’s reaction to my doing a triathlon ~ some positive some not so much….  The whole experience was simply incredible and I cannot wait to do it again.  The first thing I did when I finished the race was go to the dang restroom.  Like I said earlier, I think I over-hydrated before my race and I paid for it dearly…J  On my way out of the bathroom I ran into an older man.  He was 63 ~ I knew because they marked your age on your calf.  We struck up a conversation and he told me that this was his first race.  Mine too!  We talked times and chatted about our experience.  How cool, I thought, that this man participated in his first ever triathlon at 63 years of age…wow…   We hung around the park a little while longer.  By this time the kids were having a super fun time running around playing and chasing.  The sun was out strong which ended up making for a beautiful day.  Finally we shot some final photos and loaded up in the truck for our ride back to Tybee. 

The original plan was to hang out in Savannah after my race, take in some football and drinks.  Truth be told, I was not up for hanging out, football, or drinks.  I crashed fast.  we got home and I laid down and was out before I knew it.  I slept hard for about an hour and then got up, got showered and dressed and I was ready to go again!  We ended up at the same restaurant that Belle and I went to the night before.  We rode our bikes everywhere on the island and Belle insisted on riding hers to the restaurant….

We had a super fun time at dinner.  The atmosphere was totally laid back so it was cool for the kids to run around the patio while H and I enjoyed a few drinks.  Dinner was fabulous once again.  My kids were in hog heaven with the array of seafood on their plates.  My kiddos know how to eat well, what can I say…J  After hanging out there for a few hours, we made the trek home.  The kids were so hyped up with the triathlon that they all three insisted on running home instead of riding in the truck.  So H loaded Belle’s bike up and they ran back to the cottage with H and I following behind in the truck.  It was hilarious!  Once home, we got the kiddos bathed and settled in with jammies and a movie.  H and I continued to have a few more beverages and hung out by the pool.  It was a super fantastic evening.  I have no idea what time I finally fell into bed, but I slept like a baby that night with wonderful thoughts floating around in my head…. J

Well folks, it’s about that time again!  Time for me to hop off here and get some stuff done.  Hopefully I’ll be posting Part IV soon so stay tuned!  Until next time, these are the days of my life…

Be great!  

Saturday morning, October 25^th…... Belle and I woke up early and couldn’t wait to get outside to explore our surroundings!  The little cottage we stayed in was precious.  Tee’niny for sure, but as cute as could be.  We wanted to check out the front and back of the house and of course, the pool.  Belle was insistent on swimming, but unfortunately it was much colder than we anticipated.  I also had to rescue my poor bike from the back of the truck.  I just hoped it was still in one piece after the battering it took the night before!  I was shocked to see that it was.  Thank goodness!  Once we got a good look around the premises and I was able to unload my poor bike, we went back inside, ate a little breakfast, and hung out for a little bit.  A short while later we decided we would try out the pool.  I needed to get a feel for my wetsuit and Belle was convinced she could tolerate the cold temps and enjoy an afternoon of swimming.  Poor girl ~ there was no swimming to be had.  I don’t think she even got past the first step!  But she enjoyed watching me piddle around.  The pool was too small for lap swimming, but I was fine with that.  Really I just wanted to familiarize myself with my wetsuit so that I would know what to expect on Sunday.  I wasn’t sure how that sucker worked, but found out soon enough.  I started ooh’ing and ahh’ing as soon as the freezing cold water started seeping inside my suit!  I didn’t know that was supposed to happen!!  (Blond much…?  I know, right…;)  As I have since learned, wetsuits allow the cold water in and then hold it there allowing it to warm up against your body.  Thank goodness I figured all that out before my swim Sunday morning!!  I seriously would have freaked.  After about 15 minutes of me breaking in my wetsuit and Belle laughing at me, we decided to head back inside.  This would have been a whole lot easier to do…if we hadn’t locked ourselves out of the dang house.  Dammit!  Being that Belle and I were there by ourselves, I was careful to keep the doors locked at all times.  The back door was the type that locked automatically whenever it closed, so upon our exiting the house to go swimming, that sucker locked.  We didn’t realize it until we tried to get back inside.  We tried the front door for good measure, but it was locked as well.  Dammit, dammit, dammit!  Standing there freezing cold in our bathing suits with our towels wrapped around us, I tried to figure out what in the heck we should do.  I had nothing ~ no key, no phone, no contact information for the owner of the cottage, notta.  The back door had those slated pieces of glass that open and close so I got the bright idea to try to manipulate those suckers to get them to open up just wide enough for Belle to be able to slide her little hand inside and open the door.  Man how I worked on that thing!  And I got so close!!  Until I ended up slicing my finger wide open.  Nice, I know.  Finally I decided that my breaking-and-entering skills were not up to par and that we should try scouting out the neighbors for help.  I felt like such a dumbass….here I am in my bathing suit in cold as hell temps, soaking wet head to toe with a towel wrapped around me, trying to conceal my new gaping wound so the neighbors wouldn’t know I was trying to break into my freakin’ rental house.  Worse yet, I’ve got my 10-year-old daughter in tow, also wearing nothing but her bathing suit and a towel….as if it’s normal business to swim in ice-cold temps in the middle of fall!  Yeah, I felt like a complete moron….

Sorry to say it, but I’m out of time once again!  Sorry this is taking so long!  Stay tuned though ~ I’ll complete my story eventually…)  Until next time, these are the days of my life…

Be great!

Friday, October 24th.....  I had the day off of work so I finished packing myself, Belle, and the boys.  I also finished all the laundry and cleaning the house.  I had some last minute running around to do too, which was made a bit more difficult because of the freakin’ rain.  Complete de-ja-vous when I finished my shopping only to discover there was a torrential downpour outside!  This time, however, I did not turn around and go back in to buy a cheap umbrella.  I just made a beeline for the car and got completely soaked in the process.  I was completely miserable!  It was freezing cold and raining like a mutha…ugh…!  I got everything done and picked Belle up from school around 12:30 as planned.  She and I came home, loaded up the car and headed out around 1:30.  After a quick stop for gas and a bite to eat we were finally on the road.  We did have to make one more stop for what else but new shoes.  J  I had been shopping around for a couple of weeks for new running shoes and finally decided on a pair at a store located near my place of work, which we hit on our way out of town.  We ended up hitting some traffic on our way out (imagine that), but the weather really cleared up and the sun started shining through the clouds so I was a happy camper.  Damn if it didn’t rain on my happy parade a short while later.  And yes, pun totally intended.  The freakin’ sky opened up and unleashed rain like I’d never seen before!  I was a nervous wreck!!  For one, I am not a driver.  I despise driving.  Especially in the rain.  Especially when I haven’t a clue where I’m at or where I’m going!  I’m directionally challenged as well, in case I’ve neglected to mention that yet.  Anyone who knows me knows this about me.  Come 6:30 ~ 7:00 that night, we were driving in hurricane like winds and rain.  There were accidents galore on the highway, mostly single cars that obviously hydroplaned off the road and ended up in ditches or medians facing the wrong way.  It was totally awful and scary!  I don’t know how many times I contemplated stopping on the side of the road to wait for it to clear up, but I was exhausted and just wanted to get to our cottage and settle in for the night.  I kept asking Belle if she was sure she was buckled up correctly (she tends to come out of her shoulder strap on long rides) and she assured me she was.  She had no idea I was as nervous as I was, which is a good thing I guess.  No need in knowing mama was a complete nutcase on the road!  Once we got off our last exit, I put her to work in reading me the directions line by line.  I had printed them off from mapquest and highlighted them for easy reading.  She was a little trouper directing me through turns and stop lights.  The fact that I didn’t get lost was a miracle in and of itself.  I always get lost.  ALWAYS.   Don’t ask me for directions and don’t expect me to be able to get somewhere I’m not familiar with without getting lost.  I was born with zero sense of direction, seriously…   Anyway, towards the end of our trip, we were driving further than I thought we should before reaching the next street we were supposed to turn on and I needed gas so I went ahead and stopped to fill up and was able to verify that I was in fact on the right path.  Imagine my surprise!!  It almost didn’t even matter that I got completely soaked at the gas pump…;)  Since we were really close to our cottage by that time, we went ahead and stopped by the grocery store before settling in for the night.  I didn’t want to have to get back out in that weather again!  We finally made it to the cottage by about 8:30pm.  It was a lonnnnnng drive, for sure.  I was just glad we made it in one piece!  After getting the car unloaded and everything unpacked and put away, Belle and I ate a little dinner and then I took in a hot bath.  Yum….  We settled in for the night after that ~ Belle with a movie and me with some nonsense tv.  I was a bit nervous wondering what the weather would be like the rest of the weekend.  What if it rained Sunday morning, the day of my event?  I already had myself worked up about it being chilly and about the water temps in the lake being unbearably cold.  How in the heck would I swim, bike and run in the kind of weather I just drove through for 6+ hours?!  Ugh…what did I get myself into…?  I just hoped things would be looking up by Sunday….     

Out of time, folks!  Stay tuned for Part II and more days of my life…

Until next time and as always, be great!