Holiday Hermititude....

....is in full effect at the Carter's house. Well, almost full effect. We're almost ready to get our hermit on. We just need to do our grocery shopping for Christmas dinner and a couple of last minute gifts to put into stockings. That will be done before 2pm today. I've made it my life's mission to get it done before 2pm.


Then holiday hermititude will begin. This means we don't leave the house, we hole up in our winter pyjams (pronounced: pie-jams. These are pajamas - I have snowboarding monkeys on mine and Les has dancing polar bears on his.) drink mulled wine and cider and watch lots of movies. I was raised on How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I never cared for Frosty the Snowman or any of the other ones. But the Grinch is my very favorite.


<------So for my birthday, my mom bought me a six foot inflatable Grinch that reaches into the chimney and pulls the christmas tree out! I love it, it's outside in the courtyard. It's completely and utterly awesome and I can't wait until we have our new house next year so it can go in the front yard for everyone to see!

On Christmas Eve, I'll beg and beg and beg Les to let me open one gift. But he'll say no and we'll go to bed but I won't sleep a wink. I'll be too excited! Then I'll wake up early - the only day of the year I voluntarily wake up early - and jump on the bed to wake him up. We'll start a fire and put the Christmas music on. Mom and Raquel are with us this year so I'll wake them up and they'll all groggily follow me to the living room. I'll pass out everybody's stockings and we'll munch on the sweet treats found inside them while Raquel plays Santa and passes out all of the gifts. We'll all fall into gift-coma and Les will start making our Christmas dinner:) Can't wait!!

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanuka/Hannuka/Purim, Mele Kalikimaka, Happy Kwanzaa, Feliz Navidad, Milad Majid, Glædelig Jul, Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad, Selamat Hari Natal, Selamat Hari Natal, Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu, Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand, Chung Mung Giang Sinh - in any language or whatever your beliefs - I wish you all happiness and prosperity through the holidays and forever!

xxoo
KT

Irony....with a capital "I"

For our anniversary dinner, Les had the notion that we should make it together rather than go out. I was floored by that idea though because Les never wants to make any dinner! So I jumped on the chance to have him in the kitchen with me. It also made perfect sense since we're saving our pennies to buy a house next year.

So, we decided to make lasagna from scratch...the noodles, sauce and all...from scratch! Neither of us had ever made noodles but Les pulled it off, they were perfect. It was dubbed "love lasagna", buy the way;) And for dessert we made chocolate mousse. Rich, dark, meltin-your-mouth mousse.

The irony, you ask? Because we're watching "The Biggest Loser" whilst eating it. That, my friends...is irony. Especially since I never got a workout in today!

My marriage philosophy thus far....

Today is our four-year wedding anniversary. Four years of total wedded bliss. I'm not even trying to lie either. My husband and I 'clicked' from the very first day we met. We were attached at the hip from our first encounter and our bond has only gotten stronger as the days go by.

We are so much different than what I was exposed to with my parents. Their constant screaming at each other was brushed off as "just the way we communicate". Their story ended in divorce...no surprise there. Les' parents are still married after 32 years, but seem to have their off days as well. Our friends that are dating are having some major issues within their lives which leads me to believe that things won't work out....one that includes a pregnancy - and extremely disfunctionaly relationship if there ever was one. Two of our friends just got engaged and they are the closest to Les and KT happy that I've seen so far.

Les and I really make people sick with how happy and content with each other we are. We don't throw it in anyone's face, we just love. That's all. It's really very simple but for some reason everyone makes it harder than it needs to be. So, I've put some thought into this and am going to give you some of my own secrets to our success. In no particular order, they are:

1) Play, laugh, smile - all the time. Just be happy. You're not dying, you're still breathing. Nothing in this life deserves negative energy....stay positive in all things and keep a smile on your face.

2) Respect each other and embrace your differences. I really don't think this needs explanation.

3) Snuggle, cuddle, nuzzle, hug, hold hands, kiss and have SEX. You must have closeness, without it, you lose your bond. Without a bond, you have nothing.

4) Talk about anything and everything. I'm sure I talk my husband's ear off, but at least he knows where I'm coming from at all times and he's never surprised. He is the quiet one for sure, but I know what's going on in his head most of the time.

5) Don't be a nag. Nagging does NOT help anything and it never works.....so just zip it. Talk to each other like equals and just ask for what you want like an adult.

6) Have your own things to do. Time apart and indulging in your own hobbies/activities keeps you from going crazy, becoming dependant and losing your own identity.

7) Stop carrying around your past. Closed chapters are exactly that. Move on and find someone completely different than the one that always breaks your heart. Don't be afraid to give your heart away to the one that truly deserves it.

8) Go out. Get out of the house and do fun things. Together and with your own friends. Let your partner have their time out and you get yours too.

9) Love. Just love. Don't half-ass it either. Just let your heart be full of it and give it away without abandon. Because it's really what we all need just a little more of;)

There don't always have to be lists of ten....so I'm all done.

XoXo
KT

Monday Sculpt

I've been meeting Jojo at the gym lately....we're both suffering from post-Lawrence training depression. So, now that we're on our own, we must forge ahead and lean on each other for motivation. We do a Monday night sculpt class, Tuesday night plyo/cardio workout and Wednesday night spin class. It's working out well so far and hopefully our schedules can keep up with it.

Speaking of schedules....my college courses start at the end of January and they're in the morning. I'm not a morning person...in the least bit. So from now until then I need to force myself to wake up early no matter what. This means the alarm clock must be moved to my side of the bed so the husband won't snooze our lives away as tempting as it may be. It also means that I'm barely going to have enough time to do the extra fun things we're used to doing....like sleeping and eating and all those other fun things.

I'm looking forward to it though, I'm taking two classes and will continue to do so until I have a damn degree. I'm tired of feeling like less of a person at work because all of those braniacs have been to college and I haven't. I know my salary is suffering because of it as well. So, now's the time. Wish me luck:)

Workouts and such

Oh yes, I've been working out, but have not had many minutes to spare for blogging the thoughts out of my brain. Work is always busy at the end of the year for me, but much moreso now that almost all of my counterparts are on vacation and I'm covering for them. It means business for me, but an extended and severely altered workload. But as long as I can keep smiling, all is good.

Last week, I did something I probably shouldn't have. I worked out by myself towards nighttime along the Guadalupe River Trail in downtown San Jose. There are some seriously sketchy areas there as that's where a lot of the homeless make their...well..homes. I also did a spin class and the usual gym workouts with cardio and weights. Nothing special.

