All I Need Is A Little Patience -- Easier Said Than Done!

So as you may have read below, last week I went on a 2 mile run and was super psyched to get split times of around 7:14/mile. Well according to my training plan, I was supposed to run 2 miles again yesterday. I was all psyched up, ready to see how awesome my time would be. I was especially anticipating a good time since the weather and running conditions were much better than last week. So I go out feeling pretty good, a little tired, but mostly good. I'm thinking, "I'm definitely going faster than usual." Then I hear my little Nike + iPod lady say in my earphone, "You have reached one mile." I pull out my iPod expecting to see my awesome time, to intead see: PACE=9:27. SAY WHAT?! 9:27?! Is this thing working right?! So I try to pick up the pace and refuse to look back at my iPod until I finish my run. When I am finished, I look at my pace and it says, PACE=8:57. Hmph! That's no 7:14! And I had to work for that 8:57 too. It was a tiring run. I don't get it! :-( I was so dissapointed. I was so excited to see that 7:14 time last week, I started envisioning finish times way better than what I was hoping for before. Well, I guess I need to readjust those times now, back to what they were. I'm beginning to think that 7:14 time was a fluke. All of my other pace times are about the same -- around 9:00 or 9:30 per mile. :-( I was expressing my disappointment to my husband and he reminded me, "Ummm, hello?! You've only been training for 3 weeks. Give it time." NO! I want to be good NOW! I guess I need to pratice a little more patience. It's so hard!

I guess I need to just look at the little progress I've made and focus on that. My overall pace is better -- I started around 9:30 and now I'm down to 9:00 per mile. Also, last week I tried to do a 4 mile run but could only do 3.6. I felt like I could NOT take another step, but this week, I did the full 4 miles, in 2 inches of snow, and it felt just fine. I haven't run 4 miles in a LONG time so that is an accomplishment. This Saturday I'm trying for 4.5. Cross your fingers for me and send out some good vibes. Every little bit helps!

TWD: Rewind with Snickery Squares

This week, Mari of Mevrouw Cupcake chose a Creme Brulee for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie. I was thinking I was going to skip this one because (a) I don't own a torch and didn't want to try the broiler thing -- it scares me, and (b) I just wasn't in the mood for it. Luckily, the fabulous moderator for TWD allowed us to do a rewind recipe. There are a bunch of recipes I missed since I joined TWD so late, so I was excited to try something different. I showed my DH the list of completed recipes to get some suggestions and his pick was the same as mine: Snickery Squares!

Erin of Dinner and Dessert is the person who chose this recipe way back in March, so see her blog for the exact recipe. Anyhow, while the recipe looks kind of scary, it's really super simple. You just process a few ingredients to make the shortbread dough, then you just press the dough into your baking pan. Bake, and allow to cool. While it's cooling, make a simple caramel by heating sugar and a little bit of water. Once the sugar starts to turn color, add in some peanuts. When the peanuts are covered in caramel, dump onto wax paper and allow to cool. Once your shortbread layer is cool, smother it with dulce de leche and then top with half of the caramelized peanuts. (It took me forever to find that dulce de leche! I finally found it in the Mexican aisle! DUH!) While you're working on that, melt some chocolate (I do it in the microwave in 20-30 second bursts) and then add some butter to the chocolate. Layer that on top of the peanuts. Finely chop the remaining peanuts and sprinkle those on top of the chocolate. Put in the fridge for a few hours, slice into 2" square and voila -- Snickery goodness!

I had a little sliver last night just to get a taste -- super rich but super yum! They had that perfect winning combination of sweet and salty. I could tell that they would be a hit. I was right too -- My DH took them to work the next day and he said that a lot of people liked them. I only sent in a few, but he said that they didn't last long. :-) I'll definitely make these again!

Book Review: The Other Boleyn Girl

I picked up this book after many recommendations on The Nest Bookclub message board. For those who are not familiar with this book, it's historical fiction and is an account of the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry the VIII. The story isn't all about her though. It's about her and her sister and their initial competition in taking over the queen's throne and the results that follow thereafter. The narrator is her sister Mary -- the "other" Boleyn girl.

At first I was very intimated by the size of the book -- 600+ pages, but I gave it a try. I wish I could say that it was a fast read despite the page #, but I'd be lying. While many girls who read this book said that they just could not put this book down, it absolutely dragged for me! I started this book in October and am just now finishing it. I actually put it down and read nothing for a couple of weeks. While that's partly due to the scrapbook projects and Christmas cards I've been working on, it was also due to the story for me too. It just seemed to take forever for things to get going. Some of the story line seemed repetitive to me too. I was like, "Okay already! We all know what is going to happen -- just get there!" The chapter lengths were difficult too. Some chapters were super short at just a page or so while others were 50 pages! Holy moly -- I have no problem reading a couple of chapters if I know they are reasonable in length, but every time I got to one of those super long chapters, I would put the book down and not pick up again for another couple days because I just couldn't commit that much time to ONE chapter. Grrrr!

Overall, it was a pretty good story. Once I got going again, I liked the book and was glad to be reading it. Sticking with it though through certain sections was HARD! If it wasn't for my need to finish what I start, I don't think I would have finished this book. I only sat down and finished it today because I was tired of looking at it on my desk, taunting me..."Quitter!" Oh well, I did finish it and am glad to do so.

Twilight Series News

Okay, so I am on the verge of finishing up The Davinci Code by Dan Brown. So far, it is AWESOME! It is my first mystery/thriller book I have read in a long time! It is a total page turner and is great fun to read. You must keep an open mind though as much of the story line has to do with religion and such. Anyhow, I am loving the book and can't wait to read another novel by Brown BUT, I will have to wait because another book is sitting on my TBR (to be read) shelf and that is....Twilight by Stephenie Meyer!

Twilight is a book about a regular teenage girl who falls in love with...a vampire?! Not my usual genre, but a friend recommended it (thanks Heather!) and it has fab reviews on Amazon. So, I'll be starting that sometime this week.

Anyhow, I come to find out that Twilight is part of a series. New Moon is the sequel and Eclipse is next in the series. I will clearly have to read those now! After doing more research I found out....

1) There is a fourth book in the works called Breaking Dawn (due out Fall of 2008.) She is also working on writing another version of Twilight -- same story but from Edward's point of view. I think that would be very interesting! That one is still in the very early stages yet, so nothing is set in stone just yet!

2) They are working on making Twilight into a movie! Cool! The story must be good then, right?!

3) Meyer is also putting out a book for adults (the Twilight series is technically "young adult") and it is called The Host. It'll be out around May, 2008 and looks pretty good!

Check out Meyer's website for all the dish!

New School Rules

First Installment in the New Series: Things You Wish You Could Say, but Would Probably Get You Fired!

***Disclaimer: The items posted in this series are just for fun! Please know that my colleagues and I LOVE our students and work hard to create a postive learning environment. We would never actually say these things for obvious reasons. Sometimes, we just need a little humor behind the scenes to help us get through the insanity and that is all this is! So with that said...let the fun begin!***

So I was running across an old Email from a friend and we were talking about rules for the new school year. This came after I emailed her the funny 6th grade stories posted below, so keep that in mind! Here is her list of rules:

RULES
#1 Ignore the teacher and do as you please
#2 Treat a few with respect... others.. we'll make fun of them
#3 Laugh when another student asks a question
#4 Come to school if you are up to the work
#5 Do half to 1/4 of any and all assignments
#6 Talk over the teacher if you want your friends to hear you
#7 Ask me all day when lunch is
#8 Tell me when you feel something is boring or not worth your time
#9 Disregard homework
#10 Disregard me
#11 Come to school in the same clothes as yesterday
#12 Pass notes
#13 Pass notes about me
#14 Roll your eyes at anything you agree or disagree with that I say
#15 Complain to your parents about me

Which one is your favorite? Any others we should add?

Welcome Spring?!

I am excited to have all of this week off for Spring Break, but it sure doesn't feel like spring around here! The temps are still in the 30s and in the 40s on nice days. Awhile back, my husband offered to get me a plane ticket to visit my family in California for this week. I said no because I figured I'd have a lot of stuff to do at home over this break, like cleaning, organizing, stuff like that. I also figured, if I was going to use up a plane ticket to California, I didn't want to just spend a week there, I wanted to go for 10 days at least, maybe even two weeks. I can do that once school is out. Well, can I just say that I am slightly regretting that decision! I've had one day off so far, and I am already getting bored! I cleaned most of the house and organized a few things yesterday. I could probably finish today. I went running and read some magazines, but I'm nearly done with those too. I'll probably read some books now too, but so far...pretty boring! And did I mention the weather is gross too! I'd love to get out and work in the garden, but so much for that. Ugh, I could be reading those magazines and books in the sun-shiny state of California! What was I thinking?! Oh well... I guess I'll try to find some fun stuff to do over this next week. Hopefully I'll get together with some friends I haven't seen in awhile, maybe go shopping... We'll see. I just have to remember that at least I am on vacation! Any day of vacation is better than none!

Are My Legs Supposed to Feel Like This?!

So I had another trip to the chiro today. Each time I go, I get a little more info! (Here's the medical mumbo jumbo if you really want to know. If not...skip down!) I think I've got it figured out now...It appears the sacroiliac joints in my pelvis are a little off. (You know those two little dimples on either side of your spine way down on your lower back? Those are your sacroiliac joints.) Anyhow, the imbalance causes me to favor one leg a little and has changed my form a little. The other problem is that when I run, I strike down too much on my heels. This is forcing my fibula (the non-weightbearing bone in the lower leg) back farther than it should be. That in turn, pulls on the ligaments which is connected to my knee and THAT is the pain I am experiencing. So to fix all of this, I need to (a) get my joints and such back to where they should be, and (b) learn to run with more of a mid-foot strike than a heal strike. Dr. Craig gave me a few tips on the latter, and they really helped in yesterday's run. I'll try again tomorrow as I try to run 3 miles. Dr. Craig is actually going to watch me run around the parking lot next week to give me more specific tips! Who knew a chiro could do that for you?!

In the meantime, I wanted to stay fit by trying another one of my new workout videos. Today was another Firm video, Bootcamp: Maximum Calorie Burn. Holy guacamole! That video kicked my butt! I think I did a zillion squats! My thighs are like jello! During the video, I kept saying, "OMG, Please be done...oh no, not more squats...I can't feel my legs anymore -- are they still there?!" It was SOOOOOO hard, I was just pouring sweat! I know I am going to be feeling it tomorrow! That's good though. We ordered in for lunch today and I got a stromboli just for myself. I ended up eating the whole thing! It was probably equivalent to 2-3 big slices of pizza. WHOA! It was so yummy though. Hopefully those zillion squats burned off at least a few pepperoni slices!

"Chaos in the Kitchen" Challenge #1: Brandied Cherry Tart

Before I begin with my cooking challenge updates, I'll give a brief update on my running. I really don't have much to say. I've been keeping up with the plan I got from my local running store, Vertical Runner. The plan has me just doing some base building. I'm running 4 days a week now. Here's how this week looks: M and W 5 miles, F is 4 miles, and Saturday 9 miles. This Saturday is supposed to be the first "official" group run for a training group that Vertical Runner is hosting. I'm kind of unsure about going because the long run is only planned to be about 7 miles and as I said, I need to get 9 in. I may just go a little earlier and run 2 on my own beforehand. I'm not sure if I'll join the training group, but I figure that I should at least check it out. I seem to be getting kind of bored with my running, so this might be a good kick start. I should probably start hitting some other trails too. I've been just running in my neighborhood the past 2-3 weeks and it is getting OLD! Other than running, I've been trying to do my workout videos on my T and Th. Last week I didn't do them since I was super busy those days, but I did one in this week. So, so far, so good. Okay...onto the eats...

Challenge 1: Brandied Cherry Tart (recipe from Blog: Good Things Catered)
Recipe Rating: 4 stars (see sidebar for rating details)

When I first found Katie's blog, Good Things Catered, she had this fabulous drink posted, a Cherry Mojito. I was having some friends over so I decided to give these a try. Oh my gosh...this drink is UBER fabulous! It is my official beverage of summer, 2008. So anyway, I bought way too many cherries and didn't know what to do with them. I went back to Katie's blog and found this wonderful looking cherry tart. Click on the recipe title above to see for yourself! Doesn't that look SO yummy! I thought, "Wow, that looks easy! I'll give it try." So, I gathered all the ingredients and got to work.

The night before, I followed a simple dough recipe and using my food processor, created a basic pie dough. I had never made my own dough before, so I wasn't quite sure what it was supposed to look/feel like, but it seemed to resemble the picture, so I wrapped it in plastic and stuck it in the fridge.

Next morning, I'm ready to whip this baby together. I put the cherries in the sauce pan with sugar and let them do their thing. I grab the pie dough out of the fridge and flour my counter top so that I can roll it out. This is where I encounter my first problem -- that dough was as hard as a hockey puck! "Ummmm, is this supposed to be like a rock?" I figured that I would just cook down the cherries and say a little prayer for the dough.

Well luckily, just as my cherries were almost finished, the dough was beginning to soften. Phew! I set the cherries aside to cool and started to roll out the dough...or should I say, attempted to roll out the dough. I read that to roll the dough into a nice circle, you should turn the dough every now and then. I rolled and then went to turn it...yeah, it didn't budge. WHAT! It was totally stuck to the counter. GRRRR. I had to peel it off the counter and start all over. That happened about a zillion times until I finally got the idea to roll it out on parchment paper. I mean, after all, I'm going to be putting this thing on parchment anyway!

So then I have the dough down on the parchment and go to roll. Yeah, the whole thing just slid across the counter top, almost onto the floor! UGH!! I have now decided that baking is NOT my thing. I persevere though and try a thousand different things. The dough continues to stick...to EVERYTHING! It sticks to the parchment, it sticks to the rolling pin, it sticks to my hands. I finally give up and toss insane amounts of flour over everything! I will roll this piece of dough out if it kills me! (I later looked at some pics online and found that what I thought was an "insane" amount of flour was actually just right.)

Well, eventually I triumphed over the dough. It was completely hideous -- not at all a circle or even a rectangle. It was more a diamond shape, but at that point, I was so WHATEVER! The dough was also thin, but I hoped it would be enough to do the job. I finally poured the cherry mixture onto the dough and did my best to fold the sides up to keep the mixture from running out. With the dough being so thin though, some of the sides just didn't want to hold and some cherries escaped. I didn't even use all of my filling because my dough would not have held it. At that point, I didn't even care.

I threw the hideous thing in the oven and just prayed it would be somewhat edible. Well, about 15 minutes later, I pulled it out of the oven and let it cool. Compared to Katie's masterpiece, mine looked U G L Y (hence, no picture)! Oh well...Another 10 minutes later, I cut a little piece and... loved every bite of it! The crust, as much of a pain in the butt as it was, was so tasty! It was flaky and buttery, but not dry. The cherry filling, while a little runny, was SO delicious. It was sweet and a little tart at the same time. The cherry flavored brandy that I used too was the perfect complement. I loved it!

I decided that I definitely want to try this again. Next time though, instead of trying to roll out the dough, moving it to a baking sheet, and then shaping the sides, I'll just try using a tart pan. That way I don't have to worry about the filling spilling out. And I will certainly be liberal with the flour too. Flour will be my friend!

So overall, I guess I can call this first challenge a success. As ugly as my final product was, it tasted pretty darn good. I learned how to make my own dough too which was pretty cool. Now I just have to figure out how the work the darn stuff!

Braving the Snow

So Tuesday, we had a big snow storm. More than 200 local schools were called off, including mine! It was a nice day of relaxation. By Wednesday, the roads were mostly clear enough for school to be back in session, but the snow did not let up all day! We ended up having to do an early dismissal. The busses were called in and the kids went home 15 minutes early. All of the teachers followed suit, exchanging horror stories of what they envisioned the roads to be like. What was I doing? Putting on my running clothes! Everyone thought I was crazy! I braved the blustery snow and went for a cold, but beautiful 3 mile run. By the end, my shoe laces and the bottoms of my pants were coated in ice, but I felt great! I almost wanted to take a pictures of my frozen laces and pants as a record of my perseverance towards reaching my running goals, but alas, by the time I got home I was all thawed out. Oh well. At least I'll have this blog post as a record of my insanity...I mean, committment!

Book Review: Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

My school's PTO offered to purchase a book from our book fair for each of our students with the premise that we would use the book in our classrooms. I chose Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass. Here is the synopsis found on the back of the book:

In one month Jeremy Fink will turn thirteen. But does he have what it takes to be a teenager? He collects mutant candy, he won't go more than four blocks from home if possible, and he definitely doesn't like surprises. On the other hand, his best friend, Lizzy, isn't afraid of anything, even if that means trouble now and then.
Jeremy's summer takes an unexpected turn when a mysterious box arrives. According to the writing on the box, it holds the meaning of life! Jeremy is supposed to open it on his birthday, but the keys are missing, and only the keys can open the box without destroying what's inside. Jeremy and Lizzy set off to find the keys, but when one of their efforts goes very wrong, Jeremy starts to think he'll never be able to open the box. But what he doesn't know is that there just might be other ways to find out the meaning of life.
Lively characters, surprising twists, and thought-provoking ideas make Wendy Mass's latest novel an unforgettable read.

