Thanksgiving

I haven't blogged in a while. I've been busy and haven't had much to say, anyway. Lately, I seem to go through spurts where I want to write and have more topics in my head than I can type and then there's other times when I got nuthin'. Obviously, it's been more of the second.

Well, in the spirit of Thanksgiving I want to post this list. I wrote it a couple weeks ago but since it's Thanksgiving I want to post it again.

I am thankful for…
1. My husband, who has accepted the job of supporting our family so I can stay at home with the girls.
2. My beautiful daughters who keep me on my toes and make me laugh every day.
3. My sister, Lindsay, who might be the most caring person I know and is one of my favorite people to hang out with. (she gets my sense of humor)
4. My mom, who raised my sister and I as a single mom.
5. My step-sisters, who live far away but would be there for me anytime I needed them.
6. My house in the country. It’s in BFE but its quiet and we plenty of trees and farms to look at instead of concrete.
7. My part-time job. I have learned so much about bikes at the shop, I love working there.
8. My pretty bikes, they have taken me places I never thought they would.
9. My sorority sisters, they helped make my experience at Auburn what it was and I love the women they have become.
10. My side of the family, it’s a crazy family but I wouldn’t want it any other way. (well, maybe "normal" ;0) )
11. My husband’s side of the family, a wonderful, caring group of people who I am lucky enough to be related to.
12. My grandma, who cared for my grandpa tirelessly and is one of the funniest people I know.
13. My health, I often take it for granted but would be lost without it.
14. My daughters' teachers. I recognize I could never be their (full-time) teacher and teachers often don’t get the full recognition they deserve.
15. My high school friends, they help me remember where I came from and the memories we share.
16. Beautiful fall weather. I miss summer but love the colors of the leaves and the break from the heat and humidity.
17. The friends I've met through triathlon and riding - they are a great group of people and some of the most amazing athletes I've ever met.
18. Thanksgiving, without it I might forget to think of all the things I am thankful for.

Girls clothes

I have a ridiculous amount of little girls clothes at my house and I am overwhelmed by the amount. I have clothes that don't fit, fit now, will fit soon when the weather changes and clothes that will fit when the girls grow.

I'm at a loss as to what to do with them all. They are scattered around the house and attic in various boxes and containers. I need to sort them all but I get overwhelmed. I can't focus when everything is totally out of sorts. I need to get my shit together and figure out some sort of system for it all. My husband says we should just get rid of it. I've already weeded out a bunch of stuff but I still have tons more.

I probably need about 10 boxes so I could go through and sort it all by sizes and seasons. Yeah, that's how I could do it. I'd just take over the living room and have a big sorting party! I'm sure my husband would be happy about that. Well, actually he might be if it meant a bunch of the clothes would go away. They've started to take over part of our room as well and it bothers him and it's starting to bother me as well.

It has been an ongoing problem but it's one I can't seem to get a head of now. We received a ton of clothes from my husband's cousin who has a little girl and a very extensive wardrobe. Since we started getting clothes from her, I haven't been able to stay on top of it. I used to be very organized about it when my oldest was younger; as soon as the season would change I'd sort through what she had outgrown. Now I'm terrible. I have piles of clothes waiting to be boxed up and I never seem to get to it.

Anyone know someone who needs used baby and toddler girl clothes???

B-ball

My older daughter decided this year that she wants to play basketball over the winter. I'm not exactly sure what inspired this desire, I can only guess it's because of me. I think she has it in her head that she wants to try both sports that my husband and I used to play: he with soccer and me with basketball. My husband was less than pleased about this idea, he hates basketball. He used to come watch me play because he was a good boyfriend but he didn't like it.

I feel the need to preface any basketball talk with the fact that I wasn't any good. Seriously. I was on the Varsity team my Junior year in high school but I lucked in to that. I tried out for the JV team when I was in 9th and 10th grade and got rejected both times. By my 11th grade year, I knew I'd just be setting myself up for heartache if I tried out again so I didn't. Then a friend of mine mentioned that they needed a 12th person for the squad and asked if I'd be interested. I can't say I immediately jumped at the chance but I was definitely interested. I had to talk to my employer at the time (Macaroni Grill) and then let the coach know. I joined the squad and we went 22-4 that year, only losing to Pope and Lassiter twice each. (I think Pope won the championship that year)

I could see the game in my head but execution was a different story. I had a decent jump shot but got nervous in a game situation or if there was any pressure. I hope my daughter is a better player than me. If she's not, that's okay too. Sports that require a lot of coordination just weren't for me. I often wonder if I'd started earlier if things would have been different. I'm just glad I found sports that I'm decent at without using a ball. ;)

My husband and I decided it was important for the girls to get an early start so they'd have time to figure out what they're good at - whether it be soccer, basketball, music, dance or something else. My parents let me try many different activities when I was young but sports wasn't one of them. (neither of them is athletic) I look forward to seeing how she plays. I toyed with the idea of signing up to be an assistant coach but since this is her first year I'll let her play first and if she wants to play again then maybe I will next year.

She starts practice the week after soccer ends in about 2 weeks. I need to find her some proper shoes. I've been trying to convince her that she'll have to get black shoes, so far I've been unsuccessful. I think I'll take her today to see what we can find. I hope we can find some that aren't $50....

My park

Well, it's not actually my park but sometimes I like to pretend it is. Fort Yargo State Park actually belongs to the state of Georgia; a mere technicality. I have said that there are few people that know the trails at Yargo better than me. That's not as much the case now but it was when I was mountain biking there 2 or 3 times a week and trail running when I wasn't riding. I went riding there this morning and decided to take my camera. On many occasions I'd be riding along wishing I had my camera with me so I could show some of the trails to my friends. I love riding there and I am very, very fortunate to have such an awesome resource nearby.

Here's some singletrack in the woods. And for the second picture, I fell over because I couldn't decide if I wanted to stop to take a picture so as I was wavering in deciding, I lost focus and fell over. At least I wasn't going fast. (or at all, really)



































This is the lake I get to look at since the trails skirt the lake throughout the park. The other is the trail beside the lake before it re-enters the woods, after a killer downhill section.






























Here's my pretty mountain bike in it's natural habitat. I am always happy to post pics of my awesome bike. Although, I see now it's kind of hard to see the bike with this background. Oh, well.

















And lastly, a picture of "Thrill Hill," although the picture doesn't do it justice. Going this direction on the trail, it's easy to navigate but the first time I saw it I was freaked out. The trail goes down a little hill and there's dirt straight in front of you, it's 4 or 5 feet straight up. If you pause at all, you're gonna fall. I've never fallen here *knocking on wood* but I feel gravity pulling me down every time I make it. The hill part is where the two tree shadows are casting on the ground. I was standing at the top of the hill that gives you enough momentum to make it.

I definitely did not have a stellar ride but the weather was bee-yoo-ti-ful and I couldn't resist the pull of the woods. I feel very fortunate to live this close to a great park and I'm thankful that I can ride.

5 songs

I decided for fun I'd try this experiment from the blog 5 songs in a row. You're supposed to put your ipod on shuffle and listen to the first 5 songs that play and write something witty about each one. Okay, let's go....

1. "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell - This is one of my all time favorite 80's songs. I'm not sure I knew the song when it was the 80's but it is one of my favs from that era. It is one of the best songs to see a cover band play. I don't know what it is, "and you think love is to pray, but I'm sorry I don't pray that way. Once I ran to you, now I run from you. This tainted love I give you...." I love the beat and the regular version, not the extended version.

2. "Video killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles - this song was the first video played on MTV on August 1, 1981, another classic 80's tune. I really like this song too but I have to be in an 80's mood to listen to the whole song.



3. "45" by Shinedown - I didn't even remember I had this band on my ipod. I have 6 Gb of music on there, it's impossible to remember every single one. I have to admit, it's not very good. It's kind of like Nickleback and I don't like Nickleback. I'm gonna have to skip this one.


4. "Exodus" by Bob Marley and the Wailers - this whole album reminds me of college. My husband's fraternity had a spring party every year that lasted all week and Bob Marley was often a theme. It reminds me of Auburn and of hanging out at the Delta Chi house. We'd sit on the back porch, outside my husband's room, drinking and smoking cigarettes until it was time to go out.

5. "About a Girl" by Nirvana - I like this song too but have to be in a Nirvana kind of mood. I'll listen to it if I'm in the brooding, Seattle kind of mood. ;) This is a random selection of songs today. I wonder if it would have been different had I not pushed the skip button? Sometimes I think the ipod just knows what I want to hear and runs the Genius feature even when I haven't started it. (except not this time!)

Risk

I filled out a job application the other day and in addition to the normal info there was also a questionnaire at the end. It involved situational questions as well as some "personality" questions. One question in particular stuck in my memory and it was about risk. The question asked about calculated risks. It caught me by surprise and made me pause. In my mind, I thought the "right" answer would have been that I don't take calculated risks but putting that as my answer would have been a flat out lie. I hope nobody puts that as their answer because if they do, they're not answering truthfully, either.

It stuck in my mind because I've wondered about it since I submitted my application. I don't know the right answer. I put the answer just above the "I don't take any calculated risks." My answer was worded something like "I'm cautious and take slight calculated risks." I don't know if that was the best answer but it was the one I could put and feel mostly truthful.

Here is a web definition of the phrase: –noun. a chance of failure, the probability of which is estimated before some action is undertaken.

I think being a road cyclist puts me in the category slightly above normal people. We drive our cars everyday without a second thought about the risk but a bike is a different story. Every. single. time. I am on the road with cars, I am taking a risk. I can control my actions but I can't control everyone else. Of course that fact is true in a car as well but there is a steel box around me when I'm in the car. Obviously, that is not the case on a bike. I am trusting that drivers will see me and steer clear. I am trusting that drivers will act predictably at a 4-way stop or a stop light. But that's not always the case. There have been several stories this year of cars vs. bikes and the riders losing. It hasn't stopped me but I have thought twice about it. If I stopped and dwelled on it too much I don't think I'd ever ride on the road again.

Halloween

Halloween has finally come and gone and it was a pretty good one. Well, except for the weather. Cold and drizzle do not make for good trick or treating weather but that didn't stop anyone! We still had a decent amount of trick or treaters and we went down to our friend's Halloween party in the n'hood anyway. The girls dressed as a pirate and Ariel. The little one's costume was a hit because she had a red wig. I kept it in the bag until about 30 minutes before they left to make sure it didn't get messed up! A 4 year old and a wig are a good combination but get messy quickly.

My mom and my sister came over and went to the party with us. My sister was a cowgirl. Oh yeah, and my husband and I dressed as tacky tourists. I was so excited about my costume when I found the pieces at Goodwill last week. I tried to find the ugliest, "tropical" shirt I could find. I didn't match at all. I also wore bright green pants, black socks and pick shoes. I made me laugh. ;) I tried to get my husband to pick items so they didn't match but he wouldn't do it. He's such a party pooper. He said just because he's a tacky tourist doesn't mean he has to NOT match. I disagreed but he did wear black socks with sandals.

I realized last night that Halloween has definitely gotten easier now that the girls are older. In the past, we've put the little one to bed but still had trick or treaters come to the door after she went to bed. Now she is out with her sister until it's time to come home. They were so funny when they came home. They had stories about who they saw and what they did and dumped all their candy out on the floor and promptly began to trade. My sister and I did the same thing (I'm sure all kids do) but she says she distictly remembers one Halloween when I got her to trade good candy for some yucky candy. I don't remember but I'm sure I did. I was kind of a mean big sister. She says I convinced her to trade something good (like a Snickers or Butterfinger) for one of those orange-wrapped peanut butter candies (in the wax wrapper) that nobody but my husband likes. I can't believe anyone still gives those out! Ick.