Will Power 5K

 We signed up to run a 5K for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival this morning but when we arrived at 7:30 AM it was VERY chilly.  Now, I don't know what the temp was but it was breezy enough to make our newly adapted warm genes sit in the car until we absolutely had to get out.

The race itself was on the grounds where the theatre and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts are but they're surrounded by the gorgeous Blount Cultural Park with tons of trails.  That's where we ran.  A tad hilly and no mile markers and since I don't have one of those fancy-schmancy mileage watch thingies to wear on my wrist, I had no sense of how far we had been.  I was feeling pretty discouraged that I'd yet to see the 1 mile marker bit I decided to stop worrying about it & just run and enjoy the scenery.

Get it?  WILL power?

Santa is very busy with race appearances!

 Tom of course took first place in his age category and Dave took second in his which provided each of them with a prize winning ASF baseball hat, a key ring and 2 tickets to a play this season.  Yippee!
We're still waiting for them to post times so I'm not sure how I did.  I think it was better than last week but I may be delusional so we'll just have to wait and see.  This was a fairly small turnout comparatively and I still didn't win anything.  BUT AGAIN TERI, it's not about winning, it's about improving yourself.  Whatever, it's still a great way to start a Saturday.

 We wandered around the grounds for a bit listening to the music, sipping mimosas and munching bacon biscuits provided by the sponsors.  We got an awesome phone call from my niece Shaylee that she and Nick are expecting their first baby in June!  Yippee!  We haven't had a baby in our family for a looong time so now I won't have to be the creepy lady who sits and stares at strangers little one's because I miss having one around!  Congratulations on Nick's college graduation and new babies!

What I'm doing while we're here.......

 So, like most of you I have a huge stash of recipes that I've collected over the years.  Some (most) of which I've never tried.  So with some time on my hands and a very easy to please husband who likes just about everything, I've started working my way though this binder.


Some are clipped from newspapers, some are entire segments pulled from magazines and others are printed from the computer.  Some have been awesome and have rated a * while others have been pried from the dried glue and thrown in the trash.  I've decided they really have to be fabulous to stay as I tend to rely on my favorites anyway.



I'll share one of those (hence the hot pink post-it note) that I got from a Cooking Light magazine as one of their Top Ten recipes one year.  My friend Merri Dawn gave me a subscription one Christmas and I have several "all time hits" that have come from that publication.  This one is simple, tastes amazing and everyone will want your recipe.  Can even turn asparagus haters around!


Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter

2 lbs fresh asparagus spears, trimmed
Cooking spray
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/8 t. black pepper
2 T. butter
2 t. low sodium soy sauce
1 t. balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Arrange asparagus in a single layer on baking sheet; coat with cooking spray.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake at 400 for 12 minutes or until tender

Melt butter in small skillet over medium heat, cook for 3 minutes or until lightly browned, shaking pan occasionally.  Remove from hear, stir in soy sauce and vinegar.  Drizzle over asparagus, tossing well to coat. Serve immediately.  Yield: 8 servings (5 spears per person)

Holiday Fun

 It's starting to feel like winter here.  Clear and sunny but 40 degrees!  Our little Prattville High School Lions won the state football championship on Friday and I kept hearing about a "white out" but wasn't sure what it meant until we went downtown for the Christmas parade.  You can see the white toilet paper all over the trees.  It made it feel a little snowy for the parade.  We walked around downtown a bit before the parade which didn't start until it was almost dark.  Lots of lights and local politicians, bands, businesses etc.  It was fun but long, so we didn't stay for the whole thing.  That winning football team got lots of hoots and hollers!

 We went home and had yummy leftover pasta that we had enjoyed the night before at Olive Garden from a gift card mom and dad had sent us.  Then I started the goody making for gift bags.  Went with the dipped pretzels in caramel then dark chocolate/peanut butter chips/pistachio mix.

 Easy toffee with dark chocolate and chopped almonds on top then another version where the toffee is poured over almonds, pistachios & macadamia nuts then dark chocolate spread over the top.  I sometimes use white chocolate on that recipe which my good friend Jennifer Nollner graciously shared with me. Yummy!

 Bagged them up with a cute tag for Tom's classmates, my Bible study group and for more friends and family.  Hope they survive the travel!

Jingle Bell Run

 Tom decided to run this 5K and at the last minute I opted to go along and just run it without registering or being timed.  I needed to do a 30-60 walk anyway (part of my "how to train for a 5K" schedule) so this seemed way more fun than walking around town by myself.

It was held at Huntingdon College which is in a historical section of Montgomery called Cloverdale.  I'll blog about that some other day.  But this campus is gorgeous and for those of you in Utah reminds me a lot of Westminster College.

 The fun part of this race was that everyone was dressed up in various ways.  Tom had bells on his shoes which they had passed out with his t-shirt (I tried to get him to wear a Rudolph nose but he was having none of it) but there was plenty of great holiday attire!  We didn't know any of these people but they were gracious enough to let me take their photos.  Well except for Santa.....we know HIM of course!

This is the Christmas tree who passed me during the run.  He had a co-hort who was dressed as a big gift and he passed me too.  Yeah, that's embarrassing and yes, I was taking photos during the run...until Tom came back after he finished and took the camera from me!

I did end up running most of the race and probably finished in about the same time as I did the Turkey Burner.  We're doing another one next week and I HAVE to get better.  HAVE TO!!! Hold me accountable people!

 It always takes forever for the awards so we end up walking around and sampling the goodies.  Today's fare was mini biscuits with that famous Conecuh sausage I wrote about earlier and protein drinks along with the usual bananas. bagels and plenty of bottled water.  The campus grounds were really pretty and we snuck a peek into the library which was gorgeous.

Tom took 2nd place in his age category and instead of the usual medal on a ribbon got this awesome Santa trophy which will now become a cherished member of my Santa collection and one of our very few Christmas decorations in Alabama.

Espanol

So one of the things I'm trying to do while we're here is learn Spanish. We've been to Mexico a few times and always pick up a little but forget it as soon as we're home. But since Tom has to pass Spanish for school I thought it was a perfect time for me to do it as well. We're using the Rosetta Stone program which is really great. You have to do grammar, pronunciation, reading, etc.

I was a little cocky at first. I mean, clearly bicicleta is bicycle and negro is the color black. How hard can this be? However, then things began being a little more difficult and I had to use the correct grammar and the whole gender thing to get all the points. This is where my competitive nature kicks in. I want to get 100% on every section and the harder it gets, the less often that happens! At least I can go back and re-do those I really mess up.
So here I sit with the computer, matching words to pictures, speaking and now having to actually type in full phrases. That part is getting difficult!
I know I need to actually use it in order for it stick in my brain. My friend Olga from Columbia said she would help me and I could help her with her English at the same time. Now I'm starting to see why my new international friends are intimidated by actually having to get out and use their newly learned English. But I also see that the one's who are participating in groups where they have to use English are really getting the hang of it.
Alas. Will keep working on it. Adios!

Thanksgiving in New Jersey

Tom had class on Wed. morning so we got away around 10:30 AM. We had decided to drive straight through so with audio book (Don Rumsfeld's Known and Unknown), my ipod and Tom's school books and laptop, we were set. I drove the whole trip while he studied with only stops for gas, potty, caffeine and dinner. We arrived in NJ about 3:30 AM, fell fast asleep as soon as we hit the bed at Marie's (Tom's sister) and slept until 9:30. When we got up, Marie left us a note that she had gone to pick up their mom and would be back shortly. We cleaned up and got to spend the rest of the morning visiting with them before we headed to Thanksgiving dinner @ 3PM.
We had reservations at a great restaurant in Margate called Steve & Cookie's. We arrived a little early so took a drive by the bay. Tom's dad had a landscaping business and flower shop when they were growing up so Tom used to work with him taking care of the beautifully manicured lawns in this very upscale part of town outside Atlantic City. We met everyone else at the restaurant which had a set menu and everything was served family style. Delicious!

Dinner was great, as was the company. Marie and her friend Victor, me, Fred (Karen's dad), Karen and Joey (Tom's brother), Tom and his mom.
Joe and Karen

This was the first Thanksgiving we've ever spent with Tom's side of the family so it was very nice to have a chance to celebrate with them.We all headed back to Marie's for MORE pumpkin pie that she had made and cheesecake that Fred had brought. Needless to say, we were all stuffed! But if that wasn't enough, Marie had already planned a whole other meal for the next day as well.

Marie and I spent the morning prepping food for Thanksgiving meal #2 while Tom studied. Their mom needed a bunch of paper products so after the turkey was in the oven Tom, Marie and I headed over to the local warehouse store (BJ's) to check out their prices. We don't have that store here and Marie had never been there before so we opted to try her 60 day freebie membership. By the time we left with a cart full of supplies that should keep Eleanor in good shape for some time, Marie had purchased the membership.
It was nice to have everyone together again (though we missed Karen's dad who had headed back to New York) over another great meal. There was plenty to go around and then some so Marie loaded up some leftovers for us to bring home.Tom's mom will be 88 years old this Saturday. She's a little wobbly so gets some help with a cane. Her memory isn't what it used to be so needs some occasional prodding but overall she seems very healthy. She knows her kids and can pick me out in a photo by name but I'm not positive she knew who I was. We're just glad to be able to spend some time with her. She still calls Tom "my baby".

Marie had mentioned she hadn't had her tree up and decorated for the past few years so after dinner Tom brought her tree up from the basement and while he & Victor watched TV and Marie put things away I decorated her tree for her. Tom's dad worked part time at the Lenox factory after he had retired so we all have beautiful items that he collected while there. Marie had a combination of pretty Lenox ornaments along with some blown glass ones so the tree was simple but nice.
We decided to break the drive up into two days on the way home so after a leisurely Saturday morning at Marie's we took off around 11 am and while Tom studied I drove us as far as Knoxville, TN. We arrived around 11 pm, settled into a very reasonable and comfortable Super 8 and happily had a much shorter but rainy drive home on Sunday after a hot waffle breakfast. It was a quick trip but definitely worth it to get to see everyone.

Turkey Burner

This was my third 5K and was a fundraiser for the Montgomery area food bank. Everyone also brought canned goods. My running time was a couple of minutes slower this race but I have definitely cut back on the training (that, by the way is a much more athletic word than what I actually do) this past month with all the traveling. Will have to step it up. Even though it was hard it still feels good to actually finish and I will continue my goal to do a 5K each month that we're here.Dave (from ACSC who continues to make guest appearances in my blog), Tom and James (who attends the boot camp Tom goes to three days a week at 5 AM). Think that's maybe why he places in these things and I don't?

Tom took third in his age category which he was very proud of until we congratulated the man standing next to us who took first in the category. Turns out he was visiting from Northern CA and is just getting back into running after suffering a major heart attack 7 months ago. He was very nice and he and Tom traded training tips, but after he left it occurred to Tom that he had just been beaten by a man who was basically dead on his bedroom floor 7 months ago.
After breakfast at Chappy's Deli (one of the sponsors of the race) we stopped at the Farmer's Market in downtown Montgomery on the way home. I purchased a large bunch of fresh basil from a vendor who told me about how difficult his last customer had been given she wasn't happy about the size of the kale bunches he had. It looked huge to me and I told him so. Suddenly I was his new best friend so he pulled out a ziploc bag of mixed, fresh and chopped veggies (cabbage, onion, peppers, zuch, and yellow squash) and told me how to make them into a yummy dinner. Heat some olive oil, chopped garlic, then add the packet of veggies along with some Conecuh sausage. Two things here. First of all, he had a very thick southern accent so I thought he said some kind of sauce. When I asked him to repeat the sauce, he said 'No, conecuh sausage!" Secondly, At breakfast they had that same sausage on the menu and I asked the waitress what it was. She described it as spicier than most breakfast sausage. The fact that we had been introduced to this sausage twice in one hour seemed like the Almighty tellin' us we'd better try it. Recipe continued: Slice the sausage (which I learned is made in Alabama) into the veggies to flavor them then add any seasonings you like. He suggested italian. After about 10 minutes when the cabbage starts to wilt, slice some tomatoes on top along with the basil and cover it for a few minutes more. He said "I'm gonna give you this for free today but it's so good y'all be back here next week wantin' to pay me for it!" It was and we definitely will.