Firsts of 2015

As each new year approaches I enjoy looking back over the last twelve months to see what I have done differently during the year. I especially like to review what new things I have learned and experienced.  Here is a quick look at 2015.

• I visited Canada for the first time with a trip to Niagara Falls.  It only lasted about 45 minutes because it was freezing, but it was beautiful and exciting!

• I published my first children’s book with the help of my granddaughter.  She did the illustrations for Gary Learns to Skate. She was six years-old!

• First book signing with my granddaughter.

• I published my first book about running.

• First book signing in a running store – two, actually!  Thank you to Shu’s and Pocatello Running Company for hosting!

• First speaking gig about book marketing.

• First root beer float at the Frostop in Ashton. ( I have had root beer floats before, but I can’t remember ever stopping at the Frostop for one!)

• First writers contest and event sponsored by the ICAN

• I designed and published my first website! Check it out!

• First appearance in Eagle Magazine

• First bit.ly link

• First time I shattered the screen on my iPhone. Very sad!

I would love to hear about what you did for the first time in 2015. Message me in the comments below.

Enjoy your New Year celebration!  Be safe and be happy!

Happy Running!
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Guest Blogger: The Christmas Tree writes about magnifying your talents

I’m happy to be writing this guest post today for Carol.  After all, it’s my season to shine! I stay tucked away in storage for eleven months, but when December rolls around I get to exercise my talents to their fullest.  I have only a few, but that doesn’t stop me from making an impact on the lives of those around me. I try to do my best and so should you.

Let’s look at what I do well …

Patience. I await my season with grace.  I don’t make a commotion when the Shamrock gets his turn. I let him be the star of his show. He has a rough go of it as he has to share it with the Leprechaun!

Supportive. The Christmas Lights and Ornaments attract all the attention, but without me to hold them up they would lie in a heap of confusion on the floor. As I support them, I become more beautiful!

Loyal. I keep confidences. When the mother of the house has a meltdown for taking on too many projects I listen and hold my tongue.  I don’t even tell on the children when they snoop in the packages beneath my boughs.

Fulfilled. When my turn is over I quietly snuggle back into storage until the next December. I know it is unattractive to stay longer than I am welcome!

Humble? Maybe not so much … but I am working on it!

I’d like to check in next year to see how well you have magnified your talents.  I’ll be working on humility. How about you?

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a fulfilling New Year.

The Tree

Visit my Guest Blogger page to get to know all my blogging friends.

Running Granny Green encourages women, especially grandmothers, to gain greater fitness by providing tips and inspiration to insure long years of joyful grand-parenting. The cookie recipes are a bonus!

Happy Running!

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Bust Your Bells Fun Run 2015 – The Report

We had another fun time at the 5^th Annual BustYour Bells Holiday Run! The morning began with pouring rain and a few decided to stay home. We are sorry they missed it. The skies dried up long to provide great running weather!

The run has been around long enough that we have collected some faithful followers! They know who they are! Thank you for your continued support! We had several new participants this year as well. We love making new friends!

 

We were able to make a generous contribution to the Sunshine Cupboard for which they are truly grateful. Thank you for your generosity!

The bright red shirts were a hit!  Thanks to I/D/E/A for another cute design! Next time you don your shirt check out the elves’ shoes. They must be Parma runners!

Thank you to Shu’s Idaho Running Company for supplying the time clock and some great prizes! Mike and his staff are always supportive of our events.  The next time you need running gear, stop in and tell them Running Granny Green sent you!

Thank you to Rivercity Roe for their donation to our prize drawing. One lucky runner ran away with some cute Christmas leggings. Stop by their Facebook page and give them some love.

The best part about the Bust Your Bells run is the friendships we continue to make. Thanks for coming back year after year. We invite you to share you race pics on the Bust Your Bells Fun Run Facebook page.

S-t-r-e-e-e-t-c-h!

See you next year!

Have a Merry Christmas and as always ...

Happy Running!

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Tuesday’s Training Tip: Begin again!

There is no time like the present!

Today’s training tip is about starting over. It happens to all of us. We get injured or become ill. We have a change in life circumstances. We train hard for a race and then have trouble getting back into the swing of things once we have recovered. Whatever the reason, everyone has times when they fall off the fitness wagon. Don’t be discouraged – you have a chance to start over! There is no time like the present to begin training again.

Three opportunities to begin training now …

• New Year’s Resolutions! I don’t have to say anything more about that!
• Beginning of race season. If you begin now, you have plenty of time to get in shape for a spring 5K, 10K, or Half Marathon.

• Spring is coming. It feels okay to snuggle in warm layers of loose clothing now, but that won’t be the case when the temperatures start to climb.

Three ways to begin …

• Make it known. Share your resolution with a friend. She will help to hold you accountable.
• Register for a race. It’s that simple. The financial commitment and the fact that your name is on a list as a participant somewhere will encourage you to get moving.
• Inventory your closet. Try on a few of those favorite warm weather items now. Perhaps you need to make a trip to a local hot springs. Squeezing into your swimsuit is another motivator!

Three things to remember …

• You’ve done it before, you can do it again.
• You have time – at least three months – before you need to be back in shape.
• You are not alone!  I’ve got to get moving, too!

Enjoy the rest of the Season and as always …

Happy Running!

Tune in every Tuesday for more training tips and visit my Training Tips page to find all the tips you may have missed.
Question: Do you have a training tip you would like to share? Post it in the comments below.

 

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My three favorite food gifts

It’s Food Friday and one week until Christmas Day! I’m sharing my three favorite foods to give as gifts today. Follow the instructions for My Favorite Sugar Cookies and you can’t miss! Jalapeno Pepper Jelly is fun because it can be shared at a holiday party or saved for New Year’s Day bowl games. Who doesn’t love a pan full of cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas morning or any other day? If you want to feel like a rock star, shower your loved ones with these gifts of food.

 Carol's Sugar Cookies

• 1 C Butter Flavored Crisco
• 1 C Granulated Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 3 C Flour

Cream together shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Blend in one cup of the flour. Add baking powder and salt and blend well. Add remaining flour - reserving about 1/4 cup for rolling dough. Mix well.

Dough will be soft. Do not refrigerate. Use remaining flour to keep dough from sticking while rolling out. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out cookies and bake in 400 degree oven for seven minutes. Do not allow edges to brown. Baking times may need to be adjusted.
Allow cookies to cool and decorate with your favorite frosting recipe. (Mine is in my head!  I just add ingredients until it looks and tastes right, but here are some things to help you...)

My Favorite Frosting Recipe

1/4 - 1/2 C butter, softened
1 tsp Vanilla
Powdered Sugar
Milk (about 1/4 cup)
Dash of salt

Cream butter and add vanilla.  I then begin adding powdered sugar and milk alternately until I have a fluffy white frosting. When I am happy with the consistency, I add a dash of salt. A seasoned southern belle once told me, "The salt makes the sweet sweeter."

Add food coloring and sprinkles - or not. It's really about what makes you happy!

Let them melt in your mouth!

Jalapeno Pepper Jelly

• 3 Med. Green Peppers seeded & chopped
• 2 2-inch Jalapeno Peppers seeded & chopped
• 1 1/2 Cups White Vinegar
• 5 1/2 Cups Sugar
• 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 6 oz. liquid pectin (Certo)

Puree peppers.  Add vinegar and blend.  In a large deep saucepan, combine pureed mixture, sugar, and cayenne.  Bring to full rolling boil stirring frequently.  Stir in pectin and boil for one minute more.  Remove from heat.  Skim off foam and seal in jars.  Makes 8 jelly jars.

Carol’s Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe is a little more complicated.  View it HERE to find step by step instructions!

