Clear Roads Beckoned Me....

Well, we've finally lost all of the snow and ice. It's still very cold and the skies are occasionally sending down some flurries and rain, but nevertheless the roads are staying clear. I was in the barn last week saying hello to the pregnant goats and my bike (her name is Mari) was hollering at me. She (my bike) clearly stated that the roads were clear and ready to go now and she didn't want to wait for warm weather to get out of the barn. I begrudgingly realized that she was right and if I had any hope of surviving the DAL MAC later this year I better get going now. So, 4 days and 38 miles later, my keister is sore!! But, I've been really enjoying the evening light that we gained on Sunday. I've been getting an average speed of 10 miles per hour in the cold and wind we've had this week. For an extremely winterized (ie. out of shape) body I think that's pretty good. I'm excited to try a longer ride this weekend and spend a couple of hours on the road. Hopefully the sun stays out!

Last weekend was our annual Dodd-Moore Reunion. This is basically an anniversary celebration for Mike & I. Three years ago the Dodd/Keenan/Stephenson/Voison family ventured to the far north to join Mike & I at my parents house for our engagement party. The next year they did it again for our wedding and then we didn't want the visiting to stop. Cause, gosh darn it, we like them! So for the last two years we have been doing an annual reunion. We invite Mike's family and all of our wedding party and our family to get together for a weekend party. The last two years have been here in the far north. We've had a fantastic time. We drink, eat and play lots of games. From bowling to pictionary to a hike in the rain or in the dark field we just have a good time. This last weekend was no exception. We drank lots of wine courtesy of Momma Moore and Cork & Bottle Winery. We went on a great hike at Sleepy Hollow and ate some delicious food. I cannot wait until we travel to Cleveland next year for the big todo!

Hmmm...

Well, it took me a bit to update on the detox. But here it is. All went well until Friday evening. I tried to do the saltwater flush Friday evening and again Saturday morning. I achieved bloating and feeling awfully sick and not much "flushing". I made through the rest of Saturday, but by Sunday morning I was barely functioning and I caved. I switched over to a different detox program and I feel better to say the least! I'm back to real food again and I'm still feeling good. I have analysed what happened and I have the perfect mix of detox programs for my body for the next go 'round.

I don't know if the lack of food gave me a cooking buzz or what, but I have been going nuts lately. For many of my creations, I was very proud of the results. Felipe was excited for my first pudim. I think it turned out pretty well. I'm going to try a different recipe next time. I've attached some pictures.

Saturday, Mike got us some tickets to a Saginaw Spirits game and it was really fun. Felipe got to see a hockey game for the first time, even though the Spirit lost. Felipe has just about covered the sport spectrum now since he's been here. He's gone to a MSU football game, a Tiger's game, a Piston's game and a hockey game. Hooray for sports!

Sunday, once I got feeling better I wanted to head outdoors. Mike, Felipe and I decided to explore the Maple Rapids State Game area a bit. We headed into Section A of the flooding zone and had a lot of fun scooting across ice and trying to find which way to go. We didn't make it too far on our chosen path, but we have plans for our next exploring trip there.

February 2009