I WAS the Warrior!!
For a beautiful, brilliant, running, jumping, climbing, crawling, soggy, dirty, swampy, muddy, fire-singing moment in time, I was one with all the elements!
WE were one with all the elements. Myself, my sister and her husband got down and dirty and we are so over the WARRIOR DASH!!
We started nervous–didn’t know what to expect–but once we got into the Wave Gate, we were READY!
Just a fun day of goofing around on a 4 mile obstacle course with 2000 of our closest friends!
We didn’t win but we weren’t last and more importantly, we didn’t get HURT!
We got pictures. We got video. We WILL be back next year!
I will post what we have right now and please check back for the video!
Warriors Unite! We kicked extreme ass! See you in 2010!
This was our starting Wave Gate
This is everyone!
Fire. Really.
Muddy???
Just a little bit...
Rinsing off enough to get in the car
Please stay tuned. As soon as I get the video downloaded it will be UP! In the meantime, check out the rest of these pics featuring crazy costumes!
Happy Birthday Amanda!!
It is Friday the 17 th! My sister’s official birthday! And I see we are reading this webpage a little more regularly now. Thank you! AND making comments. Thank you again!
So, I never got back here yesterday because normal people stuff takes up more time than I thought, which is probably why I don’t do it on a regular basis. But I payed the bills, bought some groceries, tidied up the house a bit…we even had an overnight guest (the kids friend). Next up is laundry—have to get that dang pile down, posting more exciting things from yesterday when I was out in the world (Dodge Challenger…oooh) and basically waiting for my sissy today to come over!
The plan is for her to come here. We are going to have as nice birthday dinner while we can still eat through our mouths and not the feeding tube they will have to put in along with the full body casts that they put on when you break every bone in your body doing some crazy athletic race-type event because you think it’s cool. Then we’ll leave at 5 in the morning tomorrow and prepare for an all liquid diet for the next month! Kidding, I’m sure. We are highly trained athletes. Used to extreme adventures and bad terrain. WE ARE WARRIORS!!
Here are some true excerpts from the e-mail we got:
Warriors,
Brace yourselves for the wildest 3.75 miles of your life, a battleground full of dangerous and insane obstacles! Warriors, prepare to battle.
That doesn’t seem to bad, right? Then it’s all blah, blah, details about packet pick-up, parking, etc… And then this:
Danger Warning
Please understand portions of Warrior Dash are truly extreme – your best judgment and respect for every participant is expected and appreciated.
This is no joke: there really will be fire, swamps, extreme hills, etc. We urge you to take special caution when entering the forest immediately before Splintering Spools because the hill is extremely steep (too steep to run down) and there’s limestone jutting out of the hill in several areas.
Excuse me, while I go poo in my pants. “Splintering” spools doesn’t sound too bad, you know, splinters in my knees and hands maybe…unless it’s like giant shards of wood sticking out…It’s the “steep hill” and “jutting limestone” that concerns me. I would like to NOT crack my skull open on a piece of extreme rock. Fire, swamps…I guess if I’m wet already I can’t technically catch on fire right??
At any rate, I’m getting a stomach ache thinking about it!
So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISTER!! We are going to have SO much fun tomorrow!! I’ll make sure Mom gets us a room at the hospital together!!
Here are some flowers from my front wildflower landscape thing I tried to create! Aren’t they pretty? Won’t they be soothing to look at through giant, swollen, teary, puffy, black and blue eyes?? Ha.
For all you other folks who can only imagine…check out the web here for the actual event,
And here for the Face Book Link.
I don’t have it but some of the comments are funny.
Here’s your pictures Amanda! Happy B-day! Love, Me!
It’s Official!
Just checked the website and the scores were posted for the Final Exam I took today. I was sure I was in the “A” category, but not positive. I am not above making a read-back error (although I will strive to never do that in my professional career).
I worked real hard for this. Just like all my classmates. The mood was serious and intense. We were all first-course nervous.
The professor posted a message saying a few of the questions were reviewed and modified for accuracy. You may have an additional point or two on your score.
