Θεσσαλονικη (Thessaloniki) Part I

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Greece. We basically had 3 sections in our trip, Thessaloniki which is the second largest city in Greece located in the north, is our first stop. We chose this area because we purchased a home rental from a WACAP auction. We knew nothing about the area only that it would be a wonderful escape to relax. It did not disappoint! Relaxation is exactly what we needed after our crazy trip from Seattle to Paris to Athens to Thessaloniki to the rental van (aka the Jumpy) to the hour long drive in the dark to the rental property.







It took forever but we finally made it! The house was wonderful, it had 3 bedrooms enough space for us and our 4 friends a nice kitchen and living room and beautiful outdoor spaces. It was so nice to be able to relax there, read and enjoy the quiet landscape.







First thing we did the next morning was go check out the local grocery store and beach. Siviri was the closest town to us and had a lovely beach area with umbrellas and cafes that brought you drinks and food whenever you wanted it. We stopped at one place for lunch and I ordered a chef salad with sauce. When the salad arrived it had at least a cup of mayo mixed with catchup slathered on top, I was grossed out. But I managed to eat enough bread and tzatziki, to keep full with intermittent bites of lettuce after scrapping off the sauce. Now it was off to the beach, sunscreen applied and we got started on our first day of sun worshiping!





We also had great access to our own private beach, though there were no chairs and umbrellas to entice us to spend a lot of time there. We took the funicular down to the beach (which was an adventure on it's own...it was VERY steep!) that night and took in the beautiful sunset and the amazing smells of the trees, flowers and sea.









The next day we all piled into the Jumpy to drive seriously north and east towards Turkey (said with a fist shaking in the air like on My Big Fat Greek Wedding :) We were headed for Philippi to see the ruins where Paul and Silas preached and were imprisoned. On the way there we found this lion statue. Not sure what it was for or where it came from.




We finally got to Philippi, which was a little further away than any of us really thought. And in the Jumpy, which has no shocks, the baby and I were a little less than happy. The ruins were cool, but the place was HOT. We ate a quick lunch of "toast", which in Greece is a cheese sandwich, and ate my first bag of chips for the trip then headed for the ruins.












At this point I wasn't sure I could make it much farther. It was so unbearably hot, I'd lost my hair thing (so important), sweat was dripping from every pour. I would have NEVER made it in a time period where there was no air conditioning. But we forged on and I saw some lovely patterns that made it worth while.







We even saw ancient toilets and the road to Constantinople.






On the way back we stopped in Kavala or ancient Napoli or New City. It was a beautiful view from above the city and we found some great gelato in the city center.







In the gelato place they had these really cute shaped desserts on a stick. We ended up seeing them in a lot of places. Not only were they fun to look at the shapes and colors, they tasted wonderful!



Back to the Jumpy. It was awful. Really. I felt terrible by the time I got home. Dan and friends went to the pool by our place when we finally got home while I stayed in bed. Once rested I went out and took a few more pictures of the funicular and the view we had.





The next day we decided to discover a little more of our peninsula so we headed to Afitos. It was a very quaint walking town with some interesting buildings and beautiful beach views. Pictures in Part II.

Little Miracles / Adoption update

Brace yourselves. This is long

As many know we have been in the process of adopting for the past 2.5 years. The reason we decided on this route was because we'd tried to have children for years with no luck. My cycles were far from regular and I was diagnosed with Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). PCOS basically means I have small cysts on my ovaries and have difficulty losing weight. Anything with cycsts can't be good. It is hereditary and though my mom was never diagnosed with it, it would explain her difficulty having children after her first. We tried some drugs but decided that we didn't want to do any really invasive treatments, we'd just continue not to prevent pregnancy and pursue another avenue...adoption.

The adoption process has been really hard. We ran into some complications with BMI requirements which jump started our new healthy lifestyle change. This is where the miracle began. Dan and I realized we'd really let ourselves go and wanted more than anything to get the weight off so we could qualify to be parents in China's eyes. We also wanted to be healthy so we would live long lives and be able to keep up with our future addition. So, in many posts we've already made you know that Dan has lost 135 lbs and I've lost 55 lbs. Since losing around 25 lbs I've started having regular cycles. I was pleased because I knew it meant my body was getting healthier.

After waiting for 2 years for our adoption and hearing weekly that the wait time kept going from 3 years, to 4 years, now to 5 years I started to feel very discouraged. I started praying that the Lord would soften the hearts of the Chinese government to allow these babies good homes. Then I started praying that we would be able to have a child sooner rather than later, by whatever means. I guess He took that to heart, because now I'm pregnant.

It was unreal. I missed a period. I hadn't done that in years. I decided I didn't want to tell Dan because he'd just tell me I was crazy. So instead we went to the store and I told him I needed to pick up some lady business. I came back with a a pregnancy test. As the checker swiped it through Dan automatically said "What's that for?" I replied with a smart "What do you think." I'm sure the checker found this all very amusing. I wanted to wait to take the test in the morning (I've taken enough of these to know that is the most accurate time of day). That night we headed to the U2 concert and had the best time of my life. I kept thinking, this is the best weekend, U2, and possibly pregnant. We were out SUPER late due to parking issues so slept in. I got up, did my business on a stick, and immediately there was a vertical line. I've seen a lot of horizontal lines, NEVER a vertical one. I was shocked. I'm sure my mouth hung open for a second, then I did a little jump and squeal. I walked out of the bathroom and Dan was staring at me. With a grin on my face I told him it was positive. I was surprised by his response, to be honest I thought he wouldn't really be happy. But his shocked face turned to a big grin and he said, "really?". We both laughed (a bit hysterically) and went back to check the test again :) I waited until the afternoon and took another test. Still positive.

The next day I called the Dr. bright and early to get an appointment to find out for sure if I were pregnant. Luckily I was able to see someone. While I waited they came in and asked me if I was positive my last period was on May 1st. It old them yes, it was May 1st at 5:15 am to be specific, I'll never forget the day I ran my first half marathon with my period. The Dr. came back in the room and told me it was official, I was pregnant. I called Dan, he freaked again, in a good way! I called my mom on the walk back to the office and told her and all of 3rd avenue that we were expecting. She immediately called all my siblings and told them, she was so excited!

Here is the rest of the miracle. When my mom told my brother, he told her that his family had been fasting and praying for us to have a baby sooner rather than later. My exact same prayer. All the little girls prayed, and the two oldest, 9 and 8 fasted with their parents. I cried when my mom told me. I'm crying now. I'm still overwhelmed by the faith of these little girls and the love of my brother and his wife for caring about our family situation. When I finally talked to my brother and his wife I could barely get the words out of gratitude. They told me that the girls screamed with joy when they found out the news. I was glad that I got to tell each of them when we saw them over the summer thank you. I might have scared them a little as I cried getting the words out, but I wanted them to know that their prayers had been answered and I was forever thankful to them.

Here's baby's first picture. No, it's not twins :)



We are still moving forward with the adoption. We don't want to get out of line now that we've come this far since you really never know if we'll be able to carry to term. After the baby comes we'll tell the agency and get advice from them as to how to proceed since China has a rule of no children under the age of 1 in the home when you bring your new child home. I still feel like this is what we should do. I've been thinking of a Chinese girl for the past 2.5 years and feel she should be in our home too. But we will continue to pray and discover what is meant to be in our family as we move through life.

So that's it. We're so happy, and nervous, and scared, and overwhelmed, and blessed. I love Dan, I love this baby and I love my family. I know there have been countless prayers on our behalf, and I thank the Lord for answering them.

Morgan Valley Half Marathon

I'm enjoying my commitment to my personal health and wellness. Pursuing activities that promote an active lifestyle. I'm grateful Holly and I, are doing this together. As well as other family members doing the same. It's never too late to be your best healthy self one day at a time.

As Holly mentioned below, I wanted to do another half marathon while we were in Utah visiting family. We specifically booked our weekend visit to accommodate one of the races in UT. I had the opportunity to get up at the BCOD (Butt Crack of Dawn), and head up to Morgan UT with Holly, my sister Rebecca and my cousin Shannon to enjoy a morning of exercise.



Rebecca, Shannon and I, getting ready to queue up at dawn, and start our half race. The full marathoners started one hour before us in the pitch black.



Another photo. Holly took photos, and opted to sit this one out. She was able to get a little bit of rest in Shannon's minivan, before my anticipated time to cross the finish line.



3rd Half Marathon for the summer complete. Was able to bang it out, and make a new improved personal best time. I shaved off 5min & 16sec. I've only ever done long distance running at sea level. This was high in the Rocky Mountains, and the air was thin. My lungs were hurting! I was able to run the entire time with the exception at being at mile marker #6 for a few minutes. It was high in the elevation climb and could NOT catch my breath and started coughing and choking. I had to stop, put my head down for a second and get some oxygen. Once I fully acclimated to running at this altitude, so long as I had some water to sip on and keep my throat moist, I was fine. And was able to run the rest of the way to the finish line.



I finished in just over 2hrs & 32mins, making this high altitude run my new personal best thus far. I was proud of my run and my accomplishment of placing 10th in my age bracket for this race. I was not expecting that. Even though I stayed thoroughly hydrated, I was covered in salt from sweating buckets and got a little light headed after I crossed the finish line. I almost fell over taking down Holly with me, but we both prevented that from happening. Once I chugged a bunch more water, gatorade and chocolate milk at the finish line, I was good to go...

Furthermore, I was very proud of Rebecca for taking on another half marathon at my persistence. Even with severe back problems, she was able to compete and briskly walk this, shaving off even more time from her last race. Additionally we were all proud of Shannon for taking this on, and doing her first half marathon. It was great to see her work towards this, enjoy her time, and wait at the finish line for her to cross. Her young children met her just before the finish line and were able to walk across with her. It as a great time together.

Looking forward to my next half marathon in October, over in Leavenworth. Another high altitude alpine run, with all the fall foliage turning. It will be beautiful and much, MUCH cooler than this last race was.

Summer in SLC

We just got back from a fun trip visiting family in Utah. It was a jam packed weekend full of family, marathons, BBQ's and good food.

Our flight seemed super fast and had great views of Mount St. Helen.



We arrived to a wall of heat and immediately started melting as we waited for our ride. Luckily Kyle was there in no time so we didn't fully melt away. The plan was to meet up with family downtown for dinner at Em's but since we had a bit of time before our reservation we decided to drive over to Memory Grove and see where Dan and I had our wedding reception.







I love this park, the stream and the cute little house. It was fun to be back, it has been almost 12 years since we've been there. Right before we got married there was a tornado in Utah, which is so unusual, that ripped out quite a few trees. Luckily it didn't look too bad for our reception and it did nothing to the house or other structures.

The food at Em's was really good, though the service was a little slow. But it was fun to get caught up with family and just enjoy each others company.

Friday we slept in, then decided to go to Kennecot Copper Mine. Dan and I have never been and always wanted to go. We stopped by my brother's house on the way so we could see the progress on his new yard. It looks great, they have done an amazing job. The mine had a small visitor center with a movie that was pretty interesting. I mostly enjoyed being in the sun and seeing how huge the mine is, fun fact: you can put two Willis (Sears) Towers on top of each other inside the mine. Also huge are the trucks that haul out the mined material. Look at those tires! They need ladders to climb into the truck, no kidding!












Saturday was RACE DAY! Dan, Rebecca and Shannon all did the Morgan Half Marathon. Dan ran and did an amazing job shaving off 5 minutes from his last race. Rebecca and Shannon walked and also totally rocked it! They did it under 4 hours which is a huge accomplishment!

We got there an hour early so had time to laugh it up in the van, it was freezing so we stayed out of the elements up to the last minute. The morning ended up being overcast which was so great, the race would have been unbearable in the scorching sun.



Headed to the finish line! I loved that Shannon's husband and kids met her and walked to the finish line as a family. So cute.





After the marathon we went to a family BBQ. We had great food and it was so nice to be with family. While we were there we looked through the yard. It seems like we're always there in the winter so it was fun to go up by the shed and root cellar. We got a shot of the christmas lights that Dan put in a plastic bag and staple gunned to the shed years ago as a teen...I guess it was too hard to string them around any further! I'd never noticed Dan's name and hand carved into the steps.






To end the evening we drew names and went in order to pick out some of Dan's mom's cookie cutters. She used to have them nailed to the walls surrounding her kitchen. It was always pretty amazing to see. You can tell from the pictures that many haven't been used in years (look at that dust!). Everyone got the ones they wanted and had sentimental attachment too. Dan got a shamrock that he remembers making with his mom and a huge bear cookie cutter since he loved bears. He used to trace the cookie cutter and draw ties on the bears and give them to his mom as a card. How cute is that? We got many others and I can't wait to use them.






Sunday we BBQ'd with my family. The food was again amazing, but the weather...not so much. It started to lightening and thunder so we only had time to see one hula hoop extravaganza by my nieces :) It was actually kind of nice to watch the storm roll in and enjoy the cool breeze.

Monday we had a great lunch at the Copper Onion and ice cream cones from Iceberg. We had a really fun time, it was busy and full of memories and laughing...as it should be.

Spicy Fennel Relish

When is is NOT canning season at our house? Seriously! I really do enjoy making everything from scratch and controlling ALL the ingredients that I put into the food that I consume. I was perusing my canning cookbooks and came across a fennel relish recipe. I decided to use this as the base and mix it up a little. The base recipe called for fennel and sweet onions. I wanted more of a kick, so I added the yellow and orange bell peppers, and much more spice then the recipe called for. The beauty of picking and canning, is pretty much you can put whatever whole types of spices you want into your base brine and experiment with flavor profiles and heat.



Slicing up the sweet onions.



Layering the sliced onions, fennel and peppers with canning salt. This was the start of the 24-hour water extraction process.



The next day, after the 24-hour salt extraction, I thoroughly rinsed the vegetables. Also in the background are yellow beets. I ended up canning this spicy fennel relish, pickled yellow beets in burgundy wine, and several jars of my take on Major Gray's spicy mango chutney.



Prepping my lids, sterilizing my jars, and starting the picking solution.



Cider and white wine vinegar mix (for best flavor)



Adding the salted "veg" to the pot to simmer down for a few minutes.



Adding poppy seeds, mustard seed, celery seed, pink peppercorns and other spices to name a few for the heat component.



Post cooking, and getting ready to ladle in to my prepared jars.



Pre water bath processing.



Post water bath processing. Yielded 11 half pints. Will make a excellent condiment to grilled meats, and probably a few holiday gifts this upcoming holiday season.

Dan's Spicy Fennel Relish

2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
2 bell peppers, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled & thinly sliced
3 TBS pickling salt
1 cup white wine vinegar
2 cups cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Red peppercorns (I used 6 per jar)
Mustard Seeds (I added to the brined vegetables)
Celery Seeds (I added to the brined vegetables)
Poppy Seeds (I added to the brined vegetables)
Fennel Seeds (I used about 12 per jar)

Directions:

Slice onions in half lengthwise, then in very thin slices crosswise to form half circles. Cut fennel bulbs in half lengthwise and remove core; thinly slice crosswise to form half circles. Cut bell peppers in half and thinly slice. Place onion slices, fennel slices and bell pepper slices in a non-reactive bowl and sprinkle with salt. Toss and let stand for 24 hours. Rinse twice and drain thoroughly.

Prep lids and sterilize jars. Meanwhile combine vinegars, water, and sugar in a medium size pot. Bring to a boil over high heat to ensure sugar dissolves, boil about 2 minutes. Add vegetables and garlic and whole spices and return just to a boil, stirring constantly for three more minutes. Remove from heat.

In the bottom of each sterilized jar add fennel seed and peppercorns to the bottom. Remove onion / fennel / pepper mixture vegetables from liquid with a pair of tongs and pack into hot jars using a plastic spatula. Pour liquid over vegetables leaving a 1/2 inch head space. Discard the rest of the brine. Also, distribute remaining whole spices, mustard, celery and poppy seeds, equally amongst jars. Clean rims, apply lids and rings.

Process 10 minutes for half-pint jars and 15 minutes for pint jars in a rolling boil. Allow to cool for 24 hours. Check for seals. Store sealed jars in a cool place.

Use relish within 12-16 months.