Bring It On!
Yes, you read the headline right...I was at the State "Spirit" Competition today...aka: cheerleading competition.

A few of the high school girls I work with cheer and since I didn't make it to any football games this year, I went to watch them in action this afternoon. This is their squad in the midst of a stunt. My girls did really well...but wow, there were some teams with girls flying 20 feet in the air during their stunts...while I am far from a cheerleader, I was definitely impressed!

Not only was it a cheer competition, there was a pom squad competition run alongside of the cheering. This is the Cherry Creek squad (think Carmel, IN or Bloomfield Hills, MI)...they were pretty darn good!

My girls...much relieved after finishing their routine. Their team has had a lot of injuries and girls quitting the past few weeks so the routine was not finalized until yesterday! And tip for any future cheerleaders, never part your hair down the middle...otherwise, it (appearently) looks like a b*tt crack (according to the girls' coach)

Playing "Tag"

So there is a new game in the world of blogging: Tag. Basically, when you get "tagged" you are supposed to share 5 things about yourself that most people don't know about you...then you are supposed to tag 5 more people. Here are my five random facts:

1. Beth and I have been best friends since we were in fifth grade...that's 17 years!!! (In spite of living in different states and 1000s of miles apart for the past 9 1/2 years!)

2. When I was little, the neighborhood kids taught me how to first ride a bike by putting me on my bike at the top of a hill...although they neglected teaching me how to break or turn...and the hill turned...rather than turning or slowing down, I rode straight into the bushes and landed in a pricker bush. (Somehow I still like riding bikes?)

3. I once broke my foot falling off the ever-so-popular platform wedge sandle...first I slid off of a stair and then I slid right off the side of my shoe. Crushed my fifth metatarsal and had an avulsion fracture on my first metatarsal.

4. When I was 2, I broke my leg jumping out of a swing (mimicing my older brother) and had a cast from toe to diaper line.

5. Bon Jovi is at the top of my "bands I have to see in concert before I die" list.

Okay, time to tag:
Jen (Partner in crime at Beth's wedding)
Anne (Roommate of 3 years!)
Jenny (Former teammate and Athens Twilight buddy)
Jordi (Renee's niece...I can't wait to hear what she has to say!)
Renee (Hey, you never said no tag backs...but, I am officially calling, no tag backs!)

Thanksgiving in Grand Rapids
Instead of heading west this year for Thanksgiving, my entire family flew back to Michigan to celebrate the holiday is Steve and Jen's new home. They just finished building it this summer and have only been living there for a few months now, so we got to break it in! :)

The whole crew was there...and while I had a ton of fun running in a balmy 30F with 20F windchill, overcast skies, and snow flurries, this trip confirmed that I do not belong in Michigan winters any more. However, despite the coldness, I had a lot of fun hanging out with my family, relaxing, and eating good food!

Steve and his first ever turkey...it was quite a sight to watch him transfer it to the turkey platter...and carve it...but he did an excellent job cooking it (with a little help from dad).

And Ms. Martha Stewart herself...Jen has a knack for decorations and did an awesome job with our dinner table...actually, she is better than Martha Stewart if you ask me! If you look closely you see little turkeys with chocolate balls in them...those were delicious...but not as good as the stuffing, rolls, and pies! :)

Last time up the Incline for the season...and a personal best!

Turkey and pie must have done me well this past week as I recorded my fastest time up the Incline to date: 34:30. It came as quite a surprise as my plan was just to climb at a steady pace without looking at my watch...which I did...and still came in at a personal best! Woo-hoo! And, I did the entire loop (Incline/Barr Trail) in 59 minutes flat. Maybe I should eat Thanksgiving dinners more often! :)

For those of you curious about the Incline, it is a an old cog railway trail that runs straight up the side of a mountain. You start at 6600 feet and finish at 8600 feet, that's 2011 feet of elevation gain in just ONE mile. The average grade 41% with the steepest topping out at 68%...it is an incredible climb and fun run down on the Barr Trail switchbacks (about 4 miles).

Did I mention that I was climbing in shorts and a t-shirt today??? I LOVE Colorado!

Kate in the Kitchen...Yikes!
Before celebrating Thanksgiving together, each highschool small group had items to prepare for the dinner. My group just so happened to be lucky enough to get the task of bringing pies. Now, we all know, I spend as little time as possible in the kitchen and far from a baker...

