Colorado Elk Hunting

So, as many of you know, my husband returned from his Colorado Elk Hunt.  And he was successful.  As were his two hunting companions, his brother Cort and his first cousin (once removed) Brennon.  That meant this past week was a mad dash to process all that meat.  Because.  Well, we're frugal.  And if we can do something ourselves and save a few pennies (later to be spent at places like Cabelas [him] and Athleta [hers]) then you bet your dupa we are going to do it! 

I've been asked a few questions regarding the elk hunt.  In a nutshell:

1. Yes, they drive.

2. It's about 27 hours, straight through and in great weather, to the cabin they rent.

3. They sleep in shifts on the drive and only stop for gas.

4. Cabin rental is about $25 per person per day.  Wood heat only.

5. There are four rifle seasons, each 5-7 days long.

6. One of those rifle seasons is permit by lottery only, the first season. 

7. This year the guys bought over the counter permits for second rifle season.

8. Each permit was $616 and allows you to shoot a bull elk ONLY. 

9. Success rate at their camp was 5 elk for 50 hunters - 10%. 

10. For Matt's crew: 100%

11. My husband is the "elk whisperer."

12. Seriously, this was his 11th year out there (10th elk) and this year alone he spent about 45-50 hours studying topomaps to select his hunting spots. 

I can't get over how beautiful Colorado is...this is straight out of camera.  Gorgeous!!
 

 
Ok, now some details.  A few exampes of the terrain they hunt. 

 

They even decided to forego the luxury of their cabin for a few nights, hiked REALLY far into the mountains and pitched tents. 

It was while they were in this area that they could hear elk buggling all around them and where Brennon and Cort both shot their elk.  This was so far in that the guys wound up hiring an outfitter to pack the meat out.  Cort went out with them, three horses and three mules.  In my opinion, Cort had the best day ever.  His trip, riding the horse with those guys and spending the day in the mountain.  I don't know.  It just sounds amazing.  The day started out beautiful.

Ended a little snowy.  But still.  I would have gone in a heart beat.

 

 While Cort was packing out his and Brennon's meat, Matt was busy too!!

Its kind of funny, a week later I'm just learning that although the outfitter packed out half of the meat from Matt's elk too, it wouldn't take the rack.  Scroll back up, see how there are only two racks in the snowy picture?  It's because one of the three mules REFUSES to carry a rack!!!  I don't know who that mule's union rep was but he managed to get it in his contract that he doesn't ever have to carry a rack. 

So, that was Tuesday.  That means the guys had Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday to "play!"  They went Ranger riding and fished.  The evidence of that fishing happens to be in my freezer too. 

 

The guy who owns the cabins called these "toads."  I'm not sure what that means other than he would mount them on the wall.  And maybe someday, we will have a replica of that one made.  (So...I've learned that mounting an actual fish can be not so awesome, but if you get great measurements and pictures you can have a replica of it made which will last much longer.)

All in all...sounds like it was an awesome trip.  I'm so happy for the guys.  They did awesome and get to feed their families.

So how big is an elk?  How much meat do you get. Here is a shot of Matt laying next to his animal.  Matt is 5'9". 

A mature bull elk can weigh between 750-1000 lbs.  We estimate this particular animal netted 300 lbs of meat - that is bone, skin, and external fat removed.  Of that, Matt and Brennon packed out 88 lbs and 115 lbs, respectively, on their backs 4.25 miles on the Continental Divide.  Shoot man, that's a LOT of work.  But that's just the start of the hard work.

Monday Matt and I spent 4 hours each cutting and trimming the backstraps and rear quarters. 

 

That first picture is the "backstrap."  On a cow this would comprise of the cuts coming from the longissimus dorsi, things like the ribeye, strip and the strip portion of a t-bone.  We don't keep any bones from game in this house which is why that top photo is the muscle only.  Middle photos are all the large cuts from the hind quarters: sirloin, sirloin tip, botton round, top round, eye of round, etc.  In all, about 80lbs worth of meat.  That bottom photo, those are the two sirloins, nice roasts or sliced into large steaks.  They're each 7 lbs (I weighed them...my kitchen scale might be one of the most used "small appliances" in this house!). 

We used a commercial grade vacuum sealer from Cabelas (Cabela brand) to get all this into the freezer.  That's what I did Tuesday night with the help of a neighbor who kept me company (with two of his munchkins...thank you Kevin!) and held the bags open. 

