raining cats and dogs

Its still raining! Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. I find it pretty interesting. I had missed the rain. Ok, so on to the reviews:

Oreo Chocolate Cake - Everyone loved it. Several people asked for the recipe. I had a tiny piece and also felt that it was delicious. Definitely one to keep for potlucks and just anything really. I think it would work better as a layer cake than as a sheet cake.

Mediterranean Potato Salad - Delicious as well! I brought it for the potluck today, in addition to the next recipe. I really liked this. It wasn't as overwhelming or heavy as traditional potato salad, and the olives added a nice flavor. Next time I may try a mix of green, black and Kalmata olives. Also, I think a dice on the onions was a little too small. So next time I may just do a rough chop and make the potato chunks a little smaller.

No-Bake Chocolate Cookies - The refrigerator time definitely made these less sticky and allowed them to set up quite nicely. They were gone quickly and everyone seemed to enjoy them. I know J will not like them due to the coconut, but they are still an easy cookie that may be helpful for bake sales and such.

Orzo Salad - Good, but something is missing. This one still needs some tweaking. I'm thinking of trying one tablespoon red wine vinegar and one tablespoon balsamic. That's all I will say about that.

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I also received my camera battery charger today, so it will be a little less boring around here. Also, did I say I was going to stick to 1.5 miles? Oh sorry about that. I totally ran 2 miles tonight. To me it sounds funny to write that when just two months ago I could crank out 6 miles no problem. That's ok, I am determined to get there again. Perhaps in Europe I can run my first half. That would be awesome, and I'm sure the surroundings would not be boring. I also managed to get some squats and lunges in yesterday morning (which is mostly why I ran so far tonight...the best remedy for sore legs is a nice slow run) and an ab workout this morning. Tonight I am going to write out a real strength training plan, so that I am not just fumbling around in the mornings. I need to get some sun salutations in there at some point as well, because I have been seriously neglecting my yoga.