Ten Days of Thanksgiving: Days 7 and 8

Today we have Days 7 and 8 of the Ten Days (crammed into 4 by me) of Thanksgiving (inspired by Lisa).

#7: Fruit: I eat at least an apple a day, sometimes more. I enjoy pretty much all fruit and am glad that we live in a place where we can get it fresh and juicy no matter what season, although I prefer each fruit in the season where it is ripe. I was lucky this year to catch both blackberry and apple season at home, where we can pick them right off the bush and tree. I also very much enjoyed the blueberries and fresh peaches from the farms in Missouri. 

Saturn peaches

California strawberries

Blueberries are like candy!

Picking blackberries for cobbler

#8: Flour: I know that you already know that I love to bake. Actually I tend to stay away from bread-like items most of the time. However, when I get the chance I do love to throw some flour in with a few eggs and make a muffin or a cookie or bread. So, even though I don’t use it very often, I am thankful for flour and for the baked goods it makes. 

Buttermilk flax muffins

Green Tomato muffins

A Few Other Things I’ve Made Using Flour:

Apple Bundt Cake

Blackberry Cobbler

Cake Pops

What is your favorite fruit? Is there a good farmer's market near your house? What carb-loaded goodie do you like to splurge on from time to time? 

An Apple a Day Monday: III

Remember last week when I made the Apple Cake? Now I had buttermilk left over, as well as still having plenty of apples. I didn’t yet know what I wanted to make with these items. I contemplated buttermilk biscuits or buttermilk apple muffins.

(Check out Apple a Day I and Apple A Day II.)

Then, I got the prize in the mail that I won from Corey! Flaxseed Meal! I have never used it before, but have been putting it in oatmeal, on cereal and now in baking…and its great! I used the recipe that was on the back of the bag and amended it a bit to fit what I had on hand. And…they turned out great! Like a nutty, yummy, bran muffin…without the bran! For those of you who are gluten free, flaxseed is GF, so all you need is some GF flour (can sub for oats as well) and you are all set!

Bran Flax Muffins

(aka Oat Apple Nut Buttermilk Flax Muffins [and Squares])

1½ cups flour

¾ cup flaxseed

¾ cup oat bran (I used stone ground oats)

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 ½ cup carrots, shredded

2 apples, peeled and shredded

½ cup raisins (I used craisins instead)

1 cup nuts, chopped (I used walnuts)

¾ cup milk (I used buttermilk instead)

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix dry ingredients (first 7 on the list). 

In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the (wet) ingredients. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Do not over stir. Batter may be slightly lumpy. Pour into greased muffin tin. Fill cups approximately ¾ full. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Yields 15 medium sized muffins**

**NOTES: I ended up filling 12 cups ¾ full and still having a lot left over, so I used a bread pan and 2 mini bread pans to use up the rest. You could also easily cook these in a 9x13 baking dish and just cut them into squares. 

Next up: The apple craze continues! What else can one make with an apple? Don’t forget to check back next Monday to find out...and for another edition of “An Apple a Day”, which will be a feature each Monday in November.

Have you ever used flaxseed meal? Have you ever made your own oat bars?

Ten Days of Thanksgiving: Days 4, 5 and 6

The list continues! The idea was conceived by Lisa. I am doing the Cliff Note version of her Book, 10 Days of Thanksgiving. Here are numbers four, five and six.

#4: These Legs: In the last 5 months, my legs have successfully carried me hundreds of miles and I want to say, “Thank You Legs, for not giving up out on me”. I am also appreciative of these lungs and this heart. They are hard workers and rarely ever complain. I have been incredibly lucky to be in good health and I realize it may not last forever. I am happy to have it while I do! My grandfather used to say if he had three wishes, they would be: To be Healthy, Wealthy and Wise. I am working on the other two, but the heath thing right now is great!

