Jim's Big Race...

Well it's 5K season and I thought that I would enter a few races this year, even though I've gone running probably less than 10 times since last Fall's Race for Pace. Today was the Steeler 5K. The draw of the Steeler run for me is that it starts outside at Heinz Field and finishes inside the stadium, with the runners crossing the 50 yard line. I figure my chances are slim to be doing that under any other circumstances. Plus, all of the proceeds go to the Art Rooney Scholarship Fund.

It was a beuatiful day and there were over 3000 runners this year. Former Steeler great, John Stallworth came all the way from his home in Alabama to be the Honorary Chairperson.

Once the race started, I may have paced myself a little too fast, since I felt like I was dragging most of the run. This was my first time for this race, and all that I knew about the course was that it was (thankfully) flat. We started out at the stadium and ran to the Andy Warhol Museum before circling back, then one more time around the stadium before going to PNC Park and heading back to Heinz field and the finish line.

I was able to finish in 28 minutes and 33 seconds, which I guess is not bad since I haven't had much "training time" lately. I was happy with the time and it was a great way to spend a Sunday morning in Pittsburgh. Thanks to Carrie for dragging herself out of bed on a weekend to come and along and cheer me on.

Next up, The Great Race 10K on September 27th... better start practicing!

Getting psyched up...

Waiting at the starting line...

Crossing the finish...

Post race popsicle...

Bear & Bailey become LOLCats...

You may or may not be familiar with www.icanhascheezburger.com and the world of LOLcats. For the uninitiated, it's a site with funny cat pictures that people add captions to. A while back, I submitted an amusing shot of Bear and Bailey, and so far, 39 people have added their own captions. Here was our original submission, which you may have seen on here before... Click on it to see four pages worth of other interpretations.

Update: When you get to the bottom of the first page of photos, click 'next' to go on to page 2-4.

Our Favorite Salad...

I've been trying to make dinner interesting lately, and it's not hard when there is an abundance of fresh produce available. Often, our meal includes a tossed salad, and over the years, ours has grown from a simple lettuce, tomato, cucumber trio to a more varied (and colorful) take. Now, the salad is so delicious, it can star as the main course. Here it is, in case you're looking for dinner inspiration.


Use as much of each ingredient as you like...

-Any lettuce other than iceburg. My preference is 1/2 Spring greens mixed with 1/2 Romaine (for crunch)
-Grape tomatoes (or sliced stem tomatoes, if you prefer)
-Cucumber or celery
-Shredded carrot
-Dried cranberries
-Sliced almonds
-Sliced whole dates
-Crumbeled feta or gorgonzola (optional)
-Recommended dressing is a Concord Grapeseed Vinaigrette by Brick Village Gourmet, but since you have to mail order that, you may prefer a Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Thanks to Christine Volk for the inspiration.

Jim's "Go or Don't Go" - Into the Wild

Carrie chose this week's film. She said that I would like it because it's about a guy that leaves everything to live alone in the woods. She knows that I have stated this wish in the past. Fortunately for her, I am one of the most unqualified people on the planet to even think about attempting it. That being said...

Into the Wild is one of those movies that you'll be thinking and talking about long after you've watched it. Directed by Sean Penn, this 2007 film documents the fascinating true story of Christopher McCandless, a 23 year old college graduate who wandered off into the Alaskan wilderness in search of truth, himself, and a host of other meaningful things.

Shunning a bright future as a law student, McCandless gives his sizable life savings to charity, packs up a few belongings, and heads west, virtually dropping off the face of the earth. Fleeing from an unhappy and dysfunctional family life, he destroys all personal identification and even 'changes' his name to Alexander Supertramp, all in an effort to break from the painful mess that was his childhood.

What ensues is a fascinating 2-year adventure that eventually leads him to living in an abandoned bus in the wilderness of Alaska. Along the way he meets up with hippies, farmers and a host of fellow travelers that help him in his journey and teach him a lot about life. Not only do they assist him in his quest to live alone in the wilderness, but they too are affected and changed by his passionate and uncompromising spirit.

Through an interesting combination of flashbacks, Penn weaves a riveting story. At over two hours long, the film never dragged for me. McCandless is not portrayed as a kook - I found myself vascilating between fascination and envy. He did what many dream of doing... freeing ourselves of societal commitments, jobs and expectations, and living at one with nature. Emile Hirsch is fantastic in creating the character of McCandless, in what must have been an extremely physically and emotionally demanding role - in fact, he had to drop his weight from 156 to 115 for the part. I was especially touched by Hal Holbrook's Oscar-nominated performance as Ron Franz, an elderly man that McCandless befriends toward the end of his journey (side note: I didn't even know he was still alive!).

Into the Wild is about a lot of things, but I think it's ultimately about a search for forgiveness and the peace that it brings. I say; "Go."

Viewer heads up - there is some brief, "silly" nudity (think hippies from Denmark) and some profanity throughout the film. You may want check out the book, which actually may be a more accurate telling of the McCandless tale.

Piano Update...

Do you feel like this is coming along as slowly as I do? :) Learning the piano is harder than I thought. Here's what I worked on last week.

First, a short clip of 'Little Brown Jug'



And here's 'Why Am I Blue?' - Yes, I still need to work on keeping the beat.

Website of the Week - Part Two

Ok, so in Part One of this feature, I told you about Google Reader, a way to organize all the blogs you read into one handy page. Today, I want to show you the wonder that is 'iGoogle' - the best thing to happen to the web since e-mail... in my opinion.

iGoogle is a homepage that replaces regular Google (as long as you stay signed in)- but it is so much more than Google- although the standard search bar remains. First of all, you can pick virtually any "theme" you want for your page, so it's fun to personalize it with something you love. iGoogle goes beyond Google Reader and organizes not just the blogs you read, but virtually everything you read onto one page.

You start by adding "gadgets"- iGoogle's word for all the applications you want to see on your iGoogle page. The possibilites are endless. Currently, my iGoogle page displays the following

-My Yahoo Mail account
-Facebook
-Google Reader
-My Daily To Do List
-Pittsburgh Doppler radar and 5 day forecast
-LOL Cats
-USA Today top news stories
-Bible Verse of the Day

You may wonder how this all fits on one page. Each app is neatly displayed in its own condensed box, which you can easily click on if you need to expand it for more information. But you are able to compose e-mail, post to Facebook, etc, right from the iGoogle page. You can position each box anywhere on the page so your most frequently used apps are at the top.

Want to get started? Click on the logo below to set up your account (I swear Google is not paying me for this infomerical, I just love iGoogle!)

Something to Ponder...

Website of the Week- Part One

I want to take a few minutes to introduce you to my favorite timesaver... Google Reader. Clearly, you read blogs (since you're here) and likely there may be several others you follow. As my list of sites to check ballooned, I realized I needed to streamline the "checking" process- especially since I wasted a lot of time visiting sites that had no new posts up.

Enter Google Reader. Once you add all your "subscriptions" (to the blogs you check regularly), it will scan them and post any new entries on one homepage so you can see everything new at a glance. Then you can either read it right from Google, or you can click on the entry to go to the actual blog page. Keep in mind, this only works for feeds (like blogs), not general websites.

Stay tuned for Website of the Week- Part Two, where I'll share another tip on how to combine Google Reader with another handy tool to make the web work even harder for you. In the meantime, click on the logo below to set up your own Google Reader.

Wedding Recap...

This past weekend we made a whirwind 1-day trip to Washington DC for the wedding of my dear college friend Annie (Markotic) to Elliott Munoz. It was a beautiful ceremony and I'm so glad we were able to be there on their special day.

The Newton White Mansion...
The stunning bride walking down the aisle...
Programs...
Just Married...
First dance...
The Atrium...
Table Settings...
We got to visit with Charity Karpac (Annie's Matron of Honor), who I'd not seen in a couple years- looking as fabulous as ever...
Me, Annie, Elliot, and Charity...

The Cake...

Us...

Striking centerpieces...

Enjoying the sunshine...

The bride and groom...

Congratulations to a lovely couple. We wish you all the best!

Item of the Week...

Jim has been asking me to post this for all you animal lovers... The Pledge Fabric Sweeper for Pet Hair. We used to go through tons of sticky rollers trying to keep up with all the fur buildup on the furniture. This handy tool does a better job and lasts longer than those. The only thing is, it is not meant to be reusable- once it is full, you are supposed to toss it. Seems like a waste, so I plan to just cut a hole in the top so we can easily remove the hair once it is full. Click below to go to the page with the demonstration video.