i think my favorite are the car wash pics : ) i'm trading in the tdi and buying a 4 x 4. or maybe i'll just start my own tdi and hot chicks site. yeah.. nevermind. emry wanted to get on the potty the other night.. i must say it was pretty damn cute. excited.. digging deep.. nothing happened.. she just sat there for a few minutes and looked around. i have a feeling that she's going to be the tough one to potty train. so i told ya that i joined a gym.. well i've been up there a couple of times now so i thought it would be a good idea to push it a little bit last night. i mainly have been using the machines to gently get my body use to the range of motion again.. lifting lightly. well last night i decided to "hit" the weights. i warmed up on the bench machine.. hit a couple sets on the hammer strength bench and then moved over to the free bench. this is where i use to excel back in the day so i thought no problem. i started to throw a couple 45lb plates up there but decided to go ahead with the 25's for good measure. i threw the collars on, slowly stretched out on the bench, and lifted the bar. initially it wasn't too bad. as i lowered the bar to my chest.. my right arm started to shake a bit.. not too bad so i gave it another rep. by the time i was half way through the second rep, my arms were shaking uncontrollably.. i mean seizure shaking. i couldn't help but start to laugh as i tried to squeak it out.. hoping that nobody was looking. i gave it one final heave and thrusted it back onto the rack.. absolutely pathetic. back in the day.. and i mean the day.. my max bench was 365 (when i weighted 180) but i think i might have been able to go over 400 had i maxed again before i quit lifting - i'm try not to break my arm patting myself on the back. basically i'm about 30% as strong as i use to be : ( and i'm really sore on top of being pathetically weak. looks like it could be a couple more months before i'm ready for the octagon again : ) -out surfmaster surf

hands down.. the greatest thing about having little girls is the snuggling.. especially on a rainy morning. emry's a real snuggler. it's what i wake up for every morning.. so.. nov.1st is typically the day i begin my winter campaign.. although for the past 3 - 4 years i haven't run for office : ) i plan on throwing my hat back in the arena this year.. i say that every year but hopefully this year i'll actually train. it's tough with two girls.. but not impossible it's just a matter of being creative. finding times to get on the bike that you normally don't think about. for me it's best to commute to work.. and on the weekends, i try and ride with some buds in the morning. now that mama's working on saturdays i'll probably have to hit the trainer up and then bluebonnet on sundays. it's not optimal.. but hey.. life's not easy. i'm already in the gym on a regular basis.. i haven't worked out in about 7 or 8 years so i'm pretty sore but it feels good. i've got a great little gym by the house that's not crowded so it's perfect. reminds me of the good old days when i was a gym rat. i think mama misses those days since i actually had an upper body.. hell, i miss those days. speaking of the good old days.. while browsing cyclingnews.com this morning i was looking at the start list for the vuelta a chihuahua internacional and noticed a certain raúl alcalá. it must be jr or something.. or maybe armstrong inspired a comback : ) at any rate.. he is one heck of a nice guy. i had the pleasure of having dinner with him while i was in monterrey a few years ago.. he's a good guy. while surfing flickr pictures.. i found eller's dream. check it : ) enjoy. -out surFy

happy birthday to me : ) 32 years young.. dang.. i'm getting old. celebrated a bit tooo much this weekend. definitely too old for that. gonna spend the day today with my girls. prolly hit up the botanical gardens or something. -out surFy

