More on Bike Lanes

It seems like the thing to write about lately is bike lanes, or rather, the lack there of.  The funny thing is, as I'm back on my bike and also back to nearly being roadkill, I was considering the same thing.  Yes, I know, I wrote on this same subject last year, but the whole thing never ceases to annoy me.  Sure, I may not be the most patient driver in the world.  But I've certainly become more relaxed in the last couple of years, and my impatience is usually reserved for bad freeway drivers. And, if you haven't noticed, there are a lot of bad freeway drivers who also, I'm sure, drive badly on city streets. Anyway, in reference to the question, "How come Redlands has no bike lanes?", my question is "Why does Yucaipa have bike lanes and repaves its roads, yet Redlands can't seem to do either?"  Seriously, Yucaipa repaved a random road in a random neighborhood, that in reality was probably already in better shape than a lot of Redlands' roads.  Sigh.  But, I guess I'd rather live in Redlands than in Yucaipa, so I'll just have to deal with those unanswerable questions.  And bike lanes or no bike lanes, there are a lot of stupid drivers out there too.

Uninspired

I haven't written a blog post in over a month.  I feel like I have no ideas to write about.  In truth, I should have had a lot for inspiration.  For instance, our fantastic, although a little hectic, visit to Michigan for Christmas with the fam.  Or my six (soon to be seven) nieces and nephews (three nieces, three nephews and one unknown).  Babies, babies, babies; I can't get enough!  Or the amazingly beautiful scenery of Lake Michigan in the winter, or Nate and Sarah's lakeside property. Christmas with Matt and Ryder, and Matt's awesome family.  And we're on to 2011 already, how did that happen?!?  Then there's my never ending kitchen remodel (what happened to "finished by Thanksgiving"?).  And finally, back to work and back to running and riding.  How did I ever lead this busy life before?  So now that I'm writing this, I have plenty of ideas.  It may be a little too late to write about the holidays, but then I can add my photos from a Michigan winter to my photography blog and that will take care of that.  So I guess there will be more to come, at least I hope.  Inspiration and creativity these days would be good for the soul (and for my stress level).

December?

Is it really December?  What happened to 2010?  Maybe a drug induced coma recovering from a shattered femur bone....  But really, I definitely believe the premise that time goes faster as you grow older.  NOT that I'm OLD, of course!  In fact, I like to surround myself with people older than myself, to keep me younger.  Including Matt, older than me by 3 yrs and 3 mos.  (To be almost exact, because I know he'll catch me if I exaggerate).   He's definitely robbed the cradle!  LOL!  :-) 

But Christmas?  Really?  It seems like each one comes quicker than the last!  (Maybe because stores have Christmas stuff earlier each year.)  Anyway, now I really am dating myself... to match my cane: black metal with a puffy black handle, how comical is that?!  I'll stick with the crutches, thank you very much.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to watch Jamie at EnduroX.  In true Vegas fashion,, it was cold and windy and I needed something warm to drink.  I had to settle for Seattle's Best because Starbucks wasn't available close by (i.e. in the casino).   It was fun to watch Jamie race!  Awesome job, dude!  I wish I could've seen my man race a motorcycle.  But really he's fantastic, any way you look at it..  Back to coffee though, I must say that Starbucks really outdoes Seattle's Coffee on their cups.  Check it out, Seattle vs. Starbucks.  I think Starbucks has won more style points:

But if I can make a plug for local?  Check out Olive Avenue Market in Redlands.  Reopened and renovated; new inside seating and local products, too!  There's the coffee and tea, and better than anywhere Pumpkin Scones.  Sorry Starbucks, but they are way tastier! And I can't wait to try the Berry Scones, Cranberry Orange Scones, and Maple/Apple/Walnut Scones, not to mention the other sweets!  The ambiance is great, and the local feel and supporting local business couldn't be better!

