A Lovely Life

My first reaction is to say (and I may or may not have actually said it), "Suck it 2013!".  However, that's super negative of me and while this year was full of challenges, it was also full of some great adventures, laughs and lots of lessons learned! January brought me to California for work where I earned my Body Geometry bicycle fitting certification.  I stepped WAY outside of my comfort zone by taking a class about body bio mechanics, handling bikes in a way I never have before and hanging out in a class that was 99.9% guys except for me.  I learned a lot and felt empowered! While I still have a long way to go, I really enjoy it.   **side note:  if you're interested in a fit for your bike...let me know!** We bought our first home in February.  It was a stressful/exciting/scary adventure for us knowing that we were here to stay and it is ours!  I loved being able to share in the experience with J because owning a home had been a huge goal of his and would

I am not one of those people who dread turning another year older.  In fact, I kinda love it.  I feel that every year that I get older is another year past where I earned another little stripe on this badge of life.  I like getting older.  I like being able to say, "When I was 21...."  I like the realization that I know more now as an adult than I did 10 years ago when, incidentally, I was ALSO an adult. On December 21st, I turned 30 and I got to do so surrounded by some of my favorite people in California!  J took me on a surprise whirlwind trip to California so that I could spend my big day with my cousins.  He's a good man, that one!   Our quick trip involved champagne by the Golden Gate Appetizers and cocktails at Water Bar with a view of the Oakland Bridge Dinner to celebrate J's birthday (the day before mine) at the Brixton in San Francisco Each thing we did was a surprise...when we got up on Saturday, we left to pick up my cousin and got i

I've been in a freaking DAZE for the last few days with the fire that happened in our shop and find myself exhausted at the end of the day...I think most of my co-workers can relate.  What helps keep me going is the overwhelming amount of love and support and well-wishes from all of the people inside the industry all over the country.  It helps remind me that all the crazy is worth it and things will calm down eventually. Kind words like: " Phoenix to the flame- PTB will rise and will return." " My thoughts and prayers are with my friends at  Peachtree Bikes , as they navigate the latest hurdle life has put in their way. It is a tough blow, but  I know you guys will be stronger when the dust settles." " Thoughts and prayers to Peachtree family. Pls let us know on here what the bike community can do to help out!" " Big Love to the fine folks at Peachtree Bikes. Holiday fire this year will not stop these good folks. Support your local sho

I'm pretty sure that Wednesday night was the most devastating night of my entire career.  Peachtree Bikes in Atlanta burned down.   Typing those words brings tears to my ears.  I'll let ya Google it, the images and videos and reports with speculations.  I'm gonna let you know what it was to be a part of it. My phone died after work that evening and I was spending time with family all night, so by the time I got in my car and had my phone plugged in, it was 10p.  I drove up Peachtree Road and got to a road block a block from our shop.  As soon as I got there and turned down the detour road, my phone literally went nuts.  The number of notifications coming in were insane.  So much so that I had to pull over while they started popping up.  I couldn't read most of them, but saw some familiar names of co-workers and friends and sorta just knew.   I drove around the corner to find my co-workers standing in our parking lot.  When I got out of my car I looked up and

So...it's been a month since we celebrated our first anniversary in Napa and Sonoma California.  I've been a bit of a slacker for sure!  Anyway, one of our bucket list items was to go wine tasting in Napa and we decided to do so while celebrating one year of marriage. It was lovely y'all.  The weather was perfect and I would highly suggest going in the Fall.  It was after harvest, the wineries weren't so packed you could barely move and the leaves on the vines were breath taking!  We had highs in the 60's almost every day and no rain or fog.  Perfection! The first part of our trip was dedicated to time together.  We stayed at a lovely cottage in Sonoma through that we found on Trip Advisor.  LOVE that website!  Anyway, rather than go into a trillion details about each winery and each wine, I thought I'd list them out with a couple of pictures from each one.  Napa Wine Train & Castello di Amorosa :  Day long trip that included a 3 course lunch and wine