thankful

Today I just feel really appreciative of lots of things. I am so lucky and I have so much to be thankful for. Here's just a few:

Thanks for my amazing Mom, who sensed I was so busy getting ready for the girls' night out Saturday night, trying to get my house ready for us to come back to and crash at, running around picking up food for munchies and breakfast...and what does she do? She makes brownies (the best I think I've ever tasted) for us to mow because she knew I was stressin' out. How do moms just DO that? Is it a sixth sense?

Thanks for the triathlon community in Cleveland--shocking but true, it's getting HUGE and even getting some national attention! It's grown so much in the past few years and I am so proud and lucky to have a good crew around me to support me, give me advice, and encourage me on

Thanks to TriEric--for inspiring me as he nears the one-month countdown to IMUSA looking strong and confident and kicking some butt. Also, for hooking me up with some Gatorade Endurance coupons this morning at the pool! :) Can't wait to pace the Cleveland Marathon with his wife Aimee in 2 weeks!

Thanks to Wil for inviting me to WI in July to ride the course! Sooooo looking forward to it and excited to meet her. It will be a nice and fitting 29th birthday present. :)

Thanks to progress in general--I heart progress. Progress is swimming today at a nice steady/easy pace, and setting a new PR in your 3000 yard straight swim, without even realizing you were or trying to. It's looking at your watch and realizing you just averaged 18:45/1000 yards, and you're not even that tired. It's knowing that of course that's a pool and not open water with 2,000 of your closest friends around you, but still seeing that time and feeling excited and confident.

And thanks to probably the biggest and most exciting piece of news I've received in a while--to one of my bestest college buddies, "Sam"--who called me yesterday and we actually got to talk (as opposed to playing phone tag) and made tears come to my eyes when she said, "Guess what! We're coming to see you in Wisconsin!" She was all excited and couldn't figure out why I was starting to cry. :) Her husband YGB (aka. Yanni-Golf-Boy) is also one of my best friends (we all lived in the same freshman dorm with DaisyDuc at Miami ) and they are making the trek to Madison from St. Louis, ALONG with our friends R and S--and their baby that will be born in July! I still can't believe it. How lucky am I to have such amazing friends???? I was just excited that Matt and my parents would be able to make it--then I find out that Iron Jeff and his awesome girlfriend Tracy, who are my Soler friends, will be there, and now THIS??!!! It makes me feel strangely calm knowing that all of them will be there with me that day--and that when the inevitable pain sets in and doubt starts to creep up on me, I will have them around me to help me put one foot in front of the other.

And thanks to the blogger community, who has become quite a big part of my daily life, by offering advice, support, and a kick in the pants sometimes when I need it. Who knew what started as my journal would become such an important part of my mental training?


Okay, enough of this cheese. What the heck is this picture I just found??!!

Um...yeah...clearly I gotta get to work. :)