birthday cake for aunt dede

Me, Aunt Dede, Mom and Grandma

At least Grandma pretends to like the restaurants I take her too...

There is nothing I love more than to bake for those that I love. A few weeks ago, Nic and I travelled to Mankato, Minnesota to visit my Grandpa who was in the hospital, and in between visits with him, I baked a simple chocolate cake with white frosting for my great aunt Dede's birthday - her request. Although we will always agree to disagree on where to go out for dinner (how could she not like Olives?!), Dede enjoyed the cake and even allowed a small piece to be smuggled to my Grandpa.

Happy Birthday Dede. Next year dinner is on me...

frosty drive

The other week as Nic and I were making one of our many trips back to Iowa from The Motherland, I was sitting in the passenger seat checking out  the beautiful countryside. 

I wanted to ask Nic to pull over so I could take a photograph of the frost kissed grasses gently swaying in the breeze, but it took a good three exits to work up the courage.

I laughed outwardly at myself as internally a battle was being raged over this simple request.

Don't do it. He'll think your turning into his mother. You are not Barb.

Who cares, it's a beautiful photo! Do it, do it, do it!

He will laugh at you. You are so turning into his mother.

But look at this beauty passing you by...

Hesitantly, I whispered, "Nic? I swear I am not turning in to your mother, but can you take the next exit so I can take a picture?"

He laughed, pulled over and allowed me to capture the beautiful countryside.

Thanks Nic.

And thanks Barb - you know you are my favorite mother-in-law.

sunday brunch (2/52)

Nic and I have a goal of hosting 52 meals for people in 2013. The first was a pizza night with Ben, Debbie, Sam and Ray on Friday, January 4th where we devoured two lovely pizzas (potato leek and mushroom kale) and watched Ratatoullie.

Sunday morning started early.

Being on Florida time still, I was up at 6:00AM (when the noisy neighbors in Florida typically woke us up) deciding what to make Mom and Roger for brunch.

Because Mom and Roger have been glorious hosts for the last three weeks during my escapades through Iowa, Florida and Minnesota, I thought I should leave them with full bellies and a fridge full of baked goods.

That's a lie. Really, anytime I am in Minnesota, I take advantage of their beautiful kitchen and bake up a storm.


Eggs poached in red pepper and onion rings were the main course, but not to be out shined by the other sides.


A fruit fruit cup with a creamy grapefruit drizzle (equal parts coconut milk and grapefruit juice with a touch of vanilla.


Toasted rosemary olive oil bread (Costco) and delightful toasted hazelnut chocolate chip scones, recipe below.


And copious amounts of coffee. Whenever two or more people are having breakfast at Mom and Roger's house, we seem to establish an order when it comes to making coffee. The first person up must provide the first pot, and then everyone takes turns from there on out. An empty coffee pot is never allowed.









Everything was pretty much good to the last crumb. Thankfully the recipe for the scones made 8 LARGE scones, so everyone had leftovers.

Like I said, Nic and I are planning to host 52 meals this year with a variety of people. Hopefully we will establish a good way to share these meals and the people we share them with.

Toasted Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Scones
An early morning creation that worked the first time (even before a cup of coffee passed my lips!)

Ingredients::

1.5 cups all purpose flour

1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup organic sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons Earth Balance buttery spread

1.5 cups hazelnut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

2 tablespoons Earth Balance melted

1 tablespoon sugar in the raw

Method::

In a large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, salt and baking powder. Using a pastry knife, cut in Earth Balance. In a measuring cup, mix milk and vanilla. Fold wet ingredients into dry 3-4 times. Add in nuts and chocolate chips and fold until no large clumps of flour remain, about 4-6 more times. Spoon dough onto a light floured surface and knead 2-3 times and then gently pat into a circle about 1 inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges and transfer onto a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving space between each scone. Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake at 400* for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

women rock half marathon:: race result

I ran the Women Rock half marathon the Saturday before Labor Day.

