Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime

I'm way in the back of the pic, to the left, wearing black.

So, we did a time trial race last night. That's the kind of bike racing one would do in a triathlon. The Guy built me up a time trial bike, but I didn't have the special clothes or helmet. I had only ridden the time trial bike about two times before the race, so I didn't have the gears and stuff all down.

The evening ended up being VERY windy and so cold there were actual wind chill readings. I'm not used to racing in that kind of wind and wasn't used to riding my new bike, so I had a little anxiety about the race in general.

After the starter counted down to zero, I went on my way into the strong wind. It felt ridiculously hard just to pedal, but I was in my easiest gear, so I told myself to breathe deeply and carry on. At one point, after a particularly strong gust of wind as I was going up a small hill, I thought I might have to stop, it was so hard. I just slowed down a little and recovered and kept on keepin'on.

At the halfway turn around point, I finally had a tailwind. I went to change into the bigger (harder) chain ring and discovered that I had really been in it all along. Derrrr. I could have made my life so much easier all the way there, but instead, I had to mash as hard as I could against the wind.

Even with that, my time was better than it was last August, and I was about right in the middle as far as places were concerned for all of the women. In the master's women category, I got first out of two. It meant that I got a $10 gift card to the co-op, and canceled out the $10 registration fee. Score!

Of course The Guy did really well. He was 5th overall and 2nd in his category. Woot!

It's Begginning to Not Look a Lot Like Christmas

Here is an icy, snowy creek.

So, yeah. I hear there's some kind of big holiday coming up here...Oh yeah. Christmas. It just doesn't feel like it to me this year. I think a lot of it is that there isn't any snow. Last year about this time, we got a good, old fashioned snow storm and it suddenly got all seasonal.

This year, we haven't seen any of that. The nice thing, is that it's pretty warm for this time of year and there isn't ice all over the streets and sidewalks, so I've been able to run and bike outside for the most part.

I have most of my shopping done and plans for Christmas Eve and so I suppose Christmas will be here, whether it seems like it outside or not.

Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again

So, Thanksgiving weekend was long and wonderful and crazy. On Wednesday evening, the Guy and I decided to go get a beer at the Dublin, since our favorite bartender, S. was working. We then tried a new restaurant called Basta. The food was pretty good. I got the butternut squash ravioli and The Guy got sea scallops. We went home with bellies full of food and watched the movie, The Queen with Coadster.

Stinky foolishly thinking she could take a nap on Thanksgiving without getting dog piled. Not in this family.

On Thursday, I woke up and started making au gratin potatoes. The Guy went down to Ottumwa with us and met more of the extended family. He didn't run out of the house screaming, but he said he did understand more of the crazy family dynamic better. I guess that's what holidays are all about...

Everyone but me.

We drove home and he went to his mom's for a bit and I stayed home and hung out with Coadster for most of the evening.

All the cousins. Super silly.

On Friday, we woke up early again and tried to get ready for our afternoon race.

All of my siblings, but one showed up around 11. We ordered Chinese take-out and all had time to chat and catch-up, before The Guy, my brother and I went to Jinglecross Rock.

Here is me terrified on Saturday morning. I had never raced in rain and mud before.

On Friday evening, I raced and it was fun. We had a bunch of friends watching and I am finally getting good enough to have people to race with, as opposed to watching everyone go way ahead of me and me riding by myself until I get lapped. Progress!

After the race, we met my brother and his wife and daughter at The Mill for dinner. It is where my brother and his wife first met, and they had never been there before.


Turns out, I loved riding in the mud and beat more people than ever before.

On Saturday we got up and it was raining. I knew it would be and I was soooo stressed-out about riding under those conditions. I did great in it. Better than normal and had a blast in it. I can't tell you how many men I passed too. Nice!

The Guy had a good race too. Well, if you think racing well in the mud is good.

After our Saturday race, we just went home, showered and went out for sushi. In the evening, we watched the move, The Descent. It was creepy enough and had one of those non-Hollywood endings. Stinky popped her head in the living room for two seconds, but then when she saw the movie, ran off. She said even though she had already seen it, it still freaked her out.

Sunday was our last race. It was cold and I was exhausted, but still happy to ride the course. I'm pretty surprised at just how much I love cyclocross.

In the middle of the day on Sunday, they have the Speedo single speed race, which is really just an excuse for people to wear bikinis and mud wrestle...And who would ever want to stop people from doing that?

And All the Girls Out On the Stoops, Yeah.

Poor Archie cant' take the heat, but is too dumb to get out of the kitchen.

Well, it's still hot today. Sigh. My race should be VERY challenging, but then if I'm going to race bikes in Iowa in the Summer, then I better get used to it.

