Snow shoe hike

We went out for a snow shoe hike yesterday, the weather was absolutely perfect. We hiked up and down the hills, lots of intervals, lots of work! Snow shoeing is a good time. It's a nice distraction from the trainer. . . . .easier to hit higher heart rates without even trying!

This one was CASHED when we were done. Gotta love the frozen whiskers!

Quote

"Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress."
-- Nicholas M. Butler, American Philosopher

I found this to be an interesting quote. Especially since I don't have any optimism as of recently, at least in regards to my fitness, my body composition and my training. Maybe that's what's holding me up. Maybe I just need to be optimistic. . . . .OR maybe I need to stop eating ice cream and Christmas cookies and start burning a HELL of a lot more calories.

Trying to be fit SUCKS. That's all I have to say about that.

YEAH!!!!

Michelle won. THANK GOODNESS!!

While I don't like Vickie, I'm still happy that she was able to take off all that weight. I just hope she did it for the right reasons, like her HEALTH, vs just trying to win $250,000.

Losing weight isn't easy. Those of us who have tried know. And while some of us don't have as much to lose as others. . . .it's still a constant battle. Then if you're lucky enough to actually GET it off, it can creep back in an INSTANT if you're not watching every single move you make. THAT sucks. Especially if you're an active person who's already working out a decent amount of hours per week.

Oh well. I guess a few extra pounds is nothing compared to what some of these people had to go through. Awesome job to them. . . . .and to everyone who has had to WORK at being "healthy".

Announcing

The newest member of the Swart Family.

Evan Bradley Swart. Born Friday, 12-5-08. 5 lbs, 10oz, 19 inches long.





Congratulations Ben & Kerri (aka The General & The Virgin).

Wow

How did it get to be almost Friday already?

What a week. Our AA is gone at the office (for 2 weeks) and I'm her fill in. That would be fine except this week everyone decided to WORK and there are a crap load of new listings. So those of you who think the real estate market is tanking, you are incorrect. In fact, did you SEE the rates today? Last time I looked they were at 5.125% for a 30 YEAR CONVENTIONAL LOAN. Holy shit!

But I digress. . . . . on top of all that, my dogs decided they were going to give me a heart attack and almost KILL each other tonight. T-Dog actually fought back when the mean, nearly 16 year old, almost blind, totally deaf dog attacked her for getting to close to some ice cubes which she thought was food. They went at it good. SO good we could hardly separate them. They were literally intertwined. Bill pulled the T-Dog off the old timer and she literally came with. Thunder had SUCH a death grip on Bear's neck that when he lifted her off, her paws actually pulled Bear off the ground. It was a little scary for me.

I can't believe Bear would attack Thunder because of an ice cube. That's messed up. She doesn't even LIKE ice cubes! Between that and pi$$ing and crapping every 30 minutes, that dog is wearing on our last nerves. I think there is a reason most dogs don't live to be this old.

Oh well. Tomorrow is a new day. I hope it's a better one too. It should be. . . . .we're expecting the arrival of the newest member of our "circle of peeps" some time VERY soon. Stay tuned.

Thursday I frantically worked to get the house ready for our Thanksgiving feast. I decided to try a new recipe to take by Bill's family (we were supposed to bring a dessert). My cake turned out ok, but when I went to prepare the frosting, I realized I did not purchase enough of the heavy whipping cream that I needed. After wasting about 45 minutes trying to figure out how to create my own, I hopped in the car to head back to the store. Yeah, I should have done that in the first place. It was all worth it though. The side by side comparison turned out ok.


I don't like chocolate cake, but I'm told it was pretty good.

Somehow I even found enough time to get the table set all pretty.


Then we had to dart out of the house to get to Bill's family's celebration, where we spent the first half of the day. Stuff our faces, rush home, finish the last minute prep for my family, put on a second Thanksgiving feast, stuff our faces again, clean up that mess, have a baby. . . . . .


Catch our breath, go to bed and get ready for another crazy weekend.

Friday Bill had to work ALL day, he didn't even get home until after 8:30. While I spent the morning working myself, I took a bit of time to get the T-Dog for a little hike in the afternoon. She LOVES snow. I think she's really a sled dog.

