Nothing Like a Little Time Off Work...

Christmas break.....although I have not been able to sleep in, and each day has been full of STUFF...I have enjoyed my break.

3 days were spent on wedding dresses....we have been to MANY bridal stores...and found not a single contender. So I expected a repeat when I drove an hour and 7 minutes in the pouring rain to Concord. BUT much to our delight, there were 3 special dresses!! Then Tuesday I drove to Campbell in the pouring rain and there was another dress to consider.

Christmas Eve, Christmas....and then back to Concord on Monday. This time I dragged The Captain...and we actually heard "YES" TO THE DRESS.....

The End :)

I also spent today mounting art for the California Kindergarten Conference....and one day painting my living room....tomorrow I am hiking with a friend in the morning, taking The Captain to an eye appointment and then painting my bathroom.....I think I will get to sleep in New Year's Day :)

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*FULLY USE YOUR WINTER BREAK*

HIT and RUN- Caught!!

I have been away a long time...a lot has happened but the most important is that the hit and run driver was caught!! He did have insurance, and a valid driver's license....he did flee the scene, lie to insurance about hitting a pole....and the sad fact is, he will probably be declared incompetent. 

He's 80 friggin 6 years old.

When my mom's dementia took over her mind, she still needed to feel independent. So we left her car in the driveway, rendered in undrivable and she was fine with that. It was hers- she believed she had driven it to the store or the bank last week....to sell it would have upset her. It stayed parked in the driveway until she passed away and then we donated it. 

If this man is incompetent, I blame the person who loaned him the car. We know when someone is too old to drive, make wise decisions and be totally independent. We could never get my mom to move to an assisted living facility but we did make sure she did not drive, make financial decisions and do anything that would harm anyone else.

At the arraignment the judge was not pleased and the DA said this man needed to be evaluated and return Jan. 6, with results. This man needs to be sent to a care facility where he is monitored 24 hours a day so he can do no harm. His insurance and the owner of the car's insurance need to come up with BIG bucks to cover hospital bills, rehab bills, 3 years of lost sick days, a new bike and all the gear that was lost in the accident and pain and suffering. My friend can barely walk a bit before her foot is tired...she has a long road to recovery. He left her for dead on the side of the road. When you hear that big of a THUD, regardless of seeing a person or not, YOU STOP! 

On the lighter side, 6 more days until Christmas Break :)

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*

LAUGH HARDER*LOOKING FORWARD TO CHRISTMAS BREAK*

Hit and Run Update

A car matching the description of the one that hit my friend, was brought to a collision center for repairs. An "anonymous" tipster called the police, who came with the missing mirror, which, as the detective put it, "fit like Cinderella's slipper!"

The car was impounded and the owner retained a lawyer. He had previously told the collision repair shop and his insurance that he "hit a pole." Now he has a lawyer to figure out, who was driving his car.

First of all, he could not have hit a pole in the bike lane....unless my friend was Polish, which she is not. On this road, there is one lane for traffic in each direction- then a bike lane, THEN an area to park cars before the curb and sidewalk. If you hit a pole, in the bike lane with such force that it knocks the side view mirror from your car, wouldn't you stop? He would have to travel past the part where you park cars and onto the sidewalk to hit a pole.

No arrests were made as of Friday. The car was impounded on Wednesday after the tip.....thanks to the person who called in anonymously so "he wouldn't lose his job."

I am hoping by the time I post next, an arrest has been made.

*LIVESTRONG* LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*YAY TO SAN DIEGO POLICE DETECTIVES*

Click here for the news report :)

htmlhttp://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Update-in-Case-of-PE-Teacher-Hit-by-Car-Hit-And-Run-329014881.html

Hit and Run in San Diego

My college roommate was cycling Thursday morning before work with her husband....she was hit by a car while in the bike lane...totally in the right place. Some impatient ass, passing a car on the right, swerved into the bike lane, hit her and sped away....leaving her in a heap with her ankle pretty much severed from her leg.

Just like The Captain, the doctor on call was the right person to do the job...she is back together with hopes of having a working ankle  when healed.

Watch the San Diego News report here:
you can skip the ad after 5 seconds...

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/328138561.html

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*FIND THAT DRIVER*

Summer...Glorious Summer!!!

I have walked with a friend in The City, 

 Hiked in a local preserve,

and saw lots of Banana Slugs....note my sunglasses for scale.

I have gone to 7 a.m. yoga, tried out a boot camp type class on the pool deck complete with tractor tires to flip over, push ups and sprinting and all kinds of torture in 10 centers over the course of an hour. I can now touch the top of my feet when I am warmed up....the goal at the end of summer is to touch my toes....I am one of the most inflexible persons in the world!

I have sewn, embroidered and played around in my sewing room, I have sold things on craiglist and ebay...I have avoided cooking, have been getting my dog fix by dog sitting this cutie...

who has stolen the hamburger buns off the counter and devoured them...but he has been forgiven and he now cannot be left in the kitchen unattended.....Goldens always behave like they are starving!

Soon we head out on the road trip we had planned for last summer...the summer spent in the hospital, with little sleep and worried that The Captain would not recover and taking years off my life. But in comparison, this summer we are beyond excited to be going on our trip...and I have had time for myself...and us.

Yes...school looms on the horizon, but first- v.a.c.a.t.i.o.n!!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*ROAD TRIP*

Week 3- The Gutt Punch

Every August 27th I am reminded of dx day....as cancer mom's know, the day of diagnosis that changed your life forever. Kids should not get cancer....over the years the day causes less anxiety and I come closer to forgetting the puch in the gut I got when the asshole doctor told me  "it's cancer. It's in her bone (pointing to his hip,) in her blood, (and the kicker,) there are spots on her lungs."

Just like that, point blank, in the E.R. Then he said, "we will be admitting her to Lucile Packard. You can call your husband now."

Over the years this hurts less and I bounce well so a little ill feeling and I get on with the day.

I had no idea July 2 would kick my ass the way it did. I re-read text messages. Re-lived the hours The Captain was in surgery. Re-lived the phone calls and what the doctors told me prior to surgery.

Dr. Harmon- who I DID NOT LIKE then, came up to me- stanidng a good 3" shorter than me, looked into my eyes from about 10" away and said, "We know what it is, it's what John Ridder had- AND HE DIED>"

Dr. Castro was cool....walked up, smiled, said what he was going in to do and I looked at him and said, "Save my husband." He said, "Okay," and turned and walked to O.R.

I have come to like Dr. Harmon. I recently told Dr. Castro what Dr. Harmon said and he shook his head and said, "He's not supposed to say that." 

So it has been a year. I cannot believe what I lived through, let alone what The Captain lived through. Our lives have changed and there's no going back. I think back to the morning of July 2. We woke up early. talked in bed. We walked up to the curb and I kissed him good bye and I ran to meet my friend to walk a few miles before I taught camp.

Week 1

One glorious week....it feels like a month! 
I have eaten whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I have watched what I wanted on TV and left the volume on high on my laptop. I left the volume on my phone for playing games and left my shoes under the coffee table until there were so many pairs they were crawling out.

My clothes were piled on the floor until I did laundry today. I worked out, worked a ton in the backyard everyday and got up early today to run in a 5K benefit for Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford, where The Biologist was treated. It was a beautiful run through the Stanford Campus. While I was extremely proud of my finishing time, I was surprised to find I was 4/50 in my age group. There were some awfully fast women in the run.

This was the absolute coolest....there was a kiosk at the end...you typed in your bib number and your time came up! The best part of coming in faster than 10 minute miles is that there is no crowd at the finish....I got my time, walked through the water and food tables and then through the booths for all the freebies before it got crowded.

I have two more days of the house to myself. BIG Foot will be driving The Captain home and I will have to have the house picked up....or they will think I have lost my marbles :)

But the backyard will be unrecognizable and hopefully the inside of the house will not. I am sooooo enjoying summer!

*LIVESTRONG*LIVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*ENJOY SUMMER* 

I HAVE NEVER NEEDED A SUMMER VACATION THIS MUCH.....

.....well, maybe when had 3 small children and I drove 25 to 30 minutes to work each day...with those little kids in tow....or when The Biologist was dx with cancer....but I really, really needed summer to get here this year.

