Look at me! I'm finally back on the cooking wagon after taking most of the summer off.
Source: Rachael Ray
Prep Time: <10 minutes
Cook Time (plus marinading time): 45 minutes
(1) Oven roast tomatoes
(a) Slice tomatoes and place them on a cooling rack inside a cookie sheet. (Spray cooling rack. Forgot to do that and the tomatoes stuck)
(b) Salt and pepper tomatoes
(c) Put in oven at 425 for 20 minutes
(2) Marinade for chicken
(a) In a ziploc bag, combine 1/3 C Balsamic vinegar, grated (or minced) garlic, some rosemary, 2 T olive oil, 1 tsp oregano, and a couple pinches of crushed red pepper flakes.
(b) Drop in chicken and let sit for 20 minutes
(3) Grill Chicken
I love my grill pan I picked up from Wal-mart for $15. It cooks like the grill without the hassle of turning on the grill. Though the grill itself is much better for steaks or hamburgers, this pan works great for bad weather days or quick makes.
(4) Slice the grilled chicken and place pieces of sliced mozzarella in between the sliced chicken.
(5) Cut a loaf of ciabatta bread in half the short way. Then slice each half into half the long way so you have sandwich halves. Then slice each of those into half. Got it? Good. You should have four sandwiches. I put mine in the still-warm oven from the tomatoes and let them crisp up a little bit.
(6) Put the sandwiches together with a bottom bread, a piece of romaine lettuce (we didn't have any lettuce on hand, so I just omitted that part), the chicken and mozzarella and a few tomatoes. Rachael Ray put some oil and vinegar on her sandwich, but I'm not a big fan of that, so I just left it dry.
SO good. Even Wade liked it and the chicken and mozzarella would've been good by itself too. It was a great marinade.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Retail Therapy
So here's the thing: it's hard to explain to someone who hasn't run a marathon exactly how I'm feeling right now. Or more precisely, it's hard to explain to anyone--marathoner or not--how I'm feeling right now. Because everyone experiences this particular phase of the training differently.
I'm in what is referred to as the "taper" period. Three weeks before your scheduled marathon, you run your last "long" run. "Long" because what's long to me is incomprehensible to most sane people out there and I actually rejoiced at how I "only" had to run 12 miles the other day. Which would be considered long to most people.
So, anyways, I ran 20 miles. And it was brutal. But, in a testament of desire and will, I completed every step.
And then I entered the "taper" period. It's where your runs are pared down to a manageable 4 or 8 miles and you lay off the intensity. I've been dreaming about this for a few weeks now, about how nice it will be. But now that it's here, it leaves me with a lot of time to think.
Thinking--at this stage in the game--is never a good idea.
While everyone experiences the tapering period differently, I know (since this is my second tapering session) that I will be:
(a) easily irritated
(b) not nearly as hungry or as thirsty as I should be
(c) craving sugar in all it's varied forms
(c) antisocial
(d) barely keeping the house functioning
(e) slightly depressed
What? Slightly depressed? I know. I can kind of pinpoint the culprits too, though it's hard to explain. I start missing the training and the goals and the intensity, even before the race ends, because I know that I'm going to have to hang my shoes up for awhile. I know that it's for the best for my performance and for my health, but it's still hard to do it. All that hard work and in four hours, it's done.
So when I get slightly depressed, I like to shop. I'm a girl at heart. But I made that silly rule at the beginning of the year where I wouldn't buy any new clothes. And I've been really good. REALLY good. I've put things back and I've even taken things back. I'm a changed woman.
But I'm not completely reformed. My wardrobe is BORING most days. So Saturday, I was out and about and came across this store I've heard of before but never actually been in. Plato's Closet.
I'm in LoVe!
It's like DI only...so much better. The clothes are cute and hip and recognizable. And they have actual designer labels. Though I stayed away from those. If I'm going to pay $45 for jeans, they're not going to be someone else's castoffs.
However, I found a pair of khakis that I actually tried on at the original store, but they didn't have the color/size I wanted. Hello, $10! I was willing to pay $35 a year ago.
Ahhhh....it was just what I needed! A little retail therapy and a little R & R to get me through the week.
I'm in what is referred to as the "taper" period. Three weeks before your scheduled marathon, you run your last "long" run. "Long" because what's long to me is incomprehensible to most sane people out there and I actually rejoiced at how I "only" had to run 12 miles the other day. Which would be considered long to most people.
So, anyways, I ran 20 miles. And it was brutal. But, in a testament of desire and will, I completed every step.
