Hobo Sacks

I think this recipe needs a better name...

Anyways, it is very yummy and SO simple!

You'll need:
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon House Seasoning (see below)
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 medium onion, cut into small chunks
4 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes

Preheat oven to 400. Place four large sheets of aluminum foil on your work area.
Combine the beef with 2 teaspoons of seasoning and form into 4 equal patties. Place equal amounts of carrots, potatoes, and onions on the aluminum foil sheets. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon each of leftover seasoning. Top each pile of veggies with hamburger patty and dot with butter. Seal foil packets tightly and put on a baking sheet.
Bake for about 30 minutes.

Seasoning Recipe
1/4 cup salt
1 Tablespoon pepper
1 Tablespoon garlic powder

Combine and store in an airtight container, great in and on lots of things :)

Favorite Porkchop Recipe

Oh so yummy porkchops... Here's the great recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 cup crushed Ritz crackers
• garlic salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 pork chops
• 2 tablespoons of butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a shallow bowl combine crushed crackers, garlic salt and pepper; mix well. In a separate bowl beat eggs.
3. Dip your pork chops in the egg batter and then in the cracker mixture. Place the pork chops in a casserole dish. Place chunks of the butter around the pork chops. Cover and bake for 35 minutes, return to oven and bake 10 minutes uncovered.

What a Sweetie

I married a wonderful man... who loves me, and shows it often through sweet words, notes, and things.

Like roses at work...

And a surprise dinner out...


For some of my favorite things...


With a sweet sweet guy ;)


Plus, some gorgeous jewelry too!!!! Win!

Happy 2 Years!

2 Years ago today was the happiest day of my life :) I married my best friend.

Happy 2 Years Baby!

"We've been together for a while now
We're growing stronger everyday now
It feels so good and there's no doubt
I will stay with you as each morning brings sunrise
And the flowers bloom in springtime
All my love you can rely
And I'll stay with you"
-John Legend, "Stay With You"
Our First Dance

Back to School...

Well, summer was fun but its over. Now its back to work.

I took tons of pictures before Open House to upload, and then left my camera in my desk drawer. Oops. Beginning theme was monkeys. I will get the pictures uploaded soon.

Bridge to 10k: Week 1, Day 1

Just Completed Week 1 - Day 1 of B210K

Today's workout consisted of:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Run 10 minutes / walk 1 minute. Repeat 4 times. Five-minute cooldown walk.

Well I started this today. It is the next app from the creators of Couch to 5k. It is Bridge to 10k. It is great! Just wish the weather would chill down...

Yay Garden!

Love that little raised garden bed!

Couch to 5k: Week 9, Day 3

FINISHED!

Just Completed Week 9 - Day 3 of C25K

Today's workout consisted of:

The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 30 minutes. Finish with a five minute cooldown walk.

Book Review

I hear this is a great book... Off to Borders to see if that is true :)

Happy Fourth of July!

Cul-de-sac party with the neighbors. I really love this place :)

Oh the hats we wear...

Friday Friend 38

Oprah's Debt Diet


I like pie charts :)

Oprah's Debt Diet

Couch to 5k: Week 9, Day 2

Just Completed Week 9 - Day 2 of C25K

Today's workout consisted of:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 30 minutes. Finish with a five minute cooldown walk.

Just one more day!

Couch to 5k: Week 9, Day 1

Just Completed Week 9 - Day 1 of C25K

Today's workout consisted of:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 30 minutes. Finish with a five minute cooldown walk.

Did today's C25K on the elliptical. I am trying to get used to it. I think my legs might be too long though...

Lunch from the Garden

Can You Say YUM?!

Home Gym!

Dad and Mom came up today and Dad, Matt and I installed a TV and new lights in the garage! Yay! Don't you just love it?

I also found my "puzzle piece" exercise mat at Walmart in Apex. For $20, I think it is really nice! The only thing left to do is laminate my exercise posters (that came with a kit I bought) and find a small, cheap dvd player to hook to the TV.

Friday Friend 37

Friday Friend 37 is our almost complete Home Gym!



I've been working hard on the garage all week. Organizing and cleaning, trying to get a spot that I can workout in when the weather is either too hot, rainy, or come winter, too cold.

Daddy plans to install either ceiling fans with lights or just lights in two places in the garage. Currently we only have the shop light above the table.

I am looking forward to mounting a small TV (had a cable outlet put out there today) to watch TV while I use the elliptical.

I went to purchase some "puzzle piece" rubberized flooring today, but our local Walmart was sold out. I'll keep looking.

So far, so good. I feel like the garage is coming along!

Catalog Living

A Facebook Friend posted this link and I thought it was too funny not to add to the blog.

Catalog Living

We're Cruising!

Its Official! Matt and I will take our first cruise very soon! We are so excited! 7 days in the Bahamas! Woo Hoo!

Weekend Recap and Father's Day

Matt I had a great weekend! We got to go to Wilmington and see Stephanie. It was a lot of fun and a well deserved trip!

Stephanie and I. She is so tan!


Matt and I in downtown Wilmington.

We also were able to see both of our dad's for Father's Day! Yummy triple decker clubs at the Quinn's and hotdogs and a family game of kickball at the Cox's. Lots of fun all day! :)

Blueberry Festival 5k

Saturday I ran in the Blueberry Festival 5k. It was terrible. So hot and humid, blerg. If you don't want to read a whiny blogpost, skip this one...

To start off with I woke up with a bit of a stomach ache. Just brushed it off as nerves and continued getting ready. Stephanie had us up at 5:40 and out the door at 6am. Drive 30 minutes to Burgaw from Wilmington and get our race packs and start stretching and getting ready. Stephanie ended up walking the event with her step-sister due to her injury.

I still felt sickish when the race started. But I went ahead anyways. Here is a short recap of the race.

The course was worse that awful. It was flat (that was a plus) but it was very poorly designed! 4 "u-turns" and none of them had volunteers manning them, so sadly people cheated!!! Stephanie also brought to my attention on the car ride back that there was one u-turn that you didn't have to run to the end to, that there was a small spray painted green dot that people were turning at. I just followed the folks ahead of me, and I think we all ran too far.

My Nike+ messed up during the race. The race was not marked very well so I clicked into my Nike+ to see how far I had left and it told me that I had ran 3.7 miles already. There was no way this was possible! Ugh! Frustrated!

And here is the stinkin' icing on the cake... it was 6 seconds slower than my 5k 2 weeks ago! WHAT!? I ran the whole time! I didn't walk a step! Stephanie tried to make me feel better by saying that running the whole time is more important than your finish time. Endurance is more important than speed, she said.

The rest of Saturday was awesome! Beach, good friends, food, and fun! :)

Beach Bum!

Guess who I am visiting?

We have the blueberry race in the am, so of course a great pre-run meal is a doughnut :)

Couch to 5k: Week 8, Day 2

Just Completed Week 8 - Day 2 of C25K

Today's workout consisted of:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 28 minutes. Finish with a five-minute cooldown walk.


Here's a screen shot of my Nike+. You can click on it for a bigger picture. I stinkin' love this thing! It gives a TON of info! There is another screen that I did not take a picture of that list your pace and calories. For this run my pace was 9:01 a mile and I burned 284 calories.

That's right, this is my best run yet. 3.1 miles in 28:04, no walking! I am pretty pleased with that!!! Let's hope I can do that well on race day!

Next Step?

So I am almost complete with my 5k training... and I got to thinking, "What's next?"

The next logical step for me is a 10k. Sure enough, the same people that made my Couch to 5k program have a Bridge to 10k for those that completed the 5k program! Yay! I have 5 days left of my 5k program and then I am going to download the Bridge to 10k and work on that!

Bridge to 10k Link

I have also looked into some other programs for upper body/abs.

CrunchFu- This app uses iPhone motion detector to count your crunches and sets up games/challenges for you to feel motivated to get a washboard stomach!


Abtastic- This app shows all the different ways to work those abs!


SHAPE Flat Abs- Great timed workout, audio coaching and videos on how to correctly do the exercises.

I kicked around mini-triathlons because I love to swim. But I do not have a bike, and they are expensive. So maybe, maybe, maybe next spring if I am still into the whole "racing" thing I will look into getting a bicycle...

Couch to 5k: Week 8, Day 1

Just Completed Week 8 - Day 1 of C25K

Today's workout consisted of:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 28 minutes. Finish with a five-minute cooldown walk.

Couch to 5k: Week 7, Day 3

Just Completed Week 7 - Day 3 of C25K

Today's workout consisted of:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 25 minutes. Finish with a five-minute cooldown walk.

New Look!

Alrighty, here's the new look!? What do you think? I really like the colors (and the dots).

First 5k Race

So today was the big day. My first 5k race!

I was nervous, and I started out way to fast! I had completed the first mile and a half in 11 minutes... not a pace I could keep! So I did end up walking some :( Not what I wanted to do, but between starting too fast and the heat I just felt that it was better to take a moment and walk, and then pick up a better pace.

