The rest of April…

I’ve been M.I.A. in blog world lately. Sorry about that. I feel guilty sometimes, but then I figure I am living life instead of writing about it – and that’s good too.

raffifinishing

Thumbs up near the finish line

The biggest event that happened (for me) since my last post was the IronGirl Clearwater 5k. This was a gorgeous womens race from Clearwater to Clearwater Beach. (I received free entry.) Lots went right that day… I ended up with an unexpected running partner, I had my first shoe timing tag, ran past gorgeous water views, and borrowed DD2′s camera to get some fun photos of half marathon friends finishing. (Photos will be here for 2 weeks)

Really there were only 2 down parts to the day. One was the BRIDGE. Look at any recap from the race, and it will mention the bridge. Florida is famous for flat running, so when you suddenly run over a bridge, then take a hairpin turn and run back over the bridge, that adds a certain measure of difficulty for a Florida runner.

IMG_20130413_152856

The other negative was the lack of mention/enthusiasm/phone call from my husband that day. Maybe because we’re at races all the time… but I’m not usually the one running.

I went to packet pickup on my own and socialized with vendors. I drove to the race with my friend Sandy, who was running the HM with 2 friends, and her husband, and her sorta-sister Krystal. Turns out Krystal was running the 5k and is about my pace, so we held tight together most of the race and it helped a lot.

Me and Krystal at the finish

Me and Krystal at the finish

I also got to see a lot of my Tampa Bay Blogger friends! Jenny was even awarded the Athleta “Power to the She” award. I got a few photos with her and her daughter.

DSC_0381b IMG_20130414_085238

I ran the race with my phone in my hand to force myself to take more photos.

IMG_20130414_074110

After the race I hopped back in the car with Sandy’s crew and we hit up Cracker Barrel. There might have been a sweet potato with a side of bacon with my name on it.

I would have loved to just crawl right in bed after that race, but instead I took my daughter to play rehearsal and sat in the audience as the photographer. If you are ever asked to photograph an event with lots of people in the audience, it’s great to get photos at the dress rehearsal first. Sometimes the shots come out better without bobbing heads in front of you, and other times it just prepares you for the order of events so you are ready to press the shutter during the most important moments. In this case – a full musical (“The Music Man”) – I knew when the dance jumps and lifts were coming, and I could move around the theatre without disturbing anyone. I ended up photographing 2 dress rehearsals – first I got the major moments, and I came back to get all the other details. That way everyone in the cast would find photos of themselves. This is important to kids who choose to be on stage! I shared my 400 photos with the cast and crew using Google Drive, and I hope they download & share them to their hearts content.

trainlow shpoopielow iowalow

You might think 400 is a lot of photos… but I was just getting warmed up. The following week was Celebrate the Arts week at school. Classes had visiting artists of all different mediums to be photographed, and there were juried art awards to be photographed, and a cocktail party on the opening night of “The Music Man”. And a performance by the middle school kids and high schoolers in the gym. And just when I thought my fingers would fall off from editing photos, there was a spring concert with all the school musicians playing – including DD1′s boyfriend on guitar with his rock band – so that could not be missed. (Classic rock, not punk, FYI.)

But then the best photos happened… I was asked to be the official race photographer for the Best Buddies Friendship Walk in Tampa. DD2 came as my backup photographer. We were there for 5 hours and took about 1200 pictures, which I then had to edit and upload to Facebook – but it was SO worth it! Best Buddies is an inclusion program that helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities make friends, find jobs, mainstream at school, etc. inclusion

Many of the Buddies who were at the event were high schoolers with Down Syndrome who were paired up with an average high schooler to help them find their way around, eat with at lunch, go to parties, etc. One high school had their Varsity Cheerleaders there, along with a team of cheerleaders with different abilities, and they got up on stage and cheered together!cheerleaders

It was a day full of smiles and warm fuzzies, as well as a 5k fun walk. walking

PDQ, Starbucks and Whole Foods all had booths with free food. There was a face painter and a bounce house. And the DJ was awesome! He handled the day’s unpredictability level very well!

