Trying New Things

This past year has been a year of change. We moved from a huge running community to an area that does not have the biking and running trails as our previous location. I left my huge Moms Run This Town group of over 1,000 to a small group of 100 or so. But when we arrived in the South something happened. I met women that were involved in Triathlons. There were a couple of ladies that were training for full Ironman's. I had never met women involved in this before. I watched them train and ran their long runs with them and then I was able to watch them crush their goals by hours! All of a sudden I was inspired to try something different. I had been so used to just running and have run multiple marathons over the last 18 years. I have tried to qualify for Boston but keep missing it by a few minutes. This was a different challenge for me. I had to learn to swim distance and bike over 20 miles. I signed up for my first Half IronMan in December and got to work. It was hard but I had the best support team possible.  My friends taught me how to swim and bike.  They pushed me to keep trying and do things that I did not think I was capable of doing. I biked my first Century and swam in the lake without fear.  My husband would run whenever I asked or bike with me so I wouldn't have to be alone. My friends spoke words of encouragement to me and gave me confidence to keep moving forward and finish the training. Then they came with me to the race. They went with me to packet pickup, they helped me set up my transition area, helped calm my nerves and gave me advice on hydration and fuel. They cheered me on during the run and I was able to see them 4 times on the course. It was the best day! I finished way under what I thought I would. I am so glad that I listened to that small whisper that told me to try something different and new. The voice that told me that I was capable of something that I thought I could not do!  I am so thankful for God, that gave me strength when I thought I was weak! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIaT8Jl2zpI I have loved being a skirtsports ambassador this year as well. www.skirtsports.com

First 50 mile bike ride with my cheerleader Heather.

Loving running with my hubby and our dog Max.
www.skirtsports.com
 

My friend, Andrea taught me so much about racing and how to prepare.

 

My bike that got me through hundreds of miles!

One of my many early morning swims! I tried to swim twice a week.

My love! Our date was going on a 3 hour ride and then running a mile afterwards to help me get used to running in the heat.

My first Sprint Triathlon this summer.

104 mile bike ride!

After the race. This was the best day!

My cheerleaders!

Ode to Skirt Sport

I had never heard of Skirt Sports before, until 6 years ago. I took my older sister shopping for her birthday and she fell in love with the Lotta Breeze Capri. It looked darling on her and I bought it for her that day!  She wore it all the time. She wore it for errands, working out and lounging. She loved how it fit and how cute it looked. After all the raving about this skirt sport company I looked into it. She was right. The Lotta Breeze Capri was amazing. I now own 3 of these Capri's and multiple skirts, shorts and shirts from Skirt Sports. Sometimes older sisters know best. 2 years ago this beautiful sister of mine passed away from Brain Cancer. One of the items that I have in my closet is the first Skirt Sport Capri that I bought it. I wear it often and remember all the wonderful things about her.

My Sister

I love Running

 

I love running. When I first started 17 years ago, 3 miles was so difficult. I could never imagine doing more then that. I had a sweet friend that would run with me in the evenings after my baby was in bed. She kept encouraging me and I fell in love with the sport. I did my first half marathon and realized that this was a sport I could do! 15 full marathons later and 22 half marathons and I still love it.
At first I ran to lose the baby weight and then got my husband into the sport. We would go on running dates when our kids were little. We would take turns pushing the big double stroller and just talk and talk and talk. It was wonderful! You can talk about a lot of things during a 3 hour run.
I ran when I was happy and I ran when I was sad. Running played a huge roll in helping me find my joy again after my sister and Dad passed away from cancer 2 years ago.
Over the years my goals have changed. At first I did marathons to just finish. Then I trained harder and did them for time. The one thing that has stayed consistent over the years is how much I enjoy a long run. I love the challenge of pushing myself and working towards a goal that I have set.
2018 is a year of change for me. I decided to try some new things this year and signed up for my first Half IM in Augusta September 23, 2018. I am so excited to work towards a new goal.

 

20 Year Anniversary Trip

 

I can't believe it has been 20 years since we said our vows. So much life has happened over the past years. We joined the military, had 2 children and have moved 9 times. I am so thankful for our life together. It has not always been easy (moving every year for 3 years with teens is seriously rough)! We decided to save up and go on a big trip for our 20 Year to Jamaica. What a wonderful 7 day vacation for just us! It was relaxing and carefree! So nice to have a week of just us. Looking forward to a really big trip for our 25 year Anniversary.