Les has been sick for a week now and keeping him hopped up on Sudafed, Comtrex, Tylenol PM and Mucinex. Luckily I have not fallen victim to his germs yet thanks to my suped-up immune system. Ahhhh...one more benefit of consitent exercise and healthy eating:)

Cheap Date Night

While at Larry's birthday party last week, he mentioned that he was going to take Sheri to Grapevine Wine Shop in San Jose for their cheap date night. The last time they went Sheri told me how much she liked it so we've been wanting to try it. We finally had a free Wednesday and spent the evening with Larry, Sheri, Janet and her beau. It was a lot of fun, the grilled cheese sammies were all do die for except the brie and cranberry and the wine was tasty. We left with two bottles of Pinot Noir and are grateful for the company of good friends. We are blessed with a really excellent life:)

Weds Workout

Lawrence has hurt himself, so Tuesday's urban assault didn't happen this week. Which is fine because I was so busy at work, there was no way I could get out until after 6pm. It was dark and icky and I just wanted to go home and snuggle with the hubby.

I had a short workday on Weds because my phone wasn't ringing off the hook as it usually does. So, I was able to finish all of my sales calls and organize for next week. I went straight to the gym and had a nice long workout.

10 minute warmup - treadmill
15x 2x 20lb standing row with lunge
15x 2x 20lb sitting bicep curl with crunch
15x 2x 20lb shoulder shrug
15x 2x 20lb bicep curl with shoulder raise
15x 2x 20lb hammer curl with shoulder raise
15x 2x 45lb squat press
15x 2x 45lb leg press
15x 2x 45lb squat press with jump
15x 4x 45 lb calf raise
15x 2x 60lb lat pull-down
15x 2x 24lb tricep pull-down
LOTS of abwork, too much to write down.

Good workout, lots of sweat, felt great.

Monday Spin Class

My friend Melinda is a spin instructor and I've been talking to her about how I might get certified to teach spinning...or at least just be a fill-in for other instructors that can't make their class. According to her, it's so easy it's a joke. She sent me this link and it explains that you have to attend an nine hour orientation filled with instruction on spinning and two spin classes. Sounds like fun so I think I'm going to do it the next time they have one in San Jose.

Since I've been in the spin mood lately, I checked out the class at Bally's. It was not as brutal as I remember previous spin classes to be. I think this is directly related to the fact that I am more in shape now than I ever have been.

After spin class, I hit the weights for a little bit of upper body work. Nothing exciting.

I'm wicked and I'm Laaaaaaaaazzzzyyyy

There was house cover of that David Byrne song a few years ago and it was amazingly fantastic. One of my very favorite songs. It has one of those slow-head-bob melodies and drawn out words that put you in a lazy mood. That's how I feel right now, wicked and lazy.

Today was all about spending time with the wonderful hubby of mine and just being. We had breakfast at Hobee's and then did some shopping. I actually agreed to go to Fry's because Les wanted to get a labeler and I need a new set of headphones for working out. We got what we needed and then we went over to the appliance section and found the stove/oven/fridge/washer/dryer/DLP HD TV that we want when we buy our house next year. I'm glad that's sorted. I was really worried that we wouldn't be able to spend thousands of dollars in one place, but it turns out we absolutely can. I loathe Fry's and the thought of handing over that much cash to them makes me ill. But they have what we want. Bastards.

After spending many hours on the internet doing F*ck all today, I finally got off my butt and went out running with Huggy.

Today's workout:
2.5 mile loop 24:16
30x2 single leg lunges
20 alternating lunges
30 squats
25 push ups
15 V-Ups
15x2 alternate crunch with leg lift
10x2 oblique crunch with leg lift

Felt great, was a very quick workout. Tomorrow me and GB go for a ride:)

Spa day with Mom

Mom's birthday was last week and since this was the first chance we had to get together, we celebrated for her today. It was ALL about Mom today.

We drove to Calistoga ( about 20 miles north of Napa) and enjoyed the mud bath, mineral spa and massage at Dr. Wilkinson's Day Spa and Resort. This isn't your typical trendy/frou frou spa experience, this is for folks that don't mind a somewhat sterile hospital-like feeling. it's for people that want to just get down to business and get spa-ified without the pretense and snobs all around.

We were relaxed and felt so pampered, the only thing left to do was to eat a delicious lunch. Mom had seen Brannan's Grill showcased on Eye on the Bay and so we gave it a try. This is what was left of the chocolate lava torte we shared for dessert. OMG.

I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for food in Calistoga.

On the way home we talked about lots of mother/daughter things. It was a perfect day:)

No workouts today.

Oh man, it's only Tuesday and I'm already tired of sleeping all day being on vacation. Okay, so I'm not sleeping ALL day, but I am in bed all day. I'm swapping channels between Food Network, Discovery Channel and TLC so I can catch "What Not to Wear". I didn't get out of bed until 3pm and I took a shower. Then I went to the store for some household items and off to the gym.

Today's workout - Tuesdays are my favorite!
Urban Assault with Lawrence and Jojo. We run through downtown San Jose to Guadalupe Trail and run up and down the stairs five times. Then we run to Adobe and use their outside playground for circuit training - pushups in the alphabet wall, squats and jump lunges on all the chairs, and wall kicks on the number wall. Then we use Adobe's shipping ramp for five hill repeats and then run back to the gym. It takes us about 1/2 hr to do all of it and it's so much fun! My heart beats so fast and hard that I think I'm going to die, but afterwards it's such a great feeling not to be dying of boredom in a workout.
Then at the gym -
2x 45lb dead lifts
2x 45lb squat with row
2x 45lb squat with overhead throw
15 inverted pull-ups
3 mins of plank (2x30seconds front and both sides)
10 mins stretching

Excellent workout, I think tomorrow I'm going to take Huggy to LG Creek Trail tomorrow for the par course. I'm so addicted to endorphins. I'm a total junkie.

Today I ate well during the day and then an hour before my workout I had a personal size cheese pizza:( And I made mediterranean turkey burgers for dinner tonight (thank you Rachael Ray). They were super delicious and like all things RR makes, were very easy to put together. think I ate too much though because my belly is sticking out a lot.

I have an entire week off!

From real-world work this week. I have not taken any vacation time from my job since January when we were in England. That's far too long to go without lengthy time off. I'm in sales and since I have an annual sales goal, it's hard for me to justify not working. I made my goal already so I feel okay about taking time off although I'm missing out on extra revenue I could be making toward a bonus. Oh well, I was going insane and need this week to myself.

I'm going to take this opportunity to get myself organized and think dutifuly about what my tri season is going to look like next year. I want to graduate to a half-ironman in 2007. That means I'm going to really have to work my butt off. But I'm certain I can handle it. It's going to mean a rigid training schedule that I can't f*ck off at any time. I've still not made up my mind 100% on this, but I'm strongly leaning toward it.

This all depends on how much extra work is going to be involved with school starting in January. I'll be taking two college courses and it's way more important that tri training. I might only be able do normal gym workouts and ride/run on the weekend as I normally do.