And then I entered the "taper" period. It's where your runs are pared down to a manageable 4 or 8 miles and you lay off the intensity. I've been dreaming about this for a few weeks now, about how nice it will be. But now that it's here, it leaves me with a lot of time to think.
Thinking--at this stage in the game--is never a good idea.
While everyone experiences the tapering period differently, I know (since this is my second tapering session) that I will be:
(a) easily irritated
(b) not nearly as hungry or as thirsty as I should be
(c) craving sugar in all it's varied forms
(c) antisocial
(d) barely keeping the house functioning
(e) slightly depressed
What? Slightly depressed? I know. I can kind of pinpoint the culprits too, though it's hard to explain. I start missing the training and the goals and the intensity, even before the race ends, because I know that I'm going to have to hang my shoes up for awhile. I know that it's for the best for my performance and for my health, but it's still hard to do it. All that hard work and in four hours, it's done.
So when I get slightly depressed, I like to shop. I'm a girl at heart. But I made that silly rule at the beginning of the year where I wouldn't buy any new clothes. And I've been really good. REALLY good. I've put things back and I've even taken things back. I'm a changed woman.
But I'm not completely reformed. My wardrobe is BORING most days. So Saturday, I was out and about and came across this store I've heard of before but never actually been in. Plato's Closet.
I'm in LoVe!
It's like DI only...so much better. The clothes are cute and hip and recognizable. And they have actual designer labels. Though I stayed away from those. If I'm going to pay $45 for jeans, they're not going to be someone else's castoffs.
However, I found a pair of khakis that I actually tried on at the original store, but they didn't have the color/size I wanted. Hello, $10! I was willing to pay $35 a year ago.
Ahhhh....it was just what I needed! A little retail therapy and a little R & R to get me through the week.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Table Topics, Dissected
Tomorrow I'm participating in the next level of competition for Table Topics for Toastmasters. I won the first contest a few weeks ago at the club level, and now I'm going up against other club winners. The winner of tomorrow's contest goes on to the next level. Divison or area. I can't remember.
So, what is table topics exactly? At our weekly meetings, we have a portion of the agenda devoted to Table Topics. One person is in charge of coming up with the topics and then each member has to stand up and give a 1-2 minute speech on whatever topic they are assigned. Without any preparation. Some topics are a lot harder to do than others. For example, 1-2 minutes on how President Harrison died.
Huh? Who?
Exactly.
And to make things more fun, we have a word of the day that has to be interwoven into the speech somehow. Which isn't hard if the word is something like impasse, but is a little harder when the word is something like rhubarb.
The key to successful impromptu speaking is, in theory, to have some stock stories to share that can be twisted to fit the theme you're asked to speak on. In reality, most of your stories can't be twisted to fit the theme. So you just have to wing it.
For the contests, the topics tend to be a little more generalized. They don't tread on to controversial topics like the Miss America Pagent does. Or at least that's the hope I'm banking on. And you don't have to try fit some random word in there, though that's where the really funny stuff comes out. The topic I had at the club level was "who has been the most influential person in your life?"
Which didn't exactly fit any of the stories I had in my head. But the Impromptu Speaking Gods were smiling down on me and I spoke on one of the most influential math teachers I had in Jr High.
And won. Obviously.
So here's hoping to some Impromptu Speaking Gods juju for tomorrow.
And a good topic on triathlons, running, or crossword puzzles. I think I could pretty much nail it then.
So, what is table topics exactly? At our weekly meetings, we have a portion of the agenda devoted to Table Topics. One person is in charge of coming up with the topics and then each member has to stand up and give a 1-2 minute speech on whatever topic they are assigned. Without any preparation. Some topics are a lot harder to do than others. For example, 1-2 minutes on how President Harrison died.
Huh? Who?
Exactly.
And to make things more fun, we have a word of the day that has to be interwoven into the speech somehow. Which isn't hard if the word is something like impasse, but is a little harder when the word is something like rhubarb.
The key to successful impromptu speaking is, in theory, to have some stock stories to share that can be twisted to fit the theme you're asked to speak on. In reality, most of your stories can't be twisted to fit the theme. So you just have to wing it.
For the contests, the topics tend to be a little more generalized. They don't tread on to controversial topics like the Miss America Pagent does. Or at least that's the hope I'm banking on. And you don't have to try fit some random word in there, though that's where the really funny stuff comes out. The topic I had at the club level was "who has been the most influential person in your life?"
Which didn't exactly fit any of the stories I had in my head. But the Impromptu Speaking Gods were smiling down on me and I spoke on one of the most influential math teachers I had in Jr High.
