Watching Our First Mountain Bike Race

A few weekends back we got the chance to watch our friend Dan compete in a mountain bike race. In case you are wondering this is not the same Dan that is doing the vegan project on my blog. (I have two friends named Dan!) We were super excited to go support him since he is the reason we started cycling in the first place. Dan has been a huge inspiration for me. He has battled some serious health problems over the last few years and has still been able to stay in great shape. He decided he wasn't going to let his health issues hold him back from his love of biking. Last year he climbed the summit at the Rocky Mountain National Park. (A 9,000 feet climb to the top.) I hope to follow in his footsteps someday.



The race was held at Curt Gowdy State Park here in Wyoming. It was my first visit and I was impressed with how beautiful the park is. I was more fascinated with the amount of bikes I was surrounded by. I may not be a mountain biker but it was still really cool to be around other people who love to ride a bike the way I do. Even though mountain bikers like to tease road bikers about riding on the road verses the dirt and mountains. I'm not ready for riding in the rocks. It's scares the hell out of me honestly. I can get hurt on my road bike but I feel the chances are increased on a mountain bike.


It was nice being able to bring our dogs with us...
There were three bike races held that day. Dan's race was the last one, the intermediate course. It was a total of 15 miles through narrow dirt trails, rocks, steep hills and mountains. The intermediate race was also opened to women. They just started ten minutes ahead of the men and were timed separately. The first hill that all the racers had to climb up was so steep and what seemed to be never ending. Here is a photo Cody took of some of the girls climbing...


We got this great video of Dan starting the race and climbing the hill. There is no way in hell I could climb that thing!!!

Dan waving as he goes by...

After Dan went by us, we hiked out in the woods to find a cool place to catch some photos. Since Dan had practiced the trail many times he told about a great place to sit and wait for him to ride by during his second lap. I had fun climbing some rocks and snapping some photos.




Yes, that is a cowbell sitting on a rock. Notice it has "rule #5" written on it. When Dan first introduced us to cycling he also informed us of the rules of cycling. The rules are mostly just supposed to be humorous. A lot of cyclists follow them by the book though. I tend to be the rebellious type of person and plan to wear my heart shaped sunglasses while cycling instead of buying overpriced cycling glasses. Which is already breaking rule #1 which is, follow all the rules. By the way, rule #5 is Harden The F*ck Up. I remember this every time I climb a hill on my bike. For a complete list of the rules go HERE.


We waited for about an hour for Dan to reach the spot where we hoped to get some photos of him riding. We really had to pay attention because riders came by quickly. When Dan came around the corner he had a guy in front him...




We felt bad for the guy in front of Dan because we scared him. He wasn't expecting there to be people cheering and taking photos. We really knocked him off his game. Dan knew we were going to be sitting there. It was funny though, the guy laughed about it. Dan didn't miss a beat and soon after passed the guy that was riding in front of him.


Then we headed back to the finish line to wait for Dan to complete the race. It got crazy windy and cold.
Poor Muffins.Video of Dan finishing the race. (Listen to the wind!)



It was a very inspiring day. Even though all these people were way better on a bike then me, I just use it as motivation to get better myself. Everyone starts somewhere. I got sick a few days after watching this race so I haven't been able to ride my bike at all. The withdraw is killing me. It may sound silly, but it's addicting. I never thought I would be addicted to something that is considered exercise. I look forward to watching other races in the future. I hoped you enjoyed my photos.

Inspiration: Tiny Homes & Living Mortgage Free

I have spent the last few days sick, which was a horrible way to spend my three day weekend. I haven't even had the motivation to read emails or other blogs. I am hoping that in the next few days I will feel better and things will go back to normal. Yesterday while lying in bed, I was browsing YouTube and stumbled across some great videos about tiny houses. I usually don't like to post this many videos in a blog post but I really felt inspired by these people. Kirsten Dirksen is a film maker who interviews people about their tiny homes. You get to learn why these people are choosing to build them and how they do it. The first video is about a lady who started her house from a free shipping container.


I found her story very inspiring. I have really started to come to the conclusion that I don't want a mortgage. I don't want to be paying all this money every month for the rest of my life just because it's what is considered the normal thing to do. My dream is to travel. If I didn't have to spend tons of money on a "roof over my head" I could achieve my dream of traveling the world. Which I've always felt would never be able to happen. The below video is of a 16 year old who has started building a tiny home in his parents backyard. What a smart kid!! He is going to have a very promising future ahead of him. He is building his first home already and it's on a trailer so that he can move anywhere he wants to.


