Angels and Demons by Dan Brown -- a Movie!

Well, as I said earlier, I finished reading The Davinci Code by Dan Brown. This book was easily one of the most thought provoking books I've ever read. Aside from that, it was just plain fun! Every chapter ended with a cliffhanger, begging me to continue on! I read that book any spare moment I could find. After setting it down, I knew that I wanted to read more of Dan Brown if any of his other book were anything like Davinci Code. Well, after a little research, I decided to add Brown's Angels and Demons (which I've just learned is actually the prequel to Davinci Code) to my TBR list. I have a few other books I want to get to first, but that one is a for sure future read!

Well today, my husband and I finally decide to rent The Davinci Code movie. He had wanted to see it for a long time, but I had always been against it. I remember when it first came out, the church I was going to did a whole series on how it was wrong. It said the movie was based on complete misinformation and was simply blasphemy. As a "good Christian," I wanted no part of that. After much reading, soul searching, and some deep conversations with friends, I decided to finally pick a copy of the book. As I said, I LOVED it and it really opened up my eyes to so many things.

So anyway, long story short, we put in the DVD and right before the movie starts, they show a preview for the movie Angels and Demons! I did a little research on the net and it turns out that the movie is slated for release December 19th, 2008. Ron Howard is directing this film (as he did The Davinci Code) and Tom Hanks will again play the role of Langdon. Pretty cool! Well, while December of next year is a long ways away, at least it gives me plenty of time to finish the book first!

My Miraculous Shoes

I decided that since I am serious about training for some races, I should have the right shoes! So I stopped at Vertical Runner in Hudson and received AWESOME customer service. They checked my feet and my walking pattern to determine which shoes were best for me. The person who helped me was able to answer any questions I had and gave me extra tips not just on shoes, but training for my 5K and half marathon in general. They were so nice and SUPER helpful! Well I couldn't just let those new babies sit in the box. I braved 5 degree temps with a -10 degree windchill and went for a 2-mile run. Just to let you know about my running so far, here is the info logged with my new Nike + iPod: First run: 2.6 miles/9:42 per mile....Second run: 3.6 miles/9:22 per mile....Today with my new awesome shoes: 2.0 miles/7:14 per mile! Can you believe that split time! And that was even running in crazy cold temps WITH 2 inches of snow on the pavement! I'm so psyched! I have a 5k (3.1 miles) in a few weeks and I was hoping to just finished it in under 30 minutes, but if I can run 2 miles in about 15 minutes, I should run well under 30! I will still keep my goal modest and shoot for around 27, but still -- 7:14 per mile? Those are some miraculous shoes! :-) Oh, in case you are wondering (I'm sure you're all dying to know! ***she says sarcastically!***) here they are! I present to you, my new Mizuno Wave Rider 11s!

Wow, they match my blog colors...COOL!

A Few Milestones

I've got a combo post coming up -- so consider yourself warned. No matter what the topic though, it appears that I've reached a few milestones...

Run Report: My knees are still bothering me, but I haven't let that stop me. This week, I ran the most number of miles/week at 28.3 miles! Monday and Friday were easy days and I just ran 5.1 around my neighborhood. Wednesday was my return to speedwork. I was really worried because my last speedwork session, a 4 mile tempo run was dreadful! I did a 1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down and the the 4 mile tempo was supposed to be at an 8:47 to 9:10 pace (according to the McMillan Calculator.) I hit my tempo time with an average pace of 8:45 m/m but it was torturous! As soon as I hit the 4 mile mark, I had to stop and walk for the first minute of my cool down. Not cool! Anyhow, I was worried that with 2 weeks away from speedwork, I would have a repeat performance but I didn't! I didn't even look back to see what my target time was supposed to be. I figured I'd just go out and base the run on perceived effort and how erratic my breathing got! And guess what -- I did my 1 mile warm and 1 mile cool down and my 4 mile tempo run at an 8:25 m/m pace! AND, while I was glad to be done, it didn't feel nearly as bad as before! Yeah!

To finish off the week, I had my long run on Saturday. I was shooting for 11 miles, which would be a new distance PR for me. I plotted out my run via MapMyRun.com and headed out to the bike path. Miles 1-5 felt pretty good. As soon as I hit mile 5, which is where I turned around last week, I started to keep my eyes open for the 5.5 mile mark -- my turn around for this week. The trail isn't marked at all for distance -- I was just using landmarks, a big pond in this instance. Well, the trees had really grown on the path, so I couldn't see a pond at all! I just kept going until I felt I had gone past .5 miles and until I could find a different landmark so that I could least map the run once I got home. I turned at a sign on the path and hoped I had gone far enough. The remaining miles felt decent. I had some muscle strain occasionally, but nothing that lasted long. In fact, I only had pain on the downhills. Good thing this wasn't a hilly course. Oh yeah, I only had one other dilemma -- I was dying of thirst! I've been lucky so far in that I have never had to carry water with me on a run. I don't really get too thirsty, and as long as I have a good drink of water before my run, I'm generally pretty good to go. Well, not this time! Apparently, 10 miles is my limit! It didn't help that it was probably 80 degrees outside and the sun was beating down! I didn't have anything with me and I was dying the last few miles! Daydreaming about reaching my water bottle in the car is what got me to really move the last 30 minutes!

Well, anyway, once I got home, I went back on MapMyRun to see how far I had actually gone. And guess what -- I definitely had a new distance PR: 11.9 miles! Whoa! If I knew I was that close to 12, I would have totally gone .1 more! Oh well. So then I went to total my miles for the week and saw that I had a new record (but I already said that,) but then when I totaled the miles up from when I started running again back in February, I see that I am SO close to another record! I'm at 298.5! As of tomorrow, I'll be over 300 which means, time for new shoes! Thank you Mizunos for carrying me this far!

