Top 10 Tuesday

I haven't done this in a while, so I thought it would be fun to just throw a random post together! Maybe this will help take my mind off of the stresses of moving/house hunting/work/toddlers/etc. Nah, probably not but hey, it's worth a shot!

Top 10 thinks keeping me sane right now amidst the chaos:

10) Copious amounts of Diet Coke. Preferrably fountain

I can haz? via Google images

9) The view out my window of Puget Sound and the mountains. It is stunning. I know I have posted before, but it is nice...

8) The little bagel place down the street from our apartment where the woman knows Julia and I now! Everything bagel toasted with butter, please! Oh and refer to #10 as well

My favorite. via Google

7) Continuing to use my 5 minute + PR from my half marathon on Sunday for motivation as I start Ironman training!

6) Hopefully getting a treat for myself...pedicure, anyone? Don't mind if I do!

I need my feet to look like this. via Google 

5) Reading my bloggy friend's posts, especially race (Ironman) recaps. Love them!

4)  Did I mention Diet Coke? Oh ok. How about wine? No? Yes, I plan to partake in some wine guzzling tasting today and in the days to come

3) My new Seattle friends TriGirl, Stacie, Ann Marie and Kerrie! Thanks, ladies, for already making me feel welcome in my new city! Please read their blogs too - I linked them on their names!

2) Shows like How The Grinch Stole Christmas and Shrek the Halls already playing on TV. Love the old favorites - can't wait for Charlie Brown too!

via Google

1) The Muppets. Yes, they are my #1 reason for staying sane right now. Watching Julia and Rob sing the "Manamana" song makes me laugh no matter what. There should be a link to the You Tub if you click the picture. 
If you haven't seen the movie, go right now. I mean it. Go now.

via Google

So there you have it. Exciting, right? I thought so.

Enjoy the rest of your evening!

Questions:
1) Do you use a race/PR/good workout as motivation to keep you going?
2) What is your favorite movie right now?
3) What is your "go-to" beverage/food of choice to de-stress?

Seattle Half Marathon race recap

Happy Cyber Monday everyone!
Are you all shopping today...specifically on Amazon.com?! Thank you in advance for supporting my hubby's company if you are!

Hard to believe the holiday weekend is already over. Time just flew by - thanks to hours and hours of house hunting for us. It's exhausting! But I was able to squeeze in a half marathon yesterday which was good!

The race started at 7:30 so I headed out for the 1.3 mile walk from our apartment to the start line around 6:15, just in case I got lost! Luckily lots of other runners were headed there so I played follow the leader.
It started right at the base of the Space Needle, which for me still being sort of a tourist, was really cool!

Nice self portrait, no?

They sent the marathon walkers off first, and then us. There were 3,579 women and 2,778 men who raced - fairly good size!

A steady rain was coming down and the wind would start to whip here and there - not ideal conditions to say the least. And I had heard it was a "rolling" course but I think that was a bit of a major understatement!

I lined up a few rows behind the 1:45 pace sign and immediately lost him about 3 seconds into the race. He didn't hold up the sign so I had no idea where I was. Oh well - I'll just go by how I feel and wing it!

I got through the first mile a little slow, at about 8:33. But then as things thinned out a bit, I was able to make up some time and was consistently between 7:55 and 8:15 pace.

The route was really pretty, as we went down along Lake Washington through this great neighborhood called Leschi. I was doing fine until I realized we had to go back UP from the lake. Yikes. Miles 6 through 8 were tough, as much of it was going back up some huge hills. I didn't walk any of them, but I was barely moving as I plodded along cursing under my breath. I ate some of my Sharkies and had some Gatorade and water once I got to the top.

We then went into the Arboretum - again, beautiful but we went down first and then had to come back up. Dammit! I started to get frustrated with the hills around miles 10 and 11 but then once the Space Needle was back in sight, I knew I could hammer through it.

I passed the 11 mile mark and glanced at my watch to see I was at 1:30. So if I could go less than 11 minute miles for the last 2, I would get my PR...and sub-1:50 was within reach. I started to speed up on some "flat" roads and was feeling good up until the last 1/2 mile or so. We took a left turn and it was up hill, straight into the wind and driving rain. It sucked but luckily it was short.

