The Inaugural Oakland Marathon (and 5K)

Tonight I ran in the Oakland Twilight 5K that kicked off the big Oakland Marathon Weekend. I was going to blow it off since I haven't gone running in months, in fact, haven't exercised in months. Exception, yesterday I went to yoga (1st time since Max was a baby...that's 7 yrs).

The big mistake, other than not running before today, was going on a big family hike this afternoon several hours before the race. So, what little strength I had...became littler.

I finished, I ran the whole way, minus a 45 second walk to drink the water they handed me. Oh, and toward the end, I started to walk but a woman told me, "We're almost there and you are my exact same pace!" So I kept running and finished. A bit disappointing even for being in bad shape.

#2643

Margaret

Schultz

Oakland

CA

45

F

Time: 46:41

576 of 729

(UPDATE: Chip time reported at 41:29)

Embarassing. but now I am inspired to begin running again. I was down to 36 minutes and can get there again. I also think, if I can run on a regular schedule, I can get faster than that, maybe 30 minutes?

Here's Nicole, the woman who kept me going:

And here's me, grateful to be done:
Did I mention that the fire department was handing out cans of beer to finishers? Somehow it struck me as tacky...but I drank anyway.

What's in a name?

Tonight I made Lamb Babootie. Because it was called...Babootie.

I found it on Cooks.com.

It was very tasty over rice. I highly recommend it if you like sweet curry dishes. Not a hit with the kids. But the name led to much giggling and a new Babootie song. So, in the end, it was worth it.

Cooking cupcakes

I saw a picture in Cooks Country, the newer, more accessible cooking magazine from Cooks Illustrated. I was reminded of the Hostess Cupcakes from my youth, the ones I still see in every 7-Eleven. They don't taste good but they look great. I was intrigued. I was obsessed. I had to make them.

So this past weekend, I spent several joyous hours engulfed in chocolate and marshmallow. I ran low on the marshmallow mixture at the end, so, the inside filling did not come out as firm as I would have liked...but still, I have to admit, a success. The cupcake was really chocolaty goodness (unlike the dry disappointing Hostess brand).

The day after making these, our next door neighbor dropped by and before I could stop him, BZ offered him one of the cupcakes. Our neighbor was very happy. He brought it home to eat in private. The next day, he rang the doorbell and yelled up to me, answering from the balcony, "That was great-can you save me just one more?!!!" Sadly, I agreed, how could I say no?


I originally made twelve. It turns out, that was not enough. I am committed to a double batch next time. And perhaps, I may have to rethink my swimsuit choices come summer.

The Party

I'm exhausted. My throat hurts. My eyes are burning and I still need to sit down and see the Oscars. Yes, I taped them.

Today was Max's Star Wars Lego party. 12 friends, their siblings, their parents, many frozen pizzas, lots of chocolate legos and a big Star Wars cake.



There were a bunch of games. Many of the kids blew off the costume dress up game, but a few really enjoyed it:


BZ designed the most elaborate treasure hunt with clues written in a Star Wars Font...the kids were mesmerized:


Of course they built with legos:


Time to blow out the candles:

There are a few good cookbooks that I use that never fail me. The New Basics is one of them.

This morning, yummy pancakes, don't even need syrup. I know that there are a million basic recipes for pancakes, but these are just perfect, if you like sweet crepe like pancakes...which I do.

A busy day

Saturday, March 6, 2010

8am coffee
8:15 Safeway for cake flour, does it really make a difference?
8:45 Stuck in traffic due to a family of turkeys crossing the road, not kidding.
9:00 Make breakfast for kids, BZ is off to work...downstairs.
9:20 Read a story
9:30 Begin making birthday cake, baking with the boys.
11:00 Go to School Silent Auction and BBQ, bid too much, hope I lose.
2:30 Return home and begin icing the cake, chocolate, vanilla, Clone Wars...
3:30 Finishing touches on the cake

3:45 Lick the spoon, fill the spoon and lick again
5:00 A friend's kid, Zachary, dropped off for overnight babysit (surprise birthday evening for his mom)
5:45 Drive with Zachary and my kids to surprise his Mom at the Paragon Bar at the Claremont, what a view...

7:00 Return home, make a quicky dinner
8:00 Get kids in jammies, read stories, put to bed
9:00 Count out Lego prizes for party tomorrow
10:00 pm Zzzzzzzzzzzzz....