Seattle and an Unwanted Souvenir

Seattle.

WARNING: This is a long post, so grab a cuppa and maybe even a snack...

We had an amazing time on our trip!  The little ladies were excellent travelers and a lot of fun (as was Mr. Darcy).  We didn't do as much as we could have but we wanted to try to take it slowly and enjoy ourselves instead of overprogramming.  And I'm really proud of myself because I didn't have every minute planned and didn't have any freak outs - even when I thought we were a little bit lost trying to find our hotel in Victoria.

Wednesday
We spent Wednesday traveling out to Seattle.  2 plane rides later we arrived - all happy and in one piece.  Ladybug seemed to either have an allergy or the start of a cold... it turned out to be a cold, but she was (overall) still cheerful and fun in spite of it.  The girls even carried their back packs and carryons the entire time.  I think they liked being in charge of their gear and they loved riding on the planes and watching planes take off while waiting for our next flight.

After getting the carseats from the carousel, we wandered with a ton of stuff to find a taxi to take us to the airport.  Turned out the shuttle was more expensive than a taxi ride, the taxi with all our bags would be just as (if not more than) a ride in a town car, so Mr. Darcy opted for the town car - which they decided to let us ride in a LIMO for the same price.  We were laughing hard - riding in super style to our $110 per night hotel, which suited us just fine with the girls.  The little ladies' 1st limo ride and our 1st limo ride since our wedding almost 12 1/2 years ago!

Once we were checked in, we got some dinner and went for a walk and ended up riding the monorail down to the Seattle City Center to see the Space Needle.  The girls loved the monorail, and we had a great driver who let them each honk the monorail's horn. : )  They also loved the Space Needle (as did we) and looked through every telescope and binocular on the deck.  After that when they would see the Space Needle, one of them would shout out "It's the Space Needle! We went there!"

Thursday.
After an interesting night's sleep in what would be a pattern for the trip - one of the girls would wake up and not recognize where we were and call for Mommy to come sleep with them - we wandered down to the Pike's Place Market area.  We had breakfast in a little french bakery and discovered that Angelfish doesn't like crossoints or flakey french pasteries of any kind.  But at least she drank a good bit of milk.

We loved the market and wandered it a good while.  The girls' loved the pig statue, the flowers, the fish, and just everything.  We had the most delicious fruit samples (and bought a decent amount of fruit for snacks)! Honeycrisp apples are the family's new favorite type of apple.  The best part for me was when a street performer saw Angelfish and I and sang the jazziest version of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" that I've ever heard.  She was singing that song the rest of the day.  It was awesome!

Afterwards we went to the Seattle Aquarium and spent several hours just wandering around looking at the fish, the octopus, the birds, the sea otters and the seals.  It was awesome.  The girls' loved getting to touch sea urchins and starfish, staring at the octopus moving in its tank and all the jellyfish.  Not to mention playing with a board that let them put sea creatures whereever they wanted.  But I think Angelfish's favorite part may have been the hand dryer in the ladies' bathroom... she would hoot and holler and clamor to use it again every time we went past the bathroom. It always cracks me up what they like the best.  Ladybug's favorite was probably the board with the sea creatures.

After a leisurely lunch or two - we had a "picnic" of dried meat and fruit from the market while watching the sea otters eating their lunch and then got a regular lunch an hour or so later - we headed back to the hotel to rest a bit and for Mr. Darcy to get our car from the rental place that was in walking distance from the hotel.

Then we were off to my Aunt C and Uncle B's on Whidbey Island.  What a gorgeous place!  We met them after a nice little ferry ride - our first ferry ride ever - for dinner.  After discovering that the portable DVD player we brought for the trip didn't work, the girls fell asleep.  At dinner they were a bit of a handful at first but settled down and were a hoot after a bit.

Friday.
Mr. Darcy and my Uncle rented a van so that we could all spend the day together riding out to Diablo Lake in the Cascades... they also bought a new portable DVD player that rocked the rest of our trip and made the little ladies happy during the car ride. We took a wonderful ride through the Cascades that let us stop every so often to see amazing views and for the girls' to get out and stretch their legs.  Deception Point was one of the family favorites - very cool bridge built originally as part of the New Deal and absolutely amazing views.  Even the girls were impressed!

