2010 – Page 2

December 2, 2010November 30, -0001

2010 in Review: Running

I decided to do a series of posts all about 2010. Since I love running (and most everyone else seems to hate it) I thought I'd get it over with first.

2010 was a great year for running. I felt like I really made some great strides (pun intentional) as a runner. I'm faster and more confident and also quite a bit leaner. I really enjoy the sport and I'm never sorry I went for a run, even when they start before 5am.

Miles Run: since I started logging miles on Daily Mile back in May, I've run almost 400 miles, averaging 55/month. I will probably run 50 more before the end of the year. I'm guessing I probably logged between 150 and 200 miles the first 4 months of the year (I was training for my 1st Half Marathon), so I put my estimated mileage for 2011 at 600.
Races Run:
Nashville Half Marathon (13.1 miles, 2:48:33)
Title 9k (acutally 9.9k or 6.1 miles, 1:14:34)
Bolder Boulder (6.2 miles, 1:15:09)
Apex Father's Day 5K (3.1 miles, 33:10)
Heart and Sole 10k (10K/6.2 miles, 1:15:05)
Disneyland Half Marathon (13.1 miles, 2:31:00)
Denver Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon (13.1 Miles, 2:29:00)
Turkey Trot (4 miles, 42:00)
Best (Running) Moment of 2010: finishing my SECOND half marathon and realizing I'd run virtually the whole thing.
Worst (Running) Moment of 2011: the day I found out they were closing my gym
Favorite Race: hard … a toss up between Disneyland Half and Denver Half. Disneyland was a great setting and Denver was too … and I had lots of friends and pre-race fun in Denver.
Best Swag: Heart and Sole Half had the best swag, especially for the $$ … hat, t'shirt, awesome water bottle, even socks! Their post race event was great too – no stale bagels here!
Best Running Gear: no slip elastic headbands!
Favorite running tech: I dearly love my Garmin watch, but I never would have run nearly as much with out my treadmill + Tivo combo
Best Running Buddies: I logged a ton of great miles with my darling hubby as well as with my girlfriends, K&J … they all kept me going through long miles
Running Inspiration: I'm blessed with loads of great inspiration: my family, particularly my darling kids, my great friends, especially my running buddies, and awesome running blogs like RLAM and Racing with Babes and of course other bloggers who run, like Liz and Kristi!
Favorite Workout Tunes: California Gurls, Party in the USA
Favorite Running Website: Can't pick. Aside from the aforementioned blogs, I love Daily Mile, Garmin Connect and EarndIt (I just won a Free Road ID from them!!!).
Goals/Plans for 2011: I want to improve my speed and my stamina on hills. I would also like to drop a few more pounds and work more on my core and strength. I'd like to log 800 miles next year. I don't know for sure which races I'll run next year, though I anticipate running most if not all of the local ones I ran last year.

December 1, 2010November 30, -0001

The Advent of Christmas

I'm here to talk to you today about Advent. Of course, as a proper nerd, I could not write a post about Advent before properly researching my topic and by that I mean reading a couple of Wikipedia entries. I love Wikipedia. *sigh* Anyhow, in reading these articles, I found that religious advent starts anywhere between Nov 27 and Dec 3 (4 sundays before Christmas) and is the liturgical start of the year for most western Christmas churches.

Since we're not big church-goers, we put meaning in our advent the same way we put meaning in the Christmas season. Christmas to us is all about family and service. Since my kids are so little. I wanted neither an advent that was wholly about candy or filled with so many activities that my kids would be exhausted …. so we came up with a nice mixture. We'll do activities about half to 2/3 of the time and on the other days, the kids will just get a hershey kiss each.

The planned advent activities so far are:
• make more paper snowflakes (one window is bare)
• go for a walk in our 'hood to check out the Christmas lights
• go shopping as a family
• watch a Christmas movie (will probably do this one twice)
• pick out a Christmas tree with Grammy and Papa
• wrap gifts
• shop for our Angel Tree kids
• go out for Fish & Chips
• make a dutch apple pancake
• write/decorate letters to Santa
• decorate cookies
• Feliz Navidad festival – i.e. we pick up tamales from our favorite tamale vendor and make guacamole and have margaritas (Christmas Eve)
• discuss family donations
• decoupage candle holders

How about you … do you plan to celebrate Advent?

November 30, 2010May 23, 2011

Oh Tannenbaum!!

On Sunday we put up our Christmas decorations, including the tree.

Tabby got the honor of putting the first ornament on – it is one we got in Disneyland and has a photo of all of us just after the half marathon.

As is tradition, we each got a new ornament.

Unfortunately, Ben’s got damaged on the way home from Target and couldn’t be put on the tree (it’s a cute baby-grand piano for our little Schroeder) but it has been replaced and he got to put this stuffed bear my mom got him last year on instead … well as much as he gets that concept, anyhow.

Tabby got a tiara (though she was also quite smitten with a Mr Potato Head)

Matt got this great pirate dog (notice the hook-paw).

And I got this great mixer.

With all new business aside, we turned to our old friends. We have a lot of ornaments, but they’re all special and I know where almost all of them came from.

Some of them date back to my childhood. The gold one (left) is from my first Christmas. The apple one is from my second. Apple was one of my first words aside from the mama dada stuff.

These two date back to when Matt and I first celebrated Christmas together in college.

Quite a few have been given to us.

My mom always finds great ones. She gave Tabby the pig one the year she was born (year of the boar) and Ben got the bear one last year.

My maternal grandma, too, gives us beautiful ornaments … everything from the gorgeous Cloisonné ones to the borderline-tacky weiner mobile – both of which we love!

And some of my favorites are the ones people have made for us.

At our wedding shower, my Aunt Peggy, who is a ceramicist, had people create ornaments for us out of clay which she then fired. So we have about 30 various cookie-like ornaments made from clay that various family members crafted for us. They’re some of my favorites.

These are the ornaments I made for my kids last year. It’s a tradition I hope to keep every year, and hopefully one day include them in.

This bird-feeder ornament that my maternal grandma made for me when I was a kid (my sister has a matching one) is another favorite. There is a similar style mailbox one as well.

These beautiful, delicately crocheted snowflakes aren’t really ornaments so-to-speak, but they rest easily on the Christmas tree and look beautiful. They were handmade by my paternal grandmother who passed away just before Tabby was born. They always make me smile when I bring them out.

November 29, 2010November 30, -0001

Thanksgiving Weekend All Wrapped Up

Well our Thanksgiving weekend/break has come to an end. It was really nice, so of course it's a bit hard to get back to the work-a-day reality. We had lots and lots of fun and even with two kids fighting colds, it was pretty fun and easy-going. We are truly blessed.

Thursday was the eating extravaganza. Matt and I started out the day running the Mile High United Way Turkey Trot with some friends … we both clocked times around 40 minutes which is respectable, but about DOUBLE that of the winners (so cannot imagine being that fast!!). Thanksgiving dinner (4pm) was a big success with tons of tasty foods. The only new recipe I tried, The Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes, was a big success and universally loved. Sweet Potato Spoon Bread was every bit as good as I remembered it. Tabby dug the potatoes and GRAVY big time. Ben was most in love with the cranberry sauce which he smeared from head to toe more or less. My mom set a beautiful table and we had lots of fun before and after watching TV (football) and movies and playing games.

Friday was a calmer day but we got off our duffs in the late afternoon and met up with my family once again to have dinner and then hit Zoo Lights. We've done Zoo Lights since Tabby was a baby. They deck out the whole zoo with incredible lights and this year they had fire dancers, ice sculptors (we didn't really see this) and SANTA. The Santa was awesome and the kids got to sing Jingle Bells with him and Tabby got to talk his ear off. We also got to meet up with some friends and their kids which is always fun.

Saturday was once again pretty chill, but in the afternoon my mom, sister and I took Tabby to see Tangled. Even though she wasn't feeling the best (runny nose) she thoroughly enjoyed it as did we all. Then we got to have some leftovers and an early evening.

Sunday was the typical mix of laundry and errands, but with one big, FUN difference. We DECKED THE HALLS! Matt and I got everything set up (garland, tchotchkes, tree with lights) and then we let the kids add the ornaments to the tree. Ben was a bit confused on the whole “we put them on and LEAVE them on” bit. I will share more on that tomorrow.

November 27, 2010May 23, 2011

What We’re Thankful For

Here are the things my family is thankful for, either by their own testimonial or by my guestimation.

