It's Friday already?

Wow, where did the week go?

Christmas was pretty good. It was good to have some time to myself yesterday and today, even though I spent a fair amount of time driving from appointment to appointment, even in that beautiful snow today. I love people, and being around people. . . .but sometimes even I can get people overload and need some downtime.

While the snow wasn't a blast to drive in today, it sure was pretty. I snapped this pic yesterday BEFORE the snow. It's my favorite tree outside out living room. It looks magical covered in snow.

Well, we've got another long weekend ahead of us. If I'm lucky, I won't have to work much and I'll be able to enjoy some quiet time. . . . .AND some exercise!!

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Frosty. . . .

Coffee

Coffee. . . . . .Mmmmmmm.

I shouldn't NEED any coffee today. . . . . . .I went to bed at 8:30 last night. It was freakin' awesome. I'm ready to conquer the day today. . . . .and hopefully, FINALLY catch up on things, or at least die trying.

Weekend Fun

Saturday we hit this party. . . . . only after the scavenger hunt. It took us twice as long as normal to get there and even longer to get home due to the snow, but it was worth it to play guitar hero. I am now officially hooked.

Sunday we did our morning chores and took the advice of a wise mtb girl blog reader and set out on a hike in the snow. It was so peaceful and quiet, the sun was shining (almost obnoxiously) and the wind wasn't TOO bad in the woods. All in all it was a enjoyable time, except for the fact that I'm so out of shape we had to rest a few times.

Then Sunday afternoon we headed on down to the BIG CITY for the TSO concert. Bill and I can't remember how many years in a row we've gone, but it has to be at least 8 or 9. Each year they just get better. We met some peeps there and after an almost 3 hour concert, we headed out for some dinner.

Shooter was hungry as usual.

But cute none-the-less.

Christine was her usual friendly self.

And overall we were a pretty good looking group. . . . . .at least among the riffraff that was out that night.

All-in-all, a fun weekend. Despite a somewhat gloomy Saturday morning. . . . . . .the weekend ended up being a good time w/friends.

Today

Today I totally feel like THIS GUY. I knew this "happy, chipper Christmas spirit" would come to an end at some point. I guess today (yesterday) was the day.

My rein as our "substitute administrative assistant" at work has come to an end. Our full-time expert is back, and she's cleaning up the mess I've left. I'm finally free to be myself again, to get my baking done, to finish my Christmas shopping, to get my house clean, to spend time with the people who mean the most to me. . . . . .and while that should have me feeling liberated and happy, instead it has me depressed.

I can't seem to do anything right these past few days. . . . several people are upset with me for one reason nor another, one of them being the guy who lives with me. I don't know what I did. . . . . .I don't know why people don't like me anymore. . . . .I don't know why I just want to curl into a little ball on the couch and cry. Maybe it's just the stress of Christmas finally catching up with me because I actually had time to stop and think. Maybe it's because I haven't been on my bike since 2 weeks ago when the snow storm hit.

Whatever it is. . . . .I hate it. I just need a big, warm hug, and instead I just get people telling me what I'm doing wrong, at work, at home, my family, my friends. . . . . . .even my DOGS are looking at me like I'm just not the person they want me to be.

Sometimes I really hate being a "feeling" type of person.

Wow

They got my horoscope for today TOTALLY wrong.

Regardless of how much the storm seems to be raging out of control, you will be able to handle it, dear Cancer. Have confidence in your own grounded nature. There is a reason why you take the time to address the details and plan your moves carefully. Today is one of those days when you will see the rewards of those diligent actions, especially in the areas of love, beauty, and your deepest emotions.

What's your Christmas Elf name?

Christmas Elf Name


My Christmas Elf Name is







Get your Christmas Elf Name at JokesUnlimited.com

Back in the swing of things. . . . . .

Finally. . . . .I'm back at the gym. After over 3 weeks off. . . .I feel like a pile of poop. I'm sure I won't be able to move tomorrow. . . . . . .

Stuck in a rut

Yeah I know, I don't update anymore. You might as well move me down on your "favorites" since I don't have anything interesting to share lately.

It's only December 5th and I'm already feeling the Christmas stress. Half un-packed decorations, half done Christmas shopping, drifts of snow across my yard, driveway and front sidewalk, Christmas cards to think about, addresses to find, business gifts to purchase, holiday calendars to mail out, December birthdays to remember. . . . . . .

And then there's the "non-Christmas" stress. A sick dog that pukes on one rug, walks in it and tracks it down the hallway rug and all over the floor. Piles of work accumulating at the office while I'm filling in for someone else. Running my full-time business and helping someone who often helps me so THEY can take a vacation. Not really knowing what I'm doing while I'm "helping" that person and fudging my way through it. Forgetting to turn the power back on at my new piece of crap foreclosure property and then having to drive over in a snow storm to do so, JUST to make sure the pipes don't freeze. Losing touch with friends because I'm "too busy". Skipping my workouts because really, who cares?

I know there's lots of good things to be thankful for. . . . . .and I am thankful despite the fact I just listed a bunch of "negatives". Sometimes you just have to be in touch with what you're feeling and let it be. I know I'm not the only one who feels these things. . . . . ..everyone has "bad" or "down" days. Sometimes it's just good to remind others that even the "positive, upbeat" people who always pick everyone ELSE up, have tough times as well.

My next entry will be more "positive" I promise. I know people don't like me to be "negative". BUT, I am what I am.

This one's for Jeremey........

A Saturday AM ride in WB if you're interested

Let's try and get one in before the "winter storm" hits.

When: Saturday, December 1st - AM ride

Where: Meet at the Nigh's house (in West Bend) at 10:00am to ride down, OR meet at the trail parking lot at Glacial Blue around 10:30am (ready to go). We'll swing by there once we've braved the cold winds down the hill.

If you need directions or have any questions, drop me an e-mail. brittany@netwurx.net

We'll split into 2 (or more) groups depending on how many people we have and what pace those people are comfortable with. For me. . . .a SLOW pace is likely about all the body has to offer at this point in the year.

