Adam's Birthday!

"Suddenlink you're ....not connected!" (to the tune of their little jingle). Thats what I have been feeling like these past few days :(  My Toshiba has not been able to pull up any internet since i've been back in Nac. Sad days.

And not only has the internet been out but, we have also been living in this:

Perhaps not to this extreme, but sometimes it sure feels like it! (I'm very happy with my 80's and above weather) 

So after sufficiently complaining lol, lets talk running!

Mondays Workout:

6x mile repeats at 5:45 w/h 3 minute recovery

mile 1) 5:47

mile 2) 5:43

mile 3) 5:41

mile 4) 5:40

mile 5) 5:37

mile 6) 5:29 

On the last two I wore my Green spikes, if you read the other blog about them then you know that my spikes and I were just not connecting very well, but on these two it finally happened and there was a connection between my feet and the spikes! (Its about time) 

Today: 6 miles of easy mileage 

Not this coming Thursday but the following Team Green is flying to Seattle to Race at the Team Cross National Championships!

Here we come Seattle!

Also, big news today...Adam Turned 22!!

That's right! Today is Adams B-day, last night we went to chili's for dinner (he was craving big mouth burger bites lol) and today was horrible planning, I worked and had to run after and had class tonight! Poor Adam had to make me dinner on his birthday! Better luck next year ;) But we did get to spend the evening together and he opened his presents from me and my parents. 

Big weekend coming up, will write about that later ;) Now off to freeze the night away! (were still refusing to turn on the heater!) 

Happy Thanksgiving (Two Days Late), Stuffing Recipe, Chocolate Chip Pie!

So now Thanksgiving and black Friday are officially over and tomorrow its time to go back to the ol' Nacogdoches and get back to "real" life.

But first, these past few days have been packed full of fun and exciting Thanksgiving happenings!
Lets Start with with what some people would think would be the best thing: TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN! 

Amanda, Mom and I went for a girls movie at Studio Movie Grill and caught up on the latest with Edward, Jacob, and Bella. Team Edward! (No Judging!)

Later that night we played games with the family, and one of my best friends, Trey, came over with us! It was so good to see him :)

Now moving on to Thanksgiving:

We had a wonderfully relaxing morning watching the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade and after a mid- morning run began cooking for our big lunch.

Our menu included:

- Turkey (of course!)

- Green bean casserole (a classic)

- Aunt Martha's Stuffing

- Sweet Potato Casserole 

- Camp Cornbread

- Dinner Rolls

One of my Thanksgiving favorites is definitely Aunt Martha's Stuffing, we got this recipe from her several years ago and it instantly became a classic for us! And I know yall will love it, so if anyone wants it....

AUNT MARTHA'S STUFFING 

- 2 boxes of Jiff cornbread mix 

- one onion and two to three stalks of celery (depending on how much celery you like)

- Large box or several cans of chicken broth 

- 1 egg

- sage

- salt and pepper 

Cook the cornbread as the directions on the box say. When finished crumble the cornbread up in a large bowl very finely. 

Saute onions and celery together until no longer crunchy, season with salt and pepper.

Add onions and celery to cornbread and then add enough chicken broth so it is very juicy (it will dry out in the oven so add plenty of broth were its almost soupy like)  

- add an egg (to help hold everything together)

- and add sage to season

- mix together and spread in a greased 9x13 pan

- cook in oven at 350 F until golden brown 

- Enjoy!

While I was typing out the stuffing recipe I remembered we also had Chocolate Chip Pie. This is the best pie recipe...Ever! And I would be remiss if I did not share it with you. Seriously, no one who has ever tried this has not absolutely loved it!

CHOCOLATE CHIP PIE 

- 2 eggs

- 1/2 cup flour

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1/2 cup brown sugar

- 3/4 cup of soft butter

- 1 cup of semi sweet morsels 

- 9" Unbaked Pie shell 

Pre-heat oven to 325 F

Mix eggs at high speed for 3 mins

Beat in Flour,sugar,brown sugar

Beat in softened butter. Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour into pie shell

bake for 1 hour or until golden brown and inserted knife comes out clean

For the rest of Thanksgiving Amanda and I took part in a long standing tradition (that will be no more) The A&M/ Texas football game! 

