Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there. This year, as the past 5 have also been, was hard for us as we have no fathers in our family. Literally. Derek's father passed away in 1992, my grandfather passed away in 1998, my father in 2002, and my uncle in 2006. So, it's just us girls and my husband. We didn't have a father's day celebration at our house. It's sad, because we miss our dads so much. Watching all the new fathers with their kids is also not much fun, since we've been trying to get there for so long.
So what did we do? Well, after breakfast at the Waffle House, I rode 45 miles and Derek did yardwork. (He rode 15 prior to princess suzanne even rising from bed). Then we got in the pool and just relaxed. We grilled steaks and had a beer. Why? Because both of our dads would have loved that.
Derek's father loved to cook out. He loved to share a beer with friends, and he was fiercely loyal to those he considered friends. He loved to watch baseball, and loved to be involved in Derek's life. He coached most of Derek's baseball teams, and nothing was more important than his son and his wife. I only knew Derek's father for about a year before he died, but he was a wonderful person. He welcomed me into the family without hesitation. I still remember one of the last times we all went to dinner. As Derek and I were leaving to go back to school he hugged me and told me he loved me. I was so touched. That hug and those words meant so much to me. I had been completely drawn in to his family. They were my family now.
Derek's dad was career air force. He served 2 tours in Vietnam and was an air traffic controller at Da Nang (sp?). When he retired from the air force he went to work for the FAA as a Flight Service Specialist. The pilots would call and give him their flight plans and he would provide the weather reports for their routes. He had a very important job, one that he loved.
My father never knew his father. I often wondered how then he knew how to be such a good Daddy since he didn't have one. I never doubted that I was the center of his world. He always made time for me when he got home from work. Whether it was throwing the ball in the backyard, going for a swim, or coming to a basketball game, he was always there for me. I remember how when I made the soccer team in high school. I just assumed that my parents wouldn't make it to my away games. After all, the games were at 5:00 and Daddy had to work. But he came to almost all of them, sometimes driving as much as an hour to watch me play. That meant so much to me.
He also was perfect at the daddy hug. You know how it is when you are upset about something. Sometimes you just have to cry it out. Even as a high schooler I could crawl into his lap and he'd hold me and let me cry. He didn't try to "fix" it, he'd just comfort me. Later, when I was just sniffling, he'd put whatever it was into perspective for me. And I'd always feel better.
One thing my dad and Derek's dad had in common was how they both loved to brag on their kids. My dad never held back. His unwavering confidence in me made me into the woman that I am now. I am not afraid to attempt new things because of it. Derek is the same way.
I miss my dad so much. Thoughts of him cross my mind at least several times throughout the day. Every time I am out running or riding, I think Dad would be so proud of me. He'd be there at my races, grinning from ear to ear. Dad's special song for me was "Daddy's Little Girl" by the Mills Brothers. Some days I just have to pull out the CD and listen to it. It makes me smile.
Derek will be a wonderful daddy to our daughter. You know how some men are just meant to be daddies to little girls? That is my Derek. He will be perfect for it. He has that same sweet, encouraging demeanor that my dad had. I can't wait to see him with our little Tiger. She will be the apple of his eye for sure.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Festival of Flowers Olympic Triathlon
is under my belt!! Race was on Sunday, June 10th and I had a great race. Finish time was 3:03:47. I did the Swim (1500M) in 35:15, the bike(24 miles) in 1:24: and change, and the run (10K) in 1:01:37 (I think). Overall I was pleased. The 10K was a PR for me by almost a minute.
The swim was good although the water was really choppy and a few sighting buoys were missing. So a lot of us got off track and had to make up time getting around the 1st one. And there was a man in distress hanging on the first sighting buoy that a bunch of us stopped for and yelled for a lifeguard. Other than that, the swim was uneventful.
The bike was on rough pavement. Rolling hills. Headwind on the final 8 miles. That was tough but manageable. About halfway through the bike I heard the motorcycle with the bike officials come by, and the Entertainer was playing on their sound system. This was my grandfather's favorite song, and he would get me to play it for him on the piano, so when I heard it, it was like a pat on the back from Grandaddy. I immediately picked up the pace a bit then!
The run was hot, and it started on an incline. I went out too fast and had to take a walk break in the first mile to get my HR down. But my overall pace was still ok, so I went with it. Paced myself off an older guy in front of me. With about 1.5 miles to go I picked up the pace and pushed my pacing partner to do the same. We passed one of the guys who ran the marathon with me last summer (but finished about 2.5 hours ahead of me!) and put another 3 minutes of separation between us. I ended up beating that guy by 11 minutes!! I can hardly believe it. I may have placed 10th of 12 girls in my age group, but passing that guy literally made my race. (He started 8 minutes ahead of me in the first wave of the swim).
Here are some pictures. I can't wait to take our new daughter to races. So many kids were here to cheer on their paren
ts and they looked like they were having a ball swimming in the lake, etc
.
I am the one with the teal green shirt. I can't figure out why I can't keep my arms down when I run. I look like a bird flapping my wings!!! The finish line was at the top of a short but steep hill. The race director really has a sense of humor....
The swim was good although the water was really choppy and a few sighting buoys were missing. So a lot of us got off track and had to make up time getting around the 1st one. And there was a man in distress hanging on the first sighting buoy that a bunch of us stopped for and yelled for a lifeguard. Other than that, the swim was uneventful.
The bike was on rough pavement. Rolling hills. Headwind on the final 8 miles. That was tough but manageable. About halfway through the bike I heard the motorcycle with the bike officials come by, and the Entertainer was playing on their sound system. This was my grandfather's favorite song, and he would get me to play it for him on the piano, so when I heard it, it was like a pat on the back from Grandaddy. I immediately picked up the pace a bit then!
The run was hot, and it started on an incline. I went out too fast and had to take a walk break in the first mile to get my HR down. But my overall pace was still ok, so I went with it. Paced myself off an older guy in front of me. With about 1.5 miles to go I picked up the pace and pushed my pacing partner to do the same. We passed one of the guys who ran the marathon with me last summer (but finished about 2.5 hours ahead of me!) and put another 3 minutes of separation between us. I ended up beating that guy by 11 minutes!! I can hardly believe it. I may have placed 10th of 12 girls in my age group, but passing that guy literally made my race. (He started 8 minutes ahead of me in the first wave of the swim).