Wednesday we had "off" (company dinner) but Thursday we were back at it.  Cutting and trimming the front shoulders and neck.  This meat is tougher and generally used for ground meat, whether that be packages of 100% grind or blended with pork for flavored sausage. 

Friday we relaxed because Matt was home late from work.  Thank goodness!  It was nice to just relax together.

And then Saturday we were back at it.  And boy was Saturday a LONG day.  We packaged 58 lbs of 100% ground elk.  For sausage we made about 32 lbs of sausage with spinach and bleu cheese (25 lbs meat, 5 lbs spinach, 2.5 lbs of cheese), 32 pounds of breakfast sausage divided into 12 oz packages, 25 lbs of Polish sausage (that are still in the smoker!!), 24 lbs of bratwurst style and 12 lbs of chorizo. 

Right now everything from that elk is in the freezer except the Polish.  Oh, and about 20 lbs which are curing/bringing in the fridge for corned elk.  I will note that we have already cooked up and enjoyed a portion of the psoas muscle - the tenderloin.  The filet mignon.  The piece that if you go to Wegmans and buy D'Artagnan deer tenderloin will run you over $40/lb.  It was delicious! 

So wrapping it up...

13. We have commercial grade meat grinder, sausage stuffer and vacuum sealer along with other miscellanous equipment, i.e. totes, trays, to do this ourselvers.

14.  "It sucks ass" - Matt Ruminski.  It's a lot of time, a lot of effort.  You really have to love it.

15. But wow, being that close to your meal from animal to plate really makes you appreciate the sacrifice and all the work that goes into it.

15. No, meat isn't for sale.  Per regulations, we can't.

Nerd Alert!

I might have to actually drag my tail into the office this Thursday.  Just realized that the monthly Professional Development Hour (PDH) presentation is going to talk about the "hydraulic jump."  I remember learning about hydraulic jumps in college and thinking they were the coolest thing.  In one of our labs we had a large water flume and were able to create a hydraulic jump in it.  As interesting as I find the science, different types of hydraulic jumps can create deadly conditions. 

Hydraulic Jump in a Flume

The video in the link in the caption is probably similar to the presentation that I'll be listening to on Thursday and around 11:30 minutes they create different types of hydraulic jumps in the lab and show how people can get trapped in them.  I guess you can consider this my public service announcement...be aware of potentially dangerous water conditions and pay attention to any signs you see posted on a waterway.  Conditions might not look dangerous to you but that might not be the case in reality. 

Told you I was a nerd. 

This PDH times nicely with a required software update to my work laptop that requires us to be physically plugged into the network.  I also like going into the old office every now and then to say hello to the folks I used to work with on a regular basis.  Which!  I was able to do a little bit of this past Saturday at the chili party I mentioned in my last post because it was hosted by one of my former coworkers.  This was her third annual chili party.  Initially, I thought it was just a chili party but quickly learned it was a chili CONTEST.  I love making chili.  And eating chili.  But I've always steered clear of contests.  Why?  Because I like my chili, but I fear no one else will like my chili.

And well, I didn't win.  But there were A LOT of really good chilis there.   I have oodles of new ideas now to incorporate into my own cooking.  Just wait until next year!!  In the meantime...leftovers...

I like chili with big chunks of stuff!

Saturday I spent most of my time in the kitchen, simmering my chili and getting my dishes ready for dinner on Sunday.  I made two of my favorite dishes...moussaka and a roasted veggie white lasagna.  Moussaka is sometimes described as a Greek lasagna with eggplant instead of pasta.  It's time consuming to make but oh so worth it.  Moussaka starts with a meat sauce, generally lamb, but you know me...why buy red meat when I have deer and elk already in the freezer?  You layer that with fried eggplant which in my experience takes a long time to do because of the sheer quantity needed - 3.5lbs.  I decided to grill it this time.  The eggplant filled my grill grates three times.  But took so much less time to cook.  I might have to make it more often now that I've shaved some time off the prep. 

Was really impressed at how even the heat on my grill is.  Go Weber!

The meat sauce is made with the ground meat, onions, garlic, allspice, cinnamon, tomatoes, and white wine.  After two layers of each the sauce and the eggplant you top it a cheese sauce. What is not to love about this dish?? 

Assembly!

