episcopalians...the NICE catholics

okay, so my grandson (yes, i'm a grandmother) was baptized on saturday, april 7, 2012.

although his mom was raised roman catholic, she became disillusioned with the church when he was a baby and she wanted to get him baptised. she and his father were not married. the priest gave her what-for about it, her parents divorce, and just pretty much berated her, us, her family and anyone else he could throw in.

fast forward (too fast) to 2012. she's met a nice guy and they plan to be married. nice guy is episcopalian. the episcopalian church baptised my grandson!!

me and my boo (you know him) attended, of course, along with his auntie (who is also his godmother), his dad, nice guy and nice guy's mom. nice guy's dad had to work. :-(

the baptism was part of the evening easter saturday service. it was a lovely service at st. peter's episcopal church on hudson road in greenville, sc. but what was even MORE impressive was the kindness and niceness of the parishioners and the deacon and priest. they seemed genuinely...NICE. they introduced themselves, they smiled, they asked about us, they included us in conversation.

the service was very similar to a roman catholic service, but the atmosphere seemed much more inclusive than exclusionary, which is how i've felt when visiting catholic church lately.

so, another exciting addition to the list of 50@50. attending an episcopalian church service. liking it was the bonus!!

she's jucing....

stand aside jose canseco...

no, wait, not that kinda juicing . . . but veggie juicing.

i have never been a big veggie person. as a matter of fact, i am now ashamed to say, there were YEARS where i'm pretty sure i drank hardly any water and ate hardly any vegetables that were green.

i can eat a baked potato allllll day. and corn, of course. but greens, salads, broccoli. BROCCOLI?? blech!

now, fast forward and here i am at 50!! FIFTY!!! and i am loving it. and loving all the new experiences.

today . . . i had my first natural vegetable juice, thanx to garner's cafe on pelham road in greenville south carolina.

i had the red sunset: carrots, apple, beet and something other green stuff. and it actually wasn't as bad as i thought. my honey had the go-go green. it had kale and cucumbers and he added an apple and there was some other stuff. it was disgusting. i don't care what he says...

so there you have it . . . another new experience. although, i think this one will be a keeper.

more to come...

no fromage??? sacre bleu...but i did it!

big 50@50 event! i went to lunch with my friend and coworker cris ferguson. i know what you're thinking. "big deal, i have lunch all the time!" but do you have a FIVE course FRENCH meal for lunch. stop lying . . . you do not!!! but i did and that goes on my 50@50 because i have NEVER eaten an entire french meal, that i know of, that wasn't americanized (haha). as my friend cris pointed out . . . from the movie "better off dead," french fries, french dressing, french bread, french toast. check, check, check and check. but dauphine potato? chicken quenelles? not on the list. but eat like a big girl, i did! check out the menu. impressed? well, you should be if you know how unsophisticated my palate really is. so, ready for the rundown? yes you are!

first up - the appetizer: dauphine potato with sauteed mushrooms, fava beans, and saffron foam. the ONE potato (small that it was) was delicious. as for the rest, i can say i now know why hannibal lecter needed a chaser for his fava beans. a nice chianti would have come in handy. [no pic-forgot]

next up - chicken consomme with composed garnish of leeks, smoked tomato, chicken quenelles and tarragon oil. okay, i'm not one to judge, but chicken quenelles must be french for chicken mcnuggets minus the breading. didn't taste bad necessarily, but the texture was meh. smoked tomato not bad, consomme needed salt, leeks = blech!! [no pic-forgot]

palate cleanser? grapefruit sorbet. my lunchmate liked it. it did have little squares of honeydew and cantaloupe. grapefruit?? really? *sigh*

the entree!! fresh market fish en papillote (that's a paper pouch) with lobster farci accompanied by jardiniere of vegetables, red bliss potatoes and whole grain dijon beurre blanc (sauce). okay, if you know me you know i am not an adventurous eater. having said that, fish = yes, lobster = no, vegetables = meh, red bliss potatoes = ok, except they were sliced as thin as the parchment. actually, thinner. the beurre blanc = yes. so if i could have the fish and potatoes with sauce, please? doesn't sound very french.

salad!! salad? after the entree?? those crazy french. country style terrine with celery root asparagus salad and candied shallot vinaigrette. now, i had to ask my lunch partner if the celery root is the part that should have been left in the ground? she laughed and laughed. i was not amused. not my favorite part of the celery. the terrine is..well...i'll let the internet tell you. wikipedia says it's a "french forcemeat loaf similar to a pâté, made with more coarsely chopped ingredients." if you have to force it, well...anyway. wisegeek.com says terrine is a "jellied meatloaf." sound more appetizing? didn't look it either. taste = okay. it was wrapped in bacon!!! we think it had pistachios in it. i did eat most of it...and the bacon!

last, the dessert, or as i like to call it, the payoff for the previous "alleged" foods. just kidding. it was individual hazelnut dacquoise with burgundy poached pear served with honey-lavender fondant and whipped creme fraiche. dacquoise is defined as a dessert cake, but these were more like cookies (crunchy). this was almost worth it. it was 2nd to the potato. not crazy about the honey-lavendar fondant.

so there you have it. another one for the 50@50 record books. i . . . ate . . . french. and lived to tell the tale! au revoir . . . usqu'à la fois prochaine.

the heat is on...

