Weekly Menu: January 1-7

Working with what I already have in the house, here is the menu for the upcoming week.

Sunday:
Ellie Krieger's Sloppy Joes - Except, instead of putting the sloppy joes on buns, we're using corn tortillas.

Monday:
Weight Watchers Cream of Broccoli Soup
grilled turkey patties on Bagel Thins (for the guys, not me)

Tuesday:
Korean Meatballs (made with turkey)
Birdseye Steamfresh Asian Medley vegetables

Wednesday:
broiled tilapia with garlic
sauteed onions

Thursday:
beef stew

Friday:
curry meat sticks with eastern tomato sauce*
California blend mixed vegetables

Saturday:
smokey roast*
roasted Parmesan green beans*

* new-to-me recipes

Menu Planning for 2012 - Part 2

We don't have a lot of grocery shopping options here - just a Food Lion and a Harris Teeter. Our Walmart isn't a supercenter yet (though rumors have been flying for years) and to be honest, I won't buy produce at Walmart anymore after several bad experiences with it going bad very quickly. For the most part, Harris Teeter costs more than Food Lion for most things, but they do have some killer buy 2 get 3 free deals and they double coupons, so I shop there occasionally.

Here are some things I like to keep in stock:

apples, bananas, melons
green peppers, onions, carrots
avocados
black olives (Sebastian is the only one who really eats them.)
almonds
peanut butter (and Nutella for Sebastian, for now.)
sugar free or reduced sugar jelly
eggs & egg whites
winter squash (and canned pumpkin)
frozen vegetables
ground turkey
lean cuts of beef & pork
boneless skinless chicken breast
canned tuna
old fashioned oats
brown rice
dry beans & canned refried beans
quinoa
whole wheat pasta (I also make my own)
cheese (shredded, sliced, blocks, sticks - you name it.)
whole grain bread (I really like Nature's Own Double Fiber, but the bread is mostly for Sebastian.)
non-sugary cereal (Rice Krispies, Cheerios, Corn Flakes, Fiber One original)
milk
spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste
canned fruit in light syrup or water (Mostly for Sam. I'm not big on canned fruit, except for mandarin oranges.)
chicken, beef and vegetable broth (I know I should be making my own but this is much more convenient, thank you Dollar Tree.)
pickles (Sebastian considers them a vegetable and I won't argue.)
protein powder (I actually have several containers that are rather old. I doubt they are good any more. I mainly use them to make protein granola bars because as a shake, they taste like ass.)
popcorn (We use an air popper that my mother bought for me back in 1993.)

I'm sure I'm missing lots of a few things but that's pretty much what I have to work with. In my past post, I talked about how I wanted to do Weight Watchers or Primal/Paleo and keep Meatless Mondays. I also want to stick to the Power Foods (or better yet, the old Filling Foods list). Or Michi's Ladder. Or just use some damn common sense.

There's enough in my freezer to get me started for a week - several bags of frozen vegetables, various forms of poultry, lean beef. I'll go through the sales flyers this weekend to see what's on sale and go shopping Monday or Tuesday, then I'll have an idea of what Week 2 will look like. I'll be getting my recipes mainly from the following sites:

Cooking Light
Eating Well
Skinny Taste
Emily Bites
Everyday Paleo
Primal Kitchen
Paleo Parents

I copy most recipes into my much loved Living Cookbook software, which does everything under the sun, including calculate the Weight Watchers Points+ for the recipes. I admit, I am a recipe hoarder. I belong to a Living Cookbook Yahoo Group and I used to import every single recipe that came through. Now I'm much more selective, picking the things I'm likely to try, leaving pickled pig livers to the more adventurous eaters. I'm sure those are Primal foods but, really, I'll pass.

