Baffling Dinner Event

Tonight at dinner we had some cucumber slices. After Penelope finished eating her dinner we offered her some cucumber slices (slightly under the guise of 'treats'). She took one a little reluctantly and had a bite. She then took two others and had bites.

We finished dinner off with some homemade caramel cookies. Afterward we were cleaning up and I saw that there was one cucumber slice left. Penelope was still in her chair so I said "Penelope, would you like this cucumber slice?" She said no and so I popped it in my mouth. This is where the baffling event occurred. She looked up at me, got teary-eyed, starting crying, and said 'Penelope that one' pointing to my mouth.

Yup she was crying because I ate the last cucumber slice and she wanted it! We partially assuaged the hurt feelings by giving her one that she didn't finish at dinner. It still wasn't enough so we told her that we could go to the store to get another cucumber tomorrow. That helped cheer her up.

And this from the girl who still won't really eat any vegetables that aren't in the pureed form. Crazy...

Thank You Pollution Mask

If you've been around northern Utah lately you've noticed the air looks like this:



It's an old photo but it's actually a little worse than that. When the air looks like that the air quality forecast looks like this:



Kind of bad when they say that "healthy individuals" shouldn't go outside.

This year I decided to buy a pollution mask. Knowing that I'd be biking through the winter I knew I'd face quite a few days with less than stellar air quality. Concerned for the health of lungs I took the plunge. At the start of the winter a lot of people kind of mocked me and made fun of me. Now that they see the air as bad as it is they are kind of eating their words.

Pollution mask you say? What kind of pollution mask? Is it a gas mask? Does it look like it came from WWI? Well no it doesn't. It likes like a modified neoprene ski mask from the 80's. Check it out:



It's the Respro Techno Mask from www.gotpollution.com. This thing is money. I've worn it everyday this winter while bike commuting. The past two weeks when the air has been wicked bad this thing has been well worth the money. It fully works and I don't feel the effects of exercising outside. It may look a little cheesy to some but I don't care. I highly recommend it everyone.

Ancestors

Over the last couple of years I'll get the urge to do family history or at least read up on family. It usually lasts about a day and nothing comes of it. Last year when my grandmother passed away I realized that outside of my lifetime I knew absolutely nothing about her or my grandfather. I got the urge again to learn more but never did anything about it.

The last couple of weeks I've had the urge again and this time I'm actually going to do something about it. We've recently been given the stories of Jessica's grandfather's ancestors who first came from Europe to America. It's been very interesting to read and learn about these people's stories.

Yesterday I learned that my late-grandmother and grandfather have a lot of family history documents, journals, and letters. I'm very excited to learn about my ancestors and to learn where I came from and more about my family.

Pzookies at the Millers

For Christmas my brother Zach gave me a Pzookie kit. It came with two cast iron pans, a recipe book, and mix for one set of Pzookies. Tonight Jessica and I finally made the first batch. Here's what they looked like before they went in the oven:



Here's what they looked like after they cooked and were 'fixed up' (we only had enough ice cream for one, haha):



And about five minutes later:



Yum.

Big thanks to Zach, this present rules. Tomorrow morning I think I'll try making Omelets in them.

If you want to come over and eat some Pzookies, just let me know, we'll have you over. And if you're like my friend Maxfield and you don't like warm desserts, I'll put yours in the freezer.

The Things Kids Say

Everyone with kids knows how they say the craziest things. They have a knack for saying stuff you didn't think they knew or things you wouldn't expect them to know.

Yesterday at church during sacrament meeting Penelope starting singing something and it took us a minute to figure it out. She was singing "J-I-M-B-O, J-I-M-B-O". It cracked me up. It's the chorus from Reverend Horton Heat's Jimbo song.

The Reverend is top on my playlist for past six months, but I never really thought Penelope was listening and paying attention to the lyrics, let alone remember them. Thankfully there isn't anything that a two-year-old shouldn't hear.

Absolutely cracked me up.

