Classic!

We headed out to Salida this last weekend for the last Colorado race of Kurt's season. I wasn't sure I was going to make it until about two days before, and I'm so glad I did. Got to get in these spontaneous trips while we still can!

Kurt himself almost didn't go. After Laramie and then his bike crash, he was feeling pretty low about racing. He told me, at the time, that he was burned out and considering no more races for the rest of the season (except Lotoja, because for some unknown reason, he enjoys riding 206 miles in one day). On the way home on Sunday, he told me a little more--that he had been seriously considering quitting all together. I think Kurt's done phenomenally this season, considering it's his first true racing season, but he was really discouraged a couple weeks ago. But he also told me, on Sunday, that if it weren't for his awesome team, he definitely would've quit racing after this year. Kurt's had some good races, and some not-so-good races, and if he'd been flying solo for the summer it would've been really hard to take. As it was, he got discouraged, but having an active, supportive team (and he helped get multiple guys on the podium) has made all the difference, and he's ending the year with a bang. Plus, hello! It's his first year. He's learned a lot, and still has a lot to learn, and I'm really proud of everything he's accomplished.

Anyhow! So, we drove up to Salida on Saturday morning and Kurt raced in the crit. He didn't get to warm up as well as he'd like, so he was sluggish at the beginning of the race, but after a while he looked (to me) and said he felt very strong. So warming up is so important! After the race, I walked around downtown Salida with the other team significant others (wives, girlfriends, fiancées). It's a really cute little town back in a desert valley west of the Springs. That night the whole team went to dinner. Then we got up crazy-early on Sunday morning for a short road race. I handed out water bottles with the girls, and it was really fun. Of course, the forecast had called for rainy and 70s all weekend, and it ended up being sunny and warm, so I was sweaty and gross-feeling almost the whole time. But whatever! After the race, we met in Buena Vista for lunch, then Kurt and I came home.

I didn't get an pics at the crit, as I was struggling to breathe at the time. For some reason, my asthma was really bad on Saturday. Go fig.

Kurt's team's the cluster of red and black kits (uniforms) at the front right. Kurt's the farther right, with the black helmet, red sunglasses, and red bike. This is lining up for the road race.

 Kurt had to lead the pack for a while to give his teammates a break, which is really exhausting. So he got dropped after a few laps. Here he is, heading into the feed zone on the last lap. On the lap before, I'd called out his name, and this time, some high school boys who were volunteering to hand out water bottles had remembered his name, and called it out. Funny kids.

 Primal Cat 4s after the race.

Sadly, most of these guys will more up to Cat 3 next summer, but a big reason the Cat 4 team is so strong is because of good leadership (and one of the leaders will be a 4 next year too). 

Now Kurt's got his eye on the big one: the Lotoja! 

Belly Shot!

When I hear "belly shot," I think of someone punching another person in the gut.

Because I'm weird like that.

Anyhow, I've been getting requests for a picture of my expanding body, so on Sunday I decided to make everyone happy. And, funny enough, Sunday was exactly 3 months before my due date.

(And our crib arrived on Friday! I can't wait to put it together!)

I'm not the type of girl who says, "I can't wait to snuggle my little baby!" I think it's weird when people describe babies as 'yummy.' I rarely ask to hold other people's infants. Usually only if they belong to a close friend or relative, and sometimes not even then.

So it hit me as kind of a shock when I realized how excited I am for our little guy to be here. I'm so excited to see if he has my nose (like I suspect, due to the ultra sound). I can't wait to learn his personality; I hope he'll be a rambunctious little boy like his dad was, but still love reading like I do. And--I'll say it--I'm excited to hold him.

So while the next three months don't need to fly by--because we still have so much to do--I'm looking forward to their passing, and to moving on from pregnancy and into parenthood.

July Goals

1. Make Progress on Operation: Babyfy the House:
     -Completely Clear Out the Nursery
     -Which Means Finding New, Permanent Homes for All that Junk
     -Order the Crib
     -Have Paint Color Picked Out
2. Finish My Novel -- FOR REALS THIS TIME!
3. Complete All Value Experiences (or whatever they're called) for Individual Worth--I'm in Young Women's and want to get my YW Award, so I have a goal to do a value each month. I'll work on it on Sundays.

I'm keeping it light this month I''ll be traveling quite a bit, and I don't want to put too much on my plate. Because, historically, my eyes have always been bigger than stomach in that regard.

May/June Goals Recap

-Finish my WIP. I know, same song, same verse even. But did you know it's just as hard to write a novel while nauseous as it is to clean the kitchen? True story. Fail. Yet again. Oh well.
-Write a short story after I finish the novel (the novel should be done in about two weeks, so that gives me plenty of time for a short story) Technically a fail, but I deliberately decided not to write this short story, so we'll say it's a pass.
-Do research for next book. Make tentative outline. (I'm a semi-outliner.) -- This is optional. We'll see how fast I get the short story done. Another pass ... since it was optional.
-Accomplish these house projects: kitchen curtains, guest room curtains, paint and upholster kitchen stools, make trash/recycling can cabinet-thing, make our headboard, rearrange our bedroom. Success! I didn't complete the kitchen curtains or the cabinet, but only because the other projects took longer than expected (don't they always?). 
-Work out 4-6 days a week (don't worry, two days a week will be prenatal yoga and walking--not exactly strenuous exercise) Success! Some weeks it was only 3 days, but those were literally the only days I was able to work out, so I still count that as a success.
-Maintain a clean home. Because right now it's clean! And I want it to stay that way. Because maintenance is easier than letting it all go to pot, then trying to clean it all. Success! And I'm kinda addicted to keeping my house clean. Sometimes it gets a little messy (not dirty, just messy), but I never wait more than a day before straightening things up. It's been so easy to maintain my clean home, about thirty minutes a day for whatever needs to be done (kitchen, laundry, bathroom, etc.). I need to remember this in the future, because a few minutes a day is way better than hours once a week.