Weekly Photo Challenge: Achievement

Tags

DP, DP Challenge, humour, Mud Hero, Photo Challenge, photography, Weekly Photo Challenge

In the summer of 2013, I had the privilege of playing in the mud with my oldest son (I needed someone to bury me if I didn’t make it), in a 6 km obstacle race. I had “trained” off and on for months (which really amounted to a few jogging sessions where I nearly started a fire with my thighs, and fancying about with some weights).

There were 5 reasons that this race was a big deal to me…and even now, over a year later, I’m still psyched (and seriously considering doing it again). I may have been among the oldest there, and was most likely the only idiot to be completely submerged in mud, but I achieved my goal: Run. Crawl. Climb. Don’t Die!

“The best part never washes away…”

To see more photos for this photo challenge, click here.

Capture Your 365 (February 24-March 2)

Tags

365 Daily Photo Challenge, Capture your 365 project, CY365, fitness, Mud Hero, photography, shopping, trees

“February is merely as long as is needed to pass the time until March.” — Dr. J. R. Stockton

This February certainly seemed very long. Between the bone-chilling temperatures and the giant piles of snow, I didn’t think it would ever end. And Spring… well I know it’s coming but I’m pretty confident that it won’t be soon. On the plus side, I’m starting to feel better, and I was able to take a few pictures for a February finale.  To see the quotes I chose to go with the photos, just click on a photo and scroll through. Enjoy the day!

Predictable: “I’m not sentimental. This skin and bones is a rental, and no one makes it out alive.” –Switchfoot

Admire: “A girls most beautiful outfit ever is charisma, the prettiest accessory is smile, and the best pair of heels is confidence.” – Unknown

Seize the Moment: “Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it.” – Bill Cosby

Step Outside: “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,” he used to say. “You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.” ~ The Fellowship of the Ring

Keep Going: “I don’t stop when I’m tired. I only stop when I’m done” –Marilyn Monroe

Mud Hero (Part IV)

Tags

adventure, family, fitness, humour, midlife crisis, Mud Hero

Once upon a time, I had this crazy notion that I wanted to run in the mud. Somehow I convinced a perfectly sane person to run in the mud too…and she convinced others. And together we ran Mud Hero – a 6 km, 18 obstacle race!

***

Up to this point, my shoulders, face, ears, and hair were hardly splattered, and my shirt was still snow white (except for the large handprint Big Guy blessed me with back at Obstacle #4). I should have clued in when every person running toward me stopped to rinse their hands and sometimes faces. Obstacle #14 was a large slide into a mud pit. I climbed the rope to the platform (with boards to brace my feet on) with surprising ease…my weight-lifting efforts paid off after all. Then slid down – how hard is that? I was overconfident…I tried to slow down by bracing my feet against the sides…I really did…but my efforts proved to be futile…I might as well have just cannon-balled into that pit because when I hit, I went under…all the way under…I had mud everywhere (and trust me, there are places where you should never have mud – it’s just wrong!). The professional photographer caught that moment in two close-up shots. Too bad I can share them (I have to purchase them first)…

My glasses were coated and mud had splashed in one eye, so I could hardly see. As I struggled to climb out of the mud pit, my feet slipping in the thick, black muck, I heard a voice tell me to reach out my hand. I could see one of my team members, a knight in shining soiled armour, dark hair blowing in the wind, outstretched arm, and he helped pull me from the mire. He didn’t even stay long enough to give me a chance to say thank you…

Someone at the water station took pity on me and gave me a roll of toilet paper so I could wipe my eyes and glasses before heading to Obstacle #15. I remembered seeing this obstacle on the drive in earlier in the day. It required scaling a rock wall and sliding down a fire pole. Again, I scaled that wall with ferocious speed. I also slid down that pole with ferocious speed, thanks to the muddy hands that gone before me. The closer I got the ground, the faster I slid, the mud squishing between my fingers. I could hear a couple of girls trying to talk their friend down, telling her that the harder she gripped the pole, the slower she would slide. Liars!