as they say.. it was s fight in a phone booth. keller alumni are proud today.. although they lost 10 - 17, it was a close game. trinity sure didn't play a sharp as they could/have.. had they brought their "a" game it wouldn't have been near as close. the best part.. the haka - a traditional māori dance. if you haven't seen it.. well.. it's inspiring to say the least. maybe impassioned better describes it.. whatever you want to call it, it will give you goose bumps. trinity haka how would you like to face that dude? man child fo sho.. walking into the stadium itself brought back some funny memories. the sound of the band.. all the songs were exactly the same. groups of kids huddling everywhere under the bleachers.. gossiping. i must have heard "where's the party tonight?" ten different times. at that point in your life you don't realize how easy life actually is.. want i wouldn't give to go back to the 11th grade for a week : ) my uncle rico moment. i snapped a few pictures with the iphone.. sorry for the poor quality. pre-game time haka coming out onto the field.. it was a great night. hanging with some great friends.. donman, tBick & his beautiful wife, lisa.. and watching some good ole southern football. thanks for taking me guys! -out surFy

fugg.. no sleep last night. not even six shots of espresso helped. rough day.. to add insult to injury.. friday is the day that i take the girls to their mother's day out programs. it's freaking total chaos in the am.. imagine, if you will, trying to get a terrible two ready for school when she has no desire to do so.. it's a complete ass whipping. but not only that.. it's a total process. when them up, turn on cartoons, fix breakfast, wash faces & hands, brush teeth, brush hair, dress, la de freaking da.. trust me, it's not easy.. but i'm not complaining : ) i've got to rally though.. donman, tBick, and i are going to hit up the trinity vs. keller game tonight. i graduated from keller (barely) and lena from trinity so it's a bit of a pride thing. trinity is gonna kick the crap out of 'em but i can't admit that to lena.. it'll add one more weapon to her, already superior, arsenal. and.. congrats to my former teammate and friend adam myerson.. finishing 2nd in a very close race for the usa criterium overall lead. andrewD also had a very respectable finish, in vegas, in 15th place.. nice job andrew. -ouT surFy

ahhh.. not that i rode much this year but it's nice to just be able to go home and not think about riding.. ya know, just kick back and relax. maybe drink a beer or two.. take the girls for a walk (not in that order) : ) actually.. i'll probably work a bit in the shop. i have to finish hanging some sheet rock and then paint.. hopefully i'll have it all finished this weekend. i also still have some work left on the cabinet that i've been refinishing for the past three months.. not much.. just some sanding and finishing. maybe it's time to cut back some on the projects.. now that i think about it.. i still have the kitchen floor & counter tops, cover the patio, build a princess bed.. with slide, etc.. damn.. i have a lot to do. better start.. wow. i almost forgot.. check this out.. forever etched in the memory of those who participated in the o2 jackrabbit stampede.. this dude is no mf'n joke! long live the p40.. -out surfMaster surf

why surfernick?? when i moved back from cali the second time the group of guys i hung around with already had a "nick". so in order to distinguish between the two of us mark wiggins came up with nick the surfer.. a.k.a. surfernick. but where did surfer come from?? easy.. i was a total surf bum living in a beach front condo with three friends in san diego. i lived the total surf lifestyle.. very, very simplistic. i worked at a surf shop and basically lived by the tides. it was beautiful.. without a doubt the best time of my early life.. weeks after i moved there my car was stolen from our cond parking lot. all i had for transportation was my vision psycho stick. i was a little bummed at first but pretty much everything that i needed was within one mile of the condo anyway so the skateboard turned out perfect. my daily routine.. up before daybreak, grab my board (6'4" al merrick), and head to my home break. i loved surfing so much that i didn't care of it was flat or double overhead.. i still charged.. every morning of every day. i'd typically also get an evening session in as long as i didn't have to work.. and i was completely broke.. and i do mean completely. all of my money went to rent, utilities, car payment, and insurance. i had something like $30 a month left over for food.. so my diet consisted of white rice, bread, sliced turkey, and cheese. one of my roommates was a cook at a small local restaurant so, on occasion, we'd sneak in after they closed and he'd hook us up with a feast fit for an army : ) even as i type this entry i have a huge smile on my face. it just brings back so many good memories.. so many thing i haven't thought about in years. it's hard to imagine that lifestyle now... i was just a kid then.. no responsibility and nothing to lose. that year taught me so much.. [tear] -out surFy