danskin womens tri

I just figured out how to get the pictures from the race so I wanted to post them. In June, Lindsay and I did our first triathlon! We did the Danskin Womens Tri in Austin Texas. It consisted of a 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, and a 3 mile run. It was so much fun. I was so proud of us, Lindsay finished FIRST in our division, and I finished fourth.

late nights

This past week was a busy week for me. The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale started on Friday, which means no days off and working long hours. In between work I had to find time to spend with Ryan and relax. Ryan was really sweet and brought home a box of gourmet chocolates that were really tasty. He also did some research and found out about this new thing they are doing at the Dallas Art Museum where they stay open till midnight on Friday nights. I was so excited because the museums usually close around 5 or 6 and we can never make it there in time. Our good friends Henry and Nana joined us. Some of the highlights - They had a Frank Gehry Easy Edges chair on display, designed 1970. What was even better is they had a replica of the Frank Gehry Wiggle chair and you actually could sit in it! I have always wanted to touch one of his pieces, and now I could. Another piece I thought was neat was done by Janine Antoni, tittled lick and lather. It was two self sculptures, one was made of chocolate and the other made from soap. She licked and washed away details on the face signifying ones perception of beauty in women. I had never heard of this artist before, I researched her later and she is an interesting character. The next night we went and saw Batman: The Dark Night. It was so good. Both Ryan and I really enjoyed it. I am a huge fan of Heath Ledger, he was such an amazing actor with so much talent. I enjoyed his phenomenal performance in Brokeback Mountain as well as his Joker role in Batman. It was an award winning performance. We highly recommend seeing it.

you scream i scream, we all scream for ice cream

Ryan and I got a new toy to help us get through the summer, an Ice Cream Maker! We have had our eye on this contraption for quite sometime and finally caved in and got it. We had to order it, so it just got delivered today. We are so excited that we had to break it in. The flavor I choose to make is one of my favorites, cake batter. I am sad to report it doesn't come close to the Chocolate Better Batter from Maggie Moos (the ice cream we served at the wedding) but it was pretty good. Here is the recipe:

1 cup half & half

3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup cake mix

Directions

Whisk the half & half and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla and then stir in cake mix (to avoid lumps sift in). Pour mixture into the freezer bowl and churn as directed by your machine.

weekend in Monterey

Although I have not traveled much, Monterey California is definitely at the top of my list for greatest places in the world. Ryan and I got to go for the fourth of July weekend, and we had so much fun. We flew in late Thursday night, and first stop on the list was In n Out, luckily they don't close tell 1:30am. I had not one but TWO burgers, fries and a strawberry shake! The next day we visited with family, and it was off to the golf course. My first time to golf all 18 holes! It was a bit long but we were right on the beach, so despite the fact that I played a horrible game of golf it was absolutely gorgeous and I enjoyed every minute of it. The next day we drove down to Carmel Valley to this tasty bistro Ryan found called Wickets it was inside Bernardus Lodge and Winery. The food was delicious, I had a crab cake to start, best I have ever had, and for my main course a piece of salmon on grilled asparagus with a caesar salad. It was my favorite meal the whole trip. After that we went to the beach and flew a kite or should I say we attempted to fly a kite. Ryan's Dad, Tom, brought this kite that was pretty high tech. It had two strings and you controlled which direction it flew by pulling the right or the left. Neither Ryan or I could get the hang of it, but Tom, he flew it beautifully. That night we stumbled across a Rite Aid. But this was no ordinary Rite Aid, it was a prior Thrifty's! Which means they carry Thrifty's Ice Cream. I LOVE Thrifty's ice cream. I got two scoops of the chocolate malt ball crunch. The next day was our last, we tried to cram as much as we could before our flight. We went for a bike ride along the coast down to Canary row and Monterey Pier. We enjoyed a cup of clam chowder, the best caramel corn, and a ghirardelli ice cream sunday. That was our trip in a nut shell, can't wait to go back! Thanks Tom and Annette for a wonderful weekend.