instant gramming

May 23, 2012

Mountain Bikes, Empowering Women



I've become more or less obsessed with mountain biking and I'm always thinking about when is the next time I'll get to go ride. I have a ton to learn, a ton to grow, and am anxious to keep on keepin on. What's more, the thought of introducing Carlyn to the trails is exciting--I can't be sure she would be as taken as I was on my first ride, but it's hard to believe that a ride through the woods could be anything but pure exhilaration. On top of that I'm excited to introduce the girls, El & Em, not only to bikes, but to mountain biking. My first trail ride was last year when I turned 28. What if I had been riding for the past 16-17 years or more? It's a cool thought to imagine Ellie catching air on a pump track, or Emery getting over an obstacle for the first time. I realize it's just as ridiculous for me to think this as some other dad who likes baseball imagining his baby daughter's first home run or a certain mom ::ahem:: picturing her baby daughter performing at a dance recital or gymnastics competition. At the same time, and in the same way, these dreams and hopes really boil down to confidence, empowerment, and success, beyond whatever mundane sport/hobby/activity seems to be the focus.

It's just that biking is so much cooler than baseball and dancing. Breh.

May 18, 2012

Edit

That last post was supposed to be called "Getting out" but my smart phone is sometimes moron phone and stopped working. I wanted to write about how the nice weather has been, allowing us to get out of the house. Even small things like being able to take Ellie or Emery outside while the other sister is sleeping is a huge relief that I couldn't choose in Winter. No plans for a given day equals a trip to the park, or if naps time out properly and I devise a good strategy, the zoo. I've been so excited about the girls getting older that I jumped at the opportunity to buy a child-haulin' bike trailer (even though Emmie hasn't quite reached that recommended 1-year-old minimum yet). Soon we'll get the family rolling together--what has been merely a dream until about now. Despite my anxiousness, I'm holding out on a trip with Em until we get her a helmet and she gets just a little closer to that one year mark. Maybe I can hold out until June. Or not. The addition of yet another giant thing to be stored in the garage provoked me to spend a few days overhauling our organization of that space. Lots of stuff got hauled to the curb, moved around, and or given a new purpose. Soon I'll try to take a good picture of the result, but for now I'll just say aside from making things tidy I created a pretty dope little bike shop in the corner complete with bikes hanging vertically on the wall and a spot for tools to hang within reach of the bike stand.

Either way, our strawberries are ripe as of yesterday and they taste great. They may very well herald the official start of Summer. Let's get this party started

May 13, 2012

AMAZING (Happy Mother's Day)

This woman. Unmatched patience and care, endless love. Overflowing with creativity and talent, she seems to be frustrated only when her energy levels are drained beyond her capacity to imagine bigger and better things to do. Too many pictures to share. Here are a few good ones from the last year.






May 2, 2012

Good stuff: Basil



Besides being at the top of my list of favorite herbs, here's a fun fact about basil: plug a cut stem into some water and it will put out some roots so you could theoretically plant it again. This guy has been sprouting its new legs on our kitchen windowsill for the past week or two. Good stuff