The Warrior

I am a Warrior!!

Literally, I have the shirt to prove it!

After my amazing week with Sweetness in Central Texas I was able to spend Saturday with my “Big Brother”, his wife, and their friends running around East Texas.

3.11 miles to be exact, including 12 obstacles.

Obstacles you ask?!

Yep. Military style obstacles forcing the “Warriors” to jump, crawl, climb, and slide. Oh, and run through mud and wade through a creek bed too!

By now you get I LOVE to do unconventional things. Hiking and rock climbing…awesome! Now add a quicker pace, uneven ground, tons of people and another surprise and I am giddy like a first grader!

I do not think I stopped smiling from the moment I woke up Saturday until I took a much deserved nap that evening.

BigBrother is one of my favorite people for a variety of reasons, but mostly because he really is like a big brother to me. He and his wife are the ones who told me about Warrior Dash and got me involved. I jointed them in the lovely town of Splendora, TX for a little jog…

As I had the largest car I drove. We were in the Noon wave of runners, but were told to get there an hour and a half early. We got to the exit two hours early and figured out the reason for promptness…parking was CRAZY! Two lanes merged to one with 500 plus people per half-hour wave trying to park.

We were in line for a while…

So long in fact that BigBrother and I had time to do an “Irish Fire Drill”. It’s a Chinese fire drill, but it was St. Patty’s Day and BigBrother danced a jig around my car, so Irish Fire Drill it is…

We got there, war-painted up, I taped BigBrother’s wife’s ankles and we checked in.

The Dash itself was SO much fun!

I ran with two friends of BigBrother. They are a husband and wife team from El Paso…awesome people!

The first “obstacle” was running in mud. This is precarious and you have to be nimble. Standing on your heels or stopping will cause you to either fall or lose a shoe from the mud suction.

So we ran through mud trying to be strategic and find the “most dry” mud patches and wind up at a freaking creek bed! This requires a jump into chest deep water and wading across only to run around a corner…in mud…and go back the other way through the creek bed again! By this time I’m thinking of the move Stand By Me and the leaches scene…not digging it. I persevere.

After the water is the first real obstacle of what I call “over-unders”. Jump over a three-foot wall and crawl under a board two feet above the ground with barbed wire on top.

The order of events from here on is a bit fuzzy. Not because they were impossible, I just plain don’t remember.

I know there were walls that required a rope to get up and over. I was actually most worried about this obstacle during my training, so I was PUMPED when I had NO trouble. I hit the ground on the other side and yelled WOOOOO at the top of my lungs!

The last couple obstacles were great too. One was a “waterfall” with a slide on the other side. My happy hind-end somehow got twisted to the side and ended up in the water at the bottom head and back first, feet in the air! I wish there was a streamed video I could post here, but take my word for it…hilarious!

Now, did I mention a surprise earlier…I think I did…

FIRE!

Yep, the second to last obstacle was jumping over fire pits!

My little group of gals decided to wear tutus for the Dash, so I hiked up the fabric and jumped. I KNEW I was going to catch fire over one of the pits.

I didn’t!

I just kept barreling on through.

The last obstacle was a crawl through mud under barbed wire. There was no way to cheat; you had to be belly on the ground to get through. One kid went past me with a sword in his mouth! Fantastic! Fortunately, there were no leaches to worry about. We just got plain DIRTY!!

Loved.every.minute!!!

While getting my medal the gal even mentioned how big my smile was. I felt great!

It took only 50 minutes to get through the dash.

Here is a picture after the entire group made it in.

Afterwards was time to clean up and enjoy a couple free beverages.

I opted to pay for a gigantic stein full of brew. There were also turkey legs available for purchase…yes, please.

Delicious on both counts!

Here are a couple people I met on the trails…

The day was awesome! Great people to celebrate with and a low-key St. Patty’s on the couch that night.

I just want to say thank you to all who have supported and inspired me through my trials and tribulations the last couple of years. It is because of you I am able to write this blog today. I could not be the rockin’ Warrior without you!