I kept it pretty quiet, and didn't even know what race I would be running until the Thursday before.

You see, I registered for this race for the sole purpose of running my best marathon yet and qualifying for the 2013 Boston Marathon.

But then Stockholm happened, and I kind of needed a break from running.

Apparently a four month break from running.

I am not saying I didn't run for four months, but seriously, if I logged 100 miles between the Stockholm marathon and the Women Rock half marathon, I'd be surprised.

If I drank 100 beers and sampled 100 chocolate chip cookies between the two races, I'd guess that was on low end.

My love handles can attest to that.

Anyway.

Thursday before the race, I decided it would be wise to drop to the half marathon, paying $15 to change races, thus making this race the most expensive half marathon on Earth. If I remember correctly, I paid $150 originally + $15 = $165 for a half marathon, or $12.60 per mile.

I contemplated dropping to the 10K, but really - paying $165 to run 6.2 miles? I would have rather stayed home and slept in.

I had few expectations for the race because of the lack of training, and keeping in mind that Nic and I drove up from Iowa the night before, not getting to Minnesota until early early Saturday morning, and getting less than 5 hours of sleep.

The morning of the race, I told Nic not to expect me at the finish line until the 2 hour mark, but it would be more likely the 2 hour 10 minute mark.

Suffice it to say, I was pleasantly surprised with my race.

I ran without a watch, and just judged my pace on how I felt.

Comfortable, but not too comfortable.

I got nervous around mile 7 when my right hip starting screaming at me - but I cranked up my iPod, listened to Fun. and drowned it out.

Around mile 10 I had a rock in my show that pulled me over to the side of the road.

.07 miles later, I discovered that the rock was actually in my sock, sidelining me again for a good 90 seconds to remove my shoe yet again.

Mile 12 came and I decided to push it in the last mile, with a goal to pass 10 people.

I passed my 11th and 12th person at the finish line with an official time of 1:50:45.

That was my fourth fastest half to date. 

Without training.

Maybe a four month taper is the way to go?!

Other fun facts:
-I was the fourth fastest Iowan
-If I could have tied my fastest time (1:43:26), I would have ranked 3rd in my age group, 45th overall, and the fastest Iowan
-Dare I say, half marathons trump marathons???

It was a fun race. A beautiful morning. And I would do the half again. Not sure I would do the full as the course loops back on itself quite a bit.


Conflicted...



Iowa wins!

a few things

Life has been busy lately.

As if you haven't noticed.

Summer is my "busy season" with work and last week I dove in head first. I won't be able to come up for a breath until the end of September.

So if my sporadic posting gets even worse, send an oxygen tank and a bottle of wine my way. I need it.

I am taking a few hours of "me time" during work today - to make up for many a 12-16 hour days last week, and thought I'd share a few things with you guys.

Prison
Yep, prison. Last week I spent three mornings hanging out with a bunch of offenders in Mount Pleasant. It was a lovely time. Seriously. If you want to read more about, check out this article. One of the offenders in the article, the one in prison for felony murder, presented me with this absolutely beautiful handmade leather wallet.



Sure, it is a little weird "walking the yard" with these guys (and women), but you quickly get over it because you can't be anything but impressed, inspired, amazed, and awestruck at what they are doing to give back to the community. (Oh, and you be sure not to wonder why or ask why they are in there...that is when it gets weird).

How amazing are they? $40,000 amazing. Sure thing - they raised $40,000 to benefit the American Cancer Society. A population of about 500 men. You do that math.

New Job
Nic started his new job last Wednesday and is totally rocking it! Here he is on his first day of school work. Barb - these photos were taken for you!



Isn't he so cute?! :)


Group Fitness
I, along with Nic, am now a group fitness instructor at the Y. Together we are tag teaming three "Absolutely Spin" classes each week - 45 minutes of spin followed by 15 minutes of pure plank torture.

I love planks - they are fun.

Apparently I am crazy.

