just call me betty crocker

i'm not gonna lie, that is one good looking pie! <-- meaning it looks tasty, not that it is particularly aesthetic.

(side note: the "A" is for apple, not amanda)

greatness

yesterday was stormy and gross. definitely a comfort food kind of day. as a result i was in an autumn mood when i went to the grocery store last night and ended up buying some acorn squash from BJs thinking I'd make some soup. However, today isn't a stormy soup kind of day and I still have plenty of apples left from my race last weekend (wow! was that only a week ago?!?!). so, i did what any normal person would do and googled "squash apple recipe". the first recipe that popped up was the winner since it also included another one of my favorites, cranberries, and is super simple to make.

Butternut Squash Apple Cranberry Bake from Simply Recipes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (i bought mine pre peeled and pre cut)
• 2 large tart cooking apples cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (i used craisins)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (i used splenda brown sugar for baking)
• 1/4 cup (half a stick) butter (i used unsalted)
• 1 Tbsp flour (i used whole wheat)
• 1 teaspoon salt (i used reduced sodium salt)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mace (can substitute ground nutmeg) (i used 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon cloves)

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice and peel squash and apples.

2 Put squash cubes in ungreased 7x11-inch baking dish. Place apples on top and then cranberries. Mix the flour, salt, sugar, and mace and sprinkle on top. Dot with butter. Bake 50-60 minutes.

i loved it! the pictures don't do justice to the taste. it's pretty delicious.

the other thing i made today was pancakes. keep in mind, i don't typically like pancakes therefore i do not make pancakes. however, they are great for athletes to eat as pre-workout fuel due to the rate at which the complex carbs break down (no, i won't bore you with the science lesson) not to mention they're easy to freeze and pull out in a hurry.

The following is a recipe from Playtri.

Oatmeal Pancakes

Make this ahead of time! The dry ingredients can be mixed and stored for later use. Just add the buttermilk, eggs and butter. High in protein and low in fat!

Ingredients

• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup instant nonfat dry powdered milk
• ¼ cup wheat germ
• 1 tbsp packed brown sugar (i used splenda brown sugar for baking)
• 1tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 cups lowfat buttermilk (i used the powdered and only did a cup and half -- since i've not made pancakes i don't really know how thin the mixture should be so mine was maybe too thick)
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup light unsalted butter

Preparation
1. Pulse oats in food processor 5 to 6 times until ground.
2. Combine ground oats, wheat flour, and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and butter; stir into oat mixture.
3. Pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto a hot griddle coated with cooking spray. Cook pancakes until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked; turn and cook other side.

Makes 10 servings (1 serving = 2 pancakes) -- mine only made 12 (probably because of the buttermilk)

Per serving : 183 Calories; 9g Protein; 26g Carbohydrates; 5g Fat; 256mg Sodium

The batter:

for all you people who make pancakes on a regular basis, having your pancakes form a circle isn't a big deal. for a novice like me, a circle is a minor miracle.

it isn't burnt, just crispy (it took me a couple to learn that i needed to turn my burner down a little).
overall, i'm pretty impressed with how my pancakes turned out. granted when i go to eat them i may not be as pleased. but i can always blame it on freezer burn...

Apple Pie

As a last minute decision angela decided to use some of the apples i won from the race (see previous post to see how huge the basket is) to make some apple pie to give to the sawyers (our small group leaders who are moving back to south carolina).

Ready to begin:

However, we ran into a few "issues" when she went to make it. first, her crust recipe called for milk. i don't drink milk therefore i don't own milk. so, we decided to do her pie filling with my crust. sure, no problem i thought. however, i forgot that i made dave (allison's husband) an apple cake on thursday as a thank you for letting allison come to new hampshire with me and i had used almost all of my white flour. so, i ended up making the bottom crust with white flour and the top crust was a mixture of whole wheat flour and white flour and the filling has whole wheat flour. we were worried about how it would taste (i'm not a huge fan of baking with whole wheat flour because i think it tends to make things too heavy) and were hesitant about claiming it as our pie and giving it as a gift. but then, since we got a late start making it and used a whole lot of apples it didn't finish baking before we had to leave so we left it baking in the oven and i'll take it to work tomorrow. those people with eat anything, even apple pie made with whole wheat flour.

it isn't burnt, that is cinnamon on the top

Update: people at work gave the pie rave reviews. i give all the credit to angela being fabulous

Birthday

When I got back from New Hampshire on Saturday my friend, Angela, had left me a rose, a balloon, and some chocolate. So sweet! p.s. this is why we give friends keys to our apartments :)

rachel and randall (a.k.a. "the fernandez family") gave me a watermelon (i love how well they know me) as well as the most perfect card ever (the front says "after a certain age, women face an increased risk while jogging" and the inside says "specifically, getting slapped in the face by their own boobs"). bahahahaha

and, then, trupti gave me a super wonderful birthday surprise on Sunday

she invited my friends from church over. tim, randall, brad
lalo and ben
juliann, rachel, angela
and then she made me all my favorite foods.

mini bananas and candy from the chinese store

cheese and bread with homemade butter

"guacamole" but it is a mix of avocado and bleu cheese
lettuce wraps and thai chicken
not pictured, "experimental" lemon grass chicken and stir fried rice.

we had root beer floats for dessert because last friday we went to red robin for brad's birthday and lalo and randall each had three root beer floats but due to race training i did not get to drink one. hahahaha.

