Author: Sadie

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies Round 2

Sadie1 Comment

A couple weeks ago I posted a recipe for chewy oatmeal cookies.  Well as we know, I am an oatmeal cookie addict, so I decided to try yet another chewy oatmeal cookie.  This one is from the blog How Sweet It Is, which is a fabulously beautiful food blog, which a great combination of interesting yet do-able recipes.

Her original recipe only calls for chocolate chips, but I decided to add a little more je ne sais quoi.  Which means, instead of chocolate chips, I went with butterscotch chips, M&M’s (autumn colors of course), and chopped pecans.  Basically I look for any excuse to make monster cookies with as many add-ins as possible.

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies with M&M’s, butterscotch, and pecans

Yields about 30-40 cookies, adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 Tbs cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips
  • 1 1/2 cups M&M’s
  • 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Method

  1. Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
  2. Mix together dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt), set aside.
  3. Beat eggs and vanilla into butter and sugar mixture.
  4. Add dry to wet and beat to combine.  Add oats and other add-ins.  Mix to combine, do not over mix.
  5. Allow dough to chill for 30 minutes and preheat oven to 375.
  6. Bake cookies 9-11 minutes until golden brown.  Allow to cool completely and enjoy!

Success!

Sadie3 Comments

I survived the half marathon!  Thanks for all the well wishes along the way!  I had such a great run!  I had a vague goal of beating 2:10 because I wanted to try to break a 10 min average mile.  But I had a really good race, and I felt like running fast so I ended up at 2:04 which put me at an average of a 9:26 mile.  I’m feeling pretty good about it.  It was a perfect day for racing: warm enough to be comfortable but cool enough to keep you from sweating like crazy.  All in all it was a great experience!  Congrats to all my fellow runners!

Here are some of the songs on my shuffle that got me through the race:

  1. Va Va Voom by Nicki Minaj
  2. I Cry by Flo Rida
  3. 2 Reasons by Trey Songz feat. TI
  4. Hummingbird Heartbeat by Katy Perry
  5. This Head I Hold by Electric Guest (random but awesome)
  6. Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys feat. Nicki Minaj
  7. I Knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift
  8. Your Body by Christina Aguilera
  9. We Run the Night by Havana Brown feat. Pitbull
  10. Katy Perry Mega Mix by Katy Perry and Tommy Sunshine

After the race I hung out with my parents who came to Richmond to cheer me on.  My mom is a big fan of the VMFA (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts), so we spent the afternoon there checking out their Chihuly exhibit.  It was mainly all kinds of crazy blown glass.  Here’s just a sample of the stuff we saw:

What’s on your workout mix these days?

Half Time

Sadie5 Comments

Tomorrow is the big day.  I’m running the Richmond Half Marathon!  My very first half marathon, and definitely the longest distance I’ve run ever.   Even though I’m a workout fanatic, I’ve never been much of a runner.  I just don’t feel like my body was built for that kind of exercise, it doesn’t love the amount of impact.  But I decided to step outside of my comfort zone and challenge myself.  I chose a half marathon because I felt like it was an attainable goal given that I have an erratic schedule with grad school.  I really need some level of flexibility with my workouts, and I like variety in my workouts.  With a half marathon, as opposed to a full marathon, you don’t have to run every day, and you’re not doing training runs that take three hours.

I’ve been running about three times a week with longer runs on weekends.  The last few weekends I’ve done about 11 miles.  I feel like I’m ready because if I can do 11, I could squeeze in 2 more.  Plus I’ve been running on a hilly path and I think the race is a flatter course.  I’m super excited!

I’m ready with my race outfit.  I did a dress rehearsal with it last weekend to make sure it was comfy for a long run.  There is nothing worse than doing a long run with sports bra that rubs, or pants that slide down!  I think this outfit is going to be a winner for me.

You might notice that I’m wearing shoes that I bought last February from DSW.  Well, not really.  I actually liked those sneakers so much, I bought another pair.  Then it was so close to the race I figured I needed a relatively fresh pair, so I bought them again.  I actually had to write numbers on the insoles to remember which pair is which!

And don’t forget the accessories!

 

Wish me luck!

Do you have any fitness related goals this year?