It is a zoo out there!

We had a great day. We decided since it was nice that we would go to the Great Plains Zoo and walk. Of course you know me, I had to bring along the camera. A lot of the animals that pretty much just lay around in the spring and summer were out wondering around. It was fun to see!

Callie was the star of the day. She is an Amur Tiger and the only one

that survived in the litter. She was just a hoot, running through

the snow and playing! She seemed starved for human contact as she was

rubbing against the fence and kind of purring when someone would pay

attention to her. What a cutie!

Black Bears

Snow Leopard (first time I had seen it off the rock!)
She or he was watching Callie!

Cheetah

More Cheetahs

Little monkey eating lettuce. He was hard to take a picture of as

they are behind glass in the winter so you get a lot of glare.

Starting a new........

This coming Wednesday will be my last day at my current job, Steeler Door and Hardware (SDH). It is with mixed feelings that I am leaving there after 12 years. Steeler will be totally closing their doors in a couple more weeks.

So, one door closes and others open, is how I look at it. In fact I had three doors and possibly four doors that had been opened or at least someone was knocking! One door would have required a move, which was not an option at all. One door would have allowed working from home, not sure I am totally disciplined enough to do that and I would maybe come to hate the den because it would mean association with work. One door was not offered but they showed REAL interest and I think if I had not already totally committed to the door that is staying open, I would have had another offer.

Now, on to the door that I am going to walk through, March 1st. I will be starting at Builders Supply Company (BSC) here in Sioux Falls. It will be exciting to learn something new and fresh, yet it will be similar work to what I was doing at SDH. I also know the people working there, so it is not like totally starting a new job with new faces, although some will be. It will be a comfort level that I have never had, starting a new job, that is for sure.

I was informed they are working on my new office. Yes, I will have a real office with walls and a door not a cubicle! I did inform them that they better not paint the walls pink. I again was informed that they were looking more at going with the Ozzie-Black Sabbath look.....huh? hahaha.

The bantering has already begun, which is always good!

Snow-Zilla

Abe having fun in the snow a couple weekends ago!

He loves the snow so much while the rest of us are SO DONE with it!

Things.........

Few things......

Yes, I am still in a funk, but change is coming and that will be good for all involved, I hope!

Make plans to hit Snakebite's Bike Swap. FAB will have a booth there and you will see me and the famous Hooterville Mayor watching guard over it. If you want to renew your FAB membership we can take care of that or if you want to join FAB for the first time, we can take care of that also! GREAT THINGS are a happening with FAB so don't miss out!

Social networking with FAB! Yup, FAB is on Twitter (Club_FAB) and Facebook (Falls Area Bicyclists 2.0 (FAB))!

Follow this guy and donate to his cause or sign up for one of his ride along-s via bike trainer, info here! It will be fun to follow Mike Dunlap during RAAM. I wish him and his crew much luck!

Have you heard of F.A.S.T. (Falls Area Single Track)? Well, here is some info as to what they are all about. F.A.S.T. along with FAB are helping to grow cycling in Sioux Falls and if you are not a part of it, you should be!

Do we have cyclist working at the state level trying to make the roads safe for all of us? Heck, yes we do! South Dakota Bicycle Coalition is making that happen! Find out what they have been up to and see how you can help!

Hope you have a good Monday....well, as good as Mondays can be, that is...........

Funky

I am kind of in a funk ...........

Do you care about being safe on a bicycle?

If you truly care about being safe on a bicycle than email the South Dakota Senate Transportation Committee about HB70 3-foot bill, TODAY, well, you have a few days, but not many (before Feb 10)! I sent mine off today and you should also.

Read more about it on CycleSD's blog here and South Dakota Bicycle Coalition's website here.

Truly blessed.....

Wow, I am truly blessed. I am batting 100% from last week! Two job interviews last week and now I have offers from each company! The pros and cons list has been started and the decision needs to be made in a couple days.

FREE PANCAKES........

www.sfbw.org

Bike Swap.......

Be there........
Snakebite's annual bike swap is coming up soooooon, read more about it here. The link will give you the information if you want to sell any bike related items or if you are heading there to purchase bike related items, it states the bat-time and bat-location. **POW**

If you were there last year, than you know what I mean about, "Being there" if not you lost out, but you can make up for it this year....

Weight loss.........

Well, of course it was colder than -11º here last night. I am not really sure how cold it really got last night, but this morning it was -18º. Tonight it is suppose to be in the 20-something below zero. Yes, folks, that is air temp, not windchill! We are hardy prairie people here in South Dakota. Oh, yes, and if someone does find my @$$ out there someplace, just leave it. I will take weight loss however I can!

Enough said...............

2009 recap and on to 2010......

As 2009 whittles down, is it time to reflect about the past year?
Ok, well, if I have too. It is hard to remember what happened as it is all a blur it seems.

