Unexpected Picture

What I notice about this picture, next to all those annoying red numbers, is the Oklahoma sunset. I am a sunset enthusiast and when I moved to Colorado I was excited to see the sun set behind the Rockies. The crazy things about mountains is that the sun just disappears, one minute it is there the next it isn’t, there are no oranges, reds, yellows & colors you only see exiting the sky in the evening. There are a lot of things I still miss about Oklahoma but the sunsets are certainly the top of the list.

Now to the point of this picture and post…those annoying red numbers. I am the queen of OCD, my icebox, pantry, bathroom supplies, movies, etc. are all alphabetized and those things which can’t be alphabetized or don’t make sense to be alphabetized are in color sequence, i.e my closets. All of this is relevant I promise. For as long as I can remember I have been a checklist, organizer, everything in order type of gal. My mother frequently tells stories of finding me organizing store shelves as a toddler, or putting all the crayons in color order in the crayon box. You see this thread of OCD has been with me since birth and although it has faded over the years it is still there. So those annoying red numbers, typically they annoy the $#^! out of me. The minute one pops on my phone it is almost immediately taken care of. What I notice when I look at this picture next to the amazing Oklahoma sunset is the massive amount of red numbers and how this over organized, checklist completer, OCD fanatic just doesn’t seem to care about those little red numbers right now. You see when something far more important happens in your life the small things just don’t seem to matter any longer. Ever since the death of Scott’s dad I have found myself in this state of not caring about the things that don’t fill my cup. Those things that do fill my cup, Christ, family, friends, intellect, and triathlons, seems to have taken a much higher priority in my life over the past couple of weeks. Do I care about work, I care about doing a good job but I don’t care about being the rockstar of the office; do I care about health, I care a great deal about living a healthy and happy life but I don’t need to be at the gym every night or eat a salad every meal; and do I care about those little red numbers, I do care about the people that reside behind them, but I don’t care that they reside on my phone screen and add a sense of clutter. Life is short, live in the moment, love unconditionally, be kinder than you feel, and for heaven sake don’t worry about the little red numbers in your life.

2015 Highlights

As 2015 drew to an end, my life was rather crazy, there was a trip to NYC, the day after I got home I was diagnosed with the flu & an eye infection, a week later Scott's father passed. Needeless to say, sending out my New Years cards was not at the top of my "Must Do" list. The good thing with New Years cards rather than Christmas is, I have a bit more time to send. In years past I have written a sarcastic, adventure filled, Christmas letter to accompany my Christmas card, this year I took a simple approach to the holidays, my Christmas letter was no different. This year my letter highlighted my adventures, accomplishments, travels, races...heck, let me just share it with you.

2015 Highlights Jan: I started grad school, pursuing a Masters in Psychology. I may or may not be tired all the time and wondering how I did this college thing just a few short years ago, you know when I was 18. Feb: I turned another year older and my body likes to remind me daily I am definitely no longer 18. March: I took a week and a half off of from the daily hustle and bustle and hopped on a jet plane to Siesta Key, FL. Time was spent on the beach, running at sea level and navigating around the happiest place on Earth visiting Mickey and all his friends. April: I found my way back to Oklahoma for a triathlon. It was the rainiest, muddiest, scariest and best triathlon I have competed in. Floundering around in water and riding a metal bike in lightening is not for the faint of heart, especially when that heart is deathly afraid of lightening. May: I joined a team of DaVita co-workers and ran the Colfax marathon relay and then could not walk for a week. June: I competed in my sixth triathlon of the year and set a personal best. July: I volunteered at IronMan Boulder. I have many amazing memories from that day but the best is having the honor of placing a medal around the neck of a team of tandem triathletes who crossed the finish lines right before the midnight cut off. A tandem triathlon team consists of two athletes, one athlete swims, bikes and runs 140.6 miles while pulling and pushing a handicap teammate…truly awe inspiring as you hear the announcer say “You are an IronMan!” Aug: Mamma came to visit. We hiked, we cooked, we shopped, we talked, we explored, we had a blast! Sept: I joined the Rodan and Fields family by starting my own business as a skin care consultant. I love every bit of the journey, most importantly how my customers have found the skin of their youth…we are aging backwards ya’ll!! (Please check out my website, my business grows mainly by word of mouth so I included a business card for you to share). Oct: My DaVita team went on a retreat to the famous Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs where we had a ball spending time together and I learned how to do archery. You will be proud to know I didn’t poke and eye out, but rather hit the target with every shot. Nov: I was lucky enough to head back to Oklahoma for a second time during the year to spend time with family and watch the OSU football team win a hard fought battle against TCU. Dec: I traveled to NYC for the first time in my 36 years. We saw the World Trade Center museum, a show on Broadway, my brother, Rockefeller Center, amazing displays of holiday creativity in the store windows and had some incredible food.

