My Little One

I love this photo…

1 Month Old!

Time is flying and Jia Li is already 1 month old today.

1 month old today!

Unless she’s sleeping, she’s wiggling and kicking like crazy.

She’s finally surpassed her birth weight and is now a hair over 7 pounds. I no longer need to roll up the sleeves on this little outfit.

2 weeks old

Matt is an awesome Dad…Jia Li loves him. It’s too cute seeing these two together.

Breakfast with Dad

Daddy's girl

The boys are getting used to the baby now. Jangles routinely comes over to sniff her and say, “Hello.” It’s obvious he wants her to play. Merv is starting to feel more comfortable around her too. They each spend time with us each day in the nursery. They don’t go in the crib as much anymore, but they definitely have found other places to lounge.

Napping in the nursery

Happy 1 Week Old, Baby!

Milk coma

Welcome, Jia Li

Birth date: 12/16/2011

Time: 8:35 PM

Weight: 6 pounds, 4 ounces

Length: 19 1/4″

2 days old

3 days old

4 days old

D-Day

End of the week – If we can make it until then, the induction date is official!

37 Weeks, normally 3 weeks to go, but for us, it's only 1 more week left!

All sorts of things are running through my mind as I try to think of everything we need to have the house and supplies ready to go. I think we’ve got it all – or the most important things, at least. I’m blocking out the nervousness of childbirth itself. Not really interested in focusing on that. I’ll wait until Friday when I show up to Birthing Center.

The nursery is complete, all the baby stuff has been cleaned and washed and is ready for use…have I forgotten anything?

Notice that the bike trophies and race numbers have been replaced with stuffed animals and baby toys...

Still trying to be baby gear minimalists, but one item has wandered outside the nursery.

A dresser I've had since I was a child is going to work great as a changing table.

Still need to remove the comforter that is keeping cat hair off the baby's crib sheets.

...and yes, we now have a name.

Now the only thing left to do is to catch up on our ZZZZ’s…

Jangles and Matt taking a much needed nap.

Merv getting one last dose of crib time.

…and to take care of each other in preparation for our new arrival.

Merv giving Jangles a little hug.

I can’t believe the day is almost here.

Where does it all go?

I measured myself. I’m surprised I didn’t start doing this early. My wide girth is now 41 inches around. Yikes! My normal waist is 25 inches. Now I don’t even know where my waist is!

35 weeks, 5 weeks to go...

Every time I think this is as big as I’ll get, I get a little bigger. This is scary stuff, seriously! I can’t believe my body can handle all this. My feet are taking a beating, that’s for sure. So where does all this weight go? Some of it is obvious, other areas, not as much. My body has definitely taken on it’s fair share of fat and water. Puffy doesn’t even start to explain how I feel.

In a typical 30 pound pregnancy, this is often where the weight goes:

• 7.5 pounds: your baby’s weight
• 7 pounds: your extra stored nutrients
• 4 pounds: your extra blood
• 4 pounds: your extra body fluids
• 2 pounds: breast enlargement
• 2 pounds: enlargement of your uterus
• 2 pounds: amniotic fluid surrounding your baby
• 1.5 pounds: the placenta

For me, I’ve put on 40 pounds so far. My doctor says I’m still within a “normal” range and supposedly I’ll lose a lot while nursing (water and fat especially which is used to produce milk). Let’s just hope she’s right. In the meantime, more bed rest and counting down the weeks. Right now, the doctor says the baby will be joining us at week 39 now. Last week she was saying week 37, so this is good news!

We have our baby shower in town this weekend at the Ober’s, plus we have friends from out of town visiting (Lyn, Rita, Kasen, and Malachi). Should be a fun weekend!

In the meantime, Merv keeps asking me how long it’s going to be before the nursery is done. He’s getting tired of the mess.

Almost There…

In more ways than one…we’re almost there.

The nursery painting is almost done -

Need to get rid of the clouds and move them to the ceiling. Also need to add baby's name to the sign post.

This is the wall that still needs the most work.

The baby is almost done cooking -

Week 34

The boys, Matt, and I are getting closer to the biggest change our lives will ever encounter.

