Project 365 - Mission Bay TRIATHLON... YES, Big Girls Can ROCK IT!...and Hansen's Surf Shop...



Nothing tastes better than Mimosas after a triathlon...
Friend Dave and me (with Sea World behind us) after the race.

Let's jump right into it, shall we!?  I have been struggling with my weight for many years... which is why I joined the YMCA Weight Loss Challenge 1 1/2 years ago... and why I have been training with my coach and doing Boot Camp and training for different athletic events for the past two years... I am a big girl.  Not only did my size bother me (every day), but the fact that I struggled when playing with Anna... doing household chores... or just getting through my day... 

The transition area... yeah... pretty scary...

HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that I can't do the same things the small gals can... I wear a bigger size... and I will be a bit slower... but I can still ROCK it better and faster than most... and I am dang proud of that!!!  In the past 2 years, I have completed in 2 triathlons and cycled in a 50 mile ride and a metric century. 

REALLY... You want to see ME in a XXL MEN'S WETSUIT?... I don't think so!

I'm about to share the events of October 3rd, the Mission Bay Triathlon and something that my son said bothered me.  I was looking at the event results and noted that if I had entered the "Athena" category (the big gals) that I could have made the podium.  Chris said, "Would you really want to stand up there and win an award for being a fast, fat girl?"  My answer,... "I AM a big girl and I just kicked the tar out of many of the small gals AND the men!  Why WOULDN'T I want to stand up there and receive an award for that!? 



The warm up... OF COURSE, you have to warm up before the swim... and I was feeling GREAT!

God makes us all differently and gives us different challenges.  I have two able legs and a strong heart... I might be thick in the middle, but that just makes me work harder!  Do you know why I train so hard and race?  BECAUSE... I... CAN!

Now... onto the triathlon...

The swim... yes, it was as crazy and scary as I figured my first open water swim would be..  That's me coming up for air right in the center.. you know... the one that looks like everyone else... :-)

The kids in the family on the left of the photo were asking about the different shoes... the dad was telling them that "some people change into cycling shoes, but that just takes extra time..." just as I pull RIGHT IN FRONT of them and start clicking in my cycle shoes.  All they could do was smile and cheer! ;-)  By the way, look at that guy in front of me... I beat him... ;-)

This photo was taken as I started the run... and about 15 seconds before I started cramping... I (stupidly) drank 1/2 water bottle in transition and had double cramps through my whole run... I had to WALK (speed walk) the whole thing... DARN IT!

My girlfriend, Heather... this was her finish and I think an iconic photo of the emotions that you feel when you accomplish something as AWESOME as your first race!  Pain... struggling to breathe... and the HOLY COW, I DID IT!!!  You are a ROCK STAR, Heather!  Congratulations!!!

It was a GREAT event... although I totally blew it on the run, I KICKED BUTT on the swim and TOTALLY CRANKED IT on the bike! I am already training for the next triathlon in Pasadena... in 5 months... and my coach wants me to train for my first Olympic Distance Triathlon in June of 2011... BIG GALS, HERE WE COME!!!

HANSON'S SURF SHOP... A little side story... I rented my wetsuit from Hansen's Surf Shop... an amazing store in Encinitas. It was hard to find a wetsuit that would fit me, but they had one for me. I was a bit uncomfortable picking up this LARGE wetsuit, but several of the store employees asked me what I was doing and I told them my triathlon story. The AWESOME part of the story is when I returned the wetsuit. They recognized me as "the triathlete" and wanted to know how I did. I told them about the race and a bit about myself, how I was inspired to start racing and about Jeff, who with chemo damaged feet was jealous of my triathlon and will be racing with me in Pasadena. 

OK, so I had to walk (speed walk) the whole 5K... but I was NOT going to come to the finish line like a wimp... and I SURELY WAS NOT going to let ANYONE in the finish stretch pass me up... Mr. No Shirt... DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT... you CAN'T catch me!... I finished first!

