big bike ride

Well... we did the Jingle Bell run with RunClub on December 21st!  How exciting it was and so much fun!  I was so pumped with my running!

Here's my outfit for the run!

Here are Anna, Ms. E and I during the run...

...And our after run group shot with the big Christmas tree... I got a lot of running apparel for Christmas and missed a few days of running... so I was out to catch-up... 

Meanwhile, I wore big bad Doc Martins boots on New Years day and messed up my heel.  I didn't think it was too bad.

... a few light runs and one big run later (in my good running shoes), and I have a suspected stress fracture to my left heel.  SUCKS!  I've blogged about this a little but never talked about our Jingle Bell Run that was SOOOO MUCH FUN!!!! 

I can't run now... until I heal my heel.  Boo.  

My Doctor says I can cycle now though!  SO.... I get out my bike (named Maggie the light purple Magna).

Mike bought me the bike in May... right before it got hot as shit.  And it got hot as shit.  So I didn't ride it at all... then started running.  Well... I broke out the bike and went for a really good ride today...

Here is Juliana, my friend and Alumni Association President, fellow bike rider and inspiring person in my life. 

We rode from my house all the way out to the high five, past it, and back!  WOO HOO!!!!

Here we are at the High Five on our way back!

YUP... a goofy picture of me!  HA HA!

... And the high five again.  We went 13 miles!  What a nice bike ride... the weather was perfect and it was a beautiful trail.  AHHHH.  Love it!  So, I'll be biking while my heel heals and I can get back to running again.  

It was good...

-P

poo.

Well... I've injured my heel. The doctor says it might be a stress fracture. I went in today at two and she sent me for an X-ray at presby. I drove out there only to find a miserable bunch of people waiting... I've got things to do, folks, so I'll be there at the crack of dawn to get my bones photographed.

I injured my foot on new years with my new-ish Doc Martins (boots). They were just getting nice and broken in. Well, the nice 'soft' leather buckled in on my heel ankle area. It was a little painful however I figured I could just run it out... The treadmill was ok... Not the 5+ mile run on the Katy trail! That was last Wednesday. I can barely walk now. The doc says six weeks or so depending on my X-ray. I can bike though!!! So there goes my aspirations of the half marathon in January. Don't worry run club!!! I'll be back!

Shut up!!!

OMG! I just downloaded my 'blogger' app for my iPhone! This is too awesome! Thank you to Cassie for cluing me in on this new app! Maybe this will assist me on my blogging frequency given my jacked-up schedule!!!

the end of 2011... and it's been a while!

I know, it's been a while since I've posted on my super duper blog... Life has been super duper crazy with school and all... and I've been a bad blogger.  My apologies, millions of readers!  Here's a little trimmed down version of what's been going on in my life this fall!

I've made pots in my new studio!  Love it!  I was gonna do a full on blog on the studio this fall but things got in the way, more on that later.  Long story long, Mike bought me a new wheel, a shimpo whisper, and I LOVE IT!  Not enough time to make pots right now though... I've made a few though, and they're all gone as gifts.  

Liz and Gabey came during the fair and we took the train, went through a tunnel, on the ferris wheel, and did the whole State Fair of Texas thing.  It was great!

Here we are on the train!

Here's Gabe with 'his Uncle Mike'.  

I did A LOT of teaching.  Seriously, they're wearing me out!  This year has been a doozie, with me teaching welding in addition to my ceramics and AP 3D design!  Whew, that's all I got to say about that!

My students during the 'Chair' critique.

We also went to Austin to see Gabe for his 2 year birthday!

Here he is at his birthday party!  He's getting the present idea!

... And here is Gabe with 'His Uncle Mike!'

I worked some more!  Here is the kiln, Gail, getting started for a firing!  Nice work!  Nice kiln!

... And I graded LOTS of papers!  (that reminds me... I've got papers to grade, UGH!)

... And Mike and I went to the World Series with the Rangers!  This is the final game in Texas!  We had a blast!

Then, this happened!!!!!

We GOT ROBBED!!!!!  AGAIN!!!!!!
They busted a rock through my guest room window!!!!

Here's the rock!

Here's what they did to my window!!!

 And all the glass everywhere!  SUCKED!  They took my macbook air, the school's laptop, and my bucket of change in my closet!!!!!!! F'ers!!!  So, when we had the police out to file a report, we showed the officer around and she asked if they ransacked the house at all, and I replied that they tore up Mike's closet.  He gave me a blank stare.  We walked back to his closet to find this.

You, too would think it had been ransacked too!  NOPE!  This is normal.  (He has cleaned it out since)

So, ALL My pictures were on my computer!  I had to get a new one.  All of my blogging material!  Nooooo!!!!!


So... Anyway,  I've been running a lot this fall, especially with BTDubRunClub!  We ran the Jingle Bell Run on December 21st!  It was a 5K.  Fun!

Here we are after one of our latest runs.  

I also fired the Gail a few more times, getting ready for the holidays.

My dogs are doing well!  Going on many walks with Mikey and enjoying relaxing in the house!  Here's Luke!

... And Ruby!

Finally, I've been making some works of my own in the studio!  If this one survives, I plan to weld a 'Planter' for her.

So, I've missed you all... and I'm glad to be back!  Happy New Year everyone!

-P

PS... I'll try to be a better blogger!

BT Dub... Run Club

We started a running club at school... It's an unofficial club but we're running nonetheless.

We did our first run yesterday.

We are using a training app that works us up to running all the way.  So, basically, we are running / walking.  But it is a workout!  We went 4 miles yesterday on the Katy trail in just under an hour.  Here's a picture of us around mile 3.25 at the watering hole.  It was so much fun!

YAY!  GO US!

- btw... run club!

flint and bones

Last weekend was a three day weekend.  I have missed seeing my sister in Austin, and I have a student that has been wanting a full bone skeleton for his AP artwork.  We'd been working with my best HS girlfriend, Heather, this summer, on getting bones to Dallas from Llano.  There had been some mis-haps in the bone shipping department that was getting frustration from both ends.  I figured that I could kill two birds with one road trip.  The solution was to go visit Sister, then go visit Heather and bring the bones (skulls and whatever else we could find) back to Dallas so we could just get on with the art making.  

After spending the night with Sister and her family (more on that next post), I went to Llano on the last hot as hades day of the season (so far).  Upon my arrival, she had her friend, Kreg, come fetch us and take us out to the ranch he's a foreman at to go look for arrowheads and bones.  It's on the outskirts of Llano in beautiful, but very hot and dry country.

Here are Heather and I as we begin our searching.

 Along the ranch road, we find this old, circa 1850 drilling mine.  I don't have any clue what they are mining for, but the remains are really cool... There is a spring behind this outcrop, which is pretty much dried up, save a little water behind it.  Apparently, this was a water driven apparatus with a wheel that did something, what, I don't know... but it's old and neat.

Moving right along... Here is the big granite outcrop that overlooks the road from Llano to Burnett.  It doesn't look very big but it is.  It's the same geological feature that creates 'Enchanted Rock' that is off the road between Llano and Fredricksburg... Just on a smaller scale.  We found lots of flint chips and a few arrowhead pieces in this area... plus a few bones.

It's pretty out here.

More good scenery.

**smirk**

Granite outcrop.

Funny, colorful rock.

Better funny colored rock!

So, after I was about to stroke out (not really, I cooled off with cold water from the cooler that made me scream so loud that Perry, the other ranch hand who was like a mile off, thought I had gotten bit by something), we headed back to Heather's house where we really got to fix some very, very local food!

Local, freshly killed dove!  Dove season had just opened and Heather's roommate, Ernie, had shot these the day before.  He cleaned and de-boned the breasts, skewered them with jalapeno and bacon, and grilled 'em!  OMG!

Heather and I raided her neighbor's garden (she's out of town for the month... so it's not like we took her dinner!) for these greens!  Also on the menu, local pears that Heather picked in San Saba and poached in red wine!  Heather has always been a great cook!  YUMMO!

Here's Heather and Caleb, Ernie's catahoula/lab mix... We were calling him a 'Catalab'!  He's such a sweet doggie!  

The skewering action going on!

...And the finished dinner!  

So, home I came Monday morning with the buckets of bones that magically appeared on Heather's door step that morning from her ranch friends for me!  

Buckets...

Of bones...  And a few deer heads!

Good times! 

-P

watch your step!

OMG!
Today the funniest, strangest, klutzy thing happened to me! (ok... shut up... I know I'm a klutz... there is a reason one of my mother's nick names for me is 'Grace').

So...  I'm going to school... a little tired as it's been a crazy week with school starting and all.  I've been parking in the 'senior' parking lot because it is an underground parking lot right across the street and covered parking = cool car in the afternoon when you get in your car.  It's still hot as hades, Y'all!  My deodorant melted the other day when I had to park in the faculty parking lot (I go to the gym before work every day, that's why I have deo in my car).

ANYWAY... as I'm walking around the school to go inside by the loading dock, which is by my classroom that I need to unlock, and by the time clock that I have to 'thumb-in' before I walk to my office and proceed with checking school e-mails and get ready for class.  I'm walking behind a student I don't know who is walking pretty slowly.  I've got to clock in by 8:15am.  I cut through the grass around this student when my foot drops a foot in the ground!!!!! I face plant in the grass, dress goes up, all my shit goes everywhere, lunch, purse, computer case, me, all on the grass!!!!!  Cars are driving into the faculty parking lot, who knows who saw me!!!! I then stand up, pull my foot up to find my shoe is sucked into this hole, and I can't see a hole!  Shoe gone!  Grass and mud on my leg... no shoe and no hole!  WHAT????  The young man stops to help me (nice guy) gather my shit, and I start fishing around in the grass to find this huge hidden hole with my shoe in it.  I put my shoe on, gather what's left of my composure, and proceed to school... dignity lost in that hole.

I share my story with some laughs and some unnecessary sympathy (It's funny, y'all... I don't need your sympathy!).  Then it occurs to me to tell the head custodian, Alan, who is awesome, by the way, about said hole.  We laugh about the story and then I show him the hole.  His reaction is disbelief that this huge hole is hidden in the grass for anyone to plop their foot into!  After he placed a cone on it with intentions to take care of the situation, I decided to take pictures of the offending hole!

Here's the pylon over the hole so other people don't step in it...

Here my alien finger is pointing out the hole after I moved the grass out of the way... Danger Danger!

Here's my foot with the shoe that got sucked in.  I'm sure glad I found it... that'd be hard to explain, and harder to teach sculpture without a shoe!

I probably will have a bruise on my other knee that planted on the ground before the rest of my body.  Thank goodness it was on grass and I wasn't hurt further!

Oh well... Makes a good story though!
-P