I didn't ask for permission, but I'm posting an email I received from my mom. I wish I had the picture to attach with it. Maybe she'll send it to me later.
By reading the following you will gain a greater understanding as to why I have certain qualities that I do: strong willed, work hard, never quit, and inspire.
I love you Mom and I am so proud of you. You have re-taught us (your kids) that even the seemingly impossible are possible. With dad doing "the bike ride" and now you with the mini triathlon...we have no excuse to go out and achieve the things we want/should accomplish!!
Thank you
I DID IT! I FINISHED THE TRIATHALON AND WAS NOT EVEN THE LAST ONE OVER THE FINISH LINE!
I believe I'm going to wear my participant tshirt, medal (gratis to all), and permanent marked number and age on leg to church tomorrow. I'm just a little too proud that I was not carried away on a stretcher.
For those of you who are exercise gurus, this is a piece of cake. However, for me, I am tickled that I swam 400 meters, biked 2.5 miles and walk/ran 1.4 miles without stopping. I'm tearing up as I type this. YES, obese women can be victorious. Of course, victorious is all relative. After the swim, I was overwhelmed but excited that I was in the upper 20% of the group. Not bad, after getting kicked in the head and gulping nasty lake water. I knew the bike portion (have you seen my thighs?) would be my saving grace.
After a HORRIBLE transition: dropping my water bottle, trying to get my shoe tongue untwisted, and veering off toward the bystanders, I was off to gain momentum. I was flying down the hills (thank-you extra poundage) screaming at the volunteers, 'Short track?' so as not to miss turns, I passed athletes like crazy. I really wanted to catch up to a friend that I had beat swimming (she had awesome transition) and a freakin' buff friend who beat me swimming. Unfortunately, a bike rider must be smarter than her bike. I screwed up shifting. I could hear my husband's voice in my head, 'Strategically shift, get ready to shift to a harder gear when almost at the peak.' Well, anxiety (imagine that) took over and I just messed up and was spinning out of control going down the hill gaining little momentum for the final hill. I did catch studmuffin at the transition as I seriously almost took a serious rider out! I couldn't get off the bike fast enough. Thankfully, I just pulled the bike back - picture roping a steer- and all was well. Then, the dreaded run. Imagine an overweight woman in spandex trying to run uphill! Not pretty!
The final phase - run/walk began uphill. I was thinking, 'There is no way in HELL that I can finish this race!' My legs felt like iron. I felt like I was carrying two medicine balls and I was thirsty. I ran down hill and couldn't breathe. This large lady ran past me and shouted, 'You were awesome on the bike - you inspired me.' (Great, I'm an inspiration for the big.) The comment gave me an extra spring in my step. About thirty seconds later two runners ran by and congratulated me on a great ride. Again, more fuel for the fire. I believe I ran a bit after each comment. Runners from the short course passed me in droves - it seemed. Truly, I was the weakest link in the running portion. I had to do some major self-talk running across the dam (don't want to walk because your in complete view of the friends and family on the other side of the lake) and wanted to just stop. After the dam, an incredibly steep hill awaited me. UNBELIEVABLE, I tell you. Only one animal, the male sort, ran by me - everyone walked it. I stopped halfway to catch a breath. Two long puffs and I was off to finish. I had about 80 meters left and I done...and an angel, Michelle, a 27 yr old, came behind me and congratulated me for job well done. I grunted, 'I'm done...bonked...' She said - here come the tears again - 'I'll finish with you. We can do this,' and we did! My photo finish is running side by side with Michelle whom I thought was way ahead of me. I'm so glad she was there for me.
The icing on the cake is that our group of 8 women all finished within seconds of each other and were mid or upper finishers.
PLEASE JOIN US NEXT YEAR FOR THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, FRIENDLY, INSPIRING TRIATHALON AT LAKE OF THE PINES, AUBURN, CA.
Ann
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Karma, aka a spillers fate
Hi all, this is Chris.
Andree told me I had to blog about my fabulous trip to the dmv down here in good ol' Las Vegas. So here goes.
Day 1: 1pm (insert law and order sound in your head)
--I arrive at the dmv to get a Nevada driver's license with a little light reading to help me wade through the down time I would soon encounter. I get in line, realize I have no pen to fill out the form, go back to my car, register to vote on the way in, and get back in line. I get my number twenty minutes later and sit down.