So here are a few highlights of my run:
There was a dude running barefoot. We raced on the road!
There was this lady that was "messing" with me the whole last half of the race. I was keeping a decent pace and she would be all up on me! Then she would cut in front of me and slow down. My long legs couldn't handle her small stride, so I would go around her. This continued till I could see the finish line. So when I could see the finish I started to "bring it". I was clipping along pretty well and then guess who thinks she is going to pass me!? That lady! OH NO SHE DIDN'T is the exact words that went through my brain. I busted out 1998 track skills and DUSTED that lady! It was the best feeling in the entire world! Take that lady! I am still pumped thinking about it! Actually I passed another person in that little stretch too :)

So my time was a little more than I wished. I wanted to finish in 30 or under and I ended up with a 31:52 (chip time). In my age group 20-29, there were 63 women and I came in 21st. So I don't think that is too bad. Grand total (men & women) 597, I came in 238. Not as great as I wanted but I am only on week 7 of my Couch to 5k, so maybe in 2 weeks I will be there!!!

Check out my cheerleader! She was so happy for me!

Big thanks to Matt and Dutchie for being my cheering squad! I love you both!

Couch to 5k: Week 7, Day 2

Just Completed Week 7 - Day 2 of C25K

Today's workout consisted of:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 25 minutes. Finish with a five-minute cooldown walk.
*Actually Today's Workout was a 5k Race*

Friday Friend 36

My First 5k Race!

Here is a shot of my race packet. World's ugliest shirt, water bottle, and many coupons! I will be cashing in that free chick-fil-a very soon ;)

Check out tomorrow's post to see how I did! :)

Couch to 5k: Week 7, Day 1

Just Completed Week 7 - Day 1 of C25K

Today's workout consisted of:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 25 minutes. Finish with a five-minute cooldown walk.

Couch to 5k: Week 6, Day 3

Just Completed Week 6 - Day 3 of C25K

Today's workout consisted of:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 25 minutes with no walking. Finish with a five-minute cooldown walk.

According to Nike+ I ran 2.4 mi with a pace of 10'29"/min in 25 minutes.

NC Art Museum

Matt and I visited the Art Museum yesterday. It was good, cool, free entertainment. I was hoping for some more modern art but I found a way to have a good time ;)

Couch to 5k: Week 6, Day 2

Just Completed Week 6 - Day 2 of C25K

Today's workout consisted of:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: - Jog 10 minutes - Walk 3 minutes - Jog 10 minutes - Five-minute cooldown walk

This was the last day of interval running. From now on it is solid times. Tomorrow will be 25 minutes of straight running, plus 5 minutes of warm-up and cool down walking. So my goal is to complete a 5k in that amount of time. We shall see.

This Saturday will be my first race. I am hopeful that it will go great!

Couch to 5k: Week 6, Day 1

Just Completed Week 6 - Day 1 of C25K

Today's workout consisted of:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: - Jog 5 minutes - Walk 3 minutes - Jog 8 minutes - Walk 3 minutes - Jog 5 minutes - Five-minute cooldown walk

Some Awesome Findings

I've said it before, and I will say it again and again and again...

I LOVE the internet and all the blogs on it!

Here is the latest findings...

Recipe Card Maker: http://www.skiptomylou.org/recipe-card-maker/

Saving Memories: http://babalisme.blogspot.com/2010/04/art-swap-continued.html

Craft Cans: http://memakingdo.blogspot.com/2010/04/can-craft-organizer.html

Once a Month Cooking: http://www.frugalmom.net/blog/2010/05/7-steps-to-once-a-month-cooking/

And why has no one told me this existed?!?!

Wordless Wednesday 46

Couch to 5k: Week 5, Day 3

Just Completed Week 5 - Day 3 of C25K

Today's workout consisted of:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 20 with no walking. Finish with a five-minute cooldown walk.

What a great day for running! Totally ran 20 minutes without stopping (and dodged a mother and her kid on a tricycle taken up the whole sidewalk TWICE). I mean really, you can't pick that kid up for 2 seconds so I don't have to jump into the road to avoid him? Thanks lady.

Couch to 5k: Week 5, Day 2

Just Completed Week 5 - Day 2 of C25K

Today's workout consisted of:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: - Jog 8 minutes - Walk 5 minutes - Jog 8 minutes - Five-minute cooldown walk

According to my Nike+ I completed 3.11miles in 35.44 with an average of 11.29 a mile. I am still walking so I am sure that is killing my time. Next workout is 5 min. warm up, 20 minute run (no walking), 5 minute cool down. We'll see how that goes ;)