Inspiring

I have been following the nienie blog. Everything about this woman is inspiring to me. I had to post this...

Salt Lake City Half Marathon

On April 17, 2010 my running buddy Jen and I ran in the SLC Half Marathon. We have been training through the dreads of winter and it turned out to be a gorgeous day! The weather was perfect and we ran well. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the course. I saw parts of SLC I had never seen before and realized it is actually quite beautiful in some places:). Here are the pictures...

My friend Lindsey (in orange) joined us at the start. It was both her and Jen's first Half. They did AWESOME!
Brandon found us around mile 8.

1:53:31

As soOn aS sChooL GetS oUt...

...we will be boarding one of these...
...and spending time in many places that look like this...
...and using Brandon's new toys...
...to do a lot of this...
...we will be taking many pictures with Brandon's new underwater [late] Christmas present...
...so check back!
Don't worry, I didn't understand that this thing was a camera at first either, but Brando loves it!

Avocado Egg Rolls

I got this recipe from a friend. If you love avocados, egg rolls, and cilantro then you will love this recipe. It is a little labor intensive, but well worth it after you eat them.

Avocado Egg Roll Ingredients:
2 large avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
4 Tbsp sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped
2 Tbsp minced red onion
1 tsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
6 egg roll wraps
*I added about 2 fist fulls of shredded chicken to make the egg rolls a bit more hearty.
Gently stir together avocado, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and salt. Distribute filling evenly onto center of each egg roll wrapper. Position a wrapper so that a corner is pointing toward you; fold the bottom corner up over the filling.

Fold side corners in and roll toward the top corner. Wet the edges of the top corner with a little water. Then fold top corner over and press to seal. Repeat with remaining wrappers.

Continue by deep-frying the egg rolls in 375 degree oil for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
Slice egg rolls diagonally across middle and serve with prepared dipping sauce.
Honey Cilantro Dipping Sauce Ingredients:
3-4 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup chopped cashews
2/3 cup fresh cilantro (I put in a bit too much cilantro. That is why it looks so green and scary, but it was still really good.)
2 garlic cloves
2 green onions
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup olive oil

To make dipping sauce, use a blender or food processor to puree all listed ingredients except olive oil. Blend until well pureed. Then stream in olive oil. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Rex Lee Run

This morning I ran a 10K (6.2 miles) in the Rex Lee Run. I ran with my running buddy Jen, her sister-in-law Jamie, and my friend Lindsey. I haven't run very many races with someone else. I always end up being there with friends, but then running by myself. So this was fun! Jen and I ran together the whole way and met up with everyone else at the end. She did awesome; it was her first race ever and we wanted to do a small race to prepare us for our big half marathon in Salt Lake next month. We were really lucky the snow storm hit just as we finished the run, but we didn't stick around to see our results.

The start. We are in the upper left of the crowd.
Jen and I a bit before half way.
The final kick at the finish.
There were so many people. I love the crowds at races!
Lindsey and I at the end.

Vancouver 2010

I think my studying had been infected with Olympic fever. Is anyone else suffering from this?

Need a Laugh?