Nice Shot

This past week I had the honor & pleasure of escorting five journalists around north Louisiana, showcasing a number of the beautiful State Parks and partaking in various outdoor activities. The 3-day itinerary included fishing, golfing, hiking, birding, mountain biking, canoeing, an air boat ride, a hay ride, and my personal favorite - skeet shooting! It was my first experience shooting a real gun, and you know what, I was a pretty good shot. To be honest, I was nervous to even pick up the gun. But after I shot it the first time, I really had a blast and felt like a natural. The guys kept calling me Annie Oakley, which I'm told is a compliment. Shockingly enough, I have to admit that I'd love to go again. By the way, the caption to the photo above is me saying, "Ohhhhh YEAH!"

Rebel Red

When this bottle of wine was spotted at the local wine store, I couldn't help but stop and take notice. Although I'm a middle sister, at time fancy myself as a bit of a rebel , and yes I do have red hair, by no means did I think there was a wine named after me! Obviously, the bottle had to be purchased and promptly tasted. You know what, it was very smooth and quite tasty. I've since learned that it has won "Best in Class" and a Gold Medal at the San Franciso Chronicle's International Wine Competition. If you're looking for a nice, inexpensive table wine, you won't go wrong by picking up a bottle of this.

Unbeknownst to me, there is a whole line of Middle Sister Wines including Wicked White, Drama Queen, Forever Cool, Mischief Maker, and Smarty Pants. I quite enjoyed reading Middle Sister Wines website description of Rebel Red: "Did you know that birth order is commonly believed to have a profound and lasting effect on psychological development? And that the middle sister has a greater chance of having a special wine named just for her? A sassy blend of our three favorite red varieties perfect for sipping before, during and after our favorite family meals. Some people are just born lucky. Now give me back my blouse."

I Can See Clearly Now!!!

After more than 17 years of wearing contact lenses and glasses, I gave myself the gift of sight this year for Christmas! I had LASIK corrective eye surgery this past Friday afternoon and the result has me absolutely dazzled. My favorite game this weekend has been testing my vision. The follow-up doctor appointment yesterday morning confirmed that indeed it worked...I'm already seeing better than 20/20 in each eye! Modern medicine and technology is truly amazing.

The photo above was taken moments after the procedure was completed when I was pumped full of Valium. I had kind of a strange reaction to the medication. It is supposed to really calm you down and mellow you out to create a state of relaxation prior to the procedure - it had quite the opposite effect on me. It really got me jacked up and anxious. I also don't think the local numbing pain drops that they used on my eyes worked very well on me either because I basically felt the entire procedure. I'm told that this is not a normal reaction as most people feel no pain or discomfort whatsoever. Regardless, looking back now it was 100 percent worth the discomfort to be able to see. I would do it again in a heartbeat and strongly encourage LASIK to anyone who is dependent on glasses or contacts.

"Take The Pedi Back"

Following a late night after a big win and workout at the gym this morning, we stopped by the new nail salon that opened right down the street. Ray wanted to make sure that his "man card" would not be revoked, so he watched his Direct TV football package via live feed on his iPhone. I love that he does not have a problem with getting pampered, please don't get me wrong - he's 100% MAN! He later said, "I don't know how the female gender has kept the pedi from men for this long. Men should unite and take the pedi back." I can't argue with that!

Momma D.'s World Famous Banana Bread

Ray's mom taught me how to make her World Famous Banana Bread when she was here for a visit last year. There were a few ripe bananas laying around the kitchen and decided to make a loaf this evening. A telephone call was made to obtained permission to write this post get clearance to publish Momma D.'s super secret recipe. It is the best & easiest banana bread that I've made and turns out delicious every time.

Ingredients:
3 or 4 ripe mashed bananas
1/3 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a bread pan. Stir all ingredients in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon, do not over stir. Pour batter into bread pan and bake for 1 hour or until center is done.

It's Been Way Too Long

I'M BACK! I just got a new battery for my laptop. It's been dead for quite some time, which required me to be near a power source. I haven't been on my computer much when I'm at home...there's always so many other things that need to be done.

We had some tornadoes blow though town on Thursday. Man those things are powerful. I was in my office which is on the 10th floor when the F2 came through downtown. It was pretty crazy to feel the building shake & sway a bit. We quickly made our way down through the stairwell to
safer ground, but by the time we made it to the ground floor it had all blown over. I snap the picture below of an apparent industrial size air conditioner cover that blew off the roof & landed in the street.
It took me more than 1.5 hours to make it home, usually a 25 minute drive. There were trees down everywhere, roofs ripped off houses, power lines in the middle of the road, fires, and power outages. I had the radio on during the drive and heard that the steeple of the church downtown was blown off from the tornado and landed on a car. I later learned that the person in the car (who is miraculously alive and recovering well) is a good friend of ours.

On Friday our office was closed. Lucky for me because our street was flooded (see photo below taken Friday afternoon). Had I tried to drive through it in my low-riding car, I surely would've ended up with water in my car.

Mother Nature is an amazing chick! This October was the wettest in recorded history in northwest Louisiana! I'm glad it's November and haven't seen a drop yet.

Getting The Run-Around

My sister Suzanne and I registered for the P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon taking place in Phoenix, AZ on January 17, 2010 and training is well underway! Long-distance running somewhat "runs" in my family. Two of my sisters and I ran cross-country in high school. I remember my Dad running marathons growing up and going for 2-3 hour runs on Sundays even in the dead of Illinois winters. Dad trained people to run marathons and helped coach my cross-country and track teams.

January will be my third time running this particular race and I don't remember the training being this hard on my body the last time around. Ray keeps saying that this is what happens when you get older and to get used to it, but I don't want to buy into any of that. I talked to my Dad about all of my aches and pains last weekend and he recommended the first thing I do is buy a new pair of running shoes.

After a tough 5-mile run yesterday, I headed to Sportspectrum in Shreveport to check out their selection. They had a HUGE wall of shoes to choose from and the picture above only shows a fraction. It was really cool; they had me stand on a pad that measured how I distribute my weight on my feet, watched me walk, and recommended the type of shoes that would be best for me. I tried on several pairs, but none of them felt quite right. They were out of my size of the pair that I was certain would have been "The One." Apparently, this is the time of year that manufacturers release the new models of shoes. Due to this, the store will not be receiving another shipment of this particular model.

I'm torn! Do I locate the pair online that I think will work and hope for the best, or wait for the new models to arrive in a few weeks and try them on before buying?