Happy Christmas!

I hope everyone out there in blogland has had a stellar Chrismahannakwanzakah today!

Mike and I have found ourselves in Kansas for Christmas this year and we've had a most excellent time with my side of the family. Apparently we left town at the right time as Chicago has been blasted with ice and snow. We've been able to see my big brother Rob and his family a few days ago, and ever since we've been hanging out with my parents and sleepy sister Cathy (which, contrary to popular belief, she doesn't sleep all of the time). Tall sister Susan is traveling this year (they actually arrive back in the states today with the newest addition to our family) so things have been a little quiet with no "kiddos" in the holiday mix. It has been a different type of Christmas morning with just adults.

But it looks like this duo made the nice list in 2008. We even had a few fantastic surprises in the mix that'll help out with training in the new year.

I'd like to send out a special holiday thank you to a certain reader out there in Ohio for "laying my mom in lavendar" with this whole Ironman thing. While she hasn't come around entirely, you'll be pleased to know that I am now the proud owner of a new Adamo Racing Saddle for my bike...a lil' piece of heaven that my rear will surely appreciate after 112 miles on the bike. Needless to say, it's a start and I'm tickled pink (before my mom really wasn't even acknowledging the fact that I'm taking on a race of this magnitude...I think she's protesting because I'm doing this and not giving her more grandbabies...I digress). It's weird thinking that in a few short weeks I'll be starting to really rev up the training. I'm not sure if I'm mentally ready to get back into it, but I know I just have to put in the time with the motions and the rest will fall into place. Just like marathon training, the training itself is the hardest part.

For now, I should get back to the family and the Christmas dinner we're about to dive into. I just wanted to wish everyone has a fantastical holiday season (no matter what you're celebrating)...but I hope that everyone out there has a snowy, blowy christmas, a mistletoey christmas, a turkey lurkey christmas to you......

Barb Circa 2001

This weekend, "College Barb" came out to play in full force. And it was AWESOME (with a capital A).

Such showings typically come out to play only during the off-season and I think it'd be a fair assessment to say that this performance was one for the books.

In true college style, the weekend started on Thursday. An old friend of ours from KU, with a liver of steel, pretty much challenged us to 3 consecutive nights of rehashing the past. For all intents and purposes...I shall refer to said friend as Nighthawk for the duration of this post because he, too, is named Mike (and for what it's worth, he's got "boats and hoes").

There is arguably no sight more amusing than Mike and I trying to keep up with Nighthawk. Thursday night I wasn't planning on drinking. But after a long day at work, I easily succumbed to peer pressure and had my fair share of beer while trying to keep my dignity in a never-ending Mario Kart Battle.

Luckily my Friday wasn't too unbearable. No headache, just that annoying "I can't focus when the hell will this day be over" head fog.

With Friday evening came the battle of us versus the bottle of rum versus the clock. We never actually made it out of the condo that night as planned (again, the world of Mario Kart sucked us in and I managed to save face by winning Rainbow Road 4 times in a row), but we killed quite a bit of brain cells and finished off a bottle of Bacardi and cracked into the Brinley Gold.

Saturday morning was a bit sluggish and we lounged around like we did back in college. With plenty of football on TV, we easily entertained ourselves. Things we learned during the day include (but are not limited to) the notion that Tim "Tim" Tebow is GSS and shall punish you for any wrongdoings and that Chase Daniel is sorely overrated. I think triple T is up there with Dickie V on my list of most annoying sports figures. So boo for Bama losing. Yay for OU making a mockery of Mizzou (because let's be serious...I typically root for 3 teams...Kansas...anyone playing Mizzou...and anyone playing UNC). My condolences to any Tigers out there...

And of course, a nice lil' rock chalk cheer for my Jayhawks headed to Tempe for the Insight Bowl. Apparently we're playing some team from the Big 10 conference whose stats are somewhat amusing in comparison to ours along with an embarassing shut out in their final game of the season...but who knows, maybe they'll get their act together in the next few weeks and give us a run for our money. Stranger things have happened.

Aside from our marathon of college sports, which included a nice argument with Comcast regarding the ESPN Full Court being out of service forcing us to watch our KU basketball game online until 3 minutes into the second half and a nice $30 reimbursement, the rest of Saturday is a big ole blur.

We braved the bitterly cold temps and painted the town red...celebrated the 21st birthday with a girl at the table next to us at Brehon and later closed down Garrett Ripleys after a few more rounds and a basket of tots. The rest of my evening was spent in the bathroom with Mike holding my hair back as I swore on my life that I'd never drink again (clearly, I lied in desperation). Fun times, campers. Fun times.

The portions of Sunday that were not spent in a hungover slug-over state were spent rocking out to one of THE BEST pumpkins shows I have ever seen. A few hours before showtime I was feeling like myself again and my first experience at the Aragon Ballroom did not disappoint. I finally heard some of my favorite songs live and may or may not have gotten a tiny bit emotional. That shouldn't come as a shock though.