I had never skipped a summer before. Last year, I got out of school on June 25. I had Thursday and Friday off work....and then on Monday I began my week of camp. I worked Monday, Tuesday and almost all of Wednesday at camp....then at 11:45 my cell phone rang...I was literally elbow deep in 3-5 year olds washing red finger paint from hands and arms....the call was from The Coach...he had found The Captain down in the driveway. Paramedics were there and they needed to talk to me.

...I had run to work and had no car...the Rec Dept was not answering my phone call and there was no one to take my class...FINALLY a parent showed, I asked her to dismiss the kids but she wasn't sure she knew the parents,- (Seriously in 3 days I didn't know the parents either as a mom or dad would drop off and a nanny, friend or another parent would pick up,) another mom came and I sprinted out of the room to The Coach who had come to pick me up.


I arrived at the emergency room to find it much worse than what I was told. The Captain was no longer conscious- he was writhing in pain, moaning and rolling side to side with his knees pulled up. The well seasoned ICU nurse looked at me and asked if I was the wife. "Yes. I want to see him but I don't want to get in your way."

She had me come to the side of the gurney where I kissed is forehead. He was not clammy, he was beyond that point- his forehead was cold. I told him I was there but he had no idea. A young nurse was putting sensors on his chest to monitor his heart and each time he moaned she meekly said, "sorry."

 An astute cardiac anesthesiologist came in and took one look at the ultrasound and said, "We need a CT Scan RIGHT NOW. Pericardial effussion."  

I sat down after handing my insurance card to the receptionist and no more than 2 minutes passed when the nurse returned and said to come upstairs...The Captain was going straight into surgery.

The anesthesiologist walked by just then. I asked if he had finished his Rock Star energy drink and he said "almost." "Good" I replied, "I want you awake in there.

Once upstairs I began making phone calls. The Biologist had planned to come over so I could take her to the airport the next day....she was on her way. The Botanist was more difficult. It was 8 a.m. in Auckland...I could not call her so I messaged on Words With Friends - "CALL ME" - Within minutes she called but she only had enough international minutes to hear, "Dad is in surgery," and the phone went dead. She was crying, running through Auckland trying to find a store to buy minutes for her phone. Big Foot was at work and I had just mailed him his new cell phone- I vaguely remembered the name of his work where I had mailed his phone...411 connected me. He would leave the next day. The Botanist called back. Her passport was with the government as she was applying for residency and she couldn't buy tickets without it....thankfully N Zed is a small, trusting country....her boyfriend was able to go downtown and pick up her passport- then she could arrange her flight. 

Two good friends showed up to wait with me. The nurse came by with updates- "Call your children home," the polite way of saying he was dying.

HOURS....

More phone calls. 

Another update. Things had settled down and were going more smoothly. Weeks later, reading the hospital report, The Captain became "combative" once in surgery. It is fighting for your life- happens often. Dr. Castro said The Captain had perhaps a minute of life left once in the operating room. Thankfully the doctors were at the hospital and not in surgery. Dr. Castro said if this happened at night The Captain would not have survived. Dr. Surh was on his way home when he was called back to the hospital. Dr. Harmon, who I did not like because on his way into surgery he said, "We know what it is- it's what John Ritter had- and he died."

A family friend who was a nurse at Sequoia and her husband came to sit with us. She asked who the surgeon was...when I told her Dr. Castro, she said "He's the best surgeon around."

Another hour...another visit from the nurse...still going okay in there, things have settled down....and now The Biologist and her boyfriend had arrived. 

FINALLY...I saw Dr. Castro coming towards the room...I jumped up and saw that he was smiling...he said The Captain was doing okay. He would be in ICU soon and I could see him...he would be heavily sedated. He gave me his hand to shake but I said that was not good enough and I gave him a big hug.

My friends left...I messaged The Botanist that Dad was okay...I called BIG Foot. It was a lot longer than I expected before The Captain was in ICU and they let The Biologist and I in. The nurse who led me in was a runner....she was short and stout. I told her she looked familiar and she said it must be all the runs I pass her in....not true but we had a little bonding moment- then she stopped a few feet from The Captain's room and said, "I need to warn you that he doesn't look good...there are a lot of tubes and a mask." I told her I had spent a lot of time in hospitals and I am sure I would be okay.

