Just a Quick Note

Just wanted to let everybody know that I'm still alive. Nothing has really happened since the beginning of the year. Work has been stressful more than usual due to the lack of help we have, and having to do my job plus somebody else's. I've been trying to stay warm, but I complain as usual. Next weekend is the BRR ride (Bike Ride to Rippey). I'm excited to participate this year, although my main worry is being able to find the right clothing to wear because I'm not a biking pro and have all the gear. So wish me luck. Hope everybody else is doing well.

Happy New Years

I hope everybody has a great 2009!
Just was thinking about what I would like to do for my "New Year's Resolutions." We all know resolutions are made to be broken, but this year I'm motivated to make change in my life. I've come up with 3 for this year.

1. To lose weight. I'm going to eat much better and exercise a lot more. Hopefully this year I can do more things with my bike if I can drop my weight. Also I'd like to get off my diabetic medicine. One of my doctors told me that if I lose enough weight, I'd have a chance to stop taking them. And I have a great circle of people to be my support system, who will help and guide me along the way.
2. To save money. I'd like to say that I have good money managing skills, but I don't. My goal in 2009 is to save money. By doing so, I'd be able to pay off some of my credit card bill and maybe purchase things that I'd like.
3. Being nice to people. I can be pretty snotty and mean to people, so I'm going to try to be a little nicer to people.

So I hope everybody has great success in 2009 and I wish everybody good luck with their New Years Resolutions!

Bye Bye Vegas, Hello Real World

Vacation is over, and I'm still not ready to be back from it. We had a fantastic time in Las Vegas. We left for Cedar Rapids on Wednesday the 10th and stayed at Tony & Kathy's house. We were up at 4am and probably at the airport by 5am. We flew out of Cedar Rapids to Denver where we had a layover for a couple of hours. Then hopped on another plane to Las Vegas.

View from the top over the mountains.

As soon as we got off the plane, Kurt found a slot machine to play.

Tony, Kathy, Kyle, Julie, me, and Kurt

Kurt and I by the Las Vegas sign.
Our view from our 18th floor room!
Night View of the Strip.

Our first day, Thursday, in Vegas we got settled in our rooms and then got ready to roam the Vegas Strip.

Fountains in front of the Bellagio.

Julie and I met Tim McGraw. (Just kidding, it was just a wax museum.)

On Day 2, we traveled down to Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. We took the Power Plant tour and saw some of the guts of the dam.

Me, Kurt, Julie and Kyle @ Hoover Dam
View looking down.
Hoover Dam
Kurt and I

After returning home, we relaxed for a bit. They boys (aka Kyle and Kurt) decided to drink their signature drink called "chupacabres" which is tequila and monster energy drinks mixed together. Then we went to the old strip on Fremont Street.

Kurt and Kyle with their chupacabres.
Who has 2 thumbs and going out with Mindy....this guy.
On Fremont Street.

On Day 3, we were greeted with 60 mph gust of winds, but we still decided to do some more sight seeing and went down to the "other" end of the strip. We went through the Excaliber, Luxor, Mandalin Bay, New York New York and MGM.

Outside the Excalibur.

I'm a big fan of Criss Angel Mindfreak, and was excited to go to the Luxor.
On one of his shows, he did a trick with a deck of cards and one of the cards got stuck in the door.
New York New York....Julie and I were going to ride the rollercoaster, but they shut it down due to the high winds. Bummer!
We also went to M&M World.
Taking advantage of my yellow guy! He likes it!
Kurt and his buddy Blue.

Night 2 of Chupacabres....yes they put down ANOTHER bottle of tequila.
What happens in stay in Vegas, usually doesn't stay there. (he's not really passed out, just posin for the camera.)
Kurt and his muffin top. Long story short, they tried to fit into other people's pants. Julie had had Kathy's, so Kyle decided to wear Tony's, and then Kurt put on Kyle's...pictured above.


