Night at the Races

My coworker Matt recently traded his Harley for a race car (I'm not sure what he was thinking - why would anyone want to get rid of their Harley???). He has been really excited about his new hobby, so a few of us decided to support him and headed to the Meridian Speedway on Saturday to watch him race. Of course I had to dress up for the occasion, so I wore my cute pink cowboy hat :-) Camille, Willie, Ross, and I had a great time watching Matt race. I loved his car. It was kind of hard to get a good picture with him speeding around the track, but I tried!

When Matt wasn't racing, we really enjoyed people watching. The Speedway attracts some interesting people! We really liked the mullet lady in the tie-dyed shirt and short peach shorts. And the lady with one of those shirts that had fringe and beads. All in all, it was an enjoyable night. Good job Matt!

New Watch

This weekend I got a sweet new watch. Only it is much more than a watch. It is a pink Polar F6. It not only tells me what time it is (which is super nice since I lost my old watch a few months ago when it fell off my wrist), but it will also tell me my heart rate and how many calories I have burned. I have a problem when I do cardio workouts of going over my target heart rate. My watch allows me to set heart rate zones, and I can have it beep at me if I'm outside of that zone. Yeah, pretty much my new watch rocks. It definitely makes working out more fun to watch those calories click away! And the best part is that I purchased it with the $100 gift card I won at my work conference in Vegas a few months ago, so it only cost me $16! I highly recommend putting this one on your Christmas or birthday list!

Pampered and Loving It!

Okay, I have officially decided that I enjoy being pampered. Last Tuesday, Camille, Kris, and I went to my new favorite nail salon for a pedicure (the one I mentioned back in February that has these really awesome massage chairs that you get to sit in for the duration of the pedicure). I really like my toes looking pretty, especially in the summer when I wear sandals as often as possible. I paint my own toenails every once in a while, but the nail technicians do a much better job (I think it is because they can get closer to my toes to see what they are doing) and make my feet so soft!

To finish off the week, Jen, Andrea, and I enjoyed 90 minute full-body massages. This was my first ever massage, and I absolutely loved it!!! It was sooooo relaxing and felt so good. The room was dark with quiet instrumental music playing in the background, and the lady massaging me did an excellent job. She did medium pressure since it was my first massage, and I think it was perfect. I was a little nervous about being sore the next day, as several people told me I probably would be, but I wasn’t sore at all. It was just fantastic. I will definitely be scheduling one again soon!

Guardian Bell

Jen gave me a Guardian Bell for my birthday. I had never heard of a Guardian Bell before, and I thought it was so cool. I just hung the bell on my bike. Here's what it's all about:

Legend has it that Evil Road Spirits have been latching themselves on to motorcycles for as long as there have been bikes on the road. These Evil Road Spirits are responsible for mechanical problems and bad luck along a journey.

Legend goes on to say that by attaching a small bell onto your bike, the Evil Road Spirits will become trapped inside the bell where the constant ringing drives them insane, making them lose their grip until they fall to the ground. (Ever wonder where pot-holes come from?)

Legend also has it that the mystery of the Guardian Bell carries twice as much power when it is purchased by a friend or loved one and given as a gift.

Hiawatha Trail

I just spent a fabulous weekend in northern Idaho. Jen, Jessica, Andrea, and I took a quick road trip (950 miles in 3 days!) up north, rented mountain bikes, and rode the Hiawatha Trail. The trail is 15 miles long and has some of the most breathtaking scenery I've ever seen. The trail actually used to be a railroad... we rode through 10 tunnels (one of which was 1.66 miles long!) and over 7 high trestles. We couldn't have asked for nicer weather. The pictures don't do it justice, but at least you get the idea.

Me by the waterfall near the beginning of the trail

One of the seven trestles that we rode across

Riding through one of the tunnels

Enjoying the scenic ride

I was Tagged!

I was tagged by Robin and Ashley this last week, so I figured I should play along :-) I shared 7 Random Things About Me from a tag in November, so I'll go with Ashley's tag to give a little variety.

3 Joys
1. Decorating my house
2. Blogging and reading friends blogs (this could probably fit in the obsession category too)
3. Riding my motorcycle

3 Fears
1. Falling
2. Being alone
3. Not living up to my potential

3 Goals
1. Get my PhD
2. Travel to Asia
3. Prepare and try to live on a budget

3 Obsessions/Collections
1. Costa Vida Sweet Pork Salads
2. I collect snow globes from the places I visit (the nice glass ones that are often also music boxes, not any cheesy ones)
3. The Office

3 Random Facts about Me
1. Right now I am kind of addicted to Crystal Light. When I want something sweet in the evenings, but don't want to eat junk food, I'll just drink some Crystal Light to curb the craving.
2. I love having people over to my house. I would much rather have people come over than go to someone else's home.
3. One day I would love to have a cabin along the river in Garden Valley, ID. It's close enough to Boise so that I can go often, but far enough away that I feel like I'm on vacation.

3 People I tag
1. Mandy Nelson
2. Susan Nasburg
3. Erin Colburn

Secret Club

It's amazing the things I never noticed until I started riding my motorcycle. Take potholes, for example - I never realized how many potholes there are in our streets! I smoothly drive right over them in my Blazer and don't think twice (where I completely avoid them on my bike). Or have you ever noticed those little yellow squares painted on the road at stop lights? At each stop light, I park my front and back tires on those squares so I can trigger the light.

Well, one thing that makes me feel cool when riding my motorcycle is that all the bikers "wave" at each other along the road. I remember sitting in the Idaho STAR class a couple years ago and someone asking the instructor if learning the proper "wave" was part of the class. I had no idea what she was talking about. But I quickly learned, as biker after biker began to wave at me as I rode by them. Now I don't mean a cheesy "back-and-forth" wave, or a "hi mom" kind of wave. A motorcycle wave typically consists of the rider casually extending the left arm out to acknowledge the other bike. Every time someone waves at me, I feel like I am in this cool, secret club. I know, it sounds silly, but it seriously makes me smile. But I guess riding my bike in general makes me smile! So now I wonder, how the heck did I never notice the bikers wave at each other?