Feelin' a little blue...

But that's okay because blue makes everything better!

So much for this being "The Sunny Okanagan"

Rain rain...go away.

Come again a-nother day. 

Sa-mantha wants to play. 

Rain rain GO AWAY!

It's been raining on and off like this for what feels like weeks now. The highway is washed out in Sicamous, and there are massive mud slides between Revelstoke and Golden. Revelstoke damn has now opened the flood gates twice! Our lakes are rapidly approaching maximum capacity and running out of places to keep all this water... at the rate things are going people are going to have to start storing it in their bathtubs and living-rooms... and that's gonna suck.

I'm a wet-coast girl, but I could be done with the rain for a little while. I hear Colorado is burning to the ground, couldn't we send them some of this water?

Please? *bambie eyes*

Just *do* it! Full training - Part "The Bike/Run"

We stagger out of the water... "dash" up to the car, and discover just how hard it is to undo let alone *remove* your wetsuit with cold fingers.

Precious transition minutes of fumbling later, and we both manage to get into our bike gear without flashing the mobs on the beach that are prudently staying out of the water... and discover our second "problem". How to put on socks and runners without the sand that has liberally applied itself all over our feet and between our toes.

I don't care how fast your transition is, if you have sand in your shoes I'm *pretty sure* you're going to wear your feet down to a leg nub! A squirty bottle of water and a towel off later we're back in business. Note to self for race day: extra rinse off water.

We joke about how great it is going to be on race day not having to pull two bikes out of the back of The Fit... when m&m asks the question that would spark the motto for the rest of this adventure "Where did you put your wetsuit?" to which I respond...

"In the transition area..." *smiles*

The bike was beautiful, we did a half hour subset of it and it felt pretty good... the transition, nothing of note... and then the run.

The run started out slowly, so slowly I thought that my legs had been cast from concrete and liquid lead poured through my veins... Other than that and the feeling that I had to pee *soooo badly* (which I didn't) it was completely uninteresting until we both finally admitted to being starving.  Apparently you need more than a six-inch sub from Subway to fuel a triathlon.

A quick dip in the lake *after* the bike/run sans wetsuit felt absolutely AMAZING!!! Why don't they do things in that order?!?! I'm telling you, it would be sooooo much better...

After congratulating ourselves on our epic "full transition training" we ducked over to the Blue Heron for dinner, and proceeded to eat an entire plate of calamari... two steak sandwiches with fries... and a full order of spinach salad washed down with an entire pitcher of water and a couple iced teas and cokes.

That ought to hold us till Sunday ;)

Just *do* it! Full training - Part "The Swim"

Today, 3 days before...

*ahem* The Triathlon

We finally did a little bit of everything training... including transitions. Alright, basically we sucked it up and did the lake swim.

Trying to get organized at lunch was a gong show, but we managed... you sure need a lot of stuff for this event!

Three minutes from the lake, and I'm psyching myself up for how cold I think the swim is going to be. Couple deep breaths... a little cajoling, c'mon you're Canadian what's a little cold water with a wet suit on? You've swum in the Pacific on boxing day!

It was perfect, we were able to park right on the beach, suit up... give each other that little bit of moral co-motivation, co-inspiration and uh a couple other words that end in 'ation'... and we were doing *it*.

Second step into the lake, and it is feeling fairly frigid... then it hit my wetsuit at mid-thigh and it wasn't nearly so bad. A few more steps and my wetsuit that I've owned since highschool is letting cold water in at the seams... I can feel it very distinctly. Every single stitch hole.

One last look at each other, with the taunt "Well? Are we going to swim or not?!?" and I dive in...

I'm pretty sure that my lungs come with very specific instructions, and that they say "Do not immerse in cold water. Ever." But they've long since been lost, and this wasn't cold water that was sneaking in the holes in my wetsuit, this was zillions of tiny frozen needles that were attacking me... aggressively.

I'm pretty sure my lungs are the biggest wusses ever, because they shrunk at least three sizes trying to hide from that frigid water. My brain initiated an emergency shut down immediately regressed to glacial swimming instincts: Get in. Get out. With a little luck it's enough to rinse the soap off.

