Josiah’s Mother’s Day surprise! (Click picture to watch video!)

Happy Mother’s Day!

Love Brian, Kristine, Analise, and Josiah

🙂

We packed up my laptop yesterday and sent it off to Dell.  For over a year now, thin vertical lines have been slowly appearing on the screen. Highly annoying.  We just assumed we had been too rough on it and that the screen was going out. Since screens are so expensive to replace, we were disappointed to think we’d probably be better off replacing the entire laptop in the next year or so when the screen finally went out. 

Last month, though, I got a letter from Dell letting us know that our laptop screen had a defect and that Dell was replacing screens for FREE. SWEET!  They sent DHL to pick it up, and we should probably have it back next week.  I’m so excited!  Brian’s happy, too, as this gave us a good excuse to get everything on the computer backed up so he can install Windows Vista when we get it back.  It’ll be like a new computer!  WOOHOO! 

Right now, though, I’m using my (originally Brian’s) old laptop that I used in Nicaragua.  I have such fond memories of this computer… lots of sweet IM conversations with my boyfriend and then fiances, tons of long rambling love letters sent and received, lots of Nicaragua memories chronicled on the old Mercy Ships Nicaragua website.  Honestly, it brings tears to my eyes!  This is a good old computer. 

But.  The power cord is very loose, and it has no battery power left.  So if it even slightly moves, it may power off with no warning.  And the keyboard has some issues.  The spacebar doesn’t seemto beworking wekll.  And I keep getting randome letters insertedinmy typing…  Outlook is not installed, so I’m having to surf the net to get my mail. This is actually a good thing, as I’m a little too mail dependent.  🙂

Quiet Saturday night.  Brian’s at school for some student presentations. Josiah just went to bed, and Analise is snuggled on the floor.  She’s feeling a little sick tonight, so I hope that she’s better before church tomorrow.  She had a busy day at a birthday party and lots of time outside.  I’m alternating between holding her on the couch and looking for a Mother’s Day craft for Sunday School tomorrow. 

Happy Mother’s Day to all my mothers, grandmothers and mother friends!  You are priceless, and God knows you are His hands here on earth. 

Now this is applicable research for a mother: from the New York Times…

Josiah is 11 months old today! Just typing that brought tears to my eyes. I honestly don’t know where the time has gone. For the last month or so, I’ve been remembering last year at this time, being so very pregnant, aching, miserable, anxious to meet our new little boy. Wondering what life would be like with 2, how would I share myself with another child, how would we juggle the needs of two little ones. It’s just crazy how much our lives seem to have changed in a year. It’s a long time, yet it seems like yesterday. A friend of mine said something that resonated with me a while back…

"These toddler days are fleeting. So many people tell us "They grow up too fast." It’s so true. They really do. Some days I feel guilty for "wishing the day away". You know those kind of days…days where you ask "What else can go wrong???" But each day with them is such a gift. I can’t imagine not being a mom. Some days though I do wish I had an identity beyond just being "mom". I feel like I’ve lost a bit of myself but I’ve gained so much too."

That about says it all (thanks, Mandy!).

My little baby boy is turning into quite the handsome little man. It’s amazing how much he’s growing and changing and learning. He’s got a soft head of strawberry blond curls… and a little red-head temper to go with it. He’s very mellow and good-natured most of the time, but when he gets mad, watch out!

He’s cruising all over the place, very nearly walking. In fact, we’ve thought he was going to take a step several times in the kitchen, as I was sitting on the step stool with some food, and he was across the room. When he sees food, he’s highly motivated. He’s so very close to walking, and that’s only come in the last week or so. He’s also started to be quite a little entertainer, shaking his head and belly laughing. When he knows he’s making you laugh, he just loves to keep doing whatever he’s doing.

He’s full of babbling, only a definite "mamamamama" when he’s mad or wants my attention. Analise was like that, too. And "da-da-da-da" is a common word, but at the bike races he’d blurt it out when he saw a bike or Brian, so I think it’s starting to mean something. He’s also starting to say "na-na", and I wonder if that’s for Analise. He gets excited and starts talking when we pick Analise up from school, and of course, she’s very excited to see him. It so sweet.

When he’s on his own, he’s very content to play and explore, relatively safely and out of trouble. But when Analise is around, nothing is as fun as trying to be involved in whatever she’s doing. I’m constantly playing referee these days. He definitely thinks that whatever Analise is doing must just be the most fun.