We finished into an old football stadium, on the turf with lots of people watching and cheering. I finished in 1:48:14, a new PR for me by 5:14!! I was thrilled to say the least!

I was soaked to the bone - my visor was dripping water, my shoes weighed about 5 pounds each and I was frozen solid. I got back to where my clothes were and tried to warm up before heading out. I stopped at the top of the stadium to see some more peopel finish. A nice woman offered to take my photo since I was struggling to do a self-portrait since my fingers were frozen!

Overall, the race was great - very well organized and the course was challenging but hey, it's Seattle. It's hilly here! Lots of support along the route and people cheering even through the pouring rain.

Final stats:

1:48:14

193rd female overall (out of 3,579)

41st in age group (out of 587)

8:19 average pace

And congratulations to my new friend Ann Marie on her first marathon yesterday, finishing in 4:14:18! She smashed her goal of 4:30! Way to go!!

I think Seattle will bode well for my Ironman training. Will get lots of hilly workouts and become stronger for when I race in Arizona which is pretty flat!

Thanks for reading my recap!

Questions:
1) What did you do this weekend?
2) Do you shop Cyber Monday? Any good deals?
3) Any races left for 2011?



Wait, Thanksgiving is over??

Happy Friday, everyone!

I have to say that I have never participated in a Black Friday shopping extravaganza of any kind. I have never gotten up at midnight to shop or waited in lines to get a $39 DVD player or something of the sort. And trust me, I am a bargain queen - I can find crazy deals all year round that make my friends very jealous. Black Friday does not interest me in the least. But to those of you who relish in today, good luck with your shopping and hope you get everything on your list!

Um...no thanks! (via Google)

Our first Thanksgiving in Seattle was a very nice one. We chatted with our families earlier in the day, went for a run on Puget Sound while looking at Mt. Rainier (breath taking) and then drove around to look at more houses. The debate rages on as to where we should live - it's overwhelming but I hope we get some sort of "sign" that tells us what is right.

This is a pretty accurate depiction! (via Google)

Rob's colleague from his days in Denver lives downtown Seattle and was gracious enough to invite us over with her family. Two of her three children, her husband, and 2 of their neighbors were there as well. It was so nice to meet some new people and chat about everything from triathlons to what to do in Seattle to school districts. Julia was a big fan of their 2 puppies as well.

Today I'm planning on taking Julia over to see the parade downtown and then wander over to the Seattle Marathon expo to pick up my race number for Sunday's half marathon. I'm nervous about the race- the hills here are killer! But I will do my best. Aiming for under 1:50 but we'll see...

The best part of the expo will be hopefully meeting my bloggy friends TriGirl and Stacie from SkippingInSeattle! SO very excited to meet them in person and have more new Seattle friends. I was so happy to be included in a running group here too thanks to Kerrie! I hope to meet up with them soon as well.

Things are starting to fall into place here in Seattle and I know we will love living here. Now to get the house sold... here is the listing if anyone wants to buy it! I'd be your best friend :)
http://www.hometownone.com/listingprofile.asp?db=RS&recid=211120590

But can someone please tell me...how in the heck is Christmas only 30 days away!? Ack! I need to get in the holiday spirit, stat!

Have a great weekend!

Questions:
1) How was your Thanksgiving?
2) Are you racing this weekend? Good luck!
3) Any advice on how to get into the holiday spirit when everything is a bit discombobulated in life?

16:59:59

Good morning from Seattle!

It's still raining here. But from what I am told, this is unusual and it normally just mists. That's good to know, but it's still pretty crappy outside the past 2 days! Oh well. We'll make the best of it.

I had the chance to peruse some other blogs this morning and ran across Steve's post from yesterday. If you don't follow him, you should. He's a riot and a super fast runner/triathlete and a cool dad to a cute little boy too.

Anyway, I decided to steal borrow the photo that he posted:



This is Patricia Tillotson who is 56 years young and now can call herself an Ironman. Why did this picture make me smile and give me chills?

