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!!

Restaurant Review - El Mexicano

Location: Forest Falls, CA

The El Mex is the only eating establishment that graces the small town I call home. One BIG problem: IT HAS A B RATING! What exactly do you have to do to get a "B" rating? I have heard of a fingernail in the homemade salsa, but come on!This is the ONLY "B" I have ever seen! I have looked in every shanty and hovel of a restraurant, just to see what they have. And every single time they have had an "A". So...

I DON'T EAT THERE and neither should you. Unless, of course, you enjoy having EVERYTHING you eat smothered and fried in pigglet adipose tissue, yes, i mean lard, before you eat it. I always wondered, back in LAST fall, why i always felt "ooky" on the 1/3 mile walk home after some rice, beans, and enchiladas. It must have been a finger nail, or just too much fat.

Eat at home.



COMMENT OF THE DAY:

"I can't walk or run today because I have a sprained ankle." - Anonymous 8th grade hypocondriach. Then I ask "well what did you do?" Child responds: "I have no idea, i just woke up with a sprained ankle, and I can't walk." I just thought this was interesting.

Oh the pounds, etc

Please insert whatever cardio adventure, and GO DO IT.

Numbers of the week:
3: Pounds gained since October 9, Fall Classic and time off the bike. Oops.
9: Days without my own car, cool
5: Days since the shower at home worked. Don't worry, i go to the gym every couple days for a shower.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR YOUR MOM ?

Well, thank you for asking. Jason and I drove 2.5 hours to LAX last night, Just to see my MOM. She had a layover there on her way home to Florida. She has never met Jason, so this was kinda important. I don't think i have seen her since Christmas either, and it was about time to hang out with the Mama. Once we found her, it went pretty good! I think they like eachother, except Jason kept yawning and leaning way back in his chair, tapping his foot. He usually goes to bed around 9 PM. So having to stay there and up coherent until 10:50pm, was quite a struggle. His quote of the day: "I will never do that again. She is the only person I will do that for." It was a good time though, my mom is crazy! (Imagine that, being my mom and all) So i didn't go to bed until 1am. I feel like i am in college again, not studying, playing way too long, and hardly sleeping at all. Except today, i actually have to teach instead of being able to slouch in my chair, pull my hat down, and take a nap. Better luck next time! Im putting some long pants on because it is COLD today!

Old School Friends

This is Katie Burley. She lives in Maryland where I partially grew up. We have been buddies since 6th grade. She is a graphic designer at a high class florist in Washington DC. She recently went to Holland to the world's flower festival or something cool like that. She will be my friend of the week, because well she is one of the coolest girls EVER!!

Positive, PROMISE

My little nephew Griffyn, having a snack like a good boy

From Bad to Awful...

I just washed the dishes. I heard Dozer drinking something in the bathroom and I never leave the seat up. I went in there and all the dishwater was now in the shower. Isn't that neat? I saw a piece of brocolli and some coffee grounds. I watched as the muck slowly circled down the drain and became more and more disgusted with the reality that has become my nightmare.

I guess I will flush the toilet and see what happens. This is so exciting. Then Dozer and I will go on a well deserved hike in the mountains and contemplate how people have lived and subsisted for centuries before us with NOTHING except the land. Really, how did I become so dependant? That's it, im disconnecting my electricity, boycotting Stater's and sleeping outside. Then I don't even NEED the shower anymore. I will eat off of banana leaves so I won't have to wash the dishes.

I'm gonna read a book.

A Bit of Reflection

It's Saturday and pretty much the only time I don't have to be running around crazy, until later. In a few weeks i will make the decision to go on early morning road rides with some die-hard chicks so i will have to kick the covers back and enter the frost of the morning, for the 892nd day in a row.

But until then, I get to sit with Dozer, in my pj's, drinking coffee with pumpkin spice in it (even cheaper than Circle K), and attempt to figure out why i do what I do or don't do what I don't. Very deep i know.

