My life has changed so much – and in such wonderful ways – that the original tone and usual content you found here just isn’t who I am right now. However, there’s still so much I’d like to share with those of you I’ve come to adore over the years. Expect an email from me in coming weeks with a link to the new site.

As for the Atomic Bombshell, she will not fade into oblivion just yet. In fact, I plan to relaunch this site to cover my passion for cycling. Eventually, I hope to help build a local cycling team and utilize this site as the communications hub for that group. Or who knows, maybe it can even serve to support female cyclists and related events throughout the region.

Here’s to new beginnings!

Back to my first point: the Ninja and I will finally be moving into our own little love nest. There will be plenty of work to do. After the packing and unpacking there will be painting, decorating, and eventually upgrades to the kitchen and bathroom. Fortunately, I will have plenty of extra time to take care of these things once my job ends in two weeks. Every time the economy takes a dive, marketing takes the first hit.

Which leads me to news item two: I’ll be returning to college in January, studying for a degree in Management Information Systems. Although I’ve really enjoyed the last 15 years I spent making other companies and individuals wealthy, I’ve grown weary of this roller coaster. My last layoff was after 9/11 and I’m seeing a trend. Time to make a transition.

Now that I think about it, I guess my New Year’s resolutions are all set: A new home, learning new skills, and working toward a new career. That’s plenty to bite off and chew on for a year or more! How about you? What things, great and small, do you plan to tackle in 2009?

I’ve heard travel has become quite a nightmare lately, but now we have firsthand experience to substantiate that theory. You see, the Ninja had to fly from Southern California to Rhode Island where he was expected to appear as a groomsman in a childhood friend’s wedding. As charming as that sounds, I wish we had turned them down.

Even though we are desperately low on funds since their wedding so closely followed our own, and even though we were required to pay for tuxedo rental, airfare, accommodations, and more… It still wouldn’t have been so bad. What made it terrible was this series of events:

1. Thursday 10pm Red-Eye LAX to RI w/connection in NC
2. Friday 11am Check in then attend pre-wedding events
3. Saturday 12am Return to the inn and collapse… Zzz
4. Saturday 9am Wake up and have some breakfast
5. Saturday 12pm Be showered, dressed, and ready
6. Saturday 2pm Participate in the wedding ceremony
7. Saturday 3pm No air conditioning and 90 degrees
8. Saturday 4pm Take wedding pics in the pouring rain
9. Saturday 5pm Board trolley and bus for next event
10. Saturday 6pm Arrive at Goat Island for reception
11. Sunday 12am Return to the inn to pack and rest
12. Sunday 4am Take taxi to airport for flight to JFK
13. Sunday 5am Notified of flight reschedule to 11am
14. Sunday 7am Notified of flight reschedule to 5pm
15. Sunday 8am Notified of rerouting bus to Boston
16. Sunday 11am Bus driver gets lost on the way
17. Sunday 2pm Arrive in Boston for 5pm flight
18. Sunday 5pm Flight to Salt Lake City delayed
19. Sunday 9pm Arrive in SLC too late for LAX
20. Sunday 10pm Voucher for motel from hell
21. Monday 12am Return from finding a meal
22. Monday 6am Shuttle back to the airport
23. Monday 10am FINALLY arrive at LAX
24. Monday 11am Directly to the office
25. Monday 2pm Meeting with client
26. Monday 9pm Home and sleep

If you’re counting, that means from when he woke up at 7am on Thursday morning to when he finally went to bed on Monday night, poor Jordan was awake over 100 hours while only sleeping a total of 14 hours in four nights. Furthermore, 40 hours were spent waiting for and/or being transported. In particular, the trip home took over a day.

So umm… We’ll be sticking around town for a while.

Those of you who wanted to be there but could not make it – like dear Dave II of Blogography fame, who crafted the charming Bombshell & Ninja illustration above – we know you were there in spirit. If you’re listed as a “Friend” in my Flickr contacts, expect pictures soon. XOXOX!

Spring has sprung, and with it came the return of sunshine and flowers. It’s at this time of year even the thoughts of a ninja may turn to love. This phenomenon is evidenced by the fact that one such Ninja, my best friend in the whole wide world, is soon to wed.

I want to extend my congratulations, bestow my blessings, and let the future Mrs. Ninja know that she is one very lucky lady. (Though I presume she has discovered this already.) Because her beloved Ninja just happens to be one of the finest humans alive.

He’ll make you laugh until your sides split, even at times when you thought nothing could break your sadness. He’ll be there when you need him, helping you discover the bright side of even the most painful situations. And he always has an endless supply of affection.

(Please don’t tell the other ninjas.)

Although he is in possession of all the skills and talents necessary to be successful in just about any endeavor, the Ninja is far too wise to be ensnared by the lures of mere worldly measurements of greatness… His highest goal: To become the perfect weapon – Pure Love!

My best advice to you is, remember that he’s not the average ninja. This one is special. If you bolster him with extra care and love him back the best you can, you may each achieve your amazing potential.

Heaven knows you’ll be busy. After all, he’d like to start a family soon. And who knows what other opportunities (disguised as challenges) God may throw your way. Rest assured, you can handle it. Any person the Ninja would choose as a partner is certainly up to the task.

Wishing you a beautiful life together!

Would you believe I finally got the very first stamp on my passport?

The Ninja brought me along on an all-expense paid trip to a resort in Mexico! He kicked some butt at work and earned a vacation that began on his birthday. We kicked off the last year of his 20s at the Pueblo Bonito Rose in Cabo San Lucas with a few dozen of his co-workers.

