Hurricanes, Zombies, and Old Clothes

Cleo checks weather conditions

Along with everyone else along the East Coast, we are awaiting Hurricane Sandy's arrival, and hoping she'll leave quickly and not leave too much mess to clean up. I'm praying that no trees fall down near our house. As of 3:30 today it hasn't started raining yet, which is very good because the Marine Corps Marathon is happening today around DC and Virginia, and the runners probably had enough to worry about with the wind gusts. Not to mention the fact that they had 26.2 miles to run. My friend's husband is running it. They're both serious runners, although I'm not sure that they've ever run a marathon before. Can't wait to see how he did.

Speaking of running--this gets to the "Zombie" portion of my post--Yesterday my husband and I participated in Run For Your Lives, a 5K run/obstacle course through the woods where people dressed as zombies chase you throughout the course. One of my goals for 2012 was to compete in a 5K, so I was able to check that box off in style yesterday! I had so much fun, and I want to do it again next year. In the morning we were zombies. The event coordinators provided professional zombie make-up and shredded clothes and put us in various places along the course to chase the runners. All runners get a belt with 3 flags, and the zombies try to rip the flags off. If you make it to the end with your flags intact, you survive. If they're all gone, you've become infected and are a zombie. We had a 3-hour shift of popping out of bushes and trees and scaring the crap out of people. It was fantastic! After washing off our fake blood and changing into running clothes, we then ran the course later that afternoon. It was a completely different experience and so much fun. The sad part--in a true zombie apocalypse, I'd be zombie bait within minutes. My flags were all gone within the first mile.

Last night was a popular night for Halloween parties, but we were wiped out after the race and didn't go to any. Today is so gloomy, we're just relaxing at home, and planning to grill steaks before the rain really starts.

I'm behind in posting about the SSFC Challenge, which wraps up this week. Here goes:

The most recent challenge was to create an international dish. My favorite cuisines are Mexican, Cuban, and pretty much anything south of the border.

We made ropa vieja, a Cuban shredded beef dish, which literally translated means "old clothes." It's probably my favorite meal ever, and if it's on the menu, I'll be ordering it.

Ingredients:
flank steak (Smith Family Farm, VA)
onions (my garden)
peppers (my garden)
peas
crushed tomatoes
Husband's special marinade

So not all ingredients were locally-sourced, but the steak, main ingredient, was. Ropa vieja can be eaten on its own, but I like it with rice. And if I had plantains, I would have fried some up to eat along with it.

Now it's off to refill my wine glass and get cozy in front of the TV. That sums up my weekend. How was yours?
Are you in the Hurricane Zone? Any Halloween plans?