Year of the Turducken

This year we had Thanksgiving with my husband's family in the Hudson Valley area in NY.  His family is all spread out so getting together is hard, time consuming, and generally for at least 2 days at a time to make it worth the trek for everyone.  I'm not going to bore you with the food we ate (it was extra good this year) or the fact that we ate super late (7pm people).  We were blessed with many hilarious family moments, but because I don't want to embarrass anyone, I need to leave the really good stuff out.  My father in law is kind of an expert on the Internet...he also has motion detector cameras in his house when they are away from it.

After Thanksgiving we have Fakesgiving - a yearly tradition where we have a full on Thanksgiving dinner with friends, and this year was special because there was a Turducken specially ordered from the deep south (a hen inside a duck inside a turkey with layers of tasty stuffing separating each). 

It was Really good.  I'm not huge into turkey, but I am huge into duck and this shit was delicious.  This is something that everyone should try at least once if you can handle eating three different kinds of poultry in one sitting.  I'm not too sure the vegetarian at our dinner was too impressed but he had plenty of sides to demolish. 

For those of you who might be challenged in poultry knowledge: a hen is in fact a female chicken.  Honest to God, at least two of our friends who happen to both be exceptionally smart didn't know that a hen was a chicken.

All we do is eat.  I'm not even sure we talk, we just shove food in our faces every year.
Happy Fakesgiving: the better Thanksgiving.

Tiny foods, hit n runs, and gems from dad

This weekend was really unusual in that I had So Much going on and I'm really kind of a loser and never get off my butt to go anywhere or do anything.   It's not because I'm like an old married person, it's because I'm an old lazy person.

Saturday we went to an awesome dinner-type party where the theme was "tiny foods".  These tacos are actually only 1.5 inches in size each - Adorable right?  Don't worry, I ate like 12 of them (also photo is from my new Droid2...nice quality, no?)

There were many many courses of good and also tiny foods from Natasha.  I left feeling entirely too stuffed!  I didn't drink much but I ate a ton, completely worth every tiny bite.

This weekend I also did something I've never done before... I roasted some nuts. - that's what she said?

Maple Glazed Pecans (recipe from boston.com)

Butter (for the pan)
1	pound unsalted pecans
3	tablespoons melted butter
4	tablespoons maple syrup
1	tablespoon light brown sugar
1	teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
3/4	teaspoon kosher salt
1/4	teaspoon chipotle powder or cayenne

1. Set the oven at 375 degrees. Lightly butter a rimmed baking sheet. 
2. In a bowl, toss the pecans with the melted butter, maple syrup, sugar, thyme, salt, and chipotle powder or cayenne.
3. Transfer the nuts to the baking sheet. Bake them, tossing often, for 12 to 15 minutes or until browned and fragrant. Cool on the baking sheet. Serve warm or at room temperature.

These are fantastic even if you don't really love pecans because who doesn't love maple syrup and brown sugar?  The thyme sounds like a stupid idea, but it's great, don't leave it out.  When you're done, you can stick them into some canning jars and give them as gifts.

That ends the cool stuff.
We went to see Harry Potter - I forgot to wear my time turner for those of you who visit this blog only because I bought a time turner like 2 years ago.  It's awesome, I love it, but you know I just was in a hurry!  So anyways, we go to see the movie, and then we get back into the car and drive to my mom and dad's house for an early Thanksgiving.  We're getting out of the car and my dad comes outside and says, "what happened to your car?"  We had no idea, but someone sort of hit our car in the parking lot... nice (we know it was the person who parked next to us driving a white station wagon, yes you, sorry you have to drive that Fug car but you don't have to go hitting other cars with it!)  Anyways, so now we're going to have to pay our $500 deductible to fix the stupid thing and take time out of our days to get this ironed out.

My dad, who noticed the incident was also a wealth of knowledge post-turkey.
Mom: Tom Brady doesn't seem very fleet of foot.
Dad: He runs like an... antelope.
Me: What?
Dad: I almost said cantaloupe!

Mom: How old is Peyton Manning?
Brother: Like 28-29.
Me: No way, he's like 34.
Brother: He's like a year older than Tom Brady.
My husband: Tom Brady is a year older than me, and Peyton is a year older than him, and I'm 32.
Dad: ... You're 32!!??  Congratulations. [awkward handshake - he really had forgotten how old my husband was and then was caught in the act and tried to make a joke out of it.]

