oh don't EVEN

So when this broad gets hungry she gets crazy. I am pretty sure I will find out one of these days that I am diabetic because I seriously lose my shit when hungry. Okay just had to preface this post with that lil tid bit of info. Onto the good stuff.

We went to Lowes to pick out some paint for our new house, and I was already complaining about how hungry I was an hour before we left. The guy took FOREVER to fill our paint and then some (oh and Bri decided that he would do the self check out which is NEVER a good idea). At this point I was in the car with the dog because she was bored and I needed to sit down and play bubble burst on my phone. Anyways we decided that it was an In-N-Out burger kind of night. I took a few wrong turns which prolonged this excurstion even further.

The dog at this point is whining with that "I am going to poop myself" kind of whine. Bri decided he would see if she had to go and I was waiting in line at In-n-out. All of a sudden I hear yelling, I look and Bri is walking back with the dog and says "hold on I am going to go kick the shit out of those guys." Instead of saying "no dear dont do that" I start yelling (they were making fun of him and the dog NOT OKAY). I dropped a good "F-You you F-in A-holes" (oh did i mention it was 4 punk guys in the car?) Oh and I was giving them the finger, and I was giving it real hard. I felt so tough. They continued taunting from their truck and drove off ( clearly they were intimidated). I really wanted to punch someone I am not gonna lie. We high fived and had a good laugh until I thought "oh geesh what if they are waiting around the corner? there are only two of us?" oh well! I guess I was still frazzled cause I pulled out into oncoming traffic and nearly gave us all a heart attack.

Needless to say there are going to be a few drinks ingested tonight.

Its all about the p job (parking job)

So yesterday was bike training at my coaches house with all the other mentors for this seasons Lavaman. I learned quite a bit and off we went to Fiesta Island so coach could watch us and make sure we were practicing good form so we can pass it on to our duckies. I feel like I am riding a new bike after my last bike fit. Its going to take some getting used to but it feels ok. My only problem are my new shoes, if it weren't for the fact that I spent a good chunk of change on them I would just return them. My coach adjusted them and I am going to try them out tomorrow on my trainer. My handlebars were also flipped so now I lean alot more and there is way more pressure on my neck and shoulders, that could be fun.
In other news, Bri went out for his first bikeride on the new bike with the clip pedals. I so wish I were there because I was expecting him to fall on his ass much like I did the first time I attempted (although I tried in the kichen and bit it into the table while still clipped in...lots of bruises) but he went alone and did not have any issues. Its more fun when you fall. Nonetheless I am proud of him for getting out there alone. GOtta get him some sneakers and heart rate monitor so he can start getting on the running or walking or whatever he is most comfortable doing.
This morning I drove to meet my group at the Marian Bear state park which is in La Jolla and its got a bunch of great running trails and lots of loose rock which is similar to what we will run on in Hawaii. I noticed that other mentors were emailing about "be careful how you park" and I just thought they must really enforce where you park. Pulling up I was careful to make sure I was not illegally parking. Come to find out this spot is the hotbed for gay porn. Yup apparently lots of the outdoor shots are filmed here, and many times you will run into a scene, literally. Sooooo due to that it is also a big meetup. If you park backed in that apparently means you want it in the back as well. If you park sideways well you are up for anything with anyone. THere were actually people waiting in their cars. Safe to say I will NEVER run there alone. It was a great trail run though.
Coach taught me a bit about heart rate training which I want to give a shot. This means that I have to stay under 75% of my maximum heart rate. THIS IS HARD!!! The idea is that over time if you adhere to this, your pace will increase and your heart rate stays the same. Essentially you will start to run faster but your body is working at a pace that is easy and more importnatly a pace that you can still digest at. Super important for long races, not crazy important for an olympic distance but I really want to try it. This means that I am pretty much at a shuffle, like I should just walk because that is how fast I am moving. I am going to try to be patient and do this and hope that it works out for me in the end.

totally faking it

Well my next TNT event has unofficially officially begun. Oh boy!! I am mentoring this season which means I will have about 5-10 individuals that I will take under my wing and try to get them to the finish line in good spirits, meeting all their personal and fundraising goals. I am also heading up the "social committee" for the team. I felt like it took way to far into the season for team bonding so I want to jumpstart it right away, which means bri best fire up that grill!

