Merry Christmas and many blessings!

I am taking the next two weeks off of writing and spending time with number one,  myself and all the people who mean the world to me, family and friends.

I am happy to say good bye to 2012 for many reasons, but at the same time happy to have the experiences I have traveled.

I wish all my readers much love, joy and peace! You all deserve the best this world has to give each one of you!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY 2013!!!

And a song to finish off the year!

Make it happen!

A night with my wonderful girlfriends always help spark good conversations for my blogs, so as we gathered to share our weekly events, work, dates and activities for the weekend, we once again opened pandora’s box of the dating world. My girlfriends asked me how dating was working out for me, I chuckled a bit and said, I have raised my white flag, surrender to the dating Gods and chosen to put my energy into other areas of my life (like racing my mountain bike). But, with great discussions comes great blogs. And here we find another blog on dating.

Make it happen is my new motto for men and dating. A simple request one may think, but not as simple as I am learning.

After spending a Friday evening having dinner and drinks with some girlfriends, we shared and compared more of our dating stories. My last meeting with a guy was a bike ride, lunch and then drinks a few nights later, after that, nothing, but long text messages of which I hate! I don’t want to talk to you through text message but rather, in person or on the phone. The phone WTH is that one may ask? Well, this amazing device, where you can hear tones, and get this, voices, you actually can hear someone’s voice. But, back to dinner and drinks with my girlfriends. After listening to my single girlfriends, it was simple, what our requests were. MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Just like anything else in life, it is or is not, right? Let’s break this down, for my active (sports) people, you’re either riding a bike or not? You’re either racing or not? It’s not like "hey look at me, I’m kinda riding my bike". Running, you’re either running or not running, okay maybe a run/walk, but whatever you are doing, you’re doing it or not right? I guess in many ways one can argue the actual facts of this, but that is not my goal of this blog. My goal is, to make it happen. Damn straight, I don’t do things half-fast, I’m all in or nothing, baby I’m in.

As much as I have a strong drive for life and love, I get you can’t rush love, you have to let it happen, it will happen when you least expect it and so on. I think I’ve heard this more than I ever recited the pledge of the allegiance in school. When sharing our stories, the topic of texting came up. Why text a woman the night of and ask her what her plans are that evening? I mean come on yes, we are adventurous and spontaneous but, really? Seriously, if you want to hang out, go to dinner, bike ride, drinks, MAKE IT HAPPEN! The part of us waiting around for you is likely not going to happen, we are busy women, in a busy world, we have lives and believe me, I’m not sitting on the couch waiting for your call, more than likely I am making plans with friends or wait maybe with another guy that wants my attention, like my BIKE!

I asked a good guy friend of mine on Sunday his thoughts on the situation, he is also single, being doing the dating thing, so maybe his perspective is not dead on, but what I did find interesting is what he said about texting and remember this came from a guy. Texting is non-committal, passive is exactly what he said. YUP, I think he was right. It’s an passive-aggressive behavior and I have seen this way too much recently. Have men lost their spontaneity, their drive to be make it work? Let me tell you, relationships take work, regardless if that is professional or personal. If you want someone’s attention than tell them, show them, JUST DO SOMETHING! Yes, you risk the chance of rejection, I get it, I mean ,I really get it MEN. I have been rejected more this year, than I can count in my entire adult life, but, I never would have been given those fine moments and opportunities if I didn’t act upon it. Love is a risk for all, and without risk life is not worth living in my opinion. Life is feeling, being and enduring what may be painful, but was so worth the pain and risk.

Technology has become the great communicator for relationships this day. But, it’s a sad world that we live in when a person uses text messages to express their true feelings, desires and needs. As I recall, we are still living creatures that yearn for more than a cold device to keep us company in the evenings. Hell, if you don’t think so, look around, do you have a dog, cat, bird, snake or fish? If you answered yes, then I have made my point. If you don’t have an animal, I’m sure there is good reason for it.  Regardless, if one wants to admit it to themselves, we all want love and we all want that moment of feeling needed and admired. We do this for our animals, I ask why we don’t do this for each other?

Where does this leave girls like my friends and myself? Well, If I leave it up to Google, I may find an answer, but then I’m not sure I have the time to read 3 million results on “making dating work” For me I have risen my white flag and surrender to the dating world. I’m going with the saying. “If you love something let it go free. If it doesn’t come back, you never had it. If it does come back, love it forever.”

