@Barb How do I have a tag line at the end of my messages saying stuff like my races and such?? I see a lot of you guys w/ tag lines but I don't know how to do it. I feel like such an idiot, but half the time I cant figure this techno stuff out. Thanks!! (I hit send before I asked the question). Kel
Kelly- I highly recommend the WI camp, especially if you've never done the race or ridden that course. Time on the IMWI bike course is seriously valuable stuff! Plus the opportunity to meet your fellow ENers who will be racing that day is priceless too.
Instructions for how to Pimp your Signature can be found in the Wiki here:
Thanks for answering Kelly, Nemo! You got on before I did. Kelly, x2 what Nemo said about the EN camp! If I were racing WI, I'd be at the camp for sure!
Jennifer: Car shopping. Meh. Moving to Paris is looking better and better, eh? You wouldn't need a car---just a bike with a basket full of baguettes and cheese.
Sheryl: Shelby's gonna be a great nurse. There's no shortage of jobs in nursing for sure. Most days at the Wound Clinic there are 2 groups of nursing students to come follow me around. I go on rants about "There is no magic salve to cure pressure ulcers", "A wound near the anus is never sterile", "There's nothing magical about cleaning a wound with sterile saline", etc. Apparently they and their instructor find is all educational. Ha!
Joanna: Nice to hear you're on the mend! 2 IM's this year?! You rock!
Kelly: I think your goal of crushing that woman in a race is a good one. Never underestimate the motivational powers of spite during a tough time in a race. Yes, we should do this sport out of joy and gratitude for our health...but those higher and abstract thoughts are out the window when your legs and lungs are burning. What's left? Sometimes it just "I'm not gonna let that be-otch pass me!" I've PR'd hugely with that thought a few times. It's easier to work hard to defeat a nemesis than it is to chase some ethereal goal. Just sayin...
Becky: How are you recovering from your cleanse?
Penny: Holy moley!! You landed one ginormously AWESOME job!! What incredible resources you'll have. So happy for you!
Barb: I'm probably the only woman in the whole world that doesn't like Oprah. Everytime I've watched her show I feel like she's trying to make me panic about something then sell a product to me to alleviate said panic. All that being said, she does have some decent books on her Book Club list.
Flower update: The trap has been ordered. I spoke to the Animal Control guy (in the fall when I called him to catch Foxy Lady, the rabid fox in my yard) about what they do with the trapped animals. He said they basically destroy all of them. Relocation is not negotiable. The trap is a special skunk trap which is small so that it doesn't rattle around in it and more importantly, cannot lift its tail to spray you. In other news, I'm having a grand old time learning how to skate ski. I've mostly advanced beyond the Bambi-on-Ice phase and moved onto 3-5 minutes of excellent form followed by a complete stop to catch my breath. All of my runs are now on snowshoes--which are great for bombing down hills that I would normally carefully pick my way down on trail shoes. When my mtb gets out of the shop (it had to be overhauled as I've beaten the crap out of it for 2 seasons), it's snowy trail rides instead of the trainer. Woohoo!
Not much time to write...on a basement cleaning mission but Kelly....riding the IMWI route is almost mandatory. It is a course that can kick your butt if you don't at least preview it.
That's all!!! More tonight when I sit down and watch some video's from the coaches to get ma mojo going!!!
Unpacked from the Disney adventure and I now have moldy running shorts! Yuck!!!! Any hope? I will try bleach but it's also on the blue parts. I really like those shorts too.
@Carly- white vinegar gets smells and mold out of clothing. I use it all the time w/ regular laundry soap included. So use same about of laundry soap; white vinegar in load =equal parts. If you need to add a little bit of bleach to kill the mold but it won't take out the smell. If any of you have smelly work out clothes; white vinegar is the way to go. It's a Godsend. I'm a laundry hound. I love clean clothes!!! Hope that helps. Good luck.
@Thanks for the advice about the IMWI camp v.s. doing Muncie 70.3. We ride tons of hills to prepare for WI route. Several of our friends have done the course. However, there's nothing like actually having the experience of doing the ride and getting that experience. I'm torn b/c a huge group of us are going to Muncie for that weekend. It's hard to pass up racing w/ your friends (plus Bi-othc will be there for some ass kicking). It's a close to home race. I've got some time to think about it, but we're trying to schedule our summer.
You guys are awesome!! Thank you! Doing the bike/brick in the am! kick ass ladies-lets here it for the girls.
Kelly, thanks for the white vinegar suggestion!!! I have the hardest time getting smells out of my workout clothes!! As for you doing Muncie or IMWI camp w/EN peeps...I strongly urge you to do the IMWI camp. Knowing the bike course ahead of time is an absolute must! Last year, I went down to Louisville several times before the race, so I knew where the tougher parts were for me, and how to pace myself. As badly as you want Muncie, how badly do you want WI? Just throwing that out there as a thought. I'm not doing WI, but if I weren't doing Muncie, I'd go to the camp, so I could get some good road time in with the EN team, and preview WI.
Okay, I discovered this morning, after a tough 150 min. bike workout, followed by a 15 min. brick yesterday, that I had put myself into the 20 week IM PREP, instead of the 20 week OS prep!!!!! DUH!!!!!! I thought, "gees, this is sure tougher at the beginning than it was LAST year!" Then, after I posted my work out on F.B. last night, and Greg Vanichamacorn posted "WOW", I KNEW I was screwed up someplace!!! Thanks to Greg, I switched my plan this a.m.!!! Otherwise, I'd have been doing a 120 min. bike today, rather than a 50 min. run!!! Guess where my head was firmly entrenched???!!!!
Penny- that job sounds awesome, and right in your wheelhouse. Congrats!
Kitima- what exactly are you going to do with Flower? Drop him in the forest somewhere?
Kelly- I'd recommend riding WI at least once. There are a few sections on the course where it really pays to know what's coming up next (like that quick uphill turn onto 92 after a downhill, etc.). Riding hills will get you physically prepared, but the mental will kill you on the course if you don't know it.
Re: laundry- I usually soak funkified clothes in a vinegar and colorsafe bleach, then wash as normal (just cause when I used to add it to the wash, when I started sweating the clothes started to smell like vinegar and bleach which can be slightly nauseating when overheating and running outside on a 80+ degree day ).
As many of you know (from my happy FB photo) I finally got a car. I'm really happy with it, did my research and got a very good deal with a 5 year extended powertrain warranty. It's a 2002 Subaru Forester. They are pretty hard to find used, so I was stoked to get one in excellent condition and (even more importantly!) in my favorite color blue! It'll be nice to be able to drive out to the suburbs for biking, and since it's a non-IM year I am also planning on doing a bunch of camping and hiking, so I'm really looking forward to that. Plus I can finally easily get home to see my family and out to visit my siblings in college. It's been a very good weekend, and with Monday off for MLK day it can't get much better than that!
@Barb-Hilarious. That's something I would totally do! Good job on the workout. Making yourself stronger-just means you're going to chick some guys later .
I love it, Barb! I would just "follow the plan" as well and not figure it out for a good long time. Maybe trust should only go so far....
Jennifer, I love love love love LOVE my Subaru. I am actually on my fourth Subaru, although I've never had a Forester. Currently have a Tribeca - would probably have gotten a Forester this time around if I didn't have so many kids and their friends to drive around!
just skimmed... need to go back and read more closely and respond... but wanted to touch base and say hi. @Jennifer- congrats on the new car @Kit-glad to hear Flower will soon be frolicking with bambi and other woodland creatures @Penny - glad the job got straightened out. it sounds like a dream!
