Happy Birthday baby..

On this 27th day of January...

27 years ago today.....


When I was 27 years old...


My daughter Allison was born..





Which makes her 27 years old today..





She was the best little baby ever. She smiled all the time and rarely cried. She fought hard to keep up with her big sister, 4 years her senior. That was difficult as Becca "took care of" her little sister and bossed her around quite a bit. Plus Becca had some pretty big shoes to fill! Poor little Allison took a big hit when mommy and daddy got divorced when she was 4 years old. But she made it through and when she was little, she had the most amazing insight about her situation and feelings. Her leadership ability shown at a young age. We use to say that Allison would grow up to be president, as she always seemed to have a knack of rounding up the other kids at school. Yes she did get in trouble for "talking too much", a much admired quality that showed up on my report card as well. Allison has always been creative and funny, she makes us all laugh with her stories and quick wit.

As Allison got older, she conquered may challenges, especially after her 3 sisters went off to school. It was tough on her and I know she was lonely and struggled through her teenage years. I never lost hope that she would make it though. When little Lane was born almost 5 years ago, I can't even put into words what that little one has brought to our lives. The gift of Lane and the way Allison is a mom to her is one of my greatest pleasures to have and witness. It is the ultimate payoff of raising such a special daughter. She is now a "leader" in her job, which suits her perfectly. She is fighting her way through college, on her own as a single mom while working full time. I am so proud of her today, on her 27th birthday! In many ways we are alike and in many ways different. One difference is she is learning to love herself at a much earlier age than I did, thus preventing much of the very heartache I put her through. For that I am so grateful. I pray everyday that she finds the kind of love that she is worthy of-she deserves it! We are alike in that she reads people, emotions and has great intuition. That is a gift she can take with her forever..

Happy Birthday my little Allison, my baby, who is not such a baby anymore but will forever be my baby!

Sandia Snowshoe 5k Race Report

5k Snowshoe Race-I wasn't gonna do it the night before. I was thinking about how cold it was on top of the mountain, how slow I am in altitude, basically talking myself out of it. H had bailed on me, he wasn't even signed up. I got on Facebook and there was Dread Pirate, always a willing friend to pull me along when I am doubting myself..Well actually I just asked her if I could get a ride and she seemed so enthusiastic and said Of course! I told myself this was one of those races that probably would not be that fun doing but that I would be happy afterwards.

So there I was yesterday at the bagel shop meeting DP and 2 other friends and we made our way up the mountain in DP's car. It was cloudy as we started up the other side of the mountain, which soon became fog, which soon became pea soup fog as we rolled to the top. This will burn off I thought..or so I thought..We got to the top and there were many cars and people with all kinds of snowshoes and clothing. The biggest question of the hour was what to wear it was cold but we knew it would get warm as we got going on the race. I asked Jane twice in one sentence what she was wearing, which makes me think either I am getting senile or those hormones really do need to be checked soon! I decided on two layers on top, my hiking boots for warmth and comfort instead of running shoes under my snowshoes, gators, and my Peru hat for good luck. I brought my IPOD shuffle, thinking this would be motivating to hear music as I trudged through the trail.

10:00-boom! Off we went. I wasn't feeling a lot of race pressure here. I really have not trained in snowshoes. I did a speed running class the day before with Eric at the track, not really speed work as of yet, but drills and stuff that were enough to make me sore in places that required Advil on board. The first part of the trail was downhill..OK, so I can run this, not a problem. So I ran. That lasted about 10 minutes. Very beautiful through the trees in the fog, at 10,000 feet. My snowshoes aren't the best racing ones, but not the worst by far. I got passed, I passed a few folks. It was pretty narrow but everyone was cordial. If they were saying mean things, I did not hear them anyways, I had my IPOD on and all was well. Then came the flat, sort of up hill part about midway on the coures. OK -now I was power hiking on my snowshoes. The trail was packed snow, which was nice in some ways but uneven also in places. I almost bit the dust so to speak a couple of times. The came the really uphill part of the trail at the turn around and my heart rate zoomed up and legs started screaming! It was at this point the music became annoying and I yanked off the IPOD. I confess I actually stopped a few times just to catch my breath on the way back up the hill. I was walking VERY slowly at some points. I looked at my watch and saw that yes, I would break an hour-that was my goal. The last uphill was grueling I tried to run over the finish line and heard someone yell my name and ta-da! I was done. 56:23 was my time. I was happy it was over and glad to see Pirate at the end. It was still really foggy and I was definitely warm but we scurried back to the car to get some warm clothes on as we knew that wouldn't last. Mark, Margaret and Dave were at the car...

We decided to stay for the awards as Pirate got first place in her AG, Margaret won first overall women-way to go my people!! They had some funky age groups if you ask me. Mine was 45-54 years old. OK so I am 54-do you think I won? No, some young looking woman who did it in 48 minutes did of course! Had I raced as a 55 y.o. I would have won my age group. Guess I will just have to come back next year, as Mark so wisely pointed out...

