France - Day 1

Wow! Hillary and I are in France and are having an amazing time. The French Riviera is very sunny and oh so very beautiful. We've had great adventures so far, but I'll start at the beginning.

Day 1
My travels to get to Cannes began on Friday morning at 3am. I had a layover in New York and then at 7pm we boarded our flight for Nice France. My whole plan was to eat dinner, pop a sleeping pill and wake up in glorious France. It went mostly as scheduled. We had a lovely dinner of chicken in a plastic dish with a salad and a pre-packaged cookie for dessert that was fantastic! (I really thought it was good, Hillary did not. Sort of like cafeteria which is my personal favorite. Someday I'll blog about it I'm sure.)

I got about 4 or 5 hours of sleep and we arrived in Nice at 9am on Saturday morning. After getting our bags, we met our driver who took us to our apartment in Cannes. The picture below show the view from our apartment. Magnificant!

We dropped our bags, went and found food and came back to a bread, cheese and fruit filled taste explosion. Below is the explosion:

With full bellys we set off to conquer Antibes, a local city that we could reach by taking the train. I am in love with the train! I've never been to a city and used this type of transportation before. It is incedibly easy and quiet. It gets even easier once you learn how to read the train schedule. It only took me 2.5 days and also asking a train station employee to help me. The French are so helpful!

Here are some pictures from our travels through Antibes. I don't have too many because I was in a bit of a stuper due to lack of sleep.

Yep, blue snails on a building. i think it is art or something like that.

Well, apparently that was really the only picture I took during our travels to Antibes. Perhaps I'll go again this week and take more photos.

While in Antibes, we visted the famous Picasso Museum. It sounded like a wonderful cultural experience where we'd learn a lot about art and everything that goes with it. Well, we quickly learned that modern art is sort of boring to us and we breezed right through the exhibits in about 20 minutes. The views of the coastline were amazing though - should have taken a picture.

We've taken up the habit of snapping pictures of our food before we eat it. Everything we've had has been sooooo good and we are not limiting any intake of bread or cheese or sweets. Below is our lunch in Antibes. My new favorite sandwich Croque, Monsieur. I'm committed to learning how to make this when I get home. So good. Best ham sandwich ever!

We found our way back to the train station, headed home and ate a wonderful dinner at a local place which I will never be able to pronounce.

The puppies were big. Kinda had the texture of a loogie but tasted great.

The photo above is Scallops with a pumpkin pancake. It was quite good. The best part is when they put the dish in front of me and I was staring at a bit, Hillary remarked, "you can tell it is fancy because of the foam." OMG, we laughed about that one for some time. Of course! Foam = fanciness. This moment was one of many funny and silly moments we've had on this trip. I'll will continue to blog about these moments as I am sure we will be laughing about them again and again.

The day ended around 10:30PM as we collapsed back at our apartment and went to bed. We slept until 9am the next morning. Below is a shot of me before I turned off the lights. Wow that picture is rough!

Snow!

I call my father every week. Mostly on Sundays, but sometimes just out of the blue to see what he is doing. Winter in Minnesota can really get to a person. Especially someone like my Dad who likes to be outside all of the time.

This year is especially frustrating for him. He has been cooped up more than usual. I watch everyone's status updates on Facebook and there seems to be a lot of bitching about snow, wondering when snow will come, shoveling of snow, blowing snow, accumulation of snow, when will the snow stop, who does Mother Nature think she is.... pretty much anything and everything related to snow. I have snickered a bit to myself because I don't live in a place where it snows much. Granted, it does rain a whole hell of a lot and the grey skies really get to you.......but I still am glad I don't live in a place where it snows.

A couple weeks ago he told me he was looking at getting a new snowblower. It was taking him approximately 3 hours to blow the snow from the sidewalk and driveway. He has a really long driveway and the county does not plow it for him. He said he wanted something large, powerful and enclosed so that the snow wouldn't blow in his face. I had no idea really what he was talking about but he sure was excited about the prospect of getting a new snowblower. This is what I recall him telling me about why he needed something so large:

"Ann" he says in his Dad tone, "Most people around here have half-million dollar combines that only get used once a year. I want to get a new snowblower so hopefully it won't snow anymore. It can just sit in my garage." I really love his logic. Makes perfect sense.

