A Bit of Bodey

Here are two things Bodey has said that I don't want to forget, so I better get them documented.

Tonight, while at the dinner table, Bodey got mad at Dusty and yelled across the table, "Daddy Lee!" Which reminds me, Booker is also Booker Lee to Bodey, not Booker Michael.

The other day I was trying to get the boys rounded up to go outside. Bodey was dilly-dallying around like usual.

Me: "Bodey, quit jackin' around and get your shoes on so we can go outside."

Bodey just keeps wandering aimlessly around the livingroom.

Me: "Bodey, now, or I'm going outside without you."

Still nothing from Bodey. So I went outside and shut the door. He started crying so I opened the door and asked him why he was crying.

Bodey: "You left me inside... and, and, you can't do that to children!"

She Swims, She Bikes, She Runs

Today I participated in my 3rd triathlon. Even though this is the one I dreaded most, I think I actually enjoyed it the most. I really got bummed and lost all my motivation when Jen crashed her bike while training HARD for this tri. We were really motivated to do this race, especially Jen, because we knew if we trained hard we had a chance of placing pretty decently in our age groups. Not like winning a prize placing, but placing in the top of our age group. We normally just set out to do our races, not really caring where we come in, just that we finish. But we had our eyes on the top 20 in our age groups for this tri. But then, Jen crashes, has surgery on her elbow and wrist, and is out. And I lost my motivation. She is my tri partner. We do them together. That's just how it is. Not so much fun by myself. I have also been nursing a stupid IT band injury for the last 7 weeks, which didn't help my motivation. So, I stopped training. That's how I work when I get overwhelmed. I back out. I really wanted to back out of the whole tri since Jen wouldn't be there with me, but I'm too cheap to do that, and since I had already paid, I had to finish it. So I just pretended that it wasn't getting closer and closer, and continued to do nothing. But then, about 2 weeks before the tri, I started to realize that I'm just hurting myself. No one at that race gives a rip if I trained or not. They just want to beat me - and I get kinda competitive in the moment and knew I needed to get with it. Since I had slacked so much, I didn't have a ton of time, but did get a bike ride and swim in, and ran several times. I felt pretty confident though. Not to be overconfident, but this is a short triathlon, and I knew that even without training as well as I should have, I could push through this one. So that's what I did.

I was in the first heat at 7:30am. Standing there on the beach waiting for the bullhorn is when I get the most nervous. Not to mention while I was standing there psyching myself out, they delayed the race 10 minutes due to fog. But, finally, we were in the water. They warned us to just power through the moss that grew from the bottom of the lake and attacked your stomach and legs. Yuck. My swim was not that great. My goal time was 10 minutes for the 500 meters, but I just never got into a groove. I kept running into people, kicking people, and getting kicked by people. I also got passed, a lot, which isn't usually the case for me during the swim. I knew I was going slow, but just couldn't seem to do anything about it. My swim time ended up being 11:37. Not the best, but time for the 10 mile bike ride.

My transition from swim to bike was HORRIBLE. Running out of the water my legs were jello. I finally got to my bike, didn't dry off as well as I should of, and couldn't get my running clothes, socks or shoes on. I was getting frustrated, but finally got on the road after 3 minutes and 9 sec. The bike is where people make or break their overall time. My first tri I was on a mountain bike and swore I would never do that again. Now I have an old Trek road bike that makes a huge difference. For me anyways. I am still nowhere near some of those bikers on their $10K bikes, but at least I'm not bringing up the tail end anymore. I pushed really hard on the bike. And I was feeling it. The last 1-2 miles of the bike were uphill, setting my thighs on fire. My goal time for the bike was 40 minutes, and I came in at 39:34, which I was extremely proud of.

My transition from bike to run was 36 seconds. Jen was there waiting to jump in and run with me, which ended up being a huge blessing. I didn't want to push that hard on the bike and then throw in the towel on the run, but I just might have if Jen weren't there. I needed her big time. I was beat. I forgot to get a drink at my transition so I started the run extremely thirsty. That was all I could think about until the first water station. I couldn't even out my breathing, so I told Jen she was just going to have to talk to me for a while so I could get my breathing regulated. And she did, thank goodness! I felt like I was running a 15 min mile with a cinder block on each foot. And, I didn't have the fields on my watch set correctly, so I couldn't see my pace. I don't like not knowing where I am pace-wise. I had no clue if I was doing ok, or if I truly was running a 15 minute mile. I wanted to walk, my knee started tightening and pinching, and I was ready to give up. But my personal cheerleader kept me going! Thanks Jen! I had no clue what to expect for my run time. My goal was 30 min for the 3.1 miles, and we came in at 28:33!

