Easter Bunny Cake

This year Sawyer took the cake decorating very seriously....Reed took the tasting of frosting, cake and candy very seriously.

Sawyer has become quite the expert in cake decorating.  Reed is good at breaking cake while trying to push the frosting on it.

The ears are tricky, because it's frosting cut cake...but I assured Sawyer it didn't need to be perfect since it will be covered with coconut.  After that she was a little messier with her frosting of the cake...Reed stayed consistently messy.

Sawyer carefully sprinkled the cake with coconut...making sure not to put too much on any one spot.

Reed figured out that you could just dump out your bowl onto the cake and Mommy will fill it back up again.

Sawyer was forced to compromise her ear decorating when Reed forced the red coconut flat into the ears.

Sawyer tried to fluff it back up...while Reed tried to smooch even more red coconut on.

Sawyer took the face decorating seriously, while Reed took the trying every color of Dot very seriously.

Sawyer is so proud of her work, while Reed is so disappointed that there is no more candy to eat.

Happy Easter!

The dreaded ITBS

Trainer Joe is my most favorite person right now! When I went to ask him what he thought my training should look like to run faster for longer, he gave me some good ideas but then we stumbled upon the bane of my running existence. My iliotibial band. I damaged it in high school and it loves to flare up when I push myself too hard. It tightens up and won't let loose. It hurts so much that sometimes it's hard to walk up my stairs.

All those problems may be gone, or at least I'm hoping they are gone. Joe showed me a stretching device that works on your IT band! It's amazing and when I ran my 3 miles at 7:30 minute pace I had no pain! Now that I've been stretching my IT band, I have no more excuses for slacking off. Scott just did 6 miles at an 8 minute pace, and so I need to get in better shape fast or I may never keep up with him when we run outside this summer!

Reading on the iPad

Happiness is finally reading books again on a full page.  I have been reading on my iPhone for a year now, and I have enjoyed how easy it is to get books and read them whenever and wherever I want, but until I started reading them on my iPad, I had no idea how much harder it really is to read on your iPhone.  It's nice but not nice at the same time.  The iPad is fabulous and I was even able read in the sun...so I didn't have a problem with glare.

On the Divinity of Second Chances was a pretty good book.  It was about a dysfunctional family where each person was able to come to terms with what was causing them issues and deal with it in the way that worked best for themselves.  This is so important, something that I've really come to terms with myself.  It's hard to change your attitude about things when you've been stuck in a rut for so long.  Once you do make the decision to make the best of what you have and go forward, you really can see amazing things happen.  For me, when I decided to change my outlook, my business not only picked up, but is so busy that I have had to bring on instructors that I didn't think I would need.  My relationship with my husband and kids has always been good, but when I started making time to be with people who I didn't see since I went thru my post partum, I realized that I had neglected a whole part of my life that was just waiting for me to come back and welcomed me with open arms.   For me, just like most people, when I'm depressed I gain weight, but once I made the decision to take care of myself that changed.  I started working out 5 days a week, and not only saw my weight drop down to my ideal and my body fat get down in the teens again, but I love love love it!  I am good at running, and I enjoy it and the endorphins that I get from it just makes it so much better.

 

 I think one of the most important parts of this book had to do with accepting people for who they are and accepting them into your life in the capacity that you are both happy with.  The husband and wife thought their marriage was over.  They had no relationship at all with their son.  One of their daughters was not living up to her full potiential.  Everything seemed to be irreconcilable. And yet it wasn't.  They didn't know if they were really ready to give each other a second chance.  But once someone takes a firm grip on taking care of themselves, it seemed that the other issues just worked themselves out.  They were all willing to see that life was not going to be the same but they needed to accept that if it was going to work, they had to let it be what it was going to be.   Life changes, and even though you are ready for things to be different, sometimes it doesn't always work out the way that you plan.  I think the books shows that you need to do a good job of accepting people for who they are, and be happy to have them in your life, in a way that works best for everyone.  So many positives can come from just accepting change and giving people a second chance.  I've found this to be so true and have found that I am so much happier just accepting people for who they are and not expecting anything more from them.  Actually that includes everyone but my husband and children.  From them I expect only their best.  I do believe that from them, I would be doing them a disservice to not help them live life to the fullest, and that includes trying their best in everything that they do.

The Colorado Kid was not a typical Stephen King novel.  It was good, and entertaining but did not keep me up all night, scared to death and needing to know how it ends so I don't have to keep one eye open while I try to sleep.  It's very mellow and very calm and much  more of a mystery than anything else.  I liked it, and it was a nice easy read.  And it's given me a taste for King, which means I'm going to have to research and find one of his scary books I haven't read yet!

Running

I've been running again, and despite the pain in my IT Band, it's been going fairly well.  The problem I am having is the difference between jogging 6-10 miles and running 3-5 miles.  I have been jogging with my friend Janine, and we do 9 to 9 1/2 minute miles for 6 to 10 miles, depending on how she's doing.  I love to run with her, because we visit the whole time, and my knee never hurts jogging but once we stop, I am immediately recovered.  I doubt my heart rate gets up very high, which probably means I'm burning fat, but that may just be wishful thinking.