Menu Planning for 2012 - Part 1

In 2010, I challenged myself to make one new recipe per week. That went over really well for the whole family, so we're going to do it again this year. I slacked off a lot on my menu planning and cooking in 2011, and it bit me on the ass. Well, it showed up on my ass, in the form of a very large and embarrassing weight gain. I used to do monthly menus, and that worked well enough, but I think I'm going to do weekly menus this year, so I can keep my food costs down. Sam didn't get nearly as many deer this year as he did last year. We had six last year, and it lasted a good six months. This year, he got two, but he messed something up when he put them in our storage freezer and they rotted. They were two of the biggest deer he'd ever gotten, too. Major bummer.

When I was doing things monthly, I used a Google spreadsheet with links and fancy color coding for Sebastian and me, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I am not getting so fancy here. I'll just list the dinners and sides, with recipe links. Lunches won't vary too much. He can buy lunch at school once a week. The rest of the time, he will probably take sandwiches, fruit or vegetable, and a snack. He is not big on variety. He likes peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches, or as some people call them, peanut butter cups on bread. I need to slowly transition him to peanut butter and jelly. Nutella isn't healthy and it's not cheap. It's damn delicious, though. As far as my lunches go, I'm going to try to take leftovers. Working in a school cafeteria really sucks. We get to a free meal and though we're not supposed to nibble and sample, we do, and we all know that I have no off button when it comes to food. We do have salads every day, but we can never count on there being any left over by the time we've served all the people who count. My hours are weird. I'm not hungry enough to eat breakfast before I go in. I usually don't get hungry until around 10 AM, and the cafeteria staff eats around 12:45 PM. There are some days when I have to stay at school late, either coaching Go Far (which I will know about in advance) or subbing in the after school program (which can sometimes be very last minute).  Leftovers seem my best bet, and I'll have to start making myself eat breakfast before I leave.

So, breakfast options for Sebastian are going to be some sort of protein. I wish he would eat eggs. I don't want to give him toast for breakfast if he's going to be having sandwiches (or pizza) for lunch. I'm fine just giving him some turkey bacon or sausage for breakfast with a banana. He's not too keen on many fruits, just apples & bananas & melons. I love those, too, and I can definitely over-eat them :( I might make him some protein granola bars. He's so finicky though. He tries something and likes it, then the next day he doesn't like it. He pulls that shit with yogurt all the time. He asks for yogurt, I buy it, he loves it, then won't eat it again. It drives me insane.

For me, I can eat the same thing day after day. I had my best weight loss and stayed on plan easier when I ate an apple and a cup of cottage cheese every day for breakfast. I think I need to do that again. Most of my dinners were a lean protein and a vegetable. I need to get back to that. Oddly, it was when I started doing Weight Watchers that I started losing control. Mentally, Weight Watchers in the only thing that makes sense to me, but for my body, I think I would do better with a Primal or Paleo diet. I can give up pasta and bread and probably even potatoes (though I really like sweet potatoes) but I'm not ready to give up things like beans and quinoa and oats, none of which are really encouraged in the ancestral way of eating. I don't know that I could do dairy in moderation - I love my cheese and I "need" milk in my coffee.

I want to keep doing Meatless Mondays. I've been doing it for two years now. It's hard - I never feel satisfied on Mondays and I'm usually hungry as hell on Tuesdays. One might think that two years is "long enough" but I feel like it deserves more time than I've given it. It's hard to be Primal and meatless, but it's only one day a week. I could probably manage. If I follow the 80/20 rule (eat Primal 80% of the time) I could fit in my beans and quinoa and oats on my meatless days.

I don't know what I want to do but I have twenty-four hours to figure it out.

Testing

I just want to see if this still imports to Facebook, and how long it takes. I'm posting it at 4:36 PM on Thursday December 29, 2011.

Oh, it's nice to know Facebook no longer allows importing.

