Is finally over.
We've been here, there, and everywhere! Full recap coming soon.
Only 366 more days till we can say this again!
Friday, December 30, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Getting my bake on
We are celebrating Christmas tonight with my mom and family. I knew I wanted to make dessert and had been wanting to try the peppermint chocolate roll I found on pinterest but seeing as though I was starting after 6 last night and the recipe seemed a bit out there,can threw that out the window and went for snicker doodles and dark chocolate temptations courtesy of asouthernfairytale.
My loot from the store... I had everything except only bought one bag of dark chips when I needed 2. Mr Buckeye went out for the second for me.
He had requested snicker doodles and I had never made them before. Luckily having a smart phone in the grocery store proved once again useful and I found an awesome recipe. Search for Mrs. Siggs Snickerdoodles on google and you'll see it. They were delightfully easy to make and I enjoyed swirling the dough with the bowl of cinnamon sugar. (I did have the double the cin/sugar mix to have enough.)
And of the 4 dozen that I made there is probably a dozen gone. They turned out great and it turns out I really like snicker doodles too!
Now for the pretty ones.
These were so much fun! They did take a little time, but I started them first and then did the doodles while the dough for these was chilling. My best advice is to follow what she says. It really is step by step. I didn't have vanilla bean paste and subbed pure extract. Worked fine I think. And mine baked for 10 min before they were done in the middle. And while you are waiting for the kisses to melt, be patient and give them the full 5 min. They swirl much better!
And look so pretty!
I ran out of kisses so a handful are plain, but I'll be! They are some of the most delicious chocolate cookies ever!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
My loot from the store... I had everything except only bought one bag of dark chips when I needed 2. Mr Buckeye went out for the second for me.
He had requested snicker doodles and I had never made them before. Luckily having a smart phone in the grocery store proved once again useful and I found an awesome recipe. Search for Mrs. Siggs Snickerdoodles on google and you'll see it. They were delightfully easy to make and I enjoyed swirling the dough with the bowl of cinnamon sugar. (I did have the double the cin/sugar mix to have enough.)
And of the 4 dozen that I made there is probably a dozen gone. They turned out great and it turns out I really like snicker doodles too!
Now for the pretty ones.
These were so much fun! They did take a little time, but I started them first and then did the doodles while the dough for these was chilling. My best advice is to follow what she says. It really is step by step. I didn't have vanilla bean paste and subbed pure extract. Worked fine I think. And mine baked for 10 min before they were done in the middle. And while you are waiting for the kisses to melt, be patient and give them the full 5 min. They swirl much better!
And look so pretty!
I ran out of kisses so a handful are plain, but I'll be! They are some of the most delicious chocolate cookies ever!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, December 16, 2011
Ever wonder...
What pure hell looks like???
I found it.
In the form of the stair master at the Y.
You look like a complete ass slowly walking up those revolving steps while at the same time sweating your butt off and feeling like it's only a matter of milliseconds before you tumble right off. 5 minutes. I almost died.
However! This was also after my run. I have moved on to Week 2 of Couch to 5K. It's going surprisingly well so far. The 3 session for week one were tough but not ridiculous. I'm sweating like a madwoman by the end and I'm loving it! I'm running all sets at a 10min pace and pushing a little bit more on the last set or 2. I can feel myself getting a bit stronger endurance wise. I'd love to be able to hit a sub-30 5k at the end of all this. I'll need to be on the lookout for a local 5k to test myself.
To think that a year and a half ago, the same running session I was running at a full minute slower pace and walking slower as well.
2.15 miles has turned to 2.31 miles.
Progress, I like to see it!
I found it.
In the form of the stair master at the Y.
You look like a complete ass slowly walking up those revolving steps while at the same time sweating your butt off and feeling like it's only a matter of milliseconds before you tumble right off. 5 minutes. I almost died.
However! This was also after my run. I have moved on to Week 2 of Couch to 5K. It's going surprisingly well so far. The 3 session for week one were tough but not ridiculous. I'm sweating like a madwoman by the end and I'm loving it! I'm running all sets at a 10min pace and pushing a little bit more on the last set or 2. I can feel myself getting a bit stronger endurance wise. I'd love to be able to hit a sub-30 5k at the end of all this. I'll need to be on the lookout for a local 5k to test myself.
To think that a year and a half ago, the same running session I was running at a full minute slower pace and walking slower as well.
2.15 miles has turned to 2.31 miles.
Progress, I like to see it!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Back to Basics
I ate a slice of humble pie yesterday and went back to the basics. After spending some time on Pinterest pinning various running and inspirational things, I got off the couch and went to the gym.
About a year and a half ago I started the Couch to 5k Program that jump started me and allowed me to complete the Columbus Half Marathon in October. Because I'm a lazy oaf and haven't done much physical activity recently, I decided to revert back to the trusty program and build up again.
I decided that my goal for this go-around is 10 minute miles. In order to do that, I will not run at less than a 6 on the dreadmill. This first day felt really good. So good that I pushed it to 7 for the last 2 rotations and then after completing my 20 minutes I did 1 extra min at a whopping 8 (7:34 min mile!) I can't believe that Skinny Runner runs that for 26 miles! Wow! All in all, I started out thinking oh crap, this is not going to work- this is pretty easy. But by about 10 minutes into the intervals I was sweating it out. My right knee was a tiny bit sore for about an hour afterwards but all in all I was a-ok!
