It's only appropriate...

As Christmas approached this year, I had grand plans of making lots of baked items and giving away to everyone I knew. Well, that didn't happen. As a result, I have more flour and powdered sugar than I know what to do with. So, I've been mulling over "items that require flour" since the beginning of the year. And then it hit me.

As you read from my last post, I made the greatest purchase of my life (so far) last Saturday. Yet to disappoint, I have already made 2 yummy soups and prepping for another one this week. Well, what goes well with soup? B-R-E-A-D.

I was reading Casey's blog this week and she referenced a new bread cookbook.

I was curious. Could bread really be prepared in 5 minutes a day? What's the gimmick? Well, I decided to go look through the pages at my local Barnes & Noble to see what this book was all about. I walked away knowing it would be the perfect accompaniment to my new Dutch oven. Tonight I ordered it from Amazon and it should arrive on Wednesday. That gives me just enough time to purchase the 2 items I do not currently own to make my first boule: yeast and an oven thermometer.

Remember the "Year of Pies" (which turned out to be the "5 Months of Pies")? I hereby declare 2011, the "Year of Artisan Bread."

Best Purchase of 2011...so far

For my last birthday, Chip surprised me with a very hefty gift card for Williams-Sonoma. Does he know me or does he know me? At first, I wasn't sure if I should buy several small items (as if I have the space to store them all) or put it towards a big purchase. I decided that I would save some money and purchase an item I have dreamed of owning for more than 5 years, a Le Creuset dutch oven. Well, I had a number of "needs" come up between September and December so the purchase never came to be. For Christmas, Chip's parents gave me another W-S gift card and told me to use it towards my dutch oven. Now the oven was in an affordable, I-can-go-buy-it-whenever price range. I've had it on my to-do list since then but whenever I was in the W-S area, I would forget to run by there or it would be after they closed. Plus, I needed to decide what color I wanted.

Saturday night Chip and I had dinner reservations in the W-S area with the Barfords. I decided I would stop by there on my way to meet him. Still uncertain of the color, I figured I would just look at what was available and make up my mind.

I walked into the store and went straight to the Le Creuset display. They had 3 colors: Cobalt Blue, Red, and a Greenish color they call Ocean. I wasn't wild about any of them. Then I looked at the prices. Apparently, when I looked online, they were on a discounted sale. These were significantly more than I expected. With my head hung low, I decided I would just walk around the store since I was there. As I glanced around the store, it was as if a light shone from above pointed me to a SALE table. Probably very similar to the North Star pointing shepherds to the Savior's birth. I speedily walked over, dodging an elderly woman on the way to see what the table had in store. Orange box after orange box were stacked on the table. One of the employees walked over to see if I needed help and informed me they were the discontinued colors that needed to be moved. I almost immediately heard the Hallelujah chorus and I could not stop smiling. I opened every box to see which one would become my new best friend. I had hoped they had the dijon mustard one but I was pleasantly surprised when I opened a box to see a 5 1/2 quart dutch oven in the color Flame (read: Volunteer Orange).

This was it! This was the one! Not only was it perfect, but also perfectly priced. It was marked more than $120.00 less than suggested retail price. Thank you, Jesus!

I went to the register to purchase beaming. I informed the lady this was my first. All the employees were commenting on how I got the perfect one for my first and how much they loved the color. She looked at me smiling and assured me, "Honey, this won't be your last." I sure hope so. I. Sure. Hope. So.

I couldn't make this up...

For those of you West of the Eastern Seaboard, we have a serious snow situation. And when I say serious, I mean 10-15 inches of snow depending on location. Yesterday in South Carolina, I had no idea what was taking place north of me. Prior to leaving I checked the web and it looked like VAB would get about 6 inches of snow and I-95 was clear. Thinking that I needed to get back so I could get to work on Monday, I left SC and headed to Hampton Roads. This is the first decision in my life that I am deeply disappointed in myself for making.

The web had been truthful and I-95 was pretty clear. There was snow falling but the roads had no accumulation or other drivers for much of it. I figured I could roll into VAB around 3 and beat sundown. About 50 miles from my destination, I was stuck on Hwy 58 not moving with well over 7 hours in the car. I was 7 miles from interstate and certain once I was there it would be smooth sailing. Sitting still I heard a pop and smoke began to exit from the hood. I had no idea what to do so I just turned my car off in the middle of the road. We weren't moving, so I wasn't going to try to get out of the way. I completely lost it, certain I would be stranded in the cold and already feeling somewhat claustrophobic from the bumper to bumper traffic. What happened next reminded me of my favorite movie as a kid, Adventures in Babysitting.

Before I could really get a bearing on what had happened, a wrecker pulled up in front of me and the guy got out. He wasted no time and told me to call my insurance and he would start hooking me up. I was so confused and uncertain of what would happen that I could not stop crying. The wrecker driver, Adam, got in and then started to try to figure out what to do with me. At first he was angry that I got stuck and yelled at me for crying. And he sweared A LOT. None of that helped the situation and only increased the tears. He informed me that he couldn't take me home because the bridges were closing and many of the exits were doing the same. I had to find a place to go that side of the High Rise Bridge and I could not think of anywhere. I just started calling people that I thought were in the area. In the process, he assured me he wouldn't leave me in the cold and told me I would just ride around with him until I could figure out where to go.

Sitting shotgun in a 30,000 pound wrecker, my mind started to wander. My first thought was Adventures in Babysitting and I knew if I opened his glove box, there would be a gun. And if he wanted to go check on someone's house I was toast! Then I began to think of all the Criminal Minds episodes I watch every night. That did not help my sanity. Sure he was in a legit truck, but how did I know he hadn't hijacked the real driver and he was picking up innocent victims to drive away and kill? I just began to pray that everything would work out and that I would be safe and warm somewhere that night. I managed to warm Adam up to the idea of me hanging out with him for a bit and after he yelled at me and made me cry more, he got soft. By the end of the trip, he was trying to joke around with me and I think he enjoyed the company. After numerous phone calls, I managed to track down a friend from high school that lived 1 exit away from the wrecker service. We arranged a meeting spot and he dropped me off with Haley's husband. When I exited the wrecker, I hugged him. I'm not sure he knew what to do with that since he just stood there, but I was so grateful for him.

I spent last night with the McPhail's and their hospitality is extremely appreciated. This morning Haley's husband drove me to my car to retrieve the contents and then drove me to my house. I'm home now, but sans car. Right now, I'm just praying for an inexpensive fix and life to return to normalcy soon. I've had a number of inconveniences in the last 2 months, so I'm a bit exhausted.

The whole situation has really done a number on me emotionally. First of all, I wish with every fiber of my being I had stayed in SC. I could have spent a few more days with my family and enjoyed it post Christmas stresses. I always get emotional leaving their home and wish I had more time with them. Second, I'm in awe of how awesome God is. Adam insisted that if I hadn't been in the middle of the road, he wouldn't have stopped. And we all know on a normal travel day it takes a while to get a wrecker. Even if my car hadn't broke down, I wouldn't have made it home if everything truly did shut down. And just before the pop, I told my dad I was done. I wanted to just pull over and quit. I drove for 7 hours white knuckled and teary eyed most of the way, and I was exhausted.

I learned 2 things out of this:
1) You are never too cautious. Safety is more important than anything else. And if people want to call you a pansy, just remember the time I got picked up by a wrecker in a snow storm. I'm never driving in snow again.
2) Even when you make poor decisions, the Lord doesn't leave you stranded. He always provides, even if it is a grumpy old man that gets mad at you for breaking down. In the end, that mean old man turns out to be an angel.

2011 Race Calendar

My running partner and I have been trying to decide what 2011 will look like for our running careers. Neither one of us wanted to make any decisions since Richmond. Well, I received the following email from her this week:

"Wishy Washy Running Partner sees four possible spring scenarios - pick one and I will commit.

'We are a hot mess.' - Run Colonial 1/2, Outer Banks Pirate 1/2, Wine Country 1/2 (this is one every other month beginning Feb), ... Marine Corps a given.

'Karen avoiding running in cold for one more month.' -Shamrock 8k, Outer Banks Pirate 1/2, Wine Country 1/2, begin marathon training.

'Same old, same old.' - Shamrock 1/2, add Wine Country 1/2 prior to beginning marathon training.

'Hills, Hills, Hills.' - Colonial 1/2, Shamrock 8k, Wine Country 1/2...[Marine Corps]..."

So, I have spent the week considering my options, performing cost analysis, and deciding what our best plan of action would be. I was drawn to the first plan, but after reviewing the costs for the races and the hotel needs for each I made a proposition. Let's swap OBX with Shamrock. This puts us running 2 local races (no accomodations needed) and 2 travel races. Sure, we have run Shamrock about a MILLION TIMES but it is a good race. AND you get a free hat. I like the hat.

Karen agreed and registration has begun. We are officially "a hot mess."

