This past weekend I did something that I have always wanted to do. Yes – it was on my bucket list. Yes – I set a goal of doing it before I turned 30. And yes – those are the two “main” reasons for why I initially wanted to do it….but Sunday, as I participated in my first Triathlon, those weren’t the reasons I did it.

Yeah, I said Triathlon. As in…swim, bike and run. Heck yeah.

Just in case there’s ANY confusion – I did not finish first. I did not finish in the top 20. Ha! I didn’t even finish in the first half of the participants! Rather, I FINISHED. Yes. I. Did. I did the WHOLE triathlon, all by myself…and yet strangely, not all by myself.

The Danskin Triathlon Series is seriously wicked cool. All women, all walks of life, all ages, all fitness levels, all competing together and ALL ENCOURAGING EACH OTHER. Sure, there were the 20% who were out there to RACE. The rest of us had a darn good time and laughed, cheered, cried – all without having met each other before!

My friend Amy played the role of “trainer” for me – which she did REALLY well at. The first workout she ever gave me to do was, “Run at a comfortable pace for as long as you can and then tell me how long it was.” OK so that wasn’t the “whole” workout, but basically she needed to know where I was at…fitness-wise. Well, I geared up. New shoes, new workout clothes (DUH!), my iPod, my husband’s super cool Garmin watch to track my run via GPS and to know how long I ran for. I was ready.

I stepped outside, walked for about 5 minutes and then off I went. For half a block. And then I thought I was going to die…or at least pass out. So, I turned around and walked 5 minutes home and emailed Amy something along the lines of “Well, that didn’t go well! Turns out I’m worse off than I thought!”

Amy took me from basically ZERO … or negative … can a person be NEGATIVE fitness leveled?? And she brought me to being able to do a triathlon. Sure, it took me 2 hours and 14 minutes to do it. BUT I DID IT.

I should also spare you the confusion of thinking that somehow I just competed in one of those monster “Ironman” distance Triathlons. Nope – don’t be fooled! This girl did a Sprint distance Tri! There are several different levels of Triathlons, but all of them are some sort of endurance race which involves three different sports. (In the winter you don’t swim – you ski, snowshoe or do some other winter activity!) The Sprint I participated in was a 1/2 mile swim, a 12.4 mile bike and a 5K run.

Let me tell you just a few things that I learned, and then I’ll close, I promise.

1. I do not like swimming in lakes. It’s gross. The bottom is slimy and I have to check my feet for bloodsuckers. I’m a pool/beach kind of girl….unless I’m fishing in the lake…possibly with waders on!

2. Swimming in “waves” is tricky. If you are in the second to last wave of racers, you are the second to last group to start. BUT, you still have to stand there for an hour waiting for all of the other waves to go…and you have that much longer to be nervous for. THEN, when you do go, you now have the swimmers flailing about from your own group – right next to/on top of you…and then if you’re lucky enough to catch up to the wave in front of you, now there’s THEM to consider too! If you’re NOT lucky enough to go that fast, you will be “caught” by the wave behind you – and them girls are SERIOUS. Like, they are in their teens and 20s and they don’t mess around! I think I’d like to be SUPER fast and go first next time. Or be SUPER SLOW and after everyone passes me, have the whole lake to myself!

3. The count-down to start is 10 seconds. If you want a little more time between you and the other swimmers, you can count to 10 again! (20 second delayed start) If you want even MORE time between you and the other swimmers, you can count to 10, go out in the water, trip, have leaky goggles (due to the massive amounts of sunscreen you’ve plastered on yourself), fumble with your nose plug – yes, you are the ONLY one with a nose plug! – and then do some coughing and sputtering while everyone else leaves you behind. I wonder who THAT girl was?!

4. You can’t see in the water in a lake. Not until just before a big ol’ leg kicks you in the head – but by then it’s too late.

5. When swimming in a pool, it’s EASY to practice “sighting”…which is knowing where you’re going. In fact, it’s deceivingly easy! You think you’re really good at it until you get to open water. THEN you find yourself swimming out towards the middle of the lake LONG after you should have turned around (1/4 mile mark) and you have a little chat with the nice guy in a rescue boat. He informs you that the race is going in the other direction. Oops. You then think – I’ve got this! – and you head to shore. Because how hard is it to head to shore? It’s the big thing right in front of you!! Nobody mentioned that those sneaky bouys sneak up on you!! I took a break/had to stop before something dramatic happened and BAM! There was the bouy! Found it. At least this time I was headed in the right direction.

