Deep Thought for the Day

This morning during our “quiet wake up time” between 5:00 and 5:30am I tried to share a deep thought for the day with Sal:

H:  Sal, listen to this.  It’s our deep thought for the day.

S:  [Looking up from cycling news] Ok.

H: Ok, here it is.  ‘If I died today-”

S:  Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.  I don’t like this.  Don’t die!

H: Just listen.  I’m not dying!

S: [Scowls]

H: ‘If I died today, would I really care if my house was clea-’

S:  YES!  Yes I would because if you died I would still have to live in this dump!”

H: [Sigh.] Dude, you are missing the point!

S:  [Grumble]

Anyway, dear readers.

Here’s the point. Depart your messy houses and push forth into the world.  Go light things up.  There is a life to live out there.

xo
H

Coming Out of Hibernation

We’re long overdue for a Bobo-Update around here. The winter months cause hibernation reflexes and both of us tend to get quiet and hunker down. Of course, it’s all relative, and with 13 bikes in the house you can bet that we didn’t get too carried away with much of an off-season.

Besides the whole Crazy Cyclist thing, there have been a lot of other stuff that’s news and noteworthy.

This post is screaming for a list so I’m going to give in. In exchange, I promise pictures at the end.

20 Degree Outdoor Movie Theater: Welcome to Swift-Style Celebrations

Sal and I scored another technology triumph last night, when we successfully set up an outdoor movie theater on my parents property in the mountains.

After a brief panic relating to the scarcity of extension cords and outlets, we were able to hook up our projector, DVD player, and portable iPod speakers (which we’d brought from home) to pull off the home entertainment achievement of the year.

Projected onto a king-sized flat sheet, Billy Elliot looked positively impressive as he danced his way into our collective hearts as he has before so many times.

Nevermind that it was 20 degrees outside. We huddled together around a roaring campfire wrapped in hats, scarves, jackets, and blankets. We sipped warm holiday beverages, roasted marshmallows, and watched as our wee home projector lit up the surrounding forest.

We may be crazy, but at least we’re having fun!

White Christmas: 4 Days Late

As I was running through San Jose on Christmas Eve, it struck me that I should not be wearing a tank top and bounding effortlessly through sunny, dry streets.

I should be knee-deep in snow, freezing my ass off.

That’s just what Christmas feels like to me.  Trying to pull together my Christmas cheer in warm, blinding sun is something of a challenge.

A Christmas Miracle

What’s it take to light up Sal’s mom on Christmas morning? Combine a little Skype, a little luck, a little MacBook Pro, a couple techie kids, and a cousin halfway across the world with a new webcam.

Bam.

A Christmas video-conference with much-missed family back in the old country.

It was truly amazing…

Christmas Eve Report from Deep-Fried Wonderland

We’re in San Jose for Christmas this year and, true to form, Fina made everyone’s favorite Sicilian treat: Arancine (deep-fried rice balls stuffed with a mixture of ground beef, peas and  red sauce).

It’s quite a process to produce these little numbers, so I took some process shots last night during phase one:

These are the rice balls, pre-breading.

Ho ho ho! Merrrrrry Christmas!

It’s almost here – hurray!  hurray!

 

 

 

T-Minus 11 days ’til Christmas.

*

Yay! It’s Winter.

I love winter.  No… I really love winter!

I love the cold, and the gray, and the rain, and the snow… and all the required bundling.  I can finally say this with confidence and happiness. This is who I am!  This is how it is!

Cyclocross is over.  And while we mourn its passing, we are getting a much-needed break from the long Sundays spent setting up, preparing, racing, taking down, and cleaning.  I upgraded from beginner to B category for my last race and totally killed it.  It was at the United States Grand Prix race (a national level event) which occurred on the Sunday of the “Storm of the Decade”

It was epic.  The full race report is here.

We put up Christmas lights three weeks before Thanksgiving, but we are still managing to lag on getting the cards out (we hope you’ll think they’re worth the wait!). 

Cyclocross Season in the HIZZouse.

Kids – for all you who aren’t yet on the tip – the real party right now is over at my sports blog, Everyday Athlete.

Cyclocross season is in full swing and we’re racing every Sunday from here ’til December.  I’ll be taking a break in a week to attend a marketing seminar in L.A., but other than that it’s all ‘cross, all the time.

I joined Sal’s team, Portland Velo, for the cyclocross season and placed 4th in my first race out at Barlow last weekend in horrific conditions.

Unfortunately, the true bike racers got the best of me this past weekend at Alpenrose on a fast and dry course that put the sizzle in my quads and send me home crying.

Sal is killing it as usual and you can catch all our race reports and photography highlights over at Everyday Athlete.

If you don’t hear from us before December, at least you’ll know why.

Feeling adventurous?  Come visit us on a Sunday and experience ‘cross fever for yourself.  You will not believe the way these crazy, nutcase people party.  For real!

In the meantime, enjoy this lovely fall rain!  I am overjoyed with the wet weather and have finally given into the fact that I am a true Northwesterner.  Bring me rain and wind.  Pumpkin pie and lentil soup.  I love this time of year!!

xo
Heidi

Going Out With a New York Bang

I’ve been gone for 9 days. You’d expect me to miss riding my bike and drinking Stumptown Americanos, wouldn’t you? I should, I know. I should! But I don’t. I’ll be home soon enough.

There is never enough time in New York City. Never.

My inner gypsy is on a tear.
I love traveling.
That’s the long and short of it.

I’m staying at my Great Aunt Mary’s Harlem apartment right now and flying out to LA first thing in the morning to reunite with my long-lost Sally-pants. Between now and then I am cramming in as much fun as I can possibly muster.