Another quick note...

So the holidays are here and gone... well only half way gone that is. Christmas is over but New Years is right around the corner. So while I'm at work for the next 3 days, I'll take a moment to blog.

My Christmas this year was great! Just enough time spent with everyone, and not enough time in one place to get too bored. I even got to go skiing and play in some snow... well before it all melted. I even got some great new gifts from my mom and dad, including a leaf blower for my yard and an ice cream maker for the house.

Well, looks like I'm out of time. Checkout my facebook page to see more pictures. Hope your holiday was as good as mine!

Oh yea, one more thing... I've already raised $1,135.00 towards the MS150_2009! Thanks to everyone who has helped out. I'll be sending out thank you letters shortly, I promise.

Whew... it's the holidays.

Well. The holidays are in full swing, and I'm exhausted already! The good news is that I got most of my Christmas shopping done this past weekend. Now I just have to figure out how to get it all home. These new fees for checked bags are really becoming a pain in my ass. Someone please explain that to me. Gas prices are the lowest they've been since like 1990 and yet the airlines are still charging for extra bags. At first they tried to claim that increased gas prices were responsible for the baggage surcharge, but now that prices have dropped, don't you agree that the surcharge should go away also? Anyway, enough of that rant.

Lots of other fun things happened this weekend too. First, I got my new wine rack in the mail. It took about an hour to assemble, but it is awesome. I really like how there is a drawer, wine glass storage, and 20 wine bottle storage spots. Plus, it looks great in my living room.

I also was able to get in a 35-40 mile bike ride Sunday morning with the guys from AustinBikes. I rode about 50 minutes with them until I got dropped about 15 miles into the ride. The head wind was about 25mph from the south, so as soon as I dropped off the back, there was no way that I was catching up. Though it felt good to stick with them for a while, and I think next time I'll do even better. What was nice, was the 25mph tail wind on the way back into Austin. It made for an enjoyable ride back, even though my legs were burnt up.

Well that's about it. I've got work to do and then a bit more Christmas shopping before the holidays are over. I hope everyone has a Magical Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

A quick note

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and we are officially wrapped into the holiday season. I'm happy to say that after Thanksgiving dinner, the weekend was as calm as can be. There were no plans made, and no places to rush off to. It was a nice relaxing weekend. Of course the day before... well that was a different story. The night before Thanksgiving, I stayed up until 3am making tiny little chocolate cakes and tiny cheesecakes. Okay, I definitely went overboard, but it was super fun! Check out my facebook page if you haven't seen the pictures yet. I always forget how much work it is to make a cake until I get back into it. Just the prep work alone, takes hours. I probably spent most of the 6 hours prepping the piping bags and getting the icing colored just the way I wanted it, then of course, cleaning up. But in the end, it was all worth it. The cakes tasted so yummy, and they were really cool. Though I think i've learned that it's best just to choose one dessert to focus on, instead of trying to make lots of them. Hopefully I'll remember that next time I have to bake.

Now, it's off to Florida to watch my friend, Rachael, get married. Yes, she's having a Disney wedding, and it's going to be awesome! I'm super excited for her, of course, and I'm also excited becuase I get to go to Disney! My parents are also flying down for the wedding, so It'll be good to spend a few days with them. We'll be hitting all the theme parks and universal studios. The nice part about this trip, is that I won't feel rushed. I've been to Disney so many times, that if I don't make it on ALL the rides, it will be okay. We'll probably just make sure we hit the good ones like splash down mountain, the runaway train, and space mountain.

Well, that's all the time I have. Now it's back to packing and getting ready to leave.

The weekend before...

Thanksgiving!

So Thanksgiving is next weekend, and this weekend was just as hectic. A few side items to note before I get into the heart of the weekend. First of all, Texas Tech was a complete disaster this weekend. If you didn't see the game, Oklahoma totally walked all over them. This highly anticipated game was the biggest joke ever and wasn't even worth watching after the 1st quarter. Tech didn't even have a chance, and yet, somehow, Oklahoma is only #3 to #2 Texas. If you ask me that's a rip off for Oklahoma.

So this weekend... Six of us went out to the Texas Hill Country and did a wine trip weekend. It was awesome! We stayed at a bed and breakfast in Fredericksburg called Das College Haus. It was awesome and very beautiful. The first day we went to five wineries. Now, this was a bit much. Not becuase of what you may think though. It wasn't the 'drunk' aspect, as much as it was combining too many different types of wine throughout the day. While the tastings were fun, I think most of us were feeling a bit sick at the end of the day. We went to Grape Creek Vineyard, Torre De Petra, Becker Vineyard, Sister Creek, and Woodrose Winery. On the way to Sister Creek we stopped at this little place off the beaten path to eat lunch. It was called the Alamo General Store and Cafe, and it was awesome. Something you'd see out of Diners Drive-in's and Dives. And the burgers were wonderful. It's also practically the only place to eat anywhere close to Sister Creek. Sister Creek is located in Sisterdale, TX just south of Fredericksburg, TX and has a population of 25. The wines here weren't so great, but Betsy did get to buy herself a wine barrel! It's going to make a cool addition to their back porch. Woodrose was also and okay winery but the wines were only so-so.

The second day we went to only two wineries. We all felt this was a better idea. First we woke up and the girls did some shopping in Fredericksburg while the boys went to the store to get some stuff for a picnic lunch. After that we went first to Lost Creek Vineyard. This is home to buddy's select wine. They just finished rebuilding after the 2006 floods, and the new building is beautiful. We hung out here for a little while and bought a bottle of wine to relax on the deck. Then we headed to Stone House Winery. It's a toss up between Flat Creek and Stone House, but I think that I like the property of Flat Creek best, but the wines at Stone House. Seriously, almost every wine was wonderful! This turned out to be an expensive place to go. But we did a tasting here, then we ate lunch and proceeded to finish off 3 bottles of wine.

Needless to say, the weekend was awesome and now I have a LOT of wine to drink. Check out the pictures here!

Weekend Update

A few fun things happened this weekend. First I went to the UT/Baylor game. I must say, as much as Baylor was playing terrible this year, for the first half of the game UT couldn't seem to get their game together either. It was starting to look like a repeat of last week, only last week Tech was actually playing well, and this week UT was just coming down to Baylors level. At one point the score was 14 to 14, and Baylor looked like they might actually have a chance to win the game. Fortunately for UT, after an interception pass by Baylor, the UT players seemed to realize that they needed to wake up, just a little, and put forth some energy if they wanted to win the game. And win they did. We left in the third quater, just after UT failed to hit a field goal from the 2 yard line. Both teams looked terrible, but eventually UT decided to play and dominated the game. I forget the final score, but it was something around 50 to 21. Though I will say though, for all the hype that UT has been getting for the last few months, they certainly are not playing like a #1 team... if they were playing like a #1 team, then they would have never allowed Baylor to get 21 points on the board.

After the UT game, a few of us went to Waterloo for some beers and to watch the Penn State/Iowa game. Fortunately for me, I left during the first half and didn't have to watch the last 15 seconds where Penn State let Iowa take away their chances at a National Title. Of course, many claim that no one in the Big Ten could take down a Big Twelve team this year, but for now, it appears that we won't even get that match up. Chances are Penn State will still have the chance at the Big Ten title, and a good bowl game, but most likely Tech or Alabama or UT or Florida will face off against each other and take home the National Title.

But enough about football. Onto something more exciting. The Crutchfield Ground Loop Noise Isolation that I ordered last week, finally came in. And let me tell you, it works great! I'm so happy that I can play my IPOD and charge it at the same time without feedback noise. I would suggest anyone that has this problem, to order one of these things online. It's very small, and until Mazda does a recall to fix this issue (which I'm told they are actually working on), this is the best you're going to get.

Also this weekend, I had the chance to visit Flat Creek Estate Winery. It was my first wine tasting ever, and it was so much fun! Of course they have this little guide there to tell you how to describe your wine, but I just defaulted to "i like this one, or i don't like this one." But hey, baby steps. I bought a bottle of their Super Texan red wine, and a bottle of their Port wine. While I'm not much of a Port person, I thought it would be fun to have at the house one day when I have some company over for games. Though I suppose that would require me to purchase a dinning room table, but one thing at a time. I'm getting off track. Anyway, this is a beautiful winery and I would recommend anyone who has a few hours free one afternoon to go up there and check it out. The wine tasting is only $5 a person or $10 for the 'diva' tasting (aka - you get to sample the port and take the glass home with you), and they have even opened a new bistro where you can enjoy lunch!

Lastly, I'll be in Mexico this weekend, climbing at El Potrero Chico! Jen is flying in from Colorado for the weekend, and it should be a great group going. Look for stories next week!

349 to 163

349 to 163, 52% to 46%, 62 million to 55 million... no matter how you look at it, yesterday history was made. I think by the time election day came around, we all expected it to happen, but everyone was a little cautious to get excited. For me, and probably most of the world, the defining moment came when they called Ohio for Barack Obama... of course followed by Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, and New Mexico... big swing states that helped him clinch the victory and bring him into the spotlight as the president elect... and first African-American President. Now for me, I don't really see race as so much an issue, as I think it will be nice to have someone in office who is a little younger, a little more in touch with the people, and a much much more motivating speaker than G.W. Bush. After all, that last part won't be too hard. I'm excited about the policies and the change that he will attempt to bing about in Washington. And I am excited about the initial impact that he has already had on the country. Stocks are rallying, people care a little bit more, and voter turnout was in record numbers. Of course we can't give him all the credit for this, but surely he had a big impact.

Though as happy as I am for Barack Obama today, and for our country. I can't help but hope a little, that John McCain stays around Washington and does his part to help this country pull out of the recession we find ourselves in. No one ever said that John McCain was a bad man, he just wasn't the right man for right now. Perhaps 8 years ago would have been different. Now Sarah Palin.. well, that's a whole other subject that we don't need to get into right now.

For now, we can be excited about our future and the future of this country. The first 100 days in office start in about 2 months, and then we will see if this man, Barack Obama, truly has what we believe he has... the ability to make this country strong again.

"out of many, we are one" - Barack Obama, election night speech, 11-4-08

Two posts today... oooh

I just had to post this, becuase it's really... interesting. Yea, I guess that's the best word to describe it. Freak Bike Accident.

New Car

So here is a picture of my new Mazda 3 Hatchback. So far I love the car. There are a few issues with the AUX jack when you are trying to play from your IPOD and have it charging at the same time, but I'm working on a few solutions for that right now. If everything works, i'll post what I did to correct the ground noise feedback problem. Apparently it is a common problem with the Mazda's, as well as most other new cars with AUX jacks. So beware!

Maceo Parker... and a new car.

So two fun things to post about today. First, I finally got my new car! I picked it up Monday and already put 140 miles on it. It's a black Mazda 3 hatchback and it's super fun to drive. Of course I'm trying to be gentle with it, as the break-in period is 600 miles, but it's just so hard not to hit the gas and go. It's got a bunch of fun features, including a moon roof, 6 disc MP3 player, red back lighting, plenty of storage, and an AUX jack for my ipod. I'll try to get around to posting some pictures soon, but I just haven't taken them off my camera yet.

Also, last night I went to see Maceo Parker. He's the guy that played sax with James Brown, and now has his own band. Over all it was an excellent show. They did a lot of funk, a little blues, and a little rap even! All total he played for about 3 hours, and by midnight I was so tired I didn't think I'd make it home without falling asleep. It was quite a late night for me!

Quick update:

Heather just sent me a link to the hat/scarf set she made me. Check it out here.

It's been a while...

So I guess it's been over a months since I posted something to this. Lots of new things to talk about and lots of crazy stuff happening in my life.

First, I went to France with my parents for 9 days. That was super fun. We saw Paris, Mont St. Michel, Normandy, Bruges, Amserterdam, Rotterdam, and Diana. You can check out my photo site to see some of the pictures. Yea, I know, I need to get flickr but I just haven't done that yet.

Since then I've been traveling like a mad woman! I've been to houston a whole bunch, a wedding in south carolina, and this weekend I'm planning on going back to PA for two days to see karen and the girls and my parents. I'm also planning a wine tour and a mexico trip for this fall... oh yea, and a trip to Disney to see my friend, Rachael, get married.

I'm also getting a new car! yay! I've FINALLY decided on a black mazda 3 hatchback with a moon roof and a Bose sterio system. I'm pretty excited, and i'm sure my friends are super happy about not having to listen to me try to decide on a color anymore. It was a long process and I'm so bad at making decisions. But I decided that black is the way to go, as it was the first one that really attracted my attention to the car, and well, i'll just have to learn how to keep it clean, or let it be dirty all the time.

Also, my friend, Heather, made this freaken awesome scarf for me. She's super talented at this knitting thing. I haven't seen it done yet, but the first part of it that I saw, looked super sweet.