I purchased my new camera (Canon 40D) early this past spring and took a couple camera classes and a workshop. We have had a lot of fun with the camera outings from hitting area parks to traveling around the country side with two other Camera Clicking Cyclist to standing out in the BITTER cold TRYING to take pictures of the meteors at 4 in the morning! My techniques are getting better and of course I have been having fun purchasing camera equipment! I have found that I am LOVING taking nature pictures best.

We hit the bike trail a few times this spring and summer and on one memorable occasion we ran into CycleSD and Irish. We rode with them for a bit and then headed back to our vehicle not really realizing how REALLY dark it gets on the bike path when the sun goes down and how scary lightening is when you are in the elements with no shelter in site! Memorable for sure!

Then of course there was the whole ankle flare up. Not sure how it happened exactly but it made me miss the MS150 this past year. I still raised over $500 for the MS society which is always a bonus. Anyway after a few appointments to the local ankle specialist it was determined that my ankle is bad but not bad enough yet. I am totally missing a ligament on the outer side of my ankle and others are damaged from breaking it once, spraining it at least 8 times and of course there is a bone spur. So I have to live with it for a while before anything is done to it...FUN!

I did a lot of cycle officiating this past year. One of the local bike clubs had a criterium every month. They also sponsored the local state criterium and a road race and time trial in Spearfish. We had great crews for all of the events! I also helped with a 2-day race in Norfolk that ended up being the most crazy race I have seen. It rained and hailed. NASTY! Glad I was under a canopy but we all still were soaked! Our local bike club also has a monthly non sanctioned time trial. I was at the turn around point for the time trial. I did re-knew my officials license for next year so we will see how it all goes. If you get a chance to get out and watch some of the races do so and support local cycling. You meet some awesome people in the cycling community!

In July Kris's mom fell and broke her humorus bone (upper arm) almost up by the shoulder so she was unable to do a lot of the work around the farm like she usually does. Kris and I went out and did chores as needed. I of course mowed. I don't mind mowing. They have 4-5 acres to mow and they have two nice mowers to ride. You think about a lot of thinks as you mow. I really would have loved to been able to meet her dad and grandpa. They had quite the dairy set up for a few years and it would have been fun to see the farm in its hay day, no pun intended! Then again I am sure they would not have liked listening to me belt out whatever song I was listening to at the time on the ipod, while mowing! Her mom is all healed up and starting to do strengthening now. I think next July we will wrap her in bubble wrap. In July of 2008 she broke her wrist.

In December we went to Disney! What a great time as always. We walked 51.01 miles in nine days and the ankle was a little sore but no major issues, go figure! We did a lot of different things we have never done before which was a blast!

I look to 2010 as a year of change. For me, I really want to ride more. I didn't commute as much as I had hoped and ride as much as I had hoped for that matter. Sometimes life gets in the way! I also want to hone more of my camera skills and do a workshop out in the hills in September. Other than that there are will be more changes / goals in my life, I am sure, that will come up as the months fly by in 2010!

We have been blessed in 2009 with many memories! I hope 2010 provides you with awesome goals that you accomplish, wealth and health for you and your family!

Merry Christmas.........

For the couple of you that read this blog.

Here is wishing you and your family a joyous Christmas.

If you can, make some new memories to hold near and dear to your heart!

With the snow we are to have this week please be smart and travel safe.

Remember the true reason for the season!

Merry Christmas to you all!

Some Disney vacation pics

SUSHI!

Steven Curtis Chapman reading the Christmas story at the

Candle Light Processional at EPCOT.

Segway Tour at EPCOT! We spent two hours on the Segway, what a blast!

The promotional golf cart at the Palms Golf Course.

The three golfers at hole number 18!

Short vacation recap..........

Vacation to Disney World in Florida was AWESOME, even though it rained a bit on us it was all good. Pics to be posted at some point in the next week. I am sure some of you followed our travels from watching the posted pictures on Twitter and Facebook.

If you get a chance to ever go to Disney World they have some great food places and well of course some fun rides.

From Dec 2-the evening of Dec 11 I walked 51.01 miles! If you plan to go to Disney make sure you "train" for vacation otherwise you will be sitting in a bottle of advil to help with the aches!

Funniest thing heard on vacation: I was in the bathroom and in the next stall it was a girl talking with her grandma. "Grandma, I like your big underwear!" I was trying not to laugh but I was also amazed that the grandma didn't chuckle or laugh but politely said, "Well, thank you, I like them also!"

Favorite meal: Fulton's Crab House. The king crab legs were simply amazing! If you go there ask for George, he is a super cool waiter!

Favorite ride: Splash Mountain. We rode it two times in a row without getting out of the log!

Favorite drink: Avocado Margarita at the tequila bar in Mexico! YUMMY! It was really refreshing and awesome!

Favorite extra event: Segway tour. Segways are two wheeled people movers that us a gyro-scope to help you keep balance. They are a BLAST! Ours was a two hour tour. One hour instruction inside and then one hour riding them around the World Showcase at EPCOT. Our tour was cut about 15-20 short because of the rain.

Favorite firework show: Wishes at Magic Kingdom-Holiday version! WOW!

We golfed one day and saw a gator sunning himself on the banks along the canal. We golfed the Palms which is a PGA course. WOW.....the front 9 was nice but the back nine was was very beautiful. We saw an otter, gator, deer and an osprey on our golf outing. Oh yes, even though we did ride a cart we could only stay on the cart path so I still walked over 3 miles that day!

We also found that some of the rides had been upgraded and tweaked a bit which was a nice surprise and all for the best!

Remember, Disney it is not just for kids!

Leonid

Leonid, Sneeonid! Went looking for the meteors and did see some. Maybe about a half dozen all very SMALL but at least we were not skunked, after all it was early in the morning (2:45am alarm went off) then got the camera ready, we hopped into warm clothes and drove out of town to get a better view.

Yup, to view, bright, little, short, streaks crossing the sky, in a nano-second. All was not lost though. There is something to be said about standing along a country road with a camera on a tripod in warm clothes, yup, that included my Elmer Fudd hat and looking up at the sky or watching Kris jump up and down flapping her arms to keep warm. Then the coldness settled around the hands and feet. We were finished.

What? November?

Can this really be true that it is November 2nd? Wow, where has this year gone? Seems time goes faster as we get older. Why is that? Is it because our days are numbered? It is just amazing to me. Seems like it was just yesterday that we were all worried about Y2K!

So, it is November and now to mess with us even more, lets change the time! Not only do we have to wonder where all the days have gone, but now we gain an hour! UGH!

Plays, picturizing and the Pit!

Well so what is new in my part of the world....well, lets see....

I actually went to a Shakespeare play a week ago. Yup, Shakespeare, can you believe it? It was called, "As You Like It", it was a COMEDY, ya right, Shakespeare wrote a comedy? Well, yes he did in like the 1599-1600s. The actors were really good but we were up in the nose bleed area so it was hard to hear since the actors didn't have microphones. The famous line from the play is, "All the world's a stage". I was so happy I knew what was going on and I didn't even read the synopsis of the play!

Last weekend we hit Yankton for more theater, semi-winterizing of the Clubhouse and meeting up with friends. Lewis and Clark Theater put on "Play it Again Sam" for their fall play. It was really good and not what I had expected at all. After the play we caught up with my Godparents and had a few beverages. Always good to get caught up but it is busy time of year for them with harvest coming on fast, that is if the fields ever dry out! Saturday while a lot of the biker friends were doing the 50/50 cyclcross in Sioux Falls, I met up with a couple other cycling friends (camera clicking cyclist) for some pho-togging! They picked me up in Yankton and we headed out for a fun afternoon. We hit the Sacred Heart Convent Cemetery, Lewis and Clark Lake, watched people snag for paddlefish, House of Mary Shrine and then on to Utica, SD (little burg north west of Yankton), Marindahl Lake (man made lake just east of Broom Tree Farm) and then country roads back to Wakonda. It is so great to get out and see what nature has in store around every corner but as my mom would say, "We were all over like horse S#$T!" I mean that is a GOOD WAY!

Once in Wakonda we had happy hour at Cycling Cathy's house along with other bikers/friends, Mr & Mrs Ride Vermillion, Kris, Charlie or Mr Cycling Cathy (haha), Ed & Pat and Sieversma. We showed the group our pictures from the day on the TV and then it was off to The Pit for supper, laughter and fellowship! It was an awesome day!

More theater in our future?------Heck yes! Church Basement Ladies tickets were purchased for this week so three theater productions in a week and a half.

I have been thoroughly culturized!

National award for our city!

Our city is now listed as a bike friendly city by the League of American Bicyclist!

Thank you to all who helped make this possible!

You can see pictures of the event and a recap over at the Hooterville Mayor's blog!

Week recap.........

Nothing...................

Well, ok some things did happen.
1) Co-work in ICU AGAIN, about the same thing that she had a little over a year ago.
2) State architects show was in Sioux Falls, yesterday and today. Yup, I worked the Friday morning shift at our booth.
3) Insulation installed in the living room area of the basement.
4) It snowed.
5) Started Christmas shopping. (related to the snow?....maybe?)
6) We might as well move to Seattle with all the rain, it is still raining, and the skies are gray.
7) Abe has his new Halloween costume.
8) Travelocity / Delta changed our flight / times for the third time in four weeks.
9) Thought the air compressor, to run the stapler to put up insulation, was on the fritz but then Kris pointed out that I had plugged it into the socket that is controlled by a switch....DUH!
10) Reading a lot about Disney and Photography.

HEY, EVERYONE, HAVE A FUN AND SAFE WEEKEND.

REMEMBER IT IS OPENING PHEASANT HUNTING SEASON THIS WEEKEND SO PUT UP YOUR BREAKABLES!