Amy's Connecticutan Misadventures...

CT

2007-09-09T11:13:00.000-06:00

The lab had a tailgate for the football game on Saturday. It was fun to hang out with everyone outside of the Gampel basement. This is Glenn and his new wife Sara.
Me and Dr. Kraemer at the tailgate!

I got a new fish to keep me company at my new apartment. It is really cute and likes it's new home I think. What should I name it???

Fall 07

2007-09-09T10:42:00.001-06:00

Jim came to visit over Labor Day weekend. We spent a couple days in NYC. When we first got to the city we went to St. Patricks Cathedral for Sunday mass.

At F.A.O. Schwarz I enjoyed the lego versions of Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Hagrid. I also quite enjoyed the stop off at the American Girl Place.
Next stop was lunch in Central Park. We got Gyro's on the street, they were soooo good.
This is Wall Strett, and I am infront of the stock exchange. It was Sunday, so nobody was there, but it was still cool to see all the big buildings.
We headed over the the edge of the Island where we could see the Statue of Liberty in the background. It looked pretty small from where we were.

That night we went up to the top of the Empire State Building. The view of the city was amazing.

On Monday, we went to the American Museum of Natural History and saw all the dinosaurs.

We went down to Ground Zero. The memorials that had been set up were very sad. The actual space though, was just a huge construction site. Hopefully they will build it to be even better that it was before 9/11.

Summer 07

2007-09-09T10:04:00.001-06:00

Me, Terra, Beth, and Kelsey out on Lake Norman tubing.

The Kirvens! I miss them.
All the crazy kids I coached this summer at Nationals.

The kids I coached at Junior Nationals.

All the "kids" at Kathy's wedding.

Me and my Mom and Dad at Kathy's wedding.
Out at the lake by my parents place with my Mom.

Aren't my parents sooo cute!
Me and my daddy!

Niagra Falls, a quick stop-off during the drive from MI to CT.

Me infront of the falls.

Awww, aren't we cute :)

Look at how brave my mom is, she doesn't even look scared of height.

last pictures from PR

2007-01-20T18:52:00.000-07:00

This was the pool we trained at on the trip. This picture actually makes it seem halfway decent.
Kristen and Kydani...workin' it on the pool deck.

The sprint group....looking all pretty in between sets.
The sprint group....looking pretty in between sets,
That didn't last long...they are goofing off again,

And even more goofing off...get back to work!

The annual team photo. Aren't they cute??
Only the 3 hottest girls around!

Thats all from PR, now it's back to the cold, snow, paleness, and real life..boo

more from Puerto Rico

2007-01-12T15:38:00.000-07:00

This is the view from my balcony...pretty sweet, huh! It's been a nice quiet place to write all the killer workouts I've been making my sprinters do.

A few nights ago we had a sprint group dinner. It was fun to get together out side of the pool. We ate at a nice place oceanside. They were very excited to see that there was no underwater kicking or 50's from a dive on the menu.
Our schedule here has been 5 workouts on, 1 workout off. That has given us a few evenings with no workout. A few days ago I got to go to Old San Juan for a bit of shopping. It was a little too touristy for me, but it did make for some good peoplewatching.
Today we had the evening workout off again. The team went on a catamaran for a day of sailing and snorkeling. It was a fun trip.
We saw some nice wildlife hanging out. We saw 5 or 6 of these lizards around the docks.

We first stopped on this Island to get the feel for the water (like these kids needed it) and to eat lunch. The view was amazing.
After a break there we moved around the island to a better place to snorkel. The rocks where the waves are breaking marks where the Carribean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean.

These kids will get crazy when there is a camera around. Here is Christie getting up close and personal.

This one has Kristalynn, Cassie, and who knows who elses arms and legs.

This one is (left to right) Kristalynn, Bill, Cassie, Christie, Courney, Rachel, Steve, and Colleen.

There were a ton of fish to watch. They gave us some bread to feed them, and they would swarm. This picture isn't very clear but there were like 50 fish around me at that point.

Cassie, Cournet and Sam, I think?

Back up on the boat we were able to relax and catch some rays.

Sam, Jon, Danielle, Colleen and Heather on the catamaran.

Kydani and Kristen were just hanging out.

On their day off...what do I catch them all doing?? Swimming more, of course!

UCONN Training Trip 2007

2007-01-08T10:12:00.000-07:00

I'm in Puerto Rico right now coaching. The weather is great and we've got a great schedule. Here are a few pictures from the trip!

There is a bridge right by our hotel. This is a bunch of the girls jumping off together.

This is me jumping off the bridge. Our hotel is in the background.

If the ocean gets boring, we have a big pool to play in. Volleyball has been a favorite here amongst the team.

The view from the back of the hotel. The waves crash against the rock and are so powerful and pretty.

Kydani and Kristen when we got dinner oceanside.

Me and Kristen behind the hotel.

Merry Christmas

2006-12-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

Ho Ho Ho.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas.

I'm chilling at home and hoping for a

relaxed and fun couple of days.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Airport boredom

2006-12-19T12:09:00.000-07:00

I'm hanging out at Bradley International Airport. I found a few of my swimmers, Lindsay and Tyler. We all have a few hours before our flights so we are hanging out by the McDonalds. Yes, we are bored. There are some great characters to people watch. A lady just walked by with a short shirt that showed her stomach...let's just say she didn't have a six pack. I can't wait to get home for Christmas. Even though I was home for thanksgiving only a few weeks ago it is still nice to away and be home. I can't wait until Santa comes to town!
I'm out, back to the peoplewatching.

2006-09-24T20:05:00.000-06:00

So I haven't done anything noteworthy lately, but I don't want to be a bad blogger. I have been staying very busy with work and school. Getting into the swing of things is sure tiring. I remember now how early that morning practice is. But Connecticut has been good, it's starting to feel slightly more like where I live, and be slightly less scary. I want to keep in touch with everyone about what's going on in their lives. Give me a call anytime!