During the show I even commented to my dear friend Frank that I felt like we were listening to a show back from high school or college.

Needless to say, I rocked out like I was 21. And again, it was way beyond awesome. It was one of those nights where you just felt like you were flying. Laying in bed, my ears were still ringing with the sweet sounds of Soma and Bodies and Medellia of Gray Skies. And I couldn't help but have a permagrin on my face as I fell into the arms of sleep.

Sometimes not acting your age is a lot of fun.
But it can also hurt...and remind you of how old you really are...

The upcoming weeks should be a lot of fun. We'll have a swirl of chaos at work, an ugly christmas sweater pub crawl planned, more friends coming into town, and then we're headed to the Sunflower state for some family time. And all the while, I intend on acting like I'm 21 again...but perhaps I'll go a little easier on my liver the next time around...

I just have to get through two more weeks of work and then I'm done for the year. After new year's eve...I officially have to return to Barb circa 2009. Because that's when the real work begins...

Until then...I'm just enjoying the off-season...and relishing in the good ole days...

My other job...

Well...today, dear campers, I crossed the T's and dotted the I's on my Ironman application. And as of this morning, my name is officially part of the participant roster for IMAZ09 (much to my mother's chagrin I may add...but whatever, that's an entirely different post for a snowy day in January).

As I was completing the final forms to make me official, I came across the "Occupation" blank.

Now, the obvious choice would be to go ahead and cite myself as being an "ad whore" since that's kind of what I am in this industry. But, after some hesitation (and some brainstorming with Mike and a few gal pals of mine) I decided to go a more...eclectic route. You know...give them my other job. One that would put me with the ranks of Kissing Booth Operator, Secret Agent, Dragon Slayer and Night Time Ninja.

The job I proudly take on in any race...the one that puts me at the end of the field.

My occupation?

Back of the Pack Spandex Inspector.

It's quite fitting since the majority of my races are spent staring at the spandex-clad asses of my fellow competitors in front of me. Sometimes it's a nice (tight!!) sight to see. Other times...it ain't so pretty. I'm forced to get a good look at the folks who try to squeeze their way into spandex shorts that are three sizes too small...and the ones who wear their tri shorts from 5 years ago and it's pretty much worn thin to shreds and in the right light you can see things that nobody should ever see. If you could see what I see...you'd probably judge, too. ;)

It's not a glamorous job, but somebody's gotta do it.

But it's one I'm more than happy to do...because it means I'm alive and healthy and trained well enough to be out on the course. And really, that's all that matters at the end of the day.

Happy December!

It should be only fitting that I sit here shortly after midnight on December the first listening to holiday carols (thanks in large part to my buddy Brad over at FaLaLaLaLa.com ...yes, the site actually exists and it's badass...and we're counting down the days to Christmas with a new carol each day, so check it out!)...

So to kick off my December with my favorite fellow bloggers, I wanted to share a piece of my tree with all of you. So many of you came out in droves to petition against scrooge to help me get the decorations up a little early (hey...there's one less week between Thanksgiving and Christmas...plus we're traveling, so really it works itself out)...so I figured I'd give you a sneak peak at a few of my favorite ornaments.

Now it should come as no surprise that home girl has an abundance of ornaments. Each year my aunts gave me a new ornament for when I grew older, and Mike and I have a tradition of giving one another a thoughtful ornament each year, plus we've got more than a dozen Jayhawk ornaments and then whenever we travel we pick up a new ornament to commemorate our travels. So as you can imagine, 27+ years of loving Chrismtas I've managed to accumulate just a few...

My baby rattle. I'm telling ya...Christmas has been "my" thing since before I could walk...


This is one of those ornaments that Mike gave me...I think it's a self portrait.


From our honeymoon at Peter Island, BVI...


This is the first ornament that Mike ever gave me. It opens up to our engagement photo and part of a passage that was read during our wedding.


One of our many Jayhawk ornaments...Wildcat Stew (and Jerked Tiger) are often on the menu...and yes, that's Kermit the Frog skiing in the background (when I was little I may or may not have been obsessed).


These were given to my late grandfather as a gift decades ago and passed along to me last Christmas. There's a story behind them (which I'm bound to butcher) but they were carved by hand as a gift of appreciation. They mean so much to me.


And a tree wouldn't be complete without some fun on top. So back when we had our first Christmas tree together in 2004, we quickly came to the realization that we didn't have a star or angel to put on the top. So what started as an improvisation, has evolved into tradition. A Jayhawk Santa hat adorns the top of our tree...and it probably will forevermore.


So if you couldn't tell already, I'm a wee bit excited that it's December and I'm thrilled to finally be counting down the days to my favorite holiday. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoys the annual decking of the halls! And, of course, if you need any help trimming your tree...just give me a call. :)

On tap this week...some form of exercise. Not sure what it'll be yet. But I think we're determined to try and do something. Afterall, I've got some work to do...