Halloween in the village, Zoo Spooktacular, Wild Things, & Packing...

Trust me, you have no idea how scary they really were... :-P
The village has a little cookout, costume contest, etc…(Joe’s neighborhood.) I LOVED the pet costume contest!
We went to the zoo Sat night. Pretty cool!
We also saw “Where the Wild Things Are…” For the record, tweens will think it’s boring but this 42 yr old liked it. It’s got an underlying message to it & it makes you think about how much fun it was to be a kid playing & pretending. I did a “study” on this book for a class in college & even did a shadow box for a speech. Maurice Sendak & I go waaayyy back. He won the Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are, 1964.

In a few days, our fun will start in the big city.
Hopefully in a year I’ll be writing that we’re BOTH doing the marathon.
(For the record, Joe got in but took the deferment because I didn’t get in for the 2nd yr in a row. A good thing since I’m still injured!)
This time around we’ll watch the elites finish, check out the Expo, & go about our business of thoroughly taking in the city. I wish I lived close enough to go back for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. One day I’ll plan a trip around the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

October!

*back to spinning again & loving the sweat...
*looking forward to Halloween in New York City...
*"Lion King"...
*Empire State Building...
*touring the city again...
*seeing my favorite statue, "Lady Liberty"...
*....and so many thanks to a super terrific boyfriend...
*can't wait to see my fantastic Michigan family for Thanksgiving...
*loving my football games even though they're not winning like LAST YEAR...
*shin is not quite there yet but prediction is for early Spring....a slow running start & hoping for some late Summer/Fall runs with my favorite people in 2010...
*totally enjoying all that's fun, great, & positive in such a wonderfully, blessed life...

It is what it is...

Rain: (and a few other obligations)
Kept me off the bike all last week….
Last week was all gym or nothing...
I made my quads sore from squats.
I was on the elliptical 2 days in a row for 65 mins straight, plus I did some exercises that the doc recommended for the shin. It made the muscles in my shin sore.
I made an appt for an X Ray on Oct 12th since I’ll be in Nashville late on that Sun night anyway. (Code Blue game against Indy)

Spinning Again: Back in that spin class saddle
Next week I plan to start hitting spin again. (They’re closing this week for deep cleaning.) I’m going month to month for a while since there’s no use paying for a whole year when I hope to be outside come Spring.

Football: Dang it!
The weekend in football for us was a loss on West End & another at LP.
Both should have won…sigh… I am glad that USC got beat by Washington & MTSU pulled out a squeaker win over Maryland. Oh, and Tullahoma won in Lincoln county. Go Wildcats!

Friends: Reconnecting & letting go a little...
Through the magic of Facebook, I found a lady that I worked with in Germany (like 19 yrs ago!). We taught preschool together for DOD. The kids in our room are now 23 yrs old! I've missed Sheila all these years.

In the coming months, Hannah & Jeff are relocating to Houston. Jeff has a job opportunity of a life time he can’t pass up. I told Hannah she moves more than most military people. Ha! I’m going to miss my “fun” couple. She has been & will continue to be one of the sweetest, positive, funniest women I know… “Houston, I have a problem, you will have my Hannah.”

Steve F. (former running buddy) text’d me about free titans tickets Sat night as we were leaving Vandy. Wow, his seats are 134 front row behind the bench. Since I had my 2nd row seats already I took a pass on them but dang I hope he keeps us in mind again!

Austin Jay: My nephew broke his arm
He was going for a lay up & another kid fought him for it in practice. CRACK! He’s in a cast for 7 weeks. Thank God it was his left arm because as my sister said, “Thank God, he can feed himself.” Basketball season starts in exactly 7 weeks for him. Yikes!

Below a few pics from the busy weekend:
Jessica & Joe on the "South Nash Dask 5k" courseView from seats Mechelle McNair & her boys during the coin toss. (bless their hearts)
T-Rac with troops T-Rac during Michael Jackson dance numberLittle Cheerleaders during dance performance (half time) We went to the pregame breakfast at "McFaddon's". Saw Erin & Wayne there. Kevin Dyson usually does the pregame shows so I got him to sign my jersey. He wrote his name & under it, "Music City Miracle". :)

Hope everyone's weekend went well. I'm actually looking forward to a quiet weekend coming up.

A week flew by...

Thursday morning:
Up bright n’ early for Harvey’s
Elliptical & crunches

I watched THE game & was up till 11pm. VERY late for me.
It was a rough fought game as most of you know & honestly, the Titans should’ve won. It is unheard of for Bironas to miss 2 field goals. Stripping that ball away from Hines Ward was a “gift”. We gave the “gift” back, ya know… This Sunday is the home opener against the Texans. Joe & I will be there…2nd row from the field. Can’t wait!

Friday:
I pushed mowed the yard & as usual I put that in my marathonguide.com log as cardio. Ha! I was in bed by 8:10pm.

As like every year, I always think of where I was on 9-11-01. I was in my office in my last job wondering if the world was coming to an end. Seriously, I bet called nearly everyone I knew to see where they were, what they were doing, & if they were flying that day. I think we'll all have a heavy feeling on this date for the rest of our lives...

Saturday:
I rode the 34 mile portion of the Elk River 100 course. I saw Lisa (spin instructor from the Rec Ctr). She has a beautiful Trek bike.
I ended up with 37 miles since I accidentally finished on the 50 or 100 mile finish route. ha! Yes, I read the orange mark on the road & yes I did see the street where I was supposed to turn but I put the accuracy of the orange mark first before pulling out the cue sheet to check the street. My Bad! The extra miles sure didn’t hurt me. Let me tell ya, Lynchburg is hilly, especially Harry Hill (or was it Hairy Hill?).
I haven’t had a chance to download my garmin but I’m sure when I do I’ll totally recognize that hill on the grid. I had to push my bike up that thing for about 10-15 minutes. At the top there were some course monitors sitting on the back end of their truck. They did NOT look at all surprised to see me pushing my bike. I told them that they needed to call it “Harry Hell Hill”. I stayed less than 2 minutes at the food stop at mile 17.3. Long enough to grab 2 small cookies & wipe my glasses off. I wanted that ride over so I could get to Nashville. Don’t get me wrong, I had fun. I had a few minor dog chases but I ride with “Halt” so I was armed. I had one, huge, happy dog gallop along side of me for a while smiling the whole way. Seriously, I said, "hey buddy" & he looked over at me & smiled. He wanted to play. :-) All in all, I’m glad I did it. I needed to ride somewhere more exciting than the base for once.

Saturday night:
Seriously, I never thought I’d say this but I put that “Taylor Swift” concert up there with the “Bon Jovi-Daughtry” one I saw in ’08. She rocked that house! It was more like a production, a play, with a concert wrapped around it. It was worth every penny I spent on the tickets. Every radio station in town was there doing some sort of activity. It was almost like Disney World with the little (and BIG) girls all glittered & glammed up. Jessica sang karaoke before we went inside. “Glorianna” & “Kellie Pickler” opened for Taylor & they were ok. Taylor finally came on at 9pm & that girl didn’t stop until after 11pm. She isn’t nominated for “Entertainer of the year” for nothing, let me tell ya! Let’s just say I wasn’t worth killing on Sunday morning…but it was worth it! I’m so glad Michele C. from work got tickets at the last minute for her, her mom, & twin daughters. She got some awesome pics.

"Love Story" Her dancers ripped that big dress off & under it she had on a wedding dress. Jessica singing karoke at the 102.5 booth. She picked the blue concert shirt & believe it or not they were reasonably priced. At one point she was standing on her chair with the girls next to her yelling. ha! Faith Hill showed up! She was all over that place. She sang in an open walk way, walked down the steps, got on a rotating platform right in front of us, & she put on the Preds jersey while confetti fell from the ceiling (in the shape of hearts). What a great 19 yr old talent she is... When I looked at who was coming this concert season I wasn't thrilled at all but I'm so glad I went for this one! How am I ever going to top this with the Tween Bee? ha!

Sunday:
The only exercise I got was walking to the stir fry restaurant in the village with Joe for a late lunch.

Today:
Crunches & weights (chiropractor appt took a lot of time)

Tomorrow:
Weather permitting a ride or it's back to the gym or on the trainer in the living room. Yuck!

Happy September!

Hey Paul, can I have your Terrible Towel to clean my bike?

In case you didn't know Vandy won Sat night much like UT won. I think the scores were almost the same. It was a fun evening on West End.

Sunday:
Rest, Rest, & more Resting....
I actually threw together a low fat pie. :-P

Monday:
Rode the Lenox village hills & over into another neighborhood for 13+ miles. Yes, it was short but it was like 90% hills. My quads wanted to scream. I worked out with some 5 lb free weights too.

Tuesday:
A Bit sleep deprived so I chose Harvey's instead of riding.
Weights, crunches, & elliptical

Wedneday:
Rode 23.22 miles
After I loaded the car & started heading home, I took note of how dark it was getting. It was only 7pm. :-(

Tomorrow:
I'm getting up EARLY for some time on the ellipitcal at Harvey's & some crunches. In the evening, I'm going to be in front of the tv cursing the "Terrible Towel" at the 6:30pm kick off time. The only Steeler fan I know of is Paul S. but I'll pretend he's just joking about that. ha!

Fired up!

My week ended on a fired up/positive note.

