Back to running!

I decided it is time for me to get my butt back in gear.  In high school through college, I was an avid runner.  It kept me energized, healthy, and mentally gave me the time to myself to think.  I completed my first half marathon nearly 2 years ago.  It was an awesome experience, and I loved it.  

Since getting sick at the beginning of this year, I have taken the year off from exercising.  I've needed a little motivation to get back into it... so I am signing up for another half.  It's in March, and I am really looking forward to training for it.  I kicked off today, running a start of 3 miles.  Felt good - but hopefully I can stick to it :)

{My girlfriend, Gina, and I after our half}

What is your favorite form of exercise?

A wonderful holiday!

Christmas was fun this year.  

TL and I spent lots of time with family!

My mother-in-law (MIL) is one of the best cooks I've ever met.  She has a unique style of cooking - she never measures anything, she just does what she thinks, and everything is always delicious!  We spent a day and a half with her - playing board games (cranium & catch phrase) and making dinner.  (Prime rib, cornish game hens, veggies, twice baked potatoes & sweet potatoes) TL's brothers were there - and we had a wonderful time.  It was relaxing and fun!  My very generous MIL got us some great new toys.  

Late Christmas Eve we spent with my dad's side of the family (it's a full blown crowd - more than 60 of us!) but it is a great time.  Loud, cheerful, and lots of babies :)  TL and I were only there for a short time, but it was fun to stop in and see everyone.

Christmas morning was cozy and relaxing.  My family is so thoughtful - it was fun being festive & just spending time together.  My parents got us some generous & sweet gifts and it was fun to give them ours.  We had our traditional breakfast and opened our stockings & gifts.  It was really fun to watch my nephew, Ryan, (20 months) open presents and experience the morning.  

It was a beautiful Christmas this year.  Family was the main priority for us - and we felt so grateful.

It's always kind of a sad feeling when Christmas is over - but this year, I am just feeling happy to have experienced it.  I am so blessed :)

How was your Holiday?  Did you get any fun gifts?  

{A few of us at Christmas Eve dinner}

Still waiting for more pictures (hint, hint MIL & Kel)  ;)

The presents are wrapped!

 

5 days until Christmas!

Presents are bought & wrapped and our plans are set.

I am so excited to spend time with the fam & celebrate.

My favorite tradition?

It's hard to pick one, but I would say...  Christmas morning breakfast.

When my sisters and I were little, we would wake up early and bring our stuffed stocking into mom & dad's room.  Each present is carefully wrapped (Santa is a busy guy!) and we open them one at a time.

After stockings, we would line up to go into the family room.  (my dad often had to set up the camera)

Santa would leave us one gift under the tree that wasn't wrapped!

As we played with our new toy, dad and mom made breakfast.  On the menu:

Green eggs & ham

cinnamon rolls

fresh squeezed orange juice

& my dads special rice recipe.

Then, after breakfast - we open our presents from the parents (one at a time).

This year, Christmas morning at my parents will be a full house.  My sisters, mom, dad, TL & the bro-in-laws, and of course, nephew Ryan.  (& the pups!)

We celebrate our Christmas with TL's family on Christmas eve.  My MIL is a fabulous cook - but we may go out this year.

I am so excited - I feel like a little kid.  

I am happy to be able to spend the holidays with my family.

What is your favorite Christmas Tradition?

Caprese = delicious!

I posted a recipe a few days ago from the "Cook This, Not That" book and a lot of you liked it.  Simple, healthy, delicious... what could be better??

Good news, I have another (memorized) recipe that I have made, oh, going on about 20-something times. It's that good.  It's called the Caprese.  You'll feel like you should be in Italy when you eat it ;)

What you'll need:
A clove of Garlic
A baguette
2 fresh plumpy heirloom tomatoes (they are out of season, so tomatoes on the vine work fine, too)  Get them in different colors if you want to really impress the person you're making it for.
About 5oz of fresh Mozzarella cheese (about the size of an apple)
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Basil  (I use the little leaves from our spice rack)

How to make:
Set your oven to broil (my new favorite oven tool, I didn't even know it existed until this recipe)
Cut the Baguette in half length wise and open on foil on a cookie sheet.
Put in the oven for about 2 minutes. (watch it, I burned the baguette the first time)

Cut the garlic in half and then smash it using the side of your knife (can you believe I got this technical)
The juices will come out and just rub the juices on the hot toasted bread.  Viola! Garlic bread (sort of)

Slice the tomato and the mozzarella and alternate laying them on the baguette.

Sprinkle a tablespoon of olive oil over the cheese & tomato - then sprinkle some of the balsamic over the unused side of the bread.

