Everyday for almost a year

Thanks to a good idea from a friend of mine I have (almost) decided to try and take a picture every day for a year. My friend is doing random things that she sees or does every day. My idea is to take a picture off the deck at sunset or very close to sunset. I have really enjoyed the view and sitting out and having a glass of wine while the sun goes down. This is the time of day that The BF and I really get to talk about things and what is going on in the coming day.

There are a few problem with my idea: one is my camera broke on tornado day, so that makes picture taking kind of hard. Next I am planning on going out of town for a week this weekend, also complicating my ability to take a picture off he deck. My final problem is that we are only going to be here through the middle of June next year, but like the title says almost a year!
I do have a solution that I hope solves both: I will find a pawn shop on my way to the beach and purchase a camera and then take pictures of sunset there to get ready... We will see.

Just as a starter image. This one was taken from The BF's phone on June 17th!

June continued...

Free Wheel: So this year, as you may have realized, I have given myself the freedom to just go for things. I had always been to afraid to start running and go for a half marathon, but I did it. I have never known what to expect from my 30th birthday, but I took it with grace. There are lots of things that we want to do but talk ourseves out of for many reasons: fear of the unknown anybody? Free Wheel is no so much unknown to me, my dad rode many times when I was growing up. I even rode half of Free Wheel the year after 11th grade and I loved it. So when I think what possessed me to do it this year, I don't know but I will tell the whole story.
Sometimes we all have a little free time, and we notice on one of our friends facebook page something that interests us either a person we know (knew in a previous life), a place we think is neat, ok lets face it most of the time we facebook stalk people for their gossip and pictures. One evening I was facebook stalking and came across and friend's dad, who I have known forever. I looked at his info and there it was, he likes Oklahoma Free Wheel. So like any good facebook stalker I clicked on it, liked it, and started reading the posts. It so happened that I chose the perfect moment to do so, the route for 2011 had been posted literally seconds before. I look at the route, and what do I see Checotah- on Tuesday night. What? WHat? WHAT? How exciting! Free Wheel is stopping in my home town. I do what any good daughter would do and call my dad all excited, "did you know Free Wheel is stopping in Checotah? Isn't that exciting? Are we going to do it this year?" I said before I knew what had come out of my mouth. Dad may have been a little overwhelmed with me and this exhuberance. "Sure we are, have you been riding?" "No, but I have bene running, and after that I will ride some and we will be ready, no problems Dad we got this!"
And that my readers is how you wind up on a weeklong bike ride, from Texas (or at least 20 miles from Texas) to Kansas, in the middle of June, with a bicycle, tent, and a change of clothes. I would not change a moment of this experience for the riches I will never have.
Through all the rational thinking we were doing Dad and I convinced ourselves and then my brother that this would be the greatest fun for my 7 year old nephew. How that occurred I will never know (it was back and forth, touch and go for a while) but we went to get Jenson Friday afternoon and began the journey. I wish my camera had not crapped out on me but I will do my best with what I have.
We left Saturday for Durant where we were staying for the first night. On the SOSU campus, just happens to be the school Jensons parents we to. And we slept in the shadow of their old dorm building. One of the rules for the game for him was that he would help put up his tent, keep track of all his bike riding gear (helmet, sunglasses, shorts, bottles...) Jenson was not sold on the benifit of the padded shorts or in 7 year old terms "the Diaper" and I think he felt a little silly wearing shorts that were supposed to be tight and just drooped off his skinny body.
Morning one we went to breakfast Jenson and I still in pajamas to discover that all the other riders were already wearing "the Diaper". Since we had Jenson with us we decided to bring a car and see how the riding would go for Dad and Jenson on a tandem. They had not really had much chance to practice or ride together so it was going to be 10 miles at a time. The parts they rode I would drive and vice versa, and we were not out here alone. The friends dad who directed me to the Free Wheel facebook page was with us as well as 10 or so other people. We were in great company in our little group so if anyone needed a ride we were there to help.
So I met the group at the first rest stop of the whole ride, Jenson jumped off the back of the bike with the biggest smile a 7 year old can make! He kept telling me he had ridden the tandem for 11 miles and it was fun. And he saw all kinds of dead animals, and people keep telling him how cool it is that he is riding on Free Wheel. Can we say ego boost? Wow!
This rest stop he met a man named Mike who told him that his principal from school was here on a bike too. This was very confusing for Jenson, as you know teachers and principals live at school and are only there to give homework and punish little children. During the summer they sit around the school and think up new ways to torture students. He was still a little shy about talking to new people and not so sure about the videographer when she asked him questions about riding and how much fun it was. Later when Dad saw the video and Jenson in it twice it was an immediate purchase, Apa Sir was SO proud!
The riding was fun and camping at least as fun. The first night Jenson wanted to ride his bike some more so I tried out the tandem with him, I am not quite tall enough for that kind of machine. Writing about it takes away from the beauty of simplicity: wake up (early!), dress in the Diaper, pack, take down tent, put bags on trailer, get on bike and ride stopping every 10ish miles for more water and snacks, get to next town, put up tent, shower, sit until dark, sleep, repeat. This very simple concept leaves out such vital parts of my normal day here (including facebook) and if it were not for Jenson I would have left my phone off the whole time. We visited with good friends, swam in local pools and lakes, occasionally visited local hot spots and museums, and watched Jenson learn to take responsibility for himself.
On the Monday night I was tired and had not showered after swimming in the pool when Jenson started wanting dinner. In this particular town they set up a pavilion with food and drinks in the camping area and there were people walking that way. I asked him if he wanted to go and gave him $5 to get dinner with. I know this sounds silly but he got himself a hot dog, gatorade and his change all by himself (with a little help I am sure, thank you Thomas and Cindy) but still a very big deal.
Wednesday morning the three of us got to ride together, a friend drove our car (again thank you CIndy) so that we could spend a little family time before Jenson headed home. I am really glad that I did not have to witness that all along, Jenson is still just a little small for the bike and therefore spent most of his time turned around looking at things with his hands and feet all over the place. He stayed safe and had the best time doing it so what do I know!

