Warrior Dash

Let me get something straight.  I don't really like to run.  The last time I ran over two miles was about four years ago.  But, Lane got this wild idea to run a fun race with some of his clients.  We signed up for the Warrior Dash.  Essentailly it is a 5k race (a little over three miles) in the mud with ten obstacles throughout.

Here is a preview of what we did:

The first obstacle was wading through a lake - which was FREEZING.  Lane saw the panic immediately set in.  I was with a ton of strangers, strangers in a hurry, in cold, muddy water.  YIKES!

Instead of leaving me to talk myself out of complete and utter panic, Lane kindly just picked me up and guided me through the water.  After that, I was on my way to becoming a warrior!

We completed the 10 obstacles together as a group.  We were cold and filthy when we finished, but it was fun and worth it.

Lane and I jumping over the firey rocks near the end of the race - hand in hand.

Viking hats as a completion prize.  Flattering?

Lane was filthy and decided it appropriate to kiss me.  Not cool.

Cooking with Giada

I don't have a written Bucket List (things I want to do before I kick the bucket) but if I did, meeting Giada De Laurentiis would be on it.  Not only did I get to meet her a few weekends ago, but I got to COOK with her. 

Let me catch my breath and I can tell you the whole story.

I saw an advertisement for a Cooking Expo on the Food Network.  I looked online at tickets were $75 each.  That is not in the envelope budget, so I put the idea aside.  A few weeks later a Groupon came through for half off and I jumped on that super quickly.  I also convinced Lane to go with me becuase I played up the fact that there would be free food there all day.  And downplayed the fact that the event is 99.9% women.

We set off on a Saturday unsure of what to expect.  I didn't have much of an idea as to what might be there or going on.  The web site made it seem that you had to pay extra to meet any of the famous folks, so the bar was set pretty low.

We roll into the Cobb Galleria Center and people were filing into an auditorium.  We followed.  I started to gather some clues that there was going to be a cooking demo.  I started to brim with excitement.  The emcee mentioned that Giada would be coming out soon and I was unable to hide my excitement.

We stealthly made our way to some pricey VIP seats that didn't sell and awaited for Mrs. G herself.  She came out and introduced herself - and she is so gorgeous.

She mentioned that she would cook three things and would need three volunteers.  People threw up their hands almost all at once, including Lane and me. 

She chose an older gentleman for the first round.  He was endearing, but I knew I had to get up there.  She called out for the second volunteer and before you could even think I was up on Lane's shoulders waving my hands as if I were landing a jet plane.  At the same time Lane was pointing to his crazed wife on his shoulders. 

Giada scanned the crowd and I could feel her staring our way.  She threw her hands up and said, "Well, I can't say no to that."  I ran down the aisle straight up Price is Right style.

I reached the stage and put on my game face.  She introduced me to the crowd and asked what loon was holding me on his shoulders to get her attention.  We chatted about my favorite dish to cook and I told her.

She asked me if I liked salmon and I nodded enthusiastically yes. (Even though I am not a huge fan)

She explained what we were going to cook and we went to town.  I nervously shook while trying to act cool, calm and collected.  She asked me to cut chives and my hands were shaking as if I was about to meet the Pope.

We cooked for about 20 minutes on stage.  She took questions while I worked on the salmon patties.  It was bliss.  I was cooking on stage with Giada, my favorite TV chef. 

We finished the segment by sampling our freshly made salmon patties and much to my surprise they were awesome.  I took the dish back to the row where I was seated and shared it with my twelve new friends.

It was a blissful day.  I finished off the day by purchasing an autographed copy of her new cookbook. 

Here are some pictures from the day, followed by the recipe that she and I cooked. 

Here is the link to the recipe:  http://www.ozimandius.com/images/uploads/Laurentiis_SalmonCakes.pdf

Favorites

Becuase I have such a love for lists, here is another, in no particular order....

1. Favorite Color - to wear - black, to look at - green
2. Favorite Candies - Sour Patch Kids, Lemonheads, Hot Tamales
3. Favorite Movies - Top Gun, The Notebook
4. Favorite Person - Lane, my husband
5. Favorite Food - anything Italian
6. Favorite Outfit - black velour comfy pants and a gray long sleeve t-shirt - cute, right?
7. Favorite Artist - now, Adele and Sara Bareilles;  I also like John Legend, John Mayer, among others
8. Favorite Flowers - Gerbera Daisies and Tulips
9. Favorite TV Shows - House, Bones, and Giada on the Food Network
10. Favorite things to do - take golf cart rides, cook, play with my pups, organize anything, spend time with friends 

Foofs

Lane and I have two dogs.  They may look mean and slobbery, but they are so sweet.  They are still slobbery, however.  There is no medical cure to rectify that. 


Let me introduce you to Maverick, commonly called Mav, Little Guy, Buddy, or No Mav No!

Maverick is three.  We bought him the first year we were married, actually I bought him and convinced Lane to let us keep him.  Here is how it went down.  I had talked about wanting a dog, so I went to Jemison, Alabama and met a litter of boxer pups.  We knew we liked boxers because our neighbors had boxers.

I picked out the runt of the litter - the one who looked pitiful and calm.  I gave the lady a check for the pup and asked her politely not to cash it, as my husband might not let me keep it.  I told her I would call her in a day with the verdict.

Here is day 1 with Mav:

Fingers crossed, I took the little fellow to Lane's work and asked him to meet us for lunch.  When he showed, I innocently said, "Look! He needs a home." 


We went to lunch and Maverick fell asleep in Lane's lap, all eight pounds of skin fell asleep and it was LOVE. 


