NaBloPoMo

Or, as John calls it, NaPoBloMe.

I made it! I had 30 posts in November, each unique and delicate as snowflakes. Profane, cheese-loving snowflakes.

I learned that this writing shit is hard, yo. I am not so good with forcing posts out. (That's what she said!) (Sorry.) But, when pressed, I can definitely come up with something to say every day. This should surprise no one, including my father, who once told me I didn't shut up my entire 7th grade year.

Sure, I might have back-dated a couple posts to meet the deadline. There were some throwaway posts in there. I had to pre-write some posts before I went out of town. But I'm gonna call this venture a success. You got 30 posts in November, I got to blather on, we all win.

Thanksgiving Hangover

Get in my belly, gravy!

I'm suffering, y'all. No, I'm not queasy or headache-y. I'm hungry.

After days of endless snacking on chips and hummus, gorging myself on wine and turkey, eating pie and cupcakes after every meal, making bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches for breakfast, my stomach expanded to fill my entire torso. Now that the holiday is over, I don't have the food reserves available to me. But my body does not care.

My body is demanding baked fruit and cheesy broccoli. It needs some ribs. It would even do with some Skyline Chili, if only it was followed by a glass of wine and a slice of apple pie.

My bloated stomach won't accept substitutes, y'all. It rejects my granola and yogurt and oranges and vegetables not smothered in cheese. It has no idea what to do with the hours after dinner, with no delicious dessert to digest.

My senses are unnaturally alert from the copious lack of wine in my system. My liver is postively robust today.

This is what detox must be like. Help me, blog readers. Send some stuffing my way.

The Great BBQ Cookoff of 2009

It all started with a little bragging. You see, John makes ribs. Good ribs. He's even got his own rib recipe, in which he makes his own BBQ sauce. He calls this recipe "Delicious Jerk Ribs Recipe." He's made it for his parents. His dad was telling Joe, Christina's boyfriend, about the ribs. Joe said his dad makes good ribs. And then Allison, the Madrids' childhood friend, started talking about her dad's rib recipe.
And thus the Great BBQ Cookoff of '09 was born.

It was scheduled for Friday night. About 20 people came over to taste the ribs. I made scorecards where the ribs were judged on tenderness, texture, taste, and overall ribiness.

These are John's ribs. They are super mega spicy hot. If I had made a "Burn Your Lips Off" category, he would've been a shooin.

These are Allison's. Her's were smoky and tangy. Delicious.

These are Joe's dad's. Very delicious. He won by a mere 2 points over John!

So that was the Great BBQ Cookoff of 2009. Winner must make all the ribs next year. Ha!

Skyline Chili

Skyline Chili - Skyline Chili is unique in that it is not chili con carne, the meat dish that originated in (and is the state dish of) Texas. Instead, Cincinnati-style chili is a sauce usually used over spaghetti or hot dogs, containing a unique blend of spices that gives it a very distinct taste. Officially, the recipe for Skyline Chili is a well-kept family secret among Lambrinides' surviving children. However, many Skyline patrons and Cincinnatians believe that the unique taste of Skyline Chili comes from chocolate and cinnamon, spices common in Greek cuisine's meat dishes. The general recipe is not unique to Skyline — "Cincinnati-style" chili is sold by several chili parlors in the area including Empress, Dixie, Gold Star Chili, Camp Washington, and other chili parlors.
That is some chili sitting on a bed of spaghetti. That is also what I'd had on Saturday for lunch.

I'd heard about Skyline Chili long before I'd tasted it. People who'd grown up or lived in Ohio had very strong opinions about it. Haters loathed the thought of it, while devotees praised it to the heavens. I had to taste it for myself.

John opted for the Coney Island cheese dogs. Cheater.

Verdict? It does indeed taste like cinnamon. The chili is slightly sweet. I ordered the 5-Way chili, Skyline Chili with red beans and onions and cheese on spaghetti. It really was just like eating chili on top of spaghetti, although a sweeter chili than I'm used to. Chili con carne this was not. It was a bit like a mole sauce.

Would I eat it again? Yeah, sure. It was cheap and the chili itself was good, as long as you don't call it chili. It's more of a sweet meat sauce. I've love to try it on fries or a potato sometime. Who's up for another trip to Skyline?

Caption contest

I was going to tell you what's going on here, but I think it's more fun to let you guess. Best guess wins undying devotion from meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

What I'm Thankful For

Thanks, both irreverent and otherwise.

