i didnt finish last!

for everyone that knows me you are probably really laughing now! 1. i have not been too physically active for about 10 years. 2. i have never been in a canoe with peter. 3. i have not seriously rode a bike...ever. i have not been on a bike consistently since 5th grade! what was i thinking????!!!!!

ok, so the deal is peter and i did the triathlon!!!! yep, last sunday...i am just recovering!! the above pics are AFTER the big race when we got home. we didnt take our camera or have anyone take any pics of us. i honestly thought that there would be people at the the finish line taking some for us...oh well...as you can see we survived...and didnt place last!!! ok, so here is the breakdown...

we left our house last sunday at 7:15, got down to the race area at 7:45, thinking that would give us plenty of time for our 8:38 start time. we were WRONG!!!! thankfully there were some serious thunderstorms when we got there which gave us a one hour delay. yes...the storms cleared out very quickly and we ended up with GREAT weather...sunny, 75 but very windy...fun for the bike of course! :) so, back to the beginning...we walked about 3/4 of a mile from our car to the bike staging area to set things up. then then walked down "killer hill", which we knew we would run up to finish our race...i was secretly freaking out before the race even started! lets just say, i am not sure how i stayed upright, for real! i saw so many people that had mud stains on their butts! this is not a paved road...it is barely a trail with tree roots to use to pull yourself up the 45 degree incline and then there are about 50 steps to climb to finish...yes, we went down that and then walked another 1/2 mile to the canoe start line...yep, took us a while to get things ready and set! :)

we started at exactly 9:38. every two minutes a group of 6 canoes starts the race...there were over 1200 people involved in the race!! so, peter say behind me during the canoe race and we paddled hard, but didnt kill ourselves, we knew it would be a long day! surprisingly, we didnt get into any "disagreements" during the canoe race (6miles) or any of the race for that matter...i know, not typically me, but i had prayed all week that i would keep my temper and unsportsman like conduct in check :)  the hard thing about the whole thing is that you never see any clocks or times during the race until the finish line. neither peter or myself wore a watch, but we felt like we did well for the canoe portion...about the only time we werent being passed by 100s of people! 

as we finished the canoe race we took a few min. to change from our reef flip flops to our running shoes...we had a pretty good transition, not pausing to do more that what we had to to get back on the race. the next stage is the run (5.5miles). basically, you run back to the canoe area and up to the bikes. before the race even started peter and i had decided that we would walk the run part. partly because my kness had given me so many problems during training, partly because we didnt train enough for this first experience. again, we have no idea how long it took us, but we kept a good pace the whole time. there were a few small hills, nothing major until for real the last half mile which is appropriately called "killer hill" as mentioned above. lets just say this...people have asked me if i would do this race again. the only reason i would not do it is becuase of this hill. IT WAS AWFUL!!!!! by the time i got to the top i was more than out of breath, dripping sweat and exhausted...and they want to get on a bike??? YEAH RIGHT!!! plus i had to pee like no ones business and the only thing available was nasty porta-potties...gross, i dont even like to go in public restrooms that ladies use...these are toilets that every sweaty person in the race uses and they have been sitting in the sun for days...awesome! however i knew that i would fail if i didnt go...i guess that was the least of my worries for the day, it just seemed like a big deal after killer hill!

after a few cups of warm powerade, a granola bar and a trip to the big orange mobile toilet, peter and i got on our bikes for 18 miles!! yep...i rode my bike for 18 miles!!! the bike really was not bad at all, i was just SUPER slow!!! poor peter...he had to wait for me alot during this part of the challenge and he is a saint for it! the course was flat and through the cornfields, but SUPER windy!!! i am pretty sure my toes were numb before mile 6, but i just kept creepin along! 

months before the race i had asked peter to stay with me the whole race, to not leave me behind..i had several reasons, but basically i just didnt want to do the race alone. he of course said he would and he did more than stick with me...he trained with me for several months prior, he kept me excited up til race day, calmed my nerves the day of, and encouraged and supported me the WHOLE time!!! he came behind me when i needed a boost and came ahead of me to lead when things were uncertain! we knew that the race would be a big test for us and our marriage and i can honestly say i have never been more sure or excited about us than i have through this whole process!! as we came up to the finish line we had to dismount our bike and walk them across the line...we came in at the same time...side by side...smiling the whole time! about 30 seconds later i started crying...from appreciation and love that peter did more than he promised, from excitement that we finished alive, and from pure exhaustion!! eventually i calmed down and stripped out of my sweaty clothes to change and go enjoy some food and live music.

