In Training II

Triathalon schmiathalon....About that fear of water....yeaaaaah it's still not conquered... in fact it may have gotten worse. I have made some positive gains with the swimming. I feel like I can swim, which is a definite plus. I am more comfortable in the water and I have a better understanding of how to move to use less energy and go farther. It doesn't take as much to convince me that swimming can be fun... which is the biggest gain. None of these things however, change the fact that I'm terrified of swimming in a crowd, and after the story I heard of my Aunt Holly's first triathalon experience the fear has won out. In the race people swam into her, on top of her and as if that’s not enough a fellow swimmer panicked and grabbed hold of her ankle with an iron grip and wouldn’t let go!!! Since she is amazing, she kept her wits about her and was able to keep the both of them from drowning. I however do not have that kind of calm about me in crisis situations…. I would have freaked and drown anyone and everyone within reach.

For now the triathalon idea has been shelved but I have signed up for another marathon. Woo Hoo!! The Top of Utah Marathon September 19th 2009. I wanted to run another one before my 30th Birthday on Oct, 1st so I signed myself up. The idea was to be to beat my first time 5:20 and run it in 4:30 or less. I think I may have finally raised the bar to high. I have been working twice a week with a trainer on speed, agility and flexibility and two to three times a week doing strength training and doing a long run on the weekend. I think my shins are taking the brunt of it. I don't want to get stress fractures so I may have to back off and do a half marathon instead. I was disappointed at first but, oh well, at some point I will run one in 4:30 maybe before my 31st birthday. They have a Marathon through the Redwoods that looks beautiful...I guess we'll see what can happen in 19 weeks.

4 years

Nathan and I just celebrated our 4 year anniversay and I hate to admit it but I think I'm just now adjusting to sharing my life with somebody. Maybe, just maybe, I have made it through infancy, the terrible two's and tested the boundary's through the third year. I've found my footing and gained some confidence in who I am as a partner and I think I'm becoming more emotionally mature. The fact that I would admit that I have been immature speaks volumes...

I always had a plan and followed it closely. Getting married was part of that plan. Shortly after reciting our vows all of my plans went out the window. When we got married I thought I knew everything. I did what I was supposed to do, followed the rules, had everthing together. Nate did not. My life was all figured out. I didn't realize that he might not want all of the things I did. I thought I was right and he was wrong. I thought he should work on this or that, and I that he needed to "grow up" which may have been true in many ways but boy did I need a mirror!!! I think that's what he has been for me. A mirror. Being able to see myself through his eyes has truly changed me.

Since we have been married Nate has never let me down. He gives me a heart attack by flying just under the radar but somehow everything works out just in the nick of time. I am beginning to accept that. It's not my style, but I am learning that it doesn't matter how he does it, but that he does always come through.

It may sound like a cliche' but he really does make me a better person. He does it with love. His love is patient, knowing, steady, real. For me it is perfect. For everything he might lack in self-discipline and follow through he makes up for with his huge heart and an acceptance that cannot be rivaled. He knows himself and doesn't try to change that for anyone. He also knows others and sees what they are about, what they are going through. He recognizes things in others that they don't see themselves and he listens. Without faulting, without judging, and with one of the greatest loving hug you will ever experience, he listens. If you are lucky enough to be a friend of Nate Jackson you know love. I am the lucky one who he calls his best friend. I am proud to be that person.

In training

Greg Hicks and I are training for a triathalon.... Our goal is to do a Half Iron man which is 1.2 miles swimming followed by a 56 mile bike and finished with a 13.2 mile run. Why you ask? Because we can... or at least we think we can. We have been swimming laps in my condo pool for a few weeks now and Sunday we gave the open water a try at Pineview Reservoir. What did we learn? That we have a whole lot of training to do LOL! We only went to the bouy and back and did a terrible job of keeping a frestyle stroke going. The upside is that we didn't drown, we got a greast workout and we're learning a lot. There is an incredible amount of satisfaction that comes with reaching the progressive goals and I have almost conquered my fear of water, I hope.

Give me one goood reason...

Sometimes in the mornings I wake up and my hands swell, I don't know why but they always have...Since I can remember actually... Yesterday my hands were particularly swollen and my wedding ring started to hurt my finger so I decided to take it off and put it in my pocket. It's not an uncommon habit, I usually don't wear my ring in the morning , when I work out, or when I sleep. On this particular day I changed from my jeans into my sweats and went to the laundromat.

I lost my ring!!! I know it's gone. I'm a freak about checking the machines for random stuff because I always miss things in Nate's work pants. So it must have fallen somewhere outside.


I called Nate to tell him and he laughed and said "Now we both lost our rings!!"
The only difference is that his cost $35 because we knew he would eventually lose it it did last 3 years though. I guess we should have known that I would lose mine too :) I'm only 2 months more responsible HA HA!

One more reason I we belong together
WHAT A PAIR!!!

Maybe one day when we're all growed up and we can prove we're responsible enough to take care of our rings we will try it again.... but I think the tattoo idea might work better.... forever is forever.

INSOMNIA

Nate can fall asleep anywhere ... anytime .... I thought it was magic but it turns out he just has sleep apnea and will fall asleep wherever because he is completely sleep deprived. He can't breathe when he falls asleep he will just stop breathing many times per minute...NOT GOOD!

I however can not sleep. I can't turn off my brain. If I watch TV I have to finish whatever I am watching so that doesn't work, I love to read so that doesn't help because I won't put the book down. Sometimes I count backwards from 1,000 in spanish. Sometimes I lay in bed and stare into the darkness thinking about how tired I am going to be the next day because I only have 3 hours before i have to be up. I bought some meditation CD's they helped a little. I can get to sleep for a while then later I wake up to turn it off and stay up. I need a nap...

MAY

May is our busiest month of the year and thank god it's half over!!!

Nate and I are 3 this year and to celebrate we went on our anual hunt for the best Margaritas in the world. This year was Z'Tejas at the Gateway. We were actually supposed to go there for our first anniversary but we didn't make it so we went this year. It was Sooooooo Yummy and the 6th street Rocks Margarita (with no salt) was a definite contest contender... It was delicious and it tasted like a magical summer night on vacation....Nothing tastes better than a vacation cocktail at night in the summer. It was blissful and we each had 3 :) The food was really good too. We will be going back & I will be having the chile chicken relleno MMMMMM!!! SO GOOD!!!

I still love being married which is good because 3 years isn't that long in fact it flew by. I think it's easy because Nate and I were definitely made for each other. He's my favorite and we're buddies. It doesn't get any better than that.

Blog Blog...Who's There?

It's me and I am blogging!! I know, I know, I should be more consistent but I warned you...and unfortunately this is doing my best as far as free time on the computer goes. I quit my day job in December to be a full time Realtor and ever since then have only made it to the computer for work and work and work.....after that I put it on standby to recharge and do the same myself.
Running my own business has been such a fantastic challenge. There is always something that still needs to be done and it has been a huge adjustment but I really enjoy it. I have gotten really good at being a real estate agent and I know I will only get better. I love to work with people who are buying a home. It is so exciting when I can help somebody find exactly what they were looking for. Selling a home provides a whole different challenge. It's amazing how many obstacles come along with the whole thing. I have become a professional problem solver. It's kind of interesting though because I think I have always had a natural ability to find solutions. I remember in elementary school I was in a group of kids who would help resolve fighting at recess we were called Conflict Managers and we worked in teams of two to keep the playground a happy place. I now work with my Mom as my partner trying to keep home buying a happy experience. I guess it's all relative ;)