Me
• amazing kids
• my excellent hubby/best friend
• wonderful family and friends
• a happy, welcoming home
• good jobs we like
• a sweet puppy with a wagging tail
• health!
• living in this excellent, if slightly flawed, country
• my library!!
• my super comfy bed
• my treadmill
• my tivo
• heated seats
• hot chocolate
• the internets
• naps
• mint green tea
• hot baths
• me time
• deep fried turkey and sweet potato spoon bread … mmmm

Ben
• cranberry sauce
• blankies and other soft things
• milk (in sippy cups)
• two strong legs on which to run around
• cheese (his absolute favorite word and most frequent request)
• anything more than 6″ off the ground Continue reading “What We’re Thankful For”

November 24, 2010November 30, -0001

A Running Milestone

Last night I hit a BIG running milestone. For the first time since Ben was born, I ran in a running skirt. Since he was born (18 months or so ago) I have had many of these, including my first half marathon and a sub 2:30 half marathon. Those were incredible and in many many ways much superior to this one. But this one is very important because … now I get to rock some cute running outfits.

And I might just have to celebrate with a new purple running skirt.

November 23, 2010May 23, 2011

Let it Snow!

Since we haven’t had any snow to speak of (not that I’m complaining, Mo Nature .. you can keep it in the mountains – that’s fine with me!), we had to make our own winter fun last night. Tabby has been begging for hot chocolate so I made up a batch and then we got down to the business of making snow flakes.

Tabby is doing pretty well with the cutting, but she needs some help getting through the layers of paper. More often than not, she drew lines and I did the cutting for her. But she had fun trying.

Ben mostly watched on from his highchair with amusement. He was OK with the hot chocolate but really got into the marshmallows and signed for more (peeeease!) multiple times.

November 22, 2010May 23, 2011

Napkins!

A few months ago, I purchased some cloth napkins on Etsy. They’re pretty, simple things in a variety of nice patterns. I do a lot of laundry anyhow and so tossing these in the wash as we go about our daily business is never a problem. The only problem was that we ran out of them fairly quickly.

Though I thought them a good value from the Etsy seller, I wanted to try to make some of my own. The original ones I got had a nice little rolled hem and so I tried to duplicate this on my own machine. But I didn’t have a ton of luck. I could get it started and sometimes even sew for a while, but inevitably, I’d pull in too much fabric or not enough and the seam would go all over the place. It was not very nice looking.

So I decided to just do my own thing and double-roll over the edges about 1/4″, press and sew. This created a much nicer finished product and not nearly so much swearing. The results are quite pretty. Tabby was particularly happy with the ones I made from fabric she picked out (pink swirls).

November 17, 2010November 30, -0001

Biznasss

• Thanksgiving is coming up. It is the only time of the year (besides possibly Christmas) that I get to make Cranberry Cornbread Dressing and Sweet Potato Spoon Bread … so of course, YAY!
• Not to mention THREE short days of work followed by FOUR days off.
• Christmas shopping has begun.
• Unfortunately it has not progressed very far.
• I am super excited to see the rest of our family photos because it means that I can then start on our … Christmas card! Yay!
• We are getting the tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving. Can't wait!
• We are Turkey Trotting on Thanksgiving Day … 4 miles should go a ways to burning off the aforementioned spoon bread, right??
• I bought us these awesome t'shirts to run in. And possibly wear to Thanksgiving Dinner.
• I just finished Happy Ever After, the last (*sob*) book in The Bride Quartet. It was really good.
• I recently found out there is a Law and Order UK that they show on BBC America. You better believe I tivo'd that!!
• I also may or may have not tivo'd some cheesy Lifetime Network Movies. I'm not sayin.
• I am thinking Tabby and I need to get the glitter out and create some Thanksgiving Crafties for the table … hmmm.

What're y'all up to?

November 17, 2010May 23, 2011

Sweet Potato Spoon Bread

from: Martha Stewart

Ingredients
3 large sweet potatoes
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 cups milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup light-brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup honey
4 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream

Directions
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake sweet potatoes until soft when pierced with a knife, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool. Peel, and discard skins.

Reduce heat to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan over medium heat combine cornmeal, milk, butter, brown sugar, spices, salt, and 1 cup water. Cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Let cool.

Butter a 2-quart baking dish. Working in batches if necessary, place cornmeal mixture, sweet potatoes, flour, honey, eggs, and cream in a food processor. Process until smooth; pour into dish. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Serve.