Patrick's 4th Quarter comments:

"Patrick is a fine young man. He constantly tries to do his best. I am most proud of Patrick for realizing his own academic needs; Patrick recognized he had a difficult time focusing when working in small groups, so he asked, almost daily, to be moved to a quiet location in the room. When provided this opportunity Patrick was more relaxed and willing to do his assignments. I know Patrick will go on to do great things. Please continue working with him on his reading and math skills over the summer. I really enjoyed being Patrick's teacher!" 

How awesome is that, he is such an awesome guy!!

Can you taste the salt?

I did it! I did it! After a month of hard core training, time from my family, no alcohol, yucky GU energy that is so icky going down I almost puke on it every time I eat it; I did it! I completed the 20th International Cocos Crossing a 2.5 mile open water swim here in Guam.

I got up yesterday, May 30th, at 4am thinking 'what in the hell am I doing oh well time to go'. We got the kids up, dressed and somewhat feed for 4am, and off to Merizo we headed. The ride down was quite, with the occasional outbursts from my children who thought sugar was the way to go this morning (yeah at 4am whatever they want go for it just so you stop whining). After parking and walking on to the piers we find the water to be calm and the wind to be even calmer, its going to be a GREAT day for a swim!

I get all registered, pick up my official swim cap, and get marked up with my number on my right bicep and right calf..I'm number 200; and as far as I'm concerned that is my time also 2:00:00

They get us on the ferry and cart us across to Cocos Island, 2.5 miles away, and hang out until the start of the race. I'm all greased up, swim cap on, goggles on, numbered up, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting. They didn't start on time. We were supposed to have 7am shot gun start, I'm sitting in the water, and my tummy is growling, my artificial energy is leaving quickly because I'm not using it and I'm getting bored quickly.

7:30am safety brief.

7:35am we FINALLY start, and we are off.

Here I go, I'm swimming, stupid person, you kicked, ugh, another person kicks me, you know this is the down side to open water swimming. No lanes, no one can swim straight-ish, and no one cares if they kick you or bump you or even hit you, grrrrrrrr. So I hang back even further, and eventually I can finally swim comfortably and I get going.

Breast stroke, breast stroke, breast stroke, breast stroke, breast stroke, sight, breast stroke, breast stroke, breast stroke, breast stroke, breast stroke, breast stroke, breast stroke, sight, and repeat...Oh look a sting ray how pretty.

Ok time to free style, my muscles are nice and warmed up, I should be good..free, free, free, free, sight, free free ,free, free, free, sight, free, free, free, free, free, free, sight, freak, crap! breast stroke, breast stroke, breast stroke, ect (you get the point)

OUCH! Cramp, left calf muscle, are you freaking kidding me. The safety personal asking me if I'm ok, yup I'm fine.

I reach the half way point at 0:40:00, nice 1st goal accomplished, reach half before the hour mark. Now boredom has begun to set in, well I have to pray, I say an Our Father, and a Hail Mary, ooo fishy, pretty rock, hey this reef is getting a little to close to my belly (suck...in.. tighter...)

Talked to the safety personnel for a minute to make sure I'm on track, and cause I was bored.. if you know me I can't go 2 hours without talking to someone.

CRAMP! CRAMP! No no this is not happening, left and right calf muscles.

My kayak safety: "are you ok?" / Me: "cramp" / safety: "do you need to come out?" / Me: "HELL NO! I'm 4 buoys from the end you are not getting me from this water" / safety: "alright just let me know your doing great"

Ok last 4 buoys, oh wow last 3, no wait last 2, that was quick last one, home stretch.. then I realize I was the last swimmer in the water. How did I come to that conclusion, I had the police escort, yup I'm that cool I had the police escort!

PHEW! Out of the water, up the ramp, on the mat, grab my card, hand it off and I'm DONE!! 1:52:57 was my time!!! I can't believe it. My hubby and my baby girl were there to meet me at the finish line, and it was so awesome to see that everyone was there cheering and clapping. Even though I didn't know their name and never met them before they were there cheering me on! I am so blessed my friends were able to make it and were there to help my hubby with my kids and cheer me on.

