Running in Mickey Ears

Since I think sharing my goals will help hold me accountable, here goes: Andrew and I will be signing up to run the Disneyland Half Marathon on September 5, 2010 in Anaheim, California. The longest race we've run before is the Bolder Boulder (one of my favorites), and I am definitely nervous about this new goal. I have to admit, could there be a happier place to run a race?

At least we've got some great tools to help us along the way... And more just keep popping up!

Signed up for: Daily Mile, a place to log workouts and connect with others in your area that are runners.
Got a Training Schedule: Runner's World has a great tool called Smart Coach, which will customize training to your current skill level and time frame you want to train in.

I am desperately looking for a great way to log runs on my iPhone, so if you have any suggestions, I would love to know. Also, any running tips or helpful advice?

And, if you want to join me on my adventure, find me on Daily Mile!

Ski Bunnies

A couple of weekends ago, Andrew and I got the chance to head up to Vail and visit my dad. While we were there, we enjoyed some fabulous food, and I enjoyed NOT skiing. Andrew bought his first helmet and got ski boots! He is like a professional now. I snapped a couple of photos of our trip that I want to share... You'll notice Tank and I had a fun time in the snow. I think I was capitalizing on the fact that he is easy to see against the white background.
Stay, stay.......

Taken from Game Creek Bowl, that isn't my house. I wish.

Andrew and Dad head out for some skiing!

Merry Christmas, you'll be hearing more from me soon....

Cookie Exchange Party

I got to go to my first Cookie Exchange Party this week, at my friend Brooke's house! I was especially excited about all of the different cookies that would be there, but stressed about what kind I would make. Andrew's mom offered me her Pizzelle maker for the week, and I was quite happy to try a new recipe. I've always liked the ones she makes, they are so light and tasty. Plus they look really pretty without having to try too hard. I was very pleased with the end result. A co-worker suggested that I try dipping these in chocolate in the future, that seems like a great idea. Now I realize that you need the Pizzelle Press to make these, but if you happen to get your hands on one, I would seize that moment.

Here is the recipe:
Italian Pizzelles
3 eggs
1/2 tsp anise seed (I didn't have this, so I didn't add the seed)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. sugar

Instructions:
Beat eggs and sugar. Add cooked melted butter or margarine, and vanilla and anise. Sift flour and baking powder and add to egg mixture. Batter will be stiff enough to be dropped by a spoon. Batter can be refrigerated to be used at a later time. Makes 30 pizzelles.

And now for the glorious before and after pictures:

Oh, and on another note, another party-goer made Red Velvet Cookies, and they were TO DIE FOR.

Daily Drop Cap

Being a sucker for typography, I drooled as soon as I saw this new site, Daily Drop Cap. Below is a K that I love, and I think it would be great to print on nice paper and framed. I also love this idea to go in a baby's room with their name spelled out, it would look so eclectic!


Source: The Daily Drop Cap

The Master Calendar

As anyone who hangs out with Andrew and I know, we live strictly by what we deem as our MASTER CALENDAR. The master calendar hangs on the fridge, and no plans can be made without it. Since I somehow can't get fully transferred to an electronic calendar (I've tried), we print out a whole year's worth of months. I was extremely excited to see two new ones to print since we normally stay within the range of extremely bland, white calendars... A Print a Day has posted two for free (!) download:

Matryoshka Calendar

Carnivorous Plants Calendar

The Russian Doll calendar is a little too feminine, so the Carnivorous Plants it is! It also goes nicely with my recent love of plants that look like they eat people.

Riding in the Rain

On Monday, I received an especially exciting email in my inbox, from Amy over at Pikaland, a blog I frequent that has whimsical and colorful illustrations. She let me know I had won a print from a recent giveaway she had done on her site! The print is by Jamie Shelman, who has some great drawings. The most difficult part now will be to decide where to put it in the house. I hope Tank doesn't get offended given I don't have an illustrated picture of him.


Thanks, Amy!

A new friend for Black Friday

One of my favorite organizations, the Denver Dumb Friends League, is running a great special on Friday, November 27. They are reducing their adoption fees in half for cats, dogs or small pets with any amount of black fur. Stats say that cats and dogs with black fur are adopted half as often as other pets. In Denver's case, there seems to be an overabundance of black Labs & Australian Cattle Dogs, both highly intelligent and loyal breeds. I'd like to share one of those black Labs, Lucy, that went to a forever home in August, to my friend Christy's house.

Lucy is now living the high life, with lots of play time and a long lost brother named Winston (also a black Lab).


I hope the same fate for many other pets this Black Friday!