We will be fat by Friday

I am attempting these......



Along with making the Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes (again...see a few posts below) for our office Thanksgiving Luncheon on Thursday. Half of both batches will come to work with me, the other half of each batch will go to work with my husband.

We are excited to try out the Peanut Butter cup cupcakes, especially since the Pumpkin Pie cupcakes turned out so well.

Although, we are both well aware of the weight we will be gaining this week due to the delicious temptations being whipped up in my kitchen.

Napping for Cancer

I feel a little bad. I registered (and paid) for the Buddy's Race for Cancer 5k, taking place this afternoon at 3PM. *side note- why in the world would you schedule a race for 3PM? Why?*

Anyway, this morning I decided not to run in the race, and I feel kind of bad. Running at 3PM really screws up the rest of the day. Had it been an 8AM race, I would not have even considered skipping out. Oh well.....at least they got my registration money, which will go to a great cause. Instead, today I plan to take it easy, watch some football, and maybe even take a nap! Wahoo.

I also registered for the BlueCross Autumnfest 8K, taking place Thanksgiving morning! YAY! Thank you for the early morning race start (the way it should be) and the 8K race that will make me feel less guilty about eating lots of turkey and stuffing and all the other delicious Thanksgiving treats! I am really looking forward to this race, which takes place down on "Volunteer Landing", which is a place I love to run and a course I know well. Brandon and I plan to go down there Saturday morning and run the course, just as a refresher.

Brandon has recently returned to his running roots. So, now, you may be on the look out for two Bice's running! It's fun to have a running partner again, although Brandon may not feel the same. Last time we ran I talked the ENTIRE time. I think Brandon was more exhausted from having to listen to me, less from the run. I love my husband.

The Myspace Shout Out, also known as "The Whole Truth About Our Half-Truth"

The half-truth.
What's a half-truth, you may ask? It's not quite the whole truth, yet not a lie. Let me supply you with an example....

People always ask how Brandon and I met. I assume this is because Brandon is from Chicago and I was raised in Knoxville. So...how did Brandon and I meet?

My half-truth answer? In a bar (classy..I know).

The truth? The whole truth (and nothing but the truth)? We met online. Myspace, to be exact.

You may be asking yourself how meeting in a bar is our half-truth. The first time Brandon and I actually met in person was....obviously....in a bar. Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria. See....it's not a lie. It is a partial truth...more true than false.

Brandon and I corresponded via Myspace for many months before deciding to meet up in person. I was so nervous the night he and I met. I was worried he wouldn't think I looked the same as my Myspace pictures or I wasn't as witty as our messages. Or...what if he wasn't as funny. Or worse, what if he was a psycho (you really would have thought that would have been my first concern). But, in reality, that is most people's concern....meeting people online will lead you to a complete lunatic.

I can understand why meeting people on the internet carries a stigma. It's odd, and risky, and not very traditional (although nothing about Brandon and I has been very traditional). Having said that, I would encourage people to give meeting others online a chance. I mean, be smart about it. Don't meet up with your new friend by yourself, at his house, in the woods. The night Brandon and I met at Barley's I had 3 friends with me, as my safety net.

But...yeah....when people ask how we met, we give them our half-truth- in a bar. The way I see it, people generally figure out we are pretty weird shortly after meeting us, no need to freak them out from the very start. Although sometimes we tell people we met in church...it just sounds a little more respectable.

All I know is that meeting Brandon (both online and in person) has made my life extraordinary! Not only is he funny, he is hilarious. That's my favorite thing about Brandon...he makes me laugh, all the time, every single day. Maybe we would have crossed paths at some other time in our lives, had we not met online. But, we did meet online....and for that, I am thankful! So, there it is, our Myspace shout out, otherwise known as the whole truth about our half-truth!

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Okay....I am not the type of blogger to share recipe after recipe. But (there is always a but), I came across this Pumpkin Pie Cupcake recipe and I just had to share.

Our office Thanksgiving luncheon is coming up in a couple of weeks. I have been trying to decide what to bring and I remembered saving this link. I decided I needed to test the recipe (naturally) before taking it to share with co-workers. Below are pictures and quick descriptions of my process.

I have no intention of giving you the step by step instructions, but I am happy to supply you with the internet link to find these items.

http://bakeitinacake.com/recipes/pumpkinpiecupcakes

The beginning....


