Georgia Peach Pie

My husband loves pie. Being the good wife that I am, when he came home with fresh peaches from a road side stand, I offered to make him a peach pie. He was very happy.

Recipe from Williams-Sonoma Pie & Tart

Ingredients:
2 rolled-out basic pie dough rounds
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstartch
2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
6-7 ripe but firm peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced to 1/2 inch thick (about 5 cups)
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

for the dough:
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
6 tablespoons very cold water

To make the dough in a stand mixer (with a paddle attachment) stir together flour, sugar and salt in the mixing bowl Add butter and toss to coat with flour mixture. Mix on medium low until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add water and mix on low until dough pulls together.

Transfer dough to work surface, pat into a ball, divide into two equal portions. Pat each into a round flat disk. Roll out into a 12 inch round

for the pie:

Fold one dough round in half and transfer to a 9 inch pie pan. Unfold and pat gently into the bottom and up the sides of pan. Trim edge leaving a 3/4 inch overhang. Set dough lined pan aside, along with second dough round, in a cool place until ready to use.

In a small bowl, stir together sugar, cornstarch, tapioca, cinnamon, and salt. Place peaches in a large bowl, sprinkle with sugar mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to dough lined pan, and dot with butter

Fold the reserved dough in half and position over the filled pie. Unfold and trim edges neatly, leaving a 1 inch overhang. Seal and decorate the crust to your preference (the original recipe has some complicated slicing and folding thing that I didn't understand, so my crust looked like a rolled hand crimped edge). Cut 5 or 6 slits in the crust to allow steam to escape.

Refrigerate pie until dough is firm, 20-30 imns. Preheat an oven to 375 F, with the rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven

Bake pie until crust is golden and filling is thick and bubbling, about 50-60 mins. Transfer to wire rack and let cool to set. Serve at room temperature.

for the peaches:
I peeled the peaches by scoring them and blanching for about 30 seconds, and transfered to ice water.

We served our pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was tasty! I don't even care for peaches, but I enjoyed this pie.

Only a few more days until Lake Break '08!

I had the fortune of living on the lake in high school, and as a result I hold lake homes in high esteem. Fortunately my parents have not relocated, which means I get to enjoy the lake whenever I visit them. Nothing is more relaxing than sitting on the dock watching the sun set.

One of the best times of year to go is for the 4th of July. The country club has a huge fireworks show, which you can watch from your boat. It is SO much fun to enjoy fireworks on a boat - no crowds, no trying to keep people from stepping on your blanket, no screaming children, no smokers. B says I have a personal space issue, perhaps he's right. But why pile onto a lawn when you can watch fireworks on your own boat? Or better yet, floating in the water? It's just better, and if you haven't tried it you just wouldn't understand.

Anyway, we head out there in a few days, and we're taking the dogs. Bear LOVES to swim in the lake, but Bella hasn't really gotten the swimming bug. Bella does love to play with my mom's labrador/poodle mix (aptly named Rascal). Rascal has learned to jump off the dock, it's pretty funny.

We get to spend 4 days floating in the water, drinking beer, boating, playing croquet, and stuffing ourselves with hot dogs, hamburgers, deviled eggs, and fabulous southern fried chicken. Don't be jealous!

Bloody nipples: urban legend or dirty secret?

I find this topic disgusting yet intriguing. As B and I continue to increase our mileage, I have a growing concern for his comfort. Is the bloody nipple thing really true? From my searches online, it appears to be true, and I find this horrifying! Who wants to smear themselves with vasoline or body glide, or run with bandaids on their nerps?

The movie of the summer!

Oooh, I almost got to see the movie tonight, but didn't make it. I am so disappointed, but B has promised to take me to see it this weekend. I feel awful making him take me to such a chick flick, but all of my friends have already seen it. And I just can't wait for it to come out on DVD.

I am a running monster!

Temptation thy name is JCrew

I <3 these shoes, but B would die if I spent that much on a single pair of shoes.

::sigh::

Foods to avoid feeding to your dog

Just a friendly reminder of what foods you should avoid feeding your dog.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1661&articleid=1030

This is a link to a helpful chart.

We escaped Texas!

