Looking Back and Ahead

Happy New Year everyone. It is hard to believe that 2007 is almost finished. It is true what they say that time seems to go faster as you get older, There are many times I want to say "Just Slow Down".

2007 brought some new feline companions to us. We found homes for 4 of them, lets just say that the rest keep us warm at night.

I rode 1/2 of the Brrr ride, it was very cold that day.

March brought the Newton Community Theater production of No No Nannette, in which I played the grumpy maid. No type casting there.

I did my first Triathlon in August, as did my good friend Julie S. We both finished and lived to tell about it. Acually the tri bug has bitten us both. If you want to follow our training for 2008 please go to our blog
www.2julesandabike.blogspot.com, JS and I will be keeping a journal of how our training is going.

This fall I went to a couple of cycle cross races, I really enjoyed watching them and hope to try one this next year.

2008 is going to be a life change for me, I need to take better care of me. I have been letting this part of my life get pushed to the back. Not anymore. I am going to eat better, exercise more, even learn to meditate if that what it takes. I am going to simplify me. It sounds simple however I know it will be a struggle. Not much in life worth doing is not a struggle.

I hope that your 2007 was productive and that your 2008 is all that you wish for.

PEACE.

What is wrong with this picture...?

Oh the joys of having young cats. A few years ago I bought Bill a Palm Christmas Tree, well now you can see why we cannot have a real one. It would not last a day. I was wanting to hang stockings across the door however I hung one up and had to pull Winston off of the screen because he wanted to play with it. So the Palm Christmas Tree is all the decorations we have in the house. I hope that it can last until after Christmas! If you will notice in the pictures there is a wine holder full of wine. Bill's parents gave me a case of different wines for Christmas. Bless their hearts they know what it takes to put up with Bill and all of the cats. :) Peace!

The fix is on

There is a neat web site called www.alliedautowatch.com If you have allied insurance and a vehicle getting fixed. You put in your phone number and you can watch the progress of your vehicles repair. Scooter is suppose to be finished on Monday. I am going to be afraid to drive him, he will looks so nice.

Putting Up Christmas Lights

Bill and I put up Christmas Lights Sunday and we had a little Help. Oliver climbed up the ladder and got stuck on the dormer so Bill had to help him down.

The Deer Lost

Bill had a little run in with a deer. The poor deer lost however the car was a close second. Scooter goes in Wed to get fixed.

Art By Tommy Original

I am the proud owner of an original Art By Tommy. I even got to watch him work for a little bit until his bodyguard showed up and scared me away.

Below is a photo of Tommy hard at work or at least he was until he realized that I was watching.



I just had time to snap the next picture as his friend and bodyguard Winston showed up. I didnt want to make them mad so I left.



Ah the final masterpiece an Art By Tommy Original on a semi tightly rolled paper medium. I heard that the paper is very expensive. I will treasure forever.



PEACE

We Remember......May We Never Forget

What Bill did on Labor Day

shhhh enough said peace :)

What I did on my labor day vacation...

It was a hectic weekend, however the main focus was we celebrated my mom's 70th birthday. She does not turn 70 until January but this was the only weekend we could all get together. So all three of my sisters and there family's were here from Thurs until Monday. There was alot of laughing, eating and drinking. Below are a few pics from the miniture golf outing.



L to R, Sister Lisa, Sister Susan, nephew Alex, niece Andrea(both are Susan's children), Lisa's husband Dave (Holding Flag)



L to R Niece Maja, Nephew Musa (Lori's children) and Nephew Pete(Susan's)



Nephew Pete(Susan), Sister Lori




Mom Sally and Nephew Will(Susan)

Lori and Susan had the purple shirts made up. On the back it says Sally's 70th birthday world tour. My sister took a picture of it I will post it when I get the picture. I will also have a family pic coming. But I thought that you might enjoy these.

until next time

Peace

I finished...

Today was the Cy-Tri and I can now say that I am a triathlete. I really did not have any idea what to expect but it was exciting to be involved instead of on the outside looking in like I have done so many times.

Bill and I got to the lake around 7:00am, the traffic into the park looked like a funeral procession. Once we were parked we took my stuff to the transition area and found a spot to park the bike and my stuff, after getting that set up we went to the registration tent to get the "chip" and to have my number "11" put on my arms and my age as of Dec 31,2007 "45" put on my leg. I think I had the most fun looking at people ages.

There were 5 "swim" waves so to speak. They send swimmers out in groups so that you do not have 360 people all trying to get the same spot. I was lucky to get in the first wave..the bright you cannot miss orange cap. I elected to start closer to the back of the pack. I had heard horror stories of getting kicked and bumped etc. They are all true. Some guy about lost his foot because he kept kicking me in the boob. needless to say you cannot get into a rythem. Good thing that I knew more than one stroke. I did a little crawl , alittle breast stroke and the little used side stroke. I think that the side stroke worked almost as well as the crawl. I also got a good stomach full of lake water. I do not know for sure what my time was in the swim. The official results are not out yet, but no "Green" caps passed me so I was happy with the.

After getting out of the lake we had to run up this nice little hill, ickky. Bill was yelling encouragements to me over the fence. All I said was I am tired and I had a long way to go.

It took a little bit for my legs to get warmed up on the bike. I did not mind the hills however I could have done without the head wind. So I tried to get as small as possible, kind of hard for a person my size, and then cranked it when the wind was at my back. I finished some where around 50 minutes for a 15.5 mile ride. I was happy with that. What was neat was as I was leaving the transition zone, I heard "There goes Julie" and I recognized the voice as Kristin's. Her, Bruce and the kids had drive up to support me, Julie and the others in the Race.

Next up was the run. I knew that I would have issues with the run. I use to run all of the time however have not been running lately. I was barely training at 3 miles. From the start it was tough. I could not get my heart rate to drop so I would hyper ventilate. So I figured as long as I made it to the finish line I didnt care how I got there. I say that I walked at least 1/2 the run. I was disappoined, In practices I was doing 3 miles in a little over 30 minutes. That was not to be. So I walked trotted, and encouraged others on. I have to say the crowd was great. They were the ones that kept me going. Each little bit of encouragement was very much appreciated.

I finished at around 1 hour 52 minutes. I was both happy and disappointed. I wanted to do it in under 2 hours however I knew I was well below that when I started the run. I need to keep telling myself that I finished. It was my first tri and the goal was to finish. Not to bad for a 44 year old over weight female.

I want to thank Bill he was a great support crew. He went and got stuff for me that I had left in the truck. He yelled encourgement to me constantly. I know that I do not give him enough credit. He even pulled over to the side of the road in time for me to get sick on the way home. Now is that love or what. Love you Bill.

Thank you Julie S. for asking me to do the tri and for training with me when we could find the time.

Thanks to Kyle S., Kyle's parents and Bruce and Kristin, for there support.

To everyone who yelled encouragement to me even though they did not know me. You have no Idea what that ment and how much it helped.

Will I do another one? I would say yes however there will need to be alot of changes in me. Bill took some pic and they do not lie, I have alot of work to do and the first one is weight. I am over weight and it really effects how a person feels. It is going to be a tough battle since I am a stress eater and work is stressful at the moment. However it must be done so it will be done. I need to work on my running which is just going to take time, I have run a marathon, I can get up to 6 miles. I need to get in the lake more to figure out the best way to swim and I just need to keep doing what I am doing on the bike.

Peace, ride safe and if you have any desire to do a tri...GO FOR IT!

It is now time for me to go to bed, I am tired and it has been a long day!

The most beautiful sport

As I sat watching the Final stage of the 2007 Tour de France this morning I got to thinking about what a beautiful sport cycling is. In America we are so use to dealing with the it's all about me attitude of professional athletes. I want the most money, I want the fame I I I I I ....for the past three weeks I have watched young men tear themselves apart to help out their team leaders, they know that they have no chance of winning a stage or winning the tour but they are proud to help try and get their leader a win. Where else do you see athletes who are bruised, broken and stiched together continue on for the sake of their team.