I will entertain myself in other areas in my life, career, biking, friendships with family and friends, and maybe one day I’ll wake up pleasantly surprised. I

What I can say is I’m so happy to have lifted the weight of all this dating off of my shoulders, I can now look back and laugh, chuckle a bit, how silly it was for me to put all my attention into this area of my life. Such a freeing moment  that I have experienced this last week, when I said okay, let it be and all is good. It’s like that moment of relief when you are on you bike racing and you know you are being chased, you look back and you see the other racers, so you keep pedaling as fast as you can, you take one more look back, hoping that no one is behind you and HOLY COW, you are free, you’re alone and its all you to the finish line!

This is my last blog on dating, I have a strong sense my life is going to turn much busier, all for the better and I’ll look back on this one day and read it, and smile.

A song of COURSE! It's Friday and we are dancing/riding/running! MUCH LOVE TO ALL MY READERS

Cheers to a new life!

Wednesday, December 5th my beautiful sister, gave birth to her 3rd child. A gift that was unexpected, but definitely welcome and one for our family to rejoice about. I’d like to introduce the world to my nephew Jacob William Preussner.  He was 7lbs and 20 inches long.

This week’s blog is in honor of my wonderful sister and her new-born child. I am very grateful to be part of something so beautiful and to be a part my sister’s life! I look forward to sharing many memories with her family and their newest addition.

Have a fabulous weekend and let it SNOW!!!

I've paid my dues!

How come every time the holidays come upon us, we start to feel like we’re playing catch up? At first it was Monday and now it’s Thursday. I’m definitely not complaining, cause Friday is finally here. But, when I started to think as to what I was going to write about this week, nothing was striking or interesting to me or came to me that seemed worthy of writing about.

This is a work in progress for me, this blog and all, so I came to terms long ago that I might not have anything to write. I didn’t have anything for this week, until I remember the highlight in my week, it was with my meeting with Leianne. My focus is on my career right now and we discussed this part of my life. In so many ways, my life has changed, awakened and taken shape. I have a gift, a gift that I learned about this week. I guess when you have a gift, but don’t know how to utilize that gift, you forget what it is you have to give.

Here is what I learned about me: I want to be part of something bigger than myself and my life. When people focus on coming together for a common cause, or giving aid to another, it feeds the desires deep within to be connected to more than just our own lives. You experience your own value when you give yourself and contribute to another the most valuable thing you have to give; you. When you add your value to someone or something you breed positive feelings and energy. Focus on who, what and how you may contribute to the greater good. Doing so will help open up ways in which your wish may manifest!

Yes, this is that gift in life that tugs on my heart daily. I wish I can say I have figured it all out, I haven’t gotten to that point yet, soon though soon.  

I’ve decided to keep this weeks blog short again, and unless something substantial happens, I have a feeling the remainder of this year blogs will be short. In other words, I’m closing out this ever-changing year of 2012 and keeping the eyes on the prize for 2013!

Have a beautiful weekend and enjoy this song, from my family in different places, they know who they are.

Hell this band has some great tunes! If you haven’t downloaded their stuff. DO SO NOW!  

BONUS 

Mother's, turkey's and riding

I swore to myself that I would keep this week’s writing down to the bare minimum due to the holiday. So, as I try to hold true to myself  and my agreement, I must touch on 3 topics that ring true to my heart.  

I start with my mother, a woman that has experienced life so much differently than most mothers out there. (the mothers whom I call All American Mothers). My mother is a Harley Davidson Badass Diva. She traded in pantyhoses and dresses, for blue jeans, leather, tattoos and bikes. Yes, a wild child of sorts, but a person who has overcome many hurdles in her life to make her what she is today. She is a very modest person who doesn’t require fancy cars, homes or expensive belongings. She doesn’t judge, she always says hi, and well, she took awesome care of Frosty, when I was out playing. MY MOTHER who with the hardships that she experienced in her life, was blessed to have 6 beautiful children, 3 of which are playing in the afterlife. Life for her has been challenge, but with many blessings of which I am glad to say at the end of the day, that she is my mother.

I remember being a little girl and my mom always made our birthday cakes from scratch. I would always look forward to getting my birthday cake. My name written on the frosting and she always put little decorations on the frostings like flowers or anything girly. Another fond memory I have of my mother is her making my outfits for figure skating and we always had a homemade meal for dinner. Mother I still hate tuna fish casserole, just wanted to make sure you remembered :)

Our mother never once tried to control or rule our lives. She has stood by us through every decision we have made with open arms. She never told me, well not until afterwards, that she didn’t like the guy I was dating. Let’s just say, she never meddles into my business. She has been at the finish line when I ran my first half-marathon, finished a 100 mile road ride, and was there for me when I was competing for competitions as a skater. She never made you feel bad for a dumb mistake and believe me, we have made some dumb mistakes, instead she stood there and said, I love you and I am hear to listen to you.  Regardless, wherever or whenever, she did what she could to be there for her children.

