Studio

I've just added a new art piece to my online studio ... a painting I did at a recent ArtLoveMagic event in Dallas.

On The Run

Ran a 5K this morning with a time of 27:03, 8th in my age group. I was a little tired because I had taken allergy meds that morning, so I wonder if my time might have been lower sans the medicine. The weather was great, a touch of chill in the air and clear skies. The shirts were cool, and proceeds from the event went towards a group called Citizens Development Center, a nonprofit agency that exists to empower men and women with disabilities to achieve their highest level of employability and ultimately their highest level of independence.

On The Run

Ran a 5K this morning with Faith. It was a smaller race. The course was extremely hilly, and it was fairly warm ... a very typical August morning ... there was a gorgeous sunrise, though. Time: approx 29:30, didn't get an exact time. Proceeds from the event went to help out a teacher and his family.

On the Run

Ran another 5K this morning. Still extremely out of shape; what else is new? In fact, I was 13th in my age group. Time was approximately 29:06. (started late, but this turned out to be kinda cool since I spent the race passing other runners). We received some nifty tank tops AND a baseball cap; gotta love that! The Protective Animal League (PAL) was the beneficiary of this race.

Backyard in Bloom

It's so beautiful outside with spring here. I'm so excited because my roses are in bloom. Though I am still having trouble with one that keeps getting yellow leaves ... possibly because of all the rain and it's just not as healthy as the other.

Here are pics:





And my dog, Allie, was getting jealous that I was paying more attention to the roses than to her so I got a couple of pics of her, as well ...

Your Linguistic Profile:

65% General American English 20% Dixie 10% Yankee 0% Midwestern 0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Art Love Magic

I went to one of the Art Love Magic events this weekend and I heard an amazing musician named Iris. She plays such beautiful pieces!! You can hear her online at www.myspace.com/irisleu

Also, several of my friends were doing live painting at this same event:
April event

Greek Chicken

Recently I ordered 'Greek Chicken' at a local restaurant, and it was so good that I decided to attempt to cook it myself ... even though I'm not really much of a cook. So, tonight, armed with a few different recipes, I was able to cook my own version ... and it tastes somewhat similar to the version from the restaurant. Here it is (next time I will probably wait and add the spinach after the chicken is finished baking. Also, you can use fresh spinach; all I had at the time was the frozen).

ingredients

2 Tbsp xtra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
dash of salt and pepper
1 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of minced onions
1 piece of chicken breast, cooked
1 serving of frozen spinach, nuke for 2 minutes
a handful of black and green olives, whole or diced
1 serving of feta cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350º. If chicken is uncooked, then boil in pot of water covered for 12-14 minutes (I usually save the water for soup for another day). Cool.
2. Cut chicken into smaller pieces (or leave uncut) and put in a resealable bag. Add 1 Tbsp oil, 1 Tbsp lemon, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic and onions. Shake to coat well.
3. Spread 1 Tbsp oil and 1/2 Tbsp lemon to grease a small glass baking dish. Add Chicken. Sprinkle more oregano, lemon, garlic and onions.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Add nuked spinach, olives and cheese. Cook for five additional minutes.
5. Serve with white (or seasoned) rice and broccoli, lightly sauteed with butter.

Serves one.

Baseball

Thanks to my sister, I've become a huge baseball fan (though not as huge a fan as she is). And I am happy to report that baseball season is FINALLY upon us again. Anyways, here's a blog I found to track the Rangers (and yes, I am a devoted Texas Rangers fan).

http://mvn.com/mlb-rangers/

A Lot of Water

Last night it rained a lot here. The parks by my house were completely flooded. I found this photo on one of our local news sites that someone took of a lake near my house. All the walking paths and the bridge were underwater.

On the Run

Ran the St Paddy's Day 5K this morning. There was quite a large turnout of runners clad in green. We were also attempting a race with Faith's jogger for the first time. Such the workout with a jogger!! Time was approximately 28:15. (arrived too late to get our chip timers for an official race time). The t-shirts were completely COOL!!

:: photos ::

My niece put together a lovely bouquet ...
I took so many pictures of it!!

Treasures

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." John 10:27-29

It Actually Snowed in Texas

I am all astonishment!!

Texas Snow '08

On the Run

I participated in a 5K this weekend with my running buddy Faith: the Tal Morrison Classic 5K. My time was 27:36, an 8:53 mile pace, and I managed to get a 3rd place medal ... woohoo!! The weather was so perfect, cool with a touch of mist in the air ... very refreshing.

my morning in pictures

I spent the morning trying out the new camera.












We met a couple of friendly horses along the way.

On the Run

Ran the DRC 5K race this month, Our first race of '08. Ran at about 30:00 (not sure the exact time, cuz we didn't arrive at the starting line until about a minute after the race had begun, thus too late to pick up our runner numbers. Oh well). Lots and lots of room for improvement!!

exciting news

I'm so excited! I just purchased my very first digital camera. I know, better late than never. So, stay tuned for images from my future photo expeditions!! Just need to learn how to use it first.

New Years in Colorado

I spent a week near Wolf Creek, Colorado, recently with some friends. It was so beautiful and restful. Our rental cabin was sitting next to a frozen lake and we could see people ice fishing on the lake from time to time. And actually being in snow ... real snow ... was amazing! It was so deep, in some places the drifts were probably 2 feet deep! (which is probably not saying very much actually, but to me, a Texas girl, that's a pretty big deal! =)