Hidden Springs

Today we went to a new spot for mountain biking called Hidden Springs.  I got a book called "Mountain Biking in Boise" and it has information on tons of different trails and routes around the area. This area happens to be where the duathlon  I am doing in September will be.  This route was supposedly 6 miles but we both estimated it was only about four, which is still plenty.  It was straight up right from the get go which I kind of liked because my legs were fresh.  It was a big loop and so the last part was a big downhill on a paved road and we felt like we were flying, in contrast to feeling like we were crawling as we go uphill.  At one point on the ride I went over a big rock and was kind of knocked off my seat and the bar of the bike went in my private area. I was scared of this happening cause Thomas had told me about a guy coming in to the ER and the seat of his bike had come off his bike and the metal part went up his butt.  And I just started reading the book "The Long Run" and the guy gets hit by a bus while commuting in New York and the bike went through his private parts. It hurt for a minute though and we ran on.  It just goes to show though that a lot of what we think comes to pass. 
I love the burn that comes from mountain biking, my quads and lungs were feeling it big time.

25th Birthday

This past Friday I celebrated my 25th birthday.  Really that whole week was sprinkled with birthday celebrations.  My parents took Thomas and I to lunch Monday and we had Coldstone cupcakes.  Wednesday Thomas had me open my birthday gifts from him.  He got me a lunch bag that I had been wanting for awhile.  All of the third grade team teachers had these bags and he remembered me saying that I wanted one :)

He also bought me a bike rack for our car! It's so convenient just being able to throw our bikes on there and go.

My actual birthday was also my brother in laws graduation from BYU-Idaho.  Thomas and I started the day off with a run and then he took me to lunch at Great Harvest.  I had the best soup and sandwich.  My mom had bought a Costco cake that said "Congratulations Ivan and Happy Birthday Lindsey".  We actually ate some the night before and said it was Ivan's half and then ate more the next day.  My mom and dad got me a bocce ball set.  Mom, Thomas, and I played a couple games that day before the graduation ceremonies.
It was a pretty laid back birthday and actually made me feel kind of old just from the fact that it didn't really matter to me that there was no party or anything, to me that is a sign of being old.

Weight lifting

Went to the mailbox on Wednesday and was pleasantly surprised to see an envelope from our friend Brandi who had stayed with us a few weeks back.  Inside was a thank you note and some weight lifting gloves :) When she was here she came to the gym with me and did a weightlifting workout.  I had said that my hands were getting calloused from holding the free weights and I needed some gloves.  She remembered that and was so thoughtful and bought me some :) Don't you just love when people surprise you with their thoughtfulness? I feel pretty hard core wearing them at our little fitness center.

Happy Birthday Bea!!

My thoughts exactly

http://daiseeangel.blogspot.com/2011/07/public-service-announcement.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FDoeC+%28one+mile+at+a+time.%29
I just want to say AMEN to this post.

Mom and Dad's Summer Visit

Thomas getting ready to beat the heat with sunscreen on his nose.

My mom and dad came into town this past weekend for a little visit since my dad had a few days off in a row.  Saturday we barbecued ribs, corn, and baked potatoes and had some laying in the sun time by the pool.  We took our new floaty out for a spin.

After dinner our plans were to go to Roaring Springs water park but it was looking a bit cloudy so we decided instead to go downtown and watch the bike race that was going on.  The bikes go around a half mile blocked off section of the city streets and go around 100 times going 35 mph.  It made me dizzy just watching them.  Thomas was really hoping to see a crash, but no luck.  We stopped at our favorite frozen yogurt shop downtown part way through the pros race to get rid of the dizziness and enjoy summery goodness. We walked back in time to see them finish up the last few laps.  I would love to know what it feels like to bike at 35mph, probably kind of scary but exhilarating.
Sunday was church and then we headed to Ann Morrison park for Frisbee golf and ladder ball.  We played on teams, my dad and I against Thomas and my mom.  While playing we saw a HUGE frog and a gopher that my dead said he was going to get with his pocket knife cause in his words "gophers are bad Linds" (he didn't kill it).

Dad searching for the frisbee I threw in the creek.

