I can't believe Vegas is almost here.I am getting extremely excited about my 3rd half marathon and 1st Rock n Roll half in exactly 4 Sundays from today on December 6th! I have upped my training for the past month or so because last year I was a bit ahead of where I am today. My pace has slowed a bit probably from the lack of training down in September and October which is frustrating to say the least since I have been running for over 2 years on and off. I want to PR so badly this year and get to 2:15. My ultimate goal is to break 2 hours. It will come in due time.
Yesterday, I ran 8 miles which is the furthest I have ran since my last half marathon in April and I am very proud of myself for trudging on even when my legs felt completely dead. The weather in Vegas has been unusually warm for this time of year. I have only had to wear long sleeves on 1 occasion so far-CRAZY when it is the second week in November! Maybe this is a good thing because at the start of the half last year it was like 38 degrees!! I was freezing.
Me at the starting line last year.

Next weekend is 9 maybe 10 if all is going well. I am also considering signing up for the Turkey Trot 10k on November 21st. I ran it last year in 59:55. I need some race practice before the half.
Just looking at my two medals gets me pumped!
My medal from last year's Vegas Half.

the winning outfit

My medal and bib from my second half Lake Havasu


To my runner friends out there.What is your motivation to get to the finish line?

Today I baked my second apple pie ever! This time, I didn't use the recipe I used last time from Martha, I used on from Joy of Baking though tweaked it a bit. I did not allow the apples to macerate to release their juices. I simply add the apple mixture to the crust, refrigerated for 30 minutes and baked it for 50 minutes. I also used Pillsbury pre made pie dough instead of making my own Pate Brisee. I was up late last night at the Britney concert (so fun btw-she looks hot!) and didn't want to fuss with making dough! Also, I added a little more brown sugar just because the apples were quite tarter than usual. I will let you know how it tastes later!

Martha Stewart's apple pie from last year

Pate Brisee: 
In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds). Pour 1/4 cup (60 ml) water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube until the dough just holds together when pinched. If necessary, add more water.  Do not process more than 30 seconds.

Turn the dough onto your work surface and gather into a ball. Divide the dough in half, flattening each half into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about one hour before using. This will chill the butter and relax the gluten in the flour. 

After the dough has chilled sufficiently, remove one portion of the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry into a 12 inch (30 cm) circle.  (To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards).) Fold the dough in half and gently transfer to a 9 inch (23 cm) pie pan. Brush off any excess flour and trim the edges of the pastry to fit the pie pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. 

Then remove the second round of pastry and roll it into a 12 inch (30 cm) circle. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator. 

Make the Apple Filling:  In a large bowl combine the sliced apples, sugars, lemon juice, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Let the apples macerate at room temperature for about two hours. Then, place the apples and their juices in a strainer that is placed over a large bowl (to capture the juices). Let the apples drain for about 15-30 minutes or until you have at least 1/2 cup (120 ml) of juice. Spray a 4 cup (960 ml) heatproof measuring cup with a nonstick vegetable spray, and then pour in the collected juices and the 2 tablespoons (28 grams) of unsalted butter. Place in the microwave and boil the liquid, on high, 6 to 7 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to about 1/3 cup and is syrupy and lightly caramelized. (Alternatively, you could place the juices and butter in a small saucepan and boil over medium high heat on the stove.) 

Meanwhile, remove the top pastry crust from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes so it has time to soften and become pliable. Transfer the drained apples slices to a large bowl and mix them with the cornstarch (corn flour). Then pour the reduced syrup over the apples and toss to combine.  Pour the apples and their syrup into the chilled pie crust. Moisten the edges of the pie shell with a little water and then place the top crust over the apples. Tuck any excess pastry under the bottom crust and then crimp the edges using your fingers or a fork. Using a sharp knife, make five 2-inch (5 cm) slits from the center of the pie out towards the edge of the pie to allow the steam to escape. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill the pastry while you preheat the oven.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Place the oven rack at the lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on the rack before preheating the oven. Place a piece of aluminum foil on the stone (or pan) to catch any apple juices.