Crib time will be over soon.

Baby arrival could be earlier than we expected. I have mild pre-eclampsia, so I get to go to the doctor’s office twice a week for my checkup and the baby’s checkup. As long as we’re both okay, we continue to wait until the normal delivery date. If either of us has any complications, out she comes! We’re shooting for week 37 at the soonest though. In the meantime, more bed rest to keep my blood pressure low, my headaches at bay, and the edema from getting out of control. This is also supposed to keep stress off the baby so that she gets all the blood, oxygen, and nutrients she can get from me.

We’re looking forward to a quiet, enjoyable Thanksgiving!

 

The Countdown Continues

I haven’t been great about keeping up with the blog. Lots going on these days as we get prepared for the little one! I managed to get in two great hikes 2 weekends ago: Haflin Creek and Animas.

View from Haflin Creek Trail

Haflin Creek didn’t disappoint with the great views. The start of this hike has some unique Moab like rocks, plus some interesting formations from post-fire events.

Beginning the hike...

Continuing the hike

I would have loved to get all the way to the Missionary Ridge area, but at 33 weeks pregnant (I was 31 for this hike), I’m now limited to about 5 miles total for hikes. Then I’m just wiped.

The sky was an amazing blue today!!

Animas always delivers when it comes to a great workout. I’ll look forward to running this post baby. Biking too, of course. Today I decided to head up the middle trail, then cut it a little short and hike along the rim. I ran into a loud-mouthed biker while out there who told me to get off the trail (okay, it was Matt just giving me a hard time).

Heading up the middle trail

Last weekend there was no hiking., but I did get in a Skyline hike with Laurie right before the snow hit on Friday. Snow left the trails muddy, so I met Tanya for some laps around the Miller Middle School track and exercise with her dog Oso. That was actually quite fun! Oso, a Labradoodle, looks like a small horse and has tons of energy. Sadly, this was the end of my outdoor adventures for a while.

I’ve been having some high blood pressure issues. I had high blood pressure going into this pregnancy…chronic hypertension. During the first and second trimester, the BP has been amazingly low, lower than anything I ever got from medication. This was to be expected. The third trimester was going to be the test, and it has become that. As expected, my BP has resumed its normal levels (those when I’m not on medication) and has actually exceeded my higher levels. My highest reading was 175/105. Enough to make the doctor quite nervous. I’ve been experiencing the high BP, headaches, and edema, all symptoms of pre-eclampsia, which is a pregnancy related disease I obviously don’t want to get. It can cause damage to my kidneys, liver, brain, and the inner lining of my blood vessels. It can also reduce the oxygen and nutrients getting to the baby. The only “cure” is delivery of the baby. We’re too soon for that…37 weeks is ideal, and I’m only at 33 weeks. So what does that mean for me? For now, bed rest. Uggghhhh, mind numbing. So some happy thoughts…the count down continues!

Me with only 9 weeks to go (31 weeks pregnant)!

This week felt significant to me. My belly took on a defined shape and really changed from the week prior. It was definitely bigger.

Me with only 8 weeks to go (32 weeks pregnant)!

I really didn’t feel like the belly grew more. The baby is moving differently now though. Her back is usually against the front of my belly with her head pointed down, so the kicks I feel are internal, towards my back. The movement I get all over the front of my belly comes from her pushing to get get more room. I get her hips poking out quite often, plus her shoulders. It’s funny to see the belly contort when that happens.

Me with only 7 weeks to go (33 weeks pregnant)!

Again, I really don’t feel much bigger this week, and believe it or not, the scale hasn’t moved much. Supposedly I should be gaining 1-2 pounds a week from here on out. I’m not complaining…I’ve put on enough weight.

Bed rest isn’t helping me get the nursery complete. I was working on that a bit prior to the bed rest. Jangles, as usual was being a helper.

Both boys have been keeping me company during bed rest. They’re the perfect little companions.

Weekend Pleasures

Only 10 weeks left and my lazy weekend activities will be a thing of the past.

Snack time at the top of the Ridge

The weekend was beautiful and I took advantage of it with hikes on Skyline and the Ridge as well as Animas Mountain. By Sunday evening, my lower back was killing me, but I felt great for have gotten in over 13 miles of hiking for the weekend. That’s a lot for the weight I’m carrying around with me these days.

Matt told me about the trail heading north from Skyline rather than south. It’s quiet on this side, so it’s become a go-to spot for me. I saw a lot of folks out on the trail on Saturday…Darian, Amy, Gretchen, a pack of Durango Cyclery riders on singlespeeds and gears, plus others.

Sunday was an Animas hike. I did the big outter loop, going clockwise this time. Lots of people out here too, mostly hikers, but luckily the trails allows people to spread out quickly so you still get some privacy.

Towards the top of Animas Mountain Trail

I’m looking forward to biking this again! The view from the top is always quite cool.

View from the top of Animas

I saw this creepy critter out on the trail while hiking…

Anyway, with only 10 weeks left before D(elivery)-Day, I was thinking I should start a countdown for the little one. She may be curious to know what the heck we used to do before she came into our lives. She’ll be shocked at how big I got carrying her little body around inside me for 40 weeks. I guess I can’t complain, I’ve heard that others get much bigger than I have, but I truly feel like I’m going to explode.

So, here it goes…10 weeks left and 32 pounds gained to date (30 weeks pregnant).

I feel like I’m going to explode. The craziest thing I hear from people is, “I can’t believe how small you are!” Are you freaking kidding me? Some people even know what I looked like before I got pregnant. I honestly can’t believe how big I am. While I’m thrilled to be toting around our daughter, I will be excited to get back to being me.

Lately I’ve been having fun guessing what the heck she’s doing in there when she’s kicking all over my belly. Seems she loves to flip around, stretch, and hiccup. She also enjoys waking me up throughout the night. Seems late night and early morning are her favorite times to be awake. I hope that’s not a sign of her sleeping patterns once she arrives!

The Best Time of Year

Two weekends ago Matt told me to get out on Engineer Creek Trail for some great views and Fall colors. He wasn’t kidding!

Engineer Creek Trail

While the day was slightly overcast, it didn’t take away from everything I love about Fall.

The trail was in great condition, very tacky. Matt has been climbing this trail on his bike, but I’ve always descended on it. Now that I’ve hiked up it, I can see giving this a try!

There had been rain the night before and I got a little on the hike as well!

Fallen leaves along the trail...

Our Fall colors are typically different shades of yellow, but every once in a while, we’ll get some bright orange Aspens, which are spectacular when the turn fully orange.

The following weekend we got hit with a cold front and I wasn’t able to hike. Maybe this weekend will be better. I”m hoping to get a little more before the leaves all fall from the trees.

When I got home from the hike, I tried to put my shoes away and Jangles immediately jumped into the spot where shoes are supposed to go.

Jangles being a show off.

One evening Matt and I were wondering where the cats had gone…turns out they were upstairs staking claim to baby’s crib…again…

Merv and Jangles taking ownership of the crib

Enjoying the Fall

I love this time of year. It’s always so beautiful. The temps are dropping, the colors are changing, and it just feels great to be outside. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing, it’s just nice. A few weekends ago I got to hike Goulding Creek Trail with Laurie.

Nearing the top of the out and back trail

This 6 mile loop was quite the hike with a healthy climb for a pregnant woman! I really enjoyed it and felt I got a great workout. The day was great, not too hot, which was nice. The Fall color changes hadn’t hit at this point.

Great views

At the top was a cabin and lots of places for horses. We decided to grab a quick snack since there were some spots to sit and the sun was out.

Cabin towards the top of Goulding Creek Trail

Animal corral

It turns out that the top wasn’t far away, but this was definitely the better spot to eat and relax. The top intersects with Pinkerton-Flagstaff Trail…a trail I know well, but haven’t touched this year.

The "top" of the hike intersects with Pinkerton-Flagstaff

At the base of the trail, someone had contributed a couple of vehicles to the environment. Gee, how thoughtful.

The week after this hike I got out to the Colorado Trail from in town. The colors were starting to emerge!