I am only halfway through the book so far, but this book is hilarious! Wendy Mass has done a brilliant job in creating quirky, down-to-earth characters that simply make me laugh out loud with their off-the-wall comments. Here are a few of my fave excerpts from the story:

This takes place when Lizzy and Jeremy are confronted by a police officer for breaking into an office in search for the keys:

"You swore we wouldn't get arrested!" I whisper back.
"We're not getting arrested!" she says, forgetting to whisper. Then in a smaller voice she asks, "Are we?"
Officer Polansky gives us a long look. We try to appear as innocent and wide-eyed as possible. Mom told me once in times of trouble to try to project sunny thoughts: butterflies, babies laughing, hot dogs in a ballpark on a sunny day. So I think of babies laughing in a ballpark surrounded by butterflies eating hot dogs. Very small, tiny hot dogs."

Can you picture that?! Too funny!
In this scene, Lizzy gets an Email from Jeremy's aunt inviting them to the state fair. She wants them to enter a talent competition and suggests a certain act:

"This is a nightmare. We can't perform that routine in front of hundreds of strangers!"
Lizzy's face is getting redder by the second. "She isn't talking about that thing we used to do where you though me a football while I'm hula hooping and I throw it back? And then I eat a banana?"
I nod miserably. "That's the one..."

Again. Hilarious visual!

Mass continues with hilarious scenarios and lively characterizations that make the journey towards finding the meaning of life all the more enjoyable. I personally can't wait to find out what's in that box!

While I started this book as a necessary read for my 6th graders, this is surely a book I think any adult could enjoy too! More comments to come later!

***UPDATE (Spoilers Inside!)***
Well, I finished the book and overall, it was wonderful! I would basically divide the book into thirds. In the first third of the book, you are meeting the characters and learning about the mysterious box and its missing keys. (I enjoyed that part greatly because as I said, the characters are so funny!) The kids break into an office in search for the keys but instead get caught. They are sentenced to work for a pawn dealer. In this next third section of the book, the pawn dealer has the kids deliver items to people that they tried to pawn many years ago. With each item returned, the students meet people from all walks of life and learn a little something about the meaning of life along the way. (This section is okay. It's not nearly as funny since most of the dialogue is actually from the new characters who are trying to impart their wisdom onto Jeremy and Lizzy. Some of it is a little preachy, but I wouldn't consider it over the top.) After their final delivery, the pawn broker gives the kids a gift (Jeremy receives a suitcase full of keys) and that starts the final third section of the book. From then on, Jeremy tries all of the keys in his mysterious box and finds three that fit. He is devastated to not have the fourth and final key. Eventually, Jeremy's 13th birthday arrives and just when he is about to give up, he does receive the final key. The box is opened up and reveals what Jeremy least suspects. At first he is confused, but as he looks more closely at the contents, he realizes that they are perfect. He indeed does learn the meaning of life from his father. Just when you think the story is over though, there is quite a twist. Jeremy's father leaves something for Lizzy in the box that leads Jeremy to be a bit suspicious. Jeremy goes to see an old friend about his suspicions and learns a lot more than he had prepared for! I was completed shocked by it as well! Jeremy's final lesson realized is one that I think encompasses his entire journey and is one that nearly brought tears to my eyes as I thought about all that he went through: "...I realized that love is stronger than death and that people you barely know can amaze you."

The first section of the book, I LOVED. The second section was kind of fun because I was curious as to what lessons Jeremy and Lizzy were going to learn as they met each person. After awhile though, that kind of dragged and I was starting to worry that I had not chosen a good book for my students. Then when I got towards the end, the story started picking up again and once Jeremy opened the box, I realized what a true GEM this book is. I loved it and think it will speak to a lot of my students, especially those who have lost a loved one. If you get a chance, I would definitely suggest picking up this book!

Funky Flashback: Power Ballads from the Big Hair Bands

Today, I present a few of the best "power ballads" of the 80's. Go ahead everyone, go get your lighters......Okay, here we go. First up, Skid Row's "I Remember You".


Next, Guns n Roses "Sweet Child of Mine".


And finally, who could say it better than Def Leppard with "Love Bites"?

My Little World -- The Setting

Here are pics of most of the "setting" for My Little World!

Here is out little abode in its Summer Splendor...

...and now, as a Winter Wonderland!

Uncharted Territory

I had my long run this morning. I was supposed to go out for 9 miles but since I did that already last week, I thought I'd step it up and go out for 10. I haven't run 10 since the Cleveland Hermes 10-Mile race back in April but I was feeling ready. My knees were/are still whining a bit, but it's something I've almost become accustomed to. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing! Anyway, when I got up this morning, I wasn't feeling particularly ready to head out for 10, but with one baby step at a time, I got myself out there. I'm so glad I did. Once I got going, I hit 2 and 3 miles before I even knew it. While the path was familiar, I had never gone 5 miles out, so I was curious as to what was out there. I felt my pace was pretty quick, but my breathing still felt good, so I went with it. I had a good Podrunner tune pumping out some techno/house beats which was cool too. I did a few air drum solos while nobody was looking. :-) I was totally feeling in the zone -- like I could go on forever! The weather was great too. It was warm but there was a nice breeze. There were a lot of people out too which was nice which is in stark contrast to the first few runs I took on the bike path back in February. I actually thought, "Well this is good. At least now if something happens to me, there'll be people around to hear my screams." LOL! Actually, everyone out was really nice. I think I said "good morning" to every person I passed by or at least gave the nod. I swear, there's like this secret understanding between people who are out on the paths, courses, and trails across America. We are all part of an unspoken community of people who truly appreciate the awesomeness of becoming one with the nature around us... I digress!

Anyhow, before I knew it, I had passed the 4 mile point where I usually turn around. ***Entering uncharted territory! Dun, dun, DUUUUUN!*** The funny thing was, shortly after passing into the foreign zone, I realized, it wasn't so foreign after all. After about another 3/4 mile, I swear I recognized the place. Finally, as I came close to reaching the 5 mile turn around, I came up to a cross road and immediately saw a sign for a park I used to go to all the time! I remember riding my bike on those very paths when I used to live in my old apartment! I couldn't believe I had really run that far! That truly just baffled me for awhile. I mean, I remember running 3 miles and thinking I could never do 5. It just seemed SO FAR! Now here I was knocking out 10, running clear across town and into the next one, and I was barely feeling tired! I swear, I think once I got used to doing those higher miles, I forget how far it really is! 5 miles is not too shabby! Anyhow, I was psyched to see my old trail and even more psyched to know that I had basically run across the entire town to get to it. The only thing next was, I had to run back across it!

I was so pumped after seeing how far I had gone out though, the 5 miles back was great! I even think I sped up the last 2 miles. I had to keep telling myself to slow down! My knees tried to tell me too. My right knee was really yelling at me during the last half mile. Anyhow, I ended up having an awesome 10-miler -- I had a fast pace that felt good, the weather was warm but breezy, everyone out was really nice...awesome! Afterwards, I got back home and mapped out my run on MapMyRun.com and actually found out that I did 10.5 miles. Cool! I did a little Namaste Yoga, and iced the knees. I just wish they all felt that good!

A New Look

No, your eyes are not deceiving you...my blog looks totally different...again! With the weather finally breaking and spring clearly upon us, I got tired of my dark black background so I decided to just go with a basic, Blogger layout. I think the lighter colors are more uplifting and the Blogger layouts are more user friendly. So anyhow...I hope you like the new look!

Speaking of other things that have a new look, the weather here in NE Ohio has been AWESOME lately. The past week or so has been in the 60s and 70s and has been just gorgeous! All the flowers and trees are blooming, and all of my plants are coming up wonderfully. People in the neighborhood have started mowing their lawns, and I don't know about you, but that first smell of fresh cut grass in the spring is one of my favorite smells! I generally don't like spring because of all the rain, but this past week has been just perfect! All winter long the windows have been shut tight, but all this week, I've finally been able to throw them open. Even now, a nice cool breeze is coming in, carrying with it the scent of hyacinths. Mmmmm! And the pic above is of the view I have right outside that window. This is a look I've been waiting all winter for!

Well, on a personal note...all this running has given me a bit of a new look! Nothing dramatic, but I have lost 5 pounds. A couple people have noticed, which is always nice, but the fact that some of my clothes now fit again -- beautiful! Apparently though, it seems that some people aren't ready for my new look...

So I went on a 4.5 mile run today and since it was so nice, I decided to wear one of my new running skirts. It was cute, but shorter than what I am used to wearing. No biggie I thought. So as I am running out of my school parking lot to go running, I see a huge pack of boys running towards me. I'm thinking, "Oh no...please don't let ANY of my former students be in that pack!" I was already self conscious about running in my new skirt, I certainly didn't need a bunch of 13-14 year olds boys running at me making goofy faces or comments, much less ones I knew! Well, sure enough, I hear a couple of kids say, "Hey, that's my old teacher!" Oh no...here we go. I try to say hi and be all nonchalant about it, but I was surprised to see that they were totally embarrassed and uncomfortable! I said hi but they all ducked away and avoided eye contact at all costs! I thought it was actually pretty funny! I mean hello?! Yeah, your teachers do have lives outside of school and they do wear things other than heels and dress clothes! The funny thing was, later during my run, I ran into a pack of girls running and sure enough, a few of my students were in that pack too. Their reaction was totally different! They were screaming my name before I even saw them. They were smiling as they came up to me and we gave high fives as we passed each other. They were totally cool while the boys were just totally awkward! I guess seeing their former teacher in a little running skirt and sleeveless shirt was a little too much for them! What a riot! (Okay...to be honest, it was a little much for me too. I need to start running at home, where the chances of me running into students (literally) is minimized! Just too weird in some circumstances! Still, pretty funny!)

So anyhow, I did finish my 4.4 mile run but was pretty tired by the end. I sure hope I can pull this 10 mile run out on Saturday. Now I'm especially worried though because I looked at the weather forecast, and not only are they calling for possible thunderstorms, but the wind gusts are forecasted to be up to 24 mph! Holy guacamole! Much of the course will be right along Lake Erie though too which means the winds will really be whipping! OMG! Maybe instead of running shoes, I should just wear those Heelies (you know, those shoes with wheels in them) and let the wind propel me forward. That could actually be pretty fun! :-)

Vacay Report: Luau!

After a day of shopping yesterday, DH and I did a little bit more snorkeling this morning, and then went to a luau tonight. The luau was awesome! First, we got to see how they cooked the pork in an underground pit called an Imu.


Then we piled our plates with tons of food. DH got two plates just for himself! Here's his plate of sides...


After eating, the dancing performances started. They performed traditional Hawaiian dances but also did a few dances from other Indonesian islands. It was very cool!




One of the performances was actually kind of funny -- one of the dancers had to do these crazy poses and faces and as soon as he turned to one side of the stage, a little kid started screaming in terror! The dancer actually started to laugh a little!


They finished off the evening with a totally awesome performance from a fire dancer!

This was one of the coolest, most fun experiences I've had on our vacation so far! Oh, and this (down below) wasn't too bad of way to end the evening either...

My New Invention

So the past three days, I have been icing my knees almost constantly. As soon as I take the ice off, my knees feel great -- I feel invincible! I even decided to work out on my elliptical last night for 30 minutes and even did a few squats to the test the knees out. Felt great! I put more ice on after the workout and then later went to bed. Unfortunately though, when I got up this morning, there was still a twinge of pain in my left knee. GRRRR! I've decided that if icing is the answer, then I must ice 24/7. I must ice not just after my run, but DURING my run! I need to invent an ice pack sleeve to go over my knee. That'll keep it nice and cool the whole time! And while I'm at it, I might as well make it fashionable! I can make it in all different colors -- I can get one to match my shoes, one to match my running pants, one to match whatever mood I'm in that day! WAIT -- Just got an idea -- I can even make character ones! I can make a Hello Kitty one! OMG -- love it! I can add sparkley bling to it in a million different designs! And after exploring my fashion options, I can then work on making it more functional too. I can make a little pouch to hold my awesome magical Sports Beans, I can build a Garmin into it so that it can track my miles, I can even program a little voice inside that says, "You go girl!" every mile! What do you think?! I think this could be my solution! :-)

Pre-Birthday Gift

So tomorrow is my birthday -- the big 3-0! Now while this birthday is one of those "biggies," it really doesn't matter how old I am turning, I always like to celebrate my birthday in some special way. Well this year, I told my DH that I didn't want any thing. Instead, I wanted to go on a vacation! It didn't matter how big or small, as long as we did something out of the ordinary, I'd be happy. I dropped not-so-subtle hints to him all year about it, but he just kept saying, "No, we have to save $$ for the basement... We have to save $$ for a sprinkler system... I am too busy at work..." and on and on. For the longest time I thought he was just fooling with me... and then I started to wonder... and then I started to get worried. I would be so sad if we couldn't get away for even a long 3 or 4 day weekend! Well, just a few days ago, my DH put my worries aside. He told that I will definitely have a big surprise on my birthday and that I would need a few things for the surprise: a few swimsuits, a pair of hiking shoes, and plenty of shorts/t-shirts. He revealed that yes, we ARE going on a vacay... for 11 days! WHOA! This is way bigger than I had even hoped for! He won't tell me where we are going until tomorrow (my actual b-day,) but he at least wanted to give me time to prepare. We leave for our surprise destination Sunday morning. Woo hoo! I am so excited.

One thing my DH also told me to bring is a formal dress... "just in case". Well, I have a perfect little brown and white dress I've been waiting to wear. This is the perfect occasion! One problem though... I didn't have nice shoes to wear with it. Must go shopping! So today, I hit a few stores in search of the swimsuits and such and just happened to wander through the shoe department as well. Just as I was perusing the sandals, my eyes fell upon the most beauteous pair of shoes I have seen in a long time. "Oh, those MUST be uncomfortable," I said, trying to give myself a reason not to buy them. I put them on and must to my surprise, they WERE super comfy! Uh oh... harder to resist! Just as I was modeling the shoes in a mirror, a lady came over and said, "Oh my, those shoes are so cute! You could wear them with just about anything..." She went on and on. That was all I needed! Those babies went right into my cart. Now I don't normally get all giddy over shoes and I certainly don't usually spend a lot of $$ on shoes either, but these I could not resist. So without further ado, here is a gift to me, from me!

Now tell me those aren't super cute! I say that these are totally worth the $$ since (a) they are super cute, (b) I need them for our vacation since they will likely go well with my dress AND (c) I can definitely wear them for work! See, case closed! Even my DH liked them... now that says something!

So my birthday hasn't even arrived yet and I am already showered with gifts! So far, 30 is looking good!

What's It Like to Run Pain Free?

It seems like my knees have been bothering me for so long now (7 weeks!) that I can't even remember what it's like to run withOUT them hurting. My right knee is pretty much good to go, but I feel like I am back to square one with my left. I was just starting to run 5 miles with little/no pain in either knee, then I had my 10 mile race. Now my left knee is right back to where it was. It hurts to run, walk, go down stairs...even sit sometimes! GRRRR. I went to my chiro yesterday and he was equally frustrated. He is now thinking I may need some additional work. He now believes the muscle in the front of my lower leg (the same one responsible for shin splints) may be too tight and consequently contributing to the problem. So, to loosen it up, he did some deep tissue torture AKA "massage". OMG, the pressure was so intense, I was like, "Ummm, excuse me...is this supposed to feel excrutiating?" He chuckled and said, "Just one level below that." Yeah, I don't know that he went down that one level! Anyhow, he still did the adjustments and then told me to ice the rest of the evening. I felt much better walking out of the office than I did walking in, so I guess that's a good thing. Still though, I am so over this knee thing. I just want to run and stop thinking about my knees for a change! Oh well. At least I don't have any big races to train for coming up soon. I guess I can keep the mileage low for awhile and do some of my other workouts for awhile.

Speaking of my next races, I am undecided as to what to do next. I had originally planned on doing a Memorial Day 5K. It's on that Monday and they're serving a pancake breakfast afterwards. Sounds fun! But then a coworker was telling me about a race that same weekend that she is doing. It's on that Sunday and is a 5.25 mile race -- The Motorcars Blossom Time run. (Weird distance huh?! I tried to find out if there was any significance to it...nadda!) She really likes the course and has great things to say about the race. So, now I have to decide. After running both a 5K and a 10 miler, I can honestly say that I like the longer distances better. A 5K is too short to make up for any pacing mistakes, and I feel like I have to run hard the whole time. The longer distance is nice, because you can make pacing adjustments throughout and I don't feel like I'm sprinting the whole the race. Endurance is my thing -- not speed! So anyhow, what do you think? (A) The 5K is at a distance I don't like, but they have better food or (B) 5.25 mile run is a good distance, but I don't think there's many yummies afterwards. Hmmmmm..... My DH says I should just do both! I don't know about that though! Well, whichever run I choose, my goal at this point is simply to get to the starting line healthy!

You've Got {Super Cute} Mail!

Okay, so last year on the Two Peas MBs and Gallery, tons of people were posting these tin mailboxes that they bought in the Target $1 spot and altered. (HERE is a link!) They were SO cute. I kept checking our Target, but I never had any luck! Well, after stalking a couple of Targets for a week or so, I finally found some of the $1 mailboxes! Woo hoo! I got six of them! One is for me and the rest I will make for friends and family. Ohhhhh, I have a feeling I may have to buy more! :-)

My First 10K Completed!

A few months ago, I found an advertisement for this race, the Jim Klett 10K Memorial. I was looking for a 10K since I thought that would be a better distance for me to train for in preparation for my September half marathon. The ad for this one said that is was a relatively flat course through a scenic area. Sounds nice, huh? The price tag was just right too at just $15. I decided to sign up early to give myself motivation to keep up with my running.

As you may have read in previous posts, I was hoping to get a sub 54 minute time to give myself the best chance at placing (I love getting hardware!) although under 55 would still be acceptable for me, placing or not. I didn't end up training though maybe as hard as I could. I got a lot of miles in, but not at a fast pace. I did very little speedwork, but I had my fingers crossed.

So finally the day arrives. I wake up this morning to rain. I checked out the radar on my local news station's website and I could see that the rain wouldn't be letting up anytime soon. Oh well, at least it wasn't storming. I get dressed in my pink Tarjay running outfit and head out with my DH to the race course. It is raining nonstop the whole way.

Okay, here we go...we start the race and I'm feeling pretty good. The rain is coming down, but not bad. I notice that this part is kind of downhill -- nice! I get to mile 1 and see my time of 8:11. UH OH -- too fast! I better slow down a little or I'll have no juice at the end! I slow a little. Hmmm, another downhill. This is interesting, although I'm getting a little worried because the race starts and ends in the same place, and what goes down must come up -- am I going to have some uphills here? They said this was a flat course though... Okay, here comes mile 2 marker -- split is 8:25. Okay, that's still faster than I should be going. I'm supposed to be hitting 8:40 miles...but these are all downhill and my breathing is fine...so I'll just slow a little. Here comes mile 3 -- what -- more downhill? I'm getting worried. I'm going to have to be going up here soon. I adjust my pace to try to hit my target split. I cross marker 3 with a split of 8:44. Okay, that's more like it. Going into mile 4, the course levels out and I start to encounter some hills. Wait, I thought they advertised this is a relatively flat course? HMPH! I'm getting pretty pooped out and the rain is dripping off my face at this point, but I try my best to stay under a 9 minute mile. I get to mile marker 4 and my split is 8:52 -- not too bad. Okay, only two miles to go! Now the course is starting to wind into more of a wooded area. It's kind of hard to see what's up ahead. I think they did that on purpose...an attempt to shield our eyes from...the mountainous hills before us! AHHHHHH! I'm already starting to get tired and I've gotta summit those things?! "Relatively flat course"....yeah, relative to what, the Appalachians?! I struggle to get up the 2-3 long, steep hills. Much to my disgust, I even stop to walk up part of the last one, although I have to say, I don't know that my run was much faster than my walk at that point. I only walked about 10 seconds, but I'm still mad at myself for doing that. Anyway, after I got to the top, I pushed on in search for the mile 5 marker and finally hit it at a dismal split of 9:31. I figure, okay, 1 more to go. I try my best to pick it up in the last mile. I feel drained -- my hamstrings are getting tight and my breathing is erratic from those wicked hills. I try my best to turn my legs over, convincing myself..."You only have 5 more minutes to the 6 mile mark and then you're home free...4 more minutes...3 more minutes..." I finally saw the 6 mile mark, crossed it with a split of 9:05 and turned it into gear sprinting into the finish line. I cross the finish line with an unofficial time of 54:20. I didn't hit my "Woo hoo!" goal time of sub 54, but I did hit my "not bad" goal time of sub 55.

So overall, here's what I learned from my race:

• I definitely need to do more speedwork! I had trouble maintaining my pace after mile 4. Need to do more tempo runs with maybe 5-7 miles at tempo pace.
• I need to work on pacing better -- my splits were all over the place. I hate that I got slower too. I would like to have had negative splits, but now that I think about it, that course (all downhill the first half, uphill the second half) was not designed for that.
• Never believe in the advertising of a race! Know thy course!
• Now this one I learned from looking at the pics my awesome DH took and that is, hard work does pay off! If it doesn't pay off with rockin times, it should pay off in how you look! What do I mean? Well the other day I was showing my guns off, all excited that I actually had a bump in my arm when I flexed! Well apparently I have a leg bump too! Check it out!

So anyhow, while I didn't get the time I wanted to give me a chance at placing, apparently it was enough. I did get 3rd place in my age group! I was kind of bummed though because instead of trophies or medals, they were giving out...(drum roll please)...coasters! Say what? I just ran my tail off for a coaster? Okay wait a minute here...so as not to sound too ungrateful, I will take a moment here to remind myself that maybe instead of using the money raised from the race to buy shiny medals, they instead put that money into the charity that the race was benefiting. And after all, what's more important -- my shiny medal or $$ going to underprivileged children. GRRRRR, I hate to admit it, but it's the second thing! Oh well, at least I got something! My DH and I were joking though that I could still tape some yarn to the coaster and wear it like a medal! I think it'd be a good look, what do you think? :-)

"Chaos in the Kitchen" Challenge #2: Chicken Scallopine

Challenge #2: Chicken Scallopine with Fontina and Sage (from Food Network's, Everyday Italian)
Recipe Rating: 5 Stars!

As usual, I had the Food Network on tv while I was making dinner awhile ago. Giada De Laurentiis was on with her show Everyday Italian. She made this dish called Chicken Scallopine and it looked really easy! (Basically, it's just chicken cutlets that are rolled up with fontina cheese and sage. They are then seared and cooked in a tomato sauce. Click above if you want the detailed recipe.) I went on Food Network.com, looked up the recipe and saved it for future use.

Well, as I was planning my meals for the week, I ran across this one. I thought this would be perfect seeing as how the sage I planted in our veggie garden is just starting to take off. So, I ran to the store to pick up the few ingredients that I didn't already have on hand. One of them was the fontina cheese. I was happy to find it at my local grocery store, but was not happy at how much it cost. I think it was something like $12 a pound. Yikes! I thought about substituting but then I remembered some of the FN.com reviewers saying not to do so. So, I bit the bullet and got the smallest wedge of cheese they had.