I could tell we were nearing the end and even though my legs were sore, and my left knee was starting to complain, I made an effort to keep running. There was a young couple with a baby watching the path along the road, and the Mom raised the baby’s arms and cheered, so I raised my arms and cheered too. I really appreciated their encouragement!

Only 3 obstacles to go – the end was in nigh! Obstacle #16 seemed easy enough, until I was in the middle of it. The Lake Walk is appropriately named – walking in waist-deep water in a nebulous lake. It was a long walk, or perhaps it just seemed that way as I stumbled and my legs started to scream with every step. It was no longer about lung endurance – it was all about muscle endurance. I could feel fatigue washing over me…I was too tired to even try to wash off any mud. Once I reached the beach, it felt like everything around me was accelerating. I could hear cheering, a D.J. shouting, and loud music. The excitement was palpable…and hope was alive! I was going to survive.

Obstacle#17 was an inflatable slide, only this slide was higher and it didn’t have mud at the bottom. I scaled it with ease and tried not to scream on the way down. And then the final obstacle, the obstacle shown in photographs all over the website…the Dirtlicious Mud Crawl! I hear our leader shout, “it’s time to get dirty”! As I fell (literally slipped and slid in on my butt again), I heard the D.J. offer congratulations to…and he said my name…how cool is that! Dirtlicious was just like the first obstacle – mud pit, crawl under logs…except the logs were much lower, and the mud was much soupier! All the better for post-race photo shots! Rather than crawl, I simply pulled my body along with my arms. I saw the professional photos and I look like I’m dripping melted milk chocolate!

Three of my team mates were waiting just before the finish line and we held hand and crossed it together. We cheered, we gave each other high-5s, we lined up to receive our medal…and we posed for a picture (to be posted Friday), before we hit the “showers” (i.e., PVC pipes that dripped lake water and were pretty…useless), changed into clean clothes in a sweltering port-a-potty…and trekked 1 kilometer…uphill…back to the car…Big Guy forgot to bring shoes to change into, so he had the added bonus of walking back to the car in bare feet. I was stiff, sore, scratched, sun-burned and a psyched (not psycho) Survivor!

Post-script: All week I’ve been singing 2 songs by Switchfoot (Album: Vice Verses)…I also listened to them on the way to the race. I won’t post the lyrics but if you like music or you’re a wee bit curious, here are the Youtube links:

Dark Horses

Afterlife

Mud Hero (Part III)

Tags

adventure, family, fitness, humour, midlife crisis, Mud Hero

Once upon a time, I had this crazy notion that I wanted to run in the mud. Somehow I convinced a perfectly sane person to run in the mud too…and she convinced others. And together we ran Mud Hero – a 6 km, 18 obstacle race!

***

Obstacle #7 has kept me awake for nights because it involves tight spaces. I wasn’t worried about the mud-filled trench; I anticipated being covered with mud anyway. It was thinking about climbing through the tunnel that made me hyperventilate and break into a cold sweat in the middle of the night. We were supposed to crawl through a metal tube, through the mud trench with wires criss-crossing the surface (so you have to get down and get dirty), and then crawl up another metal tube. It was aptly named “Light at the End of the Tunnel”.

Yikes!!!

Although I had the option of skipping it, I was hoping that the excitement of the run would override my claustrophobia so I wouldn’t have any regrets. When the time arrived, all fear was gone…as well as the first set of tubes. I only had to cross the mud trench first, then climb up the metal tube, and Big Guy was behind me to encourage me if I got stuck or started to freak out. Of course I slipped climbing into the pit, fell on my butt, and slid right on in! It felt amazing to not only survive, but to thrive!

By this point, I was walking more than running between obstacles, and I was feeling nauseous after drinking water at the water station. The pathways were more modest ups and downs, and longer stretches on an even keel. The obstacles were also closer together. While part of our team still steamed ahead, more were hanging behind and enjoying the journey…joking around and cheering for each other at the tough obstacles.

