On the menu...

I'm linking up once again with the Menu Planning Challenge hosted by Laura from Mommy Run Fast and Jill from Fitness, Health & Happiness.

We did pretty good sticking to last week's plan. Once we got going with our week I realised I didn't have all the ingredients for my previously planned Crockpot Veggie Lasagna. Instead of popping to the shops I dug around in the freezer for a leftovers meal to sub and have now slipped the lasagna into this weeks plan. I did manage to resist going to the shops this week - which was big - because you never just buy what you went in for, right?!

There's a couple of recipes here I've pinned to my Pinterest board in the past - the Taco Casserole I've already tried before and was a total hit. The Pumpkin Pasta bake is going to be a new one. At this time of year, when the evenings are longer I like to try a new recipe every week or two.

This week has only six meals planned. I'm being realistic here people - we go out quite often, so I usually only plan 6 meals for a week long period ;-)

Apples are in season! So for snacks right now we've got wonderful fresh local apples (love that I live surrounded by apple orchards! - the smell on my morning runs is just lush!).

Who knew that there were so many different varieties of apples?! - so many grocery stores stock the same 4-5 varieties year round. Here in the Okanagan you do NOT buy apples from the grocery store at this time of year!! I pass about 6 farm stalls (they're not even shops - just a table in their driveway or field!) on my way to work. One is actually situated within our subdivision and each year they post the varieties they're selling on a board at the end of the driveway. The varieties start getting posted up in September, 1 or 2 to start then a couple more...we eagerly wait for the sign for 'Ambrosia' Apples - they're a little later than Macs, Spartans, Gala, Granny Smith, etc. They are my absolute favourite apple to eat - it's a local variety we 'discovered' a couple of years back - they are so delicious - crispy and quite sweet. I've also discovered that 'Honey Crisp' are super-good for making apple sauce (they break down good, and don't go brown much!)

Easy freezey 'canned' tomatoes

So I've dabbled in the whole canning malarky and I have to say it's a bit of a faff! I'm not that patient to sterlise, or boil, or pop the lids. I've made some jams, chutneys, pickled stuff and I have to say, given my slap-dash way of doing things - nothings gone bad, and it lasts just as long as I need it to!

But I do like canned tomatoes. Very much. They seem to go in everything we cook but pretty much all varieties I ever find at the grocery store have additives. At the very least salt. Even the low sodium versions. really?

In the summer I do love growing tomatoes - so really canning my own was the way forward.

Except I don't can....

But I do have a chest freezer sitting half empty!

So I devised my own little way of 'canning' tomatoes for the freezer (minus the sterlising or boiling bit!) But be warned it's still a messy, juicy job!

1) Peel skins. To do this; Prick tomatoes with a knife and cover in boiling water. I actually leave mine sat in the boiling water for up to 5 minutes (this is longer than a lot of canning recipes call for, but because I'm not heating them later when they're in a jar, this is the only opportunity they get for a lil' cooking time!) They might go a bit mushy but since I'm chopping them up I don't mind!

2) Roughly chop, add to large bowl and drain off the excess juices (just some -
doesn't need to be dry!)

3) Prepare your seasonings - I usually add fresh garlic and basil, but I also love oregano and thyme

4) Mix tomatoes and seasoning

5) Use portion sized containers for freezing. I have a couple of perfect sized plastic bowls (same sort of size as a can of shop bought tomatoes).

6) I fill a bowl and let freeze overnight. Then pop out the slab of frozen tomatoes and store them in a ziplock bag in the freezer.

So far I have the equivalent of 22 cans sat in my freezer and the tomato plants in my garden are still producing. This is great for those end of season stragglers or even some green tomatoes mixed in there - waste not, want not!

To use I might put the block of frozen tomatoes on defrost in the microwave for a few minutes but if I'm slow cooking or simmering a dish I'll normally just chuck the frozen slab right in there and let the heat naturally 'melt' them.

Because 26.3 would be crazy...

Oh boy, where do I start?! This time last week I was still hobbling around in Chicago on my runners high, having completed my first (and last*) marathon.

This week I'm still on my runners high, but without the hobbling! (and back at home in BC)

Why, yes. Yes it would.

Chris and I flew to Chicago on the Wednesday beforehand, where we were met by my parents who'd flown in from England. My Aunt and Uncle from SoCal would be arriving the day before the race - nothing like having the BEST cheer leading squad on hand for the big day ;-)

We went to the Expo on Friday morning. Got my race bib and bag and just strolled the expo. My folks had great fun sampling the energy bars, chews and drinks (not so much come 4am the next morning when they were still buzzing from the caffeine and energy spikes - ha!) I was happy with what I knew for the race itself (but no harm in sampling right?!). Found my name on the 'wall of fame', got my personalised message from Nike, and got a running gait analysis from Brooks (who tell me I'm in the wrong show - great! - it ain't changing now buddy!). Once all done, we left with a real sense of 'countdown' going on.....

It's nerve-wracking. All the build-up. The waiting. The anticipation. The fear. The what-ifs - particularly the what-if's (they're my speciality!). Bottom line (which I may have needed reminding of from my coach aka my husband frequently in those preceding 48 hours). It's just a run.  And in fairness I was at a point where I wasn't treating this at a super serious race. This isn't my distance. It was about the accomplishment of getting to the finish line. Heck no, it was about the accomplishment of getting to the START line! I'd come so far in my training and was always spurred on by this quote;

"I've learned that finishing a marathon isn't just an athletic achievement. It's a state of mind; a state of mind that says anything is possible." - John Hanc (running author)

 

Oh Yeah! And besides, if I got to the finish line I was guaranteed a PR!!! ;-)

I think there were around 40,000 runners at the start line come Sunday morning. A fairly fresh, grey, breezy Sunday morning. Temps were around 8 degrees, with a high expected to be around 11. Chillier than I've been used to of late that's for sure. What to wear?! Ahhhhh! Seriously I think I was looking for things to fret about. And I'd packed for all weather eventualities so in the end I went for capris, short sleeved tee and arm warmers. With my windbreaker running jacket. Oh, and a brand new Walmart special dashing bright pink throw-away sweatshirt (that's what comes of having your Mum coming along - she was worried about her little girl getting cold! - thanks Mum xx)

It was weird and slightly fraught having to say my goodbyes to Chris and Mum & Dad at the gate. Only runners were allowed into the start area in Grant Park. I wasn't checking a bag so I sorted out my stuff, handed off what I wasn't running with to them, downed my pre-workout energizer drink and set off - in the direction of the toilets (of course) And BRAVO Chicago organizers - you are my heroes - ONE person in front of me in the queue with 5 minutes to the cut off time to get into your corral. Is that some sort of amazing miracle!?!

I was in the second corral of wave 2. I had signed up for a pace bunny team, but they were further back and I didn't want to switch backwards, and besides, I'd never paced before so why start now? Almost as soon as I got into the corral they closed the gates behind me and we started slowly moving forward. It was still 15 minutes to the start of Wave 2 but I guess we were bunching up a bit. We ended up crossing the start line a little over 3 minutes after our start.

I was super conscious of setting off slow. After the first mile my Nike + GPS told me I'd done an 8:30 pace - yikes - way too fast for me. So I reaaallly tried to drag my heels. By the second mile it hadn't slowed much but I also realised the GPS wasn't corresponding much to the official mileage signs. By mile 5 it was 1/2 mile out and it was around here I gave up paying any attention to the darn thing. I think it might have taken the hint coz somewhere along the way it stopped talking to me at the mile markers. Which was a good thing.

I'd never really run without some indication of how I was doing. I don't wear a watch so it really was a first 'naked' (sans electronics) run for me. And you know?, it was just fine. I had my music but I kept the volume low and soaked in the crowds and atmosphere. There were reports of up to 2 millions spectators - it certainly sounded like it!!

I kept my earbuds in, so Chris was able to call me once my cheerleading squad had got into position. He'd tell me the mile marker, possibly a landmark or cross-street and the side of the road they were on. This was brilliant. It gave me something to look forward to - to see their smiling faces cheering me on. And it was SO important to me, that I saw them, and they saw me (after all they'd travelled all this way for me, and for this) I never missed them. (Difficult since they were wearing Union Jack bowler hats and waving red, white and blue balloons!!) I think I saw them 4 or 5 times along the way. Chris tells me, they probably banged out at least a 10km themselves that day with all the jogging around, on and off the transit!!