With my decreased lung and brain capacity, I started hyperventilating and broke into a sprint swim. For the endless 10 seconds it took me to regain control of my senses. I waited for Michelle to catch up, and then alternated between repressing the urge to hyperventilate, and mediating the fight between my desire to practice swimming normally and my brains trying to avoid a brain freeze by staying as far out of that frigid water as possible.

First swim? Epic fail.
Awesome? Not doing it for the first time on race day.

Burlap Sack

I recently purchased an Explorer SportRack Car Topper on kijiji that no longer fit the needs of the nice family in my neighbourhood who had a new camper.

I was pretty stoked because it's regularly $219 at Canadian Tire, and I picked it up for $100... it was also wicked because I probably only need it for this roadtrip, and all the other car top carriers are in the neighbourhood of $500, which I would rather put towards a plane ticket... or a new guitar... or maybe a couch that doesn't suck and remind me of first year University after sitting on it for an hour.

The mounting kit which consisted of 4 smooshed U bolts, 4 backing plates, and 8 screw-on nuts with pretty twisty bits... as if I didn't have my own wrench set. And they wanted $54 dollars for putting it all together in a package!!

So, being the frugal cheap bordering on repressed starving University student tendencies... I trucked 'er over to the nuts and bolts and mounting section of the store, and found this:

Which was approx $1.60, and will fit my round roofracks much more nicely. I'm sure I can find something equally cheap, or creative to cover those sticky-uppy ends with too.

ZOMG!!!

I am too tired to tell you about the triathlon this morning, other than to say I survived.

in fact I was going to go straight to bed after turning my bathroom into a Chinese laundry, but then I shook *this* out of my towel!!!

I have no idea wtf it is, it looks almost like a hollow husk of a shell? But I threw a cup over it anyways and left it in the tub... I don't need that crawling around while I'm dead to the world.

Eeeyyyy *pulls collar*

Don't think twice...

Too late, that moment of indecision, should I go back or forward... by the time you've thought that it's already too late...

Now you've done it, you've gone and dribbled down the crack.

:p

The thoughts that you think

I like to look around while running and biking... especially when it's on the road, I mean it's not like any cantankerous old root is going to toss you off the trail. When I tree planted for a summer, one of the most important things I learned was that my body can do a LOT more than I think it can. So I like to let it do it's thing, while I let my mind wander...

I don't really know what most people think while they're training... or participating in physical activities. But I'm totally the kid that's standing out in the middle of the soccer field watching the swallows flit around... until the balls rolls by. Then you can't tell which position I'm *supposed* to be playing... in fact about the only thing that is certain, is that I'm not playing goal.

So the inspirational thought we had while training this week, was that

If this triathlon was a three day event... we'd be awesome!

We've done the full bike, which wasn't too bad... and we've done the full run, which has some *holy crap* hills in the middle of it... like I kid you not, uphill BOTH ways.  Now *I* was under the impression that a "sprint" distance triathlon was an introductory one, like I've decided to try something other than convincing myself that I'm "active" 3-4 times a week.

This could be the death of me.  Hmmmm that could explain why Mitts is more excited about it than I am...

Idle thought for the day...

If this damp rainy overcast weather keeps up... combined with global warming... Canada's going to turn into a rainforest.

That could be kind of interesting... wonder how long it would take the bugs to get huge... *eeyuck* ...and that's enough idle thinking for today.

It could be worse. I know this... but still.

For the most part I have exceptionally good luck and good timing, but when I don't... well it all slides.

This afternoon I went with Aaren to pick up an antenna tower he bought from another HAM operator out in Armstrong, I'd carpooled with m&m this morning so I just gave her my keys. Obviously I didn't think this one through very well.

I got dropped off at my house as I found out she was out at a piano recital. But it's okay, it wasn't really a big deal because they have one of those coded locks... so I walked the 30 seconds up to her house and punched in the code, tried the door, and it was still securely locked.

