I'm not pregnant

I'm doing things right. Not to imply in ANY way shape or form that any other way is wrong, but mine is the socially acceptable "right" way. I got married first. I got married at 26. I got married to a man I had known since HS but he wasn't my HS boyfriend. I was not pregnant when I got married. I didn't have have a child before I got married. Like I said, the socially-accepted "right" way. (I know MANY MANY people who may have done things "backwards" but ddn't let anyone hold them down or make them feel ashamed and are AWESOME mothers, fathers, and people in general!)

So why does everyone make a big deal out of the fact that I don't have kids yet? Yes, I'm about to turn 31, no I don't have children of my own. Yes, I love children, that's part of why I'm a teacher. Yes, my husband loves children too, you should see him play with our baby nephews. No, I don't want to have this conversation with you.

Why do people think it's OK to ask when/if I'm going to have a child? Maybe we aren't ready yet. Maybe I can't have children. Maybe my husband can't. Maybe we don't want to bring kids into this crazy world. Maybe Hubby and I are trying with no success so far. And maybe, just maybe, It's None Of Your Business!

Every time I'm tired/sick/hungry/have a headache someone asks me if I'm pregnant. No, I'm just tired/sick/hungry/have a headache for crying out loud! Pregnant women may hold the monopoly on Ice Cream and Pickle Sandwiches, but not on being tired/sick/hungry/having headaches!

Why is it that babies and pregnancy seem to imply "come jump right into my personal space and life?" If it is a choice, then it is our choice and you implying that we should have made a different choice is offencive. If we can't/haven't been able to yet, then it is possibly a very hurtful subject that you keep bringing up. I obviously don't want to talk about it with you or I already would have, so your continually bringing it up to me is offencive.

If a conversation of kids comes up, it is not offencive to ask, "Do you and your husband ever think about having kids?" At least, I find nothing offencive about a simple question. The offencive part comes when you continually ask, and when you ask in a way in which it seems like you are accusing me of not doing something that, as a woman, you see as my "job" or "lot in life."

Ugh...just thinking about it is giving me a headache. And no...I'M NOT PREGNANT, but I'll let you know if/when I am!

Rant over.

Halloween Night

I dressed up as Atalanta again for school for Halloween. Halloween is always so much fun with all the little kids dressed up and the older kids acting like crazies! haha! They may be crazy but I love 'em! I got some really good pictures of my students today playing on the playground and enjoying out Halloween party, but to protect them, I won't post them. You'll just have to trust me that they were really good! :) One of my 6th graders even had the exact same costume I had... a mini-me! I had to get a picture of us!

I also ate more than my fair share of Halloween candy and pizza and coke between the hours of 8 and 3! UGH Perhaps that is why I am still awake. SUGAR HIGH! I'm supposed to run 12 miles in the morning. I somehow doubt I'm going to make it. We'll just have to see!

After dressing as an Ancient Greek Princess at school all day, I for some unknown reason STAYED dressed as an Ancient Greek Princess to pass out candy last night! I love seeing all the costumes though. The prize goes to a little girl, probably about 2 or 3, who was the most precious ladybug I've ever seen in my life!!

In addition to this, I send my husband to the store to pick up BAKING POWDER. That's all, just some baking powder that I forgot to grab when I went to the grocery store a few days ago. He comes home with about 7 or 8 bags of groceries! I JUST WENT ON THURSDAY! Apparently I didn't get any "real food." Also, by judging the contents of his grocery bags, "real food" consists of chocolate cake, five more bags of Halloween candy ("But they were on sale!" he says.), pudding, sweet tea, two boxes of doughnuts, and muffins. I'm finally trying to learn to cook and he says I'm not buying "real food" now?? LMAO ...MEN! haha :)

Finally, In 31 days, I will be 31 years old. To honor this, I'm going to try to post SOMETHING for 31 days in a row. This is my first! :)

Teaser Tuesday

Although I haven't finished reading Brisingr yet, I am also reading The Non-Runners Marathon Guide For Women, Get Off Your Butt and On With Your Training by Dawn Dais. It is a hysterically funny look on one woman's race to become a marathon runner. It is a must-read for anyone trying or thinking about trying to run those 26.2 miles of hell that only us crazy people do. My teaser sentences come from page 64.