 

Not an awesome picture but gives you an idea

 

I'm not Greek by blood at all.  But if my taste buds have any say in the matter I'd say I'm at least half.  :-)

If you're interested in the recipe I use just let me know and I'll happily share it.  Since it's from a cookbook I hesitate to put it up here without permission.  Not sure what all the rules are but if you like Mediterranean cooking as much as I do, you might want to check out this cookbook. 

So with the moussaka and the lasagna, a salad brought by my sister in law, homemade bread and two pies from my mother in law, another pie from my mom, and some cheese and dried fruit w/crackers from my brother in law's mother in law (got that??), we had enough food on Sunday for the largest dinner I've ever served...13 adults and 4 munchkins.  It was an awesome evening with family welcoming home the guys from their Colorado trip.  And...I think it come the holidays I might be able to convince Matt to have BOTH our families over at the same time.  We officially fit!  :-)

Do you have a go-to dish for entertaining? 
Any tips for hosting a large family holiday since I am seriously considering it this year??

Running out of time!!!

I only have two more nights with the house to myself before Matt gets home.  Call me strange (most folks already do), and I suspect it has A LOT to do with the fact that we don't have kids, but neither of us mind when the other goes away on a trip, whether business or pleasure.  Though I think the MONTH I was in NYC following Hurricane Sandy might have tested the limits a bit.  But when I disappear for 4-5 nights for a Ragnar Relay, and his biennial 11 day trip to Colorado, we can handle those.  Don't worry...this doesn't mean we don't love each other. :-)

Usually when Matt is away I spend time with my sister. Unfortunately, this time, she is away too.  Total bummer.  So I've had to entertain myself in other ways, like hanging with my friend Jen and catching up on all the stuff on the DVR that accumulated while I was in Missouri.

I also wandered around Wegmans for about an hour last night.  That's fun.  And I bought myself flowers.  Cheers up the room a bit I think!

Completely amused at my "glowing" vase.

The other day Matt had given me one job to do while he was gone.  Buy a pot to transplant some of our herbs from outside into so we can enjoy them all winter long.  Oops.  Fail.  Amazon delivered a new one that's about 1.5" shorter and should work nicely.

Look at me trying to be all "artistic."  Instead I think
I accomplished "poorly lit."

When it's just me (and Lexa) at home, I make coffee in my French press.  If Matt is home and drinking coffee as well, we use the regular auto drip so we only have to make one pot as the French press doesn't have the capacity we need for each of us to enjoy two (10-oz) cups.
 

Turns out that wasn't a baking pumpkin.  "Decoration" pumpkin it is I guess
with the last remaining flowers from our garden.

One day I need to run the French press and the auto drip side by side with the same type of coffee bean and similar quantity of grounds to see how  much of a difference there is.  Besides the fines on the bottom of the cup, could I actually tell the difference??  I splurged on an organic Sumatra coffee yesterday from Wegmans and used their machine to coarsely grind it.  I've been using my mechanical grinder and although it is great for grinding beans to be used in an auto drip or espresso maker, I find it incredibly inconsistent for a French press.  The resulting product is generally a mix of REALLY fine particles with a few practically whole beans.  I'll fore go freshly ground coffee for more efficiently ground coffee. 

I have to admit though, sometimes the cooking falls by the wayside when Matt isn't home.  I'm just not as motivated to cook for one as I am for two.  Yesterday though I did try a new recipes.  I joined a 5-day Facebook "event" during which each day 2-3 new "clean" and healthy crock pot recipes are posted.  You all know I'm a huge pressure cooker fan and my crock pot generally has to get dusted off each time I use it, but intrigued by the thought of healthy crock pot recipes I decided I'd give this a shot.  Last night was a beef and broccoli dish. 

Venison and broccoli "clean" recipe.  Pretty tasty!

The "sauce" it made was more of a broth, but for those of us who are turned off a bit by the overly sweet and thick sauces you get from a takeout joint this was definitely a refreshing and welcome change.  With permission from the recipe author, Kerry Bossard, here is the recipe:

Day 2: Afternoon
We LOVE Chinese food in our house, but between the high sodium and heavy ingredients, it always leaves me feeling "blah". This recipe has helped curb that craving and made me feel good about what I'm feeding the kids. I always steam extra broccoli plain on the side because my kids don't like theirs with "sauce", and then I can skip the rice. Enjoy!!

