Happy Birthday, Les!

Today is a special day.  My sweetheart, my one and only, is celebrating a special birthday!

Happy 50th Birthday, 

Leslie Bryce McElhaney!!

I don't have the words to tell you how great this guy is.  I hope if you're a regular reader (or family member) you already know that.  He's my best friend.  He's funny and smart and affectionate and ...  well, he's number one in my book!

As I started gathering pictures for this post, I had SO many and could not narrow them down.  Collages to the rescue!  You can click on them to get a larger view.

We met the day before his 26th birthday.  Almost half his life!

We have had so many amazing adventures!

Blessed with incredible family and friends!

Here's to 50 more!!

Les, I love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow!  Happy, happy birthday, sweetheart!

Really?!?

Our phone rang a little while ago.  I said hello.  Pause.  Click.  "Hello?"  Pause.  "Oh, hello..."  Typical telemarketer, I could hear others in the background.  But today was a new one, after saying hello several times, the woman on the other end said:

"Sorry, I didn't hear you.  I'm hard of hearing."

Hahaha!  I think she's definitely in need of a career change!

Mixing Our Days and Nights

Les had a meeting with a company in New York this morning.  9:30 a.m. New York time = 3:30 a.m. Hawaii time.  His alarm went off at 2:15 so he could get ready and get into the office.  My alarm went off at 4:45 and I got up and ran 8.6 miles.

Tonight we will board a flight from Honolulu at 10:10 p.m.  We will arrive in Los Angeles at 6:25 a.m. (3:25 a.m. Hawaii time.)

So if my next few posts don't make any sense, you will understand why.
 

Did I make you yawn??

Olomana Road Race

Rae, Les & Chuck

On Sunday Les participated in his first ever cycling road race.  Most of you know that Les has been a cyclist for years.  He has participated in many organized events - century and double metric century rides - but he has never raced before.  His Hawaiian cycling friends encouraged him to join the fun on Sunday, so he did!

 

We were up bright and early Sunday morning (4:30ish) and headed towards Kailua.  Roads were wet due to Tropical Storm Henriette, but it wasn't raining when we got there.  About 50 riders were ready to hit the circuit.  The race was a 3.1 mile circuit.  The women and juniors rode eight laps, the men rode 12 laps, and the elite riders rode 15 laps.  I met Jennifer, whose husband Bernard was also racing.  We found a spot to sit and watch the action. The groups went out in waves with the Elites taking off first.

After all the riders were on the road, Jennifer and I realized our spot wasn't going to work - we were getting rained on!  So we joined the volunteers under the tents.  We had a great time hanging out with other cycling enthusiasts.  Before long the first group was passing by in a blur....

The questions from the some of the racers were really funny!  One guy wanted to know the gap (the difference between him and whoever was ahead of him) - we had no idea!  With so many different groups on the road it would have been impossible to know.  Another guy wanted to know how many laps were left - I think he had done about 5 at that time.  We all figured it was gonna be a long day for him.  My favorite was the older fella who made different animal sounds as he rolled through!

Joseph and his three children were there to cheer on wife/mommy, Chiyo.  She took first place of the women, beating Erica by 4 seconds!  They rode hard and fast!

Erica & Chiyo

One guy had two flats!  Poor guy.  He replaced his wheel after the first one, but was out of luck when he flatted a second time.  He came pushing his bike up the road and headed for the nearest trash can!

And Les kept right on riding!  I think it was during his fourth or fifth lap when it started pouring for a while.  But the rain didn't last long.  It was so cool to see him pass by time after time.  He and two other riders (Chuck and Rae) rode together almost the entire race.  135, 136, and 140 would ride past in a blur!

And then it was over!  Les crossed the mat a final time with a finishing time of 1:58:25, average speed 18.5 mph and a max of 34.7!  He placed 5th overall in his age group (men 35-49)

 

This was Les' first race, but I have a feeling it won't be his last!