Practicing their moves in the hotel room the night before! These are MY heroes of the weekend.
My wonderful cheerleading squad - Love you guys .xxx

Things got tough in the late teens (well, duh, I guess I'm hardly special there!) All my runs in excess of around 18miles have been hard. But not in terms of cardio - just really, really heavy legs. I had a happy moment coming through Chinatown with a bunch of oldies on the sidelines dancing Gangnam Style - that song always makes me smile and they were just too funny!! Apparently I was looking a bit beat up at this point according to Chris when I passed them just at the Chinatown Gateway. The pace bunnies from way back started passing me. Some of them I was expecting. Around mile 17 the 4:25 bunny came bouncing up and I tried to stick with him. I did for maybe 5 miles, but eventually had to let them go if I was going to finish without walking. At that become my goal. To finish without walking. And boy, did I ever want to just walk for a few minutes.

I saw the cheerleaders for the final time at mile 25. Even then I was seriously contemplating just a 'little' walk. I'm not honestly sure at that point that my run was much more than a walk anyways!! But it my mind there was a big difference! And just when I realised I hadn't heard my current favourite song on my playlist right now (Call me Maybe) it came on, and helped push me on with a final surge to the finish line.

And then it was there. The finish line, and whoosh. It was all over.

And it is all over. It's quite emotional really. So many months of training, and build up to this moment. And in 4 hrs, 34 mins and 38 seconds it was done. I'm so, so proud of myself.

*They say running a marathon is like childbirth. Once the memory of the pain fades it doesn't seem like such a bad idea after all. And so on that note I am never saying never (you heard it here first!)

I'm linking this (belatedly!) to Jill's Fitness Friday

What's for Dinner?

After a couple of 'odd' weeks this last fortnight what with our trip to Chicago and a lil' ole marathon (!) I'm happy to be joining in with Laura from Mommy Run Fast and Jill from Fitness, Health & Happiness and their Menu Planning Challenge.

Menu Planning Challenge

This is our first full week at home and a little easier to plan for than those whilst travelling. I normally try and do our grocery shop mid week just so I can keep weekends free for 'fun' stuff (or pure self-indulgent lazy time!!). So I tend to plan out our meals then aswell. My method is ridiculously basic. This is what is looks like;

It's a screenshot of a reminders page on my iPhone. I plan out 6-7 meals to see us through a week. Then I check what we've got in the fridge/pantry/freezer already and write out a shopping list based on what we need to get in to make those meals. In an ideal world it would mean I only shop once a week (we're working on that part!).

I don't plan out meals each day. Once we know we've got everything in for any one of those meals we tend to 'go-with-the-flow' day by day and pick something we fancy. (Like today is chilly, grey, rainy and a little bit miserable - perfect for a cosy evening and a good bowl of soup! - BBQ somehow just doesn't really appeal - right?!) Some meals Chris typically cooks, and some are 'my' meals - and that can also dictate what we have when if I'm working a long day. If it's a crockpot meal then I normally decide the night before so I know I have to allow time to prep before I go to work, but usually what we are having that night is a texting topic at some point during the day!! ;-)

I 'tick' off the meals each day when we have them and we know what we have left. It's been our tried and tested method now since probably the beginning of this year and it really does work pretty well for us :-)

Tomorrow we'll be having my Crockpot Veggie Lasagna - you can check out the recipe for that here.

Currently: September

Listening to silence...and the hum of the fridge.
Cooking with what's left in the fridge - trying to empty things out since we're going away next week.
Excited about the Chicago Marathon
Savoring the warm, late summer days - there can surely only be a few more summer days left?!
Planning for our trip next week
Working on my marathon playlist - 69 songs and 4.5 hours of music - the question is will I get to hear it all the way through or will I start getting repeats?!
Embracing Fall - have decorated up the mantle and coffee table, and ready to break out the soup and stew recipes and Ugg boots!! (but I think this will have to be postponed till we get back from Chicago!)
Reading Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv - talking about the importance of relationships between Children and Nature (which isn't like me - but it's for work - since I'm helping coordinate an event when the author is coming to our hometown! - but actually it's also quite interesting) But also slowly getting through Anne Frank's Diary
Wearing Skinny jeans, wooly cardigan and socks!! (It might be warm out but at work I'm always cold!)
Feeling anxious about running 26.2 miles next week
Needing to pick up the new Jack Reacher book from the library today (just in time for our trip!)
Wanting to get the garden tidied up
Trying to stop snacking so much
Wondering will I make it? 
Procrastinting about getting the garden tidied up 
Wondering if we'll miss the big yellow tree at it's best whilst we're away
Looking forward to seeing family next week 
Hoping that after several nights in her 'big girl bed' with no accidents is the sign of house-training success with Meli
Smiling at PSY's Gangnam Style - love that video - keep watching it over whenever I need a smile on my face!
Eating cheese and tomato sandwiches made with delicious toms from our garden

Playing along with Ali today with her 'currently...around here' list...

