PJ night at Barnes and Noble

A couple of Fridays ago we went to Barnes and Noble for a PJ night to benefit Cody's school. Way fun to go out in your pjs!

Highlight of the trip: the train table of course.

Excited to listen to stories.

They read "Where the Wild Things Are" so they are all showing off their monster faces.

Listening...

They topped off the night with hot chocolate, the good kind from Starbucks. Fun!

Training 10/12-10/17

Side note: I've been a very bad blogger, hope to get better about that this week. Look for another post later about the PJ party last Fri and hopefully some new shots from soccer today.

Ugh, bad training week. The rain through me for a loop and I've felt like crap most of the week. You know, scratchy/sore throat, voice in and out, feeling like an elephant was sitting on my chest, and by the end of the week it was topped of with congestion. YAY!!
So Tues I popped in my dance workout DVD before Ty went to school and we danced for about 1/2 an hour. Thur I really started feeling crappy, so I didn't do anything. So bad this week, we didn't ride our bikes once to school.

But today, Saturday, I got my booty out of bed and hit the road. 3.5 miles around the hood, running most with a couple 15 sec walking breaks to stretch and boost my attitude. The kicker in all this, by taking the week off, I told myself to push and it worked. My average mile time this morning was 18:48, finishing the 3.5 in 1 hour 5.5 minutes.
Last week's 3 mile run averaged out to 19:23 per mile.
Holy time shaving, Batman!

So, this is it, I'm going to sign up for the race this afternoon. I know I can finish it and have two more weeks to get stronger.

Holy cow, gonna go freak out in the shower now.

****Update****
I did it, I signed up for the race, sent my money. Nov 1st, 2 weeks to go!

Training week 10/5-10/10

Miles people, it's all about the miles...

Tues was the first of the beastly days of millage, starting out with 2 miles of jogging. It went well, only had two small stints of needing to do some long step, leg stretches, so I can't complain. Have mentioned how hilly our neighborhood is, um wow. So I did it, painfully slow at a whopping 40:04 for 2 miles, yep that's would be 20 min miles. But I did it!

Thur was upped to 2.5 miles, same hilly neighborhood, but with a goal to shave some seconds, and it was accomplished. Mile 1 was 19:20, the last 1.5 miles were 29:38, total of 48:58, shaving just over a minute from Tues. Yay, slow but Yay!

Saturday was the big 3 mile day. It went well and seconds were shaved, 1st mile was 19:08 (12 seconds!) the last 2.09 miles were done in 41:02 averaging out to 19:50ish, not quite 20 min.

So I now know that I can put down the mileage needed for the harvest run in a few weeks, hopefully next weekend I can get things together and enter. It's gonna be a slow race, taking over an hour to complete, but I'm excited to start and finish.

After this weeks running, I've set a new goal. I'm still going to keep training, and hit some races in the spring, but I really want to get my mile time down to a respectable time. Not exactly sure what the time is quite yet, probably around 15-16 min, then resume training for longer races, like a 1/2 marathon sometime in the late spring/early summer. I'm going to start searching out a new training program to start in January, and spend Nov/Dec getting a little faster, and hopefully a little lighter.

Landscaping and 12 weeks until Christmas!

So Sunday brought some impromptu landscaping. Not really sure why but the rocks were moved and are now all in a cluster. Next move is to put a border around them and fill the area with small landscaping rocks. There are so many roots around the trees that have surfaced that the grass just won't grow, even with the sprinklers worked. After that we'll plan to do some digging and fix the sprinklers, till the lawn up and spread some seed down.

You can see to the right where the rocks were, the bare patches.

The crater left in the front corner from the smaller rock.

Newly clustered.

In other news, it's October which means there are only 12 weeks until Christmas! Last night I pulled out a sewing project that was back shelved last year, due to me trying to chop my finger off with my rotary cutter. I'm getting back on track, making the boys floor pillows for the front room. It's a pieced together top that is a pattern meant as a dog bed, but it's cute and the boys will love them. I'm also thinking they need some super hero capes and maybe eye masks to go with them (I'll have to shop my fabric now while all the costume things are on sale!).

I've also been able to start a small amount of shopping, getting a couple of books for the boys from the 1st book order at school. This year the boys are asking Santa for cameras and scooters, making me a wee bit scared for the financials, but it's working out. With Keith's grandmother passing last month, his mom gave us her camera. It's only about 3 years old and hardly used, super simple and perfect for Cody. Then I was cruising Ebay and found the kids camera for Tyler, one I had looked for at Toys R Us for $50, found a brand new one for $20 including shipping. Score! So half of the major wish list is taken care of.

Hopefully if we can spread it out over the next few months, it will all come together.

Training week 9/28-10/3

Well, another week down and more confident each day!

Tue and Thur were the same; 36 minutes switching between 8 min run and 1 min walk. It felt good and by the 2nd time I felt as though I could go further. Tues was fun because we had Ty's field trip, so as soon as we dropped Cody off he rode his bike and I ran with him, not an easy thing. Thur was back to solo and went much smoother.
For today I was to run for 20 min without walking, then finish off the training with 10 more minutes of running and occasional walking if needed. I knew this was coming and every time I've seen it, I got a little scared and discourage Run for 20 min straight, are they nuts? But today was the day and it went fine! I ran for 20 min, then walked about 45 second as a boost and got back at it, ran some more and took another 45 second break after a couple of hills. Go me!
Starting next week, there are no longer times on my training calendar, just miles, yep, miles in the plural form. I checked and today's run was 1.5 miles, don't do the math because yes, I'm really that slow. So I will have to revise my route and start Tues with a 2 mile jog. Then, step it up to 2.25 on Thur and go from there.
The harvest run is in 4 week and it finally seams like an obtainable goal, it's only 3.5 miles, although hilly, but I run with hills now. I guess I should get off my butt and sign up already!

Now the scale, it's not on my good side at all. When I weighed on Tues it had gone down .5, alright, finally moving in the right direction! Thur it was down another 1.2 lbs, okay, that's a good thing. Then today it's back up 2 lbs, well crap! So, nothing is holding at this point, but at least it's not the 5 lbs swing it took a couple of weeks ago.

Ty's 1st Field Trip & Cody's 1st Drop of party...

Yay for more 1st times....

Saturday, Cody was invited to a Birthday party for a school/soccer friend with a Halloween costume theme. It was also his 1st time being dropped off at a party, as most of them are at this age. He had a blast. They held it at their church in the gym, set up carnival games for the kids to play and win prizes, had snacks, cupcakes and a general good time.

As we haven't had time to put his costume together yet, we pulled out the cowboy attire and he went as the sheriff.

Tyler showing off one of the prizes.

His pumpkin arm band tattoo.

Tuesday was Tyler's 1st field trip, he was very excited to finally have one of his own! His school, all three classes, went to the library and had a story time all their own, then to the park for a picnic.

Getting ready for it to begin.

Relaxing story time...

Head, shoulders, knees and toes...

Head....

Throw in soccer, a Pampered Chef party (open until Saturday if you need anything), jogging, school book orders, and general weekly stuff, we're as busy as usual!

Weekly training update...

Yay another week past and completed!

Tues was 30 min of 4 min jog/1 min walk intervals. It went well and finally about 1/2 way through it started to feel good. Ended the workout with a weights session.

Thu was 35 min of 6 min jog/1 min walk intervals. I hit my stride much sooner, but that last interval was about to kill me. Ugh, baby steps.

Sat was the same as Thur, but it went better and felt better in the end.

Moving up and feeling better about it is the main thing right now.

The scale is dancing up and down up to 4 lbs at the high/low swings, so whatever.

I did our weekly shopping today and instead of buying the 12 pack of soda that was on sale, I bout a 6 pack of mini's in hope that I can start to wean a bit. I also bought a box of an old favorite tea, so hopefully that will rejuvenate the food train.

This week we are back to our regular routine, so hopefully I can get my booty in gear and add in some more strength training and a touch of yoga, my muscles are way to tight.

Applesauce and Lasagna via Crock Pot

Mmmm, the crock pot has been put to work this week.

Last night we tried a new recipe for Slow-Cooker Lasagna, um Yummy! The flavors were great and I can see where this will become a favorite, except next time I'll stop cooking it when it's done and not let it sit on warm for 2 hours because of soccer. Sogginess is a bad thing when it comes to noodles, but it wasn't totally inedible, so I'm destined to try it again.

Slow Cooker Lasagna
1 lb ground beef (or 1/2 lb + 1/2 lb sausage)
1 jar (26oz) spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
1 container (15oz) Ricotta Cheese
1 pkg 7oz Shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
6 lasagna noodles, uncooked

Brown meat in a large skillet; drain. Stir in sauce and water.
In a separate bowl mix ricotta, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tbsp Parmesan, egg and parsley
Spoon 1 cup of meat mixture into bottom of slow cooker; top with 3 noodles broken to fit crock and 1/2 the cheese mixture. Cover with 2 cups of sauce and repeat the layer with noodles and cheese. Top it off with the rest of the meat mixture and cover it with the lid.
Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours or until liquid is absorbed. (Best results on low, not high)
Sprinkle with reserved mozzarella and Parmesan, and cover until cheeses are melted, about 10 min.


Today the house smells of baked apples as the first batch of applesauce for the fall is cooking, can't wait to try it out!

Crockpot Applesauce

8 lg apples; skinned, cored and cut into quarters
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp brown sugar (or to taste, not needed at all if you like)
1/2 cup water

Skin, core and cut apples into quarters, place pieces into crock. Add lemon juice and water, then stir, then add the rest of the ingredients.

Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. When apples are very tender, mash with a potato masher or large fork. The longer they cook, the less mashing you have to do.


Okay fall, this is your cue!

Cody's Game 9/19....

Cody played another great game yesterday. According to my video count, he scored 5 goals! WOW! So anyway, here's the video I shot of him playing. Yep, lots of commentary from me, so you might want to turn your sound down a bit, and I mean a lot.

FB friends: you'll have to visit my blog to see the video, they usually don't auto transfer. Weird.

Sorry it's so shaky, thought I had a better grip on that!

Lots of good playing. The kids are starting to play as a team a bit more, even better than a week ago. Couple of times it was good to see Cody be as cautious as he is, stopping before he trampled another player that fell, and stopping before he kicked the other goalie as she already had the ball. Exciting stuff!

Weekly progress report...

Trying to stay on top of things, I finished my workout for the day and figured it was a good time to get it all down.

This past week Tu/Th/Sat, were all the same as far as training, 30 min, intervals of 3 min run and 1 min walk. It went well, and by today, it felt good and I finished out the full last interval, extending the training time by 2 minutes.
Tu/Th I also did a weight set and some ab work.

This weeks goals are much the same, keeping up with the training runs, they increase gradually over the week. Continue to do some weights Tu/Th, and add in some core training 5 days.

Food is food, but I was down to one regular soda a day, and sometimes an additional diet as well. By the end of the week, I was able to cut out the after dinner snack, so hopes of more of that will get the scale moving in the right direction.

Now, I just need to find some bravery and register for the Apple Hill Harvest Run on Nov 1st, 3.5 miles. Can seriously say it freaks me out a bit, like I'm trying to jump into the cool-kids group but not quite sure I belong there. Need to register soon so there's a spot for me and I can get a cool shirt, cause really, at this point, it's all about the swag.

Tyler's 1st Day of Preschool...

Today was Tyler's first day at the new preschool. We were both excited and both a little nervous about things. We had many discussions over the last few days that he started school this week, "At my pweeskool?" he would say. Also talking about how get got to go by himself, like Cody does everyday.

Backpack on and ready to go.

In front...

Ready to go in!

We walked in and found his cubby, put his bag down and he was off to explore.
This is how I left him.

"Bye Buddy!" I said
"Okay, bye mom." and he was back to his truck.
Well, okay then.

Here is what he told me about his day:
Did you like school?: "Yeah, I got to play with other big kids like me."
What did you play with?: "Pirate Ships! Dey haf 2 like ars do!"
Did they read any stories?: "Yeah, Da Little Mouse at school one." (I saw this book sitting on the front desk, "Little Mouse's 1st day of School."
Did you sing any songs?: "Yeah, we did the Hokie Pokie!"
What other games did you play?: "Marshmallow Bingo, we eated one, it was BIG and squishy, and it was full." (I think it made him full?)
What was for snack?: "Umm, apples and juice and wa-der, and special crackers."
Did you play with the animals, or feed them?: " No, no one got to. The snake was having wa-der, but she didn't drink it." (I don't know either)
Did you find the potty?: "Yeah, there's two of dem, a big one and a little, tiny one (pinching his fingers together to show little) and it has stairs, two stairs!"

I arrived and they were all outside playing, here's his cubby/basket, full from the day.

This is how I found him...

Showing me the snake before we left.

I spoke with one of his teachers and with one of the moms that stayed and it sounds like he had a great day. His teacher said he did great and they didn't have any issues. He was quite, which I expected, but answered questions when asked. He sat at story and sang songs during circle time.

I dropped Cody off with Grandpa so he could do some cool things so Tyler and I went out for lunch to celebrate his first day.

So glad that things went well and that he let me leave. I wasn't sure he would, but he did great! Yay for starting preschool!

Last week progress.....

and deterioration.

I finished all my training days, going from 24 min to 28 by Saturday. Intervals changed to 2 min jog, 1 min walking. I also got in 1 weight training session at home. That was the good.

The bad came with the food. For the most part, breakfast, lunch and dinner were okay. For some reason I was drawn to cereal this week and in the afternoon and evening I had to have a bowl of dry Cinnamon Toast Crunch, not good. Soda was a bit of an enemy this week as well, we won't even get into Sunday.

The other good, I weigh in on Tuesdays, and the scale showed that I was down 2.8 lbs, so progress.


This week is busy with Tyler starting school, so as long as I can drop him off without issue, I have no excuses not to get my training in and then do a short weights session. Yesterday, my food was a bit better, cutting back to one soda, more water and tea in the evening. Snacks were still a little on the high side. Back to baby steps, cutting out the after dinner snacking first.

Go Tigers!

Today was Cody's 1st official league game. Both teams did a great job and it's nice to finally be at game day so they can understand what they've been practicing for. Cody had a great game, listened pretty well to the coaches, is learning to stay away from his team mates and scored a couple of goals.

Standing next to the team banner, Awesome!

Action shots...

The weather was a quite cloudy, but it only sprinkled on us a few times. This was about 5 minutes before they ended it started up some more, Cody is trying to catch the drops in his mouth.

Handshake line...

"Let me tell ya bout my beeest friend..."

The team.

And yes, I was the mom on the sideline, yelling and "encouraging." It will be fun to see if some of the shy kids will open up and see the team evolve over the next couple of months. With any luck we'll survive the season, clear through mid November!

Why is it so much?

One thing I've learned to love about our school district is that they love to give the kids time off from school. This year, they get 10 days off around Thanksgiving, Yes that was TEN days. So being that we have such an awesome amount of time, I'm thinking it would be a good chance to go see the family and friends in Boise.

Why in the crap does it cost so much to travel? Seriously!~?!?!!?? UGH!
Also, Amtrak needs to connect their train back to Boise, no train then bus, just a train!

So needless to say, I've been trying all kinds of different combos and it's just outrageous. That or I missed the sale that was going on two days ago. LAME!

So I've tried flying to Boise, then coming home to Reno and riding the train home, the next day.
Train to Portland and fly to Boise, then the same way home. Good option, except the cheap flight leaves 40 minutes before the train arrives, plus there's that 2 day to get there, then 2 days home.
I've tried routing the airplane south then north, way north then south, east then west, nothing is coming out quite right.

Hints, anything? Every time I think I have a good combo it still adds up past $700, usually around $750.

I know a lot are probably saying just drive dork. That would work out if the weather holds, then it would be a $300 trip, but I can't count on it to stay nice that time of year over the mountains. And the Jetta is only so safe in the weather, rain okay, snow, not so good.

Helpful hints are greatly appreciated.

Cody's stylin' backpack...

One thing I knew going into this year at school was that we were getting rid of the character backpack, and edging out similar clothing while we're at it. The goal being that we can get him a bag that will last more than a year, not falling into the favorite character of the moment. Not being able to really find any bags we liked, or were willing to spend the money on, we opted for him to use one we already had. So he was passed down my HS backpack, ran through the wash, looking like new. Only "problem" was that it was a big boring. So after the first day of school, we headed to JoAnn's and picked out a few patches that were put on right away. Keith found some patches this weekend, and I've been holding onto a couple that I found online, so I figured it was time to finally get them all on. With that, it's almost finished for now.

Front: Nor-Cal Speedshop (VW edition), alien dude, bike patch, race car, Trains & Dino key chains, and the soccer patch (placed to cover up the Eddie Bauer logo).

Left Side: VW dude and a dog that looks like Cocoa (IL's puppy)
We have a Boise State Broncos patch coming to finish this side off.

Something like this...

I also plan on hitting up Evangeline's in Old Sac next time we're there because I know they have a whole wall of patches. Hopefully we can find some that are Kindergarten appropriate.

Right Side: VW split window bus, NHRA drag racing starting tree, and stars (because who doesn't like stars?)

Bugs crawling across the top.

This was a lot of work, hand sewing through canvas and patches is not easy on the hands, but he loves his bag. I love it because it's not going to go out of style next year!

So there you go, head out to you local craft store, online store, or car show and get some patches for a custom backpack.

Speedy Mini Meat Loaves....

Flipping through the latest issue of People Magazine and Paula Deen has a recipe for meat loaf in the Dinner for Four Under $10 section. I have come to realize I Love Meat Loaf, if done in a very traditional way, this is it! Made it for dinner tonight and Cody loved it! (Ty's not much of a meat fan so no surprise he didn't touch it)

Speedy Mini Meat Loaves
1 1/2 lb ground beef (or turkey)
1 cup plain unseasoned bread crumbs (I used crackers)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbsp milk
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp minced fresh thyme
3/4 tsp ground pepper
3 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease the cups of a 12-cup muffin pan.

In a large bowl combine meat, crumbs, eggs, milk, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and thyme. Divide meat mixture among 12 muffin cups pressing meat firmly into the pan.

Place muffin pan on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until meat is almost cooked through. The loaves will be firm when pressed lightly but not set.

While loaves are baking, whisk together the ketchup, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. After baking, remove the pan from the oven, brush the tops of the loaves with the glaze and return the pan to the oven. Bake for 10 minutes more or until glaze has thickened and meat is completely cooked through, 30-35 minutes total. Run a butter knife around the edges of the muffin cups and pop out the meat loaves. Serve hot.

Notes: I didn't have all the ingredients fresh, but it all worked out great! I also used a silicone pan and they cooked very evenly, although I missed the part about the cookie sheet underneath. This is important because they will create juice and drip. YUMMY!

Week one of training, done and on record...

Yay me, I did all three of my training workouts for week #1.

Tues and Thurs I did my walk/jog on the way home from school, giving myself a nice 20 min warm up as we walked to school! These days were both 20 minutes, switching between walking and jogging for 2 minute intervals.

Sat was much of the same, warmed up with a 5 min brisk walk, then did 24 minutes, switching between walking and jogging for 2 minute intervals.

Eating wasn't much better than it's been, and I drank too much soda throughout the week, but this weeks goal was to start the training and finish each day to completion. That I did.

Next weeks training will be 3 more days of walking and jogging. I think each day is set at 24 minutes, but the intervals change on Thurs.

Goals for this next week include starting a weight training program at home, found a great total body workout in the latest Shape magazine.
No snacking after dinner and no soda after dinner, only tea and water.

Recipes....

STOP! Don't miss my post below about Cody's 1st game. (Facebookers, visit my blog, the link is on my info page)


Something else I'm trying to do right now, on top of everything else, is it try at least one new recipe a week. This week I've got a few new ones because I'm bored with our food and we're in a rut.

So far, very yummy!

Taco Lettuce Cups:
2 1/2 cups of Taco Seasoned Ground beef or Turkey, cooked (1 lb is close)
1 cup of chunky/fresh cut Salsa (I love La Mexicana from the cold case)
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided
8 leaves Bibb lettuce (I used a butter lettuce with large leaves)
2 cups coarsely crushed tortilla chips, optional
1/2 cup sour cream, if desired

In a sauce pan mix seasoned meat, salsa and corn. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated thoroughly. Stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese.
Spoon about 1/2 cup of meat mix into each lettuce leaf. Top with about 1 tbsp cheese, 1/4 chips and 1 tbsp sour cream. Enjoy!

Notes: The recipe book this came from has you make up large batches of meet ahead of time to be pulled from the freezer for a quick meal, hence the 2 1/2 cups of meat. I made about a 1/4 of this, because no one else likes salsa and corn mixed in. I didn't use the tortilla chips and used less than a tbsp of sour cream. These were awesome! Didn't even miss my taco shell. I wasn't able to find the Bibb lettuce, so that's my next mission, but anything with a large leaf that you can cup will work.


Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches:
1 boneless beef roast (I found a cheapest one and it worked great!)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 beef bouillon cube
1 bay leaf
3 whole pepper corns (they have these in the bins at Winco)
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
water
Kaiser Rolls
Swiss/Provolone cheese

Trim meat and place in cooker. In a bowl combine soy sauce and all spices, pour over beef. Add enough water to almost cover beef. Cook on low for 10-12 hours, high 4-6 (depends on your cooker.)
Once cooked it should fall apart. Remove from cooker and shred. Grill rolls on the open side to get crispy and top with a slice of cheese. Put meat on and enjoy. This makes a lot of juice that is wonderful for dipping.

Notes: This had a really great taste to it. I didn't have any rosemary, so it was omitted and I added a few onion flakes as well. This is a good roast beef that would be yummy on it's own, with a veggie side and potatoes.

Cody's 1st game....

Cody's team had a scrimmage Wed night against another Orangevale team, a team we'll probably play again at some point during the season. So officially it's the first actual game he's played, uniforms and all. He was beyond excited and ready to get at it.

I made him pose before practice.

Before the game Tyler went and played around with the team.

He wants to be a big kid so bad!

The huddle...

As both teams are OV and have the same jerseys, our team put on the black pennies.

Here we go and he has the ball! He was down to their goal pretty quickly and scored the first goal.

Throw-in...

This was the team by the end of the game, all of them fighting over who got the ball. Hopefully they'll get over that and realized they are on the same team.

It was a good game and great for the kids to finally see what it means to play against another team. Only a few hurt feelings here and there, over all I think it went great! This is my Saturday, starting next weekend through mid Nov, wishes of sanity are highly appreciated.

Tyler on the swing...

Okay, it's a super grainy video from my phone, but so cool.