Well all joking aside, at least my dad Really loved my banana cream pie.  I made a chocolate cream pie and a banana cream pie, both using instant pudding mix of course and you'd think that I went out and created the instant powder mix on my own or something.  I wish I knew that people liked this sort of thing so much, I wouldn't waste my time with carrot cake or pineapple upside down cake!

More mini pies

Have a hankering for 1 serving of a real dessert?  Can't control yourself from cutting a massive piece of cake or pie or eating an entire box of cookies?  I have a solution for you: single serving chocolate cream pie because you would feel too guilty eating two of these.

Need:
Instant chocolate pudding
Milk for the pudding mix - I used low fat
Graham crackers
Cool Whip or homemade whipped cream
small mason jars

Make the chocolate pudding as instructed on the box, crush graham crackers in a bag and then fill each jar half way with crumbs.  Once the pudding as mostly set, fill the jars the rest of the way with the pudding.  Refrigerate, and top with a scoop of Cool Whip or whipped cream before serving.  These take about 15 minutes to make and will bring you mountains of joy when you forget about them and open your fridge 2 days later looking for a snack.  

Nice Face

Many people in my blog community have the most amazing race-face photos ever.  I've lucked out in most cases since people on camera duty can never seem to find me - in an up close and personal kind of way.

Let me introduce you to how I can contribute to your bridal party, and I'd say the same about that guy escorting me but I don't even know his name... I did at the time, nice guy, but we were side-by-side for about 1.5 minutes all day.  

I have major stage fright.  Major.

What else?  

How could this day get even better?  How about a video made by some kid from my Alma mater. Every single thing he raps is the truth and sometimes the truth ridiculous: yes we got rid of our football team, yes people have actually died crossing the street to get to class, yes we have the only Taco Bell in Boston (I've never been), yes we have something called a Middler Year, the list just goes on and on.  

I Hate The Idea of "Refudiate"

I packed my bag for the gym very carefully, thinking about all the shit that was about to hit the fan once I got going in my weight and cardio class right after work.  We got into the car and I said to my husband, "do you have your sneakers for the gym?"  Of course he did.  My brain doesn't function well in the morning and I totally put on my chucks and not my running sneakers.  I had to skip the class that I was looking forward to because this idiot forgot real sneakers.  Yeah, I could have worn those but there's a lot of bouncing around and they're probably the least supportive footwear ever because...they have no laces, just a little elastic.  I thought about it all day long, it felt like one of those "choose your ending" story books.

What is Laura going to do?
A. Go out and buy a new pair of sneakers and go to the class
B. Leave work early, commute home, and then back with sneakers in hand
C. Do the 1 hour class with retarded sneakers
D. Skip it all and pout on the couch
E. Ditch all exercising dive into a plate of unseemly nachos chased by beer

Well this reader chose D.  Maybe if I had eaten more than a Greek yogurt and a half a avocado wrap all day, then maybe I'd be feeling a little bit more flexible with my workout.  Why do work meetings refuse to provide enough food for everyone?  I mean really now, some of us like to eat more than a few crumbs.  My brain needs nutrients or it will go to die along with the idiot's brains who decided to start up the Christmas music in my building well before Thanksgiving.  Not only is Christmas music blaring, but there are wreaths and lights and really the whole nine yards - it's too early people.  Too early for celebrating something before the other something is celebrated, Turkey Day. 

Obviously this post has nothing to do with Sarah Palin's invention of a word, I just hate her so-called invention as much as I hate forgetting my sneakers on a gym night.  Some people think Hate is a strong word, but it's just a word.  I can think of worse...

Bottoms Up

Remember the last time your head was in the toilet at 2am from drinking?
I remember that moment well, it was Friday night, and it only took 3 glasses of wine to get me to that horrible place.  Me + alcohol + very small amount of dinner = complete and total disaster.  I went out for drinks after work with a couple of girls in town, had lots of fun, piled into a cab and headed home making a beeline for bed.  I am way too old for this sort of thing, not way too old for drinking 3 glasses of wine, but way too old to end up throwing up dinner at 2am.  

