New York Cycle Club

I'm very excited to say that I FINALLY attended my first NY Cycle Club meeting last week. They hold them monthly and the past two dates I've been unavailable when they've been scheduled. I've really been anxious to check them out and see what the community is like. Those things can sometimes be a little unnerving because you kind of resort back to being in high school with the whole is anyone going to like me? mentality. I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised when I walked in. My friend came with me though so I had someone to talk to in case the people were awful, hehe.

We were greeted by two completely warm women who made us feel so welcome! A gal who had walked in behind me overheard me saying I was new and so on and it was her first meeting, as well! It's fun because they hold their meetings in a little Irish pub so we all got a beer and sat down together to chat. She was SO sweet and really down to earth. I got so excited talking to her about cycling and hearing about what her goals are, etc. It seems like she's after the same kind of stuff I am in terms of being on the bike and that really made me happy! We met a bunch of other club members and stayed for the guest speaker who was an orthopedist. It was really cool to hear him touch on subjects like over-training and ways to keep your joints healthy, etc.

Overall, the club seems like something I'd absolutely love and I can't wait to go out on my first ride with them. I wish my schedule allowed for more flexibility since they do neat rides during the week day but I'll just have to settle for heading out on the first Saturday morning I'm able. All I know is I'm totally excited and hope I'll get to meet even more great people!

Farewell, Sweet Dalton...

I haven't been able to spend much time writing recently so this is a delayed post - sad all the same, though. A week ago, my parents had to make the tough decision of putting their dog, Dalton, to sleep. My mom was just heartbroken and I'm so sad for her. Dalton was her friend and he'd been a companion to her for years. My sweet mom is so sensitive and compassionate so things like this really affect her deeply, more than most.

The way mom came about "acquiring" Dalton is pretty funny. He was my ex-boyfriend, Patrick's, dog and he was the first dog mom could even tolerate. She'd always been a cat person and, when I started dating Patrick a million years ago, he came as a package deal with Dalton. So, we all had to get used to dog hair and slobber, hehe. I'd bring Dalton around every so often and mom definitely wasn't a fan at first. Over time though, she grew to love that dog enough to where our family even got our own black lab in the summer of '99. Anyway, after Patrick and I broke up, he came into a few situations where it was too tough for him to care for Dalton anymore so, long story short, mom took him in. After seven years, it was like mom had had Dalton since he was a puppy.

Needless to say, he was definitely a family member and the loss is really tough on mom. She's doing a little better and time is the only thing that will help. For now, she's concentrating on how lucky she was to own such a sweet and loyal dog. He lived a great life in his 15 years and we were all blessed by the happiness he offered our family. He will surely be missed and we'll always love that boy:

Comfort Takes Time

Honestly, Monday already? Good grief, it's like I was just in this office. Sigh. Enough "complaining". I will myself to have a tremendous Monday/week full of nothing but good things. Yay, positivity! :P

Aside from it flying by, I had the best weekend. I have to come right out of the gate with saying I had an amazing bike ride on Saturday morning. I'd been wanting to go for a long ride for several weekends now but I've either been out of town or the weather hasn't cooperated. Finally, Saturday morning proved to be perfect for a ride. I got out there and did 30 miles which felt absolutely awesome. Since I'm still rather timid in traffic, I did five loops of Central Park and really worked hard. Going up Harlem Hill (and Cat Hill for that matter!) five times isn't exactly easy but I kicked my own butt and powered through. I'm pretty much completely confident on the bike now and I basically just need a bit more time to feel totally comfortable on the street. I'm way better at dodging people and getting around them but NY traffic outside of the park is a different ballgame. I just can't wait until I AM stronger in that area so I can head into NJ or elsewhere for long rides away from cars. At any rate, it's taken time to get comfortable but it was another small victory for me. I was thrilled to feel so strong and secure.

The rest of the weekend was great with a very fun day/night out with friends after my bike ride. We attempted to have a fun touristy day and do things in the city we'd never done before but it didn't quite work out the way we planned. We had a lovely tour of 10th Avenue complete with a tire shop and plenty of graffiti, though. I crack up just thinking about it, hahaha. We did stroll through The Highline though which was neat and ended at Dos Caminos in Meatpacking. Afterward, it was off to check out SPiN which is a new pingpong (yes, I said pingpong) bar in Flatiron. This place was SO cool and different. I swear, NY is just so fun when you stop to realize just how many amazing and unique things there are to do here.

Sunday was full of cleaning and cooking. I felt like such a housewife, tee hee. I also got to catch up a bunch on the Tour and it continues to surprise. I swear, I'm making it my goal to go chase it in France next year! Anyway, it's officially week two of cooking for my client and things are going extremely well. I've been very happy with my dishes so far and he's been impressed and satisfied as well. It's a lot of work but it's something I really love which allows me to put my entire heart and soul into it. What a true blessing! I really thank god for hidden opportunity that's revealed through consistent faith and trust in his perfect plan. Once you're able to truly let go and believe, such incredible things begin to happen. It's just awesome.

That was my weekend and I look forward to some fun plans this week as well! :)

4th of July and Phish

I went home to Atlanta this past weekend to see Phish and it was awesome. When Brant had originally told me they were playing over 4th of July, I thought there was no way we'd get tickets. Not only did we get tickets, but a group of 15 of us did! This was a few months ago so Brant and I had been counting down up to the very day of the show. :) What a fun day we had, too!

We started at Fado to watch the world cup (which was awesome!) and then he took me to lunch at Fatt Matt's which I'd never been to before. We split a rack of ribs but I swear, I could've eaten the whole thing. SO GOOD:

Afterward, we went for beers at Park Tavern and then it was finally time to meet the crew for the show. It was so fun being a tourist in my own city for the day! :) Not to mention, I miss Brant so much and it was just priceless seeing Phish together again after all this time:

I've never seen Phish play so amazing, ever. They blew my mind and I'm SO glad I was able to go. We went on the 3rd and, after seeing the setlist on the 4th, I'm psyched because our show was far better. I swear, those guys are an instrumental inspiration, seriously. I could watch them play for hours.

The rest of the weekend was awesome, too. Brant brought me home on Sunday morning and I headed straight out to see Tally and Dave briefly and to visit with Erica and Gianna. Erica and I had some adult time, hehe, at her pool while Gia had lunch and then we went back to play with her. She's growing like a weed and her sweet personality is shining through so much already! She's obsessed with books and "reading" right now. She literally went over to the bookshelf and got out several to show us:

She's darling. I loved visiting with them and the time is always just too short. :( Afterward, we had a cookout at home and I just loved spending the rest of the weekend with mom, dad, and Allison. Grace stopped by to show us Israel photos and it was just so nice to get that visit in, too. Overall, it was a perfect weekend home and I can't wait to go back in September. :)