Guess the Spot

This is a fun little quiz! I got 90%, though I had some lucky guesses!

http://www.guessthespot.com/

Make sure you temporarily allow pop ups.

Jeopardy!

I have been watching Jeopardy! as long as I can remember. I remember when the 2nd place person won a trip and the 3rd place person won some sort of "parting gift." I remember when a player could only be a 5-time champion. Now that we live in the Central Time Zone and it comes on in the middle of the day, I record it on Tivo so I can watch it later. Yes, I'm a dork.

A while back, I signed up for their e-mail list. Sometime around the first of the year, they sent out an e-mail saying they would soon be holding auditions in a variety of places, including the big city near where we live. The first step was to take an on-line test. I figured, what the heck, and I signed up.

The day of the test arrived and I sat down at the computer to log on. I was really nervous, because of course it was timed. The did say, however, that spelling didn't count. Thank goodness!

The test started and it was hard. Really, really hard. It took me a couple of questions to realize that they were showing the category. If you watch the show, you know that the category can often provide important clues to the answer. At the end of the test, I was sure I'd done horribly. I'd say I guessed on at least 3/4 of the questions I actually answered. And there were some that I had no clue on. They said they would only notify people who pass. If you don't pass, you just never hear back.

Lately, I've been wondering what happened and if they had already sent out the results or what. I know someone whose husband took the test, too. (Okay, I don't really know her. She's another poster on the Nest.) I keep thinking I should send her a message and ask her if her husband heard anything.

Then, about 30 minutes ago I got an e-mail in my in box from "Jeopardy Contestant Search." I passed the test! I made it to the live auditions! I am so excited! They are May 22 so I will have to miss some work but who cares! I get to audition for Jeopardy!!

At least, I hope I get to audition. There's one small snag. The contestant information on the website says that if you have a family member that works or has worked for Sony Pictures, or a station that airs Jeopardy! you "may" be ineligible. Well, Alec currently works for a station that airs Jeopardy!. In fact, he has worked for a station that airs it since I've known him (except maybe in LA - I forget).

I went ahead and sent in my reservation for the audition (I had two business days. I took about 2 minutes!). They say they'll send additional details in about 5 days. I figure if there's no further information in that about the eligibility, I'll e-mail or call and try to find out. There's really no sense in driving all the way to the city if I won't be eligible. But, I hope I am!

Recipe of the Week - Biohazard Chicken

I came across this recipe in a cooking blog I read, Bean's Bistro. She calls it Biohazard Chicken because when it's marinading in the plastic bag, it kinda looks like a biohazard. I have to say I agree.

It's a quick and easy marinade, though and it sure made tasty chicken! I had it in the marinade for about 3 hours, and cooked it on our indoor grill. I really want to try it again when Alec feels like grilling outside. I halved the recipe and only marinated 2 chicken breasts. I served it with white rice. We were supposed to have, peas, too. But, I put them in the pot and then turned on the wrong burner and didn't realize it until the chicken was ready. At that point, we didn't feel like waiting for the peas to cook!

Biohazard Chicken
From Bean's Bistro by Erika

Ingredients
1 c. ketchup
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. honey
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed & chopped (I just put mine through the garlic press)
2-12 boneless chicken breasts

Directions
Combine all ingredients except chicken in a large plastic Ziploc bag. Close bag tightly. Mush everything together until well mixed.

Add chicken into bag and reseal. (I pierced the chicken w/ a fork on both sides first.) Massage marinade into meat.

Chill chicken until it is ready to be grilled. Chicken will keep at least 24 hours, though it will still be yummy after only 15 minutes.

Cook chicken over medium grill heat until cooked through, but still moist.

How to Post Comments

A couple people have asked me about how to post a comment on the blog. Since I write software instructions for a living, I thought I'd type up a quick "How to."


To start a comment, just click where it says "Comment" under the post. Depending on if other people have commented, it might say "0 Comments" or "1 Comment," etc.

That will open the comment screen. Type your comment in the box.

Under that, you have to type the letters you see in the word verification box.


Then, you choose how to "sign" your comment.

Google/Blogger - you can use this one if you have an account with Google or Blogger. If you do, you're more than likely already signed in to it and so that will be the default choice.

