Happiness

This is Kevin :)

Bucket List

This is the first part of my bucket list. I have already accomplished a few of these. 


1. Go skydiving
2. Run a half marathon
3. Complete a triathlon
4. Have sex in the shower
5. Visit all 50 states and their capitols
6. Take a hot air balloon ride
7. Get married
8. Have kids
9. Hike to the top of a mountain
10. Stand on the equator
11. Search for the loch ness monster
12. Visit Scotland
13. Visit Argentina
14. Go to a professional sporting event
15. Ride in a limo
16. Catch a fish
17. Go skinny dipping
18. Be on the radio
19. Dance in the rain
20. Go to a circus
21. Sleep in a blanket fort
22. Enter a photography contest
23. Put my hand print in wet cement on a sidewalk
24. Stay up all night-for fun
25. Ride in a helicopter
26. Stand under a waterfall

Lansing Marathon Relay

I ran the last leg of the marathon relay, which ended up being around 4.5 miles, in 38 minutes. It was weird passing all the people who were finishing up the [solo] marathon, but it made me feel good. Even if they had already ran 25 miles that morning, lol. And I even got a medal! On to me half marathon training!

Holy Motivation!

Today I ran 8 miles.

Today I registered for my first half marathon.

"Whether you believe you can or believe you can't, you're probably right." Henry Ford

Polar Bear 5K 1/29

It may have been the most horrible run ever. Not because it was cold. Not because it was snowing. Not because it was slippery.

Because I still had a cold. Two minutes after I finished, my throat started burning. My throat has never created me so much pain in my life. It tasted terrible, sort of like blood and a bunch of other nasty things I can't seem to determine.

I got a 27:31 which is not even close to my PR, but I'm glad I didn't push myself any harder. Who knows how long my throat would be burning if I had.

I am just thankful they had Biggby after the race. The hot chocolate really helped my throat feel better.

And this is how terrible I looked:

But Sunday night made up for everything :)

New Ride!

2007 Jeep Compass

Heated leather seats

Moon roof

Nothing else matters!

This is what just came out of my oven! I am not too fond of the French, but their bread is pretty darn tasty!

Crusty French Bread

By PCrocker on October 07, 2004

About This Recipe

"This recipe produces two crusty and chewy loaves that are so very good and so much better than store bought."

Ingredients

• 2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 5 -5 1/2 cups bread flour

Directions

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water (110 degrees) and sugar in large bowl; allow yeast to proof or foam (about 10 minutes).
2. Add salt, oil, and 3 cups flour; beat for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in 2 cups flour to make a stiff dough.
4. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
5. Place in oiled bowl, turn dough to coat all sides, cover and let rise until doubled.
6. Punch down and divide in half.
7. Shape dough into two long slender loaves.
8. Grease and sprinkle with cornmeal either a french bread pan or large cookie sheet.
9. Place loaves in pan and cut diagonal gashes on top of each loaf (I use scissors).
10. Cover and let rise until doubled.
11. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.
12. Note: You can sprinkle or spray water on the loaves during baking if you want a really crunchy crust.

Found at http://www.food.com/recipe/crusty-french-bread-101476

2012

I keep thinking of bigger and better goals for this year. In 2010 I achieved my goal of running a 10k. In 2011 I ran 365 miles. In 2012 I will run a half marathon. Aside from running I also want to take a picture every day, most likely on my phone. I haven't decided where I will post them yet, but I think it could be a great way to remember the small things that make me happy.

Here are the first three:

January 1, 2012: Bowling at Holiday Lanes with Mel, Sarah, and Andrew. I am Sausage and I bowled a 100.

January 2, 2012: Dinner with Mel at Sushi-ya. Gay couple with cute Chinese baby.

January 3, 2012: Back to work at Neogen. I am survived after a night of insomnia resulted in 1 1/2 hours of sleep.

Stay tuned for more!