6. People expect you to RUN during transition. (The time between each part of the race.) So you’re supposed to swim a 1/2 mile (or whatever). Then they want you to RUN through the sand, up the bank, up the hill, down the trail, into the transition area…and then you are supposed to get ready to bike. And you are NOT supposed to sit down! Amy…I want you to know, I didn’t sit down!! (See picture below to confirm.) But I also didn’t run….

7. Biking with a group is totally different than biking by yourself. Biking on a real road is also totally different than biking on a trail. Biking with a group ON a real road is a recipe for disaster. Thank GOODNESS the cars knew to get out of my way…

8. Clermont has HILLS. I didn’t believe it either, but it’s true.

9. When you see a hill approaching…or rather, when you are approaching a hill…on a bike….DOWNSHIFT. Do not try to POWER through the hill. This will result in you having to get off your bike, being passed by all of the people who are walking their bikes up the hill (that you so proudly rode past just seconds before), and possibly puking on the side of the road. Fortunately for me, I was able to keep it together. Mostly.

10. The chant “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming” works for almost anything. For instance, pedaling up a long hill in a VERY low gear….just keep pedaling, just keep pedaling….see?! It works!

11. Don’t be proud of passing people on your bike. Pride goes before you getting passed on the run by ALL the people you  passed on the bike. Oh well.

12. You do not have to RUN during the run portion. It is encouraged – especially if you want to win, or even do “good” in the race. It is not, however, necessary. Amy…I did run…just not a lot. See #13.

13. You can run for about 3 minutes and then walk. That is the amount of trail that people are “spectating” … watching and cheering. You can now proceed to walk the rest of the “run” until you get back to this same place. You should start running now, to give the appearance of an athlete who is finishing strong!! A LOT of us did this.

14. OK so 13 was a bit of an exaggeration, I did run SOME of the run, other than the initial bit and the last bit. I did find it funny to play “leap frog” with other racers….I’d pass them, they’d pass me. I’d pass them, they’d pass me. They didn’t find this as amusing as I did for some reason.

15. You will cry when you finish. It’s pretty much guaranteed. It might be because You. Did. It. It might also be because you’re finished and you have to REALLY go to the bathroom and there’s a 20-person line in front of you. Whatever….

So all in all, it was awesome. I’m hooked. I plan to do as many races as I have time for. It was SO much fun and anyone who wants to join me should!! (You are not too old OR too out of shape. I walked for 10 minutes of the race with a lady from Texas who was 67 years old. She was NOT the oldest of the day. And I, who am not “small and fit” by any means, was VERY average in size/fitness level and found myself cheering the loudest for the women who were over 300 pounds – and THEY. DID. IT. All of it!! It was awesome to be a part of something where so many of us challenged ourselves to something you would never think we could do.

I told EVERYBODY who would listen to me that I was going to do it. Not because I was proud of it but the opposite – I figured I’d SHAME myself into doing it. If people know that I am doing it, they will ask and I’ll be embarrassed if I quit! So thank you to ALL of you who let me tell you that I was doing this race. Because of you and the inevitable shame I’d have to live with if I’d quit, I did what I set out to do.

Amy, thank you. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I appreciate your expertise, your encouragement, your help, all your “stuff” you let me borrow….Thank you SO much! And I love that we became friends – real friends – because of it!!

Matt, Mom, Grandma, Sara, Sarah, Granny, Peggy, Angela & Christina….and anyone else who watched my rugrats so I could train…thank you. I would NEVER have been able to run further than 1/2 a block if you hadn’t been willing to be the wrangler of my wild monkeys while I trained!

Matt, thanks for going with me and hanging out all morning with strangers. Thanks for taking embarrassing pictures of me. (They aren’t embarrassing because of you, they’re embarrassing because of ME!) Thanks for letting me go a little postal on the hotel people and for driving us across town to a new hotel late at night. (Another story – and I was totally justified, FYI.) Thanks for letting me eat all of the things I wanted to eat all weekend. Thanks for running with me, biking with me, not yelling at me when I would take too many breaks….you know, all of it!

To the rest of you….I’m pretty sure I’ll regret posing any pictures at a later date but right now I’m so excited that I finished what I set out to do, that I’m willing to say “who cares!” and share my sweaty self with you. Also, every SINGLE one of us looked silly in the “sausage” shorts and tri tops. I surely didn’t look “good” but only about 2% can really rock that look. haha!

I really don’t have time NOR do I have the know-how to do this part of the process…and I thought of somebody I’d chatted with briefly over a year ago. Her name is Tracy of TracyAnnDigitalArt  from Etsy. I am SO SO SO excited about this next part. She’s an artist and she designs clip art, digital paper and other design & photography resources but after talking about my colors and my favorite patterns, she took some time and came back with several papers and patterns in MY colors, just for me! How exciting is that?!? Here’s what she sent…I cannot wait to use these!

I noticed in her store that she has a sale going on (excludes licensing & custom work) but she has some of the most BEAUTIFUL papers I have ever seen. Perfect for scrapbooking and decorating.

I married Matthew (another of our friends) and a few years after that these two married. Their first son came along…my own little “Victor-Vito”. (If you get this song reference then you should win something!) And then just over a half a year ago, Max joined their little family. I love these people. Like…seriously. I love that we knew each other in our teens, as young adults…and now as “grown-ups”. Yup. We’re all grow-ed up now. And I love that even if we only touch base once a month…it isn’t weird. We pick up right where we left off, have an awesome time…and then look forward to the next time we get to see each other.

Well that was a mouthful! Anyway, Isaac had some family in town at the same time as Veronica’s grandma and we talked about getting together and getting some family pictures. It was a LOT like a wedding…with no bride. No stressed out people. No cake. Hey Veronica! There wasn’t any cake!! We need to fix that.

Unfortunately I was unable to pick just a couple pictures because I knew that there would be quite a few of these family members wanting to see these pictures….so everybody needed to be included. So if you get bored – sorry – but I think they’re all just so beautiful and happy and that makes me really happy!

Love you I & V! So glad I could do this for you guys and your sweet families.

La had just eaten a cookie so her mama suggested she let Olive eat it – which she actually did!! Honestly, if I was La, I’d have scarfed that thing down so fast that 2 year old would’ve thought it was just a dream…..Here’s a little bit of my morning. Good times!

{Oh – and if you haven’t seen the Babyourself Magazine yet…where have you been? Ha! Just kidding – I don’t talk about it too much anymore – but I love collaborating with them and participating in photo shoots and anywhere else they need me. They truly are one of the coolest magazines around – filled with encouraging, caring, funny – sometimes “I think I peed myself funny!” – content and you can read it all online if you haven’t seen one in person yet. Check it out HERE!}

I love writing though – and I love blogging. I’m not sure why….I think there’s something about having your words and thoughts “out there”. Where ANYONE can read them. It’s like…living on the edge. (That tells something about how simple and dull my life is, right?) And I am ALWAYS writing in my head. I’ll drive down the road, doing the same round trip route that I drive three times a day, and I am composing in my head. No, not music. Emails. Letters. Blog content. Text messages. Facebook Messages. What I will say to “this person” when I see them next.

It’s actually a really useful way to get your thoughts organized – except for one major fault. I am driving, I can’t write it down, I can’t “copy & save” for later….and as soon as I have the thought it’s inevitably gone for good. In fact – I’ll have you know that I almost ALWAYS have great blog content – I just don’t ever actually BLOG it.

If you have ever wondered why I haven’t replied to your email….have no fear, I have replied to it. In my head. What, you say? That doesn’t count? I think it should. OK not really, but as soon as I’ve composed the email/blog/message/whatever in my head, it’s as good as written and sent. As far as my feeble brain is concerned, it’s checked off the list. How’s THAT for honesty? And so, when I realize my shortcoming (which is often), I’ll write and explain to you  - maybe to the HOUR – when I “wrote” you back before….and that I had just now realized it wasn’t ACTUALLY sent to you.

