It is officially off-season. My bike has not felt the road for two weeks and I do not plan to jump on until after after Christmas. It has been nice to spend a few more hours w/ the Family. That has been my only complaint with riding is that is zaps a ton of hours. K is very supportive of my hobby but I need to find some more windows to ride perhaps during lunch or something.
I have been eating a ton lately and I can feel my appetite growing. Very strange now at night to crave ice cream and sweets...I have never been like this before...but I find myself at nights yielding to the screams from within that black box. It haunts even now as I type, even after I downed some German Chocolate my mom brought over....the siren call for me to dish up some more sugar....Not sure what it is....I really think it is the holidays and Utah peaches. Those two forces combined cannot be stopped.
Anyway, can't believe Christmas is only about a week away. I have done more online shopping this year...ah-la eBay and only last week did I do some window shopping. We are trying to save up for Germany so this year we are on a budget....kinda. Santa Don in me always creeps out a few weeks before....
It's just me and the boy tonight as K and the kids went w/ Oma to a play. It has been good to spend some QT with him. He is not too hard to handle and is like most of our other kids where the like to go to bed. So now I have some down time watching the Suns vs. Knicks. I am glad the Suns picked up Jason Richardson. I once sat next to him for a Spurs - Suns play-off game in San Antonio. I was about 2-3 inches taller then him....and this guy can dunk like a mans man. He was actually really quiet and told me he got the tickets from his boy Marbury....so glad that liability is not on the team....or any team for that matter. This guy is getting paid 20M right now for doing nothing...
My fantasy team is doing pretty good. I am in 3rd place right now and I made a few changes. I picked up Kevin Love and the Rudy Fernandez from Portland.
Well..that is all I got right now...ASU football is done, Work is Work and I can't wait to go GOL next week and hang out with the family.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Tour De Tucson 08
Well,
The tour finished and I think I am finished for the year. It has been a great year of riding capped off with the 26th annual Tour De Tucson. I was without my wingman. Not sure how Maverrick did it without Goose, Bo without Luke, Arnold without Willis, Kevin without Wayne, Victor without Nicki. You all get the picture. I think I could have trained a bit more, but overall I felt good. In spirit of thanksgiving, here are the things I was thankful for during my ride:
* STP 2008 training....got me ready to take on anything
* inspiration to feel a part of my tire in the dark and find a staple before the race started
* Keele and Jonathan for allowing me to crash out their new house the night before
* Peanut butter and banana sandwich...a tradition before any ride
* at mile 20, this guy who was huge and you knew was going to burn out, pulled us for 10 miles into the wind....he dropped immediately after that...I thought of him often during the rest of the ride and how he must be suffering.
* Title Nine Team....A group of ladies from Boulder,CO who set a nice pace...thanks for the miles
* AZ Weather in November....you can't beat it...78 degrees....for most of the ride
* Pulled off a pack of riders right before they all went down.... scary!!
* Kristin and Briggs cheering me on at mile 65....So great they came down...I love em!!
* Tangerine Hill....10 free miles of all out flying
* Cold Orange slices at mile 85....
* Old man Gus who i swear this guy was 70 and pulling a group of us in the last 10 miles....I said I want to be Gus when I am his age
* That final turn before an endurance ride when you feel like a million bucks....love that adrenalin kick...
* Again, K and Briggs cheering me on
* Tranidtional In-n-Out Burger, Fries, Dr.P and strawberry shake.....throwing it down
* Drive home time to reflect
* Nap
As you can see, it was a good ride. I actually knocked off about an hour from last year...however last year we farted around more. My Buddy Dan did it an hour faster then me....Beastmaster
anyway...I think I am done until next March....Solvang is calling. Will be good to ride w/ Beecher clan again.
The tour finished and I think I am finished for the year. It has been a great year of riding capped off with the 26th annual Tour De Tucson. I was without my wingman. Not sure how Maverrick did it without Goose, Bo without Luke, Arnold without Willis, Kevin without Wayne, Victor without Nicki. You all get the picture. I think I could have trained a bit more, but overall I felt good. In spirit of thanksgiving, here are the things I was thankful for during my ride:
* STP 2008 training....got me ready to take on anything
* inspiration to feel a part of my tire in the dark and find a staple before the race started
* Keele and Jonathan for allowing me to crash out their new house the night before
* Peanut butter and banana sandwich...a tradition before any ride
* at mile 20, this guy who was huge and you knew was going to burn out, pulled us for 10 miles into the wind....he dropped immediately after that...I thought of him often during the rest of the ride and how he must be suffering.
* Title Nine Team....A group of ladies from Boulder,CO who set a nice pace...thanks for the miles
* AZ Weather in November....you can't beat it...78 degrees....for most of the ride
* Pulled off a pack of riders right before they all went down.... scary!!
