a vacation and a throughly soaked bum

Vacations are always so refreshing! Last year for spring break Emily, Joe and I went to NYC, the year before that I visited Joe in Portland and JP in Denver. This year took me from a blizzarding Denver back to a snow-less Minnesota! I love to travel, love getting to a different place so quickly and, once there, feeling as though I've barely left. This trip was a special treat for me because I hadn't thought I would be able to get home until after my trip, probably next Christmas. That would have been my longest time away from my Minnesota friends and family, and seemed so far away! Of course once I arrived I got right down to business and ate thai food four times almost back to back. In Duluth I talked at my parent's church and fundraised $200 for the trip! My mom tried her hand at homemade GF pasta and it turned out splendidly! I even heard that the leftovers were great, which is a true feat for that sort of pasta as it usually gets rubbery and inedible after a short amount of time. We relaxed at the beach and traipsed around Canal Park, played pool and stopped at Annie's favorite brewery for wild rice burgers that are to die for. Everything went by so quickly, but it was such a great distraction from real life work and school.

JP and the papa hiked at Tischer Creek on one of the gorgeous, sunshine-filled Duluth days and JP documented for me while I was busy shopping with my mom.

Looking for agates with Nora.

Snowy, weirdly blizzardy Denver kept me from my planned return flight and so I was treated to a bonus vacation day. Annie, my gracious host and even more gracious chauffeur this trip, and I got to spend the day together, getting out for a bike ride and run around Lake Nokomis and a day time tromp for little Abby. It was a perfect little extension of spring break, so much so that I almost didn't even mind the prospect of returning to work the next morning...almost.

Once back I had to buckle back down to training, and even though there was a slight drizzle Friday afternoon I figured I should brave the weather as most likely the trip this summer will not deliver two and a half solid months of sunshine. Geared up and ready for a 20 miler I headed out as the rain started to come down a little faster and thicker. It's nice biking in the rain most times, very solitary and meditative I think. For some reason, probably due in some part to my lack of training while vacationing, I was under the impression that I was biking against the wind and pushed forward to the 10 mile turning point, at which juncture I quickly realized that I had in fact been biking with the wind and was now in for a challenging back track. This would have been harder regardless of the rain, but as soon as I made my aboutface it started to hail. It started to hail in the direct path and angle of my face and eyes if I dared to lift either of these in an attempt to see the path in front of me. I had dressed for rainy, drizzly weather, not haily, wind whipping weather, and it turns out there is a pretty big difference although taking mental stock of my lycra-based choices I probably wouldn't have had too many other options anyway. I thought maybe I should stop under a bridge and wait it out, but as soon as I did this I realized that the sole reason I wasn't standing in the puddles of my own shoes was precisely because I was not standing and as soon as I changed positions I was sloshingly rewarded with two little miniature lakes inside of my shoes and socks. Showing no sign of ceasing I tried to keep going, but gave up when I realized that my hand were turning a purple-y shade of blue. Having no real idea of where I was in relation to things I would like to be near to, I picked up my bike and headed towards the road. I was in a warehouse district and spotted a mechanics warehouse with an open door into which I gratefully slipped. JP later told me I looked like a popsicle (probably in both color and demeanor) and so I shouldn't have been surprised when the men inside gave me such alarmed looks asking if I needed any help. They were more then willing to let me stand dripping all over the floor trying to warm up while waiting for JP to come rescue me. Clad head to toe in spandex, some portions of which are padded in a certain area which when wet give the distinct impression that the wearer is hiding a lumpy, very full diaper beneath her clothes was not the most pleasant thirty minutes I have ever spent. After getting home and peeling off all of my clingy, soggy, diaper-like garments I've never had more appreciation for my always absurdly overly heated apartment. Fortunately, for me and my remaining shreds of dignity, I have no photos to post of the hail face story so you can just go ahead and imagine drowned-rat-popsicle Elise in your head.

I think I can..

