TGIF, people!

TGIF, people!

Why I Still Bike to Work

With fall coming on in full force, the temps drop close to or below freezing at night now. Which makes for the chilliest of mornings when I bike to work. Which I'm still doing by the way.

My initial goal was to bike to work all summer long. Check.

Then I thought, why drive once school starts? I thought, if I keep riding my bike, I don't have to worry about traffic or parking costs or finding a parking spot or paying for gas. Conservatively, I figure I save between $50-$70 dollars per week by not driving.

So, we're nine weeks into the semester and, check.

This picture has nothing to do with biking and everything to do with fat lil cuddles while I try to grade. Notice that I'm down on the floor with her instead of at the standing desk, slaving away. You can see her individual toes. I mean, I literally cannot. Cannot.

Riding my bike is beneficial in the following ways:
--It gets me outside everyday for at least an hour
--It reduces my stress because I don't have to deal with traffic
--It's a good workout that challenges me and keeps my heart rate up
--It makes me breathe. Deeply and regularly.
--It helps me experience Denver in a brand new way
--I'm able to work out the stress of my day by the time I get to work and again before I get back home

What do you think, Roo? Should bunny mama keep biking?

There are some downsides, though, like the following:
--Really, really planning my weekly meals and materials. I can only carry so much, and I try to minimize it, and this takes an incredible amount of organization.
--Maintenance. Like, actual maintenance. Every other day I check the tire pressure and give the whole bike a once-over. And by this, I mean that I wake G up early and he does it for me. All I'm going to say is that I don't do this when I get in my car and go somewhere. It's a new paradigm.
--New gear. This is more of a learning curve than a downside, but so far I've bought bike lights, winterized gloves, a pant strap, and regular maintenance on the bike itself.

I was cruising along - in a huffing and puffing kind of way - until a few weeks ago when my right elbow began to really bother me. What had been a slight pain for a few months became an overwhelming and nauseating pain that caused a few trips to the doctor. It's OK, just an extreme case of tennis elbow, but even a steroid shot didn't work and I had to lay off physical stress for a while and focus on the elbow rather than the biking.

So, I drove to work for a full week. Honestly, I worried that it would get me entirely out of my biking habit (it really was a habit by then). But! The time off, and the other rehabilitative work I was doing on my elbow, really worked! And I'm back to biking a solid three days a week. Even in the cold! Even in the rain! And, so far, even in the snow!

Roo likes nose kisses. This means I spend an inordinate amount of my time laying on the floor. God bless that Roomba.

Having to take time off the bike made me realize something significant.

The biggest benefit of all:
***Stress and Anxiety Relief. Biking to work has reinforced a lesson I learned about myself a few years ago, which is that physical exercise - specifically cardio - reduces my stress and anxiety significantly.

Even though I know this about myself, I rarely dedicate time to exercising, and now I realize that it is every bit as important as doing my homework or prepping my meals or grading. It's one thing to say that, and another thing to change my lifestyle. So, now, on the days that I drive, I run on the treadmill. And I no longer look at that time as negotiable: it's mandatory.

My goal is to keep biking! But if I can't, or when it gets too cold, I'm hoping to make stress-management a daily priority in my life, specifically through exercise.

What works for you? Any realizations in your own life?

More Fall Fun

I think if I had to name a favorite month, hands down it would be October. We all know how I love the fall decor and the crisp transition from summer to fall (which is a quick one in Denver, let me tell you). And despite the basic girl memes that make their way around the internet this time of year, poking fun at the pumpkin spice latte, I persist. I will not be discouraged. I just love this season.

And it just so happens that October is often the craziest month of my year. School is in full swing and there's barely a moment to breathe between grading, teaching, planning lessons, reading, reading some more, working, researching for side hustle #1, reading some more, writing for side hustle #2, and writing my own papers.

Then we get visitors. Honestly, I don't really know where the month of September went and here we are smack in the middle of October. I want to take a minute to reflect upon and enjoy all the fun fall-ness of late. It has been spectacular.

I think my GRLZ WKND recap finished with the Botanic Gardens last weekend. The monarch butterflies were migrating south and the gardens were full of them! Plus, it was a gorgeous day to be outside.

Let's not forget the candy staple around our house this time of year. I have no shame in admitting to you that I've made three batches so far.

 

I recently moved all the cacti inside the house for winter. G swears he sees little black bugs and I swear he makes this up. There are no bugs. Our house is only getting cleaner and cleaner, what with the Roomba and all. When A-peep was here, we spent a lot of time in this cozy room, reading and catching up. She advised me to occasionally rotate the succulents. I am wisely following her advice. So far so good! They seem to be acclimating to the indoors with no problem!

You guys. The brunches. I have no words. A-peep looked so cute in her jean jacket that I copied her for two full days. I have no shame.

We also went to the Denver Art Museum. I'd never been before and I'd heard such great things and A-peep knows her art and can help me know what to look for and what is significant. The architecture of the building is awesome! We spent some quality time in there before moving on to the necessary boutique shopping (Hello! Fall!) and the requisite afternoon nap and relaxation period.

At said shopping I may or may not have picked up a few more goodies for decoration. Aren't they cute? You can't really see it in this picture, but the owl's legs are painted in stockings, and he looks very grumpy and imperious, which reminds us of Loo Loo Bell. It's so cute.

We aren't the only ones enjoying the fall decor, by the way.

This past weekend, G's cousin visited and we tried to get out and about as much as we could. More on that later because this introvert is basically dying. Too much reading. Too much homework. Needy students with their needy needs.

But! Get this! I meet with my advisor this week to start to talk about my final graduate thesis and portfolio. Like, final, ever. I can't believe I'm in the planning stages of my last paper. Hallelujah and praise God and His Heavenly Host forever.

Hope you're enjoying this season, too!

TGIF people!

Life in Colorado

Grab your ice picks along with your Halloween candy.
It has already snowed several inches.

Our Lil Goblin

So, I was going to post about the rest of our GRLZ WKND. And I was going to post about the many benefits I'm experiencing from still - yes, still! - biking to work. And I was going to post about fun Halloween/fall decorations up around the house.

But that's going to have to wait because I want you to see what we're dealing with here.

I vaguely remember saying that I was NOT going to go wild with stuffed animals for Roo Roo. That I was finished with that. Sigh.

 

But could you just eat her up or what? Roo is an extrovert. She's all up in the middle of everyone's business. All the time.

When the Nerd is Away, the GRLZ Will Play

So, G is visiting his parents this weekend. A few weeks ago when he was making the travel plans, I was like, hmmm. And I texted A-peep immediately. And she began to make some travel plans of her own.

Welcome to GRLZ WKND 5.0

Of course this means that in the 24 hours she's been here, we've had approximately 10 fantastic meals. Starting with cocktails and dinner last night, and the best brunch ever this morning. Bacon Social House FTW. 

This is a key fall weekend in Denver; it is supposed to snow on Monday and the leaves that are changing so beautifully right now will be gone within a few more days. So we took full advantage by going to the Botanic Gardens and taking it all in while it lasts.

We toured the tropical greenhouse to relive our Hawaii days. Let's just say it was a quick tour. :) Hot and humid wasn't exactly what we were going for.

Check out how gorgeous the weather was! We celebrated by coming home in the afternoon and napping. Actually, I napped. But that's true friendship, when you can say, I just need to conk out for a couple of hours, cool? We're going on week 8 of the semester already and bunny mama just needs to relax a bit before yet another tasty meal, etc. But I digress. As I said, check out how gorgeous the weather was:

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I mean, could you die or what? Tomorrow is another full day. GRLZ rule and nerds drool.

Safari Inspired Before & After

In my on-going campaign to add color to the living room - and to remove All The Brown - I've replaced the framed print over the fire place.

The print we've always had up there is a painting of the Lewis and Clark expedition that some family friends gave to G when we moved from Hawaii to Virginia. It's meaningful on many levels. It's also brown and has got to go.

So, I present to you, the Before and After! Ta Da!

Before

After

That was one of the first pictures G took on safari this summer. Isn't it crazy?? I tell you, a career at Nat Geo is in the near future.