Happy 2016!!

Welcome 2016

For as long as I can remember New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July have been my favorite holidays. These two days are not about gifts and they have not yet become so commercialized that they have lost their meaning…for me they are about family, friends, fireworks, and fun. This year, New Year’s Eve had a different feel, a sort of heaviness, and much more was going through my mind than the normal number of races I am going to complete in the new year, the healthy food I was going to eat, or the amount of exercise I was going to do per week. This year, instead, I relished in the time spent with Scott and his family, the memories shared, the quite night at home watching football and occasionally flipping over to watch the festivities from Time Square. This year was different for a number of reasons, but the main reason being the passing of Scott’s father on Tuesday Dec. 29 and the great sense of loss was very preset for me last night. This morning I woke up with a feeling of emptiness, sadness and not quite ready for the change from 15 to 16. For some reason the change of the year made the realization of death that much more evident to me and I was not ready to succumb to reality. So today I am not planning my race schedule, I am not grocery shopping differently, and when I get to the gym to train is when I get to the gym to train. This year my hope is that I focus on those things that are far more important than a PR, climbing the corporate ladder, the number on the scale, getting a 4.0 in grad school, or how many laps I complete during each training swim. I hope that this time next year I can say I lived 2016 with abandon, less worry and more kindness, less stress and more compassion, less time spent at the office and the gym and more time spent with family and friends. I hope I worship more, travel more, read more, and visit my family more. This year I am not making any resolutions instead I am hoping, hoping that I can live life on my terms. Cheers to 2015 a year that had its share of accomplishments, disappointments, laughter and pain and welcome 2016!

Triathlon Season 2015

Yesterday my 2015 triathlon season commenced and being it was a whole 9 degrees when I left the house yesterday morning I was thanking my lucky stars that the race was indoors. This indoor tri, was an ‘hour of power’ if you will and once the hour was over, power was one thing I no longer had. I finished with sore muscles, slight dehydration, a headache, a sense of accomplishment, but power was not an attribute I could correlate with my current bodily state. This triathlon was uniquely different than any other tri I had competed in before. For starters it was held completely indoors which I had never experienced, the scoring was based on how much distance the athletes covered over a designated amount of time rather than speed and very little training on my part had been conducted before the event started. Also for any of you that have competed in a triathlon before or supported a triathlete you know we do not travel lightly, however yesterday was an exception; I only had to take myself, swimsuit, goggles, swim cap, and biking/running clothes and shoes. That may still seem like a lot, but trust me when I say I have a check list that typically the night before a race I have check everything off and laid it all out to make sure I am not forgetting a helmet, bike shoes, wetsuit, ect. Yesterday’s race started with a 10 min swim and thank heavens I have been taking a combat swim class in sub 0 water because it prepared me for the freezing water we swam in yesterday….I joke about the water temperature, kind of. I sadly was trying so hard to not drown that I forgot to count the laps I swam in 10 mins, but if I were a guessing girl I would say 14-16. After the swim we were given 10 mins to transition from the swim to the bike. This lengthy amount of time was due to the gym wanting a safe transition and to remove all wet clothes and replace them with dry clothes for the bike ride in their state of the art spin room. Once I arrived at my designated bike I had all of 2 mins to get all settled into the saddle. In the 30 min allotted time slot for biking I managed to squeeze in 10.3 miles averaged 20.7 miles an hour (don’t do the math I may be off a point or two on that average) and was the top girl in distance in our wave. I nearly vomited, nearly passed out when I got off the bike and had not had a drink of liquid since this fiasco started…I may or may not have been in rough shape. The transition between the bike and run was not quite as luxurious; we had 5 mins to get from the bike to the treadmill. As I began my run a huge side pain started to make routs in my rib cage and I was done. I have run through a side stich before and once was enough for me to learn my lesson. I had to walk the majority of the 20 min run portion of the race. I was frustrated, annoyed and realized even more the importance of doing those things your life that are very important but you hate, like cleaning the toilets, picking up after the dog on walks and running. Moral of this story…eat less candy and run more miles! Cheers to a triathlon season that will no doubt be riddled with adventures, disappointments, frustrations, fulfillment, joy, laughter, tears and accomplishment.

