Once In a Lifetime Photo Op

I'm so glad I said yes to the hubby's request to drive by the boat sale at the Fairgrounds as we left a nearby antique show.

If we hadn't gone there to stroll amongst the boats, we would've missed this extraordinary sight: a mating pair of Cecropia moths clinging to an adjacent chainlink fence.

Just another reason to keep saying "yes" to whatever off-the-beaten path opportunities are thrown our way. Yes?

I recently discovered the BEST cat beds EVER!

My mum and I went to a local cat show, to ogle the various breeds. Cats you don't see everyday, such as Ocicats, Bengals, Sphynx, Abyssinian, Devon Rex, Cornish Rex, Maine Coons, Birman, etc. I even got to hold an Ocicat! AFTER I throughly applied antibacterial gel to my hands.

We had a great time walking up and down the aisles of cats, talking with people there to feature their felines, very occasionally having the opportunity to hold or pet one of the gorgeous beasts. I started noticing that many of the enclosures contained at least one woven-cloth basket-style cat bed - each containing a comfortable and contented cat.

There were many vendors there at the show, as well, including Patt from Patts Cat Beds, the maker of these basket beds. I couldn't resist and I brought one home to my own spoiled domestic shorthair - Noni. She loved it! It's been at least 2 months now, but I'm still getting a kick out of seeing her curled up in her basket. I often bring in fresh catnip from the kitchen garden and rub a leaf around the inside of Noni's basket. ENDLESS fun.

Highly recommend these beds to any cat owner. Cats like them snug, so keep that in mind if you order. The baskets also can be made dog-sized! Check it out!

Hello, Hello!

(Some of the flowers I've been taking time to stop and smell while out on the bike. Phlox??)

Whoa - long time no blog! It’s not that life has been so dull as to be unbloggable. Actually, I’ve been very busy, internally more than anything else.

Living with, fighting and training for triathlon with uncomfortable and annoying sacroiliac joint dysfunction has been something else again. I had NO idea back in March 2008 that an injury that happened in a split second would impact me for over a year. Craziness! Some days/weeks are good, others are mediocre, still others are flat out torture. Anything which requires me to sit for long periods of time or bend/lean over requires second thought and planning. “Do you REALLY need to bend over and pick up that piece of paper from the floor right now?” LOL! That’s seriously the kind of decision I make several times a day!

And if you’re thinking, “Well, gee, you knucklehead. If you only had quit swimming, running, cycling and skiing, you’d be over this by now,” think again. The days I am active, I feel much better than on the days I take off from activity. My doctors and PTs tell me if I quit my sports entirely, I’d be much worse off. Bizarre, but true. Motion is the lotion!

It’s been frustrating to be injured so much and never being able to really to perform up to my potential. I’m still grappling with having to step my competitive goals back a bit and am working to figure out some kind of balance for myself. The question: To what extent will I continue allowing my athletic life to dominate my life in general? Still trying to suss that one out, but the effect on my triathlon season has been notable. I’m doing only a few tris, but throwing in other stuff to keep it all fun and challenging. I still have that competitive drive and desire to excel, but it's also very important to me to shake things up a little, making sure this summer is DIFFERENT than the past 7. I'm going for a kind of unstructured structure, if that makes any sense.

I’ve raced a few standalone running events this spring of different distances. It's been great fun as I haven’t done that in 3 seasons. Then last week saw a couple of FUN firsts. Raced my first cycling time trial - the Cervelo P2C’s racing debut! - and swam my first open water race. Both were rewarding in their own ways and I’m eager to do more.

It doesn’t really look like it from the above, but I’m trying to slow down and smell the roses a little. I'm hoping to rediscover dormant parts of myself that have been ignored since this onset of adult athleticism nearly 10 years ago, and wondering if I just might discover new talents that I’ve been too busy to explore. I’m the first to admit that I haven’t been very successful at the slowing down part yet. I LOVE my sports! The seeds of my goals have been planted though, and I’m just waiting for germination. I wonder what the flowers will look like?

Random Coolacious Bloggy Pics

The poor blog has been soooo lonely! So, here are some random photos which have been languishing on my phone.

Here, blog. Don't you feel better? Nom nom nom.

If I were a chest of drawers, I would look just like this.









Just add a greyhound to this scenario, and I would agree!









Mushroom cloud over Wausau, WI. Oh - you didn't know Wausau was gone, eh?








I wish I could afford this set - it would drive my hubby bonkers. He doesn't share my Anglophilic leanings.








Discovered this phenomenon after our last winter storm of 2009. I'm guessing it was a human-assisted occurrence, but it's still cool.







Ahhh, skiing at idyllic Winter Park, Minocqua, Wisconsin.









Cool bike - made of wood!









More Winter Park - I miss skiing there already.









While skiing at Winter Park, I stopped for a drink of water, looked down and saw this. I haven't found anyone to tell me what plant this is. Any ideas?








My birthday cupcake. Spidey rules.










The "Puffy Coat" - outerwear equivalent to Jerry Seinfeld's famous Puffy Shirt. I convinced Barq to try it on. It looked just as awful as expected - and it wasn't Barq's fault.

Spycam: Things You Forgot to Pack

Spycam recently found this creepy collection of eeeeeevilness at a cheerful family gift shoppe in Minocqua, WI. This is only the half of it. Literally.

Can someone tell me what in the world someone needs a wicked knife like THIS muthah for? Wait. I take it back. If you know, please don’t tell me. I have too active an imagination already.

On the other hand, we were intensely amused by the collection of baby axes. I ultimately dubbed the smallest one a “travel axe,” causing myself - and Sophzilla - to collapse into a lengthy paroxysm of helpless laughter. This did not exactly nestle us deeply in the heart of the shop owner, who was patently unamused at our finding her goods so hilarious.

Maybe you had to be there.

Note: The most mind-bending thing about this collection of sharp objects is that directly facing the display is a rack of cute ‘n fuzzy stuffed toy critters. So. Wrong.

Your Attention, Please

“The main thing is to pay attention, pay clear attention to everything you see.

Notice what no one else notices and you’ll know what no one else knows.”

City of Ember (2008)
Loris Harrow (Tim Robbins)

Some Hmmm Fun

I don't usually go in for this kind of fortune cookie enter your birthdate stuff. But this one was actually kind of neat, giving more off-the-beaten-path info.

For example, I learned that my Native American Zodiac sign is the wolf, and my plant is the Plaintain.

Some of you will claim that last part isn't at all surprising, as you always thought I was kind of bananas.






Some less oooooh cool surprises were learning that I share my birthday with Erykah Badu and Michael Bolton. I claim similarity to neither of those parties, nor their hairdos.

Click here and see what you can see.