Learning to swim

Ok! I know how to swim....the basics. You know tread water, butterfly, and doggie paddle. I just am not a professional breast stroke kind of gal. I started going to the pool to get in a better work out and I really need to practice. I swam 30 laps and I think they were 25 meters. I think that was close to a quarter mile.....but it took me some time.

I think I need a nose plug.

I don't know why I subject myself to such humiliation. At least I wasn't the only person doing laps that was SLOOOOOOW. Someones grandma was there.....and ok so she was a little faster than I was. At least I'm trying.....right? I just might have to swallow my pride and ask about adult lessons. I can't doggie paddle my way through a triathlon. Can I ?

It is not a CHICKEN!

For those of you with poor eye site and poor knowledge of bird species.....please see for yourself that this is not a chicken!!!!!!!!!! The first three pics are of my bird and the last is a photo off an official bird website. So you see there my friend a chicken it is NOT! Humph.....He is still alive and kicken and had his first flight lesson today. I am still trying to figure out what in the hell I am going to do with the thing. This is no Olympia with bird rescuing hippies all over town. And there are thousands of these damn things. At least I haven't killed him yet. Phew....wouldn't be good karma.

Please welcome our new addition!

I am now the proud mother of a baby quail. It has adopted me after being abandoned by it's drunkard mother in the parking lot of the Omak SHUCKS. Hopefully I will not kill it. I almost did by bringing it in the house. It needs to remain at a temperature of 90-100 degrees F. Luckily I searched the internet as quickly as possible or else it would have probably frozen to death as the house temp was 72. Lots to learn I guess. Ironic too.....since I have been an avid quail hater since I moved here. Damn it....Oh well....now I have a bird. Ugh! and Gulp!

14 Days and Counting

So I've logged in about 40 miles this week. My runs are getting longer 5-6 miles per day with today being my long run (which I have not gotten out to do yet). I am just trying to get my mileage increased slowly without hurting myself. This week I can say that I felt really good and much stronger. The only thing thats out of whack right now is my weight. I swear I am the only person to gain weight from running. Alot has gone on since I moved here and in the midst of everything I gained 15lbs. I don't understand it. I am going to try and not focus on that right now. I just have to get through Seafair and see how strong I feel doing the half. Of course a half marathon feels like a piece of cake and I know I have alot of training ahead of me for Seattle. I've been looking at some triathlons too. It might help get me into better shape and it would be another challenge. 14 days until Seafair. I guess I should take one step at a time. :)

Daddys Dam

Phew......it seems like we have been running mad since Thursday. Thursday was Shelbys birthday and it was also "Corp Day" for Jake. So we scooped up Shelby and went to work with "dad". It was alot of fun.....and we got to wear cool badges. We got to explore the dam and then went to the park for a picnic!



Shelby sees a rainbow

Me and Sunny

Gettin a lift from Dad

Excited! We're at Daddys Dam!

Happy Birthday Izzy and Shelby

Happy Birthday to two important girls in my life. It was fate that brought you into my life and made me one very lucky chick! I love you!

A Stroke of B+.........

Today is a B rated day. The above painting is that of the Boston Marathon. This morning as soon as I got up and stumbled out of bed I looked online for my Pharmacology grade. There it was just staring at me in all its glory.......a big fat B+. I had to blink a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing blurry. Nope. I wasn't. And so it goes. So instead of beating myself up I am am going to enjoy this beautiful day and count my blessings.

A Picture of my backroad adventure yesterday.(those are mailboxes in the air)

A Picture of our blossoming garden.

A picture of my BAD cat that got thrown outside for beating up her sister.

And yes seriously I am having Bran and Bannana for breakfast!

Don't forget Jakes new bike! Am I driving you bonkers yet? Ok I'll try to stop.

Yesterdays run went great. I didn't feel like a brick and I ran just shy of 6 miles. Then I hiked my bootie for another 12 miles down the backroads of Omak. Good day and alot of miles in. Today I am going to attempt getting on my bike and see how I feel. I'm going to scout out the pools and see what the times for adult lap swim are so that Jake and I can start biking and swimming together twice a week. That means I have got to go get a freakin bathingsuit....at Walmart.....I never thought I would see the day!

I just wanted to say a sad Bye Bye to my silver dollar fish friend. She recently passed on after catching the ICK from one of the new males we added to the tank......(lil Bastard). I really loved her and will miss her. Swim on Girlfriend......swim on!

Ladies and Gentlemen Start Your Engines!!!!!

20 Days! Twenty days until Seafair is here. I feel like I'm running a marathon against time and it's one I cannot win. I have been consistent with my runs but my training has been lacking some speed work and some Umph! I felt like a ton of bricks this past week and didn't start feeling good until after I've run at least a half an hour. I need to go time a mile. I haven't done that in over a month. I just feel slow lately. Sluggish. Most days I try to run without caffiene because I really don't want to get dependent on it. But there are days even with the coffee where I feel like I am dragging. Hopefully this week will be a little different. Lets see......there are 23 weeks until Seattle. The thought is a little daunting but at the same time a little motivating. It is time to register. Time to make the committment official to where I can't back out.

