Fastest and Easiest Cookies Ever

What to do with two children who are too hot to keep playing outside but you still have 2 hours to kill before you get to leave for the party?  You get them in the kitchen to bake....or actually, you get them in the kitchen to not bake.  I had all these leftover packages of plain instant oatmeal, the ones that come in the box of Quaker Oats from Costco, and had no idea what do to with them, but didn't want to throw them away.

So today we made the easiest and fastest cookies ever.  So easy an 8 year old and a 2 year old can do it!  Love love love this recipe.

No Bake Cookies

1/2 cup milk

1 cube butter

micro 1 min

add

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

Micro 1 1/2 min

Stir

Micro 2 1/2 min

Add

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter

mix until smooth

add

2 1/2 cups oatmeal

drop onto wax paper

Enjoy!

Ready to Run

My 1st run by myself that I tracked.

I am so excited.  I actually was able to run 5 miles of hills doing 7:30 minute miles.  It was fabulous and  exhausting all at the same time.  I really am hoping that I'm going to look back at this post in 6 months and be embarrassed that I was willing to post this mileage at this time...but right now I am so happy to be running so hard!  It's difficult to really gauge workouts when you are stuck on a treadmill, or forced to run with a jogging stroller.  This run I did all by myself and it really wasn't that bad.  I say that because it took me about 20 minutes to work myself up to doing it.  I am so use to running with Scott or the kids, I just didn't know if I really wanted to run 40 minutes all by myself.  I actually listened to music, which I think helped for some of it, but was very distracting when I lost one earpiece halfway through my run and had to juggle it back around into my ear.

We've been talking about running a half marathon, just to say we did it.  I'm worried about running 13 miles because of my knee and because I really have a hard time pacing myself.  Scott helps keep me on a good pace, even though he ran 4 miles at 7:30 on the treadmill last week.  We are going to get a babysitter and go for a 10 mile run next week.  I figure we'll try to run it around 8:30 minute miles, but I don't know if either of us are going to make the whole 10 miles.  Running for 40 minutes seems like forever...not sure how it's going to feel to run for an hour and a half.

Tracking Goals

I realized that I am still reaching goals and not documenting them.  Since I've been running outside 3 days a week, I don't normally time myself or track my miles.  When I'm stuck on the treadmill in the winter, I have no choice but to set my pace and my miles.  The other day, I took my phone on our 5 mile hill run with the kids and was shocked at how fast we really went.  I  didn't feel the need to document my progress, but then when I look back and realize where I was and where I am, I decided that I'm kind of proud of my 36 year old self and I should be documenting what I'm doing.

 4 months ago 

3 miles at 8:30 minute pace

 2 miles and 7:30  minute pace

level 12 group ride

3 months ago

3 miles at 7:30 minute pace

level 12 group ride

2 months ago

3 miles at 7 minute pace

5 miles at 8 minute pace

level 14 group ride

now

5 miles at 7:30 minute pace

5 miles of hills at 8 minute pace 

(pushing jogging stroller and walking Sawyer's bike up the 2 steep hills)

level 16 group ride

It's fun to see how my hard work has paid off and just how quickly I am able to make improvements.  Scott tells me that most people don't go to the gym to "kill themselves" but why waste your time if you aren't there to improve.   I love that my body fat is still at 16% even though I went to 6 BBQ's in less than 2 weeks and ate a ton of food I normally wouldn't eat.  My body is almost exactly where I want it to be.  I just need to get my knee to not hurt on 10 miles at 8 minute pace so I can go running with the "hot moms" (the nickname, I was told that the staff says, of all the pretty moms with rockin' bodies that all go running together...now that's a mom's club that I wouldn't mind being a part of...lol).  They keep asking me to go with them, but I keep saying no.  I just would hate to embarrass myself...as much as they reassure me I won't, I want to do it on my own first...and then I'll go with them.  

