Everything in moderation....

Sometimes I forget that it is possible to get too much of a good thing....

Today, I ended up at the doctors office with a bit of a reaction to brewer's yeast. The story goes... I picked some brewer's yeast up at the store a week ago, thinking it would be a good supplement to my diet since I have been tending to eat less meat. I usually have it on some hot cereal in the mornings. I have been noticing some skin irritation in the past week, but I thought it was due to the change in seasons... Well, this morning a had a couple heaping tablespoons on my cereal, over the next hour, my skin started to get tight, burn and turn red (like a sun burn). I was noticing that it was spreading down my neck, across my arms, legs.... Yikes! A co-worker drove me to the nearest walk-in clinic and after checking in, sitting in the waiting room, ( NOTE! do not go to the walk-in clinic if you have anything that is worse than a sore throat! You will probably keel over in the waiting room and they will not even notice!) the doctor saw me, said I was okay and told me to experiment with reactions to brewer's yeast at home with the supervision of my husband. Sound medical advice!

Lesson learned!

Cookies....

I whipped up some super yummy cookies last night.
Here is the recipe...
Enjoy!

1.5 cup sugar
2 eggs
.75 cup of butter
splash of vanilla

1.75 cup flour
salt
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. baking powder
cinnamon
2.5 cups vanilla cranberry granola
1 cup oatmeal

375 for 13 minutes
My super secret ingredients....
listening to Pink Floyd and drinking a couple bloody mary's....

Skills...Bike Skills

Bless John's heart... I have got to say about his patience and kindness...
So, I have fell in love with mountain biking. I have a whole new appreciation for it. I love it. Tonight John took the time to ride with me and really drive home some pointers for me on my bike. He rode behind me and at one point came up and just told me matter of fact that I need to learn to ride a bike... "skills". The great thing was he took the time to teach me. I have learned a lot since I have started a little over a year ago. Lately I have hit a wall, platue, what ever one may call it. I am starting to ride a bit harder than previous but my "skills" on a bike just aren't there. We all know what this means.... I have been taking some diggers. Basically, my bike rides me. It rides me into the nettles, blackberries, stumps, roots, and wholes. Tonight I was reminded to get my ass off the seat and get my weight behind it as well. Yeap, simple mud whole, roll right into it at a good clip, with my weight too far forward... over the handle bars I go. Nothing I can't shake off. For the rest of the ride, I put my seat way down so far that it was uncomfortable to sit on, this got me out of the saddle and moving around. Sometimes it feels really awkward to move around on my bike and sometimes I connect and it is so much fun. I am determined to learn. I think each ride I improve and with each new person I ride with will provide insight. I have fell for biking....

It was a short ride because I really wanted to watch the vice president debate that was on tonight. So, I missed the crew from work that were downtown in fear that we would miss too much of the final hour, in exchange we cruised down to one of our favorite watering wholes, Coconut Kenny's for dinner and to watch the debate. It was well worth it I must say. I feel that it was productive and well worth the time.

Last day of September

Here we are, the last day of September. Each day is noticeably shorter, the leaves are rapidly showing their array of colors, spiders are abundant, crisp cool air..... Ahhhh fall.

My weekend was wonderful. Saturday we got up and went on a nice long mountain bike ride on Galbraith, exploring trails that I haven't been on. We came home and Dad had replaced two windows in the front of the house that desperately needed replaced. Sunday was a day of climbing in Darrington. We met Bryan and Joe there and had a pretty mellow day. It was hard for me to get in the climbing mindset. The first route we got on kind of shook me up. I actually ended up bailing on the pitch. Usually I look back on those sorts of events and wish that I had pushed through.Not this one. I am glad I didn't finish it. As you can imagine, the scenes were beautiful. The leaves are changing and the it was surprisingly warm. I climbed without my shirt and managed to get a pretty good sunburn. Who would of thought!
Now back at it! My job is actually picking up and I am really starting to engage in some projects. The days are going a lot faster.

2,000 miles commuted!!!

It happened...
My odometer on my bike hit 2,000 miles!
Pedal power.
One less car, one more healthy, happy woman!

Rosanna's Table Talk: Rosanna’s Second Annual Tablesetting Contest Results

John is probably the only one that knows this silly little love I have for dishes. I think it drives him crazy. I love dishes... plates... platters.... bowls.... cups.... mugs....trays.... He only knows this because I am always picking up random dishes or oggling over them in the store. Last night I found two new great bowls for the office. One is a deep salad bowl made of bamboo. The other is another deep bowl but clay and microwavable. Perfect addition to the office supplies. Now, with one of my other loves, blogs, I can look at other people who have a passion for the same. Here is a great site that I found today:
Rosanna's Table Talk: Rosanna’s Second Annual Tablesetting Contest Results

REST....

