What a mess!

I thought I loved the way my blog looked, but I decided that it's a huge mess. Yuck! Maybe with this next week that I have off, I'll simplify it again.

Isn't that always the way?  The time we take for ourselves is more often than not spent cleaning up the loose ends we let get away while we were busy with work/responsibilites/etc.

In addition to cleaning up my mess this next week, I'm looking forward to making some messes. Whether they be in the kitchen, in the piles of snow we have, or with wrapping paper.  I'm ready to be around those I love. It's been too long.

I'm a Grouch(o)!

Heeeey guys! Guess what?! I've recently been given the honor of being part of the Groucho Sports Team! You get to read even MORE about my adventures!


Okay, enough with the exclamation points, but you guys missed one rad "happy dance" when I found out they wanted me to write for them.  So who/what is Groucho Sports?  Oh, I'm glad you asked! They are a sportswear company striving to provide quality stuff for a righteous price.  If you're curious to find out more, you can read all about them on their blog.

I'm super excited to be a part of this group of contagiously-enthusiastic individuals. I have a feeling that it's going to be a wild ride, so stay tuned for updates on our shenanigans.

All That is Fall

Note: this post was started during the warm stretch and JUST finished it, just in case you're going, "um...hello...it's already FREEZING out there, idiot".

We got an early dose of autumn here in Minnesota (read: it was cold and gloomy), which quickly faded into the much-loved and rarely appearing "Indian Summer". Yuck, I hate that term. Please hold....

Okay, so after taking a jog over to Wikipedia, I found out that I can also refer to the phenomenon as "St. Martin's Summer", or if I want to stick to my German roots, "Altweibersommer". Done and done.

Anyway, we've been enjoying a stretch of said Altwiebersommer, and quite frankly it has been amazing. Soon however, the comfortable temps will fade away and the explosion of outdoor activity will calm down, and we will fall back into our normal seasonal cycle. (Pun intended.) This warming period that is delaying the inevitable has given me a chance to reflect on the things I love about autumn in the Midwest. So I'm going to be incredibly self-indulgent and tell you about a few of my favorite things. (Cue thunderstorm and kids singing along...)

Let's just start with the obvious; Color!! Fall probably makes me a road hazard with all of my "ooing and aaaahhhing" at the bright reds, flashy yellows and warm orange colors painting our treetops.  It's all I can do to not pull over and take pictures on my daily commute. Next on my list of favorites are bushels of APPLES!!!  So I know that in this wonderful modern world apples are available year-round, but the crispy Macintosh apples, and the insanely flavorful Honeycrisp apples just bring me to that warm and cozy place.

Speaking of cozy, this time of year means I get to bring all of my wonderful sweaters out of hiding and very soon don my wonderful mittens that my awesome roommate made me last year. All of these warm, wooly things make me a little less forlorn that summer is not to be seen for another six months.

I could continue along this path of listing all of the things that make autumn in the midwest phenomenal, but I'm sure that most of you are aware of these wonderful things, so I will bid you adieu and let you get to brewing your hard cider.

I don't write enough, so it's time for a change.

I think this is because I write for a living, so the last thing I want to do when I get home is write, but it's time to UNLEASH.

As Darkwing Duck used to say..."Let's get dangerous".

New goal: write at least once a week, even if it's just a couple of sentences. Will check back/revise goal in a month.

Let's do this!

It only took 100 miles...

I apologize that it took so long for me to finish this post. I was incredibly emotional after finishing America's Most Beautiful Bike ride and had a hard time putting my thoughts into words. This is still kind of work in progress, so it might change as my emotions stop stealing my words.

I am not a half-way kind of person. I cannot only commit half of myself to a cause, idea, or project. It's not really in me to be overly cautious with new experiences or adventures. I'm of the mindset that if something scares the crap out of you, you should probably do it, because it will probably turn out to be a fun and rewarding experience. So with this mindset, I decided that my first "official" cycling event should be 100 miles long. Yup, I'm certifiably crazy. I thought so myself when I first signed up for the ride, and I'm still not sure that I'm legally sane. With that said, let me tell you what I learned in only 100 miles.

Teamwork:
I learned that there is nothing more powerful than a group of individuals working towards a common goal that they really believe in. Being surrounded by the Team In Training participants from all over North America while I pedaled along in Tahoe was incredibly inspiring. The comraderie and support from total strangers is still absolutely mind-blowing to me.

Discipline: As anyone close to me will tell you, when it comes to personal physical limitations or anything that involves an incredibly exciting outcome, I am not a patient person. Because of this, I found it difficult to spend the time to train properly and build up to that distance was a learning experience. Because of my coach, and the results I saw as we stuck it out, I learned that there's a rhyme and a reason to taking the time to do things "properly".