Bruschetta Apps

Nothing like being creative when making appetizers.  I am always one who likes to try out new things...on other people.  This time I made two different type of bruschetta and they both were gone in a matter of minutes, so they must have been pretty good.

Blue Cheese & Tomato Bruschetta 

and 

Blue Cheese & Honey Bruschetta

1 whole wheat baguette thinly sliced and toasted with olive oil

mix together until smooth:

4oz of blue cheese

4oz of cream cheese

Stir together:

roma tomatoes diced

fresh basil sliced thinly

garlic, diced

balsamic vinegar

chopped pecans

Take 1/2 of baguette, spread with cheese mixture and top with tomato mixture.

Take other 1/2 of baguette and sprinkle with 4oz of blue cheese and drizzle with honey.

Mini Mojitos Cakes

So excited to have an excuse to make these fabulous little mojito desserts.  I absolutely adore these very fattening little mini ice cream cakes...but I am willing to suffer for the greater good of the group!  I halved the recipe and made them in mini muffin trays instead of a normal size.  I think that made them the perfect size to have a delicious bite, but not over do it.

Mini Mojito Cakes

1 stick butter

1 1/2 cups pretzels, finely crushed (I did not finely crush them this time)

1/2 cup plus 3 Tbl sugar

1 8oz package of cream cheese

grated peel of 1 1/2 limes

1/4 cup of lime juice

2 Tbl lime flavored vodka

1 1/2 Tbl finely chopped mint

1 cup heavy cream

Melt butter.  Stir in pretzels and 1 Tbl sugar.  Press 1 Tbl into bottom of mini muffin pan.  Beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Mix in the rest of the sugar.  Mix in lime peel, lime juice, vodka, and mint.  Beat heavy cream in separate bowl until peaks form.  Fold into cream cheese mixture.  Divide evenly into muffin cups.  Smooth tops.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Freeze for 8 hours.

It is so good...and you'll have enough mint and lime left over to make some actual mojitos to enjoy with them!

A Walk on the Wild Side

I crossed over to the wild side and I'm still a little uncertain about the move.  

I am a runner.  That's my thing.   I may not be the fastest and I may not be able to run the furthest, but I run.  I like it and I feel good doing it.  A friend of mine encouraged me to cross train and join a spin class. I'm so glad I did, because I think it's given me the break my IT band really needs.  I still run at least 3 times a week, but the other 2 days I ride a bike.  

While riding the spin bike I wear what I always wear running...a t shirt and shorts or a t shirt and sweats.  I am not at the gym for social hour.  I am not at the gym to be able to say I went.  I am one of those annoying people that go to the gym for results.  I don't wear makeup, I don't do my hair, and I definitely don't buy clothes to wear to the gym.  I am just not that girl....until now...

I just couldn't do it anymore.  I couldn't keep riding the bike in sweats, they were getting in the way and making me too hot.  I was concerned that with my running shorts I was maybe not getting the coverage I needed on the bike....not that the instructor was looking, but still, no one wants to see that.  I decided I had to get a pair of biking shorts.  

I didn't want to do it because they are so form fitting.  I know how women look in form fitted outfits, and I hear all the men commenting on said outfits.  I don't have a distorted view on my size, but I don't go to the gym to impress anyone...okay maybe my husband... and I don't go to the gym in order to embarrass myself, I'm there for me.  

So, I very reluctantly decided to go ahead and walk into a specialty store and try on bike shorts.  It's funny because something that I was so dreading actually turned out to be fun and ego boosting.  The sales women were so excited to "dress me up".  They brought me way more than I even wanted to try on, but it was hard not to get into the whole workout shopping experience when they kept saying how great I looked.  I know that I'm not a big girl, but to look good in all the extra small outfits and to have these women telling me that I looked fantastic in the them was more than I could take.  