Anniversary Dinner on the beach!

 

Biking down the Blue Mountains

French Restaurant on property



My love



After our Run.

We spent a lot of time relaxing at the beach and enjoying the sunshine.

All ready for the Italian Restaurant!

Sitting on our veranda drinking coffee was a highlight of our morning.

Every day Mark was able to Scuba Dive. He loved it!

 

Third Move in 3 Years

We have moved again. It was a quick 10 months for us in Alabama and then we headed for another adventure. We moved back to Va. We thought this was where we would come after Marks schooling last year but it is the military and so nothing is for certain on how long or where you are going.

I am ready to put down some roots for the next couple of years. We have the kids in good schools and they seem to be enjoying it for the most part. We are busy. Busier then we have ever been before. Jonathan is in marching band and it requires lots of practices, games and competitions. The good news is that he loves it! The bad news is that our weekends are gone and most evenings too. I am so thankful that I get to be apart of the driving and watching my kids excel in there activities.

Anna is doing Cross County and really enjoying that as well. It is less of a time commitment and only has two meets and two practices a week. I am getting to help coach her age group and it is so much fun.
Hopefully I can be better about sharing recipes, photos and our family adventures.

Fall in Alabama

It has been a quick 3 months since our move to Alabama. We are really enjoying living in the South. I was a little worried when we first moved here and I discovered what humidity was like. YIKES! Since the temps have cooled and weather has changed, I am really liking it here. We are stationed with good friends from Montana so it has been so nice getting to spend time with there sweet family. I miss our friends from previous bases but have jumped in and gotten involved with the ACSC spouse's group. It is so much fun! I have been scrap booking, taken cooking classes at Williams Sonoma, learned some international dishes, helped with some outings and have even met some friends to run with. I am so thankful for this year with my family and the adventures we are getting to partake in. I am not saying it has been easy moving with a teen and almost 12 year old but am so glad we have this year as a family. Mark is home and not deployed! He has a great schedule and we are getting to run together, bike and he even bought a canoe to take the kids fishing. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and good friends coming to visit!

We made this soup for our cooking class and it was so tasty!

Sweet butternut squash and tart Granny Smith apples are enriched with cream and saffron in this savory soup. For a sit-down meal, serve the soup as a first course in warmed individual bowls. For a Thanksgiving buffet, present the soup in a warmed tureen so guests can help themselves. If desired, garnish the soup with croutons and a pinch of chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley or sage.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 Bermuda onion, chopped
• 1 butternut squash, about 3 lb.,
    peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and
    chopped
• 4 pinches of Spanish saffron threads, about
    1 tsp.
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 cups heavy cream
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a large soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter. When the butter is foamy, add the onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until tender and translucent, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the squash and stock, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes.

Add the apples, saffron and nutmeg and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender, about 15 minutes. Using a food processor or a blender, puree the soup in batches until smooth. Return the soup to the pot, stir in the cream, and season with salt and pepper. Warm gently as needed.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and serve immediately.

Serves 12.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

 

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Changes

This has been a year of changes for our family. We left Ohio after 4 wonderful years and moved to a small town outside of DC. Mark started a new job, we found a church, the kids got involved in school activities, the kids got a puppy and we all started making friends. Then we found out some news. We are moving again! This SUMMER! To say the least we were shocked. Moving, again, so soon? I am so glad that we have complete trust in our God! For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (NIV Jeremiah 29:11) So the Friesen family is headed to Alabama this summer for 10 months. Mark has the opportunity to go become a student again! Not sure we will have lots of visitors at our new home but it is still always open to all of you. DC has been great and we have had lots of friends and family come see us so far.

A Perfect Evening

We had one of those perfect evenings on Saturday. It was a nice 85 degrees with light breeze. Perfect for grilling and eating outside. Mark loves backyard BBQ's and is always up for using his new grill. It has been so hot and humid in Va this summer.

