Hmm... so, while the winter felt LONG and depressing, it seems that I had less to do. Now that the sunshine has arrived, I feel like I all do is run around. Yikes. In addition to regular work, the sunshine tacks on things like biking and kayaking, horses, camp preparation (YAY!)... all kinds of craziness. Good craziness, but craziness, nonetheless.

For instance, this weekend, Holly and I went for a LOVELY kayak trip. No... "adventure" might be a better word (isn't it ALWAYS an 'adventure' with Holly and I?). The sun was shining, and I did my damnedest not to put my feet in the water whilst launching/landing. Not bad, considering I haven't kayaked for what... nine months? Anyway, it was mucho amusing... we ran into nesting Canada geese, unidentified aquatic life (I think it was an otter, really), sneaky camouflaged fishermen and a LOT of downed trees. Might I add, patting us on the back, we even limbo'ed under a LOW tractor bridge to prevent it from impeding our adventure (and by limbo, I mean, really, scooched down to a recumbent position in one's kayak, using their hands on the bridge above to push them through...)!

Also, we had a nice bike ride... including (but not limited to!), riding AGAINST the wind for the five and a half miles out. RAAAWWWR!!!

hahaha... I am enjoying the pseudo-sportiness. ;-)

AND, my favorite part of my recent triathlon, Monday I had a riding lesson. Welllll... let me tell you, the regular (and better) instructor was back from her vacation. It was really a nice comparison between "talented and competent instructor" and "still learning and squeaking by assistant" that I had last week. Needless to say, I worked hard. Phew. It feels good though. That (on a horse) is the ONLY place in the world that I can work that hard, with that much concentration, sweat, pain, focus, etc. and not think of a single other thing other than what I am doing. No wonder I am such a basket case in the recent years since I haven't been riding - I've had no centering/focusing activity to collect me together. This is good for me in so many ways... body and mind. Not to mention, the horse I'm riding (named "Coffee". Apt for me, isn't it?) adores me. My instructor tried to convince me to buy her this week, as apparently this horse doesn't work half as well for anyone else. She just likes me for some reason. Who knows, we don't question it, we just continue to love the horse and enjoy riding her! haha

Soooooooo. Yeah. Craziness shall ensue tomorrow. I have my 10 year old student to keep up with all day, followed by the evil (dreaded) 2 hour staff meeting. THEN, I jet out to the outskirts of Montpelier to meet with a lady about some horses for camp this summer. I am a bit leery of this, as the woman is a friend of Becky's (camp director), and I'm wondering if it's going to be difficult to get them to say "no" to these horses, if they're not suitable. So far, all I've gotten is that they are two Morgan geldings, who are "just beautiful, and would look wonderful at camp." And clearly, what they LOOK LIKE is what I'm primarily concerned with in a camp horse. *sigh* But, tomorrow, we shall see. I may not even be able to ride them (the woman was very sketchy and vague with me on the phone), so I may have to wing it. We shall cross our fingers and hope... I'll just have to go in and simulate 10 year old kids - pay no attention to safety, move quickly - and see how the horses react... hahaha... FUN.

Then... Mom's for dinner, perhaps?

Whew. I dunno. However, I will say that tonight, I cleaned my room and not only does it look good, but I feel better. Somehow, my internal organization often transfers to my external organization. I may have too much stuff, but at least it's organized.

In other news, my Dad went out to Chinese food dinner with a mystery lady in Barre. At 6ish. You'll note that it's like after 1am, and as far as I can tell, there is no sign of him yet. This is either very suspicious or very worrisome. My dad is like CLOCKWORK, and he has to work tomorrow. Early. HMMMMMMMMMMM.

Speaking of working tomorrow, early, so do I. SO. To sleep I go.

However, I will again leave you with a plea to PLEASE PLEASE click the below graphic, so that I can continue on my quest to master this contest I'm in (we're halfway there, people!). Thank YOU.(plus, you get a free song download, legitimately.)

Tags: biking, horses, kayaking, llc, nsm, sister hazel, sunshine
You might find me at: home...
I'm feeling...: accomplished
I'm rockin' out to:: Desecration Smile - RHCP

Well, so it's 1am.... and I've been putting off going to bed, because I know that if I do, Vacation is *officially* over, and when I wake up it'll be time for work again. *sigh*.... back to the grind.

