Mi Cocina
I think most people judge a good Mexican food place by their salsa, but I judge them by their fajitas. Mi Cocina Mexican food restaurants are ALL over Dallas, and I’ve never been to one that I didn’t like. They cook their fajitas with potatoes, which I don’t eat, but it’s a little different. I like that they don’t over-cook the fajitas. Most places serve them so burnt that you can’t even enjoy them. You can get about 4 tacos from their servings, so that could probably even feed two people! If you are ever in Dallas area, make sure to try Mi Cocinas.
Flagpole Hill 8K
I did the Flagpole Hill 8K run this morning. The funny thing about this run, besides the fact that it is an 8K, is that it’s not at Flagpole Hill, but across the street at Norbuck. I guess that it just doesn’t sound as exciting to have a Norbuck Park Run. When I picked up my shirt, I asked the guy why it is an 8k. He told me that it started out as a run that went from one point to another and it just happened to be 8K, so when they moved it, they kept it as an 8K.
My goal was going to be to run 3 miles and then alternate walking/running. I had hoped I could make it a 10 minute pace and run for 30 minutes. Unfortunately, I’m still on Week 7 of Couch to 5K and that only has me running 20 minutes (and I’m really slow.) I made it 30 minutes, but that was only 2.89 miles. The heat, sun and slight inclines of the race KILLED me and I just couldn’t make it the full 3 miles. I’m not really disappointed though, because I did 30 minutes and that is still pretty good. My official time was 59.35.22. That was an 11.59 pace per mile. I was 257th place and 13th in my age group, (there were 17 in my age group, lol) and 113 female runner.
Next week I fully expect to be able to run a 5K, but for now, I am EXHAUSTED. We went swimming after the run and I think all the sun has me drained. I better go take another nap!
Start line
Genghis Grill
My mom and I went to eat at the Genghis Grill on Lemmon Avenue in Dallas tonight. She had never been there, so we thought it would be a fun place to try together. I really enjoy this place because I am a really picky eater and I get to choose which ingredients I want in my food. Another bonus about this location is that you don’t have to pay for parking. There is a garage underneath the building. The first floor was packed, so we parked on the lower level. The elevator lets out right at the grill. It was odd because we were the only ones in the restaurant when we got there. I think this place is always packed, but maybe with the holidays no one was out. It was nice to have the place to ourselves.
I learned the hard way that you have to heap the vegetables over the bowl. I made sure that my bowl would have had food dropping off the plate if I even attempted to add any more food. I got steak, shrimp, and scallops.
They cook all the food on this big grill. If you wanted to you could watch them cook your food. We just went and sat down and waited.
This is what my food looked like once it was cooked. I made two tacos with mine and then took the rest of the food home. I can’t wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow!!
FIRE! or maybe not
This morning I was violently awakened by a fire alarm in the building at 5:00 a.m. I’ve only done fire drills at school, so I was deathly afraid that the building was on fire. I jumped up, put on some shorts, grabbed my phone and ran down the stairs. I passed my mother who was eating her breakfast and then tapped my dad’s legs to wake him up as I ran out the door. Every man for himself is what I must have been thinking. I ran outside and across the street to get away from the building. After finally making it out the building in 30 seconds flat, I looked around and no one else had left the building. About 3 minutes later, people slowly made their way out and went and sat on the steps to the apartment. OMG, I’m across the street and they are sitting UNDER the supposed burning building. My mom finally made it out with her purse and my dad made it out a few minutes later with a cup of coffee. Finally, the firemen made it here, went through the building and determined it was a false alarm. Well, I guess I’m safe for now and I can now answer the age old question of what would you grab if your house was on fire.
Chihuly
I’ve been dieing to go to the Arboretum to see Chihuly and I finally got to go today. My mom, Katie and I had a great time walking through the gardens and looking at all the glass art and beautiful flowers. It was so cool. I hear that it’s really nice at night, so I hope I can go see it at night soon. After we walked through the gardens, we stopped and ate lunch and just relaxed. I’d love to just go out there and sit and do nothing. It’s so beautiful there.
Who KILLED their run today!!??
