Jingle All The Way

Yesterday, I ran in the Jingle All the Way 5k with my friend Jessica.
It was Jessica's second race and a first for me.
My mom was on hand to cheer for us and she was such a trooper in the freezing cold weather.  

My race number!

The race wasn't an overly crowded one, so it was a great introduction to the racing scene.  I decided to take things slow in the beginning, because my over all goal was just to finish the race.  I had only ran a 5k once before and that was Monday on a practice run.  Much to my surprise I completed the race with much more ease that I anticipated and I really enjoyed it!  I'm ready for the next one!

My final time was 32:10, so I averaged just over 10 minutes per mile.  

For the next race I am shooting for 9 minute miles and to finish under 30 minutes!

Elation!  I was so proud of myself!

I haven't really competed in any sports since college,
so it was really cool to feel my competitive spirit coming back.
I am even trying to convince Daniel to get back into running and try a 5k out with me.
Who know's maybe a half-marathon is in my future!!  

Freedom!

Today was the first day of Christmas Break! Sweet Freedom!

I was so unsure of what to do with myself since 

I haven't truly been free from obligations since the middle of June.  

I decided to take a little trip to visit my old workplace and see some friendly faces.

It was so good to be back there and it reminded me of how much I miss everyone.

Then I got to have lunch with my mom and that was awesome!

I love visiting her at work and when I can bring her some food its double happiness.

When I got home I had the most ridiculous sweet tooth!!

I never crave sweets, maybe its that 5k glooming in my mind?

No worries though, because I found the most delicious recipe here.

Chocolate Crinkle Cake Mix Cookies

what you need

1 box Devil's Food cake mix

1/4 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

powdered sugar for garnish

how you make it

preheat oven to 350 degrees

combine cake mix, oil, and eggs in a large bowl and mix until combined

(you may need to use your hands...i did)

roll cookie dough into small balls and roll around in a bowl of powdered sugar

place dough balls on a greased cookie sheet and bake for approximately 12 minutes

enjoy (while listening to christmas music)!

well, tomorrows the big day

the day i put myself through unnecessary torture

also known as the "Jingle All The Way 5k"

Goal: Finish... with a pulse

I'll let you know how it goes!

Creamy Cheese Tortellini

Well its been a while... but school is coming to a close so free time is in my future!

Tonight's menu was maybe a new favorite for the Pennington's

I was searching through a Christmas cookbook for some holiday goodies and 

came across this one... its pretty amazing and super easy!

what you need

1 package (7 oz) cheese-filled tortellini

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin slices

1/4 cup butter

1 small green bell pepper, chopper (1/2 cup)

1/2 sweet onion, chopped

8 baby carrots, sliced

1/2 cup frozen garden peas

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 3/4 cups milk

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded monterey jack/colby cheese

how you make it

Cook and drain tortellini as directed on package.

Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil, stirring frequently, until no longer pink in center. Remove chicken from saucepan; keep warm.

In same saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Cook bell pepper, shallots and carrots in butter, stirring frequently, until bell pepper is crisp-tender. Stir in flour and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk and frozen garden peas. 

Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in cheeses until melted. Stir in tortellini and chicken until coated.

I was extra happy tonight, because it was the first time I got to use my AMAZING Le Creuset dutch oven!!  I ogled over these pots for years watching Giada de Laurentiis on the Food Network.  Earlier this year Daniel and I broke down and purchased this little beauty and I must say it was well worth it!

In other news, I have a 5k coming up in only a matter of days.  You may remember that I started training for a race last month.  However, with school and the holidays I have had way too much going on to run.  My friend contacted me yesterday though and said a race was coming up this weekend and wanted to know if I was interested.  

Call me crazy, but I agreed!  I gave a 5k a try today for the first time ever and I made it!! Well, I did have to walk just a little bit, but I finished which is my main purpose for Saturday.  I am so happy to give this a try, I just hope I make it!

I'm Thankful for...

First of all, HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone!

We had an amazing Thanksgiving and I am completely stuffed.

I had great intentions of taking a picture of all the delicious food,
but extreme hunger overtook me and I devoured it immediately!

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for so many things including:
my husband, my family, and all that God has provided for us!

Thanksgiving Eve

may your stuffing be tasty

may your turkey be plump, 

may your potatoes and gravy

have nary a lump

may your yams be delicious

and your pies take the prize,

and may your Thanksgiving dinner

stay off your thighs!

-Author Unknown

So its Thanksgiving Eve and we have been busy little bees at the Chase house.