Click over to the grade section…yes! Official! I am now solidly in “A” territory! What a boost for the next semester! Longer and harder I hear. More intense. We’ll be getting right into the good stuff. I have to keep up!
Thank you, all, again, for the suh-port! It helps when you know you have people out there pulling for you!
Thank you professor! Now I can say how awesome she was without sounding like I am sucking up.
Good luck fellow students! If any of them might happen to ever stumble upon this: I hope you are just as happy as I am!
I feel like I took a marshmallow pill or something. I’m getting all soft and gooey.
Drink time! I’ll make it a beer. We only have one in the house so it will be a short celebration, but it’s all mine!
I’m going to go outside, fill up the bird feeder, take a seat, watch the wildlife and soak it all in enjoying the moment. Talk later.
Crete, Illinois. Stealth Bomber Fly-Over? Yeah, whatever Nascar.
So we are just hanging out in Crete, Illinois, on Saturday, late afternoon, playing some mini-golf and discussing dinner plans, when, from out of the west flies in a Stealth Bomber! The military fighter plane. What??
I know. So we are all excited, like, what the heck ??!! Why would the Stealth be way the hell over here, in the middle of nowhere, with no military bases and what-not around? Then here comes another one! And there it goes, pretty far off from us. Now, I’m just mad because we didn’t get a picture.
Well, cue Nascar, cause here come two more. I’m sure it was the same two, but now we are ready for their close-up. They flew directly over us. So we got a pretty good shot. It’s kind of small though…something’s wrong with the setting on the BF’s phone. We’re gonna have to fix that.
Mason is the one who put the Nascar spin on it. And it turns out, he was right. Apparently they do a fly-over along with the Blue Angels.
Crete is pretty far from Joliet, but I guess not too far for a turn around when you are flying a Stealth. After we got our pics, they were gone. So that’s below.
And Mason, if you’re reading this, make sure you click and see who is out and taking pictures with the fans…not hiding in his trailer like a little girl. Hahaha. Number ONE in POINTS, baby!! Nothing else matters in the end. (XOXO, Mom)
We ain’t special, and we wasn’t been attacked by space aliens…it was just racing. Shucks.
Big Fish News!
Before Kentucky. Catfish. 13 inches, 1-2 pounds (maybe). Monee Reservoir, Illinois.
In Kentucky. Catfish. 25 inches, 10 pounds. He is filleted (spelling ?) and sitting in our freezer waiting to be dinner.
Happy Fourth of July!! From Paris!!
Haha… I kid! I’m not in Paris. I’m in Chicago, where it is actually raining right now. I’m not sure if they still do fireworks in the rain??
The pictures are pretty funny though huh? They are actually from Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum in Panama City, FL. It’s the Eiffel Tower made of matchsticks with a fireworks display as the background. I thought it would add that extra holiday flare to my usually outstanding posts! Don’t you agree?
Anyway, I’m off to my mom’s now to hang out in the rain with my family and wait for the small-town Tractor Parade and try not to die from the head/chest cold I picked up from the Taste of Chicago on Wednesday. Where, incidentally, it rained all day there too! I know I’m such a baby. Do you think that cold medicine and vodka would cure this thing?
See, if I had just gone to Vegas like I planned on Tuesday, I’d be getting home just about now, tanned, happy and NOT sick!
Happy Independence Day ya’ll!
Thinking about…
Being good…
Monday morning and the weekend is over. Kids are at school and BF is at work. It’s pretty here in the big city and I have been up since 4:30 a.m. thinking about the future. And the past. And the right now. Got a big cup of coffee, checked some e-mail, and wasted as much time as I could until…
6 a.m. when I worked out with Jillian for 45. Circuit training. I am so bad at this type of exercise. I think that I am so strong until I have to prove it with various exercise positions using weights and bending and lifting, and then I realize I am weak and kinda lazy. Plus, my heart is beating out of control, I’m sweaty, my arms and legs hurt, I can barely drink my coffee and I think…yeah right…this just is a lot of WORK!
I, far and away, prefer running. It’s easy and I can go slow or fast. I choose the lazy level. I mean, I prefer it, but I’d rather do neither. I wish I was one of those naturally tall, skinny people that eat french fries and say, “Oh I’m so hungry; I forget to eat all the time; I just get so thin if I don’t eat at least 8 meals a day…blah blah blah.”