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Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD): As you may have read, I am starting a new baking adventure this week. I have joined a group of baking bloggers who choose one recipe a week from this book called, Baking: From My Home to Yours. The blog name is Tuesdays with Dorie, from now on only referred to as TWD. Anyway, as I mentioned below, this week's recipe is a double crusted blueberry pie. Okay... I have never, and I repeat never baked a pie in my life! Working with dough (and let me clarify -- dough that needs to be rolled) is NOT my forte! In fact, it is the bane of my baking existence... the constant downfall in my quest of dessert domination! Okay... you get the point. So anyhow, tonight I will start my attempt at beating my nemesis into submission. I will start with the dough tonight and try to bake this thing tomorrow. Wish me luck!

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I've Been Tagged! Well Jen from Jen's Birthday Challenge AND Kai from See Kai Run, See Kai Eat have thrown down a double team tag! They have both challenged me to list 6 random facts about myself. So... here goes:

1. I'm very particular about how I eat certain candy. Now, this only applies to candy that has different flavors in one package like Skittles or gummy bears. Here's the thing -- I can NOT mix flavors of candy in one bite. Whenever I get a bag of these candies, let's use Skittles as our example, I first sort all of the candies by color/taste. Then I will only eat one color at a time. For example, I'll eat a red Skittle with another red Skittle -- NEVER a red with a green. This becomes very challenging when trying to eat Skittles in dark places such as the movie theater, but what can I say?!

2. Going along with #1 -- I can only eat candies in even numbers. This is to prevent a disequilibrium in my mouth -- you see, if I eat in even numbers, I can have the same number of candies on the left side of my mouth as the right. That way, each side is equally happy! Now if I have an odd number of candies -- 3 red Skittles we'll say -- I'll simply bite the third Skittle in half so that I can chew 1.5 Skittles on the right and 1.5 on the left. Odd, but true!

3. Totally off the candy subject now... I have a weird foot thing. I only like looking at pretty/cute feet -- unattractive feet totally gross me out! I'm really crazy about that too! I almost didn't go out with my DH because of his feet. When I first met him, we were at the beach. He was wearing sandals and I was thinking, "Oh no, those won't do! I know socks and sandals are a no-no, but this guy needs an exemption!"

4. The first concert I ever went to was New Kids on the Block! I was totally in love with Joey McIntyre at the time and just couldn't believe I was in the same room with him! I am slightly stoked that NKOTB has reunited and yes, I do jam out to their new song "Summertime" when I hear it on the radio.

5. My mom is from the Philippines and while she didn't make a huge effort to impart her culture onto me, I miss even the little things. I miss hearing the language, I miss the food (which I make myself sometimes), I miss having that culture in my life. Every year I feel like it fades a little more and that makes me sad.

6. When I am sad, I cheer myself up by going to super cute websites like LOLcats. Or sometimes I'll go on YouTube and watch those videos of cats doing silly stuff. Here's one now!



Okay, that's it for me! Now here are the rest of the rules to the challenge:

1. link to the person who tagged you.
2. post the rules on your blog.
3. write six random things about yourself.
4. tag six people at the end of your post.
5. let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog
6. let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Okay, I accomplished rules 1-3. Now here is where I get totally lame. Both of the people who tagged ME and the ones who I would have tagged! I really don't follow too many blogs, so I don't know who else to tag SO, if you are reading this and you have a blog, consider yourself TAGGED! Can that count for rules 4-6... pretty please? :-)

Vacay Report: Mantas and Waterfalls

Last night, DH and I took part in an amazing experience -- we got to snorkel at night with manta rays! I wasn't sure what to expect. I imagined the rays to be pretty small, maybe 4-5 feet across. Once we got to the dock though, our guide started talking about what to expect for our experience and he said that we might likely see mantas that could be 10-14 feet across! Yikes! He told us how they like to swim in circles to eat the plankton and how since we are snorkeling with them, they may very well circle up close to us. He said, "If you see this giant mouth coming up from the depths below right at you, don't be afraid! Just when it looks like they're going to gobble you, they'll turn over and maybe even graze you, belly to belly." I told my DH, I don't care what that guy says, if a creature that big comes at me with it's mouth wide open, I am definitely going to freak out!

We took a short 5 minute boat ride out into the bay and then they turned on the lights to attract the plankton. As soon as we jumped into the water, I put my face into the water and immediately saw a gigantic manta! It was easily 14 feet across and it moved so gracefully through the water. It was magical! It seemed to just float along the water like a hawk gliding on an air current. And just like the guide said, the manta started circling over itself. It was so majestic. I thought I would be frightened, but I was more in awe of the manta's grace and beauty! I started snapping some pics and soon a few more mantas came over. They started circling up towards us and came really close to touching me! It was amazing! We ended up seeing 4 mantas that night. The guide said that's unusual -- he mostly just sees 1 or 2 so we got really lucky! Hopefully my underwater pics will come out pretty nicely and I'll be able to post them once I get them developed.

Today, we went on a hike through a rain forest to look at some waterfalls. It was another awesome experience. We started off in a valley overlooking some cliffs. Our guide Matt, told us that those cliffs formed when part of the island actually fell into the ocean after a big earthquake! He said there is proof of that in (a) the cliffs and (b) the fact that they found rock debris hundreds of miles out into the ocean from those cliffs! If you look closely at the pic below, you can see waterfalls going down the cliffs. Cool!