Beef and Broccoli
2 lb Flank Steak cut into strips, width-wise (this makes for easier shredding at the end!)
2 cups fresh broccoli, chopped
4 green onions, sliced length-wise (optional)
1/2 C low sodium Beef Broth
2 T liquid aminos
2 cloves minced garlic
1 t ground ginger
1 t onion powder

Spray crock pot with non-stick Olive oil spray Place flank steak in crock pot. If using green onions, sprinkle on top of steak. Mix together beef broth, liquid aminos, garlic, and spices, and pour over meat. Cook on low 6 1/2 hours. Shred beef using 2 forks and add broccoli. Cook an additional 30 minutes, or until broccoli reaches desired tenderness. Can serve over brown or wild rice, or with additional steamed veggies.

This morning they posted a recipe for clean and healthy Swedish meatballs.  Which is timely as I was thinking of making Swedish meatballs as an appetizer this Sunday.  Now I have to decide...which meatball recipe do I use?  I'm half tempted to make one of each and see which one every body likes better.  To even the playing field a bit I would use venison for both.  If only I didn't have so much other stuff going on for Sunday as well I would definitely be up to the task of making both. 

I have a few cooking projects this weekend.  For tomorrow evening I am making a pork and hominy chili from Cooking Light.  I guess one could argue (if you're that person) that it isn't a chili, but more of a stew since it lacks the traditional beans.  But I find chili to be a very broad term and use it loosely to describe a variety of chili-like dishes.  I'll let you know how it turns out!  I'm also making moussaka for dinner on Sunday. 

Moussaka being assembled.  Meat sauce, cheese sauce
and eggplant.  Comfort food!!

I was also initially planning a roasted veggie white lasagna (which is AWESOME) but found out a few minutes ago that three fewer adults than I initially expected aren't coming.  I don't think I'll need that much more food!  Sunday should be fun though, inviting folks over to welcome back Matt, Cort and Brennon from the Colorado trip, hear stories and see pictures.  I'm sad Brennon and his family won't be joining us, maybe next time!  But as of right now I'll have me, Matt, my folks, and maybe my nieces, Cort, his wife and two daughter, his in laws and Matt and Cort's folks. 

Hmm...now that I'm thinking about it though, I have all the ingredients for the lasagna, I  might as well make it also.  Because...leftovers! 

Busy schedule for the next few days.  Last night I made it out to yoga for the first time in forever.  Tonight I'm going out to dinner with my mom for Local Restaurant Week.  Tomorrow is a chili party and then dinner chez Ruminski Sunday.  I thrive on being busy though.  It isn't until I have what appears to be an unmanageable list of things to do am I actually motivated to do them (ask me how this attitude impacted my grades throughout high school and college).  So after work today, I go into hyper drive and I'm actually looking forward to it.  Throw on a few podcasts and away we go!

Do you have any fun plans for this weekend? 
Have you tried "clean" eating?  Any recipes you'd recommend?

Milestone Pod and other running related items...

...which may contain a little TMI.

My interest in running and yoga, as alluded to in my previous post, seems to wax and wane.  When I'm on a yoga high I'm all things yoga.  Same for running.  And when I'm on one of those highs I tend to buy stuff whether that's a new pair of running tights or a nice flowy yoga top.  With my recent running high I decided to tell you about a few of my recent running related acquisitions.  Some I have opinions on, others I haven't had long enough to form opinions on yet. 

First up...my new sneakers.  Here's the deal, I need to own as much stuff as I can so that I have as few reasons as possible NOT to run because the upcoming winter generally has a whole host of excuses not to run.  Well, this year I will have one less reason not to run.  I recently purchased the Brooks Adrenaline ASR 12 GTX.  I haven't picked them up from the store yet so I'm a little concerned reading the two reviews indicating they run small.  At the store they told me I shouldn't have to worry about them NOT being a narrow (which I usually special order if I'm buying Brooks Adrenaline regular sneakers) because these have a stiffer upper and will feel more narrow.  They even said they've put women in the men's version to account for this.  I'm hoping my narrow foot will find the fit works.  My theory is having a gore-tex sneaker with a more rugged tread will keep be running all winter long.  Fingers crossed!

