Odds and Ends

Half Marathon-3 months and counting! 3 months from today I will be at approximately mile 6 of my first half marathon!

I got my OFFICIAL USA Triathlon membership yesterday...and a cool sticker that is now gracing my rear windshield :). For every triathlon you do, you have to pay for insurance...its cheaper to buy the year long USAT membership if you plan on doing three or more tris a year (which I plan to do) so, its worth it. Plus, you get a cool sticker. Now tell me that's not motivation...

I made my half training schedule last weekend, working in three other races between now and 1/18/2009...the Mud Run 10K (which is really more fun than a race...at least I hope!), the Pearland 10 mile Jingle Jog at the beginning of December and then...I talked my brother (who is also training for a half-marathon, except he runs a 6ish minute mile!) to doing a 30k (18.64 miles) relay race on Dec 21st in AZ...so we will each run about 9.3 miles apiece.

I am so excited that God has blessed me with such great health over this past year that these athletic goals are becoming realities. I went a year without needing any steroid injections to control inflammation. Of course, 3 5Ks, a 10K, a sprint tri, and a flight lead later, I had to bite the bullet and get doped up this week for a minor flare which consisted of costochondritis (the connective tissue between my ribs was swelling...pushing the ribs apart...ouch!)...but I am feeling MUCH better and even went for a easy run this morning :). Yay for God's grace and presence in my life!

Pumpkin Bread/Muffin recipe

I've had several people ask for the pumpkin bread recipe. So here it is (you can also find it on page 624 of the old version of The Joy of Cooking...however, I have changed it some ( I use both brown and white sugar a different spices)).

Canned pumpkin from scratch:

Cut a pie pumpkin in half and scoop out seeds and string. Place face down on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 deg for 1 hr or until super soft. Scoop out soft pumpkin from shell and blend or put through a ricer to obtain smooth texture. Makes ~ 1 cup "canned" pumpkin (depends on the size of the pumpkin- of course)

Pumpkin Bread

Sift together:
1 3/4 C. all-purpose flour
1/4tsp double acting baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4tsp ginger

In a bowl, beat 2/3 c brown sugar, 2/3c white sugar, 1/3c shortening, and 2 eggs.
Add and beat in 1 c canned pumpkin

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl alternately with 1/3 c milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla. Beat only enough to make sure flour mixture/milk is mixed in- don't over beat.

Place in a greased bread pan and back at 350 deg for ~ 1hr. For muffins, place batter in muffin cups and bake (eh.. ~ 20 minutes or so...keep an eye on them).

The Joy of Cooking recipe calls for cloves in the spices, but I used ginger instead...you can vary the amounts of spice based on your personal preferences.

Enjoy!

Being domestic...

So I finally had time today to get several things done today: oil change and vehicle inspection (I've been driving around illegally since October started-oops)...3 loads of laundry, I cleaned the living room, dining room, bathroom, and kitchen (for some reason I always save my bedroom for last- which is why it never gets cleaned :) )...and I made pumpkin bread/muffins. I'm headed over to Pam's for the night- Girls Group starts tomorrow and we have planning to do!!!! I'm excited about the new girls who are joining and can't wait to see what God is going to do with our group this year.

Baked pumpkins



You scoop out the soft stuff from the baked pumpkin and then put it through a ricer (the device on the left hand side of the picture) to give it a smoother texture



Finished product! The brown spots on the muffins are a streusel topping...I tend to put too much butter in my streusel topping so its gooey before cooking..however, this allows it to soak into the muffin more, so even though they looking kinda leprosy-ily, they still taste good...notice the missing one? Yum! These are for distribution...

PA part two

Jana and I saw these really neat looking mum decorations outside a cafe, so she bought a pumpkin and some mums and we proceeded to make one to put outside their place after church on Sunday. The neighbor kids joined in and we had a pumpkin carving fest...too bad Houston doesn't have a fall, I think I would enjoy that season very much...we don't really have a fall in Arizona either. Although, I did buy two pumpkins the other day (they are currently baking and will be made into pumpkin bread today) and Home Depot had mums...after the PA experience, it seemed a bit odd to be buying a mum while still wearing flip flops, but hey, you gotta be thankful for what you have :).

Pumpkin guts...its been awhile since I have done this



Jen put a sailboat on her pumpkin...although we all thought it kinda looked like a Cyclops pumpkin...


Jana and I and the finished project. Isn't it pretty?


Oh, this is Scott and Jana's dog, Sophie. She's a sweetheart.

Adventures in PA!

So I am currently in Lancaster, PA visiting my good friends Jana and Scott. I haven't seen them since their wedding almost a year ago, so it has been a TON of fun catching up with them and with their family out here. I flew in on Thursday night and on Friday, Jana and I played tourists shopping at the Kitchen Kettle Village (yum, apple and pumpkin butter!) and I dragged her to several quilt shops...I've got a new project in mind and I was actually able to talk to some of the ladies in the shops and discovered that my project won't be as challenging as I thought!

Okay, I really look like one of those red/purple hat ladies...but I was just trying on an Amish hat...

We joined Jana's family and Scott's brother and his wife Heidi at the Shady Maple Smorgasbord that evening for dinner...about as much Dutch food as you can imagine. Sooooo good. Today we took the train ( I love trains- I really wish Houston had them...or rather Texas in general) into Philadelphia so I could be a tourist. The big ticket items were to see the Liberty Bell and for me to re-enact a few scenes from "National Treasure". No, it's not my favorite movie, but I was really looking forward to being a bit goofy and running around Philadelphia :)

Me, Jana, and Scott waiting for the train in Lancaster

Jana and me on the train (we have a long train history :) )

Reading Terminal Market

Me re-enacting the scene in National Treasure where the girl is hiding in the flowers in the Reading Terminal Market and Riley comes up behind her and scares her....

Me in front of the Liberty Bell...I was unintentionally blocking the crack (thanks Scott for telling me..- it was also a lot smaller than I expected, the bell, not the crack)

Okay, remember the scene in National Treasure where they go into Urban Outfitters (seen above) and then look at the time on the clock tower on a $100 dollar bill using a water bottle? Well....

(okay, no, I wasn't looking at a $100 bill...but that's not the point...look, I even got the leather jacket on! :) )

After touring the Mutter Museum of medical oddities (slight gross, yet slighty fascinating...) we high-tailed it to the Rodin Museum (see The Thinker above) before catching the train back to Lancaster. Fun times!

Random

I am too tired to post anything of scintillating interest...but I recommend the movie "Fireproof".

Mud Run!

So, because of Ike, the Hi-Fi Tri on Galveston has been canceled. So, instead, I am signing up to do the Mud Run with a group of gals from work. It's a 10k obstacle course...in the mud! Running and getting dirty, sounds like a recipe for fun!

And of course, my half-marathon training will start soon... :)