Much to our surprise, it took a lot less time to get the new snowblower. It arrived last weekend and his neighbor sent me some photos of the big unveiling. He probably is the talk of the neighborhood. Actually, he only has two neighbors so I'm sure he is the talk of the neighborhood.

There it is. Looks more like a lawnmower to me.

There he is sitting on it. He is almost smiling!

The enclosure. Looks more like a golf cart.

The snowblower in action. Watch out for the Prius!

He is practicing here. Looking good!

I talked to him today about whether or not it would snow anymore. Much to his dismay, New Ulm is expected to get between 11-15 inches of snow. I guess his theory of buying a new snowblower to hold off winter did not pan out. On the bright side, he will now have something to do tomorrow morning!

France? Yeah, I'll do that.

About two weeks ago I got an email from one of my best friends Hillary. We've been friends since 5th grade where we met in Mr. Bloomquist's class. We've had a lot of fun together growing up. I'm going to   name just a couple adventures/memories that come to mind when I think of Hillary.

1. Senior graduation party at Hillary's parents house. Let's just say I have a nice barbed wire scar on my thigh from my adventures and Hillary will never live down the fact that she was on the ground biting at people's ankles. It sounds weird, but yes it is true. 
2. Raspberry Schnaps and lemonade. The drink of choice for these gals! The thought of it now literally makes me gag.
3. Our code names, Chester (Hillary) and Bessie (me). Why did we have code names? I don't know but it was definitely a junior high thing.
4. Hillary's highschool car, the Honda. I crashed into it one day when I was trying to park in the school lot. I felt bad, but the truth was - the dent really didn't detract from the overall condition of the car. I do feel remorse though, I am very sorry Hillary.
5. Tennis, tennis and tennis! We played tennis from 7th grade all the way until we were seniors. We even went to tennis camp. Hillary still plays today. I'm pretty sure she'd kick my ass at this point.
6. Rhonda and Kim - Hillary's parents. When I was growing up, I always thought that Hillary had the coolest parents I knew. They are still great!

Hillary and I a couple of years ago at Sarah's house.

Well, as I said, I got an email from her about 2 weeks ago asking me if I wanted to go to France. Not, just any old part of France, but Cannes. Like the Cannes Film Festival, France. She said she was going there for a conference in March and was going to have an apartment all to herself and wondered if I wanted to go with! It took me about half a day to come to the conclusion - France? Yeah, I'll do that. Why wouldn't I!

We leave on March 4th and return on March 12th. I am super excited! Both she and I have never been to Europe. We have been emailing and texting about all of the things we need to pack. I've decided I'm not going to buy a bunch of clothes before I go because I am excited to see all of the fashions over in Europe. 

I don't know a bit of French. I've started to panic about the fact that I'll be on my own in Cannes without any ability to speak the language. I'm hopeful that the city is big enough that I'll be able to figure my way around and get by on words I pick up along the way.

It is going to be a blast! I really can't believe the trip is coming up in about 3 weeks. I'd better start packing!

A New Chapter

We've gone back and forth for months wondering if we should get another dog. At first we decided we were absolutely not getting another dog. We'd just cherish Spencer and let him ride out in style.

Then Spencer's personality dramatically changed. I was reading a Cesar Millan book and something clicked with me. The concept of dogs needing to know their place in your "pack". The fact that dogs don't feel bad when they are not alpha. In essence, they need to "know their role" and we had not been teaching that to our dogs. We took control of Spencer by doing a few small things. Not letting him pull on the leash and just being an all around leader to him in our home. He absolutely thrived and completely changed into a calm, even tempered 12.5 year old dalmatian.

Inevitably we then started talking about getting another dog. I know I've lectured many people that having 1 dog is ideal and 2 dogs is a bad idea. I will say that if you get a second dog simply because you don't really want to deal with your first dog and you hope another one will take that burden off you - this is a very bad idea. But, if you feel as though you have room in your heart, family and lifestyle - a second dog can be a good thing.

So we started our on again off again search for a new dog. We looked at pit bull rescue, dobermans, austrailian shepards, cattle dogs, dalmatians, french bulldogs, boston terriers to name a few.

I filled out applications to adopt a foster dogs. No one ever responded back to us.  I called a couple of people who had listings on Craigslist, no call back. It seemed as though we just were going to have to be patient. I kept thinking that at some point, the right dog will come into our life.