But at least I am healthy-er…and I do feel like a bad-ass after I lift those weights. I like seeing the bicep muscle. Round and cut like a little scoop of ice cream sitting on the top of my upper arm. I like the round shoulder and the tight back; Unfortunately sitting on the couch just doesn’t develop the look I want. And speaking of the look….
Let’s go WILD! Run Wild! It’s over. The day started, raining, at 6 a.m. when we left the house. By the time we got to the start line at 8 it was warming up, rain stopped, and the sun even came out. My sister and I finished at the exact same time. One minute faster than our last 5K in December. Took us 33 minutes. That probably doesn’t sound super fast for 3 miles, and it’s not. It’s actually slow. It’s mid way through the usual pack that signs up. But I’m not racing to win, maybe next year…it’s alot of time to shave off and train for speed. I can run a fast mile, but not 3 in a row! But the Zoo was awesome, the animals were out, and the people were friendly and happy to have us.
The only thing I was wrong about was the ease of the actual running. I thought it would be a breeze because we were running in the zoo. Like it wouldn’t be like running at all. “Wooh-hoo we’re in the zoo!! I’m just running and looking at the animals!!–Oh! is the race over already?? Didn’t even feel like 3 miles!”
No, not quite. The zoo is cool, but running three miles is still running three miles. Doesn’t matter where you’re at, you still have to MOVE.
So next up…Warrior Dash! This is the reason why I got my lazy butt up and out of bed at ungodly hours to do exercise and why, hopefully, I will get up all week and do more of this “circuit training” and keep running in the afternoons. The Dash is about 4 miles, plus obstacle course work; so I’m going to need a little more in the trunk to haul it up and over cars and buildings and stuff. And I need to step up on the diet front. I have been eating far too much junk. I even feel kind of sick from it all. So it’s back on a combo of Extreme Fat Smash (click on it for a review) See the Book, HERE, and Body For Life. (Site) It’s all low-fat, lower cal, protein and carb balance type eating. I like to mix them up and find the perfect mix of healthy and weight loss. I want to drop about 20 more pounds before I tackle the Dash. It’ll be alot easier to throw myself over things if there is less of me to lift up. Better on my legs too, and I’ll look really ripped! Ha. Pre-first-marriage weight here I come. Gotta have something to aim for! I’ll keep a little running list for you’re amusement. Right now: Pounds lost: ZERO (0). Haha. 9 (full) weeks to go! Wish me Luck! (And my sissy too! –and her hubby–she’s doing it with me. It’s how we’re spending her birthday! It’s not all just exercise–there’s beer at the end and a cool hat!)
Anyway, after that we’ll be doing the Scenic 5 (five mile run) in the town I live in. It used to be 10 miles, but the town changed it for some reason or another, and now it’s 5 miles. Either way, it’s in September, Labor Day Weekend, so we will have an event a month to keep us in training for the fall. (And that’s how we’ll be spending MY birthday! Aren’t we a fun family?!?) I’ve done the 10 miles and it’s hard. I figure five has got to be a little better and I’ll actually be fit this time around so I won’t feel like I’m dying! Next year we are planning on tackling the bigger races—the ones that use words like, marathon…and tri-athalon….and insane distances….
Well, that’s enough I for now. I ate my first meal; Yogurt and a measured bit of granola. Now I must vacuum and get to the store for groceries and things for the week. Kids need lunches and the BF and I need our specific foods. The Body For Life and Extreme Fat Smash (click on it for another review) plans use regular food that we all eat, just modified for us. Eggs, milk, bread, chicken…it’s the same food, cooked leanly and with rice instead of potatoes. The kids eat it too, I just tweak it down (or up) in portion and fat content for the ones who need it. That was a diplomatic way of description. I’ll have to remember that for the future.
