Renee's Ramblings

Firsts, Second Part

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 04:54:00 +0000

OK. I'm back to ... Sunday!! The COOKIE EXCHANGE!! I made a couple of desserts for the occasion, one being a raspberry topped white cake ...

and the other being Mississippi Mud Cake ...

Deadly, but delicious. My items for the exchange were these caramel chocolate bars that taste EXACTLY like a Snickers bar ...

and Peanut Sitting Pretties which I make all the time. Basically a thumbprint cookie with a dab of frosting and a peanut m & m on top. They're pretty on a tray of cookies.

I think the event was a success. I had 3 last-minute no-shows and there were still 30 of us there. I didn't count noses, but I double-checked my guest list and 30 it was. Pictured below are Angie, me, Laura and Kristin.

I didn't get much of a chance to talk to people, but there was certainly a lot of chatter going on. I wouldn't expect anything less!!

So what we did was spread out the cookies on the dining room and kitchen tables and then take our empty containers and go around and take 2 of each kind of cookie as each person brought about 5 dozen.

Evan Chestolowski, age 9 days, even made an appearance. I got my baby fix. I just love holding those precious little people.

Thank you to everyone that brought me a bottle of wine. We didn't open them all, by the way. :-)

When all was said and done, we each went home with a nice assortment of cookies.

Fun, fun, fun!! So, that was Sunday afternoon. Sunday evening brought a Lace-Up Against Breast Cancer committee meeting at Laura's house. Noteworthy: The giveaway this year will be an embroidered fleece hat. I am going to try to get some chicken noodle soup donated rather than chili like we had last year. We need lots of volunteers! If you would like to volunteer, contact Sarah. Welcome new committee member Dave Morrill!! Overall winners get pink hammers (half marathon). Cool. :-) There will be another cookie baking extravaganza in January sometime. Stay tuned. I will need lots of help!!

After I got home from the meeting, I felt like I needed some kind of workout as I didn't do anything in the morning. I felt kind of like I needed a workout after being around all these sweets all day, so I got on the Stairmaster for an hour and 40 minutes at about 9:30 PM. No wonder I'm tired all the time ... !!

This week is a bit quieter, theoretically. I don't have much on the calendar, but am still keeping plenty busy. Yesterday late afternoon I volunteered at Community Food Response with food distribution. One set of volunteers goes out to area restaurants, grocery stores, etc. and picks up the donated food and brings it to Bethel Lutheran church.

It's then repackaged into containers which fit neatly into brown grocery bags.

It's given away to anyone who wants it. It's a great program as this food used to be thrown before this program was started.

We give each family unit enough for a meal (more generous if food is very plentiful that day, as it was yesterday) including an entree, vegetable, salad, sandwiches, soup, dessert. Food is distributed M-W-F from 5 to 6:30 PM. It's a wonderful program.

I'd made a pot of split pea soup for supper and enjoyed a bowl when I got home. I used the recipe on the back of the bag of peas (Hy-Vee brand I believe). I think it was the best split pea soup I'd ever had. Slightly different than the way I usually make it. It had 5 sliced carrots, no celery, a red bell pepper and I used 5 cloves of garlic rather than the one called for. It was delicious. I didn't even add any ham. And I didn't miss it a bit.

That, along with a salad made for a delicious dinner.

Here are a few Off-Season Striders photos that John sent from Saturday's run. Randy said it was a good-sized crowd that hung around for a while afterwards. Naturally, I wasn't there!! My absence seems to draw the biggest crowds. :-)

Looks like they had a lot of fun. Wish there were 2 of me sometimes. Most times, actually. Then I could get so much more done. Thanks John for sending the photos!

The Zoom!Yah!Yah! runners get periodic emails from race director Dick Daymont. This snippet appeared in one that arrived in our inboxes on Saturday. "...we do expect a good race with Renee "the cookie lady" Saxman having run the fastest 2009 time (3:42:30). This time on 1/10 would put Renee in the "Top 5" female ZYY times." Oh. My. Gosh. Now I feel like I'm expected to WIN this thing. BTW: Ron Giles has the second fastest male time in this year's field. GO, RON!!!

We got about 4" of snow in the last 24 hours. I got some of it shovelled last night after delivering cookies to the neighbors.

This morning's 11.01 mile run was nice, but required Yak Trax on that new snow. Incredibly, the bike path had already been plowed when I got out there (highway 52 frontage road). Thank you Park and Rec!! If only the county had enough money to plow the rest of it (Bamber Valley Road around the west to 2nd St SW). :-( This evening I went out to the University Center indoor track to run a few laps while the others did speedwork (I did run 3 x 1/4 mile timed--I've definitly lost a bit of speed since the summer as they were about 1:30's.) There are public locker rooms adjacent to the track. Nice facility. Also out there were: Casey Graham, Marilee Hardyman, Tom Woo, Jim Mason, Roger Heil, Peter Maves and someone else I didn't know running with Peter.

That's Roger and Marilee in the top photo and Casey, Jim and Tom in the bottom photo. Bruce, Lisa and maybe Mark are running at 5:15. Right now my legs don't feel like the have another run in them so soon. Especially with the conditions outside. I'll see how I feel but I have a feeling I'll lift and then get in the pool. Another idea would be a ski in the afternoon... After the track, I got a few groceries and went to the mall. I think I'm done shopping now. Both places were pretty busy, probably in anticipation of the storm that's due sometime in the next day or 3. I finally had a bowl of chili just before 9 PM.

As promised, here is my reduced-fat Chex Mix recipe. It was on one of the Chex boxes several years ago but they don't print it any more. I also use the microwave variation. It's the same ingredients as regular Chex Mix but you use 3 Tbsp. of butter instead of 6. (80 calories per serving vs. 130 for regular). You're supposed to omit the nuts, but I still use them. The microwave instructions are: Melt butter. Stir in seasonings. Gradually stir in remaining ingredients until evenly coated. Microwave uncovered on high 5 to 6 minutes, thoroughly stirring every 2 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container.

Well, it's nearly 11:00 and I'm about ready to pass out right on this keyboard. So ... good night. ;-)

Firsts

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:35:00 +0000

Happy first day of winter!! Feels like it's been "wintering" for a while now even though the calendar said it was still autumn. But at least the days will begin getting longer now.

Time to go back to the first part of my weekend--Friday. I went up to Mall of America to hit the Nickelodeon store to shop for my niece and nephew. They're big Spongebob Squarepants and Dora the Explorer fans. I'm also doing Christmas shopping for my dad and step-mom who live in Florida. I found a few things and then headed for one of my favorite stops, Williams-Sonoma, a kitchenwares store. My friend Mary had made me a birthday cake that looked like a big sandwich cookie and I thought, I just have to have those pans. They're SOOO me! So that was what was on my shopping list. I also found some little pearls to put on my cut-outs when I finally get around to doing them (maybe tomorrow). I usually do snowflakes, but I must have a million cookie cutters. Well, not a million, but quite a few!

After leaving Mall of America the next stop on my list was Trader Joe's in Maple Grove, a frequent stop when going to or coming from St. Cloud. Hemlock Lane exit off I-94, just east of the 494 turnoff. Anyway, I just love that store. (As does Julie, who left a comment on my blog!) It's not big store, but it's so much fun to walk up and down the aisles and look at all the interesting things they sell. Good prices, too. I had an agenda this time, and actually, it involved the liquor side of the store though I did a quick walk through on the food side as well. So first I went looking for the display of bottled beer. Why, you may ask? I'm not known as a big beer drinker. (I prefer wine.) I have finally been invited to the 6th annual 5K Fun Run and Beer Exchange!! I'm the only "girl" on the list of 47 invitees so it's indeed an honor. (It sounds like about 10 usually show up.) I can totally hold my own amongst this motley crew! It's Saturday morning, 8 AM, followed by breakfast. Here are the rules:

1) Light beer is not allowed.

2) You are giving a gift to another runner, make it a good one.
3) Gift wrapping is mandatory (Use a brown paper bag, after all it's for a guy. [Or girl!! My addition.] Man rules dictate using a non-descript method of decoration.) Duct tape is optional.).
4) Light beer is really not allowed!!!

So I picked a selection of bottles of ales. You can mix 'em up, i.e. you don't have to buy 6 bottles all of the same variety. So here's my selection:

I was still nervous about it, so I emailed the "social director" for the event and it sounds like my selection will pass muster. :-) A guy who was also shopping for beer in the store highly recommended the Full Sail Pale Ale (as did the cashier who said it was a favorite of his). Now I think I want to keep that one and try it myself! I will certainly give you a full report on this event come Saturday. I picked up just a couple things on the food side: lemon curd, bruschetta and pumpkin pie spice.

Then it was up to St. Cloud. First stop in St. Cloud was the EnduRUNce Shop to talk to the owner Kevin about a donation for the club's annual banquet in January. He very generously gave me: 1 Wigwam hat, 1 saucony face mask, 2 pairs of liner gloves and two pairs of Brooks combo gloves/mittens. So that makes 47 prizes to give away. Yippee!! I believe this will be the first year they've given away prizes at the banquet.

Then it was off to Panera to meet with Ron and Pat about the River Runners' website. I am taking over for Ron at the first of the year. I got my copy of the FrontPage software and the low-down from the guys as to how to go about making changes. The site is updated frequently with postings from club members. I'd like to add a page for our women's race team. :-) Anyway, installing that and getting going on on that new venture will have to wait until next week. Still got way too many things to get done before Christmas (making lefse, making cut-out cookies, hopefully getting at least a few cards out, finishing shopping, etc.).

After leaving Panera, I headed for Crossroads mall. My first stop there was JCPenney as Matt wanted some new BVDs. :-) I had two different certificates/coupons for $10 off a $10 purchase. They were $17 for a 3-pack and there was a BOGO half off sale. So I asked the cashier if I could use both certificates on one purchase and she said I could. Shock!! They don't usually let you do that. So I redeemed them both and ended up getting $34 worth of BVDs for $5.25. I love a bargain. :-) Then I headed over to Target to pick up a few more things for Kaleigh and Andrew (I'm done shopping for them now). That was plenty for one day.

Saturday morning brought very pleasant running conditions and a 15.00 mile run with the River Runners.

They have an 8:00 AM start time, but many of the runners "front load" when wanting to either: 1) get in more miles first, and/or 2) get an earlier start on their run. So we got in about 8 miles by 8:00 and then I got in 7 more after 8:00.

