chocolate training

kp, aka "chocolate thunder," ran his first 5k this weekend - the susan g. komen breast cancer race for the cure. he's started training for the new orleans marathon and thought this would be a nice, gentle way to ease himself into racing. i can't tell you how impressive it is - he's already up to 8-mile runs on his long training days, and is running a minimum of four days a week. and during this race, he came in a minute or so under his target time! not only that, but he was among the top 1000 to finish (of over 12,ooo participants), so he came home with a medal!

also, how great is new orleans? the participants were treated to endless supplies of abita beer, chicken wings, and jumbalaya... (lazy wives were welcome to sample the eats as well, which this lazy wife did with gusto).

swamp thing

kp and i spent last sunday evening in fontainebleau state park. that afternoon, i'd dragged him to walker, LA to buy a table off a lady who told us to meet her at the "on the border" gas station (it took us a good, long minute to realize she meant "on the run," at which point we wondered, why wouldn't she just say "exxon"??!). anyway, this is not kp's idea of a good time, so i knew i'd have to make it worth his while. what better than a late afternoon hike and the promise of barbecue??

it was only a year ago that we visited fontainebleau state park's namesake in france. oh, to be blowing my monthly budget on wine... but alas, those days are over, and this couldn't have been further from the fall colors in burgundy experience... marshes, spanish moss, and bud light instead of vineyards, old churches, and pinot noir. we left our wooly scarves at home, too, since it's still tank top weather here.

the nature trail

the marsh

lake pontchartrain at sunset

the crown of a glorious mess of twisty roots

southern gothic

the red balloon

saw this for the first time yesterday... i already want to watch it again. and i want this poster... and my very own red balloon. and okay, i'll take paris too. love.

vive la nostalgie...

kp's birthday portrait (7/29/2010)

it's saturday, and i'm procrastinating. got a stack of mid-terms to get through this morning, and i'm not sure i'm up to the challenge. also got my hair cut yesterday, which is always something of a traumatic event. it's waaaaaaaay shorter than i meant for it to be... i think it's the shortest i've ever had it (save for the pixie/buzz cut i sported in vietnam). i actually gasped when i saw the back - this is obviously not a good sign - but i didn't cry, which bodes well. knox's response was, "whoooaa. well, it'll grow."

so, procrastination, trauma... and a bit of nostalgia this saturday a.m. i feel these pulls and pangs a lot, actually: i miss riding my motorbike between truc bac lake and west lake in hanoi (the wind blowing through my 1/2" hair!), i miss the primary colors in my spartan room in montréal, i miss eating peanut butter on montana mountain tops (the wind blowing through the 1/2" hair i had on my legs!!)... there are even times when i look back fondly on west-texas road trips... though those moments are fewer and further between.

today, no surprise here, it's paris i'm missing:

une certaine idée de la france...

la gare du nord

métro - chateau rouge, i think

(i love the outdoor metro stations in the summer)

au marché aux puces - a sunday morning well spent (in any town)

dans mon jardin d'hiver (if you don't know this song already, you should)

le pompidou

belleville

canal st. martin

view of the city from the pompidou