For those who may not be familiar with Ironman, you have 17 hours to complete the entire race. You also have to make the cut off times for the swim, bike and run or they will pull you off the course and you are listed as "DNF".

As you can see, Patricia was the last finisher in this year's Ironman Arizona. She literally was spared by less than 1 second.

The people cheering her on behind her? The winner of the men's pro race, who finished 9 HOURS before her and the winner of the women's pro race, who finished 8 hours ahead. Yes, you read that right. 8 and 9 hours. Kudos to them for coming back around midnight to cheer Patricia on to make the cut off.

As scary as it is to think I will be (hopefully) crossing that finish line next year and hearing them say "Erika, you are an Ironman!" Patricia is now my inspiration. I will print this picture and post it somewhere so I can be reminded of the determination, dedication and sheer will of everyone involved to complete an Ironman.

So a pre-emptive thank you to Rob, Julia, my family and my friends who are willing to stick by me for the next 12 months during training and all the craziness until I can officially say I am an Ironman.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and are surrounded by those you love most - oh and stuff yourself silly with some great food too!

Cheers!

362 days...

...until hopefully I am a finisher of:

Yes!!!! I took the leap and decided to try and go for it and it worked! I was poised at my computer before the race opened at 11am Pacific time yesterday and hit "Register" as soon as my clock clicked over.

I got into the site, started filling out my information and my anxiety level rose with every field I completed. As I got closer to the end, I thought to myself "Self, what the hell are you doing?!" But I kept going...giving them my emergency contact information, telling them I'm allergic to Penicillin (found out that one the hard way last year - ack), what my triathlon accomplishments have been thus far, etc.

I then hit "Submit" but still wasn't done. Had to enter my credit card number and pay the whopping $650 (plus fees - what a joke) entry cost and hope I didn't miss a digit as I carefully typed it and checked it twice.

I again hit "Submit" and waited. The. Longest. 10. Seconds. Ever. (ok maybe not but close).

And then I see it on my screen and my new email notification pops up and I see this:

Registration Confirmation for:

2012 Ironman Arizona

Dear Erika,

Congratulations! You are now registered for 2012 Ironman Arizona. Please check the event's official website for updates: http://www.ironmanarizona.com/

WHAT?!? What have I just done? Wow, there's no turning back now - I am in it for the long haul!!

And come to find out - this race sold out in 10 MINUTES. 10 minutes. That is just unreal. I have no idea how I was lucky enough to get in, and how I managed to hit "Submit" before the hundreds/thousands of others trying to register, but I did. Fate? Maybe. Reward for my hard work so far and dealing with a lot on my plate right now? Possibly. Or maybe it is the salty sea water of Puget Sound right outside my window gives the internets some super powers. We'll go with that theory.

This is the view from my desk - pretty awesome

Random thought for the day: I remember having to wait in line or trying to call Ticket Master for New Kids On The Block tickets (remember when we didn't have the internets and you had to do that?!) and what an awful process that was. It felt almost the same - the anticipation of being towards the front of the line and hoping the guy in front of you doesn't buy 10 tickets. I remember being 3rd from the front and not getting tickets because they sold out that fast. Damn you, NKOTB and your Right Stuff.

I loved them. Check out these outfits - can you say 1989?!

via Google

But I digress. I hadn't said a lot about this because I really didn't think I'd get in. So I didn't want to get my hopes up only to be dashed by an overloaded server, a poopy diaper (Julia's, not mine) or a rogue meeting/conference call that would have taken my attention away from being ready to click "Submit" as quickly as I could.

The hard part is over. Now starts the fun: 362 days of training to get me to November 18, 2012 in Tempe, Arizona!

Oh and in other news, we're in Seattle!! I'm looking out onto Puget Sound, watching the ferry boats come in right now (see photo above). And yes, it is raining. But this is the first rain we've had since we got here on Saturday. It is stunningly beautiful here - saw Mount Rainier in all its glory on Sunday along with the Olympic peaks, which just rendered me speechless. What else has made me speechless?? The cost of a house here - holy hell it is crazy expensive! Will be paying for that mortgage until I'm 135.