Obstacle #8 was the Spidey Web. I had to weave between the ropes and trees, ducking and twisting, to get to the other side. I moved through it slowly, often waiting to let those who were moving faster get by me. My legs were starting to hurt and I focused just on the ropes immediately in front of me so I wouldn’t be discouraged by the amount of ground I had to cover. After another short run, I came to Obstacle #9 – the Hero Wall. There are 2 ways over this 8’ wall – either climbing over using a suspended rope, or climbing over using the wooden handholds. One way is easy; one way is hard. I didn’t even notice that there were 2 ways over, and thankfully (for once), I had chosen the easier way. There was also a ledge on the other side, so I didn’t have to jump!

Obstacle #10 was the Mystery Obstacle, but it was one of my favourites because it was the easiest (for me). It also had an easy and a hard choice…and I took the hard choice…the higher Balance Beam across a very murky looking pond. I confidently hustled across it and kept right on truckin’!

Obstacle #11 lived up to its name: Tipsy Turvy…that’s exactly how my legs felt when I was done. It required crawling or balancing across 30 feet of rope netting. In my case, it meant striking my least favourite yoga pose, downward dog…not that I do yoga because I am not bendy! I inched my way across…sideways…very slowly. While others were crawling forwards, one yahoo decided to use the wooden centre beam as a balance beam and dashed across. It wasn’t really a “legal” move but there were no referees.

Obstacle #12, the Camo Crawl required another tight space, but since I had aced the Light at the End of the Tunnel, I didn’t stop to think about it. In the pictures, the Camo Crawl involved crawling under a camouflage net, but instead it was a solid wooden structure across the dry ground. It was hard on my elbows and knees. I imagine that’s where I acquired a few scrapes and bruises (aka “war wounds”).

The Water Bridge was lucky Obstacle #13. It was basically a 2-way bridge with a spray of water on one side. The water was cold and I would have appreciated it more at the beginning of the race when I could still run…in more than in an effort to not look stupid short bursts of enthusiasm. Every person running toward me stopped to rinse their hands and sometimes faces. That should have been a big red flag…

Mud Hero (Part II)

Tags

adventure, family, fitness, humour, Mud Hero

Once upon a time, I had this crazy notion that I wanted to run in the mud. Somehow I convinced a perfectly sane person to run in the mud too…and she convinced others. And together we ran Mud Hero – a 6 km, 18 obstacle race!

***

Big Guy and I: Before the Mud!

3…2…1…the air horn sounds, people shout and fist pump in the air, the crowd surges forward, and as the space starts to clear around me, I shout and fist pump too…and I start to run…For the first stretch and up the first hill, I manage to keep pace with our leader, who is running in the middle of our “team pack”. But by the second hill, I am quickly losing ground…my heart is pumping and my lungs are burning. By the third hill, I have lost sight of everyone. I know one person is behind me but I have no idea where Big Guy and G.I. Jane are…who’s going to push and pull me through? I remind myself: “slow and steady”. The team wait for me at the first obstacle. By the fourth hill, I was thinking “I must be almost there”. I head down a short hill and around the corner, thinking “this isn’t so ba…oh crap!” This isn’t a hill – this is a freakin’ mountain! Cue “Platoon” moment now! Ok, it wasn’t a mountain but my oxygen-deprived brain was perceiving this steep, rugged upward incline as a mountain. People were groaning and sliding all around me as we dug in yet again. I was determined not to die in the first kilometer. When we broke through the trees and began running along the road, to the amusement of the runners trekking to the entrance from the parking lot, I recognized that this was the area where I first heard the sounds of “death screams” erupting from the woods. Surely it was only a matter of minutes before I would be among the wailers and gnashers of teeth.

