Kicking the 3 day weekend off right

I needed to note that letting Joe consume one of those gigantic Foster’s beers before doing the kenpo workout was a BAD idea. He was slightly intoxicated from it and would yell in my ear whenever Tony added sound to the punches or kicks or whatever. Then, he was flailing his arms all over the place and scary close proximity to me at all times. Seriously very obnoxious.

Of course, when I threatened to fight back, he’d get all upset. Hahaha.

We did manage to watch more of Ninja Warrior that I dvr’ed. And I learned with much delight (from Jenny) that when the U-verse updates took place, they added DVR functionality to the second box. So now, we can use the TV in the bedroom like a DVR to record, pause and delete shows. That was one of the biggest downfalls of U-verse when we first got it - but no longer!

Finally, we finished our night by hitting up 6th St. to go dancing. Last time we tried when Julie wanted to go dancing, we ended up all half asleep at the new Gingerman. We were super lame and boring. Dave & Julie made fun of me for not knowing the Doors or songs by Stevie Ray Vaughan and all these other old rockers. I admit that I have pretty lame taste in music. My high school days were filled with too much teenage pop thanks to a flood of boy bands and Britney-esque pop princesses. I wasn’t a brooding classic rock emo kid! Hahaha! I’m borrowing Dave’s Best of the Doors CD to get myself educated.

After hitting the dance floor at Pure - more like getting booted off once a dance off started - we went over to Casino El Camino for a tasty late night burger. We’d heard so much about these burgers and how they’re the best in town. They’re pretty darn good! HUGE. Joe and I split a burger because each one must be almost a pound of beef. Ridiculous. We also managed to run into Steve there.

Time for bed. Wanting to go to Ashtanga in the morning. Hmm… I know I shouldn’t have a heavy meal before practicing because I’ll feel it tomorrow. But it was worth it.

Note to self

Mold means…
- itchy, watery eyes
- congestion
- drainage
- fatigue & grogginess
- occasional sneezing
- phlegmy coughs

Hoping I can figure out symptoms to certain allergies.

That is all.

Constant rejection

Aside from Joe, Erik and occasionally Alex, I have been having the hardest time trying to get people to come play volleyball. I understand people have to work late for projects and other plans come up. But there has been a group of people at work who all said they were interested in playing and to let them know “next time” we’re playing… but sheesh! I get too many “maybe”s and late-notice no’s that I’m starting to feel discouraged.

Something that I’ve found about people at work (in general, not just the volleyball-interested folks) is that everyone is opinionated about what they want to see happen. But when it comes time to plan, organize, lead and DO, no one steps up. It is driving me nuts. Also, when somebody finally does step up, it becomes a solo act. No one offers to help or to share responsibility.

There’s also the problem of delegation. I’ve met many delegators in the course of my career, and I don’t think they realize that they just make themselves seem disposable. People start asking, so what the hell does _____ do?

Alright, so I’m hoping we have a better turn out next week. I’ve reached beyond my co-workers because clearly no one (besides the two I mentioned) is truly interested in playing. I’m hoping my old APO peeps will come through for me! It’s also just a great reason for me to see them. We all live in Austin, and yet we never hang out. Super lame.

Sweating so much!

Yesterday, Joe and I caravanned with Dave, Julie, Tom and their friends out to Blanco for the Real Ale Brewery anniversary party. We got out there around 1:30, and they gave each of us a food ticket and 4 beer tickets. We immediately got in line for a round of beer and then stood in the long line for food while the sun attacked us from above.

We managed to find a little spot under the big tent to set up some camping chairs. Holy cow, did we sweat! Every once in a while, we had a hot humid breeze blow through. The whole back of my shirt was soaked. We had fun though. They had a few bands out there to provide free music. And thankfully, they had ice cold water or we would’ve passed out from the heat.

Standing in line for food:
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More pics in the zen gallery.

We had already done our plyo workout that morning, so coming back from Real Ale was shower #2. We headed over to Sandy and Nathan’s afterward to eat some dinner, play with Tyler and come up with some content organization for the LLC website.

Right now, we’re just chilling at home after a morning of yoga (for me)/P90x (for Joe) and putting up with the heat to run our errands. We have Ranger over at the house to play with Boo Boo while Robin & Paul are out of town. When we went to go check on him, he was super excited that someone was there for him to play with. We feel so bad that he’s cooped up in the house and has no social interaction. And unlike Boo Boo, he WANTS social interaction.

Ah, but having him over here is a good reminder of why I love my Boo Boo bear. :o) Boo Boo doesn’t whine… probably because he doesn’t ever want anything. Ranger whines.

TV time, then shower time, then sleepy time.

Recipe: Chicken & Summer Squash Kebabs

Saw this in an email from Self, and it looks like a nice twist on the kebabs we usually make. Going to the store today to pick up ingredients, so I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
1 orange, juiced, plus zest
1 lemon, juiced, plus zest
1 lime, juiced, plus zest
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks (16 pieces)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 red onion, halved, cut into 1-inch wedges
2 large zucchini, halved, cut into eighths
2 yellow squash, halved, cut into eighths
Coarsely ground black pepper
Vegetable oil cooking spray
5 cups arugula (or other salad greens)
2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half

PREPARATION
If using wooden skewers, soak in water at least 20 minutes. Whisk first 5 ingredients and 1/4 cup oil in a bowl. Add chicken, arranging to make sure liquid covers all pieces. Cover with plastic wrap. Marinate 1 hour. Meanwhile, whisk together remaining 1/4 cup oil and vinegar and brush liberally on vegetables; reserve remaining liquid to use as salad dressing. On a wooden or metal skewer, thread (in any order you like) a piece each of onion, zucchini, chicken and squash, then repeat for remaining skewers. Season with pepper.

Coat grill with cooking spray. Heat grill to medium-high heat. Cook kebabs about 7 1/2 minutes per side or until chicken is firm and cooked through. Toss greens with remaining oil and vinegar mixture. Add salt and pepper. Divide greens among 4 plates. Place 2 kebabs on each plate. Garnish with tomatoes and serve immediately.