Turns out I get distracted and forget about blogging. Here's a quick life update since April 9:
Travel - Since I last posted I've been to New York, Raleigh, Nashville, Houston, Hill Country (Texas), Lindale (East Texas), Florida (Kennedy Space Center ish), Michigan.
Visitors - Some of my Raleigh favorites have made their way to Texas to visit. First Karlie and Sarah came in May. The following weekend, Lindsay came. Man, I miss Raleigh and LOVE visitors. So everyone needs to visit.
Recent Highlights:
Going to NASA's last shuttle launch. This was for work - it involved little sleep, but was such an awesome experience - I am so glad I have amazing opportunities like this with work.
Launch photo:
Michigan. I went to visit L in Michigan (my last post was about meeting her in CA). It is beautiful in the summer - we had so much fun exploring and catching-up. We checked out Sleeping Bear Dunes (insane hike back up), Mackinac Island (no cars allowed - took a ferry over and rented bikes), saw some great lakes, and visited lots of wineries.
Lake Michigan:
Races. I signed up for Tour de Fleurs 10k. Am hoping to do a 1/2 marathon this fall. We'll see.
More updates, hopefully soon...
Last week I went to Northern California for a variety of reasons:
1. My cousin's wedding! My cousin Lana got married in Columbia and the timing worked out so I could attend. It was an amazingly fun wedding and beautiful. They got married outside at the Columbia Airport Clubhouse (they met at the airport when Lana was in pilot training). We had a smaller than usual showing of our side of the family (as the wedding was organized quickly and out of Texas), but I loved seeing aunts, uncles and cousins - and their kids! Congrats to Lana and Will - and welcome to the family, Will!
2. One of my closest friends from Raleigh moved to Modesto last summer. Eric was my neighbor and it was easy to grab dinner or a drink or just hang out with him on a regular basis. I really missed him when he moved - but caught up with him in Dallas around Christmas. I'd been hearing about his job, friends and new place in Modesto and it was a great chance to check it out.
3. Somehow, it worked out that this is when one of my favorites, L, was also in Northern California. Background: L quit her job and began traveling across the US in Jan, staying with friends in various cities (she was actually planning to stay with Eric whether or not I was there). I can't express how excited I was to be a part of L's cross-country adventure. L pretty much left Dallas right before I moved here - it was so great to see her.
My adventures...
Wednesday night:
Arrived in Sacramento close to midnight - L picked me up and we went to this hip restaurant/bar, Ink, to grab a drink and food. We stayed at a hotel in Sacramento.
Thursday:
SLEPT IN - and it was AMAZING - both L and I needed it. Then we went for a quick run along the American River Trail (I conveniently picked a hotel on a running trail), through Old Sacramento and even through a tunnel that led to a shopping mall downtown. We used Yelp to find a great local lunch place - Magpie - SO good), then walked to a coffee shop. On our way to Modesto, we stopped at Delicato Tasting Room for some wine (and to make friends). Once we made it to Eric's house, we headed to meet his friends at a local English pub. His friends are awesome - he has a great group that he hangs out with and they were all really welcoming and fun.
Friday:
Went to the store for supplies and made cookies (I make incredible oatmeal chocolate chip cookies) for Eric...and us. L and I were up for some drinking so we headed to downtown Lodi to explore wineries. We made it to Jeremy's, Dancing Fox (picked up some fresh bread and dipping vinaigrette here), Cheese Central, Cellar Door and Grand Amis. Everywhere we went we made friends - we had fun chatting with strangers...who even told us to ditch Eric and stay with them. We made it back to Modesto to have some of our purchased deliciousness and went to a pool hall to meet Eric's friends for a night of competitive games.
Saturday:
Wedding day! Drove up to Columbia in the morning (the wedding was at noon) to see everyone. As I mentioned above - it was a beautiful outdoor wedding. I just love reasons to celebrate with friends and family. After the wedding, which I made L join for 20min (she hated me) and successfully avoiding catching the bouquet, we headed back to Eric's. In preparation for having all of his friends over, we played an intense game of scrabble to sharpen our brains before drinking games. It was another entertaining night with a group of fun people.
Sunday:
Went to a delicious local diner for breakfast, met a midget cat, then hit the road for the Sacramento airport. My flight back included a medical emergency landing in Vegas, but otherwise was uneventful (at least our plane didn't turn into a convertible).
It was a perfect long weekend - I was so happy the timing worked out for me to see everyone. Thanks to L who was my chauffeur the entire time. Thanks to Eric for being a wonderful host and entertaining us.
Here are the photos - most of them are of L and I at wineries...
Nothing is better than a birthday filled with wonderful friends - whether it's in-person, phone, text, Facebook, Heytell or ESP.
A few highlights:
- Friends that incorporated hilarious quotes from the Bachelor into my birthday wishes
- An awesome, thoughtful gift that is hanging in my kitchen - spicy! (photo below)
- Beer and homemade cookie cake (my fav) with wonderful, favorite friends at the Gingerman
- A surprise package of plastic eggs (not sure what's in all of them yet - I've discovered a chocolate, the word SNAKE and a photo)
- Singing voicemails
- A drunken phone call at 9am
- Birthday wishes from friend's kids
- Wrong age mentions (I'm not 32 or 40)
- An amazing work dinner at Neighborhood Services
- Food references - mentioning chips, snacks and m&ms
- L's gift - I guessed it before I opened it
- Tweets
- Love from NC friends who claim they miss me
I'm very lucky to have such wonderful friends and family in my life! Thank you all!
For my birthday I got a few really cool, unique gifts. I love that my family got gifts that were not the usual.