Last night was very lovely. We just had grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup and salads for dinner. Then we had a great talk on the screened-in porch. If you don't have air conditioning, it's nice to at least have a screened-in porch to hang out on in the evening.

A Perfect Day to Get Out of Bed.

It was an insanely, wonderfully, busy three day weekend and I'll be playing catch-up all week long. So, here it is in pictures. The roller derby girl who is autographing her coloring book page is our collective girl crush.

I hope you all had as much fun as I did this weekend and feel free to leave your roller derby name in the comments.
The Guy riding up Snake Alley in Burlington. He went up one of the crookedest Streets in the country at least 11 times that day. Oy!



Bry photo bombing the two roller derby teams with his picture of our girl crush.
me with the coloring book page and The Guy giving me the bunny ears. Pretty sneaky.


This is in the Muscatine Aquatic center. The bike races were postponed for a bout two hours while storms passed through.


On Monday, The Guy rode a criterium in Rock Island, Illinois. The weather was hot and windy, but there weren't any storms.

'Cause I Need to Feel the Stars Sleep By at Night

Here is Iowa on a beautiful Spring day.

Tonight was another Monday Night Ride and the weather couldn't have been any better...Of course, the bugs couldn't have been any worse either, but this is Iowa in the Spring after all and that means you get lots of lots of protein riding your bike at night here. Gross!

I actually made myself get up early and run before work this morning and I'm so glad I did. It makes my whole day that much better. Tonight I am mowing that woman's lawn after work, so I'm glad I got a good run in already.

The weather has been amazing the last two days. I wonder if Iowa was sorry for this weekend's storms and wanted to make up for it. Then again, it's supposed to storm again tomorrow, so maybe Iowa is just a temperamental bitch like that....

This Heat has Got Right Out of Hand

It is supposed to get up to 90 degrees here in Iowa. I love hot weather, so I'm saying, "Finally!" I have (get) to mow a lawn or two after work, so ask me later if I'm still saying that...

We had our first Monday Night Ride and it was a lot of fun. It went a lot later than normal and The Guy and I were both pretty beat by the time we got home. Tonight, we're making a huge point to stay home and relax. Ahhhhh.


The swarmer termites are back in our house. Coadster texted me, freaking out and said they were everywhere and Archie was eating them. Lovely. Well, at least he's getting his protein. I put a call into the pest control people but haven't heard back yet. It's a damn good thing I'm persistent.

You Can't Always Get What You Want

Here are some things that look like hay rolls, but aren't.

So, today it is finally nice out. Which is good, it just makes me antsy to be outside. There are so many different ways I could be playing today. Instead, I'll have to wait until after work and make up for lost time then. Sigh, sigh, sigh.

Don't worry about me. I'll just be sitting here, pining for my bicycle.

Lifting My Head. Looking Around Inside

Here is a snowy sign at one of our museums. It's hard to remember what it was like to have that snow around now.

So, yeah. I was bad and didn't blog again last night. Sometimes it's hard to fit it in on Wednesday nights. I made squash soup that was heavenly and Greek salads and we had Calamata olve bread and split a bottle of wine. We had a great talk in the kitchen and lost track of time. We finally realized how late it was, and well, I didn't have time to blog.

Tonight was nice too. It was close to 60 degrees when I went running and it felt so nice and weird all at the same time. I started making drunken beans or frijoles borrachos that we'll eat for dinner tomorrow night along with our shrimp fajitas and guacamole and salsa de gallo. I'm ready to eat all of that right now, actually.

The rest of the weekend is a crap shoot. We haven't really talked about what we'll do, so it will be interesting for all of us to read about it on Sunday and find out what went down.

How about you all, good bloggers? Will you be eating food or shooting crap?

But I Can Live and Breathe and See the Sun in Wintertime

College co-eds sledding down the alley behind my office on lunch trays they stole from the dorm food service.

Hey, what do you know...My second post in one day. This week seems like it went ridiculously fast. Maybe that damn blizzard upset the time space continuum.

They seemed to work very well.

I'm going to bed early tonight to rest up for the weekend. Tomorrow night The guy and I are meeting some friends for sushi. Stinky doesn't get off work until 8, so we should be easily done in time to pick her up.

I loved this girl's Ernie hat.

Saturday at noon, we're going Cross-country skiing with our friend Bry and anyone else who decides to show up. I'm excited to see what it's like to ski on this much snow. In the evening, the guy and I are going to Orchard Green restaurant for a nice dinner and wine. It should be lovely and relaxing after a day of skiing.

Throwing down another tray....Er, sled.