Analise loves to go in and talk to him when he wakes up from a nap (can you tell that he’s still a little bleary-eyed when the whirlwind of Analise bursts in to see him?). She’s also taken to climbing into his crib to play with him. He likes to stand in his crib without holding on, so sometimes he’ll topple over as she’s bouncing around. Of course, he’ll crack his head and start to get upset, but mostly he’ll realize she’s there and forget to cry. Or he’ll topple over, and Analise will lay on top of him, laughing, and he’ll start laughing. It’s so funny.

Today he snuggled up on my chest before his nap. It was so sweet. I know there are very few of these "baby" moments left with him, and it was just so tender to hold him close to me, like I’ve been doing for 11 months. He rested for a minute before deciding there must be something going on that he needed to see and started squirming. But later tonight, he needed some snuggling to go to sleep, and as he fell asleep in my arms, and I was in no hurry to lay him down. A few more quiet baby moments to enjoy before they’re gone.

Here I am warming up at the Decatur Downtown Criterium while Kristine and Josiah stand nearby.
See more excellent photos in the slideshow here: http://decaturdaily.com/Palmer/bikes_to_web/index.html

Here I am mixing it up with the pros (front right a little blurry with orange glasses).
See more excellent photos in the slideshow here: http://decaturdaily.com/Palmer/bikes_to_web/index.html

This was my second weekend in a row of racing with the pro’s and elite amateurs in fields of 100+ riders. My results weren’t as good as I was hoping for, but it was still exciting racing, and I convinced myself that I could definitely race at this level with the pros. Some more hard racing and training this year and I should be ready for even better results next year! I’ve included my race reports below. We’ve got a few more pictures from our camera that I believe that Kristine is going to post with her take on the weekend in another post.

Sunny King Criterium, Anniston, AL – Saturday, May 5, 2007
Well, it wasn’t the night for me to finish well, but I almost won a $250 prime on the first lap. I attacked on the back side of the course and got a great gap but then came out of my right pedal in Turn 3. I had to coast through the turn with one foot out. I got my foot back in and still had a great gap on the field, but a jittery joe’s rider had bridged up to me. I laid it all out, but he was right on my wheel and came around me at the line for the prime. I got right on his wheel and drafted him around the course.  There was a $100 prime on the third lap and we were still away, but one other guy had bridged up and I ended up getting 2nd on that prime, too. Then I was getting tired but in great position at the front and I started to slide back gradually. Each time I slid back, I was thinking well I’ll just rest for a little bit longer — but pretty soon I was 2/3 of the way to the back of the field. On the backside of the course with the downhill, I was struggling to keep up the pace was between 35 and 37 mph on each lap down the hill and I would have to pedal fast to keep up. Then the pace would be fast up the hill through the start/finish and I just couldn’t find a place to rest on the course so I knew I wasn’t going to be able to make it to the end and got dropped after about 30 minutes. Some good exposure for our sponsors, though, off the front and the announcer said my name once or twice.

Read the press release about the race here: http://www.noblestreetfestival.com/press_releases/pr_05062007.htm

Decatur Downtown Criterium, Decatur, AL – Sunday, May 6, 2007
I had a great starting position in the second row. I was in good position for almost the entire race, and I did have to battle somewhat to stay there. Michael Olheiser and a Successful Living.com rider attacked to sprint for the first prime ($250) and they never looked back. I could see them a couple times at the top of the start/finish stretch when we were turning onto the bottom. I was not going to go for any primes as I was focusing on saving up my energy for the finish.

Once they got away, several of the stronger teams tried to launch riders off the front to bridge up. None of these worked because there were just too many people watching each other. One classic example was Colavita Sutter Home. I was sitting in the top 15, and working to stay there when two Colavita riders came flying by on a corner. There was already one Colavita rider at the front so now there were three Colavita riders total at the front. They drove the pace hard across the top stretch and then sat up in Turn 2 as their front man attacked. The bunch didn’t react immediately but then several other teams tried to send riders, too. Abercrombie and Fitch, Jittery Joe’s, and somebody from the Kelly team attacked hard up the right. I thought this looked dangerous so I attacked, too, up the left. About 10 other guys had the same idea so my “attack” turned into a move required just to stay in great position at the front of the pack as we barreled into the downhill Turn 3 going somewhere between 35 and 40 mph.