Hurricane Irene (very long, 3 day account)

We don't tend to get all that excited about tropical systems here on the Outer Banks. Most of the time a tropical storm or "weak" hurricane will travel up the southern coast and shift/turn to the east. That's what the models, for many days beforehand, were showing. So we made plans to ride it out, as usual. Sebastian and I even came up with the idea of making a weather station, and he was going to record his own weather reports to put on YouTube. We bought a few things to make wind socks and an anemometer to measure wind speed. We advertised to friends and family on Facebook.

Then the storm started shifting to the west, and with every 3-hour update, it would shift a little more, until finally, it was putting us directly in the path of the right front quadrant of a Category 2-3 hurricane. That's not anything I'd ever experienced. I was here for Floyd, but we were living further north and on higher ground. We were here for Isabel, but I don't think we got the worst of that here on the coast. Still, we prepared to stay. We had food and flashlights and water and a firm understanding that if anything were to happen, we were fucked because evacuation for residents was mandatory. There would be no EMS to rescue us if we had a problem.

The weather was to start deteriorating Friday night. We spent Thursday buying last-minute supplies and starting our preparations. After dinner that night, while working on the weather station, I began to get really, really nervous, to the point that I actually told Sam I wanted to leave. He told me to take Sebastian and go if I really wanted to but what the fuck? He wouldn't come with us? No discussion at all? Of course, I'm not going without him. I'd assumed Brandy would stay with her dad. And honestly, I would have wanted her to. I didn't want him to be alone. Anyway, I was pretty certain that I no longer wanted to do our weather reports. All excitement for that project was gone. For a lesser storm, I would have stuck with it, but for what was coming, I had no desire to do anything but prepare and survive.

I didn't get much sleep Thursday night (again) and I was battling the same headache I'd had since Monday. I was up early on Friday, and before I even got out of bed, I started crying. The radio was nothing but terror-inciting discussion. Even on The Weather Channel (the day before), the meteorologists were stressing the severity of the storm. To be honest, I didn't want to believe it was be that bad for us. Yes, a Category 3 storm is a major hurricane, and pretty brutal.

I wanted to think the meteorologists and news anchors were freaking out over the potential damage any hurricane would cause to large cities, like Philadelphia and New York City, as well as the coastal cities and towns further north that don't really have tropical experience.

I told Sam again that I wanted to leave. I wasn't quite scared but I was definitely on the feeling sick side. Since we had made the decision to stay, it was pretty much to late to change our minds, even though it was only 6:23 AM, and the mandatory evacuation would be starting at 8 AM. We were not prepared to leave. There would be too much for me to do by myself to leave in time. Sam still had to go to work and board up stuff for his boss. We had 3 cats that we would be unable to make arrangements for. I had loads of laundry to do, the yard to finish cleaning up. There just wasn't enough time to leave. Sure, I guess we could have just left with the clothes on our backs and our dirty laundry but I wasn't quite that scared.

So I spent my day getting laundry done (because who knew when we'd have power to wash clothes again) and filling buckets and jugs with water. I think we ended up with 20 gallons of water, not counting what was in the refrigerator and the buckets of ice cubes in the freezer. Plus 12 liters of pop, and 2 gallons of milk (which we'd drink first). We had a few packs of chicken in the freezer that we could grill when the time came, hot dogs and enough peanut butter, bread and dry cereal to feed a small army. There was fresh fruit and vegetables to eat early on. Lots of propane and stuff for the smoker if we needed to boil water to make rice or grains. I think we were good on supplies.

Around 11 AM on Friday, I saw that the forecast changed from a Category 3 to a strong Category 2, still directly over us. I started to feel a little better. I could handle that. My friend even joked with me that the pile of branches that has been sitting in the corner of my yard for 3 years might finally blow away. I joked back that the stupid thing would probably grow.

We got all the preparations done, then I tried to take a nap. I couldn't. So we took a ride down to the beach to take pictures before the rains hit. It was very comfortable on the beach front. The waves weren't too high and there was a good breeze. Very cloudy. I could have sat out there with my Kindle for hours in those conditions. 

