Thanksgiving recap/"the blues"/WWW

We had such a great Thanksgiving this year. We were just so thankful to be with family. It still seems like just yesterday that we were giving thanks in Chiang Mai. While I have great memories from last year, I also remember all too well how much I missed our family.

We went to my hometown Wednesday night to see my mom and her husband. She was reunited with her high school sweetheart this past summer, and after just two months they got married. It's quite a sweet story, but for another time. I don't need to add any more randomness to this blog entry. Anyway, so we met my sister there Wednesday night. We hung out and helped my mom make some desserts and casseroles for Thursday. Thursday morning, J and I got up and went for a refreshing run, then came home and shredded with Jillian. It was a great workout, and it enabled me to relax a little bit about food for the rest of the day. Around noon we went to my Grandma's. I love being at my Grandma's on holidays. We had the usual traditions of helping Grandpa and Grandma set the table, eating a wonderful dinner, finishing off with dessert, relaxing and playing games, and of course, a round of karaoke to top it off. It was great fun to just be with family.

Me with my grandma and grandpa - they are amazing cooks!

This is how I found my sweet husband and little Olive
Gotta love family karaoke time:) My sister really gets into it

After a long, fun Thanksgiving at my grandma's, we packed up and headed to J's hometown to spend time with his parent's and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. There is always a good time to be had in Duncan. We got up early Friday morning to hit some sales at Walmart, then spent the rest of the day eating yet another great meal and hanging out. While Karaoke is the name of the game with my fam, there is never any telling what kind of fun will go on in Duncan - from electronic games to cards to DVD games. Gotta love the games:) Saturday J and I got up and went for another exhilirating run and shred. Then spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching OSU football. It was a great game, but with a sad ending:(

Me, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and of course, Olive

Another pic of Olive (that I just couldn't help but include) in her new winter jacket

Lately I've really been having to practice the whole idea of "deciding to be happy." I have no idea what the deal is with me. I've just been feeling really down lately. Must be the winter blues. It's kind of funny because last year I remember thinking that if we could just be home with our family for even one day, it would be the best thing in the world. Here we are this year, with family all around, enjoying all the comforts of home and the holiday season, and I'm having to fight being sad. Does anybody else ever feel this way and you can't figure out why? Weird.

I think that maybe this is affecting my runs too. This morning, as we dragged ourselves out of bed to go to the gym, I was fighting my sad mood already. I really didn't feel like going, but I knew I'd feel better if I did. While I did feel better after the run, I didn't enjoy the run much at all. Yesterday was a really hard one also. It might be because I don't like running on the treadmill. Last week we ran outside on Thanksgiving morning and on Saturday morning and both days I felt as if I could run forever. But yesterday and today - blah! We finally decided the other day that we want to shoot to run the OKC memorial marathon next April, which means we'd start training mid-December. I've felt really excited about our decision, but after these last two brutal runs I'm starting to doubt. I've got to get back into the groove.

On to Weight Watchers Wednesday - I don't have much good news to report on that front. Last week didn't go so well as far as eating is concerned. I did relatively well on Thanksgiving day and the day after, and we worked out every day but Sunday. But, I did so much mindless eating on Saturday and Sunday that I ended up gaining 1.5 lbs this week. Sad! I guess it could have been a lot worse, but I just hate setbacks! I started back fresh on Monday morning though, and I've been able to be on track for the most part.

I'll leave you with an amazingly good meal I made yesterday for lunch that I thought I'd share. It took a little bit of time to put together, but it was totally worth it! Plus, it makes 8 servings so you can have leftovers. If you're going to be the only one partaking in the wonderful meal, you may want to half the recipe. Also, we don't have a grill, so I just "grilled" the veggies in a pan on the stovetop.

Tabbouleh with Grilled Vegetables

Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 45 mins
Total Time: 1 h

Makes 8 Servings:

Per Serving: Calories: 167 , Saturated Fat: 1 g , Total Fat: 8 g , Carbs: 21 g , Dietary Fiber: 6 g , Protein: 5 g , Cholesterol: 0 mg , Sodium: 232 mg

Ingredients:

1 cup(s) bulgur
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup(s) water
2 medium zucchini
2 onion(s), sweet
3 large mushrooms, portobello
2 cup(s) tomato(es), cherry
3 tablespoon oil, olive, extra virgin
1 dash(es) pepper, black ground
1/4 cup(s) nuts, walnuts, chopped
3 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup(s) parsley, fresh
1/2 cup(s) mint, fresh

Instructions: 1. Place bulgur and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add boiling water and stir. Cover with plastic wrap and let soak until tender and liquid has been absorbed, about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, preheat grill to medium-high. Place a fine-mesh nonstick grill topper on the grill to heat.

3. Place zucchini, onions, portobellos and tomatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Brush both sides with 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Working in batches, grill the vegetables until tender, turning once or twice. Allow 8 to 10 minutes for zucchini and onions, 6 to 8 minutes for mushrooms, and 2 to 3 minutes for tomatoes.

4. Toast walnuts in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. When the vegetables are cool enough to handle, coarsely chop the zucchini, onions and mushrooms. Cut the tomatoes in half.

5. When the bulgur is tender, add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, parsley and mint; toss to mix. Add the vegetables and toss. Sprinkle with walnuts.

To make ahead: The salad will keep at room temperature for up to 1 hour.