Today's Date

So today is July 8, 2009 or 7/8/09 as in why was 6 afraid of 7? Because 7 ate 9!! That has amused me all day, especially when I've written out the date, which I've had to do a bit today.

Here's a new joke (or new to me):
What did the grape say when he got stepped on by the pig?

Nothing, he just let out a little wine!

It doesn't take much to amuse me! :)

15 Books in 15 Minutes

When I first saw this meme on Mandi's blog I thought no problem, I can do this. Fifteen minutes came and went without a complete list. But I did finally come up with fifteen books. And what does my list tell me? I probably need to visit my library a bit more. After I started working I began reading, almost exclusively, what my mom would call "trash" books but what I call fluff books - purely for entertainment and books that don't make me think too hard, which means they usually don’t leave much of an impression.

Instructions: Don’t take too long to think about it. List 15 books you’ve read that will always stick with you — the first 15 you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Copy the instructions into your own note, and be sure to tag the person who tagged you.

1. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." I was hooked from the beginning.

2. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - the intricacies of the revenge plot were so masterful.

3. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - Oh fiddle dee dee! I was fascinated in the beginning with the description of the dresses and the plantation and soon was absorbed into the story.

4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - This is probably my least favorite book but my dislike has stuck with me (20+ years later) so it made the list. What really stuck out in my head was the fact someone interrupted the wedding. I probably should re-read this now to see if my opinion is still the same but I shudder anytime I think about reading it again. It's like broccoli - my tastes have changed but every time I even think of trying broccoli, I'm immediately transformed into a kid at the dinner table being forced to eat it.

5. Persuasion by Jane Austen - my favorite Jane Austen book by far. I am a sucker for unrequited love stories.

6. Exodus by Leon Uris - an amazing book, interweaving several stories against the backdrop of the birth of the modern Israel.

7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - Scout was the coolest.

8. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - the red hair, Anne spelled with an "e" (which is my middle name), Gilbert - such a great story. Prince Edward Island is on my places to visit list because of this book.

9. Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne - this is for both the actual book as well as the Disney read-along version which I wore out as I child. I love Winnie the Pooh!

10. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White - the first chapter book I ever read.

11. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie - a great mystery set on a train with a satisfying ending. It was a thrill for me when I was in Istanbul to eat dinner at the hotel where the actual Orient Express would stop on its journey.

12. The Babysitter's Club #3 The Truth about Stacey by Ann M. Martin - so when I first saw the title of this book I thought it said The Babysitter's Clue and I was super excited to read it because I thought I had found a new mystery series to read. But no, instead I found the tales of Kristy, Mary Anne, Stacey & Claudia which I devoured. I would save my own babysitting money to buy these books. I had quite a collection until one day I sold it at a garage sale.

13. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - a simply magical story.

14. Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne - I never actually read this book. I read a lot as a kid and my mom began making me read a "good" book before I could read Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley Twins (later Sweet Valley High), Trixie Beldon, or the Babysitter's Club. I was in a rebellious mood when she gave me this one to read and decided only to read the end of this book (sorry Mom!!) so I could hurry up and read something else. Whew, I feel better having gotten that off my chest. Confession is good for the soul!

15. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen - Elizabeth & Mr. Darcy, what more can I say? I have read this book many times and still get so caught up in the story.

And there you have it! What's on your list?

One of those days

Ever have one of those days? What exactly does that mean anyway? Ever have a frustrating day and you are on your way to yoga to work out your frustrations when you get stuck in the garage at work? So really, it was more annoying than anything and it could have been much worse. The garage door would only go about halfway up before stopping and coming back down. I made a new friend though - she was stuck as well and she and I tried what we could to get the door to come up but nothing worked. Finally security showed up and fixed the door but it was too late for yoga so instead I went home. And that ends my day. Wonder what tomorrow will have in store?

Adventures in Training

I haven't been keeping up with my training as in my mind I still have several months, while in reality time is passing by quickly!! I went for a bike ride this morning and took a curve a little too fast. Halfway around I knew I was going to fall and tried to catch myself. It didn't work and I ended up in the bushes. Yes, I was fortunate enough to fall into the tall grass that grows along the river. I tried to jump up as quickly as possible to assure anyone who saw my tumble that I was fine! I never jumped up so fast! A runner was behind me and came over to make sure I was okay. All I could do was laugh.

Greece

It's only been a month since my trip - but finally here is my trip report!

