Trying my first Tri

As a group of sisters and nieces we signed up for a triathlon months ago. It has become somewhat of a tradition in my family, but this would be my first year participating.

After some spotty training, and a debate on whether or not to even go, I end up out of state ready for my first Sprint Triathlon. Late night giggles with the girls aren't exactly helping the energy levels, but we're off

It was wall to wall tires and bikes in my van.

We arrive with bikes and find our transition areas. Some sweet competitor helped me by moving her bike and making me space on the set up area. God bless you, whomever you are.

The swim leg was first, we had to swim 1/4 a mile in the fresh water.

We splashed and swam before hand to get used to the water and clam our nerves

(not sure if helped, but it was fun)

I was super jittery and super scared. I love to swim, but the warnings of flying limbs and splashing waters had me slightly terrified.

I was going to start with a sister, but seeing the way the time chips worked (age groups noted by swim cap color) I started on my own for an accurate time.

The swimming was chaotic, and I just kept thinking to myself "just get out of the clump"

which I did. My goggles fogged up, and I almost swam into a volunteers rescue canoe,

but other than that no problem. I could barely walk when I got out of the water.

I heeded my sister's advice and did not let myself sit down as I slipped on my shoes and grabbed my bike from the transition area. I ran out, hopping on my bike, thinking,

"just get going..." I was shaky and tired already. 10 miles of this???

After a few miles on the bike I started to deflate.

My body was jello and the sun was so hot, and my bike felt like it weighed a ton.

I could barely pedal. I actually started to cry- why didn't I train better? Why did I sign up for this stupid thing? I am terrible on a bike! I am riding a hybrid- it is so slow!!!! I wanted to stop.

I will confess, I muttered a few cuss words at this point.

After a few more minutes I remembered my Sports Beans (thank you caffeine boost) and dumped the bag in my mouth.

A well trained biker slowed by side and said- "Hey, you're doing good".

I snorted and asked, "how far are we???" She told me we were half way- 5 more miles, but warned me, "there are some big hills coming up, so hang in there. They say it's a flat course..." as she pedaled off she finished over her shoulder "But they lie...!"

At least I was warned.

I finished it out and got my head back together, hopping off the bike and setting off for the run.

Let's get these 3 miles done.

What's this??? Everyone is walking. They are tired too!

Their legs are marked with their age on their calf, and I start counting the ages as I shuffle past them. The run feels so comforting, all my half marathon training kicking into gear.

36. 24. 44. I pass all ages.

A few women in their 50's whiz past me. I keep going.

Finally I finish, strong and happy. (surprisingly it was 2nd best time ever for 3 miles)

We start taking photos and my sister surprises us with hand stamped necklaces she made.

I am hungry, I didn't eat much before the race...I start to falter. When times are posted I burst into tears. I am not sure what time would have made me happy in that exhausted state, but what I had wasn't enough (1 hour 30 minutes).

I actually cried the whole way to the restaurant.

I was so embarrassed and even more worn out. (Should have had chocolate and Coke at the finish line).

(Nothing like a loving sister close by with her iPhone to snap a picture,

reassuring me I would want it later)

The restaurant almost made it worse by not serving any Diet Coke...

But, as the chips and salsa (and Cherry Diet Pepsi) hit my system a miracle happened.

I start to feel euphoric.

I start to feel relief. I start to feel giddy.

I am a 40 year old non-athlete who just did her first triathlon, surrounded by sisters and a niece who all pushed themselves, too.

I DID A TRIATHLON!

When can I do my next one?

Summer

The sign I had to have

(found on vacation, tucked in between suitcases for the drive home)

The games we watched

Back Yard Luau with the family

(love an excuse to stick a flower in the hair)

happiest in a summer dress and painted toes

and summer is gone already

Simple Start to Food Storage Organizing

SO.....

being prepared has been on my mind a ton lately.

Whether you follow politics or prophecies, or just simply enjoy feeling like you have abundance of goods on hand, food storage makes sense to everyone.

But if you're like me, we put it off.

I grab a few extra things here and there and hope I get to it before it spoils.

It is kind of a jumbled mess

Water damage from the pipe burst isn't helping things

A friend of mine has been a long time advocate of preparedness and emergency readiness.

She has started an program to help everyone get more prepared.( You can find out more details by following this link to 3 Steps . org)

I LOVE her idea for dinners. You plan a simple meal that your family will eat.

The next time you prepare it, buy enough for 5 more meals.

(for these photos I only have 3 meals- more on that later)

All of the ingredients are labeled and stored inside the bucket, which you also label.

Then you can stack the buckets, keeping them together, using very little space.

.

Because I had these buckets already (and they were 2 for a buck!) I decided I would start where I am and just get some of the stuff I had grouped together. They only hold 3 or 4 smaller meals.

The buckets will survive a pipe burst, plus they will be very easy to grab and throw into a car,

or even to carry to a neighbors or family.