Here are some pictures. I can't wait to take our new daughter to races. So many kids were here to cheer on their paren
ts and they looked like they were having a ball swimming in the lake, etc
.I am the one with the teal green shirt. I can't figure out why I can't keep my arms down when I run. I look like a bird flapping my wings!!! The finish line was at the top of a short but steep hill. The race director really has a sense of humor....
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Clemson Sprint Tri
Murphy's Law: it happened on my way to this tri. Clemson is about 1 hour from our house, so I'm heading over the morning of the tri and when I am about 6-7 miles away, I get 2 flat tires. I freak out and finally end up waking up our friends Darlene and Jason to look up my coach's phone number on her website. I call her and she sends a friend to pick me up (come to find out the girl she sent is someone I was friends with in college!) I make it to the tri just in the nick of time. Adrenaline is flowing... I do pretty good for me, I met my goals. Finishing time was 1:27:18. I was 65th of 138 women and 12th of 16 in my age group (35-39). The tri was a 750 m swim, 11 mile bike ride, and a 5K run. I wanted to average over 17 mph on the bike (I avged 17.44) and I wanted to run the 5K in under 30 min (I did it in 29:58). I am very excited that I met my goals!
PS. I won $1000 from USA Triathlon for answer their online survey. Now I can pay off the new bike!
Thursday, May 03, 2007
So, What's new?
Referrals have arrived for families logged in Oct 27- Nov 1 2005. One thing I have noticed about these referrals is that most of the babies are younger. I've seen lots of 8 month olds and even one 6 month old. Hmmm. I think this is interesting.
Our agency still believes we will get our referral in the March, April, May 2008 time frame. So that means another year. I hope that our wait won't get longer than this, but you never can tell. It's frustrating because those outside of the Chinese adoption community don't know about the long waits, all they know is that we're waiting, and thought we'd have our daughter by now, so we get all kinds of questions about it. I've even had some people approach me about going to a different country or considering domestic adoption. Which really bothers me. One, we are pretty well vested in China. This is where our daughter is. Two, we chose China over domestic and other countries because it felt right. Just because the wait is getting longer does not mean that it's still not right for us. It was not a decision we took lightly therefore it is not a decision we will change. I know people have our best interests at heart, but it really bothers me when they say "so and so adopted from Guatemala. They only had to wait XX months. Have you considered that?" Or I know someone who is pregnant and considering adoption, do you want me to give her your name? I have nothing against domestic adoption. Many many many times it works out perfectly. But many many many times someone ends up with a broken heart because it didn't work out. No, my heart has had enough over the past few years. I do not want to go through a broken heart again. Waiting is hard, but at least there is a bright ray of sunshine at the end.
I have my first Tri of the summer on 5/12. I'll be sure to post pictures of the event. It is a tri that has an open water swim in Lake Hartwell, and I'll be wearing a wetsuit for it since water temps will likely be below 70. I just bought a used wetsuit and you should see me trying to put it on. I have a hard time getting it over my calves and knees. I feel like Ross in the Friends' episode where he's wearing the leather pants. He starts to sweat and can't get them back up after being in the bathroom. He tugs and pulls and sweats more. The pants aren't budging. He adds powder and then lotion. Still no luck and now he's made a paste! This is exactly how I feel putting the daggum thing on. It's pretty funny. I'm glad I can entertain Derek.
Our agency still believes we will get our referral in the March, April, May 2008 time frame. So that means another year. I hope that our wait won't get longer than this, but you never can tell. It's frustrating because those outside of the Chinese adoption community don't know about the long waits, all they know is that we're waiting, and thought we'd have our daughter by now, so we get all kinds of questions about it. I've even had some people approach me about going to a different country or considering domestic adoption. Which really bothers me. One, we are pretty well vested in China. This is where our daughter is. Two, we chose China over domestic and other countries because it felt right. Just because the wait is getting longer does not mean that it's still not right for us. It was not a decision we took lightly therefore it is not a decision we will change. I know people have our best interests at heart, but it really bothers me when they say "so and so adopted from Guatemala. They only had to wait XX months. Have you considered that?" Or I know someone who is pregnant and considering adoption, do you want me to give her your name? I have nothing against domestic adoption. Many many many times it works out perfectly. But many many many times someone ends up with a broken heart because it didn't work out. No, my heart has had enough over the past few years. I do not want to go through a broken heart again. Waiting is hard, but at least there is a bright ray of sunshine at the end.
I have my first Tri of the summer on 5/12. I'll be sure to post pictures of the event. It is a tri that has an open water swim in Lake Hartwell, and I'll be wearing a wetsuit for it since water temps will likely be below 70. I just bought a used wetsuit and you should see me trying to put it on. I have a hard time getting it over my calves and knees. I feel like Ross in the Friends' episode where he's wearing the leather pants. He starts to sweat and can't get them back up after being in the bathroom. He tugs and pulls and sweats more. The pants aren't budging. He adds powder and then lotion. Still no luck and now he's made a paste! This is exactly how I feel putting the daggum thing on. It's pretty funny. I'm glad I can entertain Derek.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Nothing to see here, move along....
Ok, so I am not quite sure why I haven't been motivated to post more regularly. I suppose it's because there's not been a whole lot to say since the new year began. Now that Spring is here, I am out of my funk and feeling more post-worthy, so here you go....
Let's see, not much happened in January. In February, I went to Tybee Island and ran in the Memorial Health Half Marathon. I started out with a goal of running this race in 2:45:00. But during practice a few weeks before that, I ran it in 2:40:00 without much effort really, so I revised my goal to a rather ambitious 2:30:00. Well let's just say I had a really good day. It was cold, in the 40s, it was flat (YES!), and I had the race of my life! After about the first 2 miles I noticed that there was a guy running about the same pace and we began to talk. After the first 6 miles, neither of us could believe how strong we felt so we decided to pace each other and try to hold on for the whole race, which we did, and both of us had our best races. I ended up finishing in 2:15:13, which was about a 10:17 pace. A far cry better than my marathon pace of 14:59!!!