And won. Obviously.
So here's hoping to some Impromptu Speaking Gods juju for tomorrow.
And a good topic on triathlons, running, or crossword puzzles. I think I could pretty much nail it then.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
#47--Participate in a Talent Show
Oh man, I'm on a roll! This is the third one I've completed this summer alone!
So my training buddy, H, was in charge of the ward talent show this weekend. A few weeks ago, she asked if I would give a speech.
Time out: I know! I thought the same thing: Do I really have no other talents that could be used for a talent show besides standing up and speaking? And the answer is, I really don't.
Time in: I reluctantly accepted the task, and had already worked something out in my head, but I was still a little uneasy about doing it. I mean, how does it really look to stand up in front of a group of people and share your talent of speaking? I would definitely have to preface my speech with something along the lines of "hey, they asked me to do this" so people wouldn't think that I actually asked to stand up and give a speech.
I mentioned my little dilemma to a friend outside the ward and she said it would be hilarious if I got up on my bike trainer and rode my bike, totally oblivious to the crowd. Just rode for a while, then got off and walked off stage.
I thought the idea was AWESOME. So I mentioned it to my training buddy during a run one day and we got to thinking that wouldn't it be really funny if we both did it. So we devised a synchronized routine.
However, we got to thinking what if this wasn't nearly as funny to other people as we thought it was. So I called my mom and asked her what she thought and she and her friend thought the idea was great. We decided to do it, but then we refused to tell anyone what we were doing. It was the "mystery talent". No one--not even our husbands--knew what it was we were going to do.
So showtime: We set up our bikes behind the closed curtain. We started our music--Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up"--and then during the introduction of the music, one of the young women slowly opened the curtain. When Groban started singing, H. and I marched out in sychronization across the stage to where our helmets were on the ground. Then we stretched our fingers, rolled our shoulders and stretched our necks. We did a lunge forward to a kneeling position to put on our helmets. We grabbed our helmets and flipped them up on and onto our heads. Then we stood back up, ran to our bikes and did a leg lift with one leg. After that, we started our watches and got on the bikes. All in sychronization.
We actually got applause for this portion of the act.
We pedaled the bikes for about 10 seconds, reached down, grabbed our water bottles and then took a long drink for about 15 seconds. Then we did a few more stretches and rode the bike again for another 10 seconds. We wiped the sweat from our brow and took off our helmets. Then H. waited while I marched to her and then we marched to the front of the stage and did the "Miss America" wave as we marched off.
As we were standing off stage waiting to march on I said to H. "This might be the most humiliating moment of my life". But I was already committed so we went forth with it. The audience really liked it. Or at least they pretended to. Wade was a little flabbergasted at my talent--he'd been trying to guess what it was going to be but stopped after about two guesses because he couldn't think of anything else.
I think we might take it on the road. Maybe try out for America's Got Talent next year.
Maybe you had to be there to truly appreciate the talent.
In any case, it's one more thing knocked off my list. And I didn't die from extreme embarassment. Two points for me.
So my training buddy, H, was in charge of the ward talent show this weekend. A few weeks ago, she asked if I would give a speech.
Time out: I know! I thought the same thing: Do I really have no other talents that could be used for a talent show besides standing up and speaking? And the answer is, I really don't.
Time in: I reluctantly accepted the task, and had already worked something out in my head, but I was still a little uneasy about doing it. I mean, how does it really look to stand up in front of a group of people and share your talent of speaking? I would definitely have to preface my speech with something along the lines of "hey, they asked me to do this" so people wouldn't think that I actually asked to stand up and give a speech.
I mentioned my little dilemma to a friend outside the ward and she said it would be hilarious if I got up on my bike trainer and rode my bike, totally oblivious to the crowd. Just rode for a while, then got off and walked off stage.
I thought the idea was AWESOME. So I mentioned it to my training buddy during a run one day and we got to thinking that wouldn't it be really funny if we both did it. So we devised a synchronized routine.
However, we got to thinking what if this wasn't nearly as funny to other people as we thought it was. So I called my mom and asked her what she thought and she and her friend thought the idea was great. We decided to do it, but then we refused to tell anyone what we were doing. It was the "mystery talent". No one--not even our husbands--knew what it was we were going to do.
So showtime: We set up our bikes behind the closed curtain. We started our music--Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up"--and then during the introduction of the music, one of the young women slowly opened the curtain. When Groban started singing, H. and I marched out in sychronization across the stage to where our helmets were on the ground. Then we stretched our fingers, rolled our shoulders and stretched our necks. We did a lunge forward to a kneeling position to put on our helmets. We grabbed our helmets and flipped them up on and onto our heads. Then we stood back up, ran to our bikes and did a leg lift with one leg. After that, we started our watches and got on the bikes. All in sychronization.
We actually got applause for this portion of the act.
We pedaled the bikes for about 10 seconds, reached down, grabbed our water bottles and then took a long drink for about 15 seconds. Then we did a few more stretches and rode the bike again for another 10 seconds. We wiped the sweat from our brow and took off our helmets. Then H. waited while I marched to her and then we marched to the front of the stage and did the "Miss America" wave as we marched off.
As we were standing off stage waiting to march on I said to H. "This might be the most humiliating moment of my life". But I was already committed so we went forth with it. The audience really liked it. Or at least they pretended to. Wade was a little flabbergasted at my talent--he'd been trying to guess what it was going to be but stopped after about two guesses because he couldn't think of anything else.
I think we might take it on the road. Maybe try out for America's Got Talent next year.
Maybe you had to be there to truly appreciate the talent.
In any case, it's one more thing knocked off my list. And I didn't die from extreme embarassment. Two points for me.
Friday, September 17, 2010
In Hindsight....
Hey, what's this? Another bullet point list? Why yes, it is? Why? Because I can't seem to stay focused enough to write things down in actual paragraphs. Maybe in 2ish weeks. Well, 14 days, 21 hours, and 8 minutes if you're counting.
- I probably should not have mentioned anything about President Obama's speech on facebook. Apparently, people were a little sensitive to it. But still, I just don't get it!
- Ditto to, strangely, Dr. Laura. I get her message. In fact, I agree with a lot of what she's saying. I just get too stressed out when I listen to her, and that's just not cool. As a relatively well-adjusted adult, I shouldn't be sweating and biting my nails when I listen to her. Right? That set off a firestorm as well.
- Probably should have stayed away from the Mosque issue as well.
- And while we're on it, I probably should never have likened Arizona's Immigration law to Nazism either. Oops.
- Just because I CAN share my opinion doesn't mean I HAVE to share my opinion.
- Maybe I should've coached Josh on what to do for Picture Day. Namely, smile. Guess we'll probably be doing retakes if his impression of his pose for the picture is any indication.
- Home highlighting kits are a bad idea.
- Cleaning out the garage to park the car in there and deter neighbors from coming over? Genius!
- Popping two tylenol BEFORE running seemed like a good idea at the time.
- Finishing the basement and thus doubling our living area made the time I spend cleaning grow exponentially.
- Finishing the basement and thus doubling our living area did not seem to slow the kids down in the amount of messes they can make in a short amount of time.
- After a year of running together, we have finally run out of things to talk about. Where we once were able to talk through an entire 8 or 10 mile run, we find ourselves retreating into our own worlds at like mile 5. Is this what's going to happen in my marriage?
- I'm not much of a social creature. I'm, apparently, easily annoyed.
- Book club isn't much of a book club if no one actually reads the book.
- I have a gag reflex to overly spiritual people who try to find "the meaning" to everything. I blame my mom.
- I won't apologize for my tv habits.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Incomplete Thoughts
- Why is it even an issue to listen to the President of the United States speak in a forum directed at school age children? WTH is wrong with our society? It's the PRESIDENT. Of the USA. I HATE bipartisan crap that can't see past the party and see that maybe--JUST MAYBE--there might be something redeeming in someone from "the other side".
- Whenever a body is found, there are families that are living through hell wondering if it's their missing person. There is not just one missing person in Utah. And just because this one person is mentioned EVERY time a body is found does not diminish the fact that there are families out there sitting on pins and needles wondering if this is finally the answer to their lingering questions. Don't you people watch Dateline?
- When did children become expendable? Three children (that we know of), in Utah, died last week alone at the hands of one of their parents. Horrible, torturous deaths that have haunted me all week. Three shining stars snuffed out too early. Why?
- Every day, I have the same conversation with J. regarding when the bigger kids get home on the bus. They get home at 4. He gets home around 12. That's four hours of fielding questions of "how much longer until they get home?" and "when are they going to come home?" This is driving me INSANE.
- It use to be that women were told to be weary of the dark because of lurking predators. Apparently, the lurking predators were listening because now they attack during the middle of the day. In broad daylight. On popular trails. In popular stores. For all to happen upon.
- 33 miners are STILL stuck in a mine in Chile.
- I'm all for freedom of religion, but out of decency and respect, I don't think a mosque should be built at Ground Zero. Just my two cents...
- And speaking of Ground Zero, what is up with all the "government conspiracies" surrounding 9/11? Do we really live in a country where our leaders would murder 3000 civilians and then blame radical Islamics to start a war? I'm game for any good conspiracy, but this one is too outlandish. I watched this video the other day about how all these "key" witnesses have mysteriously died. Like Godfather or something. Puhleeze.
- As A. has neared two, people--mere aquaintances, recent meets, strangers--feel that it's their business to ask "if we're trying". Awkward.
- I ran 15 miles by myself the other day. 15! And it was torture. And I'm wondering why I signed up to run another marathon. And yet, I know, I'll be running at least 8 more to finish off my "list". But I feel better than I remember feeling 3 years ago at this point. Most definitely, I'm ready for this to be over and done with.
- At my Writer's Group meeting last week (yes, remember, once upon a time, I fancied myself a writer), we were lamenting Stephenie Meyer for having sent out one manuscript to one publisher and it immediately got picked up. It NEVER happens like that. Fast forward two days, and one member of our group just got picked up on her FIRST manuscript sent out. So exciting for her because she really deserves it. Her book is amazing. Makes me think that maybe, just maybe, I should get back to writing...
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Falling Behind
Wow!
My life is BORING. So, so, so boring. So dull I cannot think of a single thing to tell you. Nothing noteworthy--or not noteworthy--has happened.
Boring.
Sorry. Hopefully life will pick up and I'll have something cool/funny/uncool/unfunny to say. Well, I have a new recipe for tomorrow, so there's that.
I know. The excitement. Please try to contain yourself.
And everyone is coming down with a cold of which I'm not happy about--nor it's origins. So I'm keeping my distance, because I don't think I've mentioned that I'm running a marathon (the whole thing. For those who keep asking. Not a 5k or a 10k, but an actual marathon of 26.2 miles. Yes. I will be completing all 26.2 miles on my own. If I was only going to run 3 or 6 miles, I'd say that, but by saying "marathon" I'm saying that I will be running 26.2 miles. (it's a hard concept for some people to grasp, hence the multiple parentheses.) (Those .2 miles are the longest .2 miles in the world. It's why you don't ever hear a marathoner say I'm going to run a 26 mile marathon. They always put in the .2. Why? You try running .2 miles after running 26 miles.). (For some reason parentheses was really hard to spell).
Speaking of hard things to spell, I have a serious lack of focus and I keep making stupid grammatical and spelling mistakes. Which is not me at all. I'm the person who corrects grammar and spelling. Anyways, I'm hoping this is just a side effect of the marathon training and not anything serious, like a brain tumor.
Funny how we tend to jump to the scariest scenario, isn't it?
But, I'm fairly certain it's not a brain tumor, and maybe by this time next month, I'll be back to reading books and doing crossword puzzles without cheating.
One can dream can't they?
My life is BORING. So, so, so boring. So dull I cannot think of a single thing to tell you. Nothing noteworthy--or not noteworthy--has happened.
Boring.
Sorry. Hopefully life will pick up and I'll have something cool/funny/uncool/unfunny to say. Well, I have a new recipe for tomorrow, so there's that.
I know. The excitement. Please try to contain yourself.
And everyone is coming down with a cold of which I'm not happy about--nor it's origins. So I'm keeping my distance, because I don't think I've mentioned that I'm running a marathon (the whole thing. For those who keep asking. Not a 5k or a 10k, but an actual marathon of 26.2 miles. Yes. I will be completing all 26.2 miles on my own. If I was only going to run 3 or 6 miles, I'd say that, but by saying "marathon" I'm saying that I will be running 26.2 miles. (it's a hard concept for some people to grasp, hence the multiple parentheses.) (Those .2 miles are the longest .2 miles in the world. It's why you don't ever hear a marathoner say I'm going to run a 26 mile marathon. They always put in the .2. Why? You try running .2 miles after running 26 miles.). (For some reason parentheses was really hard to spell).
Speaking of hard things to spell, I have a serious lack of focus and I keep making stupid grammatical and spelling mistakes. Which is not me at all. I'm the person who corrects grammar and spelling. Anyways, I'm hoping this is just a side effect of the marathon training and not anything serious, like a brain tumor.
Funny how we tend to jump to the scariest scenario, isn't it?
But, I'm fairly certain it's not a brain tumor, and maybe by this time next month, I'll be back to reading books and doing crossword puzzles without cheating.
One can dream can't they?
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