June 20, 2015

Pizza lunch with Nathan

There have been a couple of sad news stories around here this week. Last weekend, there was a home invasion/murder in a nearby town. A group of people (two female friends and their children) were heading to NASCAR races from upstate, and they needed to get out of the rain (they had been planning to camp), so they stayed at a friend's house overnight. Two men broke into the home and stabbed them, killing two half-brothers (a 12-year old and a 26-year old), and injuring three more people.

To make the story even more shocking, Jerry recognized one of the men who did it--he went to school with Jesse Spurlock, and graduated with him in 1999. Jerry ran into him a few years ago, and said he was all kinds of messed up. It wasn't very clear from the stories what the motive was in the killings, but it sounded like the men weren't expecting those people to be in the house, and they were trying to rob the man that actually lived there, who was a drug dealer. Joseph Hall, the man who did the stabbing, apologized in court, saying that he just "snapped". Seriously?! A person has to be extra-screwed up to stab someone to death, especially a CHILD.


Yesterday, the kids wanted to go to my parents' house to play in the lake with Joey. While I stayed home to write my blog post, Jerry went over there with them. I was surprised when they came back about 10 minutes later, but they said that the waves were too rough to play in the water. A few hours later, I saw on the news that a 10-year old boy had drowned in the lake at the State Park, which is a few miles down the road. It happened at around the same time that my kids said the lake was too rough.

The boy was at the beach with his family, and his mom was with his siblings, when his 17-year old uncle took him out to swim at the far end of the beach. Apparently, there was a strong current, and they were separated. The boy went under the surface, and rescuers arrived to search for him. They found him about 45 minutes later, in just four feet of water. He was pronounced dead shortly after they got to the hospital.

That story really upset me, because it just hits so close to home. The boy was 10-years old and had just completed fifth grade, which is the same age as Noah. We've been swimming there lots of times, and it's just so scary to think of something like that happening. I'm glad that my kids recognized that the water was too rough yesterday to play in the lake, and decided to come home. I'm just so sad for the boy's mom. I can't even imagine how she felt when they were searching the water.


Also yesterday, a 19-year old man was hit by a truck while he was bicycling. I learned today that he died from his injuries :(  This is SO upsetting to me, because the drivers around here are so inconsiderate and don't pay attention to pedestrians at all. When I'm out running, I see so many people texting or otherwise not paying attention, and drifting onto the shoulders of the roads. This is not a bicycle-friendly town, which is unfortunate. We don't have bike lanes (there are a couple, but not anywhere useful), and the shoulders are very narrow.

I am always extra cautious when I run on the busier roads, and I make eye contact with drivers to make sure they see me. I've been hit once, by a guy backing out of his driveway (he clipped my hip, leaving a bruise); and I've had more than a few close calls on other occasions. I feel much safer running than I do biking, because I run against traffic so I can make eye contact with drivers. This man who was killed was riding with traffic (which you are supposed to do on a bike), and he was struck from behind by a man in a pick-up truck. He was only 19, which just makes me so sad.



Anyways, enough bad news! Today, my younger brother, Nathan, had 20 miles on the schedule (he's training for his first ultra--a 50K in September). He likes to get pizza after his long runs, so he asked if we would want to go to Anson's, our favorite local pizza place, for lunch after his run. We, along with my parents, met him there this afternoon.

Anson's has some really good, unique pizzas--things like a Reuben pizza (I adore Reuben sandwiches, so the pizza is one of my favorites), a jalapeƱo popper pizza, and an insanely good chicken bacon ranch pizza. We each ended up ordering mini pizzas, so we could get what we wanted. I was tempted to get one of the specialty pizzas, but I knew it would be a caloric nightmare, so I chose to get a veggie pizza instead--bell peppers, onions, black olives, and my favorite, banana peppers. (It comes with tomatoes, too, but I requested to nix them)


I estimated each slice to be 8 PointsPlus, and I ate two slices (half the pizza) for 16 PP--that's really not too bad! I could have housed the whole thing easily, but I tried to eat slowly and stick with two slices.

When I put the first slice on my plate, I picked up the shaker of red pepper flakes on the table. I turned it over to shake some on my pizza, and the lid fell off, dumping about a quarter cup of red pepper flakes all over my pizza slice! I've heard of people pulling that prank at restaurants, but it's never happened to me before :/  I was able to dump most of the pepper flakes off, so it was just a nuisance more than anything.

Today marks 32 days of being binge-free and on track with Weight Watchers! It's gotten much, much easier over time. The first couple of weeks were the hardest, but it's starting to become a habit again :)

7 comments:

  1. What tragic stories! I always feel more upset hearing stories like that now that I'm a mom. But on a good note, your pizza looks amazing and your willpower is inspiring. Thanks for always keeping it real!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Katie - What do you use to keep track of your streaks? I need an app or something for that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I actually use an app called Streaks :) It's just a calendar that allows you to mark off days and keep count of your streaks. A nice visual!

      Delete
    2. Thanks for replying! I'll have to get it! :)

      Delete
  3. AnonymousJune 21, 2015

    I wish I was on a streak like yours. I can't even get started. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJune 21, 2015

    those stories are all so sad! Drowning scares me, especially because it usually happens very quietly and in very shallow water (used to be a lifeguard, watching for no movement is incredibly difficult!).

    Pizza is always my go to, too! After a long run, or no run, or bad day, or good day....

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm just now starting to get back on track, I can't believe how far off the path I've strayed. Congrats on the streak!! I'm sure you will be able to keep it going :)

    ReplyDelete

I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

Featured Posts

Blog Archive