I ran the last five or so with Tag D. and Mike M. It was all I could do to keep up. I was just hanging on by my fingernails. But it was fun to talk bikes with them. After running, we retired to the Meeting Grounds coffee shop for the usually coffee and breakfast.

Thank you Gene G. for clearing my way into the men's rest room to change clothes. I'd been waiting probably 15-20 minutes in my damp clothes for the women's to open up and it never did. Gene graciously took care of that little situation. Thank you Gene! They're such a sociable, likeable bunch. I love 'em all! I had a big ol' bran muffin that probably cost me about 500 calories, but it was very good. I had to leave by 10:30 to make it back to Rochester by 1:00 for Etta's birthday lunch.

That's me, Etta, Laura and Julie at Panera where we had lunch. I ate the same thing I'd had in St. Cloud the night before: A You Pick Two consisting of a half BBQ chicken salad and a half country turkey sandwich. It was very good.

(I took the hunk of baguette home and that, in addition to a container of yogurt, became my very uninspired but very quick supper!) Geuss what? We all gave her socks!! Great minds think alike.

Who should happen by our table but ... Pete Martin!

He was delivering a box of hand warmers for Julie Yost to give to the other Julie Yost. :-) They'e sisters-in-law. He said you can get them at Fleet Farm. I'm sure there'll be a "run" on them now. :-)

Sitting at the table next to us, unbeknownst to me, was a track club member who recognized me from the RTC newsletter. Daniel Assad and his wife. Here they are:

After doing some baking Saturday afternoon for the cookie exchange on Sunday, I ran another 5.72 making 20.72 miles for the day. It was a beautiful run. Dark, quiet, peaceful and my legs felt great. Just one of those "zen" runs that are hard to forget. Then quickly after returning home, Matt and I went to the Mannheim Steamroller concert at the Civic Center. It was their Christmas concert and it was wonderful. It was the first time Matt had seen them in concert. I love their unique sound. We had such a nice mother-son evening together.

Well, that brings me to the end of Saturday. I need to get supper going so I'll post Sunday's events (cookie exchange and Lace-Up Against Breast Cancer meeting), along with other random rantings, in my next post.

Toodles!

Too Tired ...

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:29:00 +0000

Too tired to do a big post tonight. Will have to wait 'til Monday afternoon. Sorry. But here are a couple of photos until then ...

Until tomorrow (I promise!).

Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 01:05:00 +0000

Only a few minutes available for a quick post. Check back tomorrow for the complete report. It's been a whirlwind, but wonderful, 24 hours beginning with a trip to Mall of America to do some shopping for my niece and nephew at the Nickelodeon store (plus a few other stops, including William Sonoma--more on that tomorrow). Then Trader Joe's in Maple Grove (more on that tomorrow, too! It involves a 6-pack of bottled beer and running. :-) Then St. Cloud to meet with Pat and Ron about the St. Cloud River Runners website (I'm gonig to be co-webmaster with Pat). Then the mall to do a little more shopping (I'm a consumate bargain hunter--more on my super buy at JCPenney tomorrow). Then I crashed after reading for about 10 minutes. Then an early morning 15.00 miles with the River Runners and then a dash back to Rochester for Etta's 1:00 birthday lunch at Panera. More tomorrow. Then I made 1 (of 2) cakes for tomorrow's cookie exchange (expecting 30), a batch of Chex Mix (lowfat recipe tomorrow) and my Caramel Chocolate Bars/Candies for the exchange. I need to make more tomorrow (cut-outs). Then I wanted some fresh air and couldn't resist the beautiful evening so I ran some more (5.72 miles--it was wonderful and I felt wonderful--wouldn't trade that run for anything). And now ... Mat and I are off to Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas concert. :-)

Talk to you tomorrow.

Team R.E.D.

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:56:00 +0000

What a fun group those R.E.D. folks are!! We (I think I counted 17) met at the O'Leary's where our journey through (hilly) Byron commenced.

Then it was a round about way over to the Melby's where we had snacks and fluids of various sorts. :-)

After a short stay, it was off to Chmielewski's where Annette was surprised with a birthday party by some of her female friends! Happy Birthday, Annette!!

After leaving Chmielewski's, we passed Byron's Fire Station #1. I HAD to stop and get a picture!!

Then we made our way back to the O'Leary's for some delicious chili. Our route was 6.32 miles according to Tom Woo. It was actually a very pleasant evening.

My camera was all fogged up because of the cold. Sorry about that!! Anyway, it was a very fun evening.

This afternoon I made some caramel corn. It's a microwave recipe.

3 quarts popped corn (12 cups)
Nuts (optional)
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Put popped corn in a large grocery bag. (I use the double thickness paper freezer bags.) Melt butter; add syrup and sugar. Cook on HIGH for 2 min; stir. Cook 3 min, stirring 3 times. Take out and add vanilla and baking soda. Pour over popcorn in bag. Fold top over twice; shake. Cook on HIGH for 1 min. Shake. Cook another minute. Shake. Cook 30 seconds. Shake and pour onto waxed paper to cool.

This stuff is ADDICTING.

Note: The Rochester Running Room's Resolution Run is full.

Larry Pederson said he's thinking of organizing a Broadway Plaza stair climb event again next year, but just for fun. I'd TOTALLY do it again. Stay tuned for more info.

Heidi Keller Miler of the MDRA is going to send me some of those computer monitor calendars for 2010. Look for them at the Polar Bear Fun Run and Lunch here on January 2.

Off-Season Striders will run at Panera South on Saturday at 7:30 AM. A 9 mile course has been prescribed, but of course you're always free to shorten or lengthen it. I won't be there for this one.

We didn't see anything like this on our run tonight, but it is kind of fun to watch. It's been all over the internet.

Well, that's it for tonight. Good night!!

There Aren't Enough Hours in a Day ...

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:37:00 +0000

... for everything I want to get done. All I can do is ... all I can do. And that's got to be good enough. I try to sneak in at least 6 hours of shut-eye each night, but that doesn't even always happen. But life will slow down next week. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying all the whirlwind activities of this week. Starting with yesterday ...

Tuesday brought supper with Jean and Amy at Redwood Room. This is Jean and I.

We all split a Margherita Pizza ...

and Jean and I had a salad.

It was a lovely, relaxing dinner. Then we hightailed it to Cinemagic for The Blind Side, a movie which we all enjoyed. It moved a little slowly, but all in all it was a heartwarming (true) story.

Today. After work, it was our annual lunch at Georgia's house. We've been doing this for maybe 10 years or so. It's a bunch of moms who had kids at Rochester Central Lutheran School and we still like to get together each Christmas and catch up on each other's lives. And laugh. We laugh A LOT. A big contributor to the laughter? Lori!!

She is a stitch. Anyway, we go around the table and rehash our year. We can't seem to do it in less than 3 hours! We all thoroughly enjoy it, I think it's fair to say. Lunch this year was a (Weight Watcher's recipe) mac 'n cheese and I brought my Autumn Apple, Pear, Pecan salad (recipe in my recipe blog). Dessert was Joy's delicious (fat free) steamed pudding with cranberries ...

She said the hard sauce was decidedly NOT fat free. But it was decidedly delicious.

Georgia's daughter Mallory put together a cookbook at her place of work, so I bought a copy. I love to browse cookbooks.

Then when I got home, I quick made another batch of cookies (chocolate hazelnut thumbprints, from the December issue of Cooking Light). They're very good. I had to try one. They're pretty small. It actually made more than the recipe indicated, so they have less calories, too. :-) The filling is 1/2 tsp. of Nutella, a chocolate hazelnut spread.

Want to know how to skin hazelnuts? I baked them for about 5 minutes at 350, then rubbed them in a kitchen towel until the skins fell off.

I put together a plate of cookies for after Carol on the Run.

We started at 6:00 at Running Room. 3 escaped before this photo, and 2 joined later.

Then we left for Charter House,

Samaritan Bethany on 8th and finally Ronald McDonald House which is my favorite stop.

This little boy was pretty excited that he got to ring Randy's bells during Jingle Bells. :-)

Here's my furry halo ...

and its shadow.

It was a great evening. It's a very good thing to spread some holiday cheer. I know I get too caught up in trying to get so much "stuff" done. I should do more of this kind of thing. That's the reason for the season as they say.

I had some open cheddar cheese, an open container of light sour cream , some scallions approaching the end of their useful life and some leftover mashed potatoes so I made baked potato soup. Really hit the spot after the run.

On tomorrow's agenda? Hopefully the progressive run with Byron Team R.E.D. Check their website for the latest scoop. Well, I'm off to wrap a few gifts. Talk at you tomorrow!!

Ha det.

Monday, Monday ... so good to me ...

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:46:00 +0000

Just returned from another wonderful evening with my Cooking Light group. We had a winderful evening, as we always do. We had wine, appetizers and desserts (heavy on the wine and appetizers this year!) and can bring a guest in December. Kelly was my guest ... all the way from NY! It was great to see her again. She and Ben are here visiting family.

Let's back up to a less wonderful part of the day. My 8.49 mile run this morning. Yikes. It was a icy with a brisk NW wind and then to top it off it started snowing so I couldn't see the glare ice. Everything had a glaze over it and I had my Yak Trax on. So it was like skating with coils on the bottom of my feet! It took me almost 2 hours to go that distance. On county 22 I was praying that I wouldn't fall through the snowbanks where it wasn't plowed (I didn't). On 19th St NW I was praying I didn't get hit by a car as the sidewalks were just too dangerous (I didn't). By Assissi Heights I just wanted to stay upright (I did). It was nor pretty. But ... I got it done. :-)

Tuesday at 5:30 Byron Team R.E.D. is going to run out at RCTC on the indoor track. Feel free to join them! I'm going to Redwood Room and then the movie Blind Sided otherwise I'd be there. Thursday Team R.E.D. is doing a progressive dinner run starting at O'Leary's at 805 1st Ave NW in Byron. There will be stops at a few other homes before finishing up at the O'Leary's.

Here's the recipe for the Oatmeal Craisin White Chocolate Chip Cashew Macadamia Nut (that's a mouthful!) cookies I made the other day:

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. quick-cooking oats

9 Tbsp. soft butter

1/2 c. dark brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla exract

1/2 c. Craisins

1/2 c. roughly chopped pecans (I used half cashews half macadamia nuts)

3/4 c. white chocolate chips

1. Preheat overn to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Measure flour, baking powder, salt and oats into a bowl. Put butter and sugars into another bowl and beat together until creamy. Then beat in egg and vanilla extract.

2. Beat in the flour mixture, then Craising, nuts and chips.

3. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls, then place them on your prepared cookie sheet and squish down with a fork. (That's taken directly from the recipe!) Bake for 15 minutes until cookies are tinged a pale gold. Remove to cool.

I'm tired so I'll call it quits for today. Toodles.

Social Event of the Season

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:15:00 +0000

And it was this afternoon at the Shonyo's beautiful home (and property) in rural Oronoco.

There were lots and lots of runners in attendance.

Above, Lana, Sonja and Scott. A huge welcome back to the U.S.A to Scott Kranz who arrived home from a year on duty in Bagdhad, Iraq on Thursday. It was his second tour.

Kevin and Lori Torgerson. BTW: Kevin will be portraying Bob Cratchit in the play A Christmas Carol on Friday evening at John Adams Middle School at 7 PM. It's free and open to the public.

The Shonyos have such a lovely home and Lucy certainly has a knack for displaying her collectibles.

Tomorrow the fireplace will be history to be replaced by a new more energy-efficient insert and real stone facing and mantel.

Suzanne Dinusson came up to me and said, "I just have to tell you ... I love your blog." That never fails to make my day. Thank you, Suzanne. :-)

Back to the start of my day. At church this morning, Pastor Rance and his daughter (age 5) Addisyn sang the song Christmas Shoes. I just love that song. Here's the YouTube video of Newsong singing it. They're the ones who sing it on the radio.

After church, I ran down to the Y (saw Aaron and Allison Benike out running) to lift and swim. (Saw Wendy Nevala in the pool.) Talked to Sarah Torchia in the locker room. (I can't go anywhere without seeing someone I know.) There was one open lane when I got there, but at noon the pool emptied out and for the next 45 minutes I was the only one in there. I felt sorry for the poor lifeguards watching a middle-aged woman swim v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y up-and-down and up-and-down and up-and-down ... You get the picture.

Way to go Vikings for pulling out the win vs. the Bengals.

Heidi Martin asked me for one of the cookie recipes, so as long as I'm sending it I might as well post it too. Oatmeal Party Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

2 tsp. vanilla (use real vanilla in this one)

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

1 6-ounce package (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli dipping chocolate from Sam's Club)

Finely chopped walnuts

Cream together the butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and salt till light and fluffy. Stir in flour and rolled oats. Using about 2 tsp. dough for each, shape into 1-inch balls or 1 1/2" logs. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet in slow oven (325) for 20 minutes. Cool on rack. Meanwhile melt chocolate pieces over hot water. Remove from sheet; dip tops of round cookies and one end of each log in chocolate, then in chopped walnuts. Let set overnight before stacking cookies to store; keep in cool place. Makes about 4 1/2 dozen small cookies.

I have another super busy week this week. Tomorrow evening, Cooking Light (we just do appetizers, desserts and wine in December). Tuesday, girls' night out (dinner at Redwood Room and a movie--The Blind Side). Backup plan--track workout at RCTC indoor track. Wednesday, annual Christmas lunch with about 10 friends. I'm bringing a salad and cookies. Wednesday evening, Carol on the Run at Running Room at 6 PM. Thursday, Byron Team R.E.D. progressive dinner??? run. Friday, the cities and possibly St. Cloud for the River Runners Saturday breakfast run. Friday back-up plan, lunch with Barb and then watching Kevin in A Christmas Carol. Saturday, birthday lunch with some gal pals and Mannheim Steamroller in the evening with Matt. Sunday afternoon, 25+ at my cookie exchange here and then a L.U.A.B.C. meeting in the evening. Whew!! I have no idea what's on the docket for the week after that. I just need to see my way through this one first!

Some more age truisms from Rick:

I've learned that singing "Amazing Grace" can lift my spirits for hours. Age 49

I've learned that motel mattresses are better on the side away from the phone. Age 50
I've learned that you can tell a lot about a man by the way he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. Age 51
I've learned that keeping a vegetable garden is worth a medicine cabinet full of pills. Age 52
I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you miss them terribly after they die. Age 53
I've learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life. Age 58

Have a wonderful week.

Together We Run

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 03:26:00 +0000

Together, we run. We have fun. We laugh and joke. We vent. And sometimes we even cry. I'm so thankful for the bonds created pounding the pavement or trails with my "running buddies", for friendships new and old. And thus begins todays post. With friends.

I started my morning run at precisely 6:00 AM at Dunn Bros. (It was 6 degrees when I left the house. Definitely warmer than the last couple of days.) I headed for the north side of the lake, with my sparkly "Santa Baby" hat on (so named by Randy Quint!). I soon ran across Bruce Petz out for his early morning run. So I asked him where he was running and decided to join him as he was running about as far as I thought I could in 90 minutes or less. So we headed around the lake and down to Cub Foods and then back up to 14th St NW via side roads. I still had 20-some minutes before I needed to be at Dunn Bros. so I headed around the lake again. I had 9.44 in by the time I got back. I was happy with that as the footing wasn't great even though I was wearing my Yak Trax.

(This is going to be FUN Trevor!!)

Then the group went up to 37th St and to Century High School, down Viola Road and around the lake. I got out my cookies when we got back and then went out around the lake again for a total of 20.26 miles. It wasn't fast, but I got 'er done. We all agreed that we get a few bonus miles for running in these conditions as it's definitely more work running in the snow.

I was dressed plenty warm today, if not overdressed. 3 layers on top (probably one too many). Gloves and my Running Room "warmest" mittens so my hands were never cold. When my hands are cold, I'm miserable. Seen around the lake on my final loop, Peter Maves with a couple of buddies, Hirohita Kita followed by Masami Kita.

It was nice to meet someone I hadn't met before, Mike Hodgeman from Zumbrota. A very nice guy and good runner.

When I got home I decided to dust and vacuum. And I decided I'd better have some boots and a hat in the trunk now so did that. This afternoon Matt got home from school (hoo yah!) and he helped me decorate the Christmas tree. :-) Such a good "kid" (he's 21). I did the lights.

I took a Christmas tree decorating class from Community Ed probably almost 20 years ago now. There are 2 tips I still remember: 1) She said to string the lights in and out each branch for depth (and to hide the cords a bit) instead of just winding them around the tree. I like the way that looks and have done it ever since. 2) When hanging ornaments make sure they hang freely and don't rest on a lower branch.

This is my tree skirt. I made it many years ago. It's pieced and quilted.

When my kids were in grade school at Rochester Central Lutheran, my friend Jeanne and I were in charge of the Christmas bazaar every year. We spent an unbelievable number of hours crafting each fall. Here are a few of the ornaments we made during a couple of those years:

Here's my collection of $5 Lorie Line bells. She didn't have a bell this year. :-(

Ta da. It's done.

This rocking chair was my mom's when she was a little girl. A treasured posession of mine. She passed away when I was 11.

I made this quilt a couple of years ago.

I used to do a lot of cross stitch, but haven't in many years now.

And the family room.

Well, that's a sneak peak at some of my Christmas stuff. I love decorating for Christmas.

Here's a photo of what's got to be the newest member of the Rochester running community, Evan Thomas Chestolowski, born yesterday morning. Such a big little guy. So precious. Again, congratulations Mary and Ed.

Here's a video of Matt and his acapella group Hear & Now singing Billy Joel's For the Longest Time. I think they do a bang-up job. This was shot at one of the dorms on campus.

Here's something passed along by my friend Sue Macken. It's a quick & simple way to raise $1 (each day, actually) for the local foodshelves: Kare 11 & Land O'Lakes are donating $1 (to a food shelf) for every person who clicks on their web site. Go to the website listed below and on the top right side of the screen there is the green area where it says: You Click, We donate . It's that easy. Please pass to all of your friends. I know that the food shelves are really hurting this year.
http://www.landolakesinc.com/company/corporateresponsibility/foundation/default.aspx

Don't forget to put Wednesday the 16th at 6 PM on your calendars. Carol on the Run at Running Room. My son Matt says he's going to join us. Yippee!! We'll have a nice low bass voice in the mix. Doesn't matter if you can't carry a tune in a bucket ... join us please.

Well, it's a wrap on another post. A few more age-isms from Rick:

I've learned that brushing my child's hair is one of life's great pleasures. Age 26
I've learned that wherever I go, the world's worst drivers have followed me there. Age 29
I've learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it. Age 30
I've learned that there are people who love you dearly but just don't know how to show it. Age 42
I've learned that you can make some one's day by simply sending them a little note. Age 44
I've learned that the greater a person's sense of guilt, the greater his or her need to cast blame on others. Age 46
I've learned that children and grandparents are natural allies. Age 47
I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. Age 48

Be well.

K.P. Duty

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:58:00 +0000

First off, congratulations to Mary and Ed Chestolowski who welcomed their new son (and 4th child) this morning: Evan Thomas. He was 9 lbs 5 oz. Big baby!! So happy for the family and their new addition. Babies are a blessing ... a wonderful gift.

I spent virtually the entire day in the kitchen again. But there's almost nowhere else I'd rather be. I'm very happy when I'm baking cookies. :-) First off it was another batch of Christmas m & m cookies for tomorrow's run (and for Lana, who also correctly identified the "Where Is It?" photos in the December RTC News.)

Then it was a new recipe. My friend Mary calls them Truffles and a magazine I picked up in Northfield calls them "Snowman Poop"! I think they're more truffle-like if they're coated in dark chocolate and more snowman-pooplike if they're coated in white chocolate. In any case, they're VERY easy. The recipe? A bag of Oreo cookies, crushed fine mixed with a brick of softened cream cheese (I used the 1/3 less fat variety). Shape into 1" balls ...

and freeze for 15 minutes or so. Then dip in melted chocolate. I used the dark chocolate and tried to drizzle them with white chocolate, but it wasn't cooperating. Kept hardening on me so I just gave up and left the rest plain.

Next up was a batch of the marshmallow/corn flake wreaths. Easy recipe, but I think they're so tasty. And colorful, so they look nice on a tray of cookies.

Then it was a recipe that I'd eaten, but not baked before. The recipe is from my now ex-neighbor Kathy. It's a shortbread cookie log with oatmeal in it,

dipped in chocolate and then sprinkled with walnuts.

