Last week, Emmalynn’s teachers planned a Memorial Day program complete with songs, poems and red, white and blue attire. The kids were so cute. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.
Thank you to all the service men and women who sacrificed so much to protect our freedom.
God Bless the USA!
Powered by Linky Tools
Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…
As we wrap up the end of the school year, it seems like the projects keep piling on. One of the recent projects required my youngest daughter, Emmalynn, to read a biography, complete with a book report and then she had to either dress as that person or create a puppet of that person for an oral presentation.
Did I mention she’s only six? I don’t recall having to do these types of presentations until high school. Nonetheless, Emmalynn and I visited our local library to search through the stacks of biographies for her report.
There were so many wonderful biographies of great people. Although the choices were endless, we limited our choices to the materials and costumes available in our closets for the oral presentation portion of this assignment. Should she be Sacagawea? Mary Queen of Scotts? Madame Curie? Hillary Clinton? Miley Cyrus? Harriet Tubman?
The choice seemed clear when we found You Wouldn’t Want to Be Joan of Arc!: A Mission You Might Want to Miss. She
could totally pull off a Joan of Arc.
With her Bob haircut, a sword, a riding horse-on-a-stick, and a homemade Princess Leah costume, she would be a dead ringer. Not literally, though. We would omit the whole burning at the stake part for her presentation.
As we read through the book, we learned that Joan of Arc preferred carrying a banner over a sword. Therefore, we fashioned a similar banner using the backside of some leftover Christmas wrapping paper. Emmalynn did her best to draw a few fleur de lys, the angels Michael and Gabriel seated on either side of God and the Latin words “Jesus Maria”.
For a more dramatic effect, Dad wrapped some duct tape around the cardboard tube. It also helped strengthen the tube.
In the end, we had our own little Joan of Arc, who lived to tell about her adventures.
I don’t know what my obsession with balls is lately. First my MIL’s potato balls and now I can’t get my Aunt June’s sticky balls out of my brain.
Aunt June would make her famous honey balls for every special occasion and they were always a hit. (Since my mom and her sister are NYC girls, you have to respect the ball and pronounce it as “bawls”.) Basically, Struffoli consists of small dough balls fried and slathered in honey. So simple and yet something about these balls always made mouths happy.
I have such fond memories of holidays gathered around Aunt June’s dining table and everyone huddling over a large bowl of honey balls. My sister and I would always scrape extra honey off the bottom of the bowl before popping a ball into our mouths, which of course, is the proper way to handle my aunt’s balls.
Aunt June passed away two years ago this September after a battle with lung cancer. Tomorrow I run 5 Miles for Moffitt in her memory. Today, I share her Struffoli recipe with you in her memory.
Aunt June’s Struffoli (Honey Balls )
Ingredients
2 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
¼ tsp salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ stick unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Canola oil for frying
1 ½ cups honey
Multi-colored sprinkles (Rainbow colored nonpareils)
Directions
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add the butter and pulse a few times until crumbly. Add the eggs and vanilla. Pulse until sticky.
Remove and form into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough until ¼ inch thick. Using a knife, cut each piece of dough into ½ inch wide strips.
Then cut each strip into ½ inch squares. Roll each piece of dough into a small ball about ½ inch in size. Lightly dredge the dough balls in flour, shaking off any excess.
Using a small fryer, pour enough oil to fill about a third of the way and heat oil to 375°. Fry the dough in batches until lightly golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate line with paper towels to drain excess oil. Once cooled, transfer balls to a large bowl.
In a large saucepan, heat honey over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally (about 3 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat. Pour the honey on top of the fried dough. Stir until evenly coated in the honey. Allow the mixture to cool for 2 minutes.
Serve in family style in a large bowl or scoop a few honey balls into cupcake liners. Decorate with sugar sprinkles and allow to set for 2 hours. Struffoli can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for at least a week.
Thanks for joining our weekly Friday Food Fight! Can’t wait to see what everyone is flinging this week!
