NanjingMan 2010

Friday May 28, 2010 dawned just like any other day. My day was filled with Yoga, a trip to the kids' school and 5 trips to different sporting goods stores to gather supplies for Sunday's race. I was feeling a bit anxious, to say the least. 

1:00 pm

Lee called at 1:00 to say that he had to work Saturday and wouldn't be riding the bus with me to Nanjing. I felt my blood pressure rising, rising rising. I couldn't seem to get my head around going to Nanjing for my long awaited race without Lee there by my side. I was so stressed I could think of nothing else. Our good friend Bryant helped me out by purchasing a train ticket for Lee. Whew! Suddenly I could manage my life again, knowing that Lee would be there by my side for my race.

Friday evening Lee and I packed our bags, checked our equipment and rechecked our supplies. We then headed out for an evening of relaxing, with dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant followed by foot massages with our friends, Bryant and Elizabeth. Since Bryant is the one who talked me into doing a triathlon, I subjected him to all sorts of last minute questions about the race. I am sure I was driving him crazy by the end of the hour.

Saturday 6:00 am

Even though I didn't have to leave the house until 10:00 am to meet the chartered bus to Nanjing, I woke up bright and early at 6:00 am, full of anticipation. At 8:00 am I kissed Lee goodbye as he left for work, knowing I would meet him later that night in Nanjing. It sounds so simple to meet someone at a designated place, but in reality, when you've never been to that place and it's in a foreign country, it's a little nerve racking. At 10:00 am I got into the car and drove to Bryant and Elizabeth's house, where we packed the bus with all our equipment, bikes, gear etc. I was still feeling nervous because I rarely travel without Lee. He's my caretaker, my organizer. He's the one who makes the reservations and books the airline tickets. He's the one who checks us in at the hotel, hails a cab and makes sure we all get where we are supposed to be. I didn't like not having him there with me.

By noon we had reached our second pick up point, where the majority of the other folks were waiting to be picked up by the bus. I looked out the window as we pulled up to see a group of very athletic, very fit and very prepared looking people. Talk about some fancy bikes! Whew! I felt a bit intimidated to say the least. We finally hit the road for our 3 hour bus ride to Nanjing. Everyone was pretty subdued along the way. I had a lot of time to worry about the following day's race.

We got to Nanjing later than expected and got a bit turned around. By the time we sorted things out, checked into our hotel rooms and got back on the bus, we were pretty late for our orientation dinner. We got there just in time to get some chow and sit down for our orientation. I was feeling pretty calm at this point... that is until they started to go through the bike route. It was very confusing. They used PowerPoint slides to go through each intersection, telling us turn by turn how to navigate the course. I was sure by the end of the slides that I would never make it through the course. Talk about feeling nervous again!

10:00 pm

We didn't get back to our hotel until 10:00 pm, where we agreed to meet again in the lobby at 5:20 am for the race. We still had to go upstairs and put our bikes together. Lee had (mercifully) managed to meet us along our bus route from the dinner to the hotel and I was so happy to have him with me again. We proceeded to put together my bike, Lee's bike and two other participant's bikes before falling into bed at 11 pm. Although Lee didn't do the triathlon, he brought his bike so he could get around the course and around town.

Race Day, 4:54 am. 

I woke up with a start and realized that I had not set my alarm clock right. Lee and I were due downstairs in 26 minutes. I knew at that point that my day would not slow down even for a minute until the race was over. Lee and I hustled to get dressed and get all our gear downstairs so that we wouldn't get left behind. Bryant came down to the lobby just shortly after we did and it was obvious that his morning wasn't going so well. His pedals were mounted wrong! So Lee and I sent the rest of the group on without us and stayed behind to help Bryant with his pedals. I was, again, very thankful to have Lee with me. Not only did he assemble 4 bikes the night before, but without his help Bryant may not have been able to race. It took quite a while to get the pedals sorted out. Bryant (who is fluent in Mandarin) very resourcefully approached a little van which was stopped at a stop light and offered him a small sum of money to take us and our bikes to the race. Whew! We crammed our bikes and our bodies in and off we went.

6:25 am.

We finally arrived at the lake, where we would complete our 1/2 mile swim. I was amazed to find that the lake was very well populated by older Chinese men and women, who were out for a morning swim. 

