Last weekend, we flew out to Pennsylvania to visit family and friends...well, let's be honest: it was also a food tour. We arrived late into Allentown (thanks to daddYman and Cheryl for picking us up!) and slept like rocks. The next morning, Chris did some work (LAME!) We took the boat - I mean the Buick :) - to make a surprise visit to Cheryl's work.
Then off to Philadelphia to visit Autumn and James. They took Friday off (the opposite of LAME) and we ate at a diner near their house (which is right next to a graveyard, so that when you're done eating, they can roll you right out and drop you in!) We went into downtown Philly to see some of the sights. First stop, the Franklin Institute. We made a trip through the heart (staple of the Institute for decades), we learned about crazy weather on the other planets of our solar system, we played with trains and we pretended to fly.
Next stop, ice cream! James took us to an old-time ice cream shop (old-time meaning it was late 1800s themed with homemade sarsaparilla and amazing ice cream). We collectively didn't believe James was actually taking us to an ice cream shop, but in James-style, he delivered right at the moment you've just about lost hope :) I miss hanging out with James and Autumn so much! We went back to their house, watched Community and laughed a lot. We ordered in sicilian-styled pizza and I had my first cannoli. Then much sangria-drinking ensued.
Next morning, I went for a run on the crazy hills near their house (those hills truly kicked my ass - I was huffing and puffing, but had no strength to knock anything down). James made delicious french toast for second breakfast (well, second breakfast for me anyway) and there was much rejoicing. We toured more of historic Philadelphia, including having my first true Philly cheese steak sandwich at Jim's. I had it whiz wit (translation Cheese Whiz with fried onions). The combination was magical and there was much rejoicing. We walk a tiny fraction of it off while checking out various sites, including the stump that was the Moon Tree (a seedling they took to the Moon and later planted in Philly and later still cut down - there's now a plaque). We tossed pennies on Ben Franklin's grave. We didn't know why we do this, but I will proudly say both of my pennies landed heads up. I think that means Ben Franklin will grant me a two wishes.
Later that night, we headed to PPL Park to watch the Philadelphia Union vs the San Jose Earthquakes (professional football...aka soccer). We had so much fun! I feared I would lose my voice the next day from all the screaming and yelling - it was a very exciting game and I got sucked right in.
The next morning, we headed out soon after we woke up to spend some time in Allentown with daddYman, Cheryl and Jabbour. We celebrated Cheryl's upcoming birthday (happy belated birthday again!) and played some Wii (her birthday present). Lunch was amazing - Salvatore pizza, sicilian-style and baked to perfection. There was much rejoicing :) Not long after, I had to head to the airport to start the journey back home.
It was a very fun time - thank you to James, Autumn, daddYman, Cheryl and Jabbour for a wonderful trip!
06 May 2012
17 March 2012
Half Marathon Success!
I ran a half marathon today! I ran the Get Lucky race in St. Paul, along with over 2,400 runners. My official time was 2:16:01, one minute longer than I expected (although truthfully, I didn't really know what to expect).
I had been training in winter weather and today was anything but that. It started out humid and ended up in the 60s-70s during the race. It was also sunny. I was worried about overheating but ended up quite well. I figured out that wiping water on my face and occasionally my neck helped keep me cool.
I was really nervous starting a few days before the race because that's what I do apparently! Yesterday, I finally came to the realization that the race isn't the big deal - it's all the training that came before it. I committed a significant chunk of my time and energy training for this. That was the real accomplishment. The race was a bonus, with lots of people acknowledging all of our training. Plus I got a medal!
Chris and Sue came out to support me - it was fun to see them along the course :) Thank you to all of you supporting me! All of your warm wishes helped me through! It was a great experience all the way around.
.
I had been training in winter weather and today was anything but that. It started out humid and ended up in the 60s-70s during the race. It was also sunny. I was worried about overheating but ended up quite well. I figured out that wiping water on my face and occasionally my neck helped keep me cool.
I was really nervous starting a few days before the race because that's what I do apparently! Yesterday, I finally came to the realization that the race isn't the big deal - it's all the training that came before it. I committed a significant chunk of my time and energy training for this. That was the real accomplishment. The race was a bonus, with lots of people acknowledging all of our training. Plus I got a medal!
Chris and Sue came out to support me - it was fun to see them along the course :) Thank you to all of you supporting me! All of your warm wishes helped me through! It was a great experience all the way around.
.
26 February 2012
Roadtrip!
Chris and I went on a 4,034 roadtrip to the Southwest. It was amazing!
We went out with the intent to hike the Grand Canyon (at least that was my focus), see Great Sand Dunes, visit a family friend, and hike Zion. We hit three of the four, and I got to see Zion and Bryce. More on that later.
First stop: Great Sand Dunes
We got there earlier than expected, and we were going to stay at a hotel, but we had the opportunity to arrive after dark and camp at Great Sand Dunes. The forecast was 9 degrees Fahrenheit. When we woke up, it was around 18 degrees in the tent. First time winter camping and it was surprisingly awesome.
This is what I woke up to:
The skies were bright blue and the dunes were calling our name. We headed up and out. Chris got some fun photos that we'll all see in about a year :) Here was one picture I took:
The dunes had some major dropoffs, which made it all the more cool. We hiked to the highest point visually (there was one higher when you measure from the base to the top). I was a little worried about hiking Grand Canyon after this because of how winded I was getting hiking up sand, but I was also excited.
Second Stop: Phoenix
Because of a little thing called geography, we decided to head down to Phoenix to visit a family friend. At that point, I was starting to get even more nervous about taking the right stuff into the Grand Canyon, so this was a welcome chance to relax and enjoy an evening with Dale. It's incredible meeting the people who've had an important part in Chris's life.
Third Stop: The Grand Canyon!
Then came the big day. We packed our packs the night before, which put my mind at ease a little bit, but I still managed to toss and turn for a small part of the night. You need a backcountry permit to camp in the Grand Canyon, and we unfortunately just missed the deadline of getting it mailed out to us when we were planning our roadtrip. Chris called the park though and they said winter is definitely the off-season and we shouldn't have any issue getting a permit.
Sure enough, we walked into the Backcountry Office and got a permit without issue. We decided to take a day hiking down South Kaibab Trail, camp at Bright Angel Campground, then take Bright Angel Trail back out of the canyon in two stages with a stay at Indian Garden Campground in between. The guide books suggested this as an option and it seemed like a logical one. Plus by taking two trails, we got to see a tiny sliver more of the park than we would have otherwise.
Prior to the trip, I purchased hiking poles and I am so grateful that I did. Not sure my knees or big toes would have survived without them. The reason I say big toes is that parts of South Kaibab were quite steep and unfortunately my big toes were slamming into the front part of my hiking boots with each step. The hiking poles helped, and I think it's because of them that I didn't lose my right big toenail (it was bruised after the hike down).
I'm definitely making it sound way worse than it was, but close to the end of the first day, I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was take off my hiking boots and let my feet rest. Also, my muscles hated me at the end of the hike. Apparently, one is supposed to train some before hiking into the Grand Canyon :)
The views on the way down were absolutely incredible. What was amazing to me is the fact that we were only able to see a very small piece of the 277-mile long canyon. It was amazing! The South Kaibab Trail was great to go down because of the way it wound down into the canyon - you couldn't ever see where you were going to end up. That is the complete opposite of the Bright Angel Trail, where you can see where you're going to end up the entire way down (sounds a bit maddening to me!).
Here are some pictures from the way down:
Yep, that's the trail you see in the distance.
The elevation changes were incredible: starting at South Kaibab, we hiked from an elevation of 7,260 feet down to 4,780 feet (a total of about 7 miles). Then hiking out, we went back to an elevation of 6,860 feet over two days (a total of about 9.5 miles). I'm really glad we decided to do Bright Angel Trail over two days because my legs hurt each morning until we got back on the trail.
This was starting out from near Bright Angel Campground.
Our stay at Bright Angel Campground was great - we camped right next to Bright Angel Creek that fed into the Colorado River. It was perfect white noise to fall asleep to. Plus the temperatures were in the upper 40s/lower 50s (in other words, warm).
That first stage back out was fairly easy - the trail followed the Colorado River and we only hiked about 1/3 of the way up in terms of elevation. It felt so wonderful mostly hiking up hill instead of down. I had no idea how many different muscles were in my legs! I never thought I would enjoy hiking up!
We arrived at Indian Garden in the early afternoon, which gave us ample time to set up camp and relax in the sun. Something that was surprising is how aggressive the squirrels are. There are ammo cans at every campsite, and you are encouraged to put all of your food and plastics in those cans as soon as you arrive because of the squirrels. I didn't think it would be that bad, but sure enough, as soon as we were getting our lunch ready, a squirrel starting "sneaking" towards the campsite. We had to shoo him off several times during lunch. If only Banjo could have been there...
Here's a choppy video of our campsite at Indian Garden:
After a couple of hours relaxing, we headed out to Plateau Point to see the sunset. Plateau Point is a formation gives you a 360-degree view of the Canyon. It was incredibly beautiful. The sunset had only brief periods of brilliant colors, which would fade and a few minutes later, the brilliant colors would return again.
Here's another choppy video, this time from Plateau Point:
We went out with the intent to hike the Grand Canyon (at least that was my focus), see Great Sand Dunes, visit a family friend, and hike Zion. We hit three of the four, and I got to see Zion and Bryce. More on that later.
First stop: Great Sand Dunes
We got there earlier than expected, and we were going to stay at a hotel, but we had the opportunity to arrive after dark and camp at Great Sand Dunes. The forecast was 9 degrees Fahrenheit. When we woke up, it was around 18 degrees in the tent. First time winter camping and it was surprisingly awesome.
This is what I woke up to:
The skies were bright blue and the dunes were calling our name. We headed up and out. Chris got some fun photos that we'll all see in about a year :) Here was one picture I took:
The dunes had some major dropoffs, which made it all the more cool. We hiked to the highest point visually (there was one higher when you measure from the base to the top). I was a little worried about hiking Grand Canyon after this because of how winded I was getting hiking up sand, but I was also excited.Second Stop: Phoenix
Because of a little thing called geography, we decided to head down to Phoenix to visit a family friend. At that point, I was starting to get even more nervous about taking the right stuff into the Grand Canyon, so this was a welcome chance to relax and enjoy an evening with Dale. It's incredible meeting the people who've had an important part in Chris's life.
Third Stop: The Grand Canyon!
Then came the big day. We packed our packs the night before, which put my mind at ease a little bit, but I still managed to toss and turn for a small part of the night. You need a backcountry permit to camp in the Grand Canyon, and we unfortunately just missed the deadline of getting it mailed out to us when we were planning our roadtrip. Chris called the park though and they said winter is definitely the off-season and we shouldn't have any issue getting a permit.
Sure enough, we walked into the Backcountry Office and got a permit without issue. We decided to take a day hiking down South Kaibab Trail, camp at Bright Angel Campground, then take Bright Angel Trail back out of the canyon in two stages with a stay at Indian Garden Campground in between. The guide books suggested this as an option and it seemed like a logical one. Plus by taking two trails, we got to see a tiny sliver more of the park than we would have otherwise.
Prior to the trip, I purchased hiking poles and I am so grateful that I did. Not sure my knees or big toes would have survived without them. The reason I say big toes is that parts of South Kaibab were quite steep and unfortunately my big toes were slamming into the front part of my hiking boots with each step. The hiking poles helped, and I think it's because of them that I didn't lose my right big toenail (it was bruised after the hike down).
I'm definitely making it sound way worse than it was, but close to the end of the first day, I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was take off my hiking boots and let my feet rest. Also, my muscles hated me at the end of the hike. Apparently, one is supposed to train some before hiking into the Grand Canyon :)
The views on the way down were absolutely incredible. What was amazing to me is the fact that we were only able to see a very small piece of the 277-mile long canyon. It was amazing! The South Kaibab Trail was great to go down because of the way it wound down into the canyon - you couldn't ever see where you were going to end up. That is the complete opposite of the Bright Angel Trail, where you can see where you're going to end up the entire way down (sounds a bit maddening to me!).
Here are some pictures from the way down:
Yep, that's the trail you see in the distance. 
Chris taking some pictures at a rest point along the trail. This was the first time the Colorado River was in view.
The elevation changes were incredible: starting at South Kaibab, we hiked from an elevation of 7,260 feet down to 4,780 feet (a total of about 7 miles). Then hiking out, we went back to an elevation of 6,860 feet over two days (a total of about 9.5 miles). I'm really glad we decided to do Bright Angel Trail over two days because my legs hurt each morning until we got back on the trail.
This was starting out from near Bright Angel Campground. Our stay at Bright Angel Campground was great - we camped right next to Bright Angel Creek that fed into the Colorado River. It was perfect white noise to fall asleep to. Plus the temperatures were in the upper 40s/lower 50s (in other words, warm).
