Ho, Ho, Ho...

Merry Christmas! A day late!

We have been so busy with family stuff this Christmas that I have obviously not posted in awhile. Hope you and yours had a good holiday!

Our festivities began last Friday when Chad's sister Jana came to town. Here's how the weekend went:

Friday night -
Dinner at Moonshine with Karen, Jim, Jana, and Jay
Hung out at Chad's mom's house

Saturday -
10 mile run at 8am
wrapped presents and finished last shopping
went to the Billings Family Christmas party (Chad's mom's family) (3pm-9pm)
hung out at Chad's mom's house afterwards

Sunday -
Church
Christmas lunch with my mom and presents
Movie with mom - Charlie Wilson's War (11am-6pm)
Chad and I ate dinner at Wahoo's
Hung out at Chad's mom's house in the evening

Monday (Christmas Eve) -
Went to Town Lake with Chad, Jana, and Jay. - ran with Jana
4 of us ate lunch at Wahoo's
Went with Chad to do last minute shopping
hung out at Chad's mom's house during preparations
Christmas Eve service at Riverbend (6pm service)
Watched 'A Christmas Story'
Had Christmas Eve dinner and opened presents (9pm-1am)
Partied until about 1am with the family

Tuesday (Christmas Day) -
Felt horrible sleeping - had horrible cramping and could not sleep (got about 4 hours total)
Went over to Chad's mom's house to see his dad. (11:45am-1:15)
Opened presents with Chad's dad.
Traveled to Buda to visit with my family at uncle Ruben's house (2:15-6:30)
Tried to go see the 37th street lights - left early when I found that my favorite house had changed their lights.
Went to Chad's mom's house to hang out (8:30-10:00)

What I'm starting to realize is that this year the time balance between families was much more heavily weighted on one side than the other. I didn't realize that it was that way until about halfway through the weekend. I don't have a problem with sharing time, especially when people come into town to see you. When the situations are reversed and we need to flip the time balance in the other direction, I hope that will go over okay.

'Fortune'-ately for us...

Is 'small success' actually a good fortune to get? Shouldn't we want 'great success'?

Maybe the problem is due to what was written on our chopstick wrapper. Hmmm...it is disturbing to get messages like this while you are eating.

Skinny Bitch

Most people who know me know that I am a vegetarian, and that I have been for a while. Chad and I tried to figure out how long it has been, and I have concluded 8 1/2 years. I began my life of vegetarianism the summer of 1999, weighing 183 pounds and in horrible physical condition. I regularly consumed Totino's party pizzas and Kahlua milkshakes with my college roommates. I was completing a degree in Zoology, studying ecology, animal physiology, and a host of other classes revolving aroung animal biology. It was a really easy decision both physically and ethically to stop eating meat.

At first I was a 'junk food vegetarian'. It took a while for me to adjust from the food choices that I had been making to a more healthy, balanced diet. I ate potatoes in their various forms, cheese, milk, yogurt, and lots of fake meat products to get by. I have always liked various vegetables, but it became fun to experiment trying new veggies like bok choy, kale, and the like. Within a few years, I became much more strict in my diet, almost becoming vegan, and let the vegetarian lifestyle influence my choices in cleaning products, clothing, and cosmetics.

Since I have started running more seriously, I have given in to some of my 'beliefs.' I found myself 'craving' fish a couple of years ago and started using the excuse that it is easier on everyone else in my family if I were to start eating seafood. I also have found that I am back to buying regular cleaning products, more leather shoes and purses, and regular cosmetics. I don't know if I can ever fully give up leather shoes and purses, or that I will always buy natural cosmetics, but I definitely need to do better.

Recently my friend Tara introduced me to a book that she had read called 'Skinny Bitch'. The book is marketed to be a diet book for modern women. After listening to Tara describe the changes that she is making in her diet, I realized that it was a book promoting healthy eating (and as a consequence a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle). I bought the book this weekend to read it for myself.

I highly recommend the book for anyone (man or woman) who wants to learn more about the effects of food on their body. The authors have done their research, and though it is written with a slanted opinion, the facts in the book stand for themselves. The majority of food that we eat in this country is horrible for us. The book helps educate folks who are unaware of the crap that they eat every day and helps the rest of us refocus on the food that is good for us. 'Skinny Bitch' also does an awesome job of bringing to reality the horrors of meat production in America.

I have new life in my vegetarianism. I am so thankful to Tara for introducing the book to me. With all of the bitching that I have been doing about my weight and exercise, it is nice to regain focus on the healthy foods that I should be putting in my mouth. I have already re-stocked my kitchen with the vegan options that I need and am ready to pare down the milk/cheese/fish that is still here.

For those of you reading this who think 'I could never do that' or 'She is such a wanna-be hippy', I suggest you read up on what it means to be vegetarian or vegan, and the effects of eating animal products on your body. I am not trying to sound like a snob or put others down for their own diets, but simply think everyone should be aware of what they are putting into their mouth and how each food item came to be on their fork. I don't think any of us will ever eat a perfect diet. I fully expect that I will have moments where I want some milk products or break down and have a taste of someone's seafood dish. Between those moments, however, I hope to improve my overall health.

Okay...now stepping off of my soapbox. (But really, if you are curious to read the book, it is an entertaining and quick read. I will let you borrow my copy.)

Some Updates

Obviously my posting frequency has diminished over the last few weeks. I have had a lot of things going on between the Thanksgiving holiday, work, and wedding planning. It is probably a good sign that I am not always in the mood to sit down and blog about everything. Anyhow, it is time to play catch-up...

Thanksgiving was great. I felt like even though the balance of time between families was uneven, Chad and I spent time doing the things that we wanted to do at the holiday. Thanksgiving eve we spent with my mom at my house. Actually, she came over earlier in the day and chatted with me as I wrapped up my work day and worked some in the kitchen. Chad and I started the turkey cake and got pizza for everyone for dinner. Mom didn't really have the appetite for a traditional turkey dinner, and I found it pretty refreshing to get to eat something besides turkey.

The Turkey Trot was fun. I ran comfortably hard without looking at my watch. It was great! I saw several people during the run (including John F who sometimes reads my blog) and it was nice to catch up with everyone on a holiday.

We went with some of Chad's family to the Austin Club at lunch for their Thanksgiving meal. The food was better this year, as it was less creamy and heavy. We also were surprised that Chad's grandma Gene was in attendance because we thought she would be out of town. She gave Chad his grandfather's wedding band to wear when we get married and made it clear how happy she was that he was going t0 wear it. We are really excited that his ring has been passed down to Chad.

Immediately after our Austin Club dinner, we went to my Dad's house and made it just in time for our circle of thanksgiving. Everyone (15 or so people) makes a big circle and holds hands and declares what they are thankful for each year. This year was significant because it is the first Thanksgiving without Grandpa Sanchez, and it was really hard to see tears in everyone's eyes.

Since Thanksgiving, I have been working hard. My job picks up significantly in December and January, so I have been rather distracted during the day. I wish the time would go by faster and that February would come sooner. I am looking forward to the holidays, but really I am more excited about the wedding.

This past weekend my cousin Traci got married. I have to admit that I was not as excited as I should have been for her.

This is totally selfish of me, but I am going to be honest about my feelings...I have been holding on to some negative feelings for a while now because Traci and her husband got engaged after Chad and I did, but decided they wanted to get married as soon as possible in the Fall. Traci was the 3rd girl in my family to get engaged recently (I was the 2nd and Crystal was the first). Crystal had been engaged for a while and had finally set her date for November 10. I had considered dates in November, but thought it would be too close to Crystal's wedding and couldn't find a fall weekend that worked. Traci stepped in and was going to have her wedding one day after Crystal's wedding until someone told her it was not good to do that. It would have been kind of rude to step in and 'steal some of the thunder' of the weekend, especially since Crystal had been engaged for a while. It is better that Traci decided on December 2. Even still, I felt like being the 3rd cousin in the same family to get engaged that she should have waited until after our wedding. It's not like our engagement is particularly long...9 months. Like I said, it is totally selfish of me to think that way, but I can't help how I feel. I know that I don't own the calendar and that I should not feel bad about another person's decision on their own wedding.

Anyhow, their wedding was elegant and beautiful, and I'm happy for her and my aunt and uncle. They had an intimate ceremony and a reception that was pretty. We enjoyed all of the food, beer and champagne, and the dancing music was fun (though I danced with my niece, Avery, not Chad). I am really excited that ours is next!

That is all for now. We continue to dance, go to counseling with our minister, and make more decisions about the ceremony. I have also decided to hire a wedding coordinator to begin taking over the planning before the ceremony, yay!

We have a visitor...

While my parents are on vacation, I get to look after their dog Lily. Here she is...

Lily is a Westie (West Highland White Terrier), and if you know anything about terriers, you know that they are headstrong, smart, and quite fun if they are well trained. Lily is a fantastic dog!

In the video, she is discovering her duck. I have some of her toys tucked into the space underneath the bench in the office. I love this video of her playing with the cats watching on. They don't know what to think of her.

I love how the next shot shows exactly how the cats feel. Miko is clearly annoyed! She has been growling at Lily and hissing when Lily gets too close. You can see that Beans couldn't care less. This picture was taken with Lily about 2 feet away from them.

Our surprise dish - the turkey cake!

We were shopping in Williams Sonoma this week and saw that the turkey cake pan was on sale, as well as the vanilla spice quick bread cake that went with it. Here it is, step by step...

The Pan


Cool on wire rack


Trim off excess cake.


Spread icing on one half.


Place one half on top of the other and refrigerate for 30 min.


Tip cake out of pan and admire...notice ours didn't completely come together perfectly.


Decorate to hide center gap and look like a colorful turkey. (We would have just dusted with powdered sugar had it come out okay straight from the pan.)

Tah dah!!! No laughs please. It looks really ugly in the picture, but in person it was so cute! The flash makes it look way too shiny. It really looked like a turkey with colored feathers and beak.


Plus, the flavor of the cake was really good!

Turkey day cooking has begun!

Currently on my stove, I've got a pot of sweet potatoes ready to boil and my family's favorite cranberry-orange sauce in progress.

Lots of people do cranberry orange, but mine tastes really good and is super simple...

1 bag fresh cranberries (16 oz)
1 cup fresh orange juice (I use Goodflow brand)
1/2-3/4 cup sugar (I use Central Market Organics evaporated cane juice sugar)

- Rinse and remove stems from cranberries. In a medium-sized sauce pan over medium high heat, put in cranberries, orange juice, and sugar. Stir slightly to mix sugar and orange juice as the mixture warms. You will hear a popping sound as the cranberries reach cooking temperature. Boil mixture for 5-10 minutes, taking care that the pan does not overflow. Stir as necessary. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until consistency is thick enough for you.

Remove from heat and place in a pretty serving bowl. Let cool, then refrigerate. For an optional garnish, peel and section an orange and arrange around the outside of the bowl.

I will be preparing Sweet Potatoes from Paula Deen's Savannah Country Cookbook (altered to match my grandmother's pecan topping) and a citrus salad. Chad and I also have a surprise dish that we are sure will be a hit!

Typo fixed!!!

It took about 24 hours, but the typo that I caught yesterday was fixed!

Here is the corrected page. See my other post if you don't remember what the problem was.

wha, wha, what?

Yesterday I had the pleasure of escaping the office and going shopping with my friend (and bridesmaid) Tara. She and Wade moved to NYC just over a year ago, and are in town for Thanskgiving with their families.

Tara and I met up at Ann Taylor at the Arboretum and tried on the bridesmaid dress that I picked out. It was so fun getting to try them on with her, and I found myself bouncing around the dressing room with excitement that finally there was a girl out shopping with me and wearing the same dress!

After Ann Taylor, we headed over to the Domain to walk around and scan some things at Macy's for the registry. Tara was a trooper in Macy's and said that she was having fun. I hope that she didn't say that just to make me feel good.

During our trip around the shops at the Domain, we went into the BCBG boutique and found some really cute things. However, upon closer inspection at the sizing labels, I found the most disturbing label...XXS! Wha, wha, what? XXS? really? is that necessary? When they have a size 0, that is insulting. The 00 size is even more ridiculous. I had never discovered the XXS before, so maybe I am shopping at stores that actually have sizes in the range of the bell curve that is America. Apparently really little women only buy designer clothing, because I have never seen the XXS at the stores that I shop at. (and, no, I don't shop at WalMart!)

I know they are trying to make these skinny women feel good about being small, but gimme a break!!

Typo - I found it!!!!

I admit that I am not the best writer, nor do I have proper grammar or spelling at all times. That being said, I am the person at my company who often receives notices from our clients and the public if there is a typo on our website or published written materials. It is my responsibility to handle the information and forward it to the right person to get it corrected within our documents.

I found a typo on a major company's website this morning!!!!

On the Macy's/Wedding Channel registry website (we are probably registering there), there is a typo on this page. Underneath the red box that lets you sign up, it reads 'You can also call 1-888-989-9333 or visit and in-store Registry Consultant to enroll in Registry Star Rewards.'

Ummm...did they mean 'an'? How fun! I caught it!

I did send a message to their 'Contact Us' form informing them of the typo. There is someone else out there in the world who, right now as you read this, is performing my job of informing their webmaster of the mistake. Though it is certainly not a deep issue or really all that important, I am tickled that this situation has come full circle.

Dancing with the groom...

Chad and I went to our first dance lesson together in preparation for the wedding. Lemme say that Chad is a trooper and I totally appreciate that he is willing to go to lessons.


We had a private lesson at Arthur Murray Dance School and our instructors name was Quan. The lesson was definitely beginner, but we learned the basic step for foxtrot, two-step, tango, waltz, and rhumba. When I was in college (almost 10 years ago) I took a ballroom 101 class, so I was totally familiar with all of the steps other than the rhumba. It was nice to get to practice them with Chad as he was learning them.


Chad did know the basic for two-step before we went, so he picked up the foxtrot, tango, and rhumba well. Waltzing is much more complicated once you get going, and we have yet to move out of the 'box'.

Dancing is something that I love to do when it is a partner dance, but I hate to get my groove thang on in the middle of the floor on my own. I hope Chad is able to someday feel so good about dancing that he won't mind if I want us to go out every once in a while and cut a rug.

Pacer

I found out this weekend that there was an opening for a pacer for the AT&T Austin Marathon. Now, I have been a pacer for the marathon in 2006, but it was for the 4:15 group. The opening this year is for the 5:00 group. Not that there is anything wrong with running a marathon in 5:00, but it will be interesting for me to run at that pace. I guess there will be a lot of run/walking through the hills and waterstops.

The good thing about pacing is that I will be running with my friend Jennifer Limbaugh. She and I have run together on various runs throughout the past few years, and we should have a great time!

Weekend Review

This weekend was quite busy!

On Friday night I represented my company at an open house for a new local office of an organization that I am not going to list on my blog. (I am keeping my work life separate from this blog.) The open house was nice...there was catering from Whole Foods Catering Department, so there were veggie options for me to eat. Whole Foods also selected the wine/beer list, so it was great to see that they had all Texas choices. Alamosa Wine Cellars' Viognier was selected for one of the white wines.