Hamming it up at the Newburyport Green Stride Half Marathon

#5: Librarians: Thanks to various libraries, I have saved approximately $357.35 on books this year. Not to mention the Audiobooks, DVDs and CDs that I borrowed. I guess the thanks also go to Your Tax Dollars at Work. Thanks to all of you for supporting my book habit in a round-about way. You are contributing to my education and entertainment. Due to a dearth of good books, I have also managed to avoid watching crappy TV. (You can see some of the books I have read this year on my Bookshelf)

My stack of To-Read library books

#6: People Like You: Yes, you. All of you. From people like my Grandma and ST (you know who you are), who never leave comments publicly but always send me notes of encouragement, to people who have never met me before who give advice and antidotes and support. To the runners, the writers, the readers and the everything-in-between-ers. I don’t know where I would be without you all. And to those bloggers who I have met up with, it was like we were old friends, meeting up after a separation. What a great feeling! I can’t wait to meet more old friends!

Blogger Meetup with Raquelita and Lisa in Minneapolis

Do you especially appreciate (or loathe) a particular body part of yours? Do you ever get books from the library? Have you ever met someone you knew from the internet? If so, how did it go? 

Ten Days of Thanksgiving: Days 1, 2 and 3

My friend Lisa is doing a list of 10 things she is thankful for and I thought that was such a great idea. She is actually doing one a day for 10 days, but since I was in questionable internet land, I didn't quite make it on time to do that, so I am going to do my 10 days of Thanksgiving in 4 days this year. Next year I will have to be more organized and make it in 10 days, but for now, this is what we have to work with. You will probably notice that my family and friends will not make it onto this list, but that is only becuase this is a given. Of course I am thankful for them! These 10 things will be more of things that I may not always remember to be thankful for.

So, without further ado, in no particular order, 10 things that I am thankful for, 2 at a time:

#1: Three Grandmas: I am lucky enough to have not one, not two, but three grandmas in my life still. All of them are kind and loving and two of them even know how to use email (which is something to be thankful for in itself!)  I try to see them as much as possible, but they are all busy ladies. Grandma D travels the world and I can never remember if she is in Florida or Spain this winter. Grandma B is an active participant in all the grand children's baseball, football, polo, soccer and hockey games. Grandma S goes to the gym, does volunteer work and makes quilts which are then auctioned off and the proceeds go to charity. They are all still very active!

Gma S and I having drinks on the screen porch by the pond

Gma B and my Bro in San Francisco

Gma D making dinner on a nice summer day

#2: Enough Electronics to Choke a Donkey: I love electronics, but they are not something I really spend money on for myself. I have been very lucky to have people in my life who make it their purpose to keep me in business, electronics-wise. So thanks to my brother, my parents and Mr. L, I am connected with the world, can read, can take photos and can track my running!  Without them I would probably have a free flip phone and a library card and would be running around in circles, lost.

One of my favorite toys

#3: Honorary Nieces and Nephews:  My friends have done me the favor of having kids so I don’t have to. Thanks to them, my Mom has lots of kid’s photos on her fridge. Also this gives me the opportunity to hug and kiss and rile up babies and then hand them back over when I am done. I think really it is a win-win situation overall. So, thanks for getting knocked up girls! You have really done me a favor! 

Little A

Little C

Compiling this list is really a great way to remember how many things there really are to be thankful for! I could probably name hundreds of things. I guess some of them will have to wait for next year! 

Do you still get to see your grandparents? What is your favorite electronic toy? Do you have kids? If not, do you have honorary nieces or nephews? Do you have real ones?

Come on, Ride The Train

I know you were wondering, "don't you have a marathon coming up in a few weeks?" Or maybe you had forgotten, since I haven’t talked a lot about it. I do have one coming up and believe me, I have not forgotten. Each weekend, I have been dragging myself for hours down a path, a road or a trail, so that I can get my long run in. Every week, four times a week, I run up mountains, over dales and around bear poo, in order to get those training miles in! I was joking with my Mom the other day about how it’s not the mail carrier who braves the elements, it’s the runners! I've run in hail, sleet, rain and snow! Uphill both ways! Barefoot! (okay I may have gotten a tad carried away there)

It’s been pretty cold, with temperatures in the 40s and winds and sometimes snow, but the train must go on. So, how is it going, you ask? In fact, it’s going pretty well. I have been supplementing runs alone with races on the weekends, which definitely makes the running time go by faster. Here is a quick recap.