That first stage back out was fairly easy - the trail followed the Colorado River and we only hiked about 1/3 of the way up in terms of elevation. It felt so wonderful mostly hiking up hill instead of down. I had no idea how many different muscles were in my legs! I never thought I would enjoy hiking up!
We arrived at Indian Garden in the early afternoon, which gave us ample time to set up camp and relax in the sun. Something that was surprising is how aggressive the squirrels are. There are ammo cans at every campsite, and you are encouraged to put all of your food and plastics in those cans as soon as you arrive because of the squirrels. I didn't think it would be that bad, but sure enough, as soon as we were getting our lunch ready, a squirrel starting "sneaking" towards the campsite. We had to shoo him off several times during lunch. If only Banjo could have been there...
Here's a choppy video of our campsite at Indian Garden:
After a couple of hours relaxing, we headed out to Plateau Point to see the sunset. Plateau Point is a formation gives you a 360-degree view of the Canyon. It was incredibly beautiful. The sunset had only brief periods of brilliant colors, which would fade and a few minutes later, the brilliant colors would return again.
Here's another choppy video, this time from Plateau Point:
An interesting thing for me was the hike back from Plateau Point. By that time, it was getting dark, which meant we could see the Bright Angel Trailhead at the top of the rim (there's a lodge right next to it that had lots of lights). You can't see the trail itself going up Bright Angel though, which makes it look like there is no actual way out of the canyon.
I didn't take any more pictures the second day because I was focused on getting out and my camera wasn't super happy (the temperatures were cooler given the change in elevation). Chris took enough, and we'll see them when we see them :)
The final day consisted of a lot of switchbacks, meaning we headed up quickly. I'm really glad we didn't try to do Bright Angel all in one day. Another interesting thing was ice covered the trail for the last two miles. We had Stabilicers though (traction devices you stretch on the bottom of your shoes), and I managed to slip mine off each time we hit mud. For some time, the trail alternated between mud and ice.
I am pretty sure I did the final stage too quickly, but the anticipation of completing the journey was too great. We didn't see many people towards the top of Bright Angel (meaning people that were going to do day hikes), and I'm guessing it was due to the ice. The views were incredible all the way.
In early afternoon, we made it to the trailhead and there was much rejoicing (Yeaaaa....). I looked out over the Grand Canyon and felt pretty damn good. I just hiked into and out of the Grand Canyon! A few years ago, I never would have though I could do that. Running definitely helped my endurance and doing the hike during the winter months helped immensely too. I can say I never want to do a hike in the Grand Canyon in the summertime. We are thinking about doing a rim to rim hike sometime in the future - the North Rim is closed down during the winter due to snow/ice.
We celebrated our successful journey with a hamburger and onion rings for me and a chicken sandwich and fries for Chris. We took some time at the top to talk to Will from Tennessee (I was tempted to have him read us a book because I could have listened to his accent all day). We talked about other hikes and areas we have explored and would recommend. We slowly packed up the car and waited for a couple we met along the trail, who we happened to park by. They are living in Canada and were absolutely delightful.
Now it was time to figure out what we wanted to do next. We decided to move onto Zion.
Fourth Stop: Zion and Bryce
We stayed at Best Western with a restaurant sign that read: Thunderbird Restaurant Home of the Ho-Made Pies. Hee hee. Breakfast there was really tasty.
After breakfast, we headed out to Zion. I was worried in the morning about my legs. They hurt a lot and I quickly realized I wouldn't feel comfortable doing any serious hiking. We had the intention of hiking Angels Landing, which is a strenuous and challenging hike for an incredible view of Zion. We've heard from a number of people we should do it.
When we got to Zion (which was incredible), we were thinking of what to do next. Given the time of day, we decided to drive to the northern part of the park (the Kolob Canyons) to do a short hike and wait for the warmer afternoon weather before attempting Angels Landing. We did an easy, half mile hike through mud and snow to get to a point that overlooked the Kolob Canyons. I decided about 5 steps into that mini-hike that I couldn't do Angels Landing. I felt horrible about not being able to do another hike that I wanted to, but I also knew it was the right decision. I wasn't physically or mentally in shape to do such a hike.
At that point, I wanted to go home. I knew my legs were going to take a long time to heal (it's now four days after the Grand Canyon and our calves are still sore). We did driving tours through Zion and Bryce, and we've decided we'd like to do a multi-day hike in Zion, from the Kolob Canyons down to the main part of the park, sometime in the future, and I would love to do some hiking in Bryce. Did you know they have prairie dogs too?!?
Final Destination: Home
After driving through those parks, we started making our way back home. The drive through western Colorado was absolutely gorgeous. After incredible views of mountains, we reached eastern Colorado, which can be summed up in two words: boring and smelly.
We made it back to Minnesota and Banjo on Sunday afternoon. He did a kind of double-take when we got to Chris's parents and then went crazy with excitement. Thank you again for taking care of him, Sue and Jamie! Sue had soup and biscuits waiting for us when we got there and we enjoyed the first home-cooked meal in several days. It tasted very good, and there were leftovers!
We got home yesterday and quickly unpacked the car and started laundry and airing out the tent and our sleeping bags.
It was a very fun journey. Chris and I had a lot of fun on the road together and we're looking forward to future trips. We also feel a lot more comfortable with multi-day hikes. We've gotten some experience and the trust level in ourselves has grown.
Banjo has brought us Duckie, signalling it's time to go. Thank you all for your well-wishes!
I didn't take any more pictures the second day because I was focused on getting out and my camera wasn't super happy (the temperatures were cooler given the change in elevation). Chris took enough, and we'll see them when we see them :)
The final day consisted of a lot of switchbacks, meaning we headed up quickly. I'm really glad we didn't try to do Bright Angel all in one day. Another interesting thing was ice covered the trail for the last two miles. We had Stabilicers though (traction devices you stretch on the bottom of your shoes), and I managed to slip mine off each time we hit mud. For some time, the trail alternated between mud and ice.
I am pretty sure I did the final stage too quickly, but the anticipation of completing the journey was too great. We didn't see many people towards the top of Bright Angel (meaning people that were going to do day hikes), and I'm guessing it was due to the ice. The views were incredible all the way.
In early afternoon, we made it to the trailhead and there was much rejoicing (Yeaaaa....). I looked out over the Grand Canyon and felt pretty damn good. I just hiked into and out of the Grand Canyon! A few years ago, I never would have though I could do that. Running definitely helped my endurance and doing the hike during the winter months helped immensely too. I can say I never want to do a hike in the Grand Canyon in the summertime. We are thinking about doing a rim to rim hike sometime in the future - the North Rim is closed down during the winter due to snow/ice.
We celebrated our successful journey with a hamburger and onion rings for me and a chicken sandwich and fries for Chris. We took some time at the top to talk to Will from Tennessee (I was tempted to have him read us a book because I could have listened to his accent all day). We talked about other hikes and areas we have explored and would recommend. We slowly packed up the car and waited for a couple we met along the trail, who we happened to park by. They are living in Canada and were absolutely delightful.
Now it was time to figure out what we wanted to do next. We decided to move onto Zion.
Fourth Stop: Zion and Bryce
We stayed at Best Western with a restaurant sign that read: Thunderbird Restaurant Home of the Ho-Made Pies. Hee hee. Breakfast there was really tasty.
After breakfast, we headed out to Zion. I was worried in the morning about my legs. They hurt a lot and I quickly realized I wouldn't feel comfortable doing any serious hiking. We had the intention of hiking Angels Landing, which is a strenuous and challenging hike for an incredible view of Zion. We've heard from a number of people we should do it.
When we got to Zion (which was incredible), we were thinking of what to do next. Given the time of day, we decided to drive to the northern part of the park (the Kolob Canyons) to do a short hike and wait for the warmer afternoon weather before attempting Angels Landing. We did an easy, half mile hike through mud and snow to get to a point that overlooked the Kolob Canyons. I decided about 5 steps into that mini-hike that I couldn't do Angels Landing. I felt horrible about not being able to do another hike that I wanted to, but I also knew it was the right decision. I wasn't physically or mentally in shape to do such a hike.
At that point, I wanted to go home. I knew my legs were going to take a long time to heal (it's now four days after the Grand Canyon and our calves are still sore). We did driving tours through Zion and Bryce, and we've decided we'd like to do a multi-day hike in Zion, from the Kolob Canyons down to the main part of the park, sometime in the future, and I would love to do some hiking in Bryce. Did you know they have prairie dogs too?!?
