Ten Days of Thanksgiving: Days 7 and 8

Today we have Days 7 and 8 of the Ten Days (crammed into 4 by me) of Thanksgiving (inspired by Lisa).

#7: Fruit: I eat at least an apple a day, sometimes more. I enjoy pretty much all fruit and am glad that we live in a place where we can get it fresh and juicy no matter what season, although I prefer each fruit in the season where it is ripe. I was lucky this year to catch both blackberry and apple season at home, where we can pick them right off the bush and tree. I also very much enjoyed the blueberries and fresh peaches from the farms in Missouri. 

Saturn peaches

California strawberries

Blueberries are like candy!

Picking blackberries for cobbler

#8: Flour: I know that you already know that I love to bake. Actually I tend to stay away from bread-like items most of the time. However, when I get the chance I do love to throw some flour in with a few eggs and make a muffin or a cookie or bread. So, even though I don’t use it very often, I am thankful for flour and for the baked goods it makes. 

Buttermilk flax muffins

Green Tomato muffins

A Few Other Things I’ve Made Using Flour:

Apple Bundt Cake

Blackberry Cobbler

Cake Pops

What is your favorite fruit? Is there a good farmer's market near your house? What carb-loaded goodie do you like to splurge on from time to time? 

An Apple a Day Monday: III

Remember last week when I made the Apple Cake? Now I had buttermilk left over, as well as still having plenty of apples. I didn’t yet know what I wanted to make with these items. I contemplated buttermilk biscuits or buttermilk apple muffins.

(Check out Apple a Day I and Apple A Day II.)

Then, I got the prize in the mail that I won from Corey! Flaxseed Meal! I have never used it before, but have been putting it in oatmeal, on cereal and now in baking…and its great! I used the recipe that was on the back of the bag and amended it a bit to fit what I had on hand. And…they turned out great! Like a nutty, yummy, bran muffin…without the bran! For those of you who are gluten free, flaxseed is GF, so all you need is some GF flour (can sub for oats as well) and you are all set!

Bran Flax Muffins

(aka Oat Apple Nut Buttermilk Flax Muffins [and Squares])

1½ cups flour

¾ cup flaxseed

¾ cup oat bran (I used stone ground oats)

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 ½ cup carrots, shredded

2 apples, peeled and shredded

½ cup raisins (I used craisins instead)

1 cup nuts, chopped (I used walnuts)

¾ cup milk (I used buttermilk instead)

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix dry ingredients (first 7 on the list). 

In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the (wet) ingredients. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Do not over stir. Batter may be slightly lumpy. Pour into greased muffin tin. Fill cups approximately ¾ full. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Yields 15 medium sized muffins**

**NOTES: I ended up filling 12 cups ¾ full and still having a lot left over, so I used a bread pan and 2 mini bread pans to use up the rest. You could also easily cook these in a 9x13 baking dish and just cut them into squares. 

Next up: The apple craze continues! What else can one make with an apple? Don’t forget to check back next Monday to find out...and for another edition of “An Apple a Day”, which will be a feature each Monday in November.

Have you ever used flaxseed meal? Have you ever made your own oat bars?

Ten Days of Thanksgiving: Days 4, 5 and 6

The list continues! The idea was conceived by Lisa. I am doing the Cliff Note version of her Book, 10 Days of Thanksgiving. Here are numbers four, five and six.

#4: These Legs: In the last 5 months, my legs have successfully carried me hundreds of miles and I want to say, “Thank You Legs, for not giving up out on me”. I am also appreciative of these lungs and this heart. They are hard workers and rarely ever complain. I have been incredibly lucky to be in good health and I realize it may not last forever. I am happy to have it while I do! My grandfather used to say if he had three wishes, they would be: To be Healthy, Wealthy and Wise. I am working on the other two, but the heath thing right now is great!

Hamming it up at the Newburyport Green Stride Half Marathon

#5: Librarians: Thanks to various libraries, I have saved approximately $357.35 on books this year. Not to mention the Audiobooks, DVDs and CDs that I borrowed. I guess the thanks also go to Your Tax Dollars at Work. Thanks to all of you for supporting my book habit in a round-about way. You are contributing to my education and entertainment. Due to a dearth of good books, I have also managed to avoid watching crappy TV. (You can see some of the books I have read this year on my Bookshelf)

My stack of To-Read library books

#6: People Like You: Yes, you. All of you. From people like my Grandma and ST (you know who you are), who never leave comments publicly but always send me notes of encouragement, to people who have never met me before who give advice and antidotes and support. To the runners, the writers, the readers and the everything-in-between-ers. I don’t know where I would be without you all. And to those bloggers who I have met up with, it was like we were old friends, meeting up after a separation. What a great feeling! I can’t wait to meet more old friends!

