Already

Already missing this.

Puppy Update

I can't believe she's watching Dr. Phil. Who turned that on for her??

I think those ears are getting closer to standing up now. And her colors are changing daily.

And her name is THUNDER. She sounds like Thunder when she runs her feet are so big. Yeah, it may be masculine. . . . .but so is Bear (our lab). She seemed to make it through life ok.

Finally

I won't make excuses for not posting sooner. . . . . I know I'm just a loser.

We picked up the newest member of our family Easter Sunday. She still doesn't have a name, although we're contemplating a couple. Right now she comes to "Puppy".

Here's her on the ride home. She's playing all shy. First time away from the "family" and all. Don't buy it though. She's not a shy one at all.

Here she is with Daddy. She already loves him to pieces. I think he kinda likes her too.

And here she is starting her guard dog duties. . . . . monitoring the front door already.

She looks pretty big, but she'll be just 9 weeks old tomorrow. Her dad was HUGE and her mom was on the small side. Her feet are scary big, so if that's any indication of which "parent" she's going to follow in size. . . . . .we're in trouble.

She's a perfect puppy. Her razor teeth can go. . . . .but otherwise she's very well mannered (for the most part) and she's spent 2 nights in her crate sleeping the whole night through with no whimpering. THAT took us by surprise. We were told to expect NO sleep for a few nights but she settled right in and is a perfect member of our family.

As for Bear, the 15 year old black lab. . . . . .well, she could really care less about this little bundle of energy that tries to bite at her ears once in a while. But then again, she could really care less about most things now-a-days, except for food. She LOVES food. Guess she's earned that right being like 100.

Happy Tuesday. I'll update on NC as soon as the new power cord for my old lap top comes. Right now I can't access a thing from it. . . . . .no power. That means I can't get to any of the pictures on it, and I can't e-mail anyone who's address I don't have memorized (who memorizes e-mail addresses now-a-days anyway?!?).

There's always tomorrow!

North Carolina

We're here and our Internet is FINALLY fixed!

Here was our view from the cabin Saturday morning. Lovely!

Day #1 we headed out for a road ride, up the Blue Ridge Parkway. The sun came out and overall it was a beautiful day for the "B" group. The "A" group however, managed to stay out just a tad bit longer and they got nailed by the rain storm.

Day #2 we headed out on the mountain bikes to Bent Creek. Again, another lovely day. Except for the fact that my bike wasn't working properly. Apparently the B screw wasn't set properly and I wasn't able to use any of the middle gears. SO, I definitely got a taste of being a single speed. It was ok.

We stopped for a couple photo ops as well. Overall good times.

And Squirt and Shooter are doing well also. Shooter has been carrying my ass all week. . . . . .we can't get Squirt to stop smoking. . . . . . .

And now we're off for dinner. . . . Mellow Mushroom here we come. I hope I can make it that long. I'm STARVING!.

WHAT?!?!?

Two hours of Biggest Loser. . . . .they bring back 2 people who were voted off, and they don't even show the "elimination", so we still have NO IDEA who's leaving??

That's just mean. Seriously.

Freaks me out a little. . . . .

It freaks me out a little to have it still be THIS sunny at 5:14pm, with THIS much snow still on the ground.

Hopefully it will all melt. I definitely like the sunlight. Although getting up in the dark again is tough.

Weekend recap

Why do the weekends always go by so darn quickly!! I don't know. . . maybe it's because we pack do DAMN much into each of them????

Friday night we hung out with a few friends, had some salmon (well not me, fish is icky), and I fell asleep on the floor next to the dog while everyone else played with my new lap top (that's why the call me the party animal).

Saturday I worked just about all day while Bill got his ride in and did a few chores around the house. Saturday night we headed out to see some "non-biking" friends (yes, we have a COUPLE of those) and we played some games. We got really screwed up with the time change. Got to bed late, got up early, had a tough time keeping the eyes open Sunday.

Sunday we met the newest member of our family.

We don't have a name secured yet, but we've got a few in mind. She's only 7 weeks old right now, so she'll be ready to come home to her NEW home as soon as we get back from vacation. The OLD DOG gets ONE more free Sunday, then she's going to be REALLLLLLLY tired ALL the time having to try and keep up with this little bundle of energy. I can't wait.

After visiting her, a few of us headed out for a little hike so I'd at least get SOME TYPE of workout in! It felt pretty good (but way too difficult - uugh).

We came home to a nice dinner - chicken on the grill - and an evening with our NC friends, gathering things for the trip and making our last minute preparations. We leave Thursday. I can't wait.