That was close

I’m a bit behind on my blogging, and I have already procrastinated this post since last year. For 2011, I made one goal. That was to run 1 mile a day, or 365 miles in one year. I’ve already blogged about my slow, or rather nonexistent start, so I’ll start where I left off about a month ago. Going into December I had more than 75 miles to run in order to achieve my goal. The month started out slow, but the fact that I was without a car and running to work really helped me out this week, and all month. I got back on track, logging a few long runs in addition to my 12 mile commute to and from work each week, and by Christmas I had just under 16 miles left. I previously decided to take Christmas off, so I was down to 6 days. But then I woke up Monday morning with a stomach flu. I went back to Lansing on Tuesday and considered running, but I was too exhausted and it was already dark when I woke up from my nap. I was feeling alright, but I had no energy for anything. I woke up Wednesday and ran to work. It was probably a bad decision, but I had to get some miles in. It took a lot out of me. I used all my energy up by the time work was over so I got a ride home. All of the sudden it was Wednesday night and I only had 1.2 miles for the week. I had to run 15 miles in 3 days. That usually isn’t a problem, but I had no idea if I would feel up to running. I was so close to 365; I had to do it. So I cranked out the miles. I ended with a 5 mile run on New Years Eve as my grand finale.

It feels so good...

...to run at 7am.

On November 27 my car overheated when I tried to drive back to Lansing after the long Thanksgiving weekend. I made it three miles down the road before I turned around and drove back to my patents house. Luckily I have some of the best parents ever because they drove me back to Lansing that night. We dropped my car off at the shop in Lowell and back to my home. On Monday I learned that it would cost me $1400 to fix my car, and I had to make a decision whether to fix it or consider buying a new car. It wasn't a hard decision considering how much is wrong with my car other than the $1400 to fix the head gasket. The hole somewhere in the gas tank and the smashed rear end mostly deem my car worthless to everybody besides myself. I came to to the rough realization that I will need to spend some or most of my savings on a new(er) car. This was two and a half weeks ago and I still don't have a car. I have looked a little at cars online, and have narrowed it down to a Mazda3 or Dodge Caliber, but that might change when I go to test drive some cars.

In the mean time, I have been running to and from work. It's 1.2 miles each way, and it is a good way to wake up in the morning. In the past two and a half weeks I have ran every day except for one day it was raining. I even ran the morning we got 10 inches of snow and all the schools in Lansing were closed. It takes 10-12 minutes, so it's not much longer than driving to work. Ohh, the joys of city driving. I really don't mind not having a car. I like running to work. It is a hassle when I need to go to the store or go anywhere other than work though. Yesterday I left work, ran around the Capital, and all the way down Michigan to the Kroger in Frandor because i wanted to get some candy flavors, bread flour and yeast. Then I took the bus home.

Not having a car has taught me how much I don't like it when I need others to do things in life. I want to be this self sustaining person, but in reality, we all need people. I have realized how much people are willing to do for me, even when I don't ask. It's a great feeling, but I still have a hard time accepting peoples' offers for rides places. Why? I have two legs. I can get there on my own. Why be an inconvenience to other people? I have realized that what I think is an inconvenience to other people might not really be as much of an inconvenience as I want to believe. People are generally good people, and are willing to help. It's good to know there are still kind people in this World. It's comforting!

More Deliciousness

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

4 (1 ounce) squares Baker’s unsweetened chocolate
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

In a double boiler, melt unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup of the chocolate chips, and the butter stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. In a large bowl, whip eggs and sugar until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla and the chocolate mixture until well mixed. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a small bowl; gradually stir into the chocolate mixture. Fold in mini chocolate chips. Cover dough and chill for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll chilled dough into 1 inch balls. Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart.Bake for 9-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pumpkin Bars

I found a recipe for pumpkin cheese pie on the internet and decided that was a good use for the leftover pumpkin I had sitting in the fridge. I found some other recipes that were almost the same, so I used all of these to make my own recipe for Pumpkin Bars. Instead of the pie crust and pie format, I decided I wanted to use a ginger snap crust. I have never made one before, but it just sounded good to me. I used a little too much butter in the crust, so I think I will use one or two tablespoons less next time. Everything else was pretty good. This is the recipe I used:

Crust:

2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies (about 40 cookies)

1/2 stick butter, melted (a little too much butter, try 6-7 TBSP next time)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x13 in. pan. Mix melted butter and crushed cookies and press into the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Filling:

2 cups pumpkin puree

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

3 eggs

4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Mix filling ingredients together and pour on top of crust. Bake for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool before cutting.

It's Friday already? SCORE!!!

