Tri Two

I mentioned in my welcome-back post in July that during my six month break from blogging Justin and I competed in our first triathlon.

We weren't the fastest on the road but we weren't the slowest either. The distances were a little longer than a traditional sprint tri, with a .5 mile swim, 15.5 mile bike, and 4 mile run, yet we still finished with decent first-race times; Justin in 1:58:54 and me in 2:07:47.

We were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed it so when we heard that the neighboring town was holding their inaugural triathlon just down the road from us, we sent in our registrations and got back on the training wagon. (We even convinced Justin's younger brother, Jason, to race this time.)

We only had two weeks notice before the race but luckily the distances were a tad shorter (.5 mile swim, 12.8 mile bike, 3.1 mile run) and being August, the temperature was much warmer. In addition to this being our second race, we splurged and bought a pair of racing bikes. As a result, the combination of these variables played to our favor. Justin finished the race in 1:35:51 and I was on his heels at 1:37:42.

First wave preparing for start (including Justin and Jason).

Third wave hightailing it in the water (including me).

The run up the beach after the first leg. (I'm in the grey tank and black shorts.)

The transition area.

Jason on his bike, finishing the second leg. Notice the absent helmet—tsk tsk.

Justin finishing the bike portion.

Me just starting the bike portion—had to get my pink on!

Jason finishing strong.

Justin starting his run.

Me finishing with a smile.

Our race-day tats. Left leg: age / wave. Right leg: I for individual.

Our bib biceps after the race.

Finish line!

The highlight of the morning was when I found out I placed second in my age group—woop woop!

Accepting my second place medal! (Watch out sweetie, I'm gonna beat you next time!)

Looking ahead, Justin and I plan to continue competing but since it seems the season for triathlons is over, we are going to have to wait until next year. In the meantime, we are participating in a 50-mile bike ride this Sunday (yes you read that correctly, FIFTY miles) and a few 5Ks throughout the fall and winter. Stay tuned as I try to rack up even more medals (my summer count was three!).

Inheriting Style

A few months ago, Justin's grandma moved in to a mother-in-law suite which had been added on to Justin's aunt's house specifically for Grandma. It was a bittersweet time for many family members and one of the hardest parts was choosing what to keep and what to get rid of. This was no easy task for Justin's aunt, who coaxed Grandma into discarding as much as she could, but even when Justin and I showed up to help on moving day, there were many items that still had a big question mark as to where they were going to end up.

After moving some of the big things out of Grandma's house, Justin's aunt said to us, "if there's anything you want, let me know, because otherwise it's going in the trash." As an advocate of recycling, reusing, or repurposing, I wasn't thrilled with the thought that the excess furniture and belongings would end in a landfill. Therefore, when we saw something we thought could function in our home, we asked Justin's aunt if that was something we could have and almost every single time she responded with Yes! One of these pieces was this really cool mid-century (from the actual mid-century, not a look-a-like), glass-doored, two-shelf bookcase.

I must admit that at first I wasn't sure where we could use it. I thought it might work well in the office (and it still may), but when we brought it home it sat in our front entry for a short time while I pondered it's future placement. Then one day, as I was walking upstairs I found the perfect spot.

The table we had put in our second floor hallway had been there since we moved in. It was a great piece, but it provided no function in the space and I thought it was a lost opportunity since our hallway is quite large and acts more as a landing or foyer for that floor. In a quick 15 minutes, I swapped the table out for our "new" bookshelf and packed it with all of my books that had been hiding out in boxes.

The "staging" of my shelf isn't pretty but I don't care because now this space is functional and looks a bit more lived-in. I love the shelf and I love that all of my books are on display. The best part of this quick change was as I filled it up, I came across books I forgot I owned and enjoyed flipping through them again. (I should really make the task of rearranging or organizing my books a frequent chore because I'm sure I would use them way more.) Nonetheless, now the real question is whether I should refresh the bookshelf with a coat of paint...

Daisy's been around the block

For those of you who haven't met my sidekick Daisy, consider this your formal introduction.

{You} meet my car Daisy. Daisy meet {you}.

This past weekend, as we traveled up to Minneapolis for my friend Jessie's smashing wedding, Daisy hit a large milestone in her life. She climbed up to and past the 100,000 mile marker, which isn't too bad for a 2002 car (right?).

I know this doesn't have much to do with creativity or other stuff I post about, but I wanted to take a moment of your day to celebrate this milestone because it was a big deal to me. Cheers!

Morphing Babies

Have you ever wondered what you and your spouse's future bambinos will look like? (Don't lie, everyone has.) Well I have some good news for you! The Bump has teamed up with makemebabies.com  to create this fun-albeit-kinda-creepy application they call the baby morpher and it's super easy to use.

First, upload photos of the two faces you would like to morph together, choose your gender and skin tone if you like, and hit the make a baby button. Less than a minute later out pops a little munchkin (which seems much easier than actually giving birth).