So I spent $150 on these adorable outfits.  I walked away with bags full of stuff.  But not just stuff, MATCHING WORKOUT CLOTHES!  Once I got home and opened the bag, I decided that the sales women had made their money that day.  They may have boosted my ego into outer space and while it was there, it dropped my mind off too.  HELLO...I do not wear matching workout gear.  I do not go to the gym to look trendy.  What was I thinking?  I could barely look at myself in the mirror.  When I "modeled" the outfits for Scott, he looked at me and said, "That's not really your style, is it?"  And I had to agree.  

I am not the girl who looks good at the gym.  And I don't want to be the girl who looks good at the gym.   What was I thinking???

I have to admit, out of all the clothes I bought, I decided to keep a pair of form fitted running shorts (which my husband loves) and I did keep one pair of biking shorts, which was the whole reason I went into the store in the first place...for one pair of biking shorts.  I did not keep the matching tops that went perfectly with said shorts though.  The rest is going back to the store...where someone else, who is way more in touch with her sense of style can purchase them and happily wear them to the gym.  

Pots and Pans

Love my Le Creuset and love it even more when I can get a fabulous deal on items I really need!  I have slowly but surely been collecting my Le Creuset pots, pans and baking dishes for years.  Two of my smaller pots (not Le Creuset), which I've had for 10 years, are starting to fall apart and so I very happily went to replace them.  And I couldn't have found a better deal, not only did I find the perfect pot, but it came with a frying pan that sits on top of it and I received not only 35% off my whole purchase but also a free baking dish.  Cooking on quality cookware really does make a huge difference.  The first time I tried it out my new piece, I made homemade mustard, since I had 3 BBQ's to go to and that's always a great "thank you for inviting me" gift.  I had to laugh when my mom told me that she had just made homemade mustard in her new pot and it worked great (we both purchased the same one).  Great minds real do think alike.

One of the best parts of having fabulous cookware is that you don't have to worry about chemicals leaking into your food and you get to use very little butter/oil when you don't want items to stick.  Everything in moderation, and when you realize that what you eat makes a lot more of difference on your healthy, your weight and your overall well being than anything else you do, you really don't want to be adding things like butter to your dishes if you don't have to.

Light and Funny Reading

Love Tina Fey, and was so excited to read the new book that she put out.  I was definitely not disappointed in it.  She is so funny and really does act more like a real person than a movie star.  As a comedian, she seems so relaxed and calm, and it was funny to see all that goes into making her appear that way.  Fey is down to earth and talks about things like motherhood/coworkers/men in a way that you can completely relate to and also laugh out loud at.  I'm one who works hard at taking a difficult situation and finding a way to make it better, and I love it when a comedian takes that same situation and embraces it for what it is and turns it into something funny.  I admire women, even if it's just a book and possibly all made up, that turn things around by laughing at themselves and what happened.  Life is so complicated and busy, it's great to read a funny book about someone else's complicated and busy life.  Very fast, fun read and I really enjoyed it.

Read these two backwards (in the wrong order) but I still liked them.  Emily Giffin puts out some great books.  She is very light, but she writes in a way that's easy to get sucked into.  I know I've read one of her earlier books...something about When Harry Met Sally was mentioned right away in the book, and whatever context it was written in, I really enjoyed.  Anyway, the order of these two should be Something Borrowed and then Something Blue (which of course makes senses later) but they were very good stories about two very different friends and how life really did not seem to be going so well for either one, and then really worked out in the end.  I am going to put her next couple of books on my list for reading when I need a break from the heavier reading.
I seem to be very good at getting into a "rut" with books and then having to dig myself back out.  I've been reading heavy novels and then I read a comedy and two very light books.  I really need to work on my balance of reading...ideally, first something dark and mysterious, something funny, something deep and then something light.  I've read these last few books so fast that I felt the need to jump right back into my heavy reading, so I didn't lose my mind in simple, uncomplicated, very little thought involved novels.  Not that I don't enjoy it occasionally, and need it when I've read a big, thick (how would I know anymore if a book is literally thick, since I read everything on my iPad), complicated novel, but I worry that I'll lose my status as the nerdy, smart chick if I read too much of them.