...i feel the need . . . for . . . speed! but, first, i have to train. apparently i have some kinda 80s soundtrack stuck in my head. bryan adams? maverick? goose? YEA!

well, this is it . . . the double whammy for my 50@50. i will be training for the sprint triathlon at hilton head, south carolina being held may 19th, 2012.

the double whammy is i've never been to hilton head, and never done a triathlon. so two more for my 50@50.

i could cheat and say i've never trained for a triathlon but that would kinda be cheating so...

we had our kickoff last night at the hughes main library here in greenville, south carolina and met two amazing little girls and their families. they both have survived their fight with cancer, but not without a struggle. lots of pain, fear, but even more courage and i felt really good about doing what i was doing. cancer survival for children diagnosed with the type of leukemia these young ladies endured used to be around 20%. now, it's around EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT. thanx to the success in research and the money raised by organizations like the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. which means when we help, we're a part of that.

so, off we go. dont' forget to check my other blog for team in training to see what i'm up to (or falling down at) and MEET MY MASCOT for this adventure. and DON'T FORGET TO DONATE!! i thank you and i thank you and i thank you. YOU know who you are. talk to you soon. mwah!

foodiepalooza

wow! so, i was invited to a wine and cheeser at a friends gorgeous house on the mountain...

never been to her house before - zing!

had the following foods i have NEVER had before:

pickled peppers

goat cheese (actually the peppers were stuffed with the goat cheese! delish)

guacamole (yes, you read it right, i have never had guac)

freeze dried green beans (actually make a good snack-i would eat them again)

so the adventure continues...

xoxo

fried pickles? why not.

okay, so just randomly came across an addition to 50@50.

i had a taste for a milkshake, so we hopped in the car and went down laurens road, with the plan being to hit the chick-fil-a drivethrough and get a shake. but, lo and behold, they were closed . . . FOR RENOVATIONS!! no shake for me.

but, wait...right up the road is a zaxby's and they have shakes. so off we went. and what have they added to the menu but FRIED PICKLES. and i just happen to be on a pickle kick lately.

so i ordered some and . . . surprise . . . they are yummy! with or without the ranch dressing.

so chalk up another for 5o@50 . . . fried pickles.

can't wait to see what's next . . . i surprise myself!

my first post for 50@50

HELLO!!!

this is my blog for 50@50! what is 50@50, you ask! well, let me tell you.

i turned 50 years old on december 19, 2011. and during the weeks and days leading up to that date, i became more and more excited (considering the alternative) and energized. and i thought of all the things i've done, haven't done, regretted and embraced. and i thought, hey, i'm going to be FIF-TAY!!! (thank you sallie o'malley, aka the talented molly shannon from SNL)

then i thought (two thoughts in a row), what can i do to make it a special year. and that's when i came up with 50@50. in the next year, i am going to try to do 50 things that i have never done before.

BIG things, little THINGS, anything that i've never done before.

so far i have:

• worn a long sleeve t-shirt under a short sleeve t-shirt (hey, don't judge)
• eaten a scallop (i'm not a big seafood eater - and that scallop didn't change my mind)
• had an amp energy drink (didn't get amped)
• attempted to make bread pudding (epic FAIL)
• learned there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon, not 2 (hmph)
• had khurma (a snack from Trinidad - thanx to tabby me
  

here are some things i DEFINITELY want to get done this year:

• visit washington dc (i'm gonna do it!!!)
• go snowboarding (thanx to fred david)
• run a half-marathon (yes, run)
• do a sprint triathlong
• do a mud run
• eat some more yucky food (like mussels or oysters or something)

but that's still a long way from FIF-TAY! here are some of my friends suggestions:

• whitewater rafting (possible)
• visit a moonshine distiller (???)
• karaoke (in front of people???)
• bungee jumping (i don't think so)
• read the decline and fall of the roman empire (another i don't think so)
• snow skiing (possible, after snowboarding)
• go to a dave matthews concert or skillrex concert (what's a skillrex??)

so, if you are reading this blog, please feel free to throw out some suggestions. no international travel unless you are funding it :-).

and i'll keep trying stuff and keeping track of it right here. thanx for participating and being a part of this epic moment in my life. xoxo.