Marathon Training

Its always been a goal of mine to run the London marathon.. Pah you might say! If you know me then you will scoff once again. At school I did everything I could to avoid running, first of all it took alot of effort and I didnt like the taste of iron I got in my mouth after once around the track. Second I developed way early and had big boobs at school. Back then no one one thought of getting me a sports bra and the boys thoroughly enjoyed watching me run. So I stopped. Regrets? Yes that was mine. I was awkward teenager and felt ridiculed not complemented by the attention I got. So I learn t to hide it and avoid track. I played team sports, Netball, Hockey and Soccer.

Today I'm far more in love with my body, It could be in better shape but I like my basic form.

So yes Im in training. I have been running with a friend most mornings for the past 2 months. We meet at 6.30 am and walk/run for about 1/2hour. I love it, I really do. I love getting up early. I love how I feel afterward s and I love feeling my body adapting and pushing my physical boundaries.

This is the first week of running training. Previously my friend and I had been running / walking for fun and exercise but we never really monitored ourselves to see if were making any progress. We would see a stop sign and say lets run to that, then the next day we would go a bit further or faster. Most of the time we chatted and ran at our leisure.

Recently I had the chance to spend several blissful hours in boarders a rare treat with my busy schedule. I gathered a impressive stack of books ranging from marathon training, stretching to the journal of a reluctant runner. Actually I was first to run by a novel I read about cycling, a middle aged man parents had died in a car accident. He broke down one night after a drinking binge, got on his bicycle and just started riding and kept going. He ended up traveling across the states and one day he noticed his reflection. He was no longer this pudgy over weight man he was trim, could see his defined calf muscles and no longer had a belly. The book is about his encounters and his state of mind as he rides, there is a sub plot and he is looking for his sister who would disappear when he was younger as she was schizophrenic, so we are taken back in time as we learn about his family, his past and his regrets. it’s a very inspiring book.

But back to Boarders., amid the stories of chaffing and hitting the wall, were great reminders that this is the best thing I could be doing, Personal accomplishments and uplifting experiences. I also found my schedule that I am now following. I saw it and thought hey! I can do this..and in 10 weeks wow… The first week. Run for 2 mins and walk for 4 mins, repeat 4 times, by week 10 your running for a full 30 mins. Run for 2 mins anyone can do that right!

Wow running for 2 mins on the first day was hard, how am I going to run for 30mins I thought.. Arghhhh! Thankfully after the first 4 minute walk I was rested enough to attempt the next 2 mins, but I needed every second of those 4 minutes. The second 2 mins was a little better and I recovered faster within the 4 mins of walking. The third 2 mins of running were the hardest, my body felt like lead, it was a struggle to lift my legs of the tarmac, my head was literally screaming out NO I CANT GO ON! But in my world the word cant is banned so I screamed back YES YOU CAN THIS IS EASY, and I did, I did it.. The 2 min signal was such a relief, I was breathing so heavily I couldn’t talk but my body got its self together and settled by the end of the walking. The last 2 mins was had arrived.. I started up eyeballing the trail up ahead of me looking for a land mark that would possibly be the target for when we would get to stop. As I ran it got easier.. So much so that when the 2 minutes were called, I said “is that it?”, I could have kept running and running. Hitting that wall and pushing through seems to be the place were it all just comes together. For some reason I hit that wall every third run and every time I feel like im going to die but that last run where it all feels so good makes up for it. So does standing on the scales every morning and watching the pounds melt away..

The Brien Family

New Baby in the Family

Hello welcome we have a new addition to the Dinsdale/Brien Family. My sister in law Myra has just given birth to a healthy baby boy.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD ELLIOT ( I love his name)

The Excitment started Monday morning for Myra. At around 6am her water broke and she was advised to rest and get some sleep as discomfort meant she wasnt getting the sleep she needed. At noon we all recieved the txt that Myras water had broke. I was waiting outside Aarons work patiently to pick him up for lunch, having left my cell phone at home I had no idea of the news. Aaron comes rushing to the car. "We need to head down to Davis Myras water broke this morning" he stammers. "Where is she I ask?" ( I have 5 sister 2 that have 3 kids each so I know a little about having babys and the time it takes) Aaron called mum and was told that Myra was home resting. " but it could come any minute" he pleaded with me his face creased with concern. Aaron could not be soothed so although I had an idea Elliot wouldn't be making an appearance for while yet we headed down the hill.

Let me explain why Aaron was so concerned to be there on time. Aaron was due to cut the cord. It meant a big deal to him so he wanted to be there when the birth was happening. Personally I like to visit once mum and baby are rested and clean.

We decided we wouldn't rush until we heard that Myra was on her way to the hospital. So we headed to Boarders. We spent about 4 hours reading and drinking coffee till hunger set in and we went in search of food. We ate at Pita Pita and then headed into Davis. Once in Davis we decided to hit up an old childhood friend of Aarons. He had moved and so we spent about an hour knocking on prospective doors and apologizing for disturbing family's late in the evening, it was about 8pm by now. We finally we found Byron through a friend of Aarons living in Portland ! It was a wonderful reunion. You could see the love as two old buddies embraced and the next few hours were filled with laughter and lots of "do you remember when"? I fell in love with his family they are super sweet and totally cool. We left around 10pm with plans to meet up in a few weeks.