Greece!! To this day, I'm still not sure how we happened to choose Greece, but we did. The "we" in this trip is myself, Jessica and Nilufer (who will probably be referred to as Nilly), friends of mine from work. Also on the trip was Cedric, a little traveling gnome our boss had given us to take along on our travels. The flight to London was fairly uneventful until baggage claim. Because of the flight times, we had decided to spend the night in London before heading to Greece early the next morning. At baggage claim Jessica's bag emerged followed closely by mine and what looked like Nilly's bag but it wasn't. As it turned out, Nilly's bag was back in Seattle. After checking into the hotel, we spent our first moments in London shopping so Nilly could at least have a few things as the airline wasn't sure at this point when she would be reunited with her luggage. From there we made our way over to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge to at least see the famous monuments. And then it was off to Buckingham Palace, where we discovered Cedric was not very photogenic. We walked over to see Big Ben before meeting another co-worker who was at the tail end of her trip. We had tickets for the London Eye, unfortunately the weather was cloudy, but it was still fun to fly high above the city and admire the sights. Dinner was Italian (big surprise, right?) and then we said our goodbyes and headed to our respective hotels.

Three hours later (more or less) we were waking up to catch our extremely early flight to Athens. I have no recollection of this flight - I was sound asleep. Jessica & I got our luggage and so did Nilly! Her luggage had caught up with us in Athens. We checked in for our next flight and hung out in the Athens airport until our flight was called. We landed in Santorini and had an extremely interesting cab ride to our hotel. The cab was going fast on these small, narrow, winding roads and I think he sped up when he saw our white knuckles holding on for dear life. We checked into the hotel and then dragged our luggage down a steep hill to our cave room. It was a nice big room with a beautiful terrace. After dropping everything off and freshening up we headed out to explore. We walked down to the town of Fira and explored the narrow streets, stopping for gelato. Yum! After exploring a bit more and watching the sun begin to sink in the sky, we found a restaurant for dinner where I had moussaka. We then began the long climb up to our hotel. These stairs were brutal, especially in the dark! It was at this point my goal for the entire trip became not to trip and fall.

The next morning dawned bright & early as there were no shades on the windows. Surprisingly, for me, I was able to ignore the sun and slept a little bit longer. We finally got up and switched on the hot water heater and waited the requisite 15 minutes for the water to heat up before beginning the round of showers. Finally we were all ready to start our day. After breakfast at the hotel, we stopped at a travel agency for information on a boat tour out to the volcano for the next day. We ended up deciding to join a bus tour starting shortly, plus the boat tour. We hurried down the hill and through the narrow, twisting roads to catch the bus. Whew! The tour was neat - it took us up into the mountains and down to the beach. Lunch was not the best but as it was the only restaurant around we didn't have much of a choice. After lunch we went down to the beach to relax a bit before getting back on the bus. We finished up the tour at a winery. After the bus dropped us off in Fira, we explored down the narrow streets, popping in and out of shops that caught our eye. Dinner was Italian, at a restaurant most of the way up the hill so we didn't have too far to walk back to our hotel.

Volcano day!! I had really been looking forward to seeing the volcano! We took a bus along a very narrow, winding, steep road to the new port where we boarded our boat which took us to the volcano. We climbed and climbed and climbed and finally made it to the top of the volcano, enjoying the view and catching our breath before starting the trek back to the boat. From there we went to another island where we had an opportunity to swim to the hot springs. I am not a good jumper into cold water which is basically what I had to do! I hung on the ladder for as long as I could before plunging into the freezing cold water! It wasn't too far of a swim to the hot springs, which were actually more like lukewarm springs. I smeared a little bit of mud on my arms as it was supposed to be therapeutic. The boat stopped for lunch at the island of Thirisia, where you could climb up the cliff to the town at the top, or you could eat lunch at the restaurants at the bottom. We chose not to climb. It was then over to Oia where we could watch the spectacular sunset. This time we had no option but to climb up the stairs. Well, we did have an option to ride a donkey most of the way up which I wasn't too keen on, but Jessica was, however she decided to trek up the stairs with me & Nilly. Those stairs were super steep and seemed never-ending but finally we made it to the top! After that we definitely deserved some gelato! We wandered around until we realized it was about sunset time and hurried over to the end of the island where we basically just missed the sunset, or maybe we didn't and it just wasn't that spectacular. I'm not sure which. We still had time before the bus would drop us back in Fira and as we were tired and hungry we decided to take a cab back to our hotel. We got crepes from a store not far from our hotel and took them back to our room to eat while watching X-Men.

Our last day in Santorini! We thought about waking up early and going to the beach, since we never made it but decided not to wake up early and just to walk down to Fira, after a breakfast of crepes from the place where we had got them the night before! Those crepes were good! Before we knew it, it was time to catch the ferry over to Naxos. We arrived in Naxos and took a taxi to the hotel, which was actually not the main hotel, but another building down the road. The taxi driver let the hotel know we were there and someone from the hotel drove over to check us in. It was an interesting room, in an interesting part of town. I wasn't sure what to expect. After claiming beds and freshening up, we headed out to explore a bit. We walked over to a travel agency to see about booking a bus tour only to find out there were no seats available. We contemplated what to do, including taking a ferry over to Mykonos, while we walked over to the Portara. There we met a couple from San Francisco on their honeymoon, who convinced us to rent a car and drive around the island. I have never before rented a car in a foreign country, usually because I don't want the hassle of driving or navigating in a foreign country. In the end, they made it seem easy so we decided that's what we could do the next day. We wandered around, getting somewhat lost in the process, before finally making our way into the center of town. At the hotel, they had told us about a good Italian restaurant which we finally found. And boy was it worth it!! The owner (or who we assumed was the owner as it was her life story on the menu and her name was Susanna and the name of the restaurant was also Susanna) was really nice and the food was delicious!! And get this - I had spaghetti carbonara, not margherita pizza! After dinner we walked back down to the center to get gelato before trying to find our way back to the hotel.

