Dad's Birthday

My Dad's birthday was a few weeks ago but we decided to celebrate last Saturday. Since it was his 60th birthday we decided to go all out.

We started the afternoon off with a matinee showing of "A Christmas Carol". The play this year was actually really good. They threw in more humor and the set looked awesome! The actors are obviously the ones who pulled the play together but it is still nice to have a good looking stage and props to make the play more exciting.

Since we had time between the play and dinner we wandered around the Guthrie and took some photos.

Then we headed to The Oceanaire for dinner. Jon and I were the only ones who had not been to this restaurant yet so it was a fun new experience for us. The food was amazing! Seriously. Usually there is one item that I could do without but ALL the food we got was awesome and full of flavor! This place is definitely in my top ten.

We stuffed ourselves full and then they brought out dessert...

It was a really fun night and Dad seemed to enjoy himself so I think we did a good job celebrating this year.

Portland

On October 17th, I flew out to Portland, Oregon to hang out with Jon. Jon was there for work and I like to explore so I came too. I explored the city while Jon was working and then explored with him once he was done working.

I would say that the most eventful time during this week was when I got off the plane and I had a call from a recruiter at Target. She was calling to offer me a JOB! So she offered me the job and I ran all over the city trying to get my drug test done within 24hours. But I got it in and then had to call my other job to put in my two weeks... that was a hard phone call and not the way I would like to end a job but I did what I had to do and now I have a fancy new job downtown and closer to home.

The rest of the week I relaxed, read a couple of books and drank a lot of coffee. Just my kind of week. Plus it was nice to get a vacation in before the new job. At night, Jon and I would walk around the city.

One night we found this really good bewery that not only had good beer but awesome food.

Of course we had to go to Voodoo Donuts too!

The last day we rented a car and drove outside the city and found a bunch of beatiful waterfalls.

Haha!

Half Marathon

I didn't get far in telling you how training was going for my half marathon and I'm not about to go into detail about it now. I'll just say that there were a lot of ups and downs and good weeks and bad weeks but in the end I did it and have no real injuries from it.

The race took place on October 15th at 9am. We live just over an hour away from the race so Jon and I got up early, packed up the car and headed there. I was really nervous because the longest run I actually run in my training was 8 miles and I was about to run 13! Also the 2 weeks before the race were super busy with Holly's wedding, friends and nursing injuries that we didn't really have the chance to train.

Jon was super excited for me and a great support through the whole process. He trained with me, cheered me on and was totally cool with sitting in the car for 2 hours as I ran. He also kept taking random photos of me...

and making me pose...

Since I was running by myself and didn't have a watch on me. I did my best to keep in pace with others around me who looked like they knew what they were doing. For the first 8 miles I kept close to some guys who I later found out were keeping pace at 10 minute miles! That surprised me, since I was pretty sure I would run about 11 or 12 minute miles. I figured if I've run this far with them already then I might as well try and keep running with them.

The course was hilly. Which I don't mind because for me going up hills is easy, it's the down hills kill my knee. From years of playing volleyball and falling on my knees, they begin to hurt when it's cold or I'm going downhill. So where everyone else speeds up on the downhills, I slow down and speed up on the uphills. There was one particular downhill that made me slow down so much that I lost the guys I was pacing myself with. At this moment I actually found myself pretty much running by myself through the woods.

It was beautiful.

This race has always just given me so much energy and excitement while running. Just seeing the beautiful colors and breathing in the fresh air. It's awesome.
I really wanted to stop and enjoy the view but I also wanted to keep my time and so I picked a woman wearing purple in front of me and made it my goal to catch her. But like I said before, going downhill hurts, I would start to get close to her and then we would go down a downhill and I would loose her again.

The last mile is on a paved road and I was still trying to catch the lady in purple. When I guy and girl ran up beside me. I told them "good job" and the guy said "We've been trying to catch you for awhile but you just shot up those hills!" I laughed and told them I was trying to catch the lady in purple and for the last mile the 3 of us ran together trying to catch that lady. I was nice to have someone to push myself against at the end.

As I neared the finish line, I searched for but could not find Jon and I realized that I probably was going to finish faster than I told him I would. I told him to be there after 2hrs and 20 min. and when I crossed the finish line I was at 2 hr and 15min. I crossed the line and turned around and there was Jon coming up to the road to wait for me. Missed me by a minute. He was super bummed about that but it was so nice to have him there because he had warm cloths, food and poweraid for me.

I felt really good after my race and even the few days after so that's a positive sign. The only thing that hurts is a nice big blood blister I've got on my toe.

Holly's Wedding

Jon's little sister got married October 7th! It was an eventful time so I'm going to try and sum everything up but I might miss some things and I'm sorry if I do.

The wedding was at the Profile Event Center in Minneapolis. It was a really nice venue and they were actually able to have the ceremony and reception in the same location, which I think was really cool.

The day started with me getting my hair done at the Aveda Insitute and then meeting Jon and heading over to the event center together. We got there, got dressed and ready and then went and took pictures at the Stone Arch Bridge area. It was an extremely windy day so we didn't stay out there long. We got back, took more pictures and then waited for the ceremony to start.

Jon and I walked out first and stood at the ends. The ceremony was only to last about 20 min - which should be easy right? Well do you want to know what happens when I don't get enough food or water in me?

That's right I fainted... twice. Never fainted before in my life. The second time I was apparently out for a little bit because I woke up and I was in Jon's arms and I was feeling extremely bad that I was causing all this commotion at Holly's wedding. They got me a chair and water and Jon stood next to me for the rest of the ceremony.

The ceremony, other than the part where I fainted, was actually really nice. The pastor talked about when you say "I do" you also say "I don't" to a lot of things. I had never heard it put in those words before so I thought he did a good job.

The food was really good (or I was just really hungry) and then there was ice cream and dancing. Jon was actually having so much fun and getting into it that he sprained his ankle.

Overall the wedding was a ton of fun but also hard on our bodies. Thankfully it was on a Friday so we had the rest of the weekend to recover.

A Larson Thanksgiving

I cooked my first Turkey yesterday! It turned out perfect... took a little longer than planned but it was perfect. All I made was a salad, a turkey and mashed potatoes. And everyone brought a side dish or dessert. This made things a lot easier for me and I think everyone liked being able to contribute.

Pictures!

Lutsen

**These next few posts are basically me trying to catch you up on all that's happened this month.**

3 weekends ago, Jon took me away for a relaxing romantic time with him!

Friday we left work early and drove a few hours north to Lusten, MN. Jon had gotten a great deal on a 2 night, 3 day package at the Eagle Ridge Resort. Not only did we get an awesome suite but we also got Dinner, Lunch, a gondola ride and Alpine Slide pass. We arrived at the resort just after sunset. We checked in and then headed straight to the restaurant since we had not eaten since lunch. The atmosphere wasn’t anything to brag about, neither was the food. But the service was awesome and so was the deal we got on dinner! We both ordered the most expensive meal. I got a cocktail and Jon got unlimited pop and all we had to pay was the tax and tip – came to about $15. My father-in-law would be so proud.

Now our suite was the ultimate relaxation suite I’ve ever stayed in. We had a full kitchen, fireplace, beautiful view overlooking the mountain (couldn’t even see any other rooms or people walking around) and a Jacuzzi in the sitting room! Basically we spent all our time sitting in the Jacuzzi looking out over the view and feeling the warmth from the fireplace. It was perfect!

Saturday we slept in and then decided to go exploring. We hiked a little and then decided to try out the Alpine Slide.  We each got 5 turns. To get to the top we got to use a chair-lift. It was Jon’s first time on a chair lift so that was fun getting to teach him how to get on and off it, and seeing him get excited when we would get to a high spot with a cool view. The slide was awesome! Jon went super fast and I could never catch him. But I think that might be because I’m a lot lighter and I would slow down around corners because I was afraid to fly off.

Around noon we took the gondola ride up to the top of the mountain and had lunch (with our free lunch voucher of course). The food was really good. Jon got a soda with his meal, then got up and got another one, then got up and got hot chocolate and then we went outside took some pictures and he went back and got more… and on and on. Haha I didn’t mind though cause it was keeping my hands warm while he went exploring.

It was the perfect time of year to go to see all the colors. Check out these pictures.

Little Sharkies

After sewing Tom's blanket and stuff yesterday, I was reminded about how much I like to sew. So tonight I took out my extra fabric and made some pillow squares for all of my nephews.

Tom's Baby Blanket

One of my coworkers is going to have a baby girl soon! So Chrissy and I decided to make a blanket.

Chrissy did a great job picking out this super cute fleece for the blanket.

While Chrissy was putting the binding around the blanket, I took the extra fabric and energized my creative side and came up with this:

The white things around the side are ribbons or tags because babies like the softness of tags and silky feeling things. And if Tom’s baby doesn’t like it then they can just use it as a burp rag.

I still had a little more fabric so I made a box too!

All together I think we did a good job and I hope the baby likes it!

Training - Week 4

Week 4 was not a good week. I missed 4 days... I have excuses but what's the point of listing them? I did get the chance to run my long run today which was 5 miles. I ran it in 55min. Which is right about where I want to be and I feel good so far so that's positive too!

Week 4:Total miles run:  7 miles
Minutes per mile: 11 min miles
10 min pilates workouts completed: 0
Days missed: 4
Cross Training: Tuesday I ran a quick 2 mile run which I completed in about 19 min.

