Irish gal living the American dream in Austin, Texas y'all!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Summer in Texas

Hey you guyyysss! Long time no speakies!

Between my fundraising event, running and a few parties here and there, I've been kept busy! The fundraiser was a serious amount of work but guess what.. we raised $400! Success!

My event was a kickball/ barbecue party, ''Grab your balls.. it's KICKBALL time''! Cheeky title, buy you gotta 'grab' people's attention, right?! Kickball (for you non-Americans) is a sport similar to baseball, which uses a very soft version of a football. Sorry for the loose explanation, but that's pretty much all I got! People tried explaining it to me several times at the start and all they'd say is ''it's just like baseball'' and I was like ''but we don't have baseball in Ireland either''!

So my tips: kick the ball (always a good start), volley it down the line or away from people and run like the wind to the next base. If you mess up, remind people you're Irish and offer to get them another beer (kickball involves a lot of boozing too). The main requirements for kickball are the ability to let loose, make a fool of yourself and have a jolly good auld time! It holds a special place in my heart since I started playing just a month after moving here and although I only played one season I made most of my friends through it. I also got to know this fella through kickball..





It's for all these reasons I decided to have a kickball party! I spent every evening the week before prepping for the party.. making veggie burgers, chipotle coleslaw, shopping for a moustache, you know, the usual!

The weather has been nuts here lately, by which I mean it's rained like twice a week, EVERY week!!! and it hasn't even got THAT hot here yet (hasn't hit 100F)! When I planned the party a month ago I thought  ''no way can I have it in June, it'll be too hot''. Little did I know that it was gonna lash and pour.. complete with severe flooding warnings. Major bummer.

It was supposed to be on Saturday (May 25th) so I postponed it to Sunday and changed the location also, to somewhere with a covered basketball court as well as grass. I had plan B if Sunday was raining too. Luckily, the mighty kind peoples at La Barbecue (link) offered to give me a fresh brisket for Sunday and the party went ahead.

The Trashy Texas Gentleman

Rob, chef extraordinaire, smoked the sausage and corn on the cob and he made pulled pork too. I really can't thank him enough. He did way more than I should have asked of him so there will be a steak dinner on me very soon for ya Rob!I also made a big batch of ''Hazel's Magic Potion'', which may or may not have had alcohol in it  (public park drinking is outlawed in Texas and I don't want the electric chair just yet ;))

What do ya know, the sun came out for the occasion and we had a par-tay! A huge than you to everyone who came out and to those who wanted to but couldn't coz of the day change I'm sowwwy! I was expecting close to 70 people and about 20 people actually came. It was such a shame, given the amount of amazing food we had but at least I had a prize for almost everyone in the audience!

Sponsors of the event:
Fado's Irish Pub and Restaurant (2 giftcards)
Green Mesquite (giftcard)
Nancy Lyons (2 pairs of handmade earrings)
HEB supermarket ($50 in giftcards I used for party supplies)
Regal Theatres (4 movie tickets)
Amy's Ice Cream (2 giftcards)
Sam's Bar-B-Cue (box of sausage)
La Barbecue (full brisket)
Camp Gladiator (4 one month unlimited bootcamp passes)

not bad eh?!


So bottom line, I raised $400 for CCFA and hopefully threw a decent party for my buds. I could dwell on the fact that the party wasn't nearly as successful as I expected but we'll choose to be positive here. This is a shiny happy people place ;) So my target is getting close now!!!

6 weeks to go and 71% of the way there, thanks to those who have donated lately: my dearest Pops and her little family (me sista), Jack and Bridie O'Connor, Oonagh O'Neill, Pete Boylan, Forest Farm Eggs (the Griffin's) and Charles Fahy. I'm nearly there guys and thanks a million for supporting the cause!! No poo talk this time (big AWWWW), but you know supporting research for a cure for a currently incurable disease is a good idea. Help find a cure for this girl. If you can spare any few bob, please donate here!

No detailed workouts this time either (since I forgot my diary at work) but it's fair to say the training has cranked up a few notches. Let's see, I ran 36 miles last week (wasn't intentional, just had to get my long runs in around socialising!). Without blabbering on too much, it's gotten crazy hot and humid for running outside. Last night, I had a 7 mile run planned with my Team Challenge teammate Esteban. We hit the road at 7.50 PM and it was 90 degrees.. that's 32 Celsius Irish peeps! Hottest I have ever ran in and Esteban was merciless (in a good way)... we finished with less than 7.30 min/mile pace. I have honestly never had a tougher run but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger (at least according to Kelly Clarkson).

shiny, not so happy after a run last week

I've got 11 miles on the cards for Saturday and you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be out before the sun to get it done (I'm a poet now too ;)) Extra motivation for getting it done early? Well, Ireland are playing the USA in rugby in Houston and all the GAA clubs in Texas are having gathering for it and having a big style party beforehand (they call them tailgates here). I'm SUPER DUPER excited! There's 40 of us going from Austin!

I'll be sure to fill you guys in next week.. as well as on other Texas -style parties of late. It's all about balance right?!

Weekends almost here guys...weeeeeeeeeeee!


0 comments:

Post a Comment

Powered by Blogger.

© 2011 The Comfort Zone and Beyond, AllRightsReserved.

Designed by ScreenWritersArena