I'm not really sure what I'm doing on Sunday. I'm assuming I'll ski at some point and possibly swim. I haven't decided if I'll make an effort to watch the big game or not.

Right now, I plan on resting my arms, since they're about to fall off from shoveling snow for 3 hours yesterday. It's one hell of a work-out...

What are your plans? Will you be recovering from shoveling or getting right back out and tiring yourself out in the snow?

Every Picture Tells a Story, Don't It?

This here will be a photo journal of the blizzard. This first one was taken at 6 am when I started shoveling. I finished at 8:15.

Apparently, this business was closed.

I love the textures in this drift.

Here are some things that won't be getting used for another few months.

Graffiti guy peaking over the snowy garbage cans in an alley.

This garbage can looks like a snow covered Darth Vader.

Here is what downtown looked like at lunch...Or should I say, ghost town?

Believe We're Gliding Down the Highway, When In Fact We're Slip Sliding Away

These are what shelves look like when you go to the store at 9 o'clock at night after a blizzard in Iowa.

So, yeah. We're having ourselves a good old fashioned blizzard in Iowa. It meant that I couldn't give plasma today, and so I got home close to 5 o'clock. What did I do with my extra time you ask? Well, I certainly didn't put it to any good use. I tortured my kitten and watched House Hunter's International. I'm not sure how masochistic it is to watch rich people trying to find the perfect house in Southern Spain or in the Caribbean during a blizzard, but the escapism did hurt pretty good. I'm not much of a TV watcher in general, so it seemed a little decadent.

This is what your kitten looks like after he starts to get cabin fever...Or any time, really.

Of course, all good times must come to an end, and around 8:30'ish, I put on several layers and went out to pick Stinky up from work at the grocery store. I figured I'd get there early and shop first, but the snow had drifted halfway up the doors of my car and I ended up using that half hour to shovel snow in 1,253 mile per hour winds (or that's what it felt like, anyway). So, I finally made it out of my driveway, but even though I'd seen the plows come by at least twice, my street had a good (or bad) 6 inches on it. Luckily, I have one of those all-wheel drive Subaru grocery getters, so I never got stuck.

I was going to make tomato bisque soup for dinner tomorrow night. We're just going to have that with some grilled cheese sandwiches and salad, if the roads are drivable enough to see each other tomorrow. I realized I was too tired after all of that shoveling and stressful driving, so I'm letting it go until tomorrow night. The guy always wants to help anyway, so I figure we can just drink some wine, listen to music and make soup together. It sounds kind of nice, doesn't it?

I'll let you know how this whole blizzard thing turns out and if I end up having to go to work tomorrow - a real cliff hanger post, this one.

You See I Believe in Nothing and You're Convinced of the Hex

Time to take out the trash...Sorry. All I have are cat pics right now.

Soooo. Apparently, we're getting some kind of crazy blizzard in the next day or two. Right now, they're predicting about a foot of snow. Jinkies! I can't remember the last time it snowed that much at one time.

Now that I cross-country ski, I'm pretty excited about the snow. I guess the trick is to find something fun to do in any type of weather, in order to better appreciate it....I'm still working on an interesting activity for 20 below zero temps, but haven't found anything yet. I'm not sure if hibernating counts.

I Know a Place That's Safe and Warm From the Crowd

Here is my self-portrait in a bathroom. Quaint.

Sorry. I didn't get around to posting last night, but I'm doing it now. So, that's at least something, right? Anyway, it was a quick and crazy week, and now the weekend is upon us.

I just spent most of the evening making shrimp tomato bisque soup and tomorrow after work I'll pick up the guy and make some black bean burgers with Monterrey Jack cheese and guacamole to go on them and we should have ourselves a right nice meal. I can't wait.

With everything else going on this week, the guy and I didn't really have time to talk about what we'd do this weekend. I think we'll try to get some skiing in. We finally have enough snow that there are a few places that have groomed their snow and laid down tracks for cross country skiing around here and we want to check those out. Of course, it's also frigid cold here, so we might not be able to ski quite as long as we'd like. I'd really like to get some swimming in too, if that works out.

How about you? Will you be looking forward to eating good Winter comfort food or ways to work that off?

Letting the Days Go By, Into Silent Water

Here is a sign asking for snow.

At first it feels like drudgery waking up that early and it is dreary and cold and your bed is so, very warm. It's still dark outside and snowing when you drive your car at six am and you wonder why this seemed like such a good idea the night before.

Now, you've done it. You've put yourself into a swimsuit in the middle of January - and you're Irish and pasty for god's sake! The worst part comes next. You stand with your toes just hanging over the edge and contemplate jumping. It seems impossible, you know? To willingly immerse yourself in cool water, but it's not like you can turn around and walk back to the locker room...Or can you?

