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

**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 moved the day shade off the grass and draped it over the fence yesterday afternoon. The shade was still pretty slimy at that point. I hope we didn't mess it up with the waterproofing. I also hope the shade is dry (and less stinky) when I get home this evening so it can be brought back inside before this week's daily thunderstorms kick back up.

Hubbyfink and I worked like dogs yesterday. He started going through papers and miscellany in the basement while I tackled the piles of stuff in the dining and living rooms. I'd found a set of baskets at Michaels on Saturday. Two of those baskets were shoebox sized and were perfect for corralling all the bottles of craft paint and brushes. The third basket was too deep for any of the craft room shelves and I used it to tote stuff downstairs. Low and behold, it was just the right size to house all our 360 and Wii games with some room left for expansion to the collection. Hubbyfink made the mistake of popping into the living room during my organization fit and I asked him to go through his book collection and purge the unloved ones (I've been doing the same with my collection). After the purge, we'd regained about two shelves worth of space. Whoo hoo! I no longer fear that we'll be attacked by books. I also gave the room a good dusting (my poor sinuses) and vacuumed the carpet and furniture. It's so nice to have at least one clean room in the house. If we keep up this pace, the house might be presentable by the time Daddy and Linda are in town.

Other happy news is that my terrible foot pain is abating. My adorable Crocs flats had nearly crippled me due to their lack of arch or heel support. *cry* I'd been gingerly hobbling around for a couple of weeks and I was getting seriously tired of the annoyance. So, I've gone back to wearing real shoes and my feet are in MUCH better condition. I guess Mom is going to get my leopard print Crocs after all and I'm going to stick with a little heel in my shoes and heel inserts in my turnshoes.