I am also teaching a 45 minute "ABC Circuit" class on Friday mornings. Today was my first class and boy did I sure kick their butts, and mine as well! I am hoping that I can add an additional circuit class each week and hopefully a few more time slots.  It is f-u-n.

Lawn + Garden
Check out my garden! Despite a bit of rabbit damage...



...it is looking really good. (Is it looking really good? Things are growing bigger, so that is good in my book!)









The other day I mowed the backyard, a chore that is typically reserved for the husband (I do the front). Before I began, Maia discovered a rabbits' nest. After wrangling her in to the house, I took a gander and saw a itty bitty baby bunny stretch its little arm while sleeping. Adorable.

I almost decided not to mow, frankly little baby animals kind of freak me out (baby birds - gross.), but rain was forecasted for the next few days and it was already beyond long. So I mowed around the nest and got to work on the rest of the yard.

For about five minutes.

Ummm...yeah, my name is Kierstan and I am a bunny murderer.

In a totally different part of the yard, I nearly stepped on a little bunny (intact) that I must have mowed over or scared out of its nest.

I quietly shut off the lawn mower (ummm the neighbors were out so I could do my girly scream) and notified Nic of my new bunny murderer status, asked him to take care of it and told him that I absolutely could not mow the rest of the lawn.

Eeeewwwww.

I did put on my big girl panties and decided to finish the lawn after scouring the yard for more bunny nests. And then out of the side of my eye I saw Nic "taking care of it."

Dear bunnies (however many of you there were) - I sure hope you are enjoying your new home, frolicking in the meadows, at the farm upstate. I hear the weather is just absolutely beautiful there this time of year...


Oh, and if I am a bunny murderer, Nic is a bunny serial killer. I had Nic call our good church-going friends to ask them how many hail marys we had to do in order to be forgiven...

Rotary
Raise your hand if you belong to a service group? ::crickets....??:: Well, I am a very proud member of the Rotary group here in town, and most likely the youngest member. Last night we had our annual awards dinner and honored five high school students who were awarded scholarships through Rotary. On our way out at the end of the ceremony, some lady I didn't know said, "Congratulations!" Huh? Yeah, apparently I look like a high schooler?



Please tell me this outfit works...I never tuck in t-shirts, but this one was too big and looked a little disheveled with it un-tucked.

This weekend
We are heading up to Minnesooooooota this weekend for a variety of events.

Nic is going up to his bestie's cabin for a few fun filled days of fishing and bourbon.

And I am throwing my bestie a super duper fun bridal shower. There will be games and mimosas. I am excited for the mimosas. Not so much the games, but you just have to have them.

Here is my bestie, Nancy.



Here is one of the eats that will be devoured.
Before:


After:


Yummmmm.

Note to Nancy - I bought butter and sugar just to make you some yummy desserts that I won't even eat. I hope you love me.


After the bridal shower I am going to scoot over to my high school track coach's retirement party. This will deserve a post in itself. But for now, I will show you what I am going to wear.



Note to G-dog - if you read my blog, please act surprised when you see my super duper fun t-shirt that I made just for your party. kthanks.


Yeah - trying to get a good photo of yourself in the mirror is kind of hard. And then when you figure it out things can start getting silly. And I totally cleaned the mirror prior to taking these photos. If I hadn't you'd be looking at a very blurry Kier right now.

After the retirement party is when the real fun begins. Nancy's bachelorrette party! (seriously, how do you spell bachelorette??)  I can't divulge any specifics, but I can tell you one thing - glitter, massive amounts of glitter were used to make something for the party.



I really don't know any of the specifics except that we will be frequenting The Shout House sometime that evening.

Funny story - last time I was at the Shout House, I totally vommed when I got home. Yeah, apparently running a half marathon and drinking beaucoup girly drinks, beer, and not enough water in the same day, does not make for a good combination.

Twins
And finally on Sunday, after recovering from a day of parties for me and too much sun + fishing for Nic, we are heading to our very first Twins game in the new stadium.



Excited.

So very excited.

That is all. Back to work + packing I go.

Happy Friday!

minnesota weekend

Can I just say - I am so freaking excited for the weather we are having this week!  I'll take the fog and drizzle any day as long as it comes with these balmy temps!



62 degrees tomorrow?!  I think I need to take the day off - too bad it is booked solid with meetings.  :(

So I mentioned a few times that Nic and I headed up north this past weekend for three four big celebrations.  The few hours we were in Minnesota were planned down to the minute in order to get everything in. Which is not any different from all of the other weekend trips to MN.

We rolled in Friday night and spent some time (and the night) with Nic's family.  Saturday morning I fell out of bed entirely too early and headed out for a 15 mile run.  The weather was great and I felt great.  I ran through three cities (Coon Rapids, Anoka and Champlin) mostly on snow covered sidewalks (packed hard).  Bad idea.  At mile 12 I slowed due to a major pain in my knee and eventually had to call Nic to pick me up.  Super bummed - but I didn't want to injure myself so early on in my Fargo training.  I managed to get in 13.82 miles before my knight in a dirty Mercury Sable arrived.  I have to admit, even though I ran 13.82 miles, I felt like a failure - stupid, right?

Anyway - the knee is totally fine now.  The pain was from running on the uneven surfaces for so long. Give me country highways overs city sidewalks any day!

Celebration #1: Nic and I then took our nephew out to celebrate his 4th birthday (we were in Europe for his actual birthday). We saw an early showing on Gnomeo and Juliet which was a pretty adorable movie (at least the parts that I was awake for...) and then hit up the Flame, Pizza Flame for lunch.  Love me some Pizza Flame!  This was my dad's favorite pizza place growing up and we would often grab lunch there after church on Sundays.



Unlce Nic and Jackson with his HUGE present





Aunty Kier and Jackson...take 1.



Take 2...



Finally! :)

Celebration #2:  Saturday night we celebrated my college roommate's recent wedding.  We spent the night hanging out with three other roommates from college: Becky (and Curt), Nancy (and Nick), Sarah (and Tony).  Twas a fun night!  We left the reception super early and headed back to grab a few drinks at Sarah and Tony's house. Around 11PM we decided to call it a night and headed back to my parent's house.  Becky, Curt, Nancy and Nick came too and crashed in extra rooms - as we all had the same plans for Sunday morning - brunch!

Celebration #3:  Sunday's brunch was actually a surprise engagement brunch for Nancy and Nick.  They knew we were hosting brunch, but thought it was just with our college roommates - and not with our close group of friends from high school as well.  Celebration #4:  I also thought this was a great time to celebration Leah and Tony's newest addition to their family - due to arrive in July.  I am super excited for them and really can't believe they will be a family of four so soon!



I must say this brunch was pretty fantastic and super easy.  Everyone brought something and little work was involved on my part that morning!  The hardest thing I had to do was to make sure there was always fresh coffee brewing.  The menu included:

• Bagels
• Cream cheese
• Hummus
• Fruit
• Biscotti
• Baked eggs and cheese wrapped in bacon (last minute addition)
• Cinnamon rolls
• Mimosas

It was so much fun hanging out with everyone, although I have to laugh and think that we are getting so old...I mean, who gets together for brunch?? :)

Check out how much our "group" has grown:

High School:

(Apparently we like surprises now and then!  This photo was taken our freshmen year of college (right??) after Leah had knee surgery.  Nancy and I coordinated a surprise visit to Leah's with the rest of the group)

Now:


And this is what happens when you want a "fun" photo when not everyone is paying attention.





Nancy, Leah and me - I love these ladies!  Nancy and Nick are getting hitched on August 6th. (umm...that totally rhymes, right?!)  Leah and Tony got married on August 5th.  Nic and I got married on August 4th.  See a trend?? :)



The lovely soon to be mother of two boys.  Can't wait!