Happy May!

Okay, once again, it has been a while. Busy times still. April was a blur of travel, racing, training and working!
We began the month participating in California 70.3. A 'B' race for us both, ended up being a tough day for me and a good training day for Norman. A few days after the race Norm took off to China for work and I made my way to AZ for Easter weekend. I had a ton of fun hanging out with my Dad and mountian biking with some friends!!! Once back from China, Norm and I were off to Mexico!! There we met a bunch of friends and did the Las Palomas Triathlon, that was a lot of fun!! They had a slip and slide at the finish line AND beer! A fun weekend with great friends! We made it back to CA late Sunday and by Thursday I was in Texas on business. Gail and I had 3 bike skills clinics to coach over the weekend and she loaned me her Felt TT bike to do a sprint Tri that Sunday. After that fun filled weekend I had no voice, full blown laryngitis! So, I returned from TX with no voice for 4 1/2 days, I think Norm actually enjoyed that!

While I was away working in TX Norm ran a marathon and a half marathon on back to back days!! I am not sure how he does that!

The next weekend brings us to May already!! Norm did the OC Marathon and I did the OC 1/2 Marathon on May 3rd. A great course! More work, more training, and on May 9th I got to race my mountain bike! Yay!!

Not much spare time, but we did manage a few date nights here and there and we did get to see "Monsters Vs. Aliens" finally!

Bailee is back on her exercise program and she is very, very happy. Joey, on the other hand, just cannot handle taking walks anymore, so one of us walks Bailee while the other stays home with Joey. We are all very sad about his aging, but he still has a very healthy appetite and loves to play with his blue squeaky ball, so that is his exercise for now.

While in TX, Kevin fixed me a marvelous homemade pizza on wheat flatbread. I have been trying to find a good flatbread and in the meantime have settled for some so-so wheat pitas. Anyway, I took some notes in TX and have begun "make your own pizza night". It is not a weekly event at this point, it still needs perfecting. I have Norm make the sauce and I chop up some fresh veggies, lean meat and grab the shredded mozzarella! Can you guess which pizza is mine and which is Norm's:
Here is the "make your own pizza night" spread:

Next, we are off to MN to see my sister and run in a local race there! So long for now.

Happy Third day of Spring!

And essentially our quarterly update. DeeAnn apologizes profusely for the lack of updated posts, but, well, that's the way it is.

It has been a busy couple of months with DeeAnn's company changing names from AZ Coaching to Gorilla Multisport Performance. In so doing, she has partnered with one of her friends (Gail L.) to create "Gorilla Multisport" which will be (and is) a sort of corporate center for a number of regional coaching businesses.

At the end of February, Gorilla Multisport hosted its annual camp in Tucson. A fun-filled week of riding, running, and a bit of swimming. Also a host of educational lectures on everything from nutrition to strength training to bike skills.

Over the last couple weeks, we did a couple races. Last week we went to see Snoopy at Knott's Berry Farm and ran a 10K. Both DeeAnn and Norm got second place in their respective age groups. Yay. DeeAnn got her picture taken with Snoopy. Norm ate boysenberry pie.

Yesterday, we went to Lake Havasu in Arizona to race an Olympic distance triathlon. Something neither one of us have done in years. It was fun. DeeAnn placed second in her age group (the OLD age group as she has now "aged up.") Norm didn't drown, flat, or trip (and beat DeeAnn's time .) All in all it was a good race.

More later as the busy busy busy month of April is about to begin. DeeAnn will surely post frequently and regularly.

Oh my, such a long time since our last post. . .

Okay, our official Blogger (that would be DeeAnn, for those keeping track) has been slacking a bit, so here's a recap of what's happened since the last post:



Thanksgiving came around, and DeeAnn made cupcakes (yes, shaped like Turkeys)














Christmas came around and DeeAnn made cupcakes again.
(yes, shaped like Santas, but check the little (3 tier!) snowman in the background.)

















And then DeeAnn made cookies:












and then she made cookies again:



















(at this point, Norm went on a diet - thankfully no pictures of that)




And then Bailee wore a necklace:














And Joey wore a shirt:
















And then it was 2009!
(Norm was still on a diet, had shoulder surgery, and then ran a half marathon:)

And then DeeAnn and Norm ran a marathon together (Rock and Roll Arizona):

















And DeeAnn qualified for Boston!



Those are the highlights, thanks to all for your patience, our best wishes for a Happy New Year to everyone, and stay tuned for a more detailed, informational, and perhaps entertaining update soon!!!

USWTS Sprint Tri

Okay, very brief post as I'm certain DeeAnn will give a full summary later on. Some friends (Kay, LaJuan, Lockin, and Steven) stopped by for the weekend and DeeAnn, LJ, and Kay raced in the Sprint Tri on Sunday.

Everyone did a fantastic job with DeeAnn and Kay placing first in their Age Groups and LJ almost chasing down DeeAnn and picking up 5th! Yay all!! :)The weekend overall was great with the girls doing their pre-race thing Saturday while Steven and I did a quick ride (an easy 60 miler days after Steven messed up his leg - apparently he forgot to mention that until after the ride - crazy mountain bikers.) Sunday was of course the race followed by the obligatory breakfast at Don's. Alas, now everyone's back home and back to the grind.

DeeAnn and I did go to the Orthopaedic doc yesterday afternoon to get a second opinion - it was all medical mumbo-jumbo to me, so I'll let DeeAnn relay that info. The exciting part though was DeeAnn repeatedly screaming as the guy manipulated my shoulder. (yes, you read that correctly - DeeAnn screaming as MY shoulder was being messed with, despite many indications to the contrary she is very empathetic.)

That's all for now, I'm off to make toys for grown ups. Be good.

Birthday Pictures

Okay, I'll let DeeAnn fill any details she deems necessary, but here are some pictures (you can click on them to get a larger view) from her Birthday

(short version - there was a surprise trip to DisneyLand )














We went on the Screaming Eagle at California Adventures (DisneyLand sister park right next door)

















DeeAnn didn't feel very well afterwards. Apparently in her old age she can't handle roller coasters very well anymore ;)











We went on Space Mountain (no issues she said, although we didn't ride any other roller coasters. . . )

















Had a Birthday Party













Mickey and Minnie came ;)


















Saw Goofy in Mickey's ToonTown


















Saw Pooh in Critter Country


















Saw Tigger too (he and I were amused by DeeAnn's ears) ;)

DeeAnn's BDay Weekend (Norm's view)

Well, I reviewed DeeAnn's posts, and at least it would appear that she enjoyed dinner. (yes, for those of you who noticed, I commented on her grammatical and spelling gaffs - I'm pretty sure she does it on purpose to see me get all exasperated - as if I needed any more stress after the marathon cooking session.)

Anyway. . . my one comment is that I will be adjusting DeeAnn's workout schedule in order to (and this was probably obvious to you) make sure she does NOT have time to shop.

But. . . on to the weekend. It's been fun so far - minimal workouts, lots of time hanging out. And way too much food. For those that really care, following is what we had tonight:















- Mushroom, Bacon, and Swiss Burgers
- Sweet Potato Fries
- Almond Gremolata Stuffed Tomatoes
- and momentarily, two layer cake ;)

For those that really want the recipes, read on (they're relatively simple - and actually mostly healthy - well, except the cake )

Mushroom Bacon Swiss Burger
- Bacon's bacon - cook it
- ditto with the burger, I grilled it with miscellaneous spices (I'd specify, but it was mostly whatever I found - don't forget salt & pepper. Also Worcestershire sauce is a nice touch)
- The mushrooms (baby portobellos) I sauteed in the bacon grease (mmmm) with some sage and garlic.
- DeeAnn just reminded me that I grilled the buns - just trying to keep up with Emeril dontcha know.
If you really need instructions on assembly I'd rather you not read our blog anymore, but just in case: bun, burger, cheese, bacon, mushrooms, bun - yes, you could vary the order to your taste.

Fries
- Step one is actually getting the sweet potatoes - remember that in the states they're called YAMS!
- peel 'em, cut them into strips ~1/2" x 1/2" (the length of the potato/yam)
- toss them in some olive oil, pepper, salt, and chili powder just trying to coat them evenly
- bake them for ~30 minutes at 400F, turn them halfway through to make sure they cook evenly. Also try to leave some separation between them so they don't stick and get somewhat crisp

Tomato "thing"
- This is a bit trickier; the tomato is easy, cut off the top, scoop out the insides ("gut it" DeeAnn says)
- Take the following and chop it somewhat finely in a food processor:
- 1 cup parsley
- 2 cloves garlic
- zest of 2 lemons
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 3 sprigs of rosemary (just the leaves)
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- a bit of salt
- a bit of pepper
- scoop the above out of the processor and jam it into the empty tomato.
- Garnish as desired

Cake
- Yeah, we haven't eaten this yet, so I can't spoil what flavors it is, but a secret (shhhhh). . . . . they were from a box! (I feel NO guilt, DeeAnn typically uses boxed cake mixes. At least as far as I remember - been a while since there has actually been a cake day )

Okay, I'm off to eat cake. Tomorrow is DeeAnn's actual birthday, but alas, it's a school day :( But there is leftover bacon (and DeeAnn says there will be leftover cake - you think that by now she'd know me ), so I might give making bacon a second chance and make her bacon wrapped bacon for breakfast!

Birthday Weekend, Continued

DeeAnn here, posting from Norm's computer. My battery died. I'm full!!! Burgers were great, sweet potato (note no 'e') fries: great, the tomato thingie was great, spicy. I still do not know exactly what it was, but it was lemony and spicy, it was good! Norm can tell you what is was when he uploads the photos. Cake is still to come!
Dogs eating now, Joey ate up the biscuits and some bacon drippings from our dinner. Bailee had her new meal of broccoli & cottage cheese, she is on a diet and Norm is making her follow it! That is good. Norm is cleaning up the kitchen and I am entering this while watching CSI, of course, and finishing up the 2006 Felta Creek Zin...this wine we picked up on our honeymoon in Sonoma at De La Montanya Winery in Healdsburg. Their website is www.dlmwine.com if you are interested... we tried several of their wines and this was by far the best they had to offer and not too pricey considering. Anyway, Norm has been in the kitchen since we got done walking the dogs, 6:09 pm it is now 8:22! Holy cow! I am truly very spoiled this weekend AND most of the time to be honest!
He also spent a significant portion of his day writing out my training plan for the next week or so. I am now 16 weeks away from my first marathon, the kind that does not follow a 2.4 mile swim and 112 mile bike ride. He is helping me by setting up my training plan so that I can focus on running a 3:50 marathon in January 2009. This week came out to 11 hours 15 minutes...whoo hooo. After what felt like a year of IM training, I love the sound and feel of an 11 hour training week! I will have time to nap, shop, get a massage, get work done, get the office organized, do laundry...you get the idea! Anyway, Norm has spoiled me rotten and then to add to his tasks, 66.7% of all the gifts he (& the doggies) got me need some sort of mechanical or technical 'set- up' which of course require his brains and skill! I am a very lucky woman!!
I will finish up now and let Norm do the next posting so he can catch you up on all the photos and maybe if you are lucky he will share his recipes from dinner with you!!