Running with Dr. Seuss...

My 2 favorite parts of Christmas are 1:  putting the tree up and 2: taking the tree down.  That sounds weird, but by the end of the Christmas season, I just want my house back - no decorations, no pine needles.  When it's done, it's done. 

Our tree this year was more "Seussical" than anything.  Not only was our star a "tad" askew, but we had creatures inhabiting our tree. 

 

So, here's my take on a little "Green Eggs and Ham" for Christmas!

Cats in the Tree

Cats in the tree, Cats in the tree

What do I see?  There are cats in the tree!

Should there be cats in the tree?

Oh my, oh me, where should they be? 

Cat in the wash, cat in the wash,

Oh my gosh, there's a cat in the wash?

In the wash, he should not be,

Well, at least he's not in the tree!

Cat in the sink, cat in the sink,

I need a drink, there's a cat in my sink.

Not in the wash, not in the tree,

Where oh where should this cat be?

Cat in my bed, cat in my bed,

I'm out of my head, there's a cat in my bed!

Not in the sink, not in the tree,

Let me think, where should he be?

Cat on the loo, cat on the loo,

I don't know who, put the cat on the loo!

In the wash, in the tree

Can someone see where this cat should be?

At last I see, where this cat should be,

Not in the wash, not in the tree,

But, sleeping with

My sweet Baby!

Hope you had a wonderful, blessed Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by today!

P.S.  All of the cat pictures were taken by Baby Boy and Baby Girl and were not discovered by me till I downloaded my photos!  

Running (still) with Gratitude (part 5)

I got a little behind on my gratitude posts so...here's my last one (we'll just pretend it's still November).

I'm eternally thankful for my dear friends the Wine Gurus!  They are, of course, responsible for the more than 40 bottles of red wine sitting in our "wine cellar".  However, they are also responsible for the very grand times we have together at our wine dinners and out of town excursions!  Who else, but the Wine Gurus, would say "Yes" to a dish of fried bone marrow? 
  

 
 Although I must admit that wine was consumed before, during, and after the taste of fried bone marrow, which was actually not bad.  I'm sure that the famous chef from whom I copied the recipe makes it so much better than I, but hey, we ate it and survived!

So, here's to you, my wonderful friends, I love you, I'm thankful for you both (but Hubby is especially thankful for Mr. Wine Guru), and I look forward to many more dinners together!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Running with Gratitude (part 4)

Friends are great!  Some of the best friends I have made through the years are the people I have worked with.  Mason is one of my favorite people.  She is funny, thoughtful, a great cook, and one of the best moms I have ever met (and grandma too)!

Since we no longer work together, we have to find other occasions to catch up.  Our favorite one is pedicures!  Nothing better than having someone make your toes look beautiful!  We have our favorite place for our toes, and we always get seats together.

So, in addition to begin thankful for good looking toes, I'm thankful for my wonderful friend Mason!  Love ya!

Running with Gratitude (part 3)

I'm going to use every last moment of November to be grateful.  To me, the Christmas season doesn't officially begin til December 1st.

I'm very grateful to my dear cousin over at Sweet Bee Cottage.  She is not only a great cousin, she's also a really great friend!  Our Baby Girls are very close in age, and always enjoy their time together, (even though it takes a little time to warm up, and I must remember - no sesame seeds).   Sweet Bee and I share an awful lot in common...we both teach, we both love crafts, we both have outstanding personalities (smile), but what I'm most grateful for (or what I blame her for) is my addiction to both blogging and coffee.  Because of her, I own my own Starbucks espresso maker - which actually has saved me a heck of a lot of money - thank you!  And, because of her, I have a blog - sporadically attended to, but I'm always trying!!

So, dear cousin and friend, I'm thankful for your presence in my life, since birth - wow, can't say that about too many people I know!


We now have something else in common...can you guess?  Yeah, its the iPad!  Thanks cousin!

Running with Gratitude (part 2)...

I am blessed with a wonderful family.  My mother, although she drives me crazy at times, is the best mother, who would honestly do anything for her family.  My dad...he can build anything...and has done some wonderful gifts for my children and me (note to self:  blog about the woodwork Dad has done).  My sister, 100% loyal to her family, and the best aunt my kids could ask for.  For all of my family I am extremely thankful.