so far, day 4 of the cleanse and it's going well. I'm down 5lbs from last Sun when I started the elimination diet. I think I'm over the negative side effects (headaches, etc), and, to be honest they weren't bad (I've read that the first week can be really hard on people). I think having been mostly primal, cutting caffeine, and already used to 1 liquid meal helped the transition a lot! The solid meals (lunch) are great and I look forward to them a lot. I can also snack in the morning and afternoon on fruit or nuts or something like that. Morning is a juice or a smoothie and evening I've been making soups... There's a forum for Clean participants to log on to to ask Qs and find a lot of info. That has been super helpful. Through that I learned that it's okay to add protein powder (provided it's "clean") to my smoothies. So, I've been doing that - and I think that's helped my workouts yesterday and today (I hit my intervals; Friday, pre-protein I was sluggish and I ran in Z1). Apparently you can buy the system on line (for 350) which includes a fiber supplement and a protein supplement to add to the morning and evening shakes as well as other supplements to take during the day... I opted to read the book and follow that program and go it on my own for supplements... but reading the forum I figured out what I needed as far as adding protein and fiber as well as supplements (probiotic, magnesium, liver support, fiber...). I haven't noticed any crazy energy surge or the desire to jump out of bed, but I think my body is still adjusting. The protocol recommends a lot of rest and listening to your body as time goes by. I expect to start feeling the differences soon. Oh, and in addition to the colonic (which, I think I will repeat) I've been to the sauna and I think I'll go tomorrow as I have a day off work and it's a rest day in OS. So, that's it for me. It's fine but I can't say yay or nay yet... but I've discovered a few great new recipes!
Back from Disney and back into triathlete mode. I was in auntie mode the whole time for the little ones, all under the age of ten. So much fun, but I am exhausted! Parents, you are all amazing.
I knew the Bears were doing well the afternoon because when I was out running, it was just me and the super-fasty boys on the Lake Shore Path. Everyone in Chicago must be watching football.
Work has been super crazy this past week, and I just got back from a XC ski weekend. I haven't had much time to read/post, but I have been lurking via the email updates. (I like that feature in the forums!)
So much going on with everyone, I'm not sure I remember it all! Penny, what an amazing job opportunity! Congrats! Virginia, congrats on the engagement! So much going on in your life right now - wow!
I start the OS training plan this week, and I have to say, I am feeling a bit nervous. Which seems kinda stupid, but I'm feeling like I'm not in shape enough to do the plan! Test results this week should be interesting. Nowhere to go but up, right?
On another note, I may have a possible opportunity for a new position at work, and I told my manager on Friday that I was interested in making the move. I guess it would have been a little bit easier on the ego if he had said that he really didn't want me to leave, but he said that he would support it if that's what I wanted, so I guess in the long run that's better for me, right? The best part of the new position is that I would go from a 50-60 minute commute each way to a 15-20 minute commute, and I can think of a lot of things I'd rather do with an hour+ of my day than drive on the highway! The new position would be <10 minutes from the parks I do a lot of my training at, and close to my master's swim group (that I don't go to nearly often enough!). Keeping my fingers crossed that it works out!
Hi Girls, nothing to add, still on the mend, haven't worked out yet but actually think tomorrow is going to be my first day back. WOW the cleanse sounds awesome, have to look into that. Just wanted to say hello and make sure everyone is doing well
@ Becky: The cleanse sounds crazy. I'm glad it's going well. Just remember to listen to your body and I'm sure it will be great.
@ Penny: The new job sounds awesome!!! Congrats and keep us posted on how it's going.
@ Kitima: You're not alone on the Oprah thing. I don't think I've ever watched more than 5 minutes of her show. For some reason I just get bored lol.
@ Jennifer: Congrats on finding a car. Subaru's are supposed to be really good. My fam just bought one a few months ago and they love it.
@ Carol: I hope it works out with the job change. It's always nice when you get to spend less time in the car each day. I'm right there with you on being out of shape for OS, we start week 3 tomorrow and as you said, there's nowhere to go but up. Good luck!