Punched in the code, listened ...and nothing. Punched in the whoops I just realized I'm moderately dyslexic ... code. Hmm third time, maybe the lock button clears it... punch. in. the. code. *beeeeeep*

Mukka hiya fungoweeee! I really hope that isn't hooked into an alarm system *feverishly texting* ... No, wait... it stopped. *phew*

So here I am standing outside... my spare car key is in my apartment, and my apartment key is attached to my car keys that are sitting on the kitchen counter just beyond this coded door. I really wish I was the hacking kind of nerd right now...

I give up. I didn't want to go to Zumba anyways. So there... *sigh* yeah I did :(

But it's okay, it's really no big deal. All the important people in my life have a spare... I'll just walk over to Shazam's...

Eyah. Not so much... they're at soccer *of course*. Just break in she says... the window over the hot tub, or the bedroom... alarm's off so you don't have to do the mad dash through the house. And "Hamburgers are in the drugs" this message brought to you by autocorrect. *smiles*

Sll*cht* ... sll*cht* ... hmmm or not breaking in. Apparently this is the one time that window is actually locked!?!?! Wtf over!?!?!

By the time I'd tried both windows and decided that I might as well attempt to squiggle around in my utility skort and let myself gracelessly into my bathtub window, they were on their way home...

I know it's not "one of those days" ... the weather is warm enough, it's not raining, and I have people who love me, but it kinda feels like one of those days. My outlook was much improved by that burger in the drugs fridge though ;)

B-9... BINGO!!

I found some remote town in some state... somewhere in the US... and I think my cerebellum has fused, short circuiting the neutronzian reactor causing an emergency shutdown  which has forced an emergency discharge of legacy intelligence... I just forgot everything up to and including highschool.

*wheeeeee*

Ummm I don't think I'm doing this road trip planning thing properly *squints* I can't even see straight I've been looking at the map for so long...

Going on a roadtrip!!

If I haven't mentioned it before now, I am about to embark on a roadtrip of epic proportions... Vernon BC to St. Louis MO.  I've got three weeks booked off and approved for the middle of July. It promises to be one for the books, another chapter in the adventure of my life *grins*


View Larger Map

I was having some trouble planning, there are so many things I want to find and in this age of the internet soooo many resources... but there isn't really a good way to pull them all together. I basically had things spread haphazardly all over my living room.

It was complete and utter chaos and it was getting worse at an alarming rate.

Now the trouble with the coffee table was that my laptop was at an awkward height, I'm either hunched over from the couch (which I considered pulling forward) or I'm sitting on the floor until my butt goes numb, followed shortly by my legs...

Then it hit me! I am the only one who lives here!! I can do whatever I want *wherever* I want to do it. If I want to take over the entire kitchen for road-trip planning, and not clean it off for dinner, I can! So there Dad *sticks out tongue*.

And thus, the road-trip planning command center was born. Isn't it beautiful? *smiles* My laptop is hooked up to an extra monitor for Google mapping locations. I've got my rechargeable cordless mouse, and speakers for inspirational motivating tunage!

Now I can use Google maps to quickly find map locations from the BCAA Travel Guides and sticky note them on my map... and look up images and additional information, and cross reference *everything*.

It. is. AWESOME!

Supernatural Beautiful British Columbia

My English teacher would probably have something to say about that title not being correct with all caps, but it really does deserve it... I mean look at this!

Shuswap falls

I realize it's pretty much the weekend, and I still haven't posted these from last weekend... but check out how gorgeous it is here. Can you believe that I actually *live* here?!?! I mean really, these were taken about an hour away, a lazy Sunday afternoon drive hour away.

Abandoned house just before Mabel Lake

Looking through these again makes me think another trip is in order this weekend... with the canoe.

Mabel Lake

Perrrrrfect rock skipping conditions, and the beach had a handful of suitable flat rounded pancake rocks.

Gorgeous end to an absolutely beautiful day... Oh wait, no... first we grabbed pizza in town, then we went to the Starlight Drive-in movie theater near Enderby. That was a fantastic end to the day, crammed the hide-a-bed mattress in the back of the Fit, it was like being the only ones at our own private movie theater... Totally awesome :)

Breaker breaker... One-Niner

I think we've got ourselves a convoy!