On our last night we went to a Cirque de Soleil show at Treasure Island called Mystere. We all got dressed up nice.

Here is a clip I found on YouTube about Mystere. It's about 8 minutes long, but well worth watching it. The show was just amazing! I definitely would love to see another show like it!

I, along with the others had a wonderful time. We left Las Vegas Monday morning. We arrived at the McCarran Airport, and had to stand in line for awhile. Most flights were cancelled due to the weather, but we our flight to Denver was still ontime. We had a quite a bit of time in Denver due to the delay of our aircraft from Idaho Falls, but we arrived safely in Cedar Rapids about 8pm Monday night.
This is what happens when you get bored at an airport. You decided to give yourself glasses or do shadow glasses on people. Thanks Kurt!

Las Vegas Update

Only 7 more days left until we leave for Las Vegas!

I'm getting pretty anxious to leave. I think this weekend I'm going to start making a list of things we need to bring and start packing. Next week is going to be pretty busy for me at work, so hopefully it makes my time fly by.

The plan is is that I am taking off time at Cheese Castle on Wednesday so we can drive up to Cedar Rapids (that's where we are flying out of).

On Thursday: Departing Cedar Rapids at 6:10am and landing in Denver at 7:28am. After a slight layover, we depart from Denver at 10:15am and arrive in Las Vegas at 11:15am.

On Monday 12/15: We depart from Las Vegas at 11:53a.m and arrive in Denver at 2:56pm. We then depart from Denver at 3:55pm and arrive in Cedar Rapids at 6:48pm.

Jinglecross 2008

November 29-30, Kurt and I traveled to Iowa City for Jinglecross Rock 2008. It was the last bike ride of the season, which we had cold weather and snow! But despite the weather, it was a fun weekend. Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Kurt jumping over some barriers
Kurt walking up the steep hill! I'm sure it sucked.
Me and Kurt
Kyle, Kurt's nephew rode his single speed, and in his category, they had the option to wear a speedo. Makes my teeth chatter just thinking about it.

The guys heckeling the riders, bribing them with money (in a condom)

After the race on Saturday, we all stayed at the Marriott Hotel. I was super impressed with their bed and the view.

This was out view Sunday morning (Yuck snow)
Kurt practicing in the snow.
Kurt trying to carry the bike up a steep, wet hill.

Busy Weekend

This weekend went pretty fast and busy with activities. Friday night after work, I purchased a new "toy." I bought a bike trainer to keep me busy this winter. I found it on Craigslist for $30 bucks. They normally run $100-300 for new ones. I can attach my own bike up to it.
On Saturday, Kurt, Kyle and Julie participated in a charity ride called Cranksgiving. They received a list of 12 items to buy at 12 different stores, and they had to bring them back to the start/finish line. All the items would be donated to Food Bank of Iowa. I decided not to participate and volunteered to spend the afternoon with Alexa. She decided that she wanted to go to Merle Hay Mall, so we ate there, then went to play in the kids' area, then get a treat at Target. Both of us were pretty worn out, so we came back and took a nap. Later that evening, Kurt, myself, Kyle, Julie, and Alexa went to a Chinese place called Wok in Motion. We had sushi and an entree. The sushi was great, but I wasn't too impressed with my meal, which I had ordered chicken & vegetables with rice.

On Sunday, Kurt went bike riding, and I rode my trainer for about 40 minutes. In the afternoon, Kurt and I finished my costume for Tour De Lights, we went as presents. The 2 Julies, Alexa and myself met at El Bait Shop, where we did finishing touches to our bikes and registered.

The bike ride round trip was approximately 12 miles. After the ride, they announced costume winners, but we didn't win. We got beat by an elf! The ride back was pretty chilly. We made it back to the vehicles, then went out to eat at Legends downtown. It was cold, but very fun!

Just a Countdown Update

21 more days until we leave for Las Vegas! It's hard to believe that vacation is 3 weeks away! I'm super excited!