My splits:
Minutes/Activity/Speed
1-5/ Warm Up /4
6-7/ Run /6
7-8.5/ Walk /4
8.5-9.5/ Run /6
9.5-11/ Walk /4
11-12/ Run /6
12-13.5/ Walk /4
13.5-14.5/ Run /6
14.5-16/ Walk /4
16-17/ Run /6
17-18.5/ Walk /4
18.5-19.5/ Run /6
19.5-21/ Walk /4
21-22/ Run /7
22-23.5/ Walk /4
23.5-24.5/ Run /7
24.5-26/ Walk /4
26-27/ Run /8
28-30/ Cool Down /4
3 days a week. I think I can handle that! Hoping to stay ahead of the hefty holidays and not pack on a few extra pounds to bring in the new year. Wish me luck!
About a year and a half ago I started the Couch to 5k Program that jump started me and allowed me to complete the Columbus Half Marathon in October. Because I'm a lazy oaf and haven't done much physical activity recently, I decided to revert back to the trusty program and build up again.
I decided that my goal for this go-around is 10 minute miles. In order to do that, I will not run at less than a 6 on the dreadmill. This first day felt really good. So good that I pushed it to 7 for the last 2 rotations and then after completing my 20 minutes I did 1 extra min at a whopping 8 (7:34 min mile!) I can't believe that Skinny Runner runs that for 26 miles! Wow! All in all, I started out thinking oh crap, this is not going to work- this is pretty easy. But by about 10 minutes into the intervals I was sweating it out. My right knee was a tiny bit sore for about an hour afterwards but all in all I was a-ok!
My splits:
Minutes/Activity/Speed
1-5/ Warm Up /4
6-7/ Run /6
7-8.5/ Walk /4
8.5-9.5/ Run /6
9.5-11/ Walk /4
11-12/ Run /6
12-13.5/ Walk /4
13.5-14.5/ Run /6
14.5-16/ Walk /4
16-17/ Run /6
17-18.5/ Walk /4
18.5-19.5/ Run /6
19.5-21/ Walk /4
21-22/ Run /7
22-23.5/ Walk /4
23.5-24.5/ Run /7
24.5-26/ Walk /4
26-27/ Run /8
28-30/ Cool Down /4
3 days a week. I think I can handle that! Hoping to stay ahead of the hefty holidays and not pack on a few extra pounds to bring in the new year. Wish me luck!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Trans Siberian Orchestra 2011
For Mr. Buckeye's Birthday we went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. He has always wanted to go but the timing was never right. This year the stars aligned because they were at US Bank Arena on Dec. 1. How perfect to start of the Christmas season!
We may have watched this guy in the front row more than anyone else in the entire show. He was jumping around, air guitar solos, air drum solos, and at one point I thought he was going to jump on stage. He was up the entire show... notice everyone else in their seats.
Lots of lasers, smoke, fire, fireworks, and rock Christmas music makes for Happy Buckeyes!
Long hair might be another requirement to be a rock guitarist. A stance is the other requirement. Stance and long hair to swing around. If you've got both, you too may rock.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
My First Thanksgiving
It started out so well. I got up early and everything was going my way. .
But I suppose it wouldn't be a holiday without a freakout and some tears. The roaster I used is apparently on loan from Satan in the center of the earth and cooks with molten lava because my turkey was completely done by 9:00am. (less than 2 hours to cook a 16 lb turkey??? ::cue tears::) Terribly sorry to the Mr. Buckeye for having to deal with me- and on his birthday no less! But I was able to salvage it and keep it moist until lunch at 1.*
And we had way too much food but it was delicious!
For the record, I actually did eat my Aunt's Sweet Potatoes without gagging AND asked to keep a small bit for leftovers that I DID eat too! This is a huge deal.
Mama had every number candle except the 2 we needed... so we settled for the ?
Then Saturday up to Columbus to see our favorite little people. They are getting too big, make it stop!
and see the 2 newest members of the family!
But I suppose it wouldn't be a holiday without a freakout and some tears. The roaster I used is apparently on loan from Satan in the center of the earth and cooks with molten lava because my turkey was completely done by 9:00am. (less than 2 hours to cook a 16 lb turkey??? ::cue tears::) Terribly sorry to the Mr. Buckeye for having to deal with me- and on his birthday no less! But I was able to salvage it and keep it moist until lunch at 1.*
All in all it wasn't too bad, a tad dry but not nearly what I envisioned.
For the record, I actually did eat my Aunt's Sweet Potatoes without gagging AND asked to keep a small bit for leftovers that I DID eat too! This is a huge deal.
And Sky wanted in on the pyrotechnics as well.
Then Saturday up to Columbus to see our favorite little people. They are getting too big, make it stop!
We are in full holiday swing down here now so bring on Christmas!
*Wrap the whole thing in foil, wrap the whole thing in bath towels, keep in cooler till ready to serve
Ribbit- The end of a sweater
Yikes, long delay... again
Lots has happened since Thanksgiving.
Including something quite sad.
I'm not sure if you remember way back in 2009 when I fell victim to spur of the moment insanity and bought a ton of lucious Cocoon yarn to make a sweater. And I started knitting. and kept on knitting. Until I stopped. What I was left with was a vest. No sleeves and no hood, shoot- not even swen together.
Yes. I ripped it all out on Monday. It was a sad day yet totally satisfying. I'm ready to move on to bigger and better things. The wine color is destined to be used soon for Mindy's newest shawl which I am completely looking forward to testing. It's a bulky crescent shape that is different from any that I have. I've seen the model and I think it will make an excellent hood/wrap for wintertime and the Cocoon yarn will be a delight to work with... again.
Lots has happened since Thanksgiving.
Including something quite sad.
I'm not sure if you remember way back in 2009 when I fell victim to spur of the moment insanity and bought a ton of lucious Cocoon yarn to make a sweater. And I started knitting. and kept on knitting. Until I stopped. What I was left with was a vest. No sleeves and no hood, shoot- not even swen together.
Well, all of that is now this:
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