Oh the Tears

I have no time for this post as i am juggling three loads of laundry, dishes, car packing and clothes folding. BUT, people always comment about my odd KEEN flip flops and ask what the point is. THIS is the point:

I was carrying a load of freshly dried laundry up the earthen steps which have no symmetry or similarity to each other, causing me to mis-judge the height of the next one and tag it with my two toes. IF i had spent the extre 48 seconds looking for the flops on the left instead of grabbing the first pair of matching flops, i would have been saved. Since i was carrying a precious load that could not be dropped in the dirt, i just kept plodding along. Now i have to cut my toe nail too short since some of it broke off and i also have to cut a flap of skin off the end of my toe.

Earlier today, when the dogs got out and i was chasing them in my CROCS through ungroomed forest, i flipped a stick up with my toe and cut my shin open with the other end of it. Yet again, i stayed strong and continued my quest of catching the pets. I could hear the neighbor shooing them away and the anger of the 5 dogs behind us that are behind cold, steal fences. MAybe we should invest...

One Down

I finished a book, all on my own. The Skinny B has been completed. This book talks issues spanning from animal cruelty in the slaughter houses to the difference between Stevia and Splenda. A lot of cool ideas were proposed, and a few that either i don't get or i need to investigate more. The basis of the book was to read the labels and to actually understand what the ingredients are and what they do to your body!!

So here are my questions from the book:

1.) The book said to only eat three meals a day, small ones. What about the 5 meal plan?
2.) The authors said to wait to eat until you are starving. I thought that was bad??
3.) Minimal protein
4.) They did not discuss exercise until page 192, and very briefly. And when they did discuss it, it was to "have fun and move around." for me, that doesn't cut it!!

I think that is it....

I just spent 30 minutes searching myspace, linking to all my students and ex-students. Very traumatizing and eye-opening!!!

New Book: Eat To Live: the Revolutionary Formula for Fast and sustained weight loss

And NO, i don't think i need to lose weight and i am not flipping out aobut body fat 5, BMI, or pant size!! But, i want to stream line my nutrients, really know what is in everything i eat, and figure out how what to eat for the most benefit. i have been feeling lethargic and "heavy" and i know that i could clean out the system and put better stuff in.

i will let you know if i find any secrets!!!

Movie Review

FREEDOM WRITERS

I like true stories.

I feel that anyone remotely involved in education should watch this movie because it encompasses the reality of our children. The system that i teach in is privilaged, but that is not to say that the individuals sitting in the gym have not come from pain and have not endured more horrific experiences in their 14 years of life than i have in my 27. This movie high lights the ignorance of many educators, but it also exposes what can actually happen when one becomes invested in their work and their children. Not to say that i am going to begin freely giving of my time, but it will make me look at things with a much different view. So should i try to get relocated to San Bernardino or Oakland? I don't know, but i think i may have found a cause and a foundation worth investing some time, spirit, and resources in.

Civic duties are being pushed these days and the media is running wild with the atrocities afar. But what is happening in our own zip codes and driving routes? What about the kids at the bus stop who actually slept there? We don't even know and that is sad. The problem is where and how to start - i have to educate myself. What is the drop out rate in my county? What about pregnancy? Abortion? Drug abuse? What about in my school? But it is private school they say, the untouchables. That can make it even worse.

Before i stress about the fact that i accidently bought a size 9.5 sneaker instead of a 9.0, maybe i should smile at a kid. Sometimes, that is the only fleeting form of true affection they will receive.

Not to be odd, but you should watch the movie. And it is true. That makes it even better!!!! And only a few bad words, and they help with the emotional context.

http://www.mbaction.com/detail.asp?id=2251

THere IS a Playoff!!!!

So far, so late in the season...what to do!

50 Cent Gumballs and Boys who smell like Soup

I have an allotted amount of time to update this blog before i need to do the dishes, make dinner, fold the laundry, clean the floors, and well... read my book!

I read it, in a book: I don't read, so being on page 82 is impressive!! This book is about the yucky stuff in food and what it does once it is in you! Very good ideas, but i can not fully promote it until i finish it, which i am attempting to do!!

And he thought i lied: I do admit, i tell a lot of tall tales. But this one was always true. Jason bails out about 7:30 pm due to strenouos work, rock climbing, or my continual speaking. Timber LOVES to sleep ON him!! Jason never believed me, but i caught it on camera last night! I was laughing so hard, Timber even came down for a snack with me and got back up there. Jason thought i had been a dutiful wife and put a blanket over him!! I can't wait until Pet #2 is full grown!!

Whose that hound?: Tim-Tam is looking more and more houndish these days. IF he keeps it up, he will get fixed. Poor pet!! Enjoy the glory days!!