The First Snowy Commute

Winter has taken an extremely long time to come this year. This afternoon was my first real commute in the snow. At about 12:30 we started to get absolutely hammered with snow. Our vanpool left work early. Parley's Canyon was sli-ick. It took about an hour to get from PC to the vanpool meeting spot, we bypassed a bunch of traffic and saved a ton of time.

There were many inches of accumulation and I was looking forward to trying out the bike for the first time in the snow. I have it fully outfitted with fenders, lights, and cross tires (racks and panniers are still in the works). It looked like this when I got to it:



I was a little disappointed when I started riding because the plows had done a good job. I was, however, able to bypass about 3 blocks worth of cars waiting for one stoplight, that was nice. Once I got off main roads things started looking up:



Some may say I am crazy but anyone can ride their bike when roads are dry and the weather is perfect. I'm not a fair weather person and I love it when conditions are sub-optimal when doing stuff. The fun part for me is the challenge to see if I could ride through the snow, make decent time, and not wreck. Mission accomplished. I look forward to many more days of commuting through the snow. Who else got to say "I played in the snow on my way home from work today" or "I had fun coming from work today"?

Here's one last shot of my track through the snow:

7 Years

It was seven years ago today that Jessica and I began dating, went on our first date, hooked up...however you want to say it. In a lot of ways it's hard to believe that it's been seven years. It definitely doesn't feel like it. Last night we were discussing it and we looked at each other and said "I've known you for seven years? Weird."

We celebrated by going out to dinner to Bombay House. Oh man that place is good! Then we went and got custard at a little place just down the road from us.

Jessica is the best wife. I feel extremely lucky that she picked me...especially when I think about myself. :)

This is a picture of us about 7 months after we started dating, I think we look young!

Last Week in Review

Last week was a fun-filled, activity packed week. It was probably the most we've done in a week in an extremely long time. Here's a recap:

Sunday we made gingerbread houses with Penelope. We cheated though and used graham crackers for the gingerbread. Penelope mostly ate candy and crackers and helped Jessica a little. It was fun, they turned out great, and it was an awesome way to spend some family time on a Sunday evening.







Then Penelope thought it'd be fun to play in the laundry basket:



Monday night we had a neighborhood party. This was our first year participating and it was awesome. Some people get together, make scones and hot chocolate, and have a big get together for the neighborhood. Instead of exchanging neighbor gifts they ask everyone to bring donations of food, clothing, or cash for a local charity. It was cold and a little snowy so the hot chocolate and scones fit perfectly. It was good to see a bunch of neighbors that we don't see or talk to all that much.

Wednesday was the Ward Christmas Party. Our ward puts on the best Christmas party out of all the wards I've ever attended. Jessica and I have discussed it and we aren't quite sure what makes it so great. This year they mixed it up and sponsored a 'giving tree' for three families in the community that are in need and also collected money for some families in the ward that are need. We started out by wrapping all the presents that were purchased for the families. Then we moved to the eating portion. Instead of the usual lame lasagna or pasta with crappy salad, every year the ward gets BBQ from a local caterer. It's good. Then we had a little Christmas message, followed with a hot chocolate and little treat bar. Santa Claus made an appearance. We tried getting Penelope amped beforehand and she seemed excited. When we asked her what she was going to ask Santa for Christmas she would respond "Candy".

As soon as Santa walked into the gym her bottom lip started to quiver, the tears started to come, and she would point and say "that guy". It was kind of funny in way. We walked over to Santa and pointed out all of Penelope's little friends and kids she knew as they would sit on Santa's lap. I got in line and tried to distract her. As soon as it was her turn she bear-hugged my neck, started crying, and saying "no sit Santa, no sit Santa". I ended up sitting on his knee with her in my lap for quick picture.



Thursday we watched The Office. Hilarious!

Friday night brother Zach, his wife Alisa, their son Aiden, came down with their friends Danny & Julie and their son Taven. We ate dinner at Pei Wei then went to go see the lights at Temple Square. We had fun reminiscing about how we did something similar two years ago (Zach and Alisa came down, we ate dinner, then went to go see the lights) and the next day Penelope was born!

Saturday it snowed a ton! Jessica went to a baby shower and Penelope and I played in the snow. It was awesome. We walked around, made snow angels, pulled Penelope around in the sled, and my favorite part, I taught Penelope to eat snow! Here's a picture and fun little video:





Sunday we hung out, went to church, the usual Sunday stuff. Penelope did wear her Christmas dress from Nana Faerber for the first time:



Jessica also crocheted Penelope a scarf. She put the little flower in her hair and Penelope decided that she needed to wear her 'church shoes':



And one last photo because Penelope is so cute:

The Best Part of Today

Had a good day at work, a nice ride home, immediately went to the ward Christmas Party (which is awesome). What was the best part of the day? After the party sitting on the couch under a blanket cuddling with Jessica and Penelope eating grapes.

It's amazing how life gets simpler in many ways once you have a kid.

Great Article on Caffeine

My friend Adam posted a link on an article that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints posted on the "Energy Drink Epidemic".

I thought it was a well written article. It more addresses caffeine addiction and many of the health risks associated with caffeine (over)use, misuse, and abuse. I think the rise in energy drinks has definitely had a leading role in many of the health issues of today. Not only in terms of caffeine consumption, but many of the drinks are loaded with sugars and carbonation (which have their own health risks). Put these three things together in combination and you're bound to have problems.

Reading over the lists of health-problems in the article it came to my mind that in the past few years I've seen ads on TV and in magazines to 'help' all of those conditions. I've also known, personally, many people who suffer from one or more of those ailments.

My question is, why do we continue to do this to ourselves? Not just energy drinks, but sugar, lack a exercise, horrible diets, no fruits & vegetables, etc? Don't get my wrong, I'm definitely not perfect and nor am I saying that I am. We must be a nation of imbeciles. We let ourselves get swayed into consuming (and purchasing) things that we don't need, then we end up buying more stuff to battle the negatives effects of what we fist consumed. I'm tired of the "American" lifestyle and diet. Instead of sitting around complaining why don't you get off your pity-pedestal and do something about it?

What are you thoughts on "the Energy Drink Epidemic"?

Cyclocross Saturday #9

It was the final race of the season, it was worth double points, and I flatted out heading into lap 3. It was a total letdown. I didn't have a spare rear wheel. I tried to pump up the tire, but the valve broke. I wonder if that's what caused the flat...Regardless I didn't finish the race.



The exciting news about cross season being over is ski season can now begin! Now it just needs to cool off an snow. Snow is in the forecast tomorrow but then the rest of the week clears out and warms up.

Here's a couple short segments from the race:

Cyclocross Saturday #8, Thanksgiving, and Other Stuff

Saturday was my 8th race of the season. It was the toughest/roughest race for me. At the start of the race a few of us were joking around about who was going to lead out the pack. We had about 50 yards of straight, wide road from the start to the first turn and then it funneled down to single track. I wanted to be with the lead group going into the singletrack so I wouldn't get stuck in the pile up. The starter called out the start and before I knew it I was leading us out of the start. I immediately realized my mistake and slowed some and was riding in second place before a third of the way through the first lap. I held my position with the lead group through the first two laps and slowly started to feel the fade coming on. I road strong and stayed with the lead group in about 5th place until lap three. There was one treacherous section with a short hill climb, hairpin turn at the top, and wet leaf covered roots at the bottom.



During the second lap I was behind 4th place going through this turn when he wrecked on the downhill. It slowed me up some as I worked passed him and then had to ride hard to try and catch the leaders. On the third lap I wrecked in the exact same spot. The bad part was the bike started sliding sideways before I wrecked so when I hit the ground my feet didn't come out the pedals. I extricated myself after a few second, hopped back on and started riding. I immediately felt a pain my lower left leg but kept riding anyway. It took me a lap to get my back in the game. By that time it was the last lap and I dropped a lot of positions. Then it was the last lap and I was determined not to drop anymore.

