Today I ran a mile

It's been a really long time since I ran a mile without stopping, especially while pushing LMS in the jogger. I can't say I was fast, but I did it. And aside from being very sweaty and out of shape, it felt good.

I've got just over a month till the four mile race, so I need to focus on getting my mileage up and making sure I'm prepared. Today was encouraging.

Bicycling

Last week I took my bike in to get tuned. The last time I rode it was almost a year ago, when we did the 50 miler with my youngest brother.  It's been about two years since the last time it had a tune-up and it was definitely time for another one. (Goal #8)

This morning I pulled out the bike trailer and all the necessary accoutrements- helmets, shoes, gloves, water bottle, etc, and loaded LMS up. We did a 2.5 mile loop, and I could definitely tell that it's been a long time since I last rode. I haven't used those muscles in a long time, and I worked up a good sweat. Ok, so I could be walking and working up a sweat because of the heat and humidity, but still, those 2.5 miles kicked my bum. There's some good hills out here- it's impossible to find a flat course to ride/walk/run on.

I've been walking 3 days a week, and now I'm going to add in biking twice a week. That will still give me two days off each week, and will hopefully help me avoid injuries. (Goal #9)

Sunday Funny

The other day I was reading a hardcover book that had a dust jacket on.

LMS came over, looked at the book, and said

"The book doesn't need a jacket! It's not cold!"

Ritz Crackers

My latest foray into gluten free baking was Ritz crackers. I found the recipe in Easy Gluten-Free Baking, of course, and once again this cookbook came through.

The crackers aren't quite as flaky as a store-bought Ritz cracker, but they definitely taste like Ritz crackers. Yum!

I still don't have any round cookie cutters, so I used a flower-ish shape instead.

Animal Crackers

Continuing my quest to feel more comfortable with gluten free baking, I'm working my way through Elizabeth Barbone's 'Easy Gluten-Free Baking'. My most recent experiment was some animal crackers. It took me awhile to find little animal cookie cutters, but I finally found some little Noah's Ark cookie cutters at JoAnns.

I thought they turned out quite well. I was hoping for a Stauffer's Animal Cracker- the kind that comes in the big bags. Those were always my favorite.

In the end, though, they tasted more like the Barnum's Animal Crackers in the little box, Mr. M's favorite.

It does take a bit of time to roll out the dough, cut out the shapes, transfer them to the cookie sheet, etc, etc. But since LMS really enjoyed eating them (first the head, then the feet...), I'll be making them again.

Sunday Funny

Did you know that flowers grow in couches?

I didn't till LMS planted one in our couch.

Off-road running

Thursday we went off-roading on our walk. It's beautiful out here. The view looking forward:

The view looking back:

I did run for short distances, which reminded me how much I enjoy running on dirt trails, especially if they're flat :)

I finally replaced the battery and recalibrated my pedometer, so I have a fairly accurate idea of how far I'm going now.

Saturday I went for a 3.5 mile walk, and managed to run about 1.25 miles of it. I broke the run up into four different sections, and it was definitely a good workout.

I'm sticking to walking/running three days a week, even though I am tempted to run more- it feels good to finally being running again, but I know if I push it too hard, too fast I'll just end up injured again. I really don't want that to happen.

I finally finished it!

Before:

After:

 I love how it turned out!

Go here for more details.

Muffin Tin Lunch

I've seen others do muffin tin lunches, and I've seen some do section plate lunches, but I've never tried it myself. Saturday I decided to give it a go.

This is what I gave LMS for lunch (clockwise from top left): a peach, unsweetened applesauce mixed with homemade yogurt (quite yummy- just the right amount of sweetness), a gluten free garlic muffin, and egg salad.

LMS looked at the tray and informed me that there was two empty spaces that needed to be filled. So I rummaged through the frig and came up with some carrots and some grapes. She was happy.

The verdict? She ate everything. I didn't think she would, because it's a bit more than I usually give her at lunch, but maybe the smaller amounts of more things made the difference. Definitely worth doing again.

Sunday Funny

Meet Little Miss Sunshine's newest friend:

This is Heak.

