The meaning of my being

As mentioned yesterday I set out on an adventure last week, an adventure to learn how to snowboard. I have been skiing for what seems like forever it is the meaning of my being, so snowboarding should not be that difficult for me to catch on to, right?
After getting fitted for snowboarding boats and making sure I knew how to buckle myself into Katie's board Maddy and I hopped onto the gondola.

Not only had the mountains been my home away from home for so many years and Maddy is a regular snowboard instructor at BC and I was using a board of a veteran snowboarder, I was confident this was going to be a snitch.
Once we exited the gondola and I met a super hot lifty, Maddy and I ventured over to the bunny hill. I should probably point out that the bunny hill at Beaver Creek is not like most, it is about 50 yards in length and the slope is about a 10% grade, no kidding!
As I road up the magic carpet to the top of the 'bunny hill' I figured a few times down this little hill and I will be ready for the chair lift.

After 3 hours on the bunny I may or may not have had a nervous breakdown, I may or may not have ever gotten the hang of riding heal side, I may or may not have flirted with the lifty named Darren who I am sure was beyond impressed with by my snowboarding skills, I may or may not have tossed in the towel and chosen to put my skies on and head to the top of the mountain. But I will admit I did get the hang of riding toe side, it just happens that when riding toe side I am heading down the hill backwards, I am not sure that is very safe for the rest of the individuals on the mountain. Darren told me it is just like drive, however as I mentioned to him I tend to not drive backwards a lot.

So, I will buckle back into a snowboard next season and try it again. I am determined to get this skill under my belt. Wish me luck!!

Fresh mountain air.

For all of those that may be thinking I fell off a mountain being it has been some time since I have written, rest assure I still have my feet firmly planted on the Colorado soil. Last week however, I nearly firmly planted my bottom in the mountain snow and taken what I would have considered the easier route down the hill at Beaver Creek. For you see I took my very first snowboarding lesson. After skiing for nearly 20 years I thought what better adventure than that of snowboarding for the first time at age 33. An adventure it was, but that story will have to wait.

I headed to Beaver Creek to spend a few days with my dear friend Maddy. She requested that my camera come to one of her soccer games in order to take pictures, and as fate might have it, I needed to accompany my camera.



After the melee of the bumblebees on the soccer field, Maddy and I made a beeline for the fire pit at Beaver Creek resort to make s'mores. I am a bit remiss for not taking a picture of the marshmallows we purchased for this s'mores outing. They were jumbo sized, in fact they were not the easiest things to roast we held them in the fire until we were nearly on fire and the oooy gooy marshmallows were not so oooy gooy. For what it is worth, if you should find yourself in the grocery store collecting s'mores making supplies, just stand in awe of how large the jumbo marshmallows are and settle for the regular s'mores marshmallows.



We had an extraordinary evening in the fresh mountain rain which may or may not have made us smell like a campfire.

Where I have been, where I am, & where I am going

This will come as an epic shock to you all I am sure, but over the past few months I have spent a lot of time thinking about life. After all I had to do a lot of talking, reflecting, and writing about my life, the twists and turns, the ups and downs, the extraordinary people and the....challenging people who's paths have crossed mine.

I have never been one to like the word 'regret'. I have always tried to live my life with the absence of the word, which might be one reason I lived my life so cautiously and why when I picked up my entire life and moved it to Colorado I did not only shock others but I shocked myself. Have there been situation that I at times wish would have gone differently.....you bet! However, the more I have reflected the more I am able to embrace the ups and downs life has so graciously allowed me to experience.

In life we do things, some we wish we had never done, some we wish we could replay a million times in our heads. But they all make us who we are, and in the end they shape every detail about us. If we were to reverse any of them we wouldn't be the person we are. So just live, make mistakes, have wonderful memories, but never ever second guess who you are, where you have been, and most importantly where it is you're going.

Live life my friends!!

I Believe

I believe everything happens for a reason!
People change so you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you can appreciate them when they're right.
You believe lies so that you will eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes, good things fall apart so better things can fall together.

-Marilyn Monroe

Bucket List

Marry my best friend
Watch the sunset at the beach
Spend a holiday with my family somewhere exotic
Ski the Swiss Alps
Be a great parent
Watch the sunrise at the beach
Visit Virginia in the fall
Spend a few weeks in Greece
Have a child
Run in the Marine Corps Marathon
Go to Hawaii
Become fluent in a another language
Grow old with someone I love

Never Alone

During this most recent journey I found myself on I encountered many extraordinary people, people who have changed my life for the better, people who will remain in my life and my heart always. One of these extraordinary individuals shared this song with all of us as she was leaving and heading back home. Many tears were shed when we began to I listen to these beautiful lyrics and I feel as though the message is so poinent as we all began this new year. A year filled with new beginnings, friends worht having, more smiles than grumbles, and above all for us to always remember we are never alone!!

