A Cold Day 5K

Yup - That's snow on the ground. Do you like the way it contrasts with the lovely Autumn leaves on the sign? Did I mention it's not mid-October yet? Despite the cold, and the early morning hour (for me, for a Saturday), these runners are a hardy bunch. Promise them a t-shirt, an official time thanks to little timing chips clipped onto their shoelaces, bagels, cookies and bananas when the race is over, and a shot at some door prizes, and out they come!

Nearing the end...

A race run well. In sixteen degree weather. With the snow falling down. Did I mention it's October 10?

Crockpot Buffalo Vegetable Stew

With the cold weather blowing in earlier this week, I was in the mood for crockpot cookin'.

1 pound of cubed buffalo meat, lots of new potatoes, lots of carrots, and lots of kale (but I didn't add the kale until the last 20 minutes of warmin'), and a quart of beef broth (made from "better than bullion" - next time I want to try it with miso as the broth).

Hubby brought home Dakota bread from Great Harvest, and we had bread and stew for dinner Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and then I had it for lunch on Thursday as well. The boy who now eats everything turned it down.

Have I mentioned the boy now eats everything? Parents of picky eaters, there is hope! After getting by for 14 years on milk, peanut butter, and Annie's Mac & Cheese (macaroni cheese shells and cheese, as they were known lovingly in our house for so many years), and growing to 6 foot two, at some point the taste buds shift just enough, and the hunger grows enough, that those limited food choices miraculously expand to include just about every item imaginable. Except for my crockpot buffalo vegetable stew.

Very Expensive Cookie Dough

The boy was worried. The coaches had made it VERY clear that the runners had to keep the cookie dough frozen. When his dad picked him up at 5:00, intending to get home in time for the boy to have a quick bite to eat before heading to the 5:30 guitar lesson, immediately followed by the 2-hour theater class, and he saw the huge carton of cookie dough orders, he was even more worried than the boy.

They came home and said we needed a family conference. How would we get all 7 orders delivered that night, since there was no way 9 boxes of $15 pre-portioned expensive FROZEN cookie dough was going to fit in our freezer? The freak-out level in our home was rising by the minute.

We hadn't been all that thrilled about this particular fundraiser for the cross country team in the first place, but the boy had eagerly shared the opportunity to buy $15 pre-portioned expensive FROZEN cookie dough with people at church, and because we are all so easily suckered into paying ridiculous sums of money for kids' fundraisers, he sold cookies to 7 people.

And how easy it would have been to deliver the $15 pre-portioned expensive FROZEN cookie dough had we been able to pick it up on a Sunday morning, and deliver it to everyone while at church. But the product was delivered to the boy's cross country team on a Tuesday, the busiest night in our household.

In an effort to keep the freak-out level from reaching melt-down proportions, I offered to attempt to make room in the freezer while Dad took the boy to his guitar lesson. If it wouldn't all fit, I would start making deliveries. If it did all fit, then my honey and I would still get to have our date night.

Fortunately, I inherited my father's master packing genes, and not only can I pack more things in the car than we usually need for a road trip, but I can find room in freezers where others think there is none.

As I put the last box of $15 pre-portioned expensive FROZEN cookie dough in the freezer, the boy came up behind me, rested his hand on my shoulder, and heaved a sigh of relief. And told me thank you in an incredibly sincere tone of voice.

"If we didn't have you, Mom," he said as he shook his head, "I don't know what we'd do."

Is there any higher praise from a teenager?