I am thankful for for my mother who has been there for me and made me into the women I am today. I learned to be a strong women, to push ahead no matter what challenges I may face.  I remembered this lesson at this time in my life, when on Thanksgiving I will be working and my mother will be cooking dinner for her children and waiting for them all to come home to spend this day of thanks with her.

Which brings me to turkey’s, some of us will be relaxing, enjoying laughter, food, friends and family on this day and weekend of thanks. We all join around the table to feast on the bird, the symbol of American Thanksgiving. Even if you choose something besides turkey, this day brings family and friends together to share our gratitude with one another.

I wish everyone a special day of joy with those who you are close with and love. We must remember the time we share with the people in our lives is short and priceless. My moment of priceless of course is with my family, but no Thanksgiving day or weekend would be complete without a few days of riding!

Yes, I am ever so grateful to be able to get on my mountain bike this weekend and with a blissful smile on my face for being able to ride and enjoy the most wonderful place on earth!

Since the holidays are here, I want to share with you all an favorite clip from a movie I enjoy. It’s quite silly, but it always makes me laugh, especially this time of the year.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving  day and weekend, and happy trails to you all. No Thanksgiving would be complete without a song! There is no rhyme to reason for this song. Just a song that I have been listening to a lot this week! No video just music. Enjoy!

Wait.......give it a second........turn it up! LOTS OF BASS!

Riding the dating trails-Part 2

Disclaimer: The video's I attached are for entertainment value only!

If you put into a search engine like Google, Yahoo or Safari, pretty much any search engine on dating and relationships, I will guarantee you will find about 167,000,000, results if not more. That is a lot of dating advice and can make my head spin if I actually started clicking on those links.

If I leave it up to the numbers, I’d better get working on more dates. I'm a pretty driven person and die-hard optimist, so I choose to stay on the positive side, and like to believe there is a silver-lining to all of this mumbo, dating, jumbo of mine.  


Date 5.
This was another online meeting. After our series of dates, and remembering his online profile, I was struck by the mannerism of what he wrote. I think he should have written his header as: I might have time to date, BUT only if my schedule allows.

I gave date 5 a green light which evolved into 4 dates total. We went from green light, to yellow light to that damn red light very quickly. So on with the dates I go.

Another glimpse into my small world,  date 5 and I shared some mutual friends, and of course we shared the same interest with one another.

First meeting was dinner/drinks, the evening was great and we both had a fun time. There was chemistry between us and we were able to carry on good conversation with each other. The date was so good, I even went against my first date rule, which is no kissing on the first date. DANG IT!

We stayed in contact for the next couple of days,  while he was preparing for a race weekend and I had plans to spend some time with a girlfriend. Now, for those who know me, I am very kind, accommodating, and always willing to go the extra mile. So, when the opportunity arise, I offered to bring dinner to him after he completed a race he was doing that day. This was technically our second date, I made soup and brought it over to him, after eating dinner, we hung out for the rest of the evening. We already made plans to see each other the next day, as I was to accompany him to his next race.

When I think about it, we had only few hours to really be with each other before the day was consumed with race and hundreds of people around us. I’m fine with this, I’ve done my fair share of races and know what it takes to get prepared for one. We parted ways that evening, but no real plans as to when we would catch up again.

The dynamics of date 5 was different than any man I had ever dated before, he had previously been married and had 3 children. For me to consider dating someone with children, well it was definitely a new experience for me, but something I considered giving a try. As quick as the sparks flew, was as quick as the sparks died. This guy is great I am sure of it, he has  a lot to offer some great girl out there, but let’s be honest here, how can you date a person when the attitude is “I’ll see you when I see you”, I mean really, I rather the guy just say, “hey, I’m just not that into you”. I can deal with honesty, but wishy washy, I have zero tolerance for this and I find it quite shocking for someone who is raising children, to not really know what he wants. Now, I will go as far a saying, there wasn’t a connection or he has other agendas?  But, like I said before, honestly goes a far distance with me and especially at the fine age of 38. Yes, I have considered that maybe he did know what he wanted, but it became clear, that my wants and needs were different from his and vice-versa.  

After our last meeting/date, hell whatever you want to call it, we agreed being friends was probably better route, I mean, I guess I was asking for too much when it came to simple communication. Once again, my sister had to ask me if I read the book “He just not that into you”, I laughed when she asked me this, yes, I have read it, highlighted it, slept with it, stomped on it, ran it over with my bike tires. Yep, I get it. I’m a smart girl and I don’t need reasons from a  guy to validate why or why not he may like me. It’s simple, yes or no. Once again, bright red light makes its appearance.

