Running, veggies and ball

Good Monday!  Clearly the weekend has zapped all creativity out of me as that is the lamest title yet...I probably have no energy for creativity because this weekend has been a great weekend for running!  On Saturday I unintentionally ran 8.8 miles and on Sunday I met up with the Lake Ridge RidgeRunners and ran another 5 miles.  I have to admit, I feel pretty good!  The run on Sunday was a chill forty-degrees and so the smartwool socks came in VERY handy.  My toes were still cold when I began running but they warmed up a lot faster than with my regular running socks.



Overall, I am very thankful and pleased with my sock purchase.  For dinner last night, I made my mom's recipe for dinner in a pumpkin, which is a seasonal favorite of mine.  Julia was able to decorate the pumpkin while I prepared the "stuffing." 



Only a mother could love that face!

Here's the recipe:

Dinner in a Pumpkin

1 medium pumpkin, cleaned out of pulp and seeds

1 small onion, chopped

2 lbs ground beef (I used ground turkey)

1 1/2 cups cooked, brown rice

1 can of cream of chicken soup

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 can sliced waterchestnuts

1 can sliced mushrooms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the top off of the pumpkin and clean out all the seeds and pulp.  Draw a spooky face on the pumpkin and set aside.  Brown the ground beef and onions.  Drain liquid and add in the remaining ingredients.  Once everything in mixed together, spoon rice/meat mixture into the pumpkin and place lid on pumpkin.  Place pumpkin on cookie sheet and cook in the oven for approximately one hour.  Dinner is served once the pumpkin cooked and easily scrapes off when spooning out the mixture.

Mmmm...

I'm so thankful for great recipes like this one that allow me to serve veggies in new and different ways.  I get a little bored with the traditional side salad or green beans.

I am also grateful that I have found a wonderful partner who enjoys being active.  Every Sunday I go out to watch Alex play softball.  It's a lot of fun to cheer for him :)  Julia and I play catch sometimes while he plays too.  I'm even contemplating dusting off my old glove and practicing my swing...I hear there are co-ed leagues out there. Alex and I have done alright being on a bowling league together.  Would adding softball to the mix be too much?

Do you play sports with your significant other?