Well, I did it!

Ran the Jingle Bell 5k - about the same time as last year but much colder....brrrr! Sometimes you just gotta get out there....

Happy Holidays

Sometimes Life is Hard....

But I know it will get better....meanwhile, cleaning out the refrigerator and creatively using leftovers -
First, I punched up some tomato sauce my husband said was "bland" with onions, garlic, table dry red wine and simmered (the sauce, well I did simmer a little from that comment) for an hour or so then pouring it over pasta for a great work lunch tomorrow.
Secondly, sauteed garlic and onions in olive oil, mixing in fresh kale and rosemary from my fall garden the last few minutes of saute time....mixed that delicious concoction with leftover mashed sweet potatoes. Scooped that beautiful fall mixture into a baking dish, topping it with french bread crumbs (another leftover) and baked at 350 degrees for ~45 minutes.
Since the oven was on, I also baked a small fall squash to use later this week after scooping out the seeds and roasting them with olive oil, rosemary and kosher salt!
I cut some of the fresh rosemary to take to work tomorrow for a dear, appreciative coworker.

Third, made a fresh salad from the leaf lettuce still growing outside.

Last, finished up a red sweater for a coworker's little daughter.
Going to bed now and read the latest issue of "The Sun"....tomorrow will be better.

Vacation End

Back to work and school tomorrow after a week off - an end to the gluttony and laziness. I did ride the exercise bike briskly for 30 minutes this afternoon...

Food

Haven't written much about food lately.....I haven't been terribly imaginative in my cooking - mostly my usual standbys such as pasta with veggies, garlic and olive oil and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I take to work on evening shift. I did cook huge quantities of all the traditional Thanksgiving food yesterday and am now looking at a refrigerator full of leftovers. I'll eat some of the vegetables and my husband will eat some of the meat. I'm taking two uncut pies and a whole cooked turkey breast to the local homeless shelter tomorrow. I'll experiment with some recipes from several vegetarian cookbooks and websites I've browsed lately during my upcoming break from school. Running and cooking has suffered the past few weeks.....on a lighter note (goodness, I need one). ....here's Virginia the cat rolling in sawdust from last week's remodeling project

Postscript: I ran/walked 45 minutes in the neighborhood this afternoon....brisk late fall day.

Not Running.....

Didn't run the Star City 1/2 Marathon last Saturday because I needed to help my husband on a remodeling job at our house....did a puny 3 mile brisk walk at the cove yesterday....had to stop because of abdominal cramping and pain....not fun. Did get an exercise bike to use when the weather is horrid. Getting back on schedule - I have the Jingle Bell 5k in a couple of weeks....

Clicking those needles

Seems like when I need to relax I start another knitting project - here's two I recently completed....these fingerless gloves will be great to wear when I'm selling candles on the city market for my friends - was an easy, quick pattern using double point needles...
This adorable little baby boy is the grandson of one of my co-workers and is bundled up in a sweater I knitted - another easy one...
Running the Star City 1/2 Marathon this Saturday and my goal is to finish in the 3 hour limit.....I think that's the best I can do right now...