Second.  One size fits all UNDERWEAR.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Under Armor sells a one size fits all pair of undies.  These were a bit of a Zulily impulse purchase.  Read the reviews on Amazon before purchasing.  A little mixed but one of the reviewers had similar dimension to me and she gave them 5 starts so I took a chance. I've run them once and, well, they are underwear.  I had no complaints.  They seemed to stay in place.  That might have had something to do with the particular pair of capris I had on at the time - compression - so I will have to try them again with a looser pair of running shorts to see if they stay in place as well.  But bottom line, I rarely wear shorts running anymore.  I'm almost capris or tights 100% of the time now so as long as they stay in place while wearing what I usually wear then I'm happy.  I just had to tell you about them because, well, one size fits all underwear?  Don't tell me you weren't curious!

While talking underwear though I might as well mention...third...Moving Comfort technical undies.  These DO come in sizes and I'm very happy with them as well.  And they do dry very quickly. If you haven't "upgraded" to athletic specific under garments yet I recommend investing in a few pieces. Wicking and quick drying fabric really does make a difference.  And I know I know...we're working out, we aren't supposed to care what we look like.  But underwear lines don't make me feel cute and I run much faster when I feel cute.  ;-)

I also recently bought three different sports bras by Moving Comfort.  They have a line called "Secure Collection."  I've decided these might be my favorites.  They are super comfortable.  The "Hot Shot" might be the best of the bunch though I really appreciate that Moving Comfort made a model, the "Fine Form", which has a hook and eye closure for those days I don't feel like being a contortionist in order to get in and out of my bra.  That one though, the straps seem to squeak a little.  Note, "Vixen" from their "Stabilize" collection has fallen to the bottom of the pile.  It is TIGHT around the band.  Not a fan.  And no secret here...I don't really NEED much "stabilizing."  :-P

Lastly, I think, is the Milestone Pod.  I've logged three runs on it now.  Was hoping to have better feedback on it than I do.  I mean, after two runs and calibrating it, my run Monday matched the mileage on my RunKeeper almost exactly.  That's cool.  But it keeps telling me I'm a heel striker.  Do I look like a heel striker to you?

Hmm...don't answer that.  But seriously, after seeing this picture and attending a Good Form Running workshop, I've made a concerted effort to NOT be a heel striker.  And it doesn't feel like I am, but the pod told me last  night that no matter how hard I try, I might always be a heel striker. 

So what is the Milestone Pod (if you didn't click on the link already)?  Its a little gadget that you lace into your sneakers and it automatically starts collecting data when it senses something that might feel like running to it using a variety of sensors.  It's small and light enough on the sneaker that I've never noticed it and since it syncs with your phone when you're done running (via Bluetooth 4.0) you technically don't need to have your phone with you on your run.  I do.  Because, podcasts.  But it's nice knowing that if I have a rainy or snowy run ahead of me I don't have to bring my phone and risk getting it wet. 

What information does the pod collect?  In addition to the stats below, it also calculates a run efficiency score which didn't make my screen grab but I'll chat more about that later. 

RunKeeper on this same run tracked me at 6.02 miles, a pace of 9:04 minutes/mile for a total time of 54:33.  I'm pretty sure that the Milestone Pod actually "pauses" when I do.  Looking at my splits from both devices this makes sense as I know during which miles Lexa wanted to take a break and when I had an extended period of time waiting for cars before I could cross the road.  RunKeeper tracked me at an average of 165 steps/minute to the pod's 169 steps per minute.  All in all I'm happy with the pod.  I'll probably always have my RunKeeper on me (or perhaps I'll get a Garmin watch one of these days - at which point I'll probably STILL run with my phone because (1) I love listening to podcasts and (2) it feels safer one long runs having the ability to phone for help should I need it).  I do like having an easy and cheap - $25 - way to track mileage on my sneakers.  I'm still trying to figure out what Leg Swing is and where you would ideally want it to be.  I had a short 2 mile run during which I set a metronome to 180 steps per minute to see how that cadence affected my stride and I can tell you that my numbers, especially leg swing, changed.  I was 48% low and 52% mid.  Is that better than 100% low?  I don't know!  I was faster though, my cadence was in the "ideal" range coming in at 178 steps per minute.  And the pod does calculate something called "run efficiency."  At the higher cadence my run efficiency score was 83, which is my highest tracked.  That number is calculated from a combination of stride length, stance time and cadence. 

All this is new to me.  I used to just run.  But with having had a few minor injuries over the years I'm trying to really focus on my stride and strengthening my "run muscles."  Hence my new Milestone Pod toy.  :-) 

I think one of the most effective running tools out there though might be a simple camera/video camera.  Here is another poached picture of me from the Wineglass Half Marathon. 