Aside from machines and tubes, The Captain looked so much better than when I saw him in ER. He had color, he was warm, and he was repaired. I kissed his head and he was not cold...he was very much alive.

I took The Biologist home, got something to eat and went back and sat with The Captain. His nurse asked me, "Does he have a nick-name?" 

"Russ, I guess,"

"Well I am calling him 'Lucky'"

Later I found out that an aortic dissection carries a 95% mortality rate in the U.S. Luck is the only reason he survived.

The first night was the only time The Captain was peaceful. The medications made him agitated. He pulled out any tube, drain, sensor, he could get a hold of. I was there every minute I was allowed to be in ICU and then some....I was often called back by the nurses as he calmer if I was around. 

13 days later he was out of ICU and into the cardiac wing of the hospital. He was disoriented, thought we were on vacation and wondered how I had found this "hell hole!" He "hoped I was getting my money back!" His memory was poor and after a scan we found he had suffered a stroke which effected his vision. He was even harder to keep in his room now that he was mobile. I had very little sleep and was constantly answering questions and repeating myself. His heart was in A-Fib since surgery and nothing was helping it. The Dr's all agreed that he needed his heart "zapped" with paddles but they had been reluctant as it could cause another stroke. They inserted a camera to see if there were any clots in his heart....when they saw there were none, they hit him with the paddles. On the first try his heart was back to normal beating. I was exhausted from sleeping at the hospital and being woken up all night- and the stress of the procedure which I had given my consent for....that was potentially deadly. After the "zap" The Captain was recharged....he was giving me a hard time for being tired. I had "hit the wall."

Rehab- 5 days of hell...a story for another post.

As the end of summer neared I did not know if I was going to be able to leave him at home while I went to work. The Botanist went back to New Zealand as a resident. BIG Foot returned for his last semester in college, The Biologist came when she could but she was starting a new job at a new school...we did go to her room and help set up...it was one of our first outings.

A lot has passed in past 350 days...The Captain is much better. His vision has not improved so he is not driving yet. His long term memory is back...his short term is pretty good, but misc info is forgotten quickly and he is distracted and then forgets what he was going to do. He walks everywhere and gets rides to cardio workout from the PJCC- Peninsula Jewish Community Center....they are a godsend!  He is more relaxed and more back to the man I married....(except for the memory stuff.)

So for DAY #3 of my summer vacation....it couldn't come soon enough....I am going to enjoy every minute of every day! I have worked in the backyard, worked out, cleaned, watched some HGTV, and run errands and painted a shelf. I have a book to start reading- last summer was the first summer that I can remember that I didn't read a ton of books. 

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*ENJOY SUMMER*

More Rugged Maniac,,,,

The cool thing about the Rugged Maniac is that the photos are included in your registration price. I never purchase photos as they are usually like $25 for a 5"x7" and that is way too much for every event I do.

 These boxes floated on water.....you had to balance yourself or you fell in....I learned on teh first box that you had to just take one  step right in the center and leap to the next....

This is just after snagging my hair on the barbed wire above.... 

....and the slide to the finish!!


....and the Botanist follows....

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*SLIDE TO THE FINISH LINE*

RUGGED MANIAC Year II

What's more fun than finishing the RUGGED MANIAC?

....kicking their @$$es!

Ya, that's right....seriously, I came in just about 5 seconds before that kid on the right....and about a minute before the Biologist....and I have no idea how long before The Nuclear Physicist because I went to the car to get out of my super wet, muddy shoes.

I sucked in the run...I spent part of April on crutches and coddling my knee from an injury falling on a wet floor at work. I did not run the entire month and then just began running again mid May. BUT....in all strength areas I rocked! Last year I pathetically fell from second ring and into the muddy water pit. The past year I have spent practicing on the monkey bars at school and swinging from the pull up bars at the club. I went over the wooden walls by pulling myself over without help! The last challenge was going up the warp wall, up a cargo net and then DOWN the water slide to the finish line!!

This was taken pre-race....the wall becomes muddy and wet from all the people going up it. I watched a video last night of people attempting to go up the wall. The Captain suggested that I don't take a huge run to go up, but rather take 5 or so large steps and continue going up to grab a hold of the top. I was successful on the first attempt...I had to tell the men on top to let go of my wrists as they were pulling me up and I needed to get my forearms on the wall to get a foothold and pull myself over. The man said, "Good job!" And I said, "Yes...I am 56!" And he answered with, "GO GIRL....so much better than sitting on the couch like my mom!"

