In Case You Were Wondering......

The 2012 New Year's Resolution is still on & going strong!  To say I've been busy is a slight understatement, but oh well, whatever.

Now, let's talk races:

Saturday, August 25th - Jalapeno 10K Trailrun
Never have I EVER been so mad for an ENTIRE race, NEVER!  I don't blame anyone but myself for agreeing to sign up for this race but I think I was fearing for my life the entire time.  When someone says "trail run" I will completely believe that they mean crazy, rocky, hilly, dirty, branches ready to take your head off, TRAIL RUN! 
The run was through the back woods of McAllister Park which is very pretty, but you know when you're running on a trail & you see those crazy "off roaders" come zooming towards you from one of the side trails & you think to yourself....WHY?!?!  Why would you off road when you have a nice safe & clean paved trail right here in front of you....well my friends, on this day, I was one of those CRAZY people!
I ran this race with Mireya, I've given her enough grief since then so I won't here, but she seemed to enjoy it much more than I did.  I wanted to turn so badly at the 5K mark, but I stuck with it & finished in around 1:06...and to think, I was aiming for under an hour, HA!  I was so spent after that race was over, not even funny! 
Best part of the race was having brunch at Tre after the race....

Monday, September 3rd - Dry Comal Creek Wine Run
Ah, Labor Day, a day to take it easy & rest & not do anything....but run 5 miles.
I did this race last year & I figure any race that ends with a Sangria Slushie is amazing in my book! 
The race runs through a neighborhood off of Highway 46 which is across the street from the vineyard.  It's a 5 mile race but it's hilly.  I started off the race not feeling great, walked for a bit, then had a surge of energy to finish it out.  I ended up finishing just over 51 minutes, which was 2 minutes slower than my time last year, so that made me sad, but oh well, you can't win 'em all!
For this race we had a big group!
Myself, Lake, Kristen, Ariana, Mike, Anne, Leah & Sarah, it was fun & the food & drink after was good!  Glad I ran that one again, it will probably be a yearly occurrence. 

Sunday, September 9th - Mission Possible 10K
Second race for September & this one I'm happy to report was my best race ever!  (at least in terms of 10Ks)
The race started at Concepcion Park which is located on the south end of the river.  We ran north up the river towards the King William area, it was a really pretty route!  About halfway through the race I realized that my pace was pretty good & that I had a good possibility of PRing, so I figured why the heck not!  I kept up my pace & starting pinging people off in my head.  I was passing folks & checking them off of my list, kinda fun actually!  haha.  I ended up finishing the race just under 1 hour!  A personal best for me, I was so proud!  Mireya & I ran this race, she came in just ahead of me, I think it was a good race for both of us. 

Saturday, October 6th - 10 Miler Pancake Run
Yes that's right, 10 miles!  UGH!  This race!  OK, another race where I was really mad the whole time...but this time for a much different reason.
The race started at Blue Star Art Complex, we run up about a mile, then turned back down the river, then headed waaaaaaay south on the river about a mile and a half south of Concepcion Park....where there is absolutely zero shade anywhere! 
The race didn't start till about 8:20ish, this race should have started at 7:00am, it was just too hot & there wasn't any relief from the sun, it was miserable.  Seriously, I don't even know what my time ended up at....like 1:58 or something awful, I don't even care!
Someone who did do well was my freakishly fast sister in law, Leah.  I don't know what her final time was, all I know is that when we passed each other she was around Mile 7 & I was around mile 5.3....awesome!  A few of her friends & Lake also ran this race....everyone did great, I'm just glad that I finished in one piece & didn't throw up...though I felt I could have.......

So what's next? 

I think I'm done for October.....I have a 10 mile run to do tomorrow & probably 9 miles to do next weekend.....then it's November!

In November Lake & I will be running a 5K in Austin on the NEW Formula One Race Track, or at least that's the plan.  The race is scheduled for Saturday, November 3rd, then the next weekend we will of course be running in the San Antonio Rock N Roll Half Marathon.  I'm not sure what I'm "goaling" my time for, I'd like to PR which would be anything faster than 2:16, but I'm hoping for 2:10, we'll see, it'll all depend on the weather honestly.  Let's all start praying for cooler, crisp weather.....AMEN!

In December I'll be running the Color Me Rad Run on Sunday, December 2nd & then a few days later I'll be running the Light the Night 5K at Sea World, which is a SUPER fun run!!  That's it...the year's over....I told my mom even if I get hurt there's no way I'm not finishing out this stinkin' resolution!  I'm too close!

I'm also not letting Anne, Mike, Ariana, Kristen or Mireya not finish it either...DO YOU HEAR THAT FOLKS?!?!?!?  You think I'm annoying right now, just wait!  You're finishing this with me whether you like it or not!......but it's all out of love!  :)

I've had some people ask me about 2013, honestly....finding a race a month is a lot of pressure, it's been super fun, but I don't think I want to have to do a race a month again.  I do however already have a race planned for January...you should run it with me.

January Race - Resolve for a Better SA 5K

The Junior League of San Antonio will be hosting it's FIRST EVER 5K race!  The race will start & end at The Bright Shawl (819 Augusta) which is located on the northern end of downtown.  The race will run along the north end of the Riverwalk on the Museum Reach, it's going to be a really pretty run, I'm so excited to be apart of the planning for this race, I cannot wait!!  The race is on Saturday, January 12th at 8:00am, maybe YOU want to try to do a race a month for 2013....why not start with Resolving for a Better SA! 

Click here to sign up for the race!  If you can't run the race but would still like to support the Junior League of San Antonio, click here to check out my super awesome & fun fundraising page!!  :)  Any donation would be greatly appreciated & I'll give you a shout out on my FB page....you know that's SUPER cool!

PS--I forgot how much I love blogging...I need to not let months go by without blogging.....

26 Day Picture Project - Day #10

Day #10 - Spa Water

I've been on a "Spa Water" kick since I attended the AVID conference last month in Dallas. It's super easy & I've actually gotten more ideas from a pin that my friend Alison pinned a couple of weeks ago that had "recipes"

In the end it's all very simple, you chop whatever fruit you like & place it in the bottom of a pitcher, I personally like to muddle mine up a bit, then add a layer of ice & finally the water. Let it sit for a few minutes, then enjoy! The longer you let it sit, the more flavorful it gets, I do however suggest you tossing out the water after a day, even if you aren't done. If I use citrus of any kind I lightly squeeze the fruit before dropping it in.

So far I've tried:
Strawberry-Raspberry; Raspberry-Lime; Lime; Apple; Cucumber-Lime; I haven't been brave enough to add mint or basil, but I've seen recipes with it!!

Today's concoction is Strawberry & Cucumber, very interesting flavoring, love it! Thanks for the idea Mitra!! :)

26 Day Picture Project - Days - #4, #5, #6, #7, #8 & #9!

Day #4 - Happy 4th of July!

Here's my nephew, Hayden & my sister in law watching Hayden's first fireworks display! I'm not sure he really appreciated all the noise, but he sure did love the colors! 

I'm very happy to be there for his first witness of fireworks :)

Day #5 - What's Old is New

I had a lunch meeting today & decided to wear a new dress that I bought this past weekend at Old Navy (on sale no less!) & I wanted to wear fun heels with it, so since I just cleaned out my shoe closet I thought it would be nice to wear these shoes, circa Nine West around Spring 2005. I love when I can wear "old" things & make them new again.
Plus, I got lots of compliments & that's always fun! :)

Day #6 - Goodwill
I took in my Goodwill San Antonio donation today for Junior League of San Antonio! Getting my check marks done early ;) The house feels lighter now....