Labor Day Weekend

2006-09-05T18:21:00.000-06:00

This weekend Jim decided to come visit me. He got in Saturday afternoon and we went out to dinner. The Cowder Pot is a seafood restaurant somewhere in Hartford. It was yummy! On Sunday I took Jim to see my work. This is the pool that I work at!
Jim was excited to stand center court at Gampell Pavillion (UConn's Basketball arena).
On Monday Jim and I went to New York City. I had never been to the city before, and was really excited to go see this place. So we got up way early and drove to the train station and took the train to Grand Central Station. We went to the Met and then to Central Park. We took the subway to Brooklyn and then walked across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhatten. We got lunch in Chinatown, and dessert in Little Italy. We went to times square and 5th Ave. The highlight of my day was showing off my new fake Gucci purse in front of the real Gucci store! We made it back home after the long day of walking. I was a great weekend, and it was sad to see Jim go home and for me to have to go back to work and school.

The New Apartment

2006-08-25T15:45:00.000-06:00

Ok, Ok. Everyone has been wanting pictures of my new apartment, so I finally got it pretty enough to show off.
This is my bedroom. I got a new huge dresser that I really like. There is a furniture store by my house that has a section called "The Pit". They get tons of overstocked furnature there they are trying to get rid of, so it's great stuff cheap. Between the big closet and the dresser there is enough space for all of my clothes!
The great thing about a 2-bed/2-bath apartment is that I get my own bathroom. I've got a pretty now shower curtian!
Outside of my little hallway is the living room. Kydani (my roomate) did a great job of decorating the living room and dining room. The kitchen is great, dishwasher and everything. So there all of you go, this is my new place!

Visiting Mystic

2006-08-25T15:28:00.000-06:00

Once Mom and I got my apartment mostly moved into we took her last day in town to do some sightseeing. Mystic, Connecticut is on the Atlantic about 45 minutes away from where I live. We went to Mystic Seaport which is a big museum with an old town, sailing, and whaling history. We walked around there looking at all the old stuff for awhile. We took a free boat ride along the river which was fun. Then we went to a really nice seafood restaurant. Lobster with a view...can't beat that.

Getting Settled

2006-08-20T19:18:00.000-06:00

So we made it to Manchester, Connecticut. We went a total of 1939.3 miles with a total time of 34 hours and 16 minutes. I don't recommend to anyone that they drive that far...ever...let alone towing a Uhaul. I don't ever want to get into a car again, well unless it's to go shopping.
But, my apartment is awesome! I've still got some work to do before my room is ready for some photo opp's. Maybe by tomorrow I will get all the boxes unpacked and my shoes put away (that is a BIG task).
Ok, time to go watch the Teen Choice Awards...yay for having cable tv.

1387 miles

2006-08-18T18:22:00.000-06:00

Tonight we ended in Akron, Ohio. We got in another 500+ mile day, but we still have quite a bit to go. We are still 558 miles away. We are going to get up very early tomorrow to try to make it by 5pm (when my apartment office closes) so hopefully i'll be in my new home tomorrow! If not then Sunday for sure. Today was full of thrills...or not. We had lunch in Centerville, Indiana (tiny town in the middle of nowhere). We stopped at a candle outlet only to be bombarded with bad smelling ugly candles. There was rain, and traffic, and with the time zone change we got gyped out of an hour. Even the AAA Tourbook is getting boring to read. My mom and I have been passing the time by reading about every city we drive through in the Tourbook. Most of the descriptions are total exadurations, with the writers getting very creative to make that town sound interesting. Frankly, most of the towns are not interesting at all. It's usually quite humorous. But by the end of today, all the Ohio towns were losing me.
Off to bed, got another big day of driving tomorrow.

Road Trip: C-Springs to Connecticut

2006-08-17T22:05:00.000-06:00

My mom and I are over 800 miles into our cross country treck. Yesterday I picked my mom up at the airport and we took off. We got over 200 miles under our belts before calling it a night in Colby, Kansas. There wasn't much there except a few hotels and a Starbucks (thank goodness). The views were rather boring except for a couple sunflower fields that were nice on the eyes. Today we hit the road hard and made it to St. Louis, Missouri. We got into town in time to got to the Arch and ride up to the top of it. They herded way too many people into tiny little cars and took us up to the top where it was a little shaky and stuffy. But the view and the experience was worth it for sure. Pictures will get posted sometime when the internet is faster. My mom was so brave, she even looked out the windows at the top (she's way scared of heights). Ok, time for bed, tomorrow is going to be another long one.

I'm still alive!

2006-08-14T07:19:00.000-06:00

Ok, Ok, I know I've fallen off the face of the earth on my blog. The quick update: Today is my last day of work. It's happy and sad all at the same time. I'm sure going to miss Colorado Springs and the people I've gotten to know this year. But I do have a great opportunity infront of me at UCONN. For the next few days I'll be packing my whole life into a Uhaul trailer and saying my goodbyes. Only a few more changes at Coloradan misadventures....I'll have to rename the blog soon. Bye Bye C-Springs!

Aspen

2006-07-10T20:38:00.000-06:00

I spent the weekend smoozing with the rich and famous in Aspen. Ok, so maybe we just slummed it there and made fun of all the trophy wives. Jim took me to Aspen for the weekend to show me the sights. Unfortunately it rained the whole weekend, practically non-stop. We didn't let the rain stop us too much though.

We started off Saturday morning and drove through Independence Pass.

We walked around in Aspen and looked at all the shops. We took a bike ride on a local trail that followed a pretty river. We went for a little run too, so we could burn off all the calories from lunch and the coming dinner. Jim took me to some of his favorite places in Aspen.

After all of the high life we went back to our "Five-Star Hotel" a.k.a. Difficult Campground. Thanks to Jen and Ryan for letting us borrow their tent. It was quite an adventure camping in the rain, but we made it fun.

I made an awesome little campfire during a little lul in the rain. It was fun to play with the fire!!!

On Sunday we hiked up near the Maroon Bells. They would have been really pretty if we could have seen them through the clouds.

We did have fun finding the waterfall we could hear which ended up being really neat.

I decided it would be fun to wade in the lake....I was wrong. It was VERY cold in there.

After the hike we drove up to Glenwood Springs and took a swim in the hot springs there. It was very nice to sit and relax in the warm water. The drive home in the rain was long, but it was worth it for a fun weekend.

The rest of Gabe's visit

2006-07-10T20:13:00.000-06:00

So I know it's a bit late, but here's the rest of the story from Gabe's visit. I took him to Cheyenne Canyon and we did Mt. Cutler hike. Gabe was in awe of the view and really enjoyed climbing all over taking pictures. Mt. Culter is my favorite quick hike to the best view.

After the hike we met up with Jim and went to get sushi for dinner. Gabe ordered the girliest of all possible drinks, but yet was ashamed of it. Gabe, if you are going to order a girly drink, do it with pride, don't be ashamed.
Monday we tried to go to Keystone to go mountain biking. Unfortunatley the weather did not cooperate very well. Gabe did get to have a dream come true....he saw South Park, Colorado. I think someone is a little obsessed with cartoons. The other highlight of the day was the amazingly cute new Coach purse I got at the outlets for very very cheap!!
The 4th of July was Gabe's last day in Colorado. We went to a party at Haven's house in Manitou. We then went off in search of fireworks, because it's unamerican to not watch fireworks on the 4th of July. We found some good ones, with a pretty view to match, at Cheyenne Mountain Country Club. Gabe had an early flight the next day so we went to bed and got up too early and drove to Denver. Gabe, thanks for coming to visit me!

More from the weekend

2006-07-07T12:33:00.000-06:00

The rest of the weekend with Gabe in town was full of fun misadventures.
Saturday I took him to Garden of the Gods, and of course we didn't stay on the designated paths. We climbed all over the place where we could and of course took tons of photos. I was always the first one up and then Gabe had to do whatever I did. Jim was a little scaredy cat and stayed close to the ground the whole time.
Saturday night I took Gabe to meet up with all my friends at Phantom Canyon. It was a fun night of pool, foosball, drinking and chatting. Gabe finished off the night with some fun at the Ritz..hehe.

Weekend with Gabers!

2006-07-01T19:58:00.000-06:00

My friend Gabers came in town this weekend. He flew into Denver late Thursday night. Friday he came with me to work. The first fun we had was taking Gabe up the Incline. When he heard about it he really was excited about it, so we did it. I think it was a bit harder than he planned on, but I think he'll forgive me eventually.
Since he was sore and a little tired today was pretty low key. Jim and I took Gabe out to see Garden of the Gods.
I started climbing all around and Gabe soon followed. It was a good time in the Garden.
Tonight we are going out! I'm sure there will be more fun times to report tomorrow.

Blodgett Peak

2006-06-25T16:46:00.000-06:00

This morning I did an aweome hike up to the top of Blodgett Peak. Russell is the best at pics, so just check out his blog for the story...http://www.musclerark.blogspot.com/
I will get my pictures up soon.

Happy Anniversary

2006-06-19T18:29:00.000-06:00

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

26 years and still in love. My mom and dad are so cute. Thanks for getting hitched and making me! Have a great day!

Midnight Ride

2006-06-18T13:05:00.000-06:00

People in this town are crazy. Last night at 12am (technically this morning) thousands of people on bikes came down to Garden of the Gods to ride. There was a long loop and a short loop. My crazy friends that convinced me not only to come but to do the long loop. 22.2 miles later....at 2am....I finally got off the bike and got to go home. It was actually more fun than I thought it would be. Special thanks to Larry for letting me borrow his bike, I couldnt believe what a difference it made. Does anyone have a doughnut I can borrow to sit on until my bike seat butt feels better???

Movie Review: Cars

2006-06-12T06:50:00.000-06:00

Over the weekend I saw Cars. I highly recommend it. This Pixar film falls right in line behind Shrek and the Incredibles. Lots of famous voices and witty humor kept you laughing. Yay Lightning McQueen!

I was just out walkin' the dog....

2006-06-05T21:21:00.000-06:00

Tonight I went to take Brodie out for a walk just like normal. I walk out my door and I see a whole bunch of deer. I figured they would run away, but I went back in and got my camera anyway. I went back out and they were still there. So I tried to get a good picture. They were not scared of me or my flashing camera at all. They just stared as I inched closer. I got about 10 feet away for the best pic. Pretty crazy for a random night in my backyard. Oh, and I did take Brodie back out to pee, don't worry.

ACSM

2006-06-02T21:40:00.000-06:00

One of my blog viewing friends feels as though I have become a mountain woman due to the large amount of hiking pics I have up. So here is a post to show I am not so primative.

I spent the past few days up in Denver working the USA Swimming booth at the ACSM conference. It is basically a huge conference for anyone involved in any aspect of sport science. This was the booth that I spent most of my time at promoting a few programs, and don't ask because i'm sick of talking about them.

It was fun to chat with all sorts of smart people and pretend to be smart too. It actually got me excited to start studying again in the fall. But now I am excited for a nice weekend to relax....and maybe go hiking...hehe

UCONN here I come

2006-05-28T10:09:00.000-06:00

I decided where I'm going next year....the University of Connecticut. Last week I went out to check it out. I am going to be the Grad Assistant for the Swim Team. It's a great opportunity to get my foot in the coaching door and get my masters too. My professor, Dr. William Kraemer, is one of the formost researchers in the field of Kinesiology. I'm going to study exercie science. In the end of August I'm going to drive out from Colorado to Connecticut. It's nice to have the decision made of where I'm going next year. Go Huskies!

Swan Family

2006-05-16T16:42:00.000-06:00

My parents have new pets. Every day they swim around in the lake and eat right in front of the dock. I tried to get close to see the babies, but Mommy and Daddy Swan do not like visitors. Any ideas for names of the 5 babies?

