First Day Back

Today was my first full-day back at work. I left the house at 7, Adam had Charlie and Finn in the morning and his parents watched them this afternoon. I picked them up around 4:30 and we were home at 5pm. Adam came home around 7:15. This will be our schedule most days except only Adam's mom watches the kids unless his dad has a day off like today.

Meal planning is going to be essential for me in addition to packing my lunch the night before. Most everything for the kids is over at Wayne and Nikki's house so we don't have to pack for them which is great. Now I just need to figure out when I can fit in a workout. Hopefully once Finn starts sleeping through the night I can wake up early and get a run in before work. I am just too wiped out in the evening right now. The little man wakes up several times in the night. I am considering joining the gym at work so maybe I could get a work out in on my lunch break. But I don't want to pay for a membership if I am not going to use it.

A New Year

Of the many "resolutions" or goals I have for this year, one of them is to blog more. I enjoy blogging but it is really hard for me to make time for blogging. I am going to really give it a try this year though. I like being able to share pictures and funny stories with family and friends near and far. And I really like going back and reading the entries myself.

This afternoon Adam and I did a prediction run. The course was 8 kilometers (almost 5 miles). You can start the run any time after 2:30 and the person who finishes closest to 4pm wins. I have no idea who won because we did not stick around for awards - I just wanted to do the run. This is the farthest I've run since July of 2010. I am really slow but it feels great to be running again. Here is a picture of Adam and I after the run.

After the run we went over to Adam's parent's house for dinner. They were watching Charlie and Finn (thank you!). They have a jumperoo (or jumping seat) that Finn goes wild in. He will jump for 20-30 minutes if we let him. I took this cute video of him wanting to fall asleep but then continuing to jump. Enjoy!

I'm Back

Where did the month of October go? Ugggh! I am going to try to be better about updating this blog but no promises. During the month of October we did a lot of fun stuff that I hope to write about: picking out pumpkins at Larriland Farms, my sister's visit, our trip to Montana, and of course, Halloween.

Griffin is doing great and getting better each day. He has been a very fussy baby and the pediatrician actually said he has colic. I did a bit of reading about colic and one definition is colic is a five letter word for 'I don't know." What I do know is Griffin has a lot of trouble going to the bathroom and really has to work at it. He also has a lot of gas. This means that he will be sleeping, have gas or need to go to the bathroom, wake up, be in discomfort, not be able to go to the bathroom, be overly tired and then cry. It is really difficult to see him in discomfort and not be able to help. We've taken him to the chiropractor (not sure that helped), we give him gripe water and also put a warm rice bag on his belly. There are certain position that he likes to be held that helps him with his gas.

Just this past week he has started taking naps in his swing during the day. There was a couple weeks where he napped on me because it was the only way I could get him to stay asleep. Thankfully we have moved beyond that stage.

I also stopped eating dairy, soy, fish, and nuts for a couple weeks to see if his discomfort was caused from food sensitives. I really didn't think the cause was my diet was and while I didn't follow the restricted diet 100% neither Adam or I saw a difference.

As I said earlier, Griffin is doing really well and really does get better each day. He was fussy today but Monday through Wednesday of this week he was great. The pediatrician said that slowly the good days will outnumber the bad days. Most colicky babies show definite improvement by the third or forth month so we are more than half way!

So while there have been difficult moments, there are also moments where he is happy and just so cute. He is smiling and cooing more and more. Yesterday I took this adorable picture of him:

It reminded me of this picture of Charlotte at about the same age:

So there is a brief recap of our lives. I am really going to try to update the blog more often. Happy November everyone!

Big Sky Country, Here We Come!

Tonight Adam and I fly to back to my hometown: Missoula, MT. Saturday (which also happens to be my 32nd birthday) my parents and sister are throwing us a wedding reception. This will be a very informal affair with lots of friends and family. Each of my parents are one of seven so I have a very large extended family. Adam was able to meet most of my mom's family last Thanksgiving but there is still a lot of family he still has not met. I am looking forward to this shindig as it should be a lot of fun!