See you on the trails. . . . . .before the snow flies!!

Thought for the day

This was sent to me today. I found it interesting, of course.

As Ben Franklin said: 'In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria'.

In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 litre of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of E-coli bacteria found in feces.

In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.

However, we do NOT run the risk when drinking wine and beer (or tequila, rum whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.

Remember: Water = Poop, Wine = Health

Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of shit.

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information...I'm doing it as a public service.

Update

Yes, I am still alive.

Exterior illumination is complete, however I need to go back and FIX a couple sets of lights that for some reason aren't lighting already (cheap crap). We also need to re-evaluate the blow-up Santa we have (Mountaingoat LOVES those) as he's in a windy spot and appears drunk most of the time.

We survived Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving clean-up, and the West Bend Christmas parade, for which we basically built a float that kicked a$$. I've got pics, but need to download them. The sad thing is I don't have video, and that's the REALLY cool part, cuz it's a light show that's coordinated to music. Otherwise it just looks stupid.

Our AA at work is departing on a 2 week vacation starting Thursday. . . . . .and I seem to be the only one she trusts with all her passwords and "private" information. So I'll be filling the rolls of 2+ people for a couple weeks while I help her and others. . . . .which means these next couple days I need to bust ass getting all my shit done so I'm not COMPLETELY overwhelmed.

With that said. . . . .I'd better get busy. It's a good thing Captain and I decided to take our "off time" NOW. We seem to be extraordinarily busy this past week+. I don't know how we would fit workouts in on top of everything else. Although my body sure misses them. I feel like a piece of shit.

The Day after Thanksgiving

AKA: Black Friday

Yes, we got up before the Roosters were even THINKING about crowing, when the moon was absolutely HUGE and rather spectacular, and hit the stores. And no, it wasn't even MY idea.

Our home phone rang at 4:55am, minutes before our alarm was set to go off. Captain sat up dreading the call, as he feared it was work chasing him down to work on the ONE day after Thanksgiving that he hasn't had to work. Thankfully, that was not the case. Rather, it was my MOTHER, who usually doesn't even MOVE before 9:00am. She was up and ready to hit the stores and wanted to make sure everyone else was too.

We got ready, grabbed a to-go cup of Java (for myself) and a steamy cup of Chai (for Bill). And we were out the door at 5:30, in line at 5:43 at Cabelas (of course).

They opened the doors and everyone swarmed. We didn't even KNOW what the sales were, nor did we actually NEED anything, we just got caught up in the moment and followed the crowds to find the "deals". At one point I battled a swarm of people over a bin of long underwear. Pieces were flying, people were digging, I think one person even fell in and almost didn't get back out in one piece. The sick thing is after fighting for several appropriately sized pieces and walking around the store with them for an hour, I ended up putting them back as we decided we didn't need them. But the fight was fun anyway.

From there we hit Menards, and cruised the store looking for the "balloons", which symbolized "big savings". Scored another DVD player for $15, another Christmas tree (I think that makes like 7 or 8 artificial trees for us?) and a few other misc items.

From there, I decided I was DONE. It was nearly 10am, I was STARVING and I simply couldn't handle any more shopping. So we headed home and started phase ONE of the exterior illumination.

Today we should be able to wrap up phase 2 and finish a few other odds & ends. Then maybe we'll make a chart of how many Christmas trees we have, where they're going, and what their "themes" will be this year. I think we'll need to get a few more ornaments. . . . . .

Should be a good time. :-)

Thanksgiving

The day started off rather uneventful. Bill went out hunting for a bit while I cooked a few of the dishes for the evening's celebration and put the finishing touches on the cleaning around the house.

Bill got home, made his famous "sweet potatoes", we hit the showers, got ready and off we went to his sister's house (in Merton) for round one of the Thanksgiving celebration.

On our way we stopped to get gas, which was probably a very good thing. As we continued on with our journey chatting a bit, we heard a rather loud smash and turned our attention to the road ahead of us to see that we had just avoided being a part of an accident. We saw the car 2 cars in front of us, a Geo Metro, finish it's spin and come to a stop in the middle of the road, while the Ford Explorer ahead of it slowed and pulled to the side of the road.

Being the type of person I am, I yelled for Bill to call 911 as I jumped out to rush to the car, of which there was about HALF of left. I of course was the first to arrive, and I opened the driver's door to see the smoke from the airbags pour from the car. I wondered what kind of condition the driver would be in, there was SOOO much damage to the car. Surprisingly enough, he was somewhat coherent, with a cut on his head and what appeared to be minor injuries. Two additional people came running to the car, a couple, one a nurse, the other a med student. Between the 3 of us we tried to keep the driver in the car. He wanted to get out and had no idea what had happened. In the back of his car I saw a number of beer cans (however they looked full and I didn't smell any alcohol).

Suddenly we noticed the second party, the one that was in the Ford Explorer, had tried to come see what happened, and had nearly collapsed in the process. The couple rushed to his attention, soon to find out the guy was not only injured, but had prostate cancer and was undergoing Chemo, complete with a port in his chest. He was doubled over in rough shape.

Luckily within minutes a first responder was on the scene, and a number of spectators were helping direct traffic. A few minutes later there were 2 ambulances, 2 or 3 firetrucks and about 5 police vehicles. There had to be at LEAST 10 firefighters/EMT people swarming around.

As it went down, it appears the second vehicle (the Geo Metro) actually REAR ENDED the Ford Explorer. How that happened, none of us had any idea. The Ford Explorer didn't appear to have been turning, nor did they tap their brakes. . . . .the Geo Metro appeared to have just plain ran into him.

As we sat pinned within the police cars, ambulances and firetrucks, we reflected on how it only takes a moment for a person's life to change. Just a moment of inattentive driving can change everything. Luckily in this case it appears the people will live to tell the story. Now that's something to be thankful for.

Tatoos

I think SHE should get this tatoo.

Maybe SHE can get it too, and they can match.

A Quote for the day

"Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation."

