'Laney Vs. Nutella- It's not even close!

So we're hanging out in the kitchen/living room area and Laney-bug just walks in and grins up at dad and has her face covered in Brown Goo. Proudly tucked in the crook of her arm is an open jar of Nutell and she is using the other hand to SCOOP IT OUT AND SHOVE IT IN HER MOUTH! I ran and got the camera and she actually proudly grinned at me over her obvious accomplishment!

Moreover, I think she might have broken the lid off of the jar to get it open- seriously- check the pictures....

Needless to say, before I put her in the high chair, she was dancing and giggling and completely drunk off of hazelnut and choclately goodness! She was promplty plopped in the bath when the fingerpainting with her nutella victim began!

How 'bout them apples?

Went on our first Pre-K field trip today and it was a fun fall activity of picking apples at Terhune orchards- and of course having apple cider (pasturized of course, Ali) and apple cider donuts!!!! Yum! here are some pictures of the apples of my eye (couldn't resist that one!) from our trip!

Go Girl Power!

Go girl big news for our clan! My brother and sister in law(s)(?) found out they are having a GIRL!!! I finally get a niece and Delaney will have a real-live "doll" to torture! I mean love and nuture of course.

The other Girl Power event of the week was I ran my long run! it was 11.5 miles and I did pretty good- My time was 2 hours 20 minutes, but I am proud enough of it! Here is a link to the route I did- I edited it a little to make sure it was truly 11.5.

http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=167186

At mile one, I picked up another runner who thought I was so young that I was from the local college! Thanks Ed! I lost him at 2.5. then at mile 4 some blockhead in a M3 (that's a BMW) decided he would play chicken with his side view mirror and my elbow. I swerved because he was not moving over at all, and went down HARD on my knees again- it was a spectacular sliding-into-home-plate kind of fall and he just kept driving and I am sure he was chuckling-now THAT is what I have grown to expect from NJ drivers!!! I didn't look at my injuries jsut dusted myself off, picked the gravel out of my Gel that I had just opened, and kept on running.

At mile 5, my ipod died- just conked out.

However- the song it conked out on was Melissa Ethridge's I Run for Life. If you haven't heard this song, buy it off of Itunes. It is absolutely spectacular- it is all about Race for the Cure and recovering from Cancer and jus the stregnth of the spirit. SO those were the last words on my mind when the Ipod died and So I just kept running them over and over in my mind.

It's a blur since they told me about it
How the darkness had taken its toll
And they cut into my skin and they cut into my body

But they will never get a piece of my soul

And now I'm still learning the lesson
To waken when I hear the call

And if you ask me why I am still running
I'll tell you I run for us all

I run for hope

I run to feel

I run for the truth

For all that is real

I run for your mother your sister your wife
I run for you and me my friend

I run for life

So the phrase "And if you ask me why I am still running" kept going through my mind, and I am kind of thinking- why am I still running? My knees hurt, my lungs, legs and feet hate me, my ipod isn't working, I'm sweaty (WHAAA, WHAA, WHAA, WHINE, WHINE) and I really started thinking about it- why am I still running. and it dawned on me forcefully.

For my little girl.

I want her to know her mommy is strong, that she is an athlete. That while she wants to be so much better, that she is proud of the wonderful gift of her body, no matter how imperfect it is. and then my heart began to swell a little and I thought of how blessed I am to have a body that works so well, that I can run- even if it is not fast or perfect, but I can. I run to prove to myself that I can do amazing things.

At exactly mile 8, a good friend from the gym honked, hooted and waved. I was grinning before she honked becasue I was marveling that I had made it to 8 and was still feeling good and strong enough to finish. and then having her encourgaemnt just helped push me further. I did really well on my final stretch and was even able to sprint the last 1/8 of a mile or so to home. Now I know I can do it- I can make it all 13.2 miles! All I need is 1.7 miles more than I did on Thursday! we are in the home stretch!!

On Saturday was a big race anniversary too- the anniversary of my first 5K, first race ever- only a year ago! Our church had a team for the Parkinson's Alliance 5K this year and we did fantastic. LAst year, this was the first race ALi and I had ever done and now we are training for a HALF! I can't believe how far I ahve come! I took six minutes off my time in a year- not as good as I wanted, but not bad either- and my husband ran this year- which was a great boost to both of us. I missed Ali terribly, but she was there in spirit!
this year

last year!

Later last night, I co-taught a class with another 1/2 marathon team mate, Wendy, on getting fit. It was really unreal to be TEACHING a class like that instead of TAKING a class on that. We just used our realistic experiences to explain that health and weight loss can happen to "real" women using the tried and try diet and excercise. for those that are counting, since August of 2006, I have lost 48.8 pounds and over 30 inches. I will get a better inch count soon.

and I know you can't get enough pictures of my running scars- so I put a picture of my knees after the bmw, and this is my shin, when I fell of the stage taking the team picture for the 5 K- I have to say the lovely blue/purple/black color just doesn't show up as lovely in the picture as in real life!

Ex-Stream Talent!

My hubby and I will be married for 10 years soon and i found out last Sunday that my husband can skip rocks- and do it well! I found this out while he was trying to teach Gib. Of course, Delaney saw the water and couldn't resist- so here is my little family in a sweet moment- Ignore the Hyena voice in the background!

There's pain in those thar' hills!