None of us won door prizes as we waited and waited and I got colder and colder. By the time we were in the car, my hands were blocks of ice but I was happy and relieved to be done..As we traveled down the mountain, of course the sun came out and I warmed up as I managed to eat anything I could get my hands on in the "gooey bag" as my granddaughter calls it (goody bag). I did get the T-shirt and water bottle..

I was wiped out the rest of the day. Like I had done a half IM or something..H & I watched a depressing movie last night "About Her". It was great acting but about a woman who slowly succumbs to Alzheimer's Disease, which makes me worry all the more about my lack of memory lately. Still hoping it is just the hormone thing and as I search frantically on the Internet this AM, I am pretty sure I do not have A.D., thank goodness but I am more motivated than ever to figure out the hormone thing.

Oh and I can barely walk this AM, I am so sore. So I will go to spin and spin out my soreness this AM instead of killing myself on the bike as my friends are doing...

Curious Case of my relationship..

I could write about the 2 funeral viewings we went to this week-sad, sad, sad. It makes me realize how short life really is and why are we really here and other deep thoughts.
I could write about the 2 movies we have seen lately-"Curious Case of Benjamin Button"-great movie (can anyone say BRAD PITT is AWESOME and BEAUTIFUL?). "The Wrestler"-gory awful movie with good acting.
I could write about the fact that I am going to a running group today at noon at the track with Coach Eric and how scared shitless I am about that.
I could write about the fact that I signed up for a stupid snowshoe race tomorrow at the top of the mountain and how I really regret doing so at this moment. I hate being cold and feeling race pressure in something I am not good at.
I could write about how Oprah's show on menopause and hormones has me searching for medical professionals who know anything about this. I did order 2 books on the subject.
I could write about my grand babies. A never ending story of how I love being a grandma to these 3 little girls.
I could write about how moving and exciting the inauguration was and how much I think President Obama rocks.

Instead I will write about how 20 years ago I met H, my husband-on January 16, 1989. We were in a divorce group-he just having gotten divorced and me, just having broken off a engagement. I had sworn off men for 6 months. Since I had nothing but resentment in my mind against the male species at that moment in time, the first thing I thought when I saw H was why is that guy wearing a white shirt? Now anyone who knows my husband knows how great looking and handsome he is, but at the time I was trying to find fault with anyone of the opposite sex. As I got to know him through the group, I realized yes, he had 2 little girls too, was a lawyer and we began to talk on the phone every night. We had our first date on February 14, 1989. The rest is history so they say. We have been through raising 4 teenage girls, suffered through the deaths of 3 parents, 1 sibling and 1 old dog. We have gone through fazes of being together yet living our own lives, me working, he working. Me being a triathlete, he working. Me being in school, he working. Me starting my own practice as a counselor, he working. But at the end of everyday, we would reconnect and talk about our days and lives and experiences. We have fought through hardships in relationship, blended family issues, kid issues, money issues. Still H & I have been each other's soft place to fall through it all. He is my best friend, my true love, my partner in life. We know each other better than anyone else. Sometimes we are thinking the same thing at the same time..now that is true love! The last 2 years have been amazing as we have retired and are spending most of out time together. Our separate worlds are intertwined now. He is a triathlete now, he does the shopping and cooking, I do the cleaning and laundry. It all works so well and has for 20 years now. I do not tire of him, nor him of me.

Yesterday was H's birthday. he is the youngest 62 year old I know...

Happy Birthday baby!

Yesterday (kinda) sucked!

Yesterday was a rather interesting day. It all started out when I decided (although H was not so enthusiastic but went anyway) to ride with our Outlaw buddies. The ride started at 8:30-temp. 32 degrees and sunny. In my fantasy mind this wouldn't be so bad, delusional as I was. The longest outdoor ride we have done since IMAZ is 16 miles and that was once, outside. The morning ride yesterday started our needless to say cold..My hands were blocks of ice. There were 8 of us. I knew I would be be of the slower riders but surely H would be with me as we worked our way to the coffee shop 17 miles away, in the friggin' freezing cold. And let me not forget the wind, of course...As we kept going, the group got farther ahead of me so Pirate, who is like the person you want to be with if you are in a tornado, started pulling me along as I drafted like a champ off of her steel bike. My carbon fiber kept up just fine with that..we caught up with a big random bike group and started getting sucked along with them until alas...plunk..I just fell off the back and was on my own to fight the wind..It really, really sucked..My heart rate was now way, way up.. forever it seemed. Finally, I got to where the group was waiting for me. Even H-he has become quite the cyclist and I am now in the second class group as he rides with the big kids. At last we arrived at the coffee shop, the relaxing part of the ride..Took forever to get a cup of hot chocolate....time to go already! I was pretty grumpy by now. I hate being last, I hate feeling my heart rate in the 160s for miles and miles..I hate being cold..on and on..By now we had a tailwind going back. I kept up with the 22 MPH for about 20 min., then off I went, in the back on my own. There was one other fellow that was right in front of me..we stopped briefly as he thought he had a flat..but didn't. Finally we caught up as the group waited for me..again.. Now I was just plain discouraged. I think I have lost all my base cycling in 8 short weeks even though we have been running, weights and spin class. Well at least I have lost it.. H wasn't much help as he talked about how much "fun" he had and how he can keep up with the fast people now..blah..blah..blah...I really want to be happy for him! It was very very discouraging for me...yesterday. What was suppose to be an "easy coffee" ride ended up being a torture fest for me. Time to rethink my training plans I guess..

Then we get home to our ever so clean home and tiles, I am at last on the couch relaxing. I hear H yell for me. I thought for sure the dog had finally kicked the bucket so came running frantically down the stairs but no, it was only a minor earthquake in the tile flooring:




(I actually do not think this picture does it justice how very cool it looks right in the entryway between the kitchen and living room! )





He heard the tile crack loudly and it lifted just like this off the floor. One hour before our guests from out of town were to arrive for the rest of the weekend..

Now this has happened before. It is a long story but basically, whoever laid the tile 10 years ago when the house was new, did a crappy job and the tiles have lifted, cracked in places ever since. Long story short, we have used the last of the extra tiles and of course they do not make this style anymore so we are left to limp these along until the big remodel, which will be sometime in the next few years..after Mocha goes to doggy heaven..

As I am sifting through our old receipts for the guy that fixed the last "earthquake of tiles" I finally find it in my files upstairs. It is now about 45 minutes before we are to go to the airport to pick up nephew, his wife and great niece.. H says just throw down the receipt and he will call the guy..so I throw and believe it or not I threw it right into the hanging light in the foyer:















This lamp is about 10 feet off the ground and 10 feet from the top stairs. I could not do this again if someone -paid me a million dollars. It was a fluke if I ever saw one! H & I burst out laughing, it was so ridiculous..Somehow we were able to read the number anyway, call the tile guy, who is of course retired but will some out of Monday to fix the tiles just for us.. Here is H retrieving the receipt..









Let me just say, it was not easy without a 10 ft ladder!






We sped off to get our company, who's plane was 20 minutes early, of course..They laughed with us as we explained our "construction zone" as H called it. It is great having them here..I am just glad yesterday is over.

We are going to try and sneak in our 2 hour run today somehow in between entertaining..maybe it will go better..

BTW-my good friend MG is on "Househunters" tonite on HGTV at 7:00 PM MST. If you get a chance, tune in. It was an experience taping it..seems reality TV is not as "real" and more scripted than you would think..I can now say I "know someone" who was on reality TV..like touching greatness..

Winter wonderland..

We arrived at our place in Chama yesterday to find no less than 2 feet of snow here. The folks on the road below plow up to a certain point on the road. Since we did not have anyone plow the last .2 miles or so, we got to trudge in the rest by snowshoe. Now H and I had snowshoes but Mocha did not. She is a 50 lb, 13 and 1/2 y.o. dog and this was quite a challenge for her. I had tears in my eyes as I watched her struggle even to leap through our snowshoe tracks! I take back all the bad things I said about my poor dog when she pee-ed on our carpet a kitchen at least 10 times this month at home..So there we are, really struggling up the hill (by now it was Mocha and I struggling in the snow). H was way ahead of us. I fell, of course...had no poles to get me up. I mean this snow is so deep that every time I tried to put my hand down to push myself up, my arm sank up to my shoulder . Here comes poor old Mocha hauling her poor little body up behind me and when I fell she just sat beside me and waited until what seemed like forever when H got back to me and pulled me up. What a great dog she is..Needless to say, she slept the rest of the day and night and wolfed her dinner down!

Here is the trail we made on our way up to the cabin.

















Here is Mocha..See she survived!







It is so pretty here and no Chucky here this year, thank goodness. The peacefulness of this place is almost palpable. Our bed is so comfy here, I never want to get up! However the plan is to run 45 min. today and snowshoe "run" tomorrow to prepare for this at the end of the month. After my little escapade yesterday, it is clear to me that poles will be imperative for the "race". I think the race track in plowed though so it should be easier..

We did hill repeats yesterday, before the snowshoe "workout" I may have passed on a couple of those repeats had I known what was ahead.

Meanwhile at home, we are having our carpets and ceramic tiles deeply cleaned at the old homestead in ABQ. When we get back the whole house, including sinks and toilets will be scrubbed and spotless. AHhhhhhhh...heaven..