Never Alone by Lady Antebellum

Enjoy & Happy New Year!!

Start your swim training early!

As I started out on this new triathlon journey I was given a piece of sound advice regarding triathlon training, advice that remains the best so far……….“start your swim training early”. I knew there were a few things I needed to be successful in a tri but first and foremost a swim coach was in order. I knew how to swim if I was put in a situation that required swim & live or don’t swim & deal with the repercussions. However, I didn’t know how to swim laps or swim competitively, so I searched the globe and found Katie at the YMCA who has become my life line to swimming. The first time I got in the pool to swim I looked like a giraffe trying to swim laps. This land dwelling girl found swimming to be very unnatural. I don’t know how many times I told Katie, “when I bike and run I can breathe whenever I want, but this swimming thing makes breathing a real challenge”. As a bit of comic relief on this balmy 115 degree day I have a video to share with you, I hope you get as many laughs as I did.
Video Coming Soon
As you can see and as I quickly discovered I needed to kick up the lessons and practice because there was a real possibility once I got out into the open water of Hayburn Lake for the swimming portion of the triathlon I might drown. I have been in lessons for 12 weeks now and think I have made some progress. I would still be smoked if Michael Phelps and I raced, but as I think about it anyone that races against an athlete so rare seems to come up a few strokes too short.
Video Coming Soon
Over the next few days I will share techniques I have learned, challenges I have faced, failures I have endured and triumphs that keep me going back to the pool week after week & day after day. In the mean time here is a small checklist of items that you may want to add to your training arsenal if you haven’t already.
Swim Coach: For any of you that are thinking about doing a triathlon non-competitively a swim coach may not be a necessity but certainly a great addition if you are not a solid swimmer.
Good Pair of Goggles: There are many, too many in my opinion, goggle choices out there. Different color bands, different color lenses, different brands, different shapes. Amongst all the differences the main thing you are looking for is fit, comfort, tint (this will help you with glare in open water swims) and NOT leaky. There is nothing worse than a leaky pair of goggles, trust me I am currently dealing with a pair right now. I have been told the best way to pick out goggles is by putting them on without the strap. The goggles should suction to your face, if they don’t then that pair does not fit the contouring of your face and you need to try on the next pair. Keep trying goggles on until you find the perfect pair. Remember you pay for what you get, so spend within reason, but spend at the higher end of reason.
Swimsuit: There are many different brands out there, but my best advice is go for comfort and fit over brand and look. I have a long trunk so Nike tends to fit me best, however your nearest sporting goods store should have a huge selection of swimsuit for women and men alike.
Wetsuit: Wetsuits are not required at most races, although Matt can attest that he was not able to compete in a triathlon this year due to not having a wetsuit. This purchase it totally up to you, but a purchase proven to be beneficial in some cases. A wetsuit will help in dealing with colder water and buoyancy, which at times will help with making the swim a bit easier.
Triathlon-Specific shorts: For race day it’s self, and if I can advice, at least a few swim practices leading up to race day you will want to wear triathlon-specific shorts. I advice wearing this to practice a few times for the simple fact you don’t want to be trying something new for the first time on race day. Triathlon-specific shorts are cycling shorts with thin padding to help cushion your toosh while competing in the bike portion of the race, but the padding is thin enough you will not absorb half the water in the lake like if you were to wear regular cycling shorts. Trust me you want that paddling!! Wearing tri shorts for the swim portion will also save you time during the transition (time you are transitioning between the swim and bike) in that you will not have to change into cycling clothes.
My small, uneducated and inexperienced advice on the swimming portion of a triathlon.
Happy Swimming,
JB

Triathlon 101

As many of you, who have been tuning in once a month to read my disorganized thoughts I so freely share here in this small internet space know, I have been training for my first ever triathlon. As I embarked on this new athletic journey, that I had been tossing around in my mind for years, I thought ‘how hard can it really be….I have run ½ marathons, I can ride a bike, all I really need to know is how to swim laps and that can’t be too hard for someone who is already an athlete.’ Fast forward 3 months, I am here to tell you my friends triathlon training is the opposite of easy, maybe that is why the very few of us that do compete in them are considered ‘crazy’. I have been in swim lessons for 12 weeks, lost 15 lbs most of that from sweating while training in 100+ degree tempts., have amazing tan lines from my cycling shorts, have scrapes and bruises from not being able to unclip my cycling shoes in a pinch which results in humpty dumpty falling off her bike, had 911 called on me once this summer at the TU track workout due to heat exhaustion, and I am in bed by 10pm every night due to total exhaustion. So why am I doing this to myself you may be asking, well because at the end of the day I love it.