Date 6, ahh yes another online meeting.
So Date 6, There is not much to say about date 6, met for drinks, he seemed very nice, but I wasn’t engaged, he felt more like another guy who could be a good friend. But,  maybe it was my “I could really careless attitude at this point”, well probably is more like it, and so red light, yellow light, green light??? It was time to take a break from all this dating.

At this fine point of dating,  I was ready to turn my vodka and chaka khan on. 

Sadly, I couldn't find the entire video clip from this movie, but most definitely funny

Reset, review and focus.

I wished I could say that I have great dating advice for the single people out there looking, but I don’t really have anything impressive to offer you or at least something that most of us haven’t already heard of. If I have one key of advice to give on the aspect of dating , it is remember to have fun, be you and love each moment with the people whom’s paths you cross. You never know when you or them will leave a footprint on the world you walk.

Watch clip----------->

Yes, I remind myself that fun, laughter, and just being yourself is what dating should be all about.

As I come to a close on my blogs of dating, I can’t ignore the silver-lining in all of this. For me after writing and reading about my own experiences, I realized the one date I thoroughly enjoyed, the one person where I felt I could be myself completely, was all the way back to date 1. Realizing the person whom I longed for, the person who knows me and all parts of me, the person that brought me two corn on the cobs on his last visit, the person that woke up early on a Sunday morning to tell me to have fun at my first cyclo-cross race and was looking forward to my call to hear about it, the person that always has a smile on his face when he calls, the person that listened to me cry when Frosty died, the person who always makes sure my world is going good......that person being, oh yes, DATE 1.

Yes, he knows now, I have told him, 4 months of building a friendship has been the ultimate gift any one person could ask for. I’m not sure if he will have me, or even if he wants me, or what direction this journey will take me. But, I will be happy regardless. He has truly been the most wonderful, caring, genuine and supportive person I have ever met. His friendship has left an footprint on my life, AND one that will not be forgotten.  

This song is to you KCB (Oh yes, I used KCB). Thank you, my deepest gratitude to you!

Riding the dating trails-Part 1

Every week I try to write about the most important aspects of my life, in many ways it is my way of giving back to people. So, when picking a topic becomes a challenge, you have to open up your mind in order to pick something interesting.

This week’s topic, seemed fitting when I was talking with two good friends online about my dating life. One of those friends said to me, “you should write about it in detail, for your blog”. AHHH YES! PERFECT! This is going to be fun. I pinged all my girlfriends on their dating rules and experiences to keep the ideas flowing. I have to say, I’m  a pretty lucky lady, I have the most beautiful girlfriends any girl could ask for. Some of us single, married, currently involved in a relationship. I knew once I got them to send me their thoughts and experiences, that this would be nothing but GREAT!

Dating, Ahhh or Ugh, or dating sucks, or whatever emotion you may have associated to the term “DATING” you do indeed have one. Good, bad, funny, or the one that leaves you with, WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED feeling, we all have been there at one point in our lives. For the single ladies, we all have read the book “He is not that into you”, by Greg Behrendt (AND), Liz Tuccillo, I own this book, yep, its a good reminder to self. A refresher course. For the guys, there is the book Date Like a Man, by Myreah Moore, Jodie Gould. Can’t say I have read this one yet.

So, before you start to read, grab a drink, water, wine, beer, coffee, tea, and  maybe some popcorn, or a chocolate Honey Stinger waffle, because what you are about to read will absolutely need one of all of the above. Yes, I will say it, yes, you will look over and ask, “Did, she really say that? And my answer to you all is HELLZ YEAH I DID!

If you are a repeat visitor to my blog, then you know I touched on the topic of dating a few blogs ago. I mentioned online dating and the dilemma I went through to determine if that was the best route for me. Well, I haven’t reached the finished line yet, not sure when that may come, but yes, to answer everyone’s question, I threw myself back into the world of online dating. This is my story, my story of each person who I have dated in the last 4 months, well technically 5 months.

Do you have your beer, wine, water, soda, coffee or tea?

Here we go!

This is the newest Sex in the City, but in the mountains of Colorado, where pot is now legal and one more hurdle for the single women to overcome.

Now, my world is a small community, a community of avid cyclists, mountain bikers, skiers, snowboarders, runners, well you get the idea. Small, but we all share the same passion for life. Activity, fitness, health, pushing ourselves to be better, stronger! Which now brings me to dating as an active women in Colorado. Now, to respect all the male parties out there, I will not use their names, instead, I will attach them with colors. RED, YELLOW and GREEN. You’ll see why later.

We have spirit, yes we do, and that spirit is MATCH.COM or FITNESS-SINGLES.COM, yep I am a member, I’ve done it, explored it and experienced it!

