Ravioli

Last weekend we decided to be a little adventurous and make homemade ravioli.  First we rolled out some pasta dough into four inch strips.

Then we added our filling, which was the filling for the Pioneer Woman's calzone.

Then we flipped the pasta over and pressed down around each section of filling.

We pulled out our pizza cutter and cut between each section.  Wish we had a cut zig zag cutter but we used what was available.

And here is the finished product.

It was a bit of a pain to make but a fun "date" night activity.

2010 Mileage

It looks quite a bit different from last years.  I ran about 90 miles less...who knows what 2011 will bring.

January: 75.6 miles
February: 30.1 miles
March: 107.95 miles
April: 85.55 miles
May: 37.6 miles
June: 47.9 miles
July: 7 miles
August: 7 miles
September: 40 miles
October: 31.5 miles
November: 30.5 miles
December: 31.5 miles

2010 TOTAL: 562.2 miles

Chasing the Sun

Seth and I woke up early Saturday morning and caught a flight to Phoenix.  By early afternoon we had arrived and were picked up by Jeff and my parents.  We drove downtown to pick up our race packets for the PF Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon.  This was my third year running it.  After picking up the packets we drove out to Joe's Farm Grill for some grub.  Seth and I shared a Fontina burger and a Southwest burger.  We also got to share sweet potato fries, onion rings, and fried zucchini with the family.

We caught our first Arizona sunset after a walk around Jeff's neighborhood.  The weather was in the 70s and absolutely perfect.

The next morning was race day.  As we drove downtown to be dropped up for the race we were greeted by this sunrise.  The sun was reflecting off many of the downtown buildings and looked spectacular.

Here is our classic before the race shot.  I have to admit that I always have butterflies in my stomach before the race, and this year was no different.  We were dropped off early enough to see the start of the marathon and wheelchair marathon. 

After scavenging for a banana we found our corral and stretched out for the race.  I told Jeff that this was his year to greet me at the finish line.  I hadn't been following my training schedule mid-December, due to illness, snow storms, and new shoe blisters.  Jeff and I stuck together for the first 2.5 miles and then he lost me.  Seth and my parents found a bridge about 12.5 miles in to wait for us.  Jeff is in the gray shirt and black hat. 

Jeff's official time was 2:03:41

5 Km	26:44
10 Km	52:55
8 5 Mi	1:13:30
10 Mi	1:29:57

Here I am in the black with the white hat.  I was so elated to see Seth on the bridge.

My official time was 2:13:13

5K 28:15

10 Km	59:33
8 5 Mi	1:22:29
10 Mi	1:39:29

Way to go Jeff!  It was nice to have you waiting for me.  Next year you may not be so lucky:)

Here is the post-race shot.  We were both walking a little funny for several days.

The next day we were crazy enough to hike Camelback Mountain.  I took it quite slow...Jeff was a mountain goat like always, and Seth was sweet enough to stay close by the entire time.

We had a fabulous time in Phoenix.  It was so nice to escape the snow and enjoy a few days in the sun.  The food was great and the company was even better.

BMW

We ended up having two more snow days last week...yes five consecutive days.  We we already planning to go to Phoenix for the long weekend.  When we found out school was canceled on Friday we decided to make our trip a little longer and headed out of town Friday morning.  Our first stop was downtown Greenville, South Carolina.  Seth had taken a tour along the river walk for a class earlier in the Fall.  He gave me a private tour.  I love the open building pictured below. 

I noticed the lock below and it reminded me of my trip to Cinque Terre.  In Italy it is a custom to place a lock on the handrail over a bridge to express your devotion to your loved one.  You place the lock and then throw the key into the water showing that your heart is locked to everyone but the one your truly love. 

These waterfalls are literally right downtown.

Our next stop was the BWM factory and museum.  I put the wrong address in the GPS which was actually quite serendipitous as we came across Gilreath's Mill. 

We finally made it to the BMW factory and museum.  This is the only BMW factory in the United States.  It was placed in Spartanburg because of the amount of land available and its proximity to the port in Charleston.  They manufacture the X3, X4, and X5 models exclusively at this plant.

Prior to our factory tour we discovered the museum.

The three cars pictured below were produced after WWII.  Few people could afford more than a scooter...these cars are basically closed-in scooters.  In the model below you enter through the front of the car.

This is the family version with a back seat.

I love the mini-camper.

We enjoyed the factory tour....unfortunately we weren't able to take any pictures inside the factory.  It was interesting to see all the stages of production.  Many of the stages are done completely with robots and machines. We had one BMW owner on our tour...it was a little annoying because the tour guide kept saying "this is where your transmission was put in,"  "This is where your car was painted," etc.  In addition, the BMW owner new very little about cars in general and kept asking really annoying questions.

After the tour we drove on to Charlotte.  Where we got a bite to eat at Cabo Fish Taco, went to the dollar movie, and spent the night before our early morning flight to Phoenix. 

Snow Daze

We got a little snow out here in South Carolina.  By little I mean 6-8 inches.  It started to fall early Monday morning and didn't stop until later that night.  I had heard a few people at school talk about this storm and how it could possibly result in school being canceled.  You have to understand...they were saying this almost almost a week before the storm.  I didn't think they could possibly be serious after all 6-8 inches in Utah is a pretty normal sized storm.  So when I woke up Monday morning I checked the district website and sure enough school was canceled.  Seth and I spent the day watching movies and being lazy.  It was blissful.

The next morning I followed the same routine...checked the website and school was canceled again.  By Tuesday afternoon I got a phone call that school would also be canceled on Wednesday.  We also found out that the first day of classes at Clemson were canceled.  So here we are...Wednesday afternoon and I have no idea if I will be working tomorrow.  Seth just checked his email and classes won't start until after 11 am tomorrow...which means he will have no classes this week.

We ventured out into the snow today.  There was 5-6 inches of snow on our car with ice on top of that.  Most of the major roads were clear...but the side roads were quite icy.  We are literally waiting for the snow to melt and with freezing temps it doesn't look like it will happen anytime soon.  When it does melt...it just freezes into ice over night.  In my four years working in Utah we never took one snow day...now here I am at the end of my third consecutive snow day...such is life in the South.

We made homemade chicken noodle soup on Sunday night to help keep us warm.  My first attempt at homemade noodles...not to shabby.

Walhalla

Seth and I escaped for a Saturday adventure the weekend before he would be consumed with graduate studies.  We had originally planned to visit the BMW factory and museum in Spartanburg but learned that it is closed on Saturdays.  We made a last minute backup plan and took a trip to Stumphouse Tunnel and Issaqueena Falls in Walhalla, South Carolina.  We packed a lunch, put on our hiking gear, and jumped in the Subaru hoping the GPS would guide us to our final destination.  The GPS unfortunately couldn't find the final destination so we had to use our own smarts to find our way. 

Stumphouse tunnel was started in 1852 to connect the port of Charleston with Knoxville, Tennessee.  With the onset of the Civil War and lack of funds construction soon came to a halt.  You can only walk part way through the tunnel as falling rock from an air shaft has caused most of the tunnel to be blocked off.  The tunnel is also full of condensation...aka it is wet in there.

  

Stumphouse Tunnel and Issaqueena Falls are in the same park.  We were expecting a real hike and were dressed for it...but we just had to walk about 50 feet from the car when we came to the overlook for the falls. Issaqueena was a young Cherokee woman who fell in love with a white soldier.  When she found out that the Cherokee were going to attack the settlers she made a 96 mile ride to warn them.  She named the streams along the way...6 mile creek, 12 mile creek, etc.  After she warned the settlers the Cherokee chased her to this waterfall.  Issaqueena pretended to jump over and hid until the coast was clear.

Since the hike was not all we expected it to be we decided to make one more stop on the way back home.  There is a nuclear power plant that provides power to most of the area and they have a World of Energy display.  We went to learn how different types of energy are harnessed.  The Power plant uses the water in this lake to cool down parts of the machinery which makes this lake a little warmer than normal throughout the year.  We looked for three eyed fish but couldn't find any.

 

 

It was fun to get out for a day and explore the area.  There is so much to see out here.  I'm starting to think that even if we went every weekend we would not see it all before Seth graduated.

Ringing in the New Year

We returned to Salt Lake on December 28th and had a little down time while my parents worked at a rental.  I learned just how handy Seth is when he pulled out my mom's fridge to replace a broken valve.

He also learned how to use my Dad's snow-blower.  We may need to clarify at this point...we miss playing in the snow but we don't miss removing snow, driving in snow, or being cold due to the snow.

On December 30th we drove down to Orem to visit Seth's brother Jordan, his wife Abby, and their two girls.  Seth played house with Maddie as Ava tried her best to get in on the action.  Then we drove through the snow just in time to meet Justin, April, Matt, and Paul at the IMAX theater to see TRON in 3D.  Seth is a huge fan of the original TRON and loved seeing the sequel.  We followed the movie up with a trip to Salt City Burger...sweet potato fries = yummy.  Then we headed over to Justin and April's to play some boardgames.

I didn't get any pictures of our New Year's Eve.  We had Justin and April, Amy and Dallin, and Sarah and Joe over to my parents to eat homemade calazones and play games.  We rang the new year on the back deck as we watched the fireworks in downtown Salt Lake.

The next morning everyone came over for brunch.  Here Max is helping to make the orange juice in the juicer...this was every niece and nephew's favorite job.

A few short days later we returned back to South Carolina.  We miss everyone we left behind in Utah and we can't wait until we can visit again.