Add some fresh basil, salt & pepper on top of the cheese & tomato.

And this is what you get:

This is only a half of a baguette, but you get the idea.  

The dark section is the balsamic :)

Close it up and devour.  MMM!

Happy Thursday...

9 days until Christmas!!

So What Wednesdays...

I love reading these on other people's blogs...

So what if I am doing this because I am copying a bunch of other people's blogs.  I think it's funny.

So what if I went wine tasting twice in two weeks to several of the same wineries.  Its not like any of them are going to remember me.

So what if I drink 5 or 6 cups of tea a day.  It's unsweetened and calorie free.

So what if I can't remember what a few of the presents look like that we bought for our family.  We got our Christmas shopping done weeks ago!  At least I remember what they are.

So what if TL and I have competitions on who can turn on and off the Christmas tree more times.  It's on a clapper and we think it's hilarious.

So what if I have chipped nail polish on my toes and need a pedicure.  It's winter time and I am not wearing any open-toed shoes.

So what if Maximus & Zeus have a heated blanket we bought just for them from Costco.  It's okay to spoil your dogs.  Right?

So what if my mom and I have text conversations at random times of the day.  I am just glad she learned how to text.

So what if I am giddy like a kid for Christmas morning.  It's my favorite morning of the whole year because our family has so many traditions.

So what?!  ;)

Hope you are having a wonderful week

10 days until Christmas!

The Art of Racing In The Rain

If you love dogs, this book is a must read.  I read it for my book club & all of us who have dogs absolutely loved it.

It is a story written from a man's best friend's (Enzo) perspective. It was a quick read - but had a lot of meaning.

At first, the book can be a little difficult to get into because it compares a lot life meanings to racing cars... but if you read through it, it all starts to make sense.  It's a story of a man's journey through adulthood - meeting a woman, having a baby... and then all of it unraveling.  Enzo stays by him through it all.  While I was reading the book, I kept Maximus & Zeus close so I could cuddle them and give them love. ;)

It is touching, meaningful, and I loved it!  

pic via

I hope you had a good weekend!  A couple of my girlfriends came into town & we had a blast - I am waiting to get some of the pics and then I'll post them :)

11 Days until Christmas!

Sauteed Veggie Wraps

I saw this recipe blog hop on Natalie's blog and thought it would be fun to join!  If you have a recipe to share, head over to her blog and link up!

I talked about a new recipe book I got that I love in my Thankful Thursday post.
It's called "Cook This... Not That" and TL and I have found some great recipes in it.
I have only tried three - veggie wraps, a caprese, and guac - but I memorized the wraps and the caprese!

Here's how you make the wraps:

You need:
Asparagus
Bell Pepper
Mushrooms
Balsamic Vinegar
Kraft Olive Oil Mayo (any mayo would work - this is just the healthy kind)
Tortillas
A clove of garlic
Arugula
Feta Cheese

To Make:
Sautee the veggies in a pan with a touch of olive oil until desired color (I like mine really cooked)

In a bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the olive oil mayo with a tablespoon of the balsamic vinegar.  Mince the clove of garlic (use about half of the clove - or it's too garlicky) and add it to the mayo/vinegar mix.  It will make a brownish color spread!

Add a healthy dab of the spread to a tortilla & then put the veggies over it with the Arugula.  Then sprinkle a little Feta Cheese on top.  Roll the tortilla to make a wrap - and voila!  You've made them!

I know, the paper towel it is on makes it look very appetizing ;)

(Added bonus... one of the wraps has less than 200 calories!  & it's very filling!)

Pair with a glass of pinot and you've got a meal!

Thankful Thursday

{Happy Thursday!}

I'm thankful to have my amazing parents in my life to spend the holidays & everyday with.  (Please pray for my friend, Krysta, who is in the hospital with her mom who is fighting for her life - Krysta reminded all of her friends to hug their parents and tell them they love them)

I'm thankful for this gloomy weather.  For me, it adds to the holiday feeling.

I'm thankful that TL and I have 95% finished our Christmas shopping and I am SO excited to give the gifts out this year to our family! (I'm thankful I have wrapped all of them, too.)

I'm thankful for our Christmas tree because I am one of those cheesy people who loves to stare at it and misses it after December.

I'm thankful for my Uggs.  My feet love being warm!

I'm thankful for Maximus & Zeus (wieners!) who keep me company and fill me up with love.  They are just the cutest.

I'm thankful that my girlfriends are coming this weekend... we always have such a good time and they are seeing the new house for the first time :)

I'm thankful for TL.  Last night I fell asleep laughing because he was telling me stupid jokes.