Thank you for all the congrats. Once I figure out what I'm doing I will post a pic of the ring for all of you. The last week has been so crazy. I'm really surprised I actually knocked out the last 3 workouts of the week but they are in the books and went pretty well. I have kind of a random vent/question/whatever for everyone. As you all know, I just got engaged and almost immediately got orders to England. The result of that is that we will be getting married at the courthouse on Wednesday (talk about fast tracking things) so that he will hopefully get orders to England to leave at the same time. Now, I've always been a tomboy and always said I didn't care about a wedding or anything because I've always been all about the proposal....that is until I found out that we can't have a wedding, at least not for a few months. I don't know why but suddenly I'm becoming a huge girl (I know that sounds horrible) and I'm kind of bummed (for lack of a better term) about the courthouse thing. I'm trying to get excited but it isn't working....being engaged is just starting to settle in and I'm going to be married in 3 days. Part of me wants to just get married legally and be "engaged" as far as everyone knows until our wedding in April...waiting to change my name and everything. But I don't want to pretend we aren't married for the next 3 months either because we will be. He is soooo excited it is adorable and I feel really bad that I'm not. I don't know why the wedding thing is bothering me so much but I have 3 days to get over it so hopefully I can. Sorry for the very long vent, I just don't really have any friends that are girls and guys really don't understand this stuff.
Virginia- the ring is beautiful!!! I can completely understand your feeling. First, being "engaged" is a fun time and you are cutting that time short (for good reasons of course), but as a result, totally normal that you'd feel like you were missing something. Second, you don't have to be a girl to want to celebrate and share with friends and family. Even a simple courthouse wedding can have those elements, but it sounds like you aren't really going to have that chance until you get back. Hopefully you can plan a reception for when you guys return where you can celebrate this new part of your life with folks close to you.
Carol- good luck with the job opportunity! Cutting the commute is huge!
Virginia- Two of my friends got engaged a couple years ago and then she almost immediately found out she got a job in London. They did a quicky courthouse ceremony so he could get a visa and paid for by her company for the move. Then about a year later they came back and did a big wedding up in Door County for everyone. I know this is when they celebrate their anniversary too. No reason you guys can't do the same thing! It a beautiful ring too BTW!
Beth- Welcome back, loved seeing the pics of you and the kiddos in Disney (I think you had just as much fun!)
Carol- short commuting is the best. I walk 15 minutes to and from work, and it makes it so much easier to fit in stuff than if I was commuting 45 minutes each way like many people in Chicago do.
Carol, good luck with the job! Virginia, what a beautiful ring! For you girls who don't like Oprah, you might still enjoy the show about Sarah, Duchess of York. Oprah is no where in it. It's all about Sarah. Linda, glad you are checking in, and on the mend! Take care of yourself! Becky, I hope the cleanse is still going well. That takes such total dedication. You're a better woman than I! Hope everyone has had an awesome day, thus far.
Hi Kris! Welcome back! Loving the Hills huh? Wow! Hope you have a great race! I'm plannin' on headin' back to THE VILLE for the big show in August....I have unfinished business! I'll be down for some biking though!
Ladies!!!! Life's been busy so I've only been peeking in here from time to time.
Virginia - congrats! I know of three couples who have had to split the marriage and the wedding - two for visa reasons and one for an FHA home loan issue. I guess it's more common than I had thought - and all seem to have made peace with it in different ways.
So this is something that can only be shared with female athlete friends: I've posted here before about my period, or lack thereof, after the 2010 Snowmageddon derailed mail-order prescription deliveries and left me with a good excuse to stop birth control. The GYN blamed the problem on all my training, which I found doubtful as I have plenty an inch to pinch, even at my lowest. For about four months I've been cycling in the sense that my skin changes and I breakout every month, so I've been hoping that, like a pendulum, my body might swing itself far enough to land in period-ville one of these days. And today it did! I'm sure you're all just *thrilled* to learn about my monthly cycle - but I needed to tell people who would get it!
In other news, I spent the morning raising hell with my condo association and the apartment community next door about a 200-yard section of sidewalk that each refuses to "own" and therefore shovel and/or de-ice. Speaking of Snowmageddon - I refuse to put up with another winter of this! With the tampon as my weapon, I am Badass Suzanne today!
Comments
@Barb How do I have a tag line at the end of my messages saying stuff like my races and such?? I see a lot of you guys w/ tag lines but I don't know how to do it. I feel like such an idiot, but half the time I cant figure this techno stuff out. Thanks!! (I hit send before I asked the question). Kel
Kelly- I highly recommend the WI camp, especially if you've never done the race or ridden that course. Time on the IMWI bike course is seriously valuable stuff! Plus the opportunity to meet your fellow ENers who will be racing that day is priceless too.
Instructions for how to Pimp your Signature can be found in the Wiki here:
http://members.endurancenation.us/R...+signature
Virginia: OMG! Congrats!! How exciting for you!!
Jennifer: Car shopping. Meh. Moving to Paris is looking better and better, eh? You wouldn't need a car---just a bike with a basket full of baguettes and cheese.
Sheryl: Shelby's gonna be a great nurse. There's no shortage of jobs in nursing for sure. Most days at the Wound Clinic there are 2 groups of nursing students to come follow me around. I go on rants about "There is no magic salve to cure pressure ulcers", "A wound near the anus is never sterile", "There's nothing magical about cleaning a wound with sterile saline", etc. Apparently they and their instructor find is all educational. Ha!
Joanna: Nice to hear you're on the mend! 2 IM's this year?! You rock!
Kelly: I think your goal of crushing that woman in a race is a good one. Never underestimate the motivational powers of spite during a tough time in a race. Yes, we should do this sport out of joy and gratitude for our health...but those higher and abstract thoughts are out the window when your legs and lungs are burning. What's left? Sometimes it just "I'm not gonna let that be-otch pass me!" I've PR'd hugely with that thought a few times. It's easier to work hard to defeat a nemesis than it is to chase some ethereal goal. Just sayin...
Becky: How are you recovering from your cleanse?
Penny: Holy moley!! You landed one ginormously AWESOME job!! What incredible resources you'll have. So happy for you!
Barb: I'm probably the only woman in the whole world that doesn't like Oprah. Everytime I've watched her show I feel like she's trying to make me panic about something then sell a product to me to alleviate said panic. All that being said, she does have some decent books on her Book Club list.
Flower update: The trap has been ordered. I spoke to the Animal Control guy (in the fall when I called him to catch Foxy Lady, the rabid fox in my yard) about what they do with the trapped animals. He said they basically destroy all of them. Relocation is not negotiable. The trap is a special skunk trap which is small so that it doesn't rattle around in it and more importantly, cannot lift its tail to spray you.
In other news, I'm having a grand old time learning how to skate ski. I've mostly advanced beyond the Bambi-on-Ice phase and moved onto 3-5 minutes of excellent form followed by a complete stop to catch my breath. All of my runs are now on snowshoes--which are great for bombing down hills that I would normally carefully pick my way down on trail shoes. When my mtb gets out of the shop (it had to be overhauled as I've beaten the crap out of it for 2 seasons), it's snowy trail rides instead of the trainer. Woohoo!
That's all!!! More tonight when I sit down and watch some video's from the coaches to get ma mojo going!!!
Just lurking.
Nothing to see here...
@Carly- white vinegar gets smells and mold out of clothing. I use it all the time w/ regular laundry soap included. So use same about of laundry soap; white vinegar in load =equal parts. If you need to add a little bit of bleach to kill the mold but it won't take out the smell. If any of you have smelly work out clothes; white vinegar is the way to go. It's a Godsend. I'm a laundry hound. I love clean clothes!!! Hope that helps. Good luck.
You guys are awesome!! Thank you! Doing the bike/brick in the am! kick ass ladies-lets here it for the girls.
Kelly- great tip on the vinegar, I need to try that one out.
Kitima- what exactly are you going to do with Flower? Drop him in the forest somewhere?
Kelly- I'd recommend riding WI at least once. There are a few sections on the course where it really pays to know what's coming up next (like that quick uphill turn onto 92 after a downhill, etc.). Riding hills will get you physically prepared, but the mental will kill you on the course if you don't know it.
Re: laundry- I usually soak funkified clothes in a vinegar and colorsafe bleach, then wash as normal (just cause when I used to add it to the wash, when I started sweating the clothes started to smell like vinegar and bleach which can be slightly nauseating when overheating and running outside on a 80+ degree day
As many of you know (from my happy FB photo) I finally got a car. I'm really happy with it, did my research and got a very good deal with a 5 year extended powertrain warranty. It's a 2002 Subaru Forester. They are pretty hard to find used, so I was stoked to get one in excellent condition and (even more importantly!) in my favorite color blue! It'll be nice to be able to drive out to the suburbs for biking, and since it's a non-IM year I am also planning on doing a bunch of camping and hiking, so I'm really looking forward to that. Plus I can finally easily get home to see my family and out to visit my siblings in college. It's been a very good weekend, and with Monday off for MLK day it can't get much better than that!
