The adventures of Nigel McFigglehumphries and the magic apple peeler

shut up. 

I have mentioned before about what a fantastic baker Maira is--it might be one of her favorite things to do right now! The little lady LOVES to bake! So on Friday night, while I was out running, Amanda and the kids put together a couple of pizzas (or, as Jay, who thinks he is so cute, would call them, 'zas....but he's a jerk with no directive). ACTUALLY, I should say, the KIDS put together both of the pizzas...the only thing Sally really did was get the dough 'started' rolling out. The rest was all Callum and Mae. It was cute; they had a little restaurant setup going that night--Maira was the cook, and Callum was the manager of the restaurant and got the table ready, waited on customers (Lupine, as it turns out, is a rude customer), etc. 

But somehow they missed the part about cleaning up.....

Ahh....pizza number one....with pepperoni and roasted red peppers. Or is this a deflated football that got beat within an inch of its life and left to rot in the sun? Either way, it was delicious!!

So I am toying with the idea of doing a half marathon in early March (stupid idea...but look at whom you are dealing with folks). I've been trying to extend my distances, doing one 'longer' run per week. The challenge this presents in the winter is obvious: More time outside in the excruciating cold (not snow...cuz we dont get--nor will we get--any more snow in Maine this winter). Today was my long run day. I have been 'seriously' running for about three years now, and in that time I dont think I've had a more miserable run than today. It was 13, which isnt as cold as it HAS been this winter...but the wind was just stupid. I did a new route which brought me a little over 7 miles, and the trip took me up past some farmland/fields that snowmobilers enjoy in the winter (versus the summer...). The wind that came off of those fields on one side...and the mighty Kennebec River on the other...was just awful. At some points I had to stop and turn my whole body because the headwind was so strong and it was knocking me out into the street and blowing icy snow in my beardless face....At any rate, I came home from the run and went into the breezeway and just collapsed into this chair before going inside. This picture tells it all.....thanks Amanda for some great photography....

 and my face tells an even richer story....hahaha

Later today, we took the kids to KMart because,, after all, their Christmas money has been burning a whole in their pockets! We let them each pick out a couple of small things (each one of them has about a hundred buques!) Callum picked out a TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle dressup set (Raphael...who's cool but crude) and another stuffed animal minion (a larger version of Stuart...the one he already has). Maira, seeing her brother with Raphael, had to get HER favorite--Donatello (because he wears purple...doy!). She also got a little ballerina action figure for her dollhouse. Each kid picked out a book, which we obviously let them get. Never say no to a book, right? Unless it is Twilight, Hunger Games, FiftyShadesofZin_, or anything by George W Bush, Rush Limbaugh, or Glenn Beck. Luckily, Callum wanted a Ninja turtles book which I read to them before dinner (I didnt READ dinner to them...stop being a grammar nerd).