After the open house, Chad and I met at the Westgate Hyde Park Bar and Grill. Before my stomach virus on my birthday, I had eaten at HPB&G. I usually am wary of food or restaurants that I suspect may have caused stomach problems, but after I was sure that it was a 'bug' and not food poisoning, I decided to take the plunge and eat at HPB&G. Chad and I eat here pretty regularly, so I would have been sad to take it out of our regular lineup.

On Saturday morning we woke up early and met the Boston group for their first long run. I am going to be joining them for workouts on Tuesdays and Saturdays while I am trying to get back in shape. The group was doing 10 miles (4-5 miles for the racers on Sunday), so I went out with them to try to do the 7 mile loop. There were several familiar faces and it was nice to run with Linda from last fall. She had been recovering from major ankle surgery in January, so her pace was close to mine. We were definitely slower than the group, but we enjoyed ourselves during the 7 miles. I am pleased to announce that I made it the whole 7 miles, but it was a struggle aerobically.

Saturday afternoon we traveled to Kerrville for my cousin Crystal's wedding. Chad and I drove my dad and had a nice drive in the Hill Country. The wedding ceremony and reception were really nice, and I am impressed that Crystal did the majority of it herself. I had prepped Chad that the Catholic ceremony would probably be long and in Spanish. I think he was able to handle the time with all of the different customs and the distractions of the babies that were there. My 8-month-old niece, Avery, was sitting in our pew, so we were distracted some of the time watching her and her cute antics.

The reception was across the street, so we walked over for dinner, dancing, and cake. Our first dancing experience was interesting...we are really going to have to practice together.

Sunday morning was the EAS Run for the Water. (We drove home from Kerrville on Saturday evening and got home about 9:30.) Chad was going to run the race and I opted to spectate. The problem was I forgot to pack my running shoes! I was going to run out a few miles and be at a place where I could be on the course. Oh well! I opted to be at the start/finish line and had fun cheering on the racers with Carolyn.

After the race, Chad and I spent the day doing miscellaneous things. We went to my mom's house to jump her battery, then to Zuzu's for lunch. We weaved our way up Shoal Creek and looked at the houses in that area on our way to Benold's to check their business hours. We also scouted out Arthur Murray Dance Studio, where we will be taking our dance lessons. We scouted Marquee Rentals to see if their showroom was open or when their business hours were...they were closed on Sundays. Next, we went to Floor & Decor to get a better idea of flooring options for Chad's living room. On to Bed, Bath & Beyond for some registry scanning. We went by Ann Taylor to see if their new occasions line has hit the store (bridesmaid dresses)...they had not. We continued house hunting in Balcones Woods/Duval/Oak Forest/Great Hills areas and found some neat places. It was nice to see what was available in our price range.

The weekend was exhausting, but seemed to be good for the wedding planning.

Ready to workout again?

So, I have been tossing the idea of signing up for a training group. I don't want to race anything. I just want to get back into running shape. I don't want to push too hard right now.

There is a group called the 'Show 'n' Go' that is on the Rogue website now that is a pay-by-month type of program. It meets Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6:00pm. This is a good thing because Chad will start training on Tuesday nights very soon and it would be nice to be on the same schedule. Also, if Chad decides to do the Thursday night class, then we would actually be in the same group.

I emailed Ruth to find out more, but it looks like the Tuesday night group is the same coach as the Spring Marathon training group.

I need some motivation to run and paying for a group seems like good motivation.

lap full of kitties...this one cracks me up

So, since Beans started his blog, I haven't posted any kitty shots.

This one I had to post. It completely cracks me up to look at their little pissed off faces in this picture. Beans and Miko were so mad that I had been carrying them around the condo with one under each arm.

When I managed to sit down with both of them and hold them there long enough for Chad to take a picture, this shot was the result. I was thrilled! I think if you click on it, a larger version will pop up and show you the true feelings behind their expressions.

some birthday pics...

...from before I started barfing. These were taken after my birthday dinner with my Dad, Rose, and Chad.

It still cracks me up that Chad and my dad wore similar outfits (on accident) and looked like twins. Rose and I both coordinated as well in black and white.

Lily and I pose together in black and white.

Birthday Wrap up

So, I have a great fiancee, great family, and great friends. As miserable as the weekend was, everyone really tried to lift my spirits and take care of me, and I really appreciate that.

Also, I have some recommendations for stomach-related issues...

• Pepto Bismol is good, but buy the caplets if you can.
• Imodium is great, take it one caplet at a time.
• Don't drink too many fluids until you are sure that your stomach will process them.
• Pedialyte (for babies and toddlers) is so yummy! You should try it in place of Gatorade.
• Popsicles are a great treat when your tummy is sore...they are not only for sore throats and tonsil removals.
• Saltine crackers are good, but saltine crackers with a tiny bit of peanut butter is even better.
• Instead of Sprite, try Izze (carbonated juice) in the Clementine flavor. The bubbles are smaller and I held it down better.

I get a do-over on a couple of dinners, so that will be fun if I ever feel like eating again.

An unexpected plus (if you want to call it that) of this weekend is that I am coming out of it a few pounds lighter instead of a few pounds on the heavy side. That 'not eating' thing does a number on you. I guess food poisoning keeps you from wanting to overindulge.

My 30th Birthday Weekend - Part 3

Sunday morning -

I felt a lot better, but I was still very weak and not able to ingest much.

Chad took me to get a bagel. It was the only thing that sounded good. I managed to eat the bagel, but then had some trouble with my system all day. My stomach would not stop hurting. I felt like I had heartburn and gas all day. I was dizzy and tired.

There were waves when I would feel pretty alert and good to go, so we tried to make an outing at lunch with my mom. We went over to her condo to open birthday presents and then tried to eat at Galaxy Cafe for lunch. They both ordered burgers, and I ordered french toast. I knew it came with strawberries and bananas, which both sounded appetizing, and I thought I could put down a couple of bites of the toast itself. Not so much. I did manage to eat most of the fruit, but had a really hard time eating the bread.

I felt so sick again. No barfing at all, but my stomach hurt like nobody's business and I was very cranky the rest of the day. It was back to the couch for an afternoon of DVR watching and then back to my house.

Birthday day 2 - better than barfing all day, but still not as fun as it should have been.

My 30th Birthday Weekend - Part 2

So, the birthday party went on without me. It seemed to go pretty well otherwise.

Karen, Chad's mom, called me and brought me a bunch of medicine from the drug store. I took some Imodium and let that kick in. She also brought me some peppermints and some Dramamine to help with the dizziness and nausea. I had never heard of that for anything other than motion sickness, but the pharmacist recommended it. I didn't take one right away because I didn't want to have too many drugs in my belly at that time. I could have barfed them right up.

Chad came back to the house and we made the decision to sell the Nebraska tickets. Chad went down to the game at around 1:00pm, while my mom stayed with me. Unfortunately, there were not many people who were wanting to buy tickets. I guess Nebraska's losing streak had lessened the demand for tickets, and even the scalpers were not getting much for them. I think Chad sold them for $20 each, but at least it was something rather than letting them sit in the car.

He came home to be with me (at this point I hadn't vomited since 9:45am), and we spent the afternoon in the living room...I was on the couch. I decided to go ahead and take a Dramamine at about 3:30, and that pretty much knocked me out the rest of the day. I slept on and off until it was officially bedtime at the end of the World Series game. I took another Dramamine and slept hard all night.

Saturday ended. I officially turned 30. What a disaster of a birthday!

My 30th Birthday Weekend - Part 1

This is how the weekend was supposed to go -

Friday - lunch with mom, bake blueberry muffins, dinner at 3Forks with Dad, Rose, and Chad
Saturday - breakfast birthday party with friends, UT game, dinner at Cru Wine Bar with Chad
Sunday - sleep in, run, brunch at Chez Zee (mmm...Creme Brulee French Toast) with Mom and Chad, afternoon of whatever I want
Monday - dinner at North with Chad's family

This is what really happened -

Friday - lunch with mom at Hyde Park Bar & Grill (I had tomato bisque soup and a dinner salad), made blueberry muffins for breakfast, went to dinner at 3 Forks (I had the 3Forks salad, halibut entree, and shared chocolate cake for dessert), went to Chad's mom's house to visit with his family until about 11:30 pm.

Saturday - at about midnight on Saturday morning, I told Chad that my tummy was not feeling good and that I was worried about it. He asked if I was going to throw up, and I said 'maybe'. I tried to go to sleep. I woke up at about 12:45 and knew that I was going to be very sick. I threw up multiple times during that episode and felt horrible. I hoped that would be it.

It wasn't.

I barfed and had diarrhea all night long. They were the worst episodes that I can remember since the time I was really little. Chad made a trip to the Walgreens at around 2:00 in the morning to get me some Pepto Bismol, some Sprite, and some ponytail holders to hold back my hair. How coincidental was it that we were scouring his house for a hair tie earlier in the night when I needed one to wash my face? There are usually 3 or 4 lying around everywhere that his kitty tries to steal and play with. There were none to be found.

At about 5:00am, I made the decision that I was not improving and that I was not well enough to host my breakfast party at the park. Chad was going to have to go get the tacos and set up the party on his own. I called my mom to come over and stay with me while he was out. I am so lucky to have a mom that lives close and is able to come over at a moment's notice. She was there in time for Chad to say goodbye and head off for the party.

I continued to be sick throughout the morning, making trips from the bed to the bathroom. I had started to try to drink gatorade and water to try to replenish some of the lost fluids. That didn't quite work. I threw up all of the Sprite and Gatorade at about 8:30am. No good.

The best part of the morning was calling Chad to check on him. I was so happy to hear the voices in the background that sounded like they were enjoying themselves. I even got to hear 'Happy Birthday to you' sung to me a couple of times during the morning. It was really nice! I will admit that I broke down in tears the first time because I was so upset to be missing my own party! I had a little pity party in the bed with my mom and she just let me cry it out.

Farewell twenties!

Note - I started this post on Friday, before the weekend truly showed its colors. Details of the weekend are to follow.

Today is the last day of my twenties. When I turned 20, I was in college, living with 2 roommates, not getting the grades that I knew I was capable of, and dating a guy that I thought was 'the one'. I thought life was good, actually.

I turned 21 and life totally changed. That summer, my college boyfriend of almost 2 years dumped me for my roommate in June. I moved out to live with my best friend from high school in August, and finished my last few credits needed to graduate. By September, I was working my butt off at my first teaching job.

Teaching those first few years was so difficult! I enjoyed working with the kids and ultimately felt like I was making a difference. I was overwhelmed with the workload of grading papers and planning new activities, but it was a rush each day in the classroom. Throughout my years of teaching, my patience developed. I appreciate the differences in people and have learned to be both empathetic and sympathetic to others' situations. I feel like teaching has contributed the greatest amount of change to my personality in my 20s.

I also went through my 20s as a single gal trying to date in the post-college world. I met several Mr. Wrongs, who at times I tried to convince myself were Mr. Rights. I think I had set my standards pretty low at times. I saw friends get married and start families. I became somewhat envious, but in a healthy way if you could call it that. With each wedding or baby born, I got excited for my own experiences that had yet to come.

Running came into my life. At 21, I was 183 pounds and embarrased at my weight. After seeing my pictures of my college graduation, I was horrified as to the size I had grown to be. I had become a vegetarian after a couple of semesters of Ecology and other related animal biology classes. The summer of 1999 saw 30 pounds lost and a new excitement about exercise. I started running to get in shape. After a marathon training on my own in 2004, I thought I might do pretty well if I started training with a group.

Well, as most of you who read this know, running has been a blast. Goals have been set and reached (or failed), and with each training season and race, I have learned more about my body's limitations and my mind's power over my body. I have learned how I sabotage myself as well as how I can push myself way beyond what I thought was possible.

As I leave the 20s, I feel ready for what is ahead. I am with the man that I have been waiting for all this time and am looking forward to the life we are about to build together. They say that the 30s are so much better than your 20s. If so, then I am surely to be blessed with a great life!

3 more miles!

I ran again this morning! Can you believe that after Wednesday's 3 mile run I was sore? Man, I am really out of shape. I wasn't in pain like hip/injury pain, it was just plain fatigued muscles.

Maybe now that I am doing different PT exercises and focusing on my pelvic placement, I am using muscles differently than I used to, resulting in soreness. Novel concept, huh?

Only 4 more miles to go until Wednesday to complete my goal. I intend to run 2-3 miles on Sunday and finish the rest on Mon or Tues.

And I ran...

3 miles.

With absolutely no pain.

BTW...I love my new PT.

My new goal : run 7 more miles between now and next Wednesday with no pain. Also, to do all of my PT exercises every day, even though they take a while to complete.

Karen's Birthday Dinner - Jasper's

Last night we celebrated Chad's mom's birthday. We met at her house for some pre-dinner champagne (actually, it was cava) and headed to Jasper's in the Domain. Chad and I had eaten at Jasper's before, but we had only appetizers, dessert, and wine on the patio. Last night we were having a full dinner.

Appetizer/Salad:

We started with some calamari, which was served on top of a orange-soy sauce. It was tasty, though a bit salty, and I thought that the orange flavor was a little bitter. We also started with a bottle of Morgan Pinot Noir. Chad and I ordered a Jasper's greens salad before our meal, and I thought it tasted better than the one I had in the spring.

Main Course:

For the main course, I ordered halibut, which was served with a haricot vert-tomato salad and truffle whipped potatoes. It was delicious, but I never realized how the texture and flavor of halibut resembles a cooked egg. Chad ordered 'Texas Peach Barbecued Pork Tenderloin' and got it with fries instead of the creamed corn and twice-baked potato. Karen ordered the pan seared salmon dish, and Jim ordered the hickory grilled flat iron steak. We ordered a second bottle of wine with our main courses, and Jim picked the Fess Parker Pinot Noir. (apparently this second bottle was not up to expectations) I trust his nose, but was also pleased to find out that the second of the two wines went well with my haricot vert-tomato salad.

Dessert:

Trio of minis (Though they are not that small)
We picked Banana Parfait, Rocky Road Ice cream Sandwich, and Butterfinger Creme Brulee. I liked all of them, though because of its size, the Banana Parfait was the best.

After dinner, we remarked at how enjoyable the meal had been, both food and company, and we headed back to the house to open presents. The animals got her some 'Tuna Las Vegas' show tickets. Jim got her some really nice hiking/walking shoes that were also very cute. Chad got her a tagine, and I complemented his gift with a tagine/Moroccan cookbook and 2 jars of Moroccan cooking ingredients, preserved lemons and harissa. I think Karen liked all of her presents.

What a fun evening! I highly recommend Jasper's for a nice meal.

11 days...

'til my birthday!

I have finally committed to plans for the weekend. Turning 30 is going to be better than I thought.

We're Back!

Vacation was a blast. In all, I think we most preferred Zion National Park. The best part was driving in the convertible through the park. Here is a wrap-up of our last couple of days -

Sunday:

Morning - in Zion National Park - drove to Human History Museum, took tram to Temple of Sinawava, Big Bend, Weeping Rock, Court of the Patriarchs.

Lunch - at Sol Foods Cafe - yum!

Afternoon - drive through east part of Zion - tunnel, Checkerboard Mesa, took Canyon View hike...here we are at the end of the hike.

Monday -

Morning - drive to Vegas, checked into Paris hotel & casino...Check out the view from our room!