I'm thankful for my new recipe book "Cook This, Not That!" because I have officially memorized (and repeated several times) two recipes. (which, if you know me, you know that's a big step!)

I'm thankful for all the sweet bloggers who share so much.  I was imagining having a large retreat for all of us to meet... then I snapped back to reality ;)

I'd say I'm pretty much just thankful all around.

What are you thankful for?

Buttons, Redesigning & Twitter

I've noticed so many people have "buttons" lately, and I love the idea of them!  So, I made my own today (along with making a new header).  What do you think?

I know my other header was really cute (made by a college friend a few years ago) but I needed something new, and something that was actually my own image.  (That bike was a bridal shower gift from my mom - I love it!)

My photo editing skills are still a work in progress, but I tried ;)

Here is my button:

{for the code look on the left side of my page}

2 things:
Let me know if you add this to your profile and...
let me know if you have a button so I can add it to mine!!

ALSO:

Do you have twitter?  I do!  (as you can see on the left)
What is your twitter name?

TracyZLesh is where you can find me on Twitter!

Decorating for Christmas

I love Christmas time.  Our family has a tradition of going up the hill to cut down a fresh tree, and it makes the house smell very Christmas-like.  On a cozy, rainy Saturday a couple of weeks ago, I decorated.  

I have a few boxes of ornaments because my mom has collected them for me and my sisters our whole life.  I have a daughter ornament for every year & now we have ornaments from our wedding, puppies, and our travels!  (Those are my favorite to collect!)
I love pulling out the ornaments and thinking about the meaning behind them or who they are from.

My mom's house & tree always looks amazing (and homey) during the holidays - so it's hard for me to decorate with out her, but I did what I could - I'm definitely no 'Martha Stewart' ;)

The mess!

Remember my favorite vases?  

I filled them with Christmas ornaments, garland, and red pine nuts from Michaels!

 Our table... I am always trying to make it better.  

Christmas trees, pine cones, and candles from Pottery Barn. 

Garland from Michaels.

 Napkins from Home Goods - love that place!

 Our stockings (pottery barn) and poinsettias from Michaels

 The "New Home" ornament my mom got us!

 Of course Maximus & Zeus are the stars of our tree ;)

My MIL got me the weenie tree topper for us.

 My little pups!

The "First Xmas" ornament from last year.

Our tree!

We don't have a lot of stuff yet... but hopefully as the years go by, we'll collect it :)

I have loved seeing all of the pictures of the decor in your home.

Let me know if you do any more posts about it!

Burlesque: My Movie Review

I would have to give it 5 stars for the entertainment.  

I have a new love for Christina Aguilera.  She was incredible in this movie.  Absolutely gorgeous & her voice (per usual) gives me goosebumps.  Other faves:  Cher (yeah, she was good!), Julianne Hough, Kristen Bell, and  Dianna Agron (aka Quinn from Glee - she makes a very tiny appearance).

So much singing and dancing, but it isn't really a musical. It is action packed and I love the old fashioned theme in the costumes.  The story line is cute, too.  It's just my type of movie.

I went with a few girlfriends and they were the perfect company.  Everyone liked it and after we were discussing how beautiful the cast was and even my friend, Jessica, who doesn't like musicals, liked it.  Definitely the perfect "girls night" movie!

pic via

Amador County Wine Tasting

For our friend Kristin's Birthday, she wanted to go wine tasting.  TL and I were all for it :)  We spend a lot of time with her and her husband (TL and her husband are best friends), so it was a fun getaway for us (away from our normal restaurants and houses).

She decided on Amador County.  It's only a short drive (less than a half an hour) from our house (we really should go there more often) and it was all of our first time going there!

We made it to 6 wineries and stopped in the middle for a picnic lunch and some bocci ball.  The wineries are all pretty close together so it was easy to go to several.  It was a really fun day!

 At Young's Winery

 Happy Birthday, K!  (They just got married 10/10/10)

 Me and my favorite guy.

 K & I both have a major obsession with wiener dogs!

 Best friends... and crazy.

 Bocci Ball - TL giving K the look because we were beating them :)

 So cute!

Our delicious picnic - the winery poured us free wine!

We love them!

On our way home from tasting, we stopped at a Bistro for dinner - delicious!

If you are ever looking for a good place to taste - Amador County is awesome.

Tastings are free, the people are friendly - and it's usually great weather.

AND... thank you for all of your sweet comments on my last post regarding Andrew.  Our situation with him was such a gift to us and put everything into perspective. We still haven't found him... but we've got our eye out.