Sunday Hike

Yesterday we went for a hike with our friend Sean out in the coast range. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and clear. I was actually hiking in a tank top! Here's a shot of Sean, myself, Thor & Laea up at the top of our hike.

A shot of Mt. Hood from the top of our hike - we had amazing views.

Kirkham's Hat

Yep - this is exactly the same hat as I knit for little Nick (two hats out of the same yarn purchase - sweet!) - but I put a chin strap on this one instead of braids on the earflaps. I think it turned out really well - and Erica & John just sent a picture of Kirkham in the hat -- he's adorable!

CX #8 - Cross Crusade State Championships

Last Sunday was the CrossCrusade state championships out at the Washington County Fairgrounds. I had my best race of the season and finished 7th in the Women's B category. Hooray! A perfect way to finish out the season.
My good friend Stacy and her little pup, Gus, came out to cheer and she captured some great pictures of me running through the mud. A lot of people thought the course was really boring because it was so flat, but I loved it. The hills just kill me!
I have two friends that ended up state champions after racing their butts off all season. Beth Burns (who you saw in the picture with Lindsay last week) is now the Women's 35+ OR Cross Champion and my friend Margi's (see picture below) boyfriend, Scott Bradway, is the Men's A 35+ OR Cross Champion. Pretty sweet!

Me riding along the bumpy flats.

Running through the muck. (It didn't occur to me until after the race that I was actually slogging through poop. ick. Fairgrounds...arena...it's not like I haven't been to a state fair before. You think I'd have put that together before the race).

Me - sticking my tongue out going around a corner.

A picture of me sort of smiling running through the muck.

Megan Murray, myself and Margi Lifsey after the race - very happy to be done with racing!

A full shot of Abby & I both so you can see just how muddy we actually got. I don't think my shorts will ever be the same.

Here is a video of the course - it's a really long one because they put a lot of footage from the Men's A race in at the end....not my favorite format, but it will give you an idea of the course and the mud!

Aunt Julie comes to visit

My mom and Aunt Julie flew in last Friday afternoon and amused themselves while Thor and I were slaving away at our day jobs by poking around jewelry shops up on NW 23rd and visiting the old Aldag family home on SW Broadway. Once Thor and I were able to escape from work we headed home to pick the ladies up for an evening out at Nuestra Cocina - one of Thor & I's favorite restaurants. A couple margaritas, a pitcher of sangria and some excellent entrees later we were barely able to roll ourselves home and collapse on the couch. Aunt Julie was out for the count, but my mom, Thor & I managed to stay up long enough to watch an episode of the BBC's Planet Earth - I love that program!

On Saturday we got up early and Thor made some of his infamous lemon ricotta pancakes for breakfast. Yum! After that we headed down to the Portland Farmer's Market at PSU -- I had actually never been there before in my three years here in Portland (too much biking on Saturday mornings!) Here are some shots of the market:

These are two piggy noses that I found for the dogs - Laea and Annie loved them.

Aunt Julie, myself, and my mom at the PSU Farmer's Market.

Laea's New Look

Okay - so I was slightly misinformed. The flap is on her leg - not her chest - but it did involve sutures and fortunately she didn't actually nick her artery like Joe & Thor were worried about. Laea will be enjoying this lovely blue cast for the next ten days or so (i.e. no fetching). She is currently curled up on her bed feeling very sorry for herself.

Oh the irony.....

Laea finally gets clearance from the vet to go out hunting, it's a beautiful fall weekend here in Oregon, and what does she do? Runs her way straight through a f&$*&% barbed wire fence and rips a flap open on her chest. She's at DoveLewis getting sutures right now. I'm at home sitting on the couch trying to forget the total of her vet bills this month and remind myself how much I love the dog. hmph.

Red Sail Home + Design - A GREAT place to do some holiday shopping!

I had my first eggnog latte of the season the other day - which means it's officially time to start considering holiday shopping. If you're like me (and I realize most people aren't) you like to start working on your Christmas shopping early so you can be smug and annoying around the 20th of December when everyone else is running around like chickens with their head's cut off. So. That being said - a great place to pick up gifts this season (whether now or last minute) is Red Sail Home + Design. I will admit I am slightly biased since my good friend, Stacy Maiano, owns and runs Red Sail - but I swear I wouldn't post about it if she didn't sell great stuff (and wonderful jewelry that she designs herself!).

My absolute favorite feature on her website is the page that lists gift ideas by price range. Absolutely perfect if you're crunched for time and shopping on a budget. Aside from that - here are some of my own personal favorites available on Red Sail.

Sunstone Necklace - A lovely simple necklace to grace the neck of any outfit - from cotton V-neck Tee to little black evening dress.

Stainless Steel Elm Cufflinks - Classy, yet whimsical, these cufflinks are a great alternative to average cufflink you see at your local department store.

Baby Bike T-Shirt - I love this little T-Shirt for obvious reasons. I wish it was available in adult sizes!

Medium Sea Urchin Vase - Love this little vase. Just love it.

Bronze Jewelry Stand - This great, functional jewelry stand comes in both a small & a large size. Convenient for all your earrings and necklaces!

Eclipse #1 Earrings - Part of Stacy's new Eclipse jewelry collection she unveiled this winter. Check out her new Storm line as well for other new designs.

Porcelain Banana Leaf Platter - Perfect for entertaining during the holidays!

***All photos lifted, with permission, from www.shopredsail.com***

SSCXWC Day #2

Sunday was the second day of SSCXWC craziness here in Portland. Abby & I didn't race until 3:50 on Sunday - so we had a little extra time to race around looking for last minute costumes at Goodwill. I picked Abby up at about 12:30 and 20 minutes of mad searching produced one sequined tube top (me), one black mini-skirt (me) and a 'great' prom dress for Abby to wear to Cx Prom in December.

The race had all sorts of great extras - like a windmill over the course (running during our race - like a gauntlet that we had to time just right), a bubble-machine (see pic below) and a marching band!

Special guest Ryan Trebon was there. Hah hah! Now I can say I raced 'with' Ryan (he actually was in my single speed race...I think he might have actually lapped me twice!)

Here's a picture of the bubble machine - they had this running during the race and we all rode through it.

Abby & I before the race.

• A link to a picture of me mid-race in the mud puddle on the west end of the course.
• And another one of me cresting the top of a run-up.
• This picture might be my favorite one of all - it's me riding out away from the bubble machine!
• Here's me slogging up the wicked run-up on the east end of the course.

The highlight of the race was probably the drum band that was playing on the course - I LOVE it when they come to the races! Here's a video montage of the the drum band with clips from Cx races this season. Make sure you have your volume on!

Here's a final shot of Abby & I after the race - we had a great time!

SSCXWC Day #1

Yesterday my friend, Abby, and I rode the qualifying race for this weekends SSCXWC. The course and start times were kept a secret until the last minute. We were supposed to be at Chris King at 10am -- and of course it was pouring rain on our entire bike ride over to the meeting area. This was the scene when we first showed up. Lot's of people standing around, shivering, in the rain.


We received our start times and promptly retired to the local Starbucks (one of the only open places in the industrial district on a Saturday) to try and dry out a bit and pass the time until noon when we were scheduled to ride with our group up to the start line. The race wasn't exactly 'sanctioned' so we had to ride up in groups to the start line in Forest Park.


Noon rolled around and it was time to ride up Saltzman to the 'race'. We arrived up there around 12:15 and I caught this great picture of our friends, Beth & Lindsay. Lindsay was struggling with her attitude on Saturday. (Me too, to be honest). Not only were we standing around in the rain for a couple of hours getting chilly, but Lindsay's car had also decided to die - so by the time I caught up with her she had some very choice words (and gestures) for how the day was going thus far. I love Lindsay.

Here's a shot of Abby & I before the race. i.e. we're still clean.

The race went up Saltzman and down Firelane 5. I think it it took us just under 20 minutes to complete. The uphill was not nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be, but the downhill was harrowing on a cross bike. Very muddy and twisty.

Here's after the race - still smiling, but much dirtier.

And a close up of our faces so you can see how muddy we actually are!

Once we were done we headed home - Abby took off to visit her boyfriend, Greg, at the Bike Gallery - and I headed home to see Thor. You can see how dirty I am -- and the picture on the left is me threatening to come and give Thor a hug in all my filthy clothes.

Sofia & Her Hedgehog.

I posted a picture of a pink hedgehog that I knit back in May for my good friend, Joanna's, daughter Sofia. Here's a picture of the recipient with her little animal - she's just now getting bigger than the hedgehog!

Laea's Big Day - #1

Laea went in for the first half of her surgeries today. Thor dropped her off around 8 this morning and picked her up about 6:30. She is not very happy right now. Her incision is about 2 feet long (I'll spare you the close up photo of that beauty) and runs from just under her 'armpit' to down next to one of her legs. She can walk on her own, but it's pretty tough for her. Right now she's wrapped in a body cast that she'll need to wear for the next couple of days -- she has drains & lots of gauze underneath that we'll have to change out too. Poor little puppy.

On the bright side -- the vets gave her a little good luck wrapping on her front paw with a heart where she had her IV. That's probably the best thing that happened to Laea all day.

Happy Halloween! (One day late)

Happy Halloween (weekend)!!! Thor & I went to a Halloween party at our friends Andy & Katy's house last night. I went as a witch -- and you can see Thor's 'costume' below. You can't see it very well - but I have long green fake eyelashes on and glow-in-the-dark press on nails. Those things are DANG hard to do anything in! How do people wear them all the time and get anything accomplished?


Here's Thor with little Nick. Nick was 'lipstick-on-a-pig' - it's hard to see - but he has a tube of lipstick taped to the top of his head.


Me & Nick -- in the background you can see our friend Daren. You can see the potato hanging off his belt, right? Can you guess his costume? Neither could I. He went as a dick-tater. Get it?











Here's Thor modeling my long green lashes. I had them taped on with athletic tape that I colored black with a sharpie to make it look more like eyeshadow.