Cookie Recipe

You may know my love for chocolate. While some may not understand my desire to always eat chocolate, others will be right there along with me on this fun recipe I recently came across from a cooking website.

Many holidays through out the year have speciality candies/chocolates that are only available surround that special day. Case in point - my beloved Cadbury Mini Eggs! Our Best Bites website has a to die for recipe posted using these sweet treats and I can't wait to make them this weekend!

(Photo Credit - Our Best Bites)

Chicken Bacon Shish Kabobs - Yum!

I grilled out last week and tried this recipe. It turned out awesome! Here is a picture of it from the website allrecipes.com and a link to the original recipe. I was so excited to eat these kabobs, I didn't even think of taking a picture of them, that's how good they were! I did make a few slight changes, so here's my take on the recipe.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 package of large mushrooms, cut in half
2 green onions, minced
3 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breast - cut into chunks
1/2 pound sliced thick cut bacon, cut in half
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained
skewers for grilling

* In a large zip lock bag, mix the teriyaki, olive oil, honey, and green onions. Place the mushrooms and chicken into the mixture, close bag and toss all together. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour.
* Preheat grill for medium high heat.
* Wrap the chicken chunks with bacon, and poke onto skewers so that the bacon is secured. On separate skewer, alternate mushroom halves and pineapple chunks.
*Grill meat skewers first, cook around 15 to 20 minutes, until bacon crispy and juices run clear. Toward end of meat cooking, throw on mushroom/pineapple skewers for a few minutes. Rotate often so they don't burn.

I served it with white rice and it was sure tasty. This is a good alternative to the traditional Kabobs made with Italian marinated chicken (or beef) with onions, peppers, & mushrooms. Add this one to your list this year for grillin' - I bet you'll like it!

5k Pictures

LW & JJ along the course of the Heart Mini 5k run....
This is after about 2.5 miles...woo-hoo...almost finished...Another picture from around mile 2.5 or so, I could see the red balloons for the finish line from this point...LW & JJ crossing the finish line...
My goal was to finished under 40 minutes, so I was very happy to see my official time of 39:02!

My 1st 5k experience

Followers of the blog have read about my training for the Heart Mini 5k race that took place this past weekend. This was the first 5k run I've participated in and I can say that it won't be my last! Overall, I had a really good time being part of the event and found the course to be challenging, yet not too bad that I don't want to run ever again!

Mother nature was not too happy over the weekend, so the temps were cool (in the 40s) and the rain came down in spurts throughout the whole morning this past Sunday. Despite these elements, I laced up my new jogging shoes, wore my running pants & our nice new Local 12 team shirts for the Heart Association race. For the larger organized races, runners get a chip to attach to their shoes that tracks their run time & breaks the total time into the pace of each mile ran. I hadn't heard about this part, so when I found the chip in my registration bag, I was a little surprised about how to attach it..but from the photo below, you can tell we got them attached just fine!
JJ and I line up side by side, near the back of the starting line and started our iPods just before the gun sounded to start the race! It was a slow start with almost 1,700 people who ran/walked in the 5k race. (Overall there were over 13,000 people who participated in the Heart Mini Marathon weekend events.) We started out with a slow walk, all huddled together because of the cold and wet rain that came down right as we crossed the start line.

I felt really good for the 1st mile of the run, slow and steady wins the race, I kept telling myself! Heading out of downtown Cincinnati was a great feeling as I was checking out all the different people jogging beside me. The first half of the race included a small incline, but mostly downhill - which is great - but b/c this course was an "out & back", the second half of the race included that dreaded steady incline that felt so nice jogging downhill! At the halfway point (1.5miles), I hit the water stop and turned the corner to head up that hill. I kept telling myself, steady and strong, remembering about my form, trying not to hunch over as my feet shuffled along. I almost made it up the incline without walking, but my breathing got the best of me, and I decided to take a break and walk it out. Once the pavement leveled out, I picked up my pace and jogged it in the rest of the way! Just as we approached the finish line, I popped out my ear buds and heard all the other runners and people cheering us on as we stepped across the finish line. It was really awesome and such an amazing feeling to have completed my first 5k!
I definitely had the "runner's high" that morning, enjoying putting that medal around my neck (and wearing it ALL day long when we got home). I can't say that I'll be a marathoner, but I'll be signing up for more 5k runs and will keep jogging as part of my weekly exercise routine for sure! There will be some pics from along the race route posted soon, so check back in you're interested in seeing us in action. Thanks again for all your support throughout this journey.

Heart Mini 5k Update

I finished the race! That's right...this morning we ran in the Heart Mini 5k race in downtown Cincinnati. It was awesome, despite the weather! Here's a quick video of how I felt after the race. I'll post more about the run and some pictures soon. Thanks to everyone for your support!

Sunday's the day - Heart Mini 5k

So, the 5k run/jog is just 6 days away! This Sunday morning, I'll be in downtown Cincinnati pounding the pavement with hundreds of people running in the 2009 Heart Mini-Marathon & Heart Walk. JJ and I have joined the Local 12 team and have signed up to run/jog the 5k run which starts at 9am. So as you're enjoying your upcoming weekend on Sunday, say a prayer for me to finish the 5k! I'm sure I'll be shuffling at a snail's pace, but the goal here is to finish (even if it means I have to stop and walk a few blocks, then pick it back up to a light jog!)

Over these last few weeks, I've realized how dedicated you have to be to see improvement with running. It takes real commitment to get out there everyday and jog a bit more or a bit faster each time you head outside. Jogging outside is so much different than being on the treadmill. It is so much harder! Don't get me wrong, the scenery is much better outside, but the pavement is harder on your feet & knees.

For last night's run, JJ and I did a 2 mile jog together around our neighborhood. It has been really great to have him for support while I'm taking on this new challenge. He's been helping me push just a little further each time we've been out jogging. That's what it's about, setting small goals, like okay - I can make it to the mailbox, then continuing to push more as we jog up the hills. I'm thankful that we've decided to run the 5k together this weekend! It's going to be very helpful to have him by my side as we line up for the start of the run. His pace is faster than mine, so we may or may not finish together, but I'm really pumped for everything and know that we'll have a great time on Sunday.

Where have I been?

I've been a bad blogger...haven't posted lately...just haven't had much to say really. Life is good, which in these tough economic times and so on, is a nice thing to be able to say!

My training for the 5k is harder than I anticipated. I'm still following the Couch to 5k program, though now, I'm trying to jog outside as much as I can to get more comfortable on the pavement rather than spending time on the treadmill. Technically I'm only on week 5 of the program (which is crazy since I started in January, you can tell I haven't been as hard core about it as I should be!). I have hit the track a few times and completed a 2 mile jog (let's be honest, it was more like a shuffle!). But it was outside, against the wind, and today I plan to shuffle my way through the neighborhood near my gym before I do my strength training.

Spring has almost sprung here in the tri-state and there are loads of projects to be done around the house. Project #1 - Fix the garage ceiling. Over the winter months, I opened the garage door to find part of the ceiling had fallen, Bummer. It was patched when I purchased the home, so it's not too suprising that the patch tape finally gave way. Project #2 - Clean the windows....this task is part of most people's spring cleaning, but I admit that in the almost 4 years I've owned our house, I've never cleaned the windows....Oops! Project #3 - Find a good grass seed to put down in the back yard. Miss Ella has totally destroyed the backyard by running around like a maniac everytime a ball is thrown or she spots another animal roaming through nature's beauty! But no matter how much I dislike seeing all that dirt in what used to be our grassy backyard, it's hard to get mad at a face like this...

So, that's the latest with me...oh yeah, and JJ and I are planning a wedding, but that's just a side note! Hope life is treating your and yours well, remember to give thanks for life's daily blessings and not to sweat the small stuff. Enjoy the day, Thanks for checking in!