This is an experience I am looking forward to having again.

Cocos Crossing Open Water Swim ~ May 30th

As many of you know I'm currently training for the Cocos Crossing at the end of May. It would be awesome if some of you could join Dempsey and the kids on the pier to help cheer me in. THis is something I have been training the last 2 months for and I am extremely excited about it. I can understand if you are unable to make with it being Memorial weekend, I just wanted you to know that I would love to have you there for moral support.

The shot gun start for me is at 7am, and I expect to come across between 8:30-9am on Sunday, May 30th. Its a 2.5 mile swim from Cocos Island to the Merizo Piers where I come out of the water. Dempsey will be taking pictures, but I will decide which ones get posted (gotta pick out the bad ones).

Anyways, I hope you can make it and if I missed anyone, please feel free to share this information with them since I can only tag so many people. Thanks.

Michelle

Swimming Tips

1. Swimmer’s ear is caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa via dirt tracked into the pool area. Chlorine destroys this germ.
2. If you are trying to lose weight, swim for at least twenty minutes three or four times each week.
3. Don’t run by the pool.
4. Belly flops hurt.
5. Rubber Ducky makes bath time and pool time “twice the fun.”
6. Don’t bother the lifeguard while they are watching the pool.
7. Never dive headfirst into the shallow end of the pool.
8. If you need water wings to stay afloat, maybe you should stay in the shallow end.
9. If you can play billiards, you are probably at the wrong type of pool.
10. The world’s largest swimming pool hold 66 million gallons of water :http://bit.ly/uONMz
11. Starting blocks for swim competitions were first used at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
12. The world’s deepest swimming pool is in Belgium and has a pit 108 feet deep.
13. An Olympic-size swimming pool is 50 meters long. An Olympic-size ego is much bigger.
14. Tracy Caulkins is the only swimmer ever, man or woman, to own American records in every stroke
15. An estimated 65 thousand people in the United States alone do not know how to swim.
16. Don’t swim with your shoes on – the lifeguards tend not to like that.
17. If you are trying to lose weight, don’t swim after eating.
18. Don’t swim in the splash area of a water slide – you are going to get kicked in the face.
19. Caddyshack is not a guide to pool etiquette: http://bit.ly/bLBfZ
20. If the lifeguard is asleep, you are your own lifeguard!
21. Germans love former Baywatch star David Hasselhoff.
22. If you are going to drown, try to do it in Australia. They have the best lifeguards in the world.
23. Don’t go skinny dipping in your neighbor’s pool – he’s watching.
24. Fake shark fins are always fun!
25. Remember: Pool is green = pool not clean.
26. Upon occasion, come up for air.
27. Putting zinc on your nose no longer makes you cool.
28. Pool lanes are like car lanes – the British are still on the wrong side.
29. If ducks land in your pool it is not a cool Sopranos thing – you need to clean your pool.
30. A mirror at the bottom of the pool will not actually kill a blonde – it just confuses them.
31. Wicked witches make bad swimmers.
32. Witches will actually sink in a properly chlorinated pool.
33. The Triple Lindy is not actually possible.
34. Jumping into a pool with Christie Brinkley is always a good idea.

Plantar Faciitis

I have plantar fasciitis and while doing some research on how to treat and recover from I keep coming across a re-accuring theme: overweight, lose weight to treat. Well I can understand how extra weight can cause your arch to drop and how much more pressure it is causing the plantar facia to have more stress on it. One of the biggest things they say is to rest, stay off your feet, and allow the tendon to heal. Well when I'm attempting to lose weight staying off my feet is not an option, it most definitely not an option when I have two children, two dogs and a house to take care of, its almost impossible to stay off my feet when I'm supposed to.

Now it did give other options for working out, swimming is great and my feet feel so much better when I am swimming, but I eventually have to get out of the pool and the pain comes rushing back. Our pool does not have hand rails so should the pain become to sever then there is NO way for me to catch my balance. Lucky for me I'm training for a 2.5 mile swim so I'll be in the pool quite a bit, but I'm not looking forward to crawling out of the pool everyday.

