Monthly Archives: November 2010

Hey there! So, it’s Monday after a nice long holiday weekend. How’s it going for you? I’m pretty tired, not sure if it’s from all the celebrating or from the 10 mile run I did yesterday.

So, that 10 mile run. Remember the last time I ran 10 miles?  Even though I titled that post “Perfect 10″ I would say yesterday’s run was much better. The number one reason it was better was because I didn’t get horrible blisters on my feet! I’d say it was nice that it wasn’t hot out but it could have been a little warmer for my liking. I ran into the wind for 5 miles and was relieved when I turned around with the wind at my back for the last 5 miles. John ran with me for the first 3 miles but then a chest cold he has been battling really started to bother him and he turned back. I will say one thing though, 10 is definitely not my new 8. When I trained for my last half marathon I really started to enjoy running 8 miles. It seemed challenging enough but didn’t wipe me out for the whole day. 10 miles wipes me out big time! I was so tired yesterday! All the mega workouts I’ve been doing lately probably didn’t help. I know I didn’t have fresh legs. Perhaps I’ll try running 10 miles after a rest day!

Even though I was pretty tired yesterday I summoned up enough energy to have a BLAST with our friends the Gardner’s. They stopped by late yesterday afternoon on their way home to the St. Paul. We headed out to dinner at Kate’s Pizza Amore.

Gotta love the ambience and the company.

We decided to order 4 individual pizzas and share them plus 2 appetizers.

Grilled Bruschetta: tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella on grilled flatbread.

Gorgonzola Calzone: chorizo, olives, mushrooms, and gorgonzola stuffed into a calzone.

My choice for pizza, the Seafood Romanesco: sun dried tomato pesto, spinach, shrimp, clams, scallops, mushrooms, olive blend, pine nuts, and feta cheese. Definitely my favorite!

Brian chose the Jambalaya which had creamy jambalaya sauce, chicken, andouille sausage, shrimp, tomato, red onion, green pepper and a little Creole kick! Very spicy and I liked it!

Shannon picked the California Kick which had spicy hummus, spinach, mushrooms, red pepper, artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives, feta cheese, and roasted garlic. Very unique and delicious!

Gardner had the Margherita:extra virgin olive oil, fresh garlic, fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh roasted garlic, basil pesto, a light sprinkle of blend of cheeses plus he added pepperoni.

It was such a good meal! Just what I needed after that long run! After eating we drove down to the park to see the AMAZING Rotary Lights display!

Pictures don’t do it justice! Santa was there, they had a live nativity and even a live choir singing! For some reason I usually don’t get down to see the lights until after Christmas and by then all the extra stuff is gone. It was nice to see it in all it’s glory!

We returned home for our traditional boys against the girls Euchre game. The girls were up for the first 2 out of 3 games but then the boys wanted to play best 4 out of 7. We lost steam and the game! Oh well. I think it’s more fun to watch Brian and Gardner get all agitated when they lose and then all pumped up when they win!

The Gardner’s left early this morning and since I did my weekly cleaning before they came I had time to put up some Christmas decorations. We aren’t doing a tree this year because we’ll be leaving for Florida so soon after the New Year. I just didn’t want to worry about taking it down before we left. I hung some lighted garland, put up our nativity, and even did some outdoor decorations (it’s suppose to get really cold and snowy later this week so I wanted to get that done!). I promise I’ll post pictures soon but this post is getting long enough!

Hope you have a great start to your week!

Well hello there! How’s your weekend going? Today turned out to be a lot busier than I anticipated. Busy but good! I got to spend more time with family and friends!

Yesterday when  I was hanging out at my in-law’s house playing with my nieces, Brian’s second cousin Kelly came up from the basement where she and “the boys” were butchering deer. When I saw her I instantly remembered that I had been invited to Erin’s (one of Brian’s other second cousins, Kelly’s first cousin. Got that?) baby shower that was taking place on Saturday! When I saw Kelly it reminded me that I was going to ask her if she was going to the shower too but up until that point I had totally forgotten about the shower. I didn’t even get a gift and I love shopping for baby gifts! (I gave her money which I’m sure she’ll appreciate!) I had to cut my time short with my nieces to go home and work on homework for grad school next weekend since I suddenly realized I would have no time on Saturday.