Rental car day!! We walked along the waterfront to a restaurant that had been mentioned in our guidebook for breakfast. It was then time to begin our car rental adventure. We decided to ask and see if they had an automatic as Jessica & both had driven sticks before and probably could again, but if there was an automatic available we would take it to cut down on the stress! The first place didn't but he called around and found a nearby car rental place that did. We could have two drivers on the car and I was not allowed to be a driver as I was to be the navigator. I'm not sure if I should feel insulted by this or take it as a compliment! :) The route the clerk at the car rental place suggested was very similar to the bus tour. We stopped at the gas station to fill up and the attendant gassed up the car and we were off. Our first official stop was the Temple of Demeter, located along some back roads. We tried to find a Venetian tower next and I think we drove by it twice but couldn't find a good place to park. This would be a theme for the day. Any tower or castle we were not able to find. Next we stopped at the town of Halki or Chalki, depending on which map you are looking at. We walked out to see a church, visited the Kitron distillery (made from citron, a fruit similar to a lemon) and looked around the town before continuing on. Up and up the narrow winding roads we drove to Apiranthos, the “marble village” where we had lunch and were entertained by a couple of kids playing, and one kid pouting. Nilufer took over driving duties after lunch and drove us to our next stop, Panayia Drosiani, a tiny little church. Our next stop was to see an unfinished statue. We saw the first one and decided to hike up to see the next one. It ended up being a little farther than we anticipated! On the “you are here” map it indicated the remains of an aqueduct were nearby. We searched high and low for the aqueduct but as it would be getting dark soon we decided to give up and walked back to the car and headed back to town. Not too far down the road we saw a sign for the aqueduct! Woohoo!! We found it, or at least part of it. We pulled over and saw a section of the aqueduct. After that we drove back to town and dropped off the rental car. We explored the old town of Naxos before going to Susanna’s for dinner. I was back to my old staple, margherita pizza. It was really good!

On to Athens! Someone from the hotel drove us to the port where we caught the ferry to Athens. A mere 6 hours later we arrived at Pireaus. To say the taxi line was chaotic would be a gross understatement. Trying to find the end of the line proved difficult and when the driver from the first taxi in line came up to us, I figured he was legit and we climbed into the cab. One of the warnings of Athens was the potential to be ripped off by cab drivers. Knowing this, I should have asked what the price was prior to getting into the cab, but being in the actual taxi line, I figured we’d be okay. The cab driver seemed friendly enough and charged us €20, explaining there was a €5 surcharge from the port. I had read in both my book and Jessica’s book that the surcharge from the port was only €1 and so I argued and asked the hotel clerk how much the fare should be and he said €15 -17. Now the thing of it is, had he not said there was a €5 surcharge I would have paid the €20 without even thinking about it. We settled on €17 and he drove off. This was so not an Emily thing to do, but it was the principle of the matter.

With that settled we checked into the hotel and then headed out to start exploring Athens. Our first stop was the Temple of the Olympian Zeus. When I was in middle school/high school, I was intrigued by Greek mythology and read all about Zeus, Hera, Athena and the rest so I was really excited to be in Athens. From there we walked along the promenade around the Acropolis before heading into Plaka to have dinner. After dinner we wandered around a bit more before making our way back to the hotel. At first glance, Athens reminded me of Rome. Or should I say Rome reminded me of Athens as before all roads led to Rome, I’m sure a number of them led to Athens.

Even though we had successfully driven around Naxos, we weren’t sure if we wanted to do it in Athens and instead signed up for a tour out to Delphi. This was another thing I had really wanted to do because the Oracle at Delphi featured in so many of the myths. It was about 3 hours to Delphi and our tour guide regaled us with stories of history and mythology such as Delphi was considered to be the center of the earth (or the naval) because Zeus had sent 2 eagles to the opposite ends of the earth and they met in Delphi. The guide took us up to the Temple of Apollo where the people would come to ask the oracle questions. After explaining more about the oracle, she let us explore on our own and we walked up to the theater and then to the stadium before meeting back up with the guide to go through the museum. The bus then took us to lunch. Lunch was not very good. We had hopes for dessert though, until they passed around a basket of dirty, moldy fruit. No thank you. The journey back to Athens took forever – there was construction and an accident and traffic in general but finally we arrived back in Athens. They dropped us off at a hotel near Syntagma Square. We asked for dinner recommendations and ended up at Cibus, an Italian restaurant with a great view up to the Acropolis.