Blogger Meetup with Raquelita and Lisa in Minneapolis

Do you especially appreciate (or loathe) a particular body part of yours? Do you ever get books from the library? Have you ever met someone you knew from the internet? If so, how did it go? 

Ten Days of Thanksgiving: Days 1, 2 and 3

My friend Lisa is doing a list of 10 things she is thankful for and I thought that was such a great idea. She is actually doing one a day for 10 days, but since I was in questionable internet land, I didn't quite make it on time to do that, so I am going to do my 10 days of Thanksgiving in 4 days this year. Next year I will have to be more organized and make it in 10 days, but for now, this is what we have to work with. You will probably notice that my family and friends will not make it onto this list, but that is only becuase this is a given. Of course I am thankful for them! These 10 things will be more of things that I may not always remember to be thankful for.

So, without further ado, in no particular order, 10 things that I am thankful for, 2 at a time:

#1: Three Grandmas: I am lucky enough to have not one, not two, but three grandmas in my life still. All of them are kind and loving and two of them even know how to use email (which is something to be thankful for in itself!)  I try to see them as much as possible, but they are all busy ladies. Grandma D travels the world and I can never remember if she is in Florida or Spain this winter. Grandma B is an active participant in all the grand children's baseball, football, polo, soccer and hockey games. Grandma S goes to the gym, does volunteer work and makes quilts which are then auctioned off and the proceeds go to charity. They are all still very active!

Gma S and I having drinks on the screen porch by the pond

Gma B and my Bro in San Francisco

Gma D making dinner on a nice summer day

#2: Enough Electronics to Choke a Donkey: I love electronics, but they are not something I really spend money on for myself. I have been very lucky to have people in my life who make it their purpose to keep me in business, electronics-wise. So thanks to my brother, my parents and Mr. L, I am connected with the world, can read, can take photos and can track my running!  Without them I would probably have a free flip phone and a library card and would be running around in circles, lost.

One of my favorite toys

#3: Honorary Nieces and Nephews:  My friends have done me the favor of having kids so I don’t have to. Thanks to them, my Mom has lots of kid’s photos on her fridge. Also this gives me the opportunity to hug and kiss and rile up babies and then hand them back over when I am done. I think really it is a win-win situation overall. So, thanks for getting knocked up girls! You have really done me a favor! 

Little A

Little C

Compiling this list is really a great way to remember how many things there really are to be thankful for! I could probably name hundreds of things. I guess some of them will have to wait for next year! 

Do you still get to see your grandparents? What is your favorite electronic toy? Do you have kids? If not, do you have honorary nieces or nephews? Do you have real ones?

Come on, Ride The Train

I know you were wondering, "don't you have a marathon coming up in a few weeks?" Or maybe you had forgotten, since I haven’t talked a lot about it. I do have one coming up and believe me, I have not forgotten. Each weekend, I have been dragging myself for hours down a path, a road or a trail, so that I can get my long run in. Every week, four times a week, I run up mountains, over dales and around bear poo, in order to get those training miles in! I was joking with my Mom the other day about how it’s not the mail carrier who braves the elements, it’s the runners! I've run in hail, sleet, rain and snow! Uphill both ways! Barefoot! (okay I may have gotten a tad carried away there)

It’s been pretty cold, with temperatures in the 40s and winds and sometimes snow, but the train must go on. So, how is it going, you ask? In fact, it’s going pretty well. I have been supplementing runs alone with races on the weekends, which definitely makes the running time go by faster. Here is a quick recap.

October 30: My long run of 18 miles was a few weeks ago. It was long. I ran in a place that was new to me and I accidentally ran on the wrong trail, which took me up a hill and caused me to have to backtrack, as well as being tired due to the additional hills. It was also about 75 degrees, which I was not expecting, since I had been running in 40 degree weather. So I had too many clothes on and ended up drinking a ton of water and still being a little overheated afterwards. In fact, I felt a little nauseous, but it must have been the heat factor, because a Frappuccino made me feel much better!