The first time I tested it out, I let the computer select the gender and skin tone, and we were blessed with this adorable baby boy. (I didn't know babies came with full sets of teeth!)

Then to even the playing field I sent it through again and this angel showed up.

I think it's funny that not only do both babies have very light eyebrows (note: mine are so fair you can barely see them) but they are both blonde as well! However, I take this fortune telling with a grain of salt. I think it will be fun to compare these images with our actual children when that time comes to see how accurate the computer is. One last thing, you can only make 2 babies with The Bump's baby morpher so make sure you have selected your photos carefully. And if you care to share, I'd love to see your future kiddos so send them my way!

Ottawa Moose Miles 2010

Last Saturday Justin and I participated in the second annual Ottawa Moose Miles 5K run (3.1 miles). Last year was the first time either of us ran a 5K race and we didn't do too bad. I placed third in my gender age group with 27:22 and Justin placed third in his gender age group with 24:03. Not considering ourselves runners, we trained for a month or two leading up to our first 5K race, but after finishing were beat and sore. So, throughout the last year, we have been running regularly and even ran a 4 mile race on Thanksgiving.

However, in this year's Moose Miles, Justin finished in 24:08 and I finished in 26:30. And even though there were double the runners this year (just shy of 300, compared to about 150 last year), I shaved almost a whole minute off my time and placed first in my gender age group!

Justin's parents also participated in the race, but it was even more exciting that I did so well this year because my parents were visiting and joined in on the fun by walking the 5K with Justin's mom. In fact, we recruited a few other people to run as well and two of them placed in their age groups too.

But no matter if I placed first, fourth, or last, the course was extremely challenging (featuring 2 hills both ways) and Saturday was so cold and windy that I was happy to complete it under my goal time of 27 minutes. Now I'm looking forward to the next race!

Easter Chair

Over Easter weekend we adopted a quirky wing chair from my grandma and added it to our furniture collection. In our extended family this chair has been lovingly referred to as Ugly Chair, but I say no more! Because I acquired it on Easter and the colors remind me of early spring, I have renamed it the Easter Chair.

It wasn't easy to determine where to put our new chair and it ended up sitting in our entry way for about a week before I found the perfect spot. I originally thought I would put it in one of the guest rooms, but this baby needed to be seen so I didn't feel right locking it up in a room where rarely anyone would see it. Therefore, I decided it would look best in our dining room. The colors in the chair work great with the green wall color and it adds an eccentric flare to the space. (See Easter Chair in all her glory below.)

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the dark wood legs on the chair match the dark brown color we painted the dining room table and chairs.

This photo shows you a close-up of the upholstery fabric. These birds (I think they are pheasants) are why my family dubbed it the Ugly Chair for so long, but I actually love them.

Passing furniture around within our family is not a new concept, and I'm sure not unique to my family. Furniture can be extremely expensive and sometimes swapping a chair or couch can really refresh an otherwise tired space. Handing down furniture also saves adding more garbage to our landfills; therefore, I am all for it. In fact, if someone is giving something away or is trying to get rid of something, give me a call. If I don't want it, which is rarely the case, I bet I'll be able to find someone else that will take it. Have you adopted anything from a family member that they disliked, but you loved?

Hoo are you? Hoo? Hoo?

A few years ago, I learned that Joann Fabric stores carry a small selection of home decor items that typically changes each season, meaning lots of good clearance finds. But contrary to what you are imagining right now, the items are actually modern and fresh. (In fact, the wall art in our master bath is from Joann's.) So, after returning to Joann's for which felt like the 18th time last week, I couldn't pass up this clearance-aisle, 1960s-inspired ceramic owl statue anymore. (If I remember correctly, I think he was about $40 originally and rang up $10.)

As soon as he was out of my Joann Fabric's shopping bag, Harley and Benny were at the top of this media stand in our freshly painted living room checking him out, then The Who's "Who Are You" immediately started playing in my head.

(Look, a squirrel!)

Now, I'll probably have it in my head all day, but at least I've got this guy to thank.

Happy Birthday Mom

I hope you have a great day!

In loving memory: Grandpa Jack Scurte

October 11, 1919 - January 29, 2010

Grandma and Grandpa at Grandpa Scurte's 90th birthday, October 2009.

Our wedding day, photo with my new family, August 2008.

Grandma and Grandpa being introduced to the reception at our wedding, August 2008.

Feeling Guilty

Every time Justin and I leave the cats at home when we go on vacation, I feel guilty and inevitably end up buying them treats or new toys. And when we went to Hawaii, it was no different, except that I supplied them with new toys before we left so they had some fun stuff to play with while we were gone. After presenting them with two new faux mice, I snapped some shots of them going wild.

Here they are not quite sure what to make of them...

and about 2 seconds later. (For those that are wondering, yes, that's Harley.)

