I DID IT!

I successfully rode 65 miles last Friday on RAGBRAI from North Liberty to Tipton! Yea, me! Also a major shout out to my sister Jessie and her husband Chris (they did 3 whole days) and my mom, Lorene, who joined for the Friday ride, too. We had a great time- it was exhausting but so much fun to stop at all the small towns and road-side stands and to see all the crazy teams and variety of people who participate. Viewing the Iowa landscape by bike was a whole new experience and we got a chance to visit some towns that otherwise might never have crossed my mind to see. Towards the end of Friday and definitely Saturday morning my booty and quads were crying but the satisfaction of the accomplishment was so worth it!

Enjoying a local cider beer near historic Sutliff, IA

damn this hill- but we made it eventually!

the town of Mechanicsville had an authentic Cajun shrimp boil- enjoyed with a couple cold beers of course! yum yum

Mom & Chris enjoy sauerkraut in Lisbon- home of the upcoming Sauerkraut Festival :)

Jessie & Chris cooled off by slip 'n sliding down a gigantic hill in some one's yard on the final stretch to Tipton

Celebrating in Tipton- WE MADE IT!

wish me luck!

For some reason I think I can ride 65 miles on bike tomorrow for the North Liberty to Tipton leg of RAGBRAI....yikes!

SALSA!

My sister joined me last night in Coralville at the New Pioneer Co-op for one of their cooking classes- Salsa, Fabulous Salsa! It was so much fun! We learned how to use fresh ingredients from our gardens to make homemade pico de gallo, guacamole, fruit salsa and appetizers using salsa, etc. We even got to sip samples of wine, Corona & margarita with various salsas- our fave part by far! The attached picture is of the Fruit Salsa with jalapenos & feta cheese recipe- courtesy of my sister, Jessie. Thanks Jessie and thanks for coming with- we'll have to do many more classes together!

grill it

I attempted my first homemade grilled pizza the other day- DELISH! It was a little stressful getting the dough onto the grill in an orderly fashion but it turned out fine in the end- let's say it was 'rustic looking' - tasted great though and I'm pretty sure this is just the beginning of my attempt to grill every carb under the sun this summer :) I highly recommend trying this for your next homemade pizza!

Guitar Hero

Last night Mike & I joined the Guitar Hero bandwagon on an impulse purchase after a teaser last week left us wanting it for our own. We love it! I'm really not good yet, but I have faith I will soon be the hero of our household :)

Ozarks!

Our annual trek to the 'Zarks was once again a lively, hilarious & adventurous trip. Here are some pics to highlight the good times:

Mike & I pose for a photo-op on the boat

The girls (Kay, Sarah, Deb, Jessie & me)

Jessie & Chris take off on the jet-ski (later it would have to be towed behind us back to the marina...)

Uncle John picks up a turtle that was swimming by!

Mike takes a leftover crawfish from Chris' meal of Jambalaya, names him Pete and keeps him in his pocket for hours- later he was returned to the water for a proper burial

AMERICA... F* YEAH!

Happy almost Independence Day!

Our 3 day holiday weekend plans:

-meet Jessie & Chris (sis & bro-in-law) at our house after work today

-drive to Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri

-arrive at rental house on TanTara golf course around midnight

-boat, drink, watch fireworks on the lake, get some sun, eat, jump off cliffs into the water, enjoy family & friends

Happy Smoking Ban Day!

Am I the only person in Iowa who is ecstatic about the state-wide smoking ban taking effect today? Probably not, but it seems like it because every article in the papers of late are only filled with the opinions of the smokers and how 'unfair' this ban is and how it infringes up their rights. Well smokers, welcome to the start of my rights.

Second hand smoke is a PUBLIC HEALTH issue and that is that. I believe everyone has the right to clean, fresh air in public places and these include bars and restaurants. Why should public health as a whole be at risk for the consequences of second hand smoke (3rd leading cause of PREVENTABLE death in the US) just because someone wants to light up and slowly kill themselves while the rest of us are trying to enjoy a drink or meal? So needless to say I'm a little bit opinionated when it come to this issue. What do you think?