2010 By City

2009. 2008. 2007. 2006. Each of the below cities include a one-night stay in 2010. Cities denoted by an asterisk include multiple visits.

• Atlanta, GA*
• Scottsdale, AZ*
• Copan, Honduras
• Ocotopeque, Honduras
• Roatan, Honduras
• San Pedro Sula, Honduras

These friends stayed at least one night at my apartment in 2010.

• Dad - April/May
• Paul and Kelly - May
• Lauren - May
• Mom and Dad - June
• Dad - December
• Mom - December

What did I eat for Thanksgiving???

The first question I was usually asked when the subject of Thanksgiving came up - "What are you going to eat since you can't eat anything?" I actually had a delicious and very healthy Thanksgiving dinner - a picture of my plate of food will come in the next post. However, I did want to share the recipes for the two dishes I brought to share.

The first was an apple-butternut squash casserole, from this website. For 4 servings, the ingredients are 1/2 of a large butternut squash, 2 apples (I use organic since they are on the dirty dozen list), about 1/3 of a cup coconut oil, honey and cinnamon (I did not measure the honey or cinnamon). Cut the butternut squash into about 1/4 inch slices, and peel and core the apples. In a baking dish, put a layer of squash, a layer of apples, sprinkle a little cinnamon and drizzle a little honey. Continue repeating this process until the squash and apples are gone. The recipe said to use butter and put cubes of butter on the top layer, however, that is a lot of butter so I used coconut oil instead. I love the taste of coconut oil, and it contains numerous health benefits.

The finished product - I have made this dish twice since Thanksgiving - it is that good!

The second dish I made was a pumpkin pie. The recipe is as follows:

FILLING

1 15 oz can Pumpkin

1 tsp. coconut flour (I forgot to include this, but it turned out fine without it)

1/3 c. honey

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/4 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. mace (I could not find this anywhere so I did not use it)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. coconut milk

3 eggs

SHELL

1 1/2 cups of almond flour

1/4 teaspoon of sea salt

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces

1 egg

At our Thanksgiving dinner, there was "my" pumpkin pie, and a "regular" pumpkin pie. There were two of us who for sure were only having my pumpkin pie, and everyone else wanted the regular pumpkin pie, but wanted a small slice of my pumpkin pie just to taste it. Well, when people wanted seconds, guess which pie they went for - mine! They like the healthy sugar-free, dairy-free and wheat-free pie better than the one loaded with sugar. I was happy to know my pie was such a hit!

Also, I found out a week ago that all my efforts have been worthwhile. Before I started this diet back in September, I had some blood tests done. One that they did was called the CRP, which is a measure of inflammation in your body. Normal results are less than 5, and mine came back initially at 34.9 = not good. I have been fanatically adhering to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and taking loads of fish oils for the last two and a half months. There have also been numerous people praying for that number to get to less than 5. Well, I had my blood tested again a couple of weeks ago, and by the grace of God, my CRP is now less than 5. It is pretty much a miracle and gives me motivation to continue on this diet. 3 months down, 21 to go :)

charity: water Training

This is a schedule of my training for the charity: water 10k.

October 4 - 2.5 mile run (1 mile @ 5.3, 1 mile @ 5.5 and 0.5 mile @ 5.7)

October 5 - Strength (6:30am Total Body Conditioning class)

October 6 - 2.5 mile run (1 mile @ 5.3, 1 mile @ 5.5 and 0.5 mile @ 5.7)

October 8 - Cross train - 35 minutes on elliptical

October 9 - Long run (Central Park Loop - walked hill on west side and hill by Boathouse)

October 11 - 2.5 mile run (1 mile @ 5.5, 1 mile @ 5.7 and 0.5 mile @ 5.9)

October 12 - Strength (6:30am Total Body Conditioning class)

October 14 - 2 mile run and Strength (0.5 mile @ 5.5, 0.5 mile @ 5.7, 0.5 mile @ 5.9 and 0.5 mile @ 6.1 and Arms)

October 15 - Cross train - 35 minutes on elliptical

October 17 - Long run (Central Park Loop - with Jessica Joy and Dina)

October 18 - 2.5 mile run (1 mile @ 5.5, 1 mile @ 5.7 and 0.5 mile @ 5.9)