We signed up for another tour, this one a half day to Corinth, so it was another early morning to catch the tour bus. Our first stop was at the Corinth canal which cuts through the Isthmus of Corinth. It is really cool to see! The next stop was ancient Corinth where we explored the ruins and saw where St. Paul preached to the Corinthians. We once again ran into traffic on the way back, but finally arrived back in Athens. I had printed off Rick’s “Welcome to Athens” walk so we decided to follow it, hoping to find a spot to have lunch on the way. There hasn’t been much mention of Rick so far and that is because his Athens book didn’t come out until after I got back. The walk started off in Syntagma Square, right in front of the Parliament building and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. From there we strolled down a pedestrian street, stopping to have lunch at a noodle bar and doing a bit of shopping. We continued along the walk, missing one monument which threw us off track but finally after taking a roundabout way we caught back up with the tour. Along the way Jessica became fascinated with the graffiti and it became a mission to find the coolest graffiti on our walk. Our walk finished in Monastiraki Square. We were beginning to become familiar with this area. We had dinner at a pizzeria in Plaka, unfortunately it was not very good.

Ruins, ruins and more ruins! Today was the day for ruins - the Acropolis, the Agora, etc. We were going to be on ruin overload by the end of today. But first, before heading to the Acropolis, we found the missing monument from our walk the day before. From there we hiked up stairs and hills and more stairs, passing by the Theater of Dionysus and other ruins before reaching the top, the Acropolis! The Parthenon was amazing! And to think it is still standing after all these years. I attempted to take a picture of Cedric, however couldn’t quite get a good angle and got close to the ruins. An attendant came up to me and said to delete the picture, which I did, thinking it was because I had gotten too close. So we tried again, holding Cedric in the air but again the attendant came over and we finally realized it was Cedric himself they didn’t want a picture of with the ruins. I wish they had posted the rules somewhere because I am generally a rule follower, if I know the rules. We continued exploring the Acropolis before making our way over to Mars Hill, where St. Paul preached to the Athenians. There were two options to get to the top of Mars Hill, the steps cut into the hill, or the metal staircase. Knowing my penchant for tripping, I took the metal staircase option. From there we walked down to the agora and admired the Temple of Hephaestus. We were on our way to lunch when the unthinkable happened – I broke my camera! Fortunately, it was the second to last day and we had just finished up with the Acropolis. We went to lunch where I pouted a bit about my camera. Although I have been wanting to buy a new camera and now I have no excuse not to buy a new one! So really, it was a good thing. After lunch we headed to the Roman agora and Nilly lent me her camera as she wasn’t much of a picture taker. Jessica had wanted to see Omonia Square so we started walking towards it, coming across a cheap jewelry store (think Claire’s) and of course had to stop. We continued on to Omonia Square, this time passing by a riot squad in full riot gear which we walked rather quickly by. We arrived at the square, looked around, and headed back to Plaka. None of us was really hungry so we decided to get a couple of appetizers to share. Our couple of appetizers turned out to be a lot of food! And so much for us not being that hungry, as we made quite a dent into all the food.

Our last day in Athens! Jessica had suggested waffles for breakfast so we headed out, only to find out the restaurant didn’t open until a little later so we continued on to the flea market. There were treasures to be found at the flea market, if you took the time to look. We browsed through the various stalls until we figured the restaurant was open and headed back for our waffles. Yum! It was Sunday so the streets were fairly deserted. We were walking past Parliament when we noticed guards making their way to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier so we stopped to watch the changing of the guard. It was really interesting ceremony – the guards had very elaborate, intricate footwork. Our next stop was the top of Lycabettus Hill so we went in search of the funicular. I thought we were doing okay when we reached a fork in the road and as we paused to check the map a lady walking by who asked if we were going to the funicular. She motioned for us to follow her, which we did, and thank goodness for that because she led us, turning down a couple of different streets, to the funicular. We never would have found it on our own! The funicular took us up to the top, where we admired the view of Athens before heading back down. We decided to visit the Panathenaic Stadium, which was used for the “first” Olympic Games in 1896 and the Olympic Games in 2004, plus for the Panathenaic Games in ancient times. We started towards the stadium when we came across a street that looked familiar to Jessica. She and Nilly had wanted to see the Running Man statue but since we had no idea where it was (they had seen it from the bus on one of our tours) we didn’t think we would see it until we came across the familiar road so we detoured to find the Running Man statue. It was pretty cool – made up of stacked glass. The detour didn’t last long and we were at the stadium, which was really neat. The stadium is made of marble. We walked back to Plaka, stopping by the Temple of Olympian Zeus one last time. Coming out of the Temple I tripped on a rock and stumbled for probably a good 5 to 10 feet before finally catching myself. I didn’t fall, but I came so close. It seemed as if I was in slow motion. Well, at least I didn’t fall! We spent the rest of the evening as we had most of our evenings in Athens, strolling around Plaka. On our way back to the hotel, Nilufer and I got the giggles and Jessica was embarrassed to be seen with us.

We woke up early the next morning to go to the airport, ending our trip to Greece.

For more pictures, click here.

32 Things To Do Before I Turn 33

If this list looks just a tad familiar, it should! A majority of these items were on my 31 Things list, some stayed on the list because they'll probably always be on my list and others stayed to give me another chance to cross them off the list!

1. Travel to a country I've never been to before.

2. Run (or walk) a half-marathon. Yup, it has been awhile since I've done a half-marathon so I guess it's time to try again.

3. Buy a new laptop.

4. Take a photography class.

5. Be a better correspondent (i.e. keep in better touch with my friends).

6. Try out a new recipe.

7. Start consistently doing a weight-training or strength-training program, either with a trainer or on my own.

8. Organize all my flotsam and jetsam - either to be scrapbooked or to be disposed of.

9. Visit the Olympic Sculpture Park.

10. Make it through a hot yoga class doing all the postures.

11. Travel to one new city in the US.

12. Write a chapter for my novel (which I still haven't figured out what it is about).

13. Start seriously looking at buying a house/townhome/condo.

14. Go to an athletic shoe store where they look at how you walk and recommend a type/style of shoe.

15. Run (emphasis on run) a 5K.

16. Attend a dance class (hip-hop, salsa or styling). I've been meaning to do this for awhile but haven't.

17. Take a wine-tasting class.

18. Go to an acupuncturist.

19. Go to an outdoor movie.

20. Go kayaking.

21. Go to a Husky game and go to a Sounders game.

22. Treat myself to a facial.

23. Take a couple of weekend trips (Oregon coast, Vancouver B.C., etc.)

24. Get a manicure every couple of months.

25. Organize my file cabinet. It was organized once upon a time, but since then I've gotten behind and I need to catch back up.

26. Go to trivia night. I used to do this fairly regularly but then life got in the way! Let's see if I can start up the tradition again this year.

27. Get the most out of my annual Walt Disney World pass. That's right folks, I got me an annual Disney pass this year.

28. Buy a new camera. This really has to happen now as I broke my camera in Greece!!

29. Set up an IRA.

30. Go for a hot air balloon ride.

31. Go to the podiatrist.

32. And one I'll keep to myself for now.

Final 31 Things Update

First off, Greece was great! Trip report & pictures to come in the next few weeks. I realize I am late with my final recap of my 31 Things, but better late than never!

To say this last year was a bit challenging may be somewhat of an understatement. It was also exciting as I did my first cruise, spent 6 weeks in Germany, and got a couple more triathlons under my belt. I didn't make as big of a dent in this list as I thought. Oh well - that's what this year is for!!

1. Travel to a country I've never been to before. Done!! Slovakia, Hungary
2. Make it back to Houston a couple of times. Done!!
3. Improve my triathlon time. Done!!
4. Take a photography class.
5. Take at least one picture a week (I would say more frequently, but knowing me one picture a week could be pushing it some weeks!).
6. Try out a new recipe (no time frame associated with this one - I would be happy to do it once!).
7. Back up my pictures on CDs. If I'm really ambitious catalogue and organize! Done!!
8. Organize all my flotsam and jetsam - either to be scrapbooked or to be disposed of.
9. Visit the Olympic Sculpture Park.
10. Bring my lunch to work (again no time frame associated with the one as I would be happy if I did it once!). Done!!
11. Travel to one new city in the US. Done!! Maui, Hawaii
12. Write a chapter for my novel (which I still haven't figured out what it is about).
13. Attend a theatrical event (musical, play, ballet, etc.) Done!!
14. Eat at several restaurants I've been meaning to - Greenlake Bar & Grill, Z Tejas, Boka and Salish to name a few. Done!!
15. Play bingo in Houston. Done!!
16. Attend a dance class (hip-hop, salsa or styling). I've been meaning to do this for awhile but haven't.
17. Take a wine-tasting class.
18. Attend either an Anti-freeze or Space City Mixer event (or something similar).
19. Go to an outdoor movie.
20. Go kayaking.
21. Frame several pictures I've been meaning to frame. Done!!
22. Set aside some money and invest in the stock market. Done!!
23. Take a couple of weekend trips (Oregon coast, Vancouver B.C., etc.) Done!! Cannon Beach
24. Take a cooking class. Done!!
25. Organize my file cabinet. It was organized once upon a time, but since then I've gotten behind and I need to catch back up.
26. Finish up my 2005 photobook. Done!!
27. Take a yoga class. (Technically this one is already done since I attended one on 4/20, but since I planned to put it on the list before I took the class I'm leaving it on. Plus this way it will motivate me to take another!) Done!! I am now a hot yoga queen! Well, okay that is an exaggeration, but I am going fairly regularly
28. Buy a new camera.
29. Set up an IRA.
30. Go for a hot air balloon ride.
31. And one I'll keep to myself for now. Done!! Well, for the most part. I did accomplish several of the items on the list.