Open ID - you can use this one if you have an account with Live Journal, Type Pad, Word Press or AIM. Choose the account type & you'll be prompted to enter your ID.

Name/URL - you can use this one if you don't have one of the other accounts, but you still want your name to show up. A field will open to enter your name and an optional website address.

Anonymous - you can use this one if you don't want me or anyone else to know who wrote the comment.

Finally, just click the "Publish Your Comment" button. I'll get an e-mail saying I have a comment to review and then I'll choose to post it or not. I haven't received an un-publishable comment so far, but I just like having the option to review things before they're out there for pretty much everyone I know to read!

So, comment away!

5K Report - Updated with my Chip Time

Yesterday was the big day - my first 5K race. Well, I've walked a few Race for the Cures when we lived in NC since Ingrid's company was usually a sponsor. But that was more of a "stroll along with mom and Ingrid and whatever friends we ran into" than a "try to finish as quickly as possible" event.

We headed down to the city on Friday night. We were able to check out a really cool arts festival that was going on in the beautiful downtown area. Lots of good food and good music and amazing artwork. It was a great evening! But, a short one since we knew we'd have to be up early Saturday morning.

The race information had said to allow 45 minutes to park. Since we weren't able to do an early packet pickup and that ended at 7:45 am, I figured we needed to be there no later than about 10 minutes to 7.

I set the alarm for 5:45, and when it went off, promptly set it for another 10 minutes. I drug myself out of bed and got dressed, then woke Alec up. Our hotel had a decent continental breakfast, so we had a good pre-race meal - bagels & cream cheese. Then, it was off to the zoo. I had pretty much guessed where the parking would be based on the vague instructions on the website. We ended up parked right next to the race area! I think it was officially the backup parking because a lot of people seemed to be coming to the field from the opposite direction.

We got our registrations and our chips and then we had plenty of time to kill. We watched the 10K racers start off, then wandered around a bit. The first 10K finishers got back in about 30 minutes - impressive. I saw a kid cross the mat at about 45 minutes - my goal for the 5K! We took a quick warmup jog and then I got in line for the restroom. While I was in line, the started calling the 5K runners to the start. I didn't think I'd get to the front of the line in time, so I gave up.

Alec and I started out together, but they called the faster runners to move up closer to the line so he went up there - I didn't want him to have a bad time b/c he was trying to stay with me. The starting gun went off . . . and I stood there . . . there were so many people that I didn't move for a couple of minutes. Finally, across the mat I went.

The first part of the course went through the zoo and was pretty flat. Since it was early and the zoo wasn't open yet, there weren't any animals out - all I saw were some flamingos. Part of the zoo is set up like a Texas town and there I found a bathroom so I made a quick stop. I also took the time to take off my hoodie because I was starting to get warm.

As we left the zoo and went into the neighborhood around it, the hills began. And they were some big hills. So, I did a lot of walking in the 2nd mile. I had seen the mile 1 marker but nothing after that and not having a watch I had no idea how I was doing time-wise. I actually got pretty discouraged for a few minutes. I was convinced there was no way I'd make my goal time and I was kicking myself for not trying harder.

Finally, there was a huge downhill - I had to resist the urge not to run pell-mel down it and tried to control my stride somewhat and use the momentum. Finally, we rounded a bend and I could see the finish line. I got really excited when I realized we were on a different course than the 10K and didn't have a big loop to get there.

As I approached the finish, I started to look for Alec - we had agreed that if he got done quickly enough, he would go grab the camera from the car. I spotted him and gave him a wave. About the same time, I could see the clock at the finish line. I thought it read 48-going-on-49 minutes and I felt disappointed - I was pretty sure that it hadn't taken me 4 minutes to cross the start line - I wasn't going to reach my 45 minute goal.

Then, I realized the 8 was a 3! And I got so excited I just started to sprint for the finish line. I crossed the mat at around 44:12! I headed to a volunteer to get my chip cut off and then found Alec. I was so relieved to be done and to have beat my goal (despite the hills and the walking and the pit stop) that I cried a bit. My chip time should come out around 43 minutes. We didn't stick around long enough to get the results because we had to get back to pick up River from the kennel. We haven't found them on-line yet, but hopefully they will post them sometime this week. (Update - just found the results on-line. My chip time is 43:23.1. My offical gun time was 44:13.5. I placed 1209th overall (out of 1606) and 77th in my age group. Alec's gun time was 28:20.2 and his chip time was 27:39.4. He placed 401st overall and 21st in his age group.)

