Ouch...

I had a ball this morning! I attended a Beginner Cyclocross Clinic this morning in Conyers. It was fun, hard, and painful! First we learned how to mount while moving, then dismount while moving, then how to pick up the bike a couple of ways to carry over the hurdles, then how to put the bike on your shoulder to run up the hill. All of these new skills have left various parts of my body sore and or bruised, but it was well worth it!

I learned some great skills that I'm sure will help me with my cycling in general, but I realized that I don't have the time or money to take on an additional sport at this time. I thought I might be able to get by with my mountain bike stuff for a while, but it's really a whole different sport, so I would need a lot of new gear (including a bike).

It was great to meet other people that think cyclocross would be fun (women in particular - 4 were from Sorella Cycling - 2 were teaching the clinic and the other 2 were beginners). I really don't understand, everyone I mention it to thinks I'm crazy for even thinking that it looks like fun. What doesn't sound fun about riding in the mud then jumping off your bike and carrying it over hurdles and up hills??? ;D

Got tunes?

I decided that I would be a better lap swimmer if I had tunes, so I got an iSH2-Waterproof Headset. It's a waterproof headset designed specifically to work with the iPod Shuffle. It came in the mail yesterday, so I took it to the pool this morning to test it out and had an amazing swim thanks to my new toy!


It's perfect ~ you know how hard it is to do any kind of exercise without music and swimming laps is even harder - well, it's harder for me because I'm not a very good swimmer and it's really boring. I already had my iPod shuffle loaded with running songs, so I just put it in the little compartment and was ready to go!

This might seem like a silly purchase, but I have to swim more laps and get better/faster before the next triathlon (June 2009). ;D

Olympics...winding down

I don't know about you, but I've been glued to the TV watching the Olympics! I have really considered it a luxury to spend the time that I have watching the amazing athletes compete. I've cried, cheered, and been frustrated.

My favorite athletes to watch have been Shawn Johnson, Michael Phelps, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh and Alicia Sacramone.

Shawn Johnson - how can you not just love little Shawn Johnson? She was my pick for all round, so I was soooo disappointed that Nastia Liukin got the gold. At least she got the gold for her beam routine - yeah!

Michael Phelps - all I have to say is AMAZING! He was so much fun to watch.

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh - okay, I have to admit that the first match I watched I was like "is this a real sport??", but after watching a few more matches (how could you miss them, they were all during prime time) I was HOOKED! They are an amazing team and so much fun to watch.

Alicia Sacramone - so sad that she trained so hard and just couldn't pull it off at the Olympics. She was so disappointed, she sucked me in and had me crying too.

Triathlon - I didn't really get wrapped up in any one athlete, but really enjoyed watching the women's triathlon event!

Even though I've really enjoyed the Olympics, I'm glad that they are almost over ~ I really need to get back to work! Don't get me wrong, I've worked while watching...but...

GO GREEN Applique and Fill Stitch Retro Recycle Trees Machine Embroidery Designs

I just listed these adorable Retro Recycle Trees on Etsy! I can't wait to see what my customers do with them. I know they'll be perfect for reusable shopping bags and "go green" t-shirts!

* AKD Exclusive *

Bikes, Bikes, Bikes...

Allie and I got new bikes last weekend! Allie has been too big for her old mountain bike for a while, but she hadn't ridden since we moved to GA (about 3.5 years), so it wasn't a big deal. But now that we're (Jeff, Allie and I) gearing up for a 10 mile mountain bike race that we're going to do on November 2nd @ Callaway Gardens she had to get a new one. She loves it! We went for a ride around the neighborhood today and she did great practicing changing her gears on the hills.

I got a new road bike! Mostly for the sprint triathlon next year, but now that I have a road bike I might participate in more long road races or maybe even cyclocross ~ who knows...


Allie's new Giant Mtn Bike





My new Fuji road bike - it's pretty girly, but I really like it! I just need to put on the clipless pedals and I'll be set!





My old hand-me-down (from Jeff) Trek Mtn bike - it wasn't bought for me, but I really do like it!