Start of the Colorado Trail - some color changing in the process!

Time to hit the high country for the color explosion!!

Around the house, we’ve been doing some organization and preparation for the baby. After close inspection, the boys approve of the changes.

Merv, checking out the new rugs in the living room (okay, he actually lost a toy under here and is digging it out).

Nesting

Two walls almost complete, two more to go…

I’ve got a little buddy who has been supervising me. He thinks we put the crib in the room for him. We had to lay a comforter over the mattress to minimize the collection of cat fur!

 

Already?

I went on my normal neighborhood hike and was greeted by this reminder that seasons are soon to change.

The scrub oak is starting to change colors!

Things change in the blink of an eye. If you aren’t paying attention, you miss out. I think that’s what I’ve learned most as I’ve gotten older. Details are important. They aren’t minutia. There are many details these days that are giving me hints of what is to come. We’re anticipating great change and are preparing as best we can.

Nature's preparation for regeneration.

Anticipation guides our preparation for the future.

Growing Forest

Animals will be coming soon, once the trees are complete. Then a pond…somewhere…

If we can ever come up with a name, it will go on the sign to the right of the crib.

A Work in Progress

First step, two-toned walls and a blue ceiling…

Next step, stencils and more paint…

This is definitely not as easy as I thought it was going to be.

Wildflower Extravaganza

This is why you want to be in the high country…

Not to mention the fact that it’s usually 10-15 degrees F cooler up here than in town. I love our seasonal changes.

 

High Life!

It’s that time of year to be in the high country!

This little guy was begging for treats. I think he's pretty used to seeing humans.

I miss the mountain bike, but I’ve been enjoying the trails on foot. Hikes have been good and I see things I normally wouldn’t see on the bike.The wildflowers are taller than I am in spots!

I’ve been hiking Pass Creek trail a lot lately. It’s my favorite trail, even if it does tend to be loaded with tourists.

I need to learn the names of the wildflowers. There are so many of them! I want them in my yard.

The beautiful thing about this trail is that it changes so frequently. I love coming up here at different times a year to take in everything it has to offer. This trail is great for hiking, running, and biking.

On one of my last hikes out here, just a little past the pond, I started hearing what I thought was a herd of cows. It was quite loud.

As I continued hiking, I realized it was sheep…a huge herd of them! I was hoping I’d run across them on the trail. The best I ever got was a glimpse of them far away on a ridge. Amazing how many of them were out there! They were a noisy bunch.

You can't see them in this photo, but the herd of sheep are along the top of this ridge. I wish I had a better camera with me on this day!

As you get to the top of this climb, you’re greeted with the base of Engineer Mountain. It’s the reward I always await…

Where does the time go?

It seems I used to always have time to post on the blog…now I never do. Not sure where time goes sometimes, but I guess it’s time to start catching up!

My neighborhood Skyline Trail

Still hiking as usual, but it’s time to try to get up earlier when it’s still cool out! Geesh, it has been getting hot in the afternoons. Luckily we do have high country for an escape, but that takes time. I still enjoy our trail in the neighborhood…so convenient plus a great climb and workout. The flowers are out, so it’s time to hit the high country hikes!

My little brother finally got married! It was a great, informal wedding at his new bride’s parent’s home. Just perfect, even if it was hot outside. The wedding was fun to watch and the reception was beautiful.

It was great seeing the family, but geesh…it was 93 degrees outside at 10:30 PM. I thought that sort of thing just happened in Phoenix.  I really can’t tolerate humidity anymore, and MO has way more of that then I want. Dad said that it’s all what we’re used to. All I know is that breathing in humidity is very difficult for me.

 

Animas Hike

I did another hike on Animas over the weekend and saw this on the side of the trail.

Leftovers

Two carcasses. The hunter definitely took its time with the meal. There were tufts of fur everywhere and a semi-neat pile of bones around this pile of fur and skulls. I’m not quite sure what it is. The color of the fur is that of a fox, but the size of the skulls looks more like a coyote. I wouldn’t have expected a coyote skull to look like this, but what do I know. Any guesses?

