Adventures in Bicycling

I took Ruby out for a ride this week. She was having a hard time shifting and kept making noises. Her chain snapped in half and fell off. Luckily it was just a couple of blocks from my apartment and not up City Creek Canyon. Hopefully I can get Ruby back on the road soon.

Woman of Steel Photos

I found a few pictures from the Woman of Steel race that I competed in a couple of weeks ago. I have perfected the art of smiling when I see a camera. I can't guarantee that I am smiling when there is no camera in sight. In fact, I'm 100% sure I wasn't smiling on the uphill portions of the race.

Memorial Day

Seth and I spent Memorial Day up in Cache Valley visiting his family. It was a perfectly relaxing weekend filled with:

• Sleeping
  
• Family
• Food
• Raspberry shakes at Le Beau's
• Horseback Riding
• Settlers of Catan
  
• Shotgun shooting

I can successfully throw a clay pigeon... I'm still working on successfully shooting a clay pigeon. I did get a few good hits in. I tried to shoot with Seth's 12 gauge this time around and it made my arms tired really fast. His grandma's old 20 gauge is a better fit for me.

Proof of Engagement

Our engagement pictures are here. I have posted some of my favorites. You can find more on our photographer Stacy's Three Winks Studio blog. I am thrilled with how they turned out. The black and white variety are my favorite.

Please let me know which one is your favorite by leaving a comment.

RUBY'S FIRST RACE

I took Ruby out for her first race this morning. I have been training for the Women of Steel Triathlon for a couple of months. By training I mean that I have been running consistently, taken Ruby for three rides, and pretended that the swimming portion of the race did not exist. On Tuesday I picked up my race packet and ended up buying a tri outfit. I spent a ridiculous amount but it makes me feel like a real triathlete.

When I woke up this morning I thought about just going back to bed. It was raining, under 50 degrees, and there was snow coming down in the mountains. But I also knew I wouldn't be able to call myself a "Woman of Steel" if I did that. So I pulled my stuff together, loaded Ruby in the car, and drove down to American Fork. The best news upon arrival was that the swim had been canceled. Since it was so cold they had decided to have us run 1 mile then bike 12.4 miles and then run 3 miles.

Overall the race was not bad at all. My final time was 1:32:39. I ran the first mile in 8:23, biked in 54:55 and ran the last three miles in 25:41. It was cold and I had a hard time transitioning between the bike and the final run. My legs felt super stiff and took about a mile to warm up. I loved racing against all women, but I wouldn't mind not hearing "on your left" ever again.

My friend Chelsea convinced me to do the race. We ran the Moab half marathon over a year ago together and she has told me many times that triathlons are much easier on the body. Let me just say that she rocked the triathlon. Her final time was 1:23:47. She was 123 overall and 12th in her division. She improved her time by 13 minutes. She is a "Woman of Steel."

Imitation = Flattery

Seth and I had engagement pictures taken on Tuesday. It was the perfect day, well almost...it was overcast and rainy. The overcast was great for the pictures the rain not so much. Luckily it only sprinkled and we were able to get most of the pictures in before it started pouring. I looked up rain and it is a symbol of war, death, and love. I'm putting my money on the fact that Tuesday's rain was love rain.

We copied Sarah & Joe's idea and had our pictures taken out at Lagoon. You can check out a few photos from their engagement session on Matt Clayton's blog. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery right. Our photographer Stacy did an amazing job and even got down into a few puddles to get some good shots. She has put a couple preview pictures up on her blog. We can't wait to see the other shots.

If my hair looks big in any of the pictures then you will know that they were taken near the end of the shoot. It may just be an omen of what is to come. Seth got into Clemson University in South Carolina and we will be moving there this summer. Goodbye flat ironed hair and hello big wavy mess. We have been working on our Southern accents and I think I have mine down. Any tips for surviving the South would be appreciated.

INSPIRATION

I have been busy working on wedding plans. I have never made so many decisions in such a short period of time. In general, I handle the big important decisions in life well (school, career, who to marry, etc.)...I just struggle over the small decisions that really have no lasting impact (which bed set, kitchen color, spatula size,etc.).

I have made a few decisions that I am really excited about. I found a dress exactly a week after becoming engaged. I have also chosen a photographer and we will be taking engagement pictures within a week. The picture below is the inspiration for our photos. It is a picture of my grandparents taken around 1928. Could two people look anymore in love?

My dad was able to locate a 1930 Hot Rod for us to be photographed by. The picture below is how the car looked before it was restored. If you can believe it the owner is only the second owner of this beauty.

This is how the car looks now...

Now I just have to make the decision about what we will wear for the photos.