Holiday STUFF

WE WENT TO FLORIDA, FOR A LITTLE HOLIDAY FUN!! I will post a total family picture when i get it from Pops!

So, if you don't want to see or hear about my family or my trip, go elsewhere! Jason and I made the mistake of flying Southwest, more on that later. I will keep my verbage short (Sometimes, I talk to much....)



PICTURE #1: Saturday Hike in the Swamp - we found a GATOR! Yes it was real, and no it didn't eat any of us!!

PICTURE #2: 4 Hours of canoeing on the Wekiva Springs We saw no Gators, but a Heap of Turtles! If you ever want to know how a person "really" is, take them canoeing in snake/gator infested water with a nasty current...


PICTURE #3: Christmas day at Daytona Beach The crazy boys went in the water, Suzanne and I decided to ride the Huffy Beach Cruisersdown the beach...in jeans and no shoes....(the only riding in ...... days)

PICTURE #4: The "3 J's" being normal. Joy - can't keep her eyes open EVER, so hlepful big brother Jeremy does it for her. big sister Julene just wants us to stop.

PICTURE #5: Jason, Chucky, and Rouru at the beach. Jason got a Rugby shirt from New Zealand for Christmas, so he wears it every day, along with his HAT from the BOOT BARN. Freak. The BOYS are from the Cook Islands Google it if you have no clue - but they live, with sister Julene (she is married to Rouru, father of Chucky) in Palmerston North, NZ
PICTURE #6: Griffyn (yes, he is a mythical figure. Kinda like a Liger. HE is a mix between an Eagle - American, and a Lion - His pops. I was teaching him how to play in the sand.

PICTURE #7: Julene and Me being 16 again. We took a shot like this by the parents pool about 9 years ago, but we can't find it. this is the new and improved us!

Poor Pet

Starter Shot: How big is YOUR kitchen sink? Mine is debatably smaller than my bathroom sink. So the next time you feel bad about emptying your HUGE dishwasher, think about ME. Every dish that is cleaned here passes through this sink with my hands attached. They are rinsed here, washed here, rinsed again. I think i can put 5 bottles in it at one time, but then they are stuck. And yes, most everything else in the house is on the small-scale.


SICK BOY: A tribute to Social Distortion. Check out the little guys muscles and his ENORMOUS TONGUE!!! Thus, the name, SICK BOY!
I am officially on HOLIDAY, so i get to do neat domestic things, ride my bike, and play with DOZER. I realized he does nothing, has a very boring life, and needed some interaction. The following is a photo and written account of... DOZER'S DAY WITH THE MAMA.

It all began with Dozer on the bed. He either sleeps here (thus the sheet over the sheet), by the front door, in the kitchen, or in the middle of the floor. But he does, nothing else. (Unless handlbars are close by, but that's another day).

I decided to load up the jeep with bike and dog, head down to sunny Loma Linda for a little Hulda Crooks action. Notice he looks strong, eager, and ready to go...
He started out strong, leading the way on the single track. He kicks up a huge amount of pebbles and small stones as well as dust, so i tried to keep some space. The fastest we got together was 14.7 MPH, pretty good for a 10 month old Puppy!
However, once we reached the bottom of Jedi, he was DONE. He would burrow under a bush just to get cool and find the 8 blades of grass to lay on. Poor creature. This is when he began to hate me...As we were coming back towards the park, i spotted a nasty little COYOTE!! i Know Dozer can and will pack a punch, but to put him to the test when he is so fatigued and worn out just wouldn't be fair. So i pulled out my 9 and got rid of the Coyote. Just kidding. We just waited a few minutes and kept going.
But, we got all the way back. We only did 4 miles, but that was the longest, hardest thing he has ever done! He had slobber all the way back to his ears, his eyes were bloodshot and it looked like he had a Santa Beard, there was so much slobber on his chin. I had to pull it off with multiple sticks. It made me throw up in my mouth. Joking. It is now all over the back seat of the Jeep. I guess it was his form of payback.

The next stop on Dozer's Day Out was my work for a little girls basketball practice. The little monster found his second wind! He chased the girls as they squealed and ran faster, he stole the ball and licked it 85 times, he spun out and slid across the floor. All the time, still panting. He hasn't stopped!

