Whirlwind!

Hi friends-- Sorry for my absence of late. It has been an absolutely crazy spring! We just wrapped up seven nearly consecutive weeks of visitors. Combine that with bi-weekly business travel and trying to squeeze in those um, super fun triathlon workouts, and the result is not a whole lot of free time for blog posting or, you know... cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, eating, sleeping, or generally taking care of business. This Thursday I am heading west to meet my sis in Seattle and then drive up to Vancouver for her bachelorette party. But, upon my return, I promise to get back to more regular posting. Get excited for recaps on:

• A visit from my best girlfriends from college
• Visits from both sets of our parents
• Bluebonnets galore: spring in Austin!
• Final stretch of the triathlon training
• The bachelorette party (duh)
• And, travel plans for our upcoming trip to South Africa in June!

Lots of exciting stuff to share... stick with me as I wrap up one more crazy week!

Love/Hate

Well, it's probably time for an update on the triathlon training. It's been going... OK. Not surprisingly, it's been tough to stick to my (very) aggressive schedule of 5 workouts a week. Combine that with an extremely busy spring with visitors in town nearly every weekend and lots of work travel, and I find myself skipping workouts pretty regularly and worrying that I am am barely going to be able to cross the finish line on June 6th, let alone achieve my goal time.

But. But. When I do get out there for my workouts (at least 3 times a week and often 4 times), I can definitely see that my cardio endurance and overall strength is improving. I'm getting faster at both swimming and biking. And I am successfully avoiding my typical running-related joint problems by only gradually increasing my pace and trying to be diligent about doing my knee strengthening exercises, IT band stretching, and icing afterward.

Of course, in addition to the challenge of finding time to fit the workouts in, I (like 98% of the human race) also struggle with maintaining my motivation. I have a love/hate relationship with exercise. Once I am about 50% through a workout, I love it. And I especially love it when I'm done. I love the rush of endorphins afterward. I love that it makes me feel more confident, calm, and positive about life in general, while also helping me reduce stress and sleep better. I love that a good workout motivates me to eat well for the rest of the day (while skipping a workout has the opposite affect... funny how that works.) I love feeling strong and powerful and vibrant, and (not gonna lie) I love being able to fit into my skinny jeans while still enjoying dessert on a regular basis.

But, I hate the feeling of dread I have at the end of the work day, when I know I still need to cross a 45 minute ride off my list (ahem, today). And I hate waking up at 5:40am several times a week to squeeze in a circuit training class (ahem, tomorrow) or a swim AND a run before work because I know that about 70% of the time that I plan to workout after work, it just doesn't happen. I also hate that sometimes I have to choose between a workout and having a relatively orderly house because there are just not enough hours in the day to do everything, and guess what? After I've put in an hour and a half at the gym and battled traffic home, the laundry just isn't going to get washed, folded, and put away. Let's be honest, doing a limited amount of housework on a work night is a struggle for me even when I haven't spent any time at the gym!

Sigh.

But, this triathlon (although totally a short, beginner race) is something that is more or less on my "bucket list" and I am choosing to keep putting one foot in front of the other (literally and figuratively), so that I can get out there on June 6th, finish the race, and feel good about the fact that I really did give it my best shot. I just need to stay focused for a little more than 6 weeks. (This the part where I emphatically tell myself, "Yes! I can do it!")

I have now sufficiently psyched myself up for my bike ride tonight such that I know I won't come up with a reason to back out. So thank you for listening.

Beef: It's what's for dinner

Along with pork ribs, brisket, and chicken... Vegetarians, this post is not for you.

A few weeks ago, Jason and I found ourselves with a free Saturday afternoon, and somehow he convinced me to make the mother of all Texas BBQ treks. He begs to go have barbecue on a bi-weekly basis, and I usually turn him down. I can only eat meals that are entirely comprised of three to four different types of spicy, greasy meat about once every 2-3 months. But this particular afternoon I gave in. We consulted our Austin Zagat guide and decided to try Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que in Llano.

We looked at a map to figure out where Llano was and set off. We could tell it was a ways outside the city, but figured it was probably about a half hour or so into the hill country. It wasn't until we'd been driving for over 4o minutes, wondering when we were going to start smelling the barbecue, that we decided to plug the address into the GPS. Um, yeah. Turns out Llano is 75 miles away from Austin. I am not entirely clear how Cooper's made it in the Austin Zagat guide. But that is neither here nor there.

When we finally arrived, an hour and a half later, we could tell we were definitely the city slickers amidst some real Texans. This was no Salt Lick-- no tourists, no scenic hill country views, no quaint split rail fences, and definitely no Austin yuppies (except us.)

The protocol was simple. Roll up to the giant pit barbecue, hold out your plastic school cafeteria tray (the sanitation of which was somewhat in question), point at the meat you want, and watch as they dunk it in a massive vat of sauce and then plop it directly on the plastic tray. We then picked out some sides in little plastic containers, went through the cafeteria style check-out line, and found ourselves a spot amongst the locals at some long tables with benches. We ripped a piece of butcher paper off a large, communal roll, and served ourselves our meat of choice on the butcher paper. No plates needed here.

Delicious, yes. Scenic, no.

We definitely got some looks from the locals. Turns out most patrons at Coopers don't wear skinny jeans and ruffly J. Crew tops whilst enjoying their pork ribs. And the decor lacked a little finesse. But it sure was tasty.

