Livin' the Dream in Lima

I never posted a pumpkin recipe this past Thursday. The reason? I was waiting until Saturday to prepare it! I've been wanting to try a pumpkin-themed french toast casserole for awhile, but it's not all too practical for a weekday meal. An hour in the oven? No thank you. However, we had some special visitors arrive late last night, so I knew that a french toast casserole would be the perfect lazy morning breakfast treat.  Who came to visit? One of my best friends from college, Michelle! She and her fiance were traveling up to Michigan for their Thanksgiving break and I forced lovingly convinced them to make a pitstop in the Bean Town.  We spent the morning doing what we do best--going for a run and catching up on each other's lives. Running is the best way to catch up with old friends... we might have not seen each other for 3 months, but the instant we start running, it's just like old times. I guess that happens when you spent 4 years of your life running 5 ...

So... I mentioned yesterday that I ran 16 miles last Friday. Some of you might be thinking... "Why, oh why, would you put yourself through 2+ hours of torture and pain?" And trust me, I think 16 miles is a looooong way to run, too. 12 is not bad, just an hour and forty minutes or so. But once you get up over the 2-hour range, that's just insane! You see, one of my life goals is to run a marathon. I've run two halves, one in 2006 and one in 2010. I like the half-marathon. But I want to be able to say I've completed a full. I wasn't sure if I was quite ready to tackle it just yet, but I set forth a tentative training plan about 5 weeks ago. (You can see my weekly runs here , or by clicking The Land of Running at the top of the screen. ) I decided that if I made it to a 16-miler and felt okay, that I would proceed with running the marathon. The 16-miler went great! So I guess here goes nothing. I've decided to run the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon on...

Christmas-time is here!  My Business Man and I had a wonderful family-filled Thanksgiving break. We traveled back to Illinois, and got to visit lots of family and friends. We squeezed in a lot of eating, some shopping, and even a 4-mile road race! 'Twas a great time of rejuvenation and cheer.  Before we left the Bean Town, we went ahead and put up our Christmas tree, so it would be all ready for the Christmas festivities when we returned. While we were home, we picked up all our ornaments and decorations that had still been living with our parents so we could decorate! Last night was the perfect cozy night for some tree trimming. We started off with a comforting casserole for dinner, Company Casserole. My mom used to make this for me growing up, and it's the perfect winter meal. The recipe actually came from her aunt, I believe. I changed it a little by adding the spinach. (Gotta get those veggies in somewhere!) I think it is virtually impossible to take an attra...

Not too much has been going on in the Bean Town lately... it's been so stinkin' hot and humid that doing anything outside is completely out of the question. It doesn't help that I choose to go running everyday around 11am or so. It's just so hard to roll out of bed and run first thing! Live with Regis & Kelly and the Today Show always suck me in, and before I know it I've had 2 cups of coffee and my breakfast. Gotta wait around a bit to let that digest. Then I think, "I should go for a run right now. Even though is scorchingly sunny and a real feel temp of 95*F."  Smart. Real smart . Oh well, I haven't suffered death from heat exhaustion yet. And soon we will have cooler temps so I won't have to worry about it.  Today I bring you a recipe for Tex-Mex Tortilla Pie. Since I've trapped myself inside to avoid the heat, I have spent some time browsing through many of my cookbooks. Especially my beloved ones that I just brought back from...