Then there is the tool shed house in the video below. This one is my favorite. I love the style and size. Out of all of them I find this one the closest to the amount of space I would want. I will admit, these homes may not be for everybody but when you are building something like this yourself the designs and options are endless. I want something small but not super tiny. Even though I think building your house on a flatbed trailer is pretty genius. Moving wouldn't be a burden ever again!


I really look forward to researching these homes more. I did always dream of building my own home someday! Little did I know that this would be the direction I would go. It went from a dream of huge mansions with a million rooms I didn't need to an off the grid / mortgage free tiny house. HA! Aren't priorities great? ;) If you are inspired by these cute little homes or even just curious about them, below is the film We The Tiny House People by Kirsten Dirksen. Or you can just visit her YouTube Channel HERE.


What do you think of these homes? Tiny, yes. I would need an additional tiny home just for my pets. hahaha Right now I'm off to work so that I can make money to pay for a house I don't need. Ironic.

Collecting Color // Green & Pink

The color scheme this month was green and pink. Once I started looking at flowers to purchase for my yard, I knew I wanted to just stick with a plant theme for my photos this month. It also happens to be my favorite thing to photograph. I love when everything starts getting green outside and the flowers are blooming. It means that the warm weather has finally arrived and plans to start around for the season. Next month the colors for the challenge are pink and yellow.

The Collecting Colour Challenge is hosted by Good Things.
See all my Collecting Colour posts HERE.

32 Things Before 32 // #3 Learn to Knit

I am very happy to say that I have taught myself how to knit. When I say taught myself, that means I've learned some basics from watching some videos on YouTube. I have to say that I did not expect there to be so much to knitting. All the needles, different types of yarn, different types of stitching patterns and all these terms that made me feel like knitters have their own language. I still have a lot to learn but I am excited that I have made something already.


For my first project I decided to make a coffee cozy. There are tons of free patterns online. I found some of the patterns confusing though since I didn't understand any of the basic knitting terms. I went to Hobby Lobby and just bought the things that the pattern called for. The first pattern I attempted I purchased some thick yarn and circular needles.


Can you say FAIL? hahaha I tried following the pattern but had no idea what the person was talking about. I attempted looking at the photos of "what to do" but they were confusing and not getting me anywhere. That first night of knitting I was doing everything wrong and became very frustrated. That is when I resorted to YouTube. I needed actual directions I could understand. I needed to see the motions of knitting. A picture did me no good at all. Also starting out with circular needles and thick yarn was a mistake. I learned really fast that I needed a yarn that was thin and that would not unravel easily. Back to Hobby Lobby to get different supplies...


I ended up finding a different pattern that did not use circular needles. It was way easier for a beginner. I did cheat and only used knit stitches and not pearl stitches. Knit stitches look more like rows (see below picture for an example) and pearl stitches have more of a zig-zag pattern. I plan to make my next cozy in only pearl stitches. Baby steps! I figured this way I could really learn each style.


I have to say I am loving how relaxing knitting is. I really hoped that I was going to enjoy it. Every time I saw someone knitting I thought they looked so peaceful. I've just been knitting in bed at night while we watch TV. The cats are loving it because they get to play with the yarn and apparently it's a good pillow.


I am really happy with the results of my cozy. I can't wait to keep making more of them and try new projects as well. It feels so good to learn a new hobby and to create things. Now I won't have to use a cardboard sleeve from Starbucks ever again. Of course Cody wants a cozy as well, but has requested less girly yarn. ;)

The videos I used to teach myself the basics are done by Knitting Help.com.
If you are interested in watching them go HERE.

5 Things

Annika from All The Live Long Day tagged me in her post titled 5 Things. When you are tagged you then post 5 things about yourself on your blog. I was very faltered that she picked me. I actually had a hard time thinking of five things for this post. I share a lot of my interests and hobbies already on the blog, but here is what I came up with....


1 // I HAD RED HAIR
When I was in the 7th grade I started dying my hair dark shades of red. I've been dying my hair ever since. In the above photo I am 14 years old and a freshmen in high school. It feels so long ago now. Every once in awhile I think about going back to red. I just don't think I would like it the way I used to. To go from platinum blonde to a dark red would be too much of a change for me I think.