I taught for two hours this morning at the Y, got home and cleaned up and then immediately went over to pick my mother-in-law up for the shower. The shower was a lot of fun.  Erin’s mom hosted it at their new house which was really beautiful. I really like hanging out with the ladies on Brian’s side of the family and feel very flattered that they include me in these events. I haven’t been able to make the last two baby showers so I was glad I was available for this one. I just can’t believe that it slipped my mind! It was a nice shower with good food, only a few silly baby shower games, and of course cake and presents.

Here’s Kelly showing us how she won the game where you guess how big the baby belly is.

Kelly was all decked out in her Badger gear. They won today!

Here’s my youngest niece also trying to figure out if her string would fit around the baby belly.

Some of the ladies visiting.

Erin is such a cute pregnant lady with just a little belly. She said she has felt pretty good and everything seemed to be going well with the pregnancy. Her sister had a baby a few months ago. I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture of him, what cutie!

After the shower I only had about an hour before I needed to head to church. I wanted to go to church tonight so I had time for my long run tomorrow. Immediately after church Brian and I headed over to my friend Marianne’s parent’s house for dinner. They served us a very unique cherry ale from the New Glarus Brewing Company.

The bottle describes it as a marriage of beer and wine. It was very delicious!

Brian’s said if you put whip cream on top it would taste like cherry pie! I agreed! We had a lovely dinner of steak (venison for us), mashed potatoes, corn, salad, green beans, and dinner rolls. The food was so delicious and the conversation so good I forgot to snap picture before I dug in. Opps! I guess I was pretty hungry!

We talked a lot about our plans for Disney World in January. Marianne’s husband John is running the half marathon with me. We  made plans to run 10 miles together tomorrow!

That being said, we left early so we could both get a good night’s sleep! I should probably wrap this up so I can do just that!

Tomorrow the Gardner’s are coming for brief visit as they head home from their holiday celebrations. We always have such a fun time with them! The spirit of Thanksgiving just keeps on going and I like it!

Hey there! Happy Black Friday to you! Anyone out shopping and finding some amazing deals? Not me! No sir! I am not really much of a shopper and the Mall scares me after Thanksgiving!

My day yesterday was quite delightful. I got to my parents a little after 11 to hang out and help prepare food. My brother and his fiance came out about noon bringing a fun and unique board game called Settlers of Catan. There was a lot of strategy but I was really getting into to it when Raina won!

At about 2pm it was time to start preparing the Turkey. Brian and my dad headed outside to the deep fryer. It was pretty cold out so they also started a bonfire. Check out the almost completed gazebo my parents built in the woods behind their house.

Pretty cool huh? I headed up there to take a picture of the men hard at work  drinking beer frying the turkey.

From the inside.

I headed inside to help with the second turkey that was baking in the oven and the side dishes. While I worked my dad made me a FABULOUS drink called a Moscow Mule.

My dad says it’s Oprah’s favorite drink and is made with 2oz of vodka, juice of 1 lime, 1 tsp of sugar, and 1/2C ginger beer. It was really good and packed quite a punch!

Pretty soon Brian’s mom and dad arrived and we were ready to eat.

On the menu

Deep fried Cajun Turkey

Oven Roasted Turkey

Traditional Stuffing

Cajun andouille sausage and shrimp stuffing

Mashed potatoes

Sweet potato gratin

Cranberry fluff

Cranberry orange relish

Carrots

Wheat berry salad

Pickles and olives

Pumpkin pie

Apple Pie

REAL whipped cream!

Whew! What a menu! By far the star of the show was my dad’s Cajun stuffing with andouille sausage and shrimp. He was worried that he put too much garlic in it but that was by far my favorite dish!

My plate

Potatoes gratin, Cajun turkey, Cajun stuffing, wheat berry salad, and cranberry orange relish. I also had an additional small serving of traditional turkey, cranberry fluff, and MORE stuffing, plus an unpictured piece of pie. So good!

We headed out early so we could see some of our friends who were only in town  on Thanksgiving Day.

Today I team taught the Turkey Blast at the Y which was a 90 minute cardio and strength class. I’m headed back shortly to teach cycling. Definitely burning off some of those calories today!

Hope you are enjoying some leftovers and continuing to have a good holiday weekend!

It’s just me headed out for a morning run! I debated my run for awhile this morning. My leg still felt pretty sore and it was COLD out but I really wanted run. I got some of my running clothes on plus some extra layers and took the dog for a walk. It really didn’t feel too bad  out so I thought I’d give it a try. I needed to do a 5 mile tempo run. I decided to run on the track near my house that way if I got too cold or my leg really hurt I could cut it short and head home without too much trouble. This seemed like a good plan to me but when I got to the track all the gates were locked! So I continued on to the trails. It wasn’t too icy. Just a few patches of glaze here and there that was easy to avoid. I totally underestimated the loop I was going to run and ended up finishing 5 miles about 3/4′s of a mile from my house. So I continued to run. As I neared my house I figured I had come this far I might as well just make it an even 6! It felt so good to get a great workout in this morning! When I got home the temperature was 19 degrees with a wind chill of 5! I was really surprised. I didn’t feel cold at all. In fact I was sweating a lot! Maybe I am cut out for this winter running stuff! My leg felt okay during the run, but now it really hurts,.Sigh! Oh well!

I’m all set to head out to my parents house. I kind of feel like the Pyrex queen with all my dishes stacked to neatly.

Plus the fixings for the potato topping and my wedding binder to share with my sister-in-law to be!

Have a great day everyone! See you later with a recap of the festivities!

Hey there! How are you this fine evening? I am sitting down for the first time since I got home from work! I’ve been busy preparing my contributions for tomorrow’s meal. I broke the cardinal rule and decided to prepare two brand new recipes to serve to others. I did a little taste test of one of the dishes and it was pretty tasty! So, I’m not too worried.

I sure am glad we don’t have to travel far for the holiday. The weather is terrible! It is cold and raining with the possibly of sleet, snow, and ice! I decided to do some last minute Christmas shopping downtown. I intended on finding a central parking spot and walking but since the weather was so terrible and due to the holiday there were lots of parking spots. I was able to drive from store to store but I was still wet and chilled to the bone. When I got home I popped my contacts out and promptly changed into these stylish gems!

Nothing like a pair of baggy sweats! I also poured myself a glass of wine

and got started straight away on preparing dinner and my dishes for tomorrow. First I drained my wheat berries which had been soaking all day.

Before

After

The wheat berries went into a pot of water, were brought to a boil and simmered for 1 hour. While those cooked I prepared chicken for dinner. Sorry no pictures. I tend to put the camera away when raw meat comes out. I just don’t want to risk spreading those raw juices.

While the wheat berries continued to simmer and the chicken baked in the oven I started peeling and slicing my sweet potatoes and russet potatoes for Sweet Potatoes Gratin. I was very thankful for my mandolin tonight!

I layered the potatoes and poured a mixture of half and half, and spices over then and threw them in the oven just as the chicken was ready to come out.

The wheat berries still had some time left so I ate dinner then it was back to the kitchen to finish up. All I had left was to add some dried fruit, scallions, and seasoning to the wheat berries. It turned out beautifully!

I took a little taste to make sure the seasonings were right. It was very good! Very unique! I’ve never made anything with wheat berries in it. They are so delicious and have a really fun texture. I might have to find more recipes  that feature this unique grain.

I had one more special dish to get ready, cranberry fluff, just for my brother!Super simple to make. Start with cranberries thrown into the food processor.

Process until fine. Then add one can of crushed pineapple in its own juice, and one package of vanilla instant pudding.

You have to let sit over night to let the flavor combine. Tomorrow I’ll fold in some whipped topping. So easy! I also will have to had a finishing bread crumb topping to the potatoes and reheat and that will be it! Sorry I can’t share the exact recipes as they were from the November issue of Health magazine. I tried to find them online but now luck!

I really admire how some of the “pro-bloggers” photographer the cooking adventures. I have a hard time remembering to take pictures. Not to mention I am a super messy cook! When I finished not only were their a TON of dishes to wash but I had to wipe down every nook and cranny plus sweep the floor! Our kitchen always looks like a tornado has come through when I’ve been cooking!

