First and Last and Always

Texas Hell Week, the Fourth Edition

2009-03-14T07:58:00.003-06:00

Here I am in Texas. It's my fourth time. While I don't want to live here, it kind of feels like coming home anyway. I know the places. Some of the people still work in the same places. The brewery menu is the same. The beer is still good. We got the same room in the hotel that we had last year, except it's on the top floor. We're hanging with Robin (and her bf), which I have done to some

Stray

2009-02-01T21:25:00.004-06:00

So yesterday afternoon I came home and found a kitteh on my back porch. It was huddled back in the corner of the porch and looked a little wildeyed. So I said, "here kitty kitty." I can't resist the urge to pet a cat. Ever. My neighbor cats adore me and come visit all the time, even when I'm not around. This one was shy. I had to coax her to me and then she couldn't get enough of me. She

I have a new bike

2009-01-14T22:18:00.005-06:00

It came with reflectors:Steven provides a sizing perspective:It's sleeping in the bedroom with me till spring:

Why do I live here?

2009-01-13T06:52:00.001-06:00

The Early Days

2009-01-12T23:30:00.004-06:00

I was digging through my filing cabinet tonight, looking for the Title for the Mazda. This is my ancient filing cabinet, a handmedown from my grandmother, covered in band stickers: Einsturzende Neubauten, KMFDM, other stuff. I moved here over 12 years ago now. Things I found while seaching for the title: manuals from when I saved all my manuals and receipts, in the days before reliable

No wonder I'm tired

2009-01-04T14:21:00.002-06:00

I went in to look at the reports on Training Peaks today. I was just going to check my monthly hours because I've been pretty active lately and was wondering what my hours looked like for December. When I was there, I noticed they had annual totals as well. This was interesting. So I thought I'd share. Since I started logging on April 1, in the last 9 months, excluding bricks, races and

My brain is toast

2008-11-16T23:48:00.002-06:00

I'm sorry about never blogging. I guess I'm sorry anyway. Facebook has sapped my desire to blog more than pictures or 2 sentences at a time. And I worked 67 hours this week. Brain hurts. Here's what I've been up to lately:On the hinges Side 1 done on the kitchen floorSide 2 started in the basementReally getting there

We may never get to Amsterdam

2008-10-20T02:12:00.002-06:00

Alis and I have been googling all the great places in Denmark and may never get to AMS at this rate. We got into Gothenburg yesterday about 3pm local time. Tired and cranky at this point, from trying to sleep upright on a plane, we'd gotten about 3 hours of sleep. Checked into the Radisson downtown Gothenburg. Sat in a coffee shop called Kafe Froken Olsson's for an hour and then hit a pub for

Bork Bork Bork!

2008-10-18T06:19:00.002-06:00

I totally forgot to tell you guys! I'm going to Sweden. Today! Why? Because I'm buying a Volvo and participating in their Overseas Delivery Program. Last winter, while I was still going back and forth to Michigan all the time, I was musing out loud to Steven that I'd really like to drive a Volvo, despite my Mazda only coming up on 5 years old. Instead of being smart conservative boyfriend

The fourth annual Ashland Half Marathon weekend

2008-10-12T17:17:00.004-06:00

Rented a cabin with the Ashland peeps, Heather, James, Annie and Nate. Steven stayed home to race cross. Great view, fun times. There were lots of growlers purchase from the South Shore Brewery and much fun to be had. We made a fire and then sang and played guitar on the screen porch when it rained. Minor drama when we found out that the guys had left for the 10k with Annie's purse in that

Larry the Squirrel

2008-09-29T12:18:00.003-06:00

He comes over every day to tease the cat.

Confused cat

2008-09-27T14:13:00.002-06:00

I started letting my cat outside this summer. It started by me only letting her out when I went out with her to keep an eye on her. Then I would let her out for a few minutes and keep her in site of the door. Then I realized that she never leaves the yard. I now let her out for quite a while each morning when I'm working at home, although I check on her about every 5 minutes.Lately she's been

Republicans Love Welfare - who knew?

2008-09-22T10:22:00.005-06:00

Not only are they dying to give handouts to domestic banks, but the bailout of foreign banks is imminent. From CNNOn Sunday, the Financial Services Roundtable - a lobbying group representing the nation's banks - called on Congress to make the plan "broad enough to include different types of assets."And the Treasury Department has amended its original request to give it authority to buy up not

Letter to My Senator

2008-09-21T15:54:00.003-06:00

I am a voter and homeowner living in South Minneapolis. I have never been late on my mortgage and have always been financially responsible. I have never, in all my 36 years been motivated to contact any gov't representative, until now. I am rendered speechless with fury at the first draft of the bailout bill for the financial industry. While I understand that the situation is complex and that

Steelhead 70.3 in 2009

2008-09-20T10:24:00.002-06:00

I am considering this event next year. Anyone have any opinions about it? Anyone done it? It's August 1 so it'll prolly be hot. But I have family in Michigan, so I figured I could combine it with a visit.