Self Discovery

INJF. That is me....... I took the Jung Personality test last night and found out what I was on the personality scale. Jake is an ISTJ. Jake is what they call an Inspector and I am a counseler. The test was a series of 50 or so questions (I think but don't quote me) and only took a few minutes. Then it gives you your scores and some links to sites where you can read up more on your personality type. The link is at www.humanmetrics.com. Give it a try. It's interesting and a little fun. I thought mine was dead on and Jakes was pretty close too. I am learning quite a bit from the book I'm reading at the moment. A little self discovery never killed anyone. It has helped me to understand alot about myself lately and why I have a tendency to crawl deep inside myself whenever I feel overwhelmed by the pressures of the outside world. I always thought that whenever things were stressful you should be able to open up to those closest to you. For me I have always stayed really far away from everyone when the going got "rough" so to speak.

Jake and I do have alot of similarites in the way we view the world and recharge. I think the two of us could live in our own world for years if responsibilities and forces didn't pull us outside. And everyone needs friendship and stimuli outside of the couple realm to be healthy and creative and happy.

Maybe that is why running has been my choice of sport. When I run even in a group I am inside my own head getting lost there. My coach used to say if you can talk while you run your obviously not running hard enough. I hate to talk while I run because it breaks my concentration. It's me against me and all the talk is going on up in the ol noggin.

Good Day

It has been a busy week and of course a busy busy day. We just wanted to wish one Scott Chambers a big Congratulations on his big accomplishment. Sorry we could not make it but we are there in spirit....so drink us a beer! :) And wishing you good luck on your job interview and whatever endeavors you and Jen embark on. Love you guys!

Todays Run

It was warm and breezy and I felt like a brick today. It was a short day so I only did 30 minutes and didn't watch the mileage. There are 24 days until Seafair and I am feeling anxious. What else is new? Thank goodness this day is over.

And so it goes

I am sad to say I have finished the final episode of Sex and the City. After watching the final season I remembered why I loved the show so much! I stole this quote from the ending scene.....

"The most exciting challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you find someone to love, well thats just fabulous".

That is so very true. And it took me only 30 years to figure that out. Thank god I did and that I was able to find some fabulous people and a fabulous man to love along the way as well.

I saw this painting a long time ago and loved it. As the woman watches on..... a man (to the left ) is watching her.

Once again....an addendum. I have decided that I am a schitzophrenic and I have begun a second blog. How could this be possible? Believe me......I never believed it before today. Must be the pesticide that I inhaled. But seriously.....it makes sense to me. If you'd like to check it out you can go to.......http://introversionexcursion.blogspot.com/. It's all explained there.

Bye Bye Squitoes

Ummmm Yeaaaaah....as the boss man in Office Space would say. So I'm up drinking my coffee getting ready for a nice long run. It's the first day the sun has shown it's face in like.....umm a long time. So I hear a plane rumbling by and I swear when I looked out the window I thought the thing was going to crash into my neighbors house. I ran outside thinking"this is it! I'm going to witness some horrific crash". My neighbor must have seen me rush out of the house in a dumbfounded panic. He politely informed me that I needed to close my open windows because they were spraying for mosquitoes this morning. I mean Jesus.....don't they put that shit in the paper? (as I found out after the fact YES they do). I looked up some information on the whole pesticide deal and found my source at (of all places ) a Massachussetts government website. Damn those Massholes they've got it all. Then I proceeded to suck in some pesticide as I stood like a dumbass and photographed the rumbling plane. Here for your entertainment....or not :) are a few photos of my morning.

Confessions......

So....I finished this quarter and survived the first class back. I feel good about the exam (but I am one to always understate the goodness so as not to curse myself). The final was hard core with 100 nursing situational questions and 30 math problems. It took me exactly three hours and two granola bars(my stomach tends to embarrass me in any quiet setting).

I decided that due to the torrential downpour here(yes it has been raining here in the Mak for like three weeks) and as a reward for making it through a very hectic quarter we would rent a few videos. For some reason I had failed to watch Season Six (PART 2) of Sex and the City. I used to be a junkie....I mean JUNKIE. I remember when I had TV....more importantly the last time I had cable with the 250 plus channels...ummm back in maybe 2002-2003 I used to watch Sex in the City every Sunday night at 9:30pm. I would plan my week so I had that time off from work. And if I couldn't get it off I would at least know when the first batch of reruns for that episode would be out (usually it was on Tues/Wed so I had to agonizingly wait that time out). So sad but yes so true. It's a good thing I didn't have T-VO back then.