This was my first experience at an Aggie football game and may I just say...It was amazing!! There were so many people tailgating, so many traditions, it was amazing seeing how many people were so involved and into their team. 

Amanda and I on the way

Kelli was there tailgating with her family! 

Legendary Kyle field 

oh and we ran into Cody there (one of Robbie's best friends) 

A good Thanksgiving break with family and friends! No black friday shopping really done and today was a movie watching day! (I haven't even gotten out of my PJs!)  

Registry lists!

Happy Monday to all!

It seems that these random posts will become a habit over this next week, for multiple reasons....
1) I am home :) (motivation is much lower)
2) I have no reliable camera! I left mine in Nac :(...and I don't want to bore you with only words
3) Well I guess that's about it ...

Before anything else lets catch up on RUNNING!
Sunday:
16 mile Long Run 
Today:
AM
2 mile warm-up
8 by 800's at 2:45 min pace with 2:00min rest 
my times- 2:43,2:43,2:43,2:43,2:41,2:41,2:40,2:40
3mile cool-down
PM
3 miles recovery run 


Ab workout (with the Momma!)
80- regular crunches
80- toe touch crunches (legs straight up in air)
80- straight leg crunches (But with slight bend at knees, or you will hurt your back)
100- Russian twists 
80- Penguins (knees bent, moving torso side to side with arms straight out trying to touch your heels)
3x 1:00 of planks (Mom did 45 secs) 
Moms Extra:
- 15 Lunges
- 10 squats


Now onto Registry- Adam and I have pretty much finished the registry! On Saturday we woke up bright and early to watch Robbie run at the NIKE SOUTH meet in the Woodlands.  Since we were already down there we decided to stay and register at their little mall. 

Our first stop was Macy's, we were both overwhelmed and wandered through a sea of dishes, crystal, and serve ware trying to figure out how the process worked.
We were not sure if we were doing it right or not but here is a link to the registry with what we ended up with: http://www1.macys.com/registry/wedding/guest/?registryId=642297 
 (most of the china, everyday, and spode Christmas ware were the same as the previous blog)

Our next stop was Bed Bath and Beyond

It began like a normal appointment, but after a few minutes we were being helped by a consultant showing us our china and seeing which flatware and glasses went best, and place mats and napkins! She was soo good, and helpful and we were so impressed! Also this place had everything! Even the china and flatware was there, we thought they were just at Macy's but we ended up registering for some of the pieces at both places!

Some of my favorite things we found at BB&B:
(Our bedding set, and bathroom set were completely spur of the moment decisions!)

We found this and both loved it!

I know its silly, but I really am so happy about our flatware :)

Here is the link to the Bed Bath and Beyond if you would like to see the whole list: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/regGiftRegistry.asp?wrn=-482036717&

Mamma's enchilada's for dinner, and tomorrow...that darn 30 pg paper still needs to be written ugh!

Everything Registry

Hello friends!
I've been a little lazy dazy these past few days about writing on here, but for somewhat of a good reason...I am home for a long Thanksgiving break! (Well it could be a good reason!)

Being home over the break, one of my big wedding goals to get done is to: do the registry!
I have been waiting for this week for so long, I cannot wait :) Adam is coming down Friday evening and Saturday morning, let the registering commence!

But first...I feel like there is so much work to get done!
- Figure out what we want to register for
- I have to figure out where we actually want to register (there are different perks at each store!)
- Go and compare prices at all the different places that are options
....And that is all before we get to register!

Here are some of the things that we are looking at (these could totally all change in the next few days) (and thank you for letting me ramble on about it these next few pictures :) i'm so excited!)

Mikasa "Italian Countryside"-I am pretty sure about the everyday dinnerware, I didn't really care for it as much online but when I saw it in the store, loved it! There is detailing around the edging that completely makes it.

Montvale Platinum by Noritake- This is another one were pretty sure of (these are the only two things though) It was between this one and a Noritake Silver Palace but Adam liked this one better. 

Spode Dinnerware Christmas Tree Collection- I forgot this one too is a definite! Mom started giving me pieces of this collection two Christmases ago, so it was a no brainer!

T-Fal 12 pc Cookware Set- This is currently looking like the top cookware set, it had wonderful reviews and was reasonably priced!

Matine Toile Duvet Cover- This is one I found online at Pottery Barn and really like but... Its Pottery Barn and only online ugh! I don't know about this...

Oneida "Countess"- Really liked this when I saw it today at BB&B

That's all for now, but no worries I am sure there will be plenty more about registry the next few days ;)

Lastly, how does everyone feel about the change for the ASTROS to the American League? Any thoughts??

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

I don't think i've mentioned it yet but the mileage for this week is 70! So it feels like I am constantly running, in the past two days I have put 30 miles on my body (whew!)

Running today: 

AM- 5x mile repeats at 5:45- 5:40 pace 

-3 mile warm-up 

mile 1-5:44

mile2- 5:40

mile3- 5:41

mile4- 5:41

mile5- 5:41 

- 1 mile cool-down

* I didn't know how I was going to make it through this one! After the second mile, I couldn't see doing 3 more at that pace. But God gave me the strength and somehow we muddled through those last miles...

PM- 3 recovery miles 

Today felt entirely taken over by working on my history paper, which I now have 4 pages complete (double spaced of course!) But the night was a lot more relaxing :) 

For dinner Adam and I had: Bruschetta Chicken Bake (super easy and fast!)

 I absolutely love Bruschetta, we make it quite often at the Jenkins household, so when I found this recipe I was all over it!

Prep: 10 min Bake: 30 min

- 1can (14.5 oz) of diced tomatoes, undrained 

- 1 pkg. (6 oz) STOVE TOP lower sodium stuffing mix for chicken

- 2 cloves of garlic minced (I used garlic powder and it worked just fine!)

- 1.5 lb of boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces (my chicken was already cooked so the cooking time was a lot less)

- 1 tsp. dried basil leaves 

- 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese  

1) Heat oven to 400 F

2) Place tomatoes with thier liquid in medium bowl, and add the stuffing mix, 1/2 cup hot water, and garlic.  Stir all together till stuffing is moist then set aside.  

3) place chicken in baking dish, sprinkle with basil and cheese.  Top with stuffing mixture. 

4) Bake 30 min or until chicken is cooked 

Afterwards, Adam and I made a short trek to Redbox to use up the promo free movie code and his night of no homework!  We made our choice with Life as We Know It 

We both agreed upon a mediocre rating, funny at times but kind of slow the whole way through... or at least we thought so.  But either way it was so nice to sit around and watch a movie, its definitely been a while :) 

Ending note: Picture of the day, Adam and I after his race this past Saturday at regionals!  

Stephanie's Birthday and 16 Mile Long Run (Sophia Grace pt.2!)

Today started off with new accomplishments on the running scene (a great way to start off any day!)

Long Run: 16 miles (equals 2 hours of running!)


This has been my longest run to date. I am doing things everyday that people think is crazy to put my body through, last week I hit 60 miles and this week the goal is 70, but somehow the body makes it! It is so amazing how strong God has made us and how much our bodies can endure. 


Today (other than the running) was a lazy dazy Sunday :) This included laying around on the couch, taking a nap, hanging out with Adam, eating dinner with the roomies, and finding new wedding ideas on http://pinterest.com/mljs/july-28th-2012-3/ (I wish this would have included writing more of my paper!)

(This is somehow supposed to turn into 30 pages .....very soon)

Like I mentioned yesterday, today is my roomie/bridesmaid Stephanie's 22nd birthday!!

Lauren, was soo sweet and made a cookie cake for our after roomie dinner.  She is the best cookie cake maker I know (but I do have to say Adam makes a mean cookie cake too!)

This was our apartment waiting "patiently" for the cookie cake cutting :)

Handsome future hubby ;)

Birthday Girl!

I showed the first part of this video last week, (if you missed it: A- Go watch it! B- its Sophia Grace a high spirited, adorable little girl singing Super Bass on the Ellen show) and just couldn't get enough of Sophia! She is so stinkin' cute, so here is the second part of the video where she actually gets to meet Nicki Minaj. 

Goodnight all, big day with mile repeats tomorrow (I want to seem excited about that but right now its more like ugh lol) 

Cross Country Regionals 2011

Whew! Back from a long weekend in Waco...

Friday morning we rolled out of Nac in our big white rental vans, on our way to the Waco, Tx where the South Central Regional cross country meet was being hosted.  Being assistant coaches Marie and I had the privilege of driving ;) 

On the way we stopped at the "regular" of course Subway lol, and I ordered the pizza!

It was a toss-up but it ended up being a winner so I will definitely vouch for the Subway pizzas, delish and a must try!

Friday Workout:

Marie and I did our workout on the regional course, and we had hills for that day. It was a bit challenging since we didn't have our set hill course and had to create one spur of the moment but we were flexible and found some hills that would suite :) 

-3 mile warmup

-3 miles worth of hills

-4 mile cool down

Saturday:

Off Day!! Woo (but we did our fair share of running during the race, cheering and taking down times)

Today was race day for the Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks!

It is very different not racing for the team, this first year. (I just finished my college eligibility in June) I still was very nervous when everyone was on the line but it was a treat to get to just cheer :)

(Lumberjacks on the Starting Line!)

Overview:

Men- were 8th place overall, ran well as a pack and Adam came in 1st for the team and missed the All-Region honors by 9 places (next year babe!)

Women- were 9th place overall, Lauren (my other roomie) was 8th place and Randi was 26th, just missing All-Region honors by only 1 place!

Even though neither me nor my sister were racing, my parents still drove down to support the teams.  So I was able to get some good mamma, pappa, and sis bonding time :) 

(This was our family photo from last year, in bad blogger fashion I dont have the picts from today yet)

After a long weekend I am exhausted and ready to hit the sac, sweet dreams!

p.s.- Happy Birthday to Stephanie tomorrow, but im sure well talk about that some more later ;)

The Proposal Story :)

Hello friends!
The other day I was looking through Adam and my proposal pictures on facebook, I am so so so glad that mine and Adam's family were both there and able to nab some pictures for us!  Looking back now, it hasn't even been 4 months but the pictures make it so much easier to remember all of the special details since both of our brains were reeling at that time.
I thought I would reminisce and share a few with you, I mean after all who would ever get tired of looking at not their own proposal picts right? ;) 

We were in Huntsville at the lake for a family weekend. My family told me we were going to take "white" family pictures for our Christmas card. I completely believed them and I had absolutely NO idea what was going on.  We weren't going outside because my Dad was making "business" texts on his phone lol. They were stalling BIG time, and I didn't get it!

When I walked outside I saw Adam standing on the pier! I knew right away what was happening, everyone still asked me if I "knew" at this point? Of Course!! Adam randomly standing on our pier in Huntsville, I think I got it ;)  When I reached Adam he was shaking, I was surprisingly very calm.  I so wish I could remember what he told me better, but I remember him telling me he wanted me to be his wife. 

Adam on his knee :) I know I have a HUGE smile on my face at this point!

I said yes! To be perfectly honest, this all took place in the morning time (more like almost 12, but hey come on, that's morning for a Saturday at the lake) and I hadn't brushed my teeth yet! I don't think Adam minded too much he still proposed ;)

Engaged! Now I can do those hand pictures on the chest showing off my new Bling!

We all came inside and had lunch together, I wasn't the least bit hungry! I was on cloud nine and pretty much was looking at Adam with this face for the rest of the day :) Soooo happy!

Picture with both of our parents 

My family :) 

The Salooms 

Towards late afternoon Adam and I left with his family to go back to Houston, which began out travels that seemed to last forever! We drove to Houston, and back to Huntsville that night, then to Nac the next day, then to Lafayette, then back to Houston, then Adam flew to Oregon for a running trip, while I the next few days went to Dallas for Kacie and Kevin's wedding! By the time we were done (which was about two weeks later) we were both completely exhausted and wanting to stay in one place! 

Running today:

Am- 5 recovery miles

Pm- 4 recovery miles 

And that was all for today!

The rest of my day was spent as a substitute for 1st graders! Those rascals can be so stinkin' cute but they sure are a handful when you get a lot of them together. They could be running around causing trouble one minute, and the next telling you how much they love you and giving you a big ol' hug! 

Tomorrow the SFA cross country  team will be leaving to go compete at the South Central Regional Cross Country race in Waco, Tx. Good luck everyone and Axe 'em Jacks!!! 

Healthy Cookie Dough?!

Lets start this off with how the day started,

Running for the day:
The workout today went average at best, it was very windy on the track this morning, and it was difficult for some reason to hit my times. 
AM- Workout: 6x 800s with 2 min rest at 2:40-2:35 pace 
2 miles warm-up
6x800 on the track (my times ranged from 2:45-2:40) 
1 mile cool down


PM - 3 recovery miles 


Side note: I ran in my spikes today (pictured on the blog yesterday) for the first time, other than strides.  I was so excited to lace them up and get to running in them, I knew my last two 800s would be a breeze! But when I put them on...it was awful! I have not ran in spikes since I was 17 and to say they will take some getting used to is a hefty understatement! 


Now on to one of my most favorite subjects (other than running!) COOKIE DOUGH!


It was absolutely imperative that I make a Wal-mart run today, I was out of
-Shampoo,
-Conditioner,
-Nutrogena stuff,
-razors,  You know, all the things a person needs for typical hygiene ;)
So before I headed out my door, I decided that I would treat myself and buy the ingredients for this "healthy" cookie dough recipe that I found on Pinterest, that I have been dying to make.

I originally borrowed this recipe from another blog called "Chocolate Covered Katie" whos claim to fame is healthy tasting desserts, that don't taste like you're eating healthy food.

Cookie Dough Dip
Here is the recipe: (I don't know if I would immediately go straight to the word healthy, but better than regular cookie dough for sure!)

(This really looks more brown than regular cookie dough, but its because of my Peanut butter and brown sugar additions!) 

- 1 1/2 cups of chick peas
- 1/8 + 1 1/16 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 3 Tbl of Peanut butter (this will give it a pb taste, Katie's directions calls for 1/4 cup of nut butter, but I didnt have that waiting in my pantry and LoVe pb anyway so no problem for me there!)
- 2/3 cup of brown sugar
- 1/3 cup of chocolate chips (I added more!)

-Add all ingredients (except for chocolate chips) to a blender or food processor, and blend until very smooth. Then mix in the chocolate chips.


(Katie has optional in hers: 

• up to 1/4 cup nondairy milk (Start with 1 T, and add more as needed)
• 2 to 3 T oats (or flaxmeal) (You can omit, but also omit the milk if you do) I would like to try these extras next time and see the difference they add! 

**If anyone tries it let me know how it goes!**




Tonight we watched the t.v. show Last Man Standing on Hulu.

Adam really wanted to start watching it when he saw the previews with Tim Allen this summer, and being the supportive Fiancee I am ;) we have been watching it the past few weeks and it finally showed a slight glimmer of hope with the comedy tonight!


Off to bed ready for the biting cold that is sure to come tomorrow!

Vita Gummies, and Sophia Grace!

The majority of today (or what seemed like the majority) was spent in the library, researching for my paper, looking through stacks of letters, pictures, and other papers from the late 1800's to early 1900's.
While I find the task of writing a 30 page paper utterly horrific and abhor every task that goes with it there is something completely amazing about holding a letter in your hands written to a spouse well over 100 years ago.

Running for Today: 


AM: 
-5 miles easy pace
- 4x 100 meter strides on the track (I only did 4 because I am still breaking in my new spikes!)

- Ab workout

-Ice bath (10minutes)

PM

- 3 miles easy pace 

Class was cancelled tonight because of the rain! But sure enough no email was sent out so I weathered the rain, lightening and thunder in my pink rain boots and blue rain jacket. Since class was cancelled Adam and I with our extra time made a quick stop by ......Cinnabon!!! (Robert we promise next time you're going!)

Afterwards back at the apartment Stephanie and I learned a valuable lesson: Vitamin Gummies melted together cannot be separated. 

What it used to be.....

What it is now

mmmm all those gummies :(

One last thing, just because they are soooo cute: