Wednesday, November 10, 2010

PCBC Women's Touch Dinner

Last night I attended the Women's Touch Dinner at Park Cities Baptist Church.  My friend, (and co-worker's wife) Ashley Pope, was the "hostess with the mostess."  The dinner was themed around how we are called to be Christ's 'salt and light' to the world.  Each table was decorated by the hostess and then dinner was served by men of the church.  John, her husband served our table.  After the table viewing and dinner, a few women gave their testimonies on what it meant for them to be 'the salt and the light.'

It was a lovely night and the tablescapes (not to be all 'Sandra Lee' on you) were fabulous.
Our table - Willy Wonka decor
I found the golden ticket!
Ashley & me
Ashley & John Pope
*Click any photo to enlarge.

Ina Garten Comes to Dallas!

For those of you who do not know, I am a HUGE Ina Garten fan.  She is the 'Barefoot Contessa' chef on Food Network.  I have watched probably every one of her episodes (sad, I know), have all her cookbooks, and just love her recipes! 

Ina emailed me about a month ago letting me know that she was coming to Dallas for a book signing at my local Williams-Sonoma and hoped I would be there. Yes, we are on a first-name basis.  I jumped at the opportunity to stand in line for two+ hours with all her other Dallas-based fans (my co-worker, Meredith Hubble included) to get my book signed.

Finally in WS, Ina was in sight and my heart pounded with anticipation (I'm a huge dork, I know).  She was every bit as lovely in person as she is on tv, thanked me for coming, and I shared with her that I had already made the sea-salt caramels from her new book and loved them.  She responded 'Oh, I'm so glad you enjoyed them'.  I should have told her I used really good sea salt!

She was in Dallas all of two hours for the signing, and by now, she's probably back with Jeffrey in the Hamptons. I'm still waiting on my dinner invitation.
 
Making sea salt caramels

I covered some in chocolate...really good chocolate

Final product - wrapped up like candy and delicious!

Ina was wearing her signature color - black
That's Meredith to my right (Ina's the one at the table)

The signed book - worth the wait!
How easy was that?!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

The Tale of Two Bikes (...or three, or four, or five...)

The Beginning
In the beginning, Will and Melanie bought two hybrid bikes to leisurely ride around town **together**.  Trek hybrid's did the trick and looked a little something like this:

Trek Bontrager Hybrid

After a few freezing cold bike rides in Lincoln, Melanie decided that bike riding should be enjoyable, so she 'hung up her shoes' for the winter.  Meanwhile, Will signed up for a triathlon class at the local YMCA.  Ten minutes later, he officially became an addict.

In short, the leisurely rides that the young couple was to enjoy together came to an abrupt end. 

The Middle
In the spring of 2007 in Norfolk, Nebraska Will participated in his first sprint triathlon (and also got his first pair of spandex shorts... little did we know that he would prefer spandex to real clothes!).

First triathlon and spandex experience
After a few races, Will gets a Trek Madone road bike for his birthday and the races get longer and more intense.  Melanie continues to be the supportive wife, spectator, and runner.


Prairie Man

Athens Triathlon: With Trek Madone

Texas Man - happy in spandex and neoprene

Texas Man pre-swim
Melanie's First Triathlon - on the Trek Hybrid
Will's second 70.3 - Redman Triathlon


Nowhere Near the End
On a recent trip to Plano Cycling to get a spare tire for Will's bike trainer, somehow we ended up walking out with these beauties:

Kuota K Factor TT Bike
It went a little something like this:

Will: Look Melanie, two Kuota tri-bikes on sale, carbon and exactly what I need for my race in June.  And they are on sale!  Only two left and they happen to be our size.

Melanie: Fine, I guess we could at least try them out and take a quick test-ride, but we AREN'T BUYING ANY MORE BIKES.

Will: I know, I know, but it won't hurt to take a test ride to see if they fit.

Melanie: Fine.

Ten minutes later, we are at the checkout. Ask me how these things happen...


And the fourth bike in 3 years (I failed to mention that he got a Trek mountain bike, too)

Melanie's first "real" bike
 
Happy on the new TT

In closing, I will say that I'm very glad that we got TT bikes, we have actually ridden them together (since I can kind-of keep up with Will) and I'm actually thinking of signing up for another race. Oh, and I have a beautiful blue Trek Hybrid for sale if anyone is interested.

Lance, it's all about the bike!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Linda Comes to the "Big D"

All her bags were packed,
She's ready to go,
She's standing there, outside my door.

What a lovely weekend, Mom came to visit me.  I didn't realize how long it had been since I last saw her, too long!  We spent the weekend mostly shopping and running and eating, all very fun things.  Not much is needed for this post, just loved having my mom in town.

"Mother" is such a simple word,
But to me there’s meaning seldom heard.
For everything I am today,
My mother’s love showed me the way.
I’ll love my mother all my days,
For enriching my life in so many ways.
She set me straight and then set me free,
And that’s what the word "mother" means to me.
 
Before a run - I must mention that we ran 8:40 minute miles :)
Linda enjoying Real Simple ... the best magazine in the world.

After church - HPUMC

Monday, September 27, 2010

Redman Triathlon, OKC

REDMAN
We went to OKC this weekend for a Half Ironman triathlon, the Redman.  I think they named it the 'Redman' because the lake has red clay but it could also be because the athletes become 'red men' once they finish the race!  Will neglected to wear sunscreen so his tan lines are pretty hilarious.

Will did fantastic and placed 11th in his age group out of 30 people and 80th out of 227 people overall!  His time improved 35 minutes from his last H.I.M. so that was a huge confidence booster for him.  I volunteered during the race while I waited to see Will transition and got to put the finisher's medal around his neck at the finish line.

And they're off!
I finished before Will!

Off for a 56 mile bike ride

Off for a half marathon run

Finished!!!!
And... ice bath!
Great race, great trip (no flat-tires or other incidents like last time!) and lovely weather. Proud of you, Will!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Cooler Days and College Football

Ahh...September.  The beginning of cooler weather (unless you live in Dallas) and college football!

NORTH TEXAS GEORGIA TECH ALUMNI CLUB
An exciting thing happened this year - I involved us in the North Texas Georgia Tech Alumni Club.  I say 'I involved us' because I am signing Will up for events with me, he really has no choice.  We decided to attend a meeting in July because it was being held at an alumna's house about two blocks away from where we live.  Usually the 'Dallas' events are outside of 635, so we have not been going.  But, since this meeting was so close to us, we went and are glad we did.  We met some very nice GT alumni, and one of the women there was on the GT gymnastics team with me (and it turns out that she and her husband, who is also a lawyer, live on our street).  Small world. But, the best thing about the meeting was that I met my running buddy, Ashleigh.  She took over as President of the NTGT club and has done a great job of
A:  Improving my running time by more than a minute/mile (thanks Ashleigh!) and
B:  Planning events for the alumni in Dallas
*Not to mention that she's been a great friend :)

PAINTING WITH A TWIST
The first event with the GT Alumni Club was for the ladies in Dallas; we went to Painting With a Twist (PWAT).  http://ntxgtclub.weebly.com/photos---painting-with-a-twist.html
I had a lot of fun and met some nice GT women who live in the area.  It goes without saying that I was the only ID major, and one of only two non-engineers.  PWAT was AWESOME!  The class is taught over the course of two hours and is very easy and fun. All you have to do is follow some simple instructions and drink wine if you like.  We painted a peacock in this class and mine turned out a bit more 'free form' than most everyone else at my table (again, please note that I was with engineers, so imagination is limited - a straight line means a straight line!).  I did learn a few things that night that I would probably not have learned had I not attended, such as electronic circuits are built on single pieces of silicon now, versus separate pieces.  This is why all our electronics get smaller and smaller -- they used to build each circuit on individual pieces of silicon.  Thank you Bahavna for that information (Masters from Tech in Electrical Engineering, currently working at TI... or in other words, very smart).  I also got to sample a glass of the Range Reserve Chardonnay '10.  This is a special wine that is only available from Ashleigh and Brad's house - he makes his own beer, red wine, and white wine.  I was most impressed with the presentation; he had a corking machine or something just like wine from the store would have. He also made stick-on labels with the alcoholic content and everything, but then, why should I be surprised, Brad has a BS and a Masters in ME from Tech (again, another smart person).

GT Alumni Ladies
My Peacock, Henrietta
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH: GT VS KANSAS GAME WATCHING PARTY
I think it's easiest to sum up the game as Will said: 'We got Jay-hawked.' 

It looked as if the Jackets went into the game thinking that their #17 ranking was going to guarantee a win.  Well, it didn't.  The only thing that it guaranteed was a messy, embarrassing game.  But that didn't stop us from going to Fox & Hounds (in a very sketchy part of town, the only place that would dedicate a room to the Tech game!) and cheering on the Jackets.  We chatted with Ashleigh and Brad and other fellow alumni who showed up.  Ironically, I met a woman who's sister was one of my Phi Mu sorority sisters --- again, small world!

Ashleigh & Brad
MGT '04 + ID '05 = Lowest SAT scores in the room

Even though we lost, we can confidently say that 'our athletes are smarter than yours!'  If you haven't seen the GT commercial for this season, check it out at the link below:
http://www.gatech.edu/music/psa.html
I believe it was Ashleigh who pointed out that the commercial features a woman, and music --- see, Tech is well-rounded! hahaha

Monday, August 30, 2010

'B' Is For Bridgeport, Bart & Brenda

OFF TO BRIDGEPORT
What an adventurous weekend we had!  The HHH (Hotter 'n Hell 100) bike ride was this weekend so Friday after work we headed out of town with both bikes packed in the back of my car.  You may be thinking "Now why would you take apart your bikes and pack them in Melanie's car when Will has a bike rack on his Jeep?"  Well, we decided it would be more reliable to take my car since Will's is not fit for the highway (or really fit for anything!) anymore.  Did you notice the key word *** reliable***.  Bridgeport, Texas, here we come!

