Saturday, January 30, 2010

Ace of cakes

My dad's 60th bday is super bowl sunday and it's up to me and Hwood to make a killer cake. Lucky for me, my immediate family doesn't read my blog or I couldn't give out this lil clue on what the theme will be...

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

What 2010 has taught me already

In the grand scheme of things, it's not the end of the world so there is no reason to get yer undies in a bunch. Be happy to have your loved ones, go to sleep, and be happy & grateful again tomorrow.

Takin a moment to reflect on the joys in life,
Kristy Kreme

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Home Work

The pain of being part of a cycling household, is looking at all the tire marks on the walls of our all-white entry way. So, today I decided I was finally going to paint it.

Before.... plain, white, boring. Especially since every room has color on the walls... 'yellow bicycle', 'red bicycle', and 'celeste' fill the walls in most of the house.

So, today, I donned my old sweats and a ratty tshirt and got nuts! It was awesome, and I'm loving it! What car?
Now, in a couple weekends, we'll rip out the old nappy carpet in the entry and replace it with some beautiful slate and earth colored tiles... I can't wait.

Ah, home.
Kristy Kreme

Rotten Friday Turns Out Surly

So, yesterday I battled through the Rule-of-3 in a matter of 8 hours.... I should have never left that morn.

To kick it off, I botched a mini presentation I had to give at my new job in front of the VP of my Dept (ONE) . Sure, I still have my job, but in a market like this, I'm doing everything I can to impress my company so they forget I'm the new kid. Yes, it was minor and I'm probably uber hard on myself, but it still kicked off the day wrong.... especially before I even got my coffee.

Afterwards, I returned to my desk and called my hubby to inform him of how it went. But when he got on the phone, I knew something was wrong when I heard a PA system in the backgroud - I knew he was supposed to be on the road at that time, so I had to ask. Turns out he was on the road but in the middle of cruising along, the engine quit and the poor lil Cruck sputtered to a stop on the side of the road. Hours later, the local shop determined that the lil Cruck's engine blew.... (TWO) Didn't need that! A couple hours (and a couple hundred dollars) later, Hwood was hooked up with a rental car and back about his business.

Close to the same time, an IT guy came to my office to replace some board in my computer. Lucky for me, when he put it all back together again, the processor blew and now THAT won't even start back up! (THREE) So, Friday afternoon with all kinds of stress on my mind, add to it being completely worthless at work without a computer, I call our Tech Dept to ask what they can do to help...oh, but we don't have loaner computers..... WTF??? So, I stared at my desk and tried to find something to fill the last hour of my day.

Exactly at 4:00, I punched out and crossed my fingers for a safe trip home. I turned off all the lights, grabbed a blanket and curled up on the couch. At 8:15pm my mind must have finally relaxed and I groggily rose to my feet and prepared to go out with some friends and decompress. Crossmax and Chelley picked me up at 10:00 to catch the latest and greatest installments of Surly Jones at Lee's, complete with the Surly $25,000 Pyramid - unrated version.
With topics like "Things you put in your mouth" and "Celebrities with drug addictions", it was the best way to start my decompression. Not long after, they returned to the stage and proceeded to rock the house. After a beer, I ran to join Teri and Kim on the dance floor, hell-bent on forgetting the day's woes.
Sweaty and smiling as each song went on, I got closer and closer to being free of my worries. And by the end of the show, all of it had ebbed away. Surly Jones always puts on a good show, and is sure to entertain any laid-back, fun seeker. Thanks for taking the pain away - you guys rock!

Super-fan, roadie, stalker....
Kristy Kreme

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

171 and counting.....

171 = Total sq. miles of island paradise in Curacao
171 ft = Ken Block's former world record destroyed by Travis Pastrana to ring in 2010
171 = Total number of goals scored in the 1998 World Cup (most scored in a tournament)


171 = Total number of consecutive races entered and finished since my first race in 2006....and now I'm tired.

Yep, this past Saturday marked my 171st race in a row (that I can count), all completed, no matter what place I finished in.

The ice race at Lake Minnetonka was wicked fun - a little cool, but the sunshine was impermeable and brought the energy out in everyone. I opted for the long race even though I'm in the midst of my hibernation, but couldn't complain.

The temps were just warm enough I could get away w/ simply leg warmers and doubling up layers on my upper body. Two laps into it, and I was already struggling to unzip my skin suit with clumsy, glove-laden hands. Kristi O. was ridin hard and her wheels were grippin the ice well as she manuevered through the twists and turns. I always love riding with her - she pushes me to ride at my absolute threshold (and probably doesn't even know it - Thanks!).
Hwood and Chucker, however, were destroying the entire field, pushing a hard pace at the front of the pack and splitting the group more and more with every turn. Me, on the other hand, attempted to eat up any rider I could at the back of the pack, trying to keep my rabbit within reach.

With two laps to go, my reserves were running low and I got hung up behind another rider and lost all momentum. Getting caught out in the wind, I watched Kristi grow the gap between us just before I hit the section of mashed potato snow and lost all my balance, forcing me off the bike and to run til I hit clear ice again. Just as I did, Hwood and the Chucker came upon me and gave me a rest. I did everything I could to hang on for dear life, but didn't make it far enough and wasn't able to close in on KO.
Hwood and Chuck kept ridin like maniacs and finished strong as I kept my wits about me and finished proud as a peacock in 2nd in the women's field. Hwood won it, and Chucker sealed the 2nd place spot with ease. Exhausted, I dismounted my bike after crossing the finish to find Hwood, my Dad, and step-mom waiting to congratulate me. We had a fab time watching the racers come in, and checking out the next group as they toed the line, but had to cut it short once the adrenaline wore off and the shivering began.

