These berries are almost as big as Barry Bonds head.......I assume that neither, have used organic and natural substances to maximize their potential.

The ride from a snowy hell.....

Every Wednesday, Coach Felicia prescribes a 40-minute hillclimb at a designated heart rate. This is best done on the "four-lane." For the non-Fresans, this road is an awesome seven-mile climb at about a 10% gradient.

Mistake #1--teaching two spin classes back-to-back
So, off I go up the gradient. My legs were heavy and my enthusiasm was low to moderate. Dark clouds were looming over me, and I was destined to get pelted with hail on my ride. Twenty minutes into the climb and my legs were still heavy and I could not get my HR (heart rate) anywhere near my target.

Mistake #2--self-punishment
I kept hearing, "Loser" over and over in my head. I resigned to the fact that my legs were not going to get any better, so I deserved to be punished for my inadequacies. "I'll go all the way to the top and get a Snickers bar at Cressman's." (Cressman's is a market at the 6,000' mark). This hour climb should be the perfect penalty for not being able to adhere to Coach's directions.

Mistake #3--piles of snow
At the 3,000' level, there was almost one foot of snow along the road. The views were amazing! Drivers would roll down their window, cheering me on. Several, blasted friendly honks. A Cal-Trans snowplow did a double take in his rear view mirror, as he passed me. All of these responses further encouraged my poor decision making.

Mistake #4--crap loads of snow
The ground was crackling under my tires and I believed this to be ice. I kept plugging along, knowing that the Holy Grail was around the corner (the Snickers bar). Once inside Cressman's, the store owner remarked how dangerous it may be going back down the four-lane. I bought the King-Size Snickers and cracked off a corner of the frozen reward. I grabbed the Penny Saver newspaper and shoved it into my jacket. Thirty-two degrees mandated several issues.

Mistake #5--f**king freezing decent
Since there was so much slush on the roadside, I kept the brakes on, going no faster than 15 mph. (usually, I can fly down at 45+ mph) The cold was biting. Miserably friggin' cold!! My patooties were frozen and my fingers were the coldest I have ever experienced. This was the worst punishment I could have inflicted on myself, since I thrive in the 100+ degree weather.

Back into my warm truck, I blasted Kid Rock on the way home, thinking, "Denise you are not a loser.....you're one tough chick!"

Facebook vs. Blogging

Denise is eating Fruit Loops.
Denise is thinking of changing her profile pic.
Denise is riding on a sunny, Fresno day.
Denise is relaxing after teaching spin class.

Do you see a pattern? This is Facebook. Quick. Easy. One liners. No brains. No thought. Most of the thinking involved, is when replying to someones Facebook posting. Still, it can be accomplished in a nano-second.

Blogging is much more complex--and time consuming. First, I create an entire entry around a photo.

#1 get photo

Then, I need to do the writing for the photo. I love to write, do it well, and can create ideas quickly (when required). The time consuming aspect is in the creation of the dialog.

#2 creating an entry using proper English

I need an "Introduction" in my writing; something that will capture the audience.

Secondly, creating the "Body" of my blog entry is a timely process. This is the meat and potatoes of my story. We know the basic sentence structure must have a noun and a verb, but there are adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, participles, and active vs. passive writing, and the list goes on.

Finally, the "Closing" of my blog entry must be constructed in such a manner that my readers will be satisfied when the story is over. Have you ever sat in a 3-hour movie and the ending did not meet your expectations?

SIGH......this is why I have not been blogging as frequently, as I have in the past. If you want to see what is going on in my life, written in fragment sentences, here is my link:

http://www.facebook.com/friends/?all#/home.php?ref=home

BlackJack is at it again.....

BlackJack has quite the reputation around our 'hood. He has a posse of females that he protects and allows onto his block, he smacks around other Toms who try to cut into his action, and he loiters around the fence tops ready to hand out ass-whoopins'.

This cat met his match.....a dog. The vet says the dog bit into his rear quarter, as BlackJack was running away, causing a large tear. He is stitched up and has an ugly drain hanging out of his side for a few days.

His #1 chick is waiting for him outside our door--day in and day out--waiting for the day he is sprung from this joint.

Another year recap....

Every year, I make a New Years' Resolutions.....tone my abs, tone my triceps, tone my rear, tone down my eating, tone up my hair color, eat less processed foods, stop at all 'stop' signs, paint my living room, race smart and get on the podium, and the list goes on. I have kept some of these Resolutions:

toned my abs
toned my triceps
genetics did not allow me to tone my rear
toned up my hair color--it's darker now
I eat about the same amount of processed foods
I come to a 100% stop at all stop signs
Jimmy will not allow any color except eggshell white on the walls
I raced several smart races and got on the podium several times

With this being said, I do not know what my Resolution is going to be this year. There are so many things I want to do, accomplish, and experience this year; I do not know if I should "Just Do It" (sorry Nike, I just stole your 1989 motto) or should it be a Resolution?

Either way, I have my health, a great family and a wonderful job. Do I really need to paint my walls or have a firm rear to make it a successful year?

Our idea of a great flick.....

After the 30-second info commercial, there is a trailer of the BEST movie in the theaters, now. If you are looking for human mutilations, graphic violence or gratuitous sex......you do not know me very well (except for the last one!).

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2121072665/

And not a moment too soon.....