22 miles & a head turing turnover

This was the hardest run yet. I think Rebekah and I hit the “WALL”. People speak of this “wall”, and pray that they don’t experience it. Well, we sure did. I’m hoping that we experienced it now, and it won’t come race day. It’s over and now , and we are 3 weeks away from race day. I told Rebekah that I think I can write a whole essay about how this training has been parallel with my walk with Jesus. I have felt tired, weak, broken (literally & not!), questioning, anxious, doubtful, encouraged, joy, peace, prayerful, serene, amazed, and dependent on Him and not myself…just to name a few. I really have felt all of those things. I have hit bumps in this training physically and emotionally, but can feel myself growing in the midst of it. Isn’t it funny how we can feel all of that the above in our relationship with God. He is constantly molding me, and making me more and more dependent on Him. This training is probably the best thing for me, because.. I.. have.. no.. control. Isn’t funny how we want that? I’m asking myself a lot lately, “why would I want that”? That is stressful! There is so much more I could share about that, but really this is all I can let go at the moment.

Also, wanted to give a shout out to my Aunt Margaret who taught me this great super easy recipe! It’s great when you need to whip up something a little special for some overnight guest. (Plus it looks & taste like it was labor intensive!) It’s pretty great for the Fall!

Apple Turn-Overs
-1 Can of Pillsbury Croissant Rolls
-2 Granny Smith Apples
-Cinnamon & Sugar
-2 TBS. Butter
Preheat oven to 375*. Unfold Croissant Rolls and set aside. Dice 2 apples, place in bowl and coat with Cinnamon & Sugar, add 1TBS of melted Butter. Take Croissant dough spread inside with a little Butter sprinkle a little Cinnamon & Sugar. At the base of the dough triangle place 1 spoonful of Cinn. Apples, then roll the dough to meet the other end, like a basket with Apples in it. Now, this won’t form a shape of a Croissant, because you are stuffing it. I hope the picture helps. Enjoy! (Makes 8)

oxford

This truly was a great weekend with friends. We went to the old stomping grounds of Oxford to see them take on the Vols. It was funny for me to think about how this weekend we were going to be able to see friends from Middle School, High School, College, and Now all wrapped in one weekend. It is so great to have such special friendships with people for that long, and then be able to see some of them in such a short weekend. We may all live in different directions, but we were still able to make it back to Oxford. Thanks to our fabulous host/hostess, the Carter's, we had a great time. Luckily, we had great friends to share the drive and the whole experience with. We may have looked like the divided family when we got out of the car, but we truly had a great time. (Thanks Steve & Angie for coming with us for the weekend!)

Jilly and I were ready!

Angie and I!

Steve & Aaron...it was 42 to 17... Steve was a little bummed.

Jillian, Me, & Linnae

Dudley & Aaron

Reunited!

Jillian, Linnae, Me, Lindsey, Mary Margaret

pogs on blog

Why were those things so cool?! My sweet friend Jillian and I were discussing this phenomenon yesterday. They took over any and all free time in 3rd grade. I had a Pog holder, and 8 ball Slammer, and a variety of these cheap colorful round pieces of cardboard that we know as: POGS.
Eventually they were banned from schools for probably 3 very realistic reasons:
1- We should have been reading rather than playing.
2- It was kind of like gambling, and kids were probably not paying up when they had to give up their Pogs. (It’s part of the game.)
3- I’m sure a Pog flew out of the stack hit a kid in the eye.
All good reasons to ban the use of Pogs. So, now that I have written about Pogs on this Blog, and hopefully some of you are reminiscing back when, let me know what your favorite Pog or Slammer was.

it's kind of a problem

I have an addiction to peanut butter and honey wheat pretzels. Aaron has confronted me about this problem. One bag, one jar,…in one week. I need to stop. I have a feature on my iGoogle page for the “How To” for the day. I added it…and truthfully I never look at it. Well today I did, and it was perfect for my addiction.
“How To Make Peanut Butter”
“Shut Up!”…this was me to myself.
I mean, why haven’t I ever thought about this. Well, I really might have to give it a try. Could you imagine just whipping up your own PB? I kind of like the idea, and the challenge to create the perfect recipe.

*Click on “How To Make Peanut Butter” to get full article.

21 miles & pumpkin bread that will make your mom proud

We did it! I can't believe we did it, but we did! Thanks to Ross & Linnae, Rebekah and I ran 21 miles! It was hard yet so much fun all at the same time. We even have the pictures to prove it. Only one more month of training for White Rock in Dallas, and then we'll move on to Rock & Roll in New Orleans.

But really, THANK YOU ROSS & LINNAE!

(Before we started...40 degrees & dark. Terrible pic!)

(3 hours and 24 minutes after, 70 degrees...icing the legs )

(Really happy were done! Rebekah totally couldn't do this without you!)

Linnae and I had an awesome weekend together, and just made me so thankful that we are only 3 hours from each other! Just tip for those of you that go to Dallas… when going to Sam Moon have a plan, speak clearly, and if you are going to buy a hat/head wrap try it on first! We were first timers, and that would have been a good heads up. Not sure why we didn't document the trip better, but here are some pics from weekend. Linnae is better at details so check her blog out to read more about it!

(Good thing you ran with us the last half!)

I also, had to share this Pumpkin Bread recipe from the Square Table Cookbook! It's so good, and easy, it'll make yo mama proud! Plus it makes 3 loaves, that's 1 for you, 1 for your neighbor, and 1 for your mama to show her you got it! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread

2 ¾ c. Flour

2 c. Sugar

1 tsp. Baking Powder

2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 ½ tsp. Salt

1 ½ tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Allspice

1 tsp. Nutmeg

½ tsp. Ground Cloves

1 Can of Pumpkin

3 Lg. Eggs

1 c. Canola Oil

2/3 c. water

Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt, & spices. Add pumpkin, eggs, oil, & water and mix well. Spray your 3 loaf pans and distribute the batter evenly, Bake for 50-60 minutes.