My thoughts exactly

:)

Disney expo and a powdered sugar party

After getting all settled Thursday night in Anaheim, Friday was expo day.

The expo, in which we picked up our race bibs, shirts and packets and browsed vendor booths, started at noon at the Disneyland Hotel. We headed over a little early and spotted these signs along the way. Sweet!
As we neared the hotel, we saw our finish line all set up and ready for Sunday's half marathon. Getting really excited!!!
We watched cartoons while waiting for the expo to open. So Disney!
The expo was VERY unorganized. Signs pointed us in the wrong directions and Disney cast members kept giving us conflicting information. Many of us were quite frustrated.

We finally grabbed our bibs from the basement and then made our way to the booths upstairs. We spent a couple hours picking up freebies, buying official race gear and soaking it all in.
We bought discounted park tickets at the expo (no... park admission was not included in our race fees) and headed to Disneyland! Wanting to not get too tired and sore from running around, we took it easy and enjoyed a few rides.

Then I spotted beignets... shaped like Mickey Mouse!!!! Obviously, I had to buy a bag to share.
They had been powdered in the bag, so a big pile of powdered sugar was left in the bottom. Instead of just throwing that out, Brad, Mom and Dad took turns chugging it.
We laughed hysterically as they got sugar everywhere! Stupid fun :)

Splash Mountain came soon after, and I got SOAKED! Should not have sat in the front of the log...
We also saw cast members guarding an unattended bag. A bomb-sniffing dog cleared the scene. Very exciting!

We ended the day by watching Fantasmic, an amazing show on Rivers of America.

Next up: Mom's Star Tours 5K race

:)

Nos. 25 & 26

My sister the librarian hooked me up with Sue Grafton's first few books, and I read A and B on our trip.
Very good mysteries! Looking forward to more :)

Heading south

You've probably heard me mention that I have been training since February for the Disneyland Half Marathon on Labor Day weekend. After 23 weeks of hard work, it was finally time to pack up and head south.

My carry-ons - with my racing gear packed in that black bag. I wasn't going to take any chances of losing my precious luggage:
You think I like Mickey Mouse??
We arrived Thursday evening at a reasonable time, checked in at the Anaheim Plaza Hotel and hoofed it down Harbor Boulevard for some dinner at Joe's Crab Shack.
Beef for the men and fish for the women:
The food was good but not fabulous. But we did enjoy sitting on the patio and watching the wait staff dance with children!

We went across the street to buy some food and incidentals at Target before returning to our hotel for bed. Brad was still hungry (surprise, surprise!), so we stopped on the way for some froyo. Yum!
Next up: Friday's race expo at the Disneyland Hotel and a day at the park.

:)

Two birds, one stone

Enough resting... time to work out those legs and get the heart rate up!

Our first football game is this Friday so I had to go to marching band rehearsal and get stuff ready for the first performance. How about running to the school and then doing a couple stadiums? Perfect!
It took forever for my Garmin to find the local satellites. It thought we were still in Anaheim.

So I walked for the first bit and then ran the rest, doing a little extra winding around. Then I did two loops on the stairs. It's HOT out there!
After getting all my band stuff figured out, I headed home for a grand total of 1.88 miles.

** We just downloaded our Disney pictures and will hopefully have some to share very soon :)

HOT!

Tolerated six days of Southern California heat. Returned home to temps even higher. Bummer!

Chili-mac

Brad was craving chili-mac the other day and suggested I make Kraft Mac & Cheese and add in a can of chili. I'd never made chili-mac before, but I thought there must be a better recipe :)

I searched the Web and settled on an Emeril recipe that he demoed on Good Morning America. It was simple but also involved real ingredients instead of just stuff from a can/box.

It was VERY good! We both loved it and plan to eat more. We topped it with a little sour cream and it was perfect!

2 t olive oil

1 large onion, diced

2 jalapenos, stemmed and minced (I might add more for a bigger kick - this was very subtle)

1 T salt, plus more for pasta cooking water

2 lbs extra-lean ground beef (I used one package Morningstar Crumbles)

5 T chili powder

1 T oregano

2 T minced garlic

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes with juices

2 cans kidney beans, drained

1 lb. elbow macaroni

1 lb. cheddar cheese

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a 6-quart soup pot. Add onions, jalapenos and 2 t of the salt and cook until soft, 2 minutes. Add ground beef, chili powder, oregano and garlic and cook, breaking up any clumps of meat with a spoon, for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, beans, and 1/2 cup of water, stir, and bring chili to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until thickened to chili consistency, about 20 minutes. Taste and add 1 t salt, if needed.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

While the chili is simmering, cook macaroni according to package directions in boiling salted water, drain in a colander, rinse under cool running water and set aside. Grate cheddar cheese and set aside.

Place a 9 x 13.5-inch or other 3-quart casserole dish on a baking sheet. Once chili has finished cooking, fold in the cooked macaroni and 1/3 of the cheddar cheese. Transfer chili-mac to the baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake until heated through and cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. 

Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before serving. Serve each portion garnished with a dollop of sour cream, if desired.

:)