On a side note... I made a pie for Thanksgiving.  I'm not a pie baker - mostly I hate rolling out dough for crust - but I tried this recipe for a Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie from Fine Cooking magazine.  Seriously, how can you go wrong with these ingredients?

I used the food processor that my mother "stores" at my house.  I hate cleaning all the attachments, but WOW, it makes the dough so easy to prepare!  So, here's how it turned out...yum!!!

Fine Cooking also had recipes for a Maple Bacon Pecan Pie...hmm...sounds like a dessert for the Wine Gurus!


Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you had a very blessed Thanksgiving!!

Running with Gratitude!

I read an article today that said gratitude is healthy for you.  Grateful people feel more alert, alive, interested, and enthusiastic.  They also feel more connected to others.  Apparently, being grateful can actually influence your health in a positive way!  Nice... 

So in this week of Thanksgiving I'm working on reconnecting with some people that I've been "too busy" to see.  (Sad...)  I'm grateful for so many people in my life, and for the grace of God who placed each of these wonderful people in my path.

I'm thankful for my wonderful friend Rosie.  Rosie has been a friend for over 14 years.  Her daughter was in my 1st grade class and Rosie eventually ended up being our daycare provider for both my son and daughter.  We've stayed close through the years.  Rosie is truly a daughter of God.  She speaks to God...calls him Dad when she talks to him and about him.  I love that. Rosie is so spiritual and truthful about her beliefs.

Whenever we meet up, the conversation begins with kids, husbands, future plans, and finally moves to God's place in our lives.  Rosie keeps me real...she doesn't sugar coat anything, and I always come away from our times together feeling just so...grateful!  I love you Rosie!  Thank you for being my very special friend!

Running on Shoesday!

It's Tuesday Shoesday!  Look at these gorgeous stunners!!  Sometimes you find some "drop-dead" fabulous shoes but...you must ask yourself...What the heck are you going to wear them with?  When are you going to wear them?  I haven't quite answered these questions yet...it's enough to just put them on and dream...

 Enjoy your Tuesday!

Drop in with the Shoe Obsessed One and see what kind of "stunners" she has today!

Thanks for dropping by!

Running with deliciousness...

I love fall!  My favorite fall things?  Cooler days and evenings, beautiful fall colors, and warm soups and stews.  We made this delicious soup last week.  It's Posole - not the traditional recipe, but still very yummy!

My mother in law is a wonderful cook.  She's the kind of cook that just knows how much of every ingredient to include.  She makes the most wonderful Spanish rice and her most requested dish is Tacos Margarita!  Yum!


When we told her about this soup she wanted the recipe, so...here it is!

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, diced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (remove seeds for less heat)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 6-ounce cans whole green chiles, drained
• 1 cup fresh cilantro
• 4 cups low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 15-ounce cans hominy, drained
• Sliced avocado and radishes and/or baked corn chips, for garnish (optional)

Directions

Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon thyme, and salt and pepper to taste; set aside.  Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, jalapeno and garlic and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a blender, then add the chiles, cilantro and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme and puree until smooth. 

Return to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the sauce thickens and turns deep green, about 5 minutes.
Add the broth, hominy and chicken to the saucepan. Cover and simmer until the chicken is tender, about 10 minutes. Garnish with avocado, radishes and/or corn chips, if desired.

This soup actually tastes better a couple days after you make it - all the flavors meld together!  

If you love soup, you need to check out Sweet Bee Cottage (this is a shameless plug for my cousin).  Over at the Cottage they have made some fabulous soups - made my  mouth water just reading about it!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Tell me, are you making anything delicious for the cold weather?

Running...without water!

Water...it covers at least 70 percent of the earth - too bad some races aren't covered wtih 70 percent water! 

I feel so stupid!!  I always wear my water belt...always...even for 5Ks!  But when Baby Boy and I ran the Cross City Race recently, I felt so (over)confident that I wanted to run as free as I could.  So I left my water in the car.  I knew they'd have water at every mile...right?  WRONG!!  I even remember my trainer, Kyle, warning everyone to NOT rely on the race for water! 