It was a four-day trip and Jordan’s company organized transportation, lodging, meals, and even provided an additional $125 per person room credit that we could use on spa treatments, room service, or whatever. The resort wasn’t brand new, but our experience was still very nice.

Most of our friends went on excursions (riding quads, parasailing) but the two of us mostly relaxed in and by various pools and worked on undoing some of our cycling tan lines. We enjoyed a preview of summer weather with temps in the 90s by day and mid 60s at night.

Had I written this right after I returned, my review of Mexico would be slightly more glowing. But I’m still getting over (for lack of a better term) intestinal trouble, bug bites, and a head cold, so I’m slightly less than thrilled with travel in general, especially to third world countries.

In fact, if you take a look at how we spent the room credit, it pretty much sums up what trips with the two of us are all about: we’re always hungry, so there are tons of charges for room service, and the rest went for snacks, hydration, bug sprays, lip balms, and sunscreen.

We may not be well-suited for travel, but we still had fun!

The results: I finished 4th… Out of 4.

That last-place finish doesn’t do much for my ego, but I learned a lot from the experience. Mainly that when you’re nervous it makes you have to pee. A lot! And wearing bib shorts, having no restrooms in the vicinity, showing up too late to warm up, and riding an unfamiliar course, are all things that don’t help.

Not only that, but it should also be mentioned that in many womens cycling events they group all categories together since there are so few women involved in the sport. So where men might race with no more than 2 categories, my pathetic little category 4 slow newbie ass is up against professional and semi-professional female cyclists from all over. Kind-of makes that 4th place finish not sound so bad after all.

Since I have that first event under my belt, I’ll be trying a few more throughout the season. Maybe even a road race and/or a criterium toward the end of this month, and I’ll keep you posted on my results as they come. Originally my goal was not to be dead last, but I think I’ll set my sights a bit lower from now on… Finishing at all is good!

Watch me jinx even that.       PS: Happy Birthday Jordan!!! XOXOX

So, the Ninja and I hopped in the car and drove to Vegas. We stayed at the Signature at MGM Grand, which was made even more enjoyable thanks to a free upgrade to a penthouse suite. Pretty nifty. Not that we spent a lot of time there, since we were in the other city that never sleeps, and there’s no shortage of fun things to do and see.

However, the whole point was to meet Misty, Dena, Shelly, Lisa, Gina, Monica, Tasha, and Salena. Regrettably, only 5/8ths of that goal was achieved because (despite my best effort) I couldn’t track down the last three. However, it was lovely meeting those first five special ladies. Turns out your blogs very accurately portray who you are and what you’re all about… You’re each as fantastic as I’d imagined, and more!

Now that I know how awesome you are, I wish that Virginia Beach were right next door to Southern California. Though the Ninja and I are a couple of premature (yet immature) fuddy-duddies who don’t drink, smoke, or gamble, we hope there will be many more fun times to spend together soon. Maybe with hubbies and kids even… No? …Or not.

I should have done this in person, but I didn’t want to get all serious on you in the midst of all the fun, so listen: Blogger friendships may seem too distant or detached from outsider perspectives, but the laughter and support we share means a lot me. Thank you for sticking around through some very tough times, and for never forgetting that I exist even when my posts dwindle down to once or twice a month.

You’re each amazing, wonderful people, and I love you… XOXOX!

(The bunny on my handlebars helps though.)

Normally, I prefer 30-50 mile rides while surrounded by ten to twenty of my other road biking buddies, and of course, the one and only Jordan. I’m stoked that we’re once again enjoying daylight savings time (also known as cycling season). My office life sucks, but it’s made more tolerable when I can ride off the stress after work.

This weekend we’re heading out for yet another road trip. We’re gearing up for Las Vegas where we’ll be meeting a few of my favorite peeps on earth! I’m so excited. Good thing I’ve been so busy lately, otherwise I’d be obsessing over what to pack, dreaming about the fun we’ll have, and stressing that I’ll be too shy to enjoy it all.

As it stands, I’m worried about not having appropriate shoes for all the walking required in that town, so I wrote to Manolo the Shoeblogger for advice. To my great pleasure, he wrote about it and made suggestions. I’ll try and head over to a nearby Cole Haan boutique later tonight and find some of those Nike Air heels he recommends.

See you gals soon! XOXOX

Though I’d like to pretend it was just to see me, they were all here to compete in the 2008 Amgen Tour of California. This eight-day stage race, first held in 2006, just keeps growing in popularity. This year drew the best peloton so far, and to top it off, they decided to end at the Rose Bowl.

For those of you not into cycling, let me give you a small example of how it felt to have these guys riding where I could see them with my own eyes: Imagine your favorite celebrity, one you’ve long wanted to meet, and then imagine having known for weeks in advance that today, when you open your front door, they’ll be walking right past your house. I could barely contain my excitement!

As the hostess with the mostest, I felt it was my duty to volunteer and do my part to ensure their experience in the City of Roses went well. Originally, I was scheduled to work Anti-Doping, which is the equivalent to having a backstage pass, but some crazy lady screwed it up for me the day before by showing up in the showers. Since it was males only, my Ninja handled that job, and I directed other volunteers instead.

No complaints though. We attended the last two stages, met a ton of pro cyclists, had a great time at the finish, and even got to hang with security afterward to meet more of our heroes (even Hincapie!) once the press conference was over. Now, I can hardly wait until next year!