However. It's also 1am and I'm TIRED. Holly and I did a nice 10 mile bike ride today... which, being the first ride of the season, was momentous. Why you might ask? WELL, let me tell you. It was monumental, because this time last year, we could only complete HALF of the same ride, we were huffing and puffing and my knees (thank you previous injuries.) were KILLING me.  THIS year (after a winter at the gym), we did all 10 miles with really no breaks, except some quick ones for water, I'm barely even fatigued and my knees don't feel a thing. WOOHOO.  Sometimes, it really is the little victories, huh?
Funny moment: Watching people in shorts and tee-shirts, walking/pushing their bikes through the 20ft. section of the bike path that was still covered in 4-5 inches of slushy snow.

Alright. I give up. Work, you win. I'm hitting the pillows now...... Vacation... it was nice... see you again soon?

Tags: biking, nsm, vacation
You might find me at: home
I'm feeling...: recumbent
I'm rockin' out to:: All-American Rejects - Night Drive

My allergies are kicking my ass. In recent memory, there has not been a year that I have *had* to take soO much allergy medicine, just to function. I mean like I'm waking up with my eyes swollen almost shut, running and itchy, sore throat...good times.

As a result, I have been totally ZONKED. Subsequently, I have been good for a whole lot of nothing that requires mental agility... but. ah well.

So. I think I have an interesting new goal. Justa and I are aiming to do this 25 mile (Richmond - Burlington) bike ride on August 12th. The donations benefit the Vermont Food Bank and we would have 6 hours to complete it. It culminates in a FREE show (CARBON LEAF!!!) for the general public, and riders get free dinner, etc. For me, though, it's a personal challenge to be able to do the milage. It's 4 weeks away, almost exactly, and currently I am doing about 15miles/trip comfortably. In four weeks, if we apply ourselves, surely we should be able to work up to 25? I am waiting for the course route to come out (end of this week), before I register, but I think this would be awesome. Stupid Holly can't go because her brother's getting married that day. Whatever. hahaha.

Thoughts? Opinions? (anyone else interested in trying it?)... Can I do this?
Have I COMPLETELY lost my mind, this time??

Hmm. Who knows.

Sleep time.

Tags: allergies, biking
You might find me at: my desk. Where elsE?
I'm feeling...: okay
I'm rockin' out to:: Shawn Mullins - On a Rainy Night

SO. Yeah. Not too much happened today.

Gave my dog a bath. Always fun. My *pitbull* is terrified of EVERYTHING, including running water (hoses, bathtubs, etc.), so literally shakes in FEAR the entire time it's on. Then, the rest of the time she stands there looking at you like you're trying to kill her. But she smelled like fish pond... it had to be done.

Had a lovely supper with Mommy dearest, then off to catch up with a horde for a movie. The Devil Wears Prada was interesting. I liked the first part, and the last part was alright... it just sagged a little in the middle. Glen Close was definitely the highlight of the movie.

Weird group though. Not sure what to say about that. Just weird (for me, anyway).

I'm hoping tomorrow is more sunny... I really want to bust out the kayak. REalllly bad. Then, housesitting in Richmond tomorrow night (which means coffee in B-town!!!), and our lunch-bike-ride on Sunday in Burlington, for anyone that wants to come... (probably will be about 10-12miles. FYI.)

I am really looking forward to fireworks this year. I dunno... it's always my favorite point of the summer.... I hope this years' are as enjoyable.

And... hmm.... yeah. That's all I got, for now. I think sleep is in order.

G'night all....

Tags: biking
You might find me at: My desk. Freezing.
I'm feeling...: calm

So, literally, Holly, Justa and I were chased by a Thunderstorm while on bikes today. We got 3&1/2 miles away from the car, stopped for a break, at which point the sky began to look ominous and little droplets began to sprinkle down... Oh, we say, we better start heading back. As we mount our bikes, this huuuuuge roll of thunder hits, and lightning crashes not too far away. AWAY!!!! I yell and speed off.... FASTER!!!! Holly yells and is right behind me...... "My brakes are slippery when WET!!!!... AHHHH!!!" yells Justa as she careens down the downhill behind us at a reallly quick clip. Needless to say, we got a little wet, but we out-biked the worst of the storm. Fastest 3& 1/2 (biked) miles of my life, I think. ahahha
Anyway, we will put another 7 miles up on the internal odometer.
Subsequently, if anyone's interested: Saturday during the day is Kayaks with Holly and probably Justa, and I... and SUNDAY is hitting up the B-town bike path with any who are interested. We're carrying lunch that day, and eating aways out... (Tim? Mike? anyone?)...