2pm (again.....insert law and order sound here)
--Finally my number is called and I confidently head over to station number twenty three. After some research, a little dirt is dug up on my criminal driving record. As it turns out, I have three moving violations (aka vehicular movement above and beyond what is required) in a period of one year. There I confessed it. My head dropped as he told me what my punishment was....taking the written test! I dejectedly headed to the testing center.
2:15pm (.....)
--After walking into the dead quiet testing center before my cue, I was greeted warmly by the dmv drone and given a testing station. I quickly noticed the "this is not an open book test!" sign and politely excused myself to go study.
3:00pm (....)
--After some intense moments of nervousness I pass the test, barely. One more and I would have failed. I head out to get another number.
3:30PM (...)
--After a little more light reading I get the call to be the next contestant at station number twenty six. I head on down and procure the required paperwork. After a few tense moments of more research, it is discovered that I have to do the drivers test also!! I felt like I was fifteen again as I strode over to ask when I could take the test.
3:45 (..)
--As it turns out, the drivers testing station won't take appointments until Oct. 1 and I need it done by Monday when school starts. So it goes. I ask my options and quickly figure out my best option is arriving at the dmv the next morning as early as possible to get in line as a stand-by.
4:00pm (.)
I storm out of the dmv in a calm and dignified fashion.
Day 2: 4am (law and order sound please)
--Awake and alert I arrive at the dmv twelve hours later and put down my camping chair behind five other poor unfortunate souls. The first has gotten here at two thirty this morning (can anyone say day after Thanksgiving sale?). It is dark and I only brought books to read so I wait....and wait...and wait....
6am (......)
--The rising sun rescues me from total boredom and I open my book to read. By this time about twenty more people have joined us. There is little talk, especially in the front. We have woken up at some unimaginable time to go to the dmv so we are not in the best of moods as it turns out. We are especially grumpy when a fourth, boisterous "get out the vote" campaigner harasses us to register once again.
7:45am (.....)
--A very loud dmv drone greets us and tells us how it's going to go down. We are to be filed into the dmv entrance and given numbers. When our numbers are called we have to procure the EXACT right documents or else we are doomed to a lower number, or another early morning. The guy in front of me forgot his registration in his car glove box yesterday and they would not allow him the thirty seconds it would have taken to go get it. He is here another day (he is the two thirty am candidate mentioned above) to try his luck. As it turns out later, he has the wrong color tail lights to warrant any attention by Nevada drivers and has to go home to get them replaced. He will try his luck another day, again.
8:00am (....)
--After three and half hours of waiting followed by thirty minutes of terror I get a number and enter the dmv to wait until a cancellation, an event I hope will occur before the dmv's lunch time at eleven.
10:11am (...)
--For just over two hours I have been gathering the inside scoop on the test. I learn, or re-learn, how to be a cautious fifteen year old driver. Hand placement is key, followed by mirror and blind spot checks, and of course mastering parallel parking. It is common knowledge that it comes down to blind luck from the parking gods, and sacrificing a pig can only help your chances.
They call my name and I go greet the woman who holds my fate in her hands.
10:15am (..)
--The pimpmobile (aka lincoln continental) passes the test and apparently DOES have the right-colored tail lights that nevadans recognize. The examiner politely tells me that we cannot talk during the test as she has a job to do, and I have an impossible task ahead of me that requires all my attention: driving the correct way (afterwords I wonder how safe it was to be so focused on proper driving technique that I failed to notice a single street sign, tuned out the ambient noise, and saw nothing in my peripheral vision). We venture out of the dmv and start down the streets of Las Vegas. For those of you who don't know, there is a lot of traffic everywhere in Vegas and stop lights frequently take near two minutes to change. I mention this fact because the incessant pounding, yes pounding, of the blinker as we sat in dead silence at a stoplight reduced me to a twenty four year old nervous wreck. I was sweating and fidgeting like a freshmen giving a speech in English class. And no, imagining the examiner in her underwear did not help in this situation.
10:30am(.)
--The vehicle comes to a stop, and I anxiously await the news. Will I be waking up early the next morning to do it all again? Was my attempt at parallel parking, and lack of pig sacrifices, enough to get the job done? The answer was yes, but barely! I made too many maneuvers while parallel parking and forgot to check my blind spot twice. I pass with a 91, however, and with silent jubilation head into the dmv to finish the impossible task of getting a Nevada license.