As you can see I have had many adventures, learning experiences and setbacks while training for this triathlon, I will be sharing my journey with over the next few weeks as I prepare for the August 21st event.

Well, it is 112 degrees this afternoon, I can’t think of anything better to do than hop on my bike and go for a nice sweat induces 20 mile ride. If you do not hear from me soon, send out search and rescue I may be aimlessly wondering towards a mirage of water in this desert Oklahoma has become.

Helloooooo

Jennifer,

I am writing inquiring about your whereabouts and if you are ever going to come visit me again. I know you have been very busy mending a broken heart, battling record high temperatures, training for a triathlon or two, taking the GRE, looking at grad schools and needing a vacation but I would like if you could come visit more often than once a month.

Love,
Blog

July 1

I am alive, although some days I do not feel like it. Life has been a whirl wind the past month in fact I am not sure where spring went. One day I was running along the trail, my life in order, the tempt around 70 degrees, a gentle breeze on my face the next day my life was anything but orderly, the tempt was over 100 and the gentle breeze was no more. Where did the past three months go?

I am not going to make any promises that I am going to anything daily on this blog, for every time I promise I fall short of that promise by the end of the month. So I am going to say, July is one of my favorite months, I hope that great fun things will happen in my life this month that I can share with you and that I will be here on my blog more often than the past few months have provided.

Until then,
Jen

Tip for the day....Monday style!

A few years ago I bought a mountain bike from an ex co-worker. It was more or less a steal and it has more or less been sitting in storage for the past 2 years. I am sure the news which I am going to share with you all is earth shattering so brace yourself……….if you let a bike sit for too long without using it, the tires go flat. Okay, so maybe not earth shattering, in fact knowledge held by nearly everyone I am sure. Nonetheless, after sitting in storage my mountain bike was beyond the point of being able to be ridden. So I called up my hunky handyman who came to my rescue with a tire pump. After engaging a set of pliers, a lot of muscle and some sweat my tires got some air in them.

Armed with aired up bike tires I set out yesterday morning for a much overdue 20 mile bike ride. It was an amazing Sunday morning…..the sun was shining down on Tulsa and the air was a comfortable 77 degrees and the wind was gusting to 25 mph. Oh how I try to embrace the Oklahoma wind, but it sure is hard especially on good hair days or when trying to take an overdue bike ride. Overdue being a key word here for two reasons:

1) My legs were not prepared to battle the gusty winds.
2) I didn’t think about the need for sunscreen.

My back is a very uncomfortable shade of red today and there is not enough aloe in the town of Tulsa to alleviate the pain. Not to mention I am going to be rockn’ an awesome farmers tan for the entire summer. So my tip for the day Monday style is to always wear sunscreen, for many reason, but one being you will not have to worry about the loss of sleep due to the pain of a burn.

Sleep tight!
JB

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!!

To all those mamas who are military mothers & grandmothers.

Those that have lost a child.

Those that have encouraged their children to reach for the stars.

Those that are no longer with us today.

Those that lead by example.

Those that love unselfishly.

To all the mamas that if not pillars of strength, beacons of hope and example of perseverance we would not be where we are today.

I love you mama...more everyday!!

The ABC's of Wellness

Wellness has been on the top of my mind lately. With stress slowly eating away at me it has become essential to my mental and physical wellbeing that I begin to truly understand wellness, the components and how to implement them into my life. Yes….I run, I bike, I swim, I row, I lift, I walk, I golf (when I can), I eat healthy (most of the time), but there have to be other elements that make up a life of wellness. So I went in search of what wellness really meant and how I could infiltrate it into my life.

Wellness……..what does that really mean?
According to the Mayo Clinic there are 5 components that make up a wellness:
Aerobic Fitness
Healthy Nutrition
Weight Management
Musculoskeletal Conditioning
Stress Management

I am going to spend some time over the next few weeks covering each of these components in detail……but in the mean time I want to share a quote with you that I stumbled upon today while reading about the healthcare crisis in America:
“A serious competitive runner cannot smoke and cannot be overweight. For those who strive to control our healthcare costs, we offer this simple cost effective suggestion: RUN HARD. RUN LONG. RUN HARD FOR A LONG TIME.”

