This-n-that

[melaniesuzanne]

**Hubbyfink is recovering amazingly well after his surgery. As of today, it's been a full month since the tennis ball-size rock was removed from his head. He still fatigues easily and the deafness in his left ear is going to be permanent, but he is otherwise back to himself. He'll be home for another week and I'm trying to convince him to go back for half days when he starts back at work. He'll have to check with HR to see if that's allowed.

**The Tour de Cure for the American Diabetes Association went SO MUCH better than I'd expected. carthew and I started our route about 90 minutes prior to the official start time so as to beat the forecast blistering temperature. We rode fairly slowly -- somewhere in the 9 mph range -- and took lots of water and rest breaks. That was good for me in that it reined me in and kept me from pushing so hard that I couldn't finish the ride. We rested for 45 minutes or so at the turn-around point and then rode even more slowly with more breaks on the ride from Vienna to Reston because that route is mostly uphill. I was so jazzed when we got to the finish that I danced around like a crazed weasel, cheering on other riders as they cruised down the finish line chute.



Riding down the chute.


Showing off my team tee-shirt.


Team Hula Bears! (I missed the "thumbs-up" direction and went with jazz hands.)

Our little team raised nearly $2,047 (thus blowing away our $1,500 goal) for the American Diabetes Association. GO, HULA BEARS! And thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who donated to our cause.

**I have begun shrinking out of my shoes as hannnahkl promised. Ack! I also have a humongous pile of clothes for donation in the craft room. HU-MON-GOUS. They're mostly 18s and 20s and 2XLs. I need to throw some of winter coats on that pile as well. I can't think of any body local who would need those sizes, but if you're local and COULD use some of those sizes, give me a holler and we'll set up a time for you to dig through my clothes. I'm going to put out a call on Facebook as well. This weekend will be for inventorying the clothing in preparation for donation.

**Related to the shoe- and clothing-shrinkage, I have officially hit the two-teens. Eeeee! I haven't been in the two-teens since early 1997. Seriously. I remember living in Annandale with Tansey and going to Weight Watchers because I'd hit 215. I am beyond thrilled. BEE-YOND.

**Today is the 6th birthday of my twin nieces: Anne and Emily. It's hard to believe that they're SIX! They're going to have a surprise Merida-themed birthday party tomorrow. I can't wait to see their faces. :)

**Last, but certainly not least: HAPPY FRIDAY!

Comments

[aelf.livejournal.com]

Love the pictures :)

I'm glad Scott's healing so well & that you're being sensible and successful in your return to long range cycling! *grin*

[melaniesuzanne.livejournal.com]

Thanks! The scar behind his ear is really, really cool. I want to take a sharpie and accentuate it. He's threatening to get a tattoo behind his right ear to match. ;)

Keeping my cycling to a reasonable distance/effort is a mixed bag. On the one hand, I feel good enough for a lengthy trek but on the other, I realize that I physically can't yet. It sort of helps that when I asked Hannah about her energy level at two months out, she noted that she hadn't recovered yet from the incision. (I suspect you were in a similar boat.) Because my surgery was laproscopic, I forget that I'm still healing on the inside. AUGH!

[aelf.livejournal.com]

You are definitely still healing and you need to be patient with yourself. Which, ok, it's hard, but you're doing a great job so far. :)

And all the work you did getting into awesome bicycling shape pre-surgery is paying off now, because yeah, there is No Way I could have done that ride 2 mos out! :)

[reedrover]

I'm hollering! I'm hollering! I adore the yoga pants you gave me, and the layering pieces worked out really well for work clothes, especially at the new job. If you are getting rid of more fabulousness, I definitely want to get on your list.

Unfortunately, I'm out of town Sunday - Saturday this next week. So if you can't stand it and want things gone before I get back, then I'll live.

[melaniesuzanne.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad that you've enjoyed the clothes you got, and I have no issue with holding onto items for a while. This Sunday is for cleaning up the craft room and taking inventory of the clothes and I'm quite certain that I won't finish either of those tasks. ;)

We can set up a date when you get back in town.