Single Tracking

I have not done any crafting lately.  Spare time has been limited and after a long Wisconsin winter when I've had any spare time, I have wanted to get outside to do some single tracking.  These pictures were taken when I went single tracking by myself at Standing Rocks.  I am loving my new bike.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn what a great workout this sport is.  

It's hard to see but there is a brand new fawn underneath this mother.  I didn't want to pause too long and scare the mom too much so the picture is not that great.

I call this the "endo spot" (endo, short for end over) now because coming up this hill I did not go over the step to the right of the tree (hard to tell how deep it is from this angle) but rather when my front tire hit the log the rear wheel came way off the ground and my chest landed on my handle bars which by the way was the only part of my body left touching the bike besides my hands.  I knocked the odometer off the handlebars with my chest, my camera went flying, and I bruised the heck out of my knees when I somehow landed standing up with the bike still under me.  There is quite a drop off to the left of the tree and I was very thankful that the landing wasn't worse than it was.   It was quite an adrenaline rush.

The single tracks I did are one-way so I took this cross-country ski trail back to my truck.  After pedaling up this hill I decided the name of it is more appropriately named for those who are riding/skiing down it.  

Can't wait to go again.

Cupcake Pincushions

Now these are not finished because I still need to put the cherries (felted balls) on top but I was too excited to share to wait for those to arrive! I ordered the felt balls yesterday and I hope they won't take long to get here. I need to find some more fancy trims too. I have lots of wool now to keep me busy for awhile but I can always use some more fun colors if you run by any sweaters you need to get rid of--wool or otherwise. I scored at a rummage on Saturday and got these 4 wool sweaters for $4. I plan to felt them for more projects I am making from the Warm Fuzzies book.
I held Craft Night at my house on Friday night. Just one person came. On a positive note, I got to know this person a lot better and enjoyed our conversation. My craft room is also very clean and we have a lot of yummy double chocolate cookies I made for all the girls I thought would come. Also, I finished sewing the binding on my quilt so it is DONE! On the down side, dang, it was a lot of work to prepare for everyone and I was so excited to spend time with the girls to do crafting and socialize so when only one person came I was pretty bummed. I am going to plan another night and give it another try. If I get a similar turnout, I may have to give up on the Craft Nights but I hope it doesn't come to that because Craft Nights would be so much fun.

Happy Birthday - Running with Crafts Turns One

Running with Crafts turned 1 on May 6th. I had intentions several times to post on the big day but I have had a really busy week. I will have put in 77 hours at work this week if I get done after 8 hours tomorrow. I am also solo with Lydia in the evenings so by the time the end of the day rolled around this week I was ready to pass out. I also work at a computer all day so the last thing I sometimes feel like doing is getting on my home computer, especially on weeks like this one.

I want to do a give-away for this special event but it is going to be delayed because I have not created the item yet that I want to give away. It is a surprise so I won't say anymore about it.

I thought this would be a good time to reflect on the past year by listing ten cool things that happened in my life this year.

10. Learned how to make books

9. Learned how to quilt

8. Learned how to knit

7. Watched Lydia learn how to ride her bike without training wheels

6. Finally visited my life-long girl friend in Oregon (she has lived there for over a decade)

5. Completed the Madison Half Marathon

4. Completed the Walk Wisconsin Marathon

3. My husband turned 40 (gets better with age) and decided to go back to college (I'm proud of him)

2. We visited Disneyland for the first time

1. Completed the Portland Oregon Marathon

When I started this blog I was just getting back into running after being out of the sport for a couple of years. I also had a desire to make more time for crafting. I am happy to say that a year later I am still running and doing a lot of crafting.

New Ride for the Summer

Ken's new toy. I have been hearing about this for months now. It's all he has talked about and I am ready for a new subject! I worked today and then babysat so no crafting today. I am behind on my blocks of the month. Hope I can work on them soon. If nothing else, I can work on them next Friday because I'm having Craft Night with the girls at my house (6 til ???). If you're in the area and have a craft to work on, you're welcome to join us. Only thing is, you have to bring a treat to share. Have to get these girls into bed now...it's late!

Super Star - Spring Showcase 2008

I was so busy with work this week that by the time I had time to post, I was ready to pass out in bed and the last thing I wanted to do anyway was get on my computer after being on my computer alllllll day. So this post is way overdue. Lydia had her big dance performance last weekend. She did such a great job. Watching her perform is so much fun. She has really learned a lot in class and she is growing up to be a very good dancer. I hope she sticks with it. Here she is before the performance with her friend Jurnee.