Let the training begin...

Tomorrow morning marks the beginning of another 8-week training period for a 10K I have planned September 25. My goal? Run the whole thing this time. That's it. Well, not really. I'd like to finish in less time than last, and considering I had to walk quite a bit of the last one, that should seem like a no-brainer. I'm hoping so.

But what the training means is that I have to a) stick with the plan, b) make a plan, and c) eat right. Ok, so maybe b should come before a, but I do have a basic plan...just have to figure out the strength training bit and work on stretching. Guess I'd better get on that, huh?

But the eating right part...driving me crazy. I know in my head what to do...it's just the doing that's so hard. I'm hoping when school starts, eating right will be easier since I won't be here to snack all the time. I also plan meals more carefully because I know we have to have dinner in the house and ready to go. We'll see.

Picnic in a Jar

I'm trying something new today...I stole the idea from Melissa D'Arabian, but I didn't like the flavors she used. However, I loved the idea of a layered picnic in a jar, so I'm stealing the idea and making it my own. I'll be layering the following things in a jar...whether or not we actually picnic with it will be determined later:
1. veggie pasta spirals with Italian dressing
2. chickpeas, seasoned with garlic and onions
3. shrimp
4. veggies (zucchini, squash, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach)

I'm making this for us as well as Chad and Kayla. I think there's a concert in a park somewhere we could go to with this, but I don't know if we will. I'll give the verdict later on how this turns out.

***The Verdict: While I liked it, the rest of the family did not...so I won't try it again, at least not this way. I'm thinking maybe a chicken/tomato sauce/veggie combo might be better...or maybe a bbq pulled pork/coleslaw/beans one?

Restless

I'm feeling restless in my own skin today. I don't know if it's because we had a long weekend out of town and there's lots to be done or if it's something else. We've got a lot going on in the next couple of weeks as summer comes to an end for me. Maybe that's it...summer's ending. And I always feel like I didn't do as much as I'd planned, wanted or could have. I'm making progress on the huge to-do list, but it just keeps getting longer.

Let's see...here's what's floating around my mind:
1. I forgot to register SB for Cheer Camp and so I won't get that time to get things done or play with R and she won't get the experience.

2. Jessie...why, oh, why did we get a puppy?! She tore up a cushion on one of our outdoor chairs and we won't be able to replace it with a matching one. It's too expensive to replace all six chair cushions. Now what?

3. Zumbathon...I hope it's successful, but I'm not sure it will be. Just not enough PR. And it's hot. And it's summer.

4. The house...is a mess. I know it's from a wonderful weekend away, but it clutters my mind. But I'm tired and don't want to get up to fix the problem.

5. Running...my hip hurt again this morning and I'm about to lose two toenails. I officially start an 8-week training plan to run another 10K in September. I'm excited but afraid.

6. Headaches...they're back. I've had one every couple of days now. Ibuprofen doesn't seem to work. Even the Excedrin migraine isn't working. Maybe it's sinus related...guess I should have picked up some more medicine.

7. Kids...SB starts school this year. I hope she's ready. I know she'll like it. I just want her to be happy there. And to have fun. And to learn, both academically and socially. R is growing up too. He's so much more talkative, has a funny sense of humor, and is so sweet. Change is hard, huh?

8. The never-ending to-do list...once again, I know I could be checking things off, but I'm wiped out. I guess it wouldn't kill me to write a couple of checks and fill out a couple of forms (one for my 10K and one for HHH, but again, just a 10K).

9. Health...ok, really, when I say health, I mean weight. Good grief, what happened. I blinked and gained a few pounds. And so I said, today is a new day...and I ate a donut for breakfast. And a Coke and burger for lunch. Yeah, new day, my foot. But, I'm going to make some yogurt this afternoon...no, really, I will. I've been saying it for two weeks, but today's the day. So breakfast tomorrow will be better. And I'm making a healthy dinner...stir fry. And tomorrow's is light and mostly healthy. See...maybe it is a new day after all.

10. School...I really haven't thought about it much, but there were a couple of projects I wanted to work on this summer. I've done bits and pieces here and there, but they aren't ready to hit the ground yet. One of them is a girls' group I want to start at school...a sort of mind, body, spirit type of group to teach girls to make healthy choices in all aspects of their lives. I've got a few things in the works for it, but not enough to implement the plan yet.

Ok, that's about all that's rattling around...there's still some sort of uneasiness in my bones today. I thought my run this morning would clear my head, but it didn't, at least, not as much as I'd hoped.

Crazy Me

What possessed me to plan two birthday parties, on the same day, back-to-back, in my house?! We are having a rock star party for SB...it will be her first "kid party." They are decorating some white, cardboard guitars to get things started, followed by karaoke (yes, I realize that 5-year-olds can't read and therefore karaoke is really pointless). Then we'll have cake (store-bought, thank goodness) and open presents and end with a guitar-shaped pinata.

Then, right after that, we've invited our families as well as a couple of our friends with boys R's age to stay for hotdogs and an all-star party as a way of celebrating his birthday. We're switching decorations to sports themed centerpieces, and to top it all off, I'm making baseball and football cake balls. The baseballs are funfetti cake with vanilla frosting. The footballs are devil's food cake with chocolate frosting. I've yet to dip or decorate them and I'm already regretting this idea. Why didn't I just book Jump for Joy or Chuck E. Cheese or Gymnastics Sport Center?!

But, for those that have never tried making cake balls, here are the steps. I had the passing thought to take pictures while I made them, but like I said, it was a passing thought, one that didn't even hang around long enough for me to find the camera. But...I will try to post pictures of the finished product.

Ok, back to the steps. Boy, these thoughts are passing like crazy.

1. Bake a cake, any flavor, according to the directions on the box. Yes, you can bake a cake from scratch. But why would you?
2. Let the cake cool for a few minutes and then crumble into a big mixing bowl.
3. Add 1/2 to 3/4 a can of frosting. Your choice in flavors. Make sure it goes with the cake though. I'm not to blame for your choices. It will be hard to mix. Use your hands if you want. A spatula will work though.
4. Let this chill for a while. Actually, don't. I tried cooling it today. It didn't work as well.
5. Form into balls, or in the case of the above-metioned footballs, weird pointy oval shapes. I use a cookie dough scoop, but you'll want to roll them a little to smooth them out. Place these on waxed paper and chill. This time, you really want to chill them.
6. Melt some almond bark or other coating, if you prefer, and then dip the balls to coat. I use two forks. It's messy no matter what you use. Put them back on the waxed paper. You can decorate with another color coating or sprinkles or icing. I'll be using icing to make the laces on the balls.
7. Enjoy. You'll want to hide at least half of them, or they'll be gone before you really meant to serve them.