*Also submitted at*
This week’s Leap Into Spring Photo Challenge is Easter/Eggs. Given that Easter was just a few weeks ago and I still haven’t shared those photos, I hopped on it.
Like most , our Easter our was full of eggs from decorating and dying…
…to four different egg hunts. There was one egg hunt with Emmalynn’s class. Chugging along with a train basket in tow, Little Lion Man tried to keep up with the big kids.
We always love our annual egg hunt with our Moms on the Go friends.
On Easter morning, the Easter bunny left some jellybean-filled eggs in the yard. Did you know that dump trucks make better Easter baskets?
Then later that day, Grandma hid some eggs in her gorgeous garden, which is perfect for eggs hunts and wanna-be photographers.
After a long, “eggs”hausting hunt run in Grandma’s huge yard, we rewarded ourselves with the Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes I baked for dessert.
Yep, it was a truly “eggs”elent Easter.
Among my running friends, I had heard such great things about the Hare Racing Expereince at the University of South Florida (my alma mater) and I was excited to finally be able to participate in the race this year. Especially, since the race benefits children living with epilepsy by offering “scholarships for kids with epilepsy to attend a medical-friendly camp, scholarships for families of kids with epilepsy to attend a family weekend retreat, medical and college/technical school scholarships for persons affected by epilepsy, seminars that promote new initiatives and partnerships in the field of epilepsy and funding for medical support services” (Epilepsy Services Foundation, Inc).
Since my niece, Meghan, lives with epilepsy, the Hare Racing Experience became a family affair. We all wore purple to represent ourselves as “Team Meggers” to honor Meghan.
Kirsten brought her “Talk About It” sign to remind everyone to talk about the reason behind the race. We were here to raise money and awareness for epilepsy.
But I really need to talk about this race! From the start, I should have known I was in trouble when I realized there was no start line. Instead of an official start, a small crowd huddled around a man with a bullhorn. I could barely make out what he said, “Stay to the left of the orange flags!” Orange flags. Got it.
A faint gun pop gave the crowd the signal to start running. As I followed the crowd through the grass, I realized we were headed for a trail run.
Then, panic set in. I haven’t trained for a trail run! I’ve been resting for a week! I hope my heels are ready for this! But the wet grass and sand is going to ruin my new shoes!
Once I allowed myself a brief moment to panic, I took a deep breath and decided to embrace the trail run. After all, the soft sandy terrain would be good for my recovering plantar fasciitis heels. Plus, it wasn’t a chipped race so I wouldn’t have to worry about my time. Besides, I was here for Meghan and a good cause, not a great finish.
With that, I focused on where I planted my feet while trying to snap as many photos as I could.
Honestly, running a trail was tough but fun. I loved running through the woods even if we had to do it twice. Still, I wished I had trained for a trail run.
We winded through the woods to a path that led us to the soccer field. We ran through the plush green grass into the sunshine.
Then, it was back the through trail again to the 1.5 mile water stop and another loop through the trail again.
Second time along the trail, a few of us lost our bearings and began following some USF track students. By following these runners, we were off-track and off the race route. Once we realized what had happened, we had to double back to the race. The whole misguided mistake added 15 seconds to my time.
One more time around the soccer field and as we exited the field, we passed a volunteer holding a Mile 1 sign. “This is mile 2, right?” I asked panicking all over again as I ran past her. Although she assured me we were nearing the finish, I felt confused and frustrated and ready to be done.
As we exited the trail a second time, the volunteers pointed us in the direction of the USF Track and Field. The last leg was half a lap around the track. As I neared the finish, I still had some sprints left in me and I pushed it to the finish.
Focused on fast footwork, I forgot to look at the clock and stop my Garmin when I crossed the finish line. Since the race wasn’t chipped, we were asked to record our own time. Frustrated once again with this race and my performance, I tried to see the clock in my mind’s eye. I think it said 31:07.
When I remembered to turn off my Garmin, it read 31:39.
According to the results listed on coolrunning.com, my official time is 30:51. Not quite under 30 minutes like I had hoped to finish, but better than I thought for my first trail run race. And I came in 5th place for my division (F/age 40-44)! I’ll take it!
Jarrett did great for his first trail run and finished at 30:22. My sister, Simone, my BIL Erich, Rachel and Grandpa Bill all finished between 42:00-44:00, which is fantastic for their first 5K!
*Photo by Aaron Stopford*
After a quick 5K cool down, Simone and I joined Meghan and the rest of the gang (Kirsten, Allan, Allana and Emmalynn) for the one mile fun run, which were four laps around the track. I knew my girls would do great as their used to running in circles for running club.
*Photo by Aaron Stopford*
Allan, Allana and Meghan finished at 13:01. Kirsten and Emmalynn finished just a few second behind them at 13:05.
Even though after the race my shins would tell you otherwise, running for a reason always feels good. Despite being a bit unorganized and a few hiccups with the logistics of the race, I would run this race again for my niece, Meghan.
Sometimes it’s not about the time or the course, but the cause and encouraging people to talk about it…
*Photo by Kirsten*
…and giving a shout out to your alma mater, too.
*Photo by Kirsten*
And now, as promised, here are a few sunshine and light photos from spring break for the Leap into Spring! Photo Challenge
*Sharing my photos at Live and Loud Out Loud.*
In support of Purple Day (March 26), Kirsten and I have planned another purple picnic for our girls. For the special occasion, I’m busy preparing a purple pasta salad and baking purple cupcakes and any other purple provisions I can think of for our little picnic.
The purpose behind Purple Day and our pint-size purple picnic is to spread epilepsy awareness.
*Purple Day Picnic 2011*
Did you know that “epilepsy affects over 50 million people worldwide or approximately 1 in 100 people? That’s more than multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and Parkinson’s disease combined.” (Statistic borrowed from purpleday.org.)
My niece, Meghan, is one of the people affected by epilepsy.
In a few weeks, our entire extended family will participate in the Hare Racing Experience to benefit epilepsy awareness. We’ll wear matching purple shirts and represent ourselves as Team Meggers in Meghan’s honor.
We gladly give our support and hearts to each of the causes because someone we love needs a cure.
*Purple ribbon photo by Kirsten*
Please consider wearing purple today to help spread epilepsy awareness.
Have a purple song or photo to share? Join our Music Monday Purple Day Blog Hop. Link up and share. Linky will stay open until Sunday, April 1.
Additional facts about epilepsy from PurpleDay.org:
Some common triggers include:
Forgetting to take prescribed seizure medication
Lack of sleep
Missing meals
Stress, excitement, emotional upset
Menstrual cycle / hormonal changes
Illness or fever
Low seizure medication levels
Medications other than prescribed seizure medication
Flickering lights of computers, television, videos, etc., and sometimes even bright sunlight
Excessive alcohol consumption and subsequent withdrawal
Street drugs
“Mom, do you plan to run this race easy or hard?” Allana asked.
“I was planning to run with you, so whatever pace you want to do.”
“Well, Katie, Jackie and I are going to run easy, so you should just run how you want to, Mom.”
Before the start of the Spring Sprint 5K, my pre-teen gave me the “all clear” to run the race hard, but in reality I think she chose to be with her friends over me. It was my first taste of the teen years to come.
Honestly, for the time being, I’m o.k. with it as this was a chipped race and selfishly, I wanted a good time on my Active.com profile. I’ll worry about being blown off for friends another day. This mother runner needed to finish a 5K in under 30 minutes! (Just call me Domino’s, because I can get there in 30 minutes or less.)
Although the race was in its second year, this was our first time participating in the Spring Sprint 5K, race to raise funds for autism awareness and education projects. What a great little charity race from start to finish!
As logistics go, the race event coordinators had it together. Oakstead Elementary hosted packet pick-up the evening before the race which was a smooth operation. Parking on race day was also smoothly orchestrated. As any runner will tell you, packet pick-up and parking are HUGE factors for any race and the organizers behind this race worked out every detail beautifully.
