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Disney Princess Half Marathon

Monday, February 28, 2011
Back to reality from the start of a 4-week adventure! Lots of trips coming up, and I’m pumped! The month of March is going to have some pretty awesome blog posts… get excited!!

Well, I did it! I finished my first half marathon! I loved it-- when's the next one??

This past weekend was the long-awaited and highly-anticipated Disney Princess Half Marathon! It was also a weekend of epic reunions and our grown-up “spring break”. Our dear friend, Mary, flew in from Memphis to Gator country on Friday night. Then Zach, Scotty (our friend from MSU who is now working in Gainesville), Mary and I drove down to Orlando. Mom and Tom gave us a wonderful hotel suite for the weekend for a Christmas gift, and we enjoyed it immensely! We stayed at the Parc Soleil by Hilton Grand Vacations Club and did not want the weekend to end! Saturday was spent lounging by the pool after we got our race packets (LOVE that our bib numbers said "Princess Stacey" and "Princess Mary" on them!) at the Wide World of Sports. The boys entertained themselves watching a flag football tourney, and Mary and I oohed and ahhed at all the sparkles and tiaras on the women who would be running the race with us. We also picked up a couple of awesome shirts to wear in the race- you’ll be seeing those later! Check out this glass running slipper-- haha love it-- talk about blisters... ouch!

We met up with Emma, my best friend from middle school who now lives in Nevada, and her boyfriend, Will. I hadn't seen Emma is over eight years-- so great seeing her again! They came back with us to hang out at the pool—so relaxing on such a beautiful day!

After cleaning up, we went to eat at Paradisio 37 in Downtown Disney and enjoyed a yummy dinner on the balcony overlooking the water at sunset. The only thing that would have made it better is if the girls could have had a very tempting sangria margarita… but we had our eye on the prize and downed lots of water to prep for the race (good idea!). We called it an early night because we had to be up and leaving for Disney by 3am the next morning (sorry for the late night texts, friends)!

It felt like 3am when the alarm went off, but once we donned our sparkle skirts, we were ready! Don't we look good???

I cannot articulate what tens of thousands of tutus, tiaras, and glitter look like—but it was magnificent! We strutted down the red carpet to a pre-race DJ dance party and to look at all the costumes…. And they were all awesome. I still don’t understand how some women ran 13.1 miles in full-length Cinderella gowns or Snow White costumes with high collars, but they did! We even saw dudes with hot pink feather boas and tutus, a head-to-toe frog prince costume and peter pan! Let’s put it this way, our sparkle skirts were mild and very common compared to what most people were wearing.

Zach, Scotty and Will headed to the Magic Kingdom to stake out a viewing spot for when we would run through the castle around mile 5.5, and Mary, Emma and I headed to the starting corrals.

Check out this shot of the castle-- guess the boys got to their destination pretty early.

The Fairy Godmother waved her wand to set off fireworks and each corral of runners to start the race. So exciting! Our corrall was released at 6am. The first few miles seemed to fly by! We ran past high school marching bands and drum lines, Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney Princes/heros, Polynesian hula girls, Lilo and Stitch, Alice from Wonderland, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Sleeping Beauty’s fairies, Belle, Jessie from Toy Story, the Genie from Aladdin, a couple DJs, fire fighters (mary’s fav), Goofy, Cinderella and Prince Charming, Mickey and Minnie, and many more characters (hard to remember them all!) We stopped for pictures with a few characters which made for some nice breaks along the route. 17,000 people (mostly women) ran the race, and we were shoulder to shoulder with them for the entire course. I couldn’t see the font of the line, and I couldn’t see the end of it either! Runners were everywhere! The course started on a road near Epcot that took us to the Maic Kingdom. We ran down Main Street USA and through Tomorrwland and Fantasyland to come through Cinderella's castle then to Fronteir Land and out the back of the park. Then we were again on some roads between the parks and passed the Wedding Pavillion. The last mile was through Epcot and back out to the parking for the finish line. I had never run a race with so many supporters shouting encouraging words! I don’t think I stopped smiling the whole race!

