Hey numba one

Sooooo, my first race is this Sunday. I'm running in the Raleigh Rocks 5k at the PNC Arena (Formerly known as the RBC Center. I suppose those crazy Canadian bankers got wise and retreated back to the north) on April Fool's Day and I'm going to die. I am NOT prepared for it, but I'll do the best I can. But hopefully the addition of this new jogging stroller/bike trailer will help me be able to run during the day in the future.

Image from www.recicleta.com

It's pretty sweet, right? I got the most AUH-MAZING deal on it at REI. Clearance + Dividend + 20% off. Heck yeah.

Also, I've decided that I'm going to participate in the Triangle Race for the Cure in June with my family. We're all going to walk it (except for my mom who will be pushed in her wheelchair) as a team. I think our team name will be The Dudley Do-Rights. We're walking in honor of my mom who was diagnosed with breast cancer in December last year. I'm really looking forward to participating in this race with other breast cancer survivors and their families. If you are interested in participating in this race, visit www.komennctriangle.org/komen-race-for-the-cure for more information. And if you want to participate but are unable to join us on June 9th, please consider donating any amount to our team to help us in our fund raising efforts. Thanks!

 

There's a troll in the dungeon!

I feel like Professor Quirrell from the first Harry Potter movie in saying that I have a SPLITTING headache and Baby Girl will not go to sleep! Just thought you ought to know. *falls on face*

 

The Racing Year: An Explanation

So, this year, as one of my goals, I decided to run a half marathon. It was a goal to get me back into exercising and to get me in shape post-baby. I haven't picked the half marathon yet (because the Outer Banks race is on a Sunday. Boo.) but I figured I should start off slowly by signing up for races throughout the year. My first race is coming up on April 1st (yes, I realize it's a Sunday too, but I didn't realize that until after I registered. Luckily it's General conference weekend so I don't have to find a sub for teaching or playing the organ!) and I'm getting pretty psyched! I've been able to go running after Matt get's home from work and the occasional Saturday and I've worked up to running 2 miles without stopping! Hopefully I'll be able to run the whole 5k without needed to walk, even if walking might actually be faster than my running sometimes.

Any way, I've decided this year is going to be known in my personal history as the racing year. I'm going to try to sign up for a minimum of 3 races (one 5k, one 10k and the half marathon), but I'd like to run more in order to get myself worked up to the necessary mileage to tun 13.1 miles. I've had somewhat of a rocky start due to working around nursing and Matt being home, but I'm working towards it little by little. So wish me luck on April Fool's Day!

 

Favorite Things Series

So, I've realized that I have made several "Favorite Things" lists, so I've decided to make it a series. Here's my latest (and greatest!) favorite things!

• Infant Swing 

• This is one of the only ways baby girl will sleep during the day. That, car rides and her vibrating bouncy seat.
• Kashi Go Lean Crisp Toasted Berry Crumble

• A great tasting cereal with sweet dried berries. And it stays crunchy in the milk too. Bonus!!
• Vanilla Almond Milk

• So so yummy! Especially when poured on top of the above favorite thing.
• Baby Bjorn Air

• I hounded Craigslist for this one for weeks. It's like the classic version, but the material is a soft mesh which allows for better air flow for both you and the baby.  This is going to be a MUST during the summer with Baby Girl. And even better, she likes being in it (which is amazing considering we've tried 5 different types of carriers with no success)!

French Onion Burger Sliders

I cannot tell you how delicious these burgers were! And the best part was that I didn't even miss the cheese! Try these! I know you'll love them too!

Not my French Onion Burger, but and an equally delicious burger from In-and-Out

French Onion Burgers

Makes 6 sliders or 3 regular sized burgers

Ingredients

• 1 lb of ground beef
• 1 packet of onion soup mix
• 1 tablespoon of spicy brown mustard
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 T olive oil
• pinch of salt 
• burger accessories (lettuce, tomato, ketchup, etc.)

Directions

1. Mix the ground beef with the onion soup mix and mustard. (This makes a strong onion flavored burger. If you want to back down the flavor {which I don't recommend unless you have an anti-onion person in the house}, only use half of the packet)
2. Slice your onion into half moon shapes and caramelize in a frying pan with the olive oil and salt. 
3. While the onions are getting yummy, shape the burger meat into 6 small patties.
4. Once the onions are done, remove them from the pan and fry your burgers. (If you must has cheese, add a slice after you've flipped them)
5. Assemble your burger with desired toppings and onions. (I put on lettuce, tomato, mayo and ketchup)

I also made fresh rolls to put my burgers on. I used these rolls and they were (and are!) fantastic and easy to make!

 

I finally have pictures!!!

So, I went to visit my parents this past weekend and I finally got some pictures! Yay! My parents live in this beautiful housing complex that backs up to Virginia Tech farms. It has a duck pond, pools, ball fields and walking trails that go right onto campus. In fact, that's how my dad gets to a from school (on his bike, of course!).

I am always blown away by how dang beautiful it is at my parent's apartment! Here are some of my fav's from the weekend!

A trio of cows near the stream

 

This is my "I'm-not-so-sure-about-this" face.

Lovely view with the apartment complex to my back

Beautiful VT farms

Trail leading away from my parents apartment towards to farms and then ultimately onto campus

A delightful view

Playing with camera settings

Loved this tree!

Evie with the trio of cows in the background. They were very interested in us.

Gorgeous

 
Any way, Baby Girl and I made this trip all on our own! I was a little nervous about it, but it worked out just fine. She definitely has her time limit on her comfort in the car seat (about 2 hours) which made our 4 hour drive a little rough in the middle and near the end, but mostly, she did great!!

We had such a great time visiting Grandma and Bozo. I hope we can visit again soon!