The start line was clearly marked as well as visible. Both the 5K and 1 mile Fun Run had their own start line banners.
As for the course, it was right in my backyard, so to speak. The 5K course wound through the flat and scenic streets of my neighborhood, the very same streets I train on. We ran past my kids’ school, the middle school and high school.
We even ran past my Publix and my favorite running store, Suncoast Running, who cheered for us as we ran by.
The sunrise was like any other running day in my neighborhood, but the sun seemed to be shining just a bit more brightly today. Maybe the sun knew it was a great day for a race?
For a small race with less than 500 participants, there were a great number of volunteers and spectators, many I believe to be faculty and staff of Oakstead Elementary. The finish led us back to the high school where we ran a half lap around the track.
DJ Elvis called out our numbers as we ran past and people in the stands cheered for us as we crossed the finish line.
*Photo provided by Suncoast Running.*
Gun Time 28:39
Chip Time 28:34
Ave Pace 9:14
Division Place 10/35
Overall Place 139/415
As for Allana, she did GREAT. She ran it without stopping, a first for her. However, I missed Allana crossing the finish line as I had to be at the start line for the 1 mile Fun Run with Emmalynn. My husband snapped these photos of Allana and her friend, Jackie.
Allana’s Stats
Gun Time 50:16
Chip Time 50:00
Ave Pace 16:11
Division 26/27
Overall 409/415
For the 1 Mile Fun Run, we ran back onto the road in front of the high school and then looped back onto the school groups to finish on the track once again.
Of course, I was so proud of both girls, but I was extremely proud of Emmalynn. She held onto a nice pace and avoided side stitches.
By doing so, Emmalynn earned a personal best for this race and redeemed her Gasparilla Jr. performance! Way to go Emmalynn!
The sun was right. It certainly was a great day for a race. Even my friend, Chrissy, did well and finished 6th in her division with a chip time of 29:23.
On a side note, with this race falling on Saint Patrick’s Day, I thought everyone would be all decked out in green. I totally expected to see others wearing sparkly green running skirts and silly St. Patrick’s Day hats or runners dressed as leprechaun look-alikes. Um…not so much.
I did not expect to be one of the very few people wearing green not to mention being the only one wearing a green tutu. Talk about feeling like the belle of the ball and making a spectacle of myself. Wow.
Kermit wasn’t kidding. It’s not easy being green but then I don’t think Kermit ever wore a tutu and a little leprechaun hat. Well, at least I’ve raised the bar for next year.
And we’ll definitely be back next year.
Tuesday morning I wanted to run. I needed to run to clear my head after the evening’s turn of events, but I also wanted to be here when my daughters woke up. I knew they would ask about Lucy and I wanted to be here to hold them when we delivered the sad news.
Our dog, Lucy, passed away on Monday evening. There were no signs that the end was near.
We explained to the girls that Lucy was older than we thought and sometimes older dogs (much like older people) have strokes when the end is near. It’s just their bodies breaking down and telling them it’s time to go.
We adopted Lucy one year ago. Less than two weeks ago, we celebrated the anniversary of her adoption into our family. I never wanted a dog but after repeated begging from my children and against my better judgment, I agreed to a pet. So we searched the shelters for a Pomeranian similar to the one we rescued.
We eventually found Lucy on Craigslist, which was as shady and strange as you would imagine a pet adoption through Craigslist to be. With blind faith, we took the previous owner’s word about her health as well as her age, but it was certainly obvious that this poor dog had been used as a puppy mill.
This dog that I never wanted wagged her fluffy little tail into my heart. She followed me from room to room like a pack leader and was with me every minute of every day. Lucy became my dog. I eventually transformed into a crazy dog person as I began taking Lucy shopping and to restaurants and baked her pupcakes.
I keep playing moments in my head, like Liam hugging Lucy and dragging half her tiny body along the floor as he loved on Lucy. I regret never catching a photo of those funny loving, but torturous moments for poor Lucy.