October 30: My long run of 18 miles was a few weeks ago. It was long. I ran in a place that was new to me and I accidentally ran on the wrong trail, which took me up a hill and caused me to have to backtrack, as well as being tired due to the additional hills. It was also about 75 degrees, which I was not expecting, since I had been running in 40 degree weather. So I had too many clothes on and ended up drinking a ton of water and still being a little overheated afterwards. In fact, I felt a little nauseous, but it must have been the heat factor, because a Frappuccino made me feel much better!

November 6: Luckily the long runs are staggered, so for this weekend I only* had to run 14 miles. I took advantage of this and signed up for The Almond Bowl Half Marathon. It went really well (click link for race recap).

November 13: The dreaded 20 mile run. This was my last long run before the taper started.  I was a little nervous beforehand becuase a) it's TWENTY miles! and b) I was going to visit a friend of mine and had never run in her area. It went fine. Another friend ended up running 5 miles with me and then heading back. I felt good actually, as in, not as bad as I thought I would. I think I am going to live, folks.

TODAY: I am really, REALLY glad that the taper is beginning. Especially since it is pretty good timing with Thanksgiving coming. I couldn't have planned it better myself.  This means that this weekend I only have to run 12 miles and next weekend, I only have to run 8, which is...I have to admit, a blessing. And then it's Marathon time! I would be lying if I told you that I wasn't nervous. 

BUT, in the last 457 weeks, okay 18 really, I have come pretty far. I feel good about that. 18 weeks ago I could barely run 2 miles. Not only do I feel more focused and healthier, but really I feel that am ready for the marathon. I may not be the fastest person there, but I will finish. I have it all tested out. I have my hydration belt worn in; I figured out what fuel works best for me; I have my lucky pair of shorts; I have a pair of shoes that will carry me. I know I can do it, but that good old reliable nervousness is starting to set in anyway. 

So, two more weeks of training and then...the big day. And a lot of turkey in between! 

*OhMyGoodness. I just said “only” 14 miles. That was weird. 

 Are you training for anything right now? Are the holidays going to cause a setback? What is the weather like where you are now?

11:12 Your Daily Environment

Well folks, we only have one more week after this of the 12 Weeks to Better Photos series. This week, we are finally getting to the fun stuff! Today we get to showcase Your Daily Environment! I think that one of the things that I learned a lot when I was doing my 365 Project is that there are really great photo opportunities around you every day.

Whether you have a point and shoot or a fancy schmancy, take a minute to just look around you and look at things from a different perspective. You will be surprised at what great things are all around you. This week's assignment was to do one (or all) of the following:

1. Capture a small snippet of your life that usually goes unnoticed
2. Create a visual record of your day
3. Share your favorite photo(s) with us (and tell us about the emotional connection you have with it, whether or not it's technically perfect)

I used this opportunity to take a few photos of what I was doing one day last week.

First, I took a hike. I found this on the path.

Another treasure from my hike. 

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen.

Buttermilk Muffins. 

 Mr. Tough Guy, otherwise known as Mouse.

You thought you were never going to see him again..but here he is, Papa P in the flesh! 

It was fun just taking photos without a specific theme. I mean, really pretty much anything can be part of your daily environment! What did I learn? Well, I already knew this, but as you can see, I like taking close ups! I guess I still need to work on my portraits, landscapes and action photos!

I liked this assignment because I find it fun to see what other people have in their daily life that they take for granted, but I think is the coolest thing ever. It may be an animal (I saw my first porcupine in Canada a few years ago and was SO excited) or a food (remember that snake fruit in Cambodia? Normal to them, not normal to me!) or just a view from your window! 

