Joe rocks the MS 150

I am by no means an athlete, but I've always been active. I've had and used a gym membership consistently over the last 15 years. I enjoy working out....but that has always been a solo effort. I was ecstatic when Joe told me he was going to do the MS Breakaway to the Beach with his cousin Mike. This annual event has bikers start in Monroe and ride to Sunset Beach, a total of 150 miles.

We started training this summer and got into a good routine of short rides during the week and longer ones on the weekends. We did a charity ride that made us realize that there are mountains in Waxhaw and we became very familiar with all the hyphenated roads in Union County. We rode in the rain and the hot sun. We rode a disastrous ride after giving blood (Tip: don't ever do this). We got very comfortable walking into public places smelly and sweaty. I perfected pigtails.

So last weekend was the actual event. We got up at 4am on Saturday and met his cousin to carpool to the start. A little after 7:30, Joe, Mike and about 1200 other riders got started, and I hopped in the car and drove to Sunset Beach to wait for his arrival on Sunday. I knew Joe would have no problems. He is a strong biker and we had trained well. I knew he could easily do 50 miles without stopping, so if he slowed down and stopped at each rest stop, I knew he'd be fine. It was weird being on that side of an event. All the runs, bikes and other events I have done, Joe has either been by my side or waiting as I finished. It was a little odd to be the one seeing him go. I felt a little like a protective mom watching her son go to school for the first day as they rode off into the sunrise. I anxiously waited for word.

He finished early on Saturday and when I finally got to talk to him he was happy and feeling great. I was relieved. My brother had done the MS ride one year and we picked him up and brought him home. He was grumpy...and that is an understatement. He was intolerable. So I was sorta worried Joe might suffer the same fate, but he was more excited than the start.

Sunday morning I got to the finish line at 10am to make sure I didn't miss him. I sat and cheered on as the bikers began to cross the finish line. As the morning faded to noon, the dark storm clouds became very apparent. We heard thunder and I just hoped Joe would finish before the rain. Around 12:30 I finally saw his yellow and red jersey and knew it was him. He looked great and I ran over to him. He was ecstatic, saying how much fun that was and how awesome he felt. I was so happy and proud of him it made my heart hurt. Mike finished a few seconds later with an equally big grin. Literally a minute later the rain started pouring. We ran to the car, strapped the bikes in and now all soaked, jumped in the car for the ride home.

Joe is now hooked. He woke up Monday feeling great - and his legs are rock hard! He was ready to ride again Monday night but the weather prevented us. I am so happy for him; not only that he did so well and felt so great, but that he enjoyed himself. Most people look at me like I am insane when I said how much fun I had at the triathlon, but now Joe gets it. Even better, we have something that we can do together. We are getting together this weekend to plan our 2011 year and form an official bike team. I am even thinking of a lofty 1,000 mile goal. We'll see...as Joe says, I can be quite ambitious.

Fall TV - Return to the Couch!

It's been a pretty active summer for the Burr-Manns so we haven't watched nearly as much TV as we usually do. But luckily for us Fall TV is back and we are looking forward to some good TV time!

Here are my picks for the 2010-11 Fall TV Season. And yes, I know I watch too much TV.

Monday
8 - How I Met Your Mother, CBS, premieres 9/20. Suit Up! Barney's back.
9- The Event, NBC, premieres 9/20. Joe thinks this looks stupid, but I am intrigued. I have very high hopes for a TV show delivering an interesting story that is smart and not so obvious from the first 10 minutes. This might not be that show, but we will give it our standard 3 episodes.
10 - Castle, ABC, Premieres 9/20 AND Hawaii Five-O, CBS, 9/20. We have loved Nathan Fillian since his Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place Days and have followed his career closely. We love Castle for its campiness and have been in since day 1. So we are torn that it is up against the strong looking Hawaii Five-O. I like Alex O'Laughlin and Joe likes Grace Park and this just looks like a fun hour. We'll Tivo one and catch the other online.