Very good recipe. Easy, too. I think that's it for cookies for today. I never did get the cut-outs rolled out, baked and frosted, so I'll do that tomorrow. All these cookies are going to John Shonyo. Speaking of cookies, I believe Dave Morrill is the high bidder for the cookies up for auction on the RTC website. Thank you Dave! It sounds like his sister will be receiving cookies, along with the recipe, bi-monthly in 2010. The money goes toward the Fetzer 20K prize money, as does John Shonyo's purchase. :-) Thank you, guys.

More cookie news ... tomorrow morning at the 7:30 Dunn Bros run, I'll be giving clues for the "Who Is It?" photos in the RTC newsletter. Somehow I'll determine a winner (first with the correct answers? most correct answers?) and he/she will get a dozen of the m & m cookies pictured earlier. And there will be more cookies for general consumption. :-) Of course.

TCM registration starts EARLY in 2010. February 2, actually. Wow ... committing to a marathon 8 months in advance.

I see that Rochesterite Mike Joyner was quoted in the recent Runners' World magazine in an article about swimming. I see Mike now and again about town. He works at Mayo. Speaking of swimming ... I ran down to the Y this morning. It really wasn't too bad outside. I dressed in lots of layers, wore my Yak Trax, face mask. All in all I was quite comfortable. Except for my eyeballs. They were cold. As was my forehead right above my eyebrows. But I was none the worse for it apparently. Anyway, I got to the Y and lifted and then was going to swim but ended up talking to my friend Mary for an hour instead. So I nixed the swim idea and went home instead. I was fine with that, actually. I had a 10:00 hair appointment and was getting hungry by 8:40 when I finally decided to trot on home. Thank you to everyone between here and the Y who shoveled. Those who didn't ... you should!! :-)

From Tom Bisel, owner of Fit To the Tri'd in Northfield who asked me to pass this along to the folks in the Rochester area:

Please join us for the 1st Annual FIT to be TRI’d winter Time–trial series. Starting on Thursday January 7th, we will offer a cycling time-trial series on our brand new CompuTrainers. The event will take place on Thursday evenings through April 1st, as well as on the 2nd & 4th Saturdays of January, February, and March. Time-trials will be held on a new virtual course each month. Prizes will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers each month, with an overall combined winner at the end. We’ll kick off the series by riding CompuTrainer’s standard 10K time-trial course. Just bring your own bike – we’ll provide the rest. Schedule:
Thursdays from 5:30pm-7:45pm The 2nd and 4th Saturdays each month from 10:00 am-4:00 pm Time-trial sessions are by appointment – call to make your reservation. Cost: Single ride-$15 All 3 courses -$12/ride 2 rides per course - $10/ride So Join us this January to see who will become the Inaugural FIT to be TRI’d’s time-trial champion! Sign up begins December 21. Call to make a reservation. Phone: 507-786-9191 Email: info@fittobetrid.com Address: 306 Division St., Northfield, MN 55057

These are from my friend Rick. I really enjoyed reading them and will post them a few at a time. It's called "Time Gets Better With Age". Enjoy.

I've learned that I like my teacher because she cries when we sings "Silent Night". Age 5
I've learned that our dog doesn't want to eat my broccoli either. Age 7
I've learned that when I wave to people in the country, they stop what they are doing and wave back. Age 9
I've learned that just when I get my room the way I like it, Mom makes me clean it up again. Age 12
I've learned that if you want to cheer yourself up, you should try cheering someone else up. Age 14
I've learned that although it's hard to admit it, I'm secretly glad my parents are strict with me. Age 15
I've learned that silent company is often more healing than words of advice. Age 24

Until tomorrow, then.

Hola!

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:53:00 +0000

(Hello in Spanish. :-)

It felt good to get out of the house today even though it was pretty cold. Yesterday I just stayed put. This morning I was back on the Stairmaster. I'm itching to get back on the roads. But they're just too slippery and the wind chill too low. Saturday, for sure. Dunn Bros. on Elton Hills Drive. 7:30 AM. I'll be there. With treats.

Triathlon this 'n that: Cartoon from Mike Schmitt.

WIN Multisports has been acquired by Mark Bongars and Final Stretch. So the Rochesterfest Tri, Waseca Tri and Treadman Duathlon will have a new race director for 2010. Look for more info on either the WIN Multisports or Final Stretch websites.

Mario Minelli will again be facilitating the multi-sport class at the RAC beginning in January. Click on the link and check out the course description and requirements on page 8 of the brochure.

Cookie Auction update: Thank you Dave Morrill for the $120 bid!! Wow. Very generous. If you want to check out the bidding, it's on the RTC website. Bidding closes Friday at 8 PM.

Carol on the Run Wed the 16th at 6:00 PM at Running Room. Please join us! It's a lot of fun. Here's the schedule (thank you Larry Pederson for setting this up):

6:00 Running Room to Charter House
6:15 Charter House
6:30 Charter House to Samaritan Bethany on 8th St
6:45 Samaritan Bethany
7:00 Samaritan Bethany up to 14th, to 11th and down to Ronald McDonald House
7:45 Ronald McDonald House
8:00 Ronald McDonald House to Running Room
Mileage total is about 6 miles.

I got this TOTALLY fun little number (early Christmas present) in the mail today from a dear out-of-town friend. I LOVE it!!

I attended the RTC board meeting this evening (John, Kit, Ron, Kevin, Lin) ...

to discuss the transition from a paper RTC News to an electronic version. The next newsletter, March 2010, will be electronic only and will be posted on the RTC website. Newsletters are published in March, May, July, September and December. So look for a post on the Forum indicating that a new newsletter is available for your reading pleasure.

On the Foodie Front: For supper this evening, I made an asparagus and pea risotto. DELISH. Basically, you stir warm chicken broth into arborio rice ...

for about an hour. Stirring constantly. But that's what makes it so creamy and wonderful. (There was still a little liquid to be absorbed in the photo below. You don't want it soupy.)

I ran across this recipe today via a link in an email:

Classic Shortbread Cookies in 4 ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon water

OK, I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I think I can count. Isn't that ... 6 ingredients?? Whatever. :-)

Tomorrow for me, more cookie baking. And a haircut and highlight at 10:00 AM. Yes!!

Tomorrow at 10:00 AM (exactly!) RochesterDealsForLess are $50 gift certificates for Prescotts for $25. Don't be even 15 seconds late or they'll probably be gone.

Quote for the day: "Hold yourself to a higher standard than anybody else expects of you." --Henry Ward Beecher

Toodles!!

Marathon, Of Sorts

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:32:00 +0000

(From an email I received the other day--it's a joke!)

Given today's weather, I turned the day into a marathon of sorts. A cookie baking marathon. I'd been commissioned to bake for someone for this coming weekend and this seemed like the perfect day to get a jump start on the process. So bake I did. Starting with Peanut Sitting Pretties, a thumbprint type cookie rolled in walnuts with a dollop of frosting and a peanut m & m on top.

Then Farmhouse Chocolate Cookies, which have as their "frosting" an Andes mint melted on top (actually, I just use half a mint). And some sprinkles.

Then Peanut Blossoms. My chocolate stars also had sprinkles on them.

Took the better part of the day. Between the 3 batches, it was something just shy of 200 cookies.

The first couple hours of the day was spent on the Stairmaster. I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring as far as a workout goes. Maybe the pool. Maybe I'll try running, though it's supposed to be below zero. Yak Trax might be in order. I guess I'll see what the winds are like. If they're like today, I'll be inside again.

Well, this was the view out the patio door this morning.

We sure got dumped on. The winds created some pretty amazing drifts.

Happy December Birthday to LaRee. Her birthday is now in the RTC membership spreadsheet. :-) If yours doesn't get mentioned, it's because we don't have it. Email me and I'll make sure it gets added.

My TC10 medal arrived in the mail today. That made me feel good. I'm feeling kind of down today.

Running Room has extended hours on the weekends from now until Christmas: 8:00 PM on Saturdays and Sundays. Closed Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

I'm back. Just got off the wind trainer for an hour. (Take the front wheel off the bike and put it on a stand.) Felt like I needed to burn some more calories. Just checked the thermometer ... -4. Ouch. That might put the kibosh on a morning run. Maybe I'll ski in the afternoon if it's not bitterly cold.

Quote for the day: "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out." -- John Wooden

Cheers.

I Can't Keep Up

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:01:00 +0000

I've shoveled 4 times already today. Once this afternoon,

then this evening I went out and shoveled a couple more inches and by the time I got done, there was another inch on the ground. So I shoveled that. Then when I got done with that, did the neighbor's sidewalk. Then there was another 1/2" or so on the ground so I shoveled THAT. And I have another idiosyncrasy to share ... when I shovel, I like it cleared all the way to very edge of the driveway or sidewalk ... right up to the grass. And now it looks like there might be 2 more inches so I'll probably go out one more time before I go to bed. It's starting to blow now, too. School is already cancelled. The Y is closed until Thursday. Blizzard warning. Travel at your own risk. But I can still run, can't I?? Just kidding!! Maybe I'll get my skis out tomorrow...

Didn't go to Beetles this evening. One reason, the weather. Just not great driving. Another reason was that supper wasn't ready until about 6:30. I made minestrone soup from the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated. It's delicious, I have to say.

You start with 3 oz. of pancetta. The package I got was REALLY lean. It hardly rendered any fat at all. You've got to pick through them ... some were about 95% fat.

Then you add onion, celery, carrot and zucchini.

And then garlic, cabbage, salt and red pepper flakes.

Then you cook the cannellini beans in chicken broth and water (with a parmesan rind thrown in) for an hour, add the vegetables back in, and when it's done, add fresh basil. I didn't want to spend the $3 for fresh basil and contemplated using dried. I'm really glad I got the fresh. It adds a really nice finish to the soup.

I started some Christmas cookie baking today as well. 107 cookies and I haven't eaten one yet. :-) A batch of the Neiman Marcus recipe using a couple different kinds of m&ms and chocolate chips. I make them all the time. Know the recipe by heart. It's a good one. Then I made Candy Cane Blossoms. They're colorful. Rolled in red sugar. And tasty, if you like peppermint kisses.

Candy Cane Blossoms
Ingredients:
48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Candy Cane Mint Candies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
Red or green sugar crystals, granulated sugar or powdered sugar

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Remove wrappers from candies.

