Ring In The New

Wishing everyone and safe and happy new year. I got my last run of the year in today and did it up grand. I went on the dirt trail and tripped on a root, over I went. Somehow I managed to land on my right shoulder, hip and side of the knee and my right palm. Oof! I had to brush off the dirt, check to see if I was okay and then get up and keep going. I'm fine but will probably have a bruise tomorrow.

Thanks Girls

I got the Garmin forerunner for Christmas from all my daughters and their families. This is the gift that keeps on giving. I love the new style, a lot less clunky than my old one. Yesterday I went out to test it. Fist thing it is so much lighter than the old one, also easier to read. I love the band and closure. This is a great Garmin, thanks girls. Christy went with me and she had her new Nike GPS on. It was interesting because we were not in sync. Hers was showing she was .50 miles more than I was, hmmm. Which watch is right. My husband suggested if my old Garmin was working I could wear both and see if the gave the same distance.

Morning At The Museums

Yesterday we went to Dallas to see a special exhibit at the museum. I failed to notice that they didn't open until 11 so we had an hour to spare. The lady told us about the Asian Museum across the street, not only were they open they were free.

This is the second largest crystal globe in the world. When you stand on one side you are upside down on the other side. Very fascinating.

We really enjoyed this museum but our hour was up so we went back across the street to the Dallas museum of art.

Our tickets were to see the exhibit of Jean Paul Gaultier and it was worth the price. We were not allowed to take pictures inside. The place was packed with people.

He autographed the platform " For Dallas" I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the fashions. Some were a bit strange but then he has designed for Gaga, also Madonna. After we left the museum we headed to Southlake for lunch at Brio.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, enjoy your day where ever you are.

Night Before Christmas

Christmas eve and the dogs are tired from all the baking. We made a pumpkin and a mince pie today. Of course they have to be in the kitchen with you just in case a crumb would fall to the floor.

Sweet dreams.

A Keeper

Another baking day yesterday. This recipe was printed in the paper but is from Paula Dean Best Dishes. You know if it's from her it's going to have butter and it's going to be good. And it was ! Salted caramel brownies were easy to make from a cake mix and are baked in a 9x13 pan which makes it super easy. I sent a plate of brownies to each of my neighbors, hope they enjoy them as much as we are ! I'm definitely going t keep this recipe to make again next year.

Jingle Bell Run

We had signed up for the Jingle Bell Race, this is one that we all had done in 2009. It's lots of fun and held in Dallas at the Anatole Hotel. The course takes you through the Arts District. The race is run at night. Your race packet includes bells to tie on but we dressed it up with some Christmas socks that Christy found at Target.

Tom and Allie were doing the 1 miler. They planned on walking so Allie didn't bother with tennis shoes. The temperature was in the low 50's so jackets were needed


Christy and I were doing the 5k, there were over 5000 people signed up for the race. You had your choice to be chipped timed, we decided not. It was crazy, people were zigging and zagging around us, dogs on leashes and in costume. The whole race was crowded with people. Everyone having a great time. There were lots of people in costumes. I even spotted a couple of Santas.

We mostly walked the course and enjoyed the sites, crossing the finish line in 50:07. Not my best time but I liked not having the pressure of trying to get a fast time.



After the race pizza and beer was available in side the hotel. We went to check it out but decide the lines were too long. So opted for home. The decorations and lights inside added to the Christmas atmosphere although Tom and Allie were too busy using there electronics to notice.

No Baking Day

This is a new recipe I tried for chocolate peanut butter oatmeal no bake cookies. I wasn't sure when I made them if I would like them, but who doesn't like chocolate and they have to be a little bit healthy because there is oatmeal in them. I dropped them by spoonful on wax paper to set up, that took longer then I thought it would. This morning I gave one a try, yummo! These are good. They are like a piece of fudge or almost like a piece of Texas sheet cake.

When my husband got up I made him try a bite. " Will you eat these" I asked, because if he wasn't going to I would have to throw them all out so I wouldn't eat them all. They are that good. His answer was yes he would eat them.

Baking Day # 3

Have you ever done this, mix up cookie dough and then leave it in the fridge for a few weeks ? Well I am guilty. Today I took the dough out that had been in the fridge for sometime and baked them. This is my husbands favorite cookie, there are recipes everywhere for it. The nice thing is you don't need eggs. So the cookies are baked and you can't tell they had been in cold storage for several weeks and most of all my husband is happy. I don't think he'll be so happy when he's doing his 1 mile race tonight, oh well!

