So much to write about...

Wow, what a weekend. I am just exhausted. Saturday some friends and I went for a mt. bike ride out at Rocky Hill Ranch in Smithville, TX. We only got about 12.5 miles in, but it was a lot of work. I encountered one pine tree, which was more funny than anything else. It just jumped out at me, I swear! :) After the ride, Jeremy and I did a little shopping and then met up with Christina to watch the UT vs. Tech game at Waterloo. It was quite the game, and really proved that neither team had a great defense. The score was 34-24 at the end with UT pulling off the win, but there were way too many points in this game. I don't understand why UT is ranked #2, if they were a true #2 team, then they should have blown away Tech.

Anyway, back to cycling. Sunday Brent and I went for a ride down to Kyle and back. Was about 46.5 miles from my house, though we were trying to stretch it to 50, and just couldn't get there. We were both so tired when we got back, that we didn't feel like riding around in circles for 4 more miles just to get to 50. I realized that I didn't eat enough food in the morning, and about 1/2 way back I started to bonk really hard. I'm just glad I made it back. Always remember, eating more than a banana is very necessary when cycling 40+ miles.

Well it's Wednesday now, and I had originally started this post on Monday, however I was overcome by allergies and just couldn't find the will to finish it. I now realize now, not only was I starving for food on Sundays bike ride, but I was also in the beginning stages of an allergy attack. Fortunately lots of Claritin, Sudafed and Advil have made things better. Oh and the 14 hours of sleep that I got Monday night.

So two more awesome things that I wanted to tell ya'll about. First, I have finally told Jeremy about his surprise trip and we are going to THE GREAT AMERICAN BEER FESTIVAL this weekend! Yes, just two days from now i'll be drinking all that I can in 5 hours from over 2,000 beer choices all sampled out of a 1 oz cup. Okay, maybe not all that I can, but enough that I'm happy to have a shuttle to take us back to the hotel at night. Then on Saturday we are going to Rocky Mt. National Park. I'm so excited to see mountains again!

And lastly, I just want to tell ya'll again about this awesome bike shop that I frequent, Austin Bikes. Those guys are just wonderful. It's a small(ish) shop on 5th street just west of Lamar and they really treat their customers great. Okay, I'll admit that I've been friends of theirs for a while, but they are great to all their customers. They're always helping me out with little tweeks on my bike. Plus, a few weeks ago I had my brake pads replaced, but since then they've been causing me issues and squeaking. When I took it in today, they said that they haven't been having great luck with those pads, so they replaced them out for me with the new Avid ones, free of charge. Awesome guys, they really stand behind their work and their products. So go check them out! (plus you won't have to wait like 5 days to get your bike back!)

Amy's Ice Cream Toss

Yesterday, Brandon, Alan, Kateylin, Steve, Dan, Jeremy and I went to Amy's Ice Cream after dinner at Hula Hut. The old ice cream guy, the one that used to work at the Amy's on 6th, was back and did some really cool ice cream tricks for us. Here's a video of him trying to toss the ice cream across the street to Brandon. Brandon caught it, sort of. The ice cream landed in the cup but then everything fell out of his hands. It was awesome. Then they just kept trying but it got messier and messier. Good times.

Inglourious Basterds and Rasin Cookies

This past weekend, Jeremy and I went to see Inglourious Basterds. I'd give it 4/5 stars, simply because I didn't think the flow of the plot was that great. I suppose the overall story line was good (and a refreshing twist on Nazi stories), but there seemed to be something missing. While the movie did grab my attention for the full 2.5 hours, and it was fairly bloody, I felt that some of the little subplots weren't fully developed and/or missing and the scenes could have flowed together a little better. I will say, though, that the acting was great. You really wanted to hate the main villain and Brad Pitt did a good job at his roll. There were also parts that were true Quentin Tarantino fashion. Overall I'd recommend that you go see this movie as well as Hangover. Two different films (completely!) but two of the best that I've seen in a while.

Also, I thought I'd share with you a raisin cookie recipe that I made this weekend. Enjoy!

Jumbo Raisin Cookies

2 cups raisins
1 cup water
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 TSP. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. Nutmeg
1 cup shortening (Butter)
1-3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs slightly beaten (optional, really it's true. i forgot them once, and they were still great)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Place raisins and water in a saucepan; bring to a boil and boil about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool; do not drain.

Mix flour with baking powder, soda, salt, and spices, set aside

Cream shortening.

Gradually add sugar, beating well after each addition. Beat in eggs, if adding

Stir in raisins with liquid and vanilla

Gradually add the flour mixture, blending thoroughly after each addition. Stir in nuts.

Drop from tablespoons, about 2” apart, on greased baking sheets.

Bake 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes