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 :)