Finally...Pete has been defeated

2006-05-13T16:03:00.000-06:00

The first annual IOIC, or Inter-Office Incline Challenge, took place Friday night. A huge crew came out to race and spectate. I was one of the spectators, although I did PR on my way up. 43:30 which is about 8 minutes faster than I've ever been. I had some good entertainment that helped it stay fun. Charlene had the video camera going, commentating about the race that would take place. Jim was struggling his way up in misery. Annie (the puppy) was tackling the Incline for the first time. And I didn't want to get passed by the racers who left only 40 minutes behind us. We all made it to the top with time to spare as we watched for anyone familiar to come into view. Now we all know that Pete can get a little bit competitive. We also all know that no one else wants to lose to him. We saw someone come over the false summit...and it was Larry. Larry finished in a crazy fast time of 26:30ish. He even had to battle against Annie trying to keep him from finishing at the top. Russell came in 2nd a couple minutes behind. Pete was 3rd about 30 seconds behind Russell. We took plenty of time at the top to take a group photo and for the racers to show off their rediculousness. Good Job everyone!

4:03.03

2006-05-12T13:21:00.000-06:00

For all you swimming nerds out there: Janet Evans world record in the 400 M Free has stood without too much contention since 1988. But today Laure Manaudou went 4:03.03. That is insanely fast. Kate Ziegler needs to get into gear, we want that record back in USA's hands.
These are her rediculously fast splits:
28.03
58.30 (30.27)
1:28.90 (30.60)
2:00.00 (31.10)
2:30.85 (30.85)
3:02.07 (31.22)
3:33.05 (30.98)
4:03.03 (29.98)

Home

2006-05-12T11:09:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow I am leaving sunny Colorado Springs to head to not so sunny Waterford. I'm excited to see my Mom and Dad. They even put the boat in for me to go out on. Unfortunately the weather does not look so good. Weather.com says it will be cold and rainy the entire time I’m there. So much for lying out on the boat all week. If anyone is in Michigan next week, give me a call and we can hang out!

Inclining

2006-04-30T21:36:00.000-06:00

Everyone at my work is CRAZY!!! May 12, at 5pm there will be a race up the incline between Pete, Russell, Dan and Deb. Quite a few others are going to participate just to watch the action. I'm nowhere near as insane as these folks, the incline is rediculously hard. They are all doing it at least 3 times a week. Its Crazy, and I am not going to join the craziness. And just to reaffirm my dislike of the incline, I did it this morning. Felissa (my friend from the Y) and her two friends Lindsay and Veronica. All three of them were incline virgins. Lindsay made it to the top first in 48 minutes, I was next at 53 minutes, Veronica came in at 1:05 and Felissa was 1:06. Felissa wasnt very happy when I was snapping pictures of her while she was still climbing. We took our time enjoying the view at the top with a group pic and some rock scrambling before we headed back down Barr trail. Let's just say that our times were no where near what Pete, Russell, Deb and Dan will bring in a couple weeks, but i'm fine with that.

St. Mary's Falls

2006-04-29T19:03:00.000-06:00

Today I took Brodie out on a little adventure. We tried to find St. Mary's Falls. The hike out was nice and I kept climbing farther up and farther into the mountains. The views were very nice most of the way up. I got up to the top of the waterfall, but then I lost the trail. I decided to try to scrambe around the rocks to find it again, but found myself at the top of a very steep area of rocks. That stupid little voice in my head said "oh it's not that steep, i can handle this" although in hindsight i should have turned around and not went down that way. I had to help Brodie down in quite a few spots, but eventually we made it down. There was a man at the bottom who watched me scramble all the way down. When I finally made it down he took a picture of me by the falls. Brodie had a great time jumping all over everywhere. But, when we got back he passed out and hasn't moved since. Now it's my turn to rest up before I get to go out tonight.

Williamstown

2006-04-25T21:42:00.000-06:00

Last weekend I went out to visit my buddy Gabe and his new life. He is now working for the Williams College Track & Field Team. It was great to see Gabers and we both enjoyed a couple days away from reality. Williamstown Massachusetts is a small New England town. It has 3 bars (2 of which Gabe isn’t allowed to go to), 4 restaurants, and no grocery store or gas station. It was a nice get-a-way for the weekend, but I don’t think I could survive in that small of a town for very long. The scenery was nice though, the area is “mountainous” with some nice views.

Thanks for letting me visit you, Gabe, and letting me get away from life for a few days. It’s your turn to come visit me now!

But for now, it’s back to real life.

Most Popular!

2006-04-10T20:50:00.000-06:00

Last week Russell posted this blog entry "For some reason, Amy's blog is always the most popular or 2nd most popular link clicked on my blog. How is that? I mean, no knock on how awesome Amy is, but she rarely updates it! Amy, start updating your blog more frequently...people want to know what you're doing! I'm sure you've got some excitement to tell us about, right?". Russell's just jealous I think. My blog is great! And as of right now I am Russell's most popular link. So everyone, keep linking from Russell's blog to mine. Yay for me being popular!

Spring Skiing

2006-04-08T18:57:00.000-06:00

I used my last ski pass to go to Copper Mountain today. The weather was amazing, and so was the snow. I finally feel like I sorta know what I'm doing on the slopes now.
Jim and I hit up the bowl's (both Copper and Union) and skied all over. You could see forever because it was so clear, the views were the best I've seen.

This pic barely shows how steep the bowl was I made it down. Wow, I am crazy.

The sunshine was great, but whoops, I forgot sunscreen. I have a very attractive sunburn on my face where my goggles were not. Oh well, it was worth it.

I am going to miss skiing now that the season is over. I really had fun this year. Yay Skiing!

Gabers!!!

2006-04-05T20:14:00.000-06:00

I got a free plane ticket on my last trip and I decided to make good use of it. Today I booked a flight out to visit Gabers April 21-24. Gabers is my bestest guy friend from college. He is in his first coaching job with the Track and Field team at Willams College in Williamstown, MA. I've missed him so much this year and I can't wait to come out there and visit him. Gabers...get ready to see your Amers!!!

Seattle Skyline

2006-04-04T15:54:00.000-06:00

Last week I went to Seattle/Federal Way Washington for USA Swimming's Spring Championships. The definate highlight of the trip was dinner the first night. We went to a place called Salty's. It was some amazing seafood with a breathtaking view of Seattle.
The rest of the meet wasn't as much fun as I would have liked. I ended up getting the stomach flu during the week. Let's just say I was not very happy. But now I am feeling much better.

Snow Day!!!

