Guest post... Thankful

Casi and Mom's cute turkey place settings

 I mentioned to Casi that I want to do a Thanksgiving post and the next thing I knew ... she wrote it for me.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you ate lots of pie! Cheers!

 Mom is thankful for:

My Niece; helping set the table

• Coffee
• Spell check
• her awesome Daughter
• spell check
• Stupid shows on bravo, late at night
• FaceBook
• her Iphone
• her awesome job
• birds
• spell check
• pie
• slippers
• wine
• spell check
• her totally ninja daughter

Big Snow

Tanner woke up this morning to a T.V. that would not work. So he decided to take advantage of the huge snow storm from last night.

A few minutes later Casi followed.

I then went after them with the camera. Getting a few photos before Tanner busted me. He called a warning shout to Casi so she could pelt me with snow balls.

A month of T's (part one)

"My 2010 story will obviously contain story's that reflect on the outside world. An existence of observation. This type of relationship with nature will always be a part of my life. Observing. Enjoying. Loving. Reflecting. But for 2010, I want to "up the ante" by adding a physical element. I have a few ideas in my head. Nothing new, though. Perhaps 2010 will be the year I find this missing detail." Managed Chaos, January 2010

That was my new years resolution for 2010. I know, I acted like it was not a resolution, but it was. It was hidden under a new title and format and I did not see it for what it was... until now. *

*Tangent. I have never done any type of new years resolution. Honesty, without truly knowing, I found them to be a waste of time ** New years resolutions, in my opinion tend to make people sad because what they planned did not happen. They also tend to forget about all the other wonderful things they had completed that year. I find this sad and so I have never done one before. Plus, I am lazy and writing one seemed hard. 

** I know its very ignorant of me to say this without ever trying it. 

But I wrote it and then... it hung over my head ... all year. To the point that when I was asked to ride in the 24 hours of Moab. I had to say "yes" because on January 18, 2010 I said I was going to add a "physical element" to my life.

A "physical element"? I knew what it meant. I wanted to do a mountain bike race. I think a year or two ago I realized how out of shape I was*** and I thought how sad it was that I never rode in a race. A long, long, long time ago (~a decade) I could have raced. I was in shape but I wouldn't race because I cared too much about how well I did. It was easier to do nothing than to try, and do less than I wanted.
***It was this day.


I think part of this was my friends fault. She not only inspired me to write the "new years resolution" but she ran a marathon. A fucking**** 26.2 mile marathon. That's huge. I don't want to ever do that. I accidentally "ran" a half marathon (more on that later) and I hurt for about a week. I think she is amazing for doing this.
****This is a well thought out word. I wanted to get your attention here because 26.2 miles is a lot and I felt that without that word no one would have noticed how amazingly long a marathon is.


I was really freaked out about riding in this race. I had not ridden in soooooooo long and the other girls on my team had long racing resumes and current skills. I guess I felt these things were important. Which meant, I definitely needed to do some training. And, I did train;  4-9- hours a week. Nick, Brandon, and Nate were my training partners and champions (I may have been a little whiny about my biking skills and fitness). Thanks Guys!

 The race is described (on the official web page of 24 hours of Moab) as:

Set in the enchanted, red rock desert, most of the course is on an old jeep trail, but it's technical enough that you have to pick your lines*****. All-in-all, it's a very fast course****** with several big-chaining sections where you can push 40+ miles an hour*******. Pro's consistently break the one hour mark on this roughly 15-mile course********. It has some gnarly down hills, 1,360 feet of climb per lap, and some of the most spectacular scenery in the world!******** So, join us on the dusty trail Behind-the-Rocks for one of the greatest mountain bike races on the planet!

My first wreck!