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS:
1.) Shelli (please view previous post "Shelli is Hot") and Summer are in SF for a marathon tomorrow. Yes, they are crazy. Who in their moderatly right mind would RUN 26.3 miles when they could ride it on a bike, drive it in a car, take a mule or just not go? Good luck girls, an update is sure to come! (By the way, they are both about 6 feet tall, slender, physical therapy students, and pretty much blonde. I look fat and short with them. For a meeting, please contact ME.)
2.) I GET to go to WORK tonight and all day Sunday for the Fall Festival. Now any of my coworkers reading this, do not be offended, BUT I DO NOT WANT TO GO. Any questions, don't ask me.
3.) Christie and some of the other Backbone crazies will be heading out for "psycho-cross" in Glendale. Good luck with that guys!
4.) The weekend will be over. awesome.

UPDATE ON "BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE"
Of course i mean myself, because i am "good people." Jeep news: 6 days without a car. But I did go over there to get some stuff out of it and they let me look at the warped valve, the head gasket etc, and it actually IS messed up. Hmm. I SO didn't do it!

I have been trying to figure out how to ride my bike to work. You see it would be very easy if I still lived in Redlands or was cool enough to live in Mentone (if only). But i live way up Hwy 38. They are repaving, adding to the perils of the road. I would also have to leave around 5am, dark and very cold, then riding on a wash board, i would have to take my mountain bike, which is good because i loath my road bike. But then would I have to shower at WORK in the child sized showers that were only used by firefighters during the old fire? Or, go to LA Fitness and actually work out? But at last, how in the world would I get HOME? Ride your bike you say, but COME ON! I would take my mountain bike then with my BOB trailor, because all my LAME road bike has is a 21! Have YOU every ridden your bike to Forest Falls in the dark, pulling a trailer, after a full days work with monstrous children, at 52 degrees? ugh.

The next bad thing: The shower won't drain. Now some would say i could just soak my feet, put some epsom salts in their and enjoy. But i say YUCK. Have YOU ever had athletes foot? Here's the problem, the shower broke 5 months ago which let to a full snaking of the plumming, the discovery of a rock in the septic tank, the toilet breaking, 15 days without a toilet, and ME paying well over $200 for a new one. So, i am pretending that the shower is in fact draining and that Dozer is a purple elephant.

What Dozer has destroyed this week:

He is getting quite creative. One Jose Ole cycling glove, half way. One road bike handle bar and bar tape (good boy Dozer). One row of shingle siding on the house. One sitting stool. One neighborhood child. Just kidding, but the rest is true.

Things I need to save $$$ for:
The 4th new tire for the Jeep
Milk and bread (any soup kitchens near by?)
Jeremy's 30th birthday gift (my uber-brother)
New Road Bike (Refer to previous post "Highlight, Lowlight")
Christmas (The KAPAO's are coming from New Zealand - Sister Julene with husband Rouru, kids Chucky and Griffy, they will need some SNACKS at least, maybe a meal at Del Taco, Tuesdays of course with the 3 taco's for a dollar)
Electricity - even though i live in the stick, i still turn the lights on
Propane - the heater is coming on SOON!

So.....if anyone needs babysitting, dog walking, bike cleaning, yard work, or someone to just sit and listen to your problems, PLEASE CALL ME! $300 an hour, pretty good I know!

Day's without A Car

Yesterday I went to the auto shop to view the Jeep. A scraggly old fellow was under the hood and he let me take a peak! Shockingly, everything seemed very normal to me. All these parts just sitting there! He laughed at me and made me cry.

My mission was to get Dozer's lead, leash, a receipt, some CD's and a snack, all in the Jeep. Of course i forgot half of that, so i have to back today! They will think that i am spying on them!

So back in the Subaru I am. It is so very nice a Jason to loan it back to me, although now i must complete all his errands for him. I actually kinda miss the car and it is fun to drive stick again.

Product Review - Burt's Bee's

I have been stung by SEVEN bee's in the last year. The second to last one was awful. Right on my neck, causing abnormal swelling and crazy allergies!In ONE day, i used an entire tissue box because my nose and eyes were running SOSOOSO much!

Christie gave me a Burt's Bee's survival kit for my birthday in September so i have been using some of the goodies. The Survival Book reads as follows: "When venturing into bug territory, make sure you dress for the occasion. Never wear bright colors; they advertise you as the daily. special. Instead, stick to neutral clothing in white, khaki, or yellow. Wear long pants, socks, and sturdy shoes. Tuck the cuffs of your pants into the top of your socks and wear long-sleeved shirts buttoned to the neck. . . Also avoid perfume - this includes the lingering odor of perfumed shampoo, aftershave, hairspray, lotion, or soap or any other scent that could arouse a feeding frenzy. Scents that humans are attracted to also draw bugs."