2006-03-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

I woke up today to winter whiteness. I initially thought oh man I have to walk my dog outside in this. But then a happy thought popped into my head. 2 hour delay? When I was in school we didnt have 2 hour delay, it was either snow day, or nothing. But here in colorado they are a big fan of the 2 hour delay. So i turned on the TV and watched the news. I saw United States Olympic Committee - 2 hour delay! So i went back to bed for 2 hours which was very very nice. When I woke up again I looked at the TV again, but this time when it went around I saw United States Olympic Committee - Closed. I GOT A SNOW DAY!!!! I haven't gotten a snow day in years. In honor of my snow day I am being fully lazy. I hope everyone is enjoying work!!!

1 year...

2006-03-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend marks the 1st Anniversary of my last swim meet. It's scary to think that its already been a year since the last time I raced (well except against Pete in the Battle of the Sexes). I sure miss the body I left behind, but I very much enjoying workout out when I want, or not at all!
Go to Collegeswimming.com for results if you want to follow along this year. Maybe in honor of the anniversary I'll get in the pool and swim some...maybe.

Dodge 'Em Swimmers

2006-03-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

Last week was team Angular Momentum's last dodgeball game of the season. We decided to go out with style and dress like the swimmers we all are. I'm rocking the Speedo catalog model pose!

I decided to go all out (i think temporary insanity took over). I figured if i'm going to do it, I might as well go all out. I squeezed into my little fastskin, trying not to think about how much tighter it had gotten since last year. Don't I look hot in the sidways cap with my ears flopping!
Here we are in action. We won 6-1, crushing our opponents. Our overall record is 8-4, and we have one more chance (a makeup game) against USADA. I'm going to miss this Wednesday night activity and get back to my normal boring schedule.

Closing Ceromonies

2006-02-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

Tonight will end the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. It has been fun to sit on the couch and watch some big cometititon. They all laid it out on the line, some came out with gold, and others went home empty handed. Here are a few of my favorites from the Games:

Most inspiring performance: The Chinese pair skaters when the girl fell and hurt her knee and kept going to finish a great program and get a medal.

Ugliest athlete: Russian speed skater Dmitry Dorofeyev

Cutest gold medalist: American Speed Skater Joey Cheek

Part of the Games I totally don't get: The champions gala for figure skating...what's with that???

Worst outfit: the American snowboarders pajamas

Best outfit: Bobsledders rocking out the Speedo Fastskin, who knew it was just for the pool.

Most insane sport: tie between Skeleton and Freestyle Aerials...80 mph head first on ice or spinning and flipping 50 ft in the air and having to land on ski's????

Best part of the ending of the winter games: only 2.5 years until the 2008 Summer Games!

Mommy visit

2006-02-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend my mom got to come out here and visit me! We had a good time shopping and hiking and hanging out. On her last day here we went skiing at Copper Mountain.
I got some good action shots (they were easy she wasn't moving very fast). My mom did really well for someone who hasnt been on ski's since the dark ages.
Thanks for coming out mom, I had a great time!

moved in

2006-02-13T21:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of my new apartment. Its starting to feel like home now that everything is unpacked. Come visit me!

My New Place...part 2

2006-02-12T21:03:00.000-07:00

Well folks, I moved again. This time I got an apartment all to myself (and Brodie) right near downtown. If you want my address email me. Letters and care packages are more than welcome. Pictures of the new crib to come once I get settled. And thanks to everyone who helped me move, I appreciate all of your help!

nothing exciting

2006-02-08T19:23:00.000-07:00

i have been really bad about posting to my blog these last few weeks, but i have absolutely nothing to report. my life is boring. i still don't have anything very exciting to report, but here is a fun game to check out. i got it from russells blog, and i'm sure you'll get addicted as quickly as i did. check it out: http://www.donpixel.com/play/es/060201201034/
my high score is 11.282, beat that!

Up the Incline

2006-01-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

Some sort of insanity came over me today, I decided it would be fun to climb the incline. I went pretty slow, but it was still hard. It was Brodie's first time, and he loved it.
Up the stairs I climb, I was taking pictures on the way up to distract myself. At least you get a good view while you are torturing yourself.
The view from the top...only after 52 minutes of climbing!

Jim's Big Performance

2006-01-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

Jim had his annual violin recital on Saturday. He did really well on his song. Good Job Jim!
Jim and all the other kids from the recital.
This is the crew (plus Russell who is taking the pic) that came to watch Jim. We celebrated afterward at the chinese buffet...yum

Dodge 'em

2006-01-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

Team Angular Momentum finally got a sweet team pic at this weeks game. We were smiling all pretty when a ball came flying at the group. I guess that fly balls is a hazard of the game! We are 4-2 and gaining. I love being a recreational athlete these days, no training, just fun!

MLK Day Skiing

2006-01-17T15:15:00.000-07:00

What better way to celebrate a monday off work than to go skiing. Jim and I hit the slopes at Copper on a great powder day. I skied some really hard stuff: This black diamond I went down is way harder in person than it looks in the pic.
Jim and I on the chair lift...freezing! Between the wind and cold I was chilly all day.

I love the look of the evergreens with fresh snow!
This pic looks awesome. This is the tip of Copper Bowl.
Here's me at the top of the Bowl. Why did I decide that skiing down this crazy steep back slope would be a good idea???
But don't worry, I made it out alive and unharmed. Now I wanna go back in!!

Fun with Brod-man

2006-01-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

So I played around with Brodie at the Dog Park and at home and took some cute pics of him. Check them out!

Happy Birthday Robb!

2006-01-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

Last night (Saturday) I went out to celebrate Robb's birthday. I realize how much of a dork I am because thats the first time I've been out in quite awhile...oh well. Anyways, we got the night started off right with martini's at V Bar. Those things taste SO good and they are quite strong (read: everyone was drunk after 2, and it was only about 7pm).
MJ and Jim ( They will still sober here I think)
Jen and Me
Nick, The Birthday Boy Robb, Jen, and Me.

So the tipsy crew then walked around the corner to Sonterra Grill. Yummy Mexican !
Nick, Robb, Jen and Mary at Sonterra
The whole crew at dinner.

