Couple of photos from this weekend:

MVG finishing the run.

MVG and Matt (mcgilmartin) second place relay! Woot! Matt swam, MVG rode my MTB with slicks, and ran!

Me, my college pal Amy, and of course the dumpster. Next year we are going to form teams to see if we can beat him. I think if we put together a "dream team" of mixed talents, we might be able to defeat him! This year, however, he was a good 15 minutes faster than any of us.

Jessica (triathmom) was there as well as the Kautzmanns (CindyK and MarkK) but my phone wasn't taking and saving photos. I am failing in my duties as documentarian of these BT events!  

In other news: I've been staying up too late watching the Olympics! It's terrible! Yet awesome! I've been wanting to see the men's RINGS competition, but they haven't really been showing any of it... until LAST NIGHT at like 10:25. I was already in bed, trying to sleep, when I heard it on the TV. So I got my ass out of bed and plunked it down on the couch next to Chris and watched the men's rings and vault final until 11 PM. The rings just astound me. It's frightening to think of the STRENGTH necessary to pull off even the CRAPPIEST of rings routines. But some of the routines we saw? WOW. It's mesmerizing! And I have issues with the TRX straps sometimes! I mean COME ON! And don't even get me started on the vault. You couldn't pay me enough to run full speed (which would likely be way too slow) at that horse and fling myself over it. I'd break my neck. I'd break the vaulting horse. It would be a costly and damaging endeavor that would leave the audience disappointed.

This is why I am not a gymnast. We all have our talents. I list neither running nor gymnastics amongst mine.

ANYONE WONDER WHAT RUNS THROUGH MY MIND WHILE RIDING LONG?

How about this on a continuous loop...:

SETTLE DOWN -- NO DOUBT

I really like the song, but it was literally lodged in my brane and I could not dislodge it... with anything. Not even PAYPHONE! I tried humming a few bars of THAT annoying ear worm to no avail. GETGETGET in line and settle down!

MORNING: Oh God, it's Monday. Back to work, back to productivity, back to the grindstone. I took a 2.5 hour nap yesterday... you can bet that won't be happening again for a looooooong time. 

I am pulling out of the Wisconsin Dells Aquabike. I'd rather just save the money and go be a cheerleader for Chris. 400 M of flailing swimming yesterday was more than enough for me. I simply haven't done the swim training to give me an "acceptable" swim. I can ride the course, that's not going to be an issue, but I will flop and flail in the water and that will make me sad. Maybe I'll allocate the $250 + USAT fee + processing fee toward something nice for the new house. Or maybe for ME! 

ADDITIONALLY, if I sign up now for the race, there's no guarantee that I even get a finishers shirt! Not that I need another shirt... but if I'm shelling out $250, I'd like to at least have something to show for it. How about a $250 tech tee to commemorate a lousy swim and an uphill bike ride... that you may or may not get due to when you signed up.... No. I think I'll just skip it. 

1:24 PM: Couple of things... we have a showing today. I hope the people actually keep the appointment and show up. And... I'm absolutely buried at work. Like I don't know which end is up. I don't know. I can't prioritize because everything needs to be a priority. I eat lunch at my desk. I barely have time to pee. So many processes and procedures. Why must everything be convoluted and include 86 steps and a flow chart? I have simple tasks that need to get accomplished that involve a degree of difficulty that would impress even the stingiest of Olympic gymnastics judges. Everything around here has a starting points value of 17. It gives me an ulcer.

MAP!

Up, around the lake, back down, over to the gas station in Hebron, back Rosefarm Road, then a little out and back near Union to give us some more miles... 

Photo Flipper... I bring you... COLLEGE:

Me, my dumpster shorts (they have nothing to do with our DUMPSTER, no... these were shorts I fashioned out of a pair of jeans I literally found in a dumpster behind a fraternity house in college.) I cleverly (and craftily... not to mention frugally!) chopped them off with jagged fashion forward edges, and wore them proudly with my rastafarian belt and friendship bracelet. Also of note are my K-Swiss gym shoes and Ralph Lauren scrunchy socks. Oh yes. I was a force with which to be RECKONED! I used to wonder why I had no boyfriend. Now I know. It seems fairly clear, in fact.

Digging the MINISTRY poster as well... and what appears to be an inflatable... something... to the right of Whitney.

10:49 AM: Well, I had a showing scheduled for today, but it canceled. The Broker Tour was useful, I suppose... I guess it was better than NOT having a broker tour. The realtor mentioned that 2 neighbors came through the broker tour. REALLY? That sort of creeps me out.

The Palace has been on the market for 1 week and 3 days and we've not had a single showing. Feedback from the Broker Tour was... pretty much non existent. Happy for the GBO, waiting for the appraisals to come in, and waiting to see what the new list price will be.

In non REAL ESTATE news: I took a rest day yesterday. I had to catch up at work. Worked from 8:30-7 or so. Just so much to do. I know I say that all the time. It's a taper week for the race on Sunday, right? Isn't it?

3:13 PM: So.... I've been thinking about things, speficially wondering why I am so BOTHERED by the fact that no one has asked for an official showing of my house yet... and I've determined that I'm taking this all way too personally. Not on purpose, necessarily, but I'm definitely taking it personally. And that's just crazy. And irrational. I can't take this personally. Everyone has different tastes and preferences and wants and needs and wishes for their home. I can't FORCE anyone else to specifically like what I've put together for myself. (No matter how much I'd want to!)  

That doesn't mean that I find the Palace to be any less fantastic than I always thought it was. *I* love it. And as far as I'm concerned, people should be lined up outside standing on the front porch banging on the door clamoring to get a glimpse of what COULD be theirs for my very low and absolutely reasonable asking price. But, that's not how life works.

I loved the place when I saw it. Someone else will love it when they see it as well, I hope. It's not that they don't love ME. It's just my house. Just things. Must maintain a shred of rationality.

August 1 this year is both WEDDING WEDNESDAY *and* Rachael's actual birthday... so I have combined the two into WeddingsRachaelWednesday!

Her wedding 10/13/1995.

And mine. 4/15/2012.