Christmas Dinner

In my new frilly owl apron (oops, forgot a photo) I made Christmas dinner to the music of Tango on Pandora (Tango the type of dance...turns out it inspires many wonderful meals). The menu: roast leg of lamb in a citrus rosemary marinade, butternut squash apple cranberry bake, and a wild rice pecan salad with an orange dressing on top.

I cut up butternut squash and apples and layered them in a baking pan and then sprinkled on fresh cranberries. I drizzled it with agave nectar and sprinkled it with whole wheat flour, nutmeg and a little salt. I dotted it with coconut oil and put it in the oven. This is how it looked when it came out:



While that was baking I made the rice. Wild and brown rice mix, with dried cranberries, pecans and green onions. When it was ready to serve, I poured in the dressing made of grated orange peel, lemon juice, olive oil, agave nectar, salt and pepper.

The roast was last to come out of the oven:



While I cooked, I danced to the tango music playing, drank the last couple glasses of Naked Merlot that I had (un-oaked) and nibbled on small wedges of brie. When it was all finally ready, I set my plate at the dining table using the good "china" (it's not really china) and good silverware (not really silver). I opened up a very nice Malbec and had a fancy dinner for one in front of the wood stove.



And for dessert I had a piece of Enstrom's chocolate almond toffee that my aunt and uncle in Colorado got me for Christmas.

Ok, maybe I had two.

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and everyone is doing well! Goodnight!

Living Room and Dining Room Makeover

I have the HGTV Instant Makeover software for my computer and it has helped a little in choosing paint colors. Mostly it's just been fun to play with. I got back into it yesterday for some more in depth work and came up with some really great makeovers for not a whole lot of money.

Here's a view from my dining room into my living room, as it is now:

And here's a computer generated image of the makeover.

I simply painted the trim, covered up the ugly ceiling tiles and added handscraped laminate flooring. Oh yeah, and I painted the living room gray instead of blue.

Here's a view of my dining room from the living room.

My living room wall is not really that blue. It's the lighting. And here's after the update:

Envision it with crown molding, a big decorative mirror over the buffet and maybe a decorative rug under the dining table. I had a problem sizing the crown molding in the program, so here's an image I managed to get to work. This is in the dining room looking into the guest bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. Just looking at the flooring, molding and trim.

I'm working on the kitchen but I've got less vision for that room, so it's pretty overwhelming. I think I'll leave it alone for now. I did do one on just some small updates to my reading room (back family room/ withdrawing room) but apprently I didn't save the changes. I'll post that later.

Any thoughts on the trim and flooring? I've recently discovered that the trim is most likely not the original trim to the house, so painting over it would not be as big a crime as I previously thought.

Culinary Updates

Have I been cooking? Of course! And I've been taking pictures but have just been too busy to post them. It's winter, so I've got more time to cook. I also just got a cute new apron for Christmas from my friend Crystal, but I don't have a photo of that yet. I'll take some tomorrow as I cook Christmas dinner.

For Thanksgiving I went to my aunt's house in Arizona. I'm proud to say, the boys all liked my cranberry sauce (perfected last Thanksgiving) and they are not cranberry sauce people. It's the Cranberry Extraordinaire on Allrecipes.com. I would like to say that I come up with my own recipes but I don't. I just make other recipes well.

On my way home from Arizona, I got stranded in Denver due to weather in Medford. My uncle came and picked me up, and my aunt and I got to spend the next day roaming the streets of Boulder. We stopped in a really cool cooking store and since I couldn't take new pans and knives on the plane, I settled for a couple cookbooks. One of which was 50 Best Crepe recipes.

I don't cook with flour. It's far too close to baking. I don't bake. We won't get into that. So I was really surprised with how easy and healthy crepes could be. I got 100% whole wheat flour instead of white flour and used coconut oil instead of butter.

For the first crepes I simply added greek honey yogurt and sliced bananas. For how simple and healthy it was, it was so delicious! I also experimented with goat cheese and walnuts as well as almond butter, bananas and chocolate sauce. Amazing! You can go sweet or savory with crepes, simple or complex. And you can make them as healthy as you want!

Well being as I was getting into using flours, I naturally decided to attempt whole wheat flour tortillas, again with coconut oil in place of lard.

There was flour everywhere, but they turned out very soft and scrumptious. I ate a few while I cooked and then one thing led to another and next thing you know, I was eating homemade quesadillas. Delicious! What's really great is that both the tortillas and crepes can be made ahead of time and filled later, which makes life a little easier. Next on my list of flour foods is yeast free bread and pizza crust.

