a bicycle built for two

Last weekend we went to Salem to visit my parents, while we were there my mom and aunt had a surprise for me. It has been on my wish list for a long time and this year it is on my twenty five by twenty six list, so it had to happen.

What is it, you ask? A tandem bicycle!!

I am so excited, I jumped up and down like a little girl when they showed it to me. The bicycle originally belonged to my Noni and Elmer (my grandma and grandpa). They rode it in it's heyday and my goal is to restore it to it's former glory and ride it all over town!

We tried airing up the tires, but the air didn't last through the 5 second bike ride Alex and I took it on (I giggled the whole time) so they'll need to be replaced. The seats are pretty beaten up, so they will need to be replaced or restored. The brakes and chains will need to be checked out and the frame just needs a little elbow grease. Of course I'll be adding a horn and then it will be as good as new.

As soon as it's road ready, you better believe that we'll be riding it as much as possible (or as much as Alex will let me)!

close but no cigar

This week has been one of those weeks that by yesterday I needed a break. To catch you up on last week's news: we put an offer on a house. However, there were several other bids on the house and we didn't win.

There was a bit of disappointment, but mostly relief. We weren't looking for a new house and this one fell in our laps. It was a great price for a lot of space and potential. But, it needed a lot of work. Picture hunter green and mauve carpet, weird lighting and wallpaper, pink counter tops, a master shower straight out of a horror film and a giant water problem in the basement. But, the listing price was too good to pass up so we made an offer...

I was glad that we heard back when we did because we were both about to go nutty waiting. Patience isn't something we pride ourselves on. On the bright side, Alex's parent's closed on their new house and it's just down the road from us, so I would have hated to leave just as they were moving in.

happy friday

We have had one heck of a week! We've had a lot going on but, I'm not quite ready to share all the details. I'm a tease like that ;) Luckily, we don't have too much on the schedule this weekend, but I'm sure we'll find something to occupy our time.

This week I stumbled across these links to share, enjoy!

Why didn't this happen when I was on a subway in New York??

I have a love/hate relationship with email

We all check online reviews for movies and restaurants, if you were wondering if there were reviews for newborn babies, you would be correct.

What anti-vaxxers sound like to the rest of us. (ps. vaccinate your kids)

Is it time to start asking Fox to #savemindy??

Happy Weekend!!

Go! St. Louis 1/2 marathon

Today I ran in my 4th half marathon and I did it all by myself. It was much more mental than physical this time; I attribute that to being solo, but it was a good race and I'm pleased with my time and performance. I ran my personal best time: 2 hours and 14 minutes (my pace slowed down at around 8 miles...I had to stop to use the loo). I'm very glad that Alex was there to support me and cheer me on.

pre-race

post-race

I didn't get lost...I started my phone too soon.

I really liked the course and it was pretty flat with the exception of the bridges and overpasses, but that's what you get in a city race (in my experience).  We ran over the Eads bridge and then back up the MLK bridge, then down to the Anheuser Brewery and back up to the start/finish line.

I'm glad I ran this race and I'm not planning on hanging my shoes up anytime soon.