My TX nephew, Austin Jay, made his Freshman high school basketball team. In a school around here, no big deal, right, but in his HUGE, competitive school, it's a big deal. They have so many kids that there's TWO Freshman teams this year. My sis thought she'd get a break since AAU had ended. ha! In a city where the Spurs are the rage, you better believe there's some competitive basketball going on in the school systems. Go Austin! I'm so proud of him. :)

Joe's company had a fund raising event with stuff like a dunking machine, football throw, etc... Guess who won the football throw? AND, he won lower level tickets to the Colts game on Sunday night, Oct 11th. He must have been channelling Peyton's arm. I thought I'd jump out of my chair at my desk & scream. Those tickets are so expensive & hard to come by... Go Joe!

I had a short but interesting ride in the Raus community out near Motlow after work yesterday. I was trying to check out the Elk River course. I think I found Little Richard's house. It's just beautiful out there & NO traffic! I pray I don't end up lost next Saturday. Thank God, they provide a cell number to the sag vehicle. ha!

This morning I did about 17.5 miles before pilates class. On my ride, I saw Chris & Carla B. running through the base. They're preparing for the Murfreesboro Middle half marathon. I cannot wait to be 100% fracture free so I can run with them again. They plan to do a portion of Elk River next Saturday, too.

In an hour I'm off to show some gold. :-P
Have a fantabulous Labor Day weekend!

Feeling the Fun Times of Fall upon me...

Right now (until it gets too dark), I'm riding Mon-Wed-Fri.
Tues-Thurs I hit the gym. Sometimes I try to ride on Sundays if there's time for it. Since I've pushed my goal to do a century ride into 2010, there's no pressure to ride more than 20-30 miles at one time. I'm ok with that because of the shin. So, I've been doing just more of the same...23 miles on most days that I do ride. I'm truly enjoying it just because I'm seeing new things. Things I don't notice while driving. This area truly is a beautiful area to ride. We are so lucky in Coffee County.

On tap for this Labor day weekend...
Well, as you know, it's Football time in Tennessee!!

Will Lane Kiffin's new & hopefully improved Vols win some games?
Will Vandy have a repeat year & go to another bowl game?
Will anyone beat Florida? ha!

We're going to "show our gold" Sat evening. I'm excited!! (yes, this MTSU grad will become a Vandy fan this season)
My degree is blue, my blood is orange, but I'll be cheering for the black n' gold this season!

My guess is that the Titans won't have the year that they had last year but I think they have a good chance to make the playoffs again. Maybe this time, they'll stay in there for the big show. Anything is possible, ya know...
Joe spent 3 hrs on a conference call this past weekend doing his draft. He's in a a league with 16 teams. I had to leave on my bike ride because I kept wanting to cheer when someone I like got drafted. :-P

Looking ahead to Christmas, Joe bought our plane tickets to San Antonio for Dec 23-27. He's so nice to me. I hope the beagles like him. :-)

Fired up & anal over what? Speed? I really am a duffus!

Monday:
23.2 miles
Ave speed 16.5 (I was faster Sat. on the same route)

Tuesday:
weights, crunches, & I pushed mowed the back yard. (yep, I still count that as cardio!)

Wednesday:
23.35 miles
Ave speed 16 (Tired legs & heat got me)

I really want to break that 17 mph barrier that appears to be out of my reach right now. Seriously, I had an average speed once of 16.9! I do NOT ride flat routes so I'm sure if I rode flat I'd break it but it's still frustrating. Why am I concerned about speed? Because I am my father's daughter.... ugh!
Have I mentioned how much I'm loving these NEW tires lately?! I think I'll call Alex tomorrow to see if he misses me & tell him how much I love the Michelins. ha!

Getting back on track...

I had 5 days in a row off from the bike & the gym.
Too many things going on, too many things to organize in my mind...
Sometimes there just isn't time & the last week & a half was touch n' go.
(I had 2 days at the gym & one day on my bike, plus I did mow the FAST growing grass one evening.)
I'm reexamining my life in general. Where am I going to be 1 yr from now? Ya know...questions like that? It's time.

Backing up to last week, I don't regret taking some time off work & hanging out. I was sad to see Deb & the boys leave but I will most definitely see them for Christmas in San Antonio. I was going to resist posting pics & bragging but Austin got co-MVP on his Basketball team. Yes, we know he loves it. He dreams of the NBA. :-) I am so proud of him & all his accomplishments. AND not to leave Avery out but my favorite muffin head was looking at caps while his brother tried on school shoes in Hibbets. He kept trying on a blue/orange Univ. of TN hat. I thought he was confused because everyone breathes the Longhorns in TX & they're orange too. When I pointed out that it was U of TN not U of TX, he wanted it anyway. He wore his University of TN cap the whole time he was here. I just wonder what his FL loving father said when he saw it. :-P Steph, me, & Deb...probably the first pic in 4+ yrs we've had taken together. Aunt Diane (from MI) took a better one but hasn't sent it to me yet. Deb got to see some MI relatives she hasn't seen in 20 yrs! Austin & Avery at "Piggy's Place". This place has been around Tullahoma since the 80's & my sister sure remembered that she loved it!