Wednesday was a well deserved full day of (physical) rest. I drove to work, rested, drove home, ate yummy zucchini cookies that I made, ate yummy chili with John for dinner, drank way too much wine, and watched a movie. Glorious.
As the daylight hours dwindle, I have been taking advantage of what little bit of time I have after work. On Monday I went for a trail run on Galbraith, sneaking home a bit after it got dark. Tuesday I tested out my new tires on Galbi with Natasha. She had so much fun. It is just great to see her dance around in the woods, chasing every thing she sees. I must admit I had the same huge smile on my face. I never knew what a HUGE difference tires could make. I also lowered the PSI to a bit below 20lbs. I could actually climb trail and get over rocks and roots that have been pestering me for the last year. A trip to Whistler built a lot of confidence in my riding ability as well. Things up there just didn't seem as big or as steep. I was having so much fun on the ride that after exiting SST I choose to climb back up the ridge and take Bob's out. I started climbing the ridge at 7pm, knowing that it got dark around 7:30. Sure enough, I got into the trees and it was dark, there were sections of Bob's that were full on scary with no lights and by Karma, it was riding by memory. LOL! Got to love it!
I also got a present in the mail last night! I have been tracking down new riding clothes and armor. www.pinkbikes.com, www.pricepoint.com and www.chainlove.com, are some great places to find some deals. Well, I came across a great deal on a full face helmet. I scored! My new '661 Pro Bravo Carcon helmet' arrived on our poarch last night. YEAH!

Autumn

With everything going on around me I overlooked a very import day.
You better believe it, Summer is gone and Fall is upon us. It is dark around 7:15 in these parts and will continue to get darker earlier and earlier. 4:30, you better believe it. Time to invest in lights for my bike and brush off the gym membership. I also love to cook this time of year. I have been craving chicken noodle soup (the best is when my dad makes it) and concoctions that come out of a crock pot. Food that warms me to the bone. This is the time of year when I need to bust out the long johns to wear under my clothes and to break out the blankets at the house. I really do like fall, winter is another story. I have time to soak up the pleasures of fall.

Bike Bug

It is that time of the day. My time at the office is finally nearing an end, the sun has broken through the clouds and I have a bike ride home to look forward to. It is also one of those days where if I didn't have to pedal home, I just got in my car, sat in traffic with the windows up, I would go home and be completely worthless. With a bike commute home, I get the blood flowing out of my ass and back to my brain, smell some fresh air, absorb some sun and shake off the office funk that has built up all day. Then, once home I will be inspired to go out and play. Last week I went all week without doing anything fun, I was probably miserable to be around. I am going to prevent that from happening this week. I can't let this silly job step (or suck) on my energy and motivation.

I have been bitten by the biking bug! Ever since last weekend at Whistler all I want to do is mountain bike. It is just so much fun. John and I have been plotting and scamming our way into new bikes. have been hounding the used market, I think the perfect match is going to appear for both of us real soon. I was going to inherit John's Norco Six and he was going to get another bike, now, I think that we are both going to get new (used) bikes. Whooo hooo!! I am so stoked to bike. There is just nothing that compares.

Yesterday John and I gathered the bikes up and rode in the Chuckanuts. Wow, what fun. It was pouring rain, didn't stop us, can't that get to us, it is going to rain for the next 9 months. We pedaled up to Fragrance Lake, down the Lower Ridge, Salal, and Hush Hush trails. It was slippery and slimy, what fun!

On your left!

You win some and you loose some!

Right guys?!?

"F" is for.....

F is for Fall. It is here and I love the weather now. The mornings are brisk and beautiful. The air is crisp. Harvests are bearing their last fruit. The leaves are changing. I love September!

F is for First. There is a first time for everything!

F is for Flat bike tire. First flat tire this morning! (!@#$)

F is for Fixing my own flat tire!

F is for Friday. Sometimes the weekend just can't get here fast enough!

F is for Fun! It is on the list of things to do this weekend...

F is for Fast. Accomplishable on a bike.

F is for Freeride. A new past time.

F is for Food. We have been making great meals from the garden. I can't get enough!

F is for Fuel. I would rather eat than pour gas into our van. Get on the bike!

F is for my Family. My wonderful husband who is so great, our CRAZY cat Sophee, sweet Natasha, family that lives too far away, family that lives down the street, family that calls to check up, family I call to confide in.

F is for Friends. To all the wonderful people out there who make it a bit more fun!

Tell me what is F for you....

For the love of bikes - Scraper bikes

Scraper Bike Fever Spreads, Thanks To YouTube
by Jacob Fenston

Scraper Bikes - pictures

Here is the next "feel good" movie of the year.

No, really cool bike passion.

I will throw a bone to this reporter who actually found something healthy, creative, and cool to cover.