The product is very informative and helpful. The things actually work very well, especially the above pictured lip stuff. However, in order to meet the requirements to stay bee-free, I must do the follow:
1. Design a team riding kit with khaki and white as the colors. NO MORE ORANGE/RED/YELLO! EVER!!!!!
2. Roll in mud/dirt before the ride, make sure not to shower or apply any cosmetic smelly things for at least an hour before ride.
3. Go REALLY slow. If you encounter a bee, sit and chat with it and convince it not to unleash it's rath on you!
4. Tuck everything in, looking very attractive of course!

Great Products! Buy them at your local Trader Joe's!!

Shelli is Hot

This is the infamous SHELLI! (The one on the RIGHT) Yes, Boys, at this time she is single. I haven't seen this girl in awhile, but she is definately uber-friend! We met at 12 Hours at the Summit last year, and have been riding together ever since! She and I have traveled from Sea Otter to Mammoth as team mates and buddies. We also spent 7 hours moderately "misplaced" (yes Johnson, WE WERE LOST) and we were still friends after that, even though it was my fault! Dozer even let her just walk into my house this weekend and just licked her and played with her! He is such a loser! But at least they are friends!

For the fellows I will add some photo's a little further on, just for your viewing pleasure, hopefully i can cut myself out of them so I won't bore you! haha.

Comment of the Day

"I can't run or hardly walk today because of all the smoke and ash in the air. We saw flames and smoke on the mountains on the way to school." Anonymous 6th grade asthmatic

Weren't the fires like a few weeks ago? Hasn't it been raining for about 3 days now? Is that blue sky i see over Big Bear? Hum, that's really crazy!

Here's a little game. Which one is FOG and which one SMOKE? Whoever wins, does not have to run in PE today!!!

Restaurant Review - Circle K

Ah, many of you do not see the value of Circle K.

Here are the highlights of this establishment:

1 located 3 blocks from my work

1 located half-way home in the, as mentioned before, lovely town of Mentone. Today I bought a delicious Pumpkin Spice Latte for a fraction of the price they are sold at Starbukcs (an establishment I do not promote by the way).

You can also purchase dairy goods, sodas of all types, energy drinks, and snacks. There are so many delightful forms of sugar at Circle K, i could hardly choose one! There is your traditional chocolates, but then they have suckers, powdered sugary things, sugar in pastes and little nuggets.

You can also buy hot dogs and fountain drinks if you so desire and wait in the 20 minute line reading the newspaper or any other magazine full of smut.

So the next time you are contemplating going out for breakfast somewhere all high class like Mimi's, just stop in at Circle K, where all your sugar and saturated fat needs will be met at a fraction of the cost!

High Light, Low Light

HIGH LIGH: Christie got a new pink and blue Orbea road bike! It's awesome!
(yes, i stole the photo from your blog.)
LOW LIGHT: Christie got a new pink and blue Orbea road bike! It's awesome! (This just means continual tail whippings off AND on the road! Way to go Christie!!!)

Ode To Monday (and that's not a good thing)

Here we go.....
It seems as if my blog has become quite the hater-fest, sorry, but i must continue. Maybe to let you know just how much i do not like this day, i will simply give you a time-line with as few details as possible. You would just start feeling bad for me and all and the next thing you know you give a bike or something, and there is no turning back...