I would like to run in the morning but considering the weather I’m not sure if it will be possible. Also, I thought that my leg was getting better, I even had a great 4 mile run yesterday.  But after teaching Zumba last night and cycling this morning it really hurts. I went to yoga at noon to see if I could pin point what was wrong by stretching and seeing if I felt any strain but I didn’t. It just hurts when I walk. I’m teaching part of the Turkey blast on Friday, and possibly cycling. I also have to teach on Saturday and would really like to get my long run in on Sunday. I guess if I really can’t run tomorrow I won’t.

I am just super excited to have some down time, hanging out with the family, and eating some good food!

Well, we DVRed the new Alice in Wonderland and I haven’t seen it yet! Hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Hey there! Hope you are having a nice relaxing Sunday! Mine has been pretty productive yet also relaxing as I am accomplishing a mix of things I want to do and things I have to do!

To be quite honest I am not very sad that I did not do my 10 mile run today. The weather outside is TERRIBLE! It has been raining off and on all day and it’s only 39 degrees out! I can handle cold, I can handle rain, I can even handle snow but cold and rainy? No thanks! Don’t get me wrong, if my leg did feel better I would be out there toughing it out. But I am kind of glad to be relaxing at home. I’ll probably hit up a yoga class later today.

Other than that I am doing the laundry (job I “have” to do) and making pumpkin spiced almond butter and pumpkin spiced granola. I am still not sick of pumpkin! I also stopped at the Co-Op after church and bought some ingredients for the dishes I’m bringing for Thanksgiving. I am making my brother’s favorite cranberry fluff and two recipes I saw in the November issue of Health, Wheat Berry Salad with Dried Fruit, and Sweet Potato Gratin. I’m super excited for Thanksgiving. I think I like it better than Christmas!

Enjoy your day!

Hey there! How was you day? Good I hope!

I’m just popping in to say “hi” after an AMAZING day at Grad School. I know I’ve mentioned before how much I love the Servant Leadership program but today’s class was truly inspiring. Sometimes I think I should write a Servant Leadership blog but I just don’t know if I could put into words everything I experience during my eight hours of class. If you ever want to know more about my program feel free to email me at girlwiththepinksneakers@gmail.com I’d love to chat about it! Two weeks from now some of my classmates and I are meeting at a new restaurant called Four Sisters Wine and Tapas Lounge before class. It sounds super fun and I’ll be sure to post about it!

I woke up this morning and did an AWESOME morning flow yoga from YogaDownloads.com. I was even able to get into the wheel pose a few times. It felt so good even though I wasn’t able to hold it for very long.

(Source)

After yoga I powered up for my day with a pumpkin pie green smoothie, toast with pumpkin butter, and green tea.

The 10 mile run I had planned for tomorrow might not happen. I am totally prepared mentally to go that distance and even prepared to run in the rain as that is what is predicted. But something isn’t right with my right leg. I feel like I did something to my hamstring. It just feel tight and I feel pain when I go from sitting to standing and even when I walk. I don’t think I did anything serious but something just isn’t right. If I do skip my 10 miler I think I will repeat this week in my training plan since I also missed a 5 mile tempo run due to my back injury flaring up last week. I’m not to worried about it. This particular training plan has you running 13 miles and I really don’t think that is necessary so that week will probably get skipped. Part of training smart is knowing when not to train due to injury or over exertion.

My big plans for the night include: drinking wine and doing my nails (perhaps not the best combination?). You might have noticed from yesterday’s post that I have some serious claws going on. I love my long nails but they are kind of getting in the way. It’s actually hard to type and text! Perhaps a little trim, shaping, and a new coat of paint is in order! Have a great night!

P.S. Brian just called to tell me he got a deer but another buddy of his got two and only wants some of the meat so Brian has to drive out and get those too. Looks like our meat supply will be fine for the winter!

Hi! Happy Friday! Hope you’re having a good one! Mine has been very productive so far!

