2013 Holiday Trip

This year we began our holiday festivities by driving from Boulder to Utah to see Jerry and Keren's new place! My parents also flew out from Michigan so we could all spend a few days together.

We started out with a day of skiing at Snowbasin. I cannot believe how many resorts are within 15 minutes from their house. It's absolutely gorgeous in their little valley and they have the perfect place for what they love to do.

Mom and dad enjoyed the area tons and loved hanging out with their adorable golden retriever, Reilly.

We visited many of their favorite local restaurants, did lots of relaxing, and had lots of good laughs.

 We even made GF/DF waffles in Jerry's Red Wings waffle maker. It was pretty sweet.

Bryce had been itching to wear his new snowboard jacket for months, but I was adamant about him waiting until Christmas since it was a gift from our parents. However, we agreed he could open it Xmas Eve morning so he could wear it while we rode at Powder Mountain. He was pumped!

The skiing conditions were much better on Tuesday and we had a blast playing in the fresh pow pow at Powder Mountain. The resort only has four lifts, but there is plenty of acreage to create your own runs. We had a total blast.

Later that night, we made chicken fried rice for dinner and opened gifts with the fam. Mom and dad were stoked with their headphones and Jerry and Keren loved their Cuisinart breadmaker. I got some flannel lined jeans with bath salts for my new tub and Bryce got his Volcom snowboarding jacket. It was fun and low key evening, just how we like it.

Christmas day began with a chill breakfast at Jerry's place, then a long drive from Utah to Vail. We arrived around 5pm, just in time for another epic Barbara Bingham holiday feast. It was also great to see Brittany since she stayed in Cali for Thanksgiving this year.

Thursday couldn't have been a more beautiful day to be on the mountain. Although the snow wasn't as fluffy as it was in Utah, it was still fun to be back at Vail Mountain. I hadn't been to that resort since 2008! We relaxed another day in Vail then headed back to Boulder to work on the bathroom. Overall, it was a great week away from the bubble and a super fun time with both of our wonderful families!

Our favorite Georgians are in town!

That's right, Russ and Katie are back in Colorado! This time, one of Russ' sponsors put them up at the Ritz in Beaver Creek for the week...yep, baller! We met them up there for a day of riding on Friday then rescued them from the upscale world and brought them back to the bubble for a more normal environment!

We did lots of catching up, made some delicious food, put up the Christmas tree, and walked everywhere. We even got in a bit of shopping on Pearl Street. It was a quick visit, but a great one. It's always so nice to spend some time with those two!

The remodel is also coming around too. We're almost there! The vanity is complete with mirrors, cabinets and lights. Although we still have some minor detail work and touching up, it's fully functional which is all that matters right now.

We have also finished building our massive wall to wall wardrobes. This is what the inside kind of looks like. The left side is still missing lots of drawers, but you get the idea!

 This is how the doors look. At this point we had only hung the left side but the right looks identical. Again, still some minor tweaks, but it's functional and we're completely moved out of the downstairs guest room :)

Getting Closer

It's funny how the coldest week of the year is when our garage looks like an IKEA shipping department and I can't put my car inside...oh well, the remodel is a little more important than a frozen vehicle :)

We've been super busy putting in floor tile, vanities, tubs and toilets!

There's always a slight issue with every little part of the process but we're working through them slowly and finally starting to see the bathroom come together!

The toilet and vanity are fully functional which has been great. Now we just need to get the plumbing squared away for the tub drain and install the shower doors.

It really has been frigid here. Last week was 54 degrees on Monday then we never got over 5 degrees for the rest of the week. We even had a pipe freeze making the second of 3 showers unusable. Since paint doesn't dry well in colder temps, we decided to make our own trim painting station in the living room! Classy, huh?

Thankgiving Weekend 2013

This year we drove up to Vail on Wednesday evening to hang with Bryce's family for Thanksgiving. We hadn't seen Bruno (the dog) in a few months and needed a change in scenery for a few days.

Thursday was filled with walking the dog a few times, helping Momma Bingham with a few dinner items and lots of relaxing. Just what we needed. We couldn't believe how big Bruno had gotten...he's only 8 months. Although he looks like a full grown boy, he's definitely still a puppy at heart :)

Bryce's family was vegetarian for 20+ years and their normal Thanksgiving tradition is making a ''nut loaf'' instead of turkey. They have recently began eating meat so Barb decided to test out her turkey making skill this year! It was AWESOME!

She also prepared the most delicious gluten and dairy free meal ever, which included a pumpkin and apple pie. We are too spoiled.

 

We had planned on skiing on Friday but it was so warm and the snow wasn't that great. Instead, we came back down to Boulder and did a few bicycle rides and got the tile laid in the shower. It's all starting to come together!

Back on the mountain

This Saturday was the first time back on my snowboard since late 2008! With my vast array of injuries and health issues over the past 5 years, it really hadn't been a priority in my life. However, I really got the itch to get back into it this year. Instead of buying a pass and limiting ourselves to one area, we decided to go where we want, when we want. This past weekend, we hit up Loveland. Neither of us had been there before but it's close and inexpensive. Although there were only a few runs open, the snow was actually really good. I only lasted about 3hrs but it felt good to be out there and remember the uber soreness that comes along with it :)

Flora and I have been sending cookies for ''Bake-offs'' to the Shimano headquarters recently. I tried to wow them with some GF/DF Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cookies last time, but Flora schooled me with her gluten and butter filled Chocolate Chip ones. This time I wasn't about to lose so I through out the secret weapon with my special Peanut Butter Buckets. Unfortunately I couldn't eat any, but apparently they were good enough to crush Flora's White Chocolate Macadamia Nut ones. If I can't get the thrill out of competing on my bike, might as well get it baking cookies in the kitchen!

And lastly, we have walls on the extended bathroom. I'm still slightly bitter about not doing an open concept bed/bath but it actually doesn't look/feel too bad. We had a few snafu's with some plumbing supplies not arriving on time so hopefully we can get back on track this weekend and finally start laying some tile.

No turning back now!

That's right, the master bath has officially been extended and there's no going back now!

As much as I wanted to keep an open concept bed/bath feeling, I was talked out of it and convinced that adding walls will be much more appealing to future renters/buyers. I win some, I lose some. Either way, I couldn't be happier with the work our framers did to bump out the room and add a fancy pocket door last week. 

To give you a brief idea of how an additional 3ft will change our bath, the above pic is how the room used to look and below is how it will eventually look!

We are compromising on a smaller shower but in return getting a gorgeous freestanding soaker tub which I've been dreaming about for years. We'll also be adding a second vanity sink. And to make Bryce happy and motivated, we're laying in-floor heating as well :)

Our original plan with the closets was to have two separate framed units along the back wall instead of one larger closet and a small nook.

Instead, we found it easier and less expensive to just remove the current closet and associated framing then insert two large wardrobes that will go wall to wall and be much taller. This also gives us the opportunity to completely customize the insides and have the exact space and organization that fits our individual needs. Plus, I still wasn't really over ripping walls out!

 Here's a panoramic view of the space from Bryce's new iPhone. Much more to come!

Yay, we finally started the bed/bath remodel

I've been waiting for AGES for this and with the dirt bike season behind us, Bryce finally agreed to get started :)

This is probably one of our bigger projects but we couldn't be more excited to expand our tiny 5ft x 8ft master bath and finally build a second closet.

We've completed the first part of the demo so the framers can push out the bathroom walls this week. Then we start to rip out the one closet to make room for two massive custom wardrobes! I haven't been feeling my best recently and this weekend's hard work showed how out of shape I really am. However, I'm pretty sure the double dose of antibiotics are doing their job so it will only be a matter of time before the gut and my energy start turning around. More to come soon!

Moving Forward

For Halloween last week, Bryce was supposed to dress up for work. He didn't tell me this until 30min before he was about to leave so I told him he was on his own. 15min later, he came down wearing this. I nearly fell over laughing. Apparently we have quite a bit of leftover triathlon gear floating around in our room. It's actually pretty clever and his co-workers got a big kick out it.

Last week I also began extensive physical therapy on my thumb. I see the PT three days a week for the next month. In just a few sessions, I have gained 9 degrees of movement and things are slowly starting to loosen up. I've also been wearing this silicon scar mold (pictured above) that has been helping tenfold. Not only is the scar not as raised, it's helping heal the last two internal stitches that tried to come back up. The exercises and manual therapy hurt like crazy but since I can't suffer on the bike anymore, I guess it's helping to keep my pain tolerance in check :) 

Where did the fall go?!?

Even though things haven't been the most exciting lately, I still cannot believe fall is almost over and it was already time for Allen and Jenny's annual pumpkin carving party! As usual, it was a great time and so nice to catch up with Tito and Courtney, whom I haven't seen in ages. Unfortunately, Bryce was driving back from a weekend of racing moto in TX so he couldn't make it. He did, however, have a fun last race of the season and is really starting to figure out how to rip on his new 150.