And finally, I managed to sign up for the 25th anniversary of the MS150 ride this April 18/19, 2009. There were 13,000 spots and they filled up in 6 hours! That's a new record I think. I'll also be doing a 'training' ride two weeks before that, riding the Galveston 1/2 ironman relay.

So yea, I guess that gets us caught up. I'll try harder to post to this thing in the future.

Parents Weekend

So my parents were down this past weekend. It was awesome. We really got a lot done in the backyard. Not only did we clean up all the leaves, but we rented a chain saw and cut down a few dead trees, and installed a stone pathway leading from the side of the house to the center of the yard. It was really hot out, but we got most of the work done during the day, and we had a fan outside with us to keep us cool. My dad even got a little happy with the chain saw, and started cutting a lot of stuff down! Check out the pictures here. It was also close to my moms birthday, so we gave her a birthday surprise... dinner at Emeril's Restrauant in Orlando, FL at the kitchen table. Of course she'll have to wait until December to get this gift, but I know she's excited.

Also. On Thursday night at 12:37am (technically Friday morning), Pete and Jess had their baby boy. James Bradley LeBlond. 8 lbs, 8oz and 20" long. Congrats Pete and Jess! (check out their baby pictures here)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM

A few quick posts.

So first... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Secondly... Pete and Jess are going to be parents soon! Good Luck Jess. I wish you a very very speedy delivery.

July 29th, 2008

First off, tomorrow is my moms birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! She's getting an awesome surprise, but since she may read this blog before then, I can't post yet what it is.

Secondly, I found these awesome mountain biking trails last time I was in Houston. Okay, well awesome by Houston standards :) It's called Jack Brooks Park and it's off exit 15 (or 17) on HW45 near the dog track. I would say that the terrain difficulty is less than that of Walnut Creek, but there are many more man made obstacles, including several see-saws, wooden bridges and winding/banked wooden paths. It's all one-way single track, making it easy to achieve speed without fearing that you're about to hit someone. Online forums say it's about 7 miles long.


Also, check out this cute picture of Dante that a friend took for me. This was taken at the lake behind my office.

It's been a while...

So It's been a while since I last posted. I kept meaning to write, but couldn't find the time. My latest project has been creating a rope rug out of my old climbing rope. I found a pattern online and gave it a try. The rug turned out really well, but a bit small. It only used about 30m of the rope, so i wrapped some of the extra rope around the outside to make it a little bigger. I'll probably use the last 20m or so to make another rug, but maybe just circular this time.

Dante has been doing well. He's made friends with Cooper, my friends 10 month old black lab. Which is nice, because they stick together at the dog park... for the most part. Both equally ignoring their masters. Maybe that's not such a good thing. Tug-of-war is their favorite game. And they both love the water.

Also, last night, was the Rapha Roller Races. This video is from Portland, but you get the idea. The races were held at Mellow Johnny's bike shop, which is Lance Armstrong's new shop here in Austin. Over all it was a good time.

My parents are coming down in three weeks, so stay tuned for pictures of the house. We'll be doing a lot of work on the yard and the garage area.

Doggies and Crits

So this weekend was the AMLI Crit in downtown Austin. It was also my first weekend with my new dog, Dante. I've taken lots of pictures of him and posted them HERE. Before he came home Friday night, I decided to give the cats a bath so they would look all nice and fresh for him... they weren't too excited. Saturday morning I immediately took him out to Reimers for some climbing and he did really well with the other dogs and hiking. Saturday afternoon he had to stay home while I watched the AMLI Crit downtown. There were just too many people, and he was already a bit stressed from getting a new home.

As a side note... on the way downtown to the crit, I tried to jump a curb on my new bike, and ended up face first on the pavement with the rear axle of my bike crashing down upon my head. Fortunately, I had a spare shirt with me to soak up all the blood, and eventually about 6 hours later, it stopped bleeding. I probably should have gone to the hospital, but I was really excited about watching the crit. Above, are two pictures from the race. The picture on the left is from the pro race, and the picture on the right is from the mens cat 123 race. It was an awesome day, besides the head cut, and all the racers did really well.

On Sunday, Dante came with to the Austin St. Hospital Crit, and he enjoyed being outside with the other doggies. He's really such a sweetheart, and loves other dogs. This crit was a little more low key, so he did very well. I also took him to the dog park and let him play in the water for a few hours. Man, he loves the water!

Crits All Weekend

So, I wasn't going to post again until after I got my doggie, but I wanted to tell everyone about the AMLI Crit this weekend. It's downtown near 2nd and Lavaca and will be packed with people and riders from around the country. Be sure to check it out. The Jrs. race starts at 2pm and the Men's PRO race at 8:15, with lots of other categories in between. It's really a lot of fun.

Also, the Thursday night Crit series will be having a PRO night this week, due to the AMLI Crit on Saturday. See you there!

UPDATE: There will also be a Crit on Sunday at the Austin State Hospital. The eRacing Stigma Crit starts at 9am with the Cat 4 Women, and the Pro 1 Men's group is at 1:10pm, with lots of other races before, after, and in between.

New Doggie!

So next week I will be adding to my family... I'm getting a new dog. Well, a puppy really. He is 7 months old and has been training for the last 4 months at the Triple Crown Dog Academy here in Austin. He's a rescue dog from the Blue Dog Rescue group. I'm very excited to have him in the house, and I've already got lots of fun toys and treats for his arrival. This Sunday I'll be going up to train with him at the academy and then next Friday I can bring him home! So far, I've got new pet names narrowed down to: Dante, Diego, and Max. What do you think is the best name for him?

My New Bike

So it's only been a few days, but I thought I'd post a quick picture of my new bicycle. It's a 2005 Bianchi Pista Concept track bike. I'm really excited to take it out and ride. Currently I only have it set up with a free wheel, but it's got a flip flop hub and in a few days I'll probably flip it over to a fixed gear.

Some yard work...

A lot has happened in the last few days. Last Saturday night I found out that there was a leak in my main water pipe under the house. No good. So over the next three days a trench was dug in the front yard so the plumber could come replace the pipe. Also during this time, there was no water going into the house. Basically it was like camping but without the stars or campfire. I choose to take showers at work for those few days. But now the new pipe is in, and there is much more water pressure in the house than before... and no leaks under the house. While the plumber was here he showed me the inside of the old pipe. It was all clogged up and nasty, and you couldn't even see through it. It's amazing I even had any water pressure to begin with.

Also, the city decided that today would be a great day for them to dig up the gas line on the street and replace it. The nice thing about this, is that the city is going to replace the main gas line to my house too... for free! One less thing to worry about in the future.

Finally, this weekend is my friends baby shower. Stay tuned for cake pictures and stories!

7 years later...

7 years ago today a friend of mine, Amy, chose to have elective liposuction surgery. She was a freshman at Penn State University, and had just completed her first year. She went in for the surgery that day a bright and happy person... unfortunately she only lived to see another 2 days. What happened in her surgery was a case of great negligence by the doctors and the nurses. Last Friday (5/23) a jury handed down a $20 million dollar verdict against the doctor and staff for their negligence... his medical license is currently under review because of this case, and two other cases similar to it (fortunately the other two victims lived). I'm very happy to see that the doctor in this case was found guilty and for the fact that more people will now be aware of this guys medical history. If the family should ever see a cent of this money, they will be using it toward a scholarship fund in Amy's name. Read the articles below to learn more...

http://www.nbc10.com/investigators/16377683/detail.html?dl=mainclick

and some highlights from a different article...

For five weeks, the jury listened to testimony about the death of the 18-year-old from Newtown Square, Delaware County, who was an honors student at Penn State University.

In May 2001, she went to Glunk's plastic surgery office in King of Prussia for liposuction on her legs, stomach and under her chin. "He brought Amy Fledderman to his office and told her, 'You'll be as safe in my office as you'll be in a hospital,' and clearly she wasn't," said Slade McLaughlin, Fledderman's attorney.

Jurors heard testimony that Glunk's ambulatory surgical center was not licensed by the state for this kind of liposuction procedure and that, during the surgery, Glunk hit a blood vessel, then waited for two-and-a-half hours to call for an ambulance. Fledderman died of a fat embolism -- a common risk of liposuction -- two days after surgery.

Meanwhile, the state has held hearings considering revoking Glunk's medical license based on the Fledderman case and two others. The NBC 10 Investigators have reported about Daniel Antolini. He received a major monetary settlement after he said Glunk punched a hole in his bowel while performing liposuction. Records show another woman received a settlement after she said she nearly died from Glunk's liposuction surgery days before Fledderman's death.

Memorial Day

Memorial day weekend was awesome. I headed to Houston on Friday afternoon to meet up with my friends, Phil and Heather, for a few days. On Friday night a friend was nice enough to take us to the Houston Astro's game, then we went out to the Flying Saucer for a few drinks. Saturday we all chilled and at night headed to a party where a few bands were playing to benefit charity. One of the bands that played was Death Carpet Trio (DC3), you should check them out on iTunes. If you wanna hear an interesting song, check out "Al's Diner." After getting back into town on Sunday I headed out to Pace Bend, which i would not recommend on a holiday weekend. There were way too many drunk idiots that we only stayed for an hour before leaving. Today, Memorial Day, will be a nice relaxing and lazy day cleaning up the house and shopping for some pet toys.... maybe i'll even bake a cake :)

Another week has begun...

So first of all... My friends, Christen and Merrick, got engaged this weekend! YAY!!! Many congratulions to them :) In fact, Friday night we all went out and celebrated... though many of us drank way too much, and had a slow recovery the next day. But Christen was surprised by the whole thing and she had a great time, so it was all worth it.

Also this weekend was Brian's "Cross Catasstrophy" race. It was a great turnout and lots of fun. People seemed to really enjoy racing around the hike-n-bike trail at night while getting pummeled with water balloons... go figure.

While that was basically the excitement of the weekend, check out this new blender I got. For those of you in the market for a new blender, this is definitely the way to go. okay, okay... it's a little expensive. But I'm telling you, this blender kicks ass. It's got the best blade system out there and even makes SNOW! Yes, it has a button for making snow from ice... how cool is that! Plus it makes great smoothies and milkshakes.

Musings of the Week

So it's only Wednesday, but i'm inclined to write about some interesting stuff going on around this joint.

Firstly, check out these cool useless night lights that they have at IKEA now. They work with or without a cord and you push their heads to turn them on/off. Okay, like i said, useless, but yet strangely amusing and entertaining. Thanks to my friend, Pete and Jess, for introducing them to us. (oh yes, and as Pete proved, they are quite indestructible)

There has also been quite a lengthy discussion about retro-bolting some 5.9 routes out at Reimers Ranch this week (Backflip and My Name is Mud on Deadcats Wall). The shortened version of the discussion is this: At what lengths should the climbing community go to ensure that "easy" routes for beginners and beginner leaders are bolted 'safely' and what exactly defines 'safely.' Some feel that these routes carry too much risk due to current bolt placement, for beginners. Let me just make my opinion clear... climbing is a risk, leading is a risk, deal with it. I don't feel that there is currently any danger on My Name is Mud and that we shouldn't give the false impression to beginners that we are going to hold their hands and place bolts every 3 feet. As it stands now, this route is only 30 feet tall with 3-4 bolts plus chains, and a bommer clipping stance at the 3rd clip. If you get sketched, come down, top rope the climb... nuf said.

Okay, lastly, for those of you in Austin that don't know about the Jack and Adam's core workouts, you should check them out. Every Monday & Wednesday at 5:45pm for 1 hour at Jack and Adam's bike shop on Barton Springs and S. Lamar. The classes are free, but show up by 5:30 to get a good spot. Also they are outside and rain or shine.... bring a yoga mat or towel to lay on the ground. Mondays tend to be a harder workout with more pushups, while Wednesdays are a bit less strenuous, but still difficult, with more of a core workout. For those that climb on Tuesday's, I tend to find the Monday workout to be a little overkill on the arms, that I'm still sore for my Tuesday climbing.

- Happy Wednesday.

One more thing.... BIKE RACE THIS SUNDAY (5/18) - Hike n' Bike trail along Town Lake... start time 9pm at the Lamar Ped Bridge... bring lights!!! If you've never ridden the trail before, do so before Sunday night... it will be dark and there is a lot of construction going on... oh yes, and costumes are definitely encouraged!

My First Blog...

This past weekend was awesome. I went out to Lake LBJ with a friend and spent some time riding jet ski's and relaxing at the lake. I hadn't been jet skiing in years, so it was great to get out again. After a bit of hesitation, I found myself fairly comfortable on the thing. Though I was way sore the next day! Some friends of mine also introduced me to this game called Blokus. I suggest you check it out if you've never played. It's a great two-four player strategy game that's tetras in nature, and only takes about 10 -15 minutes to play. Great for those down days or just at night when relaxing at home. Oh, and I've also started cycle training on the south mopac 8 mile loop. I was able to pull off the loop at 19.1mph on saturday. It's not great, but it's a start. My ultimate goal is 3 loops at an average of 24mph.