Happy New Year 2015

Today I woke up in disbelief that we are on our way to enjoying another year. I am not quite sure where 2014 went or 2013, 2012, or 2011; heck I am not sure where the past 12 years since college graduation went, but I digress. As I mentioned yesterday 2014 was a year of epic porportion, I feel so blessed to be where I am in my life, but I also look forward to 2015. It will be a year filled with challenges, opportunities to grow, joy, accomplishments & dreams realized. I start grad school next week after being out of school for over a decade, talk about anxiety, excitement & trepidation all rolled up into one trembling gal. Summer will bring a challenge like none I have ever faced before as I hope to complete my first 1/2 Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, & 13.1 mile run, all to equal 70.3 miles covered in one race). Technically I start training in February but with the daunting idea of racing that far training has already commenced for me. Come Sunday I will see how the training I have done so far Will paid off when I complete my first triathlon of the season. I hope 2015 bring health, happiness, accomplishments, joy & success to us all.

Chronicles of 2014

As 2014 comes to an end and I look back on the epic amount of blog entries I have written this past year I realize I will be hard pressed to out write 2014 in the upcoming year…I kid. I love writing, I love sharing positive experiences and I love the idea that a small part of my life’s journey may inspire someone else.

2014 has been a pretty epic year even though it was not document well here. Since my blog was…for lack of a better word…neglected this past year I will take a moment to chronicle my year that was.

February containing a week that has become near and dear to my heart, I choose this past year to be real with myself and others. I was able to come to terms with being uniquely me and embracing the life that has formed me into the woman I am today. It was huge for me to face my fear of judgment and publicly share my life’s journey through the eyes of a recovering eating disorder patient. Facing my fears allowed me to grow greatly and realize my deepest dreams of helping others find their joy, their worth, and the life we all deserve to live.

I realize as I look back on 2014 that February was a month of growth for me in many ways. After the heartbreak of the job I loved being illuminated in December 2013 and the uncertainty of floating around completing special projects I was brought in to the fold of the compensation department. This decision, made 75% out of fear and 15% out of interest allowed me to learn valuable lessons that I otherwise would not have been given the chance to learn. Beyond all else I learned that I should never make decisions based off of fear, 0 patients and a sense of failure; but rather I need to trust in my God and know that everything is going to work out just like it is supposed to. In November of this year my work like did just that, it worked out.

I somehow turned a year older.

Neither my brother or I were able to make it back home to see our parents for the holidays so we planned a spontaneous trip to Oregon to surprise my mother for her birthday. It was a perfect trip, filled with fun, family, friends, love, laughter and everything a surprise birthday celebration should be.

I got on a rather large health kick and wanted to detoxify my body, after much research, knowing my financial limits and body limits I decided to try an ionic foot detox. The theory behind the process is through an ionic balancing process in which toxins are pulled from the body through the feet. The water in which the feet are placed in for the 30 min procedure changes from clear water to a nasty color. The color of the water once the treatment is complete is supposed to represented the part of the body most of the toxins were pulled from. The water my feet sat in was a green brown color which is supposed to indicate toxins being pulled from the Gallbladder; the irony is that I do not have a Gallbladder. My uneducated advice would be to not waste your money on a ionic foot cleans.

Two of my favorite foreign DaVita teammates came to Denver for business and we met up for a shopping trip and drinks.

I joined a golf league; I loved nearly every min of being with girls and for me attempting to hit the ball. Good news is, I did improve over the course of the summer, I really enjoy the game and plan to be part of the league again this coming summer.

I ran as part of one of the DaVita corporate relay teams in the Colfax Marathon. My leg of the race was 6 miles uphill. This is not a dramatic comment similar to those our parents use to make, remember those…”I use to walk uphill both ways in the snow to school”. My leg of the race really was entirely uphill the, when I handed the baton off to Shilo I was slightly jealous that she got to run down the hill I just ran up.

A few baseball games were attended. Although the team being routed for by yours truly very rarely won, it was still fun to enjoy the sunshine, a cold beer, and the company of friends.