Overall, a fun night. Too bad I got really tired at the really early hour of 10pm and went home to bed.
Happy Birthday Robb!

What type of swimmer are you??

2006-01-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

Take the WHAT TYPE OF SWIMMER ARE YOU QUIZ...
Take the quiz:
http://quiz.myyearbook.com/zenhex/quiz.php?id=32268"> size = "+2">What type of swimmer are you?

Swim-a-holic
You are a SWIM-A-HOLIC. Congratulations you pool rat. You reek of chlorine, and your hair is probably green. You just love being in the water. You have a well-rounded personality, and you excel in freestyle the most, although you are able to do the other strokes quite well. You cheer on your friends, and you are a great role-model. You may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but you most certainly have an addicting personality, and people love being around you. You wake up at 4:30 AM to swim, and you' b>

Sad News

2006-01-11T16:39:00.000-07:00

Those in both the swimming community and the Michigan community were faced with the tragic loss of 'Snik'. Eric Namesnik was a great guy, one who was admired by so many. He was tragically killed in a car accident this week. Rest in Peace Snik, we all miss you.

First Ski of 2006

2006-01-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

I got to go skiing on saturday for the first time this year. The weather was warm and sunny. This was the first time I got to ski at Keystone. Check out all my pictures:
Jim and I on the chairlift.
Jim and I on the top of Keystone.
The view of Breckenridge from Keystone.

NYE 2005

2005-12-31T18:06:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is having a fun New Year's Eve. I'm sitting at my parents house, and will probably be asleep by midnight. I've decided New Years is never as exciting as its made up to be. Oh well. I do get a really nice dinner tonight...lobsters! Brodie didn't seem to find them too intimidating.
Happy 2006!

Stephers and Gabers time!!

2005-12-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

It felt like I had never left today when I met Gabe and Steph at Starbucks. We picked up right from where we left off, gosh I missed them. It was great to catch up on all the new stuff that has happened, and laugh about good old times. I already can't wait until the next time we get to catch up.

Family Christmas

2005-12-30T16:16:00.000-07:00

This years Christmas eve was very busy. My dads side of the family came over in the morning. With 7 kids, 10 adults, and 2 dogs, it was a bit crazy. It was fun to see everyone though.
Me and Conner, my little nephew. Isn't he SOOO cute
My neice Chelsea and Connor.

I'm home

2005-12-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

Brodie and I made it home safe and sound. The trip went really well. My mom, as usual, has planned a busy next few days, but I am excited to see my whole family for Christmas.
I hope everyone else is having a great Christmas too!
Happy Holidays Everyone :)

Merry Christmas

2005-12-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

I'm going home today!!!! Brodie and I are flying this afternoon and will be home by bedtime. I can't wait. If you are in Michigan and want to hang out, give me a call! Merry Christmas everyone!

Powder at Copper

2005-12-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

Its getting to be that time of the year, so before I leave to go home for Christmas I had to get one last day of skiing in. Tuesday I went out to Copper Mountain with Jim and met my friend Jonny G. Copper had gotten 11 inches of snow overnight. The powder was great, once I figured out how to ski in it.
Me and Jonny G, my buddy from home who was out skiing for the week. It was nice to be able to play hookie for a day and hang out with him.
John is the typical asian (although not asian at all) in that he was all about taking pictures. Here he is in the middle of the hill taking a picture break.
Jim and I on the ski lift...for some reason the lifts weren't as scary to me today, so I took a few pictures.
Again, John being picture obsessed...
And one of me.
Skiing in power is tiring, I needed a little break....
But Jim is way better, so he isn't tired...what a slavedriver...hehe

More skiing pics

2005-12-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

Russell is awesome at taking action shots while zooming down the hills. Here are some pics that he took while we were out skiing/boarding.
Saturday night at dinner.
A panoramic view of Breckenridge...so gorgeous

A view from the chairlift...Russell was taking pictures while I was trying not to freak out about being up so high.

Me in action..I almost look like I know what i'm doing...haha

Jim and I taking a little breather.

Dan in action!

MJ in action!

I was wiped out after a long day on the slopes...whew

Little Puppy Annie

2005-12-13T10:13:00.000-07:00

Jim got a new puppy yesterday. He was soooo excited. Check her out, she's adorable.
She’s a St. Bernard/Lab mix and she is six or seven weeks old. She will be a BIG dog, but is a tiny little puppy now. Brodie is excited for her to get bigger so they can play together!

Desperate Housewives

2005-12-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

I was very upset to find out that there was not an episode of Desperate Housewives on tonight. If you, like me, are addicted, check out this quiz...which desperate housewife are you?
http://abc.go.com/primetime/desperate/quiz/index.html
I'm Susan!

i'm in love...

2005-12-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

...with skiing!!!! I had so much fun this weekend it's insane. Saturday MJ, Dan and I went to Winter Park. We played around on the bunny hills and then took lessons. Although one lesson just scratched the surface, I felt a lot better about how to survive. We crammed 5 of us (Jim and Russell joined us) into a tiny little hotel room...and tried to get a bit of sleep. Bright and early Sunday morning we went to Breckenridge. After a few easy runs we went up to some slopes that scared me shitless. Somehow I made it down all of the hills in one piece....although i did wipe out a bunch. After a long day of skiing and a good dinner we headed home. My body is aching, muscles i dont even know i have are hurting. Here are some sweet pics that i took...
Dan and MJ on our first ride on the chairlift.

Me on the chairlift...those things go up really really high. I'm not going to lie, i didnt really like it.

MJ looking slick, just wait until she tries to actually move on the board...hehe

Me at the top of Winter Park, the view was so cool.

At dinner, Russell being his normal crazy self.

The views at Breck were unreal, the pictures do not do it justice.
Russell and Dan chillin on the slopes...come on slow pokes, lets go!

SKIING!!!

2005-12-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

I cannot wait, the ski season has begun. I am going up this weekend to Winter Park and Breckenridge. Saturday morning cannot come quick enough. yay skiing.

Movies!

