Portland to Coast Race Recap ... Weekend Warriors!

Oh ... What a Weekend!

132 mile relay from Portland to the Coast with a new walking team full of awe-some women split between two vans making our way across the Oregon Coast Range on foot!

The way it works is Van #1 starts the race and then after completing the first six legs, they hand off to Van #2, which then walks theirs and so on through 24 legs. In our case, Van #1 started at 5:45 a.m.

Here they are at the start ... On your mark, Get set, Go!

Go Van #1 Ladies!

So off they went and soon after, our van, minivan #2 started cross country to meet them at the first van exchange.  Unlike this van, ours was without a driver's window that rolled down and that provided unlimited comic relief for the trip.

I only knew one of my van-mates, but it didn't take long for that to be the past. We all had one thing in common, we were there to be a team, do our best, support each other and have a hell of a good time. So it started ...

Love these ladies!

So when I went to walk my legs, all I could think about was getting it done and doing my part for the team. I posted up my best walking times. I kicked my own ass and while I was gone, well ...

Par-Tay!

Oh, I wasn't the only one on the TEAM who kicked their own ass, look at these fierce warriors ...

Then there was this warrior and we found her doppelganger. Every time we saw this guy walking in a distance too far to make out anything but form and stride, we thought this was Alicia, aka "The Mustache Guy" ...

Nice form you two!

This recap would not be complete without exposing showing you the rest of the team ...

Van #2 Teamwork seen on left ...

There's a rumor that Van #1 can Chicken Dance ...

Time flew and so did we! Until next year, ladies ... 

Keep Walking!

eShakti Dress Review !!!

eShakti !!!

 I was so excited to receive my first Blog Product Review offer!

I received an email from eShakti and they offered me a free item if I'd write a review on my Blog. My review is entirely my experience and my words. So here goes ...

I went to the website and figured out that only a limited number of each dress are given to bloggers, which made it difficult to get the ones I wanted. So I decided to check the site twice a day for new items and waited for a dress I loved to be added. It only took a couple of days and this dress appeared so I ordered it right away ...

The thing I love about this company is their attention to detail. Once you find a dress, you can customize it to your liking. With this dress I left it the way it was, but added my measurements for a custom fit. Yes, they actually make the dress for you!

My dress came shortly after I ordered it and when I opened it, I was thrilled with the style, color and the fabric. I hadn't even tried it on. I haven't bought dresses for many years as I wasn't confident in them. When I have, they've been more of a silhouette. I've never owned a dress with a full skirt like this one and I wasn't sure if I'd like it.

Well ... I love it!

Fun !!!

Check out their website, eShatki. They have new items, sales and coupons galore!

Dog Blog ... It's Bailey's Birthday!

Happy 3rd Birthday to our Bailey Bacon!

This girl has had three great years. For those of you who don't know, Bailey was born in Nebraska. She's a Corn Husker! Why a puppy from Nebraska? Why not one from Oregon?

Well, here's the short version of her story. We lost our 3 year old Golden, Brandy, tragically the summer of 2011. A huge hole was left in our family. Three days after her death, I set out to find another Brandy. I spent hours on the phone and the internet looking for the girl that was going to fill the hole in our hearts.

I found Bailey in Nebraska and she was 3 weeks old. Here she is with her sister as we watched her grow up from afar.

On the Left                                                 Miss Red                                       Too busy to stay on the wagon

So many of our friends and family rallied around the arrival of this little girl. She had over 90 Facebook friends by the time she made it to Oregon and then the fun began ...

          Bailey in the Airport                                                 In Omaha!                               Jessi, Bailey and I on the plane

What a Girl!

Oh the adventures that girl has had. She's been fun loving and we are so happy we found her.

Look how lovely she is ...

Always smiling, Bailey's world got better when she was 18 months old. We got her a Sister. Little Sister Bella is a Duck. She came from Eugene, Oregon. You would never know that they are not related. Bailey is Bella's Mama ... What a wonderful bond these two have ...

These girls will be celebrating with cupcakes today.

Happy Birthday, Baby! We love you!

It's Monday!

There's nothing fancy about this Blog Post today other than it's Monday and we're on vacation. Hey, did I mention that it's Monday? Even though I don't work, it still has residual pain associated with it when it comes to motivation ...

This is actually a great Monday. We had a busy week leading up to today. Matt was flown to Seattle from Europe for a 45 minute meeting.  We were able to go to Seattle and see him, catch a Mariner's game and they won! We had a great time, stopped in a pub for a beer, spent the night and dropped him off at Sea-Tac the next morning and off he flew to Amsterdam and then Lux.

Luxembourg

We blew into town from Seattle at about 4pm and picked up the Golden Girls and headed straight to the beach house to meet Jessi for the weekend. We got here and found our girl napping after a exhausting work week. We put everything away and when she woke up, we went out to our favorite Mexican Food place and had a great meal.

Saturday was a 7 mile RT walk down the beach to see the Sandcastle contest and find lunch. It was the windiest day on the beach. We had to fight our way back to the house while being sand-blasted. For the evening we grilled steak and hung out. More good food on Sunday morning with amazing coffee in our big cups.  Sorry, no pics. No pockets, no iPhone on a 7 mile beach trek.

Being able to see both our kids in one week made my heart sing. We only see Matt a couple of times a year and I'm so grateful for this bonus visit. We had a relaxing and restful time with Jessi at the beach. It's going to be great when Tim retires next month and we can see our kids more.

So vacay continues for a couple more days and we'll be beach bumming. The thing I love the most about the Oregon Coast besides its beauty is that when you're here it's all about how great you feel and not how you look.

Happy Monday!