No Teacher Left Behind

We did it! After 5 weeks of training after school, we ran a 5K! After completing the Cowtown 10K with my family, I had this desire to run in a race with my co-workers. There is something special about training for a common goal and then achieving that goal together. When I threw the idea out to my fellow teachers I was unsure on the response I would get. Boy was I surprised! Thirteen responded YES! We began by walking a 3 mile course and slowly worked our way up in difficulty. There was a group of walkers, a group of walk/runners, and a group of runners. It is so exciting seeing these ladies set goals for themselves and then watch them achieve those goals. 

This morning we all met at 6:15 am at the DART station and headed down to Fair Park. The weather was a little warm but at least there was no rain. The race went great and thanks to some of the very supportive husbands, we got lots of pictures. After the race we headed to Cafe Brazil for a celebratory brunch. What a great day! 

Oh, I almost forgot the most fun part ... our t-shirts. We had hot pink shirts made that said "Dartmouth Runners" on the front and "No Teacher Left Behind" on the back. We got many compliments and comments on our t-shirts this morning. They are pretty cute :).

This is what the back of our shirts looked like.

Here we are pre-race

And we're off!

About to cross the finish line!

We did it!

Rock N Roll Half Marathon

The week before we ran the Cowtown 10K, Brian and I were on a run and he was telling me how he thought we should train for a half marathon. I quickly told him he was out of his mind and the subject was quickly forgotten.

I don't know what happens to your body/mind after a race but it must make you have these super human abilities because that very day we decided we were going to run in a half marathon in just 5 weeks. It is still humorous to hear people's reaction to us training/running a half marathon. I get a lot of "I remember when you hated running." "I remember when I couldn't get you to run 2 miles with me." Yes, its true. I was very against running for a VERY long time. I think my mind changed when I just started out small with running one mile. Then moved up to 1.5 and then 2 and so on. Plus a lot of encouragement from Brian helped too :).

Anyways, back to the half marathon. We had to wake up super early because the race started in downtown Dallas but they asked people to park at the finish line (Fair Park) and ride the shuttle over. When 16,000 people are trying to get to the same place at the same time, traffic is just going to be awful! Thankfully we got to the start of the race with time to spare. 

We had a great group of "cheerleaders" waiting at different mile markers throughout the race. Grant was at mile 7 and the finish line, Brian's parents were at mile 8 and 11, and my parents and Tanner were at mile 9 and the finish line. Surprisingly the race was great. I started to feel tightness in my left leg around mile 12 but other than that I felt good. We kept a good pace and ran the entire way. That was my biggest goal. I didn't care how slow we ran but I wanted to say that I RAN a half marathon. We finished in 2 hours and 35 minutes. Here are some pictures of us during the run.

Mile 11

Mile 11-Quick stop for a picture

FINISHED!

Tomorrow a group of 12 teachers from my school will be running in the Big D 5K. We started training the week before Spring Break and they have come so far! It is so exciting to watch people go from only being able to walk 3 miles to running 3 miles and wanting to try a 10K. I am so proud of their accomplishments. We had some awesome t-shirt made with our motto on the back "No Teacher Left Behind!" More pictures to come later.

Cowtown 10K

This past weekend I ran my 2nd 10K race. Last year Brian and I committed ourselves to training and running in the Cowtown 10K, and we did it. This year we decided to make it a family event and everyone but Grant was there. I was so proud of everyone for running every mile...all 6.2! Here are a few pictures of us at the race.

Brian and I are going to hopefully run a half marathon at the end of March. Sound crazy? I know! I am a little terrified myself. 

Running the race with my family was so much fun. I thought that it would be fun to do something similar with my co-workers. So....we are going to train and run a 5K in April. I am so excited to do this with them and cant believe the response. Training starts tomorrow! 

A Serious Case of Cabin Fever

This has been the craziest week for most of north Texas. I have been cooped up in our apartment since Monday night and starting to think I might go crazy if this weather doesn't change soon. 

I knew that there was going to be bad weather so Monday night I headed to the grocery store (along with about 500 other people) to stock up for the next few days. I had NO IDEA that the weather would get as bad as it did and now I am wishing I had bought a little more food. I thought for sure that I would be out and about by Wednesday but I was very wrong. It is Thursday afternoon and I am still at home. 

They cancelled school on Tuesday and Brian's office actually closed so we got to stay home together. We cleaned the apartment, read books, watched TV, did laundry, and had fun staying in our pj's all day. But around 7 o'clock the excitement of being stuck inside had kind of worn off. School was cancelled for Wednesday but Brian had to go in at 10am. I was sad to see him go since I had no idea what I would do to entertain myself while he was at work. This gives you an idea of what my day consists of...

...drinking coffee, looking at a lot of blogs of people I have never met :) , reading, playing on my phone, and lots of tv. 

Brian said it was pretty difficult driving to work especially since the parking lot at our apartment complex looks like an ice skating rink. (Praise the Lord for 4 wheel drive on Brian's SUV.) When Brian got home last night he was so nice to take me out to dinner so that I could leave the apartment and get some fresh air :). We headed to Cristina's and treated ourselves to their delicious apple pie. 