I also regret not praying with my children at bedtime Monday night. Instead, I made jokes to lighten the mood and to fill their hearts with happiness so they wouldn’t worry all night long about our beloved pet. But, I should have prayed with them to help ease Lucy’s pain as well as the pain they were feeling in their hearts. I feel I failed them as a mom and as their spiritual leader. I feel I failed my Father and Lucy too.
Like most dogs, Lucy had simple tastes and loved life. Everyone should learn to love life through the eyes of a dog. Next to the food dropped from a highchair, she loved Chinese food. Lucy also loved being outdoors, long walks and car rides. She even loved camping with us.
Although we didn’t know much about Lucy when we adopted, we simply loved her. I believe we gave her the best last year of her life.
We miss you, Lucy.
Rest in peace.
Besides having just finished two half marathons within two weeks of each other, I chose the 15K race because I had never run this distance before at Gasparilla Race Weekend. Plus, it seems to be a popular distance with my running friends. So, yes, if you must know, I resorted to peer-pressure and did what all my friends were doing. Even Maribel succumbed to the running friend peer pressure when she chose to run the 15K as her first running race ever.
Basically, the 15K course stretches along Bayshore Blvd and back again, which is simply the most breathtaking view at sunrise and what I love most about Gasparilla next to the awesome medals booty.
At the start of the race, the temps were already beginning to rise. I found the 9:30 pace group and decided to tag along with them. However, with the heat, I would soon learn that finishing under an hour and a half would not be happening today.
When I studied the course map the night before, I misread the map and thought there would be only two water stations on the course at miles 4 and 7. Imagine my jubilation when I realized the EIGHT water stations were available every couple of miles! Thank you to the Zephyrhills water gods and Gasparilla volunteers, but mostly thank you for volunteers wearing rubber gloves and handing us clean water! The Rock ‘n Roll marathon series needs to take note of that.
And also a big “THANK YOU” to the residents of Bayshore and the City of Tampa for running sprinklers along the course. Those sprinklers were such a welcomed sight!
As for the actual running portion of the program, it was hot and I struggled with my 1:30 goal. Since I had been training in cool mornings, I wasn’t prepared mentally or physically for an unexpected heat wave. So, on race days like this one, sometimes you have to forget the PR and just run or walk it, like I was forced to do many times.
The heat was so unbearable that I started getting cramps in my side. I needed to walk quite a bit of the course as did many others. Between miles 4-5, we found reprieve under some large oak trees.
Then, around mile 5, we turned the corner and the sun beamed down on Bayshore Blvd again. I felt like I would puke.
And to make it worse all better, someone offered us Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Really? And people actually ate them while running! I don’t remember any donuts in the half marathon or even the marathon! WTH?! Who knew?! As far as Gasparilla races go, this must mean that the 15K is the sweet pick. As long as there’s no heat, I suppose.
The last few miles are a blur, even according to my cell phone camera as it kept getting wet from me dumping water on myself at every water station and the sprinklers. I just remembered wanting to finish and be done with it all. Once I spotted the finish line, my spirits picked up but I didn’t have the energy to sprint across the finish line. That heat did me in!
Due to all my walking, Maribel eventually caught up with me and we finished within seconds of each other.
Clock Time 1:47:06
Chip Time 1:45:31
Pace 11:19
Overall Place 3446/4956
Gender Place 1563/2569
Division Place 227/350
Maribel had all the emotions of finish her first race. I was so proud of her as well as thrilled and honored to share that special runner’s high moment with her.
After the race, we waited for our friends (Chrissy, Faith, Patti, and Angie) to finish the 5K, but due to an unexpected delay, they didn’t start their race until 20 minutes after the official start. I felt so bad for all the 5K people who experienced an even hotter race than the 15K runners.
Once reunited with all our friends, we had chowed down on Columbia restaurant black beans (my favorite) and a free celebratory beer, which was another first for me. Usually, I’m too tired or can’t be bothered to wait in line, but today the wait was worth it.
With our beer, we toasted to friends, Maribel’s first race and surviving the heat.
