The Joy of Receiving

Recently, James and I have been showered (literally) with gifts. I very genuinely enjoy giving gifts more than receiving them, but lately the receiving part has grown on me. Maybe it's all the new shiny appliances in our kitchen that has won me over, I don't know =). In any case, both James and I are so grateful for all the new toys we've received - just for getting hitched! I'd share all the wonderful gadgets we've gotten (including all the camping and outdoor goodies from REI) but I'm sure none of you are as in love with our stuff as we are. One gift I would like to share with you is something we received from one of my closest, oldest girlfriend's (my MOH, Caitlin) mother - who, growing up, was like a second mom to me. Being a school teacher, Jane is incredible crafty and creative and her talents really shown through in her shower gift. Check it out! She did it all herself, I'm so impressed! James and I will definitely enjoy this one!

Tub o' drinks - each one with a special "drink" date and a poem to match. Click on each photo below to read the poem.

She didn't forget Summit!

It was such a special gift, one of my favorites (James' and Summit's too!). Thanks Jane, you really outdid yourself with this one! We'll think of you when we drink every bottle.

On a similar, but slightly different note, James and I finally got around to making labels for our own homemade wine. Do you like? I think it's a perfect portrait!

Summit and her mug.

Stalking the Forecast

I know it doesn't do any good to worry about what Mother Nature has in store for our wedding day. There is nothing I can do about it so why worry, right? This is mostly the train of thought I'm sticking to, but with tropical storms hitting the East Coast for the last two weekends and a good deal of our wedding taking place in the out-of-doors, I'm hoping Mother Nature decides to shine her good light down on us on September 6th.

Today was the first day our date showed up on the Weather.com 10-day forecast. Everyone knows these things are always wrong this far out, but it won't stop me from checking the forecast everyday, probably ten times a day. So far, so good!

Additionally, I'm hoping the sky is clear on September 6th because we'll be able to enjoy an (almost) full harvest moon!

Project Wedding!

Oh my! The big day is only 12 days away! Woot woot! Sorry for the lack of blog postings, life has been just a little bit cRaZy lately! We've been up to our ears in wedding projects, all the diy (do-it-yourself) ideas I've been accumulating over the past eight months have really kept us busy. Just about all my free time has been spent cutting, sewing, gluing, painting, carving or assembling something! I can't wait to share all of our crafty wedding things with you all, but it will have to wait until after the wedding - I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise! For now, here are a few teasers! There's a lot more to come! Enjoy!

Last Friday we drove up to Pomfret and got our marriage license! It's definitely starting to feel real!

Lady Love and Boy Bonding

Simply put, James and I have wonderful friends. This weekend, we both got to spend time with our closest friends, conjuring up memories of the past and celebrating what's ahead on our horizon. On Saturday, my bridesmaids and my mom threw me a shower at my parent's house. It was a small backyard celebration complete with fresh flowers, vegetarian cuisine and presents wrapped in recycled or reusable materials. It was perfect! Thank you to all who attended, you made my afternoon something special! I love you all!

My Ladies: Suzanne, Caitlin, Kelly and Ava and me and my soon-to-be sister-in-law Alisa and her daughter Ava, my new niece!

Notice the recycled wrapping paper? Me and my momma

That evening, my girlfriends put together a "girls only" sleepover. The night started with a scavenger hunt that spanned three different towns and took me to various places that were special to James and I. A few examples: our favorite bike trail, our old house (the tree house), my elementary school, the Sweet Shoppe. At each stop I was presented with a pair of "undergarments" from one of my friends and a clue. I had to guess who had given me the skivvies and where the next stop was based on the clue. Then I put on each pair over my clothes. Seriously. It was so quite an adventure! We then headed for dinner and drinks at La Vita Gustosa and finally ended up at the Murphy's riverside "shack" for more gossiping and smores over a bon fire. I think we finally crashed at about 3 am, what a night! Thank you to all my wonderful girlfriends for putting together such a thoughtful weekend, you know me better than almost anyone - it was PERFECT!

I tried to find a non-embarrassing picture of the evening but there were NONE. So now y'all know what happens when I drink too much wine and spend the night with my girlfriends. PS- thanks Nic for the hot pink underpants, they really made the outfit shine (seriously, I'm florescent)!


Kelly, Sues, Kelly, me, Cait, and Nicole

James and his groomsmen had an exciting weekend too. On Friday morning they all headed out to Block Island for their "boys only" weekend. They sure did pick a perfect time to go to the beach! After a coolish summer, the last week has been HOT and sunny! They had perfect weather the whole time they were there. I don't know all the details of the whole weekend (and I'm not asking either, haha) , but from what I gather, it was full of beaches, boozing and shenanigans. James came home tired and sunburned. I'm just glad everyone made it back in one piece!

The boys: Chris, Pat, Krzysztof, James and Mitch

Thanks again to everyone who made our weekend special. We love you all so much and can't wait to spend our wedding day with our "bestests" by our side!

A Recommended Read

I can't remember who originally recommended this book to me, it was either my good friend Nicole or my now retired coworker SP, but in any case, now James and I will pass the recommendation on to you all. Here are a few blips from the book's website: The Art of Racing in the Rain is a story told through the eyes and ears of a dog named Enzo. Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: he's a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver. Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. Using the techniques needed on the race track, one can successfully navigate all of life's ordeals. The book is heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life...as only a dog could tell it.

James read this entire book on his 15 hour flight to Singapore. I read it in two days. It's definitely one of those, "can't put it down" kind of books. Read it, I promise you won't regret it. Just be sure to have a box of tissues on hand...

Oh My! I'm Gonna Tri

Try, that is...a triathlon. Now, most of you who know me well know I'm a little nutty when it comes to running. I've been into running since I've been 14. I ran competitively in high school and college. I still run quite a few road races each year and have run a marathon (and hopefully will run another this fall). I run for fun and (when I'm in shape) I run to win. I just love to run. Even when I'm injured, which is most of the time, haha. I will admit I'm a little crazy about it and I'll be the first to say I go crazy without it.

Well, crazy hit an all time new level about a month ago when on a whim, I decided to sign up for the Niantic Bay Triathlon, which is this Sunday. THIS Sunday! I'm not sure quite what I was thinking taking this on just a few weeks before the wedding. I can tell you I certainly haven't had time to train properly for it that's for sure. For those who aren't familiar, a triathlon is a multi-discipline event that involves swimming, biking and running. For this triathlon I will have to swim a half mile in the Niantic Bay, bike 12 miles and then run 3.5 miles. The run, at least on its own, will be easy, I could do it in my sleep. But add 12.5 miles of swimming and biking as a prefix and I'm not quite as confident. The good news is I have a lot of support behind me and once I get settled into the race, I think I'll be fine. I know I'll be able to finish it because I don't quit anything. Hopefully the worst thing that will happen is I swallow a little salt water, haha. I'll be sure to post an update after Sunday.

I have two things going for me in my weakest two events: my swim coach (for the day) dad and my completely custom designed and handmade bike from James. I'm a lucky girl. Check out some pictures below:

Swim lesson from dad in Lake Pocotopaug. Like my sweet wetsuit?

My custom road bike (and baby Summit) designed, handmade and painted by James

James tuning my bike up this week for the race and me after the New Haven 20K a few years ago

Since I'm sharing pictures, here's a few of James' road bike - I love that color!

Update: I finished. However, there's quite a story to behind it, suffice it to say I finished 485 out of 495 competitors. Wowza, that's a doozie. I'm laughing about it now, but not so much earlier today. Live and learn. I'll post pictures and a recap...as soon as I have the energy.

Okay, so I promised a recap. Here we go. The race was, well...interesting. Let's start from the beginning. James and I got to the race at about 6:15 am and I went and got "body marked". They basically tattoo you with your race number on both calves and on your right bicep. I am still trying to get it off. I set up my bike and running gear in the transition zone and then James and I walked over to the swim start which was about a half mile away on another beach. I said goodbye to James, who was going to watch the race from the top of a bluff and made my way down to the start. There were over 500 people in the triathlon so the beach and the water was buzzing with activity. The race started in five waves, which were determined by age and gender. I was in the second wave and had to wear a bright pink swim cap (which went nicely with my $20 child's size Ocean State Job Lot wetsuit). As I stood anxiously on the beach waiting to get underway, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was one of my coworkers Joel who had come down to see the race! I was really surprised to see him out of bed so early in the day. Thanks for coming out Joel, I wanna see you in the wetsuit next year!

Finally the race started. It was a mad dash into the water. Because it was low tide, we had to run a bit in the water before we could start swimming which really got my heart pumping. The swim was pure chaos. I totally underestimated how hard it was going to be to swim in the open ocean. There were choppy waves, strong currents, an incoming tide and lots of swinging arms and legs to deal with. I got kicked in the face and the stomach. I swallowed several mouthfuls of water and at one point thought I might throw up. It was not easy. The entire time I just kept thinking, are we there yet? and what the heck was I thinking? Finally...the shore came into sight and I was off and running toward the transition area to grab my bike.

Ahhh, the bike. This is where the whole race fell to pieces. Let me be clear though, it had nothing to do with James' most excellent craftsmenship, it was all about my tires. To really tell the story, I have to go back to the night before the race. I will be the first to admit I am naive when it comes to bike maintenance. I've never, ever had a problem with my bike on a ride, and if I did, I always had James there to fix it. So, needless to say, I didn't have a clue what to do if I ran into trouble on the ride. I mentioned this to James and he agreed that we should have a quick lesson on how to fix a flat tire on the road just in case - not that we thought it would actually happen - but just in case. So there we were at 10 pm the night before the race, in our dimly light barn, fixing a flat tire. I took it all in and stored it somewhere in the back of my mind, totally thinking I'd never really need to use it (I told you I was naive). So fast forward again to race day. I had just grabbed my bike from the transition area and as soon as I got on it I realized there was something really wrong with it. Because I've never had mechanical trouble before, I couldn't tell exactly what the problem was or how serious it was so I just kept riding (idiot). I had made it a good mile before I reluctantly decided to stop (this meant losing time!) and check it out. Just before I pulled off the road, however I heard a really loud "poof!". Yup, that was my inner tube exploding. Awesome. Frazzled, I pulled off the road and gathered my thoughts and my nerves and tried to dust off the memories from the bike 101 lesson night before. It took me a lot longer than it should have to remove and replace the wheel, tire and tube, but after a struggle I managed to get the new tube in and the wheel back on my bike. At this point, all I had left to do was inflate the tube. James had given me a CO2 cartridge to use to fill the tube. The way these things work is you screw in the cartridge to an intermediate inflator which then gets attached to the nozzle on your inner tube. There is a valve on the inflator that MUST be closed tightly before you screw the CO2 cartridge into it or else...well, or else the whole thing will blow up in your face and you'll be stuck on the side of the road a mile away from help with a dead flat tire. Can you see where this is going? Yup. That was me. I had already lost a good ten or more minutes struggling to change out my tube and now I was stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire. I had no choice but to walk my bike (in my slippery bike shoes!) all the way back to the start of the race. This took another twenty minutes. By the time I got my tire inflated and got back on the road, I was DEAD LAST! As you can imagine, this was not easy for me to take. There was even a moment when I was sitting on the side of the road with a crippled bike that I considered quitting. It passed quickly because like I said before, I don't quit anything. But to say the whole thing sucked is a complete understatement. So I rode. Hard. I don't think I've ever ridden my bike so hard in my whole life. I managed to pass a few people along the way. By the time I got to the run my legs were shaking from my exhausting ordeal on the bike, but I ran as hard as I could and just tried to enjoy the rest of the race. In the end, I only beat ten people. But I finished. And I learned a lot from the whole thing. One, don't underestimate a triathlon. Two, always carry a bike pump on your bike. Three, never give up. One thing's for sure...I'll be back.

Before the race, still feeling confident

I'm somewhere there in the sea of pink caps

total. chaos.

Transition One: swim to bike

On my way out of Transition One...I had no idea what I was in for at this point

Just so glad to be off my bike! Notice there's no one else around?! Second picture here is the first female finisher

The Results - Kinda funny, especially if you look at my bike time!