That's good! That's bad!
This is one of the books that I always loved reading to the older boys when they were little. I read it to my class, too, for that matter. J has never really gotten all into it, but that's mostly because his daddy has him completely indoctrinated into Halloween, Christmas, look and finds, and toy books (Transformers, Pokemon, etc). Anyway, That's Good! That's Bad! is also the theme of today's post.#1: After saving since last Christmas, and looking and looking on Craigslist, I finally got a new bike* on Monday. Oh, that's good!
 |
| 2011 Specialized Hardrock Disc |
No, that's good, because my family and husband are going in together to pay for the rest of my bike for my Christmas present. :)
#2: My oldest son turned 18 yesterday. (ugh...I feel old!) Despite my well-documented organizational challenges, I actually made his cake the night before! Oh, that's good!
No, that's bad, because I left the cake on the stove yesterday evening, and the dog ate it!!
Here I made the cake ahead of time, and we still didn't have it for D's birthday. Oh, that's bad!
No, that's good...because, luckily, I had a chocolate cheesecake in the freezer. We'd bought it from D's choir fundraiser, and he's been campaigning to eat it. Luckily, I'd held him off and we still had dessert for his birthday.
#3: I'm volunteering Saturday at the Castlewood 8-Hour Adventure Race. Oh, that's good!
No, that's bad, because it turns out I committed myself to about 12 hours standing outside in temperatures forecast between 25 and 43 degrees. In fact, since I have to be there at 5:30, I'm going to have to leave my house by 4:30 a.m. On a Saturday. Oh, that's bad!
No, thats...OK, no sugarcoating it, that sucks. BUT...I've been wanting to get into adventure racing, and since I'm a total novice, it's a good chance to kind of see for myself what it's all about. I'm excited to get to see even my little part of it (and they encourage us to bring cameras and take pictures, so guess who else'll see my little part of it? That's right...YOU!). Plus, volunteers get a 50% discount off of a future BonkHard event. And I get to help and cheer on the participants and have a chance to do my part after all the people who've handed me water or cheered me on in a race this year. Oh, that's good!
No, that's GREAT!
OK, so...the new bike. First off, I really liked the bike shop, Trailblazer Bikes in Florissant, MO. I am painfully ignorant about bikes. Because we took the long way, we didn't get there Monday night until 10 minutes shy of closing time. Not only did they take the time to show me the bike I came to see (2010 Specialized Sport Disc...too small) as well as others at length, but they also didn't talk to me like I was the idiot girl that (in this instance) I clearly am.
For about $90 more than the bike I have on layaway (the one pictured above), which is a base model but comes with disc brakes unlike the 2010 base model ), I could get the next step up, the Sport Disc. From reading up (yes, soo effective to do your research after you make the purchase) it looks like the brakes on the Sport Disc are better, plus, the shocks can be locked out. The question is...well, there are two question, really. The first is if I could come up with the extra $90 anyway. The second is whether, for a rider like me, those differences will make any noticeable difference.
My brother and I have had this discussion more than once. I've been looking for a road bike for a long time, and he knows a decent bit about the components and such. He's always encouraging me to get the most bike I can, saying I will eventually not be happy with less. Of course, he's making that argument as a single man with one child and an Army captain's salary (with as much time as he has in the military, a nice salary), whereas my husband and I are raising three kids (two teenage boys, God help me...the grocery bill alone nearly equals the budget of a small town) on a little less than my brother makes. And I'd like to have as nice a bike as possible, but most any road bike is going to feel amazing after riding a pretty basic hybrid. If you don't know what you're missing, does it really matter?
I would have cried at the cake incident, they really need military school for cats and dogs - wouldn't that be great? Loved this post. As far as the bike my husband's bike was $1200 and he has had it for 9 years and it is in excellent condition, so, you will definatley get your money's worth out of it.(I about fell over when I heard what he paid for it - I never knew!) I'll think of you on Saturday morning - after 8am, that is!
ReplyDeleteI would have cried at the cake incident, they really need military school for cats and dogs - wouldn't that be great? Loved this post. As far as the bike my husband's bike was $1200 and he has had it for 9 years and it is in excellent condition, so, you will definatley get your money's worth out of it.(I about fell over when I heard what he paid for it - I never knew!) I'll think of you on Saturday morning - after 8am, that is!
ReplyDeletethe bad - not much.
ReplyDeletethe good - kate gets a new bike for christmas! which will last her a long time. what a nice family treat. plus lives in the fabulous midwest!
Nice looking bike! You can add a road bike later. The right number of bikes to own is N+1.
ReplyDeleteFunny about the dog. We have one that is a real scrounger too. If we leave loaves of bread too close to the edge of the counter, he eats the entire loaf while we sleep (like last night).
Have fun volunteering. You might want to throw some folding chairs and old blankets in your trunk in case you get a job that allows you to sit between racers coming by. Can't wait to see the pics!
Oh, my gosh, and we used to have a cat. He'd climb on the counters and eat the pumpkin pie if we left it out. Only the pumpkin, never the apple. I don't like pumpkin, so I thought that was pretty funny. This, not so much. :)
ReplyDeleteKristen, my best friend and I rode her husband mercilessly about 15 years ago after finding out he'd paid $1100 for his bike. I also asked him why he'd run a marathon if he knee he wasn't going to win. I have, ahem, since apologized on both fronts. :)
Mike, I like your math!
I love that book. I remember reading it to kids I babysat way back when. I think it will be fun to volunteer at the adventure race, even if it's cold! Dress warmly and cheer loudly and you'll be fine!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the roller coaster good/bad ride.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to meet you. I stumbled her from another blog.
I am glad your dog didn't eat the cheesecake as well...that would have been a tragedy.
Ooooohhh NOooooo, the dog must have decided to celebrate the birthday early :). I was laughing, but just along with you honey cuz we've all had those days, huh??!! Glad you had some frozen cheesecake - yummy!! Happy birthday to the 18 year old....man it goes so fast, huh??! Crazy!
ReplyDeleteI know next to nothing about bikes but it looks really cool...and the best part, no more having to save for it - hello Christmas!! :)
Good and bad can get switched around so quickly :) Yay for a new bike...I love my new bike (although mine is a hybrid), but I love it!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to your son...they do grow so fast. Oops about the cake...thank goodness for frozen desserts :)