Storybooks

When I was little, I loved stories.  Both of my parents love to read, and they instilled a love of reading in me.  My favorite books as a kid came in the form of Golden Books.  Like "The Pokey Little Puppy" or "The Saggy Baggy Elephant".  Those were my favorites!  Did you know that if you find one of these little books in an antique shop, that you might pay $5 per book (for a book that literally went for 29 cents at the time it was originally sold)?  Now you can find a new one on Amazon for upwards of $8.99 for the "Special Anniversary Edition".  But the best stories were the stories told.  I was reminded of this today when I picked up my Starbucks Extra Hot Nonfat Chai Latte.  Yum!  But it wasn't the chai that reminded me, but the sleeve on the cup that kept my hands from burning. 

My most beloved stories ever were of Johnny and Jenny Bullfrog as told by Grandpa F on tapes which he sent to us when we lived in Minnesota.  He had different "voices" for each character but his gruff "grandpa" voice still echoes in my mind.  I think my parents may have a few of these tapes still floating around.  Oh, what I wouldn't give to hear another one.  I know that my older brother now tells these timeless stories, probably in his own versions, to Caleb, Levi, and soon to little Aaron.  My dad, at one time, planned on writing them down (and I hope he still does).  Across the generations, kids love stories!  And stories inspire imagination, intelligence, and so much more in children too.  So keep reading and keep telling, there's so much more than Nintendo or Wii, believe me!

The hills are alive...

Today, I looked at the hills and I suddenly realized they were getting green.  Amazing what 9 days of rain, in a row no less, will do for the earth.  Fall is finally here!  I know some people, and one in particular, are disliking the suddenly cooler, if not downright cold, weather.  But I'm loving it.  Sorry baby!  And, in preparation for the annual winter trip to Michigan, my blood is even getting thicker from enduring the freezing interior of my house.  I must admit, though, that 9 days in a row of rain is a little bit excessive....

I got out one morning last week and took a few pictures of my flowers when the rain let up a bit.  Here are some of the results:

Off to the Gym

I've always hated the gym.  Being stuck inside.  Dirty, sticky equipment, that all kinds of sweaty people have touched.  And it doesn't take much activity to get drenched.  Do they do that on purpose?  Pump up the humidity and turn the air down so that by the time you finish your workout, you're drenched.  Just to make people feel like they've done a hard workout no matter how easy it is?

But the people watching at the gym is fantastic.  For instance, the 50-something guy last week, with long, graying black hair, wearing jean shorts with leather belt, white wife-beater tank, pulled up above his hairy belly (and no, he didn't have a 6 pack).  Or the short, Asian guy in sweatpants with shirt tucked in, sitting on one piece of weight equipment for long periods of time, staring at women.  Creepy!  Then there's this very fit African American chick, with arms I would love to have...

But, alas, I, too, have become a gym rat.  Well, sort of.  I can't do anything else.  It's my rehab.  Upper body strengthening, plus working on regaining mobility in my right hip and knee, and gaining some supportive strength around those joints.  I'm also making up for not using my 3 year prepaid membership more than a few times in the last 2 years.  Maybe after the next couple of months, I won't be able to get enough either.  Best case scenario, I'll gain some respect for gym-going and strength training, and I'll be ready to keep it up (a little) and hit the road in January.  I'm already planning my first race, the LA 5K or Half Marathon (wishful thinking) on January 16th.

Got the goods

I finally have gotten the goods and it has been coming in handy.  It didn't come without a little bit of a cost, namely waiting in line at the DMV -- everyone's favorite activity.  Seems like one could come up with a better system for the DMV, but no matter, that's not my point here.  Besides, due to my "gimp" status (Matt's description for me), I got to skip to the front of the line to get my number.  It still took 45 minutes of waiting before we got called to the front though, poor suckers at the back of the line.  (The line was already wrapped around to the back of the DMV by 8:15!)  We also waited at the laboratory, the pharmacy, and the disability office that morning.  Matt said we should have just hit the Social Security Office for good measure, while we were at it.  Anyway, so here it is:

Never thought I'd have one of these.  But let me tell you, I'm "loving" it, so to speak.  There is absolutely nothing good about crutches: if you are hopping around, your hands and arms start hurting; but if you stop and stand, your good leg and foot starts hurting.  There's no winning.  Now we park at the front, and save my hands from blisters and my left leg from aching.  It also cuts down on bitching and moaning (from all parties involved).  So, it may be a little drastic to go to such lengths to get my Handicap placard, but a gimp girl's gotta have some perks, right?