Goals for 2013...Yes, the Whole Year

I was going to put resolutions, but goals is more appropriate.

1) Finish my first marathon

Yes...just yes

I plan on completing my first marathon on May 4, 2013 called the Wisconsin Marathon.  I did the half last year.  It wasn't my favorite course since we ran by the finish line a couple of times, but I want to do something close to home and inexpensive.

2) Run 1000 miles by December 31, 2013

I came just a couple of hundred miles short this year without any kind of goal until  the last month besides run consistently.  I even filled up my whole running log that I get free with my Runner's World subscription. I think it will be fun to have a numerical goal to aim for.

3) Put the SB back into SBR! (Swim, Bike, Run)
While I doubled my runnning, I pretty much stopped swimming and biking, which are two things I really enjoy.  It was a conscious decision, because I wanted to focus on running and getting faster, but I also want to stay in triathlons and complete an Ironman by the time I'm 50!

4) Find a way to make money by doing things I love!

Be Happy

Running, blogging, and crafting, of course!  Yeah, me and everyone else in the world!  I have some ideas, but I need to really develop them actively over the next month or so.  Stay tuned!

5) Save money!

Scrooge McDuck

When I put my mind to it, I can save like no one's business.  I just have a problem with impulse spending.  I left my debit card at home for a few weeks at a time so I wouldn't spend anything.  It worked out pretty well.  I just need to make sure that I am planning ahead and not making impulse purchases.  I need every spare penny for races and running shoes!

6) Get to my goal weight!

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It's been a long time coming and I need to make a conscious effort to get to my goal weight.  I haven't gained weight in a really long time and I have been dropping a pound here and there, but I am still pretty heavy and need to drop weight so there's less stress on my body as I run longer distances.  I'm in a place now where it's less about vanity and more about health (I mean some vanity, but not completely).

Now here's the hard part...Follow Through!!

What was your favorite moment of 2012?

What are your Goals for 2013?

Don't Be Blue About 32!

That's right.  I like to rhyme stuff.

Today is my birthday!  Turning 32 really wasn't that bad.  I feel like 31 was really hard.  I was pretty sad about leaving my 20's and 31 was harder than 30.  Thirty-two has gone well.  I've gotten to spend the whole day with friends and family!

Laura came over at about 10am to exchange Christmas and birthday presents.  She got me an awesome Contigo cup like the one I had and loved!  She also got me a pair of ProCompression calf sleeves in hot pink!  They are just what I've been wanting!  I had bought the socks before and they were way too big, so I never wore them.  I knew that if I ever got another pair I would want to just get the sleeves, so I can't wait to try them!

I went to my parents at about 1pm for cake and presents.  My mom got me a faux fur throw that is so insanely soft.  I'm surprised my cat hasn't claimed it yet.  As soon as I wrote that he jumped on it and started purring.  My dad also got me a unique present.  It's called a Pot Maker.  Imagine my confusion when I opened the box and saw this.

I was like, my dad wants me to grow pot? Lol.  But then I understood it.  You make biodegradable seed starters.  It's a really cool idea.  He found it online somewhere.

I had a low key Saturday night.  Kev and I watched For the Greater Glory: The True Story of Christiada.  It was a slow beginning, but it got better.

I also made an iPhone cozy.  I found the pattern here after searching on Pinterest.  I was going to make the owl that was shown, but I may be too old for that now.  I just followed the pattern for the body and top flap, found an old button to sew on, and POW, I got me an iPhone cozy!

 I really like crocheting small things instead of giant afghans.  I feel more accomplished since I can finish them faster.

Have you started thinking about your New Year's Resolutions?

Strike That and Reverse It

Willy Wonka

Early this morning I knew I wasn't going to finish my goal of 100 miles this month.  We got a bit of snow and it continued to snow most of the morning.  While I am usually a Winter Warrior, I decided to say f*ck it and went back to sleep.

I had a horrible night's sleep.  Last night, I tried to go to bed at 11pm, but couldn't sleep.  So, I was up until about 2am.  This has been going on for about a month now.  When I went to go crawl into bed my cat was laying smack dab in the middle of my side.  Well, I did what any cat owner would do...I slept on the couch.  I mean, come on!  He was SO cute all curled up in a ball and stealing my spot.  I couldn't find it in my heart to move that little fur ball.