With a little bit of energy remaining, we headed out to the local bike shop for awards and some tasty beers to recoup. After some time with our friends, we retunred home for a late afternoon nap and some well deserved rest for our legs. With twitching feet, I dreamt pleasantly of snowy trails and cool air.... I just can't wait til next time.

Though I want spring to come desperately, at the same time I want time to stand still. Or, maybe at least try with everything it's got. Either way, I just want more time to spend doing the things I love before it all starts over again...

Kristy Kreme

Sunday, January 10, 2010

New Year's Day at the Willis Tower

Hwood, Crossmax, Shelly and I celebrated the first day of a new year by heading to the top of the Willis Tower in Chicago (formerly the Sear's Tower).

At 103 stories above the ground, Hwood took a video of The Ledge... and glass cube that provided an unabstructed view of the city below. I, unfortunately, am extremely afraid of heights and fought off my vertigo with every ounce of energy I had. As Jay took a crazy video of the view, I laid in a pool of my own sweat near the elevators that take you back down.

After we returned to earth, the four of us headed to a great Italian restaurant for some wicked tasty bruschetta and Chicago-style pizzas done right. With full bellies, we hit some cool shops and loaded up in the Bug for the drive home.

Though the car was tight with all our luggage and swag, Crossmax drove like a bat out of hell to get us home in record time. It was a 36 hour whirlwind trip that included 3 states, friends, laughs, great food, and some fabulous rock and roll.

2010 is going to be a good year...

Kristy Kreme

Rockin' New Year's Eve!

Jay spoiled me rotten for Christmas by flying us out to Chicago to catch the Supersuckers Rockin' New Years Eve bash. Lucky for us, we only needed a one-way flight... meeting some friends in town that let us ride back with them after all the fun.

We got into town w/ hours to spare and enjoyed an amazing dinner at Tavern at the Lake in DT Chicago. The table was decorated with an assortment of rich and indulgent food and beverages... Lobster Mac & Cheese, Fig and Procciuto Flat Bread, seared Ahi tuna, and a burger for picky ole me. The cocktails and food were the perfect prelude to an awesome evening.

We headed out to Reggie's after dinner and walked through the door in perfect Jay Time, ten minutes before the guys stepped onto the stage. We even got to hang out with Eddie, Marty and Thunder Dan during the calm before the storm. We were so close to the stage in such an intimate venue that I never needed a zoom.The guys rocked! It was by far the best show of theirs I've seen to date.... which is quite a measure, since I've seen them 5 or 6 times in my own town, let alone caught them in Park City, Utah and Stutgaart, Germany!

New addition, Metal Marty was on fire! He moved across the stage with such energy and purpose it was hard to draw my eyes away from him. And, for the first time, Scott the Killa was so close to the front of the stage, I was able to catch all the fun and excitement. In the midst of all my photos and videos of him, he even caught me, giving me my own special salute! (I bet you can't say Lars Ulrich ever did that for you!)


The best advice I can give you is: if you haven't seen the Supersuckers live, DO IT!! They'll rock yer ASS all night! And that's exactly what they did, playing more than 40 songs and taking a sec to pass out personal bottles of champagne to everyone in the crowd so we could count it down and howl at the New Year. And did it end there? Hell no! They continued to bring the house down for another hour of awesomeness.

And in true Supersuckers form, they got the entire crowd singing and flickin along with every word.
And did I mention they rocked?????


Yeah, my ears rang for 2 days, but I would have never changed a thing. Thanks to Crossmax and Shelly for joining us on a major rager!

Party ON!
Kristy Kreme

Belated Holiday Reminiscing

The holidays this year were perfect! Not only did my super awesome new employer give me tons of paid time off, but I got to see all my parents, siblings, and in-laws as I wanted...the best Christmas gift I got.

We kicked off the fun with dinner at my mom's and great family bonding time and tasty pasta dinner.
Then we headed off to my dad's house a couple nights later to see my family and enjoy a couple hours of good food and laughs. My step-mom found a wicked KISS snuggie for Jay and even Dad couldn't resist trying it on.We then traveled to Jay's parents' place to continue the fun. His bro & sis-in-law joined us and we kept the fun and excitement going. Jay got me a new sewing machine for Christmas and we continued the snuggie fun rollin' by sewing custom snuggies for John and the 'rents.
For those last minute holiday needs, we found that Walgreens has the answer...
Yeah, needless to say, we partied on!

Happy Holidays to all!
Kristy Kreme

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Tweet this

Yeah, found myself on the Tweets. And to give hommage to "Shit My Dad Says", I had to enlighten the world with my sis's words of wisdom.

Other than that, stay tuned for a rockin' Supersuckers-style New Year's recap!!! Gotta busy week, but tons of fun to reminisce about.

Puh-leez!

Kristy Kreme

Post Ride Recovery... At the ER

 Thursday night was supposed to be just a typical night out riding mountain bikes with my husband.  Just us, our single speed bikes, and the...