We had a mentor meeting and although it was looooooooooong I am certainly going to learn quite a bit from my new coach and am hoping to get more info about heart rate training. I typically rode towards the middle to end of the group last year but now that I am mentoring I will likely be staying with my slowest participant. I know how shitty it was to feel totally alone on the courses, thinking I was lost, feeling like I was the slowest person on earth, and at times crying thinking "why why why?!" (refer back to my mt laguna ride). THe thing is, I rode most of the actual tri by myself as well. Well besides the thousands of people passing me trying to pump me up. My coach asked what my favorite sport of all 3 was. I honestly could not pick one. Not because I suck at all, not because I succeed at all, but because I really just dont mind any of them. The real challenge this season will be the open water swims that begin in the winter. Even though it is cali, the water gets "colder than a witches tit" (one of betty lou's favorite lines" and lets face it people that is when sharks like to infest the waters here. Since I will have little duckies looking to me for advice I am going to have to TOTALLY FAKE IT!!! I am going to fake it harder than sally. Like I may need to change my wetsuit after these swims. THe fun part will be convincing Bri to come as well (he has a fear of dying in open water...we are a good time).

THe thing is, even though I worked my butt off, I know there were areas of the tri that I slacked on last season. I do not intend on slacking whatsoever because I need to set an example and be a role model for the little duckies. I am also going to have to get better at tire changing because if I am going to be sweeping alot of the rides that means I will have to help all the suckers who pop a tire. This is going to make for some very long saturdays if they are depending on me!!

THe training schedule looks fun and our new digs are going to be AWESOME for training. I can probably get in a good week bike workout since we live along some great routes and I can try to get out of work at a decent time to get some daylight. I also found a great pool that opens at 5am so we can get some early morning swims in there. I am just really hoping that I can continue to squeeze the pilates and yoga in at least once a week with training because I never thought i'd say it but I really love both of them.

margaritawhat?

Margaritadermatitis

What it is: a painful reaction that occurs when one squeezes 30 limes to make margaritas and combines that with sunshine

The result: a painful blistering on the hands that looks like 3rd degree burns, bright red and totally gross

Who has it? My hubs.

I have heard of this before from bartenders but man oh man it is gross and looks rather painful.

On a good note we are moving!!! Since I am totally sick of tripping over stuff in our too small of a house we finaly found some new digs that we are both psyched about. We passed up a panoramic ocean view place in which the woman even knocked down the price by 300 so that we would take it (we are pretty awesome so everyone wants us...duh!) and we went with another house that is a bit more practical for us. and by us I mean the puppy! Great yard, amazing view of a lagoon and canyons and so totally serene. We have some big plans, like flat screens outside and all kinds of crazy shit. I think i now even have space for a workout ROOM!!!! major shopping sprees in my future!!!!!!!! oh how i miss the christmas tree shop!!!

alot of alots

Well there is not much I can say about my debut on wipeout because I could be sued for saying too much. I will say this. It was by far one of the most fun days of my life. It was a group of 22 completely unique individuals that got to spend a whole lot of time sitting around together.
I had a blast and will hopefully get some good face time when it airs in the summer. I surely gave them plenty of footage to work with.
I can tell you this:
lots of people finished the course and puked...LOTS
I did not puke.
I fell ALOT, like ALOT ALOT
the course is ALOT harder than it looks
being stuck in mud is not fun, and eating that mud is even less fun, coughing up the mud for the night is super unfun
At one point i thought my eye was bleeding
I fell more times than one could even count
I felt like a bobble head and today cannot move my neck
one of the producers referred to me as "miss congeniality" but having a good personality does NOT help you on the balls AT ALL!
To top the day off after all of the muck and mud (shout out franko) I left to meet my most super wonderful friend LG who drove up to LA with me to hang out alone all day so that I would not have to drive home. (THANKS LIS!!) So as I was finally clean at the end of the day and i walked to the car and completely fell into mud. It was brutal.
After 3 showers I am still finding gravel and other condiments in crevices of my body.