2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternately with milk to butter mixture, beating until well blended.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in red sugar, granulated sugar, powdered sugar or a combination of any of the sugars. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cookie is set. Remove from oven; cool 2 to 3 minutes. Press a candy piece into center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

Thank you Shaun and Sue Palmer for getting the bidding going on the holiday cookie auction on the RTC website. :-)

I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of all the sales flyers in the paper and emails in my inbox advertising "biggest sale of the year", "lowest prices of the season", 2-day only sale, 20% off everything/free shipping, ... yadda, yadda, yadda. I can't even make myself wade through them any more. Bah humbug!!

I emailed the New York City marathon folks. It looks like I could run it next year on (marathon) time. I'll have to decide in February or whenever the registration time is. Chicago would be a fun one to run sometime too. I've never run it and grew up in the suburbs. So many marathons ... so little time.

RTC members celebrating birthdays in December include: Dick Allen, Dale Amy, Betsy Baartman, Tom Barrett (milestone), Dick Bhend, Marie Boyd (milestone), Paul Christian (milestone), Steve DeBoer, Dan Diedrich, Dave Edwards, Duane Finn, Margo Fitzgerald, Tammy Friedrich, Steve Gastfield, Lisa Glynn, Greg Hagen, Shaun Hamburgen, Marilee Hardyman, Lisa Heins, Tom Jacobson, Dawn Johnson, Jodi Kaseno, Chris Kujath, Jim Li (milestone), Jim Martinson, Mario Minelli, Jay Mitchell, Katherine Moore, Sharon Mulvagh, Carole Pasternak (milestone), Julie Reiland, Sabrena Resman, Noah Retka, Drew Sciacca, Kevin Torgerson, Bruce Walk, Melissa Walk (they're spouses and they have the same birthday ... 2 years apart!), Terry Wangen. Gosh, that's a lot for one month. Nevertheless, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Off-Season Striders will run at Dunn Bros. / Elton Hills on Saturday at 7:30 for 7-10 miles, including the lovely UPHILL to Century High School. Gotta love them hills!!

Well, I guess I'll head outside for yet another go-round with my trusty shovel. Stay warm. Stay safe. Stay home. :-)

Toodles.

Blizzard!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:07:00 +0000

Sounds like we're in for a good one. I'm soooo disappointed at the timing. I was hoping to go up to the Holiday Lights run with the St. Cloud River Runners on Wednesday evening, but it looks like Mother Nature will put the kabash on that. I had my Santa hat ready and everything.

My book club meets Wednesday evening. Maybe I'll be able to make it, if it's not cancelled, even though I'm not prepared to discuss the book (Quilter's Apprentice). I read it several years ago, but couldn't tell you the first thing about it.

So ... yesterday was Julie Murray's birthday celebration (actual day is later in the week).

Her sister Jean prepared a wonderful spread for the occasion. Delish!!

Later in the afternoon I went to the Y to lift and swim. No running. My legs needed a rest day after Saturday. Sunday afternoon it was all 20-something guys lifting. No (other) middle-aged women anywhere in sight. ;-0

I was just whipped yesterday. Sleepy, sleepy all day long. I actually laid down on the couch for a couple hours in the evening. Watched a miserable Vikings performance until I just couldn't watch any more, at which time I went to bed. This morning brought a run. I had a bunch of stuff to be delivered around town and had planned to do it via car this afternoon. But decided that I might as well do it on foot. I wanted to run (slow) and could save a little gas. So ... I loaded up (a backpack and a shopping bag) and headed out. First stop was the Y with 3 dozen cookies. Next stop, my friend Mary's house with her cake plate (8th Ave/15th St NE). Next stop, Mike Schmitt's house (roughly HyVee north) with some track club mail. (Found 40 cents on the street a short time later!) Next stop, my brother's house (roughly Children's World NW area) with a bag of misc stuff (baby wipes they left here, an advent calendar, glow-in-the-dark stars, a Goldfish cracker container :-). Mark Wernstrom drove by me on the way and honked. :-) Then ... home. 13.12 miles. My legs actually felt good. Tomorrow I'll be back in the pool.

At noon, it was the final cookie drop for 2009 at the Y. In attendance: K.C., Ross, Jamie, Jim.

Jamie said he's "in" for cookies of the month next year. There's still one opening if someone else wants in. ;-) The bidding opened today for 6 dozen holiday cookies. To bid, just post on the RTC website Or email me if you don't have access and I'll place your bid. After I left the Y, I picked up my niece Kaleigh and we headed over to see the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train.

Saw several people I knew, including "whales" (Tom Landherr--in the yellow cap in the photo above, to my left), Gary Larson and Rochester Half Marathon 2010 Race Director herself -- Jen Woodford, who works at Channel One. The holiday train was a fund-and-food raiser for the food shelf.

The train was delayed, so Kaleigh and I walked over to HyVee. She loves HyVee (I think she takes after her auntie "Nay Nay"). They have kid-sized shopping carts. We got her a free snowman cookie at the bakery.

She seemed to enjoy every last crumb. :-) We didn't stay too long. The lights weren't very visible in the daylight and Kaleigh wasn't too into it. But we had a fun little outing. A nice crowd showed up.

Santa made an appearance too.

Dinner tonight was "beets and sweets" and some leftover brown rice. Love those root vegetables.

(BTW: If you mouseover these photos and your cursor changes to a hand, you can click on it for a larger version of the photo.)

I stopped at Good Food Store and got some cannellini beans for Minestrone soup tomorrow. A new Cook's Illustrated recipe. It sounds like it'll be a perfect day for soup. Maybe I'll make some bread, too. Tomorrow evening is the monthly social gathering at Beetles at 6 pm. The weather could put the kabash on that, too. Don't risk life or limb to get there ... Larry Pederson said he'll be there (weather permitting, I imagine) with his laptop to process any membership renewals (or new members!). Tom O'Leary/Team R.E.D. is doing a track workout at the indoor track at the University Center at 5:30 PM should anyone care to join them.

I'm slowly getting the Christmas decorating done. Carried the tree up from the basement today, but haven't decorated it yet. There's still time.

Quote for the day: "You can either complain that rose bushes have thorns-or rejoice that thorn bushes have roses."

Stay warm. DRIVE CAREFULLY.

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:17:00 +0000

Mornin'. I'm dragging today. I need more sleep. Let's back up ...

Friday. I met my friends Jeanne and Mary for lunch. It was what I think is now my last birthday celebration. :-) I've been celebrating for almost 3 weeks now! Anyway, we met at TGI Friday's. Once again, I got photos of the food, but not one of us. (I actually got one of Jeanne but it wasn't very flattering--her mouth was wide open--so she told me not to post that one.) I had a pecan-crusted chicken salad:

Jeanne had some kind of chicken sandwich ...

And Mary had something like "Wonton Salad" or something close.

When we get together for birthdays, one of us always makes a cake (or pie). This time, it was Mary's turn. She used her brand new Oreo-style cake pans and made me a very fun cake that looks just like a giant sandwich cookie.

We always have fun when we get together, and Friday was no exception. Soon enough, it was time for me to leave to take a shift at Running Room. Business was fairly steady. When there wasn't a customer in the store, I spent the time getting the store in ship-shape--hangers all hanging like a ?, sizes hanging S-XL front to back, all like items hanging together, "bottoms" hung correctly on hangers, etc.

Looking for a stocking stuffer this holiday? How about stockings?

Or nutrition?

Or now that the weather has turned seasonably wintry, some nice warm mittens?

(The ones on the bottom are the kind I wore yesterday during my long run. It was 11 degrees when I left the house at 5:35 AM. My hands actually got a little bit sweaty for a couple of miles. They really are "warmest" as the hanger indicates.)

There's still time to register for the Resolution Run 5K on January 1. Registration is online only. Runners get this bright, warm jacket for registering. Monies go to the Y Strong Kids campaign.

After my shift, it was time to start working on post-run carbs for Saturday morning. First on the agenda was a cinnamon streusel coffee cake.

Then peanut butter cookies for Tom O'Leary for his correct answers for the "Where Is It?" contest in RTC News. (BTW: Lana Lappi also guessed correctly yesterday and she too will win cookies! Her choice: M&M.) Tom's choice was Peanut Butter Cookies.

As already mentioned, Saturday morning brought the coolest running temps we've had in quite a while. But I bundled up (hat, neck gaiter, Under Armor top, thermal top, heavy jacket, "warmest" mittens, long johns, pants and crew socks) and I was good to go. Dressed just right, if not a bit warm on my torso. I put in 11 miles beginning at 5:45 AM before returning to Dunn Bros to meet the others at 7:30.

We ran the same route we ran on Thanksgiving--around the Baihly hill, up to the Cascade Lake trail, back to Dunn Bros. which is 7 miles. Some added another 3 miles by going out to Bamber Valley school and back in on 16th St SW. I tanked somewhere around 15 miles. Totally out of gas. I couldn't get my package of Sport Beans open, with or without mittens. My water bottle was frozen closed. I was fading fast. I finally came upon Jean, Laura, Kristin, Tom, Roger, ... at 2nd St SW and Roger graciously opened my Sport Beans for me (it wasn't trivial--thank goodness they have revamped their packaging a bit since I purchased this pack). So the beans got me back to Dunn Bros. I got the coffee cake out of the car and inside, then went back out, running toward where I knew Randy, Dan, Trevor and Marilee would be coming from. When I met them I turned around and went back to socialize.

I had 19.09 miles in at that point. After induling in some coffee cake and water, I felt much better. So when I got home I ran a few more (there was no way I was not getting to at least 20 miles!) until I at last had 23.02. I momentarily contemplated running a few more, but thought, Why? So I quit. Took me 3:28.

Then it was off to Glynner's Pub for the last Tri-Rochester social outing for 2009 as well as club elections.

Look for election results later in the week on the TriRochester website. Good luck to all those running for a position, and thank you for being willing to serve.

Late afternoon brought me a short nap. I was sleepy and had a solo drive to Winona for a 7:00 PM Handel's Messiah Sing-In and I knew I would be late getting home. The concert was very enjoyable.

RTC member Dr. Suzanne Draayer (long maroon gown) was a soprano soloist. Gues conductor for some of the number was Weston Noble, a fixture at Luther College for 57 years. He directed the Nordic Choir from 1948 to 2005. I really enjoyed singing some of the choruses from Messiah after so many years.

(Thank you Jeanne for the Lorie Line piano music!)

