Pick Your Poison

OK, I have to admit it...I'm a true fan of the new Coke Zero. I have been a long devoted supporter of Diet Coke when in the States and Coke Light now in Thailand. But Coke Zero is really winning over the people of this country! Yes, I know some Debbie-downers that say that you can clean off rust, blood, and red wine from any of your favorite light colored fabrics with these bubbly beverages--so, why drink something so toxic? But, I think this is merely an exaggeration of the chemical power present in Coke products (and any other soft drink). I must conceed that I'm sure there are probably some potent chemicals with names so long I couldn't even say it with a big fat degree in chemistry. I just enjoy the fizz, the flavor, and the funky fresh graphics on the cans! Coke products are nicely packaged poisons, don'tchya think?! So...with all that said...which recipe fixes your chemical craving? Regular Coke? Diet Coke? Coke Light? Other?

Moments with Moo

Moo Update from Court and Vimeo.

Bone & Lou Lou Vacation Review

Do I have noodle on my face?

Today, Bone, Lou Lou, and I went to a full day of Thai cooking class. This wonderful experience was provided by our teacher, Yui, at "A Lot of Thai: Home Cooking Class". First, we were picked up in a light blue Volkswagen Van. BTW....for those of you who know me...you know that this excites the spicy chili's outta me! I knew this was gonna be awesome! Then, we went to Yui and her family's house where the cooking class was held. It was set up kinda under a carport type thing. It was decorated with vintage accents and a lively color palette. Yui has a sweet and humorous personality that compliments her knowledge about the history, artistry, and science of the dishes that we cooked.

Bone and Lou Lou looked like profssionals!!!!

Overall, this was an awesome experience that I would recommend to all my peeps! The final product of each dish was definitely YUMMO! If you're planning a trip to Chiang Mai, be sure to sign up for this cooking experience put on by Yui, at "A Lot of Thai: Home Cooking Class". Great food, great atmosphere, great teacher! Well done!

Welcome Bone and Lou Lou!

Bone (aka Brooke) and Lou Lou (aka Louis) made it to Chiang Mai for a visit!! I'm sooooo super jazzed to have them here! It's so awesome to spend time with them! They're some true peeps! Bone and I go way back to my freshman year at Belmont University. We were suite mates in the dorms and both suffering from intolerable roommates. We both survived and have been super peeps ever since! Anyways....we're having the BEST time!

Today, we went to the Mae Sa Elephant Camp! We watched elephants play soccer, paint a masterpiece, play harmonicas, and just be cute! It was tons of fun!!!

Stay tuned for more adventures!!!!

10k and beyond!

Sunday was my 2nd 10.5k. It was great! There were about 100 runners--I'd say about 12 were Westerners. This time, my housemate, Court, ran too. This course was a bit different than last week's. It had many more hills to run. We estimate that over 6k of the race was nothing but up and down big hills! It was a good challenge though. I tried not to over do it. I had a conservative start and I kept a modest pace.

I really enjoy running with so many peeps! Most of the runners are very encouraging--thumbs ups, waves, and smiles the whole way! Anyways...I had a good finish! I actually finished 4th in my age division! I received another big heavy medal and a tee shirt! Yay! The Queen's birthday run was definitely a success! I'm looking forward to my next run!!!

Long live the Queen!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Yes, you read that right! This Sunday, everyone in Thailand will celebrate Mother's Day! This day features celebrations for the main Mama of this country....the Queen! Sunday, Aug. 12 is Queen Sirikit's birthday! The city is busy hanging paintings of her, plastering her photo all over billboards and hanging flowers and streamers everywhere! It's been cool to see everyone getting ready! You may wonder what I'll be doing to celebrate the Queen's birthday...well, I'll be running the Mother's Day 10.5k race in her honor!

From the Finish Line

Yesterday, my friend Pam and I ran in a "10.5k". I put that in quotations because according to my nifty little Nike iPod sensor, it was really 11.5k. Either way, we finished! I stayed the night at Pam's house since we had to be there so early and she drove us there. The night before, we had a deliciously carb-loaded meal of spaghetti, veggies and french bread! Yummo! Then, we hit the hay and I was up around 4:08am. I took a shower to wake myself up, ate a piece of bread with a thin spread of peanut butter, stretched, then we were ready to go. 5:30am, We arrived at Chiang Mai City Hall where the start/finish line was. There were sooooooooo many people there to run! It was amazing! We were shocked! It was so chaotic, we felt like we were really late! So, we got in the registration line to get our number and then found a spot way way way in the back to get ready to start the race. We estimate that there were about 600 runners there! It was a little intimidating at first. These runners were serious----really short shorts, tank tops that were already drenched in sweat from their warm up run, people stretching their arms and legs like taffy, iPods in---everybody was getting in the zone!!!!

Please keep in mind that up to this point, I've only run 6k! However, I've been running that for about a month now. So, this was just less than twice the distance I'm used to running. This was definitely gonna be a challenge! So.....we ran! We kept a slow but consistent pace. At the start, we were passed by a lotta peeps! We ran a couple of big hills and started back to the finish line. As we approached about 2k away from the finish, we both felt great and kept truckin'! We began passing those who had passed us in the beginning. We turned the corner, down the homestretch, and finally made it to the red carpet to run in on! It was great! Peeps were waving and cheering!

So...I survived it and I LOVED it! I had so much fun! Thanks Pam, for running with me! You're a great running buddy! Our reward for crossing the finish line was a super heavy medal with the photo of some old law maker here in Thailand. I'm pretty sure it's 100% gold covered plastic! It's quite the keepsake!!! I'm now looking forward to continuing my preparation for the half-marathon in December!