Giving Thanks for 2008

I have been busy with my new career at HP since the last time I wrote in the blog. I enjoyed my 20 months break when I took time off with then 6 month old Annelise, and 3 year old Rylan. But, I am now happy to be working again.

I decided to fill everyone on our family by focusing on what we are most thankful for 2008.

In his own words, Rylan is most thankful for his sister (he calls her “little sweetheart”), house (I tell him we could live in our neighbor Helen’s barn if mommy or daddy didn’t go to work so this has stuck as something he’s happy to have), mommy, and daddy.

Rylan will turn 5 on the 31st. He’s thankful for legos, transformers, music, and books about dinosaurs and animals. He spends time building things in his room until his sister finds him. He enjoys looking at his books, and will even “pretend” reads to his sister, if she will listen. He also looks forward to our ritual after I pick him and his sister up at school where we turn the radio on and dance. Sometimes he gets his guitar.

We are thankful Rylan is such a good student at school – he’s in Pre-K. His teacher says “he is an extremely hard worker and has a lot of focus.” He spends a lot of time perfecting his art projects, and will even not allow me to take projects home from his box if he is still working on them.

Annelise is 2 ½ years old. Annelise is thankful for “pink” and “anything princess”. On a good day, she will go through several outfit changes to fit the occasion, and each to look like a princess. If the clothing isn’t pink, it must have a flower, heart, pocket (go figure), or picture of a princess, to meet her standards. She will even look in the dryer or “to be folded” pile to find specific clothing for a “look” she’s trying to achieve. She dresses up anytime we go somewhere (except school) because she thinks we should be going to a party. Luckily one of our friends is always having some sort of party!

Everyone that engages with Annelise is thankful she is “so entertaining and funny” (teacher Donna), “the kids and friend Dash are so patient with her” (teacher Donna), “a spitfire” (teacher Pricilla), “she’s tough” (a teacher’s aide said after she ran fast, fell, and everyone went running to her thinking she was seriously hurt, and before they got there she was up and running again).
In his words, hubby Roger (Jim) is thankful for… “I’m riding the (spin) bike, honey; I thought you weren’t writing a Christmas letter.”

I am thankful I have a husband that likes to be fit (thinks he’s slacking even though he still commutes half way to work most days of the week – 40 miles a day), gives great hugs and complements, enjoys playing with his children, likes to use a chain saw and build rock walls to help make my garden projects look good, chooses to go grocery shopping because he knows I’ll come home hours later with WAY more things than were on the list, and puts up with my attitude and ability to hurry when we are on our way to a function (he has a desire to be early or exactly on time – whatever).

I am thankful for all of the above, and also for our great group of friends who enjoy getting outside - gardening, hiking, biking, sledding, or going to the park or other fun places with our kids.

2009 New Years resolutions:
*Have a tea party with some Auburn girlfriends & neighbor ladies.
*Drop by a local friend’s house unannounced w/ cookies.
*Take the kids camping, and help Jim to like it.
*Teach our kids that good acts can be rewarded with things other than “presents” or “treats”.

I hope everyone that reads this has a great New Year!

Muddy Girls, Pumpkins and Dress-up

October

It's been a busy and fun month! I started back at HP again, and am really enjoying my new position. Aside from that, the first weekend, I went with my mountain biking girlfriends to ride at Grey Eagle. Friend Julie mapped out several fireroad routes. The riding is either up or down, but the views are AMAZING, and worth the climbing. We got very muddy due to a change in the weather, and loved every minute.

The following weekend, we went with friends - the Lotts - to the Bishops Pumpkin patch in Wheatland, CA. We had never been and I was shocked to see it's like Pumpkin Amusement park. This is a must-see for anyone remotely close to here. There is a petting zoo, train ride, hayride, pig races, lots of good food, HUGE slides on a man built hill, tractor tire climbing area, and lots of pumpkins.

After one weekend of soccor games, a long overdue visit to church and just hanging out at the in-laws, we spent the last weekend enjoying dressing up to go to a Harvest Festival (alternative to Halloween at the local Calvary Chapel where they have games for the kids), and then celebrated my mom's birthday by eating Mashado's pie and lots of lasagna!

And, of course, I fit in a mountain bike ride each weekend. Hubby and I even managed to ride together one weekend since the kiddo's had a sleepover at the in-laws. A couple weekends I have been solo, mostly because I haven't been good at the planning thing since I am VERY busy now with my new job and the kids. A little solo serenity is nice every once in a while.

Career, Cosmos & Singlespeeding

I start my career up again next Wed, Oct 1st. I feel very fortunate to have such a GREAT opportunity, and am excited for this new chapter. The kids are flourishing at their school, expecially Rylan, who has become quite good at math, and the teacher says he has excellent concentration for his projects/jobs. He reminded me today he is the "special person" and needs to take his baby picture, and gets to share. He was so proud and had his stuff bagged up. He quickly got ready and tied his shoes (started a couple weeks ago, and is pretty quick now).

With the new schedule, I still will make time for playing in the dirt but have tried to spend extra time in the dirt, some way or another, for the past few weeks. Here's a picture of Annelise checking out one of my cosmos. Next year, I plan to plant more of these since they are so very hardy and their bloom lasts WEEKS.

I have been out on my newly built singlespeed 2x since my previous post. I went a couple hours Sunday - Foresthill Divide and Connector Trail and cleared everything. Hubby says I should with that EASY gear. It was harder on the hills but it felt light under me and I enjoyed the heck out of it. Then, friend Kim invited me this Wednesday morning - we both had matching Sycip singlespeeds, her's blue, mine orange - and we rode, Upper Stagecoach, Clementine, part of Connector, Confluence, then back up Stagecoach and I still enjoyed the heck out of it. Then, we did a trail run on Manzanita and up Stagecoach. What a treat!

Spicy Singlespeed

Thanks to my hubby, my newly painted Sycip Unleaded frame has been setup as a singlespeed (32x20)! The color is salmon/more orange and the decal is ICE colored. I just love it! The frame used to be camoflauge green and I blended in with nature but now you will see me coming and I will bolt past you like a bolt of lightening (hah, hah)!

I can't wait to ride this. I know I will not start out with the Oregon Bar ride, though. Denise and I rode this yesterday and that would be a wee tough introduction to singlespeeding - haven't ridden a singlespeed in 3 years! Fun new singletrack over there but the climb out is loose and steep for a mile +/- before it eases.

Soccor & Stagecoach Drama Queen

Rylan's 1st Soccor Game - Team Blue Thunder

Rylan had his first soccor game Saturday. Now, a new era has began. He even made a goal once he figured out how to kick the ball in the right direction! He enjoyed being in the parade that included 60 truckloads of kids. What a hoot! He also learned the hard way that it's not a good idea to eat a hotdog and then play a game. Whoops! Unfortunately, I didn't get to watch the game much since Annelise and new friend Jenna had a water fight with water bottles, then running intersection to keep Annelise from running into the soccor games.

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Drama Queen on Stagecoach Trail

Today, since Annelise picked up a little cold I thought going for a hike on Stagecoach would make her feel good. But, she insisted on wearing her pink dress, pink shoes, pink hat and taking her pink purse. What a little drama queen. We had fun though, until she tripped and fell on a rock. So, now she's got a runny nose and scrapes on both knees and an arm. Well, at least I tried to boost her spirits!

Dillon's Beach, Serene Lakes, and School Begins

Here are some highlights to the close of a fun filled summer.

DILLON'S BEACH:

Friday, Aug 8th:

Annelise goes to the ocean for the first time!!!!!!!!! It was something else seeing her sooooo excited when she crested the sand dune where we parked. She stood for a second taking it all in, then started running, and didn't stop until she was in the water. She laughed hysterically as the first few waves hit her. All of us couldn't stop laughing at her.

