Turkey Trot

When I was in high school, various members of my family would run a 5 mile Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning. We also had a Friday morning Turkey Carcass run that we participated in. I actually missed the first Turkey Trot I signed up for because I got hit by a van while doing a quick run the evening before. No broken bones, but I certainly wasn't in any position to run a 5 mile race the next morning.

In any case, I graduated and moved half way across the country to go to college, and with one thing or another I haven't run a Turkey Trot since my senior year in high school. A few weeks ago I googled local races and found a 5k that's just 10 minutes away. Even better, they allow jogging strollers!

It was on the cold side Thanksgiving morning, but the race was fun. It was the first time I ran a race pushing a jogger, but I didn't do too badly. The first half of the race was nice mixture of flat and downhill. The second half was a lot of uphills, so I had to do some walking then, but I still managed to finish the race in 35:05. Not the best time I've ever run, but really good for pushing a 4 year old in a jogger up a bunch of hills.

LMS had fun, but kept asking to get out and run. She's been riding in that jogger since she was 3 or 4 months old. I think we're approaching the end of its usefulness. Next year she'll be old enough to participate in the half mile kids' fun run that's before the 5k.

Do you run a race on Thanksgiving?

Gluten free, dairy free, soy free ice cream

That's actually yummy. Hard to believe, but it's true!

I've found two brands that fit the bill: Luna and Larry's ice cream and Tempt ice cream.

Luna and Larry's ice cream has a coconut milk base. The texture is very thick and creamy, very similar to Ben and Jerry's ice cream. They have several flavors, though our local Whole Foods only carries a couple of the very basic flavors. The vanilla ice cream has a faint coconut flavor, but it's not unpleasant. The coconut flavor is barely noticeable in the other flavors I've tried. This ice cream is sold in pints and ice cream bars (which we like for Friday night movie nights).  We really like this ice cream!

Tempt ice cream has a hemp milk base. And no, hemp milk will not make you fail a drug test :)  This ice cream is also very thick and creamy, not crystal-y like a lot of ice creams. Its texture is also reminiscent of Ben and Jerry's. They only have a few flavors. The chocolate is very good, but the coconut lime was weird.

It's nice to have ice cream that tastes good and doesn't make my stomach hurt. Luna and Larry's has a couple flavor combinations that almost make you think you're eating some Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Since that's no longer in my future, it's nice to have a good substitute.

Sunday Funny: Legos and Little People

Unpacking the Christmas things includes the Little People nativity set, which LMS loves.

The day after I unpacked it, I found this:

That's Mary sitting on a chair at a table, with a basket of food next to her.

The sheep are having a chat over flowers (lunch?).

There's a lego staircase so the angel can get to the roof   :)

And the kitties are safely in their cages.



Love it!

The New and Improved Little Miss Sunshine

Last week I was getting my eyes checked and I felt impressed to make an appointment for LMS to get hers checked. I talked to the people at the doctor's office and they were very supportive of me bringing her in. So  Monday I took LMS to the eye doctor and it turns out there was a reason I needed to bring her in. Her left eye is worse than either of my eyes. Her right eye also needs some correction, but isn't nearly as bad as her left eye.

We ordered some glasses and they came in last night. Isn't she cute?

(at the eye doctor's last night)

(the red spot on her forehead is from leaving a bandaid on for too long)

 (at home this morning)

They're purple princess glasses!

I sure wish there was cute glasses around when I was a kid and got my first glasses.

(I so am not posting pictures of me back then- glasses in the 80s were just wrong!)

LMS thought Lambie needed some glasses, so I made some from pipe cleaners. She then decided that a bunch of her other animals also needed glasses, so we made some for them too.

LMS will have to wear glasses the rest of her life, but in the meantime we're working on strengthening her left eye. This means we patch her right eye for two hours each day, five days a week.

I talk this up by telling her she gets to be a pirate every morning.

This worked until Thursday morning when she was wearing her purple fairy costume. Then she came to me and told me she wanted the patch off because she was a fairy, and fairies can't be pirates  :)

LMS wasn't super cooperative for this photo (hence the expression on her face). She's got a Jasmine bandaid under the occluder patch.

 It's hard to tell (LMS took this photo), but Lambie has a Jasmine bandaid over her eye too :)

Our Thanksgiving meal

I survived Thanksgiving without eating something I shouldn't. How can I tell? I had a very productive Friday.

Unfortunately, Saturday afternoon I ate some gluten free crackers that contain soy and corn. Derailed the rest of my day.

I've been paying closer attention to how I feel when I eat food. I'm constantly checking to make sure I'm eating safe food, or what I think is safe food. Lately the biggest indication I've eaten something unsafe, aside from the stomach pains and swelling throat, is massive mental fog. My brain checks out and I'm too blotto to get anything accomplished. And I feel like crap.

I've been quite successful at avoiding triggers lately and have been getting a lot done, which feels so good. It also makes it much more noticeable when my brain checks out. Not sure that knowing how much of a space case I can be is a good thing.

What did we eat for our gluten, oat, corn, dairy, egg, soy free Thanksgiving meal?
Roasted cornish game hens (yum!)
Pecan crusted sweet potatoes (double yum!)
Mock cornbread- made from millet (not cooked all the way unfortunately, but I've since made them as muffins and they were very good)
Green salad with pecans, cranberries, apples, and a cranberry vinaigrette (very yummy!)
Orange jello with mandarin oranges (yummy!)
Vegan pumpkin mousse tarts (not so great,  but that's ok)
Luna and Larry's Coconut Bliss Vanilla ice cream (soooo good!)

Most of it was good, and we didn't get any stomach aches, so it was a success :)