Craziness to it's fullest........

Last weekend was the Half Iron Man that Brian and I had been training for, for about for months or so. When we signed up for this we didn't realize it was the WORLDS TOUGHEST HALF. However I did wonder what WTH stood for. LOL..... Two days before the race we received an e-mail from the race director stating that the temperature was an all time high of 97 degrees and they were thinking of shortning the course. I wrote him right away and said I was all for that:) When we arrived at orientation he then announced that he appreciated everyones e-mails and that everyone wanted to keep the race the same distance. I almost stood up and said "ummmmm excuse me that's not what I wrote". LOL.. S0 we began the race at 7 in the morning and the temperature ranged from 97 to 100 degrees throughout the whole race. This was a 1.3 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run so you can imagine how tired and exhausted I was and on top of it I had to make a conscious effort to drink water even when I wasn't thirsty. Everyone kept emphasizing how important it was for the athletes to stay hydrated. The swim was my biggest fear but it turned out to be the easiest thing for me. The Bike was CRAZY! On mile 10 someone yelled "you're almost there" I almost screamed back NO I"M NOT:) Hill after hill after hill could describe the bike. The Bike was trying but we both did a great job despite the fact that Brian had tried some new electrolite tablets in his water that made his stomach upset and the next thing I knew he was puking on mile 10. He looked at me and said he was done. I was soooooo extremely sad but was surprised when he caught me on mile 15 and said he was going to finish. Needless to say Brian is a trooper and even though he puked two to three times on the bike and twice on the run he still finished. He never gives up and that's something that admire in him. Of course there were times when I was thinking I can't believe we do this for fun but it really is a blast. The run was a trail run which added to the intensity of the race. The goal was to finish and we did. When I crossed the finish line I knew right away that I would do it again in a heart beat! I think I'm addicted:)

Here are some pictures that Brian's dad took of us. Thanks Clyde:)

And Brian thanks for being such a great friend and wonderful workout buddy. Couldn't have done it without you.

Yep, I'm Crazy

So my Half Iron Man is a week from today. This half Triathlon is considered "The Worlds Toughest Half ". It's a 1.3 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and a 13.1 mile TRAIL run. YIKES:) I've come to the conclusion that I'm completely crazy:) I'm extremely excited and I've been training really hard for this but I'm also extremely nervous about the whole thing. Tonight I was looking at the website and reading about the courses and all the details and I became a little overwhelmed with all the details and rules. As soon as I finished reading almost the whole website I started making my check list as well. I'm sure I've missed a few things but I have a week to get everything in order. Man I hope I remember everything, especially my bike:P I'm stressed. LOL....... Wish me luck:)

Click here to see the Aubern Half Triathlon website:O

HALF IRON MAN CHECK LIST:

SWIM:

wetsuit
goggles
Body glide
swim suit
Water bottle
Small towel
Medium towel
1 hammer gel

BIKE:

Bike
Bike shoes
socks
gloves
bike shorts
helmet
tank top
Racing belt
2 water bottles
4 hammer gels in water
6 gels
inner tube
1 co2 cartridge
Floor pump
Jacket - thermal

RUN:
running shoes
Hat?
4 hammer gels
Extra water bottle

Felt so loved:)

Yesterday was my 25th birthday and all I can say is I've never felt so loved:) The birthday celebration started three days ago with a surprise birthday party at Brian's house. It's so hard to surprise me because I'm so nosey and I always know what's going on in everyones life but this time they totally got me:) Brian, Emily and Summer got several of my close friends together for a nice relaxing day and a BBQ. If you know me, you know I love love love BBQ's and prefer that over eating out any day. It started at 2 in the afternoon and we all left the house around 10:00 and headed downtown for some Salsa dancing till 1:30 in the morning:) Talk about the perfect day.

Then on Tuesday Janey set up a wonderful dinner with all my close friends and we had the best dinner at a tiny Italian restaurant in Montecito. As I was sitting at the table with everyone I realized just how lucky I am to have the most amazing friends in the world. I know they would do anything for me and vise versa. Thank you to everyone who made my birthday so special. Also Janey surprised me with tickets to go see the Broadway show Wicked. AHHHHHHH, I'm sooo excited:)

I know several of my friends and family were either out of the country or out of town and yet they still found time to send me flowers, e-mails, text messages, gifts, or called me. Thanks for making my birthday so special. It was the best birthday week EVER:)

I wish we would have taken more pics but everyone was having such a great time I didn't even think to pick up my camera. LOL. Here's one pic that Emily got of my laughing my head off at one of the parties.

Maybe the Baby:)

I've been wanting to get a dog for awhile now but I know that my schedule will not permit it so Yesterday I dog sat Brian's dog Maybe all day and it was so fun:) She's the most adorable Brindle Boxer you will ever see. She's so funny because she's extremely clingy and she always has to be by your side or touching you. At one point I bent down to pick up something and sat on her. LOL... Don't worry, I didn't hurt her:) Everywhere I went she was there. So I decided to take my camera out and grab a few shots of her as well. She super photogenic don't you think? I think Brian is going to put the pics in her doggy book:P

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Recent Design:)

Wow, it's a little embarrassing that I haven't posted in a whole month:( YIKES!

Anyways, I just finished designing Jamie and Ryans matted wedding album. I loved loved loved this wedding. I just remember how extremely nice and pleasant everyone was. I just remember walking away from their wedding and feeling very thankful that I could be apart of it. Here are a couple of my favorite spreads from their album design.

Too see the whole slideshow click HERE:)