*click*

it's friday morning & we're packing up to leave.  time for one quick entry...

we spent the rest of the week doing more swimming, paddleboating & fishing in the lake, visiting restaurants in saluda & tryon, & vegging.  tom took a few road rides in the mountains.  i did one more ride yesterday with mike hiers.  he coordinated the saturday ride, and offered to take me on another ride yesterday, this time at bent creek.  bent creek is also in the pisgah forest, closer to asheville from where we were before.  we lucked out with a break in the rain & had an awesome ride!  an hour of climbing - a wet, rocky, and rooty trail that wound up a mountain, followed by a quick descent along a smooth, windy, slick path that had me laughing with a mixture of fun & fear the whole way down.  we rode around more in the forest after that.  i inhaled a bug at one point, and had one shoot up my nose later on.  yuk!

the trails were amazing!  i was very lucky to have such a friendly & knowledgeable guide.

time to go & finish packing.  i'll upload pics after we get home!

we're in the cabin in saluda, n.c.  it's been lovely so far!  we arrived saturday, after a long but relatively easy drive.  ian was very good!  sunday i joined a local group ride in pisgah national forest.  we rode up a mountain called clawhammer.  and then down it of course.  it was incredible!  i didn't take my camera, but i will if i do any more riding.

today, tom went for a ride on the blue ridge parkway, while ian and i tried fishing in the lake.  we had a nice time but didn't catch any fish.  this afternoon, ian's taking a much needed nap - he fell asleep in the shower after fishing!  i'm reading, and tom's relaxing on the deck.  this evening we're planning on going into town for dinner.

today is the first day of my vacation!  and thank goodness, because everything's been crazy lately!  this weekend was the 18 hour race.  the pics are here.  in case the link doesn't work, here are a couple:

whoops, i got behind again in updating!  it's sunday morning, and we're enjoying having the windows open for the first time in a few weeks.  it's a gorgeous day!  last week was a good one at work.  lots of check-ups, which i enjoy.  it's nice to check on everything, to make sure they're doing well in all aspects of their life.  there isn't really time at sick visits to talk about school, nutrition, sleep, fitness, all that stuff.  i've been brainstorming ways to help kids more with healthy lifestyles.  i spend a lot of time one-on-one with kids who're struggling with weight and/or sedentary lifestyle.  i'd like to step out of the clinic a bit to help kids more, but i'm not sure yet what form it'll take.

next weekend is the 18 hour race - my first MTB race!  i bought a new seat for the occasion.  a terry falcon x:

very comfy!  friday afternoon i did a short ride downtown, then i did the pocahontas night ride.  it was the first time using my light on the trails.  it worked great!

i have a vacation coming soon!  i'll spend the first few days doing a big spring cleaning of the house.  it needs one!  then we'll go to the cabin in NC.  ian wants to fish, but he says he doesn't want to swim in the lake, because the ducks won't want to share it.    ian hasn't had a real vacation before, so i'm excited about this.  i think he'll love it!

post call today, and ian's school has a field trip to  see the goonies at the bird theater.   it's a dreary day, perfect for a movie, so i took ian to school & will pick him up after nap (and after i take a nap!)

next weekend, my friend karen is flying back from a summer in vienna.  she's taking a bus from new york to d.c. & we're going to spend the weekend together.  i haven't seen her in a year & i miss her, so i'm psyched!  her blog about her summer trip is here.

only a couple of minutes to update today.  having a good week so far.  monday was a busy morning at work.  was running an hour behind.  i hate making people wait!  afternoon was nice, and got out early enough to enjoy a normal evening at home.  had a good day yesterday with ian.  worked on writing skills - he's making a bit of progress.  played tee-ball.  reminded me that i need to be sure to sign him up for soccer or tee-ball for the fall.  rode last night.  tom & i are going to take turns on tuesdays - my 'ride like a girl', and his criteriums.

another working weekend - worked friday night & saturday.  wasn't bad though.  summer is so much nicer than winter on call!

rode the downtown trails with a new friend, carolina.  she's a free/downhill rider.  waaay better than me!  i showed her our trails because she's new to town.  had a really fun ride!  missed a night ride friday night because of being on call.  but lucked out saturday, and got to ride at the scout farm after work.  i'm dong a race next month on this course, and it's only rarely open to be ridden, and i missed last time because of working.  so i'm psyched i got to do it yesterday   also lucked out because i arrived at the same time as some girls i ride with on tuesdays, so i had company!  went and hung out with them after too, and that was really nice.

tom has been taking ian to visit his parents when i'm working weekends.  so they went friday & got back last night.  ian had a nice time with his oma, picking berries etc.  today, tom rode in a time trial, and ian and i went to watch the muddy buddy:

it was cool to watch, but so incredibly HOT!  and wow, very dirty!

now ian's playing with his cars & i'm just vegging.  tom just got back.  nice

check this out:

creepily believable!

not sure if this'll work unless you have a subscription to nytimes, but it's a good article.

and with that, i'm finally gonna go to bed!