-- Brian Tracy, Author

Advice that's hard to follow most of the time. . . . . .at least for me. I think I spend a little too much time dwelling on the negative, even when I don't WANT to. . . .even when I don't know I'm even doing it.

Sometimes it's hard to see the silver lining in every cloud. To understand why things happen to you, why people do the things that they do, why the people around you treat you the way they do sometimes. I guess it isn't a matter of understanding. . . . .perhaps it's more a matter of knowing that some things just ARE. Perhaps trying to find the "positive" within the "negative" will propel us to the next level.

After all. . . . .it's all a matter of how WE react to things that happen in our worlds, right? So if we decide to react with positive energy and focus on ourselves, maybe the world will be a better place? Perhaps at least our OWN little worlds will be a better place.

Have a peaceful Monday.

An ok weekend

Overall it was a good weekend. Spent some time with some girlfriends Friday night, tipped back a few beverages, had some delicious Mexican food, made a pyramid, went to bed with Shooter (aka SS Amy) at 10:00pm. Fun times.

Saturday morning brought us crappy weather but we packed up the bikes none-the-less and headed off to the River Trails to meet up with the girls. A few face plants were taken, a couple biffs, one Alterra boy we met up with (Ty) took a splooch in the river, but all-in-all a good time was had by all. Afterwards we headed out to the Twisted Fork for some post ride calories. We talked of our riding experiences, our future trips we want to take with our bikes, and who's on our "lists". Meg laughed at us "old" women. . . . .and found it humorous that I had to take 2 Advil that morning, on top of the Aleve I take every day, because I was stiff. Just wait I told her, some day that's going to be HER, maybe not for another 20+ years, but SOMEDAY. Again. . . .a good time.

Sunday I woke up stiff and a bit fatigued from Friday & Saturday's riding, so I decided to spectate at the Sun Prairie cross race. Cross is SO much more fun when you spectate. One day I'll have to try spectating with a buzz. I bet it's even MORE fun then.

One more night in the big house alone before Captain comes home. I miss him a little bit. Don't tell him tho'. It will go to his head.

Girl's night

DON'T

Don't let a friend talk you into watching a scary movie after which they dart out the door to head home while you're left alone in a big house analyzing every creaking noise.

Yeah, scary movies are good. . . . . . sometimes. Tonight is not one of those times.

At least I'll have house guests tomorrow night. Thank goodness.

My new pet

adopt your own virtual pet!

Update

I guess I should have researched this prior to updating my blog. Sorry. There were 36 women in my age group. The winner beat me by 10 minutes.

Iceman 2007 WOMEN results

Iceman 2007 MEN results

Still a little disappointed tho'.

Iceman 2007

Yeah. . . . .it wasn't quite what I hoped for.

Overall the weekend was a good one. . . . .nice drive up (LONG, but nice), decent hotel, nice pre-ride, fun time hanging out with peeps, blah, blah, blah. BUT, race results weren't what I was hoping for.

The temperature was about 25 degrees when we started (I checked the thermometer on the truck) and it was in the low 50's when we finished. Tough to dress for. SO, first off, I over dressed. That was ok though, I just unzipped the wind vest and let the air hit my sweat soaked jersey and I cooled quickly.

The Iceman is one of those races that attract a variety of skill levels. Starting behind the sport boys meant I was destined to pass a LOT of people. Boys who's skills were sub par, boys who braked for every downhill, every bump that "looked" intimidating, who wobbled from side to side of the trail, who pedaled so slowly uphill I wasn't sure I'd stay upright. . . . .so I got to practice my passing skills a LOT. But that was ok. Sure, it took a lot more effort to ride OFF the trail in the grass/leaves/crappy line than it did to ride the nice trail. . . .but such is life.

My race time was about 2:24. That's approximately 4 minutes better than last year, but the course was in much better condition than last year so I believe every one's times were better.

We started out relatively hard, and I managed to hang with a small pack of girls who were doing a pretty good pace. My heart rate was a little high, but I was fine with that as it wasn't over the top. We picked off boys right and left and suddenly I came across Clair who looked in distress. She had just been taken out by one of the other girls and ended up face planting - OUCH! But she got back in the mix of things, managed to gain her composure and chase down a number of girls, including me to finish 6th in her age class.

Looking back I know I took a small break in terms of effort in the middle of the race. I lost the pack of girls I was riding with in lap traffic and I wasn't able to catch back up which left me riding alone, as I usually do. At one point I looked down at my heart rate and saw it was in the 160's (that's pretty low for me) so I know there was a point I wasn't giving it what I should/could have been giving it. But other than that, I simply wasn't as fast. I rode clean, I managed to put the hammer down the last 30 minutes or so and with an effort just under LT I managed to catch and pass 4 or 5 girls within that time period.

I think not keeping my high end training up as well as I should have after SheVegas hurt me a bit, but I also think the competition was simply better this year. If the winning girl in my age group this year beat the time I set last year (when I won) by almost 20 minutes, I have to believe the caliber of girls racing this year was simply higher.

Anyway, it was a good time, I didn't fall, I managed to catch girls in the end, and I got to pass a LOT of boys, something I won't get to do much of next year. So all is good.

Watching the pro/semipro finish was fun, Brain Matter took it by leaps and bounds. Ned Overend was there and finished 6th I believe. I was very impressed by that. He's almost 60 I believe?? Whatever his age. . . .he's been around a LONG time. It was pretty cool seeing him SKOOL some of the younger pups. And Frankie Andreau raced as well. CK actually got to race with him, since they're in the same age class. The boys saw him prior to the race, but of course everyone thought he was a "discovery wanna be". They had no CLUE it was him. Sweet. CK said it was neat to ride wheel to wheel with him. I wish I was fast like that. Or fast like the winning woman. . . .holy shit. Those pro/semi-pro gals (and guys) are freakin' fast. Kinda makes me wish I started biking BEFORE I hit 30, instead of after. Oh well. I guess ya gotta work with what you have.

Birthday Shoutout

Happy Birthday to THIS guy.

It's ON

Tomorrow we leave for the Iceman in Traverse City Michigan. Last year we encountered a blizzard on our way up there.

Although I do recall it was a pretty drive. Quiet. . . . .but pretty.

It's always interesting trying to figure out how to dress, especially when there haven't been that many COLD days this year. Last night we did a night ride and I completely OVER dressed, causing me to become one big sweat ball, which turned me into an icicle. Perhaps looking back on last year's pics will remind me how to dress. Or maybe not. . . . . . .

It's also strange to be doing a mountain bike race after such a long break from the end of the WORS season. While I've been doing some "fun" rides (some of which have had a little bit of intensity), I've really taken a break from race efforts. . . . .other than at the cross race. And we all know how THAT went.

But the Iceman is different. It's all different peeps, it's in a totally different place, it's completely different weather than we're accustomed to (I'm actually better in the COLD than I am in the HEAT so at least I've got that goin' for me), it's different terrain, and it's at a time of year where you're just out to have fun. So that's what I'm planning for. Last year I had absolutely NO idea what to expect and I did pretty good. This year I have a bit of a clue. . . . .and although my fitness is probably a little behind last year I think I'm still gonna have a good time.

I'll just have to remember to french fry when I feel like I need to pizza.

Estabrook Park Cross Race

Yeah, I remembered cross racing was hard, but I seem to have forgotten just HOW hard it is. Holy Cow.

We arrived at Estabrook park in the drizzle. It was cold and icky looking. While the course didn't really appear muddy, it was wet and slippery in a few places. I wrestled with the lethargic feelings inside me. . . . the ones that just wanted to go plop my butt on a chair and cheer for my peeps, but I knew I needed a high end workout and one way to make SURE I got that work out was to suit up and race. SO, reluctantly, I did.

I'm really not all that fond of my cross bike (her name is tangerine). Sure, she's pretty, cuz she's orange, but the crank has never been all that good, the pedals turn harder than they should and it doesn't have enough gears - I might as well be racing a SINGLE SPEED cross bike cuz I only use a couple gears. I'm not sure it's ever made it to the big ring. I'd need a pretty big downhill to use that puppy. And no matter how hard I try to clean it, the chain is ALWAYS full of crap & crud. While it feels like a tank, I guess it is lighter than my mountain bike. . . . .and it does match my team gear, so at least I look good (or so I think).

Anyway, I registered myself, suited up and headed out for a warm up. Who was I kidding. The only way I was going to get a warm up was to hit the course. . . . . .so as soon as they cleared the racers off, that's what I did.

As I started out it wasn't SO bad. Sure I got bounced around a lot. . . . .and I sure missed the awesome Terry Saddle on my mountain bike. . . . but it wasn't SO bad. I hit the first set of barriers and while I've practiced ONCE this year (with TAPE as barriers. . . . .which I BROKE mind you), I managed to clear them OK. Probably cuz I got off about a quarter mile ahead of time and simply ran so I wouldn't fall on them. My remounts were a little rusty, but overall not so bad so I headed to the start line and was ready to go.

After racing the Cat 4 women and taking the overall 2 years in a row, I had upgraded to a Cat 3 last year. Yeah, I'm not a Cat 3. Those chicks are WAY faster than I am. But I figured, what the heck. Someone has to finish last.

They called us up to roll out and off we were. It was no more than 20 seconds into the race when I heard my heart rate monitor pop over LT (which would be over 182 for me). I never heard it drop under again. That race was 45 minutes of pure hell. The high end workout I was looking for. . . . I found. An average HR at a HARD WORS race is about 182 for me. And that's a good race where I'm REALLY working. Yesterday, my AVERAGE was 187. Yes, that's my average, not my max. My max was 195. Yes, it hurt. A LOT.

I took up the back right off the bat and that was OK. Part way through the 2nd or 3rd lap I saw Sonia (who was the next girl in front of me) quickly pull over, which I soon discovered was to "get rid of some of her breakfast". How she kept going after that, I have no idea. In fact she closed a good portion of the gap and almost GOT me in the end. . . . . .after she had completely stopped and "partially yaked" (as we later labeled it). Wow.

I thought about quitting a number of times. I wondered how in the world I would hold that heart rate for that entire 45 minutes. At one point when I thought I was literally going to DIE, I looked down to see how long I was into the race and discovered it was only 19 minutes - not even 1/2 way. After that, I never let myself look again. At 2 different times I started day dreaming, almost hallucinating, and completely lost the trail. Once I nearly broke through the tape when the trail turned and I went straight. I was just delirious I was working so hard. But I kept telling myself, it's only 45 minutes. So I hung in there.

Sonia and I brought up the back of the Cat 3 women to finish the race, and we lived to race another day. How, I have no idea. How I got out of BED this morning I have no idea. My feet are killing me, my hip flexors feel like a midget used them as a trampoline all night, my calves are twice their normal size, my gluts feel like someone whacked them with a baseball bat and my back is screaming that it needs some ibuprofen - or something STRONGER. It should be an awesome Monday.

I think I remembered why I only did one or two cross races last year. Yeah. Those cross racers are CRAZY people. Crazy I tell you. :-)

Saturdays Fun Filled Festivities

Rode the Tosa trails this morning with some peeps. It was a MILLION times more fun than the night ride we did down there last time. We even hiked back to the UPS trails. . . . .all in all a good time. Here's the group we started with (minus Captain, the picture taker). Later we met up with Tyrine.

Then a quick stop at the Polska cross race to spectate and cheer on our peeps. The course looked awesome. Actually looked like it was a good time. CK took 2nd and scored some beer AND some cash.

After that it was home for an early b-day celebration for CK. While his b-day isn't until next week, tonight seemed to be the best day for a little "surprise" celebration. After several very heated games of Catch Phrase, we decided to take all our frustrations out by making a pyramid. Again. . . . .no intoxication necessary.

Now we'll need to rest up as CK and Captain are planning on doing the Estabrook Cross race tomorrow. While I have yet to attempt a cross race this year. . . .I'm planning on doing it as well, as long as the body allows me to. I know I'll finish in the back, if not DFL, but it's ok. SOMEONE has to do it!

