we found the internet cafe....

...but I've forgotten my USB cord for the camera. ;-(

Mazatlan has been...an adventure. :) The resort we're staying at is beautiful. The ocean view from our suite is breathtaking. The pool has been fun - and we are all properly scorched after our 3rd day of sunbathing. We're heading into "town" today anyhow...so no pool until the evening.

I will say that the trip from the airport to Mazatlan didn't leave me feeling good about traveling to this touristy-hotspot. Maybe it's because I work for a humanitarian agency and I know what these traps do to poverty. The ride to the resort was not beautiful or representative of the pictures we see of mazatlan's resorts. It was a picture of poverty, really.

That's through my own eyes. Unsolicited opinion.

We've had a lot of bumps and hiccups along this little trip. It will be interesting to see how the week rounds out. Right now I would say, that travel to Mexico probably isn't for us. BUT...that may be too soon of a prediction and shortsighted on my part.

I do know that the ocean is lovely. The weather is wonderful. And today we will be traveling into the city for shopping and some local exposure (outside the world of this sequestered resort).

My sun-burned shoulders are signing off for the day...

Hasta luego!

Sunnier skies are [hopefully] around the corner...

This is a photo of me. Worshiping the sun. Or my God who made the sun. Or both.

Can you believe this ooky weather? I was standing out with my neighbor after work tonight and we decided it felt like late October instead of one week from June. It was so frosty, we could see our breath. Bleh. ;-( I am longing for more of that beautiful warmth we experienced over the weekend. 90 degrees of it, I believe!


The good news is...we are headed to Arizona tomorrow and Mazatlan on Saturday. Staying....

right here. At the Emerald Bay resort. Looks sunny, doesn't it?

It's been a long four-day week. Long and a little overwhelming.

Some one-liners to part with:

David Cook is the winner. If you don't know what that mean, it's quite a loss.

My neighbor and friend, Ginger makes THE BEST cake ever. And it is easily enjoyed while watching David Cook win.

We are tan. Maybe a little too tan. I do love a nice tanning bed.

Cold. Hope has one. Am hoping her little ears are good during flight. There are some handy earplugs made for just such a thing. We shall buy some in the morning.

I am packed. My house is clean. Ginger is feeding Ladybug while we're out. And I feel strangely calm. It's not a trip if I'm not running mad....I keep feeling like I'm forgetting something.

Is it possible that I'm forgetting the madness?

Have a fabulous week. I am very selfishly praying for sun, sun, sun...here I come!

:)

Dandelion tea. Not so much.

I keep reading about the amazing benefits of dandelion root tea. My Dr. Gillian prescribes it (BBC). Jillian Michaels (biggest loser) recommends it in her book. Everywhere I turn, folks are praising the tea of the dandelion.

If you know me much, you may know that I am a lover of medicinal teas. Traditional Medicinals is my favorite brand. I swear by their Echinacea Plus immune building tea. So tonight, as Hope and I browsed the aisles of Fred Meyer (okay, we weren't browsing. I was somewhat bribing her down the aisles with the promise of "the crane")...I decided to pick some of this uber-healthy, possibly weight-reducing tea up.

Two words: Nas-tee. I can deal with not-so-great tasting things in the name of health. I've adapted to wheat flour. Garbanzo flour. All natural peanut butter. Unsalted nuts. Raw almonds. Agave sweetener. Balsalmic vinegar. Seriously. I have adapted to them all. But tea of the dandelion? It has tested my wherewithall. I did drink it (actually, I held my breath and chugged it after cooling down). An hour later, the after taste seems to be leaving.

Oh sweet dandelion - I am in for the long haul. Or at least for the duration of the teabags in your box - because you didn't come at a bargain price. I don't think our relationship will be filled with flowery moments (no pun intended) or savory sips of relaxation.

The no brainer of the night: did I really believe that a DANDELION would be a tasty tea specimen?

In other news (smile)...the Mary Tyler Moore cast is on Oprah! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that show. I grew up on it. Or did I grow up on the re-runs. I took Opie off my tivo, but I've just collapsed into my chair for a spell and tripped over it. They don't do television like they once did, that's for certain. Carol Burnett show, Mary Tyler Moore, Rhoda, That Girl...sigh. I just hugely dated myself, didn't I?

We are "frantically" preparing for our trip to Mexico. We fly to Phoenix on Friday - and out with Lee's family to Mazatlan on Saturday. I hope it's a good trip. I'm hesitant - simply because we don't travel out of country for vacations and I'd rather be in...Hawaii. Or Phoenix, even. I'll likely come back singing the praises of this new land...and begin preparing for our next trip. Looking forward to sun. And pool. And time with familia.

On the marathon front....I am recovering. I did something to my calves during the last 3 miles of the race. Like a not-so-good something. I tried hitting some hills last week - and regretted it. I headed out on Saturday for a 4.5 mile jaunt and felt pretty good. Today, Hope and I ventured out for 2 miles...we went up the hill once - and no twinges. I also...

had a fabulous massage today. My good friend Shannon was at work today - doin' massages. She gave me time on her table -- adn some pressing and popping....but I feel so much better. Shannon would tell you that my back and legs need some help...and some stretching beyond-measure. But I feel better.

Now if I could just get rid of that dandelion tea aftertaste.

the rest of the story....

I still have "marathon on the brain." But there's more to tell. Like...I came down with the cold of all colds a few weeks ago - just four days before I flew to Chapel Hill, NC for business meetings. Four very long (but very productive) eastern time zone meetings.

We stayed at the Carolina Inn. An old home of someone important. Renovated and pristine. And tres southern.It actually creeped me out a bit, but I rode through it. Here's a pic of the lobby. My suite looked as if Laura Ashley had, well, thrown up in there. :) Grits were on the menu. Nuff said.
Our hotel was in the center of the University of North Carolina's campus. Lots of interesting places to eat, including "Sugarland" - home of lovely baked goods and homemade gelato, seen above. Tiramisu and white chocolate were my favorites. Two nights in a row. Mmmhmmm.
What's this blurry shot? None other than Barack Obama walking out of the Carolina Inn's hotel doors. It's a true story. Our entire radio team perched for close to an hour just to catch a glimpse.
Here he is again - heading to his ride. He's third up, if you're counting from the back. My camera phone was slow - otherwise I'd have caught the wave and the wink he gave the masses. Turns out, B-O (i love to refer to him that way) spoke at UNC and was staying at our hotel. I ran into press and whirlwinds of black cars and police as I came back from my early morning walk. He's not someone I'd vote for, but it was something to see his "secret service" and darkened cars and so on.
Two nights before I left for NC, Hope was in urgent care with a hurting ear. Turns out, she had a left over tube encapsulated in wax. Upon my return (as I battled the flu), we went in for a somewhat "emergent" surgery to remove said tube. It was quick and painless. Although, as you can see above, she was intense prior to surgery. And a little worried.
Something called "the giggle wind" truly gave Hope the funniest disposition. For about an hour.
She was all smiles as the nurse readied her for departure to the car. The smiles disappeared about 30 minutes later - as the giggle wind blew far, far away.
Here's a shot of determination and I think, a little exhaustion. Around mile 8 of the Tacoma City Marathon. The lady next to me was my gauge for a few miles. We were passing one another for quite a while.

And here is the blessed mile 13. Perched precariously on the most beautiful and much-needed downward slope. Brought a tear to my eye. But no jig in my step.

Hasta. k

Hills and Mountains

This was taken right around mile 10. I was hot and tired and feeling a little snap-happy. :)

I had an entirely too detailed post on the half-marathon ready to make "live" - and then, I changed my mind. Only my trail cohorts and I are interested in the blow-by-blow war stories. So here are some highlights:

1. Our Team. Doing the marathon with what ended up being eight peeps was amazing. We had a little team effort going - through the training, our "night before" carb-loading celebration and throughout the actual course. Words can't really do it justice. Here's a shot of us the night before...and the morning of.

In the back..Lee, Danielle, Kris and Ginger. In the front...Liz and Consuela (aka Connie). Our back deck after a full-meal carb deal. :)

This is the "morning of." About 30 minutes before race time. Lee and Connie are having a moment - topic shall remain "unspoken." The Lord heard and Lee needed a porta potty on the course. Nuff said. :) So this is Lee, Kris, Liz, Ginger, Danielle, Lori, Connie and Cindy.