It's no wonder I often get stitches in my sides...I'm constantly rotating as I run.  My arms are crossing in front of my body and my torso is generally twisting.  This is very inefficient as it's using my core muscles to not only stabilize my run but to do this twisting motion as well.  This can really tire out your core prematurely.  So I'm working on trying to keep things straight as well. 

Ugh!  So much to think of while I'm running!!  I long for the day I can go out and just run.  When my stride has progressed to the point where I'm naturally doing all the "right" - or right enough - things so that I don't have to be thinking "am I twisting?" or "am I landing mid-foot?"  Nothing feels better than returning home from a 6-8 mile run and feeling as though everything went right.  Your pace was comfortable, your breathing wasn't labored, and maybe if you'd wanted to, you could have just kept on running.

So tell me...do you have any fun running related items/gadgets you're in love with?  Have you ever invested in gore-tex sneakers?  And Nike...does ANYONE else run in Nike sneakers or am I the only one??

I've never liked the term...

...hunting widow.  Have you ever heard it?  Basically it refers to me.  Right now.  Matt has been gone since Wednesday for his Colorado elk hunting trip.  When he's gone I probably hear from him two, maybe three times.  That is fine by me, that trip takes a LOT of planning, it is a ton of hard work, and it's not cheap!  So if not feeling as if he has to call home just to hear me ramble on about the opossum Lexa was barking at last night frees his brain up to focus on the next day's hunt, I'm totally cool with that.  He gets back on Sunday, the 25th.  That means Lexa and I get a solid week of girl bonding time.  Yesterday we went for a lovely 6 mile run on the bike path.  I can't remember the last time we went on a run that long together.  Over the summer she just isn't into long runs on warmer days so I do those solo.  But last night, you could really tell how happy and energetic she was in those low 50's.  At the end of our run we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

 

I get the question often...do the guys fly out to Colorado?  No.  They drive.  And they don't stop!  They take turns driving and sleep in shifts.  With all the gear they take out, and firearms, and (hopefully!!!) returning with several large coolers full of meat, it is truly the only way to go.  It was kind of funny though...the day after they left, I left for an exercise in St Louis.  And check it out...they drove through St Louis too!  I joked that they should have just dropped me off and saved the government a one way air fare.  :-) 

The exercise in St Louis was pretty awesome.  It was an earthquake exercise during which individual volunteers used their training to determine if a structure was safe to inhabit after sustaining damage from an earthquake.  This also happens to be the same mission our teams can be deployed by FEMA to assist with following a disaster.  Making this exercise an excellent opportunity to meet local and state emergency management managers in some of the mid-west states and get some of our Corps folks out into the field testing their skills and training as well.  It had been a long time since I had to dig out a red shirt, hard hat and steel toes! 

Check it out my rental car in St Louis.  What are the chances??  I take this as a good luck sign for the guys hunting in Colorado this week.  :-D

I took a picture of my dinner on Friday night in St Louis, but it isn't that great of a photo so you'll just have to take my word for it...the food was DELICIOUS!  We asked around some of the locals and learned of a place called the Shaved Duck that was once featured on the Food Network's Diners Drive-Ins and Dives.  Well, we had to go!  This place has a no reservation/call ahead policy.  First come first served.  And we were a group of six.  The Shaved Duck is tucked away in a very residential area.  You wouldn't expect to find a restaurant there among the homes.  But as we turned our way through the streets we found it.  And there were already people waiting outside.  Sigh.  We got our party on the list and were told an hour and a half wait.  Since we could grab a few beers and enjoy them outside at the tables we decided to wait.  Leave it to our teammate from the Alaska District to make instant friends with some of the folks waiting for tables as well.  Herschel is probably one of the friendliest, easiest to approach guys you'll ever meet (and he told me that Matt can visit him anytime and he'll take him moose hunting...in Alaska!!!!).  We all enjoyed  making new friends and the time waiting for the table flew by.  It's possible our wait was a little closer to 2 hours but I was enjoying a few locally brewed Schlafly T.I.P.A.s and didn't notice the time at all.  Upon the waitress' suggestion I ordered some brown sugar and walnut bacon for an appetizer and the slow smoked duck with Brussels sprouts for dinner.  And yes...pecan pie for dessert!  (Did I mention I ran yesterday??  Think I need to run a few more times to account for that meal!)  If you're ever in the St Louis area and looking for a place to eat, I highly recommend the Shaved Duck.  You might want to avoid a Friday night at 6:30pm though.  Unless you're cool with not getting back to your hotel until 10:45pm. 