Anyhow, once I had the cheese home, I plucked some sage leaves from my plant outside and began to make dinner. As I thought, assembling this dinner was pretty easy (unlike my last baking adventure!) If you decide to do this recipe, I do have a few tips on how to make it a little easier. This first tip I have is simply to make sure the cutlets are pounded to equal thickness. I didn't do this and it made it kind of hard to roll them. The second tip I got while reading the reviews on Food Network -- when rolling the chicken up, Giada takes a toothpick and sticks it in the chicken vertically to keep it sealed. While it does keep the chicken together, the position of the toothpick makes it hard to turn the chicken when you're trying to sear it. Instead, put the toothpick in horizontally and thread it though -- kind of like a safety pin. I found this works very well! I even secured the sides of the chicken roll with toothpicks. I wasn't going to let that $12/lb cheese just ooze out! And one last thing -- this is more of a shortcut than a tip. In the recipe it says to take a can of whole tomatoes and put them in a food processor with some red pepper flakes, puree, than add to the pan. Yeah, I just skipped all of that and instead used a can of crushed tomatoes. I added some red pepper flakes to that and viola! Much easier and one less thing to clean.

Okay, so anyhow, I made the recipe as directed and it was AWESOME! I mean seriously, when I was eating it, I was thinking, "This is better than some of the stuff that I've had at nice Italian restaurants!" My husband easily concurred. And the reviewers were totally right about the fontina cheese. It should NOT be substituted. The sage and fontina were a perfect coupling! Oh, and by the way, if you read the reviews on the Food Network site, some of the reviewers who gave a lower rating commented on the strong flavor of the sage. My plant is still small, so I just used two small leaves for each chicken and that seemed perfect. My DH even said that it could have used more. So keep in mind, with sage, a little goes a long way. If you like sage, you will LOVE this dish. If you don't care for it, maybe just use a small amount.

Oh, one last thing. Anytime I make a dish, I usually cut the meat portions down to serve just 2 people since it's just me and my DH, but I usually make the full amount of sauce since my DH LOVES sauce. While making the dish, I noticed that I had a LOT of sauce though, so I quickly cooked up some spaghetti noodles. It ended being a perfect side dish! Seriously restaurant quality! Give it a try sometime and let me know what you think!

A Magical Birthday!

I got my first set of Stampin Up! stamps the other day. I finally used them to make this "magic" birthday card!




I got it finished just in time to watch LOST. I'm so glad it's finally back on! Now to watch and hope for lots of snow/ice tonight and a day off tomorrow! :-)

Scared to Go the Distance?

First, an update on my workout with my new video from yesterday. Mark this one down everyone -- my husband was...right! I said that I really felt the workout while I was doing it, but felt fine afterwards. My husband warned me that I'd be sore the next day. Well, all I can say is that video kicked my bootie! My butt is so sore, it is unreal! That video did it's job, that's for sure! I am hoping my 8 mile run tomorrow will help get the soreness out. Speaking of my 8 miles...

This is weird to say, but I'm kind of scared/anxious about my 8 mile run tomorrow. My plan was to do 7 miles last week, 8 this week, 9, then 10. Take a week off, then the following week, is my 10 mile race. Well, as you may have read in an earlier post, my 7 mile run turned to NOT be 7 miles (@$%@$@ Nike + iPod!) It was instead only 6.6 miles. That means my long run tomorrow needs to be 1.2 miles longer than last week! I've never added that many miles before to a long run and I have never run 8 miles EVER in my LIFE! I'm scared that I'm not going to accomplish my goal. I guess I need to just put that aside, get some jammin tunes synced up to my iPod, and get out there and do it! Send out some good vibes for me please!

Oh, as a little side note, I received my first issue of Runner's World magazine yesterday! Guess that makes me official, right? When do I learn the secret handshake? :-)

Funky Flashback: Ladies of the 80s (Part 1)

For this week's funky flashback, I'll be showcasing a few of the ladies of the 80s! The first few are some of my favorites. I still remember buying my first tape (remember those?!) and not being able to decide between Janet Jackson's Control and a tape by our first Lady of the 80's, Tiffany. (I'm glad to say I chose Janet! Tiffany still lives on in my heart though!)



And next, comes Tiffany's arch rival on the chart's, Debbie Gibson with "Only in My Dream".


And finally, an icon on the 80's, Cindy Lauper who brings us one of the great girl anthems, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". I still jam out to that song on the rare occasion it comes on the radio.

Fruit-a-licious

Today, while I was at my local grocery, I was looking for some blueberries. At first glance, I picked these up and put them in my cart only to realize, they were not blueberries at all! They were tiny little grapes called, "Champagne Table Grapes". I've never seen anything like them before! They were too cute and at only $1.50 for the whole container, I couldn't pass them up.


I'm so glad I didn't! These little babies are SO sweet and juicy! I couldn't pick them off the stems fast enough! I polished off one of the four bunches in just a few minutes. I will definitely have to pick up some more. If you see them, give them a try!


~~~~~~~~~

Well after tasting fantastic mangoes in Hawaii, I was really jonesing for some more mango. I remembered that I had some frozen mango in my freezer and I decided to finally try one of the desserts I've been wanting to make, Mango Strawberry Cobbler. The recipe is pretty simple to follow and quick to put together. The topping, with cornmeal, was a little different than I expected though. I decided to just follow the recipe as is to see how I liked it. After baking for 45 minutes, I quickly dove in. The hot mango just melted in my mouth with a burst of flavor. It was SO yummy! The strawberries were equally sweet and a good compliment to the mango. The fruit was wonderful! The topping was just okay though. It was a little grainy with the cornmeal which I could have done without. My husband had the same feeling -- loved the fruit but not the somewhat grainy topping. The next time I make this, I will definitely have to use a different topping recipe. Any suggestions?! The fruit though -- mmmmmm, so fab!