Monday we went to a Diner's, Drive-ins, and Dives place that has Basque food in downtown Boise.  I had a lamb sandwich like thing and it was pretty good.  But what was to die for was the chocolate pudding.  It really was more of a thick pudding and had whip cream and raspberry drizzle on top.  Just a few bites and you were satisfied because it was so rich and good.
We then wandered around the downtown Boise shops before dropping Thomas off at work.
My mom and I went on a little hike up camel's back while my dad laid under a tree and whittled at a stick with his pocket knife :) Once we got home we cooled off in the pool.

My dad told me he wished Thomas wasn't working because he wanted to play some more Frisbee golf.  I think we have converted him to the sport and will be seeing him more often now.  Monday we stopped by a lot of stores and my dad got to check out some gun and army/navy surplus supply stores.  We also got some coldstone ice cream cupcakes for later that night so we could celebrate my birthday with my dad. Those were delish!

Tuesday my dad had to leave but my mom is staying.  Her and I went to the cheap theater ($1 a person!) and saw the movie "Soul Surfer".  We both loved it and my mom cried throughout the whole thing.  Very inspirational. Once Thomas got home we walked to get shave ice and then to Target to get some treats.  We ended up roasting marshmallows over the stove burners and making smores with Reese's peanut butter cups, so yummy!
My mom and I were car less today so we road our bikes about 8 miles round trip to Winco for some groceries. 

We also swung by the school I student taught at so she could get a look at it.  And it just so happens that I got a call from the principal today for an interview for next week for a 5th grade position! Wish me luck and pray for me!

Picking Blueberries

While on my way to an interview in Caldwell this past Friday I noticed a sign for a little farm where you could pick your own fruit.  I almost stopped on the way back home but decided I would wait to go with Thomas.  So this morning after yoga in the park with Tess, Thomas and I headed over to pick blueberries.

They have you pay $6/adult just to go in but then deduct that amount from however much the fruit costs at the end.  I guess they figure that way if people just eat and leave, at least they have made some money.  The blueberry bushes had this big net over them so that birds wouldn't eat them all.  The farm actually has a lot of other crops too and in a couple weeks blackberries will be available to pick. They gave us a schedule and it looks like soon we will be able to pick watermelon and corn too. 
We felt like we were in Washington with all the green plants :)

The Fourth

To celebrate the Fourth of July we went to a local park where they set off fireworks.  It's the same park where we play frisbee golf and it's HUGE! They have a big fountain in the middle of the park that kids play around to get wet in.

In downtown Boise there are tons of restaurants that have outdoor seating.  It's such a fun summer thing to do, eating outside, so before heading to the park we stopped by a frozen yogurt place downtown and shared a cup of fro yo outside.
The park had a great band playing their were lots of people up and dancing and I even overheard a 10 year old kid saying what great taste in music the band had.  They played lots of classics.

The fireworks show started about 10:20pm or so and didn't seem to last very long but it was an impressive show. 
Thomas and I noticed that at community events like the 4th is when all the crazies seem to come out.  There was some kid wearing a swamp monster suit walking around the park, people riding 10 foot bicycles randomly, and then just lots of white trash like people.  Weird.

Happy Birthday America!

Summer break

I'll be honest and say I have been getting pretty bored being home by myself while on summer break.  I knew that after a week or so I would get tired of watching Bravo, reading blogs, and laying by the pool (okay I'm still not bored of that).  To keep myself entertained for eight hours while Thomas "brings home the cheese" as he like to say :) I have been going on daily bike rides to places like the library, or Kohls to try on swimsuits, or Hastings where I had a gift card.  I workout in the morning and then will clean the apartment, read, lay by the pool, and watch HLN about the Casey Anthony trial.  I really do enjoy it but it's always nicer to have somebody else to do those things with.  So I love it when Thomas gets home from work.

Last night we had dinner right when he got home.  I made these meatballs from a recipe from one of the Biggest Loser cookbooks.  Thomas nicknamed them "atomic bombs" because they were SO spicy.  Then we road our bikes a few miles to get frozen yogurt.  We have been excited to fill up our punch card so we can get our free cup of froyo, we are planning on loading that baby up.  I hope they don't have a limit on how many ounces you can get.  After froyo we stopped at Dick's sporting goods to just browse around.  My mom was joking with me at the beginning of the summer that I should get a part time job there so I could get an employee discount.  Now I am thinking that I should have.  There were so many cool accessories for our bikes that we want and cool camping gear and just outdoor stuff that would be fun to have.  Finally we realized they were about to close and we rushed out of there to get home on our bikes before it got dark.  I love summer bike rides and frozen yogurt.  We have also been loving the Sno Cone Shack that is only a half mile down the road from our apartment.  I always get half tigers blood and then some other flavor too. 

Went to the dentist today and the hygienist scraped the heck out of my teeth! They still tingle from all that scraping.  I had to hold in a laugh as she was scraping because I remembered a conversation Thomas and I had a year or so ago after our dentist appointments:  My hygeinist was sitting there telling me the whole time she was cleaning my teeth all these scary stories about how if you have gingivitis and your gums bleed that is a sign you will have a pre-term baby.  I let her know that I wasn't pregnant and wasn't planning on being pregnant any time soon.  She then goes on to tell me how bad smoking is for your teeth and the health of your baby.  Again I told her that I wasn't pregnant and that I don't smoke.  She just ignored me and kept on with her warnings.  So then she was saying that my gums were bleeding so I probably had gingivitis and should use mouthwash. I always thought it was weird that my gums bleed when I go to the dentist because when I floss they normally don't and I am a diligent flosser.  I'm sure dentists think that's B.S. when patients tell them that but I honestly floss on average seven days a week.  Anyways, I told Thomas about the gum bleeding and he was like "well YA your gums are going to bleed when they are sitting there digging a pointy metal stick at your gums". And that's why I had to laugh when the hygienist was just scraping away. 

Keeping on, Keeping on

We went mountain biking this morning since Thomas didn't have to be to work until 3pm.  This time we went to a different part of the foothills called the military reserve.  OH MY GOSH! The first part was sooooo hilly.  My lungs were burning so bad, my throat got that metallic taste in it, and my heart was seriously pounding out of my chest.  I haven't felt that tired since running sweet 16's at basketball practice in Junior High.  Mountain biking is such a cardiovascular challenge.  I used my Garmin watch and timed and measured the distance and I really could run faster than I can mountain bike :) I love having a new workout to do and a new challenge for my body.  We are planning on going up again tomorrow after yoga in the park. 
In other news... I am trying to not go totally out of my mind by being at home every day by myself while Thomas is at work.  I will bike to the library which is like 6 miles away or to Albertson's which is only about a mile away.  I'm reading a lot and I have became entranced by HLN's coverage of the Casey Anthony trial.  I keep telling myself I need to stop watching it because it makes me upset but I can't stop.  As Thomas and I have been discussing that trial as well as other things that are going on in the world today, I have come to the conclusion that common sense is not used any more.  People are all about the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law and so common sense is just disregarded.  It's kind of a scary thing. 

Last week I noticed that there appeared to be little flecks of dirt on the stove.  I wiped them off with a clorox wipe and then an hour or so late I noticed they were there again.  As I looked closer I saw they were moving! So I called the office and they said they would have maintance look at it.  The maintance guy came and didn't really do much but he sent the pest control guy.  Apparently they are bird mites!!!! A bird nested in some airway and when it left the mites tried to find someplace else to get food and came through the fan/vent above the stove! So gross! They are little parasites that live on birds.  I could hardly eat for two days because it grossed me out so bad.  They sprayed something and cleaned out the vent of the bird next stuff and if it doesn't get better in a couple days they said to call again. 

Mountain biking

We have been going to bed super late now that I am done with student teaching so I had good intentions to wake up and go to yoga in the park but alas when the alarm went off I just couldn't do it.  But we did wake up in time to get ourselves to the downtown farmer's market.  It was twice as packed as it normally is and seemed to have more vendors than normal.  We got some spreadable peppercorn goat cheese. YUM! Then we headed to the foothills to initiate ourselves into the art of mountain biking.  My quads were burning! I'm almost positive I can run faster up the mountain than I can mountain bike :) My heart was just pounding out of my heart up some of those hills.  It was awesome though and we are going to try to go a little farther each time.  Going downhill can be pretty scary, it totally reminds me of going down a steep slope when snowboarding.  You don't want to put your brakes on too hard and biff it but it's scary just letting yourself go with gravity. 

I am just loving summertime.  Bike riding reminds me so much of my childhood.  We had a dead end street with a big hill that we would ride up and then turn around and cruise down as a kid.  I remember loving going to the public library as a kid too.  So I've combined my love and biking and the library and yesterday rode the 5 or so miles to the library.  We've also been enjoying lying out by the pool and jumping in to cool off then jumping out to get our tans on :)