Still here

Life is getting in the way of blogging these days—the pace of things is just overwhelming.  I’m at work and it is busy and some of my efforts are paying off here for them, although I spend their money like crazy. 

 

I’m back 100% and feeling pretty good. I’m training heavily for three events and am almost always sore, but at least not the bad pain.  I’ve been reluctant to talk about my training because I guess I secretly wanted an “out”—if no one knew, then if I didn’t follow through on it no one would still know.  But it’s too late for that now, fees have been paid, coworkers are in-the-know and I’m confident I’ll be able to do them.  The long and the short of it is that I don’t think I have an inner skinny person.  But I do have an inner athlete.  And, I have lots of coworker support and examples and people to go to the gym with every lunch hour for training, as well as people who have done these type of things who can help with my training plans.  Having training time completely built into my work schedule is the only thing that makes it possible. 

 

So, the three things on the calendar are:

 

Tour de Cure bike ride (25 miles) is June 18^th (please click on the post a few back and support my cause if you can!)

 

“Swim the English Channel” is a program sponsored by our county gym here that we all go to.  I’ve started the Master Class there on Tues/Thurs, which really tells you how willing I am to surrender all personal dignity—as I’m swimming with practically every male executive and coworker I have—no girls—and me in a suit is a sad, scary thing.  (My hair and eyes are my only redeeming features, and those are handily hidden by cap and goggles, so I’m just lumpy blob in a girl-Speedo.  J )  ANYWAY If I swim the distance of the English Channel (35000ish meters at it’s smallest point) I get . . .wait for it . . .a T-shirt that says I swam the English Channel!  Fortunately, this simply means I go to class and the brutal Polish taskmaster of a teacher always makes us do well over the 1350 meters each lesson, which is the minimum required to meet this goal by the end of July when the challenge ends.

 

Spudman Olympic Triathlon is in Burley Idaho on July 18^th.  Several of my co-workers are going, and I was nervous because, although I knew I could work up to an Olympic distance if I had to (about a mile swim, 10K run, 25 mile bike), I didn’t want to do it never having done just a Sprint Distance (half of the Oly), but the good news is—I’ve found a runner to be a team with me, so now I can do just the swim and bike without trashing my arthritic hips on the run.   Still, I am doing something I call a “Tridaho” which is me, in “my own private Idaho,” doing triathlon distances—I do one Sprint distance a week, 2 days of each event, half the sprint distance at each workout.  Before the Spudman, if I don’t actually sign up for a sprint distance event (because they cost money and are fixed in the schedule, which is hard) I will do an all-at-once “Tridaho”  on a Saturday so I feel more ready.  Don’t count on me to ever walk/jog more than a 5k, though.  I HATE running.  The bikey-swimmy thing I really like.  Plus, the gym has a bike video game where the handlebars move and I get to chase flying dragons and spinning coins, so that’s fun.

 

My inspiration has been the book “Slow, Fat Triathlete.”  Hilarious and helpful.

 

Our Relief Society is trying to read the Book of Mormon in 60 days.  Thanks to the iPod, I’m only a few days behind.

 

Also, I’m up to 5 voice students, so two nights are taken up doing that.  I never went back to choir after the surgery, and I feel guilty but also way less stressed.  Wednesdays are the gymnastics/TaeKwonDo Shuffle, Mondays are family night, Saturdays are date night.  Instead of blogging, I’ve been working on a book, so that’s the other night.  And although I know you guys think I’m crazy, the 59 chickens, four turkeys and four rabbits take really no more time than it takes to feed and walk a dog.   (But dogs don’t lay eggs).  21 of those chickens are on death row for sometime between the end of this month and the end of next.  When the new pullets begin to lay in late August, I will need to revisit the egg situation.  We are already getting 8-10 a day from our 10 chickens.  I have no business having 33 layers just because I want to see all the pretty colors they lay.  So I’ll have to figure that out.  I could always craigslist the eggs.  But I do think I will sell some of my current commercial hens off at some point. 

 

Plus, time is shorter because I’m trying to actually get to bed before midnight and am aiming for 11 each night.  After dinner, baths, stories, tuck-ins and time with each kid (Ben now goes to bed between 9-10), I try to hang out with David for a minute unless he’s working, in which case I either write or sit in a hot bath and Epsom salts and soak my sore muscles.

 

I don’t want to pay to go to Weight Watchers, but I learned from the Slow Fat Triathlete book that it is VERY possible to stay fat as an athlete—you can burn 600 calories in a workout and easily (if you’re me) gobble down 600+ calories in 5 minutes.  I finally realized that I have only been successful long-term in weight loss by doing the lame old calorie/portion counting thing, so I’m back to that.  This site is free and has been very helpful in keeping me honest—I track my food, workouts and journal each day there:  http://caloriecount.about.com

 

All this makes me sound far more ambitious than I am.  Rest assured that I am a very, very lazy person.  I just don’t want to feel so old when I’m not even 40.

 

David has had a nibble on a job app—pray for that please. 

 

In the spirit of calorie counting, I pass along to you an AMAZING recipe my friend here at work often brings in:

 

Peanut Butter Bars – Jeanette Ricks

1 C Sugar                              2 C Flour

1 C brown Sugar               2 tsp Soda

1 C butter                            2 tsp salt

2 eggs                                   2 C Oatmeal

1 tsp vanilla        

1 C peanut butter

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs, vanilla and peanut butter. Add dry ingredients. Bake in jelly roll pan at 325 for 20 minutes. Do not overbake! Frost (recipe follows).

Peanut Butter Bars Frosting:

4 C powdered sugar        1 tsp vanilla

1 TBSP Cocoa                     ¼ C milk

1/3 C Butter, melted

Blend until creamy and smooth. Spread on cooled cookie bars.

 

*Before I put the frosting on, while it is still hot I pour on some melted peanut butter and then let it cool. Then the frosting

 

 

Love to all!