Professional Cyclists are the most drugged tested athletes in the world, if they are caught or though to be using drugs they are suspended or fired. Maybe Americans need to take this attitude, but no we just ignore because once again it all comes back to money.

Cyclists dont ride for the money they ride for the love of the sport, it gets in your blood and in your soul. I am proud to be a cyclist, I know that I will never be great, I know that I will never be fast but that does not mean that when I am flying down a hill or climbing up one that I cannot for a moment pretend that I am riding up one of the epic climbs of the Tour de France, or any of the other great tours. You never know one day I might just get over there and try but until then I am proud to be a member of one of the most beautiful sports in the world..cycling.

PEACE...keep riding and keep safe.

800

Well I have hit the 800 mile mark since April. I am happy with that and I think that I can achieve my goal of 2000. I think that I am finally getting my cycling legs back now if I could just get my running legs back. Oh well one thing at a time.

PEACE

Where have they gone...

Where have all of the cool bad boys on motorcycles gone? All I see are NOT cool fat boys on Motorcycles.....

My babies are growing up

Thomas and Winston are 10 weeks old today. They are a joy to have around and would love to keep them, however I am still looking for a loving home to take both of them. I will not split them up now they take such good care of each other.

Training

Well I would like to report that the training is going great and wonderful, however that would not be true. The swimming and the biking are going very well. The running is not going so well. I went out for a run on Tuesday and did only 1/2 of what I should have done. Ok it was 100 degrees in the shade but it was discouraging. Tonight I went out for my run and again was not able to complete what my training sheet told me that I needed to do. As I walked home I kept thinking why am I doing this. A big part of being able to do multi sport events or endurance events is you have to be tough mentally. I am having trouble mentally, I am very tired mentally. I use to be able to just clear my mind when I ran and hopefully I will be able to get back there, but for now I am struggling.

PEACE

HOT!!!!

I stated in Feb that I was crazy by trying to do the Brrr ride in 10 degrees below zero, well I am still crazy I rode Sunday in 95+ degree weather in the Ride for Sight. From Ankeny to Colfax went great. Not to hot and the wind behind us but once we left Colfax things went down hill real fast. It was like the temp had gone up 20 degrees in 10 minutes. It got miserable and hilly. One of my regular riding routes is to Ira and the trail so I knew what we were in for. So once we got to Ira we hopped on the trail to Mingo. Well that is where I made a big mistake. I chose for Julie and I to take the rode instead of the trail. I had been on the trail many time but never been on the road now I know why it was hilly, hot and windy. Julie did a great job getting up the hills however the heat was to much. She decided to quit at mile 49. Another gentleman also stopped so I called the sag wagon and decided to troop on. There were a few more hills then I turned South and it was like a furnace hitting me in the face. I can usually handle the wind and heat if I take it slow however the combination on Sunday was deadly. I couldnt take enough water in the even begin to cool me off. I kept riding until the sag wagon caught up with me and then I gave it up. I rode 60 miles I would have loved to do the whole thing however I knew that I was near my limit when my heartrate wouldnt drop on the flats.

After I got home I took a nice shower and tried to take a nap however that was not to be after about a 1/2 hour the muscle spasms started. This spasm started in the arch of my foot, went up the inside of my leg into my groin. You know how with a charlie horse your muscle freezes up. That is what this was doing all the way up my leg. I didnt know whether to scream, puke or passout. I finally got down on the floor drank some water then bent my knee. This seemed to take the cramp out. Of course Bill was not home to be my hero. All of the action was done by the time he walked in the door.

I took today off and just rested. Tomorrow it is back to training. I just need to be more careful in the heat. Heat exhaustion in not something you want to mess around with.

I ride by myself so much that I can sometimes forget if there is someone with me. I need to be aware of how Julie is doing. I am lucky I have the chance to get out and ride during the week where Julie is busy with other responsibilities. She did great riding 49 miles, I am proud of her she rode with guts up the hills and in that miserable hot/windy weather. Sunday was not a day to be doing alot of physical exercise and she was out there determained to get as many miles in as she could. I will be more aware next time, getting the miles is not worth hurting a friend.