Here are the 3 of us enjoying a shady spot atop a hill.
I assure you I am only on the phone to get Jenson's ride home figured out!

After Jenson went home Dad and I relaxed just a little more. It was really fun having him along and he did a great job of taking care of himself but no matter how much he is able to do on his own he still is seven.

Visiting the Route 66 Museum (they had a/c!)

I guess my favorite parts of Free Wheel are different, but somehow to me they are the same. Getting to disconnect from everything going on (can anyone say Casey who? What trial?) including facebook and therefore really getting to connect with my dad. Riding your bike for 50 miles a day through the back roads of Oklahoma gives you time to talk about a lot of stuff and just reflect on life. Dad is so good at absorbing input before making a decision that I often like to run ideas past him just to see what his reaction will be. We had lots of good talks and time to be quiet as well.
For anyone looking for the best Father's Day gift ever I highly recommend this. I realize that it ends the day before Father's Day, but what would be a better gift than a week of open views and open ends for where the bike will take you?

In this case it took us to Caldwell, KS
This is the crew we were with most of the time! Thanks Jennifer for the pic!!

Shade was a priority and this little shady spot was hard to leave!

I admit that I am crazy and decided to attend a wedding reception that evening, and I would not have done this for just anyone. BUT when your friend is having a wedding reception less than 2 hours from your current location, and you both live at least 8 hours from said spot you have to go!
Honestly who can say no to this?

Thanks Mom for coming to pick me up and for driving for this evening!
I enjoyed our time together too!!

If I were smart I would have said no to something that night, my quads were screaming all night to stop dancing. They are still a little upset at me when I climb stairs they sent a little reminder of the day I rode 40 miles on a bike, sat in a car for 2 hours, then danced for 2 hours.
The real fun began when I had to make the trek to my new home, now it is not a 10 hour drive it is 14!! And I got to make that with both dogs and a car full of stuff (quads were not happy to have to sit still that long) we made lots of stops and tried to stay awake. Luckily I arrived in time to spend about an hour with The BF while he was still in his 30's and then got ready to plan what I could possibly do for his birthday in a town I have been in for less than 12 hours! I think he liked the non-party of the whole day. Next year I am going to have to be sneaky and have a 41st birthday party... surprise!! Hopefully next June will not be as insane as this year!

Sometimes I like to list things, hey that is how this blog got started! Accomplishments in June 2011
Packing house/move (this is way more involved than can be expressed in words)
The BF starts new job!!
The BF turns 40
Ride FreeWheel 2011 with Dad and Jenson
Unpack things in new house
Return to B-ham for weekend of cleaning (realize that move was best thing to happen for us)

Hopefully July and on continues to have great things in store for us!!

What a month...

