Warrior Dash Pictures!

Here are some of the pictures that Brightroom Photography got of us during the Warrior Dash. I only screen captured them off the website, so sorry if the quality is a bit bad. You get what you pay for, and I paid nothing :)

Happy Thanksgiving...

Phew, what a weekend. And it's not even over yet!

This Thanksgiving I did something that I've never done before. Okay well I did many things that I've never done before, but the impressive, and probably most shocking, was that it was the first time ever that I've cooked a turkey. I know, I know. How have I gone 28 years without doing this? Well, I'll tell you. I don't like turkey. Yep, I said it. And it's not even that I'm not fond of it, I mean, I really don't like it. It's funny, because my parents insist that I love turkey and used to eat it ever thanksgiving. But I don't think they've ever realized that I only put a tiny piece on my plate and then take one bite and push the rest around a bit.

Now I realize this seems very un-American, but it's just the way it is.

So, my turkey. I brined it the night before using a salt water mix and turkey herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme). I cut back on the salt a bit and used about 3/4 cup for ~1 gallon of water. The next day I rubbed herb butter under the skin (where I could get it) and let it sit in the fridge for another 2 hours to dry out the skin. I'm told the turkey came out plenty juicy and was very tasty, though I wasn't overly impressed. But maybe that's just my lack of turkey liking. Either way, I'd like to give it one more try because I think I can do better.... I think. I'll need some turkey tasters again. Volunteers?

Thanksgiving day Jeremy and I went to New Orleans with some friends. Man, even that place is dead on Thanksgiving Day. Of course Bourbon street was still open, but half the bars were closed. Go figure.

What I love about New Orleans is the wonderful food and the great music. There's a restaurant called Desire on Bourbon Street and I highly recommend it. Everything on their menu is great. I can say this with confidence since the 4 of us tried almost everything throughout the weekend. We also found a grocery store on Royal street that's a perfect place to get breakfast if you just want some yogurt and fruit.

Friday night we stopped by Fritzels (on Bourbon) to listen to the Jumbo Shrimp Band. We'd heard them last time we were down and this time they did not disappoint. We picked up a CD. We also hit up Frenchman Street on Saturday night. This time we heard two guys sitting on the sidewalk jamming. They were great. I believe they were "19th Street Red." We got another CD.

I love collecting jazz music from New Orleans. It makes great background party music.

On the way back from Frenchman Street, we happened upon this band "Blues 4 Sale." They don't have a CD out yet, but once it comes out, I highly recommend getting it. They were fantastic.

Before we left N.O. this morning Jeremy took me on a carriage ride through the French Quarter. It was super romantic and really neat. I loved it.

And... after we got home from N.O., Jeremy continued his romanticism (is that a word?) by taking me ice skating at Discovery Green. I'm so lucky.

Now after stuffing my face for the last 3 days with more food than I eat in a month, I think I'm going to stop eating for a while. I'm going to bed tonight and not eating until Tuesday...

well, maybe just one kieful that I make tomorrow.... and maybe one jumbo raisin cookie.... maybe some corn chowder.

But really, no eating

unless I do.

Warrior Dash 2010

ARE YOU A WARRIOR?


I AM!

This years 3.2 mile Warrior Dash in Bastrop was so much fun. Jeremy and I, along with 4 of our friends, ran the 10:30 wave on Saturday. We couldn't have asked for better weather.

The 'race' was fun, but we didn't actually run it for time. We just went out and had a good time, stopping to take pictures as we desired, and staying together.

While I was prepared to run the 3.2 miles, I was not ready for the uneven terrain. I haven't really done trail running at all, so I wasn't ready for how much up and down there would be. Also, I wasn't used to having to constantly look at my feet and make sure I wasn't about to turn my ankle or something.

Here are a few of the obstacles that we encountered. Thanks to Mark for bringing along his camera. They were pretty fun, but I'm looking forward to the Tough Mudder where the obstacles are hopefully a lot harder and bigger.

1 Week Later... And some exciting news!

First, the exciting news. Jeremy and I have chosen a date and a venue! Yes, we are very excited. What is that date and venue you ask? We'll, you'll just have to wait to find out! Unless of course you are one of the few who are lucky enough to be privy to that information this early. But now that we have a date picked, I feel like a giant stop watch has started and is counting down the days, hours, seconds! So much to do, so little time! Next goal: pick a photographer and a band!

And now, a fire update...

It's been a week since my house first caught fire. Within two days of the fire, my wonderful contractors, Paul Davis Restoration, already had the house gutted. All the furniture, clothing, etc out. They were wonderful. There were no less than 10-15 people there each day working on the house.

On Monday my insurance claim agent was out to look at the damage and write up his initial report and to get things started.

First goal, get the ceilings ripped down in each room to assess the damage to the roof. The initial feeling is that 50-60% of the roof is damaged. I don't yet know if they'll be replacing the whole roof, or just half the roof, but I should know in a few days.

The garage and its contents are pretty much totaled, so that part of the house will be torn down to the ground and rebuilt.

The siding is destroyed on two sides of the house, so we have yet to determine if they will replace all the siding or just those two sides. It seems odd to me that they would only replace two sides of my house, but if it looks bad, I'll fight back.

My housing situation seems to be getting worked out. I convinced my claims agent to let me stay in an extended stay place for 3 months instead of moving to an apartment. I'm happy about this because I dont' have to deal with moving crap around a lot and I don't have to sign an apartment lease, deal with utilities, cable, etc.

So that's about where I stand. Hopefully the work order from the contractor will be completed by Monday and they'll get approval for destruction by early next week.

I'm hoping to move back into the house by the end of January, but we'll see.