Friday night we decided to finally try a bowling outing. We always talk about doing that, never actually do it. . .this time we did it. It was actually fun. Of course my team sucked (sorry guys, but it's true). Bill's team had a nice close competition for points. Not bad for someone who never bowls. I did crack 100 by the way. . . every game. And yes, I even have my own bowling ball AND shoes!




Saturday was the Spin Party. About a dozen people were there. It was a lot of fun. I got a little over 3 hours in the saddle. For some strange reason I felt like I could have ridden all day.





Sunday morning we watched some Christmas movies, headed out for Brunch with the family, finished the exterior illumination project and then hit the West Bend Christmas parade where we were part of the First Weber float.

Yeah, I don't really understand the dinosaur either. . . . but it was cute.

Come home Sunday night, catch some down time and wake up to a HECK of a lot of snow, a lot of stuff to do, and not a lot of energy. Mondays are tough. Really tough.

WOW

So much to blog about, so little time. Where did the weekend go? Monday I'll work on a recap. . . . hopefully.

Thanksgiving

Need I say more?

Dogs

The average menstral cycle of a female dog is somewhere between 10-13 days.

Great.

Girl's night

I can't believe

I can't believe Amy C didn't take the opportunity to get rid of the REAL back stabbing bitch Vickie when she had the chance. I hope that doesn't come back to bite her in the butt.

Snow

Another weekend wrap up

Saturday night we hooked up with Bill's sister and her husband and had a delightful dinner in Oconomowoc. The service was good, the food was good, a good time was had by all.



Of course we ate too much (at least I did) and we went to bed too late. . . .but one has to do that once in a while.

Sunday we headed out with the Thunder Puppy for a hike. We had to at least try to work off some of the ZILLION calories we took in over the weekend. It was a bit cold, but overall a nice hike.


Thunder had to ham it up and pose with both of us.


Of course that was after she had to protect us from this ferocious stick.


Thank goodness she was there. That thing would have eaten us alive otherwise.

Swimming

I thought I'd try and add some of this to my workout plan yesterday, as it's something I'm not very good at. I can get to the other end of a pool without drowning, but I sure expend a lot of energy doing it.

I stopped at MC Sports and snagged myself some swim goggles. Then I set off to get my workout underway.

Overall my weight workout went fine. . . . I am enjoying weightlifting again. It feels good on my muscles. It feels like I'm accomplishing something. Although I do NOT understand how these boys in the weight room can be so amazingly LOUD when they lift. I swear the one guy was birthing a child. I wanted to go up and ask him if he was ok. Talk about annoying. And form? Yeah, almost all those boys have NO form. Their goal is to see how much they can lift, and how fast. No wonder they look all unbalanced.

After I wrapped up my weight workout I headed to the locker room to get ready for my swim. I busted out the new goggles, got the suit on and headed out the door that said pool. Well, I haven't been up to the pool in years. . . . .and I swear they changed things around a bit. That door put me into a twisty hall with a number of doors. Thankfully there was a guy out in the hall who said hello and held the door to the pool open for me. Well, I thought he did. Really he was just going in a door and when I followed him he turned around and informed me I was trying to enter the men's locker room. OOOps.

Finally I found the pool. I only lasted about 15 minutes of laps, I kind of forgot I'm a little freaked out to put my face in the water, and I was breathing so hard i probably would have drowned if I had tried. But at least I gave it a go. It was fun, maybe I'll make it 20 minutes next time. And hopefully I won't be so SORE the next day! Wow. I'm a pile of poop.

Well, some of us have to work on the weekends once in a while. . . . . so off i go to get ready for work. Yippee. Today I answer phones. That means, yes, you guessed it, Brittany works for free. Being commissioned is not an easy thing. Especially when everyone and their brother is freaking out about the state of the world. I hope that changes soon.

The Biggest Loser

If you watch this show, I'm sure you were just as excited to see the big "break-up" this evening as I was.

Man that Vickie is a bitch, that's for sure. Wow.

Now I only wish I hadn't eaten so much for dinner. I'm STILL full. I don't know why I do that. It only makes me feel bad about myself. You would think I would learn. I must be thick headed.

Oh well. Tomorrow is a new day.

Gathered some peeps

And threw a small belated surprise party for Jeff's birthday.