Hope everyone is having a good weekend!
@Barb-Hilarious. That's something I would totally do! Good job on the workout. Making yourself stronger-just means you're going to chick some guys later
.
Jennifer, I love love love love LOVE my Subaru. I am actually on my fourth Subaru, although I've never had a Forester. Currently have a Tribeca - would probably have gotten a Forester this time around if I didn't have so many kids and their friends to drive around!
@Jennifer- congrats on the new car
@Kit-glad to hear Flower will soon be frolicking with bambi and other woodland creatures
@Penny - glad the job got straightened out. it sounds like a dream!
so far, day 4 of the cleanse and it's going well. I'm down 5lbs from last Sun when I started the elimination diet. I think I'm over the negative side effects (headaches, etc), and, to be honest they weren't bad (I've read that the first week can be really hard on people). I think having been mostly primal, cutting caffeine, and already used to 1 liquid meal helped the transition a lot! The solid meals (lunch) are great and I look forward to them a lot. I can also snack in the morning and afternoon on fruit or nuts or something like that. Morning is a juice or a smoothie and evening I've been making soups... There's a forum for Clean participants to log on to to ask Qs and find a lot of info. That has been super helpful. Through that I learned that it's okay to add protein powder (provided it's "clean") to my smoothies. So, I've been doing that - and I think that's helped my workouts yesterday and today (I hit my intervals; Friday, pre-protein I was sluggish and I ran in Z1). Apparently you can buy the system on line (for 350) which includes a fiber supplement and a protein supplement to add to the morning and evening shakes as well as other supplements to take during the day... I opted to read the book and follow that program and go it on my own for supplements... but reading the forum I figured out what I needed as far as adding protein and fiber as well as supplements (probiotic, magnesium, liver support, fiber...). I haven't noticed any crazy energy surge or the desire to jump out of bed, but I think my body is still adjusting. The protocol recommends a lot of rest and listening to your body as time goes by. I expect to start feeling the differences soon. Oh, and in addition to the colonic (which, I think I will repeat) I've been to the sauna and I think I'll go tomorrow as I have a day off work and it's a rest day in OS. So, that's it for me. It's fine but I can't say yay or nay yet... but I've discovered a few great new recipes!
Hi Ladies!
Back from Disney and back into triathlete mode. I was in auntie mode the whole time for the little ones, all under the age of ten. So much fun, but I am exhausted! Parents, you are all amazing.
@Jennifer - So awesome about car!
I knew the Bears were doing well the afternoon because when I was out running, it was just me and the super-fasty boys on the Lake Shore Path. Everyone in Chicago must be watching football.
Work has been super crazy this past week, and I just got back from a XC ski weekend. I haven't had much time to read/post, but I have been lurking via the email updates. (I like that feature in the forums!)
So much going on with everyone, I'm not sure I remember it all! Penny, what an amazing job opportunity! Congrats! Virginia, congrats on the engagement! So much going on in your life right now - wow!
I start the OS training plan this week, and I have to say, I am feeling a bit nervous. Which seems kinda stupid, but I'm feeling like I'm not in shape enough to do the plan! Test results this week should be interesting. Nowhere to go but up, right?
On another note, I may have a possible opportunity for a new position at work, and I told my manager on Friday that I was interested in making the move. I guess it would have been a little bit easier on the ego if he had said that he really didn't want me to leave, but he said that he would support it if that's what I wanted, so I guess in the long run that's better for me, right? The best part of the new position is that I would go from a 50-60 minute commute each way to a 15-20 minute commute, and I can think of a lot of things I'd rather do with an hour+ of my day than drive on the highway! The new position would be <10 minutes from the parks I do a lot of my training at, and close to my master's swim group (that I don't go to nearly often enough!). Keeping my fingers crossed that it works out!
