Naked Lip

I haven't blogged in a while. Not sure why, perhaps it is because I've been so freaking busy, or perhaps it is just because I haven't had anything good to say. Hmmm... well, either way, here's an update:

I rode on Wednesday with Chris, Erik, and Steve at Marshall Mesa. It's amazing how quickly our Wednesday group has dwindled now that it is "fall". No girls are coming at this point in the year -- I think the inevitable night riding keeps some away, I also think we've entered a busy time of the year when it's simply easier to not go ride. I haven't been great at riding myself, getting over this cold has put me back to riding once a week and I can't wait to get back into it. Night riding or not, I still look forward to our Wednesday rides and hate the thought of missing them. This week we rode a trail closer to our house and ended up being the only ones at our post-ride dinner. During the ride I wore a small version of the sun on my head which made the issue of night riding almost non-existent. It's amazing what a little wattage can do to your outlook when it gets dark. I could actually see the trail! We ended up riding almost 20 miles. Going from basically no riding for the past three weeks to 20 miles was a surprisingly easy task and that made me feel good about my base fitness. I must not have lost too much fitness with the four pounds that I lost while being sick... now I'm just a lighter-weight version of myself -- haha.

(bug spray + Mesa dirt = excellent way to fake 'n bake tan)

This weekend was one of those lovely one-day weekends. I had a mandatory science training on Friday night and all day on Saturday. Booooo. It was incredibly borring but at least I'll get paid for it in November. I'll never say no to an extra $200. Between my trainings and Chris's tour-de-front-range this weekend, we realized we hadn't really seen each other too much since Thursday. So we spent the day together after a VERY early morning hair appointment in Boulder. We had two breakfasts, one at Starbucks and one at Panera. We bummed around some mountaineering store in Boulder and then came home to get my work done, clean up the house, and relax on the couch. Today I became 3-0 in Fantasy Football, beating out my own mother. Last week I creamed the TMom, and beat out my sister's family the week before. Poor Chris is at the bottom of the Fantasy Football barrel -- looks likes he should stick to bikes. Turns out my strategy is awesome -- pick people who have weird names (i.e. T.J Houshmandzadeh).

Anyway, a whole day together lead down to the basement where the closet got gutted and we got distracted by "old" stuff. We looked through old pictures, some of when we first met, some before we met. We decided we were (are?) huge dorks and it's a miracle either one of us fell for the other one. Our kids are going to make such fun of those pictures one day ("Mommy, why did Daddy have yellow hair? He looks silly"). In the spirit of dorky pictures, we decided to have a little fun with the camera tonight. Digital allows us to delete those terrible pictures, so what fun will the kids have one day always looking at pictures where the smile is just right? We created some new material tonight with some stick-on mustaches. Enjoy future children and mean-spirited friends... hehehe...




(notice the new haircut -- after having the same style since I was 18, I decided to go for a change -- not too drastic, but different at least)

(Turbo has a mustache here but he's currently trying to eat it)

Happy new week!

Lungs of steel

Lots of things to update. Of course the most important first.

I rode yesterday. If you call riding leaving a lung on the trail in between hike-a-biking and pedaling straight into rocks. Yeah, the ride wasn't pretty. I've been sick with a chest/head cold for a solid week and a half and it is a SLOW moving sickness. Luckily I'm starting to not feel like I'm going to die, so I wanted to get out of the house and ride for a change. It wasn't pretty. My legs felt pretty good and I sure had the heart for riding, but my lungs and bike handling skills didn't exactly match up. I felt like I'd never ridden a bike before. The tiniest of rocks would throw me off balance and make me get off and walk. The only time I made any sort of decent move was up a little waterbar and that was only because there was a cuteish guy standing at the top looking at me like I wouldn't be able to make it. So of course I had to prove him wrong :) I think he ended up impressed and gave me some nice encouragement. I rode 2.5 miles up Lookout Mountain and then decided to skip the last push to the top in favor of riding part way down the road and then back on the trail to the car. Riding alone in the dusk/darkishness was entertaining. I saw a bird in the middle of the trail that wouldn't move so I stopped and started to think about how to get it to move when someone came up behind me and asked if they could pass. I must've jumped about 10 feet thinking it was a talking bear. I also hit a sandy spot going slowly, paniced and grabbed the breaks, almost had a fairly spectacular slow speed crash but saved it and then had shaking legs that wouldn't calm down the rest of the ride down. Good news is I got to wear my cute new jersey for the first time! Yay!


My new K/1 class is going very well. I'm having a blast with the little kindergarteners and the 1st graders seemed to have matured a bit with the responsibility of "setting a good example". It's a challenge for sure, but I'm really loving it. Here's my funny story for the day:

Today I was reading a book and this little guy (who is classically entertaining in so many ways including his mohawk and super thick glasses) interrupts and the following conversation occurs (the kid is Y)
Y: When I grow up I'm not going to read books. Actually, I'm not going to read nothing.
Me: Oh yeah? What are you going to do when you grow up?
Y: I want to sit around and eat and play video games all day.
Me: Well, what are you going to do to make money? What will be your job?
Y: (pauses for a second) I'm going to make statues.
Me: (didn't expect that one -- usually it's a fireman or power ranger) Hmmm, well, when you get people to tell you what they want you to make, you'll have to read the note.
Y: They can just tell me.
Me: What about your video games? When you get a new video game you'll have to read the instructions right?
Y: I get new video games and I don't have to read the directions now.
Me: Well, people aren't as smart when they get older.
Y: Hmmm.


Hehehe. I met my match :D

New Beginnings?

I just want to point out that right now I'm wearing a sweatshirt, bundled in a blanket, and so cold that I just had to close all windows and doors in the house. Fall is a'comin!
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Off to a new week of work. Should be quite interesting with lots of good blogging material. Due to the kindergarten class being up to 35 kids right now, there's a VERY good chance that, as of Tuesdayish, I will no longer be a 1st grade teacher but instead I'll be a K/1 teacher (again!).

Having done it before, I 'won' the opportunity to teach a K/1 and give the other English 1st grade teacher some of my kids (including, yes, the very apple of my eye that has been making the first three weeks of school harder than imaginably possible) so that I would have room to fit 9+ new kinders.

It's not *official* yet, but rather just a very good possibility. I, of course, am all for the opportunity to give the apple of my eye to a different teacher (although she is probably also going to end up in a separate school in the end), I've done a K/1 with great success in the past, and LOVE Kindergarteners in general... sooooooo... it could be a good change. It also is going to pose many more problems and complications (like, I'm not sure how I'm going to be teaching math being the only K/1 teacher, hmmmm). So we'll see.

Good thing I'm good at rolling with the punches.

"You'd never take a walk with me"

So, first things first. I haven't been to work in two days because I'm still sick. I think I'm slowly getting better, but I still have a hacking cough and can't stand up for more than two minutes without being out of breath and lightheaded. It's amazing how you can go from the peak of your fitness to barely able to walk up the stairs in two short weeks. Good thing I love being a teacher because it sure takes a toll on your mental and physical health -- especially this time of year.

The weather is feeling downright fallish today and it makes me have a serious itch to go ride. Chris is out doing that right now and I'm incredibly envious. A chill road ride with a clear view of the Flatirons, taking in the scenery and fresh air sounds heavenly. Heal, Marni, heal.

To make myself feel better for being at home I've done three things. 1) I did the strenuous task of whipping up some brownies for dessert tonight -- yumm! 2) I did some prep work for some delicious parm/rosemary pork chops for dinner -- double yummmm! 3) Downloaded the latest P!nk CD.

#1 and #2 are very me. #3 is not so much. Let me explain.

Buying a new CD, even through i-tunes, brings me back to the days of being a teenager. I'd get a few extra bucks, go to the Best Buy in the Probe, look at the CD section FOREVER and finally land on the one CD I wanted. I'd play it over and over and over again until about 3 weeks later when it'd land in a pile with the other CDs I used to play over and over and over again. It didn't happen that often, but it made driving anywhere exciting for the next few days knowing you'd get to listen to it.

Now-a-days I download the music, rarely burn it on to a CD, so therefore rarely hear it in my car. But it does make mundane tasks like cleaning or cooking more fun because I can play the music off the computer. Hence the reason I did the brownies and pork chops chores tonight despite feeling pretty crappy. I rarely download CDs -- maybe one every six months -- so when I do, it feels like a guilty pleasure.

Also, P!nk isn't exactly my normal selection. Due to the XM in my car, I've expanded my music tastes. I heard a few P!nk songs I liked, and luckily they are all on the same CD. Hence the purchase. The point of it all is still coming.

I downloaded the CD and heard a new song that I really liked. I tend to stay out of political discussions -- or any discussion that pits core beliefs against core beliefs -- as a personal choice. I don't mind other people having them. I don't really mind listening to them, I'm just not a fan of participating. I don't really have that ability to not take things personally. I think I missed that crucial step in growing up. To me, everything is personal. It's a flaw and a positive characteristic at the same time. It's what makes me a good teacher and a bad teacher. Eeeenyway, if you're not a huge fan of Mr. Bush in Washington, you might enjoy P!nk's "Dear Mr. President" song featuring the Indigo Girls. I may be a little late to the party, but it shows some serious professional, for lack of a better word, balls to be willing to put out a song like that -- it is a tasteful criticism of some things going on. I'll leave it at that.

Ooooh! Brownies are beeping! YUM!

Climb that mountain

Today I am sick. I woke up Sunday morning not feeling well, spent Monday feeling terrible, woke up Tuesday morning thinking I'd turned the corner so I went to work, and now I'm sidelined (Tuesday night) on the couch feeling like there is a rock on my chest and an elephant in my sinuses. Lovely. There's a good chance I won't be going to work tomorrow.

If I don't go to work, I won't be able to go on our Wednesday night ride. If I don't go on our Wednesday night bike ride, I won't be able to wear my cute new Twin Six "Queen of the Mountains" jersey that Chris bought me. Sad.

Anyway, before getting sick we had a great weekend with Chris's mom and sister in town. Here are a few pictures from our climb up Mt. Sherman. HUGE props to the flatlanders who overcame some altitude issues to summit their first 14er! You guys are awesome!





And now the best picture of all. Here's Chris and I if we stop doing anything active and eat nothing but twinkies for the rest of our lives.

Chris will probably make a good write-up of the climb in the next few days -- he's good at that. If I'm stuck on the couch with this darn cough tomorrow, maybe I'll post more of a narrative myself.

Adios.