.:: Thursday, August 30, 2007 ::.

the transformation of a street car to a race car

this past weekend we were in hastings, nebraska for W's first track event with his brand new race car! shortly after our last track weekend in pueblo, we got the integra back from the shop with a beautiful new custom roll cage. he got most of his safety equipment too, so he is just about ready to do some wheel to wheel racing. it's very exciting. :) we also got our trailer (finally, we've been trying to get this thing since february!). so we got to tow the car to nebraska, which was nice since it was about a 7 hour drive. on to the pictures...

stripping the car down to the bare metal. W removed EVERYTHING, even the sound deadening material which he had to break off with dry ice!



spiffy new sparco racing seats and 6-point harnesses (feels like a baby seat!)


prepping the car to spray paint the roll cage


after painting the roll cage


and here we are at the track!

:: joyce 8:28 PM [+]::
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.:: Monday, August 20, 2007 ::.

i made a diaper cake for M&S's baby shower this past weekend. it came out a lot better than i imagined, and was quite easy to make!



too bad there's already a million and one websites selling these (as well as sites showing you how to make them!). this could've been a lucrative business!

:: joyce 8:32 PM [+]::
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.:: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 ::.

2 recipes to share...

my coworker has a garden on steroids (ginormous zucchini, cucumbers, rhubarb, tomatoes), and gave me some rhubarb. i've never cooked/baked with rhubarb, and i'm not even positive that i've ever eaten rhubarb. after searching all over for a good recipe, i came across this GREAT rhubarb walnut muffin recipe. the rhubarb is tart like granny smiths. the walnut/brown sugar/cinnamon topping is so good, and the muffins are so moist!!



2nd recipe (no pictures): i recently made this super quick and easy recipe for thai-style halibut with coconut-curry broth. it takes about 20 minutes to make! and it's pretty healthy.

:: joyce 9:09 PM [+]::
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.:: Monday, August 13, 2007 ::.

saturday night we went outside to try to catch a few perseids. (they kinda have a special meaning to me and W.) well, when W went outside, he didn't see perseids. instead he caught a crazy lightning storm (which we later figured out was southeast of colorado springs). it lit up the sky but we heard no thunder, which was really weird. so of course we ran back inside and grabbed his camera to see if we could get any good shots. after many many shots, here's the best one:



it was just lightning bolt after bolt, hitting the same spots over and over. some of the pics you could really see the rain coming down. it was quite a sight!

oh, and we did end up seeing a few perseids shoot across the sky that night. :)

:: joyce 10:22 PM [+]::
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.:: Thursday, August 09, 2007 ::.

wow...this guy is incredibly talented. how does he do that?! (too bad it's in french)



be sure to watch the other videos of him too!

and while i'm posting videos...i still laugh at this one.


NASCAR Coach Reveals Winning Strategy: 'Drive Fast'

turn left! keep turning left! go straight! go fast! is this straight enough? no straighter! LOL...too funny. :P if you can, try to read the streaming headlines across the bottom...hilarious!

:: joyce 5:32 PM [+]::
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.:: Wednesday, August 08, 2007 ::.

at last...i've come to the end of week 3 of my extreme fat smash diet. it was definitely extreme, and definitely a big challenge for me. my first week, i was hungry and had no energy...barely enough to endure the one hour cardio workouts everyday! week 2 was a bit easier and i didn't feel as hungry. but my stomach had definitely shrunk cuz i couldn't eat nearly as much as i used to. and week 3 was kinda half-assed (due to lack of time and energy to do 70 minutes of cardio a day, and just the loss of appetite for rice and beans and veggies), which would explain my 1.5 lb loss (as opposed to my 4.5 lbs the first week, and 4 lbs the 2nd week). that makes a grand total of 10 lbs, which was my initial goal. i really don't want to lose any more weight at this point, i'm happy with where i am now. so it's just about maintenance. i'll probably go back to the body for life way of eating and working out. i can't wait to eat some food with flavor finally!! :)

:: joyce 7:06 PM [+]::
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.:: Saturday, August 04, 2007 ::.

currently in heavy rotation on my sansa:

1. silversun pickups - carnavas
2. republica - ready to go: best of
3. maroon 5 - it won't be soon before long

:: joyce 4:32 PM [+]::
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.:: Wednesday, August 01, 2007 ::.

it's been 2 weeks (i took a break this weekend since there was no way i could stick with my diet), and i've lost a total of 8.5 lbs! i still can't believe how much weight i've lost in such little time. crazy. but i am looking forward to next wednesday! i've almost lost my appetite all together, which is scary! and my pants are totally baggy on me. i love that feeling! altho it sucks wearing clothes that don't fit!

i made a simpsons character of myself. :) hehehe...doesn't resemble me at all, but still fun anyway!

:: joyce 7:53 PM [+]::
...