Teaser Tuesday

"Books should go where they will be the most appreciated, and not sit unread, gathering dust on a forgotten shelf, don't you agree?"

That is a line I just read on page 289 of "Brisingr" by Christopher Paolini.

I'm working on my Master's Degree in Reading Instruction (yes, I'm still a nerd!) so I don't get to actually read much anymore. No, I take that back. I am reading... a lot, it just isn't what I choose to read! However, My hubby bought me the third and final book in the Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini the other day so I have been sneaking in pages here and there trying to read it without sacrifice to my homework.

One of the blogs I visit hosts something called Teaser Tuesdays where the deal is to let your current book fall open to a random page and share two sentences (without giving spoilers). Since I haven't been reading, I haven't been participating but after having just read the above line, I decided I not only wanted to share that little tidbit but do a real Teaser Tuesday too so here goes, from pg 196 of the same book:

"The conversation lapsed, and then Eragon said, 'Do you think about it much, what you went through in Gil'ead?' When she did not respond, he added, 'You never really talk about it.'"

I would of course, suggest reading the first two books ("Eragon" and "Eldest") before beginning "Brisingr" or else you may get a bit lost!

Monday Menu Planning

Well, as I mentioned in an earlier post, the Shepard's Pie didn't get made because I never made it to the grocey store (as much as I love to eat, I don't cook much and I HATE grocery shopping!). I did however make my broccoli/cheese/ham casserole Saturday night before my 1/2 marathon on Sunday. After the race Sunday I was too pooped to cook so we just ate leftovers!

I did manage to get to the grocery store Saturday morning though, however, I forgot to bring the recipe for the Shepard's Pie to know what I needed. UGH I'll pull it together eventually, I swear! I did however get stuff to make Pinwheel Pizzas, Meatloaf, and Hot Potato Casserol so I will attempt making those at some point this week. Yes, I know it is 3 meals and last week I said I would do 2, but I figure I need to make up for only making one. So, with the rules of addition on my side (2 + 2 = 4 and 1 + 3 = 4), I will try for 3 this week before Hubby goes out of town for a bit.

The Pinwheel Pizza's I may alter a bit from the original recipe. I don't like olives and Hubby isn't a huge fan of spinach (although I may slip a little bit in there, that will be OK I think). I'm going to use turkey pepperoni, maybe some green peppers, and whatever other veggies I can dig up.

I've made meatloaf before (even though I have this hang-up with handling raw meat, but that's a blog for another day), but not this particular recipe.

1 lb ground beef

1/2 c. dry bread crumbs

1 egg

garlic powder to taste

dash of Worcestershire Sauce

1/3 c. ketchup

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. pineapple preserves

Preheat oven to 350. In learge bowl, combine beef, bread crumbs, egg, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well and place in 9x5 pan. Bake 30-50 mins.

Stir together ketchup, brown sugar, and pineapple preserves. Pour over meatloaf about 20 mins befoe removing from oven.

My only question is do you cook it for 30-50 mins, THEN add the extra stuff and cook 20 more minutes or cook 10-20 minutes and then add the extra stuff. Hmmm. Guess I will see what it loks like after 10-20 mins to make my decision (unless anyone out there in cyper space knows and is kind enough to help a novice out!)

The Hot Potato Casserol is one that I've had for a while but never committed to because I've never wanted to take the time to peel 9 potatos! But it sounds really yummy:

9 peeled potatos

1 10-oz can of cream of chicken soup

1 10-oz can of cream of celery soup

2 cups sour cream

1 1/2 - 2 cups shreaded cheddar cheese

1 stick butter or margarine, cut into 8 pieces

Cook potatos with water to cover in a large saucepan until tender. drain. chop potatos. Mix soups, sour cream, and cheese in large bowl. Stir in potatos. Spoon into bakng dish. Press butter pieces onto top. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes.

OK, no questions there except what to make with it! :)

Monday is Capioera so definately not trying to squeeze in any cooking before that, there is just no time between the time I get off work and the time we have to leave for class. Friday night I have a 5K so no time then either. Hubby is out of town next weekend, so it looks like Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday it is!

So here's the plan:

• Monday: Capoiera class - leftovers or something quick and easy


• Tuesday: Pinwheel Pizzas


• Wednesday: Meatloaf


• Thursay: Hot Potato Casserole


• Friday: Something light before my run, then something more after it.


• Saturay & Sunday: Leftovers, something easy, I'm on my own!
  

New running shoes and races!

