3 and counting

I posted in January of last year that I was going to give this running thing a try.

That was 16 months ago and I'm happy to say that I've kept at it. Not as much as I wanted to but I'm still going. I've done 7 5ks to this point (wow!!! never thought in a million years I'd do even 1 mile!) and I have another race this weekend and then Memorial Day.

I am NOT a fast runner. Nope. My 5k average time is about 45 minutes so I don't see many medals in my future. I'm dang proud of the 3 that I have though (finishers' medals but hey! they're medals and I FINISHED!).

The first one is from the MRTT 2014 Winter "Virtual" 5k, the middle is from the MRTT 2013 Summer "Virtual" 5k, and the last one is the 2013 Jedi Challenge "Virtual" 5k. I love these. I have them hanging in the bedroom so I can see them every morning.

I'm pretty proud of myself for keeping at it. I'm sure I could do so much better if I actually trained a bit more but hey, I'm happy. :)

I'll let ya know when I add to this medal total.

Is that EXCITEMENT I Feel?

Ambiguous title for a blog post when I haven't posted here in quite a while. For that I apologize; life with two small boys can get a bit hectic but I'm trying to get the ball rolling on the blogs again.

Anyway...

Excitement? About what you ask?

Star Wars.

Yes. I'm one of those geeks folks. I love Star Wars; have since I was a little kid. I can remember hearing that unforgettable, send shivers up your spine opening music on an 8-track cassette (tape?) my parents owned. No, I was not born when the first movie came out in 1977 (I arrived two years later) but my parents loved Star Wars and so I grew up watching the original trilogy...and loved it.

Fast forward many, many years and the news that there would be...PREQUELS!!! OMG!!! We'd be able to see all that backstory that is only mentioned and hinted at in the original trilogy!! Star Wars fans around the world cheered and rejoiced like the Empire had just fallen.

And then they happened. And by "they" I mean the prequels. What started out with such excitement soon turned into...disappointment? horror? disgust? Maybe all of those. I tried to like the prequels. Really, I did. I'm a Star Wars fan and I'm SUPPOSED to like the movies. They're Star Wars for goodness sake!! Well I do like the movies. I LOVE the movies...the original trilogy. While there were some nice moments in the prequels there was just something missing. Something wasn't right. I liked Ewen McGregor and Liam Neeson and even Natalie Portman. I felt they did pretty good with what they had to work with (okay okay...I just liked LOOKING at Ewen!). But the storyline, dialogue, something was just lacking (and I know the original trilogy didn't have superb dialogue either!). For me a big part (besides a Gungan which will remain nameless and hopefully forgotten) was the overall feel of the movies visually. While things looked nice they were missing that charm that the original trilogy had; all that CGI stuff was "nice" but it just wasn't Star Wars.

I'm old enough and mature enough now to admit that the prequels were not good movies. That makes me sad because there was so much potential. Those three movies also tarnished some of that magic Star Wars had always possessed.

Fast forward a few more years and there's news that there will be new Star Wars movies, another trilogy, this time set AFTER the original. This announcement was not greeted with the same excitement as the announcement of the prequels. We'd been burned and disappointed and let down and and and...the skepticism was rampant, with yours truly included. I didn't want the beloved trilogy mangled and tarnished any more than it already had  been.

Then there was...silence with only bits and pieces of information for quite some time. Then there were some sparks of - was that hope? Disney had control this time and Disney has a pretty good track record when it comes to making things work. There's a new director and Lucas won't have a much of a say so/hand in these (how much????). The original stars will have a part in the newest movie. There were hints and rumors about who will be starring in these new installments. As a Star Wars fan I couldn't help but be intrigued and curious but cautious at the same time. And then the news starting coming out (leaking out?) quicker until we get to April 30 and we see this:

I'll be honest. I have absolutely NO IDEA who the new actors are in this movie or what kind of work they've done in the past but I'm pretty excited to see Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Peter Mayhew, and Anthony Daniels returning. But what made me the happiest was when I read that the new director planned on using models, real sets, robots, etc for this movie and that it wouldn't all be CGI. Some of what I've read has given me some hope and excitement because it sounds like they're trying to find what made the original trilogy so wonderful and recreate that. Yes. Excitement. Of course there will be lots of critics who don't like the new actors, don't like the director, don't like this, don't like that but that's to be expected. I, however, have felt the first twinges of excitement for a Star Wars movie since Episode 1 was announced to be in production back in the late 90s.

