excitement

I have some happy thoughts going on here and thought I'd share them with you.

1. race - I was searching the net again last night and looking through some of my old 'favorites' with triathlon race options and I forgot about one that just might end up being the one for me. Before I go into details, I want to say I was starting to get bummed because I couldn't find a race that would fit my needs. Originally I thought about going to the one at Camp Courageous but they changed the race time to 7:30am; with a 1 1/2 hour drive that would make me leave here by 5:30am at the latest and that is just too early for me. So option two was the Pigman near Cedar Rapids but that one is in early June and I don't think I'll be ready then. The last option was then George Wyth and that one is scheduled at the end of September and that would be a cold swim and might make a wet suit necessary, which I really don't want to have to purchase. But, tonight I saw a race at Gladbrook in mid July so it would be nice and warm for swimming, only an hour drive, and starts at 9am. And the swim is outside which is a bonus. I think for the experience of it all, I really want to try and swim out in a lake/open water instead of a pool. One other perk, is the cost isn't as high as the other races (I didn't realize triathlon races can cost so much). So here's the website if you want to check out the "Cornman tri' http://cornman.tamatoledo.net/ that just might be 'the one'. So now that I have a race place that is looking good, then I can feel the excitement to get out there and start training.

2. pool - with training, we finally have our membership to River Plaza. There was a bit of a mix up last week so we didn't get to go like we thought but we're now in the system. So instead of an early morning run this morning, I went to the pool, yeah! I've had my bag packed for a week with all the items (swim gear consisting of shorts, tank top, sports bra, nose plug, swimmers cap and goggles). So it was exciting to get in the water and see what I could do. So my assessment from this morning is that the swim part is going to be a workout for the brain because I'm going to have to concentrate on breathing and timing it with my body. But it felt good to be in the water and to see where I'm at skill wise which is pretty low on the totem pole. I think it'll take a lot of work but eventually I can do it! It's funny but physically I don't think it'll be that hard, it's going to be the skill of doing it, if that makes sense. Eventually I might end up buying a water resistant watch so I can track time but for there is a clock in there that works for now. I might also have to buy ear plugs so I don't get swimmers ear. I never had problems as a kid but I can feel some drainage in there and last time I was at a waterpark I had issues with my ears so we'll see what happens. And I might also end up buying a one piece swimsuit but thought I'd try the snug tank top for now. My current swimsuit is a tankini and the top floats in the water when I get in.. kind of like the bottom of a skirt would float up to the top of the water and could reveal too much if I wasn't being careful (so whoever invented this new style doesn't actually use them in water because they really don't work very well). Anyways, excitement is here for actually doing the hard part of training.. learning to swim (the correct way). Here is a picture of me posing as I tried on my gear last week... not sure how I'll feel about orange goggles but I didn't have much to choose from. So now I just need to take it a week at a time and see what happens. Part of me would like to video tape my skills at swimming now so I can compare it to 4 months from now; hopefully there will some improvement.

3. bridesmaid's dress - so not many of you know this but my little sister is planning to get married this summer and has asked me to be a bridesmaid (which is cool!) and with that question came the question of will I wear a strapless dress? Never in my life have I gone strapless and wasn't sure how comfortable I'd feel in that so the process started of ordering a strapless bra that will actually support me and then trying on the dress. So I got my bra in the mail last week (which it doesn't fit but good enough to try on a dress) and then tonight we drove down to Marion to try on the dress. I'm happy to report that with a bra (that fits correctly) that I think I can go strapless. My skin is a bit pasty colored and my arms are flabby but hopefully I can do something about that in the next few months (so if you see me out bike riding with a strapless top it's because I'll be working on my tan for the dress : ) So, I'm excited to be in my sisters wedding and to wear the dress that she'd prefer us to wear. (I will say, my gracious sister did offer alternatives if this dress didn't work out). For your viewing pleasure, here is the dress that I am expected to wear... and no that hot chick is NOT me.

4. moving - not a lot new except that our house is almost ready to be put on the market and Phil and I started looking online for houses. We haven't really found much that caught our eye but it was fun to see what's out there and what we like or don't like. I think for the most part Phil and I have the same idea of what we want so that's good. I just keep praying that this doesn't become too stressful. So I'm just excited to be looking and seeing what's out there.. like this might actually happen in the not so far future. I still feel like we have some tough decisions to make, like what kind of school we want the kids to go to but for now we'll just go with it and see what happens. I think if I can keep putting it in God's hands then it'll all work out (maybe my motto needs to be .. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can... let go and let God handle the hard stuff).

So that's my excitement...