10:50am
--Another boring dmv drone tries to help out my poor, pathetic soul in my quest. After some signatures I head over to get my picture taken. Ten minutes later I am presented with my holy grail: a license. I stride out of the dmv with some of my self-esteem restored and head home. Watch out Nevada drivers! Here I come!
Andree told me I had to blog about my fabulous trip to the dmv down here in good ol' Las Vegas. So here goes.
Day 1: 1pm (insert law and order sound in your head)
--I arrive at the dmv to get a Nevada driver's license with a little light reading to help me wade through the down time I would soon encounter. I get in line, realize I have no pen to fill out the form, go back to my car, register to vote on the way in, and get back in line. I get my number twenty minutes later and sit down.
2pm (again.....insert law and order sound here)
--Finally my number is called and I confidently head over to station number twenty three. After some research, a little dirt is dug up on my criminal driving record. As it turns out, I have three moving violations (aka vehicular movement above and beyond what is required) in a period of one year. There I confessed it. My head dropped as he told me what my punishment was....taking the written test! I dejectedly headed to the testing center.
2:15pm (.....)
--After walking into the dead quiet testing center before my cue, I was greeted warmly by the dmv drone and given a testing station. I quickly noticed the "this is not an open book test!" sign and politely excused myself to go study.
3:00pm (....)
--After some intense moments of nervousness I pass the test, barely. One more and I would have failed. I head out to get another number.
3:30PM (...)
--After a little more light reading I get the call to be the next contestant at station number twenty six. I head on down and procure the required paperwork. After a few tense moments of more research, it is discovered that I have to do the drivers test also!! I felt like I was fifteen again as I strode over to ask when I could take the test.
3:45 (..)
--As it turns out, the drivers testing station won't take appointments until Oct. 1 and I need it done by Monday when school starts. So it goes. I ask my options and quickly figure out my best option is arriving at the dmv the next morning as early as possible to get in line as a stand-by.
4:00pm (.)
I storm out of the dmv in a calm and dignified fashion.
Day 2: 4am (law and order sound please)
--Awake and alert I arrive at the dmv twelve hours later and put down my camping chair behind five other poor unfortunate souls. The first has gotten here at two thirty this morning (can anyone say day after Thanksgiving sale?). It is dark and I only brought books to read so I wait....and wait...and wait....
6am (......)
--The rising sun rescues me from total boredom and I open my book to read. By this time about twenty more people have joined us. There is little talk, especially in the front. We have woken up at some unimaginable time to go to the dmv so we are not in the best of moods as it turns out. We are especially grumpy when a fourth, boisterous "get out the vote" campaigner harasses us to register once again.
7:45am (.....)
--A very loud dmv drone greets us and tells us how it's going to go down. We are to be filed into the dmv entrance and given numbers. When our numbers are called we have to procure the EXACT right documents or else we are doomed to a lower number, or another early morning. The guy in front of me forgot his registration in his car glove box yesterday and they would not allow him the thirty seconds it would have taken to go get it. He is here another day (he is the two thirty am candidate mentioned above) to try his luck. As it turns out later, he has the wrong color tail lights to warrant any attention by Nevada drivers and has to go home to get them replaced. He will try his luck another day, again.
8:00am (....)
--After three and half hours of waiting followed by thirty minutes of terror I get a number and enter the dmv to wait until a cancellation, an event I hope will occur before the dmv's lunch time at eleven.
10:11am (...)
--For just over two hours I have been gathering the inside scoop on the test. I learn, or re-learn, how to be a cautious fifteen year old driver. Hand placement is key, followed by mirror and blind spot checks, and of course mastering parallel parking. It is common knowledge that it comes down to blind luck from the parking gods, and sacrificing a pig can only help your chances.
They call my name and I go greet the woman who holds my fate in her hands.
10:15am (..)
--The pimpmobile (aka lincoln continental) passes the test and apparently DOES have the right-colored tail lights that nevadans recognize. The examiner politely tells me that we cannot talk during the test as she has a job to do, and I have an impossible task ahead of me that requires all my attention: driving the correct way (afterwords I wonder how safe it was to be so focused on proper driving technique that I failed to notice a single street sign, tuned out the ambient noise, and saw nothing in my peripheral vision). We venture out of the dmv and start down the streets of Las Vegas. For those of you who don't know, there is a lot of traffic everywhere in Vegas and stop lights frequently take near two minutes to change. I mention this fact because the incessant pounding, yes pounding, of the blinker as we sat in dead silence at a stoplight reduced me to a twenty four year old nervous wreck. I was sweating and fidgeting like a freshmen giving a speech in English class. And no, imagining the examiner in her underwear did not help in this situation.
