Warrior Sparky?

I really wish I had as much motivation as Sparky does when it goes to running on the treadmill. I finished my work on the treadmill this evening and then went for a glass of water and not so surprisingly got distracted by something shiny.

When I still heard Sheryl Crow singing in the other room I realized I needed to turn everything off. This is who I found waiting for me.

So, what else can I do but to let him go for a bit longer.


What exactly is his motivation for hopping on the treadmill for a jog? Well, it's as simple as a rawhide chip. I wish I was motivated just as easily.





Maybe I can substitute him for me in the Warrior Dash race?... Warrior Sparky? The race is about 2.5 weeks away. It'll be interesting to see how it all goes, that 3.08 Hellish Miles.

I did learn several things while watching Emily and her friends do the dash in Denver. It won't help me do it any faster, but still some helpful hints.

1. Bring a complete change of clothes
2. Bring an extra pair of shoes/sandals so you can donate muddy kicks
3. Where sunglasses, safety glasses, or goggles through the mud pit (much splashing)
4. Arm floaties and innertubes are not needed in the pit, but are amusing for people to watch
5. Wipe of race number upon exiting the mud (then you can find your pic online)
6. Don't wear overly baggy clothes because more mud collects and it's heavy
7. They have bag checks for your belongings
8. They have outdoor "showers" for you to rinse yourself off, in case you want to try to salvage your muddy clothes (good luck getting mud off your back without a shower buddy)
9. Bring a towel to keep warm and plastic bag for messy clothes
10. I'm sure I learned more, but I'm stuck on the image of "Trojan Man" in my head from the day of Emily's race... just one of hundred's of costumes I saw.

A Day of Softball!

Several weeks ago I was asked by Carrie from my summer softball team if I'd like to be the 6th woman for their team in a softball tournament. I'd be in town, so why not.

First game was scheduled for 9:30 Saturday morning, so I'd have a chance to sleep in. All I had to do was pay a $20 player fee and show up. When I showed up, I got a orange team shirt and saw that the team had staked out a spot for us to hang out in between games. They had an EZ-up, one of those pop-up "roofs".

Carrie let our manager Jeremy know that I could pitch, so he had me slotted to pitch inning 2 through 7 after his wife pitched the 1st. The combination proved well and we won the first game... I believe against the neon yellow team. Game 2, we kept the same rotation, but our bats fell asleep and we fell to the pink team.

Game 3 against light blue was back-to-back to game 2 and I requested a slight break, so I played catcher this game. We were down early and had to make a 5th inning comeback by scoring 11 runs. After we held them in the 6th, we came out victorious, 13-15, after we hit the time limit.. Breaktime! While we waited to see where we placed finished in Pool B and where we'd end up in the bracket, I took a quick break to go home, shower, change most of my clothes, and grab a bite to eat.

We were back at it at 3:00pm for game 4. We were a 2 seed vs a 3 seed. Back to the original lineup we went and with no mercy rule, the green team called it quits. Next up in game 5 was facing the number 1 seed, yellow team. We upset them and left their a$$hole "team leader" complaining and pouting. For a "bush leaguer" like me... it was sweet, sweet victory! Dude hit a homerun off of me, so I played it safer and pitched him crap while trying to hit the back right corner of mat... thus making me a bush leaguer in his eyes. He just couldn't keep his trap shut the hole game and all the other teams had the same experience.

After the upset, we watched a bit of the semi-finals game and came to realize we'd be playing the pink team again. We got our bats going in the previous two games, so we new we had a fighting chance. By game 6, fatigue was starting to set in for many of us and our play was not quite up to par, but we were able to stay in the game, only a few runs behind. We just couldn't find that bigger inning of runs to overtake them. Gosh darn pink team.

After, I found out we'd get a plaque for placing second, so I met up with most of the team and others from the tournament at the after party. I hobbled my way into the Stadium Club, grabbed a free "ballpark" meal and waited for the award ceremony.