ME!! That’s who!! I only have 2 more weeks of Couch 2 5K left and I should be able to run a 5K straight. Today I ran 25 minutes straight. Unfortunately, the GPS on Endomondo wasn’t working right, so I estimate that I ran about 2.5 miles straight!! I found out that they also have a couch to 10K and a couch to 21K app, but I think I’ll be happy if I can just run a 5K. I love running on the Katie Trail because it’s basically a flat run. Wednesday, I’m running in an 8K run at White Rock Lake/Flagpole Hill. My plan is to run 3 miles straight, then walk/run the final part. My extremely athletic friend said he was glad I was going to run more because that meant he didn’t have to wait as long at the end of the race for me. Punk.
Katie-bug Lady bug
My beautiful niece turned ONE today! It’s hard to believe that she has been in our lives for only a year. She has brought so much joy to all of us. I love it when I can get a little smile out of her. I’m so excited about staying with my parents this week so she can get to know me better and hopefully want to let me hold her more!! My sister did a great job with the birthday party. The lady bug theme was perfect for her!!
The K with a lady bug was so cute. These were the best cookies. I usually don’t even care for cookies, but these were amazing!!
These were the cutest lady bug cookies.
Lady bug cupcakes with a giant lady bug smash cake. She didn’t smash it though. She’s very dainty like that.
The kids got little backpacks with goodies inside. The girls got lady bugs.
The boys got caterpillars. They ordered these through H&B sports at (214) 641-4897
H&B also made these cute embroidered matching shirts for mom and baby girl!
These were cute little appetizers. They are just crackers, herb cream cheese, cherry tomatoes cut in half, black olive halves, and decorating gel to make them look like little lady bugs. I helped decorate them.
Back to reality
Well, I’m back in Austin after a nice long weekend! I really had a great trip to Dallas! I got to spend a lot of time with my family and friends! Saturday night, I went to a party at one of my friend’s house. There was so much food there it was unbelievable! Mike brought two appetizers. One of his friends he grew up with shipped Slovanian Sausage to him from Wisconsin, so he made a little appetizer with that. I didn’t think I’d like Slovanian sausage, but it was really good. He also made bris/apple/bacon quesadillas. These were AMAZING!! I probably ate like 3 of them. I hope he makes those again.
Sunday, we had a perfect Easter. We went to breakfast at Cafe Brazil in Deep Ellum with my family and then Easter dinner at Mike’s parent’s house. We had lamb for Easter dinner that was to die for! I love all the good eating I did!! After I got back to my parents’ house from doing all this eating, I ended up walking on the Katy Trail. I walked from the American Airline Center to Central Expressway. It was a little under 8 miles and took me two hours. After that, I went with another friend to Wing Stop for dinner. I was afraid to get on the scale today, because I’m sure that was a five pound weekend!! I’ll get back on track this week!
Perfect day!
Yesterday was one of the best days I’ve had in a long time. I started out the day with a walk on the Katy Trail. That is one of my favorite things to do. One of these days I want to stop and eat at one of the restaurants they have there. There are two. I’ve been to the Katy Trail Ice House once and loved the atmosphere. There is a new restaurant called the Company Cafe that I still have to try.
When I got home, my mom and I went to meet my sister and her family out for lunch. We chose Maple and Motor as the place to go. I had been there once before, but no one else had. It’s a small little burger place at the corner of Maple and Motor Street. I am going to go out on a limb and say that’s where they got their name. They have one of the best burgers I’ve ever eaten.
Later that day, I went and got my hair cut. I went to Lure over in the West Village. We watched them as they were building the salon and worried that they weren’t going to make it when they first opened. That is definitely not the case now, as they have a loyal following. I barely got an appointment when I called a week in advance. I can see why they are doing so well, because they really do a great job and they pamper you! They will offer you a glass of wine while you wait to get your hair cut. They also have tea and water, but I opted for the wine.
A Leisurely Stroll on the Katy Trail
One of my favorite things about staying at my parents’ house is that they live so close to the Katy Trail. From the American Airlines Center to Knox street is right about six miles. Most of the trail has that rubberized surface, so it’s much easier on the body than walking on the concrete. Today I forgot to bring my new headphones, so I had no music, but I had fun “people watching” as I walked. I saw one lady wearing a skirt and shirt and smoking as she walked, there was a three legged dog keeping up with his family, and numerous women looked like they had probably married well. One time I was there, I overheard a woman announcing to her friend that she was pregnant. That one really amused me because she said she hadn’t told her family and one of the ladies she was with said, “I don’t even know you and I feel like I should give you a hug”. How odd to tell a total stranger before you tell your family!
Fabulous after FIFTY 