Lack of Posting, but No Lack of Excitement

I do apologize for not posting more lately. Things have been hectic in all aspects of life - at home, at school (for Chad) and at work. I am getting more and comfortable with my responsibilites at my new job, so that is good. Things have been so busy that I feel like I have been there for a long time, but I've only been there a couple of months.

One thing that I am really, really, really excited about is this little thing that came in the mail on Thursday...A Specialized Allez road bike. My super generous, loving, sweet kind, beautiful (we are identical twins after all) and did I say generous sister Megan mailed her bike all the way to Kentucky. She bought it a few years ago and did several duathlons and road races, but when she moved out to L.A., she realized that she wasn't using it and that I would probably love to use it for triathlons and duathlons. And by "realized," I mean that I hinted at this fact for years. But to make a long story short, I ended up paying her peanuts for this really nice road bike that I am so grateful to have.

On Friday, Chad and I ventured into Lexington to a local bike shop to pick up some road bike shoes. I ended up buying a pair of Shimano SH-RO85's. Walking out with those shoes made me feel like a real road biker, but let's be honest - I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to cycling.

So this afternoon, Chad talked me into taking the bike outside for some street experience. I was pretty terrified, because I imagined that I would be able to practice clipping in and unclipping the shoes from the pedals for at least a good week before ever actually riding the bike. But Chad (who also got a new bike this week) wanted to take a quick ride through the neighborhood. So I got out into our driveway and clipped into one pedal and headed for the street...right as a car turned the corner onto our street and headed in my direction. So I slammed on the front brake and fell to one side - of course it was the side I was clipped into. So, down I went and somehow my free foot/leg got stuck in the spokes of the back tire - so Chad had to free me from the contorted, tangled mess that I had created. I got back up, made sure the coast was clear, clipped into one side and headed down the street. It took me a good three blocks before I got the courage to attempt to clip into the other pedal, which I was able to do with surprising ease. The rest of the ride was uneventful, but really really fun. Now, if I could just figure out how to shift the gears...

Now that I have the sweet ride, I am looking forward to training for some triathlons and duathlons in the Spring.

Photo Shoot

A few months ago, I was approached by The Doxie Digest, a quarterly publication for and by dachshund owners. They asked me if I would be interested in writing a short column each issue, through Emma's perspective. A chance to be part of a 72+ page publication about dachshunds? Um, yes - count me in. I submitted my first piece to them on Monday, and they asked me to also include a head shot of the both of us. So, my good buddy Justin Delatte was kind enough to indulge me and Emma in an impromptu photo shoot on Sunday evening. I thought I would post some of the contenders here. The winning shot will be at the end. Thank you, Justin!Cannibalism.

My personal favorite.

My little cuddlebug.

"Mom! Not in front of the neighbors!"


The winner!

Why I Love John Grisham

I have no excuses for my lack of posting on here lately. Except maybe one. I have been seduced by John Grisham. Yes, that's right. I have been reading John Grisham books like a mad woman. I've always loved to read, and I don't know how I went through my young adult life never reading one of his books. Well, that's not entirely true - I did read A Painted House when I was in high school. But somehow I bypassed reading his legal thrillers. This is probably a good thing, because I think if I had read his books in high school I would probably have turned out to be a hard-hitting mass tort lawyer on the mean streets of D.C. (I'm really glad my life didn't take that turn, things did not turn out too well for old Clay in The King of Torts.)

A few weeks ago when I was in Houston, my mom let me borrow a paperback copy of The Rainmaker. Mom - you don't know what you started! In the past three weeks I have read The Rainmaker, The Brethren, The Chamber, The King of Torts, The Broker, and The Partner. That's an average of two books per week - so you can see how I've had little time to think of blog posts. A few weeks ago Chad asked what a perfect Friday night would look like for me, and I said "Renting The Rainmaker and shopping for office supplies." It's official, I'm an old woman.

The good thing about jumping on the John Grisham boat so late in the game is that he has so many books published. There are still plenty for me to read - The Summons, The Last Juror, The Runaway Jury, The Innocent Man, Playing for Pizza, The Appeal, Bleachers, The Testament, The Street Lawyer, and the one that started it all - A Time to Kill.