Thanksgiving 2013: A Success!

Thanksgiving 2013 is over. It was a great day: lots of laughs, good times with family, and a 5-hour game of Risk, during which I managed to lose twice (I lost, then I took over my sister’s armies, and lost again). And, of course, there was a delicious, fantastic meal.

The day started early. My brother-in-law Justin always takes the lead on dinner, but we all help out. I chopped a ton of veggies, peeled a ton of potatoes, and steamed some broccoli for a side dish.

And, drum roll please…. I kept my pledge to not overeat!

Hmmm… Better Do Something With These Pigeon Peas!

I’ve been in fridge-clean-out mode for the past few days. This happens before I travel – I make an effort to consume all my fresh produce, so nothing goes bad while I’m gone. I’m headed to Colorado for Thanksgiving tomorrow (Have you taken my Thanksgiving Pledge yet? Click here), and want to come home to an empty crisper drawer so I can fill it with fresh new things.

The other night, I found these in the back of my fridge:

Pigeon Peas! I bought these at the farmers market, and they got pushed behind a taller item in my fridge. Thankfully, they were in a container designed to extend the life of produce, so they were still good! But I’ve never eaten pigeon peas before, so one question remained: What was I going to do with them?

Take the KEEP IT UP, DAVID Thanksgiving Pledge!

Thanksgiving is a few days away. Are you ready? I love Thanksgiving, because I get to see my family, whom I very rarely get to see. But it is a holiday built around a feast, and I know I can undo weeks of hard work with a day or two of uncontrolled eating.

My Thanksgiving plate from last year.

For the past few years, I’ve given myself a couple rules to help guide me through Turkey Day. I’ve blogged about them during the past three years: they worked like a charm last year, and I broke both of them in minor ways in both 2011 and 2010. Even though I wasn’t perfect those years, the rules were still helpful, and I’m certain that on Thursday I can repeat last year’s success. In fact, I’m expanding my rules this year, and I’m going to make a pledge to myself that I will abide by them.

You should take the Keep It Up, David Thanksgiving Pledge too! Here are my rules:

Cookin’ with My Chinese Gourd

I love trying new things, especially when those things are produce items. I recently picked up a couple new-to-me items at the farmers market, and one of them was a Chinese gourd.

The farmer that sold it to me gave me a little information about it:

Race Recap: 2013 CF Climb

Damn, Saturday was an exciting day! I competed in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s CF Climb, and it was a milestone race.

Not only was it my 5th stair climb race, but it was my 10th race overall! (That number also includes a 5k, three 10ks, and an open water swim. Read about all of them on my Races & Events page.)

BEST YET, I set a personal record! More on that later. First, check out the building I scaled: The 54-story Figueroa at Wilshire building in downtown Los Angeles:

Final Preparations Before the Big Race… AGAIN.

On Saturday I’m competing in the CF Climb, a race up the stairwell of the Figueroa at Wilshire tower in downtown Los Angeles. It’s a charity event for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and it’s the first stair climb race where I’ve given myself a very specific and challenging time-based goal.

Holy hell, I’m experiencing deja vu while writing this! It’s because

Powerwave Battle Ropes

I’ve been seeing signs at my gym for a class that they just began offering, and they definitely caught my eye.

An Evening (!) at the Farmers Market

Has it really been a year since I’ve been to a farmers market? Unfortunately, I think that’s true… and that’s sad, especially since I live in Los Angeles, where there are fantastic farmers markets all over the place, all year long.

Although I’ve been to farmers markets countless times, I’ve never been to a farmers market at night, until last week. Have you? My cousins live in a nearby neighborhood called Eagle Rock, and their local farmers market is held on Friday evening. It’s a weird time to have a farmers market, but I’m not complaining! And while this farmers market is smaller than others I’ve been to, I found some items I’d never seen before… and that makes this farmers market a winner!

Race Recap: Hike the Halo 2013

Check it out! Here I am after crossing the finish line at Hike the Halo!

I’m still on a pride-induced high, because yesterday’s Hike the Halo race was an tough one… and a lot of fun! In a nutshell, the 2-mile course wove its way up and down the stairs of all the sections in Angel Stadium – over 2,000 in total. I have a lot to share… and a lot of pictures… are you ready?

Final Preparations Before the Big Race

In a short 48 hours, I’ll be stretching and warming up, just minutes away from starting my next stair climb race. The race is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Hike the Halo, and the route is up and down all the steps in all the sections throughout Angel Stadium. I’m been excited for a while now, but there have been some looming questions: