Swim Cap Chaps

   As uncoordinated as I may be... I was drafted to a relay team a few days ago. I'm pretty sure they invited me because I have a slight affinity for costumes and there was a costume contest component as part of the event. You know what... I'll take it!

 I was offered the invitation just a few days before the race so there wasn't a whole lot of prep time... not to mention that the actual "event" wasn't exactly defined. That meant there was no real understanding as to what kind of costumes were needed... in order to win. Were we going to need a lot of dexterity to physically move around, or was it a game of the minds which wouldn't require much movement at all? Were running shoes necessary to stay competitive, or could we outfit our shoes as well? All these questions were largely unanswered, so I had to make sure we were outfitted for anything... without buying anything new... My heart was pounding. I couldn't let my new friends down, but I was secretly peeing my pants... with excitement and fear. These are people who do Ironmans... for fun. They might stuff me in a dumpster afterwards if I let them down!

  As many of you know, I have too much stuff which is why I'm doing this, so multiple rolls of colored Duct tape were in the house, as were a multitude of swim caps! Leftovers from the swim cap dress.

 Our team name was "the furry one, and four fantastic fillies". The relay required us to carry a stick horse and jockey helmet, and was taking place at a horse race. Rummaging through the house, and imagining what my teammates might have accessible to them, we put together a plan. Not my best (which is probably why we didn't win the costume contest) but we managed to make up for it in raw "galloping" talent... some may disagree :) but I didn't end up in the dumpster.

that's my game face... ha! that's duct tape under my eyes, and a swim cap. If you notice the girl behind me, she has a star made of duct tape on her shirt and she's wearing a Brooks running skort. Brooks is one of our races official sponsors, so we all had those already!

We're the team on the far left, and yes... those are chaps... made out of swim caps. The swim caps also went over our feet to make us look more like horses, and the striped socks... well I just love striped socks and I also have a plethora of them.

But what I was really proud of, was the team on the far right... a bunch of boys, who bought nothing new, used the resources available to them (those mylar marathon blankets)and... made quite an impression. One of them even made a tie!

We even brought out the solar powered, PVC stereo from the back of the tandem to the party! Aside from winning... :) the swim cap chaps were definitely my favorite... is there a market for this somewhere??! ha

do's and don'ts

So yesterday I made the ingenious (thank you mom) move to cut open the conditioner bottle and not let those last few drops get thrown away... but I'm new at this, and it's obvious.

Words of wisdom... if you're going to cut open the conditioner bottle to salvage the last of your product... DON'T leave it in a place where the shower will fill it with water.

I'm an idiot. Seriously. I go to use the conditioner and the darn thing is filled to the brim with water.

There goes all my gold.... Is it ironic that the shampoo is for blondes... and I'm a blonde... it's apparent today now isn't it.

To top it off, the built in soap tray on the side of the wall... basically gets pounded with water every time someone takes a shower. That means the water is constantly washing away the soap.

I have since moved the bar of soap and made a rule that it must live in it's new place, away from the flood... geez. This year could get a lot worse if I don't start using my head. uugggh.

it ain't over... till it's over.

Moms love to be helpful :) I think once you leave home... they feel the need to be even more helpful. My mom is uber helpful. She's made curtains for my kitchen... I didn't even know I "needed". She took all the screens out of my windows and scrubbed them in the tub (frustrated because they didn't look any different afterwards) and unbeknownst to me, and TSA, she even surprised me with a bottle of bleach and a package of razor blades... in my carry-on... to help with that stubborn grime. I'll let you imagine how that conversation went.

Despite all that wonderful helpfulness she has bestowed on me, it hasn't stopped there. Luckily for me, she calls me almost on a daily basis with more insight. Sometimes I heed her advice. Other times, like when we were on the phone and she told me not to get a dog... I just smile and nod on the other end, snuggling his little face into mine. Today, I listened.

When I went to squeeze out the last few drops of conditioner... I just got that noise... and air. It's one of my new favorite kinds, and my friend Bethany's favorite too... and that feeling of sadness swept over me.  I was sad to see it end, but I was even sadder to imagine how much better her hair was going to look for 9 months longer than mine... until I remembered my mothers advice.

 I jumped out of the shower, grabbed a pair of scissors and cut that thing apart.

 Inside... was gold. (it really is yellow actually) 

There are at least 4-5 more applications. No Joke.

I just "bought" myself at least another week :) That means only 8 months 3 weeks of watching Bethany's blonde hair glimmer in the sun while mine... well, let's just not talk about it.