Sick & Busy...(NOT a Good Mix!)

Hello!  I haven't written in here like I usually do.  I've been sick and busy... I feel like my life is on hold while I try to get my act together (if that's possible?).  Meanwhile, I will admit that I've been a bit of a grump, and I feel a bit like this cat in the picture or so I imagine.

I came down with the cold last Friday that's been making the rounds around the office.  YUCK!  Stuffy head, congested chest, and just general tiredness.  It came just in time so that I could enjoy the Memorial holiday in bed.  Sleep, sleep, and more sleep...I'm trying to get rid of the darn thing.  I went to bed on Friday afternoon after work and stayed mostly in bed until Sunday afternoon.  I started feeling a little more human then but only ventured from home to pick up another batch of NyQuil on Sunday night.  Otherwise, I was parked on the love seat underneath a blanket and going between watching a movie or reading a book.  Monday, I felt a bit like a hermit venturing out.  I went with a friend to dinner, a bit of shopping, and then coffee at Barnes & Nobles. 

My taste buds are still off... where they went---I don't know.  This morning I had to have one of the guys taste the coffee.  It didn't taste right to me.   He said it was my normal real strong brew as his face pucker up a bit.  Food doesn't taste right to me yet, and you would hope that maybe I would be losing weight because I'm not eating.  Nope, I'm not doing anything exercise either though.  So it's all a wash.  I will cough in spurts, usually when I need to talk to someone on the phone (Oooopps, sorry to cough in your ear.) or when I seem to have discovered I left all of the cough drops at home (Good old Murphy's Law at work).

But on top of all of this sickness, I've been pretty busy.  We had inventory at work last Friday.  Now everything that was on hold due to inventory needs to be done YESTERDAY!  Then things have stepped up on the Little Red Riding Hood ride with it approaching this Saturday.  The volunteers are pouring in or  volunteers that were set up are now unable to make it after all for whatever reasons, and then there's all of the working out the details and getting them to the volunteers.  I AM AMAZED that Diane did this all by herself last year and kept her sanity.  You are AWESOME Diane! 

So anyway that's why I haven't written in here in awhile...  I hope you understand.  Of course, that's figuring that anyone is actually reading my dribble...? ;-)

A Day of Rest After a Day of Discoveries...

I know, I know traditionally Sunday is the day of rest. But believe me after a day of doing a Mini- Triathlon (or Sprint Triathlon), my whole body is SCREAMing for a day of rest! Do I dare say I'm dog gone tired?! So for all intent purposes my body is having a Sunday, while my brain is enjoying a Saturday. Yes yesterday I survived the Mini-Triathlon. Diane and I did 22 miles biking, 3 miles running/walking, and almost ½ mile swimming.(Diane did do ½ mile swimming, while I went kaput a lap too early.)

Yesterday was a day of discoveries and fun. But oh, how my body is feeling that fun today! OUCH! Yesterday started with me at Liberty Park preparing my bike and gear for the Tri. While I was checking for the 15th time that my car keys were in fact in my fanny pack (I have a fear of locking myself out of my car); a third person had come up to me and started talking away. Strange, three people in 20 min. When Diane pulled up, I asked her if I had a sign on my forehead that said, “I’m lonely. Please talk to me!”(Photo: Myself and Diane before we started the "Freedom Festival Tri" Check out the Downhour Family Chronicles blog for more pictures.)

Oh this day of discoveries and fun. Diane got to discover the gates and the bike path out at the Salt Lake Airport. We had fun shouting and yelling through the tunnels at the golf course section. While I amazingly discovered that I could still manage to run a 1-1/2 mile in 17 min. after biking 22 miles.

Then we both discovered why they don’t put the swim at the end of a Tri. Besides the fact that people can drown, and I was certainly drank more than my fair share of chlorinated water. We also discovered that your arms can feel like they have lead weights attached to them. I ended up using a paddle board for two of the laps, and felt like I was totally regressing when I passed a little girl in the next lane using her paddle board. A little 5 year old was putting me to shame! Another discovery that I made was that swimming goggles make me feel Closter-phobic. So no swimming goggles for me. Sorry eyes you’ll have to deal with it.

Diane and I ended up having lunch at Emigration Market. It was a nice little local grocery market that I had driven and biked by but never been in. They have a little café up front and then a cute little store in back. We explored the store after we had a light lunch of sandwiches with plenty of beverages. I shouldn't have but I bought bread pudding with caramel sauce. YUM! After that I proceeded home where I called Mum. Yes Mum, my “ticker” did not give out and I had managed to survive the Mini-Tri. Then I laid down for a well deserved short nap. Then as a “celebration” I went to a movie and dinner with my friend Laura. Oh, and just FYI--- My Sister’s Keeper is a good movie but is a REAL tear jerker.

Yes, it was a full day, and I had even planned more but my body was not cooperating at this point. I was going to bike over to Granite High school to watch the 4th of July fireworks display, but at the appointed time I found myself sitting in a chair on my balcony with my feet propped up. Ahh, I was too comfortable, and starting to get stiff. So I sat and watched what fireworks I could see over the trees.

Today I finally crawled (literally)out of bed at 9AM due to the call of nature. I staggered to the kitchen to make a pot of joe. And was stared down menacingly by a bag of garbage that needs to go down to the dumpster 3 floors down and across the parking lot. All I can think is OUCH! And sometimes I REALLY hate living on the third floor. Gee, maybe I can bribe one of the neighbor kids?! Or maybe I can drop it from my balcony and hope a Good Samaritan will take it the rest of the way? Nah, not how my luck runs. This might be an all day event... the "Garbage Tri" where I'll try to go down the three flights of stairs and across the whole expanse of parking lot. Meanwhile, I might be ambitious enough to swing by the mailbox that I forgot to stop by yesterday. We'll see... but in the meantime, let me wish you all a Happy Fourth of July!