* Kristin and Briggs cheering me on at mile 65....So great they came down...I love em!!
* Tangerine Hill....10 free miles of all out flying
* Cold Orange slices at mile 85....
* Old man Gus who i swear this guy was 70 and pulling a group of us in the last 10 miles....I said I want to be Gus when I am his age
* That final turn before an endurance ride when you feel like a million bucks....love that adrenalin kick...
* Again, K and Briggs cheering me on
* Tranidtional In-n-Out Burger, Fries, Dr.P and strawberry shake.....throwing it down
* Drive home time to reflect
* Nap
As you can see, it was a good ride. I actually knocked off about an hour from last year...however last year we farted around more. My Buddy Dan did it an hour faster then me....Beastmaster
anyway...I think I am done until next March....Solvang is calling. Will be good to ride w/ Beecher clan again.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Humble Pie
When you have rode 204 miles in one day on your bike..you think you can do anything. Iron Man....no problem, posting up Shaq...no problem, allow Kristin to drive on a road trip...no problem, sing in a chorus....no problem, hang with the peleton in one stage of a TDF.....no problem.
So when I went on a Tour De Tucson training ride with a group of guys...I thought...I could hang with these guys...no problem...I rode 204 miles before. They did not care...nor did they know...they just said..."Hey new guy, welcome to the pain train". I was suffering after mile 10 and had another 50 to go. It was windy like I have never been in before so the need to stay in the pack was that much more critical. I pulled for a few miles thinking I would be ok......when I dropped to the back to let others take their turn....I realized how those guys feel at the back of the peleton when they know the inevitable is about to happen...and it did.....I got dropped. It was me and the wind and the road. I knew we would be climbing soon as the route took as to Tortilla Flats and I thought again..... I used to climb Mt. Hamilton weekly....I can catch them......once again....Humble Pie. I finally ate some of it and just did my own ride. Thankfully my buddy came back at the top of the hill and we road all the way down. On the way back...it was not bad since I got my second wind and the wind was at my back. All in All....it was a great training ride but I feel like I still have some work to do before the tour next week. Stay tuned to my TDT post....
JD
So when I went on a Tour De Tucson training ride with a group of guys...I thought...I could hang with these guys...no problem...I rode 204 miles before. They did not care...nor did they know...they just said..."Hey new guy, welcome to the pain train". I was suffering after mile 10 and had another 50 to go. It was windy like I have never been in before so the need to stay in the pack was that much more critical. I pulled for a few miles thinking I would be ok......when I dropped to the back to let others take their turn....I realized how those guys feel at the back of the peleton when they know the inevitable is about to happen...and it did.....I got dropped. It was me and the wind and the road. I knew we would be climbing soon as the route took as to Tortilla Flats and I thought again..... I used to climb Mt. Hamilton weekly....I can catch them......once again....Humble Pie. I finally ate some of it and just did my own ride. Thankfully my buddy came back at the top of the hill and we road all the way down. On the way back...it was not bad since I got my second wind and the wind was at my back. All in All....it was a great training ride but I feel like I still have some work to do before the tour next week. Stay tuned to my TDT post....
JD
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Fantasy Sports
Well....I have to admit I had a good time playing with a bunch of guys at work Fantasy baseball. Although my team did not even make it to the play-offs, I had fun and actually learned a ton about my players. Now we are doing an NBA league. Here is my current roster....(we had our draft last week and I ended up with the 9th spot out of 12....reason #1 why I did not pick up Kobe, LeBron or STAT)......Anyway...I still think I did ok: (Match-ups are based on FT%, FG%, 3PT's, Pts, Reb, Ast, Stl, Blks)
PG = Steve Nash - Why not!!
SG = Paul Pierce - Riding the Wave from last year
G = Brandon Roy - Could be his year
G = Baron Davis - Stats machine...(although he just got fat contract so I fear he will be hurt this year)
SF = Charles Lamar Odum (feed me the ball Kobe)
Pf = Ben Wallace (rebounds guy only)
F = Luol Deng - (Hot & Cold)
F = Ron Artest - (Gamble pick...but so far paying off...)
C = Nick Collison (I know....I know....but only a few centers left)
C = Emeka Okafor (Good Center pick)
Util = Matt Barnes (Steve Nash is going to make this guy look REALLY good)
Util = Mike Finley (Not mush left to pick from when he came up...always killed the suns)
Bench = Al harrington (Staying on the bench until the cry baby gets traded)
Bench = James Posey (good back-up if one of my big guys gets hurt)
Bench = Manu Ginobli (please don't "flop" on me this year when you return)
PG = Steve Nash - Why not!!
