RIDE RED

Oh. Maeeeee. Gawd.
I came home tonight to a somewhat belated Valentine's Day present.

Well, it IS...RED
For those of you that may not understand my excitement.... I have been riding a Honda CRF150F....a great bike, a fun bike...but have been in love with her sister. Now, this beauty, this gorgeous beast... is the Honda CRF150R...I have been in love with her since the first time I test rode her...the time she almost killed me. Then I came back for more. I test rode again. And again. Every time thinking I had her. Then she'd try to buck me off again. From zero to over the bars in o.5 seconds. She is lighter....faster....with way more power than I can handle... but I can learn to tame the beast.

Oh. and The Dan? I'm thinking I should probably marry him!

The day of St. Valentine

LOVE: Pronunciation: \l'ev\
Function: noun (but also a verb in MY book!)
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English lufu; akin to Old High German luba love, Old English lēof dear, Latin lubēre, libēre to please
Date: before 12th century
(1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties (2): attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3): affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests, warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion, the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration (4): a beloved person : darling —often used as a term of endearment (5)British —used as an informal term of address, unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as (6): the fatherly concern of God for humankind (7): brotherly concern for others, a person's adoration of God

Valentine's Day. Yeah. The day that is either loved or loathed by all. The one thing I don't understand is how and who chose Cupid to be the representative for Valentine's Day. When I think of Valentine's Day the last thing that comes to mind is a small chubby toddler in diapers with a freakin weapon. And let's face it, he is very inaccurate most of the time! But I guess when he's on, Cupid is really ON. I love my Valentine!
Dano took me to this really cute Tiki Bar Restaurant in Sunset Beach called "Sam's." We had a really nice time! We had a drink in the Tiki bar and a yummy dinner surrounded by bamboo.

Here's the non-dictionary definition:

LOVE: A wildly misunderstood although highly desireable malfunction of the heart which weakens the brain, causes eyes to sparkle, cheeks to glow, blood pressure to rise and the lips to pucker. ~ Author Unknown

Todd Snider and visit with Amie in Reno

My best friend Amie, her husband James and daughter Lizzie, are planning to move to Reno in the near future. Her sister Chantal, and her husband Joe, live there now. It just so happened that TODD SNIDER was playing there the weekend Amie and James would be there. I got us tickets -for Xmas!- to go see Todd there and spend time with those four.

I was greeted first thing in the morning by a little pink tiger... Lizzie the pink tiger!

Lizzie is sooooooooooo good with the pups! She loves playing with them. And harrasing them...

Lizzie had a sleepover with her little friend so mom and dad could come out and play with us. Amie, James, Chantal and Joe joined Dano and I for the Todd Snider concert at the Nuggett. It was so much fun.

The girls....Shauna, Chantal, Tati and Amie.
While it was a great great show, it was too short, and Todd didn't come out and do a meet and greet with his adoring fans. OH well! He must be getting too sexy for his fans! http://www.toddsnider.net/

The boys. James, Joe, Dano and Jason. They ended up playing poker the rest of the night. Dano and James really knew when to hold them, but then he had to fold 'em! The next day Dano and I went to look at homes with Amie and James. We were very surprised to find that Reno looks nothing like the Reno on TV or on the strip. There were some very nice neighborhoods in the mountains with lots of room and big yards! Not to mention access to moto and bike trails right off your backyard... and only 30 minutes from Tahoe! We even got snow and it was all really pretty.
We'll definitely be visitint you guys! Thanks for having us!

No more wisdom!

I had all 5 of my wisdom teeth pulled out yesterday. I chose to go all out, meaning all out with a beautiful drug called Propofol. I fell asleep peacefully and woke up peacefully numb and totally drunk. It was fun.... until the local anesthetic wore off. I've been eating Vicodin with chicken broth and watching movies... this morning I felt much better. Here are some pictures of me. As you can see, I was out skateboarding already!
Oh, yeah.... I look good. Totally looking forward to my liquid diet this week...! I want a BURGER!

Smith Rock in the Winter

It was so difficult being back at work after our winter vacation. As some of you know, I have been going up to Bend, Oregon every year for the past several years, but in the Summertime
only. The initial attraction up there was the world-class Rockclimbing at Smith Rock, State Park.
Each time I went up there I spent more and more time in Bend and fell in love with the town, its people, the restaurants, the coffee shops, the local breweries, the lakes, the river, the feel of the whole place.
I really was curious to see how "I would do" being there in the winter and whether or not I would wither away like a petite flower in the cold. And I really was excited to be there with Dan for the first time. I didn't freeze to death. Dan kept me warm. (Ok it was my coat and gloves and scarf too...) Oh, and it was just as beautiful with patches of snow everywhere... different, but still beautiful...and calm. This is us in front and around Mirror Pond in town.
My sweet MOM got me a season's supply of MEGA warmers from REI. Those little pouches and pads that you open and they heat up for several hours. I stuck them in my gloves and my boots and my pockets....they really helped! Thank YOU Momma!!!
Dano and I at SMITH ROCK. We hiked around and just looked at the climbs...

We hiked up around Asterisk Pass... a 5.5 scramble on cold rocks... in UGGS. It was a first.
My Mountain Man. Man vs. Rock
Of course, we finished the day off at DESCHUTES BREWERY for some refreshing microbrews followed by a decadent dinner at my favorite local hole in the wall. Can we move here? PLEASE?

From 2007 to 2008 in Bend, Oregon

HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Dan and I spent NYE 2007 with Doug and Andrea, Doug's brother Kevin and wife Whitney and Doug's friend Chris...



Doug is just here to point things out...









The Boys: Dano, Chris and Doug Fir

















ANOTHER year with you?...... Oh. Ok.

The year's end in Portland and Mount Bachelor

Welcome to 2008 everyone!!! On the first day of the year, on our much needed "downtime" in Oregon, Dano taught me to "Blog." I am officially a part of the 21st Century. Wow. I still refuse to use "My Space" so for now this will be my space.


We started our Winter wonderland Vacation in Portland, Oregon. Stayed at Hotel Lucia in downtown Portland, very trendy, chic, with a very cool vibe.



We got to "Dance in the rain"


Hang out in coffee shops where they grind your beans for EACH cup of coffee then make shapes on your foam....like a heart...

....which Dano quickly changed to look like a pair of large breasts...


Got to eat the MOST delicious foods...
Put my tootsies in the snow for the second time...
And yes! Dano talked me into going skiing at Mt. Bachelor! Andrea and I had a blast!
It was breathtakingly amazingly and all other adjectives beautiful!
Andi, Doug, Dano and I after an amazing day in God's country... White looks good on us!

A great day of skiing and NO injuries! Imagine that.