Of course, at one stop the Little Ladies were so enthralled with the Spooky Halloween Word World episode they were watching that they didn't want to get out and see the hand hewn long canoe we thought was pretty cool.  They did like a few of the other stops and liked running around pointing out water falls or pretty leave colors which Ladybug deemed was happening because "Halloween is at the end of the month." 

We also had a gorgeous view of Diablo Lake and had a fun picnic lunch were we relaxed and kept an eye on the girls who were playing all sorts of make believe games.  The drawback was the National Park latrine, which Angelfish just used because she had to go but Ladybug had to be coaxed into using because it "smells bad and yucky" and she didn't like the way it looked.  She eventually used it and it was back in the car.

On the ride back we saw a buffalo farm and stopped for homemade ice cream at a pumpkin patch and farm.  Back at the house, we had amazing freshly caught Salmon that my Aunt & Uncle's neighbor had given them. YUM!  And once the girls were in bed, we had port and chatted.  It was a great visit!  The only drawback was I realized I was starting to get Ladybug's cold.

Saturday.
We took an early drive to Port Townsend, rode a ferry with amazing views of Whidbey Island and the sound, and then drove the rest of the way to Anacortes where we bought our ferry tickets to cross over to Canada's Victoria Island.  After a stop for scones and coffee and a running around session for Angelfish and Ladybug, we drove to the top of Hurricane Ridge where we had some more gorgeous views and the girls napped in the car.

Cutting it close for the ferry, we parked the car and threw some stuff into a bag or two and headed off to Canada.  Angelfish and Ladybug are now international travelers without any international incidents!  We played games and did an activity book that we bought for them during the hour long ride.  At one point the captain came over the intercom and announced that there were humpback whales out to the right side of the boat.  It was awesome!  Ladybug and I were really excited - as was another lady who when I asked Ladybug how cool is that?  The woman enthusiastically answered "AWESOME!"  A lot of the people on the ferry were going for the next day's Royal Victoria Marathon and Half Marathon. I jokingly said to Mr. Darcy, "maybe next year we can come back and I can run the Half."  If looks could kill, I would be thoroughly deceased... later Mr. Darcy ran into 4 women from his old firm in Atlanta who had come to run the Half.  We had a good laugh about that.

At one point during the ferry ride they announced that they were doing a drawing for tickets to the Bushart Gardens and all you had to do was fill out a little piece of paper for each member in your party - we had 4 people so Mr. Darcy got us 4 tickets.  They announced some numbers but none matched.  I said to Mr. Darcy, "well, it would have been too amazing to have gotten to see humpback whales AND win tickets to the gardens" (which we were planning on seeing anyway).  No sooner than the words had left my mouth did they come on again and announce they had more tickets to give away - and we won one!

Once we got through customs and were questioned thoroughly as to why we were there and what we were doing and where we were staying, we were allowed into Canada!  We took pictures along the waterfront, saw the finish line for the marathon (and yes, I was feeling sad I didn't get to run), and wandered in the direction of our hotel.  Right when I thought we were lost, Mr. Darcy said let's just turn left and try up a block or two.  The girls were happy picking and blowing dandelions as we walked, I was enjoying the picturesque quality of the town, and poof there we were right at our hotel. : )

We checked in at the Helm's Inn, which we rather liked except for the party that went on in the room above ours which coupled with my having to sleep with the Little Ladies led to maybe 3 hours of sleep for me.  But before bed, we walked through the downtown center, saw some cool totem poles, and discovered that you can't even eat in a pub if you're not 19 (so 3 year old twins were not allowed - I guess their pubs are like bars here... and we wouldnt' bring the girls into a bar in the US, but the pubs were way nicer and looked more like eating establishments that contained a bar in part).  We sat down to eat and I wasn't feeling so good and we were all tired. 

The Little Ladies suceeded in spilling water 3 times and soaking Mr. Darcy and I (and our pants) in the process.  I spilled water once.  That was a bit tense for a little bit because I wasn't handling it overly well and the girls were probably a bit punch drunk on lack of sleep at that point, but we all calmed down with a local beer (for Mr. Darcy and I) and french fries for the girls.  Afterwards we wandered some more, played in a toy shop, and got some ice cream.

