Yikes! I must've been busy!

Has it really been nearly a month since I last updated? Yikes! My apologies - guess this is a sign that my world is moving at warp speed but I'm not. WHOOSH! What have I been up to? CHANGE. Fortunately, I'm a mom and it's one of my strong suits, but being ambushed by change can be intimidating.

#1. MY KID FLEW THE COOP. I'm excited, anxious, terrified, thrilled and sad all at once. She's a bright, creative and wonderful young woman who needs to stand on her own two feet, but I'm not ready for this! She'll be fine, and I can't wait to see how she does. I'll admit I'm a tad envious, though. Oh, to be 20 and off on a grand adventure with no strings attached....

#2. MEET THE NEW BOSS. I'll have to say this has been the easiest part of the last month. Not the Losing-The-Old-Boss part; that sucked, to be honest. But the new Big Cheese is off to a good start. Drop by and say "hello" by tuning in to the 98.1 KUDL Morning Show - he'll be sitting right across from me each morning as he's also my new radio partner. Locked in a room with your boss for hours each day - no pressure there - ha! Actually, he's a really good guy, funny, and we're glad to have him on our team.

#3.BIG RELATIONSHIP TEST. Been busy getting ready for a road trip with my guy. Best way to discover the strengths and weaknesses of your relationship? Spend 20 hours in the car together. It's an eye-opener! LOL! I'm really excited about our trek to a private motorcycle event with friends. Yes, it's a week away from my kids (which I dread) but a wonderful time with my guy. And it's three days of nothing but motorcycle riding on the track. WOOT! My goal this year: to stay out of the grass. If I learn how to look cool dragging my knee in the corners, too, BONUS POINTS.

Enough about me - what have you been up to?

My New Track Bike!

A long time ago, on a race track far, far away, this 89/90 Yamaha FZR600 raced and made someone very happy. Then that someone became bored with it's charms, and shuttled it off to a new home. It made it to the track a couple more times, but work and duty called so mostly it sat alone in a dirty, dusty farm building. This past weekend we rescued it from it's hiding place under the tail end of a John Deere Gleaner in a barn in Kansas. Welcome to our motorcycle family, FZR!

With Ron's motorcycle expertise and patience, spare change for parts, and my unflagging encouragement ("Is it fixed yet? What's that part for? When can I ride it? What cha doin' now? Can I sit on it? When can we paint it?"), it will soon join us at track days in and around the midwest. This is my track bike. Yea!

(This project made possible by my husband's inability to shrink from a motorcycle challenge. Thanks, honey!!)

My 1st Motorcycle Track Day

My girl Lauren and me getting ready to tackle the track. Lauren's a great rider and fast! Me, slow and steady wins the race, right?

Me on the grid, engine racing and ready to go. My heart was pounding, but it was so cold I hardly noticed. Nothing hotter than wearing a head-to-toe leather suit and boots.

Learning the track and how to look thru the turn (and not at the ground).

Here's Ron assessing the damage after I crashed his bike because I wasn't looking in turn 10. (Thank goodness he's a patient and loving man) On the plus side, the bike was only scuffed, and I was only bruised. But I may keep the grass that was stuck in my helmet as a souvenir.

The Winner's Circle! Aaron, Lauren, me and Ron taking a bow after a great weekend at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit. The crew there is great and the track is a lot of fun. Can't wait until the next time! (I promise not to crash again, OK, honey?)

Simply the Best...

I'll have to admit birthdays do NOT get easier the older you get. We're at the "halfway" stage at our house: "Hey, Mom, you're halfway to 70!", etc. (DISCLAIMER: any age depicted in this post is fictional. And don't ask) I cringe at the numerical marker, but I love my birthdays because my kids and husband always knock my socks off.

This year they decorated the house with "Happy Birthday" banners, left the cutest birthday note for me, and my husband actually baked me a cake! I got to choose between red velvet and German chocolate! (And yes, that's my son giving the cake bunny ears in the top pic) My oldest daughter Kelcey even smuggled cooking supplies to her boyfriend's house and made me a cake, too (strawberry!!). Double cakes! How cool is that? To put the cherry on the day, they gave me a cool new ice cream maker.

One of the best days ever. I love my crew :)

My Guy Rocks

You know, one of the best parts about being married is seeing your other half do what they love. My Guy Ron races motorcycles and he's really good at it. Yes, it's expensive, and yes, it's dangerous (as my mother keeps reminding me), but he loves it and I love that he loves it. Plus, watching him race is really exciting! The race bike, the leathers, the boots, gloves, helmet...something about all the gear is just kind of, well, manly. The training it involves is fairly time-consuming, but he works hard at it. (I've even polished my pit crew skills a bit.) This past weekend in Omaha he clinched the top spot in one division, and snagged second in two others. He's pretty stoked and I'm so proud!! It's so cool to know he's getting to do what he loves to do, and I get to be there, too. :) Married life is good.