Well, that’s enough for today. No need to clutter up cyber-space with nonsense and all….and I promise next time to think of something more interesting to say.

Teri and Ron wanted to do their session at the exact spot they were married – which was special in and of itself – and so we wandered around at the Mennello Museum of American Art in Orlando. They showed me the exact spot they were married, we wandered over to the lake where they did their portraits as a married couple – so how cool to have these images in the same place?

Their little one is very much loved and anticipated, and I truly can’t wait to meet him….although probably NOT as much as THEY can’t wait to meet him.

Stacy is not only THE SWEETEST person you will ever meet, but she is a great teacher who pours all of her knowledge and skill into her workshops. I promise you will not leave without a brain and heart FULL of “Stacy”! You will NOT regret it.

Any-who….it’s time to send you over to the LAUNCH blog where you can enter to win a seat. Keep in mind that her workshops are usually limited to about 10 women so that personal attention and LOTS of conversation can be had (think Q & A!) – so they fill up fast, if you are wanting to purchase a seat. (And if you WIN, you get your registration fee refunded!)

So go on over and give Stacy some love…tell her I sent you.

LAUNCH BLOG HERE!

And, as always, this post needs a little snazzing up. Here’s a picture Stacy took of me, a thousand months pregnant with Olivia… Yeah. You read that right. A THOUSAND months. Sheesh!

There is ANOTHER phenomena which may not have been explained before – but I’m going to do it today. There is a BIG downside to being the friend of a photographer. Yep – you read that right! You’d think that it’d be a perk – as you spend time together, your photographer friend gets out his or her camera and snaps a few pics of you and your family….presto! Fun and happy pictures from your friend the photographer, right? Nope. That’s not how it goes.

THIS is how it goes…you hang out with your well-meaning photographer friend. She DOES, in fact, bring her camera along (in this case, because she hasn’t seen you for a long time and wants to do something special for you) and then, she promises you that she will go home and look at them, edit them, and send them your way. So you, the friend of the kind photographer, go home and wait. And wait. And after a while, you probably forget. (Or you kindly SAY you have forgotten, because you do not want to bother your photographer friend….who, being completely a ditz, has TOTALLY forgotten she ever even TOOK the pictures.) Then, no less than three months later, your photographer friend happens across the pictures on her computer, feels incredible shame, edits them and throws them up on the internet with a lame excuse. Yup. THAT’S what it’s like being the friend of a photographer.

Yes…this is a true story. There are a few things to be learned here….1 – don’t be a friend of a photographer. NOT! haha! 2 – if you don’t ever hear back from your photographer friend about the pics she took, PLEASE email her or text her or otherwise harrass her because I guarantee…she forgot. And she’s totally ashamed and NEEDS a reminder. Haha!! 3 – don’t ask your photographer friend to take pics of you if you need them in a short amount of time. She apparently is lame and can’t be trusted unless you are paying her. Let’s agree – that’s REALLY stupid.

In all seriousness, I forgot about these pictures. And it’s such a sweet family that I love and miss every day! So finding these on my computer, editing them and then now sending the pictures to them….it makes my heart very happy….even if it is three months late and LONG past an appropriate amount of time. Sorry JD & E!!

This little dude fell asleep and let me take my time, visit with his parents, play with his big brother….all in all one of the easiest little munchkins I’ve had the pleasure of photographing yet! Thanks Zachary! You spoiled me.

One of the things that I feel like I have the chance to give my clients is the knowledge that we WILL get great pictures. And if the weather isn’t good, we’ll reschedule or try again. If the kids are “off” and I don’t get what I need – you’re not out of luck, we’ll play again another time! And Jimmy was AWESOME – but also not as sleepy as newborns can sometimes be, and so he got tired of me (shocker, huh!?) So I got to meet with the little cuddle-bug again – and OH my did we enjoy ourselves!

I love the newborn age – all squishy and snuggly. But three months – they are smiling, laughing, and still squishy and snuggly! The best of both worlds. Here are a few of my favorites from our “make-up” session together…

OH! and yes. I am trying out a new watermark. It might be too annoying…we’ll see….