Color Me Rad Kansas City 5K

My sister and I traveled to Kansas City a few weeks ago to run the Color Me Rad 5K with my niece Amber and nephew Shawn.  No time on this run, no mile markers; we were all too busy getting colored dye dumped on us at every color station!  Luckily sunglasses were provided--kept that dye out of my eyes.

I did, for one brief morning, have purple boobs.  Inside my bra.  My sister had blue teeth.  My niece had orange hair.  It was so much fun!  Here are some of the official photos from our morning of color:

Michelle and I after the last color station

the whole gang

Can you tell Amber is the fittest of us all?  High jump!

Amber, me, Michelle, and Shawn:  4 Gerths that run!

We promptly went to our hotel, showered ( I could not get my hands into my hair until it was completely soaked with water), then went for BBQ.  A fun weekend spent with the kiddies.  Next run up:  The Marion Arts Festival 5K on May 18th.  No color bombs in this race.

Cooking Challenge 2013: Beer Battered Fish: How I Impressed My Boyfriend With My Mad Skills

My fish looks pretty damn good

I am still on my quest to actually eat fish.  This is a very long road for me--I am not a huge fish fan and probably never will be. I like to eat things that eat grass.   Bud loves fish, and I love Bud.  So, I have been making fish every other week or so for us--but pretty much just by sticking it in the oven with some kind of topping/sauce and baking it.

This time I went crazy and got a wild hair on my day off.  I called Bud and asked him if he wanted beer battered fish for supper.  Let's just say he was a bit excited and after hanging up, I thought "Shit!  What have I got myself into this time?"  

Enter  Paula Deen.  I figured if anyone knows how to fry something, it's her.  I found her recipe on Food Network, and it's so easy I had to keep rechecking it to make sure I wasn't missing something.  Nope:  beer, flour, seasoning.  Hot oil.  Fish.  Done.

What does make this a little different from other recipes is that you dip the fish into the batter, then into flour before frying.  The flour makes it look all crispy and ridgy looking--like something you'd get at a restaurant.  

Needless to say, Bud was bowled over by the fish.  He inhaled it.  Keeping it warm in the oven worked wonders--every piece I brought out of the oven--even 15 minutes after we started eating--was piping hot and steaming.  And it stayed crunchy.  

I used malt vinegar on my fish and I liked the taste.  I will definitely have to make my own tartar sauce; the stuff I bought tasted horrible.  Ick.  

Here's another look at my first--and certainly not last--attempt at beer battered fish:  I know my mad skills don't extend to camera work, but you get the idea:

By the way, I used cod.  And I made red potatoes seasoned with butter, garlic powder, oregano, salt & pepper.  I decided we had enough fried food with the fish.  

This would also make some tasty fried chicken strips and onion rings, too.

All This Rain is Making Me Nervous

It has been raining a ridiculous amount here in Iowa, and temps have not been anywhere near as warm as they should be.  We are permanently stuck in the upper 40's.  Sigh.  Even possible mixed snow/rain on Friday.  Really?

All this rain reminds me of the Spring of 2008 when we ended up with a devastating flood in Cedar Rapids that my city is still recovering and rebuilding from and trying to move away from those horrible memories.  We have our annual Run the Flood race in June to commemorate that awful time and all fees for the race are donated to local programs to help people who are still affected by the flood.  I didn't run this race last year, but this year I plan on doing so--it's a great race to run and my sister wants to run it this year, too.

All this rain has kept me from running outside pretty much all the time.  And when there is a nice day outside, I'm working!  Needless to say, I get the shame award for the yard that hasn't been cleaned up yet from the winter.  My  tulips and daffodils are pushing through all the junk anyway, and there is green out there.  

So what have I been doing?  Working, cleaning out that darn basement, and detrashing my house.  I have found more junk to toss that I ever even knew I had tucked away.  It's amazing what we can do without.  My method is simple: have I thought about this item at all in the last year?  No?  Then it's gone.  It's very cathartic.  

My sister and I have decided we aren't going to run the half-marathon in May.  Neither of us has been able to prepare; both of us are having leg problems--me my hamstring, her a lovely sciatic nerve issue.  Combined with the weather, it has stymied our plans.  When Michelle does run a half-marathon, I want her to be well prepared and enjoy the run.  Right now neither one of us would enjoy it at all.  I know how hard it is to run that 13.1 miles!  We're okay with this decision and instead will run shorter races this summer.  She's a single mom with 3 kids (one special needs child), two jobs, and not much time.  I admire her taking up exercise as a way to relieve stress and have some time to herself.  I feel like a slug.  I have all the time in the world, yet it seems to always be filled with projects, books, blogs, and things that keep me running around and pooped.  

So.  I do have some good news.  My other blog, http://bookaliciousbabe.blogspot.com was graciously awarded this lovely prize from http://storycartel.com:  Can I say how much this made my day?!