Girls Baking Night

I was craving some holiday baking so I set up what hopefully will be a yearly event. A Girls Baking Night with 2 ladies from work. We used to all work on the Land O Lakes Dedicated Team and have all moved on to different positions in CROSSMARK now. Lori offered up her house and Jana and I crashed it!

It was a really fun way to spend a Saturday evening. Here is what we baked... (these are not actual pictures but our stuff really did look this good!)

Chocolate dipped prezels

Pistachio Cream Cookies

Gingerbread Men

Red Velvet Cake Balls

White Rock Marathon Relay

My new years resolution this year was to run a 5k each quarter. I missed the first quarter so when a co-worker asked me if I wanted to participate on a marathon 5-person relay team, I figured that could make up for some of the mileage I missed the first quarter.

There were 4 teams from CROSSMARK and I was on the 4th (and least competitive - thank goodness) team.

Here's me before the race...ready to get going! (If only I knew to be calm because it would be aroud 5 hours until I actually started running - ha!)

I ran the last leg which was 5.2 miles (which is further than I've ever raced before). I caught a cold in SLC so I was still feeling a little under the weather but I am SO HAPPY with my results. My goal was to average a 15 min mile and I beat that. I ran the first mile without stopping (which was all uphill by the way). And then after that I did intervals - run 10 min/walk 5 min. The fun thing about running the last leg is that you get to cross the finish line! Team time : 5:02:46.17

My best guess at my leg: 1 hour 13 min (they didn't time the individual legs...grrr)

Me crossing the finish line closer-up.

Here are some words/thoughts to describe my experience

- Macaroni Grill the night before to "carb" up

- Early morning shuttle ride

- Freezing Cold and waiting with Chad

- Watching the temperature finally hit 40 degrees

- Crowds cheering as I ran/Bands playing on the side of the street

Here is Chad and I after the race. (Ignore the copyright stuff...I didn't want to pay for the official printed pictures and just took them off the website.)

Group lunch at Hooters afterwards - (Here's everyone who went to Hooters)

I was really glad I did it. I was the biggest and the slowest but hey, good for me, right?! I look forward to doing it again next year and doing even better!

Here's me after the race - whew!

(Silly embarassing side note - why didn't ANYONE tell me that the safety pins holding up my number were placed in an inappropriate location? Seriously people...tell a sister to move her number!)

Thanksgiving in SLC

For Thanksgiving we went to SLC, Utah this year. It has been a long time since we went to SLC for Thanksgiving. We went from Monday night (technically due to a bunch of flight delays, we landed early Tuesday morning) to Monday so we had plenty of time to visit everyone we wanted without feeling like we were being rushed from place to place trying to fit everyone in.

Here are some of the fun things we did while we were there!

We hung out with Alex and went to breakfast, played some pool and shuffleboard at Trolley Square, drove through a snowstorm to get to his house, hung out at his house (a bunch), and played a never-ending game of Monopoly on the Wii.

We visited with my mom and took her out to lunch at Crown Burger and then to watch the movie Burlesque (with Julianne Hough)!

We visited with Peter's Grandma at her apartment.

We visited with the Foote family a few times and had yummy dinners, played games, and enjoyed each other's company!

On Thanksgiving we stopped first at Grandma Nelson's house to visit her and to have a slice of pie. :) YUMMY!!! Peter enjoyed her Pumpkin and I enjoyed the chocolate. We then headed to Alex's and helped make Thanksgiving dinner there. We had SO MUCH FOOD! I could have been overstuffed just on the snack food/appetizers that were out before the main meal. After dinner, the adults played games. It was a great Thanksgiving because all of Peter's siblings were there.

I made my traditional rolls. They always turn out amazing (thanks to Michal Thomas for the best recipe EVER!).

Let's eat!

Mariah

Felisha

Payton, Lola, and Jaxton

Uncle Peter and Jaxton

Uncle Peter and Lola

Playing UNO after dinner.

Another fun thing we did was go bowling with Peter's siblings and their kids - - AND GRANDMA! We stopped first at Chuck-a-rama for lunch where I was disappointed in how the memory of Chuck-a-rama was far better than the actual food. Then we went bowling (all except Grandma) and had a fun afternoon.

Here are all the neices and nephews (only one not there was Harleigh)

Top Row: Mariah, Morgan?, Felicia
Second Row: Korben, Madison?, Payton
Front Row: Jaxton and Lola

Here's the siblings with Grandma: Peter, Alex, Gram, Aja and Mark

Before our time was over we got to have lunch at Grandma Nelson's house and visited with Grandma and Grandpa Blank.

It was a fun week where we accomplished everything we wanted inspite of the cold/snowy weather. (Reminder to self - getting a hotel, while more expensive, really is worth it.)

Here's a couple pictures of the snow. We had wanted to go visit the lights on Temple Square but we were certainly not prepared to walk around in weather like this so driving by in the car was as close as we got.

A visitor!

In early November, we had a visitor! My friend Shannon came out from SLC to visit. It was so fun to have her in town. We had a fun-filled weekend. After I picked up her up from the airport, we went to dinner with Peter. I took her to our favorite Mexican restaurant The Blue Goose. yummy!

On Saturday we got up and went to Bikram Yoga together. I have gone about 7 times and am really enjoying it and seeing improvements in my flexibility and strength each time I go. It was her first time and she did a great job. It's a tough class. Don't think that because it's Yoga that it's easy. 90 minutes in a 104 degree room with 40% humidity is tough just by itself. Now add in crazy postures and you are workin'! (We were by the thermostat and Shannon told me later that it actually got up to 110 degrees a few times.)

That afternoon we hit Sam Moon (I KNEW she would love it since it's all about accessories. She was in Heaven!) and then the mall. At that point we were starving so I took her to a real, Texas steakhouse. We were both wiped out at this point and spent the evening hanging out at home and watched a movie.

On Sunday we visited a Korean spa called King Spa and Sauna. It's this huge building filled all these different sauna rooms. There's one that is super hot (170 degrees! - we lasted like 30 seconds), an ice room, an aromatherapy room, gold room, yellow sand room etc. Each room is supposed to offer different health benefits. Plus the place has lots of chairs to hang out in, a restaurant, a movie theater, and different temperature pools. You have to naked to get in the pools (these are separated by gender). I'm not secure enough to do that but apparently it's completely normal in the Korean culture. We hung out there for like 5 hours until we had to leave to get Shannon to the airport. It was absolutely amazing. It was relaxing, calming, refreshing, etc. I LOVED IT! The place is open 24 hours and I can see how people would go and not want to leave. I wish I had a close girlfriend in Dallas because I'd like to go again but don't know how much fun it would be if I was alone. Shannon and I will FOR SURE go back the next time she comes to town.

It was a really fun visit and great to have a "girl's weekend"!

Rattlesnake Ledge Hike

As part of my work travels, I got to spend a week in Seattle in the middle of November. I love going there and spending time with the Riding family!

One of the things I miss in Dallas is the mountains. Without mountains there is no hiking. If you ask someone about "hiking" most likely they'll refer you to a trail that winds through a park or some trees that is more of a walk than a hike. The last time I came up to Seattle in October, I went by myself to Snoqualmie falls and hiked for about 20 mins on Mount Si (pics got accidentally deleted from my camera). So I had it in my mind that this time I wanted to hike again. The weather was never great but the day before I left I set out to meet my goal. I had heard of a hike to "Rattlesnake Ledge" on Rattlesnake Mountain that was 2 miles to the top. I did my research and it seemed like something I could accomplish.

I was a little nervous hiking alone even though it was on a path but I made sure my cell phone had coverage and had my car keys in case I needed a weapon. Totally prepared, right? :) Anyway, it was chilly and sprinkling but most the time I was under tree cover. I didn't see 1 person the whole way up.

I have been training to run part of a marathon relay and had hit a wall with my training and wasn't progressing past this one point. I had been beating myself up about not being able to pass this point and just pushing through. So when I started the hike, I committed to myself that I wasn't going to quit and not make it to the end. The hike ended up being a little more strenuous than I anticipated but I stuck with it and DIDN'T GIVE UP.

Here's me when I got to the ledge.