Green Pea has reminded me that journaling your workouts is good to keep you on track and make you accountable for actually doing them. So, I'm going to start today:

75 min gym workout with Lawrence -
10 min treadmill
dynamic stretching
90x20lb bench press
30 push ups
20 squats with 15 lb ball throw
40x20lb single leg lunge - altrenate legs
40x20lb squats
20x20lb BOSU squats with press
20x20lb BOSU squats with row
15 min stairclimber
5 min stretch

This was a good workout, I love to sweat. Seriously...sweat makes me feel great. The sweatier the workout the more proud I am of myself for completing it:)

The cold makes me happy

I love it when the season changes into a true Fall around here. The crisp and cool weather, the sound of the wind in the trees blowing the leaves everywhere, the position of the midday sun that's just off to the side rather than straight above. Everything. I love everything about Fall.

I was so good to get out and run the other day with some sprinkles falling on my face. I even like to ride my bike in the rain. But there's just one small problem....the challenge of this time of year is that it gets dark around 5pm. Therefore the motivation factor to work out is slim. I need some tips on how to just get it done. Tell me how to break through the desire to snuggle up with a comfy blanket and a big 'ol cup of hot Ovaltine. Please, tell me this.

Here's a photo from a Halloween party Les and I went to last weekend. It's the sexiest thing I've worn in public...I had thigh-high stockings on! Go me and my 30 year old self:)

Hugarian Paprika

My good friend Sheri and her husband spent a few weeks in Eastern Europe last month. They toured Prague, Croatia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Czech Republic. I was bummed that she was gone because I didn't have my friend and HLS partner to talk to:( However, it was all worth it because she brought back some Hungarian Paprika for me. OMG. Authentic Hungarian Paprika from Hungary!! How excellent was that? Very excellent. Yes, it is very different from the paprika you get at your local market.

Tonight, I made Chicken Paprikas with potato dumpings. This recipe called for instant mashed potatoes for the dumplings but the German in me knows how to deal with real taters, so I stayed authentic here. Sorry, no photos because our digicam is still broken. I have got to tell you, this paprika made my chicken so delicious I didn't want to stop eating it. I wanted to eat and eat and eat and eat. But quickly realized that the run and plyo workout I had just finished would be for nothing. So, I only had a normal dinner portion in the hopes to maintain my girlish figger:)

Thanks again for the paprika Sheri, I love it:)

Las Vegas....seriously overrated

I was in Vegas two weeks ago for a conference for work. I've been there three times before and each time have only had a "meh" kind of feeling about it. The only time I truly enjoyed myself was when I won $250 on a quarter slot machine. I'm not a gambler by nature though, I just don't see the point of just handing your hard earned money over to a complete stranger that is statistically going to win more often than not. This mean you lose. Your money=gone.

What was different? Me. The non-smoking me. Yeah, I used to smoke in my pre-athlete life. I smoked and drank and did lots of other things that killed many brain cells. I'm actually quite surprised to be alive after all of the damage I've done to my body when I was younger. Along with all of the really STUPID choices I made while under the influence of things.

I absolutely hated it this trip. I couldn't wait for the hours to roll by so I could be back home in San Jose where people that run on the sidewalks and up stairs are considered normal. Yeah, that's right. I ran up and down the strip while I was there and every pot-bellied midwestern hick family that I passed looked at me like I was from the outer limits...space..if you will. Like, "what is she doing? what is that thing she's doing with her legs? I've never seen that before, she must be crazy, somebody lock 'er up." I even stopped in front of the Bellagio where they have the water show and did traveling lunges, jump squats and wall kicks! Okay, maybe that was a *bit* mental, but fat doesn't care that you're out of town.

But I digress....Life is hard for non-smokers in Vegas. It's one damn second-hand smoke/cancer nightmare after another. Even though you ask for a non-smoking room on a non-smoking floor, it really doesn't matter. Because some f*(&ing inconsiderate bastard is going to light up whether or not you like it. I came back to my room after a night out with my coworkers and there was someone's room service cart outside of their room with two ashtrays overflowing with cigarette butts. I couldn't believe it. I mean, what a DICKHEAD.

I was there at the beginning of the week, so there were no good house music parties to go to at the clubs. The music that my coworkers are into is completely different than what I like...I mean...they were doing the f*&*%ing electric slide at the bar for feck's sake!! These were middle-aged family folks that obviously never get the chance to go out and have any kind of fun at all, so once they were in sin city, they let it all go. And they really shoulnd't have. It was so embarrassing.

So, the only thing I do like about Vegas is the shopping. You can find some one-of-a-kind things there in all of the specialty shops. I did stop at the Jose Eber salon and had my eyebrows waxed and it was the best job I've ever seen. They were perfect. I'm certain I won't be able to duplicate that at home though. And I did stop Vosges Haut Chocolat and picked up many truffles. Oh, they were muy delicioso for sure. I loved loved loved the chocolate with paprika. OMG. So tasty. So expensive!

But if you're not into smoking, drinking, gambling or strippers....which I'm not....Vegas is not the place for you...or me. There, I said it Vegas...you totally SUCK ASS.

I don't even know what a triathlete is anymore....

Seriously. It's been about a month since my bike and I have bonded. It's been about a month since I've been surrounded by water. The only thing I have been doing intermittantly is running.

I ran the Inaugural Rock 'n Roll San Jose Half Marathon recently and loved it. The RNR people have totally got their stuff together. My expectations for every future race I do is at a level that is damn near unreachable for any other race org. They have every single detail thought out. They handed out little salt packets when you enter your corral before the start. I mean...who thinks of this stuff?? They even had the option of ordering a video clip of the race that includes me running through the finish line. I'm in the red cap sprinting to the finish:) Now I want that at every race!

I just had my hair dyed red and spent so hundreds of dollars on it that I won't dare put one little finger or toe in the chlorinated water to swim. That's going to have to wait until the hair has faded to it's normal shade of blonde. And isn't it sad when your triathlon life is put on hold in the name of red/violet #3? My last tri was in February - I turned duathlete in June when I raced with Sheri at Mermaid. She stayed true to her triathlete roots and I wimped out and did the du. But it was fun nonetheless and I thought I wanted to do more, but never found the time. Then I found the need to be girly.

Triathlon....I'll be back to you eventually. Perhaps for Wildflower in 2007 because I need a certain amount of masochism in my life:) Until then, my hair will take it's turn in the spotlight for the winter.

Missing Food

These are just a few dinner dishes that I had forgotten to post up. As far as I can remember, they were all delicious:)

Tilapia Tostada
Stuffed Salmon and Roast Potatoes
Spinach Lasagna

Chicken and Polenta

Whitewater Rafing - American River

River Fun

So, this year's birthday surprise for Les involved a whitewater rafting trip on the American River - South Fork. The sneaky folks that took part in the surprise were DonReid, ToraLee, Melanie, Steve and Marz. This was So. Much. Fun!

