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We are expecting! We're having a baby.....Boykin.
Yesterday she confirmed that Vicki - the dam - is most definitely pregnant and is due on my birthday: August 26! We would be able to adopt her in October - near Neal's birthday! We are number two on the list for a girl. Can't wait!
I've had a few suggestions for names that I love already. Post your suggestion below!
TTFN,
Bessie
I know that many of you think it's sinful to wake up at the crack of dawn (5:20 a.m.) to train for this Tri, but I have to tell you - yesterday's run was incredible! The thermometer read 72 and the humidity was 100%. It was sticky and foggy.
My training assignment was for FARTLEKS, a swedish word for speed play. Remember the episode of Friends where Phoebe and Rachel go running in Central Park? That's kind of the idea for fartleks. It's unmeasured time and distance to speed up your pace. I ran all the way down Masonboro Sound Road and back, speeding up between electrical poles.
I might have looked as goofy as Rachel, but at least I didn't run head first into horse! I did have some company on the run. It was like an episode of National Geographic! I wish I could take my camera out on these early morning treks. This is the closest I could find to what the sun looked like coming over the intracoastal waterway and over the tangled oaks:
My first friend on the run was a tiny turtle about this size. I carefully moved him from the road into a ditch that looked more like home to him.
I passed five rabbits! Usually I see one or two together, but on this run, there were five in a clump of grass on the edge of the woods near Cove Point! Several scampered off into the woods, or across the road, but two big ones stood their ground.
Yes, an Emu. There's a farm off Masonboro Sound with several emus. This one was close to the road, inside her fence and I had to stop and talk. She did not speak to me, but she could have been drowned out by the rooster (somewhere on the same farm) who was crowing up a storm that the sun was up.
TTFN,
My training assignment was for FARTLEKS, a swedish word for speed play. Remember the episode of Friends where Phoebe and Rachel go running in Central Park? That's kind of the idea for fartleks. It's unmeasured time and distance to speed up your pace. I ran all the way down Masonboro Sound Road and back, speeding up between electrical poles.
I might have looked as goofy as Rachel, but at least I didn't run head first into horse! I did have some company on the run. It was like an episode of National Geographic! I wish I could take my camera out on these early morning treks. This is the closest I could find to what the sun looked like coming over the intracoastal waterway and over the tangled oaks:
My first friend on the run was a tiny turtle about this size. I carefully moved him from the road into a ditch that looked more like home to him. I passed five rabbits! Usually I see one or two together, but on this run, there were five in a clump of grass on the edge of the woods near Cove Point! Several scampered off into the woods, or across the road, but two big ones stood their ground.Yes, an Emu. There's a farm off Masonboro Sound with several emus. This one was close to the road, inside her fence and I had to stop and talk. She did not speak to me, but she could have been drowned out by the rooster (somewhere on the same farm) who was crowing up a storm that the sun was up.
TTFN,
Bessie
Ice Cream Cone:
Playing Hide and Found:
Below: N-C-STATE....NCSTATE
I'm at it again! You know I love to have a goal to motivate myself and I love variety soooo.....I'm doing my first sprint TRIATHLON! On September 14, 2008, I will enter the SHEROX Tri in Charlotte. It's a half-mile swim, 17 mile bike and 3.1 mile run at Latta Plantation Nature Preserve. I'm so excited. The last time I was able to swim this far was as a sophomore at Peace College - and I've never raced in open water.
I have invested in a Trek road bike, swim cap and goggles! Yesterday I logged 12 miles on wheels and tomorrow I will attempt 10 laps at the pool (in preparation for nearly 40!). I have kept up my running and plan to reward myself with these in July:
I can't wait to tackle this - and I'll keep you posted on my training as I go. If you'd like to join me - contact me and meet me there.
TTFN,
Bess
Here are some random pix from the past few weeks:
Above & Below: Cooper Thomas on Masonboro Sound.
Below: Me & Megan at Meade & Joel van Pelt's reception.
Above & Below: Cooper Thomas on Masonboro Sound. Below: Me & Megan at Meade & Joel van Pelt's reception.
Celebrated Sawyer's 40th birthday on April 11th at the Azalea Fest post-garden party extravaganza on Airlie Sound. We hit the Bridge Tender and Dockside for live music, people-watching and pretty hats. It was so much fun to run into friends I hadn't seen in ages: Teri, Lori, Missy and William, Meredith, Lori, Greg, Leslie & Bryan.
Sawyer and Amy
Happy Girls are the Prettiest Girls
Lori, Rob and Amy
Sawyer and Amy Happy Girls are the Prettiest Girls Lori, Rob and AmyTTFN
OMG! Denver Rocks! Actually, so does Broomfield, Red Rocks, Nederland and Golden! Neal and I just returned from an incredible trip to Colorado. Ski. Wii. See. We went to visit Troy and Jennifer McConchie and they showed us the most wonderful time.
We arrived last Thursday and after a quick change and finally meeting Maker’s Mark and Senor Beans (the McConchie pooch patrol) we headed to LoDo. This is the view from their back yard!
We walked Larimar Square, ducked into The Market (recently featured by Giada DeLaurentis on her Weekend Getaway show), perused the original snap button shirts and other western wear at Rockmount and bought a Colorado cookbook from The Tattered Cover bookstore.