Friday Foodie

Did you know this was Philly Cheese Steak Week?  Me either, but it showed up in a couple of places so I thought it might be!  First Pioneer Woman posted a recipe, then I got an email from Hungry Girl with another recipe.  It was Hungry Girl's recipe that really caught my attention, instead of sandwiches it was Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers.  I am a huge fan of stuffed peppers and had to give this a try!

The original recipe called for ground beef, but I had to change that to roast beef.  Philly Cheese Steak cannot be made out of ground beef!  I just used packaged sandwich meat, but leftover roast would be great this way, too, or a whole roast if you have a lot of folks to feed.  I reduced the peppers from four to two.  One half a stuffed pepper is always enough for us when garnished with side dishes.  I also carmelized the onions and added the beef broth.  So Hungry Girl's recipe was really just a starter for my own!

Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers 

Ingredients:
2 large red bell peppers (any color will do, we just prefer red!)
7 oz. Oscar Mayer Carving Board roast beef, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. canola oil
5-6 mushrooms, chopped
1 cup beef broth
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice off and discard about half an inch from the top (stem end) of each bell pepper. Remove and discard seeds.  Cut in half, then place peppers in an 8" X 8" baking pan.  

Chop meat, onions and mushrooms approximately the same size.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, season with salt and pepper, cook slowly until golden brown and carmelized, approximately 15 minutes.  Drain excess grease.

Add mushrooms and 1/2 cup beef broth, cook another 5 minutes.  Add beef, cook an additional 3-5 minutes.  Most of the broth will have cooked away.  Add 1/2 cup cheese, stir until melted.  (At this point I knew I had a winner!  The filling looked and smelled amazing.)

Evenly distribute beef mixture among the peppers.  Pour remaining broth over peppers. Bake uncovered, 20 minutes, until bubbly.  Top with remaining cheese, return to oven for another 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted.

This was SO good!  It turned out better than I expected.  I had never made carmelized onions before, but they were really easy and added great flavor.  We are looking forward to the leftovers already!

I picked up this as our side dish:

It wasn't until I started cooking it that I noticed a recipe on the back...

Told you it was Philly Cheese Steak Week!

Diamond Head

One of the most recognizable landmarks on the island of Oahu is Diamond Head.  This is a volcanic cone known to Hawaiians as Lēʻahi.  Its English name was given by British sailors in the 19th century, who mistook calcite crystals embedded in the rock for diamonds.  Wishful thinking on their part!

Since we landed here in January, I have run around the crater dozens of times.  I've also run part way into the crater.  The views are spectacular!

Sunrise over Koko Head Crater as seen from Diamond Head

I've also run at Ala Moana Park many, many times.  You can see Diamond Head from there as well.

Recently I started a new running route - up Round Top road.  Once again, Diamond Head is in plain view.

I'm sure there are many who only think of beaches when they think of Hawaii, but there is so much more to discover!  Diamond Head is one of those gems.

Running the Tour de France

In 2009 I wrote a couple posts called Lessons from the Peloton.  These were posts about the Tour de France with a spiritual application.  You can read about it here and here.  This year there have been many revelations about, and confessions by, Tour de France riders, most notably by Lance Armstrong who won the race a record seven times.  With or without the benefit of doping, it is still a very difficult three week race.  Approximately 2000 miles with over 100,000 feet of elevation gain.

This year's race has come and gone.  But there was someone else doing the Tour de France this year.  Zoe Romano RAN the entire course!  It took her about three months, averaging 30 miles a day.  ON FOOT. 

As a runner, I am in awe of such a distance.  I have run 2000 miles in a year and 26.2 miles in a single day, but this feat was amazing. 

Zoe blogged about her last run.  She ran the first three stages of this year's tour at the end because they took place on the island of Corsica.  After running stages one and two, she had 90 miles to go.  She ran those final 90 miles in one day!  It took her 23 hours, but she did it!  She fell twice in the dark, was spooked by a wild boar, suffered in severe heat during the middle of the day.  About that final run, she wrote:

 "When I finally did finish, at 1:05 am, my knees and elbows were crusted with blood, and my palms dotted with blood blisters from falling down, my skin pickled and covered in a sun rash, my ankles swollen red and hot, dirt everywhere, and my face completely flushed with fever."

