A day at the zoo

Workout-18.6miles (1hr, 10min) I fell asleep last night at 9:30 and when the alarm went off I was still tired. Blech. I was meeting the girls though so I couldn't bail. I got ready and headed out, they kicked my butt all over the place. It was pretty neat. 
There is this one cactus on 3mile hill (I really dislike 3mile hill) that looks like Rocky with his arms up. You only see it when it's kinda dark. Lucky for you I snapped a pic this morning.

Holy cow, my photography skills are impressive. Let's try again.

There it is. See, I don't suck.

We went to the zoo today. 
Workout- walked a million miles in search of animals.   :-)
It was gorgeous outside. Micah is at the age where all the animals make him laugh.

They wanted to take this guy home. His name was half-pint. Love. I'm grateful they didn't ask to take the elephant. 

He would also like one of these under the tree please.

My favorite exhibit is the orangutans. Our zoo has an amazing orangutan habitat and you can see them really well. Not that I got a good pic of them. 

We practically had the place to ourselves which was so nice.
It was a magnificent day at the zoo.  I love it there.


What was your workout today? 
Did ya have to drag your tail out of bed or did ya bounce right up?

I should be training, I guess

Workout-  Exactly 5mile run in exactly 47minutes, that never happens. Nice easy flat run with an amazing sunrise at the end.

So the other day I was thinking. No, I didn't hurt myself. 
I was thinking, if I'm gonna do a marathon in March when should I start training? So I went looking for a training plan. 
Thank you Google. I take my training very seriously.
So, I need to start training three weeks ago. Good to know.
Since I've been an active participant in the couch potato 500 my mileage isn't where it needs to be. Doi.
These next two-three weeks I'm gonna need to build some mileage and distance and plan it around a hilly 10k, without getting hurt. Awesome. 
Slow and steady is gonna be my motto for awhile. 
If the whole marathon thing doesn't workout out for me I can always return to the couch potato 500, I think I got a good chance of winning that one.

Weight training, no circuit, no, torture

Workout-1hr 15min weight training I know I call my Monday (sometimes Wednesday) workout weight training but it's more like circuit training/boot camp. I don't know what to really call it but torture. Lots of squats, lunges, push-ups, planks, sit-ups, torture, torture, torture. Case in point.

Ok, my legs look really weird here, wait I look really weird. Anyway, what I'm doing is holding a 15lb ball out away from my body and trying to squat walk for a long time, like make me cranky, say times up already, long time. You look like a duck while your doing it but you'll be able to bounce a quarter of my booty tomorrow. PING!

Hey it's JoDee! She gets tortured too. Walking lunges with a bicep curl keeps our legs strong for hard sprints to Starbucks and our arms beefed up to haul those Venti's to our mouth. 

This guys got a killer move for ya too. 
It's called the amoeba. You cover yourself with a blanket and slink down the floor to the kitchen for breakfast.

For an added 30lbs your little bro will catch a ride to breakfast.
I'm gonna sew Swiffers on the front of the boys pj's so they can sweep the floors on the way to the table. That's gettin it done!


We are gonna need some music since we are doing housework. I've been loving this song.

Rock out, sweep the floors, whateves.
Hope you had a great Monday.
What was your workout today?
What did ya rock out to?

The rolls that will make ya fast!

Workout-28mile ride (1hr, 40min) Nice ride with some rollers and a few good climbs. 

I feel like we are robbing winter of its job. It has been so mild in the mornings, arm warmers and knee warmers and you're good to go. I couldn't be happier.

We had a super turn out. There were 8 of us girls this morning. We all got the memo to wear our pink jerseys so we looked pretty hard core out there. I love when we can all make it for a ride, it sure makes for a fun morning. Five of the girls went on to add more miles and hills. I want to be like them when I grow up. I'm gonna need more Wheaties.

Or maybe more of these. 
Yeah, those are gonna make me fast happy.
I made these for Thanksgiving morning and they were a hit. I love that the dough is quickly whipped up the night before so you have one less step to do in the morning.

Apparently, I needed some supervision. My theory on perfect baked goods?  Don't make them look to perfect, I would hate for anyone to think I bought them. No doubts here, these babies are homemade by a toddler for sure. 

Once they raise and bake though they look great and icing covers a multitude of sins. 
These were a great way to kick off our holiday and I plan to make them again Christmas morning. The cranberry filling keeps them from being overly sweet and adds a nice tart fruitiness to the rolls. Tasty. 
Here's the recipe so you can make them for your family too.
Cranberry rolls
adapted from Healthy cooking

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/4 cups fat-free milk
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 2 eggs
• CRANBERRY FILLING:
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh or frozen cranberries
• 3/4 cup frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1-1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel
• GLAZE:
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon skim milk
• 
  
• Directions

 In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add eggs; beat until smooth (dough will be very sticky). Cover and refrigerate overnight.

• 
  
• In a small saucepan, bring the filling ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Cool.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into an 18-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Spread filling over dough to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Cut into 18 slices.
• Place cut side down in two 8-in. square baking dishes coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 40 minutes. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
• For glaze, in a small bowl, beat the confectioners’ sugar, butter and half-and-half until blended. Spread over warm rolls. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen.

Missy's notes

• This dough is really soft, make sure you use plenty of flour to roll it out and make sure it doesn't stick to the counter. If you work quickly that will help.
• I didn't chop my cranberries because they pop anyway.
• Make the filling the night before to save even more time in the morning
• The original recipe called for reduced fat butter, I didn't have any on hand so I used regular but next time I will use low fat just to save a few calories.

Enjoy!

Black Friday Hiking

Workout- 8mile run (1hr, 15min) Some mornings the alarm goes off and I jump out of bed, grab my stuff and skip out the door. Yay! 
Yeah, not today. I hit snooze way to many times. I moved at snails pace getting ready and then meandered out the door. I stood there looking down the street and questioned why I love running. Not sure. Off I went.
Mile 0-1, blah this is not fun.
Mile 1-2, it's sure nice out today.
Mile 2-3, this isn't so bad. 

Mile 3-4, pretty golf course. I should golf. They aren't even sweating. Ohhh, is that coffee they are holding? I should golf.
Mile 4-5, I'm a RUNNER! Run, run, run for fun! 
Mile 5-6, my legs feel tired. I can't wait to eat.
Mile 6-7, whatever.
Mile 7-8, almost home, yippee! Food and coffee=motivation

Happiness is what happens at the end of a run. I was glad I finally got out the door. It was a pretty good run at an easy pace and my pulled muscle felt tight but no pain. 

Yesterday we took the kids hiking. It was a perfect day to not be shopping and instead outdoors enjoying the free entertainment.

The kids had lots of fun adventures on this hike. 

It was beautiful.

The colors were impressive. This trail follows a creek. So even though it is surrounded by desert, along the creek it's a whole different world. 

Green grass, stunning foliage and the sound of a creek bubbling makes for a very serene day. I swear I saw little fairy's sprinkling pixi dust.

BLISS!

Happiness.

Now that's a leaf.

 I wish this was my back yard.

 I married a pack mule. 

 I felt so small when we rounded the bend and those big mountains where looming high above the golden treasure. Breathtaking 
Take that black Friday!

It's almost December, right? This is why I sweat out the summers.

It was a magnificent day. The kids hiked six miles and we only had a few ouchies, so I would say it was successful. I'll let you guess who had the owies.

Todd bribed me to walk all the way back to the car by myself with this. You thought I hiked all that way with all the crazies for nothing. ;-)


Hope you all are enjoying your weekend.
Did you go Black Friday shopping?

Chasing down some turkeys

Workout-6.3miles (57min, 27sec)  I was chasing turkeys all morning.

They ran this way,

they ran that way. Them some CrAzY turkeys.

They were no match for me. I got em and made them take a cute picture. Well, I didn't make them be cute, they come by that naturally.
What are the chances that 3 of my friends are exactly the same height? We all covet Jill's legs. I'll let you guess which one is Jill.
It was a nice paced run with a few hills and a short walk down ankle breaker hill (it's really rocky). Thanks girls for getting your gobble wobble on with me.

The view from my kitchen this morning. 
Is that a pyramid, a snow covered mountain, WTH? 
It's Camelback mountain with the sun shining just so. It only looked like this for about three minutes or so. Crazy cool.


I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving. Mine was super. I wore stretchy pants. It was awesome.
I'm so thankful for my family, friends, my health and this amazing country where I have the freedom to follow my dreams. 
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Riding, Trotting and Baking

Workout- 18miles (1hr 10min) Still dragging out of bed in the morning, yawn.

 She didn't seem tired, kinda chipper actually. I let a little air out of her tires.

She was pretty stoked to be there too, grrr, I hate joy at 5:30am. ;-)
This time of year we always ask the same question when we exit the car. 
What are you wearing? It's so hard to gauge what the temp will feel like when you're on the bike. So, we pow wow and usually come close to perfect, with maybe one stop to shed a layer. The weather has been pretty great.

Even in the dark. 

Getting close to home when you see the city lights. I love the desert early in the morning, it's so quiet.

P.E. teacher in a turkey suit can only mean one thing. Turkey trot!

Oh, and a little Chicken Turkey dance.

This girl races everyone in the neighborhood. Today she barely walked the laps, shy.

This guy wasn't movin unless I carried him.  No one had the race spirit this morning.

Except this girl. Man, my running buddies will do anything to get a run in, even if it means taking on a bunch of elementary kids. Dedication.


Do you ever throw your hair on the top of your head all haphazard while your baking? Do you ever spill cherry juice on your pants and throw on a pair of ratty sweat shorts? Do you ever forget you did that and run to the store?

Yeah, me neither.
I sometime wonder while people are staring at me, then I pass a mirror, ohhh I get it. Holy hot mess.


Enough chit chat. I know I left ya a cliffhanger yesterday and you're dying to have the recipe.
I have to tell you it's a top secret family recipe. When I married Todd I had to arm wrestle my MIL to get it. She went easy on me and now I have the hot little gem in my recipe box. This pie was my husbands first love and I think it maybe Bradon's (crazy#2) too. I kinda think it's pretty killer.

You're gonna need two cans of these. This is IMPORTANT! It has to be the Red TART cherries in WATER! I get these at my Fry's but I know they have them at Safeway also.

Those turn into the most amazing cherry pie. The incredible part? It's super simple.


Cherry Pie
one 9inch pie

• 2 pie crusts ( I sometimes make my own or I do store bought, whatever floats your boat)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 2 cans pitted red tart cherries in water, drained
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 2 Tbl butter

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out 1 pie crust and place in pie plate. Mix together sugar and flour, gently fold in cherries until all incorporated. Taking care not to break up the cherries. Pour into the pie crust; sprinkle with almond extract and dot with butter. Roll out second crust and place on top. Seal and flute the edges; cut a few slits in the top to vent.
Cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil the last 15 min of baking.
Bake for 40-50min or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through the slits in the crust.


Missy's Tip

Don't forget to roll out the excess crust, spread with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Then bake until golden. It's the bakers treat that will tide you over until the pie cools.
Enjoy!