2 // STOP WASTING WATER
This is a pet peeve of mine. We have been getting a lot of rain lately which is great because Mother Nature is feeding the grass and plants. After a night of rain, I was driving to work in the morning and I saw a sprinkler system in someones yard going full speed. I thought to myself, "What idiots. How wasteful." It had poured all night long! I think it's sad that there are many people in this world who do not have clean drinking water and we are so arrogant about our "green" lawns. Also, it's time to ditch bottled water. Buy a filter and a reusable bottle. Save money and the environment. Be thankful for the water that comes out of our faucets. Not everyone is that fortunate. The above photo is of my old house and really green lawn from rain.


3 // I'M A HUGE GREEN DAY FAN
I've been a Green Day fan since 1994. I still can sing along to all their albums. I've seen them live a few times and they are so fun to see on stage. I hope to see them again. Their music has always made me so happy. I'm so glad they are still around and continuing to make great albums. I used to be so obsessed with them and thought Billie Joe (the singer) was the hottest guy alive. I wrote I love Billie Joe on everything. The above photo is my teenage bedroom back in 1996. See photos HERE.


4 // I CUSS LIKE A SAILOR
My secret is out. hahaha I picked this photo of myself because I look so cute and innocent. Don't let my smile fool you. ;) I cuss like a sailor. It's a true story. I keep my blog clean from it because honestly I don't really like that I cuss. I think it's fine in the privacy of my home with Cody. Usually the curse words start flowing out of me when I'm stressed or mad. I want to learn to control it better because if I ever decide to have a baby, I don't want some of the words I use to be their first. I remember the first time I dropped an F-bomb in front of my parents when I was probably ten years old. It was on complete accident when I was talking about the restaurant Fuddruckers. I'm sure you can figure out what I said instead.


5 // MY FAVORITE JOB EVER, IKEA
A few years back I got a job working at IKEA. I had to quit that job because I moved out of state to be with Cody. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss my job. Even though it was just a job in retail, they treated me great there and I felt like I belonged. My hard work was always appreciated and noticed. I always recommend working at IKEA to people. The bad thing now is that I compare my current job to IKEA. The bar is high since I loved it so much. I'm not happy at all, I just go through the motions everyday. Nothing feels right the way IKEA did. I know a lot of it had to do with the great coworkers I worked with. I loved my work as well though. I hope to move to a city where there is an IKEA so that if I want to work there again I have the opportunity to.

Did you learn something new about me? I can't believe how hard it was for me to think of five things.
I'd like to tag Kim, Peggy, Cazz, Angel and B. Please play along if you'd like. :)

Vedauwoo I Love You

Last week Cody and I celebrated our seven year wedding anniversary. I had to work part of the day, but after that we decided to head up to our favorite park Vedauwoo National Forest. I've posted about this place before and it won't be the last that's for sure. Sadly our favorite areas were blocked off and not really open to the public yet. Not sure why, considering it was eighty degrees outside and the middle of May. It was gorgeous! The perfect day to for a hike in the woods.


There really is something special about a place like this. Being able to get lost within the trees and let your stress melt away. When we moved to Wyoming and I first visited Vedauwoo I realized what a gift nature really is. Being outside listening to happy birds chirping all around you along with water running through a creek, it's pure relaxation. Guess what the best part is? It's free.



If you look closely at the above photo you can see the Rocky Mountains covered in a layer of snow.
The photo can not capture the beauty that I actually see with my eyes.

It was great taking the dogs with us. Little Muffins hadn't been on an adventure in a long time. She is doing really well since I switched her to a new dog food. I plan to do a post about it sometime. All I know is that since switching her to a vegan dog food she doesn't lay around all day as if she is on her death bed. We saw results almost immediately and now she is able to walk again. It's amazing really.



Yes, she looks like a little Chewbacca. She will get a nice haircut soon. She hates being groomed.


Now that the snow has finally left us we have been enjoying things like going to Vedauwoo, walking the dogs and riding our bikes. It means that my blog and computer time in general has taken the back burner. I have realized that living life and doing stuff is more important to me then designing some cute collage for the blog. The past few weeks I haven't followed a blogging plan or agenda. (Usually I do.) It's felt great to just share the things I have been actually going out and doing. Taking a step back from the online world has been very good for me. Designing posts can just be too much of a burden on me at times.


If I want to be a good cyclist that means I have to keep my butt moving. ;) The bike rides are getting longer and harder. Which means less time indoors and online. Our summer and warm weather seems short here in Wyoming. I need to be outdoors as much as I can stand it!!! I hope you are all doing some great things as well. The above quote is one of my favorites, "Look deep inside nature and then you will understand everything better." I urge you to find the closest National Park or State Park near you and visit it often. Get lost in nature and enjoy doing nothing. It's great for the soul.

See other pictures and posts of Vedauwoo HERE.