Sunday.
It was race day and when we set out, people were already running.  By the time finished breakfast, the half marathoners had finished and were sporting their shiny finishers medal.  If you ever have thoughts of running the Royal Victoria Half or full Marathon, I'd recommend it.  The course looked nice, there was tons of stuff (gatorade and food type things), and the medals were really cool as were the tech shirts these people got.  At breakfast we spilled 2 glasses of milk, but this time laughed about it.  Really good breakfast though at a place (Smitty's) described as a type of Denny's, but that was way better.

Then we took the bus out to Bushart Gardens and got to see a little of the surrounding area via the bus.  The gardens were absolutely gorgeous and I wish we had gotten more pictures, but we had forgotten to charge the camera battery.  Mr. Darcy took a few with his camera phone, though.  The girls had fun playing hide and seek among the plants and then fell asleep on us while we were carrying them.  So I got a bit of a workout as I wandered the gardens, but loved the views and the beautiful surroundings.

Somehow we were able to get the bus back, Mr. Darcy grabbed our stuff from the hotel while the girls and I played near a totem pole that they liked putting pine cones in its nose, and we still made it on to the 3 pm ferry.  But somewhere in here we lost 1 1/2 hours between the ferry leaving at 3 pm and arriving at our car in Washington.  Not sure if there was a time change we were unaware of or what.  But we headed out of town and on to Gig Harbor where we stayed with my Uncle T and Aunt N.

They thought (as we did) we would be there earlier and my Cousin L. and her children were there waiting to see us.  We felt terribly that we were so late, but had a wonderful time chatting until Cousin L and her 3 little ones had to go home.  After that we enjoyed spending time with my Aunt and Uncle too.

Monday.
Monday we woke to a wonderful pancake and bacon breakfast that my Uncle T made.  Unfortunately, my cold was in full blast so I ended up with toast because I wasn't feeling well with all the congestion.  The toast did the trick, the girls and Mr. Darcy loved their breakfast and we all headed out to Mount Rainer. 

The drive was beautiful and we had a great time with my Aunt and Uncle.  The girls got to use their first port a potty on this leg of the trip too.  Try explaining why there is a cup and why they can see poop and pee in the potty and why it doesn't flush to a 3 year old.  They eventually decided it was "silly" and moved on.

It was snow flurrying on Mount Rainer so we got to enjoy the snow a little and had some breath taking views, although we were amazed at how little water there was due to the drought they've been having out there.  River beds almost completely rocks.  At Paradise we stopped, got out and looked around.  There's a nice visitors center so we looked at the mountains, took pictures, did the handson displays with the girls and chased them around, visited the bathroom with them a few times (again Angelfish loved the hand dryers much to the amusement of some Indian women in full saris), and had a nice lunch.

After lunch, the girls threw a few snowballs at Uncle T. in the parking lot and when sufficiently cold piled into the car with the adorable black bear stuffed animals that my Uncle and Aunt surprised them with.  The ride back was even nice although everyone had a nap, except Uncle T. who was driving.  The poor guy.

Then we had fun playing and visiting some more at the house, and Angelfish and I played on the playground in their neighborhood a little bit before dinner.

Tuesday.
The cold I had was definitely bad at this point... to the point that my Aunt (a retired nurse) told me I did not sound overly healthy.  After a bit we headed back to Seattle, stopping at Dairy Queen for a morning blizzard (Mr. Darcy's idea).  We headed to the Pacific Science Center only to discover that it is closed on Tuesdays.  It was raining at this point, so we didn't get to the Olympic Sculpture Park or the Ballard Lochs either.  It just gives us a good excuse to go back at some point!

We checked into our hotel and Mr. Darcy returned the rental car and set up our town car for the morning ride to the airport.  The girls and I rested and colored in their coloring books.  Then we decided to go to Top Pot for coffee and donuts, which the girls loved (although they had milk - no coffee to stunt their growth!) and we enjoyed as well.  Then we went to the Seattle Glassblowing.  We held the girls the entire time even though they assured us that "glass breaks.  You won't have to pay for anything if they break it."  A few artists were making some blown pieces so we got to watch that for a bit.  The girls (and we) were enthralled.  Mr. Darcy and I liked the pieces so much that we ended up buying a small vase - purple with some blue overlay that I'm not sure how to describe, but it looks great on the mantle in our family room!  It took us some time to do choose a piece while one of us would play outside with the girls (who would hoot at the monorail every time it went by and were playing in their make believe world again and locked me up in the "dungemon" for some reason or another), but we eventually agreed on a piece.

Back to the hotel for more coloring and resting because at this point I was feeling pretty badly.  Mr. Darcy went to the deli across the street and got us soup and sandwiches for dinner, we watched Madagascar on the portable DVD player that Mr. Darcy hooked up to the big screen tv in our hotel room, and then went to sleep.

Wednesday.
We were up early and ready to go.  Headed to the airport and got there in plenty of time for our first flight of the day and played a bit in the airport with the girls.  Once in Dallas, we played some more and had lunch.  We had a 3 hour layover and all I wanted to do was sleep.  My head was killing me, I was coughing, etc.  Mr. Darcy took the Little Ladies to the bookshop and read some kids books so I could at least rest a little bit.  After finding some Dayquil, I got a very minor amount of relief until our flight (which was delayed because of a malfunctioning autopilot system) left.  The pressure in my ears and those of the girls and Mr. Darcy was pretty bad on this flight.  Gum helped a little bit, but my right ear in particular was really bad.  Poor Angelfish at one point woke up with really bad ear pain but was still asleep enough that we couldn't get her to chew gum or eat anything.  Finally her ears popped and she fell back asleep.

Finally we were back in Orlando, off the plane, and at our car.  The girls had been talking about how they wanted to go see their friends at school and how they missed their friends and school, so I think our trip may have been 1 day too long for them.  But they were still troopers and traveled amazingly well and they seemed to have fun with us.  I know we did with them!

Unwanted Souvenir.
So, as I mentioned I got sick on our trip.  Turns out that whatever Ladybug gave me (which she is completely over) took a good hold of me and turned itself into bronchitis and an upper respiratory infection.  My doctor (who I saw Thursday during my lunch break) said she is absolutely amazed that my right eardrum didn't rupture because it is just that swollen up.  She's put me on an inhaler, decongestants, a prescription cough syrup, and antibiotics and ordered me to stay in bed and not work on Friday.  After work today I pretty much got into bed and slept.  Mr. Darcy picked the girls up from daycare and fed me soup.  The girls kept me company while I ate and told me about their days.  You'll all be happy to know that Ryan is still Ladybug's boyfriend even though she was gone "so long."  The girl cracks me up!

More sleep and then waking because I was coughing so hard... thus the blog entry.  We have yet to download our pictures since we got home around 1 am last night and then had work today, but I hope to update you all with pictures soon!

Seattle, Here We Come!

Well, at least after I finish my workday, go to the chiropractor, feed and care for the Little Ladies, get the packing done, the house straightened, the lingering laundry washed, the refrigerator cleaned out, and everyone into bed for an early morning wake up to get to the airport in the morning.

But still, we're going.  I hope.  You see our plane tickets that we got with our World Point miles don't have assigned seats.  This is something that worries me.  I've been on too many work trips where I would have been bumped if not for an assigned seat.  I've seen too many people bumped for the same reason.  This is our vacation.  I don't want anything coming between me and a good time with the family, especially after all the training and vanishing Mommy acts because of training leading up to the Ironman 70.3. 

I guess I have guilt about all that training.  I didn't realize how much guilt I had until last night when my back pain was getting to be a 7 on the 10 point scale and I thought to myself that I'd like to do a full Ironman even if it resulted in rather painful nerve pain shooting down my legs afterwards. (Yep, I've definitely drank the coolaid.)  The next thought was that I'd have to do it the year I turn 50 so that way the girls wouldn't be too heavily impacted by my training schedule. The year I turn 50, they'll be 19.  I guess I could do it at 49, but 50 just sounded so nice.  And then I saw Big Daddy Diesel's Monday Movie this morning (guess I'm behind the times), and that sealed the deal.  I'm going to be an Ironman at 50, if not before.  Who knows the little ladies are rather smart, they could be child geniuses and solving the world's problems at the age of 12!?