I'm very much looking forward to December 2015; I'm going to make sure I have child care lined up way ahead of time because I don't want to miss this...though I'll be sitting in my sit with my fingers crossed, praying that the movie doesn't suck (and that there is no mention of midichlorians and no Gungans in sight).

May the Force be with them (because they're gonna need it)...

And so it begins...Day 1

Well, after seeing several of my friends start running 5K and 10K races, I've decided that it's finally time to get up off my lazy butt and do something to get back in shape.

I'm not concerned about my weight. The baby weight has come off pretty good and my weight is at an acceptable 126. I just want to get back in shape (and maybe get somethings back in place lol!) so I can do more things with the boys without feeling like I've been hit by a truck (or by 2 children under the age of 6...same thing). I used to go hiking a lot in college and I'd love to start going with the boys but I know I don't have the endurance to do that right now.

So enter the c25k challenge. Its a beginner's training program and I like the way it is set up. You can look them up, they're on the web (who isn't?). I did my first day today which combines jogging and walking for a total time of 20 minutes. The times will increase as I go through the 8 week program.

I know I can do this. I am determined (and if I end up looking better in my clothes then that is just an added bonus!).

A Pre-Schooler's Grocery List

My 4 year old likes to go grocery shopping with me, which is cool.

My 4 year old likes to touch everything in the store and can't be still or listen while in the store, which isn't cool.

I needed something to keep him occupied so I don't have to call a Wal-Mart employee (again) to clean up jars of busted baby food.

Thank you Publix Pre-School Pals! When I glanced through this quarter's flier, they had some ideas for getting your kids involved in the kitchen and cooking. One of their ideas was to give your child a grocery list at the store that they can check off when items go in the buggy. What a brilliant idea! Why hadn't I thought of something like this sooner?!

I easily created the following grocery list in about 20 minutes in Microsoft Word. I then slipped the sheet into a clear sheet protector (thanks to a good friend for the gift!) that he can color on with a dry erase crayon.

Voila!



He is already excited about going to the grocery store...now I just have to remember to grab some dry erase crayons and the new grocery list the next time we head out.

By the way, I did try to put the grocery list up here to share so anyone could download it and use it but I couldn't figure out how to upload it. It is a PDF file from Adobe. If you can help me with this please leave me a message or email me!

Donut Acorns

My son's pre-school did a full Thanksgiving dinner for each of the classes; they provided the drinks, turkey, and dressing, and the classes (aka each parent) brought in sides for their class.

I took homemade mac and cheese but since I love to cook, that wasn't enough for me! Since I didn't want to take the time to make cupcakes, I searched around and found an ADORABLE idea on Pinterest (haven't signed up for that yet?? what are you waiting for??): Donut Hole Acorns! Perfect for a class of 3-4 year olds!

They really were super easy to make and you only need a few ingredients (pictured below)!

small pretzel sticks
donut holes
chocolate frosting
chocolate sprinkles

I used the old fashioned style donut holes because of the darker color...looked more like acorns to me!

So, how easy are these to put together? Just follow these very few steps:

1. Break several pretzel sticks in half for the stems and set aside.
2. Swirl the top of each donut hole in the chocolate frosting (cover the donut no more than half way).
3. Sprinkle chocolate sprinkles onto the chocolate frosting.
4. Stick a piece of pretzel stick into the top.

DONE!

Seriously...how easy is that? And here is the adorable result. I wasn't able to make nearly as many as I wanted to because my jar of chocolate sprinkles was very tiny.

My son's teacher told me she HAD to have one of these after seeing my post on Facebook and I got lots of comments on how cute they were! Some variations are using Nutella instead of the frosting or using crushed up toffee pieces instead of the sprinkles...or a combo of all of them.

ENJOY!

The Many Adventures of Chipper the Elf

My son had such a wonderful time searching for "Chipper," our resident Elf on the Shelf. If you haven't heard of it, please look it up, especially if you have small children; they'll really love looking for their own elf each morning!

Anyway, this was the first year I've really done some fun things with good ol' Chipper (yes, my son named him after his favorite Braves' baseball player, Chipper Jones). He had quite an adventurous season! I documented some of his greatest adventures in pictures!

One morning he was hanging out (literally!) in Mommy's stocking!

Just sitting around on the fireplace mantel.

Chipper landed in the tree one morning.


Chipper must have landed in the wrong spot because he was zip lining one morning!


Chipper brought us a new Veggie Tales Christmas movie.


Being a Scout elf is such a dirty job! Marshmallow baths are always so nice!


Even Chipper remembers what Christmas is all about.


Oops! I guess he made a wrong step and had to stay like this all day!


Mmm...Chipper wanted some Christmas cookies!

Chicken and Dumplings

This is one of my favorite comfort foods. I can remember helping my great grandmother make them for me when we'd go to visit her in Palataka, Florida. She and my mother would cook the chicken in a pressure cooker but I have to admit, those things scare me! I can just see me blowing something up in my kitchen. Because of that, I came up with this super easy way to make a delicious meal (without the fear of blowing up my kitchen!). Recipe and directions are after the picture!


Chicken and Dumplings

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt, pepper, onion powder to taste
3 tbs. oil
2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cups milk
1 - 32 oz box chicken stock
2 cups chicken bouillon

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces, put in a large Dutch oven pot with the oil, season to taste. Cook until no longer pink in the middle. Mix Bisquick and milk together to form a soft dough. Mix 2 chicken bouillon cubes with 2 cups boiling water. When chicken is cooked through, add chicken stock and chicken bouillon. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, drop dumplings in one at a time, maintaining the boil. Boil 10 minutes uncovered and 10 minutes covered.

Enjoy!


* If you have a large family (or a really hungry one), just double the recipe.

* I use Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt on my chicken along with the pepper and onion powder but regular salt is fine.

Easy Crock Pot Ranch Pork Chops

I love my Crock Pot. It is honestly one of the greatest inventions...ever. Having two small boys it has been a Godsend lately.

This is the latest recipe I tried (found on Pinterest) so I can't take credit for coming up with it. It was incredibly easy to throw together and turned out so very, very good. My hubby even loved it and has taken the leftovers to work twice; I didn't get a chance to have any more! We don't have pork chops very often (bone in or out) because they are always so tough; these chops were FORK TENDER! I served it with garlic mashed potatoes, a fresh salad, and apple cinnamon muffins (my 4 year old's choice). The recipe and directions will follow the picture!



Ranch Pork Chops

4-6 boneless pork chops
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 packet Ranch dressing mix

Mix the soup and ranch mix together. Place the pork chops in the Crock Pot and cover with the soup mixture. Cook on high 4 1/2 hours or low 6 1/2 hours. Spoon extra gravy over the mashed potatoes (recipe to follow).


*Because Crock Pots may vary in their cooking start checking your chops an hour or so before the cooking time is up!

*If you want more gravy, just use two cans of soup and about 1 1/4 of the ranch mixes!

*Slow Cooker liners by Reynolds are the second best invention ever! It makes clean up super easy!


Garlic Mashed Potatoes


Yukon Gold Potatoes
butter
milk
salt and pepper, to taste
garlic powder

Peel most of the skin off the potatoes and cut them into smaller pieces (makes it easier to cook). Put in a large pot of salted water and boil until fork tender. Drain the water. Mash potatoes. Add milk, butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder and continue to mash until you get the consistency and taste you desire (more milk and butter and mashing = creamier potatoes).


*I use Yukon Golds because I just prefer the taste and texture of them but you can use any potatoes you want.

*You can also use minced garlic if you want; powder was just what I happened to have on hand.