After that race, I decided I wanted to get serious about getting better, and I set my sights on competing in the SC Half Ironman on Sept. 30th. To get there, faster and injury free, I decided to hire a coach. So I did. Katie Malone of Malone Coaching (www.malonecoaching.net) is now working with me trying her best to make me a better and faster Suzanne. So far it's been fun- speedwork is not something I have ever concerned myself with in the past, but I can tell she's made a pretty big difference in the quality of my workouts. So, I've got a pretty good line up of races for this season. Of course I may add some, but right now I am planning on:
Clemson Sprint on 5/12
Festival of Flowers Olympic on 6/10
Greenville Sprint on 8/19
TriAmerica Long Course on 8/26
SC Half Iron on 9/30.
I may add another sprint on 6/2, not sure yet.
The weight loss is still coming, albeit slowly. I am losing about a half pound a week tops, but I only have about 12 more to go. So far I've lost about 60 lbs. I feel great, and shopping is more fun now. I am having to completely re-do my wardrobe. I am about 3 sizes smaller than I was last summer, so clothes I wore then look ridiculous now... It's a good problem to have!
The wait for our little girl is creeping by. We've come to terms with it though, and have decided to embrace our last summer as a couple. We plan to do lots of fun things and just enjoy being with each other. Summer is my favorite time of year anyway, and it always seems to go by faster than I want it to. Football Season will be just around the corner, so the fall will be full of good times, and then the next thing you know it will be Christmas, and I have a feeling we will get our referral anywhere from Dec- Feb. While I would love to have our daughter here tomorrow, I know that God has given us this wait for a reason. We can either choose to be happy and patient or we can choose to be angry. I would rather be happy....
Also, I do believe that unless we just feel totally different after our daughter is home, she will most likely be an only child. I would love to have a sibling for her, but to be honest, I am not sure I want to put all of us through this long process again, and of course we are not getting any younger. I am an only child and I had a very happy childhood, so I know it would be ok. We have such a small family my only concern is that when we are gone, she will be alone. I hope that she will grow up close to her Savannah cousins, and I hope that those relationships will be strong and enough to sustain her as an adult. I do know that as an only child I grew up super close with my parents, after all, I didn't have to share them with anyone. My mom and I are 2 peas in a pod, and I truly feel like my dad and I were kindred spirits. I want that same kind of relationship with our daughter, and while I know that can be achieved with many children in the family, I think one may be the right number for us. And, if, by some miracle, we happen to get pregnant (we never stopped trying to prevent this) then we will know that God meant for us to have more than one.
I'll leave you with some pictures from the half mary...
Monday, January 01, 2007
Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra, Ra Ra Ra Ra
Happy new year peeps! I've been on blogging hiatus, dealing with the holidays and coping with the thought that we will still have to wait ANOTHER YEAR before we get our little Tiger. I'm done wallowing, so I'm back....
Here's what's happened in the past few months.
1. decorated the house for Christmas
2. had Christmas
3. Clemson lost the bowl game
4. Family visited for New Year's
5. Family went home
Don't you feel enlightened now?
Derek left today for his first fishing tournament of the year at Lake Okeechobee, FL. I went shopping. Had some success. Got some new sneaks to just wear around (not run in). Got a new outfit, a new bra, a new exercise bra, and some makeup. I know it's too exciting, right?
Derek and I are also starting tomorrow our "boot camp" until Good Friday. Essentially, we are going to follow the Abs Diet and add weight training and core exercises to our cardio packed workouts. My goal is to lose the last nagging 20 lbs that I'm carrying. Derek wants to lose at least 30. I think our work is cut out for us.
I leave you with a before and almost after picture of me. The before is from Summer of 2005. The almost after is from early December.
Here's what's happened in the past few months.
1. decorated the house for Christmas
2. had Christmas
3. Clemson lost the bowl game
4. Family visited for New Year's
5. Family went home
Don't you feel enlightened now?
Derek left today for his first fishing tournament of the year at Lake Okeechobee, FL. I went shopping. Had some success. Got some new sneaks to just wear around (not run in). Got a new outfit, a new bra, a new exercise bra, and some makeup. I know it's too exciting, right?
Derek and I are also starting tomorrow our "boot camp" until Good Friday. Essentially, we are going to follow the Abs Diet and add weight training and core exercises to our cardio packed workouts. My goal is to lose the last nagging 20 lbs that I'm carrying. Derek wants to lose at least 30. I think our work is cut out for us.
I leave you with a before and almost after picture of me. The before is from Summer of 2005. The almost after is from early December.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Almost done...
with our new family room! Tomorrow the plumber will be here, and Wednesday the carpet is being put down!! I can't wait! We are now staining and finishing some new furniture for the room, and I hope the carpet layers will move the sofa down from upstairs (I plan to throw $40 at them to entice them into doing it- Derek said he'd pay more not to have to do it!)I hope to have the room semi-put together by Thanksgiving. I love decorating and arranging furniture, so I am sure this weekend I will be in HOG HEAVEN!! I will most certainly take pictures for all of you out there in cyber land! The pool table should be moved from my mom's house on Black Friday and we are getting Clemson ORANGE felt on it. Should be gawdy, but what can I say? We love our TIGERS!
Referrals for October were late getting here- they came the first week of November. The CCAA referred babies to families whose dossiers were logged in 8-10-05 through 8-25-05. We've still got a way to go before they will even get close to us! (3-27-06)
BTW, I completed my duathlon in 3 hours, 19 minutes, and 41 seconds. That was Running 8K (4.99 miles), biking 26 miles, and running 5K (3.1 miles). My next even is a half marathon in February. I plan to do either the Tybee Island Half or the Hilton Head Half. Tybee is 2-3 and HH is 2-10. It will just depend on which weekend is better for us. My goal there is to complete it in less than 2:45.
I have now lost about 51-52 lbs. Still have about 15-18 to go. Hope to be there by next spring sometime!
