dear ironman,

Dear Ironman,

I just wanted to make sure we were on your radar. D-day is 12 weeks away and I'll have you know we're getting ready. Yes, I said we, because this triathlon thing has been a year-long commitment for all of us. We don't sweat quite as much as Denten does, but we put in the time in our own way.

In August alone, D has put 13 hours in on the bike, 90 miles just this morning. It was a long ride, one that pushed into a 112 degree day. He has run for 7.5 hours, which means lots of miles and has logged almost 12 hours in the pool. Aside from Sundays, there has only been one day off all month. Most of those days are two-workout days. He's serious. He's working hard and doing great. Sometimes I look at his body and think, damn, if I put in that much effort, I could have the female version of that body.

But for now I'm the cheerleader. I'm the sounding board for things like what to do when we find out the fantastic bike he's been training on is not the right size and is causing issues. Well, we sell it to someone who needed it pretty badly and get a new one. A fantastic one. I've been calling it fancy, but the word rocket keeps working it's way in. I listen and discuss various fueling and hydration systems and then console when they don't work as anticipated. I admire the impressive gear and tight shorts and breathe deeply when charges from the tri store appear on my financial statements.

While there have been more mornings and bedtimes without dad around, we fully support this endeavor and are proud of the dedication and effort he has given this adventure. In fact, as denten is currently missing hunting season, I must say I have not. one bit. I'll take tri season anytime. He brings home satisfaction and medals rather than dead stuff that could potentially end up on my wall.

All in all, we're gearing up. We'll be ready for November to cheer on our own ironman, so be ready for us. Save me a prime spot to hang out, 'cause it'll be a long day. See you soon.

Love,
the wife.

are you kidding me?

this is freaking adorable. I'm pretty sure my little girl would look smashing in this attire.

today, seneca...

- wore her yellow shirt with an ice cream cone on it for "yellow" day at finn's house. each time I asked her what color her shirt was, she pointed at her tummy and said, "ice cream!"

- pointed out all of the yellow school buses on our errands this afternoon. apparently the concept of yellow is sticking. "lellow skool bus, mom!" imagine this said with a great deal of volume and enthusiasm. there were a lot of buses.

- noticed all of the stop lights and what color they were. "light is red, mom!" "light is gween, go!"
I really don't need to pay attention at all, she's all over it.

- got mad at her brother for grabbing her arm in the car. we talked about asking him let go nicely. "peas let go, beck," said in a sweet little voice. thank heavens it worked and he released his grasp. each time he got a little carried away, she'd talk to him nicely and then they'd hold hands.

- told me as we dropped coop off at school, "no time a nap, mom." yes, when we get home, it's time for a nap. "no time a nap. time a pay (play)!" good try. she had a great nap.

- sleeps with the fleece blanket deirdre made for beckham when he was born. she commandeered it right away and it has been her favorite ever since. heaven help us if it's time for bed and it's still in the laundry. "bankie in laundry, mom? no time a bed."

- talked to grandpa on the phone. she had lots to say... he didn't understand most of it, but as soon as she heard him, she said, "want a ride in da boat. cool and nice." he understood that part.

- tonight after dinner she was found jumping on the trampoline, singing at the top of her lungs waving a whisk around.

- read goodnight, moon to herself on the couch. she knows most of the words and tell the story pretty well to beckham. she never fails to point out that the moon is broken. if it's not a full moon, it is broken.

I love this girl. sometimes she's exasperating, but with smiles and kisses, she knows how to work the system.

a plea to heaven

dinner tonight was not cooper's favorite. his choice after a pretty tired afternoon was to either eat dinner without complaining or go up and get ready for bed.

"mom, I keep praying to heavenly father for you to be nice to me, and it's not working!"

hmmm. I suppose we better do something about that so the kid doesn't lose all faith in the power of prayer!

I think about you...

dad, katelyn and lindsay have been on an expedition this week to the top of mt. moran in the tetons. my heart is with them. I miss them. my dad said if he were the sort of fellow who carried a cell phone with him, he'd call me from the top. he's not, so instead he blew me a kiss. I certainly hope the experience has been fulfilling to each of them and that he will not need to buy out the entire excedrin franchise in order to recover.

kari ann got dissed this week. she was rejected from a home school organization because of her religious beliefs. the irony is killing me. she is the epitome of home school queen and she was denied. if the religious prejudice is so blatant, sure makes me wonder where we stand in regards to race.

chandler is going back to school! she is one of my dearest friends from high school and followed her heart to fulfill her dreams with the guy who swept her off her feet. she's now ready to pursue another dream and I'm so proud of her.

diane's house has been making adjustments for her stepson to come live with them. I admire so much the love she has for her children and her patience for those things that don't come easily. she is an independent, strong woman who I admire greatly and seems to have found the perfect companion with which to enjoy her adventures. I wish them the bumps may be few and the transition be as smooth as possible.

ashlee is traipsing around greece with hillary. it's a sad, sad life she lives. I'm actually thrilled for the things she is experiencing as I know that this opportunity is not taken for granted and that she will come home having learned wonderful new things. for some reason thinking about her perusing shops and bakeries really makes me want a chocolate eclair. not sure they're even found in greece, but man, that sounds good.