And that wraps up my 31 Things, stay tuned for 32 Things!

And off we go!

After weeks of counting down, it was finally time to leave for Disneyworld! Because it was a short trip, I decided to drag my brother with me again. Jana decided it was going to be too long between visits to Disneyworld and also decided to fly down for the weekend along with Ben, her boyfriend.

After some not so good bus magic (it took us almost an hour to get there!) we met up with Jana & Ben at Animal Kingdom. Because it was so stinking hot we went on the Kali River Rapid ride and boy did I get wet!! It took me awhile to finally dry out. After a few more rides and lunch, we left for Epcot where John & I saved the world, Kim Possible style. It is a new interactive game, which would have been a lot more fun if it hadn't been so hot! I was also finally brave enough to try Mission Space, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be (granted we rode the "sissy" version) but I was still a little nauseous afterwards.

Saturday was early extra magic hours at Hollywood so John & I woke up early and headed over with the express purpose to do the new Toy Story ride! We arrived just a little after it opened and already there was a 30 minute wait! We went ahead and stood in line - fortunately the line moved along. We rode a couple more rides before heading back to the hotel so I could check in for the race.

We weren't staying at the race site, but at a hotel within walking distance to the race site. I asked the concierge how to walk there and she looked at me and told me it was too far to walk, I should either take the bus or the boat. Interesting - so how was I going to get to the race tomorrow morning? I took the boat over to the race site and checked in. I picked up my bike and situated myself in the transition area, looking around for the bike and run starts to orient myself. While I was there, I asked about transportation from my hotel on race day and was told no transportation, you could walk. Okay, it can't be that bad, right? So I walked back to the hotel and it was about a 20 minute stroll. Piece of cake!

I picked John up at the hotel and we headed over to Magic Kingdom!!! After lunch and a few rides, we met up with Jana & Ben. After many more rides, Jana & Ben went off to dinner while John & I headed off to our hotel as I needed sleep! But before leaving, we had to go see Mickey & Minnie!

I did not sleep too well, as I was nervous about oversleeping. Finally I got up and got ready. Down in the lobby there were a number of athletes. Stepping outside, there were even more waiting for a bus! All that worrying and they did have a bus from the hotel to the race site. I set up my transition area and made my way down to the beach.

As I stood on the beach, watching the waves of women go before me, I had a sense of peace, sprinkled with trepidation. And a bit of wonderment, realizing this was my sixth triathlon!

Finally it was my wave! I went down to the water's edge with the rest of my light blue caps and tested the water - it was warm!! Nice! And soon we were off. I had a fairly even pace going and just kept moving along along. The walk back from the swim was one of the longest I can remember! I threw on my shirt and race number, hoisted my bike off the rack and I was off!! I passed a number of people on the bike, which lifted my spirits a bit! I'm not super competitive, but it helped me realize that while people will pass me on the swim & the run (and the bike too) I was passing people on the bike! The bike course was nice - somewhat flat, with a few rolling hills. I made it back and was off on the run! By this time it was getting hot. I ran until there weren't any more spectators cheering and slowed down to a walk. After the first water stop, I got into my usual pattern of running 10 cones, walking 5 (sometimes running 20 cones but still walking 5). And then I was at the last quarter mile - I ran, using all the cheers from the people lining the course to keep me going. It was a good race!

I never was able to meet up with Jana & Ben after I finished, it was a bit of a madhouse!! I had to dash back up to the hotel to take a shower before check-out. But they did say they enjoyed cheering on other participants and experiencing the atmosphere.

After checking out of the hotel, John & I headed over to Hollywood for a last little bit of magic before going home. I was fairly spent at that point and we didn't end up doing much of anything, except watching the High School Musical pep rally and eating lunch. We met up with Jana & Ben one last time before saying our goodbyes and heading to the airport.

And now? I'm unpacking my suitcase, only to pack it again! I leave for Greece on Wednesday!

Orlando Triathlon

Woohoo!! I did it!! I finished in 2 hours and 10 minutes, which is within 2 minutes of my best time so I was happy with that. More to come later...

Ear Update II

WOOHOO!! I've been given the all clear from the doctor. I get to race on Sunday!!

Training - Week 9

I feel like I have been saying this a lot over the past couple of weeks, but here I go again - it was a fairly light training week.  No swimming, per the doctor's orders.  A couple of hot yoga classes, the elliptical and a brick.  I might squeeze in a few more workouts before leaving on Thursday.  Did I train enough?  Nope - but with strep throat, bronchitis, and then an ear infection there wasn't much I could do about it.  So what if my time isn't the best?  I will finish and I will have fun racing, which is what counts!  All this is assuming I get the green light from the doctor (I find out tomorrow).  

Ear Update

I do have an ear infection, swimmers ear to be more precise, which is what I suspected. What does this mean? Training-wise it means no swimming this week. Race-wise? It means stay tuned. I asked the doctor if I would be able to participate in the race and she wasn't sure. I am to go back next week and find out then. It wouldn't be the end of the world if I couldn't race as I would still be in DisneyWorld! But I am still hopeful I will be able to race.

Training - Week 8

If you have been keeping track, you may be asking what happened to Week 7 or you may be asking if Emily has forgotten how to count. Work ended up being a bit more hectic than I imagined for Week 7 and then I spent the weekend in Houston so not a lot of training. On to Week 8!!

Monday was such a beautiful day that I decided to go to the park instead of hot yoga or the gym. My run was interesting in that I was sans ipod! Instead of music, I listened to snippets of all different conversations as well as nature - the wind, the birds, and the river. I know some people prefer to run with no music, I am not one of them. I much prefer my ipod!

The rest of the week went something like this - a couple swims, a bike ride, and a couple hot yoga classes which all led up to my first brick of the season on Sunday. Wow, I always seem to forget how hard the first 100 yards are after getting off my bike and starting off on the run.

I'm going to need to modify my upcoming week of training as I am coming down with an ear infection so probably no more swimming this week. This spurred me on to finally buy a pair of ear plugs for when I swim.

Only 2 weeks to go!!

Aloha Oe!

Aloha!! I found out I was going to Hawaii on the day of the "big" snow. I was dreaming of palm trees watching the swirling snow pile up. I actually "won" this trip to Hawaii - my company has a program where people can be nominated and then are chosen based on the nominations. I am not the first person in my group to win. Several years ago when Valerie won, Tiki came into her possession. Exactly where Tiki came from is a bit mysterious. Right before Valerie left, she was tasked with taking Tiki to Hawaii and taking pictures of him. When my boss won, Tiki showed up again. So I shouldn't have been surprised when Tiki showed up again with an ultimatum for me to take him with me to Hawaii.

With Tiki in my suitcase, I set off for Hawaii. I met Jana at the airport and we were off!! Except the bus had a flat tire. A new bus came for us and then we were off! We checked in and got directions to our room - across the lawn, up to the eighth floor, down the hall, down to the 3rd floor, across the breezeway, and then down to the second floor. Whew! We made it! We checked out our room and unpacked before heading back to the lawn for dinner. We were still pretty tired so after dinner we walked around and then headed back to our room.

The next morning breakfast was on the lawn and I got my picture taken as a "winner". We spent the rest of the day moving between the beach and the pool. During our time in the pool, Jana's sunglasses went missing for the first time. We circled back around the pool and found the glasses. I reapplied my sunscreen several times, but as it turns out it wasn't quite enough. Although, as sunburns go, it wasn't too bad. That night was a dinner where we were treated to fire dancing as the entertainment - it was great!

Thursday we spent the morning on a tour of the island. The guide's jokes were so bad that I barely laughed, and I pretty much laugh at anything. Our first stop was up in the mountains. It was at the second stop, at the aquarium, that Jana's sunglasses went missing for the second time. We walked back through the aquarium and found the sunglasses! Our next stop was at a plantation where they grow different fruits, including pineapples! After our tour we walked down to the shopping center near the hotel and did some shopping before heading back for the barbecue dinner.

Friday was snorkel day! We took a catamaran out to a cove. When we first started out, the captain warned us it was best to put our belongings, including our cameras, away since it was pretty windy so most likely we would get things wet. And then we came across a school of dolphins!! The dolphins were doing flips in the air, showing off for us, and me without my camera!! I'm never without my camera!! I ran back to get it but it was too late, the dolphins were gone. We made it to the cove and began our snorkeling adventure - wow!! It was incredible! The fishes, the coral - everything was amazing. Except when I got a little too close to the coral and scratched up my legs. Oops! I kept my camera with me on the way back but no dolphins. Oh well. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool. That night was a luau. It was really fun!

Saturday was a free day. I hadn't been feeling well the entire time (when I came home, I went to the doctor and found out I had bronchitis) and it came to a head Saturday morning. I stayed in the room, taking it easy, while Jana went to the pool. We met back up for our massages, which were fantastic! I was feeling much better by then and we spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the pool. We walked down the beach and found a restaurant where we could eat overlooking the ocean. As we were leaving the restaurant Jana realized she didn't have her sunglasses. They had turned up every other time, I wasn't too worried. Sure enough, we found the sunglasses!

