Campfire Treats

We have been doing campfires frequently this summer (I think last night's was number 3 in about 4 weeks :) ) - which really makes me want a yard of my own so we can host the party sometimes! Anyway, we were thinking of desserts to do (instead of the standard s'mores) and of course pinterest came to mind! I said, what about Campfire Cones?!

Katrina also was doing a little googling and saw that you can make pies in a can, which made her think that we could do chocolate chip calzones (sort of like the ones at Claim Jumper). [we didn't totally get the heating process down on these, so they may or may not have been winners...]

I also said we could try the Banana Boats (I doubt that is what they are called, but the name is stuck in my head).

So we headed to the store and go the ingredients - chocolate chips, mini-marshmallows, sugar cones, strawberries, bananas, and biscuits. And then went to the fire.

Our first try of both the cone and the calzone were DISASTROUS! We left them in for way too long and they turned to crispy critters (thankfully we have no pictures - I think we were slightly embarrassed of the outcome).

We finally figured out the 'right' way to do them and they were yummy! We really did have a blast! Some of the pictures are below. (And yes, I know they are all super blurry - you can tell my photog thanks later if you see him... grrrr)

The ingredients

We put them in their own containers so people could mix in what they wanted in their cones

Then we mixed the stuffings together in a bowl

We thought it would be easier to get a good mixture rather than trying to layer it

Oh crazy ladies!

Ryan made a ""cocoon""... It was a biscuit around chocolate strawberries and bananas. It was in the shape of a cocoon... (or a 'brown trout'). He even had hangers at each end of the foil so he could rotate it in the fire.

Thumbs up

Ryan wasn't short on fire pictures... just our creation shots I guess...

The banana boat (okay, it looked a lot better in the pinterest picture, but that was before it went into the fire to melt, right?!

Yep, another photo of the flames

Well, Ryan is the fire whisperer, so I guess it makes sense :)

And yes, I do realize my photog also didn't take any pictures of our delicious cones... oops... thanks Sammy... I guess there is always next time!!

Your Suggestions?!

I need YOUR help. Or maybe your suggestions are more what I am looking for. I have really been trying to help Ryan get his Etsy store up and running. We were able to get everything up online a couple weeks ago. Now the problem is getting it out in the world. I have put the link on my Facebook, I have created a Facebook page for his art, I have sent the link to friends and family members, etc. I know that if we get the word out there, that Ryan is BEYOND talented, and his pieces would sell like hot-cakes. I am just looking for thoughts on how to get the site (and his name) out there. Obviously, free ideas are best (I don’t want to spend $50,000 on a marketing campaign J ), but a few dollars here or there would be fine too.

Any thoughts??

QB - Walk Off!

Thankful Thursday

Running 'coach' [Check out my blog post here if you haven't read it yet. Although I am NOT excited about taking 30 days off, I am excited to be able to train properly and so that I can run forever (not meaning I could run for 3 years without stopping, but that I can run for many, many years to come). Not to mention, I will be thrilled to be injury free (crossing my fingers).]

Craigslist [We are in the process of selling some stuff - you know, 'spring cleaning' time - and we really have had great success with this site. Obviously you need to be extremely careful when you are potentially inviting strangers to your home - which is why Ryan normally has his knife within reach (haha). Our local Craigslist is great, and I think it is mostly because we have a marine base about 5 minutes from here, which means folks are always getting deployed or stationed somewhere new and either selling or looking for items all the time]

Fresh fruits and veggies [I can eat salads just about every day - which we have been lately because the veggies look so yummy. Not to mention bringing an apple or three with me to work to munch on. And the strawberries have been on sale at the grocery store as well - DELISH! Oh, one day I hope I can just grow all of my own fruits and veggies, but until that day I will still take great joy in the work of the other farmers']

American Express [This one takes a little more explaining :). Ryan's credit card number was stolen last week (apparently, since the charges started rolling in around Friday). I try and check our banking information about every other day. I saw on Monday that we had about $400 in charges from places in Florida (including Dave & Busters, McDonalds, gas stations, etc). We called AMEX right away when we noticed it. The apologized that they didn't catch it for us, and told us that they would overnight Ryan a new card that day and get all of the charges refunded. Yesterday we already had all of the credits back on our card. We noticed that two more charges posted Monday after we called, so we called them up again and they handled it right away for us. It is CRAPTASTIC that there are people in the world that try to steal from you, but it is nice to know that we work with a company that will back us 110% and give us back everything that is owed to us.]

Helm for 4 More

[Helm is one of Ryan's favorites... He calls him 'D-Dog'. So we were both quite excited to see he signed for another 4 years with the Red Wings]

Wings, Helm agree to terms of new deal

DETROIT -- Red Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Ken Holland today announced that the club has agreed to terms with forward Darren Helm on a four-year contract. In accordance with team policy, additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Helm, 25, was originally a fifth-round selection (132nd overall) of the Red Wings in the 2005 National Hockey League Entry Draft. He appeared in 68 games for the Red Wings in 2011-12, finishing the season with 26 points (9G-17A-26P) and 12 PIM. Helm missed 14 games due to injury, including the final 10 games of the season with a knee sprain suffered on March 17 at San Jose. The Winnipeg, Manitoba, native returned for Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Nashville Predators, but played only 3:08 before suffering lacerated tendons in his right forearm after being struck by an opponent’s skate in the first period. The 5-11, 195-lb. forward is expected to make a full recovery in time for the start of training camp in September.

“Darren is an important part of our team and we’re very happy that we’ve reached an agreement,” said Holland. “He’s one of the fastest skaters in the game and we love the physical element that he brings. He’s an outstanding penalty killer and the ideal third line center for us behind Pavel (Datsyuk) and Henrik (Zetterberg). We really missed him when he was out of the lineup in March and April.”

Helm is entering his fourth full season with the team. He played in just 16 regular season games for the Red Wings from 2007-09, but appeared in 41 postseason games during that same span and was an important part of Detroit’s 2008 Stanley Cup championship run and its return to the Stanley Cup Final in 2009. Helm’s career numbers include 248 games played, 83 points (32G-51A-83P) and 52 PIM. In 65 career postseason games, he’s collected 16 points (10G-6A-16P) and 18 PIM.

Running Hiatus

This afternoon I met with my boss about my running. [Now before you think this is weird, like I just talk to everyone about my knee, I have to say, he is a very talented and trained athlete. He runs marathons (and WINS), does triathlons (and WINS), etc. So he knows what he is talking about - not to mention has been my boss for about 4 years and I have really come to trust and value his opinion (not just on running either)]. I told him about my IT band and what I was planning on doing about it. He had me tell him everything and asked me questions for about 30 minutes or so. I let him know that I was disappointed, but that I was happy because my doctor said that I could keep running.

He asked me if I wanted his opinion - which obviously I said I did. First he said that I should scratch this season and just consider it a loss. He told me to I should take off 30 days of no running. I should find something else to do (biking, lifting weights, etc). He said that once I start up again we could work on changing my form (running on my toes instead of heal striking).

We talked for a few minutes and then he asked me what I was planning on doing. I chuckled and said that I was going to go run on the beach. He said, that if I was planning on doing that, and if I was just running to say that I completed my goal, he would suggest that I find a half marathon in the next couple weeks and run it then and then take off 60 days or so (because he said he would rather I hurt myself for a shorter period of time and then take off a longer time to rest).

We talked for a little longer about how I needed to change my focus to a more long term one. If I am just running to finish a goal, that is one thing, but if I am running because I want to enjoy running and have it be my 'thing' then I need to think of things differently.

I asked him if he thought that if I took off 30 days if I could still run my race - since I would technically have 1.5 months before the race. He said we could do it. So we are going to plan everything out next week. I am going to print off a calendar and we are going to schedule my workouts between now and the race. Now I won't be running for the next month, but we will still be doing gym work outs (like elliptical, exercise bike, and lifting weights).

Honestly, I think I am slightly nervous. I am worried that taking off a month is going to really hurt my chances of running and finishing my race. I am also worried that the training schedule that we set up will kick my butt. But, I do want to be able to run for the rest of my life. And not have to worry about injuries. So here's to taking the advice, sticking to a plan, and working through the hiccups along the way.

Doctor's Appointment

I ended up making a doctor’s appointment last week for my leg/ knee. They weren’t able to get me in until Thursday, but hey, at least it was better than the available appointments I was seeing online (I think the first one might have been around July 12^th).

I have to say, it went better than I thought it would. I was slightly (okay, more than slightly, I was extremely) worried that they would tell me that I needed to stop running. I figured that they probably wouldn’t know much about running injuries and thought they’d just say, ‘if it hurts, stop’. Thankfully my doctor knows I have been training (she is a U of M grad and actually has been super sweet and helpful with everything, so I don’t know why I doubt her, I guess it must be my lack of confidence in doctors in general because of my past). She told me that it was probably IT Band Syndrome (which one of my friend’s had mentioned to me when I told her my symptoms a few weeks ago). Since I didn’t have a specific injury (like a tendon popping or bruises or anything like that), she thinks that it is just my IT Band. She gave me a few suggestions – run on softer surface (she thought that the sidewalk and hard concrete of the street was irritating my IT Band), she gave me a knee brace (more of like a compression wrap that I can try to see if it helps), a few exercises and stretches that can help, and said to listen to my body (don’t do more than I can handle – if it hurts, slow down or stop).

I have talked to some of my friends (I have some great ones J ) and I have received some additional suggestions. The main suggestion was FOAM ROLL. Thankfully I already have a foam roller. I really like foam rolling, but I have to admit, before this I was doing it every so often, but not on a consistent basis. Now that people have really been pushing it (and people that know what they are talking about – like doctors in physical therapy), I am really trying to do it like it is my job J [like at least three times a day]. Also, another suggestion was to ice. So again, I am trying to do that a lot more as well [like at least twice a day].

Technically I still have about 2.5 months till my race, so I think I can do it. I am planning on running on the beach (on the hard, packed sand – around low tide), wear my knee brace, keep my mileage low, use ice and maybe some icy-hot, and foam roll like crazy. Like one of my friends’s said, ‘at least it isn’t August’. I should have time to get my training back up to where I would like it.  And even if I am not 100% where I would like to be, hopefully there will be more races and chances to accomplish what I would like to do.

Thank you for all of your who said prayers, sent good thoughts and vibes, emailed encouraging notes, posted on my facebook wall, etc. It has really been great to have the encouragement and love during this rough patch of my running. YOU GUYS ROCK!!