So, i put him in the other PE teachers office. We could hear his cries for help and feel his hatred towards me. He kept jumping up so he could see us, what a freak!
He is now napping on the floor, and in the near future i will take him into the shower because he is disgusting! At least he is extremely dosile right now, pretty much won't put up a fight!

That's it, the day for my poor little pet.

Christmas Non Cheer

So Christie beat me to the training update, so now I can't make grandious overstatements of our physical capabilities. Thanx. We hammered in the cold saturday up and down and up again and around Crafton, quite delightful actually. Then Sunday we opened a can on the road. We were heading to Riverside, without a map....at Montecito Cemetary, we heard wheels approach, and none other than former Little League All-Stars, from the St.Helena Bunch (my brother pitched for them in 1990) Tito and Zack showed up. Back in the 80's i wasn't cool enough of big enough to hang out with these guys, but this time, they let me ride with them! We all headed to out and picked up Toni who i had met on Sunset a year or so back, so it was great to ride with another high-caliber chick! We were coersed (sp) into doing several hills, but thats ok.

We ended up out for around 5 hours. I think this was the longest road ride i have done in, oh about MY WHOLE LIFE! But it was good. If Christie haden't been there, i would have quit at about 3 hours. We did talk about food a lot and the races we are most scared of, have the gnarliest single track, how we met our men, what color and cut of shorts are most flattering, you know, the usaul ride banter.

BUT THEN...I had to teach spin today. I am SO over that! I actually had to tell them I was taking it easy today. Usually I pretend, but today I have a head cold and was uber sore, so i had to really chill. I have to get rid of that gig.

COMMENT OF THE WEEK: (lAST WEEK) Spoken by a Senior Female: "Ms. Duerksen, is there snow at your house in Big Bear?" "I don't know, i don't live there." "Oh, cause i REALLY want to go snowboarding." "Oh cool. We could go check online." "That's ok, I just want to dress up like i am GOING snowboarding, they look SOOOO cute! I would never actually DO it! It is way too cold!" "Well, the Lodge is probably open....."

WHITE ELEPHANTS: i will be going to my 3rd White Elephant party in Florida. First one was with the co-workers at Teacher Play Time as I like to call it. Thanx again for the stellar bobble-head guys, it totally works with my decore. Then last night, we went to Jason's family party where the theme was gift cards. Highlight of the evening: The torture a junior high boy goes through as his uncle takes his Best Buy card. The kid yelled out "Its not even a store for ADULTS!!!!!!" We all just laughed. I have yet to see an actual elephant at one of these things, and actually, i hope I don't.

BOOT BARN: This store ROCKS! Especially if you ever hit up the Branding Iron....anyways, Jason needed new work boots. This took like an hour. There are SO many types, style blah blah blah of work boots! just BUY ONE! Sorry. Then he got all stoked on some cowboy Australia type hat, then wanted a bolo tie and big belt buckle, but I made him stop at the hat. BUT...we may have met a celebrity. The girl who was behind th counter had a pie-plate of belt buckle that read "MISS RODEO CALIFORNIA" with sequins and other shimmery stuff all around. You could tell she was a true cowgirl because of her SMALL wrangler jeans, Tony Llama Boots, and the fact that under her nicely manicured finger nails there was DIRT!!! And LARGE amounts of it. You can find her on Redlands Blvd, she was pretty too. Probably pretty good with horses and stuff.

My little Friend!

He had his hand in my mouth, what a sick boy! He thought the rest of his dinner was in there, but it wasn't!!!

This is Griffyn!!

He is my new best friend. On December 22, he will be 10 months old and we are hoping that he will be walking! Or not hoping....

He is my sister Julene's kid from New Zealand. When we head to FL we will get pictures of the whole family!

Coolest thing EVER

So, i went to World Market for some Christmas cheer, and i found this thing, for MYSLELF, of course! I eat a lot of eggs due to the fact that i am a lacto-ovo vegetarian, most of the time. This little thing makes perfect eggs for egg McMuffins, and the eggs are nice and fluffy. You should buy one, only about $5.00.

Let's see, what else:

Basketball News: We are now 4-2. No games until New Years Tournament over in Loma Linda!

Training News: I have actually been out on the bike! I am having a good time on the trainer, shockingly! It really pushes me mentally to just keep going!