I finished in a demoralizing 17th place for my race division. Valuable lessons were learned and experience gained. My entire left shin was a lumpy, swollen, scratched mess that hurt just sitting there. It almost bruised (I don't bruise very easily). It is just showing a little discoloration. I am guessing when I went down my left slammed into one of the exposed tree roots.

The day wasn't a complete loss though. After each race they do a small raffle of cycling gear for the race participants. I was the second named called and I walked away with a Pearl Izumi Optik Jacket in 'screaming yellow'. It's going to be a great jacket for spring/fall days when the temps are moderate and the winds are blowing.

The last cross race of the season is this coming Saturday. I will admit I will be a little relieved when it's over. I know I know, that may seem a little odd to some because I do love the cyclocross, however, I am ready for ski season to begin for me. I've put off mounting my new skis to avoid all temptation until cross season was over. Fortunately (and unfortunately) Mother Nature decided to withhold the snow and all skiing temptation that accompanies every snowfall.

With that update out of the way we had a great Thanksgiving. We went up to my mom's house in Logan on Thursday for the Thanksgiving feast. I took my first shot at making pumpkin pie, which I might add, turned out delicious! Apparently I used the 'wrong' recipe though. When I told my grandma that I made the pies she said "you used the good recipe right?" I said I used the one on the can of pumpkin. I received a 'look' and I said "someone told me that's what recipe you use". The pies were still delicious but now I know better for next time. Unfortunately I didn't make the pie crust like I said I was going to try and do.

The rest of the weekend was a fantastic array of not doing much and just hanging out with Jessica and Penelope. Saturday we went to eat at California Pizza Kitchen. It was a total let down! We used to love that place but the food wasn't good. They just didn't deliver like they have in the past. After dinner we went to see the lights at Temple Square. We parked by our old apartment downtown and enjoyed the moderate temps and the beautiful night to be out. We reminisced about when we lived downtown, what we liked and didn't like about it, life before Penelope, and how it was close to this same two years ago (December 2nd to be exact) that we went to look at the lights and then Penelope was born the next day!

Made From Scratch Sunday

Lately there have been some things that I've wanted to try making and I kept putting it off for a later time. Yesterday was the culmination of the procrastination. Not quite sure what got into me but yesterday I made the following:

• Creme Brulee


• Wheat Bread (new recipe)


• Kettle Corn

It wasn't anything fancy or special but it was fun to make things I had been wanting to try.

Back when Jessica and I were dating I spent a few months working at the Cadillac Grille in Jackson Hole, WY. While working there I had my first exposure to creme brulee. I didn't actually make the custard, I made the presentation by carmelizing the sugar and making it look nice. Cheffie was kind enough to give me the recipe and it took me six years to make it. All in all it turned out pretty good. Of course I need to perfect the making of the custard and brush the rust off the presentation, but it tasted delicious!

For the wheat bread I tried a new recipe. It tastes all right, but I didn't let it raise enough and it is dense! The loaf is squatty and heavy. I think the problem is either I didn't let it raise enough or I didn't activate the yeast correctly. I definitely need to try making it again.

Kettle corn...I love kettle corn. Sometimes I buy a little bag when we go someplace that makes it fresh (last time was at the zoo). Mostly we just eat the microwave variety. I got to thinking that it probably isn't hard to make. I did a couple Google searches and found a recipe worth trying. I must say it turned out quite tasty (Jessica thought so too)! It only took a few minutes, cost a fraction of a microwave bag, and tasted just as good if not better!

It was nice to be in the kitchen again. Lately I've been too busy/lazy to really do anything. Next up I'm trying my hand at pie and pie crust!

A Thing that Shouldn't Happen to Your Bike Tire

I got to my bike this evening only to find a flat rear tire. I remembered I had an old tube in it that might have a leaky patch. I decided to pump it up to see if I could make it home. About two blocks later I got a new hole and enjoyed the loud and fast hissing sound as my tire deflated.