Then, Rylan dug a huge hole, Daddy built a sand village, and Annelise threw sand at seagulls.

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ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND

Friday, Aug 15 - Sunday, Aug 17

Roger/Jim and I had a weekend away from both kids to celebrate 11 years of marriage!!!! Thanks Grandma & Papa Roger for spending time with our little angels. :)

- Fri & Sat night, we stayed @ Serene Lakes, Ice Lake Lodge, shhh - what an amazing hideaway where our room had doors that opened to a beach, and the lake was about 25 feet away.

- Sat, we did the Tahoe Flume and Rim Trail on our mountain bikes - we started at Spooner Lake for a change. I hadn't ridden this route in maybe 4 years and enjoyed all the Aspen trees, of course the amazing view at the top of the Flume trail overlooking Marlett Valley on one side and Lake Tahoe on the other, and then the Rim trail overlooking Lake Tahoe. I rode for the first time with tubeless tires and felt good. Roger/Jim road his single speed, of course.

- Sun, hiked on Soda Springs Rd (where it turns to dirt) for an hour. Amazing views. Roger/Jim filled me in on how this road goes all the way to French Meadows, Robinson Flat and/or Foresthill. The dirt section starts about 200 feet from Ice Lake Lodge. Then, we hung out on the beach until it was time to drive home.

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SCHOOL DAYS

Monday, Aug 18th

Annelise started Prep-Preschool today. She wore her little backpack and was excited. After hanging up her bag, she ran to sit at the circle with the rest of the kids. She cried when I told her I was leaving but quickly got sidetracked as Teacher Donna held her and the kids began singing a song with a frog puppet. When I picked her up they said she quickly fit in and was a very busy girl, enjoying all the "Montessori jobs" and playground time. She'll go MWF 8:30-12:00.

Rylan started Pre-Kindergarten today. He's been excited for a while since kids in his Preschool were moving on to Kindergarten and his big cousins are going into fourth grade. He was ready to move onto a different class too. Now, he'll go M-F 8:30-12:00. He's also playing soccor now and will be in a parade and have his first soccor game this Sat in Auburn.

Until next time..................

Playing in the pots again

Annelise is just like her mom and loves to play in the dirt!

Red Tail Rim Trail - Modoc County

If you're ever in Modoc County (northeastern corner of California) and are searching for a place to mountain bike, here is a route I talked my husband into going on with me last Tuesday, July 1st.

We stayed in Adin, CA where I grew up. Adin is 3 hours northeast of Reno (take hwy 139) or 2 hours north of Redding (take hwy 299). Adin is the closest town for beginning this adventure.

Since this is a very remote area, please stop at the Forest Service office in Adin or elsewhere and pick up a map of the Modoc County Forest or use GPS. Barb is the person I talk to there and is very knowedgeable. Here's a good website for the Modoc Forest: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/modoc/recreation/index.shtml

THE RIDE:

The goal: Finding and following the Red Tail Rim Trail (RTRT) (17 mile singletrack).

Actual ride: My mom and friend Joyce Woods drove us to the Rd 22 gravel fireroad off hwy 139 between Adin and Canby. Joyce leant us her tiny but very nice Kodak camera. The case even had a nice hook that worked well on the camelpack! We were told the first section of the RTRT was difficult to ride due to loose dirt and very steep (about 2200 ft in 8 miles) so we decided to take this fireroad up, which climbs 8 miles to a Lookout, which sits at just over 7000 feet. Jim had just one day of rest from racing the Cream Puff 100 mile mountain bike race in Oakridge, Oregon, so we didn't want to get too crazy.

You will see the RTRT signs. After taking the 1 mile section from the Lookout to the Rd 22 crossing, there were about 6 downed trees. Then, we lost the trail. With no trail to follow, we ventured down Doe Springs Road (a nice dirt road) until it dead ended at Rd 22 again and we went right as advised by a team of Forest Service people we surprised while on Doe Spring Road. You will go about 10 miles on this road and it goes to Ash Creek campground. Soak your feet a little and enjoy the scenery.