Sunday morning was the second time I ran through Hell. I borrowed Troy's Woopie Cushion costume, and it was a big hit! This time I got Mel and Andrew to come with me! We had a lot of fun! I ran the 5K in 26:45. Not my best time, but for all the hills, I am satisfied. I beat my time from last year by a couple minutes, so that's great!

This year I had five different Halloween costumes, and I didn't spend a penny on any of them!

Last Wednesday I dressed up at the Cat in the Hat and did a little volunteering at Trick or Treat on the Square in downtown Lansing. I have never touched so many donuts in my life! Saturday I wasn't planning on dressing up, but I ended up being a cowgirl when I went out to Buffalo Wild Wings for Kim's birthday. Sunday morning was the woopie cushion. Monday at work we did a Jack-O-Toxin Lateral Flow skit, and I dressed as 'gold' and wore all red. I wore my cape at work all day just for fun. Monday night Marissa wanted to go out, so I brought out my Superwoman costume and went to the Tin Can with Amy Winehouse for a couple drinks! We made it an early night because we're both old and have real people jobs, but it was nice to catch up on stuff. All the Halloween festivities were a lot of fun.

126.6 miles to go!

On the up and up

Yesterday I ran 7.5 miles. That's the longest I have ran at one time. I think my previous record was 6.2 miles from a couple 10Ks. I had to pee so bad by mile 4 that I had to find a spot to squat on the river trail. Almost exposed myself to a biker, oops.

Next year I will run a half marathon.

Today I hurt. Two days to re-cooperate before my 5k through Hell!

Be who you are

Don't compromise who you are for someone else, you'll start believing all the wrong things about yourself. One day you'll wake up not knowing where 'you' went. I'm not saying you should never change. Change is good, change is growing into a better person. You shouldn't change who you are if it goes against your beliefs and morals as a person. Don't change for anyone but yourself. If they don't like you for who you are, they probably won't like you for who they want you to be either.

You never let go

Do not confuse confidence with arrogance

Every teardrop is a waterfall

I have been listening to Coldplay tonight as I re-calculate how many miles I have left to run to make my goal for the year. As of today, I have ran 204.61 miles this year. That leaves 160.39 miles to run in 71 days. I have 10 weeks left. I have been running between 15 and 18 miles per week for the past 2 1/2 - 3 months, and I just hope I don't get burnt out before the end of the year.

2.26 miles per day. I can do it!

I need to get a few really long runs in. I just have to find the time. Maybe tomorrow!

A week of daily thoughts

Sunday: Missed opportunities can be small victories.

Monday: You can't be honest with others if you're not honest with yourself first.

Tuesday: You call it persistence, but I call it desperation.

Wednesday: Ignorance leads to complacency.

Thursday: If you feel abandoned, it is only a lesson in humility.

Friday: You have to have the want to change your life, and you need to let God help you.

Saturday: Everybody will let you down at some point or another.

It's still not too late

Back in January I made a goal of running a mile a day in 2011. It seemed realistic at the time, but I had not intended on having chest pain that turned me away from running for a good part of the year. Part of that was laziness, but the other part was the discouragement of not being able to run a mile without my chest hurting.

So far this year, I have totaled 156.18 miles, 96.5 of those being in the past two months.There are 91 days left in the year, so I would have to run just over 200 miles in 3 months. I have to run 2.3 miles per day, or 16 miles a week. If I continue to run like I ran in September I can achieve my goal. Let's see if I can do it!

I'm getting faster!

When I go for a run I never really have a particular destination in mind. I usually make that decision a mile or so in. I have gotten pretty good at being able to tell how far I have gone, but lately I have been getting much more efficient with my running. Meaning I am getting faster, and that is super exciting. Yesterday I ended up running a 8 minute mile for 3.7 miles. I thought I started slow, but I guess I was running like the wind! I usually run an out and back, so by the midway point I make a goal time for myself. usually it is around twice my out time. Yesterday I was 40 seconds faster on the way back, so maybe I actually did start out a little slow. I am proud of myself to say the least.

Take a look at how much I have been running lately! 18 miles last week? Yeah, that's all me! the only real break I took this month was when I went to Atlanta at the beginning of the month. That took a couple days out, but probably a much needed break from running. I don't want to get burned out. I think i might have to take another short break soon- just so I don't lose interest in running.