Loaded Sweet Potato

I love Texas Roadhouse--we always get the same thing--the steak and ribs with Caesar salad and a loaded sweet potato. We also eat our fair share of rolls. Last year I ran across Tyler Florence's recipe for a loaded sweet potato. Now I make them every time we have steak.

Bake sweet potatoes for 1-2 hours at 350 then cut in half.

Fork together:

1 T. butter, 1 T. brown sugar, 1 T. flour and a sprinkle of cinnamon per sweet potato you're serving. Add some chopped pecans. Use your hands to smear this mixture onto the insides of the potatoes. Cover in marshmallows. Return the potatoes to the oven until marshmallows are golden. I find that 1/2 a potato is a great portion size.

Hello, My Name is Trouble

(Oooh, [He's] a Little Runaway!)

[Unfortunately] I find that my sweet addiction is fueled by my emotions and many days (i.e. a few weeks ago when we went to Maggie Moos) chocolate can melt my mood down to mellow. But, there are also circumstances like today's when no amount of chocolate, and believe me, I've consumed my share in the past few hours, can calm me.





We have 1:00 church, but our ward is so large we have to get there at about 12:40ish to get a pew where we can corral our two dear boys. We leave around 12:30. Marc was making lunch in the kitchen while I was upstairs putting on my make up. I finished and went downstairs to eat. Marc asked me how Anderson was doing. I looked from the table into the family room and said, I don't see him. He said, he's not in the family room, he went upstairs. I hadn't heard him, but that didn't mean anything. I ate quickly and went back upstairs to brush my teeth, but I checked on Anderson first. Not in his room. Not in the office. Not in my closet. Not behind my bed. I was getting a tiny bit frantic. I went downstairs and checked the basement. Not there. Not in the garage. By then, I basically tore off my boots and followed Marc outside, running. As I ran outside, there were two nice ladies, one pushing a little girl in a stroller, holding Anderson's hand walking toward our house. They said they found him (barefoot) walking across the street from the park. The park is behind our house which means he walked all the way down our street, around the corner and down that street a little ways before deciding to cross the street. He must have gone out the front door as the garage door was closed and back door locked. But the front door was closed so we didn't know he was gone. Nor do we know for how long. Scary. (Understatement!) I'm not sure how the two ladies knew to come walking down our street. I'm grateful they did, and for the hundred other things that Heavenly Father did not allow to happen to my baby. Today could have been a much different day.





P.S. I'm emotionally spent.

Quote of the Day

I've never heard it put quite like this--two year olds: "Cute enough to melt your heart. Stubborn enough to make you steam."

Perfectly stated by my sister in law, Tracy!

Expanding

My sister got engaged and my brother's first son was born all in the same week!

Congratulations to Allison & Dan! and Cameron & Lauren!

(I think it's time for both of them to start blogging now!)

Happy Birthday

to my silly, social, stubborn, and sweet 2 year old.

XOXOXO

Soccer Star

Marc was at the gym with me one morning a few weeks ago and made a spur of the moment decision to sign Carter up for soccer. While I was a bit hesitant because I hadn't researched if the YMCA program was the best one to sign up for, I quickly decided since it was his first exposure to "organized" sports (really, how organized is a team for 3-4 year olds going to be?) it didn't matter this time around. If Marc hadn't signed him up that day, we probably would have missed the fall season all together, though I'd been meaning to get him on a team since last spring. Anyway, he's had two practices and one game and he sure does love it, especially with his dad as his coach. Here he is in all his glory--his $4 thrift-store cleats, his $2 Walmart special shorts, and his over sized shin-guards, soccer socks, and jersey.

Camping

My idea of camping is quite frankly not camping at all. It simply does not coincide with my hatred of dirt. But, I'm very out numbered in my family. My parents have been talking about going camping together all summer and since Carter has LOVED every father-sons camp out he's been on, I relinquished and we finally came up with a weekend that worked for all of us. So, a few weekends ago, we packed up the cars and drove an hour away to Mueller State Park where the camping isn't too rough--sinks, showers, playground, and lots of trails. We only stayed for one night and part of a morning since Marc had to be home to cover a soccer tournament, but we had a good time climbing trees, riding bikes, roasting hot dogs, taking little walks, roasting marshmallows, and playing frisbee. My favorite part of the night was sitting by the fire and listening to the boys "try to sleep" in the tent with their flashlights. They are becoming friends and it warms my heart. Unfortunately, they never fell asleep because the flashlights were just too enticing so we finally brought them out to the fire with us and my mom snuggled Anderson to sleep while Carter watched the fire crackle with us. While I'm not a huge fan of camping, my parents have acquired quite the set up over the years and I wouldn't mind going again as long as they and their gear come with us. We made some fun memories.

High

There is NOTHING like a running high. Absolutely NOTHING and I'm on one. Right after I typed my workout plan on here yesterday, I changed my mind and decided to give 18 miles a go. And I DID IT!! Not fast, but I've never claimed to be a fast runner. And not without a little bit of tightness and discomfort but that's too be expected. And if I can run 18 on a treadmill, I think I have the mental stamina to do 26 through a gorgeous canyon in St. George. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take some Ibuprofen and ice my knees and then proceed to eat whatever I want today. That's of course the BEST part about running.

Ready or Not (mostly not) Here I Come.

Me, Marc & my dad after St. George 2005

4:44:03 (a respectable first time finish, I suppose)

Marc got an email this morning reminding us that we only have 21 days, 14 hours, 25 minutes (as of this moment--4:14 pm) until we run (walk?) the St. George Marathon. I clicked on the link in the email to read the race info and instantly got butterflies.

Back in March, there were two gung-ho(?) groups signing up to hopefully beat the lottery system and get in to the marathon. I'll be honest, after training for St. George in 2005 with only one child and Marc on his summer break, I was a bit nervous as to how training with two kids and Marc's long hours would work out. I was not as gung-ho as the rest. In early May, we found out that luckily(?) we all got in. Training began. I was a regular at the gym and one morning a week my mom would come over at the crack of dawn to watch the boys so Marc and I could go out and run a long run. While I never had my heart in the game, I did as much running as I could and at the beginning of August ran a 16 miler. As crazy as it sounds, the run wasn't hard. (WHAT!?! 16 miles wasn't hard? Well, it wasn't that hard.) Then, on August 19th, while on a hilly 5 miler with a friend, I tweaked my left knee. My confidence sank. I've been nursing my knees and my confidence ever since. I tried to run the America Discovery Trail 1/2 Marathon here in Colorado Springs on Labor Day and only ran 8 miles of it--walked the last 5. This time it was both knees. While many of my friends have tried to tell me that it was a noble effort indeed, it's not really that comforting, though I appreciate their support. Sorry girls, I just have to say that when you can only run 8 miles 4 weeks before you're supposed to run 26.2, well, do the math. It's not that comforting. Since Labor Day, I've been splitting my training time between cross training and running. It's possible that my knees can take it but questionable as to if my mind can get back into it. A HUGE part of being able to run 26 miles is mindset so I've got to get my mind back in the game. Tomorrow I'm hoping to run 6 on the treadmill, go to a 1 hour and 15 minute spin class and then run 6 more miles. If I'm feeling good, I might try to add a few more miles in just to see if I can. I know my heart is strong. I'm not sure about my knees. But, ready or not and I'm mostly not, St. George, here I come.

Got Kids?

Have you seen this commercial?

When everything's just the way you want it. When it's so clean, there's nothing left to think about and nothing left to do. . . that's pure joy.

It's a good thing I know that state doesn't define pure joy--otherwise I'd be hopeless!

Quote of the Day

Carter wanted pudding for dessert tonight but hadn't eaten enough dinner.

Marc: Take three more bites of your tortilla and then you can have some.
Carter: Uhhh, how about four?
Marc: Sounds good to me.

Carter will have to work on his negotiation skills before he's a teenager. We certainly are not going to help in that department and we'd appreciate it if no one else does either. Let's just let him figure it out!

My Friday Pick-Me-Up

I'll be honest. This week has not been the best of weeks. It started out with a race that didn't leave me with a racing high of accomplishment and it tumbled into the realization that Marc and I will be strangers for the entire month. I got down right angry about it yesterday and then, to make matters a bit more stressful, I realized after only a minor bit of preparation last week, that I have Sharing Time on Sunday. I completely spaced it! Ooops. But there's nothing like these three things for a quick pick-me-up!

{that's right, Maggie Moo's Red Velvet Cake ice cream melted my anger last night!}

{Marc took the kids to work during his break this afternoon so I could get a pedi--it's my guilty pleasure! Those aren't my toes, mine are a cool midnight blue right now.}

{My dearest friend from our time in Northridge called today. Our chat was brief because we're both swamped these days but we've been known to chat for hours on end back in the day! Love you Julie!}

(Sigh) I think I'm ready to tackle the weekend first and then the rest of September.

a back to school equation

This t-shirt

+

a black dry erase marker

=

a new cleaning rag and a trip to Target for a new shirt

__________________________________________

t-shirt
+
dry erase marker

+

Murphy's Oil Soap

=
a shirt that's almost as good as new because after all, I bought it a year ago!

Murphy's Oil Soap. Seriously? Who would have thought?!?!