10:30am(.)
--The vehicle comes to a stop, and I anxiously await the news. Will I be waking up early the next morning to do it all again? Was my attempt at parallel parking, and lack of pig sacrifices, enough to get the job done? The answer was yes, but barely! I made too many maneuvers while parallel parking and forgot to check my blind spot twice. I pass with a 91, however, and with silent jubilation head into the dmv to finish the impossible task of getting a Nevada license.
10:50am
--Another boring dmv drone tries to help out my poor, pathetic soul in my quest. After some signatures I head over to get my picture taken. Ten minutes later I am presented with my holy grail: a license. I stride out of the dmv with some of my self-esteem restored and head home. Watch out Nevada drivers! Here I come!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Catch Up
Well, it's been a while since I've posted. I haven't had the internet (and time) recently, but let me catch you up. Chris and I drove back to Reno last Friday after a fun filled day at Marine World on Thursday. Our first stop in Utah was the Olsen's. We had to use the restroom. Nikki and Laurie were at our house while we were driving helping pack our kitchen. It was awesome. Amanda also came over to help pack--and give us a break. We went to Chili's and had my brother serve us. It was awesome. 
Later that night, we ended up at Alecia's again (much thanks to her!) and had ice cream. The next morning it took me a while to get going. 
Chris had his CPR class and I watch a little of the Olympics with Alecia. Nikki was a little concerned, so she roped Alecia into coming over and helping us pack for awhile. Again, Amanda, the fabulous friend that she is, came over and helped us continue packing. 
Around 1, we had some helpers from our ward move all the stuff into our 27 ft. truck. It was huge. We filled just about all of it. We're pathetic (I have taken Alecia's advice and gotten rid of things as we unpack!). Saturday night, I stayed up watching some funky Olympic "sports" with Alecia. We were dying. Have you ever watched the very intense game of Olympics Badminton? Or perhaps Race Walking? Or Super Heavy Weight Women's Clean and Jerk? Oh boy...you've missed out!! We were DYING...
Anyway, Sunday we woke up and headed out of town.
Coleman and Chris switched off between the humongo truck and the non air-conditioned Honda. Now, it wouldn't be a true Spillers fate if I didn't tell you we had a fun little adventure. As I was driving through St. George I heard a thump thump.
Chris had his CPR class and I watch a little of the Olympics with Alecia. Nikki was a little concerned, so she roped Alecia into coming over and helping us pack for awhile. Again, Amanda, the fabulous friend that she is, came over and helped us continue packing. 
Around 1, we had some helpers from our ward move all the stuff into our 27 ft. truck. It was huge. We filled just about all of it. We're pathetic (I have taken Alecia's advice and gotten rid of things as we unpack!). Saturday night, I stayed up watching some funky Olympic "sports" with Alecia. We were dying. Have you ever watched the very intense game of Olympics Badminton? Or perhaps Race Walking? Or Super Heavy Weight Women's Clean and Jerk? Oh boy...you've missed out!! We were DYING...Anyway, Sunday we woke up and headed out of town.
Coleman and Chris switched off between the humongo truck and the non air-conditioned Honda. Now, it wouldn't be a true Spillers fate if I didn't tell you we had a fun little adventure. As I was driving through St. George I heard a thump thump. I was on the phone with Chris, "I just blew a tire."
"You what? Just blew a tire."
"You what? Just blew a tire."
"My tire is flat..."
"What? you're tire went flat?"
"Yes! Stop it, I blew a tire, I have to call you back!"
Coleman and I stopped on the side of the road waiting for AAA. I finally convinced Boy to go ahead, seeing how we were racing the clock. We had to get to Vegas before the apartment office closed. Anyway, Coleman and I waited for 35min. Finally, the guys came to take off the tire. Coleman was a little antsy, seeing how he could do it for me and it would be faster. So, they AAA show up, but before they can take to tire off, they have to fix their jack, for 5 freaking minutes. Finally, they put the spare on and 45minutes later, we're off. During their little escapade, I called 8 different tire places, none of which were open because it was Sunday, in St. George. I finally got a hold of Costco. We drove to Costco and spent $220 and 1.5hrs outside, with Tivo, in 100* weather waiting for the stupid tires to be put on. Coleman went inside for a bit and got us some ice cream. After one of the longest wait times in my life, we hit the road. We made it to Vegas and helped Boy finish unload the truck.