• Wine
• Crumbly cheeses
• Creamy cheeses
• Stinky cheeses
• My families, all of them
• My husband, who assured me that I only yell at him when he's being a doofus and bought me an iPhone!
  
• Boots!
• My dog, who is always so excited to see me
• San Antonio, for being a smallish city with margaritas and guacamole
• My work, which lets me explore my tech side and my marketing side while working with awesomely funny, outrageous, diverse, and dedicated coworkers
• My wedding, which was everything I wanted it to be
• My parents, who have taught me everything I know about drinking beer and buying petite clothes
• French fries
• The Internet for 1) giving me a job and 2) being awesome
• Glee, for making me laugh and cry and buy too many songs
• My health, which I am more grateful for every day
• My friends, all of them, for being there for me, always
• Dresses
• My blog readers!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! First one to eat the whole turducken winssssssssss!

Thinking About Thanksgiving

Because my birthday is November 22, Thanksgiving is always a part of my birthday. Some years it's been on Thanksgiving, some years right before or after. This means that I usually get to see some relatives for my birthday, which is both good and bad. Sometimes I'm feeling selfish and want to have my birthday to myself, not sharing it with others. Other years leave me nostalgic for turkey and giving thanks.

Maybe it's because my birthday is close to Thanksgiving, but I always look forward to turkey day. It's like the prelude to Christmas, the warm-up. You cook a bunch of food and play games and eat with your relatives. It's Christmas without the pressure of buying gifts.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are the two holidays I have to spend with relatives of some kind. Easter, fourth of July, Arbor Day, I can spend those with anyone.

I've had Thanksgivings with a small turkey, a ham, a turkducken, three kinds of stuffing, stuffed steaks, pies, cakes, homemade cranberry sauce, cranberry sauce in a can (the indentations are serving sizes). I've spent it with my father's family, my mother's family, my stepfamily, John's family. We've done it small and done it big. There are sometimes prayers and blessings. There is sometimes football. Depending on where we are, we are sometimes freezing cold, our toes about to fall off, and sometimes burning up in t-shirts and shorts.

I love all of it, no matter where we are and who we're with. Thanksgiving, for me, is a time to hang out with the people you love, who support you and exasperate you and make you laugh and maybe piss you off too. We all get together and eat and push each others' buttons for awhile. And then we go home again. And we miss each other until Christmas.

Lyla and Stephen!

Lyla and Stephen came in last night to take their engagement photos today. We went to Insignia, which we all enjoyed. The brisket burger was delicious as always and I can never turn down a French fry.

Then we went to HEB to buy Lyla and Stephen some bright produce for their photo shoot today. I neglected to take any photos of them at all while they were here, but check the photographers' blog, Bend the Light, over the next couple of days to see Lyla and Stephen's engagement photos!

Short post today, I know, but I've got to get ready to head out to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving!

Birthday!

We went to Il Sogno again! Il Sogno is one of my favorite restaurants in San Antonio. We invited Kate and Sam, our culinary BFFs, to come. We don't go very often, but we do eat our hearts out when we go.

When we first came in, the waitress had to wait for the host to come seat us, and then he tried to seat us in the entrance area, which was dimly lit and empty. We asked for seating in the main dining room, and he offered us a table near the wait stations. We didn't want to be constantly in the wait staff's way, so we asked for a side table. Are we not that cool? Why didn't they want to give us a table in the main dining room? The sommelier knows us! We are cool! We drink Vino Nobile de Montepulciano and wear belt-necklaces! Don't send us to the corner of the restaurant!

Other than that, it was a delicious and fun night. The sommelier advised us to get the osso bucco, but we refrained. Sam, John and I got the wild hog with polenta, which I've had before and it is divine.

Kate opted for the monkfish wrapped in prosciutto.

It was excellent, if a little too salty. I also ordered a side of truffle fries because I love fries so much! Plus, we'd gotten two pizzas.

After all that food, I wasn't really hungry for dessert, so we declined. But then the waitress said they wanted to give us a dessert since it was my birthday, so I picked the fruit tart. Sam, Kate and John whisper-sang happy birthday and we ate! I love fruit tarts. They're like tiny pies.

The birthday doesn't end here! Tonight, Lyla and Stephen are coming in to celebrate and take their engagement photos with Bend the Light. And tomorrow we leave for Thanksgiving!

It was wine bottling

John and I and Sam and Kate trekked over to Woodrose Winery yesterday to help bottle some wine. Our hopes were that we'd get some free wine out of it.

