Bicycle Shopping

Yeah, so yesterday I posted that I want this for Mother's day.

Well, I took myself to a bike store to try it out.

May I offer a bit of advice when bicycle shopping:
When the most gorgeous guy in a 10 mile radius
asks you if you need help, say NO. Just swat him away.
Wait for the geek behind the counter to finish his
Mountain Dew and ask him for help.

Yeah, well, I went with the gorgeous guy.
Dumb move.
So, I'm telling him what I'm looking for
and he pulls a bike down.
It's perfect, just what I want.
I ask if I can sit on it.
He says....
"WHY DON'T YOU TAKE IT FOR A SPIN OUTSIDE."
Wait, what?
I haven't ridden a bike in, oh, let's say, 33 years,
but I want one.
I want this one, but I have to try it first?
I have to try it in front of the most gorgeous
guy in a 10 mile radius. (Paul was 11 miles away)
Um.....sure?
"Do you want a helmet?"
"No, I'm fine." translates to: I am not going to put
a stupid helmet on in front of Gorgeous Guy.
So, we go outside.
I get on the bike.
I push off.
You know how they say, it's like riding a bike, you never forget.
Yeah, well, you forget.
I was wobbling from side to side like an ass.
Couldn't get my feet on the pedals for what
seemed like miles.
Finally I managed to get going, but then
found out I WAS AFRAID TO TURN!
I wobbled back thinking....
I want a bike????
Gorgeous Guy said, "Let me raise the seat a bit."
Oh, ok, cause that will make all the difference in the world.
I tried it again and I did much better.
I even managed to turn without losing all feeling
in my hands as I gripped the handlebars.
Ok, I still want a bike.
I want to look like this:

I am sure I looked like this:

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is coming.

I've been contemplating getting a bike for sometime now.

I think I'm ready.

I want:

And I need to find a way to hook this bike to the back of my Beetle so I can drive to parks with lots of flat bike trails.

Mad Men

I have a sick stomach, day 3.

I've been lying around watching Mad Men.

Going on line buying shift dresses.

Contemplating having affairs, no, no, just kidding.

But I have been buying 60's style dresses.

Anyway, Dylan is actually the one who got me

started on the Mad Men kick.

He thinks he is Don Draper.

In fact, here he is

drinking (iced tea)

and smoking (a paper cigarette)

He's been calling me Peggy for a couple of weeks now.

Should I be concerned?

New. Favorite. Store.

C. Wonder is my new favorite store!

I mean, come on, look at it!!

It's gorgeous!

It's the dream child of

Christopher Burch, ex husband of Tory.

Great clothes, accessories, shoes, jewelry

at reasonable prices.

I picked up these earrings

And this necklace

And I want that orange bicycle.

And an orange bike helmet.

Seriously, I do.

Love this store!

I HATE THIS!

This is the worst toothpaste.

Sure, it gives you super fresh breath

but it feels like you're walking around

with a mouth full of Scope.

YOU try keeping Scope in your

mouth for longer than 30 seconds.

Blech!

Hipster

This is what my soon to be 16 year old put on his latest Earth Science test:

I'm so proud.

Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

Ok, so I've been sort of MIA lately.

Haven't even turned my computer on.

Sometimes that's a good thing.

I've been writing a lot of thank you notes

and reading a lot.

I'm into post-apocolyptic YA fiction.

Cheery, right?

I'm on the last book of The Last Survivors trilogy.

Brief synopsis:

Asteroid hits the moon and knocks it a little closer to earth.

This causes a series of catastrophic weather events to happen.

Good stuff.

I also read the second book in the Giver trilogy:

I had heard that this book was the "worst" out of the three.

I really liked it and I'm looking forward to the last one.

Yeah, so that's what I've been up to.

How about you?

Funk Be Gone!

So, yesterday I was in a funk.

I think the events of the past couple

of weeks have finally caught up with me

AND

I got on the scale.

I wasn't going to, but I did.

It said I gained 2 pounds.

It put me in a very bad mood.

I work REALLY HARD at the gym.

I watch what I eat.

Yes, these last two weeks have been different.

Lots of "fruit" baskets, cakes, cookie trays, dinners.

-and I am grateful.

-and yes, I have been partaking,

but nothing like I used to.

I've changed my lifestyle

However.....

all of my clothes are loose

I feel great

I have a ton of energy

-all good things.

So, I have decided that maybe

I will get on the scale once a month.

That's it.

A 2 pound difference shouldn't put me in a funk!

I found this list on the web.

Love it.

My Check list to pay attention to rather than obsessing to what a number on the scale says.

CHECK LIST:

• Do I like the changes I see in the mirror?

• Do I like how my clothes are fitting? Are my rings looser?

• Am I hydrated?

• Am I paying attention to my nutrition: calories, carb/protein/fat intake?

• Do I feel stronger? Have I increased the amount of weight I can lift or the number or reps I can do?

• Can I exercise for longer periods of time?

• Am I losing inches?

• Can I see more muscle definition?

If you can answer YES to any or all of these questions, you’re on the right path!

Eat Right, Train Hard!!!

Crazy Tired

I am so so SO tired today.

I've done nothing.

I took a shower, then took a nap!

No gym today.

So tired.

Maybe the events of the last couple

of weeks are catching up with me.

That's ok - bound to happen.

Endorphins

Had an AWESOME work out today.

Did some Bosu jumps:

I am hoping to graduate to box jumps at some point:

Did some dead lifts. Started with the bar only (45 lbs) to get the movement down.

Eh.

Tried the dead lift machine, with weights. Better.

Moved on to the leg press. GREAT!

Finished with 30 minutes on the elliptical, heart rate up around 160.

Sweat was dripping off of me.

I smelled so bad!

IT

WAS

GREAT!

Thank You

My mother's funeral was yesterday.

The weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky.

She would have been happy, I'm sure she was.

My brothers and I got through the

Eulogy just fine, even had a few chuckles.

My mother's brother, Fr. John, said the mass.

What a tough thing for him to do, but he did

a beautiful job.

Our Hospice nurse was there - Kathleen, what

a special lady.

Miriam, our first in home caregiver, who has

been in the hospital with heart problems was there!

Some wonderful friends from school were there.

My son, Dylan, played the violin during the

meditation after communion.

He played Toura Loura Loura, an Irish lullaby.

It was very difficult for him to do.

He played it through tears.

I couldn't be more proud of him.

Thank you to everyone for all the kind

words, and touching emails.

Thank you.

The Wake

I am overwhelmed by the outpouring

of love shown yesterday by

my parents' friends

my parents' co-workers

my friends

my co-workers

my Buckley family

people we haven't seen since we were young

Lines out the door.

Just overwhelmed.