I'll try to savor the moments so I can post a nice race report tomorrow night.

Night 'yall.

This is hot?

I must have a very skewed idea as to what's "hot" and what's not.


'Cuz I would definitely say NOT!!

Happy Halloween

Thursday Night Ride

Please join us if you'd care to, for a night ride on West Bend's Glacial Blue trails.

We'll be pulling out around 6:00pm, riding for about 90-105 minutes. We'll leave from my front door. If you need directions, or an address, e-mail me. brittany@netwurx.net.

I'll whip up some breakfast burritos for eat's afterwards. Maybe we'll see you there!

What breed of dog are you?

What Breed of Dog Are You?

My Result: Bernese Mountain Dog

No bones about it, you're a good-hearted, people-loving Bernese Mountain Dog. Down-to-earth and loyal, no one works or plays harder than you do. You put your nose to the grindstone when it really counts, but you never neglect your social calendar. Simultaneously strong and sweet, you're very tuned-in to the feelings and needs of the other dogs you run with. Without having to be asked, you always have a helping paw to lend and a sympathetic shoulder to lean on. "Communication" is your middle name, and when that's paired with your unswerving devotion, you get a breed that everyone respects and trusts. Woof!

Take this test >

Yeah, I suppose. . . .

I suppose I should update. I've been a slacker. Been riding my bike, but doing too many freaky night rides.

Wednesday was a night ride at Blue. . . .yard sales everywhere. 2 even had to ride back home after 43 minutes their yard sales were so bad. Thursday was a night ride at the Tosa trails. I had just about as much fun as I did on my very first night ride ever (Crystal Ridge night race last year). Won't be going back there any time soon (at night anyway - or at least WITH anyone). At least going HERE afterwards was a good time.

Friday night we hit the big town of Hartford to eat at the Mineshaft and go through the haunted house. My mom is a key player there, so she got us in without a wait. It was pretty good this year.


Saturday I did the girl's ride at the Kettles. I was too lazy to take pictures, so I stole this one from Super Fly.

It was a good time. The only time I've ridden with that many girls was during a race. It was fun to actually RIDE with people I race with. During a race, I don't usually get to see most of these girls. Only a couple mishaps there, a couple endos, a couple wipeouts. . . .I hit a tree that seemed to have come out of nowhere. . . .other than that, it was a good time.

Saturday night we had our peeps from North Carolina over along with a few others to visit.

Here's "Bustin" showing us some of his kung fu moves.

And then Sunday I had planned on racing cross. . . . .but things done always go as planned. I wasn't in tip top condition to race. . . .so I spectated. It was a good time. I witnessed The General break out his first cross race. . . . .and he did it in style. . . .as wonder woman.

I'm sure an even better picture will surface in the next couple days. I'll keep you posted.

And that wraps up the week. A good time with good friends. Gotta love those.

The Women's Remote

Horoscope

My horoscope. . . . . . .I may need to follow this advice today.

Cancer (June 21 - July 21)

Take a break from your daily routine and veer off the beaten path today, dear Cancer. The world will turn with you for a day, so feel free to tune out for a while. Remember that whatever path you decide to take is the right path. Regret is a useless emotion - don't even bother with it. Enjoy the present day and all the small joys that it has to offer. Communicate your dreams. Concentrate on balance.

A Monday Night

Well. . . . .all my peeps were busy tonight, I didn't have a work out, and Captain prompted me to get off my butt instead of gluing myself to the TV. SO, we spent the evening in our basement getting things organized. We've lived here 4+ years now, and we have YET to set up the pool table and dartboard in the basement.

Well. . . . .we didn't get THAT far, but we (I) did do a reorganization of the TV/bike area for the winter. Bill also spent time organizing his section of the basement into a little "shop" and chasing our German Shepherd around with the vacuum (she HATES the vacuum).

Now we just need to take time to clean the carpeting down there (stinks like dogs) and plug the TV, VCR & DVD player in and we're set for "winter training". Another couple hours down there and we should be able to put the pool table together and find a home for the dart board.

Captain had a very good time and thought it was a lot of "fun" spending the evening that way. Me, not so much so. I'll be looking forward to tomorrow night when I can plop my ass on the couch after spin class and eat my ice cream while we watch the Biggest Loser. Now THAT is a good time.

A Beautiful Weekend

It's hard to believe it's nearing the end of October with the beautiful weather we've been having this weekend. We decided to take advantage of what could be our last beautiful weekend. So we rounded up the peeps and headed out Saturday morning for a nice mountain bike ride. First we had to do a group picture. . . . . .what better way to do that, than to do a pyramid (and no, it wasn't even MY idea this time around!)??

After that we headed out to Sunburst and did a lap together.

Then we headed on over to Glacial Blue to poke around for a bit. Superfly had never been there during the day. . . . . . . so it was like a whole new trail.

After that we headed back home, cleaned up and hopped in the truck to head on up to the banquet. We got there with enough time to check into our hotel and freshen up. We clean up nice, don't we?

The banquet was ok. . . . . .dragged on a little too much with the marathon series awards, but there was plenty of food (which was actually good) and lots of swag to win. A few of us took home a few trinkets.

And of course our table was on the podium a lot throughout the night. And for our team peeps who couldn't make it, we collected their stuff as well. So we had a table full of awards. Sweet. After the banquet we headed back to the hotel room where the "party" continued and we ordered "cheesy bread" from Toppers and drank a beverage. Holy cow, did that stuff ROCK. Could have eaten a WHOLE other box of those things.

Then one by one we fell asleep (some people simply passed out) and no one moved again (with the exception of potty breaks) until 9:00am. Of course that was WAY too late to hoof it to the cyclocross race down in Janesville, so instead we went for breakfast, then headed home, unpacked and got a short hike in.

Again. . . . .a BEAUTIFUL day.

I'm thinkin' there's not a whole lot of these days left in 2007.