I hope everyone is enjoying their short work week and gearing up to stuff yourself silly and trot with turkeys (if applicable). If I run out of time to blog between now and then:

via Google

Questions:

1) Big plans for Turkey Day? Trotting?

2) What is your "A" race for 2012?

3) Am I crazy?!!? 



Yes, I'm still alive...and still awake!

Well, hello again! What's that, you say? Yes. I'm alive. No, I didn't run away and join the circus but I've come close a few times! Too bad clowns totally creep me out - I wouldn't survive 1 day there!

Ack! So. Creepy. (via Google)

What a whirlwind few days it's been. Let's discuss, shall we?

In the past 72 hours I have:

1. gotten about 8 hours of sleep...TOTAL
2. had new carpet installed in our family room
3. flown to New York
4. written 20 thank you notes
5. spent yesterday shopping and being tourists with my dear friend Nancy (what a nice break!)
6. watched history being made at Madison Square Garden (Coach K becoming the winningest coach in NCAA history...all thanks to Duke beating up on my beloved Spartans - boo)
7. saw my dear friend Adrienne and was able to wish her well in person before her wedding in 3 weeks (congrats, Yo!)
8. flown back to Detroit
9. worked... a lot
10. had dinner with some great friends today
11. shopped for birthday gifts for my nephew and a friend
12. done 4 loads of laundry
13. run 5 miles....TOTAL (I suck)
14. am totally unprepared for a half marathon that happens in 10 days (again, I suck)
15. had numerous phone calls with real estate agents, movers, home inspectors, etc
16. hugged my sweet little girl about 100 times today because I missed her terribly

And that's just the beginning.

Needless to say.... I. Am. Beat.

I have no idea how I'm still awake and even coherent (although many of you may disagree with that based on this post!)

But here are a couple of pictures from my 24 hours in NYC and dinner with the peeps:

First subway trip of the day

outside Rockefeller Center

with the GREATEST mascot ever!

Tip off...when the Spartans still had a chance to win :(

with Megan out for yummy sushi

thank goodness Megan always has her camera!

Half of the group!

So on that note, I think I'll try to put my "To Do" list away for the night and attempt to get some shut eye. Bets on how well that will work? Over under is set at 1 hour 5 hours of sleep thanks to my brain working a double OT shift.

 Happy 1-day-closer-to-Friday, everyone!

Questions:
1) How do you keep functioning with little to no sleep?
2) Have any fun things happen this week?
3) What are your Thanksgiving plans?

Iron Turkey Race Recap

Happy weekend, all!

So after a couple of days of suck, I'm back to feeling a bit more human and actually smiling a bit today!

I decided earlier in the week, when my dad graciously agreed to watch Julia, that I would sign up for the Turkey Trot in Ann Arbor. I ran the 5k here years ago, but for some reason haven't gone back. I'm not sure why though - the course is beautiful and always fun to see lots of familiar faces near my hometown.

They now have something called the Iron Turkey...and as you know, with my Ironman dreams, it was a no brainer that I had to sign up for something with "Iron" in the title!

The Iron Turkey meant you race the 5k and then race the 10k about 30 minutes after the finish of the 5k. Interesting concept so I said to myself, 'self, just go for it!'

I managed to trick convince my friend Nancy to sign up for it too, as well as Megan (although she opted just for the 10k since she has already run about 533 races in the past 6 weeks!) Then my mom told me she was running the 5k, as did 2 of my other mommy friends! So we had a pack o' women running and it was great.

With Megan and Nancy

With my mom

Nancy again!

It was about 35 degrees at the start of the 5k but sunny and it warmed up quickly. I went out a bit too quickly like a crazy person with the first mile at 6:55 pace (whoops!). I settled in as the course got a bit hillier and was at about 7:15 for the 2nd mile. The 3rd mile was 7:20ish and I ended up finishing at 22:28, just shy of my 5k PR (dammit). Here are the stats:

104th overall out of 1,039 finishers (I think 22nd overall female)

3rd in age group out of 73

7:15 pace

I'll take it!

After watching Nancy, my mom and my other 2 girlfriends finish, Megan and I got ready to run the 10k.

We took off at a pretty fast clip - around 7:55 pace for the first mile, and then settled in. Megan's legs were feeling a bit heavy today, and my legs were toast after my 5k, so we chose a pace we both felt comfortable with and got through unscathed!

We ended up at 52:45 which was great! I was hoping to help Megan break the 50 minute mark...but today was just a bit tougher than either of us thought it would be.

We'll get it next time!

Stats:

216th overall out of 660

10th in age group out of 51

8:30 pace

  

For the Iron Turkey results, I was 68th overall out of 296 with a total time of 1:15:13 for the 9.3 miles. Not too shabby!

Overall it was a great day and a lot of fun at the race with my friends and family.

With Nancy, Melanie and Chrissy (way to go, girls!!)

1-2-3 Jump! With Grandma and Grandpa

After stopping to get the best soft pretzels known to man at the Dexter Bakery (if you are ever in the Ann Arbor/Dexter area, GO THERE), we headed home to relax and unwind for a bit. And watch my beloved Spartans beat up on Iowa today! Go Green!

I then decided to take Julia to see Puss 'n Boots at the theatre (she LOVED it) and had an impromtu fierce game of air hockey!

don't let her cute face fool you - she plays tough!

I'm happy to be happy today, and look forward to each day getting a little easier! Only 1 week until we head to Seattle for 15 days to house hunt/get acquainted with our new surroundings, etc. I'm excited! Rob starts work on Monday so things are moving along!

Until later...have a great night!

Questions:

1) Did you race this weekend? How was it?

2) How do you best get yourself out of a funk?

3) Are you running a Turkey Trot near you? 

TTT: The word of the day is: Suck.

Hello all -

So today pretty much sucks. I know...not a good way to start out a blog post. I can hear people clicking off the page now. But hey, to those of you still reading - I thank you!

The three things for me today all involve sucky things, but I'm hoping by writing them down, they won't seem quite so sucky.

via Google

1) Gone.
As in Rob is currently on the plane to Seattle...on a one way ticket...to move into our temporary apartment...and start his new job on Monday. What's that you ask? Yes, it did happen that quickly. It seemed like forever ago that we let everyone know we were heading west and the move seemed so far off. And now, just like that, he's gone. And I'm now a single mom for the forseeable future. Wowzers.

Love my little family!

2) Running.
I have been completely off my routine with all that has been happening in the past 2 weeks, and I felt it today big time. Of course, it could have been because I hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours (save some of my famous popcorn last night), I'm an emotional wreck and was fighting back tears. Or I just suck at running now. Take your pick - they both suck. I managed to barely get 4 miles in at the gym, with multiple stops for water and to catch my breath. Blerg. And I was the super smart one to sign up for the "Iron Turkey" race on Saturday, which is racing a 5k and then turning around and racing the 10k. Brilliant move, eh?

www.a2turkeytrot.com

3) To-Do Lists.
I have about eleventy billion things on my list currently and just need a day or 2 to let things settle in my head and then start tackling one by one. I'm overwhelmed again and trying to figure out how to get everything done before we leave for 2 weeks next Saturday to visit Rob. A bit daunting? I'd say so.

via Google - I think I need this cat to come help me!

BUT I'll end on this happy note:
Thank you to all of my friends who have offered to help, sent me a text asking how I am, or coming over and bringing me treats (ahem, Megan and Megan - love my Fearsomethreesome girls!!). It means the world to me and I appreciate each and every one of you. And don't be surprised when I call begging for help once I get my head on straight.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the day...it is starting to SNOW here right now!

Questions:
1) How do you handle suckiness?
2) Anyone racing this weekend?
3) Tell me something good going on in your life!

Ironman wishes and 140.6 dreams

So here I sit at 3:30am, unable to sleep with about 234092348 thoughts racing through my head. We have 2 days left before Rob moves to Seattle and it has been a bit challenging insane as I know I've mentioned about 2095832 times!

via Google

Thanks for wishing Rob a Happy Birthday yesterday - he unfortunately spent it organizing and cleaning our basement, meeting with realtors and having the reality of losing a few dollars our @$$ (can you swear on Blogger?) when we sell our house. Such is life, I guess. But we enjoyed a great dinner with my parents which ended the day on a good note!

Julia's eyes are closed but still cute of her with Daddy!

Do you love my dad's smile?! So cheesy!

But I digress. Back to the topic at hand: IRONMAN.

via Google

So while Rob and I were taking about 50 bags of stuff to Goodwill yesterday (no joke, and we still have more to go), I mentioned again about my dream of doing an Ironman. We talked through a few things concerning our family, the move, logistical challenges and came to a conclusion which was good for both of us.

What does that mean? I'm glad you asked.

It means I'm signing up for an Ironman in 2012!!!

Ok let me re-phrase that - I'm *hoping* to get in to either Arizona in November or Louisville in August. Right now, Louisville still has spots available, but that's going to be a long trip from Seattle. And we have friends and family in Arizona (hopefully they don't live too far from the course!), making it a bit easier to think about going for a week to prep for the race.

Arizona's registration will open on the 20th or 21st, and if IM Florida is any indication, it will sell out quickly...like in 15 minutes. Seriously.

via www.ironmanarizona.com

I'm also trying to convince my Steelhead buddy Matthew (his blog HERE) to come race with me! We'll see how my power of persuasion works there too!

So I'll know in the coming weeks what 2012 looks like and when my training will start once we get settled in Seattle. And right now, it seems daunting to me because I haven't really been able to run or do anything much in a week thanks to packing. I hope things settle down soon so I can get re-focused for my half marathon in 19 days - eek!

It's exciting/nerve wracking/scary/exhilarating/slightly crazy all wrapped into one!

via Google

Enjoy your day - hope you got more sleep than I did!

Questions:
1) What is your big goal for 2012?
2) Want to join me for IMAZ??
3) Anyone want to come help pack? :)

Birthday wishes...

...to my hubby Rob! He officially crosses over from "early 30s" to "mid 30s" today!

Here's to a great 35th year - I have a feeling it will be a pretty good one, with lots of good changes and exciting new adventures coming.

Love you!

Enjoy the ride!

Coming soon to a blog near you: Ironman dreams...

USAT ranking & another half marathon for good measure

Happy Friday everyone!

Man, I can not believe how quickly each day flies by and how it manages to be Friday already. It was just Friday, like, yesterday. Well ok maybe not, but it sure feels that way!

We've been tackling all things packing/organizing/panicking for the impending move. Rob leaves in 6 days and reality is starting to set it pretty hard and I know I keep using this term, but it is very appropriate:

Overwhelmed.

via Google images

We have real estate agents and the moving companies coming over the next few days, umpteen forms to fill out, getting rid of crap getting the house show-worthy, etc.

Wowzers.

If anyone wants to come help, please let me know!

In other news...

USA Triathlon came out with their unofficial 2011 rankings. I'm not really sure what it all means, but I was ranked 657 out of 4,821 women in the 35-39 age group! Pretty cool. I think it's based on number of races, finish times, finish places, etc. Whatever it is, it's neat to see my name listed...Now to improve on that next year!

In other other news...

Julia and I are going to be in Seattle for 2 weeks over Thanksgiving to visit Rob and house hunt while we're there. I'm excited to finally step foot in the city where we'll be living (since I've never been there!) and find things like a new gym (boo that there is no Lifetime there) and daycare for Julia.

And why not do a half marathon while I'm there?! Don't mind if I do! I signed up yesterday for the Seattle Half Marathon on November 27th! I'm really excited about it and it will be a fun way to see the city (the run is right downtown) and hopefully meet some new runner buddies. I'm also hoping to meet my blogger friends who live out there - TriGirl and Skipping in Seattle! Yay!

via Google

Goal for that race? To run 1:45...ok who am I kidding? I would just like to break 1:50 and/or get a PR (which is around 1:52ish). I'm pretty sure I can do it - just need to get some miles in between now and then and maybe find a way to attach a jet pack without anyone noticing... any ideas?!

via Google - am thinking they might see this one :)

Yesterday I opted to hit Total Conditioning class at our gym and all I can say is: OUCH! We did about eleventy billion (yes, that's a real number) squats and lunges along with push ups, and he hit all muscles with some crazy sets with weights, bars, bands, balls, etc. Oy.