***** This is no joke. Yes you had to pick your lines or risk a 8 foot cliff (and "endo" see image) or exhaust yourself with a very unique grind up a technical course. (&)

(&) I had other wrecks too. My favorite wreck was my last because of my mentality when it happened and how I dealt with it. My mind was a bit off. My body was fraught with exhaustion and dehydration symptoms and so I keep getting a little ... spacey. At one point, I lost concentration and got to close to a huge sand berm that was taller than my head. The next thing I knew the sand berm consumed me as I tried to destroy it with my face and bike. When everything stopped, I was coated in wet sand. Without pause, I got up, wiped the sand off one side of my face with the backside of my glove, got on my bike and started peddling.

For the next 30 min, as the sand dried, it fell off behind me. Creating a small sandstorm as I rode. 

****** I "felt" fast...
******* I topped out at 25-30 MPH and I was peddling my tinnier legs off to do it. Large gear and a cadence over 90.
******** I am not a "Pro"
********* Spectacular scenery! On my first lap, I rode as the sun was setting. It was incredible. At every turn the sky melted with the surrounding landscape. I was definitely into it (and distracted by it). At one point, I turned to the guy next to me and mentioned the view. He looked at me like I was crazy for even noticing such a silly thing and I looked back at him with a look that said he was crazy for not noticing at all. 

 While at the 24 hours of Moab, I realized something about racing. I realized, that, once you are on the trail everything gets really.... simple. There is only one thing to do. No more planning. No more worrying. All you do is ride. Nothing else.********** You just put one pedal in front of the other over and over again. You dont worry about your training, what you ate earlier, or if you slept enough. You are in the moment. Thinking only about the section of trail in front of you.
********** Nate would probably say I should have also concentrated on drinking my water.


In some way, its kind of like having a baby. You plan, and plan, Then 2/3rds of the way in you start to worry about how you will get the baby out (or how you will do your next lap). But then, ultimately, the time comes. The day (or moment arrives) and the ability to worry leaves. You realize, there is nothing to do but have the baby. And so you do just that. And, now that the race / baby having is over, I think I am ready to have another! (*)
(*) Race, Mom. Not baby.

SheMullet Team number: 303 class: Just For Fun      16th Annual 24 Hours of Moab  12 laps completed  Distance Travelled: 178.92 miles  Elevation Gain: 16320 ft  Class place: 32  Overall place: 230 Rider Laps Completed: Sarah Cookler 3 Angie Branch 3 Kathryn Dennett 3 Kelly Sauder 3 Overall Splits Class Splits Team # - Name Split Time # of Laps Last Lap Finish Time Team Ahead 45 - Paul Romero 0:11:35 12 Sun 11:49:03 AM Current Team 303 - SheMullet 0 12 Sun 12:00:38 PM Team Behind 135 - Trans-FrontRange Masters Express 0:12:13 12 Sun 12:12:51 PM Lap # Rider Idle Time Start Finish Ride Time Lap Time 1 Kathryn Dennett 0:00:00 Sat 12:00:00 PM Sat 1:56:01 PM 1:56:02 1:56:02 2 Kelly Sauder 0:00:02 Sat 1:56:03 PM Sat 3:39:58 PM 1:43:55 1:43:57 3 Sarah Cookler 0:00:17 Sat 3:40:15 PM Sat 5:18:41 PM 1:38:26 1:38:43 4 Angie Branch 0:00:04 Sat 5:18:45 PM Sat 7:08:09 PM 1:49:25 1:49:29 5 Kathryn Dennett 0:00:11 Sat 7:08:20 PM Sat 9:24:16 PM 2:15:56 2:16:07 6 Kelly Sauder 0:01:12 Sat 9:25:29 PM Sat 11:51:06 PM 2:25:37 2:26:49 7 Sarah Cookler 0:00:05 Sat 11:51:11 PM Sun 1:48:48 AM 1:57:37 1:57:42 8 Angie Branch 0:00:05 Sun 1:48:53 AM Sun 4:03:34 AM 2:14:41 2:14:46 9 Kathryn Dennett 0:00:03 Sun 4:03:37 AM Sun 6:20:39 AM 2:17:01 2:17:05 10 Kelly Sauder 0:00:04 Sun 6:20:43 AM Sun 8:21:58 AM 2:01:15 2:01:20 11 Sarah Cookler 0:00:03 Sun 8:22:01 AM Sun 10:06:33 AM 1:44:33 1:44:35 12 Angie Branch 0:00:02 Sun 10:06:36 AM Sun 12:00:38 PM 1:54:02 1:54:04