Lunch - in Paris,

Afternoon - walked the strip - Bellagio, Caesar's, Mirage, Venetian, Wynn, TI, gambled a little

Evening - dinner at Corsa in the Wynn hotel - good wine, good calamaretti, good salad, greasy pizzette, good gelato. We saw 'Mystere' at TI (it is a Cirque du Soleil show) Fantastic! Saw the 'Sirens of TI' when we got out...cheezy! Saw the volcano at the Mirage.

Tuesday -
Morning - breakfast at Paris, walk/tram to Mandalay Bay, gambled some more

drove to airport and left on a 1:25 flight.

The rest of our pictures can be found here.

Vacation Day 4 - Zion National Park

Today was such a wonderful day. Chad and I were able to sleep in again, and then we hit Zion National Park for some sightseeing and some easy hiking (yes, Chad is able to walk, though he is a little unsteady going down stairs). We went on a few hikes before lunch when the weather was pretty cool (45-50 degrees). After a yummy lunch (I had falafel), we decided to drive the scenic route through the park.

Since we had the convertible, we were able to put the top down and turn the heater on in the cold shady areas. The drive was so beautiful! We took a moderate hike out to the canyon overlook and boy, was it worth the climb and the fear of heights that I am constantly trying to overcome.

Here are some pics from the day. We are going to enjoy a nice dinner tonight.
(Sorry, I can't upload the pictures right now. I'll get them up as soon as I can.)

PRs and Boston bound!

Yay!!!!!!!!! Finally!!!!!!!!!!

Chad qualified for Boston today with a time of 3:06:18. At the mile 26 mile marker he was smiling and pumping his arms in the air signaling that he was going to make it! I was screaming and yelling on the side of the road, of course. It was such a great moment! I found him at the runners finish area and gave him a big hug. He was so sweaty and stinky, but neither of us really cared. It was such a fantastic feeling knowing that he had finally made his goal. I have witnessed the aftermath of 4 legitimate attempts at a BQ time, and this 5th time must have been the charm. Chad has worked so hard for this moment, and I'm so thrilled to be here with him!

Charles and Bruce also saw success today with PRs of 3:20 and 3:27. They both qualified for Boston in their age groups as well.

Time to celebrate!!!!!

Marathon Morning...waiting

Race morning is here.

Chad and I woke up at 3:50 to be ready to leave by 4:45. At the St.George Marathon, all runners are required to ride the provided buses to the start line, 26.2 miles up highway 18. The first bus left at 4:00am, but that was just a little too early for us. We arrived at the bus loading area around 5:05, which seemed to be prime time for bus loading. Lots of people had the same idea that we did about when to board the bus.

Now it is 6:15 am. Chad is up at the start line waiting next to one of the bonfires that are lit to keep the runners warm. I'm sure he has found Charles and Bruce and they are all getting ready to use the port-o-potty and turn in their clothing bags. The wheelchair race begins at 6:40, followed by the runners at 6:45. If all goes well, they will start on time, but there is a chance they will start a little bit late if there are bus problems and they are still transporting runners.

Chad seemed ready and focused on a good run this morning. I guess now all I can do is wait...

Pre-race activities...check!

Today was probably the most ideal pre-race day that a runner could have. We slept in late without an alarm and woke up feeling refreshed. Chad needed to run a couple of miles to shake out the legs, so I dropped him off 2 miles from the race finish line and he ran the course in to test the legs. Everything seemed to be feeling okay, and we got some breakfast.

We checked in with Charles and Bruce and made plans to meet them for the day. After getting cleaned up, we went to the expo and did the tour. Chad is officially an 'Elite runner' at this marathon. His bib number is #296, which qualified him to go to the special table to check in. Very cool...we told him we felt very priviliged to hang with him today.

Charles and Bruce met us at the expo and we all took off together to drive the course again. The weather at the start line looked like it was about to turn, so we started to get excited. A cold front is settling into the area today.

We had a big pasta lunch (at the Pasta Factory again) and rested an hour or so before going to the movies. We decided to see The Kingdom. It wasn't what you would call a 'heartwarming family film', but it was a good movie. It definitely got the mind off of the race temporarily. After the movie, we went to dinner (at the Pasta Factory for the third time) and ate our last pasta dinner for the next month or so.

Chad is getting cleaned up and ready for tomorrow. This was the first thing that he did tonight to prepare...

4 states in one day...

Day 1 - the travel day...

...started by waking up at 5:00am central time. We flew to Las Vegas via SLC on Delta, and had a pretty good couple of flights. We touched down in Las Vegas at 11:20am (1:20 Central time).

Getting our luggage and picking up our rental car took 2 hours! No kidding. Las Vegas moves in slow motion, I swear. We drove away on IH 15 north towards St. George at 1:30 local time (2:30 St.George (mountain) time). Our plan was to grab some kind of non-fast food lunch and make the 2 hour drive to St. George.

On the highway in Las Vegas we could not find any sort of normal restaurant. There were tons of 'gas station restaurants' which meant that the Subway or Pizza Hut was inside the unappetizing buildings of the gas stations. We did not find a normal restaurant until 4:30 pm.

The 2 hour drive was quite windy, but it was nice to be able to drive faster than 75 mph without worrying much about getting ticketed. It is the desert after all. The highlight of the drive was getting to drive through the NW corner of Arizona. The scenery immediately changed from desert drab to beautiful river canyons. We had a great time admiring the view for the last 30 minutes or so.

Once we arrived in St.George, we checked into the hotel and decided to drive the course before sunset. The course is still very fresh in my mind from when I ran it 2 years ago. I tried not to annoy Chad by talking about each and every mile as we were driving, but I think it did get to him a little. I think it was a good first look for him, though, and we will drive it again tomorrow.

Here is Chad at the start line. He is reading the sign that they post for everyone to read. It contains FAQ about the marathon.

Here I am with our super cool PT convertible. Behind it is the long lines of bonfire stacks that are ready to be lit to warm the runners before the race.

After a trip to the grocery and to Walgreens, we ate a pasta dinner at The Pasta Factory. It is good, plain pasta, which is exactly what a runner needs in the days leading up to the race.

We are tired and are looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.

Texas, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah...check!

Vacation is here!

At 5:00pm today, I can close my laptop and officially go on vacation. It is St.George Marathon weekend and although I am not running, Chad is. Our plane leaves at 8:00am tomorrow morning and we are off for a weekend of running and fun!

Thursday -

• depart Austin
• arrive in Las Vegas around lunch time
• pick up rental car (PT Cruiser Convertible or similar)
• eat lunch/drive to St. George
• check into hotel
• drive the marathon course
• rest

Friday -

• sleep in
• marathon expo
• pasta lunch or dinner - whatever Chad wants
• rest
• drive course again if we want

Saturday -

• wake up really early - board bus for marathon by 5:30
• Chad runs marathon - Sadie gets coffee or sleeps another hour
• Chad finishes under 3:00:00 (or at least under 3:10:59)
• We celebrate and watch for Charles and Bruce
• post race fun
• drive to Springdale, Utah (Zion National Park area)
• Check out Zion/spend time at the pool/eat a good dinner!

Sunday -

• Time in Zion National Park/Springdale area

Monday -

• Travel to Las Vegas
• Check in to Paris Hotel & Casino!
• Gamble/walk around/dinner/show?

Tuesday -

• Morning in Vegas
• Return home

Still in pain - 2nd opinion

So, even after a few attempts at running that appeared to be successful at the time, I am not pain free. In fact, I have had the same level of pain for about the last 5 weeks, with the exception of a few good days. I cannot walk (even slow strolling) without pain, and honestly cannot run without pain. It has been sad to accept that the running that I did previously probably is not an indication that I am healing.