kendall and shelly are dealing with family separation as shelly undergoes significant treatment for both her and her unborn baby girl who will enter the world with spina bifida. her love for her children is crystal clear as she enjoys every minute of their visits even though left exhausted. their optimism is encouraging and their readers are left with complete confidence that they were meant to be the parents of this sweet baby. she has already made such a tender impression on their little family.

kim is undergoing another transition in her young family. I see myself in her 7 years ago having adventures with my husband and yet missing my family so much I ached. I very much admire her for creating her own adventures, for developing new habits and for making the most of a situation that began as heartwrenchingly lonely. she shares her sibling's talent for seeing the best in any given situation... for more proof, check out her sister mallory who is any sister missionary's dream companion.

as I observe marital relationships from a distance in the blogosphere, I can't help but be grateful that I have a sneak-peek at sandi's. while it took a little time to find him, tarzan seems to be a perfect fit for her. I only hope I have that much passion and dedication to my partner when I'm in their stage of life. their commitment to each other is inspiring.

jaime and natalie make me miss new york so bad it hurts. natalie is living an actress' dream as she plays alongside john stamos in bye bye birdie on broadway. her single, carefree lifestyle is quite different from my own, but makes me grateful I enjoyed that place in my life when I had it. jaim's latest post really made me wanna go shopping with her again and have her pick things that were fabulous on me. her taste is classy, bold, simple and fantastic. she is also good for my mind as one of the best listeners I've come across. not judgemental, yet challenging. always thought-provoking. dinner in the rass' apartment always involved stimulating conversation. oh, I miss them.

see? I think about you. so much so that you've kept me awake tonight. well, you and the cookie dough balls in the freezer... anyway, good night. love you all dearly.

oh, dear.

my barely-shod feet and I were padding around on the phoenix asphalt last night when, just past the half-way mark, the twinges of a blister began. bummer. I suppose the shoes are not perfection, or perhaps it's my feet that are not perfection, but either way it was a bummer. I readjusted my foot-coverings in hopes to have them rub in a slightly different spot to no avail. with no sock to pad the contact, I had two choices: walk the rest of the home, hobbling slightly to ease the pain, keep running with the shoes on and risk them being a bloody mess by the time I arrived at home, or take them off. I chose the latter. well, just one. my left foot made it home in tact and with shoe. my right foot ran bare the remainder of the way.

this is not to be advised unless you are very aware of what is in front of you as you scamper along. let's just say that I do not live in most well-kept area and watching for debris in my path demanded my full attention, especially because it was really dark. a few rocks I can handle, but I didn't want to risk glass impaling my naked foot. made it home safely and will have to wear them for shorter intervals for my feet to get used to them. for the record, the blisters were forming right at the back of the heel, top of the shoe... not in between the toes for those of you who have been outright skeptical.

in other news, my freezer is once again stocked with veggie purees and I'm sneaking them into whatever I can come up with. cauliflower in scrambled eggs and tuna fish (not together, mind you). sweet potato in taco meat, squash in grilled cheese sandwiches and quesadillas, carrot in chili... the list goes on. this morning we had canned peaches pureed as syrup with our waffles. seneca thought it was terrific, the boys preferred maple. denten holds his tongue and is grateful with deirdre or jackie show up with unaltered meals.

a few of you have requested recipes... with secret ingredients and without... I'll get them posted sometime. for now, my babies are waking up and the pool is calling to us.

update on my magic shoes

holy smokes! that was a fairly nice response to my last post. is it running we're all fascinated with, or reading, or new shoes?? whatever the reason, it's been fun to have your responses come floating in. I'll be honest and say that these shoes and the theories about them in the book are all they are cracked up to be.

my new magic shoes and I went out for a run last night. it may well have been the best run of my life. I headed out on my predetermined loop and as I approached the street where I usually head for home, I kept going. let me try to drive home what a big deal this is. I don't run for fun. I don't like to run. I do it occasionally, but not because I find enjoyment in it. until last night. it was like my body felt great padding down the street in my new magic shoes and just wanted to keep running. it was this euphoric, completely foreign feeling. my back was straight, my head was high and I caught myself smiling. yes, it's as cheesy as it sounds.

denten has two comments: first, I swiped his ipod on the way out the door and he just created a new running playlist that is fantastic. it may be that some of my new found joy in running had to do with the great music he provided. second, as I told him that I went quite a bit further than I intended (which never happens), and I actually had a good time, he reassured me that it's all in my head, not my shoes. Whatever. I don't really care which. I mean, if my new magic shoes make my head think running is fun- that's great with me.

a few notes about the shoes, or lack thereof: I did notice a while into my jont that the bottom of my feet were warm. even at 8 p.m. in phoenix the asphalt radiates a good deal of heat. it wasn't enough to bother me. the more noticeable downside of the heat is how much it made the garbage cans smell that people had put out for this morning's collection. yuck.

I wondered if having my toes all in separate little spaces would bug me because usually they all like to hang out together. it wasn't a problem at all. I hit a curb wrong at one point and was glad for the toe protection as I might have lost my big toenail otherwise.

I came across a park in my journey and decided to give my shoes a try on the grass... it was like I was a little girl again running through the lawn, barefoot and carefree. I live in a place where flip flops are acceptable foot attire at least 8 months out of the year. I'm perfectly happy leaving all man-made cushion, arch supports and other phooey out of my closet. I've got other thoughts on why this theory is so great, but I'll leave that for later. this is not to say that the coach, aldo and hobbes heels in my closet are getting the boot... because I love them too. it's ok to be versatile.

all, I can't wait to use my magic shoes again. I heart them.

a book that'll make you take your shoes off!

far be it from me to declare myself a full-fledged runner, however, I'm making an incredibly strong recommendation anyway. if you run, or attempt to run, or think about running, or admire others who run, you must now read this book.

it's so inspiring that there are a few places, you'll want to simply put your book aside and jet out the front door to go for a run. really. that's saying a lot coming from me.

there are so many fascinating topics covered in this amazing (and true) story, but one that stuck has been the motivation for me to run barefoot on the treadmill for the past two weeks. I've been a little hesitant to take my unshod feet outside seeing as my flesh might actually melt off in the 108 degree weather, but I've also remedied that problem. these came today and perhaps the word giddy will give you an idea of how excited I was. I had cooper and senny jumping around the room with me and beckham flapping his arms in an attempt to join us. read the book and you'll totally get it.

superathletes, ultramarathons, a hidden culture, some of the world's toughest and craziest races, the evolution of how we got to this place as athletes, and hilarity. really, laugh-out-loud funny. regardless of your current level of aerobic exercise, go get it (or come borrow it) and read it. then call me. I might let you try on my new shoes.

thanks for the book, dad. I ran further in my bare feet this week than I've gone in my fancy running shoes in quite some time.

d, how hard would you laugh if I showed up to kick-boxing in these??

today.

today

laid in bed until 7:00 a.m. lovely.
woke up with very sore glutes. cindy kicked my butt in strength-training yesterday. not literally, but holy smokes.
denten did breakfast so I could both run and shower before he left for work. love him.
cleaned blinds in my living room. the whole house needs it, I had to start somewhere. does anyone love this job? I could make it worth your while...
did energy work for gma d. love the confidence that she has in me.
listened to senny and bex laugh as they entertained each other.
enjoyed lunch with friends for jackie's birthday.
was astounded that 4 lovely women suddenly turned into a table for 11 because of children in tow. and to think, there were 5 whole children missing due to school. come on, it was fun!
picked up my family room 4 times.
watched beckham read books to himself on the couch.
consumed 4 cups of ice before noon.
had discussions with cooper about what clothes are appropriate for school. I am trying very hard to let him have freedom in this realm, but some things simply should not be worn either in public or when it's 100 degrees outside. we're getting closer to seeing eye-to-eye here.
spent time in my book, which will be recommended shortly. hilarious and fascinating at the same time.
had a nap.
made progress with new energy site
had thoughts turn to drew
added additional life insurance. I won't kill you, babe. promise.
trying to figure out how to use all the eflex money before I lose it.
kissed lots of cheeks. good, squishy ones.
wishing I could be in bluebird canyon park tomorrow night to celebrate tessa's first birthday.

escape

our friends in phoenix who are old enough to be in school started back last week. cooper had one more week of summer, so we escaped! we soak up all the mccall possible. we had a few sunny days before the rain moved in.









then we occupied ourselves with things like hula-hooping (hoopa-looping if you're cooper), bean-bag jumping, dominoes, memory and seneca's version of connect four.







grandpa once again wins trooper of the trip award for not protesting my desire to go to the gardens even though it was very wet outside. I love it there. it's a place with great energy, and the rain just added to the freshness of the place.









we also enjoyed snuggling up for a few movies and did lots of reading.





gram made cinnamon rolls, I drove the scooter without killing anyone, I got good time with my book, grandpa accomplished projects with beckham's help and changed more diapers than I did. we enjoyed a cozy fire and got outside whenever the rain took a little break. it was refreshing. coop starts school today and couldn't wait to get home. he's so stinking excited for school, I hope it lasts his whole life.

a quick getaway

this boy had work to do in sedona this week. it just so happens that his firm booked him a suite/sweet spa room in a beautiful place... and this girl thought to herself, "how unfortunate that he has to work all day and then be alone all night! who on earth will appreciate this great room and beautiful place?" the girl worked quickly to remedy the situation and made sure she was available when the boy emerged from meetings wednesday evening. they dined, perused, made plans for the future, explored and ended the day in that suite/sweet spa room.

the boy was happy for the company and the girl enjoyed a lazy morning followed by a hot rock massage, a little pool time and some further exploration of this great place. it just happens that there are four energy vortexes around sedona and wouldn't you know, it also happens that this girl is quite interested in energy work! the place was good for her spirit. so much so that driving away from it was surprisingly hard. maybe it was leaving him... for it had been a magical 30 hours.














* fantastic getaway sponsored by rothstein donatelli and rachel austin. bless your souls.