Trading in a dress for a pair of sweats

It’s been slow. Not in the Gangloff household or in the water, but certainly on the blog. Without much time to even say “hello,” “goodbye,” and “goodnight,” Mark, Annabelle, and I have been working, swimming, hosting out of towners, tailgating (WAR EAGLE!), cooking, cleaning, researching, walking, taking statistics exams, teething, running, lifting weights, traveling, etc. (try to figure out who was doing which activities…). With the laundry list (oh yeah, we’ve done laundry,too) of things that have taken our time in the last week or so, the blog has taken a backseat. But now, I’ve returned.

The Golden Goggle awards will be held next Monday night in NYC. We’re not going. I’m sad about it. We are not going for a number of reasons: (a) We don’t have a sitter for Annabelle, (b) we don’t want to spend the money (yes, USA Swimming pays for the athletes to attend, but not for spouses, not for food for the entire trip, not for parking at the airport, not for boarding the dog at the kennel, etc.), (c) we will be pooped out after hosting Annabelle’s first birthday party this weekend (yay!), and (d) Mark’s gotta train. So, in sum, we’re not going to Golden Goggles this year.

I do have a request of all you readers, however. The Golden Goggles is ultimately to celebrate great swimmers and swims throughout the year. There are a few categories such as Best Male and Female Athletes, Best Race, Best Coach, etc. The category that I am interested in this year is the Perseverance Award. A handful of athletes are up for the award. I just voted for Amanda Beard.

A few weeks ago she posted on Facebook that she was up for the award. I then sent her this comment:

“Congrats on the nomination! When Mark watched you swim this summer he said to me, "Man, I remember what bad shape you were in after Annabelle was born, can you believe Amanda is already swimming fast?!" Thanks a lot, Mark. Anyway... quite impressive. You definitely have my vote! :)”

This was her response:

“Thanks for all your sweet words. Being a mom takes a toll on your body but also makes you have a different outlook on life itself. While I love swimming my family comes first. I think that makes it easier to just swim bc it's fun. Anyways, I love your blogs! So fun to read. Have fun with your cheeseburger. Blaise is going to be an ewok! Haha. So fun!!!”

Have you voted yet? Click here to vote for this year’s Golden Goggle Awards.

The Golden Goggle Awards brings back great memories of times with friends (Jeri, Eric, Davo, Demerae, Bryce, David, Jimi, Rob, Dave and all the rest whom we’ve spent time with—thanks!). My favorite memory, however is from Golden Goggles 2006. Actually it was the morning before Golden Goggles. Mark and I were poor (as in dirt poor). We were engaged to get married. I was in graduate school (the first time). We decided to go to breakfast at this hole in the wall joint (it was in LA that year) because we couldn’t afford the breakfast buffet at the nice hotel where we were staying (not on our own dime). I’m not sure why this breakfast stands out in my memory, but to this day, it was the best breakfast I have ever had. Good conversation. Great French toast. Love of my life (Mark, not the French toast).

So, this Monday night, instead of jet setting (I make this sound much cooler than it is) to NYC, we will be curled up on the sofa reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See to Annabelle, ordering Moe’s to go, and making to-do lists for our first family Thanksgiving at home (our home).

Good luck to Amanda and the rest. We’ll be thinking of you while we veg out in our sweat pants.

Have you seen my medals?

This is Annabelle's diaper bag. You're probably thinking, "Why is she showing us this? Who cares?"

Here's the story.

On Saturday Mark attended the WAR EAGLE Invite (age group meet) held in our hometown to sign autographs, meet the kids, support the meet, etc. Of course, because he has the best wife and daughter, the whole family packed up and headed to the pool to support him (and, really... I love a good concessions stand). Annabelle and I helped Mark set up a table, helped him display his posters, books, and most importantly, his medals, and then hung out patiently for a couple of hours while Mark did his thing (my patient waiting included having Goldfish and milk thrown up in my hand--ah, the life of an average, everyday, mother). Actually, it was fantastic. I kind of like watching him in action.

After a couple of hours, we loaded Annabelle up in the stroller, grabbed the merchandise and medals, and folded up the table.

Sunday morning, as usual, we got up, got dressed, packed the diaper bag and went to church. We dropped Annabelle and her diaper bag off at the church daycare. After the service we picked her up, chatted with friends and the headed back home.

It was a fairly normal weekend--dare I say relaxing even?

Sunday afternoon, in a hesitant voice (hesitant because he knew that whatever he was about to say would send me completely over the edge), Mark yelled from kitchen, "Ash, have you seen my medals?" Can you say: COMPLETE PANIC?

See, Mark is pretty easy going when it comes to his medals. He takes them to all of his events, lets the kids wear them, and passes them around room. Mark says that the purpose of the medals is to share them, and though this is why I love him, this is also why I have anxiety.

So, as I tried to remain cool, calm, and collected on the sofa, my heart raced as he searched all of the typical places that he normally stashes the medals. I was sure that we had either a) left them at the pool or b) that some proud kid is walking around his hometown wearing them.

