in the span of a lifetime....

There seems to be too many things to do 

and far too many sights too see....

in the span of a lifetime.

Had a wonderful (but it seems very short) visit to the USA with my girl.....

now I just came back home to grab my bike.

I'm off to the sunny Okanagan {in the next~door province of British Columbia}....a 10 hour drive away for my first ever Aquathon and another Olympic Distance Triathlon.

Hoping you all have a wonderful weekend, 
and you enjoy the wonderfulness of 

~the moments within a lifetime.~

crazy ride life & 10km Race Report

~~~~~~~~~~

Can I actually call a Race Beautiful?

It was.

In the dark- 

an almost full moon over head, city lights in the distance, with about 1000 head lamps bobbing through a beautiful treed trail overlooking a peaceful reservoir of water.

My son and I toed  the line together, and then I shot off.

(I thought like a rocket;)

Turns he was only seconds behind me- 20 to be exact!

(Picture 1: How he warms up)

(Picture 2: before I beat him;)

(Picture3: 2nd place medal)

We both set records in this 10k.

I beat my time by 3 minutes, and he set his first time ever for a 10k as he has never done this before!

(Like I said~if he trained...)

So for all of you who had no faith I could beat him....I did.

And 20 seconds ahead of the 16 year old is pretty good for "late 30's" mother;))

(Or so I like to think...)

~~~~~~

 now....
I'm off to the great U.S.of A. with my daughter for a few days.

(She wants to shop. I may sit on a bench and...People Watch.)

:)




Wherever this crazy ride of life may be taking you...have a wonderful week!

~~~

Spring Action

Around these parts....

May and June are months so filled with activity, 

you often wish you could just stay in bed.

You get pulled along by spring activities and year-end functions.

If you don't go along with it all....there's a chance you may get left behind.

Which wouldn't be a bad thing,

 if you could sit and enjoy the scenery somewhere 

amidst all the running and shuffling.

But every kind of duty calls....so you carry on.

And you look forward to the day when you can just stop 

and smell the roses.

Or any type of bloom for that matter.

LIFE IS GOOD.....

but is anyone else feeling the craziness of spring?

~~~~

Missing all your posts and can't wait to sit down once again and catch up.

Hope your May was spring-y and your June is full of even more beauty....

*Note of Irony....

after my last post on how dear I hold the invention of my 

washing machine....it broke down one hour later. 

And stayed broke for quite some time.

Life has a funny way of pulling my leg.

I actually could laugh over the irony of it all.

Maybe I'm finally growing up.....;)

Where does it go?

Time is what prevents everything from happening at once.  ~John Archibald Wheeler

I was sitting down at the table with my kids the other morning, and upon looking at the clock I exclaimed how fast the time just went!

One of my boys' innocently asked, 

"Where does time go after it ticks?"

~~~~

A question full of answers~

but none that can be put into words.

~

A time museum would be nice.

Bottling the seconds and minutes would be lovely~ especially if we could use them up once again.

But instead,  the tick of the never-ending clock continues

and there is no reverting back.

~~~

Time is the most undefinable yet paradoxical of things; the past is gone, the future is not come, and the present becomes the past even while we attempt to define it, and, like the flash of lightning, at once exists and expires. 

 ~Charles Caleb Colton

Time is not something one can define.

For sure~~~ we can lament that there isn't enough of it.

We can use it (or not) wisely.

We can count it down or reminisce it's moments.

There is one kind of robber whom the law does not strike at, and who steals what is most precious to men:  time.  ~Napoleon I, Maxims, 1815

Time can bring us many things.

Beauty.

Longing.

Sadness.

Heartache.

Joy.

Breathtaking moments.

Love.

For the most part~ we are captains of our time.

Choosing how each moment will be spent.

Other times~~~

 time takes us places we don't want to be, but go because it takes us.

Time captives.

Time goes, you say?  Ah no!
Alas, Time stays, we go.
~Henry Austin Dobson

Time allows us to become who we are to be.