So that was yesterday. Today will be a bit slower. Open House birthday party, some kind of workout (most likely swim, and/or possibly a walk), Viking vs. Cardinals at 5:20 PM, baking the last installment of "Cookies of the Month" for 2009, a few errands to run (I try to avoid shopping on the weekends in December, but I can't avoid it today), ...

BTW: Tomorrow begins the online auction for 6 dozen homemade Holiday Cookies on the RTC website. I provide the cookies. $ go towards Fetzer 20K prize money. Bid high. Bid often.

Well, I better get ready for 8:00 church.

Quote for the day: "“No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.” -- Helen Keller

Toodles!!

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:14:00 +0000

Yesterday

When I looked out the window and saw fresh snow, heard the temp (13) and the wind chill, I decided to stay inside and get on the Stairmaster instead. I know, I'm a whimp. The weather is only going to get worse.

This is what it looked like on the way to work. Anyway, I put in 2 hours at level 16 on the Stairmaster, which left me absolutely DRIPPING wet. A good workout. And I got through a couple magazines. The pile has been growing of late. We got 1.4" according to the radio, so when I got home I shoveled the walks and driveway.

Then I puttered around the house and in the process finally found the mantel scarf I'd been looking for, so now I can finally get around to getting the rest of the Christmas decorations up. When I find the time. Then it was off to Chester's for dinner with my friend Jeanne. I had the BBQ salmon with mashed potatoes and root vegetables.

Jeanne had the stuffed chicken.

We both enjoyed our meals. Then it was off to the Lorie Line concert, which we've done together for more than 10 years. "Mr. Lorie Line", actually his name is Tim Line, was out in the foyer and we started chatting and he was more than happy to have his photo taken with us. He said we could take photos during the show as well, which is nice as you're not always allowed to do that.

We noticed that this year's show was scaled back. First off, she didn't have the usual bell for sale. And there were no glossy, full-color programs. (Actually, there were no programs.) And only 5 musicians. And some of the costuming we'd seen before (the white fur coat with all the "tails" and the minstrel costumes the guys wore). But we still enjoyed the show. She's a very good entertainer. Back was the part of the show where she took song requests from the audience and then sat down and played them. That always blows me away.

There's a part of the show where kids are invited up on stage and they get in costume for the Twelve Days of Christmas. They're so cute, especially the littlest ones.

Today

I heard on the radio that we'd gotten a little more snow and the roads were still slippery. Being it was 10 degrees again with a below zero wind chill, I decided to exercise inside again. I WILL get over this (and will run outside tomorrow morning early), but I'm a little bit puck-shy after having fallen a couple of weeks ago, in the daylight, with no snow on the running surface. I really don't want to go down again so soon. I just lost my final scab on my knee this morning. So I drove down to the Y and lifted (chatted with Lisa and Mark), then swam for an hour (shared a lane with Wendy Nevala for a while, so we chatted for a bit) and then got on the Stairmaster at home for another hour. Shortly, it's off to T.G.I. Friday's for lunch (a late birthday lunch) with Jeanne and Mary. From there I'll go work at Running Room until 5:30. Stop by and say hi!! This evening I'll make coffee cake (or something) for tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow

Off-Season Striders (anyone/everyone welcome to join us) will run at 7:30 at Dunn Bros. South in Barclay Square/TJMaxx plaza. The route I have in mind is the one we ran on Thanksgiving Day. I think it was 7'ish. Add or subtract as you wish. At 1:00, it's the TriRochester annual meeting/last social gathering of the year at Glynner's Pub. 7:00 PM will bring the Messiah Sing-In in Winona, which I really look forward to. I have to dig out my Messiah music ...

Misc.

Half off Vacation Sports entry fees through December (or until slots fill) More info online. Running/multi-sport, etc.

Here's another recipe from my friend Kathryn that she says was delicious as part of their Thanksgiving dinner.

AUNT CARLA'S PUMPKIN CORNBREAD
It is impossible to just have one piece. Be sure to make it the night before so you can have some with your Thanksgiving morning coffee.

Ingredients
2 cups cornmeal
2 cups white flour
1 cup sugar
2 tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 1/4 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup milk

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. On the first speed of a hand or standing mixer, beat together the eggs, oil, pumpkin puree, and milk.
4. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry in three batches with a rubber spatula. The batter will be smooth, and is more fluffy than liquidy.
5. Pour the batter into a 9 by13 baking pan (or two loaf pans), and place in the middle rack of the oven.
6. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick stuck in the middle of the cornbread comes out dry.
7. Let the cornbread cool for ten minutes, and then cut into pieces and serve.

"The only way to have a friend is to be one." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Until tomorrow, then.

Me 'n Mr. Lorie Line

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:53:00 +0000

(I had high-heeled boots on!) More tomorrow. :-)

Hump Day

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:48:00 +0000

That's how Kathryn greeted me at the office in my morning to-do list email this morning, so I thought I'd use it here, too. Happy Hump Day! Now the weekend is getting closer since we're over the hump.

Let's start with all things cookies, shall we?

1) Happy Birthday, Rick Hlebain!! He got his birthday cookies on Friday in St. Cloud. :-)

2) My holiday bonbon cookie recipe is in the St. Cloud Times in today's edition. So that was kind of fun. Here's a photo of my rendition of the recipe:

3) Update on the cookie exchange: I have 18 cookie bakers/exchangers coming to my house on Dec. 20th. So far. Let's hope there's even more!! It will be great fun, I'm sure. Always has been.

4) I'm going to bake cut-out cookies with my niece Kaleigh sometime before Christmas. I think she'll have LOTS of fun with my bottles of sprinkles (I have more than this).

5) Got the first delivery of a Christmas card and cookies from a neighbor this evening. I already feel behind. Last year I don't remember if I ever did get cards done ... I did get cookies baked and delivered at the 11th hour, though.

6) George Huston had a great idea for my blog. On the way to Pine Island this evening (more on that in a sec) he asked if I knew how many cookies I baked in a year. Nope. No idea. But it's a lot. So at first he suggested a "cookie counter" on my blog (and I suggested a "cookie calorie counter" but that might be too depressing!) which I thought sounded like great fun. Then he turned his suggestion into a "cookie count contest" where I take guesses for the number of cookies I will have baked by the end of 2010 and the closest guess gets ... you guessed it. A batch of cookies! What d'ya think?? Lemme know ...

7) There are a couple of openings in the "cookies of the month" club for 2010. In previous years I'd auctioned off Cookies of the Month for a Year, first on the Y online auction, and then when that folded, the RTC website (as prize $ for the Fetzer 20K). But it looks like most everyone is re-upping for 2010 so I'm going to nix the auction and just re-up everyone, since they've won the bid every year anyway. Shaun Palmer gets a whole batch each month, and the others (a group) split a batch each month (and therefore, split the cost). If anyone is intersted in 3-4 large homemade cookies each month from yours truly, email me.

8) As I've done the last several years, I will be auctioning off 6 Dozen Holiday Cookies (it's usually more than that when all is said and done) on the RTC Website on Monday, 12/7 to the highest bidder. The funds will also be Fetzer 20K prize money. Cookies to be delivered Christmas week. Bid high. Bid often.

Whew ... that's a LOT of cookie news!! Time to move on ...

I went to dinner at the Rainbow Cafe in Pine Island

for dinner tonight with Jean and George. What a wonderful, relaxing evening. I can't believe I didn't snap a photo of the two of them. :-( I had a salad and broiled cod ...

Jean had the salmon (it was fantastic) ...

And George had the scallops.

We shared an order of maple bread pudding for dessert. It was delicious.

I'm afraid I waited too long to take the picture!! Thank you again Jean and George for a wonderful evening!!

From Mary Wernstrom: Wehrenberg Theatres Cans Film Festival Saturday, December 5 *All Movies before 5:00 p.m.* Bring in 5 cans of food (per person) to SEE A MOVIE FREE! Bring an additional 10 cans (15 total) per person and receive a FREE PASS FOR ANOTHER DAY! (Make sure items are NOT expired)

Off-Season Striders will run from Dunn Bros. South (TJMaxx Plaza) on Saturday morning at 7:30. I'll be there, of course, with treats for one and all. I'm thinking cinnamon streusel coffee cake this week ...

Morning workout: 13.1 miles (8.5 with Lisa and Bruce). It's now tights weather, after being able to wear shorts for many, many mornings. But it was a very pleasant run.

Here's a pumpkin pie that Kathryn says is a killer (and I have to agree, it sounds wonderful). It's from her mom and they enjoyed it on Thanksgiving day:

PERFECT PUMPKIN PIE

1 can (15 0z) pumpkin
1 can Eagle brand evaportated milk
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 unbaked 9" inch pie shell

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk pumpkin, milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into shell. Bake 15 min. Reduce oven temp to 350 degrees, bake an additional 35 to 40 minutes, or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean.

Streusel topping. Combine 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and 1/2 cup flour in medium bowl. Cut in 1/4 cup cold butter until mix resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/4 chopped nuts. After pie has baked for 30 minutes at 350, sprinkle evenly over pie and bake an additional 10 minutes.

I got 5 hours sleep last night. Time to get to bed.

Quote for the day: "I get by with a little help from my friends. " ~John Lennon

Toodles.

This Is It

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:22:00 +0000

I saw the Michael Jackson movie This Is It this evening with a bunch of other gals. Thoroughly enjoyed it. What a talent he was--producer, choreographer, showman, singer and most of all dancer. That man could really dance. The movie was basically video of the rehearsals for what would have been a sold-out 50-city concert tour. After seeing the movie, seeing one of those shows would have been worth every penny. And it really makes me wish I could dance!!

Starting at the beginning of my day, my morning workout was 4 mile run/lift/45 minute swim. Noon workout: 5.15 mile run with the Y guys ...

Gary, K.C., Jim and Jamie. What a lovely day, especially for December 1. Look at the grass--it's still green and not snow-covered. We couldn't ask for anything more than that.

This afternoon I got the RTC News delivered to the bulk mail facility. That would be the last time for that chore, on my watch anyway. So look for it in your mailboxes in the next couple of days. It's been posted on the RTC website already. Tom O'Leary already won the Where Is It? contest. He's requested Peanut Butter Cookies so that he can share them with Paul Melby (who doesn't like chocolate!).

Then it was over to my friends' house with a meal: wild rice soup, roasted asparagus, bread and apple/pear/cheddar salad with pecans. Then off to BB's Pizzeria with Amy, Rachel, Gina, Donna, Diane and Jean.