Join up next week for the last lesson: Camera Accessories.

What would you take a photo of to describe/define YOUR daily environment? What do you find in your everyday life that you may consider mundane but may actually be pretty neat to others?

12 in 2012

Since I didn't get married on 11.11.11, I decided instead to do another alliterative challenge, 12 half marathons in 2012, otherwise known as 12 in 2012. I can't take credit for the idea though. It was thought up by Jill. Not only did she think up the idea, but she also went so far as to find sponsors and to organize everything for us. Sponsors so far are iFitness and Chica Bands.

You can run one a month, or instead you can run 12 in one month. If you are crazy. My plan is to try to run one a month, but probably some months (like January) will have none and other months (like September and other fall months) will have extras. This is going to be a challenge, but it will also be a lot of fun. I also want to run some trail races this year and I am also planning on running The Relay  in support of Organs R Us and a friend of mine who needs a kidney transplant. So, it will be a busy year.

You can do it too! All  you need to do is commit to 12 half marathons in 2012 and be prepared to blog about your races a little bit (which most of us are already doing)! If you are interested, go to Jill's website and email her to get details! This is a fun way to be fit and challenge yourself in 2012 and you will have the support of everyone else who is doing it!

So, who is in?

What goals do you have for 2012?

The Act of Giving Thanks

When I was a child, my mother made me write Thank You Notes like there was no Tomorrow to anyone who gave me a gift. After every Christmas, Birthday or Random event, I would sit down with my list and write a note to each person saying thank you for each thing that they gave me. I had to write down each thing, because if you wrote a note to my grandmother saying, “thanks for all the gifts” or, “thanks for the doll” when in fact she gave you a doll AND a necklace, you would get a phone call from Grandma saying, “DIDN’T YOU GET THE NECKLACE I SENT?!”

So I got into the habit of writing Thank You notes. I realize many people never were forced required to do this as a child, so they are not in the habit of doing it as an adult. However, I am of the mindset that a thank you, whether it is verbal, emailed or written in the sky with smoke signals, is warranted, no matter what. If someone gives you a gift, if they take the time to think of you, I think it is only fair to do the same by simply thanking them.

However, this does not always happen. I have sent people gifts and never heard from them. No phone call, no email, no smoke signals. They don’t even mention anything the next time I see them. It’s like it didn’t even happen. Where are their manners? Maybe their mother didn’t teach them to write thank you notes, but weren’t they taught to say thank you if someone gives you something? Don’t you learn this when you are a child? Even at the dentist, after he roots around painfully in your mouth, you say thank you when he gives you the lollypop afterwards. Don’t you?

I would like to blame technology and the internet, but in all actuality, shouldn’t this make it EASIER, not harder, to send a simple note, in the form of a text message, a phone call, or an email (or a tweet or a FB post or…)? Now we have more ways, not less, to say thank you. So why isn’t it happening?

I am appreciative to people who say thanks. So, thank you to all of you who are good at saying thank you! And if you are one of those people that sometimes get too busy to say thank you, maybe you should get off Facebook or Twitter for 27 seconds and send your friend/grandmother/sister a text!

It only takes a minute to say thank you. Not only can it really make someone's day, but I also think it is just plain good manners.

Do you write thank you notes? Do you think that when giving a gift the pleasure of just giving it should be enough? Or would you like to be thanked?

An Apple A Day Monday: II

I love to bake, especially in autumn. That nice cinnamon smell about the house, the warmth; they are the epitome of fall to me. Besides that, I love figuring out fun things to make with the ingredients on hand. When I saw Kim’s Apple Bundt Cake recipe, I knew that since it was apple season, and we have several trees, and I finally have an oven to use, I would have to make it.

I didn’t make it once; I made it twice, and it was a hit all around (I took one to the Apple Cider potluck and it was gone in about 47 seconds!) I did not have a Bundt pan, but made it work with a bread pan and a pie dish instead. I bought buttermilk for her glaze, but ended up only using about 1/8 of the recommended amount of glaze, since I liked the cake just fine without it.

Kim’s Apple Bundt Cake

3 cups flour

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking soda

1 tbsp. Cinnamon

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil (or you can sub ½ c. applesauce, ½ c. oil for a lower fat version)

1 tsp. Vanilla

3 cups raw peeled, diced apples (I used 2 large apples)

1 cup chopped nuts (optional, I did not put them in)

2 eggs, beaten

Glaze(optional):

½ cup melted butter

½ cup sugar (I only used ¼ cup)

½ cup buttermilk

½ tsp. Baking soda

Peel apples. 

Dice and sprinkle with cinnamon. 

Mix together all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add remaining ingredients, including apples, to dry mix. Stir together until well blended. Spread into a greased pan (1 – 10 inch Bundt pan or any other baking dish). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a knife comes out clean. 

For glaze: Mix together all ingredients and drizzle on cake after cake is cooked. I only used about 1/8 of the recommended glaze on one of my cakes and none on the other. I actually prefer it without the glaze, but you can do it either way! 

Notes: I don’t flour my pans, I only butter them, but Kim recommended using flour. It’s your call. Mine came out of the pan just fine. The batter looks like it needs more moisture when you are mixing it up, but it cooks just fine. I did press mine down into the pan on the second batch, which made it a little less crumbly, but also less tall. I recommend a light press, just to keep all the batter together, since the first time one of the cakes split in half (it still tastes great though!)

Next up: What will I do with the leftover buttermilk and the rest of the apples? Don’t forget to check back next Monday to find out...and for another edition of “An Apple a Day”, which will be a feature each Monday in November.

Do you own a Bundt pan? What is your favorite thing to bake in the Fall?

Since We've No Place to Go

Hello and Happy Sunday! What a fun week, but a cold one. It seems that winter has arrived. As you have seen, I have been busy during my time off doing lots of things that I wanted to do before but didn't have the time...or the oven...to do. So I've been doing some catching up on the enjoyable things in life. So, grab a pumpkin spiced latte (inspired by Kim) or whatever warm cozy drink you can think of and check out what I've been up to during my time off!

I ran a half marathon

I've been using THIS a lot. 

To make lots of THESE. And other things! Now, who is going to help me eat them!? 

We got our first good snow! 

Remember that mountain I climbed? I'm glad I did it last week becuase it would be a lot colder this week! 

 I've been drinking a lot of this. Pots of it. That's coffee by the way. In my favorite mug.

Best coffee mix: 

Coffee

Splash of cream (approx 1/2 inch)

1 Splenda

I finished this series. Not bad! If you haven't already jumped on that bandwagon, I suggest you go ahead and get on!

He and I have been having much quality time together. 

I've been working on my Christmas cards. Yes, it's almost THAT time folks! Here is a sneak peek. Very sneaky. 

What did you do this week? What are your plans for this weekend? What's your favorite Fall (Winter) drink? How do you take your coffee?

Two Roads Diverged

Happy 11.11.11 Everyone! 

Now that I am not in Missouri anymore, I am running wild. Literally. I am ON the path less taken. Where I am these days is miles from civilization and so I have been running on trails, logging roads, abandoned fire access roads and other secluded roads in order to get my miles in. As you can see from the photos from last week, they are some beautiful places to run, especially in the fall.

Running into people or cars is not really an issue for me here. However, I may run into many other interesting things instead. Like the huge pile of bear scat that I narrowly missed the other day while on my long run. I grew up in the area, so am not particularly afraid of the wild animals. However, one must be careful, especially now when some of the animals are foraging for winter and sometimes come down a little lower on the mountains to find more food.

Instead of cars, here are some of the things you may run into in my neck of the woods. Once again, this is in a very literal sense.