Week 4 Goal:
Total miles to run: 16 miles
Minutes per mile: 11 min miles
10 min pilates workouts to complete: 5
No days missed

Training - Week 3

Week 3 started off a little rough. Since I didn’t do a long run last week, I thought I would run about 4 miles on Monday instead of the 3.5 miles that was scheduled. I have a route from my house that is about 4.5 miles and I decided to run that, stopping short and using that extra .5 as a cool down. Sunday night, I wasn’t able to fall asleep at all and ended up getting only 3 hours of sleep. I was tired all day. I really didn’t want to run but Jon is really good at encouraging me to run. He biked next to me while I ran and kept my mind off of running. Well at about the 3 mile mark, Jon hit a nasty bump and crashed the bike. He’s perfectly fine but the handle bars broke off the bike. So my run ended there and we walked the rest of the way home. Overall it took us about an hour to do that route. I did not time my run but I still feel good about it cause I was able to run most of the way and it was a beautiful night and we got to enjoy that.

Wednesday was my next 3.5 mile run. Jon and I started out good but shortly after the run started the handle bars on the bike came loose again and we had to turn around and try and get them fixed. It’s weird cause the day before the handle bars worked just fine. So Wednesday I was only able to run about 1 mile.

Saturday was my long run and it went GREAT! Jon fixed the handle bars on the bike and I ran 5 miles while he biked next to me. I took me just under an hour to complete the run (including stopping for stop lights) and I felt really good afterwards. Although the week started off rough, it ended well. So bring on Week 4!

Week 3:
Total miles run:  11 miles
Minutes per mile: 10.5 min miles **Goal Reached**
10 min pilates workouts completed: 4
Days missed: 1
Cross Training: Tuesday I ran a quick 2 mile run which I completed in about 19 min.

Week 4 Goal:
Total miles to run: 14 miles
Minutes per mile: 10.5 min miles
10 min pilates workouts to complete: 5
No days missed

Training - Week 2

My second week of training didn't go as well as the first but only because this week was a little busier and I didn't have as much time. I was only able to run every other day and not do any cross training.

I timed my runs this week and found out that I run faster than I thought. I ran both of my 3 mile runs in 31 minutes. Which means that I run between 10 and 11 min mile. And for not running in a long time, I think that's pretty good.

To help with my training, I've dusted off my pilates exercise videos and plan to do a 10 min workout every weekday. I'm hoping these videos will help with cross training, building up my muscle strength and making me more flexible.

Week 2:
Total miles run: 6 miles
Minutes per mile: 10.5 min miles **Goal Reached**
Days missed: 5
Cross Training: No cross training this week - but I do go for walks during my lunch breaks so at least I'm being somewhat active throughout my days.

Week 3 Goal:
Total miles to run: 14 miles
Minutes per mile: 10.5 min miles
10 min pilates workouts to complete: 5
No days missed

Training

I’ve decided that I am going to run a half marathon on October of this year. I am not really in shape so that means that I have to train for this race. Last week was my first week of training and so far so good.

The Overall Goal: To run the half marathon in under 2hr 30 min. Which means each mile needs to be
completed in under 12min. Also I want to have fun during this whole process while I get myself in shape.

The Schedule: I’ve based my schedule off of Hal Higdon's Novice Training Schedule. It’s a 12 week schedule and has you doing some sort of workout 6 days a week with one day of rest.

Last week:
Total miles run: 10 miles
Days missed: 0
Cross Training: 2 hrs of tennis

Last week I did not time my runs because the goal was to actually run the whole way without stopping. I managed to not stop at all on my long run (except to wait for stop lights to change). Since I feel good about last week’s runs, I am going to start timing myself this week.

Week Two Goal:
Total miles to run: 12 miles
Minutes per mile: 12.5 min miles
No days missed

Wish me luck!

Just for Fun

Friday I finished work early and had time to make supper before Jon got home. I wanted to surprise him and have everything ready. Since I didn’t have time, I threw together what I had at home.

This week we received an eggplant in our CSA box and I wanted to use it before it went bad. Jon has never really had eggplant before and was unsure if he would like it, so I wanted to make this meal simple but really good so that he would enjoy it.

This is what I came up with.
First I breaded the eggplant and baked 5min on each side. Then I breaded a breast of chicken and baked 10 min on each side. I spread spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a baking dish, lined the dish with the chicken and eggplant and spread Cheese (this time I used mozzarella and Parmesan), topped with the rest of sauce and more cheese and baked for about 35min at 350.

Jon and I also love garlic bread – especially when we have spaghetti sauce. But since I didn’t have any, I used hot dog buns, buttered and seasoned each side and baked until just right. They actually turned out really good.