I hadn't been there before. I have to say the pizza was pretty good. This is a half BBQ Chicken/half BB's choice (or something like that--sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, etc.) I had the BBQ Chicken which was very good. It was also free popcorn Tuesday at the movie.

I brought mine home.

Since my alarm will be going off in roughly 6 hours, I think I'll get to bed (after washing the dishes).

Good night!

Mostly It's Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:51:00 +0000

Can't think of anything noteworthy with which to begin this post, so I'll just post.

Nice morning run today. 11.01 miles. Ran into my physical therapist Toni (she treated me for my hip/glute issue) between the RAC and highway 52 so we chatted for a minute. She said she still reads my blog occasionally so that was nice.

Yet another thing I forgot to mention about Saturday's run. I stopped to use the facilities, minus the facilities part. :-) I ducked under a railing to get off the beaten path and was immediately full of burrs. On my pants, gloves and worst of all--my hair. My ineptitude made us late getting back for the 7:00 runners at Pam & Daryl's. Drat!! But I guess worse thing could happen ...

Thank you John, Larry and Jean for helping to assemble the last hard-copy issue of RTC News this evening. We got done in an hour and a half. Really appreciate their help. Without them it would have taken me at least 6 hours. I just don't have that kind of time (one reason we're going to the electronic version).

There were M&M cookies for them. And there will be cookies for whoever shows up at the Y at noon tomorrow, whether you're running or not.

There will also be cookies for dessert tomorrow for a couple of my friends. I'm bringing them dinner. She was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of weeks ago. It's the least I can do. I'm bringing wild rice soup, asparagus, salad and bread. Then it's off to BBs pizzeria for supper and then to the Michael Jackson movie with Jean, Amy and some others. Maybe I'll bring cookies to that, too. :-) "Changing the world, one cookie at a time" is my motto.

This ...

is one day's worth of junk mail. Ri.Dic.U.Lous. Such a waste of paper and ink. Shop someplace one and I think you're forever on their mailing list.

Busy week coming up. You already know my Tuesday. I have to make a pan of bars for church on Wednesday then it's going to be dinner at the Rainbow Cafe in Pine Island with Jean and George. Thursday, my dad's birthday, it's the Lorie Line concert with Jeanne, an annual event for us for I don't know how many years. For sure 10+. Then Friday it's lunch with Mary and Jeanne. Saturday, Tri-Rochester is getting together at Glynner's Pub at 1:00 and then there's a Messiah Sing-In at WSU at 7 pm. Sunday at 2 pm Matt has a holiday band concert and I have a birthday get-together late morning. Then ... it's next week already.

Today I had to go to the courthouse for work. Good thing: there was 38 minutes left on my meter so I didn't have to plug it. :-) Bad thing: on the way home a squirrel ran in front of the car. Well, usually they stop quick, turn around and head the opposite way. Well, in the other lane was another car so the squirrel stopped again and ran back in front of me. I heard a little clunk under the car and I felt just sick. I quick looked in my rear view mirror and somehow the little fella was still running. I felt much better.

Didn't get much done on the Christmas decorating today. But there will be another day. I do have a quilt hung in the upstairs hallway. It's one I made several years ago.

Out of blogworthy info (actually, most of this isn't that blogworthy, but it fills the page I guess).

Quote for the day: "“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.”

Go. Be. Do.

10-1

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:20:00 +0000

36-10. 392. 3. 537. 31. 169.

Whoo hoo!! The Vikes are now 10 and 1. Today's score against the Chicago Bears: 36-10. (I'm from Chicago but have pretty much always been a Vikings fan). Favre threw for 392 yards and 3 TDs. The offense netted 537 yards and 31 first downs. The defense allowed only 169 net yards. Great stats!! :-)

My morning (into afternoon) workout: run to the Y, lift (for whatever reason, lifting was easy today), swim for an hour (including about 10 minutes of chatting with Ed Younk), then ran home. Legs felt good. I almost went out for more miles but decided to wait until tomorrow morning instead. Ed asked how my swimming is going: I swear I'm getting slower every time I get in the pool. Too many things people have told me to do: swim "long", swim "down", bilateral breathing, legs together, elbows high. I just get overwhelmed. Once in a very short while, I'll have about 10 meters where I feel like I have everything together and am moving fairly quickly, but it soon passes ...

A couple instances of it being a small world from yesterday in St. Cloud:

Kari Justin introduced herself at the breakfast run. She was there visiting in-laws and she reads this blog. :-) I know I'm repeating the story, but wanted to include her photo and name.

Gary K. said that his girlfriend's brother is from Rochester and Gary asked him if knew a Renee Saxman. Well, small world. He does indeed! It's Lyle from the Y!! (And IBM, but I know him from the Y). He also pours wine for Andy's Liquor and have seen him there once. It's a small world after all. ... it's a small world after all, ... I'm finding it hard to be anonymous.

Tomorrow (Monday) at the Y; 4:30 to 5:30 there will be a member of the Harlem Globetrotters there doing something or other with the kids. It's free and open to the public.

Also tomorrow, the FINAL RTC News assembly line (short one this time) at my house (2026 Kal Lane) at 6:30 PM. Cookies for one and all. Please come! We should be done in less than an hour with this one.

I've been reading snippets from the manual for my new phone. There's NO WAY I'm going to remember all this stuff. It's amazing what that little thing can do. It's pretty fun, actually. LG enV3.

You have until the end of December to nominate someone for an RRCA (Road Runners Club of America) award. Nominations are done online and it just takes a second. Awards include: Spirit of the RRCA, Hall of Fame, Outstanding Club President, Road Runners of the Year (Open and Masters), Journalism (newsletter and writer), Outstanding Volunteer, Outstanding State Rep, Outstanding Youth Director, Outstanding Beginning Running Program, Road Race of the Year, Website. Please consider submitting a nomination (or two).

The Christmas decorating seems to be a slow go this year. I'm purging the house of more "stuff" in the process. But I'm making a little progress. I put up my little Norwegian tree:

and my Candle in the Window version of a log cabin quilt.

Hopefully I'll finish tomorrow. Until tomorrow, then ...

20.6

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:04:00 +0000

I got 20.6 miles in this morning and had a wonderful time doing it. It was in the company of fellow St. Cloud River Runners, who'd gathered at Pam & Daryl's lovely home for a breakfast run. 3.7 miles of the run was a "predict your time" run with the 3 getting the closest to their predicted times getting a prize. (That's me running with Molly below. I think it's the only time Molly has run slow enough to be in the same zip code as me. :-)

It was a beautiful morning for a run. We followed the run with lots of delicious food and lots of chatter. :-) Thank you Pam & Daryl for your hospitality and for opening your lovely home to us.

Get this--there was a gal from Ostrander (near LeRoy) up in St. Cloud visiting her in-laws and she joined us as well and introduced herself to me. She's one of my "bleaders" (blog readers). Small world!

On the way home from St. Cloud, I drive past the Albertville Outlet Mall. I had a 40% anything in the store coupon for Tommy Hilfiger. But as I drove by, I looked at the parking lot. Completely packed. Not at all interested in fighting the crowds, so I drove on home.

Now I'll back up to last night. I went with a few of the River Runners to Ciatti's for supper.

We had a very nice dinner ... (I had some kind of angel hair pasta/chicken combination)

Afterwards, it was off to the theater for the production RENT. The cast did a great job.

Now I'll back up even farther, to Friday morning. I wasn't interested in any Black Friday shopping excursions, but decided to hit the mall for a different reason. I noticed when I got home on Wednesday that I had a 15% off coupon for JCPenney sitting on the counter. Drat! I should have used it on Matt's suit purchase. I'd thought twice about going to the mall Friday morning as I expected LOTS of people there, but I went anyway to get a price adjustment. I ran there, actually, on my way to the Y. After the price adjustment, and the adjustment for the items being "doorbusters", I saved $45. TOTALLY worth running down there. Then I stood in line in the mall for a free $10 mall gift card and 1 yr. subscription to Martha Stewart Living for having "spent" $100 by noon. I was getting ready to give as the wait ended up being 40 minutes, but the closer I got to the front the less inclined I was to leave. When I left I decided to bag the swim at the Y and went home and made cookies for the River Runners instead. :-)

I found out that Mannheim Steamroller is coming to Rochester on December 19. Matt and I will go. I love their music. A lot of it is electronic, but they use some strings too. I've seen them once before and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Matt's acapella singing group Hear and Now won a talent show in WI a couple of weeks ago. Here's Matt with their "winnings" ($100):

And here's their group with some of the other talent from the show. They are ADORABLE. (All of them. :-)

Starting Tuesday, Dec 1 thru Dec 31, registration for the Med-City Marathon (May 30, 2010) is $30. A bargain. Info at http://www.medcitymarathon.com/

Tomorrow, I'll start getting out the Christmas decorations for the house. I'll post some photos. I really enjoy decorating for Christmas.

Well, it's been a full day. I think I'll call it a day.

Quote for the day: “To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.”

Good night.

Giving Thanks

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 03:58:00 +0000

My Thanks Giving (intentionally spelled that way) started in a wonderful way--with good friends. 14 of us gathered at Dunn Bros. South for a run through SW Rochester. (One of us didn't want a photo taken. :-) Nice sized group for a last-minute run. I was happy.

For the first time in a while, we had a wind chill. Marilee said she'd heard it was 30 degrees with a 17 degree wind chill. Kinda felt like it. We went around the Baihly Hill clockwise and when we got to 2nd St/County 22 (Randy and Jim) ...

(and Tom ...)

we got on the Cascade Trail which we took east to 52, then headed south back to Dunn Bros. It was about 7 miles. I went back a couple of times to make sure everyone made the turns (I hadn't gone out early to mark the trail) and then to catch up, ended up doing about 3 fast 1/4 or 1/2 miles. I couldn't get under 6:02 pace. :-( I've lost some speed. I'd made scones early this morning. Cherry Almond and Peaches 'n Cream with Pecans.

So when we got back, we enjoyed some food and fellowship. Randy and Tom.

Jim.

Randy, Dave, Wayne, Tom, Tom, Jim.

Tom, Dan, Tom, Marilee, Randy, Jim.

Tom, Dan, Trevor, Tom, Marilee.