And I did...well, the couch, but you get the idea

I got a solid 3 hours on the couch.  I woke up to Kevin walking/stomping in the house trying to get the snow off his shoes.  Apparently he went out shopping at Wally World at 3:30 in the morning.  He did bring some donuts and coffee creamer home though, so what did I care?

Today, I hooked up my new printer.  My old one broke and Eggy got me and Kevin a new one for Christmas.  For some reason I cannot get it to print wirelessly.  I have no idea why.  I had the same problem with the other one after a couple of months.  I think that would be under the heading #FirstWorldProblems.

I printed out my marathon schedule and wrote out the dates and everything.  I will start Monday at week 13 of Hal Higdon's Novice Supreme marathon plan.

I went to Kev's parents house for lunch.  We celebrated my birthday there with homemade mac and cheese (I could taste the real butter) and cake.  It was all delicious!

Kevin and I are going to spend the rest of the night just hanging out and watching a movie.

One Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I was excited to run 15 miles last weekend (I really was), but I was attacked with the stomach flu for two days.  I still have a really sensitive stomach.  I have been eating really bland things like rice, veggies, oatmeal, bread, crackers.  I also don't have much of an appetite...I know, right?  Bonus!

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Seriously, I'm sure my appetite will come back as I start running more.  I did a 3 mile yesterday and felt pretty good.  It had been a while since I ran, so I spent a while picking out the perfect running outfit.  Too bad you can't see my leg warmers in the picture, cuz I was wearing them.  I couldn't find my wool socks and there's always that slight gap between my socks and where my zipper will stay closed around my ankles and the leg warmers keep my ankles nice and toasty.  And yes, I also ran with my hair down like a superstar.  

I actually PR'd my 5k time with a 33:50 (11:04, 11:11, 10:37).  My best was a 34:20 or something like that.  I love that I'm getting faster!

My intentions were to do 8 today, but due to procrastination it was pretty late when I got back from running errands so I went for a short walk instead.

Last month I made a goal of 100 miles for the month.  This includes walking as well as running.  I am only 20 miles from that goal and I have three days to do it.  Noooo problem...I hope.

I've really been a crocheting machine lately.  I made my dad and brothers camouflage hats for Christmas.  They love them.  I am working on Kevin's now per his request.

I found the pattern here after searching on Pinterest.  You start at the top, which I liked.  It makes it easier to make it the length and width you want.  So many of the patterns start with the bottom, which I find weird.

I am finally reading again, too.  I go in spurts.  I guess I really didn't have time with the holidays and working constantly.  I found an author I read before, Laura Levine.  She writes these funny mysteries where the main character is named Jaine Austen, her mom is obsessed with the home shopping channel, and she has a demanding cat.  What's not to like?  The problem is that our library only has a couple of her books, so I have to wait for them to get in others that I requested.

I need to start thinking about some 2013 goals.

What are your goals for the upcoming year? 

Get In Where You Fit In

I didn't bring a lunch to work in hopes that they had something to feed us.  Luckily, I was right.  There was cereal and about a million different types of apple juice.  I tried the cereal Krave.  I had been wondering about it.  It looks good and it's called Krave.  I figured it would be really yummy. It tasted like Captain Crunch stuffed with chocolate.  Not impressed.  I'm glad that I didn't waste money buying it and trying it.  I also drank about a million cups of apple juice.

After work I stopped at my mom's to grab some library books that were due today.  Wouldn't you know it; she had some Christmas cookies.  I only had three four.  And maybe a million Hershey's almond kisses.  And a Jolly Rancher candy cane.

After that, I came home, changed, and went running.  It was a little chillier than I had anticipated.  I always dress too light on the bottom half.  My legs were immediately cold.  I thought I had on running tights that were fleece lined, but I grabbed the wrong pair.  This was true for many reasons.  The pair I grabbed also kept falling down.

If there is one piece of advice I can give new runners it's this: buy pants/shorts/skirts with a drawstring.  If you are running to lose weight, you can wear the stuff forever if you can cinch it at the waist as the pounds disappear.  I've worn the same couple of pairs of capris for three years for this reason.