We headed home to hit up one of the few stores left open - Walgreens. It was packed with people, most of whom were buying beer. We wanted ice cream but of course, it was all gone. We ended up with 2 large bags of dark chocolate peanut M&Ms, a bag of mint patties, some creme de menthe chocolate bars, and a bag of Twizzlers. Because we'd need the sugar to sustain us.

Before we lost power, we all took a shower. Not together, you pervert. Then I did laundry again so everything would be clean in case it got to the point where eventually we'd have to beat our clothing against rocks. Dinner was a nommy (I hate that mother fucking word) homemade breakfast burrito with a marshmallow. We watched some movies and finally, I was so tired I just had to go to bed after seeing the forecast - I could rest much easier with a Category 1 prediction.

I woke up several times during the night because I could hear the wind and rain. It wasn't heavy at all and it pissed me off because I was in the middle of a great dream (not a sex dream - more like a psychological thriller) with this guy:

Matthew Davis, (Alaric Saltzman on The Vampire Diaries)

I am a tad disturbed because his name in my dream was Barry Fitzgerald, and this is Barry Fitzgerald:

And while I find the ghost hunter attractive, especially with his Irish accent, I would not choose him for a good dream.

Anyway, I woke up just before Matt-Barry was surely about to turn from concerned sexy friend to psycho killer. I was very surprised to still have power. It was flickering though, so I jumped out of bed and quickly made a thermos of coffee before the power went out. When the power hung on, I decided to go ahead and get on the computer while I could. As long as I had power and internet, I wasn't going to settle in with my Kindle. I listened to updates on the local radio station, until they started having problems with their over-the-air stuff and had to listen to it via their web site.

We passed the day by eating M&Ms and catching up on our DVR. Lots of sexy Matt Bomer, and one episode of Ghost Hunters International with the attractive-but-not-sexy-enough-for-dreams Barry Fitzgerald. Occasionally, I'd run outside to see what that noise was. That noise was always another branch falling down.

Remember my comments above about my stick pile not only not blowing away, but growing?

Shortly before the eye passed by, I let my kids play outside for a few minutes. Call CPS! I almost wish we'd gone ahead with our weather reports.

That's our '68 Mustang in the background, the one Sam swore he'd restore. That was before I got pregnant, though.

We'd commented that the worst was behind us and shortly thereafter heard the loudest noise yet. I swam through the driveway to the other side of the house. This was the dark side of the moon, the only side we couldn't see from the "safety" of one of the porches.

There's the Mustang again. Thank goodness I was on the toilet when that branch hit the house and bounced off because I nearly shit myself from the banging and shaking.

On top of the weather and sugar rush, I battled a massive headache all day. I got some relief with a pair of Aleve pills and four kids crossing the county to see a dead body. There were lots of swear words and leeches on balls, but it was good times. 

Much better than the reality of what was happening in Dare County after the eye of the storm passed. The winds shifted and brought all the water that had been blown out of the sounds and canals and rivers back in, plus more. There were reports of terrible flooding - downtown Manteo was under 5 feet of water, Billy's Seafood on Colington Road had 4 feet of water inside, the go kart track where my step-daughter works was under water. My mom's house was starting to flood. Piers further south were completely destroyed. 

There was nothing to do except go to bed. At some point in the night, power went out. Sam started the generator and plugged in the refrigerator, the freezer, and later on, an oscillating fan. I walked to my friend's house down the road to make sure it was okay. It was. There wasn't even any tree debris in her neighborhood. It was just beautiful and green. I took more pictures of our property.

There's not really much to say about the pictures, other than the branches caused absolutely no structural (or even cosmetic) damage to our house. Our crappy fence fell in some places but that really needs to be replaced anyway. So we were very, very lucky. No wind damage and after the eye passed, barely a puddle in my neighborhood.

As is tradition, we headed out to check out the beach and ride down the beach road as far as we could. Surprisingly, the entire beach road was passable all the way through Kitty Hawk. We did stop at our closest beach access for a few pictures. You can see the difference from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning.

We were going to head home and begin clean up, but my brother sent me a text asking if I'd heard from our mother since last night. He was already in a panic last night because she wasn't responding to his texts and he couldn't get down the road to her house because of the flooding. With our big truck, we thought we might be able to get through. We had to lie to the police officer letting traffic for The Woods Road though. My mom lived on the road at the end of that one, well into the flooded area. Eventually, we made it to my mom's house. The water was up to the middle of my shin when I got out of the truck. There were fish swimming in her driveway. We knocked on the door and got no answer. I kept calling out to her and I was really starting to panic. Finally, her husband came to the door and said they were fine, they didn't need anything. My mom didn't come to the door and I knew it was because she was upset about the situation and she didn't want me to see her upset. I didn't push the issue. We left and headed back out to the by-pass to finish our business. When we got to the check point, the county sheriff came up behind us and asked if we'd just come from the Kitty Hawk Road area and when we said yes, he asked if he'd go back and get a county VIP who couldn't get out because the water was too deep. It took us about half hour to get back to him, and he'd just gotten a ride with someone else, but passed us and told us to see the sheriff again before we left. So once again, we headed back out to finish our business, with a quick stop at the sheriff's vehicle. He offered Sam money for his troubles, which Sam turned down. The sheriff gave him a business card and a wink instead. That's more valuable than money.

Here are some pictures from that little trip. It was pretty much water, water, water. I can't imagine living in that flood prone area. As much as I dislike living here in general, I am very fortunate that my neighborhood doesn't see this kind of flooding.

We got back onto the by-pass and saw that Home Depot was open. Sam had mentioned needing a chainsaw to cut those big branches in our yard. I really didn't think anything would be open, but something had told me to bring my wallet (but not my Kindle, which I really could have used on that slow, slow ride down Kitty Hawk Road). We bought a chainsaw, some Diet Cokes, and some candy bars, because none of us had eaten breakfast before what was supposed to be a quick trip down the beach road. 

Finally, we got home. Still no power. We sat around, trying to decide what to do. Sam wanted to play with his chainsaw. I wanted the boards off the windows first because I was tired of trying to pee with a flashlight. Sam decided that once it cooled down, he'd start working on the branches. I tried to read but I couldn't concentrate. I went into the bedroom where it was still a little cool and sort of took a nap. I didn't fully fall asleep but I was definitely drooling. I heard the kids going in and out, and I heard Sebastian say something about his helmet. When I became fully conscious, I found that Sam had changed his mind. They were all bored so they started cleaning up the yard. I was pissed they didn't come get me. Then when I got out there and helped for a while, I was glad I'd missed the first hour. It would have been a lot worse if not for two things - the emergency credit card chainsaw and the four-wheeler we got Sebastian for his birthday.

I don't know why I can't get this stupid thing centered.

This is what's left of that stick pile I've been bitching about for years. It looks like the only thing missing is the tool box. Sam said the wood is starting to break down and would be a pain in the ass to move. So we're going to make that our compost corner.

And that was pretty much it for clean up today. Sam is going to bring in some equipment from work to push the pine straw and pine cones into the small wooded strip between our house and the next. When his dad comes to visit next weekend (as long as he doesn't have jury duty), they are going to chop down a lot of dead branches from the trees. Amazingly, there's one branch that was barely hanging on all through the storm, and that stupid thing is still there, hanging by a thread. Sam calls it a  Widow Maker.

After that exhausting, sweaty task, we came inside to fight over the fan and ice cubes. I managed to read a little but couldn't get comfortable. Call me spoiled, but I was really starting to worry that we'd be without power all night. Sam was hungry so he started the propane grill to boil water for pasta and hot dogs. At some point while he was waiting for the water to boil, the power came on. We decided not to tell him just yet, to see if he'd notice, but after a while of the damn water not boiling, I was getting hungry and told him to do it on the stove. He thought I was messing with him. Fortunately, I was not, and we did have power. That meant internet! Four laptops immediately booted up. We were no longer required to talk to each other. It was blissful.

