Pedal Pedal Run: Keeping track of your accomplishments in the New Year!

 

 

 Since we just posted about how we do not do regular scrapbooks I thought this would be a perfect time to tell you about a new type of scrapbook I received.

Our Race Scrapbook

 

Do you document your races?  We don't really "Scrapbook" per say.  The results of traditional scrapbooking are beautiful, but too time consuming for us!  It didn't take long for our race pictures to start filling up our photo albums, so we came up with a better solution to incorporate many of our pics.  Each race gets its own 4X6 print and it slips right in to our album. Easy Peasy!



In no particular order, here are the races we've documented so far!

 

 

 

 

 

We are continuosly adding races to our album!

What do you do to document your races? Do you make a photo album?
 

Thirteen for 2013

 When we met Ali Vincent ( of The Biggest Loser) at last year's Disney Princess Half Marathon Expo, she mentioned to us that she had a goal of doing 13 races in 2013 ( She may have actually said 13 half marathons, I'm not completely sure).  We both left the expo thinking that was very ambitious of Ali and what a great goal for her, but never thought anything more about it after we left.

As we neared the last months of 2013, my sister and I both realized that we both would be completing 13 races ( not all half marathons) in 2013!

Here's a quick recap of the ones I did.
 

Lets start at the beginning. 

Thursday Things and the End of a Challenge

Hi everyone! We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with friends and family. Our blog has taken a little hiatus the past two days ( which I'm sure many of you have too). We are not quite back into full blogging mode yet but thought we would just share a few things from the past couple of days.

     

My husband and I saw this sign on our way home on Christmas Eve and thought maybe there would be a chance we might have a white Christmas, but it didn't happen!

Regardless of whether or not there was snow, we all had a wonderful day!

Even our dogs like Disney gifts so Santa thought this Tigger was perfect!

Aren't these the cutest dog biscuits you've ever seen?

 

 I didn't get a puppy for Christmas, but someone did! Isn't he adorable?

 

 

Even though I got to see my sister this weekend, this was the first time ever that I did not get to spend Christmas day with her. It was kind of sad not seeing her on Christmas morning but I did get to talk to her on the phone for over two hours, so all is well!

Today is the last day of the #RunChatHunt scavenger hunt challenge. Lacey was able to find all the things on the list during her runs, but I am missing one item. I am doubtful I will be able to complete it but I do have several hours left, so we shall see!    ~M

What did you do on Christmas eve and Christmas day?
Did you work? Did you blog?
Did you stay away from your devices?

Jingle Bell Team Challenge

My sister and I both signed up for the Jingle Bell Team Challenge through U.S Road Running and since this was the first time we have been together since the Wicked 10K, we thought we would use this weekend to complete it!

Since we still had some snow on the ground, it was a perfect day to dress up in our red and green, and listen to Christmas tunes as we ran!

We also had a few more things we each had to check off of our #RunChatHunt list. So we took pictures of those along the way.

                                         Lacey needed to get a picture of a holiday inflatable!

I still needed to get a picture of a farm animal.  They didn't say it needed to be real, so the animals in this manger display will have to do!


We completed our mileage and promptly took a picture with our shiny new medals!

 

 I love themed medals. And the ones for this challenge were just too cute!

 

Thank you U.S Road Running!

 

 

I also tried to make gingerbread cookies this weekend ( My first attempt).

 I wanted to  make Mickey cookies, but the ones that did not turn out I turned into puppy dogs!


 We also went to see the Disney movie "Saving Mr. Banks". I highly recommend it.  ( Just a tip: make sure you stay for the ending credits. There is some really cool stuff to be seen/heard)


Did you run this weekend? Did you do any baking?

Friday Finds! ( And an ALTRA Shoes Winner)

I tried some new products this week while I was out doing some shopping so I thought I would share them here.

We stopped at Gander Mountain to look for some gifts for the outdoor enthusiasts on our list and I found these:

I had heard of the Honey Stinger waffles before and I had even read a review that made me just curious enough to want to try them.  Since I had been out shopping all afternoon, it was really time for me to have a snack anyway, so I thought Why Not!

 

I tore right into the chocolate one. ( My husband wasn't too pleased with all the crumbs it left behind in his car)  I admit, these things are pretty flakey and fall a part pretty easily. They are not as crispy as I was expecting ( Which is a good thing). From the review I read, I thought it was going to be the consistency of like a waffle cone, ( kind of dry) but it wasn't.  it was actually much better!  It was much softer ( and moist).  I had been craving something chocolaty for days, and this hit the spot without being too sweet, and it's healthy. What could be better.  I will definitely be stocking up on these!

 

                                   

After our Gander Mountain visit, we went next door to Sam's club. ( I won't mention the 6 pounds of gummi bears we bought, which my husband claimed was better for us to buy in bulk since I keep buying the 75 cent small bags after my longer runs). I will mention however the "healthy" veggie strips we bought.

 

 

Theses veggie strip flavors are Spinach & Garlic, Red Beet & Onion, Carrots & Tomato.  They are perfect for dipping in guacamole or hummus, or whatever your favorite dip is!  They are not bland like some veggie chips tend to be. These have a nice seasoning on them ( maybe it's the garlic and onion taste, I don't know) and are very yummy!  Also, they are all natural and Gluten free, if that is important to you!

 

Have you come across a new product this week?  Have you ever tried a product that surprised you?

 

P.S, The Winner of the ALTRA Shoes is Jennifer M. Nolan. Congratulations!  Jennifer, please make sure you like our FB page ( if you haven't already) and message us your address.

 

Thank you to everyone who entered. We will be having more giveaways next month!

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

~M

 

An Easy to Make Gift to Display Running Medals

Are you still in need of a gift for that runner in your life?