I took my wheel off my bike and decided to use my spare tube instead of patching the tube on the side of the road. I put it in and started pumping it up. I have my old cross tires on the bike and the extra tube was a road tube. Someone recently told me they use road tubes in their cross tires and just pump them up extra. Well I pumping it up and this happened:



(Yes that is a piece of a 'Princess Puzzle' that you see through the spokes. A sign that I have a 2 year old daughter). Sounded like a gun went of next to my ear. Luckily it blew out to the side and not into my face. Please note two things in the picture:

1. The size of the hole in the tube
2. Just above the hole in the tube you'll notice the wire bead from the tire. Yup the force blew a hole through my tire! Needless to say I had to call Jessica to come pick me up.

The crazy part is the tire pressure wasn't that high, 50 maybe 60 psi. Lesson learned. Some people say to just use road tubes in your cross tires, I say don't do it!

Cross Saturdays #5 & #6

So I'm a slacker, two cross races have past and I haven't said anything about them.

Two weeks ago the race was out at the Rocky Mountain Raceway. This was my favorite race of the series so far. The race consisted of riding on a course that BMX bikes or dirt bikes would ride on, a short pavement section, a gravel parking lot section, and a short dirt section. The race was awesome. There were a lot of whooptie-woos, rollers, a massive, steep uphill section, and some challenging gravel. The morning started off rough as I crashed twice during my first warm up lap.

What made the race even better is I had dressed up like a Mexican wrestler. People in Utah take cross way too seriously. Look at cross anywhere else in the country and people dress up and have fun.



The race went well. I wrecked twice during the race. The first time wasn't bad but it was about 30 second after the start. I got my foot down and was back up and going without losing a place. The second time was with 2 or 3 laps to go. I wrecked turning from the gravel to the pavement. I must have hit a couple rocks right as I got on the pavement. I went down hard. I got a big raspberry on the back of my right leg (I opted to not take pictures as they would be been a little inappropriate) and I tore my cycling shorts. I rode hard and was fortunate to finish 2nd.



Race number 6 for me was this past Saturday back at the Wasatch Fairgrounds in Heber. This time the course was muddy. In some sections it was probably close to 4 inches deep. I went out hard from the start, was in the lead group through the first lap, I moved into first during the second lap, wrecked on a muddy turn, dropped to second place, then I completely blew up on the third lap and maintained fourth place through the rest of the race. Jessica and Penelope stayed home from this race so I don't have any pictures. I was extremely pleased with my finish. The course was extremely challenging with all the mud.

This weekend is an off weekend as we are going to Lava Hot Springs in southern Idaho for a little family trip. I'll pick right back up the following weekend and will rally the remaining three races of the season.

Voting and Flat Tires

Jessica had a small party to go to tonight so Penelope and I headed to the city hall so I could vote early. Jessica took the car so Penelope and I took the bike and trailer (we would have taken these anyway since city hall is only about a mile away).

We loaded up and headed out about 6:30, the polls close at 7:00. We had a fun, quick ride to city hall. Come to find out the Holladay City Hall/Office do not have any bike racks outside their building (I'll be writing a letter). As we were riding around I was able to steal a peek through the windows to see a long line of waiting voters. Knowing that it'd probably only get worse the closer we get to the election I locked the bike to a handrail and we went inside.

In total we waited about an hour in a hot, stuffy room where we'd intermittently catch a small breeze from a nearby fan. Penelope got a little restless but it went alright. I cast my vote and we prepared to leave.

I got Penelope into the trailer, the bike unlocked and everything ready to go when I noticed the back tire was flat. I checked the front tire and it was flat as well. Apparently while riding through the parking lot looking for a bike rack I picked up a couple of goatheads in each tire. I had left my pump in my commuting backpack so we were out of luck. Faced with a long, slow walk home I chose to ride slowly and carefully. Probably not the best decision but it got us home twice as fast (which is great when you have a tired two year old).

My civic duty is done and I hope Obama wins.

Cyclocross Saturday #4

This weeks race was at the Fort Buenaventura State Park up in Ogden. The morning air was very chilly. Usually the sun is up, warming the air, but there were so many trees that it stayed cool.