We set up our bikes and our gear to transition after the swim. It was really fun to see everyone getting ready. This was my first race of any kind and I really enjoyed watching everyone stretching, talking and getting ready.

Here we are testing the water. I'm wearing black bike shorts and a black sports bra, standing in front of the two guys not yet in the water (on the stairs).

This guy cracked us up in his underwear! He was NOT a participant!

7:15 am

There were about 100 of us participating, more or less. I'm not a very fast swimmer and this was my very first open water swim, so I opted to hang out at the back of the group rather than get trampled in the mad dash. The whistle blew and off we went!

Lee was my hero. He took some amazing pictures and worked the whole race long to capture the event for me. I was so surprised later to see just how dedicated he was to documenting the race. Here's a shot of me doing the breast stroke. 

Although I had trained for months in the swimming pool, nothing could prepare me for swimming in a cold lake with 100 other people at 7:00 in the morning. The water was very dark and very murky. In the initial scramble to get started, I felt a little panicky and crowded. I remembered everything I had read about open water swims and took a minute to clear my head and start again. Although I had practiced and practiced and practiced my freestyle stroke, I ended up doing the breast stroke almost the entire swim. I couldn't seem to get my groove on and everytime I started freestyle again I got out of breath and tired. 21 minutes later I thankfully got out of the water and made my way to my first transition.

At the first transition I dried off my feet and put on my running shoes. We had to run one kilometer from the lake to our bikes and along the way I stopped for a potty break. I knew I had 2 hours left of the race, and lets just face it - I can't hold it that long!

Lee thought it was hilarious that I had to pee during my race and couldn't resist the opportunity to document the event. My honey ran the one kilometer with me to the bike transition, with his camera around his neck! 

I chatted with the women next to me as we both got ready to hit the road. She told me that she had come in last the year before. I was so impressed to see her at it again, excited and ready to have a great time. 

7:45 am

Getting out on the road was a little scary. The swim course was very well set out. There were huge inflated buoys in the water marking the route and everyone was in the water swimming and easy to see and follow. By the time I go to the bike transition, almost everyone had left already. There was no one to follow and no signs indicating the way. I felt nervous setting out on my own. Lee wished me good luck and I started pedaling. 

The course was so beautiful! I felt like I was in the middle of a national park. I quickly came upon a volunteer who directed me to the first turn. I was thankful she was there to show me the way. Soon enough I encountered more and more riders. I was thankful for the company. Shanghai is very, very flat. I had been training for months with no hills whatsoever. Nanjing is NOT FLAT! At the first major hill I thought I would have to get out and push my bike. I passed a girl walking and decided that I wasn't getting off my bike unless I had a flat tire. After overcoming the first hill I regained my composure and just kept pedaling. Bryant passed me going the other direction. He had made it to the turn around point and halfway back before I had even gone 1/3 of the bike route! I enjoyed seeing his familiar face as he raced past me. Man he was fast!

One of my biggest fears before the race was that I would get a flat tire and not be able to finish the race. I went to 4 different stores to get what I needed before the race to be prepared. At almost the halfway point I passed a poor rider who had a flat and didn't have the tools he needed. I was grateful to be prepared.

While I was busy tackling hills, Lee was busy finding just the right spot to camp out and take pictures. He found a great corner with a clean dry drainage canal to sit in. Here's a beautiful view that he captured:

During my ride I was passed by and also passed a group of 13 year old boys with their fathers. I loved seeing them in action. We rode together off and on for about 25 minutes or so. These awesome dads stuck with their boys for the entire race. I was really impressed with them. They were German and it was fun to listen to them with their boys. At the halfway point of the ride, I pulled out my energy gel to give me a boost. I watched the dads handing their boys muffins and bread to give them energy to finish the ride. 

I came flying down the road and was really happy to see Lee sitting in his spot, smiling at me with his camera as I  came past.

My girls later asked me why I was going so slow. Ha! I was getting ready for the turn! Lee hopped on his bike at some point and raced to catch up with me. I was happy he was with me as I came into the second and final transition point. My 16 mile bike ride was over and I was ready to head out on my 5 mile run.

9:00 am

Elizabeth was waiting for me at the transition point. She told me to dump my stuff and go! 

I was feeling tired but ready to finish the last section of my race. The boy standing behind me was part of the group that I had been biking with. I started my run, only to be passed right away by the boys and their fathers. I tried not to feel discouraged by the fact that a bunch of kids were going to beat me!