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*RUN A 5K WITH 26 OBSTACLES*

Ride Your Bike to Work Day 2015

I think it is year 14 or 15 or something like that...it was before I was blogging so I do not have a time frame....before I had a cell phone to snap my picture at the Entergizer Station.

This Thursday I neglected to get my bike in the photo. I had to ride to the Belmont Train Station to check in and get my bike bag and breakfast...which is the total opposite direction of my school. Then I had to backtrack and head up HILL all the way to work. I last rode my bike to a reading workshop for a week back in August...and I haven't ridden since. My legs were screaming when I got to work. But it was worth it. I always feel more enthusiastic when I ride to work.

This week at work was a drag...I was sick with a head cold gifted to me by a student who cannot cover his mouth- even when coughing on my arm-ghak! We had Muffins with Mom on Wednesday where the Moms come to sit with their child and the dads serve. We made special projects for the moms and played the harmonic bells for the them. It was truly wonderful...but the downside was the kids were all sugared up and little %@#$'s the rest of the day.

Friday was our 2nd grade grand finale for the music program. Repeat of Wednesday. I was never so happy to see Friday afternoon come. Next week brings our International luncheon where students bring a meal from their culture and we sample foods from all 75 students...and THEN OPEN HOUSE!! on Wednesday. Seriously I am so ready....
                                                BUT
there's more. Our chick eggs will begin hatching this week.... if they are viable- I forgot to reconnect the turner last weekend.....so we will see how hardy these 3 eggs are.

Then the following week our 4 duck eggs should hatch.
Excitement all around!

Monday I have a sub as The Biologist's fiancee is receiving his Phd at Berkeley!! A Monday graduation? Yes...how odd! But it should make for a nice day.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*RIDE YOUR BIKE TO WORK*

Poke My Birthday....Happy Birthday to Me!

9.April.1959

On your Way to Your Birthday on 29.April.1959:

You were born on Wednesday on 29.April.1959 and you think this is your oldest day of your life history but you are sadly wrong. Let's surprise you:

23.June.1958, Monday, (Your birthday -310 days):

On 23.June.1958, Monday, your father has produced the semen that will be half of you soon.

He produced 1000 sperms every second of his life and you will be be lucky one out of 500 million sperm he sent on their way in the conceivement. You may find interesting to know that if he had drunk (or not drunk) coffee on this Monday morning, you might born completely as someone else (for instance in the opposite sex) as kafein changes the speed of male sperms.

8.July.1958, Tuesday (Your birthday -295 days):

Today your mother ad her last menstrual cycle and started building up the egg, that will be the other half of you.

After today, she will not have this cycle again for a very long time (thanks to you!). She spent Tuesday as moody, anxious, short-tempered and you should be glad, you were not around her that day!

23.July.1958, Wednesday (Your birthday -280 days):

Your mother's egg is ready to build the other half of you and your father and your mother got together to make you.

But there is still no "you" around so don't get excited much. It can take several hours for your father's sperm to reach your mother's egg and now it is just on its way out.

24.July.1958, Thursday (Your birthday -279 days):

Out of 500 million sperm on their way to your mother's egg, the sperm which built you has won the race by coming first and the sperm and the egg is became one to make your very first cell. Do you see how lucky your half (the sperm) be by winning coming up first among 500 million other rivals? Never tell you are not lucky anymore!

We can call Thursday, 24.July.1958 as your "first day alive" because this is when you are a living entity, an embryo, congratulations! Although you are just a 1 cell creature today your unique DNA is also formed so your future destiny like your sex, height, physical apperance, intelligence, characteristic and vulnability to certain dissesases is already been determined.

7.August.1958, Thursday (Your birthday -265 days):

If your mother is an intelligent women, she would have suspected that she is pregnant at 7.August.1958, Thursday. She is not very sure yet but she is suspicious. We hope she was excited and joyed, not worried.

14.August.1958, Thursday (Your birthday -258 days):

Today your mother is telling your father about her pregrancy and he is celebrating to be a daddy!

Day 14.August.1958, Thursday is also important in that, your heart has pumped for the first time today. We don't know if it is a coincedence that your father learned about you in the very day, your heart first pumped!

29.October.1958, Wednesday (Your birthday -182 days):

Your parents could have lawfully got an abortion until 29.October.1958, Wednesday so this is also an important day of your life. Today they decided you should live!

We are glad they didn't otherwise, we'd lose one site visitor in pokemybirthday.com.

29.April.1959, Wednesday(Your birthday):

You are born to a cruel world. Happy birthday little buddy! We hope you remember to enjoy your life which was a big journey from day minus 310 to today.

SWIM ACROSS AMERICA- YEAR 3- LUCKY ME!

It was a beautiful, sunny day after a windy, cold day yesterday. I must admit, I was a bit skeptical yesterday, thinking weather was going to be ugly for this morning. But the sun was out and the wind was gone when I headed to the pool at 7:45.

MY KIDS MADE THESE :)

I checked in, got tattooed and went outside to ring my cow bell for the first swimmers. There were 3 heats for adults. The fast, the semi fast and the slow pokes. I have never been much of a swimmer, but last year I swam my fastest, most respectable mile in Swim Across America. I was fast enough to hang out in the middle of the pool with the fast finishers, while the slow pokes still swam their circles around the buoys. I have only swam 3x since July, after The Captain almost died, so I decided to swim in the slow poke heat....because this year wasn't about personal records, it was about KICKING cancer's ASS!

THE TATTOO ON MY FOREARM SAYS, "GIVE ME A HIGH 5!"

I threw a party at school a few weeks ago on a Friday night. Any second grader could attend from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for an evening of *F*U*N*, food, P.E. and a movie. All the parents had to do was make a donation to my fundraising site. It cost me about $50 in food and crafts. A sweet friend who teaches adaptive P.E. came and took 25 kids for P.E. fun while the other 25 stayed with me for crafts, board games and fingernail polishing. Then they switched. Parents were very generous....and in the end I had $1,890 in my online account! Sure beat begging my friends to donate and embroidering dishtowels as a gift for donating.

Back to today, BECAUSE that's not all! There was a raffle...and first I won a fleece vest and a baseball cap for The Captain....and THEN, I won the next two items! Certificates for dues! I had 2 gift bags, each with a little box, tied with a sweet little ribbon. I was so jazzed to have 2 months dues!! Then after I got home and did a bunch of chores, I opened the boxes AND the certificates were for THREE months individual dues! So I have 6 months of dues for the club!!
I am lucky at raffles!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*SWIM ACROSS AMERICA*

Wedding Bells....NEXT SUMMER.....

Let the insanity BEGIN!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*MARRY OFF YOUR FIRST BORN*

Cactus Garden and Lots of Misc...

I learned that some cacti grow really fast...how fast? So prickly fast that I had to take a shovel to the BIG ones and send the out to compost before they took over my garden...now I have this....

My biggest cactus that is chopped off in the back fell over during a big wind...I hope it survives. I have some succulents that I replanted there from the front yard because the raccoon and skunk won't leave them alone....along with grass that they are ripping up for grubs. Between those critters and the deer, my front yard doesn't stand a chance.

BUT...I did get a Scarecrow sprinkler to fend off my tomato plants and sunflowers in the backyard.....I cannot use it in the front yard BECAUSE some idiot has stolen the last 2.....the second one The Captain had run a cable around and locked it with a padlock...but apparently whomever is stealing them also owns bolt cutters.

Last spring I painted some pickets to build this little fence to hide the ugly house foundation....BUT with the way summer went, the little pickets sat painted and waiting in the corner of the bedroom. In September I took The Captain on one of his first trips out of the house to Home Depot to buy the long boards to put the pickets on.....one side got painted in October and the flip-side in February. Then last weekend The Captain got out the compressor and nail gun for the first time since before his near death adventures.....

It went well....the picket fence looks so cute....and the little old birdhouse I painted to match our house looks cute too.....and with a little luck, the sunflowers will grow tall enough to show through our bedroom window above.

Misc.....next weekend, April 27, for my birthday weekend, I will be participating in SWIM ACROSS AMERICA for my 3rd time....I have swam 3x since July...I may just SINK ACROSS AMERICA....I will be sure to update.

BEST OF ALL.....next week is finally my spring BREAK! Nothing like dragging it out until it is closer to summer than spring!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*SPRING BRREEEAAK!*

SHAMROCK 5K......

Let's just say we all got smoked by a 72 year old man....but in our defense, he ran 8:05 minute miles...which I haven't done since pre-children.
BUT I didn't do too badly in my age group....13/123. I ran 9:01 minute miles....damn that crowded start! They did a great job of not letting children start with the top runners....but they needed to also say, NO WALKERS at the front. It sucks trying to run around road boulders! I ran on the cobblestone median for a while just to get around those 4 abreast walkers. So I could have run under 9 per mile if I hadn't dodged all those road boulders and if I hadn't high fived people cheering on the runners, or if I didn't congratulate all the little runners....who were pretty amazing! I still managed to beat the Biologist, but the Nuclear Physicist beat me by 29 seconds...next run....next one I will do better :)

Getting ready to whack off my hair....

Here we are at the finish, wanting a pic of us...but my sunglasses arm that's being held together with a paperclip got caught in my hair....and it was crazy trying to get it undone. I think I am going short again....that will make swimming easier....(but I doubt faster :)

It's Parent/Teacher Conference time again...I have been spending most extra moments typing up report cards and waking up on weekend mornings thinking that I have to get to work for conferences....thankfully they are almost over.

I cannot believe it is almost St. Patrick's Day! Time for Green Eggs and Spam. I absolutely LOVE St Patrick's Day....and I am a wee bit Irish so that gives me permission to go all leprechaun crazy at school.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*WEAR GREEN AND WATCH OUT 

FOR 72 YEAR OLD STUDS*

February Anyone?

It came and went and I didn't blog...my laptop died and I took my Christmas money and bought a new one....touch screen and all....and why buy the very expensive insurance because, after all....I bought it with my last one and never used it. THEN....when the Captain was installing all the good stuff, he got the cord tangled...and my new laptop fell perfectly on the corner...AND @*!CRACK~!!*....no more touch screen...

So I haven't been reading blogs or updating. Or really facebooking or checking my email a ton....or playing Spider Solitaire....

But February was pretty cool. The Biologist and I did an indoor Tri. I had a sore throat but still it was fun. The 10 minute swim didn't go well for me...the Biologist did a lap further...we were sharing a lane and my throat felt like it was sticking together inside...but I did okay enough.

Then we had 5 minutes to change and get to our bikes....we rode for 30 minutes. It was hot inside and I had the Captain fan me with a piece of cardboard someone else was using on their husband the wave prior. The Biologist and I tied on mileage.

Then we got on our running shoes and headed across the street where we ran circles..well, sort of ovals around cones at the 50 yard mark and we just circled, (or ovaled,) for 15 minutes. I passed the Biologist on a curve and was slightly ahead at the end. The Captain rang the cowbell for us each time we came around.


...I did get 2nd place out of the 7 people in my age group though :)

Today was a beautiful, sunny day...I ran my weekend run, went to the local Farmer's market and then got gas....and we drove around the local port and then headed over to the Facebook Campus because I wanted this:

and this:

 

and this:

and this:

And then a van full of tourists showed up and we left.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*THUMBS UP*

IN WITH THE NEW.....

....has worked well for 2015....

TREASURE ISLAND - OFF THE OAKLAND BAY BRIDGE. JAN. 24 AT THE FLEA MARKET :)

No visits to E.R....the okay to lift heavy objects and swim again were reinstated...although he has yet to swim, I have 2x. After 7 months of not swimming, I can say that I still suck at swimming :)

On the 15th, The Biologist and I are doing and indoor tri! The unique thing about it is that everyone finishes at the same time! It is all about distance. First, we swim for 10 minutes....and it is how far you go! Then everyone gets a 5 minute transition to their bike, which is mounted on a trainer with an odometer attached....and then everyone bikes for 30 minutes. Another 5 minute transition and everyone runs a course for 15 minutes. The only drawback is that it is in The City....but thankfully I emailed the coordinator and The Biologist and I will be in the same wave....the last wave at 11:00.

Lots to blog about...little time.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*LIVE LIKE EVERYONE'S LOOKING*