2. The course. When they said "train for hills" they really meant "train for mountainous, energy sapping, long-winding mountainous climbs. That's what they meant. Is it fair to say that 3/4 of the course was a hill? I think it probably was.

3. The duration. We all came in about 20 minutes from one another. Lee was first with a pretty amazing 2:52. We trained to walk - but Lee jogged the first 4 and blew his knee out. He walked the rest of the way and still made great time. Ginger followed 20 minutes later; Connie/Cindy 20 minutes after that; Danielle/Lori 20 after than and Liz/I 20 after that.

4. Mile 10. A few things happened at mile 10. I realized that I was going to have to walk up the three huge hills I had just come down, but put it to the back of my mind. I was still hopeful at that point. I passed my husband as he was looping back (we turned around at 8.5 miles and retraced steps to the end of the course). He didn't have the heart to tell me that I was still 2.5 miles from the turnaround point. I was enjoying some of the only flatlands on the course down by Ruston Way and a GU pack that surprisingly gave me a a needed boost of energy!

Waterfront view along the flatlands of Ruston Way. A mile or two before heading back up the mountainous hills.

4. The final hill. It was unbelievable really. Just after mile 10, my right calf seized up. But it was "stretchable." Liz caught up with me and we tailed one another for a spell. After another GU hit and some stretching, I caught that the hills were truly seizing my calves. I just decided to push through. At points, those poor calves of mine felt like they were going to pop from the pain. Have I mentioned that we didn't train for hills? Not even once. ;)


5. We lied. There are four more hills. It's true. We reached the top of Schuster Park way with a small wave of nausea. We were on mile 12 and knew 13 was just around the corner. Actually it was around 5 corners - and four of them accessible by one steep Tacoma hill after another. Liz and I took turns encouraging one another. I had already pretty much claimed Schuster Parkway for the Holy Spirit adn thought my preaching was done. Little did I know that more Jesus pleas were to be had. I actually reminded myself (outloud, ask Liz) of the kids in Africa who travel miles for clean water (duh, one of the reasons we were walking in the first place!) and the people of Myanmar who are facing such desperate/dark times. This was nothing. Right?


6. The finish line. Was, PRAISE GOD, on a downhill trek. The only one of the last 3 miles - but it was downhill and looked glorious. Liz jogged over it. My screaming calves and I strolled. And did it in 3:52. I had been aiming for under 4 hours - and did it. I lost a lot of time in the last 4 miles...but I am SO okay with that.


High fives, victory hugs and whoops and hollers were all part of our big finish. My sister in law, Karen spent the night and brought Hope up to see the big finish. Our names were called as we crossed. We received medals and our times are posted on the web. And we hobbled down a very long flight of stairs to reach the free food. Bananas and Tim's Cascade chips never tasted so good. :) It was a for-real marathonin' experience.

Tacoma News Tribune Pics: http://www.thenewstribune.com/942/story/357337.html

I'm really so proud of everyone. It's been fun to catchup, share details and war stories and still be encouraged! We all worked so hard - and everyone completed what turned out to be a REALLY hilly and challenging course. I'm ready for the next one and have some new goals in sight. Consuela is with me and has even more challenging goals set for herself (and to that I say "booya!").


Besides the comraderie that we experienced, the huge laughs along the way and the bonding of the marathon trail (and the mystery of the portapotty), Connie and I have been fundraising for the past few months. We are at the 38 percent mark of a really huge goal ($4800 for a well in Africa). I think we are both so amazed and blessed by the amount that we've been able to raise. Thank you, Jesus! :)


So that's it in a nutshell. My original blog took you through ever stop, nook, cramp and cranny of marathon day. You should be glad I spared you. Or maybe this was worse? :)


Lee and I weren't really sore yesterday - but find ourselves hobbling and limping around when moving from sitting to mobility. :) It's provided a few laughs, that's for certain. It's been a nice Mother's Day ... sitting on the other side of a huge and accomplished goal.


Thanks for the support of those who have been praying and for those who have donated so selflessly! If you're still in interested in donating, we're keeping the site open for one more week!


www.lifetoday.org/goto/teamlivingwater


"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."

Be Blessed!!!