Possible upcoming adventure??

I'm not sure exactly how many people I'm supposed to be telling this to, or WHO I'm supposed to be telling this to - but it hasn't been mentioned to keep it quiet.

So, I figured I'd just tell the entire internet... and if it were meant to be a secret, he'll read it on here (Hi DAD!) and he'll notify me asap.

Back to business. It looks as though we are taking a "Father-Daughter Trip".

Not your ordinary father-daughter trip to New York City.

A father-daughter trip to Minnesota.

In February.

Why is that appealing you ask?

Because we are going DOG SLEDDING!!!!!!!!!!!

No shit. Dog Sledding.

Apparently this has been something Dads wanted to do for a long time and by a long time we mean, since 1998.

He inquired of my interest level last night and we picked a few dates tonight! I think he's going to call and book a reservation tomorrow.

This trip sounds amazing. It's lodge to lodge dog sledding. You spend the days sledding through very scenic parts, after learning how to mush, talk to and treat the dogs. It's a 4 night, 5 day trip. You spend the nights in a lodge with the 4 other people who are part of the 6 person group skiing, snowshoeing, hanging out in the sauna or by the fireplace. Sounds like I'll be able to get some awesome photos!

My first deferred race.... EVER.

As things began to get hectic the other day with all of the crap associated with owning, or trying to own a house, I realized that I wouldn't be as stressed if I deferred Wineglass (Oct 4) and stayed in the state of Maryland.

The last piece of information I need for settlement to take place is the grant check from the good old city of Baltimore. Any guesses on how long this takes? Well... we don't know for sure. We are all praying it takes less then 15 days. If it takes longer then 10, we will have to move settlement from 9.25 to 9.30. Meanwhile, the seller wanted to move it up to 9.15. At this point, we know it takes 10-15 days.

If the date ends up switching, going away the following weekend was just not a good option. I want to move when all of this is said and done. Not put it off any longer. So, this is why I made my decision to defer. Ended up being a good choice.

Maryland State Fair

Look who we met tonight! This is a 2 day old piglet, from a litter of 8. Talk about cute!

This was the second to last night for the fair. It ends tomorrow. After a little comprimising on the events of the day, I finally got to check out the animals at night. There were a ton of them! Certainly more then the local county fair. People were buzzing all around the place - on rides, winning games and best of all - eating funnel cake. Yum.

Hope you enjoy my "photo of the week".

Columbia Iron Girl, 2009

I have YET to get around to writing a race report. Race was on Sunday, school started that Tuesday. I've just been too busy. All in all, this race was amazing. It was SO much fun for a first time Tri, I can't wait to register to do it again next year. I had one minor back out moment, but once I got in the water, I know it was for real.

The morning started EARLY. I was up at 4am, thanks to a knock on the door from my dad. (Man I hope I wake up on time when I live on my own!) Took a quick shower to wake myself up, made a pot of coffee and downed yogurt with cheerios as my first meal. I packed a PB&J uncrustable for an hour before the race, G2, and a banana. The parking lot opened at 5am. Yes, if you know me... you know I showed up at 4:55am. Not surprising, one of the to trickel in. I saw Corinne, who I met through TNT and started to get excited!

We checked out bikes probably 5 times. The person next to me didn't show, so I had a little extra space. Corinne and I walked around, found bathrooms, got hair done and spent the next hour or so running into other teammates. My parents and Scott showed up around 7:30am. By this time, start had been pushed back, which meant I had another 25 minutes to wait for my wave. There's a way to help build nerves!

The time came for me to get in line - when I realized, no one I knew was in my wave. All of my TNT friends and other friends who were doing Iron Girl were in the second half of our age group. Great. I knew Corinne would eventually pass me in the swim even though I had an 8 minute head start. I get in the water with my wave, tread it for about 5 minutes before the gun goes off and we can go. I started out with breast stroke, but for the 0.62 mile swim I swam mostly free style, without freaking out. I managed to shave 10 minutes off my swim time for that distance. Rock on!! I was PuMPED. Every photo of me coming out of the water has the biggest, grin saying "Holy SHIT, I actually did it!!!!!" Not to mention, Corinne and I got out of the water at the exact same time. I was thrilled to see her! I run up the hill and see Jonathon and Jeff at the TNT water stop. I was thrilled - having such a great time. I couldn't believe, I saw my friends!

The bike was great, shaving 5 minutes off practice times. 2nd transition was slightly faster, then it was time to run. By this point, it's gotten rather hot out. I can't complain though - the day was absolutly beautiful. As the end was nearing, two mentors jumped out on the path to cheer us on. They were jumping and yelling our names. As I crossed the finish line I saw our coach Patti. I ran into her arms for a great hug. I burst into sobbing tears thanking her for the newest accomplishment. It was a fabulous feeling! Not to mention, I knew two other TNTers at the finish line also giving out hugs.

I found my parents and Scott immediately, where we rehashed the entire event, word for word while talking about distances, speed, ages... etc. It was an awesome experience!

The night before

Here I am, the night before the race. Part of me doesn't even feel like there's a race tomorrow. But when the other part realizes there actually is, I can feel the anxiety! Now I just keep thinking to myself - O-M-G. I registered for Eagleman Ironman.

TNT had the Inspriation Lunch today from 3-5pm at a local Italian resturant. It was nice. I sat at a table with Nancy (who apparently ran Alaska with us, but trained with A.A. County!) her husband, my parents, Scott and Debbie (my mentor) sat with us. She is very encouraging and very uplifting. Great personality, great person. Dawn - one of the other mentors- took LOTS of photo's during out 4 months together. I had always wondered what she was going to do with them. She put them on a CD and gave them out tonight.

When I look through these photos, I can't believe I can do all of this. But it also looks like SO much fun. I mean, who runs laps around the Y parking lot, at one of the busiest intersections, in their swim cap and goggles?!?! I do! While I only picked 4 to post (because that's all Picasa will let me upload...) there were many other great ones. 277 to be exact, of the 35 of us who choose to take this on!

This is "pre" swim practice. I'm in the green bathing suit.

I do believe I WAS swimming breast stroke here, but I guess I was finishing up.

After our first try at a "brick". A portion of biking, followed by running. This is when I met Corinne. We are training for Eagleman together!

And lastly, to wrap it up... a shot I will most likely never live down for posting to the internet...

Go IronGirls!

THE house!

Alright, I hope this isn't considered bad karma... if it is, hopefully the karma police will let it go. Here are pics of the new pad! Well... contingent upon tomorrow's inspection...

The front.

The Back... deck AND patio.

The living room.

The other side of the living room/dining room.

See more below.

More pics...

The kitchen.

The family room. (addition to house)

One bedroom, upstairs.

One of two rooms in the basement.