And that's the weekend recap. Overall, a fun time. I could have used more sleep, a little less activity and another workout or two. But really, it was a fun time and I wouldn't change a thing. Now hopefully we can manage the stress level this week as we prepare for departure. Sweet.

Bike Update - Athena is WELL!!!

Sweet. Athena is all done and ready for North Carolina. I spent the afternoon "learning" how to "wrench". Now what did I truly retain you ask? Well. . . . . .

I'm fairly confident I can put a new chain on all by myself. Yes, I understand this is a "basic" wrenching item, but keep in mind there are a number of people (granted, mostly girls) who can't even change a tire. SO. . . . . .changing a chain is pretty good I'm thinkin'.

I'm also fairly confident I can change my own cables & housing again. I may need a little guidance, but if I can take it apart I'm pretty sure I can change it.

I KNOW I can put my own brake pads in (disc brakes mind you). In fact we left the old ones on the rear since they weren't totally shot. I'll change those out after NC. I'm gonna be OK on that one without being supervised (I think).

Shifting. . . . . .well, if you take my derailleur off I think I'm screwed. I'm not certain I can reposition it myself, but I can at least give it a good shot. I should be able to adjust the shifting after putting the new cables on however.

And that's what I learned today. It was good bonding time with Athena and for the most part I kept my cool and had lots of patience. It was actually a little FUN to learn. I just hope I can retain. No offense to women, but I am a "girl". Some of us truly have a tough time retaining this "bike crap".

Sweet. I hope that puts me a notch up on the "coolness" factor. Cuz it's all about being "cool". Is a girl who can "kind of" wrench cool? Or is she just a wanna be? I don't know and I'm not sure I care. If I get stuck out in the middle of nowhere with a mechanical while on a ride. . . . . . .at least I know there's a pretty good chance I'm gonna get home.

Cancer

Found this article this morning. I'm not a big Patrick Swayze fan. . . . . .but I've seen first hand what Pancreatic Cancer will do to a person. It's a battle I wouldn't "wish" on anyone.

Funny how life works isn't it? Not so much funny, as unpredictable, disturbing, depressing, scary. . . .but then at times it can be the complete opposite.

They say we have to live through the bad times to appreciate the good times. And to some small extent I can understand that. Often times it's in those times of need, those saddened moments, that "good things" happen. The people that really love us and care about us step up to the plate and are there to "hold our hands", to listen, to care.

And it really doesn't take much to show you care. . . .in fact yesterday Bill and I received a card from our kennel with their sympathies for losing Storm. Bill just called a few days ago to "book Bear's vacation" while we're gone in NC, so that's how they found out. It's been almost a month now, and I still cried when I opened the card.

It's amazing how many incredible, thoughtful, caring people are in this world. And it's even more amazing that so many of them have touched my life. It's nice to know you're cared about. It makes life just a little bit easier.

Snow?

Lookin' for better days

I'm a little depressed today. Perhaps the weather has something to do with it.

Hopefully Spring is SOMEWHERE out there.

So much to update on

What a whirlwind week it has been.

After the quality issues with the coffee Wednesday, my day turned around. Went to lunch with a friend and then hit the shop to hang for a while. I've decided I should actually learn how to care for my bike myself, since that seems to be the easiest option. It's hard to wait for others to have the time and/or desire to do your maintenance when everyone is so busy with their own lives.

So Beans offered to help me learn.

We tore Athena apart and cleaned her good. Ordered a bunch of new "stuff" and next week I'll get to learn how to replace my cables & housing, put a new chain on, new cassette, adjust my shifting. . . . .all those things I SHOULD know, but don't.

I didn't think anyone would believe I was there, so I made them take a picture of me. It was kind of fun.

Thursday brought me a window of time in the morning, so I got up and hit my "project list". I painted the entry way and the hallway.

Here's the color it was before.

Here's during. . . . . .notice the color difference.

And then after.

While it's darker than it was, it's a "warm" color. So now the hallway feels warm and cheerful, especially when the sun hits it. Just a few touch up spots today and I can put that project to rest.

Friday night I whipped up some delicious veggie lasagna for the gang (sorry, no pictures). Those kinds of meals take a long time to prepare (took me about 1:45ish), but everyone thought it was tasty, so it was all worth it.

We bribed Lt. Dan to bring guitar hero again, and this time watched the General and the Virgin hash it out. No contest. She SKOOLED him big time. She jumped to the Medium level after a few rounds and now she's almost a pro. Too bad they're not going to NC, she could SKOOL Bustin' Justin at Expert level.

Two weeks and we'll be sipping coffee off the balcony overlooking the mountains in North Carolina contemplating what type of ride to do. Yeah, I'm SOOOOOOO ready for that.