That night we had dinner at the The Ninth Door – a chilled out tapas bar with and incredible menu. We had garlic and sherry mushrooms, fried avocado, flash-fried baby squid with all sorts of sauces, filet with a rioja wine reduction and baby back ribs with pineapple brandy sauce. Yum. Plus, we had warm chocolate cake with a ganache center served on an orange crème anglaise. Double yum.
We topped the evening off with a little Guitar Hero. Neal and Troy battled to Sudden Death on at least eleventy songs.
The next day, we hit the slopes! We traveled about 45 minutes west of Broomfield, through Boulder and up the mountain to Eldora Ski Resort. I only fell twice! Seriously. We had an hour-long private refresher course with Tom – our trusty instructor from Mt. Vernon, Ohio. He taught us the basics and we were on our way. We skied until about 3:30 and headed back to Broomfield.
We arrived last Thursday and after a quick change and finally meeting Maker’s Mark and Senor Beans (the McConchie pooch patrol) we headed to LoDo. This is the view from their back yard!
We walked Larimar Square, ducked into The Market (recently featured by Giada DeLaurentis on her Weekend Getaway show), perused the original snap button shirts and other western wear at Rockmount and bought a Colorado cookbook from The Tattered Cover bookstore. That night we had dinner at the The Ninth Door – a chilled out tapas bar with and incredible menu. We had garlic and sherry mushrooms, fried avocado, flash-fried baby squid with all sorts of sauces, filet with a rioja wine reduction and baby back ribs with pineapple brandy sauce. Yum. Plus, we had warm chocolate cake with a ganache center served on an orange crème anglaise. Double yum.We topped the evening off with a little Guitar Hero. Neal and Troy battled to Sudden Death on at least eleventy songs.
The next day, we hit the slopes! We traveled about 45 minutes west of Broomfield, through Boulder and up the mountain to Eldora Ski Resort. I only fell twice! Seriously. We had an hour-long private refresher course with Tom – our trusty instructor from Mt. Vernon, Ohio. He taught us the basics and we were on our way. We skied until about 3:30 and headed back to Broomfield.
Troy and Jennifer made the BEST post-ski meal – perfectly grilled flank steak, baked potatoes with the works (including fresh bacon – omg) and an incredible salad with asian dressing. We played Wii and I beat the boys at Tiger Woods Golf (the front nine at St. Andrews).
The next day, Neal, Troy and I headed to Golden, Colorado for a tour of the Coors Brewery. (Jen was responsible and stayed home to study for an exam) We learned all about brewing and drinking beer. Did you know that they brew 1.5 million gallons of beer each day? Did you know that Coors Light in the can are best to drink before the 119 day mark? Halfway through the tour, between the mash urns and the kiln, we sampled the freshest beer ever. It was delicious. At the end of the tour, we watched thousands of Silver Bullets being bundled up and sent out in their silver boxes. Then we drank more beer! We each tried three beers: two Blue Moons and their seasonal beer: Rising Moon.
We hit downtown Golden for lunch at the Old Capital Grill and cruised down the main street before heading to Morrison, Co – the home of the best amphitheatre in the world.
Red Rocks. The site of some of the best concerts we’ve never seen by Grateful Dead, Phish and Widespread Panic. My dream to be on stage with the band finally came true!
This is a pic of me with Rose the Buffalo.Red Rocks is the site of some of the best concerts we’ve never seen by Grateful Dead, Phish and Widespread Panic. My dream to be on stage with the band finally came true!
This is the band we jammed with:
We hijacked Troy's Guitar Hero Guitars and hit the stage!
This one's for the fans.
This one's for the album cover.
Contemplating the trip up to the top.
the view from the top
That night the four of us went to Buca di Beppo – a fun, family-style Italian restaurant. They gave us a tour of the kitchen and sat us near the Vatican Room (with a bust of John Paul in the center of the table so that you always have an audience with the Pope!) My favorite thing was the fried mozzarella and the ½ pound meatballs!
On Sunday, we hit the slopes again. We arrived early and had the slopes to ourselves for at least an hour. We had fresh powder and a beautiful day. Jennifer was brave and hit a few of the blue trails while the rest of stuck to the greens.
After lunch at the best dive pizza/sandwich joint in Nederland (southern fried chicken tenders) we headed back to Broomfield. We took a nap and enjoyed the sunset.
Here I am with Makers Mark and Senor Beans - watching the guitar gods rock.
I can't tell you how much fun we had. Everything was WONDERFUL and if you're ever in the area I encourage you to stop at La Maison McConchie. They are the best hosts!
On Sunday - we made our last pass through Nederland, CO and did our part for the 2008 Frozen Dead Guy Days celebration. What is that you ask? In a nutshell, Grandpa Bredo is kept on dry ice in a Tuff Shed storage building somewhere in Nederland for cryogenic preservation. On the first weekend in March, residents celebrate Grandpa with coffin races, a slow-motion parade and a frozen dead guy look-alike contests.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frozen_Dead_Guy_Days
Here we are in the town's roundabout with an ice sculpture of Grandpa.
Boy, this town sure can pick'em.
One of the best features on Troy's vehicle (a BMW X5) was his sun roof. It was HUGE! On the way down the mountain, we were able to check out the Rocky Mountains in the best way possible.
Most of the way down, we watched the blue sky and played spot the climbers/crazies:
That's Troy in the background.....with the Woooooo!
What a Great Trip! More to Come......TTFN,
Bessie