Chistmas Bakeathon V5.0

Christmas is inevitably one of those times of year when you find yourself reflecting on family and friends. This is the fifth year (ha! I had to go back in my blog to confirm the date) that Paige, Mallary, Jasmine, Jill and I (or some combination thereof), have gotten together to bake up a Christmas cookie storm. But before I get into the baking, let's consider the randomness, and series of individual choices that led us all to this baking moment.

Us five girls are from all over the country. We grew up, in no particular order, in Regina, North Bay, Brampton, Calgary and Sherwood Park. We chose different Universities, and varying career paths-- but they all led us to one single company. Here we crossed paths, forged friendships... And five years later, we're carrying on strong! A lot of things have changed over the past five years. Some of us married, some of us started new jobs, one of us is a mother... Yes, lots has changed, but some things remain the same. The baking tradition carries on. Thanks for the good times, girls!

And... Because we like to go big or go home, we outdid ourselves this year with 11 different recipes, packed with sweet sweet deliciousness.

Check out the variety of goodies I am now hoarding at home...

 Goodie-stuffed Tupperware.

1) Lemon Ricotta Cookies
2) Chocolate Chip Coconut Caramel Pretzel Cookies
3) Salted Caramel Chocolate Squares
4) Ginger Corgies
5) Fudge
6) Coconut Snowballs
7) Chocolate Truffles
8) Chocolate Bark
     - Chocolate, white chocolate, candy cane
     - Bitter chocolate, white chocolate, salted peanut
9) Chocolate Sparkle Cookies
10) Strawberry-Raspberry Cheesecake Squares
11) Yum Yum Squares

Ahh... The majestic corgie...

Nothing says "Christmas" like Ginger Corgies.

And yes, this chocolate bark is as delicious as it looks...

Chocolate, white chocolate candy cane bark.

Hope this is helping you get into the Christmas spirit.

Happy December!

Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon

Photo Credit

Race morning! Tom and I awoke to see the message light on our hotel phone flashing. This was a wonderful sight, because it meant that our luggage had been delivered to the hotel sometime during the night. Tom is not exactly what you'd call a morning person, so while he burrowed himself into the bed covers, I went down to the front desk to collect our bags. And then I reveled in having all our stuff again!

The race didn't begin until 4:30pm, so we spent a quiet morning and afternoon trying to find a healthy breakfast, and drinking lots of water. Andrew and Ashley (aka Crazy and Crazier) arrived on an 8am flight, after celebrating at a wedding until 2am that morning. They stored their luggage in our room until theirs was available, and then attempted to have a quick nap before heading to the start line to pick up their race packages.

Wings and race chips.

Tom and I laced in our shoe wings, and attached our race chips. Then the four of us headed down to the start village around 3:15pm. The strip (Las Vegas Boulevard) had been closed to traffic since 1:30pm, so we took advantage of the shuttle Aria/Vdara was offering to their guests.

While it had been a balmy 22 degrees the day before, race day temperature had a high of about 13 degrees, and was about 10 degrees while we were waiting for the race to start (or 11 degrees if you trust my Garmin watch!)

We all ended up running the race individually, so we snapped a quick family photo before splitting up to check bags, hit the port-a-potties, and pick up race packages.

And then began the waiting game... Good God! It was cold, waiting in the start corrals. There were something like 35,000 people that ran the race, and we were divided into about 40 start corrals. In theory, the crowd was divided by expected finish times, with the fastest runners at the front. Tom was in corral 6, while I was in corral 19. They staggered racers by letting runners go in start waves. About 1000 people per start wave, and 60 - 90 seconds between each start wave release. So Tom waited about 10 minutes in the cold before he started, and I waited about 30 minutes-- with shattering teeth! When we finally took off, it took about 3km before I warmed up, and then I was relieved that it wasn't any warmer out. 10 degrees it great weather for running, but not for waiting!

The race route started near McCarran airport and Mandalay Bay. We first headed south out of the city, and the looped back around so that we were running the opposite direction past all the remain racers in their start corrals. It took awhile for my eyes to adjust to running in dark. In some of the early sections of the race, the road was not very well lit, and the shadows of other racers around me kept tricking me into thinking I was going to run into someone!