By now we where tired, we had no where to stay if Elliot didnt come soon we would be sleeping in the truck, Byron has offered us a bed if needed so there was always that. We decided to head in to down town Davis and go see Aarons brother Owen who works at a bar, I was worried about smelling like a brewery when we first met Elliot, but as timing would go as soon as we got to the pub and said hello we got a call say Myra was on route to the hospital. Yeeeehar!

We where the first to get there and as we entered we could hear Myra throwing up.. poor thing. We opted to wait in the lobby and let Jeff handle Myra, he was a sea of serenity, Well at that point. I heard later he had gotten upset at seeing Myra in so much pain.
Mum, Dad and finally GM turned up, we all settled ourselves in. Me with my laptop ( love wifi) and everyone else with magazines. The first to fall asleep was...... go on have a guess...... yes it was adorable hubby Aaron, then Mum, Dad, and eventually GM took a very short snooze. I cannot for the life of me relax enough to sleep in public. Wendy woke periodically, jumping at Aarons more violent snores. She would jump awake, glare at him and promptly go back to sleep.

We received frequent reports from Jeff and Myras Dula Linda. At 2am Myra had started to push and at 2.30 am Tuesday 5th October Elliot Addison Brien was born weighing a healthy 8.5lbs and 20in long.

Myra had a natural birth, she never once used drugs or pain killers. She used a birthing pool to help with contractions and Elliot was actually born in the pool. She was told if she reached down she could feel his head, which she did and was amazed. As Elliot was born the nurse behind her guided him out and pushed him forward so that Myra could bend down and pick him up out of the water, where he then took his first breath and exercised his lungs with his first cry. He has a loud and strong cry.

We came in 10 mins later so Aaron could cut the cord. Elliot was laying on his mothers chest, the nurses were still busying themselves with clean up and checks, We saw them put him in the scales and do all the checks, his spine, his head etc. Then it was mummy and babys first skin on skin. It was amazing to see, Elliot calmed down as soon as he was on mummy. Elliot likes to have his hands by his face and will always try to get a hand free to do this. He scratched his face a little he loves having his hand on his face too. Elliot has black hair and is very handsome. He has Dinsdale cheeks and a Brien nose.

We left shortly after so Myra could pass her placenta and clean up. We came back in 15 mins later cooed for a bit and made our way home. Aaron was on cloud nine, he got to cut the cord and is completely in love with his Nephew. We returned the next day to visit and found dad very protective and hogging his new son it was very sweet. New mum Myra is doing well, in my opinion Myra is awesome and my new hero, they are the sweetest little family. Before we left she chipped in that now Elliot needed a playmate and we where to hurry up and make that happen.. All I can say on the matter is........WATCH THIS SPACE lol

Baby Elliot half an hour old first skin on skin with Mummy

Its Been a While

I havent blogged in a while because I didnt believe anyone was really reading. I know I have a few readers and Im very appreactive to my sister Charlotte for her constantsy and my friends here in placerville that read.

However I have a new purpose for the blog, this is now for me. Memories captured and daily rambling. Something to look back on in the years.

Lots has happened.

1. Begining and end of a service year, I went to Poineer School. Ill blog about that nxt

2. Madeleine came over for a 2 month visit

3. My garden has produced vegies for me. I have a love hate relationship with my garden. I love to see it produce Im not very good at looking after it.

4. Myra my sister in law is about to have her baby and is back in the USA. We had her baby shower last week and it was really nice. I have been getting to know Myra more and Im happy to have her friendship. We went out to Dinner at a Ethiopian restaurant last week with them and has tons of fun. Little Elliot made a impression as mummy was driving home on the freeway! lets just say we intimatly saw one of the down side of eating lots of Ethiopian food and cake while laughing and having a moving baby inside you.. What goes down must come up as they say !!


Last news. Im popping back home for a visit in 2 months im so excited and im meeting a very good friend from the states there too..

JOY!

My Garden

I planted my first Vegi Garden last week with the help of my green fingered friend Sarah. I planted it in pots as we are renting. I planted Tomatoes, Peppers, Cucumbers, Basil, Herbs, Squash.

Here are some pics, I'm very excited that I may actually grow something as i have never successfully kept anything alive. So far I have not had to water anything as we have had so much rain even hail.. I blame Madeleine.. Yes my sister is here.. Ill add some pics in the next blog!

Ive been very into making my home my home. I finally finished off some projects I had been putting off for ages and that lead me to getting into a nesting phase. Im still there the only thing that is holding me back is lack of money. So far everything I have done has come from a second hand shop and I have added some of my creative touches to it.. The only thing that is new from a shop is my blue lamp. I love it, it is going to be the accent colour in the living room. Below are some pics of touches I have put in the house.