SG = Paul Pierce - Riding the Wave from last year
G = Brandon Roy - Could be his year
G = Baron Davis - Stats machine...(although he just got fat contract so I fear he will be hurt this year)
SF = Charles Lamar Odum (feed me the ball Kobe)
Pf = Ben Wallace (rebounds guy only)
F = Luol Deng - (Hot & Cold)
F = Ron Artest - (Gamble pick...but so far paying off...)
C = Nick Collison (I know....I know....but only a few centers left)
C = Emeka Okafor (Good Center pick)
Util = Matt Barnes (Steve Nash is going to make this guy look REALLY good)
Util = Mike Finley (Not mush left to pick from when he came up...always killed the suns)
Bench = Al harrington (Staying on the bench until the cry baby gets traded)
Bench = James Posey (good back-up if one of my big guys gets hurt)
Bench = Manu Ginobli (please don't "flop" on me this year when you return)
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Feeling Inspired Today
I like to shuffle songs in my ipod and occastionally I come across a song that rocks my world, wakes me up and makes me want to be a better person. There are few songs that penetrate my soul more then this one does. It does not seem to get old and MOTAB really nailed this one...you can find it on the album " America's Choir". I looked up the story behind the song...
Robert Robinson, following the tradition of ministers of the time, wrote "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" as a hymn-poem for the conclusion of his sermon for Whitsunday, 1758. He was 23 years old at the time. It was published the following year in A Collection of Hymns used by the Church of Christ in Angel Alley, Bishopsgate (1759). There has been some speculation that it was written by the Countess of Huntingdon, but it is generally agreed to be the work of Robinson.
Originally "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" had four stanzas. The fourth stanza was omitted by Martin Madan in Psalms and Hymns, 1860 and has not been used since.
The statement in stanza two, "Here I raise my Ebenezer" refers to I Samuel 7:12, "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the LORD has helped us." Ebenezer is the Hebrew for "Stone of Help." Israel had suffered defeat because of its sin. But the people had repented of their sin, God had helped them and they were victorious. Samuel placed the stone to remind Israel that God had them, their victory was because of Him.
In stanza three, Robinson speaks of being "prone to wonder, prone to leave the God I love". This seems to be a forecast of his later life, when he lapsed into sin, unstableness and involvement with Unitarianism. There is a well-known story of Robinson, riding a stagecoach with a lady who was deeply engrossed in a hymnbook. Seeking to encourage him, she asked him what he thought of the hymn she was humming. Robinson burst into tears and said, "Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then."
1. Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
mount of thy redeeming love.
2. Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I'm come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.
3. O to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.
Robert Robinson, following the tradition of ministers of the time, wrote "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" as a hymn-poem for the conclusion of his sermon for Whitsunday, 1758. He was 23 years old at the time. It was published the following year in A Collection of Hymns used by the Church of Christ in Angel Alley, Bishopsgate (1759). There has been some speculation that it was written by the Countess of Huntingdon, but it is generally agreed to be the work of Robinson.
Originally "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" had four stanzas. The fourth stanza was omitted by Martin Madan in Psalms and Hymns, 1860 and has not been used since.
The statement in stanza two, "Here I raise my Ebenezer" refers to I Samuel 7:12, "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the LORD has helped us." Ebenezer is the Hebrew for "Stone of Help." Israel had suffered defeat because of its sin. But the people had repented of their sin, God had helped them and they were victorious. Samuel placed the stone to remind Israel that God had them, their victory was because of Him.
In stanza three, Robinson speaks of being "prone to wonder, prone to leave the God I love". This seems to be a forecast of his later life, when he lapsed into sin, unstableness and involvement with Unitarianism. There is a well-known story of Robinson, riding a stagecoach with a lady who was deeply engrossed in a hymnbook. Seeking to encourage him, she asked him what he thought of the hymn she was humming. Robinson burst into tears and said, "Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then."
1. Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
mount of thy redeeming love.
2. Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I'm come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.
3. O to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Tagged by Garbo
My old Buddy/Comp just tagged me. I need to devote a separate blog about my time I spent w/ E. Mitchell. I will say this however....I have never been more impressed and inspired by somebody in a short amount of time then I did serving next to Mitchell in Isabel.
3 names I go by:
1. Dad
2. JD
3. Big Daddy
3 restaurants I love:
1. Pete's Fish and Chips
2. Matta's (Chicken Chimmy w/ Green sauce)
3. Texas Land and Cattle
3 trips to plan in the next year:
1. Germany 2009
2. Maui
3. San Antonio
3 things I want badly:
1. Cabin
2. More Utah Peaches
3. Strong Priest Q.
3 pets I've had:
1. Golden Retriever (Toby)
2. Beta Fish (nemo)
3. Alligator (My comp "Regenado" jumped in river and caught it bare handed...we kept on a rope for two days until DL's got freaked out)
3 things I did yesterday:
1. Rode 85 miles
2. ASU football Game (they got worked by OR)
3. Had some Pete's
3 things I ate today:
1. Utah Peaches and Ice-cream
2. Honey-nut Cheerios
3. Grilled cheese and more peaches
3 fears I have:
1. Mean kids that my kids call "friends"
2. Legalized same-sex marriage
3. Old Milk
3 names I go by:
1. Dad
2. JD
3. Big Daddy
3 restaurants I love:
1. Pete's Fish and Chips
2. Matta's (Chicken Chimmy w/ Green sauce)
3. Texas Land and Cattle
3 trips to plan in the next year:
1. Germany 2009
2. Maui
3. San Antonio
3 things I want badly:
1. Cabin
2. More Utah Peaches
3. Strong Priest Q.
3 pets I've had:
1. Golden Retriever (Toby)
2. Beta Fish (nemo)
3. Alligator (My comp "Regenado" jumped in river and caught it bare handed...we kept on a rope for two days until DL's got freaked out)
3 things I did yesterday:
1. Rode 85 miles
2. ASU football Game (they got worked by OR)
3. Had some Pete's
3 things I ate today:
1. Utah Peaches and Ice-cream
2. Honey-nut Cheerios
3. Grilled cheese and more peaches
3 fears I have:
1. Mean kids that my kids call "friends"
2. Legalized same-sex marriage
3. Old Milk
Back to Laveen
I finally got back on the bike yesterday for an 85 miler. A bit long when I have not been on the bike for a few weeks. The weather was amazing and I actually felt pretty good. I got dropped by a couple of groups but my goal was just to get some time on the bike. A few more weekends to go before the Tour....If I can get out a few more times I think I will be ready. Unfortunately my wing man "Beecher" won't be able to make it out for this one. I will wear something in honor of him for the ride...maybe a steelers terrible towel or something STP. Gonna miss ya Beecher....
I feel this will be my last ride of the year and will most likely take some time off until Jan 1st for the Tortilla Flats ride. I might just ride once a week to keep the wheels greased.
I have been in CA all week and it was good to get back home. Will the Deal is growing so fast. He is a bit of a spazz and makes himself spit up all over the place. So far I have been able to avoid the bombings...but K has had a couple of direct hits. SJ was nice but hectic at work.
Last week my older Sister graduated from nursing school. A big achievement for her working full time, going to school and attending all her boyz events. I am really proud of her and I can feel her sigh of relief to be done. We went to her party and she seemed like a load was lifted. Way to go Mel!!! We are so proud of you. Now we can call you and ask what is the growth on the side of my kids head.
10K master -
Last week K also ran her first 10K. I was so proud of her as well. I knew she could do 5K which is what she wanted to sign up for...but she was open to trying the 10K. I can ride 100's of miles on my bike but I struggle to run 2 miles. I used to run 10K's as a kid. My dad would just sign me up and I would run. I just loved the competition against the clock and self. i have a ton of good memories of these races and K added to them. It was fun to cheer her and Danni along. Thanks Danni for running with her...I know she enjoyed it. Maybe one day I will get up to 6 miles again and do a race with her....until then, I will stick to my bike and cheer others along. Anyway, back to K and how proud I am of her. She is now talking about doing a 1/2 marathon in Jan. I now believe her.
Went to Pete's Yesterday before the ASU game. I just love Pete's onion rings and sauce. Never gets old. How about a Pete's out here in the Chandler area???? No comment on the ASU game.....just waiting for next year...
I feel this will be my last ride of the year and will most likely take some time off until Jan 1st for the Tortilla Flats ride. I might just ride once a week to keep the wheels greased.
I have been in CA all week and it was good to get back home. Will the Deal is growing so fast. He is a bit of a spazz and makes himself spit up all over the place. So far I have been able to avoid the bombings...but K has had a couple of direct hits. SJ was nice but hectic at work.
Last week my older Sister graduated from nursing school. A big achievement for her working full time, going to school and attending all her boyz events. I am really proud of her and I can feel her sigh of relief to be done. We went to her party and she seemed like a load was lifted. Way to go Mel!!! We are so proud of you. Now we can call you and ask what is the growth on the side of my kids head.