October 19 - Strength (6:30am Total Body Conditioning class)

October 20 - 3 mile run (1 mile @ 5.5, 1 mile @ 5.7 and 1 mile @ 5.9)

October 21 - 2 mile run and Strength (0.5 mile @ 5.6, 0.5 mile @ 5.8, 0.5 mile @ 6.0 and 0.5 mile @ 6.2 and Legs)

October 23 - 3 mile run (1 mile @ 5.6, 1 mile @ 5.8 and 1 mile @ 6.0)

October 24 - Long run (Run/Walk Central Park Loop with Jessica Joy)

October 25 - 3.5 mile run (1 mile @ 5.5, 0.5 mile @ 5.7, 0.25 mile @ 3.5, 1 mile @ 5.8, 0.25 mile @ 3.5 and 0.5 mile @ 6.0)

October 28 - 2 mile run and Strength (0.5 mile @ 5.5, 0.5 mile @ 5.7, 0.5 mile @ 5.9 and 0.5 mile @ 6.1 and Arms)

October 29 - Strength and Stretch (7pm Strength and Flexibility class at gym)

October 30 - ~3 mile run in Central Park (with Jessica Joy)

October 31 - Long run (Central Park Loop with Jessica Joy)

November 5 - Strength and Stretch (7pm Strength and Flexibility class at gym)

November 6 - 3 mile run (1 mile @ 5.5, 1 mile @ 5.7 and 1 mile @ 5.9)

November 7 - Long Run (1 mile @ 5.5, 1 mile @ 5.6, 1 mile @ 5.7, 1 mile @ 5.8 and 1 mile @ 5.9)

November 13 - 2 mile run and Strength (1 mile @ 5.8 and 1 mile @ 6.0 and Arms)

November 14 - Long run (Central Park Loop)

November 16 - 3 mile run @ 5.9

November 19 - 2 mile run and Strength (2 miles @ 5.9 and Arms)

November 20 - 10K!!!

charity: water 10k

This last Saturday, November 20, we held the TrinityGraceChurchRun4Water to benefit charity: water. The idea started after Scott Harrison spoke at church over the summer. Jessica Joy took the lead on organizing the run - we had a total of 18 runners!

Pre-run picture - you can also see all the fall trees in Central Park.

Stretching before the run.

On your marks, get set, go! (This obviously was a posed picture.)

And we're off... We started at 72nd on the east side and headed north on the Central Park Loop. It was great - we got one hill out of the way right away, and then we just had deal with the "North Woods Hill" - that one is a killer.

This was somewhere between mile 4 and 5.

Finished! It was about 48 degrees - perfect weather for running.

High five with Jarrett

Jessica Joy, Dina and I

Jessica Joy was my weekend running buddy in training for the run.

Our goal was to raise $5,000 which is the cost to build one well in a community. We exceeded our goal!!! Once the well is built, it will have a plaque that says "Trinity Grace Runners" and we can go visit the community.

Sauna Rules

I usually go sit in the sauna at the gym after working out - I will always go in during the winter to warm up before my 5-block walk back to my apartment. I turn my ipod to a slower song (usually Chris Tomlin or Nora Jones) and I take my phone and water bottle in with me. Anyway, a few weeks ago I was at the gym and I went and sat in the sauna after my workout. There were two others in there, and the conversation went something like this:

Crazy girl to me: "You can't have your shoes on in here!"

Me: Ignore her and just sit down.

Me: Change my ipod to a different song, and get my cell phone out and start looking at Facebook.

Crazy girl: "You have your phone in here too! That is a security violation." She gets up and leaves the sauna.

Normal girl to me: "I am glad you came in here - she said the exact same thing to me."

Me: "I always come in here with all my stuff after I workout - I am not worried about it. She's just weird."

5 minutes later...

NYSC Employee #1 to me and normal girl: "What is going on in here?"

Me: "This girl got upset with us since we had our shoes and phones in here - I don't know what her issue is."

NYSC Employee #1: "Yeah, you guys are not hurting anything. I come in here all the time in the winter with my shoes on just to warm up."

A few minutes later...

NYSC Employee #2: "You guys need to get out of the sauna - you can't have your shoes and clothes on in here."