The planning started a couple of months ago and aside from the occasional "he knows something" scare, it went off without a hitch. All the way up until the night before, he didn't know what was going on. Marz came to our house, we had dinner and then headed up to Placerville to stay at Mom's. It wasn't until the next morning when we met up at the Mother Lode River center and that he finally figured out what the surprise was!

We spent two days on the river working together as a team to be the number one battle boat against the other rafts. There were three other rafts on the river with us and they were all afraid. Our battle cry was adopted from the middle east...use your imagination:) We camped for one night and spent great time together with beer, hookah and yummy, melty, delicious s'mores. Good times for sure!

More photos on the way, they have to be developed - old school style:) Here's a link to my Smugmug page with some pics that were snapped by our friends that aren't lacking technology.

If you're interested in doing this for yourself, our trip was booked through All Outdoors Rafting and they were wonderful. They cooked our meals (proper meals!) and made sure we had a fantastic time. We'll definitely go again next year.

The North Coast Road Trip

We spent our labor day weekend in the Mendocino area and although California's coastline can't be beat....the area left a bit to be desired. It was a very long road trip, four+ hours! Half of it was up 101 which is basically flat and straight, but the last half was treacherous Hwy 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) and made both of us carsick. Poor Huggy was a trooper, stretched out on the backseat trying not to hurl herself. She fared much better than we did.

But once we got there, we set up camp in the dark and got snuggled into our comfy tent with its comfy mattress and even comfier sleeping bags. In the morning, I woke up and started breakfast on our Thane Q BBQ. I have to tell you that I love this grill, it got really bad reviews and has been discontinued, but I love love love it. Not sure why it got such a bad rep because it's always been good to us. So, I made some eggs, onions and potatoes and it was truly yummy. We had some hot chocolate and coffee and got on about our day.

We stayed at the Manchester Beach KOA. Clean and well-run...the only thing I have to say is that kids should not be allowed within 300 feet of me at all times. I really don't care for them at all. That being said, they put us in the tent site right next to the freakin' playground!! We couldn't change this because the grounds were all booked up. So, I had to endure screaming and obnoxious children for three days straight.

Each day, we drove to a new place. The first day, we drove to Mendocino and then stopped at Jughandle State Reserve. At Jughandle there was this freaky guy that ran to our car asking to use our cell phone because he has a "situation" and his "client" had an accident in the porta potty. This guy was truly weird and we weren't sure what to do, so we told him our cell phone was dead. When he went back to the porta potty, he had thrown some clothes on the ground and there was crying coming from inside. So, we called 911 and they sent out the sheriff. We don't know exactly what happened, all we know is that it left us with an uneasy feeling.

The next day we found out that dogs are not allowed in any of the state park trails....all the places we wanted to go. So, we ended up driving and driving and driving as far north as we could stand. We ended up past Westport and pulled over to have lunch in the redwoods. Gorgeous trees they are, embedded in a forest of ferns and clover. Huggy found a creek and got all mucky - Huggy loves to be mucky. The drive back took us through Mendocino again so we stopped to see what all the fuss is about with this town. It's like any other quaint coastal town with specialty shops. We got some fudge, divinity and a carmel apple and took off.

All in all, it was nice to get away from laptops and cell phones for a few days, but I doubt we'll go back. I beat Les at his own card game (best out of 11 games, to be fair) and that was nice because I never beat him at anything. Note to reader....never ever ever play Monopoly with my husband....he has a freakish way of having no money and all property mortgaged and the next thing you know, he has ALL the money and you have nothing. You'll end up selling yourself to him to pay off your debts. It's a sad sad thing to end up a Monopoly whore.

Our digi cam is out of service, so we had to take pics the old fashioned way...it was so foreign to take 35mm photos. They have to be developed and all that bullocks, so I'll post them whenever I get around to it. It's amazing how much you don't realize you're totally into instant gratification until things start to become anti-instant!

Weekend Update 8/26-27

Saturday I woke up and made Les a proper English breakfast. Well...as proper as I can handle anyway...I just can't bring myself to buying/preparing black pudding (blood sausage) so I made him chicken sausage instead. Alongside was baked beans, tomato slices, toast and bacon. My breakfast was quite different because I am the healthy one in the relationship.

I ran six miles on the Los Gatos Creek Trail. My preparation for these half marathons coming up has been less than existent. If I want to even finish these races, I need to run at least three times a week, I'm lucky if it's even one. Too much time at the gym. I need to run. So I did:) And I broke Huggy in the process. She's getting too old to run with me any distance over three miles. Poor girl has very sore paws today.

We went to the last pool party of the summer at Shawn's house (no pics this time...camera was dropped on the floor for the last time of it's life...it doesn't want to work anymore) Was nice to see the usual suspects, the music was excellent as usual....it doesn't hurt that I'm totally doing the DJ, so I get to listen to the good music all the time:D The water was refreshing although I only like to soak and tan in the pool anymore, I think I'm done with actual swimming until next tri season.

Sunday, we went for a hike at Coyote Lake Trail with our friends Melanie and Steve. I think our trek took us just under ten miles. It was a great workout:) Afterwards we had In 'N Out Burger:D Melanie & Steve just moved here from Utah and are the active type, so we've got lots of things to show them. They also snowboard, so we're definitely going to take many Tahoe trips together.

Poor Neglected Cracklins:(

Okay, it's been months. Guess I just lost interest for a while. But I realize that this blog kept me kind of sane by giving me a place in the world to force my thoughts out of my head. So, here goes.

Things I've done since last post (in most recent order...because the memory ain't what it used to be):
1) Tour d'Organics 100K bike tour with Sheri. Beautiful ride, even better being with my buddy but the promise of local organic fare left a lot to be desired....there's only so much freakin' fruit you can eat during a ride...give me bread and meat please! I know it was a vegan event....I was in way over my head!

2) Les and I went to the new rock climbing gym with Larry and Sheri. They belayed us and it was so much fun, I'm fairly certain we are hooked and will do it every other week or so.

3) Training for TWO half marathons in October - The inaugural Rock 'n Roll San Jose half marathon and the Silicon Valley half mary on my company's team.

4) BBQ at the Carter's . Had some friends over, ate yummy food, opened the bottle of Absinthe we brought back from the UK in January. It sure smells pretty, but lights your throat/esophogus/belly on FIRE when you drink it.

5) Joined Bally Fitness Center and got myself a personal trainer to boot my ass into shape. I think muscle memory has gotten the best of me, so Lawrence is completely kick-starting the metabolism:) It's hard work but also a lot of fun because he's become a good friend too.