Below is a picture of the plaque and by blistered foot from playing 6 games of softball in my uncomfortable cleats. Gotta hit the end of season sales and get new batting gloves and comfortable cleats, if they exist.
$20 player fee = 1 t-shirt, 6 games with fun team, 2nd place plaque, and free meal. I feel like I came out on top during this Easter Seals Softball Tournament. I'll have to find a way to help support this group in thanks for such a fun day.

CO Vacation: Sunday, Day 6

Sunday was my day to attempt to sleep in, but it did not work nearly as planned. Gosh darn internal clock. If Emily and Joe hadn't drug me to Dave and Buster's one night and forced me to get my photo taken with Canaan Smith another night, I would have been getting to bed earlier.

Well, either way, Sunday was bound to come around and I was dragging butt. Emily actually let me drink caffeinated coffee at breakfast! Unfortunately, it never quite knocked me out of my semi-zombie state.

Luckily Emily was more awake than me and was able to navigate the car safely to the Denver Zoo where we got to see Casper's cousins. Did I mention it was another super hot and sunny day and most of the animals were snoozing.
I was hoping to hear the zookeepers speak about the elephants, but they never made they way over to them after the hippos. I wanted to learn a bit more about the Asian Tropics exhibit they are building and is scheduled to open next year. There were 2 huge metal "Pod-like" containers in their enclosure (surely for them to get acclimated to before getting moved next year).

As we walked to their enclosure we heard some loud metal banging and soon realized it was one of the elephants playing the metal container like a drum. At the conclusion of the song, a huge trumpet was let out by the elephant... pretty sweet!
Here's the latest animal that has me fascinated. Meet my friend the Okapi.

I love his super cool markings and need to learn more about him. Maybe I'll be able to adopt one somehow!

After the zoo, we ate at a wonderful place called Larkburger. If you ever see one, I would strongly suggest trying it. Soon after, I was packing and headed out on a plane for home.

I can't believe I had such a fun, jam-packed vacation. I had a blast, but totally wore myself out. Monday was the day of sleeping, and I can't remember sleeping that much except for when I'm hit with the flu.

CO Vacation: Saturday, Day 5

I kind of gave myself a break on Saturday, seeing that I did not compete in the Warrior Dash, but not getting to sleep in and spending all day in the heat kind of took its toll on me. Don't get me wrong, I had quite a bit of fun, but my gas tank was starting to get real close to empty.

Here's a pic of Emily and her friends Trevor and Melanie sporting their viking helmets before the race.
There were only a few areas that were easy to try to catch the runners as they passed by. I chose the mud pit because I'm guessing it was also the most fun for spectators.
Glad they had the fire at the end so I could get a pic of that also. It was cool to watch how people entered the mud and also how they decided how to clear the fire.
Here are the victorious racers after their Warrior Dash. Thank goodness Emily had the purple bandanna, otherwise I would not have been able to easily spot her out of the muddy racers running towards the finish line.
Yes, this is the race Tom convinced me to participate in this September. I know I'll be able to complete the length of it at some point, but the obstacles look to be a bit daunting.

CO Vacation: Friday, Day 4

Emily was so kind to take a vacation day the Friday I was in town. We headed over to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, CO. Last year I decided to adopt one of their animals after having visited their facility. I wish I could have adopted a Tiger, but Casper, the Coati Mundi, is just as cool. Below is a pic of Casper, I think. If not, it's his roommate Sassy.The facility has grown leaps and bounds since I last visited. The day before our visit they opened the new walkway as seen below. They plan on adding onto this walkway so it goes over top of not only the lion area, but the bears and tigers, and then end at the new facility that was erected when 25 African lions that were saved and flown in from Bolivia last December.The shot below was of a lion that was "playing" with a snake that had wandered into her habitat. Amazing how these big cats have the same mannerisms as my small little Jinkies.
We visited on a day that came close to setting a heat record in the area. Most of the animals were enjoying sleeping in the shade.