2005-12-05T18:23:00.000-07:00

I officially have a kick butt movie collection. After some discussion over the weekend, and some boredom tonight i made a list of all my movies. If you are nice to me, you can borrow some from me. Check it out:

8 Mile
A Beautiful Mind
A Love Song for Bobby Long
Alex & Emma
Alfie
Along Came Polly
American Pie 2
Are We There Yet?
Beauty and the Beast
Big Fish
Billy Madison
Blue Collar Comedy Tour
Bridget Jones's Diary
Bringing Down the House
Casablanca
Cast Away
Catch Me if You Can
Center Stage
Coach Carter
Cool Runnings
Desperate Houswives Season 1
Ever After
Finding Forrester
Finding Nemo
Finding Neverland
Forrest Gump
Friday Night Lights
Garden State
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Gone With the Wind
Grease
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I Heart Huckabee's
In Good Company
Intolerable Cruelty
Kate & Leopold
Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde 2
Life As a House
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Love & Basketball
Maid in Manhattan
March of the Penguins
Mean Girls
Meet the Parents
Memento
Million Dollar Baby
Miracle
Mona Lisa Smile
Monster-In-Law
Monsters Inc.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Napolean Dynamite
Ocean's Eleven
Ocean's Twelve
Office Space
Old School
Pirates of the Caribbean
Racing Stripes
Raising Helen
Robots
Rudy
Save the Last Dance
Seabiscuit
Sex and the City: The Entire Series
Shakespeare in Love
Shark Tale
Shawshank Redeption
Shrek
Shrek 2
Something's Gatta Give
Super Troopers
Sweet Home Alabama
Swingers
The 5 People You Will Meet in Heaven
The American President
The Aviator
The Best of Friends Season 2
The Best of Friends Season 3
The Best of Friends Season 4
The Best of Friends Volume 1
The Best of Friends Volume 2
The Best of Friends Volume 3
The Best of Friends Volume 4
The Incredibles
The Little Mermaid
The Notebook
The Prince & Me
The Princess Bride
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The Terminal
The Wedding Singer
Toy Story
Two Weeks Notice
Under the Tuscan Sun
Uptown Girls
Wimbledon

Sweet Tea is SOOOO Sweet!!!

2005-12-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

I want to move to the south just for the sweet tea. Why can't you get the stuff in either Michigan or Colorado??? I've been down in Auburn Alabama the past few days, and i have been drinking the stuff every chance I get. I love it. I should open a Sweet Tea store. You'd come get some, right?

Bye Bye

2005-11-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

Very early this morning I dropped Mom and Dad off at the Denver Airport. It was a fun few days...but now back to work. Only 2 days in the office this week, I get to go to Alabama this week. Its not too much warmer, but it is supposed to be in the 60's. After that the next 2 weekends are going to be spent skiing!!!! I can't wait. Let's hope I don't kill myself though...i'm a little (read a whole lot) rusty.

Burning off that turkey

2005-11-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

After a nice day of relaxing and eating lots of turkey mom and I got up early and braved the hordes to go shopping. By about 11 am my mom's credit card was smoking, and we came back home. We picked up Dad and Brodie and drove out to Cheyenne Canyon.

The views were even nicer than I remembered.
I drove around them through the canyon on the little windey rode. We stopped at Helen Hunt falls and took a cute picture. Brodie wasn't really interested in smiling for the camera.
It was fun scaring my parents to death on the drive. Mom was a little scared that I was going to drive off the road and kill her. But don't worry, I made it back safe.

Next stop....the Garden

2005-11-25T20:56:00.000-07:00

After getting that Rocky Mountain High, we came back down and walked through Garden of the Gods.

We had fun watching all the real rock climbers, and pretending to be rock climbers ourselves.

Pikes Peak

2005-11-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

My parents got in town on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday morning we got up bright and early and rode the cog railway up to the top of Pike's Peak. After hiking up it a few months ago, riding up it felt like cheating. But the view was amazing, the sky was so clear. We could see Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico and Wyoming from the peak.
On the ride up we saw a few sheep.

I'm back

2005-11-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, i have been awful about updating my blog lately. So sorry to all you obsessive blog checkers who have noticed that my blog has been boring. But now I have some exciting stories to tell and cool pictures to put up...so here we go!

2.....

2005-11-20T11:19:00.000-07:00

Let the cleaning fest begin....

3...

2005-11-19T23:29:00.000-07:00

After a very busy couple of days I get a little time to relax before my parents get here. Yay for sleeping in tomorrow morning!

4....

2005-11-18T14:01:00.000-07:00

5.....

2005-11-17T08:03:00.000-07:00

6....

2005-11-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

Its very cold today....19 degrees when I was driving to work. I'm really hoping the weather gets back warm again and stays that way for next week. Warm weather will make next week way more fun. So pray to the weather gods that the snow will melt and everyone will be happy!

7....

2005-11-15T15:43:00.000-07:00

10...9...8....

2005-11-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, so i've gotten a little behind...but i've also run out of fun things about Colorado Springs. After all, my parents are only here for like 5 days, we won't have time to do all the things I've already shown, let alone do anything else. I just gatta get through one more week, and then I get to see my mommy and daddy!

the 2nd best dating city???

2005-11-11T22:26:00.000-07:00

I saw this link on Russell's blog, and i found it pretty interesting. I'm not sure that I believe that Colorado Springs is the 2nd best dating city in the US. So single guys...where are you????
http://www.bestplaces.net/docs/studies/DatingCities.aspx

11/12

2005-11-11T22:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, so i've been a bit busy and i'm a little behind in my countdown. And cause i've been busy I am a current fan of relaxing right now. Days 11 and 12 are now devoted to being lazy and relaxing. I can't wait for a very long weekend of fun, but we are going to have to schedule in some time to relax.

13

2005-11-09T18:37:00.000-07:00

Colorado Springs is a fancy shamncy place. There is a really nice hotel called the Broadmoor. Their cheepest room is a mere $175 per night. So we won't stay there, but hey, we can go look around and pretend right? Mom and I walked around it when she moved me out here in August. It may be a little colder this time around though.

14...TWO WEEKS!!