Peace...stay cool..keep riding carefully

Training Update

I feel that the training is going well. I am not to concerned about the biking and swimming. The running has me a bit nervous. The legs are going NO we don't want to run. So we are having a battle of the wills so to speak. I am more of a distance runner so I am trying to do some "sprints"(I use the word sprint very lightly) to get the legs to move alittle faster. So it is 3 minute sprint one minute trot etc. It is a slow process but I will get there or die trying.

Swimming I have been doing 50 sprints with 15 second rest then doing 100 sprints with a slow 50 rest. Then I have been doing some distance swimming. Biking I will try to maintain a mph between houses or stop signs. I will also try to power up hills.

It is so much easier to get out and do something when you have a goal that you want to reach.

Sunday Julie S. and I are going to do the Ride for Sight. It is suppose to be hot so we are both starting to hydrate now. We will need all of the fluids that we can get. It will be a great training ride.

Well until next time..PEACE and stay cool.

Kitten Update

It has been awhile since I have updated on the kittens. They will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. That is hard to believe. I am having a harder time finding good homes for these two and if we keep them much longer they will not be going anywhere. We are quite attached to them. Betty Boop the mother of the first set of kittens went to visit the vet this week and got fixed so no more babies for her. Spaz will be going for a visit in a couple of weeks. We spend so much money and time there I hope they name an exam room after us. :).

This is a picture of Thomas taking a nap in the kitty sling.



Thomas and Master Winston Greybeard(I let Bill name one and look what the poor thing has to put up with...)



Bill and Thomas napping. Bill is proud of this pic, most of the time the cats are laying with me.

Well I am doing it....

Julie S. asked if I wanted to do the sprint tri with her and I decided I would. I had created an exercise blog at the beginning of the year so last night I changed it over to my training blog for the tri. The address is below if you are interested.
I call it julesdream because I have a few athletic dreams that I would like to do. One being a tri another biggie being to ride the classic Alps in France.

Until later...PEACE

www.julesdream.blogspot.com

Saturday Pieathlon/cross ride

Saturday Julie S. and I rode the 1st annual pieathlon in Adel. It was a great day for a ride. We both decided to skip the run just not quite ready for that. The first part of our 30+ mile bike ride went as expected. On the road not to many hills. Once we hit the Raccoon River Valley trail we started to see a difference. Friday night a storm had gone thru and there was all kinds of brush on the trail. Not to mention big ole trees across the trail. We went from road riding to Cross riding. What a hoot. Of course neither one of us had a camera. We were dragging our bikes over and under branches. I will be very surprised if I do not end up with poison Ivy or something ickky. It was a nice ride. The only issue I had with the whole ride was they ran out of pie. Julie actually got the last piece of apple pie. The lady selling the pie said that people were buying whole pies at a time. hmmm Maybe I need to start a pie baking business if they are that popular. Oh well it was a great day all around. Julie is over 1/2 way to her riding goal for the year. She will easily make it and probably double it. Our next adventure is the Cycle for Sight on July 8th.

PEACE

What a Week

It was a difficult week for me. 4 of the 6 kittens have gone to their new homes. I know that they will be well taken care of however It broke my heart to see them go.

Bob went to his new home on Thursday, He and his new papa Kyle i have heard are bonding quite well. Big kitty sister Ty on the other hand is have a few issues. That is to be expected. They will work things out.

Stevie and Phillip who I call the twins went to their farm on Friday. I had tears streaming down my face as we drove to Otley to drop them off. Poor Bill he was a real trooper thru all of this. Stevie and Phillip have there own kittie house in the middle of a bunch of BIG evergreen trees. They were having a ball exploring their new home when we left. I feel better after having seen the set up.

Ellie got picked up by her new mommie on Saturday afternoon. By that time I was all cried out. Ellie will have a good home with 3 little boys and two other cats to play with.