Overall, it was a fun experience. I still have a long way to go before January, but I've crossed the first hurdle.

Here's a video of me crossing the finish line:

Running Update - Tuesday & Thursday

Just a quick update on the running progress (or lack thereof) this week.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are the days that the local running club runs together. Alec ran with them a couple times last summer, but when they switched to 5:30 instead of 6 pm for their runs when daylight savings time ended, he felt like it was too early for him to make it. And let me tell you, it's hard enough to get him in gear to go at 6, so 5:30 would not have happened. Anyway, now that they're back to 6 pm, Alec wanted to start running with them again.

Tuesday was a beautiful day and we met up with the club at the same park where we've been starting from on our own. Alec ran with the club and I ran my 2.5 mile route - they were doing a full 5K and there weren't any slow runners that night so I didn't feel comfortable trying to keep up. And, not knowing the route, I didn't want to get lost back in the neighborhood. I started out pretty well, but then came my nemesis - the wind. It was awful. Luckily, it was a warm wind so I didn't have the ear issues I'd had on Sunday. But, it still made it hard to run. I'd taken a couple brief walk breaks in about the first 2 miles, but I'm pretty sure I walked at least 1/2 mile at the end. We didn't really figure out my pace, but Alec said he didn't think I was too far off.

Yesterday, well, it was an adventure. Just before we were leaving to run, dark clouds covered the sky. I asked Alec if we should even go. He checked the radar on line and said we weren't going to get anything. So, we set out. This run was at the local golf course and there was going to be a cookout & running club meeting afterwards. We were running late, so when we got there, the group had left. We weren't too far behind, so Alec took off at a quick pace to try & catch up. I trotted along at my usual pace.

The official route everyone was running wasn't that clearly marked but I figured the paths would eventually wend their way back to the clubhouse where we were parked. And, I'm sure they would have. But, it started to rain. At first, it was just a few drops and I figured I'd tough it out. However, just as I got to a little cul-de-sac in the cart path and wasn't really sure where to go, the heavens opened up and it started to pour. There was also lightening. Where should you not be during a lightening storm? In the middle of a golf course. Where was I? In the middle of a golf course.

I spotted the clubhouse across the grass and decided my best bet was to just hightail it over there. So I did, arriving drenched under the shelter of the patio, without the slightest idea how far I'd run or what my time was. Oh, well.

Eventually, the rain let up and so we were still able to have the cookout & meeting. The people in the club all seem really nice and hopefully one day I'll be fast enough to run with them!

The 5K is Saturday so we're heading down to the city tonight to spend the night. Hopefully, it will go well. I've decided I will be happy with a 45 minute time, which is a little slower than what I've been doing, but apparently mile 2 is very hilly!

Recipe(s) of the Week - Salmon Burgers & Apple Crasin Salad

Yes, it's true, this week we have not one, but two, recipes of the week. I can't actually take credit for making both of them, though, because Alec actually made the salad. But, it was still a new recipe and the two were so perfect together I had to post them both.

I got Rachael Ray's cookbook Express Lane Meals a while back, but I hadn't made anything from it, so last weekend I went through and marked a bunch of the recipes I thought sounded good. One of them was this week's first new recipe - the Salmon Burgers. (Full disclosure is important here - I don't want to end up like Cindy McCain and get berated in the press for copying recipes from Food Network chefs! Then again, my husband isn't running for president, so the press isn't really out to find stuff to berate me for. But, I digress.)

The second recipe, Apple Crasin Salad, comes from Sam's Club. We love to go to Sam's on Saturdays when the "sample ladies" are there. At our location, not only do they have just straight up samples of prepared items, but they also usually have station with recipes. The funny thing about this one is when we asked where the Crasins were, they said they were out and they'd had to run across the parking lot to Wal-Mart to get them for the demo! We found that quite funny. Someone didn't plan too well. Oops, I'm digressing again.