I went to get a 2nd opinion on my diagnosis Friday afternoon. I went to see Dr. Mia Griggs, who is a sports medicine doctor and a runner according to her bio. I had not heard of her amongst my running crowd, but since Aetna did not cover any of the doctors that I had heard of, I decided to go with my gut instinct and visit Dr. Griggs. I figured it would be nice to hear a young woman's opinion and that I might relate better to what she would say.

She was very thorough in her exam and discussions with me. She did not give me the same diagnosis as Dr. Spears, but she did say she believed there was muscle imbalance in my glute area and that the myofascial tissue attachment was irritated. She suggested that I continue physical therapy, but consider going to a different PT. I am definitely open to that even though I like the current PT that I am working with. She recommended a lady named Gladys at the Seton SW hospital who has had great success with other patients with similar problems to mine. Gladys's techniques incorporate some pilates-style exercises, so that sounds good to me.

Dr. Griggs did not rule out the possibility of me having a stress fracture, though she said there was a minimal chance that it was the cause of the pain. I go in for an x-ray on Monday, and she is confident that if there is a stress fracture, that it will show on the x-ray now that it has been several weeks since my initial pain. I guess by now there will be indications where my body is trying to heal the fracture. I am glad to know that she wants to consider that possibility. I have been frustrated that Dr. Spears continues to think I have sacroiliac joint dysfunction, when my body has only responded minimally to the PT that I have been doing. He has insisted that I don't need an x-ray or MRI, even after 2 follow up visits.

I continue to be hopeful that the pain will go away.

I have been instructed not to run at all until I am able to walk without pain...that could take a while.

Regaining Focus - Getting a grip

I am determined to lose weight. I want to look good in my wedding dress, and I think that really I am a small person inside of this overpadded body. I have weighed 18 pounds less than I do now in the past 3 years. I weighed 12 pounds less 2 years ago. I weighed 7 pounds less in June.

I am trying to focus on my diet - lean proteins, fruits, vegetables - trying not to eat too many 'easy calorie' foods. It is a constant struggle. Really, I need to break some habits that I have and re-teach my body to recognize the signals I am getting from my brain. (Am I really wanting sugar or am I stressed? Am I really hungry or am I maybe a little dehydrated? Am I hungry or just a little bored?)

I also am focused on moving more. In some ways it has been an adjustment working at home. Instead of being on my feet all day and walking down the long hallways at school, I find myself sitting like a lump in front of the computer. I know that my abs and glutes have lost strength from not standing all day, probably contributing to my latest injury. It has been a major effort to try to move more to make up for the calories not burned by walking and standing.

It has been hard to ignore the excuses in my head for not working out...

• it's too hot,
• the gym is too crowded,
• there is probably a lot of traffic,
• my hips will hurt if I try to do that,
• I don't want to get my hair wet or sweaty,
• I'd rather sleep another hour,
• my iPod is not charged,
• walking is boring,
• the elliptical is boring,
• a trainer is too expensive,
• if I workout then dinner will be too late,
• yesterday was enough, etc.

These excuses all seem so lame when taken out of context, but I know that I am not the only person in the world that allows reasons like these to get in the way of burning calories. I need to be consistent for the next 6 months about getting a variety of exercises in without all of the excuses.

Mostly, I am afraid of failing. I have been afraid that I will put in the work and not see results. In my mind, I have failed if I know I have exerted the right energy, but I still weigh a lot.

I am also afraid that I can overcome the exercise excuses, but that the food issues that I have will sabotage the work that I am putting in. I sometimes workout consistently and then become lazy in my food preparation. I just eat the most convenient thing in the house, and it is usually not the most nutritious or balanced meal that I have available to me. I seriously have thought about having pre-prepared nutritious meals delivered, but that comes with a steep price tag. Ultimately I am going to have to sacrifice time to stay healthy. I am going to have to not be lazy when it comes to preparing meals.

I read a statistic somewhere that most skinny people eat at home most of the time and prepare the majority of their food instead of relying on a restaurant to cook. I believe it.

I also read that by writing things down, they become more real. My anxieties and determinations are real. I think these thoughts on a regular basis. I also know that my issues are pretty common in America and that I have had the good fortune of staying relatively healthy (and of average size) most of my life. The issues will probably continue until I am able to adopt my new habits. I hope that I can do this.

32 days

October 27 is almost here. I have been dreading this day since I turned 25. I really do not want to turn 30. I know everyone says that 30 is sooooo young, but it doesn't sound good to me.

I like where I am in life. Most of the major decisions that I have made have worked out for the better. So, it is just the number that is bothering me. People react to that number differently than they do to 27, 28, or 29. I have seen it. I have done it.

I am going to be old.

Weekend Report - Oakville, Guero's, Heroes

Sunday we slept until 9:00. After preparing breakfast and settling in front of the TV, we knocked out 2 more episodes of Heroes, leaving only the season finale episode for the evening. Chad had to be at a job at noon and spent a couple of hours out of the house. I used the time to get myself ready and to treat him to some completed chores upon his return. I folded the pile of laundry on the dining room table, started a load of towels, and folded the load of clothes already in the dryer. While the washer was running, I put away all of the clean clothes and vacuumed the downstairs. I moved the clothes to the dryer and loaded the washer with another load of colors and waited. Who knew it would take the dryer almost an hour to dry a load of towels?

Chad seemed happy that some of the chores got done, but it was the comment later in the day about the housekeeper that visits his mom's house sneaking over to his house that really let me know that he liked it.

At lunch, we headed over to the Domain to try the recently opened Oakville Grocery. They sell gourmet food items and specialty foods as well as wine. They have a counter where you can order freshly prepared soups, salads, sandwiches, and pizzas, as well as another cold prepared foods case and a baked goods case. This weekend they were having 'grand opening' related tastings and such, so we walked around and tasted some chocolates and other sweets.

I think that Oakville is going to be a great place to go for a light lunch, coffee, or dessert. The salad that I ordered was delicious, and Chad seemed to enjoy his pizza. We tasted their italian cream cake and it was divine. I highly recommend giving it a try for a light meal and enjoying a glass of wine on the patio (they do sell wine by the glass). I would also like to try their cold case items for a ready-prepared dinner.

After walking the strip at the Domain, we headed to check on Muscat, my mom's house and a few other errands. I don't know where the time went, but it seemed like we then went straight to Guero's for dinner. I love 'The Don' margarita that I always get there. Straight from the menu - 'Don Julio Silver, Cointreau and fresh squeezed lime juice. An outstanding tequila. WARNING: This margarita is too smooth!'

So it was a great day...we finished the last Heroes episode in the evening and are ready to have a great week.

Longhorn Football - Rice

UT played Rice this weekend, and we were fortunate to get to go to this game. This game was not one of the games that I was allotted in our family ticket lottery, so when the family decided to have different plans, Chad and I gladly took the tickets.

One of the things that we really like at the game is watching the people on the sideline. We sit in section 3 at about the 10 yard line, so in front of us we can see security, press, former players, and other random people. One of the men in uniform has caught our eye at every game because of his unique look. I think he looks like a cop you would see in the movies. Chad and I have decided that he looks like a cross between Michael Rappaport and the cop in the Terminator movies. What do you think?

Weekend Report - Saturday Sept 22

Saturday morning started with Chad getting up at 5:00am for his long run. They were to run 13-14 miles. I, on the other hand, got to sleep late and do my easier workout of run-walking. 8:21 was the time on the clock when I finally got up and out. I decided to run-walk a 3.5 mile hilly loop near Chad's house instead of going to the gym. On the flat parts of Jollyville road and on the final downhill of Floral Park, I did an easy jog. The rest of the time was spent powerwalking. The loop was not pain free today, but I tried to keep my hip as minimally irritated as possible. In the end, I probably ran 1.5-2 miles and walked 1.5-2 miles.