6) Pool party at our friend Shawn's house. Managed to work up the confidence to put a bikini on....and realized after seeing the photos that I really shouldn't have done that! Hence the reason for personal trainer.

7) Every Thursday is FHT again. This was a house music gig that Les started up four years ago, but it fizzled out. Now we're at SoFA Lounge in downtown San Jose and it's a perfect happy hour gig.

8) I got an "A" in the business class I took in college:) Will do more classes this fall. Shit! That's NOW! Guess I should register, eh?

This is where the memory fades...

Weekend Cat Blogging #52

The newly engaged Clare is celebrating an anniversary....one full year of weekend cat blogging! She's been bringing together all of us cat lover's each week and delighted us with very entertaining photos of her very own Kiri. He is an acrobat, a box chewer and he does the same weird upside-down-kitty thing that Stella does.

So, this week's celebration is supposed to bring all of our kitties out to party and show their favorite toys. I have decided to show you what Stella did the other day....her favorite toy is now a squirrel that torments her in the back yard. Similar to the way that this brushtail possum torments Kiri. This photo was captured as she was chasing the squirrel up the tree. Her first hunt, her first tree climb and the best photo op ever!


Those of you that would like to join in the kitty blogging fun, visit Clare at Eatstuff and provide your permalink to her in the WCB comments. If you'd rather post your doggie pics, head on over to Sweetnicks and do that too!

Did you know I love kebabs?

Oh yes, I can eat kebabs every single day and not get sick of them. Veggie kebabs are my absolute favorite, but you have to throw some meat on the grill too.

I soak the skewers in water for a few minutes so they don't burn up on the grill before the food has a chance to cook on them. After alternating zucchini, onion, mushrooms and red peppers, I rub them with olive oil and shake some veggie seasoning on them. I found this spice mix that is heavy on the lemon pepper and it makes the kebabs taste really bright.

I marinated the chicken in my very own marinade for a couple of hours. The citrus in the marinade tenderizes the meat and makes it super succulent and tasty-fied. I used chicken breasts for this, but dark meat would be okay too.

I put them on a hot-ish-but-not-too-hot-grill and let the fire to it's magic. Yum.

Carribean Spice Rubbed Chicken & Pineapple Salsa

Mom brought over the latest Fine Cooking edition and she wanted so badly to beat Sheri and Amy to the punch to make a recipe from this mag for once, we gathered all of the ingredients and had ourselves a nice dinner.

There are a few different rubs that this issue brings forth, but the Carribean spices seemed the most tantalizing to me. I love cumin and brown sugar together...so it was immediately a winner.

After pounding the chix breast, I coated them with the spice rub and threw 'em on the barbie. They cooked quickly, barely gave me enough time to make the pinapple salsa. I didn't follow the recipe for this, I gave it my own twist be leaving out the radishes and substituting black beans instead as this was an actual side dish, not just something to top the chicken.

Holy Cow, this blog needs attention!

So, here is my first post in a while....just in time for Weekend Cat Blogging #50:)

It's a look at the past and present lives of two very lazy cats. Stella the killer and Butterscotch the patriarch. The first photo was only taken eight months ago...look how big our Stella is already!

Those of you that would like to join in the kitty blogging fun, visit Clare at Eatstuff and provide your permalink to her in the WCB comments. If you'd rather post your doggie pics, head on over to Sweetnicks and do that too!

Hobo-Ghetto Ride 2006 - The Adventure of all Adventures!

The adventure goes as follows:

I attended a wedding in Sac the night before and was up all night with a couple of drinks in hand...so I got no sleep! My hubby and I stayed at the Hyatt downtown so the drive was a non-issue. I woke up around 7am and fortified with some breakfast (an egg, a croissant, fingerling potatoes, asparagus tips and orange juice - hey, I'm going to take advantage of room service whenever I can!) and headed out the door to meet my faithful training partner Sheri.

In the beginning

Sheri drove us over to West Sac to the start of the American River Trail (ART). We took our time getting ready because it was cold, gray and miserable...and I was a *bit* tired;) After the tires were all pumped up and we were packed with energy gels and gum, we hit the trail and were very excited.

Flooded ART

We got one mile and were faced with a flooded path. I mean...flooded big-time with nowhere to go but back the way from which we came. When we got back to the car we looked at the trail map and realized we could catch the trail from a bike path and footbridge in the middle of downtown. Then we realized that Sheri had a flat tire! So, because we are never beaten by flat tires, weather, floods or anything else for that matter. She fixed her flat and we took the five-mile detour to get to the ART once more.

Sheri through water

That detour led us over a couple of foot bridges that were currently being occupied by hobos with brown bags and although it was a *bit* scary, we trudged on with our super-fast bikes and got out of danger very quickly. At the junction where we were to hook up with the ART, we stopped to talk to the park ranger and he told us of a shortcut that would eliminate having to go through any majorly flooded trails, but there would be a *little bit* of water we'd have to ride through to get there. We can totally handle a little bit of water, so we carried on and followed his directions.

End of ghetto trail

6 miles later and at the END OF THE TRAIL.... we realized we had been led down the wrong path (literally). I guess the fact that we were nowhere near the shore of the American River should have tipped us off, but we didn't catch on. We're not that smart. We are in Rio Linda for feck's sake! We stopped for some more fuel at the corner market and high-tailed it back to the ART direction. We were almost to the junction to get on to the ART, when we encountered a freakin' train that was stopped and blocking our crossing!

Jumping the Train

Trains cannot stop us either, by the way. With very little coaxing, I managed to talk Sheri into jumping the train through a couple of boxcars! We are soooooooooooooo bad! Sha...like I'm really going to wait for a train to move before I do! Got pictures of that. The adrenaline coursing through our veins because we were scared to death that it was going to start moving at any second was i-n-s-a-n-e. Such a rush.... note-to-self.... don’t do this again...it was not a smart thing to do:D We saw a guy on the other side of the train that was trying to find a way around the train. We offered to help him jump the train like we did, but he declined.... we called him a weenie and went on about our business.

Sock Dryer

We eventually made it to the trailhead where we would eventually catch up to the river. This ride was cool. Because of the water we had to ride through, my socks were soaked and making my feet freeze off. So, we stopped and I took them off and put them on my aero bars to dry off. This is really what aero bars are for, by the way. We rode for what seemed like years. It was a beautiful trail and nice to see the river so high. The ART is not flat; it's got lots of rollers with switchbacks that make it completely fun.

Sheri and I have a habit of pushing each other beyond what we expect from one another, this is why we make good training partners. For example, when I wanted to stop and eat, she made me ride more. And when she wanted to stop and take a nap, I made her ride more. We did stop for lunch at a burger place near the end of Arden Road. We had chicken sammies and water. It was perfect for being 26 miles into our ride. We decided that since our detour from earlier tagged on an additional 12 miles to our ride, we were not going to be able to do the entire ART. So, we figured out that her grandma lives about 7 miles (as the crow flies) up the trail in Fair Oaks that would be a good place to turnaround. So we decided to pay her a visit.

