Always a good time for a "pretty dress"

Zoo, Friends

A zoo trip with friends, and finally someone who will gladly hold Ellie's hand

Trail-er

Yesterday morning I went out on an early solo ride at the nearby trail, Alum Creek "Phase 2." I'm not much of a cyclist; my commute to work is at best .25 miles (and all of 3 minutes if bad traffic holds up my left turn to the main road). I don't go on long rides anywhere really. Last summer my shop-mates turned me on to mountain biking and with only a handful of trail rides before winter I fell in love pretty fast. This trail has easily become a favorite ride of mine and it is chock full of challenges for a "noob" like me. It's funny because for the entire ~6 mile loop, which takes me about 50 minutes to complete, I feel like I'm going to die. But on the drive home I feel like a million bucks. I've managed to do one trail ride every week for the past 3 weeks and I can feel the improvement. There are a bunch of stream crossings like the one above, varying in size and shape, and this is one of narrower ones that I crossed for the first time last week. Unfortunately the poor camera phone pic doesn't show the depth of the scene, but it's pretty awesome and I was also proud for finally having the cojones to cross this one without bailing. In fact, this week I crossed a skinnier "skinny"--consisting of two 2-by-4 planks placed together--for the first time.  I'm still slow and the short climbs through the woods really get me everytime, but if I can try to keep up the frequency of trail riding (approximately once every couple of weeks), I can hopefully get faster, walk less, and start improving my pace. I like these solo rides though because I can take my time, stop for pictures/water/etc and not feel like I need to apologize to my mates for holding them up.

So there it is: my workout plan for 2012. 

Year Of Art: March

This turned out to be a birthday gift for our friends' 2-year-old, Sloan, who loves everything about all sports. It is also a nod to my ignorance of all sports, and a little sneaky addition of a skateboard to keep it rad. This "Bandersnatch" character is one I've been illustrating for a while now and I'm glad I keep thinking of reasons for him to show up.

Babybiggirlprincessladywomanadultchild (All Grown Up)

This girl just turned 2.

I've been meaning to get this update out to the interweb for almost a week now and I found my golden opportunity. Ellie is 2. She can even tell you. It's nuts. Her party was a smashing success, to say the least. I have said it before and I'll mention it here: all credit is due to Carlyn. I did well enough to offer my help and provide good company. I was able to do a few things that aided in the festivities, but really it was all C that made the party what it was. Lots of family, lots of food, lots of sweets, lots of flowers, and (thankfully) lots of sunshine.
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Soon I will upload a pretty poor quality camera-phone video of Ellie doing a pretty intense silly dance during today's pre-nap dance party.

A 2 year old is quite skillful with a pair of scissors.

Birthday Sundae on Sunday

Proud father

I'm pretty pumped about this. A play tool set conveniently proximate to a bicycle afforded Ellie and Sloan an opportunity to play Bike Mechanic for a short while, without coaxing. I like to think that she is playing her daddy's job and it's not just a coincidence.

Year Of Art: February

This project was a wedding gift for our dear friend (and old roommate) and her husband. The intention was to hand-deliver the gift but as you read earlier, that trip was foiled. The short story behind this painting is that instead of an engagement ring, James proposed to Miranda with a new green canoe (hence the diamond). The quote is a nautical blessing for a ship ready to set sail.

Trail

A surprise change in the weather forecast spurred me to get out to the trail early today. It was my first trail ride since last November and I'm completely out of shape but it was great to get out in the woods. Lots of early blooming native wildflowers were popping up including some of my favorites like trout lily and Dutchman's breeches, plus small white trillium and the first leaves of some bloodroot. As soon as I got off the trail the clouds let loose a quick and heavy shower. Timing like that always makes me feel like I am awesome at planning. The only casualties were my knuckles from when a couple trees tried to play Ping Pong with my handlebars