Filed under: Uncategorized
The other day we went snorkeling. We saw this and five others…:
We also picked up all of this from the ocean floor:
I love snorkeling.
I don’t want to leave.
Ever.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Pluto has been demoted as a planet. I had no idea that was even possible! I mean, such strong words: “…stripped Pluto of the planetary status…” I bet Pluto got caught doping. When are these kids going to learn? And what about all those Mnemonic devices?!
Science class will never be the same.
Hello World.
My mom’s visit was wonderful. We all had such a great time and it was very busy shuttling them to one tourist activity after another. Two observations: My car really is not accomodating to anyone who wants to sit in the back seat. Case in point: “You sit in the front.” “No, you…you’ll get all cramped up back there.” “Move the seat back.” “Now tilt it forward….COME BACK MORE!” I almost rented a motha freakin’ mini-van so I didn’t have to hear it anymore.
Observation #2: Having to wait for a really long train is not really all that bad when the Hemp Festival is going on right next to you. It’s basically free entertainment. Especially to my hick town visitors who have never seen anything more than a white person wearing flannel and driving a John Deere on any given day. Git-R-Done!
The triathlon went pretty well considering. My final time was 2:06. Yeah, that’s exactly 20 minutes slower than last year. Not exactly what I was shooting for, but I’m happy that I even did it. The swim was the most difficult because even though the water was nice and smooth for the most part, big swells would come and go randomly leaving me bobbing about uncontrollably. It was a little disorienting. There was also this one woman who was doing the backstroke and kept swimming on top of me like she was trying to catch a ride. I almost punched her in the face. I’m also proud to report that I was the only person who actually had a plastic basket on the front of my bike. Many spectators loved it.
And then…the ol’ Birthday. Whew. First of all, we had dinner at Sky City in the Space Needle and it was the most beautiful day for it. Talk about gorgeous views! John & Michele surprised me with a ticket to Maui for my birthday. Can you believe that?! I was in shock! In fact, I’m still in shock! I leave this Friday and will be joining them for a 9 day vacation lounging on the beach and snorkling and reading and just relaxing. I can not wait!
Another exciting thing is that Keith proposed to my mom on the observation deck at the Space Needle. It was very sweet and I’m extremely happy for the both of them!
It was a couple of the best days of my life and I truly felt blessed to have my loved ones around me, spending the days with me. I couldn’t have asked for anything better!
Four new sets of photos over here.
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I’M GOING TO HAWAII!!!!!!! Like….next FRIDAY!!!!!!!
Today is the day!! My mamacita and Keith come today for a 5 day visit and I couldn’t be more excited!! I’ve got a list of touristy activities and unfortunately one of them includes visiting Leavenworth. I’ve certainly had enough of that town. I know mom & Keith will adore it, so I guess I will put on a happy face and just think of the fact that I will be buying fudge while there. Mmm…fudge. It makes the whole trip worthwhile really.
The weather will be beautiful the whole time they are here, which is an extra bonus for me on Sunday when I will be swimming Lake Washington at 9 in the morning. I’m ready to conquer that beast! Whoop Whoop. I am also extremely excited for an event that will be taking place a top the Space Needle before dinner. I love the anticipation of exciting moments.
Loads and loads of pictures to come early next week, I’m sure.
Munkalicious OUT!
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In case anyone was wondering what to get me for my birthday (ahem, August 20th) this bicycle would make me a very happy girl. I have longed for a cruising bike for quite some time, and I saw this in the recent REI catalog. It’s totally me. Well, it’d be even more me if it were red. But, whatevs. Where I live right now isn’t exactly condusive to leisurely cruising about on a bicycle — due mostly to the steep hills that even my car has trouble going up. But, when I move somewhere with long stretches of beautifully flat paved roads it would be ideal.
In other news, I had to get my drivers license renewed. The DMV is really quite the scary place. I arrived early so I could get in and out as fast as possible. Well, when I pull up, I see this long line that has already formed outside. Awesome. I walk up to get in line and this man smiles and nods at me. Nice, right? Except that he was smoking, talking loudly on his cell phone dropping F-bombs every other word and yes…also CHEWING TOBACCO. I was not even aware that it was possible to smoke and chew at the same time. So, I nod politely and give a nervous half smile. I made the mistake of looking back at him a few minutes later and he nodded again and then proceeded to spit his chew which never made it to the ground — but actually dripped all the way down his flourescent green t-shirt. Hawt.