Anyway....I somehow along the way failed to see the second half of the last season. I actually missed the FINAL episode. Maybe I was in denial that it was going to be over and chose subconsciously to not see that last show. I rented out the last eight episodes and have gotten through three. I really loved that show. It was just funny and it is a reflection of the decisions women of my generation have to be making. And there is Samantha who at 40 something is the classic feminist. It was chicks like her (and others) that paved the way for us 70's and 80's broads. I am glad that women finally decided that they could think for themselves.

I know we all don't live in the glitz of New York. And I would rather be out digging in the dirt drinking a beer then to be spending $400 on a pair of shoes. I have dirt under my nails most of the time and personally I would rather hang out with a group of dudes then be in a shopping mall. But I could still relate to that show. Especially when I was single and faced with possibilites and choices. And even now when I ask myself about having children. Not every woman is meant to be a mother and there are alot of men/dads that kick ass as far as raising a child goes. The show portrayed stereotypes and also debunked them. Plus it seriously was freakin funny. And it just showed that girls are girls and our locker room talk is just as bad if not worse then the boys.

So I'm pacing myself slowly because I have 5 episodes left. I know I am going to cry after I see the last episode. The only other show I loved as much was Northern Exposure. Ok maybe that stoopid show "ED". And oh yes "Cupid" (show from 1998 with Jeremy Piven).



It is so weird sometimes to remember when a time when the big black box was a companion of mine. But I digress....I love Sex and the City. It's a great show. I am probably going to gorge my brain on it and give in and just watch the last five episodes straight....

FINAL EXAM....moment of truth

So it's here and I really feel the need to pee. In two hours I will be sitting in a classroom fretting over test questions and fifty plus pharmacology math problems. I'm drinking coffee this morning and that probably is not the greatest of ideas. Wish me luck! (please).......
ADDENDUM: I just was mindlessly searching other peoples blogs in an attempt to calm my frayed and short circuited parasympathetic nervous system when I stumbled upon a new cultural-pop vocabulary word.......(words).......the A-list crotch fruit.....or could it have been loin fruit? Anywayzzzzzzzz......it is what we call celebrity babies now...I guess. Jeez I feel so out of touch. Wish I had known this a little earlier.

Addicted to it!

I'm an addict! I'll admit it. I love downloading music. I mean I LOVE it. Whenever I have a free minute or not....I'm craving it. I am suppossed to be studying for a final and I have wasted 3 hours thumbing through thousands of songs on this mad internet. I needed to switch up the stuff on my Mp3 player for my runs....it was only suppossed to take a minute....10 at the most. And look at me....I'm feeling like it's my new drug of choice. The downside/adverse side effect being that my time is eaten up quickly as I am consumed by all the rockin songs....I need them. Someone please stop the maddness! Is there a support group for this? There's got to be....there is one for every freakin thing else!

Hot Damn....Omak is getting a Home Depot!

Hot Diggity Damn! We knew it was coming but we didn't know they would start building this month. Who knows? Theres a strip mall going in....could there be a Starbucks in Omaks future? God bless America I would be one happy chick!!



We walked down and took pictures of the area before the ground breaking starts. We'll keep everyone posted on the progress....so maybe people will be more inclined to come visit us more out here in the boonies! :)

Good Times

So lately I feel like I have just been bitching just a little too much about one thing or the other.....and this just isn't the buddhist way....to be ungrateful I mean! I registered for my summer and fall classes finally and got all the classes I wanted. And I managed to live through my last Pharm class yesterday. I found out I got an A on the midterm (which I was really happy about and I hope I can repeat on the final). We also took Shelby on her first "official" trailhead and all hike. Despite the rain (I felt like I was transported back to the Olympic National Forest) and having some trouble finding the trailhead....it was alot of fun. The sign said it was a 1/2 mile trail (someone had carved a one in front of that and I believe the 1.5 was more accurate). But Shelby did really well and Jake didn't have to carry her until the very end.
There are 31 days until Seafair. I am getting a little nervous. I'm scrambling to get extra miles in without killing myself. My new shoes are fabulous. (They just cut into my achilles tendon a tad so I have a small limp :)). It's gettin hot out too so I have to try and run a little earlier in the day so I'm not melting. I am excited to get over to the coast next month so I can get near enough to the ocean to get a whiff. I start to feel a little claustrophobic when I am not near the coast. Well.....I'm off to do some kind of chore and then to hit the road. I feel like today is a great day.

Administration is feeling the BURN!

I finally have had enough! They have called me one too many times on my day off. I have worked one too many extra shifts. I have given up my weekends for the past 3 + months. I put my foot down and told them no more. I will not work any more weekends and I have given them my monthly availability and asked them to not call me on my days that I am off/unavailable.