I obviously did not do this when I bought the pair I threw on today.  I was shoving my undershirt into my pants as I'm running and simultaneously yanking the pants up as far as they would go.  It was a real pain in the ass and I'm sure I had the biggest camel toe imaginable.  They finally started to stay up after about the first mile.  I somehow found a happy medium with them.

The run was cold, but I enjoyed it.  It was dark by the time I got out, but I made sure I took main streets that were well lit.  I also wore my light just in case I got lost in blackness.

 I saw one other girl running.  She was going the other way on the same sidewalk and didn't say hi.  Uh, hello! Can I get at least a nod, a smile, a glance in my direction that there is another runner in the vicinity?  That would be my ultimate pet peeve.  Please acknowledge your fellow runners.  It's the polite thing to do (end rant).

Happy Running!

The run went well and I had a pretty good time for myself.

When I got home and logged everything, I jumped in the shower and pondered what I should eat.  I didn't have much time until I had to leave.  I had some rice and tortillas, so I opened a can of black beans, mixed some with rice, added cumin and chili powder, and threw it on a tortilla with Taco Bell mild sauce. <-- Pretty much a staple that I put on everything on a tortilla...everything.

Does anyone else cook their tortillas on the burner?

Yum. Arroz y frijoles.  

Kev and I went over to our friend Steve's to play Apples to Apples.  It's a fun game if you've never played it.  The 12 year old that was there won the game.  Both times.  What a humbling experience.

Now I am watching the first season of Metalocolypse.  Kevin cannot stop laughing.

And Now, For Something Completely Different

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I have had a headache for two days!  It is finally going away.  It always turns into an earache.  I use to get earaches all the time as a little kid, but they gave me some penicillin and I hadn't had trouble since a couple of years ago when they started again.  I've been popping Ibuprofen like it's candy and it is finally paying off.

The past couple of days I have been doing some crocheting.  One was going to be a Christmas present, but I changed my mind after it didn't come out too good (for you, Laura).  I am going to give it to her anyway just for her to have. It's a cover for a Nook.  I don't even know if it will fit since I don't have my own to measure with.

The front

The back

The L on the back started out as a small embroidery that I found on YouTube.  It looked too small and weird, so I decided to crochet a letter and add it on.  Well, you can see how ginormous that turned out.  Oh, well.  You have to take it anyway, Laura! lol  I am still going to add a couple of flowers on by the bumble bee and some leaves and flowers by the letter.  Maybe it will help.

I also made an infinity scarf.  I've been wearing it around all day since I finished it.  I think I will add a couple of more rows to make it wider.  I got it twisted up along the way when I made it.  When I make another one I am going to just go back and forth and connect it at the end so it isn't twisted.  I have to wrap it 3 times around to fit on me.  I would make it a bit shorter too.  I found the pattern here after searching on Pinterest. 

Speaking of Laura, we got to hang out for a bit today.  We were going to try this place downtown called The Soup that I have been wanting to try forever.  Well, I waited too long, because once we got there it was closed for business!  So, we walked down the street to Jimmy John's.  Always a crowd pleaser.

We also tried a place called Cherry Berry.  It has tons of different frozen yogurts and toppings.  I had chocolicious and chocolate mint with crushed graham cracker on top.  That is definitely a place I can see myself going a LOT!  Good thing you are charged by the weight or I may have super filled my cup up.  This way I can restrain myself a bit. 

When I got home I was hungry...again.  I made some rice with vegetable broth. I ate about two cups.  I know this, because I used the measuring cup to scoop it out.  

Two cups of rice.  Yum!

I also made some butterscotch oatmeal cookies.  I found a chocolate oatmeal cookie recipe in my Betty Crocker Cookie Cookbook.  They came out really weird.  They are really thin and once they cool a little they are very crunchy.  At least they still taste pretty good.

I think the problem was that the recipe I used was for chocolate oatmeal cookies, so you just add some cocoa powder to the recipe.  I thought I was using a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie recipe.  Oh well.  At least that will keep me from eating them all. 

I am only up to season two of my I Love Lucy marathon.  I couldn't believe how many show were in the first season.  There were six discs!  Kevin asked me if I was sick of watching it yet.  I said, "Kevin, I Love Lucy!" Duh!!

