Stink...and totally unrelated: Sweet Potatoes

Yesterday I got to work, walk in the office......wait. You need a little more information. I work at a church that is set back off the road around a very wooded area. We have tortoises nesting behind the church office (caught them doin' the wild thing a couple times...lol), squirrels all around, birds, etc. It's beautiful, alot like being in the mountains, without the elevation...giant oak trees, etc. In other words...it ain't no industrial park! Ok, back to my story...

I walk in the office and there's a smell. I'm standing there making a face and my co-worker walks in and says, "You smell that? Something died under the building." Eewwwww!!! It was pretty bad in my office, but her office was so bad it made your eyes water. At lunch I ran home and got one of those Yankee Candles...super strong smell (the good kind) and an air-freshener thingie. I put the candle in my office and the air-freshener in her office and in 10 minutes it was SO much better. Her office, on the other hand, was still awful! She finally went home to do her work, she couldn't stand it anymore. I don't know who's job description this would fall under for clean up, but I guessing no one because no one is doing anything about it. I'm dreading going to work today.

Oh...lol! While I'm home at lunchtime, I'm thinking maybe I might start stinking myself after sitting in the office all morning....so I ask Joey, "Smell me. Do I stink?" He gives me a sniff and says, "No more than usual." Nice.

RECIPE TIME! Here's my sweet potato recipe. Give it a try, it's easy and super yummy!

Sweet Potato Surprise
4 sweet potatoes, baked and mashed
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup margarine, melted (I always use butter)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
1 cup grated unsweetened coconut, dried or fresh (This is when I thought 'What? Are you nuts?!" I couldn't find unsweetened coconut anywhere in San Diego and I wasn't about to buy a coconut and grate my own...this is Thanksgiving not Survivor! I think it's easier to find here in Florida. I just used regular sweetened, grated coconut you get in the bag on the baking isle and it was great.)
1 cup pecans
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup margarine (Butter!!)

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the sweet potatoes, sugar, margarine, milk, eggs and vanilla extract until well combined. Transfer the mixture into a 2 1/2-quart baking dish.

In a separate bowl, combine the topping ingredients with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until crumbly. Distribute the topping over the sweet potatoes. Then bake the casserole for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Serves 6-8. Enjoy!

Sesame Street turns 40

I know you've probably heard that Sesame Street turned 40 this week. I remember it from when I was a kid and then got to enjoy it all over again when my kids were little...sweet! In today's Times-Union, there's an article on the cover of the "Life" section that lists 40 fun facts about Sesame Street. Fact #27 had Mike and I laughing so hard, I just had to share it with you. Here it is:

27. Regarding Bert and Ernie, Sesame Workshop President and CEO Gary Knell said, "They are not gay, they are not straight, they are puppets. They don't exist below the waist." Sesame Workshop also released a statement in 1993 saying the friends are not gay.

Enjoy you day!

Boo!

Veronica's pumpkin looks so sweet...she was a little crunched for time because she was still putting together her costume at 4 o'clock on Halloween day. She usually gets more elaborate in her carving. She made a poodle costume this year...gray, of course, just like Gracie. Unfortunately, I didn't get a single picture of it because she was waiting till she got to her friend's house to put it on, and when she got home she was too tired (and hot) to put it back on. Bummer, I bet she looked adorable.

Justine's pumpkin...she carved it herself! She was so proud. Her style is more traditional.

The dads took the girls around this year. It was so HOT Halloween night, they stopped in a few times to cool off in the AC and get a re-fill on their ice water.

Justine is a witch, Katie is Red Riding Hood. The dad's outfits go together great...a pirate and a sea captain!

How do ya like Joey's pumpkin this year? Clever, huh? He went out with his buddies across the street, dressed as a football player.

Needless to say, there is enough candy around the house to feed a small nation. Yesterday I was a bit under the weather, so my candy intake was minimal. Feeling much better today...watch out candy!! Most of you who know me, know I have I terrible sweet tooth. My favorites are tootsie rolls, Baby Ruths, dark chocolate of any kind, 3 Musketeers, Skittles, um....and everything else.

On a non-Halloween note...

I finished a Small Project of the Month that's been hanging around a while.

My Small Project for June! The gloves are a little roomy (REALLY roomy on Justine lol, they're adult sized), but I'm hoping that a good wash/dry will shrink them up a bit. It's just sock yarn, so they'll get the usual wash treatment.

