Victory is oh-so-sweet!

On Saturday my friend Levi and I went to Dave and Buster's for a bit o' fun. We started out at the bar, watching college football and sipping on margaritas - Patron margaritas for him and watermelon for me. I was looking forward to some delicious Goldfingers (Dave & Buster's version of fried chicken - I am a southern girl afterall) but was also considering the peppercorn sirloin steak so I asked the server for her opinion... and thankfully she was honest because it turns out that Dave & Buster's recently changed their Goldfingers and they're now pre-battered!!! WTF!!! Why would they change a great thing??? So I ordered the peppercorn sirloin steak and Levi ordered the Black Jack BBQ chicken & ribs. My first comment was that everything just looked "cold" almost as if it had been sitting on the plate for hours and, well, the loaded mashed potatoes were room temperature and the ribs, chicken, and steak were just below hot but it certainly wasn't the worst meal I had ever eaten and since we opted for the Eat & Play Combo so we would get $20 cards plus our meal for $27.99, it was certainly worth $7.99. When Levi commented that at least our server was quite attentive even if our meal wasn't up to par, I laughed because it reminded me of Mark & Darron's Casual Critics website and blogs so I took a minute to tell Levi about it... (BTW... When are you guys gonna start that up again??? I love the concept and you could be the Zagat guide for the average guy (and gal).).

But this blog isn't about the food or the Casual Critics - it's about the competition and, ultimately, the winner. It's about me, of course... So, after lunch and a couple of margaritas, Levi and I familiarize ourselves with the the Dave & Buster's layout - things had changed since the last time we were there and we noted a few new additions as well as the absence of the Mocap Boxing game (though we later found it in the far corner). We decided to start our afternoon with the new and very "realistic" Nascar race game. Levi whined a little bit because I picked his driver and, honestly, I don't even remember who I picked - it might have been Jeff Gordon - or not. We raced against another man and his son and admittedly I only came in third place but what really matters is that Levi came in fourth, behind us all, and I was ultimately victorious against him! We wanted to play Super Shot next, but it was crowded so we played Skeeball instead... and, once again, I was victorious. Levi, ever the gracious loser, appropriately commented on my soft roll and admitted that he would never attempt a 100-point jackpot (mentioned because I had attempted and obtained one). Victory was so sweet at this point...

Next we played Super Shot basketball (Levi-5, Lali-0 (ouch - guess I'm gonna give up on that WNBA career)), D&B Downs horse racing (Levi-3, Lali-2), and air hockey (Levi-2, Lali-1) and I was starting to get discouraged so I HAD to find something that I could win... So we played what I fondly named "Jumpin Jack Crack." This machine simulated a jump rope, but lights flashed from your feet, up and around an arc and back down the other side. You had to jump over the lights and each time you jumped over them it sped up a bit more and you got more and more points for every jump. I went first to show Levi how it was done and did a respectable 6 jumps (in heels, I might add). Levi tried 3 times, though, and was unable to complete even a single jump - not 1! Mission accomplished - my confidence was back! For the tiebreaker we picked the water races game, where each player aims a water gun at a target, thus causing a car to "race" up a track. Obviously this game takes zero skill... but nonetheless, I won and that's all that matters!

As victor I got to choose Levi's "punishment." I decided to get a SpongeBob tattoo from the prize center and to put it on his forearm... I loved the idea of him explaining his loss to his co-workers when they noticed the tattoo on Monday... Had they offered medals in the prize center, I would have gotten one to commemorate my win! LOL! It's great to be a winner! :-D

5k warm up

My 5k is on Wednesday so I decided to run a 5k this morning to
practice... Not bad!

It's such a pain in the subtalar joint...

For the last several months I've had an ache deep in my right foot when I walk or after I run or dance (but not during those last two activities - odd, but ok). The location of the pain was elusive... it seemed like it was kind of in my ankle area, but more under the ankle... and since I hadn't experienced any foot or ankle injuries within the last year or so, I was a bit baffled. After meeting with my doctor, getting 3 x-rays on my ankle, and waiting the inevitable 2 months for a "new patient time slot" with a podiatrist, I now know the cause of my pain...

It turns out that I have a "chip" in my subtalar joint, which is right below the ankle joint. And, well, it can't be fixed. Fortunately, though, the pain isn't so unbearable (yet) that it prevents me from walking, running, dancing, etc. - it's just a bit annoying. The doctor suggested that orthotics could relieve the pressure in that area when I walk so I'll most likely have some custom made for me (Orthotics is such a sexy word, isn't it? Not.). I also received a cortisone shot directly into my joint and supposedly this could relieve the pain for several months or it could do absolutely nothing for it. I just got the shot yesterday, though, and apparently the pain of getting the shot lingers for 24 hours or so and as of now I am not pain-free in that area... but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it works! It's so much fun getting old...