Easy Street

Last night I could barely keep my eyes open and ended up in bed by 9:10. I was probably asleep by 9:12.  I didn't wake up until my alarm went off at 5am.  I was going to go back to sleep for another half hour, but Kev was sleeping loudly, so I just got up to start getting ready for my run.

I made my coffee and breakfast, I watched Three's Company for a little bit, I read some blogs.  We weren't going running until 7, so I had quite a while to wake up slowly.  I wore my "No Such Thing As A Rain Day" shirt.  It makes me feel badass.

So Excited to go run!

The forecast for today was rain starting at 7:15 with wind gusts up to 25 miles per hour.  I also hadn't realized how dark it was that early.  I don't know the last time I went running that early in the morning.

I was standing under a street light, but you can see all the street lights were still on.

Becky and I walked for about five minutes.  As soon as we ran about a block it started sprinkling.  We weren't in any rush and did our long run plan of run 9 minutes, walk 1 minute.

The run was pretty uneventful.  It was "only" 10 miles.  The worst thing about it was the rain.  It got heavier towards the end.  The wind got pretty bad too once we got to the lake, which I expected.

It was funny to see our splits.  The first half are all around 12:30 and the second half we really speed up.  The last mile we ran the whole time and ended up with under an 11 minute mile.

As soon as I got in the house, I peeled my drenched clothes off and hopped in the shower.  I do not want to get sick.  This is the longest I've gone with out a cold or flu in a very long time and I don't want to push it!

My plan for the day was to start on my Christmas cookies and then Kev and I were going to go look at wedding rings.  After my shower, I was really tired.  I did make a list for ingredients I need for the cookies.  I asked Kev if he really wants to drive up to Milwaukee in the rain.  Thankfully, he said no.  We will go in a couple of weeks when I have off again.

I fell asleep watching the Gremlins.  I took about an hour nap.  Now I am going to watch my complete I Love Lucy series.  My day is JAM Packed!

What are your plans this weekend?

Running on Sunshine

I have been watching all kinds of good movies on AMC the past couple of days!  I don't know why they are playing so many great movies, but I am loving it.  Last night I saw Miracle.  It's about the USA Olympic Hockey team in the 1980 Olympics.  They also had on the original Miracle on 34th Street.  Today, when I crawled out of bed at 11, they had on Cool Runnings.  I love any movie with John Candy.  I miss that guy.

After that, I figured I better get started on my 7 mile run.  The temperature had gotten up to about 34 degrees and that was going to be the high.

I knew I would be cold so I wore some fleece lined running tights, running skirt, fleece lined turtle neck, and jacket.  I decided against carrying water, but brought a couple of shot blocks just in case.  I also brought some kleenex, but lost it somewhere before mile one. Grr.

Conversation with Kevin while I was getting ready:

Kevin: What are you doing?

Me: Going to go for a run.

Kevin: It's cold out.

Me: You know I'm a Winter Warrior.

Kevin: Yeah, I know.

I downloaded the app Runkeeper last night to try it out.  I had heard good things about it and wanted to see what I thought.  For some reason I am always looking for new apps and websites to track my runs on.  I'm weird that way.  

I didn't know this, but when I started it up, it announces every 5 minutes the distance and pace.  I'm sure this is something I can edit, but it was nice for the time being.  I also wore my Garmin so I could compare data.

  

I was going to lap my miles like I always do, but after I missed my first mile I decided to just skip it.  I really wanted to just run like I did on my 13 miler.  Despite the distance and cold, I really enjoyed that run.  So, I decided to just run out half way and then turn around and run back the same way.  Since the Runkeeper was calling out my miles, I wouldn't have to worry about paying attention to the Garmin

.

I felt really good.  I did glance at my Garmin a few times to compare the miles and pace.  I actually kept making myself slow down a bit.  I had to keep telling myself it's 7 miles, not 3.  Just conserve your energy.  I don't really remember much about the run.  I think I was totally zoned out and just let my body do it's thing.  At 3.6 miles I took a minute to stretch and take a shot block and a picture of the gorgeous sky.

At the turn around I figured out my current pace and was at about an 11:18 minute mile.  I was pretty surprised, but knew I still had a ways to go and always seem to really slow down the last bit.  I told myself now just don't stop until you are almost back home.  And I didn't. 

I did have to stop for a couple of lights, but otherwise I just ran and ran.  I really pushed it the last half mile or so.  Overall it was a really good run.

I didn't even check out my pace or anything at the time.  I just went home, showered (my shirt and jacket were completely soaked with sweat) and stretched.  Once I uploaded my Garmin data, I almost passed out when I saw my average pace.  10:58?!?! What?? I could not believe it.  I have never done that for a long run like this.  Never.  Ever.  I know it's just an 11 mile pace, but to have a 10 in front like that is so cool to me!  It just shows that I am actually getting faster.  

Now I am watching Jumanji.  I have never seen it.  It's pretty good, and Robin Williams is another actor I really like.

Do you run inside or outside in the cold?

Did Wonder Woman Just Run By?

Wonder Woman

The recipe to a successful long run:
Working a LOT, little sleep, and tired legs.

I did my long run yesterday evening after work.  I work all weekend and didn't really want to run 13 miles before that.

I am definitely a person that enjoys running later in the day, but I was a little worried about going so far after a busy few days at work with little sleep.

My plan for the day was to eat well and drink copious amounts of caffeine.  For breakfast I had coffee and two toaster waffles with syrup (not the definition of healthy, but it was fast).  On my break at work I had cake and a clementine.  They get a cake the first Friday of the month to celebrate the months anniversaries and birthdays.  Can't go wrong with sugar, right?  For lunch I brought rice that I cooked in veggie broth and broccoli.  Work also got pizza from Toppers.  I had two pieces.  A cheese and one macaroni and cheese.  It was more delicious then I though possible.

After work, I had to quick buy some Clif shot blocks: strawberry and black cherry.  I got home, changed, ate a banana and drank some water and headed out.

I wasn't sure how to dress.  It was about 50 out, but the temps would only go down as it got later.  I decided on running tights, a running skirt, fleece lined long sleeved shirt, a bright yellow shirt, and a fleece zip vest because of the pockets.

Kevin was sleeping so I had to take a picture of myself.

I keep forgetting that I need to buy new rubberbands.  The ones I have I love, but they are old and stretched out.  My hair refuses to stay up in them.  So, after about 1 or 2 miles I took my hair down.  That's right, I ran with my hair flowing free in the wind.  I had a head band on to keep it out of my eyes.  At first, it felt weird, but I really liked it.  I felt like a superstar and Becky said she thinks it made me speedy.

I blame the speedy part on not looking at my watch.  I asked Becky to be in charge of walk breaks.  Otherwise, I become obsessed with time and pace.  It was fun to just run and run.

The first half really flew by.  At the turnaround, we went through this little subdivision that was all decorated in Christmas lights.  I tried to take a picture, but it didn't turn out so good since I was running.

At about mile 9 or 10 we stopped at a gas station so Becky could go to the bathroom and we got some Gatorades.  And I blame holding the Gatorade for the few miles I carried it for the pain in my fore arm today.  How pathetic is that?  I guess I really need to start doing arm exercises.

The last mile was through down town.  All the smells of food made me hungry and there were horse drawn carriage rides and Christmas carolers.    It was a nice distraction from the pain I was starting to feel.

Somehow my fastest half ever.

We walked about half a mile home for a cool down.  As soon as I got home, I stripped and hopped in the shower.  I was drenched in sweat and knew I was going to start freezing any minute.  I stretched after that and logged my miles while sitting on the floor stretching.

Getting up was the hard part.  I knew that I should eat something.  I had a cheese sandwich, a salad with italian dressing, and a shit load of fritos.  I was craving salt like no body's business.

Too lazy to take a picture of anything else I ate.

I started to crash quickly and could barely keep my eyes open by about nine.  I finally dragged myself to bed at around ten and slept solid until nine the next morning.

My legs are a little sore today and my lower back is a little achy, but otherwise I'm feeling ok.  I'm glad we didn't wait until today to go.  It's been raining all morning and I can't imagine how much a half marathon in the cold and rain would suck.

What are your plans for the weekend?

December Goals

Yes, I do know that we are already three days into December.  What can I say?  I'm a procrastinator.  So:

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1. Stop procrastinating.  I love putting off today what I could do tomorrow and I love the fact that tomorrow never comes!  I need to buckle down and follow through on everything from doing laundry to eating healthy to completing my running miles.  I need to do it now, not later!

