Day 289 - Lake Chaparral Triathlon

GO TEAM ORANGE!


I was up & at it like a house on fire this morning to boogie in to cheer Jenn on & take photos of her first ever triathlon. A bittersweet training path, Jenn was thrown all sorts of curveballs to throw her off track, but she stuck it out & made it to race day. I'm so proud of her determination & dedication. She is unstoppable!


Of course, I was running late & when I arrived, I had about 15 minutes to find Jenn, Mike & the kids. I knew the kids & Mike would be wearing orange, but as it turned out, so were all the volunteer staff! Whoops! And finding Jenn... Hmm... Well, she was wearing a wetsuit with a red swim cap & goggles. Just like everyone else was! Thank Heavens I saw Mike & the kids & he was able to point her out. She was already in the water. I had wanted to give her a hug before she started & to my delight, she came out of the water to see the kids & I snuck in a soggy hug.


And with a blast on the horn, she was off! I would have drowned had I needed to swim that far! I ended up taking photos of chunks of the group, as I lost her in the flurry of water & limbs & figured she can pick herself out of the mass! 


Harrison played in the sand & water while Mike kept him from going into the water too far. I watched Heidi, who quietly smiled at me from time to time. That little girl is SO well behaved! She didn't make a peep the entire 2 hours! Impressive! 


Before we knew it, Jenn was nearing her swim finish. We went over to the exit point to see her come out. I took a few snaps & then it was a rush over to the transition area where she'd be coming out on her bike. YAY MAMA J! Mike, the kids & I then relocated across the street where she would cycle by twice before she started her run. The signs were a hit & Jenn told me later on that some random person hollered 'YAY MAMA J' as she ran past! AWESOME!!! (Thanks again Janis!!!) Even Harrison caught on & would randomly shout, 'GO MAMA!' It was adorable! 


Lastly, we waited for her to run across the finish line. I am so proud of her! What a great challenge & what an amazing accomplishment! Did I mention I'm proud of her!? :o)


Exhausted & starving, she left for home, shower, food, nap - in that particular order! I made my way home & also had a nap. I have had a brutal headache for a few days running now. I woke up to Mom stomping around the house - I guess she's home now! And the rumbling of thunder outside. It wasn't just your average rumbling of thunder, it was the loud crackling type. AWESOME! Yup, soon enough, the hail arrived. It was so cold out from the hail, every time I walked outside, I could see my breath! 


Unka Jer & Roxy have arrived, but I have yet to visit with them, as I went to bed early. My headache was slashing its way through my skull. Mom massaged my back with Tiger Balm, I slathered peppermint oil on my face & off to bed I went. It was 2200. I woke up at 0145 still feeling rubbish, in fact, nauseous, hot & horribly in pain. I put more peppermint oil on & a cold washcloth on my face. Somewhere in there I fell back asleep & didn't wake up until 1000! Thankfully without the headache! 


That's it for Sunday... See you on Monday! (Only 3 more sleeps until Jaco arrives!)
xxxx
Maria & Valentina

Good luck Mama J!

Can you see her? Now you understand my dilemma! 

Harrison finds some new friends

Okay, I'm pretty sure she's in here!

Video crew on the water

Boys will be boys!

Heidi Jo waits patiently. For 2 hours!

Harrison tries to get Daddy's shoes wet.

Good throw!

Watching the men start

Walkin' on the beach

2 Peas in a Pod!

A Whole Lotta Swimmers!

1st third done! Way to go!

Onto the bike!

Jenn's cheering section - we were tiny, but we were loud!

Spin Mama J! Spin!

...And the crowd goes wild!

Well, pretty wild... Note Heidi sound asleep in the stroller.

Video crew at it again!

Second lap nearly done!

Onto the run & we even got a shout out from our favourite Triathlete!

YOU DID IT!!! Across the finish line!!!

Yay Mama J! Congratulatory kisses!

Harrison is happy now that he's got his Mama back!

I've got hail photos too, but the triathlon was more exciting! Maybe another day!

Day 241 - Ultrasound. Again.

Another early morning. I had an ultrasound & blood work at the Fertility Clinic again today. Thankfully it was a Sunday, so traffic was a breeze. I slept in an extra 15 minutes & still arrived early! Free parking too! Yay!


The waiting room was packed! There weren't even enough chairs! It was interesting to me to watch the behaviours of the couples. Some men gave their wives the chair, while others did not. Some men went with the wives for the ultrasound, some did not.


I had my blood work done promptly (ouch today) & then barely settled in when they called my name for the ultrasound. I was quite excited to see what was happening today, as the other day I had more follicles than I had expected. Dr. O'Keane was the Physician doing the ultrasound today. He was quite friendly, but swift. He didn't waste any time! 