The next day at the exercise I was given a tour of the I-BEAM tent city.  I-BEAM is the Indiana Building Emergency Assessment and Monitoring Team.  And wow...they have some REALLY cool toys.  Without getting into too much detail, they are self sustaining following a disaster, capable of generating their own electricity and communications. 

Those wind turbines on top were generating more electricity than they needed to run their communications that day.  And inside that trailer you could feel the rocking from how fast they were spinning.  I'm impressed.  And it's always so cool to learn what capabilities each state brings to the table to assist with disaster response and recovery. 

It was a VERY worthwhile trip for me and a few members of our team. 

Sunday morning I woke up early to drive to Holland to retrieve my pup who had been enjoying a few days with my in-laws.  There is no cooler feeling than the love and excitement that emanates from your dog after you've been gone for a few days and they spot you.  Lexa spotted me through the window in the door and started running full bore towards me.  Her tail was wagging so hard her whole back end was wagging too.  She made me feel like the most awesome person in the world.  I was happy to squat down and get some puppy love while scratching her ears and bum. What made me even more happy though, was taking her to dinner at my folks' later that evening.  My 93 year old poppop (mom's dad) LOVES dogs.  And Lexa...well...he just can't get enough of her.  After dinner he gave her some treats and she lay down at his feet in the living room.  It made his day to have her give him that type of attention, not just waiting for a treat, but lying there by him.  He told my mom a few times to look at her lying there.   (Admittedly...lay, lie, laid, laying, lying....AHHH!!!  Yes. I Googled it and I'm 99% sure the versions of those words I just used are correct though I really wanted to type, "she laid down at his feet...")

I feel like it's Sunday already.  I have so much planned between now and when Matt and the guys get home that I feel like the time is going to fly so fast it's already here!  Tonight I'm hanging with my friend Jen (and though she doesn't know this yet...I plan on bringing my workout clothes so we can do one of her DVDs together), tomorrow I have yard work to do (mow the lawn and start cutting back some of my perennials), Thursday I am keeping my fingers crossed that I drag my butt to yoga (I know I know...I've been a total yoga slacker because I find it hard to focus on running AND yoga but I'm attempting to turn over a new leaf that makes me believe I can do both), Friday I have a dinner reservation with my mom at the Buffalo Chophouse for Local Restaurant Week, Saturday is a chili party and then they're home on Sunday.  Busy, busy, busy! 

I'm curious...has anyone else visited a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives location?  If so, what did you think?  Did it live up to the hype?

Trying to be good...

...but there are so many food temptations around come fall.  I have two, yes, TWO, pear pies in the oven right now.  See, I happened across a giant bag of delicious pears on Saturday, had a really busy weekend and am now scrambling to use them up.  So one pear pie for me, and one to head to my inlaws this evening.  Hopefully it's yummy as I'm not much of a pie maker but drew inspiration from a few different recipes and threw my favorite parts of each into one pie shell.  

I have been better about cooking healthy meals at home though.  I made a huge batch of venison, cabbage and barley soup.  I ate that for about a week.  Mental note...next time freeze some!  I do love that soup though. It's a recipe I happened across, tweaked it a bit (way  more veggies and half the sugar) and cook it in the pressure cooker.  Because, well, why not?  

I also made some oven fries and blackened walleye (caught locally in Lake Erie by my skilled husband).  Matt had this awesome fry cutter when I met him.  It doesn't work so well on a tough root veggie like a sweet potato unfortunately but on good old russet potatoes it makes cutting fries SOOOOO easy. 

While I was on a roll cooking locally harvested wild game, last night I cooked up some braised rabbit using one of my favorite recipes from Wegmans, Braised Hunter-Style Chicken.  It works for chicken, rabbit, squirrel...  They have a crock pot version of the recipe too if that's more your style.  Either way and whatever you're cooking, I highly recommend trying this recipe.  I served mine over polenta last night.  I'd say this is a pretty healthy meal too as long as you keep the polenta in check. 

