"Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow them."

-Louisa May Alcott

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Never in my life have I been so sustained by faith. Not in a religious sense, rather, in a more ... universal sense. This faith is in many things: faith that I can make it through difficult times; faith that grief will be replaced by fond rembembrances; faith that the love and gratitude I have for those around me will continue to live strong and grow and aid; faith that I will continue to meet companions along my path who seek the truth and act with kindness; faith that if I honor my morals and follow my passions, I will reach the point where I am able to make a tangible and lasting contribution to the greater good. I don't know quite where I'm headed in this next chapter of my life, and it scares me, but I have faith that I'm doing the right thing ... I wholeheartedly accept the challenges and difficulties that lie ahead ... a world of opportunity awaits.

This past Saturday night, Jessica (above) hosted us for a vegan shepherd pie-making party. The wind was gusting and leaves were rustling; the blue-hued clouds were drifting across the grey sky; it was the perfect evening in the East Bay to pedal through the streets up to a dinner party with good friends, homemade mini-cupcakes, still warm, in my messenger bag on my back :)

Jessica was the shepherd(ette?) who made the pie. It was full of TVP, carrots and broccoli, and topped with creamy mashed potatoes.

...she even let us eat the extra potatoes off the beaters!

Alicia made a salad: greens tossed in an avocado-dill dressing and topped with avocado and asian pear slices and roasted almonds...and my cupcakes were a hit!

Thanks, Jessica! And sorry about spilling red wine all over your floor :) I ate well and laughed much!

This weekend was epic. Friday night, Alicia, Jess, Sam and Adrienne sewed uniforms for the five of us to wear to our weekend bike race in Santa Cruz while I baked margarita cupcakes and bran muffins to sustain us on our journey southward. We gathered Saturday morning, early, at Alicia's house and suited up...sneakers, black capri leggings, short pink mini-skirts and black t-shirts (I didn't get that memo, though...I only matched from the waist down)...then headed off.

Twenty-five miles outside of Santa Cruz on Hwy. 17, we were traveling in a caravan of three cars when all of a sudden Jessica and Adrienne skidded off the highway in a blaze of smoke and glory...turns out a tire blew...I guess they like to be all correctly pressured and stuff. After pulling a few u-turns, we all gathered back at the scene and the Pink Skirt Nascar Team pulled out our collective tools, cranked the car up, whipped off the tire and tossed on the new one like pros!

We sped down the remaining miles and arrived at the Lighthouse on Cliff Drive, where the All-Girl's Alleycat was scheduled to begin at high noon.

After meeting some spectacular boys and girls from Santa Cruz, we were sent on our way through the streets of the city on our bikes, carrying water balloons from various checkpoints to others, transporting boxes and tires and newspapers and FedEx packages, taking Polaroid photos, shooting basketballs, trudging through grassy prairies with our bikes on our shoulders, collecting sand from parks, biking up hills and down hills and along the ocean for about FOUR HOURS...until we finally reached the end, cracked open a few beers and celebrated with our new friends. Jessica won the prize for fastest girl to complete the Alleycat who'd never completed one before - represent, Oakland!!

We had an amazing time at the race, and little did we know, the fun was just *beginning!* We were all invited over to Steve's house for a post-race BBQ where wit, charm, bike tricks, beer, cider, food and music were plentiful.

We chatted and laughed and made new friends for hours on end...traveling eventually to some local bars and houses where we all lit the spaces up with our shameless antics.

When I finally laid my head down on the hotel-room floor at 5:00 am on Sunday morning, I was worn out from a fun and amazing weekend by the sea. Thank you, Santa Cruzians, we'll be back SOON!