Turkeys and Tigers

Excuse my absence. I know ya'll were on the edge of the seat waiting for my return. I've had nothing to say, and even if I did, my mouth has been too full with every form of processed sugar and thanksgiving food I could get my hands on. My hands are now swollen and my face is broken out. I'm sure these things aren't at all related. And, yes, this is definitely the way to prepare for next weekends marathon.

Hopefully all this gluttony will pay off with a few good recipes to share. Until then, we'll be hanging out with this turkey, who has been spending his time mastering the art of yoga. Those are his hind legs.

Getting ready for the Iron Bowl, which again has the BCS title game on the line.

Roll Tide Roll.

Friday Favorites - Christmas List

There is nothing I appreciate more in the gift giving season than a detailed list of what my family wants. Even better if you include a link taking me directly to the product. My brother started doing this years ago, and in my young 20's naivety, I thought it was SO boring and took the magic out of Christmas.

And then I got an 8-5 job. As much as it pains me to admit he was right, it's such a relief to knock out those lists and know they are going to like what you picked. Using the word picked loosely here, of course. Especially since MS family does subscribe to the whole magic of Christmas theory, it helps to only have to do the guesswork on one side.

So, I've been working on my own list and have hit a rough spot. Suggestions welcome.

I've heard great things about Bare Escentuals. Does it live up to the hype? It gets rave reviews, but any makeup with a DVD instructional video might be too complex for me.

I would also love a new devotional book. I got one last year and it was very....basic. Any books that you have loved?

Any must haves that need to be on my list? Help a girl out.

Recovery

There was little I wanted to do after our last long run than cook a big pot of soup and enjoy a cold beverage. One of the perks of adulthood is getting to eat whatever you want for dinner. Be it an entire pack of Little Debbies, or white chicken chilli. Fortunatley for my scale, it was the latter.
MS was kind enough to handle the chicken nastiness.

Not sure why this picture is so washed out, but if you look closely through the back door, you can see the kitchen of our neighbors across the pool. Rear Window anyone?

I intended to take pictures of all the steps.

Then I got distracted. MS makes a great apple cider rum drink. It quieted my screaming quads.

Then I spent the rest of my evening here, in what we've dubbed The Cloud.

Namath tries to steal it for himself, but lucky for him it's big enough to share. He loves to share.

The recipe, in case you opt for soup over Little Debbies any time soon. I only used 4 cans of beans. We live in a small apartment. I blended two of them in the food processor to make the soup creamier.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cooked, boneless chicken breast half, chopped
3 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
2 (4 ounce) cans canned green chile peppers, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
5 (14.5 ounce) cans great Northern beans, undrained
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute for 10 minutes, or until onions are tender.

Add the chicken, chicken broth, green chile peppers, cumin, oregano and cayenne pepper and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and add the beans. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until heated thoroughly. Pour into individual bowls and top with the cheese.

Hitting the Peak

Saturday was our last long run, unless you count the actual 26.2 miles, which I don't like to think about. The novelty has all but worn off, and I really could have stayed on the couch. But, Coach gave me the side eye, so we got ready to head out the door. At a glacial pace.
At some point last week, all 4 of my brain cells started working at the same time, and it occurred to me to look up the marathon on facebook. Found all kinds of helpful information I had looked everywhere for- (well, clearly not everywhere) like the flavors of Gu provided on the course. This may seem trivial, until you try something new on race day and are actually wanting to find a port a potty. Everything must be the same. Don't change anything.

I breathed a sigh of relief when, for the most part, they were the same flavors we had been using.

That's about as far as my brain took me this week, since the following happened Friday:

1.chips and cheese dip

2.draft beer

3.mapping a run starting at a wine bar

We'll call this run 20 miles -glutton for punishment edition.
Things weren't too bad the first half of the run. The scenery was unreal, as was the real estate. I would have snapped some pictures to share, but I thought taking pictures of people's houses I don't know is probably borderline creepy.

A little torture at mile 12.
Saw this bat at our second gatorade stop. I remembered from somewhere someone using a champagne bottle as a foam roller, so I thought, why not a plastic bat? Felt nice on the quads.
Things turned dark (literally and figuratively) around mile 15-16. I went from taking it 3 miles a time to 2, and then towards the end, even the tenths of miles seem to be taking AGES. I thought my watch was broken the numbers were turning over so slow. It was our longest run, it was our slowest run - but we finished.

In the spirit of the glass half full, I was a little glad to have at least one rough run, and still make it through. Most of our long runs to date were so smooth, I think looking back on a hard run will provide a mental boost at some point in the marathon. Which is a mere 18 days away. Time to taper...

Wordless Wednesday

I know I'm a year late to the game on joining Pinterest, but I found this little trick to keep water from boiling over. Kind of cool.

Just Your Typical Tailgate

Saturday was the GAME OF THE CENTURY TO END ALL GAMES EVER PLAYED. EVER. Otherwise known as Alabama vs. LSU. We couldn't not go, despite the fact that we didn't have tickets, and I'm too fond of my kidneys to sell either on the black market.

Not to mention, the twins parent's were doing a huge tailgate, so I knew I would have a place to rest my bones after our 18 mile run.

Aunt Mere was working it.

I convinced MS to drop me off with the cooler, so he didn't have to carry it/I didn't have to walk a mile. I considered it a belated anniversary gift.

Our hosts hired an Elvis cover band. Full set up, with a stage overlooking the food area.

There was some dancing.

Dancing didn't have the draw of eating an entire bag of wavy Lay's. So, I did that instead. I don't think there was any left for MS when he arrived.

Luckily he found alternate entertainment.

We claimed our seats 2 hours before kickoff. I think I made it one quarter before I had to pace around the parking lot.

We all know how it ended.

Defense - A

Offense - F

Chicken biscuit and hashbrown I stuffed my feelings with Sunday morning - A+.

Champagne and Rose Petals

Sunday was our actual anniversary. Which is why we went here. I wanted to show MS how easy he's really had it.

The water tower. Doesn't it make you thirsty? Or want a tetanus shot?

Leaving San Fran and heading towards the Rock.

I bet their mom's are proud.

This really makes my dorm showers look like the Hilton.

Tear gas cannisters. They were never used. Sort of wish they sold them in the gift shop...just to spruce up my cube.

I was ok with this until 'stewed fruit', which kind of makes me want to throw up in my mouth. Which kind of reminds me of stewed fruit. Chicken and the egg.

The wardrobe department.

Not just America's favorite pasttime.

Knife storage, with outlines to quickly tell when one was missing. No wonder all the stewed fruit. Who can cook under that kind of pressure?

We left and continued our romantic day at a local taco restaurant. Look who was waiting patiently for a chip? His name was Chopper- he was a French/English bulldog mix and he was almost kidnapped by moi. It made me miss the Grizz.

The tacos helped ease my pain. Fish tacos - one Nick's way - with a fried shell and guac. One regular. More things need to be cooked Nick's way.



If Chopper didn't make me miss Namath, as soon as we walked outside, this guy did.

And just down the street. Rub. It. In. Also, file this under 'things Namath needs to learn.'

We ended the afternoon with drinks at the Gold Dust lounge. We laughed when we passed it the first time, but it beckoned, as happy hour champagne often does.

The building has been around since the early 1900's, with the decor to match.

Cheers to the weekend...and one whole year of putting up with me. You are still the best thing that's ever happened to me.