Thanksgiving Prep

Hello bloggers, and happy Friday!

With Thanksgiving less than a week away, my brain has been focusing on one thing and one thing only:

THE FOOD

I love to eat. I love good food. Thanksgiving is probably my second favorite holiday, after Christmas of course, because it's all about sitting down with the family to share a good meal!

But this girl is on a diet. Saaaaaad face! However, calories don't count on holidays so long as they're within reason. There's plenty of tips out there on how to not undo your diet during the holidays. Some of the tips I will be trying to practice include:

- Savoring the meal and not getting seconds. If I like something, I can ask for leftovers to take home, or the recipe! I'm planning on bringing some of my own Ziploc containers so we can bring some food home.

- Keep exercising. I'm going on a test-run tomorrow to see how my foot is doing, but I've been keeping up my workout routine with my indoor bike trainer. Also, I found these great YouTube videos by Blogilates - I love them! She even has a calendar that you can follow, with different workouts each day. I'm thinking of starting that up for December. In the meantime, I've been picking and choosing which ones I like best. So far, lower abs and her glute/thigh videos win.

- Make your favorite foods lighter by subbing healthier ingredients. One of the recipes I'm planning on bringing is this Broccoli Casserole. Instead of mayo, I use Greek yogurt, and I swap the Ritz crackers for Panko or whole wheat bread crumbs. I made it that way last year, and everyone loved it!

I'm also planning on making this pecan pie again. But I'll be honest here - I'm not making it lighter or healthier. I will enjoy a small piece, with no regrets, because at the end of the day - life needs to be lived and enjoyed. Pie makes that happen!

Also, pecan pie is the easiest thing ever. Here's the super simple recipe that I got from a friend's mom.

Pecan Pie
1 unbaked pie crust
1/3 c melted butter
3 beaten eggs
3/4 c corn syrup (we use dark, but you could use light)
1/3 tsp salt
2/3 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 c pecan halves

- Line your pie pan with the unbaked pie crust. Beat your eggs in a medium size bowl, then add all ingredients besides pecans. Spread pecans into the bottom of the pie crust, then pour egg mixture over them. Pecans will rise to the top. Bake for 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees.

If your crust is getting a little too done, you can always cover just the crust with some tin foil. I like to brush on some melted butter to the crust, but it's not necessary.

Are you getting ready for Thanksgiving? What's your favorite dish to make or eat?

THANKFUL - a Circle Link-up

It's been awhile since I've joined in on a Circle Link-up, hosted by Kiki at In Its Time. This month's topic really spoke to me though - thankfulness. Specifically, an acrostic poem noting the specific things we're thankful for on each letter.

I know we typically only see these kinds of posts in November because Thanksgiving is coming around, but it really is a great reminder to think about all we have to be thankful for. I am blessed beyond measure in the life I lead, so it's good to write those things down.

I am not so great at poetry, though. Here goes nothing...

T - Travis. This one is obvious, right? My husband is my favorite.
H - Home. I am thankful for the home & life we share.
A - Age. I'm thankful for the years God has given me thus far, and I pray for many more to come.
N - Necessities. I never have to worry about where my next meal is coming from or if I'll be sleeping somewhere safe at night. I have clean clothes, shoes on my feet, shampoo and toothpaste. The Lord has provided for me in abundance, and for that I am thankful.
K- Kid. Specifically, my kid! Emily is the best, and I'm not being biased when I say that. She really is.
F - Festivities. I love the holidays and that I get to share them with my daughter. I am thankful for days set aside in the calendar to spend time with my family, do festive things, and create new memories.
U - Underwear. The clean kind. I'm thankful for a washer and dryer!
L - Love. I am loved and I have people to love - and that's kind of the best thing in life, right?

What are you thankful for? Link up and tell us about it!

Wine and Hockey

Those two things go together, right?

Let's be honest - anything goes with wine in my book.

This weekend, Travis and I headed down to Duluth for a little adult getaway. I won tickets to a UMD hockey game, so we decided to stay overnight since the game would likely let out late. Thanks to my sister-in-law for babysitting!