The first stop along the trail was at an old taro farming field. In the pic below, you can see the taro growing on the left. The guide said that the old farmers would move some of the water from the stream into the growing field and then back into the stream. On the right, you can see some banana trees. The guide told us a cool fact about them -- Did you know that banana trees fruit only once? As soon as they are finished, they die! New banana trees are also sprouting to replace the older ones though as they die off. I never knew that!


Soon, we hit the trail again and found some amazing waterfalls.



We had to traverse some pretty crazy/interesting terrain to get to them.



While hiking though, our guide showed us some of the wild fruit growing there. We got to sample strawberry guavas and regular guavas. The strawberry ones (the small red ones in first pic) were a little tart, but still sweet. The larger, yellow regular guavas (second pic) were so yummy! I never had one before so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was awesome!



After sampling some wild eats, and checking out some raging falls, we had a light snack and headed back home. I learned so much about the island and had a lot of fun. It was an awesome experience!

Cards for Heroes on Their Way!

I sent out my first shipment of cards for Cards for Heroes! If you are not familiar with who they are, check them out HERE. Here are the cards I sent today. It's a small batch, but I'm hoping to send more in the future now that I know about this awesome program! (BTW, all cards were made by yours truly! I can't wait to make more with the cool stamps I'll be getting!)

Edited Update: Just wanted to clarify that most of the cards I made were used using the sketches of Sheetload.

My Favorite Christmas Show!

I was channel surfing last night and ran across my favorite Christmas movie -- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer! It doesn't matter how many times I have seen it -- I still love to watch it every year!



What's your favorite Christmas flick?

Trying Out a New Look!

I got bored of the standard blogger template and thought I'd try something new! I was looking for something happy and bright! Hope you like it!

Magic is All Around!

Wow, it's been awhile since I've blogged! It's back to school for me, so I haven't had as much time to craft and blog. I had today off (for MLK day) and decided to try a project from the SplitCoast Stampers Resource page. I decided to try their "Magic Card". It's really cool because it has this card that you slide out and when you pull it, the stamped image goes from boring black and white to color! I'm still trying to make my card slide better, but here is one of my first attempts.

What do you think? Pretty cute?! Like I said, I'm still working on making it better. Have you ever done a card like this? Ideas/tips on how to make it slide easier. Hmmmm.

And here is another one I made with a little owl stamp. He's a Studio G $1 stamp. I haven't stamped on a sentiment yet. I'll do that whenever I decide to use it.

I mainly wanted to learn how to make these cards because I thought they were super cute. I also wanted to make them though because I thought they would be cool to sell. You don't see cards like "magic cards" a lot -- at least I don't! (Do you think people would buy a card like this? How much would you be willing to pay, if anything?)

So as you may remember, I have a goal this year to start selling my crafts, so I stopped at this local store that rents space to crafters. YIKES -- It costs way more than I thought! Just to rent a space is $38-200 per month based on the size and location of the booth. Then they get a 12% commission. EEEK! I could never sell enough cards or paper crafted items to even cover my rent cost! Looks like I'll be looking into Etsy more. Anyone have tips?!

A New Goal -- Is It Within My Reach?

I am pretty excited about my time from yesterday's race. When I look at my 5 mile time, I ended up with 43:03 and even then, that includes that first mile where I had to walk/jog the first half mile or so just fighting through the crowd. Why is that significant for me? Well, my first 5K race was on March 15th. I entered in my finish time using the McMillan Calculator and it said that my 5 mile race equivalent time should be 43:55. My time from yesterday beat that! Yea -- that means that I am surely improving!

So when I went to enter my time and splits onto my training calendar and I noticed that I have another race coming up in just three weeks! I have my first 10K, the Jim Klett Memorial 10K. I went back the McMillan Calculator and entered in my 5 mile time to figure out what my equivalent time would be for a 10K and it gave me a 54:02. I then went to check out some of the previous years' results for the race and it turns out, if I run a 54:02, I have a chance at placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in my age group! (That time would've place in every year I found except 2004.) That would be SO cool if I could place! SO, that is my new goal -- I want to work as hard as I can to get under 54:00 in order to have chance at placing! I wonder why the times from previous years seem to be above that though. In my past two races, my times have been blown out of the water! I wonder if the times are little slower because the 10K course is harder, or maybe it's just because there are so few people that come out for this race. (The 2006 race results I found only listed 136 participants. My 10-miler race had more participants than that in just my age group!) Oh well, no matter the reason, my goal is to work my butt off over the next three weeks to do the best I can at my first 10K! I really want to place, but to keep from getting my hopes up too much, I'll just keep my goal time-focused and shoot for a sub 54...with the secret hope of placing! I hope both are within my reach!

Scraps of Snoopy

Here is one of my first scrapbook layouts I've completed in a long time! The subject -- our cat Snoopy! I caught him covering up his eyes trying to snooze and thought it was too cute. PP: DCWV (All Dressed Up Stack), flowers: (pink) Prima and (white) Heidi Swapp, diecut letters: Cricut (Opposites Attract)

Memorabilia From My First Race

Just wanted to share a pic of some memorabilia from my first race of 2008. I'm so excited! My next race scheduled is the Tallmadge Memorial 5K in May, but hopefully I'll find another race to run before that. I haven't registered for it yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll do it. One perk -- free pancake breakfast after the race and a Memorial Day parade soon after -- how fun! In June, I'll have my first 10K race, the Jim Klett Memorial. I've heard the course is supposed to be beautiful, so I'm looking forward to that! I just sent the registration for that race out yesterday. My race season is officially underway!

Some Days I Feel Like This...

So lately I have been CRAZY stressed. All I can say is, all work and no play makes tmac96...well...a little like this!