May I bring you back to July of 2012. I was on an self high at this time, coming out of a relationship a few months back, I was finally back onto the track of feeling good and being happy. My happiness consist of weekend trips with close friends, pedaling our bikes into whatever terrain we could find or for me exploring new big adventures. In all sense, I was in me LA-LA Land, for some maybe self-absorb, which is fair, I’ll go along with that, but really focusing on myself and my world.

After returning from a bike trip in Salida, Colorado, of which I decided to demo a 29er bike, I had made a trip back to a local bike shop in Golden to return that bike. Now, remember, I could careless about men at this point, I was thinking, bike, bike and bike. So, as I’m in the shop, getting another demo bike to try out, there is this guy, standing right next to me, YEAH I didn’t even notice until he actually spoke to me. So, what do you ride now, he currently ask. I ride a BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, I say, still, in LA LA Land, we start talking, I’m doing my thing, and gather the bike up and back to work I go. Not for one moment, did I think, the guy in the store was checking me out or interested in me. NOPE, I was singing along in LA LA LAND. Sing with me.....LA LA LA....

I’m outside putting the bike on my car, when I am approached by said guy, we joke about this now, but I swear, he said my name, he said he didn’t. It doesn’t matter, he caught my attention, he asked if he could join me for a ride, I said yes, a local group is riding tomorrow as a matter of fact, come at this time, it will be great! We exchanged some other conversation, but in all essence, this was me being who I am, friendly and inviting to any other mountain biker.

Date 1 begins....I give date 1 a green light. Date 1, never made it to the mountain bike ride, but, we did go on a date that week. We seem to have great dialogue up until the date and definitely during the date, my small world became even smaller, when we found out that we had mutual friends. We rode together that week (yep, he wore a kit, so I was totally checking him out), had dinner, beers and yes I was excited. There was potential in this one. The downside, he lives 600 miles away, see he was only visiting and was headed back home that weekend. ARG!

We have remained friends, we have spoken for hours on the phone, text messages, emails, he has become a dear friend, I can honestly say, he knows everything about me, the good, bad, pretty, ugly and still thinks I’m pretty damn amazing. He is a great kisser, attractive, OKAY VERY NICE BODY, super active, actually races (which, I have a thing for), has a peanut allergy, but I can let that slide, just remember don’t try to kill date later on when making him a meal.  He is kind, humble, genuine, funny (HE ALWAYS MAKES ME LAUGH) and pretty freakin amazing in my book. But, being adults we respect the situation and the distance between us and will remain friends at this point. So, remember green light!

Date 2, this was another random chance encounter, I happened to have gone out with a girlfriend for drinks. Now, in my very logical mind, I know the chances of meeting Mr. Right at a bar are slim, and hell I am there to hang with my girlfriend or friends so having any set idea on meeting someone, well, lets say I am realistic. I had to use the restroom and once I came back, there were two men sitting at our table with my friend. No, biggie, the place was getting full. I sit down and my friend introduces the two guys to me like they had been friends forever. I say my hello’s and the conversations start to flow. The guy next to me, seemed interesting, he was smart, owned his own business in Colorado, fit, just finished a triathlon, great we have something to talk about. We were sharing pictures from our phones of all the adventures we had experience and of course my famous feet pictures of me at a beautiful lake. Well, it just happens to be that he owns a foot shoe company in Colorado, yes, he asked if I would send him a picture of my feet. RED FLAG? Maybe?

The night was getting late and girlfriend and I parted our ways with the two gentleman. Yes, he had my number. Which brings me to date 2.

He asked me if I would like to do a late dinner, a couple of days later. I said yes. We had dinner, conversation was fair, I say fair, because it was quite apparent that he was scaling me up/down for wife material. The questions were endless, but not questions about me, but questions about, if you had to choose between a Canadian, French or American man, who would you choose and why? STRANGE I SAY. STRANGE. Towards the end of the date, he challenged me to name a the song that was playing, now I know my music, but of course, the song, a SONG, by the way that I never heard of was playing. It was from the 70’s, so you would think I would know, but sadly I didn’t. So, he said, you have to make me dinner, if you can’t name this song, DEAL, and if I do know it, than you have to make me dinner. COOL. I loss, no biggie, you’ll get your dinner. He drove me home and the end of the date was quite awkward to say the least. So, we parted ways.