There is another option of biking, again I have to eventually get off the bike and take Bella out of her trailer. Oh yes, the infamous bike trailer, and extra 50-75lbs I have to tow behind my bike. Now I have to use my legs, calf muscles in particular, to peddle this huge contraption.

I am doing everything I'm supposed to do:: ice, stretches, staying off of it, changed my shoes, I am now out of options. I am starting to notice that even just sitting down with my feet up, I get shooting pains in my heel. I can barely get out of bed in the morning because my feet hurt so bad.

Luckily for me I can (hopefully) get some answers on Thursday when I see my PCM.

Calorie-burners: Swimming vs. Running

Swimming Burns more Calories than Running

Most people think that running is a crucial part of an exercise plan that's designed to help someone lose weight. While it's true that running can burn a lot of calories, it may not be the best way to rapidly lose weight. Believe it or not, swimming almost always burns more calories than running does. It should be noted that this depends on how fast you run versus how fast you swim and it also varies by the stroke that you use when swimming. However, as a general rule, you are going to burn more calories when you're swimming than when you're running. And if you're anything like me, you think swimming is a whole lot more fun!

Personally, I don't like to run. I've never gotten the ‘runner's high'. I've never felt pleased with myself after pushing my body to run. And I've never really stuck with any running-based exercise regime for long because it's not something that's at all enjoyable to me. Swimming, on the other hand, is something that I can enjoy. It's relaxing. It's that "summer sport" that can be enjoyed leisurely but it can also be done throughout the rest of the year in a gym or fitness center. Because I prefer swimming to running, I was pleased to find out that quality swimming actually burns more calories than running does.

Of course, there are some drawbacks to using swimming instead of running as your main form of weight loss exercise. The main thing is that it's easier to find a place to run than it is to find a place to swim. Unless you're really averse to running in various climates, you can step outside anywhere and start to run. Running can be done on vacation and around the neighborhood. In contrast, swimming requires that you have a pool. Most people can find a pool at their vacation hotel or at their neighborhood gym but it's certainly not as simple as finding a place to run.

People who don't necessarily prefer one to the other frequently find that a fitness program that combines both running and swimming is a great combination. Swimming may burn more calories but running also gets your heart rate going and will help you to lose weight. The benefit to a fitness routine that includes both types of exercise is that you will work out different muscles while losing weight. This will give you a more balanced muscle level throughout your body than would a fitness regime that included only swimming or only running. An exercise program that combines two days of running with two days of swimming is one that will give you a total body workout, toning all of your muscles while helping you to lose weight.

Keep in mind that varied swimming strokes will alter the amount of calories that you burn, with back stroke swimming being the best way to burn calories quickly.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Calorie-burners-Swimming-vs-Running-

Spanish Steps

We took a wonderful impromptu hike to the Spanish Steps here on Guam.  It was a wonderful way to our monotonous day.  After receiving a phone call from a girlfriend to go we decided to go.  The weather was beautiful, the kids were wonderful and did amazing.

"The Spanish Steps :: This is a steep trail with steps leading from the top of Orote Peninsula down the north face of the cliff 30 meters to the shoreline below.  It is speculated that this trail was created to all water to be hauled up to the Spanish forts from the well at the base of the cliffline."

I was told that the trail had been quite eroded from the recent rains, which made the climb down that much hard.  We had to rely on 2 inch ropes that we already in place to help us get down the really  came in handy, because if we didn't use them then we could have really been hurt or not made it down to the bottom.

When we came to the bottom of the mountain we come to old Spanish Well.

"The Spanish Well :: This well is located at the base of the north cliff of Orote Peninsula adjacent to the end of the Spanish Steps.  It is constructed of mamposteria (mortar and coral rock) and is approximately six feet square."

After hiking through the jungle, getting eaten' up by mosquitos we turn the corner and see this absolutely beautiful and breath taking site.  The water was so clear and warm, and despite all of the coral and rock it was wonderful to finally get in the water.

There was some other people there at the same time that found a huge blue star fish.  It was so pretty and a wonderful shade of blue and it was enormous.  The kids both held it and they thought it was so cool.

The view from the bottom was quite amazing to see how far we climbed.  If you are ever here and have a chance to go, do you will not regret it.

Where do you get off?

 My family has always understood that when I joined the military I may not be home ever again.  But how dare you say that my family is unstable that my kids will never have any long term friends. Ahhhahhh

Disappointment

I went to medical to see if I could get something for this yucky-ness, and they took my vitals and weighed me in.  And that is when it all started, I saw my weight; talk about disappointed.  I have been busting my butt to loose weight, get fit and healthy, and feel awesome in my clothes and then all of a sudden I see my weight hasn't changed.  I am really discouraged at this point in time and my bubble of awesomeness and doing well has been totally deflated.

I just don't understand, I'm watching what I'm eating and working out everyday and nothing.  Now I did talk about this with April, my fabulous trainer, and I'm writing down what I'm eating, and planning out my day's food intake the night before.  The other thing we are looking at will be my measurements, which will be taken the next week when our new training session begins.  So, I'm really hoping that these show some glimmer of light as to loss.

YUCKY!

I love my daughter, but does she really have to share her sickness.  Of course she does.  Now, I have a feel HORRIBLE! I'm sure if I honestly could feel any worse, my head is stuffed, my ears are clogged, my throat is on fire, oh there is so many more things to name, but then I would just be whining.

SUCKS!

I'm tired of being injured, but this injury is one that I can over come quickly...well as quickly as my body will heal a scab.  I was attempting to break in a new pair of running shoes and gave myself a blister on the back of my left heal which later that day my daughter opened up for me by stepping on it.  AH! the pain was even more.  SO two days later with blister band-aids I get all ready to go on a run and what happens, my stupid band-aid slides off my foot and re-opens my blister.  What sucks the most is I don't really have time to be injured, I was doing so good, I had a great routine down, I was making great progress and BAM!! another injury.  Now to fix myself and figure out the next step...ugh! I hate being injured.

Reasons why people think we're "crazy"

- We like to keep Mass interesting. We sit, stand and kneel, in no particular order. Probably just to keep the blood flowing.

- It's not merlot and Ritz they're serving; it's the Flesh and Blood of Jesus. No, really.

- Forget a big meal afterwards, just pick up some of the breakfast tacos they're always selling after Mass

- Purgatory.

- We all have 20 cousins. On each side of the family.

- Infant Baptism isn't dumb; it's after-life insurance.

- $5.00 in the collection basket is the epitome of generosity. Anything more than that, someone has hit the lottery.

- A missal is a book, not a weapon. However, it has been known to pull double duty.

- The signs we make aren't just a mark of respect, they're a lot of fun to do.

- We really like statues. A lot.

- After every confession, everyone hits themselves on the head. This is because they have realized that they forgot that really big sin, and they know that it'll hang over their head til the next time.

- Contraceptives? Why?

- Altar boys continue well into their twenties.

- The 14 Stations has nothing to do with TV.

- We've always been taught that celibacy til marriage is the only way to go, forever and ever, amen. That being said...

- The Mass doesn't start for a few minutes not because of tardy parishioners. It's because the priest is running late.

- The Virgin Mary is not a God and we don't treat her as such. But she is without sin, gave birth to Jesus and did it without having sex. That warrants more than a little respect.

- 11:00 a.m. Mass means 11:15.

- We actually get all the jokes in Dogma.

- There are two very different, irreconcilable factions in every single church in the world. They are known as the Saturday or Sunday Mass bunch.

- St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland. SNAKES.

- You miss JPII more than you miss some relatives...

- Bake Sales are a way of life.

- Your knees are more calloused than your feet.

- Priests have been giving us alcohol since we were little kids. No wonder any one of us can drink Protestants under the table.

- The Catholic way of dealing with a mid-life crisis is having another kid.

- Mass is nearly unchanged after almost 2000 years. We're a little stubborn.

- Whatever you gave up for Lent, you have it in your hands at 11:59 p.m. Saturday night, counting the seconds til midnight.

- Episcopalians are referred to as "Diet Catholics"

- You either love or hate the Stations of the Cross. There is no middle ground.

- We all know Da Vinci code is bogus and inaccurate. Yet we'll still read it if nothing else is going on.

- "Offer it up!" = "Quit bitching!"

- We have Midnight Mass so there are no interruptions on Christmas morning

- You've slipped out an Amen after the Pledge of Allegiance.

- Holy Water can kill just about anything. So Protestants are pretty much screwed if a vampire comes calling.

- There's no need for impromptu prayer; you can always fall back on the Rosary.

- Alleluia becomes almost a swear during Lent

- It's not uncommon for just one family to take up an entire pew or two.

- Boondock Saints is the greatest movie ever. E-Ver.

- Confession. Enough said.

- You're of the opinion that Stephen Colbert should be Canonized.

- When in doubt, say a Hail Mary.

- Peter Griffin, a Catholic!

- Whenever anyone in Star Wars saga says "May the Force Be With You", we get the urge to say "And Also With You" (coming soon: "And With Your Spirit)

- The Pope does indeed wear a funny hat. But it's way more interesting than Joel Osteen's suit and tie.

- Even though you never met her or been to a country she's been in, you're still willing to have "seen" a miracle by Mother Teresa.

- We're the oldest Christian religion. Period.


If you appreciated, chuckled or even smiled at some of these, you're not a wacko. You're just probably a member of the one of the oldest and largest religions in the world. Open to all Catholics around the world.

Courtisy of  We're not Crazy, We're just Catholic Group

Really....

I am so beyond irritated with my internet service.  It is too bad that Guam only as one internet service.  I'm freakin' annoyed with all the stupid power outages, and they just need to stop turning it off.

What is worse is that they just randomly turn off the power, sometimes without warning sometimes they give us a heads up.  But either way I guess i should be happy that we have internet service at all, because when we first came to the island they were still behind the times and just getting a good footing on their internet service.

Well that SUCKS

I just received some horrible news about my cousin's.  They lost everything, and I feel horrible for them.  They just had a beautiful baby boy 5 months ago, and now to have this complete loss, I just don't know what to say.

Fire damages townhouses in Rochester Hills, MI

I just feel horrible.  It is very hard to help them living over 10,000 miles away.  We will find something to help them some how some way.

Heat Injury AGAIN!

Goodness, I really wish the doctor's could figure what the hell is going on with my body, but go figure they can not.  I drink water like it is going out of style, make sure I'm eating properly, and doing everything in my personal power to make sure I do not get a heat injury again.  Then all of a sudden I'm working out today, it was hot, humid, and sunny, and then it happened.  I started to sweat even before we started our workout, and towards the end I begin to get a headache.  I can't manage to do the abdominal work because I can't seem to cool off.  Through out the entire workout I kept wetting my towel and applying it to my head and neck, but unfortunately NOTHING helped!

I just want my heat injuries to go away, I'm sick of having to be careful not to get one...I just wanna have fun and run without worry.

Ouch! He Did It Again...

Good Lord! This boy is going to drive me to drink.  Not 24 hours later he went and dotted his other eye, but this time it was much worse.

Hubby was working late and we had just tore down the kids beds so the kids were sleeping in my room.  After sending both kids to bed, for not listening, of course, they were playing around.  While I sat watching the Olympics, there was a scream from my room like the kids were playing and they hurt each other.  More of a "mom she/he hit me" scream, my little girl came running out into the living room and my boy followed.  As he came out of the hallway he had his hand over his face, he took his hand off his face and I saw nothing but blood.  He sat down at the dinning room table and I grabbed a towel and had him hold it over his face.  I called our neighbors and asked if they could keep my girl so I didn't have to deal with her at the ER.  I am blessed to have such awesome neighbors, they kept my girl and called my hubby at work to let him know what was going on.  And off the the ER my boy and I went.

While driving in the car, sitting in the ER, and talking to all of the doctors and nurses I found out what happen.  He was climbing off the the bed to turn on the light and fell.  He hit the corner of my hope chest and busted open the side of his face.

The triage nurse was kind enough to give us a band aid, because the bleeding was controlled while we waited.

A face full of blood, a band aid on the wound, and an eye starting to bruise, we were finally called back to see the doctors.  They uncovered the band aid and gave him some lidocaine to help numb the area, because stitches were in his very near future.

The lidocaine cream was applied, but then things got UGLY!  The doctor had to wrap my boy up like a burrito.  HE DID NOT LIKE THAT...my poor guy, screamed and cried while they gave him the lidocaine shot and his stitches.  When he was done he just wanted to be held and to go home.  I told him we would do just that.  3 stitches later and a single tear, my poor guy.

As we finally headed home he fell asleep in the truck and slept of quite a while into the next morning.  I'm hoping this is the last injury for at least a little while.  The poor guy can't handle anymore negative trips to the doctors.

12 hours later and my boy looks like he got into a boxing match and was able to walk away.  The good news :: he's still smiling.

Dotted the 'Eye'

We had a wonderful left over Ash Wednesday dinner with friends.  BUT things turned south after we put Patrick to bed.

While we sat in the kitchen enjoying the conversation of our friends who were eating dinner with us, Patrick was just a bit to hyper and trying to be center of attention.  So we sent him to bed, it was also his bed time as well, so off to bed he went.  As we sat there talking, we head this awful thud followed by a crying scream.  Patrick came out and showed us his left eye.  He said he was playing around and hit his face off the side of his bunk bed.  Nice now he has black eye. 

To save us any possible grief, I emailed his teach that night and let her know what happen.  Cause you never know anymore if someone is going to jump to their own conclusion or ask him what really happen. This boy is going to kill me if he keeps hurting himself.  But I guess this is the life of having a boy....

Ash Wednesday

The start of the Lenten Season is upon us, what a blessed time of year to sit back and think.  There is so much to think about during this time of year that it gives you time to remember what is important.  We pulled Patrick out to receive his ashes which was obviously really important to him.  I'm not sure if it was because he got out of school, he was able to spend some special quality time with the family or if he really enjoyed going to church and receiving ashes.  Oh well, either way Bella was ticked off that she didn't get to have the Body of Christ during Communion.  We will be ok though, and so will she.  Have a wonderful Lenten Season.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Happy Valentine's Day! What a wonderful day this has been.  I received a beautiful bouquet of red roses and pink catalilies from my hubby and a single purple-ish/pink rose from Patrick.  It may look like I have just received just flowers, but I know my gift is on its way and will be in my home shortly.

I gave Dempsey 12 rounds of golf at the local country club and set him up a tee time for President's Day, tinted his truck windows, and a Road ID for when he runs.  But don't worry the kids made out for Valentine's Day also, both of the kids received one big gift of a floor puzzle.  Bella-girl received the new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Minnies Bow-tique.  Patrick really made out, he was given a set of junior golf clubs.

We had a nice day together as a family.  I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day with your loved ones.

Now that I'm calm

Here is what happen (its a little more understandable now that my adrenaline isn't running) ::

Patrick crawled into bed with me at 0400-0415 and I heard the front screen door slam shut.  I called out to the main part of the house and no one answered me.  I tried to send my lazy butt dogs out but they looked at me like I was the crazy one.  Then I heard feet shuffle and the door close again.  Then Boonie got up to look, I called security and they came over swept the inside of the house and the outside.  There was no sign of forced entry, and what made it even weirder was I had to unlock my front door.  I don't know what happen, but I know I'm not hearing things.

While I was talking with security, Patrick decided he wanted a biscuit.  He proceeded to warm one in the microwave.  I have no idea how long it was in there for but he managed to burn the biscuit (top and bottom), crack the plate it was on, set of the smoke alarm, and fill the house with smoke.  He did all of this while I was talking to security on the front porch.  What's funnier is that Bella slept through ALL of it.

So needless to say I will probably be on edge all day.  But everyone is physically fine, the house is still standing and my dogs, well their special and we will work on them.