The running route was equally beautiful. It looped around a lake (not the same lake that we swam in). It was a very busy day on the running path. As I jogged I had to dodge local joggers, electric scooters, bicycles, kids and dogs. After I got over feeling like my legs would melt into a pile of mush on the pavement, I really enjoyed my run. The scenery was so interesting. There were women selling hammocks and children playing with their parents. I ran and ran and ran. Out of all the segments of the race, the run was the hardest. I remember thinking that I would know I was close to the halfway turn around point when I saw the German father/son group heading towards me. They had long since disappeared from my view (that's just how slow I am!). I finally reached the turn around point and walked for about 100 feet. As I jogged back towards the finish line, only 3 people passed me on their way to the turn around. I knew that I was probably one of the last participants still running. One of the 3 passed me after they turned around. I wanted to walk so badly, but kept telling myself that I wouldn't finish last.

As I jogged along, willing my body to continue I had a wonderful experience. I began mentally thanking each part of my body for all the hard work it had done that day. I thanked my arms for pulling me through the water. I thanked my legs for pushing so hard up each hill. I especially thanked my knees for all the torture they had endured over the last 4 months.  As I systematically went from one part of my body to the next, I felt overwhelmed by the love that my Heavenly Father has for me. I am so thankful for a body that is healthy and strong, for the wonderful feeling that I get as I exercise and use my body for good purposes. I was tired but felt so good as I continued onward.

About 100 yards from the finish line Bryant and his children and two other children were waiting on the sidelines to  cheer me on. I was so happy to see them! The kids joined in and ran with me, which really made me smile!

10:00 am

As I crossed the line I was so tired. I actually asked Lee and Elizabeth "Where's the line? Did I cross it? Can I stop running?"

Wohoo! I did it! I finished! Those last two runners didn't pass me! Yehawww!!!! 

After cooling down, we biked the 10k back to the hotel, cleaned up  and packed and headed down to pack the bus. It was 11:30 am and we still hadn't eaten breakfast yet. We were starved! We had McDonald's for lunch, loaded up on the bus and headed back to Shanghai. After about an hour of drinking beer (of course Lee, myself and Elizabeth and Bryant didn't join in) everyone finally settled in for the long ride - most of us catching up on all the sleep we had missed out on the night before. 

So what's next? I'm currently trawling for the next race, much to Lee's dismay. :) I do get a little obsessed when I get into something and Lee is looking forward to a break from all the tri-talk. With any luck, he'll be racing with me next year!

Obsess Much?

My triathlon is in 5 days. My triathlon is in 5 days. My triathlons is in 5 days. What should I bring? What should I eat the night before? What should I eat the morning of? How should I set up my bike? How can I make my swim more effective? Will the water be too cold? Do I need a wet suit? What if I get a flat tire? How am I going to sleep the night before? How am I going to sleep tonight?

My mind is buzzing with a million questions. I wouldn't say I'm nervous, exactly. More like anxious for it to hurry up and be Saturday so I will be on my way to Nanjing. I've been working since January for my first triathlon and I hope I don't spoil it by obsessing too much.

Back in January when my yoga teacher's husband suggested that she and I train together for a triathlon, I thought the idea was nuts. I could barely run 5 k without dying. I love to swim, so I figured that would be the easy part. And I've been an on and off again biker since college. So I somehow came up with the idea that this would be a good goal for me. 4 months later, I am so glad I've stuck to my goal and worked hard.

Learning to swim properly is really challenging. My first session in the pool was UGLY! I got about 15 minutes into it, mostly swimming the breast stroke, and called it quits. I watched many many many YouTube tutorials on how to swim freestyle. I also watched a few on doing flip turns, but have decided that's a skill to master after the race. Anyway, to put an end to my rambling, I can now swim a mile in about 40 minutes. It's not impressive, it's not a great time in the swimming world - but I'll take it :).

I have also spent the last 4 months working up to a 10k run. I do have knee problems, so by the time I get to 8k or so, I'm in a bit of pain. I can consistently run the 10k in about 70 minutes - again not impressive but acceptable to me for the moment. I really had to get past the mental block of running 6 miles all at once. I know tons of people run marathons and half marathons... I just don't happen to be one of those people!