I would be remiss if I did not make a special shout out to our wonderful support crew—Zach, Scotty and Will—what troopers for getting up at 3am and being herded around the Disney property all morning… we have such awesome men in our lives! Thanks for being out there!

Sunday was a pretty lazy day. Mary and I actually got sick post-race… no fun, but at least we felt great during the race! We left Orlando late in the afternoon, and picked up sushi before heading home to watch the Oscars (so typical). It was wonderful spending the weekend with Mary! I miss her (and all of my friends terribly), but it was nice to have a few days where we picked up like no time had passed at all… love you, Mary (and I’m so glad you smell the same)!!

So… here are the pics from the race! It was dark, so the ones I took at the beginning of the race didn’t come out-sorry!

This was the "Hero Spot" complete with the song "I Need a Hero" playing in the back ground. I think this was around mile 3. Seeing Tarzan, Flynn Rider (from Tangled-- took us a while to figure out who he was), John Smith, Eric and Aladdin made the 5k totally worth it! (Note: Still dark... it's only about 6:30am)

Made it to the Castle (even though you can't see it castle, it's behind us to the right) at mile 6! Still looking good, I might add.

Here are the shots Zach got of us-- they're blurry because we were running so fast!

Look who we ran into at the Magic Kingdom in Fantasy Land. Only proper to curtsey to Alice!

Jessie from Toy Story was in Fronteir Land.

Across from Disney'sWedding Pavillion was Cinderella's coach-- excuse me, sir, could you take us to the finish line? thanks!

Mile 11-- almost done!!!

VICTORY!!!

Thanks Zach and Scotty!






Homemade Laundry Detergent

Thursday, February 17, 2011
I don't know how only two people produce so much laundry! Every weekend, the hampers are overflowing on to the floor. We will do around 4-5 loads each week. Seriously, that's just embarassing! Well, I've found a way to put at least $80 back into the budget each year (not a huge amount, but that's 2 extra date nights or a J Crew dress).


In an effort to be more responsible with the environment and my wallet… I was inspired to make my own laundry soap! I found this great recipe for it in a blog that love. It's safe for HE washers, and the recipe is super quick and easy! No added chemicals, stain fighters-- what more could you ask for??


These are the ingredients:
  • 1 bar of Zote soap
  • 1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap (can use Ivory soap instead)
  • 4 cups borax
  • 4 cups washing soda
I had never heard of most of the ingredients, so I was a little nervous about finding them. I went to amazon, and it was going to cost $20+ just to ship some soap! That wasn't going to work, so I just looked at the stores near me for the items. I found the Zote at Walgreens, and I found the rest at Publix in the household cleaning aisle next to the laundry soap.

This was my shopping receipt:
Fels-Naptha ($.99)
Borax ($3.99 for 76 ounces)
Washing Soda ($2.29 for 55 ounces)
Zote ($.79)

I also needed a hand grater to grate the soap and a container (at least 10 cups) for the laundry detergent to live in. I got both at Dollar Tree for $1 (duh).

Grate the bars of soap. Combine with borax and washing soda. Store in air tight container. Use 2 Tablespoons of powder per load.
Note: It has a slight scent, but you can also add some essential oils (lavender, lemongrass, etc.) for added scent!

So here is how it is economical!
5 ounces Fels Naptha… $.99
32 ounces (4 cups) Borax… $1.68
32 ounces (4 cups) Washing Soda… $1.33
14 ounces Zote… $.79
equals... $4.79 for 83 ounces of laundry powder or 166 Tablespoons

you can do 83 loads of laundry/ batch for only $.05 per load!

If I decide that I really like this, I will buy more things in bulk which will make it even more economical! I heard a lady say that she makes it for $2/batch.

Compare to 50oz bottle of Tide that advertises 32 loads for $12. That's $.38/load!



On a related note, I've also been reading up on using white vinegar for fabric softener. But I don't know if I'll be parting with my Suavitel... love it!

Baby It's Cold Outside

Thursday, February 10, 2011
So can I just say that I'm super jealous of everyone everywhere getting snow! All we get is rain... and lots of it lately! This recipe is for all those snowed in in Starkville! Check out my parent's backyard, so pretty!
This is a classic recipe that will keep you nice and warm and is perfect for anyone feeling a little under the weather.

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
Chicken broth
Water
Barilla plus rotini -- I don't really exercise brand loyalty, but this is a must! I've tried many different kinds of noodles, and this is by far the most delicious.
Chicken meat, cubed or shredded -- don't use the stuff out of a can, sure it's easy but it does not taste as good.
Celery, chopped
Carrots, chopped
Onion, chopped
Parsley flakes
Salt and Pepper

Sorry there are no measurements, I don't use them for this soup. It's up to you- do you like lots of veggies? Lots of broth? Just adjust the seasonings to taste and have it the way you like it!

If you are working with uncooked chicken, bring some water to boil in a large stock pot and cook the cubed chicken. Drain the chicken. Set aside.

If you are working with cooked chicken, start here. I used the chicken that I had cooked in the crockpot and frozen. Pour chicken broth and water (use a 3:1 ratio, ex 3 cups of broth, 1 cup of water) into stock pot. Bring to boil. Cook pasta in boiling broth for abut 10 minutes. Add cooked chicken, veggies, parsley, S&P to taste. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the veggies are cooked as much as you like them. If the liquid is getting low, add more broth and water.

Staying Warm

Monday, February 7, 2011
Last week I was shipped off to the northeast for work. My second week out of town since the new year. I think this amount of travel is going to be the norm. I missed the terrible storms that cut straight through the country thankfully! One of the greatest things about traveling so much will be visiting with friends and family. I went to Maryland and Virgina and got to see Dad, Ty, Rachel, Aunt Patty, Katy, Paul, Alex and Michael. Loved it!


Zach flew up on Friday, and we spent the weekend with Dad. Frederick, Maryland has been the only consistent town in my life. My plane from Korea landed in Baltimore, and my dad has lived there ever since. Dad and I went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant that I remember eating at as a little girl. It's cool to go back to this area and think about all that has happened over the years. Of course, Dad showed Zach some of my baby pictures and elementary art projects. On Saturday we went skiing at White Tail. Zach hadn't been on snow like this since he was little, and it had been several years for me, too! We had so much fun hitting the slopes! Dad is a really good skier, so he would hang back when we were skiing down the mountain to retrieve skis that had fallen off during a bad tumble. Zach and I spent some of the day flat on our faces in the snow, but we had a wonderful time!


Being in the cold snow and ice all week built up my appetite for something that would warm me up from the inside out, so I made a big pot of minestrone soup last night. This is one of Zach's favorites- and it's super low in calories... BONUS! This is a great recipe to double or triple!
THIRTY MINUTE MINESTRONE SOUP




3 Tbs EVOO
2 medium zucchini, diced
3 medium yellow squash, diced
1/2 tsp crushed garlic (optional)
2 c frozen or can corn
1 15oz can tomato sauce
5 c chicken broth
1 tsp finely chopped basil (dried is fine)
1 tsp thyme (dried is fine)
1 15oz can white northern beans (draining is optional)
1/2 tsp garlic salt
Recommended serving with Parmesan cheese and bread.
Serves 6 (or 4 lunch-sized portions for a hungry husband)
Heat EVOO and garlic in large pot. Simmer squash and zucchini on medium low heat for 5 minutes. Add chicken broth and corn and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add basil, thyme, salt, tomato sauce, and white beans. Cook on medium low heat for 15 minutes. Enjoy!!
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