Day #7 - Sunrise Running
This picture was take at mile 2.6 during my 5 mile run on Saturday morning along Loop 1604, run was tough, but the pic sure is pretty! :)

Day #8 - BFFs

This past weekend some of my very best Valley friends came to visit! Weekend was filled with lounging, catching up & laughing :)
I've known Monica since we were 10 years old & I've known Cristina since we were 5 years old. They're the best! :)

Day #9 - Curriculum Writing 2012

Today started my first of 7 days of curriculum writing for school.....yeah, that's all I got.....

2012 Resolution - July Race #1

Race Goal:  37:30......I was really pushing myself on that, oh well, gotta shoot high I guess?!
Actual Time: 40:04, not even CLOSE!  :(
The Race: I ran the SARR Freedom 4 Miler on Independence Day.  The race started at the Mainland Trailhead of the Leon Creek Greenway which is off of Bandera Road.  I guess we ran east on the greenway, it was pretty flat for the most part, except for the final .6 of a mile, ridiculous!  All UPHILL!!  A little after a mile & a half I started to not feel really well, so I stopped for a little bit, but got back started after 2 miles.  My time at 2 miles was 21:19, so I think I did pretty well to finish the 4 miles barely over 40 minutes.  I felt great the last mile & a half.  Oh well, next time.....
Who'd I run with?:  My running buddy Anne & my sister in law Leah, they both owned that race!!  :)
Coming Up (July Race #2):  I'm running the Too Hot to Handle 5K at Boerne Lake on July 15th.  I'm not sure what time I should say.  I'm gonna say 27:30, which means that I really need to push myself hard during my training runs.  

Leah, me & Anne after the Freedom 4 Miler Race

Speaking of training runs, our 1/2 marathon training group is in FULL swing!  The only problem is that  we have been so busy that I missed 5 weeks worth of Saturday morning runs with our group!  Yikes!  Last Saturday was my first one back & yeah....that was no fun.  We were scheduled to run 4 miles, but everyone in the group voted to run 5 miles instead, which is fine, but I just couldn't keep up with that pace, so I got slightly lost & only ended up doing 4 miles, hopefully it'll be better next week.

26 Day Picture Project - Days #2 & #3

Day #2 - RAIN!

After this rain who knows when we'll see it again, I thought it was appropriate & maybe a little boring compared to my Day 1 picture, but it's OK!
I'll take boring over life threatening any day! ;)

Day #3 - Where's Maryn?!?!

My afternoon consisted of "shopping" with Leah & my niece & nephew at La Cantera, then getting some new decor for our bedroom at ZGallerie, then a pedi with Mireya, & finally dinner at Yardhouse with Lake, all in all a great evening at La Cantera!
Thanks & gig 'em!

26 Day Picture Project - Day #1

How did that even happen?!?!
So during my run last night it started raining, it didn't seem too crazy, but when it started pouring I decided I'd cut the run a mile short & head home, as I crossed to street & got on the sidewalk the tree that you see here fell....FELL! It didn't scare me really, I think I was more shocked....I was sprinting at this point & turned to go into my neighborhood & saw that another tree had already been knocked over on our street. The power was out, I couldn't get into the house b/c I couldn't open the garage.....
Long story short, I was invited into the home of a nice older couple down the street who let me use their phone & gave me a towel to dry off. I'd like to thank Ms. Rose & her husband for helping me today! :) 
Day 1, kinda crazy!

crazy scene, but all is well....well not with this poor tree, but no one was
hurt  :)

Other pictures of stuff that happened yesterday....up until the tree thing, I really thought one of these pictures was going to represent Day #1....but the tree really just took the cake, don't ya think?!

these absolutely cracked me up, they are multipurpose
sunglasses!  Ariana & I decided that you could use
them twice before they broke....

I've been on a yummy "flavored"water kick after
having some at the hotel I stayed at during the AVID
Conference in Dallas...yesterday's was with lime, today
I plan on trying out apples :)

The 26 Day Picture Project!

I can hardly believe that today is June 30th, hence today is the very last day of the month, which means that an entire month of my summer break has quickly dissolved into only memories, weird how quickly that happens.....

Not that I've been sitting around just twiddling my thumbs, watching TV & vegging, I could only wish that I had the luxury to do that, but alas, summer is flying by & I'm incredibly busy, but it's been quite fun!  I've been busy running, junior leaguing, emailing, conferencing, & unfortunately NOT cooking, which makes me really sad!  Usually summer is my prime time to get back in the kitchen, but it just hasn't happened yet.  I'm hoping July will lend it self to cooking, fingers crossed**

July is promising to be just as busy!  More of the same....it's still nice to have this time & I'm not going to lie, I have spent a few hours here & there just sitting on the couch, being lazy, watching re-runs of Grey's Anatomy & Sex and the City.  I've also gotten to see VEEP & Girls, which are both HI-LARIOUS!  Thanks HBO!

With my 30th birthday looming in less than 30 days now (27 to be exact) I wanted to do some sort of countdown or like bucket list or something.  I thought about starting it on June 26th, exactly ONE month before my bday, but I was driving back from the Valley & it didn't lend itself, then I was like, ah, oh well, not gonna do anything, but then on Thursday I got a brand new point & shoot camera & I got an idea, why don't I start on July 1st (my birth month, best month ever, just FYI) & take a pic of the coolest thing I do that day or the coolest thing that I see that day.  GENIUS!

This idea is actually a play of something I do with one of my best friends, except with her it's...."Weirdest/Randomest Thing I Saw on my Run Today", and trust me, we both see some weird/random stuff (chancla, chonies, live chicken, preggo test), I tell no lies!  So for 26 days I'll chronicle my life through pictures...through the eyes of an almost 30-year old....ah, it's the best I could come up with.

We'll see how well I can keep up with it....Stay Tuned!

2012 Resolution: June Race

Race Goal:  35 minutes.  My leg of the race was 3.7 miles & our overall goal was 2 hours for a 1/2 marathon relay (between 4 folks)

Actual Time: 35:15, so I was a little off, but not bad, I guess.  I wasn't super happy with my performance because I know I could have done better, but you deal with what you deal with.  I have something to work towards!  :)

Our total team time was 2:01:42, so oh well, a little off, but I think we all did awesome!!  

The Race: I ran the Carrabas 1/2 Marathon 4-person relay at McAllister Park on Saturday.  I was the 1st leg/longest leg of the race.  Good & bad with that....I got the relatively "coolest" portion of the race, but it was still way humid.  The race overall was so fun!  I highly recommend running relays when it comes to 1/2 marathons, that's really the only way to do it!  ;)

Team 2Fat 2Furious
myself, Lake, Mireya & Matt

Who'd I run with?:  Team 2Fat 2Furious

Team Members (in order of race legs)

Myself, Matt, Lake & Mireya

We kinda pulled this together in the last 2 weeks & I'm so glad that I was able to find 3 other folks to run with me!  I'm not sure what I would have done had I not run this race.  My "usual" group of running ladies had run a race last Saturday, but Lake & I were in College Station for a wedding, so I was out for that one.....this race ended up being SUPER fun & I think our group had a great time with it!  :)

Coming Up (July Race):  I'm running the SARR 4 Miler Freedom Run on Wednesday, July 4th.  Leah & I will be running this together.  Or, well at least I'll try to keep up with Leah during the race, we'll see how that goes though.....

