Possum

The first time Ricky courted me at my house, Roxy growled and barked ferociously at the book shelf. I tried to coax her out of the office but she persisted.  Not sure how to explain the commotion, Ricky offered to help find a roll away ball or stray bone.

Mr. Cool calmly says: Barbie, there is a possum under the bookshelf.

Barbie says: You’re kidding? What the French toast?!?

We spent that night locating a rodent pest control that was available on a Sunday evening. 

So, it seemed only fitting that the first night in our new home, Roxy growled and barked ferociously- at a possum.  This time is was not in the house but sitting outside on the fence.

We are so happy.  We have been dancing in the halls and admiring how the house is coming along.  Da boyz will love their new room and we look forward to the chaos of da boyz  stomping up and down the stairs .

To top it off, my father gave me the piano that I practiced on when I was in the fifth grade. It is the perfect piece to complete the house.  I never said I played well but I am going to start pounding ebony and ivory with heart.  Music will make the house our home.

Hotter than Hell, 2012

Communication and compromise is the key to any relationship.  Ricky started pedaling at 25 MPH.  I called out 21 MPH.  Ricky rode 23 MPH.  I suggested 19 MPH.  We went back and forth. He got mad because I was riding too slow and I got mad because he was riding too fast. At least we were on the road and we were able to ride off our frustrations.

The goal was a century ride, Ricky’s first. At mile 60 I was dizzy and had a headache.  I bonked after playing chase for sixty miles.  By mile 72, I knew that I was slowing us down too much, so I made the only acceptable deal.  I would SAG into the end and Ricky would finish riding.  I knew the wind would continue to beat me up and the best decision would be to get off the road. Seventy-two miles is still respectable and I am satisfied with the miles and the decision.

The end was filled with anticipation as I waited for Ricky to cross the finish line.  Of course, Mr. Cool finished the ride with no issue and welcomed the wind versus the heat.

We visited with CrossRoads friends to include: Larry Potter, Jim Hall, Rick Wardell, Wayne (CR 2000), and Tracy.  Rick Wardell hosted us at his home and we started the ride from his pharmacy, four blocks from the start line of the ride.  The high was 98 degrees with gust of wind up to 30 MPH.  Overall, the weekend was worth the 330 mile drive. 

Stupid Bee

The gas gauge in my car reads “E” when I realized it had been a month since the last time I fueled up my car. Not using much gas and helping out the environment is a plus to commuting, but the truth is that I love to ride my bike.  It feels like I am going outside to play.

Most days that is. 

Until last week, a stupid bee stung me on my left eye brow.  I was on my way home from work and two miles from the stopping point. Man, that stupid thing hurt!  How can something so small hurt so much?! I flicked the bugger from my forehead and scrapped the stinger out of my face with my nail.  Benadryl and ice held down the swelling for a day but by the weekend, my eye was swollen shut.

It was a scary feeling being able to see out of only one eye and driving myself to the emergency clinic. The most difficult for me was when I realized how vain I really am.  I could not bear the sight of seeing my face getting puffy and was afraid of what people would think when they saw me.  Da Boyz were understanding and said they would beat up any one who pointed and made fun of me. Their words of heroism made me feel foolish for being self conscious when all they saw was me. Just Barbie- as if my face was not distorted.

After the steroid shot and only after I had the appropriate amount of pouting time in, slowly the swelling went down and I started feeling back to normal. The moral of the story is, the next time you see me wearing big sunglasses inside, make sure I am not hiding my eyes.  My eyes will give me away every time.

PS: No way, no how, will I ever post a picture of what I looked like after the bee sting. 

Adversity

Watching the Olympics reminds me how amazing the athletes are and what they give up in order to compete at such an elite level. You can get a glimpse of their character when they fall or when they stand on the podium.

While out riding in Iowa the largest adversity I faced was lack of sleep. As I was pushed to the breaking point each day with the 70, 80, 90 mile back-to-back days and the 5 hours a sleep a night; I am ashamed to say that my character is quite lacking. It became even more evident in the FU fight I had. Are you asking what an FU fight is, well, its goes something like, “F#$K you!”, “No, F@&K you!”, “No, F!%K YOU!”.

If you know me well, you know that it takes a lot to get me to the FU point. Lack of sleep makes me grumpy and fussy (to put it lightly). I would be totally embarrassed if that FU fight was replayed on television clips, or worse yet, if my friends did not forgive me.

Each day I am reminded on how much growing I have yet to do. Life shows us much adversity and I hope that one day my character will reflect the will power it takes to be the better person.

These past couple of days I seem to be missing Mom more. I see her in the little things, like an old bottle of Sprite that she had written her name on; and I see her in the big things like Ricky and I buying a house. I hate that she is not here to share all these moments with me and I do not think it is fair that she is not here anymore. I want her back. Not the sick weak body that she was at the end but the strong spirited women that would drag me around shopping, and I hate shopping. That is how much I miss her. I would want her back to do something that I despised doing, just to be with her again.

Sometimes I think I already have too much character and I do not need any more adversity to grow my character. Each day brings me more. More work, more training, more family, and more of life. But it is my character that I have to sleep with each night and I hope to give myself a peaceful night’s rest- eight straight hours.

Favorites from RAGBRAI

Due to the limited Internet accessibly during the ride, I decided to go back and post a few of my favorite pictures.  These pictures highlight experiences of the ride.

Me, Tim, and Keith enjoying Iowa corn.

Mr. Sunshine starting the day.

Aari, Victor, Rama, Me, Champ, Keith, and Tim before the start of college spirit jersey day.

Iowa bathroom.

Sitting on Santa's lap, asking for a new bike for Christmas. 

Elvis lives!

Eagle pose. If your breathing your doing yoga.