Interesting Fact
I just realized last night that I have had my braces on for an entire 1/4 of a decade...so much for the anticipated 18-24 months of these suckers!

Still Fighting Mice!
This is my newest contraption to keep a stubborn mouse out of my room...it is actually Anne's idea as the mouse has been bouncing back and forth between our rooms. Let me tell you, seeing a mouse scurry through your room will cause you to be very creative to keep the darn thing out until it finally gets caught!

The Blizzard Hit...
Just not downtown...phew! I woke up this morning and looked outside to find this...no snow and sunny, blue skies! Although, it was cold and windy...the real blizzard weather was about 10 miles east and 10 miles north of us. Those conditions were so bad that the highways were shut down again...it's crazy how the weather is so drastically different only a few miles apart! Although, I am not complaining because I am really over riding my trainer this winter!

A New Record for this winter...
As of today, I have ridden outside for 8 days in a row...that is definitely a record for the most days ridden outside in a row in Colorado this winter! Unfortunately, we are expecting another snow storm tonight...at least I head to Cali in less than two weeks! :)

Notice the blown down lattice behind me on the fence? It was really windy today, some of the gusts almost blew me over...though I would say they are nothing compared to those monsoon winds I have ridden through in CA!

Fat Tuesday!
It's that time of year again...don't forget to eat your Paczki (poun-ch-ski)!

Mary's Big Adventure!
Mary and I went make-up shopping today...she is learning to wear make-up for her sister's wedding in April. After buying the make-up, we went home and learned how to put it on...she did really good for her first time of ever wearing make-up!

Valentine's Day with The XFactor
Last night I got to hang out with the youth group at the Arc...a local thrift shop chain. We were paired off into guy/girl combos and had to pick outfits out for each other. It was hysterical! I can honestly say I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. The guys were good sports parading around in there dresses! :) This is Alan, our youth pastor, posing in his hot outfit. I would share my outfit except I only have a picture with my partner and it somehow seems wrong to post pictures of highschool boys in dresses...just a little embarrassing! But you get the picture, it was downright funny!

Drugbust in OCC!
So, just as I finished up my power intervals and was thinking about how I cannot wait for the next 5 1/2 weeks to be over (my current training build), I noticed a cop car fly through the stop sign and come to a screeching halt...then a girl gets out of her car, thrown face down against it, handcuffed and thrown into the cop car...and then I notice another cop standing with his gun raised watching the car. In the end, 4 highschool kids got arrested and I think there was a total of 6 cop cars out front. I definitely think it was a drug bust. Alan and Richard (our neighbors) are always complaining about deals going down on our corner...apperantly they are right! Today was quite possibly the most exciting trainer ride of my life!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cosby has the right idea!
Since I was sick all weekend (Dr. Beth confirmed I had the flu) and have spent the past two weeks straight working on papers and presentations, I thought I would post this picture of Cos...this is his favorite way to cool down after playing ball. He just plops down on the top step of the pool for awhile! :)

Still Sick
So I have officially decided I have a chest cold, all of the signs and symptoms fit. Though I do feel a bit better today, I am still far from healthy. And my roommate Anne is home with the flu and strep throat...well she is going to the doctor this afternoon but that is probably what she has. A highlight is that Mandy has successfully caught three mice and one of our traps is now missing...appearantly there is a mouse running around with it now!

I think I have whooping cough!
Okay, maybe I don't have whooping cough but I am pretty sure I coughed up an entire lung last night...I was perfectly healthy Monday night, 3 hours later after class I started coughing. I think our entire student body is sick right now and of course I had to get sick at the start of my next build on the bike and in the midst of writing research papers!

IU is so cool!
Student Athletic Board asks fans to dress like SampsonIU coach wears blue dress shirt, red tie to all games
by Michael SanserinoIndiana Daily Student

Published Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Ryan Nietert knows better. You don't wear white after Labor Day.So when the Student Athletic Board president wanted to rally IU's student fans for the men's basketball team's game against Illinois on Saturday, Nietert didn't suggest a white out. Instead the senior wanted all students to wear a blue shirt and red tie as a tribute to IU coach Kelvin Sampson. "The Illinois game's a nationally televised game and I thought it would be a great thing for us to do to support him," Nietert said. "We were thinking about doing a red out, but the press would pick up more on this than a red out. They would see that we really support coach Sampson." Certainly the game's atmosphere will be much different than it was the last time these two teams met. Sampson was the subject of numerous student chants when the Hoosiers and Illini met in Champaign, Ill., last month. Sampson's relationship with Illinois coach Bruce Weber has been rocky at best since Sampson swooned North Central guard Eric Gordon away from an Illinois commitment to IU. One Facebook group is asking students to bring baby rattles to the game -- insinuating that Weber has whined too much about the Gordon saga. Nietert said the SAB didn't intentionally plan the "Sampson out" this weekend to spite Weber and the Illini.In fact, it was an idea Nietert said the Student Athletic Board wanted to implement at the Wisconsin game for the few SAB directors who sit near the court at Assembly Hall. They nixed that idea when other students organized their own impromptu white out. One concern Nietert has with the "Sampson out" is the cost students might incur to buy a blue collared shirt and red tie, which typically costs more than the plain white T-shirt worn during white outs. This is a concern marketing staffers in the athletics department shared with him, Nietert said. "A lot of girls don't have blue shirts and red ties," he said. "If girls really want to do this, they'll find one of their guy friends and borrow a red tie from them. I understand there are cost implications, but at the same time you can do a blue T-shirt with just a painted red tie on it." Other students are pushing for a red out, a Facebook event that had drawn more than 100 guests as of Monday night.

"Student Athletic Board asks fans to dress like Sampson"
http://www.idsnews.com/story.php?id=40724
© 2000 Indiana Daily Student

HOORAY!!!
It's finally warm enough to ride outside again...in fact it is supposed to be in the mid 50s today. Now that is what I am talking about! :)

More Snow!
Just when all of the snow finally melted off...we got more! Not too much but till, it's on the ground which means I am still on the trainer and rollers. And Col (our dog) doesn't like it too much either because he has too cold to be outside for very long... it's FREEZING cold outside...I guess I would be riding indoors even if there wasn't snow with this frigidness. For those of you in Cali, stay there! I am on my way at the end of the term!

GO HOOSIERS!!!
IU upset #2 Wisconsin last night, ending the Badgers 16 game winning streak! Woo-hoo!!! Peter was there and said it was an unbelievable game...I have a feeling the energy was something like the IU-Duke sweet 16 upset I saw at Rupp Arena in 2002! Watch out, our team is back!