Anyway, I love to travel and see the world.  While Seattle might not be an overly alluring location to some, for me it is a place I have never been before.  Another state to cross of the list of places to go before I die.  When I was 8, I came up with my list... not knowing this was fodder for philosophy professors and later an author and movie.  My Granny had died of lung cancer and something must have been said about not having regrets in life or something, and it turned into my coming up with things that I wanted to do before I died.  As irony would have it, it did not include triathlon, getting married or having children.  It did, however, include many things I have now done - like skydiving - and those that I am still working on - getting to all 50 states and not just in airports or passing through to somewhere else.  I am constantly adding to the list and crossing off things I have done... but at this point it's more of a mental list... and Ironman is now on it. (Sorry, Mr. Darcy!  Maybe by 50, you'll want to join me and will have drunk the cool-aid that is long distance triathlon.  Or you can just be my sherpa...)

Oh, yes, so I'm excited.  We're going to see Seattle, the Cascades, Victoria (in CANADA), Mt. Ranier, and points in between.  Not to mention the girls' first ferry ride and my eager anticipation of their take on the Pikes Place Market and the throwing of fish.  Ladybug helped me this morning by trying on some clothes that I had bought them for Fall.  The pants fit pretty well for length but the skinny minny had issues in the waist on some of the pants (which means Angelfish who is even skinnier despite eating more than Ladybug on most days will definitely have issues).  Luckily, most have the adjustable waists so we can make due.  Ladybug is definitely excited.  She kept saying "oooh. I want to wear these in Seattle.  They fit be just right and they're so cute" - even if the pants were about to fall off.  The girl loves clothes.  I think I may be in trouble.

All the same, it was fun to see her so excited.  She even decided to wear shorts and a shirt today instead of a dress because she wanted to wear something "new" and saw the Halloween shirt that I bought with the cat wearing a witches hat. : )  Angelfish insisted on a dress because "Seattle is too chilly for dresses."  (I told them that the other day.)  I guess she needed to get her dress fix in before we leave.

So that's where we'll be during my hiatus from blogging.  I'm bringing the camera, so I hope to have photos to go along with stories that I can regale you with when I return.  And we can all dream our IM dreams.... even if it won't be acted upon for another 16 years.  That's what the "List of Things to Do Before I Die" is for... right?

A Run, Aliens, the Weekend and Vacation Plans.

A Run.
It's still a recovery week, but today was a 30 minute run doing 4/1's.  It was great! I did about 2.5 miles in the 30 minutes and loved every minute of it.  I think my body has been missing being in movement.  When I started running, I felt TALL.  Not sure what that was about, but I really did feel taller than usual.  As I ran along, my left leg was not really happy.  It's the nerve pain from my back that decided to return after the 70.3 was over.  I'm glad it held off until now, and I have a chiropractor's appointment tomorrow afternoon so I'm sure things will be back to normal in no time.  What a happy 30 minutes though.  My right leg and the rest of me felt great, I was happy to be running and loved to be out there.  I sweat like a pig, but I do live in Florida.

Aliens.
The aliens have invaded, though... and that is because I was really enjoying my run.  They have absconded with the old me and replaced me with someone who likes to run!  I guess that is a pretty good thing since I'm training for the Disney Princess Half Marathon, and Coach wants me to run the 15K at Gasparilla in Tampa this year.  Fun is to be had!

Tomorrow is a 45 minute swim, which I am looking forward to... I love to be in the pool!  Coach has another run, another swim, and a 1 hour easy bike on my schedule for the week too.  I am not sure I will get them done because we leave on Wednesday for our trip out to the Seattle area.  We're staying only a few days in hotels and a few days with family.  So, we'll have to see what we can do.  I'm not thinking that the bike is going to happen since I won't have a bike with me, but I'll pack the clothes for it anyway.  Plus, I'm putting the family first on this vacation so while I don't want to lose my endurance, etc.  We're still going to be doing a lot of walking and perhaps a little bit of hiking... while carrying the little ladies. So, it's not like we'll just be sitting all the time either. 