 We made one of our favorite meals so far on the grill. We grilled fresh Alaskan salmon on cedar planks, wild rice salad (from my favorite Ina Garten), roasted green beans and a tomato, sharp white cheddar cheese bread pudding. It was so good! Our son tried his first piece of salmon ever and he is 12. Then he ate the entire piece. It is starting to cool off in Va. We are hoping for more evenings like this before school starts.

My Busy Spring

I have been having lots of fun staying busy with a million different things. I am happy to say that I have taken advantage of every opportunity to hang with friends, go shopping at my Pottery Barn Outlet, go running with friends and lots of coffee dates esp. Ghost Light. Our moving date is approaching so quickly. I ran my first 30 K trail race in March with a couple of friends. Loved the experience of running in San Francisco but came away with an injured knee. That led me to the next 6 weeks of little running, PT and lots of exercises to get my knee back on track. I had been training for my second Team In Training marathon called the Flying Pig. It came down to the wire and I wasn't sure if I could do the distance with my knee not being normal. After praying about it and talking to my Dr's I decided to forge ahead. I ran the race and finished in a fine time. It was such a different run then my last marathon. Because of my knee I knew that I wouldn't do any personal records but wanted to enjoy the experience of this race. I ran for my sister Steffy who is doing amazing. It was quite the emotional roller coaster for me. God is good even when we don't understand why things happen the way that they do. We are moving in 4 short weeks. I have been blessed with amazing friends that have supported and loved our family over the last 4 years. We are sad to go but excited to see where God leads us next.

Pioneer Woman's newest book

I love that you can make the topping ahead of time!

Yum!

Pioneer Woman's newest cookbook came out a few days ago. I want to make everything! I decided to try the Make Ahead Muffin Melts for dinner last night.  Be warned! Do not make these for your family for dinner on a night when you have to run 60 minutes of hills! I couldn't help myself from sampling a few too many bites of these before I headed out for my run. Lets just say that I didn't do so great on the run last night and leave it there. The muffin melts were divine. A great hearty and filling dinner for everyone. I did enjoy one when I got home at 8:30 last night. I just know to not make anything that tempting before a run. I halved the recipe and still had leftovers. Everyone enjoyed one for breakfast this morning.

A great way to start February by making Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies.

So happy that it is now February! January seemed like a really long month to me. I found this recipe today and couldn't wait to try it.  The dough turned out great and I can't wait to see how they taste. I might have to do a tasting of these with the kids when they get home from school.

The dough turned out really dark from using all brown sugar.

These cooled for 15 minutes before I took them off the pan.

My little book worm!

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup dark brown sugar; firmly packed
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups semisweet chocolate, cut in small coarse chunks (Lindt or Ghiradeli
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a mixer, cream the butter with both sugars until very well blended. Mix in the vanilla and the egg very well. Then fold in the salt, flour and chocolate chunks.
Form into small or large balls (walnut-sized or golf-ball-sized, as desired).
Place on the baking sheets and press down slightly. Bake on upper rack until done, about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on racks.
Makes about 2 dozen large cookies
Disclaimer-
I love fresh baked cookies from the oven. I froze half of the dough for a later use. I also let the cookies cool and placed them in ziplock bags to go with the kids lunches later on this week. We all tried a warm cookie with cold milk and loved them! Yum!

Christmas Vacation

We were able to go home for the first time in 7 years at Christmas time. It was so nice celebrating Christ's birth with extended family. We had such a great experience with both sides of our family. We were able to go on lots of family outings, watch our niece's Christmas program, celebrate 2 family Christmas parties and have many lovely, family dinners. We even got to go to downtown Portland for a date night and movie!  I loved getting to go on running dates with Mark, hiking with family and enjoying the beautiful weather in Central Oregon. It would be chilly in the morning and up to 50 by mid-day.  The most important part was just being together. I continue to be amazed by my sister Steffy and how well she is doing. Thank-you God for the special time we had with our families! It was such a blessing to all be together.
Now back to school and the real world as of tomorrow morning!


Anna and her sweet cousin Calvin





One of my favorite memories was sitting and talking with my precious sister.





Jonathan and Sawyer were great  buddies.



My handsome boy!



My sweet and lovely sisters!



Hiking in Central Oregon





Beautiful day with my family.



Cousin time at the top of Beacon Rock





Hiking at Beacon Rock in Wa.