And again

The past week and a half have been pretty busy with things. I even did a real bike ride AND a race.
I think the action started Nov 21, with a wedding for one of the guys Chris races with. It was quite the boozy event, with open bar and these awesome modified mojitos as the drink of choice (they were like candy). It was a nice wedding, way more formal than ours but clearly what the couple wanted. Chris and I proved that we are both really bad at sitting still during ceremonies, as we whispered back and forth the entire time and kept fidgeting. As we mostly were hanging out with cyclists, there was a fair amount of discussion about Seattle's very own doping scandal. But we got fed and had cake, so everything isn't terrible. And then we went to karaoke for a friend's 30th birthday (the Hildleys were up way past their normal bedtime). I should note that the fact that I actually am willing to sing karaoke comes with amazement on the part of my mother. Oh, Rachel (fidgeting/whispering in weddings notwithstanding), you've grown so much since you were an overly insecure adolescent.
The next week, we went down to Portland for Thanksgiving and spent it with Kat and Joe in their awesome new apartment. Chris and I were undergraduates with Joe, and he was actually the one who performed our wedding ceremony (as unofficial as it was). It was good to see them, and we had some great food, lots of root vegetables, which I adore. I made a pumpkin dish that I pretty much stole from Jen and adapted: pumpkin with cumin and curry powder (I should have added a bit of cinnamon or coriander, too) roasted with red onion, maple syrup, and walnuts, with dried cranberries tossed in after it was done. It turned out pretty good, though I should have gone a little heavier on the flavorings.
We came back on Friday night. I hauled my pathetic self around on a ride with Chris and some of us teammates on Saturday. I'm glad they were patient with me in all of my out-of-shape-ness. I raced on Sunday, but it was so bad that I'd rather not discuss it. We're apparently going down to Portland this weekend for the USGP. Maybe all this activity will kick my body into gear. Ha.
I will promise a couple pictures of Xmas gifts that I've finished, soon.