a week later i still feel so blessed that peter and i were able to do this challenge together and say that we survived. it took us 4 hours and 9 minutes...could have been better, but we FINISHED!!! so, thank you to all who encouraged and supported us and who care enough to read this...i know its long!! :) p.s. i treated peter and i to massages today...nice perk of post race recovery!! :)

blessings, ALo

Prom and then some

so for the past few weeks the salon has been PACKED every saturday with young girls coming in to have their hair "upstyled" for prom. this season evokes so much anxiety into the lives of so many people...most of all...mine! not because i cant do the required "updo", no, my fear runs much deeper than this simple curl. you see, where the salon is located i have the...uh...pleasure (???) to service families with mom's that only want the best for their daughters, especially for this extremely important night of their lives. i mean, i know that prom is a very important right of passage, a night that girls dream about and a night that mothers spend lots of money for. here again is here i come into play :) yes, it is true that i make decent money curling, spraying and pinning hair for prom. and if that is all it was i would be just fine...just fine i tell you. but as we all know, beauty is not all it appears to be. here is how it really happens during prom season...the said prom date comes to the salon accompanied by the mother. i greet them with a smile knowing how excited the girl is for this huge night...well, day actually...to get started. we, all three of us, go to my station in front of the large front window. the beautiful high school student sits down and we begin to talk about her dress and what her ideal "event style" would be. then outta nowhere here comes mom, all up in my grill about what her duaghter HAS to have for her special night. i smile and nod knowing that, well, here we go again...a mother always knows best! i proceed to do what i have been trained for...training that mommy dearest does not have, i mean if she did would she be paying me to do this? in the meantime mom sits in the sill pointing out every imperfect curl and uncrossed pin. really lady...really??? gimme a break! the really crazy part is that this happens more times than not and we could do 3 or 4 on a given saturday...ugh...makes for a long day! prom is not always bad though. it does remind me of how much fun my friends and i had at our "prom" or lack thereof. i mean, i loved getting dressed even with the dress code requirements and sitting all night NOT dancing. no, but seriously, i loved high school and i loved all that came with it. and thankfully my mother was not the doting type. my mom was helpful, encouraging and always a gracious host! thanks for making my jr./sr. so fun, mom, and for not being a momzilla!!! :)

blessings, ALo

Grandpa Southwick

my grandpa had this laugh, a true belly laugh, in very sense of the phrase. even if he was making pokes at you, you couldnt help but laugh if he got going....truly contagious laughter.

my grandpa loved being outside. he loved birds and plants and flowers and everything outside. he loved the warm months, but he always loved God's creation.

my grandpa hunted for indian artifacts. he found hundreds of arrowheads over the years and knew thousands of trivia facts about all tribes...he really knew his stuff and would light up when he talked about it.

my grandpa once held me for hours when i was sad and confused. i am not sure that i have ever told any one this... i was staying with my grandparents and i was crying in my room in the basement. he heard me and came in to hold me...i can only imagine what he was thinking. he didnt have to say anything, he just held me and let me cry.

my grandpa loved our family. he and grandma have been married since 1950...60 years!! he and grandma raised 5 kids, 23 grandkids, and 11 great grandkids. he always made sure to tell us that he loved us, but he didnt need to...we knew.

my grandpa was a crusty old man....but only on the outside. he loved to poke fun and then would turn right around and be encouraging and supportive of whatever we were doing.

my grandpa was a great teacher. he taught us to fish, taught us to drive, taught us to laugh, taught us to pray.

my grandpa loved God, with all his heart. out of all of the things he was, the one i am most proud of is his love for and faith in Jesus Christ. he always made his faith evident in his life and made sure he told others about his changed life.

my grandpa will be missed, greatly! our family will be so sad and life will be different without him. but i know that today my grandpa is not sick. my grandpa is able to breathe without an oxygen tank, and today my grandpa is worshipping his Lord and Savior without any limitations! we have been blessed to have him for all of these years and we cant wait to see him soon!

I LOVE YOU, GRANDPA!!!

ALo

Oh Man!!!

yep, i am a HUGE slacker! well, not just a slacker...lazy. so where do i start? what do you want to know? so, the truth of the matter is that i am updating this because i told my cousin alex i would if she gave me the address to her blog. so for those of you who have been waiting, you can thank alexandra ann bufton!! :) so, anyway, rather than try to revisit the last few months i am going to start with today :) here goes nothin...