Actually, this crazy cat just makes me laugh, because it is totally me! On the outside, I am like a demure little cat -- totally mild-mannered, the picture of cool, calm and collected. I look totally innocent, but on the inside, I am far from it. I am unleashing a rage with a white-hot intensity of a thousand suns! Look out -- crazy napalm-blasting kitty on the rampage! Run for cover!

OMG, I need some stress management! :-)

College Memories: Is This A Dorm or a Brothel?!

So as I was writing my cousin about college, I couldn't help but remember my first college roommate experience. I can pretty much sum up our experience in this one story...

So the first night I'm there, she offers to take my to the this party with her. She already knows a bunch of people there since half her high school went to the same college. Well I figure, that'll be a great way to meet some new people so I say sure. So after checking out some various college clubs, we hit this party around 11ish. I hang out at the party for awhile, but it's overall lame, so I leave around 1AM. I head back to the dorm and go to bed. Around 3ish, I hear the door open and my roomie is talking to some guy in the hallway. I'm thinking, "Oh come ON, it's 3AM, say goodnight already. I'm trying to sleep!" Anyhow, they keep chatting so I throw the covers over my head and I fall back to sleep.

Okay, so there I am, all in dreamland and I suddenly awaken to my bed (which is a BUNK bed) rocking in a rhythmic fashion. In a sleepy grog, I'm like, "What the heck is going on?" I throw the covers off of my head and look across the room into the huge mirror on the opposite wall only to see my roomie and some gross dude totally getting it on in the bed above me. Ugh, GROSS! Get a room...oh, and one that is NOT mine. And for that matter, get a BED...one that is not attached to MINE! OMG, I mean, how classy is that?!

And that is pretty much how that first semester went. There would be times when I would be in the common area on our floor studying and I'd have to go back to my room to get a highlighter or something. I'd walk in (door not even locked) again to see my roomie and her boy-of-the-day getting it on right on the floor. I'd just step right over them to get my highlighter, wanting to poke my eyes out with it the whole way out. They never even noticed me. ***shuddering at the memory***

She was a nice enough girl, but OMG, I felt like I was living in a brothel! I cried no tears when she left to go live in the sorority house.

So, do you have any crazy roommate stories?

The Trauma

After my big race, I was so looking forward to visiting with Dr. Craig. My body SO felt like it needed a good adjustment. Anyhow, when I went in today, everyone was asking me about the race. I had a lot of fun sharing. I even brought my medal. (Yes, I'm a total dork!) Afterwards, Dr. Craig spent some extra time adjusting me. He said that he needed to spend a little more time realigning my body after "sustaining the trauma of a 10 mile run". I thought that was kind of funny! If a 10-mile run is "traumatic," what's a 26.2 run like?! Anyhow, I do feel phenomenally better after my visit. He gave me additional exercises to work my knee too. Both knees felt pretty good during my race, with only periodic, marginal pain. I actually forgot all about my knees -- I was too busy concentrating on the race. It wasn't until after the race was over that things started tightening up. I could barely walk down the stairs Saturday night! While Dr. Craig said that he expected some pain for me after a 10 mile run, he said that my knee pain should really be subsiding a little quicker than it is. He's concerned about the arch support in my shoes now too. Ugh, I can't wait till my knee pain is G-O-N-E! Luckily, I have no big races coming up, so I can really take my time healing and working my up to those bigger miles again (as opposed to going from 3 miles to 10 in just a week! But hey, I got a cool medal and an awesome race experience! So worth it!)

Boo-Yah! My Dream Just May Come True!

And which dream is that? Well, that would be the dream to complete a half marathon in under 2 hours. And how did I choose that arbitrary time? Well, there is one woman that I work with who is a super crazy good runner. She told me that she ran her first at around 2 hours. So then I'm thinking that I should at least run as close to 2 hours as possible since basically, she's my running idol. The other reason I chose 2 hours is this: My one friend who is a casual runner (meaning she never really trains for anything -- just runs 3-6 miles every now and then because she likes it) spontaneously decides that she's going to sign up for the Chicago half and run it. Yeah...she signed up like a week before the race, went out and ran it in "around 2 hours". Say what?! Now yes, she does admit that she had to pray her way through the last few miles, but still, totally minimal "training" and running a half in 2 hours?! Okay, I've GOT to do better than that with all that I am doing. So anyhow, the goal is UNDER 2 hours now.

Well, I just entered in my unofficial 10K time of 54:20 in the Running Times Calculator and it projects a half mary time for me of...1 hour, 59 minutes, 59 seconds! Woo hoo -- I'll take it! (As a side note, I also check my projected time using the McMillan Calculator. Yeah, it said my half mary time would be 2 hours, 0 minutes, 54 seconds. Clearly WRONG!) And I still have 12 weeks to train too so hopefully I'll have a sub 2 hour half mary in the bag! I'd do a happy dance, but I'd probably jinx myself, and fall and break my ankle. :-)

Cranberry-Topped Orange Cheesecake

I found a bag of cranberries at my local grocery store and knew I had to make something with them. Cranberries are my favorite fall food and in my opinion, way too underused. I have to admit though, I am guilty of not using them as much as maybe as I could. They are surely a staple side at the table on Thanksgiving Day, but I don't use them much otherwise. I challenged myself to find many more recipes with them.