We've been here a few days now. It gets freaking hot. We finally have A/C, electricity, and hot water. Internet should be arriving in a few days. Life is good. We found a dog park a few blocks away. Tivo has made a few new friends. It's a great way for him to get some energy out. I found a Great Harvest not far away. There's also a Target and Smiths right up the street. We also found a Dip N' Dots STORE!!! Can you believe it? A freaking store....how fabulous is that?
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
the in-between
SO, we're both unemployed. We are wandering nomads without a home. We have a dog...and a car (which is FINALLY registered)! Last Friday Boy and I went to 7 Peaks with Alecia and Alyiah. It was awesome. After some last minute changes (that's the Warren side of me), Boy and I drove straight to Reno, instead of Vegas, Saturday. The drive went well. We rocked out to music and read, just a little. Sunday was a good day, except that we left our church clothes sitting on the bed, in Utah. We used our resources and headed off to church. I took both girls home after only 2 hours of church, much to my mother's dismay. She was not a happy camper... the girls and I spent an hour or so over at the park with the two dogs. We had a blast. Yesterday (Monday), the girls, Chris, Tivo, Solomon, and I took a minor excursion to Pyramid Lake. We were there for 6 hours...I'm fried to a crisp, but it was totally worth it. We took our water trampoline. Tivo turned into a water dog. He was quite the pansy at first, but after watching King Solomon do it over and over, he got up enough nerve and loved it. Pretty good for his first time around water (the only water he knew was bath water...he HATES that!!)
So, today we have JJ's graduation and "party" after. It should be fun, after all, we do get to eat Port of Subs. Nothing beats that!!
Finally, we have spend every night watching the Olympics until midnight. A Warren family tradition. If you have not watched, you're missing out. There have been some amazing triumphs and upsets. GO USA!!!
oh yea...pictures with come later
So, today we have JJ's graduation and "party" after. It should be fun, after all, we do get to eat Port of Subs. Nothing beats that!!
Finally, we have spend every night watching the Olympics until midnight. A Warren family tradition. If you have not watched, you're missing out. There have been some amazing triumphs and upsets. GO USA!!!
oh yea...pictures with come later
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Quick Note
Just a quick one...the garage sale went well yesterday. We made about $220 and got rid of a bunch of crap (no mom, we didn't sell your stuff!!). We stayed up until 1am Friday night/Sat. morning and Chris attempted to wake me up at 4:45am Sat. It wasn't a pleasant experience (the trying to wake me up part-which you already guessed if you know me at all...).
Chris has 4 days left at the Bagel Shop and I only have 3 left at the Lindon HD-as a regular 'ol po-dunk cashier. We head out to Vegas on Friday and off to Reno Sunday. It's now crunch time.
I'll keep you posted with our whereabouts
Chris has 4 days left at the Bagel Shop and I only have 3 left at the Lindon HD-as a regular 'ol po-dunk cashier. We head out to Vegas on Friday and off to Reno Sunday. It's now crunch time.
I'll keep you posted with our whereabouts
Friday, August 1, 2008
JJ poet
Here is another poem from JJ:
A touch of Heaven
Finally you realize the barrier is cracked
Now you must grasp the sense of unknown truth
With the mysteries uncoiling
and the void reboiling
You are raised up to a revitalizing stage
Suddenly with your legs shot, to the ground your knees are brought
Your head is faced down as the tears drop
The waterfall of emotions is let loose
Perhaps a touch of heaven has created this divine sensation
As the doubt of being loved washes away, you are at ease
Now this unexplained but assuring element has perfected your life
So tell me, how does it feel?
Finally you realize the barrier is cracked
Now you must grasp the sense of unknown truth
With the mysteries uncoiling
and the void reboiling
You are raised up to a revitalizing stage
Suddenly with your legs shot, to the ground your knees are brought
Your head is faced down as the tears drop
The waterfall of emotions is let loose
Perhaps a touch of heaven has created this divine sensation
As the doubt of being loved washes away, you are at ease
Now this unexplained but assuring element has perfected your life
So tell me, how does it feel?
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