They have this giant machine to fill the bottles. It looks kinda like a milking machine. Some nosy old volunteer lady told me I was filling them too fast. But the guy who worked there said we were fine, so the next time Ms. Busybody came over, we told her he said it was fine. I really hate people who try to tell you what to do when they have no idea.

Then, there's the corking machine and the machine that seals the foils onto the top. It's kinda fun. We worked for maybe 45 minutes. They give you wine to drink while you work, and then they gave us each a free bottle when we were done!
Afterwards, we had some tastings and bought some wine. They have an awesome patio where they serve you wine. It's in the middle of this forest, so it makes for a great view in the afternoon.
This is a terrible picture of the winery dog, Cork. He was adorable and huge and covered in mud. He kept moving when I tried to take a picture of him.

So that was my winery experience. If you like wine, and there are wineries near you, I highly recommend doing some tasting and seeing if they have volunteer days. It was fun, and you get free wine!

You people are weird

Some of you come here by searching for Insignia, or Jason Dady, or Il Sogno, or cooking stuff. But some of you...are weird.

Recent searches that led to my blog:

• exhausted dead animal
• boiler hiating
• bodytired
• janou gordon
• my calves hurt when i am tired
• talking dirty to a pizza
• what would cause my legs to hurt
• how to rub someone's tummy

I hope you all get therapy.

Why I Love My Coworkers

• High levels
• Blood brothers
• Shit's gettin' real y'all
• Push you down the stairs
• Kee-bab
• App Fridays
• Covenants
• This:

The Time We Tried to Go to Oktoberfest

Sometimes, John and I get all fancy and go to fundraisers and bid on things.

OK, not really. But when Kate told us she had some tickets to A Rhapsody in Blue: Arts & Eats 2009 at Blue Star. We couldn't say no. Five local chefs would be there. Plus, wine!

There was some great food there: lamb loin, foie gras, dessert mousse thing, mushroom crepes, cheese plate, and a savory flan. The chefs were churning out the food as 300 people lined up to eat it. I am literally waiting for him to cut me some lamb loin. I kept trying to take the plate and he kept stopping me, because he hadn't finished plating it.

They set up cooking stations right in the middle of Blue Star. I didn't think it'd be big enough for all the stations, chefs, and sous chefs, but it was.

Hey, look who it is!
Jason Dady! We chatted with him a bit about the marathon, how much foie gras he brought with him ($1100 worth), Hawaii. He said when I walked up, his sous chef said, "Is that ohmypuddin?" Ha, I'm Internet famous! My life is complete. He also yelled at Sam, "HEY SAMMY!" Ha!

So one of the items in the silent auction was a stay at an apartment in Berlin. John and Sam were really interested in it. They kept talking about what a good deal it was and how the four of us could all go for Oktoberfest next year. So I told them to go bid on it, if they wanted to. And they did!
See John's bid there? I was kind of freaking out now, thinking that we were committing to paying thousands of dollars on a trip to Berlin while we were very intoxicated on wine. I like to think about things a little more, and the spontaneity of this was freaking me out. Fortunately, I just drank some more wine to calm myself.

And then, we were outbid with a bid of $2500. John and Sam decided that they wouldn't go higher than $2000, so we lost that Berlin apartment. Part of me is sad we lost, but part of me is relieved we didn't get it. We can always go to Berlin sometime, but maybe we can think about it for more than 5 minutes, and sober.

So that's the story of the time we tried to go to Oktoberfest. Even though we didn't win that auction, it was a superfun night and I got to play one of my favorite games, Pretentious Art, and I got to eat great food and drink great free wine and wear tights and see people wearing some crazy outfits. Also, I ran a half-marathon and got an iPhone and it's Dinner Club tonight and I'm having dinner with Melissa tomorrow and bottling some wine on Saturday and seeing Nicolette at Casbeers playing with the Melissa Ludwig Band and then it's my birthday on Sunday and then Lyla and Stephen are coming on Monday to take their engagement photos here and then we go to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving. So it's been a pretty awesome week and it just keeps getting better! It's like a whole week of birthday for me!

I wish my life was a musical

I am a sucker for musicals. I love them. I love the singing, the dancing, the jazz hands. One the best-executed recent movie musicals was Chicago. Love the combination of stage and set.

Which is why I'm ridiculously excited to see Nine. I have no idea what it's about, but look at it!