To prove to myself that it's just a hangover and it won't actually kill me, I threw on some spandex and headed to my Saturday abs class at my gym.  How did that go?  It Was Insane.  I'm pretty sure it was extra hard today because when it was over everyone just sprawled out on their mats and 30 people didn't move for at least 2 minutes... and I'm pretty sure the instructor was laughing under his breathe.  Damn Him.  The class didn't kill me, but it came too close for comfort. 

 (This night actually did not end with drinking too much)

I might be getting up there, which means that I have a lot of experience when it comes to living life after a night of overindulgence.  Things that make me feel productive enough to say I Won:

• Going to the gym while secretly hydrating x3
• Washing all the bed linens, blankets, duvet cover, etc.
• Dusting all the furniture
• Sharking all the dust bunnies - dust busting basically
• Watering all the plants
• Running the dishwasher
• Taking an actual shower before dinner
• And then realizing that everything I just did is something that old people do!

You know, whatever, if I were 22 and hungover you bet this is what I would have done:

• Breakfast sandwich, barely able to eat more than 3 bites
• Massive amounts of Gatorade and water
• Cozied up on the couch for Lifetime or other worthless TV watching
• No shower, PJs all day long
• Probably massaging my feet from all the previous night's dancing in heels
• Long naps
• Trying to figure out where someone's camera was
• Trying to figure out what bars we even went to

That stuff is for the birds, I'd rather be watering plants with a headache.
Cheers.

Stupid Treadmilll, Stupid Lottery

Yesterday I ran on the treadmill for a measly 30 minutes and today...I'm Sore!  Sore!!  My workout was pretty easy:

Mile 1: 9:00 incline 1.0
Mile 2: 9:00 incline of 4.0
Mile 3: 8:45 incline 1.0
walk/jog cool down
lots of stretching

Nothing to write home about here, yet still I'm feeling a little tight today in the little muscles that I forgot I had.  Dammit!  I thought that maybe training for a marathon might stick with me a little bit more than this but I guess not.  Apparently lazy people don't get to keep their fitness.

On Monday, I entered the lottery for the 2011 NYC Marathon!  The course looks challenging and also like the most amazing time ever while running such a distance.  Unfortunately,  I didn't get in with their Monday Mania lottery - which I thought would be a special drawing of more than 50 people... I was kind of thinking more along the amount of 1,000 and then it turns out it's like a handful of winners.  Oh well, I guess I can wait to find out until the spring.  I hope both that I get in so that I can run my final marathon, and at the same time I hope that I don't get in so I can concentrate on shorter races and have more time to do fun things during the summer.  It's really a win/win or lose/lose, however you want to look at it.

If I get into this race, my main goal will only be to beat my Chicago time which I am 100% sure I can do.  That was not a good time at all, and then I'll also be able to put a real goal number on it once I hit the track workouts with my club and you know...not hurt myself between here and there or have a baby.  I'm kidding, I'm not having a baby in the next year because I have many selfish things left to do like meet personal goals and go on vacations to Asia.

If I don't get into this race that I'm currently obsessing over, my goals will be to get into the BAA 5k and half marathon, the Falmouth 10k, and any other 5k in my area that is easily accessible and to set a massive PR in the 5k and half marathon.  I've never run a 10k before so I can't even predict how that one might go, it's like not so much the sprint of a 5k but the pace would still be fast.  I'll have to let you know how it goes!  I'm looking forward to it and I have no idea how much it's going to suck (I imagine it will be 90 degrees on the Cape in August), that's really the beauty of it.   

I'm going to get back to thinking about races and not actually running them.

Thank God for live streaming ING NYC Marathon coverage

Watching the ING NYC Marathon makes me want to be there running with everyone even though I've pretty much hung up my sneakers for any distance running for the rest of the cold weather season (man the beginning of November is just frigid).  There was something really special about Chicago, and I think that New York has that similar feel to it.  It's just one of those races that makes you feel good to watch, and even though there's like a ridiculous amount of people it seems like the more the merrier when it comes to marathons.  Suffering together is better than suffering alone.  It's been my plan to try and get into NYC through their lottery system ever since Chicago, I just hope it doesn't take too long (next year would be ideal!) but I'm willing to wait for something like this.  Anyone who has ever run the NYC marathon, is it worth the long wait (lottery-wise if you don't get in the first time)?  Is it worth being so late in the season too (training the last few weeks in the cold and the dark)?  Please tell me yes.

Lately, I've been taking some core classes at my gym to try and rediscover all my strength lost and these 30 minute classes are totally kicking my ass.  I'm having full body shaking while trying to hold positions, and sweating through my clothes looking ridiculous, it's really pathetic.  I used to be able hold all kinds of planks, and even the basic position is like agony for 60 seconds.  The next day is always much worse, sneezing is a fun little reminder that I'm totally out of shape especially my abs.  I can't wait to see what they look like after a few more weeks of this, I might actually see definition!  Too bad they will be hiding under baggy sweaters for 5 more months.  Ah well, the timing is never right.

Post-marathon living has been really interesting.  It's been about 4 weeks since Chicago and I'm still feeling some little aches and pains.  My knees sometimes feel a little off, my hips crack a lot, and I have some lingering groin tightness sometimes.  It's nothing that would stop me from exercising or anything like that but it just seems like all that should be healed by now (I'm getting Really old it seems), maybe I just need to strengthen things up or maybe I shouldn't be a distance runner or something.  Oddly enough in 4 weeks I've somehow lost 5 pounds, it just came right off, and let me tell you it makes no sense to me.  Aren't I supposed to be leaner while running a lot?  I may have been a victim of over-fueling and consuming more calories than I was actually burning during the shorter weekday runs.  Maybe I've been letting the cold dark weather get me down?  I know that on my frame 5 pounds make a big difference, so I am enjoying this little perk, I just don't really get it.  Maybe it's one of those things where I lose 5 now, but later gain 15? - I freaking hope not.

It's time to start thinking about upcoming races...winter makes me angry, it makes it much more exciting to think ahead to when the sun actually shines.

Monday morning opens the lottery for the ING NYC 2011 Marathon, the only other marathon I want to do, I hope that I am accepted otherwise you guys are going to have to read to way too many local 5K and 10K recaps.  

At least I can run a marathon faster than Al Roker and the Subway Guy. 

I'm trying not to make this a habit...

Guys, I was all hyped up about going to the gym tonight.  I was going to reserve my ticket online and run on the treadmill before the weights class.  I brought my gym clothes with me this morning…and then it all came crashing down because I was scheduled for a flu shot clinic.  I got one and my arm felt worse and worse as the day went on, and call me a wimp, but I just didn’t want to work out after that and the shot happened at 10am.  Things only went downhill from there. 

Please skip if you aren’t interested in hearing about how Stupid some people are in the world.

Today’s stupid question of the day:

“When you have a few minutes, can you help me with a header in word?”

Answer:

“No sorry.”

I know, how could I say no to that poor soul?  I just can’t do it anymore, this person asks me to help him out on way too many things and at some point you just have to pull the plug.  I didn’t leave him helpless, instead I referred him to the Admin…I mean why ask me?  Is it because I’m So Helpful or because I’m So Friendly?  I swear to you, I’m neither of these things.  The only reason he must still ask me of all people is because I have not yet denied him, so this is my little experiment.  If he comes back, it is probably another reason and I’ll have to try again.

Back to the straight out of idiot school kid – not even the dude mentioned above. 

Stupid comment of the day:

Idiot: “When you get some time in the next couple days, can you help me out with ---- product?” Me: “Did you ever get your own user name and password?”

Idiot: “No…”

Me: “I sent you the information for that 2 months ago, it’s in your email”

Idiot: [blank stare]

Me: “gahhh fine, I’ll forward it to you, but we can’t do it till you are set up.”

I’m really hoping that it’s finally sinking into his skull that I’m really Annoyed by his slow-to-learn attitude and by his clothes that are all one size too small. 

Later…

Idiot: “you have some graphics knowledge about you”

Me: “Yeah I was a Graphic Designer”

Idiot: “Oh really?”

Me: [Hard Stare and pursed lips holding in a spew of distaste]

Who says stuff like that?  You have some graphics knowledge about you? 

Anyways, there were definitely more stupid encounters throughout the day but there was one bright moment.  I get to have my genes analyzed for genetic predispositions to certain diseases and also how my body reacts to certain medications.  This is not complete and total gene testing, where results tell if you are a carrier of certain diseases so anything that comes up is only something to keep in mind and not to freak out about.  So it’s free for me, normally a $300 service, and because I am adopted and have no family history this is just nice insight.  Some people have family histories to rely on but I don’t have even a clue so this is really interesting to me.  I’d like to call it a reward for dealing with stupid questions and flu shots.