As I was searching Epicurious for some cranberry-orange muffin recipes, I ran across a recipe for cranberry-orange cheesecake! I have never made a cheesecake before and have been dying to give one a try. I clicked on the recipe and was glad to see that I had pretty much all the ingredients I needed, some of which (chocolate wafer cookies) I've actually had in my pantry and have been trying to get rid of! I love when that happens. Next, I looked at the ratings and saw that it got awesome reviews! SCORE! Decision made -- cranberry-orange cheesecake it is! Here is the recipe, written as is from Epicurious:

Ingredients:

Crust

• 1 9-ounce box chocolate wafer cookies, broken
• 2 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel

Directions:

For crust:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Finely grind cookies and chocolate in processor. Add butter; blend until moist clumps form. Using plastic wrap as aid, press crumb mixture onto bottom and 1 1/4 inches up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Bake until set, about 8 minutes. Cool completely.

For filling:
Increase oven temperature to 350°F. Wrap 2 layers of heavy-duty foil around bottom and up sides of springform pan. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light. Beat in flour. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, just until blended. Beat in orange peel and vanilla.

Pour filling into crust. Place springform pan in large roasting pan. Fill roasting pan with enough hot water to come halfway up sides of springform pan. Bake until filling is just set in center but still moves slightly, about 55 minutes. Remove cake from water bath; transfer to rack and cool completely, about 4 hours. Cover and chill overnight.

For topping:
Stir sugar and water in medium saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium; add cornstarch mixture and bring to simmer. Add cranberries; cook until beginning to pop, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Stir in orange peel. Cool completely. Cover and chill overnight. (Cheesecake and cranberry mixture can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Run knife around top edge of cheesecake to loosen. Release pan sides. Top cheesecake with cranberry mixture. Chill until set, about 1 hour.

I followed the recipe pretty much as directed. I had NO clue what I was doing or looking for in terms of whether or not the crust was done or when the cheesecake itself was done. I mean, it says that it's supposed to look "set" (whatever that looks like) but still wobbly in the middle. Uhhh, how wobbly? I chalked this up to an experimental baking adventure and crossed my fingers.

Well, it appears luck was on my side. My first ever cheesecake was a wonderful success! I was worried about the cheesecake sticking to the springform pan but that wasn't a problem at all. I was also worried about the cheesecake being not as smooth as I wanted since the cream cheese wasn't quite room temperature when I mixed it initially, but the texture was silky smooth and luxurious! And how did it taste? I was worried that using just orange zest wouldn't give it enough orange flavor, but I think it was just right. There was just a hint or orange, but enough to know it was there. The tart/sweet cranberry topping was a great compliment. It was very yum and is something I will likely make again! I can't wait to try different combinations of cheesecake flavor and fruit toppings.

Other Than Running...

So here's what's been going on with me, other than running, (which seems to be all I blog about anymore!)

Update 1 -- My New Workout DVDs: Okay, this is somewhat running related, but whatever...I have to ease into this! So I tried out my new DVD, Total Body Time Crunch by The Firm. It was definitely hard for me to keep up seeing as how I've done practically NO aerobics! Just as soon as I'd figure out how to do one move, she was already on to the next! That's okay though. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it after doing it a few more times. Anyhow, I thought it was pretty good. It started with a warm up with then went into a cardio segment. After about 7-10 minutes, there was a toning segment, but she still had me doing like 7 different things at once which really kept my heart rate going...okay maybe not 7, but still, you get the point! That followed with more cardio, then more toning, and so on. The last segment or so of cardio had a little bit of plyometrics (AKA jumping around a lot) which I like. Alltogether, the video was about 45 minutes long and I was sweating by the end! I told my DH that while I was doing it, I really felt my heart going and my legs burning, but afterwards, I felt totally fine -- not tired at all like I am after my runs, so I'm not sure how much of a workout it really was. My husbands bets I'll be pretty sore tomorrow. We'll see.

On a funny side note, I was talking to my husband about maybe getting a couple more workout DVDs like the one I tried today so that I could alternate them. I asked for his opinion and all he said was, "Would it make you look even hotter?" "Ummm, I don't know...I guess?" "Then you should definitely get it!" Ugh, why did I even bother asking him!

Update 2 -- My Crazy Cat: I just had to share this pic. My cat Snoopy gets SO MAD when any other cat comes into HIS territory. He was practically foaming at the mouth this afternoon when a neighborhood kitty came to say hello!

Snoopy's tail got all puffy, he started growling and hissing and was ready to jump through the glass! You can see how frightened the other cat is! My cat is such a goof!

Update 3 -- Crafting: I haven't been scrapbooking or cardmaking like I used to, but I did make a few cards today using March's Sheetload Sketch. For this first card, I used paper from the "Garden Party" pack by Making Memories. Everything else I had laying around. Stamps are Studio G $1 stamps. The second card was made using the same sketch but with paper I bought at Target awhile back -- forgot the name of the line. I used my Cuttlebug to cut the cupcake stamp out and to emboss it. Then I used Stickles to add glitter to the cupcake and candle (which is hard to see in the pic.)

I actually made 6-12 of each card. Most of them I'll be donating to Cards for Heroes. I've written about that wonderful program before, but if you're not familiar with them, click on the link to learn more! It was fun getting back into all of my papers and ribbons. I want to do a scrapbook layout next of my last race.

Summer is Officially Here!