Moving along to the evening, bring on SUGARLAND!!! and Canaan Smith?!?!?
Who needs an elaborate set to make a show, not Sugarland.
Emily and I were about 6 seats from the center section in row 10 behind the pit. I'm not sure I could have been any happier with our seats.
I didn't get a chance to take many photos because it started raining, but I did manage to capture the shot of Kristian I was looking for.
Sara Bareilles was originally scheduled to open for Sugarland, but ended up having a scheduling conflict. I'm guessing Sugarland's management or record label gave Canaan Smith, a newly signed artist, the push to open for Sugarland. It was great to see Kristian come out on stage and play with him. Canaan had great energy and fun songs.
So, when I got the opportunity to meet him after the show was over, I couldn't resist. Sure, I was bit on the damp side, but look at his smile. He was like a kid in a candy store, living his dream in front of 18,000 Sugarland fans.
Yes, I am now officially a Canaanite.

CO Vacation: Wednesday, Day 2

I took 101 photos while hiking around Red Rocks. I cut out some of the ones that didn't have the super vivid blue sky, and the ones where I turned the camera 90 degrees. Below is what you have left. Some day it would be awesome to see a show at the amphitheater.

CO Vacation: Thursday, Day 3

So, you may have noticed that I skipped over Day 2. To quickly fill you in, I spent a majority of the day at Red Rocks hiking the trails and taking 101 photos. I thoroughly enjoy the scenery out their and can't wait to start looking through those photos.

Now on to Day 3, Disc Golf Day! First up, Birds' Nest Disc Golf Course, 24 holes!

Here is the view from one of the tees.
This was another one of my views.
As you probably noticed, the terrain was quite different than what you get in Illinois. It was quite dry, so I didn't have to worry about any water on this particular course. The brush was tall in places, but pretty sparse.

There was quite a bit of cacti that I did my best to avoid, but I believe it was hole #20 that was a mini cacti forest down the fairway and a wicked thick brush off to the left. I spent many minutes searching for my disc in the brush, and then once I found it, I launched it unknowingly into the cacti.
I had a blast playing the Birds' Nest and didn't come across many other players when I was out there mid-morning. I only got to play 20 of the holes because 2, 3, 6, and 7 were closed for work/restoration.

Upon completion of Birds' Nest, I headed back into Westminster to the Johnny Roberts Memorial Disc Golf Course. This course was part of a small park in the middle of a neighborhood, and somehow they managed to make it a full 18 holes. Kids weren't in school yet, making the course beyond crowded and the holes were tight and criss-crossing. You had to watch out for "traffic" before you threw.

I think I played about 9 of the holes before, hunger, frustration and overall lack of patience set in. Below is the leg of a kind stranger with water shoes going in to get my frisbee before I had a chance to take off my shoes. My yellow disc is floating in the middle of the frame, just beyond the plant.
After a quick hamburger happy meal with milk and apples, I made my way to the final disc golf course of the day in Westminster City Park. It was actually located on the same grounds of a local community college.

I believe this is photo from around the 4th hole, the beginning of prairie dog land. There's a little guy on watch in the middle of the frame. I must say, I disturbed their afternoon and gave them quite a bit to bark about.
By this time, I have over 35 disc golf holes under my belt for the day and have been drinking fluids like crazy in the feels like 100 degree heat. I was starting to get tired and with the lack of focus, my throws weren't the best and the terrain started to get trickier. The second half of this course ran along the water and I lucked out here where a I just landed in the stinky muddy muck.
This was just around the bend from where I landed, on my way to the next hole. It was a nice opportunity to rinse of the muddy disc.
I had a several more mishaps while attempting to complete the second half of the course. I had at least 4 different varieties of "stickies" attached to me and my shoes. Some of them would be a great substitute for velcro. At one point I had to climb down to rescue my disc as it teetered at the edge of the water.

I also had to cross the creek at points where there was no bridge... not cool! Once I thought I got past the water holes, I switched over from my floating disc to a regular one. It was my second throw on the last hole and my disc found water. There was a bend in the creek that I didn't see or hear, and my disc had to land in it. The Cheetah sank like a stone.