I made up a real nice playlist series too…being good, being bad…made me think of angels, devils, God and hell…But to combine them all gives you a 99 song playlist—which is fine–I like them long—but for typing sake I broke them up into categories for specific flavors. You can pick your best (or worst) or combine them all for yourself. The categories are these:
Posted below just because that’s how I do it. Strangely, there are few songs about God. He/She/It/They, might be mentioned in some, but it’s hardly the star subject. People seem to like Heaven and Angels and they like the Bad Guys, however you call them. Makes better music right?? And you can dance to it.
Ready, Set…Go!
Final Training Day
Sorry I haven’t posted anything for awhile, but I have been in intensive training mode since yesterday after my mom left my house. It’s Thursday night and let me re-cap my pre-race week:
Ran Tuesday afternoon: 3.6 miles.
Ok. That’s it. I ate like crap Tuesday night. I ate crap Wednesday. (It was pouring anyway, and I planned to skip the run so as not to fatigue myself or cause undo injury–fancy race talk). I even had Starbuck’s with my mom in sympathy for her ailments. (But, I did have it skinny with no whip–wimpy–I hate it when the healthy habit follows you around even when you don’t want it to)
Since the BF went out with friends and work people, I took the kids to McDonald’s, on the condition, by Stevie, that since Mason got to pick Wednesday, she could pick Thursday, which she picked Friday’s. And that worked out well for all of us and it makes a nice string-together sentence. Poetic. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday….
So you see the schedule I set for myself. Rigorous. So McD’s (dinner) is Big Mac, Fries, Sprite with a few nuggets for good measure. Then the Blues Brothers movie. Two hours of digestion. Then on to my playlists. I was working for you behind the scenes, as they say.
Thursday AM and I had every intention of getting up and exercising with my main girl Jillian Michaels. Don’t be fooled by the “beginning” aspect to this tape I have, my arms are getting rounder and cut and I do this workout much less than I want to. But the BF doesn’t have to go in to work until later today, so everybody sleeps until the last possible moment.
I did walk the kids to school—so I got that. However, I think I might have canceled that out, plus some, when I got in the car back home and drove to McDonald’s (again–but breakfast–notice the distinction) for some of those delicious Burrito’s for myself and a Sausage McMuffin sammy for the BF. Every good deed ya know??
So then after the BF left for work, I watched Regis and Kelly, as usual, and then 50 First Dates. I’m sorry, but I am a sucker for that movie. That KIND of movie. Funny, romantic, but not overly mushy, dramatic, unbelievable, blah blah blah. I know, but the time just ran away after that. Those movies on tv with commercials take like 3½ hours to watch. What was I supposed to do? Quit? I already committed. Love stinks.
So, I just did laundry and paid bills and goofed on the internet. Finished up another playlist—you all are so lucky. You could run for miles on what I got in the hopper. By this time, the BF was home. Short day.
So finally, one hour before the kids are due home, I got some of that… “exercise”, if I ain’t being too subtle. (That’s actually a borrowed phrase from the D-listed guy—love him!) But I did get in a workout. (Like a double work out, really, because the BF’s friend kept calling until he picked it up–start and stop–start and stop, etc…)
Kids are home now. Homework done. Off to Friday’s, as promised, on Thursday. I ordered the low-fat lettuce leaf with spritz of vinagrette and a lemon water….yeah right. I had some new Cosmo Margarita that trendy place came up with, and paid TEN dollars for it. NOT worth it! It’s basically a weak-ass Margarita with cranberry juice. They bring it out in a giant Cocktail shaker–packed with ice and pink liquid and let you pour it yourself. I got 2 “drinks” out of the Tumbler thing, into my smaller glass, HALF rimmed with salt…but whatever…Lesson learned. Stick to straight shots in the car before going inside and you’ll do a lot better.
My food was Mac N’ Cheese. Ultimate Showdown Style. I like Guy Fieri, and the whole Friday’s concept, I’m even a Give Me More Stripes member…I don’t know what I get, but I include it every time I pay, and I get e-mails every now and then. Maybe you have to go every week or something to really reap the benefits…I’ll never know. Anyway, the only reason I ordered Mac N’ Cheese is because I saw Sunny Whats-Her-Name make her best Mac n Cheese EVER on her Food Network show. So I already had that in my head when I saw it on the menu. Not great. Sunny’s looked better. Oh well, the little Spicy Pumpkin Mini Muffins were good. I shoved them in my mouth and dinner was over.
