Not much to add about yesterday other than we took the Fred-monster with us to Mt Lebanon's light up night. We went pretty late, so Santa was already there (we should have gotten Fred's photo!), the tree was lit, and everyone was in a good mood. The only thing that could have made Fred more popular with the tots would have been antlers and a blinky nose. Even the police stopped to hang out with him for a minute. One policeman confessed that the local police dog, Jerd, scared him. I don't blame him, I've only see Jerd while I've walked Fred, and he dwarfs Fred, and his teeth are mighty impressive. Anyway, it was pretty cool, our tiny little area had a guy on stilts and a juggler, some bell ringers and of course a mondo Christmas tree which Fred really wanted to claim as his own. (Sorry, Kathy, no mimes). All of those the types of things that make people who don't particularly like Christmas just a bit crazy. But for me, it does give me a warm glow, and I'm looking forward to decorating for the holidays, midnight mass, buying presents (alas, smaller this year) for those closest to me, corny Christmas cartoons (HOORAY RUDOLPH!), and Christmas music until your ears bleed. Getting to spend Christmas with my new hubby will be lots of fun (I'm still practicing saying things like "my fiance" and "my husband". It took me a long time to get used to "my boyfriend".) as long as I don't drive him absolutely freakin' nuts with the Christmas thing. Fa la la la la la la la laaaaaaaaa.
- posted by cam @ 10:04 AM (1) comments

 
Oh my, given we've logged more than a few road miles, these police one liners crack me up:

"Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they're new. They'll stretch out after you wear them awhile."

"Take your hands off the car, and I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document."

"If you run, you'll only go to jail tired."

"Can you run faster than 1,200 feet per second? In case you didn't know, that is the average speed of a 9mm bullet fired from my gun."

"So you don't know how fast you were going. That means I can write anything I want on the ticket?"

"Yes, Sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don't think it will help. Oh .. did I mention that I am the shift supervisor?"

"Warning! You want a warning? O.K., I'm warning you not to do that again or I'll give you another ticket."

"The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?"

"Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, and eat cotton candy."

"Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven."

"No sir we don't have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we want."

"In God we trust, all others we run through NCIC."

"Just how big were those two beers?"

"I'm glad to hear the Chief of Police is a good personal friend of yours. At least you know someone who can post your bail."

"You didn't think we gave pretty women tickets? You're right, we don't. Sign here."
- posted by cam @ 2:45 PM (0) comments

 
Doggy lessons in humility. We got a rug yesterday as a wedding present (thanks JH & Susan - thank you card to follow!). So we rolled it out and before it even was completely rolled out, Fred came bounding in from whatever puddle he was playing in, and landed square in the middle. And that's when I realized we'll never have one of those showcase type of homes. Oh well, we still love the carpet, it looks awesome in the living room, and the good news is it hides wet dog prints very, very well. We know that for a fact.
- posted by cam @ 1:29 PM (0) comments

 
For those of you who would like to give a non-traditional Christmas (or any other for that matter) gift, check this out.
- posted by cam @ 2:55 PM (0) comments

 
I had the dress fitting last night. It went very well (Phew!). Fortunately there wasn’t a whole lot of time in which to contemplate an out of shape body in a three way mirror, like I had last time. There was also a lot less time standing somewhat naked in front of a stranger as the whole point was to have clothing on. And I am in somewhat better shape this time around, so waiting for the seamstress wasn’t the lesson in embarrassment that it was in May. Thanks Kurt for that rockin’ good workout plan! Anyway, the dress fit perfectly off the rack. Who knew? Length was just right, it fit everywhere (apparently my body is no longer a triangle) and the only modifications were hooks for the shawl, and a bustle for the dress. The surprise was more in that I originally thought the dress was ivory. Then I realized I had ordered diamond white over gold, so I figured it was white. Now I’ve realized that the dress really does look ivory because of the gold. So I need to call Men’s Wearhouse and change the tux shirts to ivory. It also means my white shoes don't go with my ivory dress. Whatever, I’m just happy that the whole experience took less than ½ hour, and the dress will be ready for pickup on 12/2. Woohoo!

