Friends, Food, and Mud. Not all at the same time.

Last weekend, Peter, along with Adam Ghander and Pat Mulroney visited Luke in Miami for a "guys weekend." Troublesome, yes. But, as expected, they had a blast: golfing, a double-dose of tasty tacos from Taco Beach Shack (www.tacobeachshack.com), touring steak houses (including STK and Red), and last, but not least, enjoying Luke's surprise gift of rare Pappy Van Winkle bourbon.

Korean Short Rib and Kimchee Slaw Tacos - Yum!

Pappy - 20 year - a rare treat!

Now you might ask yourself, what was I doing while Peter was clowning around in Florida? I was at home in NJ weathering the first October snow storm in something like 50 years. 6 inches of snow, and a third of NJ out of power (not us, thankfully!). Seriously?! It was a cold Halloween, to say the least.

Just the beginning of more snow to come...

Our "chilly" pumpkins

It might be the beautiful weather--sunny and 50s everyday, with the exception of the Nor-easter--but I have gotten it into my head that I'd like to start running. So, I started this weekend off by running one mile, which is the first goal of my basic training program. I'd like to be prepared to run a 5k within 3 weeks, but we will see how committed I actually am to this idea! I will need you guys for support and accountability.

On Saturday, we watched the UF vs. Vandy football game, and were pleased to get a much needed Gator victory following 4 consecutive losses. Then Matt and Lindsey came over and we all sat by the fire, roasted marshmallows, enjoyed Peter's famed BBQ ribs, and sat through what ultimately became the most boring college football game between #1 (LSU) and #2 (Alabama) ranked teams in history. LSU--our worst enemy!--won the game 9-6, and not a single touchdown was scored in the entire 60 minutes.

Then, today (Sunday), we began by celebrating Brodie's 6th Birthday! He's getting to be such an old man. As a gift, we gave him peanut butter in his new elk antler bone - yum! He's very easily pleased.

Then we made delicious pancakes with roasted apples. I actually roasted the apples last night, prompted by a recipe posted on my favorite blog, "Not Without Salt." You can find the recipe here: Roasted apples. Very simple, and worthwhile.

Later in the afternoon, we enjoyed the fantastic weather by... riding ATVs. In the words of Barney Stinson from "How I Met Your Mother," it was LEGENDARY! And also quite muddy. Peter and I were the only two people there (I guess Saturdays tend to be busier than Sundays, and the end of their season is approaching) so we had the whole 16 acres to ourselves to weave through trees, jump hills, and get stuck in mud holes.


Now, our bodies are pretty sore (it's a lot more tiring than we expected), so we're ready to go to sleep and take advantage of the extra hour of sleep tonight. 'Til next time!