Inspiration Song…The Warrior by Patty Smyth

Alive

There are two things I HATE...

1. People who lie and are not dependable

2. Inanimate objects with a mind of their own

The whole big-loser-guy thing has been brought up on more than one occasion. True to form he has managed to avoid his end of the deal...again.

I am a bit worried, but know things will work out in the long run. I try very hard to keep my perspective. I also have a few cards left to play. I guarantee his life will not be pleasant if he decides to keep being a d-bag.

The second thing I hate is a newish problem. I am starting to believe my Android is alive...as in "Johnny 5 is ALIVE" alive. 

Remember Short Circuit???

In the last few months Droid, or should I say Diva, has started acting up. The memory is basically shot on my 18-month old device. The Aly really was not developed well enough to handle the applications and data usage a techno-savvy gal can put it through. I have barely been able to use Facebook since July. If I do choose to open FB then I run the risk of the memory being so drained I cannot send or receive text messages.

Ok, that may be a Superior Being’s way of telling me I text a bit much.

I like "talking" with my thumbs, sue me...

I have been annoyed with Droid for a while. My brother brought it to my mothers and my attention that we were able to upgrade our phone service contract in February and I got a little tingle. Was it true? Could there be a Siri in my future? Yes, I have developed iPhone envy and want a Siri in my life.

Is there anyone who doesn't know of which I speak?

Just a quick rundown in case there is a person who has used the DVR and missed the Apple commercials...Siri is a voice activated application on the iPhone. You can literally ask the phone a question and a female voice returns with some sort of answer, usually in the form of a web search or list of restaurants, gas stations, taxi services, what have you, within a few mile radius of your location. One friend went so far as to ask Siri to marry him! Her response, "I think we are better as friends."

Seriously??

Those Apple people are WICKED smart!! Or is it smartasses?? Regardless, how freakin’ cool to talk to your phone and get a response?!?

I digress. Sandpile and I started talking, and compared to the price of other "non-Siri" phones it wasn’t out of the question to REALLY upgrade. Shoot, she even saved money!

So, somewhere between Memphis and Houston is a white 16GB iPhone 4S with my name on it. Hooray, right?

Noooottttt exactly…

Remember I now call Droid Diva? I swear Droid KNOWS its days as my one and only are almost over.

Yesterday Droid developed some quirks. First, the back button from the touch screen won’t work, so I have to use the slider to go back. Not a terrible problem, but a bit odd. The terrible problem, and what makes me think the machine has developed a “brain”, is that while trying to use the phone in any way Droid decides it’s going to do something else. Mostly just go back to the home screen and sneer at me, because it KNOWS I am at Droid’s mercy.

I opted to, gasp, call someone last night rather than text. It was seriously taking five minutes to say “how was your day?”

I am NOT a slow typist.

So I wait, I turn Droid off and put it in timeout for a little while. Maybe Diva isn’t correct, maybe it’s a two-year old…

Regardless, I hope FedEx gets to the apartment while the office is still open today. OR I hope that Baseball ends so I can get home in time to meet my new friend Siri!

Inspiration Song…Alive by Pearl Jam

Mi Vida Loca

Well my darlings, it is nice to be back. SO many things to tell you!!

Spring Break has ended and I do not remember a better more crazy week in my life.

Let’s start at the beginning…

I was supposed to work a baseball game on Monday, but Mother Nature decided to unleash her wrath upon the fine people of Houston. That just meant Sweetness and I were able to get out of town FOUR hours early for our big trip!!

We left in the morning and took a leisurely drive to Kerrville-Schriener Park. We made a quick stop in Gonzales to look around at the museum, which unfortunately was not open. There was a cute little Children’s Garden out back, and I think they planted radishes, but don’t quote me…

We finally made it to the campsite and set everything up.

Neither of us yelled once.

It was amazing!

After everything was set up we went into town for a bite and to find firewood. It was a great night and the clouds moved out for a while so I could see stars.

