Rain, sleet, ice OH MY!

Well we all knew it would happen sooner or later, and we've been quite lucky so far this winter. The ice storm is upon us. The drive into work was fine, but I left school at 1:30 to make the long drive home. Took me an hour and a half to get home. Not too bad. I took a picture of the conditions, but my camera is charging. It shall be added later.
I know that other places have been hit harder, but I still don't like it when it comes here. I've been reading books about bicycle travel all winter long and I dream of getting on my bike and riding for months/years in a southward direction. Experiencing new cultures and countries, learning about others in the world around me, seeing the world for all its good (and bad), and just experiencing life raw. It sounds so romantic and exciting. I know the reality is much more complicated than simply packing up your life and going out on an adventure, but I'm beginning to get the roaming bug. Even if only for a week or two I want to see the world. I've been looking at attending a Spanish school in Mexico and learning the language. I've started learning Spanish on my own. I want to be a part of something bigger than myself. I want to learn about others. I want to be more than just a selfish American.
Ok- the rambling is over... back to reality.

My hand is getting better every day. It's pretty much back to normal. Aside from the stiffness and the scar tissue, it's really doing well. I've rarely had any numbing at all. It's been BLISSFUL! I think I may wind up doing the other hand eventually. Not right away, but within the next couple years.

Stay warm out there.

Oh, and my knee still hurts

And my ankle is hurting now, too. Dang kid. I'm still so mad about that. I haven't run in almost 2 weeks. I don't know when/if I'll be able to. I guess there's no marathon for me in April. I can't walk to the living room without pain, there's no way I'm going to run 26.2 miles. I may have to see a doctor if this doesn't go away soon. Dang kid!

Talihina Weekend

Rian and I took a short trip to the Talihina (or Talimena- depending on who you ask) Scenic Drive this weekend. It's in Southeastern Oklahoma, and is a beautiful place to go. It's much prettier in the summer/fall, but you go when you can. It reminds me of pictures that I see of the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Appalachian Mountains. It's just rolling little mountains and hills and you can see for miles and miles. The pictures are all of the parkway (with the exception of a few). We spotted an upside down armadillo (I say upside down because I've only ever seen them on their backs- I've never seen one alive on its feet). We did the drive, then headed to Ft. Smith Arkansas for the night. We stayed at a nice hotel, ate a nice dinner, then headed home the next day. Before leaving Ft. Smith we had to visit Ft. Smith (the actual fort). What else is there to do but visit the fort for which the town got it's name? The fort was really cool. Lots of old history from the days of the Indian territory and the wild west. Some crazy stuff went down back then. I'm glad I'm alive now because no matter how bad crime is nowadays- it's nothing compared to what the lawless, wild west was. The last 3 pictures are of downtown Ft. Smith, us at the fort and the sign going into the fort.
We had a great 2 day trip. Sometimes you just NEED to get away for a night and do something out of the ordinary. It was a great weekend! Ta ta!

Anger rising...reaching a boiling point...

OK- let's just acknowledge what we already know. I HATE HATE HATE driving on the highway, but alas, there is no other way to get to work. It takes about 30-45 min on the highway. It would take an hour or more on the side streets.
So today I'm in the lane I need to be in to merge onto another highway from my current highway and we come to a dead stop. Cars are whizzing by on the right. We're stuck. I do get to hit the accelerator every 5 min (well, really I just get to let off the brake) and move about 2 feet. I'm growing angry. I take a picture of the pretty sunrise. I take a picture of the traffic in front of me. I take a picture of my healing hand. And I finally take a picture of my anger.
I somehow manage to get out of the merging onto the other highway lane and take a different highway (it's nice to have options). I arrive at work about 10 minutes late. Oh well. What a great way to start the day. NOT! Grrrrr....

Today I went riding with KK

She's a friend I know through the Tri Club. She's a pretty great kid (I have to say "kid" because I'm almost 20 years older than her- it's obligatory). I told her to be nice to this old woman. She was. I was panting just trying to keep up with her. That either says I'm out of shape (which I am) or I'm old (which I am). Either way, I had a lot of fun riding with her. It's the longest ride I've had outside in many, many months. It was a great day for riding!

And...marathon training is derailed

OK, so we have a "fastest kid in 5th grade" running race every Friday afternoon at recess. Today a kid comes running at me full speed not even looking at me (although freakily he's looking right at me). He plows into me and I knock him down. He's about 90 lbs and solid bone and muscle. He badly rammed my kneecap and my left knee is killing me (yes, the same left knee that I injured 4 years ago and have rehabbed back into shape). Grrrrrrr.... dang kid not paying attention. There'll be no running for awhile. Bah!

Day 1 of the OKC Memorial Marathon training plan

So my goal is to run the OKC MM this year. www.okcmarathon.com
It's been 5 years since I ran this as my first marathon, and I think I'm ready to take on the challenge yet again. I haven't run a full marathon in 2 years, so I guess it's time. Not sure how my gimpy knees will hold up, but hopefully if I baby them enough, I won't have the trouble that I've had in the past. I just need to play it smart and take it easy. Today I ran 4 miles. Pretty easy, but it's the longest I've run in about 8 months. I need to take it slow and easy at first. Baby steps...

The weather was amazing today. I didn't get out and enjoy it as much as I should've, but it was so nice. Nearly 70 degrees, but windy as all get out. I love the warm temps, but when the wind is blowing 40 mph it makes enjoying it just a teensy bit more difficult. Gotta love warm weather in January.

It's back to school on Monday. I'm very sad. I don't want to go back. It's just not as much fun as it should be lately. I just have to remember that in only 3 months I'll have a week off. I keep looking forward...

Take care until next time.

Happy New Year

New Year's Eve was fun. It was the first time in years we've actually had plans. Yes, it's a sad little life. The first pic is us at a little Mexican restaurant for dinner. The food was good, but the bench was surprisingly hard. When you first sit down you expect it to be soft and squishy- not hard like the ground. Ouchie.

We then went to the light display in town. It was enormous and very pretty. We even saw a couple getting married. They must've been freezing their little butts off. Brrrrrr... you are now pronounced popsicle and wife.

Then Rian and Tanya and Jeff and Alison had their respective pictures taken in front of the brightest bridge in the universe.

Finally the geese, ducks, swans-whatever they were- were all ganging up on a poor little duck for some holiday loving. I shooed them off of her, but they wouldn't be stopped. Poor duck. These animals were behaving so I took their picture.

The next day:
Happy New Year to everyone! We stayed up later than we have in years last night, and today we did the Polar Bear Plunge in our local lake. Well, we showed up late and they had started without us (and I'm the creator of the event), but oh well. I guess I should've showed up early, not exactly on time. :)
We had lots of people over to our house after the Plunge for a warm up dip in the hot tub, and for snacks and goodies. After everyone left, we promptly took a 2 hour nap to recoup from last night's late stay.

I hope everyone had a very nice New Year's Day. Let's hope for the best in 2009...