Once inside I grabbed my number and sat down. After a few minutes they called me up so I basically jogged to the counter to get away from the leering eyes of chewing smoking man. The man at the counter was essentially a drill seargent barking orders at me. He asked me to put my head into the little box thing to check my vision. I got so flustered that when I was supposed to read off the letters I just blurted out whatever I first saw — forget what he actually asked for. And then he asked for my SS#. Do I take my head out of the box? So, I did, then he says “HEAD IN THE BOX!!” Whhhy…? He then proceeds to loudly verify my height/weight. Funny thing about my weight. I have had the same weight since I was 16 and have never in my life been that weight. In fact, when I was 16, I was actually a good 100 pounds over that weight. Someone probably should have stepped in at that point. I mean…COME ON. Anyway, I finally got over to the line to get my picture taken. At this point I was trying to calm down a little because the whole thing had been extremely stressful. So, finally I hear “Michelle Mumenbergaer.” So, I look around because that is sure as hell not my last name but when I see that I am surrounded by only men I head to the counter and take my spot in line and am commanded to stand behind the white line. So, I start to say “just tell me when you’re…” And she says “1 2 3 CLICK”. What? That was it? I looked at my proof picture and yep, it looks like I’m cross eyed because I had no idea what was going on. I ran out of that hole as soon as I could and pretty much wanted to pop as many anti-anxiety meds as humanly possible and/or start drinking hard alcohol.
I had a venti-mocha light frappuccino instead. That seemed to help just as well. And, a picture for good measure.
Filed under: stress
Exhausted. Stressed. Scatterbrained. Aggravated.
Those words can easily describe my state of mind recently. Work has been overwhelmingly busy. I feel as if I’m drowning under all of my projects and my desk is an out of control mess. I’m not generally what you would call “neat” but by the end of the day I like to have my desk organized and clean by the time I go home. That hasn’t been possible for the last 2 weeks and when I get in in the mornings I immediately feel stressed out. I’ve noticed that I’m a lot more high strung — and that is completely not me. Even my every day commute is making me into a horrible person. I’m becoming the type of person who starts screaming at people because they are idiots and don’t know how to drive. Again, that is completely not me.
I’ve never been that kind of person that gets all worked up over stuff. I just need a break. I’ll have a handful of days off two weeks from today and that will be good. I will be crazily busy, but it will be a welcome break from the kind of busy I am experiencing now. Anyway, I’m just venting a little. Had to get it out there.
Last night was one of my swimming nights. There were an unusual amount of people in my regular lane and it was begining to frustrate me because at the end of each length I’d have to re-adjust my timing. At one point I was swimming back and I saw this girl coming full throttle at me. I figured she’d see me. Right? So, I kept swimming a little. She didn’t see me. She completely crossed over her lane and I had to duck out of our lane under the ropes for safety. I said some unpleasant things about her in my head and continued on. A few laps later I was resting at the wall. I see crazy swimmer girl doing the back stroke and she is NOT AWARE of where she’s going. She’s speedily heading towards the lady who I have previously dubbed the slow lane beotch. (she just looked like an unpleasant person, and I had seen her interact with a few other people.) I think to myself…oh this is going to be good. Yep, sure enough she runs full on into her. I wait for the reaction from S.L.B. and nothing — she keeps going. Hmm…interesting. S.L.B. makes it back to the wall and I ask her if she’s okay (secretly waiting for her to explode in expletives about crazy swimmer girl). But, nope they don’t come. She instead says she’s going to offer her tips on how better to do the backstroke. Huh. Then she starts talking to me about how I should do the Masters class and when/where I should go for lap swim. Huh. But…I thought you were mean because you always look pissy at people when they want to pass you in the lap? Guess not.
People surprise me.
Most of the time because I have them all wrong in the first place.
I don’t have the snazzy countdown on this site anymore…but I know for daaayyyyum sure that the triathlon is just about 2 and a half weeks away and I am nowhere near as ready for it as I was last year.
I’ve done really well for the past three weeks. Running 4 times a week, swimming anywhere between 3 and 5 times a week…and…um…I rode my bike twice. BUT, they were really long rides, 20 and 16 miles respectively. I’m not really worried about the biking portion of it. Biking long distances are really no prob for me. I think I’ve been to the pool enough to have worked up to the spot where I’ll do decent in the swim, sans any random legs/arms/bodies in my face. I’m most worried about the running because I hate running and it’s probably my least favorite thing in the world. I’ve also got a shin splint in my left leg so it basically hurts like a motha every-time I even think of running. Last year I trained for three months. I mean, I was hard core the entire time. But, for some reason I had a really difficult time getting into it this year. I know I won’t do as well as I did last year — but I’m more focused right now on just doing the actual thing. Getting there and getting it over with. Great attitude, huh?!
I’m really more excited for my mom (and her beau) to be here during that time. It’s going to be a whirlwind of Seattle site-seeing, and Heids baking little guy pies, and a company party and I can’t wait!
Anyway, here’s to 2.5 more weeks of steady training!
A Thousand Words 