Fall may have come and gone really quickly, but I'm not complaining. I'm actually really excited for winter this year. Bryce and I have decided to jump back into snowboarding and hit up a bunch of different resorts for the first time in 5 years. I have been trying to break in my old but new boots while working and it's getting me really antsy for the winter to arrive. Looking forward to being back playing in the mountains!

Let the healing begin!

A few weeks ago, I was put in touch with a great MD who incorporates a lot of the naturepathic medicine concepts into her practice. I really enjoyed working with my previous ND and felt like we were on the right track, however, she just had another baby and is unable to give me the full attention she thinks is necessary to get better. My new doc did many of the same and a few different tests which gave us some light on why my body shuts down once I begin racing. Although we haven't gotten all tests back, I have begun another round of intense supplementing as she thinks this is the only way I'll be able to boost my immune system and adrenal glands back up. Many of these are exactly what my ND had prescribed and a few are new and very different. For someone who used to not be able to swallow pills, taking 40+ caps a day is NOT easy. I've contemplated giving up racing and moving on but I simply can't let it go. If I want to get back out there, I know this is my last resort so my motivation to take the supplements is very high. Like with anything new to your system, it takes a bit for it to adjust so these next few weeks are going to be rough. However, and from previous experience, I know it will get better. Stay tuned for more updates and cross your fingers my body and energy start cooperating :)

Going through the motions

I apologize for the lack for blogging but in all honesty, there really isn't too much to report these days. I've still been feeling pretty blah and laying low key other than trying to plan our master bed/bath remodel and buying silly things like this scooter above. I swore I would never buy a scooter but I needed to meet my ''I'm sick again so I might as well buy another toy'' quota. Plus, it's motivation to get better sooner so Bryce and start motor-pacing me when I'm fit and ready to get my leg speed back. It needs a few parts to make it zippier but it's still super fun.

I've also been in the kitchen baking quite a bit. I even attempted my first pot of homemade apple cider this past weekend. I couldn't resist making some GF/DF pumpkin donuts to go with it too. The weather has been much cooler so it felt appropriate :) Happy Fall!

In loving memory of Amy D

This past Thursday, the world lost an amazing, kind, and talented young lady. Amy was not only a good friend of mine, but a huge role model in our cycling community. We held a tribute for her on Friday at Rocky Mounts where her bike was proudly put in the rafters for everyone to see. Sunday was a candlelight memorial at the Valmont bike park. It couldn't have been a more appropriate place as it was one of Amy's favorite places. It makes me physically sick every time I think about it but I know she will always be watching down and smiling upon on us. RIP my sweet girl, I miss you so much already!

Click here to view one of the first articles that came out about her passing.

The cast is off!

I finally got my gnarly and stinky cast off this morning and above is what my thumb looks like nearly 6 weeks post surgery. The doc said it looks good but was a bit concerned with the extreme stiffness. I'm supposed to wear a splint when I'm in situations where I could be hazardous to myself (which really means full time) then wash dishes with hot water for the next four weeks. Hopefully getting the area warm and soft with hot water will help it loosen up and re-gain mobility.

Reading from left to right then top to bottom, you'll see the various hand apparel I've gone through since the crash on Aug 2. From the $16 Safeway splint, a post surgery bandage, a colorful and waterproof cast, and now a fancy mold-able splint, my right hand has seen it all. Some day I'll be back to normal!

Yes, we are okay!

Before I go into the details of the floods, I have to share a gorgeous pic of Melanie and James' newborn, Emery Mai Huang. She joined us on September 5th and is the cutest little thing. We brought them some homemade chili for dinner tonight and got to hear all about the first week at home. We're so happy for them and can't wait to watch Emery grow up :)

And onto the floods. We are safe and VERY fortunate. Although we had some flooding in our basement, it could have been way worse. The Torrance boys came over to help us dig some ditches to divert the standing water filling the window wells.

Bryce used old dryer vents and bicycle tubes to re-direct the gutter and sump pump drainage away too.

This is a street (or was a street) less than a mile directly north of our home. It's been a long week and seeing the damage in person is simply devastating. We have been told that the rain needs to subside in order to assess the true damage but estimated figures, timelines, and missing people are astonishing. The whole situation seems surreal right now but I'm sure it will set in this coming week. Check out this gallery of pics to see more of the situation - http://photos.denverpost.com/2013/09/12/photos-massive-flash-flooding-along-front-range-of-colorado/#1