The Weekend and Vacation Plans.
Besides after the weekend of clinging children, I think they need some dedicated Mommy time.  Saturday the girls had a soccer game.  Angelfish was on the field for an entire 3 minutes.  Long enough for a play or two and to run around in order to score the post game treats (Capri Sun, gummy fruit, pretzels, and grapes).  Ladybug on the other hand decided she wanted to play, but only if Mommy would hold her hand.  So I ran up and down the field holding her hand and encouraging her for .... an entire quarter! (Keep in mind these games are a whopping 40 minutes long at this age.)  But, during that time, she scored a goal, assisted with 2 other goals, and was really good about kicking the ball, trying to get the ball from other kids and running around following the ball.  And even better was the fact that when I asked her if she was having fun, she said "Yes!" and wanted to keep playing!  It was great!  She did every so often ask if she could have the post-game treats now, but was perfectly okay with me telling her that we had to wait until the game was over.  So now we know, the way to get them to play is to tell them NO POST GAME TREATS unless you play!

The best part of the weekend though was when the little ladies told us they wanted to play "Swoopsie, Whoopsie, and Bob."  We're a little on the creative side in our house and so when we tell the girls the story of the 3 Little Pigs we spice it up a little.  Some of that "spice" is that Mr. Darcy decided to name the pigs... Swoopsie (youngest pig), Whoopsie (middle brother pig), and Bob (eldest pig) ... and it stuck.  The girls now refer to the story of the 3 Little Pigs as "Swoopsie, Whoopsie, and Bob."  The other thing the girls like to do is play with Q-tips to use them to "draw" pictures on the floor by using the Q-tips as lines.  They decided (on their own) to combine the 2 things.  We helped them draw the 3 houses for the 3 little pigs, and then they had us all act it out.  They took turns appointing each of us to different roles among Swoopsie, Whoopsie, Bob, and the Big Bad Wolf (who they deemed we're not allowed to name because "he's not very nice.")  We did this over and over for more than an hour.  It was so much fun and we all laughed and laughed!  At one point Ladybug tried to be a creative Big Bad Wolf and ask for water or snacks to get let into the little pigs' houses.  Another time, Angelfish changed the story and let the Big Bad Wolf have the ability to knock down the brick house and pretended to eat us all up.  Nothing short of hysterical.

Mr. Darcy got some of it on film, so I'll try to figure out how to insert the movies for your amusement (if I have time in between packing and getting us out the door for school and our trip...).

Other than that we had lots of errands where the little ladies wanted to be right on top of me, especially Ladybug.  So lots of snuggle time while we were home and a lot of reassuring that yes, we were "staying all together" today.

Of course that made this morning tough on Ladybug.  She wanted to stay home with Mommy and tried pulling the "I have a headache." "My tummy hurts." routine.  At least I hope it was a routine... she's at daycare and they haven't called yet, so here's hoping.  I don't think it helped things that Mr. Darcy is on a business trip to Ft. Bragg and won't be home until late tonight after they're in bed (and I'm asleep too).  But we made it with not too many tears.  Angelfish announced that school was her work and she was ready to go.  On the ride to school, we talked about what we would do on Wednesday to get to the airport, to fly to Dallas and then to Seattle, etc. Ladybug in particular can be funny about new things so I tried to go into as much detail as I could - even explaining that the "gate" wasn't like a normal gate but had chairs all around, etc.

They're pretty excited about the trip and once I finish packing, I think I'll be just as excited as they are.  I'm looking forward to seeing someplace new and experiencing things with the girls and Mr. Darcy.  I'm also looking forward to seeing my Aunts and Uncles and introducing them to our little ladies.  The last time I saw these 2 sets of Aunts and Uncles, I was pregnant with Angelfish and Ladybug.  So that should be pretty cool.  Not to mention we're going to Canada!  Even if it is for 1 day, it will be cool (and not just temperature wise either).  We're going to Victoria, which is supposed to be very pretty, and we're going to see the Buschart Gardens as well as the town... unfortunately, it's also the weekend of the Royal Victoria Marathon so it will be a busy place that weekend.  We're going to take a ferry, so that should be fun experience with the girls too.  And it will be nice to be "all together."

Full Immersion

Yep. It's true, I've been fully immersed in reality again. I wish there were somehow that there could be a way to live each day like it was vacation. Perhaps that's what it's like to be independently wealthy with no need to have responsibilities like getting little people up and ready for school, working, laundry that is calling my name, and random other items of import. I wish I could say that I'd find out but unlike the book I read over vacation Julie and Julia, I seriously doubt that my blog will be picked up to become first a best selling novel and then a major motion picture. Somehow Americans are much more interested in someone working their way through cooking Julia Child's recipes in a year than they are in a working Mom who trains and competes in triathlons. I'm not quite sure why, both have their own brands of insanity, but so it is.

There is no training report for today because well, training is taking the form of a track and core workout this evening. Better than a treadmill, but I'm not looking forward to sprints and trying to run a mile super fast. Gasp... I just realized I'd rather do hill repeats at 6 am or run several miles straight at my own pace than sprint track workouts. Not sure what that means, other than I may have fully lost my marbles and like long distance running. Egads! Maybe that is why I wanted to run while on my cruise. Whatever has become of me? I like to run. EEK! Hide your children and loved ones... I think the world may be coming to an end. This folks is a serious evolution of greatest proportions that causes us all to question (my) sanity!!

Not to mention that there's even a certain thrill today in reviewing my legislation for my states and finding hidden in some budget reconciliation bills potential business law and tax changes. Even that is interesting and fun today.

Perhaps there is some sort of mind alteration that occurs on vacation. One that makes you both more and less tolerant of things in your "normal" life. I think I had worked up a barrier to whining, but since back from vacation I cannot stand to hear Angelfish whine. (It's a serious annoyance of mine, whining that is. I do not do it and cannot abide whining. Complaining is fine, it's a stress reliever. Whining is just awful.) Yet, I can stay much calmer when Ladybug is screaming up a storm and attempting to order me about. It's not fun and it's even worse when Mr. Darcy gets worked up about it, but I can withstand it's annoying properties and deal with the Ladybug in a much easier way.

I don't even think I mind the laundry that's calling my name. Perhaps I am ill. Or perhaps these are the effects of a truly relaxing vacation. I have to admit, I can't remember the last time I had such a relaxing vacation. Past vacations in recent memory, while wonderful family time, have consisted of a lot of running about and protecting things from small children and small children from things.

I hope to try to extend the feeling of relaxation as long as I can but with the return to reality, I fear that it may be short lived. But I can do my darnedest. Heck, I might even convince myself to like a track workout.

I'm BAACK...

We had a lovely time. It was almost too short, although by the end of it we were missing the munchkins. For all our missing the girls, Ladybug paid us back in spades with the number of tantrums that she had on Saturday and Sunday. I think she used up all of her nice behavior for her grandparents, which I have to say that even if I had to endure her this weekend I would much rather that be the case than her poor grandparents having to deal with it.

But the cruise, the cruise was wonderful. There were times where we had no idea what to do with ourselves. Literally. Lots of sleeping and reading and drinks with umbrellas. I even squeezed in some training too... although I probably should have done more... but at the same time, I needed the rest.

Monday before taking the girls to daycare, I got in an hour on the stationary bike followed by a 3 mile run. Then the girls to daycare with some wailing on their part, which actually made it easier for me to leave. I definitely enjoyed the respite from Mommy duties, even though I missed the girls at the same time. It was nice not to have to clean, dress, cook for etc. anyone for several days.

Tuesday I had intended to take off since it was our 1st full day on the cruise, but I kept thinking about running. Wierd, eh? I thought so too. We got up, had some breakfast and got to the island in time for our couples massage. Awesome way to officially start our vacation. My masseuse also suggested that I get a hot stone massage later in the week because my muscles were overworked (his words). I told him I was training for a half-ironman and he said "you need the hot stones." So I said ok. Then we, both completely relaxed, wandered around the island walking until we found the part were not many people were sitting (there were maybe 4 other people around) and we sat near the water under an umbrella, reading. Wandered back to the populated side for lunch and then back to the ship for a nap. On the way back to the ship, I kept thinking a run would be good. Napped and then thought, a run would be good. Went and played trivia (came in 2nd - darn no cruise line key chain...) and thought a run would be good. Asked Mr. Darcy if he wanted to run with me on all 3 occassions, and he finally said "I do not want to run. Go and get it out of your system." And so I did. 12:11 pace, constant for all 4 miles. I felt great afterwards, although rather sweaty.

Wednesday we were in Nassau and had an excursion for sailing and then 1 hour's worth of snorkeling. It was the 1st time I've ever snorkled and it was AWESOME! We snorkled over a reef and saw tons of fish, brain coral, other corals and even a stingray swim by. So, I got in about just under a mile probably as a swim... although who knows. Mr. Darcy said I was a speed demon, but I thought I was just moving about normally... I did have to wait for him a few times, but that was OK by me! It was fun to snorkle together. Afterwards though, poor Mr. Darcy had a terrible headache so we headed back to the ship for lunch and a nap. I read for most of the 3 hours, but Mr. Darcy slept like a log. By the time we were up and off the ship, everything had pretty much shut down so we only got to wander through the straw market and pick up cute little straw purses for the little ladies. Then back to the ship for a little more trivia, reading and some random show before dinner.

Thursday was at sea and a bit boring in some ways. I had gotten up early and cycled for 1 1/2 hours going 51 km (or miles, I couldn't be sure from the reading on the machine, but my guess is km because even though it was a stationary bike I'm doubtful I could go 51 miles in 1 1/2 hours), then had some breakfast, showered and went back to sleep. Mr. Darcy was sleeping the entire time. Then I wandered the ship with Mr. Darcy while he primarily read, we watched a belly flop contest, and I had my hot stone massage. PURE HEAVEN. My muscles felt awesome afterwards. It wasn't the total mind and body relaxation of the 1st day's massage, but it was the type of massage where I was present mentally but my muscles felt relaxed and rejuvenated at the end. Highly recommended! We went to a sad little art auction on board, played some trivia, read. Nothing too eventful.... other than packing our stuff up for departure the next morning, which was when I realized how much I wanted to see Angelfish and Ladybug. I missed them!

Friday we headed home at 8:30 ish in the morning, and by the time we got home I was strangely tired and slept about 3 hours. I guess I didn't sleep as well as I thought I did while on board, but that pretty much wiped out the chance of getting my Friday workout in. We got the girls from daycare around 3:30 pm when I couldn't take being home and not having them with us. It was great to see them again... Ladybug headed straight to me and was thrilled to see me. Angelfish wanted nothing to do with me and only to be with Mr. Darcy... which has continued somewhat this weekend. Not sure if she's punishing me for not being there all week or if she just always is super partial to Mr. Darcy and this is the first I'm realizing it, but what can you do?

Saturday we lazed around and I skipped training because Ladybug was pretty much sleeping ON me when I woke up and then up and running about with me while everyone else in the house slept. Today (Sunday) we ran errands with the girls after a morning fraught with tantrums from Ladybug (including half of the ride to Costco... at one point she told us over and over again that she wasn't going to talk to us anymore and to which I finally said, "for someone who isn't talking to us, you sure are talking alot" and she stopped). Watched "The Tales of Desperaux" which they sort of liked and sort of didn't, and I felt guilty for not doing my big brick that was scheduled for today but that I couldn't quite pull myself out of bed to do.

But I'm back to work tomorrow, which also means I'm fully dedicated to my training as it's only about 8 weeks until race day. Luckily I return to it with an evening track workout to kick my butt back into gear and keep me accountable for getting back into it since people will be looking for me. I've missed the movement of my body in a long distance mode the past few days and found myself waking up this morning wiggling my toes - which either means I'm stressed again already or just that I have extra energy I need to burn. I'm thinking it's the latter at the moment, but I'll be able to tell you more tomorrow after reading all my emails from last week and attempting to catch up. The punishment for a nice week of vacation and relaxation, but I'll take my licks since it was a much needed break and a lot of fun to be with Mr. Darcy - just the two of us.

But now, back to reality...