And in conclusion...

We're heading to the first Spartan basketball game of the year tonight and then Rob is taking my dad to the football game tomorrow - our last one before we move. Then spending time with some friends before back to chaos and packing on Sunday. Bitter sweet for sure.

Enjoy your weekend and best of luck to all those racing NYC or any other fun race!

Questions:
1) Plans for the weekend?
2) Do you enjoy cross-training classes like the one I took? Are you super sore after?
3) Any advice for moving?!

A "shout out" to...

...the two men in my life: my dad Ron and my hubby Rob. I thought I would use today's post as a way to tell all of you a little bit about them.

First, my dad.

He's a pretty awesome guy, but I may be a bit completely biased in that assessment. Here are a few cool things about him:

1) He played semi-pro hockey back in the '70s in Washington DC...right until I was born and my mom ixnayed that since he had spent a few too many hours in the ER with broken noses.

Via Google - from the great movie Slapshot (my dad kinda looked like these guys in the 70s!)

2) He is currently the Chief of Parks for the state of Michigan  - and loves his job. His department just got awarded the highest honor in the country yesterday for the work they do. Congratulations, Dad! Here's a picture of the award:

camera phone needs a flash, Bruce!!

He's always been in the parks and rec profession, and surprisingly, it is kind of the like the NBC show depicts! He has also worked with many people who look like this guy:

via Google - and yes, some of them even look circa 1970 in 2011!

3) He had a full hip replacement almost 1 year ago and he competed in 6 or 7 triathlons this year! He's a machine. He gets pissed when he doesn't win his age group. (i.e. the "geezer" division!)  Here we are at one of the races we did together:

4) He is a huge Minnesota sports fan - and thus, so am I. We suffer through seasons of torture with the Vikings, Twins and Gophers on a regular basis. Tough to be loyal sometimes.

I think this may be my Uncle Jim... (via Google)

5) He is an amazing leader and motivator, a wonderful husband (of 42 years!), the best grandpa, and of course, the best dad in the world. I can't even explain how lucky I am to have him as not only my dad but my confidant and my coach.

And now to Rob - who is also a pretty amazing guy if I do say so myself

1) He was an equipment manager while he was a student with the Michigan State football team and then a few years later did the same job for the Denver Broncos during their summer training camps. Pretty cool gigs if you can get them...and he has some pretty cool swag too. Now to find one of these bad boys to display in our new house:

Suh-weet... via Google

2) Back when "ER" was on TV, he would get mistaken for Dr. Carter (Noah Wylie's character) and dressed as him for Halloween one year. It was spot on. Wish I had the picture, but it's on my Advantix film somewhere...

Dr. Carter (via Google)

Rob (via my camera)

3) He is the most motivated, focused, determined person I have ever met and will NOT sleep until he achieves whatever goal is in mind...no matter how small or big. He truly motivates me every day and pushes me when I need to be pushed.

4) His new adventure with Amazon is thanks to the amazing networking and personal relationships he has developed and nurtured over the years. He has many people who he considers mentors and thanks to the efforts he puts in to keep in touch, great things are happening for him as he leaves for Seattle in 8 days (and in turn, our family)

5) If you know Michigan State basketball, you know the Izzone. Rob was the brain behind the original expansion of the Izzone, taking it from 144 people to 950+ in one season. Now, it is in the thousands, all thanks to Rob simply asking "can we sell more tickets?". He even has his own personalized National Championship ring from Coach Izzo when the team won in 2000. Amazing.

Here we are back in the day - this is 1998 or 1999??

6) He is the best dad to Julia and he turns to putty when she's around. His tough, focused exterior has nothing on how she melts his heart. And I think the feeling is mutual - Julia is already a daddy's girl!

Smooch Photography

So there are a few snipets for you. I could go on for days but I'm guessing no one would read it! Ha.

Enjoy the rest of your day - we are heading home later today so off to soak up as much sun as possible before going back to cold and gray.

Questions:
1) Who are your favorite people in your life?
2) How has your week been going?
3) Any big plans for the weekend? Races? Fun?