Brrrrrr (1.24.2009)

I did it and am finally warm enough to write about it.

Backing up a little, this morning I woke up and knew I wanted a big bowl of WARM oatmeal to start my day off right. I went with a decadent combination since I was about to jump into freezing cold water and if I didn't make it out alive, I wanted my last meal to be a good one. ;)

• 1/2 c oatmeal
• 1/2 c skim milk
• blueberries
• sprinkle of brown sugar
• white chocolate and peanut butter chips
  
• spoonful of almond butter

It was one of the best bowls of oatmeal I have had in awhile. I love when blueberries get hot in the oatmeal and they burst. mmm.

After breakfast, we headed down to pick up Kevin's sister, Molly, who was our team captain. We met up with everyone and headed over to Sandy Point State Park.Kevin's company sponsored our team, so we were lucky enough to score corporate parking passes and loaded all 16 people in 2 big cars. Our passes got us in the parking lots closest to the warming tents and the water, which was really convenient.

It has been awhile since I cracked a beer open at 10am, but it went down easily and helped build up my "liquid courage". We had a fire pit for extra warmth, but it's main purpose was to grill up hot dogs, hamburgers, bratwurst, and chicken wings. Kevin had marinated the wings overnight using two sauces:

Regular Hot Wings: Franks Hot Sauce, Garlic, and Butter
Barbecue Hot Wings: Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue with Old Bay Seasoning
All the food went fast. I downed a hot dog, a chicken wing, and some tortillas chips with homemade guacamole that I had made the night before.

I also did a shot of dutch chocolate vodka for dessert. Hey - everybody needs something sweet after a meal, right?

Time to plunge! Most of the group...Kevin and I were huddled together (temperatures in the 30s) trying to keep warm moments before we plunged into 36 degree water. Yes, you read right. 36 degrees. I was scuuurred, but excited too. I left my hat and scarf on for the plunge. The hat is my grandfather's that he gave me recently because I told him I thought it was cool. It has flaps on the sides that cover your ears. Flaps are cool.

I ran in the water until it was up above my belly button, splashed around and then ran out as fast as I could. It was a rush....a major adrenaline rush.

I forgot to take any "after" photos because I was rushing to get into the warming/changing tents. We ran into the first tent we saw. I noticed that there weren't a lot of, if any, women in there and felt proud of myself for being one of few women to get in the water. I felt hard core.

I was able to remove the layers under my towel and get changed pretty quickly. Then, I realized a lot of the men around me were naked. It was too much. Molly and I were snickering like little girls. I saw things I never wanted to see.

Some man finally came over to Kevin and said that we shouldn't have been in there. Meaning me and his sister Molly. We were in the MEN's changing tent. Oopsie. (and yeah, plenty of other women plunged - they just went to change in the WOMEN's tent like they were supposed too.)

I was also excited to tell you about my celebrity sighting. Borat! Ewww, right?! Have a great rest of your weekend!