At our house, we really take pride in gifts that come from the heart, so I can honestly say I put a lot of effort into my gift ideas. Last year I wanted to give my sister a way to display the race medals she earned throughout the years, but it was important to me that she had a picture of each race to display with it. So, this is what I came up with....

And here are the steps I took to create it:

1. Find a collage picture frame of your choice. I knew I wanted mine to go horizontal and have as many pictures as possible.  The best bet for this is to find one of those picture frames that is meant for school pictures. This will give you at least 12 openings. ( At this point, my sister has completed more races than picture slots, I'm not sure what happened to the 2 lost pictures!)
* Also, I would recommend getting a wooden one or a very heavy plastic. Cheaper material will probably start to crack when you screw the hooks in

2. Go to hardware store: You will need 2 items ( maybe 3) from the hardware store.

1. Cup Hooks: I used two cup hooks ( you might need three depending on how many medals you are hanging on the rod and how heavy they are.  Screw one in on each side ( and possibly one in the middle) of the underside of the picture frame. Depending on what your frame is made of, you may have to use a tiny drill bit to get it started.   Note: I actually used the HOOKS, not the brass loops.

2. Dowel Rod:  There are many thicknesses and styles of dowel rods to choose from. You can get steel ones, but for various reasons, I chose to go with wood.  The hardware store will cut the rod according to your measurements. Keep in mind, the diameter of your cup dowel rod needs to coincide the size of your cup hooks. Sure a thicker rod will hold more medals, but will it fit inside the cup hooks.

3. Spray Paint: I wanted to spray paint the rod to give it a more uniform look.

I gathered just a few medals and slapped them on here for a quick picture!

I like how easy it is to just slide the medals on and off.  Keep in mind the more medals you plan to display, the more cup hooks you might want to install. If you install more cup hooks, your medals won't slide easily ( that might be a good thing though, they won't be sliding all around).

This honestly did not take long to assemble. ( The hardest part is waiting for the paint on the rod to dry because I was eager to put it all together to see what it looked like).   And it was very  reasonably priced to make it too.  

So, this weekend you can gather all these materials and still  have time to make one of these as a gift for someone!

Do you like making gifts for people?
What is the most creative thing you've done to display your medals?

The Disney Cake Hotline

Looks like this will be our last "Where in the World Wednesday" post till 2014. Of course next Wednesday is Christmas and the following Wednesday is New Years, so I don't think we will be posting about traveling!

We are back at Disney for our "Where in the World Wednesday Post"

If you are celebrating an event at the Disney World Resorts, you can have a cake personally made just for you.

I was introduced to the wonderful world of Disney cakes a few years ago when Disney created my wedding cake. I gave free reign to Disney when it came to the design, but we picked out the flavors. We chose a pound cake with buttercream frosting. The bottom layer had a white chocolate mousse filling and the top layer had a strawberry mousse filling. My husband and I agreed that this was the best cake we had ever had!  Because we had a destination wedding, we couldn't save the top layer of our wedding cake like most people do.  This just prompted us to go back to Disney the following year to celebrate our anniversary and order another cake ( the top layer only).

This plate was brought out by the chefs of Citricos and was placed at our table.

Our original wedding cake was created by the bakers at the Grand Floridian, so that is where we chose to get our anniversary cake from too. Again, I handed the reigns over to Disney as far as the design and only suggested the type of cake and flavors be the same as our wedding cake.   We had an evening meal at Citricos restaurant at the Grand Floridian and that is where our cake was served.

When we visited Disney together again, we thought we would order another cake.  I had a hard time getting the cake from the Grand Floridian this time because their bakers were so busy making the Gingerbread houses. However, the boardwalk bakery was able to make what we wanted.

 We asked for a 6 inch pound cake with buttercream frosting and strawberry mousse filling.  Again, we left the design up to the bakers. 

Although I wouldn't have ever chose the red flowers, I did think it looked pretty. It had a Christmassy kind of look to it. The cake also had these silver and purple crunchy little ball decorations on it. I'm not quite sure what they where but they tasted like little rice crispies. Again, it was nice, but I would have matched the color of the decorations with the flower color. Maybe purple flowers if you are going to do purple and silver accents.  But I can't complain since I didn't give any design suggestions. It tasted fabulous and that's all that counts right!  

Of course I like the Mickey designs on the side.  Like I mentioned earlier, we ordered a 6 inch cake and it was WAY too much for just the 2 of us. I'm pretty sure I ate 90% of the cake myself.

 Even though these cakes are lovely and they are the most delicious cakes you will ever taste, I think we are done trying to recreate our wedding cake. I have discovered other yummy Disney creations that I would like to try instead.

Here are some tips for ordering cakes:
If you are staying at the Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Polynesian, or Wilderness Lodge: Your custom cake will come from the Grand Floridian Bakery.

The Boardwalk Bakery is the only location that you can pick up your cake. Other locations will serve it to you at one of the resort restaurants. There are also certain theme park restaurants that will make custom cakes. 

Custom cakes ( depending on how fancy you wanted them) will require at least a 48 hour notice.  Basic cakes that are just chocolate, vanilla, or marble can usually be done in 48 hours. If you want another type of cake ( like pound cake) you will need more notice. We called a week ahead of time for our cake. I meant to call much earlier and I should have because I almost didn't get the cake I wanted because of the busy holiday season. So if you want a cake during a holiday season or a special event, keep that in mind.

You can order a basic 6 inch cake ( vanilla or chocolate only) at most of the sit down restaurants. They keep these cakes on hand in the coolers, so no advance notice is necessary. Just tell the host or hostess at the podium when you check in. ( I think these are called "Celebrate Today Cakes".)

For more information you can call the The Disney Cake Hotline. Their official phone number is 407-827-2253

What is your favorite kind of cake?