A sorority sister from Houston came to Colorado for a family vacations and a few of us Zeta’s living in Denver had the blessed opportunity to met up with her for dinner on her last night.

I went to Siesta Key, FL for the first time and nearly didn’t make it back, it was simply lovely. Others may argue I nearly didn’t make it to FL in the first place. Long story short, I locked the keys into my boyfriend’s which really didn’t seem like a big deal in that I had planned accordingly and had a lot of time until my flight. However, since I was driving a car in which I didn’t reside on the insure it was an act of Congress to get someone to come out to the airport to let me back in the car. If I had not also locked my purse in the car I would have just gone and gotten on the plan. After all how much does one really need in FL, I am thinking just a bathing suit. However, my purse was sitting on the front seat with my cell phone and wallet out in plain sight. Once I finally realized getting the car unlocked was going to take much longer than I had thought and that I was in fact going to miss my flight I called the airline to tell them. There were no more flights out that night and if I wanted to get out before the following Friday I was going to have to pay $400 for a new ticket. The car was finally unlocked and I was able to make my way to the airport. Although it was early in the evening I was not about to move the car for fear an additional disaster could occur. That said I spent the night in the airport, no sleep, freezing, no food and very very grumpy. I was beyond thrilled when I finally landed in Orlando, but I can tell you I will never live the experience down.

I painted, painted and painted some more to update many of the rooms at my boyfriend’s place.

I started taking Plexus, loved the results and became an Ambassador for the company.

We went horseback riding in the mountains. Although I am not sure anything could beat riding horses on the ranch in the wide open country of OK, I will tell you it is a close second.

PIC I found a gem outside Boulder when I went hiking at Chautauqua Park.

It is an understatement to say I love birthdays. I love celebrating the uniqueness, the specialness of friends and family, and I am incredibly enthusiastic about planning birthday celebrations where the birthday person has no idea. I planned and executed a top secrete birthday surprise mission for my boyfriend. It took weeks of coordination and it would not have been possible without his best buddies and his extraordinary family. The birthday celebration was a top secrete scavenger hunt of sorts, the kids gave him his first clue in which he was to go meet up with a few of his buddies for a round of golf. The tee time was all set up, his friends were going to meet him at the course, and most importantly it got him out of the house so we could prepare for the last mission. The additional clues contained gift cards, or sent him to other locations for my golf fun. By the end of the day I handed him his last clue to make his way back to the house where he found his birthday gift of a new lawn mower, I know we give exciting gifts, and a house full of his best friends. I was able to get about 25 people to come to the party. I was really proud of the success the day brought and above all else I think he loved the day which was my main mission _____ As mentioned earlier February was my month of growth, November was my month of dreams realized. My life has just not been the same without triathlons, my passion for them are deep seeded and although my life is happy, healthy, and filled with amazing people, I was still missing something, so I joined a triathlon team. I will begin training with them in February with the hoped to complete my first ½ Ironman during the summer of 2015. I was recruited, I interviewed and I accepted a new role within the DaVita Village as part of the communications team. The position turns out to be a perfect fit; I am thrilled to go to work every day. The team I work with proves daily to be phenomenal, the work I do is fulfilling and rewarding and the knowledge I seem to constantly be gaining is unmatched. A week after accepting the new position I found out I was accepted into grad school to pursue my dream of studying the brain, human behavior, and earn a degree to help others through difficulty, uncertainty, sadness, grief and loss to find joy, happiness, success, dream realized and the live we all deserve to live. ______ My life is made complete by the people in it. Although my life now is in CO and I could not ask for a better life than the one I am living there is a piece of my heart that still resides in OK. My closest friends and extended family still call OK home. Before starting work at DaVita I made it back to OK a lot, but once I started a big girl job I have been unable to travel as much and I really really miss my friends and family. So I drove to OK for Thanksgiving and got to spend quality time with a few of the people who have been my strength, my support, my courage, and those who have picked me up when I was unable to pick myself up during some of my darkest days. I will forever be indebted to the extraordinary family and friends I have in my life.

2014 is ending similar to way it was brought in, relaxing and surrounded by a few of the people who mean the world to me. I am making a similar resolution this year as I did last, to blog more frequently (fingers crossed). Cheers to an extraordinary 2015 filled with abundant opportunities, unending joy and unmatched successes.