I heard from date 2,  two days later, through a text message. He joked with me that I needed to brush up on my musical trivia. I said he got lucky, than this is when it all turned for the worse. He went on to tell me where luck lies and blah, blah, blah. I figured out that date 2, was a RED LIGHT! We were only going to kill each other at the end, he wasn’t respectful, but challenging. ARROGANT was what I believe I called him. Yes, I called him ARROGANT. If you like me, you don’t have to one-up me, especially, when I have only known you for 4 days! Now, I understand he thought he was being cute, and funny, but when I asked him, “You think you’re cute, don’t you?” He said, well yes, I did make myself laugh”. Okay fair enough, but it was the next string of text messages, where the red light starting blazing for me. I asked him, “you’re not one of those arrogant types are you”?  Ballsy for me, okay, yes, but I wasn’t getting a good vibe, so my inner devil sensor went on. His reply deserved no response back from me. He said, “if you are looking for a mild, meek guy, I can forward their information onto you, I know plenty of those guys!” GOOD-BYE RED LIGHT! You obviously missed the class of being just plain respectful!

Date 3. RED LIGHT
Date 3 was my first date from the online dating pool. We met at a local brewery, right way, I thought, is it this place or does he smell like alcohol? Maybe he had a beer, before I arrived? Hmm, let’s go on with the date, date 3 was different, there was no attraction or chemistry if you will, but common interest, so I am all willing to give this a shot, remember, I have nothing to lose and attraction can build later. Drink two arrived and by this time once again, oh you know my good friend so and so, oh you dated a mutual friend of ours?   It’s common in our world, so no biggie. What was the deal breaker for me? I am no expert on alcoholism but, there was an issue, my gut was saying no, no, no. RED LIGHT, RED LIGHT. It was a work night and hell, two beers and I’m ready for bed, he wanted to carry on with more drinks. I kindly told him, I need to head home and he walked me to my car.

Come to find out, yes another girlfriend had went on a few dates with him. It seemed to be okay for him to have a bottle by his side first thing in the morning. I thought we were weaned off of our bottles at the age of 2? He contacted me after our first date, but I was still running to the hills and yep, I’m still running! RED LIGHT IS STILL ON! Do you see it flashing on Lookout mountain? Yep, that’s me.

Date 4.
Date 4, another online date, we met at a local restaurant. This guy was tall, thin, good looking, smart, active and seemed to be quite normal. We sat and had dinner/drinks and the conversation was good. He walked me to my car, good props there. 

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this particular guy, so we proceeded with date 2. Hey, that is a good start right? We met again, dinner/drinks, we were talking and he was going on about a ski condo that he has over the winter and how he really didn’t care for one of the guys staying there. I’m listening to him talk about this situation, how this fellow housemate came in one night, while my date was watching tv. The housemate changed the channel and my date didn’t think that was very funny. I don’t blame him, its rude, so I am still listening to the conversation, but at one point during the conversation, I see myself in that movie “THE BREAKUP” yes, with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston, I’ve inserted the part of the movie where I could see myself saying this to my date down the road. ------> watch clip 

Now, I get it was just one conversation, but also during our evening discussions, he proceeded to tell me that he didn't think anything was wrong with him. Ah come on dude, everybody has some kind of quirk about themselves. I have many, and I'm cool with my quirks and flaws. My gut, was starting to call me Jennifer for some reason, was this the RED LIGHT?
He walked me to the car again that night, I could tell he wanted to swing in for a good-night kiss, but all I keep playing in my head, was that clip from the movie. RED LIGHT, RED LIGHT, RED LIGHT. I’m starting to not like you RED LIGHT! Go away RED LIGHT!

Now, this blog has become so long, that I find it necessary to break it up into parts. I will share more of my dates, but those will come next week.  Before I end for the week, I do want to share with you some dating rules, these are not my rules, but a collaboration of rules from some of the most amazing women I know in Colorado, athletes, moms-to-be, women who I respect on so many different levels and some of the fastest chics I know on bikes.

This is a teaser, more to come.

From the active women of Colorado: Dating Tips

1. Observe how your date treats the wait staff, or the hot chick who is sitting behind you. It’s usually a pretty good sign on how he will treat you.

2. If you go on a first date and there is no chemistry, don't rule the guy out. Sometimes chemistry builds.

3. Watch how a man treats his mother.  I guarantee that is how you will be treated some day.

4. The best thing about online dating is that the goods are ever-changing! But, be ready for some work too.

5. Go out and love doing what you love....it's an attractive energy that's hard to resist.

6. Be brave enough to be vulnerable.

7. Living in Colorado brings many competitive women, being cool with her beating you at something well, he just might be a keeper.

8. The 3 "c's" of a successful relationship: Communication, Courtesy and Common Sense. Words to live by.

I do have more to share, and honestly this has been fun, because really that is what dating should be....... is fun!

Look for part 2 new week.

I close with my weekly song. This song is described by Canadian writer Sean Michaels as  "The electric heartbeat, the synth sizzle, the trilling bloom of the steel drums: It's like the weird & technicolour conversation between two hearts."

Go Girl Go!

