September Foodie Pen Pal

It's Foodie Pen Pal Reveal Day! Lindsey tried something new this month and that was to match the same people together. So, you are giving a present to the same person that is sending the present to you. It's really cool and allows for more interaction between the people.

My pen pal this month was Elise from Utah. We had a lot of back and forth emails about what we liked and disliked and what we do for fun or a living. I don't think I would have gotten that with the pen pals doing it the old way. My first pen pal to send me a gift is a person I still talk to on a regular basis, but I have never heard from the person that I sent a package to after the last email. So, we shall see!

I sent Elise homemade power protein balls to help with her workouts and Sun Butter that Mary sent to me in my first ever package. I also sent her some nutmeg syrup from Grenada. My friend lives there and she always brings me jars. I had plenty and she seemed really interested. 

Elise sent me 16 grain pancake mix, hydro flavored powder to keep me hydrated during long runs/rides, AgaveStix (delish) that are easy to transport, and some wonderful tea with chocolate....that's right, I said TEA WITH CHOCOLATE. I loved it! Pancakes are the only thing I haven't tried yet. She also sent a cute little card. 

Thank you again Elise for a wonderful package from Utah.

If you want to join next month, then visit The Lean Green Bean.

Tour de Tacos Bike Ride

This post is better late than never and I will try to remember all of the details. I have just been so busy with a work trip, preparation for Jim's return, and vacation. I haven't even biked since this trip...tried to in San Francisco and while Jim was here, but just didn't have the time.

In other news, I am feeling rather flabby and out of shape.



Anyways, back to the topic at hand. After a Facebook reunion with a high school friend (Very awesome to see you Erik last night and wished we got a pic together), I was informed about Crucial Matter (check them out on Facebook). They have more rides throughout the month, including a Tour de Tacos on the first Friday of every month. Tacos...beers...bikes...SOLD! Their slogan is REP, which stands for Ride. Eat. Party. Um...yes! The idea is to meet at Market Square downtown (the new place for bike meetups I guess) and then head out to three different spots where taco trucks are stationed. It didn't take me long to convince Evan, although I feel bad for making him wait so long when I had to pick up my bike at my parents' house (don't ask).

We decided to bike up there, but took a different route than the bayou. We discovered on the last Critical Mass that parts of the bayou are still under construction and not always safe for the bikes or at least for Evan's bike. The only issue was carrying the bike up the stairs and over the bayou to another drop location, which was hard on my back. But I survived.

We got there rather early, which was also my bad, but it gave us a chance to meet some other CM folks. They immediately talked to us and have to give shout outs to David (wished I remembered the other girls' names) for being especially friendly. I immediately noticed that as people showed up, they would introduce themselves to new groups, including Evan and I. You don't see this at Critical Mass. I found out later that Crucial Matters encourage people to get to know one another.  This is just my kindof group.

You get my full dorky bike ensemble, but my new biking shorts rock 

Evan and I waiting to go...he's getting better.

After a bike fix, we were off to the first stop at West Alabama Ice House, which was coincidentally right by my parents' house. If I had time, I would have told them to get out there to say hello to us cyclists, but I didn't. This bar is so cool, with an outside area and a love for dogs. I was especially thankful to the bartender for letting me spray myself with her last bit of mosquito repellant. Holy smokes the squitos were bad.

On a side note, I was surprised to know that I didn't get malaria that evening. 

Evan waiting for the first tacos.

I grabbed the beers and Evan got in the long line for tacos. We apparently didn't learn from our last mistake to switch up the responsibilities. Evan only got my tacos and not his and then I ended up sharing; I was okay with this since we had more taco joints to hit. The taco was good, but hate cilantro. Oh well. And then we were off like a thief in the night to steal the entertainment at the next stop, which was TacoKeto. This happened to be our halfway point on my first Critical Mass. We got the Carne Guisada Tacos...freaking yummy and Evan got beer. It worked out perfectly.

TacoKeto....need more.