Baking Day # 2

So yesterday after getting home from picking up the race packets I started on my white pear and cranberry cake with whiskey caramel sauce. I found this recipe on line at Racheal Ray's web site last year and it was a big hit. Today I was making it for my friend.
We had our last coffee before Christmas and exchanged gifts. She was thrilled to have the cake and sauce. I got a scarf and puzzle from her. I think the best gift we give each other is the gift of friendship.

Lemon Cookies

This morning we were suppose to go to Dallas to pick up the race packets for this Wednesday, however the weather was so nice that my husband wanted to stay home and work on the out door lights. It seems there are some strands that aren't lighting up. Tomorrow we will go to Dallas, today I baked my first batch of Christmas cookies.
I tried a recipe from Giada De Laurentis, lemon ricotta cookies with lemon glaze and they are much better than the picture. I picked this so I could use the lemons from my tree. If I make them again I will not use 2 tablespoons for each cookie, way too big. She said you'd get 44 but I only got 24. You can find this recipe at foodnetwork.com

If you like lemons you'll like these !

Inspiration

Sometimes a spur of the moment can turn into a lovely evening. Yesterday we called our neighbor and invited her to dinner with us at a local restaurant. She was delighted to go. Lydia is never at a loss for words and so conversation flowed at the table. She lost her husband in August after 60 years of marriage. When she started telling us what she does I was floored. At 82 she works out at the YMCA three times a week on the other three days she walks 2 miles. She sings in the church choir but has dropped her other choir. She also did Weight Watchers and reached lifetime and has kept it off by still going to the meetings. She is like the EverReady rabbit, just keeps on ticking. I hope when I'm her age I'll still be as active as I am now.

Freezing Here

Yesterday I had an appointment with the dermatologist. I have had this dark area on my ankle for some time and kept forgetting to get it checked. I mean we are talking like a year or so. After Jenny commented on it at Thanksgiving I came home and made the appointment. The last time I had been to the office was in 2008, oops! I also had a spot on my hand and my nose. Well the hand and ankle were nothing but old age however the nose along with 4 other spots on my face were precancerous and needed to be froze off.
I got to thinking after I left the office that I never put sunscreen on when I go to run. I figure I'm out early enough that the rays won't bother me, but maybe that's not true. Maybe I need to start using sunscreen when I run.

Maybe a Mile

Are you feeling the Christmas crunch ? Seems like there is so much crammed into the weekend.We had a Christmas party in Ft. Worth on Friday and spent the night there. Saturday was the Madrigal Feaste at the high school put on by the high school choir. This is the second year for our granddaughter to be in it and last year we missed it.

Sunday we headed over to North Park mall, one of my favorites in the Dallas area. Allie wanted to pick an angel off the tree, something we try to do every year.

We were shopping for a 6 year old girl. I snapped a few pictures of the mall decorations as we made our way through the crowds. Orchids and pointsettias were beautiful.

Santa and sleigh are made from pecans, they fly over a small pond that has ducks swimming in it.





Allie found a dress and shoes and then we went to Build-A-Bear

to get a teddy bear. We got a hat and scarf that matched the girls dress.



After tagging all the gifts and putting the in a big pink plastic bag we went to Maggiano's for Sunday dinner. It's one of our favorite restaurants.

Here's to a great day. As for exercise we figured we walked at least a mile, maybe a bit more.

Good To Be Back

Okay, so I have been sitting on my ass the last two weeks thinking about going to the gym but not really making any effort to do it. Then this morning Christy came down in workout clothes and I asked her what she was going to do. She said she was gong to go use the treadmill at the gym and did I want to come long? I didn't jump out of my chair, but did decide to go. I didn't realize how much I missed the gym, it felt good to be back. We did an easy run/walk program that was from a running magazine.

The Race

We headed down to the expo on Saturday to pick up our bibs, race shirt and goodie bag. We looked at a lot of running gear but didn't buy anything. I must admit I was tempted at the shoe stop but I just bought a new pair of shoes so passed it by.

