Gym Saga, part 1

Tonight was the big members meeting. Held at the Bathhouse Theatre, on the other side of the lake. One of the members is the artistic director/producer, something.. youth programs.. We hadn't been in there in about 15 years.

Anyway, about 250 people showed (Gina counted). Which is a lot. And all expressed similar sentiments... we love our gym as it is... it's been described as the Cheers of gyms. The new dudes are expected to try and turn it into a spandex and babes place where everything costs extra (personal training, classes, towels, etc) and the staff all become commission based sales persons... Which is really what we all like about our gym.. currently there is no high pressure sales for anything.

There was no new info but we did find out who the lawyers in the group are. :) and the moms/dads cuz the new guys plan on NOT having a daycare service. bad move, guys.

There was lots of talk, and sharing of how we love our gym. And a few suggestions. I think we left thinking we'll hold another mtg. but WITH the new owners to make our feelings known. Which if these 2 guys are true to form, will not matter in the least. We've all already filled out questionnaire which i guess they haven't had time to read yet.

I think what we all hope happens is that in a year or less they will realize they can't make money in the gym business, and then we can all take over on a co-op sort of basis. And had Nancy, the current owner, had a sense of her clientele, she would have made it known she was looking to sell and given folks a chance to come up with a plan. She's owned it for 20 some years, knows the clientele. but no...

but we'll see.. still have no real idea what these 2 guys will do, altho i saw their CraigsList ad for new employees, which was bullshit , but the new name of what has been Anderson's Fitness Ctr. for 30 years is...... American Athlete Sport and Health Club... catchy, eh?

Time for Cold Case........................

Halloween, continued

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzETKL6vM5Y

This is a fun video from the Woodland Park Zoo.

and since I'm trying to write at least one posting per day for the rest of Nov. you know I will take the easy way out. esp. to start.

Too much time on our hands, and candy in our guts

Boo !

gina cheryl and atr and our biggest fan


ridin in style


aloha from the wednesday spin class

Rachel gets some camera time ( boy, she and gina are SO MUCH GRAYER than I )

instructor extraordinaire, Cheryl Marek... no really, google her, you will be impressed.

Atr and Willa.... the infamous Willa (and Walt) (Walt just got the cochlear implant and it's great)They take bike trips to France every year, by themselves! (no sag wagon,translators, arrangers). They just came home from one in Croatia (she said it was hilly) and I'm guessing she's at least 2 decades older than me. But she thinks the spin class might be too hard.. she kills me. We love Willa.

Cris and Cheryl. If you're wondering about Cris's costume, she said it's "Mai Tai". She's a new author of "Fresh Off the Couch"... a new workout book for ...... well, I don't want to give up the plot.

your faithful blahhger.... and her "scream in a pocket"

but, Please, wipe off the mats after using them...

ackkkkk TWINS so scary

It's Blogger Magic

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Scary

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Halloween

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

IMGP6507

IMGP6507
Originally uploaded by anntr

What a beautiful front yard we have.

Test

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anntoots/

Hey, someone, maybe one of my Followers could let me know if this takes you to my flickr fotos. Thanks.

Followers

I just noticed a flaw in the Blogspot system...

I see that I have 2 followers... and thank you very much for that... but it seems to give me the option to "manage" my followers. And knowing those 2, I highly doubt I could.

Now, I must go find out about becoming a follower of their blogs. Is there a fee to pay? a test to take? a uniform to wear? a geographical boundary in which to live?

Pumpkin Push Photos

That's our gal !!


The famous Wendy Jones, in the orange and red




Gina and her tall friends... Matthias and Tim, both Microsofties, by the by... but we know them from our Saturday morning running group, Always Running.



Pumpkins, of course






Chewbaca ran, too

Here's the Starbucks customer of the week running like there's a tall non-fat waiting at the finish line.... no, not the photographer.

The Difference a Week Makes

Last week


This week !!

Last week I was running 4 miles, 4:00 run and 2:00 walk... this week I'm at 5:00 run and 1:00 walk..... and boy does that 1:00 go by fast. :)

She not only Tri's

But our gal Val.... can win running races, too !! Val took 1st in our age group at the Dawg Dash 5K. Gina and Pam ran the slightly longer, OK, twice as long, 10K and finished in respectable places in their age groups. This is one of those races that clings to the 10 year age grouping, so Poor Pam at 49 was competing against those 40 year old whippersnappers.
I, myself, have worked my way up to 4:00 run 2:00 walk for 4 miles. and this week should be able to extend that to 5 / 1 with coach's permission.

Speaking of the coach. Lesley was in Kona last weekend racing in the Hawaii Ironman.. the World Championships. Our running buddy (when I run) Patricia, her sister Carol and her parents all made the trip to support her.(Hawaii - tough duty) Although she had a rough day, she did finish with a smile... I know cuz I could see her cross the finish line, on the computer. We were a little worried when we saw the 8 minute transition time from bike to run, and really worried when her run mile pace times crept into double digits... She qualified in Canada with an 11 hour race, this one was, well let's just say it was 12 plus. It was a VERY WINDY and HOT day in Kona. I've heard a couple of her stories, and as I told her.... these race reports are not the kind of stuff that makes us average Joe's WANT to train for an Ironman... They are bad for her business. Below are a few fotos from her time in Kona


a training swim, with a stop at the floating coffee shop (Les is in pink hat)

nothing like a little hill to start the marathon

Patricia and Carol Iron Fans !! Lesley is mighty mouse

The Finish !! (I always forget to turn off the flash)

.