I called my dad and complained about my ability to jump on a treadmill and run 7 1/2 minute miles but then the agony I suffer with my knee for days afterwards.  He then told me how he understands and when he runs 10 miles, at a 6 minute pace on his treadmill his feet really hurt him.  WHAT!?!?  6 minute pace for 10 miles???  I am such a slacker!!!  I was impressed with 2 miles at 7 1/2 minutes.  What I realized is that I am setting the bar way too low. 

So to help motivate me, I've decided to track my running.  I'm going to try to work up my speed, while at the same time work up the distance.  I'm going to be happy jogging 6-10 miles, because it'll help with endurance, and on the treadmill I'm going to try to work on increasing my speed for shorter runs 3-5 miles, and then we will see how I do.

I'm keeping a log, but at this point in time I'm able to run 6 miles at 9 minutes, without working too hard and I yesterday I ran 3 miles at 8 1/2 minute pace without feeling too tired. (I also had to go slow because I had to buy another new pair of shoes because the Nike's I bought were so stiff that it not only hurt and made my feet go numb on the stairclimber but cramped my foot and injured my toe while running.)  This week I'm going to take it slow  and steady and then kick it up a little next week.

Goal, to run 5 miles at a 6 minute pace.

The Two Day Sandwich

I love this sandwich.  It's probably one of the best french dips ever...it just takes me 2 days to make it.  Scott always asks why I only make it once a month, or so and I just shake my head and smile.  It's hard for me, since I'm not driven by "what's for dinner?", to think ahead enough to make this sandwich.

Here's the recipe to my favorite french dip.

Rachel's French Dip Sandwich

~Roast Makings~

3-4 lb roast

3 Tbls. Traeger Beef Rub

3 Tbls. minced garlic

3 Tbls. Balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tbls. Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp. dry mustard

~Sandwhich Makings~

Sliced sourdough wheat bread

sliced sharp cheddar cheese

4 Tbls. sandwich sprinkle

Rub the roast with the beef rub and garlic. 

Place roast in crock pot and make several slits to the top of the roast. 

In a small bowl combine the remaining ingredients and pour over meat. 

Cover and cook 4-5 hours.

Once done, thinly slice and store in a container with the juice from the crock pot.  

The next day, take the meat and warm it on a hot grill. 

Warm some of the au jus from the container.

Butter the bread. 

Place the meat, and cheddar cheese on the bread and sprinkle with the sandwich sprinkle. 

Grill on a Panini Maker and serve warm with a side of the au jus.

Believe in More than Luck

I recently read two books that had so much to do with death and what happens with what we do with our lives after someone we love dies.  The first book I read was What the Night Knows by most favorite popular fiction writer, Dean Koontz.  I have loved reading Koontz since I was in high school.  When I found him, I made it my mission to read all of his books.  He's a fabulous writer, who takes just enough sci fi to make it seem like it could really happen. 

In this book, I was so entertained by the parts of the book that dealt with why, as a society it's so easy to believe in luck, in karma, in evil and so hard to believe in God.  It talked about people using God as a way to "get out" of their bad behavior by saying God forgives them, but that's not actually how it all works.  I feel like we do live in a world where people want to believe in other things, even bad things, before they want to believe in God. 

I'd like to think that what you put into something you get out of.  I put my heart and soul into my relationship with my family, I work hard to make my business successful, I have the most amazing and supportive friends, who I love and support too.  I want to believe that my life is as wonderful as it is, because I am willing to work for it.  I don't think that it's up to God whether I have a good marriage, happy children, strong friendships or a successful business. I think that is up to me.  But I do think it's important to believe and trust that there is a higher power.  I think that God is someone or something that we should believe in, especially when you truly want to make a difference and not use God as a crutch.

Which has very little to do with the book, but leads me right into the next book, The Life and Death of Charlie St. Cloud.  This was a very entertaining read.  Quick and easy and yet gives you hope and the desire to believe that life after death does not need to be angels in heaven but really can be about our loved ones still wanting to be with us and still be a visitor in our lives. 

Both books deal with death and what happens afterwards.  Charlie St. Cloud is happy and gives you hope while Dean Koontz write about the scary side of death and all that can happen with that.  Interesting to me that I read them back to back.  Funny how life works out...



Baked Chimichanga

Scott and I have been eating Baked Bean and Cheese Chimicangas for years.  When I was a vegetarian, way back when, I use to search my vegetarian cookbooks for recipes that I thought Scott might enjoy too.  This recipe hits the spot...even if my children only really enjoy eating the outside shell!  They say the "crust" is yummy.  Only my children would be willing to eat the crust!

Bean and Cheese Chimicangas

1 can of refried beans

2 cups of shredded cheese

1/3 cup salsa

1 tsp ground cumin

1/3 cup of butter

8 tortillas

Heat oven to 475. 

Combine beans, cheese, salsa and cumin.

Put butter in a pie plate and microwave until butter is melted.

Place one side of a tortilla in the butter.

Remove and fill with bean mixture.

Roll up envelope fashion and place seam side down in 13x9 inch baking dish.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!