With A Little Help From My Friends (and Family)

This past weekend was bittersweet. Emotions ran the gamut of sheer bliss at crossing the triathlon finish to sorrow and fervent prayerfulness for the Masseys as they watch their husband/dad/friend/brother/coach Ronny prepare to pass away. I also learned Saturday evening that one of my co-workers, DeWayne, was admitted to the emergency room that morning with blood clots in his lungs. He was coded three times and is currently in intensive care. Many prayers are needed around here!

Mom sent me off to Huntsville Friday a.m. with a true breakfast of champions: French toast, fruit and coffee from Another Broken Egg Café.

When I made it to the Massey’s in the early afternoon, I was surprised at how calm the house was. It seemed like Katie’s brother Matt, mom Ace and aunt and uncle were steadying themselves by focusing on what they could do: eat, talk with the nurse, and make Mr. Ronny as comfortable as possible. I’m amazed at how deeply this family loves one another, and how they trust the Lord. To give Katie a break, I took her to the movies to see Eat, Pray, Love. A call from the nurse had us rushing back to the house before the movie ended because he thought it was Mr. Ronny’s time. Please pray for this precious family. This is a sweet, somewhat recent picture of Katie with her dad.

I spent Friday evening with the Reynolds. Cat and Jon are newlyweds who moved to Huntsville a couple months ago to start their new life together. Although I miss seeing Cat every day at work, our lunch outings and her precious friendship, I’m happy that she’s doing well. Cat made a delicious spaghetti casserole, homemade bread and sautéed zucchini for dinner. Afterwards, Jon refreshed me on the game o f Backgammon and then I headed off to bed pretty early to prepare for my 4:50 a.m. wake-up call.

Fresh-baked sour dough bread. YUM!

The race was great, but I was honestly preoccupied with thoughts of the Masseys. I knocked time off my swim and overall time finishing at 1:49:21. For next year I’ll continue focusing on the swim, but add in some cycling. I only got to ride once on Blake’s bike and maybe rode a total of five times total in preparation for the race. My rear end is feeling it! :)

Here's Mandi, me (changed into race T-shirt), Suzanne, Karen, Heidi and her 3-month-old Lilly

I hauled back to the Murphrees’ in Huntsville, showered, went with Lmac to see Eat, Pray, Love for the second time (this time I saw the ending), and then took a long nap.

Here’s me and Miss Kylie after our naps.

And the Murphrees: Precious friends since college days!

The Tews celebrated my race finish Sunday evening with loads of gourmet food. I'm serious, these people know how to cook! Uncle Steve and Aunt Lisa were supposed to run in a 5K in Birmngham Satuday a.m., but the race (a Godsend) washed them out.

My uncle, the grill master.

Lis and Emme.

Me, Daisy and Elizabeth.

Grilled Filet Mignon,

Roasted potatoes,

Garlic bread, Caprese salad,

and a delicious yogurt parfait.

This weekend, I was reminded more than ever the value and gift of friends and family. Hope you have a blessed week and are able to enjoy some quality time with your own!

Sweet Rewards

I forgot to mention my reward for completing the tri this Saturday a.m....

time with this little angel:

I'll hop in the Silver Princess after finishing pics and snack time with the gang and haul back to Huntsville to spend the day/evening with one of my favorite families, the Murphrees. These pics of Kylie were taken almost five months ago. I can't wait to see how much she's changed and grown since then.

And Kyle - I'll make good on my promise to bake buttermilk pie for you this time!

Tri Fever

600 yd swim / 16.2 mi bike / 3 mi run

I'm headed up to north Alabama this weekend to catch up with dear friends and compete in the Guntersville Mountain Lakeshore Triathlon Saturday a.m. With a mainly flat course encircling beautiful Lake Guntersville, this was the perfect first triathlon two years ago. I'm looking forward to a (hopefully faster) redo this weekend. Below is a pic taken after 2008's finish; this year our group will feature a bevy of beauties including my buds Cat, Karen, Suzanne and Rebecca.

I've been filling up on fresh veggies, fruits, lots of water and whole grains. This tuna salad was last night's dinner and featured delicious cherry tomatoes from my co-worker Beth's backyard.

I've also discovered a new favorite protein bar: Luna! The Lemon Zest flavor is my favorite followed closely by Nutz over Chocolate. Yum!

Two years ago, I was just a prayer away from drowning in Lake Guntersville. Between the weeds, flailing arms and legs kicking me in the head, the blinding sunshine and my HORRIBLE form, I came extremely close to going to see my Maker. This year, I've had a wonderful swimming coach to get me in gear.

Dan Kamber has worked at Lakeshore Foundation for almost 10 years in aquatics and administration. Not only is he an incredibly patient coach (I'll be sporting a somewhat efficient freestyle Saturday instead of a dogpaddle/breast stroke), he's also an unbelievable swimmer. In just a few weeks, Dan will be moving to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO for a 2-year residency program which will hopefully get him ready for gold in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. I'm so proud of him but will miss my work buddy!

I'll be streaking around Guntersville in this sweet ride that I affectionately call "the highlighter." My own Trek fell ill with gear shift problems so Blake has offered to loan me her wheels for the weekend. Thanks Blake!

And, I would be remiss to not thank my friend Kelly for her support in the form of apparel. She's offered up her biking shorts and shirt so I don't have to purchase new ones.

On a separate note, I'll be thinking of Ronnie Massey, the father of my dear friend Katie, while I'm racing Saturday. About two months ago, Mr. Massey woke up with a sharp pain in his femur. Following a series of tests, he learned that he has Stage 4 bone cancer. The Massey family has opted for hospice over chemo and are enjoying each day they have together. Please pray for the them as they go through this difficult time. I'm excited to share part of Friday with Katie and hope our time together will be an encouragement to her.

That Which Satisfies

"Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live."

Isaiah 55:1-3

Fresh 'n Healthy Taco Salad

This summer has been all about experimenting with fresh ingredients - veggies, fruits, organics. Whole Foods has become my new hang out, and I'm really feeling the effects of a healthier diet; I've dropped some lbs, am sleeping better and am able to power through my triathlon training workouts. This is a delicious, fresh weeknight meal I was able to share with the Joneses. Instead of heavy, caloric dressing, I spritzed on some lime juice.

Seaside Rugged Mature English Cheddar is a flavorful, sharp cheese that is best freshly grated.

I sliced up half of an avocado into thin strips.

Used Garden of Eatin' Blue Chips - another new staple.

Browned 2/3 lbs of locally raised ground beef with a pinch of salt, and chili powder. We couldn't find cumin, but if you have some on hand, it's nice to add 1/4 tsp of that as well.

We also sliced up some Blackjack tomatoes into eighths and plated all the ingredients.

Delicious!

Whimsicals

These are a few of my most recent favorite things:

Baby Rollins.

I'm in love! He turned one month this week. Who knew babies could be so much fun!

Anthropologie's Seahorse mugs ($10/each): http://www.anthropologie.com/

Free Amy Butler patterns. I love this Mid Mod Quilt pattern: http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/pdfs/Amys_Mid_Mod_Quilt.pdf

This trench coat pattern is NOT free, but HAVE to make it. So cute!

Blabla dolls. A special little lady under a year old will get one of these in the mail box very soon:

http://www.blablakids.com/

Clementine the Monkey
Prudence the Owl

Love Happens: What a little joy. This rental stayed at my house six days too long and was actually re-rented yesterday by my roommate. I highly recommend this unexpectedly poignant flick starring my favorite gal.

Simple Cotton Curtains

My bedroom is a sea of white: white comforter, white shabby chic dresser, eggshell chairs and accessories. To break up the monotony, I wanted to pull out some blue from my teal wicker lounge chair. Easy panel curtains in a cheery blue proved to be the perfect enhancement to grace my single window.

This project was SO easy that anyone who has beginner-level sewing experience could do it.

First, I measured my window and found it to be 34x60 inches.

Cahaba Heights' In the Making has adorable cotton fabrics so I purchased 2 ½ yards of this bright blue print.

I cut out two 20x63 inch panels allowing enough room for 1-inch hems on the sides and bottoms

Then I measured, pressed and sewed down the side and bottom hems. Precise measurements are essential to assure both panels are exactly the same.

For the top portion of the curtains, I folded and sewed down 1.5 inches leaving enough room to slide the rods through.

I then slid the curtains on to the curtain rods.

And hung them up.

Don't look too closely to this picture; you may see how filthy my windows look!

See how easy this was? I knocked it out in two and a half hours while watching New Moon and eating taco salad with my roommate! A perfect Monday night project.