The course was pretty good, but not as fun as past weeks. There was a small criss-crossing grass section, one steep, sandy run/ride up, one set of barriers, and a whole lot of flat riding. A lot of the flat was on packed dirt or pavement. As a result it was a very fast race without a lot of technical riding.

I started out fast, towards the front (in the video below you'll see me at the start, closest to the camera in the blue shirt and white sleeves). I started out just a little too fast but was able to keep pace most all of the race. I did falter on the sandy hill. Close to rounding the top the sand became 3-4 inches deep. If you didn't carry speed you'd stop and have to unclip. The first time up I got stuck behind someone who had to unclip, the second and third times I lost my momentum and had to unclip, fourth time I got stuck behind a person who I lapping and had to run up, and the last time I made it up and over.

I think I finished fifth again (you'll see the anti-climactic finish). My falters on the hill put my behind the leaders so I had to play catch-up. Apparently I rode a lot harder than I have past races because as soon as I finished my quads started killing me. It hurts to walk. One really fun thing about the race is back in the woods there was a log you could either ride over or hop and I hopped it every time (I learned to bunny hop this week). I still love cyclocross.

The Wonderful World of Play-Doh

The other day Jessica found a small package of Play-Doh in a cupboard. She broke it out for Penelope to play with and she loved it. When I got home from work we played with it after dinner. I had forgotten how much fun it is play with. I remember being a kid and my mom making us salt dough. Those were the best days. Now it's awesome to play with one of my favorite childhood things with my little girl.



We made everything from bowls, to dinosaurs, to hot dogs, pancakes, peas in a pod, snakes, pigs, bricks of cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, pumpkins (notice the food theme?), and many other things.

Cyclocross Saturday #3

Saturday's cyclocross race was at the Weber Fairgrounds up in Ogden. This was the first race of season when the weather was nice. It was sunny and between 60-70 degrees. I thought it wouldn't be as much fun because it wouldn't be muddy. I was wrong, it was just as much fun. What I think is fun about the muddy/snowy/wet races is there's a level of technicality that isn't present in dry races. What I liked about the dry race is you could go a lot faster and that in itself brings in a level of technicality that isn't there when you can't go fast.

The course featured a very short glassy hill climb that dropped slowly to a gravel road. The gravel road turned into a long straight section of sidewalk which brought you back to the grass to the first set of three barriers. Then the course wound around through what looked like an equestrian course, over a set of three stacked logs, over a single log, and winding back through the start.

The race went well. I started faster than I've started in the previous two races. Coming into the barriers the first time I thought I had started way too fast and would fizzle out halfway through. I was able to maintain my pace. It was fun seeing the people around me and having to try and catch them or stay ahead of the people behind me. The gravel and sidewalk sections afforded the opportunity to really see who was around and open it up.

I learned this race that I need to learn how to bunny-hop small obstacles or learn how to ride over them. The single log would have been a perfect opportunity to do so but I didn't want to try something new in the race. I also had my first wreck. A few laps in I was coming into the triple log barrier at the same time as another rider. I was paying attention to him and not my dismount. I got my first foot unclipped and my leg swung around the bike. When I planted that foot on the ground I didn't twist my left foot enough and it didn't come out of the pedal. I immediately fell to the ground with the bike on top of me, left foot still clipped in, almost hitting the logs on the way down. I quickly unclipped, grabbed my bike, hopped over the logs and was on my way.

I finished 5th place for my class. I was wicked excited about the finish. I was surprised to finish that high, especially since I'm a noob at racing and still fairly new to bikes in general.

Here's some clips from the race to enjoy:

Cyclocross Saturday #2

Saturday was the second 'cross race of the year. This time it was held at the Heber Fairgrounds and it was snowing. The course was more fun and more challenging than last week. The snow definitely made things interesting. There was one set of barriers, on run-up with a barrier at the start of the hill, some hairpin turns, and of course some mud.



Jessica and Penelope were there to cheer me on despite the cold temps and the snow. Pictures are hard to get so Jessica shot a bunch of video. I'm in the blue shirt with black sleeves.