Another B RATED Restaurant!! As I was walking from "FOX" Monday morning after early morning spin induced need for extreme coffee - My eye spotted a BIG "B"!!!!! I saw it was in the window of The VAULT Martini Bar, so it doesn't really affect me, at all! But come on, do they even serve food there? How can a Martini establishment get a B???? Whatever.

UPGRADES: This is something i have been pondering as I train. How do we all decide to upgrade, and when do we actually deserve it? There are some riders/racers around with the sole purpose to destroy other racers, such as myself (total example guys...). As you know, i moved to Expert, and was granted. It was a HUGE decision and to say the least, back in May, it was a very large decision to move from Beginner to Sport. Now in Expert land the pack widens and the competion is seriously stiff. Can or should racers base an entire move up a level on ONE RACE and how they perform against ONE OTHER PERSON? There are so many variables. Maybe i hit 8 trees, maybe i watched Nemo 6 times the night before, or maybe you just wanted it more. I was going to say that at Mammoth, if i didn't get top 3, i wouldn't go Expert. But why let one race negate an entire season of performance? Or, on the contrary, why let one race overshadow deficiets of 2-20 minutes in a race. At one race I passed girl who is now pro. So tomorrow i will apply to be pro, just because of that race. Joking.

Maybe this is my way of saying beware of why you do things. There are many other things to gain through this training/racing process than beating ONE person. Hopefully, when i quit/die/change/get really slow, you still have something to keep you riding. (Please note: This is not directed to anyone i train with, previous/present teammates, or siblings)

Recap

Here is the rundown of the near past:

Tuesday - Game #1 @ tournament LOST (1-1)
Wednesday - Game #2 LOST bad (1-2). Julene (sister) and her husband Rouru, son Chucky and baby Griffyn arrived from New Zealand! I have not seen them for 2 years and I have never seen Griffyn. This is also Chucky's first time to America as well as his first time on a plane! He's about 16 and lovling it!
Thursday - Game #3 at Tourney WON!!! (2-2) came in about 7th out of 8 at tournament. We learned a lot though...Evening visit to sister and family who are staying at aunts house
Friday - Delighful ride on the trainer and off to shopping madness with the family and Jason ending in a delighful meal at another aunts house! We brought the foreigners to the Woods and my square of a cabin and they said I live in the "wop-wops" NZ for "a long way from anything." I had to interpret for them a few times at Claim Jumpers because even my sister, a US National, who has been in NZ for 5 years, has a nasty thick accent. We look at them and smile, then realize they asked us a question, then we all feel awkward. Actually, it is super fun, they must live here now. And i am stealing the baby. He is my new best friend. At almost 10 months, he is on the verge of walking, we hope by Christmas time so he can dismantle the parents house piece by piece.

More to come because i have packed the chaos in thick for the weekend!

Tournament ETC

Jason exists!Many of you believe that I have created Jason to make myself feel better about not having any friends. But here he is, all dressed up at the Christmas banquet - AKA Kosher-Prom. We had a pretty good time, and yes, he is smiling in this picture. I smile big and a lot and kinda horse-like, which makes up for his under-sized smile. Thus, the perfect relationship!
This is my little basketball team at the Christmas banquet! They are out of control! It took forever to get them to settle down, stop poking or laughing!

We are headed to a tournament in Riverside Tues-Thurs where we will dominate in my quest to take over the world. Or not. It should be a grand time though.

Training Gone WILD

I got a trainer! Thank you Mr. Johnson! This is the exact tool I needed to take my training to the next level so that my dreams of taking over the world would become a reality! I am on the borrow to maybe lease to buy program, it works out very nicely. I think my OCD may become very useful in the fact that with having this thing set up 6 feet from my bed and on the way to anywhere else in my life, i may just ride it a lot!

First trainer workout run down: I watched the "Incredibles" to give me that extra edge as I pedaled. I used Dash as my inspiration and he got me through some of the toughest spots. Since I had yet to light the pilot on my propane heater, the "house" was a crisp 58 degrees as starting. I thought to turn on the overhead fan to simulate more of the actual outdoors, but when i do that, globs of dust fly everywhere, and cause breathing issues.

Problem: DOZER - For awhile he chased my feet as they circled around. He came back later to lick the perspiration off my legs. Then he figured out that he could put his front paws on the top tube and get very close to my face. A very interesting experience. He is getting crated next time.

Pictures of all of this soon to come.



New Training Diet: Hot Cheetos and 7 Up. This is an awful choice. The 7UP was a desperate attempt to bring the sensation back to my mouth and lips after an over-zealous attack on the Cheetos. Those things are sick. But I could not stop eating them. My eyes were watering, nose running. By the end, my fingers were caked in the pink/red substance that must contain high amounts of Red 9 and some addictive addative. To say the least, i do not feel well.

One Complaint: NMBS #1 has been changed to April 23. And it is still in Bonelli. Ack. BUT...there is this epic mtb race up in the Napa Valley that day and I have been trying to get up there for the past few years. I used to do it in college since it was hosted by my school in our back 40, but now i feel like i have to stay in town to hit up a big NORBA. In theory, it conflicts with Castaic as well, which we all know it wouldn't hurt to miss that one.

I am heading to the staff Christmas party for a bunch of teacher cheer! I am making "Black Bean Salad Ole" which has nothing to do with Jose Ole.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cans black beans, drained
1 Can Herdas medium salsa
2 Limes - squeezed for their delicious juice
I Bunch Cilantro chopped itty-bitty
I bag frozen corn - unfrozen

Get some chips and you are set!

A Tree Fell

The Forest really does fall in Forest Falls, really. THis place gets crazy wind action and the pine cones hitting the roof sound like they are coming right through. We are all now on branch partol, checking out which ones might choose to fall. This tree fell partially on the "Ark" the old restraunt near the trail head in FF.

Small Cabin on the left is my friend Chris's, which was about 4 feet from being smashed in half this week by a giant Oak that took its plummet to earth. The cabin that it squished had one occupant who is actually ok.

OTHER NEWS:

My super cool basketball team has notched its first victory! It was ugly though, 7-4 at HALF TIME!! (Yes, this is HIGH SCHOOL) But we pulled it out in the end. Season record: 1-0

Banquet time: SDA version of the prom - kosher. Jason will be making his debut appearance - should be grand.

OUT: for a ride, the kids get out at 12 since it takes them like 6 hours to primp, so i am out on the road and into the gym! FINALLY! Thank you!!!

Guess who got an Upgrade!!!

You would/should be shocked! The El Mex here in Forest Falls in now sporting a shiny "A" in the window, replacing the long standing "B" (please refer to previous post on the El Mex.) New restraunt to avoid: BJ's (Jason got food poisoning) AND Mill Creek Cattle Company which proudly displays a "B" as well.

OTHER NEWS:

DOZER - Had his first mtn bike ride with me today. He is quite the trooper and it totally wore him out which was awesome! I only had to hit him in the butt with my tire 8 times, which really isn't that bad, he will learn.

Charity Ride: Don't lie boys, you bumped it down a notch tonight, but we are very grateful. I had tha audacious idea to go for a little night ride with some pretty stiff competition. You would never know that the greater-Redlands area boasts such great talents, and single track. Matt Freeman, Christie, Mr. Johnson and some other great guys headed out in the black of night for a little fun. I don't own lights of my own, and well lets just say that the ones i had didn't really do the trick. For the majority of the ride I hung between well-lit riders, but it just isn't the same. Most of the ride I had never seen in the light, so i had no idea what was coming or where we were. These guys also kept a pretty quick clip (don't laugh guys, it was fast for me) which of course kept me cruising. So now you can call me Helen Keller or you try riding by Braille. It was actually really entertaing and a lot of fun. I actually had to keep my mouth shut just so i could focus on the bobbling lights in front of me so i could tell if it was time to drop off a cliff or climb a gnarly hill. Actually, it wasn't that bad, and it was a lot of fun!

Inaugural Ride

On Sunday, Jason, Dozer and I went out to Fontana to support parts of the Backbone teamt aht are cool enough to compete in Down Hill. Dozer went crazy because it seemed that everyone else brought along their little pets as well. Chris hooked me up with a killer jersey, so i can represent whenever i want!

Monday, i took a little road ride in Redlands. I hit of the Sunset loop because i hate my bike and it is all i really had time for. Did you know they opened up the full loop again? Yeah, i know that probably happened months ago, shows how much I get out on the road.

I had no one to take a picture of me actually wearing the jersey, but the colors suit me quite well I think. So i just hung it up in the cabin when i got home just so you know not to be looking for the bright orange anymore, this is what you will see. I am also a bit excited because i no longer mix in with the cal-trans guys.

Photo Op

This is Dozer as he is eating his blanket. Imagine that tongue sliding across your face mid-nap or running over your leg as you brush your teeth. Its pretty nasty, as are his farts





















Sometimes, I lift weights.


I let 8th graders do my nails. Oops. Actually I quite like them. Quote from Jason: "I'm glad you did your nails, but from now on, professional, okay?"

VACATION!!!

Perks of being a teacher: We still observe the holidays to their full intent! We get the ENTIRE week off for Thanksgiving, which is near unheard of, but i wont argue!

I am going to pack the week full of getting huge in the gym (pictures coming soon, promise...) riding everywhere (hit up Oak Glen tomorrow perhaps) and even mountain biking! While the Sun god is smiling on us, i think we can even safely hit up Rim Nordic or Big Bear without running across the Abomidable (sp) Snowman! I keep thinking, this is nice and all, but what is JUNE going to feel like??? Yuck.

Race in Fontucky this weekend. I may go cheer on my new teammates from Backbone, but i am over and out. The minute i drove down from Big Bear after the Fall Classic, i havent thought about racing. Except those nightmares of the excruciating (sp) 38 miles of Sea Otter. Sometimes i get sick, like you do the day before a race, then i remember that it isn't until APRIL!!

COMMENT OF THE WEEK:
"I can't finish the mile." WHY? "I smell bleach." WHERE? "In my nose."

RECENT EVENTS:

1.) All the physical therapy girls LEFT!! This means i have to find new ones, or just re-initiate the old ones. They have left for a 6 week fellowship then Christmas. Shellie, Summer, and Heidi...happy trails and have more fun than ever before!!

2.) Also in local events, basketball began. This is a very multifaceted aspect of my life. I coach high school girls varsity basketball. This is pretty much life and death. if you don't believe me, i encourage you to come be a spectator at one of our games, or come be a practice dummy - this means we just throw you around and score on you a lot so we feel better about ourselves. And, to dispell any rumors, i am not ON the team. I coach it. Some people feel as if i am a student, although i haven't been in high school proper since 1998. These practices will run until 9pm at times, games will take us from Palm Desert to Hemet. To tournaments over the holidays and perhaps the playoffs in March, all in the pursute of self-realization, physical fitness and well-being, and well, in the girls opinions, a great way to meet guys.

3.) Dozer weights about 82 lbs. Sometimes i wake up and he is sleeping on my leg and i think that my foot has been amputated, but its not.

Thats it for now. i have no more valuable or invaluable information to bestow apon you.

Defection

See, Griffyn is trying to defect too. Silly boy, little does he know he needs his mom for EVERYTHNG! (julene, could you put some clothes on the boy?)




There comes a time in cycling, relationships, and work, that there must be a change. That time came for me this past week in my decision to defect from Team Jose Ole and join the Backbone Adventures Cycling team for 2006. It took me about 2 weeks of discussion, rough drafts, and deep thought to come to my decision, which i am now very happy with. Of course I will miss the boys in orange and brown, and I am forever thankful for their gracious help and support.

Next season I will don the blues of Backbone, where i will become much less of a target, thank goodness, and join the ranks of Christie Pleiss, Teri Strayer, Dawn Lyons, and Bev Monaham, to name a few. Thanx girls for the motivation and mentoring! And thank you Chris Sharp for bringing me on board! It's gonna be great!

ON ANOTHER NOTE:
I hit a skunk. The jeep smells like skunk. Oops.

Big bike sale at Redlands Cyclery, USA. Too bad that road bike, i will never buy, is now located under the hood up the jeep. Really. Im gonna buy at least one pair of socks though, oo, so excited!

Disclaimer

My students found my blog. This disclaimer is to dispell any rumors that my blog has been created with ill in mind. This is not a diary. This is not parallel to a "My Space" or Zanga. This is not a place to find a soulmate or create new friends. I already have those.

