Meatloaf, Smeatloaf

I had some big plans of taking a Christmas photo of Mike and I out on the snowy and frozen trails. However, that plan never came to fruition as the only stopping was to maneuver around ice (there was a lot of that), speed pee and let the hands get warm. Digging the phone out was the last thing on my mind as it was a wee bit chilly out there. It was cold enough to start that Mike had to take extra precautionary measures so his junk didn't get cold on the road ride to and fro:

When I asked Mike what he wanted for Christmas dinner his response was "Meatloaf." Meatloaf? Really? I was thinking beef tenderloin,ham, seafood...not meatloaf. Cue A Christmas Story:

                             " Meatloaf, smeatloaf, double-beatloaf. I hate meatloaf."

So I covered it in bacon to make it more Christmas-y.

Everything worked out.

There is always a sigh of relief as the holiday insanity comes to a close. This year it's a little different for me as I did something a tad bit on the silly side, so now it's my turn  to get a bit crazy. I made the decision to go to Utah this year and do the True Grit Epic. For those of you keeping score, that's an NUE on March 15th. I wouldn't feel so nervous about it if I had been feeling well these past few months. I'm on the up and up now and I just hope it continues so I can get what I need done so I don't embarrass myself (too much). All nervousness and fear of looking like an ass aside, I am pretty excited to go ride in St. George. I promised myself last year that I would do a new-to-me NUE venue even if  it required a plane ticket and well, I like to keep my promises.

Home with Bowie Instead

Well, my weekend did not go as planned. We had planned on going down to Philly for sscxwcphilly. We were registered, had a room and plans with some great folks. Friday I did my shakedown ride to see if my newly ordained sscx bike was in acceptable working order. The bike was great. I on the other hand was not feeling so chipper. It had been a really rough week with very little sleep because the body was having a little fight with itself. I felt flarey and a bit feverish on Friday before we were supposed to leave and I had to make the call. My hands were terrible. It was not an easy call. I could have not "raced" and still have gone for the party. However, when I feel like that I'm not much fun (In fact, I'm a total bummer) and socializing and fun are the last things on my mind. All I want is my pajamas, tea, a couch and bad TV. I could have gone and maybe have felt better, but I knew there was a good chance that if I went I could possibly be sick for a couple of weeks after. I couldn't risk it. I'm on immunosuppressants right now and prednisone still, so it was the smart thing to stay home. I rarely choose the smart thing.

Friday I made the call and decided that I was going to sleep. I really don't like to take the drugs they give me for pain and sleep because I feel so terrible on them and the next day I feel so hungover that I may as well have been doing shots of tequila all night. Well, I caved and I slept. With pharmaceuticals comes crazy dreams for me. I had a dream that David Bowie lived with us. He was an excellent cook but shockingly messy. I did not expect that out of Ziggy Stardust. Iman was not allowed to visit at the house because she was too mean and those were the house rules.

I didn't get to play in costume on a singlespeed cross bike with my friends in Philly. I'm bummed I missed the show. That's the way it goes, I guess. Live to fight another day. At least my house guest made me some killer scones.