My new (well, "repurposed") Bedroom!

Whoo Hooooo! I so love finding stuff on the cheap to totally change the look of a room. Before: no headboard, because, well, they are expensive and I can't paint one on the wall due to restrictions - lamezilla. After: cool fabric panels that incorporate the random colors of the room into a cohesive unit and Ikea globes. Oh, Ikea. How I love you. (I also love stitch-witchery, but that is beside the point!)

So after feeling productive today, I have also put a bunch of stuff on Craig's to try to empty out the place slightly... tomorrow I tackle the kids' toys, because I'm done with it. :) I also plan on doing some painting ... and hopefully get a ride in - or at least some yoga/pilates.

Gaah. Have to go get kids. Hopefully, tomorrow I will be able to get some training info up...

Tuesday Updates...

Good few training days... almost 30 miles on Sunday! Have decided to do the "last organized ride of the season" - the Harvest Century ride in Hillsboro. Should be a good time. Mid-October, hopefully not too hot, not too cold! I've been eating A LOT, but need to increase my calorie intake- especially on days that I do long rides. But, I am really proud of myself - I am not normally a water drinker (it tastes funny to me, unless it is FREEZING cold), but over the past few days, I got a new water bottle (with a straw - that totally helps), and have managed to drink at least 3 of the bottles a day!

Moving on to non-Cycling related things...

JOB INTERVIEW THIS MORNING!!!!!! Hopefully it goes well. Then again, they have all seemed to go well. I am failing to see why I haven't been hired yet. Perhaps it is because I am a VERY type A personality in a VERY type B town.

Funny thing though. Yesterday afternoon I updated, revised, reworded, reorganized my resume. Ten minutes after I was finished, I got the call from the girl I am interviewing with this morning. An omen, perhaps? Silly me, I even made cute little hand-done business cards. :)

On the home front...

I am really beginning to not like "8" either. I wasn't a fan of the 7 year old stage... 8 is proving to be even worse... especially when you have one that is too smart for his own good and thinks that he should be treated like an adult, but then pitches the temper tantrums of a two year old. (Which the two year old is watching, and then turning around and proceeding to do, because he needs to be just like his big brother...)

Speaking of the two year old... Xavier might have a promising career in the drag queen field. He has decided that he likes my shoes- or more specifically, my heels and heeled knee-high boots. He won't sleep unless he is wearing a pair of my shoes in his bed. I am both amused and wondering if I should be concerned...

Training Week 1

So, in addition to (still) looking for a job, playing maid, chef, and chauffeur, this has also been my first training week. 3 days of riding, 1 day of hard cardio, 2 days of yoga/pilates/stretching, and 1 day off with just stretching.

I'm tired.

I did, however, manage to score some SWEET deals at goodwill, including: a brand new pair (tags still on) of padded shorts and a pair of Pearl Izumi cycling shoes that are great for off season (a little heavy for actual racing)... For $16. For BOTH!!! I love saving money on gear because then I can turn around and put that into the bike!

It has been great eating whatever I want (virtually) all week long. I certainly don't need to lose any weight, so I need to make sure I'm taking in more than I'm expending... Good thing I really like bread and pasta!

Goals

After doing Bridge Pedal this weekend... I have decided to train for the Seattle to Portland ride next July. Am I nuts? I have nearly a year to prepare and I really hope to accomplish this.

Earlier in July, we happened to be heading downtown on the second day of the ride. I looked around and saw all of these people - young, old, short, tall, men, women, thin, not-so-thin... they all DID IT!! I couldn't believe how jealous I was that they were able to do this. I anticipate some very hard work - and a fairly decent amount of money... I need a different bike - right now I have a Schwinn Cruiser, which is great for training, really. It only has five gears and weighs a TON so I have to work a lot harder that some of these guys that are riding around on their racing bikes... man, will they be shocked when I smoke them next July!

The other cool thing is that my dad has agreed to do it with me... I better finish before him. :) Over the next few months, in addition to my normal posts, you will also begin to find training updates and things that I am learning as I train for this event. I am very excited for this, and I am very excited to have a goal to work towards. For the last few months, I have been kind of floating along aimlessly due to the lack of a job. Hopefully, I will be able to score that part-time gig at REI so I can have time to train, but also, maybe ... a discount on gear?

Here's to a great (and safe!) ride!

Events in Portland... and why I love them

The cool thing about this town (and others, I'm sure) is how the entire city seems to come to events that support hospitals, charities, and kids. This morning was the 2009 Providence Bridge Pedal. For those unfamiliar with PDX, our fair city has the distinction of not only being called the Rose City, but also Bridgetown (hence the name of the brewery). Portland has over ten bridges that span the various rivers (mainly the Willamette) which flow through the city. The bridge pedal event closes the bridges and we get the opportunity to join our community and cycle across 6,8, or 11 (!) bridges. There is music and food and everyone encouraging each other (especially the kids-who are welcome to ride in the 6 bridge event) over some pretty steep terrain.

So, arriving downtown this morning, riding around the city with Ethan, and having a great time... Certainly worth the very sore legs that I have right now! We are excited to do it again next year-especially since it welcomes all ages and ability levels.

Great time, great event, and great day... Not to mention my bike bell got a workout coming off of the Fremont Bridge-they had music up and blaring... Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" and it was at a perfect spot to ring my bell along with the song... :)

REI and Summer Reading

After Xavier broke the second pair of sunglasses in the last month... I headed to REI to see if they had something made out of titanium, with spring hinges and indestructable lenses. Alas, no luck with the entire list of requirements, but we did run into one of the teachers from my older son's school.

This couldn't have happened at a more perfect time, as we had an argument earlier in the day about how much reading Ethan hasn't done over the summer. Well... the dear Mr. Rubin was kind enough to take time out from his REI sales duties to explain to Ethan that yes, indeed, he did still need to read over the summer, and that's how he would get a head start with third grade in the fall compared to some of the other kids that will be in his class. Now, after having that argument earlier in the day, Ethan wasn't necessarily the MOST receptive to the conversation, but because Mr. Rubin is a "tech guy" and Ethan is really into computers and science, he has now been reading for the last two days and has already finished a book. YEAHHHH! I feel as though I should swing by REI and thank him. :) Sadly, he won't be continuing at Ethan's school in the fall, and will be changing to a new elementary schoool. Ethan was really hoping to get him at some point... whereas, I was hoping that we could keep his second grade teacher, Mrs. Hutteball, FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER (although she's probably glad to be rid of him... :))

While I was so excited to get this little bit of help from him, it made me kind of sad to realize that our teachers are working two and three jobs to make ends meet, and how underappreciated they really are... it is awful that some of these CEOs make millions and millions of dollars, and while yes, I'm sure at one point they worked very hard to get where they are, now their time is spent on islands and vacations, while the people that are responsible (unless they have private tutors, because even at a lot of private schools teachers are vastly underpaid) for educating their children are struggling to make ends meet. The teachers that are working with the most challenged children, whether it be financially or academically are shoved by the wayside, and who knows... perhaps one of those kids winds up being the next president... all because a teacher who was moonlighting at REI or a coffee shop told them that yes, they need to read over the summer.

Ahhh, the joys of Potty Training...

And so begins another child... here I thought I was done after Ethan was born, and then Xavier came along...

I don't necessarily MIND potty training in and of itself - when we are at home, or at Grandma and Grandpa's - or some other relative/friend's house. They usually don't mind when he is running around in his underwear and keeping a dry supply in the bathroom while we are there. Unfortunately, the rest of the world doesn't necessarily go for a two year old little boy running around with Elmo or Bob the Builder, or Optimus Prime on his butt! I can only imagine the looks I would get... What I do hate are "accidents" in public... if we could just potty train them all at home and then get a detailed map as to where every bathroom is within every building in the city that you live in, that would be GREAT!

There are so many books, videos, websites, etc., out there that talk about what to do and half of them are contradictory. It's been 6 years since I've done this, and honestly, I wouldn't mind some reminders, but at the same time different things work for different kids. For example, the Cheerios thing didn't work with Ethan, and I don't think it will work very well with Xavier either, but other people swear by it.

I suppose this is the point that I attempt to search around for "irregulars" at the outlets so I don't have to spend a fortune on a ton of undies! :)