Joe, Jessica, & Joey on a rock down at Rutledge Falls. The water was cold but once you got used to it, it wasn't bad. We brought food & had a picnic. It was fun. Ahh, the "simple" things...I did get in some good hiking today. Not strenous but I did get my heart rate up a few times. The hip flexors & quads were going, "What the hell?"

Tomorrow I'm back on track with the biking....I only did 23 miles on Sat so I'm hoping to get in some good riding this week. I can tell it's getting dark earlier but I feel like I still have 2 good hours after work to get some riding in... I'm sad to report that the "Leaves of Lincoln" is cancelled this year. I will be doing a portion of the Elk River Valley 100. I had hoped to do the 50 that day & that's still not out of the question but I have to save some energy for the Taylor Swift concert with Jessica that night. I cannot believe it's almost Sept!! This cooler August weather is almost too freaky. Makes me wonder if we'll have an early Fall.

Family & Friends

The week & weekend:

Full of family, friends, & a Titans preseason game
(No time on the bike or in the gym)
Considering the loss of my appetite lately, I'm A Ok with the 4 day break.
Tomorrow is a new day...
I did some weights & ab work last Tues before I decided to mow in the rain. Yeah, I know...I stopped when I saw lightening. :-P
I rode last Wed just 0ver 17 miles before I finished my yard.

I won't bore anyone with new pics of my nephews or pics I took at the Titans game. :-)
I missed my family as soon as they walked out the door. I cannot thank God enough for the job my sister & Mark have done with them. As I have said many times before, they're raising two very well adjusted, super smart, athletic, & very polite boys. She is and has done absolutely everything I know I would have done if I had kids. My sister ROCKS in so many ways! :)

some fun & some sweat

I did what I said I'd do on Sat...weights, elliptical, & some abs...no time for pilates class, though. :-(
We had a great time at the Adventure Science center. I crawled up into the top of the cone & looked at the sky line of Nashville. Joey, Skylar, & Jessica...I really enjoyed the Solar System room. You can see what you weigh on each planet.

Sunday, we did a little tax free shopping. All I bought was shampoo & conditioner but that wasn't tax free. I don't need one thing really.
No work out on Sunday unless you want to count cleaning house.
The TX sister & boys are coming in Thurs morning. I cannot wait to see them! We've got a super busy weekend coming up. Joe & I are going to the 1st home preseason Titans game on Sat night, too. I also got our tickets for the opening game of regular season today for Sept 20th. :)

Today I beat my 30k route time by about 3 minutes. I did it in 1:05:06. The difference? Fresh legs, I guess... I finished out the exact same route from last Monday with just over 26 miles for the day. You could have wrung me out twice I was sweating so much & starving! Saw Paul before I started. He had just finished 23 but didn't look sweaty. What's up with that, Paul? :-P

Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?!

John Hughes:
"Ferris Bueller’s Day off”
“Trains, Planes, & Automobiles"
“Home Alone”
“Sixteen Candles”
“Breakfast Club”…need I say more?
I think about when I saw these films, how old I was, who I was with, & where… John Hughes films Rocked! I will never forget skipping class with Brian C. & going to the theater to take in a private viewing of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". We saw it before the public saw it because we worked there. :)
Who can forget dreamy eyed, young John Cusack in “Sixteen Candles” with Molly Ringwald or Judd Nelson in “The Breakfast Club”? The scene where Ally Sheedy is dancing in detention is priceless. What is it about this summer that my “youth” seems to be dying?

Me & my Fuji:
With the heat back, it’s slow going but not as slow as say 2 months ago…
I've decided that a century ride just isn't going to happen this year simply because I refuse to do one until I'm riding a certain speed. I want to be a little stronger on the bike but I'm not ruling out a ride in Sept or Oct. I'm having so much fun on it, seriously. I could do an entire post on the stuff I've seen but I don't have time.

Last Saturday: Pilates class, 30 mins on the elliptical, & crunches.
We went to a coworker’s wedding. Congrats to Judi & BB!

He does auctions & real estate on the side. This sale was final! ha!

Last Sunday: I rode just over 17 miles before heading to the Titans training camp. We had a blast! I'm going to wear my D. Mason #85 jersey even though it's Nate Washington's number now. Maybe I'll get Nate's signature on it, too. Cousin Patti's favorite, KVB! Fisher & those tanned legs... (I didn't get a pic of Finnegan but I got a message from April to "blow him a kiss or give him a love bite, whichever." I laughed!) ahhh, Kerry..... They looked sharp in the heat but who knows what the season's going to be like.... I'm just ready for fall, yall...Monday: I rode a rolling 30k in 1:08 then I finished it out at 26.12 miles total for the day at 16.9 mph overall. (fast for me, slow for others).

Tuesday: I did weights, crunches, & mowed the yard.

Wednesday: I rode just a 13.72 because I had been in the ‘boro getting the back tire changed to a Michelin. The Continental on the back had picked up some glass on Monday. It had to have happened at UTSI because the tube wasn’t holding air for more than a minute or two. Thank God, I didn't get stranded! It was a small piece of glass but a deep puncture. Sorry but I’m not riding on patched tires. This is the first time a flat was due to me running over something. All the other flats happened due to the rough edged Continental on the front & the hot car back in June. I know more about bike tires right now than I ever cared to know...

Thursday: I rode about 19-20 miles…Garmin was dead since I accidentally left it on all night. I will eventually buy a bike computer as back up.

Friday: I rode 33.09 miles. The plan was for 35 or more but I had a bid I was watching on ebay. Yeah, I know...lame but I rode faster because of it & I won the bid. :-P

Saturday: Tomorrow I'm going to do weights, abs, & the elliptical. I'm meeting Hannah, Jeff, Skylar, Joe, Joey, & Jessica at the Adventure Science Center. Should be a fun day!

It's been a good couple of days!

*I work with a guy who's getting married Saturday.
He's so happy he's not worth killing. :-P

*Found out Fara is pregnant.
Turns out she ran her first 1/2 marathon pregnant. (sub-2 hrs) :-)

*I rode 17+ miles right after work today & still managed to finish up the yardwork before the rain.

*Joe got Vandy football season tickets.
(I'm going to be black n' golded to death!) :-P

*I got Taylor Swift/Kellie Pickler tickets for Sept 12th.

*My TX sister is making a quick trip here at the end of next week & she's bringing Avery. :-)

*We made plans to go to the Titans training camp this Sunday afternoon.

*Realized my twisted ankle doesn't seem to mind me twisting it anymore.

*Learned that it always pays to take the "high road" because "karma" usually gets mean people.

*I rode 22+ miles yesterday (& started yardwork) & yes, I think Alex solved the tube/tire problem.

I really need to watch more swimming on TV!

Got this from the Huffington Post. Ricky Berens bared his backside by accident. Apparently, it happened right as he was getting ready to dive into the pool, bless his heart. ha!

My scheduled bike ride got rained out today so I ended up at Harvey's doing the usual. I had a really nice chat with my 7th grade Art teacher, Mr. Roper. He's 75 & looks like he has the body of a man much younger. Amazing!

Fragments of another week...

Last Tues:
Got up early for the 1 hr spin class & weights late afternoon

Last Wed:
Rode just over 23 miles with misting rain falling intermittently on me but it sure made the ride feel cooler…

Last Thurs:
Got up early for weights @ Harvey’s
Got in 15 miles on the bike (sore quads)

Last Fri after work:
Battled yet again with another front tire flat.
Had an engineer @ work check it downstairs.
Nothing suspicious so we changed it & I rode just over 33 mi after work.

Sat morning:
Did the elliptical for 35 mins (while watching the Tour) & the 45 min pilates class...I needed a good stretch for sure & I got it thanks to Carla.
Note: My core is stronger. Why? I can hold the plank way longer than I did like a month or so ago. Why? Probably the weights, maybe more time on the bike? Who knows, but don’t mess with me. ha!

Sun afternoon:
Weights, some ab work, & the elliptical with Terri @ Harvey’s.
My neck & upper body look big to me so she showed me some different moves with the free weights. We took note that my quads are taking on a different shape. Funny how when you use different muscles that happens.

This morning:
Loaded the bike up only to find yet another front tire flat.
Called Alex & by golly we’re getting to the bottom of this tube drama once & for all. He put a new tube & new tire on for free. He even replaced the rim tape liner. So, we're crossing our fingers! He's got a lot of bike knowledge for someone who looks like a Jonas brother. :-)
I zipped back home & rode just 13 miles. I am now 1/2 Michelin & 1/2 Continental. All I know is that the Continental tires are hell to deal with...so I may change the back one too.

Don’t know what to watch on TV. I feel like I’ve been watching the Olympics & I’m already having some withdrawals. So glad Armstrong held onto 3rd but I sure did fall in love with those Schleck brothers. What a team! Andy's definitely got it in him to win the tour one day.
Speaking of the Olympics….looks like Phelps is doing EXTREMELY well.
Oh & Joe’s neighbor, Tim, got called up to the Brewers again. I know they have to be pretty excited about that.

Joe's cousin, Erin & her hubby Kurt, came in over the weekend. They're from Milwaukee & LOVE the Brewers. We went down town Sat night & bar hopped a bit. Man, it was busy down there. Reminded me of New Orleans but nobody was walking around on the streets with a hurricane in their hands. :)

Erin & Kurt in front of the Wildhorse.

Football:
*We may head to the Titans training camp Sunday evening if there’s time in the busy weekend.
*Drew Bennett announced his NFL retirement….umm, I still have his Titans pants. Ha!
*Still trying to decide where/if there will be an away game for little ole me...
*Sure hope Lane Kiffin & his newly rebuilt team live up to the hype.
*Joe's thinking of Vandy season tickets...

Insert title here :-P

Last Wed: 17.63 miles on the bike
This was a slow ride for various reasons other than the heat.
1. nudged small snapping turtle out of road even though I felt like he didn’t appreciate it.
2. more than a few deer decided to taunt me, run in front of me, & hiss at me like I was Tonya Harding at a skating event….gesh!
3. yelled at a little squirrel that appeared to be chasing me… Maybe it had rabies? When I yelled, it flipped backwards stunned that I raised my voice.
4. played with my gears a lot…getting on & off the big ring is a lot easier for sure.

Last Thurs: early 45 min spin class & Harvey’s for some ab work & weights

Last Fri: 30 miles (boy, was I nasty when I finished.)
I’ve concluded that 30 miles after work isn’t going to kill me but anymore than that will have to be a weekend ride for sure.

Saturday: Push mowed my grass & enjoyed the fabulous weather with Joe. We watched a double feature at the Drive In (“My Sister’s Keeper & “Transformers 2”) We watched the 1st “Transformers that morning so we weren’t lost. Yeah, thanks Joe…I’m now skiddish around all my appliances.

Sunday: 17.5 miles on my bike in the glorious weather. What a blessing this weekend was weatherwise. You should be shot if you didn’t get out in it, seriously. We also enjoyed dinner at Kirkenburt’s in the ‘boro with Hannah & Jeff. Very Yummy!

Mon: Today, I did the 45 min spin class & some ab work. Legs are a little dead.

I finally finished, “The Shack” last week. I had started it during the 4th of July. It’s a good read & I highly recommend it for those that have lost loved ones. It deals not only with letting go, but letting go negativity, letting go judgmental attitudes, & forgiving. We could all use a little bit of that in our lives. Actually seeing in print that you don’t have to have a relationship with the person who hurt you even if you do forgive them was refreshing. For instance, you can forgive a person in your heart that steals from you but obviously you don’t have to have a relationship with that person in order to forgive them. It’s also about “hope” & the willingness to allow it back into your life after the grieving process has ended. Pretty heavy stuff! Probably why it took me so long to start/finish the book… Ha! I need to read some fluff now.
I am pretty happy that I read two of Lance Armstrong’s books last year because I now understand more about the Tour than I ever have…& it’s really been entertaining to watch & not be clueless as to what is going on & why.

A week in fragments...

Last Wed:
17 mile bike ride just shy of 15 mph.
Didn’t bother messing too much with the gears…
Just thoroughly enjoyed riding in the sunshine…& I ate a bug. :P

Last Thurs:
45 min early spin & my usual Harvey’s stuff in the pm…
Watched part of the memorial for McNair…
Derrick Mason made me cry. (I'm not at all surprised he announced his retirement this week.)

Last Fri:
30 mile bike ride a little slower than Wed’s ride…
Trying to equate a 30 mile ride in the heat with running in the heat.
I felt like I had just ran about 13-15 miles & I looked it too. Nasty!

Sat:
Got caught up with my friend, Ted J. at DW Wilson community ctr…
Did weights & some ab work at Harvey’s…
Headed to Nashville…ate at Noshville & went to the Sounds game…

Sun:
House cleaning was more important than working out…
Didn’t make it out on the bike due to the storms that blew through…
Did the elliptical for 1 hour, though…

Mon:
Fighting sinus infection but spent an hour mowing anyway...

Tues:
Did Leslie's am 1 hr spin class & then weights in the afternoon...

What’s new? Nothing much…Been watching a lot of the Tour...
I can't seem to stop saying the name, Mark Cavendish , with an accent...
Joe washed/waxed my car & boy did it need it! He is one of the most thoughtful people I know OR he was too embarrassed to get into my dull looking Honda...
Going to a Wedding at Rutledge Falls Church on Aug 1st with the reception at the Tullahoma Country Club afterwards…should be fun since it’s BB’s wedding.
Have tickets to the 1st Preseason game against Tampa…sec 107…
It’s a Sat night on Aug 15th & I can’t think of a better way to relax downtown on a summery Sat night… :)
Life is Good so celebrate it!

Addicted to Versus & my Gyms

I never really new the versus channel existed until I saw Joe watching it. Great coverage of the Tour. Makes me want to go to France. Go Lance Go! I hope his team kicks butt the whole way.

Going to renew both my gym memberships by the end of the month. I've decided not to part with Harvey's. Their hours are better than the Rec Ctrs but they don't have the spin classes or the pool like the Rec Ctr.

I'm mixing it up a bit this week. Yep, I'm bored with the routine.
Mon: weights & abs
Tues: 40 min aqua jog in the am & 1 hr spin in Chad's class Tues pm
Wed: I'm riding...not sure how far or how long but I know where I'm going. :P

Happy Hump day!

Yep, another blurry week.....

Last Monday evening:

We went to another "Sounds" game to see Tim (the neighbor) pitch.

It was fun & a nice way to start another vacation with Joe. We flew to Michigan with the kids Tuesday afternoon & returned this morning.

Cousin Susan's Birthday:

She's 35 & still married to the same guy she met when they were both 15 yrs old, Rob. Her birthday was the 2nd. Me trying to get Mabel's attention. (Susan & Rob's big baby)
We had fun...Carrie, Susan, Rob, Aunt Diane, Uncle Jimmy, Patti, & Joe. My Aunt Diane even showed how a paper towel can catch on fire if you hold it up to an electric fly swatter. ha! I should've taken a pic because you just had to be there. We took some pics outside in between rain storms. None of mine look good. We all looked 4 ft tall with midget legs in them. Weird!

Had a great time at Joe's parents place, too. Joe's dad paid for all of us to see the new "Ice Age" movie one afternoon. We all loaded up for the Detroit Zoo on another afternoon. Ate at the Sagebrush Cantina in downtown Lake Orion, too. 4 full days crammed with so much...so I did my errands, laundry, & skipped anything resembling a work out today. Tomorrow it's back to the normal routine. I think I'll hit Harvey's after work.

Frankenmuth 5k:

Wouldn't you know it that Joe & I would wander into a nice little running store downtown Lake Orion. (Hanson's) I got a new calf sleeve for my shin that refuses to heal there. YES, it's still cracked but that was no big surprise to me...remember, I did a 1/2 at the end of Apr that probably shouldn't have happened but eh, it's done... The ankle is being treated as a sprain for now. (fell off front porch like 6 wks ago) Neither of them hurt just FYI. I was told at the Dr's office on Tues morning that I must have a very high tolerance for pain. Well, ok...whateva?! Seriously, nothing hurts at all but X ray's don't lie. So, I made an executive decision on Tue morning. NO MORE jogging on the shin/ankle until after the first of the year no matter what the X rays say healed or not. I'm going to bike, spin, do weights, & elliptical until the cows come home on into 2010. We did do the Frankenmuth 5k, though, on the 4th. Joe 25:26...decent for someone who's not run in nearly 6 wks & he ran in new shoes he had not broken in yet. Me, 28:51. I did take it easy. Felt like I was crawling the 1st half of it. The start was pretty congested but thinned out towards the middle. I even ran with the blackberry thinking I'd snap a photo here n' there. Below is the only one I snapped & it was in the 1st mile. We were going to walk it in these hats but Joe changed his mind. :P Detroit Zoo: Butterfly building
Below are Jake, Chrissy, & their girls, Katie & Megan.A "joey" & it's mommy & family.Kids in front of Polar Bear exhibit.Giraffe's home.Rhino, he was not amused that we watched him swim.Bear, he was not amused that the crowd wouldn't let him sleep.They were adorable but so very hard to photograph!Sleeping peacefully. Cute feet! :P

I had been to this zoo when I was probably 7 or 8 yrs old. It's very nice.

"Always Christmas" & Frankenmuth...

Steve McNair:

Saturday about 2pm or so, my cell was getting text messages like you wouldn't believe. Wayne S. sent me the first one & both he & my friend, Ted, called me. I had heard rumors of a divorce, the house was up for sale, & for years I was told Steve was a bit of a ladies man. I was shocked but it reads just like your typical crime of passion murder. I know they've not confirmed it yet but I believe the young woman shot him & then killed herself. It seems like some VERY bad judgement on "Air McNairs" part. Who knows....not my place to judge. My heart breaks for his 4 boys & wife. Seems like yesterday, you could see him flying out of the tunnel on any given Sunday, zipping long passes to Derrick Mason, & after the game you could usually spot him on a golf cart with one or two of his boys heading toward his vehicle with at least one part of his body taped up. We're all entitled to our opinions of others whether we know the facts or not but most of us know he was one HELL of a quarterback that the Titans are still trying to replace.

