Happy Anniversary M&D

Look at that handsome couple and those sideburns! No wonder Ryan and I came out looking so cute. Today I just wanted to acknowledge my parents' anniversary! Congratulations Mom and Dad! Here's to 37 years and many more to come!

1/2 Marathoner

I was up in Dallas this week and had the chance to see my brother run in his first 1/2 marathon. I have to say it was an impressive feat! Here's a little more about Sunday's race...the White Rock Marathon....

Mom, Dad, and I grabbed a great spot around mile 4.5 and waited for the race to begin... with Starbucks in hand!

Here's the first runner speeding by...making it look so easy!

And there we spot Ryan in the distance...

Getting closer!

Ohh, yea! He is making this look easy!

Then Santa came by...

And so did Speedy Gonzalez!

I couldn't believe how packed the road got just a few minutes after Ryan went by us.

We walked over to the 10 mile mark and waited about 25 minutes for Ry's next appearance. At this point there is just a little over 3 miles left in the race, so we were hoping to give him an extra cheering boost to get him across the line!

Here he comes again...

Oh, fist pump and everything - he's looking good.

And a high-five for good luck...er a low five.

We jumped in the car and raced for the finish line and got there just in time to see him cross the line, but not to take a photo of it! He made it in 1hr 30min 45sec... averaging 6:54 miles....that is crazy! I don't think I can get one mile in that time, let alone a 1/2 marathon of it!
Here he is with Ian - a good buddy from high school - Ian asked if they could "pick a race that is fun next time!" What...grueling 13 mile runs aren't doing it for you? =) I still don't know if I ever want to attempt this some day. Here's Ry doing his best "blue steel" look.

And finally... the supportive family! Why do I still look like the shortest one even with the big puffy pink hat on?! =)

Lizzie Cezar

Last month you saw how my name "might" be construed for "Maria." But this past Monday took the cake...I mean this is even better than the "Tori", "Lauren," and "Cory" that I get on my Starbucks cups!

I had a meeting at Valero, a company in SA, and I happily pulled up to the visitor parking ramp and was faced with one of those gray boxes, where I was obliged to press a red button to talk to security...here's how it went:

Security: What is your name and business?
Rory: My name is Rory Siefer and I am here for an 8:30 meeting
Security: Let me check the list.... (long pause)
Security: You say your name is "Lizzie Cezar."
Rory: No, that would be R...O....R...Y.... S....I...E....F...E..R.
Security: Because, we don't have a Lizzie Cezar on our list.
Rory: No, that's because my name is "Rory Siefer."
Security: Oh, okay, I see, well come in then!

That has to be my favorite mispronunciation so far...and now Jeremy has decided that might be my covert FBI operative name.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.... Love, Lizzie!

Me and Manu!

Yep, that's right! I am in Dallas this week for work and today I had the pleasure of eating lunch with Manu Ginobili....oh, come on people, one of the stars of the San Antonio Spurs basketball team? Is this ringing a bell? No? Okay, the player who single-handedly helped the Halloween basketball game resume play after a bat had snuck into the building and kept dive bombing all the players during the game. Yep, watch this video of him grabbing the bat of of thin air if you don't believe me!

So needless to say Manu and I were lunching together today...okay, maybe he wasn't aware that he was having the lunch with me, but he was TWO feet away from me the whole meal and was at the table next to mine. That's "lunching" in my book!

Okay, so yes you can tell this was one of my first celebrity sightings...kind of fun if I do say so myself. But don't worry...you are envisioning that I crowded the man, asked for photos, autographs, etc....nope... I was a good Spurs fan and simply wished him a very "good luck tonight," as I left the restaurant! I'm cool like that.

So just wanted to let you know about my new friend...me and Manu...we are like "this"! (imagine finger crossing action)! =)

100th Post - Frisbee Fiend

Hi loyal blog readers! I am excited to announce that this is my 100th post...you have stuck with me through 99 other great blog entries and I hope many more. It has been a lot of fun (for my own sake) to capture some of the crazy parts of life with Jeremy here in SA. I actually got him to do one post in the last 100, so maybe I can get him to do one more out of the next 100 too!