And that concludes another full filled weekend with the peeps. Now we'll brace ourselves for the rain and cooler temps. . . . .and we'll bookmark these lovely pictures to look back on when the weather turns to crap.

Finally Friday

Sweet! Another fun-filled weekend is upon us. The only question at this point is where will we ride tomorrow? It's looking like we'll just hit the trail down the road from us (Glacial Blue), but I guess we'll figure it out with some of the peeps tonight.

In the mean time. . . . . . .if I had a "foo foo dog", I'd totally dress them for Halloween. These costumes are hilarious.


And of course a Cat picture for Dano. . . . . . . . . .



See you "on the podium" tomorrow. I hope I don't get too drunk and fall off. . . . . . .

Guess Who?

No, it's NOT me.

Major Frustration

There are just some days where I don't understand how businesses can NOT meet their customers expectations. . . .but yet they continue to charge their customers, and expect that they'll continue to pay rising costs for a service that may or may not work.

Today I'm referring to my e-mail provider. Luckily we ditched our Internet provider a while back to convert to "modern times" and get the high speed connection. Wow, did that save me a TON of time since I work from home a LOT and working through dial-up was absolutely mind boggling in regards to it's SLOWNESS. Because I had the same e-mail address for so long, and because I use it for business as well, I was reluctant to give that e-mail address up. So, I convinced Captain that we should keep the address. . . .just ditch the provider.

Since we've done that, I've had fewer outages where I was not able to access the Internet. However, the problems with the e-mail seem to continue. Today is one of those times. The last e-mail I received was this morning at approximately 2:44am. Since then, I have seen nothing. I finally contacted my provider only to be greeted by a recording assuring me they understand the problem, are working to resolve it, and have no idea how long it will be before e-mail is working.

So I'm thinking I'll pass along all my angry customers, all my angry associates, all my angry corporate clients who can't reach me via e-mail today and let NETWURX explain why I can't conduct business in the manner the rest of the world is accustomed to today.

I'll them bill them for the extra help I'll need when I'm trying to catch up on things that SHOULD have been done today, while trying to do everything else at the same time.

Yes. That will be nice. I'm sure they'll understand, appreciate and greet that with open arms. After all, they are a service oriented business, right? They should be happy to meet my needs as their "ever important" customer.

If my husband wasn't an I.T. guy. . . .I'd say they all suck (which I know isn't true). Instead I'll just say the stupid techs who "rule" the e-mail & Internet world suck. Because today, they do. Today, they complicate my life.

I think they're almost as bad as meteorologists.

Whatever.

Christmas?

Geeze, Christmas is RIGHT around the corner. Scary thought, isn't it??

The Beechwood Blaster

Well, it was so freakin' hard, I couldn't even update yesterday!!

If you've never been to Beechwood, it's like Crystal Ridge on steroids. Lots of tight technical twists, only they're all up-hill (I swear the whole course is up hill). They're not nice and sweet like Crystal Ridge, instead they boarder drop offs into ponds and down the side of large ridges. A small biff at Beechwood can have you climbing back out of a 25' deep ravine. BUT, it's fun. Painful, but fun.

I convinced some peeps to sign up with me. . . . .after being convinced to do the "comp" race (3 laps) I find out 2 of my peeps backed out and a third was on the fence (pending child care). Great, I'm thinking that morning. It's just me. . . . .and Squirt. And she'll be done before I even START my 3rd lap. How much fun will that be?

We pull in the parking lot and take in the atmosphere. It's somewhere between a WORS race and a WEMS race in terms of the feeling of the crowd. I see Spicy pull in, so I'm excited I'll have at least one peep out there. . . . . .and disappointed at the same time cuz I know I'm gonna have to ride hard now. Sonia pulls in with Carlos, and now I'm thinking, great, I'm REALLY gonna have to ride hard now! But Sonia says she's out. . . . .too much partying the night before, she's gonna spectate. That was cool, cuz I heard her yelling at me in several places throughout the course. . . .and I sure needed that. I also see the ever famous Megatron pop out of the back of a vehicle. Now "it's on".

I get dressed and get Athena ready to rock, and then attempt a warm-up. I say attempt, because I think I got 10 minutes in, and then had to wait another 15 before we started, so I was not warmed up what-so-ever. The shotgun goes off (literally a shotgun) and off we go. I decide to play it cool towards the back, cuz I wasn't warmed up, I wasn't ready and I wasn't sure how I was going to redline it through 3 laps of climb after climb. Suddenly I realize I'm DFL. Sweet. There's no where to go but up now. . . . . .new strategy for next year? Definitely the opposite of how I usually start.

Anyway, I passed a couple people on the prologue lap and was in an OK spot going into the first section of single track. I had no idea where Spicy was. . . . .somewhere up there. . . . but I knew I left Gaby behind me, and I was hoping I could keep her there. Somewhere along the way I passed Megatron, I think she was struggling with the technical stuff - there's a LOT of that. Plus she said she hasn't even been RIDING her bike. . . . .slacker! I knew there were a couple sections of the trail I "couldn't" ride, one being a "bridge" which consists of about a 10" wide beam, only about 4 feet long. It always scares the SHIT out of me cuz I think I'm going to fall off it. I have YET to even try to ride it and I here I come upon it in the race. So I squeeze my abs, aim for the middle and hold my breath. Sweet. Ride right across it, no problem. It's not so scary. In fact, I rode it great all 3 laps. How exciting.

About 1/2 way into lap #1 I came upon Spicy. On a hill actually. . . . . . one of my strengths. So I ride up on her and pass and yell, "See you at the top", cuz I knew she'd be coming for me. But for now, I was ahead. The next girl in front of me was Lori. And there's no way I was catching her, unless she stopped.

I come through to start lap #2 feeling pretty good. I pull my EMPTY water bottle out to exchange for a new one. . . . . .oops, where's my bottle girl?? yeah, she's on top of some car cheering for me as I go by. I yell "WHERE'S MY BOTTLE????" I just hear some garbled words and I keep going. I'm thinking to myself, "how the hell am I going to make it through another lap without any water??" I'm already thirstier than all get-out, breathing like there's no tomorrow and I've got ALL those climbs left with nothing to drink. Oh well, it's not like I can turn around now. I'll just hope for the best.