Other than this and a lovely nosebleed, the hike was quite nice. It was hot out, but Animas usually gets a really nice breeze, plus there are enough shady areas to break up the heat.

I’ve gotten into the habit of taking naps at home after a nice, long hike. They boys always love curling up with me. Today, I woke up, and they decided to keep on sleeping.

Napping kitties

Stacy’s Reroute

My mechanic (okay, he’s much more than my mechanic and I love him for that; it’s just fun to call him that) has been giving my bikes some love recently, so I took out the Intense for a spin. It’s been a long time since I’ve been with this friend; it’s been neglected.

My full suspension bike

It doesn’t deserve the neglect…it was the bike that brought me back from my periacetabular osteotomy, and I’ll never forget it! I remember picking it out while sitting in a wheelchair (or I may have limped onto some crutches that day, I don’t recall). The Intense has been a loyal bike, and I still love it! It looks like new and is pretty much like new with the new pivot that Brendan put in for me.

I decided to bike through the Gulch today and figured I’d check out Stacy’s Loop because Trails 2000 has been doing some reroute work on it. All I can say is, “NICE!” Stacy’s had become a bit of a mess with a few years of water run-off and ruts. I really didn’t like the section of trail much anymore until now. Nice swoopy trail has been cut in to allow for better drainage.

Here's some of the old Stacy's heading down hill. They used heavy equipment to fill in the trail with dirt to allow it to grow back more quickly.

Here's some new Stacy's Loop heading through scrub oak

I know some will be ticked with the changes, but all I can suggest is give it a chance. Before you know it you’ll forget the old trail and learn to appreciate the new. You get to weave through scrub oak, which gives a little shade, it’s all good!

Old Stacy's heading up hill. Again, all you see is the fill.

And some more new and improved Stacy's

I like the changes!

Back at home, the boys continue to amuse us…

Merv

Jangles

Slacker

Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve posted that the WordPress interface has changed. Oh well…it’s just proof that life is good, we’re taking it easy, and just enjoying life.

One of my favorite views from the Skyline

Lots of hiking going on around here; it’s a nice way to wrap up a busy work day. It’s nice that we have this trail right in our subdivision, so it’s an easy one to get to and you get excellent elevation gain in less than 30 minutes from the house. Another great thing about this trail is that it is shaded in many spots, so you aren’t wilting in the sun.

Lots of shady areas to keep you cool on the trail

Of course if you choose to go to the top, the Ridge has some super sunny areas, but there are still pockets of shade to give you a break.

Climbing the Ridge

I Like Ike's!!

After a hot climb, a smoothie from Ike’s really hits the spot.

So, to catch up…Matt went and raced the Growler over Memorial Day weekend and decided to try out the half enchilada. What’s that? You run the Sage Burner 25K on Saturday and then you mountain bike the ~30+ mile 1/2 Growler on Sunday. Talk about a killer combo! Matt did excellent, taking 2nd SS for the 1/2 Growler. He’s crazy enough to want to tackle the whole enchilada next year, which is running the 50K Saturday and then mountain biking the ~60+ mile Full Growler on Sunday. Crazy. Makes me want to go take a nap.

Me? I decided to chill at home and watch the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic events. I met some friends at Steamworks and we were able to see 3 events at once from the back balcony…the pro men and women cyclists were in the middle of both the mountain bike race (which actually ran right through the restaurant) and the criterium. Mountain biking to your right, crits to your left, plus down below the balcony, we could see the trials guys putting on a great show! You can click on the images to make them larger.

No carnage this day. The riders were great! It was a fun day topped off with Matt meeting me downtown for dinner on his way back from his 1/2 enchilada. Ahhhh….I love this place!

Enjoying the Summer

So many great things to do in my fun little town…

View of town from Animas Mountain

there’s no reason to want to go anywhere on “vacation” when you live where people choose to vacation.

Oh, the tires are in and will soon be delivered. Jangles had fun helping me sort through the order!

BWR Maxxis order

 

Change is Good

Having tired of all the road riding, the dirt has been beckoning me…

One of my favorite climbs

Since I’ve been riding limiting riding to an aerobic zone, I can’t do the full climb, but I can definitely do the beginning.