So we went to Baltimore to check out the race course- walked the first three or so miles (walked a bunch more because I took us on a WRONG turn in the WRONG neighborhood!). When we got back to the car, we drove the course- which is beautiful by the way, but incredibly daunting- because the first 7 miles is all hills. mostly UP hill!

I ran 10.75 miles on Thursday- the most up to this point in my life EVER! I did it in 2 hours 15 minutes which isn't great, but not a complete embarassment either. I also have targeted some hills in my area to focus on a little more. And don't be fooled- going down is not easy either! Especially with tired legs!

THis week I am supposed to go 11.5 miles and this is the pinacle. We start a two week taper to the race now! I also have a stretch/ MAsssage this week to help get blood back to my legs. We have a 5k this weekend that was my FIRST ever last year- so I can't wait to see how much I have improved- to believe all this started here! The Bishop of our ward challenged us to run a 5K and I did! Several 5ks, a 5 miler, a 10K and a SPrint Tri later, and I am training for a half-Marathon!! Wow!

HANGING out with friends

The Hammock is popular this year! it is really comfy- We had some friends over and I got everyone settled, and then they asked for pillows. After I got them, Blankets. After I came back from getting them, stuffed animals. And then they all got out less than 5 minutes later and I got to take all the stuff back in again!

But it was still pretty cute and sweet...

Birthday boy!

I can't believe my little man is 5! We had a really fun party with friends from Church (and one or two from school and the neighborhood). The theme was under the sea/ sharks so we painted fish suncatchers, ate cupcakes and pizza and had lots of fish themed stuff around! Both kiddos enjoyed the CUPCAKES the most I think!!

End (sigh) of Summer yummies!

I have a gazpacho garden and have for about three years- this year we finally planted the right herb (parsley, not cilantro- although I love that too) and no cucumbers, but green peppers and of course, our tomatoes. Why a gazpacho garden? Well, because it is the best darn food on the planet and even the kids eat it (sorry Wendy). You can actually feel the goodness of all-that-is-healthy seep back INTO your veins when you eat it. So I MAY seem like I am exaggerating, but really, I'm not.


so for all of you that have asked for it over the years- THE, THE recipe.



What do you get when you mix Mormon/Salt Lake women and the Junior League (juney leeeg for all you Ya-Yas)? the best bankety-blank cookbook in the WORLD 'cause smack in the 2nd section, the first recipe is Gazpacho!!!

God's Own Gazpacho

(maybe that is a little overzealous, but not really!!!)

So here goes:



4 cups Clamato juice (it's a bloody mary mix with a blue label)


1/2 cup onion, chopped


1/3 cup olive oil


1/3 cup wine vinegar


1/4 cup green pepper, chopped


3 tblsps parsley, minced


2 cloves (more!!!) garlic minced


1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce


salt and pepper to taste

According to the recipe you are supposed to combine the above ingredients, refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight and then proceed to the next list of ingredients- but honestly, I have made this in a hurry and it's been just fine and yummy! On to the "guts":

8 tomatoes, chopped


2 cucumbers, chopped


2 avacados, cubed



We have many ways we serve it. Always serve it cold but don't freeze it because that's just gross. If taking it for a picnic- there is a nifty bowl from Pampered Chef call the CHillzane bowl that you freeze the night before (HINT HINT- my PC party is on the 21st- everyone is welcome here is the link to buy stuff - just put MY name as a hostess www.pamperedchef.biz/camskitchen ).

We used to do just shredded parmesan cheese, but then it snowballed into cheese, pine nuts and croutons. Here is our latest batch, but the pictures do not do it justice- it is very pretty in "person". This was our first batch using our own tomatoes, peppers and parsley!!



Enjoy it and savor it! And buy local fresh produce to make it! (that's really easy to say in the GARDEN STATE!!!) Next up- My PESTO RECIPE!!!

Fresh in the Garden State!!

Here are our first tomatoes and all of us agreed they were REALLY yummy! Gibson got to pick them and was so excited to do so . We had them with dinner! You can taste that good Jersey air and Sunshine!

and speaking of the Garden State- My Aunt Gale sent me a magnet for my car that says "Jersey Girls don't pump gas"- What a score! I ran out to the garage to put that baby on my bumper!

Also got a fuel belt today- I bought it with my gift certificate that I won at the Triathlon (a LONNNG time ago!) -they gave me no problems BTW, Michelle! so i guess I have to start using the blasted thing! EERRR!

less than 40 days!!!

Gib started the official Pre-K school year- here is his excitement at the first day!! and yes, he picks out his own clothes now-a-days...

The road is not your friend- you have been warned

My first road rash! a quintescential (have no idea how to spell that word and if it even means what I think it means!) step in a runner's life. so I stepped on what I thought was a piece of wire- only to find out in a percussive way that it was a LOOP of wire, the end of which was buried under that gravely, asphalt-y, ground up glassy, sand side of the road stuff, which my foot looped into, while I was standing on the other side and DOWN. I. WENT. HARD. so hard in fact, that TWO cars pulled over to make sure I was OK and if i needed any help. Do you know how BAD my fall must have looked to have people try to help in JERSEY!??? people don't care here, but two people stopped!!

Anyway, scratch one pair of workout pants (nice big torn scraggly hole) and here's to having an asphalt tatoo (the above picture is after two thorough scrubbings with soap, and two washings with peroxide!) and bring on more PAIN!!!

will put some pics of the kids on soon!