Tonight I got an email from Coach to determine my goals for 2011. I must admit, this last year of training has shown me that I truly can improve and accomplish goals I never thought possible.

To keep myself accountable, here are the announced goals for 2011:

Colonial Half (Feb): Finish and enjoy the scenery. Running has been minimal for the Holiday season, so I'm not going to kill myself in 2 months of training.
Shamrock Half (March): Finish in 2:05. This will be 6 minutes faster than Richmond averaging 46 seconds faster each mile.
Wine Country Half (June): Finish in 2:00
Marine Corps Marathon (October): Less walk breaks than Shamrock 2010 and finish under 4:50. That shaves 9 minutes off my other marathon time. However, I have been told that runners typically shave about 20 minutes off marathon time for the second attempt.
5k Goal: Finish in 27 minutes. That only shaves 37 seconds from my current PR.
8K Goal: Finish under 47 minutes. That shaves about 1:20 from my current PR.
Other: I would like to make 9:40 the new "slow".

Stay tuned in 2011 to see how I perform with an increased "big" race schedule (4 instead of my typical 2 in a year) and high mileage weeks. As crazy as this sounds, I'm pretty pumped about it!

A Hoarder's Home

I have spent the last 2 days with my floor guys. Day one they removed all the paper backing from the vinyl that was pulled up earlier. This was in preparation for the new floors. Today, their 2nd day working, the kitchen tile was put down and the vinyl in the laundry room completed. Since the tile has to set, my oven and fridge have joined all of my other furniture in the dining area. And since the bathroom vanity cabinet has to be replaced, the new one is hanging out in the laundry room. Tomorrow, they will replace the bath cabinet and I assume lay the tile in the master bath.

I say all of this to say, I live in what looks like a hoarder's home. I cannot even watch that show from the stress and frustration of the living conditions. Yet, I am there right now. It is absolutely killing me. My dining room table blocks the door to my guest room so I have to enter through the guest bath. I'm trying to get some sewing projects completed in the midst of this chaos, so I have to enter the guest room through the bathroom and shimmy my way to the sewing machine, which is a straight shot from the bedroom door that is blocked. Ugh! All of my "stuff" is stacked in the guest room, not to mention my Christmas presents that I have already purchased. Everything that was in my bathroom cabinet is now hanging out in my bedroom. Nothing is in its proper place.

I cannot stress enough how anxious I am to get this place back in order! Looks like I can move back into my kitchen and laundry room tomorrow afternoon. Carpet dude is scheduled for Tuesday and any outstanding work on the other floors should finish that day as well. Fingers crossed this place is back to normal by Tuesday. I want to decorate for Christmas, but I'm starting to lose the motivation. What timing!

The Floors Are Coming!

Well, I am finally getting my floors tomorrow morning. The "incident" occurred on 6 November, so it has been close to a month that I have been living on concrete slabs. Insurance is a bear to deal with, so it has taken time to get that squared away and to pick out something not to mention the Thanksgiving holiday. After much tile previewing, I have finally settled on the kitchen floor. I'm pretty sure on the bathroom floor, but I haven't gotten the vanity cabinet yet. I'm asking to do that whole job on a later date. The carpet will be laid on Tuesday morning.

As long as I can get my kitchen and laundry room taken care of, then the carpet folks can fix the dining area and hallway. So, all of my home that is visible to guests will be put back together in the next few days. You have no idea how excited I am to get this settled. As soon as home life resumes normalcy, I get to decorate for Christmas!!!!!

Color Scheme Quest

Since the Flood of twenty-ten, I have the opportunity to do a little upgrading and redecorating. As exciting as it is, it is also a big headache. I feel like I can't do anything until 1) I get the moolah squared away with insurance and 2) I figure out what the crap I am going to do.

In the meantime, my home is an absolute wreck and I'm walking on concrete slab in half of my house. I have discovered I own more things than any single woman should own. And my Christmas projects are behind schedule since my home is in disarray. I hope this chaos is over very soon.

Here is one of my main dilemmas: Master Bath colors. I get to repace the vanity cabinet because it was damaged and the floor. I figured this was a great opportunity to fix it up since I have hated it for sometime now. I really want a black cabinet. I can't find any COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) cabinets I can afford and would want. I've almost decided to go custom. But I could save a lot of money if I just bought a standard white cabinet at Home Depot. I think I want to paint the walls a shade of gray but I'm struggling with the accent color. I have thoughts of Red (because I hate red) or yellow. I cannot decide on anything! Anyone have suggestions? HELP!