and so it begins

june.

i have been dreading, looking forward to, anticipating june for some time. june is going to be a month full of hard work, a lot of travel, fun reunions, and a big move.

june is going to be busy.

this week kicks off the start of a four-event, three week long series of travel.  but before things got too serious, i took advantage of the fact that the first event, our bi-annual all-employee meeting, meant that some of my long distance friends/co-workers would be in town.

monday night found me enjoying dinner with katherine, my favorite colorado colleague and one of my all-time favorite people.  joining us were diana and rebecca (also from colorado), chris (a local), julie (from chicago), julianne (from massachusetts), and cori (from washington).  i love when we have the opportunity to come together from all over the country to enjoy good company, and maybe a chocolate torte or two.

unfortunately, while preparing for today's event, i took a nasty spill yesterday loading boxes and buckets and bins into my car.  the bad knee buckled, the ankle took the hit.  initially, i thought i could shake it off, but it became clear pretty fast that i had sprained it.

the timing could not be worse.  i knew yesterday and today would be filled with walking and lifting and loading and unloading and more walking. but it's my deal.  i tried to delegate as much as possible, and i had a lot of help, but there are some things that are just more natural to me then they are to other people, and if i don't do them, they don't get done.  i wear a pedometer daily, more for curiosity's sake than that i am at all health conscious.  i logged 6 miles yesterday and 9 today.  on a sprained ankle.

and i am dying.  my ankle is killing me. my knee is killing me. and i have no idea how i am going to get on a plane on friday to manage an event on sunday where i typically average 15 miles. only to then go on to two different cities for two other events. kill. me. now.

on the bright side, however, the event was a huge success.  we had a lot of moving parts this time around.  new moving parts -- including four food trucks i hired to feed our 400+ employees, and i had been fearing the worst.

in event planning, the adage 'hope (plan) for the best, expect the worst, and take what comes' is intensely apropos, and at the least, it was a huge relief to have had all the planning and communicating come to fruition exactly as i had hoped.

one down, three to go.

the calm before the storm

may went out with a whimper, a lovely whimper. in a life full of 'bangs', the respite was much appreciated.  which, of course, is not to say that there weren't some fun things going on.  but they were mellow fun things. at home, even. or mostly, anyway.

i spent a little time helping jami get settled and into her new house (my future new house) and am really excited to see how she is putting it all together and thriving in her new role as homeowner.  i've enjoyed getting the updates on paint and wallpaper and appliances, and i love that she has had so many visitors and helpers, and that it feels like a place where people will gather in warmth and laughter.

i caught up with my friend ben to get the low-down on his recent trip to china (side note - i have no interest in ever going to china), and enjoyed chinese take-out from next door, accompanied by butterscotch beer (think 'harry potter') and lion bars (european candy bar that somehow combines twix, kit kat, and krackel). the company was as good as the chocolate.

i had planned to spend the memorial day weekend at home, but tania, my co-worker and friend, invited me up to big bear where she and her sister had rented a ginormous cabin for the weekend.

since my roommate was out of town, and the dogs in need of looking after, i could only make it a day trip, but the four hour drive (round trip) was absolutely worth the fresh mountain air, scenic vistas, and total relaxation.

back home, i celebrated the actual holiday with a bbq at the cousins, and was reminded once again, how grateful i am to have family here!

jami and i closed out the month by catching up on some movies, and i finally saw star trek and the great gatsby.  both were awesome!  my only disappointment came during gatsby when i realized that i was robbed of some really great literature by been forced to read it a little to early.  in high school, fitzgerald's work did not resonate with me at all, and my interest in the movie came largely from baz luhrman's previous work.

after the movie, i immediately downloaded the book on my kindle app.  i mean, with quotes like this:

He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced--or seemed to face--the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.

how did i almost never read this as an adult!?

my lovely lady lumps

my grandmother died of breast cancer when i was young, and almost since i understood what a mammogram was, i've been trying to get a medical professional to deem one  necessary (or at the least, pertinent).  but up until recently, the standard was that insurance would start covering mammograms at age 35.  so, when i had to visit a doctor a couple of months ago (something i very rarely do) for a physical ordered by my company, i asked her about a mammogram.  apparently the age has been upped to 40, but with family history, she went ahead and signed off on it.

it was about a month ago that i went in to the local 'breast center', not having any idea what to expect.  i've heard that for some women (including my mother) it's incredibly painful, but i mostly just found it a little uncomfortable and awkward (the awkwardness coming from the fact that you are not supposed to wear deodorant).  all went swimmingly until about a week and a half later, i received a call asking me to come back in for a re-check of the left breast.  numbly, without asking any questions, i scheduled the appointment. which was quickly followed by a mild nervous breakdown and a return call.  i was told that re-checks were common and that in my case, there was simply a dark area that they wanted to look at more closely.

fortunately, i was on the road for almost three weeks, so i didn't have a lot of free time for fretting.  and, when i arrived at the breast center today, i was feeling optimistic. it took longer than the first appointment, and i found myself trying to read every expression as the nurse first took a set of x-rays, than moved me into another room for a set of ultrasounds (never thought my first ultrasound would be on my breast!).

after she finished, she left the room and returned quickly with the doctor.  and while i never thought i'd hear a man tell me he didn't like my breasts (this is an all adult audience, right?), in this case it was a good thing. he said that he simply wanted to be overly careful since the tissue in my breast is extremely fibrous and has lots of 'twists and turns', but after doing his own set of ultrasounds, concluded there was nothing to be concerned about.

in the end, it was worth a little discomfort, awkwardness, and nervousness to have gained some peace of mind.

 

it's good to be home

saturday was one of those days that make me remember some of the things i do love about california.

i pulled sadie (the bike) out of her year long retirement, wiped her down, filled her tires, and load her on the car rack before heading down to meet jami at the church for a ride and some beach time.

this weekend was our annual mid-singles conference, and for the first year since my arrival in california, i opted to abstain from most of the activities.  mostly i was just road weary and knew i wouldn't have the social energy to make the most of the weekend, but, since the saturday afternoon schedule coincided nicely with my great need for some surf and sand, i made this one exception.

i was happy to be back on the bike, even though i knew my knee would not be so happy later, and i was happy to sit myself down on a towel and do some people watching before jami and i were met by another friend, whitney, and a visiting friend of hers.

after an hour or so of 'relax time' the four of us got back on our bikes and headed down to the pier to witness the huntington beach duck-a-thon. it's an annual event where folks can purchase rubber duckies (proceeds donated to charity).

it was a fun and unique experience to see the two john deere tractors roll slowly up the pier and release their rubber ducky loads into the ocean, where surfers maneuvered the waves and the ducks as they raced their way to the shore.  we watched until the first duck made landfall and a volunteer swooped it up, running to the announcer's booth, hand held high like she'd found the golden ticket.

 if only 'chariots of fire' had been playing, it would have been perfect, but i'll settle for nearly perfect any day!

mother's day

sometimes the sacrifices of the road warrior life are balanced by the perks of the road warrior life, and being able to spend mother's day with my mother (and father, sister, brother-in-law, and nieces) was a definite perk!

though our time was short (about 18 hours) it was packed full of chill family time -- something i never get enough of.