dear nemo, please teach me how to swim.

today i walked in to the pool with a sense of apprehension. it had been over 10 days since we last met. i had all my familiar gear with me forming my comfort, or combat as needed, but still, i wasnt sure what the afternon would bring. i was hoping the old addage was true- absence makes the heart grow fonder.

i had to share a lane with some dude who is there quite often and always makes me repeat what i say. he's always like - so.. whats your work out today, but in a Joey from friends kind of way. pretty creepy when the only thing seperating you from him is a lane line...

but today i found my groove in the water, it came back to me. i guess i knew it would, but not all at the same time. its a struggle for me each and every time i get into the pool. struggle to feel confident in the water and find my stroke. i know its there, i've worked hard to get it. its the impatient side of me that wants it all right now. that wants to do 100s easily on 1.30, who wants to glide thru the water, who ultimately wants to race with the opens.

i left that pool today with a renewed respect for the water. and a bit more confidence in me. all in a day's work.

HOME

for me, no matter where i live is pittsburgh, and now here's another wonderful reason. my new step-neice Grace. dont you just want to squeeze her?

yee haw

im going home today. my co worker and i peeled out of the resort early this morning like 2 underage kids who just stole a fifth of jack from the local liquor store. after a week of being sequestered at this place freedom is pretty sweet.

i did get to visit jack's shop, and am now the proud owner of a J&A race jersey. also- got 2 unexpected phone calls (well three actually, the third was a butt dial from someone at the state football game...anyway..) my friend who just moved to europe called which was such a great surprise. she has a way of just making you smile when you talk to her. (sorry maria - i've been too comotose to call you back like i said i would. you know what CI does to you!) and the second from a friend in australia who is planning to meet us all in vegas in april for a friends wedding. this is the group that gets to gether and somehow ends up, well for instance, driving a golf cart with 12 people in it to the local bar so we could not be pulled for a DUI. see smart and fun!

congratulations to my friend courtney who not only tackled the richmond marathon yesterday but did it with serious attitude. court you should be so proud of yourself and all that you have accomplished over the past months. you worked hard to acheive your goal and you DID IT! i'm glad the music came in handy.


i'm ready to get back to regular training. no more 6 am wake ups, or gym bikes or abbreviated workouts. lets get down to business!

and i get to see the girls, something i of course always look forward to. nothing is better than knowing you were missed that much.

austin.. well kind of...

one - i saw an armadillo today! right infront of me, plodding along, cute little guy.
two- there are about 10 miles of hiking trails around this place. hopefully i'll find some daylight to tackle them.
three - our morning break had cliff bars to eat. the mint chocolate ones. im a happy camper.

welcome to management

thats what my boss's boss tells him when he has to deal with some very whiney needy and somewhat ditzy on occasion people on our team. its been that kind of week for me, no time for my own issues. though i did participate in the management retreat, which, honestly is one of those things where you can talk a good game, but it all comes down to whose walkin when they get back to the day to day. work has been a bear getting ready to head to the lone star state on monday. though being in austin, i do hope to check out jack and adams bike shop!

today started out bright and early when i took bobby to the airport at 6 am. lord who in their right mind schedules flights that early. its ungodly.. this i know.. since my flight to austin actually LEAVES at 6 am. i'm not even going to kid myself that i will be pleasant to my co-workers at that hour.. anyway.. he is off to DC to visit some friends in from california. i was pretty happy he decided to wear my steelers cap, a true smack to all skins fans, including the birthday boy (guy from cali) who lives and dies by the redskins. i also, of course, sent my best wishes and snickering laugh about the game...

anyway, as usual when bobby is gone, traveling for work or up in philly for a residency, things at teh mayhew's, mainly nutritional things, tend to go downhill. FAST. i usually end up eating lots of cereal, and yogurt and well, more cereal. the girls get things like frosty paws for dinner..

had a good swim this morning and after that a really good long run thru umstead park. i love this trail, its super hilly, and super long, but when you feel strong on the run, its a great place to go. when you are lugging along, well its your worst nightmare.
i went to the mall tonight to spend my hard earned money before i lose it all to taxes and, well im not sure if everyone else had the same idea, but they are surely not the ones who are in those statistics about consumer confidence being in the toilet. hoards of shoppers all with multiple purchases. maybe the sales were that good, who knows. anyway i do have to admit that i was browsing in a "new" store that had some roman numerals for a name.. it took me about 15 minutes to realize the name of the store was "forever 21" and they had tried to fancify their logo. i hightailed it out of there pretty quick!
we actually had election day off from work. amazing. i figured that they must have screwed us somewhere else during the year and were making it up to us.. anyway i went and picked up our new coffee table. when bobby and i finally got home from our days, i put it together while he cooked dinner (see i told you he is the sole reason i actually eat some what of a decent diet..)
here's putting it together, notice tony on the tv. PTI has got to be the greatest show on television.

i really like it, bobby's litmus is whether his feet are comfortable on it.
i think we had fajitas that night. god bless him.

ho hum

nothing much going on these days. i'm happy to be at home for a consecutive set of weekends. happy that the steelers pulled of a big win last night. happy that we FINALLY found the big chair of my dreams for the family room after a year long quest. happy that bobby called said chair something other than "fair" or "not bad" (he has a reputation of choosing very lackluster words) so for him to actually LIKE something is major.
base training is still a new concept for me. i do feel like im' getting better in the pool, but the bike and the run have just gotten sloppy i think. i keep saying, once things settle down i can resume a normal schedule, but i'm coming to realize that I no longer have the luxury of a normal schedule and i have to deal with it. one of my main things that is the first to go is nutrition, and i feel like i'm paying the price for it with tiredness. i'm going to get on the November challenge wagon to eat 5 a day. while that may seem tame to some, 5 fruits and veggie servings for me (even being a veg) can be tough since yes, i'm a picky eater. but after seeing such a difference in energy or lack there of its more than worth it to find those extra servings!
and finally, nothing like the smell of wet dogs to make you want to break out every single candle in the house and make a bonfire. its been raining all day and the girls - who in the past have wanted nothing to do with bad weather - have a new found love of wet grass smells. whatever. all i know is they cannot possibly have to go out this much and are merely doing it to make me realize that every time they come in the towel is still wet and i have to run upstairs to get a new one and they follow and literally soak everything in their path. i think they plot this. i think they enjoy it. i think i'm nuts.

nothing beats knoxville

on game day. the thousands and thousands of fans creating the sea of orange as far as the eye can see. renditions of 'rocky top' come from every corner and there is quite a large amount of faith that these vols would pull the upset of a season.. but alas, it did not happen, it COULD have, but instead I made sure the bama fans sitting in front of me hated me by the end of the game and would not be able to hear for at least 24 hours. Ask bobby. i am a fan. i am a LOUD fan. i am a southern fan, that means yelling, screaming, and constant bursts of "break his legs".



anyway - some photos from the day...

The vol walk before the game...





bobby trying on the smokey hat!
only in the south do you mix football, politics and religion, and no one bats an eye.


me and bobby before the game. notice he is still smiling and no F bombs have come out of his mouth yet..
we did have really good seats

smokey running across the endzone after UT finally scored a TD
and finally, a message to the bama flag girls. please do us all a favor and do not wear tight red velour unitards. unless you are kate moss they look horribly unflattering.