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.