ok, enough with the snow!

This past week has been GRAAAAAAAY. Oh so gray, where is my Denver sun? Blech. We've gotten some dustings of snow, but no sparkly sunshine to make it all pretty/warm/theenvyofminnesota. Yesterday amidst a snowstorm, I grabbed a ride to school. That ride ended up being over an hour long wait on a busy road in stop and stop traffic. Stop AND stop. Why is it that people can't ever seem to remember that turn signals exist when it snows? Are they concentrating so hard on the task of driving that they can't flick their right hand in a movement that has become so ingrained in their heads over the passage of time that they literally don't even have to think about it? It seems that way. BUT, gray ick weather aside, I've been putting in some serious gym time lately and am tracking my way to June. I took advantage of the YMCA's one free trainer appointment, and finally learned the ropes that are the crazy weight machines (no literal ropes, just metaphorical ones for the time being). I've maintained gym memberships for the past few years, mostly at YMCA's, and go to them dutifully, but for some reason I am super intimidated by the weight machine thingy-s with all the men looking at their arms in the mirrors and grunting extra hard while trying to make eye contact..and thus have never done much with that section of the gym. Generally I run on the treadmill, and take yoga and pilates classes, sucessfully avoiding all weight lifting related things. This time, though, I feel like if I don't cross train with some kind of upper body weight lifting, I will look like the bikers in The Triplets of Belleville when I'm finished in August and that's something no one would enjoy:




See what I mean? Noooooo thank you. And SO, I have begun conquering my irrational distaste for weight machines, helped in part by my friendly trainer (for one free session!) Nic. The extraordinarily nice thing about my gym is that it is downtown, this mean it is a) very close to my apartment b)busy at predictable and easily avoidable times and c) has a huge membership and a lot vested in buying the newest equipment out there. All of these things are lovely, but the amazing new equipment makes my training so much more bearable. After the new year, they upgraded to these crazy high tech machines and the FitLinx program. FitLinx, for those who don't know, is this great, great program that allows you to log in every time you go to the gym, punch in your code at every machine, and tracks all of your workouts! It breaks your information into every possible equation: time spent doing cardio this week, time spent doing weights today, calories burned in the past month, amount of weight lifted in three days time...IT'S AWESOME. It's so easy to use, and it is a great help for a noobie like me because all I have to do is log in and the computer tells me what machines I still need to hit up, where to put the settings for my body, and how many reps of how much weight I should do. No need to remember anything except my five digit code which happens to be my old zip code because no one else here is from good old Duluth! PHEW, that was a really long promotional speech for my gym's tracking device, but I'm sure that if you have ever worked out at a crappy facility you can appreciate my love for this inanimate program. I guess what I was trying to say in the last paragraph is that I have officially begun training, it's making my body feel like I just might perish on the side of the road this summer, but at least I can sweat myself silly while watching the newest episode of The Office from the seat of my gym.

some snow comes to denver

Perhaps slacking on homework can have it's rewards too! I got up early today to polish off my medical terminology homework and woke up to a beautiful snowy morning! The only real sitting place in my apartment is the bar type counter in my kitchen, which just so pleasantly happens to be situated next to a big window.


I've been struggling with liking Denver lately, with the huge lack of my closest friends being the biggest downfall of the city, but I have to say when it snows here my mood is lifted. The nice thing about Denver is that in between snowfalls the weather is pretty temperate, and for the most part the snow melts. Every time we have a new snowfall it's like the first snow of the season, pretty white flakes that cover everything and aren't hiding gray, sloppy, muck underneath it all like in a certain state in which I used to reside. It always feels like the beginning of winter, and since it doesn't drag on (unless you count two days as dragging) it's like the best of both worlds! I didn't expect this kind of winter here. I suppose I didn't really expect much of anything in the three days between deciding to move here and then actually moving here, but I sure do like it. Most times it feels like spring, with a couple of windy fall-like days sprinkled in between days like these.

