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By Liz, November 24, 2009 8:53 pm

Haha, that’s probably what you are all thinking bout now! I am really sorry for completely dropping off the face of blog Earth. The weekend was kinda crazy and hectic and the weekend craziness ran into Monday. But here I am all ready to give y’all the full recap!

So let’s get down to business…STATE!!

First, the stats: I ran the 5k in 21:34 which is my best time all season. I sure went out with a bang! My team got 8th out of 32 teams competing. I was personally 155th out of 200 runners. So, I was kinda back in the pack but whatever. I mean, at least I was at State! Although I ran a great race for my last XC race at my school, I still feel like I could have done better. If y’all remember my race at Mt. Sac two weeks ago, I mentioned that I really dug and pushed my pain threshold. This race, I didn’t work as hard as I could have. It was hard and painful, sure, but it wasn’t as intense as it should have been. I credit all that to the fact I wasn’t sure what I was racing for. The past few races have had a lot of meaning to them. At WSC regionals, I was running to be at least the 7th girl on the team so I could go on to So Cals. At So Cals, it was all about going on to State. And then I was at State and I wasn’t really sure what my motive was for running the race of my life. It’s kinda like when you complete a goal, such as losing weight, and then you reach that goal and you don’t really know what to do with yourself. So, long story long , I just didn’t get my head in the game until about halfway through the race. Eh, I still set a PR so I can’t complain. Also, my aunt and uncle, grandma, mom and dad and Jacob all came to watch me run, so that was very special.

Some pictures of all the fun:

All the gals dressed up for dinner on Friday night. Aren’t we so perty!

Cougars cougars are the best! C-O-U-G-A-R-S…Goooooo Cuesta!!!

Just workin my butt of going up a hill

Me and my Grandma after the race.

I am actually really happy that the season is over. It was a ton of fun, I’ve made some amazing friends and I’ve gotten faster and faster as the season progressed. However, I am happy that for this whole week I am not supposed to run or do much of anything active. I am also looking forward to the short off-season I will be getting to focus on more strength building, yoga and other fun activities I do not get to enjoy as much when my focus is just running.

So, that was Saturday. There was a drive home, relaxing and such, dinner and a bit o partying included in the rest of the day and night. I do want to highlight the dinner I made Saturday night which was fab-u-lous!

I made a stuffed kabocha squash dish. I baked the kacocha at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. While the squash was baking, I cooked some quinoa (1 c. dry). After the quinoa was done I mixed in a chopped apple, dried cranberries and grated zuchinni(1 med sized). I seasoned it with cinnamon, nutmeg and about a tsp of maple syrup. I let this cook on low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the kabocha squash was all baked and tender, I added chopped walnuts to the quinoa mixture, then stuff each kabocha half with the quinoa. I sprinkled more cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup on top and put the stuffed kabocha back in the oven for 5 min. I served it with green beans on the side. Super super yummy!! It was a sweeter dinner, but not overly sweet…I went light on the syrup. This dinner was also very satisfying. I recommend it for when you’re in a fall mood. While this was baking it filled the kitchen with fall-y smells. It made me happy.

Let’s see…what’d I do Sunday? Well, I worked…but then I saw New Moon. I’m just gonna say off the bat that I have not read the books (but I am going to). Also, I didn’t really like the first movie much. New Moon wasn’t half bad though. The acting was a wee bit better. The action scenes were cool. Jacob and Edward were hot (Jacob being a tad hotter ). However, there were some scenes that were waaaaayover acted and just too dramatic. The highlight of the movie though was the scene with Thom Yorke’s (from Radiohead) song “Hearing Damage.” Really cool song and cool scene.

Yesterday was pretty darn great. Another great Monday in the books. It’s funny, because last Monday was really good, too. Funny, eh?

I did the usual stuff…like working, yada yada…but the afternoon and evening were special. As you all very well know, it’s Thanksgiving in the US this Thursday. Since all the roomies and I are parting ways on Thursday to spend time with our families and stuff, we decided to do a roommate Thanksgiving last night. We did the whole shebang…turkey, green bean casserole, mashed taters, rolls, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce and stuffing. Yum-o!

