More History

The first year of The Tour of California, the time trial was held 2 blocks from my home.  I was so there!  My friends and I staked out a spot about 50 meters from the finish line, across from the large screen TVs where we could watch the starting line and ride progress of the various cyclists.

Here's Floyd Landis, about to cross the finish line of the first Amgen Tour of California.  He went on to win the entire race as well as the Tour de France (until the doping scandal).  

I live against those hills in the background!

Levi Leipheimer about to cross the finish line.  Levi didn't win this year, but he has won the race for the past 3 years!

Now the time trial is held in Solvang each year (where I rode my first Century Ride as a part of Team in Training).  I so enjoyed having the time trail close to my home but I think I need to think about taking a road trip next year.  Meanwhile, I have the memories and the photos to prove that I was there, helping to make history.

Making History

As a teacher, I very much look forward to my various breaks.  I think I need the break more than my students do.  Each February, my district takes off a week for President's Week, also known as "Ski Week."  While I love to ski, I haven't been up to the snow in over 5 years; just too expensive for my family right now.  However, for the past 4-years, I have found a way to have a lot of fun, for about 15 seconds, each February break.  That fun is known as The Tour of California--the most prestigious cycling event in the United States.  Each year I walk up Sierra Road in San Jose and watch the cyclists come by.  It's over so fast, it hardly seems worth the hour or two wait, but I manage to make it each year.  OK, confession time, I didn't go last year because I had thrown out my back and couldn't stand or walk for any length of time, but I have gone 3 of the last 4 years.

This year, I decided to take Kiersta with me to watch the cyclists.  It was cold and rainy but we had fun.

A break in the weather!  We can hang up our umbrellas by the Swedish flag.

Kiersta was pretty frightened when the riders came by.  I had warned her not to step out into the street for fear of her causing a rider to crash.  Luckily, both she and the peloton came through safely. However, Levi did hit Lance's rear wheel further on up the road and came down hard, fracturing some part of his body.

Here are the boys from Team Astana (Go Lance!  Go Levi!) leading the way up Sierra Road.

I'm proud to be a very small part of cycling history and to say that I was there when Lance made his comeback ride in the States.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

My poor girl has been sick since Tuesday with a low grade fever that has come and gone.  On Friday evening Kiersta started complaining about her ear hurting.  This is a girl who has suffered from ear infections from infancy and had tubes placed in both ears when she was just over a year old.  I knew we were going to be in for a long night.   Unfortunately I was right. 

Lots of tears, thrashing around, and screaming were to be heard from our bedroom that night.  

Luckily, Kiersta's pediatrician has Saturday morning hours.  We got the official diagnosis of "nasty ear infection."  The doctor offered us chewable tablets instead of the liquid we were used to giving Kiersta in these situations.  We pounced on the idea as Kiersta is not a fan of the liquid medication.

We went to a pharmacy to have the prescription filled but they were out.  Kiersta's fever was rising, I was exhausted from a night of little sleep, but off we headed to another pharmacy several miles away.  Yes!  They had what we were looking for in stock.  We were told that they didn't know how it would taste, but I figured this medicine was designed for kids, so how bad could it be?  40 minutes later we finally had our prescription in hand.  At this point we were both really tired and hungry as it was well past lunch time.   The only good thing about the long wait is that we got Kiersta's birthday party planned and booked at the gymnastics center located around the corner from the pharmacy.

We got home and I opened the pills.  EWWWWWWW!  Gross!  They smelled just like penicillan, there was no flavoring at all and I had to have my poor girl chew these up twice a day for 10 days.  More tears, on both our parts, and attempts at making pill and cookie sandwiches finally got the medicine down.  At this rate, this was going to be a long 10 days. Saturday night Kiersta tried the pill with apple sauce but it was still a long process.  Today went much better though.  She ate her pills with yogurt by dipping the pill into the yogurt and then taking tiny bites.  No tears and she ate them up like the big girl she is.

So my question is, who is the idiot who made chewable antibiotics for kids that are medicine flavored????  Next time I think we'll go back to the liquid medicine that can be flavored.

Kiersta still has her fever but her ear isn't hurting anymore.   To make matters worse though, tomorrow is her 5th birthday and she still can't go to her school to celebrate her birthday (and Dr. Suess's) with her friends and classmates.  Hopefully she'll feel up to dinner with the family and a trip to Baskin-Robbins afterward.

Here's Kiersta in her pajamas that she has worn all day long after eating her pill with yogurt.  No tears!  Tomorrow she will be 5!!!