Joe started on my dragon’s color last night. Total tattoo time so far has been about 7 hours. We’ve got a loooooong way to go…
non-bike
What does it take to be a sucessful Germantown/Collierville woman?
Silver Suburban/Yukon (H2 or 3 is OK as well… or anything that gets less than 12mpg)
Plastic Surgery
A litter of children
Blonde hair (or at least blonde highlights)
A designer purse of some sort (Lois Vuitton, Hermes, Coach, etc.)
Oversized sunglasses of the same designer
Manicure/pedicure from a salon that charges a premium price because all of its manicurists “speak perfect english” (yes, this is an advertised feature of the high-dollar places around here)
A mobile phone surgically attached to the side of your head
Anti-depressants
Stickers with your kids names/sports on the back of your silver suburban/yukon
“W” sticker next to your kids’ stickers
A husband who you don’t really love, but makes enough money to pay for all this
Yes, I’m bitter. These women terrorize me when I ride my bike. I had one get pissed at me in a school zone yesterday (again) because I rode in the middle of the lane, at (actually 1mph more than) the posted speed limit, and she could not get around me because there were too many other silver suburbans parked on the side of the road picking their kids up.
Anyone want to add to the list?
Bad Indy!
I was in the shower earlier and heard a loud “thump” coming from somewhere in the house. When I got out, I found my bike tipped over on the floor and my dogs looking super innocent…
Indy sucks at looking innocent, though…
My body’s at war
I’ve managed to get some sort of bug- it started out as a sore throat, turned into a sore throat/snotty nose, and now it’s the throat, nose, and some mild body aches. Hopefully this is as bad as it will get, because it definitely feels like it’s got the potential to get worse. I decided to take it easy today rather than going for a ride.
On the bright side, I received some fun stuff in the mail today:
Kenda Flair- Tires, tubes, seatpack, wheel bag, mini-pump, shirt, socks, and stickers (two of which are already on my car!)
Ritchey Biomax II handlebars (with blue tape!): These are pretty cool- the tops are swept back so that when you’ve got your hands on them, they’re more ergonomic. They also feature a compact bend and a 3 degree flare at the ends to keep your forearms off of the tops when standing in the drops.
It’s the first of several deliveries I’ll be getting including Specialized S works shoes, new speedplays, skewers for the zipps, and the one I’m most excited about… SRAM Red!!
With all of this cool bike stuff, it makes me want to train more so that I can live up to how nice all of it is!
First Jiu Jitsu Class
This morning I woke up feeling like I had my ass kicked by a Brazilian guy. Then I remembered… I DID have my ass kicked by a Brazilian guy!
I went to my first class last night at Memphis Judo & Jiu-Jitsu. After about an hour of warmup and instruction in some basic moves, we spent the remainder of class practicing on each other. I started with one of the instructors. Not knowing much in the way of offense, I just did my best to keep him from making me tap… hopefully I was a little tougher than most of the newbies he’d come across, but I still found out the hard way (several times) that aside from a forearm, you can be choked with parts of your own body as well as by another person’s leg. He let me beat him a couple of times, which was nice for technique practice.
After going up against him a few times, I switched off to the only other girl in the class. She was really nice, and very patient considering how many times I’d accidentally yanked her hair trying to practice a guard change earlier. I was able to put her in the one move that I’d been practicing most of the night- a keylock.
It was a lot of fun. I definitely want to continue going to class, but I’m not sure when since the racing season is so close. For one thing, the classes are later at night (over at 10:00), and I typically go to bed about that time. Also, I can’t risk injury with my first races quickly approaching. It will probably end up being a fun exercise in cross training in the fall. Until then, I’ll keep the ass-kicking contained to the bike.
The Random Life
Today:
Ride my bike slowly for 1.5 hours (Recovery after a riding 7+ hours over the weekend)
Get home, spend 1/2 an hour moving concrete slabs from one side of the yard to the other (I was bored with run of the mill deadlifts). This includes flipping, throwing, carrying, and clean/pressing them overhead. OMG, I BROKE A NAIL!!!!!!
Tonight: Attend an introductory class in submission wresting at Memphis Judo & Jiu-Jitsu
Tomorrow: Attend a wine tasting class
Thursday: Get some more work done on my dragon
Then there’s the usual teaching, riding, and random crossfit workouts. What can I say- I bore easily with the same routine every day!
I <3 Ebay!
I just got a used-once set of Speedplay X2 stainless pedals for $132 shipped! They normally retail for $174. Last minute bidding is where it’s at- my bid was confirmed with 12 seconds left in the auction.
Revalations Tattoo, first 3 hours
Here it is- healed up & ready for another 3 hours worth of work this afternoon…
My art collection
Tattoos are my favorite art, and I collect pieces by Joe Stamp from No Regrets Tattoo Emporium. I first found Joe when I decided that some lower-abdomen wings would look nice. I randomly picked an artist (Joe) at a well-known shop in town (which shall remain nameless- just go to No Regrets!), and they turned out very nicely. When I decided to go for something a bit more extensive, I went back and asked him to draw a phoenix for me. The end result:
Not long after, I was listening to the crazies on American Family Radio when I heard a Southern preacher reading revelations and preaching fire & brimstone. He read the description of an enourmous, evil 7 headed dragon with a tail that knocked 1/3 of the stars from the heavens. Upon hearing this, I immediately knew what my next artwork would be… I’m not particularly religious, but I’ve always had a facination with religious art (of any faith), so I thought it would be an awesome piece.
So, last night, we got started. Joe worked on the outline of the Revelations Dragon for 3 hours. So far, it starts at just above my knee, ends at the top of my hipbone, and wraps around the entire outer half of my leg. Eventually, the tail will extend up onto my torso (we were both pretty exhausted after the portion that he lined last night, so we decided to add the tail on later). Go big or go home, right? I’ll put some pictures up once it’s a little bit healed. Right now, it’s a bit red & swollen and feels like a very bad sunburn. It’s insanely large, but I absolutely love it!
Bored
It’s a bit of a lazy Saturday, and I’m waiting around for lunch to digest before I ride the trainer. So, I do retarded things to pass the time. Like having a staring contest with my Belgian Malinois (see picture below).
I won. She sniffed my face and blinked when her nose touched mine & got a static shock.