Ideally, you will use 5 or 6 gallon buckets so you can store 5 full dinners with fruit or other side items . You can also get better lids (displayed on the 3 Steps websites)

to completely seal out any other damage.

My plan is to organize what I have, then slowly start with new buckets and anything new I buy, purchasing higher quality.

The goal is to have 18 buckets with 5 meals in each, (recipes also on the website), filling a 3 month dinner supply. Once you are done you will make ONE MEAL a week out of the bucket, and buy the ingredients to replace it, so you will rotate the entire set in about 2 years.

NOW- best case scenario is you will use these as needed- maybe a night where you have 'nothing' to make, or an evening where you are out and the kids can pull out a simple meal.

I also envision these being very easy to take to a disaster sight, maybe another neighborhood even, and how easy it would be to quickly distribute meals to needy or displaced families.

Worst case scenario is disaster or chaos hits your own home.....

you will supplement with other goods (like the 20 year shelf life basics) and know you have a dinner to look forward to every night.

I am NO expert, and I get overwhelmed easily, so I am happy to feel like I can tackle this a bit at a time. I have supplies for more dinners,

and will be adding them as I get the proper sized buckets.

I feel blessed to live in a 'time of plenty' and feel that storing for a time of drought

is the right thing to do.

For more info on this and more simple steps, again here is the link to 3 Steps.org

For more survival and political awareness,

visit this Prepper blog and get in the prepper blog ring.

Finally, if you are reading this and have a great idea that has made something easier for your storage preparedness, PLEASE put a link in your comments.

~Have a blessed day~

My Goodwill Grab

While on vacation I stopped into the local Goodwill on a whim.

I had a great time browsing books (bought 3), handbags (bought one fun tote),

and of course, the furniture.

I found this little nightstand which I HAD to have.

(Sorry kids, I am not sure how we are all getting home now)

The style is similar to some furniture we had growing up,

but mostly I love the lines of this little dresser.

Best of all, it was $6.99.

I decided to go the easy route, and bought a vintage white spray paint

that boasted "no sanding or prep work needed".

I was happy with what 2 coats of paint gave me.

I was in a panic, because I could only remove the top knob for painting.

After one coat, though, I saw that the spray paint really filled in nicely around the

lower drawer pulls, so I guess I got lucky on that.

This will probably end up in my reading nook,

a place to stash all my notebooks and highlighters,

but for now I am enjoying it in the corner of our breakfast area,

where it can hold my (fake) Scentsy.

I love the final product,

and this has inspired me to take on more makeovers for around the house.

This may move around a few times before it finally finds it's permanent home,

but for now I think it's a great start.

Feeling ready to makeover your own little piece?

I used Krylon Fusion Gloss paint in Dover White.

Be sure to link up your post in my comments so I can come peek!

Random Catch Up

Life is kind of like this in the summer-

I move from one moment to the next and hardly have time to stop and reflect

So, welcome to my random catch up.

I am so in love with the 4th of July,

I really can't say it enough

This year it was all about the food, the folks, and the photography.

A day trip to the "Twilight Zone" (Forks and La Push, Wa)

ended up being a surprise highlight of our trip.

All the men involved were much obliging to my silly photos and squealing. I am not above enjoying a completely pointless book on occasion.

And stomping on the stomping grounds was a fun indulgence.

(When is the next movie out, anyway?)

My niece's wedding gave me a chance to extend my vacation,

and spend some real downtime (16 days!) with my family.

Everything was fairy tale perfect, from the bride and groom, to the candle lit tables,

and all the pretty pinks.

Can I just say....I LOVE WEDDINGS!

On that note, I must simply say how precious my religion is to me at this moment in time.

Not only because of the beautiful weddings and belief

in families being together, as a unit, in the next life, but also because

of the precious gift of freedom and agency.

I feel the world would be a better place if people believed in a higher purpose and a higher power, and lived accordingly.

To love something on the level that most religious people do only means one thing;

it makes sense to share it with others.

For my church, that means two years of service.

What a day it was when my nephew came home from his two tough years in Paraguay.

Our family went from screaming, to crying, and back again,

as he came through that lobby.

It is great to have him back, but he is going through withdraws of not serving others and being back in the 'real world'.

One cool thing that impressed me while waiting there was the applause that spread through the airport as a service man or woman came off the flight.

I think when our eyes are open we see more than enough around us

to know we are blessed

to know we are loved

and to know these gifts must be defended with all our hearts.

Mini Disaster

I guess you can call it a disaster.

I hate to do it, because it could have been so much worse, but it still shook me up pretty good.

We had a pipe burst in our basement.

This was my pride and joy just a few days ago

My very own crafting corner.

It was my sanctuary filled with all my favorite treasures

and goodies acquired in trades.

I was so happy about my space!

This is how my space looked when I got called home from the water park yesterday

(thank heavens a thousand times over my son stayed home and was here when it happened)

my drawers, my jars, my baskets and totes, all filled with water

I panicked, no doubt about it.

The pictures are so random because I was sobbing as I took them.