I filled my plate with all the goodies. I almost finished it all too…ate about 3/4. Jacob did the turkey…which was pretty darn amazing for his first turkey ever. Kudos Jacob! I made the cranberry sauce using Jenna’s super simple recipe. It was waaay better than canned….I loved the chunks and tartness of the scratch version. My other contribution was pumpkin pie.

I was such as goof and almost forgot to take a picture until I ate half!! Silly me :p Not to toot my own horn or anything, but my pie turned out really good. I used the regular Libby’s pumpkin pie recipe for the filling. However, I cut the sugar down a bit (by about a 1/4 cup) and I added more spice than called for. I love my pumpkin pie spicy! For the crust I just coarsly ground 1 1/2 c. pecans in the food processor and mixed the nuts with 2 tbsp melted butter and 2 tbsp sugar. I pressed the but mixture in the bottom and sides of a 9″ pie plate and baked it for 15 minutes before filling it with the pumpkin mixture. Justin (my roommate) made real whipped cream to go on top. Sooo good! I also got a special treat to go along with the pie.

The Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc from Bianchi. I really liked it. I thought it was great along side the pie, and even good by itself. It was definitely sweet, almost too sweet at first sip. However, this was one of those wines that as you keep sipping it just gets better and better and you notice new flavors with every taste. Unfortunately, I don’t think my roommates liked it that much. I liked it though and would buy it again in a heartbeat.

Whew…today was not nearly as exciting as the last few have been. I had school…which almost no one was at by the way due to the holiday. I went hiking with a couple girls on the team after lunch, which was fun. It was the first “workout” I’ve done since State and it felt good to get the legs moving. Our hilly hike lasted about 2 hours. I love doing exercise with friends because the time just flys! I had a great time.

Nothing much else going on here now. Just some vegging out in front of the tv and hanging out with the boy (aka Jacob). Have a great night and I promise I won’t be m.i.a. tomorrow! Adios!

Comments (5)

By Liz, October 18, 2009 9:10 pm

Today has been a great day. Actually, it’s been a great weekend. I haven’t had a really enjoyable weekend in a while where I feel refreshed and relaxed. Ahh, too bad this can’t go on for a few more days!

So, last nights plan of going out with the girls didn’t happen. Oh well, I got to relax in bed, catch up on some blogs and wake up refreshed for my long run today.

When I woke up this morning I had 1/2 a banana with peanut butter to fuel up.

I got dressed in my running outfit, filled up my Camelbak with HEED and was out the door. I ran 8.5 miles in 1 hr and 26 min. It was a good run…not the best ever but good. My legs were a little fatigued and my legs didn’t feel very warmed up the whole time. But I finished in a decent time and got through the run okay, so that’s what matters.

I chugged 2 huge glasses of ice cold water when I got back home, showered and make a quick breakfast.

I had about 1 cup of whole milk plain yogurt topped with ground flax, Uncle Sam’s cereal, the other 1/2 of my banana, chopped walnuts and 4 dates. Yum yum!

Today, Jacob and I decided to spend some quality time together…something we haven’t had much time or opportunity to do in a while. So, we went wine tasting in Paso Robles! If you guys haven’t noticed yet…I really love wine! It is definitely my drink of choice.

I decided to look pretty and rock my new skinny jeans.

I really like ‘em! They are so comfortable, and I think my legs look pretty good in ‘em, too.

I packed a picnic lunch to take with us on our tasting exursion.

Those are fixins for shredded chicken sandwiches including sprouted wheat bread, carrot, avocado, cucumber, tomato and goddess dressing. I also packed 2 pears and honeydew melon.

We stopped at 3 wineries today: York Mountain, Halter Ranch and Thunderbolt.

First stop was York Mountain.