I have to say I have not focused on the bike as much as I probably should have. Shanghai is flat, very very flat. With no hills, you would think that it would be pretty straight forward. However, being  close to the ocean, what we do have is lots of wind. Saturday I went out for an 18 mile ride. It should have taken me about an hour, but with the great headwind that blasted me the entire ride home and with the rainstorm that began at about mile 9, it took me more like 1 hour and 20 minutes to do my 18 miles. Again, don't think I'll impress any serious riders with my statistics.

I was feeling pretty confident so I decided to ride my 14 miles and then immediately run, since that's what I will have to do race day. I rode a good ride that day and made it home in 50 minutes. I felt GREAT! Until my feet hit the pavement and I started to attempt a run. Oh. My. Gosh! I seriously thought my legs were going to melt into a giant puddle of goo on the sidewalk! I eeked out 4 or 5 k and called it good. The following attempt 2 weeks later was much more successful and I managed 14 miles on the bike followed by 7k running. Whew! Imagine my relief when I received an email telling all participants that the run would be shortened to 8k due to road construction!

What I have realized through all this training, is that to accomplish any goal you must first remove the obstacles in your mind, clearing the path for success. The difference between my first and second attempt at riding followed by running was that I knew that if I just kept running (nice and slowly) that eventually the fog would lift and I could go about business as usual and just run. So, while I haven't practiced the swim, bike and run all in one training session, I know that if I am careful and persistent I can do it. I've practiced, I've trained and I've done as much research as possible to reach my goal. Now I just need to stop obsessing and relax and clear my mind. I don't plan on being a superstar and I've accepted the fact that I will be walking a little bit of this race. That's ok with me. I'm just excited to get out there and do my best!

Field Trip at the Bio Farm

Today was another perfect spring day. Eve had a class field trip to the Shanghai BioFarm, where they grow organic whole foods, using no pesticides and no chemical fertilizer. The farm is 12 miles from our house, so I decided to be eco-friendly myself and bike to the farm. It was a glorious spring morning and it only took me about 45 minutes to get there. I thoroughly enjoyed the morning ride. I got there with plenty of time to spare and enjoyed chatting with a few other parents who had arrived early. Eve and I enjoyed hanging out together, enjoying the tour and the sunshine. We learned about crop rotation, we saw a bug zapper powered by the sun, we saw a caterpillar trap that uses female caterpillar pheromones to attract and trap male caterpillars. We learned about allowing plants to reseed themselves rather than using biologically altered store bought seeds. It was quite a fun little trip. Eve and her partner Allison had lots of fun picking their own vegetables:

If you look closely you can see that Eve is standing in a row of broccoli. The tour guide told us that you can make soup from broccoli leaves, but I'm a little skeptical.!

We learned all about herbs and the kids got to guess different herbs by rubbing the leaves in their fingers and smelling them. That was lots of fun, too! At the end of the tour the kids got to create artwork using plants from the farm. Eve was very meticulous in her creation. I had to help her finish up before we got our sack lunches out (mom was starving!).

Isn't my girl a cutie! She's so full of spunk and sparkle! We had a great picnic lunch together to finish off the event. Eve came home from school with an armful of great organic vegetables that she got to pick herself.

A beautiful spring morning in Shanghai

I am SOOOOO happy! Spring is finally here! We've been waiting and waiting and waiting and finally it came! Cooper and I shared a great start to a perfect spring day. We started the day out by walking daddy to the front of the neighborhood, where he waits for the van that takes him to work each day. It is very normal here for one's company to provide transportation to and from work. So Lee rides in a van with several other men each day to work. Anyway, we took Brescia along and she was super excited to get to run free for a little bit. Cooper and I continued on to the vegetable market, which at 7:30 am was a very busy place already. Along the way Cooper found a 'tree', which he insisted on carrying.

I love the fact that Cooper was completely comfortable walking to the market in his flip flops and pajamas. So Cooper and I picked up some vegetables and came home. I took Cooper to school and came home and made a carrot cake for our Relief Society bi-monthly birthday lunch, where we celebrate all the sister's birthdays for those two months. We celebrated May and June birthdays. Happy Birthday to Tracey, Kierston, Cora and Lori! I came home full and happy. I then went to the pool and swam for 40 minutes and am proud to say I swam 1400 meters. :) I was super happy with the achievement (I'm a little tired now!). I came home and tried out a newly found recipe for sweet and sour chicken and it turned out great. Thanks to Chew Yian for her awesome, super yummy and super quick and easy recipe! The family was pleased.

