RIP BSY

It was a long run. 

There have been good times, and not so good times.  But through it all, there has been family.
And loyalty.
  And hard work.
And family.

We announced, formally, on February 1, that Beach Sportcycles, Inc. is no more. 

Wow - surprisingly I just teared up writing that sentence.  Surprisingly, because it's been some tough times lately, and it's a little bit, a relief that it's over.
 But last night I was looking at old photos and there were about a gazillion of the boys and their cousins - whooping it up on their summer vacations at "the shop". 

Oh, my goodness!  They are so LITTLE!

The shop has provided for my family in many more ways than financially.  It was so much more than a job.  It was an institution. 

It started as little more than an idea.  It grew to a dream, then a little shop in Melbourne.  And then to an even bigger shop 30 miles away in Cocoa.  When it began, it was Tim and George.  Alone in a little building.  It became the Number 1 YZ Dealer in the entire South Eastern United States.  An accomplishment to be proud of.  But more importantly, it became the number one place for people who loved bikes to come and hang out.  To learn more about bikes and riding and racing.  It was where friendships were formed, where people were so much more than customers. 

I've been reading some of the comments and tributes on the Facebook page. 

There were years and years (and years and years) of going to races, of putting on races, of racing in races, of supporting others in races...  There were races including everything from go-carts to 3-wheelers to dirt bikes to pit bikes to pocket bikes. 

Through it all, there was loyalty.  Word in the pits was, if you needed a part, whether you were a team rider, a privateer, or just a guy with a bike, Tim could set you up.  If you needed help, Scott was your guy. If they didn't have what you needed, Rod was back in Cocoa holding down the fort and he would get it to you.   Didn't matter who you were, what you rode, you could always go to the big blue Yamaha truck and somebody from BSY would take care of it.

There was chili.  There were laughs.  There were often "stars" hanging around.  There were always kids.  But through it all, you didn't, really, you didn't, take on a Buffaloe.  Cuz there was never just one.  And beware the little, sweet, innocent looking lady.  She was the toughest of all of 'em!

It's been a long run.

It's been a good run.

We will miss it.

Welcome February!

Oh those mornings I remember standing on the side of Elbow Drive waiting for a break in the traffic so I could run across to Woodman Jr. High School.  Those mornings in February when it was -40 degrees F!  Those mornings when I promised myself, once I was an adult, I would NEVER AGAIN be found in Calgary in February.

Well, this morning I was most definitely NOT in Calgary.  Instead, I was in my backyard, here in Paradise.  (Otherwise known as Florida...) 

It was a GLORIOUS morning - just enough "crisp" to the air that I didn't get too hot feeding the horses.

My sweet next door neighbor did some clearing on his property yesterday and gifted us with a GIANT pile of freshly cut grass!  This pile is about half of what there was last night... but since I didn't get home until after dark, I couldn't take a picture of it then. 

The horses were SUPER happy to help get rid of it!  (Even what you see there is only about half of what was left... there were two more piles on the other side of the pasture!)  Of course, I had already done my workout for the day, so my arms were TIRED after hauling all that using our pitchfork... 

The flock of sandhill cranes came back while I was finishing up spreading the grass...  They are tough to miss - each has a wingspan of probably 8 feet and when they fly they make this SUPER loud call.  They flew into the neighbor's yard, so I grabbed the iPod and headed back to snap a picture.  I took 8 or 9 of them, but since I don't wear my glasses out to the barn, only one of them actually turned out!  (sigh... it's tough getting old...) 

Sorry, it's not as good as I was hoping for - but you get a good idea of what a beautiful morning it was!  LOL

Here's a stock picture from Wikipedia - in case you've never had the pleasure of meeting a Sandhill Crane in person.   The neighbor's son showed up to feed the horses and chickens.  As soon as his truck pulled in the yard, they started walking up to the barn, honking the entire time.  He said they eat right out of his hand!  (They "clean up" any spilled chicken feed...)  They have 4 "chicken tractors" (coops on skids so they can be moved around the property as the chickens eat down the grass/bugs in one area) so whenever they move one, the birds flock over to tidy up anything that might be left.

Here's hoping February continues to be this lovely!  (And I hope yours is lovely as well - with or without snow and freezing temperatures...)

Spring has Sprung

At least here in Florida...  I was listening to the local gardening show on the radio Saturday morning.  A caller was concerned that it's only late January and his blueberries are all in bloom and there are even some actual berries showing up already!  The host said, yup, once your plants think it's spring, there's nothing you can do but enjoy the early bounty and pray there isn't a surprise frost in store...

Saturday afternoon (after working at the office for a couple of hours to finish up my 40 for the week) Sabrina and I went out back and played with CJ in the round pen.  And then we saddled up and headed into the woods for a GREAT ride!  While there we rode through a giant flock of robins!  I'm still discombobulated when I see robins in the middle of "winter" here.  But its fun to see them, and BOY they are noisy! 

Then Sunday brought another trip down to Boynton Beach to teach a review class.  I was expecting somewhere around 8 - 10 students.  Topped out at 27!!!  Had to break out extra tables and chairs!  We had some good results, lots of good comments, I think everybody benefited. 

On the way home, in the DAY LIGHT (usually it's dark by the time I get out of there...) there were several small family groups of hogs on the side of the road.  Each group included at least 6 piglets.  CUTE, but so destructive!  Then a flock of wild turkeys!  And even a deer braving the daylight to eat some grass on the side of the highway.  That's more wildlife than I've seen in awhile!

It's been a CRAZY couple of weeks - which is why the quiet here on the blog.  But I'm hoping to get back into the swing of stuff again.  So hopefully there will be lots of fun things to talk about here. 

Oh!  And yesterday Sabrina made a YUMMY roast in the crockpot before heading out to a bridal show.  Kyle represented the family at Stake Conference and then went up to the shop to take down the giant carport.  He got side-swiped by the metal roof - took out his ladder and he fell, landing on his side.  He was pretty sore last night - but he's young and tough.  He'll be feeling it today, but luckily he is off on Mondays, so he'll likely just rest and be right as rain tomorrow. 

Have a beautiful day!

New Shirt

Just a quick run-by post to say I'm alive.  And my hair is REALLY alive!  LOL  (It's pretty dry in my office, doesn't help that I'm sitting here with my heater blowing on my upper body...) 

Anyhow - just wanted to show my darling husband that I'm wearing my new shirt today!  I love it! 

Also, please notice the "out standing in my field" picture of my Dad on the wall behind me.  My new office space is still pretty barren, but at least I've got my Dad to keep me company!

AGAIN with the cold!?!

Ok, there is a reason I moved to Florida.  It has everything to do with the weather.  It's FLORIDA!  I mean, duh...

And yet, they took great joy in pointing out this morning on the news that it was, in fact, WARMER in BISMARCK, ND than in ORLANDO, FL!  What is UP WITH THAT????

Evidence...

And, can I add, it was 34 when I started to take the picture, but it was dark in the house, so I had to do some adjusting of the lighting... during which time it warmed up a degree.  (I think it's cuz my hand was on the thermometer... no wait, the thermometer is out on the patio.  Ok, never mind...) (Also, it was 8:03!  NOT pre-dawn or anything like that... pre-dawn I was snuggled under multitudes of blankets in my bedroom, waiting for my space heater to do it's thing...)

This is how I deal with the cold....

A nice, big pot of homemade tomato/cabbage/misc veggie soup.  YUM!

This is how Kyle deals with the cold.  (He is too manly to actually FEEL the cold, mind you... but he does make SOME concessions...)

WINTER Chucks.

Here is how the horses deal with the cold.....

And yes, that IS frost on the poop pile.  So much for the "spontaneous combustion" theory...

Sabrina?  She snuggles up in a blanket(s) on the couch with a mountain of tissues, boxes of various over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, and juice.  She also FORBIDS picture taking while in said state...

That, there, is FROST on my truck.  Which I specifically parked down by the barn so it would get the early morning sun and I wouldn't have to scrape my windows.  Cuz I live in FLORIDA and I don't OWN a scraper...  (it was still early and the sun hadn't hit it yet, but by the time I was done all my chores, it was nice and toasty warm, thank you for asking!)

Oh, and in case you noticed, that IS my shadow taking the picture, but I am NOT Gigantor.  I AM wearing my super warm, super thick, super quilt batting filled AXO coat.  That scares my horses.  But they will get over it.  Just about the time it warms up and I quit wearing it.

The Proposal

Christmas Eve was a special night for the Buffaloes (and nearly Buffaloes...)

We headed over to Indialantic for our annual Santa Sighting.  The Indialantic Fire Department has been running Santa on their trucks for 30+ years.  Back in the early days, Rod got to be Santa!  

On the way over, we stopped down by the river (since we were a little early and it wasn't dark yet...) 

While down there, we caught sight of somebody else enjoying the river scene!

Kyle and I were trying to get a good picture of him, when out of the corner of my eye, what should I see????

You have to squint....  Here, this might be easier to see...

Yup.  He got down on one knee and everything!  I almost missed it, didn't have time to focus my camera or move so the tree was out of the way or anything!  But at least I got a picture.  Rod was videoing, but something happened and it didn't take!  Silly camera.....

And this was the result...

She was a LITTLE overwhelmed...  

It really IS a beautiful ring.  

Of course we have the obligatory Santa Sighting photos....

All-in-all, a successful evening!

AND MORE EXCITING STUFF - HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONI!!!

2012 Commit To Be Fit

This is what I will be working on for the next month...  

COMMIT to 4 - 5 workouts a week of at least 20 minutes 

COMMIT to staying well hydrated. Drink at least half of my body's weight in ounces of water. (Did you know that being dehydrated causes your body to produce stress hormones that actually STORE fat?)

COMMIT to getting plenty of rest. Lack of sleep also produces the body to produce those same darn hormones that store fat.... it is a vicious cycle.

COMMIT to reducing stress - you got it... same stress hormones are released. Find time to do something I enjoy each day. It is an easy task once you put your mind to it.

COMMIT to telling myself each day what is GOOD about me, what do I love about ME?? 

COMMIT to eating healthier - Sabrina and I are using The Good Mood Diet.

COMMIT to dry skin brushing EVERY day! It is SO good for my body! 

COMMIT to sticking with it for the full month of January.