tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

We took Illy for a hike yesterday at Bull Run. We tried the Stone Bridge loop, and it was pretty nice – part of the trail ran along side a river (creek?) through the woods, and part of it skirted the trees and crossed a wide open field. A lot of it was gravel though, which wasn’t very comfortable with our Five Finger shoes. But we saw quite a few deer which Illy loved. It was pretty hot so we turned back before we made it to the cemetary, so we’ll have to go back and try to find it.

We went mountain biking today, and while we were out, it started thundering. It was pretty cool being in the middle of the forest and hearing thunder – made me wish we were camping. But then there’s the whole trees and lightning combination which made me want to get out of there.  We made it back to the truck and were loading the bikes right as it started to downpour. Sweet timing.

We did some yoga dvd’s, I did some knitting, and I played with my new laptop. My Dell D810 was really starting to struggle (and lose keys) so I ordered a Lenovo T61 – back to basics. It’s pretty loaded – dual core processor, 4 gigs of RAM, the works. I forgot how much I loved the middle scroll button not just for internet browsing, but for development. Heaven.

We also replaced our garbage disposal. The old one had been leaking for who knows how long, but finally it started dripping out of the cabinet and onto my toes when I was doing dishes. I almost threw up from the stench when I went to clean out the cabinet under the sink. Blech.

We picked up a new disposal and Aaron installed it relatively quickly. We went to test it, and we weren’t quite sure it was working.  Turns out it’s just so much quieter than the old one, we couldn’t tell it was working! Now I wish we had replaced the sink and faucet….and counters…and cabinets.

Yeah, I just want a new kitchen. But I’ll settle for one that doesn’t leak nasty water all over my feet.

AnimalsEverywhere 018, originally uploaded by MissRancher.

The cats like to sit on top of the dog crate, and Illy likes to sit on the couch.

The dog crate is now just a pedestal for the cats. Awesome.

FNL 024, originally uploaded by MissRancher.

We hit Friday Night Live tonight to hang out with our friend Becky, since she’s moving to Boulder in three weeks.

We are seething with jealousy, but at least she’s got a guest room in her new condo

We’ll miss you, Becky! You better keep in touch, and hit the mountain with us when we head out there this winter.

Best of luck!

FNL 006, originally uploaded by MissRancher.

This is why I can’t change the channel.

We are in the midst of a storm like I haven’t seen here since…I guess since I can remember. It seems like the tornado warning could actually result in a tornado. The trees are bing blown sideways, wind is howling on both sides of the house, and the rain is so loud it drowns out the television.

Illy is shaking like a leaf. At least she was until Aaron sat down next to her. Even the Frosty Paws couldn’t quite keep her mind off her terror, but being able to lean on Aaron seems to have been all she needed.

I know how she feels.

It was another sweltering day today, and what better way to spend it than mountain biking? We headed over to Kelly and Pat’s new house, and ooh-ed and aaah-ed over it for a little bit, and played with their foster kittens.

Then we hit the road. We can bike from their house to the trail, which is awesome. We passed an entrance to an off-road mountain biking trail, so we decided to give it a try.

It was a single lane trail, with some decent hills, accompanied by some nice rocks. It really wore me out, but I think we all enjoyed it.

We rode for a bit more and had to stop for a rest by the quarry. Well, I had to stop, not sure about anyone else! But it was super hot out there.

We finally made it back to the house and decided to hang out in the basement with the kittens some more.

I almost stole the black one on our way out!

I can’t believe, with all the research that’s been going on, people still think eating fat raises your risk of heart disease. Or that low carb diets are ‘fads’ or ‘unhealthy’ or that ‘moderation’ is the answer to everything.

Suck it!

IllyAaron 008, originally uploaded by MissRancher.

So yesterday, Illy is lying on the couch in her normal spot, and Aaron is lying with his head on the other end. I come and sit between them, give Aaron a kiss and pet Illy. We’re sitting there, happy, and then Illy gets up.

We think she’s going to jump off the couch because she’s crowded.

But no.

She puts one paw on my thigh, testing it out, and then steps OVER me, to get to Aaron. She lays down next to him and starts licking his face, then gives me an innocent look.

Hmmph!

We decided to go check out mountain bikes yesterday, just to ‘look around’. We didn’t actually buy the first bikes we rode, but it was close. There is an A1 Cycling shop right behind our house, but the selection was small. So we called Austin to see where he had gotten his bike, which he had raved about recently. He went to the A1 Cycling in Herndon, so we headed up there, where he met up with us, just to hang out.

Aaron had fallen in love with a dual suspension bike which was $2k, and I was not excited about the idea of him actually purchasing said bike. Austin managed to convince me to try out the bike he bought, since it was priced right, light, and decent enough. I wasn’t looking for anything top of the line, by any means.

So I tried it. It’s a Specialized HRXC – nothing fancy, but rides nice. Sold! Aaron meanwhile was checking out all kinds of different bikes. He did try the Specialized, and it was good, but it was a hard tail, and it didn’t make him swoon. So was it good enough?

See for yourself:

Yes, we bought matching bikes. And we bought the same bike Austin has. Can’t wait to all go riding together!!

I’m pretty sure Aaron will end up trading this one in for a lighter, better, dual suspension model – but hopefully not until next year!

We took them out today to Conway-Robinson. One guy was just leaving when we got there, and he said the trails were good, and not too muddy. We had the place to ourselves after he left.

Some of the trail is wide, enough to go side by side on, but most of it is a narrow single track, in some places squeezed by trees where you had to have pretty good aim or you could get knocked around a bit. There were lots of rocks (now I understand why one model of bike is called a ‘Rockhopper’), and lots of roots and logs blocking the path.

I mostly walked the bike over the logs, just because I wasn’t sure of the clearance and I didn’t want to destroy the bike, or myself, the first time out. I did go over one log at the end, which was pretty exciting.

I think we’ll definitely get back out there next weekend. Hopefully we’ll find some good places to ride during the week, too, so we don’t get bored with Conway.