In other news: Pictures from Saturday are located at
http://www.pbase.com/mayhew/chainbiter_60
and one from Sunday is at:
http://www.paulweiss.bz/northhampton_cx_web2/men_b/images/DSCN0022.jpg

Doesn't my little brother look good in the snow? Doesn't Chris look like he's flying over those barriers?
- posted by cam @ 10:31 AM (0) comments

 
Wow…am I groggy…

We left for Bill’s on Friday afternoon, loading up the car and heading out. It’s roughly 8 hours from my house to Bill’s, and we were a little late getting out. So we got there about 10PM. Weather was somewhat rainy all the way up there, until we were within 20 miles of Br Bill’s. Then we started seeing some snow mixed in, and some drivers started feeling the effects. We saw two accidents with drivers off of the side of the road, but made it through ok.

After we arrived, we unloaded the car, sat and talked to Br Bill & Br Michael for a little while, and called it a night. The next morning we got up early, met in the kitchen common area, and shared some espressos and bagels, and then Br Bill, Br Michael, and I hit the road for Bill’s very first cross race. Chris followed shortly thereafter.

The deal is….overnight, the snow had not stopped until 7ish AM. So we had ½ inch of snow and ice on the Chainbiter 6.0 course. One shaded uphill pavement section was a sheet of ice (as Chris found out), where the snow had begun to melt was soupy, and the beginners were faced with the worst conditions of the day. But my “little” brother (Brother) gamely pressed on with his borrowed mountain bike and none of the amenities used by others in the race. Brother Michael, Chris and I cheered him on from various vantages along the course, and even though he wiped out twice on a nasty downhill, he still managed to finish on the lead lap – an awesome accomplishment for his first ride. Despite Brother Michael insisting that he was too old to try it, we could see the gleam in his eye afterwards. So if anyone has some spare CX bikes lying around, we know of two potential contendas. Anyway, Chris’s race went off at noonish. So I armed Brs Bill & Michael with cameras and hung out in the pits. Everyone seemed to enjoy it!

Meanwhile, back in Houston, Sean and Tammie had started off for their bike riding adventure. Tammie talked Sean into riding the 27 mile loop at Novemberfest this year with her. I had been coaxing Sean to increase his mileage, and in a month he had gone from 12ish miles to 22. And probably about the time Br Bill was cursing my name, Tammie broke the news to Sean around mile 22 that it wasn’t REALLY 27 miles….it was 30. Poor Tammie, she left her bike shoes at home, so she did 30 miles using clip pedals and tennis shoes. That couldn’t have been any fun. But the good news is that all three – Br Bill, Tammie, and Sean – survived their bike riding extravaganzas. And they all still seem to LIKE bikes, so that’s even more important.

After the race, Br Bill, Br Michael, Chris and I all headed back to the seminary for showers, laundry, and ultimately, Mexican (mmmm) food. We hung out that afternoon, then headed up to our friends – Pete & Kendra and their two greyhounds Sassy & Zach. We had yummy Tibetan food with Yak dumplings (mmmmmm). The next morning was cold, but clear, and Pete won the “C” race. He had taken a second place the day before at Chainbiter, and then won in his hometown race. It was very cool and Chris and I were both thrilled for him. In Chris’s race, he got a call up (score!) and managed to land an 11th place in the men’s B race. Then we sprinted to the car for the long drive home. Today we pick Fred up from our very patient friend, Erin. I missed him last night, but I must admit that I enjoyed not having to walk him this AM after the last arrival.

So anyway, the lessons learned from this weekend:

There are places in Pennsylvania that are so remote that they don’t get satellite radio
Connecticut drivers are without a doubt the WORST drivers in New England. Our favorite maneuver, pulled on us 4 times this weekend, is they just change lanes…without looking. It’s a favorite of SUVs. Now imagine that maneuver in addition to driving like a Pittsburgher.
When Chris and I are firing on all cylinders, we’re a well-oiled machine. When we aren’t, we’re more of a 2-stroke engine with a locked up cylinder. Friday Chris was a bit disorganized. Saturday I was disorganized. Sunday we were a well-oiled machine.
My family and friends have greater reserves than they realized – and it’s so very cool that they’re open to trying new things regardless of their age!

- posted by cam @ 11:01 AM (0) comments