This weekend I had a chance to go capture a few snapshots of Jeremy in his element... ultimate frisbee...a.k.a the non-contact sport where he broke his leg and hand! Don't worry, I told him if he has any more injuries I am sending him straight back to South Dakota to his mom! =) Caring for the kid on 8-weeks of bed rest will teach you that lesson too!

He is part of the SAUltimate fall league that plays every Saturday....here they are lining up for a point!

I caught one of his players making an awesome catch mid-stride.

And here is Jeremy making a point...and it also proves that this boy still has some "ups," even with the former broken leg injury and all!

Though the guys do give him a pretty hard time for the nylon compression stocking he still wears on his right leg.

Good news - he won his ultimate game and the Huskers won their match against Oklahoma too. The Siefer household is in very good spirits this weekend!

Lego Mania

Ahhh, my lego-loving husband took on a fun project this past month...with his brother in mind! He wanted to create "Mega Man," a video game character... totally out of legos. I unfortunately did not have the warm fuzzy childhood memory of Mega Man, and I did have to Google him to figure out exactly what Jeremy was trying to create. So here's a screen shot of Mega Man in action...Doesn't that photo just scream "make me out of legos" to you?

So first came the design. Jeremy had to determine exactly how many pieces he would need to make the little guy...who actually ended up being at least 7-8 inches tall.
But it wasn't just the top pieces he had to estimate for, there is a whole inner-working of black pieces for the back of the guy....and then some kind of middle layer....like an oreo cookie, only not as tasty!
Don't ask me, I didn't get too involved! I just made sure I never touched the coffee table for a couple weeks while the pieces were strategically laid out! It was like a lego war zone for a while there!
The hardest part was getting the right sized pieces in the right colors. I think Jeremy ordered pieces from 5 different people and still had to go back and place another 3 orders after that. We had packages of legos being delivered for a few weeks straight and because of the $5 minimums for some of the sellers, Jeremy had to buy extras just to get the one or two pieces he needed....so I'm thinking this might not be the only thing we make out of legos this year!
But low and behold Mega Man finally was complete! I felt like we needed some kind of ceremony after the pieces finally all came together, or a birth certificate like my cabbage patch dolls had, but instead I ran to the post office and sent him to his new home in LA! And he even made it in one piece!

So here's my synopsis of Jer's Mega Man project:
- 20 hours of design and construction
- 15 lego package orders
- 10 red calloused fingertips from pulling and pushing pieces together
- 1 completed Mega Man for a special brother....
PRICELESS!

P.S. You kind of have to back away from the computer screen and squint a little bit to get the full effect of Mega Man...just don't tell Jeremy I said that!

Husker Roadtrip

We spent Halloween on the road and headed for Waco...for the big Baylor vs. Nebraska football game. We headed out just as the sun was rising...
Then I convinced Jeremy to stop in Round Rock for donuts...yes, I'm a sucker. Round Rock Donuts was recently featured on the Food Channel and I had to see what all the fuss was about. This was me trying to get Jeremy to pose at the front of the store, but as you can see he was not going to partake in this photo adventure. I think he just needed the restroom! But don't worry...I'm posing for the photo.

Here was the Texas-sized donut....niiicceee!

We finally made it to Waco and my parents came in from Dallas...and even wore red to support Jer's team.
Here we are in the visitors section...it was amazing how many fans were there for Nebraska. I think we outnumbered the home team's spectators!

Front row seats....not bad!

Here's Jer scopin' out the view and ready for kickoff!

And then the game began...Nebraska's defense scored a touchdown after just one minute and thirty seconds from a blocked punt....it was right in front of us!

We were right in front of the kicker....man that kid must have kicked the ball 100 times while he was waiting to be called into action.

Here's one of Nebraska's best..#93, Ndamukong Suh, but everyone just calls him "Suh" pronounced... "Sue." And it sounds like the whole crowd is booing every time he makes a great play.
The good news is that Nebraska won 20-10, so it was a victory! The bad news is that I didn't put sunscreen on my face and now have a really cool sunburn on the left side of my face only...not the right! We went to a local park afterward and relaxed by the Brazos river. This kind of weather is when I love Texas! Thanks to Mom and Dad for coming down to cheer on the Huskers and share some corny dogs! =)