bike safety

While on a bike ride with Gary, Mike was hit by a car making a right hand turn, but thankfully the car was moving slowly and Mike was not seriously hurt. He bruised a rib, but it could have been alot worse! Be careful out there!!

familly fun

It has been awhile since the Langs have been able to make it to KC so we were glad to have Gary, Stacy and Spencer with us this weekend. Gary finally got to try Oklahoma Joe's Barbeque and Stacy got a tour of Mission Hills on foot when she joined our Saturday morning group for a short run. The guys headed downtown to the College Basketball Experience while Heidi and Stacy hit the Plaza to shop and enjoy lunch on the McCormick and Schmick's patio.

welcome to the world

Olivia Lilian Pollmann entered the world last night at 11:46 pm. She weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 20 inches long. Congratulations to Mark, Shannon and big brother Lukas!

mission accomplished!

Heidi completed the Waddell and Reed Kansas City Marathon this morning and made her goal, crossing the finish line in just less than 5 hours! The first 18-20 miles were great, but the last 6 were a struggle with warm temperatures and sunny skies (and few spectators).

The official results:
41 760 HEIDI POLLMANN 31 4:58:48

Fill 'er Up!

Today's lunch hour found the BCA office celebrating Bosses Day at Tarantinos, located at 601 McGee. I'd read alot of great reviews about this small downtown eatery and was excited to try what some have called the best calzones in Kansas City. Of course, I was a bit nervous to take 6 others with me to try something new!

The large, reasonably priced calzones did not disappoint--most of us tried one of the specialty calzones made with chicken, artichokes and mushrooms. While reviewing favorite local restaurants with my co-workers, I realized that quite a few of my favorite restaurants are located in old gas stations or garages, and this is no exception.

Other gas station/garage favorites include The Filling Station, The Roasterie Cafe, Pizza 51, and Oklahoma Joes (the gas station is still operational).

brownies and babies

Josh and Amy were in town for a wedding and they stopped off on their way to the airport so Mike could meet Madeline. Stan and Myrna were the official airport transportation so we enjoyed catching up with the whole Bartel clan. We couldn't let them leave hungry, so this was the perfect occasion to make another batch of Symphony Brownies. Les Dames d’Escoffier had made this Paula Deen recipe for the Paula Deen book event and it has become a favorite.

It couldn't be easier...

Mix one box of brownie mix (with walnuts) according to box directions. Line a 13 x 9 pan with tinfoil and spray with cooking spray.

Pour 1/2 the brownie mix in the dish. It is not much. Place three 6oz. Hershey Symphony candy bars with almond and toffee chips (wraps removed of course) side by side on top of the mix. Don't break or chop up the candy bars. Pour the remainder of the brownie mix over the top.

Bake according to mix directions.

get smart

We made a trip out to the suburbs to get a sneak peak at the new Smart fortwo manuafactured by Smart USA. It was strange to see such small cars zipping through the parking lot of Oak Park Mall surrounded by SUVs, but hopefully the number of people in line to take a test drive means that people might be willing to change their ways and drive something smaller.

Smart USA is owned by Daimler AG and the cars are scheduled to arrive in the states in early 2008. You can reserve yours now for $99. The car is 8.8 feet long meaning 2 will fit in an average parking space and 5.1 feet tall (the smart still has as much headroom as most luxury vehicles!) Additionally they get over 40 mpg.

bella

After a long week we enjoyed watching the street life generated by First Fridays from our table at Pizza Bella. This new Neapolitan pizzeria in the Crossroads uses Italian ingredients and a wood-fueled oven, allowing it to be certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana in Naples, Italy. Pizza Bella is owned by Rob Dalzell, founder of 1924 Main and Souperman.

The food was great (although still not as good as our all time favorite, Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix)--we started with the calamari salad followed by the mushroom pizza (with lots of carmelized onions) and finished the evening with chocolate gelato (our other option was Lucky Charms gelato!)