Then, continue on this Rd 22 until you get to Ash Valley Road. Go right and this will take you to Adin. It's 8 miles on a nice gravel road.

There you have it. We were disappointed to not have a singletrack to follow, but the scenery was so beautify and serene and roads so quaint and untraveled it turned out to be a very nice ride. The ride with a lot of stops to take pictures and chat with Forest Service people took us 5 hours. This ride could easily be done in 4 hours, expecially since you have the route. The whole ride was about 32 miles, all on the dirt.

The picture above is of of Ash Creek. It felt awesome to put a ice cold helmet back on, and soak the feet. I think it got me energized for the rest of the ride. There was not a sole person there. Just us. Very nice.

Dirt Lovers Should Love Grapefruit Extract

After getting attacked by a cactus in Arizona in February, OK, I walked right into when deliriously helping my husband and friend racing 24 Hour Solo's at the Old Pueblo, I got a swollen finger. I ended up taking antibiotics because I feared getting a staph infection. Had I only known about grapefruit extract, the infection probably would have never happened. Because I live in the dirt, and don't often wear gloves in the garden, this will be my new friend. Grapefruit extract is very effective at killing parasites, bacterias, etc. Below are several ideas for using grapefruit extract for the outdoor enthusiast.

**Gardeners Grapefruit extract Wash: Add 2-3 drops to your fingertips and massage into your hands and rinse.**

**Poison Oak: Apply 2 to 3 drops to your fingertip, and to the wetted affected area, leaving on for a few minutes, then rinsing thoroughly with cool water. I'm also going to make a solution up and put it in my cycling bag to use after rides. I'll judge the number of drops to use once I find a good container.

**Clean Water When in the Wilderness: Carry some grapefruit extract with you when you're in the back country, hiking, biking, etc. Water can be made safe by ten drops for each gallon of clear water. Agitate or mix vigorously and let it rest for a few minutes.

**Stomach Problems from bad water or other ailment: Add 6 drops to 5 oz glass of water. I used a minute ago was to help my husband who picked up a wierd flu or food poisoning and has a fever and major stomach discomfort. I added 6 drops of grapefruit extract to a 5 oz glass of water. He said it was bitter tasting but he slowly drank it down. I hear him vomitting right now, so maybe it's working.

**If Husband vomits in the sink, use this wash: For a general antiseptic spray for toilets, sinks, door knobs, kitchens, etc, mix 50-100 drops of grapefruit extract to any 32-oz. sprayer. If really bad, like in this case, let it sit a while and then rinse.

**Veggie Wash: Add 20 drops Grape fruit Seed extract per 32oz bottle of water with sprayer pump. Shake thoroughly and spray on any vegetables. Rinse when done.

There are more ideas for using grapefruit extract listed here: http://www.gseinformation.com

Well, I better go check on my husband!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Love Dirt

I decided that everything I love, besides my family and friends of course, involves dirt. So, I created this blog to capture all my adventures in the dirt, whether that involves mountain biking, trail running, playing in the sandbox with the kids, hiking, gardening or backyard yoga.

It makes me feel good to dig in the dirt or get dirty. I love the feeling of riding, running or gardening with sweat pouring out of me and sticking to the dirt. I like going fast on a trail and seeing the dust rise up behind me. I enjoy the feeling of dirt between my fingers when I forget to grab my gloves when weeding or planting in the garden. I like feeling different textures of rocks on my hands when sifting through them in the creek with my two and four year old. I like to dig with my shovel in the yard and finding different shaped and sized rocks that find new homes as decoration to new plants that have taken their original place. I love the feel of sand between my toes when playing in the sand, either at the beach or in the sandbox. I love running on dry ground and listening to the crunching sound of twigs and leaves cracking under my feet. I find peace in my backyard when doing yoga; my barefoot on the lawn embraces the soft texture of grass amidst the flecks of dirt that soil my feet.

I love dirt, and it makes me happy.