Tuesday
8- No Ordinary Family, ABC, 9/28. A show about a family who gets superpowers- of course I am going to watch!
9- Raising Hope, FOX, 9/21. I will give this a try since Modern Family has restored my faith in a 30 minute sit-com. Update: Yes, this is a keeper. Hysterically funny - check it out.
9:30 - Running Wilde, FOX, 9/21. If you haven't seen Arrested Development, GO NOW and get all 3 fantastic seasons. Then you can understand why I am crazy excited for Running Wilde, Will Arnett's latest project. I'm sure I'll miss Jason Batemen and Portia De Rossi in perfect casting, but I will give this a try for sure. Update: This is not for everyone. A lot of the humor is quiet and sorta behind the scenes. I have a feeling this is going to get cancelled, but you should watch until then because it is actually a sweet, funny comedy.
10 - The Good Wife - CBS - 9/28. I LOVED the season finale last year and am so excited to see where Josh Charles and Julianna Margulies' characters go from there. This show has drama, romance, intrigue and great acting. Josh Charles, who won my heart in Sports Night, really shines and I am glad he is back in a high profile show.

Wednesday
8 - Lie To Me. FOX, 11/10. I love Tim Roth on Lie To Me and am looking forward to see how changes made at the end of last season (Loker's promotion) will affect the staff of The Lightman Group. It doesn't start until November, which allows me to audition.... Update: Lonestar was cancelled after two episodes, so Lie To Me has a new start date of Monday, October 4.
8:30 - Better With You, ABC, 9/22. This looks like a cute little couple comedy. Could go either way, but at least it doesn't interfere with anything until November. Update: this is hysterical. Three couples, one has been together 25 years, one 15 years and one 7 months. No matter what your relationship status, you will see bits of you (and everyone you know) in this. The gold standard for a sitcom: Joe and I have quoted this show four times since watching it on Saturday.
9 - Modern Family, ABC, 9/22. Without a doubt, the best show on TV; consistently funny, real, sweet and fun.
9:30 - Cougar Town, ABC, 9/22. I was late to this show since I couldn't make it past the first episode. But mid season it settled in to a comfortable stride and it did make me chuckle. My very, very manly husband loves this show, so it is a keeper for this fall.
10 - The Whole Truth, ABC, 9/22. This Jerry Bruckheimer's latest showcases both sides of a lawsuit. It stars Maura Tierney and Rob Morrow, who I both like, so will give this 3 episodes.
Update: This is OK. We've seen one episode so far and the biggest thing that bothered me is that I don't think there is any way that the jury would have voted the way they did based on the evidence presented. It will have to be more realisitc to stay on my TiVo.

Thursday
8- Community, NBC, 9/23. I am a huge fan of Joel McHale's so we were excited for Community last year. I was even more surprised when the show was actually funny, increasingly so as the season wore on and the characters developed.
8:30- Bleep my Dad Says, CBS, 9/23. Honestly, I'm not that excited about this but I LOVE William Shatner so will give it a shot. Who knows...it's only 30 minutes. Update: The love I have for Shatner is no match for how horrible this show is.
9- Fringe, FOX, 9/23. I skipped season 2 because it conflicted with Supernatural. There will be some catching up on DVD, which reminds me I need to order that!

Friday
8 - Human Target, FOX, 10/1. This is not the most intelligent show out there, but it's fun. Really, how can you go wrong with Chi McBride, Jackie Earle Haley and Mark Valley?
9 - Supernatural, CW, 9/24. God bless those Winchester boys. I am so glad they are back. I have loved this show since season 1. It's delightfully funny, suspenseful and the relationships are fantastic. The boys are hot, even the angels are hot! It's worth catching up on DVDs if you haven't seen it.
10-Teach: Tony Danza, A&E, 10/1. Before he became the actor he is, Tony earned a degree in History Education. So in 2009-2010 he taught in a Philadelphia school. I know it sounds odd, but I saw an interview about it and he seemed so vulnerable and real, I really want to see how it goes. This is just a 7 episode series.

Sunday
9 - DEXTER!, Showtime, 9/26. I was surprised but OK when that guy killed that girl (vague for people who aren't current). It will be so interesting to see how that other guy handles all that other stuff. AND that one guy is still out there! YAY!
And I forgot: Boardwalk on HBO. Great reviews, expensive sets, Scorcese directing Buscemi, already renewed for a second season. Sold.

FYI - Showtime's other great show Californication is slated to start 1/10/11 on the Sunday at 10pm slot. They are also bringing out a new show for the 9PM slot called Shameless, starring William H. Macy. I figure if he's in it, it's gotta be quirky, kinda sad and very good. Secret Diary of a Call Girl is also slated to be back but exact date is TBD.