Sorry to say I will have to wait til Summer to see my athletic endeavors on the big red balls. I can only imagine what the commentators will be saying.

Onyx is craaaaaaaaazay

I am sorry to say that my friend Connie lost her battle with myeloma October 10th. She was an amazing woman, mother, friend, sister, and most importantly grandmother to the gracefully amazing Grace. I pray that they will continue to find ways to be close to her. Perhaps her way of saying hello today was when my wonderful husband tossed a dog toy to the dog and knocked over the lenox candle holder that was a wedding gift from Connie. It shattered all over the place and all I could do was laugh because I know it was her way of saying hello. Now she is happy and surrounded by all those who went before her. She was a big supporter of me and she was my motivation for my athletic endeavors and she will no doubt remain to be a major motivator.

Now I am sure you may be wondering who that goddess with the black hair is....its Onyx. Onyx was my alias in Vegas this past weekend. We went to meet up with some friends and Ally aka "Britney" (see her fake pony) talked me into a wig and it was too funny to pass up. I have already worn it to school and tried to freak out some of the kids. The women selling this "totally real looking wig" told me these things:

- it is half "humen" hair (it actually said that one the bag it came in)

- "you could be a victorias secret model with this for halloween, yup all you need are the wings" (yeah honey thats ALL I need!!!!)

- you just need some dark eye make up and you can work this

-this wig is worth $300 ( I got it for 80 and swear i saw the same one in walgreens later that night for 10)

It was a fun weekend in Vegas. THe Merrill's carried every craps table we hit. Speaking of hitting, it looked like Bri got in a fight but really his face fought the bedside table. Well his nose really. Very funny for me, not so funny for him!

Now onto Wipeout. I picked up some pieces for the ensemble. I leave Wednesday night with my super friend LG who is driving up with me to LA and staying in the hotel since I have to be at the set at 6am. To top it off she can't even go wtih me so she is going to wait around all day to make sure I don't break something. What a gal!!! So I am super psyched for that!!!!! Big red balls here I come!!!

I have done nothing athletic besides attend yoga in an attempt to "sweat vegas out of me" and it worked. A successful yoga session minus me nailing a girl in the head with my foot. Really though, these mats are not long enough for me and my long ass legs and this chick was all up on my grill.

Who is it gonna be?

I have pretty much sucked this week. My trip to Boston was great. Fortunately I was able to see Connie while she was still feeling pretty strong from her hospital visit. I was able to find a charm that a friend of mine gave to me at my moms funeral. It is a jewish proverb (love the jews they are so clever, go JC) the mizpah and reads "lord watch between me and thee while we are absent from one another." It is kind of like a best friends charm in which it is cut in half. So the idea is you both wear a half of it. I got a few sets for Julie, her daughter and her sister and mother. That charm brought me some peace with the loss of my mother and hopefully will always be a reminder for them and especially Julie's daughter that she is never far from her nana. I wish I could still be there with them especially during these tough times. I almost cannot wait to start training for my next TNT event so I can get fundraising again because this whole cancer thing is really for the birds if you ask me. So sick of it.

While home I decided to do a run around "the river" and it is certainly one of my favorite spots. I borrowed some running attire from Apple and headed out and was not alone because it was the Breast Cancer walk so there was plenty of people watching. I did around 8 miles or so but it was a rather sluggish run.