All this healthy eating in the past few days has been to make up for this:

That is a loaf of harvest bread I made at a class on Friday evening.  It was taught by a woman I met on a Facebook page dedicated to cooking.  She prepared the dough for us and then taught us how to make it in to shapes.  I went for the rosettes.  Do you see rosettes?  I do!
  

And it was DELICIOUS!  I ate so much of it that night I ran 6 miles Saturday morning. And a wonderful 6 miles they were.  I've run three times since my half marathon and I feel awesome.  I'm a little surprised actually given how I felt a few weeks before when I went to the doctor and side-lined myself until Ragnar.  It's amazing what some stretching and strength training will do!  I also attended a Good Form Running clinic at a local running store, Fleet Feet, on Sunday morning.  Trying REALLY hard to figure out what causes me to fall apart right when I start to increase my miles.  This week is tough though.  Have a lot going on.  Managed to snag two quick miles yesterday before heading to the craft show at Letchworth with my mom, sister and nieces, using the new stuff I learned Sunday, mostly increasing my cadence to 180 steps per minutes which was HARD!  And trying to keep my arms along my sides instead of crossing my body.  Also harder than I imagined.  But all these changes should help my run efficiency score (more about that next time!) and make me a "better" runner.

Work has been busy and will be through Saturday evening,  I am really looking forward to Sunday when I can hopefully sit back and relax.  I know this is terrible, but I told my mom if she has an apple pie for me Sunday I'll come visit.  :-P  What do you think...should Lexa and I head into the burbs for a visit??  

I really only mentioned that so I had an excuse to share this picture of Lexa I took today.  She was trying so hard to get my attention while I ate my lunch.  She knows this makes me laugh.  

I'm curious...anyone else out there make pear pie?   

If so, do you use cinnamon or nutmeg?  Maybe ginger? 

***Updated***
Apparently the link to the cabbage soup recipe raised security concerns on some computers so here is a picture of it:

This is how we do it

Oh geez. I wrote that title in and now I've got Montell Jordan stuck in my head. 

This is how we do it. It's Friday night and I feel all right...

I firmly believe that if you have a song stuck in your head and you manage to get it stuck in someone else's then it will be released from yours.  Sorry. Not sorry. 

Anyway, this is how we do what?  

Hehe. This is how we jack up cars in the country.  Matt didn't have to go into work until late yesterday so he took the opportunity to remove the old rusty brackets that used to hold the running boards on my Escape. The running boards rusted and fell off a bit ago and I've been driving around with a tetanus hazard. Good to have them off and the good ol' Escape looking a little more presentable. 

After work I went for a run to test out my legs. Very happy with how things felt after Sunday's half. Though my left upper butt is still sore. Does anyone know what that is?  And how I make it go away??  I figure strengthening my glutes won't hurt and is probably a good place to start. Going to be doing a lot of yoga bridges and leg lifts because I really want to tackle the Lake Effect half marathon with all I've got. If it's snowy or icy I probably won't PR but I can train like that's my goal!

As part of that I'm working to revamp my diet. I think I do pretty well but there are times when I don't think I eat enough veggies. And that means more yummy salads. 

Does any one have a love for Kraft Catalina dressing like I do? 

My mom would make a salad with lettuce, tomato, celery, cucumber, carrot, chickpeas, and havarti and I'd put Catalina dressing on it. I was feeling nostalgic yesterday and decided to make that salad. Then I looked at the ingredients on the dressing. First one...sugar. I guess it could have been worse. Could have been high fructose corn syrup. So now my mission is to figure out a homemade version of that dressing that's a little better for you. Will let you know if I have any success! 

Besides jacking up cars funny, we also over heat out here too!  

Ok, maybe not everyone out here but certainly us. We heat with wood. That woods heats water which cycles through tubes under our floors. That heats the floors which radiates heat up into the house. It's pretty cool because our gas bill is actually lower in the winter than the summer!  And having so much wood available to us (and the power company just dropped 11 trees on our property while doing line maintenance so we have even more wood now!) we don't foresee ever really having to buy wood. But it's a SLOW heating process. Once we start the system up we have a tough time on sunny not exactly cold days like this. So it's 77 in my house and I have several doors open. Nice to have fresh good smelling fall air in the house!  It's "wasting" wood but I hesitate to shut the system down though because tomorrow is going to be cooler and rainy and Saturday's high is only 55F. 

What about you...anyone else heating already?  Anyone else out there struggling on these weird in between days?

And please...if you have a Catalina dressing recipe you like please share it!!