I felt so good about myself when I finally reached the end and got to enjoy the view. It was a cloudy, cold view (that was probably even more amazing on a clear day) but that didn't diminish my joy. I passed quite a few people on the way down which was interesting. I know that if I had passed people coming down while I was going up that I would have questioned them about how much further I had to go especially when there were points that I felt "How much further is it? I'm worn out! Maybe I should just stop here." Instead, I didn't have anyone else but myself to give me encouragement or tell me that I was almost there. I felt very empowered, healthy, and excited knowing that I pushed myself and didn't give up on myself.

It may be dorky, but you can sense my excitement in the video I took. :)

I really wish I could go hiking in Dallas. I love being outside, nature, and the physical exercise.

A Halloween Cutie

As part of my new client development project at work, I got to go to Albuquerque, NM to do an observation of a technician. I was really excited because it meant I got a chance to see AJ, Heather, and Aaron! I haven't seen them since Aaron was only 2 weeks old. It was a really special visit. I hung out at their house on Halloween so I got to see Aaron in his first Halloween costume. He is getting so big and is soooo cute. I seriously fell head over heels for this sweetie instantly. He has such a sweet personality. He was only shy for about 30 seconds and then after that was willing to come to me, shoot me a big grin, and play with me. He is learning to crawl and pull himself up on things. He fell asleep after dinner so he missed most of the trick-or-treaters.

Here is AJ handing out candy.

Heather woke Aaron up so he could put on his Halloween costume and pose for pictures. He woke up without any fussing and put up with all the posing and pictures. He got to try his first bit of candy!

Heather feeding Aaron his first sucker. As you can see, he liked it and wanted more!

After Heather decided it was enough, she put the sucker away. Well, Aaron noticed that I had a sucker so he smartly decided to come visit me. I exercised some"Aunt-ly Indulgence" and shared mine with him. :) See my naughty grin?

Cute picture of Kallie and Aaron

Here's AJ and Aaron. Aaron was the cutest monkey ever!

Look at that sweet face!

It's hard to reduce down the number of pictures since I found him so adorable! Yummy, even! How can you resist this grin???

I also got to hang out with the Nelson family the night after Halloween. I had a great time visiting with them. I wish we lived closer and could see each other more often.

A last glimpse at cuteness. A video of me making Aaron laugh.

You're welcome for making your day! :)

Good FOOTBALL!

We went to another FC Dallas game. I was able to get really cheap tickets because the game was during the exact same time as one of the World Series games. (Side note - It was fun to have the Texas Rangers go to the World Series for the first time ever! It was baseball fever in Dallas. They played the SF Giants. I have only gone to one Major League Baseball game this year and that was in San Francisco where I went with co-workers to a VERY COLD SF Giants game. Giants ended up winning the World Series. I'm sure my in-person cheering during that one regular game gave them the boost they needed to go all the way.)

I took this picture at the beginning of the game. Some of these empty seats did fill up but it still was a pretty empty game. FC Dallas was playing Real Salt Lake in a playoff game. It was a fun game and FC Dallas won!!! The weather was perfect and we didn't die in the heat like the first game we went to. Hopefully my in-person cheering will help them will the MLS Champtionship this year. I tease some of my co-workers and say that at least one Dallas Football team can actually win (the Cowboys are having a HORRID season).

Catch up post - - Fall Fun!

Okay, I'm really behind on some fun things... so here's a quick view of the things we've done over the last month.

State Fair!

We went to the State Fair. We were better prepared for what it would be like since we went last year. We watched a bird show called "Birds of the World" that was very entertaining. We walked around and looked at people, fair games, food, etc. We watched the night light parade and checked out a bunch of new cars that were on display. We sat in a couple. I couldn't believe the cars were all open to the millions of people at the fair to sit in, touch with the dirty fingers, and let their kids walk on the seats! We aren't just talking like a couple cars but probably over 50!

We were smarter about our food choices this year and I walked away from the fair not feeling like crap. :) We did try the winner of the fried food competition - - fried frito pie. It was okay but didn't set my world on fire. We also had a corn dog, frozen strawberry chill, and ended the night with something sweet - - fried apple pie bites.

CASINO NIGHT!!!

It was CROSSMARK Casino Night again at work to benefit the Children's Miracle Network. If you remember, last year I bid on and won only one thing - a one month membership to Bikram Yoga (side note - I finally went 3 weeks ago and have gone 5 times since. It's hard but a great workout and I think I might be hooked!). And I walked away wanting to bid on more things the next year. Well, I certainly bid more. I bid like CRAZY on tons of stuff. I was feeling very abundant since we are now again a two income household. Here's what I walked away with....Tickets to a ranch outside San Antonio, 4 tickets to the Texas Tornado Hockey Team, 1 Hotel night at Aloft Hotel plus 35.00 dinner coupon, 1 night at Hyatt Regency, Sunday Brunch for 2, 4 tickets to a theater, 8 tickets to another theater, 2 symphony tickets and dinner. I might have gone a little nuts but it benefits the children and will turn into a lot of fun dates for Peter and I. :) I can't believe I have to wait a whole year for the next one! Plus we had a great time gambling with fake money. Again, we stayed at the blackjack tables the whole night. It was also fun because I felt like I knew so many more of my co-workers this year so I had lots of people to introduce Peter to!

FIREFLY 5k

Peter and I did our first 5k together. It was at night!!! The weather was so much better than the Susan G Komen 5k. The temperature was nice, it wasn't humid, and I dig running when it's dark. This was the first time this race was held so there were some minor kinks that hopefully get worked out next year because I'd like to do it again. All the runners were given LED lights (they were on the reflective bands in the picture). You could choose to have the lights solid or flashing. We added some glow stick jewelry as well. We ended up walking most of it because Peter hadn't trained as much as he wanted to. Our time was 55:23. It should actually be a little bit more since we didn't do exactly 5k. Since we were walking, we were at the end of the group (BUT NOT LAST - there were at least 10 people behind us) and didn't have the "crowd" to follow. Because of that we missed a turn on the route and went the wrong way to the finish. This is one of the kinks to work out next year - HAVE THE ROUTE CLEARLY MARKED. I mapped it out on my computer later and figured with the route we took we missed out on the equivalent of about 1/8th of a mile. When we got to the finish line it was evident that they weren't waiting for everyone to cross before starting to shut down. They had turned off the race clock, stopped handing out water, etc. Oh well, I wasn't doing the race for those things anyway. It was all about spending time with Peter and having fun being healthy. It was really cool to see everyone running in the dark with their flashing lights/glow sticks, etc. I'm sure next year will be even better!

Plano Balloon Festival

In September we went to the Plano Balloon Festival. As we were getting there, a bunch of balloons had just taken off. If we had only been about 5 minutes earlier we could have seen them take off. BUMMER.

The pirate balloon was my favorite.

It was a typical festival with lots of booths, food, and crowds. We enjoyed some typical festival food and watched as the crews laid out balloons for the Balloon Glow. I found it really cool to watch how the balloons went from just baskets on a trailer to a fully inflated balloon.

Spreading the balloon out on the ground...

I took lots of shots as it continued to grow and fill up but didn't want to bore you with all of them. :)
You can see it completely inflated in the background plus the field is starting to fill up with other balloons.

Part of the field - look how many balloons and what fun varieties!

Another perspective. There were SOOOO many balloons! I should have counted them all.

Balloon Glow

Here is the "twinkle burn" so neat! (Ignore the people walking in front of the camera as they leave.)

Apparently there were fireworks after this but we didn't know and so we left. :(

Dave Matthews Band

We finally got to see the Dave Matthews Band in concert last month. I bought tickets for Peter's birthday 2 years back but the concert ended up being cancelled. They played at the superpages.com outdoor amphitheater in Dallas. I have really enjoyed their most recent album - Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King so I was excited to hear songs from it. We brought a blanket and hung out on the lawn - aka the cheap seats. It would have been no big deal except everyone on the lawn stood for the entire concert so if we wanted to see, we had to stand too. (The other bad thing about our "seats" was the smoking and then the really drunk guy from Panama next to me who had no sense of personal space.)

This gives you an idea of how far back we were.

Luckily there were screens to watch!

More of Dave Matthews

It was fun to hear Dave live. We didn't know all the songs he played but he did play our favorite - You and Me which was awesome to hear live especially since Peter can play a little big of it on the guitar. Good times. Next time though, I think we'll cough up the dough for real seats if we care about seeing something.