November 6: Luckily the long runs are staggered, so for this weekend I only* had to run 14 miles. I took advantage of this and signed up for The Almond Bowl Half Marathon. It went really well (click link for race recap).

November 13: The dreaded 20 mile run. This was my last long run before the taper started.  I was a little nervous beforehand becuase a) it's TWENTY miles! and b) I was going to visit a friend of mine and had never run in her area. It went fine. Another friend ended up running 5 miles with me and then heading back. I felt good actually, as in, not as bad as I thought I would. I think I am going to live, folks.

TODAY: I am really, REALLY glad that the taper is beginning. Especially since it is pretty good timing with Thanksgiving coming. I couldn't have planned it better myself.  This means that this weekend I only have to run 12 miles and next weekend, I only have to run 8, which is...I have to admit, a blessing. And then it's Marathon time! I would be lying if I told you that I wasn't nervous. 

BUT, in the last 457 weeks, okay 18 really, I have come pretty far. I feel good about that. 18 weeks ago I could barely run 2 miles. Not only do I feel more focused and healthier, but really I feel that am ready for the marathon. I may not be the fastest person there, but I will finish. I have it all tested out. I have my hydration belt worn in; I figured out what fuel works best for me; I have my lucky pair of shorts; I have a pair of shoes that will carry me. I know I can do it, but that good old reliable nervousness is starting to set in anyway. 

So, two more weeks of training and then...the big day. And a lot of turkey in between! 

*OhMyGoodness. I just said “only” 14 miles. That was weird. 

 Are you training for anything right now? Are the holidays going to cause a setback? What is the weather like where you are now?

Accessory Sketches for Fashion Snoops

Yves Saint Laurent SS12

Hello Darlings,

Finally I'm able to get back on my blog!! I've had such a wonderful week thus far. Full workdays and great evening events have kept me so busy. Anyways, I've wanted to share for a while now what has been occupying my time during the day these past few months. For those of you who follow my blog regularly you may have picked up on the fact that I've been working with a trend forecasting company since early September. Fortunately that has led to commissioned illustration work with them whereby I'm sketching the entire Accessory SS13 Analysis.

What does this mean exactly you ask?! Well, basically the lovely and talented Accessories Editor calls out key silhouettes for Women and Men. The callouts range from shoes to handbags, belts to headwear, sunglasses to earrings etc. I take the images of the identified styles and sketch the items using Adobe Illustrator. Our design clients intern take the sketches and input their own colors, patterns, textures etc. It has been such good fun and oh so fulfilling, although a little hard on the eyes. Might be time for a new MacBook Santa Clause ;)

Alright my loves, cheers to the weekend. I'm signing off to watch a new Modern Family...

Much love,

Meag xx

11:12 Your Daily Environment

Well folks, we only have one more week after this of the 12 Weeks to Better Photos series. This week, we are finally getting to the fun stuff! Today we get to showcase Your Daily Environment! I think that one of the things that I learned a lot when I was doing my 365 Project is that there are really great photo opportunities around you every day.

Whether you have a point and shoot or a fancy schmancy, take a minute to just look around you and look at things from a different perspective. You will be surprised at what great things are all around you. This week's assignment was to do one (or all) of the following:

1. Capture a small snippet of your life that usually goes unnoticed
2. Create a visual record of your day
3. Share your favorite photo(s) with us (and tell us about the emotional connection you have with it, whether or not it's technically perfect)

I used this opportunity to take a few photos of what I was doing one day last week.

First, I took a hike. I found this on the path.

Another treasure from my hike. 

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen.

Buttermilk Muffins. 

 Mr. Tough Guy, otherwise known as Mouse.

You thought you were never going to see him again..but here he is, Papa P in the flesh! 

It was fun just taking photos without a specific theme. I mean, really pretty much anything can be part of your daily environment! What did I learn? Well, I already knew this, but as you can see, I like taking close ups! I guess I still need to work on my portraits, landscapes and action photos!

I liked this assignment because I find it fun to see what other people have in their daily life that they take for granted, but I think is the coolest thing ever. It may be an animal (I saw my first porcupine in Canada a few years ago and was SO excited) or a food (remember that snake fruit in Cambodia? Normal to them, not normal to me!) or just a view from your window! 

Join up next week for the last lesson: Camera Accessories.

What would you take a photo of to describe/define YOUR daily environment? What do you find in your everyday life that you may consider mundane but may actually be pretty neat to others?