 And then we did the most logical thing that you can do. We went to our local animal shelter. It is amazing how many dogs they have that need home. Why not give a dog a chance that might otherwise be euthanized? (These were Brian's wise words to me)

We went to see a 7 month old female cattle dog/austrailian shepard mix. Everyone described her as being "sweet." Before we went, we called the shelter to make sure she was there. To our disappointment, someone had just put her on a 3-day hold. We were sad, but felt happy for the dog that she'd found a home.

Then I got a text from my friend Larisa who told me the dog we were looking at was still available. So we went to check her out. She was little, shy and seemed sweet. She followed me around the visitation room sort of just looking at me wondering, "what is next?"

We decided to bring Spencer back the next day to meet her. They met and it didn't go horribly so we thought, what the heck?  Of course she had to be spayed first and that wouldn't happen until 2 days later.

The next 2 days, I was nervous and probably very annoying around the house. I kept asking Brian, "what if she is too shy? what if she is a problem? what if it doesn't work out?" I'd never had a shelter dog and thought that it might not be a good idea to get a dog we knew little to nothing about. All we knew is that she had been hit by a car and consequently lost one of the toes on her front paw and that the previous owners did a night drop with the reasoning, "needs a new home" on the paperwork. Nice.

But I picked her up and away we went! She was groggy but so incredibly calm and sweet.

I wasted no time making sure she was comfortable on our bed.

Saturday morning was very exciting. She slept through the night and didn't make a peep. She slept in til 7am. We got up, went for a short walk and went about our day. She really just fit into our lifestyle. She followed us wherever we went and seemed genuinely interested in everything we did. We kept asking ourselves, "why would anyone want to get rid of this dog?"

Sunday was even better. She began gaining a bit more confidence on the walk. She is very timid around other dogs. We will have to begin socializing her as soon as her stitches heal. I taught her to sit and we are currently working on down. She really is the sweetest dog I've ever met.

One problem though - we don't have a name for her. On her paperwork, they named her Dixie. She answers to it, but I don't really like it. We have tried a lot of different names on her:

Lizzy
Trixie
Murphy
Laddy
Tidbit
Crummy
Fitsin (this one was a suggesting from Jane. It is because she just fits in!)
Fitsie
fixie

Oh, and the first name we thought of - Doggie. Totally original I know.

Anyhoo, we don't have a name yet. I'm leaning towards Crummy. I really liked Trixie but Brian things it sounds like a prostitute. We will figure it out. Soon I hope. Until then, she will continue to be a great new chapter in our lives!

Changing the world......one thong at a time

I've decided to spread the word (via my highly acclaimed and widely read blog) about the necessity and gloriousness of the thong. Yes, I'm talking about underwear that discreetly lies in the crack.

Hands down, the best thong underwear is made by Hanky Panky. Don't worry, it isn't x-rated. The amazing feature of these thongs is they are one size fits all. They literally fit someone who is a size 2 all the way to a size 14. Here is a 5 pack o' thongs. Aren't they lovely?

They aren't scratchy, they don't bind, they rarely "ride up", they are absolutely perfect! Are you sold yet?  No?  Ok, I'll keep going then.

I've worn thongs for years. I had resigned myself to what I will call the "sensible thong" from Patagonia.

The Patagonia thong is breathable, durable and machine washable. I guess you could also call these a "hardy thong". The damn things never wear out.

Then I discovered the HP thong a couple of years ago at the Nordstrom anniversary sale. The person that was helping me insisted that I buy them. I was immediately skeptical, so I bought 4 pair.

I brought them home and tried them on.  They took a little bit of work to get into them. I won't go into too much details but I will say that I had to sort of "shimmy" to get in them. But, once they were on I immediately gave them a high kick and I was good to go!

I wore my new HP's every day that week. By Thursday I realized I had been wearing them backwards. Yes, I was wearing a thong backwards and didn't even know it for 4 days. (I'm sorry if I gave you a horrifying visual) My only explanation for this is that Patagonia underwear has the label or tag in the front. I had been wearing these thongs for 3+ years. So, when I transition to HP thongs, I instinctively put the "tag in the front". You'd have to own a pair to realize how easy of a mistake this is. Trust me. The best part of this whole experience was telling this story to my co-worker. Her response was, "even my 5 year old son knows that the tag goes in the back!" Well, sure. I do too now.

