Bike for sale

I stumbled across an awesome add for a new bike. I liked it so much, I thought I'd share it with you:

Specialized Bicycle - $650

Date: 2009-08-10, 2:04PM EDTReply to: sale-tmf3u-1315817279@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

This is truly a one of a kind bike. It goes quick like 10 MPH. It has gears to suit your tastes. Hardly ever used, it even has an odometer, and all these other readings in this kit I had bought for it. It includes Cat Eye lighting which means you could ride your bicycle at night with plenty of safety lights flashing. The bicycle is white in color. I will include the bike pump for $700 U.S. dollars. There is also a bike helmet for it, which I will sell for another $50. Thanks for considering this bike, I know you will like this.

it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 1315817279

I think I may have just found the bike for anyone who's interested...

Almost Home

Well, here's another disaster that's in the books...

After this week, there will be a skeleton crew here doing the last of the paperwork with the state, but as far as FEMA is concerned, WE'RE GOING HOME!

So, if everything follows the plan, I'll be home next week.

See ya'll then!

IF

I went to a Scouting banquet last night where they celebrated the incoming of the 100th year of scouting. It was the "kickoff" so to speak. Several executives dropped in to host a little presentation with videos of where we've been the last 100years and where they'd like to go. It was good to see the number of folks there, and the amount of effort from everyone to keep it going too.

There was a speaker who read the poem "IF" by Rudyard Kipling, which sorta stuck. If you haven't read it, here it is:

If
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!
–Rudyard Kipling

Just thought I'd share...

Paying Off

Things are paying off and I'm getting excited.

There are many advantages to the triathlon training I've been doing, and I saw one of the better ones this weekend, which I'll share with you...

Before FEMA work started my normal attire was khaki's and a polo in the office. Since FEMA, I've been allowed to wear jeans and a polo. Not a huge change, but it still plays a part in this. Just bear with me.

So, this weekend Bethany came down to visit, and spend some time with me. One of our plans for the weekend was to see her sister baptised on Sunday morning at church. This is where the khaki's come in. I pulled the khaki's from the clothes Bethany brought, only to realize they didn't fit. As in, they were WAY too big. I put them on and asked her what she thought and she merely laughed.

When I let go of the waistband, they fell off. As in, still buttoned and fell off. That was quite exciting.

We decided to see which pair she brought, and turns out it was a pair that we had to buy larger than normal earlier this year, because I had quite the gut. Now, not so much... As a matter of fact, I've been told I need to go shopping again, because the jeans I'm wearing are having a hard time staying on too.

Guess we're going to be adding another pair of clothes to the Goodwill pile :)

I'm really starting to enjoy the extra training I've been doing, and honestly, it's a huge boost to see those kind of results!

I like sod

Now that the utilities have decided to finish tearing up my yard, they finally planted some sod to fix their disaster.

Not too bad really.

The only problem...it didn't last very long. We're talking just a couple of days and now it's dead. So, now, we're back to square one.

Guess I ought to call again and see about this being fixed...again.

The new Yogi Bear

Remember Yogi Bear? And his side kick Boo Boo?
Well there's a new Yogi, execpt her name is Yellow-Yellow, and she live Adirondacks (NY). A report has come out that hikers have been complaining that their food stashes, stored in a Bear Vault, have been invaded. Turns out it's Yellow-Yellow.

The Bear Proof Can is a Pop Top for the Crafty Thief - NY Times

"...Similar to a childproof medicine bottle, the BearVault 350 and 400 models can be opened by pressing a tab that allows the camper to screw off the lid. But reports began coming in from campers a few years ago that BearVaults were being broken into. State wildlife officials began suspecting Yellow-Yellow, one of a number of bears they have tagged and tracked as a way of studying the behavior of the more than 5,000 bears roaming the Adirondacks.

In most BearVault break-ins, Yellow-Yellow’s radio collar indicated she had been in the area. Eventually, campers began spotting her from afar rifling canisters. There have been no reports of her threatening anyone...."

Smarter than the average Bear!

Headin' to George Town

Earlier this year, I set up the Virtual tour that's been taking me down to George Town based on my fitness mileage.

A good friend of our in the Bahamas wanted me to see if I could virtually make it down there (of course we'd love to go physically too), so that's what I set out to do.

I plugged in this month's current mileage only to notice that I'M THERE! I'VE OFFICIALLY MADE IT TO GEORGE TOWN BAHAMAS! How cool?!?!

Here's the map:


And the totals so far:
Swim - 116mi
Bike - 915mi
Run - 201mi

A little of "Le Tour"

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've seen a million and one headlines about "Le Tour de France" that's going on right now. I know I couldn't even muster the strength to hang onto the last guy for 5mins, but it's still fun to watch.

I've gotten into a habit to log in to the computer, turn on Le Tour, and have it play while I work. It's a good break to go back and forth to see who's where and what's going on. Absolutely amazing.

Well there have been a few pretty nasty wrecks throughout of course (100+ riders, 20+mph, 1ft apart, go figure), which some have been caught on camera. Here area few:
Don't worry, he's ok. Hurt, but ok. Flat tire, lead car, lost control. It happens.

He was alright too. Tire bounced, caught the white line, and down he went too. Notice the swell of that back tire!