I even set the table nice and brought out dessert for us.

I know Jon doesn’t drink I still set the table with 2 wine glasses and he still put his wine glass to good use.

Red Rossa

Family is important to me and I am lucky enough to live close to all of my family so that I get to see them often. Every Sunday is pretty much family day for Jon's family but for my family we have to be a little more planned out.

Last Wednesday was one of those planned out family nights and we decided to try the restaurant that my cousin is the sous chief for. The restaurant is called Red Rossa and it is located right across from the Mall of America. The building is all newly remolded and it looks great. The atmosphere of the restaurant has a relaxed elegnant feel, with high ceilings, wooden beams, unique chandelliers and brick walls.

It's attached to the Best Western which helps out the restaurant a lot because they get to cater banquets and meetings. Which I'm sure they would get the business without the hotel being right there because their food is AWESOME. (Not only is the food that we got at the restuarant great, but my cousin is a great cheif and I've gotten to enjoy plenty of his food which has all turned out awesome)

To start we ordered bruschetta for everyone. Now Jon and I get bruschetta at every resturant we go to because we both love it so much - so basically I know what I'm talking about when it comes to which resturant has great bruschetta. I'm going to be honest with you... I still think Biaggi's bruschetta is the best and Jon's favorite is Chianti Grill but I would have to say that Red Rossa comes in third for the best tomato bruschetta I've had so far. But you shouldn't just listen to me... instead go taste it for yourself.

For the main course, I ordered The Italian Pizza. This fire roasted pizza came out perfect. It didn't taste burnt but had that great flavor that good fire roasted pizzas have. It was also loaded with olives, sausage, onions and cheese and filled me up quickly.

Overall I had a very pleasent time at Red Rossa and I highly recommend trying it out.

Jon's Favorite Potatoes

Whether it's fried, hashed, mashed or baked, I think we each have a different way we like to eat our potatoes. I have finally found Jon's favorite way he likes his potatoes and I thought I would share it with you.

I start off with a handful of red potatoes. Wash them and diced them. I like to make mine into bite size pieces but you can really do whatever you'd like.

PS isn't this the smallest potato you've ever seen?

Boil the potatoes for about 20min to soften them up. Then mix them with a little bit of Olive Oil and spices.
Today I did Italian type spices so I added: Thyme, Oregano, Parsley, Basil, Rosemary, Garlic Power, Red Pepper flakes, salt and pepper. I add about a dash of each - more or less depending on the amount of potatoes.

Mix the spices with the potatoes then spread the potatoes out on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 until potatoes turn somewhat crispy (usually about 30min). Enjoy!

My Front Porch

When we bought our house the porch needed to be repainted. We just now finally got around to it.

Saturday Jon borrowed my brother's power washer and he power washed the porch to get it ready for a new coat.



We let it dry for at least 24 hours. (cause that's what they told us to do.) Then Jon sanded the porch and I painted it. Jon picked out this great dark red color and I think it makes the porch look really nice.

I just decided to use a brush on everything because our porch isn't very big. It took me about 40 minutes to do the whole thing.

Before

After

Little Black Dresses

Holly is getting married!

We are so excited for her! I am also so excited that I get to be apart of the wedding party. Sunday afternoon we went out shopping for bridesmaid dresses. It was a lot of fun.

Holly was very flexible when it came to us finding dresses. Since the wedding is in October we had to buy them off the rack. The trick was to find a dress that had all of our sizes. We found a short light-weight dress that works and we all feel comfortable in, so we went with that. When I showed Jon, he said I looked like some kind of Egyptian warrior but I'm going to ignore that comment and I think it's going to look nice.

We also found shoes to go with the dress too! These cute little heels match the dress by having a little bit of bling with the rest of the shoe being black.

Chrissy's Birthday Fun Part 2

I, of all people, know that it's way more fun to have more than one birthday celebration. Saturday Night, I got the chance to go out with Chrissy again for her birthday.

This time we headed over to Uptown and started the evening off in the Wild West at Cowboy Slims. This fun relaxed atmosphere got everyone ready for the night. Their food portions are huge and they play a lot of country music, just my type of place. And purely by chance, I sat a spot at a table where this was carved into the table.

Perfect right? (If you can't read it, it says "I love Jon")

I took my leave once we were done at Cowboy Slims but the rest of the crew headed to Stella's Fish Cafe for drinks and to find Chrissy a guy. (Chrissy, by the way, is a smart beautiful single woman and wants a man, so if you are a smart single man you should call her.)

Layoff Beard

My wonderful husband works for the State. While the State was closed and he was laid off he decided not to shave his beard until he had to go back to work. We figured he didn't shave for about 16 days, which is the longest he's ever gone without shaving.

Wednesday night he shaved off his scruffy face.