A Cooking Deal

Tonight at dinner I made a deal with my parents. Once a week I am going to cook dinner. For those of you who don't know my mom she is a control freak. I love her dearly but she wants things done a very particular way. You all know those people who ask you for help but while doing whatever it is they asked you to do they come and take it over anyways, that is my mom. So after I proposed this topic she already told me what I would be making on Wednesday but she did promise that after this week she would have no input and I could decide what to make. Now please don't think that I am turning this blog into a remake of Julie and Julia, which I loved! I am simple attempting something new which was part of my resolutions for the new year. While I enjoying hosting I am terrible cook. Terrible in the way that I once baked a cake with vinegar. In my defense the birthday girl absolutely loved it and ate the whole thing because it really gave it a lemon zing! Regardless of how terrible a cook I am I do love food. Really, really love food. One of my most shameful secrets is that I have the ability to eat two Chipotle burritos in one sitting. Please don't judge me I am really not proud to admit this. So this is my attempt at trying something different that will combine a lacking talent with a passionate interest and I will keep you all posted on how it goes. Please, please give me recipe ideas!

One day I can only hope to be able to make something like this...

What movie is this from???

What kind of year? A Year to Run a Half Marathon

This weekend I ran my first half marathon. I landed in Phoenix on Friday morning and had two days to relax until the big race on Sunday morning. So of course, being that Friday is the only night we have to go out we decided that we should take full advantage of it. After party crashing a party that my brothers friends were hosting we decided to try out the lifestyle of ASU. If you ever go to Tempe, Arizona spend at least 30 minutes as "The Big Bang: Dueling Piano Bar." It was by far the coolest thing that Tempe has to offer. ASU definitely has a bad rep (At least what I have heard) however, it was a lot more fun then I imagined. By 1 that morning I was ready to go home and go to bed. After getting into a cab it became very clear that me and Chris did not have a clue of where we are going and the cab driver decided to completely take advantage of that. Our 40 dollar half hour cab ride ended in a 70 dollar hour cab ride. I am going to have to take full responsibility for this scam because as soon as I got into the cab the comfortable leather seats and the hardness of the window pillow called to me and I curled up and fell asleep, leaving Chris with little help of direction.

Waking up bright and early Saturday was not fun but my first expo was quite the experience and really helped me get "pumped" for the big race. Biggest bonus of the day was the matching ninja sweat protector headbands that both me and my brother bought to protect the seat from our eyes. Honestly, we looked sweet. Due to our lack of sleep from the night before we were sent to bed by 10 pm by Dr. J with no complaints, to be honest, I am pretty sure I skipped.

As soon as my alarm went off on Sunday morning I immediately regretting signing up in the first place. We arrived an hour before which gave me plenty of time to freak out. As the time flew by we go in line at corral number 17. With 26,000 runners we still had to wait another 30 minutes till we got to actually cross the the starting line. When we finally got up to the front and finished shouting at Senator John McCain, who was waving at his elbows God bless him, the count down started and we were off. To my complete surprise we were able to fully complete the half marathon in 2:27 and were able to run the whole thing which was a miracle to say the least. Running across the finishing line was by far the coolest thing that I have ever accomplished. Even though you are basically dying you feel completely energized and that you can do anything.

Since my first marathon I am on a runners kick and am going to attempt to try become a much better and more serious runner. I also realized that physically and mentally you are probably capable of way more then you think. 2010: A Year For Trying New Things.