When thinking about a topic of writing this week, I must say it has been a bit of a struggle. Life changes has been a going on for me and time has been filled with planning and well, trying to squeeze in a cyclo-cross race for the first time ever. So, I have decided that this is my topic of conversation for this week.

I had an opportunity to watch a cyclo-cross race a few weeks ago. I watched in ahh as these racers flew by in circles through obstacles, running up stairs all a while jumping off and on their bikes. I’m a seasoned mountain biker, but this was definitely something I haven’t experienced before.

The pumping of your blood,  of which brings, the taste of  pure adrenaline to your tongue, is what carried me through this race. No, I wasn’t fast in the world of racing with these elite riders, but I was April fast (yes, still figuring out what that means), I felt every muscle ache while trying to remember that I needed to pick up my bike as I ran up two stairways and sand. And did somebody tell me this would only last 40 minutes? Okay, yes, 40 minutes of grueling, in the throat, excitement was long enough for me. Did I enjoy it? YES, definitely YES! Will I do it again? Yes, but for the next few weekends I will be taking on a new endeavor. So, I will be looking forward to that start-up line again......

Until then I continually find ways to be humbled by life.

I thought it was fitting to share this video so those of you who wonder what cyclocross is, this is the course I raced. These girls ROCK!

Pie, my humble pie

I think its safe to say that for most of us, in some way or another, have been forced to reflect back at a situation or a period in life that we would say, yes, this experience showed me humility.

It could be a failed relationship, marriage, situation at work, situation with ourselves, lost or defeat of a sport we do, family or friends. Whatever it may have been, we might have been forced into that state of humility. For me that moment in my life has risen. I’ve prided myself on my career and reaching high goals. I have accomplished those goals and many others. But, it can all change quickly, very quickly.

The one area in my life that I thought I was great at, the one area I that I can honesty say, I put  the most pride in......changed. It changed and I was faced looking at myself, my life through different eyes.

We are often told when something or some kind of hardship happens, that something good will come out of that experience. Yes, I do believe something great will come out of this change of events. But, until that change takes place, I am faced with a new face and that is humility!

Eating a piece of my humble pie, puts life in a different perspective. I think I have literally flush my body of self’s own importance. Oh don’t get me wrong, I’m a rock star in many ways, but there is a clear definitive way of being humble. I found this quote of which I must share. It is a great reminder to myself, right now, in the moment.

“A great man is always willing to be little.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

I may not like the changes of which I have been forced to make or I may very well like them. But, the quietness of my heart over the past few days is that perfect humility that I may have seeked for so many years.

And this my friends, is where I am at. I will eat another piece of that humble pie on Sunday, after some excitement of a dear friend whom has encouraged me to race cyclo-cross I will take a leap of faith and throw myself to the wolves, I mean cyclists. These are some fast people, experienced and determined, I am honored to be sharing the dirt, grass, sand, or whatever elements being thrown at me are.

So, my weekly song is a song I haven’t heard for a long time. A song that reminds me to keeping moving along!

Much love and peace to you all!

The Unknown

Sorry for no post last week. No sleep and countless hours of scrambling around to figure out what my next move was going to be, well let’s say, it didn’t allow much time for writing.

So, before I begin I share this quote a dear friend sent me, funny thing is I didn’t get the chance to read it right away and when I did, it was like it was waiting there for me to open it up.

I did post this on my Facebook page, but if we are not friends, then you get to enjoy this quote with me now

You cannot unknow what you know. You cannot unsee what you have seen. You cannot turn back and erase the moments, no matter how painful they may have been. You cannot erase the first times or the second chances to re-experience them. You cannot get back your time or your younger years. And once you've been to the edge
of things and stood there at the end of the cliff and peered down, you cannot just go back to living the way you were. You are changed. You have seen. You have known. And all you can do is be, be right here, be right now, in this moment, to see more, to know more, to stop pretending we are something we are not. To stop hiding who we are and what we want in this life. Because that cliff will eventually come for all of us, and when it does, I will not close my eyes as I stand at the edge with the wind against my back. I want to feel every last gust of air, I want to see every last color of the sky, I want to know what it truly means to live even as I fall into the ocean.

I will fall with my eyes open and with my arms spread wide, just so I can feel every last drop of this life on my way down. And just maybe, maybe right before I hit the water, I will instead catch the air...


It was a good reminder to me after the events that took place for me this last week. Those of you that are close to me know the challenging events that took place and all I can say in regards to that specific event is.........................THE TIME IS NOW!

I will share more later, I promise, but this is a time where the situation is sensitive and something I need to keep on the down low. I  do know that the outcome will be substantial, along with great! One may ask me HOW, how is it that I’m so certain of the outcome without reaching it yet. Easy, I just know, I know that in this moment and soon, I will be looking back and smiling to myself that I am so happy to be where I am and what it took to get there.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend and much love to all who read my blog. Thank you!