This is a gift from Aarons friends they make these dolls by hand. They are called "Dolls For Friends" check them out in the link below. Here is an old camera of Aarons. This is mainly his type of style.

http://dollsforfriends.com/weblog/



Below is Aarons style again, the chandelier is mine but the things on the mantel are Aarons he like photos of Red Indians.



This is my corner, my new blue lamp that I brought it was reduced from $100 to $30 Bargain!!
The pig is a presant from some friends for our anniversary. I love it!



Below is a chest of drawers that I painted for Aaron, It is black with white knobs. I also painted the frame. It a work in progress.




Below is our desk it will eventually be replaced with a chair, but for now it has the flowers Aaron brought me and a box I brought for 50c from the thrift store. I love the light in this picture




This is the kind of chair I would eventually like to have in the bedroom. Its called a slipper chair



The small chest of drawers blow is playing the part of a bedside table for now. I painted it and put the black scroll tranfers on it. I also brought the lamp for $2 and painted it black. I think I have enough black and white in my bedroom now, so im going to focus on colour

This is my Jewelery box, it was old and brown so I shabby chic -ed it. It was fiddly to do and took time but they are great little projects and look stunning after wards. My colourful tea pot as a anniversary gift from a friend last year. I found the frame at a yard sale for 50c.. I love it and it has our wedding pic in it.





The frames below are what I'm planning for where the white frame is now with the flowers, above our chest of drawers.



Im also planning to create a feature out of frames and art work in the living room. See below. Oh what fun and so much to do.

Bike Ride to Bodega Bay

Last weekend Aaron planned a Bike ride. The weather is finally getting better, we have one last bout of rain on its way and then its sun sun sun for the next 6 months. So it was time to sneak a in a ride. Shine up the bike and hit the road. We went with a couple in our cong called Andre and Claudia Tutijan. A very cool, fit and young at heart couple. Plus they are super cool as they both ride. Im going to soon too!

We packed very light and headed to the coast. We past some of the most beautiful scenery i have ever seen. The light green Spanish moss hung from enchanted trees and looked almost white as the sun caught them. Vineyards stretched as far as the eye could see amongst green rolling hills and farms.
We set off about 7am and headed to Starbucks for coffee then headed down highway 50 to winters for breakfast about an hour away. There enjoyed a breakfast of toast, eggs and potatoes. This is the actual table we sat at but I did not take this picture and its not us .

We rode on taking the back roads past the vineyards and stopping occasionally to take pictures or rest my weary butt! Ok so I have to address my buttocks and legs. Please now before we go any further pick up your standerd soft back bible, or for those who do not have a bible handy any soft back fiction. Imagine double the length and padded. That is what I sat on for 7 hours that day. I have have a back rest on the bike but the seat is narrow and my butt is not. Even for a more narrower butt its gonna be a test. I cramped up alot on this journey and there is nothing you can do about it but flex those muscles and try not to squirm as Aaron is doing 70+. Below is one of our stops and some picture taking.







We rode on until we reached the town of Bodega, if it sounds familiar to you that is because this is where they filmed the Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds". We drove through it and headed off to the cliffs. We where finally at the coast. It had taken 6 hours and I was very sore. The weather had been warm enough for me to take my leather jacket off, but as we hit the coast the wind was pretty strong and I could feel it pushing the bike as and Aaron having to hold it steady as we traversed the coastal roads. We stayed for all of about 15 mins as it was very cold and headed for a crab shack we had seen back a mile or two that offerd fresh crab and tri tip. It was very yummy and hit the spot.










We found our hotel and showered and went to sushi for dinner. Came back and slept like the dead. We stayed at the Hampton inn and Suites the rooms were really nice and big the shower was huge bog enough for 4 adults!! We slept in king beds and had a buffet breakfast the next morning. It was Sunday and the special talk was that evening for us so we decided to hit the freeway (motorway) and head back the fast way. We made 2 stops on the way back lunch and a Harley shop were we found a great riding jacket for me on sale so we brought it and now I really look like I belong on the back of the bike.. Actually I belong on my own bike lol.. Will post pics of my new Jacket asap.


Ta ta for now.. or TTFN as they say.

Quick Update

Hello all, its been a while I know and I'm sorry. I've been crazy busy with work and ministry and trying to balance everything. Just recently we had our annual pioneer day. memorial and circuit assembly all in one week. It was crazy busy but what a week!

So I'm finally settling into a routine and it feels good. I'm working 3 days a week at the gym doing sales and marketing. I really like it, plus the gym seems to be a good atmosphere for me, I'm finally getting a grip on my weight and I am training twice a week with a personal trainer and then doing 5-6 days on my own at the gym after or before work. I am really enjoying it which is a good thing.

Another bit of good news is that my little sister Madeleine is coming to stay for months. I am so excited. I have lots planned for her and she has work here if she wants it.


Write soon X