Where did October go?

I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden it's November! It's 11/11/11 at that! Crazy to think it's been almost a month since I last wrote and there's been tons to write about. Hell, so much so that there's been no time to just sit and relive it all online.

First of all, racing has been AWESOME! Jay and I have been having a blast at the Cyclocross races, carrying our Mtn. bike strength and endurance into the intense, condensed format. I've somehow managed to pull off a top 4 finish in each race, including a personal-best 2nd place in the Midwest Single Speed Championships!!! Bitch, please!

Hollywood has happily surprised himself with great form without week-day training, taking a top 5 spot each race as well, and also taking 3rd in the men's Midwest SS Championships! Rock on! We've kept the racing to a mellow once a week, trying not to overdo it too much before the season hit full swing, and it seems to be paying off.

Hole-Shot Henderson!

Add to it a bitchin' good time celebrating Halloween! From the decorations, costume creation, all the way to the partyin' all night, it was the best year yet! The crowd was bigger than ever before, the music louder, costumes more insane and out of this world, and the fun was endless! Thank you to all of my friends who make this happen each year - Kaity, Teri, Randy, Leah, Kim, Surly Jones and all the rest for letting me help out! I love it!

Next up, holiday season... and how do we get through past Christmas without too much food? If we're gonna hold our fitness levels through winter to maximize our skills through the CX and Ice racing season, it's gonna take some discipline. Yikes!

Ready to race, but not shovel,

Kristy Kreme

Scamp-venture 11: Weekend of Racin' & Rockin'

Friday night, we began the weekend with a smooth ride together on our way home from work, before headin' to the Myth for a killer Surly Jones & Hairball show. It was awesome! Surly Jones was on hungry and on fire - playing their brains out to a packed house - and I was in charge of getting a bitchin' group of Surly Gurly's ready to get rowdy and bombard the stage during their last song of their set.

Luckily, the Gurly's were awesome and we pulled it off as Surly Jones had the crowd eating out of their hands. Awesome show, guys!! I love helping out and watching your dreams come true!

We got home at midnight and realized there was no way we'd have time to make breakfast before our 7AM departure come Saturday morning for the race, so Jay made us some scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast before bed as we packed up our gear for a cold and rainy race to come. Yum! I love midnight breakfast!

The race, not so warm, but at least I got to ride with 3 of my favorite gals - Hellians Cheryl & Jacki, and Ply-wood pal Kristi O. Cold, wet, and rainy, it was a group ride of 5 gals until the 500m mark. The pace was up to mid-30's+ and the road wet, so I sat up quickly when Jacki, Cheryl, and Angie started bumping shoulders. Jacki held on for 2nd, Cheryl 3rd, and I happily rolled in for 4th. H-Wood, on the other hand, rocked out an AMAZING 60+ miles for a raging 2nd place finish! Great work babe!

With nothing on the docket for Saturday night, Hwood and I retreated to the Scamp for the next phase of the remodel. Other than replacing the door hardware to get our door to hang straighter, we tore out the old cushions and replaced them with brand new cushions and covers!

And, what do you do with new cushions? Sleep on 'em! We loaded up the car and headed to Lacrosse, WI to join our teammates and friends for Sunday's Lacrosse Criterium. Thanks to Devin and fam for hosting us and the lil Scamp!!!! Can't wait for the next time we can get out there and hang. :o)

After a great night's sleep, we headed out for Jay's first 40+ race! It was PHENOMENAL! Jay solo'd off the front before the very first turn and never looked back and never let them get closer than 14 seconds back! For an hour, Hwood dug deep into his pain cave against 20+mph winds and never wavered, sealing an uncontested victory with spunk! I was so freakin' proud of him!

When it was time for my race, I was honestly not excited. There was a lot of great talent there and I was not looking forward to getting my a$$ handed to me in a killer wind. I decided that I would just ride my tail off to hang in the pack and use it as training more than anything. You can only imagine how surprised I was to still be with the pack 1/2 way through the race and feeling great.

Coming into the final turn, I was tailgunner, but hungry for a top-8 finish (payout was 8 deep). As we barreled into the last turn for head/cross wind finish, I cut the turn tight and kept inside the wind-protected side of the road, taking up 4 places to finish 6th behind one of my She-roes, Linda S. It was probably one of the greatest crits I've ever been in! The women I raced with were strong and fit, and I found a way to hang and pull it out of my back pocket for the finish. Just the finish I needed to get the season rolling.

This was yet another amazing weekend! Lots of friends, fun, riding, and enjoying each other's company. I'm just so lucky to have the most amazing partner in crime, Jay. I love you babe! Thank you for always having fun with me and screaming your brains out as I chase my dreams!

Smiling and relaxing,

Kristy Kreme

A Very Gas Station Christmas and Superior New Year

We kicked off the Christmas celebrations with a Very Gas Station Christmas with Teri, Randy, and the crue. Not only did we all doll ourselves up as mechanics and gas station employees, we entertained ourselves with a sweet gas station Christmas exchange.

Ya never know what you're gonna get when 25 adults are instructed to buy $10 worth of stuff from a gas station to give in the gift exchange....

Al, our resident fitness expert, scored HUGE with some cigarettes, lighter, energy drink, and condoms. Jay got a Heggie's pizza that he later traded for a lighter, some energy drinks, and other random stuff. Randy and Teri randomly got a snake statue and stuffed bunny.

Lhea's first find was a hit - a bobble head Devil that Hwood picked up for the party. Sadly, it was stolen by Izzy later in the exchange. St. Coach surprised us all by giving a stolen window washing brush from the gas station and a $10.... later that night, though, the dark side faded and he asked to have the brush back to return to the store. :O)

Lottery tickets were a huge hit, along with a lot of 3.2 beer, energy drinks, snacks.... but surprisingly no nudie mags. WTF? ha! It was an awesome time! I can't wait til next year! Heck, even the dogs had fun... Smokey & Huma played and posed for a great set of pictures by Coach.

Huma & Smokey by the fire

Smokey smiling all pie-eyed

We kept the holiday season warm and fuzzy by spending time with our families, too. Battling a blizzard to see Jay's mom was hair-raising, but we had a great couple days of relaxing.

I made ornaments with pics of Bob for Dorothy & Jay

Jay got a kick out of his new insulated bib's accessibility features

Jay surprised me with a framed memorial to my Short Fat awesomeness in 2010

One of the best gifts we got this year, though, was Megan's all-clear PET scan! After 4 months of intensive chemo treatments, all of the preceding months' pressures and fears dissipated as we learned the tumors and cancer was 100% gone.

On the other end, it was a bitter sweet Christmas, celebrating some wonderful successes, and yet morning our losses. There was an empty seat at every table this year - Yang Yang wasn't at Dad's house..... Bob's presence was extremely missed in Dorothy's home...... and my lil brother, Zach, was super missed at dinner last night at Mom's house as he's off at Air Force Basic Training. Luckily, though, he was able to call us and wish us a Merry Christmas, and his graduation is right around the corner, so this little ache won't be there forever.

So, how to you send off a temperamental year like 2010? Head up to the Iron Range for some Surly Jones New Years fun! Hwood and I drove up early to beat yet ANOTHER friggin' winter storm (c'mon already Mother Nature!), and tried to get some skiing in before we rocked out all night. Skiing, though, was a no-go since every trail we could find was covered in an annoying layer of ice. Bah humbug!

Instead, we headed to the hotel early for some hot-tubbin' and a nap. We strolled into the bar at 10:00 and readied ourselves for fun. Teri, Al, Lhea, Barb, Kim, Dave & his girl, Izzy and Dan were all there, too, so we had a blast! 2010 wasn't done with me yet, though, and managed to kill off BOTH of Hwood and my cameras so we didn't get a single damn picture! Urgh.... yeah, they were each 4 years old and have taken 10's of thousands of pictures... but C'MON!

Surly Jones played til after 3:00am, but Jay and I planned ahead and started drinking water once 2011 began. The rest of the crue woke with killer hangovers, but we were checked-out of the hotel and checked-in to a diner before the got too far along. We headed south to my mom's place for a warm family dinner of homemade Hungarian goulash and laughs over wine and warm cookies. It was a blast - Mom, I love giggling with you over simple things like trip-planning... you're a hoot!

Today, we've decided to begin the year right with sleeping in and vegging out on the couch. Smokey's sleeping in my lap, Hwood is dozing as he waits for football to begin, and I'm catching up on some much-needed blogging, and designing my upcoming tattoo! Bitch, please! What a day.

Ready for the next chapter,

Kristy Kreme

Surly Jones and the Roller Girls take Mpls

As if dinners and movies weren't enough for one week, we followed it up with some frigid afternoon racing on Saturday, a mini nap and a warm shower, then dolled up again for the MN Roller Girls and Surly Jones' half-time show!

STELLAR! Absolutely stellar! It was my first time seeing the roller derby ever and it was impossibly hard not to hunt down the person in charge and sign up. Ultimately it was the girl on crutches that finally made me realize it wasn't worth doing if it meant time away from my bike. But man was it awesome to watch!

Then, to make it better, Surly Jones rocked out the most bitchin' half-time show ever! The floor was packed and the band was on fire. I don't know what happened or when, but four of my most favorite musicians found a way to turn it up to 11!

It was like watching videos of KISS before they had branded everything from Tshirts to pinball machines.... Surly Jones was out there playing to the crowd as if their life depended on it. And every ounce of desire and passion that dripped sweat on the stage permeated the crowd and pulled the words right out of their throats as they sang along to every song.

And, as if roller skates and rock n roll weren't enough to allow this girl die happy, Surly Jones finished their set with my favorite song on their set-list.... Fat Bottom Girls by Queen. Starting it off all acapella, the band toed the front of the stage and got the crowd singing along instantly as they harmonized and rocked out the first verse.

I have followed them along as much as my travel schedule has allowed and THIS show was by far one of the top three they've ever put on. As if I've never said it before, go see SURLY JONES! You'll not regret it! Next up is a pre-Turkey show, followed by a super rockin' gig at the Star Bar Friday night - can I say it's my favorite of their show posters ever??

Droolin' for the next installment of Surly Jones,

Kristy Kreme

Another Awesomely Surly Halloween

This year was an even more-rockin' Halloween than last year, just as promised. Even though the last two years spent at the Surly Halloween party were AWESOME, this year grabbed the proverbial dial with gritty hands and turned it up to 11! The grub, the decorations, the music, and of course the costumes were exponentially better than ever before..... it was a fabulous 8-hour rager!

Without Kaity & Teri organizing the rest of us riff raff, the hosting aspect would have never come together so splendidly. We carved pumpkins, made sweet "bloody" sheets to cover the furniture, hung Kaity's ass-kicking umbrella chandeliers, and loaded up the tables with homemade yummy's. Couple that with booze and adults with years of costume inspiration and incomes to fund their imagination and you've got yourself a warehouse full of Halloween goodness.

The deco's were amazing - down to the bloody sheets - and no one could've pulled this look alike off even if they tried!

My favorite part of Halloween, you ask? Costumes, baby, costumes! If there was a reason to dress up in costume every month, I'd be all over it... er, wait..... is that what I do 40 hours a week at work? Dress like a corporate employee rather than a goof? :O) Yeah, Hwood had fun (I hope) helping me get all tat'd up to pull off my most favorite costume ever! Kat Von D, baby!!!

It took 2 hours to do two full sleeves, my back, and her signature stomach "Hollywood" tattoo with temporary tattoos! But it was worth it. To top that off, I got to pair them with my two new loves in the world... bitchin' red platform shoes with a 5" heel! Yum! I'd wear them to work if I was sure I'd still be employed by the end of the day.

Hwood as David Lee Roth with me as Kat Von D

Aside from all the costume follies, the music was the main attraction, kicking off the night with D.N.F., Hollywood's band of hard-rocking buds. With crazy antics and kicks galore, D.N.F. lit up the faces of the buzzing crowd with their eclectic songlist full of speed-punk, grunge, and 80's rock. Even though it was only their second show ever, they only had to pull through a couple derailments brought on by a blown fuse or too many pre-gig shots, but they did so with a smile on their face and kept the crowd's attention as they brought it back to rockin'.

CrashMatic followed it up with some quality skills, but much less high kicks and Oh Yeah's. Sad to say I had to miss most of their show, though, so that I could ensure my hard-rockin' hubby got some food in his belly to soak up some of the cocktails. But it was the most amazing thing seeing how much joy and light illuminated his face.... to see someone you love live out a dream is one of the most awarding things I've ever been blessed enough to be a part of. It was splendid.

As the darkness outside our little House of Zombie stumbled on, Surly Jones took the stage to keep the party moving and the energy high. Another AMAZING performance from my favorite local band. Headed up by Garth Vader, the crue rocked out the best Halloween show yet with some awesome new song additions and more energy than ever before. Way to go, I love you guys!!!!

Can't believe we have to wait a whole 'nother year before we get to do it again. By quarter after 2:00 in the morning, the music was still bouncing of the exposed brick and the bar was still tended. We were supposed to be up by 6:00 the next morning for a birthday bike ride (Jay made it.. I slept), so we relunctantly headed for the door.

My ears were ringing and my legs were exhausted from dancing, but I was too wound up to sleep. Jay and I hung out with lil Smokey for a bit just to wind down before we finally stumbled off to bed, fully rocked and totally entertained after another UNBELIEVABLE Surly night with friends.

Thank you all for the best Halloween memories EVER!

Kristy Kreme Von D

Another Surly Affair

Surly Jones hit Block E downtown for the first (and maybe last) time ever last Friday to play the Ugly Mug.

The weather was hot and the doors were wide open as the crue rocked out some b1tchin' 70's tunes.

Daffknee and Daisy were the bomb...



And Coach, Daffknee, Farrah, and Daisy couldn't help but shake it to Gin n' Juice.



Unfortunately, some A-holes turned the night sour fast, but everyone's safe and accounted for. Next time, we'll all be sure to avoid Block E and kick it Station Wagon Style somewhere better.

Surly Gurly,
Daisy Jones

Surly Jones Rocks the House at Lee's

Friday nite Hwood and I ducked out to join the crue at the Surly Jones & E.L.N.o. show at Lee's Liquor Lounge. The show rocked!!! As I've said time and time again, if you haven't seen them, what's wrong with you?! And if you have... see ya at the next show!!!
The whole crue rocked their a$$es off and got the entire crowd fired up and ready to go. I've never seen so many dudes on the dance floor!
I did my part as a retro Surly Gurl... love the tan lines?
It was awesome!

Surly Gurly,
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

Surly Jones Public Debut

Saturday night was another typical night for us - bikes, frequent wardrobe changes, multiple parties, and rock n' roll. We got up and skipped the morning bike ride after filling our bellies to the brim w/ Wheels. After a nice nap, we rolled off the couch to prep for the evening's 9:30 start.

Hitting up One On One first, Hwood and I crashed the Stuporbowl Pre-Party for some good times. Everyone was there and there were some some killer new prints on the wall. Surprise to us, we had a tasty wedding gift waiting for us in the back office. Don't ask me how, but a belated wedding gift of 12 yr. old whisky survived being around the boozers in the back alley! Thanks, Bill!!! Tasty! Unfortunately, word started to get around that it was there, and all the randoms were coming 'round for a taste. I finally had to learn how to say no and stash it away until we departed. Luckily, we made it out of there safe and sound w/ our sweet gift.

After an hour of fun, we kidnapped Wheels and headed NORT to Pickle Park (I can't stand that name!) to catch the debut show of Surly Jones!! We were shocked to find them already on stage at 11:15, but weren't disappointed. They rocked our socks off til 2:00, none the less. It was a rad show and they were on fire. If you haven't seen 'em, get on it. You can't go wrong w/ these stationwagon rock dynamos.

Randy kicked out a killer solo, and made sure to take a sec to kiss this adoring fan's forehead in the midst of it all....


The show was rad and everyone had a great time! Can't wait for the next extravaganza!
Rockin' in the New Year,

Kristy Kreme