I'm Just Sayin'

Dublin and London

2010-06-08T22:40:00.002-04:00

These elephants were EVERYWHERE in London. It's basically the same concept as the bears in K-Town, people buy the animals, the money goes to charity. My thinking...why not make all of the elephants piggy banks and place them though out the city. Don't you think they would make more money that way because of all the tourist traffic?

The queen is in there!

Erin and me with Big Ben

Tower Bridge from the Ferry Cruise

The tunnel under the Thames River

Can't wait to go back, although, I am not all that impressed with English or Irish beer. I can only drink so much Guinness and warm beer(in England) takes some getting used to.

Photo Dump

2010-05-01T22:52:00.002-04:00

2010-04-05T23:37:00.002-04:00

March 13th
Yee Haw letterpress type

March 14th
John from Harper's(?) rocking the Dora the Explorer bike on the pump track wall ride. I couldn't even make it around the pump track, so this feat is most impressive.

March 15th
The hood ornament from an old Studebaker that is parked down the street.

March 16th
Belt.Drive. - not available on the Trek 2nd District but Dave made it happen.

March 17th
Brooke "frequent flyer" Novak's kitty, Raven, caught playing in the window when I went to check in.

The Next 5 Days

2010-03-28T23:23:00.002-04:00

Fun with shadows. Look closely!

Could it PLEASE stop raining???

Night time stroll with the pup and the boy.

It's gonna be a bad day when Eleanor gets shut in the dryer because we don't know she's in there.

March 3rd - March 7th

2010-03-18T22:22:00.003-04:00

March 3rd
We finally had nice weather and no rain in Knoxville, so we decided to head to the Ocoee to do a long, hard ride. Once we hit the forest service roads, we started running into several inches of snow and eventually, hard packed ice. 5 of 7 riders busted their booties before deciding that it would really suck to ride back up the giant descent we were starting down. The goal was 65 miles but we ended up settling for 40ish (which everyone ended up being really happy with except for my dad who went out for a couple more hours)

March 4th

March 5th
Dear breakfast, I love you.

March 6th
T.P.(or asswipe as Brooke calls it) Everybody needs it!!

March 7th

Feb 25 - March 2

2010-03-10T16:27:00.002-05:00

Feb 25th
Local beer provider to all things cycling, Jeremy Walker, runs the trivia game at Barley's.

Feb 26th
It's the ceiling fan. I was desperate.

Feb 27th
Fencing at the Historic Knoxville Cemetery.

Feb 28th
Sock monkey slippers are ready for bed.

March 1st
Green velvet cupcakes from Magpies in honor of St. Patty's day. (wow, my pics are way off, because I know this one is actually from the 5th. Guess I need to edit more often)

March 2nd
Letterpress type from YeeHaw.

Feb 20 - Feb 24

2010-03-03T20:05:00.002-05:00

My dates got all kind of screwed up, so these pictures may or may not have been taken on this particular day...

Feb 20
Todd climbs up the second climb on the Mt. Larry ride in Oliver Springs, TN. It had finally warmed up in Knoxville that day (whatever day that was), but there was still a good bit of snow on the ground at the higher elevations.

Feb 21
Took 3 crazy dogs and a Dave to Cherokee to run off some steam. The dog Nazis were out in full force, so we waited until almost dark to let them off the leashes. No tickets!

Feb 22
Haribo gummy bears are SOOOO good.

Feb 23
Dog sitting for Mom - Austin (on the right) is too good to sleep on the floor.

Feb 24
Gettin' creative in the kitchen

Feb 15 - Feb 19

2010-02-24T18:28:00.002-05:00

Almost caught up...

February 15th
Boo found the only spot in the yard that wasn't covered in snow. One another note, Boo got a new collar with a particularly annoying bell yesterday. I'm pretty sure she hates it.

February 16th
Cheetah, rawr! Dirty saddle bag on a dirty bike. Dave is so disappointed in my bike cleaning skillz.

February 17th
Eleanor, yellow may be your color.

February 18th
Knoxiecross #5 at McFee Park in Farragut. The course was challenging and a little tricky, but I won a bottle of wine for my efforts! (note: no other women in my category showed up)

February 19th
Spring, spring, spring!!! It was 36 and snowed today...

Feb 10th (for real this time) - Feb 14th

2010-02-23T08:56:00.003-05:00

February 10th
Throw your automatic coffee maker out! This is the only proper way to make coffee.

February 11th
Little kitty wants to go outside. I say "no!" and take her picture.

February 12th
Italian wedding soup courtesy of Ina Garten. Try it out!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/italian-wedding-soup-recipe/index.html

February 13th
Free tulip bulbs. Say what, free flowers? Sign me up. I stuck them in the ground the next day, so we'll see if they actually come up.

February 14th
This is a common look for Dave. He is constantly tormented by the number of "Unread" items on his Google Reader.

Feb 5 - Feb 10

2010-02-15T21:45:00.002-05:00

Looks like I fell behind on my photo editing. Playing catch up - maybe I'll have another post for you by the end of the week.

Feb 5th
The Knoxville winter has been either cold and rainy, cold and snowy, or frigid. I have reached my breaking point and am officially ready for spring.

Feb 6th
Ate pizza and drank beer at Rebekah Jane's house. I had to lay on the floor to get a shot of the light fixture in the dining room.

Feb 7th
Jeremy, Abby, Derek, and I took the pups for a hike up House Mountain which is just north of Knoxville. I had ridden around House Mountain on bike with Christie Elwin, once upon a time, but had never checked out the trails. There was still alot of frost and snow leftover from the last bit of weather to roll through K-town.

Feb 8th
Boogy is watching his owners shimmy out onto a ledge on the side of the mountain for a photo op.

Feb 9th
I am anxiously awaiting warmer weather so I can more time to shoot outside.

The title lies. You'll have to wait for the February 10th photo. :)

Jan 31 - Feb 4

2010-02-05T22:10:00.003-05:00

Jan 31
January ended with a bang with the TN state cyclocross championships, There was lots of snow and ice the first day and LOTS of mud and goop the second day. This is Joel suffering during the single speed race - the last race of the weekend.

February 1st
Eleanor usually runs and hides because she's scared of most everything. Looks like she found a new hiding spot at the top of the laundry room.

February 2nd
Hi Stella!!

February 3rd
I get really tired of riding the trainer, so some days when it's cold, I'll take a little tour of the parking garages around downtown. This particular parking garage tried to kill me with an invisible cable stretched across the entrance to the 6 floor.

February 4th
Sunsphere-shaped trophy on the mantle

Jan 26 - Jan 30

2010-01-30T21:50:00.005-05:00

January 26th
Finally ate at the other Nama. We had two rolls of sushi and one of their "hot plates". Goooooood.

January 27th
I like to eat. Have you noticed? We added sour cream and some strawberry yogurt to the batter. They smell really, really good while they're cooking, but the flavor wasn't much different. I plan on playing around with the recipe a bit more. Waffle Wednesday, perhaps?

Hey Dave, I said "perhaps".

January 28th
Packing for cyclocross races in cold and snowy Bristol. Cold, wet races = lots of stuff

January 29th
Oh crap, it's 10:30 and I have yet to take a single picture! Ice skates found in the Chandler garage.

January 30th
Jeremy and Boogey take a ride on the sled at the cross race. Boogey looks like he's being tortured, but he actually got back on...twice.

Jan 21 - Jan 25

2010-01-26T17:50:00.002-05:00

January 21st
I'm starting to run out of things to photograph inside the house

January 22nd
like I said...

January 23rd
I ride past this car every time I go out east and every time I notice it sitting outside, kind of out of place. Note to all cyclists - the guy that lives across the street is not very cyclist friendly...

January 24th
The dryer finally died, so I had to bite the bullet and get the match to the washer I purchased last summer.

January 25th
Monday was a struggle fo'sho'! I ended up downtown because I had to pay the KUB bill at the last minute ( as i do every single month). This is the top of the Market St. garage.

Jan 16 - Jan 20

2010-01-20T22:14:00.003-05:00

Still going strong!

January 16th
coffee, coffee, coffee.

January 17th

January 18th
Sleepin' wit da fishes

January 19th
yum!

January 20th
Kitty Camouflage

Jan 11 - Jan 15

2010-01-16T19:24:00.003-05:00

Jan 11
I obviously care that the lamp shade is crooked...

Jan 12
Clogged gutter plus frigid weather plue Dave telling me about it leads to me grabbing my camera and freezing my fingers off.

Jan 13
Good advice

Jan 14
Boo's got that look in her eyes. Crazy kitty act to ensue.

Jan 15
I can't use any color but black on my road bike because I sweat too much. Dave on the other hand, chooses a nice turquoise.

[Dave wants you to know the color is actually Aegean Blue.]

jan 6 - jan 10

2010-01-10T19:59:00.002-05:00

January 6th
Stella says, "another picture?? Ok, fine"

January 7th
Downtown K-town after the snowstorm that pretty much completely missed us.

January 8th
Magpies open house. Free cupcakes!

January 9th
Dave does not approve of my technique, so I am no longer allowed to re-wrap my bars

January 10th
Dave Worth shows how it's done in the the pro1/2 race in Chattanooga.

a whole year of stuff to look at

2010-01-05T22:29:00.002-05:00

Here you go, people...an entire year of pretty pictures for your viewing pleasure (i hope). Now, I am not one for New Year's Resolutions, but after some inspiration from Jennie and having a camera lying around doing nothing, I figured, what the heck. So, what you'll be getting is one picture documenting whatever it is I might do or see that day for an entire year.

and here you go, the first installment

January 1

On the very first day I forgot about the project. 15s exposure, tripod, hangover.

January 2

January 3

If this week's weather is any indication, it's gonna be a long winter

January 4

In the hood - you can see the sign from the interstate

January 5

local veggie restaurant down the block.

There ya go. Check back for updates!

Dupont

2009-11-03T21:37:00.003-05:00

Maria wanted to hit up Dupont for some birthday mtb riding followed by a birthday 32 ounce Gaelic Ale and supper yummy grubbin' at Papas and Beer. You can't beat a good southern fall day.

We had to take a detour around I40 due to a rock slide the night before. The views more than made up for the extra drive time.

You have to go under this waterfall to get to more trails.

We had to stop for a potty break, so I had some time to kill.

Wes's challenge that nobody took him up on. Ride to the end of the log without falling off.

I borrowed Abby's bike to pose for this picture. The bike justifies the outfit, right?

And now the time change is upon us and I'm sad. I sure do miss that extra hour of sun after I get home from work.

Introducing...

2009-10-29T09:34:00.002-04:00

Stella

good trade

2009-09-21T23:14:00.003-04:00

this...

for this...

Off to Interbike. My goal last year was to come back with a bottle opener - a cool one. A simple goal, unlike, say, gaining clients, but the goal was not reached, so I'm trying again. Also, if you need any testing of helmets, personal protective equipment, or the like, give me a shout. We're awesome at it. Really, we're the best in world - no b.s.

peek a boo

2009-09-13T19:55:00.003-04:00

haha, get it?

closed side of the parkway

2009-09-05T21:47:00.003-04:00

It's a tough ride but totally worth it.

pick your own

2009-08-13T13:53:00.003-04:00

Blueberries! Last year I was introduced to the goodness of fresh picked blueberries, which in no way resemble those mushy, tasteless things you get in the store for about a million dollars a pint. This year, mom and I headed to Blueberry Hill Farm (right next to Norris, so take your bike) and picked until our fingers turned blue.

Green Thumb

2009-07-28T15:08:00.001-04:00

guttertree, originally uploaded by girlysteiner.

I have to assume that it is a bad thing to have little baby trees growing in the gutter. Sorry, little baby trees; you're gettin' the boot!

view from the road

2009-07-16T12:59:00.002-04:00

And now, a view OF the road...

Uhhh. Take that people driving in your cars, trying to get somewhere. Ain't happenin' today.
For the record, we walked right through and continued on our ride in the hilliest place on earth...Powell.

Lumberjack'd

2009-06-23T12:53:00.003-04:00

4 laps of a 25 mile twisty, sandy, not so technical trail looked a little something like this:
lap 1 : 2hrs 22min - feelin' good
lap 2 : 2hrs 24min - feelin' good
lap 3 : 2hrs 36min - gettin' tired, starting to cramp a bit, where'd my water go?
lap 4 : 3hrs 9min - first 17 gettin' by, cramping at times. last 8 miles - DEATH

I'm pretty sure the death was caused by two things: 1) the decision to ride the single speed that hangs in the garage and never gets to see the light of day and 2) my profuse amount of sweating had caused me to turn into a salt-sicle by the end of the third lap.

If you don't consider that whole death thing, the weekend was actually pretty nice. The weather was good, the trails were good, the drive up wasn't bad, nobody had to go to the hospital, and we weren't eaten alive by skeeters. (To ensure the skeeters stayed at bay, we picked up the most potent bug spray we could find at the local K-mart.)

and just for fun, a list of all of the body parts that cramped during the race:
1) Calves
2) weird little muscle that runs along the outside of the lower leg near the ankle
3) both forearms
4) lower back
5) left shoulder
6) hands
7) right adductor (owww)

So that's the official end to big, long, painful races for the year. Will I do any of these next year? Hmmm. We'll see.

manistee, mi

2009-06-12T09:46:00.004-04:00

One week until the Lumberjack 100 and we have not secured a place to stay. Problem? Yeah, probably. Maybe the mosquitoes have some extra room.

blooms

2009-06-05T14:25:00.004-04:00

Hello pretty flowers in my yard

From mccalley.blogspot.com

sheeps and lambs

2009-05-29T09:05:00.011-04:00

Last Friday night, Dave and I made the drive to White Pine(you have to read "White Pine" with your very best southern accent) because we had gotten a tip that there may be many, many super cute baby lambs at the farm. It turns out that Mr. Ram figured out how to sneak over to the ladies' side of the fence, and, well, you know how it goes.

Dave managed to snag one

not a sheep

happy memorial day

2009-05-25T12:24:00.002-04:00

enjoy some chalkboard pantry art.

Dear DSG,

2009-05-12T10:07:00.004-04:00

I hate you.

After lots of debating with myself, I decided to give dirt, sweat, and gears a go. That was a bad decision. The rain we've been having made the course unrideable and downright miserable. It took me three hours to go about 8 miles of a 10 mile loop, and I should have bailed earlier. Most of that time was spent scooping mud off the tires and out of the frame so the wheels would turn while I was pushing it. I figured my bike weighed about 50 lbs with all the mud. Well guess what, someone found a scale and weighed a bike after it had come off the course...92 pounds. 92 pounds!!! I believe it - I couldn't even lift my bike to carry it!

It wasn't all bad though. Free beer and good people can make any bad experience go away. Erin even came down from Nashvegas to hang with us in the mud.
If you want to see the mud for yourself. Check out www.cyclingdirt.com for some good videos. The site is done by the same people that do Flotrack, so you know it's good stuff!

SERC #5 AKA Kenda Cup East Opener

2009-05-07T10:48:00.007-04:00

First XC mountain bike race - first win. I think I'm going to go ahead and retire before they make me upgrade to expert class and I start getting my butt kicked. Press release on the way. Stay tuned....

This race was a much more manageable and totally more enjoyable (and not because I won) 16 miles rather than the 100 that I suffered through the previous weekend. For all you runners, this is more like the 3k-5k of the mtb world. Yay!

Oh yeah, you know how it's been raining every day since umm, forever? My drivetrain was none too happy.

Here's the short and sweet report
Lap 1
Neutral start behind a motorcycle, sat in third for a few minutes as we started to to climb. I figured that if I had any chance, I should try to gap some people here, so I went by the two people in front of me and pulled away. I was really surprised no one went with me, but I kept going until the downhill, sloppy, wet, slippery singletrack section of the race was hit. Since I didn't think risking life and limb was worth a Sport category win, I pretty much farted around and was really careful until we got back to the road section to start the second lap. Apparently, I was too careful because two big guys surprised me on the road with the second place girl in tow. Tried to latch on, but they gapped me too quickly.
Lap 2
Quickly caught the girl that passed me on the climb, put some distance between us, and decided that I should probably work a little harder on the scary sections if I actually wanted to win. So, that's what I did - I scared myself a little and it worked. Go me.

the lady to my right threatened me about spraying my bottle of bubbly malty type alcoholic beverage
(ok, not really, it was more a request to not open it)

I wish I had a picture of me post race because I have never been so muddy in my life! I asked if there was a place to clean up, and I was directed to the river. I had no choice, I was going in.

Knoxville had a nice representation in the single speed category - Dave 3rd, Caleb 4th, and Doug Parker 5th.

You're doing it wrong! A. why does everybody put their arms in the air? and B. why are you going to hand me all this stuff if you want me to put my arms in the air?

Cohutta "race" Report

2009-05-01T12:04:00.004-04:00

Well here it is - the down and dirty

5am - wake up call via G's phone in the next tent. It was dark and a little cold, but we managed to get everything packed up and ready without leaving anything.

7am - race start. I wasn't really sure what to eat, but I figured something similar to what I used to eat before cross country races would do pretty well. Unfortunately, I didn't bring oatmeal or pop-tarts, so I ate a banana and part of a bagel and hoped for the best.

the rest of the day:
Uphill on the road, downhill on the road, single track stuff, more downhill on the road, then a flat sometimes rooty section with a big nasty looking rocky section at the end. Said rocky section really isn't that bad, but some dude with a megaphone scared the bejesus out of me when i was almost through it and freaked me out, so I screwed up and had to stop before I killed myself. Stopping resulted in me pissing off some lady behind me and she yelled at me. Oh well, she'll get over it.

The next few miles were uneventful. Rolled through the 18 mile aid station, hit the fire road and started to do some climbing. Next was the paved road section that had some massive rollers that were really tough on the big ole' mountain bike. Finally, I came to a really crowded highway. Wait. Highway? F@#*.

Yep, any doubts that I am, in fact, my father's daughter were removed when I missed an obvious turn somewhere around here:

(would you like extra miles with that?)

After I turned around, I somehow ended up back on course and started picking off the stragglers at the back of the race. I passed some guy who encouraged me by saying "well, you're not going to podium...". Well, buddy, I got some news for ya...neither are you.

Anyways, after climbing for what seemed like days, I got to the 34 mile aid station at noon. After climbing for what seemed like many, many more days, I got to the 50 mile aid station. Here I downed some boiled red potatoes doused in salt, some chips, and a cookie. I decided it would be smart to avoid the offered hotdogs, although, they did look tasty. Thank you, thank you volunteers for refilling my camelback and lubing my chain while I was stuffing my face.

On to the 64 mile aid station where more face stuffing was done, although, by this time, I was starting to really feel the heat. More climbing was followed by a nice flat section, and then more climbing up to the 80 mile aid station.

At mile 80, I sat down, had a banana and something else that I can't remember. By this point I was pretty much dead and was dreading the last 10 miles of the race which were all single track. I was quickly revived when Bruce came up behind me and dumped a bunch of cold water on my head. WOW, that was amazing. Thank you sir, may I have another??

Quick recap
time to mile 34 - 5 hours
34 mile station to 80 mile station - 4 hours

The last 20 miles were a lot harder than I had anticipated. I figured most of the climbing was behind me, but I was WAY wrong. So, I put my head down, got in a rhythm and up I went.

Next up, 90 mile aid station and the beginning of the end. Decided to roll through the last aid station because I just wanted to finish. On my way by the guy there yelled "it's all down here from here!!" Liar. Into the single track I went. The first bit was down hill - rocky, bumpy, typical East Tennessee fare then it went uphill again. Seriously, more climbing? I was over it. The last 9 miles or so seemed like they lasted forever. It seemed like I hit every root and rock possible - even if I tried to avoid it, I still hit it. My right hand was no longer functioning which made shifting impossible, and mentally, I was toast. Finally, I got to the 2nd bridge on Thunder Rock and starting crying because I knew I was practically done. All I had to do was ride down the nice, smooth, paved road, hang a right, then a left and I was DONE.

last 20 miles - 2 hours 9 minutes
overall time - 11 hours 9 minutes

Fellow Knoxvillians
Dave - 7:51 8th in single speed category with a 30 min improvement from last year
G$ - 8:51 Cohutta first timer and crazy single speeder
TEAM ED - Dad busted out in 9:19, best time ever by a couple of hours! (Are we going to have to get you tested?)

Not bad for no training - next big, dumb race is the Lumberjack 100 in June. Busting out the single speed for that one!

Whew!

"off the couch" - cohutta 100 (plus)

2009-04-28T10:50:00.004-04:00

I'm sure my blog slacking makes you think I'm super busy doing all kinds of fun things, and I just don't have time to share them with you. Well, uh, you'd be wrong. April was a completely uninteresting and lazy month, and I'm not really sure how it got away from me so quickly. Highlights include a visit from Callie, creating two raised beds for the veggie garden, and nicer weather. Lowlights include falling down(lots!), getting sunburned, and not so nice weather. There, now you're caught up.

Now, what would you do on a free weekend if your most intense workout of the last few weeks had been riding down a mountain on a snowboard? Wait, what's that you say? You would go torture yourself with a 100 mile mountain bike race in the Cohutta mountains?? Crazy! Yes, it sure is.

Saturday's weather forecast was hot, hot, hot, and the course looked a little something like this:

From blog

The Knoxville crowd consisted G$, TEAM ED, Dave, and yours truly. G and Dave were super studs and rocked single speeds, while I was incredibly fine with clicking down to the granny gear and pretty much staying there all day.

More to come later.

2009-04-01T20:09:00.004-04:00

It took us 4 days to find this treasure. Now I know why the grocery store selection was so crappy. In fact, the grocery store selection was SO bad, we went back to the condo with a 12 pack of High Life and Michelob Ultra the first night. It was THAT bad.

This may actually be beer heaven - 7 varieties of New Belgium and 2 bucks cheaper than at home. Can't beat it.

i'm on vacation

2009-03-29T19:52:00.005-04:00

Snowboarding for 8 days in Colorado is definitely my idea of a relaxing time. Forget the beach, gimme the mountains and snow.

The Elwins planned everything and have been super fun. Those Aussies are a fun bunch.

from left to right we have Mark, John, Jen, Christie, me, and John(Christie's bf)

How do you end the first day of snowboarding?

Oh did I mention we are having the BEST WEATHER EVER???

the latest in spring fashion...

2009-03-20T22:38:00.005-04:00

hats are in.

work it, boo.

an uptick in productivity

2009-03-18T10:08:00.007-04:00

this past weekend

Bad for riding, good for getting work done inside. So we painted and painted and painted and then painted some more. We even cleaned the baseboards and mopped and vacuumed. Whew!

Inspiration: the Pottery Barn catalog

weekend tally:

3 gallons of paint
3 rollers
$27 in new brushes
14 beers (consumed by two of us...i know what you were thinking)
2 kitchen towels
20 hours of painting
a roll of paper towels

on a side note, since we're talking about numbers here, i got chased by something like 18 dogs yesterday on my ride after work. 12 came from 1 yard. 12! seriously!

I'll have to post a picture of the finished living room later

bracketology 2009

2009-03-16T08:55:00.003-04:00

I'm looking to improve on my poor performance from last year. What I remember from last year was that Kansas finally decided not to choke, and Christie won with her high seeds strategy.

We'll see how it all shakes out this year.
$10 gets you in. I think it should be winner takes all, but I'm open to suggestions.

group page: Bit's tournament pool (creative, I know!)

password: knoxville

On a side note, did anybody watch the end of the SEC tournament championship game? Ridiculous.

straw poll

2009-03-13T22:09:00.004-04:00

anybody interested in getting a pool going for the tournament?

i'm thinking $10 per entry, winner takes all.

let me know asap. out of towners can either put it in the mail, or we can use paypal which would probably be easier.

hello, my name is...

2009-03-11T21:27:00.005-04:00

Dear Callie,

Please come back and visit us. We miss you.

No, really, we miss YOU...not your bed.

Love,
Boo and Eleanor

don't tease me.

2009-03-03T15:59:00.004-05:00

70 degrees??? On the weekend??? O.M.G!

what's that round yellow thing?

Too Cold for Me

2009-02-24T15:02:00.003-05:00

Like I said, Jeremy was very serious about the gentleman's competition. I imagine that most of you are reading this going, "Lil' Bit has lost her mind, what in the world is that girl talking about...", so if that IS the case, read up at www.knoxvillecycling.com

water temp - low 40's, coldest ice bath, ever!

love those wrist guards! safety first...

Goodbye Knoxiecross

2009-02-23T21:03:00.008-05:00

The 2009 edition of Knoxiecross is officially over. 6 races over three weekends allowed Knoxville to show off its unpredictable weather patterns and show off it did. Weekend 1 was cold and rainy, weekend 2 was unseasonably hot, and not to be outdone, weekend 3 saw 60 degree temps on Saturday and then 35 degree temps and snow on Sunday.

This past weekend's races were held at World's Fair Park. Urban cross around the Sunsphere?? Count me in!!!

A fancy shot of Dave running up the stairs of death.

Dave and I got to bring home some big shiny balls for our efforts. Dave was second overall in the series in CX3 and I took home the top prize in the women's category.

Jeremy took the gentleman's competition very seriously and took advantage of every opportunity to gain points on his competitors. Shown here in a wig and women's underwear.

There were a couple of Team Ed sightings...stealthy in all black

Now I'm officially ready for spring.

I don't care what the temperature is...

2009-02-11T08:54:00.002-05:00

It is still February; get back in the ground.

From Drop Box

home improvement

2009-01-29T09:23:00.000-05:00

The winter is a good time to get stuff done. Less daylight allows for less time outside which gives me more time to dislike the whitish coloring of the interior walls. I say whitish because they are more of a yellowish/brownish color because the previous owner was a bit of a smoker.

First, the kitchen. The dilemma: what color? Grey? Maybe. Blue. Maybe. Bright blue? No. Dark Blue? Well, if it's in the morning when there's plenty of light in the kitchen then yes, but at night, it will be way too dark so maybe not. Ok, what about something in the middle? Ok, great, but which middle hue of blue would you propose?

This dialog went on for longer than I care to admit. I have an irrational fear of choosing the wrong paint color - probably because I know the color is going to be around for a LONG time as painting is not on my list of "super fun things to do when I have time off".

Eventually, a color was chosen from a Lowe's paint chip and I went to Home Depot to go pick up some paint. News Flash - Home Depot and Lowe's do not have the same paint chips! Your eyes will trick you into picking the wrong color! You have been warned. So that's what I did, I brought home a gallon of paint that was WAY darker than I thought. Instead of going back to Home Depot to get them to lighten it up, I grabbed the leftover gallon of white paint that the previous owner had left in that garage and started dumping it in.

And this is what I got.

I can live with it.

In the near future, beadboard is going to be added as a pseudo blacksplash. I say pseudo because the real reason is to hide the giant gap between the counter and the wall that I discovered when I started pulling up the ugly trim. Oh, it IS there for a reason...huh. Weird.

The dining room (still without dining table) was a whole lot easier because: 1. Dave picked a palette of green that I didn't argue with and 2. I went to LOWE'S and gave them the correct paint chip of the chosen color.

I still have the living room and the giant hallway to go. I'm not even going to think about the bathrooms.

knoxiecross

2009-01-12T19:24:00.009-05:00

The first of three Knoxiecross weekends is officially over!! No frostbite or anything! I tried my very, very hardest to avoid 'cross this year, but I really feel like I should support the local series and go suffer with everybody else. Last years 'cross season started way back in October with the MSG series in Bristol and Johnson City. But this year, house projects, prior committments, and just plain laziness got in the way. But better late than never, right?

Saturday saw varying degrees of rain and temps in the high 30's for most of the day. Sunday saw colder temperatures, but luckily the rain gods spared us...finally. I tell ya, Knoxville is paying the price for that amazing November weather!!

pictures were sparse from Saturday due to the rain, but you can see the effect the rain had on the course and my clothes.

After I crossed the finish line on Saturday, I was met with heckling and questions on why I was so clean. "What!?" I said, "I'm filty!" And I could not understand why anybody would think I was clean. Take a look at the picture though; I'm far and away the cleanest of the bunch. What did you people do, swim in the mud?

Although there was no rain on Sunday, there was still plenty of water and mud on the course. Actually since this was day two of racing the same course, the conditions got worse.

Walking aka sinking in this mud was not a pleasant experience. Nasty, nasty, nasty.

I figured it would be a good spot to take pictures until I realized that the racers had very little say-so in how they got down the hill. I chose being injury free over a good photo op, but here's one of Dave that I captured before I ducked into the brush.

Since I am a freak and seem to never get cold while riding, I was very comfortable during the races except for my frozen right foot. Somehow it got wet. Hmmm.

Go Carly

2008-12-18T15:45:00.006-05:00

This post is mainly for all you non-Knoxvillians but if you don't compulsively pick up every free publication in Market Square, you might enjoy this too. (what? I can't help it)

Check out the super awesomeness that you are missing. Our very own Carly Matthews was featured in Skirt! magazine in the "My Way" section back in September. Btw, this was actually published after Carly skipped town and moved to Oregon to become a hippy...err, grad student. Grad student, yes, that's what I meant. :) Check it out. It's pretty cool

Alright - No more blog slacking. More posts coming soon, so stayed tuned.

I think if you click on the picture you will actually be able to read it. You should read it, it sums Carly up pretty darn good.

pretty leaves and pretty lights

2008-11-06T13:41:00.008-05:00

please enjoy these pictures as replacement for fun and entertaining stories about yours truly. knoxville is enjoying an absolutely gorgeous (and warm!) november.

2008-10-17T11:57:00.003-04:00

Boo finally posed for a photo without giving me the squinty eyes or begging for food. Only took 6 years!

Commuter Karma

2008-10-02T12:32:00.005-04:00

Alright, alright, I've learned my lesson.

I hopped on my bike Monday afternoon and headed the long way home. The longer route goes down Tipton St. then left up Neubert Springs, and then right down Martin Mill Pike. It is a much more enjoyable trip than Maryville Pike at 5 o'clock. The pot holes combined with pissy drivers trying to get home stresses me out a little bit after a long day at work.

So I'm riding along all fine and dandy, enjoying the weather, and I'm about to hit Martin Mill Pike when, pssssttt!! - a flat tire. Now, I have always been "that person" who hardly ever carries the necessary items to fix a flat because "I always have my cell phone, and I'll just call somebody". Makes sense, right? But, it seems this doesn't really work out when A) people are still at work, B) people don't answer their cell phones, or C) live too far away to be helpful.

There I am on the side of the road, trying to figure out why I flatted. I check the tire - no holes or punctures or sharp objects. Alright, well, guess I'll start walking and try to catch the bus. I know I'm going to be walking for awhile, so I go ahead and put my running shoes back on and start walking down Martin Mill. (super fun! everyone should try it!)

I get down Martin Mill in one piece and I'm almost to the bus stop when I notice the construction that is being done on Maryville Pike. Hmm, me thinks there will be no buses running down here today. So I keep walking for a few more minutes when Rebecca Falls rides by and asks if I need help. THANK YOU LORD!!! Rebecca saved me a couple more miles worth of walking, and I will be forever grateful. Luckily, the 25c road tube didn't explode while being pumped up to fit a 32c cross tire. And, I would like to say that we changed that tube pretty darn quick - go us!

Anyway, like I said above, I have learned my lesson and stocked up on flat fixing tools so I won't have any more 2 hour treks home.

Now after all that, I commuted to work the next day and found some goodies along the side of the road. Jeremy refers to them as "commuting primes" (Prime: An award given for the rider to reach a certain point mid-race in a sprint. Pronounced "preem." French). The only thing I ended up keeping was a pair of wire cutters that I'm sure will come in handy at some point at the house. One less trip to Lowe's, right?.

Eleanor

2008-08-19T14:03:00.003-04:00

This little kitty joined the McCalley household a few weeks ago after being tossed in a ditch on the side of the road. Naturally, Boo is showing her the ropes and teaching her all kinds of ways to irritate me. What's with the attitude, little kitty?

wait, i know those people

2008-07-10T16:18:00.004-04:00

Sharon, you and JJ are on www.forbes.com!!

link: how to train like an olympian

my work productivity pays off...

throw out your sunscreen

2008-07-09T09:10:00.004-04:00

If you prefer to not strain your eyeballs trying to read that little bitty print, check out this site for more info. sunscreen study

And for those of you that just want to know what you should be using...the top 10

Blue Lizard (without oxybenzone)
California Baby (anything SPF 30+)
CVS with zinc oxide
Jason Natural Cosmetics Sunbrellas Mineral Based Sunblock
Kiss My Face ("paraben free" series)
Neutrogena Sensitive Skin Sunblock
Olay Defense Daily UV Moisturizer with zinc
SkinCeuticals Physical UV Defense
Solar Sense Clear Zinc for Face
Walgreens Zinc Oxide for Face, Nose, and Ears

My mom has already bragged to me this morning that she uses number 3 and number 8.

Lumberjack 100

2008-06-17T09:15:00.024-04:00

Big M Mountain Bike/XC Ski area - Manistee National Forest, Michigan

What can I say about the trip? Tons.

First off, I have to give a big shout out and thumbs up to MSR and their Hubba Hubba tent. After watching my Dad throw this thing up in a matter of minutes, I am impressed that it kept me warm and dry during the worst storm I have ever experienced in my entire life.(Dad slept in the car) I learned the next day that I camped through a tornado warning and approximately 10 inches of rain. Go me.

the race course. this is not a joke.

Next...mosquitoes. Oh. My. GOD. I'm pretty sure Manistee is the old Native American term for "don't you dare stand still or the mosquitoes will eat you alive". Thank God I brought a pair of long pants. I also brought some long shirts, but apparently sleeves were not much of an obstacle for these guys to overcome. That's one more good thing about the Hubba Hubba, it's mosquito proof. I closed myself up in my tent at 7 one night because I couldn't handle them swarming around me any longer. Ugh. I will never complain about the mosquitoes at my house ever again. Never, never.

Ok, so the whole reason for the trip - race time!

6:45am. Ready to go! Brr!

getting ready for the 3rd lap

last one!

final time through the bog (it was really nasty)

why would you do this on a tandem?

all done!

Finishing time was 11 hrs and 40 some odd minutes - way to go!
A quick race review can be found here.
My gift to dad on father's day was to drive him home on Sunday. :)

Discburner

2008-06-09T14:41:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, I paid my dues and helped my fellow cyclists by volunteering for the Discburner. The Discburner is a 6 or 12 hour mountain bike race in which participants ride in a 8 mile loop over and over again until they die. Sometimes literally, but most of the time not literally.

These things seem pretty popular and I don't really get it.

Run to your bikes! Hurry! The race is only 6 hours long!

I was pretty lucky because I got to hang out under a tent all day in the 95 degree heat. Dave tried to make me stand at the road and direct traffic, but I said to myself, "self, there ain't no way I'm standing next to the road in the 95 degree blazing hot sun." So I said, "I hope those mountain bikers remember to look both ways before they cross the street, 'cause I'm going back under the tent." Looks like the mountain bikers remembered what their mommas taught 'em, 'cause no mountain bikers got runned over by speeding cars.

Discburner Casualty

The dude on this bike had just started his first lap and all of a sudden, his bike broke in 4 places. WTF? That's a really, really expensive bike. I went over to take a picture and the guy goes, "you can unfold it if you want"...um, ok.

yeah Dad! (ps. the oldest competitor) I think he finished 5th in the 6 hour category.

I managed to snag a good amount of free stuff. The list includes, wool socks, beer, a pint glass, and an entire box of Grape Nuts Trail Mix Crunch Cereal. YUM!!! I LOVE that stuff.

Bad news, I dented my back bumper by hitting a grill grate that was hiding in the grass while trying to avoid a large truck and a tent. Thanks for the heads up girls that were standing right next to my car and the grill....

Grow little veggies (and fruit)

2008-06-03T08:19:00.003-04:00

The last couple of weeks I have been commuting to work by bike, but as I was pumping up the rear tire on the Surly this morning, I blew a tube. So, since I had time to kill before hopping in the car, I took some shots of the garden this morning.

But first, the commuter rig...
A burly, heavy hunk of commuting fun. It weighs in at just a bit over 24 lbs. A big change from the Tarmac.

There it is, sans front fender because I can't find a long, skinny bolt.

baby yellow squash

maters - these guys were a surprise.

the zucchini is growing like crazy. there are blooms like this all over the place

peaches - still growing very, very slowly.

Jake Gets Hitched!

2008-05-28T16:27:00.003-04:00

On May 17, 2008, Jake (aka Rachel) married her TN House Majority Leader (aka Gary Odom) in Belle Meade, Nashville.

Proof that I can't afford to live in Belle Meade:

Umm, no, that's ok, I'll just have my limo driver make a loop around the block.

Wedding details:
The dress - Oscar de la Renta
The rock - huge! I tried to take a picture, but the ring was so huge and sparkly that my camera had a hard time focusing...
How they met - Rachel was Gary's summer intern in 2005(?). Don't quote me on that, coulda been 2006.
The band - awesome! They had choreographed dance moves and everything!
For dinner they served filet mignon. Good try, but I think that's a difficult meal to serve to so many people at the same time and do it well. I still ate it though. You know me, never turn down a good hunk a meat.
At the end of the night, there were fireworks over the golf course which I'm sure the grounds crew was super excited about in the morning.

Some pics from the wedding

First, sober

Lake Ave. together again!

The happy couple

Well, that's the end of the sober pictures. The reception was insane! Bartender Kim boasted that she could make margaritas five different ways, and I saw this as a personal challenge to try them all. Alas, I only tried two, but they were damn good.

The bride and me

The bride and Katie - rumor has it (and from a good source I might add!) that there are several paintings of Rachel in the house.

I have no idea

Get 'em, Katie!

Patrick was a lucky man, he took three girls back to his hotel room.

Who's next!??

coloRADo

2008-05-15T16:00:00.004-04:00

After spending a good, solid week at the new house and not accomplishing much of anything, work whisked me away to spend a few days in the wild, wild west. On the agenda for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday was the biannual ASTM (american society of testing and materials) conference where all of the "cool" sporting goods engineers put on their best short sleeve dress shirts and try to impress with their knowledge of physics, biomechanics, epidemiology studies, and laboratory testing procedures. I actually counted this time, and I saw a total of four...yes, four women during the entire conference. To say I was out of place is a gross understatement, but I'm sure they love having someone around who can always say, "wow, you've been coming to these meetings before I was even born". I'm sure they love that. This time, the convention was held in Denver, so I was super pumped to have a cool place to go explore when I didn't have a meeting to attend.

8 Things I learned about Denver:

It's really hard to get comfortable outside. If you are walking in the shade, it's too cold, so you put on a jacket and it's too warm, so you go walk in a sunny spot sans jacket and you're sweating. Pick one.
Denver is flat. Like really flat, I don't think I encountered a single incline of any degree while walking around downtown.
No fat people
All of the homeless people live in the grassy area that lies between the capitol building and the US Mint.
No black people either
Punk is still alive and well in Denver. I saw many a mohawk in many a color.
There is a Starbucks or a Chipotle on every corner. Mmm, burritos and coffee. Actually though, my first experience at Chipotle was not a good as I had hoped, but the second, third, fourth, and fifth experiences were top notch.
Always be prepared for rain. Don't know if this is always the case, but in the week I was there, it rained a little almost every day.

So that was downtown Denver. Since the conference ended Wednesday, I decided to spend the rest of the week in CO to visit a couple of friends I hadn't seen in awhile. I spent Thursday and a good part of Friday with Brian, aka BK and the rest of Friday and Saturday was spent with an old friend from high school, Mike.

Brian was a gracious host even if his car did not want to cooperate with the weather. Like I said above, it rained a good bit while I was there and BK drives a Jeep Wrangler that isn't covered in the back. It was probably the most entertaining part of the trip, to see if you could avoid the water that was coming at you from everywhere. As long as you were moving it wasn't bad.

BK drove me to see just about everything you could see in Denver, we even stopped by to say hello to Buffalo Bill.

Red Rocks

Unfortunately, I forgot all about taking pictures when I went to chill with Mike in Boulder. I liked Boulder, but I'm pretty sure I could never afford to live there. Mike lives in a little run down house that costs more in rent than my mortgage. Mike showed me all the cool spots including his favorite bike route, Pearl Street, and his various workplaces, my favorites being the bakery and the bike shop.

The one picture I took in Boulder

And who was waiting for my arrival back to K-town Saturday night? Brooke? Cleo? Feedy? Coach!? T-Mad? Awwwww, you guys.

Yes, I do have cornrows in that picture. That's how I roll.

outside pictures!

2008-04-30T11:33:00.008-04:00

way more fun than the inside!

awesome peach trees! wow, that's a fuzzy picture, sorry, it was a windy day.

the backyard
The garden over to the left contains : lettuce, spinach, yellow squash, tomatoes(thanks rebekah), and various other yummy veggies. That's the garage there in the back.

back of the house

Scary cellar!

more pictures - just like i promised

2008-04-30T11:03:00.006-04:00

You'll have to excuse the mess. Everything got moved in and then I noticed I don't have anywhere to store anything. There are only two "closets" in the house which are not even deep enough to hold regular sized hangers. So, the boxes stay until I put up some shelves.

Front view

living room area
The previous owner had the dining room here, but since I 1) do not "dine" very frequently and 2) like to be able to watch tv while I'm in the kitchen, I have decided to make this room the living room. It's my house, I can do what I want. :)

We'll call this the office since my computer is sitting in it.

Master bedroom with the two tiny closets

Still missing: pics of the kitchen, bedroom #2, and the hallway.

third time's the charm

2008-04-22T13:25:00.004-04:00

Finally!! Look at it - isn't it pretty much the coolest house you've ever seen? :)

This picture is only here to whet your appetite for more pictures to come this weekend. Speaking(or should I say, typing) of this weekend, if you are not busy, or even if you are, come by and bring a broom or a mop or anything else and help me get this place spic and span! Cleaning party!

See the map below for directions. I'm sure I'll be there all weekend.

View Larger Map

redecorating

2008-04-15T16:47:00.002-04:00

New blog header courtesy of Dave and his spare time at UT. Thanks Dave!

spring time!!

2008-03-28T09:27:00.002-04:00

Just a few shots from the backyard

I like these little flowers that grow in the woods, I may have to steal some and take them with me.

Hey little Austin (she's afraid of the camera)

more flowers

tree

Truman!

The windblown look. She's reppin' the Vols

tired of these yet?

The end.

Try This!

2008-03-26T16:57:00.003-04:00

To Jeremy, the all knowing master of appropriate blog colors. Is this easier for you to read? Is it more pleasing to your sensitive eyes? Please let me know. Your opinion means the world to me.

Bracketology

2008-03-18T09:01:00.003-04:00

'Tis that wonderful time of year when there is always something to watch on tv and business productivity comes to a screeching halt. Thank you CBSsportsline.com for showing live games on the internet so I can pretend I am feverishly working on an Excel spreadsheet when, in reality, I am watching to see if my upset picks are going to pan out. Can YOU pick the Cinderella team this year? Let's see.

I had thought about starting a real pool, you know, with money and all, but at this point I'm thinking good ol' trash talking and playing for bragging rights are enough to keep me entertained. So click on the link and join my tourney group! You'll have to create an account if you don't have one, and if you somehow navigate away from the group page before you join, the group info is below. Be patient, sometimes it's slow.

group name - bruce pearl for president
password - vols

Click Here

If you can't figure it out, let me know. Games start on the 20th, but I recommend getting your picks in soon because the site really bogs down right before the first game.

Did you know - the last time both teams that played in the national championship game didn't qualify for the NCAA tourney the next year was in 1980 after Michigan State beat Indiana State in 1979. Bonus - what two future stars played on those teams?

Good luck!

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

2008-03-07T15:19:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday I gave up a beautiful 70 degree day of riding to go help build trails at Hastie Park. Hastie Park is a 80 acre piece of land stuck in between the areas of Island Home/Ijams and Lake Forest neighborhood in South Knoxville that has recently been given the green light to become a mountain biking/walking (ok, we all know that really means biking only) trail system. Now, I am not a mountain biker, but I was kind of excited about this project because it is supposed to be geared more towards beginners which means the trails would be less technical, and I would have a lesser chance of hurting myself if I decided to wheel the fat-tired bike out of its hiding place in the garage. (the mountain bike has not seen the light of day in almost two years)

So all in all, it was a good day. A TON of people showed up, and we got more work done than anybody could have imagined. The first trail is almost finished, and if it ever quits raining, it should be ridable very soon.

So here's the punishment for my hard work - I got poison ivy. I NEVER get poison ivy. It took a couple of days to show up, but since then, it keeps getting worse and worse. Right now, I've got it on both legs and one arm. But I started scratching the other arm earlier today, so that arm is either feeling left out, or it's spreading over there too.

Seriously??

2008-02-25T11:22:00.006-05:00

Come on!!!!! Aren't we supposed to be in some kind of housing/mortgage crisis? Shouldn't people be begging me to take their house off their hands?

Ok, backing up, for those of your that don't know, I decided not to buy the yellow house because the roof ending up being in worse condition than previously thought.

The sellers wouldn't budge on their final price, so in the end, it turned out not to be a good fit.

Fast forward to last week. I found another house that I was really really excited about and made an offer on Friday.
In the midst of price negotiations, another buyer came and offered the asking price with no contingencies. What the hell?!? I hate you, whoever you are. I hope the house falls down because you are stupid for not getting a home inspection before you bought it.

Now that I have that out of my system, on a brighter, happier note...
Yeah Tennessee Vols basketball team! That was an awesome game on Saturday, and it was nice to see they could hit their free throws when it counted. #1 !

"Patches, the coolest horse"

2008-02-07T08:22:00.000-05:00

There's a guy down here in Rockford (the po-dunk town where I work) that takes his horse to the park everyday, but I'm pretty sure they walk.

Knoxiecross #2

2008-01-29T11:51:00.000-05:00

Knoxiecross Race 2

Those are twos, not peace signs.

Notice I am sporting the post-race mohawk which can only be cultivated with the perfect mixture of sweat and left over hair product.

I had so much fun at this race. Saturday's turnout was the largest field ever at a Knoxiecross race with about 75 people racing and tons of spectators. The day started out chilly and windy, but it was quite pleasant by the time I got out on the course. Speaking of the course, I know that many of you have spent a good bit of time running at Victor Ashe Park, which was where this installment of Knoxiecross took place.

Back in my competitive running days, I would allow myself to run 1 lap at the park, and then I would sneak by coach and hit the roads. I always seemed to find the holes and uneven spots after I got a little tired and sloppy. Dare I say that the holes and uneven spots are actually worse on a bike?? Yes, I do dare. That was one bumpy course, fast though...fast and bumpy.

I busted out the single speed again(I think I'm hooked) and managed a 4th place finish in the biggest women's field to date. Good job racers!

(Please note that our race is run with the men's CX4 and juniors. The people in the picture(except for me) are not women.)

Two parents plus five kids all with bikes. This is how the Whittaker family rolls.

Next race is on February 9th at Melton Hill Park. Yeah, two miles from my house!!!

'cross results

2008-01-16T13:12:00.000-05:00

I had originally planned on racing at just Knoxiecross last weekend, but I was talked into roadtripping to Nashville for the TN state cyclocross championships which was on Sunday.

There was lots of suffering. Why, you ask??

CYCLOCROSS....SINGLE SPEED STYLE!!!!

I tell ya, I am a glutton for
punishment.

First up on Saturday - Knoxiecross
Knoxiecross is kinda weird because they make all the women race in one category, so I got my ass handed to me by some pro mountain bikers. Riding two days a week just don't cut it against those folks. It was a really nice day for racing though, the weather was awesome - I didn't even need knee warmers! (I hate knee warmers, they always fall off me) The course was laid out nicely with a nice muddy pit right before a run up some stairs. Good lord, my shoes were full of mud. There were no barriers though, and I thank the course designer for that. At the end of the day, I wound up in 5th place.

Next up on Sunday - State CX Championship
I didn't plan on racing this. It's in Nashville, and I was perfectly content to let all the other crazies drive out there and race two days in a row. I guess plans change. I was talked into piling in the Suburban with Susi, Kim, and Jeremy and going down to Nashville on Saturday night. So we get to the hotel (Best Western...nice) unload all of our crap and stuff ourselves into the hotel room around 9 o'clock. We basically spent the night watching the Weather Channel and checking the internet to see if it is going to rain before, during, and after our races.

Fast forward to the race - this was a crazy course. I bet there was 10 miles of yellow caution tape going through the park. The course was 2.1 miles long and consisted of a mud pit, a sand pit, two natural barriers, a run up, and a set of man made barriers. Owwwwwwwwww. Pain, lots and lots of pain. I did a good bit of running instead of riding since I only had one gear and all. But, the good thing is, by the 3rd lap I had caught the leader! We went back and forth for the whole lap. I would catch her on the technical sections and she would pull away on the road sections - ahh, single speed! She pulled away pretty good on the last road section before the finish, so she won the race despite my best efforts.

I know there are some pretty good pictures of the races floating around, so when/if I get my hands on them, I'll be sure to post 'em. Oh, as for my fellow road trippers - Jeremy was third in CX3, Kim was 3rd in the same race I was in, and I can't remember what place Susi got, but she didn't fall in the mud.

Knoxiecross

2008-01-11T15:24:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness, I'm on a roll!

Knoxiecross info

When:
Saturday, January 12th

Race start times
10:30am - CX1, CX2 (1 hour)
11:45 - CX3 (45 min)
12:45 - CX4 (30 min)
12:46 - WCX (30 min) <---my race

Where:
Morningside Park
1600 Dandridge Ave

View Larger Map

The race course should be good and muddy from all this rain we've had the last couple of days, so come on out and watch the suffering.

looky here.

2008-01-10T15:49:00.000-05:00

TA-DA!! I found a house!!

This is actually the house that I mentioned in the previous post and it looked like the sellers weren't going to budge much on the listing price. It turns out that the house they were planning on moving into in a couple of weeks wasn't going to be finished on time, and since I am flexible with the closing date, they decided to drop the price just for me. :)

The closing date is on March 10th so I have a few more weeks of bumming off my mom before I have to be responsible again.

If you want to check out more pictures and see where it's located, click here.

I'm Alive!

2008-01-07T16:18:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year!! I know it's a week late, but what do you expect? I haven't even looked at this thing since Augustish, so I have actually surprised myself by posting at all. I could say that my New Year's resolution is to keep my blog updated more often, but I'm not big on resolutions, so just hope for the best :)

quick run down of things since I last posted:
job...good
house hunt - i tried real hard to buy a house a couple of weeks ago, but the price wasn't right so the search continues
all other aspects of my life...can't complain

Back in November and December I tried my hand at cyclocross and competed in the msgcross series up in Bristol and Johnson City. Intensity wise, it's a lot like cross country, but throw in some stuff to jump over just for kicks. The series here in Knoxville starts up on Saturday, so it will be great not having to drive two hours to race for 30 minutes. Hopefully, I'll get some pictures on here after the race.

And lastly, Go LSU!! (sorry Mo)

Busted!

2007-08-31T16:51:00.001-04:00

Ok, had to post this real quick for those of you that don't check Letsrun. Wait til the end.

Update

2007-08-31T16:24:00.000-04:00

Ok guys, I know it 's been FOREVER since I've posted anything new, so here you go. I've been working at SIRC for about a month now, and everything is starting to flow quite nicely. I do a bunch of different things around here, the most exciting being learning how to use the linear impactor. It's a big machine that hits stuff. And, it's loud.

FYI - there won't be any pictures on my blog until 1) I move away from home, 2) my boss buys me a new computer at work(this thing sucks big time), or 3) MO and Geri go out of town and I use their computer.

Anyway, there hasn't been much going on around here lately. I had to take some time to adjust to getting up early EVERYDAY. You all know how much I hate getting up early. I mean, I know I got up early when I was running, but that wasn't everyday, I got a day off to recover in between. We all know I wasn't getting out of bed to go cross train on Tuesdays and Thursdays! I think I'm starting to adjust because I've been able to stay up past 11 all week. Go me! We'll see if I can stay up past midnight tonight :)

This weekend should be fun; it is always one of my favorites. How can the combination of the start of the football season and Boomsday be beat? We'll see if I can snag some pictures of the festivities this weekend.

Ok, there ya go, I blogged. Enjoy!

New Month, New Job

2007-08-01T09:20:00.000-04:00

It's August 1st!

First off, I would like to say a big Happy Birthday to Sharon. I hope your day was spectacular.

Secondly, I started my new job today! I showed up to SIRC, Starbucks in hand, at 8am, and everybody was at the door to greet me. I think they doubted that I could make it to work that early because when I was working for Dollamur, I would usually show up after lunch, that is if I went in at all.

I have decided my office is in desperate need of a makeover. If I had my camera, I would take a picture, but I don't, so you will have to use your imagination. The floor and shelves are littered with helmets of all kinds. There are also a bunch of folders on my desk that Laura left. I'm guessing they will be useful in the future, but I don't know what to do with them right now. The walls are bare except for a poster of the brain, which has already been quite useful. I think I'll leave that up.

So far I have been asked to read over a couple of legal cases, and I have figured out that I really don't know much about head injuries. I mean, I kinda have an idea what's going on, but I feel that I should be certain. I have the case file open and 3 medical books are taking up the rest of the space on my desk.

Alright, lunch time is over, so I gots to get back to work.

A New Take on Shoes

2007-07-23T23:52:00.000-04:00

I was wasting time on the internet the other day, and look what I found! I can't decide if I hate it or if it is the coolest thing ever. Check it out for yourself.

This is a new concept from a company called Skins. It is a two part shoe system that consists of a removable inner piece called the "bone" and collapsable outer piece, aka, the "skin". The idea is to get buyers to buy one bone and multiple skins, so every pair of shoes has the same fit and feel. Each bone is molded to each individual's feet, so there is no "breaking in" period for a new pair of shoes.

The bones cost around $50 and the skins range from $120 to $300.

I have my doubts that Skins will be the next big thing and here's why:

1. They are pretty expensive
2. If I were still selling shoes, I would hate dealing with these things. What happens when you run out of a certain size in a bone? If you can't sell customer a bone, you can't sell them any skins, so keeping a steady supply on hand would be crucial for shops.
3. What happens if somebody changes their mind after buying the bone? Can it be remolded to another person's foot?
4. Crocs. I think they are the ugliest things ever, but people love them because they are cheap, comfortable, and hey, guess what, they mold to your feet. Huh, weird.
5. How long does the bone really last and does it start to smell after awhile?? Alot of the women's designs look like they would be worn without socks, so I'm thinkin' the bone is going to get pretty stanky somewhere down the road.

There could be hope for Skins, though. I think Skins could be popular with people that have foot problems, or people who are on their feet all day, or people who have some money to throw around. I could see these becoming popular with celebrities, for sure. When I was working at River Sports, I had a lady come in one day and hand me a prescription for Superfeet, so maybe if doctors get behind it, that might help.

The system is only scheduled to sell in select cities in select boutiques around the country. The website says that a store in Memphis is scheduled to have them. The initial product launch was set for January 2007. That was pushed back to summer 2007 and that has since been pushed back to fall/winter 2007. So, we'll see. Good new for Skins though, some sizes in a few models have already sold out during the pre-order phase.

Bad Dog!

2007-07-18T10:15:00.001-04:00

yeah, so what's your point?

2007-07-08T23:40:00.000-04:00

From the Knoxville News Sentinel "Local News" section:

UT image: Frat, jock school with financial aid issues

The Princeton Review ranks the Knoxville campus of the University of Tennessee almost everyway you can think of. How do the publication's ranking stack up? Leave you comments below.

Some of these are unlikely to be on a UT T-shirt.
Princeton Review Rankings of UTK

Rank List

#19 Professors Make Themselves Scarce

#7 Students Dissatisfied with Financial Aid

#5 Teaching Assistants Teach Too Many Upper-Level Courses

#20 Their Students (Almost) Never Study Academics - do these people actually graduate?

#9 Alternative Lifestyles Not an Alternative

#9 Everyone Plays Intramural Sports - I watched an intramural game once. I think it was soccer.

#10 Students Pack the Stadiums - gotta support those hard working athletes.

#6 Major Frat and Sorority Scene - duh, we're in the south.

#16 Party Schools - back when I was a frosh, we acheived the #1 ranking in this category. Sad to see the decline in recent years. :P

#11 Campus Is Tiny, Unsightly, or Both - hey, we're working on it! UT is covering everything that is unsightly with nice, new concrete.

#6 Jock Schools - Go big orange!

House Sitting for the Mewetts

2007-07-02T23:08:00.000-04:00

I'm pretty sure Callie is irritated with her current living situation while MO and Geri are in Greece. Usually, when MO and Geri go out of town, Callie gets to go on a little doggie vacation and spend quality time with her other human friends. This time, things are a little different. Since I live at home with two very high strung and pretty much insane golden retrievers and Tom has a "little" bulldog puppy that is just a little too young for Callie's taste, MO asked me if I would just come over and stay at the house while they are away. Of course, I said I would because I like to get out of Hardin Valley when I can, I'm closer to downtown, and it cuts my work commute in half, which is awesome.

I think Callie is disappointed that she wasn't consulted before any arrangements were made. Normally, when I dog sit for Callie, she whines and makes little noises here and there while she trots around the house and checks things out. But, she then makes herself at home and has a good time playing with toys that she steals from Boo(my cat). Callie is making sure that I notice how annoyed she is. She follows me from room to room so I can hear her grunt and groan while she lies on the ground, and when I am watching tv, she lies on her doggie bed and gives me sideways glances when I say something to her. I try to entertain her as best I can, but she tires of me quickly and goes back to her bed to glare at me.

Today I needed to stop by my house to get a few provisions for the rest of my stay, so I decided I would take Callie with me to get her out of the house. She was REALLY excited to get in the car. Usually, I would take her to Cherokee to play in the water, but she had a minor surgery on her head recently, so I figured the dirty waters of the Tennessee River wouldn't be the best treament for a healing wound. So, anyway, I took her to my house and let her run around the yard before I took her inside and introduced her to Truman and Austin, the crazy goldens I mentioned earlier. After a little sniffing, all of the dogs decided everything was OK, and Callie trotted around the house to check things out. She quickly found the toy basket and chose a squeaky football to carry around for the rest of her visit. I think Callie got tired of the other dogs and was ready to leave when the time came.

So, now we are back in South Knoxville, and Callie is tired enough that she went right to sleep on the cool floor with no complaints. Good thing we are going to go visit Leah and Feedy tomorrow at their new house. That should keep Callie entertained for awhile. :)

Drumroll, please!

2007-06-27T21:08:00.000-04:00

Ok, ok, so I had to make my big decision today, and I have chosen to...

Oh come on, you know what I picked!

Seriously? You don't know?

Ok, I'll tell you.
I have decided to pack up my stuff and

Oh, screw it...I'm staying in Knoxville! :)

Decisions, Decisions

2007-06-25T13:34:00.000-04:00

Ok, so, big news on the job front. I have been offered an engineering position at Southern Impact Research Center(SIRC).

I know I have a really confusing work situation, so I am going to explain it before I go any further.

I currently work for Dollamur. Dollamur is a small company that makes sports surfaces out of foam. The biggest part of their business is wrestling mats, but they also make gymnastics, cheerleading, and martial arts flooring.

I met the guys from Dollamur when I was volunteering at SIRC late last summer after they had done some product testing at the lab and was officially hired in November. Dave Halstead, the owner of SIRC and a college professor of mine, told Dollamur that I could rent an office at SIRC and use the lab until Dollamur built a lab of their own, at which time I would move to Texas and continue my work there. The original plan was for me to move to Texas between 90 and 120 days after signing on, but as you know, I am still here.

Back to the job offer. SIRC employs six people and one of the engineers, Laura, resigned about a month ago. I really didn't think anything of it; she obviously didn't fit in with everyone else at the lab and I wasn't surprised when she told me she was leaving. A couple of weeks went by, and on one of the rare occasions that I showed up to do some actual work, Dave and Scott(Dave's bro and co-owner) took me to lunch and offered me Laura's postion. I was really surprised by the offer as Laura is basically a genius and it seems to me that she should be replaced by some other really smart person that knows a whole lot more about everything than I do.

The two jobs pay almost the same. The benefits are pretty much the same. Pros for Dollamur include an extra week of vacation between Christmas and New Years (which I really liked) and it's in Texas, not Knoxville. Pros for SIRC include contacts with every major sporting goods manufacturer and really smart engineers I can learn from. Really, the only thing keeping me from not jumping at the SIRC position is that it is in Knoxville. I have to make my decision by Wednesday, so I'll keep you posted.

This dude is for real!

2007-06-11T12:06:00.000-04:00

Nick Symmonds...wow!

2007-05-29T13:55:00.000-04:00

Geez, I haven't updated this thing since May 1st. I guess that means I've been busy. Or, it might mean that I haven't been going to the lab because I have nothing to do there.

Last week made up for any free time I have had lately. On Monday, I drove up with Dave, Mel, and Laura, who are three of my "coworkers" from Southern Impact to the ASTM conference in Norfolk, Virginia. It was nice to get away from the lab and get to know everybody in a more social environment. We stayed at a cute little bed and breakfast called The Page House Inn which is located in historic Norfolk. The Page House is a mansion that was built in the late 1800's, and all the rooms are named after members of the Page family. Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend much time at the house, but I will say that the homemade granola was top notch.

The conference was a great learning experience and I met a ton of people in the sporting goods industry. I attended meetings and taskgroups for three whole days and listened to people argue over testing methods and current standards. I tell ya, it was a good time. I have to give a big shout out to Dave for letting me follow him around all week and introducing me to a bunch of people whose names I have already forgotten. Luckily, we all wear name tags at these things, so I won't look like an ass when I see them again in November.

whooooop...whooooop!

2007-05-01T12:30:00.000-04:00

Yeah DMR! Sarah had a nice kick at the end for the win. But where's Bill Cosby??!!

Splits:
Rose Anne - 3:26
LaTonya - 52.9
Leslie - 2:08.8
Sarah - 4:41.4

A side note - Brie Felnagle from UNC ran a 4:33 mile leg. Holy crap, that's fast.

The entire race can be seen on Flocast
http://69.89.31.63/~flocasts/flotrack/coverage.php?c=33&id=2121

Monorail!

2007-04-09T13:36:00.000-04:00

No lab equipment = no move

This is a monorail drop system. It can be used to measure impact forces on all kinds of things. This type of system is used to test helmets, wall padding, wrestling mats, shin guards, and most recently, LED screens that display advertisements on the outfield wall during baseball games.

This is the piece of equipment I use most often here at Southern Impact, and if the guys at Dollamur want answers on how well our mats perform, I need one in Texas. As of Thursday, the budget for the lab still needed board approval, and once that is OK'd, we can talk to the Serge, the French Canadian about manufacturing one for us. Until then, I will reside in Knoxville.

Just a Little Outside...

2007-04-05T11:04:00.000-04:00

I bet the mayor was embarrassed; I'm embarrassed for him. I hope this is no indication of what is in store this year for the Cincinnati Reds. Sadly, the Reds have struggled since their 1990 World Series win against the steriod laden Oakland Athletics, which was back when I actually cared about and watched baseball. Back before the strike in 1994. But, I still check the paper to see how the Reds are playing. I always hope before I look at the results that they will have a record over .500. They rarely do.

I tell ya though, that 1990 team was pretty awesome. Remember Chris Sabo and those "RecSpecs" glasses he wore? Those were pretty sweet. I loved him. Then there was Eric Davis; wasn't he on drugs or something? And then there was Barry Larkin, who must have been paid pretty well, because I can't believe he stayed in Cinci for so long.

With that being said, if the Reds make it to the playoffs, I'll watch.

Drugs are Bad, OK?

2007-04-03T16:10:00.000-04:00

Apparently, there is no limit to the things Rolling Stones guitarist, Keith Richards, will snort up his nose.

When asked about the strangest thing he's tried to snort by British music magazine, MNE, Richards replied, "My father, I snorted my father. He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow."

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/04/03/ap3579350.html

Monster Toad!

2007-03-27T11:30:00.000-04:00

Remember when you were a little kid and when you caught a toad, it peed on you? I bet that thing could hold a lot of pee. Eww.

Here's a video - check it out

http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=F87D9992-952C-4432-8203-27C059B9D08B&f=00&fg=copy

Texas Update

2007-03-26T15:18:00.000-04:00

So, I talked to the boss man down in Texas and here's the skinny on the move: I'll be in Knoxville for another 4 to 6 weeks. That will put me in Texas in late April/early May. I just did a little research and here is what I will be expecting, weather wise, when I am moving in. The average high temperature for May is 83 degrees, so that's not bad considering it is about that temperature right now in K-town. I swear, where did spring go? It was nice for like 3 days, then BAM! 80 degrees. I hope it cools off a little before summer starts. Anyway, for your reading pleasure, here are some more facts about Fort Worth:

Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas and the 19th-largest in the United States.

Currently Fort Worth stands as the 9th safest U.S. city among those with a population over 500,000.

The bus service is know as "The T"...haha

Texas is a strong center for recreational cycling as well as racing. The largest ride in the U.S. is the "Hotter'n Hell Hundred" (August in Wichita Falls, TX) drawing 11,000 riders annually, half of which are from the Fort Worth / Dallas Metroplex. My boss told me his sons did this ride on single speeds.

Billy Bob's Texas - World's largest honky-tonk with a 4,800-sq.-ft. rodeo area, 600 feet of bar rails, a 1,650-sq.-ft. stage for country/Western entertainment with top stars, shops, games, and restaurants

~35 miles of paved bike trails pass through Fort Worth, allowing riders to traverse the city without ever crossing a road at grade level.

Bring on the honky tonk.

Nevada Lottery Bill Advances

2007-03-21T13:32:00.000-04:00

What!!?? Nevada doesn't have a lottery? For real?

'Tis true. For the 25th time since 1975, a proposal that would allow the creation of a state lottery has been introduced to the state legislature. If the proposal is approved by the legislature this year, and again in 2009, voters would have the final say on whether to allow the lottery in 2010.

So, I just wanna get this straight, Nevada, right? The same Nevada that legalized prostitution? The same Nevada that makes almost 1 billion dollars a year from taxing casinos? WTF?

O' Canada (part1)

2007-03-13T13:15:00.000-04:00

Here you are Mo, lots and lots of pictures from the trip. Click on the picture at the bottom of the page.

For those of you that don't know (and I can't imagine there are many 'cause I told anyone and everyone that would listen) Christie Elwin and I took a little trip up to British Columbia and had ourselves a damn good time.

Traveling was the most interesting part of the trip thanks to rain, complete lack of road signage, one badly placed flag, and the lady who works the night shift for the condo company.

On our way to Whistler, we got to see a large section of downtown Vancouver while aimlessly driving up and down the streets trying to find a sign for Highway 99N. We found signs for 99S a couple of times but no 99N. We crossed the bridge that connects the airport and downtown 4 times - one time following a cab driver that claimed he knew where we needed to go...doubtful. On the fourth time across, we figured out why we couldn't find a sign for 99N - it had been covered up a flag. You know those flags that cities put on light poles for decoration? Yeah, one of those. That's how small the sign was on a major bridge going away from the airport. Oh well, we got on 99N, good for us. The time was now ~2AM eastern time.

After driving a couple of hours on some pretty sketchy roads, we get to Whistler Village. The village is cute, there are some shops, a Starbucks, a grocery store, and some restaurants in a little shopping area connected to our condo. I printed out the instructions for getting into the main lobby of our building before we left Knoxville. Now, normally, you go to the lobby, check in the with person there, get your keys and go to your room. This place was different. If you arrive after hours, which we did, there is a number you call to get the main lobby code. So, I call the number and get the code, and I ask the lady "Where do we get our keys and how do we get into the parking area?" The lady says "Well, I'm not sure. The code for your room is either *** or ***. The garage should open once you pull your car up to the gate." We pull up to the gate, it doesn't open. I call the lady back and tell her we can't get into the garage and she says, "Well, I don't know. Do you want me to wake up the owner of the condo and ask him?" I tell her no and I get off the phone because it's super later, and I'm about to lose my temper. Christie and I decide to park the car and go to our room to see what the deal is. We get to the door and find out that there is a lock box outside our door. We punch in the code and look inside. One key. We think that maybe the key works for the door and the garage so we go downstairs to the car, drive up to the garage, put the key in the keyhole and nothing happens. Crap. I figure maybe we can open the door from the inside, so I get out of the car, go into the building, get into the garage and search for a way to get the door open. I try to open it manually, I look for a button, I even hopped on the rubber hose on the ground that opens the door for that cars that are leaving (yeah right, like I weigh enough for that). Nothing. So Christie comes into the garage and we try the same things over again. Nothing. We get out of the garage, go back to our room, and Christie calls the lady and asks for the owner's phone number. It was almost 5am our time, so she was going to wake his ass up. We find out that a garage key was supposed to be in the room next to the phone, but the owner forgot to leave it for us. He tells Christie that if we both dig our heels into the rubber hose sensor at the same time, the door should open. I have my doubts that it will work, but we go downstairs and try it anyway. What do you know, the damn thing opens. So we pull the car in, unload our stuff, and get some much needed sleep.

Next up...snowboarding 101

Whistler

Hey! I blogged!

2007-03-09T15:24:00.000-05:00

Hey! Look at me! I started a blog! Now I can tell everybody my opinions about anything I want.....yes!

Seriously though, the blog came about after almost an entire week of playing on the internet/sleeping/watching tv at work. Yeah, you read that right, I took a nice little nap in my big comfy office chair today, AND I watch tv on the internet on almost a daily basis. I should really just stop watching shows at home all together so I have something to do when I go to work. Anywoo, since I don't have much to do most days, I figured if I find something on the internet worth sharing, I'll blog it...dammit. So, here goes nothing...enjoy.