I was also able to visit with my sweet neice Elizabeth who is just so damn funny I can't even stand it. Boy does she love her "jojo" and that feeling is certainly mutual. There were lots of games of hide n seek, snuggle time, and the game where Elizabeth jumps on me over and over until my knees are almost broken. I can't wait for this Christmas when all the neices and nephews will really really get it.

Okay now for my flight home....boy that was fun. Well the fun part was that I ended up knowing 3 people on the flight, and two of our new friends ended up in the same aisle so we all sat together. GOod thing because our direct flight ended up being not so direct. We ran out of gas and had to stop somewhere in the middle of the country. Sat a while, got to SD and they had no gate for us. I pretty much had doritos and that was it for about 15 hours. I need to eat every 3 hours so that was interesting. Jetblue provided us a $25 voucher,,,,wow thanks.

I must have picked something up on the flight, or from one of the many students at school whose parents decided to send them in despite teh fact that they were violently ill. I have had a form of the stomach bug all frigin week. I have not been able to eat anything without nasty effects since Tuesday. On Wednesday I had to drive up to LA for my physical for Wipeout, that was interesting. I had to stop twice but I will spare you the details of those events. I passed my physical and am cleared for the taping of the show this Thursday. Hopefully I can hold down/in some food so that I can kick some ass on the show and win me some 50K. Or at least not look like death warmed over on national television.
I still have to pick out my outfit for the show and I need a duplicate of my outfit since we tape multiple obstacles in one day. Still not decided but I think a trip to American Apparel should clear that up.

We are off for Las Vegas tonight which I am sort of dreading ( i know i know), and believe me vegas is one of my favorite places on earth where gambling and heavy drinking is a give in. But given my status the past few days I know it will not be a true vegas experience for me. I will do my damndest though to make it through and feed the fish on the craps tables. I am sure this post will follow with inappropriate pictures of me at ridiculous hours of the night. Well thats what the healthy jody would be doing. Only time can tell who will show up this weekend?

suck it cancer

Although I live thousands of miles away from the place I call home, I really have not felt very far because I can get home in an instant. Which is what I am doing this weekend. One of my number one honored heroes Connie is nearing the end of her battle with multiple myeloma. I had the honor of meeting her through her daughter Julie while training with the TEAM in 2004. We were both training for our first Boston Marathon with the Leukemia Society and were instantly bonded not only through running (we were the same slow poke pace) but because she was just beginning the journey with her mother and her diagnosis. I can recall feeling like I didn't want to tell her the truth because I was afraid to scare her with my own mothers experience. I never had to hold anything back because she was just there for me always and I hope I have always been there for her. Connie has kept me believing that living with myeloma does not have to be all bad like I remembered it with my own mother. She was able to live life for 5 plus years with this disease, as the healthiest sick person I have ever met. Not only that but she was able to see her first granddaughter and bond with her. Unfortunately the disease has reared its ugly head and is taking over the body of a beautiful and strong amazing woman, mother, grandmother and friend. True I am going home to try to lend any support I can do my friends, but also to help feel like maybe there was some reason that I had to go through this before. I know that if the tables were turned and Julie lost her mother first, that she would be beside me to hold my hand, and make me laugh, and possibly yell at crazy people who try to show up at their house to say goodbye. This family is definately one of the stronger ones I have ever met and I admire their ability to speak so freely about death with one another. I think that helps quite a bit to know how their mother feels about the process. It is a very difficult thing when death is pretty much smack dab in your face all day every day for years and years. To live life with that dangling in front of your eyes is a difficult thing to do. They have all battled this together with such "grace" and I truly admire them. I look forward to spending some time with them and to hopefully be a reminder that even after death they can continue to have a relationship with their mother, and that life, although extremely difficult will go on. And one day down the road, they will know why they had to go through this.
And yes, expect another fundraising letter to come soon, because I am pretty pissed that this disease is going to claim yet another amazing woman.