All of June I was out of blogger commission and here I am July 4th and just getting around to telling my reader about what I have done. I will try and do this in an organized way with topics in bold and colorful out to the side, consider each one a different post just combined for ease on writing and not repeating myself! So to start!!
July 4th: This is my first holiday in Hendersonville ever and it has been amazing! Yesterday we went for a walk and explored a lot of the area that is a little off the beaten path. There is a big old hotel that sits on top of the hill looming over all things that occur on the lake. Unfortunately the hotel is in foreclosure or something that keeps it closed. When we got back we started herb shopping so I could plant my garden in the backyard. I took a little break to swim in the lake before getting dirty!! Then movie watching to lead us to the big finale. The BF and I then sat out on the deck and watched our nieghbors set off fireworks. Thank goodness for neighbors who have the desire to start little fires, I like the pretty boom and surprisingly so did Cricket.
As great as this day was it make me think of 4th's of the past and what a ton of memories are tied up in this happy day. My earliest memories are of Mom giving each of us $10 for firework money. We were responsible for choosing what we wanted and budgeting how to spend. Then the evening we would set off the pretty night ones and take turns with the punk! I personally loved sparklers and I remember mom always made me stick the hot end into the ground so we would not start a fire.
As we got older the boys got to cool for setting off the little cones and fountains, and I started spending time in Texas with my Great Aunt Jane and her daughter Beth's family. This is where most of my 4th of July memories come from. We would play in the pool all day, Aunt Jane would cook brisket, and then walk over to Paschall Park in Mesquite, TX for the fireworks show. They would have the all day carnival and music (the Dixie Chicks played one year) and vendors all over. It was so much fun. These memories are the best!!
As I got older and in college I didn't go to Texas as often to visit family so I started spending the 4th out on Lake Eufaula with friends. Well those were some crazy times, that might be all I remember about those summers.
Then we have 2003. This year for my family saw the end of a generation. I don't know if it is better to lose a generation in a year, or have them all spread out over time so you spend time greiving over and over. Anyway, in 2003 holiday's took on a whole new meaning. It seemed like no matter what holiday someone was going to die. The Fourth of July did not escape the 2003 curse, but I will always remember and honor Aunt Jane of the 4th of July. Every firework that goes off reminds me of Aunt Jane. I guess Katy Perry is right about fireworks, who knew!

Moving:I guess I should use a dreary color for moving due to the way it makes me feel, but I choose to be happy and at least try to make this fun! For those of you who have never moved with a significant other, how should I say this? DON"T DO IT! I really thought I was going to get out of most of the crap, which comes in the next heading, but no I did not get out of this adventure.
First, we tried to have a garage sale of all of our stuff we don't want to move. I had been sort of planning a garage sale for at least a year and getting my stuff piled up and asking The BF to go through his old stuff and get rid of it. I know there are things in his room that he has kept since college that will never fit him again, it is almost like a hoarder but not quite.
So garage sale day comes, and I did convince him to add quite a bit to the party. Mostly it was furniture and other huge items. He did let me finally sell the lawn mower that has been broken for a year now and let me tell you something about a garage sale ad: if you want people to show up put lawn mower in the ad! FOR SALE: Lawn Mower (if you put it, they will come). We were on 2 different pages with the garage sale pricing. My idea was that we do not want this stuff, we do not want to move this stuff, sell it for the price that gets people to take it away fast! The BF comes outside and freaks out that I am giving this stuff away. Note to reader, what we don't sell we are donating. I had to release control on this one, the beginning of my having to release control during this move.
Next, I realize I am leaving town the weekend of the big move out so I have tons of packing and planning to do before I can leave without feeling guilty. I went to the grocery stores, stole boxes fromthe side of the road, combined already packed things to steal those boxes, and I tried to get all of my stuff organized. So we rented a fully furnished house in North Carolina and this meant that we had to get all of our stuff into storage in B-ham, decide which things we need in the house, and I had to pack my car for a weeklong bike ride/wedding reception trip. This was lots of organizing on my part.
Well we spent 5 days toting things to the storage unit and tried to keep it as organized as possible, I knew that this was going to be a disaster once I left, but we could start out on a good foot at least. The thing was even though we were kept busy the boxes that went were mostly mine. I kept trying to get The BF to pack boxes of his stuff and get it moved, but he was on a different schedule than I was so I had to let go of some control (again).
As I have previously blogged we had the tornado damage, and during the garage sale I had to explain over and over about the damage to the house and about the trees that are still down. This is another control issue of mine, a storm comes in and damages stuff but then there is the whole clean-up process. Let me be clear, it is a process. And I could not control any of it. Just living there was actually causing anxiety for me, every day there would be a new tree cut off something, or another huge load of branches moved so that more damage could be seen from the road.
Needless to say at this point the move, and my having to let go of control in so many different places really was not my favorite thing to do. It would put it up there as my least favorite things ever with the year 2003. That just made the disconnection the following week all that much sweeter...

Free Wheel:

New House:

Planning a Summer:

OK I said that I would write about all of these in one sitting, but I changed my mind. This gives me a little time to walk the dogs and let me contacts keep from drying to my eyes from looking so long at this screen. I have to admit another thing, I have been watching some Real Housewives as I have typed and I have finally caught up on the episodes I have recorded so it is outside I go (for now).