Purling Sprite

Juniper Tree Hike

Jardine Juniper Trail--The first long hike for our kids, 11.6 miles round trip. We really didn't know if our little Nyah could handle it. She can run 1 mile in under 10 minutes but walking up a mountain for 5 miles then down the mountain for 5 miles is another different story. We were however pleasantly surprised by her tenacity and her determination. She climbed and climbed without complaining in fact all the while she kept saying "this is fun". Bryant aka Boyo loved it! He was in the zone, looking for little things on the ground, "collecting" little shells.

Mom on the other hand...well, hiking is not my thing. I kept telling hubby that I didn't find hiking as an attractive recreational activity. Back in Mexico I had to "hike" worse than this just to go to school, so obviously doing it for "fun" wasn't my idea of "fun". Plus, in my trek to school in Mexico, the trees had fruits that I could eat on the way. But, the kids did have fun and that in itself made me happy. 

Getting to our destination at the top though had an amazing treat! We got to see a grandfather tree- 3,200 years old --Old Juniper. It looks so majestic, sticking out of the ground all gnarled and dried up and then at the very, very top, a new growth of tree sticks out.

Zumba Time!!!

Back in May, I went on a little adventure, I went for a full day to part-y to the tune of Zumba! I got my certification, yay!!!

Two weeks ago, I was given the chance at my gym to start teaching Zumba classes on Mondays at 5:30pm. So for the past two weeks, I have been dancing and memorizing choreography.

It is so exciting!!! I have enjoyed it thoroughly and I have been dancing and dancing at all hours of the day. Even my kiddos are dancing away!

Here is a little sample of what I have been learning.

Ugly Duckling

Not to throw a pity party but just as an intro to this wonderful message that I found today. We have read or heard at one point or another the story of the ugly duckling. I remember as a child always being teased for various reasons 1)parents left you, it must have been because you are so ugly 2)you are so dark, no wonder your parents left you 3)your skin reminds me of petrol

Anyways, after hearing it over and over, it kind of sunk in and for a very long time, I believed every single thing and I guess even now, when I feel low, I fall back and think that perhaps those people saying those things were right. We all have our low days and it is in those low days when messages like this one is so needed. 

I hope you enjoy this message as much as I did...even if you are not religious in anyway whatsoever, the important part is to remember that we are more than what we appear. We must truly look in the mirror and see our reflection, see ourselves for what we truly are, see our potential and reach for it and fulfill it.

Destashing some yarn

In an effort to clean up my mess downstairs, I am having a mini-destash of my beloved yarn.Everything has been stored in a clean environment--no pets, no smoke.

Prices include shipping within the US via Priority mail.

Paypal only please. Contact me via email.

Click on any of the pictures to get more in depth detail about the yarns.

Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky. 6 skeins: $40

Sublime Aran: 8 skeins, $50

Inca Gold by Berroco: 6 skeins: $42

Cuzco by Berroco: 8 skeins $60

Check the rest of it at my destash at flickr page...lots more. 

Sable Goggles Report

Awhile ago, I mentioned that I got a new pair of goggles. I usually get a new pair at the beginning of every season, not because I want to but because my kids usually grab them and either misplace them or break them. This pair though was special, I wanted something that had a higher profile so that my eyelashes wouldn't hit the plastic. Also, I had read various reports that these goggles wouldn't leak, sucker that I am, I decided to give them a try--despite their price tag. 

They arrived in a beautiful case and they were a breeze to adjust to fit me. The pink mirror lenses really captivated me but the true test was getting in the water. 

I have had these goggles now since March and I have swam with them every single time since then. My report:

Sable Goggles 101MT in the pink style (of course)

Crystal clear vision. The water just drips off of them allowing you to see nice and clearly.

Leakage--not once! Yep, since March, they have leaked 0 times!

Fogging: they have fogged up once, when I was swimming open water in about 56 degree water. They have not fogged while swimming at the pool. During Boise, I knew the water was cold so I treated them with solution to prevent them from fogging up--it worked!

Comfort: Gaskets around the eyes are very comfortable and they do not leave my eyes with two big "rounds" after a swim session. Also, my eyelashes do not touch the lenses--huge bonus!

Would I buy them again? YES! If I could afford to get an extra pair to have just for races, I would get it right now.

Would I recommend them? Definitely! 

Are they worth the price? In my opinion, they are. I have had to replace goggles just because they keep fogging up or because they leak. I don't see me replacing my Sables anytime soon--especially if I care for them well.

Where can you find them? That is the tricky part, you can't find them anywhere locally really. The only sources I found were online. I bought mine from FramesDirect.com their shipping was prompt, within a week after placing my order I had my goggles.

Bottom line: no leakage and I don't feel like I am suctioning my eyes out just to keep the water out and have a good fit. The fit is nice and comfortable and without leakage. I like the pink in them too but that is just a bonus.

Disclaimer: I purchased this product. No company has paid me to review it. The views of this product are my own sincere thoughts of the product.

Wednesday Quote

That was the way I was feeling yesterday...it actually started off a good day but by the middle of the day I felt like a huge cloud was over me and soon after the rain just came down and then it never left. It entered my heart and mind and made for a very crappy night. Some days, one has to reach down really deep to look for the "pink" in the sky. My friend Sam over in FB posted this quote yesterday and it rang so true:

"Don't wish it were easier. Wish you were better." - Jim Rohn

Cache Valley Super Sprint Triathlon 2010

Down to the knitty gritty: 1:17:20

Swim: 9:59:9

T1: 1:32

Bike: 41:16:3

T2: 1:04:08

Run: 23:27:7

Standings:

12th Overall in the womens

6th in AG

I shaved about 4minutes from last year 1:21:33!