today was one of those days that you think over at the the end and just go...huh? really? so, we all know that i love my job...i love what i do and where i do it. that being said i left today going, really? REALLY? i was cancelled at the very last second this morning for a cut and highlight which meant that i sat there from 9 until 11:45 with pretty much nothing today. i did get to do something new on a loyal guest of mine...she cracks me up every time she is there. at the end of my work day...2:30 mind you...i had an appointment for a cut and color for myself. now, in case you haven't seen me in awhile, i have been keeping my hair short and platinum blonde. i also ALWAYS have the same friend from work do my hair...in case you cant get in with me at sqaure one make sure you ask for courtney, she is awesome...anyway, thursday is courntey's day off and she is completely booked tomorrow, my day off. so i instead had another colleague do my hair. to make this already long story a little shorter i walked out looking like a lesbian porcupine!!! ugh! i am so serious!! my hair is soooo short. i even had to call peter before i got home to warn him, thats how short it is! huh?? really?? of course that is not my while day, but you all know how much your hair can consume your day/life when it is not right. like camilla alves on shear genius says "...and remember, hair is important!"

ok, hope to talk again soon...thanks alex!!!

blessings, ALo

CRAP!

i should have stayed in bed today!!! yep, no doubt about it!! the thing is that friday is my day off...yep, fridays. i actually really like having fridays off, it makes working saturdays not that bad...sorta! so, normally i sleep in on fridays, do nothing in the mornings, have lunch with some friends in xenia, run errands and come home to get ready to do something friday night with the hubby and/or friends. this did NOT happen today! now, most things that happened were fine, even great...but i tell you that my day did not start out on a good foot at all!

so, first of all i was totally and completely awake at 7:45 am...yes! so much for sleeping in! i mean, i LOVE that my husband says good-bye when he leaves and gives me a sweet little kiss on the forehead (do you think that is because i have morning breath?) and usually i fall asleep the instant he leaves..not today! so, rather than just lay wishing i was asleep i got up and took a shower. i knew that my cousin laura was coming over for a haircut at 9:45, so put some sweatpants and a t-shirt on and got my hair dry. when i finished i went into the living room to start opening up the house and turn lights on and whatever. as i was walking over to a lamp my toe caught the power cord of peter's new laptop. unlike the mac, this power cord does not automatically pull away. nope, instead the cord wrapped around my toe and the laptop came crashing down on my toes...taking off skin and causing a black spot to appear pretty much immediately and then it bled for 20 min.!! yes, i did swear, more than once...dont judge me! so i had to sit on the chair and compose myself. when i was finally ready to get up and finish getting things ready, i ended up with a staple from the arm of the chair in my hand...UGH!! yes, it was bleeding and i was even more mad. so, here i am its only 8:30 and i am bleeding from my toes and my palm! i should have just gone right back to bed and started over! i really couldnt believe it. i mean, i know that i am a little ditzy but i am not usually clumsy like that! i did take a deep breath and a few ibuprofen and finished the morning. after that my day was pretty good. i did some hair (yes, on my day off. thats how much i like what i do), had lunch with some friends, spent some time with a girlfriend and did her hair, and made it home safely in the snow/rain/slush junk that we are getting right now. i also made a nice comforting dinner...chicken and dumplins! i am rounding out the evening with a lock-in with peter (including cutting his hair) :) just us...hanging out! i hope that tomorrow starts out better, could be a long day at work otherwise!! :)

but for real, the chicken and dumplins were awesome, thanks Whit!! if anyone wants the recipe just let me know!

blessings, ALo

Long Time No See

i know that i have been slacking in a huge way!! i dont have any huge excuses other than that i have been pretty busy. peter also uses the computer alot in the evenings, so i dont usually feel like blogging really late.

i will catch you up on my trip to atlanta though! i was able to go down south for a long weekend last week for my friend's baby shower. i am so blessed to still have close relationships with a few friends from high school! we have all been friends for over 12 years!!!

i had so much fun and got to see so many people...i laughed harder on friday night than i have in so long! i got to go down so many different memory lanes! pooter and i did lots of shopping both for the shower and ourselves, we did lots of eating...of course, including my favorite, Zaxby's!!! sunday was totally crazy and a blast at the same time! angel and jesse had so many people come and support them and encourage them before baby eli comes. i was so glad to be a part of all of it! i am so blessed to have them all!!

here are a few pictures!! there are more on my facebook page! :)

 

jared and lindsey strong...so great to see them!!











me, angel, and pooter at the shower...love them!!








blessings, ALo

CRAZY

yes...me...i am crazy!

i am going to be running a triathlon this summer...June 6th!!!

peter and i will be a team, not required, but most people in this race do it as a 2 person team. we will do a 6 mile canoe race, hence the teams, 5.5 mile run and then finish with an 18 mile bike ride.

ok, so lets think about this. i have run any farther than a few feet since high school...i graduated in 2001! i have NEVER been on a bike for more than recreation and that was also years ago! canoeing...well, i think the only upside is that it will be going downriver!! :)

i really dont care what place i finish, i just want to finish! i want to finish without having a heart attack. i want to finish with peter! i think this could be fun...i will let you know how things are progressing as we go! :)

blessings! ALo