10:00 PM SUNDAY Nap time
1:45 AM Monday - awakened by the noise of a thunderstorm in Forest Falls, which could be equated to sleeping in a coffee tin and allowing your nephew to bang on it with metal spoons and shine a flashlight in it and take it into the shower with him....
3:00 AM - Contemplating leaving for work because i am afraid the road will wash out or the Jeep will overheat on the way, making me late for work (both very possible)
4:30 AM My CELL PHONE alarm went off (because the power went off 4 times, no actual alarm, good thing i set 4)
5:04 AM Leave the house, drive over 6 inches of debris in the road for about 200 yards. Gas light turns on
5:25 AM On Judson and Colton Ave, Jeep runs out of gas. After 10 miles???? Highly suspect. Run/walk to gym, homegirl Robyn gives me a lift the rest of the way (yes, i did call her and waker her up at this time, i have done this for years)
5:45 AM I taught a delightful spin classat LA Fitness, that actually went really well. Then i lifted weights which i havent done in months, even my legs, they shook!!!
8:30 AM Went to "GFE" which is now some FOX crap????!
9:00 ish On my way to LAME teacher meetings: car over-heats, turns off, sounds like a diesl when started again, turns off, idles really low, overheats, lots of smoke. DONE.
*Now the Jeep is at some shop, it was towed. Photo's to come, i can't find the proper USB port.
Later on (after much sadness) : I realize my ride is not coming for me because they have no tail lights and in the fog/rain/perils of the mountains, that is dangerous they say.
7:59PM Waiting at my VERY cool office (single wide trailor, pictures later, promise) for my boss and athletic director to come so i can have a slumber party with her kids.

DO YOU FEEL BAD FOR ME YET???

Mentone is cool

If you know anything about Mentone and Green Spot, you know who this guy is!

Jason, my boyfriend, and I had a really nice date today. We don't get to see much of each other, so we decided to hit up the laundry mat in Mentone after he got off work today. I know, its really lame. But hey, we get to hang out and do laundry, two very needed things.

After 8 loads, and cheap pizza around the corner, we were both very done. Not that we don't like Mentone, but it really isn't our favorite. The Stater's has the longest line EVER, the dog gets annoyed with all the "suspect" people trying to be his friend, and now, a quarter only gets you 8 minutes of drying instead of 12! What a rip off.

Yup, there's snow

It is a calm rainy day up here in Forest Falls. The puppy is sleeping, as usual and I am committed to a day of domestic duties. I went for a quick drive up the canyon to see if the rain water is pooling anywhere threatening a road wash-out. As I was driving, my eyes focused at the tip of the peaks, up towards San G.

Sprinkled between the trees, crags and boulders there is definately SNOW! This means I must get the 4th new tire on the Jeep that I couldn't afford when I bought the other 3. I will also fill my gym bag wtih 3 days worth of clothes, not just one. And down to the Elkhorn store i will go to get my emergency candles and batteries for my 5 flashlights and catch up on any of the 'country' news that is brewing this morning.

WINTER IS HERE....finally

We rode the Dam, Oops

Have you ever ridden your mountain bike from Southfork to Highland? It is quite an adventure with over 20 miles of pretty good single track and very little interuptions with weird people or large animals. Most of the trees that once covered the path have been moved or otherwise taken care of.

Once you drop in behind the Angeles Oaks store, however, the trail gets a little shady. When you go through Thomas Hunting grounds and drop down towards Morton Peak, it gets WORSE. At least i had my kneekers on, but my shins are covered with scratches and scrapes from the bushes. The trail is tiny as is, now it is quite overgrown. It is rideable though if you duck your head a lot and wear full long sleeves and pants, and who really wants to do that here!

Instead of riding up Morton and out to 38, we went to the Dam. I am not much for breaking the law but riding on private property never really seems like breaking a big law. I was with Christie, Brian, and Bev, all of who have at one time or another traversed the Dam unscathed.

The desent to the dam was only interupted by 2 snakes and 6 lizards. Once we hit the pavement, we felt like we were home free. Then we saw it. A white Hyundai meandering the zigzag road on the backside of the dam. All we could do was ride. We radn into the little car dead center on the top of the dam. It was hilarious. He pulled a James Bond move and spun his car across both lanes, hopped out of the door, hand on flashlight. (It was 2 pm, but he had nothing else.) Since i was the youngest of the bunch, i just sat back and let everyone else do the talking. We affectionatly called our new NON-friend "Alejandro" since he reminded Bev of her gardener of that name. I sure hope her gardener is not the mean! He told us the Sherif was on his way blah blah blah. We finally convinced him to excort us out. As we came to the large black sliding gate, we all could see brilliant ways to cicumvent it and get away. But Alejandro insisted that we sign a log, show ID and if we didnt have ID, he was calling the sheriff and detaining us himself, with his flashligh.

Things get ugly from here. All i remember are the storm-troopers coming in and pepper spraying us and demolishing out bikes in front of us....

Actually we signed moderatly accurate names and were told never to come back.

Oops.

I don't "DO" freeways

I had to drive my Jeep to the beach. This is a problem for multiple reasons. First off, my companions consisted of 4 10th grade girls who i naively allowed to control the music selections. You see, the high school had its annual beach day and since i am 10th grade sponsor and all, i HAD to go along. This brings us to another problem: FREEWAYS. Since I purchased my Grand Cherokee, we have travled many places, but as the title reads, i do not "DO" freeways. I have driven to Big Bear dozens of times. I have even headed to Vegas and beyond to Brian Head and then again i ventured all the way to Mammoth. But there is something inately wrong with driving down the 10, to the 91 then 55 then 73 through chaotic and angry masses.

Stopping in grid-lock was at least interesting as the girls named whether the car pirched next to us was a BMW, Mercedes, PT Cruiser. We also created a new game which we didnt really name. We pretty much tried to decide what exactly had made that 85 year old women look 38. Was it collagen? Botox? Microderm-abrassion? Multiple face lifts?

Although i was DONE being at the beach after 2 hours, we were there for 8. I usually do the mountain scene or hit up the woods, i bore quite quickly.

The day consisted of guessing exactly who was hooking up with who, trying to make sure nobody was smoking ANYTHING and that everyone was properly clothed at all times. We had a few sting-ray attacks which were pretty much the high light.

LOW LIGHT: A car controlled by iPOd and cell phone weilding 15 year olds with crushes on multiple boys who also seemed to have the most narrow of musical perspectives. Heres a run down: NSYNC, Aqua and the AWFUL "Barbie" song, and countless other boy bands mixed in with Aaron Carter, some lame American Idol girl named Kelly, and Christina Aguilara.

To say the least, pulling up at the beloved school WAY past my bedtime of 8:30pm, was a very good feeling.

The Heat, WHY?

It is getting close to the middle of October, and it is blazing hot! I am teaching flag football OUTSIDE from 8:30am to 3:20pm with GIRLS. Here's the deal. 1.Girl's don't like to get hot. 2.They don't like to get dirty, perspire, or get too much sun in the wrong places. 3.They also think that a jammed finger is broken and that a bump to the arm is dislocation. They are filled with so much drama and "stories" of their ailments, that at times, I actually have to laugh about it. In order to get them to move at an above-slug pace, they have to be threatened of impending doom or laps around the giant field. But can I actually follow through with such evil plots? Probably not. I don't even want to move around out there. I usually have extremely LOW amounts of sympathy for the children because of all the crap in the heat, cold and other "awful" conditions, I put myself through. But come on, it is ROASTING!

I had to go put a P.E. uniform on just to sustain the heat. I have these awesome triple-ply cheap polo shirts that I "MUST" wear to school and they are just DEATH! So now i look like an 8th grader, which is cool.

So please planets, re-allign and cut us outdoor folk some slack. MAKE IT COOL OFF!!

THIS IS DOZER!!

This is Dozer, the American Bulldog that eats everything!!!

This picture is from JUNE so now he weighs 80 lbs and is CRAZY!! And Awesome!

For my Profile 

I hit a post

Awsome. It worked. So the Fall Classic was this past sunday and it was my 2nd Expert race and my last race of the season. I was totally not into the whole race thing due to a broken bike, evacuations and many other "things" but i went anyways. Those experts really move, so i was shocked when i realized i was in first place for my class and ended up winning.

Funny thing however.....i made it through all the perils that Snow Summit had to offer, and about 100 yards from the finish line, i hit a HUGE wooden post. I clipped my left handle bar and ended up hitting my head, my chest, and my thigh. I have never had wood-burn before or a mark all the way down my chest where the post smashed my jersey zipper into my skin. My whole rib cage really hurts, but thats ok because i won.

This cool little photo is right after the post incident where i am trying to chat it up with Meggan Flaherty from Bicycle John's. She and Teri Strayer and Christie Pleiss were and are my "mentors" bringing me into the expert ranks. TOo bad they are all going to bail out on me....

Thurman Flats Fire....WAY too close to home! 

Me being cool at Sea Otter, when i was a beginner and all 

Dozer, as a wee lad, napping at school 

Nephew Griffyn from New Zealand