This morning I got up and went for a chilly 4 mile run. Before we know it winter will grace us with its presence. I’m not too worried about running in colder weather but I am fearful of when the snow flies and things get a little icy. This morning’s run was one of the coldest yet. I keep thinking if I continue to run outside, gradually I will acclimate to the cold, at least I hope so. Today’s run was good, not super awesome but not terrible either. I implemented some techniques for winter running and I think that helped. To start with I ran into the wind for the first 2 miles. It was really blowing this morning and I’m not going to lie the first half was pretty brutal. It is suggested that you run into the wind to start because if you run into it after you are all sweaty you’ll get more chilled. The two mile turn around point was a welcome sight today! The last two miles didn’t seem to bad!

I also dressed properly.

I’m trying to keep track of the temperature, what I wear, and how I feel so I know how to dress for varying temperatures.This morning it was 30 degrees with a wind chill of 25 degrees, winds out of the south at 16 miles/hour. I wore a fleece hat, a long-sleeved, fleece-lined, shirt, a fleece vest, and running tights.

I also wore these nifty mittens I picked up at Shopko.

I like that they have the open fingers with the fold back mitten top. My hands are often the first things that get warm and I don’t like taking my gloves off and carrying them or putting them in a pocket for fear I’ll lose them. 

I’ve read that you should feel a little chilly before you run then you’ll know you are dressed properly. That’s exactly how I felt. I worked up a good sweat but wasn’t too hot by the end. You should also dress in layers so you can remove some if you do get too hot. Usually my outdoor running ends around Thanksgiving but with the half marathon in January I’m going to try and keep running outside as much as I can. I think I have most of the proper clothes but might need a warmer pair of tights and a warmer wind breaker type jacket for when it get really cold!

After my run I had a delicious breakfast of oats in a jar using the empty jar from my pumpkin butter.

There are also some raspberries, 1/2 a banana, and a few crumbs left over from my Pumpkin Butter Oat Squares.  I also enjoyed a nice hot cup of coffee!

Well, I’ve been slaving a way at work today and tonight I have Grad School, which I am looking forward to! The husband is deer hunting this weekend.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Hey there! How are you doing this fine Thursday evening? I had a great day but I’m pretty beat! These Triple Threat Thursday’s really wear me out! Sorry I haven’t been posting much. I guess I just didn’t feel like I did anything interesting. With my back being in pain I was kind of crabby too! I did however, try and make a wonderful dessert, Pumpkin Butter Oat Squares with Candied Pecans I saw on Angela’s blog. I actually made this recipe over a period of three days. Tuesday after we returned from an early Christmas shopping trip I whipped up the Pumpkin Butter. This was SO easy to make and tastes AMAZING! I will never buy pumpkin butter again now that I know how easy it is to make. In between work events yesterday I made the candied pecans. These were also really easy and tasted so good. It was hard to keep my hands out of them. I was really getting excited to make the actual bars. I followed the directions to a “T” except I used half spelt flour and half whole wheat flour.  I also used a 9X11 baking pan. When I got the final mixture finished something just didn’t seem right. It was really sticky. Angela recommended reserving half of the oat mixture to crumble over the top of the pumpkin butter  but there was no was I could crumble it. It was just too moist so I added back to the original mixture. After I pre-baked it, it looked okay. So I added the layers and finished baking it. It look pretty good right out of the oven.

After letting it cool and set up in the freezer I tried to cut into  it and make cute little bars like Angela did but it was not working. I put it back in the freezer and headed out to teach Zumba with instructions for the hubby to take it out. When I got home I managed to cox a few squares out of it but it still wasn’t “perfect.” I guess I wouldn’t really call it a fail because I tasted tested some of the ruined squares and they were delicious! I’m taking the bars I did cut to my class tomorrow, I’m sure someone will eat them

In other news, Brian took some time off of work for hunting but decided today to just hang out at home. We ended up taking a lovely walk through the marsh with our fur-baby who turned 4 today! It was cold but sunny and we saw lots of ducks feeding on the water. I got some great shots of the beautiful day!

I feel so lucky that we live with in walking distance from these beautiful trails!Well, I’m going to chill in front of the television for the night! Hope you have a good night and good start to your weekend!