Pampered Pooch....

The life of a 13-year old Cocker........

X-mas....Cali style

Disclaimer: I am not so egotistical that I would only post pics of myself on "our" vacation. The fact is, Jimmy holds onto the camera like nobody's business......

Jimmy, Bo and I packed up the RV and headed to the beach for Christmas. We traded the foggy valley for the clear blue, sunny skies of Avila Beach:

This is our home-away-from-home (view from the pier):

We always make sure to stop at our favorite restaurant. Great atmosphere, if you like cats:

We went to visit some mission, just wish I could remember the name. You know California has a million of them and we have been to so many, that the name escapes me. Since this is a mission, I should confess, that behind that statue I was holding a bag of dog poo that was going to be dumped after this photo:

This is how Jimmy looks everytime he gets into the RV and sees me in the passenger seat and not behind the drivers wheel:

What else is there to do on a blustry day?

I am making chicken noodle soup.......from scratch. This is blog worthy, material, believe me.

Cool new camera...

Jimmy just bought this terrific camera, so I took it out on a Saturday ride. Amongst all of its' bells'n whistles, it has a self-portrait feature on it. As you can see, I should have read the directions.

What does this button do?Almost got it right.....
One more time....
Alright, what is going on?
Got the shot! Becky is up front, Tracy Loper fresh off of crutches (broken pelvis) and 7-months pregnant Heidi.

PET$$$$

Now it is Bo's turn. Here he is at the vet's office, awaiting his exam. It seems he has injured his ACL, and may need surgery if our alternative choice of medicine does not work. Poor guy limps all day, cannot jump onto the couch, and can hardly chase a cat. Christmas has been cancelled in the Ramirez home.

BlackJack update

BlackJack had his stitches removed on Wednesday and he has been a happy camper ever since. His feral girlfriend, an orange kitty who was waiting for him in our garage, rejoiced as he was allowed to return to the outside world. They spend hours snuggling together, eat their meals together, cross the street together and bask in the sun together. All is well in Kitty Land.

What does a $2,000 kitty look like?

Without going into gory details, BlackJack was admitted to the Emergency Vet Hospital on Thanksgiving Eve. Since he is an outdoor kitty, we know little about his injury, but we do know that within 24 hours of his accident, a serious infection set in all over his lil' furry body.

His eyes are swollen, almost shut.

We brought him home today and he is feeling better. Anyone who knows us, is well aware of the devotation we have for our pets. Money comes and goes, but BlackJack's love for us is forever......

Saturday stuff

Not alot of anything interesting to blog about lately, so I'm posting this for all of you Denise-Blog-Following-Junkies:

Bella Lisa and I, headed out for our usual Saturday ride. This Snowman is a landmark for the local cyclists, since this wooden statue is at the top of a fairly steep 1.2 mile climb. Nobody knows the story behind it, but it is always a welcome sight:

We passed atleast 15 of these bad boys. They are so cool. I did not want to scare it, so I took the pic from afar. Awesome:

I stopped to pee behind a couple of nice sized rocks. While I was doing my thing, I peered through the rocks to find a plastic container that was wrapped in electrical tape. I grabbed the heavy container with one hand and pulled up my shorts with the other. I was so exctied to show Lisa. Was it drugs? Money? Body parts? Our minds were frenzied with excitment.

We were puzzled with it's contents. There was a slip of paper inside explaining what it was--it is a Geo Cache! You need to use a GPS to find the hidden treasure...which I accidently found. Written on the paper, the finder writes his/her name. This box had traveled from Hawaii and Florida. Too cool.....though I was hoping for money.

Cross-training up the ying-yang...

Since race season ended (San Ardo) I have implemented a cross-training program, into my regimen. For the past 6 years, I've been riding 5 days a week, year round......so this new program is awesome for my brain; it's a mental and physcial break.





I do this twice a week and LOVE it. I feel great and the clothes are uber-cute:













Doing this twice a week, I can finally see my
tricep muscles and am developing flat abs.
I am a believer of this type of training:








Running twice a week really sucks, but it's a required course, as a part of my undergraduate work. I run 2-4 miles and hate every step of the way. I don't know how I ever managed to do a marathon!

Of course, I do this twice a week.....everything else is done to to enhance my favorite form of exercise:

GOT BLING???

Jimmy bought this for my birthday and I just got it back from the jewelers'. Sapphire and diamonds....exactly what she wanted.

Pity Party is officially over...

After I aired my pathetic birthday woes to the public, I received an e-card from a dear friend and this is what she wrote:

" Hope you had a wonderful day and wishing you a joyous year! Don't fret turning 45 as I've recently learned just being around for another year is exciting by itself :)"

Why this is so pertinent, is that she has cancer and was given 3-6 months to live....last year. What the f*#k was I belly-aching about?! Her single sentence put it all in perspective for me.

Blows big ones......

Today, I am freakin' 45 years old and it does not sit well with me, at all.

At this point in my life, I thought I would be doing something spectacular, or would have made some prolific dent in society, or would be getting ready to retire and travel with hubby.

Instead, I am a college-student who bartends at a country club. Man, this blows.

Pity party over.....

Livin' the city life.....

We were going to take our first nekked Jacuzzi last night, when I noticed that the neighbor's 2nd story window, faces right down on to our bubbly good times. To top it off, we could see a bunk bed, so we knew it was not mom and dad's bedroom--they'd be smart enough not to peer down into our retreat area. Knowing that it is a 12-year old boy, we have to devise a way to ensure our private abode, stays that way.

So now, we are going to turn our large covered patio into a cabana, by enclosing it with retractable canvas drapery. Until then, we have to wear skin covers......

I'm missing out....again

All of these pics are from past Grizzly rides.....

My Bella teammates are riding the Grizzly Century, in North Fork today. Even though I already paid my $40.00 entry fee, I had to bail at the last minute because I have too much homework to do! I've only been able to ride twice this week, compared to my usual five workouts.

There had better be some huge friggin' rainbow at the end of this semester.................

I love vowels and consonants...

I am procrastinating on my homework, by blogging. Anyone who knows me, knows I have this absoult deep hatred towards numbers, math, or any type of computation. We are working on torque, force, levers, fulcrums, speed amplification, etc. All I want to do is to teach P.E. to Deaf students.....why do I need to know how to solve:

Tf = Tr so, F /f * Lf = F /r * Lr

this will solve the force which must be applied to lift said object

Give me a 50-page research paper anyday. I can knock out a quality, "A" paper in a week, but ask me to think with the mathematical side of my brain and I want to throw up with anxiety.

You're not invited....

Jimmy bought this last night..........just in time for the chilly nights. More photos to come.......

Yawn....

Apparently, I am not the only one tired of doing homework.......

Ahhh, the life of a middle-aged, college student.....

And now, back to my thoughts...

Today, I woke up to this smokey sunrise:

So, I decided to ride above the soot:

To the Kings Canyon National Park:



This was my first ride in about 10 days, so I was doing my own ride. No goals, no expectations, no schedule, no riding partner. Entering the park, entailed a 15-mile ascent; which I had not done since riding in the French Alps. I was thrilled to be out again on my bike so with each turn, I was glad to see the road continuing to rise into the pines.

I'm no racer chick...

I have been racing for over 4 years and I really have enjoyed every stinkin' mile, training ride, and race. It was only in these last few months that I really decided to put my head down and try to get one more top ten placing or a few more upgrade points.

In 3 consecutive weeks, I was involved in crashes; either I went down or it created such a gap, that I was never able to get back on to the front. San Ardo, being the last road race of the season and a good course for me, I knew I could nail this one. Last year, I got 5th place and there was no reason I should not have been able to grab 2nd this year. It did not happen. I did not get those points and I came in 11th.

I have to wonder if this sport is for me. I train properly, following my coaches plan, eat well, do not drink alcohol and recover properly. Loose a few more pounds? Rest more? Add sprint work? Quit my bartending job?

Maybe, I'll go back into the gym and hang up my bike for awhile..........

Animal Agents

http://www.animalagents.com/index2.php?id=2

A.A. is a local pet rescue haven that currently houses 85 dogs, 5 bunnies, 10 goats and 1 sheep. Soon they will be adding a cattery to their collection. Located in the middle of the grapevineyards, is where you will find their 5-acre parcel. The pooches are housed according to size. Each pen has lots of shade, a pool, a barn and plenty of room to run.

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The senior and special needs dogs are our favorite. These teen volunteers are holding an abandon 4-month old Chihuahua and a 6-month, blind pup. Both are adorable and lovable....the teens were pretty nice, too!

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In order to raise funds, they organized a terrific event on Saturday, which Jimmy and I attended. We support the pet rescue program so much, that I passed on racing and he didn't go to work, in order to support the event.

They raised alot of money, everyone had a terrific time. It was soooo hard to leave, without one bringing home one of those lil' buggers.......

Younger feline vs older canine

I was walking around the living room with my camera in hand and asked, "who wants their picture taken?" Arridia, the camera hog, stikes a pose, first:

pondering life pose

Bo was sick of watching the cat go through her entire set of poses and decided to take a nap....this is what he does most often these days.

I know, I'm a goober...........

Timpani update

I debated whether I should post my Timpani race report, but since both of my teammates were badly injured, I felt that I should pass on posting this time.

In a nutshell, Katie, Tracy and I were lining up for the final few laps, in a break. Racer Girl X was in front and either, slowed her speed dramatically or made an erratic move, but Katie's wheel got clipped and she went down. Tracy got nipped and went down. Somehow, I managed to escape any injuries.

Katie had alot of road rash and sustained injuries to her knee and hip area. She was able to limp away and went to see a doctor.

Tracy was not so lucky. I have been getting alot of questions about her recovery, so I am posting Tim's blog address, where he talks about her injuries. Also, he added their mailing address, so we can send her a card.

http://tloper.blogspot.com/

Road trip!

Bridgit and I, (youngest sis) drove to the Timpani criterium together and then headed straight out for an unplanned excursion down Highway 1. We had 3-4 days, to do and go wherever we wanted....no kids and no husbands. We roughed it everyday at campsites, by the beach.

I brought along variety of bikes for us: road, mountain and a beach cruiser. I chose the cruiser and Bridget hopped onto the mountain bike, which she promptly fell off-providing many hours of laughter for me.

We checked out the multi-million dollar condos that were perched on the beach cliffs. I was trying to peer into the open windows (nobody closes their curtains, when living on the beach) hoping to catch a glimpse of what a millionaire lifestyle entails. I saw a hairy-backed man in a Speedo watering his plants and that was about it.....

We headed off to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for our next adventure. http://www.beachboardwalk.com/ No rides for us, instead we shopped, ate, and people-watched. Being the older sibling, I still have this uncanny ability to make the younger siblings do what I want.....like wearing a corny hat in public. Again, this provided many more hours of laughter for me.

We watched the sunning seals, while chomping on salt water taffy.

For our next outing, we went to the Winchester Mystery House, which was really cool. Bridgit invested $7.00 in an all-you-can-drink soda cup, which she promptly slurped up her money's worth of Dr. Pepper...again, providing me with hours of laughter. http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/

Oddly (or eerie-ly) my camera would not work inside the mansion, so I have no pics to show you. The tour took us about 3-hours and it was worth every penny. The craftsmanship is simply amazing.

We headed back to Fresno, where I was happily greeted by Jimmy and doggie, Bo. Though we missed our families, Bridgit and I had a great time and we cannot wait to do this again.