Taking the Plunge

I have finally done it...taken the plunge.  This week, after months of thinking about it, talking about it, dreaming about it, I finally did it.  I started running again.  I know what you’re thinking....what’s the big deal?  People run every day...what makes you so special?   It’s special to me because after a foot injury last year I haven’t run for almost a year and I have missed it.  I loved running once I got into it, and that’s the problem. I didn’t want to start at square one again.  How ridiculous is that.  Don’t start because you can’t do what you want immediately.  It’s embarrassing to even admit just how foolish I have been.  But that’s all behind me now, becauseI am back on track.  After the first run, I realized that just because I have to start the Couch to 5K program again, doesn’t mean I won’t love it.  Yes, it was hard, but it was also rewarding.  No, I couldn’t run for 30 minutes straight, and I won’t be able to for a while, but I felt GOOD!  I have been walking every morning for months now and I feel great.   It’s a wonderful way to start your day.  The days after I have run, it’s hard to describe, but I felt even better, refreshed, and proud.  Proud that I am finally taking the step I have been dreaming about for so long.  I can already feel myself improving and I’m looking forward to the future! 

You see, it’s not just running that I have been dreaming about.  I want to run a half-marathon.  I want to push myself to do something physical, step out of my boundaries, and get healthier.  I stumbled across a little something called RunDisney...oh yes, you’ve seen it too have you?  J  After reading race reports from these sites, www.disboards.com and www.runningoftheears.com  and watching You Tube videos of all these amazing athletes I was inspired. 

                       

So, I stepped out on a limb a few months ago, I booked myself in to the Disneyland Tinkerbell Half Marathon.  There it is, my big secret, and the reason why I have been so mortified that I hadn’t started running before now.  I have a deadline to meet!   The Tinkerbell Half Marathon is January 19, 2013.  Even now as I type, I have a giant grin plastered across my face and am getting twitchy to get out and run again.  I have no dreams of grandeur for this race...I will PR simply because it will be my first half-marathon and I’m sure that 95% of the runners there will finish before me.  I want to participate, I want to be there, feel the energy of the crowd and accomplish this. 

Question of the day: Have you ever run Disney?

Source: www.facebook.com/RunDisney

Tasty Tuesday

Tasty Tuesdays

I thought I’d continue on with my Tasty Tuesday tradition (and by tradition, I really mean that one time I did it).  J  Today I will feature another recipe that is a big favorite in my home.  Well, actually two recipes, so I suppose I should call it a meal, Zippy Pork Chops and Parmesan Orzo. 

PARMESAM ORZO

3 tbsp margarine                              ½ cup Parmesan cheese

1 ½ cups orzo pasta                         1 ½ tsp dried basil

3 cups chicken broth                       salt & pepper to taste

Melt margarine in saucepan over med-high heat.  Add orzo and sauté for 2 minutes, till slightly brown.  Add broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover & simmer till orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed—about 20 minutes.  Mix in parmesan and basil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serves 6.  Very nice with salmon or pork chops. 

 BBQ Tangy Pork Chops

6 bone in, 1” thick pork chops     2 tbsp Lemon-Pepper Seasoning

¼ c Water                                            3 Garlic cloves (minced)

1/3 c Soy Sauce                                 1 tsp Montreal Steak Spice

2 tbsp cooking oil

Combine ingredients and pour over pork chops in zipper plastic bag or marinating dish.  Marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but I find it’s better if left over night.  This recipe is best if the pork chops are barbequed.  During the first 10 minutes of barbequing, baste with the sauce.

I usually serve these recipes with a side of cooked vegetables or tossed salad.  The pork chops freeze great, so I will often make up a few batches at once and freeze a couple in zipper freezer bags to pull out at a later date.  Both these recipes were given to me by a friend of mine and are great summer recipes.

Question of the day: Do you have a favorite BBQ recipe?

Goals

One of my goals is to become more active and healthier for my children.  I’m in okay shape and eat fairly healthy...but I’m not sure that’s good enough.  I’m on the very top end of normal weight and would like to bring myself down about 10 lbs.  I don’t even think it’s a number on the scale so much as I want to feel good.  I want to feel strong and healthy.  I know I don’t have far to go, but I also know that those 10 lbs will be hard.  I have lost 10 lbs already and can feel such a difference.  

Over the past year, I have been reading a lot of running/healthy living blogs.  Wow, you people inspire me!  I finished the Couch to 5 k program a year ago and started running...and I loved it.  But then, life got in the way: I injured my foot and by the time it was healed, my husband was gone working and I couldn’t get away for a run.  Then winter hit and who really wants to run in -30C.  Excuses.  That’s what actually happened....a whole simmering pot of excuses on why I couldn’t.  Now, I can’t seem to find the jam to start the program again.  I’m disappointed that I even have to start again...I wish I could pick up right where I left off.  So not realistic. 

So, I’m also hoping this blog will hold me accountable to exercise.  Keep me on the path because people will notice if I fall off again.  I’m really hoping at least one of you out there reads this little diary and holds me to it...any takers?

Source: http://agents.hometownquotes.com/2010/12/your-insurance-agencys-goals-for-2011/

MIA

Missing In Action.

By this point in time, you probably thought that was me... just another one of those people who started a blog and realized after a couple of posts that they really don’t have anything to say.  Well, you could be right.  But I’m back again, ready to take another swing at this. 

I follow a lot of blogs and am hooked on reading them.  I’m hoping someday someone reads this...even just one person would make my day. 

I still don’t have one specialized thing that I want to write about.  I can honestly even say what I am going to write tomorrow.  But, I’m going to try and write more often....hopefully way more often. 

I’m going to share with you my journey from “couch potato to sort-of athlete”, the joys and challenges of motherhood, and the path I’m on to discover “what I really want to do with myself”.  Along the way, I’ll probably miss a few posts, fall, stumble, but hopefully I’ll reach new heights.  Hopefully someone will miss me if I quit posting.  Hold me accountable and remind me that someone is reading...and kick my butt back into gear.  After all, we all have our moments, our good days and bad.  And I’m just like you...I’m just an everyday girl.

Tasty Tuesdays

In the spirit of "write about it all", I thought I would share some of my favorite recipes with you on Tuesdays.  Some are my own concoctions, some are from cookbooks and sometimes they will be links back to other blog's tasty treats. 

It's cold here.  Really cold.  And blustery.  The "curl-up in front of the fireplace with a cup of coffee and a good book" kind of cold and blustery.  (Or at least it would be if I owned a fireplace or drank coffee).

One of my favorite foods is home-made soup.  It is such a comfort food for me.  When the wind is howling outside and the snow is swirling, there is nothing better for lunch than a bowl of steaming hot homemade soup.  When I cook soup, I make a huge batch and freeze it in meal-sized portions.  This works great because it gives me something quick and easy to pull out of the freezer on days I don't get anything made in time.  I am a HUGE fan of having meals in the freezer to grab at the last minutes. 

One of my favorite soups is Tomato Orzo, mainly because I love this recipe.  I got the recipe from our family cookbook and then adapted it to my liking.  The end result.....delicious!  Along with this soup, I like to serve Cheese Biscuits.  They are tasty and just as good as the ones served at Red Lobster.  I got this recipe from the "For the Breast of Friends and the Rest of Friends" cookbook.  (A cookbook written by women from a small-town in Saskatchewan to raise funds for Breast Cancer research).

TOMATO ORZO SOUP

1/4 cup butter                                           2 1/4 cups tomato juice
1 onion, chopped                                      1 tsp salt
1 cup celery, chopped                               1 tsp basil (do NOT use Sweet Basil...trust me, I have)
2 carrots, finely chopped                           1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, minced                                1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 green pepper, chopped                       1 quart canned tomatoes (796ml can)
7 1/2 cups Chicken broth                          1/2 teaspoon parsley
1 cup orzo noodles

Saute butter, onion, celery, carrots, garlic and green pepper in soup until just wilted with the lid on, do not brown.  Add the rest of the ingredients (except the noodles) and simmer until vegetables are cooked. 

Add noodles.  Simmer on very low heat for a few minutes until noodles are tender.  

BEST CHEESE BISCUITS

2 cups flour                                              1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt                                         1/4 cup butter or shortening
1 cup milk                                                1 cup old cheddar cheese, grated (I use medium or mild)
1 tablespoon parsley flakes                       1/2 cup butter (I just wing this and don't actually use this much)
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or to taste...I just add to the butter until it's to my liking)

In large bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt and parsley flakes.  Blend in butter or shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add milk and cheese until just blended.  Drop by heaping spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet.  Bake in 450 *F oven for 12 - 15 minutes or until golden.  Remove from oven and brush with the 1/2 cup melted butter and 1 teaspoon garlic powder mixture. 

Yum, now you've got a new recipe to try tomorrow.  What's your favorite cold weather lunch/supper? 

Holstee Manifesto - Words to Live By

Wow.  Back story = BORING.  I feel like I need to apologize for that last post.  It was my story and even I got bored reading it! 

I saw the following paragraph on a Facebook profile page.  I loved the message and decided to find out where it came from.  The "Holstee Manifesto" can be found on the About page for a company called Holstee which produces "kick-ass products, sustainably made, with a social impact." 

Wow, again.  I love, love, love this.  It's such a great message, and something that so many of us often forget.  My favorite lines are:

   This is your life.  Life is simple.  Life is short.  Live your dream.

I don't know about anyone else but I find in my life I sometimes get bogged down by the little things, the inconsequential stuff, the things that don't really matter at all.  I lose sight of what's important and spend way too much time and energy stressing about things that are so minor in the scheme of things, things that aren't worth my time or energy. 

I loved this message so much because it's a concept that I am really coming to grasp and trying hard to work on. Be happy.  Make yourself happy.  Be true to yourself.  You are the only person responsible for your own happiness.  If you're not happy with the way things are, change them.  So simple, so why do we have so many troubles following this.  How many times do we stay in a job for all the wrong reasons?  Marry the wrong persons because it's easier than taking a risk and finding true love.  The easiest road isn't always the best.  We have one life, so why not live it to it's fullest. 

The Holstee Manifesto can be found here:  http://shop.holstee.com/pages/about

A Little Bit about Me

So, here we go.  Now, that I have officially started this journey, I feel like I should give you a little bit of my back story.  I am an "almost 30" year old girl living in a small-town (and when I say small, I mean small, approximately 500 people).  I grew up on a grain farm in rural Canada.  I have two younger brothers, who I can truthfully say I think may be two of the greatest people I know.  I matriculated high school and went on to university.  After two years, I realized that I still didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up and felt that attending university just for the sake of going wasn't the best idea for me.  Truthfully, looking back, I think a lot of the reason why I dropped out was also because I was trying to escape a bad relationship and had just lost two friends in two difference car accidents.  I took a job at a local financial institution and moved home.  I would love to finish my university degree now.  It's a huge regret of mine that I didn't finish it at the time, but I figure everything happens for a reason.  After moving home, I met my future-husband, a local man who was older than me and although we knew who each other were, had never gotten to know each other. 

I have been married for almost five years to my best friend, G.  He is the first person I want to talk to when I have a story to tell and I feel fortunate to have such an awesome partner (but that's not to say that he doesn't drive me crazy some days).  I have a three year old daughter, M.  She keeps me on my toes and makes me laugh everyday, and cry out of frustration at least once a week.  I also have 10 month old identical twin boys, D and R.  Twins has been a lot of work, but they are an absolute joy as well.  Watching them interactive and the special bond that they so obviously share is a marvel of nature.  The rest of my twin experience, well, let's just say that's a whole other post.  Short story: I found out we were expecting twins half-way through my pregnancy and we had serious complications.  I am so fortunate to have two healthy, happy boys and I am thankful everyday for the blessings I have been given. 

I am raising my family is the same town that both myself and my husband grew up in.  We live close to both sets of parents, as well as two of our siblings.  Sometimes I wonder, is this is a little too close, but for the most part, we are happy here.  I love that our children will be raised in a small town and that they will have the same sense of community growing up that I did. 

Some days I miss the city.  I miss the hustle and bustle and the easy access to everything: fast food, clothes, diapers.  I miss the way you can fade into the crowd in a city.  You can go somewhere and never have to stop to have a five minute conversation with everyone you see because no one knows who you are.  But at the same time, it's nice living where "everyone knows your name" and wants to hear how your kids are doing.  And I love the prairies, the never ending horizon and the wheat fields blowing in the wind.  It sounds so cliched, but it's true.  I think it's a beautiful sight. 

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