Bloggable from Randy: he heard about some websites on CNN that do price comparisons and pricing trends ... dealio.com, pricegrabber.com and pricespider.com

I am SO very thankful for my friends. Not just today, but every day. Then it was home where I did 2 more miles to match what Randy, Dan, Trevor and Marilee ran. :-) Then a bowl of oatmeal to tide me over until dinner. I decided to make the Spiced Pumpkin Biscuits after all.

I like to keep the kitchen under control when I'm making a big meal. Dirty dishes everywhere make me crazy, so I like to keep washing them as I go. One of my many eccentricities I guess. So this is kinda what it looked like about 10 minutes before we ate.

I was so happy to have Eric home, if only for a few hours. We even snuck in a haircut while he was here. :-)On the menu, many of the things that were in millions of homes across the U.S.: Mashed potatoes (Yukon Golds from the garden--they weren't loaded with butter, despite how they look) ...

Gravy ...

Rolls (pumpkin biscuits, crusty Italian rolls, Honey Whole Wheat from Great Harvest) ...

Green Beans Amandine (Sorry, I just can't do the Green Bean Casserole thing with Cream of Mushroom Soup and French Fried Onion Rings ... takes the beans too far from their natural state for my taste) ...

Sweet Potatoes with a streusel topping ...

Stuffing ...

"Orange Fluff" (not health food, but Kaleigh loves it, and I did use Lite Cool Whip) ...

Cranberries ...

Turkey (my last one was dry, this one was wonderfully moist. I cooked them both in my roaster oven, but I cooked this one in a bag. It was delicious) ...

Andrew, my nephew, enjoyed the "fluff" as much as his sister did. We asked her what her favorite was, and she said "the fluff". Most of it went home with them. :-)

I guess my camera was on hiatus during dinner. I didn't get any photos other than Andrew. After having been on my feet for literally 8 hours, it felt so good to sit down. After dinner, Kaleigh helped Matt play the clarinet.

Andrew and Kaleigh went to see Santa yesterday. Andrew wasn't very happy about the situation in which he found himself.

Late afternoon I started baking for the trip up to St. Cloud. First up, pumpkin bread with chocolate chips and walnuts (one loaf will stay here, which will make Matt very happy!), then a cinnamon streusel coffee cake and some birthday oatmeal raisin cookies for Rick Hlebain. :-) I ran out of eggs, so I literally ran down to Kwik Trip to get a dozen. It was a lovely evening. I was very happy to be outside in the fresh air after being in the kitchen so long. I was happy even running uphill (long hill on Fox Valley Dr SW), into the wind carrying a dozen eggs. By the time all was said and done, I'd run 13.35 miles today. Enjoyed every mile.

Sewed a button on Matt's tux, puttered around the house a bit, looked at a few ads in the 4+ pound Post-Bulletin (I'm glad I don't have to deliver those things; I can't get into the black Friday thing--not going out) and now I'm blogging. It was a good day. I have much to be thankful for. Hope you had a wonderful Thanks Giving.

As ever,

Ramblin' Renee

Feels Like Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 04:32:00 +0000

Don't have to work tomorrow. Going to run with friends in the morning. Has to be Friday ... but it's not. Oh, well. It'll just have to feel like two Fridays this week.

Busy day. Worked this morning, then ran to Target (not literally ... still had a skirt on!) for a few last minute items, picked up the newsletter at the printer, stopped at Rochester Cycling & Fitness (they still have the two bikes I was looking at), picked up Matt's tux at the dry cleaner, stopped at Rochester Produce, went home for lunch and got Matt and went to Verizon where we both got new phones (LG V3 or something like that--I got maroon, Matt got blue), ...

(It's MUCH more convenient for texting and has a nice big screen inside, which doesn't show up very well in the photo, and has a 3 megapixel camera) ... dropped some stuff off at our church's thrift store (still decluttering and cleaning cabinets, etc.--today I did my "Tupperware cabinet"), took Matt to the mall to get a new suit, shirt and a couple of ties, made supper (chicken enchiladas, brown rice), made pumpkin pie ...

... made apple pie (I use mostly brown sugar in the filling--nice rich taste; in an effort to reduce the calorie content, I decided to make a crumb topping with very little butter in it ... it got a little too brown) ...

...mixed up the stuffing (I like to add Craising and pecans) ...

... made the "orange fluff" (it's one of those traditions--not exactly health food, but the kids, young and old, love it--small pkg jello, small pkg tapioca pudding, 2 c. water--boil 1 min--cool--stir in 1 Lite Cool Whip and 2 drained cans mandarin oranges--chill), washed dishes twice ...

... cleaned the main floor bathroom, washed the kitchen floor. I thought about starting the sweet potatoes, but I have to save SOMETHING for tomorrw. (Actually there will also be turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans amandine, 2 kinds of rolls and if I'm REALLY feeling ambitious, spiced pumpkin biscuits from Cooking Light. They're excellent. I think they'd be really good with the little bit of cranberry butter with port that I have left.) And now, here I sit. Blogging. And thankful. :-)

I set up the wind trainer in the basement today so that I have another (non-impact) way to burn off some calories. :-)

Congrats to Tom O'Leary who has already correctly identified the "Where Is It?" locations in the December RTC News, which has been posted on the website.

Well, I'd best get to bed. I have to get up early to make scones for an unknown number of runners at Dunn Bros. South at 7 AM. Sleep is overrated, eh?? There will be 7 that I know of. Hopefully more.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good night. ;-)

Thankful

noreply@blogger.com (Ramblin' Renee) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:18:00 +0000

My week just went topsy-turvey on me. My oldest son called and said he now wants to come home for a turkey dinner on THURSDAY (rather than Sunday as we'd decided earlier). So I had to verify it with the others ... and it's a go. My Thursday just got REALLY busy! But I'll get as much done as I possibly can on Wednesday evening and I'll make it work. :-) I'm thankful that we'll be together on Thanksgiving day. Eric has to be back at work Friday so it will be a short visit for him. Hopefully he'll have more time at home over Christmas. But I'm thankful for the time he will be at home.

I'm thankful that I'll be running with friends on Thursday morning. Our merry band of runners is slowly growing ... all are welcome to join us at 7 AM at Dunn Bros. south (TJMaxx Plaza). I'll have scones for those that show up.

I'm thankful that I'm able to run. I saw someone walking down the street this morning that looked like he might have had cerebral palsy or something similar. There but by the grace of God go I. I ran 11.08 miles this morning. Had a bit more life in my legs today. It was a good run. I ran by a house on County 22/West Circle Drive that had 5 pure white ducks living in the backyard (complete with a little wading pool). Hmmm... There's also still acres of corn to be picked between the RAC and county 22.

I'm thankful for my friends. I'm having a bunch of them over on December 20 for a cookie exchange. What, pray tell, is a cookie exchange?? Well, I used to have one every year but I've kind of gotten out of the habit. But I decided that this year I was going to resurrect the event. Everyone brings a batch of their favorite holiday cookie. They get spread out on the table ...

... and everyone takes their empty container and circles the table taking everyone else's cookies until all the cookies are gone. These photos are from 2006. I think that year I made snowflake cut-outs (pictured on the tree cookie stand above.) They're a favorite and I make them every year.

I'm thankful that the RTC newsletter has been delivered to the printer. It'll be ready for pick-up in the morning. I'm planning the FINAL RTC newsletter assembly party: Monday 11/30 at my house at 6:30 pm (2026 Kal Lane SW). If you've never partaken in the festivities, this is my last hurrah. There will be treats, of course. That goes without saying. :-) Usually takes about an hour. I'm already thankful for those that will (hopefully!) show up!!

I'm going to vent for a minute: I called the TCM office today as I still haven't received my medal for getting 2nd in my age group at the TC10. They were supposed to have been mailed 2 weeks after the race, which was 10/4. Well, my call was not returned. Neither have my 3 emails to the office regarding other questions earlier in the year. I'm very frustrated with the folks connected to that event. Very. OK ... I'm thankful that I got 2nd in my age group.

Jim Mason emailed me a route on the newly paved Silver Creek trail. Here's a link. Looks like something to explore on a future run! I'm thankful when my friends share bloggable news with me.

I got an email from RochesterDealsForLess. There's a deal at Cold Stone Creamery. Here's the deal: ""Package of 3" gift certificates - each for an ice cream container of EVERYBODY'S size (48 oz.) served with 6 mix-ins. Extra mix-ins available for an additional charge. These certificates can be used at all Rochester, MN locations!" $13.50 (value $27.00). Sounds good, but I don't need the calories. Here's the link. I'm thankful for half price deals, even if I don't partake. :-)

I'm certainly thankful for the continued beautiful weather. Today I was in a mood to get lots of stuff done, and I took advantage of the weather for some of it. After work I delivered Mike Schmitt's cookies, got gas and bananas at Kwik Trip, picked up Matt's screen at Ace Hardware, stopped at Great Harvest for bread (which I now need to take OUT of the freezer :-), vacuumed out the cars and wiped down the insides, vacuumed inside, cleaned the lights on the outside of the house, raked the front yard and the biggest project ... cleaning out and organizing the freezers. Meat and bread on one shelf, veggies on another, fruit on another, green beans in the bottom drawer. I am in a much better mood when things are organized. Yesterday I cleaned out and organized my spice cabinet.

It was great to get that done, too. The lazy susan is very old. It was my mom's. It's probably about 40 years old.

I'm so thankful Matt is home. After supper, he practiced scales on the clarinet which he is learning to play. He's a music ed major and has to learn to play all the band instruments (as well as voice and piano).

Supper was a result of cleaning out the upstairs freezer. I had some Whole Foods pizza crusts I wanted to get used up and decided to top then with a "little this, little that" that was in the freezer--spinach, roasted corn and 2 leeks that were in the fridge.

Added some garlic, olive oil on the crust and some freshly ground pepper and the last of a wedge of parm.

Finished off the corn chowder and asparagus soup and I cut up a fresh pineapple. That was supper. I'm thankful that I never have to go hungry.

Friday I'm heading up to St. Cloud to see my River Runner friends. Pam & Daryl are having a breakfast run at their home on Saturday morning and a bunch of us are going to see RENT on Friday and have dinner before the show. I look forward to it and am thankful for all the friends I have up there.

Well, I hope you've detected a theme in this post. Thankful. Thank you for stopping by my little corner of cyberspace. Take a minute this week to pause and reflect on all that you have to be thankful for. My guess is that it'll take more than a minute ...

Signing off,

Ramblin' Renee