Set the pie on the stone or pan and bake for about 45 to 55 minutes or until the juices start to bubble through the slits and the apples feel tender (not mushy) when a toothpick or sharp knife is inserted through one of the slits. Make sure to cover the edges of the pie with a foil ring to prevent over browning after about 30 minutes.

Remove the pie from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 3-4 hours before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream. Store at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.

Makes one 9 inch (23 cm) pie.

 

1. Continue to run 4 times a week. well, I have been a slacker for the past 3 weeks with the beginning of school and have been doing a lot of cross training(zumba and spin). I am determined tomorrow to go for a long run
2. Complete another half marathon and improve my time Rock and Roll Vegas December 6th
3. Buy new dining room furniture YES
4. Buy new living room furniture.
5. Loose the last 10 pounds, yes the same 10 for probably 3 years now :(
6. Have more self confidence and have a better body image
7. Keep in touch with family and friends more Facebook is helping with this goal
8. Cook and bake more often.
9. Pay off most of our credit cards 1 remains. but I have been paying a lot more than the mininum monthly payment
10. Start looking for a house! this is on hold until the market rebounds
11. Go to the gym 3 times a week
12. Organize our office and spare bedroom
13. Start my advanced degree (18 credits to get a pay raise)
14. Travel  yes, we have been to Maui, the Grand Canyon and are going to Louisville the first weekend in October. I am going solo to a wedding in Atlanta in December.
15. Scrapbook our wedding
16. Blog more often in progress
17. Clean the house more. I found a great blog to help with this one.
18. Organize my digital pictures I have backed up most of them and have uploaded my albums to Kodakgallery for archival purposes
19. Create the wedding album we promised our parents I am hoping to have this completed by Christmas
20. Learn to relax and go with the flow...

I LOVE angel food cake. It is practically fat free, low in calories and has just enough sweetness to curb your sweet tooth(something I have quite often). Angel food cake is my friend while dieting- only 1 point per 1/8 of a cake.  
This was the first angel food cake I made from scratch and I was pleased with the fluffiness and moistness of this cake(thanks Martha-I know I can always count on your recipes :).

The cake's flavor came out nicely, however some of the cake ended up sticking to the bottom of the pan and messed up the presentation end! I would rather a tasty cake than a dry one so I didn't mind eating the "messed up area"! I immediately ran to Kohls and got myself an angel food cake pan with a removable bottom to remedy this issue. I'll let you know how it goes next time!

Angel Food Cake

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 1 cup cake flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place flour and salt in a sieve set over a bowl; sift into bowl, and set aside. With a mixer, beat egg whites on medium until foamy, about 1 minute. Add cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form. Continue to beat, gradually adding sugar; beat until stiff peaks form (see below), about 2 minutes. Add vanilla; beat to combine.

2. Gently transfer eggwhite mixture to a large, wide bowl. In four batches, using the sieve again, sift flour mixture over egg-white mixture. While turning the bowl, use a rubber spatula to fold in the mixture by cutting down the center and coming up the sides.
 

3. Gently spoon batter into an ungreased angel-food cake pan with a removable bottom; smooth top. Cut a knife or small spatula through batter to release air bubbles.

Bake until cake is golden and springs back when lightly pressed, 35 to 40 minutes. Invert pan; let cool in pan, 1 hour. Run a knife around the inside of the pan and around the tube to release cake, and unmold. Use knife to release cake from bottom of pan, and remove.
Yummy!

I seriously need to work on my food photography!!
What is your favorite dessert?

image from Google
Today was my first day back to work at School D and boy was it crazy to say the least. I mean, I didn't have time to check my gmail or Google Reader AT ALL, not even during lunch time so you know I was busy LOL. First, the day started off with a long staff meeting which last about 2 hours. After the meeting was over, I was able to start working on my To Do list which was growing by the minute. Everyone needed something from me, wether it was a login, password of such, or needed me to check and call in a broken piece of equipment, etc.  I had to prioritize my list and get to the issues that HAD to be taken care of today because I wouldn't be back until Friday and school starts on Monday. It was already 11:30 so I made the new logins for the new teachers and ran to grab a Jamba Juice( Mango a go-go YUMMY) Then, I had to move my office to a portable outside. Moving in the 105 degrees heat with a metal cart isn't such a good idea if you get my drift!! I didn't have time to put everything in its place, but I am offically moved outside besides my phone which will have to moved by the district. I called in 4 work orders before leaving school at 4pm-something I never do. UGH!! And guess what?? I have to do basically the same thing tomorrow at my other school. Big Fun for me!! Thanks for letting me vent!!!!

