come sit awhile

microwave popcorn in a brown paper bag

photo via pinterest

for jackson, popcorn is considered a food group...he would eat this stuff all the time if i would let him!  and i would rather him not eat all that microwaved, chemical-y stuff, if i can help it

i believe this happened when we ran out of the 'normal' popcorn and we just so happened to have a bag of plain kernals just waiting to be popped

i put about a 1/4 cup in a paper bag, folded the top over and hit the popcorn button on the microwave...yes, the microwave...but its not the chemicals

it burned of course, and the house stunk...i quickly threw the tainted corn on the back porch and i attempted another bag

you must listen for the "pop" to slow down...that was the ticket!  just a small piece of advice

we opened the bag and there it was...nice WHITE not yellow, popcorn!  we added some real melted butter and salt to taste...it DID taste real good and really cheap too $$

jackson was in love with the good stuff...in fact, he said it was better than the 'original'

 

kale chips

i made kale chips and i liked them!

if you ask the other members of the family about these...they will most likely say that they are highly stinky and there is no way they would give them a try...ever.  i overhead comments such as "barf"..."who farted?" and "where's the spray?"

i just laughed to myself...i do live with boys remember?

those people are a work in progress

but for me, i actually found them quite good!

i've seen "kale chips" all over the internet, pinterest and various fitness/health blogs.  everyone kept saying how good they were and smelled yummy while cooking...well, that part, not so much BUT i will agree on the taste!

kale, first and foremost, is so healthy for you it's ridiculous...loaded with vitamins and nutrients, you really can't get much better than kale

here is my version:

preheat your oven to 375 (you may be able to bump this down a bit, i may try 350 next go around), i lined a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil. 

to prepare the kale...first wash and dry completely using paper towels (or however you would normally dry your lettuce) you want it completely dry, it needs to crisp in the oven, NOT steam.  remove larger stems and break into small, bite size pieces

toss kale with 1 tbsp of olive oil and salt as desired

spread kale pieces onto cookie sheet in a single layer, bake for around 10-12 minutes.  i shook my pan every 4-5 minutes or so...you will hear the pieces getting crispy.  be careful not to burn, it don't think it would take much for this to happen

*the bitterness is completely gone and they are pretty tasty!  i'll be making these again for certain, may try to spice them up in the future!

 

i'll let you know as the other verdicts are in...

 

choosing december 1

well my goodness, where did november go? 

today is DECEMBER 1

which only means 24 days left until Santa makes his entrance!!

yikes, because i have bought 2 presents

with the start of a new month and the fact that i've only ran or done anything particularly fitness-y lately, ok maybe twice...there is no time like the present to get my butt in gear

today is a new day!

no excuses.  no tomorrow.  no "i need new shoes."  no to the laundry.  no to cleaning.  no pinterest. 

i'm choosing to feel sore today and not sorry tomorrow

i only need one hour 

 

are you finding time for yourself? 

it's time to choose

 

fun on the 4th

CYNTHIA GARRETT #33111

Age: 39 Gender: F

Distance	10K
Clock Time	2:03:25
Chip Time	1:14:46
Overall Place	28793 / 55090
Gender Place	11242 / 26705
Division Place	1595 / 3493
Age Grade	41.8%

 

i passed a 't-shirt' that just about summed it up..."hills, heat and humidity"

i'll post pictures when they're available and give you some highlights too!

 

you don't get it easy

 
photo courtesy of tumbler

i just needed a little reminder...that's all

 

survival of the fittest...no, really

normally, a run to starbucks goes something like this

"non-fat...no whip...blah blah blah"

 

but now it comes from the house.  my house.  it's the real stuff with a TON less calories and all you can drink if you want

my barista is named jeff and he's good like that.

isn't she pretty?

here's to pre-planning and 12 four year olds to come!

 

running

i clicked on cathy z's blog this morning and found this post...and i thought to myself "my thoughts exactly"

i started off this year (as my blog banner has stated for over six months now...) wanting to "do"...but not just talk about it

thankfully, seven months into 2010 i am still DOING

RUNNING has been the biggest thing...it has made it's way into my life more than i ever thought it would or could

i never considered myself a "runner"

i never thought that i could be a "runner"

but i knew people who thought this very same thing and they were running...i watched The Biggest Loser and saw a guy weighing over 400lbs finish a 5K...a guy jeff works with was a heavy smoker and now runs 6-8 miles in the morning before work

so little by little...morning after morning...even at 4:30AM because i'm crazy, i began running as far as my body would take me...and trust me, in the beginning it wasn't that far

i didn't like it...although it was a way to stay in shape and loose some pounds...there were times i ended up with ice on both my knees...and i was sure to find an excuse for the next go around

today there are no excuses.

ONE MILE is do-able and almost easy.

and, i can honestly say that it FEELS GOOD to run.

i totally agree with cathy in her quest to move more and eat less...and where she has now found herself in the process, in her journey

the effort is certainly worth it.

tell me about your journey...

dear Lord

for me...

this could be a sin

Murphy's Hot Hamburger

i saw this wonderfull photo of tastiness over at Pioneer Woman

 

i could eat it for breakfast...

 

and it has french fries. 

 

amen.

 

 

 

thankfully, i need to go to the grocery store which is enough time for this to pass

 

happy tuesday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

hello july

 

i purchased new running shoes earlier this week!  thanks to the clearance price, an additional 25% off and a $10 coupon because i'm such a good customer...these babies were only $65 

originally $135

i was pretty darn excited! 

my last pair of Mizunos have a considerable amount of miles on them and i just couldn't pass up a good sale...plus they are hot pink, silver and black which i think is pretty cool!

i'm still at the running/walking stage...i can't get much past a mile lately.  the temp around here is unbearable, even at 6:30 in the morning and the fact that i'm running outside and not on the treadmill...makes a huge difference

so with that said...i'm going to try to challenge myself by recording my progress here on the blog and tweeting it too!  but you gotta help me...ask me about it if i start to slack...ok? 

my goal is a 5k

  

i'm off to break in my new shoes...in the heat

happy july!

 

bacon and cheese

what i wouldn't give for this right now...

 

but that would mean all of the running i've done this week AND the 4 pounds that have left me would ALL be for nothing.

i'm just glad to know that Five Guys is no longer on the Worst Burgers in America list...in case i find myself in a weak moment 

happy friday!