End of summer recap

It's Labor Day weekend and summer is coming to an end. This weekend means that school is starting back up, pumpkin will start filling up the grocery store shelves, I can start making crockpot chili again, and it's getting close to boot season (hurray!)...  It also means my birthday, which was September 2nd. I'm 28 years old. Wow, I'm getting old... I have to say my 27th year was one of my favorites. I fell in love and achieved goals I never thought possible (my first triathlon for example). I'm definitely excited for this year too, as I hope to reach other huge goals in my life. Work-wise, I'm studying to become a Project Manager and receive my PMP credential. It took months just to document 4500 hours of project work over the course of my career, but now that my application is submitted, I'm even more determined to pass my PMP exam and develop my career. This probably explains my lack of blogging since I have been documenting projects and studying for my exam every night.

I've got some big races coming up at the end of race season that are pretty lofty goals too - Naylor's Beach Triathlon and the Tough Mudder. Holy cow that means I need to get focused on training for both! The triathlon is just 3 weeks away! Labor Day was when I started my 10-week training program for the Richmond Half Marathon last year. I haven't decided if I'm running the half again, since I'm not in running shape, but I should. It would be nice to keep up that tradition for a 3rd year in a row. We'll have to see how I fair when I get back into running. Today marked my first day back on the trail. John and I, plus my best friend Brian hit Buttermilk for a morning run. It was absolutely gorgeous. And then I fell. What is with me and trail runs? Do I not lift my feet high enough? Am I just plain clumsy? I preach to everyone else who are just starting out trail running to always watch for roots and rocks, but I never list to my own advice. Oh well... Just a gash on my knee, looks just like the one John got a year ago during our first training run.

Since I don't have any other updates on my fitness, I figured I'd share some food photos instead. I've been busy cooking and dining out all summer long. For starters, grilling has been a favorite past time of mine. I love to grill large portabella mushroom caps with different types of toppings. This time around I made marinara and parmesan caps and then crumbled goat cheese caps. Soooo good! I also have a great recipe for grilled shrimp a friend of mine gave me:

3 garlic cloves minced

1 medium yellow onion

1/4 c. fresh parsley minced     

1/4 c. fresh basil minced

2 tsp. Dijon mustard        

1 tsp. dry mustard

2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 c. olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

• 2 # jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined ( you can keep the tails on if you want)
• Combine the garlic,onion, parsley, basil, mustards, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice. Add the shrimp and allow them to marinate for 1 hour @ room temp or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. 
• Brush the grill w/olive oil. Skewer the shrimp. Grill for 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Grill should be med to hi heat!

And finally, for my birthday, instead of going out to dinner, I decided to cook. Sometimes I really enjoy a home-cooked meal, especially since I had been eating out every day riding up to my birthday due to Hurricane Irene. We lost power Saturday and didn't get it back until the night before my birthday. At that point I was done with eating out and was happy to be back home!!! While the photo doesn't do it justice, I made carne asada fajitas with black beans and avocado. The peppers were cooked down with a tough of cumin and salt/pepper/garlic. The marinaded beef and peppers came from Trader Joes, my favorite place to grocery shop, ever.

Later on tonight, Brett and I will be baking Sunflower seed cookies for my mom's 60th birthday, compliments of my favorite blogger, Jenna, who writes a blog called Eat, Live, Run. If you haven't read her blog or cooked her recipes, you are missing out my friend.

That's all for now. Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!

Disney Word... The Most Magical Place on Earth, and the Tastiest!

Walt Disney once said, "If you can dream it, you can do it."

Not only did Walt's dreams come true when he created Walt Disney World, a nation full of dreams came true too. My roommates and I went to Disney World last weekend for one of their birthdays. I have been fixated on Disney ever since I went to a Disney Institute seminar at this year's annual SHRM conference in San Diego, California. Since I'm in Human Resources, I very much admire the culture and values of Disney's workforce. They call their employee's "cast members" and when you interview for a job at Disney, you "audition" for the "role" instead. When we first pulled up to the Magic Kingdom and all it's glory, I noticed an employee training session going on at the bus stop where folks were learning how to drive the Disney transit buses. Instead of calling it training, the buses read, "earning my ears." How creative is that? I love it.