Seeing that Harley was having all the fun, Benny decided to wait his turn...

until he saw an opening, snagged one for himself...

and tried to hide it in a basket that had been temporarily placed on the floor.

Anyone else feel guilty about leaving their canine, rodent, or feline family member at home when you go on a trip? Do you surprise them with a treat when you get home to get back on their good side?

Cats in the Cabinet

Let's be honest, cats are curious animals. They chase each other around, fall asleep in the most interesting positions, and are crazy for catnip and tuna. It is even more fun when you get them when they are kittens because you watch them grow up and see how their personalities develop. Your assumptions, when they are kittens about their adult behaviors, can be spot on or the complete opposite.

We adopted Harley and Benny about three and half years ago. They are brothers from the same litter and act just as that. Surprisingly, Harley was the smallest of the bunch, but if you saw him today, you would be none the wiser. He must of learned the scrappy behaviors before we got him, because he can definitely hold his own. We chose Benny out of the lot because we wanted the calmest of the bunch and he fell asleep in Justin's hands when we visited them around 6 weeks old. From this we assumed Benny would love to be held and sleep in our laps, but only part of that was true. Benny doesn't mind being held and up until recently, was not a lap cat. About a month ago, out of the blue, Benny decided to test Justin's lap out and was happy to stand on his lap while being petted. A few weeks later, Justin reported that not only did Benny lay in his lap, but fell asleep as well.

Another odd change that has occurred is what I call "anything-you-can-do-I-can-do." This pertains to actions as well as following behaviors. Harley must be the big brother between the two, because Benny has become prone to mimicking Harley's behavior, no matter how naughty it is. I believe that the Christmas Tree murder was a team effort.

Last weekend, I was digging through recipes for our New Year's Eve party and in effect left the cupboard door open. So, what does my frisky feline do? He peeks in and decides to test out the cupboard's weight limit. Fortunately, his husky 15 pounds didn't tear it down, but it was funny seeing him jump in face first and smash his head into the back of the cupboard while his rump was not all the way up yet.

And, in the competitive brotherly spirit, Benny was quick to replace him as soon as Harley dismounted his post.

A clear example of the anything-you-can-do-I-can-do mentality of my fur babies.

Sour Puss

After the Christmas Tree fiasco I did some major googling for ways to kitty-proof your holiday decorations. I found some ok suggestions but the majority of them included major decor upheavals (surround your tree with child gates) or 24/7 surveillance (lock up your cat when you can't watch him), all of which I was not willing to implement. We already shoot them with a water spray bottle whenever they are being naughty, but contrary to some suggestions, they do not learn that being shot with a jet stream of water means NO, even after 4 years.

Then I came across a Cat 101 page that told me cats naturally do not like the smell of oranges, rotten apples, onions, and garlic. How come I have never known this? I've only owned cats my entire life! I continued reading and found out that by inconspicuously placing orange peels (the best smelling of the latter) around off-limit areas, cats will stay away. You can also spray your tree with diluted citronella oil or rub the trunk with oranges. I was weary of spraying or rubbing my tree with anything in case it discolored it, so I picked up a ¢78 orange from the store and sliced it up. Before I went the distance and distributed the slices around our trees, I tested my cats' reactions and was happy to see them crane their necks back and even run away. All systems were a go at that point.

Various sites suggested placing peels around the trees, but since I don't particularly like eating oranges, I left the fruit attached and put them in small ramekins to keep it clean.

Not only are they an unnoticeable fix, but their scent makes my house smell like I just cleaned everything. Bonus!

So far, I have not had another crime scene in my home and while some ornaments get knocked off occasionally, I prefer that to a whole tree face-plant.

Hopefully this helps my fellow feline-lovers out there!

Who's the fox? Who's the turkey?

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that this year on Thanksgiving day, before stuffing ourselves silly, Justin and I were going to join the crazies (a.k.a. Justin's dad and my friend Stephanie) and partake in a four mile race along the Fox River in Batavia (a suburb of Chicago).

For your amusement, here's a revelation I had on the way there.

Me: "I wonder who's the fox and who's the turkey in the race today."
Justin: "What?"
Me: "Between us, who is the fox and who is the turkey?"
Justin: Silence (obviously not fully awake yet)
Me: "According to the race's logo, I am the fox and you are the turkey."
Justin: "How's that?"
Me: "The fox is chasing the turkey and since you're a foot taller than me and faster, that makes you the turkey and me the fox."
Justin: Silence (No response, clearly ignoring my immature observations.)
Me: "Well, it's true."

Anywho, this fox finished the race in 35 minutes and 39 seconds and my handsome turkey finished in 31 minutes and 58 seconds. No third place medals this race but I finished 18th and he finished 16th in our respective gender-age groups. Not too shabby for a race in 38º F weather, with a narrow slippery course, and with 999 other runners.

(Stephanie and me before the race. She's in the white knit hat and I'm to the right in the blue jacket.)