The Trimmier Life

Just a short story to try to get some of my angst out:  As I rode my bike up to Fort Knox this morning (aka USAA) I realized I didn't have my badge.  Any of you who have visited me at work are aware that you cannot get onto the USAA campus without showing proper identification, being finger-printed, giving a blood sample and giving up your first born…well, maybe I'm exaggerating, but they are really strict about having your ID on you at all times (even when just driving on the campus).  So although I tried to persuade the security guard to let me through the checkpoint so that a co-worker could get me through the 2nd checkpoint (at the main security desk) so that I could get to the gym to finish my workout and take a shower, it didn't work.  And as I sat there waiting for Dustin (his 6:51am wakeup call was a far cry from the 8:15 alarm he is accustomed to!) I got madder and madder at myself for doing such a stupid thing.  In the end, I had to wait an hour for Dustin to bring my ID, had to cut my workout in half, and had to rush getting ready in order to make it to my desk by 9am. I'm over it now and just thankful that I have HHH (that's Tripple Husband – kinda like AAA) roadside assistance! Thanks baby for saving my butt and bringing my ID!

I want to say 2 things:

First, from what I can tell of Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz’s wedding, it was beautiful – black and red color scheme with hundreds of black magic roses accented with deep red calla lilies (hhhmm – reminds me of someone else’s wedding )

Secondly, I’ve come to realize that the only regret I have about my wedding is letting Merick talk me out of letting Rylie be my ring bearer (read inset on first picture below).  See Merick, it CAN be done — Ashlee and Pete had their English bulldog carry the rings and I know labs are much smarter than English bulldogs!  hehe.

I like to believe I am pretty green.  I recycle everything that I can.  I will even go as far as to dig the recyclable glass and plastic containers out of the garbage (should they be on the 1st or 2nd layer without too much gunk on them) that Dustin so often "accidentally" forgets to put in the recycle bin.  I always break down my boxes should they be of recyclable materials, I use the reusable grocery bags at HEB and Wal-Mart, skipping paper and plastic altogether, and I try to conserve electricity, water and other natural resources as often as possible.  I know I'm only 1 person, but every little bit counts.  And today, I took my greeness a step further and rode my bike to and from work!  I only live about 5 miles from my office and I recently learned that 2 other people near my neighborhood were commuting by bicycle…so I joined them.  Truthfully, I was really nervous this morning (despite having made my lunch, packed my bags, and laid out my clothes for the morning ride), but as I took off using nothing but pedal power at 6:25am the nervousness faded and the excitement grew.  I met my bicycling co-workers about 1/2 mile into my ride and from there it was smooth sailing.  There weren't too many cars (leaving at 6:30am means you beat rush hour) and the ride was rather exhilarating – cool wind hitting my face, muscles working so early in the morning!  And while many people told me that my afternoon ride home in the 95 degree heat would be the opposite of exhilarating, they were wrong — I actually enjoyed the return trip too (dodged a few more cars leaving the office at 5:15pm, but still most people were courteous and I never felt unsafe).  I wore my heart rate monitor on the way home and by time I put my bike up and did a short cool-down walk around the neighborhood, I had burned 400 calories!  Yippeee!  Being green is turning out to be beneficial in more ways than one!

Technically, it hasn't rained yet and hopefully it doesn't within the next week!  Yesterday, as I finished my cool-down lap after riding my bike home from work, I opened the garage door to find a 4 inch rip in my convertible top!!  Not sure how it got there…it's not on a seam or near the back window nor does it appear to be on a stress point, but it's there…big and rippy and torn all the way through to the inside.  Phooey.  This is not going to be fun to deal with.