New Desert Discoveries
Who knew that Tucson had it's very own oasis? Well, one remains and it is now preserved in a park called "Agua Caliente." The oasis sits at the base of Mt. Lemon (you can see the mountain in the background) and is exactly how you would imagine a desert oasis: palm trees, lush green grass, birds and turtles...pretty cool!

My other cool discovery for the day was blooming cacti. I have been to the desert in the spring but have never seen a cactus blooming. The prickly pears have little buds all over them and the started opening today.

Tomorrow is my last day in the desert for the year and I hope to see more blooms and find new discoveries...and continue to work on my tan! :)

Living The Good Life
I am spending my pseudo-spring break in Tucson riding with an athlete...its 80F and sunny right now! An interesting tidbit: It takes 70 years for a branch of a saguaro cactus to grow. That means this cactus is literally hundreds of years old!

So, not only am I getting paid to ride my bike in Tucson this week, but I also get to sit on and watch my athlete do all the work! :) Actually, I was holding her for starts today and then jumped on my bike and sprinted up to her...at which point I sat on until her interval was over. But I did pull her around when she wasn't doing intervals so I did earn my keep. :)

Mary is getting Married!
As you know, my good friend and old roommate,Mary is getting married...which means she has to pick out a dress. A couple of weekends ago we went out to get her feet wet and try some frilly, not so frilly, sparkly, lacy, and just plain ugly dresses on...

Mary tried this one on just for me...I would definitely say it got the biggest laugh of the day! :)

Anne and I got to try bridemaids dresses on afterwards...neither of these dresses made the cut...you'll just have to wait and see the color and style! :)

Last Day of Winter!

Really, could you ask for a more perfect end to winter...60F and fresh snow on the peak...and I will be starting spring off in the desert...tanlines here I come! :)

Healthy Hair

Chemo did a number on my hair as you can imagine...not only did a lot of it fall out (took about 8 weeks before it stopped falling out after chemo) but it also got really nasty and frizzy. Last week I finally got fed up with my chemo frizz and cut a bunch of it off. I can still pull it up in a pony tail but it somewhat resembles my short hair days...which are not coming back as I have Mary's wedding this fall. I am ready to be frizz free again just as soon as healthy hair grows back.

Red Wings/Avs Game Featuring Growler Boy and Muffin Top
Chris and I try to go to watch the Wings when they are in town every year; however, this year was extra special as we used it to celebrate the end of my treatment and got really nice seats...row 20 on the blue line! :)

With such great seats, how could we miss warm-ups? This picture is for Peter as Lidstrom is in it.

Our seats were awesome not only because they were so close to the ice but also because we were surrounded by Wings fans! The little boys in front of us painted their faces and dyed their hair red with a white skunk stripe.

But it was the people next to us who really caught our attention; in fact, they were pretty much an ongoing sideshow throughout the game. Chris became best friends with Growler Boy who was seated right next to him and incredibly intoxicated. Just in front of Growler Boy was Muffin Top who was in close second in regards to intoxication. I thought Growler Boy was really funny but that is because I had Chris as a buffer (who was under constant attack of flying cotton candy, peanuts, and beer.)

In the end it was a great night...the Wings won and we had a lot of good laughs! :)

Go Renee Go!

First day of March and first race of the season for some local cyclists. After freezing my butt off during an early ride with Renee, Mandy and I went downtown to watch the one and only local crit of the season. While it was fun to cheer Renee on, I can honestly say I was quite content on the sidewalk. Not sure if that is because I know where my fitness is right now or because I really do love track racing more than road now. Track season is only four months away! :)

Spinning Nation 09

If you will recall, I posted a few weeks ago about the national Spinning Nation event. Well, yesterday was the day and I joined the VillaSport team for an hour of power and fundraising. I believe the team raised about $4000 as of the second hour of the event. It was fun to be a part of the team and spend some time hearing other survivor stories.

Time to Let the Cat out of the Bag

Mandy is pregnant!!! :) She is due in July and is going to wait until then to find out whether she is having a boy or girl. This picture was taken on Valentine's day before she was really showing but I am happy to report two weeks later so is starting to develop an awesome baby belly! :) I keep telling her Kate is an great name for her baby but I have yet to convince that naming her first child after me is a really good idea.

Boulder's Very Own Velodrome

A few weeks ago I went up to Boulder to hang out with Chris and check out the new velodrome...it's indoor which is really cool but only 140 meters which is not so cool. (compare that to our track which is 333 meters). I heard it is like riding "woop-de-woops" because of the G forces. I think I will leave G forces to the rollercoasters and keep my track riding on the 7-11 velodrome in the Springs.