Took the Money & Ran

After weeks of anticipation for you all I am sure, the final installment for 2014 from our March Madness MC. Hoop stars, I’m sure by now everyone is thinking that I pocketed the money in hopes that no one would call me out, well…. I got called out, thanks Rodell. Truthfully though, I haven’t forgotten about you fine people, and I’m proud to say that the lucky winners have their well-earned green on the way. It was a wild final four to say the least, and I’m more than happy, for just one shining moment, to harken back to the days of college basketball… oh, how I miss it. As most of you know already, number 1 overall seed Florida tanked on final four Saturday, losing to 7 seed UConn, a team of unmatched destiny, and as a result put the nail in the coffin of CannonVA tourney challenge 2k14, essentially handing the title to John and Will. Yet, Jennifer and Josh still had a shot if Wisconsin was able to beat an upstart Kentucky team who looked equally as destined to reach the final game. The Badgers came just 1 point shy of their first championship berth since 1941, as deja-vu struck the Kentucky wildcats. With just 5.7 seconds to go and Wisconsin up 73-71, Aaron Harrison spotted up from the left wing and drilled a 3 pointer to crush the badger dreams and with it the green dreams of Jennifer and Josh. It was the third game winner in a row for Kentucky and nearly the exact same scenario of the final seconds in Kentuckys elite 8 win over Michigan, unreal. It couldn’t possibly ring true 1 more time… We found out Saturday night who the winners would be, it was John and Will tied for 1st place and Mike holding on to 3rd. The only question going into championship Monday was who would win the tiebreaker and take home the top prize of $180. It was up to the final score, a final score which was wildly over guessed by the bulk of the pool, as defense showed it’s prominence with all on the line. UConn inevitably continued their dream tournament in glorious fashion, out-playing Kentucky in virtually all aspects, and relying on the unmatched dominance of gutty senior and unanimous all-tourney selection Shabazz Napier. The huskies found a way to get it done, beating the scrappy bluegrass squad 60-54, becoming the first #7 seed to win college basketballs most coveted hardware. We would find out 1 day later that the Husky women would make it a sweep for the second time in the last 10 years. It’s good to be a UConn fan. And so, we can officially crown the winners of CannonVA tourney challenge 2k14. Will and John as champions and Mike in a very heated battle for 3rd place. Congrats to the three of you. The tiebreak was almost a draw as Will’s final number came to 141 and Johns final number, 144. With the final score adding to 114, Will was able to edge out John by just 3 points, and with that scores the healthy margin of cash. I’d like to give a major shout out to Andrew, who’s final score projection, was, far and away, the closest at 58-52, well done AB, if only you had a few more points to your name. See below for final standings, for those of you tied, I used your final scores to determine pecking order, and, more importantly bragging rights. Thanks to all for joining in on the fun this year, it brings me great pride knowing the overwhelming interest in the best tourney challenge of the greater northeast. And thanks also for putting up with my endless novel updates. I do hope that they were enjoyable. Until next year, keep dreamin’ of those 40s…. Sorry, skeeball reference, but equally applicable to all arenas of life. Oh, and speaking of 40s, I’m still out $40. Without naming names, I’m sure you can figure out who you are, below. Thanks again! March madness MC, out! 1. Will D 87 pts $180 (final score 71-70) 2. John F 87 pts $120 (final score 76-68) 3. Mike Z 83 pts $70 4. Molly B 82 pts 5. Jennifer B 80 pts 6. Brent A 78 pts 7. Josh W 77 pts 8. Erik M 77 pts 9. Greg T 77 pts 10. Chad B 76 pts 11. Beth R 76 pts 12. Barbara A 75 pts 13. Carrie P 75 pts 14. Brian W 75 pts 15. Peter M 73 pts 16. Scott D 72 pts 17. Rodell P #2 72 pts 18. Andrew B 70 pts 19. Ashley D 70 pts 20. Preston T 68 pts 21. Rebecca F 68 pts 22. Kelly M 68 pts 23. Scott T 68 pts 24. Greg K 64 pts 25. Chris H 64 pts 26. Matt T 61 pts 27. Ryan M 60 pts 28. Rodell P #1 60 pts 29. Katie T 60 pts 30. Kristal E 60 pts 31. Ed A 58 pts 32. Justin T 57 pts 33. Lindsay M 55 pts 34. Abby M 53 pts 35. Bob F 53 pts 36. David P 48 pts 37. Deborah M 45 pts