Top of the World!

I don't even remember when I first heard about Cathedral Provincial park. All I remember is that I've wanted to go there! And finally this weekend we made it! And what a weekend to have picked! The weather was truly perfect hiking weather - not too hot, not too cold, with stunning wide open wall-to-wall blue skies.

The Main Lodge and the Unimog transport parked in front! Quiniscoe Mountain in the background!

We booked to stay in the Cathedral Lakes Lodge. Chances are, you're encounter the lodge some way or other as the trek into this wilderness area is long, arduous and incredibly uphill. The lodge offers a campers shuttle service in their 1960's Unimog, along the 9 mile rough and ready access road track glorified goat trail. Or you can stay and the transport is included. We opted for a lodge room - and I'm sure we had the best room in the house - on the upstairs corner with windows on 2 sides of the room giving us panoramic views of the lake and Quiniscoe Mountain. It was pretty spectacular and not somewhere where you shut the curtains - we could gaze at the early morning sun lighting up the mountain across from us from the cosy confines of our rustic wood bed!

Our lovely little room. Bathrooms are just down the hallway - and my photography skills
to be able to capture the inside AND the view are somewhere else altogether - Mars perhaps?!

So just to make sure you all know how fab my accommodation was - here's the photo of the view
from our window!! - Sucks eh?!

Lodging at Cathedral Lakes is a full board affair - and I was blown away by how good a deal this was. They have a resident pastry chef there...do I need to go on?! First thing they laid out a 'lunch' table where you could choose from bread, cold cuts, cheeses, eggs, cookies and yummy condiments like feta spread, hummus, and herby creamed cheese - we loaded up and had the most fantastic packed lunch for our all-day hike! For breakfast....there was a full selection of cold stuff - cereal, granola, yogurt, fresh fruits, and the most delicious fresh baked, still-warm-from-the-oven breakfast muffins or biscuits. Then was a small hot buffet with bacon, eggs, potatoes and pancakes. Lunch (if you happened to be in the vicinity of the lodge) and dinner both started out with soup, bread and salads, followed by delicious entree and finished off with cakes at lunch and a gorgeous dessert at dinner - I was disappointed that Chris enjoyed the apple tart served on our second night - since I didn't get chance to have seconds like I normally do!! Leftover cakes from lunch are then put out on the table to help yourself to during the afternoon - which was perfect after getting back from a day's hiking.


(L) Walking through the Larch (R) Big Ass views! - and I did actually mean the views - of, like,
mountains and stuff - but DOES my bum look big in this???

We got the first transport run up to the lodge at 10am on Friday - it took a little more than an hour from base camp to finally pull out of the woods and into the clearing along the shores of Lake Quiniscoe. And we only had a 1/2 hour wait before lunch - what a welcome!! After our first sampling of the food we realised we'd be needing to head straight off on a hike to work it off! We took a beautiful 6.5km round trip hike to Ladyslipper Lake. The first part of the trail was along Lake of the Woods and then Pyramid Lake before we started climbing upward through the woods towards Ladyslipper. Once we cleared the trees we got our first glimpse of the huge expansive views. And endless woods, completely untouched. A little further on we caught sight of Ladyslipper Lake - and how blue it was! I enjoyed a brief paddle to freshen those hike weary tootsies before we headed back down the way we'd come.