I've been MIA for a few months, sorry about that. The big news in the McHousehold is that we have moved to the land of pleasant living! My new job is great, and I am finally starting to feel like I know what the heck I am doing (which took a few months). We moved into the "beautiful rental house" that turned out slightly different from the pictures, but everything is fixed now so it's not a problem.

The dogs L O V E the backyard (well at least Bella does, Bear just wants to be where we are) and we are keeping Frankie the stray cat.

The move was a calamity of errors - our POD got delayed, so we enjoyed sleeping on a deflating air mattress every night (and woke up on the hardwood floor every morning). Instead of driving my Jeep across country, we shipped it, and the shipping got delayed. I was afraid that my Jeep had been stolen, but we did eventually get it (after about 3 weeks).

Now we are finally settled, and have the essentials unpacked. We are starting to enjoy the area, as we are within walking distance of a great park. B has been running a lot, and I've been running with him, and life is pretty good right now!

Update!

So a lot has happened since my last post.....I have a new job! The company I interviewed for sent me an offer about two weeks ago, which I accepted. The husband and I will be moving to Washington DC area shortly (along with the dogs and probably Frankie the stray cat).

It's been a really busy few weeks, as I have been scrambling to wrap up my project and get everything organized to pass off to my old boss. I've also started coordinating our move (only 1400 miles to DC from Dallas!), and found a beautiful rental home that is dog-friendly. This will be our first time in a house, and it's got a huge backyard! We're very excited, and we've got so many big changes coming. :-) I'm really pumped about our new neighborhood, as there is an awesome climbing gym AND the grocery store has online shopping and delivery!

I'm dismayed at the salsa selection though......we may have to buy a case of our favorite salsa and move it with us, and then beg someone to send us more when our supplies are depleted. I simply can't go back to Pace or Tostitos salsa, it's like eating ketchup.

Anywoo, we're excited to get started. Our apartment is already a tower of boxes (which Frankie is gleefully diving in and out of). The bad news is I have been welcomed to the corporate world with a blackberry and a dell laptop (the horror!). I asked twice for a mac, to no avail. :-(

Peanut butter cup cheesecake with a brownie bottom

Yeah......this cheesecake was out of control. Just as B is a crab cake snob, I am a cheesecake snob. I have been grading cheesecakes on a 1-10 scale since I was a young teenager. My favorite cheesecake is a simple New York Style - I don't like fruit toppings or chunks of something else in the cheesecake. In my opinion, simplicity is best. A cheesecake has to have a nice firm crust, not soggy, and a fluffy yet firm filling, not too short, and not so tall that a single bite can't fit on a fork.

In recent years, I have ventured away from my strict plain cheesecake standards, trying flavors such as Pumpkin Ginger cheesecake with gingersnap crusts (a favorite for Thanksgiving), Peppermint cheesecake for the holidays, etc. B suggested a New York cheesecake to finish off our East Coast inspired super bowl menu, so I starting poking around looking for an interesting cheesecake to try.

As soon as I saw this one, I knew it was the one - it is just out of control! B absolutely loves peanut butter cups, so he flipped when he saw the recipe, and I knew I had to make it.

I found the recipe through a cheesecake contest on a different blog (www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com), and can you believe this recipe didn't even win? I would like to apply to be a judge in next years contest please!

So without further ado:

The original recipe can be found here: http://www.mmmmbrains.com/archives/2007_03.html#001218

Brownie Crust:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch springform pan with butter.

2. Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with spoon or wire whisk. Add eggs; stir until well blended. Stir in flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; blend well. Spread in prepared pan.

3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until brownie begins to pull away from side of pan.

4. Immediately after removing brownie from oven, sprinkle milk chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and peanut butter cups over brownie surface.

Cheesecake Filling:

2 lbs cream cheese, softened
5 eggs, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter (not natural-style)
1/2 cups whipping cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
6 peanut butter cups, cut into quarters

5. Beat cream cheese in bowl of electric mixer until smooth.

6. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

7. Add sugar, peanut butter and cream; mix until smooth.

8. Stir in vanilla.

9. Pour filling into prepared crust.

10. Double-wrap springform pan with aluminum foil to prevent water seeping in.

11. Place springform pan into a larger baking pan.

12. Pour hot water into the larger pan so that the water comes 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan.

13. Bake at 325 degrees 1-1/2 hours, or until firm and lightly browned.

14. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for one hour.

15. Run a knife along the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan somewhat.

16. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before decorating. I tend to make cheesecakes a day ahead to let things set.

Decoration:

6 peanut butter cups, cut carefully in half
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter cups

17. Remove cake from pan and put on a pretty plate.

18. Bring whipping cream to boil in a small saucepan.

19. Remove from heat and add semi-sweet and peanut butter chips. Stir, stir, stir until melted and smooth.

20. Drizzle over cake and then add peanut butter cup halves around the edge of the cake.

The recipe noted that there was a lot of extra filling, so I made a 10 inch cheesecake and a 4 inch mini cheesecake, and divided the batter among both. I also made half of the decoration, as the recipe noted this was more than needed for decoration. I also skipped the water bath step, and just baked in the oven.

I'm not sure if it was because I omitted the water bath, or if it's because my cheesecake was bigger, but I had to bake a little longer than the directions because it was still liquid in the center. We found the cheesecake to be on the dry side, perhaps this is due to my cooking it too long. However, it's definately a show stopper, and I will make this again (and try a water bath next time!).

The mini cheesecake came out perfectly, and will be shipped to Georgia as a surprise for my parents.

Lobster rolls and Spinach Salad

Continuing with our East Coast inspired Super Bowl menu, we decided lobster rolls were in order. I have never been a big lobster eater, but I have always wanted a lobster roll. B went to Central Market the day before the Super Bowl and bought 2 lobsters, saying that he felt like a celebrity at the fish counter, and requesting female lobsters with the hopes of scoring some roe.

There is great debate regarding how to dispatch of a lobster - some people just toss them straight into a boiling pot of water, some people chill them on ice so they are slower, and some people believe in using a knife in their skull before boiling or grilling them. B and I disagree on whether or not lobsters actually have nerve endings and are aware of their demise, so our compromise is the "lobster lobotomy" method, which I feel is more humane, and then I don't feel guilty for enjoying their tasty meat.

We didn't really use a recipe for the lobster rolls, and since B is a self professed crab cake snob, he adopted a similar method for the lobster roll. In his opinion, crab cakes should contain large chunks of meat, with minimal fillers, just enough to bind it together. He researched a lot about lobster rolls, and decided that a simple preparation was best.

He wanted to make homemade mayonnaise, but that ended in disaster (and mayo all over the walls, floors, B's shirt and jeans.....and an annoyed wife who had just finished cleaning the kitchen moments before) so we went with store bought mayo instead.

Lobster rolls:

meat from a 1 1/2 lb lobster (steamed in salted boiling water), shelled, chilled and cut into large chunks
lemon juice (~ tablespoon)
mayonnaise (a few tablespoons)

Toss ingredients well. We served the lobster roll on a split hot dog bun and a bed of lettuce.

Spinach, strawberry, and pecan salad (from www.cooks.com):

1 lb. fresh spinach, washed & dried
1 pt. strawberries, washed & halved
1/2 c. pecan halves, toasted

dressing :

1/3 c. raspberry vinegar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. vegetable or olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp. poppy seeds (we omitted these b/c I have drug tests for interviews coming up! Haha)

Combine dressing ingredients except the poppy seeds in a
blender. Add the poppy seeds by hand. Toss dressing with
spinach, strawberries and hot pecans. The hot nuts will
slightly wilt the greens.

We thought there was a little too much sugar in this recipe, it did not fully dissolve until we added more water. The salad was a nice fresh and light accompaniment to the lobster roll.

Mmmmmm crabs!

B's Grandmother serves some delicious crab toasts occasionally when we have ventured to the land of pleasant living to visit with her. If you're not from the East Coast, you have probably never heard of crabbies (my first crabbie was at Graw's house). They are lump crab meat, cheese, and butter on toast, served hot from the oven. This recipe called for toast, but we used english muffins because that's how Graw does it. We served crabbies to start our super bowl menu, inspired by East Coast type fare. It's a great appetizer, as it is quick and easy to make, and you can freeze them so you always have a lovely quick appetizer when unexpected guests stop by.

We adapted our version from a Paula Deen recipe.

8 ounces good white crabmeat, picked free of all shells (this is important, nothing is grosser in my opinion than biting into crab shell, ack!)
1 (5-ounce) jar Cheddar-horseradish spread (we used Kraft Old English)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
Dash hot sauce or cayenne pepper
8 english muffins

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine crab, cheese spread, mayonnaise, garlic powder, butter and hot sauce. Divide mixture evenly over bread rounds and spread. Score each round into quarters and place on a baking sheet. Bake until topping is heated through and golden brown on top, about 10 to 15 minutes.

We felt that there was wayyyyy too much butter - not surprising for a Paula Deen recipe. They were tasty, but pretty greasy, and not the same as Graw's version. I think the next time we make these, we'll use more hot sauce and some Old Bay.

Corn Chowder with Sweet Potatoes and Ham

It's finally chilly in Dallas, which means it's below 50 degrees, and we actually need to turn on our heat. Due to my love of cream, and all things Williams-Sonoma, this soup recipe was begging to be made.

From the Williams-Sonoma Website

http://tinyurl.com/3akews

Ingredients:

5 ears of corn, husks and silks removed
3 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup diced ham steak
2 1/2 cups diced yellow onion
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 large sweet potato (~1 lb) peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon hot-pepper sauce (like Tobasco)

Directions:

Strip off corn kernels from 3 ears of corn with a knife, set aside.

With the remaining kernels, score each strip of kernels with a knife along the length of the ear. Using the back of a knife, scrape down the length of the ear to squeeze out the pulp from the scored kernels. Set aside.

Melt butter over medium heat in a dutch oven, add ham and cook about 10 minutes until lightly browned. Transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon.

Add onion and bell pepper to the pot, cover and cook 10 minutes or until tender. Add broth, sweet potato, and salt. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes, partially covered. Add ham and corn kernels, cover and cook 10 minutes or until potato is tender. Stir in corn pulp, cream, and hot pepper sauce. Cook until heated through, 3-4 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Makes 8 servings.

So here's my review:

Wow, getting the corn pulp was super messy - I had corn splattered on the walls! This is definately not a recipe to make mid-week, unless you have at least an hour to mess around in the kitchen. I think it could use more hot sauce, and we also added some fresh ground pepper. Next time it might be fun to throw in some peas, but B thinks they would get lost in the dish.

We served it with some biscuits, and I think a simple green salad would have gone with it nicely (but we were in a hurry and skipped the salad). It was of course a tasty soup, how can cream and ham and butter go wrong?

What recipe?

Okay, I love alfredo sauce....it's a bit of an obsession. Anything with butter and cream is A-OK with me. I've had a hankering for alfredo for a few days, and so I decided to whip some up on Saturday night.

I started off by roasting two red peppers, peeling the blackened skins off the peppers, slicing them into strips, and set them aside. Then I minced a few cloves of garlic and sauteed it in a tablespoon of olive oil, and added 8 oz of sliced baby bella mushrooms until they were soft. I added a tiny bit of chicken stock to deglaze the pan, and then I tossed in a ham steak that I had diced up, and half a package of frozen peas.

In a separate pan, I brought 2 cups of heavy cream and 5 tablespoons of butter to a boil, and simmered it for a few minutes to thicken. I added 6 tablespoons of shredded parmesan cheese, and whisked it until the sauce was smooth, and added a dash of freshly ground nutmeg and some salt and freshly ground pepper.

I boiled a pound of penne pasta, since we didn't have any fetticini, and I mixed the vegetable mix with the alfredo sauce, tossed on the red peppers, and added a bit more parmesan cheese.

Not exactly a healthy meal, but no one has accused me of being a health nut foodie. It was quite tasty, and hit the spot.

Frankie Blue Eyes

B called me frantically on Tuesday, informing me he had caught a cat. We've had a colony of stray cats living in our apartment complex for several months, and I have been trying unsuccessfully trying to catch the cats to spay and neuter them.

So, B caught a cat, and then didn't know what to do with it. So he secluded it in our bathroom, and we took a few pictures and put up some signs around the neighborhood. He's a very nice cat, declawed and neutered, and very friendly. Of course, Bear and Bella are extremely curious.....they LOVE to chase cats!

