Easter Weekend...Do you know Him?

John 3:16-17

     "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

Week 9 Run

I just realized today that the last time I updated my blog about my running progress was 7 weeks ago!  I'm sure you don't really care about how much I run.  This really is mainly for me.  Something to help motivate me and even look back on and remember the work I put into training.

The training schedule I picked is a long one.  It very slowly ups my mileage every 2 weeks.  Brett and I have VERY busy lives.  It's exhausting, but we enjoy being busy.  This doesn't leave a lot of time to train right now though, so getting 3 or 4 runs in a week is big.

This Saturday (Oh crap that's in 2 days!) I hit double digits in my long run.  I have only done a 10 mile run ONCE before.  I'm nervous and excited!  I am praying the weather is nice enough this Saturday so I can run it outside instead of on the treadmill...in the gym...which is horribly boring.

I have been able to keep up with my schedule, so I hope that this one extra mile will be a smooth transition!

Anyone else training for some kind of run??  Marathon? Half? 10K? 5K? 

How is it going??

High Five For Friday!

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1. This week I discovered my new favorite afternoon snack!  Cut up banana with drizzled honey over top and peanut butter on the side!  It is heaven!
2. These are the girls my husband and I sponsor in Uganda.  Almost a year ago we were blessed with the chance to go to Uganda, work with Empower A Child and meet our girls!  I miss them.
3. A much needed sister date went down this Friday!  I so needed that :)
4. My pets.  Lydia had just woke up from a short afternoon nap (in my lap).  And can I just throw out there that my legs are not that lumpy.  I have 2 sweat pants on because it is still FREEZING here.
5. Lydia' and her bff Maeby napping after a long evening of play time!

 

Play Date!

Really good friends of ours moved just a few blocks away from us about 4 months after we moved into our house.  It has been so nice having them so close!

About a month ago we both decided to get puppies.  Of course Lydia is a Yellow Lab and they got a mini Golden Doddle (is that how you spell it??).  We have gotten them together once every week for a play date and they LOVE IT!  Both being puppies they have so much fun running around together, chewing on sticks together, barking together, drinking water together and falling asleep together.

Today was our weekly play date :)

We love these play dates :)  She sleeps so well afterwords!

5 Favs

Last week my sister posted her “5 Favs” and asked others to post theirs.  I didn’t do it right away because, honestly, I see those lists being more for people that are into fashion and style. 

If you know me at all you know this isn’t my thing.  If it were up to me I would always be in jeans, a t-shirt and flip flops (given it was warm outside).  I have just never gotten into or have understood the “art” of putting outfits together.  ANYWAYS….

So here goes my “5 Favs”…

1.)    Biblegateway.com 

      This website has been a great tool for me at work.  I have an extremely boring job and find myself with hours of time to kill.  I like to spend some of that time browsing this site.  They have daily devotions, daily verses and commentaries to help me figure out some Scripture I’m struggling to understand.

2.)    Running Shoes 

      I know I said I’m not into fashion (and I’m not) but I really do LOVE my running shoes.  They are bright purple and pink and for some reason that really helps motivate me to run.  Is that weird?  They also have helped cut back on pain I tend to get in my feet and knees after a long run.

3.)    Food Network  

      I wish I was a wonderful cook/baker.  I pretend to be sometimes, but recipes with long lists of ingredients freak me out.  And if there is an ingredient that sounds too weird I shy away from it.  We tend to be pretty frugal in our home, so why buy an ingredient that I will use a tsp of once and never again…or at least until I make the same thing again.  ANYWAYS… I love watching people cook/bake things on The Food Network.  It’s so relaxing and mesmerizing to me.  Plus with all the crap that’s on TV today, what else is there to watch?

Really this is about as pretty as I can get my food to look...

4.)    Saturdays

      The obvious reason for loving this day is because my husband and I don’t have to work.  And it’s so nice to know that we don’t have to go to work the next day either!  Saturday’s are when I go for my longer run of the week too.  And while my husband usually has to push me out the door to go do it I love it once I’m running.  I’m enjoying the challenge of finishing the miles given me on my training guide. 