Get out there and run my hommies!
Love ya!!

A little H2O

I have huge news to share with you.

Are you ready?

Are you sitting down?

Are you sure you are ready?

I registered for my first ever triathlon!!!!

Okay so maybe that is not huge news for you, but I am beyond excited. I have been thinking about competing in a triathlon for nearly 3 years, yes I know it takes me while to commit. I have spent the past month looking for a road bike I think I found the perfect one, I just need to save for it now….those thing a ma jigs do not come cheap. However, the one thing I can start right now is learning to swim, I hear that is critical to the success of competing in a tri.

I started swim lessons last night and oh my gosh I may have found my new love. You may be thinking I thought children under the age of 10 took swim lessons; well they do but so do women who are 32 and like to channel their inner child from time to time. So I pulled on my super tight Speedo, strapped on my goggles and did a cannon ball right into the middle of the pool well maybe not that last little bit.

I met my swim instructor at 7pm last night and to be honest I was a bit nervous. I had been thinking all day ‘I am pretty sure I am going to start hyperventilating when I put my face in the water’. After all for 30 some years I have been swimming with my face above the water with the notion that I was going to breath in H2O if I stuck my nose in the water. Much to my surprise I have no issue at all with placing my face under water; I did however have some serious issues with keeping my chin glued to my chest. As Katie (my most precious swim instructor) told me, if I don’t keep my head down then I am going to cause drag and it will slow me down. SLOW ME DOWN that is not going to work, after all I am learning to swim in order to compete in a timed event.

With my lesson only being 30 mins in length we simply worked on the chin issue, Thursday’s lesson will bring something new and exciting I am sure. But I need to practice so I am off to the pool in order to concur gluing my chin to my chest…..do you think super glue or gorilla glue is the best for this particular situation?

Love,
JB

National Teachers Day

Anybody and everybody that makes this world a better place by just being in it should have a special day in their honor. I think of a lot of people that have done extraordinary things in our history and/or are extraordinary people that have days specifically designed to honor them.

January 15th ……Martin Luther King’s Birthday


February 15th …….Presidents Day


March 17th…….St. Patrick's Day


April 29th…..Mica’s Birthday


May 8th …….Mother’s Day


June 19th ….Father’s Day


July 4th….Independence Day


August 8th ….Shanda’s Birthday


September 5th….Labor Day


October 1st….World Vegetarian Day


November 3rd….Matt’s Birthday


December 25th….Christmas


Today….May 3rd is a day set aside to honor and celebrate those who do something good, important and valuable every day…..our teachers. Teachers help to shape, form and mold us in a positive direction and into the individuals who we become. I can think of many teachers through the years that have impacted my life in a profound and positive way……Mrs. Ports, Ms. Adair, Mr. Wagner, Mrs. Nelson, Mr. Basher, Dr. Ownbey and the list goes on. When I recall all the extraordinary teachers in my life they all have the same attributes….supportive, helping, humble, kind spirited, motivating, patient and positive.

Thank you to all the teachers out there that make this world a better place by helping to shape and mold our great nation!!

Thank you teachers!!
JB

Important Facts About Chad

Did you know that today is brothers and sisters day?

1.Chad works the world’s worse hours, but he loves his job, loves his co-workers and loves his life. I think we could all learn a thing a two from Chad about following our dreams and passions.

2.Chad and I are night and day yet somehow grew up under the same roof. He is laid back, chill and very rarely gets upset. I on the other hand…..well I am the opposite.

3.Chad’s favorite food is steak and lobster. I pause for a moment on this statement and wonder how exactly is he my brother.

4.Chad is good everything he does.

5.Chad has listened to all my stories of heartbreak, love, drama, marathon training and everything between and still answers his phone when I call. Yet now that I think about it, he doesn't not answer my calls as often as he use to.

6.Chad is an inspiration…I hope I am at least half the person he is.

If you have a brother or sister tell them today and everyday how much they mean to your life. If you don't have a sibling get one through the Big Brother Big Sister chapter in your community, the relationship will change your life!

Love you bro!!

Friends

Going through difficult journey's in life it becomes very clear how important friends are to one's life and sanity.

My brother

My brother has been by my side through all the great and rough times in life. Love you bro!!!

God’s beauty

Watching the family grow.

Honored to be close enough in distance to watch these two incredible children grow up.