happy happy

Happy Birthday to my Mikey.
My best friend and most favoritest person in the whole wide world!
I love you.

shocking, really

Today I finally did it! After all of these years of telling Mike I wanted to do an actual bike event, I took the plunge and rode the smallest loop of that day's offering - 20 miles.

Yes, that's right - twenty miles.

TWO. OH.

The funny thing about it was it felt more like three miles. And I don't know if it was just because I was excited, scared, determined, in good company, or plain old ready to be out there. It felt so good. So good trying to load the bikes on the car all by myself that morning. So good trying to figure out how to register for the ride and so good putting my tire back on without asking for help. So good charging up the hills and not hitting the breaks (for once) on my way back down. So good discovering an area I'd never been to by actually experiencing the smells and scenes up close and personal. So good knowing that I could quit and also knowing that I didn't want to. So good that my friend rode with me for emotional support - although she couldn't even remember if she knew how to ride a bike. And especially so good when I pulled up to the finish and started looking for Mike and his dad. Knowing he would be there smiling, proud and ready to drink a beer (and a shot of tequila) with me was the best feeling in the world.

So when's the next ride? 'Cuz I got the fevah...



Read a much better take on this story at http://mudsweatbeers.blogspot.com/2009/03/ride-report-mcclinchy-mile.html

for you are maggie and I am steve

Happy Anniversary, baby!

payton's first bumps

Today Payton took a giant step and did her first "big girl" bumper-car ride at the Seattle Center. Though this typically takes mountains of bravery, you'll see she had absolutely no problem. She owned that rink!

just kids

As our teens get older and much much (less) wiser, I take comfort in the times like this. Times that they all choose (or don't argue about the fact that they are required) to be home with their friends instead of running around town with them, and embracing what little bit of their childhood is left. In the backyard. On the trampoline.

I, myself, have so many memories at this same age of all of us girls meeting up at my friends Leslie and Julie's house to jump on their trampoline. This is something we did every. single. day. We would jump on that trampoline and try to teach each other flips. We'd jump as high as we could attempting to launch each other onto the roof and then we'd jump as softly as possible. We'd sit out in the sun and do our homework on a pretty day. Each of us in our own little world, but still experiencing it on the black tarp. We'd jump as we quizzed each other for upcoming tests and boys and other weird teen topics - giving certain types of jumps for wrong and right answers. We'd jump in our bikinis with a sprinkler underneath and we'd dare each other to run out and jump in the snow. There were sleepovers on it (with pajama jumps of course) and I'm sure we even accidentally had a beer once with an accidental one-beer-drunk kind of jump.

So as cheesy as it sounds to say the trampoline played a big part in my adolescent years, it did. I laughed harder than I probably knew how. Maybe even cried a couple of times. But the biggest thing was that when we were there, just bouncing away, there were no grades. No peer pressure. No popularity. No zits.

Just air.

dear blog,

Once again I find myself neglecting you. I know this is becoming a pattern. So I have to ask myself - am I ready for a blog? Do I have enough hours in the day to work a job, run a family AND keep up a current blog? Do I have the wits and smarts to keep filling you with 4+ letter words that people actually want to read?

And the answer is no.

No, I don't deserve you. Nor can I ever do you justice with my excrutiatingly small vocabulary. And quite frankly I don't have time for you in my life.

But I'm not done. No I'm not giving up on you yet! I'm coming back tomorrow night and filling you with kind words and fond memories from weeks past. Tomorrow night...

But tonight, I will:

-continue to read through the tons of emails about tasks that need to be executed in the near future
-drink a glass of wine
-quietly plan my next escape to Montana to visit my family
-snuggle with the puppies
-watch Dancing with the Stars (don't ask)
-daydream about going to the ocean - or anywhere - with my husband
- go over my blanket blueprint so I can finish that tomorrow as well
- figure out how to become independently wealthy so I can spend my days playing outside
- eat yet another cookie

So you see, once I have all of these things done I will again be able to focus on you.

Now won't that be nice?

the day we were bacon

runnaaaaaaaaang

A little known fact about me is that I am out of shape. Yes, I am very active. But I have zero endurance at all. And for this reason, I can't run. Correction: I can, it's just that I hate to run. I get all sweaty and out of breath. My butt looks big in spandex and I generally feel like an idiot with my big red melon. Oh, and it makes me itch - everywhere. So I typically avoid it at all costs.

But I've been reevaluating running lately. I mean, I want to be in shape. And I love the convenience of it - you can do it anywhere, you only need a pair of shoes, and it takes less time to get a good workout in than cycling or swimming or snowboarding.

So I'm running now. And to be sure that I stick with it, I have committed myself to do the Rock and Roll half-marathon in the end of June. 13.1 miles. Can I do it? Easily - probably not. Will I? Hell yes. Even if I have to crawl over that finish line, I will cross it.

And then I'll enjoy a nice cold margarita on the rocks. A little kosher salt around the rim with a big pink umbrella in it. Because dang it - I will have earned it!

To learn more about the Seattle Rock 'n Roll marathon, go here: http://www.rnrseattle.com/

To read about Mikey and his journey to do the full marathon, go here: http://mudsweatbeers.blogspot.com/