I'm not genius, but I can pretty much assure this isn't going to end well.

You really should tune into the Tour. Even if you're not sure what's going on, tune to watch these guys hammer down and do some serious riding!

Lunch Company continued

Three days. Three lunches. Two meals with awesome company. Yea, that's a pretty good week!

Today was a join called Coach's Corner w/ another cousin and an aunt. Sara and her mom joined, which was definately nice.

I need more FEMA work in the vicinity of family :)

Thanks Sara. Next week, we'll get you and Jess together at the same time!

Lunch Company

The cool thing about the FEMA gig, is being able to enjoy lunch at different places throughout the disaster. The really cool thing is when you have friends and family within just a short haul that you can meet for lunch.

Today was one of those days. Awesome luch and even better company for lunch!

Thanks for the lunch Jess. We'll definately have to do it again soon...and who knows, maybe Sara will join us next time :)

See ya next week sometime, hopefully!

Utilities Continued...

This was just a little past 3pm today. I guess the heavy equipment is gone, finally. But, now I really have a mudhole in the front yard.
Any takers on how long it'll take before it returns to normal, good looking sod? Yea, me either.

Gotta love utilities...

I got a phone call last night that went something like this:

Ring Ring.... Ring Ring

me: Hello?
other voice: This is "so-and-so" with AT&T calling about your yard.
me: ok.
AT&T guy: I was calling to see if you got the letter I put on your door this morning about me coming to tear your yard up with heavy machinery.
me: no I didn't. I'm at work actually. I haven't been home. Care to tell me about it?
AT&T: Well sure, we'll be there tomorrow to tear up your yard and dig in your backyard.
me: why?
AT&T: Well, we have an easement through your yard and need to replace the fiber optics line.
me: ok. Where's the easement? Is it through the middle, up by the house, or out by the shed?
AT&T: I'm not sure. I'll know more in the morning when the crew shows up.
me: How long do you plan on digging in my backyard?
him: Not sure. Hopefully no more than a week. Just depends on what problems we run into.
me: ok. So, you're just calling to inform me?
him: Yes. We showed up and noticed the flier on the door, so we wanted to call and make sure you got it.
me: (in my head - if it's on the door, how'd I get it?) No, not yet, but when I get home, I'll check it out and put your phone number on the fridge.
him: Ok. Any questions, feel free to call me.

Wow. So AT&T is coming to put new fiber optic line through my yard. I have no idea where, or for how long. Don't know where they're going to park their equipment. I don't know really where they are going or anything for that matter. And neither did the call guy. Yet, he wants me to call him. Great.

As of this morning, the truck was running and they were getting started. According to the weather channel, we got rain today. So not only do I have heavy equipment in the yard, but now a mudpuddle.

Great. Just Great!

Before:

After:

WIN SUSAN

I've mentioned a blog called Fat Cyclist before, but today, I'm going to mention it again. If you haven't ventured over there yet, I'll even be nice enough to give you the rundown.

The blog is led by one, Eldon Nelson, often referred to as "Fatty". Fatty is the father of two identical twin girls, two sons, and is married to an awesome woman, Susan. They live in Utah, and live pretty normal lives...considering.

Fatty writes lots about mountain bikes, road bikes, the Tour de France, random contests, funny observations about every day life and even the Lance Armstrong Foundation. You see, his wife, has been fighting with cancer since 2003. And now, to make it worse, it has metastasized into her bones affecting her everyday life.

And today, Fatty has written a little about Susan. Her fight. Her will. Her determination. She's a tough woman.

His slogan has always been "Team Fat Cyclist: Fighting for Susan", but what if it was "Team Fat Cylist: Fighting like Susan"?

You should check it out to see what he means.... it's well worth your time.

WIN SUSAN

July 4th Weekend

We had a great holiday weekend filled with good food, family and lots of relaxation. Friday were were able to spend some time with Joe, Jessie, Josie, Jolie and Marcia. The day started off with a boat ride, and both Josie and Jolie got to drive the boat :).

After lunch, the afternoon included a jet ski ride. Apparently they all fell in except Josie, but everyone had a great time....although Jessie would probably like her sunglasses back.

Friday night we had a shrimp boil....Robert did a great job getting all the food perfect. It was soo good that we had hardly anything leftover.

Saturday we spent most of the day laying around or hanging out in the water. Here is how my dad spent most of his vacation:

Saturday night I managed to talk everyone into driving over to the Lake Martin ampitheatre to watch the fireworks. We had a good time and surprisingly traffic wasn't too bad getting back. From the land, the water actually looked like a small city with all of the boat lights. Good thing it didn't include us!

Sunday was even lazier than the previous two days. There was a threat of rain so we stayed close to the camper, made ice cream, played cards and read books. Here is my dad letting Red have a bit of ice cream:
We had a great July 4th, and we hope everyone else did too!!

Upcoming Holiday

Obviously, the 4th of July is just around the corner, and everyone is getting ready to head out for vacation...

...Including us!

Since Friday is the holiday, we're heading to the lake Thursday evening. Should be fun. A long weekend of skiing, wakeboarding, boating, eating, swimming, lounging, and enjoying fireworks.

What better way to spend it?

Have a great 4th everyone!