After more hills (I swear, this run was all uphill except for the one steep hill down – with skinny trees to hug on the descent lest we fall and wipe out those going before us), I reached the first obstacle. To get to it, I first had to skirt the edge of a 10 foot patch of 3” thick mud that reeked of sewage. Only one team member was MIA, which gave me a moment to catch my breath. The first obstacle was a sloshing mud pit, about waist high. The edges were sloped and caked with thick black mucky mud, making it difficult to descend without sliding right in. I plunge in anyway, the mud threatening to suck off my shoes and trap me forever. I manage to slosh across the pit, ducking under thick logs with just enough room to not drag my chin in it. Others chose to back stroke under them. A team mate helped me up the thick incline on the other side, and with heavy feet (our shoes were filled with mud and water after all), we ran…

Obstacle #2 was the Deep Woods run. As the path stretched further into the woods and became more rugged – tree limbs, uneven ground, pits and hollows. We climbed over fallen trees on the path and still we ran. Three team members were behind me; the remainder had vanished on the shifting horizon.

Obstacle #3 – Over and Under. The obstacle consisted of three 3½-4 foot wooden walls (without benefit of hand/foot holds) to scale and 3 logs to crawl under. I had no problem with the Under, but I needed a boost for the Over! More running past the 2 kilometer mark to a traffic jam at Obstacle #4…another wall to scale without benefit of rope or hand/foot holds. It was only 5 feet tall; I am only 5’1½” tall (the ½” is important. It was about a 15 minute wait for our turn, giving us lots of time to cool off and joke around. Big Guy thought I was still too clean, so planted a few wet hand prints on my back. Even after rinsing and washing my t-shirt, one hand print stain remains! I’m proud to say that I took a run at that wall and I scaled her, baby! All. By. Myself! My team cheered from the top of the hill…and we ran…

We ran into a clear space…right next to the D.J. and the starter pit, lined with spectators. I had to keep running so I didn’t look so pathetic! Obstacle #5: Cars! Do you have any idea how hard it is to climb onto the hood of a car with muddy shoes? Obstacle #5 involved 2 cars parked back to back, with the windows covered in plywood. Getting up was easier than getting off – slide down the back of the car and hope you don’t fall off! Run…and do it again! I nearly fell off the fourth vehicle and when I started to slide, I leaped and prayed I’d be like a cat – land on my feet! I did!

Cargo Climb (from Mud Hero’s website). I’m not in it – but I did go over it!

We chugged a cup of cool water before Obstacle #6, the Super Hero Cargo Climb, also in full view of spectators! The rope was course on my hands and it swayed with the force of several climbers. An official photographer snapped my picture and I’m keeping an eye out, just in case my face shows up in some of their promotional photos. I seriously doubt that will ever happen. Normally heights don’t bother me and climbing up and down, it didn’t. It was only in that brief moment when I reached the top and my hand hold was now down by my knees and not at my shoulders, that I felt my heart in my throat. I felt light, unencumbered, strong…

I could see Big Guy and our leader watching from the ground, smiling encouragingly, so I kept moving. I had made it this far, but I could see the next obstacle, and it was the one that had been keeping me awake for nights…

Mud Hero (Part I)

Tags

adventure, family, fitness, humour, Mud Hero

Once upon a time, I had this crazy notion that I wanted to run in the mud. Somehow I convinced a perfectly sane person to run in the mud too…and she convinced others. And together we ran Mud Hero – a 6 km, 18 obstacle race!

***

Obviously this tale has a happy ending and I survived with the full use of my hands, and not confined to a hospital bed. But it was still quite a day! With the exception of being a bit stiff, sore, scratched and slightly sunburned, I am so happy!

I had trouble sleeping the night before the race (I’m a nervous pee-er), so I was sleepy yet still up early to cook breakfast… eggs and sausage for my “last supper”. What was I thinking? Lasagna would have been a much better breakfast! Or chocolate cheesecake…Big Guy and I picked up G.I. Jane, Big Guy’s friend who decided to dress like a ninja (i.e., black jumpsuit), and hit the road by 9:30 (I often refer Big Guy and his friend as “Dumb and Dumber”). We all noticed the line-up of dump trucks at Tim Horton’s, but I was so nervous, I was nauseous and I didn’t even want tea. For anyone who knows me well, knows that I have to be in bad shape to say “no” to a cup of tea, especially Tim’s tea.