Break at Nimbus Dam

For me, starting after eating is the toughest. After food, I want a siesta! But Sheri took the lead for a while and got us to 37 miles. I took the lead at that point and pushed us to 40 miles because I wanted to have an even number on my bike computer before turning around for the day because I'm OCD like that sometimes. And wouldn't you know it, the side road we went down ended at Nimbus Dam at exactly 40.00 miles?! I swear, freakish things like that happen to us all the time! We hung out at the end of the Dam for a while and took some pictures, had a snack and talked a little bit.

Sheri & Grandma

Then we got back on the ART and headed towards Grandma's house. She was so happy to see Sheri and it was good to sit in a warm house for a while. Her Grandma is very nice and even gave me one of her new tubes of chapstick because I was whining about my dry and wind-chapped lips. It was starting to get dark and the threat of rain that had been looming all day was slowly becoming a promise. We said goodbye to Grandma and made our way back to the ART.

And for the next 5 miles or so we lolly-gagged and messed about and got off our bikes and stretched. And we laughed and goofed around in delirium because this day was long and we were spent. Then the rain fell and it was time to get home. So, I told Sheri to get on my wheel and I'd take us all the way to the trailhead in downtown Sac. I threw my bike into a big gear and mashed for an hour straight and we averaged between 16.8-17 mph the entire time! That was hellish hard work but I was in the zone and completely proud of the fact that Sheri was mashing right with me while catching a nice draft:)

The last 5 mile leg into old Sac was fairly uneventful aside from the fact that we were soaked to the bone and so ready to get off the bikes. We got a *bit* lost at the very end because the trail disappeared, but when we caught sight of the park where the car was anxiously awaiting us, we squealed with glee and sang our silly little songs all the way to it. We loaded up the bikes and ourselves, changed out of our wet gear and hit the road for home. Was an absolutely brilliant day of riding. Can't wait to do it again:)

Total Mileage = 67 long miles
Total Ride Time = 5.5 hours
Total Time Out = 8 hours!

Here are the pics of the adventure

You probably need a nap after reading that! Just thought I'd share:)

I finally found chimichurri!

I absolutely and 100% l-o-v-e chimichurri sauce. Les and I get it from the Santana Row Farmer's Market on Sundays. Because it's been raining and we've had other things to do on Sundays, I've been without my chimichurri.

So, I was browsing around Epicurious.com - a site I don't normally like but Sheri pointed me to a recipe that I was willing to try tonight - parsnip and sweet potato puree....and I found a recipe for flank steak chimichurri sauce there! Oh I was so happy. Yes. Happy about chimichurri - you don't understand....it's like a wonder-condiment. You can put it on eggs and pasta and potatoes and everything else that you could think of.

Although it was drizzling outside, I started up the grill and threw the seasoned flank steak on it. I love the smell of anything being made on the grill. It takes me back to the days when I was younger and my dad would make us steak and ribs in Georgia on our grill. Happy times.

Kitty in the Window for WCB #43

She is a gorgeous little terrorist. Seriously...the cat must have ties to a splinter cell here in the bay area because she is 100% certifiable and wacky-do. But she is cute and she provides hours of entertainment;) Especially when she is in the window and chatters uncontrollably at all of the birds that fly by the window. Vicious killer she is.

Those of you that would like to join in the kitty blogging fun, visit Clare at Eatstuff and provide your permalink to her in the WCB comments. If you'd rather post your doggie pics, head on over to Sweetnicks and do that too!

Au Gratin Potatoes

Okay, during my long bout of PMS last week I was craving comfort food. This was the first thing that came to mind. Who doesn't love creamy and cheesy potatoes? I'm not sure if you can be trusted if you don't like creamy and cheesy potatoes!

This was my very first time ever making au gratin. I had always been terrified of it for some reason, but that was all for naught. This was simple. I used half a stick of butter, 2 cups of sharp white cheddar, 1 cup of muenster and 1 cup of heavy cream!!! That was as bad as I've ever allowed myself to be when cooking. I am not sure if I can bring myself to making that again. Unless of course, the PMS makes me do it:D

Spinach and Feta Pork Tenderloin

We all know that I am Sheri's Mini-Me...so when she made a version of this, I had to do it too. Admitedly, hers looks much better....but that's how it will always be because she actually follows recipes. I cannot conform to recipes. I am a rebel.

I made a dry rub for mine that was just a bit too spicy. I like spicy...but this was not enjoyable spicy. I also cooked it too long, so it was spicy and dry. Will not do that again!

Chicken Roulades

The very first time Sheri had the hubby and me over for dinner she made these for us and I was immediately hooked. Especially when she told me how easy they are to make.

Pound chicken breasts thin and season with salt and pepper. Place a layer of basil, sun-dried tomato and goat cheese over the chicken and roll them up. Secure with toothpicks and bake until golden brown and cooked through. So easy. So good.

Ok, I'm back on blogging:)

Man, that was a long bout of PMS. I actually got a bit depressed during that time and a bit overwhelmed with work and school. But I am back to bring you photos of food gone wrong as well as charm you with my banter regarding life as a triathlete and mom to furry childrens:D

I also want to let you all know that I have been very disciplined in my workouts for the past couple of weeks. It got a bit rough when I had no energy, but my faithful training partner, Sheri, made sure I was motivated and got the job done. So, feelin' good and starting to look that way too. My legs are shaping up from all of the squats, lunges and leg presses.

Hubby has been working out with our long-time friend Marz at the gym. I'm very proud of the two of them for getting their DJ arses in gear:D They go to a different 24 Hour Fitness than Sheri and I do. But for some reason Sheri and I decided to go to their gym last week and it was totally skanky! It was hot, humid and dank. Oh, but the best part was the 80's chick in the hot pink tights with silver thong up her ass. She also had a hot pink braided head band and the frizzy 80's bleach blond hair. The only thing that was missing were leg warmers....but I bet she does own some. She had a nice body, but she was seriously out of place and I felt sorry for her because everyone was laughing at her. You know she put those clothes on and looked in the mirror and thought she looked damn good. But someone forgot to slap her into reality!

I'm definitely off blogging

Just don't care for it much these days. Perhaps it's because I'm just too busy with work, school and training. I'll still check on all of you guys from time to time, but I don't think I'm going to update this for a while. Not unless there is something outrageously important - like a race report or something.

Ciao:)
KT

Clean Up

Thanks to Nytro we're making an effort to clean it up. And when I say "we're", I really mean I're and will force the husband to comply without making it seem like he's complying.