Race route.

Running down the main strip was definitely the best part of the race course. The sidelines were jammed with spectators cheering and ringing cowbells, and the lights of the casinos and hotels were quite a spectacle. We progressed down to the old Las Vegas strip, and I began to see racers coming back towards the finish line on the opposite side of the street. I tried to keep an eye on their race bibs, in hopes I would be able to see Tom. At first, there were race bibs in the 2000's and 3000's, and I knew that Tom would likely be in a pack of 6000's. But my multitasking was not very successfully, and almost collided with several people when I kept checking the other runners for Tom. Eventually I told myself I had to focus on what was ahead of me, and stop looking! But wouldn't you know it? A few minutes later, I glanced over at the other side of the road, and saw Tom running past! He killed it, coming in 1090/25215 participants-- the top 4% of runners!

This race was less of a mental struggle for me than some of the previous races I've run. It was (of course!) challenging, but I trained hard for this race, and I felt good when I crossed the finish line. I think, if (or when) I run a race again, I will try to focus more on strength training. My cardio was telling me I could go faster, but my leg strength started to fail me in the last 4-5km. I finished with a time of 2:04:21. I didn't break that elusive 2 hour mark, but it was still a personal best.  Overall, I am quite pleased! I finished in the top 19% of participants, and the top 12% of female competitors.

Finishing medals and race bibs.

Following the race, Andrew, Ashley, Tom, Jasmine and Joel (who also killed it in the race!) and I gorged ourselves at Bobby Flay's restaurant, Mesa Grill. Mmm... Margaritas!

The following morning, we hit the hotel hot tub to ease our aches and pains, before catching our flights home.

And that's it! The 2014 race season has come to a close.

Red Rock Canyon, Nevada

Saturday morning in Vegas. Having arrived in town the night before with no luggage, Tom and I attempted to execute our Saturday plans as we had originally hoped. We picked up a rental car just before noon, and headed to the Las Vegas Convention Center to pick up our race packages. It was a ZOO inside, so we worked our way through the crowd as fast as possible, and got the hell out of there! Our next stop was the Fashion Show Mall, so we could pick up some fresh clothes for our day trip. But it was not meant to be... We drove around and around in the packed parkade, and finally gave up. Instead, I navigated us out to Red Rock National Park, just a short 30 minute drive out of the city.

Once in Red Rock, we took a 13 mile scenic drive in a loop around the park. If we had been dressed appropriately (i.e. had our luggage), we probably would have done a short hike, but that was not going to happen in our grungy, day-old plane clothes.

One of the first things we noticed was how busy air traffic was in the area. There were at least 6 contrails visible in the air overhead, with more planes coming and going. Our first stop was at Calico Springs, a beautiful outcrop of sandstone that was covered in rock climbers and tourists like ourselves.

Calico Springs, Red Rock Canyon.

We walked down to the base of the rock formation to take a look, and took a walk through a relatively narrow canyon.

The name definitely delivered-- we saw a LOT of red rocks.

Our next stop was at Sandstone Quarry, which gave us good views of an interface where the lower red rocks were exposed to an iron solution that caused them to turn red when the iron oxidized. The rocks directly above were not exposed, and remained a dull white.

Of course, a stock selfie of ourselves in Red Rock Canyon.

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On our way out of the scenic drive loop, we got a great view of some of the limestone mountains to the west. Tom managed to capture this great shot, with the sun streaming over the mountain.

Afterwards, we headed back into the city and stopped at an outlet mall on the way, where stocked up on some clothing essentials. Our luggage arrived in the wee hours of the morning that. And up next, a recap of race day!

Luggageless

I flashback to an instant message conversation I had with Jasmine hours before we caught out flight to Vegas for the 1/2 Marathon on Sunday:

Jasmine: You guys are not checking a bag, right?

Me: We are checking one bag.

If our life was a movie-- that's what they'd call foreshadowing! In this case, the producers would use ominous music to let us know that something terrible is about to happen!

Fast forward 6 hours.We are standing at the McCarran airport baggage claim in Las Vegas. It's fully of bags, and as people pick them up, the number starts to dwindle. And Tom and I are still standing there... Bagless.

Yes, indeed! Air Canada did not load our luggage onto the flight, so we spent the first 36 hours of our trip wearing the same clothes, compulsively checking our baggage tracer status online (which, FYI-- is really useless).We finally hit an outlet mall late yesterday so we could grab new socks, underwear, and a change of shirt.

The funny thing is, I almost always pack a spare shirt, a pair of underwear and socks into our carry-on backpacks when we fly-- specifically for this reason! But this time, I thought, "It's a short direct flight, I'm sure it will be fine."

 

Our bag did arrive at our hotel sometime in the early morning hours. It is now in our possession, just in time for the race. Sweet, sweet toiletries! Running shoes! Fresh clothes! It is amazing just how unsettled you feel when you don't have your stuff.

A little more than four hours until the half marathon starts!

Eeee!

Glenmore Reservoir Loop

Exactly three weeks until the Las Vegas Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon. 15 weeks of training down, and three more to go.

Training through the fall has been a surprisingly pleasant experience. With the exception of two days of early September snow, the weather has been unseasonably warm for most of September and October. I have been able to complete most of my runs outside (rather than on a treadmill), and the weekend weather had cooperated for all of our long runs.

 

Tom getting ready for his run.

Yesterday, Tom and I completed our second-last long run before the half marathon on Sunday, November 16th. Tom is training for a faster pace than me, so he is following a slightly different program. This has worked out well, because although his distances are longer, we usually finish at the same time.

Running route.

Yesterday I ran an 18km loop around the Glenmore Reservoir, and Tom ran 22km along the Elbow River pathway system. I decided to test a new running armband I bought for my cellphone... It was both a success and failure. Success, because I was able to carry my cell phone, and take some photos along the way... A failure, because I yanked a little too hard the first time I was taking the phone out of the case, and I shattered half of my screen when it fell on the pavement... *Sigh* It's still useable.

Here we go!

 

Meandering Elbow River in Weaselhead Park.

We have been starting our weekend runs in the Weaselhead Park, and then head east into North Glenmore Park. North Glenmore Park tends to be full of people strolling and walking their dogs. This tends to be my least favourite section of the run, because many strollers and dog walkers are completely oblivious to the people around them on the pathway. Group span 3-4 people abreast across the path so that you have to run around them. Dogs run around gleefully and bound at you or run after you (not in menacing way, just in a curious dog-way). After about 4km, you have exited the park and are heading towards Glenmore Trail.

Glenmore overpass.

After crossing the Glenmore overpass, you weave your way along the periphery of a golf course, before crossing over the Glenmore Reservoir Dam, and crossing back over Glenmore Trail. At about 8.5km, the trail takes you on an up-and-down hilly route behind the Rockview Hospital. There are often patients sitting outside with their IV bags, taking in the view or visiting with family. Or maybe the odd nurse or doctor having a smoke break (always seems bizarre to me when people in medical professions are smoking!).

Trail behind the Rockview Hospital.

At 10km, you pass through a short section of the community Eagle Ridge, before popping out beside Heritage Park. Although most of the trees have already shed their leaves, there were a few aspens that were still hanging on to their foliage-- just starting to shed their multi-coloured leaves.

 Fall leaves.

For the next 4km, you run beside the reservoir. This was definitely the coldest run I have embarked on this training season. There was cold wind coming off the reservoir, and although I was warm from the exertion of running, my lips were still blue!

At about the 14km mark, you re-enter the Weaselhead Park area.  This is my favourite section of the trail. It is quiet-- I usually only see a few cyclists whipping by. There are aspens on both side of the trail that reach up to the sky. The trees mask the wind, and it always smells like fallen leaves and fresh earth. Of course, there are always critters rustling around in the leaves-- they have managed to spook me a few times in this section of the trail. Usually squirrels and mice!