5.)    Lists 

      I am a list lover.  I can’t explain how much I enjoy writing out our grocery list.  I usually start the process on Friday by writing a list of different meals we could have (This usually spills into Saturday too).  I’ll get on Pinterest and see if I can find anything on there that I can add to the list.  After I have my meal list I will write out the ingredient list.  Then on Sunday’s I will write out the ingredient list again, but this time according to the store aisles and store (if I need to go to more than one).   Usually I will go through 3 or 4 different lists before I’m satisfied.

Little Sister's Bday

My little sister turns 22 today!

It's so weird for me to think about that. 

Sometimes I still think of her as the little toddler running around our back yard with a big bubble butt because her diaper's were so big.  (I don't know why)

But today she is one of the most beautiful people I know.  Not just on the outside, but on the inside.

God has blessed me with the best sister and friend a girl could ask for.

Happy Birthday Sister!  Love you!

Our Snow Day

Yesterday we actually got a decent amount of snow in our area.  It was the most snow we've had in about a year, and even though I am more than ready for spring and warm weather, it was fun to have a "snow day".  Brett was able to work from home and it was so nice to have him here!  Even if he had to still put in a 10 hour work day.

Here are a few pictures of our day! (Mainly the animals day)

Mittens has been staying up high lately...
(Don't worry.  I clean the counters before I cook!)

Lydia's first time in the snow!

She loved jumping around and digging in the snow :)

Morning nap while Brett worked from home!

All curled up :)

Her new favorite hiding spot.

I hope you all enjoyed your snow day! (If you had snow that is.)

Kitchen Nook- Oreo Cheesecake

At my dads we have a tradition that when your spouse has a birthday you bring dessert for their dinner that week. (We usually go to my dad's house every Thursday for dinner and hang out time).  Now Brett's birthday was a few weeks ago.  It fell on a Monday, which is when we meet with our Bible Study group, so I made his favorite, ice cream cake, then.  

For Thursday night I decided to make my first ever cheesecake!  I was a little nervous with it being my first and having so many people trying it, but it actually was very easy and YUMMY!  So since it was such a hit I thought I would share :)

(Also, please be forgiving of my pictures and their quality.  I am not good with a camera and have a crappy one.  So that adds up to some crappy pictures, but I tried!)

This was the finished product.  

And this is what the yummy awesomeness looked like inside!

Oreo Cheesecake

Ingredients

Filling

3 8oz packs of cream cheese

1 cup sugar

5 large eggs

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup flour

8oz sour cream

5 Oreo's coarsely chopped for batter

10 Oeroe's coarsely chopped for topping

Crust

1 1/2 cup cookie crumbs (about 25 cookies finely chopped...or beat with a rolling pin in a freezer bag.  That's what I did!)

2 Tbs melted butter

9" spring form pan (buttered on bottom and sides)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

1. Mix the melted butter with crushed Oreo and press into the bottom of the pan and up around the sides (about 1 1/2" up)

2.  Beat cream cheese with a mixer until fluffy.

3.  Slowly add sugar until well mixed.

4.  Add eggs one at a time and continue mixing.

5.  Add vanilla, salt and flour until well combined.

6.  Add the sour cream and mix.

7.  Stir in the coarsely chopped Oreo cookies.

8.  Pour mixture into your pan and place the rest of the chopped Oreo on top.

9.  Place pan in the middle of the oven on the top rack.  

10.  Bake for 1 hour and 15 minuets. 

11.  After that time keep the cake in the oven with the door open and turn the heat off for one hour.

12.  Remove from the oven and continue to let it cool enough to be covered and placed in the oven. 

13.  Refrigerate for 24 hours. 

Week 2 Run

This past week has been a bit crazy for us...again.  (I think our lives are crazy every week)  But this week is when we brought home our families newest addition, Lydia!  And man is she cute and fun and distracting and needy.

We picked her up Tuesday night, so I got my first 2 runs of the week in on Monday (6 miles) and Tuesday (4 miles).  Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I was so anxious to get home from work to let her out that I skipped my third run.  Which was only a 3 miler, so I wasn't too concerned.

Saturday while Brett met with some guys from church to play basketball I met with a good friend from church to run 8 miles of hills and trails.  It was a harder run for me.  I'm not used to the hills, but man is running with a buddy outside better than running on a treadmill indoors!  Time and miles flew by so fast.