Fondant-Covered Cakes, Sprints, and Cheerios

Yesterday I had a sudden desire to make fondant. I went back to the buttercream rolling fondant recipe I tried back in December. Again, it was incredibly greasy. I refrigerated it and covered my cake this morning. It wasn't pretty--and it tore in a couple of places. The cake wasn't much to brag about either :( It was too fluffy (overmixed) and it almost fell appart. I frosted it and froze it to keep it together. When I covered it the already lumpy frosting made the fondant look extra lumpy...I colored the rest of it yellow and green, and I am going to punch out some flowers to cover the cake tonight. The stuff tastes good, but it doesn't work well in the rolling and transferring department. If my cake looks halfway decent I will post a picture. This recipe called for 1 c crisco, 1 c corn syrup, 1/2 tsp salt, some clear vanilla extract, and 2 lbs of powdered sugar. I am going to try a different recipe the next time which calls for less corn syrup and also has gelatin in the mixture.
I jogged my mile 6 seconds slower than my top speed yesterday. Today I walked a mile with 5 lb hand weights and did some lunges and alternating leg lifts at the end of my route. I jogged sprints this past weekend--40 seconds of fast running, then 60 seconds to recover. I did 6 total sprints. I am adding time to my sprints so I can increase my endurance. I hope I can increase my regular jogging pace if I can get my breathing in better shape.

I am a huge breakfast cereal lover. I like Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Blueberry Shredded Wheat, Oreo O's, Special K with Chocolate or Strawberries, or any sweet cereal with yogurt covered granola bits. I purposely got myself some Cheerios when I went to the grocery store. I can still eat cereal for breakfast, but I will not sit around in the evening and eat a whole bowl of marshmallow chocolate goodness. I can still mix in a little bit of the cereal I like, but I get mainly cheerios. I am beginning to develop a taste for the simple cereal.

Until next time...

Cupcakes!

I made cupcakes last night for the first time since March. Anita came up and we whipped up a batch of white cupcakes and chocolate cupcakes. We made mini and regular sized. then, we filled the chocolate cupcakes with a peanut butter filling and topped them with a swirl of chocolate icing. We mixed up buttercream icing, then added some water to thin it down, and added raspberry flavoring and red coloring to create a raspberry filling for the white cupcakes. DELICIOUS! Then we created a light purple and white swirl to ice the top.

I jogged this morning, and I was 35 seconds slower than my fastest time. I can attribute that to working so hard on cupcakes last night and being very tired. I'm still not losing any weight, so I adjusted my breakfast--I now have Cheerios with a banana instead of chocolate lucky charms or chocolate frosted mini wheats. Now if I could only get the rest of the day adjusted to stay away from Tootsie Rolls, Pringles, and ice cream. One thing at a time, one thing at a time. I changed my morning habits to jogging and Cheerios. My mid-morning habits are next in line.

Too Foggy=No Joggy

This morning I stepped (not jumped) out of bed and managed to pull my workout clothes on. After I put my shirt on backwards and walked around the house a minute I made it outside. It was incredibly foggy. So one of my jogging buddies--Anita--suggested we stay close to home because of the thick fog. Even though we were wearing bright orange shirts, it's still hard for cars to see us. I ran my sprints again today. On my first 2 sprints I did a super duper job; my legs flew in a smooth, graceful motion. My arms pumped, my head held high, shoulders back. I wore different shoes, and my feet felt more stable. My last 4 sprints started to slow down. Then I got out of breath. I had fun, though. And I am looking forward to a longer jog!


I finished reading "Darkly Dreaming Dexter." I am moving on now to "Dearly Devoted Dexter." I may have to try a mystery book after I finish they Dexter series written by Jeff Lindsay. I have had my Kindle 3 weeks and have read 3 books already. I can read it when I'm waiting, trying to go to sleep, when I have free time, and it's so handy. I have to say I was hesitant about getting it because I was used to having a real book in my hand. But it's so convenient, lightweight, doesn't get bent pages, and it's always there with you. It's yet another one of life's inventions that makes me think, "What did I ever do without this?"

Sweat Bees and Flower Beds

I have been so excited about the warm weather lately, but I haven't been excited about the sweat bees and other bugs that come along with it. I was sitting in the sun on two different occasions and ended up more aggrivated than relaxed. Why? The sweat bees, gnats, and little no-seeums. They are those teeeny tiny little orangey colored bugs that bite, but you can't ever see them until they land. I managed to get a little sun after lighting a citronella candle and putting a canopy over my head. The pool should be open soon, so I will be able to cool off in a nice float while sporting shades and brightly colored toenails.

Mom and I came to visit grandma today--and we helped her plant flowers in her flowerbed. I had never done anything like that before, but I had a good time. We planted impatiens, added anti-weed pellets, and mulched two flower beds. It was a lot of fun, and I broke a sweat. It was over 80 degrees, so that added to the heat.

Weighted Walks, Morning Motivation, and Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Yesterday evening it was close to 90 degrees. OMYGOSH! It's like someone turned the heat on after the couple of colds weeks we had. It was too muggy to go for a jog, so Sara, Edie, and I went for a 2 mile walk. I thought I'd be tough and bring along two 5lb hand weights with me. I was a half mile in and could already feel my arms getting tired. I did arm curls, tricep extensions, overhead presses, and a butterfly type movement while walking. I was sure I'd have sore arms this morning. But I was wrong--my glutes hurt. They hurt last night when I laid down for bed. I guess carrying around an extra 10 lbs made my legs work much harder than usual--even on a leisurely walk. I will have to take a weighted walk again.

I jogged this morning--nearly a minute slower than my last timed miler. BLEH! I wore myself out in the first 2 tenths by practially sprinting up a hill. I had to walk to catch my breath before taking off again. Then I used my Total Gym for 15 minutes on arm exercises. I could definitely feel that when I was done. I sat my workout clothes out last night.

It's a good way to motivate myself. When I wake up the first thing I see is my workout clothes waiting to be used. Plus, I know that someone is waiting for me to come and jog with them. I have always wanted to be a morning exerciser, and now I finally am. I can't wait to go to the beach and get up to jog on the sand in the mornings and watch the sun rise.

I started reading "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" this weekend. It's a series of novels about a Miami Dade blood spatter expert, and a serial killer who kills only serial killers. The Showtime series "Dexter" is based on this book. My Netflix had suggested I try Dexter for over a year, and one day I finally clicked on it. The very first line of the first show is, "Tonight's the night." From then on I was hooked. The theme song, the characters, the plot twists--they all keep me watching. I watched seasons 1-5 in about 2 months. I would watch while walking on the treadmill, cleaning, or going to sleep at night. I finally finished season 5, and I am so excited to see season 6 in the Fall.

There is only one other series which I have seen all the way through--Gilmore Girls seasons 1-7. I have them all on DVD, and they're my go-to shows to watch when I feel like having a girl day. WOOT WOOT! It's a strange combination of favorites--Dexter and Gilmore Girls.

Sunny days and swimming pools are finally here. Until next time...