Oh yeah, and no school Monday, which is a good thing because the inside of my house has a much debris as the outside. But we need to get back soon because there aren't a lot of calendar days open for make ups before the mandatory deadline for the last day of school. We have already lost one day of Thanksgiving break and half a Saturday for make ups. Tomorrow and subsequent closings (if any) may have to come from Christmas break and/or Spring Break. Nasty.

And lastly, if you see any pictures that look like a variation of this and claim to be a hurricane/tropical storm, please school the moron who says so.

That's a shelf cloud, which usually forms in severe thunderstorms or tornadoes. They are not the leading edge of a tropical system. That's not how hurricanes form.

Oh, and a re-tweet from BettyFckinWhite: Hurricane Irene wasn't as bad as they predicted. Maybe now those meteorologists will stick with what they know. You know, meteors

I regret not saving the hands.

When Sebastian started pre-school, he had a biut of separation anxiety. His teacher suggested I give him something of mine to keep in his cubby or backpack, so he would know I was always near. Sebastian and I couldn't really come up with anything he wanted to take. He just said he wanted to be able to hold my hand. So we traced our hands on construction paper, cut them out, and taped them together like we were shaking hands. Every year on first-day-of-school eve, we'd make a new pair. I thought for sure he would not want to do it this year, but he does. And now I'm sad that I didn't think to save all the paper hands :( That would have been something great to look back on when he graduates from high school :(

Def Leppard Favorites

My son put Def Leppard's Historia into the dvd player today. While we watched, I commented that "Animal" used to be my favorite song, and it got me thinking - what is my favorite song from each album? So I thought about it.

On Through The Night

Overture

High & Dry

Lady Strange

Pyromania

Foolin'

Hysteria

Animal

Adrenalize

Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad

Retroactive

She's Too Tough

Slang

Work It Out

Euphoria

21st Century Sha-La-La-La Girl

X

Girl Like You

Yeah!

Rock On - This song wins by default. It's the only song I know, and I don't even know the original, only the Def Leppard and Michael Damian versions. And quite frankly, I hate this album.

Okay, I guess this is the original. Blech!!

Songs From The Sparkle Lounge

Cruise Control

So there you have it. It's amazing how many of my favorites don't have an official video. And in some cases, it was tough to choose a favorite.

Honorable mentions:

Hysteria

Long Long Way To Go

Demolition Man

I Wanna Touch U

Ah, the memories...

I overslept and missed the start of the Bunny Hop 5k!!!

At least that was my dream. I dreamed that I woke up and it was 10 AM, an hour after the race was to start! I was really pissed. Thank goodness it was actually only 4:57 AM!!! I chanced another two hours of sleep before getting up and getting ready. I had some coffee, ate a banana, paced the floor, got dressed, paced some more, screwed around online, bit my fingernails...

I didn't think to take pre-race pictures back in November when I ran my first 5K (which I ran/walked in 33:11 [gun time] and had a 10:40 per mile pace). I didn't make that mistake again.

Why yes, my son does look absolutely thrilled to be off his ass and about to walk a mile.

We did head out later than I wanted to because someone wouldn't get his ass out of bed, and when he finally did, he took a shower. What the fuck, man? You're about to do physical activity and get all sweaty. I sure as hell didn't take a shower. But thanks for holding us up!

I was worried about finding a place to park, but that was not a problem. It wasn't a large event - just a badly timed fundraiser race (with it being a holiday weekend and all). Still, the turnout was quite nice and I was so thrilled to see some of my Go Far kids there. They were not "required" to be there so it was a pleasant surprise. I also roped my friend Jenn into bringing her son, but I think he just came for the Easter egg hunt that took place after the Fun Run. It was nice to see her though. I don't get to hang out with her enough, since we both left New York.

So back to the race. I debated whether or not I wanted to take my water bottle with me. Part of me said I was going to look like a moron because I did not see a single person with a water bottle. The other part of me reminded myself that my mouth gets very dry when I run (because I exhale through my mouth when the going gets tough - and it's more like a grunting blow, with lots of spittle and curse words). I also need something to do with my hands so I don't feel like a drunken velociraptor being chased by a T-Rex. 

Or an enraged raptor chasing a pair of horrible actors, demanding its money back for the last 3 films.

So, I took my water bottle and it was a damned good thing I did because I had to pee even before I started the race there was no water station until just past Mile 2. If nothing else, I figured a drink would be a good excuse to slow down.

Which I did not do. Once I got past the slower runners, kids, and people strolling as if admiring the fucking flowers, I had a pretty good pace going. In the past, I'd been able to run for 10 minutes and then that was pretty much it. I hit the first mile marker at 9:44. Not too shabby. I was feeling good, considering some of the course was hilly. My legs weren't really tired, my heart rate was steady, and I wasn't huffing and puffing like I do when I climb to the top of the Currituck Lighthouse. So I kept going, hoping to get to the half-way point before I had to take a break and walk. This wasn't an out and back race, it was a loop-like thing, so I had no clue where half-way was. I got to 18 minutes and was still running, so I figured I had to be pretty close to the second mile marker. Sure enough, there it was. Just over a mile left. I was getting a bit tired, breathing harder, but I figured I could do it. If I paced myself, I could blast out the last tenth of a mile for a strong finish. 

So, I kept running, and I soon got to a little turn around point that was annoyingly single-file, and I was behind slow people. As soon as I could, I shot past them, then I was sure I was going to die. I still had half a mile to go, I figured. But damn it, I was going to keep running, and I was going to beat November's time, even if it was just slightly. Going into this 5K, I wasn't even sure I'd be able to run. I just finished up my first month of Insanity, and have been having problems with leg fatigue. I was certain I'd have to walk most of the way, and not make any improvement over November's race.

But there I was, a tenth of a mile or so out from the finish line, trying to pass some geezer whose shorts were too short. I got along side him and picked up the pace. He went a little faster. I went a little faster and pulled ahead. Grandpa came up along side of me, huffing and puffing. I thought, "Oh, man, I hope he doesn't keel over because I am not stopping and ruining my time!" So I went even faster and he finally ate my dust. Or sand, whatever. I rounded the corner to see the Finish Line (which, actually still said START on it, I think). I saw Sam and Sebastian just on the other side with the camera. I had a quick conversation with the Universe, hoping they hadn't switched the camera mode to video, like they had in November. 

I'm glad to see the old man coming in behind me. I don't have to feel so guilty for being a cocky asshole.

I ran the entire race and my time was 27:51 - an even 9-minute mile pace, and I came in second in the age group they put me in, which was the wrong one. They put me in 30-34. Had I been in the proper group of 35-39, I would have been sixth. I was 29th out of 84 or 85 females. I don't know what I was overall. I didn't care. 

At this point, I wish I'd at least had Sam hold onto my sunglasses. And I really did not want to stand still because the Earth was spinning. More than normal.

THEN came the one-mile Fun Run. I wanted to run it, but I promised Sebastian I'd stay with him, and he's not a runner. He surprised me by actually running a bit, then at the very end, I ran ahead so I could take a picture of him crossing the finish line. 

Run, baby, run!! There's a pizza and a Wii waiting for you at the finish line.

He claims to hate Go Far and running, but I know he loves the medals!

I am so damn proud of my baby and these medals!

THEN, there was a mix-up and some people came late because the advertised start of the Fun Run was different than when we actually started. So I left my son with my husband and ran that one, too! As soon as I got around the corner, I knew it was probably not the smartest idea, but damn it, I had opened my big mouth to the race coordinator and head Go Far coach so I had no choice but to suck it up and run that bitch. Thank goodness they moved the turn around point a bit. There's no way we did a mile because I was back at the finish line in under 7 minutes. Running. And I felt as dead as I looked.

Feel free to Photoshop some banana-colored vomit. I think I was singing, because my new mp3 player headphone thingy was awesome! Nope, I was gasping for air. Sam sucks as a photographer. Way to capture the moment, asshole!

So, to recap, my first run/walk 5K last November gave me a gun time of 33:11, and a 10:40 pace. Today, I ran the whole thing in 27:51 with a 9:00 pace. Not too shabby considering I don't run. I barely do short jogs with my Go Far kids so I'm really proud of myself for doing this. I know I won't beat today's time in next month's race because Insanity will surely kill me, but today, I was really hoping for improvement.

But today's victory isn't necessarily about finishing in under 30 minutes then doing another mile and a half. Today, I did not eat any of the cookies, candy, cupcakes or brownies that were provided before and after the race. I did eat two bananas after my 5K but those are ZERO points now so I ate them. Don't get me wrong - I wanted a damn brownie or 50 but I didn't. I knew, though, that I had to give my body something, so we went home and I took a quick shower (because a football team's locker room smells better than I did at that point - wasn't I smart to not waste time showering beforehand????) then headed off to Applebees, where I ate steak & shrimp with vegetables and half a red potato, and a salad. No dessert, thanks. And when I got home, I continued to make good food choices, whereas any other time I would use my stockpile of points to justify a bag of M&Ms, which would turn into a bag of M&Ms, a box of donuts, a quart of ice cream, a few Ho Hos, and whatever Easter candy I bought for Sebastian.

Surprisingly, my legs don't hurt the way they did after my first 5K. Of course, back in November, I was coming off an injury and hadn't done any cardio in over a month. I may not have had much running this time around, but Insanity at least helped me with the cardio and endurance aspect of it. My joints ache a bit and I'm sure I'll be sore in the morning but I will have to suck it up and get back to my regularly scheduled workouts.

But for now, I'm going to enjoy my lame accomplishments. They may be small victories, but I feel like I can do anything. I can't wait for next month's 5K, the 8K in November, the Shamrock in March, and the Flying Pirate in April. I've already agreed to coach Go Far again. As I texted with my online workout buddy (during the first Fun Run - bad Mommy!), she suggested that maybe running is my new thing. I said it wasn't, but Melissa is usually right about me and my things.

Ice Cream Cone Pizza - Recipe

"You know what would be good, Mommy? Ice cream pizza!"

That's what started this. Sebastian wanted his pizza shaped like an ice cream cone. I started with one of my favorite pizza crust recipes (which is 29 WW P+ for the entire crust, according to Living Cookbook).

I prepared the dough according to the directions, but instead of just rolling the dough, I rolled it out and cut it into 4 sections, which I then rolled into balls and let rest a little longer while we fashioned out "sugar waffle cone" mold.

Pardon the nasty bananas. I'm making banana bread tomorrow.

Cut out a cereal box and curve it in the the shape of a sugar waffle cone. Go ahead and use a piece of tape to secure it.

Wrap heavy duty foil around the cereal box cone. Be sure to make a little bit of an edge.

Spray the foil with non-stick spray. Mold the dough around it, sealing the edges very well. Pull the cereal box cone out of the foil and set the foil & dough aside. Use the cereal box cone to repeat the process until all 4 cones are completed.

Yes, I know what that looks like. It looked even more like one from other angles.

Stand the dough cones, point up, on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Remove the foil and prop the cones, point down, in a clean steel can. Fill with your favorite pizza toppings.

Those are chopped black olives, not rodent turds.

Put back in the oven for 5-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and toppings are warm.

These held together very, very well and were delicious!! Sam is going to make some more permanent molds for shaping and baking the dough, as well as a friendlier rack for cooking the filled cones. I was going to take a picture of myself, eating from the pointy end, but one phallic symbol picture in this blog entry was enough!