So today is Christmas Eve and I used one of my Christmas dinner recipes for lunch today, since I didn't have much else planned and needed some healthy food. I got this recipe off of Simply Recipes and it's called Golden Beet and Pomegranate Salad. I didn't have red wine vinegar so I used apple cider vinegar, and I replaced the Triple Sec with orange juice. I also substituted agave nectar for sugar and used no salt. It turned out so awesome! It's beautiful, simple and so flavorful!

For the white wine I used a Gewurztraminer which is pretty sweet. I also drank a glass (or two) with it.

On the menu for Christmas dinner is a Roast Leg of Lamb with a citrus rosemary marinade, Butternut Squash Apple Cranberry Bake and Wild Rice Cranberry Pecan Salad. All of these recipes actually came from Simply Recipes.

Successful run!

Well then. I just finished an 18 mile run on the treadmill and I have to say, it was a bit easier and more pleasant than running in the sleet and wind for 18 miles. I am happy to report that nobody's dog chased me, no cars honked at me and I did not have to plan my run around a rest room...because it was right there the whole time.

I was wondering how this was going to go being as the view doesn't really change for almost 3 hours, but to be totally honest, it's going to be boring to run for 3 hours regardless of where I do it. And I actually do quite well being alone with myself for that long.

I didn't end up listening to the audio book, I didn't think I could handle it. Instead I went through a couple of my playlists on my MP3 player. After about 6 miles I jumped off the treadmill and ran to the bathroom. The treadmill doesn't go over 1 hour so I reset it and went another 6 miles. As I took my headphones off to hit up the bathroom again, a buddy I work with showed up and got on the eliptical next to me. We got all caught up and 20 minutes later he left. I was off to fend for myself for the last 3 miles.

Two young kids were horsing around behind me while their dads played basketball in the gym. One came up to me and said "How long have you been here?"

I laughed. "For...EVER".

"How much longer do you have to go?"

"Less than 2 miles."

"Well how much have you already done?"

"16 miles." I looked at him. "16 miles and another 2. How many is that?"

He considered it for a second and nodded.

"18" I filled in for him, just in case he thought about shorting me. "18 miles."

When I finally finished (the last 2 miles were horrid) I walked for a few minutes and then hobbled off.

The kids returned. "How long did that take?"

"Almost 3 hours".

"Wow. I thought it was 4. But that's when the gym closes."

I laughed. "Yeah. Nope, only 3."

Three is enough for now. It was actually a little under 3 and that includes my 2 bathroom breaks. Not too bad. And I messed with the incline a few times to mix things up. Putting in some small hills here and there.

Well I better hop in the jacuzzi before I fall asleep.

Today is the day!

I'm doing it! 18 miles on a treadmill. For some reason I am more excited than I should be. Maybe because for the last few weeks I have been dreading my runs because of the weather, and now, I have no weather to deal with because I will be inside.

Pretty boring right? Who cares! I'll be warm and er, comfortable? Maybe not comfortable. I thought about getting up and just toughing out another outdoor run but the thought made me pull the blanket over my head. Right now I suppose you could say the weather is "not that bad". It's in the 30's, overcast and only slightly windy. But it's supposed to snow today and get gusts up to 30mph. I went out to bring in some wood and concluded I absolutely did not want to run in this.

So I'm not.

The gym doesn't open until noon on Sundays, so that's when I'm starting. Hopefully I get the treadmill with the window view and not the wall. I'm charging my MP3 players and I put new batteries in my portable CD player....and bought a Stephen King audio CD. Hahaha. We'll see how that goes. I've got 3 GU's lined up and will have a couple of water bottles right there, and best of all, a restroom 30 ft away at all times.

This could be the beginning of a great relationship with treadmills. Or it'll be a disaster: I'll hate every second of it and never get on one again. There's only one way to find out.

Winter Blues

This has been coming for a couple weeks now but I didn't see it until it smacked me in the face this morning. Winter. Ick. I forgot how much it affects me. People around here get excited for the snow because it means a return of winter sports. I dread it. I do have fun when I go snowboarding, but I have to be dragged out of my house. It's cold out there!

I haven't seen the sun for days. And last year I purchased a light lamp but didn't see much of a difference. I didn't suddenly get motivated or feel happier. So I think it ended up at the thrift shop. Supposedly exercise and going outdoors is supposed to help. I exercise for over 12 hours per week, half of that outside...in the rain/sleet/snow/wind. It's not doing anything but making me want to stay inside more.

This morning I peeked out the window and it was snowing. For about half a second I thought, Oh, how beautiful. Then it was gone. I think I was in denial that it was ever actually going to snow up here. I think it's late this year. We got snow maybe a month or so ago but it went away. Now it's back. And this morning I got the feeling that this stuff is here to stay for a few months. It sent my soul spiraling down to the depths of hell in  a hurry. And I knew it would only be a few hours before I would have to head outside to get wood and wood pellets.

