Of course I put Yoohoo in my protein shake, don't you?

Remember when I said I don't get up at 5:30 a.m. on Friday mornings? Well, today I got up at 4:45 a.m. Yes, before the sun. Before the crows. Before...before anyone else in my house.

I got up at this ungracious hour to take Maria's spin class at the YMCA Indy Bike Hub. It was my first time to the facility and I was blown away.

This photo is from Yelp. I don't know who took it, but it's good.

Up until about a year ago (before I got really into running. I know, just a year ago I wasn't running much at all!), I was spinning at LA Fitness 5-6 days a week. I love it. I love racing against myself, feeling my heart beat in time with the music, and challenging my body in different postures on a bike. I loved walking into the studio anxious and walking out completely spent. When I started working on the north side of Indy, it became impossible to make 5:30 p.m. spin classes on time. With the 30 minute sign up lag and the limited space, I found myself consistently let down and at a want for a hard cardio work out (here comes running, kids). Fed up with the lack of access to the classes I want, adequate (and operable) equipment, and the overall environment, I decided a few months back to consider transferring my gym membership to the Y (if none of the same issues were prevalent).

Wait, it's Thursday?

Do you ever wake up not knowing where or when you are? Of course you do - everyone does. I woke up this morning to the sound of rain on the window A/C unit, and I thought something was going terribly wrong. Indiana has been in a state of drought emergency all summer, so instead of recognizing the soft pelting/chinking noise as rain drops on metal, I thought the unit was exploding. Of course my first reaction was to kick and shake it. We all make wonderful decisions at 4 a.m.

I miss Colorado storms. Photo from Jason Poulton

Before I go any further, I should let you all know that I talk about exercise and working out a lot. Like, all of the time. Other than sleeping, eating and working, it's the only thing I do everyday that isn't a natural body function. You've been warned.

Weekend Recap: Everyone Does it

So the weekend begins for me on Friday. I woke up Friday morning at 5:30 (the usual time my alarm goes off on Fridays - I certainly didn't get out of bed) expecting to see the sky lighting up for the day. Instead, I was greeted by darkness. The days are getting shorter, students are returning to school, the pool is becoming less enticing, and I'm craving pumpkin...everything. Fall is coming, but not just yet.

That being said, the cooler air was a welcome change from the typical morning heat wave and I was excited for a cool morning for my bike to work. A few months back, the city of Indianapolis and the non-profit group INDYCOG hosted "Bike to Work" day. I'm an "avid" cyclist, so I jumped at the opportunity to participate in the event, even if only as a solo rider. Strapping on my  helmet and lacing up my shoes, I took off for work on the Monon to be a bit disappointed by the lack of participants. Where were the dozens of group rides promising smiles, waves and high fives? Well, they were in bed. Turns out bike to work day was the next Friday. To make up for the error, I vowed to participate in the real bike to work day the next week. Since then I've been biking to work at least once a week.

It's been a while, but I'm coming back

Hey everyone,


It's been more than a year since I've updated this blog, but I'm getting back into the game. I have so many wonderful things happen to me on a daily basis - so many wonderful discoveries - that I'd love to share with you all!

Color Run Courtney's
(minus Mrs. Courtney P - I lost her in a belly dive)

In the mean time, make sure you're also checking out the blogs of some of my dear co-workers and friends:

you make me write in haiku

I am very lucky. And happy.

essential

My friends and I at work exchange essential mixes. well, they exchanged them once in the past, in season one, before I came along. I'm part of season two. Like the white ranger.

Anyway, it was an incredibly daunting project for me. Someone's musical choices say a lot about their state of mind, heart and soul at any particular time, and I was afraid of what mine would say. I've been feeling recently like a broken gumball machine. My giant, glass bowl of individual parts, thoughts, memories, choices, experiences - it was dispensing fine. Put a quarter in, out rolls a piece of me. Measured, consistent, mechanical, predictable. Imagine that glass bowl shattering, and all of your bits and pieces rolling about on a checkered floor, some going under the fridge, some falling through the cracks, all moving (and eventually stopping) at different speeds and at different rates. That's how I feel.

I'm OCD about the kitchen. I really, really like a clean kitchen. I clean the dishes immediately (most of the time) after I use them. My gumballs are rolling around the kitchen floor, and instead of picking them up, I think I just sat down and am watching the colors for a while.

You miss the individual parts when everything is collected and contained. I'm discovering incredibly shaped and colored gumballs, that I didn't know I had. I'm also throwing away some of the moldy ones. Can gumballs mold?

It's super. I'm doing super. Everyone should break their gumball machine sometime.

attack fox friday

Julie is incredible. Not only is she a super talented artist, she also makes me pee my pants laughing on a daily basis. I've said in the past (not on here, obviously. The past on here is only like, a week. The past as in the past of real life...I'm rambling...) that I work with the best people ever, and she's one of them. She made me this:



Attack Fox. This is not her best work, but it's close.

In all seriousness, you should check out her real work here. You won't regret it.