So many of her posts were about days that seemed effortless, just another 30 miler.  She obviously has a natural running talent and the ability to recover quickly.  But that final day almost did her in. Can you imagine how she would have felt if she gave up with only 10 miles to go?  But she did it.

It makes me think of people who live for God through their teen years, survive young adulthood, then somewhere along the way give up the journey.  A trial that seems to be their darkest puts them off their feet and they don't get up.  How tragic it is.  They ran the early miles with confidence and seemed to breeze through valleys, but the last stage took them down.

We can never think, "I've lived for God for 25 years, I've got it made."  Satan would like nothing better than to take us down in the final mile.  But there is victory for every step of the way!  God provides grace for every mile.  

I wrote this after finishing the Ojai to Ocean marathon:

"It was tough, but not impossible.  There were moments of doubt, but I overcame.  It seemed to take forever, but when the finish line came into view, a huge surge of adrenaline hit and I sprinted across the line!  My first marathon, in the books.  I kinda think that's how we're going to feel when we get to heaven, don't you?  Only on a much grander scale!"

Little Girls

We've seen a lot of people come and go while staying in Discovery Bay.  Many of the units are rented for a week or two.  We are on the 13th floor and overlook the pool deck which is on the 11th floor.  Sometimes it can be pretty loud and some folks are kind of annoying, but most of the time there is lots of laughter, splashing, and squealing.

Last week there appeared to be several families vacationing together.  There were grandparents, parents, and lots of kids!  Les and I were on our balcony and saw the cutest thing.  Two little girls, probably ages seven or eight, were sitting in the pool together.  Everyone else was lounging on the deck.  The girls were in their swimsuits with goggles and arm floaties on.  And they were singing!  Their little voices carried up to us.  We didn't understand a word they were singing, but we understood the joy of childhood.

It made me think of some other little girls in my life who have all grown up much too quickly!

Sending love to all my sweet nieces today!

Recovery Time

My Garmin running watch died a while back so I replaced it.  My new watch is the Suunto Ambit2 and I really like it.  It has a few extra features that are pretty cool.  One is at the end of a run when I'm reviewing all my data.  It is called "Recovery Time."  It looks at what I just did and suggests how many hours it will take to recover from that effort.

I think the suggested recovery time is pretty accurate.  One day last week I ran a very hilly route.  My suggested recovery time was 32 hours.  I got up to run the next morning and was very sore.  Yesterday morning I ran 10 miles.  My suggested recovery time was 53 hours.  I decided today was a good day for a rest day!

We all need recovery time.  We live in a busy world.  It seems we never slow down.  Jesus told his disciples in Mark 6:31, "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat."  They weren't busy with soccer practice or shopping the latest sales, they had just returned from an evangelistic endeavor, having gone out in twos.  Their enthusiasm was high, but they still needed recovery time.

It is easy to fall into the "Martha Trap" - always doing, doing, doing.  There was nothing wrong with what she was doing, but Jesus told her "one thing is needful."  A huge clue that we are in need of some recovery time is when we start looking around and complaining about what others aren't doing. 

Your house may not be spotless everyday, someone else may need to teach that Sunday school class for a month, you might not blog for a week or two...  and you will probably feel guilty about it!  But know that you will be better after recovery time.  And there is no greater recovery time than when we sit at Jesus feet.

Hello!

I know I've been an absentee blogger this week.  The reason?  Lack of motivation!  We haven't been extremely busy, I guess I've just been a bit lazy ;)

We survived Tropical Storm Flossie.  There was a lot of rain, but that was about it. Bro. Gallimore continues to do well.  He was up on a ladder trying to change his smoke alarm on Tuesday! 

Have a great weekend.  I'll be back Monday!