My favourite! - Ladyslipper Lake

Our second day we picked the trail out to the Giant Cleft via Glacier Lake. Almost immediately leaving the shores of Lake Quiniscoe we had a hard uphill climb through the woods up to Glacier Lake. We followed the trail alongside it on a bit of a plateau before heading uphill again. The trail was sketchy since we were climbing up the side of the mountain but it was marked well enough by cairns - and really - it was pretty obviously which way 'uphill' was! Finally as we reached the rim the whole of the Cascade mountains welcomed us. It was jagged mountains as far as the eye could see - and not a speck of human existence apparent - it's times like this when you realise just how tiny we are in this big, beautiful world! We followed the rim trail along past Devil's Woodpile to Stone City where we took an 'out and back' detour to visit Smokey the Bear and the Giant Cleft. The cliff drops from these parts were dramatic and I'm reminded how little I like heights - I had quite the queasy tummy! The Giant Cleft is just that - a huge 'gap' in the rock, dropping hundreds of feet below. From here we headed on our homeward stretch - downhill to Ladyslipper lake. Except first up with had to traverse a horrible shale slope. Once down it was open trail across a plateau before heading down below the tree line and into the woods of larch trees. Contrary to our trail guide we reckoned this hike to be 14 km with around 2000ft of elevation.

But then this wasn't exactly shabby either...On the rim looking down to Glacier Lake.
You can see the trail we followed to the left side of the lake - it then disappeared
over that ridge and waaay down to the lodge.

(L) Views from the rim (R) Chris and Smokey the Bear (that profile in the cliff in the top right of
the photo in case you were struggling!)

Our final morning we got up and at it with a 'quick' out and back to Goat Lake. We were under pressure to beat the clock since we'd failed to pack a lunch bag we didn't want to miss out on lunch served at the lodge at Noon! The trail guide reckoned on a 4 hour hike - we made it back with minutes to spare in 2 hrs 45! Since we'd not really studied the map we were surprised to find this trail head downhill! And then follow Lakeview creek through the alpine valley to the end where a rather small, mud pond that was Goat Lake sat - a somewhat unimpressive lake compared to the offerings of the previous 2 days! The valley had not yet been graced with the sun that morning so the foliage was covered in a lovely crispy, glittery frost.  But what was spectacular was the mountains and peaks surrounding us - they soared above us just catching the first sunlight of the morning.

This was a truly magical getaway. I really did feel like I was a million miles away, and yet I'm here in my own backyard!! How lucky we are to be in beautiful British Columbia?!

Washi Tape Bathroom Makeover

This was my mini DIY bathroom makeover and an opportunity to put my washi tape to a completely different use!

Last month we finally got around to re-painting this room. With a natural tan throughout the house we're slowly but surely making it more our own and individualising some rooms! After I bought a $2 box of tissues with a lovely blue & green stripey pattern on them I was inspired to use that colour scheme for the 'new' bathroom. It's a tiny room with no natural light so I wanted to go really pale - in the end we chose Behr's 'Club Soda' (though I can't say I've seen many blue club sodas?) It's the perfect compliment to the bright blue & green but will also work if I want to change back to the old cream & brown accessories - maybe I'll be changing it up with the seasons!!

I treated us to a new shower curtain (even though it's never been used as a shower, it helps make the room look a bit more finished I think), some new hand towels, and a vase & flowers. I wasn't able to find any artwork or pictures that looked right. So in the end, in desperation I grabbed a 12x12" blank canvas from Michaels to 'do' something with later...

But back to my washi project! Like I said we don't use this shower so the tape getting wet wasn't a concern - it was all about looks and effect! I just ran a couple strips of coordinating washi tape around the top of the bath enclosure - I'm still surprised that this effort didn't involve any measuring or spirit levels - I totally winged it but it worked out well!! Simple but pretty effective to finish off my mini bathroom makeover!

As for the canvas (you can see it in the mirror above the towel rail in the top photo!). I actually was super pleased how quickly that turned out too. I pulled out 4 different acrylic paints I already had on hand and just started painting very rough circles randomly over the canvas. I didn't even wait for the paint to dry or switch out or clean my brushes so the paint started merging together and taking on different variations of the colours. In fact I didn't even have a proper brush - it was a foam applicator! It was hanging on the wall within 1/2 hour of breaking it out of its shrink wrap!! and matches perfectly (how could it not?! - there's so many colours in it!) I got the idea from Elise on her blog - and frankly its genius in its effectiveness and simplicity - and it cost me $6!

And just for reference - here is the 'before & after' picture - you'll see it's not really 'that' different - just a little more colourful and summery! And it is so, so light to walk into the room now - amazing really how a little paint can brighten the space!

This is #4 in my washi tape projects goal for the year. You can also see my washi tape tealights, washi tape shelf makeover and my washi chevron wall art.