Hubby is out of town this week and I had no idea how I was going to conquer an entire basement of sopping wet boxes and books and supplies.

I didn't realize my sisters were on their way, and they took control of the situation and started setting things out to dry immediately.

I thought it was mostly my crafting goods, but everything was soaked in our entire basement. As we started emptying boxes we found the harsh truth....pictures. Lots of pictures. And numerous scrapbooks from my wedding and first years of marriage, my first baby being born.... I was losing it. My sisters stayed focus and set to rescuing it all.

We hung pages and laid pictures out carefully...a neighbor stopped by to see what was happening and bless her heart,she shed tears with me as we pulled my husband's photos from his mission he served over 20 years ago out of a sopping wet album.

Even sealed bags and containers were filled with water

These photos do not have digital copies, and I really had no idea they were stashed away with my craft supplies. It broke my heart to see them laying out as the sun started to go down, hours after we started the process.

In the garage things sat over night trying to dry out and wait for me to make sense of what can be saved.

Another thing that upset me was to see so many of my books ruined. They were like sponges, swollen and sopping, and just fell apart when you tried to move them. My favorite, marked up, well loved copy of Atlas Shrugged completely fell apart today when I tried to open it.

I am not sure if my crying is symbolic, therapeutic or even normal anymore....

I just keep losing it.

In case you wonder what a girl like me looks like on the morning after a day like yesterday wonder no more.

Bags under the eyes, greasy hair, blotchy skin....it is my badge of honor today.

And even though we lost a few precious things

(this bubbled picture is one of the few baby pics I have of my husband)

We saved hundreds and hundreds pictures and pages all together.

Today I pulled my 'baby blanket' out of a wet box I hadn't got to yet...I am so relieved with all the important things we have found just in time.

I can't complain in spite of the sadness. We are so blessed, we have so much... my heart actually aches for people who lose everything....EVERYTHING to a natural disaster.

My sisters and my kids and my neighbor made what would have taken me days take only hours to salvage and sort. I am so grateful to them for their help.

I hope I am blessed to remember this moment and help others more in the future.

Even standing beside someone or saving one thing for them is a gift.

I believe we will need it more in the days to come.

I hope others may blessed as I was in my time of panic and need.

Summer Tidbits

Colorado Springs.....wow.

It has been celebrated that I attended my first real flea market.

That was epic, of course. But look at a few more great things we saw.

This house caught my eye while on a neighborhood spy drive.

And it had a for sale sign up.....hold me back, right?

We toured the Air Force Academy Chapel and cathedral- where my son and his group sang a cool Sacred Harp song impromptu style.

The chapel is stunning, in a Star Trek modern kind of way.

We also hit some shops in Manitou Springs

We were sure to grab some ice cream for the kids and chocolate for mom,

but mostly it was window shopping and sightseeing.

It was a great few days of time to together,

following my son with his choir around to hear a couple of performances,

and also just time to kick back.

The perfect way to start the summer.

To hear the amazing kids share their talents with the Sacred Harp Shape Note song "Hark I hear the Harps Eternal" Click HERE. (but the image is horrible. New camera- no knowledge on focus. Sorry. Don't watch, just listen)

I am proud of my singing son.

Flea Market and Funky Junk Finds

The blog world has opened my eyes to the possibilities of decorating and connecting with other women who care to create. I love the Funky Junk blog for all that it does to push home decor out of the box ( and give a more masculine feel to the world of Shabby and Vintage decor).

I went to my FIRST flea market while in Colorado this weekend- and hubby was in tow, not too excited about the vans oozing with junk- but a good sport, none the less. Before I knew it we turned a corner and eyed this vintage STOP sign which my hubby could not bear to let pass by. (And it was not exactly cheap).

We were told by the vendor it was from the 40's, and after a little more research I have learned that most stop signs with additional words above and below the STOP are probably dated from the 20's-40's. The earlier signs were yellow, though, so I am not sure where this fits in.

We also spotted these super cool and funky surplus trunks

thanks to Funky Junk inspiration me and my son agreed these would be awesome stacked by his bed as a nightstand with a cool light and clock. Would you believe we got both of these for $25 ? I was a little giddy over that. (Note to others- remove your funky trunks before you try to tour the Air Force Academy. The guards did a double take at these in our trunk and shook them to make sure they were empty. Oops!)

A blog post by Stacy's Shabby Shoppe also had me enjoying some mommy ME time at a local antique mall where I found this super shabby ladder.

I am envisioning it in my reading nook with a few cozy quilts tossed across the bars and maybe a magazine or two slung on the rungs. It isn't in my corner yet, but my Mother's Day gift did find it's way to it's spot.

Speaking of Mother's Day, I know it's been a month, but I have to just say I loved just relishing in the day with my boys, and really loving what it means to be a mom.

I am going to share a little card my youngest tucked into my hands the day after Mother's Day as he was getting ready for school.....

it made me cry like a baby... who else but a mom is loved like this?

linking up today with Romantic Homes blog.....the links are all so fun!