10K master -
Last week K also ran her first 10K. I was so proud of her as well. I knew she could do 5K which is what she wanted to sign up for...but she was open to trying the 10K. I can ride 100's of miles on my bike but I struggle to run 2 miles. I used to run 10K's as a kid. My dad would just sign me up and I would run. I just loved the competition against the clock and self. i have a ton of good memories of these races and K added to them. It was fun to cheer her and Danni along. Thanks Danni for running with her...I know she enjoyed it. Maybe one day I will get up to 6 miles again and do a race with her....until then, I will stick to my bike and cheer others along. Anyway, back to K and how proud I am of her. She is now talking about doing a 1/2 marathon in Jan. I now believe her.
Went to Pete's Yesterday before the ASU game. I just love Pete's onion rings and sauce. Never gets old. How about a Pete's out here in the Chandler area???? No comment on the ASU game.....just waiting for next year...
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Talkin
Kristin and I were asked to talk in Church today. It was on the blessings of the Book of Mormon. I was actually happy to talk about this subject as I completely beleive there are blessings if we read. My talks was based on the following equation:
Reading the Book of Mormon = Good things happening
Pretty simple. Does not mean trials or temptations go away....just you are more prepared to overcome these if you are actively reading the Book of Mormon. I thought Kristin did well for stressing all week and pulling it together late last night. We both had to overcome the procrastination demons. It was fun though working with her as we put our talks together. Also fun working w/ the Spirit and understanding the will of our Father in heaven and what he wanted us to speak about. I look forward to next weekend as it is Conference weekend. Always good to get recharged.
I hit the road only 2x last week. Thursday I did my night rider impression and took to the local streets here for some interval training. The weather is starting to get nicer and there is always a breeze coming down from the San Tan Mountains behind our home. Saturday I was going to ride 55 with a group training for the Tour. I woke up at 4:30am and just sat on the end of my bed. We stayed up late the night before and watched "Run Fat Boy Run" which I had seen on the plane and it was good even the second time. Anyway, Kristin for the first time ever told me to lay back down cause she knew that I was out of it. Good thing. I woke back up at 6AM and did my local ride here to Oldberg and back....total of 40 miles. Not too bad time either. Later that morning we went to Eryn's soccer game where she scored another goal. She LOVES soccer which has me pretty pumped. Afterwards we headed off to a friends B-Day party. By then, I was sick cause I had not eaten much after my ride and I was starving. We had pizza and I think I had almost a full pizza. I felt bad....but I could not stop. I wonder if others notice my multiple trips to the pizza table. Oh well...it was a matter of life or death and you gotta do what you gotta do.
After that we had 2 more B-day parties and I got new tires on the car. good times at Big-O. But they did have left over Dog-nuts and I downed a couple of those as well. Also, stopped off at my favorite DQ..(the one on Gilbert road) to pick up a banana shake. The reason that is my favorite is because they still use the real banana sauce in their shakes where newer DQ's that are franchised out go with the artificial cheap stuff. The DQ by the temple is also still old school and is still on my must see list.
Well, that is all i got for now. Good week in all. This week i hope to get out 2-3 times with another good Sat ride. Also trying to bid on some Rudy Project sunglasses on ebay. I have lost out already on 4 auctions....good for ebay....bad for me.
pics of the week:
Reading the Book of Mormon = Good things happening
Pretty simple. Does not mean trials or temptations go away....just you are more prepared to overcome these if you are actively reading the Book of Mormon. I thought Kristin did well for stressing all week and pulling it together late last night. We both had to overcome the procrastination demons. It was fun though working with her as we put our talks together. Also fun working w/ the Spirit and understanding the will of our Father in heaven and what he wanted us to speak about. I look forward to next weekend as it is Conference weekend. Always good to get recharged.
I hit the road only 2x last week. Thursday I did my night rider impression and took to the local streets here for some interval training. The weather is starting to get nicer and there is always a breeze coming down from the San Tan Mountains behind our home. Saturday I was going to ride 55 with a group training for the Tour. I woke up at 4:30am and just sat on the end of my bed. We stayed up late the night before and watched "Run Fat Boy Run" which I had seen on the plane and it was good even the second time. Anyway, Kristin for the first time ever told me to lay back down cause she knew that I was out of it. Good thing. I woke back up at 6AM and did my local ride here to Oldberg and back....total of 40 miles. Not too bad time either. Later that morning we went to Eryn's soccer game where she scored another goal. She LOVES soccer which has me pretty pumped. Afterwards we headed off to a friends B-Day party. By then, I was sick cause I had not eaten much after my ride and I was starving. We had pizza and I think I had almost a full pizza. I felt bad....but I could not stop. I wonder if others notice my multiple trips to the pizza table. Oh well...it was a matter of life or death and you gotta do what you gotta do.