(I can't help but wonder if some of the wall decor was once dinner...)

OK, so not the cutest pictures of either me or J, but it was a Texas experience we'll always remember. Definitely worth the three hours round trip and full tank of gas. Only in Texas, my friends. Only in Texas.

SXSW Girls' Weekend

I'm baaaaack! And I've got pictures. Lots of 'em. Around the time I last wrote, we were in the midst of South by Southwest, a huge music / film / interactive festival and tradeshow that takes over the entire city of Austin each March for 10 days, and three of my best girlfriends from Seattle were about to arrive for an epic Austin girls' weekend. Austin did not disappoint.

A few highlights: avocado margs and pollo con mole at Curra's, strolling up and down South Congress perusing the boutiques and vintage stores (I finally found a sweet pair of vintage, totally broken-in cowboy boots), lots of sun and a little pool time, 4 consecutive nights of live music, drinks by the pool at the Hotel San Jose, a drive through the Beverage Barn to pick up beer (it's literally a drive through liquor store-- gotta love Texas) en route to The Salt Lick where we enjoyed finger lickin' good barbecue (and where BYOB is mandatory, hence the trip to the Beverage Barn), and, finally, gospel brunch at Threadgill's. Doesn't get more Austin than that.

Lora, me, Ellen, and Sarah in front of the Driskill hotel, on our way into to see a SXSW show.

And later that night, we ran into a random troupe of hula hoopers. They let us hula for a minute.

Walking home one night... this, um, iconic neon sign graces our neighborhood every evening after dark. J was a good sport and hung with the girls a few of the evenings.

And, a trip to Austin isn't complete without enjoying a frosty beverage at the swanky Hotel San Jose's poolside bar. Sporting my new boots here!

A fantastic weekend. Makes me miss my girls. Can't wait to do it again... and lucky me, we have 3 more sets of guests coming this spring, so we'll get to show off our city a few more times.

Tri Training

So I bit the bullet a few weeks ago and put my money where my mouth is-- can I fit anymore cliches into this sentence?-- and registered for the Danskin Women's Triathlon. On June 6th, I'll be swimming a half mile (800 m), biking 12 miles, and then running 3.1 miles as fast as my legs will carry me. Currently, that's not very fast, but I'm working on it. Following is a sample of my weekly training schedule. (Keep in mind that the distances get longer each week...)

Monday: 60 minute circuit training/weight lifting class

Tuesday: Swim 20 minutes (roughly a 5 minute warm up, followed by a 1000 yd. swim); run 25 minutes

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: Bike 30 minutes; run 20 minutes; abs

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Swim 35 minutes

Sunday: Bike 45 minutes

I've been having some trouble with my left knee, as well as shin splints-- both of these ailments flare up any time I start running more than about once a week. So I'm contemplating cutting the work outs back to only 4 times a week instead of 5, and maybe subbing some of the runs for the elliptical trainer. But, overall I'm feeling good about my training so far. I've been fairly disciplined, and am definitely already seeing good progress in my swimming speed and my overall cardiovascular capabilities.

The only thing is... I've discovered I could really stand to invest in some padded bike shorts. Last weekend's 75 minute ride on bumpy terrain in lycra workout pants... Yowza!!

Update to Friday's embarassment

I am 99% sure that in addition to getting his hair trimmed, my (straight) boss also got his eyebrows waxed on Friday afternoon when I bumped into him at the salon. Definitely not feeling so bad anymore! I'm pretty sure we'll both be putting this little episode behind us, never to be spoken of again.

This will make you feel better...

For all of you who have ever had a really embarassing moment at work, and even just those of you who can't stand your jobs... this will make you feel better:

Yesterday, after a hellacious week full of turmoil at my company (the kind of turmoil that results in layoffs and potentially impacts my ability to receive a regular paycheck... more on that later), I decided to duck out of work early and get the weekend started. However, I decided to stop at the spa near our office on the way home and get-- full disclosure here because I am trying to make you feel better about yourselves at my own expense-- a bikini and a lip wax. A girl's got keep up on her maintenance... I'm just sayin'.

So I take care of my business and head up to the counter to pay. When I turn around, who do I run into? If you said "your 34 year old male boss," then BINGO! As my husband pointed out, he might have been a little embarassed being caught as the only male in an Aveda spa to get his hair trimmed (high maintenance much?), but let's review the facts here:

It is apparent that I've ditched work early since it's only 5:15 and I'm already paying for my treatments

AND

wait for it...

My upper lip is BRIGHT RED, thus giving away the fact that I ditched work early not to go shopping, not to hit up happy hour, not to go home and take a nap... oh, no, my friends. I ditched work early to GET MY LIP WAXED.

There was really no way to avoid a conversation with him, so we had a nice awkward exchange:

Me: "Hey, what are you doing here?!?" (Ferverishly trying to position myself so the sun glaring in through the window doesn't further accent the raw, red skin on my freshly waxed lip.)

Him: "Oh, just getting a trim.... You're just finishing up here?"

Me: "Uh, yep, well uh..."

Him: "Well, have a great weekend..."

Me: "Yeah, you too!" (Bolting out of the salon as fast as I can.)

Sigh. See? Your embarassing work moment isn't so bad, is it? Yeah, thought so.