This skinny, beautiful and fit gal turned to me and said, "You are such an inspiration! I have been wanting to try a triathlon, but have been too afraid to try it. You are AWESOME and I am going to train to do it!!!" And she made me promise to tell her how I do in Pasadena.  I left the store, called Jeff and started sobbing.... happy tears. I doesn't matter what you look like, how much you weigh, or how fast you are, ANYONE can Triathlon!!! What is stopping you!?

Make it a WOOOOO HOOOOO kinda week!!! 

Graphic 45 - Trick or Treat Bag...

We (the Design Team for Graphic 45) were asked to create Trick or Treat bags using the new "Hallowe'en in Wonderland" line.  My project was featured on the Graphic 45 Blog on October 2nd, which includes more project details.  Check out my 3-D Trick or Treat design...

Happy Hallowe'en!!!

Project 365 - Battle of the Bear, "Happy 50th Jeff" and Party...

HOLY COW! Yes (Dad) I know I am 3 weeks behind in Project 365, so I am going to start with the most recent events and go back...

BATTLE OF THE BEAR... (sigh)... sooooo, OGHS didn't win the Bear, but it was a GREAT game! What a nail bitter for the crowd... lots of cheering... lots of "aughs"... and at the end of the night, OG was 8 points down in the battle. That's OK... we are going to CIF... are you, SPHS...? :-)

Now... onto the BIG SURPRISE I had for Jeff's 50th birthday... SERIOUSLY... his 50th... Battle of the Bear game... Chris' senior year... game was at home... I just HAD to do something special... so I had t-shirts made up for our family and special friends that were at the game (Battle of the Bear logo on the front and "Happy 50th Jeff" on the back)...

... I had stickers made up to hand to the crowd/Rowdy Crowd/Cheerleaders that said, "Happy 50th Jeff"...

...and I took out a 1-page ad in the football program for Jeff...

I am always at the game around 3PM on home game days to handle the Booster Membership booth and the volunteers for the snack bar, so I had plenty of time to get everything ready before Jeff showed up. Mom and Dad, Jeff's Dad, neighbors Ted and Ida and Anna all arrived at the game around 6:15PM and had to hide their shirts until the surprise was revealed to Jeff.

So, how did Jeff find out about the surprise? Our favorite Vice Principal, Mr. Alan Williams, met Jeff at the front gate wearing one of the stickers, but Jeff didn't see it. I had stickers plastered on the front gate... too big of a crowd and Jeff didn't see it. So our friend, Mindy, went out the front gate and hugged him, jumped up and down and showed him her shirt... HOLY COW was he surprised!!! I was waiting just inside the gate and told him the whole story.

Immediately people started telling Jeff, "Happy Birthday" and I knew my plan was going to work! Jeff started walking towards the stands and the game announcer (our friend, Mr. Jeff Dunn) announced that Jeff was here. The ENTIRE ROWDY CROWD (our "spirit team") was on their feet and cheering like we had just won the game... and they sang Jeff "Happy Birthday" at the top of their lungs. I was standing there and started crying... happy tears... I just couldn't believe that my special surprise had worked so beautifully... after surviving cancer, every special event becomes special in a MONUMENTAL way.

Jeff is such a wonderfully beautiful, loving and generous person, that I wanted him to feel at least a bit of the love that he shares with so many!!!

So, we lost the Bear... but it put a smile on our faces that as our Principal and VP Williams headed across the field to present the Bear to the winning team, that all our stands could see were their backs... that boldly said, "Happy 50th Jeff!!!" (TV can't write this stuff... only real life is THAT good!)

The next night was our special double birthday party... we celebrated my 40th from a few weeks ago and Jeff's 50th. Enjoy these photos of the special night... family... friends... we are soooo blessed!!!

John, Penny, Aunt Sarah, Me, Jess and Mary...

The family gals... Mary, Mom, Aunt Sarah, Me, Jess, Kyle...

Even the dogs had fun... Jess holding Abby who is getting sweet nothings in her ear from "cousin" Fielder...

Aunt Sarah, Mom, John, Dad... sooooo cute...

Yep, the food was GREAT, huh, Chris...

Jeff Dunn... my sweet 50-year-old... and my cute Dad...

It was a WONDERFUL weekend... we didn't win the Bear, but we had lots of reasons to celebrate none the less!  Make it a GREAT day!!!

HAPPY 50TH JEFF... shhhhh...and GET THAT BEAR, PATRIOTS!

It is appropriate that the last post here on my blog (because I am so far behind) is from my birthday just a few weeks ago. Jeff and I shared 17 days of wonderful bliss, together, in our 40's... and now, today, JEFF IS 50!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET HUSBAND.

Yes, I have a lot to say and to share on this wonderful and special day, but it is a surprise, so I can't post it here... today... Jeff might be watching...

Also, I would be remiss in my motherly duties if I did not say, GO OGHS!!! BEAT SP AND BRING BACK THE BEAR!!! "The Battle of the Bear" is a long time, cross town rivalry that will be played tonight at our home stadium! It sure is going to be a GREAT night! GOOD LUCK, PATRIOTS!!!

Gotta run... lots of last minute details to pull together!!!

MLS RAK and The 1st Day of my 40's...

WOOOO HOOOO!  HOLY COW what a weekend!  I have been through the whole My Little Shoebox Blog Hop and there was a TON of yummy stuff in there!  I can hardly wait to get into my studio and get SCRAPPING!!! 

This weekend was Homecoming, which I will post about shortly... football, dance, family in from out of town... WOO HOOO! 

And, today is a rather big day for me... my 40th birthday!  No, I don't feel any older... and, no, I don't feel any different.  I have been a reflecting over the past few days... looking back on my 20's...and my 30's... and looking ahead to what I wish for my 40's.  What I know for sure is that God has blessed me with the most wonderful and loving parents, family that will stand with me in the best of times and will carry me during the worst of times, a husband that is my best friend, the one that makes me laugh and the one that knows how to softly kiss me and make my toes curl... ;-)... my kids who make me proud and amazed and crazy and who I love with every part of my being... and friends... those from my school days through today...  that I know were each hand picked by God and placed in my life for one reason or another... I know that I am blessed... and this is EXACTLY where I want to be in my 40's!

Alright, now that I've been all sentimental, it is time to announce the winner of my MLS RAK! (chosen by random.org.  It goes to #58...

Nitasha (who) said...

SuperCute Mini! I'm following your blog and I adore mini albums so can't wait to see your future minis too!  September 17, 2010 6:20 PM

Nitasha, email me at traceylocher@cox.net with your address so I can mail that RAK to you! 

THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by, left comments and decided to hook up here and join me on this crazy journey of family, love, and creative design!  Here are a few cards that I recently made that I hope you will enjoy!  Both very easy and very quick and very MLS!  Make it a GREAT day!

My Little Shoebox BLOG HOP and RAK ALERT!

Welcome to the Land of Wooooo Hooooo!  My own private Idaho where I post about my family with Project 365, I share my design work and other random things that strike my fancy.  Today is all about MY LITTLE SHOEBOX and the BLOG HOP!  If you are hopping along, you just came from the talented Pamela Young's blog... I know, I know... she's a ROCK STAR!  If you just happened upon this post, you will want to get in on the action since there is a GREAT RAK (prize) opportunity at the end of the Hop!!!

Today I have a fun mini album to share with you called, "The Three Amigos."  Mini albums can come in so many different shapes and sizes and do not have to be a scary scrap project!  My first mini album took me 9 months to complete... yes, I said MINI album... and I was so scared to tackle each page that I hesitated, scrapped, hesitated some more... I didn't trust myself and it became a real labor of love (yes, pun intended!).  If you are new to scrapping or break out in hives when it comes to mini albums, here is one of my favorite design tips... Go simple and use ONE line of paper.  Don't worry about matching this embellishment to this tag to that paper... choose a line of product that was designed together... it will all match beautifully and make your job MUCH easier!