So now, I'm winding down from a great spring day. Lee's offered to be super dad and go pick up the girls from piano lessons and I'm gonna settle down with a good book. Happy May to everyone and I hope you're enjoying spring just as much as we are!

Family Hair Cut Night

We have a favorite salon, Lee and I.... Yes, you read right. My HUSBAND has a favorite salon. He also has a favorite massage spa. :) I don't mind the massage spa too much myself. Anyway, we love to go to Head To Toe as often as the pocket book allows. They are a wonderful staff of Chinese who are all very proficient in English. They offer western style services, complete with great top 40's music piped in and Diet Coke and Doritos while you get your pedicure or hair cut. The kids LOVE to go to Head To Toe too. Eve and Ally get their nails painted and Cooper always suckers some cute little Chinese girl into giving him a sucker and painting his thumbnails with cool skulls and cross bones or most recently, the Shanghai Expo mascot:

I was really impressed with the nail tech's ability to fit this guy on Cooper's thumbnail.

Anyway, last night we decided impromptu to get family haircuts. Here are a few before shots:

In China, they do something a little different when you get a shampoo and haircut. First, they wash your hair (of course). But instead of taking you to the sink and having you lay back, they use a bottle of water to add shampoo and water to your hair while you are sitting right there in the haircutting chair. Check it out:

 Ally and Eve both got matching haircuts. We are taking a vote to see if they looked better before or after the haircuts, so Please leave us a comment with your vote on the girls' end product. Here's a picture of the family after the haircuts:

Sorry, I took this one with my iPhone, so it's not so great.

This cute girl has chosen Dani as her Western name. She gave the girls their shampoo. She learned English just by working at the salon. I am very impressed because her English is great! 

We got 4 haircuts, 3 shampoos, and I got eyebrow waxing  all for the grand total of $30! I don't know how we are ever going to come back to the States! 

Don't forget to give us your vote on the girls' hair - there is no wrong answer!

Why????

We've lived in China for almost 2 years now. And for 2 years I've been wondering why. Not why do we live in China, just WHY? For example, why, when I am cruising down the road at 60 kph, does a huge construction truck deem it acceptable to pull out in front of me, causing me to slam on my brakes, skid, to a stop and then WAIT while he pulls out at about 5 kph? 5 mph is pretty darn slow, but 5 kph is even slower! You may think I am exaggerating, but I'm not. Why oh why, is it ok for dump trucks to be filled so far above capacity that as they are driving, huge (I mean Cooper sized) chunks of clay are falling off left and right? Why is that ok and why don't they get pulled over and fined? Why do the student drivers (all student drivers are in specially marked cars with black and white checkered siding) drive on 6 lane highways where the speed limit is 80 kph when they are so bad at driving that the instructor is actually leaning across the car steering for them? Why, why, why? Why is it equally acceptable to run into me with your grocery cart, cut me off as I'm reaching for a carton of milk, push me out of line to have my produce weighed? Why is it not a problem to spit on the floor of the grocery store, or to have 3 grocery store employees gossipping so fervently that I actually have to run over their toes with my cart to get them to move out of the aisle they are blocking? For that matter, why is it ok for a grocery store employee to refuse to answer my inquiry because she doesn't work on the chips aisle, she works on the dried fish aisle? Why, I ask, why....

Why is it not a health code violation to sell and transport meat in the below displayed fashion?

Gross, right? I live in a country where you may both wear pajamas and slippers and spit anywhere you please.

To continue on my why ranting, why do I have to endure an absolute torrent of "Aren't you cold, aren't your children cold? You're not wearing enough clothing!!!" ie, "You're a bad mom!" from the very same  people whose 6 month olds are out in 30 degree weather wearing a million layers of clothing and split bottom pants with their bare tushies exposed to the elements! Who is the bad parent here?

Why did I pass a man who stood on a sidewalk, which was bordered on one side by the street and the other side bordered with grass and a river, and he chose to urinate on the sidewalk rather than on the grass. Why? Why didn't he go home to urinate, and if that was too much trouble, why didn't he turn a mere 90 degrees and urinate on the grass where no one would have to walk in it or risk their split bottom pant wearing babies walking through it?

