Name that Emotion!!

*This was meant to be silly... although, when one is going through the rollar coaster, do not mention the game or what may cause the game, unless you want a fist to the face... which again, may not happen depending on one's mood 10 seconds prior to the comment or 10 seconds after the comment. It could always come back and bite you in the bum!

It's that time again to play, "Name that Emotion". In this game, not only will you need to name the emotion, you need to name the source of the emotion... Alright, let's start the game... First scenario:  You asked if I wanted a banana and I stormed off, what was that emotion and what was the source???? Your first answer... "You have no idea" is completely wrong... The answer was "emotion: pissed; source: you are offering me a banana because you think I'm fat and didn't want to offer me the candy bar that you were eating".

Second scenario: "You gave me socks that were too big and I cried. Why?"... "No idea!"... Correct Answer: "emotion: sad; source: remember that time... sniff... sniff... when you said I had cankles... sniff... four years ago... waaaaaa..."

Third scenario: "We went mountain biking and you took me on a really hard trail. I'm a mess. What am I mad at?" Answer: "Oh, this is a tricky one... and very dependent on the where we are on the trail and what is happening... At the beginning, I'm mad that you took me on such a hard trail, but there are moments of "why does he hate me so much to take me on a trail so that I never want to mountain bike again?" Then there is a few moments of "why did he convince me to buy such an expensive bike if he's going to take me on a trail that I'm going to walk?" mixed in with "I'm just going to sell my stupid bike". Next, there may be a few of "why won't he talk to me? He really must not like me anymore. He takes me on a trail that I can't handle and now he won't talk to me. UGH!!" Then finally, "I SUCK AT MOUNTAIN BIKING!! Why do I SUCK at mountain biking? Why can't I do anything? Why won't he swim with so that I can be better at something then he is? Why do I suck at EVERYTHING?"

*Disclaimer -- some of these scenarios are made up for comedic purposes but they are not THAT far from the truth... unfortunately... for everyone around me!

"I don't even feel like I rode today" - Nate Schontag

Nate and I signed up for a century ride in March... When did we start "training" for it?? Oh... one week ago... That's when I found out that Nate was NOT going to let me bail from it! This century ride is in the Berkshires which are a set of mountains in Massachusetts. Last year, we signed up for the "flattest" century ride... We didn't end up doing the ride because it was in Maryland, it was an 10 drive to ride our bikes for 6+ hours and then drive home. Oh, and it was going to rain. Oh, and I had fallen off my bike a few weeks before and hurt my hip really bad. This year, we didn't sign up for the flattest century ride. Quite the opposite actually. We signed up for the "most gorgeous, yet grueling" century ride. And we have 3 weeks to "train" for it... FANTASTIC PLANNING!

Back to our training. I knew that we needed to ride a few long rides before we attempt 100 miles, so I figured, oh yes, let's ride around the largest lake in NH. It'll be pretty. It might be a bit hilly. I unfortunately did not use my GPS thing on my phone, so I don't have a complete elevation gain... but I did find this site that does have the elevation gain... We only rode 60 miles and there are three different places from that site that we didn't follow, but for the most part... Yup, we rode that!!!

Here are a few of my favorite examples of elevation gain:

and my favorite...

I will not claim to have rode up that first hill non-stop!! I did ride it! I did stop...  A LOT!!! But I did ride it!!

I'll give it a few days before I say whether or not this ride was fun!! It was hard!! My muscles are sore! I was really uncomfortable for the last 20 or so miles. Not uncomfortable enough to quit, but definitely uncomfortable to complain about it... Not that does any good!!!

Some of my accomplishments... Slowest riding ever... I think it was right after our first stop. Of course, we stopped at the bottom of hills and this hill we could not see as we were resting. But as I neared the top, I looked down and my speedometer said, 4.5 and my cadence was about 40. OUCH!!! Another accomplishment... fastest riding ever!! My speedometer clocked me at 39.7!! WAHOO!!! I was cruising!!! I'm pretty sure the speed limit was 45 mph so I unfortunately did not speed. Final accomplishment, I took a picture while riding!! I didn't make a phone call or facebook or anything like that, Carrie... :-D

And my lovely boy, what are his comments:

"I really don't even feel like I rode today."

"I think I'm going to go home and mow because I'm not that sore."

"That hill (as we just finished going up a hill) was really fun."

"Really? You are that tired?"

