Did You See Those Mountains....?

Thursday was a good day. Despite going to work at 6:30 to finish up my check-out procedures, getting said check-out hijacked (in my opinion) due to a perceived error on a cumulative record, and getting to finally leave, Drew and I went to our first Dodger game! They beat the Oakland A's 3-2 in a great ballgame.

The stadium was full of character with a gorgeous view of mountains and palm trees behind the scoreboard, and our Dodger dogs and peanuts were the perfect compliment. (Because really, is a baseball game a baseball game without seriously overpriced food that normally is just ok, but seems to be all you can think about when you're there)?

The really cool thing is that when we sat down, a man behind us tapped Drew on the shoulder and asked him what class he was. This, to an Aggie, can only mean one thing and one thing only.......that the person asking the question is ALSO an Aggie. The man, his wife, and son were on a baseball trip across the West and were both Aggie graduates. We had a good conversation with them before the game started and it was nice to talk to some Texas people!

Later, the men sitting next to our Aggie friends stole the show I'm afraid. He asked EVERYONE (and I do mean everyone who could be asked) if they'd seen "the mountains at twilight with all the purple...and....." It became a joke by the end of the game because he repeated every. single. thing. he said at least twice.

So......

Did you see those mountains at twilight?

Summer To-Do List

Well, summer vacation is upon us, although it doesn't feel like it (mentally and weather-wise). Drew will be finished with his summer class by the time I'm finished with regular school, and free completely (in the event he doesn't find a job asap) by the time I'm well under way with teaching summer school (what was I thinking) and taking my own summer school.

So.....on to the list....

1. Teach Migrant Ed summer school. (I tell ya, I'm really looking forward to doing PE with these kids...PE...outside....in the summer.....yay).

2. Take and ace Educational Law. (all while looking cute in my new APU jacket)

3. Update this blog on at least a bi-monthly basis.

4. Read and finish the "Twilight" series. Reread "Redeeming Love." Despite it's overly cheesy cover and the fact that I find romance novels in and of themselves to be "overly cheesy," it's a fantastic book and one of my favorites. Read something else of note......not sure what yet.

5. Do some personal writing on my "book." All I will release at this point is the title: "Queens Don't Use Porta-Potties"

6. Visit Tejas, San Diego, Universal Studios (day trip), and Big Sur/San Francisco.

7. Do at least a little pool lounging.

8. Watch Drew willingly study ancient Greek (just for fun) and teach himself German (for Ph.D. studies, but let's face it....also for fun).

9. Watch Drew be the consumate academic....he studies when he doesn't need to and when he's supposedly "taking a year off." Wow. This is the difference between us. I like to learn, but don't find myself going out of my way to do so.

10. Attempt to get some rest and recharge before rebooting for a new class of sixth-graders and 12 units of grad school in the Fall.

11. Go to a couple Dodger games (our first is this Thursday night).

12. Go to a couple of concerts. Right now we're planning on doing ZZ Top/Aerosmith in Irvine and AC/DC....somewhere I'm not sure where they're playing....

"So It's Been Ten Years and Maybe More..."

Name where that title is from!!! If you do....pictures will be up sooner rather than later.


Top Ten Reasons Why We Haven't Updated:

1. Drew made a horrible post where he wrote about himself in the third person. It was weird and I just couldn't get past it for awhile. It ruined my blogging spirit.

2. Drew has placed in the top ten in TWO races (LAX crit and Brea crit)!

3. I turned 25!!! (Drew is still 23......)

4. We went to Las Vegas for my b-day/Spring Break!

5. Drew got accepted into a Ph.D. program at Southwestern in Ft. Worth.

6. I got accepted into a masters program at Azusa Pacific here in SoCal.

7. We made the decision to stay here so I could get my degree in Educational Leadership (administration).

8. We found a new apartment, signed a lease and moved entirely within one week.

9. I forgot about the blog.

10. Oh, and I forgot about the blog.

Pictures to follow!

New Bike!

After months of anticipation Drew finally bought the new bike. It has a 2006 Calfee Tetra Pro carbon frame, Easton EC90 wheels, and all of the components are Shimano Dura-Ace. The bike is not only top notch in quality but it is in top notch condition. The previous owner, another Velocity member, took meticulous care of it and only rode the bike for about a year. This bike is at least 5 lbs lighter than Drew's other bike, making high speeds possible at lower heart rates!

Amgen Tour of California

Saturday after Drew got back from his Velocity ride, we hopped on the 5 and then the 110 towards Pasadena for Stage 7 of the Amgen Tour of California. We got there with lots of time to spare, so we checked out all the booths and stuff going on. I was also forced to buy a long sleeved t-shirt as it is impossible to have enough. :)

A little later we met up with some guys from Velocity for their tailgate and then headed down to the finish line to secure a good watching spot. The riders went by five times in all and it was exciting to see the top three riders get in sprinting position toward the finish!

After it was over we headed to where all the team buses were parked and got to see Floyd Landis, Lance Armstrong, George Hincapie, and several other Tour de France riders!

The whole day Drew and I kept high-fiving each other saying, "We win!" (this is just something we do when something good happens........like getting a clutch parking spot OR seeing Lance Armstrong)

On the way home we ended up in front of a race official and a team car all headed south to San Diego for tomorrow's stage, KLOS played "Nightmoves,"** and we got tacos from Taco Rico. Needless to say, there was more high-fiving...

In front of the current standings board.

We were positioned about 300 meters from the finish line.


Us at the race with our Texas flag (thanks Mom & Dad)!

We loved this!

That is definitely Lance Armstrong in the yellow helmet.

George Hincapie signing autographs. He was the nicest guy for letting this kid through and onto the bus to check it out!

Headed to the car and in front of the ASTANA bus.

**Does anyone NOT love Bob Seger's "Nightmoves"?

UCLA Road Race

We got up at 4:45 Saturday morning to drive to Pear Blossom/Palmdale, CA (about 1 hour north of LA) for the UCLA road race. Drew ended up coming in 37 out of 75 category 4 and 5 riders! The ride was at about 3,000 feet, it was 26 degrees and there was snow on the ground and ice on the roads. Thankfully, most of the ice had melted by the time Drew's group left. Before we headed home, we drove up the road a bit to see where the San Andreas ran through the area.

Driving up to the race.

Parking in the middle of nowhere (the race was in the middle of nowhere).

Snowball!

A little bit before the start.

Crossing the finish line.

Oh no! I'm standing ON the actual fault line...

(you can't really see, but it looked like a huge ditch that someone tried to dig)

Valentine's...Week

Us at Seal Beach a couple of weeks ago. It was 90.
The most amazing Valentine's Day cookies ever.

Drew's new team/club uniform for Velocity.

So far this week is going well...

1. Annual Valentine's Day cookies from Drew's Grandmother.

2. Drew is now an official member of Velocity Cycling Club and will ride in a road race on Saturday morning.

http://www.teamvelocity.org/

The only thing I might change is the weather. For the past several weeks it has been hovering in the 70's and 80's, so we got into spring mode. Now it is rainy and cold (this is relative I know....40's/50's) and can be quite chilly in our apartment.** Oh well, an excuse to bundle up under our quilt and watch "The Office"...

**Very few people in SoCal have central heat and air. Since it's almost always temperate and the buildings are built so well, we hardly need it.