Why did our neighborhood guards (to begin with, why do I even need neighborhood guards to guard my oh so not secure front gate, since they are sleeping on duty about 50% of the time) think that it would be better to have me read a notice written in chinese characters than to tell me what it says? They know I speak Chinese because I talk to them all the time! I DO NOT read characters. You have to know  some insane amount, like 2000+ characters to be able to read a newspaper.

Why is my 4 year old having nightmares about getting his toes run over by an electric scooter? He's now afraid to cross the street for fear that some idiot scooter driver will not pay attention and will run over his feet. I would chalk it up to a small child's vivid imagination, except for the fact that it's a very real possibility!

Why did the lawn mowing men even bother to come mow my lawn? I watched them systematically mow around the toys and garden hose, rather then pick them up and move them. I'm not kidding, they mowed AROUND the toy trucks in the yard. WHAT THE HECK? My friend watched the apartment complex hired cleaning lady dust around his laptop, which was sitting on the table.

Why is it ok for police to sleep in their cars or watch people run red lights, while they are sitting at the very same red light? No tickets, no nothing. Of course, they are the worst ones about running red lights. Why is it common to find workers sleeping on the sidewalk at various times of the day? Littered about, three or four of them asleep making it difficult to navigate the sidewalk?

Speaking of littering, why is it normal to see someone throw their trash out of their windows as they are driving? Cigarette packages, coke cans, empty juice boxes.... why?

Why did I watch a woman run to catch the bus, to successfully reach the bus and just as she stepped forward to the door, the bus driver actually closed the doors in her face and drove off? She stood there, open mouthed and then shrugged her shoulders and walked back to the bus stop to wait for the next bus. Why? Wouldn't you be yelling and mad as all get out? Wouldn't you write down the bus # and call and report it?

Why do they not enforce any sort of transportation safety codes in China? Here's a truck, whose owner has used all sorts of random parts to build tall sides to enable a larger cargo capacity:

It's a little difficult to tell, but all those multi colored panels are different pieces of metal, or grating or whatever he could find.

This is a close up of the random pieces of scrap metal he used as braces for the random sheets of metal he used to increase the height of his truck siding.

Why do I have to pay for parking at my friend's apartment complex? If I want to drop by for a visit, I have to pay to park my car! Why??? The same goes for restaurants, some grocery stores, and all malls.

Why, when I paid $125 for my iPhone screen to be fixed (I dropped it!) didn't they also replace the $.25 black cover on the bottom that was cracked in two? 

Why, when it's 30 degrees outside do they not only NOT turn on the heat in restaurants and grocery stores and fitness clubs, but then open ALL the doors to the outside, and welcome in the cold... then walk around all day in floor length snow suite type coats? If you're cold, SHUT THE DOOR!!!!

Why, in a city of 18 million, and growing, do they clean the sewers by hand? (Yes, that pole is hand made from bamboo and fish net).

I guess I could go on forever and ever with whys. I live in a crazy country! I really love many, many things about China, but somedays I wonder if the positive outweighs the negative. I mean really, did you really just URINATE on the sidewalk next to me? Really, really???

I keep waiting to fall in love with the Chinese people, and it just hasn't happened yet. What's that John Mayer song "Waiting on the World to Change"? In the words of Dory the fish, I'm gonna "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." 

I think I'm going to have a diet coke now. Whew, I'm stressed! :)

Disclaimer... Follow at Your Own Risk

Just a quick blurb, following yesterday's energetic post. I have never enjoyed writing in a journal. It's somehow tedious to me. When we moved to China I started blogging to help my friends and family keep up with us. I discovered that I really like blogging. I don't know why it is so much more enjoyable than writing in my journal. Maybe it's because I put more effort into it, knowing that someone else may choose to read it. I like posting pictures of our life, I like thinking out loud as I write. I recently saw an ad that offers printing and binding services for your blog and I really liked the idea of this being a form of our family history - like journalling and scrapbooking simplified into one easy and fun task. As I've continued to blog, it's gotten a lot more personal for me than it was at the beginning. What began as a way to help family members peek in at our lives has become more of an outlet for me and has become so much more personal and intimate. That said, I love that my friends and family can read and follow us on our blog. So, as I write and share......just remember - read at your own risk.