welcome to crazyville

this has been an intense week. who knew being engaged would send time into a spin and you wouldn't know which way was up? we've gotten all the big details planned, i got my dress :) and i've successfully created major drama in my family. well, i'm sure i'm not the one who created it, my wedding just happens to be the catalyist of crazyville and my family thinking it's their day. course, i can't say it's my day or i'll be labled a bride-zilla. i've been really thankful for the people in my life who've been supportive of whatever decision i make. they have NO IDEA how much it means to me! not to mention how patient joe is. i'm more thankful for him every day.

i have this habit of getting sick when i'm stressed out. so guess who's sick? i tried to lay low this week, but i had to take the national counselor's exam yesterday so i was kind on edge all week. i think it went pretty well, so thanks for all of you who prayed for me. but who knows, i can't make any assumptions till i have my results in 6 weeks.

i had registered to race at the bone bender today thinking it would be an awesome stress reliever. it would have been if i hadn't woken up last night terrified because i wasn't able to catch my breath several times and had to cough it out. i shouldn't have pre-registered, but oh well, maybe they'll refund me. if not, it's not the end of the world.

we have, however set a date! november 5th, 2011! we didn't want to do it any later because of weather and holidays, and any earlier would be financially impossible, so that's what we picked. the awesomest thing is i've realized november 5th is a memorable day for several reasons: if you've seen v for vendetta, the key phrase repeated in the movie was "remember remember the 5th of november", and, my personal favorite, back to the future's flux capacitor day of 1955! memorable our day will be for sure.

school gets out in 4 weeks and i'm almost done with all my assignments. being done with school is kind of a crazy concept since i've been in school for 20 out of 27 years of my life. i'm really looking forward to it though.

until then we press on! and who knows, maybe i'll get better soon and get to ride my bike :)

BIG LIFE CHANGES!!!

i'm beginning to understand why there aren't many ladies to race. or at least one reason. while men can compartmentalize really well and tend to take more time out for themselves, women tend to be the opposite extreme. everything in our lives runs into everything else and we usually spread ourselves too thin. especially in the area of family.

i always knew i'd have to give up riding as much once i had a family, i just never knew it would come so soon...because...

I'M GETTING MARRIED!!! joe and i got engaged yesterday! i thought this day would never come for me! lol

we've been talking about it a while and i've been adjusting to learning to be a step-mommy to his 3 year old little girl who's just amazing :)

while this new life is awesome and everything i've ever asked for, it's also a HUGE adjustment. i've been really independent for a really long time. so now i'm really admiring those wives and moms who have so much going on! being in grad school probably doesn't help the situation too much haha doing internship, school, and work, job hunting, and then joining joe's world every weekend is a pretty intense lifestyle.

i take the national counselor's exam next saturday so pray for me please. after that, i have a few assignments and then i'll graduate! woo!!! pray i get a job too please! you laugh, but the economy has not been kind to the mental health feild.

the great thing i've been learning about riding is that i just can't do everything. i had to quit spin because i was getting overtrained all the time. stress kinda keeps you from recovery apparently. i've done little bits here and there and have been working on not feeling guilty for not riding when its beautiful or when i should. bikes should be happy right. i want my rides to be because i love bikes and its a perfect time to take out for myself, not because i feel like i'll get fat if i don't ride, or that i won't be able to keep up with anyone later.

that being said, i've gotten some really awesome trail rides in this past week. i've been stronger not going to spin class than i was when i was going 4-5 times a week. who knewwww!? haha i've conqured some spots that i haven't ever been able to do before, and i've had a blast!

next weekend, to celebrate taking the nce saturday, i will race at the bone bender in lawrence. i may not be as fast as i could be if i were training all the time or didn't have stress, but i'm going to have a blast. i've been very blessed and it's time to celebrate that!

get out there and ride because you want to :)