working, wine tasting, and a flat tire

So yesterday my work had set us up to work the wine festival at Tanglewood Park in Winston. Last year there were over 5000 people or something like that so we thought it would be a great way to advertise, etc. Peggy and I got there early in the morning to set up and were done by 930am. The festival did not open til 1130. We had a couple hours to kill so we walked around to all the other booths for a while and chatted and relaxed. Well.... 1130 hit and the flood gates opened. I have never in my life seen so many people all organized and rushing in to get a good spot for the event. Earlier in the week I had thought that our booth would be a great location. My thoughts changed very quickly once people came in. They all blocked us and you really could not distinguish our tent from the crowd. All of these people brought thier own huge tents and chairs along with food and wine. It was like a day of partying for them. I couldnt believe it! Lets just say that our day of working did not end up productive in our tent. We had to go out and talk to people around the place. By the time it was 3ish, people were hot, tierd, and had a few too many drinks. Around that time Brandon and Jeremy came to let me and Peggy go home. First they went around and tasted a few wines and when they came back Peggy and I were packing up to go.
Peggy went first to her car and then I did. When I got to my car, I had a flat tire! EK! Not exactly what I wanted to do after I was already hot, sweaty, and wearing a white shirt. I had to get Jeremy to help me because the lugnuts were on so tight I couldnt get them off. We fixed it with the spare and I was so grateful that I had put a pack of babywipes in my car about a year ago just in case. This was one of those just in case moments that it was needed for. Phew! We all parted ways and were off for the day.
By the time I got home, I was so tierd all I could do was take a nap. This morning I dropped my car off at the mechanics for a few hours so they could fix it. Thank goodness they were open today.

The First

Well... it was the first day of class on Thursday. I made sure to leave early from home because of trying to find the classroom and trying to find a parking spot. I decided on summer school rather than in the fall for a reason called parking spaces. When I arrived, there were no spaces where I thought there should/would be. I ended up parking in overflow. Imagine trying to do that in the fall when the students are tripple the population! I learned that there are just shy of 15000 students in the fall semester last year! I couldnt believe how many people attened the campus. I felt like I made the right choice. Class was good. We have a small one of just 10 people. They vary from teenagers (yes a 19 year old is in it) to grandparents. We did get out a bit early and Daniel went to go pick up lunch for us to eat at home.
Afterwards, I had been meaning to replant my tomato bushes for the past 3 weeks and finally made it a priority. It took all of 10 mintutes to do but still I just didnt get around to it til then. After that since I was on a roll with planting things, I ended up planting some bulbs. I really dont like doing that and I realized it yesterday. I like the fact that the flowers come back every year but it just seems like the biggest waste of time digging a hole in the hardest clay possible to hope that this flower will show up. I guess I really shouldnt ever be a gardener. Thats ok... some things are for other people.
It was off to the gym and then a quick walk with the ladies and off to bed.
Today is a new day filled with gym, lunch, laying out, and having a good time!

A new begining

This past week I have been very hesitant to sign up for my real estate class. I have known that I wanted to take it for years and since I have been with Eastwood, its pretty much mandatory after a certain date. So a little over a month ago I did a lot of research to find what school to go to and how to take the test. Should I do it for 5 weeks straight and not have a weekend off for those weeks or should I spread it out over the whole summer? I decided to sign up on Sunday. Well... the computer wouldnt let me so on Monday I drove to GTCC campus to sign up after my morning meeting. I found the building and somehow found my way to registration without having to ask anyone and when I got there, the line was so long! I asked how long it would take and I was told about 20 minutes. I had a gut feeling it would take longer so I left with intentions of coming back the following morning. I did return on Tuesday to sign up and pay. Walking on campus I was thinking that I felt like I did so long ago as a freshman in college. Im a business woman now but feel ity bitty walking around a strange place. I never thought I would be back in college. I mean, I liked it while it lasted but I would never make it as a professional student. EVER. So tomorrow is my first class and Im scared. I know I really shouldnt be. I have been in the real estate business for a few years now so I figure maybe I have the upper hand, but there are so many different words to use and remember.
On another note, yesterday morning I saw my first tomato! Im so excited. Last year I had one tomato plant and this year I have 2. Well... I take it back, last year I did have two but one died on me from the start. I think Im starting to have a green thumb. Fingers crossed!

a week off and some giggles

This past week I took the week off. I was able to sleep many hours a day and spend time snuggling with the cats. I only went to the gym once this past week and just relaxed and let my body relax and re coop. It has been a very long time since I have taken a lot of time off. It was nice but today was back to the grind and that was nice.
This past week I made a very quick choice to go down to Charlotte to visit my parents. I spoke to my dad the nigh previous and he said that both of them were off work so I asked if they wanted to do lunch. We had a good time at Concord Mills mall. My mom had never been there before and it is only about 30 minutes away! She was not that impressed. There were a lot of upscale store that my mom called hoochie momma stores because of the attire that was in the window. She was so funny. Then my dad made some comment about Victoria's secret! No way would I go in there with my dad! Talk about embarrassing! So we did find a few good deals and some grub and ended up parting ways early because I had a work meeting to go to.