When we woke on Tuesday Sweetness made coffee, while I figured out how to fix chorizo and egg breakfast burritos on the fire. There will be no going back after eating tortillas cooked on the fire! After a fulfilling breakfast and packing up we hopped down to Garner State Park. It was so pretty and amazing to go from Hill Country to South Texas geography.

Garner offered a variety of hiking trails and we chose the most vertical first. I made the comment that I saw some people in way worse shape than I was at the top, so onward and upward. At one point we stopped going up and traversed across, leaping over a “Danger” sign, to find the Icebox Cave.

Very cool…temperature and otherwise…

We couldn’t fit with our packs on our shoulders it was so tiny. But we made it past the rocks that looked like dinosaurs and back out without any issue. It was really a nice reprieve from the hot hiking air.

From there we went UP. The topo-map we had was pretty crappy, but I think the highest point was somewhere around 1900 or 2000 ft. It was more like an Idaho hill, but it was still a lot of work going up and down. The other stops during the day were the Painted Rock and Krystal Cave. Krystal cave was full of quartz crystals and we decided the burritos from the morning had been used and sat for lunch.

Bear Grylls would have been proud…

Beef stew, mashed potatoes, and marble pound cake were on the menu from the handy MRE Sweetness packed.

It was really good!!!

A little foreshadow for the week, we blazed our own trail down the hill from one spot. Way more fun, btw…

We walked along the Frio river for a bit and decided it was time to go back to camp and get dinner cooked.

I made grilled chicken tenders over the fire and we continued to eat the tres leches for dessert.

Wednesday morning was about the same, except we were smart enough to fill up the air mattress before falling asleep and weren’t stuck in the middle!

Breakfast burritos and coffee and off to another State Park. We wanted to try Enchanted Rock. When we got there I REALLY wanted to climb, but there was about an hour-long wait outside the park to get in. We made a choice to abandon Enchanted and roll up to another park. We ended up at Inks Lake.

I swear Inks Lake is a hidden gem! There were about 5 miles of hiking trails and Devil’s Water Hole. We opted for lunch over the water hole, but it is a place where young and old can jump from a 30 foot high rock down into the water.

Um, a little too chilly in March for jumping into water…just sayin’

Back to the car and back to Fredericksburg. Sweetness decided we needed some yummy fish for dinner and bought snapper and steamed shrimp.

**Go to HEB and ask them to steam your shrimp. They will right there on the spot!**

Again, Bear Grylls style, dinner was prepared over the fire. This time we added grilled corn and I cooked cinnamon rolls in oranges! I will post the cinnamon roll recipe below…

Thursday morning was leaving day. We decided to hit Pedernales Falls on the way home. This was my favorite day!!!

First thing was hiking/climbing over river rocks on the falls portion of the park. We ended up jumping over a small portion of the river to climb a rock on the other side.

Some little 16-year old punk tried to call me out and make me jump 10 feet down to the beach…

Um, hale to the NO!

I am old enough that my legs don’t leave the ground and I was not about to tear my ACL on the last day!!!

So we went back the way we came and nothing was broken or torn.

Lunch was delicious leftover shrimp and granola bars, and off to another portion of the park. This time we chose to walk along the river and then hit a crossing to hike around. Problem…there was no crossing. We kept walking…and walking…and walking. We ran OUT of trial!!!

Sweetness asked “what happens if we turn right?”

I answered with a not-so-sure “um, we hit the primitive campground?”

Yep, we became trail blazers! Up the hill we went with our packs and walking sticks. We got to the rock bluff section and had to climb, like for real climb, a 10-foot section of rock bluff.

 Both of us handled it well and we ended up where I thought…the primitive camping area. Yay, real road!

Not really…

From here we still had TWO miles left to hike out and then another mile back to the car!

Of course we are superior athletic specimens, so it was all ok and we made it with no trouble…

The rest of the day turned into night and we made it back to Houston. There was a moment when we thought seriously about turning around and going back. He had things to get to and I had appointments on Friday, so we decided responsibility was our better option.