So, I did a whole lot of *nothing* today.... visted with my mom for a bit, slept in... Biked. 'twas good times. I like this whole "vacation" thing. It's goood.
Tomorrow, I have to get up, head to my mom's to bathe the dog (she's been swimming in Celina's fish pond FAR too much), then to meet Justa to kayak around 2pm. So. Hopefully this infernal RAIN stops. I'm okay if it wants to rain at night, but HELLO, not so cool with the during the day stuff.

In OTHER news, Barre's own Roy (whom you all know and love), will be performing at P.R.I.D.E Vermont's own DRAG IDOL competition!! He will have to lip-sync to a song (I hear Madonna is in the works)in drag (duh). AND, the winner is determined by the audience, so he is mustering a cheering section... I'm going. Holly's going, Justa's going.. it should be good times? Direct your questions Here , and let me know if you're interested.... we'll need to be buying tickets soon (they're projected to sell out). It'll be fun dancing and quite the show (no doubt), and performances should be over around 8:30p-9pm, just in time to cruise down to downtown, and hit the clubs/bars for real!!! any takers??
(and yes, I'm adopting Roy.).

So yeah. Must sleep. Busy day tomorrow, I think....
G'night LJ-land...

Oh, wait, I can't resist... I am a sheep.
( It's a music survey! )

Tags: biking, drag idol, survey
You might find me at: Home....
I'm feeling...: tired
I'm rockin' out to:: "Everywhere I Go" - Shawn Mullins

Hmm... okay, so perhaps this is the summer of "sporty-ness".... Yesterday saw Holly and I do a 10mi. bike ride from B-town to Colchester (very nice.), Today - a 2 hour kayak up the river, beginning at North Montpelier Pond, and tomorrow is a planned biking up the Stowe Bikepath. good Times....

I was checking out more potential bike routes, and it looks like the B-town rec path connects to a way that you can take a ferry across and continue in New York. MUCH amusement. I must investigate.

Hmm. What else? I'm officially on school vacation until the 5th... .AHHH... how nice a feeling to not have to get up and go, unless I feel like it. Very nice. very very.

Happy First day of Camp to all the LLC'ers out in LJ-land... Every summer that I'm not there is a weird nostalgic-bleh for a little bit.... but, their loss, not mine. I'll just spend my extra time this summer bustin' out the bikes and kayaks, etc.
So. Yeah. I think I'm going to go read my book... but, first:

( A deep-ish survey... )

Tags: biking, kayaking, survey
I'm feeling...: tired

so, I'm housesitting in jericho for the weekend - the first weekend of my vacation... and I am totally okay with that. I'll just refer to it as my vacation home. hahaa... They have extended satalite, there's yummy food in the fridge, the dogs aren't that obnoxious and the bed is really comfortable. It could certainly be worse. hahaha

Yesterday was interesting... Got to see Dave for a few hours. I... don't know what to say about that, or exactly how I felt about that, at this point. (Tim, did you HAVE to go to Ecquador?)... However, for anyone that may be interested, Dave really seems to be coming into his own... while things have not been the greatest for him at all times, him being 21 seems to have actually come with some maturity and perspective on the world. I am so glad to see that. His career seem to also be on the upswing... he's won some prestigious dance awards, is working hard on his stage career and is trying to move into commericals and what not.... My best wishes go with him, as always.

Today, while I'm at my 'vacation-home' ahahha... I think Holly and I are going to go for a bike ride up at the B-town waterfront. How can you pass that up on a day like today?? It's beautiful, and we're up here.... so, WOOHOO!. Perhaps we will even go kayaking this afternoon, when I bring her back to Barre/Montpelier. holy Sports-y are we. ahahha

Anyway... I think now is the time to go and make French Toast for breakfast, take a shower and get this show on the road!!!

Tags: biking, housesitting, kayaking
I'm feeling...: happy
I'm rockin' out to:: Plain White T's - Take Me Away