Tomorrow looks to be more of the same. I can’t run because I am chaperoning a field trip for my daughter. Eli’s Cheesecake Factory! Part of the final lesson on Economics and the Business Fair. A tour of a real, successful business! And we get lunch and cheesecake…so what am I to do? I have to go and participate. Haha.
Actually, we’ve known about this for awhile and I am glad I get to go. I was worried that with my unknown school schedule I would have to miss it, but luckily that madness starts NEXT week!! I am bursting for real!!
So back to now, it’s 10 pm. I’ll just Run Wild on Saturday–no big deal–I’ve been running enough that 3 miles is hardly a sweat-breaker. I seriously never thought I would be able to say that in my whole life. To just be fit enough to run at will. That’s a good thing because the Warrior Dash is after that, and I do have to train a teensy bit more…so more extra buffness is in my future.
I’ve given my fingers a pre-typing warm up tonight with a few games of Bejeweled. The Gem Game. I love it. I used to love it until 3 in the morning. It’s actually what I used to do all night before I started doing this.
My BF reconfigured the code on the game so that he could get 1.3 million points in Action Mode by increasing the points you get with each gem line you make. Then he changed it back and I have been struggling ever since to beat him fair and square using my advanced gemming skills. And I did it tonight! One million six hundred thousand, plus, points! HA! No cheating! Just an eye for the colors and fast reflexes. It’s good to be the Queen.I should go put those fast fingers to use somewhere else…
Maybe later. I have things to throw on the internet. Cool Words, Quotes, Picture Dictionary, another Story from my son! An action one!
But first, a playlist. I’ve had it for a bit now. I created it for my daughter and her friends. Ten years old and just learning how to navigate the phone-call-answering-machine-voice-mail-conference-call thing.
Two of Stevie’s friends called here, together, using 3-way calling, when we weren’t home, and proceeded to leave six, (6), yes, six, long-ass messages on our answering machine. Apparently calling six times in a row is the way to get someone to pick up the phone even if they’re not there. It wouldn’t have been so bad if they just hung up, but they had conversations with each other while still hooked to our phone.
I’m actually surprised the answer machine tape, recorded all of the calls. It was like 20 minutes of talking. Her two friends talked about going to the library and where they were each at, with the occasional shout out to Stevie like, “Hey girl, are you there? Pick up the phone!” Then right back to their conversation. At one point, the first girl asked the second girl how long it had been since she actually CALLED Stevie on this number. And when the second girl said a few months, the first girl was like, “OH Dang–this might not even be her number!!” But do they hang up? No! They go on to tell us what numbers they are calling from and how they can be reached for the rest of the night.
It basically ended with the first girl telling the second girl, and I quote: “Khatana, you ain’t fly.” Then crazy, crazy laughter and finally, “Stevie call me.”
CLICK.
Thank God.
So, long story short, for all Stevie’s home girls that think they are cute, this is for you:
Khatana, You Ain’t Fly!
Running Wild in Illinois on the Best Day of the Year so Far
I love days like today. They have everything in them.
Sunshine. Blue skies. Cloud scatter. Tight breeze. Ever-so-subtle, atmospheric-scent in the air; And finally, the storm itself.
Moving in fast from the South and darkening and covering the blue with ominous grey and green. We didn’t care because we were already in and done with our day.
I mostly sat around all morning, and after Regis and Kelly (still hooked I’m afraid) I flipped channels and Sweet Home Alabama was on. I don’t care what you say. I’ve seen it 20 times and I’ll see it 20 more. If they show it, I’ll watch it. Cut-up to hell, but I don’t care. It’s too romantic and it spoils real life and love for the rest of us, but we all like to dream.
“Aw hell, nobody finds their true love when they’re 10 anyway”
So then my neighbor came over and asked me to help her move some plant potters and once I got a whiff of that outside I figured I’d better get out and enjoy it before it feels like a wasted day. So I did.