The boys, as usual, keep us company. What’s great is that as they are getting older, they really like hanging around each other more and more. Little buddies…

Merv and Jangles hanging out in the chair together

This and That

Life has been different lately. Changes abound and I’m faced with new and interesting challenges each day. I’ve been getting in a lot of this…which got a bit boring after awhile. So I’ve been hitting the dirt a little more on the Moots.

Baker's Bridge

I’ve been riding the singlespeed so much I forgot what it’s like on gears. You really can take things a lot easier with them. I still think I prefer the SS though.

Durango Gravel Grinder

I got to ride the inaugural Durango Gravel Grinder last weekend. What a blast! There were 2 options, the 115-mile or the 160-mile. Matt and a friend of his, Steve, took off early for the 160 and I started the 115 with 5 others a little after 9 AM. Thanks to TR, we actually got some photos from the day’s excursion.

Ophelia, me, and Heath taking a quick break

As the title of the race suggests, there were lots of dirt roads in the mix. I rode the Ritchey Breakaway crossbike, which treated me well, as it always has – no mechanicals and smooth running the entire day. I had my friend, Ophelia, who joined me for the day. She thought she’d at least accompany me for the first loop, about 50 miles, and then see how she felt for the second. She rode hard and managed to hit 100 before calling it a day and taking pavement back into town. Ophelia was the only one crazy enough to show up on a road bike, so she was a super tough chica out there that day!

I had driven the course the day before, so remembered all my turns…except one…towards the end of the day. It tacked on enough to make my 115 a 120, but it’s all good. “It’s just more miles” is what TR said (one of the two who rode the entire route with me…Heath was the other).

TR waiting for the group

TR wouldn’t have been riding with us…he’s much faster, but he broke a spoke in the front wheel early in the race and was bound and determined to finish regardless. He ended up breaking a second spoke towards the end, and on the final descent on Horse Gulch Road (very rough road) he thinks he lost the third…but he did it!

We all had a fun riding adventure this warm, sunny day and celebrated at the end of the day with Matt at Steamworks! The other 115-mile racer who finished very early, Troy, didn’t get to hang out at the end, but he was a super fast local. Will, the last of the 115-mile starters did the first loop and then decided to enjoy the rest of the day enjoying Durango.

Rolling along; enjoying the company

This was such a great, early-season ride. I’m hoping more people show up next year! Too many people didn’t get out there because they just weren’t ready. Nobody’s truly ready early season…just get out there and do it!!

I know I’ll be back next year.

Another Great Weekend!

I headed to Alien Run to ride with TJ on Saturday. It turned out to be a beautiful day, in fact, we thought we were going to be too hot out there. Thank goodness for partial cloud cover…it made the temps just perfect.

TJ checking out the view on the Outer Limits trail

We rode the single speeds on the normal Alien Run trail plus the new Outer Limits section. The Outer Limits is very fun! You have a great, challenging climb up twist turns and baby heads in the beginning, then a nice mesa view, followed by some super tight, twisty descending. It’s all good for the mountain bike riding skills. I love this new section! Of course I should have expected great things considering the trail is named after an old TV show I used to enjoy watching…the Outer Limits. Combined with the “old” Alien Run trails you can get 19 miles of single track.

Today I decided to mix things up a bit. It’s the last official day of skiing at Purg, although they plan to open on the weekends for the next 2 weeks if the snow is okay. They were allowing weekday pass holders to ski today, so I decided to hit it!

I ended up skiing in a snowstorm part of the time.

Heading up Lift 3 in the snow

It was nice to have the snow because it added a great layer of powder to the surface, making skiing quite smooth and fast, depending upon where you chose to ski. If you headed towards the base, the snow was the slushiest “Spring skiing” conditions I’ve ever been in. As long as you stayed up higher, the snow was great!

Quite fun to be able to bike in short sleeves one day and get a little snow the next.

Portland

Last week I took a business trip to Portland to attend a geek conference and give a presentation. Portland is a great place to visit, so I was looking forward to it, plus I knew I’d get a chance to visit with Sue!