2005-11-08T14:20:00.000-07:00

In 2 weeks I will be picking my parents up from the Denver International Airport! No offense to the Colorado Springs Airport, but its cheaper to fly directly to Denver. Denver is a modern airport, with fancy shmancy architecture. Dad, enjoy watching the planes land.

Only 2 more weeks, I can't wait!

15

2005-11-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

Today's highlight goes to Red Rocks Canyon. I hiked here earlier this year, it is a easy hike with pretty scenery. So i'm putting it on the list of possible places to go.

16

2005-11-06T12:14:00.000-07:00

My mom and i have a tradition the morning after Thanksgiving to go shopping well before the break of dawn. We can't break family traditions, can we? Therefore today's post is dedicated to all the places to shop in and around C-Springs! Well there is Briargate, and Chapel Hills, and the Citadel, not to mention Target, Walmart, Kohl's and strip malls galore. And don't worry Dad, you can stay home and relax, we won't drag you along if you don't want to come.

17

2005-11-05T20:26:00.000-07:00

Garden of the Gods is a must-see on a visit to Colorado Springs. I took my mom on a walk through it when she helped me move out here, but i'm sure dad will want to see it. It even prettier than these pictures show.

Air Force Football Game

2005-11-05T19:45:00.000-07:00

Saturday I went to my first Air Force football game. It was Air Force vs. Army, so they pulled out all the stops to support the troops. I went with Jim and his Dad who is in town this week. The weather was cold, and i'm still trying to defrost, but it was fun.
Before kickoff all the AFA cadets went down on the field...they are cuties!!!
They had a whole bunch of guys parachute down onto the field. I was quite impressed, they all landed smack dab on the 50 yard line.
The first guy brought in the game ball, good thing he made it into the stadium safely. Right before kickoff there were some fighter planes that flew over. They flew really low and were VERY loud. They went too fast for me to get a picture of them.

This is me and Jim. I was freezing, but somehow Jim wasn't.
At halftime they did salute to a group of troops that just came back from Iraq. They spread a HUGE American Flag out over the entire field, it was definatly the biggest flag I've ever seen.

18

2005-11-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

I'm planning on taking my parents on a tour of the Olympic Training Center.

There are all sorts of cool facilities for all the Olympic hopefuls.

Go USA!

19

2005-11-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

Only 19 days til my parents get here, and exactly 3 weeks til Turkey Day! Any holiday that entails days off and lots of yummy food are great in my book.

I can't wait to have my mom here to make me a yummy turkey, and my dad here to help me eat it...hehe

But there will be no lapsing into the food coma afterwards, right mom? We've got places to see, things to do.

Here's a hike that i want to take them on if the weather stays nice enough.

Mount Cutler info: Climbing to the top of Mt. Cutler is one of the easiest and yet, most beautiful hikes in the Colorado Springs area. The trail to the top is a relatively short (1.5 miles each way) Class I hike, but packs big bang for its buck.

About half way to the top Seven Falls can be seen in South Cheyenne Canyon. Upon reaching the summit you are greeted with spectacular views of the Colorado Springs skyline and the surrounding Front Range mountains.

20 day countdown!!

2005-11-02T19:42:00.000-07:00

Only 20 more days until my mom and dad come to visit me. To help my mom get pumped up (not that she needs it) i'm going to put up some things we might do and some pictures of stuff we'll see. So mom and dad...get excited. These are pictures of Pike's Peak and the Cog Railway.

People love me!!!

2005-11-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited, i got 2 care packages in one week!!! The Olson's dog Nala (and i guess the rest of the Olson family) sent Brodie a bunch of cool treats, and a few yummy treats for me too!
And then i got a package from Aunt Susan today. It was a little random (there was a wood spoon, a meat thermometer and a santa candle to name a few randoms..hehe) I love it.
Thanks for all the presents, they really cheered me up!

Go Blue!

2005-10-28T19:58:00.000-06:00

My Alma Mater started off the season with 2 meets this weekend. The Michigan women swam against Cal Thursday and Michigan State on Friday. Check out the results http://www.mgoblue.com/section_display.cfm?section_id=196&top=2&level=2 It almost made me miss swimming for awhile when I was looking at the results. But it's great to see them ready to kick ass this year. Keep up the good work girls!!
Go Blue

2005-10-26T09:16:00.000-06:00

"The future will be better tomorrow" -Dan Quayle

Quote of the Week

2005-10-24T14:36:00.000-06:00

So I'm going to start a little ritual of a quote of the week. Beware: these will not be motivational, or even thought provoking...but should all be funny. They will also be posted on my wipe board in my cubicle.
Last weeks: "You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jellybeans." -Ronald Reagan

and now presenting this weeks quote of the week......
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." -Albert Einstein

Rampart Resevoir

2005-10-23T16:41:00.000-06:00

This weekend I went mountain biking around Rampart Resevoir with Jim. It was WAY longer than i thought it was going to be, but the scenery was beautiful. I made Jim take a few breaks to take some pictures.
The trail got pretty tough in a few places and I definitely ate a little dirt. I'm a little scraped up and i dont want to sit down...ouchie.

Oktoberfest at MJ's

2005-10-21T16:35:00.000-06:00

Saturday night MJ had a party at her house. There were a bunch of cool people there. This is me with Dan, Russell, and Brandon.

This is Russell and Jim and MJ.
MJ with Alicia and Pete who work for CTS.
Russell decided to try on Dan's hair as a hat...Folks, don't try this at home.

Even the stuffed animals got in on the fun.

Care Package!

2005-10-15T15:19:00.000-06:00

My mommy and daddy sent me a care package of treats for me and Brodie. Thanks!!! Check out Brodie...he loved his new treat.

Palmer Park Hike

2005-10-15T14:59:00.000-06:00

Saturday was so nice outside, so before all the college football games got started Brodie and I hiked a little trail in Palmer Park.
There was a great view of Pikes Peak in the distance. Pike's Peak is still covered in snow even though it is almost 80 degrees out today.
Brodie doesnt seem to understand the whole "smile for the camera" concept yet. Why does he always look away when i try to get a pic of him??

Clean Room

2005-10-12T17:58:00.000-06:00

So now you have to check out my new place now that it is set up and clean. Couches to come.....