But first, I took a few pictures of her Frankendog. The dog had some surgery (she’s fine–just surface removal) and she looked so funny I thought I’d capture it forever. And of course share with you. Pictures below.
Then I hit the trail. Kind of slow, but at least moving. Listening to The Warrior playlist.
Check it out if you dare. Have to keep motivated. Have to go out and shake it tomorrow too. I am about to do some major damage to my gut this weekend and I need to be pre-prepared.
Friday night’s a free-for-all. Undetermined.
Saturday A.M. The BF’s Mom for breakfast. Saturday P.M. My Mom for Dinner. I’m sure there will be drinking. That’s what gets you is those alcohol calories. To the brain AND the bum.
Sunday A.M. Kids are home and we are going to need lunch. Possibly breakfast. And definitely dinner.
I guess I could show some restraint and just suck it up and eat healthy, but you know, I’m actually drinking right now typing this post and I’d rather just work out extra hard after, than miss something good right now.
Mother’s Day starts tonight for me! Hold up, I have to go fix another drink. brb (ha! NOW I know what that means–only took 6 months to figure that one out)
Ok crisis diverted. Back to the plot. While running I came up with a few ideas. First off, this post. I do my best thinking and pre-writing while I’m running. You might disagree…sister?? Best is questionable if this is the result, but I find it amusing and I’m only slightly buzzed.
Then for a playlist. “Running Wild and Crazy, possibly in the Jungle” I haven’t worked the details out on that yet, but it’s next. Depends on how many “wild” and “crazy” songs there are. So I thought I could throw in the “jungle” for filler. Got a great opener….
This is a funny thing while I was running today. At about the 1 and ¾ mile mark, I started seeing crayons on the ground. You know, Crayola crayons. Just laying there. First a yellow, and orange…a few moments later red and broken blue showed up, then a quarter mile on, here’s purple, brown, green….who’s missing? Oh yeah…black. Nope. Here he is. Made it just under 2 and ¼. Last guy to be dropped out of the box I guess by some poor kid walking around with his parents. I wonder what the thought behind bringing crayons to the Forest Preserve trail was anyhow?
When I go tomorrow, I’m going to pick them up when I see them. Usually stuff is still there after only one day. It did rain, but it was pretty hot during the day and some of them looked like they were melting to the ground when I saw them. Hopefully they won’t un-stick in the night and roll off the path in the morning. If I get them, I’ll post them! Something to look forward too! Hang on for one more day!
And I thought of another playlist–crayons, naturally. Like the colors–red, yellow, orange…etc. I’m working on that too.
After the trail I took the kids to the store. I really DID have a grocery list, although I’m not going to write down what it was.
Ok, ok, just real quick (for Amanda): Card for mom, yogurt, granola, Tums, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cheese sauce for Stevie’s school movie night, ketchup, Mountain Dew (also for Stevie), hot dogs, hot dog buns, baked beans, a little gifty for my sissy, and four, half-pound each, fat-ass burgers.
Like I said, Mom’s Day is early here.
When we got home, I put the stuff away, packed up Stevie’s stuff for school, and the kids went and played outside for a few.
Mason had bought flower seeds at the store, some Chinese Lanterns, that he thought looked cool, so he and Stevie went and found four different potters to put them in.
Then it conveniently rained, and they came in and watched Family Guy. I know it’s bad and not for kids, but it’s just SO funny. Besides, they learn new stuff. I can’t teach them everything.
With dinner over, my kids got transported to another store by the BF to purchase gifts for myself and the step-mom. After hiding the gifts in a location I must know, so that I don’t go looking there for 3 days, they are sleeping.
I am drinking.
The boyfriend is playing Mafia Wars.
Last game of the night: Lights off and laying down.
I am about to wrap this up with no words of wisdom, no extra pictures and no playlist.
Oh you. You know me too well. Here’s a blue sky–above; a tip–right here: Don’t stand up in a canoe. Don’t do it; And a killer playlist–below:
(It’s “comprehensive”—but please, let me know what possible song did I leave out??)
Give me a devil-horn-hand-gesture and let me pass out. Vodka Rocks! Woo-hoo!
just shy of pretty 