Beautiful day for a ride...

Friday: I did nothing...unless you count dancing to "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" around the house. :P
Saturday: I did a walk/jog thing in the woods on base for 5 miles with Terri J., pilates class, & about 40 mins on the elliptical.
Sunday: 1 hr elliptical & crunches
Today: 24.24 miles out to UTSI & back on Estill Springs Rd...it wasn't planned that way...I had intended to do somewhere between 25-30 but ran out of time. Yeah, I know I did 15.15 last Wednesday but that's just what the garmin said when I shut it off before jumping off the bike. I'm having one heck of a time trying to get on the BIG ring. Getting off it is a breeze but getting the chain back on it is impossible for me. I drop it everytime. Friday evening, I had the bike on the trainer & I practiced. Terri tried it too. She thinks I need to take it back to the shop & make them show me how to do it. I just might do that but oh what a pain in the a$$. I just want to ride the dang thing. I will tell you one thing, though...starting out in the big ring flat allows me to fly like a bat out of hell.

Sat night we went to the Drive-In (of course) & saw "The Proposal". It was ok. I'd rent it if you feel the need to see it. I like Sandra Bullock but she's done better stuff. Terri went with us & we sat in our lawn chairs. Doesn't that sound like such a "hometown" thing to do? ha!

Sunday, we had a little cook out in Lynchburg at Elaine's cabin. We floated in her pool for a couple of hours. It was nice just being lazy but the sun sort of drained my energy. It was all I could do to get my butt to the gym later that evening.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend.
I'm outta here in a few hours & on a plane tomorrow with Joe & the kids for the Lake Orion/Waterford/Clarkston/Frankenmuth areas of Michigan. Yee Haa! Happy 4th of July!

Organizing, planning, repacking, etc...

I only rode once this week but I plan to ride Monday morning. I'm off & I don't have to be in Nashville until about 2-3pm, thank God. My morning will definitely include a bike ride.

Thursday, I got up for spin class in the am & did weights/abs in the evening at Harvey's. The place was buzzing as you might imagine. Cousin Patti's right, most of us will always remember this much like our parents remember where they were when they heard Elvis died. I can't wait to see her next week, btw. She's got us some cheap concert tickets for Wed evening & we'll probably have dinner with the other cousins. Joe & I are going to do the Frankenmuth 5k . I'll wear my Nashville Striders singlet & slog through it. We're going to have so much fun!! It just looks like a damn cool race in a very neat place.
Speaking of "cool" this is what was cool in 1983.
Shut up, stand up, & dance!

I believe a part of my "youth" died.

Our close knit office family talked about Farrah much of the day. BB put the famous poster on his desktop & admitted he had one when he was a kid. I searched for the "Charlie's Angels Hideaway House" on the net just for kicks. In the 4th grade I nearly burned my hair off with a curling iron trying to look like Farrah. At Christmas, I asked for the Farrah doll, all 3 "Angels" dolls, & the Hideaway house. I was so happy! My friends & I had collected all the trading cards, too. For probably 2 yrs, this little obsession went on & I'm sure if I were to look hard enough, I'd find the hairless, naked dolls in my mother's attic. Good Times...
I had watched the special on Farrah Fawcett a month or so ago so I knew how sick she was...depressing but what a fighter! Of course most of my memories of Ed McMahon are from my grandparents staying up after the news to watch "Johnny". He'd been sick a good while so that really wasn't a big surprise a few days ago.
What made me shed a tear today was the shocker...Michael Jackson. As I sit here writing this I have "Rock with you" blasting. I loved that song on the "Off the Wall" album. It was one of the first albums I ever bought with babysitting money, of course. It's somewhere around here with my "Grease" album I'm sure... I've got "Thriller" too. My youth was filled with listening to the "young" Madonna, Duran Duran, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, etc... Ahh, the gas that cousin Pam & I burned up on Jackson Street with that music cranked up as loud as we could stand it. It was the mid to late 80's & we had no sense at all. ha! Again...good times! This is the Michael Jackson that I choose to remember..ya know the one that moon walked across the stage at the awards ceremonies. The one we all tried to dance like, dress like, sing like.... ahh, the red sparkly jackets, one gloved hands, penny loafers, short pants....

The sounds of the "Man in the Mirror"..."Smooth Criminal"..."Billy Jean"..."Beat It"...his music carried us into the 90's. I LOVED THEM ALL. I especially loved the videos. Back when MTV actually played videos most of the time, we'd run to the TV when we heard them.

All controversies aside, nobody can deny the fact that he's the "King of Pop". He gave us his gift & I'll always remember where I was & what I was doing when I heard he left this earth. "The way you make me feel"...you knocked me off my feet, baby!