I had the best time. I do not remember a Spring Break of so much activity and enjoyment!

There is more to tell, but I think you have done enough reading of my silly crazy life today.

Be well dear friends. I will try to write more soon!

Inspiration Song…Mi Vida Loca by Pam Tillis

Here is the website for the cinnamon rolls.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/46429967@N00/5751058272/

Breathe`

No, this is NOT inspired by Faith Hill!!

When athletes are in pain and freaking out during a game I don’t necessarily worry about the injured body part first. I worry about their breathing. If they aren’t breathing and are carrying-on in such a way I can’t understand what they are saying I’m no good to them.

I am terrible at veterinary medicine! I need words!

To get them to calm down I say in a slow low voice “breathe IN through your nose and OUT through your mouth.” More often than not it works…

I’ve been known to actually close lips before to get them to understand. That makes them laugh, which makes them calm down, which makes them breathe…

In breathing the air is important, but the act of breathing is essential. It is not only about gas exchange.

In my graduate Stress Management course Dr. M constantly talked about using breathing techniques to reduce stressors. Visualization depended on breathing to slow the body into a rhythm so the brain could be clear.

Breathing alone does NOT take away the stressor. However, it does give oxygen to the brain and time for the oxygen to take effect. One deep breath allows approximately a pint of air to fill the lungs and up to the brain. The oxygen feeds the brain cells to allow for clearer thinking, and one deep breath allows at least a second before a rash decision is made.

The slogan for the 2011-2012 Lobo Men’s Soccer team is “Breathe”. They are a young team and sometimes forget to just calm down, take in their surroundings, and trust their bodies. Breathing gives a moment of clarity, which may be important in certain game situations.

Personally, I have a fiery personality. I always wanted to be Irish and can fall into the Irish temper very easily. I get excited and angry over tiny things and let it affect my mood.

Character flaw, but recognizable…and fixable

Sweetness constantly reminds me to breathe when I get into these situations. Yes, it’s been a short time of us talking and he’s already figured me out. He’s really NOT a dumb man, and it’s one reason I call him Sweetness.

I digress, today he sent me to a website that made my day!!!

It’s a blog post, a blurb really, about the benefits of a simple breath.

I encourage you to visit the site and read. It is very short, but valuable.

As with most of my posts there is not one thing I have written that you don’t already know. Sometimes, it just takes a person to bring it to your attention.

Inspiration…Breathe by Leo Babauta

http://zenhabits.net/breathe

   **read the Tip at the bottom of the page!!!

He's More

Something is afoot. I won’t share every detail here, but something is definitely afoot.   

I am naturally leery of happiness. I keep a positive outlook on most occasions, but when it comes to true joy I’ve been a bit of a scaredy-cat.

There seems to be a person who doesn’t want me to be scared and wants me to be happy.

I know…novel concept.

I was asked the other night if I had been mistreated in the past and why I let that happen. My honest answer to that question was I didn’t know I had been.

It’s true.

Sad.but.true.

It’s funny how in one situation things seem normal and you feel happy, then the bubble bursts and you can look at the situation objectively. That is when you realize it was a false happiness.

At the time you really were happy.

Then fate, destiny, divine intervention, whathaveyou steps in and there is a better happiness waiting in possibly a package you hadn’t expected.

A few weeks ago I finally sat down and thought about what I wanted in another human being to share my life. What were the characteristics of a person I wanted to be with? What did I bring to the table I hoped someone would complement?

I came up with a list. The list was simple and compact with four criteria. Based on previous relationships I chose qualities that I felt made those relationships work.

1.       I wanted a man I could talk to. Not just the superficial, but the serious and the fun.

2.       A man had to be someone with a protective nature.

3.       Remember the tingles? Yep, that had to make the list. The next man must make me tingle when I see him or think about seeing him.