We've had Frankie for a few days now, and everyone seems to be getting along amicably, although the cat is definately cautious of the dogs. Bear still wants to chase Frankie, but Frankie won't run, and seems to have figured out the guest room is a safe haven for him. Bella is most interested in sampling the cat food.

So, we're going to continue looking for his family....I'm sort of shocked that no one is missing him, but maybe he's been on the run for awhile. Who knows where he came from. I've already contacted a cat rescue that might take him, and we can foster him while he's up for adoption.

I confess I would like to keep him, but B doesn't seem to want another animal right now. That's totally understandable!

My new favorite fruit: Kishu mandarin

Frequenting our favorite foodie spot, Central Market, I spied some interesting fruit I had never seen before. Kishu mandarins! They are a variety of tangerine, small, sweet and seedless. They are only in season in January, and such a treat! I loaded up with two pounds of them, and took some to work to share, and have been munching on the rest myself. They are so tiny and tasty, I'm sad that I can't eat them year round.

The animals met the Animal

It's no secret our house has a hairy dog problem......with 190 lbs of hairy dog, no vacuum stands a chance. Both B and I had our own vacuums from our single days, but they have been dying a slow miserable death since the addition of Bella to our household. My poor vacuum has suction, but the brushes don't turn anymore (even after replacing the belts and cleaning everything out). It fought a brave fight for 7 years, but alas it's time has come. B's vacuum was literally held together with masking tape, and not really working very well, more just spreading the hair in a fine layer across our carpet. We do have a Roomba, but it just can't keep up with the hairy duo's output.

So after much debate, we decided on a Dyson vacuum, as many pet owners seem to be pleased with the vacuum. I realize it must seem mundane to get excited about a vacuum, but this is a really cool vacuum. It's so easy to use, and it's just so effective. The bin was completely full after just vacuuming our living room, although it's slightly horrifying to think about the amount of dirt we've been wallowing in. It's so well designed, and the attachments will be great for cleaning furniture and floors. I'm just really with it so far.

The true test will come when Bella blows coat, as it literally looks like it's snowing inside our house. I think the Dyson is up to the challenge though!

Steve Jobs is an evil genius

Meet the newest laptop offered by Apple: MacBook Air. It weighs a mere three pounds, and is only three quarters of an inch thick at it's thickest point. It's ultra portable and ultra cool. And I want it!

It's got the same touch technology as the iPhone, so you can pinch and spread your fingers on the trackpad to shrink or enlarge text. The screen is arsenic and mercury free, so it's a green laptop. I normally leave the techno gobbledygook to B, since my eyes usually glaze over when he mentions RAM and GB stuff, but it's got 2GB of RAM and an 80 GB hard drive, for what it's worth. It's got pretty good battery life (better than my Powerbook G4 at least, which sucks electricity) and has the iSight camera built in.

It doesn't have an optical drive, meaning you can't pop a DVD or CD into it, but it has some remote disk thing so you can use a CD/DVD drive from another computer, or buy a separate drive that plugs into the USB port. Whatever - the point is it's ultra thin and ultra light, and would be perfect for travel.

I think it would be perfect for my new job as a field application specialist, don't you? *disclaimer, do not have the job yet*

Boomer

Boomer was our most recent foster, through a local rescue league. He was seized from his owner as part of a cruelty investigation, and I picked him up from the city shelter the day he was scheduled to be euthanized. He was literally covered in mats, had a terrible yeast infection all over his skin, his feet and tail were bloody and raw, and he was heartworm positive.

B and I fostered Boomer for almost four months. We had to give him several baths with betadine and baby shampoo, and round after round of antibiotics to get his skin infection under control. We nursed him through his heartworm treatment, and gave him all sorts of fancy food to help him gain weight.

Here's a link to an album of his pictures while we were fostering him.
http://tinyurl.com/2xaxtq

Through it all, he had the sweetest personality. All he wanted was kisses and attention, he was so happy to be loved. He learned to play with toys, and discovered wrestling with Bella. Every day he grew a little stronger, and finally he was ready to go to a new family.