After a long day of disc golf, 47 holes, I was tuckered out. Don't worry, I replaced the Cheetah and got another new disc at the local Play it Again Sports in Westminster.

CO Vacation: Tuesday, Day 1

A week ago I had just dropped Sparky off with the parents and finished up my packing in preparation for my 6 day, 5 night vacation in Denver, CO to explore and visit with Emily.

Bright and early Tuesday morning I caught my flight out of Peoria and got to Denver before 10am. With Emily being at work, I had to figure out how to make my way to her office in Denver, located about 4 blocks from Coors Field. After waiting for a bus and hoofing it a few blocks I arrived to have lunch with her.

After a tasty lunch at the Smiling Moose Deli and quick tour of her office, I was handed the keys to her car, and with Susie (my TomTom) in tow, I headed back to Emily's house in Westminster. Toni, AKA Kitteh, greeted me and we hung out a bit until I had to pickup Emily from the bus station. I thought I was going to be late because I misplaced the keys.

Or did I?

Beyond Stunned

08.14.2011 By: Janers

My heart dropped and I still feel like someone socked me in the stomach this morning. I am truly saddened by the stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair. I've always felt that by being a part of the Sugarland Fan Club that I'm an extended member of the Sugarland Family.

Their concerts are always like a celebration and party with a family of thousands I've never met. I sit hear in disbelief that a tragedy has hit my Sugarland Family. Best wishes to the fans, crew, and band while everyone tries to make sense of and sort through the events of last night.

The injured and lost of the Sugarland Family are in my thoughts.
Best wishes and love from,
Jane
Peoria, IL

Perfect Night

I don't think I could have asked for a better night to catch up on yard work. It was absolutely beautiful out tonight. I accidentally double hit the start button, so there are no "foot prints" of me mowing the front yard.

No, I wasn't drunk. This includes mowing the lawn, picking up twigs and black walnuts, weeding, watering, picking up trash, etc. Wait, or is this really a Rorschach test?

Oh, and if you're curious, I never did find the flying pigs or double rainbow today.

A date with Sugarland?

Thanks to Ryan, I have an entry to win a date with Sugarland!

Storms, really?

Watching the news tonight and now I'm hoping I don't have any gigantic tree limbs perched on top of the fence in the backyard. I honestly didn't know we had storms tonight until now.

The sidewalks were wet when I got home from work, so I opted to workout on the treadmill tonight instead of walking outside which would have equaled me wiping Sparky's wet/dirty belly down.

Anyway, I was on the treadmill between 6-7 watching a Netflix movie, Stomp. I had the volume cranked up to hear the full impact of the fun percussion sounds. Apparently this was the same time it stormed outside.

I wish I had some photos from this weekend's softball tournament, but it didn't occur to me to take any at the time. I helped coach 3 middle school softball games on Saturday with Tom. It was quite the experience, and left me wondering if I was that goofy when playing softball at that age. Note: I said when playing softball.

The coaching was fun, but I found myself becoming a spectator a few times and not remembering what happened. Not very helpful when you're supposed to be keeping book. I suppose if I were a full time coach of sorts then I would get deprogrammed from being a spectator.

That's the scoop from here.

Blisters

So, I've taken the day off from walk/jogging. Last night I headed down to the Riverplex with my Sole Sisters. I've had a small blister on my "ring toe", so as I've done countless times before, I wrapped a bandaid around it. Towards the end of the 2.83 miles it felt like the bandage had worked is way off.

I was going to tough it out until I got home, but before I made it to the car, I had to stop and investigate. I was surprised to see a huge burst blister on the inside of my pinky toe and I could feel a blister on the inside of my middle toe. Go figure, trying to avoid making one blister just increased my number of blisters 3-fold.

Despite the blisters and the icky-sticky hot weather, I had fun on the walk/jog. I kept yo-yoing back and forth with Theresa and after the water stop I caught up with Laura. She headed back out before I did and I followed her as if she was a rabbit. I never did catch up, but it was pretty good motivation.

Looking forward to getting out there with The Sparkster tomorrow, and then coaching with Tom on Saturday.