However, Kris, my fellow small group co-leader, loves to bake and was psyched to make pies (rather than buy them as I had suggested). So, this afternoon, I rolled my sleeves up and dove in...okay, well, I didn't dive in but I did help bake...

In fact, I made a BUNDT cake...yup, chocolate pumpkin bundt cake...it was actually really good despite some missing ingredients and messed up making on my part...but everybody liked it...although that does not mean I have any desire to make another bundt cake anytime soon!

Friday Night Fun
Before heading into 30 hours of straight school time this weekend, I got to hang out with Chris. Somehow I talked him into coming down to the Springs for the night...

That just might have been the product of tickets to the CC vs. Wisconsin hockey game...two awesome teams and one of the best sports out there!

While the game may not have been quite as amazing as last year's CC/DU game, it was still a great game to watch. 2-0 (CC) after the first period, 2-2 after the second period, then the Badgers scored at the start of the third (three goals straight) but CC came back to win 4-3 at the end. And thanks to Mr. Verbal Diarraeha behind us, Chris and I had a running commentary the entire night! Nonetheless, it was still an awesome game to watch.

Fatty Magee Goes For A Walk

People keep asking so here it is: A picture of my really fat face...fortunately the sunglases hide my swollen/bruised eye...yes, my eye was nearly swollen shut Sunday morning...and it has gone down some since yesterday's 48 hour peak...there is NO WAY I would have take a picture yesterday, it was horrible...still is if you ask me!

Survived Surgery and All Stiched Up

Well, I survived my two hours of surgery yesterday. Currently half of my face resembles that of a chipmunk and it's hard to smile because it is so fat. My tooth posed a bit of a problem and after no luck removing it from the roof of my mouth they went around front and cut it out piece by piece...stubborn kind of like me! The result: a whole lot of stitches all over my mouth but the tooth is gone and graft is in!

Going Under the Knife!

In about 2 1/2 hours I will be going under the knife for oral surgery...this time they are extracting my dormant canine tooth and putting a bone graft in. After that, in four months, they will put a titanium rod in...than six months after that the actual, permanent tooth will go on...and then I will FINALLY be done with all this stuff! As for this weekend, I am looking forward to a movie marathon which I may, or may not, remember due to all the Vicoden I am going to be on.

Woo-hoo, Straight A's and Second Year!

For those of you wondering how school is going, I am officially in my second year of classes and have carried into it a 4.0! I have also taken on 4 clients in the Counseling Center and was asked to co-facilitate an eating disorder group in the private practice of the vice president at school...that is a huge honor!!! With all that in mind, school is going great!!! Keeping me busy but awesome!

CVA Banquet

Last night was the annual, end of the year, CVA (Colorado Velodrome Association) Banquet. It was fun to see everybody spandex-free for once and I won "Most Improved Rider of the Year"! Woo-hoo! And Renee won "Rider of the Year". Congrats Renee! (Oh, and thanks for the picture usage! )

For more on the banquet, check out Renee's blog: http://vcsparky.blogspot.com/ (You might even get to see her all dressed up for a wedding this weekend as well!)

Tour de France meets "Full House"
Appearantly, Mr. 7 time Tour winner has found a new girlfriend...who just happens to be Michelle Tanner from "Full House"...

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, sick! Need I say more?

Trick or Feed!
Since Halloween fell on a Wednesday, I was lucky enough to spend it with a bunch of highschoolers in costume! Leslie (fellow Hoosier!) and I were the 1982 and 1980 Prom Queens...while it's fun to make fun of the 80's, I am so glad I did not go to highschool during them!

Along with dressing up, we went trick-or-feeding. Rather than going door-to-door collecting candy, we asked for canned goods and non-perishable food items to donate to the Colorado Food Bank. That was the first time I have been trick-or-anythinging since probably 7th or 8th grade! (And for the record, it was just as cold as a Michigan Halloween!)

By the end of the night we had collected quite a bit of food amongst the different groups...and I think some candy was picked up along the way as well! What a cool way to help others!

Watchout!

Due to yesterday's frigid (typical Halloween) temps, I decided to go for a trail run on Section 16...thankfully I did not notice this sign at the trailhead until after my run (very thankfully as I was kind of paranoid about the noises in the bushes yesterday anyways)...mountain lion sighted on the trail on October 26! Think I will be heading over to the Incline which tends to have more traffic this time of year.