This is THIS blogs purpose: To enlighten my family from New Zealand to Orlando FL with the wonders of my life. To let college pals and riding buddies know when the next epic ride will take place, what my race schedule will be, and how those races went. This blog was created to help you find a glimmer of laughter because my life is odd, and there are days that hearing about it will make you grateful for what you have and hopefully one day, just a bit jealous of what I have.

So don't get all excited and weird, thinking that "Coach D" is creating a salacious on-line diary. Sorry to disappoint kids, its just a glimps into my life. Wanna go for a ride with us?

Moving North...one day

Redlands is socked in with fog this morning, and it shockingling reminds me of the 13 years i spent in Nor Cal. I want to go back to college, where the simplicity of life, the miles of single track, the dense fog, and menotenous routine were so taken for granted. I lived for 13 years in volcanic crater called Angwin. Any of you go race the Napa Valley Dirt Classic? Well you should. It is hosted by my almamater (sp?), Pacific Union College. The "Hill", as we called it, tends to get locked in with fog for a majority of the winter. As we rode through the single and double tracks, all you could hear was the pine needles crunching and the thickness of the air as it snuck into your lungs. Nobody really cared if you were sponsored or if you had a sweat bike. I didn't race back then, but the rides were more fun than ever. Did racing ruin that? Probably. All i had to do in college was clean the weight room, go to class, ride my bike, do some research, go to basketball practice, play some games. Rent was $250 and food was cheaper than ever. The town was like Forest Falls, but i did everything there, i didn't have to exit my mountain home to do get things accomplished. Unless, of course, i wanted fast food, target or caffeine, all which were at least 45 minutes away. Now you understand why I have no problem living in a town with no stop lights, street lamps, or functional businesses.

One day I will move north into a cabin next to the trails. But until then, the fog in Redlands blocks out the noise of the streets, dims the street lights, keeping many of the miscrients indoors, creating a much more perfect and placid riding environment. If only i didn't have to go to work...

Hulda Crooks

There is this delightful little bit of trail in Loma Linda called Hulda Crooks. I usually call it Hulda Poops, and avoid it at all costs. I was riding there once where i could see two bulldozers making there nasty tracks as they turned the well-packed dirt into a mush of sand and silt. So, i banned myself from the place until yesterday. I have no idea why i actually decided to go there, but i did. I fired up the iPod (thanx girls) and headed on my way, sans HR monitor. I was boycotting starring at the blinking numbers that just mean that i may pass out, or not. I really enjoyed the ride....except....the two dirt bags, i mean dirt bikers, that passed me on a narrow, uphill single track. Then, when i was exiting the lovely park, i feel as if i rode through a drug deal. Serious. There are some shady folk that hang out there.

IMPORTANT NUMBERS OF THE WEEK:
4: Number of parents who stopped by for parent teacher conferences today. I am done at noon? WHAT?
29: Pounds of fat i am lugging around with me. Thats what the fat % counter thing told me. I am going to sever a piece of glute off, narrow it down to about 12.
4: Days i have had the JEEP!!!
20: Weight of the dumb bell i can curl again, just need to get back to the 50's. joke. really.

OTHER STUFF:
I was so extremely fatigued after running two miles with Junior High kids, who, of course, i had to beat, i could not ride on Saturday! My hamstings hurt WORSE than when i did romanian dead lifts, and i just couldn't do it. The most exciting part of the weekend was changing around my room/living room/office/dining room. You see, for those of you who have never been there, it is all ONE ROOM. About 20' X 20'. Take a step to the left - dining room - which is actually situated on the side of my bed, in the bedroom. I sneezed and all the cobwebs fell down, i dropped a sock and i felt crowded and cluttered. I am running out of storage place, and i can't quite store Dozer anywhere. But it does look much better, especially since everything is exposed!

Spin class was delightful and i had 15 in attendance! This is a record high, because everyone usually has a case of the Mondays. Who in their right mind would really want to go to the gym at 5:30 AM to get yelled at my ME?!?! ACtually, i don't yell, but i think i do make them afraid. I perspire A LOT and sometimes i wear bright orange, thank you Jose Ole . They think i am a nut because i actually RIDE a bike.

No kids today, just parents, and none of them have yelled at me....yet.

Tomorrow i actually get to ride my really neat road bike, but at least i have time. Basketball doesn't start until 6pm, so i have "break."

What we do at School...sometimes...