And enjoy the moments we are blessed with.

Time is a gift.~A great gift.

Time! the corrector when our judgments err.  ~Lord Byron

TIME.

Can be laughter.

And so full of beauty.

How long a minute is, depends on which side of the bathroom door you're on.  

~Zall's Second Law

~(I had to throw this one in~ there is that matter of being 

just a tad too serious with your time:)~

But regardless of how one views time and where it goes,

it comes and passes with one tick of the clock.

The Future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.  ~C.S. Lewis

But what minutes!  Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each moment is a day.  

~Benjamin Disraeli

How will you spend your time today?

~~~~

Beautiful in the Mundane

Driving to work I stopped to look at this.

Walking to get my mail I watched how shadows fell.

Washing the dishes I enjoyed this view.

Hiking a trail I left a smile for whoever came next.

It's finding beauty in every day mundane which sometimes keeps me going.

It can be 

quite a 

beautiful Life.

~~~

Happening Now

I love this picture.

I took it on one of my walks around a lake near here.

It makes me think of life.

How we stumble through it and all its troubles, just waiting for the troubles to be finished so we can get on with REAL LIFE.

~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin-real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. 

At last it dawned on me that these obstacles 

were my life. "

~Alfred D’Souza

~~~~~~~~~

I came across this quote yesterday and it struck a nerve.

How often I have done this.

Waiting for real life to begin.....

It's hard when you feel like you're stuck in the same place and not getting any where.

It's hard when you feel life is preying upon you and striking out- using you as the target.

It's hard to remember that this path we're on...no matter how rough- 

IS actually 

Real Life.

{It's not the destination but the journey.}

I finally feel like I'm understanding this.

Finally.

~Now I just have to learn now to handle the rough path with a 

bit more grace than I have been~

Have a wonderful day in your Real Life....regardless of where it's taking you.

It's happening now.

Late Night News....

I have made it a point to never watch the news at night.
It seems that it is never filled with much good....and I don't like going to bed with my head and heart filled with doom, gloom, and often sadness.
This world seems to have gone crazy!

Tonight.....after work...I decided to plunk in front of the TV...too wired to sleep just yet.
If nothing else.....watching the news with "Lloyd Robertson" put my week in perspective!
******

There was an update on the Chilean Miners trapped 700 feet underground...for WEEKS now!

And while I am out enjoying this:

...they are underground in darkness.

 While I get to watch this.....

....they are away from the people they love- and those who love them.

As I go about my day in "normalcy".....

......they are wanting their "normalcy" back.

I cannot even imagine what their days are like.

Can you imagine being in darkness for hours, days, weeks...?

**************

On a LIGHTER note.....

We happened upon this Big Guy in our yard this week:

Needless to say- I'm feeling a little nervous every time I go out for a run.

I don't think a Bull Moose is something I would like to come upon and surprise.

But he was amazing.

You don't realize how big they are until you are face to face!

He was massive....and tall!

And in a funny way..... beautiful.

***********

Going to start another day~ with a new perspective.

The Princess and the Toad

Meet my niece and her new pet, Gerome.

I think it's pretty cool she has a mom who

even LETS her keep a toad in her room.

Very brave.

I keep asking her what she'll do if it gets loose.

She says he isn't that fast.

I think I wouldn't care how fast he was.

My boys are jealous.

They have resorted to collecting "tads" from the dugout down the hill and watching them as they grow.

From  little black eggs....all the way up to the stage

where they are now  sprouting legs.

(Kept in 5 gallon pails. Outside.)

I think my boys should be happy with that.

I am:)

Very cute toad, Arika.

My boys would like to visit.

~~~~

Enjoy What is Today

~~

Plant

~

Water and

Watch and

Wait

~

Appreciate

~

Enjoy Today

~

I came upon this quote today, and had to share it.

{I know the above pictures aren't roses.....but

 am Enjoying whatever beauty I can when it happens}

"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon~instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside of our window today."

~Dale Carnegie (1888-1955)