The Grand Columbian - The crazy man's Half Iron

2008-09-15T19:14:00.005-06:00

Ok, I did it. And I survived. I keep forgetting that I have readers who aren't facebooking. Everyone there knows I survived because I kept statusing.Here's the numbers: Swim: 41:11 (222/254)T1: 4:17 (159/254)Bike: 3:40:00 (213/254)T2: 3:19 (191/254)Run: 3:03:00 (235/254)The swim was awesome. I originally set a goal time of 40 minutes when I first decided to do a half ironman. Recent results

Half Iron Bike Profile

2008-09-15T08:30:00.003-06:00

This was a tough course. The first 3.5 mile climb was not bad. It was tough and straight up, but I've done that before and I knew how long it was. What was even tougher, even though I knew it was coming, was the 10 mile false flat on big chip seal. On the profile, it's obviously going up, but you couldn't tell on the road. It was completely flat-looking, harvested wheat fields all around.

Countdown to zero

2008-09-12T23:05:00.002-06:00

It's the night before the race. I'm all packed and ready to go. I have almost nothing to report. Two flights out here through SLC in first class. No plane drama. No missing luggage. No problems with car rentals, hotels or race registration. Everything is happening the way I planned it.Today we went out on the swim venue, Steven in a kayak, me in a wet suit. The lake is cool and clear and

Taper

2008-09-09T21:14:00.002-06:00

Well here we are. 4 days out. I'll be doing my best to survive a half-ironman on Saturday. The good news? It will be cool enough to allow wet suits. Daytime temps forecasted to be high 70's maybe 80 and sunny. Right now they say weather stability means calm winds. Although what I've learned about the bike course leads me to believe that wind won't make a big diff. You see, I managed to

Politics

2008-09-04T06:30:00.003-06:00

I never talk about them. In the past it was mostly because I had a fixed set of ideas and paid very little attention to the day-to-day wranglings of politicians, all of whom I believe are just a bunch of dishonest, dirty bastards. One of my fixed beliefs was that I disliked the intolerant, bigoted, sexist, fundamentalist Right. I always felt there was something vaguely wrong with my attitude

ROL Wheels

2008-08-30T12:51:00.003-06:00

About 3 weeks ago, ROL Wheels sent me a solicitation email asking me to write something nice about their wheels. Specifically, their form letter said,We are interested in innovative marketing solutions and would like to offer our services to your website visitors as a resource link. I believe our sites co-align, but do not compete, and that our offering would be relevant and beneficial for your

Another Day, Another Derailleur Hanger - bike collision

2008-08-29T21:50:00.000-06:00

Let me preface this sad story with another. My boyfriend borrowed my Eastons for his time trial this week. I told him that, as payment, he could change my tires onto them when he was done and swap them with the Mavics in preparation for the half-ironman in two weeks. So last night he came over, cleaned off the cassette, cleaned off my skanky chain and tuned up the drive train, along with

Iron Supplements, better than doping...

2008-08-17T21:39:00.003-06:00

I don't even know where to start. About two weeks ago, during the Brewhouse triathlon, I started to feel really good, clocking a better run than I thought I would. I felt pretty strong all week after that despite a training schedule loaded with hard work. This last week was the clincher though. I have a regular 27 mile route that is basically the Betty short ride. I do it often because it's a

Bungalow Projects

2008-08-10T12:54:00.009-06:00

So after putting in about 1000 hours of work by May 31 and having some free time on my hands after Memorial Day, my thoughts turned back to the Bungalow. The last project was the kitchen remodel which replaced counters, sink, appliances but left the walls with ugly green plaid wall paper in place. A little free time last summer found me peeling wallpaper and scraping paint off the woodwork but

Brewhouse Triathlon Long Course

2008-08-03T17:56:00.004-06:00

Where to start? This is my last triathlon before the half-ironman September 13. I skipped reporting on the Minnetonka triathlon, which is too bad. That was a raving success for me. I took 10 minutes off my swim time from two years ago, ending with a 2:15/100 average. The bike was the same and the run was 2 minutes slower, which is not surprising given my condition this year. I was ecstatic