Who would have thought?

So this morning i head out on my last long long run before the race in two weeks and since I haven't had to go 8 1/2 miles around here before I knew I would be running in some new territory. I wasn't expecting to see anything too exciting, its always fun to see how people landscape around here, but other than that nothing is very out of the ordinary. Well this morning was a little different.

I live in Phoenix right? And the population here is what like over 1.5 million people? And I'm running down a pretty major 5 line road when all of a sudden on my right there's a house with probably a dozen or so peacocks. I was like SWEET! I love peacocks! I was hoping that one would get mad at seeing me and flare its wings, but no luck. The next house has some cows and horses and I'm thinking this is really really weird. ( I know there are animal properties in the area, but it was so odd to see so many of them all right together and on the major roads) Then the next house has chickens running around like crazy. What the heck? I am in Phoenix, not in the country! As I travel along for another 1/2 mile or so the smell of farm animals just grows stronger and stronger. Then I decide I need to make my turn at the next corner and the farm animal stuff keeps continuing. Mostly cows and horses. And then I come up on a big plot of land with at least one hundred Pygmy goats and a handful of mini horses. At this point I'm just about laughing out loud. I can't help to think I wouldn't even see this many animals if I was running through the outskirts of Ontario Oregon where I grew up. The animal properties continue for another 1/2 mile or so, and then they just all of a sudden stop and I'm back into just plain houses. Well at least it broke up the monotony of running for 20 minutes or so!

Thankful

Most of you know that I love to cook, and more than that I love sharing my creations with others. Over the years there have been some particularly recipes that I've grown especially attached to, as have many of my friends and roommates. So today I am sharing what is probably my most popular food - Jewish Sweet Bread (or as called by some of my friends, sweet Jew bread).

I love this recipe. I love the taste of it and I love the reaction of people who eat it. First though let me give you some background on this recipe. I've now been making it for well over 10 years and I first learned it at my very first enrichment meeting. I was still in Young Woman's, but they invited all of us to a Super Saturday of sorts. I remember standing in the kitchen at the church while the Mairs' demonstrated how to make the bread (I can still remember Nicole discussing with her Mom whether the salt was really important or not). I think I walked away with a loaf of it to go home and bake and it was delicious! I started making it more often once I got to college and I've never stopped since! Out of all the things I make, I think this is Adam's favorite (or at least it was when we were dating, he may have changed now). So here's a recent picture of the glorious creation and the recipe. I hope you and your families enjoy it as much as we do!

1 pkg Yeast

1 1/4 C Warm Water

Mix together and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes till yeast is mixed through the water.

In the mean time mix together:

1 tsp Salt

1/4 C Sugar

1/4 C Oil

2 eggs

Once this is mixed, start adding flour (total of approximately 4 1/2 Cups) alternating with water/yeast mixture. Kneed the dough on a flour surface (or in a Kitchenaid), adding extra flour as needed until the dough is not too sticky. Put in a greased bowl, cover and let rise double (usually about 1 1/2 to 2 hours depending on how warm or humid it is - I don't recommend leaving the dough anywhere near a running dishwasher or wash machine)

Punch down and divide dough in half. Divide each half into three parts and braid. Place on a cookie sheet and let rise again. Melt 1 cube of butter and brush half of it on before baking. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. Spread remaining butter on after baking. If you manage to have leftovers wrap in foil or store in an air tight container. ENJOY!

My new running buddy.....

I can still remember the first time I tried a gel supplement.. I was getting set to run a 10k with my old roommate and good friend Ruth. She had convinced me to come down to Salt Lake to run her first 10k with her (it didn't take too much convincing, it was a great excuse for a weekend getaway!). One of her friends had made her a good luck poster complete with pre and post race treats, and while the snickers bars looked pretty tasty, we decided to try the gel before the race. Ruth tried it first and almost instantly looked as though she wanted to throw up, so why I tried it too, I don't know. It was awful. It was thick and sticky and nearly impossible to get down. I'm sure it didn't help our running ability at all as we each managed to get down just a little of it - but we did finish the race. I'm not sure if it was the gel or the idea of a couple of mommies running with strollers beating us that pushed us on to the finish (I forget know Ruth did we beat them? Sad to think that that is even a possibility). I also remember telling myself over and over again during that race that I never wanted to run farther than a 10k.... EVER. So why just a few weeks after I returned home I committed myself to running a half marathon I do not know. So what does all this rambling have to do with anything? Well, as I started to train for the half marathon, the grueling 13.1 miles, I was routinely running well over an hour at a time and decided I needed to have something to refuel my while I was running. So I turned to gels. What I found was most of them were absolutely disgusting. They were thick and it took at least half my water bottle to get them down without gagging. I tried Cliff shots (since I like Luna bars) AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL, possibly the thickest worst one; I tried Gu - yeah, it tastes like Gu, who wants to eat Gu? Then I tried Power bar gels. Which were by far my favorites (try Tangerine and Raspberry) but still not great. Then this summer, while visiting a running shop, they had this box of gels that were free samples. So I grabbed one as did Adam (for me of course) but never tried them.... until now.

Here is my delicious new running friend!

This hummer is so good! I've tried chocolate in other brands and they were nasty, but this one really taste like chocolate... almost like chocolate syrup. And its not thick at all. It goes down so easy. I just finished a 7 miler and it was so yummy. I'm definitely going to have to go stock up!

Childhood literacy?

So I was asked to teach a class on childhood literacy at our next enrichment. Why they asked me I have no idea. I mean I have no kids, I don't teach school and I have no background in the subject. So I'm asking for any ones ideas! So far I've come up with, ummm maybe you should read to your kids. Yeah, that's a good idea. And take them to the library. And read the scriptures as a family. And that's all I've got. Anyone got anything else? It all seems pretty obvious to me but apparently the school district has a "literacy problem" (last time I checked most schools did and are all failing their standardized tests). Help me!

We're HOME!!!

This is it, our new home! Its so exciting to have bought a home together- yes the one in Boise was "ours" but since Adam had been living there for a few years before I ever came along, and I knew we wouldn't be there for too long, I never really connected to it. The picture above is taken from across the street and shows our nice big corner lot, complete with RV parking (we're awaiting your visit Grandma & Grandpa!) . Yes there are no cars out front because we've cleared out the garage and both cars fit! YEA!


Another front view, but important because you can see we actually have grass! I was so excited for this. So many homes down here just have desert landscape, and grass just feels homier!





As for this thing, well its ridiculous. I'm not sure why they planted it here or what purpose it serves... we'll be getting rid of it soon. Hopefully we can manage to transport it to the backyard.




And now my favorite room in the house:

Yes, I know its not 'in' the house but I love it! I love that we have a pool. I love that we have some landscaping to do. I love that we have a potential guest house (thats the building you see on the left) and I love this guy:

is our ginormous Saguaro cactus. Those of you who haven't lived in AZ might not know that its illegal to get rid of these guys, so we'll have him around for a long time. I'm thinking maybe we should name him - any suggestions?

Oh and I can't wait to eat this later this winter.... mmmmmmmmmmmmm (for those of you who don't know, this is an Orange). I can almost taste it!

That's about all for now. I don't have pictures of the inside yet - I'm still trying to get decorations and things settled in. So more to come!