A "Legendary" Summer

Michelle & I have had a fantastic and memorable..... or some might say legendary...... summer! Here are some of the highlights....

We went to Lake Okoboji, Iowa for Michelle’s family’s annual vacation. The lake was beautiful and we had a great time with her family.   

Lake Okaboji at Sunset

Roller coaster at Arnold's Park

At the base of Crystal Falls

We enjoyed a mountain escape with friends, fireworks and wine over the 4^th in Granby. We did a spectacular 7 mile hike to  the Crystal falls near Lake Granby. The hike is scenic, and the reward is one of the biggest waterfalls I've ever seen in Colorado! What better way to follow-up the hike than with fireworks and a bit too much wine at the Winter Park Wine Festival.

Monarch Lake, at the base of the hike

At the top of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain NP

So sexy!

We were able to visit New Orleans for the first time for my Aunt Courtney’s wedding. It was an memorable trip. We were able to spend some great time with family we haven't seen in years. We also stumbled on one of the best meals we’ve every had at Pesce fish house….yum. The wedding was a blast too! Courtney and her husband Mark, are so full of life that it overflowed into their wedding, which was full of love and New Orleans spirt (A Second line after the service!)

The mighty Mississippi

Courtney the beautiful bride

Hello Blog!

Hello Blog....it's been awhile. You look great! Have you lost some weight? That botox is really working for you.

Cat Deeley Makes Me Happy

So I have never been afraid to let my dork come out. Part of that is being honest about your guilty pleasure. Of which I have many, below are just a few.....

1. I love most pop music...the cheesier the better!
2. I'm a fan of Katie Holmes. Despite the crazy that has followed her with the crazy couch-jumper and really due to her days as Dawson's girl.
3. I have read and seen every Harry Potter book/movie...sad I know.

But more than anything I love So You Think You Can Dance.....SYTYCD for those who are in the club. The dancing is great, and it's an awesome, non-thinking, always happy reality show. That being said, the reason I think the reason I like it so much is Cat Deeley.

Ah...Cat Deeley...my favorite giant, sexy, awkward, English dance show host. She is hot....but dorky funny hot. She kind of has that "I'm hot but I don't know it so I'm dorky and going to keep rambling on" thing going on. I would suggest engaging in a little tv-you time and watch Cat whenever you can. However, if you haven't watched her on SYTYCD...it's too late this summer, the season ended tonight. There's always next summer, but meanwhile, here's a couple photos to tide you over....pardon the drool.

Slacker Tri 2010

This weekend I participated with a bunch of friends in what we called the “Slacker” Tri. So basically what that means is a group of us, who have trained together for triathlons the last couple years have slacked this summer, for one reason or another. Obviously we aren't as fit as we have been at this point in the summer the last couple years. That being said, we are all slightly competitive people and thought we would sign-up for an Olympic Tri Relay and place a little wager on it. So 2 teams, 6 people, each person doing one sport.  It’s worth noting some other friends of ours had a relay team too, but they displayed way too much dedication to training to be include in our stake. Anyway, we had a boys v girls bet. Loser has to provide the winners with a steak dinner…fully catered by the loosing team.

So everyone rolls in before the race and you can immediately tell it’s different from other races. The normal jitters that generally occur before competing are non-existent. Instead of psyching ourselves up to kick-ass, we sat in a circle and talked about how much we all slacked this year….except for one or two people who, IMO, are overachievers. This conversation continued to the point that we all almost forget to get marked and barely get set-up in the transition area in time to start.

First up the swimmers…..the relay teams start last and were supposed to start at 8:15. Unfortunately when we moseyed on down to the beach at 7:55, the other teams had already started. Whoops. So our swimmers got a late start and no warm-up. Both are pretty good swimmer and did well actually, but generally slower than the past…in addition the slow crawl to transition from the water probably didn’t help our team.

Next up the bikers…..Here is where most of the time on the course is spent. The 40k ride is hilly and windy and depending on the wind speed can seriously affect your time.  Our rider is pretty good and he is generally very fast and can get it done. He did pretty well, but the ladies rider was a rock star. She had a PR by something like 20 minutes. Now I’m not accusing her of anything but I think someone may have been training a bit in secret, or using some sort of enhancement…..just saying.

Now I was the runner and therefore had to wait a couple hours before my leg started. I’m not sure if the mimosa I had prior to my leg helped me out at all, but it was sure tasty. That being said I did finish without stopping…very slowly though. As you may know I tore my MCL earlier this spring and have been very slow to pick up more speed and distance on my runs. This was the second time this summer I ran a 10k without stopping due to knee pain. I actually did finish with no pain and a bit faster than my last Olympic 10k time…..however that run was after a 1.5k swim and 40k bike. Still way over 10 minute miles

Based on past results, the boys gave the girls a 20 minute handicap…and they killed us. I think they finished about 5 minutes after us. So congrats Team We Try…Now I want a drug test from Ginger.

