Wedding Weekend

31 weeks captured in New Orleans.  Believe it or not, I was a failure at taking pictures this weekend.  I don't know what happened?  I am usually snap happy, but I was not reliable this weekend.  And too bad, because I got to see so many of my best college friends- a huge group of us this weekend.  I was a real trooper for most of the weekend and even stayed out to +1am.  But, I paid for it on Sunday, when I was completely swollen for Jazz Fest (can you say cankles? seriously could not find my ankles), and then I spent the night on sick on the tile floor of the bathroom.  It took 2 days to be able to find my joints again through the fluid.  I really, really paid for my weekend, and I am now on self-prescribed easy street.  I learned my lesson.  So maw-maw Damie in effect starting now!

A picture with my Roberts' family at the wedding.

A former soccer teammie of mine, Crystal, due just two weeks after me.  So much fun!  This is her 3rd, so she is a pro at this. 

Some of my besties from college, Holly and Becca, at the rehearsal dinner. 

Watching some pro golf and eating my way through the VIP tent with gourmet food at the Zurich Classic.  This was the perfect set up for a pregnant woman!

A baby shower with lots of pink and a group of amazing and intelligent women.  I worked with some of these women when I was just 22-years-old!  It is so much fun to share life changes with friends.

The last day of survival...Jazz Fest with the wonderful Mary Thiel, Wattie teammie.  I love cheering on her awesome year as she heads to Vegas.  I had planned to dance the day away with her, but instead I sat down most of the day, wondering why I was so tired and couldn't find my knees or ankles.  Um, pregnant much?  I paid for my enthusiastic weekend x 10 later when I was so swollen I couldn't move.

And guess who missed me more than anyone back at home?  Roo.  Of course.  He didn't leave my side last night during cleaning duty.  I love coming home to my first baby.  :)

We are back home with lots to do.  And, for some reason I am actually craving the swimming pool.....

A Day In The Life Of...

For years I have been up and gone before sunrise without seeing my husband in the morning.  It was all about getting in the training before work.  Now, though, Dave gets up and going, and I get Rooney to replace him.  We take over the whole bed and just snuggle the morning away until I have to get up for work.  I am taking advantage of every wink of sleep I can get for now. 

And then there is work, and I love my patients.  I am so busy it hurts sometimes, but I am liking my job more than ever now. 

But somehow I am not only Damie Roberts, physical therapist during the day, but I also must have a sign that says, "Mz. Damie:  will help dogs."  Upon leaving a patient's home on Monday, I had a young man, pushing a shopping cart full of trash in one of my not-so-great areas, approach me about helping him with a dog, which he was leading around with electrical wire.

AHHHH!!!!  What in the world is written all over me that says I will help with all of these crazy projects?  

This is a long story on how I get suckered into these situations, but Dewayne was a young man that could not take care of this dog and really wanted to do the right thing.  So, "Tiger" is now in a better and safer environment thanks to a little luck and a favor I received from a good friend.  And his whole neighborhood now thinks they know "Mz. Damie."  I was even invited to their block party. (But I will pass- might not be my type of crowd :)

So, I think my true job description is "Mz. Damie", physical therapist and dog helper for the local hoods. 

Here is Tiger, on his way to safety.  (after peeing in my car, and then later throwing up on me).  But just like a baby, he just wanted to snuggle in my lap the whole time.  Fantastic dog, and I was happy to help Dewayne since his heart was in the right place. 

So, it appears that my job title is really just "helper" to anyone I encounter while on the streets.  It is making for some interesting days at work. 

30 Weeks

This weekend went by way too fast.  Is Monday really just a few hours away?  I am looking at my work schedule for tomorrow and thinking it is impossible.  I don't know how I will make it through without coffee.   

Congrats to everyone at Nola 70.3...lots of great racing by my Wattie Ink teammates.  And Colonel Mustafa did it again....tracked down Andreas Raelert and they tried to call me so I could say hello to my very favorite triathlete.  As luck would have it, I was in yoga class and missed the phone calls.  So, another missed phone call by Andreas.....  DERN IT!!!!  Where is the luck I ask????

I had a lot of sister time this weekend.  So much, in fact, I am surprised we were not sick of each other.  But, nope!  Still friends!

Now that the 30 week mark is upon us, things seem a little more real.  The belly is growing weekly, and just when I think it can't get bigger, it does.  Hard to imagine there is +/- 10 more weeks of growth to happen.  Otherwise I am feeling good, although today was my first "hormonal" day, where I cried twice to Dave. (although thank goodness it has just involved crying and no craziness!)  Babies aren't just handed to you, apparently.  You have to work for them physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  I think this is all intended to toughen me up and prepare me for the really hard work when she gets here.

Happy week to come to all- train well- and enjoy the spring if it is in your area.

xo

Weekend Wrap Up

Thank you so much for all of the kind words and emails about Shelby Angel. For those of you who have been blogging with me since 2008 (or before!), you have been a source of great support and kindness. It is what keeps blogging fun. Thank you for the friendship.

29 weeks- Life is good in the 3rd trimester.  I am still working pretty hard with as many hours as I can handle so I can save up some good time off post pregnancy.  I am handling it pretty well, until I don't and then I just CRASH!  I found myself asleep during lunch one day and barely woke up in time to get back to work.  Yikes!!!

I did get the yucky news that I have increased anemia.  Dern dern!  That explains some of the fatigue and why all of my co-workers have been concerned about how pale I have looked lately.  But, we are on track with some B-12 and iron supplements and I will get back on top of it :)  Growing babies is hard work!