I've been putting in my time studying medical terminology this semester, and I find it really interesting! It's funny to come across conditions and diseases that people I know have had, and be able to break them down into word parts that mean so much to me now! I keep wanting to pick up the phone and pepper my dad with questions that don't even really mean anything but are illuminating when I put all the pieces together. Mostly I'm writing a little list (my specialty, especially when put on a notecard!) of things like what kind of break Micah's arm was during his skateboarding accident and what kind of plates they put in because I just read about them both, or what kind of treatment my mom had and what type of choices were out there. In my head I liken it to my french studies in which I would sometimes have a realization about a common french phrase that I used everyday and how the actually words broke down in meaning. Maybe that doesn't make sense, but one phrase is "je ne sais pas" meaning "I don't know". I obviously learned that one right away and put it to good use, but one day I realized it wasn't just a mash up phrase, it was in fact just the negative of je sais. Writing that down sounds silly, but I guess I just mean that words, especially medical words, that are just tossed around take on new meaning to me when they are broken down or actually applied to something tangible even if it's just in my little student brain.

a productive weekend

This blog is increasingly becoming a document-my-bike-life blog, but for now (and now and now and now until JUNE) that's what has become of my brain space other than chemistry and medical terminology which I think, and know from my textbooks, would be much more boring to read about so biking is what you get! This weekend I brought the bike in to get some clipless pedals and to have my bike fitted for me. I am realizing more and more that I am crossing over into an entirely new arena of bike life. I know bikes reasonably well I think. I can fix my bike when something goes wrong and can tinker around a bit to troubleshoot. I now know that I don't know anything about the kind of biking I am about to embrace. There are so many WORDS I don't know, and things about training and specialized gear and clothing and, and I can't even think of everything I don't know! It's a wonder I can even still pedal! I guess I'll just learn it bit by bit, just like everything else. The bit I learned yesterday, while I was skipping chemistry lecture shhhh it was sunny, was about clipping in and out. I figured I would probably tank onto my face once before the reality of clipping my feet onto my bike actually hit me. punny. BUT it wasn't so bad! I felt a lot stronger, like I was making the most of my energy, and, although it was weird to try to pull away and not have my foot follow suit, I think I am really going to like it! It also probably doesn't hurt that my bike shoes are super sweet and red. It should come as no surprise that I will once again be a flag.

In other exciting news I took my first two tests of the semester, and didn't choke! It's nice to get those first few out of the way, and even nicer to feel confident about them. I've got my first chemistry exam next Tuesday, so wish me luck!

A Walsh family Christmas!

Christmas pictures this year were great and plentiful, which is extra good because I think my camera is on its very last leg after being dropped down the mountain at the hot springs..might as well go out with a bang though right? Here are a few:

Decorating the tree is one of my favorite favorites about Christmas. I LOVE it, and I love listening to Mannheim Steamroller while I do it and making my siblings put at least one ornament on the tree with me. It's just so nice to unpack them every year and see all the homemade crafts from first grade that are barely still together, the yearly Aunt Kathleen ornaments with each of our names written on them, and the Micah tin-hole punched ones. My favorite two are a Care Bear from the hospital after I was born and a man made out of beans from my godmother. Em and I used to scour the tree for a prime spot and set up a little town on the branches with all of the house and train and people ornaments we could find. See why I love it so much?!



This was the first Christmas without my Grandma, which was hard in a lot of ways. We lit this candle inside of a wreath and a barrier of ice for her and it sat on our front stoop all night on the windy Christmas Eve without blowing out. It felt like just the right way to honor her. Even though we didn't make it to Iowa for the first time in all my 25 years, I can see how our traditions will change and grow to be centered around our family and the families we will soon create, which is a nice thing to see.



Even though our kitchen is tiny, the six of us make it work more smoothly than would be thought possible. We made Arepas for dinner on Christmas Eve and Em took a break from avocado slicing to grab this shot.



As you can see, Dad is still quite the goof ball and is rubbing off on Mom! And yes, he is in fact on his knees, winter wasn't quite that crazy while we were in town!


Another odd thing about this year was that Lake Superior wasn't frozen! I few years ago mom skated on the lake if you can believe it, and usually there are great sheets of ice that form amazing sculptures on the sand!



One thing that hasn't changed since losing Grandma is our food intake. Man did we EAT. and eat and eat..and everything was so delicious and creative and homey! I love eating at home because my family knows all the things I can and can not eat and are very supportive about finding new recipes to take the place of my old flour-rich favorites. Mmmm it's making me hungry just to think about it!



Mostly it was just really great to be at home with the whole family again. It feels like we are spread out far now, although I recognize that this feeling most likely stems from living away from "home" for the very first time.

a new roomate of sorts

It's been a long week, but today was nice. 50 degrees, mommy and me music class with the babe, lunch outside, books on the porch swing, and an evening delivery! My apartment is now in shambles, but so so worth it:

Hello UPS, I've been waiting for you!

First Peek

There's just no time for bed making when there is a bike to build.

Almost there!

Isn't it gorgeous?!! First test ride was kind of surreal..this is the bike I am going to ride every single day this summer. Across SEVENTEEN states. Through rain and sun and mountains and interesting and boring and all the way to California. I'm so excited, now I can train with the real thing! This trip becomes more real to me every step of the way, and this particular step was a big one.

I guess I should probably clean up..

school: round 5

I've been making plans and making plans lately. Perhaps there is more to this 25 year old business than I previously thought! I've decided to go back to school. Not like "oh I should go back to school someday. someday.", like classes start in less then a week. I know I just reached the fully lit tunnel end only a few short months ago, but it's just two classes and it really feels right. I was thinking forward to the fall semester when I realized that spring semester hasn't even begun yet! What am I waiting for?! Graduate programs and such all require hoop jumping in that I don't have all the necessary prerequisites for what I want to do. Thus the entrance of My Fifth College in my collegiate career. Hopefully they don't penalize for school hopping and state hopping because my transcript reads like a fugitive who zigs and zags instead of running straight on. I'm going to tackle chemistry again. Last time I tried to plow through this class I was drowning in too many credits, too much relationship drama and too little sleep. This time I can eliminate all of those obstacles and just let myself focus. I wonder if school will feel different now that I'm "going back", and I wonder if I can even say "going back" when in reality I only missed one semester's worth of classes..either way I'm excited and nervous. My classes are in the evening for the most part, something that was never my strong suit as an undergrad, but it's all that will fit into my wonky schedule right now and it's only four months right? Phew. In biking related news I've had so many people donate to support me and have surpassed the halfway point already! It's really quite heart warming to sign in and see all these names lined up with such generous donations. What great people are in my life! I found a bike shop here that deals mostly with Giants and got fitted for my new road bike. Yesterday UPS sent a shipping notification putting my receiving date at the 15th! Now that it is 2010 I can already feel the time between now and June starting to fly by. My life is going to change a lot this year, but with so many people supporting me I'm sure it will be great!

Here are the (birthday) shoes that will carry me over 4,000 miles!

a kid adult

My trip home was a whirlwind. I've never had the holiday experience of cramming everything into one week and then hopping back on a plane at the end, but it certainly pushed the important things to the forefront! It was so nice to be with my family for both my birthday and Christmas. I celebrated in Minneapolis with a circle of friends around me, and moved to Duluth for some family time and even a birthday text message from Tanzania! I've never put too much thought into my age, except to correct people when they assumed my sister and I were unaccompanied minors while traveling abroad at the age of 23 and 25.....but 25 is a birthday that people tell me is harder than they thought. It's a quarter of a century, yes, but 25 so far feels like 24 except with a few more pairs of smartwool socks, bike shoes and kitchen knives. My 25th year already has some ambitious plans and great visitors in store, I think it will be a good one! And if I start feeling old Oscar already told me that I don't even look like a real adult, more like a kid adult anyway..