 

 Re-entering the Weaselhead Park.

At about 17km, I reach a bridge, and then I know I'm on the homestretch-- only about a kilometer to go. I stopped this time around on the bridge to snap a few photos (with my partially shattered phone *sad face*) of the sun as it began to set on the Weaselhead.

 

Sun setting on the Weaselhead.

One kilometer, and one gigantic hill later, I am back at the start of my loop, taking in the view of the meandering Elbow River as it enters the Glenmore Reservoir.

 Sun setting at the end of my loop.

Next weekend marks the end of my long runs. Just 20km, before the ramp down and race day. Weather in Vegas is currently 26 degrees-- I'm hoping the average temperature comes down quite a bit in the next few weeks. No one wants to run in a sauna!

Today is a rest day, and I am soaking in the sweet sweet relaxation of the couch.

Happy Sunday!

Four Years (Nine Years) Later

Tom and I took classes together during University, but it wasn't until a field school in August 2005 that we really met for the first time. We started dating near Christmas the same year. We got married in 2010, and today we are celebrating our four year anniversary (but really, it's been nine years). 

Geophysics Field School - August 2005

Celebrating Valentine's Day - February 2006

Christmas Party - December 2007

 Portland Science Center- September 2008

Grand Canyon Hiking - September 2009

 

Wedding Day - September 25, 2010

Hiking Mt. Rainier - August 2011

Guilin, China - October 2012

Venice, Italy - November 2013

Nine Years Later - September 2014

Gad, are we good looking or what?

Happy Anniversary! I can't imagine having spent the last nine years with anyone else.

September Baking

It's been a few weeks since I've posted, and the main reason why is that I've spent most of my spare time baking.

It started with my friend Paige's wedding in early September. I was charged with making her wedding cake and cupcakes, and there's always a lot of prep work involved with large-scale baking. First, I had to test recipes. Paige is a coconut fanatic, so I tested a few recipes to make sure they didn't implode when I substituted in some coconut milk. Then I also tested an icing pattern for the cake-- which I didn't end up liking. So I had to do some brainstorming for a new cake design.

Mallary, myself, lovely bride Paige, Jasmine and Jill.

On the day before the wedding, Mallary, Jill and I spent about five hours baking up a storm. Jill took charge of making the vanilla cake batter, and Mallary deftly juggled her four-month-old, Alyssa, while scooping cupcake batter. 75 cupcakes and one three-layered 8" cake later, the girls headed out, and I started cake decorating.

I made the roses for this cake over a three days. It took a while for me to get the hang of a technique so that my flowers actually started looking consistent (thanks to this YouTube video). I developed a bit of a claw (or... carpal tunnel syndrome?) from the repetitive motion of squeezing out each individual rose-- but I could not have been happier with how the cake turned out. Voila!

Paige's wedding cake!

And, you know. The cupcakes didn't turn out too shabby either! Tom even helped me put in the bird toothpicks.

Wedding cupcakes.

Admittedly, making cakes are not my favorite thing in the world. There's something about a wedding cake that is a little too do-or-die for me. If you mess up a cupcake, you just scrape the icing off, and start again. Or, worst case scenario, you chuck the cupcake and move on to the next. But if you mess up a cake... You're screwed. So much pressure! I'll tell you, the drive to the venue with the cake and cupcakes was one of those most stressful 30 minutes of my life! I was white-knuckling the cake saver for ever turn, stop and start.

Fast forward a few weeks, and we're past my birthday, and my nephew's birthday. This weekend I made some vanilla Ninja Turtle cupcakes for Dylan's 6th birthday. And then I made some chocolate peanut butter cupcakes for myself.

Ninja Turtle cupcakes.

Dylan was pretty excited for the cupcakes-- although he'd just received a Star Wars light sabre, which was infinitely more fun for him!

And I was pretty excited for my cupcakes. I'm glad I grabbed one when I did, because they were snatched up and scarfed down by all of our guests.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting.

It's been a great September, but I plan to take a break from baking for a while now.