2. Lose at least five pounds by December 31.  I have been hovering at the same weight for a long time.  While I have been at least creeping downwards, I would like to creep a little faster.

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3. Eat healthy-ish-er.  I rarely eat out, but I have a sweet tooth and love salty foods and will just make them if I have a craving.  I once licked all of the salt off of a bag of tortilla chips and threw away the chips (Hey, I'm not proud of it).  I really need to remember to add veggies and fruit to my daily eating.

4.  Run at least 100 miles this month.  Ohhh, yeahhhh.  I am putting on my crazy running shoes and setting a crazy goal.  Not really, since I counted the miles I will already run this month from the training plan I'm following. It will definitely be the most I've done so far.  My highest mileage ever was about 78 miles, so I am going to be sore, tired and whiney.

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5. Try at least one new recipe a week.  Hey, I'm being realistic.  I am the most boring eater I know.  I will eat the same thing every day until it's gone.  For example, I made sauer kraut last week and I ate it for three days in a row.  Same thing when I made chili, except I froze some of it.  So, this will help me incorporate some variety and get me excited to cook things again.

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What are your December goals?

To Twelve and Back

Holy twelve miles.  It was a tough run.  I've ran further with fewer problems.  The weather was pretty warm, considering it's December 2.  It was about 55 when I left at 9:30 this morning.  I wore a short sleeve shirt and some capris.  I had my water bottle, two gels, and two mini Luna bars.  I thought I would try the Luna bars for something different, but brought the gels just in case, since I am use to taking them.

The Lighthouse we ran by.

 We started out east toward the lake.  There was a nice breeze going, so it was pretty comfortable.  Even when we turned north onto Main St.  we still had a breeze.  The first 4 miles went pretty quick.  We were running 9 minutes and walking 1 minute.  I had a little bit of tummy issues, but they seemed to go away pretty quick.  It was pretty cool that Becky planned the route to run out and past the lighthouse.  I had only biked out that far before.  There were also tons of people out running, walking, biking.  I always find that seeing others out helps my motivation.

It was really pretty out. Too bad my camera phone sucks.

I was starting to feel tired around the hour mark, but hoped the gel I took would help.  I was also starting to get really thirsty.  Around mile 9 or 10 I took another gel.  Just a couple of minutes later, I started to feel really nauseous.  I had to ask Becky to walk a minute.  I felt better after about 30 seconds and we started running again.

We stopped at the upcoming street light to stretch and give me a minute to recover.  I was so hot and by that point we had the wind at out backs.  Just standing there, leaning on the cold street light really made me feel better.  We were almost to a gas station that we had planned to stop at to get a beverage.  Becky had the foresight to bring cash.  It had crossed my mind, but I thought I would be fine.

We made it to the gas station and I chugged down some Powerade.  It was pretty much the best thing I could imagine tasting at that point.  We only had 1.4 miles left.  I could do this.

We walked a few minutes and agreed to just take it a bit slower and run the last mile to get it done.  It was pretty much all downhill anyway.
I almost wanted to walk about a gazillion times, but I kept going.  I was a few steps behind Becky, so I just focused on the ground and keeping pace with her.

Walking after that was hard.  We were both pretty sore, and I even offered to drive Becky home since we walked past my house and she would still have a ginormous hill to walk up plus stairs.  She said no though.  She's a tough chick!

I got in the house and stretched my legs out for a few minutes.  I couldn't stand my griminess though.  I decided to just hop into the shower and finish stretching afterwards.

My delicious Powerade that saved me the last few miles.

I was trying to think of why I was having so many stomach issues today when I remembered what I made for supper last night.

I ate a delicious supper of sauer kraut and mashed potatoes with some of my fake hot dogs thrown in.  I have been craving mashed potatoes since I had some on Thanksgiving.  Sauer kraut and mashed potatoes have been a favorite of mine since I was a kid.  

Yes, those are pickles on my salad.

My mom made it with one peeled onion with about 5-6 whole cloves pushed in it.  She would just put the onion in a large pot, empty a can of sauer kraut and a can of water, bring to a boil, and reduce and cover to cook for about half an hour.

I made some home made mashed potatoes too.  I love mashed potatoes!  Yum, yum, yum.