Thank goodness that he's soooo stinking cute!! He would've gotten beat!!!

Here are some of the pictures I took while I was riding:

Amanda enjoying the flat road on a beautiful day.

Nate, happy as a clam on our first break

Nate on one of our last few uphills

The lake! The only picture I was able to take of it and it was a little cock-eyed b/c there were lots of cracks that I was riding over...

I cannot say good-bye to those whom I have grown to love, for the memories we have made will last a lifetime and never know a good-bye -- Anonymous

A week and a day ago, I woke up, and noticed that I had an email alert on my phone. I looked at the email and I had two emails from my mom. The first one ripped my heart out. My sister-in-law's father passed away very suddenly. One day he was healthy; the next day, he was no longer with us. The second email was letting the rest of us know that my parents were going to be in Michigan for a few days to help my brother and his wife out with their four kids.

My sister-in-law was daddy's little girl and I totally feel for her every day. I'm daddy's little girl too and I can't imagine losing my father! Kattie, my heart goes out to you!!

I talked to my brother the other night and he said, "whatever happened in the past should live in the past, all we should focus on is today and move forward". He's right!

If you have a problem with a loved one, forgive them without them having to say they are sorry! Life is WAY to short to harbor grudges and sweat the small stuff. Hug them tighter and let them know that you love them!! You never know what tomorrow is gonna bring...

I wanted a perfect ending, now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious amiguity.


Gilda Radner

Maybe I should get a hobby

Oakley and Scout go to daycare every Thursday. The daycare posts pictures of the dogs each day. I like to make up little stories about what the dogs were thinking while the pictures were being taken.

"No, really, I said, LEAVE ME ALONE!"



Scout and I have a few things in common. We don't like to be bothered when we are tired...

"My name is Oakley and I have big guns!!"

Look at those shoulders. She works out... just a bit... Although she doesn't look as proud of her big guns as I am!

PS. Nate & I have been on a lot of adventures this summer. We just haven't taken any pictures. Maybe on our century ride, I'll take some pictures... anything to keep my mind off the fact that we have to ride 100 miles and I haven't ridden 50 this summer... TOTAL!

Is running really becoming part of my routine?

So, yes, I have two dogs! And yes, they are NUTS! We take them mountain biking a bunch on the weekends and occasionally during the weeks, but most of the time during the week, it's a bit difficult to get them exercise so that they can be relatively calm. And relative is just that... relative!! :-)  So, I started running with them. I first started just running a mile or two once or twice a week. I would carry both of their leashes and I think my arms got more of a workout than the rest of me. Then I started running the almost three mile loop by my house. And slowly, I'm coming up with ways to make it easier on me so that I can go faster... Before each run, I take them on a little walk so that both of them will do their business so that we don't have to stop for business. Oakley has yet to do her business on the actual pre-run-walk but at least Scout does... Although Scout did master the bathroom while you run technique so I'm not sure I care if he goes or not. However, it is nice that I don't have to dodge #2's as they come my way.

I ended up getting them a leash that I can wrap around my waist. I then have a coupler so that there is only one leash. I have yet to fall (KNOCK ON WOOD) but there have been a few times where I thought the pavement was getting awfully close. I am tempted to talk to one of my neighbors who also has two dogs and ask them to PLEASE, PLEASE not let their dogs outside prior to 6:30am on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. When we are walking, one of their dogs runs alongside us and Oakley and their dog bark at each other. I usually have to pull with all my might to get Oakley back on the road. So, I can't exactly imagine what will happen to me if the dog comes flying outside and Oakley pulls me and Scout toward the dog as we are cruising down the little hill. It might be similar to those times when I held onto Oakley's leash while I was riding my bike... Both of my hips have lovely scars from those two occasions.

Then I bought myself a cute little outfit... which I do wear every time I run... because I only have ONE cute little outfit... I have washed it ... now...

So, today, I signed myself up for a 5k... WHAT THE HECK AM I THINKING!?!?!?

Oh yes, I remember now... Those sprinkled donuts were awfully delicious today... If I run more tomorrow... maybe I can have some next week!!  YUMMMMMM

My pups have personality!

My puppies are freaking awesome!! Just when your day may be getting slow... You get to see my little princess crossing her feet and squinting her cute little eyes! That is her happy face!!

And you get to see my little buddy:

Do you see any resemblance?

Ah, yes... My little buddy resembles the flying nun!! Ain't he cute!!!