A couple weeks ago I noticed my lack of motivation with some house projects. I thought maybe I was tired from my new workout schedule. I get plenty of sleep, exercise and eat well. The projects were not large. We're talking a 4 inch by 4 inch patch that needed to be painted on my ceiling. And it took me several weeks to work up the motivation to do it.

At work when I'm scheduled to run, I watch the weather out the window and dread having to go out in it. When it's over, it's fine, always. But before and during it's pretty miserable.

What really made it sink in was that today is Saturday. Saturday is a good day. Nothing really on my list of things to do. Except some Christmas stuff. While working on my Christmas stuff, it occured to me that I needed to go to Walmart to accomplish Christmas.

That did it. I envisioned all the Christmas shoppers that would be at Walmart right now. Walmart is the only place in town for people to buy Christmas gifts...ok, not the only place, but probably the most likely. We don't have a mall. We have one or two small town gift shops and a Walmart. So not only is it gray and white outside, cold and slippery (I slipped brining in wood this morning- caught myself) but there would be a ton of shoppers in Walmart.

I haven't gathered up the courage yet. This is going to be a tough winter.

18 miles on a treadmill?

The thought is both terrifying and a big relief at the same time. Let's start with why it's a good idea.

I'll just throw this out there and get it over with. Many long distance runners develop issues with their stomachs...or uh... bowels. I don't know, it seems that no matter what I do, I've developed a need to use the restroom around mile 3. Sometimes mile 4 or 5. In any case, around Montague there are no bathrooms. There are no bushes or trees. There are wide open pastures with about 5 inch tall grass. And enough traffic that just squating on the side of the road like a dog or cow (ok, cows don't really squat) would get me arrested. Running at a gym provides ample restroom opportunities. That's a huge relief...no pun intended.

Weather. This is a big one. I knew this was going to happen sooner or later. I've been extremely lucky with weather on my runs lately. It hasn't been extremely cold or windy on my long run days. I think this is about to end. There's currently a light snow going on outside the window, but I hear it's supposed to dump this weekend. Especially Sunday...which is the day I'm scheduled to run 18 miles. It also gets VERY windy in Montague being as it's part of the large Shasta Valley that is unprotected and gets wind funneled through there regularly. Running 18 miles in a blizzard is not fun.

I also just tore my only pair of winter running pants. Yesterday on my 9 mile run (among bears). Sooo... I have no winter running pants. I have sweat pants, but anyone who's ever run 18 miles will tell you that sweat pants are not the most comfortable thing to run in. A 3-5 mile run in sweat pants? Sure. As a matter of fact, that's what I'm doing today. 5 miles in sweats. I just ordered a new pair of running tights but they won't be here for another week. Maybe I'll have them in time for my 20 miler. If I run inside on a treadmill, I'm wearing shorts. And a tank top. And I'll be staring out the window at the blizzard going on.

So the cons: really for my situation right now, there's only one. Boredom. I am not a great treadmill runner. I'm pretty sure the longest I've ever run on a treadmill was 4 miles. I took a poll on Facebook and some of my friends have run 8-10 miles on a treadmill which is valiant. One of my friends has run 18. That's Shelly. She's crazy. She ran 18 miles on a treadmill because it was 20 below zero (-20) outside. They all mentioned tv and music.

Here's the problem. The tv's at my gym are sort of off to the side. I am physically incapable of running on a treadmill and looking to one side. If I have to look to the side, I first have to grab the side bar. This prevents me from falling over sideways and face-planting on a moving conveyor belt. That would be bad. And embarassing.

I do not have an iPad or an iPhone or really any sort of iThing. I have a few MP3 players and I think I'll bring all 3. I have a Kindle but I can't read while running. Attempting to focus on a stationary page while my head is bouncing up and down is a quick way to get a massive headache. I was thinking of bringing my French audio cd's and my portable cd player and learning some French while I run.

This run will take me between 2.5 and 3 hours to complete. I hope. The gym is only open for 4 hours on Sundays. 2.5-3 hours on a treadmill. Hopefully the one in front of the window is open. There's 2 rooms with treadmills at my gym. In one room the treadmills are about 2 feet from the wall and they look right at the wall. There are tv's to the left and right, but well...yeah. So I'd be staring at the wall for up to 3 hours. The other room has two treadmills side by side facing a window that looks out to a quiet street. I saw this morning that one of those treadmills is out of order. I suppose at some point in my run I can just up and move to a different one. You know, mix it up a little.

This is going to be fun.