Friday, January 28, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Cooking Date Night - January 2011
Nick and I had another cooking date night last Friday. We used to do them all of the time and haven't done any in almost a year. We REALLY enjoy them!
Our dessert, Lemon Souffle Pudding, was tart and delicious.
We also made our own pasta for the first time. It's a lot easier than I imagined. Here I am getting my roll on.
Here is Nick's hand cutting. Ohh la la.
Noodles! What wonderful pieces of art.
Our finished product. Tempeh Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans (over noodles instead of rice).
Our dessert, Lemon Souffle Pudding, was tart and delicious.
We also made our own pasta for the first time. It's a lot easier than I imagined. Here I am getting my roll on.
Here is Nick's hand cutting. Ohh la la.
Noodles! What wonderful pieces of art.
Our finished product. Tempeh Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans (over noodles instead of rice).
- S
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Disney's Donald's Half Marathon - Race Day (Day Three)
Our day started early, (2:00 AM CST to be exact), and we were ready. It wasn't as cold as they had predicted, so Nick adjusted his running gear a bit. I had nothing to adjust so I went with what I planned. With race gear and throw away gear on, we headed for the bus stop. Nick was confident and ready to go, I was a little less sure about how the day would progress.
The bus stop was packed full of people and charter buses. The atmosphere was energetic and people were ready to race. Off we went to Epcot where we would be dropped off at the greeting area. We hung around and ate breakfast and then started our trek, and I do mean trek, to the starting line. In a sea of 28,000 people, we were slowly herded to our corrals. We walked and walked and walked for what seemed like forever to get to the start. We estimate that start was roughly a mile from the greeting area.
Once there, we fueled, ditched our throwaway clothes and waited for the first wave to start.
The music was loud, the energy was high, it was go time. And with a magical countdown and fireworks, the race started. I felt so excited, so proud...I teared up a little.
Mickey and the gang were at the starting line cheering us on. I teared up.
Running was hard to do. Finding an open space in a crowd of 28,000 people wasn't easy. It never got easy, it was crowded for 13.1 miles. But, it was a happy crowd and I was proud to be part of the mass.
Each mile was marked with festive signs that everyone stopped to take pictures in front of. I got a photo of all but one, excuse the random people in the photos.
Every half mile we were greeted with bands, cheerleaders, family and friends and Disney characters.
The course was dark at this point, but things were going great. We were running as fast as the crowd would allow and soaking it all up. I'm always amazed at races to see the really young and the really old racing beside each other. People of all shapes and sizes were out there, running, walking and moving. There was no shortage of people wearing inspiring shirts like "One foot in front of the other." and "Just keep moving."
Soon we were at the Magic Kingdom parking booths. After seeing this, I hooped and hollered and ran faster.
We were SO EXCITED to finally enter Magic Kingdom and head down Main Street. See the crowd? It was like that the entire race.
Running through Magic Kingdom...this is what we came for. I teared up.
At the end of Main Street we hooked a right and headed towards Tomorrowland. Nick (who was the keeper of my run/walk breaks) told me it was time for a walk break and I said "Come on, it's Magic Kingdom, we're running." He happily obliged.
We passed the tea cups, Dumbo and rounded the corner. It was our turn to run through the castle. I teared up.
Inside the castle, people were screaming, throwing their hands in the air, whistling and just going crazy. This is why you run a Disney race...how freaking cool is it to run through the CASTLE! I teared up.
When continued on our way through Frontierland and eventually out of Magic Kingdom through a secret gate. I was able to snag a bear for a photo.
It was starting to get hot, we were running into the sun. Nick was talking to me and I found myself easily distracted from the fact that my knees and feet were hurting. It might be fun to walk about Magic Kingdom the day before a big race, but one should be warned that it could cause foot pain. Then we saw Mickey and Minnie around the Shades of Green golf course and I found energy again.
I have the best partner, he was so good to stay positive and to keep me on a steady pace. He talked to me, didn't tell me he saw someone getting chest compressions and overall was extremely encouraging. I know he would love to run full force and leave me in the dust, but he never does. After leaving Magic Kingdom we headed down a long road and headed up Disney's Hill which was a ramp leading us back to Epcot. We stopped at mile 10 for a photo.
Before long we saw Spaceship Earth in the distance, we were almost done.
The last two miles of the course were packed with spectators. I've never seen so many people line a race course! People were holding up signs encouraging their family and friends, and yelling words of encouragement. The cheers were wonderful!! We entered Epcot, ran a loop, took our last walk break and headed back out.
After this sign, we rounded our last corner and were greeted with a choir, dressed in yellow robes, singing "We Are The Champions." I heard Nick say "I just got the chills!" I teared up. We had accomplished our goal. We both sped up and crossed the finish line. On his way across, Nick gave Donald and Goofy high fives.
We did it! We finished the coolest ride we've ever been on at Disney. I teared up.
I'm so proud of us. After crossing the line, taking a few photos and picking up water/snacks, we wobbled over to the resort bus where we slowly lowered ourselves onto the seats and waited to arrive back at our hotel.
After we ditched the sweaty clothes, freshened up, took some pain reliever and rubbed cooling gel on our muscles, we headed out to finish our day at Epcot. (Proudly wearing our medals.)
We sat down for a giant lunch at Via Napoli and we ate, and ate and ate.
We also stopped for a picture with Duffy, who congratulated us on our finish.
Before leaving, we decided to ride Mission Space, the intense version. Nick and I don't recommend running a half marathon, eating a lot of food and riding that ride on the same day.
By the end of the trip, we agreed to come back and conquer the Goofy race together. (Goofy is running the half one day and the full marathon the next.) I can't wait to run Goofy with Nick.
----> CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM DAY THREE <-----
- S
The bus stop was packed full of people and charter buses. The atmosphere was energetic and people were ready to race. Off we went to Epcot where we would be dropped off at the greeting area. We hung around and ate breakfast and then started our trek, and I do mean trek, to the starting line. In a sea of 28,000 people, we were slowly herded to our corrals. We walked and walked and walked for what seemed like forever to get to the start. We estimate that start was roughly a mile from the greeting area.
Once there, we fueled, ditched our throwaway clothes and waited for the first wave to start.
The music was loud, the energy was high, it was go time. And with a magical countdown and fireworks, the race started. I felt so excited, so proud...I teared up a little.
Mickey and the gang were at the starting line cheering us on. I teared up.
Running was hard to do. Finding an open space in a crowd of 28,000 people wasn't easy. It never got easy, it was crowded for 13.1 miles. But, it was a happy crowd and I was proud to be part of the mass.
Each mile was marked with festive signs that everyone stopped to take pictures in front of. I got a photo of all but one, excuse the random people in the photos.
Every half mile we were greeted with bands, cheerleaders, family and friends and Disney characters.
The course was dark at this point, but things were going great. We were running as fast as the crowd would allow and soaking it all up. I'm always amazed at races to see the really young and the really old racing beside each other. People of all shapes and sizes were out there, running, walking and moving. There was no shortage of people wearing inspiring shirts like "One foot in front of the other." and "Just keep moving."
Soon we were at the Magic Kingdom parking booths. After seeing this, I hooped and hollered and ran faster.
We were SO EXCITED to finally enter Magic Kingdom and head down Main Street. See the crowd? It was like that the entire race.
Running through Magic Kingdom...this is what we came for. I teared up.
At the end of Main Street we hooked a right and headed towards Tomorrowland. Nick (who was the keeper of my run/walk breaks) told me it was time for a walk break and I said "Come on, it's Magic Kingdom, we're running." He happily obliged.
We passed the tea cups, Dumbo and rounded the corner. It was our turn to run through the castle. I teared up.
Inside the castle, people were screaming, throwing their hands in the air, whistling and just going crazy. This is why you run a Disney race...how freaking cool is it to run through the CASTLE! I teared up.
When continued on our way through Frontierland and eventually out of Magic Kingdom through a secret gate. I was able to snag a bear for a photo.
It was starting to get hot, we were running into the sun. Nick was talking to me and I found myself easily distracted from the fact that my knees and feet were hurting. It might be fun to walk about Magic Kingdom the day before a big race, but one should be warned that it could cause foot pain. Then we saw Mickey and Minnie around the Shades of Green golf course and I found energy again.
I have the best partner, he was so good to stay positive and to keep me on a steady pace. He talked to me, didn't tell me he saw someone getting chest compressions and overall was extremely encouraging. I know he would love to run full force and leave me in the dust, but he never does. After leaving Magic Kingdom we headed down a long road and headed up Disney's Hill which was a ramp leading us back to Epcot. We stopped at mile 10 for a photo.
Before long we saw Spaceship Earth in the distance, we were almost done.
The last two miles of the course were packed with spectators. I've never seen so many people line a race course! People were holding up signs encouraging their family and friends, and yelling words of encouragement. The cheers were wonderful!! We entered Epcot, ran a loop, took our last walk break and headed back out.
After this sign, we rounded our last corner and were greeted with a choir, dressed in yellow robes, singing "We Are The Champions." I heard Nick say "I just got the chills!" I teared up. We had accomplished our goal. We both sped up and crossed the finish line. On his way across, Nick gave Donald and Goofy high fives.
We did it! We finished the coolest ride we've ever been on at Disney. I teared up.
I'm so proud of us. After crossing the line, taking a few photos and picking up water/snacks, we wobbled over to the resort bus where we slowly lowered ourselves onto the seats and waited to arrive back at our hotel.
After we ditched the sweaty clothes, freshened up, took some pain reliever and rubbed cooling gel on our muscles, we headed out to finish our day at Epcot. (Proudly wearing our medals.)
We sat down for a giant lunch at Via Napoli and we ate, and ate and ate.
We also stopped for a picture with Duffy, who congratulated us on our finish.
Before leaving, we decided to ride Mission Space, the intense version. Nick and I don't recommend running a half marathon, eating a lot of food and riding that ride on the same day.
By the end of the trip, we agreed to come back and conquer the Goofy race together. (Goofy is running the half one day and the full marathon the next.) I can't wait to run Goofy with Nick.
----> CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM DAY THREE <-----
- S
Disney's Donald's Half Marathon - Magic Kingdom, Kid Free (Day Two)
You might ask yourself what in the World two kid-free thirty-somethings do at Magic Kingdom. I don't know what others do, but we set out to have the time of our lives, obviously!!!
It's the time of your life,
You don't want to miss out
on the here and now.
We hit the ground running. We weren't scared to let loose. We took advantage of every moment of magic. And most importantly, we loved it!
Dancing in the middle of the street party parade.
After our day at Magic Kingdom, we headed over to our Disney home and spent a few hours relaxing at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We ended our night eating at our fave place, Boma. Then it was off to bed for us, we had a early wake up call waiting for us the next morning.
------> CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM DAY TWO <------
- S
It's the time of your life,
You don't want to miss out
on the here and now.
We hit the ground running. We weren't scared to let loose. We took advantage of every moment of magic. And most importantly, we loved it!
Dancing in the middle of the street party parade.
After our day at Magic Kingdom, we headed over to our Disney home and spent a few hours relaxing at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We ended our night eating at our fave place, Boma. Then it was off to bed for us, we had a early wake up call waiting for us the next morning.
------> CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM DAY TWO <------
- S
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