Pair these with a cup of hot chocolate. Yum! They are great as a gift or perfect for your own no-fuss breakfast on Christmas morning or New Year's Day!

Find more of my favorite recipes HERE.

Question: Do you have a recipe to share?  Comment below.

Running Granny Green encourages women, especially grandmothers, to gain greater fitness by providing tips and inspiration to insure long years of joyful grand-parenting. The cookie recipes are a bonus!

Merry Christmas and Happy Running!
- Carol aka Running Granny Green

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Guest Blogger: Savanna writes about taking the plunge toward your dreams

My name is Savanna Taylor. I was born and raised in a small town called Parma, Idaho (perhaps you have heard of it?) After getting my degree in History Education, my husband Brycen got accepted to the Healthcare Administration program at WSU in Spokane, WA. We have one crazy daughter named Addlee who is smart, spunky, and has a lot of curly hair. I love a good book, anything that has to do with Real Housewives on Bravo, my family, shopping, and my religion. I love to blog, it is such a great outlet (even if being a mom might come first to updating it)!

Taking the Plunge

Last time I was a guest blogger for Carol, my life was totally different. I was in this limbo of where I wanted to go next. It is amazing how life works out, we moved, my husband got a job, and we bought a house. That is a significant amount of change I would say. It has been a crazy adventure, but a fun one. When we were in transition we lived with my parents in Parma, and it was a really awesome experience. I loved living with my parents, and Addlee loved that she got to see grandma and grandpa every day! My life has transformed even more lately, and I have taken an incredible journey of starting my own business.

While living there this summer we got invited to a LuLaRoe party. If you know me I really am not a fan of home parties. I just feel so much pressure to buy something, and I don’t like that. LuLaRoe is a clothing line though, and I LOVE clothes! When I went I was impressed with the sizes and variety. As a curvy girl finding clothes that I love and that look good on me are pretty much impossible. I make it work though, and after finding LuLaRoe, I fell in love. Soon I was on Facebook trying to find more clothes. Here is the catch of it, each consultant has the same styles but different prints. So if you want a pair of leggings with purple dots you have to search, and then you become obsessed with finding it. It is so crazy! Soon I was in 100 different groups trying to find a certain dress or leggings. I needed an intervention!

I shared my obsession with my mom, who loves clothes probably more than me. She’s an amazing dresser, finds the best deals, and her outfits are on point (I learned from the best)! We helped each other find our “unicorns.” Yes, a unicorn, not the mythical creature of fairy tales, but a print that is rare or highly sought after. Side note – people are OBSESSED with finding their unicorn. Anyway, I started to think,” You know I could totally sell these clothes.”  Then I thought, “No, I don’t do direct sales,. I don’t do things like that.” The more I kept searching for more LuLaRoe, the more I thought I could totally sell it. My mom thought the same thing. Together with my sister-in-law’s and financial backing from my brother we took the plunge! We have been so successful, more than I ever dreamed.



The Rivercity Roe Team



The whole reason behind this whole story is the continuance of my last blog post, the point of not standing still or waiting for life to happen, but to dare to push yourself. Have I been busier than before? Yes. Am I potty training my two year old at the same time? Yes. I have also found something that I love to do, and as my husband told me, you found that spark you’ve been missing. I was happy, but I think I just needed to find something else that I loved and share it with others. It has helped my confidence grow, and seeing other’s confidence grow is the best feeling. I get to sell clothes that I love to other women who love it just as much as me!

So find something that you love to do, and share it with others! Don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t be afraid that no one will support you, and don’t be afraid to push yourself. Those are the most important things I have learned. Mostly, don’t be afraid to push play on your dreams. You can do it! Don’t just put a toe in either. Jump in. ALL in! Even if you aren’t successful to the world’s standards, you pushed yourself and that reward is the best reward! 

Follow Savanna's blog Savanna's Saga's

 Rivercity Roe on Facebook

Visit my Guest Blogger page to get to know all my blogging friends.

Happy Running!

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10 Things I Love About Christmas

I'm feeling reflective today, so I thought I would share 10 things I love about Christmas! They aren't the only things, but they are definitely some of my favorites.

1 - All things sparkly.

Lights, fancy Christmas dresses, Christmas ornaments, and children’s excited eyes!

2 - Red

It's my favorite color! Candy canes, tree skirts, ornaments and bows! Red noses, too!

3 - Christmas music

Traditional carols and country songs, too. O Holy Night and I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas are at the top of the list.

4 - The Nativity as portrayed by small children

Little Mary is always so excited for her role. Joseph is serious and proud. Tiny angels and five year-old wise men! Love them!

5 - Christmas movies

White Christmas. The Grinch. Charlie Brown. Rudolph.

6 - Shiny wrapping paper

This might qualify as All Things Sparkly. I love the way the tree lights reflect on the shiny packages.

7 - Holiday Fun Runs

Who doesn’t love a group of fast and not so fast folks bundled up to enjoy the cold and company only a fun run can provide and only runners can understand?

8 - Giving the perfect gift

It doesn’t happen every year, but once in a while I get it right! That’s way more fun than receiving the perfect gift!

9 - An excuse to bake all my favorite goodies for all my favorite people

Like I need an excuse!

10 - Remembering the Reason for the Season

Jesus Christ came to save us from ourselves. He overcame the world so that we, too, can have eternal life. There is no greater gift.

What are some of your favorite things about the Christmas Season? Do you take time to remember Him?

Merry Christmas and ...

 Running Granny Green encourages women, especially grandmothers, to gain greater fitness by providing tips and inspiration to insure long years of joyful grand-parenting. The cookie recipes are a bonus!

Happy Running!

- Carol aka Running Granny Green

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Food Friday: No Fail Breakfast Casserole

It’s Food Friday and I am sharing this recipe for breakfast casserole because it is easy to make and difficult to ruin! It’s perfect when you need to feed a breakfast crowd. Pair it with my Sourdough Pancakes with Huckleberries and you’ll be everyone’s favorite breakfast cook! I made it recently for a birthday brunch. I’ll tell you more about the substitutions below!

 No Fail Breakfast Casserole

32 oz. Hash browns, thawed (Or make your own)
½ C Butter
2 C each shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese
1 Can Evaporated Milk
6 Eggs, beaten
2 C Cooked Sausage

Bake Potatoes with butter in a 9x13 pan for 25 minutes @ 425◦. Layer the sausage and cheese over top. Combine eggs and milk, pour over top, and bake for 30 minutes more at 350◦.

Easy!

Let me tell you how I tried to mess it up …

I had a supply of potatoes on hand, so I baked 4-5 and let them cool. I grated them to make my own hash browns.

The cheese on hand was mostly cheddar, but I had about a cup of mozzarella and a little bit of grated Italian blend, so I combined all of those to make a total of 4 cups of cheese.

Guess who didn’t have any evaporated milk?  That’s right, me! I used one cup of skim milk and hoped it would all work out.

Lastly, I forgot to turn the oven down to 350◦! Fortunately, I caught it before I had cremated the whole casserole! This proved a blessing as I was running late for a birthday brunch.

I received rave reviews all around for the yummy breakfast casserole and I proved that it is a no fail recipe!

Find more of my favorite recipes HERE.

Question: Do you have a recipe to share?  Comment below.

Running Granny Green encourages women, especially grandmothers, to gain greater fitness by providing tips and inspiration to insure long years of joyful grand-parenting. The cookie recipes are a bonus!

Happy Running!

- Carol aka Running Granny Green

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!