I took him to an adoption event, not thinking anyone would take him home that day, and the perfect home found him. I can't imagine a better place for him, they love him so much. Today they sent me some pictures to update me on how he's doing. He's gained another 10 lbs since they adopted him, and his hair is finally coming back. He is simply a stunning dog now. My cup runeth over.

I'm siiiiiicccccckkkkkk

:-(

My throat hurts, my head hurts, my nose is running, I feel weak and shakey. I've spent the entire day ensconced in my big arm chair, with a fluffy comforter and lots of pillows. B has been very kind and giving me soup, water, tissues, etc.

Arg, I hate being sick. I had so much I needed to do this weekend, and all I can do is sit here. I am sooooo tired.

Detox STAT!

Kidding of course......I just say no! I had another interview with HR at the company I'm really excited about, and I think it went well. We discussed the position more, and she told me a bit about the company and the changes they've undergone in the past few years. I really like the company philosophy, they seem to be happy to let people transition into different jobs to play up to their strengths and interests. I like that I wouldn't be boxed in, and I think it would be a fabulous learning experience to see the different facets of the company. I REAAAAALLLLLY hope they call me for the last round. They are going to choose 2-3 top candidates to fly up to Jersey for a final round of interviews, and make a decision that day. The HR person was really nice, she had a funny Jersey accent that popped out occasionally.

She also mentioned they'd be doing a drug screen and a background check! Not that I have anything to hide at all, it just seems strange, weird to have unknown people looking at your personal information. I feel a bit violated! So I think I'll have to go into detox, wouldn't want them to know I love wine as much as I do! I like the drunk monkey the best. ;-)

Lots of news on the job front

I had two different phone interviews Monday and today. Both went really well. The Monday interview wants to meet in person later this month, and the interview today will have one more phone round, and then a face to face meeting (if I pass the HR person's interview).

I'm really excited about the interview today, the job would be a great opportunity for networking and making lots of contacts. Plus I think the job would be fun and interesting, and I think I would be really great at it. It's the perfect blend of biochemistry and still uses my experience in human genetics, and I'd get to travel and talk about science.

SO keep your fingers crossed for me and hopefully I'll get the next interview! :-)

Things feel like they're finally looking up.

check this post for updates on the 100 mile challenge!

I'm still in first place!

ooooooooohhhhhh YEAH! I have to take it down a notch though, I normally run 10 miles a week, and I've already run 13 in the last 4 days. I have to squelch the competitiveness in myself to not get injured! Tomorrow we drive back to Georgia, so I have 14 hours in the car to look forward to. :-(

Then my back to my fun job and my cruddy apartment. Hooray!

On a happier note, I am madly applying for jobs, so hopefully I'll have some more interviews soon.

L O V I N G my Nike +!

I am a gear head. I love gear. I have a closet full of camping, golfing, hiking, mountain biking, and rock climbing gear. It's totally out of control. And I've been on a running kick for the last few months, and got a BUNCH of cool new gadgetry for running. I got a nano, a Polar F6 heartrate monitor, and a Nike + plug in for my iPod. B is calling me the bionic running woman.

The Nike + is so cool, it keeps track of the distance you ran, your speed, your total miles, etc, and you can store it on the Nike website and do virtual challenges with other runners. So I entered the "Nestie 100 mile challenge" with about 10 other girls all over the US. The first person to run 100 miles wins! The challenge started yesterday, and today I hammered out 5 miles, so I am the current leader. I'm sure I'll drop back tomorrow, since we'll be in the car all day, but I think I can crank out some miles over the weekend. It's so fun beating people!

Happy New Year!

We rang in the New Year with my parents, and we went to dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant in my hometown, Hugs. They make an amazing pink fettuccine alfredo that I must eat every single time I'm in town. It's so bad, but sooooo good!

So onto the annoying New Years resolutions. This year I resolve to get a new job that I enjoy, move out of our apartment, and take better care of myself. I've been pretty good about running, but I have all this fun new gear that will make it even better! I want to run at least 10 miles a week, with the goal being able to run 5 continuous miles.

I'd like to spend more time with the puppers, taking them on walks and playing with them. They haven't gotten much attention since I've been so busy with H&C.

I know most people make all these New Years resolutions that they never stick to, but I think mine are pretty attainable. Good luck in your goals!