Little did I know that our stay would also coincide with the last night of "Eat Downtown Duluth". We made reservations at Bellisio's, an upscale Italian restaurant right down the street from our hotel. They have an extensive wine list. Like, one of those books they bring you with pages upon pages of different wines. You can also do a wine flight of 4 different varietals.

I chose to do a flight so I wouldn't have to decide on just one wine.

Because...the more, the merrier, right? Right.

Their menu for Eat Downtown included a soup or salad, 3 different entrees to choose from, and tiramisu for dessert. I originally planned to just order an entree off the menu, and then Trav and I could share the dessert. But I ended up wanting chicken marsala, which was one of the 3 fixed entrees. So no sharing dessert!

After dinner, we were able to walk over to the Amsoil arena at the Duluth Convention Center, where the Bulldogs play. One of the things I love about staying in Canal Park when we're in Duluth, is that you can walk everywhere very conveniently.

The game was a good one. I don't know much about hockey, but it seemed like Denver's goalie was very good. While Denver only had about 12 shots at the goal, we had well over 35 and the game still ended in a tie.

Our seats were really good - row 2, right next to the visitor bench. However, the Denver's 2nd string goalie decided to stand for most of the game, so anytime there was action on the far end of the rink, we couldn't see anything! The couple sitting next to us were complaining about how annoying it was. We eventually goaded some high school boys sitting in front of us to poke the guy, and then pass a note to him saying "Sit down please!" It was hilarious!

I'm not sure if he ever actually read the note, but he did sit down with about 10 minutes left in the game. Success!

After the game, we retired to our hotel to enjoy some more wine and salmon pate. Northern Waters Smokehaus makes the best smoked fish and a salmon pate that is amazing. Whenever we are down there, we try to get some. It sells out quickly, but we've been lucky the past 2 visits!

I tried to sleep in on Sunday morning, but that old internal clock had me up at 7. Dislike! We still managed to have a lazy morning, followed by a little shopping at the mall before heading home. We spent an hour in Barnes & Nobles - I forgot how much I love to peruse a book store! It's much easier without a kid in tow. I also found a Christmas album by Pentatonix. Emily is obsessed with their song "White Winter Hymnal". It also includes a bonus track of "Let It Go". I am the best mom ever.

How was your weekend? Are you a hockey fan?

Life Lately

Hello and Happy Friday!

This is what I woke up to this morning:

Ick. 

It started snowing yesterday, and just didn't stop until sometime last night. Then the wind picked up, so the roads are basically glare ice this morning. What fun! I guess winter is here. It's supposed to warm up this weekend though, so I'm hoping it will melt so that Trav can get the Christmas lights up.

Yes, we put our Christmas lights up in November. If we wait until December, we'll have much more snow and the job is that much harder. Don't worry, I don't turn them on until the day after Thanksgiving!

In other news, Emily got her school pictures back this week.

While I still think she's the cutest thing since the dawn of time - could no one help her with her hair!?! My goodness, she looks like the Tasmanian devil. I'm so glad we have some good pictures from our photographer instead of just these. 

Much better. Her hair is messy here, but wind-blown and stylish messy. Out in nature, got caught in the breeze, messy.

My foot is still bugging me, but I had a deep tissue massage last night and the masseuse really focused on that area. I'm hoping that will help. Plus, another week of no running. It still doesn't hurt to walk on it, it just feels very...full? I hesitate to say swollen, because I don't think it's that. Anyway, fingers crossed!

Trav and I have a fun date night this Saturday, which I'm really looking forward to. More details to come!

How's your life lately? 

Wednesday Word: Ageless

Today I'm linking up again with DebRuns for Wednesday Words, a weekly link up for all bloggers to share their thoughts surrounding one word.

Today's word is Ageless.

I've always felt like I have an "old soul". Growing up as an only child, with 2 brothers much older than me, I was usually in the presence of adults. I'm a pretty good listener so I pick up on a lot of things, and I've been called "mature" more times than I can count.

I was also a year younger than almost my entire class through school, due to moving from Michigan to Florida and some different rules regarding starting ages. So that meant that I was only 17 when I moved away for college, compared to most of my friends who were 18.

I was always the youngest, and kind of took pride in that fact. I could hang with an older crowd with no problem.

Now that I'm 31, age doesn't seem to matter as much. Although I do still run into the whole "you're only how old?" occasionally at work.  But for the most part, I'm an adult with a mortgage payment, a kid, and run-of-the-mill responsibilities.

What a drag.

Now I'm actually looking back at things, thinking how I can slow down time and be younger. How times change!

There are a few things that I try to do to stay young and feel ageless:

- Run, exercise, eat right & take care of my body. You're only as old as you feel, right?
- Play with my daughter and be goofy with her. Being silly every now and then is good for the soul.

What does the word "Ageless" mean to you? How do you try to stay young?

Link up and tell us about it!

That's a Hot Dish!

No, I'm not complimenting your latest recipe or culinary masterpiece.

I'm talking about the famous "Minnesota Hot Dish". You probably know it better as a casserole.

I don't know why they call it a hot dish here. The name mystifies me; although it still works. Maybe "casserole" just sounds too fancy for these blue-collar, church going, Midwestern folk?

Anyway, a recent Minnesota transplant asked me for some good hot dish recipes, as she has to make one for her daughter's Brownie troop. Besides the obvious Tater Tot Hot Dish, I suggested a Chicken Wild Rice Casserole. Wild rice and Minnesota are like peanut butter and jelly. It grows in abundance here, and is very popular.

But besides that, I didn't have a lot of recipes to offer. I'm not a huge fan of the hot dish, mostly because it's normally filled with heavy cream, canned soups, sour cream, frozen veggies, and/or some kind of mystery meat. They're really not all that healthy.

So imagine my surprise and pleasure when I was given a free cookbook from our new church this weekend - filled with hot dish recipes! We recently started attending a local Lutheran church, and they had a bazaar this weekend - Widows Weekend.

Let's stop here for a moment to clarify. This past weekend was our deer hunting opener. "Widows" means hunting widows, not women with deceased husbands. But for all intents and purposes, every weekend until December the hunters will be in their cabins or deer stands from Friday afternoon until Sunday evening, thereby creating "widows". Some even take time off of work to get out there during the week.

Prime shopping time for the ladies - while the guys are away, the girls will play!

Emily and I stopped by a few, had a delightful turkey salad lunch at our new church, bought homemde Christmas cookies by the pound (good thing I have that extra freezer in the basement), and got a free church-ladies cookbook.

Here are some of the better recipes:

See? Casseroles. Some with mysterious ingredients. Like what the heck is canned Veg-All? I'm guessing a can of mixed veggies. I'm sure there are ways to lighten these recipes up and make them a little more diet-friendly.

Truth be told, I will likely never make any of these casseroles. Unless a friend needs some good freezer meals. 

Have you ever had an actual "hot dish"? Got any good casserole recipes?

Rest & Recovery

We all need a little R&R every now and then, right? My body is especially unhappy with me after running a marathon, and has let me know it in no uncertain terms.

Tendinitis that is not getting better with even easy running. Whomp whomp.

I've been having on and off foot pain since the race, and I kind of half-heartedly rested it. But then I ran that really fast 5k, and this week I tried to get back to a normal running routine. My foot did not like this. At all.

After trying to run 2 days in a row (Wed & Thurs), I decided it's not worth it trying to push through it. Even though my foot doesn't hurt while I'm running, it does afterward and that's not a great sign, right?

I think the pain is in that Peroneus Longus that attaches to the bottom of the 5th metatarsal (pinky bone). Sometimes I have a pulling sensation in the Extensor Digitorum Brevus on the top of my foot, too.

So I've prescribed myself 2 weeks of no running, only biking. Hopefully that will give my foot time to heal up and let me get back to a base mileage routine before I have to start training again on Jan 1st.

Better to happen now than when I'm actually training, right?

In the mean time, I'm trying to focus on the holidays. We had our family photos done this week, and my fantastic photographer already got our photos back to us! So, of course, I spent most of my morning being really productive at work - designing our Christmas cards and getting them ordered. Bad employee!

Here's a sneak peak:

I had such a hard time picking just a few for our cards! Luckily I found a card I liked that had 4 photo slots to choose from. Can't wait to get them in the mail!

What do you do when you're injured? Are you getting ready for the holidays yet?