Wednesday, February 29, 2012

OMG It's Been So Long!

Here I am sitting at my computer and I just realized that it has been 2 months since my last post!!! Where has the time gone? We are almost into March of 2012 and I last did a post right after Christmas!! I am so sorry to have been MIA for so long, but life has just gone off!

I have been so busy with my workouts and training, work, and trying to fit in a "life" somewhere that I have totally neglected my blog. I hope you all can forgive me!!!

Here is a recap of what my life has been like for the past couple months!!!!!!

Shortly after the new year, a girl at my work decided to quit. She had found a better opportunity and took it! I am so happy for her, but that left us a [wo]man short. Finding a replacement ended up being harder than you would expect. We couldn't give a job away!!!! My co-worker and I were working long and exhausting days. We have finally found someone, but now the hard part really starts....training her to be all that we need her to be.

On top of that, I have been training for 2 major events in my life coming up!!! I signed up (and yes I actually SIGNED up and paid already) for TWO half marathons!!!! I am anxious, excited, nervous, and down right nauseous about the whole thing, but I think, "hey, if [insert name here] can do it, then so can I!!!!" The first one is in April in La Jolla, CA. It will start at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and go to the La Jolla Cove. The second one will be a little more local for me, in Menifee, CA. The La Jolla one will be more scenic, but the course is a little rougher than the Menifee one seems to be. I just hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew.

This past Friday I went out to tackle a 12 mile run. I made it 10 miles. The weather was perfect (for me), being in the mid 70's, but I made the mistake of not taking any water and doing the last 4 miles with a bunch of hills. I only made it 10 miles before my legs started to give out on me and I was in desperate need of water. I made a pit stop at the park across the street from my neighborhood for their drinking fountain, but I needed more water than that! It was a great run (very hilly course) and I felt it for 4 days....and loved every second of it! Now I know what to expect and hopefully will be able to conquer that 12 miler I set out to do....and hopefully squeeze in 1 more mile! ;)

A few weekends ago I did a 5k at Lake Skinner. It was an easy course and animals were allowed to partake in the event. It was cloudy and chilly that morning, but the run was still fun. I met some amazing people there, including a lady named Lori who enjoys running as much as I do. I am hoping her and I will be able to do more events together sometime!
Driving through the Temecula wineries, heading out to Lake Skinner

After the event

Our good friend, Ryan, is about to move to Virginia. His work is packing up and moving there and they are taking him with them. :(  We are all very sad to see him leave, and he is not too happy about the move, but he really has no choice. He can either move to Virginia and have a job, or stay in California and be jobless.......We had a going away party for him that was soooooo much fun!!!
Ryan and me

Ryan and Dave

The 3 of us! Ryan was saying "stuuuuupid"

We all had matching shirts that say "So Long" for him (his last name is Long...lol)
I even made Ryan a cake....you know, cuz that baker in me HAD to make a cake!!!! ;)
I made this cake for him!! I used black food coloring and learned a thing or 2 about it......

1) It takes a lot more than you would expect to dye a frosting black.....
2) It turns your mouth purple and your poo green......true facts! Not that you wanted to know, but now you do!

The cake was a hit though, so I was proud! :)

Ryan using a HUGE knife to cut the cake! ;)


Another one of Ryan's friends collected a bunch of pictures from people and made him this collage:
Yes, Ryan is a natural goof ball!!!!
It was a great night and I think Ryan really realized how much everyone was going to miss him!!! Hopefully he won't get sucked into Virginia's black hole and will move back to Cali soon! 

Ryan's cake isn't the only thing I have baked up in the last couple months. I have done all kinds of baking, just have not had the time to blog about them. Some of the things I have made include:


Pretty, sparkly cupcakes. I used this recipe for the cupcakes and frosting, but added some Nerds candies to the cupcake batter. I loved the sweet and sour taste you got from them. They were yummy!!!!


I made this cake for a co-worker's birthday. It was a special recipe that her mom used to bake for her growing up. This chocolate cake with chocolate frosting was a special treat just for her!!! It's a top secret recipe that she gladly shared with me. I am happy to say that she said that it was just as good (if not better) than the one her mom used to make!!!! That made me so happy to hear. The pressure was on, so I am glad I didn't disappoint! <3


These little muffins were banana muffins with a chocolate, peanut butter, Biscoff, almond buttercream!!!! They were super yummy! I just used a basic banana cake recipe and added the chocolate powder, peanut butter, Biscoff spread, and almond extract to the most delicious buttercream recipe ever!!! 



I also baked up some cookies. My best friend, Deliesse, sent me this recipe she had found and I couldn't resist making them ASAP!!!! The recipe came from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (I used a package of butterscotch pudding mix instead of vanilla)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  2. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add pudding mix, eggs and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.
  3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.




For Valentine's Day I whipped up a batch of these bad boys! Some yummy donuts! I got the recipe from this blog and just made up my own flavors for toppings! I even made a Thin Mint flavored one with crushed Thin Mints!!!! Yummmmm!!!!!!!!!

Speaking of Valentine's Day, Davey got me the most beautiful roses ever seen!!!!!!


Have you seen anything more beautiful!?!?! I don't think I have! Love them so much!!!! <3 Thanks hunny for these amazing flowers!!!!

We also got our living room renovations about 90% of the way done!!! That means we were able to move back into the living room. The other 10% can be done later....
New flooring, new paint, new windows, and new couches!!! Can't wait for the crown moulding and base boards to go in, as well as a ceiling fan!!!! And my roses are the centerpiece!!!! <3 

Oh, and how can I forget??? I signed up for a bootcamp!!!



Bootcamp starts next week for me! Can't wait!!! To get ready for the bootcamp and my half marathons I also got me a new pair of running shoes!!!!

OMG! Aren't they the most awesomest shoes EVER!?! :D

I will keep you all updated on my bootcamp stories!!!!

I have also signed up for a Foodie Pen Pal thing that another blogger has put on! Each month you get an email from someone and you send them a foodie package! Can't wait to start this out next month!!!!
You can find out all about the pen pal stuff here!!!


Foodie Penpals

Well all, again, I am sorry for not posting any recipes in so long and posting small ones today, but I promise that the next thing I bake (which will be this weekend) will have a post back in full force!!!! Plus, with my bootcamp and my pen pal stuff, there will be plenty of posts headed your way!!!

Much love to you guys!!!

Amy