Hey, Finished IS finished!!

So, I really enjoyed my weekend.

It started out rough, but ended up pretty dang perfect.

Thursday night:

i forget that i am a mom and that i am responsible for a 7 year old daughter and her dietary needs. We do believe that Grace is lactose intolerant. So, we have been staying away from the cows milk as much as we can.

She was at tumbling, and I was running errands.

I stopped by Smith's and remembered how turned on I get when I pass their Olive bar.

It would be rude of me not to stop by and say hi.

I mean, we do have a pretty intense and intimate history.

So, I said hi.

And then I got some of the caprese salad that they have there.

I head over to get Grace.

We get in the car and she sees that I have the caprese salad.

She LOVES the mozzarella balls. She asked if she could have some, I said yes...and she starts chowing.

About 8 small mozzarella balls later I remember......LACTOSE INTOLERANT!!

HELLO??

Grace, stop eating that.

Well, unfortunately, Grace had to pay for my brain fart.

Later that night....stomach in knots. She couldn't eat anything else.

She went to bed with a very hurty tummy.

Then, she woke up at 430, told me she doesn't feel well, sat Marty Monkey style on my floor, and puked.

Then again.

Then again.

Tye piped up with some very comforting words.....

"Pull her hair back......."

You cant buy advice like that.

I clean up the mess, get her in new clothes, get her back to bed and asleep.

The next morning, she was in no shape at all to go to school.

This is not from Lactose intolerant.

This is the stomach flu.

So I stayed home from work with her.

I had to leave later that night to get to my sister Kristins house.

See, a while back....back when we were obviously less...um, smart...we decided to sign up for the SLC Marathon Bike tour.

Now, 26 miles on a bike....really, not too hard. HOWEVER, when you have to wake up at 4 in the morning to be at the starting line at 530.......it doesn't matter if you are doing it so you can pet puppies and eat crispy cremes, that time of day makes ANYTHING hard.

On my way down to her house, I called Kristin and told her that if it windy in the morning, I AM OUT! I dont have to be a hero. Hell, I dont have to be a mediocre slob.

IM NOT BIKING IN THE WIND!

I swear, I am trying to think of something that I hate as equally as I hate riding against the wind.

I got nuthin.

So, to bed we go at midnight.

And at 1 I get a text from Tye.

Grace's fever has spiked to 103.5

he is threatening her to eat something so that he can give her some motrin.

It worked, cuz they didnt end up at the hospital.

I have never ever experienced 4 am taking forever to come around.

And this was no different.

It sneaks up on you like a little spider, and gives me the same knee jerk reaction.....KILL KILL KILL!!!

But I handled it well.

My friends brother in law was going to ride it with "us".

We call him Herb.

Who is "us" you might ask?

Well, "us" consisted of Me, my sister Kristin, friend Nicky, friend Joni, friend Nancy, and then Herb.

Well, Herb texts me at 430.

"Hey, do you think helmets are required? Will they be selling them there? I forgot mine"

Uh....we arent going to some stinky ass bowling alley where half the income comes from banking on selling socks to morons that forgot that they have to wear some 20 year old nasty, been worn by at least 200 other athletes foot, wart sportin, skin peeling, stinky feet people.....

My test: "yes, helmets required. No, they will not be selling them....."

As we pull out of Kristins neighborhood I tell her what he text and say "Who forgets their helmet..??"

She pauses...

"Wait, wheres mine....?"

yeah, on her table.

She forgets her helmet.

Then I get a call from Joni asking where i am.

She had to head back to her house cuz she too forgot her helmet.....AND her clip on shoes....

Anyway...we get there, we get ready.

We ride to the starting line....WOW, LOTS OF PEOPLE!

So, I decided that we weren't going to start at the back of the line, we were just going to mix in with the others at the front of the line.

Ready

Set

Go!

And we are off.

I brought up the rear...

Im telling you. It was a good thing that we did indeed butt in line in the front.

I would have been DEAD LAST.

Nicky stayed with me the whole time.

Now, dont get me wrong. It isnt like I dont bike.

It isnt like I have no stamina.

I just wasnt as fast as....well, most of them.

But hey, we averaged 17 miles per hour.

We ended in an hour 30.

I am proud.

It felt GREAT!!!

It was such an awesome morning!

After we got to the finish line, we met up with everyone.

We needed to ride trax back up to the U.

Joni and Nancy left. So it was just us four.

As we were waiting for Trax, Herb (who finished first with Kristin out of the 6 of us) asks me (very matter of fact, with no judgment of me or anyone else)

"So did the racers that are handicap pass you?"

NOTE***about 20 minutes after us, they had the cyclists that peddle with their hands rather than their feet, start their race. And they were indeed racing each other....we were not. We were just racing time.

That is who he was talking about. And let me preface this with this....I admire and respect anyone who doesnt let any disability get in their way***END OF NOTE

I look at him, and say...

"So are you asking me if those who started 20 minutes after us that cycle with their hands because they cant with their legs....passed me????"

He looks at me with a blank stare.....

"yes, yes they did..." I say.

But, I was not racing them.

True, if I was racing something, it better have been a lawn gnome. Because there isnt anything or anyone else that I could beat.

However, I was so proud of myself that I wore the medal, that they gave all the finishers, ALL DAY LONG.

I head home, thinking about the nap that I am going to have before Anna and Brian come over.

I get home. And I am welcomed by reality.

Reality that my husband wants to put me to work in the yard.

So, I tell him that I will work in the yard, and then I AM TAKING A NAP!

I work

He works

We both work.

And then I got to meet "My Wall".

The tired wall.

I was trying to pull up some grass with some whoppidy do da tool, and I snapped!

I threw it across the lawn and yelled "I AM DONE!!"

Tye comes over, he shows me how to do pull this grass up.

I tell him "I KNOW HOW TO DO THIS! I DONT WANT TO!!I AM DONE!!!!"

He says "Hey, Im tired too. Grace was sick last night. I didnt get much sleep."

I said- "I went to bed at midnight. Woke up, then asleep, then woke up at 4!!"

He said- "Thats about how much sleep I got too"

Me- "DID YOU RIDE 26 MILES RIGHT AFTER????"

NO!

I win.

I got a hiccup of a nap.

Time to go to the store.

Then Anna and Brian came over with the girls.

I love them.

I love them so freaking much!!

I loved having them at my house.

We had a big ole sleep over.

Then the next day the rest of my siblings came over for brunch.

It was great!!!

The weather was BEAUTIFUL!

Great company, great food, lots of love and fun.

AND, I got a medal.

Not sure how to beat it.

Alisa