Treasure Valley Writers' Fest 2015

Tuesday’s Training Tip: Log Your Workout

One of my favorite training tools is a record, or log, of my running workout.  Whether you are tracking miles, reps, or time in the gym, you will find great satisfaction in watching the numbers add up each month. There are many ways to log your efforts from writing miles on a wall calendar to using an app that gives added information such as pace and calories burned.  Here are just a few.

Calendar

You choose the information you want to record.  Are you adding up miles each month or do you simply want to cross off each day in an effort to obtain consistency? A wall calendar is public and allows family members or co-workers to see your progress and encourage you along the way.

Fitness Apps

A fitness app can track your workout, provide workout analytics, link your favorite music, and even give feedback during the workout. I like Map My Run.  I set mine to give feedback every half mile. It tells me how far and how fast (or slow) I am going. You can even share the information on Facebook – if you are brave enough!

Follow a Training Plan

If you are goal minded and have decided to train for a 5K or longer, download a training plan and then write all over it. “Today’s run was hard.” Or, “I rocked it today!  Fifteen seconds under goal pace!” And so on.

Report to Friends

I belong to a group of family and friends that record our miles and share them with each other. This can help keep you on task.  “They are expecting me to log something today.  I better get out the door.” Or, “If I just go two more miles, I will have the most in the group!” Including others in your fitness pursuits helps encourage everyone to reach their goals. Never underestimate the value of friends!
Use a Journal

In addition to keeping a record of your workouts, a journal gives you an opportunity to record those things that are unmeasurable. How did the workout feel? What was good or not so good about it. Did you solve a world problem while running? What did you learn about yourself? Using a journal like this one is another tool to keep you on track and assist you in achieving your fitness goals.
Read More Beginning Fitness Articles

This blog post from Mark Williams has some great advice for beginners ready to "hit the gym." A quick read of Workout Routines for Beginners - What You Need to Know Before Hitting the Gym will help you prepare to succeed.

If you are having trouble with consistency in your training routine, maybe it’s time to find a new way to keep you accountable. Try something different or a combination of those listed above. The best training log is the one that works for you.

Tune in every Tuesday for more training tips and visit my Training Tips page to find all the tips you may have missed.

Question: Do you have a training tip you would like to share? Please leave it in the comments below!

Running Granny Green encourages women, especially grandmothers, to gain greater fitness by providing tips and inspiration to insure long years of joyful grand-parenting. The cookie recipes are a bonus!

Happy Running!

Carol - aka Running Granny Green

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

My favorite Pumpkin Recipes!

Time for Pumpkin Recipes!

It’s Food Friday and October!  That shouts, “Time for pumpkin goodies!”  Here are two of my favorite recipes.  I made the first for a family Oktoberfest celebration last night.  It was a hit.  The pumpkin cookie recipe is one I adapted from an old family recipe.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Dessert Cake

This recipe is a smooth and crunchy twist on classic pumpkin pie, but you don’t have to labor over crust making!  Simply bake it in a cake pan. It’s found on my friend’s blog, DeliciousDales. Don't miss the yellow cake mix found in the directions! Visit for even more yummy pumpkin recipes.

I adapted this recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies from one that had been in my family for many decades.  I liked the flavor, but I am not a fan of cake-like cookies, so I changed it up a bit to make them gooier.

Pumpkin Cookies

• 1 ½ C Shortening
• 4 ½ C Sugar
• 3 Eggs
• 2 C Pumpkin
• 6 ½ C Flour
• 1 ½ tsp Salt
• 3 tsp Baking Soda
• 3 tsp Nutmeg
• 3 tsp Cinnamon
• 3 tsp Vanilla
• 1 ½ C Chocolate Chips

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Find more of my favorite recipes HERE.

 Do you have a favorite pumpkin recipe? Please share a link in the comments below.

Running Granny Green encourages women, especially grandmothers, to gain greater fitness by providing tips and inspiration to insure long years of joyful grand-parenting. The cookie recipes are a bonus!

Happy Running!

Carol - aka Running Granny Green

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.