THE MISFORTUNE
Upon checking in the La Quinta hotel at 6:30 pm, I talked Will into taking me to Subway for dinner.  He was reluctant because we wouldn't get to bed until about 7:30 pm if we left our room.  But, begrudgingly, I aroused him out of the room and to the car.

Enter irony.

So, pulling out of the parking lot of the La Quinta in my reliable car, Will missed the road slightly and hit a giant bump and we heard a bad noise.  Yes, we had a flat, almost shredded tire.  At this point, Subway was out (I was sad and hungry) and we had to figure out how to fix a flat tire on a Friday night in Bridgeport and be up and ready to go at 3:00 am the next morning for our race.

We were able to pull into the parking lot of an AutoZone to assess the damage - not good.  I called Roadside Assistance and was told it would be an hour before someone would get to us, so Will decided to try to figure out how to change the tire himself (if you are laughing right now, I was too but only in my head).  Luckily, a very nice Hispanic man offered to change our tire for a few dollars and a deal was struck.  I cancelled the call to Roadside Assistance.  The spare tire was low on air pressure and we needed a jack, and conveniently, Mr. Hispanic had one at his house 'around the corner.'  So without consulting me, Will hopped in the truck with Mr. Hispanic and left me in the parking lot of the AutoZone.  I waved goodbye to him, wondering if I'd ever see my husband again.

A few minutes later they returned with a jack and a fully-inflated tire.  I breathed a sigh of relief.  Mr. Hispanic put on our spare tire and the second the jack was removed from the car I heard air leaking out.  Mr. Hispanic looked at us and said "No bueno."  We had a hole in our spare tire.  No, I'm not kidding.  I made another call to Roadside Assistance and was told that this time, to get a tow truck it was going to take an hour and a half. Great.

OUR SAVIORS
At this point we were pretty much giving up on making it to our race the next morning.  Feeling hopeless, a nice young man walked out of the store and started talking to Will.  The guy introduced himself as 'Amon' and he just happened to own a concrete company and knew a 'tire guy' personally who may be able to help us out.  I cancelled Roadside Assistance again.  Not even 15 minutes later a dualie pulled into the parking lot and a man in grey sweatpants tucked into cowboy boots and a voluptuous woman with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth popped out of the truck.

Bart and Brenda, our saviors.

Even though they owned a tire company that services 18 wheeler-type trucks, they just happened to have a tire that would fit my car back at their shop. Keep in mind that it is about 8:00 pm on a Friday night now. We piled into the truck with them, Brenda had to drive because Bart had surgery that day and was under anesthesia and wasn't allowed to drive yet (but yet he could still operate heavy machinery and change a tire??) and went to get the tire at their shop.  We got to know our new friends a bit that night and they were lovely people and we sure were glad they could help us.  At their shop, Will and I watched with amazement at how quickly Bart was able to change a tire and Bart looked at us and said 'Yall sure are city folk.' Yes, we are Bart. 

On the ride back to my car, new tire in tow, Bart said "Yall know Amon's last name?  It's Cox, but I just call him 'Long'."  We started cracking up... good times, good times.  Bart put on our new tire and we waved them goodbye and said many, many thank you's. 

After this adventure and meeting so many nice people Will was ready to 'hang a shingle' in Bridgeport, Texas.  He would already have two clients - a concrete company and a tire shop ;)

Proof that Will tried to change the tire - he looks scared and happy at the same time.
HHH 100
Three o'clock am rolled around and we were on the road to Wichita Falls for the race.  We made it there successfully and actually ran into a guy from our gym back home, Jonathan, who was also riding.  Will and Jonathan rode together for part of the race (they both did the 100 mile) and I rode in the back with the old people, fat people, and kids (I did the 25 mile).  The race was really fun and the weather was perfect, at least for me.  My ride was senic and even went through an air force base and the air force guys were cheering us on and we got to see some of their jets.  I finished up my 25 mile ride with ease and took a shower then waited for Will.  He rolled in around 12:25 pm, exhausted.  The wind picked up and the heat picked up towards the later part of his ride and pretty much beat him down.  But he finished and still made good time.

We did a bit of shopping at the expo, headed home to Dallas (praying that no more tires would pop) and recounted the events of the night before in Bridgeport.  Someone was really looking out for us.  Vowing never to let my tires get that bald again, we made it home safely.

HHH 2010
All in all, the trip was a success and we learned our lesson.  Sunday afternoon we took my car to NTB, now I have four new tires and a new spare - who said $1,100 can't buy you peace of mind?