Referrals for October were late getting here- they came the first week of November. The CCAA referred babies to families whose dossiers were logged in 8-10-05 through 8-25-05. We've still got a way to go before they will even get close to us! (3-27-06)
BTW, I completed my duathlon in 3 hours, 19 minutes, and 41 seconds. That was Running 8K (4.99 miles), biking 26 miles, and running 5K (3.1 miles). My next even is a half marathon in February. I plan to do either the Tybee Island Half or the Hilton Head Half. Tybee is 2-3 and HH is 2-10. It will just depend on which weekend is better for us. My goal there is to complete it in less than 2:45.
I have now lost about 51-52 lbs. Still have about 15-18 to go. Hope to be there by next spring sometime!
Monday, November 06, 2006
Something Fun!
Saw this on www.blackdogrunning.blogspot.com and thought it was pretty cool. Who do I look like? I'm ok with all these choices!!!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Referrals
Referrals were received yesterday for families logged in 7/23/05 through 8/9/05. That means this month there were 18 days included in the referrals. That is an improvement, but not where we'd like it to be. So, you are asking, what does that mean for us?
Well, in a nutshell, it means this:
Best Case Scenario: If they refer the balance of August 2005 in October and then start referring FULL MONTHS (something they haven't done in a year) then we would receive our referral in MAY 2007 and would likely travel in late June or July 2007.
Worst Case Scenario: If they continue referring 1/2 of a month at a time, we would receive our referral in December 2007 and would likely travel in February or March 2008.
Most Likely: Since I do not believe that we are looking at either one of these predictions, I'll give my prediction as most likely. Based on what I've seen so far, I think we will get our referral around August or September 2007 and will travel Late October - December 2007.
When we started this process in October of 2005, we were told that the wait was about 6 months. We had visions of having our daughter home for Christmas this year. Now, I will be thrilled if she's home for Christmas 2007. Why so long? Everyone asks me this, and really, I don't have a good answer. I've heard about everything under the sun, but I believe the slowdown is because of several factors.
1. Not as many babies are being abandoned (this is a good thing!)
2. A lot of families in the Russia program switched to China when the Russian Gov. put a halt on their adoptions. Also, many new families have been drawn to China because of it's stability. Consequently, there was a huge increase in the number of families logged in over the past year as compared to other years.
3. The baby scandal in the Hunan Province basically shut down non-special needs adoptions from that province for 4.5 months. Since roughly 25% of the babies adopted internationally have historically come from Hunan, this made a huge impact. More families, less babies = longer wait
4. China is doing what it can to encourage domestic adoption in China. Once again, this is a good thing...
I know it will all be worth the wait when we have our daughter in our arms. And I've been doing good with the wait so far. We have 6 months of waiting under our belts so far, and they've gone by relatively fast. My biggest problem right now is that it is hard for me to see the end to this wait because it is unknown. If I knew for sure our wait would be over in exactly one year, I could deal with that. It's the not knowing that's driving me crazy. I feel foolish buying baby clothes and setting up a nursery not knowing when we'll have a baby girl to put in it, yet I long to do it because it makes me still feel like an expectant mom. Does that make any sense whatsoever?
I'll most likely be 35 when we get our daughter. That's the same age my mom was when she had me. Of course, she got pregnant after one month of trying and after being married less than 2 years. We've been married over 11 years and have been trying for over 4. My patience is running out and I'm sprouting gray hairs left and right.
To all my sisters in waiting, be strong. It will happen. Eventually. Right?
Well, in a nutshell, it means this:
Best Case Scenario: If they refer the balance of August 2005 in October and then start referring FULL MONTHS (something they haven't done in a year) then we would receive our referral in MAY 2007 and would likely travel in late June or July 2007.
Worst Case Scenario: If they continue referring 1/2 of a month at a time, we would receive our referral in December 2007 and would likely travel in February or March 2008.
Most Likely: Since I do not believe that we are looking at either one of these predictions, I'll give my prediction as most likely. Based on what I've seen so far, I think we will get our referral around August or September 2007 and will travel Late October - December 2007.
When we started this process in October of 2005, we were told that the wait was about 6 months. We had visions of having our daughter home for Christmas this year. Now, I will be thrilled if she's home for Christmas 2007. Why so long? Everyone asks me this, and really, I don't have a good answer. I've heard about everything under the sun, but I believe the slowdown is because of several factors.
1. Not as many babies are being abandoned (this is a good thing!)
2. A lot of families in the Russia program switched to China when the Russian Gov. put a halt on their adoptions. Also, many new families have been drawn to China because of it's stability. Consequently, there was a huge increase in the number of families logged in over the past year as compared to other years.
3. The baby scandal in the Hunan Province basically shut down non-special needs adoptions from that province for 4.5 months. Since roughly 25% of the babies adopted internationally have historically come from Hunan, this made a huge impact. More families, less babies = longer wait
4. China is doing what it can to encourage domestic adoption in China. Once again, this is a good thing...
I know it will all be worth the wait when we have our daughter in our arms. And I've been doing good with the wait so far. We have 6 months of waiting under our belts so far, and they've gone by relatively fast. My biggest problem right now is that it is hard for me to see the end to this wait because it is unknown. If I knew for sure our wait would be over in exactly one year, I could deal with that. It's the not knowing that's driving me crazy. I feel foolish buying baby clothes and setting up a nursery not knowing when we'll have a baby girl to put in it, yet I long to do it because it makes me still feel like an expectant mom. Does that make any sense whatsoever?
I'll most likely be 35 when we get our daughter. That's the same age my mom was when she had me. Of course, she got pregnant after one month of trying and after being married less than 2 years. We've been married over 11 years and have been trying for over 4. My patience is running out and I'm sprouting gray hairs left and right.
To all my sisters in waiting, be strong. It will happen. Eventually. Right?
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
I'm such a slacker
I haven't written, I haven't posted pictures, I haven't done squat.
I'm sorry- this is about to be fixed. I got a new camera and I'm itchin to use it. Hopefully this weekend I'll get all caught up.
Let's see, what's new with us?
1. Finished our screened in porch. Started on the addition.
2. I completed my first triathlon on 8-20. Now training for a duathlon on 10-28.
3. I've now lost right at about 50 lbs total. Size 10s are starting to be loose on me!
4. I'm planning a surprise bday party for my mom. Shhhhh it's a surprise- don't tell her if you see her.
5. Work is busy for both of us.
6. Clemson Football, baby! Woo Hoo!!
I'm sorry- this is about to be fixed. I got a new camera and I'm itchin to use it. Hopefully this weekend I'll get all caught up.
Let's see, what's new with us?
1. Finished our screened in porch. Started on the addition.
2. I completed my first triathlon on 8-20. Now training for a duathlon on 10-28.
3. I've now lost right at about 50 lbs total. Size 10s are starting to be loose on me!
4. I'm planning a surprise bday party for my mom. Shhhhh it's a surprise- don't tell her if you see her.
5. Work is busy for both of us.
6. Clemson Football, baby! Woo Hoo!!
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Ta Da!!!!!!!!!!
Here is the pool! It officially was finished on Saturday. We have lots of landscaping to do, as it is just a big mud hole right now, but we are so in love!!! YAAAA!!! We are pool owners!!!
I also want to send a big thank you to my CCAI Feb/Mar DTC Secret Pal for the awesome July gift. We so love the beach and it was a box of beach goodies! A pail and shovel, baby sunscreen, a pink and white beach hat, a beach ball, a flip flop note pad and a couple of sand toys. I know we will get a lot of use out of those goodies!!! What could be better than the 4th of July at the beach with our little Tiger?
Thursday, July 20, 2006
7 Things....
Looks like I've been tagged by Jackie Rochester of the CCAI yahoo group.... Here are my 7 things...
7 Things I would like to do before I die
1. Retire
2. See the USA in an RV on a summer long trip!
3. See my Tigers play in another National Championship Football Game!
4. See my child (ren) achieve their dreams
5. Complete a half iron man triathlon
6. Be a size 6 (frivalous I know)
7. Watch my husband win a professional bass tournament :)
7 Things I can do
1. Run a marathon (woohoo!)
2. Sew
3. Most any home improvment project
4. Read Fast
5. Cook
6. Water ski and snow ski
7. Know exactly what Derek is thinking on most things...
7 Things I can't do
1. SING (Derek is probably nodding his head yes to this- I'm awful, but I love to do it!)
2. Turn down M&Ms (my favority candy!)
3. Get up early on my own
4. Dance (ummm, not well anyway)
5. Wait patiently
6. Leave a zit alone
7. Eat seafood (ok, theoretically I can do this, I just won't)
7 Things that attracted me to Derek
1. His open friendliness to everyone (he makes everyone feel like a friend fast!)
2. His smile
3. His confidence
4. His muscles (ha ha, this was probably actually #1)
5. His baby blue eyes!
6. His thoughtfulness
7. His intelligence!
7 Things I say most often
1. GO TIGERS!
2. Whatever
3. Anyway
4. Good morning (afternoon), this is Suzanne (on my work phone)
5. I love you (to my sweet baboo, Derek)
6. DUH!
7. Cool!
7 Books I love
1. Little Women
2. All of Catherine Anderson's books (yes I love Romance novels!)
3. The Velveteen Rabbit
4. All of Diana Palmer's books (more in the romance field)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird
6. There's a Monster at the End of this Book (by Grover)
7. 2006 Clemson Football Media Guide (ha ha, had to stick something else about Clemson in here)
7 Movies I love
1. The American President
2. Sabrina (the remake, not the original)
3. A Christmas Story (You'll shoot your eye out kid!)
4. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
5. Old School
6. Sweet Home Alabama
7. Pretty Woman
7 Things I would like to do before I die
1. Retire
2. See the USA in an RV on a summer long trip!
3. See my Tigers play in another National Championship Football Game!
4. See my child (ren) achieve their dreams
5. Complete a half iron man triathlon
6. Be a size 6 (frivalous I know)
7. Watch my husband win a professional bass tournament :)
7 Things I can do
1. Run a marathon (woohoo!)
2. Sew
3. Most any home improvment project
4. Read Fast
5. Cook
6. Water ski and snow ski
7. Know exactly what Derek is thinking on most things...
7 Things I can't do
1. SING (Derek is probably nodding his head yes to this- I'm awful, but I love to do it!)
2. Turn down M&Ms (my favority candy!)
3. Get up early on my own
4. Dance (ummm, not well anyway)
5. Wait patiently
6. Leave a zit alone
7. Eat seafood (ok, theoretically I can do this, I just won't)
7 Things that attracted me to Derek
1. His open friendliness to everyone (he makes everyone feel like a friend fast!)
2. His smile
3. His confidence
4. His muscles (ha ha, this was probably actually #1)
5. His baby blue eyes!
6. His thoughtfulness
7. His intelligence!
7 Things I say most often
1. GO TIGERS!
2. Whatever
3. Anyway
4. Good morning (afternoon), this is Suzanne (on my work phone)
5. I love you (to my sweet baboo, Derek)
6. DUH!
7. Cool!
7 Books I love
1. Little Women
2. All of Catherine Anderson's books (yes I love Romance novels!)
3. The Velveteen Rabbit
4. All of Diana Palmer's books (more in the romance field)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird
6. There's a Monster at the End of this Book (by Grover)
7. 2006 Clemson Football Media Guide (ha ha, had to stick something else about Clemson in here)
7 Movies I love
1. The American President
2. Sabrina (the remake, not the original)
3. A Christmas Story (You'll shoot your eye out kid!)
4. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
5. Old School
6. Sweet Home Alabama
7. Pretty Woman
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
News on the pool front and more...
Concrete is being poured for our pool today! I hope this means we will be swimming this weekend! I will post pics as soon as the worker bees are done.
No new news on the adoption front. Rumor is that the July referrals will be for June 30th - July 13th 2005 Log in dates. Our adoption agency is still predicting a 12-14 month wait, others are going out to 18 months.
It will happen when it is supposed to. But all this waiting makes me wonder if our little tiger will be an only child....
More time before the referral gives me more time to work out and become a red hot mama. This is how I would love to look.... although I don't think it's in my gene pool... and I don't have blond hair... and I'm not this tall...and I don't have a red bike...and I don't have this tan... it IS something to work towards...
No new news on the adoption front. Rumor is that the July referrals will be for June 30th - July 13th 2005 Log in dates. Our adoption agency is still predicting a 12-14 month wait, others are going out to 18 months.
It will happen when it is supposed to. But all this waiting makes me wonder if our little tiger will be an only child....
More time before the referral gives me more time to work out and become a red hot mama. This is how I would love to look.... although I don't think it's in my gene pool... and I don't have blond hair... and I'm not this tall...and I don't have a red bike...and I don't have this tan... it IS something to work towards...
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Motivation
What is motivation? Is it desire? Is it will? Is it something that someone gives you, or is it deep down inside of you?
For me, my motivation is deep down inside of me. Ever since I was a child, I have never been content to sit back and watch. If it's something that interests me, I want to DO it. Sure, I have my lazy streaks, but my parents instilled in me at a very young age that life is full of nothing but possibilities. Anything I want is within my grasp if I want it bad enough and if I am willing to work for it.
I want a family. All the wanting in the world isn't going to make me magically get pregnant, but we're making it happen through adoption.
I want to be healthy and fit, so I am making it happen through diet and exercise. (Actually I want to be a red hot mama, but this is a PG rated site)
I want to be a happy person, so everyday I choose to be happy and not let the little things in life get me down. After all, is it really important in the grand scheme of things? Most of the time that answer is "no."
Everyone has the ability to achieve their dreams, you just have to decide "How bad do you want it?" Are you willing to put it ahead of other things? Most people are not willing to do this. They may dream of one day doing something really special, but yet in their day to day life they don't do anything to MAKE it happen. Well folks, it isn't going to happen on its own. And no one will hand it to you on a silver platter (and if they did it wouldn't mean anything to you).
I challenge everyone to start making their dreams come true. This doesn't have to be your millionaire dreams. If you want to own your own business, start making it happen. If you want to go back to school for a different career, go back to school. If you want to get in shape, start working out. If you want a better relationship with someone, make the first move. If you don't try you'll never get what you truly want.
Ok, I've been philosophical enough for now.
It is now officially 57 days until CLEMSON FOOTBALL starts!
For me, my motivation is deep down inside of me. Ever since I was a child, I have never been content to sit back and watch. If it's something that interests me, I want to DO it. Sure, I have my lazy streaks, but my parents instilled in me at a very young age that life is full of nothing but possibilities. Anything I want is within my grasp if I want it bad enough and if I am willing to work for it.
I want a family. All the wanting in the world isn't going to make me magically get pregnant, but we're making it happen through adoption.
I want to be healthy and fit, so I am making it happen through diet and exercise. (Actually I want to be a red hot mama, but this is a PG rated site)
I want to be a happy person, so everyday I choose to be happy and not let the little things in life get me down. After all, is it really important in the grand scheme of things? Most of the time that answer is "no."
Everyone has the ability to achieve their dreams, you just have to decide "How bad do you want it?" Are you willing to put it ahead of other things? Most people are not willing to do this. They may dream of one day doing something really special, but yet in their day to day life they don't do anything to MAKE it happen. Well folks, it isn't going to happen on its own. And no one will hand it to you on a silver platter (and if they did it wouldn't mean anything to you).
I challenge everyone to start making their dreams come true. This doesn't have to be your millionaire dreams. If you want to own your own business, start making it happen. If you want to go back to school for a different career, go back to school. If you want to get in shape, start working out. If you want a better relationship with someone, make the first move. If you don't try you'll never get what you truly want.
Ok, I've been philosophical enough for now.
It is now officially 57 days until CLEMSON FOOTBALL starts!
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Epiphany
I want all my friends to know I've had an epiphany. One of Oprah's "AHA" moments.
I have figured out that to lose weight, I have to pretty much dedicate my life to it. That means eating right 6 days out of 7, working out like a freak, and constantly thinking about it. I can't let up, not at all, because letting up leads me down a slippery slope.
I'm not kidding. Once I get to my desired weight, I can relax and just let the routine of it all take over, but for now I have to be a diligent, dedicated, crazy person. An example of this is that my husband is at the Kenny Chesney concert right now. Friends of ours had an extra ticket, and even though I am the big country music lover, I let Derek take it. Why? Well, the primary reason was I didn't want to miss a workout. Isn't that anal and crazy? Well it is. But I know that for me, staying dedicated means I can't stop. Stopping once makes it ok to stop the next time, and then before you know it, I'll only be working out once per week.
I am still in training. This time it is a triathlon. The Greenville Tri is on August 20th (my 34th birthday) and it is a 400 m swim, a 15 mile bike ride, and a 5K run.
Here is my weekly training schedule.... assume AM means before work at about 6-7AM. PM means evening, or after work.
Monday AM- 25 minutes of Swimming (typically do about 1150 meters, or 46 laps in a 25 meter pool)
Monday PM- Biking (typically do about 9 miles)
Tuesday AM- Running (3 miles)
Tuesday PM- weight training (starting next week)
Wednesday AM- swimming again same as Monday
Wednesday PM- biking again same as Monday
Thursday AM- Running (3 miles)
Thursday PM- Weight training
Friday- off, rest day
Saturday- AM, LONG BIKE (15-20 miles) and LONG RUN (5 miles +)
Sunday- off, rest day.
Whew. I'm tired now. That's about 6.5 hours of training per week. But I can see all these changes in how my body looks and performs and I love it. I can't wait until I am more muscle than fat! I am going to be one of those women. You know, the ones that make you want to say "Grrrrr"
You know what, I am ok with that....
I have figured out that to lose weight, I have to pretty much dedicate my life to it. That means eating right 6 days out of 7, working out like a freak, and constantly thinking about it. I can't let up, not at all, because letting up leads me down a slippery slope.
I'm not kidding. Once I get to my desired weight, I can relax and just let the routine of it all take over, but for now I have to be a diligent, dedicated, crazy person. An example of this is that my husband is at the Kenny Chesney concert right now. Friends of ours had an extra ticket, and even though I am the big country music lover, I let Derek take it. Why? Well, the primary reason was I didn't want to miss a workout. Isn't that anal and crazy? Well it is. But I know that for me, staying dedicated means I can't stop. Stopping once makes it ok to stop the next time, and then before you know it, I'll only be working out once per week.
I am still in training. This time it is a triathlon. The Greenville Tri is on August 20th (my 34th birthday) and it is a 400 m swim, a 15 mile bike ride, and a 5K run.
Here is my weekly training schedule.... assume AM means before work at about 6-7AM. PM means evening, or after work.
Monday AM- 25 minutes of Swimming (typically do about 1150 meters, or 46 laps in a 25 meter pool)
Monday PM- Biking (typically do about 9 miles)
Tuesday AM- Running (3 miles)
Tuesday PM- weight training (starting next week)
Wednesday AM- swimming again same as Monday
Wednesday PM- biking again same as Monday
Thursday AM- Running (3 miles)
Thursday PM- Weight training
Friday- off, rest day
Saturday- AM, LONG BIKE (15-20 miles) and LONG RUN (5 miles +)
Sunday- off, rest day.
Whew. I'm tired now. That's about 6.5 hours of training per week. But I can see all these changes in how my body looks and performs and I love it. I can't wait until I am more muscle than fat! I am going to be one of those women. You know, the ones that make you want to say "Grrrrr"
You know what, I am ok with that....
OK NOW I AM MAD
I have no idea where my pictures are and why they didn't upload. Hmmm. I think I am going to have to start using an image hosting service.
I'll just have to try this again later this weekend. Sorry for the promise of pictures only to fail to show them....
I'm just baiting you for later! I've got 5 or 6 I wanted to load... You'll see them soon enough....
OH!! BY THE WAY, Derek found a new job! YAY! He starts on Monday, so we won't miss a single paycheck. This job is with WABCO (westinghouse air brake company) and he will be a buyer for one of their teams- I think the mass transit pneumatic brake team. He's making more money, but will have about half the vacation he had before. I think he is really disappointed about that because it will impact his fishing tournaments, but he's being a good sport about it.
I hate to say it, but it's almost a good thing we've got this long wait for a referral. Maybe he will qualify for Family medical leave when we go to China. He will qualify for that next July. That way he won't have to use vacation to travel.... good thing too since he won't have that much!
I'll just have to try this again later this weekend. Sorry for the promise of pictures only to fail to show them....
I'm just baiting you for later! I've got 5 or 6 I wanted to load... You'll see them soon enough....
OH!! BY THE WAY, Derek found a new job! YAY! He starts on Monday, so we won't miss a single paycheck. This job is with WABCO (westinghouse air brake company) and he will be a buyer for one of their teams- I think the mass transit pneumatic brake team. He's making more money, but will have about half the vacation he had before. I think he is really disappointed about that because it will impact his fishing tournaments, but he's being a good sport about it.
I hate to say it, but it's almost a good thing we've got this long wait for a referral. Maybe he will qualify for Family medical leave when we go to China. He will qualify for that next July. That way he won't have to use vacation to travel.... good thing too since he won't have that much!
The Marathon
Ok ok ok, I've heard enough crap about not writing about the marathon, so I will. Mom, Judy, and I all had a great time visiting San Diego. It truly is a beautiful city, and I would love to go back sometime and really get the full experience. 4 days including travel and the marathon is just not enough.
Lynn (my running friend) and I were in corral 21. Your corral number was how you got lined up for the start. There were 1000 people per corral and there were 22 corrals. You are assigned your corral based on your expected finish time. As you can see, we were back with the walkers. The indignity of it!! It took us about 15 minutes to cross the starting line. Keep in mind your official "chip time" is based on when YOU cross the start and the finish and all the clocks in the pictures I will post show the gun time. You have to subtract those 15 minutes from the gun time to get my approximate chip time. I say this because I finished in 6 hours, 30 minutes, and 30 seconds. My goal, which I thought I would never meet, was to finish in 6.5 hours. I was THRILLED beyond belief to meet that goal (I'm going to forgive the extra 30 seconds, I had to stop and pee at mile 5, so I think that's reasonable.) What I especially loved was crossing the finish line after passing a dude from corral 15. HA!! GIRLS RULE!!
Did I hit the wall? Yes. Did I hit it at mile 20? No. I actually hit it at mile 23. See, in all of our training runs, we would go 2 miles further than the time before. My longest was 20. I was ok for 20, I was ok for 22. 23, however, about did me in. I stopped and walked from mile 23.5 to mile 25. Once I saw the mile marker for 25, I decided to have a strong finish so I kicked it in gear and actually had a pretty decent last mile. The joy of finishing and the adrenalin helped me to eek out what was probably about a 12 minute mile. As I crossed the finish, I held my Tiger Rag up. ORANGE NATION, baby!!!
Everyone keeps asking me if I will ever do another. Right now, the answer is I don't think so. I do think I will do half marathons- I felt great at mile 13!! I think half marys give you all the satisfaction (ok half the satisfaction) and none of the pain!
I've tried adding pictures, but this is all that took. BAH HUMBUG!!!
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
So much has happened
So much has happened. I've tried to update my blog about 3 times but each time blogger went down. So, this is a quickie- I'll update more thoroughly later.
First let me say thank you to my secret pals. The gifts have been awesome and I feel so guilty that I haven't been able to acknowledge them yet. But I do have a good excuse.
1. First of all, the legal action with my father's brother is now over and done. We settled after almost 4 years of "legal disagreements" and he has bought my mom and I out of the farm. I cannot begin to tell you how we thought we'd never see the day we'd be free of him. But it's finally happened.
2. My grandmother's house sold. I spent the week of memorial day helping my mom and my aunt pack it all up. We were very happy that it sold to a nice family, but sad to leave it. The packing up wasn't a problem but everyone in our small family has established homes, so we have lots of things and no one to use them. Fortunately we left a good bit for the family who bought the house as they didn't have a house before and could use a lot of the things!
3. I had my marathon. Finished in 6 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds. Will post more about that in a bit...
4. Derek found out he's lost his job effective June 30th. Apparently when the textile mills that buy spare parts shut down, that affected his job(textile spare parts business). Go figure. So now we are searching for the "right" position for him.
