Alive and kickin'

Okay, so it's been a while since I've posted. My reasons for this absence from blogworld are three-fold: I've been really busy, I haven't done much knitting, and I somewhat broke the camera so I don't have any new pictures to post. I always think I need to post a picture when I blog, but since I don't have time to fix my camera any time soon, I figured I'd do a pictureless post just to let you know I'm still here.


So, what's happening in the world of Nakedie? Lots! Here's a list:


1. I've started a triathlon club at the YMCA I work at. It's totally fun so far. It's geared towards beginners, and I'm training them to do a super-sprint race on Memorial Day. We're almost at the end of week 3 of our 10-week training program. I email them a training schedule every week, I lead them in a brick (bike-run) workout on Wednesdays and in a swim workout on Fridays, I arrange little seminars/clinics for them, I sometimes go riding with them on Saturdays, and I bombard them with more information about multisport than they ever would have imagined I could bombard them with. When we opened registration for the club, we limited it to 20 people. Those spots filled up in 2 weeks and I haven't had anyone drop out yet, so I'm feeling very good.


2. I'm starting to take personal training clients! Becoming a personal trainer has been a dream of mine for several years now, and we're finally in a financial position for me to pursue it. I took the NSCA-CPT (National Strength and Conditioning Association's Certified Personal Trainer) exam on St. Patrick's Day and am now just anxiously awaiting the results. It was REALLY tough, but hopefully I passed. I guess my director at the Y is assuming that I passed because she started assigning clients to me. I had my first client this past Tuesday, I meet with my next client on Monday, and I've got 2 more to set appointments up with.


3. I'm deep in the throes of Ironman training AGAIN. My Ironman this year will be up in Lake Placid, New York on July 22nd. That means I'm less than 4 months away from another 140.6 mile race - yikes!!! This year is different from the last 2 years of Ironman. I spent the last 2 years training and doing races with a big group of friends; now I'm pretty much on my own except for him. He's not doing the race, but he's been riding with me a lot and protecting me from the mean dogs on the country roads. There is another girl from Nashville who is doing this Ironman, and I thought we'd be training together a lot, but it hasn't turned out that way. I'm fine, though. Having a ton of fun, actually - not having to worry about other people has been a really nice change.


4. I obviously have been so busy that I haven't had much time to knit. When I do knit, I am charity knitting. I stalled out on my poor little Equestrian Jacket from IK three quarters of the way up the second sleeve. So close, yet so far. Instead, I am working really hard to get my blanket done for Project Linus. The ladies in my knitting group at the Bellevue Y have been so great - they have given me over 10 blankets to donate, and I haven't even finished mine. I'm really close, though. This week has been a recovery week for me in terms of Ironman training, so I have a little more time on my hands. Maybe by Sunday night I can finish the blanket and cast on for a chemo cap. I've got 2 balls (no, really, I do) of Calmer, so I'm going to try my hand at Shedir from Knitty. And I've got a dear friend who's wife is dying from ovarian cancer, so it'll be an extra-special project for me to do.


That's it for my update. Off to Organization Land. I bought some new pages for my planner (I figure I better start using that thing again since I have clients now), and I bought a bookcase for my computer room/home office/workout area that I can haul upstairs and assemble. Maybe by the next time I post, my camera will be fixed and my blanket will done and I can give y'all some pictures to look at.

Oh, f*ck it - here are some old pictures that always make me smile:

Yes, I've posted them before, but like I said, they always make me laugh. I originally wanted to post a picture from 2 years ago of the back of Hayden standing on our snow-covered deck wearing a turtleneck, his snow boots and nothing else, but I was afraid of being blasted with nasty emails. Little boys' butts are so cute, though! At least MY little boy's butt is.