My overall time was 1:23:27. I was very pleased. I placed 23rd out of 68 in my age group and 106th out of 316 overall. Next year my main goal is to have Jen by my side for all three events, and to finish at 1:19:00. That is very do-able and I can't wait to do another tri!

Marching down to the start

Awaiting the dreaded bullhorn in the fog

Bike dismount - jello legs!

Bringing it in to the finishline with Jen by my side!

C'est La Vie

We are so very blessed to happen to live just a hair over a mile from a working vineyard. And, this is not just any winery, folks, it happens to have mighty delicious wine! Every year about the end of August, Holy-Field Winery holds it's "picking Sunday's." This is where they invite anyone out to pick the grapes off the vines. Last year was our first year out, and I hope to make it an annual event. It is just an awesome experience to get to walk through the rows and rows of grapes. It blows my mind how many different kinds of grapes there are, and how many different kinds of wine they can make from these grapes. Both years, I have been on the white grape picking days. Last year was Seyval and this year was Melody. After a lesson on how to cut the grapes off the vines avoid putting MOG in the buckets, we were off! What is MOG? Material Other than Grape. Like finger tips and leaves. I love chit chatting with all the other "pickers". Last year I was a bit more of a Chatty Cathy, but there was a motivation, you see. You are supposed to meet as many people as possible so that hopefully you've made enough of an impact on someone that they will remember you and call your name next for the lunch line. This is serious business. Will meet people for FOOD! So last year I think I handed my name out to almost everyone there. However, there is a shortcut to the front of the lunch line. You must find the Grape Fairy out in the vines somewhere. And... Christel found the Grape Fairy within about 15 minutes of us picking!!! So, not that I was being unsocial or anything, but since my motivation for being Chatty ceased to exist, I focused more on picking grapes. Oh, and figuring out how to get our wine open without being seen. We snuck 2 bottles of wine in. I don't know if we really snuck them in, or if they were allowed, but we were the only ones out there drinking wine. Overall, I just love this event and hope to make it each and every year from here on out!

Here is Christel with the Grape Fairy!!!

Kim, hard at work!

Jen couldn't stop eating the grapes!

Cori with the beautiful purple grapes.

Our group - I don't remember the lady on the far left's name, but we adopted her because she was there all by herself. Then there's Kim, Jen, Cori, myself, Sharon & Christel. We were referred to the prettiest group out there!

Don't Need No School

I swear this is how Bodey is going to speak, regardless of countless attempts of correction throughout the next 14 years of schooling in his life. He's just a natural redneck and the newest word in his vocabulary is AIN'T. He uses it all the time. That's a word that Dusty and I jokingly throw around every once in a blue moon, and I don't really know anyone who uses that word regularly, so I have NO idea where he has picked this up.

Three-O

27 was hard. But I'm ok with 30. At the age of 30 I am finally at peace in my life. I have the most supportive husband, 2 handsome and healthy boys, and a group of very special family and friends. I finally have a church that I am comfortable going to and call home, and rarely miss -because I don't want to. God has become the center of my life and I wouldn't have the above-mentioned things if it weren't for Him.

This year for my birthday, Dusty wanted to treat me and my 3 best girlfriends. He sent us to the Kansas City Festival of Wine & Food. It was truly a wonderful evening. We got to get all dressed up and walk around and sip wine and eat food. My kind of night!

And, of course Kim had to get some kind of birthday gag in there somewhere. So, this was in my front yard, and I had a matching one taped to the back of my car!

Overall, I know age is just a number. Some people choose to live their lives according to that number. They choose to feel and act old because of that number. I am choosing to do the opposite. I want to live my life to the fullest and be the most physically active I can be for the shape my body is in at that moment in time. Not because my body is a certain number. We all know my maturity level isn't at 30 - and hopefully the rest of me isn't either!

Tim McGraw says it well:

I think I’ll take a moment, celebrate my age
The ending of an era and the turning of a page
Now it’s time to focus in on where I go from here
Lord have mercy on my next thirty years
Hey my next thirty years I’m gonna have some fun
Try to forget about all the crazy things I’ve done
Maybe now I’ve conquered all my adolescent fears
And I’ll do it better in my next thirty years
My next thirty years I’m gonna settle all the scores
Cry a little less, laugh a little more
Find a world of happiness without the hate and fear
Figure out just what I’m doing here
In my next thirty years
Oh my next thirty years, I’m gonna watch my weight
Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late
Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers
Maybe I’ll remember my next thirty years
My next thirty years will be the best years of my life
Raise a little family and hang out with my wife
Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear
Make up for lost time here
In my next thirty years In my next thirty years