Blog Archives
Ping Pong Night at (Coach) Jack Daniels’
Last night, the guys and girls cross country teams were invited to the house of legendary Olympic marathon runner and coach Jack Daniel’s home for a British-style Olympic Ping Pong Tournament/ Party! His wife Nancy had attended the London 2012 games, and returned with plenty of loot to give away as prizes and raffles. Everything with London themed, napkins and all.
That night, I learned something. I learned that I SUCK at ping pong. Truly, it was embarrassing and I didn’t make it out of the first bracket but had fun watching my teammates play round after round.
There was plenty of food to go around because everyone brought a dish to share. My friend Kerri and I both live in the dorms, with only a common kitchen to use so we teamed up to bring something together. Our original idea came from somewhere in the blogosphere, a post I thought was pretty easy and cute. It was Apple Cinnamon Treats, like Rice Krispie Treats with Apple Cinnamon Cheerios instead, and apple slivers blended in. Sounds good right?
Don’t get your hopes up.
Sadly, it was a fail. I don’t think we did anything wrong; we followed the recipe exactly but Cheerios aren’t meant to be covered in marshmallow goo and left out. They tasted stale, soggy, and there was no way I was going to bring a pile o’ cheerios to a party. Now that I think about it, I don’t know why it ever sounded like a good idea… Needed a Quick Plan B!
Remember how I said yesterday I was going to bake pumpkin cookies with my friend Chelsea? Well they came out soooo good, I decided to make another batch to bring to the party. Pumpkin Hazelnut Cookies with White Chocolate Chips, anyone?
Who doesn’t like a soft pumpkin cookie on a chilly fall night? (Or would you prefer some sticky cheerios?) They were thoroughly enjoyed by a bunch of hungry ping pong players, along with the tables and tables of dishes everyone else brought. This team can cook! If you’re nice, I’ll share the recipe tomorrow ;)
Olympic-Inspired Reflection
The summer’s sporting highlight is upon us and athletic inspiration is just one channel-click away. Olympic coverage has provided a plethora of pictures and stories on the top athletes in the world. Their diets, training, successes and failures are being broadcasted daily, and it is such a great way to get people (me included!) excited about being active and treating their body like an athlete.
We all know gymnasts have killer strength to pull off their stunts, but in an NBC clip of the Fab 5 in training, their core and ab strength was really unbelievable. And they are so young! They make me want to sculpt noticeable abs.
Another amazing story and inspiring athlete is Missy Franklin, the 17-year old swimmer. Not only is she so talented and hard-working, but her gold-medal victory came just 15 minutes after a separate race. She had an excuse not to succeed – everyone would understand if she was fatigued or tapped out. Her ability to block that out shows more mental strength than we can imagine and she is the type of athlete I want to be: always smiling!
Soon the track and field events will start; finally something I can relate to! I think it’s awesome to see the best athletes in our country getting the recognition they work so hard for. Seeing their perfectly toned muscles, flat abs, and healthy bodies is more inspiring to work out than a Victoria’s Secret catalog!
