Phases

I have been absent from blog land again for almost a month. As I have said before Facebook is so much easier and people get to see (what you think are ) your daily highlights. I have also been avioding blogging a little bit as well. There is nothing that fantastic to report even though my life has drastically changed.

January 1 I started a new job. The job overall is great. It is low stress, 32 hours a week, and only about a 15 minute drive from home (10 minutes on a good day). I get my car parked for me in a heated garage (I don't even use the garage at home because it is not big enough for the mini-van)! The van has been acting weird lately. When it first turns on, it takes a few tries to get it into gear. Then it died one day on an on-ramp from 394 to 169. Luckily it started right back up again! It is an older car (1999), but we are not in a position to go out a buy a new one, especially with how dirty it gets from the kids, dog, and everything else. Mike thinks it is the transmition fluid and the cold, so I should probably call to get it changed.

I have had 3 full weeks of work now. I definitely charish the time with the girls now. I try to get in by 8 and leave by 3, so we have the whole afternoon to play. I still get 5-6 hours a day with them. I do miss the down time when they are napping/resting, which may explain why I am so tired ALL THE TIME! I also try to get my workouts in in the morning, so I am up by 4:30. Mike usually takes the girls in to daycare, so he is working later now as well. Weekends have really turned into family time. Honestly it is not the kids that I miss. I still get to do a lot with them. I miss the freedom I had working out. I know that is selfish. I make the time now, it is just not as realxed when I need to pack for the gym the night before and get ready for work at the gym. There is not time for the steamroom or no time for extended stretching. It is a bit overwhelming. I took for granted last summer where I swam just about every morning. got home, made some coffee and stayed in my sweats until 11 or noon! I am looking towards the next few months and thinking where am I going to find the time for the 6 hour rides or the 3 hour runs? I know it takes discipline, something I did not need last summer because I saw my kids 24/7. There were literally the 15 hours a week I did my workouts where I was away from them. I did not feel quilty about leaving them for 7 hours. I did not have to get up at 6am for a long ride. I got up at 8, ate breakfast and started riding/running around noon. I think this is where my love for the sport of triathlon is dwindling. I am really not prepared to put the effort in right now. I read all these blogs where people's seasons are going so great. Mine is not. So, I am trying to roll with the punches. Trying to do what makes me happy. Trying to do what feels right right now. I can still do an Ironman in September. I started training last year in mid-April. I will not be top in my age group, but there still is a good chance I will do better than last year. I love Ironman, because I love training for it. I figured out that I LOVE training with people. I love group classes. I love going to masters because there are people there. So, in this new phase in my life, I am going to workout how I want to workout. If the swimming, biking and running do not come along as planned, I am not going to worry. If I need a few years break from doing Ironman again, I will still go watch and cheer the people on who cheered me on last year.

On a happier note, we are actually saving a lot of money. Even though daycare is costing us over $400/week, our credit card bill was about $1000 less this month. I guess I went to Target a little more than I thought I did! We are now thinking we may tear our house down in Saint Louis Park and build a new one. We also may try to sell and move out to the suburbs because the prices are coming down to a realistic level!!

Mike hooked up the Wii to the internet last night so if anyone wants to play let me know!