I finally made it over to The Running Zone to get new shoes. It is very had for me to come out of there with only what I went in to buy. I ended up with shoes, toe socks, several bags of moons for the 1/2 marathon tomorrow, and paying the entry fee for two races - a 5K next Friday night, and a 2 miler in December which I did last year that was an absolute blast. I won't risk trying to run a 1/2 marathon in brand new shoes tomorrow and in fact, I won't even risk the new socks (NEVER EVER do anything new or different on a long race day!). I will however munch on some of those moons on about mile 6 or 7. I got the watermelon flavor with the extra B vitamins. I'm not a big fan of gu even though some of it I do use (Usually the extra caffeine tangerine ones to help with the headaches).

Even though I shouldn't do much the day before a bigger race, I am going to head out for an easy 2 miles this morning to try out and break in my shoes!

BTW, the Shepard's pie didn't get made :( Life stepped in the way and I wasn't able to get to the grocery store to pick up the things I needed. After my run I'll head down there to get some groceries... then come back and work on my homework for the rest of the day until it's time to make some pasta tonight.

Wedding pictures

I finally got the chance to get some pictures from my brother's wedding up. Some of them are actually pages of a photo album I'm working on for them!

Me walking down the aisle

Leslie being escorted and given away by her older brothers

Preston and Leslie's vows (photo album page)



Preston putting Leslie's ring on, and my nephew handing her a shell :) (Photo album page)

The Sand Ceremony (photo album page - I'm not sure I like this layout, I may change it)




The new family




First kiss as husband and wife (photo album page)



Beautiful Leslie


Mr. and Mrs. (this will eventually be a photo album page - the last page in the book. I plan on adding the last few sentences from their ceremony -right before "You may kiss your bride" and "I'm honored to introduce..." along the side in the sky in white lettering)

Menu Planning Monday

I'm an Organizing Junkie and a few of her friends always plan out their menus for the week on Mondays. Well, if you know me at all, you know I'm not a cook by any means so I haven't really participated in this. But I have looked at many menus and recipes and decided that I am going to try to participate in a modified version.

Instead of planning out a week's worth of meals on Mondays I think I will commit to making at least 2 meals, at least one of which will be a new recipe for me. Hubby usually cooks and it ends up with "Hey, what do you want for dinner tonight?" He grills most nights and the nights he doesn't we go out to eat or order a pizza. Every once in a blue moon I'll make something like I did not long ago (Parmesan Chicken - yummm). So here goes, my first (modified) Menu Planning Monday!

Tonight (Monday) I have no idea what is going on. Hubby is off, has a friend over, so we will either go out or perhaps invite him to join us in our Capoiera class and grab something quick and easy on the way. This also leaves no time to run to the grocery store (Since I decided to do this about 3 minutes ago I'm not sure I have everything I need).

Tuesday is Re commitment for my Team in Training so I will be eating there.

Wednesday MIGHT be a capoeira class so again, something quick somewhere.

Which leaves us with Thursday, Friday, and the weekend.

Perhaps Thursday I will try Shepard's Pie. I love Shepard's Pie and this looks easy enough!

I think I will make my stand-by broccoli casserole on Saturday. I have a 1/2 marathon on Sunday so the carbs will do me good.

I don't have exact measurements for this recipe so bear with me please!

Broccoli Ham and Cheese Casserole
Ingredients:
1 package frozen broccoli florets (thawed)
Cooked Noodles (I usually use Rotini)
Diced ham
Diced green peppers
few dollups of Mayo
splash of Milk
Shredded Cheese
Croutons

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375

Mix all ingredients except for the croutons and place in casserole pan. Top with additional shredded cheese and croutons.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

My brother's wedding

My brother got married today, and I officially have another beautiful new sister, Leslie!

The ceremony was simple yet beautiful. It was on the beach on a gorgeous day with the reception on the top floor of hotel with loads of windows looking out over the water.


Because I was actually in the wedding, I don't have many pictures of the wedding. However, my husband took some AMAZING photos so when I have some time I will post some but for now, here are a few from my camera from before the ceremony:

The beautiful bride, Leslie

Me and my nephew

Beautiful day on the beach

View of the site of the ceremony location from the hotel balcony

For now, I've had a long wonderful day but I am tired and have at least a can and a half of hairspray in my hair so I'm off to shower and relax a while before heading to bed.

7 miles!

Yesterday's training went really well! :) We went 7 miles and Cathy, Shelly, and I managed to do it in an hour 20 minutes! Not bad for 1 who has never run more than a 10K (6.2 miles), one who has done a 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles) but has never trained for a marathon before and is having hip issues, and me who hasn't really trained to run or run farther than a 10K in a year and a half!