After that we had 2 more B-day parties and I got new tires on the car. good times at Big-O. But they did have left over Dog-nuts and I downed a couple of those as well. Also, stopped off at my favorite DQ..(the one on Gilbert road) to pick up a banana shake. The reason that is my favorite is because they still use the real banana sauce in their shakes where newer DQ's that are franchised out go with the artificial cheap stuff. The DQ by the temple is also still old school and is still on my must see list.
Well, that is all i got for now. Good week in all. This week i hope to get out 2-3 times with another good Sat ride. Also trying to bid on some Rudy Project sunglasses on ebay. I have lost out already on 4 auctions....good for ebay....bad for me.
pics of the week:
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Bull Dogged
Still recovering from my wounds in last nights ASU vs. Georgia game. I ended up taking Eryn and Briggs. I had been promising to take Eryn for a few weeks and she was pumped....even if she feel asleep on they way there...I guess the excitement was too much for her to handle. The game was packed and for a moment there we got stuck in a Soccer like scene you would see on TV where hundreds of fans are helplessly pinned up against the bars. It was a tense few minutes. Anyway, we got to our seats and the sun was still up. It was Hizzot. Eryn was cute. She said.."Dad, is it the Sun-Screens?". I asked..."Do you need Sun screen?" She said..." no Dad the team....are they the Sun screens"? Dad says.."Ohhhh..you mean the Sun-Devils"? Eryn says.."Right...Go Sun Devils". Well, The Devils just did not have what it took to hang w/ Georgia who I still think are overrated but they sure put the hurt on ASU. It was still fun to watch. Next home game will be against Oregon and Briggs is so excited because that is where his best friend calls home.
Friday night we took the boys to Lake Roosevelt to do some bass fishing and wake-boarding. It was pretty cool. It has been a long time since I was on a wake board. What happens is that you mind is still 20 years old and you think you could do all the things you used to do. My body however is 14 years older now and I got worked. Plus the wake these new boats throw out are like huge walls. I took a couple of face plants and thought my eyeballs were going to pop out. I did get some good air and still was able to land a few.
I was able to get on the bike a few nights last week. The weather is starting to get nice at night and once the kids are down, I hit the road for a few miles. I am going to start riding some more w/ Dan and the group he goes out with as they prepare for the tour. More to come on that.
K and I are talking next Sunday in sacrament. More to come on that.
We did make it to the Temple on Thus night for our ward night. It was nice to get away and thanks to K's mom for coming out and watching all the kids. After we picked up some Neds, K asked what I was thinking about in the Temple. I thought about it for a minute and told her "Nothing". Which was the truth, for a few hours I felt I was able to separate myself from the world, from my Job, from the natural man and just think about nothing but what was in front of me. I feel a bit recharged now....and a Sunday nap will help close the deal.
We are recording all of our old videos to DVD right now...(thanks Missy for the recorder). It has been fun watching some of them. Right now it is 2005 in San Antonio. I sure miss that place. We did so many projects to the house to make it our own.
It was also nice to have the Beechers in our backyard. Sure made things alot nicer!!
Friday night we took the boys to Lake Roosevelt to do some bass fishing and wake-boarding. It was pretty cool. It has been a long time since I was on a wake board. What happens is that you mind is still 20 years old and you think you could do all the things you used to do. My body however is 14 years older now and I got worked. Plus the wake these new boats throw out are like huge walls. I took a couple of face plants and thought my eyeballs were going to pop out. I did get some good air and still was able to land a few.
I was able to get on the bike a few nights last week. The weather is starting to get nice at night and once the kids are down, I hit the road for a few miles. I am going to start riding some more w/ Dan and the group he goes out with as they prepare for the tour. More to come on that.
K and I are talking next Sunday in sacrament. More to come on that.
We did make it to the Temple on Thus night for our ward night. It was nice to get away and thanks to K's mom for coming out and watching all the kids. After we picked up some Neds, K asked what I was thinking about in the Temple. I thought about it for a minute and told her "Nothing". Which was the truth, for a few hours I felt I was able to separate myself from the world, from my Job, from the natural man and just think about nothing but what was in front of me. I feel a bit recharged now....and a Sunday nap will help close the deal.
We are recording all of our old videos to DVD right now...(thanks Missy for the recorder). It has been fun watching some of them. Right now it is 2005 in San Antonio. I sure miss that place. We did so many projects to the house to make it our own.
It was also nice to have the Beechers in our backyard. Sure made things alot nicer!!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Guess who's Back?
I like to know the guy is human. I think this picture captured that. I will admit, I am a bit excited that he is coming back. I have no idea how he will fit into a team a big names. It will either work really well..or not at all. He might become just a really good one day classic guy. I just don't see him having what it takes to be on top of the tour next year. I hope he does. In fact, I plan on being there again if it all works out. Can you imagine Lance, Alberto, Levi, Carlos, Alejandro and heck even throw in Floyd and Tyler for grins??? Might be something special. We will see.
Anyway, last week I found myself in San Jose all week. It was just a ton of meetings mingled with a few fun events. My Boss took us to an indoor race cart facility where we suited up and went all out for 15 min. You were literally on the verge of death at every corner. These things were scary fast but I kicked arse. It was a good way to unwind some and compete at the same time. We also had a kickball tourny at the end of the week with some other teams. It has been maybe 25 years since I last played a serious game of kickball. Our team ending up winning. Unfortunately I played right before my flight and I am sure I smelled like a wet puppy to the person sitting next to me on the flight home.. Just a short follow-up from my last post, the airport was covered w/ visiting grandparents.
Off the wagon - I have been off my bike for officially 2 weeks now. It haunts me. I can't seem to find the time and the weather is not helping. In AZ, the window is small for riding in the summer heat. I hope to get on 2x this week to try and shake to cob-webs off. I did finally get my crank set fixed and consider myself mechanically ready for the Tour De Tucson.
I went to Briggs and Eryn's soccer games yesterday. Eryn will grow into a pretty good player if she chooses to stay with it. She is not afraid to get in the mix and scored her first goal yesterday. Briggs seems to be getting better as well. Just having some trouble understanding how to play the halfback position. He has always played fullback and now his coach has him at halfback who likes to ensure he is mainly a defender....."Pull up Briggs" is a common shout. His control of the ball is much better.
Last night K and I went out to one of our old favorite Mexican food places...Macayo's. It used to be one of the original three (Garcia's and Matta's being the other two). Now the valley is overrun with mexican food joints. There are so many...and so many say this and that are the best....I like to stick with my guns. I have tried the cafe Rio's of the valley...but still like the old stuff.
William Rudy @ 3 1/2 months:
He is a one trick pony right now. He learned how to spit on command and thinks it is pretty funny. He loves Reagan and is not too sure of Eryn yet. I think Eryn likes to think he is made of rubber. Briggs is slowly coming around. But I think like any male, once the baby gets old and can respond to torture, then the male becomes more involved. For now, Briggs will go on with teasing and getting in the heads of his sisters. He is a master. But....they are also really easy to bug.
Will likes Dad most of the times...but seems to always be looking for Mom. Not sure why because what ever Mom gives him, he spits it all up. It is really bad. Never had any of our kids spit up as much as he does. I am used to it now which is a dangerous feeling because you might be used to the smell on your sholders, neck, back and pants....but what about the person standing next to you? Do they smell it? That is why it is good to hang out with friends who have little ones as well...this way it is one big stink fest and nobody smells a thing.
Will does have a contagious smile and so far is an overall happy kid. He is starting to grab stuff and explores w/ his mouth. Although I think he is a bit cross-eyed as the kids still don' understand how close to put things to his face. They shove things right to his nose and the poor kid is trying to focus in on what is shoved up one of his nostrils.
0-miles this week....
Sunday, September 7, 2008
A New Start
Well....I am back. After several failed attempts to log into my old Blog, I am starting a new. I tried to go down the path to retrieve my old information...you know the part where they ask you for all your secret password junk. Well, I could never get past the final question...."What is your secret word"? Wow...I can't beleive I even selected this as a question. What is my secret word??? Who the heck knows. One guy does not know...and that is the fellow who is typing right now. So if you want to read any of my old stuff...I added the link --> JD Hogg Old.
I plan to post at least once a week. I will of-course post my bike tours etc....but also plan on sharing some "observations" I run across every now and then. I am a people watcher. I love DMV's, malls, sporting events, church congregation and most of all the airport. The airport is one place where you see a number of life events play right before your eyes. Families waiting for their loved ones while a few feet away a family is saying good-bye to a loved one. It gets me every time. Most of us are in too big of a hurry to even notice while at the airport....but next time you are there....look around you. Notice the Mother with her kids....they are either waiting for Dad or Grandma and Grandpa. If I have a layover, I like to guess and would place a bet it is Daddy they are waiting for. Notice the thick feeling of "Anticipation" when you walk past that area of the airport where everybody waits. It's really thick when you are traveling international. You can imagine folks waiting for somebody they have not seen in years. I don't mind anybody not waiting for me. In fact, it almost would be a distraction if somebody was at the airport for me...I want to watch what is going on. Now...let me be clear...I do have a life and I am no stalker by any sorts of the imagination. I observe as I walk to my gate....sometimes run. On my last trip across the pond, I found myself in Dublin for the day. As I waited in line to get my passport stamped...these were the folks standing around me:
* 4 individuals who had just arrived from the overnight out of Boston. I could tell there was a couple. The girl was close to 20 years old and clearly a girlfriend of one the guys. The other guy seemed to be a good friend of his buddy and would have been a third wheel had it not been for the other girl who was also taggin along. I watched the "buddy" make conversation with the other girl who was perhaps 18 and could tell this was the first time he would be hangin out with her with questions such as ..." Did you sleep at all on the flight?"......"have you been to Europe before"....stuff like that...Stuff that would have been covered in past conversations had they known each other before the trip. I could see in his eyes that he was hoping this trip would possibly spark a bit of romance between the two of them. She was as cool as any cat could be. As our lines snaked back and forth, I wondered what would become of this "odd" couple. Would there be a default hook-up. Would it turn into something more....Or would he out of the gate...after one too many Guinness (what is the plural for Guinness..Guinni??) make a fool of himself and ruin his chance to find a girlfriend. hmmm who knows....these were just observations I had as I stood in line to claim nothing.
Note to the reader...not all my observations and thoughts will be about complete strangers. I will try to keep it in the family as I would expect one day my kids will be reading this and want to know what I thought of them when they did something that made me think. They always do.
A ton of things have happened since I last posted. I will to catch of the readers as soon as possible. I need to post about my STP experience. Can you imagine the number of observations I had riding for 13 hours with 9000 people. All I can say for now was I loved every minute of it and I could not thank the Beecher family enough for having as hang with them for 10 days. What a great trip... Definitely will need it's own post for this.
I am also staring to get back on the bike for the Tour De Tucson in Nov. For some odd reason I have been doing more running then biking lately. Either way...it is kickin my butt. I will keep you all posted....
Here are some random pics to bridge from my last post.......
Epic Climb
Epic Ride
Epic People Watching...(Hyde Park)
I plan to post at least once a week. I will of-course post my bike tours etc....but also plan on sharing some "observations" I run across every now and then. I am a people watcher. I love DMV's, malls, sporting events, church congregation and most of all the airport. The airport is one place where you see a number of life events play right before your eyes. Families waiting for their loved ones while a few feet away a family is saying good-bye to a loved one. It gets me every time. Most of us are in too big of a hurry to even notice while at the airport....but next time you are there....look around you. Notice the Mother with her kids....they are either waiting for Dad or Grandma and Grandpa. If I have a layover, I like to guess and would place a bet it is Daddy they are waiting for. Notice the thick feeling of "Anticipation" when you walk past that area of the airport where everybody waits. It's really thick when you are traveling international. You can imagine folks waiting for somebody they have not seen in years. I don't mind anybody not waiting for me. In fact, it almost would be a distraction if somebody was at the airport for me...I want to watch what is going on. Now...let me be clear...I do have a life and I am no stalker by any sorts of the imagination. I observe as I walk to my gate....sometimes run. On my last trip across the pond, I found myself in Dublin for the day. As I waited in line to get my passport stamped...these were the folks standing around me:
* 4 individuals who had just arrived from the overnight out of Boston. I could tell there was a couple. The girl was close to 20 years old and clearly a girlfriend of one the guys. The other guy seemed to be a good friend of his buddy and would have been a third wheel had it not been for the other girl who was also taggin along. I watched the "buddy" make conversation with the other girl who was perhaps 18 and could tell this was the first time he would be hangin out with her with questions such as ..." Did you sleep at all on the flight?"......"have you been to Europe before"....stuff like that...Stuff that would have been covered in past conversations had they known each other before the trip. I could see in his eyes that he was hoping this trip would possibly spark a bit of romance between the two of them. She was as cool as any cat could be. As our lines snaked back and forth, I wondered what would become of this "odd" couple. Would there be a default hook-up. Would it turn into something more....Or would he out of the gate...after one too many Guinness (what is the plural for Guinness..Guinni??) make a fool of himself and ruin his chance to find a girlfriend. hmmm who knows....these were just observations I had as I stood in line to claim nothing.
Note to the reader...not all my observations and thoughts will be about complete strangers. I will try to keep it in the family as I would expect one day my kids will be reading this and want to know what I thought of them when they did something that made me think. They always do.
A ton of things have happened since I last posted. I will to catch of the readers as soon as possible. I need to post about my STP experience. Can you imagine the number of observations I had riding for 13 hours with 9000 people. All I can say for now was I loved every minute of it and I could not thank the Beecher family enough for having as hang with them for 10 days. What a great trip... Definitely will need it's own post for this.
I am also staring to get back on the bike for the Tour De Tucson in Nov. For some odd reason I have been doing more running then biking lately. Either way...it is kickin my butt. I will keep you all posted....
Here are some random pics to bridge from my last post.......
Epic Climb
Epic Ride
Epic People Watching...(Hyde Park)
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