The drive to this winery was magical. It was on a back road with lots of overhanging oak trees and pines. The wines did not disappoint. I especially liked the Viognier and the 2006 Pinot Noir. They had an 2007 Pinot also, but it wasn’t as good. All the other wines were good, but they just didn’t stand to me the way those two did.

The tasting room gal at York recommended visiting Halter Ranch. I also remember my Dad saying something good about them…I think. It was a bit far out on the back roads, but it was a drive well worth it. This winery had a special event going on today (It was Harvest Fest in Paso) for the festival. We didn’t know about it, so it was a pleasant surprise. The tasting fee included 2 glasses, the wine of course and they had fresh baked pizza. I wasn’t blown away by all their wine. The Viognier I actually quite disliked. But then I had their 2008 Cotes de Paso Blanc, which was a blend, but I can’t remember what of. This wine was up there with my fave Pinot Grigio from Bianchi. It was so refreshing and floral…very drinkable. We tried a couple reds that were kinda eh, but then I had the Syrah and the Cabernet Sauvignon. Both were amazing. Truthfully, I don’t remember exactly the specific tastes (black currant, smoke, etc.) but I remember being really impressed by both. The last wine we tried at Halter was their 2005 Ancestor. This blend was pretty good, and Jacob’s favorite. It had a smoky, earthy flavor. I liked it, but the Syrah and Cab were better in my opinion.

Here’s pic of Jacob in front of the winery.

We decided to eat our sandwiches while we were at Halter. It was a pretty place to stop and eat.

I had my sandwich, a bite of Jacob’s pear and a pizza roll up.

However, the highlight of our visit at Halter was talking to the chef/baker who was making the pizza. The pizza bite I had was amazing, but it wasn’t the sauce or toppings that were good…it was the crust! I have never had a better pizza crust, ever. So, I just had to talk to the guy who was behind this delicious crust. His name was Ciro, and not only did I learn a lot about baking but I learned some good life lessons, too (or as he would say, I understood some life lessons). We chatted a bit about different flours and how they affected the texture of the bread. Then he got into the deep philosphies with me. First off, he said that that with bread and with life, simple is always better. And that the secret to success and happiness is intuition, creativity and fun. Very true indeed. Talking to Ciro really made my day.

After Halter Ranch, we stopped at a winery I had never heard of before called Thunderbolt. Apparently this winery is only a few years old…they have been open for 4 years. I was actually really impressed by all their wine except for one. They only had one white wine, a Viognier, and it was actually pretty bad. But their red wine made up for it. I liked every single one! I’m not a huge red wine fan, I love me some Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. But, boy, all the reds were so drinkable and tasty. The one that stood out the most to me was surprisingly their Zinfandel. Way delish! The view from the winery was absolutely gorgeous and the ladies working there were a hoot to talk to.

That was enough wine for me! I probably had the equivalent of 3 maybe 4 glasses of wine. I was kinda feelin it by the time we got home. I was feeling a bit munchy and had a bowl of chocolate moose tracks with peanut butter in top. Totally hit the spot!

Jacob and I snuggled up and watched one of my fave movies, Stranger Than Fiction. I really love this movie because it’s all about living life to the fullest. I swear there is no better message than living every day like it’s your last and not taking any moment for granted.

After movie watching, I heated up some leftover casserole for dinner.

Not the prettiest dinner ever, but casserole isn’t usually pretty. I made a mexican style casserole to share with the roomies last night. The ingredients: onion, bell pepper, spinach, zuchini, pinto beans, cooked and shredded chicken, cheddar cheese, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, garlic, salt, pepper, paprika. I just layered each ingredient in a 13×9 pyrex dish twice. Then I made corn muffin batter and covered the casserole with the batter. I popped the casserole in the oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Then, I served it with fresh cilantro on top. I turned out really great, although it could have used a bit more spice. I got tons of leftovers out of it, too.

Not much left on the agenda tonight. Currently watching some low-budge horror flick on Lifetime. It’s pretty funny!

Back to reality tomorrow! I’m gonna milk every last second out of the rest of my Sunday night.

Nighty night folks! I hope y’all had a great weekend, too!