These leaves Winston and Thomas. I was hoping to move them out on the front porch after the bigger kitties left however it is to hot for them so they are now running around my living room, having a great time.

Yesterday Julie S. and I went on a nice bike ride on the Des Moines trail. We climbed the DAM hill then ended up at Irwins where Bill got a tandem ready for us to ride in the Johnston parade. I thought that we did quite will having never rode a tandem together. We didnt hit anyone or run into anything. If we ever ride a tandem again it will need to be adjusted better. Julie had an awful seat and my seat was to low but we had fun. Just an FYI if you ever ride in a parade with Kyle R. and Mark be ready to duck when they throw candy they are terrible. I think i got hit with more candy then they got to the kids. Mark threw a piece of candy and smacked some poor girl in the head. In their defense I am sure that it is not easy to ride a unicycle and throw candy. Well after the parade Julie and I dropped off the tandem and then rode our bikes back to her house. I stopped at Target on my way home and then drove home, however I didnt get my nap, I was to busy playing with the kittens.

Today(Sunday) it is hot and muggie.The Hy-Vee triathelon is going on this afternoon I know a few people that are participating and have thought about going to watch but I think that I will just stay home and get some things done, maybe get a bike ride in later. I do wish them all luck. I admire people who can do that. I hope to one day do a tri, I am not a sprinter so it would have to be a distance one. I need to find someone who wants to train with me to help motivate me.

Next week Julie S. and I are going to do the Pieathalon in Adel. You run, bike and eat pie. It is to raise money for cancer research. It should be alot of fun.

That about it for now. Stay cool.

PEACE

Kids big adventure

We had an exciting weekend, but first I found out something really important in a kitten world...Pooping is a spectator sport. When one goes they all go.

Friday's adventure...we played in the grass for the first time. I put a blanket on the yard and put the kittens on the blanket. You would have thought I had put them in the middle of a lake. First one paw...then quick pull it back, then another and quick pull it back...then I turned around and there goes Phillip...after that I saw 3 of the little bugger trying to climb the tree. So I got Bill to help me watch them. Well Bill flunks kitten watching 101. I had to coax one out from under the deck..needless to say our adventure thus ended. But they had fun.

Saturday's adventure was to go to see Dr Curry and the girls at the Vet clinic. The first check up. They were little troopers, we put them in the carrier and they fell asleep. Once we got to the vets Bill took care of two and I took Two. Alas Bill flunked kitten sitting at the vets 101. My two laid on my lap and fell asleep, Bill was chasing his all over the place. Two weighed 2 lbs and 2 weighed 1.8 lbs. Little tankers. We got our temp taken that was not a big hit then we got our first shots. After that it was back home where once again they fell asleep in the carrier.

We were told that they would not be as playful as normal because of the shot. I wonder if they knew this they were running all over the place.

Well today was a leisurly day....



In less than two weeks they will all be at their new homes. It takes 7-14 days for the shots to reach full potential. It is going to be sad to see them go.

My two little ones are getting real active. They are starting to fight and sniff at the food. Little Thomas had an adventure he got under the work bench then the tread mill. Mama was frantic. Finally Bill pushed him out and I grabbed him. So what does the little poop do, he tries to do it again. That pathway has been blocked by a cardboard poster roll. So Thomas will have to find another way out.

I did get a couple of rides in this weekend. Went hilling and I can really feel it in my legs. I am close to 500 miles since the beginning of April. I know for some that is not alot but I am happy with that.

Well Be happy and safe. PEACE

Kittens

Updated pics of my babies.



Bob is being adopted by a very nice family that already have a cat. I told them to warn there other cat that a cyclone is going to be coming soon. He is a little terror but a lovable terror.




Phillip and Stevie are going to be farm cats in Otley. They will be good mousers.




Thomas and Ellie are going to a home here in Newton. This home has three boys and a couple of cats. But they are a cat family.



Winston still needs an adoptive family. He is a very shy and adorable kitten.

PEACE

How I spent my weekend...