That's it. You do it. You take that flying leap and suddenly you are chilly and wet, but you're moving. You decide it feels pretty good, after all. You're on your back now and your arms are cutting through the lane. Your goggles are tainted by drops of water and make all the lights above you look like they are surrounded by colorful halos. You are fluid and slick and even though you can't see yourself, you think this must be what real beauty is. It's not that perfect skin you don't have, or those perfectly proportioned features you can't imagine. It's just this - this feeling of weightlessness and strength and fluidity.

Oh, Baby Just You Shut Your Mouth

Here are people watching a bike race on a hill.

Well, kids. We're only a day away from our cross-country ski trip. I spent most of the evening packing, shopping and hanging out with Stinky.

Tomorrow, I get off work at 2:30. I'll load up my car, gas it up and pick the guy up from his job around 4:30....Then we're off. Yea!

We'll make a very brief stop in Madison so my brother can wax my new skis and have a quick drink and then we'll take off to Baraboo - where our motel is. We'll get there later than we want, but we'll still have all Saturday and much of Sunday to ski, before we head back to Iowa. The skiing conditions aren't perfect there, but at least we'll be able to ski there. There really isn't any snow here.

So, how about you all? Will you hunting down snow, or staying in and hibernating?

...And May All Your Christmases be White

A pic that Stinky took of her cousin when my girls were down in Ottumwa.

So, hey! Merry Christmas or whatever you like to celebrate! Sorry, I haven't written in a while. Things have been crazy busy in my world.

Sooooo, let's see...Where were we? Oh yeah. I dropped the girls off with my sister on Tuesday night. They had a great time while they were there. The original plan was for me to pick them back up when I came down on Christmas Eve. I had a wonderful Wednesday night with the guy....As usual. Then on Thursday morning I woke up to find that there was a big blizzard coming our way for Friday. Drat!

Instead of a nice leisurely day of last minute shopping, followed by a quaint evening wrapping gifts and watching movies, I ended up running around to a crowded mall and a few other insanely busy stores,throwing all my gifts into bags and driving down to Ottumwa a day early to avoid the storm. By the time I got there I was so frazzled, and stressed and tired and hungry, I could barely enjoy myself. I did get to see all the cousins and I know my girls were happy everyone was there too.

Sadly, all they had was snack food and I was STARVING, plus I wasn't sure what time the snow was supposed to start flying, so we didn't stay very long.

Christmas Eve did turn out pretty nicely for me and the girls after all...Even if it was different than how we normally spend it. I got up and shoveled snow, then Coadster and I ran some errands. I picked up the guy and we had a lunch at the Masala for the Indian food buffet. Very nice.

In the afternoon, the girls and I went to the mall. Not my favorite place, but it makes the girls happy, they had some Christmas money to burn and it was very empty on account of the weather. We then got some groceries, and rented some movies and headed home. We ate popcorn and M and M's and watched movies until Coadster left with her dad to go to church and Stinky fell asleep on the couch. I watched White Christmas (pretty fitting, don't you think?) and at some point, Stinky woke up and I took her place falling asleep on the couch. I feel like we celebrated that day very well, thank you.

And When I Look in My Window. So Many Different People to Be

The guy is very brave to be wearing the cat as a hat.

Another weekend down...And it was a good one too. Friday night I picked up the guy and we had a lovely evening of food and drinks and great talks, I just never get tired of our nights together.

The guy and I at the wine beer/wine tasting party.

Saturday was nice...Except for the weather...Or really more the threat of bad weather that never actually materialized. I got Stinky to work and had a bit of time to myself before I picked up the guy and we headed to the hipster craft fair. We really just did a drive-by there and said hi to a few folks we knew who were selling their wares.

We headed back downtown and went to John's Grocery to pick up some fun beer to take the tasting party later. After that we went across the street to the Bluebird Diner. It has really nice ambiance and they were playing the Charlie Brown Christmas album and we got sandwiches and soup and it was all very lovely. We had some time to kill before the party, so we went back and did some hanging out at my place. The thing about dating, is that it's nice and fun and stuff, but you rarely get to hang out with the person in their regular environment. So, it was nice to just chill at my place and read and rest or whatever, and our time wasn't quite so short and structured. I always think it's important to find someone you can just be quiet and mellow with as well.

The party was great. A lot of people bowed-out because of the weather threat, but that almost made it better. There were enough people to make it fun, but not so many that it was overwhelming. The guy won the beer tasting with his raspberry flavored beer. We had good snacks and got to meet a few new people. It was a great way to spend a cold, snowy Saturday night.