The second lap was pretty good. I rode it rather well, redlined on all the climbs, hyperventilated at least 4 or 5 times each lap, and rode the rock garden like a pro. It was sweet. As I'm on the back half of the course I see an Angel. And Angel holding a bottle. I was saved. Shooter hoofed it back to the furthest point to make sure I got a bottle. What a sweetie. She redeemed herself. . . .I wasn't angry any longer. She yelled at me that I was only about 3 minutes behind Lori. I'm thinking "cool, she's pretty fast". But then I'm thinking "3 minutes, that's a RREEEAAAAAALY long time!". But I knew Spicy would be barking on my back door pretty darn soon, and I could feel myself starting to fade. I should have taken a cliff shot. . . .but hind sight is always 20/20.

Last lap the peeps are yelling at me that Spicy's catching me. . . . .I breathlessly mumble "I know, it's ok, she's gonna get me", as I keep giving it everything I have. She's right behind me on a climb. I get to the top, I'm SO redlined I just pull over and say "GO". And she did. I try to hold her wheel. . . . .I'm flopping all over the trail breathing like an idiot. I decide to just let her go. Maybe I can catch her on some climbs. Every time we'd dump out on a climb, I could close the gap a little. . . . .but never enough. Then she'd pull away in the single track. It was a fun, but painful little game.

Then it all went down. Cruising up some open stuff, building speed to get through the next section, drop into the marshy area, suddenly my wheel finds a rut in disguise and down I go. I do think I prefer SLOWER crashes as they don't seem to hurt quite as bad. I literally BOUNCE off the grass, skid several feet and I'm still tangled in my bike. It hurt like hell the moment I did it, so I knew it wasn't going to be good. But I knew Gaby was behind me. . . . . .I couldn't afford to waste any time. So I jumped back up, got on and pedaled. Oh it hurt. I almost started crying from a combination of pain, exhaustion and fear of being passed. I knew Spicy was gone, there's no way I could get her now. But I had to hold off Gaby. So I gave it everything I had. Ran into about 10 trees, felt like it was my first time on a mountain bike, rode the rock garden like a citizen rider, almost didn't make it to the last stretch of open field. . . . . .and I heard her. Right behind me. Crap. I knew she could get me on the "flat stuff", cuz that's where I suck. So I gave it 120% through the last section of singletrack, dumped into the field and put the hammer down. Hyperventilated before I was even NEAR the finish line. . . . .and I held my place. Sweet.

Finished 3rd, behind Lori & Rachael. Just over 2 hours (I think 2:05?) and won a sweet warm up jacket thingie. Lots of good food afterwards. . . . . .good conversation. . . . . .good friends. . . . . .a good time overall. A few nasty bruises and a terrible knot in my shoulder. . . .but I'm still in one piece and nothing is broken. What more can you ask for. Next year, my OTHER peeps better race too. They don't know what they're missing!

The week in training. . . . or lack of training. . . . .

Man, it' s hard to want to go outside and ride your bike when it gets dark at 6:00 and it rains all the time!

Wednesday has us abandoning the night ride for an evening of conversation and food instead. The new episode of South Park was on. . . .not as funny as the last one, but funny none-the-less.

Thursday I knew I HAD to ride or I'll really be regretting losing all my fitness come Iceman day. Knowing the Beechwood race is Saturday, I figured some hill training was in order, so off to Sunburst I went. 2 laps with my iPod was no big deal really. It was cold, getting dark and it just felt icky, but I swear my 2 laps there were faster than my race laps were. No warm up, just straight to the hill to redline it right out of the gate. It hurt like heck. . . . but my stress test DID come back completely normal. . . . .so I guess there isn't any reason I CAN'T redline it.

After that, I opted for a bit of cross practice. After all, if I'm going to do ANY cross races this year I'd better at least get ON the stupid bike. Just as I remembered. . . . .bumpy, non-forgiving and hard. Can't wait to throw up at the first cross race I decide to do.

Tonight the couch is calling me. . . . .and then tomorrow is Beechwood. Doing the "comp class", which is the equivalent of the "women's elite". Should be a good time. Those boys throw a good party.

See you there!

10 Habits of Highly Annoying Co-Workers:

Habit No. 1: You make a daily call to your partner to "check in," which can last anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes and, depending on how you two are getting along these days, can result in either a nasty fight or the sweet murmurings of baby talk.

Habit No. 2: You just can't seem to make it to those early morning meetings on time. If only the wait at the Starbucks next door weren't so slow, you'd never have to ask your co-workers what you missed.

Habit No. 3: You almost always leave the office early "to beat traffic." You're positive that you have the worst commute of all your officemates.

Habit No. 4: You buy a huge gift basket for someone in the office without consulting any of your co-workers, and then tell everyone that they owe you $10 to chip in.

Habit No. 5: You borrow your neighbor's stapler without asking and only remember to return it when your neighbor complains that he or she can't find it.

Habit No. 6: You can't understand what the big deal is whenever you ask your co-workers for "a tiny favor." Don't they know how much work you have piling up? You talk about it all the time.

Habit No. 7: You've once again forgotten to take home and wash the container that has the remnants of your tuna salad lunch a few days ago.

Habit No. 8: You answer questions or reply to comments with "That's what she said."

Habit No. 9: You don't see the need to learn how to send a fax or fix a paper jam when there's always someone around to help you do it.

Habit No. 10: You play your favorite boy band CD on repeat. All day. Every day.

Yeah, kinda makes me happy I'm an independent contractor. I work from home and avoid these people most of the time.

I think I passed

Today I had my first stress test. How exciting that was. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to hit the heart rate I needed to hit, due to how tired my body still is. BUT, I did it.