I improved in all sections a little bit, but my bike is the part that really needs work. I am not bad, I averaged 17.4mph during the entire thing but I need to be around 20mph.

Overall though, I was super stoked with my time!

I love this small tri, I think the part that it is in a pool makes it fun and a "safe" place for new people to try the sport.

Details:

Swim--the water was nice and toasty. I have a thing with nice warm water, it probably comes from me living in the coast during my childhood.

I got in the water with hopes to swim around 9:45. I started swimming and quickly I caught up with the person ahead of me and I had to pass. I kept swimming, trying all the time to remember the technique the coach kept drilling into me: reach out and pull back. In the second lap, I caught the next person and I had to pass them--unfortunately, I had to wait for her to let me go to the next lane, the clock was ticking, hahaha. I kept swimming and swimming and then I realized that I was not concentrating on the pull and at that moment I felt that my arms were going to fall from the exertion so I concentrated again in elongating my reach and not working so hard and letting my arm recuperate. Next thing I knew I was done with 500 meters. I was getting out of the water and I could hear my family screaming for me, so nice to have cheerleaders!

As I ran, I took my cap off, goggles and the earplugs and my watch. Got to transition time and grabbed my helmet and glasses (letting my feet drip a little bit while doing it). I put on my socks (I can't wear shoes without socks, it just doesn't feel right). I got my shoes on and grabbed my bike and off I went.

Bike:--nice warm weather, pleasant to the wet clothes and I knew that I was going to dry up quick. I didn't have any trouble clipping in this time (not like with Boise--I guess my legs were really cold that day). I really worked hard during this bike ride. I kept pushing and pulling and pushing and pulling, hoping that I could average more than my regular 16mph. About three minutes into the ride, my friend Brynne flew by, she is such a strong rider! She said some words of encouragement and cheered me on but I knew that I didn't stand a chance catching up to her. I just concentrated on the road ahead and kept on pedaling. I remember clearly that at mile 5 I felt so thirsty but I couldn't get a drink, I really wished that I had my camelback at that point. At the turnaround point, you have to make a U-turn on the road and I truly felt that I was going to fall off my bike (last year, I came off the bike to turn around), but I gritted my teeth and turned, it was a wide turn but I made it! On the way back, I was pedaling and pedaling and then a group of riders caught up to me and left me in the dust, it was okay, I was there to race against myself, so I kept on pedaling. When I was done, my family was again there cheering for me and a nice surprise a bunch of other people were cheering me on--some of my Ragnar friends!!! So awesome to have cheerleaders!

As I dismounted, I forgot to undo my helmet and take it off while walking the bike...silly move to forget. Then I got the wrong bike rack! Gosh, I was on a roll in this transition. I put my bike away, I reached for my shoes, my GU, and race belt and the garmin, as I started walking out of transition I down my GU, and put my race belt on, and put my garmin on and reached to press "start" only to find out that I had forgotten to turn it on before my bike ride!

Run: The garmin couldn't find the satellites! Half a mile into it, the Garmin just lost reception and I had to just run by feel. I knew that I couldn't do it without it and I was worried. As I kept running, I kept thinking how in heck am I going to know my pace? I kept telling myself...you are running too slow, this feels to easy, push it, push it Isela! I ran the best I could without my garmin, I pushed myself by feel and I think it paid off as I ran my 5K in 23:27, giving me a 7:33 pace! I was pleased. Could I have done better with the garmin? Perhaps, but going by the feel of my body was a good way to run too!

Testing....

For some strange reason I am unable to access my typepad account through my computers at home...yep, both of them and I can't get in. I don't know why. I have tried different browsers and nothing. I have disabled and enabled firewalls and nothing. Last option: masked my IP and it seems to work...I think. What the heck?!!! How can I fix this? I cannot keep masking my IP address forever (it costs $)....Sixapart/typepad cannot do anything so they say!!!

Grandma Loom Knits

As she once taught me to knit, it was my turn to show her how to loom knit. Even Grandpa got into it, telling her how to do it, hahaha! It was so funny! She can't really see anymore but she kept at it and kept at it, Grandpa all the while telling her which way to go. I can only describe this as HAPPINESS. You know those Visa commercials, well this little episode in our lives would have made a really nice one. 1 loom=$15 dollars, 1 ball of yarn=$7, Memories of Grandma learning to Loom knit=Priceless :).

She kept on saying "hija, no puedo, no veo ya! Cual estambre, el de arriba o abajo" but each time I told her to put it down, she would shake her head and make a tsk sound and she just kept on looming. I so love her! I love them both so much!

She is so adorable! She is used to warm weather and to a house that is not air conditioned so she was always cold inside our house. I found my American Eagle sweatshirt and gave it to her and she didn't even blink about it, she right away put it on and said to me "this is so soft, can I take it with me?" She is now down in Arizona with it...anything for my Abuelita :). My memories of her are of her always sitting on her wicker chair knitting or crocheting. Her not being able to see to enjoy her hobby brings me sadness. While she was here visiting, my Mom and I took both of them to the eye doctor and they were both given new glasses. Both of them can't really see without glasses and even glasses are not really going to help much however the doctor did say that she could knit again, she was quite happy about that little bit of good news.