Rhoton Christmas

Dan, Remington and I headed to Ohio for our Christmas with Dan's side of the family. As always we enjoyed our time with our niece and nephew as well as the rest of the family. It is nice to get caught up on everything that is going on with everyone.

There was lots of present opening :)

Elliott got a gamer chair... basically it has speakers in it and he can plug his Wii into it and it will be extra loud!!!  Cool!  Mallory got a set of pink lefty golf clubs.  Her face is priceless in this pic!  She loved them!

Pam and Bruce got a new bike rack from all the kids.  I think they enjoyed it.

After opening gifts, we all had dinner and hung out with each other for a while.

Raelyn and Mallory coloring.

Mallory doing what she does best... being "Happy"!

Aunt Boo with baby Alex (the newest member of the Rhoton clan).

The three musketeers together again!

My best bud!

Our little family :)

As always, we enjoyed ourselves very much.  But we were pretty tuckered out once we got back home as you can see by the below picture.

This big guy slept the whole drive home and was out like a light once he hit his bed :)

Bowling Party!!!

Elliott turned 6 years old over the weekend.  Gosh... I seriously can't believe it.  He seems like a little adult these days.  I swear time goes so fast... it is shocking to see him so grown up.

Anyways, for his birthday he had a bowling party! How fun right?!  There was a lot of Elliott's friends and family there.  We had pizza and pop to eat and drink and then birthday cake!  Great party Elliott, thanks for the invite! Below are some pics of the festivities.

Of course Aunt Boo was there... and she even brought her very own bowling shoes and bowling ball.  She's a pro! or so she says

Elliott showing off his bowling skills!

Aunt Boo and I

Boo taking her first bowl... this was a gutter ball... hehe!

Dan and I... and Boo :)

Me bowling...

Elliott having some pizza and opening presents.

Lizzy and I

Getting ready to blow out the candles!!! Sigh... so big!

Happy Birthday Elliott!  Your Uncle Dan and Aunt Kay love to so much!

Christmas Candy : Peppermint Bark and Chocolate Covered Oreos

I made Christmas candy for our Christmas on the Rhoton side.  The candy I made was peppermint bark and chocolate covered oreos.  Hello... easiest Christmas candy EVER!  No way could I mess this up! :)

Peppermint Bark (www.pbfingers.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dark or semi-sweet chocolate
• 1 pound white chocolate
• 1 to 2 teaspoons peppermint extract (I used 1 tsp.)
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 4 to 5 regular-size candy canes, crushed

 Line a baking sheet (with raised edges) with foil, and spray with non-stick spray.

Melt dark chocolate in microwave (30 second intervals on high, stirring in between). 

Add 1/2 tsp. of canola oil and spread evenly in pan.  Refrigerate until solid. 

Melt white chocolate using the same method, and add 1/2 tsp. of oil, as well as the peppermint extract.

Spread white chocolate mixture over dark chocolate layer (it is best to let the white chocolate cool a bit, so it doesn’t melt the dark chocolate and swirl layers together).

Sprinkle crushed candy cane pieces on top, and refrigerate (or freeze) until solid. 

Remove from cookie sheet, peel off foil layer, and chop into pieces.  Enjoy!

Dan rated the bark a 7... it was good but not something I would crave.

Chocolate Covered Oreos

Ingredients

• Oreos
• White and Dark Baker's Chocolate

Melt the chocolate.

 

Dip the Oreos.

Add sprinkles.

 

Yum!  Dan rated these a 7 as well :)

Again, these were nothing special, but very easy and enough to impress people with their looks at least.

Mileage Monday

Running stats for the week of December 12th - December 18th... This has been a rough week to fit any running or workouts in. I've had things to finish up for work, final papers to write for class, making Christmas candy, and of course trying to get stuff wrapped and packed up for Christmas. I'm hoping that since my class is over and things are starting to calm down work and holiday wise, that I can once again start to focus more on my workouts.

This week was a total fail running and workout wise except for a few push ups, sit ups, and stretching. At least I did something right?

And... It's Over!

My Grant Writing class for my master's program is OVER!  HOORAY! 

 Yes this was one of my actual books...

This semester was a tough one for me only because grant writing is way out of my element. I finished my 10 page paper and lesson review this evening with still 2 days to spare! A weight is off my shoulders knowing that I have a whole month of freedom without homework!

Only 3 classes left and a capstone project until this degree is complete... I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!!!

Thankfulness!

I've been unhappy lately... and a little crabby... and probably difficult to live and work with.  I've been a complainer more than normal.  It's not a good thing.

I'm dealing with a situation that is beyond my ability to change right now. I'm stuck in a rut with really no way out or anyone to help me. It's frustrating and has affected my attitude drastically.

However, last night something happened that put everything is perspective. I need to stop being unhappy, crabby, and a total complainer.  Instead I need to be thankful for what I have.  Truly, I am luckier than most.

So today and hopefully the days in the future, I'm going to focus my energy on being thankful! Because I am truly blessed in every aspect of my life!

Mileage Monday

Running stats for the week of December 5th - December 11th... I'm happy to report that I finally think I'm back on the running wagon after months and months of being on the couch wagon :)  You see, I promised myself that the beginning of December it was time to get serious again! Even though I'm pretty much starting over with my running (very little mileage) I'm happy that at least I have my legs moving again! I'm hoping by the end of February that I'll be back up to running 6 miles straight. I also started doing Body Rock this week.  WOW!  It's way hard... but I'm hoping I'll get better at it with time. You're suppose to do as many as possible of these exercises in a set amount of time, but I was happy to get 20 of each in.  Holy Moly!!! 

Monday, December 5th, 2011 - Body Rock : Mission Abs Possible

                                                     20 Push Ups
                                                     20 Leg Lifts Toe Touch
                                                     20 Flying Jump Lunge
                                                     20 Squats

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 - P90X Ab Ripper

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011 - REST DAY aka Late Night at Work

Thursday, December 8th, 2011 - Ran 2 miles and Body Rock : Amazing Abs Workout

                                                     20 Kick Ups
                                                     10 Mountain Climber Peaks
                                                     10 Prisoner Get Ups
                                                     20 Plank Jumps
                                                     20 Knee Hugs

Friday, December 9th, 2011 - P90X Ab Ripper and Body Rock : Sumo Squat Challenge

                                                     200 Sumo Squats (100 per leg)

Saturday, December 10th, 2011 - REST DAY (I'm insanely sore)

Sunday, December 11th, 2011 - Ran 2 miles and P90X Ab Ripper

Total miles for the week: 4 miles