A Proud Wife

Jared did his first triathlon this past weekend. I am so proud of him! He is probably the best person I know at coming up with a training regimen and sticking to it. He did amazing throughout the race and beat his goal time by 7 minutes. Now he is thinking of doing the New York triathlon next summer. Hmmmm.... Does that mean I get to go shopping? :)

Can you find Jared? Getting ready for the start

The MADNESS! It was hilarious to watch the start of the swim

Grey watching for Daddy during the bike

Back from the biking--only running left. I was tired just watching

Grandma & Grey waiting for Jared during the run

I am going to embarrass Jared and put this up--I made him a poster. hehehe

Perspectives

This morning I had another one of my big training runs.  I get pretty anxious before a big run because it is SO FAR and don't sleep well the night before. It didn't help having Cooper (the dog) up at 5 throwing up and then Grey pretty much up for the day at 5:30. All the while knowing I had to get out of bed at 6:30 and run 10 miles.

After I ran, I took Grey to Story Time and then treated myself to some Taco Bell. The girl was having serious issues getting my order right, not giving me any change for a $20 and forgetting the sauce. She apologized saying, "Sorry, I have been up since 8 this morning and my brain isn't working."

Oh how I wish I could sleep in until 8!

Arachnophobia

I will preface this story by saying I HATE spiders. No offense to you spider-lovers out there. They scare me to death and living in an old, leaky house has intensified that fear. I was doing some cleaning this week and had stuffed a sheet in the hall closet NEXT to our bedroom. I pulled it out and was trying to put it on the top shelf when a monstrous spider fell out and hit me on the head, crawled down my shoulder and jumped onto the trash bag I needed to take out. This spider was the BIGGEST I have seen outside of the zoo or in a glass aquarium. I ran screaming into my bedroom freaking out with chills all over.

Obviously the story does not end there since I had to somehow get rid of this nasty creature. I opened the front door and having no idea where it went, tried to throw the trash bag out the door hoping it didn't crawl on my hand. It jumps off the trash bag before I can get it outside and runs into the shoe closet. I had to pull shoes out of the closet to find it, all the while fearing it would attack me again. Lucky for me I find it and suck it up with the Dyson. The length of the vacuum attachment is as close as I will get to spiders. I am feeling creepy crawly just writing this...

While I was looking for a picture of a spider, I came across this awful article about these spiders that have are taking over the park. Ummmm... Does that freak anyone else out? It looks like a horror movie.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

I am constantly in search of healthy recipes for our family. I use all possible means to get whole grains and veggies into Grey and Jared's diet without them knowing. :)

This is a recipe that I came across when I did Weight Watchers and I modified it a little bit. I always make a few without the chocolate chips for a healthier snack for Grey. He absolutely loves them and they are great for an on-the-go snack.

3 large egg whites
1 large egg
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups zucchini, grated and drained
2 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (or more...) chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 2 muffin tins (12 each) with spray. Beat egg whites until frothy. Add egg, sugar, vanilla, oil and applesauce. Beat until thoroughly combined. Beat in zucchini.

Add flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pans and bake in the middle of the oven until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.

VARIATIONS: You can add a variety of things in the batter such as 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or 1/2 cup chopped raisins. You can also make this in 2 loaf pans instead. Cook for closer to 50-60 minutes.

Tarantulas & Butterflies

We finally made it to the Butterfly Pavillions. Grey LOVES butterflies, so I have been wanting to take him for a while now. Thanks to Pam, Ryan & Addie, we had an extra fun time there. I was brave and held Rosie the Tarantula. I won't lie... I was pretty nervous!

Little Miss Sunshine--Isn't she adorable?!!

Ryan & Grey--they are so funny together
Grey looks like he is posing for an engagement photo. :)

My little man

Some pictures I took of the amazing butterflies. They are so beautiful to watch!

Chocolate Cherry Chip Cookies

I love to cook and tweak recipes for fun. I have thought about starting a recipe blog, but that will take too much effort. So I will just add them to this blog periodically.
These cookies are Jared's absolute favorite in the world. They aren't necessarily my first pick, but they are yummy and oh so cute. They work really well for girl baby showers or Valentine's Day. ENJOY!!!

Chocolate Cherry Chip Cookies

1 cup melted butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (3.5 oz) package instant chocolate pudding mix
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 - 2 cups cherry chips (I like Log House cherry chip baking morsels-found in well-stocked grocery stores near the chocolate chips)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

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 cherry chips.

3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

I have never been SO happy!!!

Ikea is coming to Denver---you heard me right! I am so happy right now!!!
I thought I would never see the day... I mean who goes to Utah before Colorado?