So, Baby Boy and I started at a really great pace...9:28 for our first mile!  I started looking for the water tables...none appeared.  Second mile...9:30...again, I looked for the water tables...I even heard other people asking the volunteers on the side streets - "Where's the water?" and I saw the volunteers point forward!  Mile 3...starting to feel my extreme lack of water...finally a water table...but alas...too late for me.  Mile 4,5,and 6...averaged 10:20...must have water...

So, my goal had been to beat last year's time of 58 minutes, but instead I ran 59:46.  Disappointing.  Lesson learned - always take water.

Up next - Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K...I'm feeling fast...and I'll have water!!

Running...recaps!

Smokey the Bear, Smokey the Bear...howlin' and a growlin' and a sniffin' the air...anyone remember that tune?  Well, Smokey gave us a great day at the Smokey Bear run.

Gorgeous day, gorgeous views, and a good time with Baby Boy!

 
Our time was good, (1:00:47) considering the many slight hills...more hills that I had anticipated.  I was sore for about 3 days! Baby Boy stayed right with me - I even told him to run ahead of me at the end so he could beat me...he didn't.  Sweet, huh!

Baby Boy and I have been dealing with his "D" in Algebra...it hasn't been too pleasant...so it was very nice to get out and run with him.

Up next...another 6 mile race on Sunday!  Last year my time in the Cross City race was below 1:00...so excited to see if I can better my time!  I'll keep you updated!


Thanks for stopping by!

Running and Racing...finally!

I'm so excited - I've got a race this weekend!  It has been 4 months since my last race - I'm going through withdrawls!

Baby Boy and I signed up for a race that I've never run before - The Smokey Bear Run!  Sounds fun - huh?  It's a 10K held in Bass Lake.  The race photos I've seen are just gorgeous.  It's got a few hills, but I'm feeling good about it!

 The best part is that Baby Boy won't be yelling at me from 100 feet back, "Mummy...Mummy...wait up...Mummy...Mummy...wait up!"  He does that all the time when we run around the neighborhood, but I know he won't do it in front of a crowd.  

Oh, yes...my 13 year old, who could run me down in seconds...who runs a 7 minute mile with his cross country team...did I mention he's 13?


I'll let you know how it goes!  I'm so excited!!!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Running with Martha!

I love Martha Stewart!  I love cupcakes!  However, I'm not sure if I love Martha Stewart's cupcakes!

 I received this book as a birthday gift last year.  I just started using it a few months ago.  The first recipe I tried was for Mocha Cupcakes.  They were very yummy!  Even put chocolate covered espresso beans on top - just like Martha!

Next, I tried the peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes.  Not such a winner these!  I think I baked them too long, as they came out very dry!  So dry, in fact, that I ended up throwing out the last 4 cupcakes - it should be a crime - I know!!

 So, this past weekend I tried a chocolate mint cupcake - with a real chocolate peppermint inside!!

Dry...that's all I can say.  They are supposed to be "brownie" cupcakes, but I think I'm having issues with the baking time.  Martha...give me a little help here - really, how long should these yummy things bake?  Sorry, Martha, I'm going to have to second guess you from now on when I make cupcakes - I still love you though!

Running Outdoors!

I'm celebrating Outdoor Wednesday with a special highlighting of my son's collection.  Baby Boy is a collector.  He began collecting freeway signs and street signs several years ago.  He's only 13, but can navigate and bid on eBay like no one I know!

He actually found this sign at a local antique/collectables store.  I told him we could put it in the backyard, but I got to pick the location.  So, we ended up putting it at the end of the walkway to the backyard.  I thought it was funny that the arrow points to the fence - not the way to the backyard.  Baby Boy doesn't share my humor (sadly) and he wondered why we didn't make the arrow point the other way.  Having to explain my humor is complicated, so I just quietly walked away.

I think it's fun.  Not your traditional backyard accessory.

Thanks for visiting today!  Be sure to check out Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer!