Life update, a couple pictures, and some blog love

It has been forever since my last post! Here is the craziness of our lives in a nutshell:

Darrick is well on his way to a career change, but that means he is working at one gym, being mentored at another, and still bartending one night a week. On top of that, he is studying for his personal training certification and up until last weekend had been training for his Ironman 70.3. Oh, and he's also starting a business with two other friends. No biggie. :)


Here's a quick run-down of our weekends for the last month and a half:

7/9–10: Darrick and I ride the Seattle to Portland Bike Classic 2011: 100 miles each day.

7/17: Darrick competes in Tri-Rock, an Olympic distance triathlon, taking more than 20 minutes (!) off his time from his first tri (Lavaman in Hawaii this past March).

7/21–24: One of our best friends (and part-owner of The Rugged Elite), Tony Z., comes to visit. The guys get a Rugged Elite video filmed and will soon be raising money on Kickstarter — so exciting!

7/30–8/2: Davey and his amazing girlfriend Becca come to visit from the Chi. So, so good to see them… I feel like I kind of grew up with Davey. He saw me through my punk rock and rude girl stages. :)

8/5–8/15: Dad and Jane come to visit (they traveled around Western Washington during the week while D and I worked). I had such a wonderful time with them. They even helped me with tons of stuff around the house, which was absolutely amazing. I am actually sitting in the kitchen looking out all the shiny, perfectly clear (not a smudge anywhere!) windows they washed for us. Wow. The only bad part is that it's getting harder and harder to say goodbye to family when they leave. That will definitely be changing in the future!

8/7: Uncle Rob comes in and he and Darrick compete in the Vashon Island Heart of the Sound Sprint Triathlon. I believe Darrick won by about 12 seconds. :) So much fun! 

8/14: Darrick competes in the Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3. That's a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. Yowzers. He kind of fell off his training schedule because of other priorities, so it was a tough race for him, but I am so proud that he finished!! Go babe go!!

So, you can see why I haven't posted in awhile! I'll try to be better, I promise. :) In the meantime, if you're just looking for some good blog reading, here are (some of) my favorites:

Joyful Ambiguity Written by my bestest friend from Seattle. Honest, beautiful blog about life and being a mom to a perfect (in my humble opinion) baby boy.
Vizzion Quest See my cousin Joe ride his bike across the US!
The Ray in Spain The adventures of my cousin Rachel who lives in Gijón Asturias. Great tips if you're planning on traveling to Spain!
Empower to the People Co-written by two very inspiring friends, describing their experiences in Uganda and Afghanistan.
No Small Dreams One of my fabulous coworkers! Great style tips and super fun links. 
Raven + Lily "A socially responsible brand dedicated to empowering impoverished women through design." Awesome, right?
My New Roots  Delicious (healthy) recipes and thorough nutrition information. Her writing style makes it fun to read about food!
Rockstar Diaries Incredibly adorable family and beautiful photography.
Pure Style Home This girl has amazing style and is so creative.


Happy Saturday everyone!