I asked LMS where she got the name from, and she told me that Heak told her her name.

Heak's body is my foam roller (for doing back stretches and exercises). It's just the right size for dressing up as a child-size doll/imaginary friend.

She kind of reminds me of the vegetables on Veggie Tales- no arms or legs on them, either.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yesterday was my first attempt at de-glutening a recipe I used to use pre-gluten free days. LMS calls these "Daddy Cookies" because these are the cookies we made and sent him on several occasions.

This particular recipe makes 12-14 dozen cookies. That's not a typo: 12-14 dozen! I usually halve the recipe, bake a dozen, roll the rest of the dough into balls and freeze for later use. Since I didn't know how this experiment would work out, I looked over the ingredients and realized I could easily cut the recipe in quarters. Instead of 12 dozen cookies, I made 3 dozen.

When doing gluten free baking, you can't just substitute rice flour for the wheat flour, you need to substitute a mix of flours and starches, and usually you need to add xanthan gum. I've seen many different 'recipes' for flour mixes, but in this case I used one I bought: Jules Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour. Since it's a pre-made mix, I was able to do a one-to-one substitution.

The results were great! The taste and texture are almost exactly what I remember from the last time I made them (more than a year ago, but still...).

Not that I need to be eating cookies, but it's nice to know that I have more options available.

I was supposed to spend three days this week sanding the cubbies and the cabinet. However, when the thermometer hit 90 degrees, and kept climbing (it hit 105 while we were running errands yesterday), I wussed out.

On the other hand, I should have the chair finished soon!

Sunday Funny

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I've been going to the chiropractor. Since the adjustments only take 5 minutes, I bring LMS along and she sits in a chair while I'm on the table.

The other day we went to a 'How chiropractic care can help you' class in the evening. It was about half an hour long and talked about how different imbalances in the spine can cause different problems. Did you know if the wrong vertebrae gets tweaked it can cause digestion problems and heartburn? It's all linked between the nerves coming from the spine and what part of the body they go to.

Anyway, as we walked to the car after the class, LMS turned to me and said "But he didn't spin your head."

I told her it was ok, because we were coming back in the morning and the doctor would do it then. I guess when the chiropractor adjusts my neck to the right and to the left it looks to her like he's 'spinning my head.'

Giveaway winners!

Thanks to all those who participated in my first giveaway!

The winners are:

Day 1: Valdosta Pecans

**** Jena! ****

Day 2: Fresh Orange Handcrafted Soap

**** Kristy! ****

Day 3: 3 Larabars

**** Vickie! ****

Day 4: Pink Grapefruit Candle

**** Becca! ****

Day 5: Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter

**** Jessica! ****

I think you all have my email address, so send me an email with your address (I'm constantly losing my address lists), and I'll send off your prizes!

Emergency preparedness

A week ago I realized we need to make sure we know where our emergency supplies are, and how to use them.

LMS and I were running some errands and were done with most of them. While we were driving to the library, an emergency broadcast came on, warning of extreme wind, rain, and possible quarter-size hail. They cautioned everyone to get inside a sturdy building and to stay away from windows.

Literally a minute and a half later the rain started, followed by very high wind gusts. Visibility dropped to almost nothing, so I very carefully pulled off the 4 lane major road and into a parking lot for 10-15 minutes to wait out the storm.

I had intended to go to Joanns for buttons for the chair I'm reupholstering, but decided not to since the electricity was out.

I was concerned about the electricity being out at our house, but thankfully it wasn't.

As I drove home, I tried to remember where the flashlights and candles are, and wondered:
do we have extra batteries for the flashlights?
do I know where matches or a lighter are?
am I going to have to fix dinner on our little camp stove?
do I remember how to use our little camp stove?
we don't have water stored in containers- what would I do for water?

I haven't really worried about such things in the past- my parents had all their stuff in order, and before that we never had problems with our electricity. The area we live in now has had several storms this winter and spring that resulted in trees down and electricity out- sometimes for a week or more.

This has really got me thinking about our preparedness- or lack thereof. So I've added extra goals #4, 5, and 6- so I don't forget to make sure we're prepared, because at this point, we're not.