My parents got me something that will take some work in order for me to get something out of it: a mini garden. They got these two box planters with tomatoes, bell peppers, basil and thyme plants! I am so excited - but I have NEVER kept a plant alive. Maybe these guys will be successful because this is the most I've ever been committed to plants. Anyway, I live on the third floor and have a tiny balcony, so we'll see how they do - no animals to eat them (err, do birds eat these?).
www.jessredman.com !!! My brother and his wife bought me this domain. Ok, I know I should be using it now, but I've been so busy I haven't had a chance to explore. Just wait though, I'll be moving the Adventures of Jess over there. I can't wait to learn more about web development (is it even that?) and have my own site!
I have a love/hate relationship with the Katy Trail. It's by far the best place to run around here. Great path with mile markers every 1/4 mile, with easy access to get on and off the trail. But it is always packed: runners, strollers, dogs, roller bladers, walkers. I love seeing so many people out and about but there are certain things that drive me crazy.
A few pet peeves:
- People with dogs on retractable leashes with their dogs on the other side of the trails - AH! Your dog should be right next to you, no one should have to attempt to step over the leash!
- People who are doused in perfume/cologne - it just makes me gag when I run by and smell your musky or floral overwhelming scent!
- People carrying their pet - seriously. I see this way too much. Generally it's girls who do this. They carry their pets on their hip like a child. I really shouldn't care but I find them really annoying.
Anyway, it's really great that so many people are active so I can overlook my personal issues and keep on running.
Update...
Bikes:- I love it when bicyclists give a heads-up on passing. There are so many people/noises you can't always hear a high-speed biker approaching. Wish everyone did it.
- Parents teaching their kids to ride bikes - it is way too busy on the Katy Trail for this is be safe.
Did I forget anything else?
As I'm getting into my routine here in Dallas, I needed to sign up for a few races. I found some great ones in March:
- St. Paddy's Day 5k on Greenville Ave - Saint Patrick's Day in Dallas is INSANE. Next Saturday, March 12th, there's a parade down Greenville Ave and drinking all day starting at 8:00am. The street is lined (for like 3-4 mi) with tents of people tailgating, tons of restaurants hosting parties and lots of drunk wanderers. Really it's an all day party. So some friends and I will kick off the day with a 5k at 8:30am (I heard last year everyone stopped a few times during the run to chug green beers), then the parade is at 11:00am, followed by all day and night drinking. Very excited for this non-competitive run!
- Dallas Rock n Roll Half Marathon Relay - I wish I was ready for a half marathon but I'm definitely not. When Taylor asked if I wanted to do the relay half, I knew it would be the perfect chance to get a race in this spring, and have a great runner on my team. Our team name is "All Rock No Rolls" (note to self: start doing crunches) and my registered name is "Chief Redman" (thanks, Tay!). This is the last weekend in March...right after spending a week at a tradeshow - my feet are going to hate me. But this should be another great race!
I'm realizing I won't be signing up for a half this spring so I'm keeping an eye out for a 1/2 this fall to register for. Open to recommendations!
Another week exploring food places around Dallas. Some recent places I tried:
The Blue Fish - A Japanese/Sushi restaurant over on Greenville Ave - across from the Granada Theater (where I was headed for IgniteDallas). I went with some co-workers/friends for a quick drink and sushi. I have to say they have a great happy hour menu - they had several rolls and other appetizers that were around $4. The crab potstickers, salmon roll, california roll and shrimp tempura roll were all pretty good - nothing special, but a great deal.
Quarter Bar/Breadwinners - On McKinney Ave at Hall
Part 1: Quarter Bar and Breadwinners are next door to each other and owned by the same people. Quarter Bar has great drink specials ($2 wells and $2 domestics on Thursdays) and Breadwinners has great food. So my friends and I went to Quarter Bar and ordered off the menu of Breadwinners. I had the Grilled Mahi Sandwich - it was pretty good. I could have just ordered the Mahi - the bun didn't really do anything for me. The side caesar salad was also pretty good.
Part 2: I was meeting some friends for brunch and we were set to meet at Breadwinners at 11:30am on Sunday (I normally don't go to the same place twice in a week, but I'd heard they have amazing brunch). There was a huge crowd waiting outside and we were told there would be a 15 min wait - based on the number of people I assumed it would be closer to 45min, but they were getting people seated. We waited about 20min. It was the best brunch menu I've ever seen. There were at least a dozen things I wanted. I'm not even exaggerating. I'm going to have to go back a few times - and will absolutely be taking visitors here. I decided on the Stuffed Biscuit, one of their weekly specials and WOW - it was fabulous. It was a biscuit that was set on top of "brunch potatoes" the biscuit was overflowing with scrambled eggs filled with bacon, sausage, cheese, veggies and topped with gravy. I only ate half and ate the rest for lunch today - still delicious.
Here's a photo:
Jake's Burger's - A burger spot on McKinney at Boll - My parents came over to help me hang curtains and a few other things and we were looking for a low-key spot on a Saturday evening where we wouldn't have to wait. It was the perfect place - nice enough weather to sit on the patio and people watch on McKinney Ave (my parents were entertained). I got the Flaming Rooster - I know, not a burger but it sounded so good- Grilled chicken, hot mustard, Monterey jack cheese, and fresh pico de gallo. And it was sooooo good. The hot mustard and pico were perfect - both my parents tasted it and agreed it was stellar. My dad had the Jalapeno Bottle Cap Burger and I had a bite - equally delicious. My mom had the caesar salad and said the chicken on it was fabulous but I wasn't interested in trying as I was focusing on scarfing down my chicken sandwich. We split an order of their waffle cut sweet potato fries and Jumpin Jake's fries. The sweet potato fries were topped with brown sugar and cinnamon, which were delicious. But my favorite were Jumpin Jake's fries - they were just seasoned perfectly. Although I have to say, I still think Ketchup (mentioned last week) has the best fries.
My Flaming Rooster:
And fries:
