Soups of our Lives

...One Life to Soup?
...As the Soup Turns?

Oh whatever, this is a post about soup.

I am not a food blogger or photographer; I'm the first to admit these pictures do not make this look meal look appetizing, so you just have to trust my impeccable judgment.

This is a little dish I've eaten at least the last four days in a row. It's quasi-healthy, and more importantly, it tastes like a million bucks. This guy recommended it to me.



Ingredients: head of broccoli (chopped), EVOO, garlic (chopped) and salt. [This is how Rachel Ray does her starting lineup for Week in a Day. Respek.]



Add to simmering water. [Yes, I agree that broccoli in water is not appetizing. This picture is no exception.] Only let it go for 3-5 minutes.

Offer Pug the last bit of the carrot you were munching on.

Regret the offer when pandemonium ensues.

Drain brocc.

Add to your favorite brand of tomato soup (mine is organic and comes in a box). Add cheese, scoop with saltines.

 Yum. Lately it's been followed up with Haagen Dazs strawberry and lemon sorbets.

Tonight after much backing and forthing with myself, I shredded and then lifted some weights. I only did it because I made a list and forced myself to work out before I could do any of the subsequent fun things on the list (that means you, bloggy!).

1. Sometimes lists are necessary.
2. Sometimes it's fun just to write your list out so you can cross stuff off of it and have a sense of accomplishment. 

Now I'm going to get my clothes ready for tomorrow (yes, that was another fun thing on the list!), meditate, journal and read. And maybe paint my nails (that was an optional fun thing). Good night!

Happy New Year!

Yesterday was spent in Austin with my brothers and their wives, and while I normally detest playing games (board games, cards, anything athletic or competitive), I had such a great time!

The only game I tolerate is Apples to Apples, primarily because the only skill involved is out-ridiculous-ing everyone else. That I can usually do pretty well.

Despite my natural talent for losing, we had a great time hanging out and berating each other - you know, bonding.

I had been out for about 20 minutes at this point, but it was still fun watching the mayhem and adrenaline associated with slapping games (this was ERF).

No, I was much more inclinded to be like these guys...

Roger and Benny's cousin, Tanner

Roger and Benny's other cousin, Viggo

Dee lended (lent?) me a couple books, and I'm already loving this one:

Scent of the Missing by Susannah Charleson

Dogs are such amazing creatures. While mine certainly couldn't search and/or rescue a fuzzy toy right in front of their faces, much less a person, I very much relate to this magnet:

Okay, so I got Roger from a breeder as a pup, but I always think of Benny, my rescue puggy, when I see this.

Anyways, yesterday - super fun.

Today - woke up at 4:15 and hit the pavement to end the year on a long, high, sweaty note: 20 miles.

Most of the Houston marathoners are already tapering, but I really felt the need to get in at least one long run before Jan. 15, and today was finally that day. Ninja ran with me for about 11 miles, and that was truly the only thing that kept me going. I have learned I am NOT a solo runner...it's just too boring and all I can think about is either how much pain I'm in or how bored I am.

So with that behind me, all that remains until 2012 are the parties and the champagne...after I take my nap, of course.

Happy New Year! Be safe and enjoy!

The Best of 2011

I don't guess I've ever gotten to the end of a year and thought, "What a crock! That year sucked!" In fact, while the days may sometimes be longer than I'd like, the years are getting quicker and better. A lot quicker, and a lot better.

This year, however...this year has been extra special. Without further ado, here are the highlights (in order of how they come to my memory, which might be in order of importance, or impact...I don't know):

1. My first marathon

2. Going to Alaska

3. Post-Run Brunches

4. Meeting my 323 girls

5. Monthly Book Clubs

6. Going to Canada a couple times (pre-return to blogging)

7. Running with Kenyan Way

8. Having more time for these guys:

9. Going on some dates with a couple really cool guys...and deciding potential relationships aren't what I'm interested in right now.

10. All the fun people I've met by choosing single life

11. Finally getting my windshield fixed after, like, 2 years

12. Returning to the blogosphere

13. Having time for books. Lots and lots of glorious books

14. Getting a juicer

15. Getting into grad school (Oh yeah! I keep forgetting!)

16. Meeting my new therapist, Carole. So, so thankful for her!

17. My kindle

18. Bridesmaids

18. Breaking Bad, American Horror Story, Big Bang Theory and New Girl

19. Learning more and more and more about Houston

20. And last but not least...

                                                                             ....All the froyos in the world!

I hope your year has been everything and more you wished for, and I'll be wishing all the best for you in the new year!