I was becoming a bit apprehensive with the procedure, as when I had asked about the charges for the entire process, including the drugs, I thought when our drugs had been covered, they HAD BEEN COVERED. In the past week, it has cost an extra $900 for the additional drugs! Ouch! Adding to that, they mentioned another procedure in the beginning, but no one had brought it up again, so I assumed it wasn't necessary. Now, THREE DAYS before I am supposed to tie things up, they tell me we'll need a procedure costing an extra $1500! Argh! And they want me to take some more drugs ($$$)!!! I guess it wasn't all covered! These kids are already costing an arm & a leg & they're not even here yet!!! :o)


I'm pleased to say that Dr. O'Keane said I could come back tomorrow for an ultrasound, no bloods & then retrieval on Wednesday. Yay! The end is in sight! The follicles were almost the right size. They needed to be 1.8 & most of them were 1.4-1.6. It's all working marvellously! 


I motored home with a few more needles & found Unka Jer & David just getting going. We sat outside & chatted for a bit. When we went inside, I made a comment about taking a photo of the 2 of them for the blog. David said he would prefer it if I didn't. Pardon? You don't take pictures & now you're not in them either?!? Dude. You're in a house where TWO Photographers live. It's part of the 'accommodation package'. No understanding at all, he did his best to sell me why. He claimed that he could remember a moment better by referring to the energy of the place & how he felt when he was there. I said a photograph is a great reminder of the moment & just seeing the image would bring back a flush of memories associated with that time & place. He asked me if I would be impeded in describing the memory to a blind man. I said of course not, the photograph would remind me of the memories associated with the event. Of course, my clever friends later asked me - 'Why didn't you ask him if he would be impaired describing the event to a deaf man?' I never think of these things at the time. Anyways... here's the description of David from my PHOTOGRAPHIC memory:


- British - Long curly brown hair with some grey - 40-ish - pierced ear (2x), lip & septum - 5'10-ish - medium build - kind eyes - goatee - few wrinkles - slightly crooked teeth - worn out 'Public Works' shirt from Burning Man - Green coloured canvas type work pants. 


Keeping with South Park Style, here is a composite of David:

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Which brings me to my next case in point. The whole Burning Man Festival. I'd heard of it before. I didn't know a whole lot about it, but David was quite 'fired' up about it. He was soon making his way there to help set up. It was the highlight of his year. For those of you who don't know, http://www.burningman.com/ will get you started. I was pretty skeptical when he mentioned orgy, lesbians & 'stiffy lube' within the first 5 minutes of describing it.  Hmm. I haven't had much exposure to hitch hikers. I'm not sure if they are all like this, but I don't think I quite feel comfortable with it. He has no money, one back pack & that was it. I get that you're into 'energy' & how things 'feel' to guide you in life, but when you stop & talk excitedly about a festival that brings you free beer, orgy 'camps' & the mention of drugs... Not really 'feeling' that energy! Guess I'll stick to my photographs...

On that note, I took my usual Sunday stroll down to EVIC while Unka Jer & David left for Golden. Oh the drama at EVIC! They had a mouse! A brave, gutsy mouse! He scooted all over the place - right in front of the visitors! He even crawled up the wall! I had Valentina with me, but she was more interested in her ball than the mouse. Sigh. I offered some feline services for tomorrow. We'll see what ol' Adios can accomplish! Eeek! I don't enjoy mice in the least!!! I LOVE Adios though! 

Okidoki, that's it for today... Enough excitement for me! Sleep well! xxxx

Maria & Valentina

Growing like weeds! Yahoo!

Day 240 - The Burnett's Boxes

Today I headed up to Cochrane to help the Burnett's pilfer through a few boxes & make a little headway on their seemingly endless packing/unpacking. I was happy to help them clear a path through the kitchen if nothing else! Their place is so tiny & they have a house full of stuff to hide in every nook & cranny! It's a big job! I can't imagine have two little kids to look after & still try & keep up with meals, cleaning & unpacking/repacking on top of all that!!! 


Their friend Lauren & her daughter Zoe came over for supper & we enjoyed a nice bbq meal. It was entertaining to watch Harrison & Zoe interact. They sat at Harrison's little table & shared food off of each other's plate... It was a Lady & the Tramp moment... Except it was sausage & KD instead of spaghetti & meatballs! :o) Too cute!


I also visited a bit with Mom & Uncle Jerry. We sat out on the deck in the sunshine, prior to heading off to Cochrane. Valentina was walking all over Mom - it was quite funny... Mom was trying to relax & Valentina was walking over her chest & putting her paws on Mom's neck... Little stinker!


When I returned from Cochrane, Unka Jer had just returned from Bragg Creek. He had picked up his friend Dave or 'Spike' as he introduced himself in the city & they stopped in town for supper. 


Dave is a hitchhiker & had spent the last 8 years travel North & Central America. He is from the UK originally. I found him rather tough to chat with - usually not an issue for me, especially when it's to someone who has traveled a lot! However, he was kind of like a clam that just didn't want to open. I did note his pierced ear (2x), pierced lip & what the?!? I could see daylight through his nose when he turned his head. A pierced septum too... I'm grateful my piercing days are over! He's traveled for 8 years & doesn't own a camera. Pity. Oh well... Whatever... I'm tired... I'm off to bed. See you in the morrow...


xxxxx
Maria & Valentina

Sunshiny day in June

The green, green grass of home.

Valentina puts Mom in the chokehold!

Heidi chillaxin'

Harrison & Zoe on their first date!

'H' in my Lady Gaga shades

Day 239 - Sweet Slumber!

At seven o'clock I woke to a kerfuffle. The dogs were ready to go outside for the 'morning news'. Ilo decided she might as well get up & get ready to go. She was heading down to Pincher to see her parents & then home to Kimberley. We had some fruit salad from last night's coconut french toast & she was out the gate by 0745. I was sad to see her go, but grateful that she had been able to come & visit! I miss her a lot! She's a beautiful inside & out... and she's a riot of fun!!! 


Ilo & I met in Waterton 10 or 12 years ago. We had plenty of adventures together. She reminded me of our ill-fated tubing day down the river. We had a near death experience when a bunch of branches in the water nearly sucked us under. Ilo lost her sandal & sprained her ankle... It wasn't the lazy drift down the river we'd envisioned. She told me about a GIANT grizzly print she saw on the beach. I had CLEARLY missed it! I don't know how I didn't catch that part of the adventure, but I'm honestly quite happy to have only learned about it 10+ years later!!!


After she was safely on her journey home, I headed back to bed. Oh sweet slumber! I had a good lie in until 1330! Yup! I was officially caught up on sleep! It has been a doozy of a week! I was happy to have no where to drive to today! 


I spent the afternoon tidying up, making phone calls, chatting with Jaco & sometime in the evening Unka Jer showed up! We had a quick visit & then it was back to bed! 


Sweet dreams,
xxxxxx
Maria & Valentina

My favourite shirt - officially retired. Note the hole in the armpit. Sigh.

Day 206 - Unka Jer Visits

Today my Mom's brother, Jerry, visited. He has had a whirlwind of change in his life in the past year or so. He became a Yoga Instructor, sold his home in Saskatoon, traveled across Canada last summer, moved to Golden & recently started up his own business... Driftwood Carriage Ride, Co.. I'm excited for him! It's awesome to see someone follow their dreams & have the perseverance & happiness that he does along the way. 


Unka Jer, as he has revamped 'Uncle Jerry', had arrived late last night & this morning, Mom made us breakfast. Fresh Toast a la Kim style. She used coconut milk along with a splash of almond milk & vanilla, dipped the french toast (sprouted grain bread) in shredded coconut before she fried it & then put fresh pineapple, mango & strawberry on top with a hint of mint. Yummy! (don't forget the maple syrup on top!)


Uncle Jerry has a marvellous sense of humour & it doesn't take long to get things rolling. He had a lot to do in the city (sorry, my dog is TOTALLY snoring as I type this), so Mom went along to visit & keep him company. I stayed home & enjoyed the GLORIOUS sunshine we had today. 


Valentina was at home with me, so I pulled the lounger around the sunny side of the house, took out a good book & settled in for some vitamin D. I could hear the phone ringing inside the house, but luckily I had taken the cordless outside with me. Hello? Hello? Why don't I hear anything? Argh! Mom changed phones & I had brought out the old one that was plugged into my room! I could hear the caller phoning again, but there was no way I could do the 50 yard dash & still get to the new phone. I walked inside & sure enough, it was Jaco. Seeing as I can't call him back, I was pretty bummed when he didn't call again. :o( I wandered back outside for a bit more sunshine & reading before it cooled off too much.


Yes, it was a quiet day, but I am grateful for it! I am enjoying every minute to rest & recuperate. No stress, plenty of rest & catching up on the blog! 


Sleep well!
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Tropical French Toast

Scrumptious!

Unka Jer & his 'iBag'

Tweet Pea like vitamin D too!

Tweet Pea catching up on her rest too!