I don't mind the rat race but I could do with a little more cheese.

Famous last words, heh.

The weather was GLORIOUS on Saturday and I couldn't in good conscience stay indoors or merely get a mani-pedi so I grabbed my trust Lily bike and took off for the trails. Because the sun beat down pretty mercilessly -- despite the cool temps -- I chose to head east on the W&OD trail which has more tree cover. As I approached the Sugarland Run Trail exit, I decided to change my plan and explore that particular set of trails.

The one and only time I've been through that area was when Scott and I explored during a fair day last December (or was it January?). Except for where I had to cross Elden Street, the trail area is completely wooded but not a close wood which would be stifling. The trees are tall and thin and the breeze coming through was lovely. Not much in the way of wildlife beyond squirrels. I overtook one jogger and passed another jogger and two cyclists in the secluded woodland (which is in the heart of Herndon, VA).

The trail system isn't well-marked and I wound up taking lots of off-shoot trails into neighborhoods which meant I had to retrace my path to get back on the route. Due to the trees, lots of areas of the trail are littered with leaves. It was in one of these areas that my adventure came to a much more exciting and painful conclusion.

A carpet of leaves hid broken pavement and I hit my brakes too hard as I lost control. I went over the handlebar and landed on the right side of my face and body. The bike then landed on me. It took a few moments for the initial shock to abate and then I wrestled my bike off me. I lifted my head and noticed ( some gruesomeness. )

I phoned a few friends and finally found someone at home. hannnahkl was my savior. I pushed my bike about three-quarters of a mile out of the trail system to get to an actual street where she picked me up and rushed me over to Reston Hospital's ER. That stay took about three hours, I think? I got a CT which seems to be pretty standard after a bike crash and because the doctor worried I might have fractured my right cheek/orbital or jaw and x-rays of my right shoulder, ribs, right pinkie, and right knee which are all places with significant road rash/torn skin and where I winced when the doctor poked me.

Happily, nothing on me was me was broken and my chin required twelve stitches. As of Saturday night, the swelling started. My right knee looks like I have two patellae and my right cheek is HYOOGE. As of this morning, my chin is swollen into my neck and my right cheek was starting to bruise. I'm going to have SPECTACULAR bruising as the scrapes fade. The stitches should dissolve in a week or so and the doctor thinks the resulting scar will fade in a year or so.

I'm leaving my bike dismantled for a while (had to take the front wheel off to get it in hannnahkl's car) so I won't be tempted to ride before I'm healed and before my bike shop can check her out to make sure she's not broken. I'm very sore, dull surprise, but will live to ride again.

My four month surge-versary was Monday and things are going pretty swimmingly. I've been in a stall for a few weeks now, but my surgeon doesn't want me worry about it. In fact, when I said that I should hide the scale, he said I should throw it out the window. I panicked that I've lost my 60% of weight (which is the average for gastric bypass), but he assures me that I have another fourteen months to go. Yes, the loss will slow, but it will continue.

I really should have taken measurements at the start so I could see *that* change.

As mentioned elseweb, during my check-up yesterday, my surgeon asked if I watch "True Blood". When I said yes, he replied that I'm starting to look like Sookie. Heh. I think the only things Anna Paquin and I have in common are our blonde hair, dark brown eyes, and funny noses, but I'll take the compliment.

In related news, I have FINALLY organized the HUMONGOUS pile of too big clothing which have been languishing in the craft room. ( The pile was huge. )

Sooo... I think I'll host a "come take my gently used clothes" day in the near future. Maybe 10 Aug? (reedrover come on over any time after work if you don't want to traipse up here on a Saturday. I'm free every evening but the 6th.)

My stamina is improving with the assistance of extra protein. I'm able to ride my bike about six miles before I need to break for half a cheese stick or a few swigs of a protein shake. Last night's ride was juuust shy of eleven miles and I was pretty weak and shivery by the time I got home. Happily, bounced back pretty quickly and am looking forward to getting back on the bike (if the storms hold off) or my toning video (if they don't).

**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.

( A few photos. )

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!

I'm doing fine. Still need to take my one-month-post-surgery photos (tonight, tonight). I've discovered that my pouch doesn't care for scrambled eggs or humus. Bizarre. Of course, I don't have much to use as a vector for humus since I'm just under two weeks from raw veggies. It's also bizarre noting how my tastes have changed. I'm not that wild about red grapes anymore -- I could eat those all day long before -- but I can't get enough honeydew melon and canteloupe. What?? And cooked spinach. I don't like cooked veggies, or didn't before my surgery.

So. Weird.

Got cleared to ride my bike last week and set out for a shopping trip via bike on Saturday. Oof, my butt callouses have disappeared. I'm still feeling a little sore, but I'm looking forward to the next ride. Maybe next week I'll be up to a bike commute.

Occasionally, I have a touch of buyer's remorse, especially when I crave something that I can't eat yet. Like last night, I reeeeeally wanted pizza and a margarita. But I realize that was for emotional reasons because I'd had such a rough day at work. Still working on the emotional/psychological side of this process while my pouch takes care of the physical part.

No, no. I'm not on the bikes yet.

Called my surgeon yesterday to complain about my lack of stamina and he told me to rein in my activity. Fft. Yes, I knew that was the answer but it doesn't mean I have to be happy with that response. However, I think that my new protein supplement -- Atkins Advantage -- is tastier and has more protein per serving than the supplement I used before. I'm almost kind of sad that I have to give it up next Sunday.

Last night, I pulled out the front basket for Lily the hybrid bike and a garland of silk lilies. Scott gave me the stink-eye and asked what I thought I was doing. (He wasn't out of line; I have been whining at him to let me ride my bike and he's been good about saying no, not even the low and slow Kate the beach cruiser.) I was merely prepping Lily's accessory for when I can ride again. Tonight I'll adorn Beatrix the city bike's basket with yellow and peach roses. (I've been lax about removing the holly garland and Christmas lights from her.)

Oh, and speaking of riding, I have my three week appointment with my surgeon on the 23rd and I will ask at that time when I am cleared for getting back on two wheels. I really want to participate in the 10-mile route of Paul's Ride for Life, but as that'll be only a few days after clearance (hopefully!), it may be too much. We shall see. I'm still riding in the ADA Tour de Cure in June. I'd planned on the 43-mile route, but I'm going to pull back to the 14-mile Fun Ride (with an additional 12 mile or so ride to and from Reston). If you're local and love riding your bike, please consider joining my team: Hula Bears which is named in commemoration of our dear tirloch who passed away last March. The event is well-staffed and a total blast!

• Work is still eating my brain. Happily, the panic attacks have stopped but some grumpiness and trepidation remain. Work is work.
  
  
• No biking because it's freaking cold outside. I feel like a complete wuss for allowing the weather to cow me, but it's coooold. I'm rethinking this whole move-to-a-cooler-climate thing.
  
  
• Ukulele-playing is progressing. Using the DVD which was included with the kit is making things go more smoothly. I've corrected my posture while adopting poor habits elsewhere. Tuning has become easier and I've learned how to tune the other three strings off the A-string. For some reason makes the chords sound SO much better than using the tuner for each string individually. Don't know what's going on there, but if the instrument sounds better, I'll run with it. I practiced for a couple of hours on Saturday and then for an hour on Sunday until my hand seized up (Saturday) and I got too frustrated with the fingering (Sunday). Late last night, though, I picked the uke back up and as I strummed VERY lightly so as not to disturb a sleeping Hubbyfink, I finally got the transitions between C, C7, F, and G7 down. I started working on G, but got frustrated and am currently letting my subconscious chew on it until tonight's practice.
  
  
• The iPad no longer frustrates me. After whitebird noted that Apple products are application-focused rather than file-focused, I let go some of my obsessive filing needs and started enjoying the gadget. I've been loading it up with various forms of media and have already filled about half of the 32G (28ish, actually) of memory. Obviously, I do not have my entire iTunes collection on there.
  
  
• Actual Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love.
  
  
• And speaking of music, I've been quietly fan-girling over Beecake. It started with "Please Stay" from the recently-released "Blue Sky Paradise" and then I got lost in their debut album "Soul Swimming". I do hope there will be some east coast US dates in the nearish future. They've played DC (okay, Arlington) before so there's precedent.

Back to having my brain sucked out.

Biking: Hubbyfink and I hit the trail Sunday afternoon and wound up riding to Kerry & Jill's house in Reston. The east-bound trip was pretty easy with bright sunshine, temps in the mid-50s F, and a light tailwind. The west-bound trip home was a slog with a 23mph headwind. Oof. With that kind of wind, coasting is almost impossible. We took turns as each other's wind break and had to make several rest stops to catch our breath and stretch complaining leg muscles. I'd normally be disappointed that a mere 17 mile ride took so much out of us, but eight miles of resistance makes up for the lack of distance.

Lego: Completed the "Barrel Escape" set from the Hobbit series Saturday evening. I have just one more set to assemble: "Goblin King Battle". At that point, I'll have the full set of dwarves and can set up little vignettes including the full Unexpected Gathering. Also that point, we'll be out of Lego sets to assemble until the additional Lord of the Rings sets come out this year. Hubbyfink may tear into the Star Wars sets, though. I knew we'd go nuts if we starting getting sets.

Also? How can my spell checker not recognize "dwarves"?

Home organization: FINALLY put away the ornaments and Christmas tree. Oof. I dislike leaving Christmas decor out past Epiphany but, between taking advantage of being outside on warm sunny days and illness/malaise in between, neither of us had the motivation to attack the tree. (We did pull down the outside decor on Epiphany, though.) The living room looks so much better being put back to rights.

Non-standard: Hubbyfink and I took Monday off and toured the "Revealing the African Presence in Renaissance Europe" exhibit at the Walters Museum in Baltimore. It was a fascinating exhibit and showcased artwork I'd never before seen. I felt a sense of wonder and of shame at the same time, and am very glad that I got a chance to see the exhibit.

Hubbyfink and I had a VERY nerdy New Year's Eve which consisted of BBC America's "Doctor Who" marathon interspersed with the Lego "Lord of the Rings" video game. The game can be played either as a solo adventure or a cooperative venture. We've been playing co-op and having a fantastic time. Yes, we could have gone to a couple of parties last night, but we decided that staying home and being nerdy was our preferred way to ring in the new year.

I did not make resolutions for this year. HF and I decided, instead, that 2013 would be the year of learning useful skills such as first aid, CPR, orienteering, and the like. I'm usually prepared with gloves, an umbrella, wet wipes... I should put something actually helpful into my head.

I realized as I typed up a 2012 retrospective on my bike blog that my riding slacked off considerably at the close of the year. Was it the weather? Was it my overall health? Was it my love for driving my sweet little car? It's probably a sum of all three. My time spent in the saddle will improve and I want to ride farther afield this year.

Work is going to be stressful and exciting this coming year. My team has been transitioning into new responsibilities and roles and we've been drinking from the proverbial fire hose for a couple of months now. I won't panic. I won't. I'm going to OWN this thing.

This is my brain.

Id: I want cookies!

Ego: We don't need cookies.

Id: I WANT COOKIES!

Ego: All right. We can have a cookie if we ride our bike to get it from the grocery store.

Super-ego: You don't need a cookie. You need to do crunches, squats, and eat some celery.

Id: COOKIES!

Ego: Look, I said we could have a cookie if we take the bike instead of the car. Not only will we get a teensy bit of exercise en route, we could also ride around the neighborhood and look at the new Christmas lights that have been put up since the last night ride.

Id: COOKIES AND LIGHTS!

Ego: There. It's settled. Saddle up, body.

Super-ego: I think we should ride to Leesburg and back for that d@mn cookie. It's only twenty miles...

( COOKIES )

Saturday was my fortieth birthday and it was a busy, busy. I slept in, of course, and after dismantling the cemetery in the yard, I jumped on my bike and rode west. My plan was to ride forty miles for my fortieth year. I fell short by three and a half miles, unfortunately. But! I made a quick grocery stop on the way home and rode with fully loaded grocery panniers for the last couple of miles. That's got to count for something.

I was pretty tired when I got home but I eventually rallied enough to make a Seven (minus one) Layer Dip for flonzy and azpapillion's party. I rushed through my shower and ironing of my costume and took my time applying the sugar skull makeup. It took a full hour and because I am a doofus, I forgot to take photos. Bah.

The party itself was a TON of fun. Nearly everyone was in costume and looked fantastic. Flonzy spent all day slow roasting ribs and the BBQ was to. die. for. The side dishes were yummy and the cake that carthew made for me received rave reviews for both looks and taste.

( Cake! )

Sunday wasn't a good day. The pain that I'd been experiencing last week abated some on Saturday and came back with a vengeance Sunday morning. I woke up just after 3am and spent the next four hours crying on the sofa. It got so bad at 7am that I woke Scott -- who wasn't wearing his hearing aids and was on another floor -- with my sobbing. He bundled me up and took me to the ER where I got an antibiotic and a shot of dilaudid. I finally slept comfortably and he took a woozy me home. Mid-afternoon the pain was back and the prescribed percocet didn't touch it. We went back to the ER where another doctor ordered a CT which showed nothing physically wrong. I spent the rest of the day alternately wincing and crying. Good times.

Monday and Tuesday was the storm. I worked from home -- mostly because I wasn't going to drive on percocet -- and Scott was chased out of his office early afternoon on Monday. The power never flickered but the wind was pretty frightening. On Tuesday afternoon, I saw a neurologist who ran an EEG and a nerve test. Aside from a little carpal tunnel in my right wrist -- which I developed in my 20s -- the nerves seemed okay. He suggested I see an orthodontist to rule out my teeth causing the pain.

Wednesday was my day off. I set the ghosts back out in the yard and tree, added a few new elements, and carved pumpkins. Trick-or-treating started just after 6pm and wrapped up at 8:15pm. It was a really light night. Normally we have trick-or-treaters knocking on the door until almost 10pm. I was happy, though, to turn out the light at 9 and slip into PJs for a couple of hours before bed.

Today I'm back in the office and looking fabulous because ( this happened. )

And I love it!