Snuggle Bunnies: Some people are afraid of them, but how could you be?? This is them passed out after an all day excersion of hot-laps in Christie and Greg's yard with Murphy. Tomorrow they will again commence ramming speed with hopefully the same results!

Ok enough with the stupid pets.
Boys Who Smell Like Soup: While out pre-riding the Fontana national course this past sunday, we saw a myriad of odd things. NOthing too shocking though. It was very curtious of the warring paint-ball factions to call a truse to let us ride through. AS we wound down the smooth (once in a life-time) single track you could hear them yelling "RIDERS" we waited and grouped up so that no lone rider would be left to fend for themselves. These guys mean business.

There was also a cleanup crew doing forced manual labor, i dont want to jump to conclusions as to where they call home....but.....they did an excellent job! There were big pick up trucks with the backs filled with shopping carts, toilets, lawn mower parts and anything else that had been left out to filter into the sediments.

On the last little technical climb, there was a group of boys who should have been doing homework, meandering around with odd shaped bags and skateboards. THESE guys are the ones who smelled like soup. And THAT was weird!!

Pitching a Fit: i haven't complained in a really long time, and this rant has absolutely nothing to do with me, so that means i can maintain my free-loving ora.

I am the California State Champion. Now before you think i am arrogant, hold on. This means i won a series based in CA. THis does not mean i am the fastest expert female racers 19-29 in the state. It means i raced the most events and beat people sometimes. It is not indicitive of true dominance, so i feel weird toiting the title. This year, the series was changed to the Southern Cal State Championship Series. There is Also a NorCal Series, which is actually pretty rockin! Fist event NVDC at my old college and a must for next season. EVERYON skip the mud fest, drive just bit farther north, and race this one. Please note, there were cash prizes and swooping single track through a forest...

Now the split has come with great controversy. People feel jipped, that they can no longer dominate a region the size of the eastern sea-board. Yes, it would be cool to be the East Coast Multi-State Champion, forever, i need to look into that. But this is how it worked last year: LArgest expert field 19-29: 4; Where they came from: 3 hours from my house (virutally Maryland and Delaware and Virginia and West Virginia) When the races in Humbolt County took place, and if i had decided to travel 15 hours to a NON-national race, guess who i would have raced against? Those SoCal Local Gals!!!

So, i propose a playoff or double-elimination tournament between the north and the south. Teaching PE and all i totally know how to set up tournies and make people feel positive about winning a consolation prize.

All in all, i am pleased to race without the pressure of traveling 800 miles to race myself just to maintain points. This way they points will be closer and harder to get because there are fewer events and no points and a half races.

That is all i have to say.

Actually, i have some more introspective tid bits, but food is a must!

Racing in Phoenix!

Whose the Powder Puff NOW

FUNNY THING OF THE DAY: Yesterday, while at the bike shop, a parishioner asked me the following question.:

"So you race mountain bikes? Well when do you develop your cardio?? Do you have to go to the gym for that??"

Um, no. I go to the gym to get huge, which cyclists actually shouldnt do, so then i just one million ab things in an attempt to avoid future abdominal tears.

Is raining/snowing: When i brought Tim-Tam inside from 'doing his business' this morning, his fur was speckled with snow. This is where the Powder Puff comes in. I am supposed to ride about 1.5 hours today (i can't tell you what i am doing, but just assume i am keeping my HR at 33% of max) but it is cold and raining here in Redlands, and snowing and really foggy up in the woods. So decisions need to be made. Do i ride the trainer? probably. There are racers from Colorado and the east coast who are cool enough to boast a Zero Tolerance For trainer hours. So does that make me weak? Thin-skinnd? A powder puff? probably. But i am ok with that, plus i could watch some pretty killer moves while on trainer.

THE TOOTH FROM THE UNDERWORLD: my tooth turned grey/blue again. I was supposed to have it taken out 2 weeks ago, but told my dentist friend that i was afraid, and wanted to wait. AFter months of a lot of pain, nerves on edge at all times, and teeth aching just from a slight breeze, they seem to have finally "healed" (it just looks rotten) so that i really wanted 3 weeks of pain-free riding and eating. But today, the cycle must begin again. I am taking my iPod for the event, i dont want to hear a thing. I know exactly what is going to happen and i dont really want the play-by-play going through my head.

Domestic Disturbance

RED: For some reason, all our bikes are red! The Sugar is out with a coworker/friend who got both their bikes stolen, thus, need some wheels. But it is red too! Jason hates red, but he really likes purple, but i dont want a purple bike. BUt TREVOR is selling his purple RIG, if you want it. Don't make fun of my earthen garage either.

LITTLE LOVERS: It looks like Timber has a lazy eye, but i just woke him up, thats all. Yes, they are allowed on the Futon, with a pillow and blanket. What can i say...
THE DOMESTIC PART: i did a deap clean yesteday. 7 loads of laundry. 4 loads of dishes (I am the dishwasher) all floors and surfaces cleaned extensively. THus the yellow gloves. My hands were beginning to resemble Jasons construction man-hands, and that is just NOT right. I also had ALL windows open to avoid exfixiation.

REALITY CHECK: Although i feel invinsible, this past week i have been walking on the dark side. The extensive training hours and exposure to numorous illness harbored in the grimmy hands and faces of middle school children, i succumed to a head cold. Now out of all these products that i have been dousing my system with, the only thing that cut the fever and cleared the nose was the following concoction:
JUICE OF ONE LEMON

TWO GARLIC CLOVES, CRUSHED

1/2 BOILING WATER

CAYANNE PEPPER

HONEY

Im not even joking. Try it, trust me, right when you starting feeling it come on, and it will clear you up in a heart beat.

I only lost a day and a half of stealth training, so now it is on!

BBQ's: The summer kitchen is ready to go!!

Just like a kid: Jason and Wee Man

Now it is probably obvious that i am erring on the bored side of things. I slept over 11 hours last night, ate a lot of fruit and wholesome carbs. My illness has subsided, but it sure made for 4 bad days. I had to run/chaperone/control/cater the Jr/Sr Non-Prom for my school. It was more labor intensive than my wedding reception. I ended up putting my nice pants one while wearing my sneakers and Sea OTter sweetshirt (in memory of those duking it out this weekend) the whole night, while everyone else was dressed in their formal best. We were outside at a home with 50sih weather and high winds. Can you imagine what that does to a chocolate fondue fountain?

So it was a really good idea to not go to Sea Otter. I had forgotten, sorta, about the non-prom which sent my stress level extra high with very long work hours and extra things to do. To say the least, i would have been a basket case on the road today.

Christie and Shelli have been calling me with updates from the Otter. As we speak, it is raining as Shelli contemplates not pre riding. I think that Christie is in the middle of the pro womens short track, hopefully that mud isnt as deep as last year. I have been dutifully checking results, calculating times and differences, and making assumptions as to where i would have finished. Pretty sure i would have won. Just kidding, who ever really knows. But there are a lot of the same racers as in Phoenix, so nothing really shocking has come up, actually all my pre-event predictions are ringing true. Scary.

Off to walk the dogs, then maybe later on, like 5pm, ride my BIKE!!!!!

late

We need a maid

So i know i am OCD and love to clean, organize, and reorganize, but as of late, Jason and i have let things fall through the floor. And not the literal through the floor in the form of the non-trap door in my closet. But come on, two pets, 4 bikes to clean and house, no dishwasher, two people that work full-time and no live-in children to assign chores to. Does any one want to work with food as your pay??? I will let you play with Timber too...only when you have completed your chores though.


SEA OTTER OR BUST....then i'm busted: this coming weekend i am not making the pilrimage up north to the Fabelled Sea Otter Classic. as the event grew closer, the memory of distain i have for the event and the multiple vows to never return become more vivid. LASt year was fun because Jason and Uriah went, and they got to go to the Acquarium and Sea Kayaking. It was fun. But i missed the STXC race and got pulled from the XC event only to return home after 1am covered in mud. Not to say i have not enjoyed the event in previous years or that i would not love to attend and compete there this year. But i have to look at the BIG gigantic picture of the season and realize i need to fly to Vermont and North Carolina in the future, so maybe save some chump change. I also had a problem in that i could not leave home until sometime on Saturday, making it quite the shot gun event.

However, since we all know i am a social butterfly, i am going to totally miss meeting up with old friends and making new ones!

Best of luck to all of you who are going up there to race or watch. Keep me posted on like an hourly basis. And remember, it is just a race, one small weekend mixed in with a thousand others.

Nothing, but a good time

Oh sorry, that is my ring tone right now. i actually went to one of their concerts in college, with Winger and Cinderella. Anyways...

I thought i just broke my toe and that everyone should know.

i was briskly walking to the front office here at work, when my left foot went about 4 degrees off the sidewalk and tagged the top of a sprinkler that hadn't fallen back into its slot after it did its watering. The immediate consequence was a deluge of water spraying everywhere as the broken sprinkler head rocketed up into the air. Of course i looked down to see why i almost kissed asphalt, so my face received the brunt of explosion.

Good times.

Off for a ride, hopefully not by any sprinkler heads. Speaking of the little Devils, my frined Haley broker her face, literally on one in Peru on new years eve a few years back. reconstructive surgery and all, i think i am going to use a hose, or better yet, not own anything that actually requires watering.

ULTIMATE

In the land of Physical Education, we are playing Ultimate Frisbee. Please feel free to stop by on your lunch break of free time and join in on the fun. It is a great mix of cardiovascular development, teamwork, calisthenics, and hand-eye coordination.





I would suggest not wearing these shoes. They are the new craze (again) and all the kids who have them on have gone down for the count. The grass seems to never get dry, and you can only take two steps with the frisbee, then you have to stop. This abrubpt movement has sent many to the turf, one bounced and one rolled. This made us all laugh, a lot, which brings me to topic #2:

I THINK I TORE AN AB: Not laughing, although all the vast amounts of daily laughter probably helped shield me from deeper tissue damage. Shelli, who will be a DOCTOR OF PHYSICAL THERAPY in June, told it was probably micro tears to the intercostal tissue surrounding the ribs. duh. It is also a good thing i join in on the Pilates videos i have the kids do at times, or i would truly be hurting. I dont want to get into too much detail, but it has something to do with a lot of biking on rough terrain and the death grib and flexed out core to keep me on the bike, with the rubber side down. Although i only ate cacti once, or actually my bike ate me (the ground was never fully encountered) i feel like that guy on The Princess Bride who rolled down the hill yelling "As You Wish" he must have really hurt a lot.

SOOOO why was i riding a bike:

A BIT OF RACING: dOWN In old Phoenix area, which reminds me to NEVER VENTURE THERE IN THE SUMMER. Oh so very warm!! The races were great, had a good time. Somehow avoided flats and mechanicals and only got about 15 cacti tallons stuck in my shin.

INvites: I talk a lot so i love venues with ample amounts of people to talk to. You can talk about crazy race kits (but i totally avoided the girl who had shorts with a side panel that blared Kill Joy whats up with that?) new bikes, winter wonders and the like. I did recieve invites to go ride in places such as Berkley, San Diego and Big Bear, and to stay in fun homes with grand people. They are crazy, because i can actually get to those places. Its not like they are in Oklahoma or something and just being nice. They dont even know what i will do for a good ride and that i dont care that i drive a planet hating eco-terrorist Jeep that if it had been driven to the race, would have taken 17 tanks of gas. I am already making weekend plans. Not really, but i wanted to scare them.

TO MAKE A SHORT STORY LONGER: tHE GIRLS in my expert class and the class next to us were great this weekend. i think everyone went away without any death threats or restraining orders. It was awesome to meet Emma who will have the most fantastic racing kit by Sea Otter, hopefully, and who had a stranger use his mouth on the trail to remove the cacti stickers. Then there was Maureen, who i called the sleeper. She waited until the third day of racing to show her cards. She was a tricky one, but i called it in the car on the way to the venue. She showed up with a Curious George jersey and stuck to my wheel until i kissed my bike, then she passed only to be spotted in the far off desert scape from then on.

The Backbone crew is, well, crazy, but also super helpful. Roger stepped up big time hittin me up the a bottle feed (sounds like an infant, felt like one from time to time on the bike) on lap 3 and Chris would just pop out from behind a random huge cactis and shout obscenities, i mean encouragements, and Jim was taking actual real live footage of a cool little descent. I flashed a sign. And of course, James was back in rare form, helping everyone.

There is always the old crew too, the new Intense Team that is going podium crazy, Heidi K who became best friends with misfortune, getting lost on one course and accruing 3 flat tires on another. then there were the new upgrades to pro, Heather, Emily, and Kim covered in dust and sweat enduring their grueling inaguaral event. Then the other car, of Romolo, Carolyn, Mandy and Chad, we ate suspect food together, and now we are all BFF's. Kidding.

I was elated to have Shelli back in racing land, and she kicked some tail. she came in second by maybe 2 minutes, that without training, for about a year and a half. Natural, raw talent i say.

Then, of course, the Nomads. We were cool enough to ride in Mr. Freemans Mazda 5. He told us to pack like Nomads since the car was so dang small for 4 people with bikes and gear. Fortunately for Matt, i didnt take that literally because I think Nomads take their whole life with them!! But we (Christie, Matt, Trevor and I) fit in nice and snugg eventhough Christie touched my arm once. The trip was really fun, an excellent end to my break from work. When we got there we met Mandy, who stayed with us too.

LASTLY: I would like to talk about food. I did my first solo BBQ attempt just now. Jason is doing super overtime (YES) so i am, well, blogging and eating. duh. I made chicken (real) with this cilantro pesto i made then some grilled asparagus. ooo, good. While on the trip i decided that Smarties are a very BAD post race meal, and that KFC actually is ok for the night before. you just have to order ALL the sides, mashed potatos, rice, bean, green beans, and mac and sneeze, and no french fries.

I had a bunch of coworkers over for (DONT LAUGH) a girls brunch while all the non teachers were at work. We had coffee, then some more, chilled raspberry soup, potato crust frittata, baked french toast, and apple crisp. Flash backs from when i worked at a bed and breakfast in the Napa Valley, but i didnt even make my bed when they all came over.

Maybe i should have spent that last half hour cleaning my bike and unpacking. maybe tomorrow. probably not.

Have a nice day