And yes, can’t finish the week off without a great song! Also, this amazing women, who was hit with a major blow to her cycling profession, gave me a reason to ride my bike, I continue to be inspired by the likes of her! I remember this song being on her "myspace" page, yes before Facebook got big!

http://www.tarallanesclassic.org/about-tara/

Quiet Time

I can fully say that the quiet time I have had with myself this week has been absolutely wonderful! After spending a weekend with myself other than a short hike with a friend on Saturday, I believe I have reached that moment of gratitude of being by myself.

So simple I know, but something that has taken me years of finding peace and happiness with. Having time alone and doing what I wanted to do, with no timelines, no other schedules, people, or distractions was the quiet time my mind needed.

I was able to get a bike ride in on Sunday up in Boulder. Actually quite refreshing to ride some trails that I don’t visit too often. Passing and exchanging hello’s with strangers and simply just enjoying the beautiful surroundings on the bike. Peaceful is my expression and my moment of Ahhh sensation.

Although I know, my brain is running full force, I felt like I was able to control my thoughts and be aware of myself, in a way that I never experienced.

In preparing  this week’s blog, I told myself it would be short and to the point. Sometimes it’s a good thing to give our brains that much needed break. I close with the thought, that this week has been nothing but a beautiful ride.......

And of course, I am closing with a song, this just had me thinking about bikes!

That little devil

If I told you that the conversations you have with yourself were mostly bullshit, would you believe me? Probably not, is my first thought. I mean why would you tell yourself a bunch of bullshit? That doesn’t make any sense right? All I can say is you, might be amazed.

I told you I would let you all know how my progress was on my conversations with myself and my weekly meeting with Leianne. I can say I got it! Only took 4 weeks and some frustrating moment, moments of me having my outburst and don’t worry I did it alone and didn’t scare off any small children.

The conversation I have been having with myself for weeks, has to do with dating and a certain someone that doesn’t live in this state. No, we are not dating, getting to know each other mostly and really how can you date someone that lives 600 miles away? I can’t touch him, I can’t see his face, I can’t call him up and say lets meet for a beer, lets go for a bike ride, walk, or get ice cream. No, I can’t do any of this, and so when I thought to myself, about dating, I had reminded myself and a few others that I said no online dating. This is where it it gets interesting.

So, why no online dating? NO REAL GOOD REASON!! There you go, that was simple. HA HA, but a month ago, it wasn’t simple. I struggled and struggle with this decision, I listened to others opinions, analyze their perspectives and grew more and more frustrated over time. Let’s be honest, meeting someone today is not easy, yes it can happen by chance encountered, but the likelihood is slim to none. Yes, I have friends, tons of friends, but thats just the thing, we all hang out together and the opportunity of someone new, being introduced to you is also slim. I’m also competing with other single ladies in my circles, which is not a bad thing at all. But when you start to look at the numbers, it starts to fade fast. And yes, love just happens, when the timing is right. But, in reality, love is not knocking on my door either and me doing nothing about it, doesn’t help my cause. So.......

Back to the conversation. I had my AH-HA MOMENT. I SERIOUSLY HAD IT. The conversation was and is completely about ME. No one else, not others opinions, but plain ole April. After walking through this conversation, I learned that it was me judging ME, me justifying my own actions. ME telling me, that moving forward is OKAY! WHAT THE FUCK! Seriously, I’m crying tears of joy right now, what was once blurred, is now all so clear. So, that little devil (ego), I found you and you will not rule this conversation any longer.

Truthfully, this struggle, this conversation that I had over and over and over again, was all about ME! I told myself so many different things, to get myself to believe a certain way, to validate what I thought I should do. In the end, it was me keeping myself from doing what I really wanted to do. It is me, that was standing in my own way.

FUCK ME! My ever so famous words. Yes, because this is exactly what I was doing, I was screwing MYSELF. LOL (LAUGH CAUSE THIS IS FUNNY)

I can walk away this week, feeling successful and relief at being able to finally pinpoint how I truly feel about whole situation. And this is why it is the topic for this weeks writing. Our conversations with ourselves can become so blurry, because we make them that way. We have no one else to blame but ourselves. I now see it for what its worth. I learned that I have to sit down and put it down on paper and then I can really figure out what I really want or need to know. For me, this is a huge success! I now know, that others opinions, suggestions, comments only influence me, as much as I want to allow them, but at the end of the day, it is all about me.

Now, the question may be sitting on your mind. Did she or did she not move forth with the online dating?
I’ll get back to that.........but not this week.

Until next week, I always close with a song and this is a new song, one I found and keep replaying. I like it, has a chilling but, ever so good truth to it.