The challenge starts today, weekend wrap up

.For years, I've been contemplating cooking through an entire cookbook within a year, however never really committed. Finally, I found a cookbook which I fell in love with and I am taking the plunge. So here it is

I saw this book and fell in love.  I already own the original America's test kitchen Family Cookbook, and every recipe I have made out of it is delicious.  Baking is my thing.

So the challenge 700 recipes in 365 days. Not impossible. This book contains savory items such as bread (duh), pizza, tarts, as well as sweets. My plan is to bake the cookies on days when I have group runs at our local running store Breakaway Running.  Runners love to eat=taste testers!!!!   I will be including photos of all my baked cooks and keeping a countdown.

Saturday started with a group run at 0600 hrs with Breakaway Running.  Breakaway running host free marathon training runs in preparation for the St. Jude's marathon in December.  I met up with some of my friends who run super fast. Twelve miles at an 8:45 pace.  I kept up with them for a few miles, however fell back because I really overdid it during the week. 

I spent the rest of the day trying to stretch out some seriously tight legs muscles.

Later in the day I made some fresh corn on the cob and some cherry tomato soup.  The soup was delicious it had a very creamy texture and taste, however had no dairy. I made it using only orange and red cherry tomatoes, garlic, onion, olive oil, basil, salt and pepper.   It was so good.                    

I seriously didn't do anything on Sunday.  The weekends for me are not the same as most, because I pretty much do what I want when I want.  The only difference is getting Zachary up for school during the week which is easy. Zachary is seriously the easiest child to raise. He gets all A's in school all the time.  He is nothing like I was, which is a miracle.  I guess I got payback with my older two, lol.

 

 

Can you imagine life without.....

 Coffee-I'm a new coffee drinker and I LOVE it!!!!

Hope

Love

Memories 

Haribo gummy bears ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

These are just a few things I cannot imagine my life without.  Hope you are having a great weekend making memories.

What are some things you can't live without?

What did you do this weekend?

What is one of your favorite memories?

Change is good

Over the past few months I have had to change my way of thinking, working out, and eating.  I realized that the prescriptions I take that have the warning "DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL" were not a suggestion. 😁😁😁 Kinda had to learn that the hard way.  I was not drinking excessive amounts just an occasional cocktail, well NO DRINKING means NO DRINKING.  So I drink lots of water, coffee, and an occasional Coke. 

Meat is not a part of my diet anymore.  It was a choice I made for accountability and personal reasons.  It is very hard giving up something that you enjoy eating.  It was an ongoing joke with Zachary about who could eat more chicken wings him or I.  I realized that I was going overboard on meat.  It has been an easy transition. Currently some of my favorite eats are fried egg whites, sweet potato hash, and of course salad. Again this is my personal opinion but I feel a lot better and have actually been running faster.

My life has been filled with negative people since I can remember.  My mother sees doom in everything, and I mean EVERYTHING.  Growing up around that day in and day out took a toll on me.  Then being a police officer for so many years, all you see is negative.  It took many times falling to rock bottom for me to see that negative thinking was why.  Instead of seeing the good, I immediately searched for the bad.  I no longer live in the past or worry about the future, because I am too busy living now.  I surround myself with happy positive people. 

This positive way of living has transformed my life in so many ways. I feel so full of life.  My running has improved so much.  This morning I ran 4 miles to the gym, took a very intense spin class (the instructor is an Ironman, I love her classes) and ran home.  My pace was 8:25 per minute which is under Boston qualifying time!!!! So I see progress and that makes me so happy. The weather has been gorgeous in Memphis.  

Have you ever stopped eating a certain food? 

Where do you live and is the weather changing there?

What is your next race?

What I do in an average day

Well my life has been so much easier the last few years.  Just a brief history of my adult life.  I decided I wanted to go to college, huge mistake, and I will leave that alone.  After my brief stint at college I decided I wanted to go into the Army.  After serving 8 years of active duty as a military police officer, and having two small children I decided that I wanted to settle down somewhere and raise them. So I got out and joined the Fulton County Police Department (Atlanta, GA).  I loved being a police officer, it was so much fun and I worked with some awesome people.  After several years there, I had my youngest son who was premature and had some major medical issues (he has outgrown all them), and I decided to stay home with him for a few years.  I have worked at another police department which I won't mention for almost six years and left on a not so good note.  It was not anything I did.

So now, I stay at home and do not have to work!!!! Most days I get up super early and read blogs and catch up on Facebook.  I also feed the birds every morning. The birds literally wait for me to feed them. After Zachary leaves for school I straighten up the house do laundry etc.
Usually on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays I go to spinning class and do strength training.  I may also get some treadmill miles in.  All the other days I run some fast, some distance, and some hills.  I also do a PIYO workout as well.

I do live up to the stereotype of watching TV most of the day, however I am always doing something.  I enjoy cooking meals and baking.  I rarely eat meals outside of home.  I just think my food tastes so much better and Zachary does too.

It is so nice to live a stress free life, which has not been easy for me to adjust to.  Going from chaos all day to peace and quiet was a huge change.  I am beyond grateful for this opportunity.  

What does your day consist of?

Is your life chaotic/stressful?

Have you transitioned from being a full time worker to stay at home?

Too.....Tuesday

I thought it would be fun to compose a list of too???? on Tuesdays. So here we go let me know what you think.
                                                                     Too funny

                                                                       Too cute

                                    

                                                                    Too yummy

                                           

                                                                   Too serene

                                           

I seriously could eat that whole tray of cheese. What is it about cheese that makes it so hard to stop eating? I made a cheese sauce a little while ago and ate it all myself. It was ridiculous, I could have put it in a wine glass and drank it. 

My diet as of lately is mostly vegetables and fruit.  I am going to eliminate any type of meat, because it is just something that I feel will benefit me. I am not a big meat eater anyway so the transition has been easy.  There is no way that I could propose that idea to Zachary, he is a meat lover.  My boys have always been big eaters and I am thankful that they will eat almost anything I make.  I have met people who have children that don't eat and I thank God I never had that problem.

 

Social media is quite confusing, I recently started a Twitter and Instagram account. I'm hoping that I can have a successful blog. Which mainly is going to be a journey through my life, cooking, running, and embracing positivity.  I have a friend, who I met about a year ago who blogs and runs, she is such an inspiration to me.  Check out her blog at jenchoosesjoy.com. 

Do you have any favorite foods that you cannot stop eating? 

Do you have any races on the horizon?