I've always said that summer is my favorite season. I think that has something to do with the fact that my birthday is in it, but whatever! I'm turning the big 3-0 though so I don't know how enthused I am this year! Oh well. Anyway, I usually love those hot, sunny days when I can just lay in the sand on the beach or take a dip in the swimming pool. I'm realizing today though that summer's appeal is a little lost on a day like today, in the 90s with high humidity and I have NO beach or NO pool! UGH -- what's up with that?! I am melting! I tried to get up early today to run before it got too hot. "Early" for me during my summer break is around 7AM So I peel out of bed at 7:30 this morning, get dressed and ran out the door. I think by the time I made it to the end of my driveway, I was already sweating! The only saving grace to my run this morning is that I got to wear my cute pink Target (Tar-jay!) running skirt and my awesome new sporty sun glasses. I looked totally "Runner Grrrl!" Can I just say too that I bought my running skirt probably back in April and when I tried it on then, it was a little snug, but the next size up was almost falling off, so I went with the smaller size. Well, when I put it on today, no snugness! Just fit perfection! Woo hoo! Then after my workout, I got cleaned up and attempted to try on a pair of last year's skorts that were a little snug last year too. Yeah, check it...they slid right on, no problem! This running thing is really working out! So anyway...back to complaining about summer!

So anyhow, as Runner Grrrl as I may have looked, I was SOOOOO hot! I felt like I was on fire! Luckily, tomorrow is cross training day, so I should be good, but then I checked out Sunday's forecast. It's supposed to be even hotter and Sunday is my LONG run day! I thought, "Well, I'll just have to get up extra early to avoid the heat." So I check out the hourly forecast complements of Accuweather and the coolest part of the morning is 4AM at an ever-so-chilly 70 degrees F! Well I can promise you that I WON'T be getting up at 4, so this Sunday should be interesting! Any tips for staying cool?

I am SO NOT "All That"!

Okay, so I've run two races so far on my "Getting Back in Shape" Tour, and with both races, I got a medal. Don't be too impressed. For the first race, I won 1st place in my age group. What I hesitate to tell others is that, there was only one other person in my age group! But hey, it does NOT say that on the medal! And as far as the second medal, well that's a finisher's medal. You could walk the darn thing and still get one. Well, unfortunately, I seem to have forgotten those little details. I was looking at signing up for a few races and as I was checking out their websites, I decided to check out the results from the previous years to see where my recent times would compare, hoping of course that my times would be medal-worthy. Ummm yeah...THEY'RE NOT! Man, if I ran those races, I would have been totally smoked! Forget about getting a medal -- I'd be choking on the dust kicked up by 70 year old ladies! (No offense to 70 year old ladies -- you are fabulous!) So, just as I was gazing upon my medals thinking about what a great runner I'm turning out to be, I got a little wakeup call: (1) I am SO NOT all that! and (2) I've got a long way to go!

At Least Something is Enjoying This Heat

While I am melting in these hot temps during my runs (it's up to 93* today!) at least my roses are enjoying it. The heat has spurred these babies to open up those blooms. Here are my favorite roses in our front bed. The roses are called, 'Earth Song'.


What's that twig in the middle of the garden bed? That's another 'Earth Song'! The roots on these roses have really spread out. They're trying to make another rosie! :-) Here are some up-close pics...



All the roses in our back yard are blooming too. We have a bunch of them all along our deck. Here's 'Molineux' AKA Molly.
Too bad I can't stand to be outside for more than 10 minutes to look at them. Too hot! Ugh! Today's actually supposed to be the last day of this kind of heat. It should be back into the 70s and 80s by tomorrow. Thank goodness!

Well, after some thought, and after receiving some great advice from the RW forums (thanks Kai), I don't think I'll just that running club I wrote about yesterday. I didn't want to sound conceited and say, "This is too easy for ME!" but the bottom line is, it just doesn't match where I am in terms of training. If I'm running 8-9 miles now on my long run, it would be pointless to go out and do 35 minutes as my "long run" as is suggested in the program. I could always do the 8-9 on my own, but then that defeats the purpose of joining a group. I took some advice and looked online at other local running stores. Another running specialty store in the area (Vertical Runner) is also hosting a fall marathon / half marathon training group. I emailed the person organizing the groups with some info about myself and he gave me a training schedule which is perfectly in line with what I'm already doing! So glad to find that! One downside to the group though is that the half mary they are training for is not the one I was planning on doing, which is the Cleveland River Run. They are training for the Akron Half Marathon and the Towpath Half Marathon. I was wondering if maybe I could do the River Run AND one of the other half marathons they are training for. The one I would most likely be interested in is the Towpath half marathon since it is about 5 weeks after the River Run. That should be enough recovery time, don't you think? I've heard the course is really beautiful too, so running both is definitely a possibility. The only other downside to joining this training group is actually kind of silly! They meet once a week to do group runs together (usually the LSD run) and the runs start at 7:00AM! The place they start from too is about 30 minutes from my house which means that I would have to wake up by 6:15AM on a Saturday morning. AHHHHHHH! I am SO not a morning person! And 6:15 -- holy cow! That's what time I get up for work everyday during the school year! To have to lose one of my two sleeping-in days...uhhhhhh. Now that I am on summer though, I don't mind giving up my Saturday sleeping-in day seeing as how I can sleep in the other six days of the week (tee-hee). The only problem there is that because I do sleep in the other six days, it is that much more torturous to get up at 6:15 when I have to! Boo hoo! Well, the program hosted by Vertical Runner lets us try it out for a month before committing, so we'll see how it goes this June. I won't even officially start anyhow since the first group run is this Saturday and I have a race that day. I guess a lot of people are also going to that same race though since they said their first "kick off" run will be the following Saturday. Maybe I can meet some of them at my race on Saturday. Speaking of that...

Awhile ago I posted about how I SO wanted to place at the race that is coming up this weekend, the Jim Klett Memorial 10K. I have never run a 10K before, but based on my last race time, the McMillian Calculator says that I should be able to run a 10K in about 54 minutes. That would be awesome and could earn me some hardware! I can't say that I have been training super hard core for this race though. I've gotten a little distracted with some work stuff as well as stuff around the house. I've definitely been running my 4 days/week, in fact, just this week, I hit an all time high of miles/week: 20.9! It's not a lot to some, but it is for me! Anyhow, while I've been getting the miles in, I haven't done any traditional "speedwork". I've been running some hilly courses, but nothing that really pushes a consistent pace on a flat course. I need to do some tempo running. I can probably get two more runs in before the race. Tomorrow will actually be perfect to do a tempo run. Hope it's not too little, too late!

Woo Hoo! Surprise Day Off!

So last night I had a hard time sleeping. It was SO windy I swear there was tornado outside! I kept drifting in and out of sleep, having crazy dreams. At one point I thought I heard the phone ring, but I thought maybe it was just another dream. So when my alarm went off, I got up and started getting ready. I thought, "Hmmm, maybe the phone did ring and we have the day off school?! Nah! The weather is fine now and my district hardly ever calls off." So I finished getting ready. As I was walking out the door, I noticed the message light on my machine blinking. "NO WAY!" I'm thinking -- "This is too good to be true!" Sure enough though, my school was cancelled today! The wind knocked out power to the entire district. :-) Woo hoo! Surprise day off!

I tried to go back to sleep, but I was already wide awake. Besides, Snoopy came and tried to snuggle with me and he was being such a wiggle worm, there was no sleep to be had. So I decided to get up and get some projects done. I ran to Michaels first to see if I was in luck with any of those $1 stamps. Nothing yet. I picked up a few other things and ran home.

With my extra time today, I finished a Christmas LO and I made an altered mailbox for my friend's daughter! I made my friend the Hello Kitty one and when she brought it home, her daughter thought it was for her! My friend had to break the news to her. So then my friend went to Target to get a mailbox so she could make one for her daughter, but they were all out! Well, I happen to have a few extras, so I made one for her daughter today. My friend said she likes princess stuff. I had the perfect paper in mind. I hope she likes it.

Patterned paper is by Marcella by K (Target), flowers are Prima and Heidi Swapp, stamps are Studio G $1 stamps!

Well, it's only halfway through the day! I love having time to do fun stuff! I probably should do laundry and clean some dishes....nah!

"Chaos in the Kitchen" Challenge #4: Enchiladas & Cornbread

Challenge #4: Shredded Chicken Enchiladas & Honey Cornbread Muffins
Recipe ratings: Enchiladas -- 4.5 stars, Corn Bread -- 4 stars

Shredded Chicken Enchiladas

I found this recipe for the chicken enchiladas on a blog called, Loves to Eat. Click on the title above to see the original recipe. I have copied the recipe below but have made a few changes. Anything in italics is a modification I made.

Ingredients:

Homemade enchilada sauce:
-15 ounce can tomato sauce
-small can tomato paste
-3/4 cup water
-1 can beef broth
-1/4 tsp cumin
-1/4 ts. garlic powder
-2 tsp chili powder
-1/4 tsp paprika
-1/2 tsp dried oregano
-salt and pepper to taste
-2 to 3 drops hot sauce

Enchiladas:
-Tortillas (4 large ones or 8 small ones)
-2 split chicken breasts, skin-on and bone-in
-2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
-1 small tub of sour cream
-8 green onions finely chopped
-Cheddar cheese (or Mexican mix cheese) to cover top
-Sour cream, salsa, taco sauce, etc..whatever toppings you prefer!


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Coat both chicken pieces in olive oil and salt and pepper liberally. Place in a roasting pan and roast chicken in the oven for 35-40 minutes, until chicken is cooked. When finished, remove from oven and allow to cool. Remove skin, shred meat.

2. While chicken is roasting, make homemade sauce: Mix all sauce ingredients well and bring to a boil. Boil 15 mins.

3. Assemble enchiladas: Using a large spoon, spoon enchilada sauce on each tortilla. Spread to cover the tortilla. Fill with chicken, sour cream, onion, and mozzarella cheese. Roll up and place seam down in a 9x13 baking dish. Do this again with all tortilla wraps. Once all are in the dish, cover the enchiladas with the rest of the sauce and sprinkle on all the cheddar cheese. Bake at 350*F, uncovered for 30-40 mins or until bubbly and warm. Serve immediately with rice or veggie and choice of toppings! Makes 4 enchiladas or 8 mini enchiladas!


These enchiladas were so flavorful! The only big changes I made from the original recipe were these:

(1) The original recipe said to roast or poach chicken. I chose to roast the chicken. I've never done so before, but after seeing Ina do it on her show, Barefoot Contessa (Food Network,) I wanted to give it a try. Can I just say... O...M...G! After tasting this roasted chicken... well, all I can say is, "I hereby solemnly swear to NEVER poach another chicken again!" I mean seriously, it was like eating a completely different thing! Even my DH, who did not see me roast the chicken, commented on how good it tasted while eating the enchilada. It really made a difference!
(2) In the original recipe, it says to take the tortillas and dip them in the sauce before assembling. That was too messy for me. I just spooned the sauce on. Seemed to work well for me.