Anyway... Below are my two roommates. Happy Birthday to Stine with her trio of tequilla shots and Talley enjoyed Canadian cheese fondue:

But back to what my blog is really about... the magical world of Disney. We started our adventure at Universal Studios where we hit every major ride from Jaws to ET, Harry Potter to Men in Black, and Toy Story to Twister. As a movie fanatic, it was one of the best times I've ever had. But what came the next day truly falls under one of the most magical days of my life. The night before, we decided just a one-day one-park pass would not do. We upgraded to a one-day park-hopper pass and started our day at 9am at the Magic Kingdom. November is the perfect time to go to Disney World. Yeah it was chilly, but we were still able to survive Splash Mountain comfortably and there were barely any lines for each ride. Plus, we arrived at the park's first day of Christmas celebrations. Every park was decorated to the T with holiday cheer and holiday music blasted from every angle. There's no way you couldn't smile at a scene like this.

After the Magic Kingdom is where the real "adult" fun began. We headed for Epcot's annual International Wine and Food Festival, the 15th anniversary. Every foodie's dream come true: a tour through countless countries with authentic food tastings and spirits to match. It was a dream come true for me, thats for sure! Since I can't go into detail of every country, I've decided to list the top 5 countries and food/wine pairings:

1. New Zealand: Lamb slider with tomato chutney paired with Villa Maria Private Bin Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc... The most tender and juicy ground meat I've ever had. Flavor spilled out with every bite and the tomato chutney added the perfect combination. Definitely my favorite dish.

2. Chile: Shrimp Ceviche paired with Casillero del Diablo Sauvignon Blanc (Do you see the trend here? It's pretty obvious Sav Blanc is my favorite white wine)... The combination of citrus and spice hits your palette like you wouldn't imagine. The cilantro and lime seasons tender shrimp bursted with cool flavor and the Sav Blanc was a perfect pairing. I'm actually drinking a glass of this very wine as I write this blog because I loved it so much.

3. Japan: Tuna sensation... Paired with Morocco: Tangerine Mimosa... Yes I ended up eating from one country and drinking from another (very different) one. But what a combo! The tuna sensation consisted of raw sushi-grade albacore tuna on top of lump avocado chunks and drizzled in soy sauce. I'm a sushi fanatic and this was literally heaven for any sushi lover (except if it were upgraded to toro but I'm not that picky). The folks who ran the Morocco booth said I had beautiful blue eyes and topped off my Tangerine Mimosa with a shot of Orange Royal liquor. Now THAT's a mimosa.

4. France: Escargots Persillade en Brioche... Australia: Penfold's Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet... The escargots (snails) were seasoned with garlic and parsley and cooked inside these little phyllo dough circular pockets coated in butter. Wow is all I have to say. Plus, I absolutely love Penfold's wine. An excellent choice for any dinner party I might add.

5. Spain: Seared Albacore Tuna with Romesco Sauce paired with Paul Chenau "Lady of Spain" Cava Brut... Give me a glass of champagne or Sparkling wine any day. I love it. I wish I could drink it all the time but I guess it should be saved for special occasions and when I have a morning to recover from the glorious hangover/headache that always ensues after a night champagne libations. Bravo, Spain.

I was going to go into honorable mentions next but I think this post is long enough. So there you have it. My top 5 international food and wine tastings from Disney's Epcot 15th International Wine and Food Festival.

To end the most magical vacation I've ever had, we enjoyed an excellent concert

by Hanson in Epcot's amphitheater. Hanson was one of my favorite bands growing up and yes, we still love them today. Following the concert, we headed straight for Hollywood Studios, the Disney park that extended their hours of operation to 11pm. Thank god for the countless drinks I had before, otherwise I wouldn't have let my roommates convince me to go on the Aerosmith roller coaster and the Tower of Terror. But I did it, even the Tower of Terror twice!

To really make the day and night one of the happiest days I can imagine (as if it couldn't get any better based on the description above), we wondered to the back-lot of Hollywood studios and stumbled upon the most miraculous holiday light show where fake snow and Christmas music played all around us. It truly was a moment I'll never forget.

So hopefully you've made it through the world's longest blog post and enjoyed it. Oh, and one more thing... No one can go to Disney World and not have a Mickey waffle for breakfast! Enjoy!

Birthday dinner at Edo Squid

Oh holy Jesus. We just had the best dinner ever at Edo Squid. Was planning on going to Pescados but wasn't craving Latin/Caribbean seafood anymore. John ordered the duck and it was monumental. Happy birthday to me!