Like a "Rhino"

I hope you all had a GREAT Thanksgiving with family and friends! I had a very nice day enjoying time with my family. I am very thankful for all the great people I have in my life (including all of you who view the blog).

Yesterday morning I woke up and ran 4.5 miles around my parents' neighborhood in about 39 minutes. My Ipod died right before I started, so I unfortunately had NO music for the entire run. I thought the run would be torturous; however, it was actually quite enjoyable. I was able to really push myself and concentrate on my breathing. In addition, I was able to enjoy the scenery and say "hi" to fellow runners and walkers. Maybe I will incorporate more musicless runs into my routine.

Now back to the food: Our first stop of the day was my dad's brother's house for "lunch." They had all the usual fixings with the addition of lasagna.

Here is my plate:

Turkey, yams, butternut squash, mashed potatoes, brussels, lasagna, eggplant parm

I then had x2 on the squash, yams and brussels. I also had a second Leffe throughout the afternoon. I LOVE Leffe!!!

Next up dessert!

Carrot Cake, Banana Cream Pie and Fruit

The main event of the afternoon was a food eating contest. A friend of the family is a world class eater (one time he ate 4 hamburgers and two hot dogs in one sitting). So my uncles proposed a Thanksgiving challenge to him: He had to eat a half of sheet of lasagna in 10 minutes.

Here is "Rhino" in action:

The clock is counting down....

Slowing down.....

And, unfortunately "Rhino" didn't even come close. He only finished about 1/3 of the plate. It was a HUGE let down! Oh, well maybe next year. In this battle of man vs. food, food won!

In addition to a very nice afternoon at my uncle's, it was also the first time my dad and all five of his brothers were together in a VERY long time!! As well as my grandmother, who lives in Las Vegas.

Here are all 6 fine gentleman and my grandmother:

On our way home, we made a stop at my cousin's house to wish my Mom's family a Happy Thanksgiving and munch on a few more desserts. I had a few bites of cheese cake, pumpkin pie and various other delicious foods.

Oh, how I LOVE Thanksgiving!!!!!!!! Now on to the shopping............

Preparing the stomach for Thanksgiving!

Well the big day is almost upon us and my stomach has been hard at work, working overtime in preparation for the big event.

Let's start with Sunday: My family had a pre-Thanksgiving meal at my grandfather's house. Here are some pics of my stomach at work:

Shrimp and Broccoli rice dish

Spinach Casserole

Green Beans

Salad

Meat Cookies

Artichokes 

My Plate (The ham and turkey were unphotographed)

Workout #2: Cheese Tortellini with Spinach, Mushrooms and Vodka Sauce.

Boil some of these guys:

Perfect!

Saute some spinach and mushrooms in garlic and EVOO

Then heat up a little of this vodka sauce

All together now:

OH MY, my stomach is hard at work!!

Some last minute training included: Steak Tips, Coconut butter Butternut squash and broccoli

I grilled pre-marinated teryaki Steak Tips

Steamed Broccoli

and prepared some butternut squash according to this KERF recipe. It came out great!!

I am not sure if I am quite ready for the big day, might have to do a little extra training, I think ice cream should do the trick!