Nytro has consulted with a compound pharmacist about her PMS, raging hormones, illness and the possibility of estrogen dominance and adrenal fatigue. She posted up a few questions posed by Dr. James L. Wilson, the author of "Adrenal Fatigue". I was intrigued to say the least because I, by answering these questions positively, may be suffering from it. I think a lot of women might be suffering from it and not realize it. I have done some research on the world wide web...the in-ter-net, if you will, and have come to the conclusion that every damn doctor thinks they're an expert on this issue. I did come across a site that was fairly impartial..but also had a product to sell.

What I did learn, though...is that estrogen dominance is not necessarily a bad thing as long as the progesterone in your body balances it out at the right time. An estrogen imbalance causes lots of female issues like loss of libido, fatigue and increased mood swings. What we can all do to help out our friend progesterone (rather than take a progesterone pill) is take in less estrogen by switching to hormone-free and free-range/oranic products.

This is the first step I'm taking to see if I can get some things back to normal. I never even thought about it. If the cows and chickens are ingesting hormones and I eat them...that means I'm eating the hormones...and I don't need anymore of those, thank you very much. So, it's Trader Joe's and Whole Foods for all of our meat and fish from now on. I love those stores, they just aren't very conveniently located. Well, it's a small price to pay for my health, right? Right.

My Oma and Opa

I love finding old photos of my Oma and Opa from when they were a young couple in Germany. You could tell they were in love, this is such a great photo. Look how nicely dressed they were. Oma in a dress and Opa in a tie...they took the time to look nice.

They have been married for over 50 years and my Opa has some health problems. My Oma is still as strong today as I remember her as a young child. She takes very good care of my Opa and makes sure that he keeps up with her.

I have my Oma's chubby cheeks and stocky body. I have Opa's intolerance to stupidity.

Roasted Chimichangas

You know I'm about guiltless food, and this is one of those things that I will return to over and over again. Compliments of Sheri - as usual. You see, I can't think for myself when it comes to deciding what to eat. So, it's Sheri that comes through and gives me ideas.

I browned some ground turkey & onions and placed a little bit inside of a whole wheat tortilla. I topped that with a little bit of mozzarella cheese, roll it all up and place it seam-side down on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes and then chow down:)

The reason I like this so much is because instead of frying the mini burrito, you bake it. It still gets nice and crispy without the horrible guilt that goes along with fried foods!

Stanford Treeathlon Race Report

500 Meter Pool Swim - 10:26
T1 - 3:06
20K Bike - 45:59
T2 - 2:34
5K Run - 32:10
Total time - 1:35:27-ish

What an amazingly excellent day! My goal for this race was just to improve on last year's time of 1:47:00 and I did that for sure:)

The swim was in an olympic sized pool and you do four laps around the perimeter to make up 500 meters. I lost the pack on the second lap. I'm just not a strong swimmer, if I could commit myself to more pool time, I'm sure that would change. But for now, I just don't have the time. Besides, I aged-up this year which means I'm in a super-dee-duper competitive age group which consists of 30-34 year old women...they are animals! I was pretty much on my own for the last two laps and was one of the last to leave the pool.

T-1 was all about trying to get warm and getting into my bike shoes. It took a bit longer than usual to get myself sorted out for some reason. Probably because I was....damn cold! :O

Getting out of the pool and into the transition area was tough, the water was warm (80 degrees!) and it was damn cold outside....so the leg muscles tend to contract and say "I don't wanna do what you want to do on that bike, are you crazy?" But you have to force them to listen to you because you are, in fact, the master and they must obey! The bike course is fairly hilly in the beginning with a respectable climb up front and some little annoying and energy-zapping rollers along the way. Halfway through the ride, you get to a downhill and flat section where I really made up some time. I got myself in aero and mashed a little bit (yes...when I want to go fast on a flat section I mash okay?). I think I averaged 20mph on that home stretch. In other words, I killed the course like I knew I would. Last year I managed to get TWO flat tires. So it was awesome that didn't happen again. I passed two women in my age group and that's always a good thing:D

Into transition area again after the most excellent bike ride and I slipped off the bike shoes and into the running shoes. Out of the helmet and into the hat. I honestly don't know what took me so long here, I'm usually never longer than 45-60 seconds...oh well. Off you go KT!

In my dream the other night led me to believe that I was going to get a podium spot for this race. In fact, I was supposed to come in second place in my age group. F*$&*ing lying-ass subconscious! I was nowhere near second place at any point during this race! As a matter of fact, the two women I passed on the bike ended up passing me on the run. Damn them all to hell! I did manage to keep running the entire time and that was really my only goal for the run portion. Last year I had to walk quite a bit because I had cramps in my legs. This year, my legs felt great and full of life:smile: Oh, and the volunteers are all liars. Every single one of them said "you're almost there!" for three straight miles!

Big Smile at Finish Line!
It's actually somewhere around 88% okay that I don't place in races because this is pure fun for me. Nothing in my life depends on whether I win a triathlon. But there is the competitive gene in me that wants it. It wants other things more....like a college education...and that's where my time priorities are at the moment:)

Thanks for reading, have yourselves a great season;)

Link to Treeathlon photos

Cinncinnati Chili

I picked Sheri up at her house so that we could pick up our Stanford Treeathlon race packets and on the way home, we stopped by the store. Since I had no idea what I was going to do for dinner that night, I copy-catted her idea and we did our identical shopping:D

This is not your typical chili, it's less stick-to-your-ribs and more like soup. It had amazing flavor even though I didn't follow the recipe to it's exact instructions...when do I ever?! I used chipotle chili powder instead of regular chili powder and it was super spicy! Really good nonetheless, I served it with some whole wheat spaghetti.

Ingredients in my cute little silicone cups and the obligitory glass of wine:


Add the above to the ground turkey and onions in the large chili pot:


Finished product...YUM!:

Kick Ass!!

Oh - my - God. I thought my ass was going to start growing into the couch with as much laziness has been going on this three day weekend! PMS totally sucks but today I kicked it to the curb:D

My boycott to winter continues....the sun was out so I wore my short bike shorts and a t-shirt on my ride....even though it was around 60 degrees and colder with the wind I was cutting through. I don't care, if the sun is out I'm a very very very happy girl:)

I decided to ride the course that I'm racing next Sunday. I totally tore-it-up! I started at the beginning of Foothill Expressway, a road with very wide bike lanes and a rolling terrain. I turned onto Page Mill Road for a couple of climbs and then hit the Arastradero Loop with more climbing. I continued the loop onto Alpine Road where I put it in a big gear, got in aero and booked it all the way to Junipero Serra where I continued said booking:D I felt sooooooooo good. There is something to be said about tapering...although my laziness was not really considered a taper...it's just what I'm calling it:P

I got a little song in my head (I make up songs for everything) that went something like this:
Every day the sun is out is a good day to get on the bike, get on the bike, get on the bike...YYEEAAHHH YYEEEAHHH YEEEAAAHH!
Repeat about 200 times:)

Total mileage - 23
Total ride time - 1:27
Average Speed - 16.3 mph

I give the thumbs up to today's ride and my faithful GB
After I got home, I ditched the bike helmet and grabbed the dogger and ran for 30 minutes. Was my first brick of the year and it was a-w-e-s-o-m-e:)

NACHOS!