So fun! So jazzy! So pretty! So shiny!

How awesome does Sophie Loren look? She is 75 people. I wish I looked that good now, at 26.

Best Weekend EVER

So this weekend I ran a half-marathon, got to see my mom and Julius, and John gave me my birthday present early!


So pretty! I've already downloaded a bunch of apps and played around on it. It's awesome! I've been wanting a new phone for forever, and an iPhone, but then the Droid came out and I was paralyzed trying to decide between the two. And with the holidays coming, I decided to wait on getting a new phone at all until next year. But John went ahead and made the decision for me, which is infinitely better than me trying to decide.

So I've got a pretty new iPhone 3GS! And a new phone number! And some apps! But I need more apps. I'm using Echofon for my personal Twitter and Twitterific for my work Twitter. Any suggestions on a good Twitter app that I can have multiple Twitter accounts on? I like how Echofon works but it doesn't seem able to do multiple Twitter accounts.

If you've got app recommendations, leave them in the comments. If you want my new number, let me know and I'll email it to you.

The Streets Were Slick With Cytomax, Part 2

WARNING: This post is 13.1 miles long.

That's me! That's the end of the race, my finishing time. But let's begin at the beginning.

Saturday
John and I went to the Health Expo at the Alamo Dome to pick up my race number. I knew the race was going to be crazy when there were thousands of people at the expo alone. Got my race number and got out of there to go pick up my mom and stepdad. From there, we got haircuts and went to go carb up at Tre Trattoria. Delicious. I would like to publicly thank John for not slapping me. I was very anxious and short on Saturday.

Sunday
The race started at 7:30 am, so I decided we needed to leave at 6 am. You see, the drop off point for runners was Alamo Stadium and from there, everyone would walk a mile to the starting line at Mulberry and Broadway. To get there with time to spare, we needed to leave at 6. I decided to get up at 4:45 to stretch, eat breakfast and get dressed. But I was so anxious I woke up at 4. Fail.

We never got to the drop off point. The exit on Hildebrand was backed up for miles. At 6:50, we were still on 281 and could barely see the off-ramp. I said, fuck this noise, and I got out of the car. I walked and ran down 281 to Broadway and up to Mulberry. Lots of other people were doing the same thing. I made friends with a guy running the full marathon. He left to check his gear at the starting line and I left to find a bathroom. Though there were at least a hundred Port o Potties, they all had really long lines. I was still in line during the National Anthem.

But since I was in the last corral (we were in groups for a wave start), I didn't actually start running til 8:30. So for an hour, I stood in my corral and moved up about 10 feet at a time. Not so fun. The announcer was pretty good. On the half-marathon, he said "Good choice. Half the time, twice the fun."

But by the time I did get to run, it was awesome!There I go!

There was a mariachi band playing at the staring line and lots of other bands along the way. We went all through downtown. Look at this map if you want to know where I went.

Not gonna lie, the first 5 miles were rough. I was already getting tired. It wasn't hot, but it was really humid. It wasn't til I got to 7 miles and knew I was more than halfway done that I knew I could do this.

Things I saw:
-A group of old people in wheelchairs
-A running Elvis
-Lots of tutus
-Sign that said "Free beer this way"
-Sign that said "You are better than Chuck Norris"
-A man wearing a fur hat, dressed like a turkey on the top half, with a rifle waving the Texas flag, with a giant pink tutu, pink leopard-print tights and pink pom poms on his shoes. He beat me
-Lots of dogs
-Lots of kids
-A guy dressed like a banana
-Lots of shirtless guys, some of whom should not have been shirtless
-A margarita mama
-People drinking beer at 9 am
-A high school band
-Lots of cheerleaders
-Thousands of people watching

I saw Nicolette's band, the Melissa Ludwig Band, play at the 11 mile mark. I thought that's where my mom, Julius and John would be but I didn't see them.

So I kept running. I wish I could tell you more about the actual run, but I don't remember much specifically. It was really humid, and the energy drink they passed out, Cytomax, tasted like sugary Gatorade. Around every water and Cytomax station, the ground would be wet My shoes got sticky.

Finally, at the 12 mile mark, I saw my mom, Julius and John. I really can't tell you how happy I was to see them. I'd been losing steam since the 10 mile mark, just thinking about how far I still had to go. When I saw them, I was walking, but I burst into a run and held up my finger to tell them I had one more mile to go.

On my way to the finish line

The last mile was hard. Some of it was up that hill by the Alamodome. But there were tons of people there cheering us on. Plus, there were medals!