Me: "I come in here all the time just like I am now. Did the rules change?"

NYSC Employee #2: "No, but this girl out there asked me to tell you to get out of here."

Me: "Ok, I will leave in a few minutes."

So...after all that, I noticed this sign on the door of the sauna a couple of days after the above incident.

I still don't obey these rules :)

Bucket List for 31

Some things I want to do before I turn 32:

• Run a timed 10-K (I say timed because the charity: water 10-K this Saturday is not timed)
• New Years Eve in Times Square (this is already planned so I figured I would add it to the list)
• Ride in the 5-borough bike ride
• Scrapbook 2009 and 2010
• Walk every street in the 80s from the East River to the Hudson (will have to do some detours through Central Park)
• Learn all the features on my camera
• Focus on living my life rather than building my life (Jon Tyson quote).

Yale University

Yesterday I spent the day walking around Yale. New Haven, CT is only about an hour and a half train ride on Metro North, and I have a friend here in NYC who graduated from Yale a few years ago, so we decided to take a day trip.

This is called the Old Campus. Grace said that all the freshman dorm at the Old Campus and then the rest of the students are at the "new campus" (I actually don't know the official name for it).

Dina, Me and Grace - Grace is the one who graduated from Yale in 2005 so she played tour guide for Dina and I. It was good having Grace there as we would follow students into buildings where you needed a pass to get in, and then Grace knew exactly where to take us and cool things to show us.

Such a beautiful day - I am so happy we went in the fall.

One large tree!

This is the library. All of the buildings were so old and there is so much history and tradition there.

I didn't buy the shirt - just wanted a picture.

Grace in front of the entrance to the gym.

These guys were on the crew team and they were practicing.

They were ripped! And also probably about 20 years old.

The campus reminded me of Hogwarts. Also, every student is in a residential college - Grace was in Silliman. I didn't see Gryffindor though :)

This is probably the end of fall. We switched over to daylight savings time today, so by 5pm tonight it was pitch dark. Not a fan of daylight savings.

This is Skull and Bones - a secret society.

Such a fun day. Yale does have a lot of history and I am sure it would have been a fun college to attend...but, I am happy to be a Sun Devil :) Thanks Grace for taking us!

Email From My Dad

My Dad sent this email to some family on Tuesday...

"We were talking to Kristin on the phone last night about 11 PM (maybe later) her time. She said Otis (her cat) was hearing some noises coming from outside. She had her window cracked and could hear some rustling and noticed a guy going back and forth and walking along the top of the fence that goes between her apartment building and the one behind her (the apt bldg on 80th St...the next street over). This went on for about 20 minutes, so she called Richie, the apt "super". He said he better call the police. So about 5 or 10 minutes later, Kristin said she could hear sirens and then 4 NYPD officers were ringing her bell to get into the apartment bldg. She buzzed them in and they came to her door....she kept her lights off and took them to the window and pointed out the guy who was out there. They asked how they could get into the back yard....Kristin told them from one of the apartments on the floor below. They left and Kristin continued to watch the guy on the fence....Then she heard someone say "Don't move" and then saw a bunch of flashlights down where the guy had been. She said the officers stayed down there for about an hour and were shining flashlights all around and up towards some of the apartments above her. When the officers were done, they came back by to tell Kristin that they caught the guy...that he had broken a window on the floor above Kristin and couple of units over (#4B.....Kristin is in #1A) and had stolen a number of items that he had piled in the backyard. They thanked Kristin for calling...they don't usually show up to catch a guy red-handed when they get a call like this....usually by the time they arrive, the burglar is gone."

That is pretty much how the story went. (And I used his email because I guess I am too lazy to write about it myself :))

Roasted Broccoli and Butternut Squash

I came up with this recipe idea after having something similar at a work training that I was at a few weeks ago. All you need for this is a butternut squash (I just use a half for each meal), some broccoli, olive oil and 2 garlic cloves.

First, cut the butternut squash in half. I then cut the half into fourths. Cover all the exposed squash with olive oil, and then put it in a baking pan in about 1/4" of water. I season is with ground ginger, salt and pepper. Bake it at 350 degrees until it is soft.