Food preparations and decorations are underway, 

now all thats left is sleep and the big day tomorrow

Tomorrow will be awesome.  Why you ask?

1. THE FOOD 

(no explanation needed)

2. Family Time

Daniel and I are lucky enough to see our family a lot, but its really nice to get together for the holidays and this year both of our families are celebrating together!

3. Games

That's right- all of you headed to the Chase house tomorrow be ware... I have planned some awesome Thanksgiving inspired games to play, so get excited

4. Did I mention the food?

5. Christmas is right around the corner!

I love Thanksgiving, but come on you know you are pumped that the best holiday ever is around the corner!  I am particularly excited about Christmas this year, because that means I am exactly half way through my master's program and graduation is only 5 months away!

In other news, I started a new fitness regime this week.  I emailed a friend recently inquiring about her success with running a 5k, because I was really interested.  She gave me some great advice and I selected a program on my phone very similar to the Couch to 5k program and I have successfully completed the first week of running.  I am feeling so much better since I have started going to the gym regularly and I really hope I can keep it up with the upcoming holidays.  I have also started scouting out some local 5k races for early next years, because I want to have a firm date to work towards!  I am still an amateur at this whole working out thing, so if you have any great tips or websites with tips for workout newbies let me know! 

Tomorrow is a free day though... and this will be me... all day long!

BrrrBerry

After a delicious dinner of baked chicken, broccoli, and rice Daniel and I headed out for a little froyo. Luckily  there are plenty of places in town so we picked BrrrBerry.  I highly recommend check it out, because its amazing! They seriously have a million toppings to choose from!  Tonight I had vanilla froyo with chocolate chips, fruity pebbles, strawberries, walnuts, and chocolate covered raisins. 

Amazing combination!!

Tuesday Randoms

I have been terrible about updating lately, so a random post was a must!

Last week, Daniel and I put up our Christmas tree!  It was so much fun to put together our first tree as a married couple and I think its perfect!  

We are still in the ornament collecting process, but its looking pretty good.

Daniel surprised me with some special christmas decor this week too!

ECU Stcokings!

Aren't they adorable?

Thursday, Daniel ran into a little car trouble when he tried to pick me up from school so we spent Friday morning getting that fixed.  Let's just say that a Volkswagen is not the ideal car to use when you need to jump start your battery.

Tiny Car = Tiny Battery Compartment

In other big news, I finally got a desk at school this week and now I feel legit!  My clinical teacher made a nice little nook for me in the back of the classroom and I have a space of my own!

He also let me go through a huge bin of school supplies to stock up my desk, so I only need a few more things!  First on the list- a drawer organizer! 

Well that wraps up this edition of Tuesday Randoms.  Check in later this week for a full depiction of the first Chase/Pennington Family Thanksgiving!  It will be full of family, fun, and FOOD!!

Happy Anniversary!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY 

TO THE BEST SECOND SET OF PARENTS A GIRL COULD ASK FOR!

29 YEARS TOGETHER!

WOW! 

Their wedding day- November 21, 1982

The lovebirds in 2011

 Congratulations to Mr. Rex and Mrs. Jan!

42 days 14 hours 49 mins 40 sec

CHRISTMAS!!

my favorite time of the year

hallmark movies

hot chocolate

cold weather

time off

food, food, more food

homemade goodies

gift wrapping

christmas trees

decorating

did i mention food?

well, these are a few of my favorite things!

i am so pumped that christmas is only a mere 42 days away.  so now its time to starting thinking about the pennington's first christmas and our apartment decorations.

our apartments pretty tiny, so i am thinking i am going to go on the non-traditional route with a smaller tree this year.  my mom has this awesome skinny christmas tree she is letting us borrow and i think its going to be perfect.  it looks something like this (p.s. no real trees for us, it makes mr. pennington all stuffy)

i'm thinking a beautiful tree skirt will spiff it up nicely!

today i must journey out to find some beautiful decorations.  i have some that i bought last year at hallmark at the end of the year, but it don't think that is going to cover the tree!  i'm kind of indecisive about themed trees versus traditional trees... i think i'll go traditional this year though.

i'm loving these stockings!

so what are your thoughts?  are you gearing up for christmas yet?

pictures to come once things are up and looking awesome!

my cat earl

meet my cat earl

earl was the sweetest cat in the world

earl is now in kitty heaven, but i miss the little tiger

i proclaim on a regular basis that i will never have another animal,

because the pain of losing one is so severe

but the love we get from out pets outweighs the heartbreak i guess

for now though... no more pets for me 

lunchbox treat

look what i found in my lunchbox

yep he's a keeper

and i'm lucky

Yum... my favorite thing

Look what I came home to last night...

awesome husband!