I am feeling good peace as the days tick by.  Of course they could speed up a little bit :)  It is good to "just be."  Just for a little health, I have been walking the dogs and swimming occasionally.  Every now and then I will sprinkle in the occasional elliptical with some small weights.  I finally broke down and ordered a maternity belt.  If it helps support everything that hurts down there, I will be kicking myself for not getting it sooner. 

Weekend triathlon wrap up....  great job to all of the racers at the Los Locos Duathlon.  I enjoyed volunteering and cheering you guys on.

I've got a "box" coming from Wattie Ink....and I can't wait to get my new kit in!  (at least to look at for a few months, since I definitely won't be able to wear it!)

And, got some extra time?  Listen to this podcast with Will Kelsay.  It reminded me to continue to find the races that excite me as well as finding that place in racing where I just might have to go to the med tent at the end.  A good listen...

Shelby Angel- Some Final Thoughts

On February 14, Valentine's Day, I walked into the Humane Society to do my weekly volunteership with the dogs, and found out that Shelby Angel had been put to sleep.  This was not the end to our rescue that we had worked so hard to accomplish, and it has absolutely put a huge dent in my heart and my faith in fellow man.  I will share a larger part of this story on her blog for anyone interested in reading further.  

Two months have passed, and it has been so hard for me to talk about it that I have not written anything.  So many of you have been with Shelby during our journey and have been so supportive of her.  For those of you that are new to reading the blog, Shelby Angel is an abused pit bull that I rescued while on a training ride several years ago, and her story has changed my life and the way I respond to animals in need. 

This was a picture from last year that I did for Pit Bull Awareness Day. 

We are not doing enough to protect our world.  We are not doing a good job with SHARING our world with animals.  It is not ours to trash and abuse.  The world is not ours to fill with junk, tear down the trees, and build landfills.  Animals are not ours to hurt and abuse.  I do not use my blog to preach to everyone about hunting, eating meat, animal fighting, or any other thing that I feel leads to unnecessary cruelty to animals.  But I sometimes want to.  I want to tell everyone to adopt.  I want to tell everyone to NOT turn your head when you know someone is hurting an animal.  Confront them.  Call for help.  Go help the animal!  I want to tell people to not ignore the way your country condones the treatment of animals slaughtered for food.  It is not about eating meat or being a vegetarian.  It is about saying it is NOT okay to torture animals or treat them so poorly for our benefit.  If you watch videos of abuse, and it makes you sick, you know something is wrong.  Don't be tolerant.  I don't want to preach perfection- it doesn't exist.  But I want to encourage continued kindness to the animals that share this earth with us.  BE KIND. 

Could Ghandi have been any more correct?:  

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated.
I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.

I miss Shelby terribly.  I will post the rest of the story on her blog.  As for me, I feel a huge mixture of sadness and confusion.  I know there is some sort of calling for me to help animals, but I have not figured out which kind of direction it is supposed to take and whether it is a small or big part of my future.  It may be that I just need to keep doing little things throughout my life....but perhaps I am supposed to be putting my energy towards bigger things.  In the meantime, though, I am just grieving for the huge loss of a friend, and a dog that literally and figuratively changed my life and made me a better person. 

Into The Last Third

3rd Trimester Beginnings...

 Our Saturday trail "wog."  Best running buddies ever. 

Life is so neat in how it guides us to where we need to be.  It is so unique and individual for all of us.  That is really my only conclusion from this week. 

I am back to swimming with a new master's class.  It is a class that I would not like if I were healthy and racing because the yardage is very low and the mentality is mellow.  But it is an absolute perfect fit for me right now, and I love my new swim friends and new coach.  And the best thing about my former American Record holder and Oly trials swimming coach is.... that she just had a baby and completely gets my mentality right now.  We are working on my stroke, keeping speed and yardage expectations non-existent, and just happy when I show up.  :)

The bike trainer is going to collect dust for a couple of months now, I think.  My stomach is in the way, and no matter how high I raise the front end, I am uncomfortable and don't enjoy it.  I miss my bike more than anything, and can't wait for a crisp fall day to fit back into my bibs and take her back out on the road.  I honestly cannot wait to be smashing some miles on my bike this fall.  

And oh the run.  Just yesterday I wogged the trails and had a great time.  I felt so good that I decided to leave the dogs home today and get out there by myself and focus a little more on my run.  My pregnant body is unpredictable, and while yesterday I felt good, today I felt horrible and turned my jog into a hike.  I have been running very, very very very very very little during pregnancy.  (I haven't kept a training log....I decided training logs are for training.)  It was inconsistent in 1st trimester, inconsistent in 2nd trimester, and (drumroll) inconsistent in 3rd trimester.   I think the message is that this is really just a time to enjoy getting out there with my dogs, so from now on, if I plan to wog, the dogs go with me.  While my legs feel great and want to GO, nothing else about the backpack I am carrying in front of me feels the same way.  So, this is the universe telling me that it is not about running right now, it is about spending time with my four-legged babies in nature and enjoying our time together. 

I am at 28 weeks now with 12 weeks more or less to go.  We are hanging in there....loving being pregnant and all that comes with it:  sleeping in, living a mellow life, taking everything easy, spending time with the people I love, and just feeling the love.  I am definitely missing a good hard run, smashing myself on my bike, and good, long swim interval workouts.  I would say that everything is probably in balance as it should be. 

:)

xo