Faith/Belief in myself:  I learned that I really can do anything if I believe in myself. Sounds lame and cheesy, but it's absolutely the truth. I may not have believed in myself 100% of the time, but when I wasn't entirely sure that I was going to even make it to the starting line, there was my team, cheering me on and encouraging me to keep pedaling. It was because of them, and their faith in me that I made it to the finish line.  Also, faith that what I was doing was helping my cousin and others with Leukemia or Lymphoma fight for their lives. If they can fight for their lives, I can certainly climb some hills to help them out.

Gratitude: I wouldn't be here, writing these words about lessons learned if it wasn't for my team and those friends and family that listened to/sweated with me/donated/sent words of encouragement.

Below is a link to a video that one of my team members made of our adventure. It's kind of long, and I still can't watch it without getting all choked up, but it will give you an idea of what my experience was like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGPSF613Hk8

I have many moms

First of all, I would like to say happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mother. She gave birth to me, and continues to guide me in my daily life. I'm not yet a mother myself, but I hear that the bond between mother and child is something that cannot be touched by anything else. I would have to agree, seeing as my mom is my best friend and I would be utterly lost without her at times. She still leaves me in awe to this day as I watch her continue to change the world with her kind heart.

I would also like to thank all of the other women in my life that have taken on the role of "mother" in my story. My stepmom is a wonderful example, not only because of the title she has been given, but because of the unconditional love and support she has given me from the age of three, all without actually giving birth to me. Sure, we've had our differences, but everyone has a time where they don't see eye-to-eye with their parents. She has truly been a force of nature in my life, and having her as a role model has been a great thing in my life.

More recently, I have become aware of my "other moms". They are coworkers, friends and other people's moms that have taken an interest in my life.  Being 4.5 hours away from a decent mom-hug, it has been a blessing to have these women in my life. They may not know me as well as my own family, but having dynamic, wonderful women that care about me makes an incredible difference as I go through my daily life. 

So, to all of my moms, I would like to say "thank you" and let you know that you are appreciated and loved.

The day I sold my dignity for comfort...no, not for Uggs...

As you might have read before, my biking obsession is coming along quite nicely; aided by my Tahoe TNT Team, my enthusiasm for stretchy fabric, and my (now far away) boyfriend.

I haven't really done too many long rides, so I was not so sure about the infamous padded-butt shorts that most spandex-donning cyclist owns. Mind you, I was not in doubt of their comforting qualities, I was more so in doubt of my ability to shrug off my vanity and put on what essentially feels like a tight, expensive, adult diaper. I figured that I just needed to condition my seat (read: torture myself) until I was, as my team mates put it "ready for the saddle". (I love how cavalier that sentiment is.)

I saw however, that we had a 30-mile ride on the schedule last weekend (and a 40 this weekend), so I figured it was time to swallow my pride and add some padding to my backside.  My friend that "helped" me pick them out (the quotes refer to her inability to stop laughing while I was strutting out of the dressing room) and my roommates said the same thing: "Hey, now it looks like you actually have a butt."

Gee, thanks guys.

Bottom line is (pun intended) I'm sold on padded butt shorts.

It's enough to drive you crazy....

The great American road trip. I feel like it's something everyone, from every part of the world, should be so fortunate to experience. I had the privilege of driving (somewhat) cross country last weekend. I realize I'm from the MIDwest, but still...1,900-some miles is enough if you ask me.

How did I get so fortunate as to earn this cross country trip you ask?  Oh well... my boyfriend happened to get a job (yay!) in California (boo!), so I volunteered to help him move. I swear I'm not a glutton for punishment. I really don't have an affinity for hauling boxes and getting barnacles on my butt from sitting for two days straight, I'm just a sucker for mountains and a sucker for a certain boy I know. ;)

Because I had a ridiculous amount of time to sit (...and sit...and sit) and think, I learned two things about myself on this trip:
1. I have an infinitely tiny bladder. (I'm banned from drinking caffeine on any road trip henceforth unless I'm driving and need it to stay awake.)
2. I am ridiculously thrilled by being a tourist.  I love junk shops, points of interest, trying to shoot beautiful photographs through a dirty window/windshield, and any sort of cheesy photo op involving famous places.

I was also very surprised by the diversity in the landscape of North America. I understand that it covers a vast expanse of land, but it surprised me nonetheless. For example, it appeared that less than 1 mile across the Colorado/Nebraska border, Colorado began to take on a life of its own.  The plants changed, and the flat agricultural land of Nebraska was quickly replaced by rolling hills and rocky pasture land. I guess the settlers knew what they were doing when they drew the state lines on the map.

I only wish that we hadn't been on such a tight schedule, alas. I would have loved to stop at every single "worlds largest __________ (insert tacky attraction here)", and some more of the natural wonders of our great nation, but I guess I'll have to save that for a later date. I will leave you now with some of the aforementioned "dirty window" photos that I managed to take.

Hi, my name is Carly, and I have a problem.

I live within walking distance of five...count em...five bike shops. There could be more for all I know, but so far I've identified five. To say that the Twin Cities have an affinity for the two-wheeled sport is a bit of an understatement.  When you see people riding their bikes in -20 windchill...you know that there's a problem, and Minneapolis, I'm here to tell you that the first step to recovery is admitting it.

So here I am, admitting it. Hi, my name is Carly, and I think I'm becoming a cycleholic. I prefer the term "bike nerd", as I enjoy replacing the term "enthusiast" with the word "nerd", but to each their own.

It started my first couple months living in Uptown again when I attempted to ride to work with my former roommate/present-day coworker. Now, let me just tell you that at this point I am the proud owner of a Raleigh that was brand new sometime in the 70's. At this point in my story, it hadn't seen an oilcan in at least a decade, so let's just say that the ride was quite tough.  I picked myself back up this last summer and took my bike in for a little TLC. Still, even with new brakes and a freshly oiled chain, I still only rode to work once or twice. In my defense, I'm not exactly a morning person, so hopping on my bike at 7am wasn't really my idea of a good time...but I'm coming around to it.

So, I hate to be "that girl", but I have a confession to make; It wasn't until I started dating a bike nerd that I really got into it (cycling that is). A girl's gotta do something to impress the guy she likes, right? Having someone in spandex with a six-pack and beautiful hazel eyes explaining the different kinds of derailleurs to you is just the kind of motivation I needed. My delusion came to an abrupt halt when I actually went for a ride with him. I realized that I was way out of my league (only with this bike thing, thank god). He didn't mean to, god bless him, but he nearly killed me.  In my defense, the gears on my bike don't exactly change, so it's like I'm riding a fixed-gear bike, and I'm no Olympic athlete. After my recovery, I started riding with my roommates during the summer; to the lake, around the lake, and back. A lovely way to spend an afternoon and a healthy way to travel, what more could a girl want?

I'll tell you what...padded butt shorts for starters.

It doesn't end there though. My insanity has officially reached it's peak this winter when I signed up for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training program where in exchange for raising a minimum of $4300, they will train me and fly me (and my bike) to Lake Tahoe for a century ride. Yep, century, as in 100....miles.

Through this experience thus far, I have learned that there are more accessories for cyclists than an hotel fortune heiress could handle.  Special shoes, socks, hats, glasses, gloves, shorts, shirts, tools, bags to hold said tools, a wonderful substance called "butt butter", pumps, tubes, sweatbands, body part warmers...seriously...you name it and there's probably a version of it for cyclists.

I might have to get a second job to support this new habit of mine. Luckily for me and those that love me, the only thing harmed by my new addiction is my pocketbook.  Otherwise, all of the side effects are beneficial.  I will be saving gas, getting in shape, showing Al Gore that he can talk all he wants; but I'm "greener" than he is, etc. With all of these positive aspects, I can see why there won't be any cyclists anonymous meetings in a church basement anytime soon. Because really, who would really want to 'recover' from this?

Cabin Fever

According to the wonderful world of Wikipedia, cabin fever is: an idiomatic term for a claustrophobic reaction that takes place when a person or group is isolated and/or shut in, in a small space, with nothing to do, for an extended period. (Hey Wikipedia, how does about 4 months strike you as an extended period?) 

Let me tell you, this year it has hit me HARD.  I am longing for the days of mud puddles and light spring jackets, followed by flip flops, and bikinis. (I'm even missing the awful humidity-hair that comes with summer.) I miss the days when my pedicures are constantly on display and I can always count on the sun to keep me outside until at least 8:30pm. (Do I really need to mention my affinity for anything to do with eating charred flesh/veggies/potato salad outside?)

I try to be the good Midwestern girl and find things to do outside in the winter, but fact of the matter is that I was really born and bred for warmer climates. Even downhill skiing gets old (especially with lift ticket prices!) and I have yet to ever use my ice skates that are sitting patiently in the closet.  So for now, I will rely on a pastime that every Minnesotan can relate to; looking forward to warmer climates and sunnier skies.