Chicken Alfredo
Find the amazing recipe here.

Have a good weekend y'all!

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Life is so busy with school that there is not much to blog about except food... 

luckily a favorite topic of mine!

Daniel and I love squash so we decided to try this new recipe that I found here and here.

I combined the two recipes to make this fantastic meal!

It was absolutely delicious and a new favorite in the Pennington household.

The best part is its so healthy!

what you need

1 spaghetti squash, cut lengthwise

1 lb. ground turkey

1/2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp. garlic powder (or 1/2 tsp. minced garlic)

1/2 cup onion, diced

2 celery stalks

1 carrot

1/2 cup pepper

1/2 cup zucchini

1/2 cup tomato

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

3/4 cup marinara sauce

1/2 cup italian blend cheese

how you make it

Chop or dice the zucchini, pepper, tomato, carrot, celery, and onion

 Brown ground turkey in skillet and set aside.  Add EVOO to pan and add onion and garlic (if you use minced garlic).  When onions have softened, add carrots, peppers, and celery.  Finally, add zucchini and tomatoes. Cook mixture until all vegetables are sautéed. 

Meanwhile, you can either cook your spaghetti squash in the oven or boil it on the stove.  I choose to boil it on the stove, for the sake of time (I had one hungry husband!).  Boil in in a large pot for 15 minutes and remove and let the squash cool. 

When the spaghetti squash has cooled down enough that you can handle it, use a fork to begin scraping the spaghetti "noodles" out of the squash. 

 Add the vegetable mixture to the spaghetti squash.

 Add the breadcrumbs and garlic powder (if you did not use minced garlic).

 Add the marinara sauce.

 whoops... I almost forgot to add the ground turkey

 When everything is all nicely mixed spoon the mixture back into the shells and top with cheese.

 Bake in the oven on briol for 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly!

Now, Eat!

This was by far one of the best things I have made!  Its super versatile, so you can add any vegetables that you like or make it vegetarian by leaving out the ground turkey!  Its a little time consuming, but the outcome is so worth it!  Let me know if any of you guys have an more spaghetti squash recipes, because we love it!

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

A few weeks I made this delicious breakfast casserole

One of the easiest and most delicious casseroles

enjoy!

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole

what you need

1 cup chopped ham (you can substitute whatever meat you like)

6 eggs

1 cup cheddar cheese

1/4 cup milk

1 pinch of salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

16 ounces tater tots, frozen

how you make it

whisk eggs together and add milk, salt, pepper, and ham

pour into greased casserole dish and sprinkle with cheese

layer tater tots on top of mixture

bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour

(I turned it to broil after 45 minutes because the top just needed to finish)

Happy Wednesday!

Our Engagement Story

I tried my hand at blogging before our big day and there was just not enough time.
So I thought I would gradually share the pieces of our life that led up to
becoming Mr. & Mrs.
Today we start with Our Engagement Story

September 10, 2010 started out just like any other day.  Daniel at school and I at work.

Lucky for us both we got off early that day and  decided to take a little day vacation

We took off around lunch time for one of my favorite places
Tryon Palace in New Bern, NC

Daniel was acting a little nervous that day, but he always gets that way when he has a big test coming up, so I attributed his odd behavior to that.  We spent the afternoon wandering through the beautiful gardens and enjoying each other's company.

Around 3:00 we had finished up our tour and decided to sit in one of my favorite gardens until our dinner reservation.  We sat there for over an hour talking about life, love, and everything under the sun.  At one point, Daniel said lets go over and look at that fountain a little closer.

While I was looking at the fountain, Daniel stood behind me.  I could see his shadow a little and I kept thinking, "What is he doing back there?" 

Then it happened!!!  Daniel said, "Summer..."

I turned around to find him down on bended knee and he said

"Will you be my wife?  Will you marry me?"

At first, I thought is this happening??? And then I said, "Are you sure?"

HAHA!! Not the response either of us had expected!  I was just so surprised!

Then I came to my senses and screamed "YES!"

Finally, I noticed this little beauty in his hand!

That was one of the best days of our lives and we talk about how we wish we could do it again all the time!  Our engagement was exactly how we had both pictured it, so romantic!  We went to dinner afterwards and then headed home to share the good news with everyone!

The happy couple!