Final Destination: Home
After driving through those parks, we started making our way back home. The drive through western Colorado was absolutely gorgeous. After incredible views of mountains, we reached eastern Colorado, which can be summed up in two words: boring and smelly.
We made it back to Minnesota and Banjo on Sunday afternoon. He did a kind of double-take when we got to Chris's parents and then went crazy with excitement. Thank you again for taking care of him, Sue and Jamie! Sue had soup and biscuits waiting for us when we got there and we enjoyed the first home-cooked meal in several days. It tasted very good, and there were leftovers!
We got home yesterday and quickly unpacked the car and started laundry and airing out the tent and our sleeping bags.
It was a very fun journey. Chris and I had a lot of fun on the road together and we're looking forward to future trips. We also feel a lot more comfortable with multi-day hikes. We've gotten some experience and the trust level in ourselves has grown.
Banjo has brought us Duckie, signalling it's time to go. Thank you all for your well-wishes!
20 January 2012
A slightly-less-new year and new ambitions
Now that it's finally gotten really cold, I've started thinking about next year's garden. I'm really excited for Chris and I to build a couple of raised beds and to fill those suckers full of yummy stuff. We are going to have one dedicated to strawberries and the other whatever vegetables I want. I am thinking snow peas, spinach, lettuce, garlic and cherry tomatoes. Depending on space, I will likely be planting some of it elsewhere. I will be trying another potato experiment this year in hopes that I get potatoes that are larger than last year. The squirrels seemed uninterested in both the potatoes and my Egyptian Walking Onions last year, so I'm guessing the garlic would be safe to plant on its own. Plus I can utilize the deck planters too, but I might have those filled with more herbs.
I've been drinking a lot of herbal tea so far this winter, and I'm liking it more and more. I'm thinking about starting an herbal tea garden (fancy name for herb garden filled with herbs that are great for tea). I would really like to grow chamomile, lemon verbena, bergamot, lavendar and anise hyssop. I would also love to have a rose bush for rose hips (Rosa rugosa). Has anyone out there made their own tea? Any tips? Does anyone have any of these plants and would you be willing to share?
I tend to really enjoy either really fruity teas or ones that are essentially one plant. That statement makes perfect sense to me, by the way :) I've been reading the labels of the teas I like the most and some of them have a ridiculous list of random stuff. I'm going to be much simpler.
The thought of making my own tea rose from doing a variety of cooking and experimenting with a variety of herbs. I was blown away by how bold the oregano was that I dried this past summer. It really packed some punch and makes me realize how stale a lot of our spices have gotten. It was really fun to cut parsley fresh from the windowsill to use in a wild rice casserole dish I made this past weekend. I also experimented with making my own cream of mushroom soup to go into the casserole. I never though I would actually buy fresh mushrooms because I really don't like them. I made sure I cut them into very tiny pieces to effectively hide them. I'm glad I went through the process of making my own soup because the casserole was quite good.
And all this cooking makes me all that more excited about gardening this spring/summer because of all the yummy stuff I can make with it!
I've been drinking a lot of herbal tea so far this winter, and I'm liking it more and more. I'm thinking about starting an herbal tea garden (fancy name for herb garden filled with herbs that are great for tea). I would really like to grow chamomile, lemon verbena, bergamot, lavendar and anise hyssop. I would also love to have a rose bush for rose hips (Rosa rugosa). Has anyone out there made their own tea? Any tips? Does anyone have any of these plants and would you be willing to share?
I tend to really enjoy either really fruity teas or ones that are essentially one plant. That statement makes perfect sense to me, by the way :) I've been reading the labels of the teas I like the most and some of them have a ridiculous list of random stuff. I'm going to be much simpler.
The thought of making my own tea rose from doing a variety of cooking and experimenting with a variety of herbs. I was blown away by how bold the oregano was that I dried this past summer. It really packed some punch and makes me realize how stale a lot of our spices have gotten. It was really fun to cut parsley fresh from the windowsill to use in a wild rice casserole dish I made this past weekend. I also experimented with making my own cream of mushroom soup to go into the casserole. I never though I would actually buy fresh mushrooms because I really don't like them. I made sure I cut them into very tiny pieces to effectively hide them. I'm glad I went through the process of making my own soup because the casserole was quite good.
And all this cooking makes me all that more excited about gardening this spring/summer because of all the yummy stuff I can make with it!
10 December 2011
I found my season...
...for running outside. Since the Turkey Trot, I've been inspired to run outside. In general, I'm trying to get into shape because I'm tired of being squishy. One part of achieving that goal is running outside. I've only done it twice now (both times on the weekend so I can run in daylight), and I really like it. I think winter is my season for running outdoors.
This morning was cold, but it was the perfect temperature. I was wearing a hat and didn't overheat. Major accomplishment for me! Another major bonus: not many people out there on the sidewalks. Makes it all the better :)
This morning was cold, but it was the perfect temperature. I was wearing a hat and didn't overheat. Major accomplishment for me! Another major bonus: not many people out there on the sidewalks. Makes it all the better :)
28 November 2011
Hosting Thanksgiving
We finally hosted Thanksgiving! We had my parents down (the first time Mom didn't have to make a Thanksgiving meal), Chris's parents, Kimmi and, visiting from PA, Cheryl and Jabbour. I'm all the more glad we got the table we did - it expanded enough to fit everyone comfortably in the dining room. We rearranged some of the furniture since I have a thing for buffets :) We moved the black buffet out into the porch, which opened up a lot of space.
I had been thinking about the meal for a few weeks, planned it all out, and then Chris and I went shopping. We ended up getting an almost 22-pound turkey and I've never cooked a turkey before. I can say I started out being a bit nervous, but I am grateful for all the advice people gave and for the research I did on the Internet beforehand on how to dress it. Don't worry - I didn't dress it up in a suit and tie.
I made stuffing (my favorite part of Thanksgiving), fruit salad, pumpkin pies, cranberry sauce, and apple cider. Chris and Kim steamed green beans and mashed potatoes. Also, I was going to make dinner rolls, but I forgot to read the bread machine instructions ahead of time so I didn't realize it would take the machine almost 2 hours to make the dough...oops :) Chris saved the day by running out to Breadsmith to buy some.
I finally pulled out my grandparents' china and it was beautiful!
I am extremely happy with how everything turned out, and am forever grateful for all the help everyone gave. Chris was awesome and Kim was crucial for cleanup (thank you for jumping in!). Thank you again to everyone in the family! Glad you could be part of this Thanksgiving!
I had been thinking about the meal for a few weeks, planned it all out, and then Chris and I went shopping. We ended up getting an almost 22-pound turkey and I've never cooked a turkey before. I can say I started out being a bit nervous, but I am grateful for all the advice people gave and for the research I did on the Internet beforehand on how to dress it. Don't worry - I didn't dress it up in a suit and tie.
I made stuffing (my favorite part of Thanksgiving), fruit salad, pumpkin pies, cranberry sauce, and apple cider. Chris and Kim steamed green beans and mashed potatoes. Also, I was going to make dinner rolls, but I forgot to read the bread machine instructions ahead of time so I didn't realize it would take the machine almost 2 hours to make the dough...oops :) Chris saved the day by running out to Breadsmith to buy some.
I finally pulled out my grandparents' china and it was beautiful!
I am extremely happy with how everything turned out, and am forever grateful for all the help everyone gave. Chris was awesome and Kim was crucial for cleanup (thank you for jumping in!). Thank you again to everyone in the family! Glad you could be part of this Thanksgiving!
25 November 2011
Turkey Trot
I ran my first 5k yesterday thanks to Kimmi! A while ago, she suggested that we as a family do the Minneapolis Turkey Trot, a 5k fun run the morning on Thanksgiving. I secretly have always wanted to do a 5k, but never went through with it.
It was absolutely beautiful yesterday morning! There were a host of interesting costumes (including dogs in costumes which is almost always fun). The best part was Kim ran with me the whole way, thereby distracting me. Had she not done that, I likely wouldn't have run the whole thing (my mind gets in the way).
Afterwards, I felt fantastic and didn't test my stomach's capacity even though there was lots of good food for Thanksgiving.
Thanks for the great suggestion and all the support Kimmi!
It was absolutely beautiful yesterday morning! There were a host of interesting costumes (including dogs in costumes which is almost always fun). The best part was Kim ran with me the whole way, thereby distracting me. Had she not done that, I likely wouldn't have run the whole thing (my mind gets in the way).
Afterwards, I felt fantastic and didn't test my stomach's capacity even though there was lots of good food for Thanksgiving.
Thanks for the great suggestion and all the support Kimmi!
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