Well, obviously, the blog has kind of gotten away from me. Right after Thanksgiving, I ended up going home for a few days because a good friend of mine's father died. It was a terrible way to go home for a visit, but it was good to see Nathan and Alec and their families.

This week we have been having atypical weather here in Tucson. It has snowed on the mountains above the 5000 foot mark, so the mountains look great. There has been so much rain under the 5000 foot mark that the washes are running and several roads are closed. Monday night there was hail and thunderstorms, and then this morning there is thick, thick fog. Of course, Tucson never gets foggy because there is never enough moisture in the air to get fog. It is really strange to see. It is so bad that I cannot see the houses across the street from us.

I have been baking like a fiend and on Monday and Tuesday sent off all the cookies to all the teachers at the guys' schools and some for their CCD teachers as well. I also gave out cookies to the neighbors and some friends, and Brigid and I did cookies for her work people. I have just enough left to send a big box to Ron's work tomorrow (they meet every Thursday at a local hotel for an all day meeting/chat session). However, don't give up hope if you haven't received any -- the baking will continue on since now I have to do cookies that will be sent out to Maryland, etc.

With all this stuff going on, my workouts have been severely curtailed -- motivation is not flowing like a river. The pool has closed for a month and will re-open on 15 January, and with all this rain, I haven't been out on my bike either. I am beginning to feel soft and flabby.... got to get back out on the road. I have decided to do the Kitt Peak Time Trial this coming year, and I think it will take me awhile to get in shape for that thing. It is only 12 miles, but it is an 8% grade. The fastest person did it in about 57 minutes. I am aiming for 90 minutes -- I think that would be a great thing for me.