Patterns and Peaches

By Natalie

I spent the day hanging out with my mom and dad. I cut out my dress, and my mom started sewing on it. It'll be done soon, with much bribery and convincing. Don't I have the best mommy?

Work Out
At 9:00 AM they have the Aquatics class at my pool, and they close down all lap swimming. Must get there before 9:00! My pool is um, very interesting. The elderly think the lap pool is a place where you just lounge about and hang out at one end of the pool, or hang on the lane ropes. I'm losing my patience very quickly with this pool congregation. I swam an easy 500 meters, and then did a little strength training. I won't even go into the elderly nudity that I've had to endure in the locker room. I need my eyes washed out with alcohol, and my brain erased.

Dinner
 Skillet Pork Chops Saute with Peaches from Cooking Light
I didn't have any white wine, so I subbed Micah's home brew. I had a little bit of trouble getting the sauce to reduce. This is no surprise, I'm terrible with sauces.  I also didn't add any shallots, just a little onion powder instead.

Mushrooms and Long Bike Rides

By Natalie

Saturday is the day we do our long rides. We are training to ride in the Hotter n' Hell in August. Which distance we'll do is to be determined at a later date. Long ride to me means 24 miles, and long ride to Micah means 50.  The plan was to start at the trail head at Hillcrest & 635. Then ride the 6 miles to White Rock Lake and then the 9 miles around the lake, and come back. The trail out to White Rock is nice and not too crowded, there are no lights or stops. The trail around the lake is a bit more crowded, especially on the weekends. Next week we need to get to the trail by 7:00 AM to avoid the heat and crowds. I think it is the most crowded from 8-10 AM.

Micah planned on doing the route twice.  In actuality, I rode 26.75 and Micah rode 51.5 miles. I am so proud of Micah! This is the furthest he's gone. It was pretty hot when he returned, and the wind didn't let up much. It is always pretty windy around the lake.

Dinner
Pork Chops Smothered in Mushrooms

Barley is always by my side when I'm cooking. He's the best at catching food that falls on the floor.

Wal-Mart
For some crazy reason I went to Wal-Mart not once, but twice. I knew I was taking a risk going on a Saturday, but I needed some things for our Father's Day dinner.  First off, I could barely push the cart around the store. Why do I always get the bum cart? Second, when I went to check out they had ONE checker working. I went up to said checker and informed him, he's the only one working and everyone else has left. He found someone to open up another register. And wouldn't ya know, the person in front of me wrote a check?! She had been standing in line for about 10 minutes, couldn't she have written it out while standing in line?

The second trip consisted of the same thing. No one to check you out.  After we finally got checked out, Micah said, "quick let's get out of here as fast as we can." I took this mean to start running with our hands in the air screaming, "I hate this place."

I'm sticking with Central Market. Although I did go there on a Saturday, and that place is crowded. You can't even maneuver in the produce, and I didn't have a cart. I bought my chicken and bee-lined it to the cash registers. No more grocery store trips for me....until Monday.

Busy Busy Thursday

By Natalie

The day was moving along just fine, until I dropped my iPhone on my hardwood floors. Here's the result:













It's still working, but I'm a little afraid that I'm going to cut my finger on the screen.

I went to a yoga class this morning. We worked on shoulders, which was convenient since mine has been feeling a little stiff.

I drove mom to the airport and then met up with these lovely ladies (Sarah, Christy & baby Anna, Jess & Caroline) and Hayden at Su Vino.

 Su Vino has a special place in my heart because of their almond champagne. Delicious! I got to hold baby Anna, and she's just so cute!

After wine tasting at noon, I jetted over to UT Southwestern to visit my cousin Katy. She's in the hospital for the next 10 days getting her antibodies exchanged. I made a stop at Whataburger and had a grilled cheese AND fries. I can't even tell you the last time I went to a fast food restaurant. I feel pretty guilty.

After all of my driving over the metroplex, I came home and made Pork Chops with a Blueberry sauce.

Then I had to have a glass of wine since the recipe required wine.

For dessert, I had mixed berries sorbet. It is so creamy, and was worth staying up late last night to make.

Oh, and Barley is peeved at me. I am trying to treat his continuous ear infections. He does not like it AT ALL.