Biking 5.5 miles at North Park and so long May!

Well, I can't believe May is basically over.  I really love May and not just because it's my Birthday but because it's always so beautiful in Pittsburgh.  The weather is always perfect and it's not too hot or not too cold - all the leaves and flowers are out and it just makes me so happy to see this!

I want to start by saying that I started a new book called In Order To Live by Yeonmi Park.  I am not finished yet but I can't seem to put it down.  She went through so much and it truly tells you the struggles in North Korea and what goes on in the country we know so little about.  She is an incredible human being for going what she went through and still being such a positive voice.  I am sure I will finish it in the next day or two but I highly recommend this one! 

                       

On Sunday we went to a car show that our friend entered his car into and we had a blast.  They had a wine tasting and beer tasting tent set up where you paid 15$ to taste it all!  You cold get into trouble fast if you weren't careful.  I did get to try something new - a coffee flavored wine!  I bought two bottles it was so so so good!  

Matt ended up winning 1st place in his class and got a trophy.  We were so happy for him!   We then asked that he and his wife Nikki come join us for dinner and a game night- we played all sorts of games and stayed up while we drank wine, listened to music and I even read Matt's Tarot Cards!  

I have a couple of days off of work and have been keeping busy with yard work and little projects around the house.  Brian went back to work today and I have off until Thursday so instead of tackling my 1,000 projects  - I decided to ENJOY the time I have off and not get caught up in the house.  My parents got me a bike two Christmases ago and with planning our wedding last year I wasn't able to find anytime to ride it.  I made up my mind to take it out to North Park today as I was getting sick of seeing it just sitting the garage even though I was going to have to go by myself.  I think a lot of the times I didn't take it was because I had no one to ride with...well today I said "screw it, I want to go and I'm going to!"

I tried to make it fit in my hatchback today.  It may have worked out better if I had a smaller bike but I really fell in love with the vintage ones that are HUGE.  I had to remove the bike seat and wiggle it into the back but I made it!  I made sure to lather my pale self with sunscreen and I was on my way!

 I was halfway to North Park (it's only about a 20 min drive from my house) and it started to get VERY grey outside.  It looked to just be a very small but VERY angry set of clouds but I continued my journey to the park.  It down poured and I was afraid that after all my work to get the bike in the car, I wasn't going to be able to ride it.  The rain only got worse and so did the thunder but just as I thought, it was just a quick summer storm and it moved through in no time.  That made me so happy.

It was hard for me to mentally tell myself to pack up my bike and get to the park without a proper bike rack and having not ridden a bike in... well, years. I struggled to get the bike out of the trunk but I succeeded and attached my seat.  I then started my fit bit on the bike setting and took off!  There was still a slight drizzle and I have to say that it felt so good since it was getting to be about 80 degrees and it was really humid.  

The lake at North Park is 5 miles so I mentally prepared myself to finish it.  I use to run it during high school when I was in Cross Country.  I loved running that lake but I'm 34 now and not in the best of shape, even for a bike ride. 

 Angry Clouds Pictured Below:

 I look so tried - lol- it's the no makeup look!

 Saw a deer:

 See him in the center? 

 North Park is SO BEAUTIFUL!

 Yep- this is after my ride- 5.5 miles!  I was so tired and dreaded putting my bike back in my trunk.  I took the seat off and started wiggling it into place and a guy that was running even yelled over to me, "BARLEY FITS!" At that moment, I decided to go to Dicks on my way home and buy a bike rack.  

 Bike Racks are not cheap and I had to get one that would fit my hatchback.  I also picked up a helmet.  Now I'm broke for this pay but hey- i got the Bike Rack and now I don't have to struggle getting it on my car...right? WRONG- this thing was a BITCH to put on and the instructions are totally so ...vague.   I am so glad I decided to visit my parents on the way home from Dicks so that I could ask my Mom to help out holding tools and extra straps for the bike rack.  My Dad came out and helped me get it on the rack itself - I love them so much for always helping me out!  I'm assuming now that I have it set up that it will be easier get on and off and that since I know how to get it on there and fit SNUGLY it will be much smoother next time... We will see. 

Tho- you know what? Pat on my back for getting shit done! :) 

 I was a little bummed I didn't think to take my go-pro and shoot a video of the lake- I got it out and I'm ready to mount it for next time though (maybe later this week)! Here is a short cell phone clip I shot just to show how peaceful the ride was! :) 

Lastly I just wanted to say I picked up these lovelies at Ulta this week!  I am in LOVE with this brand guys! Pacifica is 100% vegan and cruelty free and that makes it a winner in my book!  I don't paint my finger nails very often but I do paint my toe nails and I have to say - I love that the nail polish (on top of vegan and cruelty free) is 7 Free!  You can read about it on the site here.  No - I am not paid for this- I don't even know if I have readers of my blog...but I am all about good in this world and being vegan and cruelty free is so important to me when it comes to my makeup- I'm still trying to work on the diet thing...but that's another story.  P.s the perfume hair and body spray, Tahitian Gardenia, was my favorite but there was also another one I loved that smelled like vanilla!  

Okay, I'm exhausted! Goodnight all and I hope to have at least one or two more posts together while I am on my little vacation from work!

  I have a very exciting coffee date tomorrow with the woman that read my Tarot Cards at my Bachlorette Party and I can not wait to sit down and talk with her about the cards and magic and eeeepppp! So happy! 

Thanks for reading<3