I have tasted the caramel filling and it is good!

Last night I tried the Samoas Bar recipe that I've been eyeing. Basically, you make a shortbread crust and let that cool. Then toast coconut and use that to make a caramel filling to spread on the shortbread. Once that has cooled, cut it into bars and dip the bottom in chocolate and finally drizzle chocolate on top. DH was in charge of the chocolate portion.

DH and I split one last night after the chocolate had hardened and DH pronounced it "a winner."

While waiting for all that cooling to take place, I went ahead and tried another recipe that I had an eye on -- M&M Oat Bars.   I thought that the recipe looked interesting and I am always on the lookout for nut-free items since they are easier for my grandfather to eat. 

February flowers

A few photos from a February 10th visit to the arboretum.

Garmin Forerunner 305, my new addition

I got myself a Garmin Forerunner 305 a few weeks ago and I think that I'm in love. The Forerunner 305 is billed as a multisport unit. I ordered it to prepare for the half marathon that I signed up for thinking that if I'm going to run a 13.1 mile course it would kind of be handy to know how far I am running in my training. Right away fellow runners suggested that I get SportTracks. I downloaded it and got a few of the recommended plugins and I was all set.

Although I originally bought the Forerunner for running, I quickly decided that I could carry on my love affair with the Garmin by using it on my bike. Most of my cycling friends have the Garmin Edge 705 which looks really neat and can give turn by turn directions.

I managed to get about every add on for the Forerunner. The cadence sensor allows me to use the Forerunner when my bike is on the trainer and the foot pod allows me to use the Forerunner on the treadmill. Both will allow the Forerunner to function if GPS signal is lost. When I asked Garmin technical support about the foot pod, they replied, "If the watch loses the GPS connection, the foot pod will then record the distance and speed if you should have it paired up." I have read that this is also the case for the cadence sensor.

For more information, you might want to take a look at CoolRunning. There's a nice discussion of the 305 vs the 405 there.

Plans for spring

After much deliberation, I have made some pretty firm plans for spring. After a 100 mile bike ride on February 28, I will do a few running events in March, a duathlon in April and several cycling events in May.

February 28 - Frostbite Tour 100 miler
March 8 - St. Patty's Run Green 8k
March 14 - St. Patrick's Day Lo tide Run at Carolina Beach
April 5 - Carrboro Classic Endurance Sports Festival (Super Sprint Duathlon)
May 3 - Raven Rock Ramble 100 miler
May 23 - Skirt Chaser 5k
May 30 - Three Mountain Madness, 75 miles with 9,280 feet of climbing
June 6-7 - Tour de Cure (75 miles each day or 100 miles each day, currently under discussion)

Groundhog's Day at the Arboretum

Today at lunch I walked through the NCSU Arboretum to see what was going on.

The holly trees were still sporting their winter berries  and the February Gold daffodils were not yet golden

The miniature daffodils were just starting to poke out of the ground and the lenten roses were in bloom.

The winter flowering iris was in bloom and the winter honeysuckle was just starting to flower but the fragrence was already heavy in the air around it.