My brother got a Wii for Christmas. WEEEEE!! “Wii”ve been having lots of fun messing around with all the options on the system. So far, the absolute most fun thing has been creating your own Mii for the game.

So when you play the Wii, you can make your own “Mii.” Yes, you can make a digital animation of yourself and ‘mingle’ with other Miis on the game. You go thru all these options to change your hair, eyes, add makeup, eyebrows, facial hair, everything to customize your little digimation of Mii. I told Joe to dress in drag for his Mii, but he didn’t find that too amusing. And of course, Greg was the only one who could pull off the full length Jesus beard. See below picture and you’ll agree.

What did I get for Christmas? Well, I sure didn’t get a Wii, but I have lots of “weeee” in me when I listen to my new little iPod Shuffle. Now I just have to think of all the places I can clip this bad boy. Yes CLIP. It has a little clip and apparently I’m not the only one who thinks the shuffle clip is cool. Here is an expert opinion on why the Shuffle kicks the Nano’s butt, and here is my opinion added to it. Alisha comments added in between the *asterisks*, YAY!

1. It has a clip on it. This is better than a lanyard, because you can clip it wherever you want: on your shirt sleeve, on your lapel, on a pocket, on your earlobe, and even on the zipper flap of a jacket. *oo, I really like this option… wherever you want. imagine that.*

2. Its controls are not touch-sensitive like the nano. If you’ve been out on a walk in the cold weather, you’ll know that the nano can’t be controlled with a gloved hand. Not so with the shuffle, which can be easily manipulated with even the thickest gloves on. Great for cold weather outdoor activities. *Especially good for when I’m out riding or running in freezing weather. Now my mind can be kept off the cold by the music.*

3. It’s tiny. It’s hard to imagine just how small the shuffle is until you’ve held one in your hand. It’s literally the size of a postage stamp. It’s 1 5/8″ wide and 1 1/16″ tall and it’s 3/8″ thick including the clip. Sure, there’s no screen, but if you have a playlist in a particular order, or a lineup of podcasts you want to hear on a long walk, who cares? *It’s tiny! Like me! WEE! And we all know good things come in small packages.*

4. It’s cheap. At $79, it lowers the barrier of entry to using the iPod complement of features, the best of which is the iTunes Music Store which has a tremendous selection of DRM music that’s easily cracked, and the whole system works well with all of Apple’s players. *Yes, cheap I like b/c I have no money.*

5. It’s not a Zune. If you’re thinking of giving a digital audio player as a gift, few people ever get pissed off because they received an iPod. Its graceful unboxing experience alone is enough to warm the cockles of even the coldest Apple hater’s heart. *That’s right, Apple is taking over the world… now everything is just as it should be.*

– Charlie White & *Alisha Lion, the new face of electronic gadget opinion*

Yay! Now I can listen to Justin all day long and no one will know… well, unless you actually read my blog.

I also got one of those GPS things. A Garmin Forerunner 305. Wow, so I have to figure out how to use that. Maybe it’ll be easier than my SRM, which I still have no idea how to use. I mean I can download stuff, but I forgot how to zero it out or whatever. Oh well, that’s what coaches are for.

Merry Christmas everyone!

It’s cooooollddd and rainy here in Raleigh, but jeez… I think about what the weather was like last year when I was in Munich and I feel much better. It was already snowing regularly there at this time. I think Joe and I had the pleasure of being in Munich during one of the worst winters on record. It was pretty seeing the snow, but you get really tired of the grey cold that sets in across the city. Especially the old buildings in Munich just make it feel even colder. Brrrr…

So I enjoyed a long swim and long run today, with some yoga-lates thrown in. Ha! Is it yoga or is it pilates?? Who knows, you have to go and be the judge. I went to the class and I still can’t decide myself. hehe

Looks like the weather is going to clear up over the weekend. That’ll be nice. Joe and I are heading to the mountains to visit my parents and see friends. I’ll make it up to Boone at least one day for some climbing practice… been a while since I stretched the climbing legs… I’m looking forward to it!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve to all!

Well, I’m sure if you actually check my race calendar, you can see that I didn’t race Bandit’s this past weekend. I’ve had some serious stomach aches and pain in my left abdomen area and I spent Friday morning at the Urgent Care center trying to figure out what was wrong.

I’m doing a little better although I don’t feel completely right. So we’ll see. It’s just crazy not feeling like myself… especially because I’m so in tune with my body.

I still came up to Blowing Rock and spent the weekend with my Father-in-Law, Steve. I had a great time. My dog, Symba, had a blast romping around the big grassy fields with Steve’s dogs. Symba was happy to have playmates for a couple days I could tell.

On Sunday I went on a nice ride with Jim Harmon and company starting in Valle Crucis. It was great to get out and see the mountains again… and the weather was amazing. We had a high of 70 degrees with no humidity and it was so sunny. The climbs were great like always, and I was able to chat and reconnect with friends I haven’t seen in a while since being in Raleigh.

Steve and I met up for the afternoon to chat and check out the house in downtown Blowing Rock that Joe and I will be staying at next weekend for the Brutal Century to make sure that it was in order. Everything looked good and it’s a go for the coming week!

Til then… happy trails, enjoy your day!

Wow, it is SO hot here in Holly Springs. We have excessive heat warnings issued from the National Weather Service for the next few days. This weekend we have a “cold front” coming through so our high temps will only reach the mid 80’s. haha, but the heat turns back up on Monday.

I went on a great run today with Dorothy and Leigh at Umstead Park, then I went for a swim. This evening Todd and I went out on a short spin around Holly Springs. I took the chance to explore a few roads that were unpaved before Joe and I left to go to Munich and now they are nicely paved… so now thanks to my short exploration ride with Todd I know where they go!

This weekend I am looking forward to hanging out in Raleigh and doing some great rides with Diana and Alicia, possibly Joe will come out and make an appearance! Yippeee…

Next weekend will be my first Triathlon race, the Bandit’s Challenge in Wilkesboro. Until then I hope I don’t melt in the heat, stay cool out there…

Whew, it’s been hot around here in Holly Springs the past couple weeks. On average our highs have been in the 90’s and with the heat index we’ve been feeling well into the 100’s. So I have been drinking gallons of water… I feel like I drink non-stop, constantly, and I can never quench my thirst. Now I know for sure that I would never survive if I got lost in the desert!

I went up to Asheville for the Belle Chere 5k race this past weekend with Joe. We met my parents up there- my dad was also running the race. Since I have had a hurt shoulder, I figured why not enter a 5k? It’d be a fun way to see my parents and spend some time with Joe.
So Joe and I packed up and headed out for the four hour drive to Asheville on Friday after he got off of work. We were going to stay the weekend up in Asheville and enjoy the festival and riding up in the mountains, but the weather was bad (rainy-ick!) so we decided to go ahead and come back home after the race.

The race itself was hard! I mean the course was hilly and I was just trying to keep up with those fast guys and jeez… the downhills absolutely killed me. With the rain and all I was scared of falling on the slick paint or oily spots on the road, and I would have to remind myself, “Alisha, you aren’t on a bike, you’re on your feet…” But knowing my clumsy self I didn’t want to take any chances!

I ended up coming home in a 17:55, but the timing chip system clocked me at 18:00. I was kinda discouraged about that time, but I am pretty hard on myself. The winning guys’ time was 15:37 and he said that he usually runs 14:30s on the track… so that made me feel better. It just proved to me that it truly was a challenging course.

My dad and Joe finished shortly after me, and I turned around and ran cheering for Joe down the home stretch. I was so happy he was there.

After the awards we decided to skip walking thru the festival and seek shelter from the rain at Atlanta Bread Company. It was nice sitting around sipping a large Latte and talking with my parents.

It’s my brother’s 20th birthday today! Happy Birthday GREG!!! He’s in a really cool band, Pax Imperia, and he played last night in Spruce Pine, NC.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Mother’s Day! Here are the flowers I sent my mom, they are gerber daisies, her favorite flower… and her favorite dog too!

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I’m sitting in the Charlotte airport and wanted to make a quick post before I left US soil. It’s been a nice three weeks here in North Carolina, and I’ve gotten in good training and seen a lot of good friends. Most importantly, I’ve gotten to spend time with my parents and brother. I enjoyed a cozy home environment with the ones I love the most… what more could I ask for?

Now as I wipe the tears away from the sadness of leaving behind my parents, brother, and dear friends… I have the jitters and anxious happy shakes because I get to see Joe in a few more hours! All I do is sleep for a bit and wake up and he’ll be there waiting for me!

I will write an update about my last ride in NC and give you a full report from Munich tomorrow. Take care