Turns out the girls did really well; they finished 3rd and the other team of ladies, we refused to bet due to their general fit level, finished 1st!

Oh also, we finished 3rd……out of 3....but we still got a prize because we placed!

We decided to make it an annual event and hopefully we can expand the teams next year :)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

 I just finished the novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I know it’s probably the most buzzed about book on the planet right now…but I just heard about it about a month ago. I was convinced to pick it up as due to the fact that I while I glanced at the book a few times prior to buying it…at Costco, or the airport, or reading a magazine that was reviewing it….random people came up to me and said emphatically, “You need to read this book. It is great!”

I took it as a sign and grabbed the book. Turns out the randoms were correct, the book was fantastic. It is, to an extent, a classic murder mystery novel, but it had modern twists with complex characters that you didn’t know if you like, but you are obsessed with finding out what they’ll do next. It’s action packed, although it actually starts fairly slowly. I had to force myself to read past the first 50 pages. After that things heated up quickly. The book takes place in Sweden and follows the investigation into the death of a 13 year old heiress, thirty-five years after the crime has taken place. The family patriarch is obsessed with finding out who killed her and hires a famous journalist to conduct an investigation. He, in turn, brings in an withdrawn, young researcher who’s punk looks, including many tattoos and piercing, give the title of the book. The book describes the year in which they solved the mystery. I can’t really say anymore than that as it will give away the twists and turns of the book, but I recommend it if you like mysteries and aren’t afraid of a little disturbing literature.

It turns out the book is a trilogy(called the Millennium Trilogy) by the Swedish author, Stieg Larsson. Who actually died in 2004. The book wasn’t even published until after his death and became a huge hit in Sweden first, and then all over the world. His intent was to write a series of 10 books, but his untimely death stopped him at 3. The fourth novel was supposedly ¾ complete when he died but a manuscript has never been confirmed.

I’m about to start book 2, The Girl who Played with Fire, and will provide an update on the blog when I finish it.

The Horror.....

Do you sing in your car? I do. I sing terrible pop songs at the top of my lungs. I love it. I can’t readily admit in print what songs I sing…but you know which one…come on…you do it too. Sometimes I will be singing at a light, look over and someone is staring me down. Most people might be embarrassed…not me…I keep singing to them. Sometimes they pretend it’s not happening and look away, most times they smile or laugh.
 

Well earlier today I was jamming to some terrible song, sung by a young chanteuse who, once she is legal, will break a few achy hearts, and somehow I recorded part of my singing on my cell phone…it’s truly amazing the amount of pocket activity my phone gets. So when I realized it I thought for fun I would listen to it. Wow, I am not a good singer. It was terrible…scary terrible. All I can say is, it’s a good thing my car windows have a good seal on them, otherwise those people next to me at the stop light would chance mortal peril by running the light to get away from the terrible death gasps coming from me.
 

Anyway, here are a few awesome videos of “singers” that inspire me to keep living my dream. (My favorite is the first one)
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKFLXO2YADk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RAhHcNIikg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7qR5JZcLbc&feature=related

Summer TV

Why is it my standards for television shows drops significantly in the summer? Suddenly I am ok with watching a show where a poorly created CGI dragon talks with a British accent or people try to get over a mud pit by bouncing on giant red balls.....at least they're not blue!

Here are a few shows that...yes...I can admit I watch in the summer and would never watch any other time of the year.

1. Wipeout (http://abc.go.com/shows/wipeout) - home of the previously mentioned giant, red balls. I seriously found myself laughing out loud at this show yesterday. There's mess, there’s competition, there's dumb-ass contestants…what more can you ask for?

2. So You Think You Can Dance (http://www.fox.com/dance/) - Ok so I love this one in the summer, however when we tried to watch it when it was on last Fall, it was just not good. I think my favorite part of the show is that it features music from artists that are about to blow up. One Republic, David Getta, Lady Gaga…like them or not, all performed on the show before they exploded.

3. Merlin (http://www.syfy.com/merlin/) – This show follows a young Merlin as he leads Arthur through the life in Camelot. Although, it’s from the BBC, it’s low budget effects and sets are comical and make it almost feel like a high school theater production. The first season aired on NBC last summer and had such low ratings NBC….yes NBC….sent the show to the SyFy network this summer for season two. I am strangely obsessed with the show…still.

4. Next Food Star (http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-next-food-network-star/index.html) – I haven’t actually seen this one yet, but I predict it’s going to be one of my biggest guilty pleasures this summer. It’s got all the key ingredients to get me addicted…it’s a competition, it’s on Food Network, the host is hot (ah Giada).

I recommend trying some of these shows on this summer, although you won't admit it...you're going to love them!