Super cool nerdy surprise to start the morning off, today can't be anything but awesome!! :)

Thanks Aaren VA7 AEJ

First world dilemma

So as you may recall I had a plan. The plan was that I was going to grow my hair out... Because you know, it's been a long time since I've had anything outside of the super-short pixie cut to hockey hair range... and long hair just looks sooooo gorgeous when you curl it, and omg *giggles* look at all the cute things you can do with it!?!

*Ahem* sorry, my inner valley girl snuck out for a second.

Anyways it was going pretty well, well it was going relatively well... alright so it wasn't in a pony tail (the only condition the Approval Committee had when I said I was growing it out) but it *was* twisted and flipped up in a hair clip most of the time. Yes, that is a HUGE step up from pony tail for me.

Right, so I had realized that this long hair things wasn't nearly as cool as I had hoped... but I knew I had to give it a fair chance. So a couple weeks ago I got it coloured and had a style cut into it.

 
Super cute right?? Then I got suckered into had my rubber arm twisted  into playing ball in that tournament in Kamloops... Well it was frizzy and all over the place and then all up in my face when I was driving with the windows down and that was it, I'd had enough... I was done with the long hair.

Chop it all off!

Since then, pretty much everyone I know, has said in the most diplomatic way possible... "You look waayyy better with short hair" So not that I care what anyone else thinks... but I love it! Sooo it's back, and by popular consensus it will most likely stay back...remind me of this 5 weeks from now when it has turned into unruly hockey hair and needs to be trimmed *again*

Creature of habit

This is what happens when my parking auto pilot gets interrupted by someone in my spot *before* I've had my first cup of coffee!!!

Apparently they forgot to tell the new hires that's *my* parking spot ;)

Sound the trumpets, cue the fanfare!

Zoom in a bit, um a bit more...

This was the excitement of the day yesterday... as I caught a motion out of the corner of my eye I heard Connie running at mach 1.5 down the hallway, and saw this little scraggle-muffin trucking through the back yard.

First tourney, and games 2-9 of my season...

I. Hurt. *everywhere*. Even my hurty bits have bits that hurt.

I'm pretty sure my core body temperature has dropped while just sitting at work, as all available resources have been shunted to repairing the damage incurred this weekend.

All said and done though, it was a darn good fundraiser ball weekend... barring the fact that at night it's still fricken' freezing Mr. Bigglesworth!!!!

My apologies... the camera was having as much trouble focusing in the dark as Randy was!

We (and by we I mean my team) executed a text book brilliant triple play as though we had practiced it a thousand times. It was so beautiful I almost cried a little bit. Just to put it in perspective though, Terry, a guy on our team that is older than dirt who's been playing ball for like 37 years said that was the third time he'd seen one...*ever* and he spends a lot of time on the ball field.

The second highlight (some would argue first) was that I took out a guy at second base... What?!? Don't look at me like that, *he* was in my way!!! 

It isn't nearly as bad as it looks...

So there I was standing on second looking down at him as he rolled around writhing in agony, his face all contorted...  Until I said "Duuuuude, are you okay?" I even had a genuine look of concern on my face as I offered him a hand up. Although I'm not going to lie I was giggling a little on the inside. 

You would not believe how quickly he wiped all of that unmanly emotion off of his face and picked himself up and dusted himself off when he realized he'd been run over by a girl ;) You could almost hear the tattered remains of his ego flapping in the breeze, as he attempted to wrap the remains of it around himself.

Seeeeee not so bad, barely worth mentioning here.

By the time we made it to the final game however, our team was played out. It was wet, and cold and raining... most of us were just starting our season and we were ready to go home. We dropped the ball in the last game. Literally, among other things, but at least the loss was a total team effort, just like everything else we did this weekend... but one of my favorite things about it, was when we were all texting our friends and family the bad news and Jesse piped up with "We may have lost the last game, but we came in second in the A division... out of 22 teams. And we were undefeated until the final, that's not too bad guys!"


When you put it like that, it really isn't :) Thanks Goonies for another crazy fun-filled weekend!

Sitting up at the lookout

Sometimes I forget that I live in such a beautiful place... and then I stop and sit down for a moment and watch the world turn with a friend.

Thanks My Kim :)

I love spring in the Okanagan

We were out walking last night instead of training... and we found this tree filled with clusters of beautiful :)