Anyway, here are the recipes:

Salmon Burgers

from Express Lane Meals by Rachael Ray

Ingredients

1 14 oz. can Alaskan Salmon, drained & flaked

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

1 handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Zest of 1 lemon

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3/4 c. Italian bread crumbs

Black Pepper

Salt

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Combine all ingredients except olive oil in a bowl. Form 4 large patties or 8 small patties Preheat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Cook the salmon patties for 2-3 minutes on each side for mini patties, 4 minutes on each side for large patties.

I didn't use the parsley and I substituted a couple squirts of lemon juice for the lemon zest.

The recipe calls for them to be served on a bed of slaw, but we wanted to do a more traditional burger treatment, so we bought some yummy multi-grain rolls from our awesome grocery store bakery. I mixed some mayonnaise and Dijon mustard to make a spread for the bread.

Apple Craisin Salad w/ Apple Vinaigrette Dressing

recipe from Sam's Club

Ingredients

For Salad:

1 pkg. spring mix

1 c. Ocean Spray Craisins

2 c. Red Delicious apples, chopped

For Apple Vinaigrette:

1/2 c. apple juice

2 T honey

2 T lemon juice

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 t. salt

2 T white vinegar

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the spring mix, chopped apples and Craisins.

In a small bowl, combine the apple juice, honey, lemon juice, olive oil, salt & vinegar. Mix well with a whisk.

Pour vinaigrette over salad and toss.

Running Update

I'm not really doing the official Couch to 5K thing anymore. With the 5K this weekend, I've just been trying to up my distance on my own.

We were lazy the rest of last week. Finally, we went for a run on Sunday. Alec suggested that we try 2.5 miles. This did not go well. It was very windy, for one thing (and I thought Oklahoma was "where the wind comes sweeping down the plains"!) and it was a cold wind, which bothered my ears. So, I had kind of a meltdown around mile 1. Not pretty. I walked a lot and ended up finishing the 2.5 miles in 33:49. Which is actually a fairly respectable 13:31 pace. I hadn't figured that out until just now. Which is actually a bit faster than we want for the 1/2 marathon. We're going for 13:44. Wow, I feel a lot better about myself.

Today, we did the 2.5 mile route again. I still walked quite a bit, but I shaved a whopping 20 seconds off my time and finished in 33:29. That averages out to 13:20 minute miles.

I'm still not sure I'm going to be able to run the whole way on Saturday, but we'll see.

Blogs I Read - Confessions of a Pioneer Woman

This is a truly great blog! Someone on the Nest mentioned it one day. I started reading the "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels" story and I was hooked. Just now, I've been immersed in her recipe section and her home & garden section. (Despite the fact that I should be getting ready to go out to dinner!)

http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Check it out (but make sure you have a couple of hours to spend)!

Couch to 5K - 2 Mile Run - I did it!

Last night, I ran two miles!! Yeah for me!!

My original goal when I started running was to be able to run 5K by my birthday. But, since I struggled so much with hitting the 2-mile mark, it was pretty clear that wasn't going to happen. So, I dialed that back to 2 miles.

Well, over the weekend we were just flat lazy, and we didn't run. We swore we'd go Monday. Except we were under a tornado warning, so going for a run didn't really seem like the best idea.

So yesterday, my big birthday celebration was to go running!

I had lamented on the Nest that I couldn't seem to get past the 2-mile hurdle. One piece of advice I received was to change up the route I run. The problem with that was that we didn't know of any other places in town where the mileage is marked off, like it is at the park where we've been running. One of the other Nestie runners told me about a cool website, http://www.mapmyrun.com, where you can use a Google map to map out a run and it will tell you how far it is. So, I mapped out a 2-mile route (actually, it was 2.08 miles) starting from another park and running through a really nice neighborhood. (Obviously, I like to run in places with good scenery!)

I did walk a tiny bit (about a block) but other than that, I ran the whole way! It was a great way to celebrate my birthday.

Then we went to the grocery store and bought a cake and some chips for dinner. That was pretty funny - two people who had obviously just finished exercising checking out of the grocery store with two bags of chips and a Boston Creme cake.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

I guess Alec has officially converted me into a Kansas fan (at least a part-time one. I will not forsake the Deacons!) I was cheering just as loudly as he was. Good thing our living room is on the opposite end of the duplex from the wall we share with the neighbors. I'm sure we would have disturbed them otherwise. Alec actually yelled a bit too much. He sounds a little hoarse. Hopefully he'll recover before his show in the morning.

The Trouble with Tivo

We've had our Tivo for almost 2 years now, and we love it to pieces. Alec was just raving this afternoon because he was able to watch two races (Nascar and something else) at the same time by pausing one channel, then flipping over to the other to watch for a bit, then pausing and flipping back. Then tonight, we went to the grocery store without missing John Adams on HBO. Even though it wasn't over when we got back, we started from the beginning while Tivo recorded the end (try that with a VCR!). Tivo is basically the best-loved piece of electronic equipment in our house.

But here's the trouble with it - we watch most live sporting events a few minutes behind the actual "live" broadcast. This is so we can fast forward through the commercials. However, people like to call us at pivotal moments in key games to see what we think. And then if we don't answer the phone, sometimes they just call back, until we pick up and explain that we're a little behind.

So, here's a preemptive announcement on the eve of the big Kansas/Memphis game. We will more than likely be watching on Tivo. We will more than likely be anywhere between 5 and 10 minutes behind what's happening live. So, don't call us, we'll call you!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Recipe of the Week - Grilled Raspberry Chicken

This week's recipe of the week comes from the Food Network.

I usually have the TV on in my office while I'm working. Otherwise, the silence drives me crazy. It's one of the drawbacks of working from home. River's just not that great of a conversationalist. Anyway, in the afternoons, I usually turn to Food Network. Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee is one of the shows I usually catch. Now, I honestly think Sandra Lee is kind of annoying. I also think it's silly how "themey" her show is - if you've never seen it, there's a different theme every episode, and her kitchen is decorated around the theme. All her appliances and accessories are changed to match the theme. I swear, the woman has a Kitchen Aid mixer in every color there is. At the end of the episode, she shows a "tablescape" - again, it matches the theme - with appropriate dishes, linens, place cards, etc. I'd love to know what the show's budget is, because I've never seen the same dish twice. If only I had that kind of money to spend on entertaining - not to mention the storage space. I find it ironic, because her whole deal is making inexpensive dishes with a mix of fresh and store-bought ingredients. I guess she spends the money she saves on decor! Oh, and there's a cocktail in every episode. Can we say lush?

But, I gotta be honest - sometimes her recipes sound good. And this is one that caught my ear, so I tried it this week.

Grilled Raspberry Chicken
from Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee

Ingredients
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c. frozen raspberries, thawed (recommended: Dole)
1 c. raspberry vinaigrette (recommended: Annie's)
1/4 c. raspberry vodka, optional
1/4 c. finely chopped fresh mint leaves
Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
Fresh raspberries, for garnish

Directions
Rinse and pat dry chicken breasts with paper towels. Place in large zip-top bag. Add raspberries, vinaigrette, vodka, if using and chopped mint. Squeeze air out and seal bag. Gently massage the bag to mash raspberries. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 4 hours.

Preheat grill to medium-high and oil the grates.

Place the chicken breasts on the grill and cook for 4 to 6 minutes per side. Remove from grill and place on serving platter. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs and fresh raspberries.

As you can see, I did not garnish with fresh mint and raspberries. Maybe if we were doing it for company, I would, but for just Alec and me, it seemed like a waste. Plus, fresh raspberries aren't in season, so they were expensive!

I also did not use the raspberry vodka. We did so many errands last week and I just didn't feel like adding the liquor store to the list. Maybe next time. I didn't use Dole fruit (our store only had store brand frozen raspberries), but I did use the Annie's dressing. I love that brand!

The other change I will make is to pierce the chicken before I put it in the marinade. The marinade just didn't penetrate enough.

Oh, that side dish is mashed red potatoes (with skin) made with milk, and sour cream. Yum!

Another Quiz

K. posted her results from another Mental Floss quiz today. This one is about money! I did a little better than her (she got 7 out of 12) but quite honestly I guessed on questions 9-12. Like I've ever seen those!

On The Money Score: 75% (9 out of 12)

Also, K. said they put up a new quiz every day. Fun! Perfect for a quick mental break at work. So, add their blog to your reader at http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/

Couch to 5K - 2 Mile Run, Attempt #4

Still no success! Blech!

We went last night. It was very windy, so that really killed me. Running into the wind really made it harder. I walked a lot. I don't even want to discuss how much.

I don't really have anything else to say. Tomorrow will be another attempt.