PEACE

More Babies..

Here are pictures of the 2 week olds..they are kind of shy. The gray one is Winston and the yellow is Thomas

It is a Privilege

I have the privilege of being the care taker for two sets of kittens. 4 of them are 5 weeks old and 2 of them are 2 weeks old. The 5 weeks old kittens are on our porch on what I am calling the nursery. I had forgotten how utterly enjoyable kittens can be. I will sit out there for hours just watching and playing with them. It is such a pleasure watching them figure out new things for the first time. Tasting food, drinking water, learning how to give themselves a bath and the biggie going pottie in the litter pan. It is so cute they concentrate so hard and have to find that perfect spot to go. I am getting very attached to them and have a feeling that Bill will have to pry them from me when it is time for them to be adopted out. I know that I cannot keep them all however that does not mean giving them away will be any easier.

This is Elli the only girl in the whole bunch. She can be a little princess at times however she can beat up on her brothers when she feels like it.



Stevie and Phillip are identical. The only difference is that Phillip got scratched in the eye so it waters alittle however once that heals the only way that I can tell is that Phillip has a darker spot on one foot. There eyes are starting to change color, I think that they will have golden eyes like there mom.





Geoffrey is the result of an accident in the color factory. He is gold tiger stripe with white paws, that have yellow spots on the toes, a white belly and black hair over a gold tail. He is a sweetie.





Then there is Miss Betty Boop, mama. She also needs a home. She showed up this winter. Betty is an incredibly loving cat.



I know you are asking why dont I keep them, well I have 5 adult cats in the house now and 2 kittens. I cannot hold any more. I call the inside cats the geriatrics. Three of them are over 13, one is 17 and then there is Posom she is 4.

Aside from taking care of kittens I have started to ride my bike more. I rode 40 miles on Friday then 22 on Sunday. I am hoping to get out more however the weather has not cooperated very well.

That is about it keep biking and remember "There is no yesterday and no tomorrow, live for today"

PEACE

Even in Death Life goes on....

Two weeks ago this saturday I had a friend die of cancer she was only 46 I am 44. Believe me when I say this hit close to home. Even though she smoked like a smoke stack that does not mean in two years that I will not be sticken with cancer. However life goes on. I had a very enjoyable girls day out with Julie and Alexa S. We rode the mayors ride. Great day, great ride, great friend. This morning I get a call from Bill, Seymour one of the cats that we had adopted had been hit and killed by a car. I was and am second guessing myself should I have taken him to the animal rescue league. Would he have been better off there. Bill and I aquired 5 cats from the neighbors when they just left them, I loved them like I did my own house cats. However life goes on. One of the adoptes had 4 kittens on Tuesday and Seymour is one of the dads. Death is very difficult however we need to live life to the fullest for we have no idea what tomorrow bring. I want all of you to give a hug and tell those the you love that you love them. whether they are people or animals. Dont let anyone fool you animals have feeling to. There is a saying that starts out like this...Dance as if no one is watching...I love to dance music is good for the soul ..Tonight I have been drinking toasts to those friend that I have lost....Animal and people...thank you for being a friend and I hope that you are at the pearly gates waiting for me when it is my time to go...Until then I am going to do alot of dancing...come and dance with me...PEACE

The Final Curtain has Closed

Since December all of my time and energy has been on the play No No Nanette, from learning lines to helping build the set. As with anything in life all good things must come to an end. Last night the final curtain closed on NCT's production of No No Nanette. It was a great run for the theater and the cast. I am having what they call post production depression. It usually happens. For the past 4 months I have been so focused on the play and then it is all over. I know in my heart that it is time for something else however I will miss the people and the performances.

The show was set in the 1920's so that ment pen curls and for some reason my hair took the longest..














I was the crabby maid













However a play is not all work we have alot of fun goofing around....











So the final curtain has fallen and I thank all of the cast/crew for a great show!







My biking has been put on hold for the play, now the bike and road are calling to me. It is time to make up some miles and enjoy the nature that God has created.

PEACE...