2010 24 Hours of Moab Team: SheMullet   #303From: Salt Lake City, UT USA Class: Just For Fun Sarah Cookler (Team Captain) From: Brighton, Utah - US Race Age: 28 (Female) Angie Branch From: Sandy, Utah - USA Race Age: 36 (Female) Kathryn Dennett From: SLC, Utah - USA Race Age: 26 (Female) Kelly Sauder From: Sandy, Utah - USA Race Age: 36 (Female)

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1.03.01

Anniversary

Today is the anniversary of the passing of Proposition 8.

I remember where I was as I sat and watched President Obama elected into office. I sat and watched the election in my home with Nate. I was elated. Then I watched proposition 8 pass in California and my stomach sank. I literally felt ill. I could not believe what I was seeing. On the same day, within the same moment,  I watched one wall of inequality crashed down and another built.

Here that same day is remembered on another blog.

Equally, I will never forget where I was, 2 years ago today, when I learned that Proposition 8 had passed, taking that freedom away.

The following night, feeling powerless and alone, I attended a candlelight vigil on the steps of City Hall in San Francisco, after which I jotted down my experience of that evening, after the speeches had ended:

Over the murmur of the crowd, someone began singing “we shall not be moved”, at first a single voice, then another, and then a group. As flame passed from candle to candle, from stranger to neighbor, someone raised their candle above their head, others joined in, and 2,000 tiny lights lifted up for a common purpose. In that moment, I found my voice again, within the community; we all found our voices once more.

The whole article can be read here.

HaPpy (belated) HaLloWeEN!

It has been such a crazy few months. After the 24 hours of Moab (which I still want to post about) I went into October with a huge list of neglected items, Halloween around the corner, and the promise I gave a friend to do a half marathon. I dont know what I was thinking.

Now as I sit here, I am happy to see that I am through October. I am excited to enjoy the season, rake leaves, and prepare everything for winter.

 But before I leave October I felt the need to share some of our costumes.

Casi, this year, was what I call a "contemporary or teen tink". This costume almost did not happen. It is extremely difficult to find tink green in an army green world. Apparently its the popular green this year and Casi does not like army green AT ALL. I finally resorted to a trip to Walmart where we found our first green item. Then later than week the costume evolved further with sporty green shorts and blue and green striped socks from Target. Casi and I made the skirt.I think she turned out adorable. 

I was inspired by Casis costume and decided to be a dark pixie. I love a costuem that involves wearing socks on your arms, big blue eye shadow, my old "club'in leather vest", Casi's dress, sparkles, and my favorite color.... black. This is the costume I wore for my work costume and chili bake off party. Sadly, I still did not win the trophy. Ahh, but it was a HUGE upset and there are plenty of people that felt I was robbed.

Tanner, for the longest time, wanted to be a gargoyle. I was a bit stressed over the costume since it would involve painting muscles onto a gray outfit, devil horns on his head, and huge wings. I found one costume available for purchase but it was over a thousand dollars and did  not include shipping. After weeks of research, however, I had put together a plan and wanted to start putting it together.Tanner and I got in the car and drove to the nearest Halloween store where Tanner proceeded to the rows of bagged costumes, picked one out, and told me that he wanted to be Zombie scream. I did not know whether to be relieved or sad. After driving home with him in his mask and seeing his excitement, I decided to be happy since he was happy.

I just love the holiday and I will miss trick or treating when Tanner moves on with his friends. I am running out of years. This year Trick of treating was fun in the rain. Tanner and I were soaked through after a few mins with an umbrella. we were the only ones out there and everyone seemed excited to see a trick or treater so they doused him with candied gits. It was fun to watch. On Sunday (the real Halloween) we went to Park city and enjoyed Main street, people watching, and the dressed up pups!

Hope everyone had a great holiday.