Riding my butt off!

Well, I didn't ride it completely off. There's still plenty of butt there. :-)

On Friday night the DH and I went to the open house at Cycle Spoken Here in Cary, NC. I picked up my registration packet, had a glass of wine and a cupcake, and looked around.

Saturday morning I got up, took a shower to loosen up my muscles, and we headed off to get some breakfast. When we got to the start I started to get a little nervous. Would I be able to really do this? Could I really bike 60 miles? Here's a few pictures from the morning:

After the first 15 miles, I felt pretty good. Although I was still unsure if I could really do this. I called the DH and he gave me a little pep talk. The first stop was at a horse farm. It was so cool to be biking through the country and pull up to this horse farm and see all these bikes lying around. They had homemade cookies, fruit, water and Gatorade, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and more. After talking to the DH and fueling up, I hoped back on my bike and rode another 15 miles to the next stop. By the time I got there I was the last rider to stop. I met up with the sweepers and we rode together to the next stop, which was in a strawberry field. I shut that stop down and we were off again. Around 3pm I finally rolled into the parking lot. I was the last person to finish, but I finished. I did it. I rode 60 miles and raised over $1,000 to help fight cancer.

It was an amazing ride and I met some great people. Thanks to everyone who donated to this amazing cause and for supporting me in this!

Life.

Life has been quite busy as of recent.

Work has picked up now that school is back in session. I've added a new little group to our church: Little Lutherans, a group for kids in Kindergarten through 2nd grade. We met for the first time last week. They were so cute! We talked about the creation story, created beautiful watercolor flowers and "God created" (same as "Simon Says"). This Sunday we have Grace Gang (3rd through 5th graders). We are studying the fruits of the Spirit this year and this month is Love. We have quite an hour packed of fun! I'm even going to attempt making home-made conversation hearts with "God sayings" on them. Not to mention regular youth group meetings for the middle and high school youth. And high school Sunday school. And this week children's time during worship. It's been a busy planning week! But I love it! I enjoy my job and love the kids I work with. I even have a college helper this year with the little kids!

My personal life has been pretty low key. I've picked up on my knitting again. I've finished 1 1/2 socks and picked up a skirt I've been working on. The craziest I got in the kitchen was adding cinnamon and chili powder to boxed brownies. (Wicked good!!!) I cooked dinner for the campus ministry this week and made a Mexican lasagna, yellow rice with veggies, and the brownies. Outside I've planted a few pansies around the mail box and have some more to plant around the front of the house. And this weekend the DH and I are off to Cary, NC for the le Tour de Femme bike ride! It's not to late to donate towards this amazing cause (See my side bar.)

I hope this fall weather is bringing you joy!

What I did over summer vacation.

Here's a few pictures from this past summer.

I made a basket or two...

These veggies and herbs from my garden became dinner...

I ate the cat baby...

Just kidding, I didn't eat the cat baby!

Bananas in Pajamas

As the weather cools off into a lovely fall, my son and daughter are rediscovering their joy in cozy footed "pajammies"--though not to sleep in. They love to hang out in the pjs before bed or in the morning, but when it's time to actually sleep they strip to their skivvies! Good thing they finally have their own rooms, now that they are getting older.

Without going to TMI land, share with us your sleepwear memories and preferences....

1. What was your favorite sleeping attire as a child? And did you call them pjs, pajamas (to rhyme with llamas), pajamas (to sort of rhyme with bananas), jammies, or ???
Much like the PJs described above, I too had a pair of red footed PJs that zipped all the way from the foot to the collar. I also had a My Little Pony nightgown. I called them PJs if they had feet or pants and nightgowns if they did not.

2. Favorite sleepwear put on your own little ones, or perhaps those you babysat? (Bonus points if you made it).
There were these two cutie pies I babysat in Philly and they both had the footed PJs. They reminded me of the red ones I had as a kid.

3. How about today-do you prefer nightgown, pajamas, undies, or au naturel?
It depends on the weather. I lounge in some sort of comfy pants (flannel pants, my hubby's old sweats, etc.) and a t-shirt or sweat shirt. If it's cold, I'll sleep in this as well. If it's hot, the pants come off and it's a t-shirt and undies for me.

4. Silky smooth or flannel-y cozy?
flannel-y cozy please!

5. Socks or bare feet?
Bare feet all the way!

Where did August go?

That's what I'm wondering. I can't believe it's already September, school has started back, and fall is in the air. So let me catch you up to date.

August was a good month. I went to Lutheridge for confirmation camp and had a great time. I love Ashville, the mountains, and being in "a place a part." We had 7 youth go to camp, 5 of which were with campfirmation and the other 2 who just went to camp (one high school girl and one elementary girl). The high school girl had such a great time that she wants to go back next year and wants to be a councilor one day. Yay! First time to camp and she did an OAP program! Yay! Yay! Yay!

Michael and I also went to the Outer Banks for a few days of relaxation. We went to the beach, road our bikes, ate wonderful food, saw a lighthouse, drank some wine, and slept late. It was good to get away.

When we got back from the Outer Banks, we were off again to Charleston with 20 youth and 4 other adults for the annual youth beach retreat. Being my first one, I was a little stressed the whole time. But I feel it went well and the youth had a good time.

I've been on a knitting sabbatical recently and I'm not sure why. I haven't picked up needles in about three weeks. I think the reason why is these stupid vampire books. That's right, the Twilight series has taken over all my free time. I am now on book 4 and hopefully I'll get back to knitting when it's finished. I keep telling everyone I'm reading them because the girls I work with are reading them. But let's be honest, I'm reading them because I've been sucked into the drama of Bella, Edward, and Jacob. I want to know if Edward is ever going to turn Bella into a vampire or if Jacob will win her over. I'm hooked.

The other thing that happened in August that is pretty monumental are the decisions of the ELCA church wide assembly. The church body that I am a party of truly made me proud. The vote was passed that (1)we the church will recognize and uphold people in same gender, monogamous, life long relationships and (2) that if people who are living in these kinds of relationships feel called to become a rostered leader of the church then they may do so. Who are we to tell people who they can and can't love? Who are we to deny God's calling? Who are we to judge? Please pray for the continued conversations that the people of the ELCA are having about these decisions. Not everyone agrees with these decisions and feels the way I do. These decisions bring joy and pain to this church body. Someone once said, "Love one another as I have loved you." Sometimes it is really hard to do that.

That's about it for my August. Hopefully I wont go so long between posts next time.