Oh man...sometimes you just have to be bad. And then the hubby asks for snacky things for dinner and you realize you need to be *really* bad! Well...it wasn't that bad, these nachos are certainly better than any you'll find at any authentic mexican restaurant. Don't they look yummy?

*Round corn chips
*Vegetarian refried beans
*Lean ground turkey - all spiced up with cumin, chile powder, salt and hot sauce
*White cheddar
*Jalapeno/Queso dip - the worst part of it...but if I'm going to do nachos...I'm going to have creamy cheese on them:P
*Reduced fat sour cream
*Fresh salsa

I should be studying....

But I'd rather make a German Pancake:) So easy, so quick...so good!

.5 c flour
.5 c milk
3 eggs
pinch salt
pinch baking powder
3 tbsp butter

Heat oven to 425 degrees and put butter in an 8x8 baking dish in the oven while it warms up. Mix all other ingredients together and add to the baking dish, cook for 20 mins....voila! You have German Pancake. I spruced mine up today though and added the following:
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cocoa powder








I topped it with chocolate syrup.....methinks that means I'm exhibiting the beginning signs of PMS:D

Weekend Dog Blogging #22

Huggy loves trips. Anytime you're going out the door, she wants to go. Typical for a dog, I guess, but the look of unbridled excitement she gets when she actually can tag along is priceless.

We planned a trip to Tahoe and would drop Huggy off in Placerville (Grandma's house) along the way so we could do our snowboarding....for some reason, they don't allow dogs on the slopes...go figure!


Huggy was in the car waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay before everything else was packed in. She was there for an hour before we were ready to leave! And after all that waiting, she's still as excited, look at that face, she's my angel:)

If you'd like to join the weekend dog blogging, head on over to Sweetnicks and send her your permalink:)

Weekend Cat Blogging #37

Stella loves hidey holes, so when Les lays on the couch, he makes her a little cove of throw pillows under his legs. She crawls in and stays there for hours. It's super cute because she's not very affectionate, so this is as close as it gets to her giving him some lovin'.

Here's a great close-up of Buddy doing what he does best...looking regal/confused. He's 18 this year and the alzheimer's and senility is setting in, but I still love him to pieces:) There are not many opportunities to capture him on camera because he moves around a lot, but this was a good one.


Those of you that would like to join in the kitty blogging fun, visit Clare at Eatstuff and provide your permalink to her in the WCB comments. If you'd rather post your doggie pics, head on over to Sweetnicks and do that too!

New Kitchen Stuff!

Hubby and I went to Santana Row today to pick up some dress pants that Les bought the other day. As we were passing all of the shops, here's a quick conversation we had:

He says, "What can I buy the wifey today?"
Sheepishly, I said, "awww...nothin'."
And he says, "Come on, what do you want? Do you want something from Sur La Table?" Then my eyes lit up - but I tried to hide my enthusiasm - I said, "sure:)" Just like that....when I talk, I add emoticons in real life:D

So, here is what I ended up with:
1) Cake Decorator Set - I'm making cupcakes tomorrow, thanks to Emily at Baking Beast I've been craving these yum yums for a little while. Anyway, I want to pipe the icing on the way she did, but I had no tools...now I do!
2) Ceramic Slicer - Now I can get the onions done twice as fast without so many tears
3) Clips - for open bags of things that I'm too lazy to put into airtight containers
4) Slotted Spatula - I don't know why I need it, but it's yellow and it spoke to me.
5) Slotted Egg Flipper - Why not?!
6) a 2 cup measuring cup - Sheri has them, so should I:)
7) Veggie Peeler - my other one broke
8) Lemon zester/curler thingy - again...it's yellow...and I think I need it:D

Valentine's Day

Les was so organized for Valentine's Day this year, that my flowers arrived a day early, on the 13th:D I was working from home that day and was all giggly and giddy when the flower guy brought me the goods:)

My hubby is a total stud, he knows what to say and how to say it and never says anything he doesn't mean. Here's how the card read, "To the angel who stole my heart, in love with you always and forever and a day and a lot longer. Lxoxoxoxox"

Big Big...BIG Ride

Oh. My. God. Sheri chose our bike ride route today. She's been banned from making those decisions until it's been deemed (by me) that she can handle the responsibility!

There was climbing that started from mile ONE man! I'm not kidding...I'm being totally serious. Then there was more climbing for the next ten freaking miles! If you're thinking to yourself right now "oh, Katie...don't you think you're exagerating a little bit?". Well - I'm not, here's our elevation map from Sheri's GPS.

Whilst we were riding along minding our own business, this very rude reflective sign post popped up out of nowhere and viciously attacked Sheri. It tried to murder Sheri, if you will. Do you think I'm exagerating again? Think again ------->

This was her very first fall....ever....and she did get an injury out of it. We didn't think she'd have anything to show for it because her arm warmer was in tact...but underneath looked like this <------

After all of that crazy climbing was done with, we did our usual messing about. A few breaks for snacks and a little chit-chat. The ride itself was actually gorgeous. There were lots of cows and horses and a bunch of switchbacks coming down the Sunol grade that was quite pleasant. We started in Milpitas and rode all the way out Calaveras Road into Sunol. We had lunch at the only deli/cafe in town and gabbed about everything we always gab about. We talk a LOT. Check that - Sheri talks a lot - I only listen and nod my head in agreeance...it's a great partnership:D After we fed our bellies, we headed out towards Fremont on Niles Canyon Road....which seemed to be going downhill for 6ish miles...but the massive headwinds actually slowed us down and made us work quite a bit. DAMN that was hard work!

Here we are at the end of the ride, all tuckered out and hungry. When Sheri got home she slept for five hours and ate an entire pizza upon waking up. When I got home, I curled up with a heating pad because I got some monstrous cramps and slept for a few hours. When I woke up I wanted an entire pizza...but our house lacks pizza...I had to settle for butternut squash soup with crouons and melted Istara cheese:)

Total mileage - 42ish (GPS didn't capture the entire ride)
Total elevation gain - over 3000 feet
Total ride time - 5+ hours!

If you're a data whore like Sheri is here's a link to Motion Based GPS dashboard...it will even have you believe that we went 144.5 mph at some point during the ride! I told you my bike was fast:D