..I think I can, I think I can be a morning...exerciser? Ohhh the pure, amazing goodness of not having to go to the gym after both work and school. IT IS AWESOME. Seriously so, so, nice. Unfortunately the trade off is getting up at the crack and biking before work. Let's make this clear for those of you who haven't had the joy of experiencing such things, I am NOT an early riser, or a spring out of bedder, or a peppy 7 AMer. I've been drowsily spanking on my spandex, slogging over to the gym and clipping in to bike 14 miles every day for the past week and, although it does feel great once all of the steps in this process have occured, why oh why is it so hard to get up in the first place?! The neighborhood moms laughed directly in my face when I moaned about the alarm at 7:15 (I bet Kathy doesn't have too much sympathy for me either...Oscar, I'm looking at you!) but I loooove sleep AND I don't have kids...I just, apparently, have morning biking.

In other news of things in my life that are sorting themselves out, it turns out Colorado has some ridiculous rules (laws) in the way of cars that I never even thought about while living in Minnesota. The most pressing issue, which I was warned about, is parking. Oh parking, never have you been more frustrating! I live on capitol hill which is about as close to downtown Denver as you can get without living on the mall. This leads to a parking conundrum every. single. day. (and night!) If you are lucky and get home right before the evening hours you can usually find a spot relatively close (we're talking within two blocks). If you are unlucky, or simply return home from work at any time other then dusk, you have no choice but to circle around with all the other unluckys and hope something miraculous happens. Yes I just referred to getting a parking spot as being "miraculous". If you are one of the unluckys and also happen to be in a lesser known minority of parkers who don't have a parking permit yet, you my friend, get the added joy of moving your car every two hours (constant vigilance) or risk getting a $25 ticket. The meter maid people here drive around in these little jeepy cars and literally have a Ticket Stick, which allows them to slap a big yellow ticket onto your windshield without even getting out of their annoying jeepy little cars. OH THE INDIGNITY!! But, all of this is leading up to the fact that I am no longer in that little wedged between a sharp knife and a giagntic boulder of a minority...I officially have Colorado plates AND a parking permit good until 2014. I may never ever leave, but if I do, I know I will be able to come back here and park for longer than two hours at a time! Yeeehaw.

How about those bad boys, eh??!

spring is springing!!

Even though we did just have some snow flurries last night, I have gathered some proof that we are finally rounding the bend here! With Colorado though you never know...mostly I thought Nora would enjoy these pictures because she is a true lover of all things springy and blooming and needs to see that soon both of these things will be in abundance, even in Minnesota. I've always wanted to live in a place long enough to plant bulbs in the fall and see them come up in the spring, but I am enjoying the little sprouts all over the neighborhood and that's enough for now.

Everything is peeking out all over the place! Greens..

...yellows...

..and a little purple reaching towards the sun.

a day at the park

This week/month/year is going by so fast, holy crapoli! On Friday I got out for a challenging 25 mile ride with my boss Mark. I survived, even on the hills, although my lungs wanted to whimp out on me. It basically went like this: "Lungs? Meet Hill. You should get to like Hill because soon Hill will become Mountain, and Mountain is much more intimidating then little Hill here." It is nice to have someone to bike with, especially since it's Mark who knows a good deal about the world of spandex road riding and about the routes around town. I have to admit that I lean towards being a one-gear-girl, and never remember that I can in fact shift! Mark has started on the wonderful task of reminding me to change gears when the terrain changes, and thus I am learning that gears are an amazing thing. Ahh it's the little things in life, eh?

After that ride (my longest yet since training started!) my legs needed a bit of a break so on Sunday we went to Longmount to drop off some congratulatory champagne for Jeremy and Karyn's engagement (!) and to take the girls to the dog park. I of course snapped pictures, while JP tried to dodge the camera. Luckily I am in the childcare field and have honed my pictures-in-motion skills. Here are a few for you:

*
The Yin Berry

*
She is such a kook...or is it just my miraculous motion-picture capturing abilities?


***
Waiting patiently for treats, the ball for Layla and food for Yin.


****
Then it was evening and we headed back to Denver to start a new week.

arnica, arnica, arnica, and a little calendula too!

Thanks to the wonderful magic of homeopathy, I am feeling much better! The first night was a hobbling night, but the next morning I could walk with ease if I avoided all stairs. After taking the remainder of the weekend to rest I am heading back to the bike tonight. The genetically weak Walsh (Buboltz?) knee will just have to buck up, I've only got about 90 days left to train!

Black and blue and some parts yellow!

Healing slowly but surely.