For this project, I chose to work with the "Sunday Market" line by My Little Shoebox.  As with all the recent releases from MLS, this line comes with 9 different papers, tags, stamps, stickers and alphas... plenty of yummy stuff to help you create one AWESOME project!

I have another design tip that will help you get your mini done in no time!  Design your first two page spread, then use that design throughout the book.  In this mini, I created each spread with the same design... one page has a photo and the adjacent page has a journaling block.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy!!!  So, I had my line of product... I had my photo/journaling block design... and very shortly I had a completed mini!!!

A few other notes, I used 3-D foam adhesive to make the photos "pop." I also distressed and inked almost everything... I know... it's an addiction...

Here, I wanted to put a photo on each page of the spread, but I needed a journaling block, so I hid one!  The photo of Anna walking with Robbie is on the top of the left side of this journaling block.  It is held together with a simple hole punch and ribbon.  Open the ribbon and you see the hidden journaling. 

So, there you go... a fun mini album about three of my favorite little kids... and their fun little relationship.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will pull up your comfy chair and stay awhile!  I would love to have you as one of my "followers"... the link is over there on the right if you would like to keep up with my designs and creative fun! 

AND... IF YOU BECOME ONE OF MY FOLLOWERS (or are already one), you will be entered into the random drawing FOR A RAK OF A SET OF THE STICKER SHEETS FROM THE NEW MLS LINES... 6 lines... 6 pages of stickers for a lucky follower!!!  Leave a comment on this post letting me know your follower status and your thoughts on mini albums... have you tried them... do you love them... let me know!!!

Next stop, the UBER TALENTED BECKIE DREYER!  For those of you that have been with me for awhile, you may notice that you are in the middle of a My Little Shoebox, RUSTY PICKLE reunion... this block of designers... Pamela Young, Beckie Dreyer and I were all previously Rusty Pickle Chefs!  ((...waving to my Pickle Sisters!!! Love you guys!!)) 

Thanks for coming by and make it a WOOOOO HOOOOO kinda weekend!! ;-)

Project 365 - HOLY COW... Player of the Game, Athlete of the Week for NCTimes & Union Tribune... AND UNCLE PAUL!!! WOW!

WHAT A WEEK!  This story starts last Friday, September 10th with the GRAND OPENING of the new OGHS football stadium and our first football game on the new field!  The Patriots played Crawford and what a home opener it was!  51-0... Patriots!  Chris had an AMAZING game... making 3 touchdowns in the first 3 minutes of the game (2 of them were called back, but the 3rd one stuck!)  He ended up with 3 touchdowns (that counted) and 208 yards on 10 plays. 

The game-end celebration started with our boys rushing from the field to the front of the stands... singing the Alma Mater at the top of their lungs... to the parents... and we were all cheering right along with them!  After a team meeting, Chris was interviewed on camera in the middle of the field... then led up to the skybox to do an interview for new online football broadcasting service, KBCsports.com. See his interview HERE!  I have to say, we've watched the players before Chris... Andy Early and Dana Walker, most recently... we've cheered and jumped around and been so proud of our Patriot boys, but there is something that just wells up when it is your son...the pride... the love... the excitement... I'm sure it is because it is his senior year, but I see him out there and I can almost see a dual movie screen in my vision... him playing the game and him as a toddler... Where in the heck did the past 18 years go?  I can tell that this is going to be one emotional year... Lord help us!

On an exciting side note, the media actually noticed Orange Glen and both the North County Times and the Union Tribune named Chris as one of their Athletes of the Week!  

On an even MORE exciting side note, Jeff's Dad and Uncle Paul were here for the game!!!  We only get to see Uncle Paul every other year (he lives in Michigan) and he was here for the whole weekend, so it was really something special!

On Saturday, (911) we decided to drive down to San Diego and visit the Midway (we love the self guided tour!).  This incredible warship, commissioned 10 days after the end of WWII, was the location of several tributes for 911.  We happened to be there after the morning event ended and before the afternoon event started.  This photo is of the flag bearers going through a rehearsal... lots of security around... and lots of veterans, too.

We enjoyed tours of the Bridge and Captain's Quarters.  A quick visit and then off to lunch at Joe's Crab Shack... YUMMMMM!!!  The weekend with Uncle Paul was full of laughter, long conversations, teasing, good food and better company... oh, and lots of football! Thanks for the visit, Uncle Buck... I mean, Uncle Paul ;-)... and don't take so long to come back out for your next visit!  WE LOVE YOU!!!

(Uncle Paul is such a kick in the pants! 

He let Anna wet and comb his hair... could you just kiss that lovable guy!?)

Project 365 - OGHS/Pt. Loma and Anna/Cat...

THAT'S IT!  I obviously can't keep up to date with Project 365... and, HECK NO, I'm not giving up on this year, because I am 2/3 of the way there... I'm just finished trying to post on time!  I have all the photos!  I have all the comments!  Life just gets in the way of posting on time... and that is alright!  Life is meant to be lived... photos can be posted a week or so later! ;-)

So.... I'm posting for last weekend... the first game of the season for Chris and his OGHS Patriots... vs. Point Loma.  I'm still scratching my head about how we were set up to play Point Loma, but our boys came out fighting!  Chris played a new position, half-back, and did very well scoring a touchdown and racking up 110 yards. 

One thing that always cracks me up about Chris is how strong he is on the field... let me clarify.  Not funny about his strength, because he works out HARD!  It is funny because he is moving down the field... the defense is trying to tackle him...and they have to hold on for a ride because it usually takes several guys, being dragged along the field, before Chris comes down.  Look at this shot... 6 POINT LOMA PLAYERS are holding onto Chris and he is still moving forward with the ball...this photo is funny to me... looks like our O-line is standing there saying, "Chris has this one handled... hands off, boys!" 

This weekend, we were also lucky to have our Goddaughter and Anna's best friend, Catalina, come for an overnight visit!  The girls had SO MUCH FUN!!!  Slumber party... hike at Dixon Lake and art project... swim at the Shedd's house... and of course, a fashion show!  The girls LOVED their Camelbacks... they could drink their water whenever they wanted!  Now we just have to teach them how to DRESS appropriatly for a hike...

I have been taking photos of these girls for so long, that I am starting to "re-create" some of my favorite pictures... just several years later.  That is the case with these two photos... the girls sitting there waiting for me to get ready for their shoot... LOVE it!  Almost exactly 3 years seperate these photos...

I have also been keeping busy training for my upcoming triathlon, school volunteer stuff and scrapping like crazy!  I'll share more of all this soon!  Make it a GREAT day!

Project 365 - Fashion Show... First Week of School...

Come on, now!  You go out.  You spend money on new clothes for school.  You must have a fashion show! ;-)  It is a tradition in our family (probably in yours, too) that you have to try on all of your new clothes for Dad when he gets home from work after a day of shopping.  After all, Dad pays for the clothes, right!?  Jessica did it.  Chris even enjoys modeling/showing Dad his new clothes.  My sister, Mary, and I did it when we were kids (and I LOVED it... actually, I STILL do it!)  So, Anna is just the youngest in a long line of fashion show models! ;-)

I decided for this week of Project 365 photos to shoot Anna each morning before school.  Now... of course, we had a HEAT WAVE this week... mid-80's by 9AM, humid (in San Diego, REALLY!?)... and over 100 degrees every day but Friday!  So Anna was a bit limited as to what she could wear... hope you enjoy the fashion show!

Yes, a Hello Kitty shirt and boots (it was 106 degrees this day... AUGH!) 

But she looked DARLING!

Make it a fashionably WONDERFUL weekend! ;-)