These shoes are made for tri-ing

Why, you may ask, did I take a picture of my feet? Well, these feet don't know what I've gotten them in to. My college roommate, Dee Dee, and I are going to train for the Smith Mountain Lake Triathlon (May 2009). Don't call us crazy; don't call us daring. Call us brave! We aren't able to train for this year's event because Dee Dee is currently eight month's pregnant with her second child. This triathlon will be a 1/2 mile swim (I can do that), a 12 mile bike ride (I can do that), and a 3 mile run (can't do that). I don't like to run. Walk yes; run no. I have 13 months to make it happen. Expect many posts on the ups & downs of training.

I have a bike. It just needs to be sent to the bike shop for a lube job and air in the tires. I have a swimming card for the indoor pool near my mom's house or maybe I'll ask Dee Dee's parents if I can swim in their pool. I'll start swimming during my lunch hour. The running I can either do around my neighborhood or at the gym.

We aren't required to raise money in order to participate in this event. We may decide to raise funds for a local charity that we agree on, but that will need to be discussed. For now, we won't be making a plea for donations.

There will be many trips to Roanoke as we encourage each other to do our best. It's going to take blood, sweat and lots of water to get us across the finish line. But we're going to do it. We're going to finish. We aren't worried about times or best in our age group. Soon we can call ourselves triathletes!

Before and After - DIY Bedroom Remodel

When we plan to upgrade parts of our house, we never stick to our time frame. Why is that? Children, work, lack of sleep, or all of the above. Over a year ago, we set out to upgrade our master bedroom. New paint, crown moulding, new lighting, drapes, and blinds. We had just had new flooring installed throughout the house and thought a revigorated bedroom would be a plus when selling our house.

We had enough wood left from our living room remodel and installed the crown moulding first. Actually, my dad and Kevin installed the moulding. With a nail gun and a power saw, the first steps were down lickety-split. It was the rest that took the remaining 13 months.

Fed-up with our procrastination efforts, we reviewed our remaining vacation days of 2007 and made a plan. We'd both take a week off in Nov-07 and complete the project. We just had to move the furniture, paint, chaulk and hang the new hardware. 7 days - no problem.

One problem - life. We used the twin's room as a staging area for the furniture. That meant that not only were mommy & daddy displaced from their bedroom, so were the kids. We moved the mattresses to the living room. Kevin would sleep on the couch in the basement (that's where the television is), while the kids and I stayed in the living room. I would not suggest this to others who are remodeling have have 2 1/2 yr olds who are currently learning to sleep in a toddler bed. They interpreted our moving to the living room as 24/7 playtime. Our nights were restless. Since it was only going to be for seven days, how bad could it become?!?! Well.....

First there was the puttying and sanding of the nail holes. That alone took three days. Next came the painting that extended past our vacation allotment. That's including two days of Uncle Eddie come up to help. We must have gone through ten rolls of blue tape. They primed, they taped, they high glossed, they taped, they primed, they taped. Did I mentioned they taped?? With our vacation days gone, we resorted to finding time after work/weekends. We asked the nanny to work more days a week so that Kevin could focus on the room. That backfired because of the family and party demands between the weeks of Thanksgiving and the New Year.

Before we knew it we had been 'camping' out in the living room for 8 weeks. The kids were off schedule and we were getting cranky. The holidays are always stressful; this delay just added to the frazzled nerves. I begged, we compromised. The room would be completed in Jan-08. And the closet doors; they're a different blog entry all together.

Kevin kept to his promise! Our projects are never easy, but Kevin is a fine craftsman. He's all about the detailing. The outcome is always beautiful. And the bedroom really is lovely. It's nice nice that I've decided we need a new sheets, duvet, and pillows. I can happily report that we moved the furniture back. Kevin hung the drapes and the blinds. We had the carpet steamed. Mom Busardo came up to help me polish all the furniture. Please enjoy the photos of our latest project. It did take us another few weeks to get the kids back on their regular sleeping routine.

We have one more room to complete before we move. We remodeled the kitchen in 2003, but never painted it or installed the chair rail. Since we don't sleep in the kitchen, we won't be uprooting the family for this next diy. I'd like to say that it should only take a few weeks to complete the kitchen. Check back in another year (when we'll be moving) to see if we kept to our schedule.

Rest and Drink Plenty of Fluids

I played hookey from work today, but for all the wrong reasons. A few weeks back I was hospitalized with a 6mm kidney stone. Luckily, my body was able to pass (albeit with much pain) this obstruction. Unfortunately, my urologist confirmed that both kidneys were harbouring more stones ranging in size from 2mm to 5mm. In order to reduce my risk of another hospitalization, it was recommended I undergo am Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL).

I was admitted this morning to the Frederick Surgical Center and promised I would be home by noon. I suffered terrible nausea from the anesthesia and wasn't discharged until 1pm. I'm now home 'resting' and following my discharge orders. The most fun about my next steps is Kevin gets to lightly punch my right kidney (no kidding). This will help move any stone fragments from the outer reaches of the organ so they can be flushed out through the normal kidney function.

To the twins, today was just another day. Esther kept them occupied all day. They did want to join mommy in her bed for a little while this afternoon. I couldn't resist letting them give me kisses while I was resting. They'll be off to pre-school tomorrow and the house will be quiet for most of the day.

I will have to endure this procedure again, but my left kidney won't be shocked until the summer. It didn't have as many stones as the right. Thanks to everyone who wished me a successful procedure.