Sunday it was time to say goodbye. Maui was amazing!!! I can't wait to go back!

Aloha!!

Training - Week 6

Happy Easter!!

Week 6 already?!  Where has the time gone?  I wasn't expecting to get a lot of training done this past week with work.  But I did manage to get in a run on the treadmill and a bike ride.   And now it is time to kick the training into high gear. 

I also did a bit of cross-training, in the form of hot yoga.  What started out as one hot yoga class turned into me doing two hot yoga classes back to back.  Remind to really think hard about doing a double next time, if there is a next time!!  

Hawaii pictures & a report are still forthcoming, bear with me.

Oh, and I guest-posted on Mandi's blog while she was gone.  Check it out!! 

Training - Week 4 & 5

Well, not much to report on the training front. I was in Hawaii (pictures and report to come later) so unless you count splashing in the pool as swimming, no training happened. And then I came home and found out the cold I thought I had was actually bronchitis, so then I just took it easy. I did manage to do 30 minutes on the stationary bike. Probably not too much training will happen this week either with work which leaves me with about 4 weeks left of good solid training. It is coming up quick!!

Training - Week 3

Wow - already the third week of training.  Another light-ish week with 2 swims and one bike ride.  The bike ride was once again me vs the elements, but what else can you expect in Seattle, especially in the month of March?  The wind wasn't nearly as bad as last week and the rain wasn't too bad until the end.  And now?  The sun is out.  Some consolation is the fact I'm leaving for Hawaii in a few days!  Not too much longer until I'm sipping a fruity drink on the beach!

I finished my bike ride, cold and wet.  What would be the best cure for that?  A steaming, hot latte!!  Too bad I gave up lattes for Lent.  Instead I settled for putting on my sweats and cuddling with a blanket.

And that brings me to now - sitting on my couch, wrapped in a blanket, watching basketball.  I love March Madness!!  The bracket busters, the Cinderellas, the last second clutch shots - I love it all!

Training - Week 2

It was a bit of a light training week - one swim and one bike ride.  The bike ride ended up being a bit interesting, due to the weather.  I woke up to snow this morning.  Snow, seriously?  Yes, snow.  Beware the ides of March, perhaps?  I loaded my bike up and fortunately after church the snow had been replaced by rain.  The rain slowly dissipated as I rode along and by the end of the ride the sun had come out!  I wasn't going too far as the purpose of this ride was really to reintroduce myself to my bike.  Legs, you remember pedaling, don't you?  The first half of the ride went really well, especially since I haven't been on a bike since last June!  The second half was more challenging as I was fighting against the wind.  But finally I arrived back at my car, my first bike ride over.  See you next week for more training updates!

Training - Week 1

Alright, here we go with my weekly training reports!! I signed up for the Danskin Triathlon in Orlando on May 10th and in Seattle on August 16th. To be perfectly candid, I didn't look too closely at the distances for the Orlando Triathlon thinking it would be similar to last year. That was a bit of a mistake on my part as the distances are longer, especially the bike portion which is now 12 miles. And then I looked at my calendar and realized between vacation (Hawaii here I come!) and my quarterly busy time at work there isn't a lot of time between now and May 10th. Now that I've looked at the distances and my calendar I have realized it is time for me to get into gear with my training which is where these weekly training entries will help me to hopefully stay on track!

After this long, wordy introduction I don't have much to report this week. I did go for a swim on Friday and I did bring my bike to the bike hospital for a check-up. It has been several years now since I got my bike and I thought it was a good idea to have it looked at to make sure everything is in good working order.

I also went for a run and once again ran for 1 mile continuously! I walked a little bit and then ran back 1 mile! It really helped that I had done it before so I knew I could do it.

Stay tuned for more updates...

31 Things Update

So it's probably about time for me to update my 31 Things list.  Let's see what I've been up to!

1. Travel to a country I've never been to before.  Done!  On my Austro-Hungarian adventure (aka my trip to Viennapest!  Thanks Jana for new word - I love it!) I visited Slovakia and Hungary, both new countries to me.

10. Bring my lunch to work (again no time frame associated with the one as I would be happy if I did it once!).  I'm going to count this as bringing my lunch to work - for a couple of weeks now I've gone to the grocery store on Monday and gotten sandwich fixings for the week.

22. Set aside some money and invest in the stock market.  Okay, so not the smartest goal for me to have actually accomplished considering the economy but I did finally take the plunge and promptly lost money but fortunately it wasn't a lot.  

23. Take a couple of weekend trips (Oregon coast, Vancouver B.C., etc.)  Woohoo!!  Over President's Day weekend I ventured down to Cannon Beach.

26. Finish up my 2005 photobook.  And done.  I also finished my 2008 book.  I haven't ordered it yet as I'm waiting for a coupon before ordering it, but it is finished.

31. And one I'll keep to myself for now.  Another personal accomplishment complete, only a few more to go.