Tomorrow I’ll be having my second leg operated on. So I decided to post some ‘happy’ pictures because… well… just because I could use a smile and I hope it will make you smile too!

my beautiful heirloom tomatoes

I LOVE BEETS!!!

there's a dog in my zucchini!

Topper. what a cutie.

I know I haven’t updated for a while… but sometimes I just feel like a broken record! I’m recovering well from my surgery, and I have another one coming up. So here is the quick shake-down: My right leg is healing up very nicely, so on July 1st I will be going back to Rochester and my left leg will be getting fixed up. The good news is my titanium thumb is fusing wonderfully and I only have 2 legs, so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!! This (knock on wood) should be my last surgery for a long long long time.

ALSO I got my letter of acceptance from the International School of Culinary Arts at the Art Institutes in Minneapolis so starting this October I will be a chef in training!!! :^)

Surgery on my right leg went well yesterday. I spent the night in the hospital and came back home today… The doctor did everything he could possibly do, so now its just the healing/waiting game. If it seems like the surgery worked I’ll be going back in and getting my left leg operated on in a few weeks.

With this being my third year in a row having surgery on my legs, I know I need to do something different next year. I’ve been getting my legs cut open before each summer and then jumping right back into my hard training, and that just isn’t working for me. I need to just give my body (and mind) time to heal. I need to take a step back and treat my body with a bit of respect. So if this surgery (surgeries) are a success or not I have decided I need to take next winter off from racing. I am physically and mentally at a point where I just need to back off a bit. I’m not going to make any claims that I’ll be gunning for the 2014 Olympics, but I’m not going to say I won’t. I’m just going to say I need a break before I breakdown completely.

So… This said… Last weekend I applied to culinary school, and I plan on starting classes at the International Institutes of Culinary Arts in Minneapolis starting in October!