Go here and type in 34661 and you can see me cross the finish line. I'm the one checking my watch as I go by. I didn't realize I was being taped. And also, I was tired and didn't care.

So I finished 5002 in the women and 9800 overall. My time was 2:30:29. 25,834 people finished the race of more than 32,000 registered. That puts me in the top 38% overall. I thought I was going to finish in 2.5-3 hours, so I did better than I thought I would. I did about 11.5 minute miles. I was fast in the beginning, with 9 minute miles, but fatigue caught up with me.

After the finish, got my medal, got an iced towel and water, some chips, and met up with John, Julius and my mom at the family reunion. We got back on the shuttle and went to the car and eventually home. Once my sweat dried, I was covered in a fine film of salt. My legs are still sore, but I can walk and even took the stairs today. I didn't work out today, but I deserve a break.

YEAH
All in all, I will say that if you like running, this is DEFINITELY the way to do it. Thousands of people cheering and telling you you can do it, the energy of the other runners, the people in costumes, knowing that you've got 30,000 other people doing this with you - it's awesome. It's totally worth all the training and the pain, and, as Leigh pointed out, running by that (hopefully dead) snake. It was all totally worth it for the experience! I recommend it.

Who's in for Rock n Roll San Antonio 2010?

The Streets Were Slick With Cytomax

I could also call this, "The Time I Ran 13.1 Miles with 30,000 of My Closest Friends."

I made it! I will post more tomorrow, when I have slept and recovered, but I just wanted you to know that I did it in 2 hours and 30 minutes and 31 seconds! Success! Now, food and sleep.

Rock 'n Roll Time!

It is time to rock and roll! Rock 'n Roll Half-Marathon that is. The time has finally come for me to do what I've been talking about, training for and anticipating for months. I picked up my number today, picked up my mom and Julius, and got a hair cut. I need to look good for the marathon, see. Or rather, I was due for a haircut.

I'm #34661, so look for me!

I've still got to carb up and then go to bed early so I can get up early so I can RUN!

Look for me tomorrow! The marathon starts at 7:30 am, and I'll probably start running at 8:15. Exciting!

Give and Get

It's time for the Gap Give and Get sale! Everything is 30% off with a coupon, which you can use multiple times. You can use it Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy. I scored this dressCute right? I'm gonna wear it with my boots. Perfect fall outfit. I also got this dress here:

But in a blue and black geometric pattern. It's more black than blue. I'm gonna wear it to a work function tonight. It was already on mega sale, and then 30% off of that!

I don't shop a lot at the Gap or Banana Republic, but with 30% off makes a big difference in the price. Plus, Banana Republic has some cute stuff right now. The Give and Get sale is only on through Sunday, so if you need some work staples, go stock up now! You can get the coupons from just about anywhere, but if you don't have one, so let me know if you want one and I'll send it to you. laurenwthompson [at] gmail [dot] com

The Time I Threw Those Mentos

I'm finding it hard to come up with new and interesting things to write for NaBloPoMo. Not that every post has to be fascinating per se, but I don't want to start blathering for NaBloPoMo's sake. So now I will tell you a story.

My senior year of college, I lived with Elizabeth in an apartment off campus. We lived on the first floor, and the apartments had open air walkways, so our front door was outside. We came home one day to find a small black thing in the corner next to our front door.

It was maybe six inches in diameter. It was obviously some sort of animal, but we couldn't tell what. We couldn't see any feet or even a head. It was bizarre.

We thought it was a gremlin. Like, in the movie "Gremlins." I know, it makes no sense. But it was just a ball of black, with no head or feet! In the twilight, we couldn't tell exactly what it was, but since it was right next to our front door, we couldn't go inside in case it followed us in. And then we be trapped with a small, possibly evil, black ball.

So we decided to throw something at it, to make it move and go away. We didn't want to throw a rock, because we didn't want to hurt it really. It hadn't done anything to us (besides lurking creepily outside our door). I searched my purse and found some Mentos.

So we threw Mentos at it. Didn't do much good. The ball got fluffier and angrier-looking. Our downstairs neighbor came down and after inspecting the ball, figured out it was an injured baby bird. A bird! We did not think of that. We went straight for Gremlin. He picked it up using a plastic bag and put it in some bushes.

So that's the story of how I threw Mentos at an injured baby bird. That was going to be the title of this entry, but that would have given it all away, wouldn't it?