We arrived to a line up at the Conservation Area and marvelled at several groups of runners as we crawled along. Some people wore team shirts, while others were dressed in hot pink tights or neon striped socks and headbands. Parking lot A was full, so we kept driving up the hill. Parking lot B was full…passed a farm yard full of vehicles, around a corner, up another hill…Parking lot C was not full. It was, however, a field on the side of a steep hill. Since we were at the bottom of that hill, we abandoned anything we didn’t need to carry. I abandoned my purse and the towels. I packed my change of clothes and flip flops, camera, wallet, cell phone and 1 bottle of water. And we made the 1 km trek to the entrance of Mud Hero. As we neared the entrance, I could hear screaming and groaning coming from the woods on the left. It sounded like a village being torn to pieces by an unseen foe in a sci-fi horror film, and I broke into a cold sweat…

We waved furiously when our team drove by! I also called Hubby and told him seriously consider whether to come since he’d likely have to park so far away, and since Little Guy wasn’t keen to come anyway, a long walk + a grouchy boy would not = a happy day for the guys! Good thing I brought one of the cameras.

We registered without incident, pinned our bibs to our shirts, and tied our tracking chip to our shoes. So they could find my body after all! I went to take a “before” picture but even though I had charged the battery the day before, it would only turn on and off. Murphy’s Law! I have a “before” picture on my cell phone, which I will retrieve soon. I need “technical help”…We found the rest of our team, checked our bags, and lined up outside the “starter pit”!

Gates to the starter pit opened 15 minutes before the race. The starter pit was the area where we stood in the blazing sun like a herd of cattle waiting to be slaughtered. There were about 300 of us in the noon wave. Loud throbbing music, and an even louder D.J. tried to get the adrenaline pumping and stir up enthusiasm. I was more concerned about conserving my strength.

As the final countdown began, an upbeat version of Adagio for Strings from Platoon began to play. If you’ve seen the movie, you will recall that famous scene when Elias (played by Willem Dafoe) is running for the helicopter with a mass of enemy running behind him. And that poignant moment when he finally falters and falls to his knees in slow motion. He reaches to the sky and falls just as the helicopter flies over him. I found it ironic. Here I was, about to run for my life with an army of runners behind me (about 200 to be exact)…and at some point, I will likely fall to my knees and lift my hands to the heavens before I collapse and my body is trampled in the muck!

10…9…8…hug Big Guy and shout “I want to be cremated”

…5…4…take a deep breath

…2…1…an air horn, loud shouts and fist pumps. I shout and fist pump too – this might be my final swan song. The space around starts to clear as people press forward…and I start to run…

Top 5 Reasons Mud Hero is a BIG deal…to me!

Tags

adventure, family, fitness, humour, midlife crisis, Mud Hero

You’re probably among the vast majority who are thinking “enough with the Mud Hero already.  We get it – you’re a dirty girl!” So I thought I’d share the top 5 reasons that this is a BIG deal to me – keep reading or tune in next week (assuming I’m not hospitalized or worse…) when the next midlife crisis starts…

1) Just after Little Guy was born, I threw my back out so far I’m still looking for it. I also developed other health issues (that weren’t diagnosed for several years) and at 32, I was facing a long lifetime of chronic and debilitating pain! It has taken me a long time to get where I am (which still requires medication, rest, and moderation) so imagine the hope and joy of rediscovering movement…to go from being unable to take a shower without a physical and emotional breakdown, to lifting weights and running 5km. It isn’t something I thought I could do before Little Guy came along, and it certainly wasn’t something I thought I could even consider doing after.

2) I have never been athletic or bendy! I was the kid who ran into the bar during high jump, came in last in every sprint, and ducked whenever the ball came near me. I tried out for the soccer team once – I had no idea what I was doing (i.e., why I was trying out or literally, what. I. was. doing)! I figure skated because it was the closest thing to “dance” in our town but that’s it for physical activity! I hated gym class with a dark passion! So the fact that I’m engaging in an activity that requires physical activity both prior to and during the event, is nothing short of a miracle!

3) I look stupid in shorts! I rarely wear shorts. With the exception of my one pair of yoga shorts (which someone gave me), I only own one other pair of shorts, and they are 7 sizes too big! I wear skirts or jeans. And at the risk of sounding crude, I don’t quite know what to do with bouncing boobs. I don’t want to put anyone’s eye out or simply knock them unconscious. It’s a problem. So right there – the dress code – is taking me out of my comfort zone!

4) I am not confident, outgoing, or a risk-taker…but if I’m going to do it – now is the time! I should have looked into it more careful before I starting encouraging anyone to join me in my madness midlife crisis. I may be an introverted perfectionist but mud should be pretty forgiving! I’m getting used to looking pretty stupid anyway. I am more concerned about how my efforts and decisions will impact the others on my team. Most of my team mates train one-on-one in a gym on a regular basis…I fancy about in runners and (ridiculously snug) shorts with my 8 lb weights. . I am afraid I will disappoint them.

5) If there’s a hard way to do something, I will find it! And I am a danger to myself and others…but not on purpose! I’m just not always fast on my feet. For example, I played on the church softball team in high school only because they needed a certain number of girls at each game or they had to forfeit. They tried me at third base first…until I got taken for a ride by a runner heading home at full tilt. I saw him coming, yelling, and everything went into slow motion. Like a deer in the headlights, I just stood there. He picked me up on the way by, and kindly set me down somewhere between third base and home plate…and I never played third base again…

To sum up – I am an aging, insecure, physically unfit spazz, a danger to myself and others, who is taking a leap of faith to play in the mud with strangers!

“It isn’t just mud, it’s a badge of honour!”

Run. Crawl. Climb. Don’t Die.

Tags

em, fitness, humour, Mud Hero

Well, “Ignorance was bliss”.

The Pre-Trial

I slept in Saturday morning, justifying it as saving my energy for the Trial Run later in the day. Then I did very little…until Hubby, Big Guy and I started talking about the Mud Hero Run, and Hubby found out I didn’t know what I had signed up for…and he “insisted” (with Little Guy’s help) on reading out every obstacle to me. I could feel the colour draining from my face and felt my bowels turning to water. Next, even though I was nauseous, came a period of intense stress eating: Cheddar goldfish crackers (full of gluten and dairy). I did a lot of stress eating. And as I packed my bag and headed off for the trial, I took that giant bag of crackers and “snacked” for the half hour drive.

My first impression of the obstacle course was positive. I tied up my runners and shared self-deprecating remarks with complete strangers until we were all gathered. Hubby was there, camera pointed to record my “humiliation”. Then our leader laid out “the plan”.

The Plan

Since we would be running a total of 6km during the Mud Hero Run, we would be running 6 km, in 3 blocks. She had also set up various obstacles and we would do those in between the runs. Here we go…

The Trial

Less than a third into the first run, having started at the back (knowing I’d probably be there for the duration), I passed a guy mowing his lawn, who suggested I run faster. I smiled politely and shook my head “no”. He kindly pointed out that “well, someone has to be in last place and you’re doing a great job of it”. Just what I need – a heckler! I was second last and stayed there until we stopped at the school. We were going to swing on the monkey bars. This was a great set to try out – I could touch the ground. Then we ran again…but this time I was in the middle of the pack…and I stayed there the whole time (even though I didn’t actually run the whole time). I was only a little humiliated when our youth pastor drove by, smiling and waving…

By the time we got back to the house, I was the same colour as my shirt. It felt pretty good to crawl through the wet grass as a sprinkler rained down us. Next, we hopped through the tires a couple of times before going for a stroll around the block carrying wooden beams. I was only a little humiliated by having an audience. Hubby and my pastor (his wife is our leader/trainer) cheered from their great view on the back porch.

Hop.

Then we ran…again…

This time we went in a different direction. Instead of a small gradual hill, we trailed up a long gradual hill. What’s the difference? It hurt a lot more! I stayed in the middle of the pack, staying ahead of Big Guy and his friend (I can endure more than a 23 year old? In fairness, Big Guy was wearing work boots. He didn’t listen to his Mama). A few more neighbourhood hecklers/confused on-lookers. I visited with another woman to try and distract myself from my burning thighs and screaming lungs. I made sure I was running once I could see the house – I know Hubby and his camera were waiting…

That’s me in the pink shirt – I look like I know what I’m doing…

We weren’t done yet. Next, we had to climb a 10 ft. rope. Big Guy scaled that in less than 10 seconds. I barely made it off the ground, but in the video clip Hubby [kindly] recorded, I looked good doing not much of anything! We also had to flip a tractor tire over 5 times. I was the last to go – I got into my squat position, took a deep breath and lifted…the tire didn’t budge. Holy bat crap! That thing was heavy! I might have flipped it once under my own power. Apparently my 8 lb. weights are NOT enough! And finally, we dragged a tire around the yard. I got to sit on it for Big Guy’s turn, which was really fun! I survived the final run…and the bear crawl through the yard…

Drag. (not me – Hubby was cooking and (finally) put the camera down!

Summation

I didn’t suck (at everything) and accomplished far more than I gave myself credit for. I’m convinced that my efforts to run and persevering with the weights, etc. made this Trial Run a little smoother. (OK, a lot!) And know that I’ve publicly humiliated myself, it will be easier to do so again.  Mountainstroh passed on some great advice Friday afternoon – it’s not about the speed, it’s about the finish! I’m feeling more confident that next Saturday, I can finish strong!

Or I will die trying…

Summer Schedule

Tags

fitness, humour, midlife crisis, Mud Hero

No one has noticed (or at least mentioned) that I’m not posting every day. There are a few reasons for that:

1) After posting nearly every week day for a year and a half, I have decided that I’d rather take some time to work on producing interesting “quality” posts, rather than focusing on quantity. (I know…quality? Feel free to laugh – it’s good for you!)

2) It seems I haven’t had a lot of time lately to focus on my mid-life crisis. I’m busy doing lots of stuff, but not all of it is as entertaining as I’d like it to be! This week is Vacation Bible School at our church. I am the Jr. Craft Leader…and an actor in a skit. This could be entertaining!

3) School ended on June 27 at 11:30 a.m. I know this because I was standing in the school parking lot, having snagged the last parking space, waiting for Little Guy to get out. At 11:30, the bell rang and every child on the premises started yelling. Quite possibly, the teachers joined in. I had the car packed and Little Guy and I headed to my parents’ place right away and spent a week there, mostly just hanging out!

4) I’m in serious trouble now. While I was away, I registered for Mud Hero. I talked Big Guy and his friend into registering as well. I nicknamed them “Dumb & Dumber” years ago…this isn’t their only action which confirms the appropriateness of this nickname, but they can now add that I’m the “dumbest one of all”! I’ve been trying to do a little exercise every day (sorry – the “E” word isn’t my favourite either), including weights, push-ups, sit-ups, and running. I convinced Little Guy to join me in a couple of runs and he liked it, which may help motivate me to keep it up. We’ll see… I did go for a run this past Saturday with Big Guy and Little Guy…Big Guy runs the fastest but I can do more sit-ups…He wins!

5) And finally, I had to buy a new computer because my little red notebook was starting to do bizarre things. It’s taking awhile to adjust to a large keyboard, a different set-up, etc. It has Windows 8. I don’t like it!

There’s the mini update of “life” at the moment. If I miss posting for a few days, it isn’t because I’ve forgotten or I’m holding out on you. I’m out enjoying the summer sun (or not…we’re having a lot of rain!)