Dec 23 2007 Tomorrow is our little one's birthday. She hasn't chided her parents yet for being such bad planners but that day will surely come. Nicole's birthday is in a few days as well. She'll be 14 and she has yet to make us feel guilty about her month of birth. When the day comes though when one or the other daughter asks us why they were born so late in the year, Rob and I will just have to say "tax reasons."

Dec 22 2007 I bet you can guess through Rob's innuendos on his 12/20 post that he would be the family cheapskate. It's true, but I should clarify one thing: if it involves the mind, body or spirit, he (and I) will gladly cough up the dough. Since the day we got married, we have been guided by the same principles: we spent all the hard-earned money we saved and earned for the music and food. I borrowed the dress and we skipped the flowers, camera man, and diamond ring. When we purchased our first home, we bought something that we could afford under one salary and, still to this day, do not own one piece of furniture that wasn't handed down to us. We also try to keep our cars for at least 10 years, although our Ford died on us in 2004 (it made it to 7). Rob's Toyoto 4Runner, however, is still going strong.

And, when it comes to our kids, we haven't fallen into the trap of giving them the latest iPods, cell phones, brand-name clothing, or Nintendo. We have, however, trekked them to far-off places around the world, paid heaps of dollars for sport club fees, private school/pre-paid college tuition, and filled their library with more books than you can imagine. So, maybe we wound up spending more money in the long run. But who's counting pennies when it comes to the mind, body and spirit. Not us.

Dec 20 2007 I had to start running regularly this week to burn off extra energy. Last week, I found myself wide awake, staring at the ceiling, at 1:30 am every night. It's only been a few daily miles in the last 3 days but it's already helping with my insomnia. So, for now, I'll try to keep it around 20 miles or so every week with one good long ride on the weekends (unless Linda M and I can coordinate our schedules during the week). Pretty pathetic, huh? Maybe in January I'll be a hungry machine again.

This week, I've been watching my kids' swim team practice under the guidance of a new coach. I always admire folks with a lot of passion for what they do and this guy has quite a fire in his belly for teaching kids how to swim correctly and fast. I've never seen anyone so focused on teaching technique like this guy, who by the way, wrote stroke technique manuals at NBAC.

Passion...it would suck to go through life without some sort of passion, be it for a sport/hobby, a person or even a job (for those who are lucky enough to be in a certain profession for the love and not the money). I can honestly say, I don't know a lot of folks who live with a burning desire (and I'm not talking about going Christmas shopping either) and a commitment to relentlessly drive forward in life. They seem indifferent to their job, their family or their health. And, that is very sad.

Dec 12 2007 When did Jennifer Love Hewitt get fat? I'm so out of the loop.

Wanna wish my sister the happiest of 40th birthdays. Yikes! Time sure is flying. I know I say that often. It's an old-age thing, by the way. When I was younger I used to tell myself that, when I started repeating the same topics of conversation, my mind was beginning to march down the narrowest of alleys. The older I get, the narrower it becomes. I think Rob is suffering from the same thing. Our only consolation is that we're doing it simultaneously. How cute!

Dec 10 2007 Spent 4 hrs with my bike buddy (BB) riding through south Tampa visiting condo developments that have become ghost towns. Geez, there's so many out there, especially in Channelside. Vacant units litter Gandy Blvd., Meridian Way and Ybor City. I don't know where builders thought all these buyers would come from but I think they were off on their calculations based on what I saw yesterday. When we first moved here 8 years ago, Channelside was filled with historic, brick warehouses with an occasional artist's loft making an appearance. Now, it's starting to look like midtown Manhattan.

During the ride, BB brought up his apprehension as to the upcoming holidays. I asked him what it was although I really didn't need to. I've come to realize during these years watching Rob's, and then my, training compulsion develop , that most relatives don't understand 3- or 4-hour bike rides; a 10-mile run before breakfast; or getting a 3,000-yard swim in on the same day the ride or a run is completed. And, because they don't "get it" a lot of guilt is put on us obsessive ones. As BB stated, the guilt makes it a chore sitting around Christmas day chatting. For him (and many others I know, including me) nothing can be finer during a day off than hopping on a bike for a few to enjoy the outdoors.

Well, Nicole's swim club finally has a new head coach! Tampa Bay Aquatics lost 2 coaches in one month this past summer, leaving the kids on their own before short-course season. A number of parents worked diligently on landing a top-notch candidate from where Michael Phelps swam his entire childhood, North Baltimore Aquatics. It took 3 months of us volunteering more hours than we had to spare but we can all take a sigh of relief now. Jason Bowes starts today. Hooray!

Dec 8 2007 Rode over to St. Pete this morning. Knew once we started pedaling that it was gonna be a long ride. We made it to the weight room last night and I think Rob and I both did one too many squats. The day was truly gorgeous though so riding aerobically and enjoying the weather was a pleasure. Today was a great day to be Floridian.

Hey, congrats Tom R! Good job at the Safety Harbor Tri today.

Dec 5 2007 Some times, my husband posts way too much information! In any case, you all know that we have vermin in our house and, yes, it is freaking me out. The pitter-patter of lil' feet conjures up memories of my younger days in east Harlem. Okay, so the area isn't that bad now with all that Trump has done but, believe me, when I lived there, it was disgusting! I might as well have come from third-world country. Oops, wait a minute! I do.

On Yahoo's main page today, there is an article on how to retire in your 30s. One of the couples claims to live on $400 a month! I can tell you that, to feed a family of 5, $400 wouldn't be enough for 2 weeks.

Dec 3 2007 So, the day after Clearwater 70.3, Rob decides to get motivated. Unbelievable! And, I just want to sit on my fat behind eating Pad Thai. At least we're both dedicating part of this off-season to visiting the gym regularly. We've noticed that in our forties, body parts just don't feel quite as limber or as strong as they used to feel. These "parts" also seem out of whack at times. We're hoping weights make them cooperate better with our nervous systems. Ahh...getting older is such a journey!