Let's just say it was gone in a matter of seconds. MMMMMMmmmmmmm! I was very nervous going out and driving last night but Brian did a very good job of driving safely. Since I had not been outside in 2 days and our balcony overlooks a grassy area, I had no idea (other than what I saw on the news) how bad it was. I am not joking when I say that parking lots look like ice skating rinks. So today (Thursday) I sit at home alone, again. (You know it is bad when I WANT to go to work and would RATHER be at work than sitting at home with nothing to do. It would be a different story if I could go out and do something but I don't think the Jetta was made for ice skating rinks. If the roads are causing 18 wheelers to get stuck...I don't stand a chance.) With snow in the forecast for tonight I am thinking that there is a big possibility I will be at home again tomorrow. At least we wont have to write lesson plans for next week, we can just start back up where we left off. 

I decided to take some pictures of the ice and when I tried to open our balcony door I realized that it is completely iced shut. There is even ice on the inside of the door that is keeping me from opening it. Insane!

There is the small layer of ice on the inside of the door right above the carpet.

Our porch has looked the same since about 4:30am on Tuesday. I was worried that the grilling stuff would get blown off with the 25-30 mph winds and all but I don't think those tongs are going anywhere anytime soon. 

The nice frozen pond at the bottom of the stairs. Days like this are when I am VERY grateful we don't have a dog that needs to be taken out to pee. Very grateful! 

Best Meal EVER!!!

I know that my last post was about one of our favorites recipe but tonight's dinner was incredible and I have to share! Please know that this was not my doing, I am just good at following other people's recipes :). There is a recipe blog that I follow that converts every day recipes into healthier ones. I had recently made tortilla soup and had left over celery and carrots so I thought I would give this recipe a try. The only part of the recipe that I changed was the part where you add the cheese rind. Honestly, I didn't know what that was so I left it out and it was still incredible. One thing I would add to the recipe is a great glass of red wine. 

Click here to go to the recipe blog.

Crock Pot Minestrone Soup
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups • Old Points: 4 • Points+: 5
Calories: 215.7 • Fat: 0.7 g • Protein: 8.7 g • Carb: 42.0 g • Fiber: 6.7 g   

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained, rinsed (cannellini or navy)
• 3 cups fat free chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarians)
• 1 oz chunk of good Parmesan cheese rind (I didn't use this)
• 1 fresh rosemary sprig
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• salt and fresh pepper
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 2 cups chopped fresh or frozen (defrosted) spinach
• 2 cups cooked small pasta like ditalini or elbows (al dente)
• extra parmesan cheese to top (extra pts)

Rinse and drain beans. Puree beans with 1 cup of the broth in a blender.

In a crock pot, combine broth, tomatoes, pureed beans, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, herbs, Parmesan cheese rind, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Forty minutes before the soup is done cooking, add zucchini and spinach. Cover and cook 30 more minutes. Add cooked pasta, cook 10 minutes more. Remove bay leaves, rosemary sprig, parmesan rind and season to taste with salt and black pepper.Ladle soup into bowls and top with extra parmesan cheese.

!ENJOY!

A-Mazing Meal

I recently found these two recipes that instantly became a favorite in our home. Whenever I find a great recipe, I have to share it. Click on the link below and let me know how they turn out.
(If you cant see the link just click right below this sentence and hopefully you will find it. I keep trying to change the link font color to black...)

Stone Soup and Cornbread

Tis the Season Part 2

We headed back to Dallas a few days after Christmas to celebrate with Brian's family. We had a great lunch, exchanged gifts, and climbed in the car to begin our drive to Atlanta. Brian's dad's side of the family lives there and they try to make a trip up to visit as often as possible. Scott and Adrian decided to fly because Jackson, being a year and a half, would not enjoy the 13 hour drive. It was fun watching almost the entire first season of the show Community. (If you haven't watched it, I highly recommend it. The show is hilarious!) 

Brian, David, and I stayed at Aunt Linda's house. We had fun hanging out with our cousins (Daniel, Andrew, and Michael) and playing their new XBox Kinect. It was so much fun battling on the dance game and playing all of the adventure games. We spent many hours in the "man cave" as they call it. Every time Brian's family goes to Atlanta they have a big game of ultimate frisbee. The last time I went up to Atlanta with Brian's family (the month before we got engaged) we played in very cold weather. This year was much warmer and therefore more enjoyable :). The boys get pretty competitive and the girls run around the middle of the field so we dont get in the way. Here is a picture of us after our game in 2008. 

I wish I had more pictures to add to this post but our camera was dead and we didnt pack the charger. Just imagine all of us looking 3 years older. 

They also have a tradition of a white elephant gift exchange. This year I was the lucky winner of a box of live mice. Thanks boys! That is what happens when you have a lot of boy cousins. The adults weren't to happy and quickly released them into the backyard. We had a great time hanging out with everyone and look forward to making it back to Atlanta soon! 

This is the whole crew starting from the left-Jeff, Brian, Keri, Michael, me, Brian, grandad, Adrian, Jackson, Scott, Andrew, Leigh, grandmom, Linda, David, Beth, Jerry, Andrew, Ben, and Andrew.