Have you ever had one of these? They're a LONG ordeal. I was at the clinic over 3 hours. First they put in IV in your arm so they can inject you with radioactive stuff so they can take pictures of your heart. Then you have to wait for that to take effect, about 30 minutes. They they bring you in and set you under a machine that takes images of your heart for 25 minutes. The hardest part of that was I had to lay with my arms over my head the whole time. They actually got pretty sore.

Then they send you back out to the waiting room, where you wait for the actual test portion. They take you in for that and stick like 15 electrodes on your body so they can watch your heart while you work out. The Dr is there for that portion, they take your blood pressure every 3 minutes, watch your EKG and see if anything "spectacular" happens.

The Dr told me I only needed to hit an HR of 160 to "pass" the test. I said "Geeze, that's it? I can do that almost running up the steps". My AVERAGE heart rate for Sunday's race was 183 - yes AVERAGE. So I figured 160 would be a breeze. Heck I was already at 90 simply resting. But it did take a little bit. . . . .which the Dr says is a sign that I'm "in shape". Yeah, tell that to my body as I'm trying to climb the equalizer feeling like I'm going to DIE.

Anyway, they stick you on a treadmill, watch all this stuff and bump it up a couple notches every 3 minutes. I guess there are 6 cycles. I got to 4 and the Dr said "that's fine, we don't need anymore". Whew, thank you for that. Then they sent me back out to the waiting room, after injecting me with MORE radioactive solution to wait for another 30 minutes before they took one last set of images of my heart.

I'm already a step ahead of my dad. He went for one of these stress tests a few years back and they didn't even let him go. They checked him right into the hospital and 2 days later cracked his chest open for 6 bypasses. Thankfully, they sent me home and said "go ride your bike". They'll read the tests tomorrow, but right now it's looking like I've just got a large wave of some sort (can't remember what letter it was), which makes it difficult for some to take my blood pressure because you have to listen for the "snap". I guess the "snap" is much more prominent when I'm working out. . . . .of course you can hardly hear it over my deep breathing.

I guess I'll live on to ride another day. Perhaps the radioactive stuff will still be with me on tomorrow night's night ride and I won't need a light cuz I'll just GLOW. Sweet.

The last Sport hurrah

Photo: Superfly

Well, I knew today was going to be tough, that it was going to hurt and that I'd have to give it every ounce of everything I had to survive in that heat & humidity. I was right.

Got a good start. . . .thought about contending for the hole shot since I was right up there, figured it wasn't worth the extra effort as I knew I'd NEED that extra effort later in the race so I came through in 4th, missing the money. We dumped into the single track and took off. Somewhere there was a shuffle of places, I gained, I lost, we caught the boys quickly and getting around some of them was no small feat. I practiced my "aggressive" passing skills, instead of just sitting on a wheel taking time to recover and waiting for a big open spot. It worked pretty well. I don't think I screwed anyone up.

I do believe I actually popped a bit on the first lap as my heart rate was through the roof. I knew I wouldn't be able to hold that pace for 3 full laps, so I was forced to take it back a notch and hope for the best. I seemed to recover pretty well, actually riding SMART and conserving energy so I didn't DIE in the heat.

I remembered to hit my lap timer through the start, which was kind of cool. My first lap was approximately 28:30, second lap was approximately 30:29 and the last lap was about 31:00. I was pretty happy with those times, given the fact I consciously had to scale it back on lap #2 to survive. Lap #3 I turned into an idiot. . . . .all my "clean riding" was gone, I started to endo before the bridge, but managed to catch myself before I ate mud. I clipped out on numerous occasions due to one stupid mistake or another and I brushed more than one tree that time around.

BUT, I did the BIG log jump each lap (with style), and I made it about 2/3 the way up the equalizer on my first lap before I popped the front end up. The second lap 2 sport boys yard saled it RIGHT in front of me and I had to run the WHOLE FREAKING THING, and the last lap I was so cashed I THINK I got about 1/2 way before I had to run (or shall I say "try to jog"). And I managed to hold off several sport girls who were barking at my door. THIS one got away and left me in her dust, but I managed to close the door after she passed by (effortlessly I might add).

Standing on the podium one last time was bitter sweet. We had a full podium for the 35-39 sport women, which was awesome. I collected my medal, darted back to my water bottle bitch duties, and actually shed a couple tears on my way. I came to give it all I had. . . . .and I did. 6th place overall. . . . . . .and I worked my ASS off for that. Next year is going to be a WHOLE different animal. I hope I'm ready.

Early weekend fun

Friday night we decided to mingle among the "children" and hit the homecoming game in West Bend. It was rather funny, as the teams playing were West Bend East against West Bend West. Hmmm. Who to root for? West Bend?

We did it right in order to blend with the teenagers and we had an alcoholic beverage BEFORE we left the house. Then we stopped for pizza for dinner and had a second one while our pizza was cooking. Then we went to the game. Here we are on our way.

Afterwards CK joined us and we stopped at our favorite WB bar, The Binkery, for one last cocktail and a HUGE plate of nachos on the owner, Bink. Yummy.

Saturday morning we awoke from a little bit of a restless slumber to do a few errands, and head off to preride SheVegas. I stepped outside and knew it was going to be a TOUGH weekend. Temps in the 80's, humidity up the butt. . . . . I started sweating just LOOKING outside, riding was going to be a joy. And I was right. Sheboygan is my favorite course. . . .but the humidity just does not like me. I'm going to give it 110%, but I'll give you a head's up now. . . . . . you may want to keep an eye on me in case you see me laying on the side of the course somewhere. . . . . .get me oxygen if that's the case.

After the pre-ride we headed to the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin. That was so exciting. We took a little hay ride out into the field and each picked our favorite pumpkin to take home. Sweet. What a bunch of dorks. It's ok though, cuz we're COOL dorks.

Then we came home, stuffed our faces, talked about how hard tomorrow is going to be, talked about the bitter sweetness of SheVegas. . . . . . . .a most excellently fun course, but the last WORS race of the year and took some relaxation time. Man, I hope I can just have fun tomorrow and ride well. The weather's going to be tough. . . . . .but I'll give it my best.

See you on the trails!