The Past Month

Is life back to normal now? I think so. So I'm attempting to resume my blogging responsibilities because I know all the world is anxiously anticipating my next blog entry.

In the last month, I have done a couple of things.

I participated in the Canby Gator Grinder with Charisa on May 9th. We were a relay team and I biked. My goal was to get a better time than I did last year and I had worked for that goal through the winter. When I started out on the course on race day, my shoelace was beginning to get caught in the gears. I had to pull over and fix that before it became a real problem. The White Truck that follows racers to be sure everyone is doing ok pulled up next to me and asked me if I was okay. After I got my shoelaces tucked in, I got back on and pedaled, hoping there wouldn't be any more setbacks.

When Charisa and I arrived at the Swim Center before our race, we could see our breath it was so cold. By the time I got on my bike to ride the course, it was about 45 degrees still. Since I have exercised induced asthma, cold weather kind of aggravates my lungs. So, when I got to the "big hill" I had to walk up it. It was sure a bummer, but I was struggling to breathe so I thought walking up the hill was the safe idea. That was another setback, and I was hoping for no more.

At the very end, the part where you sprint your way home, I was changing my gears so I could get the most power out of my bike. Then I heard a clank and my pedals had no power anymore. I looked down and my chain had slipped off the gears, right at the end! What's funny about this is while I was not pedaling and just coasting down the homestretch, a volunteer who was there to cheer everyone home looked at me, very confused, and yelled, "You are almost there! Keep going!" I chuckled. My family was there cheering me on close to the finish line and I pulled over to let my dad put the chain back on the gears so I could have a glorious finish going as fast as I could.

So, even with those three major hiccups on my leg of the race, I got a time that was 8 minutes better than last year's time. Wahoo! I reached my goal, even through the obstacles.

Last week, we planted our garden. It took about three days of hard labor, but it's finally in. I'm excited to see the little plants turn into big plants and get some fruit for our labors. I'm loving this house and all it offers our family. Spring and summer are my favorite because of all that comes from the warm weather. In our yard and garden we have raspberries, strawberries, apples, plums, peas, beans, tomatoes, squash, cucumber, zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, corn, and pumpkin. Here's hoping it all grows well and we actually get some veggies!

Pictures coming soon...