Happy Birthday Jennifer!

It's impossible to believe, but this wonderful little girl is now an adult.

She is now the mom of these two beautiful children.

Happy Birthday Jeni. May this year bring you joy and happiness.

And Now The Calendars Just One Page

Hmm. It's been two weeks, you say? I don't know how that happened. December has been a whirlwind.

I'm visiting my parents for the holiday. The trip from the West Coast to the East Coast was a challenge. There was ample time to meditate while we sat on the runway for hours. Then there was some "quality time" in the terminal at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Sure, I ended up in a different airport than the one I had on my itinerary, but it was fine. My dad drove to get me at 2 a.m. He's a trooper.

When it's all said and done, I did make it home for Christmas Eve unlike some people I met in at O'Hare. If you look closely at the blurry camera phone photo, you'll see the cots that were set up in the airport terminal. That's no way to spend the holiday.


I hope that all of you find your way home for the holidays. Merry Christmas!

Rose Bowl Half Marathon Photos

How incredibly cute are these to volunteers. They were giving our pretzels and licorice. I love kids who give me candy.





The flickr set is available even though I look completlay dorkay in all the photos.

Rose Bowl Half Marathon

It was a beautiful event and I don't think that's the 4 beers I had in the post-race beer garden talking. Steve and I weren't the fastest we've ever been, but we both loved the course even though it was 8 miles of uphill. Today, everything about the event was well done. Yes, the trails were muddy after two days of rain, but they were easily passable. The course volunteers were fantastic and supportive. It was one of the most lovely courses I've ever raced.

It was certainly a reward after yesterday's comedy of errors. Lets just say that getting to Pasadena was not a smooth journey. It culminated with Steve and I driving back to parking lot where we'd been 30 minutes earlier to find something that had fallen out of the car. Oh, and we were searching the parking lot in the dark and in the rain. It was an adventure.

Kudos to the event organizers for putting on a great inaugural race. And 3 cheers for allowing finishers to tour the Rose Bowl stadium. For a Big Ten girl like me, that was an extra treat.

Waiting for Amelia Lynn

Ashlee and Roger are going to welcome their daughter Amelia Lynn to the world today. Hurry up and get here Amelia - we love you already!

Update:
She's here! Little Lia is 6lbs 10oz and 18.5 inches. Mom, Baby and Dad are reported to be doing fine. Photos as available.

Update 2:
Here she is. Meet Miss Lia.

Tony Testosteroni and the Spinners!

My Team In Training teammates have mostly been women. One thing about working out with women is that we are very, very supportive of each other. Are we competitive? Yes, but we want to see each other succeed. I don't want to crush my competitors; I want to beat them on their best day.

So it's with some amusement that I watch the men in my spin class. There are three men, all about 45, who compete without mercy. If one cranks up his resistance, then the other two crank theirs too. If one is doing stability work with one hand, then other two try for no hands. It's a constant battle for superiority. They aren't friends; they don't seem to know each other at all. They don't even do the smile, nod and chit-chat that the rest of us do before class. Make no mistake this is a battle for the alpha-dog crown collar.

Sometimes I see women who compete with other women to be prettiest. These women are obsessed with thinness, plastic surgery and botox. That makes me heartbroken. When I watch these three guys in my spin class, it makes me realize it's not any easier schlepping a penis. The boys are competitive too.