Sue enjoying a fine Bridgeport brew

We had a nice meal at Bridgeport after a valiant attempt to take the Max over to northwest part of town. Too bad we were talking so much that we jumped on the wrong line, and ended up in Chinatown. No worries, we simply walked our way over and took a tour of the area, thanks to the tourist map I had been given in my conference goody bag. The food was good and the beer was excellent.

Mmmmmm.....beer......

I love Portland’s mass transit system. It’s so easy to get around and it’s exceptionally biker and walker friendly. As in Durango, drivers actually stop for people when they are standing at crosswalks. Imagine that! I walked from my hotel to the conference each day, passing by Burgerville, which is featured in my last post. I had to laugh at their billboard. Perhaps Portland has a new environmental law…no paper napkins unless the customer asks?? Something similar to southwest states that don’t serve water unless you ask for it? Who knows. The billboard was still funny.

On the way back home, I had a layover in Denver and took advantage of a nice meal at New Belgium Brewery. I tried the Dunkelweiss, which turned out to be quite the hefty beer at 9% ABV.

A partially downed Dunkelweiss

The trip was great, but it’s always nice to get back home. Portland was a tad on the rainy side while I was there. I came back to nice weather and blue skies. A great way to get back into the biking. I’ve been riding road and mountain, but I suppose I need to get on the road a little more in preparation for the Iron Horse!

 

 

What a Deal!

Better Late than Never…

I guess I’ve been slacking on the blog posts. My birthday and St. Pat’s Day have already passed us by! Birthdays aren’t so exciting after you get past 40, but Matt and I did have a great dinner at the Himalayan Kitchen. Then, as usual, we hit pint night on Thursday, which happened to fall on St. Patty’s Day.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Matt messing with the camera phone while enjoying Steamworks' Red on nitro for the $1 pint night special

And in the daytime news…I got to hit first dirt yesterday! The college trails, Meadow, Horse Gulch dirt road, and Ridge are ready to roll! Some muddy spots here and there, but they were easy to get around…or just ride through the leftover snow.

First dirt of the year!

Other than getting outside and enjoying the warmer temps and walks downtown for dinner, we’ve also been starting to paint the house. If we’re not doing that, we’re hanging out with our boys…

One of the boys' favorite spots to sleep in the evening

So there you have it…I’ve caught you up with what’s going on in the Turgeon household.

 

 

I Spoke too Soon!

The last post I made fearing the end of snow was premature! I posted that whiny blog entry and then headed to the Nordic Center for some end of the season skiing with sadness in my heart. As I started driving up the mountain I saw dark skies ahead and the little flakes, my friends, started to fall. Jackpot!

Staying dry, thanks to the Showers Pass Double Century jacket

I skied in heavy snow the entire 2 hours I was out there. What a blast! I had the place to myself; the parking lot was empty. Apparently nobody likes to skate ski in powder in the middle of a snow storm. Am I the only one who finds this really fun??? I guess I don’t really care because it just leaves that much more snow all to me.

Awesome, snowy day!

So, what kept me dry out there in the snow storm where I was balancing the sweat inside my clothing with the need to stay dry on the outside from all the snow? Showers Pass!

If you don’t know what Showers Pass is, take some time to educate yourself and click the link. Your body will appreciate you next time it’s stuck outside in wet weather. I’m wearing the women’s Double Century jacket in the photo. If you click on the image to view a larger one, you’ll notice the snow falling around me and turning into little water droplets that never soaked through the jacket. This thing is amazing! And to think I was saving it for bike season.

I’ve been trying to dial in the clothing for skate skiing when it’s snowing. I generally end up wearing something that is way too hot and I sweat profusely, which leads to a cold core. Today, with the temps 27 degrees F and full on snow, I had the combo perfect: Under Armour base layer, long-sleeved synthetic top, Mountain Hardwear windproof vest, and the Double Century as a shell. My clothing breathed and I stayed dry and warm the entire time. Perfect! The vest was a tad on the warm side, but I unzipped the pit zips on the Double Century and that allowed for enough ventilation.

Is this the end?

I’m pretty sure this may be the end of the skate season for me. The snow is slushy and I can see exposed earth around me. I should be excited, but for some reason I’m a little bummed. I used to say I hate the cold weather, but this year, I really learned to enjoy it!

 

Skate skiing in the middle of a snow storm

Don’t get me wrong, I really like biking, but I think I prefer skiing. Maybe it’s just because it’s unique and I only get it a few months out of the year. The nice thing is that it gives me something to look forward to as the seasons change. Funny, we’d always talked about how a beach place would be nice in the winter to escape the cold…now I think it would also be nice to have a winter home where I can ski right outside the door. I want it all!!

Here is a gratuitous photo of our furry buddies. They love each other. I had to work late one night, so they came up to join me on my desk.

 

Merv and Jangles trying to share the cat bed.

 

 

 

Pint Night

A walk downtown with your main squeeze, $1 pints and good food at Steamworks, and a walk back (with the bus available if it’s too cold or you don’t want to walk back up College)…

Matt pondering on the health benefits of beer

What more could you ask for?

Changing Seasons

I was in Las Cruces, NM last week and was treated to nice, 70 degree F weather! I flew into El Paso and planned to drive to Cruces rather than driving all the way there. While in El Paso, I took advantage of two of my favorite places to visit: Lucy’s and Crazy Cat.

Lucy's restaurant is connected to the King's X Lounge

Lucy’s has these special machacas that are quite yummy. They also have the best salsa verde…so hot and so good! I was served way more food than I could eat, but it was still a treat.

There are many pleasant memories associated with this restaurant (that, by the way, had nothing but horrible reviews when I did a web search on my Blackberry for the address). Matt and I first ate here over 20 years ago for a Spring Break vacation. While all our friends were going to Padre Island, Daytona Beach, etc., we decided to choose a quiet venue, just the two of us. We drove to El Paso and planned to spend time in Juarez. Of course that was back in the day when getting across the border was very easy, and you didn’t have to worry about getting caught in a drive by shooting at every restaurant or club in the area.

Chips, salsa, and soup for starters...

Machacas, rice, beans, and tortilla for the entree!

I did manage to get in some of the chips, 2 bites of soup, 1/2 the tortilla, the machacas, and one bite of rice. That was it. It was delicious!

After eating I made a run to Crazy Cat to see if they had some new kits in. No luck, they have been ordered but aren’t in yet. One of my favorite kits is a Crazy Cat get up that I got years ago. I wear the long-sleeved wind jersey for skate skiing and love it!

My favorite El Paso bike shop!

So, after the hot temps, it was back to the coolness in Durango. Coolness in many ways, by the way… Over the weekend we got more of the powdery, white stuff and Matt and I decided to head to the mountains for some snow shoe fun at Molas. It was a tad windy in spots, but the snow was beautiful!

Matt heading towards the top

Me having fun in the white stuff

Matt cheesing at the great views near the top

First tracks all over the place on the way back down. Lots of fun and quite the workout trying to move at a good clip above 10K! I love this stuff. Who would have thought I’d become such a snow lover.

Album Cover

If the boys ever put together an album, this will be their cover photo.

A Little More of the White Stuff

Not quite as much as I’d like, but I’ll take what I can get. We got a little more snow in the mountains which made a nice new layer of powder at the Nordic Center.

Powder at the Nordic Center

Granted the trails were groomed, but with all the wind, snow was blowing right back onto the trails in spots. It made for some interesting skiing today. I’d be skating along and suddenly the brakes would go on as I went through a powder pile. I had to really look ahead at snow conditions to anticipate this, but boy was it fun!

This was the third day of high intensity workouts for me and my legs were feeling it. Friday was intervals on the trainer, Saturday was a hard day at the Nordic Center practicing hill climbing, and today was another visit to the Nordic Center. I went skiing and Matt biked on the road from home up to the Nordic Center and caught a ride with me back into town. It worked out really well! I had finished my laps around the north portion of the trails and was ready to begin some drills on the south side when Matt called out my name from the road. He’d made it…a little frozen from the chilling wind, but still smiling.

View from the trail...