I highly recommend this recipe. It was super yum and very filling! With it, I served some Spanish rice (from a package...GASP! I know, I know...) and some honey cornbread muffins.

~~~~~~~~~

Honey Cornbread Muffins

Here is the recipe as it is on the Food Network website. (Click above for the link.) It is originally from the show, Down Home with the Neelys. This recipe makes 12 muffins.

Ingredients
-1 cup yellow cornmeal
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-1 tablespoon baking powder
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 cup whole milk
-2 large eggs
-1/2 stick butter
-melted 1/4 cup honey
-Special equipment: paper muffin cups and a 12-cup muffin tin

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Into a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the whole milk, eggs, butter, and honey. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.

3. Place muffin paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Evenly divide the cornbread mixture into the papers. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.


I followed the recipe directly as stated and they were super yummy! Although it should be noted that these are a little sweeter of a cornbread -- you could definitely taste the honey. I like that though! While these muffins were tasty as is, I might try adding a little spiciness by adding some minced jalapeno or Serrano peppers. That way, they'll have a little bit o' sweet and a little bit o' heat! Yum!



I would say that this challenge was a success, even though my plate presentation and picture-taking still isn't -- I swear, it may look terrible, but it was super yummy!

But They're Only $1! So That Means I Can Buy More...Right?

Okay, before I get carried away with my new find, here are some cards I'd like to share. I made them today using a Becky Fleck sketch and some Basic Grey Blush paper. What's funny is that ever since I came across Sheetload, I can not do just one of any card! I end up doing a little assembly line and making at least 6! I made 8 with this sketch. I probably don't know enough people to even send this card out to, especially since I have so many others, but that is okay! I like making a lot of extras. That way I'll have some to send for Cards for Heroes and to maybe sell in my future Etsy store. Here is just a sample of the ones I made today...

The hearts were cut with my Cricut and the stamps are Studio G $1 stamps. In case you can't see in the pic, the one across the bottom says "sending my love" and then on the heart is a package that says "for you" that has a heart on it also. Wait...speaking of Studio G stamps...

So if you've read any of my other posts, then you know that stamping is one of my new things. I got started by using those cute $1 stamps by Studio G. You can find them at Joanns or Michaels. I guess there is another store called ACMoore that carries them, but we don't have that around here. Anyway, while I was crusing my message boards, I ran across a post that has all of the Studio G $1 stamps pictured. (HERE it is if you want to see.) Well today, they added the newest set -- 40 sets with Valentine, St. Patrick's, and Easter theme. (Better pic of those on THIS thread -- scroll down to see.) They are TOO STINKIN CUTE! I want those babies so bad! (In my best Smeegle impression: Muuuuust haaaave the preeeecious...) Well, maybe not all 40 because that would be too much $$, but I do want so many of them! The only problem with these is that they are only $1! How is this a problem, you ask? Because in my mind, I keep saying, "Oh my goodness! It's just a buck! I can get a few more!" Then all of sudden 1 becomes 5, which becomes 10 and so on and so on! I swear, when I put those things in my little basket, they mulitply like rabbits or something! I don't know how else they turn from "just a few" to "that'll be $25 please"?! EEK! Oh, must.... practice.... restraint! I may have help though. It looks like these may only be available at ACMoore, which as I said, we don't have around here. I would be so sad if that were the case! Please, oh PLEASE let them be at M's or J's! I need to start using my positive thinking....I can't wait to get to M's or J's in the next few weeks and get them! I know they will be there for me, just begging to jump into my basket. Send out those positive vibes for me everyone! :-) Muuuuust haaaaaave the preeeeeciousssss...

Six Word Memoir Challenge

I've been tagged by Jen over at Jen's Birthday Challenge to write a memoir in 6 words or less. Well, I like to blab a lot, (as you can tell!) so 6 words or less is going to be tough, BUT, here goes...

Determined to forge my own path

Now what in the world does that mean?!?!?! Well, without getting into the details of my After School Special-like childhood, (Do they even have those anymore?!) I am determined to live my life in a way that is positive for my health and my sanity! Let's just say, that as much as I love my family, if I continued to live my life in the same way I was raised, I surely would have lost one of those things, if not both! So instead of following in their path, I choose to forge my own! In doing so, I try to...

• Keep my body healthy! That means staying in shape (running and working out) and trying to eat (and drink!) somewhat healthy.
• Be educated! I wanted to make sure that I had the education I needed so that if anything ever happened, I would always be able to take care of myself. I'm glad to say that I've accomplished that, but I still like learning about all different kinds of things!
• Develop strong relationships with the people I love. I always try to make sure that I let my friends and family know that I am thinking about them and will always be there for them. Sometimes they care and sometimes they don't, but I still try.

Well, that's me in 6 words or less! Actually...that was way more than 6...oh well! Now it's my turn to tag a few people to complete the 6 Word Memoir Challenge! I choose... Kai at See Kai Run, See Kai Eat and Morgan at Quick, Like a Bunny! If anyone else reading wants to jump in, please do! Your memoir can be serious or funny! Can't wait to see what you come up with!

A Few More

I made a few more cards today using some of my scrap DCWV "All Dressed Up" paper. I used the same sketch as below...I'm not sure I like the "bday" stamp on the one on the left, but it's the only birthday stamp I have that was small enough to fit on the tab. Oh well. All stamps are $1 stamps by Studio G, flowers are Prima and the metal dots are by Colorbok. I hope to send some of these out soon! :-)

On a different note, I experienced a little Christmas miracle today! A few days ago, someone stole $7 out of my desk drawer. (That was NOT the miracle!) I'm pretty sure I know who it was, but no proof, so I'm out of luck there. Anyhow, I talked to my students about what happened in an attempt to guilt the suspect into confessing or at least to get any info from my kids. No luck. Anyhow, my students came up to me today and handed me $7 in coins! They said that they felt really bad about what happened and that they felt that I should not have to be out $7 because of someone else's lack of honesty. So, each student brought in a donation to reimburse me for my $7. Can you believe that?! My heart totally melted! While I was really disappointed that someone would steal money in the first place, this act totally outweighs that! Now I would like to take that $7 and use it to buy something for the class. Of course $7 won't get much so I'll have to increase that, but I want to definitely let my kids know how proud I am of them! :-)