Years, Days, Minutes Tag

20 years ago...
I was about to enter the 7th grade. My favorite part of going back to school was the school supplies. I loved the smell of freshly sharpened pencils, the look of a perfectly clean notebook and sitting down and organizing all of my supplies. I never liked the first day of school though. I was always so nervous.

I went to a K-8 school with about 400 kids. I know this is small by most standards but to me it was huge. Every grade had two classes and the only subject I didn't have in my homeroom was English. In 7th grade we switched for math, English, social studies, and science. I was so scared of getting lost or forgetting where I needed to be (there were only four rooms to pick from). The first week I was a nervous wreck and I would wake each morning at 4 am and just wait until it was time to get up. It only got worse in high school. The good part was after the first week I seemed to adjust and the rest of the year went well.

10 years ago...
I had just graduated from college and was living in Missoula, MT. I spent the summer working at a domestic violence shelter and baby-sitting for a family about 20 hours a week. I knew I wanted to go to graduate school but I didn't know where and I didn't know what I wanted to study. I had an undergraduate degree in psychology and toyed around with the idea of getting my Ph.D. in social psychology. Instead I decided to do AmeriCorps. I worked for a non-profit that provided mentors for foster children.

5 years ago...
I was living in Denver and had just completed my first marathon. I had moved to Denver after graduating from the University of Oregon with a Masters of Public Administration. The decision to move to Denver was made in part because of a boy. We soon split once I moved there and I found myself living in the real world with no family nearby and only a few friends. It was probably the lowest point of my life. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life and felt lost in the world. Looking back I can say that training for the marathon really helped. It gave me a goal for each day, whether it was a 20 minute run or a 2 hour run. It also helped me meet a few people and made me realize I was capable of doing so much more than I thought I could.

3 years ago...
I was living in Baltimore and had completed my first triathlon. I had also just met Adam. It was the first time in a long time that I felt like I belonged. Life seemed simple and I was happy.

So far this past year I have learned that...
I need to be easier on myself. I need to allow myself to be proud of my accomplishments and enjoy each day. I have learned that I am not fun-loving and easy going but that is not a bad thing. I have learned that I need a creative outlet and I can't spend all my free time training for an endurance events. I have learned that I don't always have to have a major goal that I am working towards. Sometimes just being a friend, daughter, sister, and wife is enough.

Yesterday I...
had a great day. I woke up, took Izzy for a walk, came home and made cinnamon rolls, read the paper, finished painting the railing on the deck, took a nap, went to a movie, finished the laundry, vacuumed and picked up the house, ran on the treadmill, and watched the most amazing swim finish in history. It was the first time I ever jumped up from the couch and cheered at the television. It was amazing! I still get chills when I talk about it.

Tomorrow...
will be another day at work. I have a doctor's appointment in the afternoon then I will go for a 1 hour run. Oh, and I will watch the Olympics. :)

Next year I will be...
happy just being me.

Larriland Farm

Sunday I attended my second hot yoga class. OH MY GOD! It kicked my butt! Part of the reason is I ran 15 miles on Saturday. But still, it seemed much harder than the first class. I really like it though and plan to take my third class tomorrow evening. My hope is to go to at least one class per week.

In the afternoon, I joined Adam's sister and her girls on a trip to Larriland Farm. I love this place. I have been there in the fall picking pumkins, and two summers ago Adam and I picked raspberries. On Sunday we picked peaches, blackberries, blueberries, and flowers. The girls did great. Vivian was the perfect size to pick all the good fruit under the bushes. I brought my camera and took a few good pictures:

Minneapolis Bound

This evening I fly to Minneapolis to visit my good friend Tasha. I am really looking forward to a long weekend of R & R!

The Manual Labor Continues

Saturday Adam and I woke at 5 am to meet a group of friends for a run. We are training for the Ragnar Relay. I was able to get in a 7 mile run which felt great! The relay is a trail run so we are training on trail. I have never run on trails before but I think I like it.

After the run we headed to the dump to get some topsoil. Since we removed the "snake bushes" there are a lot of roots exposed. We got to the dump to discover they were out of topsoil. They should have some within the week.

We had been talking about putting rocks in a section under the deck. It is a space that is unused and last weekend Mom and I cleaned all the leaves and debris out from under it. We headed to The Stone Store to look at our options. As soon as we walked into the store Adam decided it was his new favorite store. There are so many amazing things you can do with stone!

We decided to buy 1 ton of Hudson river rock to fill the space. 1 ton=2000 pounds! We (and when I say we I mean Adam) spent the rest of our day taking 13 wheel barrow loads of rock from the front of the house to the back yard.

We are really happy with the final product. It was a hot day (high 90's) with very high humidity. Adam and I were both wiped out when we were done. But we still had to go do our second run of the day.

The Ragnar Relay is 183 mile relay consisting of 12 team members. Each team member has to run 3 legs ranging from 3 to 9 miles each. This means we will be running 3 times within a 24 hour period.

So last night at 8 pm we met up with our friends and ran 40 minutes. The air was much thinker and hotter than in the morning. This was my first time running twice in one day. I felt okay during the run but am sore and tired today. I just have to continue running doubles to get my body into shape. I am sure hauling rocks may have added to some of my aches and pains!

Still Recovering From My Vacation!

Wow, where has July gone? It is already the middle of the month and I haven’t blogged once.

My parents arrived on July 4th. They came out obviously to visit but also to work me into shape. I had told my dad a few months ago that our deck needed some work but I wasn’t sure what needed to be done. He and mom decided to come out for a week to help us fix our deck. In theory it didn’t need a lot of work (although that is not what it felt like).


We replaced some of the railing boards, sanded with both a floor sander we rented and an orbital sander we purchased with gift cards we received from our wedding. Then we had to paint. This was the tough part but with three people (Adam couldn’t get time off of work) it went fairly quickly. The weather cooperated somewhat. It was hot but it could have been worse. I had told my parents to sit in the sauna daily prior to their visit to get used to the humidity. They both thought I was exaggerating but soon found out that would have been a good idea.

The wood that we bought to redo the railing is still a bit wet so we have to wait for it to dry before we can paint. We should be able to in the next week or two.

We also pulled out the “snake bushes”. Earlier this spring we had a snake living in or near these bushes. At times it would sun itself on the top of the bushes. This caused Adam and me to study the bushes each time we were leaving or entering our house. Plus they were a pain in the backside to maintain. Even though the front flowerbed looks a bit barren right now I love not having the bushes there. This weekend we are going to put a layer of top soil down and then in the spring I am going to plant some royal azaleas.

It wasn’t all work and no play while my parents visited. We went to the Inner Harbor one day so mom could have her crab cakes. We also went to the Body Worlds exhibit at the Baltimore Science Center. It was, as one visitor wrote in the guest book, “Cool, but not cool.” Both mom and I got nauseous. It was a once in a life time experience but for me only once.


We also took the metro into DC and watched the Nationals vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks. Mom and Dad had never ridden the metro and none of us had ever been to the new Nationals stadium. I think everyone enjoyed the game.

Izzy had fun too. I think she really enjoyed having people around her all day.

The Second Half

Today marks the last day of the first half of the year. The past six months of been a wild ride - getting married, two week trip to Costa Rica, two half marathons, and three triathlons including a half ironman.

The half ironman has been my main focus for so long, now I want to shift my focus. I am not ready to leave endurance events behind but also want to become more well rounded. Here are my goals for the next six months:

1. Learn how to use my camera. I bought a digital SLR camera as a gift for surviving my time working on Capital Hill. The camera is much smarter than I am. I would like to be able to use all of it's functionality instead of using it as an expensive point and shoot camera.
2. Touch my toes. That is right - I can't touch my toes. I never remember being able to touch my toes. So my plan is to stretch more and get more into yoga. This has been a goal for a while but one that I haven't really taken serious. If I don't increase my flexibility now I won't be able to touch my knee caps in 20 years!
3. Complete a marathon. I am signed up for the Baltimore marathon in October. I have every confidence that I will be able to finish (barring an injury). Once I get more into my training I may even set a time goal. I have run the half marathon for the past two years and always have had a good race. Last year I even set a personal best.