"Joe The Plumber"

"Joe The Plumber" Speaks: "It's Pretty Surreal"

in case you're interested in what Joe the plumber looks like

Shout outs !

and I don't mean the laundry stuff....
Today, October 13 is our little buddy in Eugene, OR Emily Sangder's birthday. And being lame-O's, our card is not quite in the mail but thank goodness for this "network of tubes" so I can give Em her props on her day.
ok, gagging myself with all this hip hop talk. Time for some photos. of course, since she lives in Oregon my photos are a bit old... except that last one.


Mind meld.... In the future, Ann WILL remember my birthday


I hope she doesn't have to do chores on her birthday.


Aunt Teri shared some soccer tips and probably some of that liberal lefty leaning thinking of hers.
My soccer tip... lose the pink ball, keep the Beatles tee


Oh, yeah !! that's our Emily

Happy birthday !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Erase Hate

10 years ago, Matthew Shepard was beaten to death in Wyoming. I found this quote by his father, Dennis Shepard, on the DailyKos website.

"By the end of the beating, his body was just trying to survive. You left him out there by himself, but he wasn’t alone. There were his lifelong friends with him—friends that he had grown up with. You’re probably wondering who these friends were. First, he had the beautiful night sky with the same stars and moon that we used to look at through a telescope. Then, he had the daylight and the sun to shine on him one more time—one more cool, wonderful autumn day in Wyoming. His last day alive in Wyoming. His last day alive in the state that he always proudly called home. And through it all he was breathing in for the last time the smell of Wyoming sagebrush and the scent of pine trees from the snowy range. He heard the wind—the ever-present Wyoming wind—for the last time. He had one more friend with him. One he grew to know through his time in Sunday school and as an acolyte at St. Mark’s in Casper as well as through his visits to St. Matthew’s in Laramie. He had God.
I feel better knowing he wasn’t alone. "

http://www.matthewshepard.org to find out more about the Erase Hate campaign.

True blahhhhggg

Tonight, for the first time, I joined in a "live chat" during the debate... well, after dinner and dishes were done, I joined in on Hoffmania.com even got a couple comments back from Hoff...

Then wanted to watch NCIS but the cable is out.... thankfully we do not bundle our services so we are able to fool around on the internet while the tv is out of commission.

Only in Alaska...

Will you see this sign.... but God love 'em...

Thanks to Hoffmania.com which keeps linking to:

http://mudflats.wordpress.com/ a blogger from Alaska

October 2 our 24th

I hope I'm not "pulling an Obama" on the number.....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/29/obama-makes-keith-olberma_n_130445.html?page=12&show_comment_id=16265690#comment_16265690

And since I'm posting links, here's an easy one for you... the army of women is a breast cancer research site and Oct. is breast cancer awareness month.

http://www.armyofwomen.org/

I just jumped in the lake with Coach Lesley for my last open water swim. The water is definitely cooler but it wasn't too bad. Actually, quite pleasant. The water is clearer now, than in the warmer months when the algae makes Green Lake that much greener.

Coach has one more open water swim scheduled.... The Ironman Triathlon World Championship race in Hawaii. Oct. 12. Yahoo !! She mentioned that she is looking forward to the days when she will be training "just" for a marathon.. And the bike and swim can just be recovery day workouts, or , and this would be novel.... just for fun !

Rochester Trip

I am just home from a week in Rochester. Mary and Mary Kay were in town from Paris so it seemed like a good time to visit. Yes, yes, ANYTIME is a good time to visit Roch cha cha, but I got bang for my buck with them there, too. We held a big party on Wed. night. Mom's buddies (Barb, Dee, Cathy G, Sally & Don, Betty) were all in attendance. And the Beikirchs, Bob, Eileen, Kathy, Mary Pat. And the dutiful "daughter" who still lives in Fairport, Liz / Betty Bannister. We picked up a bunch of food prepared at Wegmans, poured a few drinks, and let the good times roll. We also put in a bit of time at the local pool... , excuse em moi.... aquatic center. Did a few things on mom's chore list. Watched a couple movies... "door to door" is highly recommended. Saw a bit of the debate.. zz zzz... Then I went in to town, and hung out with my old high school and college buddies (Anne Z, Kathy, Pele , Tiger, Jan, Mary Ellen) . Went to Mass (their church celebrated 10 yr. anniv, Kathy is music director) dinner, and then to a cafe where Kathy's brother was "headlining" and she popped on stage to join in on a few numbers. All great fun. OK, on to the photos.
Remember, click on fotos to see them larger.


Anne Z, Pele, Tiger, ATR, Kathy

AZ, Tiger, Pele

Tiger, Pele, me, Jan, MaryE


Don, master of the world of internet jokes.

Liz, Mary Kay, MaryM

Kathy and ATR

Mary Pat

Mary Kay and Mary K.


Pre party photos

Me and my mom

Me and The B's


Barb, Sally and mom.... lovely ladies

Dee, Cathy G, and Betty.... more lovely ladies