Here are a few photos of what i do for work. It is usually quite entertaining! Between Dozer, jr. high kids and those crazy high schoolers, we seem to have a pretty good time.



Dozer being himself at home on the porch.









10/9th graders practicing their fire extinguisher skills. Safety first kids!


I'm 10th grade sponsor, so we build a killer sand castle for the contest on beach day. we won. duh.















6/7th grade girls taking some time out of PE to play with Dozer and his squeeky. 4th graders learning the ways of a fireman.

I hope you have enjoyed the brief tour of a few of the many things I do when I clock in. Pretty harmless, or so it may seem. These children can be vicious and cruel, yet, we always come back another day to play. I convinced some 6th grade pals today of the following curriculum changes: "first period: play. Second period: play. Third period: play. Lunch. Brief period where ONE thing is learned. Play some more." Unfortunately, one of the more "studious" teachers heard our evil plot, and well, it was squashed quite quickly. Maybe next week small ones!

Flashback Picture Show

So i haven't put very many pictures on this thing because i didn't have one of those neat USB things. Then papa Duerk just sent me one in the mail, and well here is a little flashback of previous posts.

The protector.
Dozer used to love the frog. Until he killed it. He took it everywhere with and played with it and slept with it. Then he puked on it and its head fell off, so i threw it away!

This is the Am Cup final, where i actually won a cool jersey. I wear it to bed. Joking, serious.











Don't even tell me this is yucky. Yes, those MAY be coffee grounds in the tub or other "debris" from the sink. And yes, that is tape on the walls. I moved in with it there and all the land lady said was "make sure there is no structural damage. What is THAT?"

Me and Shelli going 3-4 at Mammoth National Championships. Yes, we are pretty hot in orange!

The Jeep Being towed! About 3 weeks ago, just can't remember!

This is Me and Mom, on our LAX visit. Aren't we cute!

Friend of the Week

This is Tiffany Harris. I chose her as my friend of the week for a few reasons. She is my little "sylvan" friend from way back in jr. high. Then we went to boarding school in Virginia, then college up in Nor Cal, thats a long time to be pals! Now she teaches at an all-girl school in Hawaii. Sorry boys, she is taken by a very nice boy named Dan. She came to the woods once this summer to say hello, which was delightful! Her parents also spent some time in Cancun, for the entire hurricane, but now they are back safely in Maryland. Thanx for all the great times Spiff!!!

UPDATES:

*Shelli and Summer had a delightful Marathon last Sunday in SF. Shelli's time of 4:13 made me cry and so did Summer's of 5:15 - cool thing for her, she was right on her target time! Now that a week is almost past, they are climbing stairs again and walking normally!

*Christie came in 5th at her first PRO race, the cyclo-cross madness last weekend! Way to go! She and Greg also got a DOG this weekend, welcome Murphy! Dozer wants to play!

*Uriah and me have had a delightful day filled with church, drawing pictures, visiting Murphy, playing with Dozer and all the neighborhood kids! Man, Forest Falls is hoppin!

Race Flashback Etc

Ah, SOUTHRIDGE!! This morning I woke up thinking about the Southridge series and whether or not i am going to do at least one of them. I have not been on a bike "proper" in a few weeks, (minus spin class) and i really have the urge to at least RIDE A BIKE. One problem though - last year i raced there as a beginner, only one lap, pretty easy and chill. THis year its gonna be a whopping 3 laps for the experts. I hate that culvert and I always think i am going to get paint balled! We will see.

OTHER NEWS:

The Jeep will be in the shop until the 4th of Nov. I could get it Monday, but i have to wait for my pay check!!! HAHA on me.

The shower works! I took my first home shower yesterday for the first time in a week. i am about to go take another! I just washed a weeks worth of dishes (no dishwasher here, remember, its the woods) and i have to go check and see if the dish water is now in the bottom of the shower.

I went to Jill Moore's spin class last night and Art was there too! it is great to see some of the mountain folk out and about. Since i kinda quit exercising for a little bit, spin class was GREAT! I wanted to stay for about 3 hours, but Jason and Uriah were peering through the glass, begging for a ride home!

That's about it for now! Wasn't I nice and possitive!

I will send you out with one more picture of my favorite kid, Griffyn, from New Zealand!!