I rolled out refrigerated pie crust and used the rim of a small glass to cut the dough. Then placed these pieces in each mini cupcake tin. Each mini pie was filled 3/4 full with the pumpkin pie filling (mixed according to can).


Baked according to directions. While those were baking, I whipped up the homemade cupcake batter, which is much easier than I thought and absolutely amazingly delicious.



While the mini pies were cooling, I placed one heaping tablespoon in the bottom of each regular sized cupcake tin. Once cooled, a mini pie was placed in each tin, on top of the cupcake batter. Then I scooped another heaping tablespoon on top of each mini pie, ensuring the top and sides were covered by the batter.




While the cupcakes were baking I prepared the icing according to the directions. I will say...finding cinnamon chips (which are used in the icing) was not easy, so you may want to track those down first, before you attempt to buy everything else.


>

Again, sharing recipes is really not my thing, but these cupcakes are by far the most delcious cupcakes I have ever tasted. The perfect combinination of cupcake, the little bit of pumpkin pie, and a cinnamon butter cream icing will seriously shock your mouth...in a good way! Give it a try, they aren't that hard to make and are completely worth it!

Brandon is not a huge pumpkin pie fan, but these cupcakes only have a bites worth and he LOVES them! My husband is a very happy man today!!!  Thank you bakeitinacake.com for this amazing recipe!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from the Bice family!



When Brandon and I got home from the race yesterday morning our homemade tombstones were "smoking" like dry ice! The sun had just started to warm them up and the wet dew was making the smoke! We were impressed with our natural spookiness!

This year Brandon and I did NOT partake in dressing up. I worked on some homemade costumes for us, but in the end, we were both pleased with taking it easy last night! And just in case you were wondering (I know you were not) Brandon and I were going to be a Sperm (him) and an Egg (me). We thought it was a pretty funny jab at our infertility issues....and we both laughed pretty hard at the idea of our costumes. Not sure how others would have reacted (awkward?), but in the end we left our funny (to us) joke to be used another year.

Today Brandon and I plan to take it pretty easy. We are doing our family pictures for our Christmas cards, watching football, and preparing for the ghosts and goblins to come knocking on our door tonight. I taped Clue (the movie) last night and can't wait watch this while we hand out candy!

Happy Halloween to everyone! Hope you enjoy this wonderful holiday!

Done!

Well, I did it! I don't know my official time chip time, but I actually did better than I had expected....so yay!

That's me, with the dark green shirt...in the middle.


That's me on the left!


My bib, pre-race!


*photos courtesy of Brandon...my cheerleader!

It was a cold fall morning here in Knoxville, but there was still an amazing turn out at the race!

Congratulations to everyone who joined in today!

Race for the Cure

This weekend, tomorrow to be exact, is the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Knoxville. This is a pretty big race/run/fun walk in Knoxville, as I am sure it's big in most cities.



The last time I ran in the Race for the Cure was in 2008. In 2008 I was still training (somewhat) for half marathons. I think my last half marathon was in early 2009...and trust me, I did not train enough, and it was NOT pretty.

Anywho...
I am nervous about tomorrow's race. I have not been running much lately and I am definitely not in the shape I was in two years ago. And, yes...I realize it's ONLY a 5K. But- I am extremely competitive! Although I am not sure who I am competing against. Myself, I guess? It would be great to beat my 2008 time (Ha,ha ha), but that's not going to happen. So I set myself a new goal time....and I laugh at that one, too. I guess I will just tell myself over and over again "It's less than 30 minutes of your life...just run!" I wish I could say that would make me run faster, but it will not.

This year my race bib will be "tattooed" with the names of my family and friends who are survivors. These are the names of women who have faced cancer, some more than once, and fought with everything they had. These women are everyday heroes! MY everyday heroes! And I am proud to know each and everyone of them.

Maybe while I am out on the course instead of telling myself it's only a half hour, I should remind myself that I am running for them, not for a time chip. I will be running for my family, friends, and all women who have yet to face this monster, for the ones who lost their battles, and the ones who continue to fight. Breast Cancer is a nasty disease and finding a cure is so important for our futures, and the futures or our families and friends.

The race is always fun and in the end, very emotional! Thank you to everyone who participates, not matter how big or small. And good luck to all participants! It's only 30 minutes of your life, right?

My Heroes: Aunt Laurie Ann, Aunt Bunny, Nannette K., and Cousin Brittany