Yes, we embarrased him and made him wear the hat while they sang happy birthday.


These girls are SOOO fast that we're even blurry in "normal" pictures.


Of course we have a bunch of "hams" in our group of peeps.

Anyone get the license plate

Of that truck that hit me last night??

First "serious" day of weights yesterday. I think I over did it a little. I can't wait until tomorrow. I hope I can move.

Whatever. Who needs to move anyway?

Another B-Day Shout Out

Happy Birthday April. You're almost OLD now.

Birthday Shoutout

A birthday shout out to CK, who's at the Iceman this weekend. Happy Birthday, Happy Iceman!

Yeah

Wishing you all good luck

I know many are departing for the Iceman race in Traverse City today. I just wanted to shout out to those embarking on this journey and say good luck to you!

While the Iceman was not in my cards this year. . . . .my thoughts and inspiration will be with all of you on that start line in Traverse City.

Wishing you all SUPER results, a fantastic time, and a safe journey.

Now go kick some ASS!!!

Yoga

I managed to drag my butt out of bed at 5:15 this morning to get to yoga. After that, I started in on my transitional weight lifting.

I don't remember ever being so excited for an off season, and so motivated.

What the hell is wrong with me?

You girls better watch out come May. Seriously.

Last summer day?

Will it be the last summer day of the year today? Wow was the weather nice. I'd enjoy a little more of that, but I guess it is already November 4th. I managed to get my work done this morning, pop out to vote (I actually had to register as it's been THAT long since I've voted), then hop on the bike for a nice ride over to Cedarburg.

I hardly had ANY air in my tires when I pulled Sydney off the hooks in the garage. . . ..it's been THAT long since I rode my road bike. Yikes. But today I got a nice 52 mile ride in. Today, that took just over 3 hours. The weather was fantastic, the sunshine felt wonderful, even the wind was enjoyable. I was thankful for all these things today. Just a chance to be out on the bike logging some miles felt wonderful.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring. Probably some rest. . . . . .I'm a little tired now. :-)

This is the time of year

That I slack on my blog. I know. I'm sorry peeps. . . . .not a lot going on, but yet lots of little things happening, which seem silly to post. I'll try to do better. I know many of my readers rely on my posts for their laughs each day. I can't imagine why.

This past weekend was Lt Dan's housewarming/Halloween party. We weren't sure what to expect. But, as always, when you get the peeps together, a good time is bound to break out. And that, it did.













After a little nap Saturday morning we hit Greenbush for a little MTB action. Lots of fun.

And I decided to grace the cyclocross racers at Estabrook with my spectating presence. I sure don't miss that hell this year.

Another weekend gone by

Bill had Friday off so we managed to get some chores done around the home front. We took a little trip up to the Northern Kettles to chat with the DNR, did some "fall" cleaning and a few other misc items. Then we rounded the night out with a movie, Domestic Disturbance. It was pretty good. It was also good to SIT and do a little bit of nothing.

Saturday we headed up to Sumicao-Reforestation Camp. Stadium Bike had some Trek & Fisher demos, so we took those out for a spin. I took out a 29'er. It was hard to tell how it felt because the handlebars were about 12 inches too wide. Holy cow. They made SS Amy's handlebars look SMALL. I could barely maneuver through the trees. Any little correction on my part had the front wheel going ALL over the trail. But other than that, I guess it was ok. I think I could ride a 29'er without too much trouble.

Then it was off to the WORS banquet. Each year it gets a little better. Shorter presentations, faster awards, more swag. Bill walked out with some sweet pedals, I walked out with some "KULH" clothes. Our team scored some sweet plaques, we sat at "the good looking" table. . . .overall a pretty good night.

Sunday had Bill doing more chores and myself and Thunder escaping to watch the Washington Park Cross race. There were some pretty strange costumes that's for sure (gee, think I had my camera??). I'm not sure how some of those people wore what they did. . . . .it was pretty chili, that's for sure.

Now it's time to relax a little, watch some TV, stuff my face. . . .wish it were Friday all over.

It's not perfect. . . . . .

But I think it's ready to debut.

Please check it out, try the features, and give me your feedback.

Thanks!

www.BrittanyNigh.com

It's almost that time

Beechwood Blaster

Yeah, it was a blast. There's some REALLY hard stuff there! A couple tough rock gardens, a large berm, tons of climbing. . . . .but totally worth the ride.

They had a great turn out, awesome swag, great food, great people, great times.

Now that the season is officially "done", it's time to lay low, have some fun, and think about what THIS off season is going to bring. 2008 kinda sucked in the mtb realm for me, but 2009 is just around the corner. I have a feeling it will be better.

It just doesn't get any better than this.

Yup. The rumors are true. I scored this sweet baby at the Sheboygan Raffle.


I absolutely LOVE her.

Today I learned

Where babies REALLY come from.


Welcome Victoria Elizabeth Degeler. 6lbs 2oz, 19 inches.


My sister is a lot braver than I am!

Senernity Now

This morning was it. I found the perfect 15 minutes of serenity.

Bill was already up, so I had the whole bed to myself. Bear was on one of her 84 naps of the day and she was actually QUIET. Thunder was still asleep as well, no sound from her. The sun wasn't up yet, the room was dark and inviting. The sheets were the PERFECT temperature to snuggle into them, the cool air swirled around my head driving me further into the warm, cozy sheets. My body felt light and dull, for the first time in a number of days the aches and pains didn't force me out of bed. I was warm, I was comfortable, I was happy. I fell fast asleep for a solid 10-15 minutes. I wish it could have been 2 HOURS.

It was absolutely spectacular. I want to go back. I miss it already.

Wow. I always wondered.

Weekend Review

Friday night we went to the symphony. We had great seats, but didn't care for the music all that much. That's ok, the tickets were free.



Saturday we hit Greenbush for a trail work day. Got there a little later than we wanted, but were able to jump right in and help (after riding our in our jeans to the far side of the trail to meet everyone). Loop 3 is now done. Go check it out if you have time.

Saturday night we surprised the Virgin for her birthday. It was back on Thursday, but we tried to make her think we forgot. She was surprised. Everyone seemed to find other things to do with their party hats. . . . it seemed funny at the time.








Sunday we headed up to Sheboygan to get a ride in. The course was ok. I'm not excited about that race this year like I usually am. Probably cuz I'm out of shape. That's ok, I burned a few calories and kept it rubber side down.

Now we've got lots of chores to finish, dinner to make (have to figure out what we'll even be eating) and misc stuff to do. I'd rather just go sit on the couch and take a nap. Maybe I will.

Where do the weekends go?

Today

Sixteen years.



Yikes. Where does the time go??

Creativity

Now THAT is being creative with your vegetables.

Petie Came Home

You may not know Petie. . . . .he's been missing for about a year now. He and his partner (for anonymity's sake, she will remain anonymous) used to camp outside our camper each race. One day Petie just disappeared. We didn't know what happened to him, he was no where to be found. And then one day the Ransom note came.

Apparently Petie had been kidnapped and had traveled around the world with his kidnappers. He managed to break away and send little notes throughout the past year, unfortunately these notes self destructed after only a few short hours in my in-box.

But a few weekends ago, on our team camping trip, he returned to the safety of the camper bringing along all the babies he had fathered along the way. It was a bitter sweet homecoming. While it was good to see him, it came as a great shock to see all his children. I think it came as even more of a shock to his partner (who again, will remain nameless). She pecked the hell out of him when she learned of his infidelities. He's been in a coma the past few weeks. . . . I've heard mumbling escape his beak only a couple times giving me hope. I can't understand why he's mumbling "Virgin". Obviously he's a father so that's not the case for him. . . . .

We'll keep a watchful eye on him over the next couple weeks. I understand he may be in a coma all winter, it's not un-heard of. All we can do is hope.



Get well Petie.

A weekend without racing

We skipped the race weekend for the first time. . . . . . .ever. It was an action packed weekend.

A fantastic night ride on the new Gila trails Friday night.

A OLD friend's wedding Saturday.



Lots of people we haven't seen in years.





Sunday we did some painting for/with a friend, rode the new trails at Greenbush (yes, they really ARE fun), and benched a couple sections of the Gila trail. It's almost completely ready to rock now.

Yeah, it was fun. It was a LOT of fun. Maybe I'm ready for retirement.