When the squash has about 20 minutes to go, I put the broccoli in the oven. I drizzle some olive oil over the broccoli and sprinkle the garlic cloves (I just cut them with a knife - I am sure you could do whatever you want with them - or not use garlic at all) over the broccoli.

Once the squash is tender, I cut it into chunks (it is really easy to cut at this point). Mix in the broccoli and eat up!

Apple Crisp

This is my new favorite dessert - I think it is better than "normal" apple pie. It would be good with a scoop of ice cream, but I have not yet attempted to make ice cream that I can eat.

Ingredients

4 apples

1 tablespoon honey

> topping:

1 stick butter

1 cup almond flour

3/4 cup raw, unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup honey

1 cup ground walnuts

cinnamon to taste

Instructions

1. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9" round baking dish.

2. Peel, core, and thinly slice apples

3. Place half of the apple slices in the baking dish.

4. Drizzle a tablespoon or so of honey over them and then put in the rest of the apples. You should arrange them so they lay pretty flat.

5. Topping: Mix one stick of butter (less what you used to butter the baking dish), almond flour, unsweetened coconut flakes, honey, walnuts and cinnamon. Combine all these ingredients and you should have something the consistency of a good cookie dough. Add more dry ingredients if it feels too squishy.

6. Pat the topping very firmly onto the apples. Press down a bit.

7. With a sharp knife make three parallel cuts in the middle through the topping. (If you don't, the apples will ooze out the sides and mess up your oven).

8. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 50 minutes.

I just finished a piece of it now...and I could eat another but I am trying to exercise some self control :)

Old Picture

My Uncle Kevin emailed me this picture today - from approximately 1981. He has been sending some of his old negatives to Scan Cafe and this is the digital image that he received back. Looks pretty high quality.

In the picture is my dad's cousin Kurt, my dad (I have no clue what his shirt says), my mom and my Grandpa Lyle's brother, Frenchie.

Squash

I have enjoyed "cooking with the seasons" lately, and therefore have been having lots of squash - mostly acorn squash and zucchini.

The acorn squash is very easy. I cut it in half and put half in the refrigerator for another meal. After scraping out the seeds, I put the other half face down in a pan filled with about 1/4" of water and bake it at 400 degrees for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour (until it is soft throughout). When it is done baking, I put walnuts or pecans in the center, along with some cinnamon and honey and that is dinner.

My other favorite is roasted zucchini using this recipe. It just consists of one zucchini cut in 1" slices, coconut oil, paprika, rosemary, fresh garlic and a little salt and pepper. This can also be a meal for me. If I am really hungry, I may have a Lara Bar with it.

I have a butternut squash sitting on my counter and I am going to make a butternut squash-broccoli dish. Or maybe a butternut squash soup that Martha Stewart made on the Today show a few weeks ago.

Getting Out Of The Big Apple To Go Apple Picking

This last Saturday was the annual Trinity Grace Church apple picking trip to Hurd's Family Farm in New Paltz, NY. It is so nice to get out of the city for a day and run around the farm. There were probably a total of 80 people that went this year. Each different missional community is responsible for arranging their own transportation and quite a few people either drive their cars or get a zip car for the day. I rode up with the Upper East Side missional community.

I love all the fall colors - whenever I do move back to AZ, I am definitely going to miss fall and the changing of the leaves.

Mike and I were both wearing pink socks. I was so happy I decided to wear knee high socks - weather.com said it was supposed to be a sunny day, but it turned out to be cloudy and colder than I thought it would be. I should have worn another layer - I don't think anyone was prepared for the cold.

I love these girls - Liz, Lindsay and Jessica Joy.

How tall are you?

Walking the apple orchards looking for apples actually on the trees. The only apples we could find growing on trees were Empire apples - I don't like that kind, but I made an apple crisp out of some of them last night and they were great in that.

We took a break and played some baseball. I hit the apple and shattered both it and the bat. Notice Liz's great pitching form.

No, don't eat the apple! Mike eventually ate the apple though :)

According to Lindsay, "we look good in the trees!"

The corn maze. We didn't do this - just watched others go through it.

Having some fun on the playground.

I came home with about 50 apples (a half bushel) so I have a lot of apples to eat and some baking to do. I already made an apple crisp...I still want to make an apple pie and some applesauce. Such a fun day - I heart my TGC family in NYC.