5. Derek's mom fell on Tuesday after Memorial Day. Scraped up her arms pretty bad. Didn't break anything, thank goodness. But, that evening was spent cleaning her up and getting her wounds addressed. Anytime a diabetic has a wound you really have to be careful. I won't get into the specifics of what happened, but it was in the bathroom and I had to help her, not Derek. I totally feel prepared for motherhood now. I am so glad she's ok. The fall ended up being a good thing in disguise, because now she will let me help her bathe, and I know that will help her feel better on a daily basis.
Whew. Crazy couple of weeks. Will post more on the secret pal presents and on the marathon later. I've got pictures to post, folks, so stay tuned!
First let me say thank you to my secret pals. The gifts have been awesome and I feel so guilty that I haven't been able to acknowledge them yet. But I do have a good excuse.
1. First of all, the legal action with my father's brother is now over and done. We settled after almost 4 years of "legal disagreements" and he has bought my mom and I out of the farm. I cannot begin to tell you how we thought we'd never see the day we'd be free of him. But it's finally happened.
2. My grandmother's house sold. I spent the week of memorial day helping my mom and my aunt pack it all up. We were very happy that it sold to a nice family, but sad to leave it. The packing up wasn't a problem but everyone in our small family has established homes, so we have lots of things and no one to use them. Fortunately we left a good bit for the family who bought the house as they didn't have a house before and could use a lot of the things!
3. I had my marathon. Finished in 6 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds. Will post more about that in a bit...
4. Derek found out he's lost his job effective June 30th. Apparently when the textile mills that buy spare parts shut down, that affected his job(textile spare parts business). Go figure. So now we are searching for the "right" position for him.
5. Derek's mom fell on Tuesday after Memorial Day. Scraped up her arms pretty bad. Didn't break anything, thank goodness. But, that evening was spent cleaning her up and getting her wounds addressed. Anytime a diabetic has a wound you really have to be careful. I won't get into the specifics of what happened, but it was in the bathroom and I had to help her, not Derek. I totally feel prepared for motherhood now. I am so glad she's ok. The fall ended up being a good thing in disguise, because now she will let me help her bathe, and I know that will help her feel better on a daily basis.
Whew. Crazy couple of weeks. Will post more on the secret pal presents and on the marathon later. I've got pictures to post, folks, so stay tuned!
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Moving forward...
I think we've made the decision to move forward with the addition. But we will also be adding a pool. I love to swim and a pool is something Derek and I have always wanted. I taught swimming lessons when I was in college, so I will begin teaching our daughter as soon as we're home!
I am pretty excited about this. We are going pool shopping(looking) this weekend since that will have to happen before the addition because of the configuration of our backyard and proposed new room. We hope we will be able to enjoy our pool to be before the end of summer. It will just be a small pool, we don't have enough room for something big, but I am still pretty excited about it all.
It's also interesting to note that Derek and I agreed about all this pretty quickly. That just reinforces to me that we should do it. Obviously it's something we both value and would both enjoy.
Mom and Aunt Judy are coming home to SC tomorrow. We'll have a week before we leave for San Diego. They are also trying to finalize the sale of my Grandmother's house. So much going on right now! When it rains, it pours!
That's about it for today. Isn't that enough?
I am pretty excited about this. We are going pool shopping(looking) this weekend since that will have to happen before the addition because of the configuration of our backyard and proposed new room. We hope we will be able to enjoy our pool to be before the end of summer. It will just be a small pool, we don't have enough room for something big, but I am still pretty excited about it all.
It's also interesting to note that Derek and I agreed about all this pretty quickly. That just reinforces to me that we should do it. Obviously it's something we both value and would both enjoy.
Mom and Aunt Judy are coming home to SC tomorrow. We'll have a week before we leave for San Diego. They are also trying to finalize the sale of my Grandmother's house. So much going on right now! When it rains, it pours!
That's about it for today. Isn't that enough?
Sunday, May 21, 2006
The Object of my Affection
Ta Da!! Here it is, the new bike! It's a 2005 Trek 1000c, which basically means it's a "comfort" road bike. What makes it a "Comfort" bike is that it's very similar to the women's design, but also has brakes on top of the handlebar. I do like that. I thought I wanted the women's specific design, but this was so similar and it had the added appeal of the extra brakes, a slightly more upright riding position, and a slightly smaller price tag, since this was left over from 2005. I figure I need all the comfort I can get since I am doing the triathlons to get fit and have a workout goal, not to actually win! (But I will be pushing myself to get faster and set personal records, I just live in the real world and know that I'm not going to be competing to actually win.)
I got it on Saturday after my 12 mile run, which I did for the most part in the rain, starting at 6:30 AM. Does that make me hard core? LOL!
I rode for about 5 miles on Saturday but had to stop. My nether region needs to toughen up a bit. Even with padded shorts and an extra cushy seat, my butt hurt! Oh well, I suppose in time I'll get used to it.
I bought this from the Great Escape here in Greenville. The assistant manger personally fit me and set up this bad boy to my exact specifications and needs. I was very happy with the service... the assistant manager is actually someone I dated right before I met Derek! Obviously there were no hard feelings, and I am happy to know that he's doing well and getting married to a cutie pie in about a month. I wish them both well.
Derek had a tournament on Saturday. Caught 2 fish, but didn't hit the mother load. Derek wishes he had had more time to scout the lake before the tournament. His next tournament is June 21st. He'll be on that lake scouting it out before that tournament I'm sure!
The marathon is 2 weeks from today. I'm a bit nervous but just because I don't want to be last! I am sure that's normal. All this extra exercising I am doing (swimming, biking, running) is paying off. I lost 3 lbs this week according to my weigh in at weight watchers today. Woo hoo! That makes a girl very happy.
Spent the afternoon working in the yard. Derek and I are considering an addition to our home. We have always wanted a rec room/den that we can move the computer to and put Dad's pool table in- but the thought of moving any time soon is something we both don't want to ponder. Maybe we'll just add on the room we need and want. I know one thing. I don't want to not do it because we think we'll be moving into a bigger house in a few years. Time has a way of sneaking up on you and I don't want 10 years from now to look back on everything and think "I wish we had done that..."
Know what I mean? Heck, it's only money. LOL!!!!
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