And we're back ...

... although you're probably not.

No great way to restart a blog after a few weeks in absentia, so I'll just jump awkwardly in until I feel like going off to bed.

In honour of my upcoming 40th birthday next year, I have enthusiastically embarked on a mid-life crisis. I have joined a mountain biking group and am riding once or twice a week. I am totally loving it and am possibly on the way to obsession. I even have the weird, tight, padded cycling shorts. I started out frighteningly unfit, to the point of seriously thinking I must be about to have a heart attack after struggling part-way up one very nasty (steep, long, rocky) hill. My fitness is improving however, from absolutely awful to fairly awful, and I'm optimistic about continuing to improve. The trainer and his assistants are very skilled at pushing us just that little bit harder each time, but not enough to freak us out. It is such an adrenalin rush riding singletrack, or flying down the hills, or finally conquering those up-hills. I have finally found my 'thing'. I find gyms claustrophobic and noisy, would rather stick needles in my eye than run, but riding for me is absolutely exhilarating.

More about singletrack.

Last weekend I rode my first event, the Intermediate (25km) event at the Cumberland Classic. I have just gone to the results table to verify my finishing time (proof I really did it!) Finishing was indescribably satisfying. And yesterday I abandoned my poor family from 6.30 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon to go on the monthly outride with the group. This ride was in the midlands - and had a lovely mix of farmland, views, MUD, bridges, MUD and singletrack. The actual ride was around two hours, but getting there, a shower and a yummy lunch afterwards, and getting back, made the whole thing a marvellous day out.

In other news, today we voted, and on Monday my little boy turned six. He is, like most other little boys around here, obsessed with Ben 10. And is presently cuddled up in bed with XLR8, which we got him for his birthday. We also got him, among other things, this cool soccer table, which we are all having a lot of fun with. Danny has joined a soccer club, under 6 division, and is loving it. He is terribly cute in his boots, long socks and shin pads.

Since January, Stephen has been attending play-school in the mornings (with about half a dozen other toddlers). Up until now this has been three mornings a week, but I am now putting it up to every morning as I am just not coping with even the small amount of work I am supposed to be doing. He doesn't sleep until mid-afternoon now, which means I cannot work at all on days he doesn't go to school. By evening I am far too shattered to work. Luckily he loves school. He has also moved out of our room into Dan's room - we bought bunk beds for the boys. Danny enjoys being at the top and Stephen, at the bottom, seems to sleep better there than he did in our room, where our pottering in and out of the room, and chatting, perhaps disturbed him. His hobbies include puzzles, helping with the laundry, his bike, couch-gymnastics, books ("bookies"), and trashing his sisters' rooms.

And I'd like to put in an update on the other members of the family, but this is going to have to be a two-parter, as I'm suddenly awfully tired.

A closing note: I'm probably the last person to have heard of Susan Boyle, but I'm putting a link here anyway. Made me cry.