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Thursday, December 29, 2011

In Which I Embrace Pinterest

So I have dabbled Pinterest but never could never understand the fascination it held for many people.

Until a week ago.

When Baby Susan showed me the ins and outs of Pinterest.

Oh my, oh my oh my!  The glories of Pinterest.  I can find crafts I will never do, places I will never go, and products I will never own.  It's sort of the crack cocaine of the internet.  I always want more.

But some good did come out of my new found addiction.  These little pecan chocolate pretzel thingys.  Not that is not the official name of the thingys but the real name escapes me at the moment.

But essentially you take Rollo candies, miniature pretzels, and pecan halves and combine them to make a little bit heaven. First line up your pretzels on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Place a Rollo candy on each on and put them in a 250 degree oven for three minutes.

After the three minutes (and only three.  Set your timer.) take them out of the oven and push a pecan half on the top.

Let them cool completely.

Get ready for a heavenly choir to start singing in your mouth when you pop one of these in your mouth.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

My Feet Have a Vote

Many people have treasured Christmas traditions.  Making cookies, singing carols, eating the traditional Christmas meal are al a part of many Christmas's around the world. But in my family, that is not how we roll.

We take the grandbabies for a pre-Christmas shopping expedition.

Oh, yeah.  When the stores are the most crowded, Memaw and her credit card ventures out.  And this year there were two teenager girls since Baby Susan and Joshua have an exchange student.

The horror.

But I (notice that Danny Dearest did not accompany us on this trip.  Wimp.) and Susan took two teenage girls to the mall.  Now that is stress enough but, would you believe it, they don't like the same stores!  So, we spent over an hour in Rue 21 (my eyes may never be the same.)  and then  over another hour in a establishment called Papaya.  We have debated the comparable "cuteness" of one t-shirt to another.  Which jeans looked best.  And earbuds.

And when I had finally made it the check-out at the second store, the cashier said those dreaded words,"You need to pick out another top.  They are two for one."

Then the selection process began anew.

All total, we spent between 2 to 3 hours selecting "cute" clothes.

The next day, the process of taking Mr. Jacob shopping began.  He would rather take a beating then look at clothes.  He had all the video games he wanted.  What to do?

But a beam of hope shone in.  The day before, Danny Dearest and Joshua had been to REI (a store with everything for the outdoorsy type). Danny Dearest was on the lookout for a windbreaker type jacket to wear on those cold bike rides.  You will be glad to know that he found a florescent green one that will make him highly visible to all drivers of automobiles.

(I know, I know, I am beginning to ramble.  But that's how my mind works.)

While they were at REI, Mr. Jacob expressed a interest in the camping equipment.  It seems that he is moving from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts and is looking to beef up his camping supplies.  So we took him to Academy Sports and told him we would get him something there.  He walked straight to the backpacks and picked one out.  Not your namby-pamby school backpack.  But a real deal, hike in the woods, camp by the fire backpack.
He's ready to take on a mountain.
Mr. Jacob took 5 minutes to make his selection.  My old feet prefer shopping with Mr. Jacob.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

She Is Her Mother's Daughter

We are back after spending a week with Baby Susan, Josh, and the grandbabies. We sang Christmas songs, made cookies, and played the traditional Laser Tag game. I plan to regale you with tales of our adventures and misadventures.

But for now.
Like mother, like daughter.  She likes to kiss her husband.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Happy Birthday, Danny Dearest

During my teen years, I had a long and varied career in various fast food establishments.  At one point. I quit my job at KFC anfd walked down the street and applied for a position at Burger Chef.  You remember Burger Chef.  Home of Burger Chef and Jeff, the Big Chef, and greasy french fries.  I only lasted a few months at Burger Chef before I moved on to another job but I did take one thing away from Burger Chef.

Danny Dearest.


We met while working at Burger Chef.  They made him manager and I decided I couldn't work for him.  Sort of set the tone for our entire relationship.
But we worked out our differences and eventually got married.

It has been wild ride but I wouldn't change it for anything!

Happy Birthday Danny Dearest.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Please Don't Yawn

This may be the most boring blog post EVER.  But to make it flow a little bit better, I have resorted to a list.  You have been warned.

1. I've started my daily runs again and began them in my neighborhood.  This is fine except half of the run is uphill.  I have, apparently, lost the training necessary for hill running.  Let's just say my thighs and calves are not happy.

2. I am thoroughly enjoying teaching at our church preschool.  The kids give me new stories to tell everyday and fulfill that part of me that still wants to work with kids even though I am retired from the public school system.

3. Danny Dearest and I are gearing up for our trip over hill, over dale to see the grandbabies.  This involves packing the back of the family truckster with jigsaw puzzle precision.  This will be Danny Dearest area of expertise. He can make everything I want to take fit in the car.  He is a hero among husbands.
This is not our actual vehicle so all you would-be car breaker-iners just relax.  Not this many goodies in our actual SUV.

There, I am finished.  Are you still awake?

Monday, December 12, 2011

#jerksareeverywhere

So Saturday I went out to the multi-use Triviz path to do my daily four mile run.  I enjoy running on the Triviz path because it runs parallel  to a busy road and I always feel that if I go into a hypoglycemic coma and fall to the ground, someone might take pity on me and call 911.  You see, I believe in the basic goodness of people.  A belief that got tested last Saturday.

I purposely run without any earphones just so that I can be aware of my surroundings at all times.So you can imagine my surprise when I was jogging along and was at about the mile and half mark when something went "Bam!" and hit my left cheek.  At first, I thought someone had run up behind me and had cold-cocked me. I looked around and saw the remnants of a snow/ice ball on the ground.  I had been hit by a snow/ice ball!

I quickly looked around and saw two "gentlemen" scampering off a roof of a duplex across the street.  They had taken a pot shot at me.

At first I contemplated calling the police but I couldn't see myself telling them that I had been hit by a snowball.  Doesn't quite measure up next to the burglary, abuse, and shooting calls they would be getting on Saturday so I passed on that idea.  And just keep running.

But Sunday morning I sort of wished I had reported it to the authorities.  I had a two inch red mark on my left cheek from the ice that was packed in the snowball. I couldn't help but think of the 70 year old man that rides his bike everyday on that path.  Or the special needs guy that also pedals a bike along that path.  Or the elderly couple that I see walking there several times a week.  What if they had decided to use one of them for target practice?  But it is too late and I will probably regret that I didn't report, no matter how silly I would have seemed.

So my belief in the goodness of people was tested, but not completely destroyed. I still know that most people are inherently good.  

But those "gentlemen" on Triviz...





 

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Snow Today, Gone Tomorrow

Yesterday afternoon the first delicate snowflakes began to fall on my New Mexico home.  They were beautiful.

And then the snow began to fall a little heavier and heavier.  Then we had a full on desert snowstorm. Roads and schools began to shut down.  Danny Dearest was sent home early because the workers at his base have to pass through a mountain  pass at 5300 feet elevation to get home.  And that pass was rapidly becoming impassible.

Now desert snowstorms are almost mystic events and I love experiencing them,  This one was beginning just like every snowstorm we have had since we moved here until...

This morning.

When I awoke to temperatures of 7 degrees and no heater.  You read that right, NO HEATER.  Now I am not one of those tough girls (my running fall experience notwithstanding) and so I promptly got up and called the 24/7 service number that comes with the heater.
This isn't me...

I got the technician and he told me that he would notify the office at 8:00 but that he couldn't come right then because the road were closed. Now do you have a grasp on the entire scenario, no heat, arctic temperatures, and one not so tough woman.

I bundled up with an electric blanket and stocking hat and made camp on the couch.  My outlook was dark to say the best.

Long story short, Mr. Technician finally made it out to our house over the icy roads. The heater is now working hard to make up for lost ground so the house is beginning to warm up.  I have my fireplace roaring and my attitude is improving.

And the most beautiful part of a desert snowstorm?  Two inches of snow and icy roads today while the predicted high for Sunday is 51 degrees.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Legends of the Fall

So as most of the free world knows, I ran in the Las Cruces Half Marathon. Yes, siree I did.

I had two goals for this run. The first was to not be last.  The second would be to run all of the race, no walking.

My plan was to sleep until 6:00 am. get up, clean up. eat my oatmeal, and leave the house by 7:00.  Well, race day jitters got the best of me and I woke up about 5:30 and started the getting ready process.  We left a little before 7:00 am because Danny Dearest needed a stop at Starbucks. 

On the way to the start point I ate my slow release bar to help combat any hypoglycemic episodes that might occur during the run.  And then we pulled up at the Field of Dreams (for those living outside the Las Cruces area, that is the name of the football stadium for our local high schools).  We went inside to wait for the start.

I really need to talk just a bit about the weather.  The normal weather for our area this time of year is for the highs to be in the 50"s.  The forecast for race day was cold, high about 40 degrees and some showers.  

Inside there were hundreds of runners of various levels milling around.  I felt a little out of place with what were obviously higher level runners.  But I just stood there, trying to calm down.

So the call came for the half-marathoners to line up for the start.
And we were off!

Of course, the "real" runners took off and left me way behind. But I had decided before the race that I would just run my race and not worry about the others so I just chugged along.  Eventually I started passing some of the people who had took off to fast and now had to walk.  I stuck to my plan to take a glucose tablet every two miles to maintain my blood sugar levels.  And I was just cruising along.  It was a little chilly but I was dressed appropriately and really wasn't feeling the coild.

Then I hit the 10 mile water stop.

I got my cup of water, and in attempting to throw my cup away, I stepped off the pavement and...
This is not me.  But it shows what happened to me.
But I got up, brushed off my knees (and face and elbows) and continued running.  I took about 5 steps and realized I had developed a nose bleed.  Now when you are running your blood is pumping a little faster and so the nose bleed a little faster.  I tried running while pinching my nose but that does make breathing a little difficult and breathing is sort of important when you are running.  So I just let it bleed and wiped it when necessary.  Made for a rather bloody shirt and pair of gloves.


But with three miles to go, I wasn't go to let a silly bloody nose stop me.

Eventually, I made it to the finish line in 2:40.
I know that it looks like I am walking in this picture but I really was running.
If you look carefully at this picture, you can see my nose is bleeding.  But I had other war wounds after my up close encounter with the road.
Yep, I gave my all for this run.

As for my two goals for this race, I was far from the last one over the finish line and I did run every step of the race.  Except, that is, when I was laying flat on my face.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Snow? Did They Say Snow?

So if you know me at all, you know that I am running in my first half marathon on Sunday.  And guess what?  The forecast for the normal balmy and sunny New Mexico desert is for cold temperatures, rain, and possibly SNOW! 

Let's all bow our heads for a moment and pray that the local weather authorities are incorrect. 

Bur now I am busily carbo loading and trying not to get nervous.  I am having GREAT success with the carbo loading,  The getting nervous, not so much.

So come Sunday morning we'll see what we see.

Wish me luck.