Today, my blog turns 2!! I don't know if I should say happy birthday or happy anniversary, but jacquiandroy was founded on August 3, 2007 as a way for me to journal my wedding planning. Now my blog has shifted directions and now is a ramble of my life!

Happy birthday blog. Thank you to all of those who read jacquiandroy!!!!

 
WOW, I really can't believe it has been a YEAR already!! Where did the time go?  
My mom kept my wedding cake topper in her freezer up until last week when she brought it to me. I pulled it out of the freezer today to defrost the cake for tomorrow's party. I was surprised on how well the cake held up in the freezer! No freezer burn what so ever and so far the icing tastes like it did at the wedding! I think it had largely to do with how my mom packaged it before freezing. She actually vacuumed sealed the cake as much as possible and then wrapped it in tinfoil.
Here it is...

Here it our cake on our wedding day. Pics from MSD Photography now The Cohens

Today, I played Housewife! I did 2 loads of laundry, cleaned the whole downstairs which included the kitchen, dining room, living room and half bath. I went to the store because we needed milk and I needed to pick up a few things for dinner. Then, I made brownies because we have a relator friend coming over to discuss our options on moving up into a house. I ate lunch and checked my Google Reader. I was looking for a recipe with blueberries in it since I had about a cup left over and didn't want them to go bad. Luckily enough, I had starred a recipe from Good Things Catered which did the trick. Now, I am done until dinner when Roy get home. Tonight I am making this recipe because it sounded delicious and I have left over baked chicken from the other night. I'll blog about it tomorrow if all goes well.
Now on to the recipe!!
The recipe only called for 6 muffins, but I got 8. Changes I made are in red. (Please excuse the Easter egg liners :)
 
Sunday Morning Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients:
1 c. all purpose flour I used whole wheat flour
1/3 c. sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 large egg
1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil I used applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. plain lowfat yogurt I used fat free vanilla yogurt
1/4 c. milk
1 c. fresh blueberries
cinnamon sugar for dusting

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line 6 muffin cups. 8 in my case
-In medium bowl, combine flour sugar, baking powder, soda, salt and whisk to combine thoroughly.
-In large bowl, combine egg, oil. vanilla, yogurt milk and whisk to combine thoroughly.
-Fold dry ingredients into wet and stir until just combined (will be lumpy and thick.)
-Fold in blueberries and using ice cream scoop to spoon, divide batter evenly among 6 muffin cups.
-Generously sprinkle tops of muffins with cinnamon sugar.
-Place in oven and bake until toothpick inserted in center of muffin is removed clean, about 12-15 minutes.
-Remove from oven and let cool in tins for 2 minutes.
-Let cool completely on wire rack or eat immediately.
 

 

I have been seeing a lot of commercials for the Purex Complete 3 in 1 laundry sheets lately so I picked a starter kit up at Wal-Mart the other day. What an ingenious product- it has detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheet all in one sheet! I made to sure to read the packaging to be sure they were okay to be used in he washers. If you have an he washer, all you have to do is add a sheet to your clothes and start the washer.

I bought the Tropical Escape to remind me of our trips to Hawaii and Cancun! I am testing the 3-1 sheet out as I type this. I will let you guys know how I like them later.

Edit: The laundry is done and so far so good. The clothes came out smelling like Hawaii with no static cling. Next time, I would add a little more fabric softner along with the sheet.

Today was Roy's second fishing trip because he only "caught a cold" on his first expedition and just hated getting skunked!!
sunrise over Maui

porpoises

Roy caught an Ono

Yes, they are beating the fish with a baseball bat.
Another kid on the boat caught a Mahi Mahi

Roy's trophy

That night, we went back to Lahaina to do some souvenir shopping.
Downtown Lahaina

Roy got a ukulele and I got a dolphin holding a pearl charm from the Pearl Factory!!


pick from Pearl Factory website
Ahh one last sunset as tomorrow we were leaving on the red eye at 9:45pm