Some Assembly Required

It is with immense relief and gratification that I sit here with a cup of coffee, on my crappy brown sofa, in my brand new townhome. Yes, I am fat and out of shape, but....I am home.

After nearly 3 weeks of insanity.....moving, driving across states that look like Mars, wearing the same 5 work outfits over and over, attempting to get workouts in on a treadmill, and feeling like I was on a very bad, extended vacation.... I am finally settled!

Movers came on Wednesday, but the immense number of boxes was really frightening. I didn't make much of a dent at all by the time work rolled around on Thursday, and DH has the worst ADD on the planet and didn't get much accomplished on his own on Thursday OR Friday. So I'd been feeling a little stressed out and overwhelmed by all the unpacking and general chaos in my life. Fortunately, I finally conquered the last of the boxes last night, and hubby assembled the remaining piece of his Ikea shopping spree.

My bike was assembled on Friday night. It was a process, though. They'd removed the front wheel, the front derailleur, the stem with handlebars, seatpost, and pedals. But I was determined to do it myself, so I took it upon myself to carefully pull it out of the Ladera Cyclery-packed box and extricate my beloved "Buff." What a bitch that was! Suffice it to say that figuring out how to reassemble this thing was not as easy as I thought it would be. I spent a lot of time on the floor all greased up, crying, wondering how I'd get it all together with my little multi-purpose bike tool. Alas, an hour later, I had an intact bike.....until I realized that my seat was tilted to the right and the handlebars were pointed in a different direction than the wheel. Oops! So, more adjusting, and it was perfect.

I even took it for a 16-mile spin yesterday. After a short technical difficulty, I took off on the C470 trail by my crib and enjoyed my first Colorado ride in several years. My take? Well, bike paths are no Santiago Canyon. I actually got going faster on the downhills than I ever did in California, but I was scared to death.....all sorts of gravel and sand on the trails, and the trails themselves twist and turn unpredictably. I was riding the brakes like there was no tomorrow.

I have a race next Sunday, and to be honest, averaging 16mph yesterday just isn't going to get me anywhere near the podium. Hopefully I gain a few mph on the road and redeem myself, but who knows. I'm happy to report that my legs feel 100% -- it's the cardiovascular that stinks really bad here in Colorado. I'm signing up for a fall run program next week, so I am hopeful that'll help with the cardio.

SO, that is my scoop. Am settled. Am on my way to being happy, but as we all know, that's a tough order. I'm still out-of-shape, but I'm trying to be active without my Divas. Work is work.....some of it is mundane, but I work for a great person and overall it's a pretty easy deal. And it moved me back home, which has made everyone happy. (As I said, I'm getting there)

And for those who know us personally, hubby has been hired by another airline and we think his class will start in October. My Dad is teaching the class, so we are hopeful this will be a little bit easier the 2nd time around. We could use your good thoughts, though.

Promise to write more from here on out. Have plenty to write about now-- life at altitude!