After the expo we checked in to the hotel. Jenny and I were spending the night in St. Pete's so we didn't have to get up so early. As luck had it I woke at 2:30, go figure. Our cheering crew would be driving down in the morning. Seven in the morning and the race has started, lots of pink shirts. Our crew was there but we did not see them.

We are half way done and connected with our cheering squad. The temperature was warm and it was humid out, but we had a plan for this race and that was to have no plan. There was no Garmin strapped to our wrist. We were just having an awesome time being together and enjoying the race. Jenny said she was a bit nervous when I started to complain about the heat at mile two.

We are nearing the finish line, just down hill and around the corner. Once again this was a great race to do. Jenny even did a cartwheel in Tropicana stadium.

We got our medal and I had the charm put on a cord. It's time to rest and eat some food and then head back to Jenny's house. A big thanks to our cheering squad, Tom, Allie, Mark, Andy and Tom, who got up early and drove down to cheer us on and take pictures and wait for us to finish.

Race Time

We're leaving today to head for Florida and the Women's Half Marathon in St. Pete's. Last year I walked this race with my sister for her 70th birthday celebration, this year I am going to be running with my daughter Jenny. We'll celebrate the time together.
I have trained for this but still not sure I trained enough. I've packed my gels, shoes, hat, socks. shorts and top, all though I might buy a new top at the expo, so I'm ready to go!

What's Still Blooming

The bougainvillea plants are in full bloom, you'd never guess it was the middle of November.

The tomatoes are going to be a bumper crop, there are two other plants that I did not show. Guess we will be eating fried green tomatoes!

I counted 17 lemons on the tree, they're not quite ready to pick but when they are my husband requested a lemon meringue pie.
It has been extremely warm here, Sunday we missed the record high by 1 degree, it was 84. I went out to do a run this morning and the heat and humidity were hard to deal with. I guess I'm getting a taste of Florida weather so I'll be ready to race on Sunday.

Big Thank You

This morning I had a long run on the schedule and was not looking forward to it. I was stiff from the race yesterday and it was already warm out. I asked Christy if she'd like to go part of it with me, figuring she'd say no but it never hurts to ask, and she said yes. What a trooper, she ran a race yesterday and then went to work for 8 hours, plus she works today for 8 hours. She stuck with me for over 5 miles and then turned back for home. I continued on with out a Garmin trying to guesstimate how much more I had to do. I don't think I would have gone 10 miles if I had been on my own the whole time, so thank you Christy for coming along.

Race Report

On November 16, 2004, former Town of Flower Mound employee Dorothy Walkup lost her battle with Multiple Sclerosis. Dorothy is missed but not forgotten as a friend, mentor, and shoulder to lean on to all who had the good fortune to know her. Her strength and courage were never more evident than during her seven-year fight against MS. The Town of Flower Mound sponsors "Dorothy's Dash" to honor her memory, share her example with others who may suffer this terrible disease, and to raise funds to combat Multiple Sclerosis.
Christy and I had heard a lot about this race from the gals at the gym, so we decided to run it this year.

We met up with Shayla and her group from TUF. It's always nice to see some friendly faces at the races.

Christy and I wore the gym shirts to help support and advertise for Shayla.

I had a hard time finding my name in the results because they had put me in with the 50-59 year old bracket. See, racing can make you young!

We thought this dog looked so cute in his shirt. I asked if we could take a picture and found out that this was Dorothy's granddog. That makes the picture more special.

I finished the race with a time of 39:58.

Remember

Weekend Friends

Usually on the weekends I take the path past the municipal center, it winds past a field that is occupied by some goats, geese and a donkey. They are sweet animals and will come up to the fence if you offer them a leaf.

This morning Christy and i went for a long walk. My legs were feeling heavy and I didn't want to run. I grabbed the camera as we left the house so I could get some pictures of my weekend friends.

Fall Back

Don't forget, tonight we turn the clocks back. That means it'll be light in the mornings for running. I'm looking forward to that, I hate getting up and it's dark out.
I went to do my run and the Garmin was making strange noises like it was possessed. I couldn't get it to do anything so put it back in the charger and went out with out it. Running without the
Garmin feels weird.
No pace to check, no distance and no time. I had to do a route that I knew what the miles were. It was kind of freeing not to have it on my wrist and always checking the numbers.