AppleFest Half Marathon

For my birthday on Saturday my running buddy, Allison and I ran the AppleFest Half Marathon on Hollis, New Hampshire.

I was really excited about it until Thursday. Why until Thursday? Because on Thursday I looked up the course route. And then on Friday I drove the course route. Since you won't be able to fully understand without a visual aid, below you will find the map (courtesy of my really awesome garmin watch) of the elevation of the course. If you'll look, there is a hill right before mile two that is a quarter mile long. not so bad. then there is a stretch of flat followed by a steep descent. honestly going down hill is just as tiring as going up because most people don't run on their toes like they should. then there's a few miles of "rolling" hills. now, look from about mile nine and a half until mile eleven. that is ONE HUGE HILL! then there was flat, then just after mile twelve was the same quarter mile hill that was just before mile two but seemed a whole lot steeper ten miles later.

Needless to say, i was seriously freaking out going into Saturday. This was my first half marathon to run "on my own" since Allison and I ran side by side at our last one and I train in relatively flat framingham.

But, my sister sent me a new neon shirt as inspiration. side story: she actually sent me a long jog bra but i was afraid of it being chilly in new england at the end of september so i traded for long sleeve. however, it turned out to be 85 degrees yesterday. And, my mom sent me some new race socks. so, even if i fell on my face at least i had new gear.

allison and i pre-race.

ready to run!

race story: just after mile eight the man who handed me some water told me i was the 13th woman. i saw a pack of three women in front of me and another girl up ahead and thought "if i can pass them i can be top ten". so, the hunt began (except i had to remember not to be too aggressive too soon because i still had one monster of a hill to go). the first girl i passed at the water stop when she actually stopped to drink her water. two more i took down on the super long mile and a half hill. that left the one girl up ahead. i decided my best chance to pass her would be on the flat before the final hill. so, i took the risk and went for it and was a little worried she would be able to draft off me going up the hill or i would burn out. but, at the last water station at mile twelve the kind kids doused me with water which was just the cool down i needed. going up the last hill there was a woman on the side of the road puking which relaxed me some because it meant even if the girl behind me passed me i would still be in the top ten. but, i survived and actually increased my lead. then, on the home stretched i found my legs again and passed a girl who had started off super fast and had no fuel left. sooo....

race results: out of 1200 people

Overall: 37th

Women's Division: 7th

Age Group: 1st

Time: 1:38:36

Average Pace: 7:27/ mile

the prize for first place was a basket full of apples (yes, the base is full too).

2nd and 3rd got pies. fatty amanda would've preferred pie :)


post race.

Allison ran 2:12 got 432nd

her mantra was: i didn't win and i didn't tie, but i didn't walk and i didn't die. hahahaha

I love my running buddy

check it out

i encourage you to check out Desiring God. it is particularly good today:

The Gracious Rescue of Surprise by Paul Tripp

God's little reminders

I woke up this morning and my first thought was “you forgot to wear your road id yesterday when you ran to the Y, don’t forget it again today”. When I went to my closet to get my watch, heart rate monitor, and road id (usually things I lay out the night before but forgot last night) my road id wasn’t there. I know Megan makes fun of me for keeping it in the container but that is how I keep track of it and don’t lose it. I checked the shelf in its entirety, the floor, the catch all basket by my front door, basically anywhere I could think of where I might have placed it or it could’ve gotten hid. Couldn’t find it. Thinking back to the last time I remember seeing it, I realized that I last had it on Monday when I rode my bike. But, I was also wearing my watch and heart rate monitor so they should’ve all been put away together. Just in case, I checked my bike helmet and Nike bag. Not there. My next thought was that maybe it fell out in my car. But then I remembered that I lost my bananas on Monday and if my road id was in the car I should’ve found it when I was searching for the bananas. I was frustrated with myself for not paying more attention and losing my road id. But then I stopped and prayed that God would help me find it. He knew where it was and what happened to it even if I didn’t. And I went back to my closet to check my bike helmet one more time. When I did I saw my cycle shoes sitting on the shelf. I picked the left one up, turned it over, and out fell my road id.

Point of the story: God answers prayers. And, He cares about us and the little things that bother us. Nothing is too small for Him to handle.

Thank you, God, for your little reminders.

Speaking of reminders...

Biblical Truths

1. God is a Sovereign God.

Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

2. His ways are perfect

Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

3. His timing is perfect

Ecclesiastes 3:1: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.

4. He knows me better than I know myself

Psalm 139: 13: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

Who do I think I am/ what gives me the right to question/doubt His perfect will or His perfect timing or His perfect love when ultimately He has it all under control?

Psalm 46:10: Be still and know I am God