6 Thumbs Up Curry

Last week I traveled to NH for work. Sometimes it's a little boring but one of my habits from my last few trips is to not turn on the TV in my hotel room. I found an old issue of Runners World in my laptop bag. I forgot I packed on my last trip. There was an average article about one pot wonder meals. It also boasted that certain foods can impact things like recovery, stress, inflammation. I believe it may be true but can't be bothered to commit to it fully. I dog eared the page for later.
When I returned I sat down with my grocery list and the recipes. Sunday nights are usually stressful as we prepare for the upcoming week.  According to some scientists salmon is high in DHA and EPA, omega 3s that can reduce stress levels. Indian food has been a surprising hit with the other people in the house so I picked the salmon coconut curry for Sunday night dinner. I had a can of coconut milk hanging around, and why not spend $20 on other ingredients. (As suggested in the article, I splurged on wild Alaskan salmon because it is more sustainable than farmed.)

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a pot
Add 2 chopped shallots and 2 minced garlic cloves
Heat 2 minutes
Add 2 cups chicken broth, one 14 oz can light coconut milk, 2 cubed sweet potatoes, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 tablespoons minced ginger, 1 tablespoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, salt, and pepper.
Boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add 1 pound skinless cubed raw salmon, 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, and juice of 1 lime.
Simmer 5 minutes.

*1 tablespoon minced ginger = 1 teaspoon ground ginger

I served it with whole grain flat bread the first night. The second night (leftovers are the best) I served it with rice. Adrian left it and would like it added to the regular rotation. Note, he hates sweet potatoes and peas normally.  Travis loved it and wants it everyday! But he loves everything and isn't a harsh critic about food. As anticipitated Nick could barely make it through one bite.
Sorry I don't have a picture of it. Most Indian food is earth toned, chunky mushy slop, and fairly unphotogenic.
Next up is chicken quinoa soup. I have a huge amount of quinoa from Costco. It seems a little bit goes a long way. And supposedly this dish will help us recover faster.

Yeah, I did that

Sometimes you have to be your own cheerleader. Toot your own horn. You can't count on other people to do it for you. A lot of people know all that I accomplished last year. I want to write it down so I can look back it later and be like, "wow, I did all that."
I tried really, really hard to break two hours in the half marathon. It was a lofty goal. My coach helped me with a training plan that was very specific. His wife paced me in my first attempt. Too bad we live in a swamp called NC. It was early spring and I wasn't ready for the humidity. I came close, frustratingly close. In the end it was a huge PR (personal record), so that is worth the recognition.
At work I interviewed for a new position while completely burned out on the job role I was in. I waited patiently forever until that magical and fateful day. I got the new job in a new organization and even better, my BFF got it too. The transition period stretched on but it was worth it. A slight pay raise, new team, less stress, and work I like doing.
At the beginning of the summer I planned my fall races. I knew I wanted another ultramarathon and I didn't want to race on the roads anymore, ever. The world of trail races is awesome. Runners are low key, volunteers rock, and the scenery of a good trail can't be beat. I set out to train for Triple Lakes 40. It was going to be hours and hours of solo training. Luckily I convinced a friend, see above coach's wife, to join me. She twisted the arm of two other friends. Yes, it took a long time to finish (I will post the full report soon.). Would I do it again? Definitely. The trail was beautiful that day and I really pushed myself beyond what I thought was possible.
Feeling strong and confident about my career and my running makes me feel capable to take on the rest of my life.

How is it 2013?

Where have I been?  Living life.  Trying to savor each day as its own.  I end up rarely sitting down at my home computer. (I've already been called away fifteen times just to write this post.) 2011 was the last time I posted and it is almost a distant memory.  2012 had its highlights with only a few lowlights, at least that I can remember, so I'll just go from there.  Then we'll see if I can keep posting on a more regular basis.