It was neither. After 20 minutes of nervousness, Mark yelled to me, "Got 'em. They were in the diaper bag." Naturally. Exactly where you would think 2 Olympic gold medals would be found.

I wonder if the sweet ladies at the church daycare saw them?

Home Sweet Home

We are home this weekend. All of us. I could not be more thrilled.

Since May our little family has been on the go. Not that pre-May was much easier given that in the last 12 months I have a) uprooted my home, my job and my family to moved into a new home in a new town (revisited) with a new job, b) started a PhD program, c) been pregnant and d) had a baby. Pre-May was challenging, but since May my head has actually been spinning.

But, this weekend, no one is traveling. No one is driving an hour and half back and forth to the airport. No one has any layovers in random cities. No one has to worry about lost baggage (except Mark, whose bag from Pan Pacs is still missing--yep, the one that had his medals in it). No one has to worry about time changes. No one has to be stressed about returning home on a Sunday with no time to prepare for the following week.

Can you tell that I am excited about this weekend?

Things that I would like to accomplsih this weekend include (not necessarily in this order, but this is the way it is coming to me)...

• Laying in bed (all of us--Mark, Annabelle, Daisy-the dog-, and me) as long as humanly possible on Sunday morning

• Going to church as a family

• Actually getting laundry done and put away (we are the type of family that leaves the clean laundry in the basket until it sits long enough that we can't remember if it is clean or dirty and end up washing it for a second time)

• Tailgating for the big home game with friends without concern about schedules, commitments, or obligations

• Organizing my dayplanner (I used to be a highlighter, color-coder, type of gal, but in the last few months I have thrown away my highlighter and have turned into a girl that is just trying to survive the next activity)

• I think I'll pick up a craft project, too (I am a former art student turned business PhD student--I know, quirky, but that's me. Sometimes, I just need me a little Hobby Lobby to bring me back to center)

Mark will also get in a full week's worth of training, which is something that hasn't happened since this summer. In the last few years (this is now Mark's sixth year as a professional swimmer), Mark has learned how to plan his year as to optimize working, training, and racing. In the fall Mark sacrafices a ton of training in order to travel and work. Then, about November, Mark's work schedule slows so that he can return to full time training. Don't worry, he's still working hard in the pool now, but traveling often disrupts a training week causing him to miss 1, 2, 3, sometimes even 4 training sessions a week.

But, this weekend we are home. Home, sweet home.

Vacation... for real this time...

We had the opportunity to visit The Cliffs Communities this weekend. Can you say, fabulous?

No need to explain it again, but our dear friend set us up with what has been one of our most favorite weekend vacations ever.

One of Mark's best friend in the world, a fellow Olympian (2000 breaststroker and fellow Auburn Tiger, Pat Calhoun) happens to be his favorite golf buddy. So, when we heard that we would have the chance to visit The Cliffs, which is known for its golf, we knew that Pat and his wife had to come. So, the four of us, Annabelle (our baby girl) and Amy (a dear friend and #1 babysitter) loaded up the car and drove to the Mountains on Friday (Daisy, the dog, was boarded at the vet, but I'm sure had a lovely weekend, too).

The weekend was perfect. Full of golf, food and a ton of fun. Because I am a nagging wife I couldn't let Mark just golf all weekend, so being the planner I am, I planned for horseback riding, pool time and a trip to Greenville, SC.

Mark had never ridden a horse until Saturday. So, we took advantage of The Cliffs horseback riding experts and took a trail ride through the South Carolina mountains. Mark's horse's name was Hollywood (go figure) and my horse's name was Butter (if you say that this is fitting, you may be banned from the blog). Matt, our guide, led us (Mark, Hollywood, Butter and I) through a beautiful trail for about an hour... we're both still walking funny. Mark said his hips and knees were also sore because his big ol' flippers (size 13 feet!) weren't fitting in the stirrups correctly.

Mark and Hollywood

Ashley and Butter

This is the Gangloff version of riding off into the sunset--okay, fine... there was a guide and it was 9 am.

The boys also joined us ladies at the pool one afternoon, and, as you may have guessed, a nice leisurely afternoon at the pool turned into racing... down the water slides. I, being the seriously athlete I am, decided to up the ante and went head first. Yes, I managed to injure myself (I have a small cut--I like to say it is my stab wound--on my hip). Darn the Gangloff competitive streak.

Mark said that he won, but I think this might be the winning pass--check out that streamline.

Finally, our trip to Greenville, SC gave us some time to be a family with our friends. Mark adores Annabelle, our baby girl. I love to watch him play, interact and learn with her. He is unwilling to think that she will be anything but a water baby.


Thank you, The Cliffs Communities. All in all, our vacation was a huge success. There were no missed flights, no tears (except Annabelle, who is teething), and no cursing (well, maybe on the golf course). There was a lot of fun, a lot of love, and a lot of relaxation before Mark hits the pool (the real one--not the kind with slides) this week.

Mark, Ashley and Annabelle Gangloff and Pat and Anna Calhoun; The Cliffs Communities

Tomorrow officially marks the beginning of Mark's training for the short course world championships which will be held in December.