A Taste of Tuesday

So, I really wanted some fruit with breakfast today, but didn't want 2 carbs, so I decided to make an omelet with some fruit on the side. My dad taught me how to make omelets a long, long time ago. Every weekend for about 3 months, I would claim that I "forgot" what he had shown me, and had him make me one while I watched. I thought I was putting one over on him, but in hind sight, I think he, like I now, just really liked making omelets.

I few years ago, I took my Hiawassee Mom shopping at the outlet malls, and I found the greatest omelet pan ever. I think it is truly the key to making perfect omelets. It makes me happy to make omelets using this pan not just cause it's cute, but because it reminds me both of my dad and my Hiawassee mom:

It is insanely cute, and has a matching omelet turner-over thingy

But I digress. There really isn't a recipe for omelets. I just spray the pan with Pam, then put in what ever  I find in the fridge. This particular day, I used:

• Egg whites
• Frozen veggies (carrot, broccolli and cauliflower mix) thawed
• Cabot 50% Pepper Jack cheese

Put every thing in the omelet pan. Cook on one side for 3-4 minutes, flip and cook other side for about 3 minutes. Serve with fruit on the side, or, if you are PMSing, a bag of Pepperidge Farm Double-stuffed Chocolate Milanos. 

Event update!

If you chose not to GOYB this weekend, here's what you missed! (Click to enlarge pictures.)

A big green... worm.. I can't remember
what Heather told me it is... I'm a bad master naturalist!

A Red-shouldered hawk

A really tiny Ring-necked Snake

The divine miss Heather with a stick bug.
We saw lots of stick bugs today!

We walked a total of 7.5 miles, and it felt so great that we're gonna do another long walk on December 19. Join us, you never know what cool things you'll see, but I can guarantee that you aren't going to see them if you stay at home on your couch!

Race update!

I did my 7th race today. I had my best time ever, even beating the one that wasn't really a 5k! Here are the results of the last 7 races:

• December 11, 2010 (51:43.9, 16:41/M)
• November 20, 2010 (1:02:36.7, 17:53/m)
• November 13, 2010 (53:45.2, 17:20/m)
• October 2, 2010 (51:57) (Note -- this race doesn't count. After the race all participants received a message stating that the race organizers messed up the course and it in fact was not a full 5k, which explains the really good time.)
• September 12, 2010 (57:44 18:37/m)
• July 3, 2010 (56:25:35 18:12/m)
• June 5, 2010 (1:03:20 20:26/m)

As usual, my cheerleader and photographer was there to document it all for posterity.  

As usual, here I am being a
goof at the starting line.

David amused himself by taking
pictures while he waited for me to return.

This is my buddy Dave from the gym
crossing the finish line.

This is me, coming in last. But, in my
defense, it was a very small race. It was my
best time by 2 minutes, so I was happy.

The only thing that kind of bummed me out a little was before the race, I was in the parking lot of the park. Now it's 6:30 on a dark, wet Saturday morning, I was wearing my little running shorts, doing stretches. And this guy handing out fliers for an upcoming race starts to hand one to me, then he laughs, looks at me with a look of disgust usually reserved for people who are caught raping puppies, and says,  "Oh, YOU aren't a runner." I told him that am in the race, and he gave a half-hearted apology, but I still kinda wanted to smack him. But on the other hand, as I've mentioned before, I get a ton of support from the people who actually matter (David, the rest of the family, real runners like Dave and Alison from the gym, and the folks from Runner's Depot who are always super nice to me when I go into the store) so I didn't feel bad for long, and I kicked butt today, so I'm happy.

Now to face my next, much more daunting challenge: Holiday Shopping... Noooooooooooooooooo

True Testimonial and Event Update!

Here is proof positive that my GOYB theory is good for your attitude! Here are actual before and after photos:

Before: David and Heather, sitting on
their rockers,  clearly unhappy. 

After: David and Heather on a
DeeMotivation Swamp Buggy ride!

Heather, clearly much happier not being in a rocker, and
showing off a Butterfly Orchid

How much more proof do you need that you should be coming out and playing with us?

Taste of Tuesday

So, my assignment for Thanksgiving is to bring the green bean casserole. I couldn't find any mushroom soup in the store that didn't have HFCS and other icky stuff in it so I decided to make my own. I also got real fresh green beans. Luckily, before I started making the soup, Heather gave me some pointers. So, to make the green bean casserole I followed the basic recipe on the French's can, but here is my recipe for home made cream of mushroom soup:

Ingredients:

• 8 oz fresh sliced baby bella mushrooms
• Light cream 
• Chicken broth
• Chopped garlic
• Chopped onion

Directions:

1. Stir fry the garlic, onion and mushrooms in a little bit of oil. Heather suggested olive oil, which I don't like the taste of, so I just used regular vegetable oil. 
2. If needed, drain the mushrooms on a paper towel. 
3. Take 1/2 the mushrooms, 1/4 cup chicken broth, and about 1/4 cup cream and puree in a blender. Repeat with the other 1/2 of the mushrooms.  If you have a bigger blender than I do, you can puree all of the mushrooms at once. 
4. Spice the soup as needed. I used a little garlic salt to brighten up the taste a little.
5. If you are just going to eat the soup, heat it till warm. If you are making casserole, follow the instructions for that.

Event Update

If you chose not to GOYB this weekend, here's what you missed at Goodwin Wildlife Management Area!

 A really pale red shouldered hawk.

 A herd of roseate spoonbills.

A herd of wood storks. These were very cool. Both Heather and I noticed that there was something about the lighting today that made them appear really really white where they were white, and really really black where they were black. They reminded me of the saddle shoes I wore when I was a kid.

Me and Heather being goofy.












Hope to see you on the next event!

This week's race results

I did my 6th race today. My time is a little longer than the last 5k as it was a 3.5 mile race (as opposed to a 5k.) Statistically, it wasn't my best time ever, but my foot really hurt at the start of the race and it took me about a mile to hit my stride, so overall I was ok with my time. Here are the results of the last 6 races:

• November 20, 2010 (1:02:36.7, 17:53/m)
• November 13, 2010 (53:45.2, 17:20/m)
  
• October 2, 2010 (51:57) (Note -- this race doesn't count. After the race all participants received a message stating that the race organizers messed up the course and it in fact was not a full 5k, which explains the really good time.)
  
• September 12, 2010 (57:44 18:37/m)
• July 3, 2010 (56:25:35 18:12/m)
• June 5, 2010 (1:03:20 20:26/m)

As usual, my cheerleader and photographer was there to document it all for posterity. Click to enlarge any picture:

Today's race was a benefit for the Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice. I was thinking of Aunt Cathy and Hiawassee Mom when I signed up for the race. I can't imagine a harder job and deeply admire them both for being able to do that.

The race started WAY too early for my taste. Here I am yawning before it started.

My usual goofy start to the race. My foot was hurting pretty bad at the start of the race and I was thinking that I would not make it through the race and was contemplating just bagging before I had even barely started. Then, about 1/4 mile in, the song "Idiot Heart" by Sunset Rubdown came up on the iPod. The line, "I was never much of a dancer but I know enough to know you gotta move your idiot body around" just made me smile. When it got to the line in the song, "So just move around, move around, move around, move around." I was finally starting to hit my stride and decided to put the song on auto repeat.

The last line of the song is, "I hope that you die in a decent pair of shoes, You got a lot more walking to do where you're going to." I kept the song on auto repeat for about 2 miles. It carried me past the pain, and by the time I finally took it off auto repeat, I was booking it, feeling no pain and felt really really good. I don't know anything about the band, but I think I need to write them a fan letter. This is the first race that I was seriously thinking of bagging, and this song just breathed new life into my tired old bones.

This is me approaching the finish line.
I have decided the Gogol Bordello's "Wanderlust King" is one of the greatest race songs ever. I had a really strong finish, and this song had a lot to do with that. I put on auto repeat about a mile from the end of the race, and I think I would have had a better time if I had started it sooner. "Idiot Heart" is awesome for motivation, but has a slower beat. "Wanderlust King" is a faster, get your blood going song.

 Crossing the finish line.

My cheerleader, photographer and most importantly, my sweetheart, in Starbucks for the post-race celebratory coffee.

Today's freakish it-could-only-happen-to-the-truly-fat injury was that the upper, under side of my arm was stinging really bad. It took me a while to figure out why, but then I remembered that last week when I was making the chicken stew, when I was stirring the crock pot, I accidentally flung a spoonful of really really hot stew on myself, so I had a burn there (as well as other places on my arm). Combined with a wardrobe malfunction, things were just rubbing in all the wrong places and the burn got really irritated. I really, seriously, need to replace Sporti before the next race.