Carne Guisada Taco with limes.DELISH!

I was thankful that someone let me use their mosquito repellant, because the squitos were swarming at this place and my previous repellant attempt did NOT work. I had to use the hard stuff to douse myself. Tacos...beers...bikes...Repellant...An excellent fragance to make any man or woman swoon.

Finally, we turned on our lights and headed out for the last bar, Underdogs Pub on Washington, which was another cool outdoor bar. Their food truck was Aztecs where we had another round of carne guisada tacos. These were more tender than the last ones. Ivan, the Crucial Matter Ride Organizer came to talk with us a bit and I thought that was pretty cool.

We said goodbye to some people and headed out. I really enjoyed this group of cyclists and the fun events they have put on since I joined up with them on September 6. I just wished I hadn't been so busy to join some more. I dressed as nerdy as I could at last night's Critical Mass (JL's first Critical Mass), which will probably be the last bike ride I do before my surgery (Oct. 2)...unless there's a ride on Monday or Tuesday.


Did you go to last night's Critical Mass? YES, but it was alot of stopping and the group seemed more dispersed throughout the city.

Have you rode with the Crucial Matter folks? Just DID...BOOM!

Would you rather be biking to Tacos? YES

Is there a Monday night bike ride planned and could you please invite me?

With a squeeze of a lime on some juicy tacos...you have Heaven. By the way, I loved the taco memes leading up to this event. Here is this gem.

It's a Workout Nirvana

Sometime in April or May, I thought about going to the Fitbloggin Conference in Portland and began looking up roommates. I stumbled upon Suzanne. We formed an email friendship. Unfortunately, I just couldn't make the conference, but I found out that Suzanne is a Virtual Personal Trainer. Her wonderful site is called Workout Nirvana. Isn't that a catchy name? Yeah, I thought so, too.

I made it a big goal of mine to strengthen my back after the initial injury, but I couldn't start right away. She was patient with me and then finally, I signed up for the six weeks program when my back felt great. I looked at all the packages and decided on the one for $150. This included a 30 minute Skype session to talk about personal goals and where my body was at, unlimited email interaction, the program itself, and food and nutrition help. There are other packages for cheaper, but this one suited my needs. I knew I would be a needy client!

After the Skype session, she got my program ready within a week and I was good to start. She sent me a Clean Eating Guide, Workout Guide and the Exercise Guide, and all of my worksheets for each week. Suzanne had links to how to do the exercises (properly) and encouraged me to join her youtube playlist and create my own playlist. The exercise links came in handy when I just couldn't remember what to do for that day.

My program was for three days a week focusing on back strengthening and stability; one day was arms heavy and one day was legs heavy. I also had a warmup and a cooldown, which I thought was important. Each program will vary depending on the person and his or her goals.

At the end of each week, I would send her my completed worksheets so she can evaluate what I did or maybe ones that were difficult. What I loved about Suzanne was that I could email her at any time to say that this exercise didn't work for me and she immediately came up with replacements. When the doctor said that he didn't want me doing squats or lunges, she was ready with new ones that were just as effective. She would get on to me about my diet, but not in a way to make me feel bad. She would get on to me about trying too hard to fast. For instance, I felt like the warmups were too easy when I started, but she said they are just supposed to warm you up. Suzanne always found a balance between not letting me walk all over her and not being too drill sergeant about things where I was discourage to continue.  In the process, she became a friend and I now look forward to talking to her about mundane life stuff. I can't promise you that the same connection will happen, because I'm pretty awesome, but it could.

I saw improvements after a week or two by being able to lift 10lbs instead of just 5lbs or 5lbs instead of no lbs. I felt stronger and signed up for Phase 2. Unfortunately, my back took another tumble through no fault of her exercises; it was a combination of things, including me getting too aggressive too quickly. We even talked about plans for a workout, while I'm down for my surgery. Yes, you read that right...surgery for me again on October 2 to remove the bunion on my other foot. I'm not looking forward it since it was the most painful recovery that I have ever experienced, but it has to be done. I will need some encouragement!

Anyways, I totally recommend Suzanne at Workout Nirvana. Plus, I really love her blog posts.

Have you ever tried a virtual personal trainer program? I loved this program the best. It worked for my crazy schedule.

Have you tried a regular trainer? I have tried them at the gym, but I feel like they are too pushy as if they can be salesmen. Although, sometimes, it is nice to have someone there to count so I can focus on breathing.

Random question...how do you get your dog to bring the ball all the way back when he is 10 years old, never really played before, and can get barky? Also, encouragement doesn't work and neither does just waiting there until he brings the ball to me.

The Environment is Totally Key

Since I haven't been running due to this back, I have done a great deal of other exercises to occupy my time. One of those exercises include walking and my baby boy Remington is reaping the benefits. I take 30 minute walks and the last few days have been 60 minute walks. It's been awesome.

So, what's up with the post title?

Sorry for the poor quality, but this was perfect. See it here at http://youtu.be/s316C5vbOnM

One of my biggest pet peeves (besides drivers who use the fast lane as a time to catch up on their cheeseburgers and phone calls) is littering. I hate it. I don't know if it's our Texas campaign that has been ingrained in to me since I was a kid.

Source* Don't Mess With Texas Litter Campaign

Or it could also be that living in Singapore as a young girl had a greater affect on me than I ever knew or expected. It's the one place I know that makes littering a big deal...like a really big deal. It's a much bigger punishment and makes our "up to $10,000 fine" a joke. I wouldn't even spit out my gum there.  

During my walks with Remi, I take a large grocery bag with me to pick up poop. On my street, there is so much litter from the medical people parking over there to the construction workers to the homeless walking by to even other dog walkers that drop bags of poop. And the worst part is when my dog finds food, sometimes it is covered with ants. Does he care? No. One day, he may learn.

I remembered reading about how to be green during our runs and that was mentioned to pick up some trash along the way. I haven't ever done that before. So, on one of those walking days last week, I decided to pick up piece of paper and then a plastic water bottle and then a cigarette butt and then a beer can. Yes, there are tons of beer cans all over the place. Yesterday, I found a broken beer bottle. 

I kept on picking up litter until my bag was full. I may not have made a dent (more trash showed up the next day), but I felt good to get what little I could off of the streets. 

This is just one trip.

I decided to do it on the next walk and then the next and then the next. I just kept picking up litter. I couldn't pick it all up; I draw the line on napkins, underwear, condoms, and any medical waste for obvious reasons. I think people might start calling me the Trash Lady or something. I did have a guy honk at me, but I do get that a lot, especially when I'm picking up poop. It's weird. I mean, your honk is not going to get me in to your car.

Sorry, I got sidetracked. 

My next challenge for you is that when you take a walk, do something good for the planet and pick up some trash. I know it's hard when we run...so pick up some trash when you are doing the walk part of your run. I know it's hard when you are biking, but maybe pick something up, while you are waiting for the light to turn green. Just get out there and help.

Okay, here are some awesome pictures from my walks with Remi. Yeah, I used Instagram on some of the pictures...don't judge me.

Karbach Brews Cruise 19 Bike Ride

Through a casual conversation about my participation in Critical Mass last month, Adam told me about the Karbach Brews Cruise bike ride that the Karbach Biking Team (he's apart of) leads at the beginning of every month. My ears perked up immediately...biking and beer...and a brewery. DEAL! It didn't take me long to convince Evan to join me again. Seriously, he's become my bike partner extraodinaire and I think we finally have a system down for packing his car.

The meetup was at Local Pour on West Gray at 6 p.m., but rollout would be at 7 p.m. We got there with enough time to fiddle with my bike and it needed fiddling. Somewhere from taking on and off the bike wheel, it tighten up the front brakes so much that I couldn't move it. With the help of several guys (one I had met before at Hash event), my tire and brakes were fixed and I was comfortable riding. It did expend energy being out in the hot sun fixing the bike and getting frustrated, but it all worked out in the end.

