tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358129006863530552024-03-04T22:24:54.424-08:00Keep Moving ForwardThe journey to training for Ironman Arizona 2011 and then figuring out how to deal with life post-IronmanJessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.comBlogger207125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-56966914792271701662013-10-08T18:58:00.000-07:002013-10-11T22:43:21.772-07:00Zachary's Birth Story<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A lot of people have been asking me why Zachary came so early. Sometimes babies are just ready to come out. Or maybe my body didn't want to be pregnant anymore. My blood pressure was slowly on the rise month by month, but it wasn't considered "high" yet. Maybe I lifted something heavy the night before. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I don't know the answer. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What I do know is that in the grand scheme of things, I was extremely fortunate over the last nine months. I'm pretty slow when it comes to endurance events. But apparently, my body is extremely efficient when it comes to getting pregnant, being pregnant, and delivering a baby.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Nick's paternal grandma passed away the week before Zachary was born. Nick flew up to Vancouver to attend the services. I stayed back for obvious reasons. I asked him what would happen if I did go into labor while he was away. Throughout the pregnancy, neither one of us rarely talked to my belly. But he did lean over and say to it, "You stay in there until I get back, ok?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fast forward to September 26, I stood up from my desk around 9:30pm to go to the bathroom and then drive to the airport to pick up Nick from SFO. Upon standing, there was a noticeable gush. Once I realized I hadn't actually peed my pants, I called Labor & Delivery and told them what happened. I wasn't in any pain and had no contractions. The nurse recommended I lie down for 20 minutes, make sure the baby was still moving, and if there was any trickling when I stood up again, then it was most likely it was the "bag of waters." Assuming that was the case (which it was), then I needed to get my husband to drive me to the hospital. The small glitch in that plan was that Nick was still flying back from Vancouver.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I called my mom. Then I called Rob and Eileen, college friends of Nick, who recently had a similar experience (water breaking/early baby) to get confirmation that what was happening to me was similar to what had happened to her. Robbie offered to go pick up Nick. At first I thought it was burdensome. But then I rationalized that it would be good for Nick to be in the car with Rob rather than in a taxi so that Rob could prepare him for what would happen next. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Although I still wasn't having any contractions, I knew that labor was inevitable so I threw in a load of newborn clothes. I was obsessing that I didn't have any washed clothes to bring the baby home in. I finished packing our bags. Nick arrived around 11:30pm and we finished up a few things around the house and headed to the hospital. I had eaten very little for dinner that night and was starving. Knowing that it could possibly be 24 hours before I ate again, we stopped where everyone else seems to go before having a baby -- In-N-Out -- so I would have some sustenance for the next umpteen hours or so. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I checked in to triage at 1:30am. They confirmed it was the "bag of waters" (such a silly name), and the doctor said I needed to be induced (something I did not want so I had to throw that part of the birth plan out the window). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Emotionally I was mourning the loss of the four weeks that I was about to take off from work. State of California gives you disability four weeks prior to your due date. The following day was going to be my last day of work. I knew the baby was coming and all of the things I had planned for those next four weeks was no longer going to happen (sadly, you cannot add those four weeks on to your leave postpartum). In addition, Nick's birthday, our first anniversary, and our BabyQ party was planned for that Saturday. We were going to have to cancel the party. And, I had just purchased enough food to feed 35 people! I was shooting myself in the foot for actually being proactive. Forget the thoughts that a baby was coming. I was upset about losing disability leave and having 20lbs of meat in my fridge!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Pitocin started at 3am. The birthing class we took never mentioned that if you are on Pitocin, then you have to be on a fetal monitor. I asked for the wireless monitor and it happened to be broken. So now I was hooked to a machine and no matter which way I turned, the monitor would lose the heartbeat and then the nurse would come back in to re-adjust. I was annoyed not only with having to constantly adjust the monitor, but also the noise it makes. In my</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> elevated mental state the sound was equivalent to nails on a chalkboard. I was also on an IV for penicillin (because I hadn't made it to 36 weeks yet), Pitocin, and sugar water. The nurse couldn't find a vein in my arm, so she went through my hand. Not only did it sting, but it prevented me from being able to do any hands and knee positions and I had to resort to elbows. Although it shouldn't be a surprise, what I learned about this experience is that being in labor made me extremely irritable. Despite those things, I did pretty well for the first few hours and was very appreciative that Nick was there lockstep with me for every single contraction helping me through it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The nurse kept asking if I wanted an epidural and I said no because I wanted to walk around. She told me the only place I could walk was the little 2x4 space near the machine because I had to stay hooked up to the fetal monitor. At that point (7:30am), I asked for an epidural. If they were going to confine me to the bed, then there was no point to try to "work through" the contractions with position changes and breathing exercises. She checked me and said I was only 1/4cm dilated and said I could not get an epidural until 4cm. She offered me fentanyl, to "take the edge off", but that it would only last an hour. The fentanyl was great. It makes you feel drunk and I think I managed to sleep for 2-3 minutes at a time in between contractions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My mom called at that point. Mark was on a 6am flight back from Phoenix and she was going to pick him up at 8 from San Jose and drive up to Walnut Creek. I told Nick to tell her not to come until around noon. If I was only 1/4cm, then it was going to be a very very long day and I didn't want them sitting around. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At 8:30am the drug had worn off and I was in increasing pain. A new shift of nurses came on. At one point, my vocalization must have changed significantly. She looked at me and asked, "Jessica, where does it hurt?" I told her the pressure was in my rectum. She immediately checked me and said, "You're at 9cm. You're going to have a baby in a few minutes." Total shock and awe. How did I go from 1/4cm to 9cm in only an hour? This meant I was not going to have an epidural after all. I told Nick to call my mom to get up to Walnut Creek immediately. Everything started changing in the room. More people came in. The bed shifted. All the baby stuff came out. The midwife arrived. I did not want to deliver on my back, but once again, that fetal monitor was a hindrance and they informed me it was the only way I could deliver while hooked on a fetal monitor. Around 9am, the pushing began and all of it was a blur. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The pushing part was overwhelming for my mind to process. There were too many things to remember at once. For each push, I would forget at least one of the things I was supposed to be doing. At one point, the nurse grabbed my face and said, "Listen to me" and then told me what to do. At another point, I remember an oxygen mask being put on me for a minute because I wasn't breathing correctly. The weirdest thing of all was pushing without making any noise. At first I thought she was going Katie Holmes on me (the silent birth). But she told me she needed all of my energy to go to the baby and that if I made noise, then I was wasting energy out of my mouth. Smart lady....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At 9:24am on September 27, little Zachary was born. I'm not going to say it didn't hurt. But it was not as bad as I expected it would be. Of course, with him being pre-term, he weighed only 5lbs 5oz so there's no doubt his small size made things easier than a full-term baby. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I envy the woman who has a photogenic picture within a few minutes of delivery...</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After delivering, I was shaking uncontrollably and I asked the nurse why I was shaking so much. She said, "Because you just did a marathon in record time." The irony is that it took me longer to complete a marathon than it did to labor and deliver. </span><br />
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Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-47457677229807568992013-08-22T11:40:00.000-07:002013-08-26T11:41:28.987-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Family Giving Tree</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - A beautiful wedding in Woodside. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - Kitchen starting to look like a kitchen!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - Sold our table and chairs on Craig's List. And he even paid full price. Score!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - Makeup - Natalie's sister always teaches me and introduces me to something new</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - Celebrating my Uncle Rick's birthday in SLC with family and friends. And Natalie for being my personal taxi and driving me all over town to run errands. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - The St. Regis Deer Valley - a ride up the funicular to the top, champagne sabering at sunset (where they slice the top with a knife), and a delicious meal with coworkers and partners. </span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-41800147277140547812013-08-15T22:40:00.000-07:002013-08-19T22:40:56.166-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Each week I update this blog a few times with what I'm thankful for. And each week, I forget to actually publish it on a Thursday! Go figure....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Fridays...it was a tough week and so happy it's over. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - Lake del Valle with friends and family</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - Craigs List - I think I've been thankful for CL before for selling my things on it. This time I'm thankful because I found the crib I wanted on there. I'm sorry, but I'm not spending more money on a baby's furniture than I did on my own bedroom furniture. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - Hilton Garden Inn - finally got a good enough rate to stay at a hotel near the office (thanks to using another company's corporate rate....ssshhhh). I always found it ironic that I could stay at any hotel I wanted in Los Angeles -- from 3 star to 5 star for $125 a night. Yet in Minneapolis, all the hotels start at $159. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - Gel nail polish - totally worth the extra $10 to not have to wait for them to dry</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - Otis Spunkmeyer - damn he makes a good cookie. It's a good thing Nick and I weren't dating when he used to work there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - CLEAR membership - Hertz lost my driver's license. It's a long story. Even though they don't have the CLEAR program at MSP, they somehow were able to look me up, validate my identity, and let me go through Security without all the extra pat downs. I am grateful because I would have missed my flight otherwise. </span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-53713286394281436642013-08-08T20:54:00.000-07:002013-08-14T20:55:09.252-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - The hole in the kitchen wall -- so much fun to use this "entrance" before it gets patched up in a few days. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - Kaiser classes -- today's was on breastfeeding. I can't decide if it's genius or impersonal to get all your information through various classes rather than from the doctor. I suppose if I was a doctor, I would not want to be repeating the same stuff to my patients all of the time, day in and day out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - Celebration of life - A family friend will be passing on soon. We used to go camping every summer with them where we would dive for abalone and then cook it all up (my job was to pound the crap out of it because abalone is very tough). Anyway, he wanted to have a big party and see everyone while he was still alive. How can you say no to that?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - Breakfast at home -- the eating out thing is getting old with the lack of kitchen. But at least breakfast is super easy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - Pulled an 18 hour work day and was actually ok with it. Not that I like working that much. But just the fact that it was an extremely productive workday with many accomplishments. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - Only 10lbs gained so far -- I was avoiding the scale at home because I feel and look as if I've gained 30 lbs. So it was a happy surprise at the doctor's office. I'm hoping it's not because I have lost a ton of muscle, although I'm sure I have. I'm supposed to gain 11 more lbs between now and the due date, so I'm right on track. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - Another class -- this one was learning all the things that no one likes to talk about -- like that you may not poop for 3-5 days after giving birth, what a sitz bath is, or that you will need to wear diapers for awhile. The winner was that you only need to call your doctor if you happen to pass a blood clot larger than a lemon (but I guess you don't if it's the size of a lime?). Seriously?!?!</span><br />
<br />Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-56211269353845929992013-08-01T20:59:00.000-07:002013-08-04T20:59:52.040-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Signed the papers on our house! Buying a house you already live in so very anti-climactic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - Napa with college friends - I can't partake in the wine, but food and company are still really good!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Finally watched The Queen. I have this weird affinity toward Princess Diana and can't believe it took me so long to finally watch this movie. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - Trader Joe's dark caramels</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - Barnes & Noble - While I do most of my book buying on Amazon or just straight through a Kindle these days, it's still nice to visit a bookstore sometimes and I really do hope they can remain in business. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - Demolition of our kitchen - A demolished kitchen isn't really anything to be thankful for, but I am thankful for the opportunity to be able to get rid of it and to design a new one!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - 1st day of August! Birthday month begins! :)</span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-2470288645203108002013-07-25T12:46:00.000-07:002013-07-29T12:47:13.788-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Body pillow to support baby - I didn't bring my pillow to Tahoe and slept miserably, but Costco has fancy ones they are selling for $12.99 right now. Score! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - Cooling off in Lake Tahoe - Nick ran 34 miles in 95 degree weather. I was so hot and I was just sitting on a bleacher under a tent. But after he was done, we went to Zephyr Cove to cool off in the water and sit on the beach. I also got to build a hole in the sand so I could lie on my stomach. It was glorious!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - Fresh vegetables from the farm</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - Natalie was here to help me start packing up the kitchen. Remodel begins July 30!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - Colosimo's sausage (courtesy of Miss Natalie)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - Awesome results on SanDisk project - I was hired for a really short term project to improve the amount of time they were spending in the system and it's an 80% reduction in work for them now!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - Zucchini - I really should just start growing my own. </span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-6400975000684728712013-07-18T12:28:00.000-07:002013-07-29T12:28:26.085-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Summer rolls - I really enjoy making these for summer parties, but I don't know how you can possibly make them in only 70 minutes. I swear it takes 70 minutes just to prep and then 2 hours to roll the dang things! Maybe it's because I usually triple the recipe, so it takes 3 times as long...</span><br />
<a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/shrimp-summer-rolls-recipe/index.html"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/shrimp-summer-rolls-recipe/index.html</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - Had to take the 3 hour glucose test and passed well under the range. *sigh*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - No traffic driving in to the City and found parking immediately, which happened to be right in front of the restaurant!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - Started some consulting work for Intel again. Thankful that I still have relationships with so many people there and can help them improve their processes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - Yoga. It was actually quite humbling considering my uterus is the size of a soccer ball and I'm extremely limited in what I can do. But I'm inspired to go to pre-natal yoga now so I can learn how to properly modify the positions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - a local client. The traffic is AWFUL. But at least I am not on a plane. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - Being 4 hours away from Tahoe. One of the most beautiful places in the US!</span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-25470856055191631832013-07-11T11:18:00.000-07:002013-07-11T11:18:32.015-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Floating holidays</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - Quality paint - Accidentally bought a $70 can of paint instead of a $40 can of paint. Best mistake ever made.