Hopefully, by making these goals public it will hold me accountable. I really want to be able to touch my toes!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Dad!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a fairly relaxing weekend. It was nice to have the extra day to get caught up on a bunch of things around the house. I also watched a movie (I don't do this very often). I watched Into The Wild and really liked it. I read the book a few years ago but I thought the movie was well done.

Saturday Adam and I went for a run and then biked. It was the first real workout I did since the Columbia triathlon and it was not pretty. My body was not happy. But as always, I felt good once it was done. Sunday I biked with a friend which was a lot of fun. I took her on the Columbia triathlon course for the first time. It was nice to enjoy the ride instead of worrying about my speed. It was a gorgeous day too.

The rest of the weekend we just cleaned up around the house, took Izzy for a few walks, and just relaxed. Speaking of Izzy, here is a picture update.

Cute picture of Izzy:


Not so cute picture of Izzy:

35 Years Ago Today

~Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad~

OK, So Maybe Adam Isn't That Cool

Read here.

What a Difference 9 Miles Makes

Saturday the triathlon club I belong to held it's annual Bric-N-Pic. A brick is where you bike and then run. Then we all have a picnic afterwards. It is a great way to get in some training with some great people.

I was excited to brick the Columbia triathlon course (upcoming race this weekend) as I have yet to do that this year. I have biked and run the course independently but haven't combined them yet. Usually by this time of the year I have done this at least once. But this year I am concentrating on Eagleman and have both biked and ran more than I have in years past.

As usual, it was raining on Saturday. I think this is the 5th weekend in a row it has rained. The Bric-N-Pic started an hour later due to the rain and I was going back and forth if I wanted to ride or not. Even though the rain has stopped there was still standing water on the course. I have ridden a couple time in the rain this year and it is not something I enjoy. Also, it can be dangerous. I didn't want to be a weenie yet I want to stay safe and not get injured.

Friday night a member of the club got caught in the rain on his bike. He wrecked as he was crossing the railroad tracks. He ended up in an ambulance. He didn't brake anything but is one crutches. After all the training I have done, this is not the outcome I want.

The decision to bike was really eating me up inside. Finally, someone said to me, "It just doesn't matter." And it doesn't matter. This one workout was not going to make or break any upcoming races I have. So I ran the Columbia Tri course and added another 3 miles after that. Even though it was not my planned workout I felt very accomplished afterwards. I can get so obsessed with my training plan it can be hard to change it sometimes. Yes, I am Type A.

Yesterday, I rode 3.5 hours and then ran 20 minutes. This was my last long ride before Eagleman! Yippee!! It is a relief and also scary at the same time. Am I ready, have I trained enough? Only time will tell.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!!

(Mom ziplining in Costa Rica. As you can tell, she had a blast!)

Cinco de Mayo and the 12 Hour Bike Ride

In celebration of Cinco de Mayo and to raise money for the YMCA's scholarship program Adam rode a stationary bike for 12 hours today. Keep in mind that he ran the Frederick Half Marathon yesterday. Most people said Adam was an idiot for attempting such a feat. But if he is an idiot, what does that make me since I am the one who married him?

Last night Adam prepared 3000 calories worth of sports drinks:


6:30 am this morning. Doesn't he look excited!

Five hours into the ride:

Task completed - 12 hours of riding. He raised over $1000!!!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Hip Hip Hooray!!!

My sister was just offered a position with The International Heart Institute of Montana Foundation as their American Heart Association Coordination. It looks like her days of being up to her elbows in assholes are over! Congratulations Heather!