My only issue was blisters. I know I need new shoes and I have been putting it off for a while now. Shin splints are the first sign of good running shoes going bad (or just not good running shoes), and I've been having those off and on for a little while now and yesterday I got my first blister with these shoes >pout< I guess it is time to head to The Running Zone to check out the goods. I'm sure I will end up with more Adrenaline's since I am on my 2nd pair already and love them. It is recomended that you replace running shoes every 400 miles or so in order to take the best care of your feet/legs/back/body and I have had these a while. I'm sure I'm pushing 500 or more miles.

If you checked out that link you will probably see why I have been putting off getting a new pair. They are the most expensive pair of shoes I own! But, If I am going to ask (require) my feet to carry me for over 26 miles, I need to take care of them. I will however, ONLY wear my new running shoes to run/train in, but I keep my "used" running shoe to walk around in and do errands around town and all since there really isn't anyhing too wrong with them except the "shocks" are going out on them. The "walking around town" pair that I have now will get donated to the Running Zone who will redistribute them to needy kids/adults who have no shoes to wear at all. See how this all works? Similar to how I redistributed my swimsuits in HS. This year's team suit would become next year's training suit and the following years drag suit (an old, worn out suit you wear over your suit to increase drag during practice). It's all in the circle of life...just wish it wasn't so expencive!

After shoes, my next goal is to get and try out a running skirt like this one! How cute would it be to run in a skirt after all?! :)

Yes, I cooked... and no one died lol

Mmmmm......

I don't often cook, because well, I don't like cooking and frankly, I'm not very good at it having never been allowed in the kitchen when my mother was cooking (that's a blog for another time...when I have LOTS of time haha). But I've been checking in with a few cooking blogs lately and dabbling a bit more in the kitchen (Who know that that thing under the stove is a broiler, not just another place to stash those unused pots and pans!).

I decided to try Parmesan chicken tonight with spaghetti and a salad. Hubby was gone all weekend with the Navy and I knew from a cell phone call that he wasn't having the best of times, so I decided to try to have a nice dinner ready for him when he got home. Normally for dinner either he grills or we go out so it is rare that I do anything other than a couple of casseroles that I have under my belt or spaghetti and meat sauce so I thought I'd start easy and just make my old standby of spaghetti and not add the ground beef to the sauce (from a jar lol- let's not get crazy here) then add the chicken as well.

It turned out really well and I'm quite proud of myself :) I'll have to add this to my very short cooking repertoire. Just patting myself on the back here...

Team in Training update

It's been a little while now so I thought I should update you on how I am doing with my fourth season with Team in Training - The 2009 Disney Marathon.

My training could be going a lot better. The team has had 4 trainings so far. Week 1 I only walked because I was going to a Capoeira class afterwards and running a 10K the next day. Perfectly good reasons to slack a bit at group practice because believe me, I worked my tail off at class and in the 10K the next day. That week I trained well on my own as well and got in a few 2-3 mile runs and another capoeira class. Week 2 was a 40 minute group training. I did well. I was running with a bigger group of other alumni doing 4:1's (running four minutes and walking a minute...then repeat numerous times). We even managed to get a negative split. We went out 20 minutes and turned around and were back at the start in slightly under 20 minutes (OK, so it was only about 30 seconds under but it was UNDER making our second split faster than our first by 30 seconds!). That week I was OK for a while. I got in a good run and weight workout on Monday, ran again on Tuesday, and by Wednesday I was feeling...off. Not sick exactly just exhausted and not right. I fought it all week but come time for Saturday morning practice I decided that I really shouldn't push it. It would be better to miss an early practice where the miles aren't too long rather than miss, and try to make up on my own, an 18 mile run! So I stayed home and slept, hoping to fight off whatever it was that I was fighting. It seemed to work and by Monday I felt fine again. I again got in a great run and weight workout on Monday, used Tuesday as a rest day and planned on going to Capoiera on Wednesday. However, I never made it to capoeira (Chris wasn't feeling well, I had a ton of homework, it was storming, excuses, excuses, excuses) and by Thursday I was sick. Full blown, all out, down right sick. Headache. Congested head. Alternating running or stuffy nose. Sneezing. Coughing. Yep, my sinuses had kicked in full force. I loaded up on the nose spray, Clairitin, and OJ and did my best to make it through work the rest of the week. This morning I woke up and contemplated not going to practice again, but despite my body's better judgement, I went "just to see." I ended up walking 4 miles rather than running the 5 miles I should have, but I figure they should just be happy I was mobile at all! Eventually I'll kick this and kick it in gear!

That's me in the middle with my ponytail swinging during week 2 group training!

Unlike my training, my fundraising is going well. I have just over $1,200 so I'm almost 1/2 way to my goal of $3,000! This has been mostly due to wonderful friends and family who have donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on behalf of my Team in Training efforts. I also have raised quite a bit on my fundraising CafePress store (www.cafepress.com/trisomethingnew). So far the store has been my only fundraising endeavor other than my letter-writing campaign where I mailed out 100 letters or so to close friends and family, and those not so close whose address I happened to have, asking for a donation. Next week I am planning a car wash with some other members of my team so hopefully we will make some money then too! If you still haven't donated and want to (or if you have but want to donate more) you can always just visit http://pages.teamintraining.org/cfl/wdw09/nalbritton and make a secure online donation (it can even be anonymous!) The site won't show that I am up to $1,200 quite yet because I just mailed the rest of the checks in, so give it a little time to catch up!

Wish me luck with kicking this sinus infection so I can get back to kicking asphalt! Thanks to everyone who has supported me through donations, well wishes, and prayers!!

The day I cried

Yes, I cried today. I didn't mean to cry, it wasn't planned, but I am not ashamed of it. My co-teacher and I both cried in front of a classroom full of wide-eyed 6th graders, and for me at least, it wasn't the first time I cried in front of a room full of sixth grade students.

If you look at the date, you probably know what made us cry, it's 9/11, seven years after the terror attacks.

This morning, My co-teacher Jonathon and I began retelling the events that took place in New York, Washington, and PA that day. He was in California at the time and I was in SW Florida. The kids were amazed to see how it affected everyone across the nation in much the same way, even if we didn't know someone who was actually in one of the four planes, the towers, or the pentagon that day. They of course, were too little to remember much of anything about what happened that day other than what people have told them and had many questions. Many didn't realize that there were actually four planes, not just the two that hit the towers. Other's didn't realize that their were passengers on the planes or that some people were able to make phone calls to loved ones before the unthinkable happened. They didn't know that brave firefighters and police risked their lives to help save others whom they didn't even know, or that we all banded together as a nation and waved flags, cheered our heroes, and mourned our dead.

It is interesting to note that in 2001 on September 11th, I was teaching a 6th grade class and here I am 7 years later in front of another 6h grade class telling them about that day. Everyone always says you will remember exactly where you were when you heard the news and I am sure that is true for those of us who lived it that day. I was standing at my classroom door welcoming my homeroom students to another wonderful day of middle school when a colleague came up to me and told me to turn on the TV, that an airplane had just crashed into one of the twin towers. I turned around and turned on the TV that usually just showed the morning announcements. I didn't have to look for a station that was showing it, they were all showing it. Replaying it again and again and the reporters were trying to figure out what was going on when suddenly behind them, a second plane hit the second tower.

I remember feeling such shock, fear, and confusion as I tried to work it out in my own head what was happening all the while knowing that I was responsible for the 6th graders in my room. I knew I couldn't lose it, but honestly, I was in too much shock to "lose it," I just stared at the screen now replaying the second crash. I didn't know if I really wanted the kids to see this, but I couldn't turn it off either.

I'm not sure that the kids really completely got it at first, so two planes just hit a building on the other side of the country...big deal. Some of them though, noticed me and commented that I looked scared or pale. Homeroom was only about 20 minutes long normally, just long enough to get any announcements or details of the day worked out prior to starting the school day. We didn't change classes for a while on that day. I think every TV in the school was on and every student, teacher, custodian, cafeteria worker, and everyone else stopped as we watched in shock as a third plane hit the pentagon then later reports of a fourth plane crashing in a Pennsylvania field.

Personally, I was running a list of everyone I knew through my head. Did I know where everyone was? Could any of them be in New York or Washington? What about on those planes, or another plane? Where were my friends from high school and college that I had lost contact with? Where were my friends in the military? Faces and names whirled through my head and my heart, but somehow I was able to keep it together for my students, although, that was the first day that 6th graders saw me cry.

I am not ashamed to say that thinking of those events still gets to me seven years later. The terror that I felt that day had to be nothing compared to those on the planes, in the towers and the pentagon, and those nearby. I ask myself if I would have been strong enough and brave enough to stand up to terrorist and face my own death to help crash a plane that I knew was about to crash into another unknown American building and kill and injure passably thousands more. Could I have run into a falling building to save people I didn't even know? I don't know. I hope I could have the faith and inner strength to do it, but I just don't know. I am thankful that God has placed people strong enough to do that on this earth. All I knew at that moment was a strong sense to hug every one of those confused sixth graders in my care, for my sake as much as theirs.