I went in today with a letter stating all these things and found out that our administrator had to work for 24 hours straight yesterday because 2 people decided just not to show up for their shift. She had also had to work a double on the floor on Saturday because an employee quit without a two week notice one day......called asking for her job back the next day and then just decided to not show. This women isn't even suppossed to be working the floor.....and working a twenty four hour shift is just plain ridiculously stupid.

I was in her position once. But when I had employees that were shitty employees they were written up and if they pulled any crap like not showing up they were CANNED! This lady has no clue as to what it takes to be a supervisor. She needs to call CORPORATION and let them know we are short staffed and they need to make some shit happen. Like pay better wages so we can attract a better quality of people. And she needs to get some balls. I know I should feel bad.....but I don't. I'm just laughing. Not only that.....it's not my problem. I am sooooooooo glad I went with my gut instinct and declined the RCC position. I would have either had a nervous breakdown or gotten fired from a job for the first time in my life. They would have dumped all over me. They had wanted me to be on call 24/7. It's practically the case now and I am not the RCC.

Like I said.....I'm me again....and I am done taking SH*&t! And it feels good to say that....even more so to take action.

Back in the saddle again

I am starting to feel like myself again. The happier grounded resourceful no shit taking me. The energetic me! Somehow with all the changes and crazy-ness of life I kind of fell into a little slump. I realized that it had to do with my running. Or lack of it. There is something to be said for a good workout. It fills your body and brain full of all those good endorphine thing-ga-machiggas. Those endorphins make you feel good....they help you sleep better and you end up eating good stuff.

For a while I had been consistently putting in over 50 miles some weeks. Both walking and running. I would also get on my bike and ride to the "Y" and weight train 2-3 times a week. Since I moved here I have weight trained "ZERO" and have been skipping out on run days due to my schedule at work. It has made me very CRABBY!

Last week I made a promise to myself to start making my workouts a priority......and the pay off has been tremendous. I feel "normal". (Plus I actually plucked my eyebrows.....:) so I can run a little lighter! I think the brows were bogging me down!). I have come to the realization that my runs and working out are like food, water and air for me. I can't live without getting out and doing some sort of endurance activity. When I go for days without getting out there I start to feel like a caged bird. It's good to be a free bird again.

This Morning.........

Thoughts

It is four in the morning right now and I should be trying to get some sleep. Instead I am going to go for a run/walk. I am tired but I couldn't sleep if I wanted to right now. I had another bout of insomnia. I woke up at two a.m. and had like a million thoughts whirling through my head.

I was thinking of how I used to be an opinionated person. I haven't thought about politics in months. I was thinking about how I miss my friends and my family and how I need to call them more. Why is it that I never seem to have time lately. I was thinking that I've got six weeks to run Seafair.....and thats gonna be going by real fast. I have all these things I want to do before I'm 90 and it pisses me off that when you really start to enjoy life it seems to go by before you can even grasp that your going to be 40 in like 6 years. Don't get me wrong.....I don't feel old. Thats the problem maybe. I hear all these people my age or even younger complaining about how old they feel. I just don't feel that way. I feel like me.....maybe just a little wiser. Physically and mentally I feel stronger then I ever have. Isn't that how it's suppossed to be? I mean theres going to be enough bitching and complaining to do after the age of "50". Which reminds me of one of my favorite Saturday Night Live sketches......Molly Shannons....."I'mmmmmmmmmmm fif-TAY.....fif-tay yeeeears old". It's about that right of passage. Like because your 50 you know like everything. Maybe you do...or maybe you just feel like you've earned the right to brag that you've been on the planet that long.
Who knows? We saw some skydivers the other day. I decided yesterday that I'm going back to do it again. It will have been ten years since my first jump. I figured I'd do it in August since thats when I did it the first time. Jake said he was concerned. I remember the adrenaline rush and the feeling of being alive and not the fear. The fear is usually eating away at the pit of your stomach as you ascend 3000+ feet into the air and await your turn to "jump" out of a moving airplane. But it quickly passes once your out of the plane. :)

They say only one percent of the population ever sky dives or runs a marathon. I don't know if thats true but it feels cool to say...(ahhh I guess after November technically). Maybe this is my 1/3 of life crisis of some sort. :) I want to hike the Appalachian trail, the PCT, have a baby, try a triatholon, finish my RN and go into physical therapy.....be a geologist, get a puppy, buy some land in Montana or Alaska or Vermont and pimp out the Jeep . Blah blah....the life to do list. Along the way I'd like to stop being so self absorbed so I could do something to contribute to the planet (other then procreating). And someday I wish I wasn't a million miles away from my family.

I'm so out of it. I have no idea whats going on in the world outside of Omak right now. To be truthful I don't even know whats going on "in" Omak right now. I have been living at school or at work or on the road, or when possible with my head on the pillow. (which is where I should be right now).