This process repeated itself over and over in the race. I felt great because I was always able to get a rest on the back stretch of the course and I was also able to pass people consistently on the outside without a ton of effort. If anybody passed me on the hill or in the corners, I would swing wide on Turn 2 and pass them back on the downhill sheltered from the side-wind. I also attacked to stay at the front whenever the pace would start to slow through the start/finish. I made one small mistake, though, that cost me my great position going into the sprint. I was on the tail-end of the Abercombie & Fitch train sitting on Mark Hekman’s wheel with 10 laps to go when somebody at the front sat up. I thought, wow, this is an awesome position right here behind the current series leader so maybe I’ll get a rest and not attack to stay up front. Big mistake. The entire pack surged on either side of where I was sitting and I lost at least 30 positions maybe closer to 40 or 50 positions. It was crazy. On the wide course, there was room for three or four riders on either side and they just streamed on by going maybe 5mph faster than where I was boxed in. Somehow Mark made his way back to the front and still finished in the top 5 for the race, but I had difficulty finding room to pass very many people. I hung on and was able to move up a few positions to finish 45^th.

Crazy move of the day
The crazy move of the day went to a couple riders and a photographer with five laps to go. The whole pack was attacking trying to jockey for position going into Turn 3 at the bottom of the hill. Clearly, we were going way too fast and there just wasn’t enough room so two riders who knew they weren’t going to make it bunny-hopped the curb going 30+mph into the oncoming traffic lanes. There was a photographer standing on the curb that had to scramble out of the way. I think those riders were able to make it back into the race, but they would have been in terrible position by the time they made it around the barriers.

Fight of the day
The fight of the day came between two riders in front of me, also coming into Turn 3, who started out by bumping into each other to get position for the corner. This didn’t make either of them happy so one guy stuck his arm out and shoved the other one – who didn’t budge since he was already leaning into the other guy. He sticks his arm out and shoves back before people (including me) started yelling at them to quit. I thought for sure one or both of them were going to fall right in front of me.

Read the press release about the race here: http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/sports/070507/race.shtml

Pictures from the Historic Roswell Criterium (4/29/07). This was a great race for me as I finished 29th in the Pro/1 National Racing Calendar race. I finished in front of lots of pros and elite amateurs. Still hoping for a top 20 finish tomorrow and/or Sunday! These photos were all taken by Trish Albert and uploaded to SmugMug. Enjoy the pictures!!!

Here is the best one from the bunch … me leaning hard into Turn #1.

Before the start … look carefully and you can just make out my head amongst the 100+ starters.

Earlier in the race in Turn #1

Different angle leaning into Turn #1

Towards the end of the race, on the start/finish straightaway

Warming up before the race … photo credit: Lindy Dugger.

The race at Athens Twilight last Saturday was crazy-fast. Lindy got lots of great pictures from the race,
including some painful looking ones from the crashes. Check them out here:

http://lindyshoots.wordpress.com/2007/04/30/how-to-shoot-a-twilight-criterium/#more-15

Analise came home from school with a lump on her forehead, which her teacher told me in a note was from falling while she was running in the classroom.  It’s not bruised yet, just a big lump in the middle of her forehead. 

I was talking to Brian on the phone and told him she had a "heck of a lump" on her forehead.  A few minutes later, I asked how her head was, and she said to me, "I have a Heffalump on my forehead!"  (If you don’t know what a Heffalump is, it’s the main character of the Pooh Heffalump movie, which we just watched recently.)  Now she keeps talking about her Heffalump. 

Lovely quiet day here.  My house was in relatively good order because we hosted home church here last night.  Only one waking last night, so I woke in a better mood.  The day always looks better when I’ve not been up/down all night long.  Brian took Analise to school, and Josiah went down for an early nap.  I got a long quiet shower, some time to read my Bible, then I settled down to sew and watch Rachael Ray.  A lovely entire hour of just sitting.  Brian was out running errands and came back in time to have lunch with me, which was a nice treat.  This afternoon has been restful and quiet, too.

Dinner is teriyaki salmon with wild rice and broccoli.  Quick and easy.  I think I’m going to go sew some more!  Yeah – tomorrrow’s Friday!

Hearty beany-veggie soup that you can add any meat to, and it freezes well!

• 1 can minestrone soup
• 1 can beans (kidney or cannellini or whatever you like)
• 1 can mixed veggies
• 1 can beef broth
• 1 can cream-style corn
• 1 can tomato sauce
• (optional) Any kind of meat you might like to add… we used leftover ham, very tasty
• Seasonings as you like – italian, garlic, onion flakes, salt and pepper

Simmer on the stove for 20-30 minutes or dump everything in the slow-cooker on low for a couple hours.  Goes AWESOME with Tastefully Simple Beer Bread – MMMMmm.

Brian warming up before the race.

The title about sums it up:)  Brian proved he can race with the Big Dogs (the pros) this weekend at the Athens Twilight Criterium.  I was so proud of him!  I’d try to describe it, but he summarized it pretty well in an email to his teammates.  (His teammates are mostly category 3-4 riders, so they don’t race in the same races he does.)  Here it is, straight from the man himself on Sunday morning:

Well, is it possible to be pleased and disappointed at the same time??? That’s how I am feeling this morning — well, and pretty sore, too.

First, I accomplished two goals I had for the race … pass as many people as possible to make it to the front — although it took almost 50 laps to get there! The other goal is once I got there I was able to attack and lead the field for half a lap. Strategically, there wasn’t much point it other than to be able to stay near the front. It was hecka cool to be off the front in front of thousands and thousands of screaming people.

When the pack got me I stayed near the front and was in the top 30 when a bad, bad crash happened right in front of me. I had nowhere to go, slammed on the brakes, helplessly plowing into the people on the ground in front of me, landing on my butt, and then watching in horror as two guys plowed into me landing on top of me. I couldn’t move as my legs which had been starting to cramp completely seized and I just lay on the ground trying not to move and getting those muscles to relax. It didn’t matter anyway though as I was on top of one guy and his bike and there was a bike on top of me (I have a nice bicycle part imprint scarred into my shoulder blade). I had two volunteers pull me up because I knew I would cramp up again if I tried to get up on my own. My bike wasn’t so lucky. The handlebars were turned at a 45 degree angle. Both brake levers were turned at weird angles, too. And, the worse part, apparently my rear derailleur cable had gotten caught on someone or somebody’s bike and pulled so hard that it started to strip at the part where the cable is bolted onto the rear derailleur. I made it back to the pit and was able to get everything fixed except for the deraileur. [Because so many riders had been involved, they stopped the race to gather everyone up and restart.]  With no cable tension, the gears wouldn’t shift and so I had to ride the course in my big gear. I was able to make it for two more laps with the field that had been neutralized to let the 50 or so riders involved in the crash back into the race. [The rear pace motorcycle official even reached out and pushed Brian up the hill, revving up to 40mph to help him out!]  But there was just no way for me to make it up the hill on the backside of the course in my that gear. I got pulled with about 12 laps to go.

I am very sore this morning and had a massive hematoma on my buttocks.  There were so many people cheering for me by name all throughout the course.

The bike imprint on his shoulder blade.  Any guesses on what part of the bike this was?
We’ll spare you a picture of the butt hematoma:)

It’s so funny… I’m kind of an animated wife spectator. I yell really loud, and I have a way of getting so excited, and sort of draw all the people around me into cheering for him. So the race on Saturday night was a HUGE deal – like 30,000 (or so they say) people in downtown, around 2 city blocks. Athens is where UGA is, so all the bars had set up beer gardens along the street, and there were tons and tons of excited college students cheering the racers, flying around the course. Honestly, I don’t think they would have cared if it was a roller derby or walkers.  The race was 80 laps – like an hour and a half, at 9pm, so it was a crazy party with cyclists racing around in a circle. Not like anything you have ever experienced. I was pretty excited to see Brian doing so well, and when the people around me dispersed, Brian told me he heard people screaming for him all around the course. It was so fun.

We spent a good part of Sunday trying to get Brian’s bike fixed so he could race that evening.  Besides the cable, the carbon fiber handlebars were broken, which he’d not noticed the day before.  A bright side of the day for me, though, was a leisurely stroll through my favorite grocery store in the world, Trader Joe’s.  YUM… pineapple salsa, dark chocolate covered espresso beans, tomato bruchetta.  We need one in Birmingham!