Black Bear and Paw Print

Beaver, Grey Squirrel, Feral Pig, Skunk

Rattlesnake

River Otter, Mule Deer, Red Fox

Mountain Lion

All photos were taken from The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada by John Muir Laws. This book is awesome. It details all the plants, animals, prints and scat of the local area. If you are into plants, animals and scat like I am (hehe), you would love this book, or a similar book, for your area.

Do you live in the city or the country? What animals might you encounter near your house? Have you ever gotten too close for comfort to any of them?

10:12 Landscapes

Landscape photography is something I feel more comfortable doing. The mountains don’t move. Okay, maybe they do, but at least it’s really slow. They don’t talk back either. They are calm and huge and fun to take photos of! However, there are several things you need to consider when taking landscape shots. As always, you need to think about the composition of your photo. Like we learned in week 5, you need to eliminate distractions, apply the rule of thirds, keep an eye on the horizon and try a new perspective from time to time. So, how can we do that when shooting landscapes?

The rule of thirds is easy; just make sure you are lining up a tree or a mountain or the sky in one of those quadrants, like we practiced. You can also use a natural line to create the rule as well as drawing the eye into what you want the viewer to focus on.

Trying a new perspective can be fun. Look at things from above or below in order to take a photo that everyone else has not already taken. Can you get a birds-eye view of something, instead of taking the shot from ground level?  

For those of you with a point and shoot, use the landscape mode, which is the little mountain icon, to shoot your photo. This will cause the camera to have an increase f/stop (remember that from week one?) which will cause the whole photo to be in focus. If you have a lower f/stop, only certain parts (foreground / background) will be in focus and with a landscape photo, you want the entire thing to be crystal clear. Remember, Ansel Adams shot photos at an f/64! If you are not using a point and shoot, remember, the higher the f/stop, the less light is being let in, so you may need to slow down your shutter speed or bump up your ISO if there is insufficient natural light.

Here’s the question we want to consider this week:

What does your view of the world look like?

The assignment was to share your view of the wide, wide world. We were reminded to select an f/stop around f/22, compose our photo with the entire scene in mind, and apply any of the following 10 tips:

1. Use a wide angle lens (if you have one)

2. Find a bird's eye view

3. Locate a focal point

4. Consider composition

5. Pay attention to the time of day

6. Play with shadows, silhouettes, and reflections

7. Use lines to lead the eye

8. Consider a city scene

9. Take a panoramic photo

10. Capture a nighttime scene

As you can see, in the first photo, I achieved a bird’s eye view of this landscape by climbing up to the top of another mountain. Maybe hiking is not your cup of tea; that’s okay. You can take the elevator to the top of the Empire State building and get the same result.

In this photo, you can see that the focal point is that mountain top, which I was trying to get to!

In this photo, I used the line of the river to draw your eye. I also tried to apply the rule of thirds, but I may have wanted to raise my camera just a bit in order to have a little more sky in the photo.

In this, the lines of the beach and the lines of the sun are good, although I should have maybe stood a little closer to the water to make more of an angle, rather than the flat line of the ocean.

This photo used the city as the landscape instead of using natural elements.

This photo shows you what a difference the time of day makes. In the earlier morning, the sun is not up enough, so the light is kind of grey, instead of being warmer. The colors of the trees and water are more pronounced when the sunlight is on them. The contrast of the blue sky instead of the washed out grey one makes for a more interesting photo.

What I learned: Take your time. Like I said before, the mountains are not moving very fast. You can afford to think about your shot and compose it right. Try standing in a few different places to get a better angle. Consider the time of day. As you saw in the last photo set, it makes a big difference. Go to the same place several times; you may be surprised at the differences each time.

Don’t forget to link up with Kate and to join us next week when we will be looking at Our Daily Environments. We only have two weeks left, but you can still join in the fun at any time!

Do you like taking landscape photos? Do you prefer city-scapes or natural landscapes?