Kelly Times Two

I'm starting to get nervous for the triathlon that's coming up on Labor Day. It would be so much better if I had someone doing it with me in my age category (40 and over) at the sprint distance who is at about the same skill level that I am (whimpy), just for the company. I have friends who are doing the race that are doing the Olympic distance so they will start at a different time. I'm excited but am having feelings similar to my friend, Bobbi, wondering what I've gotten myself into. I've been training here and there, so I'm more prepared than the last tri. The heat we've had here in Austin certainly hasn't been too helpful for the situation. It makes going outside and running or biking quite uncomfortable. I wish one of my sisters would come do the race with me! I even asked Julie to join me, and she said she would if I bought her plane ticket out here and I said I would. But then I looked at the triathlon online and the race is completely full and re...

Friday night, Kelly and the kids and I went to see Wicked for the first time and it was a nice way to celebrate our 23rd anniversary, which was that day. When I bought the tickets in May, I went back and forth on how many tickets to buy, two or four, and decided that both our kids would be old enough to enjoy the show. The music and orchestra were especially a treat for all of us. The UT campus was hot, like most days this summer have been. We begin mandatory water restrictions tomorrow, where we can only water our lawn once a week. This drought is intense. For those who want to put their name in for the show two and a half hours prior, there is a drawing for $25 a seat, with a two ticket limit. Good to know! We had decent seats, in the lowest balcony on the left, and I sat right on the edge. It was cozy. I just wish I had not left my binoculars on my desk at home so I could get a closer glimpse at the actors' faces. All the binocular rentals had sold out. Next time. Kelly and...

Today I had the pleasure of being in the San Antonio temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with Sarah, one of my former Laurel class members when I was a Young Women's advisor a few years ago. What a special day it was to see how Sarah has grown and progressed in the past four years, and to be going through the temple, preparing for her upcoming wedding on Saturday. She was truly one of the most amazing young women when she moved to Austin from West Virginia the summer before starting her senior year of high school, very easy to love, and I wished that there were a dozen more, just like her. She has always been the kind of person that I hoped my daughter would be like some day, whom I really looked up to and appreciated for her talent of including everyone, frequently organizing fun youth get togethers. This morning, I got to meet her darling fiancé, Dustin. They seem like the perfect pair, and I could not be more happy for the two of them. What made it more spe...

My sister kept telling me about these smoothies that she's been whipping up, and they honestly sounded disgusting and I could not bring myself to making it. Then Lindsey visited her in Utah a few weeks ago, and was a guinea pig for the concoction and she loved it! Three times, in the past three days, we have now made the Popeye Smoothies, as I've renamed them. Julie refers to her chilly beverage as an elixir, which suits her Wicked passion. Christopher and I photographed the recipe to show everyone, and if you're brave, try for yourself. Step 1: add 4 ounces of white grape juice concentrate and 4 ounces of water to the blender Step 2: add 2 (heaping) cups ice cubes Step 3: add 2 (heaping) cups fresh baby spinch leaves Step 4: add 1 stick butter (just kidding, that WOULD be gross) it's a pineapple wedge Step 5: add one (ping-pong ball sized) lime--the seeds, imperfect looking peeling, pith, pulp, and all Step 6: put the lid on tightly and blend until smooth. It makes ...

Today was Lindsey's 18th birthday and we had a fun weekend celebrating. The next 18 pictures will show how we partied the last two days, and highlight some recent pictures of the birthday girl. So here we go--18 REASONS WHY I LOVE MY DAUGHTER, LINDSEY: #1. She loves her family and truly adds light to our home. She's a Daddy's girl. And a Mommy's girl. #2. She's a wonderful, kind, big sister and an excellent example for her brother. #3. It's SO awesome to have a daughter. Lindsey is fun to cook with, shop with, watch chick flicks with, talk to about anything and everything, and adds joy to my life. #4. She's a goal setter and hard worker in school, and puts forth a lot of effort to succeed. She's looking forward to applying for college and having a fun senior year of high school. #5. She likes surprises. (I don't.) Tonight we made her wait upstairs while Kelly, Christopher, and I decorated the dinner table and dining room to create the ambiance fo...

My Grandma Jackson had this incredible carrot cake recipe that everyone in our family loved. I've made a few updates to Grandma's yummy dessert, like buying a 16-ounce bag of baby carrots, which are already peeled, then grinding them in a food processor--not grating them, and adding a little coconut to make it even more moist and fabulous. Sometimes I make this recipe as cupcakes, which everyone goes crazy over, so I thought I would share this family recipe for all to enjoy. This version is for a three-layer cake. 2 cups all purpose flour 2 cups granulated sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon salt 16 ounces baby carrots, finely chopped in food processor (3 cups) 1 cup vegetable oil 4 eggs 1 cup chopped pecans 1/2 cup coconut Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. Mix together chopped carrots, oil, eggs, pecans, and coconut until well blended. Add the flour mixture. Lightl...

Blogger frustration. Doesn't it annoy you when you finish a post and realize that you left out a couple of pictures, and you have wasted enough time that you don't want to redo the whole thing? Well, here's a picture that falls in that category, my friends Stephanie and Barb, enjoying getting their mani-pedis after a long plane flight. Totally out of order from my post below, but oh, well. And I also realized that somehow I didn't add a picture of Barb in the pool yet, so here's proof that she took a dip at least once with us. Now you can read where the post was supposed to start, following this picture. Welcome to Austin, Barbara and Stephanie, my two good buddies from Colorado! You know how it is when you often invite friends and family to come visit you and usually they say they will. But they never do? Well, when I texted one of my friends and told her that our kids were in Colorado for 19 days, and that she should come visit, she took me up on the offer! And ...