So Maverick came home to live with us.  He has stolen my heart.  He structures his day around naps and if he is lucky he gets a golf cart ride.  Those, above all other things, are his favorite things in this life.  He loves the golf cart.  We have a rule that you can't even say those two words out loud in our house.  If you do, you will pay.  You will have to take him for a ride.  He is relentless.

Here he is with the "Don't mess with me, I'm napping face."

He also enjoys a run in with the waterhose.  Below is the evidence:

That was May 2008.  In September 2008, we found out about a boxer girl who needed a home.  She was being terribly mistreated in Tennessee.  She was part of a puppy mill and had been abused.  We decided to take in a dog named Kadie. 

We call her Kadie Bug, Kadie Thug, Buggers and Rabbit.

Say hello, Kadie!

Kadie is not one for pictures. She's about 6 years old.  She enjoys sleeping all day, everyday.  She is a good companion to Mav and loves Lane more than me.  I'm okay with it, I guess. 

Kadie loves to ride in the car.  If I am making a quick trip to the store, she loves to go.  She lays down and is really calm about the whole thing.  The girl just likes to ride in the car.  Maverick, on the other hand, throws up every time I drive somewhere.  Bummer.

We love our little foofs.  They are always excited to see us when we come home.  Kadie brings you a shoe every time you walk in the door as a welcome gift.  They don't care if you have had a bad day or are grumpy - they just want a quick tap on the head or a scratch behind the ears.

They are really great companions.  They like the same movies that we like, the same food we like, music, and so on.  They love to take naps and snuggle - which is great on a Saturday afternoon. 

They are our four legged babies. And I LOVE them! 

A love for lists part 2

Here are some fun facts:

1. I enjoy organizing.  My shoes are all in clear plastic boxes.  At this moment, my clothes are sorted by color and by style - 3/4 length, jackets, button-downs, and so on
2. I get up at 5am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to work out before work.  Crazy I know.  My husband is my trainer - every crazier.
3. My dad is a twin and I secretly wish Lane and I could have twins also.
4. I never make up my bed unless I am expecting company or the sheets are freshly changed.
5. I went through a brief "punk" phase in high school - black Dickies-brand pants, black plastic bracelets.  It lasted only a few weeks and there are no pictures to document that phase.
6. I have never been to New York and would die for the chance to go.
7. I have two dogs - Maverick and Kadie.  They are boxers and weigh 73 and 65 pounds respectively.  I am not sure how we ended up with two very large inside dogs.  I love them; they love me.  It works.
8. I order hairspray by the case.  I have a phobia that I might run out someday - what a horrible thought.
9. My name was going to be Haley JoBeth George - say that 12 times fast.
10. it gives me great satisfaction in life to write with a Sharpie marker on anything for any reason.  I especially love making to-do lists with Sharpies.

A love for lists

I love lists.  I make lists about making a list to keep up with all my lists.  Since I have such an affinity for lists, I thought I would share a list with you, about me.  So without further ado....

1. I am the youngest in my family and I married the youngest in his family.  Two babies residing together.
2. I cannot use a pen without a top.  If a pen is topless (which it shouldn't be), it's goodbye.
3. I taught myself how to cook after living by myself and eating out for a few weeks.
4. My first name is actually Chelsey.  You may ask - why didn't you drop it when you got married?  You can't drop your first name; it's a legal issue.  So my entire name is Chelsey Payden George Montgomery - try signing that on a check.
5. I have never seen the Wizard of Oz.
6. I had a tennis coach in middle school and high school.
7. My childhood dog's name was Dozy.  She was an outside yellow lab.
8. I met my husband on a blind date. 
9. When I was little, I played "school" like every other little girl and my name was "Ms. Honey."
10. I have a bad habit of picking at my thumbs when I am stressed.  I am trying to stop, but trying to stop makes me stressed and then I'm back where I started.

What's Cooking?

If you have talked to me for more than thirty mintues then you know I enjoy cooking.  I am always on the hunt for a good recipe.  Speaking of the word recipe - I am so glad I finally learned to spell that word.  Recipe and Receipt tend to trip me up.

Well, anyway.... I thought I would occasionally share with you what's cooking at my house.  Here is what is on the docket for the week along with the URL for the recipe:

Sunday - Rosemary Chicken with Polenta and Asparagus

• http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lemon-rosemary-chicken-breasts-10000001981777/
• I didn't use bone-in chicken breasts.  I used regular boneless, skinless
• Polenta is a type of grit.  Boil water, add polenta, then add a little heavy cream and parmesean cheese (romano, fontina - whatever is close by) and viola!

Monday - Pasta with Asparagus and Pancetta

• http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/pasta-with-asparagus-pancetta-pine-nuts-10000001963965/
• Pancetta is like an Italian bacon.  It doesn't smell up your house as much as traditional bacon and it is slightly leaner.  I used more than the recipe called for because I like a hearty pasta.
• I also went sans pine nuts - no reason, other than I didn't have any!
• In the sauce, I added the zest of the lemon.  I just can't juice a lemon and not zest it.  It seems unfair.

Tuesday - Chipotle Bean Burritos with Guacamole and Spanish Rice

• http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/pasta-with-asparagus-pancetta-pine-nuts-10000001963965/
• No changes here - they were really yummy.
• Lane is a meat eater and he even really enjoyed these.
• I am trying to incorporate some meatless options into dinner since it is a lot cheaper and quicker than cooking chicken or beef

Wednesday - Grilled chicken, baked sweet potatoes, zucchini squash, salad

• Grilled chicken happens a lot at the Montgomery house.
• It is easy, healthy, and best of all - Lane has to cook it. 

We have small group on Thursdays and eat with our group, which gives the chef a night off! 

In other related news, I am craving this dessert:  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/pasta-with-asparagus-pancetta-pine-nuts-10000001963965/  Red velvet cake pops - say no more!