What's been going on?

We've had a busy last couple weeks. I have been really busy at work. My counterpart has been on vacation so I'm covering his stuff. It's made for a stressful couple weeks.
We had Grandma Amy, my parents, and all of our friends over for dinner last Tuesday. It was a great time. I had a ton of compliments on the food. Thank you all.
Last weekend we experienced our first "Pucker" ride. Our friends Chris and Karol are on a RAGBRAI team called Team Pucker. It is named after the Pucker brand of schnapps. They are a drinking group of riders and Saturday was not different. We rode from Brainard to Valparaiso on the Oak Creek Trail. It's a rail trail (former railroad track turned into a crushed limestone rec trail) that runs 14 miles. So we had a 28 mile round trip ride that took 9 hours. Yes 9 hours. We left Brainard at 11 and got back there at 8 just before dark. We drank the whole way down and back. It was a lot of fun except for the extreme exhaustion we had to deal with on the way home, and the chiggers I got from somewhere.
Kelli had been out of town the last three days on business. She went to KC on Tuesday for the day and then left the next day to fly to Detroit. She'll be back tonight.
I've been continuing to ride my motorcycle and am getting used to riding in traffic. I think I'm going to start riding it to work next week.
Speaking of next week, it will be a short week. We have Monday off for Labor Day and then We took a day of vacation on Friday to go to Minneapolis to see Kelli's Uncle Tim and Aunt Terri. We are going to have Chris and Karol joining us this time so it should make for a fun trip. Chris has family up there so we are car pooling.

Done Deal

Tuesday I bought a motorcycle. It's a Suzuki Boulevard M50. I got a great deal on it and got some accessories at dealer cost. It is being delivered tonight, since I didn't feel comfortable driving it on the interestate yet. The plan is to take it to a parking lot and drive it around and get used to it. Then I'll graduate to the residential streets, and then on to the main streets and highways. I'm hoping Saturday I can get it out for a ride south of town. I chose this bike over the Honda because it has fuel injection. Plus I liked the all black look of this bike.

It's Almost Time to Ride!

I've been taking a motorcycle safety course this week. I signed up back in May and this was the first class they had available. I'll be done on Sunday and will be able to get my motorcycle license after that. So far so good with the course. We don't actually ride bikes until Saturday and Sunday. I'll be done on Sunday and will be able to get my motorcycle license after that.

So why a motorcycle you ask? Well my truck gets 13mpg in the city. With gas nearing $4 a gallon I pay close to $80 to fill up my tank. So as part of our new green lifestyle I'm trying to reduce my carbon footprint. A motorcycle will get me 40-60mpg. So to commute to work it will be ideal. I'd eventually like to take it on a few long weekend trips with Kelli.


As of now the bike I'm looking at is a Honda Shadow Spirit 750 C2. It's a good bike for a first time rider like myself.

Simply Simple

Enviro-friendly, green and Mary Janes? Could it be true? Say it ain't so . . .

Check out these fabulous shoes by Simple.

The one review on REI isn't so fabulous, but I don't think that will stop me. Here is the description.

Suede leather Mary Jane uppers are supple and feature two straps with snaps

Vulcanized rubber sidewalls, toe caps and heel wraps enhance durability and protect uppers

Printed organic cotton canvas linings are soft and breathe well to keep your feet comfortable

Ortholite® antimicrobial EVA and recycled rubber pedbed™ insoles/midsoles provide cushioning underfoot

Durable rubber outsoles are made from recycled car tires and thus grip the road as they should!

Made with water-based cements to avoid releasing harmful glue toxins into the air

Simple uses 100% post-consumer paper pulp foot forms and has also reduced the stuffing used in packaging for less waste

Maybe the birthday fairy will leave them on my doorstep?