Today I met Valerie and Diane for a walk after work. It has been raining on and off all week and we decided to bring umbrellas just in case. Well... we were glad we did. We got about a third of a mile down and it just started down pouring. I'm talking so hard that the water was rushing everywhere. We found a tree that we went under with our umbrellas and just laughed and laughed. It was fun but very wet. Then cars were passing us by but didn't stop. Diane made a comment about how if we had our phones we could have called Philip. Thankfully, he was so thoughtful that he came to find us and pick us up. It was that stormy. Since I didn't get a walk in I headed to the gym to see Daniel and just walk on the treadmill for a bit.

ahhhh RELAXATION

Well.... sort of. Today was filled with some good food and sun shared with Alex. :) We had lunch at 5 guys and then later went to lay out at the pool. As it seems to go, everytime we do something, the weather doesnt seem to want to cooperate with us. O well... we still had fun and Adam hung out with us for a little while. Now its a night of watching survivor and all the other thursday night shows that Daniel and I love so much.

The weekend

Well... White lake has come and gone. It was a bunch of fun and a lot of exercise. Saturday was Alex's and Kathy's race of the half ironman. As Ron puts it the weekend was filled with hurry up and wait. You hurry to get to some place by a certain time and then you wait around for a good long while and then the same thing over and over again. We happened to score some awesome seats right by the lake and close to the transition area too. So we had some chairs to sit in for part of the day. Alex went out first in the water, and then Kathy. Kathy could only complete the swim due to a thumb problem. Both of them had good times. Close to the end of the race, I was getting really nervous about Alex. She wasn't there by the time Ron had thought and then it passed my time that I thought. I knew something wasn't right. Kathy went walking to find Alex on the course and did. Walking was in the cards for Alex on that day. Still less than 8 hours for half ironman is amazing and just a huge accomplishment to even finish it.

That night we went to dinner. It was Kathy and JT's anniversary. We had a good time but we were all starving and tired. Racing and spectating is hard work. That night Mary road the bike course and claimed it to be kind of iffy in places. There were some places where the road had major cracks in it and bumps too. I was so thankful that she warned me of this. It gave me some peace. My parents and Daniel came in late that night after Val, Mary, and I went to pick up our race packets. We all ended up going to be halfway early. We were all a bit sunburned and tired.

Race day..... 530 rolls around and I don't want to get up. I'm so tired but I know that I have to hurry up and then wait. We got packed, ate something and all of us out the door by 550. We had to get to the gates by 6am so we could be ensured a parking spot. We did make it and were all thankful for that. We unloaded our stuff and Alex was so nice to help me set up. I believe that this was crucial in my transition time from swim to bike and bike to run. Mary, Val and I went and got all marked up and got our chip and waited til 750ish. We all got to the deck and I would say that most people were wearing a wet suit. Mary and I were not. The water was a bit chilly at only 75 degrees but we managed to get through it. Val's and my wave went out at 817 and Marys a few minutes after. I was a bit nervous at the start. I didn't know how I would handle open water swimming. I'm a pro in the pool where there are lane lines and walls but I know that in the ocean I have freaked out in the past. I kept telling myself to stay cool and calm. I knew there were no sharks or jelly fish so I was relieved by that. Alex had told me that she did not see any fish the day before. The swim was a good one in my eyes. I had times for myself to hold onto and I definitely kept them or beat them for the swim and run. My first transition was the hardest as I felt so winded and out of breath. I managed to finish the bike part but not without a few tough love words to myself and the road below me. Off the bike, I ran to transition and was in and out within just over a minute. I started running and just felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. I had a watch on me so I just kept telling myself only so many more minutes now and you will be done. The course down to the halfway point there was some sand. I got a bit freaked out because Alex and Kathy both had to take off their socks during their races because of gravel and stuff in their socks and shoes so I did walk across it the first time. After starting back up I told myself I wasn't going to walk anymore. I knew I could do it.... heck... I have run a lot longer distances without stopping. I got past the halfway point and saw Val. I told her it wasn't too much longer til turn around then I got close to the finish line and all I could hear were people cheering for me. I didn't see anyone. I was focused on the finish line and crossing it. I didn't even know what my time was because I was so focused. (I found my time late last night at one hour and fifty one or two minutes) I felt as I gave it the best shot I had and I was proud of my time. I knew I couldn't have done any better and I was proud of every decision I made.

After finishing I got a drink and took some pictures and waited on Val and Mary. They both gave it their best shot too and I am very proud of them.

My plan was to stay at the lake after the race but everyone just wanted to go home including me. I took a shower and packed it up. I was wiped out along with everyone else.