Chad and I polished off another couple of Heroes episodes (3 to go) and sent him to go work on a job that he had going on. We met up to eat dinner at Galaxy Cafe on West Lynn, followed by the UT vs Rice game.

Weekend Report - Friday Sept 21

Friday night I went over to Chad's house for an evening of watching Heroes. Kerbey Lane North was the choice for dinner...I had eggs, fruit, and home fries, while Chad had pumpkin pancakes. We went over to REI for Chad to get some new insoles for his running shoes and found that they had the new winter flavors of Clif Bar. Chad got the one that replaced the Caramel Apple Cobbler flavor...Pear Apple Strudel. I think he has yet to do the taste test, but look out for a review on the new flavor. My favorite seasonal flavor is Iced Gingerbread.

We spent the remainder of the evening watching Heroes episodes. I think we might have watched 4 of them. Our goal for the weekend was to finish season 1 before Monday's premiere. We needed to finish the last 9 out of 23. 4 down, 5 to go.

Clean Desk

I finally cleaned off my desk! I have been working amidst piles of paper and other misplaced items that needed to be put away. It has been making me feel rather cluttered.

Voila! An organized, clean space...

Quiz - Take it!

I took this quiz and was so excited that it came back UT!!!! I knew I was a Longhorn!

You're the University of Texas!

You claim to be bigger and better than your peers, and you're
definitely bigger. A whole lot bigger. Your size is intimidating to some and
a sign of weakness to others. But you often disregard others' opinions, as
evidenced by your flaunting of that shade of orange. You regularly
watch that funky PBS music show, "Austin City Limits". In situations of
extreme peer pressure, you've been known to discuss the matter of whether
horses can fly.


Take the University Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Progress Day 2

This morning I went for a walk. I thought it would be good to get the blood flowing in the legs, and I did not want to drive to the gym in the morning rush hour. Honestly, I expected for my butt pain to come back today because I was so pleased with yesterday's PT progress.

Today I was able to walk for 15-20 minutes with a minimal amount of pain. Then my power song, Hysteria, came on, so I decided to start running. Running felt great...no pain at all. I managed to run through 2 songs (8 minutes) before I decided to call it a day on the running. I don't want to overdo the running and cause a setback.

Some Real Progress

Last night and today marked the first real progress in my therapy on my hip. I know I talked about running a couple of weeks ago, but that was with a small amount of pain. I have not really had pain in my hip for a couple of days now, and that is the ultimate goal - sitting, walking and running without pain.

I decided to give running another chance last night at the gym. I was prepared to stop at any point if pain occurred. Lucky for me I did 5 complete laps (.5 mile at 24 hour fitness) with absolutely no pain. I focused extra hard to catch any little tweak or weakness, but I still felt good for 5 continuous laps. Determined not to jinx it, I quit after .5 mile.

This morning I had another PT appoinment with Troy...I actually bent forward and came up without any pain, something that I have not done in over a month. It was amazing to feel nothing! I completed all of my exercises and left feeling really proud. I am determined to beat this thing!

Other info - I ran into my friend Lisa L. at the gym, and it was nice to talk to her. She is training to run the Las Vegas Marathon for fun and then pick up the training to run Boston 2008.

I also ran into Mamie as I was leaving my PT appointment. I was devastated to hear that she has had to withdraw from Chicago because of an injury. She was going in to see Dr. Spears today.

ACL - Celebrity Sighting

Oh...I forgot to mention that Chad spotted a celebrity at ACL. He picked Aimee Teegarden out of the crowd on Sunday. Aimee plays the coach's daughter, Julie Taylor, on the TV show Friday Night Lights, which is currently back to filming in Austin.

She also happened to ask the question with the now-famous response of Miss Teen South Carolina.

It was cool to see her, and props to Chad for recognizing her. I guess the Emmy snub for Friday Night Lights worked to our benefit or else she would have been in LA last night.

ACL 2007 - Part 3 - Sunday

There is really not much to say about Sunday. There seemed to be way more people there, so we were having trouble deciding where to go to stay out of the middle of all of the chaos.

- When we arrived we were at the Regina Spektor show. We weren't really feeling that groove, so we walked around. The Amos Lee show sounded okay, but there were just a ton of people everywhere.

- We settled again at the Austin Ventures stage and waited for Billy Joe Shaver. Chad really liked him. I thought he was trying to torture me with 'that kind' of country music. We chilled in the shade for about 35 minutes of Billy Joe Shaver and then I made Chad leave. Sorry Chad!

- Wilco - we weren't close enough to really appreciate the show.

- Ghostland Observatory - I was pretty excited to see them based on what I had heard, but as it turns out, the lead singer only really sings one or two notes. I was bored really fast. It was just a beat and a bunch of lasers and some screaming. I hate to say that, but ugh!

- We walked past the Eli Young Band, and they had a good(but extremely loud) sound.

- We ended up at The Decemberists show, which reminded us of the Barenaked Ladies. They were kind of dorky and folksy, but it was fun to watch for a while before Bob Dylan.

- Bob Dylan - There were way too many people there who stayed to see him. That combined with the fact that the volume on the speakers did not seem to be loud enough made for a poor combination. Tons of people packed in for the first couple of songs, but then there was a mass exodus of fans leaving after about 15 minutes.

It was difficult to hear the band, Bob Dylan is difficult to understand anyway, and the video screens were not showing any close-ups of the band. It was just one shot of the whole stage, so those of us who were not in the first 50 yards of the crowd were not going to have an easy time 'seeing' the show or the artist himself. I was kind of let down by the screens.

The music sounded nice (if hard to hear), but by the 4th song, we were fine leaving. I kind of felt like we were betraying a legend, but they really should have set up that show differently. Oh well, at least they got the Muse show right :).

Did I learn anything new on Sunday? - not really, except that there were much better flags identifying people in the crowd. We saw:

• Australia
• Texas
• Jamaica
• the Corona Nation
• 'Come and Take it' from the Battle of Gonzales (cannon)
• US - Stars and Stripes
• 'Come and Take it' with a Shiner beer bottle
• Whataburger flag
• Clemson Tiger flag
• Israeli flag

ACL 2007 - Part 2 - Saturday with video

Saturday was a different experience for us. Chad had run 24 miles in the morning, we had chilled out in front of the TV watching Heroes and Longhorn football, and neither of us were anxious to go out in the heat until later in the evening. If the weather had been a little cooler, this was the day that I would have been out all day watching act after act.

At halftime of the football game, we figured it would be a good time to leave, and it turned out to be a great evening. Here's the scoop -

- We got there right before the 5:30 show, so we caught the end of the Blue October show as we were planting our chairs on the hill by the Blue Room stage. They sounded pretty good.

- Andrew Bird - Probably the most pleasant surprise of the whole festival. We really dug him. He whistles as one of the many 'instruments' that he plays, and the sound was pretty mesmerizing. Sitting on the hillside, chillin' to his music, doin' some people watching was really fun.

- We headed over for a snack and to catch Kelly Willis. I didn't really care if we were missing Damien Rice or Arctic Monkeys, it was great to get a strawberry-coconut snowcone and relax in the shade. It also didn't hurt that I like Kelly Willis's voice and knew several of the songs that she played. I think Chad enjoyed this show, too, because of the shade and because he knew the song that her husband wrote and that George Strait took to #1...Wrapped.

- Indigo Girls - I have heard them play a couple of times in Austin and it is always a good show. The show on Saturday was a sampling of lots of different songs from their albums over the years. I knew several songs and it was fun to sing along. Mostly, we enjoyed getting to sit down and have a good view. We were also in a great position for the last show of the night...Muse.

- Muse was the band that I was the most excited to see in the whole festival. After The White Stripes canceled, I was a little disappointed that Muse was bumped into their late time slot against Arcade Fire. I wanted to see both, but for me, Muse was the obvious choice if I had to pick between the two. They absolutely did not disappoint. The show was really entertaining both with the video and the music. Muse was the band that I think made the best use of the screens and the lighting for their show. They didn't just rely on the ACL cameras to project their show on the screens, they brought their own video and graphic effects to go with the shots of them live on the stage.

I absolutely loved the show! They played everything that I wanted to hear, plus some things I had not heard (I should have definitely bought their complete albums long ago instead of downloading a few songs here and there from iTunes.) Here they are playing Hysteria, my power song on my iPod running mix.

Here is a clip of part of 'Time is Running Out'.

Things I learned on Saturday (Yes, I can be shallow, but it was great people-watching on Saturday.) -

• Everybody sweats, but some clothing shows sweat marks more than others.
• It really is okay to be in the back. You might just have a better time.
• Snow cones attract bees.
• The majority of us are really unattractive.
• America might be having an underwear problem...why do guys have to have theirs peeking out the top of their cargo shorts? Why can't girls get the thong right?...yes, I can see your blue thong underneath that dress because the material is too thin.
• White tube tops and gigantic breasts do not belong on the same woman. Yes, really.
• There are lots of people whose gender is difficult to identify by their appearance.

ACL 2007 - Part 1 - Friday with video

We went to ACL this weekend. I guess this year was the 6th or 7th year that they have had the festival in Austin, but I have not had the chance to go. I knew it would be a big mob scene. I knew it would be hot. I did not care. This weekend was about finally experiencing ACL, knowing that I did not ever have to come back and do it again.

Friday afternoon we headed down after Chad was done with work. He took off a little early so that we could get into the park by 4:30. Our schedule for the evening was as follows:

- Joss Stone - great voice, entertaining between songs, we liked this one the best on Friday.

- bathroom - caught the start of MIA show - seemed to be pretty entertaining and it was funny to be in the porto-potty while it was shaking to the beat of the music

- dinner - I had a Solar Falafel pita and Chad had Saba mahi mahi tacos.

- Spoon - They were just okay. I was a little disappointed with the show. It seemed like everyone was into them because they are local guys, but frankly, they were a little too mellow for me. I wish we had gone to Queens of the Stone Age. Here is a little bit of Spoon.

- Gotan Project - Their sound was pretty cool at the start. Their sound was french/argentinian dance music. I liked the large set and the number of different instruments on stage. After a while, the music kind of put Chad and I in a trance, so we moved to a different stage.

- Reverend Horton Heat - we caught just a minute or so of his show as we were walking past. He was pretty groovy.

- Kaiser Chiefs - We heard the end of this set as we were finding our spot for the Killers show. They definitely had a great groove going on and the crowd was really into the show. They probably were a better choice to start at than the Gotan Project.

- The Killers - I was expecting so much more. They were somewhat entertaining because they have so many big hits, but there was just so much time between songs that it was torture for me. I really like a show to flow from one song to the next, so the Killers show did not do it for me. I was glad that they played several songs that I knew at the beginning of their set because we did not feel bad about taking off early. We saw most of the show, I think. Here is a little bit of The Killers.

Friday's lessons learned -

• If your cooler is going to leak, be sure to double bag the ice.
• Facing away from the sun is much cooler than looking into it.
• We really like the Austin Ventures stage near the food booths. Great sound. Great view.
• In a crowd, it really must be helpful to have a 'flag' on a pole so that your friends can find you.
• In a pinch, a magenta bra and orange panties will easily double as a flag to attract your friends.
• Falafel is a popular menu choice amongst the festival crowd.
• It is better to be further back and able to see the screen rather than closer and only have the view of butts and heads.
• Austin is hot until about 6:45pm.

Crosstraining - my new front porch

Tonight's crosstraining involved giving my front entryway a boost in the appearance department. I don't have any 'before' pictures, but nothing that you see plant-wise in the following pictures existed before this evening, not even the mulch.

I live in a condo complex that is supposed to maintain the grounds, including the flower beds. However, in the past 2 years, the only changes that have occured in front of my door are the gradual death of 4 shrubs, each progressively further away from my door, and the removal of any sort of mulch or topsoil from the flower beds. I was not interested in planting expensive bushes to have them die, so I found a few inexpensive shrubs that I have seen in other people's beds. Hopefully that means they will survive in mine.

I also know that I will not be living here 6 months from now, so I decided to plant the rest of my flowers in a nice planter that I can take with me when I move in with Chad.

Here is the final result...ooooh....aaahhhh.....

Men are from Mars...Women are from Venus

(For the record, Chad knows that I am posting about this.)

It used to be that when Chad would shower at my house, I would discover that his towel was left on the floor. The first time it happened, I just thought he forgot to hang it up. The next 2 or 3 times, I started to think that he was communicating the same way that you would to the maid in a hotel...if the towel is on the floor, then please replace it with a clean one.

So, I asked him if this was indeed the case that he wanted a fresh towel with each shower, because it was causing me an extra load of laundry. It is not a problem with me to provide my darling with a fresh towel each time...I just wanted to know if that was what he wanted. The world is trying to become more 'green' after all, and the guy doesn't require fresh towels at his own house.


Chad said that he didn't realize he was leaving his towels on the ground, and since that conversation he has been hanging his wet towels on one of the 2 racks in the bathroom

The towel rack below cracked me up, so I had to take a photo to document it. You other Martha Stewart types will love it, too. I love how the towel on the right is Chad's towel. :) Hey, at least the towel is off of the floor, huh?

My Movie Review - Fracture

We saw Fracture on Friday night. It stars Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling. We know from the beginning that Hopkins' character shoots his wife, and Gosling's character is the prosecutor that has taken the case. Throughout the whole movie we know that Hopkins' character is brilliant and just might get away with it. You wonder the whole time if Gosling's character is going to figure out what it is going to take to put him away.

It is full of good acting, and the plot is interesting enough. The problem?

I figured out the twist long before I was supposed to. I got really excited at the time, and blurted it out because I didn't think it that would be the major part of the movie. Turns out that I was right about the twist and the ending was anticlimactic.

Should you see it? Yes, it is an excellent rental. Scale of 1 to 10? I'd give it a solid 6...had I not figured out the twist, maybe a 7.5.

Longhorn Football - TCU

Saturday evening was the UT vs TCU game. Chad and I had fabulous luck with our parking space once again and managed to snag a spot right on the drag at 5:15. We make a great parking team...I am good at spotting them and he is good at parallel parking his truck.

So, for 2 weeks in a row now we have parked west of campus and have enjoyed our walk through campus to the stadium. Chad did not go to UT, so I have been telling him about the buildings as we walk past them. Last week we walked down inner campus drive and got the view of the tower from the south mall. We walked past the business school and Gregory Gym and ended up on 21st street. This week we entered campus at 24th street near the Union, and were able to walk on inner campus drive on the north side of the tower. I showed him one of my favorite spots, the turtle pond. There were tons of turtles out.

The game was a blast, as usual. We were worried during the first half, of course, but I just tried to keep entertained by focusing on my favorite players...Jermichael Finley, Nate Jones, and Brandon Foster. They all had a good game.

At halftime, we went to see my parents in their section to get a better view of the halftime show. I was in the Longhorn Band, so I always enjoy watching the halftime entertainment. I was a little pissed, however, because it seems like we always end up seeing the 'script Texas' show (which is very boring to me and was performed last week) or we are there for the show that is performed to the student side, which was this week. It wasn't too exciting. I just hope they have a good show ready for KState.

We had fun during the 2nd half as the Longhorns gained the lead. Our new thing is taking pictures of ourselves. Chad makes these goofy faces and we end up having to take several to get one that is decent. Here is proof...