I'm "goaling" my time at 37:30, so we'll see how it goes.  I've been able to run quite a bit during the week, the heat & humidity adds a totally different factor to runs though, blah!  Yay Summer!  

Seven Years Later

If you would have asked me 7 years ago,

"Where do you think you'll be on May 31st 2012?" 

I really don't know how I would have answered you, honestly, I have no clue!  On May 31st 2005 I was a newly hired teacher working at Boerne High School & I had just taken 20 JV & Varsity Cheerleaders & 1 Mascot under my wing, I had NO IDEA what in the world I was doing.  There were some days that it was very obvious that I had NO IDEA what in the world I was doing & other days I think I hid it well....or at least that's the hope.....but looking back on 7 years of teaching all I can do is smile & be really really proud of how much I've grown as a person.

Nostalgia is a funny thing....it kinda sneaks up on you.  Life has changed since 2005 in so many ways...:

*I'm an old married woman & have been for more than 4 years now! CRAZY! Lake & I have traveled the world (literally) & I can't think of anyone else I'd want to share this awesome experience with, to say that I've been blessed is quite an understatement.

*I no longer work at Boerne HS & I haven't for sometime, but I'll always carry that experience with me, forever!  I'm happy to say that I still keep in touch with a handful of my colleagues from Boerne & that was probably the hardest part of leaving there, leaving my friends.

*I'm no longer a cheerleading coach.  During my first year of teaching I was convinced that I'd taken on the hardest job in the world, on top of being a first year teacher, I was also a first year coach & a cheerleading coach to top it off.  Each year was a little easier & a whole lot more fun!  I especially hold my "girls" (my cheerleaders) very close to my heart. Sure I haven't seen most of them in years, but I still think of them often & love to see what they're up to on Facebook.  They are all growing up, getting married, having babies, it makes me feel old, but I love seeing what they're becoming, it's truly a beautiful site!  The tears, laughs, bruises, & all the other things that accompany coaching 20 girls will always stay with me & I'm grateful for that..

*I'm in charge of the "news" at my school, whaaaat?!?  I have the funnest job & get to work with some pretty awesome-ly creative kids.  Everyday is a new adventure with them!  Just like with my former cheerleaders I look forward to seeing where life takes my Falcon's Eye News Crew kids, their talent is endless!

*I've run a FULL marathon, I'm insane, enough said.

*I LOVE SAN ANTONIO!  I mean I've always liked the city, growing up we'd come visit SA & run track meets here during the summer, it was always fun & always reminded me of the Valley but it was bigger with better places to shop!  ;)  During my first 3 years living in SA I didn't have time to make friends outside of school or to really get to know the city.  After I left coaching I found myself with spare time, which was a luxury I didn't have before.  I decided to join the Junior League of San Antonio, a women's volunteer organization that promotes volunteerism & develops the potential of women.  I wasn't sure what the journey would entail when I joined but I thought it would be a fun way to make some new friends & get to know the city better & also help out in the city!  What the league has given me I can never repay.  I've been pushed, sometimes shoved, out of my comfort zone on numerous occasions, but I'm a better person because of it!  I've also met some of the greatest women & friends through the league.  That's something that has definitely changed since 2005......

*I have FRIENDS!  haha, I mean I've always had my core group of HS friends that I'm still very close with & I talk to all the time, but in college I really only left with a couple of good friends (Kathleen & my roomies), I moved to SA knowing no one other than Mark & Kathleen.  I quickly welcomed some new friends in the mix, but it wasn't until I joined the JLSA & got more involved that I made my SA Circle of Friends.  Sure people have come & gone, faces have changed, but I love all the friends I've made in SA even if I've grown apart from some, I truly believe that people are placed in your life for a reason & sometimes that reason isn't meant to equal out to a life long friendship....but sometimes it is :)

So, if someone were to ask me today....."Where do you think you'll be on May 31st 2019?".....

I have no idea, really....and I kinda like it that way!

Who Will Survive?!!?: Part 2

SPOILER:  DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE A GREY'S ANATOMY FAN & HAVEN'T WATCHED THE SEASON 8 FINALE!  (you've been warned)

Couple things:

1.  I was a bit disappointed in the finale, I thought it was all too rushed & they were just trying to cram everything in one hour, that could have easily been a two hour finale, so that was a bit disappointing!  I never felt emotionally invested, although my stomach did turn during several scenes....Derek's Arm, Mark's Chest, Arizona's Leg......bleh!
2.  DID NOT see the departure of Teddy whatsoever...so kudos to you Shonda Rhimes, you got me there!

Now, let's recap...shall we:

Episode starts with all the interns entering in their first OR & Chief Webber giving his speech about their surgical residency....how cute & young did everyone look?!?!  Too adorable!  And awwwww, we got to catch a glimpse of George & Izzie....I miss them......

Flash to present & there's Meredith lying on the ground & then everything comes into focus, she wakes up & Cristina is over her & all you hear is Arizona screaming, NON-STOP....I could have done without that...over & over & over & over again.....Mark is stumbling around & now it's time to find Derek & Lexie.

Pooooooor Lexie :( Just thinking about it makes me really sad, although I kept it together last night...I try not to cry too much in front of friends & since I was over at a friend's watching it, I held it together....I plan on re-watching the episode this evening & I'm sure I'll bawl like a baby!!  I kinda figured this is the way it would end, I knew she was the one to go, but I just didn't think she'd be dead within the first 20 minutes, holy crap, talk about anti-climactic!  I was expecting for her to fight & have a chance & then die...which would have been so much sadder, so I guess maybe it's better she went quickly, seeing Mark Sloan that sad was hard to watch & I just wonder how he'll deal with her death, I knew he still loved her, stinks that she didn't know until about 1 minute before it was all over!  And how much does it stink that they had to leave her under the big piece of plane, ouch! 
Now we look for Derek, wow did his hand look awful!  I wonder what will happen in that scenario?!?  Will he be able to operate still, is this is a "Burke Can't Operate Like He Used to Before He Was Shot Scenario"...so Meredith will begin operating for him (secretively)...although she's a full fledged surgeon now, so I guess it wouldn't be as big of a deal as when Cristina was doing that for Burke.  Glad he was OK though, I don't think I could have handled more wailing for Meredith!  And props to her for keeping it together (for the most part).  I do really like where her character has gone & how she's matured.

Those are kind of the highlights.....Teddy got fired because Hunt decides her fate?!?  That was ridiculous & stupid & I hate that storyline!  BLAH!  :oP  The 3 other surviving surgical residents are left with Webber at dinner waiting for Cristina & Meredith...and seriously, does Hunt not have a cell phone where the doctor from Boise could have called him & been like...."hey so your surgeons never showed, what's up with that?!"

Season 9 Premiere Predictions:
The doctors are still in the forest, lost!  They'll be found, but I really think that Arizona is going to die.  TWO HUGE REASONS:
1.  I think she's much more seriously injured then was let on....the only clue really was that she kept coughing up blood, pretty much indicating that she's got some serious internal damage going on. 
2.  Callie's proclamation that life can change quickly.....yes, Callie, you are right, it can!  And I'm sorry my friend, but for you, I think it will....

Because of Arizona's death, Karev will stay at Seattle Grace Mercy "Death" Hospital instead of leaving.....Meredith will be devastated by the death of her sister.....Sloan will break things off with his current gf & become a hermit?!?!  OK, that one is a total random guess, but may be plausible??  OR Callie & Sloan will get back together because Callie will have a "back on men" season??  Cristina will stay to be with Meredith because she's so devastated & let's be honest....they're still each others "person"....Meredith & Derek will stay because, well because the show is called "Grey's Anatomy" & there's only one Grey left now.  Thanks for that!

That's it, my predictions were pretty much dead on for the season finale, we'll see how my premiere ones pan out.....see ya in September folks!

Who will Survive?!!?

So I very rarely post about TV shows....well I used to a long time ago, but I haven't recently, but there comes a TV show with an episode so HUGE, that you just have to!  The TV episode that I'm talking about would be the Grey's Anatomy season finale that will air on Thursday, May 17th on ABC.  I've always watched Grey's, always.  It started off as a Sunday night show for me, I'd watched Desperate Housewives, then Grey's, it was a good routine.  Then it got moved to Thursdays & so I'd watch Grey's then Private Practice....so yeah, always loved the show......over the past 8 years we've seen the doctors of Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital face many obstacles.  People have lived, people have died, there's been drama, there's been drunkeness, some laughs, lots of cries & just some crazy story lines!  GOOD TV!  So this past Thursday's episode was no different!

Spoiler Alert:
Last week's episode left us with a scene of a bad plane crash, in the middle of the woods somewhere & Meredith on the ground with her eyes closed.  A few minutes before we knew that Meredith, Cristina, Sloan, Lexi, Derek, & Arizona were on the plane flying to Idaho or Iowa or one of those "I" states to perform a surgery on conjoined twins.  So there are the 6 passengers.  In previews it's already been teased that one won't make it, but who will it be?!?!  Here are my theories of why it can't be certain people ranked in the order of least likely to most likely:

Meredith:
OK, seriously, how many times is Mere going to "almost" die?!?!  She almost drowned in the ferry boat accident, then almost died because of hypothermia due to being in the water for so long.  She basically got blown up in another episode & managed to survive that one.  The girl is resilient & finally happy!  Now, we haven't seen dark, angry, depressed Meredith in a really long time, so could this accident bring that back in her?  Maybe....but I think she makes it out of the crash perfectly fine.

Cristina:
Cristina has really only faced death in the face once....way back in like Season 1 or 2 when she was pregnant then things went wrong & she had to have an emergency surgery & Burke didn't even know about the pregnancy (sound familiar?) & chaos of course ensued!  But that's pretty much it.  She's too much of a character on the show to be written off this way.  I just don't see it happening.

OK, so Meredith & Cristina are my real only definites. The other 4 are just educated guesses, so from here on out, I'm really not so sure.....

Derek:
Oh, sweet handsome Patrick Dempsey, you truly get better with age.....**sigh**
Oh wait, back to Grey's, back to my ramblings. 
OK, so Derek almost died during the Season 6 finale with the hospital shooter who blamed Shepard & little Grey for his wife's death.  Cristina saved his life in surgery, etc., etc.  Why I don't think Derek will die.....
He's a huge character on the show, He & Meredith are FINALLY happy with their adorable adopted daughter Zola, I CAN'T LOSE McDREAMY!  I just can't! 
Why I think he might not make it....
Well on the previews, they can't ever seem to find him & Cristina says that he was sucked out of the plane, so from those scenes, he's the obvious one to be dead....but that's exactly why I DON'T think it's him.  The only thing I can think is Meredith has been happy for too long now, there may need to be a shake up......
 
Mark Sloan
Sloan or "McSteamy" has never really faced real death.  He was close to it during the Season 6 finale, but never received any injuries that would lead me to believe he'd almost died.  His character is whatever, so if it's him I wouldn't really be super sad, but I think it would definitely effect Derek, which in turn would have a huge effect on Meredith.....again, all coming back to...are MerDer just too darn happy?!?!

Lexie & Arizona
The last 2 possible options, now it becomes a guessing game & a bit interesting:

Arizona & Callie are very much a happy family with Sofia, she didn't almost die last year when Callie did, I think killing her off would definitely send lots of characters into a tail spin, so I think she may have gotten lucky in her & Callie's car wreck, but maybe in the plane wreck she doesn't fair so well....but, as Lee Corso would say...."not so fast my friend, not so fast!"

Lexie, well she's Meredith's half sister & most likely about to have a reconciliation with Sloan, so why kill her off....because of those exact reasons:
Mark is obviously still in love with her, so that would lead to huge repercussions for Mark's character & where he goes from here.  And, how would Meredith react to losing her only real family?!?  I mean obviously Derek & Zola are her little family, but this is her blood...they shared a father & she loves Lexie & opened up to having her in her life, so for her to lose her would be pretty life shattering (in my opinion)...so that's why, my vote for who won't make it out of Thursdays episode alive is:

Lexie Grey.....super sad......I love Lexie & her perkiness & naive sunny outlook on things & her photographic memory....I hope I'm wrong, but actually I think any of the characters dying would be sad, but I think Lexie leaving will have the biggest effect on the entire cast, so that's my vote, guess I'll have to wait & see who it really is though.

What do you think?!?!

So I HATE Giving Speeches.....

I've never been the type of person who can stand in front of a room & just speak.  Public speaking is a huge fear of mine.....not as big as snakes as I can immediately go from 0 to petrified at just the sight of a snake & I get incredibly nauseous even THINKING about a snake let alone seeing one in person!  YIKES!  But that's not the point of this post....and plus my stomach is starting to knot up because I'm thinking about snakes....

Back to public speaking, this became the subject of conversation the other day in the Ellis house when I was telling Lake that I had to deliver a very short speech at a small celebration ceremony for the New Members of the Junior League as they completed their first year yesterday (CONGRATS AGAIN LADIES!)  After I had a mini panic attack in front of my friend & chair, I decided to suck it up, get over it & give the speech.  It's not something I like to do, but I know that the only way to get better at something is by doing it, right?!?!  Plus, I really loved what I did this year & did want to share what I had to say, I just wasn't super jazzed about having to give the speech....

Well I prepared my "speech" on Monday & had it ready to go by that evening.  I practiced it in front of Lake a few times & I think he gave me the biggest compliment EVER!  (at least in the context of public speaking for myself)

After I finished, I stopped & said:
"so what do you think??"

He smiled & said:
"Wow!  I can see such an improvement in not only your presentation & presence, but in your writing skills, you've just gotten better at this.  That was really good & you don't need to change a thing!"

Now, I'm not saying I hit it out of the ballpark yesterday when I actually gave the speech & or anything, but it was a vast improvement to where I was last year at this point!  SERIOUSLY!  I felt a million times better when I was done & it hit me in the middle of my speech that I was speaking to my friends out in the audience & it wasn't until that point that I realized that really does help; knowing that you're speaking to people who care about YOU & what YOU ARE saying!  :)

But just for future reference....I'm not volunteering myself to give any speeches anytime soon.....just sayin!  ;)

2012 Resolution: May Race

Race Goal:  One Hour, which was quite a stretch.  I've only run one other 10K Race in my life & it was during my first running season.  During that race I ran a 1:18 time, definitely nothing to brag about, so I knew I would "PR" but I wanted to challenge myself & really push, hence the lofty goal.  Not sure how realistic I was considering that I've only run 6 miles under an hour ONCE & it was about 10 seconds under an hour & a 10K is 6.2 miles.....so yeah, there are all of my excuses.....
Actual Time: 1:02:35, 2 1/2 minutes off my goal, which is quite a bit, but I still think it's pretty decent.  Just gives me something to strive for in my next 10K.

The Race: I ran the PODER 10K.  The race started at Lanier High School, we ran over to Commerce, then managed to get to Houston St.  We ran down Houston & took a left on Lexington.  Right at about the turn around my tummy started feeling not so hot, so I decided it was a good time to take my GU gel & walk for just a bit (this may have been my 2 1/2 minutes), so at the turn around I started back up again, down Main Ave., back to Houston to Commerce, up the biggest overpass EVER, then back to Lanier HS.

the runners:  Justin, Ariana, Anne, Mike,
me, Mireya & Kristen

Who'd I run with?: 5K Racers:  Ariana, Justin, Anne, & Mike (they were an AWESOME cheering section for the 10Kers as we finished the race, along with Mireya's husband Matt)

10K Racers:  Mireya, me & Kristen.  This was the first 10K for both K & M & they of course did amazingly well!!!  I'm so glad I found other people to follow me along in my crazy resolution, so far it's been super fun!

Coming Up (June Race):  I haven't found one yet.  My "usual" group is running a race on June 9th, but Lake & I will be driving back from a wedding in College Station that day, so I'm out for that one.  I'm trying to find another one, but boy our weekends are filling up fast!  sheesh!  I'll find one though, maybe I can get Leah to run it with me......

My goal over the summer is to get faster though.  Since I'm only training for the RNR Half Marathon & not the Full Marathon this year I figure speed work is what I should really concentrate on at this point.  :)

Fruit Salsa

Next year I will serve on the Board of Directors for the Junior League of San Antonio as the Communications Council Chair.  This past Sunday I invited my council over to our home to meet, mix, mingle, snack, & play a couple cheesy "get to know you" games.  All in all it was quite a fun afternoon if I do say so myself!  ;)
I prepared a variety of snacks for the group, but I'd have to say that the most popular dish was the fruit salsa I made.  I apologize for not having step by step photos available for view, but I didn't think it would be so good that it would be worthy of a blog post, I was surprisingly wrong! 

Fruit Salsa
3/4 Cup Sliced Strawberries
3/4 Cup Sliced Mango *I went ahead & bought the pre-cubed ones that are available at HEB right now.  I think mangoes are the most difficult fruit to deal with, so yes, I paid more for the convenience, but in my opinion, the convenience was well worth the extra couple dollars I spent
1/4 Cup Sliced Red Onion
4 Basil Leaves Sliced
2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice
Salt & Pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients & gently mix together.  You want to let all the juices mix together nicely so if you can, make this a couple of hours ahead of time. 
We enjoyed this salsa with Sweet Potato chips which I discovered over the weekend as well.  YUM-O!

Complete Fruit Salsa before hitting the fridge for a couple hours

After trying this, I think I may try a variation.  I think the mango was so good, as were the strawberries, next time I may also add in some pineapple & a little more basil (2-3 more leaves).  I think the amount of onion was fine though, I guess I'll have to slightly increase it if I add more fruit.  All in all a very good, yummy, & easy salsa.

Enjoy!

*recipe courtesy of Pinterest

2012 Resolution: April Race #2

Race Goal:  28:00 flat!  Considering how late I'd stayed out the night before at Alamo Heights Night, I wasn't expecting anything crazy.  I felt good though when I got to the race & the weather was absolutely PERFECT for a run!  A little chilly, about 55 degrees, nice breeze, so that was on my side.

Actual Time:  27:43, wohooooooo!!  well that was my official watch time.....the "official" time on the results site is 27:51, but whatever, it was actually 3.11, so I did stop my watch before I crossed the line, but I'm sticking with my time, thank you very much!!

The Race:  I ran the Providence to Pearl 5K.  It was more like the Pearl to Pearl 5K, but oh well.  We started right at Pearl right by La Gloria.  Ran up river for like 1/2 mile, then turned back & ran down the river to the dam & turned back around to go back up river to Pearl.  Lots of turns & such & lots of cross runner traffic which was slightly annoying, but it was a decent race.  If it would have been a larger race this would've been a bigger problem.  Kudos to the race coordinators for staggering the runners/walkers before the race started, had they not done that I don't think I would've been quite as fast.

Who'd I run with?:  This race was myself, Mireya & Kristen.  We all did great!  :)

Coming Up (May Race):  So I'm only planning on running 1 race in May & it's a 10K.  The Poder 10K on Cinco de Mayo!  :)  We'll see how this one goes.  I ran a 10K training run on Thursday of this week & it was ugly!!  YIKES!!  I guess I'm "goal-ing" this at:  1 Hour, flat!  I'll just have to wait & see I suppose......

2012 Resolution: April Race #1

Race Goal:  28:30, I say that, but I don't really mean it.  I had set that as my April 21st race goal & this 5K just came up out of the blue, so I haven't exactly been "preparing" like I should have.  Of course, this is all just an excuse to make it OK with what my actual time was.....

Actual Time:  29:25, booo!

The Race:  I ran the Veterans Memorial High School 5K in Mission, TX.  One of my aunts is an AP at this high school & I just so happened to be in town for my friend's wedding this past weekend, so I figured why not!  My dad was already running it & my mom was volunteering at it, so it made sense.
The course started at the high school which is located at the corner of Mayberry Road & 2 Mile Line in Mission.  It was soooooo windy that day so that was no fun!  The course went south on Mayberry, then weaved through a couple neighborhoods, then west on 495, then some more neighborhood weaving, North on Conway, East on some rando road just south of 2 Mile, then back on Mayberry south & headed back to the start.  All in all, for a first time race I thought it was really great!  I found a couple of improvements that need to be made, but it was pretty okie dokie!  :)

Who'd I run with?:  Lake & my Dad, who both beat me.....SNAP!

Coming Up (April Race #2):  Providence to Pearl 5K this Saturday, April 21st.  This time I really mean it when I say I'm aiming for 28:00!  YIKES!

2012 Resolution: March Race #2

race gear ready to go!

Race Goal:  28:30, still trying to hit that 5K mark.  I wasn't sure what the course would look like, but I figured I could do it.  Of course I did myself no favors during the week last week.  I didn't have any time to run during the week & to top it off my allergies kicked me in the rear at the end of the week so all in all, I wasn't expecting to PR.

Actual Time:  drum roll please!  28:05, PR, AGAIN!  :) 



Anne's husband is a great sport!

The Race:  The Culinaria 5K at La Cantera Mall.  This was the 2nd year that it's been run.  The race started on the "street" in the newer section of the mall.  The race started right in front of Zara & wow was it crowded.  The entire race was kind of a logistical NIGHTMARE!  I wasn't happy with it.  First, when I signed up I wasn't required to complete a waiver, just pay.....somehow I knew that would come back to haunt me & of course it did.  Two days before the first packet pick up an email was sent out insinuating that it was somehow OUR fault that waivers were missing....nice!  I got my waiver taken care of then at packet pick up, they didn't have my packet because they didn't have record of my registration.  OK, strike 2!  Got that taken care of, even though I could have screamed at someone when they told me that they'd "trust" that I'd paid, even though I had my PayPal confirmation email, but whatever.  A few weeks later I get another email that they have my signed waiver, but they are missing my registration form, even though I filled out a SECOND one at packet pick up.  OK then, got that in.  Next I guess in an effort to save money they had us pick up our timing chips the morning of the race.  What a cluster that was!  You went in & exited from the same tiny door, then you were expected to know which line you needed to stand in.  Needless to say there were lots of annoyed runners Saturday morning.  Last peeve.....there were way too many runners for the starting line.  Everyone was just huddled into a big pack on a narrow street & it didn't open up for like the first tenth of a mile, which I know isn't much, but it was still annoying because you end up wasting valuable energy weaving in & out of people while you try to pass them. 

The weather didn't help, it was misty & slippery, but that wasn't any one's fault. 

My actual run was good!  Started cramping up around mile 1, but felt much better at mile 2 & picked it up the last 1/2 mile or so.  It was good.



just some of the people who ran
this race :)



Who'd I run with?  This was a popular one.  The usual suspects were there, Kristen, Mireya, Anne, & Mike.  My co-workers Alison & Maria also participated.  Shaunda, Rachel, Laura, Edwina, Debi Erica B., Marcus & Miguel also joined in on the running fun.  And I saw my old buddy Cesar there...again, like at the February race.  All in all, very popular race!

Coming Up (April Race):  Still trying to decide between two options.  One is on the 21st & the other is on the 29th, who knows, maybe I'll do both......next goal though, 28:00.....yikes!

2012 Resolution: March Race #1

Race Goal:  1:08:00, I had originally thought my 1/2 of the race was 6.8 miles, so I figured a 10:00/mile pace was quite feasible.


about to hand off to Leah, I was
laughing because my neice was
yelling "HURRY YAYA!!"



Actual Time:  1:08:44, so in actuality I only ran 6.75 miles, well according to the course.  According to my watch I only ran 6.54 miles, so I was way slower than my goal.  I'm disappointed, but oh well.  I finished.  I still haven't checked our "official" time, but I think Leah crossed the finish line at 2:07, so she did a GREAT job!  Go Leah!



Finishing off the race, GO MAMA Leah!



The Race:  The Alamo 13.1.  It benefited the Leukemia / Lymphoma Society.  The race started off in downtown, just in front of the Alamo, then weaved a bit through downtown.  We then ended up on Avenue B which runs parallel to Broadway.  We ran down Ave. B to the Witte Museum, then hooked a left into Brackenridge Park.  Ran through the park for about .75 miles, then ended up back on Ave. B & running back towards downtown.  We took a right on Josephine St. & my leg ended about .6 miles later.  I handed off to Leah who ran the rest of the 13.1 miles.  I didn't feel amazing during the run, I didn't feel bad either.....I kinda just wasn't "feeling it" actually, so oh well!  I guess a week off of virtually no running, lots of bad for you food & drinks probably didn't help me out in any way.  Oh well!

Leah & I with our medals

Who'd I run with?:  just me & my sister in law Leah!  :)

Coming Up (March Race #2):  The Culinaria 5K at La Cantera Mall tomorrow (March 24th).  I'm still trying to hit that elusive 28:30, but I'm not hedging my bets on this race.  I haven't run since Sunday & I haven't been feeling well since Tuesday, so we'll see.  As long as I break 30:00 I'll be happy, but I'd really LOVE to hit my 28:30 mark....fingers crossed!

Quick Update:
The JLSA Running Club has their first run on Tuesday, March 27th!  My friend Kristen & I are so excited & there has been quite a bit of interest!  YAY!

my cool kid nephew, Hayden :)

Spring Break 2012

What I did on my Spring Break
Report posted & created by Erica Ellis

I have been bugging Lake to take me to New Orleans, Louisiana since forever!  I even wanted to go for my bachelorette party, but I was swayed to stay with the bribe of a free house & a limo, it all worked out quite well!  Roll around to getting back from London.  Lake wanted to go someone oversees for SB, but I know what kind of toll that takes on you & the exhaustion it creates, so I said I didn't want to be gone for the entire week, I needed some down time to just vegg during the break.  So we were at a stand still.  I kept suggesting NOLA & kept getting brutally rebuffed!  That is....until Valentine's Day rolled around.  Lake had cutely hidden little Valentine's cards (the kind you hand out as a kid) all around the house.
 
Side story:  when Lake was in India 2 years ago he had done this.  He hid all these fun gift cards & notes & cards all around the house & sometimes I'd randomly find them OR sometimes when we'd Skype & he knew I had a bad day he'd be like "oh, hey, go check in the 2nd draw on the left in the kitchen" or whatever.....so sweet!!!  Anyway, Valentine's Day kinda reminded me of this!
Back to the story.....

We ordered in sushi & stayed in on Valentine's & I'd already gotten a lovely vase of tulips & Breaking Dawn:  Part 1 on DVD.  Thought that was it, we aren't big Valentine's people, which is fine by me!  So Lake says, oh wait, you have one more present.  He hands over a big white envelope with one more card attached to the outside that says:  "how bout we go to NOLA?".......opened the envelope & there were our plane tickets!  YAY!!!!

NOLA Trip--1st Half of Spring Break
Day 1

Our flight out was scheduled to depart from SA at 12:50pm, we had a layover in Houston & were landing in New Orleans at 3:30pm, this was the plan.....

Lake & I at Hobby airport in
Houston, we were very happy
to be getting on a plane!! (stand by)

Well, Sunday morning some crazy storms rolled through San Antonio, by the time we were up & headed to the airport it was a gorgeous day....here.....well, at around 11:30am those crazy storms were demolishing Houston & our plane was still stuck in Houston due to weather.  Needless to say, we were delayed...a lot!  We ended up leaving SA at 2:40 and landing in Houston at 3:30 (our original landing time in NOLA).  To say that people were upset or angry is just an understatement.  Everyone was getting super pissy with the desk people....it was people watching at it's finest!  What can you do, it's a safety thing, so oh well.  At one point, it became just funny to me.  We land in Houston & bust it over to Gate 49 to see if we can be put on stand by for the 4:45 flight.  There were a few people in front of us, but we ended up being 5 & 6 on the list.  Numbers 1 - 4 ended up getting on the flight.....nice.......  Good thing though is that we were automatically put on the stand by list for the next flight out which was at 6:05.  Checked in there, assuming that we were would be 1 & 2, but NO, there were some "A-Listers" (frequent fliers) who had already been placed on the stand by list ahead of us, so we were 4 & 5 for this flight.  Long story short, we had a stand by success!!!  And by 7:15 we had safely landed in NOLA & we were eager to get our bags & eat some dinner.....
Oh wait, our bags!
Had we not made the 6:05 flight we were going to have definite seats on the 8:30 flight, well, of course, no one told our bags about our stand by success, so they of course came in on the 8:30 flight.  Oh well! 
We leave the airport, tired, agitated, excited, & lets be honest, a little stinky.....we catch a cab & head over to take on "The Big Easy"

We stayed at The Hotel Monteleone which is located on Royal Street, one block over from Bourbon & 2 blocks in from Canal Street.  This is a really cool, historic hotel & is still family owned!  It also is home to one of the oldest bars in America:  The Carousel Bar, literally, you sit & the bar & it turns.  It takes 15 minutes to make one rotation.  Kinda cool stuff!  Back to our first evening.  While in the cab headed over to town I used my OpenTable App to make a reservation for dinner at NOLA which is one of Emeril Lagasse's restaurants in New Orleans.  Luckily they had room for us at 9:30.  We got to our room, splashed some water on our face & were off to dinner.  As I've mentioned before, I've never been to New Orleans before, so my sense of direction was a bit off.  But we managed to find our way over to the restaurant.  Looking back on it, the French Quarter is really easy to maneuver, I just needed to get my barrings.

our appetizers at NOLA, omg!

Dinner at NOLA was so good!  The food was delicious!!!  When we got there we were about 20 minutes early so we grabbed a beverage & waited.  There was a very lively group of UK (University of Kentucky) basketball fans there.  The SEC Tournament was being played in New Orleans & they just had a game.  I'm not a b-ball person, at all, but based on how happy they were, I guess they won, or lost really badly?!  We were seated & got looking at the menu.  We decided on mussels & stuffed chicken wings to start with.  Both plates were some of the most delicious things I'd ever tasted, seriously!  And how ingenious is it to stuff a chicken wing!  Culinary master minds!!  For my entree I ordered a Blue Fin Tuna salad with an Avocado puree & Lake got good 'ol Shrimp & Grits!  WOW!  Again, WINNING!  For dessert we opted for an Ooey Gooey Chocolate dessert.  It was ooey gooey because it had marshmallow underneath the cake/brownie portion & was topped with a coffee flavored ice cream, incredible!!!  We rolled out of there & headed over to Arnaud's which is just off Bourbon & I believe Bienville.  This bar was pretty cool looking, totally reminded me of the bar that Jack goes to at the Overlook Hotel in The Shining.  The bartenders were wearing tuxes, very old school!  It was way smokey in the bar, so we opted for "Go Cups"

ooey gooey at NOLA

Sidebar:  Can I just say, this whole "go cup" thing really intrigued me.  Everywhere, get a go cup here, get a go cup there.  What an ingenious idea!  Not done with your beverage, but your friends are.....Go Cup it is!  LOVE IT!

the "OG" Pat O's in the French
Quarter :)

At Arnaud's, the bar is actually named "French 75"....this is where the French 75 drink was invented, thank you Mr. Arnaud & your brilliant mixologists!  After Arnaud's we went over to Pat O'Brien's on Bourbon, the original!  I think it's kinda cool that San Antonio has one as well.  Now I've been to all 3 in the US.  There's also one in Orlando at Universal Studios City Walk.  After we had one hurricane, we made one more stop & then it was time for bed.  When we got back to the hotel we were pleasantly surprised to find our bags waiting for us!  YAY!  I had never been so happy to shower in my life, yuck!

Day 2
We woke up bright & early for our brunch reservation at The Court of Two Sisters which was about 3 blocks down Royal St. from our hotel.  This had been highly recommended by various people, so I was really excited.  The brunch was a buffet with jazz music, pretty fun.  The outdoor patio was really pretty, only problem was that it was raining on & off, not hard, but still rain.  We were able to sit under a large umbrella & braved the rain.  The patio had a very large Wisteria that covered the entire patio, it was cool!!!  Lake & I both enjoyed the buffet & the greatest thing about a buffet is trying a bunch of stuff in little amounts & deciding if you like it or not.  This was great!  I tried "Turtle Soup" for the first time.

Lake & I at brunch at The Court of Two Sisters

Sidebar:  I don't know what's in Turtle Soup, just that it's good & has a very tangy after taste.  I was very saddened (not sad enough though) when I learned that YES, there is actually turtle in Turtle Soup.  I still feel kinda bad, but WOW was it good!

Jackson Square

After brunch we walked over the Jackson Square & visited St. Louis Cathedral.  We kind of just wandered around for the morning & then went to Harrah's.....played some craps, won/lost some money, then we were on a search for Johnny's Po-Boys.  We found it, had to wait in line for a bit, but after trying it, the po-boy was well worth the out the door wait!!  After lunch we did some "antiquing" down Royal Street then headed over to the Mississippi River to start our Cocktail Tour.

Cocktail Tour
We'd look into this before we left SA.  Lake & I were both really excited for the tour!!  It was a walking/guided tour.  It was so much fun & I highly recommend it!  It was through GrayLine Tours.  Drinks were not included in the price of the tour, but I believe it was $24 for each of us, our tour guide was AMAZING, so just for all of the historical facts that we got it was well worth it!

First Stop:  Antoine's Hermes Bar.  We toured the restaurant, got to see some really cool private rooms, they have a HUGE wine cellar (crazy big), & they also had a whole bunch of Mardi Gras memorabilia to look at, it was very educational!  We tried a Pimm's Cup at the bar, it's a very British beverage.  Pimm's is actually caramelized gin.  The drink tasted like Sweet Tea with a hint of cucumber, very light & summery.  I really liked it & Lake loved it!  very yum!
Second Stop:  The Court of Two Sisters.  We were back, again!  Our tour took us out on the patio & I actually learned that the wisteria tree over the outdoor courtyard is actually over 140 years old, crazy!  The recommended drink at the bar was the Bayou Bash.  This drink was made with SoCo (which I hate!),   home made fruit punch, & a splash of Cabernet on top.  It was actually really really good!!
Third Stop:  Pirate's Alley Cafe & Absinthe House.  arrrrrggggggg!  Apparently this is a very popular for the local pirates of the area.  They meet nightly & dress up!!  kinda funny!  As this is an absinthe house, this was the recommended drink of choice.  The drink is called "The Green Fairy", you drip water over a sugar cube & it drips into the absinthe underneath.  You're supposed to swirl it around & see "fairies" in the liquid.  Lake & I decided not to partake in the beverage.  Absinthe is actually now legal in the US, but it wasn't up until like 2 or 3 years ago.  Although our tour guide did tell us that Louisiana never really got rid of it.
Fourth (Last) Stop:  Arnaud's French 75 Bar.  And this was the same bar we'd been to the night before. As we were running a little late, Lake & I excused ourselves from the tour to make sure we'd be able to make our dinner reservations at Commander's Palace.

1-1-1 Soup, a-mazing!

We had dinner at Commander's Palace that night, it's located in the Garden District & unfortunately this is all we actually saw of the garden district, with the way the rest of our plans were broken up, we didn't have any time to make our way back down there....or ride a street car, so oh well!  Emeril Lagasse was a sous chef here back in the day....our cabbie told us that he was a "baby chef" there, haha!!  Dinner was good, our soups were fantastic, we had 1-1-1 soup, which was a small tasting of each of their soups.  So we had a gumbo (not my favorite, but still very good!), a tomato shrimp bisque (which was A-MAZING!) & turtle soup (my 2nd favorite).  For dinner Lake had fish & I had a gnocchi plate that was so tasty!!  For dessert we split a cream cheese cheesecake topped with caramel that was TDF!  It was very creamy & yummy & delicious!!  After dinner we met up with one of my colleagues who just happened to be in NOLA with his family.  We met up with him & his wife & bar hopped but ended up at Turtle Bay, kinda close to Pat O's.  There was a guy playing guitar & during his break John & wife Dejah, who just so happened to have a birthday that night, sang during the break.  They were great!  Crowd pleasin' stuff!!  We parted ways & went to bed, dreaming of our last day in NOLA & the copious amounts of food we would consume!

with the Benke's out on Bourbon!

Day 3

Tuesday morning we woke up to eat our last brunch in New Orleans.  We went to eat at Brennan's which was a nice 2 block walk down Royal Street.  The family that owns Brennan's actually owns lots of restaurants in NOLA, including Commander's Palace.  Brunch was so good!  If you ask Lake he'll tell you that it was hands down, the best brunch he'd ever had in his life!  I find it hard to argue with that statement.  I ordered Eggs Benedict, which I'd never had before & I can't remember the exact name of what Lake ordered but it was basically Eggs Benedict but with a Cajun twist.  Whatever it's called, it was so good!  At the end of our meal we shared an order of Bananas Foster, which was actually created at Brennan's.  They have a rolling cart that rolls around the restaurant & prepares your dessert for you table side, kinda like table side guacamole, but with FIRE!

St. Louis Cemetery #1 Tour

After brunch we didn't have too much time, so we wandered a bit & did some shopping.  I find the 2 cutest dresses at a boutique just off of Jackson Square, loved it!  By the time we knew it, it was 1:00 & it was time for our Cemetery Tour.  I had really wanted to do a night time "ghost tour" of the city, but with dinner reservations each night, we just didn't have any time for that.  As our tour started it began to rain & not just "sorta rain" no, it was pouring!!  We took a bus from the Mississippi to St. Louis Cemetery #1 which is just outside of the Quarter.  We waited out the rain for about 25 minutes in their visitors center.  Not that I didn't enjoy myself or the tour, BUT, our tour guide wasn't all that great.  She just wasn't very dynamic & didn't really give us too much information that you couldn't find in a book.  The cemetery itself was super creepy, but cool.  The only really bad problem was that it did stop raining, which was GREAT, BUT like a typical rain storm in the middle of the day, in the south, it was brutally HOT & HUMID after, which probably also took away my enjoyment of the tour.  All in all, I'd say skip this.  There are plenty of horse drawn carriages that give you a tour of the city & stop at this cemetery & allow you to walk around on your own for 15-20 minutes, I'd say do that instead!  After the tour we were ready for a late lunch, because we had late dinner reservations.  We went to eat at Napoleon House, which wasn't very far from our hotel.  I had the most delicious shrimp remoulade over an avocado.  Basically I love anything that is served over an avocado!  Since lunch was "semi-light" we walked over to Cafe du Monde for an afternoon snack of beignets & cafe au laits.  Can I just say, if you want to go there & NOT have to wait, go on a Wednesday at 4:10pm, NO ONE was there, I mean, it was still crowded, but we didn't even have to wait in line.  There were open tables, SCORE!!  I'm excited to have tried there "famous" beignets, very tasty, but there coffee was even better!!  Loved it!  After our beignets we walked down to a market area, then walked all the way back down Royal, it was a good 10-12 blocks, but I fell in love with the streets of NOLA, so it was lovely stroll.  We had a late dinner reservation so we grabbed a drink at the Carousel Bar at our hotel, which, like I said earlier, actually turns!!  I indulged in a French 007, it was pear vodka, champagne, & cranberry juice.  It was really great & our bartender was great as well!  Our dinner reservations were at Galatoire's which is on Bourbon Street.  It was one block away from us.  We had been told, that if we can....get seated on the 1st floor, we had made reservations though & Lake had read up & what he read told us we'd be on the 2nd floor & that the 1st floor was for walk-ins.  So we got there & the first floor wasn't full, so we asked if we could just be seated there & they let us.  When we first got there the atmosphere was really lively & upbeat, but slowly people started finishing their dinner & there weren't too many people coming in, so it kinda died down.  The food was just kinda OK.  We started off with Oysters Rockefeller, which I'd never tasted before, they were very very fishy, but good.  We also had souffle potatoes which were quite possibly the best thing I've ever tasted!!  They served it with a super yummy, rich Bearnaise sauce, they were delish!!!

the magical potatoes!  

Sidebar:  These potatoes are sliced long & thin, then fried in oil that's about 200 degrees.  They then take the fries & freeze them & once an order for the potatoes are placed, they fry them in oil that's like 800 degrees & they POP!  So they end up being big & puffy, but hollow because they explode.

Back to dinner.  Lake & I shared crabs au gratin, which was OK, but I was expecting more flavor.  For dessert though we had a black bottom pecan pie, which was so rich & yummy!  That was good stuff!!  All in all, I'd say Galatoire's is a good place to go, but there are so many other incredible places to eat at that I wouldn't put it on the top of my list of "must eats."  After dinner we went to Jean Lafitte's Bar which is way down on Bourbon.  I grabbed a hand grenade before we began our trek.  This had come highly recommended by a friend & pretty much everyone on the street I saw was drinking one, so I thought....why not....when in NOLA?!??  It just tastes like melon, which can be very dangerous!  It was good, but strong & sneaky, it's like, oh yeah, yum, then BAM, buzz city!  haha.  That was pretty much all I needed for the evening, I was good.  We were back in the hotel, not too late & packed up to get ready for our flight the next morning. 

heading to dinner our last
night out in NOLA :)

And so that was our trip to NOLA, lots of fun, lots of food!  I'm so glad that Lake finally gave in & we were able to experience....."The Big Easy"  :)

Valley Trip--2nd Half of Spring Break
Thursday morning I woke up early, ran a quick 2 miles with Anne & was off to drive to the Valley.  It was a quick 2 day trip, but lots of fun!!  I hadn't been down there since the end of November, so it was nice to visit & see family & friends.  Thursday afternoon my friend Monica came over with her two adorable girls to play with Maryn & Hayden who were down in the Valley with my sister in law.  Watching Lily & Maryn play was too cute!!  They were both so sweet with each other, awwwwwwww!  It's hard to imagine how "grown up" they are now!  They aren't little babies or even toddlers anymore, they're little girls!!  Monica has a second daughter named Mallory who is about Hayden's age, so yeah, they just kinda stared at each other the whole time, still very adorable though.  :)  After the visit Leah & I went to have dinner with my cousins on my dad's side of the family.  We had a great time & they can always make me laugh!  On Friday, I woke up, ran 4 miles, then was lazy, which was very much needed!!  I also got a hair cut at deSanchez with my old stylist, I only cut about an inch & a half, so nothing too drastic.  I needed it though!  The whole reason why I went down there was to help my BFF celebrate her 30th birthday!  Monica had her party at Tipsy Canvas in McAllen.  Basically, you have an "instructor" who guides you through a painting & everyone paints that same thing, they can just use the colors of their own choosing.  We painted "Tipsy Tulips."  This was much harder than I thought, but it was so much fun!!  I think it had more to do with the fact that I was getting to spend time with my life long friends, but the food, drinks & painting didn't hurt either!!  ;)  Saturday morning I woke up & drove back to SA.

Mon's 30th Birthday at Tipsy Canvas in McAllen

Phew, so that was it, that was my Spring Break!  All in all, it was so much fun & also very tiring!!

SPRING BREAK 2012, wohoooooo!