I love these HP thongs so much that I have now begun buying them as a birthday present for my friends. It is hard to believe that a thong could change your life - but it really can. I bought them for my friend Camille and she immediately went out and purchased a 5-pack. She now has them for everyday of the week. Now THAT is sensible. I bought them for my friend Stefanie - I'm pretty sure she loves them. Or at least that is what she tells me.

Go ahead ladies. Purchase one now. It will change you life - even if you wear them backwards.

Biking!

It is Saturday morning and I've had my coffee and breakfast. There is a window of time that I have between now and my next task. Food needs to digest, certain bodily functions need to happen, need to get my clothes ready, gear ready, figure out my route, etc. etc. It is what I do most Saturdays and Sundays - ride my bike. Looking at some of my blog posts, I realize that I haven't really devoted too much to biking.

It is the "off" season, I guess. I spend a lot of hours on my trainer looking like this:

 Note - I don't pull my shorts up that high and I don't read while I'm on the trainer. I watch sappy movies and re-runs of "What Not to Wear". It is my key to staying on the trainer for 2.5 hours at a time.

It is the time of year that you put in a lot of base miles and build your base for the upcoming season. My cycling/race season is quite long. It begins in February and goes until December. Mountain bike races seem to start first, then road races begin and my year ends with cyclocross. I'm going to take breaks along the way and I'm vowing not to race every weekend.

I really enjoy mountain biking. Brian and I have had a lot of fun adventures riding our mountain bikes. Sometimes the ride can be brutal and miserable. Other times it can be so fun that I squeal out loud and laugh hysterically while I'm riding. When I think about it, my favorite rides are the ones that combine both of these feelings. Pain and fun!

I'm looking forward to mountain biking in new places this year. I'd like to ride the Devil's Gulch in Wenatchee and the Plains of Abraham near St. Helens.

I'm also looking forward to going back to Bend OR to ride. Bend is the most magnificent place that I've been to ride my mountain bike. We've been there several times and I can't wait to go back.

It was such a major accomplishment for me to get over this damn log. 

Bend's trails are smooth and sandy. A stark contrast to the trails I ride in the Capitol Forest (rocks, mud, roots, attacking birds, bees). Bend has trails designed specifically for mountain biking. OMG they are glorious. Definitely worth three high kicks and a deep lunge.

The landscape is sort of "scrubby" and dry. We normally go in May or September/October. This photo was taken in October. Look how smooth the trails are!

There is even "art" on the trail!

I've got to get back to Bend to go biking. I suppose it is covered in snow right now and I won't get a chance to visit until May. I think I will retire there someday.

I sometimes question why I am a slave to the trainer on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights and spend both days of the weekend riding in the rain. I've not figured out why I do what I do.  I'm hoping to figure that out this season. Last season was pretty rough for me. I didn't have a lot of fun and I was tired and emotional quite a bit. I don't like to be emotional. I like "happy Ann" and not "anxiety-filled Ann".

But, for now, it is back to base miles so that I can make it through this long season of biking and racing.

One of my favorite photos.....

Today I was looking through some pictures that I had on my computer. I always land on the same picture and stare at it for several minutes. I study it, soak it up, smile, and then study it some more. It is my favorite picture of Mom. In fact, I think it is one of the only digital pictures I have of my Mom. I really need to scan some other ones on my computer.

I just love it. I can't put into words how much I love this photo. This photo sums up the essence of my Mom. Go ahead, click on the picture. Soak it up.

1. Always a cat on her lap. She was cold a lot and a cat always helps you stay warm.
2. Coffee and iced tea. Both contain lots of caffeine which maybe explains why she had so much energy. 
3. The stacker in the right corner. It had magazine clippings for decorating, flowers, and ideas for everything. Sometimes I was the recipient of these ideas. About every month I would receive a random box with clippings, articles and other things I'll call treasures. I sure do miss those packages.
4. Lists. She had a ton of lists for every possible thought or use. 
5. I love this room of our house. When I go home, I love to be in it and feel her presence. 

My Mom was always the one taking the pictures. Like many people, she hated the camera. I'm thankful my brother was able to snap this photo of her. Otherwise she would be ducking her head and you would never get to see her surprised expression.

She died when I was 29 and that was really hard. It was hard on our whole family. It is difficult to lose the rock of your family.

I don't exactly know why I decided to blog about this picture or my Mom tonight. I guess it was just one of those days that I caught myself studying this picture.