I’m so glad DD2 came with me. She’s been dealing with typical high school girl social crap, and suddenly there were a few hundred people who wanted to hug, high five, and just hang out with her. No one was there to judge. Everyone came in friendship, with an open heart, and that is how my daughter lives her life. She always gives people a 3rd and 4th chance to be a friend and keeps her hopes high. As much as she did NOT want to get up at 6am to drive to Tampa for this event – she left with a grand smile and positive words :)

madison

Our other recent event – also full of photos – was Prom. Only it was NonProm… here’s why. My daughter is a sophomore. Normally she wouldn’t go to her school’s junior/senior prom. But her boyfriend is a junior. And then along came the Regional Track meet. My daughter was just waking up to volunteer for the meet because she was out with a stress fracture, when her phone rang. Someone was having diabetic concerns from the girls 4×800 relay team and they needed a 4th runner. She literally ran up and down the block a few times to test her leg out, and decided to do it. 3 hours later, I was watching her relay team win the Regionals (while taking photos), sending them to State.

alicefbe404b_c

And a few hours after that her boyfriend’s relay team made it to state as well. AWESOME! But… State meet was the same night as -  you guessed it – prom!

So we cancelled the hair appointment and put her dress in plastic for next year. He cancelled his tux and invited her to dinner the night after Prom at the Melting Pot instead. He wore a jacket and tie, and she wore a cute dress from the back of her closet. They went ahead with the boutonniere and corsage, which made me happy because we ordered Van Halen guitar picks to be added into his boutonniere. (I told you, classic rock.)

prompicks

Flowers by 2birdsevents.com in St Pete. The photo doesn’t do them justice.

I really nailed her makeup. We did a run-through at the Dior counter at Macy’s a couple weeks ago and I watched very closely. BTW – eye makeup before concealer and foundation. Who knew? The curls fell out of her hair though, so we’ll have to keep trying with that one or go professional for real prom next year. She asked to take photos in her friend’s yard, which is large and lush, so we would have a nice backdrop. And then they went to dinner.

promthugalice

Goofing around like a true thug.

After the Melting Pot, he took her to the park and pulled a hand-made “Prom 2013″ banner out of his trunk. He played some of their favorite songs on his iPod and they danced in the park at twilight.

prombanner

Yep. He’s a good one…

Then they came back to my house to watch “Dr. Who”. My daughter promptly fell asleep with her head on her date’s shoulder — before 10pm.

That’s how those crazy teens roll.

promasleep

And now I am preparing for Ragnar Cape Cod. It’s going to be a cold one, ladies and gents. About 54 degrees for the high, and camping out in 45 degreed. Compared to the 85 with high humidity I’m used to, I’ll be packing gloves and wool socks. No joke.

What’s the best event photo you’ve taken recently?

Share

Digital Running Reveals 2014 Challenges

This year, Digital Running announced their first running challenge – the Interstate Challenge. The idea was pretty easy: run 2 races of either Half Marathon or Marathon distance in 2 different states that were USATF certified (so your results could be confirmed online), and earn some *bling Bling*.

Yep, that’s it. So you could run the Disney Half in Florida and the Go St Louis full in Missouri. Or whatever…

This challenge is NOT full and still accepting entries… but in the meantime, Digital Running has revealed two 2014 challenges that are coming up!

You can check out the official rules for the Hat Trick Challenge and Grand Slam Challenge, but this is the jist of them:

For the Hat Trick challenge, run 3 of the following races: 5K, 10K, Half-Marathon or Marathon.

For the Grand Slam challenge, run all 4 of the following races: 5K, 10K, Half-Marathon AND Marathon.

These can be in the same state, in the same weekend… Registration for both challenges will open up this summer and the medals have not been revealed yet.

Now, here’s the kicker!! Let’s just say you are running the Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World this year. If you register for the Grand Slam, you’ll get all SIX Disney medals plus the TWO Digital Running medals, for a total of 8 medals in one weekend – and 48.6 magical miles!

If you stay Sunday night for the Digital Running post-marathon party, they should be able to verify your times on the spot (Disney is usually pretty good about posting them right away), and you will actually get “crowned” at the party.

The Dopey will fill up quickly. For example, Runner’s World Magazine offers a special Dopey training plan and other goodies which became available April 2 (7 days ago at time of writing) and it is already 90% full!

Walt Disney World Marathon weekend races go on sale in 28 minutes! Good luck and Happy Running!

Share

Sushi giveaway winners!

Our random comment winner was #9… which you might think by reading was chosen for most creative, but it wasn’t.

Bstone said:

sushi1

And for my personal pick, I choose Jen, who admitted she hasn’t tried sushi yet! Some wouldn’t enter a contest they don’t feel qualified for, but she decided to throw her hat in the ring anyway and I applaud that. Plus, I want her to TRY EATING SUSHI from some of the best around at Takara! I hope you try the Jabadahut!!

JabadahutRoll

Share

Sushi for me, sushi for you – giveaway!

Takara Sushi & Sake LoungeI am thrilled to say that members of the Tampa Bay Bloggers were treated to a night of yummy goodness when Takara Sushi and Saki Lounge revealed their new spring menu. Read on, because there is a GIVEAWAY for you at the bottom!

Takara is a Tampa area restaurant near Bearss and Bruce B. Downs. It’s not huge, but is nicely broken down into a front lounge / waiting area with sofas, a bar area, booths, and tables that can be slid together for large groups. They decor has pretty, aquatic details – and I loved the gold flecks in the ladies’ room wallpaper.

I drove to Takara with Caroline and (her +1) Kelly. Caroline and I live near each other, and it was nice to have someone to carpool with. It was horrible timing to be driving through Tampa, but after you see the treats we devoured, you’ll understand why it’s so worth it to drive to Takara!

Our long blogger table had a special menu for the evening. Some of our items were sample portion sizes, and some were full menu sizes. I’m allergic to cucumbers (weird, I know) and every one of their sushi rolls contains cucumber. I was given my own Jabadahut roll (say that one out loud! Ha!), made specially without cucumber, but could not try the other sushi rolls. This was our menu for the night:

Starters

Ceviche

Ceviche:  White fish marinated in lime juice, tossed with celery, red pepper, red onion & cilantro. I’m not sure what ceviche was doing in a sushi place, but the raw fish concept makes sense and the flavor was wonderful! We had 2 large slices of white fish, not chopped fish like you would see if it had Spanish flair.

Avocado&TofuSaladAvocado & Tofu Salad: Chopped tofu, avocado, cherry tomatoes tossed in a honey miso dressing. I don’t usually like miso, but the honey offered a perfect balance. This was light, fresh vegetarian fair with a sweet touch from the sauce.

Crab Cake: Lump crab with a panko crunch over wilted spinach, topped with alfalfa sprouts, served with mustard aioli. Delicious!

DynamiteMusselsDynamite Mussel: Baked mussel with mayo, scallions, smelt roe & wasabi. I’ve only had mussels at Carrabbas in garlicy broth. This was a delicious alternative.

Spicy Tuna Spoon: Spicy Tuna, avocado, mango, smelt roe & scallions tossed in a spicy sesame sauce, served over mixed greens. These flavors were totally up my alley and I could eat a martini glass full of this any day.

tunaspoon-811

Sambuca Shrimp: Shrimp sautéd with fennel, shallots & red pepper, tossed in a Sambuca red curry coconut milk with cayenne seasoning. I don’t like fennel, so this was not for me. But I ate the veggies under the shrimp and loved the red curry coconut milk with cayenne seasoning!

Main

MisoSeabassMiso Seabass: This light white fish was grilled to perfection with sweet sesame soy, served with asparagus and white rice. A wonderful meal choice if you bring that friend who likes cooked fish but won’t eat sushi.

Gal Be: The chef used his family recipe for these Korean barbecue short ribs with onions, carrots & green onions. The flavor was great, but my meat was tough and hard to chew.

JabadahutRollJabadahut Roll: My specially made sushi roll had tempura grouper and crab salad with avocado and red onion rolled in seaweed & rice, topped with tuna – then sliced into sushi bites served in a circle with a delectable topping of – surprisingly – little tempura scallop balls & a little scoop of crab salad. All of this was decorated with eel sauce, yum yum sauce & sweet chili sauce. This honestly could have been a meal unto itself, so most of it came home in a box with me. My daughter gobbled it up before I had even put my purse down by the sofa.

And more sushi I could not try that looked so pretty on the tray

DJ Roll:  Crab salad, avocado, cucumber & cream cheese, wrapped in soy paper & rice, served panko style with eel sauce & yum yum sauce

Naruto Roll:  Tuna or salmon, crab delight, asparagus, wrapped in cucumber, served with ponzu or vinaigrette sauce

LEFTSurf&TurfRollSurf & Turf:  Shrimp & crab salad, red onion & cucumber, rolled in seaweed & rice, topped with torched thinly sliced beef, cilantro, smelt roe, scallion & tempura onion, served with house special sauce & cilantro aioli

Salmon Delight Roll:  Spicy salmon, cucumber, avocado & scallion, rolled in rice & seaweed, topped with salmon, lemon slices & smelt roe

Yummy Sumo Roll:  Tempura shrimp, crab mix, avocado, asparagus & cucumber, wrapped in seaweed & rice, topped with tuna & salmon, served with eel sauce & spicy mayo

White Dragon Roll:  Eel, crab, cream cheese & cucumber, rolled in seaweed & rice, topped with escolar & avocado, served with spicy mayo, eel sauce & yum yum sauce

Tiger Eye Roll:  Salmon, cream cheese, crab, asparagus, cucumber, smelt roe, scallion, shrimp, wrapped in seaweed & whitefish, topped with spicy mayo, baked, served with eels sauce & spicy mayo

Torched Salmon Roll:  Tempura shrimp, crab delight, avocado & cucumber, rolled in seaweed & rice, topped with torched salmon, tempura jalapeno, served with eel sauce & spicy mayo.