Discovery Green

Remember when we were Texan kids and our parents would take us to manmade-snow slopes so we could see what it's like in states that actually experience four seasons?

I do. And the slopes were always majestic and enchanting, dangerous and frigid.

My how times have changed.



What in the world...?

 There are a lot of reasons why I'm glad I grew up in the eighties and not today. Apart from the weaksauce snow slopes these days, I'm glad cars didn't come with built in TVs. Car rides were slow and torturous, just like they should be! PG-rated movies were idealistic and innocent, no curse words allowed! Games like "Hide and Go Seek" and "Tag" were the epitome of afterschool fun. More than anything, I'm really glad cell phones and Facebook weren't around. My kids are going to hate me because I'm going to raise them old-school style. Like, we're gonna play outside and get dirty and use our imaginations, and when they're bad, the spankings will come in abundance!

So the snow slope was embarrasing. My mom and I still had a good time. We took the little gentlmen to the dog park:

All I can say is, my mom really, really wanted the boys to drink out of the doggie water fountain. No luck on that front, but we did confirm that doggie water fountains are very, very strange.

The boys were kind enough to pose with me in their Christmas collars. We had to the take the bells off Roger's collar because the noise scared him.

Tomorrow my parents and I are heading to New Braunfels and then on to San Antonio for Christmas with my brothers. I'm supposed to do a 20 miler tomorrow. Hilarious! Tomorrow and Sunday are for family and eating, and that is ALL!

(20 miler has been postponed til Monday. Groan.)



Thankful Thursday

1. Awkward moments. Always, always thankful for awkward moments.

About to plant a big wet one on Ms. Dale...when all of the sudden...



CAUGHT! Interrupted by a very embarrassed Logan's waiter. Obviously we snapped back as though everything was tooootally normal. Love akward moments!!

2. Jackie Evancho. Don't ask. When you're in a hotel in a foreign place against your will, strange things happen; in Odessa, I fell in love with peanuts and Jackie Evancho, this 10-year-old opera (?!) prodigy. Why do I love this? I don't know, but I listened to her on PBS for like an hour tonight. Here she is belting out Angel by Sarah McLachlan.  



3. Going home to boys in Christmas sweaters!

I really just want to kiss him on the lips right now!

Benny is busting out at the seams of his sweater. His is more of a cowl-neck. :) Hi squishy boy!

My mini-goal for the day - to eat a little less and leave a little food on the plate - was a success at lunch and dinner. For some semblance of a workout, I did three rounds of this Bodyrock circuit. It really did rain sweat!

Our flight doesn't land until around 7 tomorrow evening. This will be the first weekend in forever that I don't have to wake up at 5 am (or earlier) on Saturday morning for a run! Add that to the things-to-be-thankful-for list! My mom and I are going to do some work moving out of my apartment and then treat ourselves to something lovely and relaxing. A good weekend ensues, my friends!



The Marathon Marathon

In short, I did it! I ran (aka survived by any means possible) a marathon, and no one can ever take that away from me. I am so happy I did it, and so happy it's over. The day couldn't have been worse for a first marathon (or a third or fourth or nineteenth marathon), but we'll get to that in a second.

After dinner Saturday night, my nerves really reached a climax when I realized that the bad weather wasn't going to pass; the clouds were not going to part and the birds were not going to sing. Dallas was experiencing an unseasonable cold snap (~43 degrees), and there was an 80-90% chance of ran all day Sunday. Ponchos and warm clothes were not just an option but a necessity.

I'll have to do another post on the unbelievable bad luck that comes with being a Still. It's remarkable, really.

Anyways, Sunday morning, bright and early, I donned my bottom layer.

This was my first time wearing these last-minute-purchase arm warmers. Everything else about this ensem is what I've been training in for months and months.

Dee came to our hotel room around 6:45 and we prepared to leave, decked out in our cold weather duds.

Excited, nervous, both of knowing this was not the way our first marathons were supposed to start.

Fortunately we were only a few miles from the race and neither of us needed to do anything other than get in line, so we didn't leave the hotel until 7. By 7:50 we were in our corral, also known as the very end of the line.

Being at the back leaves a lot of time to take pictures and do some last minute freaking out strategizing.

That yellow sign 30 minutes down the way was our starting point.

We discovered wearing our hats over the poncho hood would keep us a little drier...

...and add a little panache to our overall ensembles.

Finally, finally - we got to the start. And then it immediately started raining.

It was really cold. There was wind. And the rain wasn't gentle or indecisive. After all my training, even just getting to five miles felt a lot harder than it should. I paced to conserve energy, but my body was working so hard just to keep me warm that my energy plummeted what seemed like way too early.

Still, I kept reminding myself that this was my first, and that if nothing else, I wanted to enjoy it and soak it all in. We fell in with the 5-hour-finisher group, and I stuck with them until mile 18.

I told myself that the balloons on that 5-hour-finisher sign meant we were at a party, we were having fun. I CHOSE to do this (even if I didn't choose the climate).

This was the last picture I took before weaving my way into the finish line. It took all my energy and resolve and dwindling willpower to keep going; I surprised myself by actually having to FORCE myself to finish. At one point, after my only portapotty stop, my body was so cold that I wasn't even sure if my pants were all the way up, and honestly, I didn't really even care. I just pulled my poncho back over me and kept going.

At mile 18, I had to start taking walk breaks. My spirit was broken and my knees, ankles, toes and balls of my feet hurt so bad. My arm was spasming - something that definitely never happened in training. I called my parents and told them to meet me at mile 20. This gave me a surge of energy that actually backfired because I made it to mile 20 before my parents could get there.

Mile 21, still no parents. I wanted to quit.

Mile 22, still nothing. I really, really just wanted to stop and hold a hot cup of something.

I don't know what compelled spectators to come out in weather like what we were experiencing, but every single time someone yelled, "Way to go, Amy!" or "Looking great, Amy!" or anything of that sort, my eyes welled up. It made me want to start going to races to cheer others on. It was huge.

Coming up on 23, I made out what looked to be the shape of my parents. I lifted a soaking, sleeved hand and waved, and my dad waved back. I started crying and used the remainder of my running energy to shuffle over to them. I cried harder. More than anything, I was just so cold. So, so cold and drenched. Those sleeves were so wet that they were making me colder by the minute. My parents were both talking at once and hugging me and I was totally disoriented. Finally my dad ripped off my water-logged running hat and pulled his huge, warm, dry hat all the way over my head. I could barely see, but I held up three frozen fingers: three more miles. They rotated me in the direction I needed to go, and off I went.

I straight-up speed walked those last three miles. My entire lower body hurt so bad that I tried to walk 10 steps, run 20, but even that didn't work. I knew I wanted to cross the finish line running anyway I could, so I power-walked and just prayed for it to be over.

After what seemed like an eternity, I passed the 26 mile marker. I mustered the last of my energy, fueled by what little pride I had left, and I trotted towards the finish line, keeping my eyes peeled for my parents. Right before the end, I heard my dad yell "Amy! Amy!" I looked over, beamed and pointed at him. I crossed, let a cute boy wrap me in a blanket and made my way to my parents.

I was so weary, delirious, cold and emotional that I walked away without my medal. Damn. But I still don't really even care. The medal is nothing compared to this feeling in my head and heart (plus I'm going to have the medal shipped to me, haha).

2011 Dallas White Rock Marathon-from-Hell Finisher!!

So much pain but so much satisfaction. :)

 

The big warm hat was my saving grace. I'm pretty sure I would have died if I hadn't seen my parents at mile 23.

What a day! My parents and I celebrated with some Chuy's that night. I drank two Sangrias with my meal.

My heroes! They saved me!

All in all, I wish the circumstances had been different, but I'm so happy the day I've been dreaming of and training for has come and gone, and I made it to the other side in one piece. I think my time was between 5:15 and 5:30. Maybe a sub 5 is in my future, but I accomplished what I wanted for my first marathon: I finished and absorbed every moment and sensation. Praise the Lord!

My cheerleading squad was really glad the whole thing was over. It was apparently a very exhausting responsibility.

Cheerleading. Not for the faint of heart.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the day.
It's the day I've been dreaming of for as long as I can remember. The day that I've been training for...also as long as I can remember. The day where I run farther than ever before and push myself beyond what I'm capable of. Tomorrow I rock the Rock!

Wrong Rock.

And also wrong.

The White Rock Marathon!!!!! Yeeehaw!

My sis-in-law/partner in training hell, Dee, picking up her packet! We're in the FULL Marathon line!

We met a lot of nice people and skeedattled. Expos are stressful, plus it was raining.

The swag left a lot to be desired. The only free thing was a stack of post-race pancakes and a box of Clif Bars.

But the shirt made up for it. Ooooo feels GOOD!



Of course I know you're curious if my cheering squad accompanied me, and the answer is a resounding YES! These boys are not the greatest travellers, but we all made it in one piece, some of us more sane than others. (Can you see the hysteria in Roger's pleading eyes?)



One last carb-loading meal, a gathering of all my running gear and a quick bit of shut-eye, and it's Marathon Time!!