All the pretty birds.

D is is prime time travel season.  While it may seem like all I do when he's gone is drink and browse the web, I do get out and about every now and then.  One of my favorite things to do is take out my bike on the Greenway.  Our house is about a mile from the actual Raleigh Greenway, and we have pretty large bike lanes on the main road where we live.

There is something about biking in itself that sort of puts you in the zone.   I never take music with me, so I'm left alone to my thoughts and surroundings.  The trail near my house is never busy (not even with the homeless).

I always see animals when I go out by myself.   Last time, I rode along side of a fox and saw a bunny.  There's the occasional scare when a scare runs out or bird flies across my path.

[via]

The Rocky Branch Trail portion is one of my favorite parts.  To the right is sprawling green fields dotted with rustic, hand-made fences.  There is even a picnic pavilion.  D and I must make a priority to bike out to this area with our picnic basket sooner than later.  There is never any people around this area.  I'm going to make a habit of my solo bike rides on greenway.

On another random note, I'm dedicated June "drinking June."

<a href="http://www.skinnyjeanschailatte.com" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhly4_egIDkAf6sEc21JK2s9R5a-d6br5lLBdVcW695Nkc2s046g4gMeDMQf1QgV2kcGIi3JS7OER1Y81qJPoEq3mhHhlT2vnoUWUv-Pe3yzM4sPW8V9Jf_spVdGtQcZxHm87PxtD-CjCc/s180/Drinking-June-button.jpg" border="0"></a>

I'm going to have some awesome ladies guest posting for me while I'm on my California road trip about their favorite drinks (they don't have to be alcoholic!).  If you get the urge to post about some of your favorite summer drinks, bring it on!

PS. Don't forget my giveaway ends on June 6!

Gotta get my bike on.

A while back, I talked about my tri necessities for swimming.  Let's pretend that I'm doing awesome with my training and not completely overwhelmed with work.  Learning how to ride a bike again biking is probably my favorite part of tri training.  It sucks that D's been in town, but his new bike has been out of commission.  Nonetheless, there are some really important necessities for biking long distances around town.

Step 1:  Find some sweet wheels.  I didn't have much any money to spend on a bike.  D was such a wonderful husband to help me out, but I couldn't break his bank either.  I found this beauty used on Craigslist for half the price!  She's categorized as a road bike which is perfect for what I'll be doing while training.  We did install a water bottle holder as well.  It's an adjustment getting used to the handle bars, but I love this bike for greenway riding.

Step 2:  Prepare for road collisions.  Yep, no chance I'm having another black-out experience after flying over my handle bars (true story)...not to mention any car that hits me will be a hell of a lot faster than my brother was on his bike.  I was not take the bike for a road spin without a helmet.  Sadly, helmets are expensive (again, thank you D).  You can get a pretty cool Schwinn for $20 on Amazon, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.  The Nishiki runs a bit more expensive.

Step 3:  Find a way to carry your inhaler pepper spray cell phone.  I have yet to get a good bike bag, but it's a necessity for long rides.  D got this one, which is surprisingly a perfect fit for the bike and everything I need.

Less necessities for biking than swimming, but more expensive.  I'm no pro so don't look to me for clip in cycle shoes or padded shorts (although I am totally considering this).

Any other biking accessories I'm missing?

Late weekend updates.

You guys, this week has been busy.  We did have a pretty kick-ass weekend, which was the perfect way to end my spring break (41 days, 41 days of school left). (Oh, and you can totally see these in "real time" if you follow me on Instagram!)

 [This guy overwhelming my work space]

 [Trying to perfect the sock bun...not sure it will ever happen]

 [Layers, boots, and a messy room]

 [Beer, beer, and beer.  Think extreme...beer in tequila barrels.  Holy hangover]

 [I started my mini-happiness project early]

 [A million cuddles with my favorite]

 [Amazing bike ride to Tasty Beverage for beer, cheese and crackers.  Guarantee I'll be doing this shit weekly.]

After such an amazing end of the week/weekend, I had to find a mantra for the week.  

To be honest, the beginning of the first day back to school was awful.  I almost broke down in tears.  It ended up being ok though.  I did start my day with yoga and really tried to focus on the positive.  I ended my day by winning something (I NEVER win) and coming home to our chicken coop!  More to come on the coop later!

Here's to a quick hump day and speedy Friday so we can start our weekend!

Beer, bikes, and rain.

I told you all about what I had in store for last weekend.  Let me tell you it didn't disappoint for kick-starting my spring break.  We just got back from DC, and I'll let you in on all that fun tomorrow!  For now, a delayed weekend update.

Sure enough, we started our weekend off at Raleighwood with a little beer and pizza.  We saw Sherlock Holmes, which I liked a lot.  I forgot how awesome the cinematography was from the first film.  Can you really go wrong with Robert Downey Jr., anyway?!

I mentioned the chicken coop may be an option for Saturday.  Even if our friend had been available, all day looked like this.

 [It started like this...]

[...then went to this]

Instead of coop building, we spent a good 3+ hours cleaning the house and packing.  Don't worry though, I self-medicated to get through my hatred of cleaning.

[Um, yeah...those clothes solidify my hatred of cleaning.  Beer makes everything better though]

I am SUPER thrilled because I was able to get my bike!  I just need a helmet and a little practice, then I'll be ready to hit the road!

Of course we rounded out the weekend by seeing the Hunger Games.  I pretty much loved it.  I thought the small changes were legit in conversion from book to movie.  I loved most of the casting (except Gale!) and thought Jennifer Lawrence was amazing.  I won't overload you on Hunger Games commentary though.  We headed straight to DC right after the movie which was a wonderful time!  

I'm still trying to savor every moment of spring break before it slips away too quickly.