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - Fiber Gummies - been getting really bad heartburn from oatmeal and whole grains. Found these and they work great. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - Tylenol</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - SF Creamery - I'm going to say it's the best ice cream I've ever had (so far)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - Crockpots</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - Online banking</span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-813391629317111612013-07-04T08:20:00.000-07:002013-07-11T08:51:27.671-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Woke up in beautiful Sunriver, OR. Great place. Highly recommend a visit!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - Pacific Crest Festival - what a great event! There are 2 bike tours, a 5K, 10k, kids run, marathon, half marathon, Olympic distance tri, half distance tri, and a duathlon all on the same weekend. I was originally supposed to be racing the Olympic tri as my race for this year, but since I can't ride a bike for another 6 months or so, I had to drop.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - I can still walk 3 miles! Signed up for the Pacific Crest 5K with my sis, who drove down from Portland. It was not hard, but I had a hard time keeping up with this other very pregnant lady I saw. I think she was a runner. I walked as fast as I could the entire time and it still took me 18 minutes to walk each mile. I'm blaming the elevation! I tried to run a little, but it was so much pressure on my bladder I thought I would pee my pants. Coincidentally a camera crew caught me one of the few times I was jogging.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.ktvz.com/news/sunriver-races-draws-elite-athletes-tiny-tots/-/413192/20780756/-/aa7244z/-/index.html"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">http://www.ktvz.com/news/sunriver-races-draws-elite-athletes-tiny-tots/-/413192/20780756/-/aa7244z/-/index.html</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The funny thing was that when I crossed the finish line I got a giant medal. For a 5K! I'm not a bling junkie like a lot of half marathoners and triathletes are. But I laughed when I realized Nick and I would have the same medal and tech tee at the end of the day. He was racing his butt off in 95 degree whether while I went for a walk. Oh the irony...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - Floating down the Deschutes River</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - Arm coolers</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - Staycations aren't so bad</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - America's Independence</span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-11808141878366970422013-06-27T14:33:00.000-07:002013-07-10T14:34:27.709-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Bay Cities Deli - Nick's mom drove up from LA and asked if I wanted anything from the area. I love the meatballs from this shop in Santa Monica so she picked some up for us.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - The ripple effect - some good friends of Nick got married and it was a beautiful and they kept telling us how our wedding was inspiration for theirs. It's possible they were a little bit drunk. But a great compliment nonetheless!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - Har gow</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - working at the bicycle company again. It felt great to be back in such a welcome and warm environment compared to the 4 months in Connecticut.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - Jimmy John's -- freaky fast -- freaky good!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - "Getting Things Done"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - snow cones</span></div>
Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-17787481524733795482013-06-20T20:58:00.000-07:002013-06-25T21:23:04.746-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So many things to be grateful for this past week, but mainly it was my last week working in Connecticut!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Finally starting the process for a kitchen remodel. Paperwork is signed! Now we just need to pick everything out and finalize the design. I am also grateful for my mom. It's convenient to have an architect in the family when you are trying to figure this stuff out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - a Breakfast at Tiffany's themed bridal shower. Thankfully, I had a very forgiving black dress that I can still fit into and found some pearls from an old costume party to wear. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - Air traffic control - have you ever pondered the pure complexity and logistics that goes behind managing air traffic? It's quite mind boggling to learn how much goes on that we don't even think/know about (especially the documentary on air traffic the morning of 9/11)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - Haribo - the original gummi bears!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - red meat - I enjoy a good steak once every few months and am a fan of In-N-Out. But over the past month or so, I've been desiring red meat a lot more often. The best part is that lots of happy kicking goes on during any lunch or dinner consisting of steak. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - I finally passed Level 147 in Candy Crush. I swear I have played this level 5 times before bed every night for 3 weeks. This movie trailer about Candy Crush is hilarious.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - Hopefully, the last trafficky 70 mile drive to JFK and 6 hour flight home in a very long time! Finally heading back to my happy work environment in Minnesota. </span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-77722789856417192232013-06-13T11:37:00.000-07:002013-06-14T11:37:24.096-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - A very healthy alien growing in there! It has all critical organs and likes to move a lot. Wondering if this is any indication of what's to come. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - A day with no plans. Those are rare occurrences and I enjoyed every minute of it. Painted the master bath, cleaned, watched some shows and a movie, etc. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - As much as I'm tired of flying, at least I am still enjoying the Jet Blue experience. Business travelers are generally loyal to an airline and get stubborn about switching. I will probably never get enough TrueBlue points to redeem anything. But with more room in coach than the others, satellite TV, unlimited snacks, and the Dasani water bottles, it's worth it to miss out on 5000 miles a week with Star Alliance (where I get treated like crap, shoved in the back row, middle seat, and don't even get a bag of pretzels). With all the mergers of the airlines, even if you have status, if it's not Premium status, you're still screwed because there are just too many people in the program now. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - Massages</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - Catching up via phone with great friends</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - Ice cream - there is this little farm across the street from the hotel called Wells Hollow Creamery. The ice cream is delicious and for a quarter you can also buy food to feed the goats!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - Made it home despite all the terrible weather back east. Delayed a few hours, but at least I got to sleep in my own bed. </span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-67799009865124895542013-06-06T21:53:00.000-07:002013-06-09T21:53:52.011-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Installed a new dishwasher. Of course, we ran into multiple issues along the way, and it wasn't a "piece of cake" like Sears said it would be. But it was still worth doing ourselves instead of paying $120 for someone else to do it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - Redwood Regional Park - the team had a run here this morning so I went and walked through the redwoods. I had no idea we had redwoods in the East Bay. I thought they were only in South, Peninsula, and North Bay!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - Arriving safely in Connecticut after a 3 hour delay, an hour at Hertz due to a SNAFU, and a 120 mile drive in a thunderstorm. It was not fun or safe and am thankful.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - I was part of a workshop all day in back in the Leadership Center at work. This means gourmet lunch. Today's menu included shrimp, scallops, and grilled lamp chops. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tue - A nectarine, blueberry, and arugula salad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - Orange juice. I eat and drink an awful lot of citrus since I've been pregnant. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - NCIS. I was never really"in" to this show, but it's always on the USA network these days. Since I've been flying JetBlue to JFK, I basically just set the channel to USA and can read or work while watching all these back episodes.</span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-69088758882973330462013-05-30T14:54:00.000-07:002013-05-30T14:54:10.822-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Cushion. Because of the fall I took on Wed, the doctor wanted to do a quick ultrasound and ensure no issues. For once, i can be happy I have plenty of cushion. Because everything was a-ok.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - spin class. I felt good when it was done, but I don't think the alien liked all the noise as there was a ton of weirdness I was feeling down there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - picnics. Oh how I love picnics.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - shopping for new appliances. Reminiscent of this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - 4 day work weeks!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - a couch that we can finally all fit on (because the cat seems to be the boss of it)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - Craigs List. I finally put a bunch of wedding stuff up for sale and there's a lot of interest. It's a beautiful thing. </span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-2062452846807998842013-05-23T15:10:00.000-07:002013-05-29T15:11:09.086-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Pork buns</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - Enjoying all the sights and sounds of Manhattan</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - Macaroni and cheese</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - The Voice. I might have already written about this before, but I just LOVE this show. And, Blake Shelton! I especially love that I can watch 6 hours worth of episodes in about 90 minutes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - my stepsister. We didn't talk for many years simply because we just had very different lives. But a few years ago she moved to Phoenix, so I talk to her pretty often now and get to see her a couple times a year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - On-site medical staff. I had a fall at work and landed straight on my belly. Thankfully, EMT and the fire department are on site. As much as I was ok and embarrassed by all the attention, I was grateful to be taken to medical. They couldn't do an actual exam on my belly, but they did take my vitals and asked me various questions to reaffirm, the baby was most likely not harmed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - Never once getting frustrated despite some terrible travel conditions. This included: torrential downpour and I was soaked all the way through to my undergarments, a bathroom change to dry clothes, shut down runways, serious delays, a small airport that only had a convenience store for food (no restaurants at all), sharing the gate with hundreds of other people and having to hang out with TSA because there was no room to be anywhere, a 58 minute wait for a callback from the airline, a 46 minute call with the airline to find a new flight, another torrential downpour getting on to the plane (no jetway), freezing on an airplane with 40 other soaked people, landing in Detroit after 10pm and the restaurants are shut down, trying to find a hotel, but with all the other stranded travelers having to go pretty far out for the night, making a makeshift clothesline in my room next to a fan to dry two sets of wet clothes, and getting a flight first thing the following morning. Seeing sunshine and a plane sitting at the gate that morning was a beautiful sight because it meant I was getting home! </span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-26656049165067735452013-05-16T17:22:00.000-07:002013-05-19T17:23:10.865-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Eye glasses - they sure make computer work less taxing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - Birthday celebrations</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - Spending time with momma</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - Maternity pants - they make a 6 hour flight much more pleasant</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tue - Welcome to Sapphire! It's probably my 5th or 6th time attending this conference over the years. And every year I am just as amazed as the year before at how they manage to organize 20,000 people so effectively and efficiently. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - Asparagus Fries! downright delicious</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - Got to see Bonnie Raitt, Martina McBride, and Alan Jackson in concert tonight! Every year Sapphire hosts a concert for the attendees. Last year I had no interest in Van Halen so I flew home. But there was no way I was leaving early this year! They were all great, but I absolutely loved seeing Alan Jackson perform!</span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-37564910412472605992013-05-09T06:11:00.000-07:002013-05-14T06:23:15.802-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Ultrasounds </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - Impromptu dinner plans and Thai food</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - Friends that reaffirm I shouldn't have to justify putting myself before work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - Getting things done!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - Credit unions - it's always such a positive banking experience</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - Hubby is back in the US after almost a month!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - The excitement of prepping for Sapphire - annual SAP conference. I love catching up with friends and co-workers from all the clients I've worked with over the years.</span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-46587071697259479852013-05-02T12:05:00.000-07:002013-05-05T12:06:02.948-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Part of my reason why I wanted to start writing Thankful Thursdays is I was hoping an "attitude of gratitude" would change my outlook. My client is sucking my happy quotient away and remembering the little things to be grateful for is a way to remind me that life is good and that 'this too shall pass.' I skipped a week and realize that defeats the purpose of my objective. I'll have to remind myself not to do that again, so long as I am on this project!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - I got to meet my cousin's daughter, take the train to Manhattan, and got a two mile walk in to/from the infamous Shake Shack. The reputation precedes the quality, but it was good anyway. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - A beautiful day in the NYC, a long walk to Chelsea Market and along Highline Tower, randomly getting to meet another cousin for the afternoon, a delicious Vietnamese dinner in Brooklyn, and trying "cereal yogurt" from Momofuku's Milk Bar. My first words of "Oh that's really weird" seem to be a fairly common theme for any first-time triers of cereal flavored frozen yogurt. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - Took the train back to my cousin's house and got to see my other cousin (her sister). That makes 3 cousins in 3 days! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - The Voice</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - fresh baked bread</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - First non-cafeteria lunch in 5 weeks</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - Good travel karma - the 70 mile drive to JFK took an hour less than normal, an emergency exit row all to myself (whoa!), and landed 40 minutes early! I suppose it made up for having a middle seat with armrest hoggers on both sides on my flight out the week before. </span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-89673288851983888442013-04-23T18:32:00.000-07:002013-04-23T18:32:23.301-07:00Ummm...Aren't You Supposed to be Training?<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I haven't been posting much about training lately and there is a very good explanation for that. I haven't been training. Because I'm pregnant.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When I first found out, I did a lot of research on continuing to train and if I could "complete" and not "compete" in the triathlon I signed up for. But I'll be six months along by then. And, it probably isn't the best idea. Not only will I not be able to fit in a wetsuit by that time (it's very cold water), but I have no idea how much balance will be affected on the bike with a baby bump. And, more importantly, crashes are more likely during a race since there are so many cyclists maneuvering around each other. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I still did what I could for awhile. I rode my bike, but avoided the hills to keep my heart rate lower. I power-walked and didn't run. And, while I didn't make it to a pool very often, I swam when I could. I didn't want to pull out of the race until I knew that I was out of the first trimester. Nick is still racing the same event, and there is a 10k going on at the same time, which I'll be signing up for instead.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As for the pregnancy, it's been relatively symptomless. Weeks 6-10 I was incredibly tired. Beyond tired. But I gained back a lot of my energy. And, when I did have the energy to ride or jog/walk, it was also harder. All the blood is going to your abdomen which means less blood to send to your legs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As for the team, I've just been trying to support where I can. We always need volunteers so it's really easy for me to fill those roles -- marking the course, roving SAG, etc. This weekend, was the team's "All You Can Tri" where you do as many sprints as you can in 4 hours. I knew the water was warm enough to not have a wetsuit so I was happy to get a swim workout in. I ended up hanging in the water for 2 hours as water support and helping some of the new swimmers complete their swims. However, I now have a raging case of Swimmer's Itch and look like I have the chicken pox. I'll spare you the pictures. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By the way, I do rinse as soon as I get out of the water and even bring soap to the shower at the lake. But, I read people who get Swimmer's Itch, keep on getting it. Kind of like poison oak...you have to have the allergy to it. Hence, why this is probably the 5th (and worst) case I've had. Unfortunately, several other people on the team got the itch as well this weekend so I'm in good company. </span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-88420636781793008282013-04-18T19:19:00.000-07:002013-04-20T19:20:04.481-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm starting to notice that I have a hard time finding things to be thankful about while working in Connecticut. It's unfortunate as I have never been in this situation. But I really do not like this engagement at all. The project is going to be challenging, but a repeat of a project I did previously, so I will be extremely frustrated and yet I won't be learning anything since I basically already spent 1.5 years doing this same project for another client. Nobody smiles at this company. The difference between this project and the one that was just like it was our project team had fun together both in and outside of work. Lastly, the travel is a bear - 12 hours door to door each way. The other project was in Los Angeles. I spend an entire day of the week getting to/from the airport or in an airplane. Despite having a direct flight, it's still 71 miles from JFK. A terrible airport to drive into during rush hour. I've never had to leave for the airport 4 hours in advance!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Getting errands crossed off my list that have been there for months. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - Supporting my team on their first ride up Mount Diablo. I still haven't tackled this summit. 2014 bucket list?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - Jet Blue entertainment makes a flight go by much faster. And, having the bulk head means getting to get a lot of work done without someone leaning back on me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - A new laptop! It's paper thin, super light, and has SSD. I don't know when I will have time to set it all up and transfer all my files. But I can't wait to start traveling with it over my bulky one I have right now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tue - Orange juice</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - Understanding my boundaries. It was a really hard day at work. And, when the other consultants went to dinner, I was completely comfortable with being anti-social and not joining them. I knew that if I went with them, then we would talk about how bad the day was and most likely I would get bothered by it all over again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - Google Maps </span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-21039313208379392502013-04-11T20:58:00.001-07:002013-04-11T20:58:12.721-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - My extremely wonderful and comfortable bed. A very long week and long flight and so happy to be home!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - The Voice. With a DVR, I can watch 6 hours of TV in only 90 minutes! I don't need to see any of the sappy backstories. Just give me the performances and the coach's bantering back and forth. I love the blind auditions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - The law of attraction. I really did not want to get on a plane today. I was only home for 1 day. And I guess the Universe decided the only way to do so was for me to get sick. A trip to the hospital and a doctor telling me I couldn't travel for a week. I never thought I'd be so grateful for being sick.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - Rest</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - Grandma. Since I was at home this week, I took the opportunity to visit with her. It had been awhile.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - The heat! It's finally toasty enough out that I can sit in my cold family room without a blanket. I will be grateful for it, in a few months, but it's just been too dang cold since November.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - An upstairs laundry room. My last two houses had the laundry right next to the bedroom. This concept wasn't actually designed into homes until about 25 years ago. That architect was a genius. </span><br />
Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-76854916957566414752013-04-04T22:00:00.000-07:002013-04-05T06:43:54.615-07:00Thankful Thursdays<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Fri - Language of Flowers - one of the best books I've read in awhile. And, beautiful San Diego!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - Getting to cheer on 2500 athletes and some great friends and my husband at Ironman California 70.3 in Oceanside! Will post some pictures and a recap of the awesome day soon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - Easter egg fun</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - my Samsung Note. It was a wedding present that's too big to use for a phone. But it's great to catch up on TV shows while on the airplane.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - free vitamin-packed delicious meals at the client's Leadership Center. Breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snacks! This is our last week at the Leadership Center which means we have to downgrade to cafeteria food starting next week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - fairly decent sushi in the Farmington Marriott.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - forgot to set my alarm for the first time while on the road. Thankfully, I woke up at 6am on my own. </span></div>
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Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-64667208562490266952013-03-21T05:38:00.000-07:002013-03-26T05:38:59.654-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Tax paperwork ready for filing</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - Motivation to finally start shopping for furniture and figure out some of our options</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - Homeland. Just finished season 2. Such an awesome show!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - Started at a new client. There is always some excitement with starting new.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - Cooperative weather -- the snowstorm came as soon as we got back to our hotel and stopped before it was time to go to work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - Got to see up close and personal of all sorts of airplane engines at the Pratt&Whitney Customer Training Center</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - the Emergency Exit row</span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-47309555674567380352013-03-14T22:20:00.000-07:002013-03-15T10:21:17.061-07:00Thankful Thursdays<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fri - Costco salmon - 8 or 9 years ago my best high school friend grilled me some salmon that was marinated in lemon, brown sugar, and soy sauce. This has been my favorite way to grill salmon ever since. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sat - I still can't get over how GREEN it is in the East Bay right now. I cherish this time of year because it will be gone in a month or two. My grandma used to say that California is called the Golden State because our hills are gold (brown) most of the year.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Photos courtesy of Jennifer Jay</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3Gymd84ECAcL3pUzsiGJFX7ppgYjEQ4cVVGFUc7KcPtYJs2MQejoLH9COeXLl5IU4NQ_khpxJS168nlqPyz92kUygFc19c9Gm78huNTbe7iCkEL2Ak96HRzoy-Zg2rklLO64QYu6aYGN/s1600/426535_4657595154056_2026395272_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3Gymd84ECAcL3pUzsiGJFX7ppgYjEQ4cVVGFUc7KcPtYJs2MQejoLH9COeXLl5IU4NQ_khpxJS168nlqPyz92kUygFc19c9Gm78huNTbe7iCkEL2Ak96HRzoy-Zg2rklLO64QYu6aYGN/s320/426535_4657595154056_2026395272_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgowGwr9z-yBAvKua6AJHs1ouvPn-7-6u5F24OIunWk3OgLIeDJM5HoG4EeUgH73jkS1c9fp2tY38_I354kAtMXYH45Op_-_E75N9whFDUhsUIUPBkpYsrvIYNTFjUlkOb1luzFMDzdmB6p/s1600/600318_4657595514065_1274996180_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgowGwr9z-yBAvKua6AJHs1ouvPn-7-6u5F24OIunWk3OgLIeDJM5HoG4EeUgH73jkS1c9fp2tY38_I354kAtMXYH45Op_-_E75N9whFDUhsUIUPBkpYsrvIYNTFjUlkOb1luzFMDzdmB6p/s320/600318_4657595514065_1274996180_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEx-4Dpve0J5PdPEsUyORaU42-SXPX7hAD-q8Dkj0J0-3TVhqtfKtbAbhZSlyFNPERM1MTvPCKya9vKJwBRa4DrqHQWko0N3zWR2r8zZcD9CggTyxUaw6qqGcM-19B0n4ZI0p52xA-iqF3/s1600/578960_4657595234058_924050485_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEx-4Dpve0J5PdPEsUyORaU42-SXPX7hAD-q8Dkj0J0-3TVhqtfKtbAbhZSlyFNPERM1MTvPCKya9vKJwBRa4DrqHQWko0N3zWR2r8zZcD9CggTyxUaw6qqGcM-19B0n4ZI0p52xA-iqF3/s320/578960_4657595234058_924050485_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She can take action shots (me drinking water) while riding her own bike!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sun - In-N-Out - We had or first open water swim at Aquatic Park that morning and they planned to head to In-N-Out after the workout. Unfortunately, I was sick so I stayed home. I was most bummed about missing In-N-Out (priorities?), but Nick brought it back for me on his way home!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mon - Kaiser - When I was a kid, that place was associated with mediocre care, so I never went there. But when I returned to the Bay Area as an adult, I really appreciated their marketing efforts, the Thrive campaign, and the technological advancements they were making. I was jealous that my company didn't offer them as an insurance option. Once I got married, I switched to Nick's insurance so now I can use them. I pay more per month than I did before. But I also take better care of myself now that I am no longer nickeled and dimed every time I go to the doctor. No charge for a checkup, no charge for women's health exam, no charge for the dermatologist (this fair-skinned girl mandates a dermatologist), no charge for bloodwork, and no charge for travel shots (I was appalled when I had to pay $300 for immunizations before I went to Argentina and Mason and Nick paid $0). It's definitely not a perfect system, but it beats the plan I was on before.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tues - Bacon - It makes everything better, right? I cooked a bunch last week to store in the fridge and it's been nice to throw it in different foods all week. Kale and brussel sprouts taste twenty times better with a few bacon bits in them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wed - Downton Abbey. Ready to start Season 3.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thur - Proximity to the car dealership - I used to have to drive 20 miles to get my car serviced. Now it's only 3 miles away!</span></div>
Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235812900686353055.post-12268518884925058712013-03-09T14:35:00.001-08:002013-03-09T14:35:20.506-08:00What To Wear? What To Wear?<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Like most women, I struggle with making decisions on what to wear no matter what the occasion, including bike rides. This time of year when it's not too cold and not too hot the choice is even harder. Because making the wrong decision can make for a very uncomfortable 2-3 hours. When hot, when it's freezing, and when it's raining, I know exactly what to wear. But when it's chilly and trending toward being very pleasant out, my morning goes a little something like this:</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Do I need a base layer? Hmmm....short sleeve or long sleeve jersey? Is it time for arm warmers yet? Should I wear a vest or windbreaker? Do I need a jacket? Full-fingered or short-fingered gloves? I wonder if I should wear the wool socks today? Where are those dang shoe booties? What kind of headband do I need?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As for the bottoms, supposedly your knees are supposed to be covered until it's over 68 out or something like that, so at least I don't need to decide between shorts and pants.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today I ended up with a base layer, long-sleeve jersey, vest, and full gloves. It was warmer out than I anticipated so peeled off the vest after 7 miles. But, for me, it's always so much better to be too hot than to be cold!</span></div>
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Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02031356260638447757noreply@blogger.com0