"Chipper Jen had told me to look for a multivitamin and a vitamin by the name of 'glucosamine,' which is supposed to help my knees and other joints. Instead of glucosamine, I've always used the popular 'sit-on-my-ass-amine' vitamin, and my knees have never hurt."

Teaser Tuesday, hosted by Should Be Reading, asks you to grab your current read, open to a random page and post 2 sentences between lines 7 and 12, avoiding spoilers and posting the title and author as well. I don't often participate, but the last two Tuesday's I've had something to share so I played along! :) I'd love to hear about what you are reading, even if I don't have time to read much right now!

Menu Planning Monday

Ahhh Life.. You have to love it, but it seems to get in the way of the best laid plans!

Last week's food adventures:

Monday Hubby and I went to Capoiera. Wasn't pretty. Perhaps it was because I had run a 1/2 marathon the day before or because I hadn't eaten much that day but I was not on my game what-so-ever!

Tuesday I made the Pizza Pinwheels and hubby and I LOVED them! They were a tad burnt on the edges and a tad doughy in the middle so next time I'm going to try decreasing the heat and keeping them in a tad longer to see if that helps. This is without a recipe I will keep! I only got a picture of what they looked like going into the oven (I don't have a round cookie sheet so I just used what I had), because they were devoured soon after coming out of the oven!

Hmm...what happened Wednesday? Oh yeah, Hubby decided to take me out to dinner because I had a looooooooong stressful day at work! Who am I to pass up an evening out with my gorgeous husband?

Then Thursday I came home read to take the meat out of the fridge to make the meatloaf (changing my plan of potato casserole to Sunday night) only to find that Hubby had taken out and was marinating some steaks he wanted to grill. Again, if you've ever had my hubby's grilling, you know not to mess with perfection and let him at it!

Friday was my 5K race...I did well but didn't have time to make a/didn't want to eat a "real" meal before running so I just grabbed a granola bar before the race. After the race I ran into some friends of mine that had also run and we went to get pizzas.

Saturday I was on my own as Hubby was out of town. I ran 10 miles in the morning and was then starving all day. I ate everything I could get my hands on that didn't require much energy or effort to make as I was too tired to stand for long! On top of the Power bar/moons/recovery drink I had before/during/after my run, I ate cereal, pretzels, waffles, and a couple of PB&J sandwiches. There were probably more than a couple chocolate peanut butter cups too!

On Sunday hubby called to tell me he was on the way home and I went ahead and had the meatloaf and shells and cheese ready when he got here! Although I think I may alter it a bit and add more ground beef, it was absolutely delicious! I used my "low fat" meat loaf pan (it has 2 layers, the top part has holes in the bottom to drain off the fat which collects in lower) and it was still very moist and wonderful!

*********************

This week I want to try to make this pumpkin bread recipe I found over at 100 Days to Christmas. I'm not going to commit to a day to make it, because... well, like I said, life tends to get in the way and with as busy as I am lately, it's a wonder I have time to do any cooking! However, if this pumpkin bread is good enough to make someone who claimed to have had THE BEST pumpkin bread recipe change their mind and start using this one instead, it's worth a shot!It is supposed to be really moist and yummy. I'll definitely let you know how it turns out for me! I do need to go get a few things from the grocery store in order to make it though.

I also want to make Chicken Breast Supreme one night. I have most of the ingredients already so no shopping for this one :)

I am also going to make the Hot Potato Casserole sometime!

Running as Atalanta

How much more fun can a 3.1 mile race be? Toss in a costume or two and it's a blast! I ran the Pumpkins in the Park 5K dressed as Atalanta. I figured although not really accrate (I wasn't breaking ay speed limits), it was an appropriate thing to dress up as for a footrace!

I had to tie up the skirt so that I could actually run in it, but I plan on wearing the same costume on Friday (but with the skirt down, my hair fixed, sandals, and at least a little make-up).

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.