A little crazy to knit gloves for life here in Florida, but I like the fun of knitting all different things, not just practical things I can use everyday. The glove fingers were a bit fiddly on double points, but that's the nature of the glove.

I have another Small Project from April that is still on the needles and the October Small Project that I haven't started yet, but on a positive note...

I'm already DONE with the November SP. I knit it in two days! I'm waiting to take a picture before I post about it....is the suspense killing you?

Triathlete speaking...

That was how I answered my phone all day yesterday: "Triathlete Speaking!"

WE DID THE GREAT AMERICAN COOTER TRI!

Jen and I showing off our tri muscles.


We got to the festival too late the day before the race for our corndogs and funnel cakes.
In case you haven't figured it out...a cooter is a turtle.


Brennee's boo-boo.


We had such a great time at our Triathlon yesterday!!

The air temperature in the morning was a cold 56 degrees so we were scared to death that the lake would be freezing. Turns out that the temp of the lake was 77 degrees. Not bad at all, really. My wave (that's the group of people you're racing with) went in the water at 8:08 am. Official race start was 8:00 a.m. I was so scared...and excited! I couldn't do one stroke of freestyle, my breathing was so hard. So I swam the back stroke and side stroke...and even dog paddle! Whatever it took to get it done. Jen started four minutes after me, caught up with me and we exited the water together! I hit my toe on something under the water and got a gash under my left big toe. I thought it was a "cyprus knee" but after talking with Jen's husband, he thought it was probably a rock because cyprus knees are usually smooth on top. What ever it was, it hurt. I didn't let that stop me. Are you kidding!? I made it through the swim...I can do anything now!

The bike was just great...beautiful course! It was through neighborhoods and on a Rail Trail (that's an old rail line that's been turned into a walking/biking/running path). We both thought we'd freeze on our bikes with the air temp being so cold, but neither one of us was cold at all. Nice! On the exit of the bike, you have to dismount and walk/run your bike into transition. There was a crowd of people cheering the racers on...so great, really lifted my spirits even higher and gave me energy to keep racing. The truth is, I was so happy to finish the swim, I could have climbed Mt. Everest! I had a stupid grin on my face for the entire race.

Then the run came last...I ran the entire thing!! My best time for a 5K yet. I was still damp, but the sun was shinning and I was so happy...I felt so comfortable. Even with that cut on my toe! I was keeping my eye out for her on the run, knowing that she would already be out there because she would have beat me on the bike. She found me...I didn't realize it was her because of the shirt she was wearing. We crossed each other just after she had turned at the half way point. Then I finally caught up with her just before the finish line and

WE CROSSED THE FINISH LINE TOGETHER!!

My time: 1:46:22

Jen's time: 1:42:22

Can you tell I still have that silly grin on my face?

I couldn't have done it without Jen and Becky.

And the support of my family.

I'd also like to thank the Academy...

Curl Girl Saves the Day!

This is homecoming week at V's school and every day the kids can dress up, depending on the theme. The theme for today is "Super Heroes vs. Villains". Veronica and her friend made their costumes last night. They are: Curl Girls...Saving the World, One Curl at a Time!

ETA: I was told by V after school today that her Super Hero name is Curl Girl (not Curly Girl). She also said her partner is The Pretender (she has a perm, and therefore not a "true" Curl Girl). LOL.

False Alarm

Ok, remember what I said about Fall being here? False alarm. It's so miserable around here, super hot and humid, like um, summer. I'm gonna give it till Halloween, and if it's not cooler, I'm really gonna start complaining.

Training update: All going well. No more falls on the bike. My left calve is a bit tender, but I've been icing it and giving it plenty of rest between runs and that seems to have helped quite a bit. After the swim lesson, I feel like I have the knowledge to improve my swimming. Actually applying it while swimming is another thing. I'm taking Jen's advise and working on one thing at a time. Right now I'm working on keeping my head down and my feet up. If I can do this, I can really reduce my energy use and drag I'm producing in the water. The tri is less than two weeks away!! I'm really getting excited!

Have a great week everyone!

Dinner

Last night I made Tuna Casserole for dinner.

Veronica was at drumline practice so I only had two complainers at the table.

Justine was hesitant at first, but when I told her those brown things were french fried onions, she gobbled it down. She's decided she loves onions. Now a days when I'm browning onions on the stove she always comes up and says how good it smells. Gotta love that.

Joey says to me, when I ask him how he likes the casserole, "It's not very, very, very bad." No kidding, three "verys". High praise indeed.