• Drove my mom up to MD to meet my sister's newest baby Sloane.  I can't remember the last time I shared a hotel room with one of my parents.
• Ran the Uwharrie Mountain 20 miler for the second time.  Took almost an hour off my finishing time in 2011.  Plus I ran the whole course solo.
• Adrian had back surgery to resolve a herniated disk and bone spurs in his lower back.
• Nick turned 7 and all he wanted was his two front teeth.  And a baseball theme birthday party.  He watched "Sandlot" and had pizza and ice cream cake.
• Attempted (and failed) to break 2 hours in the half marathon, twice.  Stupid heat and humidity in the South.
• Said good bye to the Age 30-34 age bracket by running around the hideous campus of UNC with some of my greatest running friends.  (Go Pack!)
• Went to Central NY to see Adrian's family.  Day trips to the Syracuse Zoo, lower Adirondacks, National Baseball Hall of Fame.
• Celebrated Adrian's 40th birthday.  My attempts to throw a huge celebration were completely shot down.  Instead we went to Adventure Landing as a family to play laser tag and miniature golf.  We let him win at everything.
• Ran the Blue Ridge Relay again.  With the hangover, sleep deprivation, and constantly biting my tongue, I don't think I'll run it again.  It's hard for this wallflower to be "on" for 4 days.
• Travis turned 5.  GranDebbie came to visit.  He scored some action figures, a new guitar with a case and picks.  It was his "best birthday ever".
• Ran the Triple Lakes 40 miler, my second ultramarathon.  It took forever.  And I would definitely run that course again.  It's a beautiful set of trails in Bur Mil Park outside Greensboro.
• Ran about half of the Shut In Ridge trail race.  I was not fully recovered from my ultra and didn't fuel adequately for the mountains.  It was still a great trip to Asheville and I will attempt it again.
• Went to Central NY for Thanksgiving.  We explored for a day in Ithaca, saw family, crashed the local run club's turkey trot.  Took an alternate way back to also visit W-S before returning home.
• Christmas Eve tradition is at home with a big dinner of chicken, mashed potatoes, and crescent rolls.  Santa was good to everyone.
• Our friend Jared got married in Chapel Hill.  The boys had a blast dancing with the flower girls all night long.
• New Year's Eve was done at home.  Travis made it to 9 pm.  Nick had a bet that he could stay awake.  He was snoring at 11:30 so I let him sleep until 11:55 so he wouldn't miss the countdown.  Then we all slept until after 10 am on New Year's Day.

I think that comes as close as we can get to caught up.  If I get a chance (ha!) I will come back with more details and photos on some of the bullet points.

Off to the W-S

My mom and two of my awesome nieces who just graduated from high school.  They're off to NC State and College of Charleston in the fall.  Clearly the tall genes are from my brothers-in-law.

This is not even close to everyone in the family.

 

I took the boys to Winston-Salem to visit my mom and go to my nieces' graduation party.  They had a great time hanging out with some of their cousins.  The next day we went exploring behind my mom's house.  SECCA (South Eastern Center for Contemporary Art) has been in the old Hanes mansion for as long as I can remember.  We used to run around back there as kids and we would get kicked out regularly.  The curator lived in the house next door, no one lives there anymore so it's a little abandoned and disheveled looking.  And of course no trip to W-S is complete without hitting the major landmarks.  We went to Dewey's Bakery for some bread and Moravian cookies.  And then over to Krispy Kreme for hot doughnuts and cool hats.

It Happened in May

One Sunday afternoon we went to the Capitol building to see a couple of Adrian's former players officer commissioning ceremony.  It was a really neat event, low key and serious for all of five minutes.  Their moms cried a little.  I remember when these boys were just boys in high school and now they're serving our country.

On Mother's Day my sister Erica was visiting family in NC for a flash.  She only brought Dean with her since he is still at a very portable age.  We met up at the children's museum in Greensboro so the boys could have the freedom to run around.  I definitely recommend the museum, it had an airplane cockpit, a real fire truck and police car, a race car, and big garden outside with rabbits and chickens.  It was a great way to celebrate being moms together.

Wedding Cupcakes

My great friend Jess got married at the end of April in Emerald Isle.  My friend Beth and I had spent the last year testing cupcake flavors and recipes on our friends, family, and co-workers.  It was a lot of fun and a little bit competitive.  The final flavors were white cake with strawberry buttercream, white cake with mango buttercream, and yellow cake with raspberry filling and lemon cream cheese.  The colors of a sunset - perfect!  Beth made little chocolate seashells to decorate some of them.  The wedding guests and caterer thought we were real professionals.  We sort of rolled with that idea.  All the work and love that went into putting this together for them was our gift to Jess and Chris.  We wish them many years of happiness!

Sun, sand, and ocean - love it!

My boys playing frisbee with Beth's family

So romantic!

The bride with her cupcake girls.

Sharing cake - too nicely.

A groomsmen showing how to properly devour a cupcake.

Three Four and Easter

I was forced to turn another year older.  Again.  The same as every year I share my day with Earth Day.  And to make it extra special it was also Good Friday and I had the day off.  I had hit the trifecta.  A triple threat day.  Whatever you want to call it.
The night before my birthday we met up with friends for a Durham Bulls game.

On my birthday I slept in as much as the boys would let me.  Once they were up I just dozed off in front of the TV and occasionally said "leave your brother alone".  I left the house to run Easter bunny errands and eat lunch at the Q Shack (no one else likes it so I go by myself and don't have to hear any whining).  For dinner we went to Red Robin where they sang to me and gave me a hot fudge sundae.  Adrian said we should go to the AT&T store to see when our contracts were up.  Then he surprised me with a new iphone.  I didn't know how much I would love it, but I really do.

For Easter weekend we went to my mom's house.  The boys always have a good time there exploring outside and playing with our old toys.  We dyed eggs on Saturday.  Then on Sunday morning before my run I (or the Easter bunny) hid eggs in the backyard.  Note to the Easter bunny, next year Nicholas wants them to be harder to find.