Walk/Run

I walked and talked for the first .5 miles then did .1 walk/run
intervals... I felt out of breath during my runs... Not a good day...

Raiders recap...

Ok, so obviously the game sucked... but I still had a great time at the game with JoJo. We had planned on getting there around 4:00 to tailgate with my friend Rob, but of course we didn't get to the game until 5:45. We tried calling and texting Rob and while we were waiting for a reply, we decided to take a shot from the bottle of Cabo Wabo that I had in the trunk of my car for sharing at the tailgate. And, of course JoJo had shot glasses in her purse... but no lime... and, since JoJo didn't want to take shots of tequila without lime, she approached another tailgate party and asked for lime... (btw, that's a pic of the lime I found on top of my convertible at the end of the game... lol) but then offered shots of tequila in exchange... not quite an equal exchange, but ok... Fortunately, the lime providers realized the uneven exchange and offered up some of their yummy carne asada as well and since JoJo and I were starving (we were planning on eating at Rob's tailgate but had yet to hear back from him), we took them up on their offer! After 4 shots of Cabo Wabo and 1 really big piece of carne asada on a warm corn tortilla, we thanked our new friends for the hospitality and were off to find Rob (he had called with directions). Either we were too drunk or Rob's directions were lame because we couldn't find him. We did, however, gets lots of attention from other Raiders fan and one man even tried to get in on one of our pictures!

After Noni put the game on "WTF" status and our buzz wore off, JoJo and I decided to head towards Rob's seats so we could buy him a drink. Thankfully we had a drink on the way because after trekking all the way to the other side of the stadium we find out that Rob is visiting a friend 2 rows behind my season ticket seats (which are in Section 146, but Noni was sitting in those seats - I was sitting in my half-season ticket seats in Section 147). Funny enough, Rob's friend (he's in the white hat) and his son (he has his sunglasses on the back of his head) are in this picture that I took of Noni during the game... Anyway... When we finally find Rob we tell him that he now has to buy us a drink and he graciously complies... but JoJo decides to head back towards Rob's seats because she saw a friend and wanted to say hi. Ridiculously JoJo asks me to "hold" her drink so she can quickly head over and then come back. Needless to say, by the time JoJo returns both my drink and her drink have been consumed and unfortunately the "bar" was closed as it was after the 3rd miserable quarter. When the game had 4:35 left in the 4th quarter and Raiders were down 41 to 7, I announced that I couldn't take anymore so JoJo and I headed out in search of something to eat.

We ended up at an In-n-Out and after going through the drive-thru (the dining area was closed) we sat in the car and ate. (Here's a pic of me in the parking lot - I'll let you speculate as to what exactly I'm doing...) And, since we had suffered enough punishment for the night, decided to head home. FYI, the Raiders lost - 41 to 14... Yeah, they were definitely annihilated... :o (

BTW... I few comforting words from my friends who supported me (and the Raiders) even though they couldn't make it to the game... "Wow. This is bad." "This sucks. I'm disappointed... Sorry!" "I turned on the game and thought I was watching track and field, as many yards as the Broncos were running... LOL." Thanks for the support guys!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

Recently, a friend of mine broke up with her boyfriend. Later on that same evening I called to make sure that she was ok, etc. A piece of our conversation was hilarious (to me - not to her) and I just had to blog about it (nothing like kicking someone when they're down, right)...

Me: Hey, T-Rev baked a cake tonight. Do you want me to save a piece for you?
Her: No, I just had ice cream.
Me: Ice cream? Yum!
Her: Yeah, I finished off the rest of JC's ice cream.
Me: Oh, he had ice cream at your place?
Her: Well, I bought it for him.
Me: Ice cream sounds good. What flavor was it?
Her: It was gross - butter pecan - I practically had to choke it down.
Me: LOL. Then why did you eat it??? I like butter pecan - I would have eaten it.
Her: I don't know. I just wanted it gone so I wouldn't be reminded of him.
Me: Yeah, well... those extra pounds will remind you of him for weeks - LOL. I'll bring you a piece of cake, though, so you can blame the weight on T-Rev instead.
Her: Gee thanks - you're such a good friend - not.
Me: Well, I would have eaten the ice cream for you had you offered it to me - now THAT is a good friend, is it not?
Her: Yeah, well... you're about 20 minutes too late.

More running...

I guess I should admit that I signed up for a 5k corporate challenge
on Sept. 17. So I obviously need to get some practice in the next 2
weeks!

Running again...

Can I stay motivated this time around...?