Hanging out at Local Pour.

Evan has finally gotten the whole smile thing down.

 Evan and I debated on getting a beer, but we decided against it. The final annoucements were made about safety and anything else. I did really appreciate Adam going over everything since they really didn't at Critical Mass (or I didn't hear it). There were a minimum of 100 cyclists there, but I'm not sure the exact count.

Finally, it was time to start riding. The sun was in my eyes almost the entire first half of the ride, which made the ride that much hotter. We reached a turn to get a break from the sun and then we hit the bridge. I had trouble keeping up with Evan and he was gone. I immediately noticed that more and more riders were passing me by as I felt like I was pedaling more. I'm still working on the gears and I just couldn't make it happen. With CM, the ride was slower and I didn't notice how slow I was going. This ride was smaller and faster and I so noticed how freaking slow I was. I quickly became the rider in the very back of the pack.

I turned a corner to head to our first stopping point (forget the bar name) when I saw Evan pulled over fixing a flat. Thanks to Joanne, Long, and John for their help and extra tubes. They were awesome and I can't wait to bike and/or run with them again.

We only had a quick bike ride to the first bar break just long enough for a rest, to down a beer each, and talk with some people before we headed out to the Karbach Brewery.

Our one beer each at the first bar.

We made it to the brewery. This was the first time that I have been to the Karbach Brewery and it was intimate and really cool. I loved their wall art and even ran into Melissa from my Ethopian food nights. Evan waited in the LONG line for food at the food truck. His bright idea that night was for me to order my own food when I got back from getting us beers. I did. However, the guy stopped after Evan's order to make food. So, it took forever for me to get my food. I so blamed Evan profusely.

He's smiling, because he got his food order in first.

This was a totally cool bike worthy of a picture.

I'm loving this wall.

Got to love a brewery that has "Come In Take It."

Evan drinking some beer.

This was on the window.

After a quick tour by ourselves and finished eating our food, we got on our bikes to head out. Long joined us on the ride home for the most part. It was dark and I was thankful for my bike light and rear red lights on my helmet. I even had a guy work with me on the bike gears as I rode, but I'm still not feeling the difference. I still have some time to work on it before I go for my next big bike ride.


The Karbach Brews Cruise was a total of 15 miles through an area of Houston that I NEVER ride. Again, I got to experience Houston from a different perspective and I loved every minute of it. It was stated over and over again how the leaders of this ride want to make Houston a cycle city in which I think they are well on their way. I see way more bikes than ever before and lots more cycling events that are fun and about getting us out there.

I did feel like this was a much better ride than CM, because it was smaller and had way more beer stops that didn't include a parking lot. The people were friendlier...or lets just say, the people talked more with other groups instead of just sticking to their friends. We met so many people (helpful, too) and had a great time, but I was ready to be home. It was afterall a worknight. I think that would be my only complaint is having this on a freaking MONDAY, but I got over it since it was exercise.

This was the 19th Karbach Brews Cruise. Have you done it before and what were your impressions? I did it for the first time last Monday and I loved it. Who wants to join me next month?

Have you done Critical Mass? Yes, once and I plan to do it again for August. Who wants to join me?

Do you gravitate towards bike rides that involve beer? Um...that's just a stupid question, because yes, I do.

On a side note, I was sad to hear about the cyclist who was killed by a car on Monday at Memorial Park. I run often at this park and see lots of cyclists. It really is known for both disciplines and I'm surprised to hear this awful news. Be safe out there and just like in driving, don't expect that the driver sees you.

Tackling Life of Negativity

It's no secret that I have been a rugby fan for some time. I know it's weird that an American girl would like rugby, but I do. I guess Texans (whether you are a girl or a boy) are trained to like football at an earlier age. Rugby is similar in concept as a game. Before you bash me, yes, I do know that there are big, large, HUGE differences between rugby and football, but they are still similar. So, it's only natural that a football loving girl from Texas would find rugby one day on the television and instantly be hooked. My time came when I saw Jonny Wilkinson play in the Rugby World Cup in 1999. Whew...hot...damn...he was sexy (sorry Jim...won't happen again). Now, I had watched rugby here and there before, but I became a fan of the England team that year and have followed them throughout the years, especially watching the big win in Australia during the 2003 World Cup. 



So, my wonderful boyfriend bought me the book, Tackling Life, which has been on my wishlist for quite some time for my big birthday. He's so sweet. And this book came at the right time, because it wasn't a full on biography of his life. It was a book about how he overcame the mental torture of being injured, getting to the big win in Australia, and not doing what you are set out to do in life after everything is done. 

This year has been a rough year for me. I have had some personal struggles and loss, including two deaths by March. I have had some serious sickness, but with my Doctor's help, we have figured out the cause of one of them and I may not have to endure that anymore. And last, but certainly not least, my back went out...twice. I've officially canceled my marathon in October and plan to either do one some time between April and June of next year. Oh, I also forgot that I'm having foot surgery in October. 

By the time I hit June, I was like a tsnunami of negative drowning me at every turn. And I had "be more positive" as a goal for this year. 



I was looking for Wayne from Wayne's World saying, "Yeah Right", but I couldn't find just a clip of that and found this instead. This was just too freaking awesome not to include and besides, it does say it in there. 

In Tackling Life, Jonny just doesn't suffer one injury, he actually suffers an injury every time he comes back from rehabbing the last injury. Sound familiar? Yeah, I thought so, too. Throughout the book, he basically grows up to realize that sometimes, it's him causing the injury by pushing himself too quickly. Athletes are trained to keep going no matter what. I have weak ankles, because I played basketball through the pain for seven years. This book shows that insight in to an career athlete's mind, why he keeps going, how he learns to stop, and then learns to accept that he can't change his circumstances. My favorite part was reading about how he gets injured during the first or second match of the World Cup in Australia only to come back and win it. I guess it struck me as my favorite part, because he just accepted that he was injured. He didn't whine about it or cry about it or get angry...he just was. I loved it, because I needed the swift kick in the butt to get to that point. I needed to just be. This is what it is and I can't really do anything about the circumstances surrounding me like a dumptruck to a landfill. I just have to roll with it, I guess. Like I said, this book came at the right time.

I loved the insight from Blackie who is his mentor and I guess he's there to put things in to perspective for Jonny. Blackie always sends a fax to him right at that moment when Jonny begins to doubt himself. It was a nice touch. However, sometimes, the insights within the book did not match the category of the chapter. I mean if we have a chapter about injury, I want the insights to be all about injuries. The next chapter was about overcoming them and that's where I want stories and insights that cover that particular journey. In fact, many of the chapters would have half of the information that didn't really align with what was written.

The other thing that I didn't like about the book is that they would jump back and forth through differnt years and games and teams. I do not get all of the games in America. I pretty much get only the World Cup and a few National team qualifying games or tournaments leading up to the World Cup. Sometimes, I was lost as they casually jumped to this game when Jonny was on a team and then to a World Cup qualifying game and then back to another game for another team in a different year and then right on in to 1999 World Cup. They didn't give warning, because they expected that I as a reader would know every single game. Hell, I watch a lot of football and I don't always remember every game. It would have been nice if they stated this game in this year or just kept a flow timeline of the years leading up to the World Cup in Australia. Also, it was confusing how they would start talking about a soccer game (okay, football) interchangeably with the rugby games without somewhat of a warning. For me, again as an American, I don't get all of those games either. I don't know all of the teams. So, it was hard to follow. 

Overall, I liked the book a great deal. Even though I knew the outcome of the big tug at your heart/against the odds game moment, I still was on my seat impatiently waiting to see how it turned out. I loved hearing about what he went through to get over his injuries and there were alot of them. I loved to read about his journey on achieving happiness, true happiness and content within himself. And I loved his stories about his brother and him practicing. There were quotes that would start a chapter (and throughout) that really summarized the chapter. It made me realize that I'm not alone in this world in how I feel.

I would definitely recommend this book if you are heading down the toilet bowl of negativity regarding your sports injuries. Just read up on your sports history before you jump in to this book.

Have you read any inspiring books lately?



Is It Time For Mass?

A couple of months ago, someone mentioned to me about Critical Mass. This was a massive bike ride that takes over Houston on the last Friday of each month. When I say take over, they really take over. Red lights, smed lights...cars be damned. Naturally, I was drinking and it appealed to me. Why wouldn't I mind doing a massive bike ride for my first group ride for an undisclosed amount of time around my city? There was beer involved. I mean it wouldn't be like this...

 

It would be high energy weaving throughout the city wondering if that car would just run us over.

 

By the way, if you haven't seen this 80s gem called Quicksilver, then do it now. This is movie was why I stayed away from that movie Rush.

So, now I have to find a victim...er I mean a friend to ride this crazy ride with me. Tag Evan, you are it. He's done it before and was happy to do it again. YAY! And bonus, he would pick me up and transport my bike. I haven't quite figured out how to do that with my bike in my car. I just don't think it would work.

I've told Evan that he needs to get a rack for next month's ride.

The meeting place was Market Square downtown. I have never really been there before (except passing it by to go to a bar), but it was quite a cool little place and very artistic. They had Niko Niko's there in which we both got some food before our big ride. Yummy. 

 I love finding these places around the city.

Check out my new helmet...oh yeah.

This is a wonderful 9/11 tribute fountain, which was serene and beautiful and mesmerizing.

A tree branch grows out of the water.

I saw some crazy things, while waiting. They actually had a TV set hooked up to a generator or a card or something, with plans to take that on the ride. 

Evan and I got new Dynamo glasses. They matched my shirt, but hard to see out of them.

Yeah, I'm rocking a biking skirt. 

This place just filled up with people. 

Oh am I sorry Evan, are you too cool to take a picture? 

I struggled with several things before the ride...whether to wear my sunglasses or bring my backpack. I chose not to wear either and it was only a mistake for my backpack. 

Finally, the race was called. It was really slow getting things started. I mean there were about a thousand riders. You basically use your foot on the ground to guide you along, but as soon as you get through a couple of intersections, you are good to go faster. This guy next to me had his music score playing loud and I swear I thought it was the soundtrack of my life in that moment. It was awesome. 

I noticed immediately that you could ride through the intersections even if the light was red. I can see why the cars hate this event, but I tried to be nice and wave to them instead of giving them the finger like one guy. 

We rode out of downtown, through Hermann Park (heard someone ran over a child, which wasn't cool), and to 288 on Old Spanish Trail (OST). We had a long break at OST waiting for the light to change. I turned to Evan and said, "I finally get out of my comfort zone to ride my bike in another area. And we are riding through my main riding area."

Evan and I waiting at OST and Cambridge.

It's just a sea of people.

We got to 288 in which I ran in to someone's tire, because he stopped quick. It wasn't bad, because I was slowing down to a stop anyways. 

I never ride on this side of 288, because it bumps up to one of the wards and it's generally not a nice area. I was wrong. Everyone was out on the streets waving to us and supporting us, which was totally cool. Or maybe they wanted to take picture of the crazy, circus bike people. They were more supportive than downtown. Then, we reached the biggest surprise of all. First, it was middle class suburbia homes and then it turned to a mini Riveroaks, with mansions along the Bray's Bayou. I have always rode my bike on the other side of the bayou for reasons stated above. As a solo female outdoor person, you have to always been on your guard and I didn't want the extra stress from an area with a really bad reputation. Again, I was wrong. This part of the bayou was so much prettier than my view of hospital buildings on the other side of 288. This was actually my favorite part of the ride and I wished had stayed there forever.

Then, it started to get darker and harder to see. I told Evan that we will have a codename Popsicle whenever we were separated and would finally catch up (I was always trying to catch up). There were massive bottlenecks on turns, because people were scared to just go. I almost wiped out when I took my eye off the groove in the street and thankfully, I survived. But Evan later on, didn't and wiped out badly. Then, the guy in front of him wiped out looking back to make sure Evan was okay. It was crazy. 

On a side note, people yell out, "MAN DOWN"  when someone goes down for a good reason. 

Popsicle worked like a charm, because we could tell who each other was amongst the many people yelling to their friends that they were on the left. 

We hit a steep bridge and then sped down fast only to have these four girls just standing there at the bottom. Evan almost hit them and luckily I saw them in plenty of time to slow down and move over. If you are going to stop at the bottom of a big downhill (this includes skiing), then get the hell out of the way. 

Then, it was time for our break at Kroger's. It was a massive amount of people doing their business and waiting. Some cars were surrounded, which happened during the ride that I didn't like. 

This doesn't even do it justice at Kroger's.

Evan cleaned himself up and we were off again. I hit a bump and then my bike seat unhinged. It went into a seated up and over position and would not stay still. It was rough. And for 45 minutes, I was miserable, because this hurt my back. I had to walk up the next steep bridge back in to the city. 

Finally, we made it to the new 8th Wonder Brewery. I wanted to stop there, but I was in pain and thirsty for a beer. We knew it would take awhile to get a beer since we got there later than the big crowd. I also knew that I would not want to get back on my bike to ride to The Flying Saucer where the car was parked. So, Evan and I just went there instead to have some cold beers and some food and some conversation with friends; this made for a much happy Kristi.

We rode a total of 24.5 miles in roughly 2.5 hours (with break), which is the most that I have ever done in my life. I had so much fun and I can't wait to do August's Critical Mass. Thank you Evan for going with me and helping me as much as you did.

On another side note, the biking skirt was freaking tight and hurt. 

Lessons Learned: Always be firm with what side you are going and telling it to that person. Also, don't be afraid to go alittle faster. Oh...and bring some beer. 

1. Have you ever done Critical Mass? Would you do it again? I am so ready for August's ride. 2. Have you ever done a biking event that encouraged drinking? I have done lots of running events, but this was my first biking event. 3. Did you ever find a place that was unexpected and wonderful, which blew your original preceptions of it? I once stayed away from this bar, because it looked shady. Finally, one day I went in and it turned out to be a really cool local Austin bar.

CHALLENGED ACCEPTED

One of the best characters ever...besides Buffy, of course.

Last week, I talked about my super cool (okay, well, I felt freaking super cool) stairs challenge (see post here). I weirdly out of nowhere decided to walk down 15 flights of stairs. I was amazed to hear from people on how they were inspired to maybe take the stairs now or that they already do it. This really is a cheap, burn some freaking calories exercise (not at all easy). At the end of the post, I posted a challenge to myself that I would attempt going up the stairs this week.

CHALLENGE FREAKING ACCEPTED and ACCOMPLISHED! BOOM!

This week, I walked down the 15 flight of stairs Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but plum forgot on Thursday. So, I knew that I would be doubling up today to make up for that missed exercise. Why not  make one of those the UP direction? I brought my lunch and really had no reason to go downstairs. Right before lunch, I got up from my desk and headed down the stairs...all the way down.

On a side a note, I noticed that the lights dim at the 9th floor. I always forget and think I'm about to pass out until I get to the 7th floor where they go back to full bright.

I got to the bottom and just stood there for a minute resting and basically talking myself in to doing this up thing. I sent Jim a text to tell him that if he doesn't hear from me in an hour, call someone. And then I was on my way...slowly...painfullly...grabbing both handrails to steady myself. I got to the 2nd floor and sent him another text telling him this already hurts.

My breathing was crazy. My face was flushed. My back was dripping with sweat. My heart was beating super fast as what I imagine a hummingbird heartbeat is like. I sent him a text at the 8th floor to tell him I'm over halfway there and then I rested for a couple of minutes. Mainly, I had to catch my breath. I kept on going and going, slowly and slowly.

But then, I finally made it to the 15th floor. Frak Yes! My legs were jelly and I could barely open the door, but I made it. And of course, someone had to stop me to ask a question as I'm white as a ghost, can barely speak over the breathing, and about to die. Typical. I'm finally just now feeling back to normal....somewhat. Although, I haven't tried to stand up yet from my chair.

Beers will be well deserved tonight, that's for sure.

Again, I pose this challenge to you. Get out there and take the stairs. Don't be afraid.

On another side note, I actually had two people at different times join me on the stairwell today, but only for one flight. It was weird to have people in there with me. You know, they could have been zombies. Next time, I will bring a weapon.

My Stairs Challenge

On Monday, I went out to lunch with my parents. I texted my mother to tell me when she was on the way. I did this for a reason. Sometime in the morning, I decided that it would be a swell idea to take the stairs down instead of the elevator. I'm not sure why I got that in to my head. I'm not sure why I thought that would be a swell idea. I'm not sure why I hate myself so much.


So, my parents texted me and I took the stairs. All of the stairs. ALL.OF.THE.STAIRS.

By now, you are asking, "What floor is your office?" I work on the 15th floor. Yes, you read that right. 15th floor.

I walked down 15 flights of stairs, which is actually more like 16 1/2 since there is a weird missing floor that you pass to get to the exit.

The next morning, my legs were sore. I didn't think anything of it since I had a kick my ass aqua fit class the night before (and I'm so loving this class). It wasn't until I got to work when I realized my legs (specifically my calves) hurt something awful, because I took 15 flights of stairs down.

And guess what, I did it again. In fact, I decided right then and there that I would walk down the 15 flights of stairs at least once a day during my work week (I have the Friday off).

Did I do my challenge? I'm happy to report that I did the stairs challenge once on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday and twice on Wednesday. Go me! My calves are still freaking sore.

On a side note, around the 4th floor, it smells like old fish aquarium water. If you've ever had an fish tank, you know the smell. I don't know what it is or why, but I crinkle up my nose every time.

Next week, I'm going to attempt at least walking up the 15 flight of stairs to get to my office. I will continue walking down at least once a day though.

So, I pose this challenge to you. If I can do it, you can, too. Take the stairs instead of your elevator at least once next week. You can survive it.

They have little patches of red paint on the walls throughout the stairwell. Every time I see it, I think it's blood. And then, I think the zombies are alive and these were humans that didn't make it. 

GOOD LUCK!

June Foodie PenPal

I had so much fun doing the Foodie PenPal last month, I decided to try it again for June. I sent off my Texas inspired package to Elizabeth over at The Law Student's Cookbook by June 15, 2013. Her blog hooked me with food inspired by movies. Yes and Yes.

Naturally, I received my package all the way from Florida. And you guessed it...lots of fruit, which I can't complain about since I LOVE fruit and all things fruit related. My package came from Leslie over at Training for Life.

Without further ado...

1. Rickland Orchard Greek Yogurt Bars, where have you been all my life? Seriously...hiding somewhere...oh yeah, in Florida or something. These were great and the Toasted Coconut was by far the best. 
2. The Trader Joes, Dried Soft and Juicy Mango fruit things were awesome. At first, I was weirded out by them. I have a thing, an obsession, whatever for mango right now, but I haven't had dried mango before. After three bites, I was hooked. In fact, I can only take out three of them at a time and then immediately put them away. They are THAT addicting.
3. Dried Blueberries from Trader Joes are great to add to salads (like cranberries) and that's what I have been doing. Very good.
4. The Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps (Tuscan Three Cheese) were good. They were a bit saltier than I expected, but what pretzel isn't? Again, I have to eat a couple and then put away or I would finish a whole bag in one setting. 

Thank you again Leslie for a wonderful package from Florida. If you want to join next month, then visit The Lean Green Bean.