Dessert

TempuraFriedIceCreamTempura Fried Ice-cream: Vanilla ice-cream wrapped in pound cake & a tempura batter served on a plate decorated with almost-too-pretty-to-eat chocolate, blackberry & raspberry sauces. There was also whipped cream that blended with the sauces and ice cream as soon as I dipped my spoon in. A delightful, sugary treat!

Next to me, Jenny had her 3 kids and they had a larger dessert to share: The Banana Bomb! 3-4 bananas wrapped in spring roll skin and deep fried. These were standing up and then topped with & dark chocolate slivers. Hidden inside was vanilla ice-cream topped with sliced almonds, whipped cream & it was all decorated with assorted sauces. The sauces looked just as pretty as mine, and I wanted to swipe my finger through them and lick it – so badly!

mochiThey also had mochi ice cream, which is new to me. Picture something like those little French macaron cookies that are so popular right now, but instead it is pounded rice on the outside and ice cream on the inside.

Her children ordered their meals off the kids menu, which I was surprised to see includes french fries. Each item on the kids menu is under $7.

We also had drinks! Their new flavor infused sakis have fun, fruity flavors. I tried a mini shot-glass sized strawberry which was NOT too sweet, a common complaint of mine. Caroline tried a few of the flavors after I offered to drive home. They paired the sushi portion of our dinner with a sweet saki almost like a rose champagne. I hear that if you check in on Facebook while you are there and leave a post on their wall, you can show the post to your server to receive either a free shot of infused sake or a free Mochi ice cream!

Thank you so much to Takara Sushi and Carlos of Carlos Eats who helped me sneak in with 2 hours to spare – for a delicious evening. Caroline almost had to roll me home! I will definitely be making the drive from St. Pete to New Tampa again with my whole family in tow. Eugenia, the owner, was so sweet. It’s not often you get treated to dinner, and a gift card, and photos to show off the food perfectly!

Would you like to try this Asian sensation? I have two $20 gift cards to give away to two of my readers! Please follow them on Twitter www.twitter.com/takarasushifl AND leave a comment on this post telling me your best sushi memory, and I will pick two winners on April 7. One random drawing, and one story that I like the most.

You can also learn more about Takara Sushi here:  www.TakaraSushiTampa.com

My best sushi memory was in NYC in 2011. I was at a small blogger conference, and had dinner at Sushi Samba with Natalie from She Takes on the World. We had just met, and used dinner to shoot the breeze, and used the server’s knowledge to determine what to order. I recommend their Shishito appetizer – small, sweet green peppers grilled and sprinkled with lemon juice – and the Green Envy sushi roll – which instead of seaweed had a wasabi pea crust filled with tuna, salmon, asparagus, and aji amarillo-key lime mayo.

Enough about me – go order some Takara sushi and then tell me your favorite sushi memory below!

{Disclosure: I was invited to this event by Takara Sushi and provided with food for free. I was also given a gift card to use on my next visit, and two gift cards to give away on my blog. All opinions are my own.}

Share

Spice cookies recipe

These better-for-you-than-most spice cookies are soft and a little crumbly with a lot of flavor!spicecokkies5350

Ingredients:

  • 1TB flaxseed meal
  • 3 TB water
  • 1/2 C coconut oil
  • 1/3 C honey
  • 1 TB agave nectar (or skip the agave and use 1/2 C honey total)
  • 1 C brown rice flour
  • 1/4 C whole wheat flour (or potato flour for gluten free)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • nutmeg (2 shakes), ginger (2 shakes) & cinnamon (6 shakes) – or 1 tsp. apple pie spice
  • 1/2 C chopped nuts if desired

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°.
  2. Combine flaxseed meal and water and allow to sit for about 5 minutes. (This acts as an egg substitute)
  3. Cream together oil, honey and agave. Add flaxseed mixture. Stir well.
  4. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Be sure to break up all baking powder.
  5. Drop onto lightly oiled or Silpat-lined cookie sheet
  6. Bake 10-12 minutes
  7. Eat while warm and save any remaining cookies in a tightly sealed container for the next few days

This makes a small batch of about 1 1/2 dozen or less.

Share