Hi Girls, nothing to add, still on the mend, haven't worked out yet but actually think tomorrow is going to be my first day back. WOW the cleanse sounds awesome, have to look into that. Just wanted to say hello and make sure everyone is doing well
@ Penny: The new job sounds awesome!!! Congrats and keep us posted on how it's going.
@ Kitima: You're not alone on the Oprah thing. I don't think I've ever watched more than 5 minutes of her show. For some reason I just get bored lol.
@ Jennifer: Congrats on finding a car. Subaru's are supposed to be really good. My fam just bought one a few months ago and they love it.
@ Carol: I hope it works out with the job change. It's always nice when you get to spend less time in the car each day. I'm right there with you on being out of shape for OS, we start week 3 tomorrow and as you said, there's nowhere to go but up. Good luck!
Thank you for all the congrats. Once I figure out what I'm doing I will post a pic of the ring for all of you.
The last week has been so crazy. I'm really surprised I actually knocked out the last 3 workouts of the week but they are in the books and went pretty well.
I have kind of a random vent/question/whatever for everyone. As you all know, I just got engaged and almost immediately got orders to England. The result of that is that we will be getting married at the courthouse on Wednesday (talk about fast tracking things) so that he will hopefully get orders to England to leave at the same time. Now, I've always been a tomboy and always said I didn't care about a wedding or anything because I've always been all about the proposal....that is until I found out that we can't have a wedding, at least not for a few months. I don't know why but suddenly I'm becoming a huge girl (I know that sounds horrible) and I'm kind of bummed (for lack of a better term) about the courthouse thing. I'm trying to get excited but it isn't working....being engaged is just starting to settle in and I'm going to be married in 3 days. Part of me wants to just get married legally and be "engaged" as far as everyone knows until our wedding in April...waiting to change my name and everything. But I don't want to pretend we aren't married for the next 3 months either because we will be. He is soooo excited it is adorable and I feel really bad that I'm not. I don't know why the wedding thing is bothering me so much but I have 3 days to get over it so hopefully I can. Sorry for the very long vent, I just don't really have any friends that are girls and guys really don't understand this stuff.
Hope everyone had a great weekend.
Ok...I think I finally figured out the picture thing.
Here it is!
Carol- good luck with the job opportunity! Cutting the commute is huge!
Beautiful ring! Congrats-when's the big day?? I love weddings such a celebration of love, family, union. Fab!
Beth- Welcome back, loved seeing the pics of you and the kiddos in Disney (I think you had just as much fun!)
Carol- short commuting is the best. I walk 15 minutes to and from work, and it makes it so much easier to fit in stuff than if I was commuting 45 minutes each way like many people in Chicago do.
Virginia, what a beautiful ring! For you girls who don't like Oprah, you might still enjoy the show about Sarah, Duchess of York. Oprah is no where in it.
Linda, glad you are checking in, and on the mend! Take care of yourself! Becky, I hope the cleanse is still going well. That takes such total dedication. You're a better woman than I!
Hope everyone has had an awesome day, thus far.
Ladies!!!! Life's been busy so I've only been peeking in here from time to time.
Virginia - congrats! I know of three couples who have had to split the marriage and the wedding - two for visa reasons and one for an FHA home loan issue. I guess it's more common than I had thought - and all seem to have made peace with it in different ways.
So this is something that can only be shared with female athlete friends: I've posted here before about my period, or lack thereof, after the 2010 Snowmageddon derailed mail-order prescription deliveries and left me with a good excuse to stop birth control. The GYN blamed the problem on all my training, which I found doubtful as I have plenty an inch to pinch, even at my lowest. For about four months I've been cycling in the sense that my skin changes and I breakout every month, so I've been hoping that, like a pendulum, my body might swing itself far enough to land in period-ville one of these days. And today it did! I'm sure you're all just *thrilled* to learn about my monthly cycle - but I needed to tell people who would get it!
In other news, I spent the morning raising hell with my condo association and the apartment community next door about a 200-yard section of sidewalk that each refuses to "own" and therefore shovel and/or de-ice. Speaking of Snowmageddon - I refuse to put up with another winter of this! With the tampon as my weapon, I am Badass Suzanne today!