4.       And last but not least someone who is just plain fun.

That’s it. Four simple things rolled into one man. I don’t feel like it is an outlandish list of unreachable goals. Notice there is nothing physical listed. In my attempt to grow as a person I wanted the physical stuff to take care of itself. In the movie “8-Seconds” there is a conversation between Kelly and her mother when they are talking about Layne Frost:

             Kelly – “He has one of those scrawny bull rider butts.”

Mom – “Honey, I’d judge a man by the size of his heart rather than his rear-end. It’s libel to do  you more good.”

After the whole debacle that was November I decided maybe it was time to heed that advice. That clown was tall and handsome and on the outside put together. On the inside he was mush and very VERY selfish.

A month ago a friend pointed to a man I thought was cute, but nothing I was physically looking for.

At all…

5’3” isn’t tall. I tend to lean towards blue eyes over brown. I will admit however, he had a great smile with eye wrinkles and dimples to boot.

Anyhow, a mutual friend pointed to him and said, “You should go after him. You would laugh your ass off.”

I thought about it.

A lot.

For two weeks.

When the time was right and an opportunity arose for us to hang out I took it.

SO…glad…I…did!!

We continue to hang out. We are taking our time and getting to know each other.

It’s different…in a good way.

He has shown himself to possess all the major qualities and many minor qualities I want to be around.

I am cautiously optimistic about where this whole thing is headed, but would be remiss if I didn’t mention even a little snippet here.

Inspiration song…She’s More by Andy Griggs. Yes, I took a little creative license with the blog title…

Keep your fingers crossed and thoughts up to whichever higher power you believe in. I will be doing the same while not being “skered” and enjoying the moments as they happen.

Irreplaceable

I have a weakness for the crude and hilarious.

My favorite website is Texts From Last Night…TFLN for short. It is a never ending source of enjoyment. Until my phone started acting crazy with very little memory TFLN was the one application I went to every day…even more than Facebook. I couldn’t wait to read what those crazy college kids had to say.

They bring back a little nostalgia from my own college days (undergrad and graduate). The parties, the irresponsible decisions, and even the breakups.

That is why when I read this quote from TFLN I about hit the floor: “i think I'm just gonna buy a new vibrator, body pillow, some guys cologne to spray on it, a life time supply of wine and weed and be done with all this shit”

The reason I love this is the simplicity. Who hasn’t been here at one point or another? I can imagine this poor child (you know she’s at the most 22-years old) getting over a breakup and feeling fed up. What’s the use of her having a man if that man is just going to treat her like crap and throw her away?  At this moment a man is replaceable.

Just to be clear…I like dudes...

I.really.like.dudes

However, I understand where she is coming from.

I have been using exercise to replace a man. I like the physical results, but…

My wonderful friends JayVee and TMAM have been attending The Bridge Fellowship church in Sugarland with a discussion series called LSD (Love, Sex, and Dating). I have not attended the service for a variety of reasons, but the discussions are available off the interwebs at

http://thebridgefellowship.com/audio/lsd

The sermons focus around the question “are you the person the person you are looking for is looking for?”

To answer the question you have to be willing to figure out what the heck you want…then you can work on making yourself a better person to catch the eye of the person that fits what you want. Lots of words, but the focus is on figuring out YOU.

I gotta say I love that in the span of a couple paragraphs I have brought crude and spiritual together.

Maybe that’s just me…

There is no reason to give up completely as the TFLN girl states. And you and I both know she will NOT get to that point. She’s just frustrated and as a great friend once said, tired. Come Saturday night I’m sure she will be out shaking her tooshy and having fun with or without a man.

I never thought I would use these words either…Beyoncé was right…a man, or woman for that matter, is never irreplaceable. There will be another one in a minute.

Have a fabulous March my dearests. Whether you are a single or plus-one be the person the person you are looking for is looking for…

For those of you who are breaking up though…I found this trinket of knowledge today…”when the ex says ‘you will never find anyone like me’ reply with ‘that’s the point’.”

Inspirational Song…Irreplaceable by Beyoncé