Free Fruit!

The best thing about planting fruit trees and plants is the free fruit that comes off of them!!! Our peaches are becoming ripe and we both get to eat at least one a day. We also have a small raspberry plant that lets us eat a few berries each day. It is so great!

Jordanelle 2009

This year, while I was training, Ashley gave be a big surprise- he told me he wanted to do the race with me. The only bad part is that he told me less than a week before the race so he didn't train at all. In fact his only training outside of backpacking and hiking was the Wednesday prior to the race when he went to the course and did 75% of the race to see what it was like. I know that Ash is strong, naturally, so I knew I would have to pull out a great race to beat him.

When we arrived at the race, we rode the 4.5 miles from Francis to the race course, picked up our racer packets, got our body marked with number and age, and then went to the transition area to set up. Once the bouys went into the water, Ash was nervous about the length of the swim. Soon enough, he calmed down, I gave him a good luck kiss, and he went into the water to start the event.

Ash started the event 5 minutes before me, that way not all 700 people start at once. What that meant to me was if I could see him at any point, we could tie...if i passed him, I had him beat by five minutes. Even though I absolutely wanted to beat Ash, my ultimate goal was to leave it all on the course and to 'hurt' the whole time. I think I did that. Here is how it Turned out

• Swim: Ash- 18:55 Rhielle- 18:58 Ash: 0:03 ahead
• T1: Ash-3:59 Rhielle- 1:44 Rhielle: 2:02 ahead
• Bike: Ash-42:51 Rhielle-43:29 Rhielle: 1:36 ahead
• T2: Ash- 1:25 Rhielle-1:02 Rhielle: 1:59 ahead
• Run: Ash- 25:57 Rhielle-22:28 Rhielle: 5:28 ahead
• Total: Ash-1:33:08 Rhielle- 1:27:45

There you have it, I was able to beat Ash, but just barely. And, honestly, him being there helped me push harder than I have before. Last year, my time was 1:39 so I was mostly happy to beat that and to go under 1:30 which was my overall goal. I also placed second in my age division, only six seconds behind first place, and I placed 10th overall in the female division. I was really proud of myself. Ashley placed 10th in his age division. Not bad for his first attempt and no training...I hope I can stay faster as he keeps training.

The other bonus to this race was how many of my friends raced in addition to Ashley. Of course we had store employees and sponsored athletes doing the race, but I also had my friends, Melissa, Rachel, and Clari at the race with me. It made for a great race!

Iron(wo)man 70.3- Vineman

Ashley and I have a timeshare that builds credits that we can use at many timeshare locations throughout the USA and a few international places. Some of our credits expire if we don't book them before July 31, so Ashley and I sat down together tonight to decide where we wanted to vacation next summer. We considered Mexico, Florida, and California because after Belize, I love the beach and just want to go back every year. There is a timeshare location in Oceanside, CA which coincides with a half-ironman and I thought it would be great to vacation to a destination race (yes, I am just that addicted.) However, Ashley has been wanting to visit the vineyards of Northern California for a couple of years now. So, while looking at the California destinations, I found out that there was another timeshare location in Windsor, CA which matches both of our desires- a race and the vineyards. I haven't registered yet (registration for next year doesn't open until this year's event is over on Sunday) but I am truly excited! Next step, find a swim coach because I don't want to spend 60 min in the water. Anyone with a suggestion, please leave a comment! What about my beach, you may wonder? Don't worry, we found a way to use the remaining credits to spend some time in Floriday in May while we are back east for a Bar Mitzvah.

In case you are wondering, a half Ironman consists of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run- and yes, you do those all consecutively. You can learn more or see pics of the event here.

The Reception

Our reception, on July 3, turned out just the way we wanted it to. We had BBQ, ice cream, cake, homemade lemonade, and homemade lemon bars. The flowers that we hand-picked from our garden were the perfect centerpieces and everyone took home a flower to plant. I was so happy to have our families and closest friends there to celebrate this great event. Thank you to everyone for you help and attendance! It was our perfect little reception.

Feeling Blue

I am addicted to a blog done by one of my highschool girlfriends called made sweet. I decided to copycat one of her blogs where she posted pics of the beach and combine it with a blog that she did of all blue things. In Belize, the water was so blue, clear, and beautiful that I couldn't resist taking one picture of the beach after the next.

Sewing

Last night I was listening to old funk music on Pandora while mending my jeans and feeling very patriotic. I loved the color of the denim in the night-time light. My mother would be proud.

Many people may not know why this blog is titled, "cards by belle." For those of you that don't know, it is simply because of my passion for handmade cards. I make them for people who are having a birthday, wedding, bat mitzvah, or the like. For my own wedding, I am hand stitching (ok, the modern version of hand stitching) each invite. Look for you limited edition coming soon!

Back To Belize

Lately I have constantly been asked if I wish I was back in Belize. Many things, like the humidity and the Raastas, I do not miss. However, sunrises over the ocean when you and the one you love are the only people awake, I'll take that any day of the week.